Blackiston, Bond, Briscoe, Brown, Chambers,
Cunningham, Cushing, Dail, Daniel, Davis, of
Charles, Dellinger, Dent, Earle, Ecker, Ede-
len, Farrow, Galloway, Harwood, Hebb, Hol-
lyday, Hopkins, Hopper, Horsey, Jones, of
Cecil, Jones, of Somerset, Kennard, King,
Larsh, Lee, Markey, McComas, Mitchell,
Miller, Morgan, Mullikin, Murray, Negley,
Parran, Pugh, Purnell, Russell, Sands,
Smith, of Carroll, Smith, of Dorchester,
Sneary, Stirling, Stockbridge, Swope, Sykes,
Thomas, Todd, Valliant, Wilmer, Wooden—
58.
As their names were called,
Mr. BARRON said: I would be afraid to vote
for this; and therefore I vote "no."
Mr. PUGH said: I vote "no" upon this pro-
position, for the reason that I intend, if no
other member does so, to move a reconsidera-
tion of that moved by the gentleman from
Baltimore city. I vote "no."
The amendment was accordingly rejected.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY.
By unanimous consent, Mr. CUSHING sub-
mitted the following order:
Ordered, That the president of the conven-
tion be authorized to appoint an assistant
secretary of the convention, to serve daring
the indisposition and absence of Mr. Cole,
and that the person so appointed receive the
same compensation as is paid to the secretary.
The order was agreed to.
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT—MARRIAGE.
Mr. THOMAS moved a reconsideration of the
vote taken last evening by which the amend-
ment offered by Mr. STIRLING was rejected.
The motion was seconded by Messrs. PUGH
and ECKER.
The motion to reconsider was agreed to.
The question was stated upon the adoption
of the following amendment to Mr. RUSSELL'S
amendment to the article submitted by Mr
STIRLING last evening:
Strike out all after the word "assembly,'
and insert the following :
" Shall provide by law for the registration
of births, marriages and deaths, and shall
pass laws providing for the celebration of
marriage between any inhabitants of this
State not prohibited by law from marrying
and shall provide that any persons preventer
by conscientious scruples from being married
by any of the existing provisions of law, may
be married by any judge or clerk of any court
of record of this State."
Mr. THOMAS, I will state, in explanation
of my vote to reconsider, that I desired the
adoption of the original section introduced
by the gentleman from Harford county (Mr
Russell, ) and thinking that that would pass
I voted against this amendment. As that
was voted down, I am now willing—
Mr. STIRLING. Will the gentleman allow
me to raise a question of order? I offered |
my proposition as an amendment to the original
proposition of the gentleman from Har-
ford, which original proposition has been
rejected. It strikes me that it is necessary to
reconsider that too. The thing I propose to)
strike out is gone. I voted against the prop-
position of the gentleman from Harford, and
I move a reconsideration of the vole upon
that in order to get at this question.
Mr. CHAMBERS. The convention has ex-
pressed by a decided vote a feeling of opposi-
tion to the proposition, and the last vote,
taken by yeas and liars, shows that no
change of opinion is to be expected upon the
subject.
Mr. STIRLING. I am opposed to that prop-
osition, and wish to reconsider only in order
to enable the house to get, at the proposition
I offered.
Mr. CHAMBERS. That is the very proposi-
tion upon which I propose to say a word.
We have upon our statute book a provision
with regard to the registration of marriages,
births and deaths.
Mr. STIRLING. No, sir.
Mr. CHAMBERS. Yes, sir; there is an exist-
ing clause upon the statute book, and in
many instances the provision there made is
practically used. Do I understand the gen-
tleman to dissent?
Mr. STIRLING. No,, sir; I understand now
to what the gentleman alludes.
Mr. CHAMBERS There is not a spot of land
in the State of Maryland that does not belong
to some parish bylegislation, it is a civil
distribution of the State. In every parish
there is or should be a person termed ft regis-
ter, and a book in which by haw it is his duty
to record marriages, births and deaths. This
has been done very much, but very much less
than it should have been done. In very
many cases this book will be hereafter very
important evidence in tracing pedigree. Per-
sons cannot be compelled; and it is not pro-
posed now to pass a law compulsory upon
individuals, to have these records made.
Why make further provision upon this sub-
ject to compel persons who do not choose to
avail themselves of the opportunity already
existing? This provision obviously imports
that we adopt the idea of marriage solemn-
ized merely as a civil contract. I do not
exactly know the idea which leads the gentle-
man from Baltimore to desire the reconsidera-
tion of this proposition. It strikes me that
it requires no legislation upon the subject.
Mr. STIRLING. If the gentleman will allow
me I will inform him. I much preferred
that this whole subject should he let alone ;
but I offered this proposition last night in
good faith, for the purpose of meeting the
difficulty in the way of the original proposi-
tion of the gentleman from Harford (Mr.
Russell,) with regard to which considerable
feeling was manifested by some portion of the
convention. I believed that my proposition |
