widely in its extent as well as in its character
from Great Britain or any European country
that to compel a registration of births would
give a great deal of unnecessary trouble to
our people. Where the country is small and
the population very great, where that country
small as it is, is cut up into little parishes
each parish having its parish priest, its poor-
laws and everything of the sort, and of course
where every one belongs to this or that parish,
they may require those minute details and be
able to carry them out conveniently, having
established churches and everything of that
kind; but I do not see that we want them in
a country like ours. I am not at all tena-
cious about it, if it is simply to do what may
be necessary in order to secure the succession
to an estate, to settle some such point in law,
by recording marriages of people; but I
would not force the people to unnecessary
trouble and expense in things that seem to me
non-essentials.
I suppose if you prove the marriage of A
and B, and that. C was the offspring of that
marriage, it would matter very little at what
time C was born. The rights of the heir
inure as soon as he is born. If he had to
wait until he wars twenty, thirty or forty
years of age before his rights would vest in
him, it might be very important to prove the
day on which he was born. But in all ques-
tions of law the thing material to be proved
is the marriage of the parties. When you
have proved that, it does not matter one
whit whether C, their child, be three months
or one hundred years old, so far as his legal
rights are concerned. My amendment was
offered merely to save people from unnecessary
trouble and expense. I am not very tenacious
about it,
Mr. STIRLING. I will modify my amend-
ment byadding "or any judge of the or-
phans' court, or any mayor of any incorpo-
rated city in this State."
The question being taken upon the amend-
ment of Mr. SANDS, it was rejected.
Mr. CHAMBERS asked for a division of the
amendment.
The question being taken on the first
branch of the amendment, to wit:
" Shall provide by law for the registration
of births, marriages and death ;"
It was agreed to,
The question being stated on the second
branch of the amendment, to wit:
"And shall pass laws providing for the
celebration of marriage between any persons
legally competent to contract marriage."
Mr. MILLER demanded the yeas and nays,
and they were ordered.
The question being taken, the result was
—yeas 43, nays 26- as follows :
real—Messrs. Goldsborough, President;
Abbott, Annan, Audoun, Barron, Carter,
Cunningham, Cushing, Daniel, Dellinger,
Ecker, Farrow, Galloway, Harwood, Hatch, |
Hopkins, Hopper, Jones, of Cecil, Kennard,
King, Lansdale, Larsh, Markey, McComas,
Mullikin, Murray, Nyman, Parker, Peter,
Pugh, Purnell, Ridgely, Russell, Sands,
Smith, of Carroll, Stirling, Stockbridge,
Swope, Sykes, Thomas, Todd, Valliant,
Wooden—43.
Nays—Messrs. Belt, Berry, of Prince
George's, Blackiston, Bond, Briscoe, Brown,
Chambers, Clarke, Dail, Davis, of Charles,
Dent, Duvall, Earle, Hebb, Holliday, Horsey,
Jones, of Somerset, Lee, Marbury, Mitchell,
Miller, Morgan, Parran, Smith, of Dorches-
ter, Sneary, Wilmer—26.
Mr. KENNARD, when his name was called,
said: I regret to be under the necessity of
explaining my vote; but as I voted last even-
ing against this proposition and now intend to
vote in its favor, I wish to say that I stalled
then that I agreed to the justice and fairness
of the proposition, but thought it was a mat-
ter for the legislature and that the constitu-
tion should not be encumbered with it. As
I have been informed since, that application
has been made to the legislature time and
again for the redress of this grievance, and
always in vain, I vote upon the branch now
before us " aye."
The second branch of the amendment was
accordingly agreed to.
The question was then stated upon the
third branch of the amendment, to wit :
" And shall provide that, any persons pre-
vented 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, or any judge of the or-
phans' court, or any mayor of any incorpo-
rated city in this State."
Mr. CHAMBERS. The two gentlemen on my
left and myself have served in the Senate,
and no one of us have ever heard of this ap-
plication of the Friends until to-day.
Mr. THOMAS. That may be, and still the
application may have been made. I made
my statement on the authority of the gentle-
man from Harford (Mr. Russell.)
Mr. RIDGELY, I move to strike out the
words, " or any judge of the orphans' court."
The words, " court of record" will embrace
the whole idea, and we do not know that
we shall have any orphans' court.
Mr. STIRLING. As I hope the convention
will not abolish the orphans' court, I hope
this amendment will not be adopted.
Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. I have only to say that
the report of the judiciary committee will ex-
pressly declare them courts of record.
Mr. STIRLING. Then I am satisfied.
The amendment was agreed to.
The question recurred upon the adoption
of the third» branch of the amendment as
amended.
Mr. BROWN demanded the yeas and nays,
and they were ordered. |
