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cause it is human beings about whom we
are talking. If the minority is correct in
that position, then I ask you, does it not
also follow that an elected attorney general
might deliberately set out for political
reasons to obstruct another, if the attorney
general happened to be of a faction dif-
ferent from that of the governor, or of a
party different from that of the governor?
Bear in mind that in the hard-fought
primary of last year, my good friend, the
present attorney general, was not of the
same faction as the gentleman who won the
Democratic primary for governor.
Does it not also follow that when nomi-
nees of an attorney general are selected,
not for their legal ability or their vote-
getting ability, that sometime in the future
as this State expands, under this system
we might have an excellent politician but
a poor lawyer? I cannot cite chapter and
verse, but I do understand that instances
have been known in other states in which
the attorneys general elected by the people
have been something less than that which
they might have desired.
Certainly there are those of you who
have knowledge within the State of Mary-
land of state's attorneys who have been
something less than what one might desire
in that position.
Now, finally, it is the position here that
the attorney general should be the adviser
to the General Assembly and to the execu-
tive. I would point out to you that a man
much greater than any of us some 2,000
years ago said that one cannot serve two
masters.
I oppose the amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Relegate Mason.
DELEGATE MASON: Mr. Chairman,
I yield three minutes to Delegate Raley.
DELEGATE RALEY: Mr. Chairman
and members of the Committee of the
Whole: I believe that the attorney general
should be a constitutional office. I believe
that the attorney general should be elected.
I believe that his duties should be assigned
as they are headed to do so in the future.
I believe that because I think that the at-
torney general is entirely different from
the comptroller, whose function is purely
administrative, whereas the attorney gen-
eral serves both the legislature, the execu-
tive, the judicial, and the people.
And I would like to give you an example
of why I believe that, and how I saw it in
action. In 1957 I was a member of the
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legislature, and down in the Potomac River
we were having great problems. We were
having what they called the "oyster war"
with Virginia, and people were being
killed; and I felt that something should be
done about it, and wanted some help to get
some legislation to abrogate the Compact
of 1785, which was a compact made prior
to the constitution.
The chief executive of the State did not
feel that this should be done. I went to the
attorney general, the man who sits behind
me today in this assembly, and he helped
me, and he helped others, and we did get
the legislation together, and it was passed.
It did go to the Supreme Court, and it be-
came a compact between the two states
which is now serving these states well.
It made the river a productive river.
This happened because there was an in-
dependent attorney general who was willing
to work for the legislature, and he was
not controlled by the executive.
For those reasons, I implore an elected
attorney general.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
DELEGATE MORGAN: Gentlemen, I
yield five minutes to Delegate Hanson.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hanson.
DELEGATE HANSON: Mr. Chairman,
I find myself in much the same position
that Delegate Bamberger expressed, that we
are debating here the question of whether
or not the attorney general should be
elected, but we are voting on the question
of whether or not the office of attorney
general should be included in the consti-
tution.
Since we seem to have no alternative, I
plan to speak on whether or not the at-
torney general should be elected.
I believe, given the kinds of duties that I
envision the attorney general having, he
should be appointed. It may be possible
once we get to specific language to develop
an office of attorney general, which we
would all agree ought to be an elected
office.
Based on the majority and minority re-
ports to this Convention, I must conclude
on the basis of the evidence before us at
the present time that the attorney general
should be an appointed office. The argu-
ment is made by the proponents of election
that an elected attorney general would be
much more independent. In some cases this
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