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DELEGATE SYBERT: Mr. Chairman,
fellow delegates :
I had the honor and the pleasure of
serving six years as attorney general of
Maryland. I feel that some of the speakers
here today have misconceived the function
of the attorney general. The attorney gen-
eral is not the lawyer for the governor or
for the departments of state government, or
the legislature, as such. He is, as Dele-
gate Cardin so well pointed out, the lawyer
for the State.
As Judge Henderson pointed out, his
function is largely quasi-judicial. His main
function is to give opinions on what he
finds the law to be to any department of
the State, governor, or legislature; as he
finds the law, not as the inquirer would
like to have the law be.
If he is asked a question as to the con-
stitutionality of an act going to the legis-
lature, whether by the governor or by
either house of the legislature or any indi-
vidual legislator, he must, after proper
research, give the same answer. Therefore,
I feel it is imperative that the attorney
general be entirely independent, and that
is the way it has been set up in the pres-
ent Constitution. It is not in any one of
the other three branches, but it is in the
separate Article VI, recognizing that the
attorney general is a unique officer. And
that is why, in my opinion, it has been
separately set up.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mason,
you have about a minute and a half to
yield.
DELEGATE MASON: Mr. Chairman, I
yield two minutes to Delegate Sherbow.
THE CHAIRMAN: It is a little difficult
to do that in the time allowed.
You have just about two minutes, I be-
lieve, Delegate Sherbow.
DELEGATE SHERBOW: Mr. Chairman
and ladies and gentlemen, I shall be within
that time.
A long time ago a great American said,
"I know of no way of judging the future
but by the past." I also know that you will
agree with me that the people are fre-
quently way ahead of their elected repre-
sentatives. When the people look at the
past and judge the future, they will recog-
nize that there have been truly great men
in the elected constitutional office of at-
torney general, men like Albert C. Ritchie,
Alexander Armstrong, a Republican who
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served when there was a Democratic Gov-
ernor; Thomas H. Robinson, who came
from a small county; William Preston
Lane, Jr., who went on to be Governor;
Herbert R. O'Conor, who went on to be
United States Senator, and Hall Ham-
mond. I mention none of those who sit in
this Convention.
It is time we stop thinking in terms of
government by computer and slide rule and
think in terms of government by the people.
They are smarter often than those who
presume as we do to speak for them. They
are way ahead of us. They will want in
the future what they have had that has
served them so well, outstanding, topnotch,
the leaders of the bar in the constitution-
ally determined office of attorney general.
THE CHAIRMAN: Your time has ex-
pired, Delegate Sherbow.
For what purpose does Delegate White
rise?
DELEGATE WHITE: On a point of per-
sonal privilege, Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: State the privilege.
DELEGATE WHITE: I wish to relate
to the Committee of the Whole that I per-
sonally have reached a point of achieve-
ment in Annapolis which amazed me. This
morning it was brought to my attention by
a delegate that a landlady advertised a
room for delegates, and reading the an-
nouncement he noticed in parenthesis
(White), and I am real glad.
(Laughter.)
THE CHAIRMAN: Now we have a
period of limited but uncontrolled debate.
Does anybody desire to speak in favor of
the amendment?
Delegate Dorsey.
DELEGATE DORSEY: Mr. President,
as I recall history when this nation was
founded nearly two centuries ago there
were two schools of thought, one espoused
by Hamilton and the other by Jefferson.
Hamilton believed in an aristocracy of
wealth, far removed from the people; and
Jefferson believed in a democracy by men
close to the people. Hamilton, in one of his
writings said that the people are great
beasts and not to be trusted, while Jeffer-
son believed that no nation was fit to live
in in which the average man could not par-
ticipate.
I say to this Convention that the issues
here today are as clear and fundamental
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