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DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Hargrove, before I recognize you,
the Chair would suggest that perhaps a
more orderly way to approach this would
be to have the questions on section 1 and
dispose of those, then go through it section
by section and have the questions directed
in this manner.
Are there any questions on section 1 at
this time?
Delegate Miller?
DELEGATE B. MILLER: My question,
Mr. Chairman, goes back to the Preamble.
I notice that in the Preamble, we have
omitted the words "security, benefit and
protection" and have substituted therefor
the words of the federal 'Constitution, and
I wonder why. What was the thinking of
the Committee?
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Kiefer.
DELEGATE KIEFER: I am going to
yield to Delegate Beachley who was part of
a subcommittee who gave very careful
consideration to this language.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Beachley.
DELEGATE BEACHLEY: Delegate Mil-
ler, I do not believe that we intended really
to eliminate anything at all from any Pre-
amble that we had before, but to write a
Preamble that would be the thinking of
everyone, as far as we were concerned, that
turned in proposals. Those proposals were
wide in scope. They came from almost
everywhere, from every part of the State.
Then the Committee in joint session
voted on the Preamble that they thought
was best of all. Then they made their revi-
sions.
I do not think that we felt we were going
to take what was in the previous Preamble
in the strictest sense, but there are parts
of the previous Preamble in there.
I do not know whether that answers your
question or not.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Miller.
DELEGATE B. MILLER: My question
really is whether there was any thinking
by the Committee on the omission of those
three words.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Beachley.
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DELEGATE BEACHLEY: I think we felt
there that the words that are used, "life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness,"
would cover some of those things.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Miller.
DELEGATE MILLER: I have another
question, if I may, for the Chairman.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Miller.
DELEGATE B. MILLER: This is again in
the Preamble. No, it is in Section 1.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Proceed.
DELEGATE B. MILLER: In Section 1 of
the old Constitution, there is the inalienable
right to alter, reform or abolish the form of
government, and again this is left out.
I would think that that would be signifi-
cant, and again I find no memorandum from
the Committee on why such a significant
section was left out. What was the thinking
of the Committee there?
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Kiefer.
DELEGATE KIEFER: I am not sure
which section you refer to.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Miller.
DELEGATE B. MILLER: Article 1 of the
Declaration of Rights of the present Con-
stitution provides that the people at all
times have the inalienable right to alter,
reform or abolish their form of government
in such manner as they may deem expedient.
Why was this omitted from the new
Constitution?
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Kiefer.
DELEGATE KIEFER: Delegate Miller,
this Preamble as written was the considered
work of this Committee. It took into con-
sideration the various elements of the pre-
sent Declaration of Rights, and it included,
as a matter of fact, in the basic concept in
the Preamble as we have stated it, that the
power of the government originates in the
people.
This concept is broad enough to include,
really, three or four of these areas or
declarations of rights.
As a matter of fact, the Commission
Draft in its section 1, which we have in-
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