ject committed to them to best secure per-
manent liberty and the happiness of their
country.
The rights you exercise were won in 1776
and have been protected in memorable
struggles through the years. The fight for
liberty, however, must be won anew each
day, and the contest for good government
waged during the days of peace is no less
important, than the battle waged in the
heat of armed conflict.
In a way, I envy you. I wish I could join
you. Yours is a great opportunity, a great
challenge. I know that the product of your
work will be respected by all. Thank you
very much. (Standing ovation.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very
much, Governor Driscoll. I know I speak
the sentiments of all when I say that all
of us wish we could speak so eloquently
and so forcibly on such short notice.
I would like to acknowledge the presence
in the gallery this afternoon of several
groups. The Convention today is being
visited by a group of a dozen or more edi-
tors of newspapers throughout the State,
they have been attending the various com-
mittee sessions and they are present at this
session. I would like all of them to join
the officers of the Convention and Governor
Driscoll in the lounge immediately follow-
ing the session for a brief chat.
I also want to acknowledge the presence
in the gallery of seventy-five members of
the fifth grade of the Maryland Club of
Ocean City Elementary School. In addition
there are twenty adults, including two
teachers with them, Mrs. Eby and Mrs.
Downs.
The next item on the calendar is the
consideration of the Committee on Rules,
Credentials and Convention Budget. This
report, as you understand, includes a favor-
able report on Resolution No. 9 and con-
sideration of the unfavorable report on
Resolution No. 11.
The Chair recognizes Delegate Scanlan,
Chairman of the Committee. Will you come
forward, please.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: Mr. President,
Governor Driscoll, fellow delegates: I have
the honor to present the Ninth Report of
the Committee on Rules, Credentials and
Convention Budget. As indicated, the re-
port deals with two resolutions, originally
three, but Resolution No. 8 has been with-
drawn by its sponsor and he has indicated
to the committee that he is in agreement |
with the committee's favorable recommenda-
tion with respect to Resolution No. 9.
The other half of the report recommends
an unfavorable report with respect to Reso-
lution No. 11.
The problem arises from the fact that
under Rule 27 [28]* as it now stands each
delegate who has submitted a proposal who
wants a hearing on his proposal before the
Committee takes final action is entitled to
have it. As I understand it, the committees
uniformly have been attempting to provide
this hearing. But the substantive commit-
tees are now reaching the stage where they
are preparing or will soon be preparing
and filing with the Committee of the Whole
their very important reports on the various
substantive articles of the proposed new
Constitution. If they have the obligation to
continue to go back and give hearings as
each proposal comes in, this very important
work will be seriously interferred with.
Nevertheless we did discuss in the com-
mittee the possibility of a cut-off date for
all delegate proposals somewhat along the
line of the practice that prevails in the
General Assembly. It was the feeling of
the committee that at this point in time it
should not be done.
In the first place, through the distribu-
tion of delegate proposals a delegate can
be sure that the entire Convention, that all
delegates know about his idea, that it has
been brought to their attention. We think
at this point in time it would be unfair to
deny the delegate this right.
Actually while many proposals have been
introduced, I do not think the flow of pro-
posals is yet unmanageable. We will con-
cede that many of the proposals have no
place in a Constitution and would be more
appropriately legislation of the type to
which Governor Driscoll referred in his re-
marks to the Convention. But we do not
think at this point in time they should be
cut off. We do not want to expose the Con-
vention to a charge that they are trying
to gag or squelch delegate proposals. In-
deed perhaps in late October or early No-
vember there may come forth many good
proposals, that all wisdom of the Conven-
tion may not manifest itself just in the
middle of October.
However, we are sympathetic with the
committees' problem and our recommenda-
*The number in brackets refers to the
final number assigned to the rule in the
Rules of the Constitutional Convention of
Maryland. |
