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from other places and contributed thereby
to his election as Governor of Maryland.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: For what purpose
does Delegate Beatrice Miller rise?
DELEGATE B. MILLER: For a point
of personal privilege.
THE CHAIRMAN : State your privilege.
DELEGATE B. MILLER: I am happy
to announce that there are about 50 stu-
dents from the Newport Junior High
School from Montgomery County, who are
visiting here with their teacher, Mrs.
Gilligan, and Mrs. Kandel, a parent. In-
cluded in the class is my daughter, Judith.
I hope the Convention will join me in
welcoming them.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Kiefer.
DELEGATE KIEFER: I think it is of
more than passing interest to note that to-
day, December 15, marks the 177th an-
niversary of the adoption of the ten amend-
ments to the federal Constitution by the
State of Virginia on December 15, 1791,
the first state that made this an effective
part of the United States Constitution.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair desires
to make a statement for the record to cor-
rect an erroneous statement. In connection
with Amendment No. 20, the Chair sug-
gested yesterday afternoon the possibility
that the Thirteenth Amendment might be
effective to prevent imprisonment for debt.
At my request, one of the research as-
sistants attached to the staff of the Con-
vention has looked into this since the Con-
vention adjourned last evening, and ad-
vises me that this may be questionable ex-
cept in the area of debts arising out of
personal service contracts.
The Supreme Court of the United States
has held that imprisonment for debt arising
out of a contract for personal services is,
in effect, an enforcement of involuntary
servitude, and would be a violation of the
Thirteenth Amendment of the United
States. The Supreme Court of the United
States has apparently not passed at all on
the question of whether imprisonment for
contract debts would be a violation of the
Thirteenth Amendment, but the Supreme
Courts of at least a few states upheld
statutes providing for imprisonment of
absconding debtors in contract cases, the
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most recent apparently being a decision of
the Supreme Court of Vermont in 1950.
This being the situation, I do not think
the inference from the Chair's remarks
yesterday that the Thirteenth Amendment
might be an effective prohibition against
imprisonment for debt should stand with-
out this modification.
THE CHAIRMAN: We have several
items to consider before taking up the
Minority Report.
The Chair desires to ask a question about
one of them. Delegate Macdonald, you have
an amendment AO to section 7. Do you
still intend to offer that amendment?
DELEGATE MACDONALD: Yes, Mr.
Chairman, and might we add as co-spon-
sors, Delegates Case, Clagett, Kiefer —
THE CHAIRMAN: Before we announce
those, we should have the amendment dis-
tributed.
Will the pages please distribute the
amendment? This will be Amendment No.
22. The Clerk will read the amendment.
Just a second. Delegate Macdonald, would
you now indicate the names of the other
sponsors?
DELEGATE MACDONALD: Yes, Mr.
Chairman. Delegates Case, Clagett, Kiefer,
Wagandt and Willoner.
Will you please correct your copy of the
amendments. The Clerk will read the
amendment.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 22
to Committee Recommendation R&P-2 by
Delegate Macdonald: On page 3, section 7,
Right to Sue State and Local Governments,
in line 9, after the period add this new
sentence: "Any law enacted by the Gen-
eral Assembly pursuant to this section
shall be a public general law."
THE CHAIRMAN: The amendment
having been submitted by Delegate Mac-
donald and seconded by the co-sponsors,
the Chair recognizes Delegate Macdonald.
The purpose of this amendment was the
same as discussed yesterday. I believe the
Committee of the Whole acceded with little
or no debate to substantially the same
change proposed by this amendment as
amendment 10-a. While that amendment
was rejected, I do not believe the amend-
ment embodied in this amendment was.
I make that statement in the hope that
the debate can be very limited.
DELEGATE MACDONALD: The spon-
sors of the amendment agree completely
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