been suggested by Delegate Bamberger. I
do believe, and this may sound again like
a strange line-up, but I believe that the
word "imminent" is very desirous in these
troubled times. If we do take the case of
Cambridge, certainly the word "imminent"
and its meaning will give the governor
sufficient power to make the right decision
on a timely basis. I, therefore, hope that
we will support the amendment as offered
by Delegate Bamberger.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Wheatley.
DELEGATE WHEATLEY: Mr. Chair-
man, might I also point out that the word
"imminent" qualifies the fourth category,
not the third category, and therefore has
nothing to do with when the governor
would call the troops or the militia or the
national guard, as the case might be, to
enforce the laws of the State.
We are talking about a fourth category
here that might have nothing to do with
enforcement of laws. There is no law
against hurricanes that I know of.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any further
discussion? Delegate Lloyd Taylor.
DELEGATE L. TAYLOR: I rise to sup-
port the amendment. I feel that in some
cases it is not necessary to call out the
militia. The state police and the regular
police force can handle certain situations. In
a situation such as Cambridge, the gover-
nor did call out the militia and, of course,
it did its duty. Often we find that through
police intelligence many incidents can be
prevented. This is why I support the
amendment by Delegate Bamberger.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate E. J.
Clarke.
DELEGATE E. CLARKE: Mr. Chair-
man, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
As Delegate Wheatley stated, we consulted
three nationally accepted dictionaries on
the words "may occur" as against "is im-
minent." One was Black's. The final sug-
gestion in BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY was
the meaning, "to the end that justice may
not be the slave of grammar."
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any further
discussions? Ready for the question? Ques-
tion arises on the amendment to Commit-
tee Recommendation GP-I, line 15, to
strike out the words "may occur" and in-
sert in lieu thereof the words "is immi-
nent." A vote Aye is a vote in favor of
the amendment, changing the words, a vote
No is a vote against the amendment. Are
you ready for the question? |
(Call for the question.)
All those in favor, signify by saying
Aye; opposed, No. The Noes seem to have
it. The Noes have it—call for a roll call.
(Whereupon a roll call vote was taken.)
THE CHAIRMAN: The Clerk will re-
cord the vote.
There being 25 votes in the affirmative
and 109 in the negative, the motion is lost.
The amendment is rejected.
Delegate Chabot, I take it from the com-
ment you made previously, you do not de-
sire to submit the amendment you pre-
pared.
DELEGATE CHABOT: That is correct.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Marion, do
you desire to submit an amendment?
DELEGATE MARION: Yes, Mr. Chair-
man.
THE CHAIRMAN: Do you have the
amendment?
DELEGATE MARION: I have sub-
mitted Amendment 6, which I guess would
be redesignated as Amendment No. 5.
THE CHAIRMAN: That is correct. The
Clerk will read the amendment.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 5
to Committee Recommendation GP-I, by
Delegate Marion: in line 10 of page 1 of
Committee Recommendation GP-I, strike
out the words "its officers" and insert in
lieu thereof the words "such officers as the
General Assembly may by law provide".
THE CHAIRMAN: Is the motion to
submit the amendment seconded? Is there
a second?
(The motion was duly seconded.)
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Marion to speak in support
of the amendment.
DELEGATE MARION: Mr. Chairman,
the purpose of the amendment, first of all,
is to limit the authority of the governor
to appoint all of the officers of the militia
or the national guard unless that be the
will of the General Assembly. There are
hundreds of officers, perhaps thousands of
officers, of the militia in the State. I did
not understand that that was the intention
of the Committee.
It also would provide some reference to
the words which appear in the Committee |
