|
And so, echoing the sentiment of that
most distinguished of Americans, I ac-
cept and endorse this constitution, with its
faults, if it has them. As did Franklin in
1787, I consent to this constitution because
I doubt if we can expect any better, and
as he, I am not so sure that it is not in-
deed the best.
I must conclude these remarks, but be-
fore I do I would avail myself of ex-
pressing once again my deep and undying
gratitude to President Eney, to Vice Presi-
dents Clark and James, to all members of
the staff, to the reporters, to the wonder-
ful group of pages, and to all of you who
have served with me as delegates to this
Convention.
Finally, may I, still voicing the senti-
ment of the noble Franklin, express a wish
that those of you here who may still have
objections to this Constitution join with
me in doubting a little of our infallibility
and manifest our unanimity of purpose by
putting our names to this instrument.
I urge you, as companions and as fellow-
workers, to join with me in making an ap-
peal to the citizens of this State to sup-
port this new constitution, in the sure
knowledge that in it are the instruments to
correct any flaws that may be found. We
may not rest on our oars until this, the
final act of our purpose, is accomplished.
And may the Omniscient Father of us
all favor that which we have done here.
Thank you very much.
(The Convention rose and applauded.)
THE PRESIDENT: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate James Clark, Vice-President
of the Convention, and requests that he
come forward to the reading desk.
Delegate James Clark.
DELEGATE J. CLARK: Mr. President,
ladies and gentlemen, we, as a Convention,
have made many decisions. However, none
of these decisions was as important as the
one we made on that hot July day — the
decision to make H. Vernon Eney Presi-
dent of this Convention.
Since that day, he has given totally of
his energies and abilities. His leadership
has been of the finest kind — leadership by
example. By his patience and perseverance,
he has brought us to this memorable day
in Maryland's history.
The stiffness and formality that char-
acterized this Convention in its early days
|
has given way to an air of easy infor-
mality, of comraderie, and cooperation.
The genius of this body has been its abil-
ity, not only to make the right decision
when the chips were down, but also to ac-
cept these decisions, without bitterness,
once they had been made. This spirit has
permeated the document which we have
produced and will, I believe, flow out to
the people of Maryland and have a great
deal to do with their acceptance of this
Constitution.
Those who would defeat this fine docu-
ment on May 14 would dwell primarily on
its probable cost. This, to me, is a faulty
argument. It could well be that the proper
execution of the reorganization of the ex-
ecutive branch, as called for, would result
in considerable savings for the taxpayers.
The revamping of our court system, espe-
cially at the district court level, may in the
long run be far less costly than the con-
tinuation of our present inadequate sys-
tem.
And finally, under this constitution, the
legislature will be in a stronger position
than ever before to examine the budget
thoroughly and effect savings for the peo-
ple of Maryland.
And, now, may I wish each of you —
and this worthy document — Godspeed.
(The Convention rose and applauded.)
THE PRESIDENT: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate William S. James, Second
Vice-President of the Convention.
(Applause.)
DELEGATE JAMES: Mr. President,
fellow delegates, assembled citizens and
guests: Ideally, a constitutional conven-
tion is a gathering of citizens for the pur-
pose of conducting a public discussion and
adopting the best in constitutional thought.
All participants in the calling and the con-
duct of this historical convention have
been inspired by an idealism, which often
pervades, but is overlooked in our public
life. Governor Tawes, in organizing the
Constitutional Convention Commission, the
Commission in carrying out its duties with
impartiality and purpose, the General As-
sembly of Maryland in creating the for-
malities under which the Convention was
organized, the voters of Maryland by their
election of a non-partisan group of dele-
gates, and you, my fellow delegates, by the
discharge of your trust with the creative
statesmanship, with the leadership of our
great President, H. Vernon Eney, have
been animated by noble purpose. These ef-
|
