THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Malkus,
you have a little less than a minute.
DELEGATE MALKUS: Mr. President,
it will not take that long, but I am rather
enjoying this Convention now. I feel pretty
good, thank you, sir, and I suppose there is
nothing wrong with having a little laugh
here and now. This doesn't hurt anything
in the world.
But on the serious note, remember what
I said, we who represent the agricultural
area 1 stand here before you, sir, and I
know that you raise a few sheep, but, Mr.
President, the laughter was on your time.
(Applause.)
Now, Mr. President, wouldn't you think
it is a good time for me to sit down?
THE CHAIRMAN: I would say it is an
opportune time.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in opposition to the
amendment?
DELEGATE MILLER: Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Miller.
DELEGATE B. MILLER: Mr. Presi-
dent I have enjoyed the comments of the
previous speaker as much as anyone, but
I would say to you, sir, they are not par-
ticularly germane. The issue before us and
the amendment before us is whether or not
the size of the legislature is a constitu-
tional question or whether it is a legislative
question.
In the Legislative Branch Committee we
decided that it was a constitutional ques-
tion, that it was the responsibility of this
body to set the framework by which legis-
lative questions could be settled.
Now, whether or not certain people are
represented or whether or not certain areas
are represented is contained in what we do
on the question, but it is not the question
under discussion now.
The question under discussion now is
whether or not we perform our duties as
we were sent here to do, or whether we
attempt to pass this on to other people.
I will give you, sir, that some of the
members of this assembly are a little bit
afraid to face the issue because the issue
is a serious one, and because it is a diffi-
cult one, but I give you, sir, that if we do
that, we will sacrifice on the altar of ex- |
pediency. We will go home and this consti-
tution will be passed, but we will have not
decided what needs to be decided in this
Convention, and we will not be ready to
face the future with the things the State of
Maryland needs to face the problems that
are before us.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bard, do
you desire to speak in favor of the amend-
ment?
DELEGATE BARD: Yes, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Bard.
DELEGATE BARD: Mr. Chairman, I
think it needs to be said here that there is
a bounty of controversy within this ques-
tion that is not related to the size of the
legislature. I for one voted for 40-80 size,
and believe strongly in the small legislative
body. Nor within this controversy is every-
thing centered about the whole debate as
to whether the small counties or the large
counties shall all be represented in the
legislature.
1 for one happen to believe that it would
be impossible to have all these small coun-
ties represented. There is an area of dis-
cussion of which we have lost sight. Mr.
Gleason mentioned it so well earlier. That
is, that the whole debate in respect to one-
man/one-vote has not yet been solved, and
those of us who served on the Commission
and spent two years on this question in
the main determined the response that you
find in the Commission Report on this one
issue.
It would be wrong to divide those who
vote for this amendment or against it in
terms of larger or smaller counties, or
being for or against, let us say, the small
counties or the larger counties, or being
for sheep farmers or wheat farmers.
That is not a debate at all. As we ac-
tually saw it, the debate was, better you
should settle an issue that itself has not
yet been settled, and this is why the Com-
mission voted in terms of a delay on this
question, believing that the legislature
would have more time to settle it. This is
why I shall vote for the amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate James dark to speak in
opposition to the amendment.
DELEGATE J. CLARK: Mr. President,
ladies and gentlemen of the Convention:
This issue before us is a most serious
matter, and I suppose as a member of the |
