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not about trees and birds and the rest.
Those are nice and desirable, but I say to
you if we are going to have society as we
know it, and live healthy, productive lives,
we had better wake up to the reality of the
situation, and not wait until it is too late.
If we have to put police powers in the
constitution to accomplish it, so be it, the
stronger, the better. Police powers must be
in there. If we are going to preserve what
we know as our way of life, as I say, so
be it, let it be in there.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in favor of the amend-
ment.
Delegate Harry Taylor?
DELEGATE H. TAYLOR: Mr. Chair-
man, I wondered whether the author of the
amendment would yield to a question.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hardwicke,
do you yield to a question?
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: Yes, Mr.
Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Taylor.
DELEGATE H. TAYLOR: Delegate
Hardwicke, we have had before us pro-
posals which contained the language, "as
shall be prescribed by law," such as giving
the General Assembly power to set the
number of members of the legislature, and
the terms of the legislature. Until now I
never realized that that provision, "that
the General Assembly shall prescribe by
law," has no effective enforcement. How-
ever, you indicated there might be some
way to do it. I was wondering whether you
could give us an example of a provision
that would contain the language, "as the
General Assembly shall prescribe by law,"
that could be enforced, and how it would
be enforced.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hardwicke.
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: Well, Mr.
Chairman, ladies and gentlemen of the
Committee of the Whole, there is, it seems
to me, a very important difference between
our setting out certain guidelines, certain
general requirements for the legislature,
and then following that with the statement
that the General Assembly shall implement
this by law. There you have laid down the
guidelines, the over-all framework of what
the General Assembly is to do, and the
General Assembly must in the nature of
things act in the area that we are talking
about, such things as restricting, reappor-
tionment, as you have only laid down the
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principles under which they shall act, and
if they fail to act, their action shall be un-
constitutional.
In the area that we are dealing with
here, however, according to the committee
recommendation, and in this the committee
recommendation seems to me to be fatally
bad, we are saying that the legislature
shall pass laws about conservation. That
is all that is being said and, therefore, if
the legislature passes a weak law about
conservation, do we say in the constitution
that it has acted, or if it passes one that
is too strong, shall we say constitutionally
that it has acted?
In the former area, we are dealing with
something that is entirely different from
the kind of problems that we are raising
now, and it seems to me to be frivolous and
foolish to say that the legislature shall pass
laws about conservation; I cannot see that
it means anything.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Taylor?
DELEGATE H. TAYLOR: Will the
delegate yield for a further question?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Taylor.
DELEGATE H. TAYLOR: Just as a
specific example, Delegate Hardwicke, if
we had adopted the provision that the Gen-
eral Assembly could provide by law for
the number of delegates in the General As-
sembly and the number of senators in the
Senate, and they did not do this, what
could the people of the State of Maryland
do?
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: Well, I
submit, Delegate Taylor, and members of
the Committee of the Whole, that the prob-
lem that you are raising is of a different
kind and character because there you are
permissive. We are leaving the number to
be determined by the legislature itself, and
the only way they could not do that would
be not to create the General Assembly at
all, so that their action is imperative. They
have to act in the area of creating a Gen-
eral Assembly. They have no choice. Other-
wise there would not be one, and what we
would be saying is, as you suggest, that
they have the power to name the number.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in opposition to the
amendment?
Delegate Ulrich?
DELEGATE ULRICH: Mr. Chairman,
I hope that all people in this assembly will
be able to breathe clean air and drink
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