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DELEGATE HARDWICKE: At the risk
of dragging this thing on through terrible
tedium, I will make this very brief state-
ment, and merely to repeat what I have
said, that I do not see how, if the legisla-
ture fails to enact conservation legislation,
somebody can go into a court of equity and
get a mandamus or injunction to the legis-
lature saying, enact some legislation.
I just do not see how you can do it, and
if you could do it, I submit you should not
do it, and I submit that the courts should
not have such a power. I do not know how
they would enact it.
If the legislature does not act, I do not
see how the courts can do it, and I think
that the language of the Committee is a
terrible precedent; I think that it is totally
unworkable.
THE CHAIRMAN: The quesion arises
on the adoption of Amendment No. 1 to
Committee Recommendation GP-3. Are you
ready for the question?
(Call for the question.)
A vote Aye is a vote in favor of Amend-
ment No. 1. A vote No is a vote against.
Cast your vote.
Has every delegate voted? Does any dele-
gate desire to change his vote?
(There was no response.)
The Clerk will record the vote.
There being 16 votes in the affirmative
and 107 in the negative, the motion is lost.
The amendment is rejected.
The question arises on the adoption of
Committee Recommendation GP-3. Are you
ready for the question?
(Call for the question.)
A vote Aye is a vote to approve Com-
mittee Recommendation GP-3.
Delegate Bard.
DELEGATE BARD: I should like to
speak on GP-3. We have not had any dis-
cussion, Mr. Chairman, on GP-3, as such.
THE CHAIRMAN: Do you desire to
speak in favor or against?
DELEGATE BARD: In favor.
THE CHAIRMAN: You may proceed.
DELEGATE BARD: There are five im-
portant reasons why I think this recom-
mendation should be adopted. One, because
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we are living in an era where natural re-
sources have been impoverished and at a
time when technology and science make it
important for us to use these resources for
the good of all man; for the economy of
our state, we have said a good deal about
improving the economy in the State of
Maryland, but we have not said very much
in respect to specific things which we
might do. I think the State has precious
natural resources which will permit im-
provement of our economy, and enhance
the beauty and esthetics which enrich our
lives.
Secondly, because men and women from
all walks of life depend upon our natural
resources for the enjoyment of their leisure
and promotion of their health. Representa-
tives from many organizations dealing with
conservation have indicated that this will
stimulate and help integrate their efforts.
Third, Maryland has never had a well-
integrated program with respect to natural
resources and under Governor Tawes we
took important steps toward integrating
our Cresapeake game affairs, game, inland
fish, forest and parks, open space, water
resources, soil conservation, et cetera, but
we still have far to go in this respect.
Fourth, this is fundamentally perhaps an
exhoratory statement and I for one should
like to change the word "shall" to "may",
and I would like the privilege after I am
finished, if I have it, but nevertheless I
think fundamentally it is exhortatory, and
it may well be. I remind you there are
other exhortatory statements that make it
clear that this is what we believe. I would
like to give one illustration that has not
been given here: In 1845, the Constitution
of Maryland for the first time stated that
the legislature ought to encourage the dif-
fusion of knowledge. All over the State
there was recognition that this is where
Maryland stood. It is true that it was not
until 1866 that a state system of public
schools was established, but immediately
after this exhortatory statement in 1845,
the public schools of Baltimore recently es-
tablished as such received great impetus,
as did the public county schools. There
were no enforcements that you could de-
pend upon.
The same kind of question is asked today
as to the meaning of this statement. What
good was it to say that the legislature
ought to encourage the diffusion of knowl-
edge back in 1845; the truth of the matter
is that the public schools of the State of
Maryland received their great impetus un-
der this exhortatory directional statement.
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