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5 have the profits of an office increased for his own prospective benefit, could readily enough effect his object by indirection. Tile object of chapter 130, already referred, to, was to provide for the registration of births, &c., but the compensation of the Secretary of the Senate is quite as effectually increased by section 11 of the law, which very properly allows him a sum of money for discharging certain important duties under it, as if such increase of pay had been the sole purpose of the act. The intention of the constitution way to take away from every member of the General Assembly, one temptation of voting from. improper motives, by declaring that whenever any in- crease of the profits of any office bad been made during his term of service lie should not enjoy the fruits of that increase by being eligible thereto during the whole period of time em- braced in Ills Legislative term, and the mischief is not pre- vented if the effect of such an increase is to be neutralized by the production of oilier acts passed during the term by which the profits of the office may have been diminished in some respects, for such a conclusion would be licensing tile evil. It might appear to the House of Delegates, that a member had worked and voted for the increase with the most selfish motives, and worked and voted against the supposed decrease, and yet such a member would be eligible according to tins argument, in the 'lace of the positive words of the constitution. The debates by the convention of 1864, show the meaning which that body intended to attach to the section. and that they designed to render a Senator or Delegate ineligible to any office, the compensation of which may have been modified while lie was such Senator or Delegate. Vol. 2, Debates, page 808. But even if there were any force in this view, there was another act passed at that session to which this objection could not apply. It is within the recollection of every member of the House that strenuous efforts were made at the last session by many Clerks and Registers and Judges of the Orphans' court to procure an increase of their compensation. In reference to any increase in many of these officers, the provisions of the constitution seemed to offer an inseparable objection. The subject was thoroughly examined and discussed, and the opin- ion of the Attorney General requested by the Legislaiture and given by that officer upon the point. The result was that the General Assembly determined to increase the compensa- tion of the Clerks of courts whose emoluments did not reach the constitutional limits of $2,.500. And chapter 157 was passed with the avowed object and design of increasing the profits of those offices. That act re-enacted section 9 of article 18 of the Code as established by the act of 1862, chap- |
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Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly, 1866
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