able to do so, a terse, explicit, simple,
straightforward document couched in
simple and non-legalistic language,
eliminating therefrom all matters of
detail which are more statutory than
constitutional in character. We also
contemplate that the three major
branches of government, the Execu-
tive, the Legislative and the Judicial,
shall each in its sphere have and exer-
cise all the rights and powers which it
should have and exercise, and to the
greatest extent reasonably practicable,
each be independent of the other. We
further hope to provide a document
which will not require frequent
amendment with changing times, but
instead will confer on the three major
departments of government the power
to cope with and provide for chang-
ing conditions as they occur.
"A provision in the Constitution
granting 'constitutional autonomy' to
the University of Maryland would, it
seems to me, run afoul of these prin-
ciples and open the door for numer-
ous other state agencies to seek sim-
ilar grants of 'constitutional auton-
omy' so as to make them independent
of the Executive Branch or the Legis-
lative Branch or the Judicial Branch,
as the case might be. In addition, the
University of Maryland is not an in-
strument of government to be estab-
lished or created by the Constitution
and it really has no place in the
Constitution.
"There are other difficulties. We
have decided, if we possibly can, to
eliminate from the Constitution all
provisions incorporating by reference
the common law or previously or pres-
ently existing provisions of the Con-
stitution or statutes. This would mean
that we could not, as suggested in the
forms submitted by Dr. Elkins, pro-
272
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vide that the University of Maryland
should continue to exist in the same
'nature and form' as it had at the time
of the adoption of the Constitution,
but instead, we would have to spell
out in detail the nature, form, powers,
obligations and duties of the Univer-
sity of Maryland. This would not
only be contrary to what we are at-
tempting to do in the Constitution
but would, it seems to me, also be
most unwise from the point of view of
the University of Maryland because it
would then remove all flexibility and
power to make changes except by
constitutional amendment. This, I
think you would agree, would be most
undesirable. I personally think it
would be unwise even to fix the num-
ber of regents, their terms, and their
manner of appointment in the Con-
stitution so that any change at all in
these requirements could be accom-
plished only by constitutional amend-
ment.
"If the Constitution were to contain
a provision with respect to the Uni-
versity of Maryland which said noth-
ing more than that it should be
governed by a Board of Regents, I
question that no real autonomy would
be achieved because so many other
matters would be left open to super-
vision or regulation by the legislature
or by the governor; and yet the alter-
native, which would be to include in
the Constitution detailed provisions
such as are contained in the Auton-
omy Act of 1952, would, I think, be
most unwise not only because it would
encumber the Constitution with un-
necessary detail, but because it would
lock the operation of the University
in a constitutional vise which would
greatly limit, if not destroy, the flexi-
bility which is so essential to enable it
to adapt itself to changing conditions.
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