1892. ] OF THE SENATE. 561

It is very plain to n e that the whole of the apparent
difficulty which has arisen in the present case was
accidental, and would have been removed if the work
of revising had been done with sufficient particularity.
Ax ticle 3, of the Constitution is dedicated to the
"Legislative Department. " Its 35th section contains
the following clause: "Nor shall the salary or com-
pensation of any public officer be increased or dimin-
ished during his term of office. " Article 15 is headed
"Miscellaneous. " Its 1st section winds up with the
following language: "No person holding any office
created by or existing under this Constitution or
Laws of the State, or holding any appointment under
any Court in this State, shall receive more than $3, 000
a year, as a compensation for the discharge of Ms
official duties, except in cases specially provided in this
Constitution. " The language used in the two sections
which I have quoted is, of course, broad enough,
standing alone, to preclude the Legislature from in
creasing the salary of the Judges during their term of
office, and their receiving more than $3, 000, unless other-
wise specially provided. As the salary of the Associate
Judges of the Circuit Court, as assigned in the 24th
section of Article 4, is only $2. 800 per annum, the
clause which has been just cited, from Article 15, if it
applied to those Judges, would prevent an increase of
their salary beyond $3, 000 even if the general power
to increase should be found to exist. Manifestly,
therefore, that power does not exist, unless expressly
given or to be found elsewhere, conclusively implied
in the Constitution. As we are all, of course, aware,
the Judiciary Department is secured and provided for
in a separate Article (Art. 4). By the 24th section of
that Article, the salary of each Judge is fixed, and it
is provided that it "shall not be diminished during
his continuance in office. " Section 31st of the same
Article provides for the salaries of the Judges of the
Supreme Bench in Baltimore city, to each of whom it
allows an annual salary of $3, 500, which shall not be
diminished during their term of office. " It will be
observed that both of these last mentioned provisions
differ entirely in their language from that of section
35 of Article 3, already quoted. While the latter
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