1892. ] OF THE SENATE. 569

peals from Baltimore city, are fixed at $3, 500, and of
the Associate Judges at $2, 800, "and shall not be
diminished" during their continuance in office. In
the same way section 81, of Article 4, provides that
the salaries of the Judges of the Supreme Bench shall
be $3, 500 "which shall not be diminished during their
term of office" If these sections stood alone, or if
they are to be regarded as the only provisions of the
Constitution upon the subject of the salaries of the
Judges, it would seem to be very clear not only that
there was no prohibition against increasing salaries,
but by implication the possibility of an increase was
clearly contemplated. But it is supposed that section
35, of Article 3, and section 1, of Article 15, may have
some bearing upon this question.

Section 35, of Article 3, provides that "no extra com-
pensation shall be granted or allowed by the General
Assembly to any public officer, agent, servant or con-
tractor after the service shall have been rendered, or the
contract entered into; nor shall the salary or compen-
sation of any public officer be increased or diminished
during his term of office. " If this section stood alone
and there was nothing said as to the increase or
diminution of the salaries of the Judges in the parts
of the Constitution relating to such Judges, it might
be very strongly argued that their salaries would be
governed by this general provision, and could neither
be increased nor diminished. But the cardinal rule
of statutory construction is that some meaning is, if
possible, to be given to every word in the instrument.
Now, if this section 35 includes salaries of Judges,
then the words in those sections relating to Judges
specially, that their salaries shall not be "diminished, "
would mean absolutely nothing. No such construc-
tion is to be given to any instrument as to make its
several parts self contradictory. If then, this pro-
hibition in section 35 against increasing or diminish-
ing the salary of any public officer is applicable to
Judges, it must be applicable to all Judges in the
State, and if this be so, what becomes of that pro-
vision of section 31, of Article 4, which authorizes the
city of Baltimore to increase the salaries of the Judges
of the Supreme Bench by the amount of $500. If it
be said that this last provision is simply a modifica-