government to meet the demands
of today under a constitution
written for another era.

Aware of the changing times
which have required these amend-
ments, Marylanders have shown a
long-standing interest in revising
our Constitution. Every twenty
years, as prescribed by the Con-
stitution, citizens of Maryland vote
on whether to call a constitutional
convention. In 1930 and in 1950
a majority of those voting on the
question favored calling a conven-
tion but nevertheless no conven-
tion was called.

Realizing the interest of Mary-
landers in constitutional revision,
Governor J. Millard Tawes in 1965
appointed a non-partisan commis-
sion of outstanding Marylanders
to study the need for a convention
and to prepare recommendations
of necessary changes in the Con-
sitution. The General Assembly of
Maryland then enacted legislation
submitting the question of calling
a convention to the voters in an
election held in September, 1966.
After an overwhelming endorse-
ment of the calling a convention,
the General Assembly - enacted
further legislation providing for
the election of delegates in June,
1967, and outlining the Conven-
tion's duties. The 142 delegates
elected to the Convention assem-
bled in Annapolis on September 12,
1967, to draft the Constitution pre-
sented here.

The Convention represented a

cross-section of Maryland's citi-
zenry. Delegates came to Annapo-
lis from the mountains of Western
Maryland, the rolling hills of cen-
tral Maryland, and the coastal-
plains of the Eastern Shore and
Southern Maryland. Joining them
at our state capital were delegates
from the suburbs and the inner
cities of our metropolitan centers.
Marylanders of all backgrounds
were present and the completed
document is a blend of the variety
of viewpoints represented at the
Convention.

The delegates to the Convention
did not attempt to write a constitu-
tion which merely reflected their
own viewpoints and opinions. Be-
fore they began drafting a con-
stitution, the delegates heard hun-
dreds of witnesses explain how
they believed the Constitution
could provide efficient and repre-
sentative government and yet pro-
tect the people against arbitrary
government. The witnesses in-
cluded legislators, members of the
judicial and executive branches,
political scientists, people repre-
senting a variety of special inter-
ests, and many average citizens
and taxpayers who were interested
in Maryland's government. The
Convention was offered many sug-
gestions for solutions to existing
problems, and many others for the
anticipated problems of a growing
state in the face of rapid change.
These suggestions were invaluable
in writing the final document ap-
proved by the Convention.