Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1849-12-12

has not proved the right to be "constilu
tional right" any more than the gentleman
from Baltimore city has proved it to be a
unconstitutional legal right" place them
both, sir, IN The same category. Both, !
fear, if they venture too far, will be unfor-
tnnately stript of their constitutional" as
well as their constitutional legal rights"
If such should be The case, let me tell these
gentlemen they have generous and magma
nimous foes TO deal with and if they
would but keep cool, Mr.. B. would promise
them, in advance, a restoration in due sea-
son, of all their rights, both constitutional
and illegal"
The gentleman from Baltimore city, (Mr.
McLane) had thought proper TO plant him
self upon the platform of the constitution
and the laws. M B. would agree 10 stand
on the same platform, side by side with the
gentleman. He rejoiced to hear the gentle
man utter such sentiments. He says he
wants no reform or change of the conslitu-
lion, unless it can be effected in s'cons,i-
tuliona. way"-he wants no revolutionary
change. Mr.. B. thanked God for so manly
and candid an avowal-for the expression
of sopariotic Il sentiment. He had right
10 expec, such from one of such we'll known
moral worth and intelligence as The gentle
man from Baltimore city. He was not pre-
pared To hear from tina. gentleman such ap-
peals as had been made by some others on
that anor-appeals to The physical powers
Of majorlles of the people. Such language,
Mr. B. thong hi, was better flied for savages
and harbarians than for civilized, christian
men, living under a constitution and form
Of government, which dispensed so large a
share of happiness and liberty to the peo-
pie.
Mr.. B. said that by the term scons,ilution-
all" he understood something granted by,
or not repugnant to, The constitution. Now,
he would again ask the gentleman from Bal
timore city to show him the article in The
constitution or bill Of rights which su,ho-
rIzes the call of convention of the people
to reform or alter any Of its provisions 3
The gentleman refers TO the foriy-second
article of the bill of zig hts, in which he sup
poses, If the power to call convention is
not expressly given, there is vet nothing
there 10 prohibit it. What says the forty
second article of the bill Of rights ''Tho,
This declaration Of rights or the form of
- Uerament to be established by this con-
venlion~ or any part of either 81 .hem. ough,
not to be altered, changed or abolished 6y
iWe legislature Of this STATE, bu, in such
manner as this convention shall prescribe
and direct" The gentleman says that this
article contains a restriction or Limitation
on the power of the legislature only. 1t
does not afiec, the power of The people. 1t
:. Il ,bo >c
by the people; and therefore. the people
may rlghdully exercise tina, power. But
ask, Is there any power given by this article
10 the legislature to provide for the call of
convention of The people? Mr.. B. said that
was The issue between The gentleman ard
himself We are now discussing, not the
"bs'rsctrigh's of The people, bu, the power
and duties Of The legislature. The people
had righ - which the legislature had not :;
and so had the legislature powers which
The people had not. Whatever abstrsc,
rights he gentleman might claim for the
people. from this article of the bill of rights,
he could certainly find no power there given
to The legislature to call convention of,he
people. And that was the question we were
now considering. ] am not here, sir, said
Mr.. B., to moot with the gentleman q1es-
lions of abstract popular rights. ] am here
sitting as member of this general assembly,
bound TO inquire and to know how far, as
one of its members, can legi'imaely act,
either positively or negatively, within the
scope of powers confded or powers denied
by The constitution itself. But must say
10 the gentleman that can see no reason
hx,b o oh
this newly discovered source of popular
power. | can see nothing, sir, in this forty
second article Of the bill of rights which
looks, in any sense whatever. to the call of
a convention, or which recognizes such a
right, even in the people themselves. The
language Of the article assumes, as a conced-
ed proposition, that the right 10 alter or
change the constitution is and ought to be
in The legislature, and no, in the people
And then in accordance with this assump-
ZION, it declares that the legislature ought
not TO alter or change any part thereof, ''but
in such manner as this convention shall pre-
scribe and direct" Now, sir, if the trainers
of this article of The bill Of rights had ever
looked TO the exercise Of the preserved rights
of the people," in The form of a convention
or otherwise, in reference to this power of
amendment, they surely would have ex-
pressed themselves fully on this subject
Here, was the very time and the very place
10 have inserted some provision of The kind.
They have not done so. This deliberate
and studied silence upon the subject of
changing the constitution, by means Of a
convention Of the people, can only be as
crlbed to d settled purpose on the part of
The trainers Of that instrument, to conhde
The whole power over the subject of amend
ment to the legislature. The power of the
people in reference to tina, question was not
contemplated by them for moment. They