Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1875-10-01
Editorial Corresp
THE CONVENTION.
The work Before Ir What has Been
Done. and What VIII be Done.

RA1E1GH, N. @. Sept. "a, 1875,
MY DEAR JOURNAL The Oonven-
ton now in session is certainly the
hardest worked legislative body Ihave
ever seen. 1t is called to order at ten
o'clock in the morning. and sets until
after two o'clock when an adjourn
ment for dinner takes place. After
dinner the committees meet and re-
main in session until near dark, and
after supper the caucus meets holding
in sometimes as late as twelve o'clock.
The Convention came here to amend
the Constitution and it set about the
work at once by appointing a commit
tee to consider each article of the Con-
stitution. There are fourteen of these
articles, and the several committees
are constituted as follows.
ART. I. Preamble and Bill of Rights
--Messrs. Turner, Singletary, Bliven,
Blocker, Nicholson, McCandless.
Motz, Bean, Kirby, and Patterson.
ART. H. Legislative Department.
Messrs Clingman, Cunningham, Bar
row, Carter, French, Justice, King of
Lenoir, Altman, and Vaughan.
ART. III. Executive Department
Messrs. Reid, Roberts, of Gates,
George, Massey, Kerr, Price, Mum
den, Hassell and Taylor.
ART. ". Judicial Department
Messrs Bennett, Shepard, Albertson,
Coleman, Barringer, Manning, of Cha
than, Lehman, Green and Faircloth.
ART. V. Revenue and Taxation
Messrs. Durham, Stallings. Hoffman
Coweu, Dixon, Dobson, Dula, Cooper,
and Page.
ART VI Suffrage and Eligibility to
Office-Messrs. Shober, Jarvis, Bate
man, Allison, Holton, Stroud, Wood
fin, Roberts, of Davidson, and Carey.
ART. VII. Municipal Corporations
Messrs Sheparn, Hampton, Hen
derson, Hinnant, McEachin, Jones OF
Yadkin, Farior, Black and Patterson.
ART. VIII. Corporations other than
Municipal-Messrs. Jones, of Cald-
well, Faison, MADISON, Durham, Man
ming, of New Hanover, Marshall, Bry-
an, Boyd, and Dockery.
ART. TX. observation-disclosures. More
head, Badger, Anderson, of Madison,
Buxton, King, of Pitt, Rumley, Boyd,
Scott, of Onslow, and Wheeler.
ART. xI. Punishments, Penal Insti-
buttons and Public Charities-Messrs.
Coleman, Anderson. OF Clay, Bell,
Sinclair, Horton. Spake, Grantham,
Hodge, and Bingham.
ART XII. Militia-Messrs. Barringer,
Redwine, Neal, NOVEL;, Wilson, Bull
lock, Everett, Davis, and Harrington.
ART. XIII. Amendments-Me
Manning, of New Hanover, Clingman,
Watts, Thorne, Love, Lowe, Good
wyn, Smyth, and Tonrgee.
ART. XIV. Miscellaneous Provisions
-Messrs. Albertson, Crosby, Young.
Scott, of Jones. O'Hara, Summers,
Mcdonald, and Patterson.
It will be seen from this arrange
ment that all the parts of the Consti-
tuition are undergoing scrutiny at the
same time, and from the character OF
the leading members of the committees
it may be safely assumed that the
scrutiny will be close and thorough.
In addition to these committees there
is another called the Committee on
Revision. The plan of the Convention
is to perfect each article of the Con-
stitution by itself, after which it will
be referred to the Committee on Re-
vision, whose duty it shall be to report
upon the Constitution as whole, SO
that there shall be no conflict between
the provisions of the different Arti-
cles, but accord and harmony. One
of tie chief evils of the Constitution
as it now stands, is the want of harmo-
ny and agreement between its parts.
AS was to have been expected, the
Committee on Revision is a very able
one indeed. We venture to say that
it is without superior in the annals
of legislation in North Carolina. 1t
consists of Messrs. Reid, Clingman,
Manning, of Chatham, Bennett, Turn
er, Durham, Morehead. Shober, Mo
Corkle, Dockery, Coleman, Barringer,
Tourgee, and Albertson.
Each ordinance amending the Con.
stitution is, after its final passage, re-
ferred to the Committee on Revision
When, therefore, the report of this
Committee shall have been made and
acted upon, the work of the Commit
tee will have been done. So much fol
the way in which the Convention is do
ing its work. And now word as tt
what has been done, and as to wha
will probably be done.
ART. I. Preamble and Bill of Right.
In the first Article, Or that contain
ing the Preamble and Bill of Rights
no change has as yet been actually
ordered. There is little doubt however
that amost important one will be made
by striking out the 37th Section of the
Bill of Rights as it now stands. Under
this Section the Legislature is q body
of limited powers, such only as are ex
pressly granted to it in the Oonstitu
ton, and when it shall be stricken out
the Legislature will be restored to the
sovereignty it possessed in former
TINES. The section is appropriate
enough in the United States Constitu
ton, but utterly out of place in State
Constitution, and subversive of the
theory upon which State Government
is established. There seems to be nc
doubt the Section will be stricken out
ART. IL. Legislative Department.
The pay of the Legislature has beer
fixed at ten cents per mile, and fou,
dollars per day for sixty days, after
which, if the session continues, the
members receive no pay whatever
Another change fixes the first Wednes