Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1886-02-12
? Or T TOBACCO
The Constitutional Convention.

The Constitutional Convention.
We publish elsewhere a pretty full re
port Of the able speech Of Senator Edelen
in the Maryland Senete last Frsday on the
question of calling a constitutional con
vention. Mr. Edelen's speech is regarded
as the champion speech against an early
call tor such convention and in favor ci
following the mandate OF TIVE existing con-
stitution in regard thereto. 1t is said to
have been very able effort and Mr.. EIDE
len has received many compliments from
the State press favorable to the position
he took.
The position taken by Mr.. Edelen and
so ably advocated by him is not inconsist-
ent with that taken by the TINES couple
of months ago We thought, and sill
think, that there is no necessity existing
to warrant the Legislature in anticipating
the time fixed by the existing constitution
for a submission of the question of con-
stitutional convention to the people
We thought that the chief object TO be
effected by remodeling of the constii u-
ton was a reorganization of the Judiciary
system of the State. This is generally
conceded throughout the State to be neces-
sary and nowhere, we are sure, does the
proposition for a change find more univer-
sal favor than in this judicial circuit
That the chief appellate court of the State
should be an entirely independent tribu-
nal with no entang!lng alliances with the
subordinate courts upon whose judgments
it must pass, seems to be well establish
ed principal in the juridical history Of
this country. In several of the States IN
has been tried, ii has been found unsatis-
factory and has been changed so as to
make the appellate, and the nisi prius
courts separate and distinct ibunals -
This should he done in Maryland, end ii
constitutional convention were necessary
to accomplish this important object, one
should certainly be held.
But in former article the TIMES sug-
gested that this change could be as well
effected by iudicious amendment sub
mitted to the people by the present Legis-
lature. The present Assembly is body
of exceptionable ability and intelligence
and could doubtless be quie as able to
formulate new Judiciary system as con-
stitutional convention. Then let them
submit this and any other amendments
that may be deemed necessary to the peo-
pie, to be voted on at this falls election :;
and also comply with the mandatory pro-
visions of the present constitution in re-
gard to submit ting the question of con-
stitutloual convention to the people al the
general election of 1887. Then, if the
chief evils of the present constitution
should have been previously Topped off by
judicieus and well framed amendments
submitted and adopted at this falls gen.
eral election, the people would probably
decide at the general election in 1887 thai
no constitutional convention would be
necessary and thus save several hundred
thousand dollars of expense to the State.
It is true that the Governor in his mes
sage and the advocates of Senator Hayes's
early call bill in the Senate have pointed
out several other important particulars in
which the present constitution is objec-
tionablc, among them the provision for
ssuniform registration of voters" which in
1880 was deemed an obligatory cause for
running the State to the heavy expense ard
inconvenience Of making a new rsgistra
ton of all the voters Of all the counties in
order to cure evils which existed only
among the dense aad shifting voting pop
ulation of Baltimore city alone.
Mr.. Edelen thinks that this, like other
objections urged by the Governor and the
Senators who favor an early call. results
from a misunderstanding and wrong in
depreciation of the existing constitution.
It must be conceded, however, that though
this view was extensively advanced by the
county press in 1880, in which the TIMES
concurred, and in the Legislative debates
on the registration law passed in that
year, still Gov. Hamilton and the large
majority of the Legislature, after mature
conference with the Attorney General, de-
cided that the provision for a uniform re-
gis'ration made the great expense and
trouble of new registration in all the
counties as provided for in the registra-
ton law of that year, a necessity for the
purpose of curing evils which existed only
in the city of Baltimore. 1t is said that
we are threatened soon again with repe
tition of the burdensome law of 1880, IN
less some change be speedily made in the
existing constitutional regula ions IN that
regard.
If this be true, it certainly calls for a
prompt change of this feature of the con-
stitution: but why could not that also be
effected by an amendment.