The climax. [volume] (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1887-1897, 1890-11-19
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.

Delegate Curtis F. Burnam from Madi-
son, offered an amendment to the Bill of
Rights as follows: 'Nor shall Danish
ment from the State be ever enforced as
a punishment for crime" 1t was a wise
provision and should have been adopted,
but was lost. In support of his amend
ment Mr. Burnam said;
Il cannot see with what kind fproprie-
ty we can undertake to send off wicked
men, who have violated the laws of Ken
lucky, to depredate upon the peace Of dis
tant communities. l recollect in 1888
there was a law passed by the Legislature
which prohibited the importation of slaves
into Kentucky as merchandise. There
| never was law which caused more excite
ment in the Commonwealth than that. 1t
was the ground of one of the most distin
| guished debates that ever occurred in the
/ Commonwealth, between Robert Wick
life, ST., of Lexington, and the late DIR.
Robert ]. Breckenridge. The ground of
the opposition to that law was this that
while men might be permitted to 90 and
buy a negro servant to wait on their fami
lies, yet the purpose of the law was to pro-
hibit the introduction into this State of dis
eased and wicked slaves, which was class
of negroes men would always be too ready
to throw on the market as merchandise.
And the law, Notwithstanding the tremen-
dOus pro-slaverY feeling in Kentucky, was
at all times upheld. And say it without
any feeling in favor of this particularly,
! that it seems to me there is reason for it.
l think when we undertake to say a man
shall be punished in Kentucky for violat-
/ ing our laws. we should see that the proper
remedy is applied, and that he is not sent
away to prey on other people"
Delegate Burnam opposed the amend
ment requiring a two-thirds majority in
the Legislature to pass bill over theveto
of the Governor, and in support of his
opposition said:
MY opinion is that the proposition as
laid down in this Committees report ought
to remain unchanged /; and I will say to
my friend from the county of Boyd that l
can see no improperly in retaining it here
notwithstanding the Legislative Commit
tee have reported that call of the yeas
and nays should be had upon the passage
of every bill. When such bill has gone
to the Governor of Kentucky for his ap-
PrOval or disapproyal, he sends it back
with his objections to its becoming law.
| The object of the veto is to prevent hastY
or imprudent legislation, or legislation that
has been surrePtitiOusly or improperly Sc
! cured an my opinion is that when he has
done that, and still, on a second call of the
yeas and nays in both Houses, a clear ma
| jority say that they wish the bill passed,
his objections to the contrary notwith-
standing, that is enough. I belonged,
when l was a young man, to what was
known as the Old-Line, SilverGray Hen
~ Clay Wings, and instead Ofmaking the
Constitution of Kentucky conform to that
of the United States, should greatly pre-
fer to see the United States Constitution
conform to ours in this respect. The veto
which rests in the Crown in Great Britain
has not been exercised, suppose, for a
hundred years. The Government would
not dare to do it. An expression by vote
of the House of Commons of a want of
confidence in the existing ministry kills the
party in power stone dead. There is
where the power rests, and where it ought
to rest. cannot conceive that any pOpu
lar gentleman in the House of Representa-
tives in the Kentucky Legislature would
be more apt to carry bill than the Gov
! ernor of the Commonwea It'll with his great
patronage. think it is proper to leave it
/ as it is"
The amendment was lost and rightly