day. So that indirectly the Constitution of this State does fix the day for electing members of Congress. This clause was put in for the purpose of guarding against any confusion in the matter; in order that it might be generally understood that the election of members of Congress was to take place on that day. It is perfectly certain that it must take place on that day even without any such provision. It can do no harm to have it in, and it provides against any mistake as to the day of election. At the proper time I will move to amend by adding the words "unless the Legislature shall hereafter fix some other day."

Mr. CLARKE. The election for members of Congress does not properly take place this fall; not until this fall a year.

Mr. STIRLING. If the gentleman will examine the Code he will find that there is no authority to hold an election for members of Congress except upon the day for electing members of the General Assembly. Therefore no members of Congress can be elected this fall a year, because there will be no election for members of the General Assembly this fall a year.

Mr. CLARKE. This section provides for electing members of the Legislature on the first Wednesday of November, 1864. The Legislature will meet next January and then they can fix the time for electing members of Congress.

Mr. STIRLING. Members of the General Assembly wil be elected in November of this year, and then not again for two years thereafter.

Mr. CHAMBERS. It seems very manifest that by this section there is a per mp:ory order to hold the congressional election on the first Wednesday of November next. It does not provide, as the gentleman from Baltimore city (Mr. Stirling) seems to put it, that congressmen shall be elected on the same day that members of the Legislature are elected; that is not the phraseology. I do not want to interfere with the work of the committee. But I would suggest the propriety of so altering the last clause of this section so as to make it read that "the election fr representatives from this State in the Congress of the United States shall ta' e place on the same day that senators and delegates in the General Assembly are elected."

Mr. MILLER. This section as it now stands certainly changes the time of electing congressmen from this State for the present year. If we do not adopt this Constitution and the Code is left to govern the election, then there would be no election of members of Congress until this fall one year. But by the adoption of this Constitution we shall change entirely the time of electing the members of our General Assembly, and it puts ahead one year the elec ion of congressmen. The provision of the Constitution of the United States says

that the Legislature, and the Legislature alone. shall have the power to fix the day on whi h representatives in Congress shall be elected. Now can this Convention, by the adoption of a provision in this Constitution, nullify that provision of the Constitution of the United States, and declare that the election of members of the General Assembly shall be at a different time from that which now exists, and therefore make the day for electing members of Congress different from what the Legislature has now fixed?

Mr. STIRLING. I do not say that I admit what gentlemen on the other side have said. But the Legislature of this State, in fixing the day for e'ecting members of Congress, has fixed it in such a manner as to leave it necessarily to be determined by this Convention. It says it shall take place on the day for electing members of the General Assembly. Now, if the Constitution changes that day, then, ex vi termini, the legislative enactment in regard to members of Congress applies to that day.

Mr. MILLER. The present legislation was made in view of the existing Constitution of the State; not in view of the Constitution to be made here. Now it is proposed here to change the Constitution so as to put the election of our meinbers of Cong:ess one year ahead of the time at which they are to take their seats. Our practice in Maryland has always been to elect them in the fall of the year in which Congress meets. But under this provision, our representatives in Congress will have to be elected on the first Wednesday of November next. When will they take their seats in Congress? Not until the year following, because the members now elected hold over until the fourth of March next.

Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. If a special session of Congress is called, then they will take their seats on the fifth of March next.

Mr. MILLER It is proposed under a provision of this Constitution to have an election this fall for members of Congress, who will not take their seats until a year after their election. The circumstances of the country are such that I do not desire to change the time of electing members of Congress. I want them to represent the re ple as nearly as possible at the time at which they are to serve in the Congress to which they are elected.

Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. I have prepared an amendment to this section which I desire to submit. As the section now stands, it reads

"The first election for senators and delegates shall take place on the first Wednesday of November, 1864." I propose to amend by striking out the words "first Wednesday" and inserting the words "Tuesday next after the first Monday of the month." The clause will then read-The first election of senators and delegates shall take place on the

Tuesday next after the first Monday of the month of November, 1864."

There may be a little infelicity in that phraseology; but it is the precise phraseology of the act of Congress of 1845, in reference to the appointment of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States. This perhaps is as good a year to illustrate the matter as we shall ever have. The Tuesday next after the first Monday, is, of course, not necessarily the first Tuesday in the month. It so happens that this year Tuesday is the first day of November; and the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November is the eighth day of the month. Therefore, if the section reported by the committee be adopted, we should have an election for State officers and senators and delegates upon the first Wednesday of November, being the second day of the month; and then within less than a week, on the following Tuesday, we should have an election for presidential electors. I therefore move to strike out the words "first Wednesday," and insert the words, Tuesday next after the first Monday of the month." That will bring the elections for State and national officers on the same day.

The question being then taken, the amendment of Mr. STOCKBRIDGE was agreed to.

Mr. CLARKE, I move to further amend this section by striking out the last clause, being the following words :

"And the election for representatives from this State in the Congress of the United States shall take place on the same day."

My attention has been called to this subject simply upon the reading of the section this morning. I will submit what views I have formed thus hastily in reference to this provision of this section. It now reads-" The election for representatives from this State in the Congress of the United States shall take place on the same day." The first clause of section four, article one, of the Constitution of the United States provides

"The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof."

My first objection to the proposed provision in our Constitution is that it is transcending our power under the Constitution of the United States. We have taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States. One of the most express and clear provisio s of that Constitution is that the Legislature shall fix the time for electing senators and representatives in Congress. The naming the Legislature of the State is, of course, an exclusion of the Constitutional Convention, or any other body in the State, other than the Legislature, undertaking to fix the day of election. That proposition appears to be too clear for argument. We are, by this provision, undertaking to violate the Constitution of the United States, and to assume a power

which the Constitution of the United States in direct terms gives to another authority in the State. And I might say further that the expression of this power in one body operates to the exclusion of the power to all other bodies. When gentlemen undertake to form a Constitution for the State, and deal with high questions of constitutional law, it will not do to say that it makes no difference in changing the time. We are here to act as men who know our rights under the Constitution, and our obligations, too. We are here called upon to assume a power which the Constitution of the United States does not give us. And I oppose this provision upon the ground that it would be a violation of the Constitution of the United States, and an assumption upon the part of this Convention of a power which it has no right to exercise.

It is replied that the provision of the code brings the day of ele ting members of Congress upon the same day that is fixed by this provision. And hence we do not change the time; we do not at all violate our duties in inserting this provision in our Constitution. Section 76, of the code, on page 271, is as

follows:

"The election of representatives of this State in the Congress of the United States, shall be on the same day as the election for members of the General Assembly of this State, unless there should be a special meeting of Congress called by the President of the United States, to be holden previous to such day, and after the expiration of the term of service of said representatives; in which event the Governor shall, by proclamation, direct such election to be held on a day therein named by him."

I turn now to the first clause of section two, of article one, of the Constitution of the United States, which reads as follows:

The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States; and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the Sate Legislature."

Now, when was there an election in the State of Maryland for members of Congress? There was an election last fall. and the clause of the Constitution of the United States which I have just read provides that they shall be chosen every second year. Now, if we undertake in violation of the power we have under the fourth section of the first article of the Constitution of the United States, what right is there under the Constitution of the United States to elect members of Congress at that time?

Mr. STIRLING. I will put this question to the gentleman: Suppose an election was held, as in this State last fall, for members of Congress; and after the terms of those members

ave expired, but not two years after the last fall election, a special session of Congress is

Mr. CLARKE. Certainly; but after the term of service has expired then there is a vacancy, just as if the member has resigned his seat.

Mr. STIRLING. Does not Maryland stand almost alone in electing members of Congress at so late a day ?

Mr. CLARKE. Yes, sir; but they elect at intervals of two years. I do not know when other States made their change. But the change can be made in this State by the Legislature so as to gradually bring the time to the same as in other States. The coming Legislature can provide for holding the election at any time, if an interval of two years is allowed to take place.

But this provision brings about annual elections of members of Congress; and that is done by the action of this Constitutional Convention.

In reply to my objection that the Legislature only had the power to fix the day of election of members of Congress, the gentleman from Baltimore city (Mr. Stirling) says that this provision brings the day of election on the same day on which it would take place if there was no such clause in the Constitution. But when we come to look at the subject we find that there is a change; that the election of members of Congress will not take place at the time when it would take place as regulated by the Legislature.

Furthermore, I refer to that provision of the Constitution of the United States, which says that members of Congress shall be elected every two years. We had an election for members of Congress last fall. Now, it will be a violation of the Constitution of the United States for us to provide here for an election next fall.

year.

second year, but at an annual election. Now, I do not raise the question here as to whether they would be entitled to hold their seats, for that will be raised by the body in which they will claim a right to take seats.

Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. May I ask the gentleman whether more than two full years will not have elapsed on the 8th of November next since the last election was held?

Mr. CLARKE. I think not. We have never elected members of Congress until November. I should like to see how the gentleman will prove it.

The PRESIDENT. It is the difference between the first Wednesday and the first Tuesday after the first Monday, I suppose.

Mr. CLARKE. I have not gone through the calculation. I understand that the years go from election to election. The first Wednesday from the first Tuesday after the first Monday amounts, I suppose, to full 365 days. If it were less than 365 days it would not be a year.

Mr. STOCKBRIDGE. The law provides that the election of representatives to Congress, shall be on the same day as the election of members of the General Assembly. The Constitution provides that the e'ection of delegates shall take place on the first Wednesday of November. This year the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November comes on the 8th; and the first Wednesday can never be so late in the month as,the 8th.

Will gentle

Mr. CLARKE. No, sir; I think i cannot. But this is only in relation to one branch of my argument. When we turn to the code, we find that the Constitution has changed the period of the election of members of the General Assembly; and the Constitution undertakes therefore to change the day of the election of members of Congress. I would like to know why this is done. men give us some valid reason for it? There is a clear provision in the Constitution that the Legislature shall fix the time. Why are we to violate the provision of the Constitution of the United States? Why are we to assume a power not given us, but expressly prohibited us by the Constitution of the United States? We have been told here over and over again of our duty to the Constitution of the United States, and that our paramount allegiance is due to the Federal Gov

Mr. STIRLING. I think I can save the gentleman some trouble with regard to this argument. I have heard no one claim that this Convention has any power to fix the time. Mr. CLARKE. Why then is this put in? Mr. STIRLING. I claim distinctly that the Legislature in the exercise of its power has named no specific day; but has said that the election shall take place on that day on which by the Constitution of the State the election of delegates takes place. This body have