ment you tell him that his quiet, orderly neigh-
bor, with whom he wishes to go to law, has to
pay a part of the expense—perhaps the greater
part of it—you give him a license—you in fact
offer him a premium to go to law, and instead of
diminishing litigation you actually increase it
by the cheapened process you adopt and the pre-
mium you offer to litigious persons to go to law.
Thirdly, If it be right to adopt this system, to
cheapen this process of litigation, then I take it
for granted, upon the universal principle that re-
duced price increases business—that we shall
have considerably increased revenues from those
offices—at all events, we are not likely to have
them diminished—in that case, the object of my
amendment is to secure any excess over and
above the fixed salary of the officer to the city
or county in which it originates for county pur-
poses. If the motion to reconsider prevails, I
will offer the following amendment ;
" And that any excess of fees over and above
the salary of such officer or officers shall be paid
into the county treasury for the use of said county.
Mr. RIDGELY said that the reason assigned by
the gentleman from Montgomery, for the recon-
sideration of the proposition, which he had the
honor to offer, and which by a very decided vote
of the Convention, was incorporated into the
Constitution, seemed to be not well founded.—
There was no part of that proposition which
contemplated the abolition of the fees of clerks.
Mr. DAVIS. The reduction of fees, I said.
Mr. RIDGELY said that there was no part of
that proposition which contemplated any change
whatever, in the taxes that were now collected
in the clerk's and register's offices in every
county. It simply proposed a change in the
mode of compensation. The Convention would
understand that the change was merely in the
mode of compensation. It proposed further to
give the Legislature the power to reduce the
costs and legal expenses, incident to litigation;
thus addressing the subject, entirely to the dis-
cretion of the general Assembly, in relation to
the whole matter; the Convention entirely avoid-
ing entering into the details of regulating this
question—leaving it where it properly belonged,
to the Legislature of the State. So far as regarded
the purposes for which it was proposed
to reconsider the proposition, to permit the
gentleman to incorporate into it a provision to
secure any excess over and above the salary of
the officer, to the city or county in which it was
paid—he must say that he was opposed to it.—
His [Mr R's.] object was to relieve the people
from the payment of the excessive taxes incident
to laws. The gentleman proposed to continue
this rate of taxation.
Mr. DAVIS. Not at all.
Mr RIDGELY said, that the gentleman pro-
posed to pay into the treasuries of the several
counties the excess over the reasonable amount
which might be paid to these officers as compen-
sation for their services. He (Mr. R.,) pro-
posed to leave it in the pockets of the people.
He hoped that the Convention understood the |
proposition and would refuse to agree to the mo-
tion of the gentleman from Montgomery.
Mr. BOWIE was rather inclined to think that
this fourty-first section was adopted by the Con-
vention without reference to some of the provi-
sions which were incorporated into the report of
the judiciary committee. He agreed with the
gentleman from Baltimore county, (Mr, Ridgely,)
in the necessity of some regulation, either by law
or constitutional provision, in regard to some of
the offices mentioned in section forty-one. For
instance, he thought that the office of Register of
Wills, should be made a salaried office, and that
all the fees of that office should be abolished He
considered it as a fair charge upon the different
counties of the State, and the city of Baltimore,
for every man's estate must necessarily go
through that office. Therefore, he conceived
that there was some propriety and reason in the
idea of miking it a common charge upon the
people. He agreed with his friend from Balti-
more county, that very great and serious com-
plaints were continually made by the people ill
reference to the fees of the Register of Wills.
But there was great difficulty in regard to the
Clerks of the county courts. The same reasons
would not apply to these officers as to the Regis-
ters of Wills. If they should make the Clerks of
the county courts salaried officers, they were
charging the whole public with the costs of litigation,
which would not be altogether fair or
just. If his friend would look at the report of
the judiciary committee, he would find that this
slate of things was provided for in that report.
He could not see the propriety of the counties
raising a tax upon the people for the purpose of
paying it into the State treasury, or county treasury,
and paying it but afterwards in the way of
salaries to the Clerks of the courts. The true
principle was to go to work, and cut down the
fees to a reasonable amount, or incorporate into
the Constitution a provision by which the Legis-
lature would be required to do this. The judi-
ciary committee had done this in their report, in
reference to the Registers of Wills, they had
provided that they should be salaried officers,
and that all fees should be abolished, because
they regarded it as a fair charge upon the people;
but in regard to the Clerks of the County Courts,
they had provided that it should be the duty of
the Legislature to prescribe some other mode,
uniform throughout the State, by which the fees
of this office should be graduated. All this was
very feasible and very practicable. But he could
not see the propriety nor justice of making the
Clerks of county courts salaried officers. As his,
friend from Montgomery had said, they would
be making those who did not litigate, pay the expenses
of those who did. if the report of the
judiciary committee, in this respect, should meet.
with the sanction of the Convention, he thought.
that the gentleman from Baltimore county, would
see that a great portion of the evil contemplated
would be provided for, and the objectionable part
could be stricken out. For these reasons, then,
they should reconsider the section, and confine
the remedy to the evils as they existed in point
of fact. |
