|
|
This booklet presents to the citi-
zens of Maryland the Constitution
adopted by the Constitutional Con-
vention of Maryland. Signed by
delegates to the Convention on
January 10, 1968, the document
will be submitted to Maryland
voters for ratification on May 14,
1968. At this election Marylanders
will decide whether to substitute
this new Constitution for our pres-
ent Constitution. Believing that
the citizens of Maryland should
have full opportunity to study the
new Constitution carefully and to
compare it with the old Constitu-
tion before voting on May 14, the
Convention directed that this book-
let be prepared and distributed.
The decision facing Maryland
voters is of momentous importance
because it involves the basic docu-
ment which establishes the form of
the government that will serve and
protect the citizens of this State.
A constitution defines the relation-
ship between the people and their
government in addition to provid-
ing the structure and organization
of the government. It also guaran-
tees certain fundamental rights to
the people and provides them with
the means to change the structure
of the government if they so de-
sire. A constitution is thus often
referred to as the basic law, in con-
trast to the kind of detailed laws
that are passed by a legislative
body. The crucial test of a consti-
|
tution is not its age, but whether
the government which it creates
is able to solve the problems which
society faces. The question before
Marylanders on May 14 is which
constitution, the present one
adopted in 1867 or the one just
adopted by the Constitutional Con-
vention, will best serve and protect
present as well as future genera-
tions of Marylanders.
Our present Constitution, adopt-
ed over 100 years ago, was written
immediately after the Civil War
when sharp differences among
Marylanders were still very real.
Maryland at that time had an
agricultural economy and was
rural in environment. Her citizens
were not confronted with problems
created in this century by rapid
population growth and urbaniza-
tion. Not only were the problems
of a century ago less complex, but
citizens then had a quite different
attitude toward the role of govern-
ment. Today we look to the gov-
ernment for services such as air
and water pollution control, land
use regulation, urban renewal and
recreational facilities, but the citi-
zens of 1867 subscribed to the pre-
dominant 19th century political
philosophy that the best govern-
ment was that which governed
least. The 203 amendments which
have been made to our present
Constitution since 1867 demon-
strate the inability of our state
|
|
