vention, and his seat thereby vacated, I am directed by a vote of the Convention to request you, Gentlemen, to convene the qualified electors of your town as soon as may be with a due regard to notice, in order to their electing and deputing a Delegate to represent them in this Convention in the manner prescribed by the second section of the Act calling the Convention, adopted by the people on the second Monday of November, A. D. 1852. I am, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Secretary. The Report, inexpedient to take action upon the subject of filling such vacancies as may exist in this Convention from the different cities and towns in the Commonwealth, was accepted. The Report on the subject of the name-" The Commonwealth of Massachusetts," was passed over. On motion of Mr. FROTHINGHAM, of Charlestown, Ordered, That in all cases where notice is issued to the towns or cities in which vacancies exist, or shall hereafter exist, the Secretary be instructed to follow the form of notice issued to the town of Berlin. On motion of Mr. FRENCH, of New Bedford, THURSDAY, May 19, 1853. Met according to adjournment. Prayer was offered by the Chaplain. The Journal of yesterday was read. Mr. BUTLER, of Lowell, presented the Petitions of Benjamin King Brown, and others, of Watertown; Solomon Howe, and others, of Ware; B. G. Veazie, and others, of Randolph; and James S. Olcott, and others, of Lowell; severally in aid of the Petition of John W. Le Barnes, and others. Referred to the Committee on the Bill of Rights. On motion of Mr. CHURCHILL, of Milton, Ordered, That the Committee on Qualifications of Voters, be instructed to inquire into the expediency of so amending the Constitution as to provide that no person, who shall make, or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of any election, shall have a right to vote at such election, or be qualified to hold any office for which he shall be a candidate at such election. Ordered, That the same committee consider the expediency of excluding from the right of suffrage, and the right to hold any office of profit, or trust, all persons who may be convicted of bribery, larceny, or any infamous crime; all persons who forcibly, or by promises of reward, shall attempt to induce any voter to refrain from casting his vote, or shall attempt, in either of such ways, to procure votes for any candidate for office at any election hereafter to be held in this State; and all persons who shall give, or cause to be given, any illegal vote, knowing it to be such, at any election to be held in this State. On motion of Mr. THOMPSON, of Charlestown, Ordered, That the Committee on the House of Representatives consider the expediency of providing that the House consist of two hundred and eighty members, based upon ratable polls, to be elected in single districts, composed of contiguous territory, and of as nearly equal number of ratable polls as is practicable. On motion of Mr. LOTHROP, of Boston, Ordered, That the Committee to whom was referred so much of the Constitution as relates to Harvard College, inquire whether there are any reasons for having the members of the corporation of that college chosen by the legislature, which do not appertain in principle to the two other colleges in the Commonwealth; and whether it would not be expedient to provide that the members of the Boards of Trustees of these two other colleges, should also be chosen by the legislature, and that no one religious denomination, and no one political party, should have a majority in either of those Boards. Ordered, That the same committee inquire how much of the present property and available instrumentalities of education, possessed by Harvard College, may be traced to direct grants from the legislature, and how much has been received from private donations and benefactions; and to what extent, comparatively, in this respect, Harvard College differs from the two other colleges in the Commonwealth. Ordered, That the same committee consider the expediency of providing for the separation of all the colleges, now established in the Commonwealth, from any direct connection with the State, so that the legislature shall not elect all or any of the members of any of their Board of Corporation, Trustees, or Overseers, and so that these institutions shall only be so far connected with the State, as to be subject to the same general laws, duties, liabilities and penalties that attach to all other corporate franchises. Ordered, That the same committee consider whether it be expedient or practicable to provide that Harvard College, and all other colleges now existing, or that may hereafter be established in this Commonwealth, shall be so incorporated with the general system of public instruction, through primary, grammar and high schools, now sustained by the State, as that the annual expenses of these colleges, so far as those expenses exceed the income of the funds and endowments now possessed and held by them, or that may be hereafter possessed and held by them, shall be met by a general tax, and by such appropriations as the legislature may see fit from time to time to make—and that every male child throughout the Commonwealth, who, upon examination, shall be found duly qualified, shall be at liberty, at any time between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one years, to enter either of these colleges, and enjoy their advantages and receive their honors or degrees, without any charge for tuition, lectures, use of library, college-rooms or text-books. On motion of Mr. HOOPER, of Fall River, Ordered, That the Committee on the Judiciary inquire into and report upon the expediency of so amending the Constitution, as to provide, that whenever a vacancy shall occur on the Bench of the Supreme Court, such vacancy shall be filled by an election at large, by the qualified voters in the State, for a term of years equal to the whole number of judges in said court, unless two or more vacancies shall occur in one and the same year; in that case the term of service for which each shall be elected shall be specified by the governor when ordering the election, so that the term of service of no two shall expire in any one year, but that one shall be elected every year when the seats of the present incumbents shall have been vacated. Also, that said committee consider and report upon the expediency of electing the chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas by an election at large, by the qualified voters of the State, for a term of five years, and that the other judges of the same court be elected by districts, into which the State shall be divided for that purpose, and for the election of councillors; each judge so elected to hold his office for five years, and no two to be elected in any one year unless it shall be for the purpose of filling a vacancy. On motion of Mr. BUTLER, of Lowell, Ordered, That the Secretary of the Commonwealth be requested to furnish, for the use of the Convention, a table containing the names of all the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, arranged in the order of the number of their population by the census of 1840, and also of 1850, with the population of each, with the aggregate number of votes cast at the gubernatorial election of 1850 by each, and the aggregate number of voters on the voting list of each, and the number of Delegates to which each city and town is entitled in this Convention. On motion of Mr. CUSHMAN, of Bernardston, Ordered, That the Committee on the Council consider the expediency of so amending the Constitution, that the Council shall consist of five persons, to be elected by the people in single Councillor Districts; and that eight contiguous Senatorial Districts shall constitute one Councillor District. The PRESIDENT presented the Credentials of Mr. Deming, of Sheffield, and Mr. Stutson, of Sandwich, which were ordered to be placed on file. Mr. WALKER, of North Brookfield, from the Committee on the Qualifications of Voters, submitted a Report on that subject. Referred to the Committee of the Whole, and ordered to be printed. Mr. HALE, of Boston, at his request, and by reason of his engagements upon another committee, was excused from serving upon the Committee upon the subject of Reporting and Publishing the Proceedings and Debates of the Convention. On motion of Mr. GOURGAS, of Concord, the Convention proceeded to the consideration of the Orders of the Day. The first subject, being the Report of the Committee on the Frame of Government, on the name "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts," was referred to the Committee of the Whole. On motion of Mr. THOMPSON, of Charlestown, the Convention resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, for the purpose of considering the Resolves on the subject of the Senate, and the President requested Mr. Morton, of Taunton, to take the chair. Afterwards, Mr. MORTON reported to the Convention that the Committee of the Whole had had under consideration the subject referred to them, had made some progress therein, but had come to no conclusion, and had instructed him to ask leave to sit again. And leave was accordingly granted. On motion of Mr. SCHOULER, of Boston, the amendments offered to the Report on the Senate in Committee of the Whole, by Mr. Bradford, of Essex, were ordered to be printed. And, at ten minutes before six o'clock, FRIDAY, May 20, 1853. Met according to adjournment. Prayer was offered by the Chaplain. The Journal of yesterday was read. On motion of Mr. FOSTER, of Charlemont, Ordered, That the Committee on the Frame of Government be instructed to inquire into the expediency of adding to the Constitution a provision, that the marriage contract shall not change the legal relation which the wife sustains to the ownership and disposal of the property which she possessed before marriage, or may legally acquire afterwards, by inheritance or otherwise. Ordered, That the Committee on the Encouragement of Literature be instructed to consider the expediency of so amending the Constitution, that the State shall provide, or know that provision is made by private bounty, as liberally for the education of her daughters as for her sons, so far as the female character and condition require; that physical, moral, literary, and scientific education be made as accessible and as cheap to our daughters as to our sons, so far as the thirst and capacity of our daughters for education, the true interests and glory of Massachusetts, and the supply of that rapidly increasing demand for educated and highly educated females, requires; that such provision be made within the following ten years, and after, and be made in connection with and in some proportion to private endowments, since there is a reasonable expectation that private bounty will be directed, in an eminent degree, more than it has been to the superior education of the daughters of Massachusetts. On motion of Mr. KNIGHT, of Leicester, Ordered, That the Committee on the Bill of Rights be instructed to consider the expediency of so amending that part of the Constitution, as to provide that every citizen of this Commonwealth be at liberty to pursue any business, trade, or employment for a livelihood, being responsible for the abuse of that privilege, and that no law shall impair that right. |