Mr. FORWARD, of Allegheny, said that the amendment offered by the gentleman from Beaver, and also that offered by the delegate from Lancaster, were very important, and should not be disposed of, without full, and deliberate consideration. He would therefore, move, that the committee now rise, report progress, and ask leave to sit again.

The question being taken, it was decided in the affirmative.

A division being demanded, there appeared-Ayes, 52-Noes, 35. The committee then rose and reported progress; and the Convention then adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 1837.

Mr. MEREDITH, of Philadelphia, presented a memorial from the citizens of the city of Philadelphia, praying for a Constitutional interdict against the passage of any laws creating lotteries, which was laid on the table.

Mr. MARTIN, of Philadelphia, submited the following resolution, which was laid on the table:

Resolved, That the Convention do adjourn on Saturday, the first of July next, to meet again on Thursday, the twenty-seventh of July.

Mr. SILL submitted the following resolution, which was agreed to:

Resolved, That the use of this Hall be granted to-morrow evening, for the purpose of hearing a Lecture from Mr. HOLBROOK, on the best means of supplying the Schools in Pennsylvania, with qualified instructors.

Mr. MEREDITH submited the following resolution, which was laid on the table:

Resolved, That the resolution passed on the 12th instant, rescinding so much of the twenty-third rule, as forbids the previous question in committee of the whole, be rescinded.

Mr. COPE presented a report from the committee of accounts, which was read twice, and agreed to.

THIRD ARTICLE.

The Convention again resolved itself into a committee of the whole, on the third article of the Constitution, Mr. KERR, of Washington, in the Chair.

The question pending, being on the motion of Mr. HEISTER, to amend the amendment of Mr. MARTIN, by inserting after the word "crimes", the words "and persons declared non compotes mentis, lunatics, or habitual drunkards, so long as they shall be under the guardianship, that is, or may be, provided by law in such cases".

Mr. HIESTER modified his motion, so as to read as follows, viz:

"And also, persons declared to be non compotes mentis, lunatics, or habitual drunkards".

Mr. DICKEY, of Beaver, said he had hesitated before he had offered his amendment, for he knew the committee were weary. But he was satisfied that something like a registry was necessary to ensure the purity of elections, and prevent frauds. That consideration induced him, yesterday,

to offer this amendment in the shape in which he did present it. But he now believed that it would take up too much of the time of the committee. He would, therefore, withdraw his amendment at this time, and offer it on the second reading.

The committee then rose, and reported the report of the committee, with amendments, as follows:

The first section was amended to read as follows:

"In elections by the citizens, every freeman of the age of twenty-one years, having resided in the State one year, and if he had previously been a qualified elector of this State six months, and another two years, paid a State or county tax, which shall have been assessed at least ten days before the election, shall enjoy the rights of an elector: Irovided, That freemen, citizens of the United States, between the ages of twentyone and twenty-two, and having resided in this State one year before the election, shall be entitled to vote, although they shall not have paid taxes".

The report of the committee of the whole, was then laid on the table. Mr. FULLER, of Fayette, moved that the Convention resolve itself into a committee of the whole, on the sixth article of the Constitution.

Mr. EARLE, of Philadelphia, moved to amend the motion, by striking out the word "sixth", and inserting the word "fifth".

Mr. STEVENS, of Adams: The gentleman has a right to lecture his friends.

Mr. EARLE: I would make a point of order. Is not the fifth article a special order, which cannot be dispensed with, but by a vote of twothirds?

The PRESIDENT; It was a special order, but was postponed.

[At the request of Mr. READ, of Susquehanna, that part of the journal which contains the record of the postponement of the special order, was then read.]

Mr. FULLER, said he had made the motion with a view to dispose of the subject, which was partly considered, wishing to get through that part of the Constitution. But he would now modify the motion, so as to make

it read "fifth".

Mr. DICKEY, of Beaver, moved to strike out "fifth", and insert "sixth”. This motion was decided to be not in order.

Mr. EARLE asked for the yeas and nays, on the motion of Mr. FULLER. Mr. MEREDITH called for the order of the day, being the sixth article, which had the precedence.

Mr. EARLE moved to postpone the order of the day.

Mr. STERIGERE considered this to be a motion which did not necessarily require a vote of two-thirds. A majority was at all times sufficient to negative a motion.

Mr. DENNY, of Allegheny, suggested that a very important proposition, submited by the gentleman from the county of Philadelphia, (Mr. INGERSOLL,) was under consideration.

Mr. EARLE withdrew his motion to postpone the order of the day.

Mr. MANN, of Montgomery, asked for the yeas and nays on the motion to proceed to the order of the day, being the sixth article of the Con

The question being on proceeding to the order of the day, it was decided in the affirmative, as follows:

YEAS.—Messrs. Agnew, Ayres, Baldwin, Barndollar, Barnitz, Bayne, Bell, Biddle, Brown, of Lancaster, Chandler, of Chester, Chauncey, Clarke, of Beaver, Cleavinger, Cochran, Cope, Cox, Craig, Cunningham, Darlington, Denny, Dickey, Doran, Dunlop, Farrelly, Forward, Fry, Fuller, Gearhart Hastings, Henderson, of Allegheny, Henderson, of Dauphin, Hopkinson, Houpt, Konigmacher, Krebs, Long, M'Sherry, Meredith, Merrill, Montgomery, Pollock, Porter, of Lancaster, Purviance, Reigart, Royer, Russell, Baeger, Scott, Serrill, Scheetz, Sill, Snively, Stevens, Thomas, Todd, Weidman, White, Young, Sergeant, President-59.

NAYS.--Messrs. Banks, Bigelow, Bonham, Brown, of Northampton, Brown, of Philadelphia, Chambers, Clark, of Duphin, Clarke, of Indiana, Coates, Crain, Cummin, Curll, Darrah, Dickerson, Dillinger, Earle, Fleming, Foulkrod, Gamble, Gilmore, Grenell, Hayhurst, Helffenstein, Hiester, Hyde, Jenks, Keim, Kennedy, Kerr, Lyons, Maclay, Magee, Mann, Martin, M'Cahen, M'Call, M'Dowell, Miller, Myers, Overfield, Porter, of Northampton, Read, Riter, Ritter, Rogers, Sellers, Seltzer, Shellito, Smith, Smyth, Sterigere, Stickel, Swetland, Taggart, Woodward-55.

SIXTH ARTICLE.

The Convention then resolved itself into a committee of the whole on the sixth article of the Constitution. Mr. CHAMBERS, of Franklin, in the Chair.

So much of the report of committee as relates to the first section being under consideration, as follows:

SECTION 1. Sheriffs and coroners shall at the times and places of election of Representatives be elected by the citizens of each county, one person shall be elected for each office. They shall hold their offices for a term of three years, and until a successor be duly qualified, but no person shall be twice elected sheriff in any term of six years. Vacancies in either of the said offices shall be filled by an appointment to be made by the Governor, to continue until the next general election, and until a successor shall be elected and qualified as aforesaid. The certificate of the return judges of the election of sheriff, or coroner, shall confer all the powers heretofore confered on sheriffs and coroners by the commissions issued by the Governor.

Mr. BELL, of Chester, moved to amend the report of the committee, so as to make the same read as follows:

SECTION 1. Sheriffs and coroners shall at the times and places of elections of Representatives be chosen by the citizens of each county. One person shall be chosen for each office, who shall be commissioned by the Governor. They shall hold their offices for three years, if they shall so long behave themselves well, and until a successor be duly qualified, but no person shall be twice chosen or appointed sheriff in any term of six years. Vacancies in either of the said offices shall be filled by an appointment to be made by the Governor, to continue until the next general election, and until a successor shall be chosen and qualified as aforesaid.

Mr. DUNLOP, of Franklin, suggested that the eleventh section embraced all necessary security.

Mr. BELL was aware of the provision in the eleventh section, but it did not meet his view according to the provision of the existing Constitution, the Governor is to appoint the sheriffs, and to take security, before the commission is issued. It was provided by the new Constitution that the certificate of the return judges should stand in the place of the commission.

instant the sheriff enters on his office. By the eleventh section he is to give security for the faithful discharge of his duties. His purpose might be reached in another way, and if so he would be willing to waive his motion at present.

Mr. FORWARD said the difficulty suggested by the gentleman from Chester, (Mr. B.LL) would arise with regard to every officer. We had better introduce a general provision, that all officers shall give the requisite security before they enter upon the duties of their office. This provision ought to be general, and all officers should be required to give security before assuming their offices, except judicial officers.

Mr. BROWN, of Philadelphia county, moved an amendment which the CHAIR decided to be out of order.

Mr. READ, said with regard to the amendment of the gentleman from Chester, it was not worth while spending time upon it, because the object proposed to be attained is correct and proper, but, at the same time, it is fully provided for in the eleventh section as reported by the committee, which reads as follows: "all officers shall give such security for the faithful discharge of their respective duties as shall be directed by law". A difficulty which seems to have presented itself to gentlemen, is, that the moment the certificate of the return judges is signed, these officers become sheriffs or coroners, as the case may be. Now this did not appear to him to be the case, when it was provided in this same article that all officers, before they enter upon the duties of their offices, shall give security for the faithful discharge of the duties of their respective offices. eleventh section, which he had just read, would have the same effect as the amendment suggested by the gentleman from Allegheny (Mr. FORWARD,) and would in his opinion. cover every case which would arise. It was a pre-requisite that these officers must give such security, and it seemed to him to be a strange construction to suppose that they might enter upon the duties of their offices without fulfilling this provision. But, as the amendment of the gentleman from Chester could do no harm, and it was little difference whether it was agreed to or not, he would not take up the time of the committee arguing about it.

The

Mr. STERIGERE was gratified at the decision of the Chair, because it was bringing us back to something like order and regularity in business, which he hoped to see followed up through the remainder of the session. So far as regarded the amendment, he should vote against it; not because he was opposed to the principle contained in it, but because it was introducing too many provisions in relation to county officers. We might as well insert one general provision in the article, which will meet all the cases in relation to these county officers, and save the trouble of inserting a separate provision in every section. As to the number of taxable inhabitants in a county, being made a criterion for the number of officers to be appointed in that county, he was opposed to having any thing inserted in the Constitution in relation to it. All counties must have their officers, whether they have five thousand or two thousand taxable inhabitants, and he would leave the regulation as to the number of officers each county was to have, to be hereafter determined. He had given some attention to this subject, and had prepared an amendment, which he considered preferable to this, and would merely call the attention of gentlemen to it. It was to

his intention to submit it as an amendment, so soon as an opportunity of fered. This amendment, which he proposed submiting, provided for all county officers, and he had merely risen to call the attention of gentlemen to it.

Mr. MEREDITH said, the amendment, as introduced, contemplates the election of one sheriff, in the place of two, as is the present practice, and leaving it with the Governor to commission one of these persons. As to this part of it, he did not know that he would have any particular objection, but he could not now say, whether he would vote for it, as he considered it a matter of very little importance whether there was an alteration made in the Constitution in this respect or not, because it was generally understood, that the Governor will appoint the person who stands highest as to the number of votes received. He had done so in almost every instance since the adoption of the Constitution, and he could see no evil to result from it. But it appeared to him that the committee had gone to an unnecessary extent in carrying out this principle, when they provided for the abolition of the commission of the Governor. Now, he liked the idea of having the certificate of the return judges, but, at the same time, he would not dispense with the commission of the Governor. It appeared to him to be highly proper that a record of the appointment of these officers should be kept in different parts of the State, so that persons at a distance may have the opportunity of enquiry, at the proper office, to ascertain to whom a process was to be sent, or on whom it was to be served, in case the officer did not discharge his duty faithfully. This record would be preserved by having the commission of the sheriff recorded in the Secretary's office here, and in the clerk's office of the county to which he belonged; and access could easily be had to these records, whereas, if persons had to hunt after the certificates of return judges, some three or four years after the election was held, it might lead to great difficulty. The matter, too, of the sheriff's giving security, was of the highest importance to the people. It was a matter which should receive the closest scrutiny of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, who were to pass upon the security, because it frequently happened that those securities were called upon for the payment of money which came into the sheriff's hands, and which he is unable to pay. We know, now, that a sheriff cannot receive a commission, and enter upon the discharge of the duties of his office, until he has complied with the provisions of the law, and given security which is satisfactory to the Judges of the court of his county, and the Governor of the State. But when you employ the certificate of the return judges of the election, in lieu of a commission by the Governor, it may be a question whether that certificate is not the crowning operation-and fixes him in office from that moment, without any regard to the security he may be able to give. We all know that the Governor refuses to give a commission until bond and security are given, and he is satisfied that it is good and sufficient. He trusted that part of the old Constitution, at least, would be permitted to remain, so that we might have the additional guard of a commission, duly recorded, and the check of the Governor in issuing it. There was another objection which he had to this amendment, Suppose the case of a contested election of a sheriff, were the people to be bound by the mere certificate of the return judges? Or suppose that the return judges