Prothonotary,

Court,

Prothonotary,

Recorder, O'

Mr. PURVIANCE, of Butler, submited the following resolution, which was laid on the table, and ordered to be printed:

Resolved, That this Convention will adjourn sine die, when all the articles of the Constitution, tog ther with the report of the committee, providing a mode for future amendments, shal have been finally acted upon, and that it is inexpedient and unnecessary, at this time, to make any alterations or amendments, on the su' ject of corporations, the currency, public highways, eminent domain, state debt. lotteries, bank of the United States, secret societies, abolishment of capital punishment, exoneration of so iety of Friends from payment of militia fines, extension of trial by jury to fugitive slaves, and abolishment of imprisonment for debt.

SIXTH ARTICLE.

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

The question pending, being on the amendment of Mr. BELL, to the amendment of Mr. STERIGERE, as follows, viz: to strike out from the ninth line the words "provided by law", and insert in lieu thereof the words, "At the several periods of making the enumeration of the taxable inhabitants, mentioned in section four, article first, designate by law".

The question was taken, and the motion to amend was decided in the negative.

Mr. DUNLOP, of Franklin, moved to amend the amendment, by striking from the seventh line the word "three", and inserting in lieu thereof the word "five". He thought the fixing of so short a term was too great a belittling of the officer, while nothing of advantage was gained by the people. The best officer in Franklin county had held his office for twentyfour years. He was a man to whom lawyers and judges could refer as to the practice of the court, whose accuracy, industry and efficiency had never been called in question. Another Prothonotary had, for ten or twelve years, executed the duties of his office, with a degree of urbanity, ability and industry, which had given entire satisfaction to every one.These gentlemen had held their offices, for the length of time he had stated, in Franklin county, and there had never been a complaint breathed against them. Experience in offices of this kind gave the officer a facility not to be otherwise acquired, and a knowledge of the practice of the courts and the course of legislation, which commanded the respect and confidence of the people. Such men would not agree to hold their offices against the consent of the people, or with the liability to be turned out. The of ficers must be made respectable, and respect was the result of probity, ability and experience, in office. All may have a chance, if short terms are established, but the public interests will not be benefited; on the contrary, the people would be losers. To fill the office of Prothonotary equires a man of experience, and knowledge of the practice of courts, of the modes of making entries, of the different writs, and the various forms and formula in law. Sometimes he is required to modify the regular forms, and sometimes to issue process in terms not prescribed in the formula. In such situation, every new officer must be sometimes at a loss, He did not expect the committee would agree to his amendment. It was A matter of indifference to him, if they did or not; he had considered it to be his duty to offer it. If gentlemen would read over the amendment, bay would see that it could not stand as it is. The last words in the

seventh line run thus: "They shall hold", &c. What "they"? Why, the Recorders of deeds, Clerks, &c. You will see the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court is to be appointed at the pleasure of the court. "They", therefore, does not apply to him. If there should be a vacancy in the clerkship of the Supreme Court, it would be filled by the Governor. So, that the court would appoint in the first instance, and the Governor would afterwards appoint. It was proper and right, that the appointments should be all from the same source. He did not know any thing which more conclusively shows, that the framers of the present Constitution new better what they were about than we do; and, if they ever were the apprentices of BLACKSTONE, they were superior to the journeymen of the present day It would be unnecessary to change any other than the sev enth line the parenthesis in line three being taken out. In the language of the old Constitution the style is logical, beautiful and simple, and this parenthetical style, which is introduced in the amendment, has a tendency to confuse; nothing entangles laws so much as parenthesis, and nothing perplexes judges so much, as to find in a proviso an enactment. Every gentleman who would take the trouble to look at the amendment of the gentleman from Montgomery, (Mr. STERIGERE) must be satisfied, that it cannot be adopted in the language in which it is couched. He was satisfied, that the arrangement of the gentleman from Susquehanna, (Mr. READ) the chairman of the committee on the sixth article, would, at least, receive the approbation of the committee, and he was therefore willing to vote down this proposition, and take that gentleman's mode. He was anxious to see that brought forward. There would be no waste of time, and he was sorry to hear an apology on that score. So being, as the discussion was to the point, there was no waste of time, and no need of apology. He did not wish, when the Constitutional amendments were sent forth, to have them sent in such a form as to be subject to the criticism of every whipster of a printer's boy. We had been too apt to neglect verbal criticism, which required no ordinary share of talent and discrimination, Mr. STEVENS reminded the gentleman from Franklin, that he had taken up the rough printed copy of the amendment, as it was originally offered, and not as it had been subsequently amended. He would see, on reference, that the language had been changed. The exception comes in in less words; there is less verbiage than in the half dozen sections. The amendment must conform to the style of the original section. Mere verbal criticism was not all that was required to make an amendment sensible. He knew that they should be obliged, after the whole had gone through the committee of the whole, to appoint a committee of grammarians. It would be impossible, in the progress of amendment, to put in that ornate language which is fit for a Constitution. All we could do now was to adopt principles, and adapt the language afterwards.

Mr. DUNLOP said, this explanation did not remove his objection; he had no doubt as to the object of the gentleman from Adams.

Mr. EARLE, of Philadelphia, called the gentleman from Franklin to order, on the ground that he was discussing the language of the Constitu tion, instead of the motion before the committee.

The CHAIR decided, that the gentleman from Franklin was not out of order.

Mr. DUNLOP made a few verbal criticisms on the language of the amend

ment, in order to shew the necessity of amending it, to sustain and illustrate what he had before said.

Mr. CUMMIN had the honor, he said, to belong to the committee which reported on this subject, and he would offer a few remarks in relation to it. The subject had undergone considerable discussion in committee, and the report was finally agreed on by a majority. The gentleman from Franklin was for life offices; he was not. He says it requires three years to give men qualifications necessary for the office of Prothonotary. I think the contrary. Experience was the best instructor, and he knew, from his own observation, that the gentleman's supposition, that many years' experience and practice were necessary to enable a person to discharge the duties of a Prothonotary, was unfounded. But, in the county of Juniata, when newly created, all the officers were new. We called a Prothonotary from the plough, and he discharged the duties to the satisfaction, both of the bar and the court. This man went from the plough, to the office, and remained there until he was removed by the Executive. The gentleman told us, that the office was filled in his county by two men for thirty-six years, and argued from it, that long experience was necessary to discharge its duties. But this was not the fact, as experience has proved. It was true, when a new officer came into court for the first time, he would be a little deficient. The gentlemen of the bar were always polite, and gave young Prothonotaries information to enable them to get through the business. He regreted the opposition made to this proposition. It appeared to him, that the labors of this body were to have no useful results; that, for any practical purpose, our proceedings would be a mere blank. We might as well give up at once, if we were to be met at every moment with such objections. We had a right to go on and do what the people asked us to do, and the files of this body would show that the people had called for this amendment-for the power of electing their officers for the term of three years, and then of re-electing them for three years more, if they had done well. They did not wish to give a monopoly of office to a few, and there would be no propriety in such a course. If there were two brothers equally competent, and meritorious, was it not right that one should have an equal chance with the other to enjoy the emolument, and the honor, of any particular office? Would it be right that one should hold on to the office, and that his brother should have no share, but that one should have all the profits? But, in members of the same community, we were all brethren, and were all equally enti tled to fill such offices of trust and emolument as we were qualified for.Who were they who refused to carry this principle into execution? The people would not bear them out, though their party might. He hoped this amendment would not pass, and that, in time to come, no more such amendments would be offered-particularly, as there was prevalent in the Convention an impatience of business, and a feverish anxiety to go home. The question was then put on Mr. DUNLOP's motion to amend, and deeided in the negative.

Mr. DUNLOP moved to strike out "three" and insert "five", which was also negatived.

Mr. MEREDITH, of Philadelphia, said, it seemed to be the opinion of the majority of the Convention, that the appointment of the clerks of courts should be taken from the Governor and given to the people. So

far as regards taking the appointment from the Governor, he agreed in the propriety of the course: but he disagreed on the subject of its being better in the hands of the people. That the appointments of the Executive have not been satisfactory to the people. has arisen from that fertile source of evils--party discipline. He did not believe that this discipline and party influence would be moderated by sending those officers to the people to be elected. He had confidence in the people in all parts properly subject to the immediate action of the people. As one of the people, as a member of that class of which he must feel proud--a freeman of Pennsylvania, he did not wish to have any share in the election of these officers. The old practice of appointment by the courts he considered to be the best. He thought it proper that the Judges should have the privilege of appointing their clerks. The records would be better preserved if the appointment of clerks be given to all the courts, as we were now prepared to give that privilege to the Supreme court. It would be admited that although a clerk might record a letter accurately, there are few who could make up a record of fifty years to make titles perfect which run back through that period. The last tenant may have lived beyond the reach of ordinary proof. He had known records taken from the pigeon holes, when it became necessary to make room, and thrown into the cellar. Judges are to be deprived of agency in reference to papers. The Prothonotary feels himself independent of them, and between him and the county commissioners, who have no interest in the security of records, they are arranged and disposed of. This was wrong. He did not believe the committee would agree with him, but he desired to take the sense of the body on an amendment which he would propose. He then moved to amend the amendment by striking therefrom in the first and second lines, the words "except the prothonotaries of the Supreme court who", and inserting the word "respective" in the second line, between the word "the" and the word "court”, and striking from the fif h and sixth lines the words, "or the districts over which the jurisdiction of said courts extends".

Mr. DORAN asked for the yeas and nays on this motion, and they were ordered.

Mr. DUNLOP said, there was a general disposition throughout Pennsylvania, to cut down the power of the Executive, to lessen the asperity of elections, and dilate the bitterness of party. It had been well remarked by the gentleman from Northampton, that the party which was likely to have the Governor was desirous to take away from him the power of appointment. He thought the majority party ought to take the amendment, because it would take the elections out of the hands of the minority who have the Governor.

With regard to parties, he held that the minority party were the business part of the community, and that they only make politics their pursuit when it will improve their business, and the moment the election has gone by, they continue their regular pursuits and do not meddle with the matter; but the majority party is composed of men of not so much business, and who have more time to wrangie for appointments. Then it seemed to him that those of the majority party ought to go for giving these appointments to the courts, who were appointed by a majority GoHe asserted that the great mass of the population were generally in error, and that it was not more than once in twenty years, when right

vernor.