WEDNESDAY, May 11, 1853.

Met according to adjournment. Prayer was offered by the Chaplain. The Journal of yesterday was read.

On motion of Mr. STRONG, of Easthampton,

Ordered, That the Committee under the 13th Resolution, be instructed to consider the expediency of so amending the Constitution as to exempt from attachment on mesne process so much of the freehold estate of every citizen of this Commonwealth as shall amount to the sum of five hundred dollars; and report thereon.

On motion of Mr. EARLE, of Worcester,

Ordered, That the Committee under the 9th Resolution, consider and report on the expediency of so amending the Constitution as to provide that all officers recognized by the portions of the Constitution referred to them shall be elected by direct vote of the people.

On motion of Mr. CUSHMAN, of Bernardston,

Ordered, That the Standing Committee to whom was referred so much of the Constitution as relates to the General Court, be directed to consider the expediency of so amending the Constitution that no session of the legislature shall continue a longer time than one hundred days, and that each member of the Senate and House of Representatives shall receive for his compensation a sum not exceeding two hundred dollars per annum.

On motion of Mr. WILSON, of Natick,

Ordered, That the Committee on the Frame of Government and the Legislative Power, be instructed to consider the expediency of incorporating into the section on the Legislative Powers, the following provisions:

The members of the legislature shall receive for their services a compensation to be fixed by law, and paid out of the public treasury; but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the term for which the members of either House shall have been elected.

No senator or representative shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office, by the governor or the legislature; nor shall any senator or representative be appointed, by the governor or the legislature, within one year after his term shall have expired, to any office which shall have been cre

ated, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during such term.

A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each House may provide.

No private or local bill which may be passed by the legislature, shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title; and no law shall be revised or amended by reference to its title; but, in such case, the act revised, or the section amended, shall be re-enacted and published at length.

On motion of Mr. CHURCHILL, of Milton,

Ordered, That the Committee on the Qualifications of Voters, be instructed to inquire into the expediency of so amending the Constitution as to provide for the freedom of the ballot, in conformity with the provisions of the Act entitled "An Act for the better security of the Ballot," passed in 1851, and the Act in addition thereto, passed

in 1852.

On motion of Mr. HALL, of Haverhill,

Ordered, That the Committee on the Secretary, Treasurer, &c., be instructed to inquire into the expediency of recognizing, in the Constitution, an additional officer, to be designated as Auditor or Comptroller, and report thereon.

On motion of Mr. ELY, of Westfield,

Ordered, That the Committee under the 14th Resolution, relating to the Qualifications of Voters, be instructed to consider the expediency of so amending the Constitution as to require no tax qualification to constitute a legal voter in this Commonwealth, and report thereon.

On motion of Mr. BROWN, of Dracut,

Ordered, That a special committee of thirteen be appointed, to inquire and report to the Convention upon the expediency of so amending the Constitution that the legislature shall have no right to loan the credit of the State to any individual or corporation, or to contract any debt, for any purpose except to carry on the government and defray its necessary expenses, or to repel invasion, or to suppress insurrection.

On motion of Mr. GOURGAS, of Concord,

Ordered, That the Committee who have under consideration so much of the Constitution as relates to the amendment thereof, consider the expediency of providing, that in the general election which shall be held in the year 1866, and every fifteenth year thereafter, and also at such other times as the legislature may by law provide, the question "Shall there be a Convention to revise the Constitution and amend the same?" shall be submitted to the electors qualified to vote for members of the legislature; and, in the event that a majority of the electors so qualified, voting at such election, shall decide in favor of a Convention for such purpose, the legislature, at its session next ensuing after such decision, shall provide by law for the election of delegates to such Convention.

Mr. EARLE, of Worcester, offered the following Resolutions, which were referred to the appropriate committees.

Resolved, That in the apportionment of senators in the general court, the distribution should be made in proportion to the number of qualified voters in the several sections of the Commonwealth.

Resolved, That in the organization of the House of Representatives, the apportionment should be made according to the number of qualified voters in the several cities and towns of the Commonwealth.

Mr. WARD, of Newton, asked to be excused from serving upon the Committee upon the University at Cambridge, and Mr. PAINE, of Brewster, asked to be excused from serving upon the Committee upon the Secretary, Treasurer, &c., and upon the Committee on Amendments of the Constitution; and their requests were granted.

Mr. Morton, of Fairhaven, was appointed Monitor of the Fourth Division, in place of Mr. French, of Stoughton, who declined to serve.

On motion of Mr. GARDNER, of Seekonk, the Order offered by Mr. Butler, of Lowell, prescribing a form of notification to the town of Berlin, was taken up, and after debate, the amendment offered by Mr. Bartlett, of Boston, was rejected, and the Order was adopted.

The Orders of the Day were taken up, the first matter being the Report of the Committee on Elections on the subject of vacancies. Mr. LADD, of Cambridge, moved to recommit the Report to the Committee, with instructions to report a vacancy in the delegation from the town of Walpole.

Pending the question upon this motion, on motion of Mr. BROWN, of Dracut, the subject was postponed until to-morrow.

Mr. TRAIN, of Framingham, moved a reconsideration of the vote. by which the Convention adopted the Order of Mr. Butler, of Lowell, prescribing a form of notice to the town of Berlin.

Mr. THOMAS, of Weymouth, moved a suspension of the rule of the Convention, that the subject might be immediately considered; but the motion was rejected by a vote of one hundred and forty-five in the affirmative to eighty-eight in the negative; two-thirds of the members not voting in the affirmative.

On motion of Mr. WILSON, of Natick, the Order of the 10th inst., concerning the time of meeting of the committees, was so far modified as to allow the said committees to arrange the hour of meeting.

Mr. APPLETON, of Boston, presented a communication from Henry B. Rogers, a Delegate from the city of Boston; which was referred to the Committee on Elections.

The PRESIDENT announced the following gentlemen as the committee on procuring seats for the members. Messrs. Bates, of Plymouth, Gardner, of Boston, Earle, of Worcester, Bennett, of Hubbardston, Peabody, of Salem, Jackson, of Roxbury, and Case, of New Bedford.

On motion of Mr. BUTLER, of Lowell, the Convention adjourned.

THURSDAY, May 12, 1853.

Met according to adjournment. Prayer was offered by the Chaplain. The Journal of yesterday was read.

Mr. SCHOULER, of Boston, presented the Petition and Memorial of John W. Le Barnes, and four hundred others, citizens of Boston, asking that the doctrines of no religion shall be established or recommended in the Constitution, and that no religious or ecclesiastical interference with the laws of the State, its official institutions, or its public schools, shall be hereafter possible in this Commonwealth.

Mr. FRENCH, of New Bedford, presented the Petition of Francis Jackson, and fourteen hundred and seven others, asking to have the word "male" struck out of the Constitution.

Mr. KEYES, member for Abington, presented the Petition of Harriet L. Randall, and two hundred and three others, women and men of Abington, making the same request.

Mr. WILSON, of Natick, presented the Petition of James B. Allen, and others, citizens of Boston, for the abolition of imprisonment for debt. These Petitions were severally referred to the Committee on the Bill of Rights.

On motion of Mr. DAVIS, of Plymouth, the Committee upon the Bill of Rights were instructed to consider the expediency of declaring

that the legislature shall pass no law recognizing a distinction in the rights of citizens solely on account of color or caste, and that no rule or regulation made by inn-keepers, common carriers, municipal or other public institutions, or made for public schools, lectures, exhibiions or amusements, founded solely upon color or birth, shall be recognized in this Commonwealth.

On motion of Mr. FRENCH, of New Bedford,

Ordered, That the Committee on the Judiciary Power be instructed to inquire into the expediency of electing all our judges by the people, and report thereon.

On motion of the same gentleman,

Ordered, That the Committee on the Qualifications of Voters, be instructed to inquire into the expediency of having the same manner of voting apply to the election of county, town and city officers, who are elected by ballot, as by the Acts of 1851 and 1852, apply to the election of State and United States officers, and report thereon. On motion of Mr. ALVORD, member for Montague,

Ordered, That the Committee on Attorney-General, SolicitorGeneral, Sheriffs, Coroners, Registers of Probate and Notaries Public, be instructed to consider the expediency of incorporating into the Constitution provisions for the election by the people, of Judges of Probate, Commissioners of Insolvency, Clerks of the Courts, DistrictAttorneys, and all other county and district officers, and report thereon. On motion of Mr. DUNCAN, of Williamstown,

Ordered, That the Committee on the Qualifications of Voters, be instructed to consider the expediency of amending article 9 of chapter 6, by the addition of the following clause :—

"Provided, however, That for the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence while employed in the army or navy of the United States, nor while engaged in navigating the waters of this State, or of the United States, or of the high seas, nor while a member of any seminary of learning."

On motion of Mr. MORTON, of Quincy,

Ordered, That the Messenger be directed to furnish to each member of the Convention a regular file of all the documents which have been or may be printed by order of this body.

Mr. ALLEN, of Worcester, from the special committee on the sub