Mr. Gov^r Morris. If qualifications are proper, he w^d prefer them in the electors rather than the elected. As to debtors of the U. S. they are but few. As to persons having unsettled accounts he believed them to be pretty many. He thought however that such a discrimination would be both odious & useless, and in many instances, unjust & cruel. The delay of settlem^t had been more the fault of the Public than of the individuals. What will be done with those patriotic Citizens who have lent money, or services or property to their Country, without having been yet able to obtain a liquidation of their claims? Are they to be excluded? M^r Ghorum was for leaving to the Legislature the providing ag^{st} such abuses as had been mentioned. Col. Mason mentioned the parliamentary qualifications adopted in the Reign of Queen Anne, which he said had met with universal approbation. M^r Madison had witnessed the zeal of men having acc^{ts} with the public, to get into the Legislatures for sinister purposes. He thought however that if any precaution were taken for excluding them, the one proposed by Col. Mason ought to be new modelled. It might be well to limit the exclusion to persons who had rec^d money from the public, and had not accounted for it. M^r Gov^r Morris. It was a precept of great antiquity as well as of high authority that we should not be righteous overmuch. He thought we ought to be equally on our guard ag^{st} being wise overmuch. The proposed regulation would enable the Govern^t to exclude particular persons from office as long as they pleased. He mentioned the case of the Co[~m]ander in Chief's presenting his account for secret services, which he said was so moderate that every one was astonished at it; and so simple that no doubt could arise on it. Yet had the Auditor been disposed to delay the settlement, how easily he might have effected it, & how cruel w^d it be in such a case to keep a distinguished & meritorious Citizen under a temporary disability & disfranchisement. He mentioned this case merely to illustrate the objectionable nature of the proposition. He was opposed to such minutious regulations in a Constitution. The parliamentary qualifications quoted by Col. Mason, had been disregarded in practice; and was but a scheme of the landed ag^{st} the monied interest. M^r Pinckney & Gen^l Pinckney moved to insert by way of amendm^t the words Judiciary & Executive so as to extend the qualifications to those departments which was agreed to nem con. M^r Gerry thought the inconveniency of excluding a few worthy individuals who might be public debtors or have unsettled acc^{ts} ought not to be put in the scale ag^{st} the public advantages of the regulation, and that the motion did not go far enough. M^r King observed that there might be great danger in requiring landed property as a qualification since it would exclude the monied interest, whose aids may be essential in particular emergencies to the public safety.