528 



MARYLAND. 



who will compose that body may be expected to rep- 

 resent the wishes of the people upon this subject, as 

 the agitation now going forward will show its results 

 in the ensuing fall elections. No other practical 

 mode of dealing with this question occurs to my mind 

 than by its reference to the representatives of the 



Eeople who shall compose that body, who, coming 

 esn from their constituencies, will be prepared to 

 reflect the public sentiment in any action which may 

 be deemed prudent and advisable. 



Among the other important bills passed by 

 the Legislature were those allowing citizens in 

 the army to vote ; repealing nearly the whole 

 of the " black code ; " allowing the bankers of 

 Maryland to accept the provisions of the na- 

 tional banking law, and providing for a uniform 

 system of schools throughout the State. Many 

 of the measures required by the new Constitu- 

 tion were not acted upon for want of time. A 

 bill to provide for the general reassessment and 

 valuation of property throughout the State was 

 rejected in the Senate, after having passed the 

 House by a large majority. A bill for the or- 

 ganization of the State militia was rejected, on 

 the ground that its requirements would be too 

 onerous upon the citizens. John A. J. Ores- 

 well was chosen Senator to fill the vacancy 

 caused by the decease of Thomas H. Hicks. 



There was received into the State treasury 

 during the fiscal year ending September 30th, 

 the sum of $2,681,592. Of this amount, $830,- 

 746 proceeded from a loan negotiated by the 

 treasurer, and $248,742 from the public school 

 tax, leaving $1,602,104 received from the ordi- 

 nary sources of revenue, or $110,013 less than 

 the receipts from similar sources during the pre- 

 vious year. The disbursements during the fis- 

 cal year were $3,125,566, principally for boun- 

 ties to volunteers, interest on the public debt, 

 and the expenses of the constitutional conven- 

 tion and the General Assembly. Certificates 

 of indebtedness to the amount of $56,525, issued 

 on account of the Annapolis and Elkridga Rail- 

 road, were redeemed during the year. The bal- 

 ance in the treasury at the close of the fiscal 

 year appears from the following statement : 



Receipts from all sources $2,631.592 20 



Balance in Treasury 80th Sept., 1864 876,899 83 



13,553,491 58 

 Disbursements 8,125,565 53 



$432,926 00 



48,778 84 

 177,173 72 



Add amount to the credit of Free Schools 

 Fund 



Add amount to the credit of Sinking Fund . . . 



Total balance in Treasury 80th Sept, 1865. . . . $Go3,S78 06 



Deducting the balance to the credit of the 

 "funds" and the public school tax from this 

 amount, the balance in the treasury proper was 

 only $184, 18 i. The sum paid during the fiscal 

 year, on account of bounties to volunteers and 

 others, was $1,762,421, exceeding the amount 

 rc'ilize:! from loans by $931,675, and the amount 

 from both loans and county tax, by $666,378. 

 The total amount paid for bounties by the State 

 up to the end of the fiscal year was $3,044,090; 

 the amount raised from loans was $1,356,930, 

 and from the bounty tax $460,496, leaving 



$1.226,663 to be paid from the revenue derived 

 from other and ordinary sources. The assessed 

 value of the real and personal property in the 

 State liable to direct taxation was $278,507,519, 

 being a decrease from the assessment of 1864, 

 of $7,234,836, owing to the fact that all assess- 

 ments on account of slaves were deducted from 

 the tax-books. The following statement shows 

 the assessed value of real and personal property, 

 with the amount of the levy thereon, in Balti- 

 more city and each county in the State : 



Comptroller Jump, urging the necessity of a 

 reassessment, says: 



According to the general assessment made in 

 1852, the value of real and personal property was 

 $261,243,660, exhibiting an increase of 49,067,825 

 when compared with the year immediately preced- 

 ing, and of $64,492,515, or nearly thirty-three per 

 cent., when compared with the general assessment 

 of 1841, only eleven years before. 



When it is considered that more than thirteen 

 years have elapsed since the assessment in 1852, and 

 that the State has rapidly increased in population, 

 wealth, and general prosperity, and that the assess- 

 ment of the present year exceeds the general assess- 

 ment of 1852 but in the sum of $17,263,859, or less 

 than seven per cent., it is not unreasonable to sup- 



Eose that a new assessment would insure a taxable 

 asis of at least $350,000,000, notwithstanding the 

 large investments by the people of the State in non- 

 taxable Government securities. 



If the result should prove the correctness of this 

 estimate, a large increase of revenue will be secured 

 to the general treasury and to the schools. 



A reassessment is necessary, also, that thn bur- 

 dens of taxation may be equally distributed. In 

 some portions of the State property has greatly en- 

 hanced in value, in others only to an inconsiderable 

 extent. Many persons, too, regardless of tlio moral 

 and political obligation to bear their just proportion 

 of the taxes necessary for the support and good 

 credit of the State, secrete their securities, and per- 

 haps other property, when others, more honest, and 

 tho fanner, mechanic, and tradesman generally, are 

 assessed to the full value of their estate. This in. 



