MARYLAND. 



479 



Treasury was somewhat embarrassed 



..f the last Legislature, repealing the 



toe I. "an Hill, and tlie tax author!/. -d for 



leiiiption iif In inn tics, as a largo balance of 



boiur '11 uiipaiil, aii'l tin- receipts from 



il,> uf bonus of the defence loan wore con- 



.1 as a collateral hind t> meet the demand 

 from tliat qiiartM-. Further embarrassment was 



I by tlu- failure, of the Mayor and Council 

 . appoint commissioners to col- 



be State taxes in that city. The Governor 

 !i id the po \\vr to make the appointment incase 



h failure on the part of the city officials; 

 itlcmcn appointed for the purpose by 



'\ernor declined to serve, on account of 

 apprehended complications, and the heavy re- 

 sponsibilities under the existing law. The dif- 

 ficulties, however, are of a kind likely to bo 

 remedied without delay. The amount of prop- 

 erty throughout the State subject to assessment 

 is reported at $492,653,472, free from all ex- 

 emptions. 



For the year ending June 30, 1867, the 

 amount of money expended in the State for the 

 Mipport of schools, exclusive of those in the city 

 of Baltimore, reached the sum of $436,204.89, 

 or $341.05 for each of the 1,279 different 

 schools. These schools were in operation for 

 an average of nine months in the year, employ- 

 ing 1,558 teachers, and furnishing instruction 

 i 71.060 children. The new constitution, as 

 has been already stated, puts an end to the 

 present school system, and imposes on the Le- 

 gislature now in session the duty of providing 

 an entirely new one. 



The expenses of the State Penitentiary, for 

 the year ending November 30th, were covered 

 by the sum of $106,506.30. -The number of 

 inmates was 667, showing an increase of 126 

 over the number confined there during the pre- 

 vious year. There were only 31 more white 

 convicts than five years ago, while the number 

 of negroes had more than quadrupled in the 

 same time, and nearly doubled within the last 

 two years. There is a House of Refuge for 

 white juvenile offenders, but no such provision 

 has as yet been fnade for the correction of 

 youthful delinquents of the colored race. 



A ne\v militia has been organized during the 

 year in accordance with an act of the Legisla- 

 ture at its last session. The law provided for 

 the appointment of an Inspector-General to 

 superintend the organization of the militia. A 

 State militia was enrolled, numbering about 

 80,000, of which nearly 60,000 form the Na- 

 tional Guard, and 20,000 constitute the reserve 

 militia. The Constitutional Convention pro- 

 vided that the law should become inoperative 

 after the close of the present session of the 

 <i> -neral Assembly, and put an end to the office 

 of Inspector-General from the time at which 

 the constitution went into force. 



An interesting decision was made by Chief- 

 Mi the United States Circuit 

 Court at Baltimore, on a cose arising under the 

 Civil Rights Law enacted by Congress on the 



8th of April, 1866. A colored girl, who bad 



formerly li.-.-n a slave, wan apprenticed by the 

 Orphan-.' Court on an indenture, the terms of 

 which dill'ered materially from those roquii 

 tin- law > of the State in the case Of white chif- 

 dren apprenticed. The man to whom ti. 

 had heeii indentured was brought before the 

 court by writ of Juibeat corpus granted on peti- 

 tion of a friend of the colored girl. Tin- r* 

 Hpondent employed no counsel, and the case 

 was argued but briefly on the part of the peti- 

 tioner. The girl was di-diarged from the cus- 

 tody of the respondent, pn the ground that her 

 indenture of apprenticeship was in conflict 

 with the Civil Rights Law, which assures to all 

 citizens, without regard to race or color, "full 

 and equal benefit of all laws and i roceed ings for 

 the security of persons and property as is en- 

 joyed by white citizens." 



The first election under the new constitution 

 took place in November. The political parties 

 held their nominating conventions on the 9th 

 and 10th of the previous month, at Baltimore. 



The Democratic Convention, on the 9th of 

 October, after organizing and expressing their 

 gratification at the result of the elections in 

 several of the States, proceeded to nominate 

 for Governor, Oden Bowie, with a full State 

 ticket. 



Provision having then been made for the ap- 

 pointment of a State Central Committee for the 

 party, the convention adjourned. 



On the following day the delegates of the 

 Republican party assembled and adopfed the 

 following resolutions : 



Resolved, That the Republican party of Maryland, 

 in convention assembled, adhere firmly to the" prin- 

 ciples of manhood suffrage, universal and uniform 

 education, and the payment of the national debt, and 

 pledge themselves to fight it put on that line. 



2. Resolved, That we are in favor of free public 

 education for all the children of the State, ana as a 

 cardinal principle in this campaign we advocate the 

 maintenance of the existing school system of the 

 State, with no changes except to increase its useful- 

 ness and promote economy, and as an essential point 

 maintaining its great features of uniform supervision 

 and uniform State taxation, which shall secure gen- 

 eral officers, and by the compulsion of the whole 

 State secure school facilities to every county in the 

 State. 



Resolved. That wo are in favor of the repeal of the 

 useless and oppressive features of the militia law, and 

 the abolition of compulsive enrolment and taxation 

 for exemption. 



Resolutions were received from a mass 

 meet ing of colored citizens indorsing the prin- 

 ciples of the Republican party, and the nomina- 

 tions which had been made for the officers of 

 the city of Baltimore, and declaring their prefer- 

 ence for 1 1 tiii h L. Bond for Governor of the 

 State, who was nominated with a full State 

 ticket, 



After the nominations were completed, the 

 following resolution was adopted : 



Resolved, That the Republicans of Maryland, in 

 convention assembled, recommend to the Republican 

 party of the Union, General Ulvsses S. Grant as their 

 candidate for President of the United States. 



