MARYLAND. 



503 



The principles upon which the award was 

 mado arc briefly stated tlm> : 



1. So fur its the original charter boundary ban 

 hern iinifurinlv observed and the occupancy or both 

 has conformed thereto, it must be recognized as the 

 boundnry .-till. 



_'. Wherever one State has gone over the charter- 

 line and taken territory which originally belonged 

 to the other and kept it, without let or Fiindorance, 

 for more than twenty years, the boundary uiUbt now 

 be so run as to include such territory within the 

 State that ha.s ir. 



8. Where any contract or agreement has changed 

 the charter-line at u particular place so as to make a 

 new division of the territory, such agreement is 

 binding if it has been followed by a corresponding 

 occupuncy. 



4. But no agreement to transfer territory or cliunge 

 boundaries can count for anything now if the actual 



-Mon was never changed. Continued occu- 

 pancy of the granting State lor centuries is conclu- 

 sive proof that i lie agreement was extinguished and 

 the parties remitted to their original rights. 



5. The waters are divided by the charter-line 

 where that line has been undisturbed by the subse- 

 quent acts of the parties, but where acquisitions 

 have been made by one from the other of territory 

 bounded by bays and rivers, such acquisitions ex- 

 tend constructively to the middle of the water. 



The principal point upon which Mr. Beck 

 disagreed with his colleagues was as to the 

 locution of the Watkins's Point of Lord Balti- 

 more's charter. 



The biennial session of the Legislature began 

 on the 5th of January, and continued until the 

 Sd of April. Among the acts passed wait one 

 providing for the general valuation and assess- 

 ment of all property subject to taxation. It 

 divides the counties and cities of the State into 

 assessment districts, and gives to the Govern- 

 or, with the advice and consent of the Senate, 

 authority to appoint assessors for each district, 

 and Boards of Control and Review for the 

 several counties and the city of Baltimore. 

 Appeals from the action of the assessors and 

 Boards of Control and Review can be made to 

 the county commissioners and to the Appeal 

 Tax Court in the city of Baltimore, and thence 

 appeals may be made to the Court of Appeals. 

 The general supervision of the conduct of as- 

 sessors and Boards of Review is given to the 

 State Controller. All shares of stock and 

 bonds of corporations owned by citizens of the 

 State, whether such corporations are located 



I'NITEU STATES NAv'AL ACADEMY, ANNAPOLIS. 





in the State or elsewhere, are made subject to 

 taxation, as also the securities of other States 

 and countries, and all investments in private 

 securities, "except mortgages upon property 

 in this State and the mortgage debts respec- 

 tively secured thereon." 



A new corporation act was also passed pro- 

 viding for the creation and regulation of in- 

 corporated companies. It defines the powers 

 and privileges of railroad companies, and 

 makes all necessary provision for the organiza- 

 tion and operation without a special charter. 

 A special act was, however, passed incorporat- 

 ing the National Railroad Company, the object 

 of which was to " connect Washington with 

 UK- Pennsylvania system of railroads through 



or near Brookville by the most feasible and 

 direct railroad communication practicable." 



Several acts were passed relating to the con- 

 duct of elections in the city of Baltimore. One 

 of these provided for a thorough revision of 

 the registration lists and the removal of the 

 names of deceased persons and those fraudu- 

 lently registered. Another took the control 

 of elections from the board of police and vested 

 it in a board of supervisors to be appointed by 

 the Governor. Another act provided that a 

 census of legal voters should be taken and the 

 city divided into election precincts of not more 

 than 600 voters each. 



Among the other acts passed was one abol- 

 ishing the system of police magistrates in Bal- 



