MARYLAND. 



525 



Political. On November 2 the Republicans 

 carried the Sixth Congressional District, and 

 the Democrats the other five. No State officers 

 were chosen. 



Finances. The receipts into the treasury from 

 all sources during the year ending Sept. 30, 

 1886, amounted to $1,994,278.77, which, added 

 to the balance in the treasury on Sept. 30, 1885, 

 makes the total amount in the treasury during 

 the year $2,741,686.10. The receipts for the 

 year were a fraction less than they were for 

 1884 and 1885, but they are about what have 

 been the average for the past nine years. 



The disbursements during the year amounted 

 to $2,125,109.76. In this sum is included the 

 expenses of the Legislature, the pay of its mem- 

 bers and officers, amounting to the sum of 

 $110,698.65; public printing and publishing 

 the laws, $3,786.78; the refunding of moneys 

 on account of licenses issued to carry oysters 

 over the waters of the State, and licenses 

 abridged by the enactment of a new oyster 

 law in 1884, $27,493.46, and special appropri- 

 ations to the amount of $38,310.76, amounting 

 in the aggregate to the sum of $207,289.65. 

 There is also included in the disbursements the 

 sum of $276,877.10, expended in the purchase 

 of stock and the redemption of balance of the 

 Old Defense Loan, and after deducting these 

 several sums from the total disbursements, 

 there remains the sum of $1,640,943.01 as the 

 net ordinary expenses of the State government 

 for the fiscal year 1886. This sum is more 

 than $25,000 less than the ordinary expenses 

 of the State for the last legislative year (1884). 

 The expenses of the Legislature of 1886 were 

 somewhat greater than they were for the ses- 

 sion of 1884, which increase was in part occa- 

 sioned by contested election cases, there being 

 one in each house. 



The probable receipts for the fiscal year 1887 

 are $1,979,548.34, which, if realized and added 

 to the balance in the treasury on the 30th day of 

 September, 1886, $616,576.34, will make the to- 

 tal amount in the treasury during the fiscal year 

 1887 to be $2,596,124.68. The estimated dis- 

 bursements for the same period are $1,617,- 

 301.40, which, deducted from the estimated 

 receipts, will leave a balance of $978,823.28. 

 This sum will be ample to maintain the sink- 

 ing-funds in accordance with the laws creating 

 the various State loans, and still leave a suffi- 

 cient balance to insure the treasury officers 

 against embarrassment in providing the means 

 necessary for an efficient administration of the 

 public affairs of the State. 



The receipts on account of the free- school 

 fund during the fiscal year were $69,340.86, 

 which, added to the balance, $7,220.49, stand- 

 ing to the credit of this fund on Sept. 30, 1885, 

 make the aggregate amount of said fund dur- 

 ing the year to be $76,561.33. The disburse- 

 ments of this fund during the fiscal year amount 

 to the sum of $68,682.52, leaving a balance of 

 $7,878.81 to the credit of this fund at the end 

 of the fiscal year just closed. The receipts 



and disbursements on this account are about 

 the same they were for 1884 and 1885. 



The sinking-fund investments amount to 

 the sum of $1,752,290.18. There was received 

 during the fiscal year, on account of the tax 

 providing for the sinking-funds of the various 

 loans of the State, and the increment arising 

 from investments heretofore made on these 

 accounts, the sum of $351,728.37, which, add- 

 ed to the sum of $179.49 standing to the credit 

 of the funds at the close of the fiscal year 1885, 

 makes the sum of $351,907.86, and that sum 

 has been invested in the bonds of the State 

 and of the city of Baltimore, and carried to 

 the credit of the various sinking-fund accounts. 



The Comptroller called in on October 1 the 

 bonds of the State issued on account of the 

 Maryland Hospital, and thus secured the bal- 

 ance of said loan not before in the sinking- 

 funds, amounting to $99,000, and carried said 

 bonds to the credit of the sinking-fund account, 

 making a total sinking-fund, at the close of 

 1886, of $1,850,290.18. 



The dividends from the various stocks held 

 by the State amount to $208,934.54. 



The receipts during the year ending Sept. 

 30, 1886, on account of the oyster fund were 

 $51,057.74, while the disbursements on account 

 of the service, and for money refunded for li- 

 censes issued to carry oysters over the waters 

 of the State, and for licenses cut short by the 

 enactment of a new oyster law, amounted to 

 the sum of $106,600.62. The pay of officers 

 and crews in 1885 amounted to $45,748.46, 

 and for the year 1886 it amounted to $54,362. 

 95, a difference of $8,614.49. 



The debt of the State is $10,960,535 56 



As an offset to this debt the State holds stock 

 of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com- 

 pany to the amount of. 1,518,615 70 



Stock in Farmers' National Batik of Annapo- 

 lis, amounting to. 



Stock of Annapolis Water Company .......... 



Bonds of Northern Central Railway ......... 



Bonds of the State, city of Baltimore, and 

 other good securities in sinking-funds ...... 



46,470 00 



RO.OOO f'O 



1,500,000 00 



1,752,290 18 



Total ................................. $4,847,375 88 



To which add Maryland Hospital bonds called 

 in on October 1, amounting to .............. 99,000 00 



And making, to date, an offset of ........ $4,946,375 83 



All of these investments pay promptly an 

 annual interest or dividend, and outside of the 

 sinking-funds they all pay 6 or 7 per cent., 

 and $550,000 of the stocks yield annually divi- 

 dends amounting to 10 per cent. During the 

 year the treasury officers exchanged the matured 

 bonds of the State to the amount of $628,000, 

 bearing interest at the rate of 6 per cent, per 

 annum, for a fourteen-year bond redeemable 

 at the pleasure of the State after ten years, 

 bearing interest at the rate of 3 per cent, per 

 annum. During the coming year bonds of the 

 State to the amount of over $1,200,000 will 

 fall due, bearing interest at the rate of 3 per 

 cent, per annum, which it is believed will be 

 readily exchanged at a rate of interest not ex- 

 ceeding 3 per cent, per annum. When this 

 shall have been accomplished, there will be an 



