MARYLAND. 



435 



the World's Fair Commission for the school 

 exhibit at Chicago. A committee to confer with 

 i '.row n, a-king for $1,000 or $500, was ap- 

 pointed, tlio counties having no other means 

 of making a school exhibit. 



Decision. Judge Morris, of the United 

 District Court, handed down an important 

 ii in the case of the United States against 

 Henry F. Buckley, one of the judges of election 

 at the la>t general State election, touching the 

 right of tlie United States supervisors to accom- 

 pany illiterate, blind, or otherwise physically 

 di.-abled voters into the space provided for the 

 preparation or marking the ballot to bo cast by 

 the voter, to assist or overlook such marking. 

 Buckley was charged with obstructing United 

 States Supervisor Henry G. Mohr in the per- 

 formance of his duty, in refusing to allow the 

 latter to inspect the ballots. Judge Morris de- 

 cided that the supervisor may, if requested by 

 the voter, accompany the ballot clerks to the 

 booth and scrutinize the marking of the ballot, 

 as to the candidate for representative in Con- 

 gress, to ascertain if it is properly marked, as 

 the- voter has desired ; that the supervisor may ex- 

 plain to the illiterate voter that it is his privilege 

 to have their scrutiny, or not, as he chooses; and 

 if the voter is content with the ballot clerks, and 

 does not request the presence of the supervisors, 

 then they shall not interfere, and shall not go 

 to the booth. 



The Oyster Industry. According to the re- 

 port submitted by the commander of the State 

 fishery force to the State Board of Public Works, 

 the supply of oysters in the Stale for several 

 years has been decreasing. In 1890 the Legisla- 

 ture passed an act (chapter 602), popularly known 

 as the Culling law, requiring the return of all 

 shells and all small oysters less than two and 

 a half inches in length to the bars when taken. 

 This act, which was intended to secure an annual 

 seed supply, was in force last season for the first 

 time. The present season's supply shows not 

 only that the heretofore steady decrease has been 

 stopped, but at least 30 percent, to last season's 

 catch has been added. 



The World's Fair. The bill appropriating 

 $50,000 absolutely, and $10,000 contingently, for 

 representation of the State at Chicago in 1893, 

 passed the Senate without trouble, but met with 

 much opposition from the Ways and Means Com- 

 mit tee. When the Governor signed it, the ap- 

 propriation was for $60,000 only. The faculty of 

 Johns Hopkins University prepared for the fair 

 an elaborate handbook giving the history and 

 resources of the State. 



Agriculture. At a meeting of the trustees 

 of the Maryland Agricultural College the fol- 

 lowing appropriations, aggregating $48,200, were 

 voted : For the Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 $15.000; for support of agricultural and horti- 

 cultural departments of the college, $2,500 ; ex- 

 penses of executing the Fertilizer law, $1,100; 

 for disbursement under the Committee on Edu- 

 cation, salaries, etc., of the college, $14,000; Sun- 

 day services and special instruction, $2,000 ; me- 

 chanical arts department, $1,500; purchases of 

 equipment to be made for the several college de- 

 part ments, under the supervision of the Com- 

 mittee on Facilities for Instruction, $3,000; in- 

 struction of colored youth at the branch of the 



college, Princess Anne, one fifth of the Morrill 

 annuity, this share amounting to $8,600; reduc- 

 tion of college debt, cost of repairs and improve- 

 ments and refurnishing of buildings, and for 

 insurance, taxes, and other administrative ex- 

 peiiscs, to be applied under the SUJM-I vision of 

 the Finance Committee, $5,500. The State 

 Farmers' Association in February agreed to pe- 

 tit ion the Legislature for aid, asking for $5,000 a 

 year, to be divided among all agricultural asso- 

 ciations in the State having a paid-up capital 

 stock of $10,000. There are now 7 such organiz- 

 ations in the State. A committee was appointed 

 to draft a bill asking for the appropriation. 



Prisons. According to the annual report of 

 the Penitentiary Board, there were, on Dec. 1, 

 674 inmates in the institution white men, 265 ; 

 white women, 7; colored men, 351; colored 

 women, 51 ; which was an increase of 41 white 

 men and 17 colored women, and a decrease 

 of 3 white women and 13 colored men from 

 the same time of the preceding year. At the 

 end of last year there were 632 inmates in 

 the institution ; 302 were received during the 

 year, and 260 were discharged. The largest 

 number in the institution at one time during 

 the year was 681, and the smallest 609. The 

 cost per capita for the year was $119.08. The 

 inmates earned for themselves $10,208.51 from 

 overwork. The expenses of the institution 

 amounted to $77,663.84, of which $35.788.04 

 was for salaries, and $17,245.20 for provisions. 



Political. The Prohibition party of Mary- 

 land, meeting at Baltimore in March, was the 

 first to choose delegates to a national conven- 

 tion, although that convention was -the last to 

 be held. Nothing of importance marked the 

 meeting, which was characterized by much una- 

 nimity of feeling and general satisfaction. There 

 was discussion as to the mode to be pursued in 

 selection of congressional delegates, but it was . 

 decided that each district should name its own. 



The Republican State Convention met at 

 Frederick on May 4, electing its delegates to 

 the national convention, in the resolutions 

 firm adhesion to the protection policy was de- 

 clared, " whereby the American workman is 

 everywhere in his own country a sovereign, 

 with the possibility of owning nis own home." 

 Attention was called to the fact that " the mis- 

 representations of the McKinley bill, by which 

 the Democratic party was enabled to obtain 

 control of the Lower House of Congress, have 

 already been corrected by actual demonstration 

 of its practical workings, and the late elections 

 show that the inevitable reaction of truth against 

 falsehood has set in." 



Reciprocity as defined by James G. Elaine, 

 and inaugurated under the administration of 

 President Harrison, was recommended, and the 

 duty of Congress to give the people of the United 

 States an American dollar, whether gold or sil- 

 ver or paper, worth 100 cents, was declared. 



A convention of the People's party met at 

 Baltimore in August, to select congressional 

 candidates and presidential electors. Three of 

 the congressional districts the^First, Second, 

 and Fifth were represented. No nominations 

 were made for the Third, Fourth, and Sixth 

 Districts, In October the chairman of the State 

 committee issued an address to the third-party 



