458 



MARYLAND. 



Allowin^ courts to assess damages in cases of judg- 

 ment by default, unless motion for a jury trial be 

 made. Regarding renewal of writs. Providing for 

 the finding of special verdicts by juries. 



Authorizing railroad companies to use any heating 

 apparatus on runs not exceeding one hour and fifteen 

 minutes. 



Appropriating $75,000 for the establishment of 

 another insane asylum. 



To prevent pool selling and book making. 



Amendinor the law to prevent fraud by mortgagors. 



To amend the jury law. 



Amending the lottery and policy law. 



For punishment of vagrants and tramps. 



Amending the law relating to limitation of actions. 



To amend the general law regarding insolvents. 



To enable the Comptroller to settle with delinquent 

 debtors. 



To make a half holiday on Nov. 23 (Repudiation 

 Day) in Frederick City. 



To prevent blindness in infants. 



To protect the catching and buying of terrapins in 

 Worcester County. 



Providing for publishing the archives of Mary- 

 land. 



To incorporate the Bureau of Information. 



To prevent the publication and circulation of ob- 

 scene literature. 



To prevent forfeiture of life insurance policies. 



The Potomac river concurrent Oyster Cull law. 



The election of Lewis C. Carrico to the State 

 Senate was contested by Mr. Mudd, who claimed 

 that the official returns from the Fifth District 

 were incorrect. A recount by the Elections 

 Committee, on Feb. 20, resulted in the seating 

 of Dr. Carrico. 



Finances. The report of the Comptroller for 

 the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1894, shows the 

 balance in the Treasury at the end of the pre- 

 vious year, $569,050.58 ; receipts during the year, 

 $2,606,103.67 ; total amount available for 1894, 

 $3,175,154.25. The amount of disbursements 

 during the year was $2,625,079.78, leaving a bal- 

 ance, Sept. 30, 1894, of $550,074.47. The amount 

 of receipts during 1894 is greater than for the 

 previous year by $72,492.19, notwithstanding the 

 failure of the Susquehanna and Tide- Water Ca- 

 nal Company to pay interest to the amount of 

 $20,000 on 'the mortgage held by the State. 

 State funds are now deposited with banks that 

 pay 2 per cent, interest on State deposits. This 

 interest during 1894 amounted to $5,613.64, 

 a sum more than sufficient to pay the salaries 

 of the Treasury officers. The receipts during 

 the year on account of the Free School fund 

 were $133,109.13 ; balance from previous year, 

 $5,543; total, $138,652.13; disbursements dur- 

 ing the year were $132,808.63, leaving a bal- 

 ance at the end of the fiscal year of $5,843.50. 

 The receipts during the year on account of the 

 .several sinking funds were as follow: General 

 sinking fund, $14,077.58; sinking fund for the 

 Defense Redemption loan, $280.543.84; sinking 

 fund for the Exchange loan of 1889, $53,506.50 ; 

 total, $348,127.92; which sum was invested on 

 account of the above-named sinking funds. 



The total indebtedness of the State at the 

 close of the fiscal year was $8,684,986.24. The 

 productive assets and the investments to the 

 credit of the sinking fund aggregate $5,303,233.- 

 11, which, deducted from the gross debt, leaves a 

 net debt of $3,381,753.13. 



Taxation. The assessment of the real and 

 personal property for the fiscal year 1894 shows 



an aggregate of $529,138,103, an increase of $5,- 

 081,862 over 1893. The levy for State taxes at 

 17f per cent, amounted to $939,220.08, of which 

 $875,158.89 was collected. From railroads and 

 other corporations there was received, as a tax 

 on their gross receipts for the year, $136,266.30, 

 an increase of $13,240.66 over the previous year. 

 From the tax on the capital stock of incorpo- 

 rated institutions the receipts were $86,215.88. 

 From the franchise tax upon deposits in sav- 

 ings banks, of which, under an act of 1894, a sej 

 rate account is required, $25,564.90 was collect 

 From insurance companies, from licenses 

 tax upon premiums, the receipts were $121,( 

 90, an increase of $2,340.03 over the receipts fc 

 1893 from the same source. The levy on 

 count of the public-school tax for 1894 

 $555,594.98; the receipts amounted to $616,- 

 529.12, and there was at the beginning of the 

 fiscal year a balance of $248,592.16, applicable 

 to this year. The disbursements for the year 

 were $600,294.57, leaving a balance of $264,826.- 

 71, applicable to the school year beginning Oct. 

 1, 1894. Of this balance there was distributed 

 Oct. 1, 1894, to white schools, $102,625, and to 

 colored schools $25,000, leaving on hand to 

 equalize future distributions $137,201.71. As 

 the Treasury Relief loan has been redeemed, the 

 tax of lucent on each $100 imposed to meet the 

 interest and create a sinking fund for the re- 

 demption thereof was transferred by an act of 

 the General Assembly to the benefit of the one- 

 fourth of one per-cent. tax on the exchange loan 

 of 1886 ; the tax for the interest and redemption 

 of this loan is now If cent on each $100. 



The annual interest charge on the bonded in- 

 debtedness of the State is stated as follows: 

 Amount of principal, $149,979,040; annual in- 

 terest charge, $2,292,464; average rate of in- 

 terest, 5'12 ; interest charge per capita, $2.39. 



The oyster fund has been totally wiped out, 

 and there is now a deficit of $4,306.99. Besides 

 this there are unpaid bills, and the receipts are 

 falling off. This condition was foretold, and to 

 meet it the Legislature of 1894 enacted a law 

 which is now in force. This law gives to the 

 oyster fund all the dredging license fees; one 

 third of the money received by counties for 

 scrapers' and tongers' licenses, which formerly 

 went to the school fund of the respective coun- 

 ties, and also imposed a packer's license of $25, 

 and a further charge upon the packers of $1 for 

 every 1.000 bushels of oysters over 10,000 bush- 

 els which they shall have shucked at their pack- 

 ing establishments. The dredging license is *:! 

 a ton on the registered tonnage of the vessel. 

 Despite this increased tax, the receipts from all 

 sources are still less than the cost of maintenance 

 of the police fishery force the only charge upon 

 the oyster fund. 



Education. The annual free-school funds 

 distributed by the Comptroller, July 2. amounted 

 to $51,808.63. The quarterly distribution of the 

 public-school tax, made in June, apportioned 

 $211,733.93 as follows: To white schools, $162,- 

 233.93 ; to colored schools, $49,500. 



In September the academic department of 

 the Jacob Tome Institute, at Port Deposit. \vi- 

 opened. In this department an academic course, 

 including kindergarten, primary, grammar, and 

 high-school grades, may be pursued, and, in 



