Civilian & telegraph. [volume] (Cumberland, Md.) 1859-1875, 1863-03-05

Ibpptititu VI WIN was ieBtIieu tut
right of each county named; and the sun
for the respective counties certain portions
thereof, in some cases, and all in others
were given to specified roads. OF the road.
and other works of Improvement to which
these appropriations were made, but three
of the whole number have been organized
under these charters, and of these, one has
/ became involved in difficulty growing ont o.
! the adverse claims Of different persons claim
| ing to be Ulcers of the road, and therefore
! claiming its management anG control as well
! as the sums appropriated by the act alluded
to- s-l
The appropriation to tie several works
of improvement by the act referred to
were made upon the condition that the
payments 10y the individual stockholders
should at all times be equal to the pay
ments made by the State.
la the case Of the Maryland aud Del
cwarc Road, it is alleged that in order
to meet this condition, promissory notes,
mortgages aud other liens, have been
received as money from stockholders, by
which procedure it is rendered difficult
to determine the propriety of further pay
Inents to that road by the State.
1t is well to understand that some of
the roads to which appropriations were
made by the acts Of 1860 exists only in
acts OF Incorporation, no, steps having
been taken to put them into operation,
and that III consequence no application
has been made for any part Of the mo-
ney granted to these.
There is danger, however, that at
some future day adventurous persons may
possess themselves of these works with
view to obtain the appropriations made by
the State to them.
Whilst the sums of money hppropria-
ted to the Incorporated companies not
now organized or put into operation
were granted to them as works of inter-
nal improvement, it would, think, be
Co pete, for the people of those coun-
ties. provided the question could be put
to them at somo general election. by
authority of the Legislature, TO direct
that the money due to those counties
from this source should be applied to
the purposes of education. Almost all
of these counties have systems of eduoa-
ton, and these systems are largely sup
ported by taxation
The sums due to several counties, as
| yet unclaimed by organized internal
companies, would by the in tcrest thereon
produce nearly or qui,e as much for the
support OF public schools as the entire
school lax now imposed upon the tax
payers OF those counties.
This disposition of the money due to
the counties alluded to would thus great
ly, il not entirely, relieve the peo-
pie Vi such counties from taxation for
the support OF schools. or permit them
to Improve their systems aad extend The
benrlits of education, whilst the State
would have the advantages which always
flow from the spread of knowledge, and
the Increased Intelligence of the people,
without the expenditure of additional
means to secure these results.
The receipts from auction duties. as
will be seen by reference to Table No.
4 Of the Appendix, are net encouraging
The money derived from this source,
to all amount not exceeding $40, goo, is
placed, by section 127 of article a Of
Code OF Local Laws, ut the disposal of
he..Mayor and City Council of Baltimore,
for the improvement of a channel inthe
Chesapeake Bay and the Potapsco river
The returns and receipts from this
scource have been, aud continue to BE-,
irregular and defective.
Some of the auctioneers have steadily
refused to accompany their returns with
the form of oath prescribed in secti on
100 of the same article. and others neg
lect to report entirely.
Whilst section 90 makes it the duty
of the auctloneers to report to the Comp
troller, under oath, quarterly, there is no
power conferred on tina. official to corn-
pei such returns.
The remedy for this difficulty is plac-
cd with the Treasury by section l2l.
BY The provisions of sections 81. 81
80, rs, &c of the Slst article of the
Code OF General Laws, it was Intended
to provide Il uniform and secure system
of collecting the direct taxes. But not
outstanding the plain provisions of
these sections, the Mayor and City
Council Of Baltimore have provided by
ordinance for an entirely different IN ode
of collecting these taxes. whereby the
State is placed on different footing
from that provided by its own laws and
It's security either weakened or wholly
lost.
Section rs of article 81 requires that the
Mayor and City Council of Baltimore
shall levy upon said city such commits
sun, not exceeding ten per cent, on the
amount placed in the hand Of the col
lector to collect, as will insure q speedy
collection of the taxes Section "a, #
the same article, requires the Collector
to give bond to the State Of Maryland,
in the penalty double the amount of tax
,es to Le collected. BY ordinance of the
Mayor and City Council the collector is
made salarcd officer, and about 50 600
per year is required to collect both State
and City taxes, and the bond to, 90 Civ
en- by the Collector is for seventy FIVE
Thousand dollars, whilst in the present
year the collector has had over three
hundred thousand dollars for the State