Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1872-03-08
Veto a1....g. from tn. e.v.rnor.

The Governor on Tuesday sent to the Senate
his second Veto Message. refusing to aign the
bill directing the County Commissioners to
issue bonds to build new Court House, Civ
ing bis reasons therefor. The message was
10 the Governors own handwriting, dated
the 4th inst, as follows:
To the Senate:
/ herewith return to the House, In which
ting the County Commissioners of Washington
county 20 issue bonds to raise money to build
. Court House in said county, and appointing
Commissioners to contract to erect the same,
from which feel constrained to withdraw my
approval. The general provisi g of the bill
are, 10 my judgement, at war with the funda-
mental principle Of local selfgovernmeut. The
Constitution in article /. section /, provides
for the election of County Commissioners for
each county, whose power and duties shall be
''such as are now or may hereafter be prescrib-
ed by law" The first section Of article 2Sth
Of the amended Code of Public General Laws
declares that "the County Commissioners shall
have charge of and control over the property
owned By the county," The Constitution and
the laws now 10 force place the grounds
owned by Washington county, in which the
Court House recently destroyed by FIRE was
erected, in the possession and charge of the
County Commissioners elected by the people.
while this bill directs that the new Court
House shall be erected by persons not chosen
by the people of that county, but appointed
BY representatives, from other localities, who
have no local interest 10 Washington county.
and are to contribute no part of the money to
be expended in the erecting of the building
It is true the difficulty arising from the at
tempt to Dust the constitutional custodians OF
the county property is supposed by the fra
mers of this bill TO be met by quasi repeal
of that part of the 9th section of article % oil
the Code above referred to ESQ far as it applies
to Washington county, by the 18th section
of this bill, whice repeats that part of the 9Th
section "untI the Court House to be erected
under the provisions Of this act is completed,
but this is an anomaly in legislation.
Who is to determine when the Court House
is completed" and the County Commission.
ers are to resume control Of the county pro.
perty?
There may be one or two precedents fol
this sort of legislation, but in my Judgment il
is practice which would abe honored more
in the breach than in tile observance"
The provision also which directs that the
bonds to be issued shall bear interest at the
rate of seuen per Cent. seems to be in conflict
with section 81 of article Of the Constitution
That section provides that the illegal rate oil
interest shall be six per cent. per annum. D
OF course this means the rate of interest over
the whole State, and the subsequent clause
''unless otherwise provided by the Genera
Assembly" evidently has reference to the
same rate of interest for the sohols State, and
was not intended to allow the legal rate il
one county to be different from every othel
county, and thus attract capital by Legislative
favor to one part of the State to the injury o.
all the other sections.
cannot resist the conclusion that this pro.
vision fixing the rate of interest at seven pei
cent. is in violation of the spirit if not the let
ter of the Constitution. For these reasons
am compelled to return the bill without my
approval, that such action may be taken a,
required by the Constitution 10 such cases.
WIZ. PINKNEY WHYTE.