Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1874-02-20
Marylanh gtate affairs,
MARYLAND LEGISLATURES.
SENATE.

SENATE.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 11.-The Senat,
met at IL o'clock. Twenty-one Sena
ators answered roll call
A message was received from The
House transmitting Senate bills passel
by the House, and also House bills
which were read first time and ap
propriately referred to committees.
Mr.. Earle, from committee.on Fl
nance, reported Senate bill for support
of INDECENT patients in the Baltimore
Eye and Ear Infrmary and Eye and
Ear Institute of Maryland, with a.
mendments, which were agreed to, and
the bill read second time and order
ed engrossed. Mr.. Walsh, from Joint
Committee to Visit the Deaf and Dumb
Asylum at Frederick, submitted their
report, speaking most favorably of the
Institution and its management, and
that the appropriation asked for its
completion ($125, 5,000) was just and
proper; the report was adopted. Mr..
Stevens, from committee on Judicial
Proceedings, reported favorably Senate
bill to amend article 45, Public Gen
eral Laws, relative to husband and
wife, with amendments, which was "a
dopted, and the bill read a second time,
and ordered engrossed.
The special order of the day, the bill
relasing the Johns Hopkins Hospital
from collateral inheritance tax was
then taken up on its second reading,
the question being on ordering it en-
crossed, when
The President of the Senate (Hon.
John Lee CarrolD gave up his seat to
Senator Earle, in order to take an ac-
tive part in the debate himself. Mr..
Carroll then delivered an earnest, for
chile, and eloquent speech in favor of
exempting the Hopkins bequests from
the collateral ireritance tax. Mr.. Car
rell said that nothing but the honor
and interests of the State of Maryland
made him feel any interest in the sub
ject. The power to impose tax gave
the power to release, and that the ques-
tion of relieving the Johns Hopkins
bequest from the collateral inheritance
tax was one of policy and not of right.
The great duty of the State was to pro-
vide for its helpless and that it was
not right for the State to impose a tax
upon the munifeent charity of Mr..
Hopkins, which would in effect relieve
the jails and poorhouses Of the State,
and consequently relieve the citizens
of the State from additional burdens
of taxation. Mr.. Carroll spoke for
nearly an half hour.
The Hon. T. Sturgiss Davis, from
Baltimore county, opposed the exemp-
ton from the collateral inheritance
tax upon the general principle Of e
qualization of taxes. He contended
that the agricultural interests of the
State were already overburdened with
taxes, and that in the past ten years
there had been nearly 10000 acres Of
land withdrawn from cultivation in
the State of Maryland. The produc-
tion being less. the agricultural inter
ests of the State were less able to bear
any additional burden of taxation, es-
pecially for the benefit of richly en-
dowed institution which was well able
to pay the paltry sum of $4,000. He
believed in and had always advocated
strongly the equalization of taxes. AL
ready $2,500,00O Of the sum which had
been munifcently bequeathed by Mr..
Hopkins to the State was exempt from
taxes owing to previous legislative en-
actments. Before the present Legisla-
ture there were numerous applications
for State appropriations for worthy
and needy State institutions, and
should such small though deserving
institutions be deprived of essential
State assistance because Mr.. Hopkins
endowments were unjustly relieved
from a just collateral inheritance tax :
Mr.. Hopkins had given evidence o
foresight and good Judgment in the
guarded provisions of his will, and had
he desired that his charities should be
exempt from taxation, he would GER
tainly have specified it in his will
Mr.. Davis was far from throwing any
obstacles in the way of these noble in
stitutions Of charity, but he did feel
personally interested for himself and
bis constituents in the equalization of
taxation.
Mr.. Blake, Of Baltimore city, enter
1ained the same views as those express
ed by Mr.. Davis, and protested against
the passage Of any bill which would
exempt from taxation a richly-endow
ed estate estate, well a55,,e to bear any legal
restrictions. There was already too
much property in the State which was
exempt from taxation, consequently
the burden fell all the heavier upon
the few, and he hoped the Senate
would not order the bill to be engross-
cd fora third reading. Senators Fields
and Blake also made short speeches in
opposition to the exemption of the be-
quests from the collateral inheritance
tax, and when the vote was called for
its engrossment for third reading it
was lost by vote of IL to 10 as fol-
lows: Messrs. President, Claggett,
benson, Earle, Longwell, Lloyd, Nc
Culloh, Stevens, Steiner and Walsh
voting in the aft NATIVE; Messrs. Ayde-
lotte, Clake, Brewer, Crawford, Davis,
Fields, Getty, Knight, Mudd, Phelps
and Spencer voting in the negative