Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1881-06-10
The Comptroller's Duties.

The Baltimore daily Netcs, commen.lns
on the Governors extraordinary asser, 'oE
that the Comptroller of the Treasur.
should have declared void and disregard
ed the Act of the Legislature of 1872
abolishing the sinking fund, pertinently
asks: allow can the Comptroller go bach
Tor nine years and declare an Act void 7
Tv this the f1agrrsrs HAL with its
usual generous consideration, promptly
comes to the aid of befogged contempt
rary, to assist him in comprehending the
Governors great craftsmanship. 1t sIys
"Who, we ask. would require such =
thing9 Is the Daily Nesos in earnest VIII en-
it puts such propositions before an intel
ligent people Go back !! Not at all. The
Sinking Fund was wrecked then and is
beyond present control. But the future is
the very point! 1t is to have Comptrol-
Ter who will observe the constitution and
the laws in the future, and apply the ta1es
phen receired as the constitution and laws
new require them to be applied; and this
done, we will soon have a sinking fund
for the payment of the debt.
The Neus proceeds as if the Ac's Of
1865 and 1872 had some relation to the
prssent.-The have none whatever except
as to the latter, where it requires 800,
600 to 60 into the Sinking Fund. and i!
there is any unappropriated money in the
Treasury it is the duty of the Comptroller
to put it to sinking fund purposes. But
this has nothing whatever to do with the
Loan taxes which are imposed and ap.
propriated By the constitution to the pay
ment of the debt, and it is the highest
duty of the Comptroller to see to it that
they are so applied. This applies to the
past, present and the future; and the
Comptroller that does not dc it is not per
forming his official duty which the con
stitution has 50 imperativey imposed
upon him. The Ne,os will observe .h.s
and its excuses for the present Compirol.
Ter will not do. The Legislature has
nothing to do with it. 1t requires nc
bills to set aside void or unconstitutional
legislation. It is only necessary for the
Comptroller to apply these taxes, when re-
ceived, as the constitution and the laws
demand, and there is no pow r on earth
to prevent him."
Still we can't get the idea through our
dull craneum. How, we ask, by what
possible authority, can the Comptroller Of
the Treasury declare an Act Of the Lcgis-
lature void IN the future' Yes, ecea in the
future! Where in the old scratch has the
constitution "imperatively imposed the
official duty" on the Comptroller to annul
the acts passed by the Legislature either
in the past, present or fu,ure9 We have
been unable to find any such requirement
We have diligently examined the consti-
tuition of 1867, which, as we understand
is the one now in force in the State; and
we cannot find it. The only definition Of
the duties Of the Comptroller that We find
in the constitution is contained in Sec. 2,
of Art. 6, of which the folio wing is YER
batim copy, excepting the italics which
are ours:
The Comptroller shall have the general gu
perintendence of all the fiscal affairs ofthe State;
he shall digest and prepare plans for the i'm
provement and management of the Revenue,
and for the support Of the public credit pre-
pare and report estimates of the Revenue and
Expenditures of the State superintend and en-
force the prompt collection of all Taxes and
revenue adjust and settle, on terms, prescribed
By Law, with delinquent Collectors and Receiv-
ers of taxes and State revenue; preserve all
Public Accounts; decide on the forms of keep