Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1882-01-20
State Finances.

|
an exceedingly clear and able statement
of the present financial condition of the
State, and includes also an able and thor.
ough review of the past operations of the
treasury department. The report shows
throughout that its author is master OF
his subject, and it evinces nowhere any
inclination to avoid any part of the past
financial operations.
The report sets forth the present con.
dition of the treasury and the operations
of the past fiscal year as follows:
At the beginning of the year there were
in the treasury proper $513,026 Sc; the
receipts during the year were were $1,000
GAL 0S; the disbursements S1,757,469 Is
and the balance on hand at the end of the
was $752, 1893 80; to this balance should
be added the cash to the credit Of the free
school fund, $13,5S4 n, and to the credit
of the general sinking fund, S1S,35S 70,
and to the credit of the treasury relief
sinking fund, $2,470 So; making the to-
tai amount in the treasury. in cash. Sept.
80, 1881, S7S6,621 "a.
Added to this the State holds prompt
interest paving securities amounting to
S., 461 ,0S5 20, and her collecting officers
are due her, in round numbers, 81 ,4OO, 900.
The funded debts of the State amount
to $11 ,257, $50 50 and her reproductive
investments to more than double that a
mount.
The interest paid on her funded debts
during last year, including a cost of $20,-
| q r. orl
her sterling debt, amounted to $643, $40 %
of which sum she paid to herself, as inter
est on her own bonds which she had taken
up in advance of their maturity, which
constitute her sinking funds. Sl1,2S0 IS
There is no past-due debt outstanding ;
$4,000 Of the 5 per cent. currency debt,
which matured in 1880, were called in
and interest stopped thereon on the 1st of
last April, and were presented and paid
in the latter part Of the year. The debt
which falls due next is the defense loan.
The amount of it is S3,326,750 &C. and it
natures on the 1st of January 1884. The
attention Of the last General Assembly
was called to this loan, and authority was
asked to fund it into new loan at a low
er rite of interest than 6 per cent, which
it is bearing. That Genera Assembly ac-
cordingly passed the act OF 1880, chapter
232, the main feature of which is the crea-
ton of new loan. not to exceed $4,000
900 bearing interest not to exceed Al per
cent. redeemable IN fourteen years from
the date of issue, the proceeds thereof TO
be applied to the redemption and pay
ment of the defense loan" Authority is
also given to exchange the n wv for The old
| haap 70
ceived TO exchange at par, and no issue
has yet been made of the new bonds 1t
is submitted that the three millions OF the
debt thus provided for can be funded at
such reduced rate Of interes'-l per cent
or perhaps less-that in The fourteen years
the saving in interest alone thus effected
will he an amount greater than one-third
of the whole debt.
The Comptroller then refers to the fact
that since the adjournment of the Legis-
lature of 1880, for the first time, the finan-
cial management of the States revenue
from the year 1864 up to the present time
has been cal ed in question, and goes on
to review the history ofthe sinking funds.
Mr. Heating rsi'era,es his previous state
ments as to the bad policy of requiring
the States financial officers to go into the
market to purchase her own securities at
a premium, before they are due. for the
purpose of depositing them in sinking
fund.-" and quotes from the message OF
Gov. Lowe to the Legislature of 1852, in
ba q efata1
twill you send Maryland into the mar
ket as stock -jobber, to speculate in her
own secur;ties2 She has agreed to pay
one hundred cents in the dollar rhen due
Shall she appear on change, loaded with
the gold of tax-ridden people. to pay q
premium on her own paper If, at the
expiration of fifteen years, the money is TO
be hand, will not her bonds appreciate to
the highest point? Every dol
lar which she would pay as premium on
her bonds would be in fact a bonus for
the privilege of anticipating her obliga-
tions. What private capitalist would
cancel his liabilities upon such princely
scale?"
The Comptrolle. then goes on to review
the disposition of the revenues accruing
from the loan taxes as follows:
1.-THE State debt created previous to the
year 1868, now outstanding, and for which
no tax provision is made, is $5.6S4, sos %
the Sta'e debt issued since. and includ-
ing the year 1868, now outstanding, for
which debt taxes are provided, is $5,573.
154 rs. The constitutional guarantee Tor
the payment of this debt of 81, 257, $50 SO
e, xho, <ha tafo mt in inf al
improvement companies and the State tax
levied to pay off the public debt shall not
be used or appropriated until the interest
and debt are fully paid, or the sinking
fund shall be equal to the amount Of the
outstanding debt. This constitutional
guarantee is equally complied with if the
guarantee given, when used, is applied to
the payment OF the interest and principal
of the debt, or to either, whether the debt
paid is cancelled and destroyed or put and
kept into the sinking fund" At least
such was the view taken by the Governor
and the Legislature in 1864 and 1872. and
acquiesccd in, with perfect unanimity, un-
til now fault is found with the oblitera-
ton Of the sinking fund, and the inquiry
is gravely-ro, not gravely, but loosely
made-what has become of the loan tax
The answer is to be found in the follow
ing statement, which have carefully COM
piled from the comptroller's books:
Amt. of State debt Sept. 80,
ls6S......................... ,7l2;l9o As
Amt. of State loans issued since
Sept. 80, ls6s................ a,572;532 90
Amt. ofinterest paid on the pub
lie debt since Sept. 30, 1868. 9,O27,635 "a
$24,3l2, 357 50
Amt of State debt Sept 80 1881. IL, 257, $50 GO
Amt paid on account of public
debt since Sept 80, 1862. $l3, O54, 1877 90
Amt. of State securities used
and applied to the payment
Of the public debt since
Sept. 80, ls6s............. 1879, 935 80