State. We know that what we have done will affect beneficially the
lives of Marylanders of this generation and of generations to come We
are also proud of the record we have established in the sound manage-
ment of the finances of our State.

We will continue our program of progress, in education and in
other fields, and we will do so without jeopardizing the strong
financial condition of our State Government. I wish now to express
to all of you my deep appreciation for your attendance at this special
session. You are here to serve the best interests of the people of Mary-
land. It will be a pleasure to me, and to my staff and my Administra-
tion, to cooperate with you in every way in the performance of this
duty to the people of the State.

THE STATE OF THE STATE AND ABBREVIATED BUDGET

MESSAGE

January 21, 1965

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen of the General
Assembly:

It is my happy privilege to meet with you at the beginning of
another session of the General Assembly and to join forces with you
in a common endeavor for the accomplishment of a single objective
— the welfare of our State and its people. I am looking forward with
high expectations to the weeks that lie ahead, aware of the heavy
tasks we face, but resolved, as I know you are, to discharge to the
limit of my ability the responsibilities I have to the people of this
great State.

The opening of this 1965 session is an event of some historic im-
portance in that it marks the beginning of 70-day annual sessions of
this body. This change, I am convinced, is an improvement in the
machinery of our government and offers us an opportunity to better
our services to the people. By the very nature of their actions, legis-
lative bodies shape the lives and destinies of the people they serve.
For example, the character and the attitude of every generation of
Marylanders were fashioned by a simple act the Maryland colonial
assembly passed in 1649 guaranteeing freedom of worship to the
colonists and protecting them in this freedom. And so, as we meet
here today to begin another session of this Legislature, we are acutely
conscious of the gravity of our responsibilities, knowing that our

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