treasury, for any length of time, under the pro-
posed distribution.
Mr. DORSEY suggested to the gentleman from
Worcester, (Mr. Jacobs.) to modify his propo-
sition by inserting the words "until the debt and
interest are fully paid, or the sinking fund shall
be found sufficient for payment thereof."
Mr. JACOBS accepted the modification.
Mr. THOMAS said he had yesterday expressed
an earnest opposition to the course of policy in
relation to our finances, which was foreshadowed
in some gentlemen's speeches, and which is this
morning proposed in the amendment of the gen-
tleman from Worcester, (Mr. Jacobs.) He
would, this morning, say in a few words, why he
must vote against this proposition. Before he
did so, he had something to say on a question
mooted yesterday in this hall.
He was not here when the honors were dis-
tributed yesterday to those who were entitled to
the credit of rescuing Maryland from the dis-
grace of a public bankruptcy. He humbly con-
ceived, that when all the facts were known,
no one would deny to him some portion of that
commendation which had been given altogether
to others. To some of these facts he would re-
fer, especially as they would tend to remove eve-
ry shadow of suspicion from the minds of mem-
bers, that he was less jealous than another, of
the honor of the State. We may differ as to the
mode in which public faith may be maintained,
but those differences should not lead us to entertain
apprehensions and distrusts of each other,
that have no foundations.
It was well known to the Convention that he
had been chosen President of the Chesapeake
and Ohio Canal company in 1839. Prior to that,
the State of Maryland had contracted a debt of
more than seven millions to pay for stock taken
in the canal company and to raise money to be
loaned to the same company to prosecute its
great undertaking. The acts of the General As-
sembly of Maryland, authorizing State bonds to
be issued for these purposes, each and all con-
tain sections requiring the canal company to
mortgage to the state all their incomes and the
whole work they were constructing, to secure
the punctual payment of the interest on the loans
thus made by the State, and on the State bonds
issued to raise means to pay for this canal stock
for a stated period of years. At the time he be-
came their President, the annual interest, payable
from the canal company to the State, exceeded
four hundred thousand dollars. The whole in-
come of the company was not sufficient to keep
that part of the canal which was then finished,
in repair, and to pay the salaries of its officers.
Thus circumstanced, the officers of the company
had no means to pay the interest due to the State
but by selling the bonds of the State itself, for
whatever they would bring in the market. And,
in this way. when two millions of dollars were
advanced by the State to construct the canal,
about one million five hundred thousand dollars
would be expended in the further construction of
the work, and the other five hundred thousand
would be sold in the market to raise means to be

paid into the State treasury. If these bonds to
pay interest had been sold by the treasurer of the
State, the true character of these financial ar-
rangements would have been obvious. But un-
der the arrangements that were made, a delusion
prevailed on this subject. The people believed
that the large sums of public money which had
been expended for internal improvements, could
not, in any event, lead to taxation. And the
purchasers of the bonds felt secure of the punc-
tual payment of their dividends, under the belief
that the mortgages given by the canal company
to the State) had been executed by a company
having ample means to comply with its pecunia-
ry engagements. This financiering, Mr T. said,
was deceptive; but he did not impute intentional
wrong to any one who had been concerned in it.
When these contracts were entered into by the
canal company and the State, he had no doubt
but that the parties to them fully believed that
the canal would be completed at an early day,
and that then its incomes and profits would be
abundantly adequate to the fulfilment of its con-
tracts. He thought otherwise, and took mea-
sures as soon as he had lime, fully to understand
the affairs of the company to arrest this whole pro-
ceeding. At that time a corps of Engineers were
locating a route for the canal west of Cumberland
with a view to its extension to the Ohio. They
were withdrawn. The idea of extending the canal
to Ohio river was abandoned. If it had been pos-
sible to keep the financial system in operation,
which was relied upon to pay the interest on
bonds of the State issued to construct the canal,
the bonds to be issued for that purpose, would
have exceeded thirty millions of dollars. Hav-
ing taken measures to limit the undertaking of
the company to the completion of the canal from
tide-water to Cumberland, he addressed a letter
to the gentleman from Queen Anne's, who was
then Governor of Maryland, urging him to call
an extra session of the Legislature, that mea-
sures might be adopted to put the financial affairs
of the State in order, and place them on some
sure and stable foundation. He then thought
and said, that taxation, and taxation alone, was
the rightful remedy. After his letter to the Gov-
ernor had been received by him, they had a per-
sonal conference on this subject, when there was
no difference between them as to the stern neces-
sity which existed for an interposition of the Le-
gislature. But the Governor thought it would
not be expedient to call an extra session of the
Legislature he preferred to wait for a regular
annual session of that body, the time for com-
mencing which being then near at hand. Having
detailed these facts, he asked whether no credit
was due to the citizen of Maryland who had ta-
ken upon himself high responsibility to arrest a
proceeding that must have eventuated but for
that interruption in the contracting of a public
debt that would have frustrated every plan since
devised to maintain the honor of Maryland.
It was well known that he had opposed the in-
ternal improvement policy that had caused our
financial difficulties. He differed now as to the
manner in which our financial affairs were to be
conducted, and he was not to be deterred in the