pursuit of his objects by the possibility that he
might encounter the hostility of those elsewhere,
who contributed nothing but frothy declamations
about State faith towards the maintenance, un-
sullied, of State honor,
He was opposed to the amendment of the gen-
tleman from Worcester, and Would vote against
any proposition to impose such restriction on the
legislature as would leave them no power to re-
duce the taxes, when the State of our treasury
would fully justify such a measure. His princi-
pal objection to such a course, was founded in
the belief, that, it would cause the public securi-
ties to rise in the market much beyond their no-
minal value, and in that way afford opportunities
to stock-jobbers, to make large profits and inter-
fere seriously with the policy of the State, in-
tended to pay the public debt through the me-
dium of the sinking fund. Our treasurers habit-
ually purchased Maryland stocks with the pro-
ceeds of the sinking fund. The amount of stocks
of that character, due and payable was very lim-
ited. The largest portion of the State would
not be due for twenty, thirty and forty years.
Was it then wise policy to compel our legislature
to keep the present tax system in full operation,
when it was notorious that the surplus annually
accruing in the treasury, would soon be, if it
was not now, much greater in amount than the
bonds of the State outstanding and due. He de-
nied that it would be good policy to deny to the
legislature, power to touch this tax system be-
fore the whole debt is paid off. We have an
increasing income from the public works. That
may increase in a few years and swell this sur-
plus revenue. And in that event, the treasurer
would have on hands large sums of money to be
applied to the purposes of the sinking, fund.
This State of our finances would be known to
stock-jobbers; and could any one fail to foresee
that that class of citizens holding large amounts
of State securities, that the treasury had riot a
right to redeem without consent of the holder,
until they were due, would demand for their
prices high above this nominal value. To him
this seemed very clear, and he would undertake
to predict that if the policy indicated by this
amendment, was enforced upon the legislature
that it would be found hereafter that we had paid
eighteen or twenty millions, instead of fifteen
million of dollars for our State bonds. Such a
result he depricated.
He regarded these debts of the State as obli-
gatory on the people of Maryland. They are to
be paid, but we are under no obligation to pro-
vide for their payment before they are due,
Those who hold our securities as a permanent in-
vestment, and look to their dividends from that
source as a means of support, will be satisfied if
we take care to provide for the punctual payment
of those dividends, and are ready to redeem the
principal when it is due. For these purposes our
State financial system has been made abundantly
adequate by the Legislature. And he had no
reason to doubt that the Legislature, if the whole
subject is left as it ought to be, to their discre-
tion. would be derelict to their duties in this respect.

He had said this to explain the vote he was to
give. He could not agree to detain the house by
saying more in support of propositions that ap-
peared to his mind so obvious and indisputable.
Mr. CHAMBERS said, when this subject was
unexpectedly started yesterday, he had ventured
to enter his protest against the policy of an early
reduction of taxes. The gentleman from Fred-
erick had to day renewed the subject with an
elaborate argument.
He should not waste words or the time of the
Convention by an effort to show the duty of pro-
viding for the interest on the public debt. No
man he supposed could be found to deny that
duty, or oppose its performance. It would place
him in a position odious in public estimation.
The gentleman from Frederick had advanced
two propositions, first that the fact of the Trea-
surer's being in the market would necessarily
swell the price of our stock to an inordinate sum;
secondly, that it would he the means of securing
large fortunes to speculators and stock-jobbers.
Mr. THOMAS repeated his positions, in order to
set the gentleman right.
Mr. CHAMBERS said he understood the posi-
tions assumed by the gentleman, and supposed he
had correctly stated them, and he desired to ex-
press his entire dissent from each of them. He
would reiterate the views he had yesterday ex-
pressed, that the considerations which connect
themselves with stock operations are not those
assumed by the gentleman from Frederick. The
elements which enter into the estimate of the
value of stock are such as he had before asserted.
Men are governed in their transactions in
this article of traffic by the same influences which
control their action in their traffic in in other ar-
ticles. It was subject to the same general law
which governs in all matters of trade. The pro-
portionate amount of demand and supply would
regulate the price.
So it was with land or its products; when abun-
dant, a man would go into the market and invest
his money so as to produce the most profit by his
purchase. If an individual wanted a farm, he
would make its productiveness and its conveniences
the criterion of its value. There might be
an exception to this rule, where a person of large
wealth indulged his fancy or his taste, or a con-
venient location of his family, hat he spoke of
cases generally. A stranger having no local pre-
ferences or social feelings to divert him from the
ordinary motives of purchasers, would never buy
a farm for one hundred dollars per acre, when he
could obtain one of as good quality, as conveni-
ently situated, in regard to "mill, market, and
church," equally productive and equally improv-
ed, at half the price. Nor would it be anin-
ducement sufficient to change his purpose, that
some wealthy neighbor was known to be desi-
rous to purchase the first named farm. So with
government stock, if there was but a very limit-
ed amount in the market, its value as a means of
investment would undoubtedly increase, to an
extent beyond other articles of which the supply
was more abundant. But government stocks
were plenty, and a purchaser had ample room for
I selection. A man of money, therefore, deairing