statement of the proposition, and for these
reasons I think the amendment ought not to
prevail.
Mr. CLARKE. In 1842, twenty years ago,
the legislature made a provision applying to
the notes due ait that time. Has the canal
gone on increasing its indebtedness since that
time?
Mr. RIDGELY. There has been no issue
since that.
Mr. HEBB. I have a carefully prepared
Statement of the indebtedness of the canal,
handed me by one of my colleagues Mr.
Greene,) day before yesterday. It shows as
follows:
First claps—mortgage debts
including interest............. $5 638,586 94
Second class— preferred stock 10,150,000 00
Third class—common stock 625,000 00
Lien of the State waived
in favor of creditors, under
the act of 1844, chap. 281 4,025,191 68
Debts of the company deferred and postponed
to the mortgages executed to the State of Maryland
:
Post notes in scrip............. $372,899 00
Bonds issued in redemption of
post notes...................... 5,758 00
, Bonds issued to contractors
and creditors.................. 169,066 29
Acceptances to contractors
and creditors.................. 126,596 64
Certificates for scrip, bonds
&c.,—principal............... 186,75] 16
Balances due contractors, &c. 85,664 30
$946,435 39
. Interest due on these claims
to 1st July, 864,, estimated
at................................. 1,253,564 61
Total ..,,, , , ..,. $2,200,000 00
Of (ours" the canal company will always
owe those debts to the amount of $2,200,000,
' unless the State when it authorizes this sale
to be made re. quires the company to make
.provision for the payment of these debts;; fir
if it does nut .he property of the canal will
be in the hands of parties who bold the
State's interest, and will hold prior to these
deferred claims amounting to $2,200,000.
Mr. CLARKE. While I am willing, in mak-
ing this provision, to attach all proper con-
ditions upon which we can now act understandingly
I am opposed to going too much
into del i, upon this question. We have
three sufficient safeguards. We have pro -
vided that the proceeds of the sale shall be
applied to the pay ment of the public debt ;
we have further provided that the legislature
, shall prescribe the regulations and conditions,
looking to this very thing, before the sale is
made, so as to consider the rights and equi-
ties of all the creditors. And we have not |
only done that, but we have further provided
that this sale shall be ratified by a subsequent
legislature, which throws an additional safe-
guard around these creditors. We are not
prepared here, I am perfectly satisfied, to con-
sider the justice of these claims, or to act
upon questions of that sort. It is a question
which under the section as it stands now will
be remedied, because the legislature will have
the governor, and treasurer, and comptroller,
and its committees of investigation to exam-
ine all these matters. I am satisfied that the
legislature in making any sale will carefully
weigh through its committees all these finan-
cial questions. I desire that justice shall be
done to these scripholders. But I do not think
that with the little information we have upon
this subject, without any examination of
these financial questions, or the merits of
these claims by any committee of this house,
we should have a provision of this sort,
about which we are all entirely in the dark,
except that we know that such claims exist
ill some shape or form. I think, as I stated
before, that the rights and interests of credi-
tors will be sufficiently defended by the legislature,
who have first to prescribe the conditions
of the sale and then to ratify the sale.
The amendment offered by Mr. HEBB was
rejected.
Mr. RIDGELY submitted the following
amendment:
In the third line, after the word "interest,"
insert the words "as stockholder and creditor."
Mr. CLARKE. I think it was the understanding
of the committee that it should embrace
both interests; but I think to make it
plain and distinct, this should be inserted.
The amendment was agreed to,
Mr. PUGH moved to strike out in line two,
the words "or any two of them."
The PRESIDENT, That is nut in order.
Nothing can be stricken out.
Mr, PUGH. I gave notice of that amend-
ment, and the chair said it was not then in
order. Certainly it is not proper that it
."should be entirely lost in all this tinkering.
I have been patiently waiting fur the time
when it would be in order,
The PRESIDENT. Since that, the convention
has referred the matter to a special committee,
and the house has acted upon the report of
that committee, and inserted this proposition.
Mr. PUGH. I certainly thought that was a
strong ground for opposition to this section,
and I wanted to be heard upon it.
Mr. CLARKE Submitted the following amend-
ment to the report of the committee on the
legislative department. Insert as an additional
section the following :
Section —. The legislature at its first
session after the adoption of this constitution
shall provide a mode by which those persons
who were owners of saves under the laws of
this State, on the 1st day of January, 1861, |
