which she is indebted to the United States, has
been applied by the legislature of Maryland
for the benefit of public education. The
State of Maryland therefore does not own
that bank stock, except in its character of
trustee, of a double trust; in the first place
subject to the call of the United States for the
return, and subject to the application of the
interest of it to the support of the public
schools. Hence the governor, comptroller
and treasurer would be inhibited from the sale
of that class of bank stocks.
Mr. CUSHING. I shall vote for the recon-
sideration of the amendment of the gentleman
from Baltimore county, because I think there is
in it, as in most of the propositions presented
to this body, a practical difficulty, which
amounts in reality to an embargo upon the
sale of the State's interest in the public works
within any reasonable time. I think that
is contained in the provision "that the power
hereby conferred shall only be exercised when
the proceeds of such sales can be converted
into a like amount of the public debt." Be-
fore the governor, comptroller and treasurer,
or any two of them, can dispose of any part
of the State's interest in any of the public
works, they must first discover whether they
can apply the proceeds of such sale to the
purchase of an equal amount of the public
debt of the State, They may then go to work
and sell the State's interest. But even after
it is sold, they are not able to transfer the
stock until they can actually obtain the like
amount of the public debt, because if they fail
to obtain that amount the sale is vitiated by
the amendment of the gentleman from Balti-
more county. I think it is an impracticable
clause to be put in. I think it is such a clause
as I have never known to be put in, when pro-
viding for the sale of public securities, when
there was a desire to extinguish the public
debt. The only result can be to force the
State of Maryland to pay large premiums, or
to prevent the debt from ever being sold ex-
cept at exorbitant rates. I think it practi-
cally prevents the sale of the State's interest,
except in very small amounts, from time to
time, extending through a series of years.
Its interest in these public works will never
be extinguished.
In the amendment of which I gave notice
this morning, I attempt to avoid that by au-
thorizing and directing the governor, comp-
troller and treasurer to sell the State's interest
in the works of internal improvement, except
the State's interest in the Washington branch
of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, to the
highest bidder for cash, and prohibiting them
from selling stock in the main stem of the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad for less than
par, or from selling the State's interest in the
Chesapeake and Ohio canal for a less sum
than five millions of dollars, and requiring the
sale of the canal to be ratified by terms pre-
scribed by the legislatureture, which was intended |
to prevent the canal from being sold in the
interest of any company. It is a work of
public utility, and those interested in the pre -
servation of the canal are entitled to be re-
garded in the terms of its sale. The amount
to be received for it must be appropriated to
the payment of the State debt, and is not so
large but that a company engaged in the
transportation of coal could afford to buy the
State's interest for that price and work the
canal.
While I doubt the propriety of putting into
the Constitution anything about the sale at
all, inasmuch as I regard it as legislation,
and not at all proper to be inserted in the
Constitution, yet as the convention has ap-
parently made up its mind that the question
shall be settled in the Constitution, I think it
ought to settle it so as practically to make the
best arrangement for the citizens of the State
generally, and for those interested in the
Chesapeake and Ohio canal, and leave the
question of the banks to be settled by the
legislature, and not settled here. If I under-
stand the great object of getting rid of the
State's interest in the public works, it is to
prevent its being improperly used. I am a
great admirer of the public works, although I
never had a voice in the control of a single
public work. They have been of immense
value in developing the resources of the State.
But they have been used by political parties.
The question of appointing directors for the
public works of the State, has not been a
question of the interest of the State, but of
the interest of party. I suppose the inten-
tion of the convention was to prevent these
public works being made any longer an en-
gine of politics.
It was to disembarrass Maryland of being
in the condition of a speculator in the differ-
ent. stocks. After the State of Maryland had
in the beginning given her means when pri-
vate means were not sufficient to establish
those works, now that that day has gone by,
and that the public works are able to sustain
themselves, she should withdraw. If she
loses, the loss has been for the general good,
for the benefit of the community. It has
given them what without that loss they
could not attain. I judged that the amend-
ment I proposed would avoid what seem to
me the difficulties of the amendment of the
gentleman from Baltimore county (Mr.
Ridgely)?which I think would result in
never selling?by leaving it to the discretion
of the three officers of the government, with-
out instruction as to time and without in-
structions as to amount. The only direction
is, that whatever amount they get, they are
to buy the game amount of the public debt of
the State. It does not make it necessary
that we should sell these stocks at par, when
notoriously all the good works are far above
pair. And !we :are to sell the Elkridge Rail-
road, the Tide Water Canal, and all that |
