REPORT.

To the Honorable,

The General Assembly of Maryland:

The undersigned, appointed a joint committee of both
branches of the Legislature to visit and report upon the con-
dition of the State Tobacco Warehouses in the city of Balti-
more, beg leave to submit the following as the result of their
deliberations, and to invite your early attention to the con-
sideration of the bill about to be presented by the committee
and prayed to be considered as a part of this report. The
committee, after visiting all the warehouses, held a conference
with the buyers and commission merchants for the purpose of
ascertaining their views in regard to modifications of the pre-
sent system of inspection. Letters and suggestions of a

thorough change, as by leasing, establishing a board of li-
censed auctioneers, and otherwise, have reached us; but after
profound consideration we have concluded only to attempt a
removal of the unnecessary and burthensome features of the
Acts of 1864 and 1865. Impressed as is the public mind of
the State, and particularly that region where the planting
interest is almost exclusively staple, and therefore, the more
to be protected, the committee suggest amendments of the
law in regard to storing out of tobacco, the vexed question
of cooperage, the quarterly sale of scraps, a monthly publica-
tion of the number of hogsheads of tobacco under charge of
each Inspector, and other subjects noticed in the bill.

We would call the attention of the Legislature to the con«
dition of the Tobacco Fund, once a source of much revenue
to the State. Reference to the last report of the Comptroller
will disclose the fact that no mention is made of this subjects
although the general financial status of Maryland is promi-
nent and in detail. It is important, we think, that a measure
so comprehensive and valuable should be well gua'rded and
protected by immediate statutory enactment. The condi-
tion of the warehouses were such as to call for stringent laws
to prevent the accumulation of refuse matter, &c., &c., in
them. All of them had not been thoroughly cleaned out for
one year at least, and upon inquiry as to this neglect, the