18TO.] OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 99t

whole management and control of the work, the appoint-
ment of agents for conducting its business and concerns is

vested in a President and Board of Directors, to be elected at
the General meeting of stockholders held annually in the
month of June. The State of Maryland holding a majority
of the* stock of the Canal Company, exerts a legal control?
over the Canal only by and through its voters as stockhold-
ers, and not by virtue of its laws as a sovereign State. Hence
it is impossible for the Legislature to provide bv law for the
selection of Superintendent for a fixed term of five or ten
years by the Board of Public Works, to whom shall be in-
trusted the general management of the Canal The only
way by which the terms of the charter can be gratified and
the Constitution of our State gratified, which authorizes the
Board of Public Works to vote the stock of the State, is for
the Legislature, which possesses the right of the State, the
dominion and disposing power'over the stock itself to trans-
fer the stock absolutely or qualifiedly to third parties. This
the Committee think the Legislature has the right to do.
The Constitution confers upon the Board of Public Works
the right to sell the stock of the State at any time, subject to
the assent of the next General Assembly, but the Constitution
does not attempt to take away from the Legislature the
power always remaining with it, as the general repository of
power, to dispose at its pleasure of any and all the proprie-
tary rights of the State. This being so, and finding that the
Board of Trustees of the preferred bondholders and mortga-
gees, under the Act of 1844, chapter 281, have the chief
present interest in the .efficient management of the Canal, by
reason of their right to the entire nett proceeds for the liqui-
dation of the claims secured under that Act and the mortgage
executed in compliance with its provisions, the Committee
have reached the conclusion that a legal and valid 'assign-
ment of the stock of the State, for a valuable consideration,
may be made to that Board, who will thereby acquire the-
power within the terms of the charter of the Company, and
without a violation of the State Constitution as affecting the
powers of the Board of Public Works, to vote the stock of the
State, and through that vote to control the administration of
the Canal, to impart a certain fixedness to its management,
to withdraw it from the influences of partizan politics, and
to ensure that watchful supervision essential to successful
management, which the stimulus of direct and large pecuni-
ary interest must bring into activity. By the arrangement
proposed, the State will aslso derive immediate advantage, the
terms and consideration of the transfer being the payment of
ten per cent, annually out of the gross revenues of the Canal.
The gross resources now being about $400,000 annually, and
with a prospect of increase to $600,000 within ten years, and