X

priated by the Act of 1835, to the Eastern Shore Rail Road,
has the pledge of the faith of the State for its payment,
when works of improvement on that Shore can he provided
to which it may he judiciously applied.

By the Act of 1860, chapter 303, this balance was appro-
priated to certain counties in the proportion of what was
deemed the right of each County named ; and of the sums
for the respective Counties, certain portions thereof, in some
cases, and all in others, were given to specified roads. Of
the Roads and other works of improvement to which these
appropriations were made, hut three out of the whole
number have been organized under these charters, and of
these, one has become involved in difficulty growing out of
the adverse claims of different persons claiming to be the
officers of the Road, and therefore claiming its management
and control, as well as the sums appropriated by the Act
alluded to.

The appropriation to the several works of improvement
by the Act referred to, were made upon the condition, that
the payments by the individual Stockholders, should at all
times be equal to the payments made by the State.

In the case of the Maryland and Delaware Road, it is
alleged, that in order to meet this condition, promissory
notes, mortgages and other liens, have been received as
money from individual Stockholders, by which procedure it
is rendered difficult to determine the propriety of further
payments to that Road by the State.

It is well to understand that some of the Roads to which
appropriations were made by the Act of 1860, exist only in
Acts of incorporation, no steps having been taken to put
them into operation, and that in consequence, no application
has been, made for any part of the money granted to these.

There is danger, however, that at some future day, adven-
turous persons may possess themselves of these works with
a view to obtain the appropriations made by the State to
them.

Whilst the sums of money appropriated to the incorpo-
rated Companies, not now organized or put into operation,
were granted to them as works of internal improvement,