viii

The apparent or nominal Debt of the State as will be
seen by Statement J, is $14,899,050.63 ; but of this, whilst
the State stands bound for the ultimate payment, should
the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road Company prove unable
to make it, $2,421,111. 11 has the interest regularly provided
for, and paid in London by the said Company, without
any agency on the part of the State in the said payment;
and the said Company .regularly reimburses the State, for
the interest paid on the further sum of $848,210.00, which
was originally a part of the same loan, but converted into
the Currency by authority of Chapter 41 of 1847 ; these
sums, the interest of which is thus paid by the Company,
if deducted from the apparent Debt, leaves as the remain-
ing Debt $11,629,729.52, from which if the amount of
Stocks and Cash, standing to the credit of the Sinking
Fund as of September 30th, 1862, be deducted, — say,
$5,391,659.23, would leave as the actual Debt of tie State
upon which to pay interest at the last mentioned date
$6,238,070.29 ; which is further diminished by investments
for the Sinking Fund, and redemptions made since the close
of the Fiscal year ; so that the actual Debt for which the
payment is yet to be provided, will not much exceed
$6,000,000.00.

Whilst a part of the outstanding Public Debt is payable
at the pleasure of the State, after the years 1865 and 1870,
much the larger portion thereof is not payable until after
1885 and 1890, and then, only at the pleasure of the State.

Under the circumstances, the Sinking Fund is providing
the means for the extinguishment of the Debt much faster
than the Debt matures; and until the Debt matures, the
Treasurer is obliged to go into the market and make pur-
chases of Stocks at their market value, which is so high
now, as to cause such investments of the increments as they
accrue, to be made at, prices disadvantageous to the State
and in fact, it is difficult, as I have before stated, to make
such investments at all.

It would seem wise therefore, that much the larger portion
of the Stocks held for the Sinking Fund at. present, should
be cancelled, so as to reduce its unwieldly bulk, and prevent