COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY ix

school tax collected was distributed. This construction of the law,
originally made by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and
the Comptroller, has been uniformly adopted and followed—the Act
of 1872, ch. 377, which is still in force, contains exactly similar pro-
visions, with the exception that the apportionments arc all required to
be made by the Comptroller—the office of State Superintendent
having been abolished. The Act divides the school year into four
terms, designated as the fall term, the winter term, spring term; and
summer term, and the financial reports of the schools of the State,
are directed by the Act, to be made up and rendered to the 30th day
of September inclusive, of each and every year

The school year is thus made to commence on the first day of
October, on which day the Comptroller is to make the first appor-
tionment of the school tax for said year. An apportionment is re-
quired to be made in the first month of each of the several school
terms, thus providing the Boards of School Commissioners with the
funds to meet their quarterly payments to teachers, &c. The Act ,
directs that the "Secretary and Treasurer of the Board of County
School Commissioners shall give bond to the State of Maryland,
with at least two securities, to be approved by said Board, in such
penal sum as the said Board shall determine, with the condition
that he shall faithfully perform the duties of Secretary and Treas-
urer, pay over and apply all moneys that shall come to bis bands
or care as Treasurer, to such persons and in such manner -as
said Board may, under the provisions of this Act, direct," &c
The several Boards of County School Commissioners have prescribed
the bonds of the several Secretaries and Treasurers, evidently witb
the view of making them sufficient to secure one quarterly payment
of the school tax.

A large majority of the counties in the State, have no banks in.
which large sums of money could be deposited with safety, "to
await the exigencies of the Board of School Commissioners.

From all these circumstances, and from the language of the Acts
of Assembly, it seems to me to te clear, that it has been always the
intention of the Legislature, that as nearly as possible, one-fourth
of the whole school tax for the year, and no more, should be paid
out at each of the quarterly distributions. The danger of the moneys,
thus collected from the people, for educational purposes, being di-
verted to other objects, not contemplated by the law, is, by the wise
provision for quarterly distributions, in a large degree averted, and
the uniform construction put upon the law, by the State Superin-
tendent of Public Instruction, and by every incumbent of the. Comp-