XX REPORT OF THE

amount, exceeding five hundred dollars. The Act of 1868,
Chapter 259, repealed this provision, and required the pay-
ment into the Treasury by Notaries in the counties, of one-half
the amount of fees exceeding three hundred and fifty dollars.
As nothing was said in the Act about the Notaries in the
City of Baltimore, the opinion prevailed among them, that
they were still entitled to retain five hundred dollars per
annum, before accounting for the one-half the fees to the
State. The same opinion prevailed in the department, and
settlements were made with the Notaries upon this basis.—
Upon the matter coming to my attention, however, the error
in the mode of settlement was pointed out, and the Notaries
were informed that they still owed the State the amounts
thus retained, since the passage of the last mentioned Act.
The paymeut of so large a sum, which had been by them
supposed to have been rightfully retained, will be to each of
them so owing, a serious matter, and I therefore promised,
before charging these amounts up to them, respectively, or
proceeding by law to recover them, to submit the matter to
the wisdom of the General Assembly. The effect of prose-
cuting these Notaries for these amounts will be disastrous to
some, if not all of them, and I therefore recomend that
these amounts be remitted by Act of Assembly. I further
recommend, that the fees of Notaries Public be reduced upon
protests, to an amount sufficient to compensate them tor the
work, and that the tax on protests be discontinued. When
the finances of the State were severely straitened, and her
officers Were looking about for extraordinary resources of
revenue, it may have been well enough to lay a tax of this
sort, but I hardly think it desirable for a State in as comfort-
able a condition, financially, as Maryland is, to continue to
raise revenue by levying a tax on the poor debtor who is so
unfortunate as not to be able to meet his note at maturity,
or upon the endorsers of such debtor.

FINES AND FORFEITURES.

The amount of Fines and Forfeitures, and interest thereon,
paid into the Treasury by different sheriffs, during the fiscal
year, is detailed in table "No. 12," amounting in the aggre-
gate to the sum of $6,935.44.