COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY. XXVII

of a successful annual correction of the basis of taxation, and
may be made to work a large saving of expense to the State,
as well as to the several Counties and City of Baltimore.

A bill to remedy these defects, and to originate a system
for the annual correction of the basis of assessment, will be
presented to the General Assembly at the present session for
its consideration. It is believed that by the adoption of the
plan proposed, a large saving of expense to the Counties and
City of Baltimore may be attained, and the basis of taxation
sept in a more perfect and satisfactory manner, both to the
autborities and tax-payers.

TAXATION OF MORTGAGE DEBTS.

By the 15th Article of the Declaration of Bights, it is or-
dained as a fundamental principle in regard to taxation, that
''every person in the State, or holding property therein, ought
to contribute his proportion of public taxes for the support of
the Government, according to his actual worth, in real and
personal property."

No power is given to the Legislature to vary or restrict
this rule in any event, or to grant the extraordinary privilege
of exemption from taxation, to any person or class of per-
sons, or to the holders of any species of property.

By the Act of 1835, Chapter 395, the faith of the State is
specially pledged to the holders of the bonds poroposed to be
issued by the State for the benefit of the Baltimore and Ohio-
Railroad Company,the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company,
the Susquehanna and Tide Water Canal Companies, the Bal-
timore and Susquehanna Railroad Company and the Eastern
Shore Railroad Company, that if it should at any time be-
come necessary, to levy a direct tax for the purpose of ena-
bling the State to discharge the interest accruing on said
bonds, that then and in that case, every variety of property
in the State, including mortgage debts by name, shall be
taxed for that purpose. Accordingly, when such legislation
became necessary, all debts bearing interest, including mort-
gage debts, were directed to be assessed, (as in fact they had
uniformly been previously,) and this provision of law obtained
until the Act of 1867, Chapter 341, which exempted mort-