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the Act of 1868, for the purpose of paying the interest
and creating a sinking fund with which to pay the
principal at maturity. No sinking fund had, however,
been created, The money arising from the tax had
been otherwise appropriated by the Legislature. The
debt had been and was being reissued when I entered
office to the amount of three millions of dollars.

There were the Deaf and Dumb Loans, amounting
to $225,000.00, one of them had been running since 1870,
and the other since 1874, as well as the Maryland Hospi-
tal Loans, amounting to $405,000.00, one of them had
been running since 1872, and the other since 1876, with
a total tax on these various loans of one and three-
quarters cents on the one hundred dollars, for the pur-
pose of raising the necessary funds for the payment
of interest on these debts, and to create a sinking fund
for the payment of the principal within fifteen years
from the date of their issue, but no sinking fund what-
ever had been provided for them. Indeed, the only
debt of the State that had a sinking fund provided for
it as required by the constitution and the laws creating
the various loans of the State, was the Treasury Relief
Loan of $500,000.00.

Such was the condition of Maryland's finances when
I was called by the people, to assume the duties of
Comptroller of the treasury of Maryland.

While hitherto a sinking fund for only a half a million
of dollars had been maintained, I had promised the
people to maintain a sinking fund for the entire State
debt, for which special taxes were provided, amounting
to the large sum of four millions one hundred and
ninety thousand dollars.

It was stated upon every hand that this could not be
done—that I had promised too much—that I would find
it impossible without an increase of taxation, to main-
tain the sinking funds for the various loans of the
State, as required by the constitution.

Under such circumstances as these I began my offi-
cial tenure as Comptroller, and fortunate indeed was