viii REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY.

of said Loan having been exchanged for a part of the State's interest
in the stock of the Washington Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company in April, 1906, so that the entire Loan is now
extinguished. When it is remembered that no tax is now levied to
support these funds, and that their integrity rests upon the revenues
of the State, the above showing must be satisfactory indeed.

OYS.TER FUND.

The receipts and disbursements of this Fund are shown in state-
ment "H," the receipts being $60.442.69 an.d the disbursements
$56,898.48, leaving a balance on hand of $3,544.21. This does not
represent, however, the true condition of the Fund. Included
among the "receipts" is an appropriation of $15,000, Chapter 809
of 1906, so that the actual receipts for the year, exclusive of the
balance brought down, were only $44,236.49, a sum entirely inade-
quate to maintain the! State Fishery Force. Indeed the revenues
have not been sufficient for some years to meet the expenses; conse-
quently bills have been carried over from one fiscal year to the other,
and as a matter of fact the revenues accruing since October 1, 1907,
have become exhausted, and there will not be to the credit of this
Fund on January 1, 1908, a sufficient amount to meet the payroll
on that date. The oyster revenues have annually decreased, and
are now no longec able to maintain the Fund, not because of
increased expenditures, but shrinkage in receipts. The industry
cannot, in my judgment, bear additional taxation. That levied at
the present time is onerous. Therefore the general Treasury must
be called upon for such relief as may be necessary to properly main-
tain this branch of the State's service.

STATE DEBT.

The debt of the State is given in full in statement "J." The
gross debt of the State at the close of the fiscal year ended Septem-
ber 30th, 1906, was $6,167,926.13. On September 30th, 1907, it was
$5,978,926.13. The net debt of the State on September 30th, 1906,
was $838,201.41, and the net debt on September 30th, 1907, was only
$562,901.41, or an actual reduction in the net debt of the State of
$275,300, and that too notwithstanding the $59.000 issue of new