TREASURER. 3011

employed to pay the interest on the public debt and shall, together with
the comptroller at the close of every month, examine and burn all such
coupons that have been recorded and shall make a report of their proceed-
ings showing the amount of the value of such coupons to the legislature
at each session thereof.

An. Code, sec. 23. 1904, sec. 23. 1888, sec. 23. 1862, ch. 112. 1890, ch. 571.

23. The comptroller and treasurer shall within the first two weeks of
January, April, July and October in every year, in the presence of the
governor, count and cancel the bonds and certificates for stocks of the
State and count and examine the other securities purchased or obtained by
the treasurer for the use of the sinking fund; and a statement of the bonds
and certificates so counted and those so counted and cancelled signed by
the comptroller and treasurer and countersigned by the governor shall be
filed in the office of the comptroller within one week after each such count
and cancellation; and the committee on finance of the senate and the
committee on ways and means of the house of delegates shall jointly dur-
ing each session of the legislature and within the first month of such ses-
sion examine and count all such bonds and certificates of stock so pur-
chased or obtained up to the close of the fiscal year next preceding such
session and cancelled or stamped " purchased for the sinking fund," as
required by the provisions of this article, and shall burn all such bonds
and certificates of stock as belong to the overdue debt of the State and shall
examine carefully all bonds or certificates of stock maturing at some future
day for the purpose of ascertaining that the same have been endorsed or
marked, cancelled or stamped " purchased for the sinking fund," as re-
quired by section 26, and that the accruing coupons and interest thereon
have been collected and credited to said sinking fund and shall make a
joint report of their proceedings therein to both houses of the legisla-
ture within two weeks after they shall have finished their said duties as
prescribed by this section.

An. Code, sec. 24. 1904, sec. 24. 1888, sec. 24. 1858, ch. 109, sec. 3.

24. The agents employed to pay the interest upon the public debt are
hereby required semi-annually to transmit to the treasurer of the State
all coupons they may have paid up to the time of making such transmission.

An. Code, sec. 25. 1904, sec. 25. 1888, sec. 25. 1872, ch. 276, sec. 4.

25. Whenever in the judgment of the comptroller there shall be a sur-
plus in the treasury over and above the amount necessary to meet the cur-
rent expenses of the State, as provided by law, he shall cause the same to
be invested in the bonds or certificates of debt of this State purchased at
par or less; and in all purchases of bonds or certificates hereby directed
to be made, the treasurer shall give the preference to the overdue debt
of the State and the comptroller and treasurer may at any time re-
quire the said overdue debt or some class thereof which can be regulated
and accurately described to be presented at the place where made payable
for payment by giving not less than thirty days' notice to the holders of