144: PUBLIC WORKS—BOARD OF. [ART. 78 A.

and Ohio Railroad Company; six hundred shares of the capital
stock of the Annapolis Water Company; fifteen hundred and
forty-nine shares of the capital stock of the Farmers' National
Bank of Annapolis, all now held and owned by the State of
Maryland, and in making sale of such stock or securities the
said board of public works are directed to proceed as directed
in the preceding section; provided, however, that in the event
that the board of public works shall receive an offer of two
million five hundred thousand dollars or more for the said fifty-
five hundred shares of the capital stock of the Washington
branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, the said
board may sell the said stock at private sale, without advertis-
ing for sealed proposals, as prescribed in the preceding section,
and without any other or further formality or delay, or in their
discretion they may advertise for bids for the purchase of the
whole of the State's holdings and interest in the said Washing-
ton branch for such time, in such mode and subject to such
regulations and conditions as they shall see fit to prescribe.
But the said board of public works may exchange any of the
said State securities at their actual market value, for an equal
amount of outstanding bonds or certificates of indebtedness of
the State, and full authority is given them to execute and
deliver such transfers or assignments as may be necessary to
effect such sale, exchange or transfer. And whenever there
shall be any sale or transfer of such State securities by the
board of public works, the proceeds thereof shall be applied to
the payment and cancellation of a like amount of the outstanding
bonds or certificates of debt of the State. And whenever any of
the outstanding bonds or certificates of debt of the State shall be
paid, the same shall be cancelled and entered by designation and
number by the treasurer in the book in his office known as the
"Treasurer's record of bonds paid and cancelled, " and the
treasurer and comptroller are directed, during the month of
September and prior to the close of the fiscal year next preced-
ing the meeting of the General Assembly, to charge off on their
books of account all such State bonds and certificates of debt
which has been paid or redeemed, so as to reduce the accounts of
such bonds and certificate? of debt to the amounts then actually
outstanding and unpaid, so that the said books, at the time
the comptroller's report is made, will show the actual outstand-
ing debt of the State, and the treasurer shall report the same
to the next succeeding general assembly, fully and in detail.