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1876.] OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES 1193
Also, returned,
A bill entitled an Act to amend the charter of the Frost-
burg Water Company, which was incorporated by the Acts
of January Session, 1853, chapter 330.
Endorsed, "Passed by yeas and nays."
The following message was received from His Excellency,
the Governor, per hands of his private Secretary, Mr. Samuel
W. Brooks.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
Annapolis, March 24th, 1876.
Gentlemen of the House of Delegates :
I regret very ranch, that I am compelled to return without
my approbation, House bill 121, entitled "an Act to repeal
chapter 221, of the Acts passed at the January Session, 1874,
regulating the measurement of Oysters."
This bill was passed by H very large majority of both
branches of the Legislature, and it is therefore with some
diffidence as to the merit of my own opinions, that I venture
to differ from the views of those who sustained the measure.
On broad grounds of public policy, I have for a long time
entertained the opinion, that there should be little or no in-
terference on the part of the Legislature with the business
interests of the community, except so far as to protect the
public peace and morals, and to secure the revenues to be
derived to the State.
If one interest, which is special in its nature, can be pro-
tected by Legislative enactments, so also can another, and
thus the transactions of men may become the subjects of
arbitrary legislation, when they could be much more efficient-
ly conducted by those who are directly interested.
Thus in most of the trading centres of this Country, it has
become an axiom almost universally accepted, that the at-
tempt to regulate by law, the details of transactions between
man and man produce no good result, and that by far the
safest course is to leave to the parties interested the regula-
tion of the subject matter in which they deal, uninfluenced
by State laws, except so far as to protect the interests of
the whole community. It was this feeling that induced the
Legislature of 1870, to blot out from our statute books a great
number of the laws involving the inspection of varions arti-
cles" of commerce. It was this sentiment that induced the
people of New York as long ago as 1842, to provide by Con-
stitutional Enactments, that the Legislature should pass no
law which tended towards obligatory inspections, thus estab-
lishing the broad principle, that those interested were most
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