1876.] OF THE SENATE. 423

Mr. Brewer presented the memorial of George B. Bowlen,
R. P. Hays and 50 others, citizens of Montgomery county,,
praying the passage of a General Local Option Law.

Which was read and referred to the Committee on Finance.

The President presented the following communication from
the President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD Co.
Baltimore, March 8, 1876.
To the Honorable,

The General Assembly of the State of Maryland:

The memorial of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com-
pany, acting by its President and Board of Directors, respect-
fully represents :

That this Company begs leave to ask the attention of your
Honorable Body to the matters pending between the State
and the Company, to the end that there may be a just and
amicable adjustment of the same.

Two series of claims were made" by the State against the
Company, which have been adjudicated, and are known re-
spectivelv as the "Capitation Tax" case and the "Gold
Case."

The result of the litigation, upon the points presented for
adjudication, is well known, and has been officially furnished
to your Honorable Body in the Message of his Excellency,
the late Governor of the State.

The "Capitation Tax" ease was a suit brought, by the State
to recover one-fifth of the whole amount received for the
transportation of passengers on the Washington Branch
Road, and between the Relay House and Baltimore, on travel
between Baltimore and Washington.

On May 3d, 1875, the Supreme Court of the United States
affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals of Maryland,
sustaining the constitutionality of that provision of the Act
of 1832, chapter 175, which requires this Company to pay
semi-annually, into the State Treasury, one-fifth of the gross
receipts from passenger fares on the Washington Branch. In
this suit, the decisions of the highest judicial tribunals have,
therefore, been in favor of the State, and, promptly npon the
announcement of the opinion of the Supreme Court, the
Company paid to the State Treasurer the sum of $424,229.81,
the amount of the judgment and interest.

The other suit, the "Gold Case," was instituted by the
State to recover from the Company the difference between the
value of currency and gold on the amount of dividends on
the State's Preferred Stock, from July 1st, 1865, to January
1st, 1870.