426 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Mar. 9,

mise, by clearly distinct implication, "You shall have an ex-
clusive right of transportation, and the State shall receive
one-fifth of your gross passenger earnings," und at a subse-
quent date, say "the State will no longer observe its implied
engagements, but will charter another road, diminish your
passenger traffic one-half, yet will still claim the one-fifth of
your gross passenger receipts?"

While, therefore, the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad,
running also between Baltimore and Washington, the con-
struction of which was authorized by the State—is free from
this burden, it is only just that the Washington Branch
should be free from it. One-third of the Washington Branch
stock, viz : $550,000, is owned by the State, and it has,
therefore, an additional, important, direct interest as a
stockholder, in the proper and equitable adjustment of this
matter.

It seems proper, in this connection, that, as the statement
frequ ntly appears that the Baltimore and Potomac Road is
subject to taxation in another form-—in order that the com-
parative burden may be understood—to cull attention to the
iact, as learned from the Comptroller of the Treasury Depart-
ment, that the sums of tax thus far paid by that Company
into the State Treasury, have been as follows, viz : For
1872, $293.11 ; for 1873, $1,351.52 ; for 1874, $2,450.35.

We deem it requisite to call attention to an error in the
Message of his Excellency, the late Governor, where he state
that the Company has refused "to declare any dividends on
the earnings of the Washington Branch, in order to punish
the State for the prosecution of its jast claims."

We ask your Honorable Boby to remember that, on De-
cember 10th, 1870, immediately after the decision of the
Superior Court of Baltimore city, declaring this "Capitation
Tax" unconstitutional, the Board of Directors of this Com-
pany reduced the fares one-fifth between Baltimore and
Washington, and between all intermediate points on the
Washington Branch. Since that date it has ceased to col-
lect that tax, or any part of it. and the traveling public,
mainly citizens of Maryland, have received the entire benefit
of the supposed exemption from this tax. All of this twen-
ty per cent, of the gross revenue as formerly collected, hav-
ing gone to the public, there is, therefore, not one dollar
thereof in the Treasury of the Company. The company
has, however, regularly paid a, semi-annual dividend of five
per cent, to the holders of the stock of the Washington
Branch. The State being the owner of $550,000 of this
stock, duly received $55,000 per year thereon. It paid its
last semi-annual dividend of the earnings of this branch on