vi REPORT OF THE

The embarrassments under which the financial officers
have been almost continuously laboring in maintaining
these results, were freely made known in my lirst re-
port to Governor Carroll. The error in the financial leg-,
islation of this State, I beg leave to suggest, consists in
requiring a direct tax to be levied for the benefit of her
bondholders, who are already sufficiently secured, and In
not making any certain or adequate provision for her
other creditors.

The'receipts during last year were derived from the or-
dinary sources of revenue, and amounted to $2,097,376.88.
The sum realized from like sources in the year 1878, was
$1,623,643.23, showing an increase in favor of the year
1883, of $473,733.65. There has been since the year 1878,
a regular and steady improvement in the revenues, which
if fostered and continued, will enable the treasury officers,
in the future, to redeem at par, considerable sums of the
debts of the State, as they respectively become due.

The funded debts of the State, their respective rates
of interest and their respective dates of maturity,
are shown in "Statement J." They amounted, in the
aggregate, on the 30th of September last, to $11,269,822.89.

The "Maryland Defense Loan" of . $3,326,750.66,
matured on the 1st day of January, 1884. In my re-
port to the Legislature of 1880, I called attention to
this loan, and to the opportunity which its maturity
would afford of refunding three millions of the State's
indebtedness, bearing six per cent, interest, at a
much, lower rate. The Legislatures of 1880, and
of 1882, each, readily passed laws to that end; and I
am able to state that the refunding of $3,000,000 of the 6
per cent, "Defense Loan" into the new $3,000,000 "Defense
Redemption Loan'' authorized by the Act of 1882, Chapter
289, at the rate of 3.65 per cent., is an accomplished fact,
and reduces the interest on the public debt $70,500 per
annum. The balance of this loan, $326,750.66, was called
in on the first of January, and a further saving of $19,-
605.03 in annual interest effected. The new loan of
$3,000,000 will be redeemable in fifteen years from the
first of this January.