tence changed, 1; habeas corpus, 1. Number remaining, 294. Ages of prisoners:- - less than 20, 283; 20 to 30, 1,139; 30 to 40, 503; 40 to 50, 252; 50 to 60, 84; 60 to 70, 31; 70 to 80, 8. Committed for larceny, burglary, and horse-stealing, 1,637; for murder in the first and second degree and manslaughter, or assaults with intent, &c., 166; for offences against social morals, as rape, &c., 76; for all other crimes, 421. Natives of Pennsylvania, 1,085; of other States, 787; foreigners, 428. Number of first-comers, 1,643; second do., 408; third do., 151; fourth do., 57; fifth do., 21; sixth do., 17; seventh do., 1; ninth do., 2. Edward W. Gilpin, of Wilmington, Attorney-General, Fees and 500 There were, in addition to the returns for Newcastle county, 2 blacks convicted of felony, and 6 whites and 2 blacks convicted of misdemeanors, at the Mayor's Court of the city of Wilmington. This would change the above total to 6 whites and 12 blacks convicted of felonies, and 33 whites and 6 blacks of misdemeanors; being one conviction of felony for 10,000 white persons, and one in 4,500 of the whole present population. *This is exclusive of Sunday school scholars, for whom the State pays twenty cents each. + Nearly. 1,500 66 1,500 W. G. D. Worthington, Associate Judge, The State is divided into six judicial districts, each comprising two, three, or four counties. For each district there are a chief judge and two associates, who constitute the County Courts for the respective counties in the district. These are the common law courts of original jurisdiction in the State; and they have jurisdiction of all claims for $50 and upwards, appellate jurisdiction from the judgment of justices of the peace, and equity jurisdiction within the counties, coextensive with the chancellor. The six chief judges constitute the Court of Appeals for the State, which has appellate jurisdiction of cases at law and in equity, originating in the County Courts, the Orphans' Courts (of which there is one in each county), and the Court of Chancery. This sum is subject to charges to the amount of $ 101,279.15, which leaves the balance of $227,220.31 available to meet future demands on the treasury. Debt of the State. -The amount of bonds and stocks constituting the nominal debt of the State of Maryland, inclusive of all the arrears of interest to be funded, is $ 16,175,062. But of this, bonds for $3,200,000 are in the hands of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and the interest on them, in case they should ever be used by that company, is secured beyond all danger, because the immense receipts of the road are, in that event, according to a late decision of the Court of Appeals, to be first applied to the payment of that interest, in preference to the extension, construction, or even repairs of the road. The State also holds in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Washington Branch stock amounting to $1,050,000, from which she has received yearly, including the capitation tax, a much larger sum than the interest to be paid on the bonds issued by her to pay her subscriptions; and even without the dividends on the main stem, the State would still receive more than sufficient to cover her own liability on this account. The interest on $1,000,000 loaned to the Susquehanna and Tide-water Canal Companies, it may now be safely said, will be fully provided for out of the receipts into the treasury from those companies; and that due on $ 148,000, borrowed on account of the tobacco warehouses, is secured by the proceeds of in. spections. These items together amount to $5,348,000, the interest on which need not be provided for by taxation. This sum, deducted from $ 16,175,062, the nominal amount of principal as stated above, leaves $ 10,827,062 as the amount of public debt, the interest on which must be paid by taxation. But of this latter amount, $1,642,934 is held by the State herself, under the name of the Sinking Fund, the interest on which is annually appropriated to the purchase of a further portion of the State stock or bonds. Deducting this from the $10,827,062, it will appear that, if the sum of $9,184,128 were now in the treasury, it would pay off all the debt of the State, for the interest on which it is necessary to lay taxes upon the people. The Sinking Fund, Dec. 1, 1846, was $1,515,227. Dec. 1, 1847, it was $1,642,934. The increase, $127,707, shows the decrease of the public debt in the last fiscal year. By the operation of this Sinking Fund, it may be stated, with absolute certainty, that, if the tax laws now on the statute-book remain unrepealed, and even if the revenue derived from them and from the public works does not hereafter increase at all beyond the present receipts, the whole debt will be discharged in less than twenty years. But the proceeds of the present taxes must increase, as they have increased from year to year, and the railroads and canals to which the State has so largely advanced her credit will inevitably become more productive, not only directly, by the payment of dividends, but indirectly, by promoting the accumulation of wealth and adding to the value of property. On the 1st of January, 1848, the State resumed the payment of interest on her debt, and there is every reason to suppose that the whole interest will hereafter be paid as it falls due. Finances. CITY OF BALTIMORE. The receipts into the treasury during the year ending Dec. 31, 1847, including a loan of $70,000, were $773,708.44. The payments for the same period were $858,610.58, leaving a balance against the city of $84,902.14. The total amount of real and personal property assessed for city purposes in 1848 was $77,612,380, which is an increase over that of 1847 of $2,691,235, and over that of 1846 of $11,780,005. Public Schools. The whole number of scholars in 1847 was 6,339. The whole number in 1846 was 5,087; increase in 1847, 1,252. The whole number of teachers in 1847 was 91, of whom 39 were males and 52 females. The amount paid for teachers' salaries, musicteachers, rents, and incidental expenses, was $66,760.21. The amount received from tuition was $20,295.32; from all other sources, #21,089.82. Total, $ 67,054.08. Of Pauperism. During the year ending Dec. 31, 1847, there were admitted into the Almshouse 1,693 persons; 33 were born, making the total ingress 1,726. 735 were discharged, 269 died, 13 were bound out to service, and 723 eloped, leaving 620 in the Almshouse. the 1,726 admissions, 873 were natives of the United States and 853 were foreigners, and of the foreigners 431 were born in Ireland and 308 in Germany. Labor was done by the inmates to the amount of $4,502.32. Produce was raised on the Almshouse farm to the val ue of $5,918.44, and $ 839.42 of extra work was done. The average increase of foreign paupers over the preceding year was 364 per cent., and of city paupers 13 per cent. Health of the City. - During the year ending Dec. 31, 1847, there were 3,795 deaths, being an increase of 542 over the preceding year. Of these, 381 were stillborn; 866 were under 1 year of age; 420 between 1 and 2; 376 between 2 and 5; 173 between 5 and 10; and 4 over 100. 590 died of consumption; 587 of unknown infantile diseases; 249 of cholera infantum; 166 of scarlet fever; 127 of croup; 106 of ship fever; 29 of typhus fever; 104 of whooping-cough; 4 by violence; 3 by suicide; and 144 of old age. 1,966 were males and 1,829 females. 771 colored persons died, of whom 551 were free and 220 slaves. By the report of the vaccine physicians, it appears that there were 1,397 primary vaccinations and 409 revaccinations. 8,874 refused to be vaccinated. *John F. Wiley, of Amelia Co., Councillor of State, Mar.31,'49, 1,000 of Richmond, of Richmond, of Richmond, of Richmond, Thomas F. Lawson, of Richmond, James F. Strother, Speaker of the House. Clerk of the House. The Governor, Treasurer, Auditor, 2d Auditor, and Register of the Land-Office are, ex officio, members of the Board of Public Works, Literary Fund, and Northwestern and Southwestern Turnpike Roads. They do not receive extra compensation for this service. of Lynchburg, Joseph Allen, of Richmond, John A. North, 66 1842, 2,500 1846, 2,500 of Lewisburg, Clerk of the Eastern Circuit, 1,000 Clerk of the Western Circuit, 1,000 * Acting Lieutenant-Governor in the absence of the Governor. |