<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 B000000 11/30/96
000 C000000 0000843287
000 D000000 N
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000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0
000 J000000 U
001 A000000 FRANKLIN PRINCIPAL MATURITY TRUST
001 B000000 811-5699
001 C000000 4153122000
002 A000000 777 MARINERS ISLAND BOULEVARD
002 B000000 SAN MATEO
002 C000000 CA
002 D010000 94404
002 D020000 1585
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
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<PAGE> PAGE 2
007 C012900 29
007 C013000 30
008 A000001 FRANKLIN ADVISERS, INC.
008 B000001 A
008 C000001 801-26292
008 D010001 SAN MATEO
008 D020001 CA
008 D030001 94403
008 D040001 7777
010 A000001 FRANKLIN TEMPLETON SERVICES, INC.
010 C010001 SAN MATEO
010 C020001 CA
010 C030001 94403
010 C040001 7777
011 A000001 PAINE WEBBER INCORPORATED
011 B000001 8-00000000
011 C010001 NEW YORK
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011 C030001 10019
012 A000001 FIRST DATA INVESTOR SERVICES GROUP
012 B000001 84-0000
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012 C030001 02109
013 A000001 COOPERS & LYBRAND L.L.P.
013 B010001 SAN FRANCISCO
013 B020001 CA
013 B030001 94105
013 B040001 2119
015 A000001 BANK OF AMERICA NT & SA
015 B000001 C
015 C010001 SAN FRANCISCO
015 C020001 CA
015 C030001 94104
015 C040001 1502
015 E010001 X
015 A000002 THE BANK OF BOSTON
015 B000002 S
015 C010002 BUENOS AIRES
015 D010002 ARGENTINA
015 E040002 X
015 A000003 AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LTD
015 B000003 S
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015 D010003 AUSTRALIA
015 E040003 X
015 A000004 GIROCREDIT BANK AG DER OSTERREICHISCHEN SPARK
015 B000004 S
015 C010004 VIENNA
015 D010004 AUSTRIA
015 E040004 X
<PAGE> PAGE 3
015 A000005 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK PLC (SCB)
015 B000005 S
015 C010005 DHAKA
015 D010005 BANGLADESH
015 E040005 X
015 A000006 BANQUE BRUXELLES LAMBERT (BBL)
015 B000006 S
015 C010006 BRUSSELS
015 D010006 BELGIUM
015 E040006 X
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015 B000007 S
015 C010007 SANTIAGO
015 D010007 CHILE
015 E040007 X
015 A000008 THE BANK OF BOSTON
015 B000008 S
015 C010008 SAO PAULO
015 D010008 BRAZIL
015 E040008 X
015 A000009 THE ROYAL TRUST CORPORATION OF CANADA
015 B000009 S
015 C010009 MONTREAL
015 D010009 CANADA
015 E040009 X
015 A000010 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
015 B000010 S
015 C010010 SHANGHAI
015 D010010 CHINA
015 E040010 X
015 A000011 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
015 B000011 S
015 C010011 SHENZHEN
015 D010011 CHINA
015 E040011 X
015 A000012 CITITRUST COLOMBIA S.A. SOCIEDAD FIDUCIARIA
015 B000012 S
015 C010012 BOGOTA
015 D010012 COLOMBIA
015 E040012 X
015 A000013 DEN DANSKE BANK
015 B000013 S
015 C010013 COPENHAGEN
015 D010013 DENMARK
015 E040013 X
015 A000014 MERITA BANK (MB)
015 B000014 S
015 C010014 HELSINKI
015 D010014 FINLAND
015 E040014 X
015 A000015 BANQUE PARIBAS
<PAGE> PAGE 4
015 B000015 S
015 C010015 PARIS
015 D010015 FRANCE
015 E040015 X
015 A000016 DRESDNER BANK AG
015 B000016 S
015 C010016 FRANKFURT
015 D010016 GERMANY
015 E040016 X
015 A000017 BANCO DE CHILE
015 B000017 S
015 C010017 SANTIAGO
015 D010017 CHILE
015 E040017 X
015 A000018 ALPHA CREDIT BANK A.E.
015 B000018 S
015 C010018 ATHENS
015 D010018 GREECE
015 E040018 X
015 A000019 THE HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION
015 B000019 S
015 C010019 HONG KONG
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015 E040019 X
015 A000020 CITIBANK, N.A.
015 B000020 S
015 C010020 BUDAPEST
015 D010020 HUNGARY
015 E040020 X
015 A000021 THE HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION
015 B000021 S
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015 D010021 INDIA
015 E040021 X
015 A000022 THE HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION
015 B000022 S
015 C010022 JAKARTA
015 D010022 INDONESIA
015 E040022 X
015 A000023 ALLIED IRISH BANK (AIB)
015 B000023 S
015 C010023 DUBLIN
015 D010023 IRELAND
015 E040023 X
015 A000024 ISRAEL DISCOUNT BANK
015 B000024 S
015 C010024 TEL AVIV
015 D010024 ISRAEL
015 E040024 X
015 A000025 BANCA COMMERCIALE ITALIANA (BCI)
015 B000025 S
<PAGE> PAGE 5
015 C010025 MILAN
015 D010025 ITALY
015 E040025 X
015 A000026 YASUDA TRUST AND BANKING COMPANY LIMITED
015 B000026 S
015 C010026 TOKYO
015 D010026 JAPAN
015 E040026 X
015 A000027 CESKOSLOVENSKA OBCHODNI BANKA (CSOB)
015 B000027 S
015 C010027 PRAHA (PRAGUE)
015 D010027 CZECH REPUBLIC
015 E040027 X
015 A000028 THE HONGKONG BANK MALAYSIA BERHAD (HBMB)
015 B000028 S
015 C010028 KUALA LUMPUR
015 D010028 MALAYSIA
015 E040028 X
015 A000029 BANCO NACIONAL DE MEXICO
015 B000029 S
015 C010029 MEXICO CITY
015 D010029 MEXICO
015 E040029 X
015 A000030 MEESPIERSON
015 B000030 S
015 C010030 AMSTERDAM
015 D010030 NETHERLANDS
015 E040030 X
015 A000031 AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LTD
015 B000031 S
015 C010031 WELLINGTON
015 D010031 NEW ZEALAND
015 E040031 X
015 A000032 DEN NORSKE BANK A.S.
015 B000032 S
015 C010032 BERGEN/OSLO
015 D010032 NORWAY
015 E040032 X
015 A000033 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK (SCB)
015 B000033 S
015 C010033 KARACHI
015 D010033 PAKISTAN
015 E040033 X
015 A000034 CITIBANK, N.A.
015 B000034 S
015 C010034 LIMA
015 D010034 PERU
015 E040034 X
015 A000035 THE HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION
015 B000035 S
015 C010035 MANILA
<PAGE> PAGE 6
015 D010035 PHILIPPINES
015 E040035 X
015 A000036 BANK HANDLOWY W WARSZAWIE S.A.
015 B000036 S
015 C010036 WARSAW
015 D010036 POLAND
015 E040036 X
015 A000037 BANCO COMERCIAL PORTUGUES, S.A. (BCP)
015 B000037 S
015 C010037 LISBON
015 D010037 PORTUGAL
015 E040037 X
015 A000038 UNITED OVERSEAS BANK (UOB)
015 B000038 S
015 C010038 SINGAPORE
015 D010038 SINGAPORE
015 E040038 X
015 A000039 STANDARD BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED (SBSA)
015 B000039 S
015 C010039 JOHANNESBURG
015 D010039 SOUTH AFRICA
015 E040039 X
015 A000040 SEOUL BANK (SB)
015 B000040 S
015 C010040 SEOUL
015 D010040 SOUTH KOREA
015 E040040 X
015 A000041 BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA (BBV)
015 B000041 S
015 C010041 MADRID
015 D010041 SPAIN
015 E040041 X
015 A000042 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK (SCB)
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015 C010042 COLOMBO
015 D010042 SRI LANKA
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015 A000043 SKANDINAVISKA ENSKILDA BANKEN (SEB)
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015 C010043 STOCKHOLM
015 D010043 SWEDEN
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015 A000044 UNION BANK OF SWITZERLAND (UBS)
015 B000044 S
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015 E040044 X
015 A000045 THE HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION
015 B000045 S
015 C010045 TAIPEI
015 D010045 TAIWAN
<PAGE> PAGE 7
015 E040045 X
015 A000046 THE SIAM COMMERCIAL BANK PUBLIC COMPANY LTD
015 B000046 S
015 C010046 BANGKOK
015 D010046 THAILAND
015 E040046 X
015 A000047 CITIBANK, N.A.
015 B000047 S
015 C010047 ISTANBUL
015 D010047 TURKEY
015 E040047 X
015 A000048 THE BANK OF NEW YORK
015 B000048 S
015 C010048 LONDON
015 D010048 UNITED KINGDOM
015 E040048 X
015 A000049 THE BANK OF BOSTON
015 B000049 S
015 C010049 MONTEVIDEO
015 D010049 URUGUAY
015 E040049 X
015 A000050 CITIBANK, N.A.
015 B000050 S
015 C010050 CARACAS
015 D010050 VENEZUELA
015 E040050 X
015 A000051 CEDEL
015 B000051 S
015 C010051 LUXEMBOURG CITY
015 D010051 LUXEMBOURG
015 E040051 X
015 A000052 FIRST CHICAGO CLEARING CENTRE (FCCC)
015 B000052 S
015 C010052 LONDON
015 D010052 LUXEMBOURG
015 E040052 X
015 A000053 BANQUE COMMERCIALE DU MAROC (BCM)
015 B000053 S
015 C010053 CASABLANCA
015 D010053 MOROCCO
015 E040053 X
015 A000054 THE BANK OF NEW YORK
015 B000054 C
015 C010054 NEW YORK
015 C020054 NY
015 C030054 10286
015 E010054 X
018 000000 Y
019 A000000 Y
019 B000000 193
019 C000000 FRNKTEMGRP
<PAGE> PAGE 8
020 A000001 MERRILL LYNCH PIERCE FENNER
020 B000001 13-5674085
020 C000001 5
020 A000002 DABNEY-RESNICK
020 B000002 95-4221398
020 C000002 3
020 A000003 BEAR, STEARNS & CO INC
020 B000003 13-3299429
020 C000003 2
020 A000004 SMITH BARNEY SHEARSON
020 B000004 13-1912900
020 C000004 2
020 A000005 HAMBRECHT & QUIST INC
020 B000005 94-2856935
020 C000005 1
020 C000006 0
020 C000007 0
020 C000008 0
020 C000009 0
020 C000010 0
021 000000 13
022 A000001 SBCI SWISS BANK CORP
022 B000001 13-2639550
022 C000001 135357
022 D000001 0
022 A000002 FUJI SECURITIES
022 B000002 13-3038090
022 C000002 135348
022 D000002 0
022 A000003 DONALDSON LUFKIN & JENRETTE
022 B000003 13-2741729
022 C000003 112354
022 D000003 7585
022 A000004 DAIWA SECURITIES AMERICA INC
022 B000004 13-5680329
022 C000004 113998
022 D000004 0
022 A000005 UBS SECURITIES LLC.
022 B000005 13-2932996
022 C000005 108756
022 D000005 0
022 A000006 BANKERS TRUST CO
022 B000006 13-4941247
022 C000006 104693
022 D000006 2171
022 A000007 BEAR STEARNS & CO INC
022 B000007 13-3299429
022 C000007 104664
022 D000007 1425
022 A000008 BANK OF AMERICA NT & SA
022 B000008 94-1687665
<PAGE> PAGE 9
022 C000008 83745
022 D000008 428
022 A000009 NIKKO SECURITIES CO INTL INC
022 B000009 94-1302123
022 C000009 70643
022 D000009 0
022 A000010 LEHMAN BROTHERS INC
022 B000010 13-2518466
022 C000010 57301
022 D000010 2522
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023 D000000 64285
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025 D000001 0
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<PAGE> PAGE 10
028 F010000 0
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<PAGE> PAGE 11
048 J010000 0
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<PAGE> PAGE 12
063 A000000 0
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070 E020000 N
070 F010000 Y
070 F020000 N
070 G010000 Y
070 G020000 N
070 H010000 Y
070 H020000 N
070 I010000 N
070 I020000 N
070 J010000 Y
070 J020000 Y
070 K010000 Y
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070 L010000 Y
070 L020000 Y
070 M010000 Y
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070 N010000 Y
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071 A000000 70284
071 B000000 75886
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<PAGE> PAGE 13
072 B000000 16968
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072 Y000000 0
072 Z000000 11486
072AA000000 4917
072BB000000 6662
072CC010000 22125
072CC020000 0
072DD010000 11050
072DD020000 0
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073 A010000 0.5400
073 A020000 0.0000
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073 C000000 0.0000
074 A000000 0
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074 C000000 0
074 D000000 216107
074 E000000 9526
074 F000000 48164
074 G000000 0
074 H000000 0
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074 K000000 0
074 L000000 1880
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074 O000000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 14
074 P000000 97
074 Q000000 0
074 R010000 84102
074 R020000 0
074 R030000 0
074 R040000 1286
074 S000000 0
074 T000000 195623
074 U010000 20463
074 U020000 0
074 V010000 9.56
074 V020000 0.00
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074 Y000000 9429
075 A000000 0
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077 A000000 Y
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078 000000 N
080 A000000 ICI MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
080 B000000 NONE
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082 A000000 N
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084 A000000 N
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086 B010000 0
086 B020000 0
086 C010000 0
086 C020000 0
086 D010000 0
086 D020000 0
086 E010000 0
086 E020000 0
086 F010000 0
086 F020000 0
087 A010000 COMMON STOCK
087 A020000 35459D103
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088 A000000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 15
088 B000000 N
088 C000000 N
088 D000000 Y
SIGNATURE DIOMEDES LOO-TAM
TITLE TREASURER
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<LEGEND>
THE SCHEDULE CONTAINS SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM THE
FRANKLIN PRINCIPAL MATURITY TRUST NOVEMBER 30, 1996 ANNUAL REPORT AND IS
QUALIFIED IN ITS ENTIRETY BY REFERENCE TO SUCH FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
</LEGEND>
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> YEAR
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> NOV-30-1996
<PERIOD-END> NOV-30-1996
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 259,021,720
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 273,796,626
<RECEIVABLES> 7,311,527
<ASSETS-OTHER> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 281,108,153
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 0
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 85,485,628
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 85,485,628
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 186,574,765
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 20,462,600
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 20,462,600
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> (259,792)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (5,467,036)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 14,773,588
<NET-ASSETS> 195,622,525
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 189,444
<INTEREST-INCOME> 16,968,485
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> (5,671,432)
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 11,486,497
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (1,744,583)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 22,125,386
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 31,867,300
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> (11,049,804)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 0
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 0
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 20,817,496
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 533,928
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> (3,734,945)
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 1,111,254
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 4,312,125
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 5,671,432
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 185,307,412
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 8.540
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.561
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 0.999
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (0.540)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 9.560
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 3.060
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
To the Shareholders and Board of Trustees
of the Franklin Principal Maturity Trust:
In planning and performing our audit of the financial
statements and financial highlights of the Franklin
Principal Maturity Trust for the year ended November 30,
1996, we considered its internal control structure,
including procedures for safeguarding securities, in order
to determine our auditing procedures for the purpose of
expressing our opinion on the financial statements and
financial highlights and to comply with the requirements of
Form N-SAR, not to provide assurance on the internal control
structure.
The management of the Franklin Principal Maturity Trust is
responsible for establishing and maintaining an internal
control structure. In fulfilling this responsibility,
estimates and judgments by management are required to assess
the expected benefits and related costs of internal control
structure policies and procedures. Two of the objectives of
an internal control structure are to provide management with
reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that assets are
safeguarded against loss from unauthorized use or
disposition and that transactions are executed in accordance
with management's authorization and recorded properly to
permit preparation of financial statements in conformity
with generally accepted accounting principles.
Because of inherent limitations in any internal control
structure, errors or irregularities may occur and not be
detected. Also, projection of any evaluation of the
structure to future periods is subject to the risk that it
may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or
that the effectiveness of the design and operation may
deteriorate.
Our consideration of the internal control structure would
not necessarily disclose all matters in the internal control
structure that might be material weaknesses under standards
established by the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants. A material weakness is a condition in which the
design or operation of the specific internal control
structure elements does not reduce to a relatively low level
the risk that errors or irregularities in amounts that would
be material in relation to the financial statements and
financial highlights being audited may occur and not be
detected within a timely period by employees in the normal
course of performing their assigned functions. However, we
noted no matters involving the internal control structure,
including procedures for safeguarding securities, that we
consider to be material weaknesses, as defined above, as of
November 30, 1996.
This report is intended solely for the information and use
of management of the Franklin Principal Maturity Trust and
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
S\COOPERS & LYBRAND L.L.P.
Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.
San Francisco, California
January 13, 1997
1
wpdoc2\nsar\1996\003-77c.doc 12/9/96
NAME OF REGISTRANT:
Franklin Principal Maturity Trust
File No. 811-5699
EXHIBIT ITEM No. 77C:
Submission of matters to a vote of security holders.
At the annual meeting of shareholders of the registrant held on
July 9, 1996, the following items were voted upon:
(1) Election of Trustees.
FOR WITHHOLD
AUTHORITY
Frank H. Abbott, III 15,769,684.599 549,947.306
Harris J. Ashton 15,814,277.547 505,354.358
S. Joseph Fortunato 15,808,861.988 510,769.917
David W. Garbellano 15,771,203.048 548,428.857
Edward B. Jamieson 15,807,291.547 512,340.358
Charles B. Johnson 15,822,632.269 469,999.636
Rupert H. Johnson, Jr. 15,820,255.269 499,376.636
Frank W. T. LaHaye 15,791,900.547 527,731.358
Gordon S. Macklin 15,791,871.547 527,760.358
(2) To ratify the selection of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.,
Certified Public Accountants, as the independent auditors for the
Fund for the fiscal year ending November 30, 1996.
VOTE FOR VOTE AGAINST
15,976,244.55 125,539.183
(3) A shareholder proposal that the Board of Trustees liquidate
the Fund in an orderly manner and distribute assets to the
shareholders of the Fund no later than August 1, 1996.
VOTE FOR VOTE AGAINST
4,243,416.966 5,995,581.023
