1002 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Mar. 25,

others, for the purchase money of the lot of ground upon
which the Governor's stable and carriage-house in the City
of Annapolis have been built, and for the work; and labor
done and materials furnished by said William Black and
Others in the erection of the same.

Which was read a first time.

Mr. Wells, from the Committee on Public Buildings, sub-
mitted the following minority

REPORT.

To the Honorable the General Assembly of Maryland;

The undersigned, members of the Joint Committee of the
two Houses on Public Buildings, beg leave to dissent from
the Report of the Committee in reference to the claim of Mr.
William Black, for the erection of the stable and carriage
house for the State of Maryland, in the City of Annapolis.
In the opinion of the undersigned, the Report does great in-
justice to the claimant, both in its statements and conclusions.
The claim which amounts to $18,937.59, is for materials
furnished and labor expended in the erection of an extensive
two-story brick stable and carriage house, the second story of
which is finished! as a dwelling house, with all the fixtures,
including the colt of a lot on which the building is erected.
It is not pretended that the work is not well done. On the
contrary, every person who has appeared before the Commit-
tee has concurred in the opinion that the materials and
workmanship are of the very best description. The claim is
supported by the affidavit of the claimant, and is accompa-
nied by vouchers for every item of materials and workman-
ship charged in the account. Some of these accounts have
already been discharged in full by Mr. Black; on others
partial payments have been made, and the residue is due to
mechanics and material-men, whose labor and prpperty have
been placed in the building. No person has appeared before
the Committee who has disputed the correctness of the
charges, and they standas entirely free from suspicion of over-
charge as those presented by the builders of the Executive
Mansion, or by any other claimants before the General As-
sembly.

The claimant repeatedly applied to the Committee to select
some sworn officer from the City of Baltimore, to measure
the work and compute its fair value, and declared himself al-
together willing to abide by the result of that measurement,
and this course was urgpd by the undersigned, as the fairest
mode of ascertaining what should actuaily be charged against
the State. The building thus erected, was built under the
supervision of the State's architect, and has been approved