1870.] OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 175

senting all the judicial authority in the city, as the Circuit
Courts represent the same authority in the counties.

In this opinion a majority of our brother Judges of the
Supreme Bench do not agree, and have determined that the
Supreme Bench has no report to make. If this matter in-
volved only a difference of opinion in which they might con-
scientiously defer to the judgment of the greater number,
the undersigned, from respect to their associates, would cheer-
fully submit to the opinion of the majority of their number;
but as it concerns a question of constitutional duty upon
which the undersigned have settled convictions, they do not
think they would be justified in yielding them to the control
of others. So much has been deemed proper to be said in
order to account for this report being made in the name
and under the the responsibility of the undersigned alone.

No general official investigation of the expenses, costs and
charges of the Courts of the City of Baltimore having been
made by the Judges of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore
city, no such report thereon, as is contemplated by the Con-
stitution as above interpreted, can now be made ; but there
are certain matters disclosed by the report just published by
the Comptroller of the State, which, as they properly con-
cern the expenses of the Courts of the City of Baltimore, the
undersigned think are the proper subject of comment and
suggestion by them to the Legislature.

By that document it will be seen that for the year to which
it relates, the Clerk of the Criminal Court collected from the
Register of the City of Baltimore the sum of......$14,477 64

The Crier of the Court collected from the same

officer and from the Sheriff....................... 4,595 25

And the State's Attorney for Baltimore city col-
lected from the same officer for the costs of two
terms.........................................$8,804 72

Add to this one-half for the costs of the

remaining term......................... 4,402 36

——————— 13,207 08

$32,279 97
Add to this large sum the small collections made

by these same officers through the Sheriff....... 3,394 96

And we have an aggregate of..........................$35,674 93

Out of which the expenses of these offices are to
be paid, and the residue to be paid into the
State Treasury. These expenses, extracted
from the same document, amounted to...........$21,236 37

Making the large sum of................................$14,498 56