xiv

Commissioners of the several counties, and the Register of
Baltimore city, upon their drafts, to he disbursed by
them, while the latter—the slaves—have been paid either
in person at this office, or by our agent. The sums expended
for these respective Volunteers are shewn hy Statement L, to
amount to $1,281,668.90. Since the end of the fiscal year an
adjustment with our agent, Dr. John F. Kurtz, of Dorches-
ter county, who was sent to pay off those of the 19th, 30th
and 39th Regiments, representing the slaves who were then
either in actual service or in hospitals, exhibits the fact, that
out of the whole return of 1400 men to this office, 741 could
not be found, leaving 659 who were found and to whom have
been paid their cash bounties, amounting to $32,950, of which
$2,450 were paid in person at this office and $30,500 by my
agent,as will be seen by a note appended to table No. 24. The
manner in which our agent performed his trust was highly sat-
isfactory. I am convinced a considerable sum was thus saved,
which under the usual course of powers of Attorney might
have been either lost to the State or to those who were in-
tended to be the recipients of this bounty. The difficulty
arising upon the death of this class of Volunteers was early
foreseen, and I steadily refused to pay, unless satisfied of their
actual existence and identity. That a large number have been
killed, it is to be supposed from the report of our agent unless
they have been transferred to other branches of the service.
The wives and children of many of these colored Volunteers,
if slaves, are, upon the death of the Volunteer, under the pro-
visions of the 2nd section of the Act of 1864, chapter 15, ex-
cluded from its benefit. As all slaves have been released from
servitude, there should be a repeal of this section. I have
also experienced difficulties in the Constitution of the same
section in regard to white Volunteers, the unpaid bounty, in
the event of death, being limited to the wife or the legal rep-
resentative of the infant children. I would advise a similar
modification of this section, so that the mother, father, brother,
sister or next of kin may be the recipient of a bounty so
worthily won by those whose lives have been given in defence
of the institutions of their country. Returns have been made
to this Department through the Executive of the rolls of all