REPORT.

The Minority of the Select Committee appointed under
the resolutions of the House of Delegates, adopted by unan-
imous vote on the 10th day of January last, dissenting from
the course pursued by the majority, and objecting to the
report submitted by them, most respectfully beg leave to
submit on their part the following report:

They desire in the first place to set forth in terms the
resolutions under which the Committee was appointed, which,
in their view, prescribes with sufficient distinctness and pre-
cision the duties to be performed by the Committee, particu-
larly when considered in connection with the order of the
House subsequently adopted, enlarging the powers of the
Committee and pointing to the mode of performing their
before-specified duties. Those resolutions are in these words:

"Resolved, That so much of the Governor's Message as
relates to secret political societies be referred to a Select
Committee of Five, with instructions to inquire and report,
whether any and what secret political societies are known to
exist in this State; whether any political society, secret or
open, is known to encourage or pursue 'purposes which tend
to the subversion of the well-established and deeply cher-
ished principles of our Government;' whether any and what
society, or portion of the people of this State, or any of the
United States, have introduced ' religious issues into the field
of political agitation;' and that the Committee be also in-
structed to ascertain, as far as may be within their power,
what is the character and import of the secrets which are
supposed to be held or maintained by such societies, if any
such should be found to exist; and that the Committee use
its endeavors to obtain, if possible, a statement or description
of the principles, objects and purposes of such societies, and
report the same to this House, with such measures as they
may deem necessary for restraining such societies from vio-
lating the 'letter and spirit' either of the Federal Constitu-
tion or the Constitution of this State.

"Resolved, That the Committee be authorized to respect-
fully request the Governor to communicate to them any
information he may possess in regard to such societies, al-