MAJORITY REPORT.

The majority of the Committee on the Contingent Fund, res-
pectfully Report, that they have examined the accompanying ac-
counts of the Contingent Fund, placed at the disposal of the late
Executive, and find them correct according to law, with the ex-
ceptions hereinafter mentioned.

The committee find that Executive warrents, No. 82, for $50;
No. 85, for $5.75; No. 86, for $62.25; No. 87, for $500; No. 89,
for $14,25; No, 90 for $754.25; No. 101, for $273.09; for 1857,
and No. 6, for $52.85; for 1858, in all amounting to the sum of
$1712.44; were issued to pay the expenses incident to the inter-
ference of the late Executive, with the recent elections in the
city of Baltimore.

Of these warrants No. 101, for $273.09; was to pay George P.
Kane, for cartridges furnished by him, to be used on the singular
occasion above mentioned.

Those cartridges were not used so far as your committee can
discover, nor has it come to our knowledge, what disposition has
been made of them.

The other items above specified, appear to be for the extraordi-
nary expenses of that campaign; including the charge of $754.25,
for freight on the muskets, benevolently loaned to Maryland by
the Governor of Virginia, an act of "comity," that your committee
think deserves the special notice of the General Assembly, an ex-
pression of their opinion on that proceeding of Maryland. But
your committee does not deem it necessary to enter into any fur-
ther specific details of the items above referred to.

We deem it our duty here to record our protest against the ex-
penditure of the State's money, for any such purposes. It is en-
tirely unnecessary for us to enter into any argument in the absence
of constitutional or legal authority, for Governor Ligon's action in
this matter.

The Legislature and the people of the State, have thoroughly
examined the whole subject, and have most unequivocally con-