424           JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Feb. 18,

Your committee further report that there is much of the
work, including the recording of deeds, and the transmission
of copies of records of important cases to the Court of Appeals
of the administration of the late incumbent in said office, still
lying over and unfinished, which, however, he is now engaged
in having brought forward.

In reference to the financial department of said office, your
committee beg leave to report, that in the first entrance upon
it, they discovered it to be an utterly hopeless task to attempt
to complete it, within the limited period of the present session
of the General Assembly. There were no books of the cash
accounts, of the receipts or expenditures of said office kept, or
if kept, they were not to be found. The fees are not taxed up
on the dockets for months back. There were no books of
charges of fees in said office, the late incumbent having taken
them away, at the time he retired, as it is alleged, rightly, in
order to enable him to collect the fees due upon them, to
which he claims to be entitled. There is, therefore, no way
left to ascertain the amount of receipts of said office, but by a
patient examination of the recording done, and docket entries
made in said office, together with the examination of witnesses,
as to the average amount of its receipts. One important fact
however, connected with this branch of their duties, came to
the knowledge of your committee, and which they deem it
their imperative duty to state, is, that whereas the late incum-
bent has returned to the comptroller of the treasury, all his
subordinates as paid for their services, some of said subordi-
nates now claim large sums as due from him to them for their
said services, and for which they state it as their intention to
apply to the General Assembly to be paid. If your honorable
body design that this investigation shall be further pushed
into a full and complete examination of the financial depart-
ment of said office, as by your order it is contemplated shall
be done, and your committee think 'it proper and necessary,
and advise that it should be done, it will require that your
honorable body shall authorize your committee or some other
persons to perform the task during the recess of the General
Assembly.

Before closing this report, your committee deem it a duty to
state to your honorable body, that the system adopted for the
administration of the various departments of said office, by the
present incumbent, which he exhibited, to us, will insure the
faithful and accurate discharge of every duty connected with
its management.

Your committee further report, that in their opinion it will
require the sum, or thereabouts, of five thousand dollars, to
repair and put in order the books and records of said office,
and hereby recommend the appropriation of that sum, or so