Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/159

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FINANCIAL HISTORY OF OREGON. 151 Contingent Expenses of the Executive Department. In ad- dition to their accounts as treasurers for the State House and the Penitentiary funds, the Territorial Governors handled a fund from the national treasury for contingent expenses. The Organic Act appropriated $1,500 annually for these "contin- gent expenses of the Territory, including the salary of a clerk of the executive department." The record for the accounts of this fund are not to be found in the State Archives for the period prior to June 30, 1853. 55 The disbursements from it from that date on were as follows : For the year ending June 30, 1854... .. $ 1,206 60 For the year ending June 30, 1855 1,283 35 From July 1, 1855, to December 17, 1856 1,463 44 From December 18, 1856, to December 31, 1857 1,528 69 From January 1, 1858, to April 1, 1859 1,847 65 S 7.329 7356 Annual Expenditures for Legislature, Library, Printing, and Incidentals. While the special appropriations by Con- gress for territorial purposes and the fund for the contingent executive expenses were handled by the Territorial Governors, the Secretaries of the Territory were made auditors and treas- urers of the annual appropriations from the national treasury for the support of the territorial legislatures, library, print- ing, and incidentals. 57 Data for determining the disbursements of the national fund in charge of the Secretary of the Territory are furnished 55 Governor Gaines notes in the "Executive Journal" that no public money was turned over by Acting-Governor Prichette when the executive papers were transferred. In the Letter Book of the Territorial Governors, 1853-1859, an item for May 3, 1854, announces a letter received from Elisha Whittlesey, Comptroller of the Treasury, stating that ex-Governor Gaines had deposited $177.20, the unexpended balance of the contingent appropriation, indicating failure to furnish records directly to his successor at Salem. 56 Executive Accounts, MS. 57 The provision in the Organic Act was as follows: "There shall also be appropriated annually, a sufficient sum to be expended by the Secretary of the Territory, and upon an estimate made by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, to defray the expenses of the Legislative Assembly, the printing of the laws, and other incidental expenses." The salaries named in this act for territorial officials were as follows: Gov- ernor, $1,500 as Governor and $1,500 as Superintendent of Indian Affairs; Chief Justice and Associate Justices, each $2,000; Secretary of the Territory,