1856.]          OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES.          161

                   Baltimore, January 25th, 1856.

Dear Sir:—I perceive from the papers that an order was
adopted in the House of Delegates a few days since, asking the
reason of the delay in the receiving of the State Chemist's Re-
port.         

As I announced in my last Report, that in future I would only
give a detailed statement of the particular soils, limestones, marl,
&c., of the particular sections of the State, which in the course of
my duty I might examine in the period between the sessions of
the Legislature, and had prepared a report of this kind. When the
House of Delegates ordered a very large number of copies for
general distribution, I naturally concluded that they expected the
Report to contain matters of general interest, and to meet this ex-
pectation I had to make considerable additions to it. This will
make some little delay, but still the Report .will be received as
early as any previous one has been by the House of Delegates.
There will be now no delay except that depending on the working
of the large number of copies by the Press, which the House and
Senate have ordered,                                                           

I will take it as a great favor if you will make the above expla-
nation to the House.                                         

Very truly, &c,                          

James Higgins,
State Agricultural Chemist.

S. B. Stubbs, Esq., Chairman
of Committee on Printing.

The House proceeded to the consideration of the order of the
day:

A bill entitled, an act relating to Masters of vessels, sailors,
and apprentices.                                      

Mr. Partridge submitted the following amendments, which were
adopted:                                                                 

Sec. 8 (9 as printed,) in the 3rd and 4th lines strike out "it shall
be the privilege of the captain or ship owner to reduce his pay,"
and insert "his pay shall be reduced."                           

Mr. Roberts moved to strike out the 9th section, and called for
the yeas and nays, which were as follows:

	AFFIRMATIVE.
Messrs. Harris,	Lawson,
Wilson, of Calvert,	Brooke,	Duvall,
Stone,	Bowie,	Stack,
Merrick,	Parker, Harding,
Roberts,	Wolfe, Smith, of Car.--15.