1870.] OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 813

THURSDAY, March 17, 1870.

The House met and was opened with prayer by the Rev.
Mr. Swope.

Present at the call of the roll, the following members:

Messrs. Latrobe, (Speaker,) Loker, Martin, Beck, Wilmer,
Kilbourn, Baldwin, of Anne Arundel, Owings, Duke, Mit-
chell, Chapman, Shipley, Choate, Turner, Hammond, Hard-
castle, of Talbot, Brattan, Lankford, Woolford, Touchstone,
Owens Richards, Biddle, Marbury,Wootton, Duval, Thomas,
of Queen Anne's, Brown, Dennis, Purnell, Thomas, of
Frederick, Bowlus, McCreery, Ritter, White, Ady, Hopkins,
Garey, Sanner, Hamilton, Cooper, Morse, Blake, Webb,
Wilson, of Baltimore city, Wiley, McLane, Colton, Kirk,
Ehlen, Gardner, Markland, Marshall, Hoblitzell, Neill,
Welty, Sword, Hilton, Watkins, Kean, Standish, Myers,
Percy, Shower, Winters, Crouse, Merrick, Gorman and
Crawford—69.

The Speaker laid before the House the following communi-
cation from the Board of Public Works, in response to an
order of the House:

EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,

Annapolis, March 16, 1870.
Hon. F. C. Latrobe,

Speaker of the House of Delegates :

In compliance with the following order, passed the House
of Delegates on the 14th inst., to wit:

" Ordered, That the Board of Public Works be requested
to inform this House whether, in their opinion, the Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal Company can legally carry into effect
the resolution of the stockholders of said Company, passed at
their last meeting, providing for funding the overdue and
unpaid coupons on the bonds known as preferred bonds and
repair bonds, and how the interest of the State would be
affected by carrying the same into effect, and what, if any,
steps have been taken by them to protect the interests of the
State in relation thereto—''

The undersigned respectfully state, that upon careful in-
vestigation of the subject, and after obtaining the opinion of
the Attorney General, in relation to the powers of the Canal
Company, we have come to the conclusion that the Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal Company cannot legally carry the
said resolution into effect.