USA > Maryland > Leading events of Maryland history; with topical analyses, references, and questions for original thought and research > Part 23
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Accounts
Sec. 4. The Treasurer shall render his accounts quarterly to the Comp- . troller, and shall publish monthly, in such newspapers as the Governor may
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direct, an abstract thereof. showing the amount of cash on hand, and the place or places of deposit thereof ; and on the third day of each regular session of the Legislature he shall submit to the Senate and House of Delegates fair and accurate copies of all accounts by him. from time to time, rendered and settled with the Comptroller. He shall at all times submit to the Comptroller the inspection of the money in his hands, and perform all other duties that shall be prescribed by Law.
Time of qualifications
Sec. 5. The Comptroller shall qualify and enter on the duties of his office on the third Monday of January next succeeding the time of his election, or as soon thereafter as practicable. And the Treasurer shall qualify within one month after his appointment by the Legislature.
Removal
Sec. 6. Whenever during the recess of the Legislature charges shall be preferred to the Governor against the Comptroller or Treasurer for incom- petency, malfeasance in office, willful neglect of duty, or misappropriation of the funds of the State, it shall be the duty of the Governor forthwith to notify the party so charged, and fix a day for a hearing of said charges ; and if from the evidence taken, under oath, on said hearing before the Governor, the said allegations shall be sustained, it shall be the duty of the Governor to remove said offending officer and appoint another in his place, who shall hold the office for the unexpired term of the officer so removed.
ARTICLE VII
SUNDRY OFFICERS
County Commissioners - Surveyor - State Librarian - Commissioner of the Land Office - Wreck Master
County Commissioners
Section 1. County Commissioners shall be elected on general ticket of each county by the qualified voters of the several counties of this State, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and on the same day in every second year thereafter. Their number in each county, their compensation, powers and duties, shall be such as are now or may be hereafter prescribed by Law.
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County Commissioners
[Sec. I. County Commissioners shall be elected on general ticket of each county by the qualified voters of the several counties of the State, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November, commencing in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-one; their number in each county, their compensation, powers and duties shall be such as now or may be here- after prescribed by law, they shall be elected at such times, in such numbers and for such periods not exceeding six years, as may be prescribed by law.]1
Surveyor - Vacancy
Sec. 2. The qualified voters of each County, and of the City of Baltimore shall on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and on the same day in every second year thereafter, elect a Surveyor for each County and the City of Baltimore, respectively, whose term of office shall commence on the first Monday of January next ensuing their election, and whose duties and com- pensation shall be the same as are now or may hereafter be prescribed by law. And any vacancy in the office of Surveyor shall be filled by the Com- missioners of the Counties, or by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, respectively, for the residue of the term.
State Librarian - Salary
Sec. 3. The State Librarian shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall hold his office during the term of the Governor, by whom he shall have been appointed, and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified. His salary shall be fifteen hun- dred dollars a year; and he shall perform such duties as are now, or may hereafter be prescribed by Law; and no appropriation shall be made by Law to pay for any clerk, or assistant to the Librarian. And it shall be the duty of the Legislature, at its first session after the adoption of this Constitution, to pass a Law regulating the mode and manner in which the books in the Library shall be kept and accounted for by the Librarian, and requiring the Librarian to give a bond, in such penalty as the Legislature may prescribe, for the proper discharge of his duties.
Commissioner of Land Office - Duties - Salary
Sec. 4. There shall be a Commissioner of the Land Office, who shall be appointed by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
1 Thus amended by Act of 1890, Chapter 255, and adopted by vote of the people November 3, 1890.
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who shall hold his office during the term of the Governor, by whom he shall have been appointed, and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified. He shall perform such duties as are now required of the Commissioner of the Land Office, or such as may hereafter be prescribed by Law, and shall also be the Keeper of the Chancery Records. He shall receive a salary of one thou- sand, five hundred dollars per annum, to be paid out of the Treasury, and shall charge such fees as are now, or may be hereafter fixed by Law. He shall make a semi-annual report of all the fees of his office, both as Commissioner of the Land Office, and as keeper of the Chancery Records, to the Comptroller of the Treasury, and shall pay the same semi-annually into the treasury.
State Papers
Sec. 5. The Commissioner of the Land Office shall also, without addi- tional compensation, collect, arrange, classify, have charge of, and safely keep all papers, records, relics, and other memorials connected with the early his- tory of Maryland, not belonging to any other office.
Wreck Master
Sec. 6. The qualified voters of Worcester County shall on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and every two years thereafter, elect a Wreck-Master for said County, whose duties and compensation shall be the same as are now or may be hereafter prescribed by Law; the term of office of said Wreck- Master shall commence on the first Monday of January next succeeding his election, and a vacancy in said office shall be filled by the County Commis- sioners of said County for the residue of the term.
ARTICLE VIII
EDUCATION
Public Schools
Section 1. The General Assembly, at its first session after the adoption of this Constitution, shall, by Law, establish throughout the State a thorough and efficient system of free Public Schools ; and shall provide by taxation, or otherwise, for their maintenance.
Sec. 2. The system of Public Schools, as now constituted, shall remain in force until the end of the said first session of the General Assembly, and shall then expire, except so far as adopted or continued by the General Assembly.
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School fund
Sec. 3. The School Fund of the State shall be kept inviolate, and appro- priated only to the purposes of education.
ARTICLE IX
MILITIA AND MILITARY AFFAIRS
Organization
Section I. The General Assembly shall make, from time to time, such pro- visions for organizing, equipping and disciplining the Militia, as the exigency may require, and pass such Laws to promote Volunteer Militia Organizations as may afford them effectual encouragement.
Adjutant-General - Duties
Sec. 2. There shall be an Adjutant-General appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. He shall hold his office until the appointment and qualification of his successor, or until removed in pursuance of the sentence of a court-martial. He shall perform such duties and receive such compensation or emoluments as are now or may be pre- scribed by Law. He shall discharge the duties of his office at the seat of government, unless absent under orders, on duty; and no other officer of the General Staff of the Militia shall receive salary or pay, except when on ser- vice and mustered in with troops.
Sec. 3. The existing Militia Law of the State shall expire at the end of the next session of the General Assembly, except so far as it may be re-enacted, subject to the provisions of this Article.
ARTICLE X
LABOR AND AGRICULTURE 1
Section 1. There shall be a Superintendent of Labor and Agriculture elected by the qualified voters of this State at the first General election for Delegates to the General Assembly after the adoption of this Constitution, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, and until the election and qualifica- tion of his successor.
Sec. 2. His qualifications shall be the same as those prescribed for the Comptroller ; he shall qualify and enter upon the duties of his office on the
1 This Article expired by limitation.
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second Monday of January next succeeding the time of his election ; and a vacancy in the office shall be filled by the Governor for the residue of the term.
Sec. 3. He shall perform such of the duties now devolved by Law upon the Commissioner of Immigration, and the Immigration Agent, as will pro- mote the object for which those officers were appointed, and such other duties as may be assigned to him by the General Assembly, and shall receive a salary of twenty-five hundred dollars a year ; and after his election and quali- fication, the offices before mentioned shall cease.
Sec. 4. He shall supervise all the State Inspectors of agricultural products and fertilizers, and from time to time shall carefully examine and audit their accounts, and prescribe regulations not inconsistent with Law, tending to secure economy and efficiency in the business of their offices. He shall have the supervision of the Tobacco Warehouses, and all other buildings used for inspection and storage purposes by the State; and may, at the discretion of the Legislature, have the supervision of all public buildings now belonging to, or which may hereafter be, erected by the State. He shall frequently inspect such buildings as are committed to his charge, and examine all accounts for labor and materials required for their construction or repairs.
Sec. 5. He shall inquire into the undeveloped resources of wealth of the State of Maryland, more especially concerning those within the limits of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, which belong to the State, and suggest such plans as may be calculated to render them available as sources of revenue.
Sec. 6. He shall make detailed reports to every General Assembly within the first week of its session, in reference to each of the subjects committed to his charge, and he shall also report to the Governor, in the recess of the Legis- lature, all abuses or irregularities which he may find to exist in any department of public affairs with which his office is connected.
Sec. 7. The office hereby established shall continue for four years from the date of the qualification of the first incumbent thereof, and shall then expire, unless continued by the General Assembly.
ARTICLE XI1
CITY OF BALTIMORE
Section 1. The inhabitants of the City of Baltimore qualified by Law to vote in said city for members of the House of Delegates, shall on the fourth
1 Under Section 9 of this article a charter was adopted for Baltimore in 1898, which changed the organization of the city government in many particulars. The election for Mayor and City Council is now held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in May. The term of the Mayor is four years.
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Wednesday of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and on the same day in every fourth year thereafter, elect a person to be Mayor of the City of Baltimore, who shall have such qualifications, receive such compensation, discharge such duties, and have such powers as are now, or may hereafter be prescribed by Law ; and the term of whose office shall commence on the first Monday of November succeeding his election, and shall continue for four years, and until his successor shall have qualified ; and he shall be ineligible for the term next succeeding that for which he was elected.
Mayor
[Sec. I. The inhabitants of the City of Baltimore, qualified by Law to vote in said city for members of the House of Delegates, shall on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and on the same day in every second year thereafter, elect a person to be Mayor of the City of Baltimore, who shall have such qualifications, receive such compensa- tion, discharge such duties, and have such powers as are now, or may hereafter be prescribed by Law; and the term of whose office shall commence on the first Monday of November succeeding his election, and shall continue for two years, and until his successor shall have qualified.] 1
City Council
Sec. 2. The City Council of Baltimore shall consist of two branches, one of which shall be called the First Branch, and the other the Second Branch, and each shall consist of such number of members, having such qualification, receiving such compensation, performing such duties, possessing such powers, holding such terms of office, and elected in such manner, as are now, or may hereafter be prescribed by Law.
Sec. 3. An election for members of the First and Second Branch of the City Council of Baltimore shall be held in the City of Baltimore on the fourth Wednesday of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven ; and for members of the First Branch on the same day in every year thereafter; and for mem- bers of the Second Branch on the same day in every second year thereafter ; and the qualification for electors of the members of the City Council shall be the same as those prescribed for the electors of Mayor.
1 Thus amended by ch. 123, Acts of 1898. By ch. 116, Acts of 1870, the term of Mayor was made two years; and by ch. 397, Acts of 1888, the day of election was set for the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
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LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
Time of elections
[Sec. 3. An election for members of the First Branch of the City Council of Baltimore shall be held in the City of Baltimore on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November in every year; and for members of the Second Branch on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and on the same day in every second year thereafter ; and the qualification for electors of the members of the City Council shall be the same as those prescribed for the electors of Mayor. ] 1
Sessions - Limitations - Extra session
Sec. 4. The regular sessions of the City Council of Baltimore (which shall be annual), shall commence on the third Monday of January of each year, and . shall not continue more than ninety days, exclusive of Sundays ; but the Mayor may convene the City Council in extra session whenever, and as often as it may appear to him that the public good may require, but no called or extra session shall last longer than twenty days, exclusive of Sundays.
Disqualifications
Sec. 5. No person elected and qualified as Mayor, or as a member of the City Council, shall, during the term for which he was elected, hold any other office of profit or trust, created, or to be created by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, or by any Law relating to the Corporation of Baltimore, or hold any employment or position, the compensation of which shall be paid, directly or indirectly, out of the City Treasury ; nor shall any such person be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract to which the City is a party ; nor shall it be lawful for any person holding any office under the City, to be interested, while holding such office, in any contract to which the City is a party.
Removal of Mayor
Sec. 6. The Mayor shall, on conviction in a Court of Law, of willful neglect of duty, or misbehavior in office, be removed from office by the Governor of the State, and a successor shall thereafter be elected, as in a case of vacancy.
Debts
Sec. 7. From and after the adoption of this Constitution, no debt (except as hereinafter excepted), shall be created by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore ; nor shall the credit of the Mayor and City Council of Bal-
1 Thus amended by the Act of 1888, ch. 397.
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CONSTITUTION OF MARYLAND
timore be given or loaned to, or in aid of any individual, association, or corporation ; nor shall the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore have the power to involve the City of Baltimore in the construction of works of internal improvement, nor in granting any aid thereto, which shall involve the faith and credit of the City, nor make any appropriation therefor, unless such debt or credit be authorized by an Act of the General Assembly of Maryland, and by an ordinance of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, submitted to the legal voters of the City of Baltimore, at such time and place as may be fixed by said ordinance, and approved by a majority of the votes cast at such time and place ; but the Mayor and City Council may, temporarily, borrow any amount of money to meet any deficiency in the City Treasury, or to provide for any emergency arising from the necessity of maintaining the police, or pre- serving the safety and sanitary condition of the City, and may make due and proper arrangements and agreements for the removal and extension, in whole or in part, of any and all debts and obligations created according to Law before the adoption of this Constitution.
Laws in force
Sec. 8. All Laws and Ordinances now in force applicable to the City of Baltimore, not inconsistent with this Article, shall be, and they are hereby continued until changed in due course of Law.
Changes authorized
Sec. 9. The General Assembly may make such changes in this Article, except in Section 7th thereof, as it may deem best ; and this Article shall not be so construed or taken as to make the political corporation of Baltimore independent of, or free from the control which the General Assembly of Mary- land has over all such Corporations in this State.
ARTICLE XII
PUBLIC WORKS
Board -- Sessions - Powers
Section 1. The Governor, the Comptroller of the Treasury, and the Treas- urer shall constitute the Board of Public Works in this State. They shall keep a journal of their proceedings, and shall hold regular sessions in the City of Annapolis on the first Wednesday in January, April, July and October in each year, and oftener if necessary; at which sessions they shall hear and
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determine such matters as affect the Public Works of the State, and as the General Assembly may confer upon them the power to decide.
Duties
Sec. 2. They shall exercise a diligent and faithful supervision of all Public Works in which the State may be interested as Stockholder or Creditor, and shall represent and vote the stock of the State of Maryland in all meetings of the stockholders of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal; and shall appoint the Directors in every Railroad and Canal Company in which the State has the legal power to appoint Directors, which said Directors shall represent the State in all meetings of the Stockholders of the respective Companies for which they are appointed or elected. And the President and Directors of the said Chesa- peake and Ohio Canal Company shall so regulate the tolls of said Company from time to time as to produce the largest amount of revenue, and to avoid the injurious effect to said Company of rival competition by other Internal Improvement Companies. They shall require the Directors of all said Public Works to guard the public interest and prevent the establishment of tolls which shall discriminate against the interest of the citizens or products of this State, and from time to time, and as often as there shall be any change in the rates of toll on any of the said Works, to furnish the said Board of Public Works a schedule of such modified rates of toll, and so adjust them as to pro- mote the agricultural interests of the State; they shall report to the General Assembly at each regular session, and recommend such legislation as they may deem necessary and requisite to promote or protect the interests of the State in the said Public Works; they shall perform such other duties as may be hereafter prescribed by Law, and a majority of them shall be competent to act. The Governor, Comptroller and Treasurer shall receive no additional salary for services rendered by them as members of the Board of Public Works. The provisions of the Act of the General Assembly of Maryland of the year 1867, Chapter 359, are hereby declared null and void.
Sec. 3. The Board of Public Works is hereby authorized to exchange the State's interest as Stockholder and Creditor in the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- road Company for an equal amount of the bonds or registered debt now owing by the State, to the extent only of all the preferred stock of the State on which the State is entitled to only six per cent interest, provided such exchange shall not be made at less than par, nor less than the market value of said stock ; and the said Board is authorized, subject to such regulations and conditions as the General Assembly may from time to time prescribe, to sell the State's interest in the other Works of Internal Improvement, whether as a Stockholder or a Creditor, and also the State's interest in any banking corporation, receiv-
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CONSTITUTION OF MARYLAND
ing in payment the bonds and registered debt now owing by the State, equal in amount to the price obtained for the State's said interest ; provided, that the interest of the State in the Washington Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad be reserved and excepted from sale; and provided further, that no sale or contract of sale of the State's interest in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and the Susquehanna and Tide- water Canal Companies shall go into effect until the same shall be ratified by the ensuing General Assembly.
Powers
[Sec. 3. The board of Public Works is hereby authorized, subject to such regulations and conditions as the General Assembly may from time to time prescribe, to sell the State's interest in all works of internal improvement, whether as a Stockholder or a Creditor, and also the State's interest in any banking corporation, receiving in payment the bonds and registered debt now owing by the State, equal in amount to the price obtained for the State's said interest.] 1
ARTICLE XIII
NEW COUNTIES
County seats - Consent of voters - Area and population
Section I. The General Assembly may provide, by Law, for organizing new Counties, locating and removing county seats, and changing county lines ; but no new county shall be organized without the consent of the majority of the legal voters residing within the limits proposed to be formed into said new county ; and whenever a new county shall be proposed to be formed out of portions of two or more counties, the consent of a majority of the legal voters of such part of each of said counties, respectively, shall be required ; nor shall the lines of any county be changed without the consent of a majority of the legal voters residing within the district, which, under said proposed change, would form a part of a county different from that to which it belonged prior to said change ; and no new county shall contain less than four hundred square miles nor less than ten thousand white inhabitants ; nor shall any change be made in the limits of any county, whereby the population of said county would be reduced to less than ten thousand white inhabitants, or its territory reduced to less than four hundred square miles.
1 Thus amended by Act 1890, ch. 362, and ratified by the people November 3, 1891.
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Wicomico county
Sec. 2. At the election to be held for the adoption or rejection of this Con- stitution, in each election district, in those parts of Worcester and Somerset Counties, comprised within the following limits, viz. : Beginning at the point where Mason and Dixon's line crosses the channel of Pocomoke River, thence following said line to the channel of the Nanticoke River, thence with the channel of said river to Tangier Sound, or the intersection of Nanticoke and Wicomico Rivers, thence up the channel of the Wicomico River to the mouth of Wicomico Creek, thence with the channel of said creek and Passerdyke Creek to Dashield's or Disharoon's Mills, thence with the mill-pond of said mills and branch following the middle prong of said branch, to Meadow Bridge, on the road dividing the Counties of Somerset and Worcester, near the south- west corner of farm of William P. Morris, thence due east to the Pocomoke River, thence with the channel of said river to the beginning ; the Judges of Election, in each of said districts, shall receive the ballots of each elector, voting at said election, who has resided for six months preceding said election within said limits, for or against a new County ; and the Return Judges of said election districts shall certify the result of such voting, in the manner now prescribed by Law, to the Governor, who shall by proclamation make known the same, and if a majority of the legal votes cast within that part of Worcester County, contained within said lines, and also a majority of the legal votes cast within that part of Somerset County, contained within said lines, shall be in favor of a new County, then said parts of Worcester and Somerset Counties shall become and constitute a new County, to be called Wicomico County ; and Salisbury shall be the County seat. And the inhab- itants thereof shall thenceforth have and enjoy all such rights and privileges as are held and enjoyed by the inhabitants of other Counties of this State.
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