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lease or devise of any quantity of land, not exceeding five acres, for a church, meeting-house, or other house of worship, or parsonage, or for a burying-ground, which shall be improved, enjoyed or used only for such purpose; or such sale, gift, lease or devise shall be void.*

Art. 41. That monopolies are odious, contrary to the spirit of a free government and the principles of commerce, and ought not to be suffered.†

CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE III.

Sec. 33. The General Assembly shall not pass local or special laws in any of the following enumerated cases, viz: For extending the time for the collection of taxes, granting divorces, changing the name of any person, providing for the sale of real estate belonging to minors or other persons laboring under legal disabilities, by executors, administrators, guardians or trustees, giving effect to informal or invalid deeds or wills, refunding money paid into the State Treasury, or releasing persons from their debts or obligations to the State, unless recommended by the Governor or officers of the Treasury Department. And the General Assembly shall pass no special law for any case for which provision has been made by an existing general law. The General Assembly, at its first session after the adoption of this Constitution, shall pass general laws providing for the cases enumerated in this section which are not already adequately provided for, and for all other cases where a General Law can be made applicable.‡

Sec. 34. No debt shall be hereafter contracted by the General Assembly unless such debt shall be authorized by a law pro

Church Extension Society vs. Smith, 56 Md. 362; Trustees vs. Manning, 72 Md. 121; Kelso vs. Stiger, 75 Md. 376; Rogers vs. Sisters of Charity, 97 Md. 554; Gardner vs. McNeal, 117 Md. 27: Mills vs. Zion Chapel, 119 Md. 510.

Broadway & Locust Point Ferry Co. vs. Hankey, 31 Md. 346; Wright vs. State, 88 Md. 443.

Herbert vs. Baltimore County, 97 Md. 639; Baltimore City vs. Allegany Co., 99 Md. 1; Reed vs. Baltimore Trust Co., 72 Md. 531.

viding for the collection of an annual tax or taxes sufficient to pay the interest on such debt as it falls due, and also to discharge the principle thereof within fifteen years from the time of contracting the same; and the taxes laid for this purpose shall not be repealed or applied to any other object until the said debt and interest thereon shall be fully discharged. The credit of the State shall not in any manner be given, or loaned to, or in aid of any individual, association, or corporation; nor shall the General Assembly have the power in any mode to involve the State in the construction of works of internal improvement, nor in granting any aid thereto, which shall involve the faith or credit of the State; nor make any appropriation thereof, except in aid of the construction of works of internal improvement in the counties of St. Mary's, Charles and Calvert, which have had no direct advantage from such works as have been heretofore aided by the State; and provided that such aid, advances or appropriations shall not exceed in the aggregate the sum of fine hundred thousand dollars. And they shall not use or appropriate the proceeds of the International Improvement Companies, or of the State tax, now levied, or which may hereafter be levied, to pay off the public debt [or] to any other purpose until the interest and debt are fully paid or the sinking fund shall be equal to the amount of the outstanding debt; but the General Assembly may, without laying a tax, borrow an amount never to exceed fifty thousand dollars to meet temporary deficiencies in the Treasury, and may contract debts to any amount that may be necessary for the defence of the State.

Sec. 39. The General Assembly shall grant no charter for Banking purposes, nor renew any Banking Corporation now in existence, except upon the condition that the Stockholders shall be liable to the amount of their respective share or shares of stock in such Banking institution, for all its debts and liabili ties upon note, bill or otherwise; the books, papers and accounts of all Banks shall be open to inspection under such regulations as may be prescribed by law.*

Sec. 40. The General Assembly shall enact no law authorizing private property to be taken for public use, without just

• Hammond vs. Strauss, 53 Md. 1; Clark Co. vs. Colton et al., 91 Md. 195; Mister vs. Thomas, 122 Md. 445.

compensation as agreed upon between the parties, or awarded by a jury, being first paid or tendered to the party entitled to such compensation.*

Sec. 48. Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created by special act, except for municipal purposes, and except in cases where no general laws exist, providing for the creation of corporations of the same general character as the corporation proposed to be created, and any act of incorporation passed in violation of this section shall be void; all charters granted or adopted in pursuance of this section, and all charters heretofore granted and created subject to repeal or modification, may be altered from time to time, or be repealed; provided, nothing herein contained shall be construed to extend to banks or the incorporation thereof; the General Assembly shall not alter or amend the charter of any corpor ation existing at the time of the adoption of this Article, or pass any other general or special Law for the benefit of such corporation, except upon the condition that such corporation shall surrender all claim to exemption from taxation or from the repeal or modification of its charter, and that such corpor ation shall thereafter hold its charter subject to the provisions of this Constitution; and any corporation chartered by this State which shall accept, use, enjoy, or in anywise avail itself of any rights, privileges, or advantages that may hereafter be granted or conferred by any general or special Act, shall be conclusively presumed to have thereby surrendered any exemption from taxation to which it may be entitled under its charter, and shall be thereafter subject to taxation as if no such exemption has been granted by its charter.†

Sec. 51. The personal property of residents of this State shall be subject to taxation in the county or city where the

* Ridgely vs. Baltimore, 119 Md. 567: Park vs. Falls Road Ry., 88 Md. 536; Baltimore vs. Merryman, 86 Md. 584; Baumgardner vs. Fowler, 82 Md. 631; Gluck vs. Baltimore, 81 Md. 315; Baltimore City vs. Megary, 122 Md. 20. As to what constitutes "a taking" see O'Brien vs. Baltimore Belt Railroad Co., 74 Md. 363: Garrett vs. Lake Roland Electric Co., 79 Md. 277; German Lutheran Church vs. Baltimore, 123 Md. 142, 144; Baltimore vs. Bugunzer, 125 Md. 78. Patterson vs. Baltimore, 127 Md. 233; Baltimore vs. Park Corp'n, 126 Md. 358.

Section 48 as originally adopted in 1867 was amended to read as above stated by Act 1890, ch. 195. It was ratified November 3, 1891. Reed vs. Baltimore Trust Co., 72 Md. 531; Mealey vs. Hagerstown, 92 Md. 741. A Few Maryland companies possess charters granted prior to 1851, when the right of the State to repeal or annul any charter was first reserved by constitutional provision.

resident bona fide resides for the greater part of the year for which the tax may or shall be levied, and not elsewhere, except goods and chattèls permanently located, which shall be taxed in the city or county where they are located, but the General Assembly may by law provide for the taxation of mortgages upon property in this State and the debts secured thereby in the county or city where such property is situated.*

Sec. 54. No county of this State shall contract any debt, or obligation, in the construction of any railroad, canal or other work of internal improvement, nor give or loan its credit to or in aid of any association, or corporation, unless authorized by an Act of the General Assembly, which shall be published for two months before the next election for members of the House of Delegates in the newspapers published in such county, and shall also be approved by a majority of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly, at its next session after said election.†

Sec. 58. The Legislature, at its first session after the ratification of this Constitution, shall provide by Law for the State and municipal taxation upon the revenues accruing from business done in the State by all foreign corporations.

CODE OF PUBLIC CIVIL LAWS
ARTICLE I.

RULES OF INTERPRETATION.

1904, art. 7, sec. 1. 1888, art. 7, sec. 1. 1878, ch. 379, sec. 1. 14. The word person shal! include corporation, unless such a construction would be unreasonable.§

* The present form of Section 51 was ratified November 3, 1891. See Acts 1890, ch. 426. Baltimore City vs. Safe Deposit & Tr. Co., 97 Md. 659; B., C. & A. Ry. vs. Wicomico, 93 Md. 113; Baldwin vs. Washington Co., 85 Md. 151; Corry vs. Baltimore, 96 Md. 310; Baltimore vs. State, 89 Md. 587.

Baltimore & Drum Point R. R. Co. vs. Pumphrey, 74 Md. 86; Baltimore & Eastern Shore R. R. Co. vs. Spring, 80 Md. 510.

International Text Book Co. vs. Prigg, 217 U. S. 91; Western U. T. Co. vs Kansas, 216 U. S. 1; Ludwig vs. Western U. T. Co., 216 U. S. 146; Pullman vs. Kansas, 216 U. S. 65.

§ See State Tax Commission vs. Harrington, 126 Md. 157 at 168.

ARTICLE VII.

ARBITRATION AND AWARD.

1904, art. 7, sec. 1. 1888, art. 7, sec. 1. 1878, ch. 379, sec. 1. 1. Whenever any controversy shall arise between any corporation incorporated by this State, in which this State may be interested as a stockholder or creditor, and any person in the employment or service of such corporation, which, in the opinion of the Board of Public Works, shall tend to impair the usefulness or prosperity of such corporation, the said Board of Public Works shall have power to demand and receive a statement of the grounds of said controversy from the parties to the same; and if, in their judgment, there shall be occasion so to do, they shall have the right to propose to the parties to said controversy, or to any of them, that the same shall be settled by arbitration; and if the opposing parties to said controversy shall consent and agree to said arbitration, it shall be the duty of the said Board of Public Works to provide in due form for the submission of the said controversy to arbitration, in such manner that the same may be finally settled and determined; but if the said corporation, or the said person in its employment or service, so engaged in controversy with the said corporation, shall refuse to submit to such arbitration, it shall be the duty of the said Board of Public Works to examine into and ascertain the cause of said controversy, and to report the same to the next General Assembly.*

1904, art. 7, sec. 2. 1888, art. 7, sec. 2. 1878, ch. 379, sec. 3.

2. All subjects of dispute arising between corporations, and any person in their employment or service, and all subjects of dispute between employers and employees in any trade or manufacture may be settled and adjusted in the manner hereafter mentioned.

Ibid, sec. 3. 1888, art. 7, sec. 3. 1878, ch. 379, sec. 2.

3. Whenever such subjects of dispute shall arise as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for either party to the same to demand

For effect see Code 1912, Article "Pleading and Practice," sub-heading "Arbitration and Award" (Art 75, secs. 46-51). See also Article on "Statistics and Information," the sub-heading, "Arbitration of Labor Disputes" (Art. 89), and finally, "Workmen's Compensation Act" (Art. 101).

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