said city and counties respectively; no person
shall be elected associate judge of the orphans'
court unless he be a citizen of the State of
Maryland, and resident in the city or county
for which he may be elected at the time of his
election; each of said associate judges shall
be paid at a per diem rate for the time they
are in session, to be fixed by the legislature,
and paid by the said counties and city respec-
tively.
Sec. 25, The said orphans' courts shall
have all the powers now vested in the or-
phans' courts of this State, subject to such
changes therein as the legislature may pre-
scribe; and in addition to the jurisdiction
now exercised by the said courts, they shall
have and exercise in relation to the real estate
of deceased persons concurrent jurisdiction
with the circuit courts sitting as courts of
equity, and it shall be the duty of the legisla-
ture to make such modifications of existing
laws as may be requisite to give full power
and effect to this provision.
Sec. 26. There shall be a register of wills in
each county of the State, and in the city of Bal-
timore, to be elected by the legal and qualified
•voters of said counties and city respectively,
who shall bold his office for six years from the
time of his election, and until his successor is
elected and qualified; he shall be re-eligible,
and subject at all times to removal for wilful
neglect of duty, or misdemeanor in office, in
the same manner that clerks of courts are re-
movable. In the event of any vacancy in the
office of register of wills, said vacancy shall be
'filled by the judges of the orphans' court in
which such vacancy occurs, until the next
general election of delegates to the general as-
sembly, when a register shall be elected to
serve for six years thereafter.
PART V.
Courts of Baltimore City.
Sec. 27. There shall be in the eighth judi-
cial circuit two courts, to be styled the supe-
rior court of Baltimore city and the circuit
court of Baltimore city; each court to consist
of three judges, who shall be appointed in
the same manner, hold their offices for the
game time, and have the same general powers
and duties as are berein prescribed for other
judges of courts of record in this State,
Sec. 28. The superior court of Baltimore
city shall have all the power and jurisdiction
heretofore conferred upon and exercised by the
superior court and the court of common pleas
of Baltimore city, (except the equity powers
of the superior court, ) subject to such modifi-
cations as may be made by law, and the judges
shall 80 apportion and distribute the business
of their court, as shall best facilitate the dis-
patch of business and promote the ends of jus-
tice.
Sec. 29. Either of said judges may sit
alone for the trial of causes appealed from the
decisions of justices of the peace, for the dis- |
position of all formal and uncontested busi-
ness, and such other business as the parties
litigant shall consent to try before a single
judge; but it shall be the right of any party
to an original cause pending in said court,
under such rules and regulations as the court
may prescribe, to require the presence of at
least two of the judges of said court at the
trial thereof.
See. 30, The circuit court of Baltimore
city shall have all the jurisdiction and au-
thority heretofore exercised by the criminal
court and the circuit court of Baltimore city,
or which may hereafter be prescribed by law;
and the judges shall apportion and distribute
the business of their court in such a manner
as shall best facilitate the dispatch of busi-
ness and promote the ends of justice.
Sec. 31. One of the judges of said court
shall sit as chief judge of the orphans' court
of the city of Baltimore, and either of the
judges may sit alone in either department of
the business of said court, but it shall be the
right of any party to an issue pending ill
said court, under such rules as the court shall
fix, to require the presence of at least two of
the judges at the trial thereof; and no order
for an injunction or the appointment of a re-
ceiver shall be passed without the concurrence
of at least two of the judges therein.
Sec. 32. Each of said judges shall receive
an annual salary of three thousand five hun-
dred dollars, payable quarterly.
Sec, 33 There shall be a clerk of the supe-
rior court and a clerk of the circuit court of
Baltimore city, who shall be elected by the
qualified voters of the city of Baltimore, hold
their respective offices for the term of six
years, and until a new election is held and his
successor duly qualified, and be reeligible
thereto, but removable by the judges of the
court of which they are respectively clerks,
for incompetency, wilful neglect of duty, mis-
demeanor in office, and such other causes as
may be prescribed by law.
Sec. 34. The judges of the superior court
as herein constituted, shall designate as clerk
of said court, in their discretion, either the
clerk of the present superior court, or the
clerk of the court of common pleas, and the
person so designated as clerk shall continue
to act as such until the end of the time for
which he was elected; the other of said
clerks shall, until the end of the time for
which he was elected, continue to act as clerk
in that department of the business of the su-
perior court which, in the judgment of the
judges of said court, nearest corresponds to
the business of the court of which he was
elected clerk, and shall receive the fees and
emoluments pertaining thereto as he would
have done if said court had continued an in-
dependent court, and the judges of slid supe-
rior court shall make such rules and regula-
tions as may befound necessary to give fall
force and effect to this provision. |
