Seven states, of which Maryland is
one, provide in their constitutions for
preserving items of an historical nature.
Of these, the Maryland provision is the
most limited in scope.
Article VII, Section 5, declares that
the commissioner of the land office,
whose other duties as set out in Section
4 include keeping the chancery records
and those of the former commissioner
of the land office, "shall also, without
additional compensation, collect, ar-
range, classify, have charge of, and
safely keep all Papers, Records, Relics,
and other Memorials connected with
the Early History of Maryland, not
belonging to any other office."
By comparison, all of the other six
constitutions provide that in addition
to record keeping, the legislature, either
directly or through an administrative
agency, may provide for the acquisition
of sites and areas of historical value
through the use, if necessary, of the
state's power of eminent domain.
Texas and Louisiana have more com-
1 This note was prepared for the Commis-
sion by David L. Silberg, research assistant
to the Constitutional Convention Commission
and student at the University of Maryland
School of Law; B.B.A., 1.963, and M.B.A.,
1964, University of Michigan.
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plete provisions than the others. Texas,
in addition to the above, provides for a
commission to arrange for a centennial
celebration. Louisiana, being even more
explicit, provides for a commission to
have architectural and historical control
over the Vieux Carre section of New
Orleans, giving this commission the
power to acquire, by eminent domain,
buildings of historical and/or architec-
tural value so as to preserve the general
mood and flavor of the Vieux Carre
region.
Article VII, Section 4, of the Consti-
tution of Maryland reads as follows:
"There shall be a Commissioner of
the Land Office, who shall be ap-
pointed by the Governor, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate,
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 thousand five
hundred dollars per annum, to be
paid out of the Treasury, and shall
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