PHILLIPS LEE GOLDSBOROUGH, GOVERNOR. 473

drains, watercourses and public landings on any navigable
waters in Wicomico county, when in their opinion the public
necessity or convenience require the same, without any previous
application or petition; the County Commissioners may con-
tract with the owner or owners of the land for the purpose of
laying out, opening, extending and making new roads, and for
altering, straightening, widening, grading, improving or clos-
ing up in whole or in part any existing road or for a public
drain or public landing, for the right of way over the land
necessary for any said road or for land for public drains and
public landings if he, she or they be competent to contract; and
in case the said County Commissioners shall so contract they
shall cause a plat of the said road to be made by a competent
surveyor and filed and recorded in the office of the Clerk of the
Circuit Court for Wicomico County, with the deed or deeds
conveying the land so acquired, which plat shall be referred to
in and shall be a part of said deed or deeds, and the lands so
conveyed shall be and become thenceforth the property of Wicom-
ico county, and be subject to the purposes and uses for which
granted; if, however, the County Commissioners aforesaid shall
proceed by condemnation in the exercise of the powers herein
granted, all benefits or damages done, suffered or incurred by
laying out, opening and making of new roads, or by altering,
straightening, widening, grading, improving or dosing up, in
part or in whole, any existing road or laying out public drains,
water courses or landings, shall be determined or assessed by
three disinterested persons, freeholders and residents of Wicom-
ico county, and above the age of twenty-one years, who shall be
appointed by the County Commissioners aforesaid, and shall,
within ten days after notice of their appointment, take an
oath before a justice of the peace of Wicomico county that they
will faithfully and fairly and without partiality or prejudice
value and assess the cost and damages to be suffered and
incurred by any person interested in the said property over,
through and by which the said road, drain, waterway or land-
ing is to be opened, closed, extended, widened, graded or
improved; and also to estimate the benefits that may accrue
therefrom to any such property owner, through and by which
the said road, drain, waterway or landing is to be opened, closed,
extended, widened, graded or improved or any property adja-
cent thereto, or any other property injured or benefited by said
road, drain, watercourse or landing; they shall give at least
fifteen days' notice in one or more newspapers published in
Wicomico county of their purpose to lay out, open, extend, close
up, widen, straighten, grade or improve the road, drain, water-