1320 LAND OFFICE. [ART. 54

1906, ch. 412.

16. He shall have custody of all maps, books, records and papers
connected with the office of the board of shell fish commissioners of the
State of Maryland, which may be committed to his care and custody by
the said board of shell fish commissioners, and shall safely keep them
in some place reasonably free from accident by fire, and shall, whenever
required to do so, cause copies thereof to be made under the seal of his
said office, and shall receive and retain therefor fees at the same rate
now charged for copies and searches for other papers in his office, and
shall receive as compensation for his services and reponsibility the sum
of fifty dollars per month, which shall be in addition to the salary
now allowed him by law as the commissioner of the land office; pro-
vided however, that the fees received by him for copies of papers, etc.,
shall, after paying the actual expense of the same, be turned over to the
board of shell fish commissioners.

1904, art. 54, sec. 16. 1888. art. 54. sec. 14. 1874. ch. 66. 1894, ch. 191.

17. He shall receive and carefully file among the records of his
office all extracts of deeds transferred to him by the clerk of the court
of appeals under said act of 1874, chapter 66, and all such as shall
be transmitted to him by the clerks of the circuit courts for the counties
and the clerk of the superior court of Baltimore city, and when he shall
receive a sufficient number of such extracts from the same county to
form a record book of the proper size, he shall cause the same to be
well and substantially bound in leather and placed among the records
of his office; and the comptroller of the treasury is hereby directed to
issue his warrant for such sum or sums of money as from time to time
may be necessary for the cost of such binding and for the purchase of
index books and for the repair and rebinding of other record books in
the land office, upon a certificate of the correctness of the same given
by the commissioner of the land office, and the sum of one thousand
dollars or so much thereof as may be necessary is hereby appropriated
annually for said purposes.*

Ibid. sec. 17. 1888, art. 54. sec. 15. 1874, ch. 06. 1876, ch. 257. 1894, ch 191.
1900. ch. 318. 1902, ch. 261.

18. He is authorized and empowered to continue the indexing of
certain land records and extracts of deeds which were transferred to the
land office from the court of appeals under the said act of 1874, chapter
66, and such extracts of deeds and mortgages and all other extracts of
records of real estate as shall be received by him from the clerks of the
circuit courts for the counties and the clerk of the superior court of
Baltimore city. He is also authorized to purchase, receive and collect
books, papers, records, relics and other memorials connected with the
early history of Maryland prior to the revolution, during and since the

By the act of 190S. ch. 606. the commissioner of the land office is directed to
have transcribed or rebound such records in his custody as may require the
same, and an appropriation is made therefor.