ART. 54] ENFOECEMENT Of LIEN. 1327

ments are hereby declared to be a lien upon the land surveyed; and the
commissioner of the land office is authorized in his discretion, when-
ever the amount involved justifies it, to enforce said lien either by
appropriate action in the name of the State in a court of competent
jurisdiction or by a sale of the certificate of survey, which sale shall
be conducted in the following manner: He shall first give notice in.
writing to the party in whose name said certificate was returned, or to
the assignee thereof, that unless the amount of the fees, composition or
purchase money and value of improvements due on said certificate is
paid within the time specified in such notice, not less than two months
from the date thereof, the said certificate will be offered for sale, and
if the amount due the State, as aforesaid, is not paid within the time
specified in said notice, the commissioner of the land office may sell
said certificate at public auction for cash after reasonable notice of
such sale inserted in some newspaper published in the county where
the land lies, the commissioner reserving the right to reject any bid
if he deems the price offered inadequate; and the purchaser of such
certificate shall be entitled to a patent thereon upon the payment of the
price bid and the fees for patent, in the same manner as an assignee
of the certificate would be entitled to a patent under the rules of the
land office, upon exhibition of the proof of assignment. This section
to apply only to those cases in which more than one year has elapsed
since the date of warrant, and nothing herein contained shall prevent
any person from obtaining a proclamation warrant on such certificate
as fully as if this section had not been enacted. If the amount involved
does not justify in proceeding as above, the commissioner, after giving
at least two months' notice in writing to the owner of the certificate
of the amount due thereon for fees and composition money, and the
same is not paid within two months after such notice, then such cer-
tificate may be vacated and annulled, and the vacant land included in
such certificate may be taken up by any one in the same manner as
other vacant land. If however, the said notice is returned unserved by
reason of the owner of the certificate not being found by the sheriff
of the county where the vacant land embraced in said certificate is
situated or where the owner resides, or is dead, or for any other cause
the said notice can not be served, the commissioner of the land office
may then give at least four weeks' notice in some newspaper printed
and published in the county where the land lies, that the examiner's
fee and composition money is not paid as provided in the notice afore-
said; the land commissioner may, after the expiration of two months
from the date of the last publication of said notice, the examining fee
and composition money still remaining unpaid, vacate and annul such
certificate, and the land included in such certificate may be taken up
by any one in the same manner as other vacant land. And the costs
of issuing any such notice, service or advertisement, shall be paid by
the owner of such certificate, and if dead, be a preferred claim against
the decedent's estate, if the said estate, is not finally administered;
and such costs shall be collected by the sheriffs of the several counties
and Baltimore city, as fees of the land office are collected.