LICENSES. 363

An. Code, 1924, art. 81, sec. 211. 1918, ch. 497, sec. 200.
1920, ch. 498, sec. 200. 1929, ch. 226, sec. 272 (p. 711).

272. When any inhabitant of any county shall have any sheep, poultry
or livestock destroyed or injured by a dog or dogs, he may apply to any
Justice of the Peace of said county, who shall appoint three disinterested
persons as appraisers to view and appraise the damages by him sustained,
and they, or a majority of them, under oath, shall state in writing to the
County Commissioners of said county, the number of sheep, poultry, or
livestock killed, the character and extent of the injury, if any done, and
the amount of the damages sustained by the owner; and both the apprais-
ers and the owner of the sheep, poultry or livestock shall make oath that
they believe the same to have been destroyed or injured by a dog or dogs;
and when the report of such proceedings has been filed, the County Com-
missioners of said county shall review said report, and if in their judg-
ment the amount of damages stated is unfair, they shall award such amount
as they may deem fair; which award shall be paid out of the fund hereby
created; provided, however, that the said sworn report of the appraisers
shall be deemed prima facie evidence of the fairness of the award of dam-
ages in each instance; and provided, further, that the County Commission-
ers shall not change such an award unless they shall have personal knowl-
edge of its unfairness, or shall receive competent testimony to the effect
that the award is in excess of a fair commercial valuation of the sheep,
poultry or livestock injured or destroyed by dogs. And if the owner of the
dog or dogs doing the damage be known, it shall be the duty of the County
Commissioners to notify such owner or owners to kill said dog or dogs im-
mediately. If such dog or dogs be killed by the owner, after notice as
aforesaid, he shall be exempt from all further liability, but in case the said
owner or owners should refuse or neglect to kill said dog or dogs upon
notice as aforesaid, the said owner or owners shall be liable to the County
Commissioners for said damages to the same extent as he would be liable
in case of negligence or malicious destruction of property, and the said
County Commisisoners may in their discretion have the special officers or
constables to kill said dog or dogs.

An. Code, 1924, art. 81, sec. 212. 1918, ch. 497, sec. 201.
1920, ch. 498, sec. 201. 1929, ch. 226, sec. 273 (p. 712).

273. Any person violating or refusing to comply with any of the pro-
visions of this sub-title shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon convic-
tion thereof before any Justice of the Peace of the county in which he re-
sides, or in the Circuit Court of said county, shall be fined a sum of not
less than five dollars nor more than twenty-five dollars or shall be impris-
oned in the county jail for not more than thirty days, or shall be both fined
and imprisoned in the discretion of the court. It shall be the duty of the
State's Attorney, the Sheriff and the constables of the several counties of
the State to prosecute all persons found violating the law by refusing to
comply with its provisions. Provided that nothing in this sub-title shall
apply to the City of Baltimore.