5274 ARTICLE 24.

and if upon the report, the court shall find that the provisions of law in
relation thereto have been complied with, the court shall pass an order
nisi giving three weeks' notice, warning all persons interested in the prop-
erty sold to be and appear by a certain day in the said order nisi named,
to show cause why said sale shall not be ratified and confirmed; and a
copy thereof shall be published for three successive weeks in some news-
paper published in Pocomoke City; and if no objections to the ratification
of such sale shall be filed within the time limit named by the said order
nisi, or if objections be filed and the objector is unable and fails to show
that the town clerk has failed to comply with the provisions of this Act,
the sale shall be finally ratified and confirmed by said Court; and for the
purpose of hearing objections or passing orders under this Act, said court
shall be deemed always to be open as in Chancery proceedings; if the
objection to the sale under this Act shows to the satisfaction of the court
that the town clerk failed to comply with the provisions of law, said sale
shall be set aside and said town clerk shall at once proceed to make a new
sale of the property and bring the proceeds into court, out of which the
purchaser shall be repaid the purchase money paid by him to the town
clerk on said rejected sale, and all taxes assessed on said real estate and
paid by the purchaser since said sale, and all costs and expenses properly
incurred in said court by said purchaser, with interest on all sums at the
rate of six per cent, per annum from the time of payment; but such sale
shall not be set aside if the provisions of law shall appear to have been
substantially complied with, and the burden of proof shall be on the except-
ants to show that the same are invalid, and when any sale shall have been
finally ratified by the court as herein provided, the order of ratification
shall be conclusive as to the regularity of the town clerk's proceedings
therein and of such sale, and shall not be open to inquiry except in case
of fraud or collusion in said proceedings and sale on the part of or between
the town clerk and the purchaser.

Whenever real estate shall be thus sold for taxes by the town clerk the
person or persons, party or parties, who owned the same prior to said sale,
or any or all of his, her or their heirs or devisees, may redeem the same
by paying into court, to be paid to the purchaser thereof, within the period
of twelve calendar months from the day of such sale, the amount of the
purchase money together with interest thereon at the rate of fifteen per
cent, per annum added thereto and all costs which may be incurred by the
town clerk or the purchaser in reporting or ratifying said sale; and the
purchaser of such real estate, if the said sale be ratified and confirmed,
shall be entitled to receive a deed therefor from the town clerk at any time
after the expiration of twelve calendar months from the day of such sale;
and if the purchaser should die before having received a deed the town
clerk shall convey the real estate to the heirs or the devisees of the pur-
chaser; and if the town clerk should die, remove or refuse to execute a
deed his successor in office may execute a deed to the purchaser; when-
ever any personal property shall be removed from the town while any
taxes levied thereon remain due, in arrears or unpaid, the town clerk