762 ARTICLE 3.

part of the bed of a road, street or avenue shall be adopted and used
which may have been already graded and constructed or partially graded
and constructed by the owners of the ground bounding and fronting there-
on or by their grantors or other persons prior to such adoption, condem-
nation and use thereof by the examiner or examiners appointed under the
provisions of this subtitle of this Article, said examiner or examiners
shall, in awarding damages and in assessing benefits, take all such facts
into consideration and make a just and proper allowance for such amounts
as may have been already expended upon such road, street or avenue or
part thereof.

P. L. L. (1888), Art. 3, sec. 233. 1882, ch. 172. 1888, ch. 450. B. Co. C. (1908),
sec. 394. 1914, ch. 517. B. Co. C. (1916), sec. 537. 1928, sec. 633.

633. In all contracts of any description made under this subtitle of
this Article, the examiner or examiners shall reserve 20 per cent, of the
amount of such contracts, to be held by him or them as security for the
faithful completion of the same until the same shall have been satisfac-
torily completed, and the said 20 per cent, shall be deducted and reserved
from each and every payment under said contracts; and should the con-
tractor, under any contract made under the terms of this subtitle of this
Article, fail to complete said contract, all sums unpaid at the time of
such default, including the 20 per cent, above referred to, shall be for-
feited and the contractor or his bondsmen shall have no claim upon the
same; and whenever application is made to the County Commissioners
as hereinbefore provided in this subtitle of this Article it shall be the duty
of the County Commissioners to appoint one examiner or three examiners,
as the applicants may prefer; the one examiner to be chosen by agree-
ment between the County Commissioners and the applicants, or in case
of non-agreement to appoint three examiners—two to be chosen by the
County Commissioners and one to be named by the applicants; but no
person shall be appointed as an examiner nor as one of the examiners
who shall be related to any of the parties making the application nor
who may be the owner of or be in any way interested in the ground bound-
ing and fronting on the line of any street, avenue, alley or proposed thor-
oughfare for which application is made to be condemned, opened, graded
and constructed, or to be widened, opened, graded or constructed, or on
the line of any street or avenue for which application is made for the
extension of the same, or on the line of any street or avenue for which
application is made for the laying off of the same; and if one examiner
be appointed his pay shall be five dollars per day, and if three examiners
be appointed their pay shall be four dollars each per day for every day
actually and necessarily engaged in the matter of his or their appoint-
ment; and such examiner or examiners shall keep an accurate itemized
account of all moneys received and disbursed by him or them and shall
file an accurate statement of such account, with vouchers, with the County
Commissioners at such time or times as the County Commissioners shall
require, and such account shall be subject to the approval and ratification
of the County Commissioners.