198 ARTICLE 17.

Article 17, Section 18, of Bagby's Annotated Code of the Public General
Laws of Maryland, Edition of 1924, or whose salary is fixed by statute, or
whose appointment is subject to the approval of the Judges of the Court of
Appeals in accordance with said Article 17, Section 47 of Bagby's Anno-
tated Code of the Public General Laws of Maryland, Edition of 1924; and
likewise whenever any Chief Deputy, Deputy Register of Wills or Assist-
ant Register of Wills or other employee, exclusive of the Register himself,
employed in the performance of any of the duties pertaining to the office
of the Registers of Wills of the City of Baltimore and any of the several
counties of Maryland, whose compensation is limited and fixed by the
Comptroller of Maryland in accordance with Article 93, Section 289 of
Bagby's Annotated Code of the Public General Laws of Maryland, Edition
of 1924, shall have served, in any one or more of said capacities, twenty-
five years and shall have attained the age of sixty years when in office or
having served as aforesaid twenty-five years and thereafter upon attaining
the age of sixty years, he or she shall be eligible for retirement, and may
upon his or her application be retired, and thereafter shall be entitled to,
and shall be paid, an annual retirement allowance equal to the result
obtained by multiplying the average salary paid to him or her for the five
years next preceding his or her retirement or discontinuance in office by
the number of years of his or her service, ascertained as aforesaid, and.
divided by the number seventy.

And whenever any of said parties in this section shall break down
physically, or because of any illness or casualty become permanently dis-
abled or disqualified for the further proper performance of the duties of
his or her position, while in the service of any such Clerk of the Court or
Register of Wills, as aforesaid, after having served a total of fifteen years
in one or more of said capacities, as aforesaid, he or she shall likewise be
eligible for retirement, and may upon his or her application, be retired,
and shall thereafter likewise be entitled to, and shall be paid an annual
retirement allowance equal to the result obtained by multiplying the
average salary paid to him or her for the five years next preceding his or
her retirement by the number of years of his or her service, ascertained as
aforesaid and dividing by the number seventy.

1029, ch. 351, sec. 77.

77. Upon receipt of any application from any party claiming to be
eligible for a retirement allowance under this sub-title, it shall be the duty
of said Retirement Board forthwith to make a prompt and impartial in-
vestigation, (and upon the request of the applicant to give him or her a
hearing) as to the merits of such application and the facts justifying the
same, and in connection therewith to call, swear, examine and hear such
witnesses, and to call for and examine such records or documents, or
copies thereof, as said applicant or applicants may request or the Retire-
ment Board may desire, and may cause medical examination to be made
and expert testimony to be heard regarding the health and physical con-