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CECIL COUNTY. [ART. 8.

county of all dogs upwards of two months old, owned
or possessed by any person within their respective
districts, particularly noting the number owned or
possessed by each person, and kept about the same
house, which return shall be made under the oath
or affirmation of the collector, that he has made dili-
gent search for, and believes his return to be a full
and accurate one of all dogs within his district.

How damages
for killing
sheep apprais-
ed and by
whom.

184. Any inhabitant of the county whose sheep
may be killed or injured by a dog or dogs, may
have the damages sustained by him, appraised by
two disinterested and intelligent men, tax payers of
the county, who shall return their appraisement of
said damages to the county commissioners, with
their affidavit thereto annexed, that they believe
said sheep were killed by a dog or dogs, that their
appraisement of damages is fair and reasonable, and
that they have no interest therein, and said ap-

Pay of apprai-
sers.

praisers shall each be allowed the sum of fifty cents
for their services, which sum together with the legal
fee of the justice of the peace for the affidavits pro-
vided for in this and the following sections, shall be
paid by the owner of the sheep, and may be returned
with the appraisement as costs.

In what order
damages paid.

185. All appraisements for damages to sheep, shall
be filed in the office of the county commissioners,

Proviso.

and shall be paid according to priority of date; pro-

When appraise-
ments to be
filed

vided, that no appraisement shall be paid, unless filed
within three months of the date when the sheep were
killed or injured, nor unless the owner of said sheep,

Oath of sheep
owner.

shall make affidavit, to be filed with the appraise-
ment, that said sheep were killed or injured by a
dog or dogs not owned or harbored by him, and that
he has no means of recovering the value thereof from
the owner or owners of the dog or dogs that killed
or injured them.

Collectors may
kill dogs and
when, and pay
for same.

188. If any owner or keeper of an assessed dog
shall be unable or unwilling to pay the tax thereon,
and the collector can find no property out of which
to make the tax, the collector shall forthwith proceed