1176 GOVERNOR. [ART. 41

have the control and use thereof whenever necessary for any
purpose provided for by the constitution and laws, or when
needed to authenticate communications between this State and
the United States, the States and territories thereof, and foreign
States; in all which cases the great seal shall be used; and the
secretary of the senate and the chief clerk of the house of
delegates, respectively, shall have unrestricted access to and
use of the great seal, for the purpose of affixing the same to
bills which shall have passed the general assembly as required
by the constitution, preparatory to presenting the same to the
governor for his approval; every bill, when passed by the gen-
eral assembly, shall be returned to the house in which the
same originated, and shall, as soon thereafter as practicable,
be sealed with the great seal by the secretary of the senate or
chief clerk of the house of delegates, as the case may be, and
presented to the governor for his approval; and in his presence
such clerical officer having custody of the same shall make on
the back of every such bill a memorandum in writing of the
day and hour when the same was presented to the governor
for his approval; and such officer so presenting the same shall
sign his name to such memorandum, and shall make a corres-
ponding entry upon the journal of the house in which the
same originated; in case of the sickness or necessary absence
of the governor from the seat of government of the State,
during the session of the general assembly, it shall be lawful
for the governor to designate some person or persons to act
for him in receiving bills presented for his approval; which
designation shall be in writing addressed to the presiding
officers of the two houses of the general assembly, respectively,
and the same, when so received, shall be entered at length
upon the journal of each house; all bills passed by the gen-
eral assembly and sealed with the great seal which shall be
presented as aforesaid to the person or persons so designated
by the governor, and during the period for which he or they
were so designated, shall be held and considered as presented
to the governor for his approval within the meaning of the
constitution of the State.
Hamilton v. State, 61 Md. 14. Lankford v. Somerset Co., 73 Md. 105.

1888, art. 41, sec. 2 1860, art. 42. sec. 2. 1853, ch. 131, sec 2.
2. The governor shall not affix the great seal to any docu-
ment without accompanying it with his signature; nor shall
he permit any paper issuing from his department to be sealed
therewith without affixing his signature thereto.