764 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Mar. 18,

upon their gross receipts within this State, and to
county and municipal taxation upon their respective
real and personal taxable properties in the re-
spective counties and cities of this State in which
such respective properties are located; nor the book
accounts or bills receivable, or evidences of debt given
for such accounts of any person engaged in commer-
cial business, who is taxed upon a fair average value
of his stock of goods, wares and merchandise, and
every person engaged in commercial business shall be
taxed upon the fair average value of his stock in such
business during the year preceding the assessment
upon which such tax is levied; nor to the value of
such portions of the shares of homestead or building
associations as may be represented by mortgage upon
real or leasehold property within this State, when such
real or leasehold estate so mortgaged is subject to
taxation under the laws of this State ; nor to mortgage
debts secured thereby; nor to mortgages wholly within
this State; nor to the mortgage debts secured thereby,
except bonds and certificates of debts bearing interest,
issued by any railroad corporation or other corpora-
tion of this State, secured by mortgage of property
wholly within this State, which shall be liable to
assessment and taxation as provided in section 88 of
this Article; nor to the tools or machinery or plant of
individuals or of corporations actually engaged in the
business of manufacturing, for a period of five years
from the beginning of their respective operations ; but
this exemption shall not continue for a longer period
than such five years, nor shall it be extended to the
machinery or plant of individuals or corporations
actually engaged in the printing and publishing of
newspapers, nor to the property or plant of gas and
electric light companies ; and all public general and
public local or special laws inconsistent with these
provisions are hereby repealed; and each and every
one of said exemptions from taxation shall be strictly
construed,

141. At the time of making the returns of stock-
holders to the County Commissioners and Appeal Tax
Court of Baltimore city, as required bylaw, the presi-
dent or other proper officer of every bank or other in-
corporated institution incorporated under the, laws, of