328 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 186

years prior to January 1, 1938, in installments. Such ordi-
nance shall have the force and effect of law, shall operate uni-
formly in the Metropolitan District and shall permit payment
in no greater number of annual installments than six. All
unpaid installments shall bear interest at the rate of Y2 of 1%
per month until paid. In the event there be established under
any ordinance or law the practice of permitting payments in
Baltimore County of taxes in installments, the provisions
herein with respect to payment of Metropolitan District
annual assessments and charges in installments shall cease
to be operative and in lieu thereof with respect to each assess-
able property all Metropolitan annual assessments and charges
thereon shall be included in the taxes thereon and collected
together, in installments. The Commissioners are hereby
authorized and empowered to adopt and pass all needful
ordinances, which shall have the force and effect of law, to
carry the preceding provision of this section into effect. Upon
written order of the Commissioners, authorizing and directing
him so to do, the Treasurer of Baltimore County shall in his
own name as such Treasurer proceed to enforce the lien of
Metropolitan District assessments and charges on any par-
ticular property specified in such order, by a bill in equity or
upon the written order of the Commissioners shall proceed to
collect said assessments and charges by an action of debt.
Anything in this section or Act to the contrary notwithstand-
ing, whenever it be a fact that any particular property is
subject to the lien of Metropolitan assessments and charges
and the same property is also subject to a valid and enforce-
able lien created prior to April 9, 1924, the Commissioners
shall order and direct the enforcement of the lien of the
Metropolitan assessments and charges on said property by bill
in equity or by suit at law, as aforesaid, and in every such
case said assessments and charges shall not be collected by the
Treasurer of Baltimore County as taxes are collected. All
assessments and charges collected by the Treasurer of Balti-
more County shall be deposited as received into a special
account or accounts in one or more banks designated by the
Commissioners and the sums so deposited, together with all
sums received by the Commissioners to the credit of the Metro-
politan District water and sewerage funds, after deducting all
overhead expenses of the Commissioners and all proper and
necessary costs of maintaining and operating the systems,
shall be applied by the Commissioners to the payment of the
interest on and to the retirement of such outstanding bonds
as may be issued under this Act. The change in the method
of collecting said annual assessments and charges shall not be
so construed as to make any of said annual assessments and
charges subject to the bar of any statute of limitations.