1360 VETOES.

CONFLICTING BILLS.

Chapter 495, House Bill 636. This bill, relating to motor
vehicles for hire, is in conflict with Chapter 282, Senate Bill
322, which has been approved.

Chapter 194, House Bill 448, embodying certain motor
vehicle regulations, is in conflict with Chapter 281, Senate
Bill 325, which has been approved.

I will, therefore, veto the bills first mentioned above.

CRIMINAL LAW—LARCENY
(Chapter 592, Senate Bill 165.)

This bill provides in substance that the theft of property
under the value of $25.00 shall be a misdemeanor and not a
felony, and triable before a Police Magistrate instead of the
court.

The Legislature of 1931 passed a similar bill, and upon
the request of the State's Attorney of Baltimore and the
Police Commissioner I vetoed it, 'because, among other rea-
sons, if such cases are tried before the Police Magistrates
there cannot be the same opportunity to investigate the rec-
ord of the accused that there is if the trial is before the
court, and thus persons who are really criminals and who
ought to be detained might be released.

The bill, however, is much desired in the counties, chiefly
in order to save them the expense of keeping accused persons
in Jail during the comparatively long interval between terms
of court, and when this measure was introduced in the Legis-
lature it applied to the counties only, and exempted Balti-
more City. It was, however, amended so as to include Balti-
more, and therefore the situation which was presented in
1931 is now presented again.

Much as I would like to give the counties relief in the
respect just referred to, the conditions to which the bill
would give rise in Baltimore City make it unwise to do so,
and, for this reason, the bill will be vetoed.

DUPLICATE BILLS.

Chapter 291, Senate Bill 82, relating to the limitation of
actions, is a duplicate of Chapter 54, House Bill 196, which
has been signed.