80 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 42

D. EMERGENCY BORROWING

And the said Mayor and City Council of Cumberland
shall have the further power and authority, in case of an
emergency, to borrow such sum of money as may be neces-
sary for the immediate relief and the protection of the
inhabitants of the City of Cumberland during such emer-
gency, not to exceed in the aggregate, however, the sum of
Fifty Thousand Dollars; provided, however, that if said
Mayor and City Council shall decide that an emergency
does exist, it shall pass a resolution or ordinance so stating,
and thereafter it shall file a petition in the Circuit Court
for Allegany County, setting forth the existence of such
emergency, its nature, the estimated amount of money
needed for its relief and the proposed means of repayment.
Upon the filing of such petition, it shall be the duty of any
Judge of said Court, to whom such petition shall be pre-
sented, to forthwith pass an Order directing that at least
five days' notice of the filing of such petition, and of its sub-
stance, object and purpose, be immediately given by publi-
cation thereof in one or more daily newspapers published
in the City of Cumberland, and fixing a time to be set forth
in said notice for a hearing thereon in said Court as soon
thereafter as may be, at which hearing any citizen who is
a taxpayer may appear and be heard. The proceedings in
reference thereto at such hearing shall be informal; and,
if after such hearing, the Court shall pass an Order author-
izing the borrowing of such sum or sums of money as the
Court may deem adequate and proper to meet the emer-
gency, thereupon the said Mayor and City Council shall be
authorized to borrow the same and to pledge the credit of
the city to the amount specified by the Court in its Order.
There shall be no appeal from the finding of the Circuit
Court.

E. BOND ISSUES

The Mayor and City Council of Cumberland, in addition
to the powers to borrow money as hereinbefore set forth,
shall also have the power to borrow, from time to time,
pledging the credit of the City therefore, such sums
of money as they may deem necessary for the gen-
eral welfare of the city and its general corporate pur-
poses; provided, however, that the total indebtedness of
the city (exclusive of the indebtedness of the Water De-
partment) shall never exceed ten per cent of the assessed
value of the property in the city, as hereinbefore provided;
and provided further, that before any such loan is made