974 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 522

cant or each of them, where the application is made by
more than one person, is a person of good moral character
and has never been convicted of any felony or of any viola-
tion of the liquor laws of Baltimore County within one
year preceding the filing of such application, and to whom
the granting of the license applied for is, in the opinion of
said judge or judges, compatible with the peace, order,
morality and good government of the county or the vicinity
of the place for which said license is to be granted; and for
the purpose of informing themselves upon the matters
aforesaid the said judges or any of them are empowered
to make such inquiries and investigations or to cause the
same to be made by the State's Attorney of Baltimore
County for the information of such judge or judges, and
to summon by subpoena any person or persons as witnesses
from whom they may desire to obtain any information
or testimony, and, upon due notice to the applicant or
applicants for the license under consideration and in the
presence of such applicant or applicants, if they desire to
be present, to examine and take the deposition of such wit-
nesses in court, under oath, to be administered by the court
or the clerk thereof. The court, for any reason disclosed
by proof, may refuse to grant the license applied for. In
any case where the applicant or applicants, after due dili-
gence, has been misled as to the qualification of a signer or
signers to his application, as such qualification has been
defined by this sub-title, the court or the judge hear-
ing the protests or having the application under considera-
tion, as aforesaid shall have power to allow him to substi-
tute other signers duly qualified, in the place and stead of
those disqualified, in case the license would be otherwise
granted.

418. The clerk of the court who received said applica-
tion, certificates and affidavits shall file and carefully pre-
serve the same, and shall keep in his office open to public
inspection complete dockets with full and detailed indexes
containing the names, recorded in an orderly and sys-
tematic way, of all applicants and of all signers upon all
applications, together with their respective addresses;
and after giving the notices hereinbefore required,
if no cause be shown as hereinbefore provided, and
in cases in which the objections shall be overruled or
in which the court shall approve of and direct the granting
and issuing of the license, shall issue to the applicant or
applicants the license applied for upon receiving from the