40 ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT

work done at the Hall of Records would be that the records would
never pass from the custody of the State and would at all times bene-
fit from the protective measures in force here.

Index to the Laws

One of the great obstacles to historical research in Maryland is
the lack of a comprehensive general index to the Acts of the As-
sembly. It is a handicap especially in the earlier period in genealogy
because of the great number of private laws which were passed pro-
viding for divorces, denization, change of name, adoption and relief.
Charters which were formerly granted by the Assembly are as good
as lost now, if the exact year in which they were granted cannot be
provided otherwise. It is almost impossible to tell what the law
about any subject was at any given time, because who can be sure
of having found all the amendments without a subject index?

Some years ago the Legislative Librarian, Dr. Horace E. Flack,
began a card index of Maryland laws starting with 1800. Un-
fortunately, this work was not completed but it is usable in its pre-
sent form for the years which it covers. The Laws through the mid-
dle of the eighteenth century have been printed in the Maryland
Archives, but for these years the indexes for all the volumes must be
searched and the earlier indexes are far from being as reliable as
those for the later period. The engrossed Acts are failing altogether
before 1732, and they are incomplete before the period of the Rev-
olution. They were never indexed. The Recorded Laws are almost
complete from the beginning, but these volumes have no indexes
either. The early printed volumes are as rare as incunabula, and
where they exist they are poorly indexed. The early compilations
are also badly indexed and often slight the local and private laws.
No more useful project could be imagined than a subject and name
index to all the laws. It would not be easy to do and it would be
costly, but it would be well worth the effort and price. Several
states have such indexes; some others, including North Carolina, are
making plans to start similar projects in the near future. This is o!
course, not strictly an archival task, and it might well be that it
should be directed by the Attorney General or a legislative com-
mittee, but on the other hand the Hall of Records Commission might
feel that no other office of the State government is equipped so well
for an historical task of such magnitude.