54 THIRTY-FIRST ANNUAL REPORT

confirming my thought on this matter. My request and the Attorney
General's opinion follow:

November 22, 1966
Honorable Robert C. Murphy
Acting Attorney General
State Law Department
1200 One Charles Center
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Dear Mr. Murphy:

As you are aware, at the election of November 8th there was a
constitutional amendment on the ballot which would abolish the office
of the Commissioner of the Land Office (Question No. 16, Chapter
489, Acts of 1966). This question received the approval of the electorate
of Maryland, which brought into effect Chapter 488, providing that
the Hall of Records take over the duties of the Commissioner of the
Land Office. This posed a problem in record keeping which the Hall of
Records Commission has directed me to submit to you for an opinion.

When the Land Office moved from the Hall of Records Building
some years ago, to the New State Office Building, they left the abstracts
of conveyances with us. These abstracts formerly were required of
every clerk of court. He sent them in in May or June and they were
indexed by the Land Office. This is a collection of approximately
1,500 volumes.

Now, with the consolidation of the two offices, we should like to
bring the old records of the Land Office (patents, warrants, chancery,
etc.) back to the Hall of Records. In order to provide space for them,
we should like to get rid of the abstracts. These abstracts are of no
further use to anyone because, in addition to the original land records
which are for the most part still in the county courthouses, we have
microfilm copies at the Hall of Records. They are of so little value that
the Land Office did not consider moving them to their new quarters.

It is our feeling that these records should be disposed of, either
by destruction or otherwise. The Hall of Records Commission is loath
to destroy them and suggested that we might find a home for them
in the various counties in the county historical society. I was agreeable
to that, but then we questioned whether either I or the Hall of Records
Commission had the authority to dispose of them in this fashion.