172

LAWS OF MARYLAND.

this section, to appear before the assessor in his assessment dis-
trict and till up said schedule and swear to the same as here-
inbefore provided for; and if such person fails to report, as
aforesaid, to said assessor, the said assessor shall, upon his own
knowledge and upon the best information he can obtain, value
and assess the property of such owner or person to the utmost
sum he may believe the same to be worth in cash; and the
owner of said property not so returned, he, she or it, as a
penalty, may be taxed on such property as he, she or it has
failed to report to said assessor, double the amount of taxes
that he, she or it would- have been liable for under existing law,
for the first year of such taxes. The said assessor shall have
the right, and it shall be his duty, to propound any question to
said persons which said assessor may deem necessary to enable
him to ascertain the location, kind and character of the per-
sonal property owned by said persons, after having adminis-
tered an oath or affirmation to such person, that he or she will
true answers make to such questions as may be asked said
person by said assessors concerning said property and its loca-
tion.

Affidavit of
person
returning
schedule.

174. Every taxable person or persons referred to in section
173 of this act, shall, at the time of returning said lists to
said assessors, make the following affidavit before him or them :
"State of Maryland, county or city, ss: — I, —— — , being duly
sworn, say, to the best of my knowledge, information, and be-
lief, tliat the foregoing schedule contains a true, full and com-
plete list of all real and personal property held or belonging
to me, (or to me as a partner or in my possession as trustee,
administrator, guardian, committee of a lunatic, or agent of
auy person not residing or being in this county or city or be-
longing to any corporation, or belonging to me by any manner
of title, either legal or equitable, the legal title to which said
property is in a non-resident), and that all such property has
been fully and fairly described and its true condition repre-
sented; that I have in no case sought to mislead said assessor
as to quantity or quality of said property; that I have not
directly or indirectly converted or exchanged any of my prop-
erty temporarily (nor has the said corporation done so,) for the
purpose of evading the assessment thereof for taxation, into
non-taxable property or securities of any kind."
Subscribed and sworn to this —— day of —— , 189

False return.

175. The affidavit required to be made by section 174 of
this act shall be made before the proper assessor or other per-
son authorized to administer oaths, and shall set forth that the