156

LAWS OF MARYLAND.

ninety-eight, four persons to be members of the Council of
said town, who, together with the Mayor, shall constitute the
Council of said town ; two of the said Councilmen shall serve
for the term of two years, or until their successors are elected
and qualified, and two for a term of one year, or until their
successors are elected and qualified. At the first meeting after
their election, said Councilmen shall determine by lot, who of
their number shall serve for one and two years respectively.
The citizens aforesaid shall elect on the first Monday of May,
eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and annually thereafter, two
persons to be members of the Council of said town who shall
serve for the term of two years, or until their successors are
elected and qualified. The qualifications for voters, Mayor
and Councilmen, shall be the same as prescribed for voters by
the laws of this State. They must have resided within the
corporate limits of said town for at least six months next pre-
ceding their election. The Mayor and councilmen must
continue to reside in said town during their terms of office,
and they shall receive no fees or compensation for their ser-
vices, except that the Mayor shall receive the fees hereinafter
allowed.
SEC. 5. The Mayor shall preside at meetings and shall call such
meetings from time to time as he may deem necessary, but in the
event of the absence of the Mayor from any meeting the mem-

Duty of
mayor.

bers of the Council present shall elect one of their own number
to preside during his absence, who shall, for the time being,
be clothed with all the powers and authority of said Mayor.
The Council shall pass rules and by-laws for their own govern-
ment while in session. All vacancies in the Council caused by
absence from its sessions for more than three consecutive
months without satisfactory excuse, or otherwise, shall be filled
by an election held after ten days' notice given by the remain-
ing members of the same.
SEC. 6. The Council shall meet in some convenient place in

Place of
meeting.

said town on or before the first Monday of June next succeed-
ing their election, and as often thereafter as may be necessary
in the discharge of the duties of their office, not less, however,
than once in every month. A majority of the Council shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Judges of
election.

SEC. 7. They shall annually, on or before the first Monday
in April, appoint three judges of election, who shall appoint a
clerk, and the said judges shall conduct an election by ballot,
in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of this Act ; the
polls to be opened at one o'clock, P. M. and closed at six