1132 LAWS OF MARYLAND.

not been challenged, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished
by imprisonment in jail or in the penitentiary for not less than
three months nor more than two years. Every judge or judges
acting as clerk of any such election who shall make, sign, pub-
lish or deliver any false tally or return of an election, or any
false statement of the result of an election, knowing the same
to be false, or who shall wilfully deface, destroy or conceal any
statement, tally or certificate of return entrusted to his care
and custody, shall, on conviction thereof, be adjudged guilty of
a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the peni-
tentiary for not less than one year nor more than ten years.
If any judge or judges acting as clerk of said election of whom
any duty is required by .this Act, shall be guilty of any wil-
ful neglect of such duty, or any corrupt or fraudulent con-
duct or practice in the execution of the same, he shall, upon
conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment in jail for
not less than thirty days nor more than three years, or by
a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one thousand
dollars, or both by such fine and imprisonment. The judges
of said election while acting in the discharge of their duties
as.such judges are hereby clothed with authority to preserve
the peace, and to pass such orders as may be necessary to
carry out that object, and if any person shall wilfully disobey
any lawful command of any judge of election in the execution
of his or their duty as such at any election, he shall, upon con-
viction thereof, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and
shall be punished by imprisonment' in jail for not less than
thirty days nor more than six months, or by fine of not less
than ten dollars nor more than two hundred and fifty dollars,
or both by such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the
court.

37. The Council shall meet the second Monday issuing their
election, and shall hold stated meetings the first Monday of
every month thereafter, and adjourned or special meetings may
be called by the Mayor as often as necessary for the transaction
of business; a majority of the Councilmen shall constitute
a quorum. At the first meeting after the election of each year
the newly elected Councilmen shall be entitled, if duly quali-
fied, to take their seat in the Council, and the Council shall
first proceed to elect a president, whose duty it shall be to
preside over the Council in the absence of the Mayor; and the
president of the Council, by virtue of his office, shall be acting
Mayor of Berlin whenever the Mayor of said town shall be
absent therefrom for the space of three days at any one time,
and in such absence of the Mayor he may perform any of the
duties imposed or conferred upon the Mayor by the provisions