136 LAWS OF MARYLAND.

to be filed with the Governor shall be that any successful candi-
date, so petitioned against was in person or in the person of a
treasurer or sub-treasurer or his political agent, or through any
political committee acting for or in his behalf, so guilty of cor-
rupt practices, such election shall be void, except as herein-
after provided, and in case of such void election the Governor
shall, within five days after the receipt of such decision, issue
his proclamation declaring such election void, and the vacancy
in the office to have been filled by said election shall be filled in
the same manner as would be required by law in case said
vacancy had arisen from the death of the successful candidate
after his election. If any candidate shall have been so found,
or decided to have been so guilty in person of corrupt practices,
he shall be ineligible to election or appointment to any public
office or employment for the period of four years from the date
of said election; but the mere finding or decision that his politi-
cal agent was so guilty, shall not render him ineligible to of-
fice; but where the judge or judges shall decide or certify upon
his or their or a jury's findings in any case that any such suc-
cessful candidate was guilty of corrupt practices only in the per-
son of his agent, and that, (a) no corrupt practice was com-
mitted by the candidate personally and the offense was com-
mitted contrary to his order and, without his sanction or con-
nivance; (b) the offense was of a trivial, unimportant and lim-
ited character; (c) in all other respects such election was free
from corrupt practice on the part of such candidate and of his
political agent, then the election of such candidate shall not be
void, nor shall the candidate be subject to any ineligibility there-
for. An appeal to the Court of Appeals may be taken on ques-
tions of law from any decision relative to ineligibility to public
office or employment of any such candidate.

SEC. 174. The courts in which such petitions shall be filed
shall have authority to tax the costs as in equity cases, and
also to subpoena witnesses and require them to testify as in
other civil cases, and to compel by subpoena duces tecum the
production for examination of any books or papers of any kind,
or of any other thing which may be required or desirable in the
conduct of such inquiry. In any proceeding held under the
provisions of this or the preceding section, no witness shall be
excused from answering any question or producing any book,
paper or other thing on the ground or claim that his answer or
the thing produced, or to be produced by. him, may tend to in-
criminate or degrade him, or render him liable to a penalty, but
his, answer, or the thing produced by him shall not be used in
any proceeding against him, except in a prosecution for perjury
in so testifying.