592 LAWS OF MARYLAND.

water, public landings, wharves and docks of the Mayor and
City Council of Baltimore to article 4, entitled "City of Bal-
timore," of the Code of Public Local Laws of Maryland, to
come in immediately after section 37, and to be known as sec-
tion 37A.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Mary-
land, That a new section be and the same is hereby added to
article 4, entitled "City of Baltimore," of the Code of Public
Local Laws of Maryland, to come in immediately after section
37, and to be known as section 37A, and to read as follows:

37A. Anything in the preceding sections of this article, to
the contrary notwithstanding, where ordinances now stand re-
ferred, or shall hereafter stand referred, to the Board of Esti-
mates of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, in the man-
ner provided for in the preceding section of this article, grant-
ing franchises or rights in the water front, wharf property,
land under water, public landings, wharves or docks, of the
Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, or in any portion or por-
tions thereof, the said board shall be empowered to fix the
compensation for the franchise or right in their discretion at
such sum as they shall deem reasonable and adequate, and in
addition to the power of fixing said compensation as aforesaid,
and of prescribing the terms and conditions of the grant in the
manner provided for in the preceding section of this article,
shall be empowered, where there are two or more applicants for
the franchise or right who are prepared to pay said compensa-
tion, fixed as aforesaid, to grant said franchise or right to
either one of said applicants, to the exclusion of the other, or
of the rest of said applicants, as it may deem best for the in-
terests of the city of Baltimore; and it is also the purpose of
this Act that where there are one or more of such applications
for the franchise or right in space, included in, but less in
dimensions than the space embraced in another or other of such
-applications, the said board shall, in addition to the power of
fixing said compensation as aforesaid, and of prescribing the
terms and conditions of the grant as aforesaid, be also empow-
ered to determine, in its discretion, whether the grant shall be
made to the applicant, or to one of the applicants, applying at
said compensation fixed as aforesaid for the franchise or right
in the greater space, or to the applicant or one of the appli-
cants, applying at said compensation, fixed as aforesaid, for the
franchise or right in the lesser space accordingly, as the said
board may deem best for the interests of the people of Balti-
more. No grant of the franchise or right in any of the public
property mentioned in this section of this article, or in any
portion or portions thereof, shall be made by the City Council,