660 LA.WS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 275

for the purchase money paid by the purchaser if the sale be not
ratified, with interest thereon; and for all costs and expenses
accruing from said sale the Treasurer shall retain out of the pro-
ceeds of said sale when ratified the amount of taxes and interest
thereon and all costs incurred in advertising, making, reporting
and ratifying such sale, and shall pay over the excess to the
owner of property thus sold, and no sale under this act
shall be set aside if the provisions thereof relating to
sales shall appear to have been substantially complied with,
and the burden of proof to show non-compliance with said pro-
visions shall be on the exceptant thereto, and when any sale shall
have been finally ratified by the Court, as herein provided, the
order of ratification shall be conclusive as to the regularity of
the Treasurer's proceedings therein, and of said sale, and shall
not be open to inquiry except in case of fraud or collusion in
said proceedings and sale on the part of or between the Treas-
urer and purchaser.

SEC. 2. And be it enacted, That all Acts or parts of Acts in-
consistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed so
far as they apply to Somerset County, but nothing herein con-
tained is intended or shall be construed to interfere with or de-
feat any tax sale heretofore made and reported under the pro-
visions of the section hereby amended, all of which said sales and
reports thereof shall be as valid as made and reported under
the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 3. And be it enacted, That this Act shall take effect
from the date of its passage.

Approved April 10th, 1918.

CHAPTER 276.

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact with amendments Section 3
of Chapter 557 of the Acts of the General Assembly of
Maryland of 1912, relating to the incorporation of the town
of North Beach in Calvert County, Maryland, and to add a
new section to said act to come in after Section 39 and to
to be designated as Section 39a.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Mary-
land, That Section 3 of Chapter 557 of the Acts of the Gen-
eral Assembly of Maryland of 1912 be, and the same is here-
by, repealed and re-enacted with amendments so as to read as
follows: