260 LAWS OF MARYLAND.

taxed on such property as he, she or it has failed to report to
said assessors double the amount of taxes that he, she or it
would have been liable for under existing law, for the first
year of such taxes/ The assessors are hereby empowered and
authorized to administer an oath to any 'person who is to be
assessed for the purpose of ascertaining what property, either
real or personal, the said persons may have, and the said asses-
sors shall, before taking or accepting an inventory of all the
property that any taxable person may have administer an
oath and inquire specially as to any invisible personal prop-
erty, certificate or interest in banks and all other productive
personal property. The said assessors shall have the right and
it shall be their duty to propound any questions to said per-
sons which said assessors may deem necessary to enable them
to ascertain the location, kind and character of the personal
property owned by said persons after having administered an
oath or affirmation to such person that he or she will truly
answer such questions as may be asked said person by said
assessors concerning said property and its location.

SEC. 12. And be it enacted, Every taxable person or per-
sons referred to in Section 11 of this Act shall, at the time of
returning said lists to said assessors, make the following affi-
davit before him or them: "State of Maryland, county or city,
S. S.: I, —————, being duly sworn, say and, to the best of
my knowledge, information and belief, that the aforegoing
schedule contains a true, full and complete list of all real and
personal property held or belonging to me (or to me as a
partner, or in my possession as trustee, administrator, guar-
dian, committee of a lunatic, or agent of any person not resid-
ing or being in this county or city, or belonging to any cor-
poration, or belonging to me by any manner of title, either
legal or equitable, the legal title to which said property is in
a non-resident first), and that all such property has been fully
and fairly described in its true condition represented; that I
have in no case sought to mislead said assessors as to quantity
or quality of said property; that I have not directly or indi-
rectly converted or exchanged any of my property tempo-
rarily (nor has said corporation done so) for the purpose of
evading the assessment thereof for taxation into non-taxable
property or securities of any kind." Subscribed and sworn to
this ——————— day of —————————.

SEC. 13. The affidavit required to be made by Section 12
of this Act shall be made before the proper assessors or other
persons authorized to administer oaths, and shall set forth
that the return is full, true and correct to the best of his or
her knowledge and belief; and any person or officer who shall
wilfully and corruptly make a false and fraudulent return