456

LAWS OF MARYLAND.

or owners of any land, earth, timber, gravel or
other materials, or any improvement for. the con-
struction or repair of said road or its works, for
the purchase or use, and occupation of the-same,
and in case they cannot agree, or if the owner or
owners or any of them, be a "feme covert," under
age, "non compos mentis," or out of the county in
which the property wanted may lie, when such
land or material may be needed, on application to
a Justice of the Peace of such county, he shall is-

Sheriff re-
quired to sum-
mon jury.

sue his warrant under his hand and seal to the
Sheriff of said county, requiring him to summon
a jury of twenty inhabitants of said county, not
related or in anywise interested in the premises to
meet on the land, or the other property or mate-
rials to be valued, on a day to be specified in said
warrant, not less than ten or more than twenty
days after issuing the same, and if at such time
and place in case any of the Jurors summoned do
not attend, the said Sheriff shall summon immedi-
ately as many Jurors as may be necessary with
the Jurors in attendance, to furnish a panel of
twenty Jurors in attendance, and from them each
party, it, his, her or their agents, and if either be
not present in person or by agent, the Sheriff may
strike off four Jurors for each of the absent par-
ties, and the remaining twelve shall act as the
Jury of interest of damages, and before they act as
such the Sheriff shall administer to each of them
an oath or affirmation as the case may be, that he
will justly and impartially value the damages
which the owner or owners of said lands and ma-
terials will sustain by the use or occupation of the
same required by the company, if required by the
party or parties whose lands are to be affected by
their proceedings, the Jury shall cause to be sum-
moned such witnesses as the parties, may require,
and shall examine them on oath in relation to the
value of the property to be condemned, and the
damages to that adjoining, and they shall reduce
the testimony if any is taken by them to writing
and after the testimony is closed in each case,
and without any unnecessary delay, and before
proceeding to the examination of any other claim,
they shall ascertain and determine the compensa-
tion which ought justly to be made by the said
company to the party or parties owning or inter-