1400 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 680

continue avenues, streets, alleys and sidewalks now or here-
after to be laid out or used, and such as may hereafter be law-
fully established; to levy and collect taxes for establishing,
opening, narrowing, closing, paving, spiking, straightening,
repairing and keeping in order said avenues, streets, alleys and
sidewalks, and the roads leading from and to said town; pro-
vided, that when any avenue, street, alley or sidewalk shall
be opened, widened, straightened or closed, the full value of all
property taken and used for such avenue, street, alley or side-
walk or damages to be sustained in closing the same, in whole
or in part, shall be assessed by the commissioners, and the said
full value so assessed shall be paid or offered to be paid to
the proprietors of said property before the said avenue, street,
alley or sidewalk is opened, widened, straightened or closed,
and any proprietor who may feel aggrieved by such action of
the commissioners, shall be entitled to an appeal at any time
within thirty days of such offer of payment, to the Circuit
Court for said County, and such appeal shall be heard and
determined as appeals from justices of the peace are now
heard; and the commissioners, in assessing the damages to
said land taken, shall take into consideration the benefits and
advantages derived by the proprietors thereby.

87. The said commissioners shall have authority to elect
a chairman, secretary, and treasurer, from among their own
number; and all ordinances passed by them shall be signee1
by the chairman and attested by the secretary, and no com-
pensation shall be made to them for any service rendered as
such; provided, that they shall have power to fix and provide
for the payment of such salary or compensation to their own
secretary as they may deem just and reasonable, and to fix
the amount of the bonds to be given by the said treasurer and
the tax collector hereinafter mentioned, and other officers whom
they may, in the exercise of their discretion, require to give
bond, and to approve of the same; and provided further, that
nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the same
person from holding the office of secretary, treasurer and col-
lector.

88. All taxes shall be fairly laid, and shall not exceed in
any one year seventy-five cents in every one hundred dollars
of taxable property in said town, and the taxable basis of said
property for the year 1902 shall be the same as that for county
and State purposes as shown by the tax books of Harford
County, with the addition of such property as may be assessed