ALBERT C. RITCHIE, GOVERNOR. 695

heard in his own defense. If the judge shall determine that
such person has no reasonable cause or legal excuse to refuse to
be examined or to answer a legal and pertinent question, or to
produce a book or paper which he was summoned to produce,
the judge shall order such person to comply therewith and
upon his failure so to do, he shall be adjudged in contempt
of court and punished as contempts are punishable, with the
right of appeal as provided in contempt cases.

166. The jurisdiction, supervision, powers and duties of
the State Tax Commission herein created and established
shall extend under this Article:

(1) To assess all persons or properties by this Article are
to be assessed by it, and to perform all duties imposed upon
it by this Article.

(2) To supervise the administration of the assessment and
tax laws of Maryland, and of each county or city thereof.

(3) To supervise the performance of the duties imposed
by law, or by the Commission, upon the Supervisors of As-
sessments appointed for the various counties and Baltimore
City, and in pursuance thereof said Commission is author-
ized and directed to officially designate one of its employees
as "Chief Supervisor of Assessments, " whose duty it shall
be, under the control of the State Tax Commission, to super-
vise the performance of the duties of the various super-
visors of assessments and supervise the performance of the
duties of various assessors appointed by the County Com-
missioners of this State.

(4) To supervise the assessment of all property in the
counties and cities of this State to the end that all tax-
able property shall be entered upon the assessment rolls and
equalized between persons, firms and corporations, so that
all persons, firms and corporations shall be assessed alike
for like kinds of property.

(5) To establish forms of reports and notices of assessment
by Assessors and by the County Commissioners and the Ap-
peal Tax Court of Baltimore City as well as schedules to and
notices from the State Tax Commission, as well as forms of
assessment and collection books and forms of financial and
statistical reports of County Commissioners and the Appeal
Tax Court of Baltimore City to the State Tax Commission.