HARRY W. NICE, GOVERNOR. 31

the records, documents, papers, books and other data under
the jurisdiction and supervision of the Commission. The
Archivist, his assistants, clerks and other employees shall
receive such salary or compensation as may be recom-
mended by the Commission and provided in the Budget.

87C/ It shall be the duty of the Commission to have
collected old court records, official documents, records,
reports, old newspapers, church records, private papers
and other historical data pertaining to the history of the
Province and State of Maryland from the earliest times,
and to have said documents, records and material properly
repaired, filed, indexed, preserved and, when deemed
desirable, copied and/or edited and published; to encour-
age historical investigation and research in the history
of the State. All papers, records, relics and other memo-
rials connected with the early history of Maryland not
required for the necessary operations of any other office,
shall be under the supervision of and belong to said Com-
mission.

87D. The Commission shall have power and authority
to adopt a seal for its official use and business, to adopt
rules for its own governance and to determine the type and
character of records, documents, publications and other
data which it will accept or receive for safekeeping.

The Commission shall have power to acquire by gift, or
to purchase with any funds appropriated or given to it
for that purpose, any records, documents, publications or
other material which it may deem worthy of preservation.

87E. Every State, county, city, town or other public
official in the State in custody of public records or docu-
ments is hereby authorized and empowered, in his discre-
tion, to turn over to the Commission and deposit for
preservation any original papers, official books, records,
documents, files, newspapers, printed books, or portraits,
not in current use in his office, and when so surrendered,
and accepted by the Commission, copies may be made and
certified under the seal of the Commission upon applica-
tion of ally person, which certification shall have the same
force and effect as if made by the officer originally in
charge of same, and the Commission shall charge for such
copies the same fees as such officer is allowed by law to
charge, which fees shall be accounted for and paid into
the State Treasury.