238                         LAWS OF MARYLAND.                 [CH. 112

paving, curbing, sewering, regrading, repaying, recurbing, re-
sewering or otherwise improving the streets, lanes or alleys in
said city, or any of them, or shall make a charge' for the right
of connecting to a sewer, the sum bo levied or charged shall be
a preferred lien upon said property the same as city taxes
now are; provided said Mayor and Councilmen shall within
ninety days after the completion of such grading, paving, curb-
ing, sewering, regrading, repaying, recurbing, resewering, or
otherwise improving, cause to be filed with the Clerk of the
Circuit Court for Allegany County, a statement showing the
whole amount expended in such grading, paving, curbing, sew-
ering, regrading, repaying, recurbing, resewering, or other-
wise improving, and the names of the persons among whom
the said sum has been apportioned and the amount apportioned
to each, and a general description of the land owned by each
of said parties upon which such sums are intended to operate
as a lien, and said statement shall constitute a lien on said
property for the space of live years and no longer, unless
the same shall be revived or enforced by scire facias as
provided in the next succeeding section, and said sum shall
also bear interest at the rate of six per centum per annum
from the date on which said statement is filed.

Said lien shall be enforceable by scire facias issued out of
the Court of Allegany County in the same manner as me-
chanics' liens are now enforced by law, and upon such scire
facias the defendants may rely upon any defense which would
render the imposition of such lien void or operate as a dis-
charge thereof, excepting that no question as to the validity
of such lien upon any matter of form shall be heard by any
court in said State, and such scire facias may issue at any
time within three years from the filing of the statement re-
quired by the last preceding section, but any defendant intend-
ing to dispute the validity of said lien and wishing to test
the same before the expiration of said time may at any time
after the filing of said statement give notice to said Mayor
and Councilmen in writing that he disputes the validity of
such lien and wishes to test the same so as to free his property
from said lien claim, and in such case, unless said Mayor
and Councilmen shall issue a scire facias thereon against said
party within sixty days after the receipt of such notice, said
lien shall be waived and avoided as against his property, and
in all cases of writs of scire facias issued under this section,
the same shall stand for trial at the first term of court after