HERBERT R. O'CONOR, GOVERNOR. 313

194. Except as hereinafter otherwise provided, all the pro-
visions of the Constitution of Maryland and of the Charter of
the Town of Pocomoke City, and other local or general laws
applicable to the Town of Pocomoke City, and all amendments
thereto, and all the existing ordinances of the Town of Poco-
moke City, are hereby extended and made applicable to such
portions of Worcester County as shall, under the provisions
of this Act, be annexed to and made part of the Town of
Pocomoke City; but nothing herein shall affect the power of
the Mayor and Council of Pocomoke City to amend or repeal
any ordinance existing at the time of the passage of this Act,

195. All public roads, streets, avenues and alleys lying
in any of the territory annexed to the corporate limits of Poco-
moke City by this Act, which shall have been heretofore dedi-
cated and accepted or legally condemned as, roads, streets or
avenues under the provisions of any Act of the General Assem-
bly of Maryland, or of the common law, shall be held to be
validly constituted public highways of the Town of Pocomoke
City.

196. All persons resident and all property situate within
the territory which, by this Act, is annexed to the Town of
Pocomoke City, except such property as is hereinafter ex-
empted, shall become subject to taxation for local town pur-
poses, beginning with the town levy to be made for the year
1946. The territory annexed to the Town of Pocomoke City
by this Act is hereby declared to be a taxing district, and the
Mayor and Council of Pocomoke City shall have full power
to assess, levy and collect within said taxing district any and
all taxes whatsoever which it has or shall be authorized to
assess, levy or collect within the taxable limits of the Town
of Pocomoke City as it heretofore existed, subject, however,
to the following limitations, restrictions and conditions:

(a) The tax rate on all personal property within said dis-
trict, except farming implements and stock used exclusively
for farming purposes, which are hereinafter exempted from
municipal taxation, shall be the same as the tax rate on per-
sonal property within the corporate limits of Pocomoke City
as it heretofore existed.

(b) The tax rate on real property improved by dwellings
or other buildings within said taxing district shall not exceed
Twenty-five Cents (. 25) on every One Hundred Dollars
($ 100. 00) of assessed property for a period of five years ac-
counting from the first day of January, 1946, unless within
said period of five years, water and sewer mains shall be laid ad-
jacent to said improved real property under one or more streets
on which said improved real property is situated, and unless