THOMAS H. HICKS, ESQUIRE, GOVERNOR.

493

direct to be paid out of the proceeds of said sale,
first, the cost of prosecution of said negro, then
the damages which any party may have suffered
by the offence for which said negro has been con-
victed, to be ascertained and passed upon by the
court, and the court shall then direct the residue
to be paid over to the County Commissioners, in
the county or city of Baltimore, as the case may
be, in which said conviction has been had, for the
use and maintenance of any indigent child, chil-
dren or wife, which the said convict may have at
the time of his or her conviction, to be applied in
such sums and at such times as the commissioners'
court may direct for the support and maintenance
of such indigent child, children or wile.

SEC. 3. And be it enacted, That it shall be the
duty of all sheriffs, making sale under the provis-
ions of this act, to make his return to the court
ordering said sales, and show to whom said negro
was sold, of the term for which he was so sold;
and the clerk of said court shall record said re-
turn, and furnish the negro so sold with a trans-
cript of the judgment and execution of the sheriff,
and it shall be the duty of said sheriff, to give no-
tice of the expiration of the term of service of any
negro so as aforesaid sold, in one or more newspa-
pers, published in the county or city where the
said negro may have been convicted, for three suc-
cessive weeks or times immediately preceding the
termination of said term of service, and in case no
newspaper shall be published in any such county,
he shall cause printed notices to be posted up at
the most public places in each election district in
said county, and the cost therefor shall be levied
upon the assessable property of any such county
or city, and collected as other taxes are collected.

Duty of She-
riffs making
sale under the
provisions of
act.

SEC. 4. And be it enacted, That if any sheriff
or clerk shall fail to perform any duties required
of him or them by this act, he or they shall be
fined a sum of not less than one hundred dollars,
for each and every offence, or may be imprisoned
in the discretion of the court, for a period not less
than twenty nor more than sixty days, upon in-

Sheriff or Clerk
failing to per-
form duty may
be fined or im-
prisoned.

dictment and conviction; Provided, the said court
shall be of opinion there has been any improper
collusion on the part of said sheriff or clerk.

Proviso.