1696                            JOINT RESOLUTIONS

Resolved, That the Secretary of State of Maryland, under the Great
Seal of the State of Maryland, is requested to send a copy of this
joint resolution to each Board of County Commissioners or County
Council in the several respective counties of Maryland, to the Secre-
tary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment, to the Presiding Officers of the United States Senate and House
of Representatives, and to the Maryland Congressional Delegation
in Washington, D. C.

Approved May 4, 1967.

No. 7
(Senate Joint Resolution 7)

Senate Joint Resolution requesting the Library of Congress to return
certain historical documents to the State of Maryland.

The General Assembly of Maryland requests the Library of Cong-
ress to return a series of valuable documents and records to the
State of Maryland.

These documents, all of which date from the 18th Century, are
described by archivists as "fugitives."

They are part of a series of journals and account books owned by
the State and were lost many years ago when the State of Maryland
had not created a Hall of Records for the careful preservation of such
old documents and materials.

The Library of Congress acquired these documents in the year 1867
when it purchased the library of a private collector.

While the Library of Congress acted in perfectly good faith in
acquiring by purchase these old Maryland documents, it is also true
that the State cannot give away or dispose of such records, and any
purchaser naturally undergoes the risk of having them reclaimed.

A joint resolution has been introduced into the Congress of the
United States, directing the Library of Congress to turn over these
old and valuable records to the Maryland Hall of Records.

The General Assembly of Maryland adds its enthusiastic endorse-
ment to the proposal for returning these records to their native State.
The General Assembly is requesting all members of the Congress, in
particular the several members of the Maryland Delegation in the
Congress, to support the joint resolution to require their return; now
therefore, be it

Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That this State
legislature strongly supports the request that the number of 18th
Century documents belonging to the State of Maryland be returned
to the Hall of Records of Maryland by the present custodian, the
Library of Congress; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of State of Maryland is directed to
send copies of this joint resolution, under the Great Seal of the State