SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                        415

(c) The patent shall be drawn by the Commissioner and shall
contain the name of the person who filed the application, the date
of issuance of the warrant, the name of any person substituted as
applicant and the date of such substitution, the date of filing of the
certificate or amended certificate upon which the patent is based
and a description of the land as contained in such certificate. The
patent shall grant to the applicant the interest of the State to the
land described. It shall bear a certificate of the Commissioner that
the patent is proper to be issued and shall be sealed with his seal.
When so prepared, the patent shall be presented to the Governor for
signature; and the great seal of the State shall be affixed thereto.
The Governor shall rely upon the certificate of the Commissioner
as to propriety of the issuance of the patent.

[24.] 25.

(a)    A proceeding to obtain a patent shall terminate upon the
issuance of a patent, upon the entry of a final decision or order by
the Commissioner refusing to issue a patent, or upon abandonment
of the proceeding by the applicant.

(b)    If the certificate of the surveyor is not returned within
the time prescribed by Section 18 or within any extension granted
during such period, the proceeding shall be deemed to have been
abandoned by the applicant; and a declaration to that effect shall
be entered in the proceedings by the Commissioner. Termination
shall not, however, be dependent upon the entry of such declaration.

(c)    If after return of the certificate of the surveyor and notifica-
tion of the applicant by the Commissioner that a patent will be
issued upon payment of all fees and costs and the purchase price
for any vacant land, the applicant fails within a period of sixty
days to pay such charges, he shall be deemed to have abandoned
the proceeding. After the entry of an order to that effect in the
[proceedings] proceeding by the Commissioner, no patent shall be
issued therein which includes any land which has been resurveyed.
Within six months after the entry of such order, any person may
make written application for a patent for the vacant land de-
scribed in the certificate of the surveyor in the abandoned proceed-
ing. Such application shall be accompanied by a deposit of the
purchase price and all costs, fees, and charges for such vacant land
and shall be filed in the order received by the Commissioner. In
granting any such request for the patent, persons who have filed
applications pursuant to Section 17 prior to the date of the order of
termination shall be preferred, in the order of filing such applica-
tions, to all other persons. When such request is granted, the ap-
plicant therein shall be substituted in the proceeding for the orig-
inal applicant; and no further notice or proof shall be required.

(d)    All costs, fees, expenses and the purchase price for any
vacant land shall constitute a debt to the State of Maryland by the
applicant or other person against whom such costs, fees, expenses
or purchase price are properly assessed from the time of the term-
ination of the proceeding. No patent shall be issued until such
costs, fees, expenses and purchase price have been paid by the
applicant to the Commissioner. After a proceeding has been ter-
minated otherwise than by issuance of a patent, the Commissioner
shall file a certified list of any unpaid costs, fees, expenses or pur-
chase price in any county where the applicant is known or sus-