1256                             Laws of Maryland                       Ch. 528

(b)    The Chief Judge of the District Court shall have the power
to make rules for the governing of the District Court, subject to and
not inconsistent with the rules of the Court of Appeals.

(c)    In the event of the absence of any judge because of dis-
ability, sickness, vacation, travel, or other reason, the chief judge
of the District Court may assign another District Court judge from
any district who shall sit in the place of the absent judge, and if, in
the opinion of the chief judge of the District Court, the accumula-
tion of judicial business in any district or division thereof is such
that prompt attention to all pending business and speedy justice to
all litigants is not being provided, the chief judge of the District
Court may assign one or more District Court judges from other
districts on a temporary basis to the district in question to assist in
handling the business of the court and the trial or other disposition of
cases therein.

144. Qualifications and Pay of Judges, Pension.

(a)    Each judge of the District Court shall have been a citizen of
the State of Maryland and a member of the bar of the State for at
least five (5) years immediately prior to his appointment and shall
be a resident of the county or district for which he is a judge. Each
District Court judge shall be paid $25,925. Each judge shall like-
wise be entitled to mileage, at the rate established for State em-
ployees for travel outside his district on court business, and in
multiple-county districts, for travel incurred in sitting in different
counties within the district and shall likewise be entitled to an ex-
pense account for meals and overnight lodging when traveling on
court business.

(b)    Every judge of the District Court, upon retirement for any
reason, shall be entitled to a pension computed on the same basis
and at the same rates as are applicable to a Circuit Court judge, and
the widow of any District Court judge shall likewise be entitled to a
pension computed on the same basis and at the same rates and upon
the same conditions as are applicable to the widow of a Circuit Court
judge.

(c)    In the City of Baltimore and in those counties where a
judge who, prior to the effective date of this subtitle, has acquired
retirement and pension benefits or rights by virtue of city or county
legislation or State legislation applying to a particular local polit-
ical subdivision or subdivisions, and which judge continues in
office after the effective date of this subtitle, all pension or retirement
benefits or rights so acquired shall be continued and paid as provided
under the particular legislation creating them; but the judge or his
widow, as the case may be, may elect to receive the State pension
as provided in Subsection (b) hereinbefore described, computed on
the basis of years of full-time judicial service at the time of making
the election as well as years of judicial service thereafter, and any
judge who is ineligible to continue in office by reason of the Con-
stitution or this subtitle, shall not lose any pension or retirement
benefits which he has acquired under any law prior to the first
Monday in July, 1970 1971.

(d) Every judge of the District Court who elects to receive the
pension provided in Subsection (b) of this Section or who is other-