The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-10-31
To the Voters of Garrett County.

card from unuer Une manu- Vi my up
ponent, Moses r. Hamill, also an
editorial 10y the editor of said paper,
charging me with willfully and per-
sistently violating the law in failing
and refusing to make abstracts of the
deeds filed and recorded in the c.erk's
Office and sending the same to the
Commissioner of the Land Office,
which | then deemed unworthy of
notice or reply, trusting in your
confidence in me which you have
shown from time to time by electing
and re-electing me to the Office which
| now hold, and relying upon your
judgment to understand the spirit in
which both were written, l had in
tended to leave it to you to deter
mine whether | had been false to the
trust reposed in me by you, or dere-
lict in my duty. Since thus deter
mining, have been informed that
Mr.. HamiIl in his personal canvass
has endeavored to take an unfair adj
vantage of me, and mislead you by
reiterating the charges appearing in
his card, and adding thereto other
statements, and which /, under the
circumstances, confined to the Office
as l am, in the discharge of my Off
cial duties, and unable to see you in
person to refute them before the cleo
ton, consider it proper to notice:
First. That it is true that the law
does require the clerk after recording
any deed and before delivering the
original, to make an ahslract of it.
Second. This has been done by me
of all the deeds now of record IN the
Office up to within the past year or
two and ready to send, and will be
sent to the Commissioner of the Land
Office within short time.
Third. That there still remains in
the Office in my custody 500 or more
recorded deeds of which, under the
law, | can make abstracts at any time
before delivery, for most of which
the recording fee has not been paid,
while Section s of Art. 81, of the Re-
vised Code, contains provision in
words following THAT the clerks of
courts shall not be required to record
or receive for recording any deed,
mortgage, bill of sale or other instru-
ment of writing, unless the fees for
recording the same as regulated by
law shall first be paid by the person
offering the same for record" There.
fore, in this respect, | have more than
complied with the requirements Of
the law.
Fourth. In addition TO the above
the law-Sec. Is of Art. 60 Of the Re-
vised Cocde,-says that clerk shall
have six months after the expiration
of his term of Office in which to COM
plete the unfinished business Of his
office, and the work now unfinished,
including the abstrating yet to be
done, can all be completed by me in
less than four months, and the alb
stracting alone can be done within a
month.
Fifth. Concerning the charge that
| have been paid for the abstracting
of deeds. | have up to within the
past year or eighteen months done it
gratutousIy, preferring this to exact
ing, charging and receiving pay from
the persons offering the deeds for
record, which. under the law, would
haye to do, did | receive pay for it
at all ? This law requiring abstract
ing, which was enacted in the year
1855, one hundred years ago, is how
eyer regarded as almost absOlete-a
dead letter-and of such little impor.
lance has ii been considered, that the
Commissioners of the Land Office
has never made any effort to have it
enforced or offered suggestion that
it should or ought to be complied
with, and out of the twenty. three
counties in the State, in only one
county has its provisions been fully
complied with. The clerks in some
counties having tor more than fifty
years failed to make the abstracts and
send them to The Land Office. /
suppose the reason for this is that as
soon as recorded, the deed is deliver
ed and taken out of the office, the
grantees or owner holding il, and the
record remaining in the clerks Of
flee and kept in the vault, which in
all cases is supposed to be, and so far
as possible is made fire-proOf.
The Judges of our Circuit Court af-
ter having at various times made an
examination of the Office as required
by law have said it is in excellent
orderand the records in the very best
shape and condition, and have eX-
pressed satisfaction with the manner
in which the duties devolying upon
me haye been discharged, and only