propriate and necessary issues of fact presented by the pleadings in such case or by the scope of the inquiry or inquiries presented by said case. The court shall bring said cause to hearing, determination and judgment as speedily as a just regard for the rights of the parties concerned may permit and shall expeditiously inquire into, or, when a jury is demanded, cause the jury to inquire into all the facts and circumstances and into such violations of or failure to comply with the provisions of this Article, as may be alleged in any such petition, or into such other facts and circumstances relative to any election or to any contribution, expenditure or liability made, or any corrupt practice conmitted in connection therewith, which at any time the court holding such inquest or presiding in said cause shall deem necessary to secure compliance with the provisions of this Act, or to punish for a violation thereof. All persons whom the Court shall deem proper or necessary to join or bring in as parties to any such proceeding in order to make its order, judgments or writs effective, may be joined as parties in such manner and upon such notice as the court may direct. In case such petition relates to the election of electors of President and Vice-President of the United States, a Senator of the United States, a Representative in Congress, or the Governor, or Attorney-General, or a Senator or Delegate to the General Assembly of Maryland, or a Judge, or a clerk of a court of law, or a Register of Wills, or a State's Attorney, the trial Judge or Judges shall have no power to declare any such election to be void, but shall file his or their finding, or, in a case where a jury shall have been demanded, the finding or verdict of such jury, as to whether or not the successful candidate, or any political committee or treasurer, or subtreasurer, or political agent acting for or on behalf of such candidate, was so guilty of corrupt practices, with the Secretary of State, together with the transcript of the evidence, and the Secretary of State shall thereupon submit the same to the Governor of Maryland, when the election is for electors of President or Vice-President of the United States, or for Attorney-General of the State; or when the election is for a Representative or for Representatives in Congress, shall submit the same, certified under the seal of the State, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives; or when the election is for Senator of the United States, or for a member of the State Senate, shall submit the same to the President of the Senate of Maryland; or when the election is for Governor or Delegate to the House of Delegates of the General Assembly of Maryland, or a Judge, or a clerk of a court of law, or a Register of Wills, to the Speaker of the House of Delegates of Maryland; or when the election is for a State's Attorney, to the Judges having criminal jurisdiction of the county and city wherein he shall be elected. In case such petition relates to any other office than those above referred to, the trial Judge or Judges shall file with the Governor his or their decision or the finding or verdict of the jury in cases where there has been a jury trial, as to whether or not the successful candidate, or a political committee or treasurer or political agent, acting for or in his behalf, was so guilty of corrupt practices and said trial Judge or Judges shall also file with the Governor his or their decision, and as to whether or not upon the findings in such case, such election was void as hereinafter provided. If the said case shall be heard and tried by two Judges, and they shall differ as to whether any such candidate in person, or in the person of his political agent, was so guilty of corrupt practices, or whether any such election was so void, they shall so certify to the Secretary of State, or to the Governor, as the case may be, and they shall also file a transcript of the evidence with such certificate. In case the decision or finding so to be filed with the Governor shall be that any successful candidate so petitioned against was in person or in the person of a treasurer or sub-treasurer or his political agent, or through any political committee acting for or in his behalf, so guilty of corrupt practices, such election shall be void, except as hereinafter provided, and in case of such void election the Governor shall, within five days after the receipt of such decision, issue his proclamation declaring such election void, and the vacancy in the office to have been filled by said election shall be filled in the same manner as would be required by law in case said vacancy had arisen from the death of the successful candidate after his election. If any candidate shall have been so found or decided to have been so guilty in person of corrupt practices, he shall be ineligible to election or appointment to any public office or employment for the period of four years from the date of said election; but the mere finding or decision that his political agent was so guilty, shall not render him ineligible to office; but where the Judge or Judges shall decide or certify upon his or their jury's findings in any case that any such successful candidate was guilty of corrupt practices only in the person of his agent, and that (a) no corrupt practice was committed by the candidate personally and the offense was committed contrary to his order and without his sanction or connivance; (b) the offense was of a trivial, unimportant and limited character; (c) in all other respects such election was free from corrupt practice on the part of such candidate and of his political agent, then the election of such candidate shall not be void, nor shall the candidate be subject to any ineligibility therefor. An appeal to the Court of Appeals may be taken on questions of law from any decision relative to ineligibility to public office or employment of any such candidate. CHAPTER 122, ACTS OF 1908. 174. The courts in which such petitions shall be filed shall have authority to tax the costs as in equity cases, and also to subpoena witnesses and require them to testify as in other civil cases, and to compel by subpœna duces tecum the production for examination of any books or papers of any kind, or of any other thing which may be required or desirable in the conduct of such inquiry. In any proceeding held under the provisions of this or the preceding section, no witness shall be excused from answering any question or producing any book, paper or other thing on the ground or claim that his answer or the thing produced, or to be produced by him, may tend to incriminate or degrade him, or render him liable to a penalty, but his answer, or the thing produced by him shall not be used in any proceeding against him, except in a prosecution for perjury in so testifying. CHAPTER 122, ACTS OF 1908. 175. It shall be the duty of the State's Attorney of Baltimore city to prosecute, by the regular course of criminal procedure, any person whom he may believe to be guilty of having violated any of the provisions of this Act within the said city, or any residents of said city, who may have violated any provisions of this Act within said city or in any other part of the State. And it shall be the duty of the State's Attorney of each county of this State to prosecute, by the regular course of criminal procedure, any person whom he may believe to be guilty of having violated any of the provisions of this Act within the county for which said State's Attorney may be acting as such, or any resident of such county who may have violated any provisions of this Act in such county or in any other part of the State. And in any criminal prosecution under this Act or for violation of any of the provisions thereof, no witness, except the person who is accused and on trial, shall be excused from answering any question or producing any book, paper or other thing on the ground or claim that his answer, or the thing produced or to be produced, by him may tend to incriminate or degrade him, or render him liable to a penalty, but his answer, or the thing produced by him, shall not be used in any proceeding against him, except in a prosecution for perjury in so testifying. CHAPTER 122, ACTS OF 1908. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect from the date of its passage. Approved April 25, 1908. SENATORIAL PRIMARY ELECTION LAW. CHAPTER 400, ACTS OF 1908. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That whenever there shall be a general election of the members of the General Assembly of the State of Maryland, charged with the duty of electing a Senator for the State of Maryland in the Congress of the United States, a primary election shall be held on the same day on which said general election shall take place, between the hours of 6 A. M. and 5.30 P. M. in Baltimore city, and 8 A. M. and 6.30 P. M. in the counties, at and in each election precinct in Baltimore city and in the several counties of the State for the purpose of nominating by the ballots of duly registered Democratic voters a candidate of the Democratic party for United States Senator and for the purpose of nominating by the ballots of duly registered Republican voters a candidate of the Republican party for United States Senator, and also for the purpose of nominating by the ballots of duly registered voters of any other political party, which may have polled ten per cent. of the total registered vote of the State of Maryland at the last preceding general election in said State, a candidate of any such party for United States Senator for the term or terms to be filled by the General Assembly elected at said general election. Such candidate shall be nominated by the direct vote of the duly registered voters belonging to or voting with the several political parties aforesaid in each legislative district of Baltimore city and in each of the several counties respectively, said vote in each of said districts and counties to be binding as far as may be possible according to law, on the State Senator and members of the House of Delegates, elected at said general election in each of said legislative districts and counties to the General Assembly next ensuing said election, so as to require said Senator and members of the House of Delegates to vote for the candidates for United States Senator who in said primary election shall have received the greatest number of votes cast in the county or legislative district from which said Senator and members of the House of Delegates shall have been elected for the Senatorial candidates of the party to which said Senator and members of the House of Delegates belong, as hereinafter more particularly set forth. CHAPTER 400, ACTS OF 1908. 2. And be it further enacted, That the primary election of each of said political parties for the nomination of a Senator in the Congress of the United States shall be conducted by and held under the supervision and control of the State Central Committee of each of the several political parties aforesaid of and in the respective counties of the State of Maryland and of and in the several legislative districts of Baltimore city, respectively, which said State Central Committee, respectively shall select the polling places, furnish the needed ballot boxes and lists of registered voters in Baltimore city and lists of registered voters in the counties, as hereinafter provided; and also appoint two judges and one clerk of known probity and intelligence for each election precinct or district to receive and count the ballots and declare the results as hereinafter provided in the legislative districts of the city of Baltimore and in the several counties, respectively. There shall be one polling place for said Senatorial primary election of each of said political parties in each election precinct or district of each of the counties of the State, which shall be properly fitted up, furnished, warmed and lighted by said State Central Committees, and said polling places shall in all cases be upon the ground floor of a building, and shall be as near the center of the voting population of the precinct and as convenient to the greatest number of voters as may be practicable (not, however, to be within one hundred feet of the polling places appointed under section 12 of Article 33 of the Code, for the purpose of holding the general election under said Article therein) and in no case shall said polling place be held in any building, or part of a building, used or occupied as a saloon, dram shop, pool room, billiard hall or bowling alley, and if no suitable place is found, the State Central Committee for the legislative district or county in question shall provide one. There shall be a separate and distinct polling plaec, as aforesaid, for the Senatorial primary conducted by each of the political parties aforesaid and such polling place of one political party shall not be within one hundred yards of the polling place of any other political party. CHAPTER 400, ACTS OF 1908. 3. And be it further enacted, That each candidate for the nomination of any political party aforesaid for Senator in the Congress of the United States must file with the chairman of the State Central Committee for the whole State of Maryland of the party to which said candidate belongs, a certificate in writing containing the name of such candidate seeking said nomination, his residence, his business, his address and the political party to which he belongs, and acknowledged by said candidate before an officer duly authorized to take acknowledgments, who shall append a certificate of such acknowledgment; and such certificate of said candidate must be so filed not less than thirty-five days before the date of said Senatorial primary election. Not less than thirty days before said Senatorial primary election it shall be the duty of the chairman of the State Central Committee for the whole State of Maryland of each of said political parties to publish in three daily newspapers in Baltimore city and in one or more newspapers in each county of the State, the fact that such Senatorial primary election shall take place and also the names of the candidates of the political party for which such chairman of the State Central Committee may be acting for the nomination of that party for United States Senator, and also setting forth accurately the location of each polling place of said party for said Senatorial primary, the polling places in Baltimore city to be published in said Baltimore city newspapers and the polling places for each county to be published in the newspaper of county aforesaid and in each of said publications the date of said Senatorial primary election and the hours during which the polls shall be open shall also be published. CHAPTER 400, ACTS OF 1908. 4. And be it further enacted, That the State Central Committee of each of said political parties aforesaid in each county shall appoint the judges and clerks as aforesaid to conduct said primary elections for each of said political parties, and the names and addresses of the judges and clerks so appointed shall be certified to the chairman of the State Central Committee of the whole State for the political party for which said judges and clerks may be appointed on or before the 15th day of October of the year in which such Senatorial primaries may be held, and they shall supply to each polling place of their respective parties a ballot box, and said State Central Committee of each of said parties for each of said legislative districts and each of said counties shall send at least |