The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1927-12-29

NNOc
year when George Washington was
elected first President, and to move
into the next room and find ready for
examination Colonial land patents dat
ing back still further, to 1884, and to
examine the map with the crafty sons
of crafty old William Penn worked off
on the not-very-bright Calvert of that
day, whereby the Observation-Disclosures
boundary was showed southwark con-
siderably further than the earlier Cal
verts had intended it to be. The not
very bright Calvert signature, accept
ing that delineation, is clearly legible
after all these years.
Just what are these original records
which so stagger visiting historians
and which Marylanders placidly al
lows in large part to remain folded
away from sight and not even exam
ined to ascertain what is recorded?
How did Maryland accumulate docu-
ments two and three times as old as
state papers which other common
wealths display as evidence of their
ancient honor?
They are, as mentioned by that can
didate for Columbia degree, the rec
orded steps by which this American
wilderness astride Chesapeake Bay
was converted into a field of explora-
ton, into a prosperous royal colony,
into a rebel commonwealth jealous of
it's states rights, and bit by bit into
an integral part of the federation of
States, which now is called the United
States of America. The old Calverts
and their successors had habit of
saving manuscripts and keeping them
in good condition. Time has crumbled
some of the documents and careless
ness has Lost others, and that brand of
thieves who call themselves "collec-
tors" have made way with few; but
in the main Maryland's Colonial his
tory is recorded in these original sour
ces better than is the case with any
other of the thirteen Colonies, in the
judgment of the few students who
have made a cursory comparison of
the Annapolis vaults with other large
collections.
One reason for the keeping of the
files undoubtedly was the Maryland
custom of making changes slow y and
methodically. There is a continuing
history for almost all its institutions,
notably the courts themselves. When
a more or less formal court becomes
necessary because of the growth of
population in the colony and the con-
sequent disputes over titles and pay
ments and trespass and the thousand
and one other things over which NOR
tai man, encouraged by his attorney,
finds it necessary to dispute with his
neighbor, a court for the hearing of
these disputes was set up at St.
Mary's.
The other counties were set up,
Kent in 1912, Anne Arundel and Cal
vert in 1850, Charles in 1868, Balti-
more in 1869, and so on. And as each
county was erected it's own County
Court was established, so that the
original court at st. Mary's became
known as the Provincial Court, des-
cription rather than a formal title.
The county courts concerned them
selves only with minor matters and
dissatisfied colonists could appeal to
the Provincial Court. In these mat
tiers the Provincial Court ruling was
final. But there were graver matters
which did not originate in the county
courts at all. They started in the
Provincial Court, and an unfavorable
decision in these cases could be ap-
pealed to the Governor and Council,
and then, in cases where the litigant
was a determined and obstinate man
(there seems ito have been fair pro-
portion of them in Maryland) final
appeal could be carried to the Privy
Council in England.
When the Revolution came the or
derby folk Of the colony did not des-
troy the machinery which the Crown
Colony had used. They reformed it..
The Provincial Court Of Maryland
Colony became the General Court Of
Maryland State and continued to take
appeals from the scarcely altered
county courts-there were eighteen
counties by 1776 and continued to
record it's findings n much the same
way as had it's predecessors.
1t was a jolly old court, too. Its
members wore grand red robes and
looked just as impressive as had the
members of the Provincial Court I'M
der the Georges and the Calverts. And
when the General Court term was an
nounced there was a further an
nouncement that the spring or fall
racing term would be held-in the
same weeks! Fortunately it was not
at the same hours, although even so
the red-robed justices often had to