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14 HIS LORDSHIP'S PATRONAGE
its money value, that is its purchasing power, was of great im-
portance to them. The local product tended to fluctuate between
one and two pence sterling a pound. Until 1747 it usually
hovered near the lower figure, approximately the cost of produc-
tion. It was of no reputation, and after 1730 it compared unfavor-
ably with the inspected Virginia leaf. We have seen, however, that
the Inspection Law improved the quality and eased the collection
of Maryland tobacco. Consequently, although by it officers' fees
were reduced, their sterling value may actually have risen.
So long as fees were regulated by law, they were also on
execution. If the debtor failed to pay within a limited time after
delivery of an officer's account by the sheriff, that official might,
without further legal process, seize the debtor's movable property,
sell it, and deliver the proceeds to the creditor.
During two intervals, however, from 1726 to 1747 and from
1770 until the Revolution, there was no fee law. Fees were then
fixed by executive proclamation (1733 and 1770), in the former
case by Lord Baltimore himself and in the latter by Governor
Eden.
In so doing the proprietor acted within an alleged legal right
under his charter. Moreover, as the fees so established were
merely those previously taken by law, he could argue that the
practical effect was to prevent extortion by his officers.
To these, however, such a proclamation was of slight utility,
for instead of putting fees on execution, it simply fixed the
quantum meruit of each service. Should his client then refuse to
pay, an officer had no recourse but to a law suit before a doubtless
hostile jury. 5 The Deputy Secretary, the Commissary General,
and some county clerks required of clients a penal bond for pay-
ment of their fees, but the Lower House early declared this
practice " vexatious Litigious Crewell and oppressive, " 6
5Cf. Benedict Leonard Calvert to Lord Baltimore, Oct. 26, 1729; Samuel Ogle
to Lord Baltimore, Jan. 10, 1731/2 (Calvert Papers, II, 76-78, 83); Benjamin Taster
and the Council to Lord Baltimore, March 11, 1755; statement of the case on
officers' fees, 1771 (Archives, XXXI, 64-66; XXXII, 500).
6The Lower House committee of aggrievances complained of these bonds in
April, 1735, May, 1739, and June, 1741. In 1743 Deputy Secretary Edmund
Jenings wrote to Baltimore suggesting he forbid them in order to calm the temper
of the delegates, but there is no evidence His Lordship did so (Ibid., XXXIX, 248;
XL, 313-16, 351-58, 364; XLII, 228, 662). A month after expiration of the
Inspection Law, on Oct. 22, 1770, the Lower House again complained against
the taking of bonds for fees in the Land Office (Ibid., LXII, 423-26).
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