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from giving the Law there to the whole Kingdom, to receiv-
ing the Law, nay Acting as Servants & Underlings to a petty
County Court in England, And thence mounting again to
their Exalted Station; What regard would be paid to their
Decisions? Tis true, they might be Inforced by mere dint of
Power, but they would be received & obeyed with Grumbling
and discontent; And what Scandall & Contempt would not
such an appearance reflect upon the Ministry if not upon the
Crown itself? But this is not all, for as it is the Duty of
these Gentlemen as Clerks to the County Courts to make
Entries of their Proceedings, so whatever Blunders as Clerks
they may commit in such Proceedings, they may as Judges of
the Provinl Court determine to be right, & thus all hopes of
Remedy by way of Appeal or Writ of Error for any Injury
Sustained in the County Court, is entirely cutt off, since there
can be little doubt that what they do as Clerks, they will as
Judges think was right done. I need not spend more time
in shewing the Impropriety & Indecency of such a Stroke in
politicks, which I understand long has been & still continues a
Subject of General contempt amongst the people & of redi-
cule to the Bar ; But it may be matter of Wonder what could
induce the taking this Step at first, it could not be their Abili-
ties that recommended them, because it is Notorious to all
that have any, that they have none ; And if it was an expecta-
tion that they would pay a proper regard to his Lordships
rights, those who appointed them were certainly disappointed
at first, or these Gentlemen have since very much changed
their Dispositions. Having done with these Eminent Gentle-
men the County Clerks, I beg leave to say a word or two of
the rest & first as to the two Gentlemen of the Council ; their
attendance cannot be depended upon for the reasons I have
already mentioned, & therefore & because it seems an Inde-
corum somewhat like that already mentioned, that they who
are of the Council & consequently Judges of a Still Supreme
Court should be not only Acting as Judges in the Provincial
Court, which is Inferior to the Court of Appeals, but even
Acting an under part to others that sit there, it is Submitted,
Whether they might not be left out of the Provincial Comissions.
The two Gentlemen already remarked for their Weakness,
should they not continue there, there will then remain only
one of the Judges of the Land Office (who is not of the Coun-
cil) & the other private Gentleman ; the former of these from
the office he holds I think may be depended upon & the other
who having been many years a County Magistrate (& as I am
informed) an old & steady friend to the Goverment, &
besides, a Man of good understanding & entirely free, said
from any Popular Taint, was worthily removed about three
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Calvert
Papers.
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