8 Correspondence of Governor Sharpe.

Calvert
Papers.

Counsel for the Tenant & M^r Attorney Bordley for the Pro-
prietor; The Def^ts Counsel opened the several Points, said
taken from an opinion of M^r Dulany, on the Affair of his
Lordships Escheats; And then applied themselves not only in
matter of fact & Evidence but likewise in matter of Law to
the Jury, without paying the least regard to the Court, whose
Province is to determine matters of Law, the Court taking no
Notice of them for Endeavouring to deprive them of their
Jurisdiction ; M^r Bordley being Possessed of their argument
of Law & Learning & the several points from Henley & Pratt,
he replyed; taking the matters of Law from the Decision of
the Jury & Lodging them before the Court; moved the Court
as it was a matter of the utmost importance both to the Pro-
prietor & the Province; And that as the Jury had a right to
determine the matters of fact & the Bench the matters of Law,
& upon both which their determinations, each Branch of the
Court would determine what was within its own Province to
determine ; And therefore prayed the Bench to direct the Jury
to find a special Verdict, which would contain the facts, that
the Bench might at a future day after all parties had proper
time to consider them, determine the Law resulting from
those facts, this he insisted & did claim as a matter of right &
not of favour & that by this means the whole case would be

put into the only proper light for an Appcalc if cither party

should be dissatisfyed with their Honours Decision, this appli-
cation produced a violent opposition from the other side as
unfair, for making a motion for a Special Verdict, till he got
from them all their Authorities upon the several Points; to
which he answered it was owing to their unfairness by their
address to the Jury the Law, which they ought to have
addressed to the Court; And after much dispute on both
sides, their Honours of the Bench directed the Jury to find a
Special Verdict. This point gained they drew each their own
part of that Verdict & M^r Attorney finding by theirs that they
incerted two Steps of their Title under the original Patentee
(for whose Dying without Heirs it was insisted had Escheated
the Land) as proved to the Jury of which they had not offered
one title of Evidence; He objected to those facts standing as
part of the Verdict; And after much altercation their Honours
of the Bench did think it unreasonable that they should incert
any facts as proved, to which no sort of Evidence had been
given; This drove them to some sort of proof; in doing of
which their Honours made them Ample amends for laying
them under this Necessity. For in the first place instead of
obliging them to produce either Deeds or Wills to show these
two several transfers, as they ought to have done, they pre-
mitted them to prove them by Witnesses; In the next place