Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1681—85/6. 61

Day our Court should have been holden, and just before the
Court went to sitt cometh the Sheriff and served his warrant
upon One of the Justices and the Clark, and sett a guard
upon the Justice and told them he would make them know'
themselves before he had done, and did huff at a strange rate,
and for want of a Justice and a Clark we could hold noe
Court to the great disappointm^t and Damage of Many of the
County. The Sheriff have said many a time he could out witt
the whole County at his pleasure, it did now stand him instead
to trye his witt, there being Six Actions for above 500" sterling
(in which he is the Def) would have come to tryall had there
been a Court, and after the Sheriff had kept the Justice dure-
ing his pleasure he gave me the warrant to take bayle, and
when I had read the warrant I examined Evan Carew the
under Sheriff, whither he owned the complaint made in the
warrant, and he would not, but said he marvelled how such
words was devised, and that Philip Holeager and Swithen
Wells did not threaten him neither was he any wayes afraid

Liber R.

of his life as in the warrant express'd: Soe that it doe appear
that it was a contrived business of the Sheriff to hinder the
Court ffor the Monday before the Court should have been
The Sheriff told me there should be noe Court Wee have
had more disturbances since M^r Inglish was Sheriff then all
the time Cap^t Sibrey was Sheriff before him, and this I
thought good to signifye to your Hono^r who is your humble
Servant
27^th 7^br 1681: James Staveley
Cecill.
Directed
To the R^t hon^ble the L^d Prop^ry
humbly Present
These

James Stavely and others Petitioners against Edward Inglish
being then present were severally Examined and Required to
give in their testimony upon oath what they could alledge
against the said Inglish and first
James Stavely saith that sometime before the Court M^r
Inglish came to his house and required him to aid and assist
him in the takeing of a man in the County which he the said
Stavely refuseing to doe, Inglish sent for the man to his house
and there arrested him. But the said Stavely told him that
he needed not trouble the poor man for security for that he
would certainly be at Court, to which M^r Inglish replyed that
there should be noe Court, at the Court M^r Inglish seized
the man and told him he was his Prisoner without bayle or
mainprize, but told the said Stavely that if he would be his

p. 289