Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1741 . 249

in which Resolution, tho' undoubtedly your Excellency had
nothing more in View than pure Equity and Justice; yet as
your Pet^r is justly apprehensive of many Inconveniencies and
ill Consequences that may arise from this Affair, should it be
determined in the Manner proposed, he hopes to be allowed
the Liberty of offering his Objections to your Consideration,
and doubts not but they will appear sufficiently reasonable to
your Excellency for giving you this Trouble
I^st Your Excellency may be pleased to observe that accord-
ing to the best Authorities in Law as Lord Coke &c. the
Council can take Cognizance of no private matter that may
be determined in other Courts, & therefore this Cause is not
cognizable there, it being a Point of meum & tuum which
your Remonstrant apprehends to be properly under the De-
nomination of private matter
2^dly Where there is no Right of Determination no Record
can be made; so should the Council take this Affair upon
them, their Judgment or Award could not be final, but the
Matter yet in dispute, to the great Uncertainty and Perplexity
of the Officers of, & Traders to this Province

Lib. C. B.

3^dly As the Controversy lies in fact, that is, whether at the
time of Entry with the Officers of Patowmeck, the Vessel was
in Patuxent District, on which Point, the Officer of Patuxent
grounds his Pretensions (tho' if that could be proved it would
not as your Remonstrant conceives avail him ought, for by
15 Car 2^d A Master, tho' he comes into a Port or Harbour, is
only required to make a Report within 24 Hours after anchor-
ing, and not obliged to enter there) And as no Matter of fact
is tryable otherwise than by a Jury, Your Pet^r hopes to be
heard in a Court of Record, from whence, if he should think
himself injured, he may appeal to other Courts, which cannot
be done from the Council Board, as it is not of Record, and
where there is no Record, there can be no Appeal.
4^thly Should the Council intermeddle with this Affair, which
really in the Opinion of your Remonstrant, they have not
Iurisdiction of, he your s^d Remon^t fears the Enemies of the
Gov^r would make but too great a Handle of it, by insinuating
it as an Aggrievance to the Subject, that a Council should
take upon them to determine matters of meum and tuum
without lawful Authority, and by which Other Courts would
be ousted of their Jurisdiction: As this is a Circumstance that
may be of Disservice to his Ldps Gov^t Your Rem^t thinks it a
Duty incumbent on One of his Station to represent it as such
to your Excellency
Having thus given Reasons to your Exc^y for your Remon-
strants Unwillingness to be determined by the Council, your
s^d Remons^t & Petit^r will next, with your Excys Pmission pro-

17

p. 135