The Lower House. 133

to the order of their Creditors, on pretence the Act for
Direction of Sheriffs only relates to the person of the Cred-
itors and not to his order, or on some such like frovolous
Pretences.
Your Committee further humbly offers (according to the
parol Instructions they have reced from yo^r Hon^rs) that on
a full consideracon of the Circumstances of this office, the
many Complaints that are Yearly offerr'd to the Assembly
to the Great delay of other publick busieness and the generall
murmurs of the people concerning them can Scarcely be pre-
vented or remedied by any certain written Rules of Direction
in that part; for as the Sheriffs in this province by having the
generall Collection of all publick dues and officers fees as well
as by other Duties & powers Rightly annext to their office,
have a much Greater influence upon the people than Sheriffs
or any other officers in England, known to your Committee
and that their office consists of so many severall kinds of
Duties as are Scarcely Reducible to Certain Rules The most
likely way to make the Sheriff and people easy with each other
would [be to] make them in Some Sort dependent on each
other so that it might be the Interest of the Sheriff to recom-
mend himself to the people by an Equall Just and tender
Execution of his office and that the people might be endear'd
to the Sher by having him one of their own Choice who would
Surely be so acceptable to them as that they would not com-
plain ag^t him without Cause and if they had Cause they might
have Liberty at the end of a reasonable time to make a better
Choice and be themselves answerable as Sureties for his good
Demeanor in his office By this Viz: By a free Election of
Sherriffs according to the common Law of England, Yo^r Com-
mittee conceives all troublesome Clamour would be avoided
and all Impositions on the Governo^r or Prime minister for the
time being, prevented by having persons recommended to him
as fitt for those offices, that may be unworthy or perhaps un-
qualified by Law as (your Committee is informed) was the

L. H. J.

Case of the present Sheriff of Cecil County who had not been
three years in the province before he had obtained that Com-
mission, nor as some alledge was either then or yet a ffree-
holder and the Governour be thereby eased of the Trouble of
importunate Solicitations, and of the pain of being Sometimes
oblidged to deny the request of whom he respects, when per-
haps more than one may Solicite at one and the same time for

the Game office, that one can only be obliged in, and as the Grant

of that office is of no advantage but a trouble to the person
Granting it, We hope it may be thought the rather Conducive
to the common Satisfaction of Prerogative and people, and by

p. 159