Acts. 41

prejudice favour or affection with equal right to all persons, and
shall not deminish or detayne from any Minister legally quallified &
presented, Inducted or appoynted by his Excellency the Governor,
any right perquisite or benefit given by law; And that the Clerke of
each County Court in this Province doe permitt the Clerke of each
vestry to take a coppie of all the laws of this Province anywaies
relateing to the observance & practise of Religion without any fee
gratuity or Reward whatsoever under the penalty of one thousand
pounds of tobacco to every County Clerk whatsoever refuseing the
same to the use of the Vestry so refused as afforesaid, to be by them
disposed to pious uses, & to be recovered in case of non payment
thereoff by action of Debt, bill, plaint or Information in any Court of
Reccord within this Province wherein no Essoin protection or wager
of Law to be allowed.

Public
Record
Office,
London.
C. O. 5,
Vol. 731,
Maryland.
From
1694-1702.
Acts

An additional Act to the Act for the better administracon of Justice
in probate of Wills granting of administrations recovering of
Legacies & Secureing of filial portions.

Although the afforesaid law be a good & beneficiall law to the end
& purposes in the title thereof? express'd yet notwithstanding the
good provisions thereby made through the diversities of opinions
upon the said Act the usages of this Province hitherto & the common
law of England many doubts & ambiguities often arise about the
Rights of Orphans & Widdowes by reason of many persons wills who
deviseing a certaine part or portion of their Estate to their Widdows
with intent the same should be in full satisfaction of their Right of
Dower, & all other claimes of either reall or personal estate, but for
want of the said words in the said Wills, such Widdows not only
according to common Law claim their Dower in their said husbands
Land, but allso according to the use & custome of this Province one
third part off their personall estate allso as woemen whose husbands
dye intestate & clayme what is allso given them by will as a Legacie
& benevolence of their husbands, which if allow'd would be to the
utter Ruine of the said chilldren, for the prevention whereoff for
the future, Be it Enacted by the King & Queens most Excellent
Maj^stes by and with the advice and consent of this present gennerall
Assembly & by the Authority of the same, that it shall be at the Ellec-
tion of such Widdowes having devises as afforesaid to take & receive
the same in full satisfaction of all claymes & Rights to both personal
& reall estate & be thereby barr'd for ever from all claymes to the
same, or to refuse such Legacies & devise as afforesaid, & take their
third part of the personal & real estate, as widdowes whose husbands
dye intestate in this Province. And whereas many Orphans have
greatly suffered by the Second Marriage of such widdowes, who
haveing their estates in their possession by will or right of adminis-
tracon either by the one or both of them the said Estates have been

Acts of May,
1695, ch. 4
(Continued
by 1695,
ch. 26)