Letter of Transmission. xiii

Turner's escape from prison. In the affirmative, all the votes except four came
from the Eastern Shore and the solid vote of Talbot was cast for the measure.

On May 19, a division as to whether the words " His Lordship's Agent," or
the word " Judge," should be used in the fee bill in reference to the Register
in the Land Office resulted in favor of the former expression, by a vote of 22 to
17. The Proprietary Party voted for the word—Judge.

On May 21, a petition asking for an allowance for a slave who died in jail
was rejected, the Speaker casting the deciding vote in the negative, after the
House divided 20 to 20.

On the same day, the Committee of Aggrievances filed an enormously long
report to the effect that the Proprietary was wrongly collecting certain duties
on tobacco.

On May 22, a division occurred upon the question as to whether a judge
riding the circuit should be allowed more than thirty-five pounds currency for
each circuit. The anti-Proprietary Party voted to grant no more and won,
30 to 13. The Proprietary votes came from Kent, Somerset, Cecil, and
Annapolis, together with one each from Dorchester and Talbot.

A motion to vote upon the report of the Committee of Aggrievances, before
preparing an address to the Governor, was carried on May 23, by a vote of
27 to 18, the Proprietary Party voting in the negative; and upon the con-
currence, the vote stood 35 to 10, the Prince George's delegation and three
from Queen Anne's joining the Annapolis delegates and Hooper of Dorchester
in the negative. Upon the same day, the House voted to pass the Assize Bill
by vote of 30 to 13. Of the negative votes, four came from Prince George's,
three (including Matthews of the Committee of Aggrievances) from Baltimore,
two from Annapolis, two from Anne Arundel, and one each from Kent and
Calvert.

The trouble with John Leeds in 1738 will be recalled. On May 24, by a
close vote of 21 to 20, the House voted to postpone to the next session sending
for Leeds. Most of the delegations divided upon this question, St. Mary's.
Charles and Cecil being the only counties without negative votes and Baltimore
and Calvert the only ones without affirmative ones.

The firmness of the majority in the House was shown on May 25, when
concurrence in the Report of the Committee of Aggrievances upon the duty on
tobacco was voted, 42 to 4, the minority consisting of Harris and Hynson
of Kent, Hooper of Dorchester and Dulany of Annapolis. On the same day,
the Ordinary Bill failed, 26 to 19, the Proprietarians voting in the minority.

On May 26, the Committee of Aggrievances reported that Mrs. Cockshut
(mother-in-law of Hall, a Calvert member and client of Dulany) had suffered
wrong by the act of Jenings, secretary of the Province and attorney for her