Introduction. liii

names were thus stricken from the poll for Steuart, including that of Councillor
Benjamin Tasker, and one vote added to his poll, resulting in a tie vote between
Steuart and Woodward. The counsel for both sides then agreed that the
election be declared void, and on December 20, Dr. Steuart was "dismissed"
from his seat, and the House ordered that writs for a new election be issued
(pp. 80, 84-85, 88, 103, 107-116).

At this special election Nicholas Maccubbin, a prominent Annapolitan, and
the brother-in-law of Barrister Charles Carroll, entered the lists as the candi-
date of the popular party against Dr. George Steuart. Steuart was again re-
turned as elected when the Assembly reconvened at its third session on April
4, 1759, and Maccubbin on April 5, filed a petition "complaining of an undue
election and return", and asking that his case be heard. The Lower House
granted a hearing and adopted similar rules to those which had been employed
in the Steuart-Woodward contest. After reading Maccubbin's petition, April
12 was fixed as the date for a hearing at the bar of the House; both contestants
were ordered to exchange lists of controverted votes that had been objected to
at the time of voting; the clerk was instructed to issue summons for the witness
for both sides; it was decided that undue influence upon a voter by promises
or threats, even if not objected to at the time of voting, should be investigated;
and it was ordered that the Mayor, recorder, and aldermen attend with the
original poll. On the date fixed for the hearing, a postponement was ordered
until the 19th. But as the Governor, on account of the dispute over the Supply
bill, suddenly prorogued the Assembly two days before the time fixed for the
hearing, the matter automatically went over until the next session (pp. 163, 164,
165, 181). Why Maccubbin abandoned the contest is not revealed, but noth-
ing further was heard of it when the Assembly next met in March 1760.

A report was made later to the Lower House by a committee appointed by
it "to tax the several Fees due to the Clerk and Sergeant" incurred by the con-
testants in recent "controverted elections", which gives us some idea of the
costs of such contests. The detailed accounts of fees due to these officers
of the House, extending from October 1757 to April 1760, show that the Clerk
of the House received a fee of three shillings for the issue of each subpoena
to be served on witnesses, and the sergeant-at-arms the same amount for serv-
ing them. Messengers sent with these summons to remote points in the Prov-
ince were paid according to the distance travelled from Annapolis. The wit-
nesses are named in these accounts, as are those in whose interest they were
summoned. The accounts show the largest number of witnesses were sum-
moned in the contests against Dr. George Steuart (pp. 314-317).

THE WILSON-HAMMOND AFFAIR.

The "Wilson-Hammond affair", a personal row between two members of
the Lower House, with political repercussions, broke out at the November-
December 1758 session, and resulted in the severe disciplining of Samuel
Wilson, a Proprietary delegate from Somerset County, for his verbal attack
on Philip Hammond of Anne Arundel. It soon developed into a partisan
political squabble which illustrates the bitterness that existed between the two