xvi                  Introduction.

        less than five per cent of the cases heard. It will be recalled that the Provincial
        Court had exclusive jurisdiction in suits involving £20 or 3000 pounds of
        tobacco or more, the county courts having jurisdiction only if less than this
        was involved. The land cases which came before the Provincial Court were
        principally boundary disputes, escheats, overlapping grants, and conflicting
        patents. Some of the other cases before the court were for defamation or
        slander, replevins, suits to compel the performance of building contracts, in-
        junctions, and trespasses. Few suits were for large amounts although in the
        Bateman case, to be referred to more fully later as much as £2000 sterling was
        involved (pp. xxxvi-xxxix). Few will, or other testamentary cases, came before
        the court as most of these were settled by the Judge of Probate, who also served
        as Secretary of the Province.

                        ATTORNEYS-GENERAL.

          The Proprietary's attorneys-general during this period were William Calvert
        (1664-1669), John Morecroft (1669-1670) and Vincent Lowe (1670-1676).
        William Calvert, who seems to have been acting as attorney-general before his
        predecessor William Manning was reported at the April, 1664, session to have
        “returned home”, possibly on a visit to England (Arch. Md. xlix, 200), ap-
        peared as such at the July 5, 1664, session (ibid., 230), and took the formal
        oath of attorney-general, June 12, 1665 (p. 108). He continued as attorney-
        general until he was appointed on December 14, 1669, a justice of the Provincial
        Court and of the Court of Chancery, and Judge of Probate or of “Testamen-
        tary buisness” (pp. 482). He was succeeded. by John Morecroft as attorney-
        general, who was sworn on the same day, doubtless a temporary appointment by
        the three deputy governors, as it was made until the “arrival” of Governor
        Charles Calvert then on a visit to England (p. 482). At the first session after
        the Governor's return, Vincent Lowe was appointed attorney-general on Decem-
        ber 13, 1670 (pp. 564, 621), and held the position until 1676. Those who
        officiated as attorneys-general, like the court clerks, practiced as attorneys in
        the Provincial and other courts.

                           COURT CLERKS.

          Three men served as clerks of the Provincial Court during this period—
        Daniel Jenifer (c. 1665-1669), John Blomfield (1669-1670), and Thomas
        Cakewood (Cabewood) (1670-1671). Two of these clerks, Blomfield and
        Cakewood, were dismissed from office for misdemeanors. Jenifer had already
        been acting for several months as clerk of the Provincial Court when on
        February 10, 1665, he was formally appointed clerk of this court and of the
        Provincial Secretary's Office (Arch. Md. V; 23-24). He ceased to be clerk when
        three years later he married Mary, the widow of William Smith, one of the
        principal inn-keepers of St. Mary's City, and took over the management of the
        inn (pp. 459-560), but continued to practice as an attorney. He was succeeded
        on May 5, 1669, by John Blomfield (Arch. Md. V; 49-52), who was discharged
        from office, July 21, 1670, for breach of the peace, breach of trust, and other