xlii Introduction.

regulations under which a market could be conducted in Frederick Town (pp.

438-441). It appears that money for finishing the market house and town hall
in Frederick Town was raised by a lottery (Maryland Gazette, Dec. 8, 1768;
Apr. 6, June I, 1769). The other local act concerning Frederick County re-
ferred to the poor of that county (pp. 443-445). The original law entitled "An
Act for the Relief of the Poor within the several Counties therein mentioned"
was passed in 1768 (Arch. Md. LXI, xiii, xxxix, 1, xcv-xcvi, 486-495).

Only one local act expired during the years 1769-1770 and that had the
caption "An Act for amending and repairing the Public Roads in Baltimore
County" (p. 212). This law was to be in force until October 31, 1770 (Arch.
Md. LXI, xxxv-xxxvi, 259-262). As this act was not reenacted during the
session of the Assembly which met from September 25 to November 2, 1770, it
expired on the specified date. This act was, however, revived and continued by
the General Assembly in 1771 and again in 1773 (Hanson's Laivs of Maryland,
1771, Chap. XIV; June-July, 1773, Chap. III).

PRIVATE ACTS, 1769-1770

Such acts were passed for the benefit of one or more persons. At the session
of the General Assembly held from November 17 to December 20, 1769, four
private acts were passed. One of them authorized the payment of eight hundred
dollars to Governor Eden, which, the act read, his Excellency was requested by
the Assembly to accept as "an Instance of their Regard & respect for him."
Probably because it was not wished to establish a precedent by this donation,
this law was listed as a private act. Otherwise the payment of money to a
governor would seem more in the nature of a public or general act. The title
of the law allowing Eden eight hundred dollars was misleading as it gave no
idea of its purpose. It was called "An Act for applying a Sum of Money in
Bills of Credit to the use therein mentioned" (p. 124).

One of the other private acts passed in 1769 dealt with the naturalization of
a man who was "a Foreigner of the Protestant or reformed Religion" (p. 120);
another related to the financial "relief" of a woman for the loss of a slave who
committed suicide while in jail on the charge of burglary (p. 127); the other
act sought to remedy a defect in the title to land (pp. 124-125).

During the two sessions of the Assembly which met in 1770 ten private acts
were passed. Two of these laws gave John Clayton and Isaac Perkins a kind
of patent on machines, good for ten years, which each had made for threshing
wheat (pp. 315-316, 334-335). The other eight acts related to land, two of
them dealing with the sale of land for the payment of debts (pp. 308-312,
339-341), while the other six sought to remedy defects in the title to land
(pp. 322-324, 331-332, 341-342, 433-437, 441-442, 451-453).

ACTS FOR THE RELIEF OF PRISONERS FOR DEBT, 1769-1770

Having some of the characteristics of both general and private acts these
laws are considered separately. In previous volumes of the Archives will be
found not only petitions of the prisoners themselves, but also a discussion of