246       Provincial Court Proceedings, 1677/8.

          Liber N N         To the Hon Governor & Councell of the Province of
                            Maryland
                               Henry Bartholomew & John Browne Inhabitants
                               of Salem in New England with all due respects
                               desires to prsent & leave to yor Honors consideracon
                     That whereas itt hath pleased the great & righteous God to permit
                    that the violence of a distemper was so farr prevalent as to occasion
                    James Bmowne sometymes an Inhabitant of Caecil County in the
                    Province aforesaid as some say to be accessory unto his owne death,
                    the which in itt selfe as itt is very sad, so upon every fresh remem
                    brance is very grievous & heavy unto us & others of his neer &
                    deer relacons, doe therefore hope that upon yor Honors serious con
                    sideracon of the prmisses you will be pleased so to order as that
                    itt may not be made yet more heavy & grievous unto us by detaining
                    or proceeding not according to equity & Justice And first we desire
                    to acquaint you, that whereas by yor Honors direccon we were co
                    mended to a person for advice in order to our proceed in the case,
                    we have accordingly so done, & from him had good encouragemt
                    as to the equity of our cause, yet was not willing on our behalf e to
                    undertake itt, whereby our proceed in order to an issue is hindered,
                    so that att ptsent we know no better way then to prsent & leave itt
                    to yor Honors first we desire to reminde yor Honors that you will
                    be pleased to consider the Coroner who Is better known unto you
                    then unto us, & whether he might not from selfe respects seek to
                    ingratiate himself by procureing such a verdict from the Jury, which
                    verdict if yor Honors please to weigh & consider seemeth to us to
                    be inconsistent with truth the ground of our apprehension is, because
                    that in their Oath they say, he was himselfe alone & yet tooke a
                    pistoll in his right hand charged as they say & sett itt to his fore
                    head & so feloniously murthered himselfe Moreover the most of the
                    Jury that we have spoken with doe affirme that they never tooke
                    such an Oath. Next we desire to reminde yor Honors concerning the
                    plantacon which was setled in ifarley, that itt may be considered
                    upon what ground itt was taken away; all the ground we finde for
                    so doeing is, that there was an informacon given that itt was sur
                    reptitiously taken upp by Capt Howell But if yoT Honors please to
                p. 494  have the Records Searcht, we doubt not but you will finde that there
                    was a due & true right to the land from the first Proprs & so by
                    Conveyance to Captaine Howell & from him to James Browne Now
                    if there were any thing omitted in the entrance of these Conveyances
                    from one to another by any Officer of yours, if so itt shall appeare
                    we entreat yor Honors we may not suffer thereby Moreover we
                    desire yot Honors to consider that my Lord hath not only given a
                    grant for Resurvey of all the land belonging to James Browne,
                    wherein this ffarley is included, but accordingly itt was by order
                    Surveyed & returne made & entred in the Record, by all which we