356 Provincial Court Proceedings, i6?p/8o.

Liber W. C.
p. 325

barred thereof) Which verdict of the Jurors aforesaid being Read
and heard the plantiffe by his Attorney aforesaid Moved the Court
here in arrest of Judgment, And Day is thereupon given to both
partyes untill next Provinciall Court
Now here att this day to witt the Eighteenth day of ffebruary in
the Sixth yeare of the Dominion of the Right Hono^ble Charles Lord
Baltemore &c Annoq? Dominj One thousand six hundred and Eighty
came the said partyes by their Attorneys aforesaid, And the said
Thomas Jones by his said Attorney fileth his Reasons for arrest of
Judgment Upon the Verdict of the Juro™ aforesaid. w^ch follow-
eth (vi/)
Reason for arresting the Judgment Betweene Thomas Jones plt.
and Samuel Dobson Deft Upon the Verdict given by the Jury
The plt sues the deft and charges him to have fraudulently re-
ceived of him foure hundred and f our e pounds of Tobacco, Upon
p^rtence of soe much due to the hono^ble the secretary for fees, and
yet never discharging him from the Secretary for the same, and
that hee was forced to pay it againe, for w^ch damage Two Thou-
sand pounds of Tobacco
The Dett comes and pleads, and in his plea ownes the receiveing
the foure hundred & foure pounds of Tobacco of the plant but sayes
hee was undersheriffe & Servant to Gerrard Slye high Sheriffe of
S^t Maryes County, & that hee did it by his ord^r, & accounted to him
for the same, and soe Justifyes it, and demands Judgment if accon &c.
The Plant replyes as in his Declaracon, and puts it upon the
matter of fact & soe puts himself upon the Judgment of the Court
The deft Rejoynes as in his plea, and of that puts himself upon
the Country And the plantiffe also :
(i) — Soe that the matter of Law w^ch is in the plea is put upon the
Jury w^ch is Erro^r for it is a Maxim in Law, as to matter of Law the
Juro^rs doe not answer but y^e Judges, And as to matter of ffact the
Judges doe not answer but the Jury, Soe the matter put in issue to
the Jury ought to have been put to the Court w^ch is Error
(2) — The Jury could not enquire of the matter of Law, & conse-
quently not of that issue, soe that if they had returned any Verdict
in this case att Barr It must have beene a Speciall one, and soe must
have found the matter of fact as it really was and appeared to them,
w^ch was that Jones owed the Secretary but Three hundred & foure
pounds of Tobacco, That Dobson Received of him ffoure hundred
and foure pounds of Tobacco for The Secretary, That Notwith-
standing that Dobson nor slye had not Cleared him from the Secre-
tary, but hee was forced to pay it againe, And If the Court were of
oppinion that Dobsons plea was good and that Jones had had noe
Remidy but against Slye, and not against Dobson, Then they found
for the defendant, but if otherwise) Then they found for the plan-
tiffe, And they could bring noe other verdict in this Case