might, in a resurvey of one acre, take in a thousand more, and obtain the advantage of a credit of two years, instead of paying immediately for the vacant land, as must have been done in taking a primitive warrant.     In respect to renewal, warrants of resurvey appear to have been under the same rule as original ones, that is, to speak of the more recent periods of the proprietary government, they might be renewed every six months during the two years which were limited for the taking out patents under them as originally issued.¾In the early times however, upon neglect to execute a resurvey warrant, a new one, or an allowance of further time, was most commonly prayed by petition, as indeed was almost every thing of a special nature; for after the direction of land affairs had by degrees, ceased to be altogether in the hands of the governor and secretary, and was made a standing business of the former, conjointly with his council, the clerk of the board, to whom, (still subordinately to the secretary of the province) the immediate issuing of warrants continued to be intrusted, was not allowed to act without direction in questionable cases, but was recompensed for the abridgement of authority by the multitude of proceedings to which the system of petitions gave rise, and for which he had fees, settled and ordained by the governor. It was on this ground perhaps that so much formality attended all proceedings relating to resurveys. The difficulty heretofore mentioned of obtaining warrants of resurvey was more a grave artifice to enhance the value of those warrants than a necessary precaution against their abuse. John Llewellin, the first register, and who may be called the father of the land office, understood very well the effect of this kind of management. The petitions of applicants appear, from their uniformity during his time, to have been generally prepared by him, and from the style of them, as well as that of the consequent orders and warrants, which usually contained the same feeling recital of trespasses, hardships, poverty, &c. it was difficult for the party on getting his warrant not to believe that he had been particularly favoured, when perhaps the government was interested, on account of the probable discovery of surplus land, as much as himself in the resurvey. But, although Llewellin appears to have had much to do in devising rules and forms, it was the policy of the government, as well as his, to give to the proceedings, in regard to resurveys, an air of kindness and favour; for there never was a period at which some doubts and dissatisfactions did not exist in Maryland respecting the principles and conduct pursued by the proprietary and his officers, in land affairs. The enhancing the conditions of plantation, the exaction of payment for surplus