344 HOWARD'S CASE.—1 BLAND.

The defendants Read and wife put in their joint answer, and the
infant defendant answered by his guardian. They all admitted the
facts as set forth in the bill, and united in praying for a partition.
The plaintiffs recommended commissioners on their part, and the
defendants having made a similar recommendation on their behalf,
the solicitors of the parties were heard as to a proper selection from
the persons put in nomination; and the case was submitted.

BLAND, C., 22d January, 1828.—The said case standing ready
for hearing, and being submitted, the bill, answer, and all other
proceedings were, by the Chancellor, read aud considered; and it
appearing reasonable and proper, that partition should be made
of the said real estate as prayed:—

It is thereupon decreed, that there be a partition of the real
estate whereof the Jate John Eager Howard died seized, among his
said devisees, the parties to this suit, in the manner and upon the
principles prescribed by his last will and testament; and for that
purpose, all the real estate of which the said testator died seized,
which may remain after the payment of his debts, shall be valued,
together with and including all the real estate which he may have,
at any time prior to the ninth day of October, in the year eighteen
hundred aud twenty-seven, conveyed to any of his said children;
rating the same at its present value, and deducting therefrom the
value of the improvements which have been made upon such pro-
perty during its possession by said children; or while in the posses-
sion of any other person claiming under them; and upon such valu-
ation, the whole shall be divided into eight parts. And to the
end that this Court may be enabled to make a just valuation
369 paid partition thereof, in the manner above mentioned, it
is ordered, that a commission issue to Joseph W. Patterson, George
Hoffman, Solomon Etting, James Mosher, and Stewart Brown, of
the City of Baltimore, authorizing them, or any three of them, to
go upon, walk over, and survey the said real estate and property
in the proceedings mentioned, and to value and divide the same
in the manner above mentioned, according to the rights and inte-
rests of the respective parties; that is to say, the said commis-
sioners, or any three of them, shall divide the same among the
said George Howard, Benjamin C. Howard, William Howard,
James Howard, Sophia Read the wife of William George Read,
Charles Howard, James Howard McHenry, and John Eager How-
ard, who are the children, or grandchildren and devisees of the
said testator; allotting to each one of them so much and such a
proportion of the real estate of which the said testator died seized,
as, together with that which the said testator conveyed to them,
or any of them, the said devisees as aforesaid, will be equal in
value to one-eighth part of the whole of the said real estate herein
directed to be valued, having regard to quantity and quality, and