BROWN VS. STEWART. 89

12th November, 1842,) the death of one of the negroes; the
sale of four, and the deposit to his own credit in the Farmers
Bank of Maryland; but denied an intention to sell more of the
negroes; the insufficiency of the residue of the property; and
his indebtedness to the complainant.

In the statement filed by the complainant, the defendant was
credited as of the 12th November, 1842, with a commission of
$200, for services rendered, which left a balance of $424 88,
for which he gave his single bill as stated above and admitted
in the answer, but the answer further stated, that the transac-
tion was a fraud upon the defendant, who, relying upon the
correctness of the balance stated by the complainant, had affix-
ed his signature to the instrument without having read it, and
denied the sufficiency of the last credit, stating in relation
thereto, that on the 21st March, 1840, letters of administration
were taken out by said defendant, together with the complain-
ant, upon the estate of Thos. R. Cross, deceased, which is not
yet fully administered; that said Cross, in his lifetime, being
largely indebted to him, and he being in like manner, indebted
to P. McKenna & Co. the two former united in a single bill to
the latter, dated 30th January, 1838, for $227 48, with the
understanding, that it was to be paid by said Cross, who never-
theless died without having done so, and at April term, 1840,
judgments were recovered on this bill, one against said Stew-
art, as surviving obligor, and another against him and the com-
plainant, as administrators of said Cross. That the sum due
on these judgments was paid by the defendant, with the under-
standing between him and the complainant, that he should be
allowed for it, against the estate of the deceased; that although
an order to that effect had been passed by the Orphans' Court,
the allowance had not been made; and, therefore, that this was
now a good set-off against the complainant's claim. The answer
further stated, that instead of an allowance of $200, for com-
missions, on the 12th November, 1842, the proper allowance
was $392 98, being half the commission allowed by the Or-
phans' Court, to him and the complainant, as administrators as
aforesaid.
8*