70 TOWNSHEND v. DUNCAN.

stances, as to which the court required information; or where the

The plaintiffs put in a general replication to the answers of the defendants; upon
which a commission was issued, in the usual form, 'to examine evidences, and
also to audit, state, settle and adjust all accounts,' between the parties. ( Clapham
v. Thompson, 1 Bland, 124, note. Dorsey v. Dulany, 1 Bland, 465, note.) Under
which commission much testimony was taken: from which an account was stated;
as to all which the commissioners made report as follows:

'To his excellency, Thomas Bladen, Esq. Chancellor of Maryland—We humbly
certify, that by virtue of the commission hereunto annexed, and to us directed, (hav-
ing chosen Richard Burdus to be our clerk,) we met on several days and times, and
proceeded to take the depositions of Messrs. John Lomas and Edward Dorsey to
several interrogatories, to them severally administered, as by the same interrogato-
ries and depositions hereunto annexed will appear.—And we further certify, that we
have stated, audited, settled, and adjusted all such accounts as were, by either party,
produced; and have computed the interest on bonds, from the time of their admi-
nistration granted, till payment of principal; part of which interest we find paid,
and the other part not paid, as by the first and second columns of the account A,
hereunto annexed, appears; and humbly submit it to your excellency, whether Mr.
Woodward's estate ought to have the benefit of the interest received after adminis-
tration granted, or the administratrix; and whether the administratrix ought to be
chargeable with interest, mentioned in the second column, when it does not appear
to us, that any was received.

'And we find, that Edward Fottrell, and Achsa his wife, are chargeable for the
personal estate and debts due to the said Amos Woodward, exclusive of the rum
cargo, to the amount of £96 17s. 2d. £27 15s. 5d.—2732 pounds tobacco—£1367
7s. 11 1/2d. gold—£815 19s. 1d. sterling—£2502 l1s. O 1/4d. paper money; including the
interest referred to your excellency's consideration, as by the said account marked
A, hereunto annexed, may also appear; and also are chargeable with several arti-
cles, to the amount of the sum of £1198 10s. 3d. which are to be returned in kind,
as by the said account marked A, appears; and also are chargeable for sundry debts
due on the butcher's book, which is also included in the said account marked A, as
by the account marked B, will appear.—And that they, the said Edward Fottrell
and Achsa his wife, have paid sundry debts due from the said Woodward to sundry
persons, which* we apprehend, ought to be deducted out of the total amount of the
account marked A, amounting to 2246 pounds tobacco— £1133 2s. Od. gold— £298
18s, 2d. sterling, as by the account marked C, hereunto annexed, may appear.

'And we further certify, that there are sundry debts, that appear to be due from
sundry persons to the said Amos Woodward, as well on his ledger, as on his butch-
er's book, amounting in the whole to the sum of 600 pounds tobacco—4565 pounds
tobacco— £780 7s. 3 1/2d. gold—-£383 11s. 8 1/2 d. sterling, and £78 6s. 5 1/4 d. paper
money, as by the accounts marked D and E, hereunto annexed, may also appear;
but does not appear to us to have been received either by the said Fottrell or his wife.
All which is humbly submitted to your excellency, by Thomas Worthington, John
Brice, Nicholas Maccubbin, John Bullen.'

At December court, 1746, the defendant Gale being dead, and the case as to him
being abated, the defendant Chapman filed the following exceptions to the said
report. First. That since the order for publication of the examinations and pro-
ceedings of the said commissioners it appears, that a certain John Lomas, and the
aforesaid Edward Dorsey, were respectively examined, and have deposed to interro-
gatories filed on behalf of the complainants in the above cause; and for that this
exceptant had not any notice of the time and place of such intended examination.