108 court of appeals of maryland

pointed and ready to take office, were Jeremiah
Townley Chase, of Anne Arundel County, James
Tilghman of Queen Anne's, William Polk of
Somerset, John Buchanan of Washington, Joseph
Hopper Nicholson of Baltimore, and John
Mackall Gantt of Prince George's County. And on
June 9, 1806, these six gentlemen came together
at Annapolis, with their commissions, to start the
work of the Court of Appeals of the Western
Shore. The commissions were dated in the order
in which the judges have just been named, and that
was, accordingly, the order of their seniority.
Moreover, the commission of Chief Judge Chase
read, "You are appointed and assigned Chief
Judge of the Third Judicial District, and in vir-
tue thereof Judge of the Court of Appeals; and by
the appointment of the Governor and Council
Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals". Chief
Judge Chase had taken the oath and qualified on
February 4, 1806, and now, on June 9, the other
five judges took the oath, and signed on that day
the declaration of belief in the Christian religion.
And having done so much on the Western Shore,
all the judges, except Chief Judge Chase, who
was not well, set sail for the Eastern Shore, to
organize there in the court house at Easton, Tal-
bot County, on the next day, June 10, 1806.

On each shore there were two candidates for the
position of clerk, and on the Eastern Shore, the
selection was carried over to the next term of
court; on the Western Shore, it lay over one week.

The first official session on the Western Shore
was not held until Monday, June 16. Then the
commissions and certificates of oaths taken were