at st. mary's 11

there were differences in the requirement of the
presence of justices of the quorum to constitute a
court; there were no justices of the quorum named
for the Court of Appeals or, apparently, for the
Provincial Court, but only for the county courts.
The only rules governing the organization of the
Court of Appeals were those concerning the pre-
siding officer in the absence of the Governor. In
England all justices alike came later to be named
of the quorum, so that the distinction was lost, but
this did not occur in the commissioning of justices
of the Maryland county courts; the distinction was
preserved. The commissions were all issued to
the justices of each body jointly, to the members
of the Council, the justices of the Provincial
Court, and those of the several county courts re-
spectively. All these officers were appointed to
hold office at the pleasure of the Governor only,
but actually councillors and judges were often re-
appointed and continued in office many years,
especially toward the end of the proprietary gov-
ernment. The numbers of those commissioned
varied in time. The Council, beginning with
three members in 1636, numbered nine in 1681,
after 1692 numbered twelve, and after the middle
of the following century increased to fourteen. A
similar growth of numbers on the Provincial and
county courts took place, those in the former
reaching ten and in the county courts twenty and
more. The proceedings in the courts were con-
ducted with dignity; the greatest days in the year
in the counties were those of the sittings of the
county courts. The privilege of sitting as one of
the justices, the "Worshipful the Commissioners