62 court of appeals of maryland

ficult to find proper persons to fill the important
stations of judges of the Court of Appeals, and
for this reason the selections to fill that court were
postponed. And the postponement was a long one,
lasting for twenty months, to December, 1778. It
was stated later in the House proceedings that
there was difficulty in finding proper persons who
would accept seats on that court. The number
of five judges, agreed upon in this discussion, was
the number of Councillors required under the
act of 1729, chapter 3, section 2, to constitute a
court when both the Governor and the President
of the Council were absent. Meanwhile the selec-
tion of judges for the other courts went forward.
To a considerable extent the same men were con-
tinued in old offices, and some of those selected as
judges had had judicial experience before and
during the Revolution.

After the delay of twenty months, on December
1, 1778, the Senate sent this communication to the
House of Delegates:

Gentlemen, We consider the appointment of the Court of
Appeals as a measure absolutely necessary to carry into full
effect our present Constitution and form of government. We
think the appointment ought not to be longer delayed. If you
should be of the same opinion, it will be proper to fix the num-
ber of judges of the said court, and their salaries before we go
into a nomination of them.

The House replied on December 9 that it agreed
in the view of the Senate, and assumed that the
number of judges to be appointed had already
been fixed at five, but expressed a willingness to
set up a court of three for the present if it was
thought necessary to do so to get the court started;