A History of Printing in Colonial Maryland

short outline of the plan which appeared in his proposals to the Assembly
of 1761. To the Lower House in that year, he announced,

"That the several Sessions shall be distinguished by their proper Dates, Names of Gov-
ernors, &c. The Tides of all the Acts passed in each, inserted in their due Order, with Ref-
erence to the Records where they may be found; and art account of the several Continua-
tions, and Time of Expiration or Repeal of such as are expired or abrogated. Each Session
shall be divided into Chapters, and the Chapters into Sections with Numbers, for the easier
Quotation of any Laws in Being.

"That ample marginal Notes shall be printed, with References to any subsequent Law,
whereby a Paragraph may in any wise be affected or altered; and a compleat Common-
Place, or short Alphabetical Abridgement of the Laws, shall be added, whereby the Whole,
relating to any one Article, may easily be seen, and turned to in the several Acts at large."

It is conceivable that to carry into effect this running commentary on
the legislation of one hundred and twenty-six years was no small task.That
its undertaker performed it worthily, his monumental work remains to at-
test.

In the winter of 1762 Bacon's work was so far advanced that he was com-
pelled to go to Annapolis "in order to collate or examine his manuscript
Acts of Assembly with the Records."¹ We may thinkof him asmaking that
weary journey many times during this win ter and spring, and we may share
his rejoicing that the worst of his task was over, when on July 24, 1762,
Reverdy Ghiselin, Gent., Clerkof the Provincial Court, andThomas Bacon,
Clerk, Rector of All Saints Parish in Frederick County, appeared before
two of the justices of the Provincial Court and

"..... produced Six Manuscript Books or Volumes in Folio, marked No. 1, No. 2, No. 3,
No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6, containing a Transcript of the Acts of Assembly of this Province,
now in Force or Use from the Year 1637, to the Year 1762, ... as the same have been
collected into one Body by the aforesaid Thomas Bacon; and made Oath on the Holy Evan-
gels of Almighty God, That they had carefully and diligently Examined and Compared
all the several Acts contained in the said Transcript, ..... with the Original Acts which
Passed the Great Seal of this Province, where such Originals were extant, or to be found
in the Secretary's Office of this Province; and, where the Originals of any of the said acts
cou'd not be found, with the Records of the same, as they stand Recorded in the Secretary's
Office aforesaid. And that the said several Acts contained in the said six Volumes or Tran-
script, and by them so Signed as aforesaid, are true Copies of the Original Acts, or Records
respectively, with which the same have been by them Compared and Examined as aforesaid,
to the best of their Knowledge, Skill and Belief."²

The above oath, which is to be found in the printed volume itself at the
close of the session of March 1762, was signed by Reverdy Ghiselin and
Thomas Bacon on the one part, John Brice and George Steuart ontheother.

^l Sharpe Correspondence, February 15, 1762, Archives of Maryland, 14: 20.
² Bacon's Laws of Maryland, at conclusion of acts of March 1762.

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