1826-

LAWS OF MARYLAND.

CHAP. 182

vision among all the parties interested, without loss and injury;
and that the judges of Dorchester county court received and
confirmed the report and return of the said commissioners; and
that your petitioner is entitled to make his election to take or
refuse the said real estate, having married the eldest heir of said
deceased; and that since the determination and return of the
said commissioners, your petitioner has purchased the shares of
Mary, who intermarried with Hiram W. Woolford, and of
Henrietta, who intermarried with Zachariah Linthicum, which
two shares, thus purchased, and your petitioner's share by his
wife, entitles him to, and he does own, one half the said real es-
tate, having fully paid and satisfied the purchase money for the
two shares bought in; and the petitioner fears that he shall be
unable to accomplish the payment of the three shares, belong-
ing to the minors, should he elect to take the property, and
therefore will be constrained reluctantly to decline taking it,
which will consequently throw the whole of said real estate
into market for public sale, and it will pass from the family,
who are desirous to retain a part of it at all events; Therefore,

Commissioners
appointed to di-
vide and sell land

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That the county court of Dorchester county are hereby empow-
ered and directed, upon the application, in writing, of Levin
Richardson of said county, to appoint and issue a commission
to five sensible men, to be commissioners, authorising them, or
a majority of them, to divide the said lands, of which said
James Busick died seized as aforesaid, in two equal parts, as
near as is practicable, according to quantity and quality, and to
assign one half to said Levin Richardson, and to sell the other
half for the benefit of the heirs who are minors, provided they
do not sell the said lands for less than the sum at which it was
valued by the former commissioners in their return to Dorches-
ter county court; and the said half shall be sold by the said
commissioners, or a majority of them, for money, or upon cre-
dit, and in the manner and agreeably to the terms and conditi-
ons that the court, from which the commission issued, may pre-
scribe and direct; and no sale so to be made shall be valid until
ratified by the said court, and the purchase money shall be just-
ly divided among the several persons interested, according to
their respective titles to the estate.

To take as oath

2. And be it enacted, That the said commissioners, or a
majority of them, before they proceed to act, shall severally
take an oath, or affirmation, to be annexed to the said commis-
sion, before some justice of the peace of said county, or other
person authorised to administer an oath, well and faithfully to
perform the duties required of them by the commission, and
all duties assigned to them under this act; and that they will
proceed in the execution and completion of the said commissi-
on without favour, partiality or prejudice, and according to the
best of their judgment and understanding; and they shall
make a return of their proceedings under this act, and the pro-
ceedings of the said court thereon shall be as directed by an
act, entitled, An act to amend and reduce into one system the
laws to direct descents, passed at December session eighteen
hundred and twenty.