THE CHANCELLOR'S CASE.—1 BLAND. 609

exercised by the Chancellor on that shore; reserving, however, an
appeal to the Chancellor. And, by the Act of 1795, ch. 70, it was
declared, " that the Judge of the land office for the Eastern Shore
should receive a salary of one hundred and fifty pounds per annum,
during his continuance in office;" which salary has been regularly
paid to that officer ever since.

Thus, it is obvious, that the two offices and functions of Chan-
cellor, and Judge of the land office, have long been united in, and
exercised by the same individual. The provision of the Declara-
tion of Rights, relative to the independency and uprightness of
judicial officers, speaks only of the Chancellor; of his holding a
commission during good behavior; and of his salary being secured
to him during the continuance of his commission. But, his other
character, of Judge of the land office, is no where noticed in the
Declaration of Rights or Constitution, in any manner whatever.
The office of Chancellor, having been created by the Constitution,
the Executive is bound to appoint a Chancellor; and the Legisla-
ture is, in like manner, bound to secure to him a salary 650
* during the continuance of his commission. But, the Con-
stitution being wholly silent as to a Judge of the land office, the
Executive and Legislature are under no such constitutional obliga-
tional to appoint and provide for such an officer. This was always
the clear and distinct understanding of the General Assembly.

At the session of 1785, when the Legislature were about to pass
that Act, which first secured to the Chancellor his salary during
the continuance of his commission, it will be seen, by the before
recited message from the delegates, that this distinction between
the Chancellor's two characters was adverted to as a matter then
familiarly and well understood. For, it is evident, that their dis-
inclination to give a higher salary, at that time, arose from the
conviction, that whatever salary they should give him as Chan-
cellor, must be given during the continuance of his commission,
during which period it couid not be diminished or revoked; and,
being unwilling so to pledge the State, at that time, for the pay-
ment of an amount which they admitted was then reasonable,
they gave him an addition to his salary in another character; that
is, as Judge of the land office; in which form, that addition was
always subject to be renewed, reduced, or withdrawn at pleasure.
The Chancellor was thus, at the session of 1785, for the first time,
separately compensated in each of his two distinct characters. By
the 27th chapter of that session, a salary was secured to him
during the continuance of his commission, as Chancellor; and by
the 74th chapter of the same session, he was additionally com-
pensated for his services, as Judge of the land office, for the cur-
rent year. In the one character his salary, being secured by the
Declaration of Rights, was intangible, in the other, his compensa-

39 1B.