at st. mary's 5

Point." In 1692, the new, royal Governor, with
the approval of the Council, again set up a sep-
arate Court of Chancery, which endured in name
as well as in fact until 1699, when royal instruc-
tions compelled a reunion of the office of Chancel-
lor with that of Governor. There was another
separation of the offices for a short time in 1715.
And except for these short interruptions the Gov-
ernor filled the office of Chancellor until the Revo-
lution.⁷ He also acted as Judge of Admiralty,
with the assistance of his associates in the Pro-
vincial Court, unti 1684, when the Court of Ad-
miralty was given a constitution separate from that
of the Provincial Court, although it continued to
be presided over by one who was also a justice of
the latter court. Jurisdiction over probate and
administration of the estates of deceased owners
was managed by the secretary of the province until
1673, at which time the forms of the old ecclesias-
tical courts in England were adopted, that is to
say, the jurisdiction was vested in a Prerogative
Court, the name of the provincial court of the
Archbishop of Canterbury which exercised this
jurisdiction, here, as there, to be presided over by
a Commissary or Commissary General, with an
appeal allowed to a Court of Delegates specially
constituted and commissioned for each appeal.⁸ A
Deputy Commissary was, later in that century,
provided for each county.

It appears to have been on September 6, 1664,
that a writ of error was first procured for a review

7. Mereness, 232 and 234.

8. Holdsworth, I, 602, 604. Archives, Proc. Council, 1671 to 1681,
24 and 74. For an instance of such a Court of Delegates see
1 Harris & McHenry, 512,