208 Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1706.

       Lib. C. B. Now may it please your Excellency alltho the letter of the

                  Law be that the Clark may Charge Eight pounds of Tobo for

                  Drawing any Proceedings of Cort if it Exceed half a Side of

                  a leafe Yet I humbly conceive this to be a mistake of the

                  Transcriber & that by inadventency he hath Omitted to Incert

                  the Negitive not; as it is in the Same Article in the Said

                  recited Act of Assembly expressed & incerted: that is to Say

                  not exceeding half a Side of a leaf & that this mistake of the

           p. 59  Transcriber is Obvious both the Nature of the Thing & the

                  Subsequent Article in the Same list of ffees do Evidently

                  demonstrate for in the Tax Sett upon the next Article the

                  Clarke is allowed to Charge 16 pounds of Tobacco for draw

                  ing any Proceeding if it be above half a Side. Now the Ex-

                  ceeding half a Side of a leaf & the being above half a Side,

                  are in themselves Synonimous Terms & Signifye the Same

                  thing so that I humbly conceive the Assembly intended to

                  give the Clarke the Same flee for the Article complained of

                  was given him by the former receited Act of Assembly & that

                  the Article ought to have been 8 pounds of Tobacco for all

                  proceedings that did not exceed half a Side of a leaf & Double

                  that is to Say Sixteen pounds of Tobacco for all proceeding

                  above half a Side & not two Severall ffees for one & the Same

                  Service as it now Stands rated by Act of Assembly.

                   I must begg leave further to offer to your Excellency that

                  whereas in the fformer recited Act of Assembly the Clarke

                  was allowed 40 pounds of Tobo for the continuance of every

                  Bill in Chancery but by the late law for ascertaining Officers

                  Fees the Secretary is allowed onely 4 pounds of Tobacco for

                  the Same Service; which I likewise humbly conceive to be a

                  mistake of the Transcriber for it Seems unreasonable to Ima

                  gine that the Act of Assembly afore recited Should reduce

           p. 60  to 4 pounds of Tobacco that Service wch the fformer Assembly

                  thought worth 40 pounds of Tobacco but I am of Opinion

                  that they intended it to be 40 pounds of Tobacco as before, &

                  that the Transcriber Omitted to Place a Cypher after the

                  figure of 4 which would have made it 40 I would not have

                  Persumed to offer my owne Oppinion in this to your Excel

                  lency & this honrble Board if there did not appear matter of

                  ffact, alimost of the Same Nature in the Same Act of Assembly:

                  and that in another Article of the Secretarys Fees, wherein it

                  is Said for every Execution and returne and Blank left for the

                  Sum which in the former Act for Assertaining Officers Fees

                  was 28 pounds of Tobacco.

                   Now may it please your Excellency for as much as the

                  Transcriber of the Act hath wholly omitted to put any rate

                  upon one Article, it Seems a just consequence to infer that

                  he hath Comitted the like error of inadvettency in the Value-