tendered to, And to be taken by dissenting Ministers, and Preachers, may be tendered to yr Petitioner. And your Petitioner shall in bounden duty pray, &c. "GEORGE MCNISH."

"The Petions aforesaid being read in Open Court, wor'll Justices having heard and deliberately Considered the Premises on both sides, it having reference to his Exncy for result in Ecclesiastic matters, &c., he being here Representative in Chief of Church and State, Allow the said Vestry's Petion to have its final result and determination By his said Exncy and honble Council of State as prayed for. Notwithstanding the said McNish in decent manner, Did require (he being a Dissenter from the Church of England,) that he might be dignified as by law in this County to preach, offering to take the Oaths and subscribe the Declaration.

Nevertheless

the wor'll Court hath Resolved as aforesaid.”

EXTRACT 3.

"At a Court held by her Mjty's wor'll Justices of Peace for Somerset County, at Dividing Creek, the eighth day of January, in the fourth year of the Reigne of our Sovereign Lady Anne, by the Grace of God, of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, &c., Anno Domini 1705-6,

"Commissioners present were-Capt. John West, Major John Cornish, Mr. Thos. Newbald, Captain

John Franklyne, Capt. Charles Ballard, Mr. Joseph Venables."

Amongst other proceedings of the court were the following, viz.

EXTRACT 4.

"Then did Mr. George McNish and Mr. John Hampton their Petition exhibit before the worshipfull justices in court as followeth :

"To the worshipfull court of Somerset county, in the Province of Maryland, the petition of George McNish and John Hampton, most humbly sheweth,

"That whereas there is an Act of Parliament made in the first year of the reign of King William and Queen Mary, Instituted an Act for Exempting their Majesties Protestant subjects dissenting from the Church of England, from the penalties of sundry Laws. And whereas by the Express words of the said Law, we are required to tender to the Justices of the Peace at the General or Quarter Sessions of the County Town, parts or division where we live, to Take the Oath of Allegiance, take or subscribe the Declarations, and Declare our Approbation of, and subscribe the Articles of Religion made the thirtieth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Excepting such as are Excepted in said Act; and whereas we In a ready Complyance with said Law have already attended and tendered ourselves to take the said Oath and perform every thing required in said Law; we do humbly tender ourselves again to your worships, as the proper Court held by the Justices of the Peace for this

County Empowered and required to administer such Oaths, and for receiving such subscriptions, as are Enjoyned in said Act of Parliament.

"We, therefore, your Humble Petitioners pray, that by a further Consideration of sd Law, we may be admitted to do our duty in complying with said Law, which we are ready to doe, seeing all Dissenters in all her majesties Dominions have in this manner Qualified themselves; and your Petitioners as in duty bound, shall allways pray."

"The aforesaid petition being read, and by the wor'll Court Considered: That whereas a petition from Coventry Parish, and another from said Macnish, was in No'ber Court last to this court preferred, and the same referred to his Exncy and honble councel for result, it is this day likewise by the wor'll Justices again ordered, that said Hampton and Macnish petion be continued till the aforsd result be returned.”

EXTRACT 5.

"Att a Court held By her Majty's wor'll Justices of the Peace for Somerset County, att Dividing Creek, the 12th day of June, Anno Dom. 1706,

"Commissioners present were-Capt. John West, Major John Cornish, Mr. Thos. Newbold, Captain John Franklyne, Captain Charles Ballard, Mr. Joseph Venables."

Amongst other proceedings were the following, viz:

"This day appeared Mr. John Hampton and Mr. George Macnish, Exhibited an order from his Excellency the Governor and honourable councill for their Qualification to preach in this county, in obedience thereunto this Court did administer the Oaths appointed per Act of Parliament, to the said Hampton and McNish, who did comply therewith, and did likewise Subscribe the Declaration, whereupon this Court did allow that the aforesaid Hampton and Macnish should preach att the meeting-house near Mr. Edgar's, the meeting-house att the head of Monocan, the meeting-house att Snowhill, and the meeting-house on Mr. Joseph Venables's Land, as per the Desenting preachers required."

"By his Exncy the Governor, March the 13th, 1705-Ordered then that the worpfull Justices of Somerset County, take the Oaths of the Desenting ministers according to the Act of Parliament of the first of King Wm and Queen Mary, Exempting her Majty's Protestant subjects from Certain penaltys, &c.

Signed per order,

W. BLADEN, Cl. Councell.

Indorst to Somerset Court."

The foregoing extracts, taken from Liber A. B. No. 1,-one of the Record books in the office of the clerk of Somerset county court, were intended, and are believed, to be exact to a word and letter, except that in several instances, where ancient abbreviations

occur in the record, I have written the words at large. The extracts are intended to be exact in other particulars-for example-in punctuation and the use of capital letters. Some of the inaccuracies in spelling, improprieties of punctuation, and other imperfections, were most probably errors of the clerk. Perhaps it would have been better, scrupulously to have observed the abbreviations throughout this copy; or still better to have disregarded them altogether.

In the record, and of course in the extracts which I have made from it, the order of the governor that the justices of Somerset county should take the oaths of the dissenting ministers, is dated not only before the joint petition of the Rev. Messrs. Hampton and McNish, but also before the previous sole petition of Mr. McNish. The sittings of the court are chronicled in the book in regular consecutive order, so that there is no mistake, I think, as to the dates, at which the petitions were preferred. The inconsistency in dates, I therefore believe to be owing to an error of either the clerk of the council of state, or the clerk of the county, in affixing the date to the order. Instead of having been dated in 1705, it ought, I doubt not, to have been dated in 1706, or 1705-6. If so dated, time and sense perfectly agree.

The joint petition of the Rev. Messrs. Hampton and McNish, represents that they had already tendered themselves to take the oath; and that they tender themselves again for that purpose. I do not perceive that there is any minute in Liber A. B. No.