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Gc 975.2 L66m 1753440
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
J 3 1833 02252 0057
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MARYLAND AS A PALATINATE
BY CONSTANCE LIPPINCOTT
1
DROITSEET
AVANTS
Printed for Private Circulation BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA 1902
1753440
Riarpland As a Palatinate
AN HISTORICAL ESSAY BY CONSTANCE LIPPINCOTT
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V
Printed for Pribate Circulation BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT CO., PHILADELPHIA MCMII
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/marylandaspalati00lipp_0
MARYLAND AS A PALATINATE
Contents
: Introduction
PAGE
1. DEFINITION OF A PALATINATE .
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2. HISTORICAL INSTANCES OF THE PALATINATE . . .
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(a) European Palatinates. -
(b) Durham.
(c) Avalon.
( Georgia and the Carolinas.
(e) Pennsylvania and Delaware.
(f) Maryland.
(g) Advantages of this Form of Government, and Reason for its Establishment in America.
Characteristics of Maryland
1. THE CHARTER. .
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2. THE NAMING OF MARYLAND . 16
3. THE ORIGIN OF MARYLAND LAW . 17 .
4. LAND TENURE · · 18
(a) Quit-Rents.
(b) Caution Money.
(c) Manors.
- 5. THE PEOPLE AND LIFE OF COLONIAL MARYLAND. .
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(a) Upper Classes.
(b) Servants.
(c) Convicts.
(d) Slaves.
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CONTENTS
PAGE
6. THE CHURCH AND CLERGY . 26
7. EDUCATION 32
8. CITIES AND TOWNS. 33
9. METHODS OF TRAVEL AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION . 35
(a) Roads.
(b) Rolling Roads.
(c) Post-Roads and Routes.
(d) Vehicles.
10. FINANCE .
11. FAMOUS MEN . · .
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Summary
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Bibliograpby
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Introduction
( I) Definition of a Palatinate :
CCORDING to the Century Dictionary, a palatinate is the dominion of a count pala- tine.1 In England, an earl or count palatine had royal jurisdiction in his province; all tenants- in-chief held of him; he had his own courts, took proceeds of jurisdiction, and appointed his own sheriff.2
(2) Historical Instances of the Palatinate:
HOUGH the word palatinate is of Latin origin, and was first used in France, it is to the Teutonic peoples that we must look for the fullest development of this form of government.
(a) In Europe, we find the Rhenish palatinates, and the counties palatine of both England and Ire- land, the best known of which are Durham, Chester,
' Century Dictionary, vol. v., under " palatinate" and "palatine."
2 Larned's History of Ready Reference, vol. iv. p. 2411.
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INTRODUCTION
and Lancaster. In England, Durham alone retained its ancient privileges and government for any length of time, owing perhaps to the fact that its ruler, being a bishop, could not found a feudal family, and therefore was less apt to excite the king's jealousy. That the Bishops of Durham had quasi-regal powers in their palatinate is without doubt, but the king found many ways in which he could encroach on and limit their privileges.1
(b) Durham : There are many theories as to the origin of the Durham palatinate, three of which are well worth noticing: two of them trace its origin to the deliberate act of one of the English kings, proba- bly Alfred or William the Conqueror; the third. looks on it as a growth not complete until the thir- teenth century, but a survival of local independence in the ancient kingdom of Northumbria.2 The latter theory is the one accepted by Lapsley in his work on Durham. Fiske inclines to the theory that Durham was founded by William I. to defend the border. This last thedry is the one generally accepted. The bishop was at the height of his power between the years 1300 and 1400.3
The bishop, as the head of the civil government, had the appointment of all the civil officers, and the
1 Fiske's Old Virginia and her Neighbors, vol. i. p. 276.
2 Harvard Historical Studies, vol. viii.
3 Lapsley's County Palatine of Durham.
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right to all lands forfeited in his province for what- soever cause. Many disputes with the clergy occurred through his being both temporal and spiritual lord.1 It was the bishop's duty to keep the peace in his province and to punish and pardon malefactors. He had no right to make treaties or even to enter into direct communication with foreign powers, though this was often done with regard to Scotland.
In Durham, all land was held immediately of the bishop and not of the king.
The bishop had admiralty rights in his province : patrolling the coast was entrusted to him. He also had the privilege of staying procedure,2 and could suspend the execution of the law.
The king checked and limited the bishop's su- premacy both in the regular course of the law and in the exercise of the royal prerogative.3 The fact that the bishop's office was elective, and therefore depended to a great extent on the king, further limited his authority.
Palatinates were not, however, confined to the Old World : In America,' besides Maryland, there were Avalon, Georgia, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
(c) Avalon : Avalon, in Newfoundland, was granted
' Lapsley's County Palatine of Durham, p. 52.
" Harvard Historical Studies, vol. viii.
'Ibid.
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to George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, by James I. in 1624. The grant of Avalon is important, for on its charter the charter of Maryland was modelled.1 Avalon was to be held in capite by knight's service, probably the last instance by that tenure on record.2 After the death of James I., Baltimore himself went, with his family, to his new colony, but the climate and troubles with the French forced him to give it up after having spent thirty thousand pounds on it.3
(d) Georgia and the Carolinas : These were at first proprietary colonies, but bad government soon in- duced them to put themselves under the direct sway of the crown.4
(e) Pennsylvania and Delaware: Pennsylvania, under which head Delaware is included, was more fortunate, and remained a well-governed palatinate down to the Revolution. The government of Penn- sylvania differed slightly from that of Maryland in that there was no upper house in the assembly : the council only advised the governor and took no part in legislation.5 As Pennsylvania was established later than Maryland, the king was careful to limit the
1 Browne's Maryland : The History of a Palatinate, pp. 7 and S. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid.
4 Fiske's Old Virginia and her Neighbors, vol. i.
5 Fiske's Civil Government in the United States.
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INTRODUCTION
powers of its proprietary, and make it more dependent on the crown.1
(f) Maryland-its Foundation : In 1633 Charles I. granted to Cæcilius Calvert, second Lord Balti- · more, a strip of land lying to the north of Virginia and bordering on the Chesapeake Bay, extending in- land indefinitely. Lord Baltimore, being a Catholic, wished to found a colony which would serve as a harbor of refuge to his oppressed co-religionists. The only way for him to accomplish his purpose without antagonizing the Protestant home government was to establish religious freedom. The colonists enjoyed freedom of worship under a beneficent but firm gov- ernment until 1692, when Maryland became a crown colony.
In 1634 the first colonists were sent out under the leadership of Leonard Calvert, the younger brother of the lord proprietor. They landed and made a settlement at St. Mary's, honorably buying the land from the Indians. The early history of Maryland is uneventful, save for quarrels with Virginia and marked growth in wealth and population. Good gov- ernment and peace were of course the chief factors in this growth, but immigrants seeking a refuge from religious persecution considerably increased the popu- lation.2
1 Columbia Studies, vol. vi.
2 Fiske's Old Virginia and her Neighbors, vol. i. p. 269.
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The colony was governed by a governor, his coun- cil, and an assembly, consisting of the freemen of the province. The legislature consisted of an upper and a lower house: the members of the upper house, as also the governor, were appointed by the lord pro- prietor ; those of the lower were elected, thus securing what is dearest to the Anglo-Saxon race,-representa- tive government. Another safeguard to the liberties of the freemen was the fact that all taxation origi- nated in the lower house.
(g) Advantages in this Form of Government and Reason for its Establishment in America : The Eng- lish border counties of Chester, Durham, and Lancas- ter were subject to sudden invasions from Wales and Scotland. In those days of slow travel it was im- possible to communicate with the central government in time to secure help to repel such invasions. The ruler of the county had, therefore, to have power to raise militia and declare martial law. As conditions in America were very similar, the palatinate form of government was thought to be the most suitable. As Maryland was situated in the heart of the enemy's country, at a distance of three thousand miles from the central government, it was imperative that the governor should have a free hand. The king granted, and could afford to grant, more privileges to the pro- prietary of Maryland than he could to the rulers of the counties palatine of England. Durham was forced
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to pay a certain tax to the royal treasury, levied and collected by the bishop as he saw fit,1 whereas Mary- land was entirely exempt from imperial taxation. All that was required of Lord Baltimore was a formal acknowledgment of the king's over-lordship,-the presentation of two Indian arrows every year at Windsor. The king was also entitled to one-fifth of the gold, silver, and precious stones mined in the province, which afterwards proved a barren right. The chief difference between the palatinates of Durham and Maryland lay in the fact that the latter had popular representation, while the former had not.
1 Harvard Historical Studies, vol. viii.
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Characteristics of Maryland
(1)
Charter :
HE charter of Maryland is substantially the same as that of Avalon, changed only so far as was necessary to suit the new province.1 In the lord proprietor were vested almost regal powers : he could declare war and peace, call the fighting population to arms and declare martial law, erect towns, cities, and ports, levy tolls and duties, establish courts of justice, appoint judges, magistrates, and other civil officers, execute the laws, and pardon offenders. Furthermore, he could erect manors, with courts-baron and courts-leet, also confer titles of no- bility, provided they differed from those of England. The initiative rested at first with him,-that is, he could make laws with the assent of the freemen of the province; but later this was reversed,-the free- men made laws subject to the lord proprietor's veto.
In cases of emergency he could make ordinances not impairing life, limb, or property without the assent of the freemen. He was empowered to found
1 Bacon's Translation of Maryland Charter ; Browne's Maryland : The History of a Palatinate.
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churches and chapels, and to have them consecrated according to the ecclesiastical laws of England, and to appoint the incumbents. The lord proprietor was absolute lord of the land and water within his bounda- ries, and all metals and precious stones mined in the provinces belonged to him, with the exception of one- fifth, which belonged to the king. All writs ran in the name of the proprietary, and not in that of the king. There was practically no limit to the proprie- tary's authority, and had the Calverts not been wise and just the colony's history would have been very different from what it is.
(2) The Naming of Maryland:
ORD BALTIMORE wished to name his province Crescentia, whether as an auspi- cious omen for future progress or not we do not know; but, desirous of pleasing the king, he asked him to suggest a name. Charles suggested Mariana, but Lord Baltimore objected on the ground that it was the name of a Spanish Jesuit who had written against monarchy. Finally, Terra Maric was chosen, and its anglicized form, Maryland, became the name of the province, and is the name of the state to-day.1
1 Browne's Maryland : The History of a Palatinate ; Scharf's, His- tory of Maryland, vol. i. pp. 51 and 52.
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(3) The Origin of Maryland Law:
S the initiative in legislation was, by the charter, vested in the lord proprietor, he, soon after the foundation, sent out a code of laws. This code was rejected by the freemen, and things were at a dead-lock. The freemen could make no laws, and they would not accept those made by the proprietary. In the meantime the province was without laws, and the common law of England was in force. A code of laws was formed by the freemen and the proprietary's assent obtained. Life, member, or freehold could not be taken away except by some express law of the province; but in all other cases the common law, when not superseded by the laws of the province, was to be applied by the judges, so far as they found no inconvenience in its application.1
In many respects the royal government was a dis- advantage to Maryland; but one great thing it did do,-i.e., had the laws thoroughly revised and formed into an almost complete code, which is to-day the source from which the state laws are drawn. The colonists were always inclined to hold on to the common law of England; still, they did not draw the line very sharply between the common and the statute law when the provincial law was silent.2
The legal system of Maryland was simpler and
1 McMahon's History of Maryland, p. 113.
' Browne's Maryland : The History of a Palatinate, p. 204.
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better than that of Virginia.1 There were county courts, holding quarterly sessions, with a bench of magistrates competent to try cases involving not more than forty shillings. These magistrates were appointed and removed at pleasure by the governor, and were chosen from among the leading men of the province, no legal knowledge being necessary.2 The provincial court, sitting twice a year at Annapolis, transacted all the important legal business of the colony. Its judges were also appointed by the governor, but they were required to have a certain amount of legal knowl- edge.3 A high court of appeals and a court of chan- cery also existed, both of which were composed of the governor and his council, in his capacity of chan- cellor of the province. The business of the provin- cial court was large, and this tended to create a much better class of lawyers than in Virginia. That this was actually the case we know, as we find in the ranks of this profession many men of ability and position.4
(4 Land Tenure :
HE system of land tenure was modelled on feudal lines, and it seems to have worked very well. As the proprietary was the owner of every square inch of ground in the prov- ince, he was universal landlord,-all tenants-in-chief
1 Lodge's History of the English Colonies in America, p. 115. ? Ibid. $ Ibid. + Ibid.
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held of him, and, indirectly, the sub-tenants too. The services rendered by the tenant to the landlord in acknowledgment of the grant were of so free, determinate, and pacific a character as to effectually prevent undue exaction.1 The chief source of the proprietary's revenue was land grants, consisting of quit-rents, caution money paid at time of grant, and alienation fines, including fines upon devises.
(a) Quit-Rents : Quit-rents were annual rents to be paid from year to year by the owner of the land granted in acknowledgment of the tenancy .? In the early years of the colony the rent was payable in wheat, but after 1635 in money or the commodities of the province, just as the proprietary wished. The scarcity of money made this peculiarly burdensome to the colonists, so in 1671 payment in tobacco was accepted. As these rents were the private property of the proprietary, the returns of the collectors are not found in the public records, and it is therefore very difficult to ascertain the amount of revenue derived from them. After 1733 more regularity in collecting was observed, and there are in existence several “debt- books" of this period.3. These books specified the rent due by each person and the lands on which it accrued. From these debt-books we learn that in 1770 the gross amount of quit-rents was eight thousand four
1 McMahon's History of Maryland, p. 168.
2 Ibid., p. 169. ' Ibid., p. 171.
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hundred pounds, and when we deduct the expenses of collection, seven thousand five hundred pounds was all that went to the proprietary.1
(b) Caution Money : The system of purchase upon . payment of caution money was not known in the early days of the colony : every person coming into the colony was entitled to a certain amount of land, paying only a moderate quit-rent. The more people he brought with him, the more land he was given, proportionately to the age and sex of those whom he brought. When the population and wealth of the colony had increased sufficiently to render these inducements to settlers unnecessary, the system of granting lands on the payment of caution money was introduced, and it prevails to this day.2 The amount of caution money was regulated by the proprietary, and varied at different periods, though at all periods it must have been a considerable source of revenue.
(c) Manors : By the nineteenth clause of the 1 charter3 the lord proprietor was privileged to erect manors, with courts-baron and courts-leet. In 1641 it was enacted that the grant of a manor should be the reward of every settler who brought with him
1 McMahon's History of Maryland, pp. 171, 172, and 177.
'Ibid., p. 173.
' Bacon's Translation of Charter as found in Bozman.
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from England twenty able-bodied men, well armed. In this we have the key to Lord Baltimore's main object in erecting manors,-the military defence of the province.1
The manorial system was well adapted to secure liberty and order in rural communities before the days of dense population and rapid communication.2 The court-baron was held by the lord of the manor for the purpose of trying controversies relating to manor lands, trespasses, alienations, reliefs, metes and bounds, and other minor matters.3 Here, also, the tenant did fealty for his land or received seisin.4 The court-leet was a popular court held by the bailiff or steward, and composed of all freemen living on the manor.5 In the court-leet judicial and legislative functions were united : in its legislative capacity it enacted by- laws, elected constables and bailiffs; in its judicial capacity it empanelled its jury, and, with the steward of the manor presiding as judge, it fined or im- prisoned thieves, vagrants, poachers, and fraudulent dealers.6 An old record of courts-baron and courts- leet held at St. Clement's Manor from 1659 to 1672 serves to show that these functions were actually exercised. In it cases for assaults, appropriations of
1 Fiske's Old Virginia and her Neighbors, vol. i.
2 Ibid.
' Browne's Maryland : The History of a Palatinate, p. 177.
‘ Ibid.
bid., p. 177; Fiske's Old Virginia and her Neighbors, vol. i.
" Fiske's Old Virginia and her Neighbors, vol. ii. p. 148.
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wild hogs, keeping unlicensed ale-houses, trespasses, thefts, etc., are mentioned. The "King of Chaptico" is tried for pig-stealing, metes and bounds are looked into, constables appointed, leases examined, reliefs upon alienation presented, and the doings of Indians looked after.1 This is the only instance on record of the trial of a king by a manorial court.2
(5) People and Life of Colonial Maryland :
HE early settlers of Maryland were divided as follows : the upper and middle classes, composed of planters, farmers, and mer- chants, the poor whites and freedmen, and the servile class.
(a) The Upper Classes : The people of Maryland were practically all planters, living a free, healthy, out-of-door life. They were, as a whole, industrious, prosperous, and shrewd, but the wealthy planters were indolent, caring for little but fox-hunting, horse- racing, cock-fighting, dining, and gaming. Card- playing was also very popular, and scarcely a night went by without a dance at one of the country- houses.3 "Great entertainments signalized the days
1 Browne's Maryland : The History of a Palatinate, p. 178.
3ibid.
' Lodge's History of the English Colonies in America, pp. 125-127.
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of St. George, St. Patrick, and St. David.1 Accord- ing to Eddis, there was also a local pseudo-saint, St. Tamina, for whom bucks' tails were worn in caps on the first of May, and whom the frolicsome young people delighted to honor."2 St. Tamina had a society founded in her honor which gave balls and masquerades. The gayety and fashion of the colony centred at Annapolis. Here there were a jockey club, annual races, a South River Club, with a club-house for fishing-parties and picnics, assemblies once a fort- night, and grand balls given by the governor. On the birth-night of the king and the proprietary, or to celebrate a great victory, there were general feasting and merry-making, illuminations, and processions, in which all joined, with a Punch and Judy show for the populace. Excursions down the bay were a favorite diversion. Marriages were celebrated at the house, and were succeeded by dancing, supper, and cards.3 One of the chief features of Annapolis was the theatre. The first professional dramatic performance was given at Annapolis, and there the first theatre was built.4 The first play-bill ever printed in America is to be found in the Maryland Gazette, July 2, 1752, announcing that "by permission of his honour, the president, at the new theatre in Annapolis, by the company of comediens on Monday
' International Review, June, 1880, vol. viii. p. 581.
? Ibid.
' Lodge's History of the English Colonies in America, p. 129.
+Scharf's History of Maryland, vol. ii. p. 98.
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next, being the 6th of this instant July, will be performed 'The Busy Body,' likewise a farce called 'The Laying Varlet.' To begin preceisely at 7 o'clock. Tickets to be had at the printing office. No persons to be admitted behind the scenes." Box seats were sold for ten shillings; pit, seven shillings and six pence ; gallery, five shillings. Each man sat in the theatre according to rank.1
The habits of the Marylanders were primitive and simple, but marked by large-hearted generosity and neighborliness. Boundless hospitality was everywhere found. Guests were always more than welcome, even when they came unexpected and uninvited. Small wonder those old-time planters kept a good table and lived like princes, when the rivers and bay teemed with · fish and the forests swarmed with game : even venison could be had for the asking. They were fond of hard drinking, too, but they had the constitutions to stand it. A man who can hunt a fox across country thirty miles in one day can do almost anything.
(b) Servants : The indented servants belonged to what was called the servile class, as did also the slaves, convicts, and free-willers.2 The indented servants, including the redemptioners, or free-willers, were immigrants, who, being unable to pay their passage to the province, contracted with a London or
1 Scharf's History of Maryland, vol. ii. p. 98.
2 Lodge's History of the English Colonies in America, p. 125.
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Bristol merchant to serve for two, three, or four years after their arrival, either some specified person, or simply the assigns of the original contractor. In either case, if they disliked their employer, they had the privilege of choosing another.1 The labor was not hard,-five and a half days a week in summer, and in winter as much free time as they liked for hunting. At the end of their term of service they became freemen, were given a year's provisions, tools, and clothing by their masters, and could take up fifty acres of land. The women who came over in this way either became servants or were married by the planters.2 According to Scharf, servants were very badly treated, so much so, indeed, that they often ran away. The penalty for running away from a master was accordingly made very severe.3
(c) Convicts : The colonists protested against the introduction of convicts, but to no avail, and Mary- land was practically made a penal colony. Later, many of these convicts were persons implicated in Jacobite plots, and whose only crime was loyalty to the House of Stuart.4 Convicts usually returned home after serving out their time, which was seven or fourteen years.5
1 Browne's Maryland : The History of a Palatinate, p. 180.
'Ibid., pp. 180 and 181.
3 Scharf's History of Maryland, vol. ii.
"Browne's Maryland : The History of a Palatinate, pp. 180 and 181.
5 Scharf's History of Maryland, vol. ii. p. 55.
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(d) Slaves : Negro slavery existed in Maryland from the earliest times, but it was not till the Assiento trade was placed by the Treaty of Utrecht, 1713, in the hands of England that it reached alarming pro- portions. All' negroes in the province were slaves for life, but the laws of the province regulated the relations between master and servant, punishing ex- cessive severity. In 1695 a duty of ten shillings per poll was imposed on all negroes imported into Mary- land, and in 1704 this duty was raised to twenty shillings. The line between the whites and the negroes was very sharply drawn; the negroes even lived in. different quarters at quite a distance from the master's house. Maryland was a slave-holding state at the outbreak of the Civil War, but opinions were so divided that she did not leave the Union.
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