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FEES BY PROCLAMATION. 125
The law establishing the salaries of the officers of the province being thus
dead, in the absence of all enactment on the subject, Governor Eden resolved,
under the authority vested in him, to regulate the fees by proclamation.
Accordingly, on the 26th of November, 1770, he issued his proclamation, establishing the fee-bill of 1763, and requiring the officers to receive their fees in
money, at the rate of commutation then fixed, if tendered at the time of service.
This course was equivalent to what the Lower House had just refused to
sanction, and it was, therefore, in general estimation, a measure of arbitrary prerogative, usurping the very right of taxation which the colony had
been so long defending against the aggressions of parliament.
As soon as the proclamation appeared, the great body of the people were
aroused, and their resistance was most resolute. Parties were formed upon
it, and drew to their aid the ablest minds in the province, and it is not to be
doubted that on the political arena now opened in Maryland, many a mind
was taught the use of weapons that were afterwards wielded with irresistible
power upon a broader field.
Events soon brought matters to an issue. A clerk in the land office, under
the instructions of the judges, secured the fees agreeably to the provisions of
the law of 1763, and this being brought to the notice of the Lower House, the
clerk was imprisoned by its order. To release him, Governor Eden prorogued
the assembly for a few days. On its re-assembling, the Lower House sent an
indignant remonstrance to the governor, in which they distinctly defined their
position, declaring that " the proprietor has no right, either by himself, or
with the advice of his council, to establish or regulate the fees of office; and
could we persuade ourselves, that you could possibly entertain a different
opinion, we should be bold to tell your excellency, that the people of this
province ever will oppose the usurpation of such right."
This manly protest availed but little, however, for his excellency not only
refused to recall the proclamation, but added that, under similar circumstances,
he would again pursue a similar course, and therefore again prorogued the
assembly.
In the midst of all this discussion another contest of little less importance
was carried on relating to the provision for the clergy and the " Vestry Act."
Upon the prorogation of the assembly, without re-enacting the law of 1763,
there was no statute regulating the assessment for the clergy but the Act of
1702. Under this law, every minister "presented, inducted or appointed" by
the governor was to receive forty pounds of tobacco per poll, levied on the
taxables of the parish. The sheriffs were directed to collect the minister's
tobacco; and every dissenter was compelled to pay for the support of the
Established Church. Upon the expiration of the Act of 1763, which reduced
the tax to thirty pounds per poll, the Act of 1702 was revived, increasing it to
forty pounds.
The large number of dissenters in the province had long been restless
under the burden of a tax imposed for the support of a clergy whose minis-
| Title | History of Maryland - 2 |
| Creator | Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas) |
| Publisher | J. B. Piet |
| Place of Publication | Baltimore |
| Date | 1879 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000152 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | FEES BY PROCLAMATION. 125 The law establishing the salaries of the officers of the province being thus dead, in the absence of all enactment on the subject, Governor Eden resolved, under the authority vested in him, to regulate the fees by proclamation. Accordingly, on the 26th of November, 1770, he issued his proclamation, establishing the fee-bill of 1763, and requiring the officers to receive their fees in money, at the rate of commutation then fixed, if tendered at the time of service. This course was equivalent to what the Lower House had just refused to sanction, and it was, therefore, in general estimation, a measure of arbitrary prerogative, usurping the very right of taxation which the colony had been so long defending against the aggressions of parliament. As soon as the proclamation appeared, the great body of the people were aroused, and their resistance was most resolute. Parties were formed upon it, and drew to their aid the ablest minds in the province, and it is not to be doubted that on the political arena now opened in Maryland, many a mind was taught the use of weapons that were afterwards wielded with irresistible power upon a broader field. Events soon brought matters to an issue. A clerk in the land office, under the instructions of the judges, secured the fees agreeably to the provisions of the law of 1763, and this being brought to the notice of the Lower House, the clerk was imprisoned by its order. To release him, Governor Eden prorogued the assembly for a few days. On its re-assembling, the Lower House sent an indignant remonstrance to the governor, in which they distinctly defined their position, declaring that " the proprietor has no right, either by himself, or with the advice of his council, to establish or regulate the fees of office; and could we persuade ourselves, that you could possibly entertain a different opinion, we should be bold to tell your excellency, that the people of this province ever will oppose the usurpation of such right." This manly protest availed but little, however, for his excellency not only refused to recall the proclamation, but added that, under similar circumstances, he would again pursue a similar course, and therefore again prorogued the assembly. In the midst of all this discussion another contest of little less importance was carried on relating to the provision for the clergy and the " Vestry Act." Upon the prorogation of the assembly, without re-enacting the law of 1763, there was no statute regulating the assessment for the clergy but the Act of 1702. Under this law, every minister "presented, inducted or appointed" by the governor was to receive forty pounds of tobacco per poll, levied on the taxables of the parish. The sheriffs were directed to collect the minister's tobacco; and every dissenter was compelled to pay for the support of the Established Church. Upon the expiration of the Act of 1763, which reduced the tax to thirty pounds per poll, the Act of 1702 was revived, increasing it to forty pounds. The large number of dissenters in the province had long been restless under the burden of a tax imposed for the support of a clergy whose minis- |
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