gesses. Mr. Gerrard was the gallant Cap tain Gerrard, in Gov. Stone's forces, at the Battle of the Severn, and after the battle was condemned to be shot. Some pious women and the soldiers saved him and five others from this sentence, but four of the prisoners were executed. Capt. Gerrard was the Lord of St. Cle ment's Manor, the incipient system of Lord Baltimore to create an hereditary aristocracy in the Province. During his Lordship of this manor, he was indicted by the Grand Jury of the Manor for not providing " those in struments of justice," a pair of stocks and a ducking stool for the use of the Manor Court. Considering the number of inhabitants of the Province of Maryland at this period, the attorneys formed a very respectable percent age, for, although the Courts took knowledge of their conduct, yet there was no apparent examination for qualifications, and frequently a single name appears on the record as an attorney, evidently an attorney in fact, and not of law. The sheriffs and clerks also acted as attorneys, and it became such a grievance that as early as 1666 an act was passed preventing officers of the Courts from acting as attorneys in cases pending in their tribunals. The Legislature soon after took the attorneys in hand, and passed a number of acts regulating their conduct of cases, and fixing the fees they might charge for them . in the several courts. The lowest was one hundred pounds of tobacco in the County Courts and the highest six hundred pounds, for appearing before the Governor and Coun cil,—the Court of Appeals of the colony. Amongst those who appear as attorneys be tween the period of the settlement of the Province, 1634 and 1660, are found the names of Thomas Notley, afterwards Gover nor of Maryland; John Weyville, George Manners and Marks Pheypo. The wellknown Brent family gave two very interesting additions to the bar of the new American Plan tations, — one Giles Brent. In 1642, he af forded Attorney General Lewger the opportu

nity for the most important suit of his term of office — that of charging Giles Brent with "having moved and propounded to the Lieu tenant General in an enterprise upon the Susquehannocks," and then having abandoned it on the ground of " illegalities then found in the commission, which illegalities, never theless, upon some new thoughts, he easily siualloiucd, and issued warrants for twenty soldiers." While these proceedings were in progress, Mr. Brent, after a later fashion, made over his goods, chattels and estates to his sister, Mrs. Margaret Brent. Mr. Brent, as his own attorney, put in such a vigorous answer to these charges that they were ex punged from the records, " because they were of such a scandalous diameter." Mr. Brent was a fighter. He demanded that a full record of the proceedings be kept because he intended to have the matter against him "enquired of by counsell, learned in the law of England, whether I have had wrong in the judgment passed against me in the court yesterday, being the /th day of November, or whether, or not, in the opinion of such counsell, I have wrong in it, I intend to seek my right at the hands of my sovereign, the King, and for this reason I desire that my answer and the complaint against me, and the judgment and all other proceedings in the cause may still remain upon the records." Mr. Brent's standing as an attorney was not injured by the proceedings against him, for he appeared shortly afterward with sev eral powers of attorney to prosecute suits, one being from a client in Kent, and another from one in Virginia, and a few years after ward he became the Attorney General of the Province itself. In 1647, while acting as Attorney General, he was called upon for an vert,opinion Governor on of thisMaryland question and

Leonard

representa Caltive of Lord Baltimore in Maryland, having died, " was the administratrix of Leonard Calvert, his Lieutenant General and Gov ernor of the Province, the representative of Lord Baltimore in Maryland?" Mr. Brent