PREFACE.

ON receiving the appointment of Chancellor, I determined to
make every effort to acquire a competent knowledge of the pe-
culiar principles and practice of the Court of Chancery of Ma-
ryland, to which my attention had been so rarely drawn, and
for which I had had, for many years in the judicial stations I
previously held, so little use. Upon inquiry I soon found, that
any thing like an accurate knowledge of those peculiarities was
only to be gathered from the records themselves; to which
I therefore resorted, and after a careful perusal noted the course
of proceeding, and occasionally made short digests of such
cases as appeared most likely to be useful thereafter. In this
way I collected a considerable mass of information, which has
greatly facilitated my official labours.

It is of no less importance to the people than to the pro-
fession, that the peculiar principles and practice of the court,
as well as the general rules of law, should be clearly made
known to all; which it is obvious can in no way be so well
done as by the usual mode of publishing reports of cases as
they have actually occurred and been disposed of. For a time
I had reason to hope, that some member of the bar would
report the cases as they were decided subsequent to my ap-
pointment; but when that hope failed I determined to under-
take the work myself. The task, I was aware, would be
attended with any difficulties and much labour; and ike more
so to me, because of the manifold interruptions occasioned by