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Provincial law required the courts to insure that each innkeeper had provisions and

rooms to accommodate twenty horses as well as keep at least twelve feather beds and
other suitable furniture for guest. The courts also established the rates an innkeeper
could charge for food, drink and lodging.

The courts were also responsible for appointing men to a variety of positions needed
to run the government of the county. Usually these appointees were men of wealth
who allegedly had a strong grasp of business affairs. These men were usually
referred to as “justice of the court”.

One important position in the scheme of county government was the sheriff. He was
the chief representative of the proprietary government. He, also, was appointed by
the governor but candidates were recommended by the court.

The sheriff collected all public taxes and received a percentage of what he collected
in addition to his yearly salary. Other duties included estimating the census, selecting
juries for the court sessions, posting the new laws passed by the court, and enforcing
all laws.

There were many other political positions which impacted on the every day life of the
settlers. The structure of county government was such that the rich led the poor. Like

today’s political world those with government positions were more inclined to protect
the status quo and to resist any change which might do away with their jobs.
Democracy did not exist; indeed neither the county nor provincial officials
encouraged it.

The only way the average citizen had any influence was through the election of
delegates to the lower house of the Assembly. As mentioned, however, even that was
limited to those who were legally qualified to vote. In order to vote one had to own
at least fifty acres of land or have a visible personal worth of forty pounds. Women
could not vote. Neither could slaves, servants and many tenant farmers.

Religion was an important force in colonial life in Maryland. In 1629 George Calvert,
a devout Catholic, and the person who was later to be given the original charter for
Maryland by the King of England, had met with religious discrimination at the hands
of Protestants in Virginia before he founded Maryland. While in Virginia he had been
asked to take an oath of allegiance to the King and to the Church of England. The

Ch. 5 Pg. 8