the farther bank of the same river, and following the same on the west and south, unto a certain place called Cinquack, situate near the mouth of the said river, where it disembogues into the aforesaid bay of Chesapeake, and thence by the shortest line unto the aforesaid promontory or place, called Watkin's Point." All the waters comprehended within these boundaries, and the islands lying in them, together with all islands off the coast, within ten leagues of the shore, were expressly mentioned as included in the grant. And in order that this region might "be eminently distinguished above all other regions in that territory, [America,] and decorated with more ample titles," it was erected into a Province and nominated Maryland.[1] Of this Province Lord Baltimore was made Absolute Lord and Proprietary, yielding only unto the crown of England, as pledge of his allegiance, two Indian arrows annually, and the fifth part of all gold and silver ore which should be found within the limits of the Province. To the Proprietary were given by the charter, the same rights, jurisdictions, prerogatives, royalties, &c., as appertained to the Bishop of Durham, within the bishopric or county palatine of Durham; with power to enact laws with the advice and assent of the freemen of the Province or their delegates; to appoint judges, administer the laws, and exercise jurisdiction over the persons resident in the Province even to the extent of depriving them of life or liberty; to impose taxes; to raise and command an army, either to defend the Province from invasion or to quell insurrection. At the same time, it was provided that persons emigrating to this Province should retain their rights as English subjects, both for themselves and their children; and the privilege was granted to them of trading with England, or in default of finding a market there, of conveying their merchandise thence to "any other countries they should think proper" which were in amity with England.
The boundaries prescribed for the Province of Maryland, as given above, became at different times the occasion for dispute on all sides, and as a consequence thereof, the present limits of the State are considerably less than those assigned to the Province. On the northeast, the State of Delaware has been erected within the limits of Maryland. On the north, the location of the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania was a matter of dispute until 1763, when it was determined by Messrs. Mason and Dixon, who, acting under a joint commission of the two Provinces appointed for the purpose of settling the difficulty, surveyed the line which now constitutes the boundary between the two States, and which, as the recognized boundary between the Northern and Southern States, has acquired a notoriety far beyond that which belongs to its local and original purposes. On the part of Virginia, a dispute arose as to whether the north or south fork of the Potomac was its "first fountain," by which the location of the western boundary of Maryland was to be deter–
- ↑ England's first Province. It was at first intended to call the Province Crescentia; but when the charter was presented to Charles I. for his signature, he struck out that name and substituted Maryland, In honor of his Queen, Henrietta Maria of France.
