DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1 95 



That the laws of the State of Virginia, as they now exist, 

 shall be and continue in force in that part of the District of Co- 

 lumbia, which was ceded by the said State to the United States, 

 and by them accepted for the permanent seat of government ; 

 and that the laws of the State of Maryland, as they now exist, 

 shall be and continue in force in that part of the said District, 

 which was ceded by that State to the United States, and by them 

 accepted as aforesaid. 



This enactment of Congress left the two portions of the orig- 

 inal District where they were at the time of its creation, and but 

 for the act of retrocession of the Virginia portion my task would 

 be much enlarged. As it is, however, we have now to do with 

 only the Maryland portion, and to that I ask your attention. 



As you look at the map, you observe that where it washes the 

 District of Columbia the Potomac river runs almost due south, 

 though with some bearing towards the east, and that the upper- 

 most and lowermost points of the original square of the District 

 are due north and south from one another ; and that the present 

 territory of the District is bounded on its eastern sides by the 

 Maryland county of Prince George and on its northern and 

 western sides by the county of Montgomery. So also you will 

 observe that below the county of Prince George in Maryland 

 lie the counties of Charles and St. Mary, and that all three of 

 these counties. Prince George, Charles and St. Mary are situated 

 between the Potomac river on the west and the Patuxent river on 

 the east. Originally the county of St. Mary was the only county 

 of Maryland west of the Patuxent river, and in contemplation of 

 law it comprised the whole of the State west of that stream. 

 From April 23, 1696 (Act of 1695, ch. 13), however, the north- 

 ern boundary of the county was fixed by a line drawn from 

 Bud's Creek on the Potomac to Indian Creek on the Patuxent, 

 and the land above this line and as far up as Mattawoman and 

 Swanson creeks and branches constituted the county of Charles, 

 and all the land above Charles constituted the county of Prince 

 George, so named because the 23d day of April is St. George's 

 day. The present District of Columbia, was, accordingly, at 

 first wholly within this county. 



In 1748 (Act of 1748, ch. 14), it was provided that as of the 



