856 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



of the said grounds by suitable stakes, buoys, ranges, or 

 monuments ; but no franchise shall be given in or to any 

 of the Public Grounds, as determined by the Commissioners 

 of Shell-Fisheries, and all franchises granted under this or 

 previous Acts shall be and remain in the grantee, his heirs, 

 and legal representatives : provided that the holder or 

 holders shall make in good faith, within five years from 

 the day of obtaining such franchise an actual effort to 

 raise and cultivate shell fish on the said grounds ; and, 

 provided further, that the area hereinbefore described, lying 

 between two statute miles of the main land or any island, 

 shall be entered or held only by residents of the State of 

 North Carolina ; and no grant shall be made to any one 

 person of more than ten acres of the said territory, and no 

 person shall hold more than ten acres in any creek unless 

 the same shall be acquired by devise, inheritance, or 



marriage. 



And all that territory within the provisions of this Act, 

 and lying more than two miles from the mainland or any 

 island, shall be subject to entry by any person ; but no 

 person shall be permitted to enter in any one period of five 

 years more than 640 acres. 



Section 7. Twenty-five cents, per acre shall be paid 

 to the State Treasurer for all franchises granted, and all 

 monies received for the granting of franchises or for taxes 

 laid on the said grounds or on property thereon shall be 

 set apart and kept separate for the purpose of defraying the 

 expenses entailed by the provisions of this Act, and any 

 monies remaining after the payment of said expenses shall 

 be paid into and credited to the School Fund. 



Section 8. The Secretary of State is hereby empowered 

 to hire and take upon leases, not exceeding a term of ten 

 years, in the name and behalf of the State, any such 



