48 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Sec. 13. Peualties of $20 fiue and double damages ensuing for tamperiug with boundaries of oyster-grounds. 



Sec. 14. "The oysters jilauted or growing in any private oyster-ground leased as aforesaid .shall, during the continuance of the lease, 

 be the priv.ite personal property of the lessee of such oyster-ground; and tlio taking and carrying away thereof * » » shall be larceny 

 * * * and shall be punished accordingly ; and, in addition to the penalty prescribed by law for larceny, the person convicted shall 

 forfeit his boat * » * and all the implements used in the commission of said oifense." lu addition to this the owner of the oysters 

 stolen has a private action for damages against the thief. 



Sec. 1.5. Requires the commissioners to see that the terms of the leases are properly fulfilled and rents punctually paid ; in case of 

 failure they must terminate the leases. 



Sec. 10. Enables them to proceed against delinquent lessees. 



Sec. 17. " The commissioners may take possession of any lot leased upon which the rent or assessment shall not have been paid, and 

 may dispose of such lot, with all of the oysters thereon, by public auction, to the highest bidder, upon giving one week's notice * * » in 

 some newspaper printed in Providence." 



Sec. 18. Prohibits lishiug at night, under penalty of ^20 fine and forfeiture of boat and apparatus. 



Sec. 19. "Any person who shall wrongfully take and carry away oysters from a private oyster-bed shall, for the first offense, be fined 

 §50, and for any subsequent offense shall bo fined .§100 and be imprisoned for six mouths." 



Sec. 20. Willful injury to any private oyster-bed or to any land leased for oyster-culture, subjects to a fine of $500 and confiscation of 

 all apparatus involved. 



Sec. 21. Deprives of the privilege of fishing for three years, in addition to the other peualties, ujion second conviction for offences 

 under this chapter. 



Sec. 22. Forbids taking more than two bushels of oysters a day from Trustan pond. South Kingston. 



Sec. 23. Makes each of the commissioners a special constable to enforce the law and seize the property of those violating it, and 

 similarly empowers all police constables. 



Sec. 24. Declares that nothing is intended in the oyster-laws to " prevent any citizen of the state from digging clams or quahaugs 

 on the shores of the x'ublic waters ". 



Form op lkase of ground for oyster-culture. — The form of lease by which ground for oyster-culture 

 is conveyed "by the state of Ehode Island, to lessees, is appended herewith : 



No. . 



This indenture, of two parts, made and entered into on this day of , in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 



and seventy , by and between the state of Ehode Island and Providence Plantations, on the one part, and , in said 



state, of the other jiart, witnesseth : 



That the said state doth hereby lease, demise, and let unto the said a certain piece of land in , lying and being 



and covered with tide-water, containing about acre- , and bounded and described as follows, to wit: 



To have and to hold to the said , executors, administrators, and assigns, to their use as a private or several 



oyster-fishery, for the planting and producing of oysters, for and during the term of ten years from the day of the date hereof, on the 

 terms and conditions (among others) that the said lessee-, executors, or administrators, shall pay therefor to the general treasurer of said 



state, during the said term, the yearly rent per acre of dollars, in manner hereinafter provided. And the said state doth hereby 



covenant with the said lessee- executors, administrators, and assigns, that they may and shall occupy the premises hereby leased during 

 the term aforesaid, peaceably and quietly, and free from all lawful claim and demand of all persons whomsoever, other than as 



hereinbefore or hereinafter set forth: the said lessee for — , executors, administrators, and assigns (with a reservation of his 



right to claim remission or abatement, as by law jirovided), doth covenant with said state, that will pay to the general treasurer, for 



the use of said state, the sum of dollars, on the first day of January in each year during the term aforesaid. 



Furthermore : This lease is made and accepted, subject to the provisions of existing laws relating to oyster-fisheries, and to a reserved 

 right of the state to amend said laws as it shall deem expedient (reference to the same being here made) ; and also, subject to the further 

 conditions fidlowiug, to wit : First. That he shall at all times erect, jilace, or renew the bounds, stakes, or buoys, with marks thereon, for 

 defining the premises, as and when required by the commissioners. Second. That he shall pay all expenses of surveys of lots, aud 

 renewing stakes or bounds, and rent, to the general treasurer, as aforesaid. Third. That he shall not underlet or assign the premises to 

 any person whomsoever, without the assent, in writing, of the commissioners. Fourth. That he will not knowingly or willfully violate 

 any provision of the laws at any time in force relating to the oyster-grounds or oyster-fisheries within the state ; aud Fifth. That, in the 

 event he shall refuse or neglect to comply with or conform to these conditions, or any or either of them, the said commissioners may, on 

 the p.art of said state, re-enter upon said leased premises and terminate the lease, and declare the same forfeited, and dispose of the lessee's 

 interest in the said land, together with all the oysters thereon, at public auction, to the highest bi<lder, upon giving one week's notice of 

 such sale in some newspaper printed in the city of Providence ; and the lessee-, executors, administrators, or assigns, shall be holden to pay 

 all damage that shall thereby be sustained by said state. 



In witness whereof, the commissioners of shellfisheries hereunto subscribe the name of said state, and set their names and seals as 



commissioners, and the said lessee- hereunto sets -— hand- and seal- the day and year aforewritten. 



TuE State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 



By . [L. s.] 



Commissioner of Shellfislieries. 



Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of- 



. [L. s.] 



. [L. s.] 



Assistant Commissioners of ShcUJisherics. 



Statistics of Ehode Island shellfisheries in 18G0 and 1SG5. — This general statute, in substantially 

 its present shape, came into force iu 18C4. Trevlous to that time the state had let oyster-grounds at $1 rent per 

 acre, and not much business was done. The condition of the shellfisheries in 18G5 is exhibited in the following 

 table, extracted from the census report for that year. 



Iu 1861 the Ehode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry stated, that while the 

 coutiueutal shore-line of Ehode Island is only 45 mUes, it has 320 miles of shore washed by the tides. Five out of 



