70 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



appoint sncb committee, who, after twelve days' notice to the petitioners and respondents, shall hear such petition, and report the facts 

 thereon to said court; and if it shall appear that any natural oyster- or clam-beds, or any part thereof, have been so designated, the said 

 court may order that said grounds may revert to the state, after a reasonable time for the claimant of the same to remove any shelltish 

 be may have planted or cultivated thereon in good faith, and said court may further order that all stakes and buoys marking the same be 

 removed, the costs in said petition to be taxed at the discretion of the court. 



Sec. 11. Any commissioner ■who shall knowingly grant to any person or jiersous a franchise, as hereinbefore provided, in any natural 

 oyster-bed, or clam-bed, shall be subject to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars, and if such 

 franchise is granted the grant shall be void, and all moneys paid thereon shall be forfeited to the state ; and said commissioners shall in no 

 case grant to any person or persons a right to plant or cultivate shellfish which shall interfere with any established right of fishing, and 

 if any such grant is made the same shall be void. 



Sec. 12. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed, but this act shall affect no suit now pending. 



Town laws op East Haven : Taxation. — It will be observed that the first section of the old law gave 

 the right to grant land in East Haven to both the selectmen and the oyster-committee. The former had long been 

 accustomed to set apart oyster-ground, and retained this privilege for the river and upper shores, while the committee 

 designated in deep water. In a special meeting of the town of East Ha\en, held in September, 1865, to ratify the 

 late legislature's enactments, an oyster-committee of five was appointed; and it was 



Voted, That the committee aforesaid sliall stake out the grounds aforesaid in squares of one acre each (where the nature and extent 

 of the said grounds will permit), and employ a surveyor to survey and make a map of the same, and lodge it with the town clerk of said 

 town. 



Volcd, That each person who makes application to the committee aforesaid * » » and receives from them a written description 

 of gromid set apart to them, shall * * * pay to the said town clerk at the rate of flO per acre, which money is to be used in paying 

 the expenses incurred in making out the aforesaid survey. 



Voted, That the town clerk pay the surplus, if any, into the treasury of the town. 



The succeeding spring, in order to give the young oysters in the river a chance to get some growth, all raking 

 was prohibited "from April 9, 186G, to March 9, 1867". 



The reason why this area was restricted to one acre, was in order that there might be enough to go around ; 

 applicants were so numerous, at first, that designations were allotted literally by drawing the number of the 

 designation from a dai'k box. The favorite locality was Morris cove. For all the land set apart by the selectmen, 

 $10 or more an acre was received; when apidication was made for grants outside, the oyster-committee thought 

 the experiment so foolish that they were ashamed to ask more than $ 1. In addition to this, there was a charge of 

 90 cents for making and recording each deed, besides (until late years) a 50-cent revenue stamp on each document, 

 and a second one in case of a transfer. About 750 acres were designated at $10 an acre, and about 1,500 acres at 

 $1. In all, East Haven had granted 2,523 acres of oyster-ground up to January 20, J880. My authority is the 

 Hon. G. A, Bray, who has had ofiScial charge of these matters for many years in that town. To this may be added 

 650 acres set apart but not yet paid for. Since 1877 East Haven has taxed these grants, under the head of 

 " personal property ", at valuations of $5, $10, and occasionally more, per acre, the rate last year being 12 mills on 

 the dollar. The reports of the treasurer show that East Haven has derived the following satisfactory revenue from 

 the sale of her oyster -culture privileges : 



Previous to 1867 $3,325 00 



In 1867 222 Oo 



In 1868 300 00 



In 1869 197 50 



In 1871 97 50 



In 1872 1,554 00 



In 1873 68 00 



In 1874 1220 00 



In 1875 430 00 



In 1876 ■- 883 95 



In 1877 479 85 



Inl878 79 90 



Inl879 569 75 



Total 8,427 45 



The expenses of surveys, etc., used up about one-haLf of this ; the other half went to the treasury. All the $1 

 designations have been "net" to the town. 



Eesolutions of the legislature in 1879. — These and other provisions and alterations of the oyster-laws 

 have caused much discussion, and showed satisfactorily the existence of much discontent, though no one seems able to 

 propose a better arrangement. The best opinion, I believe, is that few changes are de-sirable. In compliance 

 with the wishes of the oyster-interest of the state, the legislature of 1879 passed the following resolutions : 



Whereas, the raising of oysters from the spawn in the deep waters of this state, in Long Island sound, has proved by experience to be 

 a success ; 



Whereas, there is an immense tract of available oyster-ground between the town boundaries and the southerly boundaries of the 

 Btate, which cannot at present be used, because the state has granted no authority to designate it ; 



Whereas, these grounds can be disposed of so as to bring a large sum into the treasury of the state: Therefore, 



liesolvcd 1)1/ this asuenMn, That a commission, consisting of three persons, be appointed by the governor to prepare a plan, and report 

 to the next session of the general assembly, lor the gradual disposal of the grounds in the waters of this state which are suitable for the 

 cultivation of oysters. Said commission shall examine all existing .statutes relating to oyster-grounds and town lines in the sound, all 

 customs and by-laws in dili'erent parts of the state, and such other matters as pertain to oyster-lisheries, so that the system devised shall 

 be of general application, and enable the state to dispose of the franchise of the grounds to the best advantage. 



