THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 173 



the sail-boat or vessel shall be pursued by any ofQcer or officers authorized by this act to make arrests, and 



if said boat or vessel apprehended by said ofScer shall be found to have on board any wet oysters on deck 

 etc. If the law had been framed in the interest of illegal dredging, it would have been hard to make a better 

 loophole of escape than the two words 'on deck'. The dredgers, by keeping a careful watch, can almost 

 invariably have at least thirty or forty mintites' notice of the approach of a police-boat, and in that time' it will be 

 very easy to throw all the oysters either into the hold or overboard. After this is done they are safe. It is 

 probable that the change in regard to fines will lead to a better enforcement of tlie laws relating to dredging, but 

 there will still be many unlicensed dredgers, so longas the question of jurisdiction over the waters of the Potomac 

 remains unsettled. Under the old law the captain and crew of the vessel were held responsible for any violation 

 of the laws, while the vessel was allowed to go free. The captain and crew, if caught, were placed in jail ; the 

 former, if a useful man, was bailed out by his employers, his tine eventually paid if the case went against him, and 

 he was placed on the same or another vessel, while the crew were left, often for many months, in jail, simply 

 imposing a heavy expense upon the counties. As many of the dredgers are foreigners, knowing nothing in regard 

 to the laws, it was manifestly unjust to make them suffer for obeying the orders of their captains. At the same 

 time, however, there were others who were not ignorant of the laws, or of the penalties imposed for the violation 

 of them ; but were specially trained in various devices and subterfuges, such as would enable them to escape arrest. 

 The crew coidd not be tiilcen until the captain was seen ; if he could not show a license all hands were placed under 

 arrest. Sometimes, when an officer of the police force boarded a vessel and asked for the captain, lie was told by 

 the very man who was himself the captain, that the captain was on shore and had all the vessel's papers with him. 

 At other times the captain would escape to the shore in a small boat, and remain hid as long as the police-boat 

 was in sight, even if that was several days. The dredging-boats being well supplied with small-arms, are 

 sometimes disposed to show fight when approached by a police-boat, and in forcing a surrender some of the 

 dredgers have occasionally been severely wounded, and one or two have been killed. Happilj', however, occurrences 

 of this kind have been very rare. As a result of the new law which makes the boat responsible jointly with the 

 captain and crew, much of this trouble will probablj' be avoided. 



" From my investigations, I am incliued to think that the police force is well conducted, and that Capt. Sam. 

 M. Travers, commander, did all that could possibly be done to enforce the old law. The blame for illegal dredging 

 should be placed where it belongs — on the framers of the laws, and not on the executors of them." 



ABSTRACT OF THE OYSTER-LAWS OF MARYLAND, PASSED JANUARY SESSION, 1880. 



CuAPTEii 198 — Oysters. 



Sectiox 1. Be H enacted hij the general amenM)/ of MarijJand, That chapter 181, of the acts passed at .Tanuaiy session, 1874, he, and 

 the same is, hereby repealed, aud the foUowiug enacted ia lieu thereof, to be article 71 of the code of public general laws, title 

 " Oysters". 



Sec. 2. No steamer shall be used in catching oysters in the waters of this state, with scoop, dredge, or similar instrument, and no 

 other boat shall be so used, without first having been licensed as hereinafter provided. 



Sec. 3. The comptroller of the treasury shall, upon .application of any person who has been a resident of this state for twelve 

 consecutive months next preceding such application, and to no other person, issue a license to such resident to employ such boat in 

 catching oysters with scoop, dredge, or similar instrument, within the Chesapeake bay, and in Eastern bay, outside of a line drawn from 

 the southwest corner of Second Kent point to Wade's poiut ; provided, that nothing herein contained shall authorize the catching of 

 oysters with scoop, dredge, or similar instrument, on any oyster-b.ar within one aud a half miles of Tolley's point, Sandy point, Hackett-s 

 point, Thomas' point, Holland Island bar, Three Sisters, Swan Point bar, Poplar island, one-quarter of a mile west of, and between the 

 island and the main-land, nor within a half mile of Plum point, and to buy and sell oysters in this state, which license shall hold good for 

 one year, but shall only authorize the catching of oysters between October 15 and April 1 ; but it shall be lawful for the owner of auy such 

 licensed boat, whenever said owner shall convey by bill of sale for a bona fide consideration, said boat, unto any person who has been a 

 resident of the state of Maryland for at least one year, to transfer the said license to said vendee with said boat: Provided, The said 

 vendee and assignee shall appear before the comptroller of the treasury aud make oath before him to all the facta and prerequisites 

 required, and shall pay |5 to the state treasury. 



Sec. 4. The owner of such boat shall make oath before the comptroller or his clerk, or if the owner be a resident of Baltimore city, 

 he sh.all m.ake oath before the clerk of the court of common pleas, or if a resident of a county, sh.all make oath before the clerk of the 

 circuit court of said county, that he is the bona fide owner of such boat to be described in the license; that he has been a resident of the 

 state for the time beforementioned ; th.at there is no lieu on s.iid boat by a nou-resident ; and that the said boat is not held with an 

 intention to violate the provisions of this law. Such applicant shall produce before the comptroller, at the time of such application, the 

 certihcate of the t.aking of such oath, the custom-house enrollment or license of such boat; and, if such boat is under custom-house 

 tonu.age, the owner shall swear to her tonnage. The master of such bo.at shall make oath that he has been a resident of the state of 

 Maryl.and for twelve mouths next preceding the time of taking such oath. 



"Sec. .5. Before granting such license, the comptroller shall receive for it, from the applicant, at the rate of $3 per ton for every ton 

 the boat may measure; ,an<l the license shall bo exhibited whenever called for by any officer of the state of Maryland. 



Sec. (>. Any person who shall violate any of the jirovisions of the preceding sections shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, .and, 

 upon indictment and conviction in any circuit court, or before any justice of the peace of this state, before -whom such case is tried, shall 

 be fiued not less than $50 nor more than §200, or sentenced to the house of correction for a term not less than three months, nor more 

 than three years ; and the boat or vessel used iu said violation, together with the papers, furniture, and tackle on board of said bo.at or 

 vessel at the time of the said violation, shall jiay a penalty of not less than $50 nor more than J^200 for each aud every violatiou of the 

 preceding section. 



