174 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Sec. 7. Upon information given under oath to any jndge of tlie circuit court or justice of the peace, of any violation of any of the 

 provisions of this act, he shall issue his warrant to the sheriff or any constable, requiring them to proceed forthwith to arrest the party or 

 parties alleged to li.ave been engaged in the violation of this act, and to seize and take possession of any boat, canoe, oi- vessel, together 

 with all her tackle and apparel, and deliver the same to the judge of the circuit court, or a justice of the i)eace of this state, to be dealt 

 with according to the provisions of this act. 



Sec. 8. Any person or persons wlio shall resist any officer authorized under this act to make arrests, shall ho deemed guilty of a 

 misdemeanor, and iipon conviction thereof, shall be imi)risoned in the house of correction for not less than three mouths nor more than 

 three years. 



Sec. 9. It shall he the duty of the sheriff, constable, or officers of the state fishery-force, to arrest any person or persons, and to seize 

 any cauoe, boat, or vessel found violating any of the provisions of this act, and bring the offender or offenders before a judge of the court 

 having criminal jurisdiction, or a justice of the peace most convenient or accessible, to be dealt with as herein provided. 



Sec. 10. The judge or justice of the peace before whom any person or persons may be brought, charged under oath with violating 

 any of the provisions of this act, shall either give the case an immediate hearing, or shall appoint some early day within the next ten 

 days thereafter, to hear the case, the party or parties charged giving good and sufScient bail for his or their attendance, and on conviction 

 of the offenders, the said judge or justice of the peace shall impose a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $200, or imprisonment in the 

 house of correction for not less than three months, nor more than three years, and the boat or vessel used in such violation, together with 

 all the apparel and tackle ou board, at the time of said violation, shall be held until said tine and costs are paid ; ]>rovided, that if said 

 fine shall not be paid within twenty days thereafter, the said judge is hereby authorized to order any sheriff or constable to sell said boat 

 or vessel, with all the apparel and tackle on board, to the highest bidder, for cash, after giving at least twenty days' notice of the time 

 and place of said sale, and the proceeds of said sale shall go to the payment of the fine and costs of such prosecution, and the balance, if 

 any, shall be paid to the owner of said boat or vessel; jjrovided, the said owner shall have the right of an appeal to the circuit court. 



Sec. 11. Any boat owned wholly or in part by any non-resident, used in catching oysters in this state with scoop, dredge, or similar 

 instrument, shall be condemned by order of any judge of the circuit court nearest the place of her cai)ture, and shall be sold by the sheriff 

 of the county where coudenmed ; one-fourth of the proceeds of such sale shall be jiaid to the party making the cajitiire (except the officers 

 of the state fishery-force), and the balance shall be paid into the treasury of the state to be credited to the oyster-fund. 



Sec. 12. The fines accruing under this act shall be paid within ten days to the clerk of the county or city where such fine may 

 accrue, and be placed to the credit of the oyster-fund. 



Sec. 13. It shall be unlawful, without authority from the owner, for any person or persons to take or catch planted or bedded 

 oysters; any person violating the provisions of this section shall, on conviction in the circuit court of the county wherein the oysters 

 were bedded, be fined not less than $5 nor more than |50, or be sentenced to the house of correction for a term not less than three months 

 nor more than three years. 



Sec. 14. It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to take or catch oysters, except for private use, to the amount of five bushels 

 per day, or for s.ale of the same to any citizen or citizens of the neighborhood, and to them only for the purpose of being consumed where 

 sold, or for the purpose of replanting or bedding in the waters of the counties wherein they are caught, or for sale to the citizens of the 

 county wherein they are caught and to them only for the purpose of replanting or bedding in the waters of said counties, between the 

 15th day of April and the 1st day of September, in each and every year. Any person violating this section shall be deemed guilty of a 

 misdemeanor, and be fined by a justice of the peace of the county wherein the offense was committed, not less than |50, nor more than 

 $200, or imprisoument in the house of correction for not less than three months nor more than three years. 



Sec. 15. It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to take oysters on Sunday or at night, or to carry oysters in the shell outside 

 the state, between April 1 and September 1. 



Sec. 16. The comptroller of the treasury shall have painted in black figures, on white canvas, two sets of numbers, corresponding to 

 the license to catch oysters; each figure shall be 23 inches in length and of proportionate width, and the figures at least 6 inches apart, 

 and he shall give to each person taking out such license two numbers thereof, one of which shall be firmly sewed upon the starboard side, 

 and in the middle of that part of the mainsail which is above the close-reef, and the other number on the port side, and in the middle 

 part of the jib, which is above the bonnet and reef; these numbers shall be placed in an upright position, and worn at all times during 

 the dredging-season, and shall not be concealed or defaced, and no other number shall be exposed to view or used, than that which is 

 furnished by the comptroller. 



Sec. 17. Any resident of this state, desiring to use any canoe or other boat, in catching or taking oysters with rakes or tongs for 

 sale, in any of the waters of this state, shall first obtain, by application to the clerk of the circuit court of the county wherein he may 

 reside, a license therefor, and such license shall have effect from June 1, in the year in which they may have been obtained, to June 1 

 next succeeding ; provided that such license shall not authorize the use of said canoe or boat in taking or catching oysters in any creek, 

 cove, river, inlet, bay or sound within the limits of any county, other than that wherein the license shall have been granted, and that the 

 boundaries of counties bordering on navigable waters shall be strictly construed so as not to permit the residents of either county to take 

 or catch oysters beyond the middle of the dividing channel ; Provided, That nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prevent the 

 citizens of Saint Mary aud Calvert counties from using the waters of the Patuxent river in common, or the citizens of Queen Anne and 

 Kent counties from using the waters of Chester river in common, or the citizens of Dorchester aud Wicomico counties from using the 

 waters of the Nanticoke river in counnou, or the citizens of Queen Anne and Talbot counties from using the waters of Wye river and the 

 mouth thereof in common, or citizens of Dorchester or Talbot counties from using the waters of the Choptauk river in common. 



Sec. 18. Each and every license to take or catch oysters for sale, with rakes or tongs, shall state the name and residence of the 

 j)erson to whom the same is to be granted, the number, together with the length, to be obtained by top, or over-all, measurement of the 

 canoe or boat licensed, the countj- in which the same is to be used, and the period at which said license will expire, and every applicant 

 for such license shall ])ay to the clerk of the court wliere such license may be granted, and before the issuing and delivery of the same, 

 according to the following rates, viz : For any boat measuring in length 20 feet or less, the sum of .$2 ; measuring from 20 to 25 feet, tho 

 sum of .|:i ; measuring from 25 to :i0 feet, the sum of j>4 ; and all over 30 feet, including sloops under custonI-hous(^ tonnage, the sum of ,$5 

 each ; and all oysters taken with rakes or tongs shall be culled uijon the natural beds where they are taken ; the amount received from 

 tonging license to be paid to tho clerk of the school commissioners, for the public schools in the respective counties where such license is 

 issued ; provided, the sum received from white tongers shall go to white schools, and the sum from colored tongers shall go to the colored 

 schools. 



Sec. 19. Every applicant for license to use any canoe or other boat in taking or catching oysters with rakes or tongs, shall be required 

 to make oath or afiirnialion before the clerk authorized to issue the same, (u- some justice of the peace, ou whose certificate of the talcing 

 of such oath or affirmation the clerk shall issue said license: that the facts set forth in said license are strictly true; that he has been a 



