Chap. 343.—An ACT to revise, arrange, amend and consolidate into one act
certain laws relating to oysters, fish, clams, crabs and other shellfish,
and to repeal all acts or parts of acts of the general assembly, and any
section or sections of the Code of Virginia in conflict with the provisions
of this act.

Approved March 17, 1910.

Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, in the manner
following, that is to say:

1. Qualification of inspectors and deputies; bonds.—Every oyster
inspector appointed by the commission of fisheries shall qualify before
the circuit or corporation court of the county or corporation in which
his district may be, or before the clerk thereof in vacation, by taking the
544 ACTS OF ASSEMBIY.

oaths prescribed by law and entering into a bond in a sum fixed by the
said court or clerk, with sufficient surety, to be approved by such court
or clerk, in the penalty not to exceed two thousand dollars, nor to be less
than five hundred dollars, payable and conditioned as required by law,
and the clerk of such court shall transmit a copy of said bond to the
auditor of public accounts within thirty days from its execution. Such
inspector, with the consent of the commission of fisheries, may, or by its
direction shall, appoint one or more deputies, who shall take the oaths
required of the inspector, and shall have power to perform any of the
duties of his principal, and the principal and his sureties shall be respon-
sible for all his official acts.

2. Duties of inspectors; collections of fines and rentals——Such in-
spector shall collect all licenses, rentals and other sums due within his
district under the provisions of this act, and any fines assessed by him or
placed in his hands by the proper officials, for violations of the oyster or
fish laws in any of the waters of the State, and to enable him to collect
the same, together with his fees, he shall have the same powers which a
county treasurer has for the collection of taxes; and when a lessee of
oyster planting ground remains in default for the period of sixty days
in the payment of his annual rental, or any part thereof, the inspector
shall also have the additional power to remove and sell a sufficient quan-
tity of oysters from the leased ground to satisfy such rentals or taxes,
and all expenses incurred in removing or selling same, including a fee of
one dollar to the inspector, such sale to be made privately or at public
auction, as he may deem best; any surplus remaining from the proceeeds
to be paid to the lessee.

3. Fees and commissions of. inspectors.—Each inspector shall be al-
lowed the following commissions and fees, which shall be in full of all
compensation for his services under this act:

Ten per centum on all sums collected by him for the State, except on
fines and for numbering boats; twenty-five per centum on all fines col-
lected by him, or which he was instrumental in obtaining against an
offender; one dollar for assigning oyster planting ground, other than
riparian rights, which shall be fifty cents; two dollars for assigning
bathing grounds; fifty cents for registering boats, other than boats used
for dredging or scraping, for which the fee shall be one dollar; fifty
cents for issuing license to buyers of seed or barrel oysters, to shuckers,
or to clam dealers; one dollar for making sale where there is default in
ground rent, and such fees as are specified under other sections of the
Code or acts pertaining to fish, crabs, clams and other shellfish.

4. Reports of inspectors.—Each inspector shall by the tenth of every
month, and at such other time as may be required of him, make a com-
plete report to the commission of fisheries of collections during the pre-
ceding month from every source under his supervision, according to the
forms furnished him by order of the commission. The inspector shall
also forward to the auditor of public accounts a duplicate of such report,
accompanied by all revenues collected during the preceding calendar
month. The said inspector shall give receipts for all rents, fines, taxes
and other suis collected by him only upon such blank forms as may be
furnished him by the commission, and shall keep accounts of al] such
collections and records of all his official acts in books to be furnished
him by the commission, which books and records shall be and remain the
property of the State, subject at all times to examination by said
commission or its agents or attorneys, and be delivered to such inspector’s
successor in office, or to the commission. For failure to comply with any
provisions of this section such inspector shall be fined not less than
twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars.

5. Assignment of planting ground to riparian owners.—Any owner
of land having a water front thereon suitable for planting oysters, who
has not had as much as one-half acre of ground already assigned him on
said front, or whose lease has terminated and is not to be renewed, may
make application for planting ground to the inspector for the district in
which the land lies, who shall assign to him such ground, wherever such
owner may designate in front of his land, not exceeding in area one-half
acre, and in measurement to be not less than one-fourth of an acre at its
narrowest width, the same to be surveyed, platted, marked, assigned and
recorded, in all respects, as provided for assignments to persons in the
next succeeding section of this act. For assigning to riparian owners, the
surveyor shall receive a fee of one dollar, and the inspector a fee of fifty
cents. Such owner shall have the exclusive right to the use thereof for
the purpose aforesaid, such assignment to pass with the land to any sub-
sequent owner. If any portion of said water front be assigned to a
riparian claimant, which at the time is occupied by others with oysters
actually planted thereon, the person occupying the same shall have twelve
months in which to remove such oysters: provided, this section, so far
as the quantity of land to be assigned to and held by riparian owners is
concerned, shall not apply to the counties of Richmond, Northampton,
Northumberland and Westmoreland, but section six of chapter two hun-
dred and fifty-four, acts eighteen hundred and eighty-three and eighteen
hundred and eighty-four, shall continue in force as to the said counties,
but nothing herein contained shall be construed as authorizing a rental
of less than one dollar per acre for riparian owners in the above-named
counties of the land assigned to them as such riparian owners: provided,
that nothing in the said section which restores to riparian owners in
said counties one-fourth of ‘their respective water fronts, suitable for
planting oysters, shall be so construed as to permit the owners of water
fronts to compel occupants of said fronts to remove their oysters from
any fourth of said shores, if the residue of said shore be already in his,
the landowners’, possession or be unoccupied.

6. Assignment of other planting ground; surveys; marking.—The
residue of such water front in excess of what is already assigned or is
reserved in the preceding section for the riparian owner, and the residue
of the beds of the bays, rivers and creeks and shores of the sea other
than natural oyster beds, rocks or shoals, as defined by law, may be occu-
pied by any resident of the State for the purpose of planting or propa-
gating oysters thereon. It shall be the duty of any such resident desiring
to obtain a location for planting or propagating oysters in any portion
of such water front and beds of the bays, rivers and creeks and shores of
the sea, aforesaid, to apply to the inspector of the district in which such
land lies to have the location ascertained, designated, surveyed and as-
signed, and sixty days after the posting of the copy required in section
seven, the inspector shall notify the county surveyor, or such surveyor as
may be designated by the commission of fisheries, to proceed to survey
said ground and make a plat of the same, and the ground shall be marked,
at the cost of the applicant, at the time the survey is made, and at the
direction of the surveyor, with suitable stakes, smooth and free from snags
and spurs, and suitable stakes shall be kept by the lessee in their proper
places at all times during the continuance of such lease so as to conform
accurately to the survey. And should such stakes be removed, rot down,
or be carried away, the lessee shall replace them in their proper places,
and if he fails so to do within thirty days after being notified by the
inspector of the district in which the ground lies, said lessee shall have
no claims against any person for trespassing on said ground in any way.

7. Applications for assignments; posting; assignments; recordation ;
assignments in Chesapeake bay ; fee.—All applications for assignments of
oyster grounds shall be in writing, and state as near as may be the num-
per of acres applied for and definite location, with the name of one or
more prominent points or objects adjacent to said ground. A copy of
said application shall be posted by the inspector, for at least sixty days,
at the courthouse of said county and at two or more prominent places in
the vicinity of said ground. And the inspector shall assign the same to
such applicant or applicants: provided, that where the planting of oysters
or shells in any part of a navigable stream would tend to obstruct navi-
gation by lessening the depth of water, such ground shall not be as-
signed for planting purposes, if, in the judgment of the commission of
fisheries, it shall be unwise to do so. The said survey and plat, as soon
as practicable after completion, and after said ground shall have been
assigned to said applicant, shall be filed by the inspector in the clerk’s
office in his county, there to be forthwith recorded in a well-bound and
substantial book and indexed in the name of the assignee, and thereupon
at once a written memorandum thereof shall be posted by the clerk at the
front door of the courthouse, stating the name of the assignee, the date
of the recordation, the number of acres assigned, and the general location
of the grounds: provided, that except in Chesapeake bay no such as-
signment shall exceed two hundred and fifty acres. For planting ground
in the Chesapeake bay in waters from fifteen feet or more in depth the
application shall be made to the commission of fisheries, which shal] have
the right to accept or reject any such application as it may deem best
for the public interest; but the number of acres, if such an assignment
be made, shall not exceed five thousand to any one applicant, and the
annual rental therefor shall be such amount per acre as the commission
may fix upon, but in no case less than twenty-five cents per acre. And
any such applicant, other than riparian owners, shall pay to the in-
spector for his service a fee of one dollar, and shall also pay the annual
rental for the said grounds at the rate of one dollar per acre per annum,
except as provided for Chesapeake bay and for bathing grounds, due on
the first day of September of each year after the date of the assignment,
and payable on or before December first following. If not paid on or
before December first, a five per centum fine shall be added, and the
inspector shall proceed to levy for rental and fine. And any such appli-
cant, other than those for riparian or bathing grounds, shall pay to the
surveyor for his services fifty cents per acre, or fraction thereof, for five
acres or less; twentv-five cents per acre for each acre more than five and
up to and including thirty acres; fifteen cents per acre for each acre more
than thirty and up to and including fifty acres, and ten cents per acre
for all over fifty acres, and one dollar for platting such survey on the
county oyster chart; and the surveyor shall have the same privileges and
rights as to the collection of his fees that the imspector has. The clerk
shall receive the said survey and plat and record the same, and shall be
paid by the assignee for his service the same fee he now receives for re-
cording deeds or plats. After the same is recorded, the assignee is enti-
tled to withdraw the original from the clerk’s office. Each county shall
furnish the clerk with necessary books for recording the same. The fees
due the clerk for the recordation and filing of said surveys and plate
shall be collected as his other fees are collected.

8. Inspectors to report assignment to secretary; surveyors to plat
same on county charts.—Each inspector shall, immediately upon com-
pleting the assignment of any oyster-planting ground, notify the secre-
tary of the commission of fisheries of the person to whom assigned, the
waters where, and the number of acres contained in said assignment.
Within sixty days after any such survey, the survevor of said assignment
shall plat the same upon any county chart that may be kept for the
purpose in the clerk’s office of the county in which said ground lies,
showing the metes and bounds, courses and distances, with reference to
fixed and permanent objects on the shore.

9. Rights of renters.—And no person shall be considered a lawful
reuter of oyster-planting grounds or bathing grounds unless and until he
shall have complied with the requirements of this act and received from
the inspector a receipt for the rent to the first of September following
and shall alsu have paid all fees due inspector, surveyor and clerk of the
county in which his plat may be recorded. When the above amounts are
paid then so long as the rent is paid annually in advance the State will
guarantee the absolute right to the renter to continue to use and occupy
such grounds for the period of twenty years from the date of the assign-
ment, subject only to the right of fishing in waters above the said bot-
tom; but no person exercising such right of fishing shall use any device
which is fixed to the bottom, or which, in any way, interferes with sueh
renter’s rights or damages such bottom, or the oysters planted thereon.
and if said applicant shall hold such grounds for the full period of
twenty years and at the expiration thereof shall desire to continue to hold
the same and to renew such lease, then, provided such ground is stil!
open to lease under the then existing law, such applicant shall havc
prior right over all applicants for reassignment of the ground, subject tc
any such laws or regulations as the general assembly may enact or pre-
scribe and to such rental as may be then fixed by law; the interest in suel
grounds shall be construed to be a chattel real and at the death of the
renter pass into the hands of the personal representatives fer the benefit
of creditors and heirs of the decedent. Should any lessee of oyster
planting grounds or bathing grounds have his grounds, or any portior
thereof, resurveyed or reassigned, such resurvey or reassignment, in par’
or in whole, shall not be construed to be a new assignment of sucl
grounds, but shall be deemed to be a continuation of the original assign
ment, subject to all the limitations and conditions under which sucl
grounds were originally assigned.
548 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

A person in possession of any oyster-planting ground who has not had
it assigned to him shall have no preference as to having the same assigned
to him, but such ground shall be open to the first applicant.

Subrenting or assignment.—If any person should subrent or assign
his rights in oyster-planting ground, it shall be only to a resident of this
State, after notifying the inspector of his intention, and then the sub-
renting or assigning shall be in writing, and said writing shall describe
accurately the ground subrented, or assigned, and be recorded in the
clerk’s office of the county as the original survey and plat were recorded
and under the same conditions. The subrenter, or assignee, shall have
all the rights and privileges of the original renter, for the unexpired term
of the original lease, unless he be a non-resident citizen of the State, in
which case any such assignment shall be void.

11. Rights of owner to creek, cove or inlet within lawful survey.—If
any creek, cove or inlet within the jurisdiction of this Commonwealth
makes into or runs through the lands of any person and is comprised
within the limits of his lawful survey, such person or other lawful occu-
pant shall have the exclusive right to use said creek, cove or inlet for
sowing or planting oysters or other shellfish. This section shall not
apply to the county of Mathews; but the third section of chapter two
hundred and fifty-four, acts of eighteen hundred and eighty-three and
eighteen hundred and eighty-four, shall continue in force in said county,
except as to the waters of Milford Haven and Horn Harbor; said waters
of said Milford Haven and Horn Harbor shall be subject in all respects to
the provisions of section twenty-one hundred and thirty-seven of the
Code of Virginia, as amended by acts heretofore passed.

12. Bathing grounds.—Any person desiring to obtain a location for
bathing grounds shall apply to the oyster inspector of ths district in which
the grounds lies to have his location designated, surveyed and assigned for
the purposes aforesaid, and for such grounds shall pay an annual rental
of five dollars per acre. Any such application, surveying, assigning and
marking shall conform to the law pertaining to oyster-planting grounds.

13. Right of planters to erect piers, et cetera——Any person holding
planting ground rented from the State is hereby authorized to erect
thereon a pier, dock, watchhouse, or shuckinghouse for the purpose of
handling, watching or shucking oysters: provided, however, that it shall
not obstruct navigation nor otherwise injure the private rights of any
person, and shall be subject to the laws of the State governing wharves.
piers and docks: and provided further, that this act shall not apply to any
ground lying in front of and adjacent to any city within the Common:
wealth.

14. Natural rocks not to be used or staked off; penalty.—It shall no
be lawful for any person to stake in or use for the purposes of propagating
or planting oysters or shells any natural oyster bed, rock or shoal, as de.
fined by law, or any bottom which has not been assigned to him according
to law, or any clamming or crabbing ground which has been set aside a:
such; nor shall any person who may have occupied and staked off suck
natural bed, rock, or shoal, or clamming or crabbing ground, as definec
by law, or any bottom which has not been assigned to him according tc
law, continue to occupy the same; and any person violating this provisior
shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than one thousand dollars fo
each offense. Moreover, the inspector for that district or the commis-
sion of fisheries or its deputies, shall require any such person to remove
all stakes, watchhouses or other obstructions from said natural beds,
rocks or shoals: and if, after notice, such person refuses to remove such
stakes or other obstructions, the same shall be removed by order of the
commission of fisheries or by the inspector at the cost of the offender,
who shall also be fined in addition for failure or refusal to remove such
stakes, watchhouses or other obstructions, not less than ten nor more
than one hundred dollars.

15. Resurveys of planting grounds.—When, by any resurvey of oyster-
planting grounds or survey made to re-establish the lines of the State
survey of natural oyster beds, rocks or shoals which shall hereafter be
made under the direction of the commission of fisheries, it shall appear
that any holder, without his own default, and by mistake of any officer of
the State, has had assigned to him and included in the plat of his as-
signment any portion of the natural oyster beds, rocks or shoals as de-
fined by law, and it shall further appear that such holder has oysters or
shells planted on the said ground, then, before the stakes shall be re-
moved from said ground or the same opened to the public, the said
holder shall be allowed a reasonable time, the length of which is to be
determined by the commission of fisheries, in their discretion (and duly
advertised), within which to remove his planted oysters or shells from the
said ground, and any person other than the said holder, his agents or em-
ployees, going upon the said ground and taking oysters or shells there-
from before the expiration of the time allowed said holder, shall be
deemed guilty of Jarceny thereof and shall be punished as provided .by
this act for the larceny of oysters.

16. Inspector not to assign natural rock or clam bed; penalty.—Any
inspector who shall knowingly assign to any person any ground within
the public survey of the natural oyster beds, rocks or shoals, or clam bed
that has been set aside by the commission, shall be fined not less than one
hundred nor more than five hundred dollars, and any such assignment
shall be void.

17. Injuring, removing or displacing boundary marks; penaltvy.—Any
person who shall wilfully injure, remove or displace auy boundary oyster
stakes, range monument, signal, beacon, boundstone, post, or buoy, or
any part, appurtenance or enclosure thereof, erected, constructed or set
by the commission of fisheries, or by their order, on the land or water
of this State, or upon the lawful beds of any lesee, for the purpose of
designating, locating, surveying or mapping any shellfish grounds, shall
be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than five hundred dollars, or
confined in jail not less than ten nor more than ninety days, either or
both.

18. Riparian rights in Elizabeth river.—Nothing in this act shall be
so construed as to affect in any way the riparian rights of any owner or
owners of land on the east side of the Elizabeth river lying south of the
north line of the property of the Lambert’s Point Water-Front Com-
pany, or to affect any rights under the present jurisdiction of the board
of harbor commissioners of the port of Norfolk and Portsmouth.

19. Stealing oysters; how punished.—If any person take, steal or
carry away, without permission of the owner, oysters imbedded or planted,
oysters deposited by any person making up a cargo for market, or shells
planted for formation of oyster beds, he shall be deemed guilty of the
larceny thereof and upon conviction be confined in jail not less than three
nor more than six months, and fined not less than twenty-five nor more
than one hundred dollars, for each offense. But if the offense shall be
committed in the night time he shall be confined not less than six months
nor more than one year, and fined not less than one hundred nor more
than one thousand dollars for each offense.

20. Use of rakes or scrapes; penalty.—It shall be unlawful for any
person to use or employ rakes or scrapes or other like devices for the pur-
pose of taking or catching oysters, crabs, clams or shells from the natural
oyster rocks, beds or shoals on the eastern or ocean side of Accomac and
Northampton counties at any time. Any person violating this provision
shall be fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars for each
offense, and be confined in jail until such fine is paid, but not to exceed
thirty days.

21. License and taxes of oyster barrelers, shuckers and packers.—Every
person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of shucking or pack-
ing oysters in this State shall pay a license tax for the privilege of trans-
acting such business, to be graduated by the amount of oysters barreled,
shucked or packed by him during the period for which his license is
granted. Every person engaged in buying oysters for marketing in bar-
rels shall pay a yearly license tax, beginning September first of each year,
to be graduated as follows: For any number of barrels under one hun-
dred bought and marketed, two dollars; for one hundred barrels and over,
up to two hundred and fifty, four dollars; for two hundred and fifty
barrels and over, up to five hundred, five dollars; five hundred barrels
and over, seven dollars. To ascertain the amount of oysters shucked or
packed, it shall be the duty of such person, firm, or corporation, on the
first day of April of each year, or within ten days thereafter, to make
report in writing, under oath, to the oyster inspector for the district for
which he was licensed, showing the amount of oysters actually shucked or
packed by him during the next preceding twelve months. Each inspec-
tor shall report every oyster packer who shall fail to comply with the
requirements of this section. Any person, firm or corporation violating
the provisions of this section, or making a false report, shall pay a fine of
not less than thirty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each
offense. For every license to a person, firm or corporation engaged in
the business of shucking or packing oysters the license taxes shall be
graduated as follows: (1) For any number of gallons under one thou-
sand, a tax of one dollar and fiftv cents; (2) for one thousand gallons
or over, up to ten thousand, a tax of five dollars; (3) for ten thousand
gallons or over, up to twenty-five thousand, a tax of ten dollars; (4) for
twenty-five thousand gallons or over, up to fifty thousand, a tax of
twenty dollars; (5) for fifty thousand gallons or over, up to one hundred
thousand, a tax of thirtv dollars; (6) for one hundred thousand gallons
or over, up to two hundred thousand, a tax of fifty dollars; (7) for two
hundred thousand gallons or over, a tax of one hundred dollars. The
sum imposed under and by virtue of this section shall be in leu of all
taxes for State purposes on the capital actually emploved in said busi-
ness. The word “capital” shall include moneys and credits actively used
in carrying on the business, including goods, wares and merchandise on
hand, and all solvent bands, demands, and claims made and contracted in
the business during the preceding year; but real estate shall not be held
to be capital, but shall be assessed and taxed as other specific property.
All other property held by such person, firm or corporation shall be
listed and taxed as other property. The sum required by this section to
be paid when the license is taken out shall be collected in the same man-
ner that the amounts required to be paid for other licenses under the
oyster laws of the State are collected, and shall be accounted for as part
of the oyster fund. For every license issued under this section the ap-
plicant shall pay to the oyster inspector a fee of fifty cents.

22. Taking oysters from natural rocks; closed season ; penalty.— Here-
after it shall not be lawful for any person to take or catch oysters from
any of the natural oyster beds, rocks or shoals in any of the waters of this
Commonwealth, with tongs, or in any other way, from the first day of
April to the fifteenth day of September of each year: provided, that in
Broad bay, Long creek, Lickhorn bay, or in any of the tributaries thereof
in the county of Princess Anne, the prohibited time shall be all the year,
except the months of October and November. And if any person be
found upon the natural rocks, beds or shoals of this Commonwealth dur-
ing the prohibited season with tongs or other devices for taking or catch-
ing oysters, the same shall be prima facie evidence of the violation of this
act by the person so found thereupon, unless such person possess a license
to take or catch clams or crabs with such tongs or other device during
such prohibited season. And it shall not be lawful for any person to use
or cmploy patent tongs for the purpose of taking or catching oysters cr
shells from the natural rocks, beds or shoals of the State, at any time
except during the months of October, November and December of each
year, nor for any person to use patent tongs in the waters of the James,
Nansemond, East or Piankatank rivers at any time. A person violating
any provision of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not
less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, and be
confined in jail not less than ten days nor more than six months. This
section shall not be construed as prohibiting the owner of planted oysters
from working on or changing the location of said planted oysters, or
from shipping the same to market at any time at the option of the owner.

23. License for boats taking ovsters with tongs; numbers.—Any resi-
dent of this State having a boat to be used in taking or catching oysters
with tongs from the natural rocks, beds or shoals, shall apply to the in-
spector of the district where he resides to have said boat registered. The
inspector shall register said boat, and prescribe for it a number corre-
sponding with the number of boats registered, which number for boat
and number of district shall be displayed as hereinafter provided. For
said registration annually the owner shall pay to the inspector for a
boat using propeller, one dollar, and for a boat not using a propeller,
fifty cents. Where patent tongs are to be used on any such hoat the in-
spector shall register and number said boat as follows: The stamp or
mark shall be P. T.. and the number of boat registered, and under the
name of the boat the number of Ins district lor example, “P. T. \”
shows that the boat is registered for patent tongs number one and reg-
istered in district number one in Accomac county. The numbers and
552 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

letters shall be not less than four inches each in length, and shall he
stamped in black upon thin white board, which shall be furnished by the
inspector to the applicant and fastened securely by said applicant on the
starboard prow of his boat. Any person violating any provision of this
rection shall be fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars for each
offense. For the purpose of registering boats, as aforesaid, the oyster
portion of the State shall be kept laid off into districts by the commis-
sion of fisheries.

24. License of tongers ; penalty.—Any resident of this State, who shall
be qualified under this act and desires to take or catch oysters from the
natural oyster beds, rocks, or shoals of the waters of the Commonwealth
by hand or with ordinary or patent tongs, or any instrument allowed by
law, other than a scrape or dredge, shall first apply in writing to the
inspector of the district in which he resides for a license. The license
taxes shall be as follows: (1) for each pair of patent tongs, five dollars;
(2) for each person taking oysters by hand, or with ordinary tongs, two
dollars. When such person shall have paid to the inspector the fees
required of him, said inspector shall register such person, and shall
issue to him a license which shall entitle him during the season for which
such license shall be issued to take or catch oysters from the natural oyster
rocks, beds, or shoals of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or within the
jurisdiction thereof for the period during which he is not prohibited by
law from working on any such natural oyster rocks, beds or shoals. Any
oysterman, when required to do so by an inspector or other police officer,
must show a license for every pair of oyster tongs in his possession while
working on the natural rocks, beds, or shoals, and the having of more
pairs of oyster tongs than licenses exhibited, as aforesaid, shall be
prima facie evidence of violating the provisions of this section as to ob-
taining licenses. If any person is found oystering upon the natural
oyster rocks, beds, or shoals, without having been so licensed, or after
having his license revoked, or if he violates any provision of this section,
such person shall be fined not less than twenty nor more than one hun-
dred dollars.

25. Culling oysters.—All oysters taken from any natural rocks, beds
or shoals, in the waters of this State shall be culled on their natural rocks,
beds or shoals, as taken, and oysters whose shells measure less than three
inches in length, measuring from hinge to mouth, and all shells, shall be
included in said cullings and replaced upon said rocks, beds or shoals:
provided, that oysters once passed from the culling board to the inside of
the boat less than the size above prescribed, and all shells shall be con-
sidered as not having been culled as taken, according to the provisions of
this act: provided, that when small oysters are adhering so closely to the
shell of the marketable oysters as to render removal impossible without
destroying the young oyster, then it shall not be necessary to remove it.

26. Buying or selling unculled oysters; penalty; not to apply above
Day’s Point in James river.—And it shall be unlawful for any person to
take, buy or sell oysters under the prescribed size, and shells so taken as
aforesaid from the natural rocks, beds and shoals. Any person violating
the provisions of this act, either by taking from the said rocks, beds or
shoals, or by buying or selling oysters less than three inches in length,
from the hinge to mouth, or shells, as hereinbefore mentioned, shal] be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars: provided,
however, that so much of this section and the preceding section as pro-
hibits the taking and catching of oysters whose shells measure less than
three inches from hinge to mouth, shall not apply to James river above
a line drawn from Day’s Point, in the county of Isle of Wight, to Deep
creek, in the county of Warwick, nor to the eastern side of Accomac and
Northampton counties, nor to any rivers, creeks or other estuaries of the
Potomac river. In the waters of this State entering into the Potomac
the prohibited size shall be two and one-half inches. In addition to the
penalty above prescribed, the license of any person found guilty of vio-
lating this section may, in the discretion of the commission of fisheries,
be revoked by order of said commission, and such person shall not be
again licensed to take or catch oysters in this State for a period of one
year after the commission of such offense. The having at one time of
more than one bushel of oysters and shells on the culling board, deck,
washboard or other receptacle above the hold of the boat of any person
oystering upon the natural rocks, beds or shoals, or the attempt of such
person to escape or to throw oysters or shells overboard into the water,
otherwise than in the ordinary process of culling, upon the approach of
the oyster inspector or police boat, shall be prima facie evidence of the
violation of this section. Any person offering oysters for sale or having
the same in his possession which shall not have been culled as required
by this section shall be deemed guilty of violating this law, and if upon
trial he shall claim that such oysters are from private planting grounds,
the burden of proving that fact shall be upon him. Such person may. be
tried in any court having jurisdiction under this act over the waters
where he is arrested or apprehended, and if any such person shall resist
in any way any inspector or other authorized person in making an
examination of the oysters suspected, or upon being requested by such
officer or other authorized person to be admitted into a boat or oyster
house for the purpose of such inspection, shall refuse to so admit such
officer or other authorized person, the party suspected shall be deemed
prima facie guilty of violating this section.

27. Prohibiting drag-boxes, and so forth; penalty.—It shall be unlaw-
ful for any person to use, in collecting or taking oysters, clams or other
shellfish from the natural oyster rocks, beds, or shoals of this Common-
wealth, any “drag-box,” tub, sack or other receptable for oysters, clams,
or other shellfish, so collected or taken, which in the use or moving of
are dragged or drawn over the surface of the said natural rocks, beds or
shoals, or to secrete in a bag, box, locker or other closed receptacle, any
unculled oysters or clams taken from the natural oyster rocks, beds or
shoals of this Commonwealth. The possession by any person of a “drag-
box” on the natural ovster rocks, beds, or shoals, or the having in his
possession of any unculled oysters or clams secreted as aforesaid, shall be
prima facie evidence of the violation of this section. If found guilty of
violating any provision of this section such person shall be fined not less
than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars for each offense.

28. License of dredges: limitations; application for license ; numbers ;
rgeistration ; penalty; forfeiture —The commission of fisheries shall, if in
its judgment the police force is sufficient to protect the grounds in which
554 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

dredging is hereinafter prohibited, authorize any resident of this State
to take and catch oysters with dredges or scrapes in the Chesapeake bay;
but this privilege shall not extend to Pocomoke sound, Hampton roads,
Mobjack bay, or Tangier sound, or west of a line drawn from the light-
house on Rappahannock spit to the lighthouse on Wolf Trap spit, or
west of a line drawn from the lower end of Guinea marshes to York spit
lighthouse, and thence to Back river lighthouse, or west of a line drawn
through the Great Wicomico river lighthouse, thence to the east end of
the east island of the Dameron’s marshes; nor to any inlet, creek, or
river, nor to the mouths thereof, except the river Potomac and the fol-
lowing rocks in Tangier sound, to-wit: Johnson’s rock, Thoroughfare
rock, Fox’s Island rock and the California rock: provided, that for the
purposes of this act the southern boundary of Pocomoke sound shall be a
right line running through the southeast buoy on Watt’s Island bar, it
being buoy number three, and the outer buoy at the mouth of Chescon-
nessex creek: provided, that no dredging shall be permitted between the
first day of April and the first day of November in any year. Any resi-
dent desiring to dredge or scrape for oysters in the waters where dredg-
ing is permitted shall make application in writing for such privilege to
the inspector of the district in which he resides, which application shall be
sworn to and shall plainly state the name of his vessel, the owner or
owners thereof, the commander or person in charge and the length of
vessel or gross tonnage at which it is rated. Such application shall fur-
ther state the district in which the owner resides; that the applicant is a
resident qualified under the requirements of this act; that no non-resi-
dent owns said vessel in whole or in part; and that it is not held with
any intention or under any agreement to return it any subsequent time
to a non-resident. Upon being satisfied of these facts the inspector shall
register such vessel and issue to such applicant a license granting him the
privilege of dredging or scraping for oysters within the prescribed limits
and season, which shall be plainly set forth in the license; and the in-
spector shall also furnish him two numbers, twenty-two inches long, in
black paint on canvas or domestic, which shall be placed by the master
or owner on the side, as hereinafter described ; the number on his main-
sail to be placed above the balance reef; that in the center of the sail,
half way between the gaff and said reef; that on the jib, above the bonnet
in center of jib and on the side opposite that of the mainsail. For such
registration the applicant shall pay to the inspector a fee of one dollar:
provided, only vessels operated wholly by sail shall be used for purposes
of dredging or scraping for oysters on the public grounds of this Com-
monwealth or under the jurisdiction thereof: provided, that the com-
mission of fisheries shall be empowered to revoke or deny to any person
a license for the period of twelve months for a violation of the cull law
by anv person dredging or scraping; or for dredging or scraping, or
attempting to dredge or scrape, without a license; or for resisting any
officer in the performance of his duties. Dredging or scraping in waters
not prohibited by law, without having paid the tax and obtained the
license provided for such purpose, shall be punishable by a fine of not
less than twenty-five dollars nor more than two hundred dollars.

If any person take or catch oysters with a dredge or scrape, or instru-
ment other than ordinary or patent oyster tongs or by hand, in any of the
public waters of the Commonwealth, except as provided in this act, he
shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
confined in the penitentiary not less than one year nor more than three
years; or may be confined in jail not exceeding one year and fined not
less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, either or
both, in the discretion of the jury. In any prosecution for the violation
of this section against the master or commander of a vessel or any of his
crew or any person on board thereof, proof that said vessel was equipped
with crank, dredge or scrape shall be prima facie evidence of the viola-
tion of this section. Any vessel, boat or other craft, her tackle, apparel,
anchors, cables, sails, rigging and appurtenances, and any dredge,
scrape or other instrument used in violating any of the provisions of this
section shall, together with the cargo of such vessel, boat or craft, be
condemned as forfeited to the Commonwealth in proceedings as pro-
vided for the enforcement of forfcitures.

29. License tax.—Before any license shall be issued for dredging or
scraping the applicant shall, in addition to the fee of one dollar for regis-
tering the boat, pay to the inspector a license tax for the dredging season,
as follows: For boats thirty feet long and under, five dollars; over thirty
feet and under five tons, seven dollars; for every gross ton of custom-
house measurement, two dollars, estimating twenty-five bushels capacity
to each ton of customhouse measurement. The captains or masters of
such boats shal] always have such license on board of their boats and
exhibit the same whenever it shall be demanded by any duly authorized
officer, and the refusal so to do shall be prima facie evidence that they
are dredging or scraping without having a license therefor.

30. Dredging planting ground; limitations; revocation of privilege ;
marking ground; marking boats; penalty.—It shall be lawful for any
resident of this State holding under legal assignment oyster-planting
ground and having paid the rent therefor to dredge or scrape the same
at any time, except on Sunday or at night: provided, such privilege of
dredging or scraping such oyster grounds may be revoked in any case by
the commission of fisheries, whenever, in its judgment, it may be proper
or necessary to do so: provided further, that no person shall have or
enjoy the privilege hereinbefore granted of dredging or scraping his said
oyster-planting ground unless and until he shall have first properly
designated and marked the oyster lines of his said planting ground by
placing prominent and fixed buoys thereon by means of anchors or in any
other manner enfficient to hold them in place; said buoys to be so many
inches in diameter and to extend so far above water as the commission
of fisherics may direct, and the same shall be kept up and maintained
so as to distinctly mark said outer line or lines of said planting ground.
Said buoys shall be painted white and shall have the initials of the
person or firm whose property they are placed upon them near the top
in black letters of not less than five inches in length. Such initials shall
also be placed upon each side of the prow of any boat or craft used or
employed in dredging or scraping said planting ground, if prepelled bv
motor, or upon opposite sides of mainsail and jib. if operated by sail.
Nor shall any person have, or enjov, the privilege hereinbefore granted
of dredging or scraping his said oyster-planting ground unless and until
he enter into a bond before the clerk of the county in which he resides.
556 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

in the sum of five hundred dollars, payable as required in se~!:on one
hundred and seventy-seven of the Code, upon condition not to violate
the provisions of any laws pertaining to the dredging or scraping of
planting ground: provided, however, that no person or firm so engaged
in dredging or scraping shall employ in whole or in part any non-resident
crew, unless by written permission of the commission of fisheries, or
employ any boat or craft of any kind owned in whole or in part by any
non-resident of this Commonwealth in the dredging or scraping of such
oyster-planting ground; and no equipped dredge, scrape or other instru-
ment of like nature shall be taken by any person into James river or iis
tributaries, Nanemond river or its tributaries, Rappahannock river or its
tributaries, Pocomoke or Tangier sounds, or into the ocean side of
Accomac or Northampton counties without first obtaining a written
permission to do so from the commission of fisheries. Any person found
guilty of dredging or scraping oyster-planting grounds in this State,
except as provided for in this act, shall be fined not less than one hun-
dred nor more than three hundred dollars for each offense.

31. Carrying seed oysters out of State, or buying for that purpose
prohibited ; penalties.—It shall be unlawful for any person to carry, or
attempt to carry, or to buy for the purpose of carrying out of this State
any oysters taken from the natural rocks, beds or shoals in the waters of
this Commonwealth, whose shells measure less than three inches, or from
estuaries of the Potomac river oysters whose shells measure less than two
and one-half inches in length from hinge to mouth. Any person so
offending shall, upon conviction thereof, be confined in the penitentiary
for one year, or at the discretion of the jury, may be confined in jail not
exceeding one year, and fined not exceeding five hundred dollars. More-
over, all boats and vessels, together with their tackle used in violating
this sction, and all oysters found thereon, shall be forfeited to the Com-
monwealth, in proceedings as provided for the enforcement of forfeitures.
If any oyster inspector or other person shall knowingly aid and abet
or shall] collude with any person in the violation of this section, he shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be confined in jail not exceeding six months and fined not exceeding five
hundred dollars.

32. License to buy or carry seed oysters from certain grounds; pen-
alty.—It shall be unlawful for any person, without first having obtained
a license therefor, as hereinafter provided, to buy or carry oysters to be
planted in this State, whose shells measure less than three inches in
length from hinge to mouth, from the eastern side of Accomac and
Northampton counties, or from James river above a line drawn from
Day’s Point, in the county of Isle of Wight, to Deep cree%, in the county
of Warwick. Any person desiring to buy or carry such oysters from said
localities to be planted in this State, shall first obtain for each cargo a
permit therefor from the oyster inspector for the district wherein such
person resides, or from an officer of a police-boat for each boat or vessel
to be so used, which permit shal] state the name and tonnage (if regis-
tered in the custom-house) of the boat or vessel, the name of the owner
and master thereof, and to what waters in this State it is intended to use
such boat or vessel in carrving such oysters. Before such permit shall be
granted, the owner or master of such boat or vessel shall make oath before
the inspector or officer of a police-boat that said boat or vessel will not be
used for the purpose of carrying seed oysters measuring less than the
size aforesaid out of this State, and that he will not sell such oysters to
any other person for the purpose of carrying the same out of this State.
The oaths so taken and subscribed, together with a memorandum of the
permit issued, shall be returned by the inspector or officer of a police-boat
to the secretary of the commission of fisheries, to be by him filed in his
office. The owner or master of any boat or vessel found buying or carry-
ing such seed oysters from the places aforesaid to any point in this State,
without a permit therefor, shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than
two hundred dollars.

33. Permit to carry oysters from certain grounds; penalty.—No per-
son, without having a written permit from an oyster inspector, an ovster
police officer, or from a member of the commission of fisheries, shall, at
any time during the closed season, carry oysters out of James river above
a line drawn from Pig Point, in the county of Nansemond, to Newport
News Point, in the county of Warwick, whether said oysters be taken
from natural rocks or planting grounds; nor shall any person take clams,
or crabs in the waters of this State or oysters from either public or pri-
vate grounds on Sunday or in the night time, between the hours of sun-
set and sunrise. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall
be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars.

34. Oyster measures; penalty.—It shall not be lawful at any time fot
any person to buy or sell oysters in this State in the shell by any other
than one-half bushel or one bushel metallic measures, and such measures
shall be iron circular tubs with straight sides and straight solid bottoms
with holes in bottom, if desired, for draining, such holes to be no larger,
however, than one inch in diameter. A half-bushel tub shall have the
following dimensions (all measurements to be from inside to inside) :
Fifteen inches across the top, thirteen inches across the bottom, and sev-
enteen inches diagonally from the inside chine to the top; and a bushel
tub shall measure eighteen and one-half inches across the top, seventeen
inches across the bottom, and twenty-one and one-half inches diagonally
from the inside chine to the top. When oysters are bought or sold out
of the shell it shall be by wine measure, according to the standard pre-
scribed for such measure by section nineteen hundred and eleven of the
Code of Virginia, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven. Any person vio-
lating any provision of this section shall be fined not less than twenty-
five nor more than one hundred dollars for each offense. Moreover, if
any inspector or other oyster official have reason to believe that measures
not conforming to the above requirements are used on board any vessel or
craft, or in any oyster house, he is hereby empowered to search for, seize
and destroy such unlawful measures.

35. Citizen not to be interested with non-resident; penalty.—If any
citizen of this State shall, for market or profit, be concerned or interested
with any person not a resident thereof, in taking or catching crabs, clams,
oysters, terrapin or other shellfish, in any of the waters of this State, or
m planting oysters therein, or shall knowingly permit any person, not a
resident of this State, to engage in any such business in his name for
market or profit, he shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more
than five hundred dollars for each offense.
538 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

36. Non-resident not to take or plant oysters, and so forth; nor own
stock in fishing corporation; penalty, forfeiture; list of officers, directors
and stockholders to be filed with State corporation commission.—If any
person other than a resident of this State, as defined in this act, shall
take or catch crabs, clams, oysters, terrapin or other shellfish in any of
the waters of this State for market or profit, or rent any oyster-planting
ground, or plant oysters in any of the waters of the State, or become a
stockholder directly or indirectly interested in any corporation chartered
for the purpose of engaging in the fish or shellfish business in the waters
of this State for market or profit, or for the purpose of converting the
same into oil, manure or fertilizer, he shall be fined not less than five
hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars: for each offense,
and the interest in such stock of any non-resident holder thereof shall
be null and void and be forfeited to the Commonwealth under the pro-
visions relating to forfeiture. Every such non-resident holder of stock
shall, upon notice so to do, by order of publication, ordered by the court
having jurisdiction of the proceedings, surrender the certificate or cer-
tificates of stock so held by him to the sheriff of the court aforesaid, to
be held by the said sheriff to be disposed of according to the provisions
relating to forfeitures, and in the event he fails to do so upon such
notice, the court aforesaid may compel the corporation which issued such
certificate or certificates to issue in the name of the person so holding
the original, a duplicate of such certificate or certificates of stock and
surrender the same to the sheriff aforesaid. Such duplicate certificate
or certificates of stock shall be disposed of according to the provisions
provided for the disposal of property forfeited to the Commonwealth,
and the said original certificate or certificates of stock shall be null and
void in the hands of any person. Where the penalty is incurred by rea-
son of the defendant being a non-resident, the burden of proof as to his
residence shall be on him. And every such corporation chartered for the
purpose aforesaid shall make and file in the office of the State corporation
commission, at the time of its application for a charter, and every six
months after the granting thereof during the term of its existence, a list
of its officers, directors and stockholders, duly sworn to by its president
and secretary ; and, if such list is not so made and filed, the said corpora-
tion shall be subject to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor
more than five hundred dollars, to be imposed and judgment entered
therefor by the said commission, and enforced by its process; and, at the
option of said commission, its charter shall be revoked for its failure
so to do.

37. Who deemed non-resident; proviso.—No person shall be deemed
a resident of this State, within the meaning of this act, who is not a tax-
payer in the State, and shall not have maintained his residence therein
for one year and actually resided therein for the four months next pre-
ceding the time when he makes application for any privileges or licenses
granted to residents under this act; or unless he be a bona fide purchaser
of land in this State and has actually lived within this State for the four
months next preceding the time when he makes application for any privi-
leges or licenses granted to residents under this act: provided, no restric-
tion as to residence in this section shall prevent any person from obtain-
ing license when required for buying crabs, clams, oysters, terrapin or
other shellfish or for the shucking of oysters: provided further, that im
dredging or scraping private planting grounds on permission of the com-
mission the restriction as to residence in this section shall not prohibit
the having of non-residents as crew for any boat used in the oyster,
or other shellfish industry, of such boat be owned wholly by a resident
or residents of Virginia, and also has for its master a resident as defined
in this act.

38. Jurisdiction of justice and court.—Any proceeding under any
section of this act may be in the county wherein, or in any county next
adjacent to, the waters in which the offense was committed.

39. Surveying and re-surveying planting-grounds; and marking lines
of geodetic survey.—The commission of fisheries is hereby authorized and
empowered to select and appoint, on such terms as may be agreed upon,
any surveyor, or surveyors, to survey, or resurvey, any oyster-planting
grounds, either in his own or any other county, and to re-establish and
permanently mark any line or lines of the Baylor geodetic survey, which,
in the judgment of the commission of fisheries, it may be necessary to
define ; or an application may be made to the commission of fisheries by
ten citizens of the county to have any line or lines of the Baylor geodetic
survey re-established and permanently marked, provided a bond and
security be given to the commission of fisheries that the applicants will
pay all costs for surveying and marking: and provided further, that ten
days’ notice of such survey shall be given to all parties whose legal oyster
tenures might be directly affected thereby ; and if it should turn out that
it was not necessary, in the opinion of the commission, to have said line
or lines re-established, then all costs of the survey and marking shall be
borne by the applicants; but if it shall appear that the Baylor geodetic
survey had been encroached upon, then the cost shall be borne by the com-
mission of fisheries and the bond given be void.

40. Commission to compel attendance of witnesses.—The commission
of fisheries, in any matter before it for consideration, may compel the .
attendance of all needed witnesses by summons, rule, and attachments in
like manner as a circuit court, save that said commission shall not have
the power of imprisonment. And in taking evidence said commission or
any member thereof shall have the power to administer oaths to witnesses.

41. Unlawful to threaten or hinder surveyor; rights of surveyor.—It
snall be unlawful for any person or persons to threaten, resist, or in any
manner interfere with a surveyor in the performance of the duties im-
posed upon him by the provisions of the law relating to oyster grounds.
And in the performance of any such duties said surveyor shall have the
right to enter upon the lands of any person or persons for that purpose.

42. Lawful for certain persons to take oysters, and so forth, and wild
fowl! for certain purposes.—It shall be lawful for the commission of fish-
eries, or any person or persons authorized by it to take oysters or other
shellfish or wild water fowl in any way, at any time, and from any of
the public waters of the Commonwealth, as they deem best for the pur-
pose of propagation or distribution, in promoting the industry by way
of experiment or exhibition. .

43. Police fleet; fund to police certain waters.—The police fleet shall
consist of the various boats now operated by the commission of fisheries,
with such additions or changes as the commission may from time to time
560 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

make, either in accordance with special enactment of the legislature or by
reason of the general powers conferred upon it by law. The commission
of fisheries is hereby empowered and directed, in its discretion, to ex-
pend so much of the fund accruing under the provisions of this act, from
the revenues collected on the eastern or ocean side of Accomac and
Northampton counties, as may be necessary to police the waters on said
eastern or ocean side of said counties.

44. Proceeds of forfeited vessels, and so forth; how disposed of.—QOut
of any money collected from the sale of any forfeited vessel or other
property which was seized by the commanders and crews of the police
vessels alone, the commission of fisheries may allow to such commanders
and crews such sums as they may think proper, not exceeding one-fourth
of the amount so paid in, which shall be in addition to their regular pay.
The residue of any such money, and all fines imposed and collected for
violations of any of the provisions of this act, whether by regular oyster
officials or through procedures in courts or before justices of the peace.
shall be paid over to the said oyster officials, and placed to the credit of
the oyster fund: provided, however, that when an oyster inspector is
directly instrumental in apprehending and bringing to trial an offender
in his district against whom a fine is imposed and collected under this
act, one-fourth of the fine shall go to the said inspector and three-fourths
to the credit of the oyster fund.

45. Name of boats to be kept in plain view; penalty.—If the master
or person in charge of any boat, registered for any purpose under this
act, or licensed to engage in fisheries of any sort, fail to keep the name
of such boat and number of license under which it is operated in plain
view and in the positions prescribed, or, if he in any way conceal such
name or number, he shall be fined not less than ten nor more than one
hundred dollars.

46. May pay fine to officers.—The person liable for any fine for viola-
tion of this act may pay the officer directly instrumental in apprehending
such person, such sum as may be agreed upon between such person and
officer and all costs; and thereupon such person shall be discharged from
all legal proceedings that may be instituted against him for such offense:
provided, that the amount so agreed upon be not less than the minimum
fine imposed for such offense, any such agreement to be in the nature of
a compromise and not to be used as evidence in any proceeding for such
violation.

4%. Resistance to officer or authorized person by threats, and so forth;
penalty.—Any person found guilty of resisting or impeding an officer or
other person authorized to make arrests, seizures, examinations or other
performances of duties under this act shall be fined not less than fifty
nor more than five hundred dollars; and if any person, by threat, force
or display of firearms or other weapon, resist or attempt to prevent ar-
rests, seizures, examinations, or other performances of duties, by said
officer or other person he shall, upon conviction thereof, be confined in
jail not exceeding one month, and fined not less than one hundred nor
more than one thousand dollars.

48. Who may make arrest or seize vessel Any member of the com-
mission of fisheries, all inspectors and other officers in the service, shall
have authority, with or without warrant, to arrest any person and seize
any vessel, boat, craft or other thing used in violating any of the pro-
visions of this act, together with the cargo of such vessel, boat, or craft,
and they shall have the same authority as constables have to summon the
posse comitatus to aid them in making such arrest and seizure; and any
vessel, boat, craft or other thing, together with the cargo so seized, when
not forfeited to the Commonwealth in proper proceedings, may be held by
the inspector or other official who made the seizure or in whose district
the same was seized, until the accused has paid the penalty of his offense
if upon trial he is found guilty, or has settled the amount agreed on with-
out trial or has, upon trial, been acquitted, as the case may be.

49. Penalty for failure to perform duty.—for the failure of any
officer or other person to perform any duty required of him by any pro-
vision of this act, or for the violation of any of its provisions for which no
specific penalty is prescribed, such officer or person shall be fined not less
than twenty-five nor more than one thousand dollars.

50. Payment of costs and expenses; court to approve.—All necessary
costs and expenses that have accrued, or may accrue, in the execution of
the oyster laws of this Commonwealth, where no provision is now made
by law for the payment of the same, shall be paid by the auditor of pub-
lic accounts when the circuit court of the county where the costs and
expenses accrue shall certify the necessity and the reasonableness of the
same, referring also to the Jaw under which the certificate is made.

51. Right to build bulkhead or wharf to navigable waters; notice to
lessee of planting ground.—All assignments or leases of oyster grounds
under this act shall be subject to the rights vested in riparian claimants
under section five of this act, and also to this proviso and condition—
namely, that any landowner desiring to erect a bulkhead or wharf in front
of his property to reach water of navigable depth or the channel of the
stream, or for other purposes, and is not already a lessee or riparian
holder of suitable bottoms for that purpose, such landowner small have
the right to give the lessee or other holder of oyster grounds in front of
his property twelve months’ notice of such intention, and upon the expi-
ration of that time, the rights of the lessee or holder of so much of said
oyster ground as shall be reasonably needed for the building of bulkhead
or wharf, shall cease; but if such bulkhead or wharf be not commenced
as specified in such notice within three months after such oyster grounds
shall be vacated, then the former lessee or holder of such oyster grounds
shall have the right to resume possession of such oyster grounds as he
may have vacated in favor of such landowner, subject to the provisions of
this chapter.

52. Definition of words in this act—Whenever the words “commis-
sion” or “commissioner” occur in any provisions of this act, they shall
be taken to mean commission of fisheries and commissioner of fisheries,
respectively, and wherever the designation “board of fisheries” occurs
in any statute it shall be taken to mean commission of fisheries.

2. Be it further enacted that all acts or parts of acts of the general
assembly of Virginia, and any section or sections of the Code of Virginia,
in conflict with any of the provisions of this act, be, and the same are

hereby, repealed.
562 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.