Chap. 743.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 2131, 2185, 2187, 2148, and
the independent sections 3, 5,8 and 10, and to repeal section 9 of an act en-
titled an act to amend and re-enact sections 2131, 2133, 2134, 21385, 2187, 2148,
2151, 2153, and to repeal sections 2141, 2142, 2148, 2144, 2145 and 2147 of
chapter 97 of the code of Virginia, in relation to oysters, and to add indepen-
dent sections thereto, approved February 25, 1892, and to amend and re-enact
sections 2150, 2164 and 2182 of the code of Virginia, and to add independent
sections thereto, and to repeal an act entitled an act to amend and re-enact
sections 3 and 5 of an act entitled an act to amend and re-enact sections
2131, 2133, 2134, 2135, 2148, 2151, 2153 and to repeal sections 2141, 2142, 2143,
2145 and 2147 of chapter 97 of the code of Virginia, in relation to oysters, and
to add independent sections thereto, approved February 25, 1892, which was
approved March 2, 1894.

Approved March 5, 1894.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sec-
tions twenty-one hundred and thirty-one, twenty-one hundred and
thirty-five, twenty-one hundred and thirty-seven, twenty-one hun-
dred and forty-eight, and the independent sections three, five, eight
and ten of an act entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act en-
titled an act to amend and re-enact sections twenty-one hundred and
thirty-one, twenty-one hundred and thirty-three, twenty-one hun-
dred and thirty-four, twenty-one hundred and thirty-five, twenty-one
hundred and thirty-seven, twenty-one hundred and forty-eight,
twenty-one hundred and fifty-one, twenty-one hundred and fifty-
three, and to repeal sections twenty-one hundred and forty-one,
twenty-one hundred and forty-two, twenty-one hundred and forty-
three, twenty-one hundred and forty-four, twenty-one hundred and
forty-five and twenty-one hundred and forty-seven of chapter ninety-
seven of the code of Virginia, in relation to oysters, and to add in-
dependent sections thereto, approved February twenty-fifth, eigh-
teen hundred and ninety-two, and to amend and re-enact sections
twenty-one hundred and fifty, twenty-one hundred and sixty-four and
twenty-one hundred and eighty-two of the code of Virginia, and to
add independent sections thereto, be amended and re-enacted so as
to read as follows:

§ 2131. Inspectors of oysters; appointment and removal, term,
qualification and bond.—The county court of each county and the
corporation court of each city, or the judge thereof in vacation, in
which oysters are caught or planted, shall, on or before the first day
of May next, appoint for the county or city one or more inspectors
of oysters, whose term of office shall commence on May first, eigh-
teen hundred and ninety-two, and who shall continue in office for
the term of two years, but may be removed by the court for any mal-
feasance, misfeasance, incompetency or gross neglect of official duty,
and such removal shall be deemed a vacation of the office. All the
vacancies in the office shall be filled by the court, or the judge
thereof in vacation. Every inspector shall, before the court which
appoints him, or the judge thereof in vacation, take the oaths and
give bond prescribed by chapter thirteen of the code of Virginia.
The bond shall be in a penalty not less than five thousand dollars.
The clerk of the court shall transmit a copy of the bond to the audi-
tor of public accounts within thirty days after its execution. An
inspector appointed under this section shall be skilled in and ac-
quainted with the oyster industry.

§ 2135. Reports required of inspectors; to be recorded; when to
pay what they owe; what entries to make in their books.—He shall
report quarterly, on oath, to the commissioner or commissioners of
fisheries the amount of fines, fees, rents and taxes collected by him
and his deputies during the preceding three months, and the names
of the persons from whom the same were collected, with the respec-
tive dates of collection, and also the number of boats registered un-
der this act, whether tonger, patent tonger or dredger; also the num-
ber of acres of planting ground rented and the location thereof.
The commissioners of fisheries shall examine the report, and, if in
due form and correct in other respects, shall certify to the auditor
of public accounts the amount due on account of such fines, fees,
rents and taxes by the inspector, who shall, within thirty days there-
after, pay the same into the public treasury, to the credit of the oys-
ter fund. These reports shall be transmitted by said commissioner
or commissioners of fisheries to the clerk of each county in the
waters of which there may be oysters, which said reports shall be
filed by the clerk of said court in his office, and shall be open at all
times to public inspection; the fees of the clerk for filing the same
to be paid by the auditor of public accounts on a certificate of the
county court. The inspector shall give receipts for all fines, fees,
rents and taxes collected by him (an entry for which shall be made
in a book to be kept by him for the purpose), which receipts, in ad-
dition to other facts stated therein, shall give the name of the
county in the clerk’s office of which his report is to be recorded. If
any inspector fail to discharge any duty imposed on him by this
section, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on con-
viction thereof, be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars and be
removed from office; and for the amount of said fine he and his
sureties shall be liable on his official bond.
§ 2137. Assignment to riparian owners and others of locations for
planting oysters; locations to be marked with suitable stakes; pay-
ment of fees and rent to inspectors.—If any owner or occupant of
land, having a water front thereon suitable for planting oysters, shall
desire to obtain a location thereon for planting oysters, he may make
application to the inspector for the county or district in which the
land lies, who shall assign to him such location as such owner or
occupant may designate in front of his land. No assignment shall
exceed one-half acre, and a survey and plat whereof to be made by
the county surveyor, which shall indicate the metes and bounds,
courses and distances, starting from fixed and permanent objects on
the shore, as accurately as may be, the same to be recorded as pro-
vided for recordation of other plats; the cost of survey and plat and
recordation to be paid by the riparian owner or occupant. The sur-
veyor’s fee shall be one dollar. It shall be the duty of such owner
or occupant to cause the location to be marked with suitable stakes
according to the assignment, and thereafter he shall have the exclu-
sive right to the use thereof for the purpose aforesaid, and the privi-
lege is accorded to the said owner in consideration of the extra valu-
ation ordinarily assessed upon such land for the water privileges
supposed to attach thereto. The inspector making the assignment
of reservation shall be paid by such owner or occupant a fee of fifty
cents; said assignment to the riparian owner or occupant to pass
with the land to the subsequent owner or occupant. If any portion
of said water front herein reserved or provided for said riparian
owner or occupant of land shall be occupied by others with oysters
actually planted thereon at the time a location is made of said
reservation, the person so occupying the same shall have eigh-
teen months to remove the oysters so planted. The residue of
said water front in excess of what is herein reserved for the
riparian owner, and the residue of the beds of the bays, rivers
and creeks, other than natural oyster beds or rocks, may be occu-
pied by any resident for the purpose of planting or propagating
oysters thereon: provided that no assignment hereafter made shall
exceed two hundred and fifty acres; but this limit shall not affect
assignments heretofore made in excess of that amount: and pro-
vided, further, that no limit herein provided for shall affect assign-
ments made in the Chesapeake bay. It shall be the duty of any
such person desiring to obtain a location for planting or propagating
oysters in any portion of the water fronts and beds aforesaid, not
located or reserved as hereinbefore provided for owners and occu-
pants of land aforesaid, to apply to the inspector of the district in
which the land lies to have his location ascertained and designated
and surveyed, and the same shall be marked with suitable stakes,
smooth and free from snags and spurs, or by other metes and
bounds, courses and distances, having their places of beginning and
ending designated by permanent objects on the shore, agreed
upon between the applicant and inspector, and he shall pay the
inspector for his services a fee of one dollar; and he shall also
pay to the inspector rent for the land assigned him at the rate of
one dollar per acre for each and every year of his rental, to be pay-
able on the first day of September of each year; and so long as he
continues to pay such rent he shall have the exclusive right to oc-
cupy said land for a period of twenty years, subject to such rights,
if any, a8 any other person or persons may previously have acquired.
If any portion of said water fronts of beds or bays, rivers and creeks
be occupied with oysters actually planted thereon or held by any
person under proper assignment, evidenced by the receipt or certifi-
cate of the inspector, at the time a location is made or sought to be
made under this section, the occupant shall have the prior right
against all others to have the land so occupied by him assigned to
him by the inspector: provided the said occupant shall have the
land so occupied by him ascertained and designated and surveyed
and rent paid within thirty days from the time the inspector is
called on to locate the same: provided, however, that on the ocean
side of the counties of Accomac and Northampton he shall pay a
rental of twenty-five cents per acre for the same. All applications
for assignments of oyster-planting grounds, other than for the ground
reserved for riparian owners, shall be made to the oyster inspector
of the county or district in which said grounds are located, stating
as near as may be the number of acres applied for, the name of the
waters in which located, and the name of one or more prominent
points or places convenient to said ground, notices of said applica-
tion to be posted for at least thirty days at the court-house of said
county, and at two or more prominent places in the vicinity of said
grounds. Said notices shall contain the name or names of appli-
cants, the probable number of acres applied for by each, the name
of the waters, where located, and the name of one or more prominent
points convenient to said grounds. After the expiration of the thirty
days’ notice, as aforesaid, the inspector shall proceed to survey and
assign the grounds so applied for: provided he ascertains it is nota
natural rock, bed or shoal within the meaning of this act: 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 hundred and fifty-four, acts of eighteen
hundred and eighty-three and eighteen hundred and eighty-four,
shall continue in force as to the said counties: 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 oys-
ters shal] 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 shore, if the residue of said shore be already in his
(the land-owner’s) possession or be occupied.

§ 2148. Limitation as to time of taking oysters.—Hereafter 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 com-
monwealth with tongs, or in any other way, from the twenty-fifth
day of April to the first day of September, except in Broad bay,
Long creek, Linkhorne bay, or in any of the tributaries thereof, in
the county of Princess Anne, the prohibited time shall be all of the
year except the months of October and November. Any person vio-
lating the above provisions shall be fined not less than ten dollar:
nor more than fifty dollars for each offence. This section shall no
be construed as prohibiting the owner of planted oysters from work
ing on or changing the location of said planted oysters, or from ship
ping the same to market at any time at the option of the owne:
thereof. But no dredging to be permitted on their private oyste:
grounds, even by the owner of said planted oysters, at any time:
provided, however, that nothing in this clause shall be construed tc
prevent the occupant of planting grounds in the Chesapeake bay o1
the occupant or lessee of not less than one hundred contiguous acres
in Tangier sound, Hampton Roads and James river from dredging
his planted oysters during the lawful season for dredging in this
state. It is further provided that if any person carry or attempt tc
carry any seed oysters out of this state, at any time, he shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, be
fined not exceeding five hundred dollars for each offence.

§ 2150. It shall not be lawful, at any time, for any person to buy
or sell oysters in this state, in the shell, by any other than the me-
tallic measure adopted by the state of Virginia and bearing the offi-
cial seal, as hereinafter provided; and in the measurement of oysters
the tubs must be filled with a slight rise above the top.

It shall be the duty of the board on the Chesapeake and its tribu-
taries, a8 soon as possible after the passage of this act, to have made
by contract metallic oyster measures, of such metal and according to
such specifications as they may adopt and publish, the said measures
to be of the following dimensions: the bottom to be sixteen and a
half inches across, from inside to inside; the top to be eighteen
inches across, from inside to inside, and twenty-one inches diagonal
from the inside chine to the top; half-tubs to be twelve and a half
inches, from inside to inside, at bottom; thirteen and three-quarter
inches, from inside to inside, at top, and sixteen anda half inches
diagonal] from inside chine to top.

Each measure to bear a stamp or. seal distinctly marked on it.
Said seal to be of such design as may be agreed on by the board
on the Chesapeake and its tributaries. The board on the Chesapeake
and its tributaries shall cause such metallic measures to be distri-
buted to all the oyster inspectors of the state, who shall offer them
for sale and sell them to the public ata price not exceeding such per
centum over their contract price as may in the judgment of the said
board on the Chesapeake and its tributaries be sufficient to fully de-
fray all the expense of procuring and delivering such measures to
the public. Any person violating this section shall be fined not less
than twenty-five nor more then one hundred dollars for each offence.

§ 2164. When license to dredge oysters granted to residents; ap-
plication therefor.—The said board shall, on and after the first of
January, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, provided the police force
established in this bill is fully equipped and in operation, or if, in
the judgment of the board, said police force is sufficient to protect the
grounds in which dredging is prohibited, authorize any resident of
this state to take and catch oysters with dredges or instruments other
than ordinary oyster-tongs in the Chesapeake bay; but this privilege
shall not extend to Pocomoke sound, Hampton Roads, Mobjack hay
or Tangier sound, or west of a line drawn from the light-house on
Rappahannock spit to the light-house on Wolf-Trap spit, nor to any
inlet, creek or river, nor to the mouths thereof, except the river Potomac,
and the following rocks in Tangier sound, to-wit: Johnson’s rock,
Thoroughfare rock, Hoxe’s Island rock and 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
W atts’ Island bar, it being buoy number three, and the outer buoy at
the mouth of Chesconessex creek: provided that no dredging shall be
permitted between the fifteenth day of March and the fifteenth day
of October of any year. Any resident desiring to dredge for oysters
shall make application for such privilege to the inspector of the dis-
trict and county 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 ton-
nage at which she is rated. Such statement shall further show the
district or county in which the owner or owners reside; that they
are and have been residents of the state twelve months next pre-
ceding the application; that no non-resident owns, in whole or in
part, said vessel, and that she is not held with any intention or under
any agreement to return her at any subsequent time to a non-resi-
dent. Upon being satisfied of these facts the inspector shall regis-
ter such vessels, and shall thereupon issue to such person a license,
granting him the privilege of dredging for oysters within the pre-
scribed limits and season, which shall be plainly set forth in the
license; and the inspector shall also furnish him two numbers,
twenty-two inches long, in black, painted on canvas or domestic,
which shall be placed on the side, as herein prescribed, the number
on his mainsail to be placed above the balance reef, in the centre of
the sail, half way between the gaff and said reef, on the jib above
the bonnet in centre of jib, and on the opposite of that of the main-
sail. For such registration he shall pay to the inspector a fee of one
dollar: provided no boat propelled in whole or in part by steam shall
be used for purposes of dredging for oysters in the waters of this
commonwealth. The form of the application and license required
by this section shall be prescribed by the auditor of public accounts,
and blanks furnished to each inspector.

§ 2182. Sale of property liable to injury.—If the property seized
under the warrant be punishable or liable to deterioration, decay or
injury by being detained in custody pending the proceedings, the
court, or the judge thereof in vacation, may order the same to be
sold upon such notice as he, in his discretion, may deem proper, and
hold the proceeds of sale to abide the event of such proceedings.

§ 3. Any resident of this state owning a boat to be used in taking
or catching oysters from the natural oyster rocks, beds or shoals
with ordinary oyster tongs, shall apply to the inspector of the county
or district where he resides on or before the first day of September
of each year and have said boat registered. The inspector shall
register said boat and prescribe for said boat a number correspond-
ing with the number of boats registered, which number of boats and
number of district he shall cause to be plainly marked or stamped
upon the prow of said boat. For said registration, annually, the
owner of the boat shall pay to the inspector a fee of fifty cents. Any
resident of this state owning a boat to be used in taking or catch:
ing oysters from the natural oyster rocks, beds or shoals with patent
oyster tongs, shall apply to the inspector of the county or district
where he resides on or before the first day of September of each year
and have said boat registered. The inspector shall register said
boat and prescribe for said boat a number corresponding with the
number of boats registered for working patent tongs, which number
of boats and number of district he shall cause to be plainly marked
or stamped on the prow of said boat; that stamp or mark shall be
P. T., and the number of boat registered, and under the number of
the boat the number of his district. For example, “P. T. t”’ shows
that the boat is registered, for patent tongs number one, and regis-
tered in district number one, in Accomac county. For said registra-
tion, annually, the owner of the boat shall pay to the inspector a fee
of fifty cents. Any person violating any of the provisions of this
section shall be fined not less than ten nor more than thirty dollars,
to be recovered as other fines are recovered.

§ 5. Any person being a resident of this state, who shall be de-
sirous of catching or taking oysters from the natural oyster beds,
rocks or shoals of this commonwealth with ordinary or patent
tongs, shall first apply to the inspector of his county or district in
which he resides for registration. The inspector shall require each
applicant so registered in his district or county, to make to him on
the Saturday of each week, or within three days thereafter, during
the lawful season, a true and accurate return of the amount of sales
of oysters caught from the natural rocks, beds or shoals made by
him during the week preceding; and the inspector shall collect from
said tongman, on the aggregate amount of said sales for the week, an
amount equal to the amount of tax that may be levied by the state
on any other species of property; but if at the time of registering as
aforesaid, the tongman prefers and elects to pay to the inspector the
sum of two dollars for using and working ordinary tongs, and five
dollars for using and working patent tongs, during the entire sea-
son, then the inspector shall give him a certificate showing that he
has registered, and whether he has paid the specific sum, or whether
he has to report his sales on Saturday night or within three days
thereafter. Any person violating the provisions of this section shal!
be fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars, to be recovered
as other fines are recovered.

§ 8. It shall not be lawful for any person to rent oyster-planting
ground and afterwards sub-rent or sub-let the same to another per-
son at a greater sum than he paid the state for renting the same.
If he should sub-let or sub-rent, it shall be done after notifying the
inspector of his intention; and then the sub-letting or sub-renting
shall be done in writing, with the approval of the inspector, and
said writing shall describe accurately the ground, 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 fee of the clerk
to be paid by the person directing the recordance of the same. The
sub-lessee or sub-renter shall have all the rights and privileges of
the original lessee or original renter.

Any person violating this section shal! be fined not less than fifty
nor more than one hundred dollars.

§ 10. If any person other than a resident of this state take or
catch oysters or other shell fish in any of the waters of the state, or
rent any oyster-planting ground or plant oysters in any of the waters
of this state, he shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, upon con-
viction thereof, be confined in the penitentiary not less than one
nor more than three years, or, at the discretion of the jury, be con-
fined in jail not exceeding one year and fined not exceeding five
hundred dollars.

2. No person shall be considered a renter of oyster-planting
ground in this state until he shall have received from the inspector
a receipt for the rent in full for one year, in advance, and shall also
have paid the fee to the inspector for assigning and the fee to the
surveyor for the survey and plat.

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 the same for the period of
twenty years the renter acquired. The interest in said pianting
ground shall be construed to be a chattel real, and shall at the death
of the renter pass into the hands of the personal representatives for
the benefit of creditors and the heirs of the decedent.

3. It shall be the duty of each inspector of oysters, as soon as pos-
sible after his appointment in May, eighteen hundred and ninety-
four, and on the first day of February of each succeeding year, to
proceed to assess for taxation for state and county purposes all oysters
planted or shells deposited for propagation of oysters in his county or
district; he shall go upon and examine said oysters and shells and
fix a valuation on the same, and make a full and complete list of the
names of owners of said oysters and shells, where located, number
of bushels of oysters (approximate to it), their value per bushel,
giving the aggregate value of the full amount; names of owners of
shells deposited, where located and total value; this list to be made
out in the form to be furnished by the auditor of public accounts
and sworn to before a magistrate, a notary public, commissioner in
chancery or clerk of the court, to be filed in the clerk’s office in the
county where the inspector resides.

After the inspector returns his assessment to the clerk’s office, any
person within sixty days after said return who thinks his oysters
or shells have been assessed too high, may apply to the county court
to have his assessment examined into, and if in the opinion of the
court the assessment is too high, the court shall fix the valuation of
said property, and it shall be the value on which the tax shall be
collected. The inspector shall be summoned when the question ie
heard by the court.

It shall thereupon be the duty of the clerk of the county to ex-
tend the amount on this return of the inspector of all taxes to be
paid by each person for state, county and school purposes on the
same basis as other personal property is taxed, and the said clerk
shall then make out two copies of said assessment and return, turn-
ing one over to the inspector and fowarding the other to the auditor
of public accounts.

The inspector shall, on the first day of December of each year,
proceed to collect said tax so assessed from the parties who are liable
for said tax, and shall have all the powers now given to county and
city treasurers for the collection of taxes, and said inspector shall,
on May first of each year, settle in full with the auditor of public
accounts for all state revenue he has received, and also settle with
the board of supervisors of each county and pay over to the treasurer of
said county all money collected for county purposes when said board
shall so order.

The full compensation for the assessment of the property and the
collecting of the taxes shall be ten percentum on full amount col-
lected.

The clerk shall be paid for his services as provided for in this sec-
tion, out of the amount of the county tax turned over by said in-
spector, such sum as may be fixed by the board of supervisors. Any
inspector or clerk failing to discharge any duty imposed by this sec-
Hon shall be fined not less than twenty nor more than one hundred

ollars.

4, It shall be unlawful for any person to imitate or counterfeit the
metallic measure provided for in section two thousand one hundred
and fifty of this act, or use the same knowing it to be imitated or
counterfeited. Any person violating any of the provisions of this
section shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and on conviction thereof
shall be confined in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than
three years, or, at the discretion of the jury, confined in jail not
more than twelve months or fined not exceeding five hundred dol-
lars. .

5. Section nine of an act entitled an act to amend and re-enact
sections two thousand one hundred and thirty-one, two thousand one
hundred and thirty-three, two thousand one hundred and thirty-four,
two thousand one hundred and thirty-five, two thousand one hun-
dred and thirty-seven, two thousand one hundred and forty-eight,
two thousand one hundred and fifty-three, and to repeal sections two
thousand one hundred and forty-one, two thousand one hundred and
forty-two, two thousand one hundred and forty-three, two thousand
one hundred and forty-four, two thousand one hundred and forty-
five and two thousand one hundred and forty-seven of chapter
ninety-seven of the code of Virginia, in relation to oysters, and to
add independent sections thereto, approved February twenty-fifth,
eighteen hundred and ninety-two, be, and the same is hereby, re-
pealed; but all suits or motions now pending in the courts under
this section shall not be affected by this repeal.

6. Be it enacted by the general assembly, That an act entitled an
act to amend and re-enact sections three and five of an act entitled
an act to amend and re-enact sections two thousand one hundred and
thirty-one, two thousand one hundred and thirty-three, two thousand
one hundred and thirty-four, two thousand one hundred and thirty-
five, two thousand one hundred ard forty-eight, two thousand one
hundred and fifty-one, two thousand one hundred and fifty-three,
and to repeal sections two thousand one hundred and forty-one, two
thousand one hundred and forty-two, two thousand one hundred and
forty-three, two thousand one hundred and forty-five and two thou-
sand one hundred and forty-seven of chapter ninety-seven of the
code of Virginia, in relation to oysters, and to add independent sec-
tions thereto, approved February twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and
ninety-two, which was approved March second, eighteen hundred and
ninety-four, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.
7. This act shall be in force from its passage.