Chap. 157.—An ACT to amend section 6 of an act approved March 4,
1884, entitled an act for the preservation of oysters, and to obtain
revenue for the privilege of taking them from the waters of the com-
mohwealth, as amended by an act approved August —, 1884.

Approved November 29, 1884.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
section six of an act entitled an act for the preservation of
oysters, and to obtain revenue for the privilege of takin
them within the waters of the commonwealth, approved
March fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, as amended
by an act approved August —, eighteen hundred and eighty-
four, be and the same is hereby amended and re-enacted so
as to read as follows:

§6. If any owner or occupier of land having a water front
thereon suitable for planting oysters, shall be desirous of ob-
taining a location thereon for planting oysters, he may make
application to any inspector for the county in which he re-
sides, who shall assign to him, on such location as such owner
or occupant may designate, in front of his land, a quantity
sufficient for thesaid purpose, to be judged of by said inspector,
subject to appeal to the judge of the county court of the
county in which said land is located, either in term time or
vacation, who is hereby authorized to take cognizance of the
same, and make such assignment as shall seem proper: pro-
vided that the said assignment shall not exceed one-half of
an acre: and provided further, that the privilege thus accor-
ded to the riparian owner may at any time be revoked at the
pleasure of the general assembly, said revocation to take
effect eighteen months from date of revocation. It shall be
the duty of such owner or occupant to cause the same to be
marked with suitable stakes, according to the assignment,
and thereafter he shull have the exclusive right to the use
thereof for the purpose aforesaid; and this privilege is ac-
corded to said owner or occupant in consideration of the extra
valuation ordinarily assessed upon such land for the water
privileges supposed to attach thereto: provided however, that
the inspector making the assignment of reservation shall be
paid by such owner or occupant a fee of one dollar, and if
such owner or occupant shall sell any oysters from said re-
servatioa, also an annual rent of twenty-five cents; and all
other privileges accorded to riparian owners under the pro-
visions of the section hereby amended are hereby revoked,
and the inspectors shall return to riparian owners all taxes,
rents and fees collected under the provisions of said section.
If any portion of said water front herein reserved or provided
for said riparian owners or occupiers 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 occupy-
ing the same shall have eighteen months to remove the said
oysters so planted thereon. The balance of said water front
or fronts, 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 person or persons for the purpose of plantin

oysters, or the propagation of oysters thereon. It shall be
the duty of any such person desiring to obtain a location for
planting or propagating oysters on any portion of the water
fronts and beds aforesaid, not located or reserved as herein-
before provided for owners and occupiers of land as aforesaid,
to apply to an inspector to have his location ascertained and
designated, and the same shall be marked with suitable stakes,
or by other metes and bounds agreed upon, between the ap-
plicant and inspector, and he shall pay the inspector for his
services a fee of one dollar, and also an annual rent of twenty-
five cents for each and every acre assigned to him, payable
on the first day of October, annually, and thereafter he shall
have the exclusive right to the use of such location so desig-
nated for the purpose aforesaid, so long as he complies with
the provisions of the law requiring the payment of twenty-
five cents per annum for every acre so occupied, subject,
however, to the right of revocation by the general assembly.
If any portion of said water fronts, or beds or bays, rivers
and creeks, is occupied with oysters actually planted thereon,
at the time a location is made, or sought to be made un-
der this section, the occupier shall have the prior right
against all others to have the said land so occupied by him
assigned to him by the inspector: provided said occupier shall
have the'land so occupied by him ascertained and désignated
within thirty days from the time that the inspector is called
on to locate said land: provided however, that the provisions
of this section, which are amendatory to the section hereby
amended, shall not apply to the counties of Richmond, North-
ampton, Northumberland and Westmoreland, but the provi-
sions of said section are hereby declared to remain in full
force, so far as said counties are concerned, notwithstanding
the amendments thereto contained in this section: provided,
however, that nothing in this section that restores to the
ypanian owners in the counties of Northampton, Richmond,

estmoreland and Northumberland one-fourth of their re-
spective 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 any shore if balance of said shore be already
in his said land-owner’s possession or unoccupied.

2. This act shall be in force from its passage.