Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1872-01-04

LkUsLAu0x Fok FARMERs WAITED
Thst there shoald be Law passed BY our
Legislature 10 protect the sheep raisers Of
our State against dogs. worthless and 9TH
erwise. admits Of no denial. There Is
slight indueemen. for the Maryland farm
er to invest in sheep while there Is no Law
to protect him from the rapacity Of dses.
Maryland. according to eminent agricul-
tursl authority. is specially adapted to this
kind Of production. bat the law, leaving
the farmer without protection in this re-
'pect. be is forced by prudential consider
atoms to abandon sheep production alto
gether or to limit it to the actual neccssi-
ties of home use and consumption. Sheep
raising rs profitable article of tra6c il
now almost unknown in this section. and
will be entirely abandoned in few years,
unless our Legislators come to the rescue
end give u law which will create a
fund. by taxing dogs. to indemnify sheep
owners for the annual loss sustained By
them in the destruction oftheir sheep from
this quarter. The main purpose of the
law should be to diminish the number of
our dogs and increase the number of our
sheep. Our sheep are an element Of wealth
to the State and should be soufce pro
ft to ourselves. What many Of our dogs
are, except "dog-g6ne" nuisance. We
have never been able to discover. Pro-
tect the sheep by taxing the worthless
dogs out Of existence. We would thus
improve the breed -four dogs and certain
ly save large quantity Of our provisions.
Nobody would object to pay reasonable
annual tax on valuable dog, and none
other should be allowed to live, Mr.. Berg
to the contrary notwithstanding. Our
Leonardtown corporation taxes dogs sim
ply for purposes Of revenue-we have no
sheep here to kill-other municipal corpo-
rations in the State do the same thing
To tax dogs, therefore. to build up an in
terest which would widen in few years
our basis of taxation a million or more,
our legislators must be competent do. and
that they should do it and at once. '.fire
can't burn out Of us-weIl die for it at
the stake!'
An act for the protection Of sheep and
to tax dogs was presented to the last Leg
stature. but was not acted upon, either
for want of time or want OF nerve, we have
now forgotten which. We give below the
of the act. promising. however,
that We think it might be simplifed and
amended somewhat with benefit to all con-
,arncd.
Sec. l. The owner Of dog must have
he same registered and described in the /,
lockct Of Justice Of the Peace in the
district where he lives. said Justice to is
sue license to the owner to the following
effect:
State Of Maryland, - county, to wH:
hereby certify that on this - day
IF - IS before me. the subscriber,
, Justice Of the Peace of the State Of Ma
ryand in and for - county. personal
" appeared - and applied for license
Of a ser Of dog] dog named - here
insert description of doyl and at the same
time the said - paid The sum Of -
according to the ser of the doyl for H.
ccnse for the same until the first day of
May. IS. and all the fees due me for
issuing the same. Witness my hand and
seal this - day Of f. IS. And
1t the same time Of issuing the said IL
,ense the Justice Of the Peace shall en-
cr the name of the owner in his docket
md make 4 short entry of the number of
logs licensed TO such owner and their gen.
,ral description and he shall be entitled
% receive from the person applying for
license the sum Of ten cents for every dog
20 licensed
Sec. 2. and be IL enacted. That every
'wncr Of dog shall pay to the Justice Of
he Peace issuing the license the above
mentioned for one year or less than one
Scar, for the first male dog the sum of one
lollar and for every other male dog own
Il by him the sum Of City cents, and for
he first female dog the sum of two dol
airs. and for every other female dog own
NJ BY him the sum of four dollars: and
he said Justice of the Peace shall pay the
same to the County Commissioners on or
before the first Tuesday in September in
zach and every year. and all licenses I'M
Ter this Ac: shall expire on the first day
If May in every year.
Sec. 3. And be Il enacted, That the
fund arising from the licensing of dogs
shall be kept as separate fund by the
County Commissioners and shall be ap-
,lied to the payment Of damages done BY
logs to any person by the killing or wor-
wing Of sheep or other animals, and any
person who suffers any injury or damage
BY any dog may apply to Justice of the
Peace who shall at once issue his warrants
% two frcehcl,iers to appraisc the amour.
II damage done. who after being duly
sworn shall appraise the amounts of dam
.ge in writing under their hands and de-
liver the same to the person suffering the
aid damage, and the County Commission
,rs shall pay the amount Of the said ap-
praisemeut out Of the fund above men
ioued on or after the first meeting in Oc-
obcr Of the said Commissioners in each
rear, but If the said fund shall not be large
enough to pay the full amount Of all ap-
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