Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1882-10-05

HeA Dscfssos .-.9n tie 18th
LAnt. Smoot. ct the Katie
iN arrested and brought before
H H6nor. Judge Ford II this place.
. aohared with violating the
Aes 81 1882. Chap s91. D Clustering.
miEh6nt License. III The Pot0rnae River
bsIew Bial ist0nss Island. within the
oas6rv line 81 the State Of Mary
land. - ascerEained and liked By The
award III Black and Jenkins. Arhi-
TRAITORS. appointed 81 Maryland aud
Virginia. . establish tbs true hound-
aFy line between The two States.
Nanl. 6. HammeEt, States Attor-
neg for St Marys county. appeared
for lie State and Is. II Wilson for
lhe 6saNersers.
TIE cases were heard and arguments
made. but the Judge reserved his de-
cisi6n until the 10Th inst. retaining
By aereement two Of the part IN
Jail. il the hope that some arrange
menE might be made By whlch the
eases might he retired and the vexed
and unsettled question determined -
full bench. 0nr Circuit Court
meeting on the 18th inst. uron an
examination OF the law, il was ruled,
Judge Ford himself fully concurriag
IN Tie ruling. that the only way the
eases could be properly brought be-
fore tie full court. would be by an
appeal; that the Judge before whom
the easas had been heard sat. 80 to
speak IS . committing magistrate.
with the same right and powers that
= Justice OF the Peace would hav5 had
had the parties been brought before
the Jastice and not before the Judge.
and that tia Judge alone who heard
the cases mnst render the decision.
This ultimatum Of the Court, was
pronQnhced By Chief Judge Stone.
WheE pon. Judge Ford decided that
The ties Ire rot guilty aud
Should Be discharged. The text of
the Judges decision is substantially
IS follows: That the act of 1882.
chap. sol, is in contravention Of the
rights and privileges guaranteed to
the two States by the old compact of
1855, and hence null and void and
not binding on the citizens Of Virginia
(the parties being from Westmoreland
county, and Virginia never having by
legislative enactment recognized or
assented to this act Of 1882: that the
act Of the Virginia Legislature and
the concurring act Of Maryland, both
passed in 1854. submitting the bonn
dairy line to arbitration. expressly ex-
cepted and reserved all the rights and
privileges belonging TO the two States
under this compact; that the award
Of Black and jenkins. giving to Mary
land the right of eminent domain in
the Potomac River as far as low water
mark on the Virginia shore, also ex-
pressly excepted and reserved all the
rights existing under this compact,
and that the said act of 1882, pur-
porting to be based upon this award
and clearly contravening their old
CONTACTED righte, was imperative
and void
And so the question stands just
where it was when the act was passed
mo nearer the court of final and
last resort than it was then. And
the main proposition is now submitted.
how can it be taken to the Court Of
final adjudication and there deter
mined to the full satisfaction of all
interested?
1t is due and perhaps proper here
to state, that Judge Stone, who 'ex-
pressly declined giving any opinion
on the real meritof the question, re-
marked as an "obiter dictum, that
the State could not appeal-this right
under the said act being given only
to the party convicted. aud that the
only way he then saw in which this
question could get to the Court of
Appeals for final settlement. would
be for someone who had been arrested
and Imprisoned under the act to sue
the Captain making the arrest for
false imprisonment. and from the iud :
ment OF the Circuit Court or the ve..-