Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-02-17
THE STATE AT LARGE.
THE EASTERN SHORE.
C,.s n, m HIS irjuries-The Easier--shore
and the weSsrn.shore Dredsers.

c,,s fr m Hl. Iriuries-The Essisr,-shore
and the wsasrn.shore Dredser.
fcorrespopdence OF the Richmond Dispatch
OyANcocK, Feb. Ia, 1885
Arthur Colonna, the young farmer
who had his skull fractured Thursday
at the Pungoteague races, has since
died of his injuries.
Onancock promises to become the
great oyster-shipping town on the East
crn Shore. Several shocking and pack
ing establishments are 20 be built here
before the next season opens.
The oyster commissioners for this
county have made their report for the
quarter ending lst Of December. 1884,
showing a net revenue for the State
Treasury of s3.4S7.6S. 1t must be
borne in mind that this amount was col
lectcd mainly from tOngmen, before
the Chesapeake was declared open to
dredgers. The collections for the cur
rent quarter will of course be much
larger. 1t would appear from this that
the Eastern-Shorc dredgers, who pay so
large a revenue into the Treasury. should
have their oyster-groundS protected at
least with the same vigilance as those
lying along the western shore of the
bay.
Sigma" your Mathews-county
correspondent. seems to have taken a
very serious view of the remark re-
ported by me as having been made by
a gentleman of this town in regard to
the Mathews-county people arresting
Eastern-ShOre dredgers and then ex-
pecting them to ransom themselves by
setting up free drinks for the crowd.
Nv information about these trials was
derived from Captain, John I. Rogers.
a highly-rcspectable citizen OF this
county. who was summoned as wit
ness in these cases. and having heard
the testimony adduced did not hesitate
to denounce the proceedings as an out
rage upon the oystermen. The remark
about the free drinks was made by a
reliable gentleman in this town. and
was not intended to be taken in its
literal sense. as we plainly intimated
in reporting it. If Sigma y
wants his name he can get it..
But as " Sigma " has called on me to
explain. | will now ask him to explain
how it is that some Eastern-ShOre ycs-
sells were captured two years ago and
sold by the authorities of Mathews
county contrary to law. "a was after
wards decided by the supreme Court of
Appeals. which ordered the money to
be refunded to the veSsel-owners. and
yet they have never been able to recover
the 10 per cent. which the Mathews
authorities pocketed for making these
illegal sales: | would also call his at
tention to a letter published in the East
crn-Shore papers to-day, and referred
to in the Dispatch Of the 18th instant,
from Captain 4. Il. Read, an honorable
and truthful man. who relates how he
and Captaid Richardson were arrested
and carried to Mathews county, where
they were tried and acquitted, but
forced to pay $3.50 to defray the costs
of the illegal prosecution. ! know
nothing of these damaging charges except
what ] have heard from the dredgerS.
and for the sake of the good name OF
Mathews county should be glad to
know that there is no truth in them.
There prevails here on the Eastern
Shore no i'll will toward, the Mathews
people. except those who are reported
to have been instrumental in making
our oystcr-men pay the costs Of trials
that appear to have been needless and
unjust. kALLIAS.