Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-12-08
rHE MARYLAND OYSTER rvr,.D.

In Ce 4ooO DOO bllE
THE MARYLAND OYSTER FuEuns.
The Oyster Law and Its Oper.s,.r.-
New Legislation Probable Tn,. wrs..
ter-Reminisssneese Of .Rorsixnn i.s..
saeo6
conspondencso Of TIE EvEx,Se STA.
| e--.-- ANNAPoLIs Deceuh.rl
Eight hundred and twenty-five persons have
| secured license nom the state of MARYLAND.
| thereby giving that number Of boats the nrivi.
lege to dredge tor oysters in certain vaters. but
| prohibiting them from operating In other nor.
| lions exempted by law. The tax on these ves.
sells aggregate . handsome revenue TO the
state, which IL still further increased bv the
lines imposed In cases OF violation of the dredg-
ing law, the penalty for which subjects the
offender to severe sentence, In addition 70
which his vessel may be contested. Notvtth.
standing the stringent penalty, the law II
openly violated at times, as is evidenced by the
| large number of arrests recently made by the
oyster navy, which has force of three steamers
and ten sailing vessels in active service during
| the entire season. The comnlan dsr OF the force
| Is Capt. James i. Waddell, who commanded the
famous ram "Shenandoah" during the re-
The oyster dredging season in Maryland be-
gins in November and ends in April. Vessels
L
earlier period, and, according to decision i'm a
! test case, by one of the judges of the court of
appeals, are not compelled to take out the
| Incense that has heretofore been imposed, and
| which materially increased the revenues of the
oyster iund. The oyster law, it would seem, is
| full OF techncalities, and no doubt at the ensu-
| Ing session of the legislature in January an
| effort will be made to substitute another in its
place. 1t is recognized by oystermen-t that the
present law regulating the catching of oysters
| In Maryland waters is more complicated than
any OF the former laws enacted on the subject,
| lis alike open to complaint by dredgers and
| visions.
| THE MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA BOUNDARY.
| The compact between the states OF Mary land
ana Virginia having recently been settled by
the marking of the boundary line between the
two states, there is very little complaint now of
dredgers of one state infringing on the rights
| OF the other. Most of the violations occur in
| Lne chesapeake bay, though not great while
mas elapsed since numerous arrests were made
| on the Virginia side, which led at the time to
| an extensive correspondence between the gov
errors OF the neighbOring states.
Dredging is carried on almost as extensively
now as when nOn-resdents were allowed to
come IN ana help themselves to Maryland BIZ
waves. mis- infringement upon the rights OF
Maryland oystermen was stopped some fifteen
years or more ago, and ever since the oyster
beds have yielded plenty: At no time has the
yIeid been more prolific than at present. 1t is
Witnih me recollection of many AnnapolitanS
o! the difficulty experienced in driving the
Foreign dreugerS, as non-reSidentS were called
from the forbidden oyster grounds In those
days the sheriff and his deputies made arrests
t iHr t .e violations 1t sometimes occurred
thiit the dredgerS would resist the law officers
ana give them much trouble before submitting
to arrest.
SAVED BY HIS WIG.
On one occasion sheriff OF the county In en-
oeavor1ng To effect an arrest went in a yawl
boat TO the dredging vessel in the stream. The
crew were evidently waiting for him. and as the
oo;tt came alongside q burly dredger caught the
law officer by the hair OF the head, intending to
q md a of
mary manaer, Fortunately for the sheriff his
artificial hair left the scalp of the head and
thou@h the official lost his wig he was satisfied
70 ieaVs IL behind when he heard later what
would have been his fate had he landed in the
| ciutches OF the depredators of the oyster beds.
Although nOne Of the present officials have
experienced such rough treatment in making
arrests, in late years the bombardment of a po-
ice eoit from the decks OF a dredging vessel
siiCrG llIle ago IN the Chesapeake bay is an in-
dication that the dredger OF the present day has
stu some of the old-tilne activity about him
ana that the oystermen of the Chesapeake have
rights which even the Maryland oyster navy
must respect.
Ruined Life.
HOW AN EMINENT WESTERN JURIST FELL FROM
GRACE AND BECAME vAGABOND
y telegram to the New York Herald from
Chicago, December 9TH, says: \ life history of
wreck and ruin was disclosed in Justice Ker-
stems court when VIM. Wallace Drummond
charge of vagabondage. His lettering limbs
and bloodsliot eyes presented a sad contrast to
the Judge Drummond well known ia Chicago
2oyelfs ago. Early in the .'fifties' Drummond
joined the tide of emigration to Illinois ard 10
Gated at Monmouth. 4 man OF brilliant accOmp-
ilshnents. profound lawyer, "A learned scholar
al eloquent orator. he rose rapidly in the scale OF
public estimation. He was elected a member
OF the legislature and measured his lance with
the men OF marx of the times. During the ad-
ministratiOn of Franklin Pierce and upon the
personal solicitation OF the Illinois representa-
ton in Congress, headed by Judge Edmunds, of
Carthage he was appointed chief justice OF the
United States court ut Salt Lake City. His ad-
niniStraiion OF the trust is said to have been
characterized by such strict Interpretation of
the law that he was the cause of the uprising by
the Mormon, and WAS forced to flee to California
to escape DANTE vengeance. Instruction fol-
ncy Johnston, subsequently a general i'm the
army OF the confederate states. who fell AT
Shiloh, was ordered thither. He Suppressed the
outbreak after which the ostracised judge re-
turned to his post
About 1857 he revisited Illinois and finally
settled in Chicago, where he became member
OF the legal firm OF Drummond, Davis d Mar
tin, having its offices in the old Metropolitan
block Here, too: he arose to prominence as a
Union Park in style betting his professional
eminence. Early during the war Col. Davis
died, Martin Withdrew from the firm and Drum
mond mysteriously disappeared. lie was after
wards heard of on the Pacific coast and again
in ST. Louis. where he married a wealthy lady
who is reported to have separated from him
after he had expended her patrimony. Next he
was heard of in an interior county OF
Missouri, serving. in the capacity of
judge of the circuit court Then there
comes a blank in his history. About four
years ago he returned to this city as suddenly
and mysteriously as he departed almost
twenty years previous: His family had be.
come scattered. One of his daughters, said to
be u woman of SURPRISING beauty and bril-
lance, was the occupant of a cell in mad
house. Broken in mind, body and estate he
became wanderer. Never was the truth of
the Scriptural admOnition, Gas We SOW SO shall
We reap" more strikingly illustrated or elo-
quently demonstrated. An old man now
at an age when he should be surrounded by
troops of friends, he wanders listlessly about, q
common tramp. an Ishmaelite, a petitioner for
mercy at the Tar of police court.
Lord LyttOn'S Cousin.
AN ENGLISH OFFICER DIES SUDDENLY IN NEW
YORK OF HEART DISEASE.
E. j. Leveson Lytton, an Englishman about
80 years old, dropped dead In his room in a