Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1892-09-17

Legislature, announcing that the
FGovernor of Maryland had pledged
his State to the observance and main
tenance OF the -temporary line agreed
upon by the Police Commanders of
the respective States, and asked for
the release of the Marylanders ar
rested for trespassing: whereupon,
the Legislature passed the following.
joint resolution: Resolved. that the
Governor of Virginia be authorized
to discharge from arrest the citizens
OF Maryland who were arrested for
violation of-the laws of Virginia, in
trespassing upon her territory and
gathering oysters within her boun-
diaries, and to release the vessels
seized.n Thereupon. under this reso
luton, the arrested parties were dis
charged from custody, AMI the cap
tured property was restored. On
April IS. 1874, the Virginia Legisla
ture passed an Act relative to oysters,
Sec: % of which was, .If any person
(other than q citizen of this State)
shall take or catch oysters or other
shell,fish in any manner or plant oys-
tiers in the waters thereof, or in the
rivers Potomac or Pocomoke, he shall
forfeit &c:-But this section shall
not extend to citizens of Maryland
taking oysters in the said mentioned
rivers Under thisSec: several of the
citizens ofs@Maryland were arrested
for taking oystersin Pocomoke Sound,
and were tried therefor and con-
victed in the County Court Of Acco-
mack, at the next session of the
Legislature, ION Febry: 8, 1875. an Act
was. passed. in til. preamble to which
it was recited that the Governor in
his annual message had asked that
the true meaning and constr lction OF
Sec: % of the Act of April 1S, 1874,
should be declared; and that he had
communicated the correspondence
between him and the Governor of
Maryland, in which the last named
proposed that temporary line Of di-
vision between the two States, pend
ing the decision of the Arbitrator
as to the true boundary line of the
States, should be established, which
Act enacted;
81. That the true meaning Of the
said 93d Sec: of the said Act was to
confer upon citizens of Maryland the
privilege of taking oysters in the Po-
tomee and Pocomoke rivers, and not
in POGO noke Bay or Sound.
9. That insisting and declaring that
the true line between this State and
the State of Maryland, East of the
Chesapeake Bay, is the line known
as the Calvert and Scarborough line,
and that part of the County Of
Somerset. claimed by the State of
Maryland, is South of that line, and
of right part of the territory OF Vir-
ginia; yet in a spirit of comfy and
good will to sister State, be it fur
ther enacted, that the privilege Of
taking oysters in rocomoke Bay shall
be enjoyed by citizens of Maryland in
comm IN with the citizens of Virginia,
North of right line running from
Cedar Straights to the intersection
of the Calvert and Scarborough line
with the Pocomoke river.
3. The privilege COME rred by this
Act may be withheld at the pleasure
OF the General Assembly,
From an examination of this whole
legislation, is any recognition found
on the part of Virginia, or an asser-
tion by Maryland, of the right of the
citizens of Maryland to take oysters
in Pocomoke Sound. 1t is true that
Virginia, in the most of her laws rel
alive to oysters from 1919 to 1874, ex-
cluded from the operation of these
laws citizens of Maryland taking
oysters in the Potomac or
Pocomoke rivers. But Jour Mary
land friends no doubt will say,
that if the privilege was accorded by
Virginia Of taking oysters in the Pc
comoke river that is all they claim,
as the Sound is the river 1t has al
ready been shown that Maryland in
1885, and both Maryland and Virginia
in 1868, recognized Pocomoke Bay or
Sound as distinct body Of water
from Pocomoke river; and it can
hardly be supposed that Virginia had
forgotten this fact in framing her
legislation from 1919 to 1874. She
certainly remembered it when she
passed the Act of 1852, because she
therein expressly names Pocomoke
Soun1. Why in 1870 did the Govern
or of Maryland ask of Virginia the
release of citizens of his State cap
tured for taking oysters in Pocomoke
Sound, and not demand such release,
if these citizens had the right to oys-
ter in that. Sound? Why if such right
existed did the Governor of Maryland
in 1874 propose temporary line of
division between the two States,
pending the decision of the Arbitra-
tors as to the true boundary line? If
under the Compact of 1885, or by
prescription, or in any other manner,
Maryland had acquired the common
right of fishery in the Pocomoke
river. and that river embraced Poco-