Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1894-09-15
yIRGINIA'S OYSTER BEDS.
Gov. O'FerralpS Letter to Gov. Frank
Brown.

following is a copy of a letter Col. G.
OBJ Cowardin, Gov. O'Ferrall's chief
of staff, delivered to day to Gov.
Brown, of Maryland, at Annapolis:
To His Excellency, Frank Brown,
Governor OF Maryland, Annapo-
lis, Md.
Sir:-On the 2nd of March, 1894,
the General Assembly of Virginia
adopted the following joint resolu-
ton, of which you were duly ill.,
formed:
Resolved, (the Senate concurring)
that committee of five, consisting
of two members from the Senate and
three members from the House of
Delegates, be appointed, who may
act separately or conformity with a
like committee to be appointed by
the General Assembly of the State OF
MARYLAND, to whom shall be referred
the message of the Governor of the
Commonwealth, this day communi-
eating TO the General Assembly OF
Virginia the joint resolution of the
General Assembly of Maryland with
reference to the conflict between the
Lsteamer Chesapeake and the dredg-
ING vessels mentioned in said mes
sage, together with the copy OF the
said Joint resolution, whose duty 1t
shall be to investigate and ascertain
| the facts in connection with the SAID
conflict, the said committee to have
power to sit during the recess OF the
General Assembly, and to send fol
persons and to enforce the attend
ance of witnesses. and such other
powers as may be necessary to en-
able the said committee TO make i
| full and complete investigation OF the
subject referred to them.
Resolved I'd, That the said com
mittee, upon the completion of the
investigation to be made by the here
under, shall report the facts ascer
tanned, together with their own con
clusions as to the subject matter OF
their investigation, to the Governor
of the Commonwealth, who Is hereby
empowered to take such action as he
may deem proper in the premises.
Resolved 3rd, That the said joint
committee shall have power and au
thority in their discretion to employ
such clerical held as they may need
Pursuant to this resolution the
committee appointed made an in
vestigation and have submitted then
report with their conclusions to me
for such action as may deem proper
iii the premises. A copy of said re
port is appended hereto. The facts
as found by said committee are a:
follows:
That for years, certainly as fal
back as 1885, the oyster beds of the
State of Virginia, in the Tangier and
Pocomoke sounds, have been depre
dated upon and large quantities o.
oysters taken therefrom by citizens
of Maryland, and the State of Nir
cinia has been thereby deprived moi
only of her property illegally, bu1
| her oyster beds have been greatly
injured by the dredging machines
used by said Maryland depredators
That on the 18th day of February
last the William E. Price and G. w
Stevenson and other vessels owned
and manned by citizens of Maryland
in the early morning and before day
light. were discovered by the Virgin
ia oyster police schooner Tangier tC
be engaged in dredging for oysters IL
,s,-iAr Sound, on what are known
Is Ord " s-s-.4",an's Marsh and Hurley
Rock withinsc.s,-,, territory of Virgin
a, and when apl'i.o-c,G,c:hed by sale
police schooner retired iitv Mary
and waters.
That about s o'clock a. m, of this
ame day the said vessels returned
% the said Old Woman's Marsh and
Jurley's Rock, and began to dredge
thereon; that when approached again !
" the police schooner almost stimuli
;aneously the said vessels, with rifles
md the police schooner with cannon
md rifles, cstesled fire, but the police
schooner, with her small crew and
supply of ammunition,
could not cope with the large force
md many crews of the said vessels,
md was compelled to retire and
cave the depredators to pursue their
Illegal work without molestation.
That again, on the afternoon Of
he 10Th day Of February last about
O'Clock, the said Maryland vessels
we're found in the locality and wa
;ers already described, engaged, as
before, in dredging, and when again
approached by the said police
they opened fire upon her
Ind again overpowered and forced |
Ter to retire from the scene and al
ow them to continue their depreda-
ions.
That a few hours later, after night
all, the Virginia oyster police steam
,r Chesapeake entered Tangier Sound |
md proceeded to the scene of trouble,
md found the said vessels, including
he William E. Price and G. w.
Stevenson, still engaged in dredging
IN Old Woman's Marsh and Hurley'S
Rock; that the said vessels, embold
4ned, no doubt, by their success in
Irving off the police schooner, as
,oon as they discovered the Chesa-
oeake, opened vigorous fire upon
Ter with rifles. The fire was imme-
liately returned by the Chesapeake,
the said vessels, includ-
ng the William E. Price and G. w.
stevenson, retreated in the direction
If Maryland waters, keeping up
constant fire upon the Chesapeake
Is she holly pursued them.
Ildt NlIllc liz UlilS pNii NAASii
vas continuous, and under this con-
tant and sharp firing from the re-
reating vessels, the Chesapeake, in
he darkness of the night and with
hore marks obscured, crossed the
dividing line between the States, but
IS soon as her commander was in
ormed that he was in Maryland wa
ers he ordered the firing from his
,oat to cease and returned to Virgin
a waters, and in returning he found
irst the William E. Price and then
he C. w. Stevenson aground, and
they were in Virginia
waters he picked them up and with
heir crews (the Captains having fled
n small boats and their cargoes of
ulled and unculled oysters taken
rom Virginia waters, towed them to
Accomac county, Va, and delivered
hem to the proper officials of said
ounty, where they were subsequent
Y condemned as forfeited to the