Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-01-22

! investigated and examined such public ground
and caused the same to be surveyed and plot
ted they shah assign the barren ground within
said public ground to the citizen or citizens OF
the State as shall have applied for the same as
herefnbefore provided, giving priority To such
applicant or applicants in the order in which
such application or applications shall have
been made; AID said committee shall certify
the said assignment or assignments To the
oyster inspector for the district i'm which said
ground lies, who shall collect from the said
assignee or assignees the annual rental as now
required by law, and also the sum of one dollar
per acre, which last named sum shall be turn
ed over TO the Board OF Fisheries to be by
them paid into the public treasury to defray
the expenses of making such investigation
and examination and of surveying plotting
and marking the said ground. The action of
the said committee shall be final as 10 such
ground after two months from the date of the
assignment of the same, provided, howeve
that at any time within the said two months
twenty-five or more registered voters of this
State, residents of such county, may file in the
Clerks Office OF the county wherein said
ground is located, a petition inwriting, under
oath, alleging that natural oyster beds. rocks
aud shoals have been included in said assign
ment. describing the location of the same by
certainty, by metes and bounds, courses and
distances having their places of beginning
and ending designated by permanent objects
on the shore. The assignee or assignees of
said ground shall be made parties defendant
to the said petition and shall be served with a
copy of the same. The Clerk shall require a
bond, with sufficient security, TO pay any costs
that may be incurred in the prosecution of
the said petition, and upon the execution of
said bond the Clerk shall docket the said petit
tioR in the Circuit Court of the said county,
and shall at once notify the chairman of the
said committee of the docketing of the same.
The Circuit Court of said county at its next
term shall try and determine the questions
raised in said petition, and il the said court
shall be of opinion that there has been incIud-
ed within the said assignment as many as five
contiguous acres of natural oyster beds, rocks
or shoals, the said court shall cause plot of
the said natural beds, rocks and shoals to be
made, and shall cause the same to be delineat-
cd upon the aforesaid charts of the Baylor
Geodetic Survey on tiie in the said Clerks
Office, and the said natural beds rocks and
shoals shall be taken from such assignment.
and the oyster inspector of the district in
which the same is located shall deduct the
same from the number of acres charged TO
such assignee, and the said naturnI beds rocks
and shoals shall become part of the natural
beds, rocks and shoals of the State as IL the
same had been included in the survey provtd- |
ed for in section two of this act. Costs shall |
be awarded against the Commonwealth il the
petitioners substantially prevail, and against
the petitioners If the Judgment of the court
shall be against them Either party TO the |
said petition shall have the right of appeal to
the Supreme Court of Appeals of the State |
within thirty days from the timo the judg-
ment OF such Circuit Court shall be rendered
4. After the expiration of the said two
months, If there shall be no such petition fled.
or IL such petition should be fled within the
said two months. then, after a final determi-
nation of the same, the said assignee or assign
ees shall have the exclusive right to occupy
such ground for planting or propagating oys-
ters Tor a period of twenty years, subject /
however. to the right of the General Assem- |
oily TO revoke such an assignment for violation |
oy such applicant or his assigns of any oyster
law or laws now in force, or which may be |
hereafter enacted; provided, however, that IL |
the said assignee shall be in default for sixty
days in the payment of the annual rental upon
the said ground, or shall voluntarily give
UP or abandon any part of the said ground, |
ne shall forfeit the whole assignment
and the inspector OF tho district in
which the said ground lies shall lease the /
same to such other citizen or citizens OF the
State as may apply for the same in accordance
with the general laws of the State applicable
to the assignment of planting ground. No
assignment under this act shall be for less
than ten nor more than two hundred and fifty
acres to any one person, and no section of !
such planting ground shall be divided in max
ing such assignment
o. The said committee is hereby authorized |
10 employ surveyor or surveyors and such |
assistants as may be necessary to carry out
the provisions of this act In making such sur
veys and plotting the same, and is further
authorized TO request the Superintendent of
the u. 5. Coast and Geodetic Survey TO detail
Mr. j. B. Baylor or some other assistant |
OF the said Department to aid the said |
committee In making the surveys pro-
Nued Tor In this act. And the Board
OF Fisheries is hereby authorized and
directed TO render the said committee all the
assistance 1t may be able to render, including
the use OF one of the police steamers.
The Auditor of Public Accounts is here
oy authorized 10 draw his warrants upon the
treasury for such sums as may be necessary TO
defray the expenses OF the said committee
including the costs OF making the saiss SURVEYS
ana OF marking. plotting and recording the
same as herein provided for, upon certificates
signed by the chairman OF the said committee
ana atiested by its secretary. The sum of
or so much thereof as may be neces-
sary' is hereby appropriated for such purpose.
Z. The members of the said comrnitte shall
not, during the term for which they were
elected, engage in oyster planting or become
interested directly or indirectly during said
term In any assignment OF oyster ground
made under the provisions of this act.
.. The said committee is hereby authorszed
10 SIT during the vacation OF the General
Assembly, and is hereby directed TO make re- |
port of their action hereunder to the next
session of the General Assembly. and shall |
include in such report detailed statement
and description OF such ground as they shall |
have examined, surveyed and assigned, and
shall also include in such report an itemized ac
count or the costs and expenses incurred
under this acs