Bridgeton pioneer., 1905-01-26
ERRORS AND APPEALS
COURT AGAINST LEE.


The following dispatch was sent out
To the newspapers Friday afternoon
from Trenton:
,sThe Court of Errors and Appeals
to- day affirmed the conviction OF Uriah
II s. Lee, who was found guilty by the
Cumberland Court and sentenced to
one year in States Prison for the lar
cel1y of oysters. Lee had oyster beds
II III the waters of Cumberland county,
and the charge was that his boats took
oysters beyond the confines of his own
beds. -
The information contained in this
dispatch is of the greatest Importance
to the oyster industry of Cumberland
county and is particularly gratifying
to the State Oyster Commission and
its Superintendent.
For years the Commission has been
using it's best efforts to break up the
u buEiness Of the oyster pirates, and
Uriah S. Lee, of Leesburg, has long
had the reputation of being one of the
most daring and successful OF any who
dredged for oysters upon grounds other
than his own.
The Commission finally caused Lees
arrest and he was indicted by the
Grand Jury at the May term, 1908.
This was shortly after Walter H.
Bacon had accepted the position of
counsel for the Commission.
Lee pleaded not guilty to the indict-
ment and the case was most vigorously
contested In the prosecution of the
case States Attorney j. Hampton
Eithian was assisted by Mr.. Bacon,
and the Oyster Commission produced
audience that resulted in the petit
Jury finding Lee guilty. A son Of
Lee, together with another member of
his crew, were also defendants in
the indictments, and with Lee were
convicted.
At the same term of Court Leonard
q. Hand was convicted, after bitter
legal contest, of violation of the rough
Gull law.
Both Lee and Hand appealed from
the verdict convicting them, and car
ried the cases to the Supreme Court.
IN each case the conviction was
af6rmed, and Hand, accepting the in
evitable. permitted himself to be sem
fenced and paid the penalty.
In the Supreme Court Lee was repre-
sented by James Buchanan, while
the States case was argued by Mr..
Bacon. When the Supreme Court
af6rmed the conviction of Lee, he ap-
( pealed to the Court of Errors and Ap-
peals, the Court Of last resort Here
Ice was represented by Collins & Cor
U bin, one of the States most noted
firms of lawyers, and the Commission
had Mr.. Bacon argue the States case.
The legal battle was most brilliant
one, and now comes the final decision,
and Lee must come into Court and
accept the sentence that is to be i'm
posed.
The members and officers feel that
a&SfS4AC oOO1oAO1A 10 OllO VI bIC SI0db0Sb IUS-
sible victories for the welfare and hon.
est conduct OF the oyster industry, and
many of those largely engaged in the
business are commencing the Commits
sion for the vigorous manner in which
they went after Lee and the tenacious
manner in which it has followed
the case throughout all the New Jer-
Soy Courts. The Commission has es-
sblished much that will have bearing
pom the enforcement of the State
Qontrol law, for in the legal fight for
Lee every possible question was raised
against the law and the enforcement
of it's provisions by the Commission
The decision of Court of Errors and
appeals abolutely and unqualifiedly
supports the law and the Commission
and makes the provisions of the act
impregnable against future attack. In
this respect the Commission has gained
much, and those in position to Judge,
declare that the conviction of Lee is
one OF the most deserved and merited
applications of Justice that has ever
been meted out in this county.