The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1909-03-16
OYSTER Trust Wins.


afternoon to arguments of counsel in the
suit of the state against the Sooy Oyster
Company. No case which has ever been
tried at Mays Landing created more gen
eral interest. The court room was crowd
ed with planters from all parts of the
county.
Practically all the afternoon was con-
sumed by the lawyers in argument on
technical questions
Upon conclusion of the arguments,
Judge Endicott directed verdict for the
corporation in the following language:
1--WE find the defendant not guilty of the
trespass and ejectment laid to its charge"
The case at issue was Robert McCarter.
Attorney General of New Jersey, against
the Sooy Oyster Company, of which
County Clerk Sooy is member, which
grew out of grant of land under the
waters of Mullica river to the defendant
Company by the Riparian Commission of
New Jersey in 1908.
The contention of the plaintiff was that
the land so granted was natural seed beds
for oysters and consequently prohibited
from being granted to any individual or
corporation by the provisions of the stat
ute governing the oyster industry.
The plaintiffs endeavored to introduce
testimony to prove that the land so grant
ed was natural beds, and by SO doing to
insist that the deeds under which the de
PENDANT company holds the land should be
declared void.
Lawyer Bourgeois, for the defence, ar
gued that the state could not impeach the
grant 1t had given through its officers
when there was nothing on the face of
the deed to warrant such action. He
claimed that the plaintiffs wanted to i'm
peach the grant by parol evidence, and it
was upon this point that the case turned
Authority after authority was quoted,
and he had enough law books in court to
form well equipped library.
He further contended that the action
should not have been brought at law, but
was proper one for the equity court to
determine, and consequently should have
been commenced in the Court of Chan
Gerry instead of in the Supreme Court.
As the case was decided upon these
points by Judge Endicott, the plaintiffs
attorneys will carry the matter to the
Court of Errors and Appeals In an effort
to have the verdict set aside.
Lawyer French said after the trial that
should the higher court decide against
him, he would then commence an action
In the Court of Chancery, so that the
matter will remain in the courts for many
a day before it is finally determined.
Fully two hundred oystermen were in
court anxiously watching every detail of
the fight between the lawyers, which
means so much to them.
The whole question turns upon the
meaning of the statute as to what consti-
tutes natural seed bed. The statute of
1888 says that no natural seed beds shall
be granted to any person, but lawyers
agree that natural seed beds are not de-
fined by the law which says that they
shall not be granted.
The opinion of leading lawyers as ex-
pressed at this trial, is that should the
Legislature of New Jersey adopt the
same laws and methods as the State of
Connecticut, then the whole matter would
be speedily solved. In Connecticut every
natural seed bed under the jurisdiction of
the state is surveyed and described by
metes and bounds so that it can be locat-
ed with ease. The oystermen are de-
termined body of men and propose to
fight until they get what they are battling
for, either through the courts or by leg
islation.
One of those at court, on Tuesday, ex-
pressed himself as follows: 1--WE have
spent many dollars in this oyster war and
we will continue to spend time and mon
ey." His meaning was that the legal
battle would continue to be fought until
all technical questions had been swept
aside by decisions of courts and then the
matter could come before jury and the
questions of fact brought out and argued
just as the questions of law were in the
case on Tuesday.
Atlantic county is in better shape to
deal with the oyster question than it was
some years ago, or when the grant over
which the fight is now occurring was
made. When the Riparian Commission
sold the land to the Sooy Company there
was no Oyster Commission in the county.
Since then the Commission has come and
leases to planting grounds are now issued
by the County Commission.