The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1913-06-13
Re-EE m..ldtiOn Needed

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After a protracted hearing yester-
day, during which many oystarmen
complained that much natural rock
had not been included in the survey
of the natural rock bottoms by the
Shellfish Commission, the Board OF
Public Works decided that a re-ex-
animation of certain areas is needed
and requested the Shellfish Commits
sion to investigate.
Should the Commission find upon
investigation that some natural bars
were omitted from the survey, they
are requested by the Board of Pub
lie Works to use all means in theil
power to prevent the leasing OF
them until the Legislature can con-
fer authority upon the Shellfish
Commission to correct the survey.
The Board of Public Works made
lit. plain to the oystermen that they
had no legal power to act as to
the survey and that the Shellfish
( Commission is responsible under the
law. The Board merely requested
the Commission to ascertain if mis-
takes had been made, and if so, to
try and prevent further miscarriage
of Justice. The action of the Board
of Public Works was unanimous.
About so oystermen from Dor
chester and Somerset counties were
present They were led by Capt.
Thos. H. Webster and represented
by James E. Ellegood, of Salisbury
and former Judge w. Laird Henry,
of Cambridge. The members of
the Shellfish Commission, Benjamin
M. Green, VIM. H. Maltbie and F.
S. Revell, together with their cngi-
nkers, also attended the hearing.
- The complaint of the oystermen
before the Board was, in effect, that
the intent of the Oyster Planting
law had not been observed. 1t is
ordered by the law that natural oys
ter rocks shall be surveyed and set
aside for the use of the oystermen
forever After this area shall have
been determined, the law states, the
balance-that is, the barren ground
.-of the Chesapeake bay and its
tributaries, shall be available for
planting.
Yesterday it was claimed by the
Oystermen that much of this natur-
al rock had not been included in
the survey, and that, therefore,
they were deprived of territory to
which they are entitled,
Swepson Earle, engineer of the
Shellfish Commission, stated the
method he had followed in making
the survey. He said that in addi-
ton to the one resident from each
county having knowledge of the
bars, whom the law states shall be
Spointed by the County Commits
sid a = II X the survey 81 the
county waters, he had endeavored te
obtain other Information wherever
possible.
The members of the Board indi-
Gated that they were convinced that
mistakes had been made in the
survey and that every effort should
be exerted to prevent injury to the
oystermen because of them. Cover
nor Goldsborough, in reading the
resolutions adopted. told the oyster
men that the Shellfish Commission
and the Board of Public Works
were trying to help them and that
they should meet the Commission
and the Board half way.
The resolutions adopted give to
the oystermen the rights of hearing
upon all complaints made.
There was slight applause from
the oystermen when the resolutions
were read. Most of them seemed
satisfied.
Advocates of oyster culture say
that great liberality was shown by
the Snetl1lSn commission IN deter
mining the natural oyster bars. They
claim that the Commission, if any
thing, Leaned back" in its effort
to be fair to- the oystermen.
1t is further claimed by the oys-
ter culturists that 10000 or $4,000
acres of entirely barren ground were
included in the areas called natural
beds, while comparatively insig-
nificant amount, not exceeding, as
they say, one or two thousand acres
are now involved in the recent ques
ton which Capt. Webster and his
friends raised against the survey
Baltimore Sun.
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