The Punta Gorda herald., 1919-07-03
RIPARIAN OWNERSHIP
LUCIDLY EXPLAINED
BY Hon. Glenn Terrell, Assistant
Acknowledgement
THE LAW ON THE SUBJECT
Bottoms of Navigable Waters Be-
long to the Whole People and
Not to Private Owners of Land
Fronting Thereon.

AS the subject of riparian
rights has recently aroused much
attention and discussion in Pun
ia Gorda, our people will doubt
less read with keen interest what
Hon. Glenn Terrell, assistant at
torney-general of the state, has to
say on the subject. He is law
yer of high character and recog-
nized ability.
His views were given in COM
pliance with the request of the
Ocala Star and were printed in
that paper June 25th ult. They
are as follows:
Editor Star Il shall not review
your editorial, but will submit to
you the law and the facts affect
ing the riparian situation and the
riparian act, as | understand them
to be, and leave you to draw your
own conclusions.
AS a premise for the basis of
my argument | will state that the
beds of all lakes, rivers, streams,
bays, harbors and other bodies Of
navigable waters within the juris-
diction Of this state are what are
known as sovereignty lands and
are held by the state in trust for
the benefit of every citizen of the
state, regardless of his position,
locality or situation, and, as such,
every citizen enjoys the right, un-
molested, to boat, bathe, fish and
carry on commerce in such wa
terS.
The free, unrestricted use of |
these waters and water bottoms
by all the people for the pur-
poses as above, has always been
the law of our state, and this is no
new thing; for an examination of
the law of practically every state
along the Atlantic, Pacific and
Gulf coasts discloses that the
same law prevails in each of these
states. The same was true under
the law of Spain and under the
common law of England, from
whence our forefathers came. 1t
would, therefore, seem that, if
any principle is fundamental in
our law, it is the fact that every
citizen, big or little, old or young,
rich or poor, regardless of loca-
ton, has a right to the free and
unrestricted use, for boating,
bathing, fishing and commerce, of
all the lakes, rivers, streams, har-
bors and other navigable waters
in this state.
The riparian act of 1856 (Sec-
tions 643 and GA General Stat
utes of Florida) vested an ease {
ment "for the benefit of COM !
merce" only in all water bottoms {
in front of the land of riparian |
owners whose uplands extended J
to Glow water" as far as to the t
edge of the channel. The term c
Glow water" and other restric- \
tions carried in the act reduced O
the owners who could avail them t
selves of its benefits to a neglible I
number, and at the same time
the rights of the pub f
lie generally in these waters. The .
act of 1919, which seeks to amend s
the act of 1856, and which was +,
by the governor, elimi- a
mates all the restrictive features, n
changes the term Glow water" n n
to "high water,' and attempts to Il
give an absolute fee to all water "
front owners along the streams
and tide waters Of this state in
and to these lands from high wa :, -
ter mark out to the edge of the I r'
and authorizes such own = =
ers to prohibit the trespass there e. E,
on of any other individual. In
other words, unless | am a water