JOHN WALTER SMITH, ESQ., GOVERNOR.

657

his command at any time that he or they shall deem it proper
to inspect and verify the measurement of any boats and their
gross tonnage, and the measurement ascertained by such
officers shall be conclusive and final, and any license granted
shall be corrected and amended in accordance with such
measurement, and the appropriate license fee hereinbefore
named paid in accordance with such corrected measurement,
and the right granted by any such license already issued
shall be suspended until the full payment of such license fee
is made; provided, that persons applying for scraping license
for boats to dredge in the Chesapeake Bay after the first day
of January to the the fifteenth day of March shall be required
to pay only one dollar and fifty cents gross ton for such
license.

Duty of
Commander of
State Fishery
Force.

34. The Board of Public Works shall have power to appoint
a suitable person to command said force; shall be known as
the Commander of the State Fishery Force, and shall command
the one steamer that is regularly in commission as a part of the
State Fishery Force, and to appoint a deputy commander for
each sailing vessel for their respective districts from among
persons of the counties whose waters comprise the different
districts, who shall be commissioned by the Governor, and the
said deputy commanders shall have power to appoint their
subordinates and select their crews, and the terms of office of
said commanders shall be for two years unless sooner removed
for incompetency or neglect of duty; and if any of the said
officers shall fail in the discharge of his duty by reason of col-
lusion with parties interested in violating any of the provis-
ions of this Article, he shall be deemed guilty of a misde-
meanor, and upon indictment and conviction in a court of

Appointment
of commander
and deputy
commander.

competent jurisdiction shall be fined or imprisoned, at the dis-
cretion of the court; no person shall be eligible to the office of
commander of the State fishery force or deputy commander
who is the owner of, or who has any interest in any scrape or
dredge boat, and it is hereby made unlawful for the Board of
Public Works to appoint any such person as commander or
deputy commander of any boat or vessel in the State fishery
force; the steamers and boats belonging to the State fishery
force are to be used only on business pertaining to its official
duties or on State business.

Eligibility of
commanders.

36. The Board of Public Works shall have power, and it
shall be their duty, to keep the steamers and said vessels in
good repair, and for the purpose of reducing the expense of
the State fishery force the said Board is authorized and hereby
required to lay up and put out of commission one steamer,

Power to keep
steamers and
vessels in
repair, etc.