1578 OYSTEES. [ART. 72

the owner on a board fastened to a pole or stake on or within the appro-
priated oyster land, or by the proper and visible metes and bounds,
which description shall be reduced to writing under the oath of some
competent surveyor and recorded, at the expense of the party locating
or appropriating the same, in the office of the clerk of the circuit court
for the county wherein such land may be located; and provided also
that such location and appropriation shall not injure, obstruct or impede
the free navigation of said waters; and provided that no natural bar
or bed of oysters shall be so located or appropriated that twelve
months' peaceable possession of all locations of oyster grounds, under
the laws of this State, shall constitute a good and sufficient title thereto ;
but should any one within twelve months be charged with locating or
appropriating any natural bed or bar hereinbefore prohibited, the ques-
tion may be at once submitted by any person interested to the judge
of the circuit court for the county where such question shall arise, who,
after having given notice to the parties interested, shall proceed to hear
the testimony and decide the case; and if his decision be in favor of the
party locating said five acres, said decision shall be recorded with the
original record of said five acres and shall in all cases be conclusive
evidence of title thereto; provided also that if any stakes or bushes used
as bounds shall be removed by accident or design, it shall not excuse any
person from wrongfully taking such oysters if he knew the grounds to
have been located and appropriated; but any title or pretended title to
more than five acres, or otherwise contrary to this section, held or
claimed by any person is hereby declared to be fraudulent and void;
provided that no non-resident of this State shall be entitled to avail
himself of the provisions of this section, whether he be sole or part
owner of any land in this State; and in case of the death of any citizen
who may have located and appropriated any lot under the provisions of
this section, his executors or administrators shall have the exclusive
use, possession and control of such lot as fully as the person so dying
had, for the purpose of protecting, cultivating and removing the oysters
planted on said lot for the period of three years from the date of the
death of the person appropriating such lot; and any person or persons
taking or attempting to take oysters thus planted or bedded shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction before a justice
of the peace trying the case shall be fined a sum not less than fifty
dollars nor more than one hundred dollars and be imprisoned in the
house of correction for a period of three to six months, one-half of said
fine to be paid to the informer and the other half to be paid to the
county commissioners for the use of the public schools. This section
not to apply to Somerset, St. Mary's and Calvert counties, for which
special laws are enacted.

The provision of this section with reference to no one person owning more
than one lot of five acres, can not be evaded. If an evasion is attempted, the
party gets no title to the additional lots, nor do his assignees. The privilege
given by this section has no element of a grant or patent, but is simply a revoc-
able license. It is neither inheritable nor assignable. The oysters planted in
pursuance of this section remain the personal property of the planter. Hess