OYSTERS 2691

fied, which license shall hold good for one season only and shall only
authorize the catching of oysters between the first day of November and
the fifteenth day of March on which day the dredging season shall end;
provided, however, it shall be lawful for the owner of any such licensed
boat whenever said owner shall sell and convey by bill of sale for a bona fide
consideration such boat to any person who has been a resident of the State
of Maryland for at least one year to transfer said license to said purchaser
with said boat, which license when transferred shall entitle said purchaser
to the same privileges of catching and taking oysters with said boat in the
waters of this State that the original owner had before such assignment;
provided, said seller and buyer appear before the Comptroller of the Trea-
sury and make oath before him to all facts, matters and things required of
said original owner of such boat before taking out such license, upon which
said license said Comptroller shall certify in writing that the said pur-
chaser shall pay to the Comptroller the sum of Five dollars for the use of the
oyster fund; the provisions of this Section in relation to the time of taking
oysters, the time of expiration of license and the transfer of ownership shall
apply to all vessels licensed by any county in this State to take and catch
oysters with dredge, scrape or scoop.

Any person who shall dredge without a license or dredge in the waters
not provided for in this Section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor
and upon conviction before any Justice of the Peace or Court of competent
jurisdiction shall be subject to the penalties provided for in Section 28 of
this Article. Provided, however, that no person shall be deemed to be in
default under the provisions of this Section until the lapse of thirty days
from the date on which he shall be required to obtain such license.

This section referred to as indicating that sec. Q applies only to oysters taken from
the waters of this state. Tyler v. State, 93 Md. 310.

Cited but not construed in Givens v. State, 76 Md. 485.

An. Code, 1924, sec. 24. 1912, sec. 22. 1904, sec. 21. 1894, ch. 380, sec. 20.

25. It shall not be lawful for the owner or master or any person on
board of a vessel in this State to affix any crank, spool, winder or other
machinery or equipment for operating or handling scoops or dredges or
to have on board any vessel a scoop, scrape or dredge, with intent to affix
the same to said vessel for use in taking or catching oysters, without hav-
ing first obtained a license to take or catch oysters with a scoop or dredge
as aforesaid, and the fact of having such scoop, dredge or scrape on board
of any vessel shall be prima facie evidence of an intent to use the same
contrary to this section.

The section of act of 1886, ch. 296, providing that having dredging instruments on
board should be prima jade evidence of an intention to use vessel contrary to law, held
constitutional and valid. Dize v. Lloyd, 36 Fed. 652.

An. Code, 1924, sec. 25. 1912, sec. 23. 1904, sec. 22. 1894, ch. 380, sec. 21. 1896, ch. 418.

26. The owner of such boat shall make oath before the comptroller or
his clerk, or if the owner be a resident of Baltimore City he may make
oath before the clerk of the court of common pleas, or if a resident of
county he may make oath before the clerk of the circuit court for said
county, at the same time exhibiting his custom-house license to said officer
before whom he makes the oath that he is the bona fide owner of such boat
described in the license; that he has been a resident of the State for the
time hereinbefore prescribed; that there is no lien on said boat held by a
non-resident, directly or indirectly, and that the said boat is not held and
86