OYSTEES 2697

in which they sail to take or catch oysters with scoop, scrape, drag or dredge
or similar instruments, the said boat or vessel shall be pursued by any
officer authorized by this article to make arrests, and if said boat or vessel
apprehended by said officers shall be found to have on board any wet oysters,
or the dredges, or dredge line, or deck wet, indicating the taking of oysters
at said time, and properly equipped for taking or catching oysters with
scoop, scrape, drag or dredge or similar instrument, such fact shall be
prima facie evidence that the said boat or vessel has been used in violation
of the provisions of this article; and it shall be the duty of the officer to
arrest the person in command of said boat or vessel, together with all her
equipments, and bring the same before a judge or justice of the peace of
the county having jurisdiction, or, if in the Chesapeake bay, in the county
most accessible or convenient, to be dealt with according to law; provided
that nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit vessels from seek-
ing harbor in any waters of this State. The provisions of this section shall
extend to all boats licensed to take oysters with scoop or scrape by any
county of this State.
See notes to sec. 22.

State Fishery Force.¹

An. Code, 1924, sec. 36. 1912, sec. 34. 1904, sec. 33. 1894, ch. 380, sec. 32.

37. The board of public works are empowered and directed to purchase
for each of the guard boats such arms and ammunition as may be necessary
to make them efficient, and the officers of such boats shall be authorized to
use such arms, in their discretion, for the enforcement of the provisions
of this article.

Under sec. 25 of art. 72 of the Code of 1888, neither board of public works nor com-
mander of state fishery force was personally liable for abuse by a deputy commander
of discretion vested in him in use of fire arms. An objection addressed not to constitu-
tionality of said section but to consequences of its possible abuse, overruled. Mister v.
Brown, 59 Fed. 909. And see Riggin v. Brown, 59 Fed. 1005.

As to fish and fisheries, see art. 39.

An. Code, 1924, sec. 37. 1912, sec. 35. 1904, sec. 34. 1894, ch. 380, sec. 33.

38. For the more efficient working of the state fishery force, the waters
of this State shall be divided into seven districts, of which the waters of
Kent and Queen Anne's shall be the first; the waters of Queen Anne's
and Talbot shall be the second; the waters of Talbot and Dorchester, the
third; the waters of Wicomico, the fourth; the waters of Somerset, the
fifth; the waters of Anne Arundel, the sixth; the waters of St. Mary's,
Charles and Calvert, the seventh; each of the said districts shall be
guarded by one sailing vessel, except the second, which shall be guarded
by two; and the third, which shall be guarded by four; and the sixth and
seventh, which shall be guarded by two each; and it shall be the duty of
the deputy commander of the first district to guard the waters of Chester
river belonging to Queen Anne's County, and the waters of Kent County,
including Swan Point bar; and the duty of the first commander of the
second district to guard the waters of Eastern bay and its tributaries; and
the duty of the second commander of the second district to guard the
tonging reservation of Poplar Island narrows and the waters of Talbot
County as far down as Black Walnut Point; and it shall be the duty of

¹ Secs. 37-49 repealed by Ch. 353, 1939, but as this Act will be voted on at the No-
vember election, 1940, under petition, these sections will not be repealed unless said
Ch. 353 is approved at said election. If said Act is approved, these sections will be
repealed as of Dec. 5, 1940.