OYSTERS. 209

counties; three each from Dorchester, Somerset and Queen
Anne's counties, and one each from Kent, Calvert and Charles
counties, at a salary of forty-five dollars per month, during the
oyster season, and they shall be stationed at such places as in
the judgment of 'the Commander of the State Fishery Force
their services may be needed. Before assuming the duties of
their offices the said special inspectors shall take an oath, to
be administered by the Commander, to diligently and faith-
fully discharge the duties of their said offices; the said special
inspectors shall inspect all oysters' in the district to which he
is assigned; upon the inspection of any such oysters, each spe-
cial inspector shall make a certificate of the number of bushels
in triplicate, one of which shall be given to the purchaser, one
to the seller, and the other daily to the general measurer and
inspector of the district where such inspection occurred; a
charge of one cent per bushel is hereby levied to help defray
the expenses of such inspection and the other expenses of the
State Fishery Force, upon all oysters unloaded from vessels at
the place where said oysters are to be no further shipped in
bulk in vessels, to be charged equally to the buyer and seller,
but to be paid weekly to the Comptroller of the State Treasury,
or his agent, by the buyers; the certificate given the general
measurer and inspector shall be by him mailed weekly to
the Comptroller or his agent, and in case the amounts of money
shown to be due be not paid in one week thereafter to the
Comptroller or his agent, which is hereby required to be done,
the properties of the parties so indebted may be levied on and
sold by the said Comptroller or his agent, as in cases of taxes
in default, without other process of law; the tax of one cent
per bushel hereby levied is also made a charge on oysters sold
by commission merchants and others selling by less than the
cargo, and also a tax of three cents per barrel containing not
more than three bushels; on oysters in bags a tax of two cents
per bag containing not more than two bushels; and all trans-
portation companies carrying oysters in the shell, consigned
to Baltimore, shall furnish to the oyster inspector or collector
of oyster tax a copy of his manifest, showing the number of
bushels on board on arrival of steamer and to whom consigned,
and the special inspectors are charged with the duty of seeing
that proper returns are made for the purpose of this Act by
such commission merchants or retailers; and in the perform-
ance of the duty the said special inspectors are authorized and
directed to visit the places where oysters less than cargoes
are sold and get from such sellers a statement, under oath, as
to the number of bushels sold from time to time, and return to
the general measurers and inspectors a certificate thereof, to be
forwarded to the Comptroller, as required in the case of the