RESTORE GREEN HARBOR MARSHFIELD, MASS. HOW TO DO IT HISTORY OF THE HARBOR 1908 PLYMOUTH, THE MEMORIAL PRESS. 1'JOS. VCSB LIBRARY RESTORE GREEN HARBOR MARSHFIELD, MASS. HOW TO DO IT HISTORY OF THE HARBOR 7908 OFFICERS. T. B. BLACKMAX, President. STEPHEX M. HATCH, Vice President. C. W. MAGLATHLIX, Secretary and Treasurer. GREEN HARBOR Green Harbor is situated in the town of Marshfield, county of Plymouth, about eighteen miles southward from Minot's Light. It is first mentioned by Sir Francis Drake in his voyages, ( See volume entitled Drake's shores and cost of New England) late in the sixteenth century, and in the Old Colony Records as early as 1633. A settlement of the colonists, as early as 1638, was made near the locality in which Green Harbor village now is, since which date, at least, the place has been referred to as Green Harbor. This harbor is well sheltered; the entrance is under the lee of Branch's island, south of Brant Rock village and connected therewith, the most southerly part of which is Blue Fish rock, which rises to a considerable height above the level of high water at the entrance of the harbor, forming a natural breakwater, and an ample protection against northerly and easterly storms, which are the most dangeroiis. There was complete and ample shelter within this harbor. THE QUESTION OF THE RESTORATION OF GREEN HARBOR. The Green Harbor dike in Marshfield, Plymouth County, was constructed under the following Act of 1871. An Act for the Improvement of Green Harbor Marsh in the Town of Marshfield, and far other Purposes. Be it enacted, etc., as follows : Section 1. The proprietors of Green Harbor marsh, in the town of Marshfield, are authorized to erect a dam and dikes across Green Harbor river, at or near and not above Turkey Point, so called, with one or more sluice-ways and gates, for the purpose of draining Green Harbor marsh, and improving the same, and 4 preventing flowage from the sea; said dam, dikes and improve- ments to be made under the authority of commissioners to be ap- pointed in the manner provided in the one hundred and forty- eighth chapter of the General Statutes, with all the powers and subject to all the duties required or allowed by said chapter : pro- vided, that not more than twenty of the proprietors shall be re- quired to petition the superior court for the appointment of said commissioners : and it shall be the duty of said commissioners to construct fish-ways in said dam if required, and in the manner required by the commissioners of fisheries of the Commonwealth, and to make return of the same to said court ; of all which pro- ceedings said court shall have jurisdiction as fully as if provided in said chapter. Section 2. For the purpose of cultivating and improving said marsh, maintaining said dam, and repairing the gates, sluice- ways and other improvements, and the removal of any obstruc- tions in the channels of said marsh, which may thereafter accum- ulate, and for conducting the fisheries at and about said dam which may have been introduced by them, the said proprietors may manage their affairs as proprietors of general fields, and as such shall have all the powers and be subject to all the duties and liabilities conferred and imposed on the proprietors of gener- al fields by the sixty-seventh chapter of the General Statutes, and may include in their acts the introduction and propagation of herrings, alewives and other fishes. Section 3. The count}' commissioners of the county of Plym- outh, in the execution of the powers granted them by chapter twenty-six of the laws of the year eighteen hundred and seventy, shall have authority to contract with the commissioners who may be appointed by the superior court, for the erection of a highway, bridge and dam. without a draw, at the joint expense of the town of Marshfield and the county of Plymouth, and of said proprie- tors, or any of them: prorii/i'il. howfrrr. that said dam, bridge and highway, whether located separately or touvtlu-r. shall be sub- ject to the provisions of section four, chapter one hundred and forty-nine of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and sixty-six. Section 4. Should shoaling take place above the level of mean low water in the channel of Green Harbor river, and its ap- proaches below the dam and dikes in consequence of the construc- tion of said dam and dikes, said shoaling shall be removed by the proprietors of Green Harbor marsh, under the direction and to the acceptance of the board of Harbor Commissioners. And if the proprietors of said marsh shall fail to remove said obstruc- tions for six months after due notice from said commissioners, then said commissioners shall cause the obstructions to be re- moved at the expense of the proprietors of said marsh, and said proprietors shall be liable to the Commonwealth for the same in an action of contract and the non-joinder of any party or parties defending shall not defeat the same. Approved May 17, 1871. Almost immediately after the construction of the dike shoaling began to appear. It had increased to such an extent in 1876 as to occasion the sending of a petition to the Board of Land and Harbor Commissioners for the removal of the shoaling, as pro- vided in Section 4 of the foregoing Act. The Harbor and Land Commissioners, by notice dated September 13th, 1876, demand- ed the removal of the shoaling, as appears by the following copy of such notice. COMMONWEALTH OP MASSACHUSETTS, Harbor Commissioners' Office, 8 Pemberton Square. Boston, Sept. 11, 1876. To the Proprietors of Green Harbor Marsh, mentioned in Sec- tion Four of Chapter Three Hundred and Three of the Acts of the Year Eighteen Hundred and Seventy-one. Whereas the proprietors of Green Harbor Marsh, in the town of Marshneld, were, by the provisions of chapter 303 of the Acts of the year 1871, authorized to erect a dam and dikes across Green Harbor River, at or near and not above Turkey Point, so called, with one or more sluice-ways and gates, for the purpose of draining Green Harbor Marsh, and improving the same, and preventing flowage from the sea ; and Whereas the said proprietors did, under the authority of the said Act, erect a dam and dikes across said Green Harbor River, at the place and for the purposes contemplated and provided for in said Act ; and Whereas, by the fourth section of the said Act, it was pro- vided, that should shoaling take place above the level of mean low water in the channel of Green. Harbor River and its ap- proaches below the dam and dikes, in consequence of the con- struction of said dam and dikes, said shoaling shall be removed by the proprietors at Green Harbor Marsh, under the direction and to the acceptance of the Board of Harbor Commissioners; and Whereas the undersigned, the Harbor Commissioners, mention- ed in and intended by said Act. upon a full hearing, and an in- spection and examination of said dam and dikes and said river, to find and determine, that shoaling has taken place above the level of mean low water in the channel of said Green Harbor River and its approaches, below the dam and dikes erected as aforesaid, in consequence of the construction of said dam and dikes ; Now, therefore, you are hereby notified and required to remove said shoaling and obstructions from the channel of Green Har- bor River and its approaches, and, in doing so, you will be gov- erned by the following directions, to wit : The obstructions of sands above the level of mean low water lying within the following prescribed lines, shall be removed : The easterly and northerly line shall begin at a point in the line of mean low water, on the southerly side of said river, about midway between the easterly and westerly high water shores thereof, and distant about 300 feet southerly from the southerly point of the marsh island next above it, and shall follow the gen- eral course of the present low water channel south-easterly to the 7 foot of the strand, or bank left bare at low water, on the easterly side of said river,, distant 80 feet from a salient point in the high water line thereof; thence following the general curve of the shore along the foot of the strand, in a southerly, south-westerly and south-easterly direction, around the point of beach which forms the south-easterly point, or headland, of Green Harbor, at distances varying from 50 to 80 feet from the high water line of said point of beach; thence, still following the general trend of the foot of the strand, at distances varying from 160, 150, 230, 320, and 330 feet (at Bluefish Rock) from the high water line, to the low water line of the main shore. The westerly and southerly line shall run from the point of beginning, in the low water line of said Green Harbor, parallel to the above described easterly and northerly line, and distant from it 100 feet for a distance of 1,550 feet; thence the line shall run straight in a southerly and little easterly direction, for a distance of about 700 feet, to a point in the low water line of the main shore, distant 500 feet south-westerly from the end of the first-described line. The space inclosed within the above described lines is shown in red color upon a plan of said harbor on file in the office of this Board, entitled "A Map of Green Harbor, Mass., showing the channel and its approaches at mean low water." Or. an excavation in the channel of said river and its approach- es to the level of mean low water, having a width of not less than 100 feet from the harbor basin to past the headlands of the same, and having a width of not less than 500 feet at the low water line of the main shore, may be made, following any other course from the point of beginning before mentioned to the sea, satisfactory to this Board. The level of mean low water is referred to the following de- scribed bench marks : Bench mark A is situated on the top of the smaller and more northerly of two boulders in the marsh, situated 70 feet X. X. W. from a bridge over a creek in said marsh, and is also 245 feet S. S. E. from the chimney of Mr. Thomas Keith's house, and is 8 marked by two cuts in the rock thus, A The height of this bench mark above the level of mean low water, is 10.740 feet. Bench mark B is situated on the top of Bluefish Bock, 74 feet N. E. of the highest point of said rock, and is marked by three cuts in the rock, thus, ^ The height of this bench mark above the level of mean low water, is 18.260 feet. JOSIAH QUINCY, F. W. LINCOLN, J. N. MARSHALL, W. T. GEAMMER, ALBERT MASON, Harbor Commissioners. The proprietors of the marsh neglected, and refused to remove, the shoaling, which has since continued to accumulate, until now the harbor, once a safe harbor of refuge for all vessels of light draught upon this coast, at times made dangerous by storms, is practically destroyed. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HARBOR. Green Harbor as a harbor of refuge for vessels of light draught cannot be over estimated. Even vessels drawing fourteen feet of water found it a safe refuge in bad weather, as will appear by the letter annexed, viz: and by other facts as shown in this pamphlet. Boston, March 20, 1877, Harris, Esqr. : In reply to your inquiries as to when the brig "Kineo" was taken into Green Harbor, Marshfield. We took her in Novem- ber 18th, 1857. Her draught at that time, by measurement, was fourteen [14] feet. We anchored in Blue Fish Cove, until we had water enough to take her in on. After we were in we an- chored and found, by measurement, nine [9] feet of water at low tide. We towed her out with steamer "Neptune," November 21st, 1857, drawing eleven [11] feet of water. Yours, etc., M. B. TOWER. THE FISHERIES. Since ancient colonial times the fishing industry has been pur- sued by the residents of the villages surrounding Green Harbor as their means of livelihood. A packet formerly made stated trips between Green Harbor and Boston, thus delivering the pro- duct of the industry of the villages to the market for distribution. The industry was carried on by means of small vessels, called "smacks," drawing from nine to ten feet of water, which could beat into and out of the harbor, at two-thirds tide, the mouth of which was sufficient in width and depth to allow of this. Large quantities of lobsters were caught off the coast by these fishermen, and off shore cod-fishing was also profitably pursued. This bus- iness could be carried on with slight hazard as compared with the dangers the fishermen are now compelled to brave by reason of the fact that, while they could pursue their calling in boats of greater draught, and with the harbor at all times open as a re- fuge for them where they could land without danger, and where their boats were safe from storms, now they are compelled to keep their boats outside the harbor; and they find it closed to them, except for about four hours each day, as at other time* nothing but a light dory can make the harbor in safety. THE HARBOR FOR GENERAL PURPOSES. Prior to the construction of the dike a lumber yard was estab- lished inside the harbor, the stock for which was transported by means of schooners and delivered from them at the yard. This business was destroyed by reason of the shoaling of the harbor, which prevented the delivery of lumber by the method as there- tofore. The river 'above the harbor, beyond the point where the dike now stands, for more than a mile was navigable, and lum- ber-laden schooners have transported the material for buildings in Marshfield, even beyond this limit. Daniel Webster, whose home bordered upon the river, could sail from his estate down this river through the harbor to the sea ; and he often said that it was the beauty of this river and harbor which induced him to make his home in Marshfield. The dock, known as "Webster Dock," at the harbor was used as the landing place for pleasure boats and other craft from Boston and elsewhere, while opposite this dock the steam revenue cutter, bearing the representatives of the government, was moored at the time of the obsequies of Mr. Webster. Xature has not changed this harbor. The construc- tion of the dike has prevented the natural ebb and flow of the vol- ume of water m>< essary to keep the channel of the harbor clear. SUMMER RESIDENTS AXD THE HARBOR. About fifty years ago the construction of summer cottages be- gan in one of the villages which surround this harbor, called Brant Rock. The locality so commended itself as a pleasure resort, and as a desirable place for the establishment of summer homes, that a large colony of cottages has been established in sev- eral villages bordering on this harbor. To such an extent has the natural deA'elopment of this locality been carried that the South Ward of the town, in which these villages are included, has shown a growth many times larger than any other locality in the town, and, today pays a larger proportion of the tax levied by the toAvn. than either of the other two wards of the town. The increase of valuation has occurred in these' villages largely more than elsewhere in the town. The prosperity of Marshfield is largely due to the importance of this harbor and the surrounding villages. YACHTING INTERESTS AND THE REMO-YAL OK THE DIKE. The great amount of capital invested in the legion of yachts and pleasure craft which, during the summer season, cruise along our coast, makes the yachting interest one of great importance to the commonwealth, independent of the pleasure which it affords to our people. As a recreation, yachting claims a phu-c in Amer- II lean sports second to none other. It is, however, a pastime to which are incident dangers, unless those who engage in it can. find always within easy reach a safe harbor in which they may have shelter from sudden storms. Such Green Harbor used to be, and would be now were but the tides permitted to ebb and flow within it, as in former years, prior to the construction of the dike which has excluded the natural flow of the tides over an area of about fifteen hundred acres of marsh, and in creeks, and river beds once navigable. PROPERTY INTERESTS INVOLVED. The removal of the dike as contemplated by House Bill Num- ber 769, the bill for which the Green Harbor Fishermen's Asso- ciation asks the favorable consideration of the legislature would cause the tides to flow over marsh lands which, before the dike was constructed, were assessed for about twelve dollars per acre. The assessment of 1895 shows an average valuation ,of about twenty-one and fifty one-hundredths dollars per acre, and in Avhich is included the valuation of all the improvements. It is estimated that of the area of the marsh, nearly fifteen hundred acres, not exceeding one-third now yields a crop. And of this, little is devoted to any other use than the raising of grass. Opinions differ as to the quality of the products, such as they are, which are secured from these lands ; but we fail to find in the records of the Marshfield Agricultural Society, whose buildings are in sight from the marsh, that its products have won distinction in competition with the pro- ducts of the soil in other parts of the town. And, it is the opinion of many that each year shows a less area of these marsh- es under cultivation. It is also fair to assume that their cultiva- tion does not yield an adequate return. That portion of the marsh, about two-thirds in extent has been permitted to grow- up with brush and birches in many places near the upland, and to remain as barren fields elsewhere. 12 THE POSITION OF THE ADVOCATES OF THE REMOVAL OF THE DIKE. The advocates of the removal of the dike feel that an experi- ment was permitted by the Legislature under the Act of 1871 (Chapter 303), but only on condition that those who sought ben- efit under the provisions of that Act should not permit any in- jury to the harbor, which, it is submitted, is of much more im- portance to commerce than is the marsh* to agriculture. They were permitted to exclude the tides, but were required to remove the shoaling, which occurred as the natural, and foreseen, result of the construction of the dike. All that is asked is that, hav- ing tried the experiment involved in the construction of the dike ; having inflicted the injury to the harbor occasioned by the shoal- ing, and, having refused to comply with the provisions in the act, under which they hoped to benefit, the marsh proprietors should not be longer permitted to maintain their useless obstruction to navigation, this menace to the existence of a harbor of so great importance, not only to the locality where situated, but to the whole people of the Commonwealth. THE POSITION OF THE DIKE SUPPORTERS. The supporters of this nuisance admit that the shoaling has taken place in consequence of the construction of the dike. Few among them now can maintain that the marsh and its products are worth the cost of cultivation ; and of those who formerly en- deavored to cultivate their marsh land the number is less who per- sist in the effort. They admit the obligations imposed by Sec- tion 4 of the Act of 1871, Chapter 303, to remove the shoaling. They refuse to comply with its terms, and they ask in response to petitions and entreaties : "What are you going to do about it?" HISTORY OF GREEN HARBOR. Having lived on the banks of this harbor for more than fifty years, have necessarily seen something of its importance and \al- 13 ue, and with your consent I wish to place before the community some of the vessels who have from time to time found shelter in this harbor. In 1857, Nov. 21. the brig Kineo, bound for Wash- ington loaded with granite, drawing 14 feet of water and leaking badly, was towed into Green Harbor by two sloops, each drawing eight feet of water, under the command of Capt. Moses B. Tow- er of East Boston and vessel and cargo saved. In this I render- ed personal assistance, and we then had water sufficient for all three vessels to float at low water. In July and August of 1861 the steamer Argo commanded by Capt. Davidson, made three trips to this harbor, bringing at one time more than 500 people, at other times from 200 to 400 and these trips were instrumental in the settlement of these villages. On the 3d of September in 1862 brig Pilot Fish was run into by a coal schooner off Cohasset, in a gale and thrown on her beam ends; the day following she was picked up by the fishermen of Green Harbor. She was twenty feet beam and hatches under water, and in this condition was towed into this harbor and vessel and cargo saved. Her captain was lost, crew were saved. She was bound for the West Indies with an assorted cargo. In 1864 schooner Daniel Web- ster, 108 tons burden, from New London, and schooner Perfect, 45 tons, belonging to Deer Isle, took refuge in this harbor. In August, 1865, a fleet of thirteen yachts from Boston and vicin- ity took refuge from a southeast storm in this harbor. 1866 the Patuxet U. S. revenue cutter, Capt. Fanger, with Capt. Doloer as associate, she was 400 tons burden, drawing 12 feet and made Green Harbor. In the winter of 1868 the schooner Bloomer from Xova Scotia, made this harbor in a northeast snow storm, and vessel and crew were saved. In 1.881, April the 16th, schooner Ganges from Ellsworth, 94 tons, was driven within a few rods of this harbor, and if the harbor had been as it was in 1870, this vessel could have sailed in and been saved, but was obliged to go ashore and was a total loss. These are a few of the many instances wherein the harbor has afforded friendlv shelter to the storm tossed mariner since 1857. Through the influence <>t' dike proprietors the public have hern robbed of one of the best harbors along these shores, and still it is as-erted that nobody is wronged or injured. While govern- ment is doing and spend ing such large sums of money to estab- lish good and safe harbors it seems a great sacrifice that Green Harbor should be destroyed for naught. T. H. BLACK MAN. ABSTRACTS OF THE OPINIONS . and then of their own state, as the paramount or supn-me law, to which every inferior or derivative power and regulation must conform. The Constitution is the act of the people, speaking in their original character and defining the permanent conditions of the social alliance, and there can be no doubt on the point with us, that every act of the Legislative power, contrary to the true intent and meaning of the Constitution, is absolutely null and void. The judicial department is the power in the government to determine whether a statute be or be not constitutional. The 15 interpretation or construction of the Constitution, is as much a judicial act. and requires the exercise of the same legal dis- cretion, as the interpretation or construction of a law. To con- tend that the courts of justice must obev the requisitions of an act of the Legislature, when it appears to them to have been passed in violation of the Constitution, would be to contend that the law was superior to the Constitution, and that the judges had no right to look into it, and regard it as the paramount law. It would be rendering the power of the agent greater than that of his principals and be declaring that the will of only one concurrent and co-ordinate department of the subordinate auth- orities under the Constitution, was absolute over the other de- partments, and competent to control, according to its own will and pleasure, the whole fabric of the government, and the fundamental laws on which it rested. When Mr. Webster visited Savannah, in 1847, Honorable J. M. Wayne, one of the judges of the Supreme Court, welcomed him. His address contains the following paragraph, illustra- tive of Mr. Webster's influence before the most august tribunal in the United States: When the late Mr. Thomas Gibbon determined to hazard a large part of his fortune in testing the constitutionality of the laws of Xow York, limiting the navigation of the Avaters of that State to steamers belonging to a. company, his own interest was not so much concerned as that of the right of every citizen to use a coasting license upon the waters of the United States, in whatever way his vessel was propelled. It was a sound view of the law, but not broad enough for the occasion. It is not un- likely that the case would have been decided upon it, if you had not insisted that it should be put upon the broader constitutional grounds oE commerce and navigation. The court felt the ap- plication and force of your reasoning, and it made a decision re- leasing every creek and harbor, river and bay in our country from the interference of monopolies, which had already provoked unfriendly legislation between some of the States. Every man in the country was personally interested in a de- cision which might have been in accordance with the partial views of the State legislation, had not Webster's logic demolished the temple of their idolatry. GREEN" vs. BIDDLE. American Law by James Kent, Pages 418 and 419, Sec. 4. It was observed by the Court, that the objection to a law, on the ground of its impairing the obligation of contracts could nev- er depend upon the extent of the change which the law ef- fects in it. Any deviation from its terms by postponing or accelerating the period of performance which it prescribes, im- posing conditions not expressed in the contract, or dispensing with the performance of those which are expressed, however minute or apparently immaterial in their effect upon the con- tract, or upon any part or parcel of it impairs its obligation. To deny any remedy under a contract, or by burdening the rem- edy with new conditions and restrictions, making it useless, or hardly worth pursuing, is equally a violation of the Constitution. East Bridgewater, Mass., March 6, 1891. Dear Sir: Yours of the 3d hist, is at hand. The case of the Common- wealth vs. C. G. Davis et al. ought not to be dismissed, but it is so old that perhaps you will not feel like taking it up. I acted for Attorney General Marston and argued the case twice in print, but it was found that some of the parties had not been cited in and new notice issued. By the time this had been done Marston was out of office and the appropriation had been covered back into the Treasury. Every Attorney General since has talked about asking the Legislature for a new appropriation, but none has been obtained. I worked for nothing as long as I cared to and gave up. While I look upon the performance of Davis and his confederates in building a dike which did no one any good, and destroved a fine little harbor, as a great public wrong it may 17 be that you will think there is now no remedy. The Common- wealth granted the privilege of building the dike, but reserved the right to compel the Company to keep the harbor open. The Commonwealth 'has the right and the power to compel the Company to remove shoalings. I wish you would look the case up, read the pleadings and arguments, and form your own opin- ion as to what is best in the premises, for I am prejudiced and hostile. If I could have my own way I would remove the dike and allow the water to flow naturally. They would soon make the harbor as good as it was in the days when Daniel Webster so enjoyed sailing upon its waters. Charles G. Davis is more responsible for the wrong than any other man, and when he represents to you the case was brought merely in the interest of private parties he does not state the whole case. It is true that the property of private persons was taken and utterly destroyed without remuneration by the Company, but the rights of the public were also destroyed. A fine, safe, snug little harbor was ruthlessly ruined. Under the contract made with the State the Company was bound to remove shoaling, but it has done nothing, and the har- bor is now utterly worthless. I admit the existence of the dike is utterly inconsistent with the existence of a harbor. One storm will throw into the harbor more sand than a thousand men could remove in a year, but take away the dike and allow the waters to flow in and out in their wonted channel, and in a few months Green Harbor would become a "joy forever, if not a thing of beauty/' Yours very truly, B. W. HARBIS. Honorable A. E. Pillsbury, Attorney General, Boston, Massachusetts. THE SUPKIMni? COCI.'T. Boston, Feb. 7, 1908. T. B. Blackmail. Ks.,.. Brant Hock, Mass. Dear Sir: Your letter with enclosures was duly received. 1 will go be- fore the committee if possible, but doubt if my work will permit it. You may quote me as vigorously as you please in favor of the measure. The dyke had its origin in a fancy. A gentleman who made a summer trip to Holland, came home with his head full of the wonders of that country. He forgot that we had a good deal of land here that is above high water mark and available for all purposes for which dry land is useful. He also forgot that the harbors are few and necessary. Green Harbor was not onlv a beautiful place, but it was useful and had capacities for develop- ment. It was destroyed in wanton disregard of the obligations assumed when the dyke was built. When the dyke proprietors found it was a physical impossibility to prevent shoaling so that they could not keep the harbor open, they hid behind the fact that their charter provided no penalty for failure to perform these du- ties and clung to their dyke. The harbor commissioners had power to remove shoaling at the expense of the proprietors, but had no power to remove the dyke. This the harbor commission- ers never did and never tried to do as they found it impossible. The dyke has therefore remained to the destruction of the har- bor. The practical result has been that public property, to wit, the harbor, has been taken for private benefit without compensa- tion to any one. In addition to that, private rights, to wit, the rights of the harbor by shipping and fishing interests, have also been taken without compensation. As a boy and lad I used to go to Green Harbor and "Cut Eiv- er" with my father and have enjoyed many glorious sails in and out of it. As a young man I watched its gradual destruction with anger and regret. I worked with my father to prevent and 19 to right this wrong, and today I feel as strongly as ever that so long as that dyke stands it will be a monument of injustice. If there had been any compensating benefit to any one I might feel less hostile to it, but I know of no prosperous Little Holland that has grown up on the reclaimed marshes, and I do know that the town lias lost and is losing many times what benefit has accrued, and that the general public has lost a place that was a God-send to thousands as a health and pleasure resort, an opportunity to earn a living for many worthy men, and a place of refuge for the storm-beaten smaller craft. Let the tides and the river have their way and all this will come back. If a road must remain make them build a bridge, but in any event there ought to be a hole in that dyke big enough to let the river and the marsh re- sume their sway. I will contribute to the fireworks on the day our Legislature rights this monumental wrong. Yours very truly,. ROBERT 0. HARRIS. Mr. T. B. Blackman. My dear Sir: Hearing of your laudable efforts for restoration of Green Har- bor, I wish to say I have been a summer resident of Green Har- bor for the past nineteen years, and during this time I have had ample opportunity to see the effect of the dike upon our harbor. In a few years the basin and mouth of the harbor will both be practically filled if things go on as at present. Our harbor is steadily going from bad to worse, and its only hope of salvation is to have the current of water restored which, before the dike in- terfered with the natural flow of the river, scoured the sand away from the harbor's mouth and kept the harbor clear. The opponents of the proposition to remove the dike are the owners of the so-called "rescued"' marsh lands, which will be flooded on the dike's removal. These owners (or at least some of them, for there are those among them who are willing to have the dike removed) urge that it is hard and unjust toward them, after they have built the dike at a large expense, that they should be obliged to submit to its removal and the consequent flooding of their lands. Under Sec. 4 of the act under which the proprietors of the Green Harbor marsh were permitted to build the dike, they are expressly bound to remove any shoaling that may occur in the harbor. Moreover, the harbor commissioners, who have the au- thority to order the removal of such shoaling, have issued one such order to the marsh proprietors, and they have paid no heed to the order. The harbor commissioners have authority to re- move such shoaling at the expense of the marsh proprietors, and yet nothing has been done. Every day, therefore, that the com- monwealth allows the harbor to remain in its present condition it is guilty of a gross breach of good faith toward those for whose benefit the conti'act with the marsh owners was made. For a small harbor of refuge, and for sailboats and vessels of small draught, no harbor in this region is naturally better or more convenient than Green Harbor. Green Harbor is near two growing summer resorts, Brant Rock and Duxbury Beach, and it would be a wonderful resort for sailboats if it were only restored to its former depth so that it would be accessible at all tides. If the Cape Cod canal is dug, Green Harbor will be of increased im- portance as a harbor of refuge for small craft sailing between New York and Boston. In a word, make Green Harbor river what it should be by removing the dike, and the future useful- ness of the harbor is something that admits of no question. New York, Nov. 9. R. W. G. The Constitution provides Art. 14 Sect. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and sub- ject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any -21- person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protec- tion of the laws. A few extracts from the rulings of the Supreme Court as found in James Kent commentaries on American law of the gov- ernment and constitutional jurisprudence of the United States. (Part II., Sect. XIX.) The Court declared, that when a law was in its nature a con- tract, and absolute rights have vested under that contract, a re- peal of the law could not divest those rights, nor annihilate or im- pair the title so acquired. A grant was a contract within the meaning of the constitution. And a grant is a contract executed, and a party is always estopped by his own grant. A party cannot pronounce his own deed invalid, whatever cause may be assigned for its invalidity, and though that party be the legislature of a state. A grant from a state is as much protected by the opera- tion of the provision of the constitution, as a grant from one in- dividual to another ; and the state is as much inhibited from im- pairing its own contracts, or a contract to which it is a party, as it is from impairing the obligation of contracts between two in- dividuals. HOUSE XO. 769. Bill accompanying the petition (taken from the files of last year) of Frank A. Drew for legislation to provide for the re- moval of a dike across Green Harbor river in the town of Marsh- field and for the construction of a bridge over said river. Har- bors and Public Lands. January 21. Com.monwea.lth of Massachusetts. In the Year One Thousand Xine Hundred and Eight. AX ACT. Relative to the Dike in Green River Harbor in Marshfield. Be it enacted lij the Senate and House of Representatives 22 tn General Court assembled, and Itij the authority of the same, as follows : Section 1. The board of harbor and land commissioners is hereby authorized and directed, at an expense not exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars, to cause the removal of two hundred feet or more of the dike built across Green river in the town of Marshfield, and to build a bridge over the gap in the dike so caused, with such 'piers and other constructions as the public convenience may require. Section 2. The said board may take, by purchase or other- wise, on behalf of the Commonwealth, any lands or materials necessary for cutting down the said dike and constructing said bridge, and the manner of such taking and of determining the damages caused thereby, and the damages to those proprietors of Green Harbor marsh lands whose property is injured by any act done under authority hereof, if the same cannot be agreed upon by the said board and the persons concerned, shall be the same as provided by chapter four hundred and seven of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-three, relative to the taking of land by the metropolitan park commission, and the said board shall, for the purposes of this act, have the powers conferred upon the said commission by the said chapter. The damages, when finally determined, shall be paid from the treas- ury of the Commonwealth, and shall be in addition to the sum ^of thirty-five thousand dollars hereby appropriated. Section 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. l/CSB LfBRARV