THE OYSTER. 159 



oysters, and to preserve for the people of our tide- 

 water counties and for their children the supply of 

 cheap food which nature has given them, I should be 

 among the first to recommend this course. 



Fortunately this is not the only remedy, and it is 

 possible to increase our supply so that the tide-water 

 people shall have all they want without destroying 

 the oyster business. 



Our next duty is to protect the interests of the citi- 

 zens who support themselves by work upon the public 

 beds the tongmen and dredgers who fish for oysters 

 in order to make their living by supplying the market. 

 As their business is an honest and useful one, they 

 have a natural right to pursue it, and it is the duty of 

 our people to see that this right is preserved and pro- 

 tected. It is equally clear, however, that they can 

 claim no right to deprive the tide-water people of food 

 by plundering private supplies of oysters, or by de- 

 stroying the natural beds. Every one knows that 

 private planting grounds have been robbed without 

 mercy by some of our fishermen, and even the men 

 who are most prejudiced by their own interests are no 

 longer able to deny the well-known fact that our public 

 beds have been brought to the verge of ruin by the 

 men who fish them to supply the market. 



If fishing cannot be carried on upon the natural beds 

 without this result, the interest of our whole people 

 demands its prohibition. The citizens of Maryland 

 do not desire to deprive any one of the right to earn 

 his living, but our own interest requires that oystering 



