ARTIFICIAL OYSTER CULTURE. I I 19 



" Utopian," beware of either. 



And here, perhaps, I may be opposed by some opti- 

 mist, who, conscious of the truth of my argument, sneer- 

 ingly replies, " Good Sir, forbear ! Let not what little 

 prudence you possess so far imbibe the spirit of your 

 ambition for reform, as to prove its intoxication by your 

 verbosity. And, with all due respect, permit me to add 

 that a good and loyal subject an English gentleman 

 will not lower his dignity by indulging, against those in 

 authority, in a tirade that borders on Radical vituperation. 

 As for your boasted French and American exemplars 

 in oyster culture, England has hitherto done, and can still 

 do without them : a matter of considerable importance to 

 those nations, since our government's ' maladministration,' 

 as you call it, involves an annual outlay of great advantage 

 to the exchequers of these aliens. Consequently, were 

 your theories put into practice, rest assured that you would 

 not be looked upon by either of them with a friendly eye, 

 especially by the French, of whose country (according to 

 some author whose name I forget) ' the rivers partake of 

 the national character. Many of them look broad, grand, 

 and imposing ; but they have no depth. And the greatest 

 river in the country, the Rhone, loses half its usefulness 

 from the impetuosity of its current.' And to bear out the 

 comparison, I will quote that from the Marquis of Lome's 

 article which, in your partiality, you have evidently wil- 

 fully evaded. The passage alludes to the benefit accruing 

 to the poor by these ' concessions,' and is as follows : 

 ' When any person obtains permission to ' cultivate ' within 

 a certain area, he is bound before a year has passed to have 

 commenced the works necessary, and he is told that no 

 right of property is given to him in respect of his marine 

 allotment, but only a right of use, ' essentially precarious, 



