468 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



Freeman purchased the Company's land at Hampton. He 

 intended to build on the ground, but his investment was 

 not successful. His own health failed, and he became so 

 ill that he was unable to attend my inquiry. I annex to 

 this Report a medical certificate respecting his illness, 

 The advisers of the Company told me that they had been 

 unable to find any record of the proceedings of the Com- 

 pany from the time at which he assumed the management 

 of it. It appeared, however, from the evidence, that with 

 the exception of a period of seven weeks during May and 

 June, 1880, when the "Robert" was employed dredging, 

 assisted during three weeks out of the seven by about three 

 other boats, nothing whatever was done on the ground 

 from June, 1879, to May, 1881. 



During the interval, throughout which no watch boat 

 was employed, the Company employed a man, Stupple, to 

 watch the ground from the shore. Stupple had a small 

 boat at his disposal, which he could use to follow any 

 boats trespassing on the ground at all times, when neither 

 the weather nor the tide prevented him from doing so. 

 The Company also allowed two other men, a father and a 

 son, the privilege of "trotting" for whelks on the grounds, 

 on condition that they assisted Stupple to watch while they 

 were trotting. I have every reason to believe that the 

 three men honestly endeavoured to do their best for the 

 Company. But I cannot help thinking that the system was 

 a very inefficient one. The counsel of the Company, 

 indeed, endeavoured to show that a man standing on the 

 shore could command the whole ground. But it is obvious 

 that he could not see whether a boat was dredging on or 

 off the grounds unless it passed immediately between him 

 and one of the buoys which marked the sea boundary of 

 the grounds. In fact the Company, during the last few 



