THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 157 



tLat no good results will follow its passage. It is a lamentable fact, that a large part of the oystermen, many of 

 whom are negroes, are so ignorant as to be easily led by demagogues. I have been informed by a prominent and 

 reliable gentleman in Virginia, that during a late political canvass for the state legislature, one of the candidates, 

 in an address to the oystermen, i)romised, upon condition of their voting for him, that, should they desire to break 

 any of the oyster-laws, he, as a lawyer, would defend them free of cost. My owu observation leads nie to believe 

 that this is by no means an exceptional case. I am inclined to think that just here lies one of the greatest 

 hiuderances to the enactment and enforcement of suitable laws. 



"The oyster- trade of the Chesapeake bay is of vast extent, giving employment to thousands of workmen and 

 millions of invested capital; and yet there are many intelligent men who believe that the blessings so lavishly 

 bestowed by nature upon the tidewater counties of Maryland and Virginia, in the .abundant su]>i)ly of oysters and 

 fish, are iu reality productive of more harm than good. This belief is based upon the non-progressive character of 

 the oystermen, who, as a class, are illiterate, indolent, and improvident. As the great natural productiveness of 

 the soil in tropical countries has tended to retard man's improvement, by taking from him the necessity i'or constant 

 labor, so has the abundant supply of oysters in the Chesapeake tended to make the oystermen unwilling to engage 

 in any steady occupation. A tongman can, at any time, take his canoe or skiff and catch from the natural rocks 

 a few bushels of oysters, for which there is always a market. Having made a dollar or two, he stops work until 

 that is used up, often a large part of it being spent for strong drink. When his money is all gone he can repeat 

 the same course. Unless spent in the indulgence of intemperate habits, a small amount of money will enable an 

 oysterman to live iu comparative comfort. He can readily, and at almost no expense, supply his table in winter 

 with an abundance of oysters and ducks, geese and other game, while in summer, lish and crabs may be had simply 

 for the catching. So long as they are able to live in this manner, it is almost impossible to get them to do any 

 steady farm-work. This cannot, of course, be avoided, as tliey have a right to live iu the manner which best suits 

 their taste, although several laws have, at different times, been enacted, which, while not so expressed, were really 

 intended to have the effect of making the tongmen, and especially the negroes, engage in other occupations. Could 

 this be done without restricting the rights of citizenship, it would prove a great blessing to the negroes themselves, 

 as it would lead them to regular work in the cultivation of land; and it is well known that as soon as these people 

 are possessed of a house and a few acres of land, they become more law-abiding and industrious. 



"It has generally been a ftivorite idea of the legislators, both of Maryland and Virginia, that each state should 

 derive some revenue from the natural oyster-beds belonging to it. To this end many laws have been passed, but 

 no satisfactory results have ever been accomplished. The expense of enforcing laws over such an extensive body 

 of water as the Chesapeake bay, is necessarily very great. In 1879 the entire amount received from licenses to 

 toug, to scrape, and to dredge in Maryland, was less than the cost of maintaining the oyster-police force. This, 

 however, was an exceptional year, and very little was collected from dredgers, for reasons given elsewhere." 



The Maryland oyster-police. — The oyster police, to wbich Mr. Edmonds alludes, was organized in 1808, 

 according to the law of the Maryland legislature at its session that year, which appi-opriated $22,000 for its 

 establishment. This money was to be expended iu purchasing " a steamer and two tenders to be propelled by 

 steam, sail, or oars, as the commissioners deemed best". The management of the force was ini rusted to a 

 committee composed of the governor, the treasurer, the comptroller, the superintendent of labor and agriculture, 

 and the clerk of the court of appeals. The salary of the commander of the torce was fixed at 82,500 (now reduced 

 to $1,500) and his bond at $20,000 (now reduced to $10,000). The police-boats were required to be kept constantly 

 cruising in search of violators of the oyster-laws, who, when caught, were taken before a magistrate for trial. The 

 vessels of the force have been increased from time to time, till they now number one steamer and eight fast-sailing 

 sloops and schooners. The sailing-vessels are assigned to certain parts of the bay, and are required to be constantly 

 on the alert (except at night and Sunday) to prevent any violation of the laws by dredgers. The steamer is 

 generally traveling as rapidly as possible, from one part of the bay to another, always trying to arrive in a locality 

 before she is expected, thus hojung to catch illegal dredgers when they least expect it. This steamer, the Leila, 

 Captain Travers, was generously placed at the service of Mr. Edmonds, by the fishery commissioners of the state, 

 enabling him to obtain information of great value, which could not have been got at otherwise ; and the thanks of 

 j\Ir. Edmonds not only, but of the Census Bureau itself, are therefore due and gladly tendered to the commissioners. 



All the boats of the police fleet are supplied with cannon and a large quantity of small-arms, and (piite often 

 there is need of the latter, as a fight with the dredgers will occasionally occur. Of late, however, these battles are 

 becoming less frequent. 



As appears elsewhere in this report, there has been dissatisfaction with the force ever since it was first 

 organized, as it has never been possible to prevent illegal dredging ; but the complaints largely come from those 

 who know nothing of the diiiiculties encountered by the oyster police. The number of dredging-boats is so great, 

 and the territory over which the force must exercise supervision is so extensive, that it is impossible to arrest all 

 who break the laws. The oyster-beds of Maryland " extend from Swan point, Kent county, opposite Baltimore, 

 southward down to and up the Potomac — total distance, 125 miles; and east and west across the bay and Tangier 

 sound, up all their tributaries as far as salt water reaches, in all depths of water — iu fact, wherever there is salt 



