992 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [50] 
Rent.—In case our desires were to be carried out, and the study of 
transformable bottoms made, at what rate should the rental be fixed ? 
Every service must be paid for; this is a principle of economy which 
enters largely into all our habits. A rent must, therefore, be decided 
upon. The rate is the only point to be discussed. 
The rent, especially in the beginning, should be very small, and of a 
nature merely to secure the rights of the public domain. It would bea 
pity, to see a fiscal measure trammel upon this industry, which still 
feels its way along so timidly. It is true that in the present state of 
our public treasury, and with the debts which weigh upon our country, 
every source of revenue is eagerly sought for, but yet we must be care- 
ful not to kill the goose that lays golden eggs. As Bastia has said, there 
are two sides to this question, one seen, and one not seen; what is seen 
is the rent, which may enrich the public treasury; what is not seen, is 
the fact that by putting an obstacle, even a slight one, in the way of 
the early efforts of culturists, the progress of an industry might be 
stopped, the result of which would be a certain reaction upon the pub- 
lic welfare. From this point of view, there is a great service to be ren- 
dered to oyster culture. The state, by accepting the proposition, would 
be playing precisely the part it should, and its intervention could never 
have more beneficial results. 
Concessions for a long term.—This question leads naturally to a con- 
sideration of the method of granting concessions, now in vogue in already 
existing parks, and that to be followed in the future. 
At present, as is well known, every culturist is entirely dependent 
upon the administration; the concessions are nominative and revokable; 
what a minister has given with a stroke of his pen he can likewise take 
away. We have heard it said that administrative favor might cause 
trouble to this industry, by arbitrariness or favoritism, but we do not 
fear this, for we believe that the principles of equity, integrity, and jus- 
tice, which are the patrimony of the adininistration, will ever be held in 
honor. But from another point of view this question deserves to be at- 
tentively studied. 
A culturist is authorized to found an establishnent by a permit which 
is entirely revokable. He expends a considerable sum of money upon 
his establishment, but he entirely ignores what the future may have in 
reserve for him. In case of death, what will become of his industry ? 
Into whose hands will his concession pass? Will his descendents, di- 
rect or indirect, have the right of pre-emption? 'The administration, 
with a high standard of impartiality, may know how to conciliate all 
parties; but for most parties this is a simple hope. A hope does not 
afford that certainty which belongs’ to an arrangement, known to every 
one and determined upon beforehand. Besides, how can one calculate | 
the redemption of capital? There can be no stated period of possession ; 
all is absolute uncertainty. An urgent reform is demanded upon two 
points: 
1st. The concession should be made for a fixed period, with the privi- 
