OXSTEfi CULTUBE COMMISSIOIf—SUNTTES OF EVIDEKCE. 
Do you 
Mr. W. J. 1075. Tes, taking the rivers separately, and giving a rough estimate of the area of each lease ? 
”7“ Ttilw Sat “'Led i„ each lease ? The whole of a riser aad it, tribatarie, are i.cluded 
21 No?., 1876. • ipqop 
1077. Well, take one river to begin with, and give us a rough estimate of the number of ^ 
within 100 acres, or even 1,000 acres. Which is the most northerly river leased ^ Iho Clarence 
1078. Have you any idea of the area of the Clarence Eiver, including the creeks belonging to it how many 
acres ? Do you mean the oyster-bearing portions ^ , r u n+ 
1079. Everything supposed to be included in the lease; is it 1,000 acres r More tiian that. 
lOSo! Is it 5,000°or 10,000? It must be that at least. 
lOSl, What are the bonks of the Clarence Eiver composed of—arc they rock or mud? Mud and shell. 
1082. Is it rich mud ? AVhere the oysters are got it is. 
108r3. Eich mud ? Tes. i n i 
1084*. AVhat do the young oysters chiefly stick to ? Just on to the shell bottom. 
1085. Are there any mangrove swamps there ? Away back on the shore there are a good many. 
IOSg! Do a Kreat many oysters stick to the mangroves ? Not a gre^ many. i i 4 -- 
1087. Ja there a great deal of spawning going on in the Clarence Eiver ^ Tes. It is the lake por ion, 
known as the oyster channel, in which the oysters are got on the Clarence ; it is not in tlie mam river. 
1088. I am speaking of breeding: is it going on to a great extent in the swamps where these mangroves 
are ? Not to any very great extent. , _ i , i i n • 
Arc the young oysters utilized ? No; all that they use there are the natural beds ; they lay nothing 
1089. 
down 
1090. 
1091 
They make no use of the spat that is collected on the mangroves? ^o. 
lUiii. That is going to waste ? Yes ; they just work the natural beds, that is all.^ 
1092. Now, if these spat were collected and placed on ground suitable for fattening, would they not pro- 
duce an immensity of food ? A great deal. ■ i i -ri i- *-0 
1093. That is to say, the production of oysters could be increased to an incalculable extent s' les. 
1094. And all this is under lease? Yes. * i. -,^1 _ 
1095. Have any improvements been made in carrying out the conditions of the Act with respect to laying 
down and forming new oyster-beds on the Clarence ? ^ot that I am aware of. jv i i. • 
1096. Could they be made without your being aware of it? No, unless it w'as done within the last nine 
or ten months—since I was up there. ^ ^ 
1097. But you would have been almost sure to bear of it? Yes. 
1098. They could scarcely have been made without your knowledge ? No. 
1099. AVko is the lessee of the Clarence Eiver? Mr. Peter James. 
1100. J/r. Far 7 iell'] Are there mangrove swamps in the Clarence? Yes, in the lake. ^ 
llOl! Hon. J. B. WiUon.l You have stated that the natural oyster beds in the Clarence are m what is 
tenned the lake. Is there a considerably strong tidc-w^ay or current in that lake ? Not particularly. 
1102. Not as strong as in the river? No, except in flood-time; it does not rush so strongly though. 
1103. Are you aware whether there are any natural beds in the Clarence—in the nver itselt. iNo, 1 nave 
1104. How' far is this lake in wdiich the natural oyster beds are from the mouth of the Clarence Eiver ? 
I should think it was about four to five miles. 
1105. But it is all salt water? Yes, freshened a good deal by the freshes. 
1106. But at ordinary times it is salt water? Yes. ^ w o i o 
1107. And is it from this lake that the lessees get the principal portion of the oysters they send to feydney t 
Prom the lake and the creek that runs into it from the river, which is called the oyster channel. 
1108. That is almost the only use they make of the Clarence Eiver ? That is all. . , . , 
1109. Chairman.’] But they lo not consider that any person exceiit themselves has a right to make use oi 
the oysters or the spat in the river or on the mangroves ? No. . . i r.. t i i i. • 
1110. Although they do not make use of it themselves they claim the exclusive right ot the whole that is 
their view of it ? Yea. ^ , i. r o 
1111. You say there are no natural beds in the river itself: w'here does the spat come iroin : 
creek that connects the lake with the river; there are natural beds in the creek. 
1112. Does this creek supply the whole of the mangroves With spat? Yes, most of the spat comes out 
of it; there arc a great number of natural beds in the creek. ^ .*■+111 
1113. Mr. FarnclL] Is it a creek or an arm of the river? It is an arm of the river going into the lake 
known as the oyster channel. , i 1 /••i. i +i 4 - 1 ■ i 
1114. AVhen you speak of the area leased in the Clarence, do you mean the whole ot it, or only that w'liicn 
is oykcr-producing ? The whole area of the river ; the only portion they make use of is this creek and 
the lake adjoining it. ^ 
1115 . That is the only oyster-producing portion? Yes. .no 
1116. Then the fact is that the lessees lease a portion of the river that is not oyster-producing at all? 
m7. Chairman^ Is it not capable of producing oysters by artificial means? There arc a great many 
places where there are sandbanks. ^ , 11 u i i 
1118 I do not say the w'hole ; but are there not places on it where as good oysters could bo produced as 
those which come from the lake? Yes, by artificial means. . . , 
1119 Which is the next river to the Clarence that is leased ? Fbrt Macquarie is the next. 
1120 AV'hat do you suppose is the area of Fort Macquarie—the whole ot the area which the lessees con¬ 
sider to be included in their lease? They consider the whole river is included, the same as in other 
From the 
acres or more. I have no 
cases 
1121 AVhat is the area—is it 5,000 or 10,000 acres? It is 4,000 or 5,C 
means of ascertaining the exact area-1 can only give a rough estimate. o rru 1 . .1 
1122. AVhat is the nature of the beds and the banks of the Port Macquarie Eiver? The beds are very 
deep; they are about the deepest there are. ,, , , , ..1 -i. icj. * +i, 1 j 
1123. Are they mud ? No, it is a sort of small quartz pebble that the oyster attaches itself to in the bed 
of the river. 
1124. 
