New-York tribune., 1869-03-27
JFRoM OUR SPECIAL COMMISSIONER


RIrT1MoRE March 3-The report of the Con-
troller of the Maryland State Treasury is-
sned Jan,1 shows the entire receipts on
account oftle Oyster Fund since the passage of the
first oyster law of 1864 In 1865 there was paid into
the Treasury for dredging licenses, $i2,l1l 20; for
tonglng licenses 81 99 total $4,000 90 In 1865 the
receipts were for dredging licenses, $4S 46S % for
longing licenses, $S09S 75 total, S5G,56l ~ large
increase over the oyster income of the previous year.
which is thus accounted for In 1866 the license was
raised to s. per tun, and the ovstermen thinking
that the State would naturally prosecute every vo-
laiOn of the law with vigor, now that larger rev
enue was at stake came forward promptly and pald
for the privilege of plying their vocation. In 1901,
for political reasons the license was reduced 10 -
per ton and as during the year before no voiatofs
of the law had been punished the dredgers began 10
look upon the License law with contempt and not
more than one-half of them renewed their permits
The consequence was, that the receipts for 1867
amounted to onlv SOP 25l5 20 for dredging licenses,
while those for longing licenses were $1,000 less than
in 1866 although the tongmen had greatly increased
in number Last wear the license fee was raised to
g per ton the Oyster Police Force organized and
eoupped and as result, the amount paid into the
Treasury for that part of the fiscal year ending Sept
was $5326 g. of which the dredgcrs paid SS2535 ~
the tongmen $ll,669 20. The oyster fines for the
same time amounted to $G16 q.
In the time between the 1st and 21st of January
these receipts were considerably increasedthe fines
collected up to the last date aggregating nearly
$500 and the additional licenses about S2OOo more
The number of vessels engaged IN taxing oysters III
the waters of Maryland, with scrape, drag, ana
dredge is from $50 to 500 These all belong ostensl-
bly, TO the counties bordering on the Maryland shores
of the Chesapeake, but many are, contrary to law,
MIL i. Il. Nax- Xor hoy Oa
% tuns Custoln-H0use measurement, and pay as
| license fee an average of $40 each per snnum The
amount then which should be paid into the Treasury,
on this account alone from $87 100 to $4,000 These
vessels pungies as they are called carry an average
load of 600 bushels and make, perhaps, two trips to
market each month. This gives monthly aggre-
gate of from 100000 to 10000 bushels, or lOOOOOn
bushels per season of nine months To this vast yleld
must be added the oyster product taken by aZN
| canoes which scrape, or tong, from the Shallow
waters an average of $50 bushels each during the
| oyster seasOn-a total of 14SOGOO bushels, about
three-fourths of which sold to vessels engaged III
the carrying trade These figures-as near an APP
proximaton to strict accuracy as can be reached
show that from the Maryland waters of the Chesa-
peake alone (ncludng. of course the tributaries of
the Bay) no less than 1,5OOOOO bushels of oysters
VIII have been nipped and dragged by the LIST of
| June. Taking one season with another, they sell
| at about 25 cents per bushel from the water.
| Here then, is money value of $2S75OOO from
which the State derives, directly or indirectly no
more than $50OO0 from fishermen, carriers retailers
packers, and pickers 1t must not be supposed,
however that 25 cents is the ruling price for Mary
land oysters in season like this. Along the close of
the last year they held at so and So cents at the
Baltimore wharves, and after the first week in Janu
| airy had fallen only 10 eents
The number of men and boys employed on the
punges is about 3OO0 full crew consisting of cap
tain boy and four men. In the carrying trade, in
which from 200 to 800 vessels engaged, there
fully 1000 men employed. Nearly half of these
ploy6s are negroes. The wages are from $lj to $50
month, with TatiOns, but the poor negroes are fire.
Guently allowed to work for months without being
paid anything ut all except the paltry sum they re-
ceve on being shipped. The white pungy-
sometimes work shares, and the captains gen
orally owners or part owners of the vessels they
command or else receive one-thrd of the profits out
of which they pay all the running expenses
There are 1890 canoes and other small boats en-
gagged in taking oysters in the waters of Maryland,
with tongs and scrapes. These distributed
among the tide-water counties in the following pro-
portions Anne Arundel, 400 Calvert, 800 Charles
40; Dorchester. 400 Kent, 800: Queen Anne, 800
st. Mary's, 400; Somerset, 500 Talbot 500 and
graceful little vessels of from Is to 81 feet in length
three or three and half in depth with but little
beam, and no deck. They are dug out" of the
trunk of the large yellow pine, and are
made in one, two, three, and sometimes as many as
six pieces. They nearly all carry two masts. with
triangular spr-sails, the fOresail somewhat larger
than the mainsail, very fast, and can live under
full canvas where few larger vessels would be safe
with everything doube-reefed. A fleet Of these
long, narrow, saucy-loOking, raksh, exquistely
graceful boats cutting through the white-capped
waves at steamboat speed, with the light masts bent
like bows, the leeward gunwales under water
and the sailors poised away up the
windward side, each helmsman straining hard to
keep his tiller well aport is most animatng sight
and reminds the Eastern traveller Of fotilla of Ara
bian pirate dOws baggaas in the Indian Ocean,
bound on predatory excursion to the Lacadives,
or scudding hOmeward with their spoils from the
shores of CeylOn the coast Of Malabar. These
canoes employ an average of two men each and
carry each from 10 to 80 bushels of oysters which
they sell TO vessels or Larger growth Each canoe
pays license of from 81 to SO which nets the State
this year the sum of $23OSO provided there no de-
lnquents. The canoemen, who fish generally with
the tOngs, sometimes with the scTape, take in the
season nearly 100000 bushels for market, beside
what they consume themselves. Some of them who
have other means of livelihood, do not sell their
oysters but take only enough for home consumption.
The oyster cargOes generally find their way to Bal
tmOre, although many thousand bushels are shipped
to Philadelphia, via Crisfeld the Southern terminus
of the Eastern Shore Railroad and large numbers
also to New-York and Boston by water The great
packing establishment of Carroll g. Solomon, on
Solomons Island, near the mouth of the Patuxent.
and that of Cornelius Hamlin on Fishing Island, in
Somerset County, also receive thousands Of bushels
The first vessel seized under the new