Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1890-03-01
Important Letter ON the Oyster a ls''

! AS reader.of your Qaliy :ailei5 Sestli "
so many communications upon dhp
oyster question, which seems 70 be- 81
rying our legislatorssso much, espeel;
ally those above Underwater. who, strange
to say, make up the majority of ouf
committees to whom. such questions sans
properly referred: and believing tfatsno
one economic question now before; our
General Assembly is of so much
portance, affecting SO many people
whose livelihood depends solely upon
the oyster industry and to unequal; DC:
gree indirectly affecting the revenues
of our State, is my excuse for askinga
place in your valuable paper for this Chit
communication. Insall that has bees
said Upon the subject no one has called
especial attention to the indirect adyan-
tages and revenues the State derives
from the oysterindustry. andlwllosssessmn 1
simply to look3no further than the act
ual amount !. OF dollars collected under
orr oyster,laws. L will first suggest
that if9they examine the Auditor g, Of
fee they will learn that a large surplus
from our old oyster navy now remains
to the credit of tile oyster fund, orist
least has been turned into orr freas-
urv. They will find that from the
years 1865 To 1ss3.incllsive.sthe re.
ceipts from the oystei:tax over disbursas
ments were over S2O6 600, so that the.
smalEdefcit during the past fiscal y iP
/ sIoul,isnot alarm orr friends from 9th
or spctions,of the State. TheYshould
alsn remember. the many thopsandsssole
!. dollars Tie State gets indirectly-fr9m
the Industry. Some lands sIsreilat
s|nog readily sell JoIs from 6ne to SO
.|hnndrcd5 dollars persacre. and scarcely
worth five, wnuld not srllsat the latter
price for purely agricultural purposes
should.tliis ii.dnstrybe dtstroyedror not
! be pro- erly protected. Elonrishing
1atowns end villages have grown up,
whose sole success and prosperity de-
mend upon this business. NotahlyI
may mention t!llincoteagMA Island,
whose Growth and rrosppri,y.is, scarcely
surpassed hyany other part Of!he; Safe,
AMI certainly ny no other part Of our
county; also, Franklin City and Green
backvlle. two other otablcinstances.
I can also call tn mlnda narrow stripof
land lying between twn rivers, 2nntm0re
than one mile in idthby two inlenCth
in which is located fifteen stores of gen.
pral merchandise and some. doing. "a
large business. whose> entire trade is
from the nysterlnen. which. of course,
pay their proportion Of revenueto the
State-destroy this industry and two
would suffice for needs of the inhab
itants. who would or could remain.
These people know no other occupation
and necessity woull rompelsthem to
leave the State and, seek other fields
where they could gain support for their
families. Many Of orr farmers who do
not live directly upon tidewater find a
ready and remunerative market for; all
4 they grow. without. tn intervention of
Emiddieinen. freight charges; or COM
missions. among. tic ovsternen. and. I
NAV add. it indirectly enhances the
value of s~their farms also.- The tag
able values of this cnlrntvswould; be
largely destroyed shonld. this industry
be injured, and the State would lose
many thousat dss of dolla-ssin revenue.
IT is OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES nifntiplthe
boats and otheEiecpssarv fniple nents of
their tradesadg- directly to tile revenues
. of the, State 3. l'hssState shogsd certain:
" enforce ali her laws. evenFif it costs
something so TO do. and why. ask.
should the oyster laws he an exception?
And to enforce them there must be
AN OYSTER NAVY.
Have we not heard much recently
about the large criminal expenses of
the State. In some counties. it is said
the criminal expenses exceed the reve.
nucs. Won'dtle State he excnsahle in
not enforcing her laws in those conn
ties. even if it costs something to do so.
Collecting a tax for the privilege of tax
ing oysters is of recent origin. while
the desire to protect The natural beds
dates back many years. Even go long
ago AS January. 1911 "a law WAS enacted
in regard to the mode of taking oysters,
looking to their protection, saying
there shall not be used any drag. scoop,
rake, or other instrument except longs
But, as Senator Stubs we'll says, our
people do claim protection and admit
the fact that they must and will pay
taxes. land may add will gladly and
willingly do 81. The present law il
properly amended would not only be
elf sustaining, but would leave a di-
rect revenue for the State. have yad
much In past Years upon the subject.
that has been written by Professor
Brooks. Lieutenant Winslow. and other
scientists about the natural history, ar
tifcial propagation, oyster.farmiDg, &C.,
and while l think if our laws could be
amended so as to encourage esrccially
oyster-farming and make It safe in
vestment for those who would engage
in it that it would add largely toour
revenues and to the supply also, yet I
think we of Tidewater from daily OBJ
servation and association with those
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