Year: 1860

the only property which the State has ever claimed or
asserted to these oyster beds has been that of trustee
holding for her citizens as the benefcaries and pro-
ccpg them in the free aud unlimited enjoyment thereof
Every other claim has of her own free will and by her
solemn acts through her Legislature been dedicated to
her peoplc Aud this policy, adopted by Virginia has
been carried out by every other State in the Unon 1t
is now proposed to change this wise and tmehonorcd
policy aud for the purpose OF raising revenue PROPOSE
ton now made that the State shall assert her right
this common property long dedicated to the people,
aud by sy stem of taxation, as unwse it is unjust
seek 10 enrich her treasury, almost exhausted by wae-
ul al extrayagant expenditures by tax on tie labor
Of tie poor.


Mr. President in consequence Of the position assumed
by the late Governor upon this subject the opinion has
prevailed TO a considerable extent that this "Oyster
Fundum as he styles it, could be made source of very
large revenue to the Sate and the most extravagant
and absurd estimates have been made of the extent OF the
oyster trade and of the quantity annually transported
from our waters. Gov Wise estimates the quantity ia
ken annually from the waters of the State at twenty five
millions of bushels The Chief Inspector, Mr. Parker
says twenty millions and the Senator from RockbIidge
adopts this as his estimate in the speech which ne deliver
ed to The Senate Now sir wonder it has ever en-
tered into tue brain of the Senator to conceive how
many men il would require to take up this immense
quanttYy How much Tonnage it would require to trans
port them? Intend to give the Senator little infor
nation on this subec-ior he will excuse me for saving
shat upon this "Fundum Question: with all his pr,
sons he is the most ignorant man ever met with Sir


intend to demonstrate hi2 and to this Senate that
if the rhoie ait population, uhte and black free and
Sae of the entire oyster region were engaged for six
months in the year. they could not take up twenty mil


lions of bushels OF oyses and further that to transport
this immense quantity to market would give employ
men 70 more ships than are now employed in the for
cign domestic and coastwise trade OF Baltimore Nor
folk, Richmond, Fredericksburg and Alexandria.


Now, sir looking to the evidence which has been
taken before the select committee, It will be that
taking the whole oyster region the average number of
bushels taken per day by each hand employed is six
bushels that the average number OF days in week in
which .hese hands can work is four Now allowing six
months as the oyster season, and it would require
take up twenty millions Of bushels 81 III laborers-
Each hand generally requires to assist him what IS called
"culler" aud adding only one-.hrd for this purpose
and have SO 9S6 men, the necessary force requr
ed to take up twenty millions of bushels OF oysters Now
sir find, upon looking to the census that the whole
population of the oyster counties is l3S 800; allowing
e-hfh as the male adult population (which is Il very
liberal allowance for the friends Of this measure) we
have, the whole adult population of that district ~
7l2 that it would require the entire male adult pop
uhtion of that whole region, assisted by 10000 men
from abroad to take up the quantity estimated by the
Senator from Rockbridgc. Now, sir beg leave to give
the Senator another piece oil information: We NOr
oYSrERNEN. We have in my country some farmers
aud mechanics, and and then a lawyer and doc





gagged in this business; and may affirm that not one
bundredth part-l might say five hundredh-of tie
white population is engaged in taking oysters. These
facts show that the enormous estimates made by the
Senator from ROckbridge are perfectly absurd. But
sir does that Senator know hOY much tonnage neccs
sary to transport his estimated quantity reckon not
sir; for presume he knows little about the tonnage
Of vessel do about the plank-TOads OF Rockbrjge
We'll, sir, let me make the figures for him. Allowing
twenty bushels to the ton it would take three hudred
dtd hjrty-t10 ships of fire hundred tons burden making
six trips during the season. to transport the estimated
quantity. undertake to affirm, in the presence OF the
Senator from Norfolk the Senator from AeXandriu
aud the Senator from Richmond that there this
number Of ships making this number Of trips engaged
in the whole domestic foreign and cOaswise trade oil
AL the ports Of the Chesapeake aud It's tributaries.


These calculations and statistics show that the est
mates made by the Senator from ROckbrdye entire
y conl-ctural and perfectly ridiculous aud absurd. But
air do NOT stop here We who are interested in this
question have taken the trouble to examine the returns OF
the inspectors aud pilots this -u cct. II will be- rc-
mclubered that Gov Wise in bis late message to the
General Assembly, informed that lie had caused au-
heutc statistics to be obtained by the iuspccon-ccl
of vessels under the law 10 protect properly u slaves ~
Two of my friends in the House Of Delegates Mc,.rs Sc
str aud lcrbv, have gone carefully, in the pres
and under the supervision of two OF the pilots the
whole list of vessels returned These returns embrace
the Potomac. Eppahaunoek, York, James, Hampton





Fishing Baythc cutire waters Of the oyster district
According TO these returns there taken from the
waters above mentioned tor market outside OF Virginia
lOS5 9si bushels The inspector reports 2@ul .IG but
in the addition Of hsurcs lac makes au error Ui
l,2l2 72i have this list before me aud any gentleman
may make the calculton for himself Nov, deducing
from this amount 2 25u bushels of oysters tkeu in Ma-
rylLnl waters above named and have bat SIS I3S
bushels AZ the number tally carried to foreign mar
E'tl instead Of % Ootol0 estimated by the Senator
from Rockbrilgc.


Now sir, venture to affirm that every vessel bound
out Of the Cape Is inspected for would inform the Sc
nate that these pilots and inspectors receive five dollars
for each vessel they inspect d they are of course con
sanly the lookout. These returns form the only
liable statistics All beyond this is mere Conjecture
But am willing TO concede, for the sake OF the argu-
ment that three times a. many were taken the nctul
return shows, and instead Of twenty millions, have in
round numbers three millions


lis proposed TO lay tax of three cents per bushe or
ninety per ton each vessel fyr ou- bur
den, engaged in transporting oysters. | propose, now
show that this tax far from raising revenue would
utterly destroy aud annihiae the oyster trade Of Virgil.
ia and drive every vessel engaged in that trade from heI
waters Under this bill vessel Of one hundred tons
burden, making ten trips ia year, would have to pay
ut % cents per per trip the OF 5000 Under oul
present laws man owning 100000 worth of property
pays into the public treasury in the form Of taxes $500
vessel OF one hundred tons burden would cost about
- OO) that by this bill poor man who had invested
his all in vessel of this size and who bad it NAV be
borrowed the money Olteu the case expecting tC
pay for it out Of The profits Of running her, would have
to pay into the public treasury 500 than the man
who owned property TO the amount OF 100000 Why
sir little vessel oil forty tons burden making ten trips
would have to pay 1850 year into the treasury with
in $40 of the same amount paid by man worth 800,
OOu when probably the whole nett earnings OF such
vessel would only be SlOO. Does any Senator upon th
h)or believe that this amount OF capital could stand suc


tax: Is it not perfectly apparent that the effect would
be to break up the trade aud drive every vessel
gagged in it out of the waters of Virginia? Particularly
sir when il is remembered that there are more oysters
in the waters of Maryland than in the Virginia waters
aud that no tax is imposed by the Maryland law.


have not deemed it necessary to refer to the evi-
Ience taken before the committee this subject will
not take up the time Of the Senate by reading it, but viii
conen1 myself with declaring that every witness who
has spoken on this subject says unhesatngy that sucf


tax must break up the trade aud drive out of our wa
ters every vessel engaged in it. Now sir have hearC


great deal this season about the commercial ndepen
dence of Virginia We are attempting by our legisla
tion to build up, in this old Commonwealth in whose
glory and prosperity are all so deeply interested
manufactures and commerce. tell the Senate that th
bill strikes the most deadly blow at your commerce. ant
Imos earnestly invoke the aid ofa those Senators upoI
this floor who would foster and protect and Strengthen
and build up the commerce of Virginia. to help me u
crush this Ubiquitous and runouS measure which must
once drive hundreds and hundreds Of vessels from you
own waters and ports to those OF other States.


Bot sir permit me to call the attention Of the Senate
to the disastrous consequences TO my own immediate
constituents of destroying this oyster trade As sale
in the beginning this trade gives employment and gives
bread to a very large number Of those represent
Hundred Is and hundreds Of families dependent fo
their daily bread and the common neccssaries of life
upon the employment which this trade gives them They
have no other occuplton-no other dependence. They
generally own no land and cultivate but little. They
rent few acres where they raise their patches of corr
aud vegetables They poor many of them very poor
In their little cottages by the sea side the bayshore
on the banks of our beautiful rivers and creeks and nets
they live with their wives and children and get hei
daily food out of the water. II hard struggle sup
ply themselves and their families with the most ordinar