OYSTER BEDS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 136, 13 June 1927, Page 8

OYSTER BEDS

MINISTER AND LEASING

(By Telegraph.}. (Special to "The Evening Post.") AUCKLAND, 12th June A proposal that the oyster beds eon. foiled by. the Marine Department should be leased to.private individuals was made to r the Minister of Marine, the Hon. G. J. Anderson. The Minister promised to consider the matter but expressed a paramount desire to protect the public from monopoly and unreasonable prices. It was possibls that they would not have had any ov- stera had it not been for the efforts "of Mr. Ayson, who had made a minute study of their culture. It was correct that the output was fluctuating, but he doubted whether even if they ha* a capital of £20,000 they could' «eeure sufficient experts to control the matter. The new inspector, however, was taking, steps to endeavour to remedy tha trouble. • . ■• :

There was a good deal to be said in favour of leasing the beds, because a'a had been pointed out, the owners of th« foreshore would look after the beds and see'that they were not pbaehed upon. The matter of leases, however, had h*d the attention of Ministers from tha time the oysters became revenue pro-; ducing. Singularly enough every Minister had started out with that idea, and that under a leasing system the beds would increase much more rapidly. When the matter was gone into, however, it was found that [f leases were granted the beds were likely to fall into the hands of a few people, and the public would have to pay severely* for the oysters. He did not know whether there were means to remedy; this. He would have to talk with the law officers and see if it was possible to frame leases which would preserve tha public interests.