STATE OYSTER BUSINESS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 194, 11 May 1908, Page 8

STATE OYSTER BUSINESS.

ADVERSE CRITICISM. / (OT/TELEGEAPn.-HiPECTAL.CtinBESEONDEST.)'' ■ W c-l , Auckland, May 9. the State oyster business is- coming m for, a good deal of Local oystor . saloon-keepers - and, fishmongers -continue • to' 1 complain of the inadequacy of the 'supplies . ' coming forward. Tho' price at which the" bivalves are obtainable at the' Government ~ depot is 12s. 6d. y per sack, containing, about io dozen,, and;hawkers on the : streets'have .;/, been charging; 6d.: for/small bottles con- , taming from a dozen to a dozen and a half ■ ...( small oysteis, whilst 4d. per dozen was the , ..; : ,-pncp-ruling for.-the: unopened In tho shops tho average price ..for bottlfes /contain-- ' 5 . a °. out six,/or seven dozen was Is. 6d. :: Thcro is, an impression - that, had - the Go vern- i , ment put on more, than the,-twenty-five I pickers at the. commencement of the season supplips would not * only .have, • been .larger, but the retail price vrould have-been smaller. Apparently "ono reason for not employing, more .men ,was-the wish to' - avoid , . having to ;put,.them off ; :agairi aMittle later 1 , sii, when,, the demand- begins • to decrease. 1 there,., is,-, however, no doubt that-, more'' pickers ought to be engaged now. s.- . I

A PICKER'S OPINIONS

There is a good deal ,of/discontent amongst ojster pickers as well as fish dealers -m connection with the Governments methods of ' the industry. One of the,former put their case to a ,'epresenfcuive fir: ilic ''Herald.' . He stated 'that last i season' 04' .pickers-.were' employed-,at tho-various: teds,' and tho year before, about the latterbeing the usual number. How, he asked, oxild the State .expect, to meet the- supply ™ , f;«n "on- employed, not more than : . SO all,told.- 1 ,: He.said the limit- f baW per day. per man means that, weather,peri, fitting, each, picker now employed can; infke 195.. 6d. .per day. What,.tho Government should do pay the , men 4s. or ss. per bag instead iof 6s. 6d.,- and:, let. them pick as many oysters as they can. Obey have-in-epcctors .to- see -that they, don't ..pick the oysters roughly. ; Tho speaker went-: on to. ' refer, to Mr. Ayson's statement that no niwp than three bags a day could bo picked to .have the work done- properly. "I challenge Mr. Ayson or anyone else," ho irnil ■ "on that point. I would pick three bags of oysters an,hour in some,placed at W'aifokii, and in ariv : place at all in iv/o hours, Amm , that could not pick three haminthrmimirs —well, ho ought not to bo tforo, 'Flit havo ; to pay tho.piper uruler the -prmvi §?& •fcem. The men are getting Jfjls, -• half, day's work. Tho b«l« see in icpf/i sedition and the, public «h'ould raip in cheap oysters; hit yfim arc the. cheap oysters*• • , A meeting of : pickers and <2*l* 'ikahfS to have, been held last niclit to ijiwjss j|Ae ■, * present. position,, but _ owing to short. n&tm' th«rc. was not as full an attendance %.§ desired and. the meeting mn jmttmml mm Montiay night. . Shopkeopors who put in m appearance last night oxproacd' strong (li.s.- • approval of the shortness of supplino, '! limit >>' nit) not half enough. oysters," was tho' ««i«v -/si cry.., . ' ' '