Middlemen in English Business 239 



worthy of mention. The first buyer sometimes dispensed with the 

 factor and competed with him at buying cargoes from the ship master. 

 Some few first buyers and factors acquired interests in the ships. But 

 these developments were unimportant in their effect upon the trade. 



Another feature pecuHar to the coal trade was the ship-owner and 

 ship-master acting as travelling merchant and resident in towns 

 where perhaps he did no business whatever. He had no place of 

 business at either terminus : his ship was his store, his home was his 

 office, his cargo was his stock of vendables. He often combined the 

 functions of ship-owner, merchant, supercargo, and ship-master. His 

 market was determined — except against the dangers of sea and the 

 shifts of price he was no \'enturer; he visited no new climes, made no 

 long voyages, stayed in coastwise pursuits, and dealt with known 

 fitters and factors. His seas were comparatively free from pirates 

 and dangers from the enemy. The home government encouraged 

 him and supported his colliers with the largest convo}' fleet of its 

 navy. He was comparatively secure, and not like the general 

 merchant in this degree of risk. 



A fourth peculiarity of the coal trade was the prevalence of com- 

 binations and associations for the control of vend, price and agents. 

 Unrestrained competition was a positive detriment to producer and 

 consumer and middleman: the operation of mines could not be occa- 

 sional, had to be continuous: regularity was the first essential. Pools 

 were the means of lessening the evils of competition ; it does not appear 

 that they lessened the whole volume of trade in the long run. At the 

 London end the combinations effected among the watermen and the 

 factors and buyers, and the Subscription Room monopoly were 

 developments of the same general character. Since the several 

 businesses were so distinct, association within the groups was the 

 means of defensive and aggressive action in maintaining or acquiring 

 privileges as against another group; while intergroup association was 

 the means of amicable adjustment of differences as betw^een groups. 

 The Subscription Room in the Coal Exchange illustrates the former, 

 the combination of lightermen and first buyers illustrates the latter 

 associations: the subscribers with their Public Letter were able to 

 deprive the uninformed outsiders of business; since both first buyers 

 and lightermen owned lighters competition between them was allayed 

 by partnerships and sharing of profits mutually. Lastly, the asso- 

 ciation of ship-owners and ship-masters by partnerships in the owner- 

 ship of the ship was a means of control over the master as agent of 

 the owner. 



