Middlemen in English Business 193 



to equalize the supply of the market and hkewise equalize prices. 

 The second was a means of maintaining their monopoh' and was in 

 itself harmless unless the monopoly was abused by introducing spec- 

 ulation and artificial variations of prices. In the long run no benefit 

 could be derived from creating a dearth of cattle and sheep, or high 

 prices, on the market. 



The practice of "regrating" was common in Smithfield. Cattle 

 were bought in one part of the market, driven to the other side, con- 

 signed to another salesman, and sold; but the salesman was informed 

 as to the minimum price he should sell for and unless they brought 

 this they were driven out of the market and held for another day. 

 This sort of gambling in live stock was sometimes done with the same 

 cattle three days successively or even more, until prices were realized.' 



In order to avoid holding much land and flocks or herds on their 

 own land, the jobbers bought on time-delivery. They contracted 

 with the breeder to take their purchased cattle away at the next fair 

 or market day. The live stock was in this way kept on the breeder's 

 rather than the jobber's land till needed on the market.'- 



It was the opinion of many that jobbers were not necessary in 

 the live stock trade. Marketing could be done as easily and well, in 

 their opinion, without the jobber. The grazier and farmer could 

 consign their cattle to the Smithfield salesman and by letter inform 

 him at once how many were to be sent on such a day. When jobbers 

 did not intervene it was the custom for the salesmen to send around 

 their drovers to the different farmers and graziers for their cattle and 

 to write them when they found the market was likely to want a sup- 

 ply.^ The fact of their existence and long continuance sustains the 

 presumption, however, that the jobber served a needed function to 

 the trade. He was comparable to the wool-stapler and the corn- 

 jobber or merchant; he performed the capitalistic, speculative part 

 whereby an unequal distribution of the supply, both in time and place, 

 was made to fit the steady demand of the consumers. Defoe noticed 

 in 1722 that the improvement of the roads in the vicinity of London 

 made it possible for the farmers and graziers themselves to market 

 their live stock summer and winter at about the same price, where 

 formerly they had to sell off their stock in early autumn when the 

 roads began to get bad; he maintained that this was reducing the 

 jobber's business as done by the farmers and butchers near London. "* 



' J. H.C., 51:638-639. 



2 Rep. from Com. H. C, II, 382; J. II. C, 30: 787. 



'See testimonies, J. H. C, 51: 636-7, 696-7. 



< Defoe, Tour, U, 370. 



