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the prime fish, turbot, soles, and so on, were mostly brought 

 by land. If in any way the transit of fish by water could 

 be extended, one would extend in a corresponding pro- 

 portion the food for the poorer classes of the Metropolis, 

 and that seemed to him the important thing to do. 

 With regard to Billingsgate, he did not wish to express 

 any strong opinion, or to inquire into the reasons which 

 led so many people to think that there was some artificial 

 barrier which should not exist, but which did exist 

 between the source of supply of this magnificent food 

 and the consumers of it. It had been stated by a Billings- 

 gate gentleman, to whom the Exhibition owed a great 

 deal, and a member of the Executive Committee, that 

 this large quantity of fish had been sold in Billingsgate 

 day by day for i^i, i%d., and 2d. a lb. He could 

 not stop to inquire into the reason, but he knew 

 full well that none of that fish had reached the poor 

 of London at that price, or anything like it. It was 

 a new thing to a great number of the poor of London 

 who came there and had a fish dinner for 6d., including 

 bread and potatoes, and it was served in a much more 

 expensive way than it would be necessary to serve it in 

 their own homes ; it was a new thing to become acquainted 

 with these various kinds of cheap fish, and the reason for 

 their ignorance was that they had no opportunities of 

 purchasing them at a reasonable price throughout the 

 Metropolis. He believed himself that this was caused 

 mainly from the fault which Mr. Spencer Walpole had 

 found with Billingsgate, namely, the want of approaches ; 

 but, wherever it was, there was a rising popular opinion, the 

 mutterings he might almost say of a popular storm, which 

 sooner or later, would be heard all over the Metropolis, 

 and would insist on some improvement in the method of 



