64 
Committee should appeal to the Government or to the 
Railway Commissioners, to hear what could be said upon 
this important matter. Fishermen did not suffer at one 
port only, but at every port around the coast, in conse- 
quence of the charge for the carriage of fish being 30 per 
cent. more than that for vegetables. He was quite ready 
to give the companies all the credit to which they were 
entitled for having provided special trains for the carriage 
of fish ; but still he thought the charges were excessive. 
Mr. SMITH (Brixham) said the trawlers at Brixham 
caught a large amount of ray, or roker-fish, as it was called 
in London, and six or seven years ago they disposed of this 
to the French fishermen, but the French Government having 
discountenanced the practice, the question arose as to how 
this fish should be disposed of as an article of food. He 
tried to dispose of some of it in the London market, and 
his own vessel having from Monday to Wednesday caught 
twenty-three dozen of large wray, he got twelve pads and 
borrowed seven packages off a fish salesman, and sent the 
fish to Billingsgate market, where it realised the sum of 
£6 14s. od., but after paying the charges it left him with a 
sum of £2 9s. od., out of which he had to pay for the pads. 
On inquiring why the amount returned to him was so small, 
he was told by the salesman that it was owing to the 
excessively high railway rates. They had found that it did 
not pay to send roker-fish to London from Brixham, and 
consequently it was sent abroad. 
Mr. SALMON (Grimsby) thought that if the rates for the 
carriage of fish were lowered, there would be more sent to 
the midland counties, and the poorer classes would thus 
have an opportunity of obtaining a wholesome food at a 
cheap rate. | 
Mr. HELYARD (Great Yarmouth) said that during the 
