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way in which the price could be reduced would be by 
conveying it by water. 
Mr. BLOOMFIELD said that competition might answer 
very well along the south coast, but as to competition by 
Ireland, that was utterly out of the question. When he 
spoke of railway rates it was a question of life and death 
to the fishermen of Ireland, and not only so, but a most 
important matter as regarded the public generally, especially 
the people of London. Perhaps he might be permitted to 
quote the words used by H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh 
when speaking upon this subject. H.R.H. said—“ How 
many of the inhabitants of these Islands, even including our 
dwellers on the sea coast, have a conception that if from 
any cause the myriads of fish at present swarming on our 
seas were this afternoon to retreat to the depths of the ocean 
beyond the range of man’s appliances for capturing them, 
to-morrow half a miliion of our fellow subjects would be 
looking starvation in the face.” Those words were golden, 
and ought to be borne in mind by every one in considering 
this question. They had to fight a large corporation that 
had something like 700 millions of money at its back, and if 
they were not supported by the public generally, it was a 
farce for them to hold these meetings. It had been stated 
that the freights charged for the carriage of fish amounted 
to £4, but he could assure that meeting that the freight 
from Ballyshannon to London was 45 IIs. od. per ton 
for offal fish, but this was at owner’s risk, an impossible 
alternative in so perishable a commodity. In addition 
to that, twenty-five per cent. was charged if it was sent 
at the company’s risk. Unless something was at once done | 
to compel the railway companies to lower their rates, they 
would soon be in the position in which they were upon 
the other side of the. Atlantic. He held in his hand an 
