FOURIEKNTH ANNUAL MEETING. 



79 



ket, his license is at once taken from him. I was told that the 

 present conduct of employes in Billine^sgate so happily in con- 

 trast with " ye olden times," is due to rigid enforcement of rules 

 similar in tenor to those just mentioned. 



The porter's dress consists of cotton overalls, a coarse cotton 

 shirt, worn on the outside of the trcjusers, which from the begrim- 

 med and bespattered appearance are very appropriately called 

 " slops." The head is protected by a " porter's knot," a hat 

 which has a cushion in the crown, very necessarily padding, it 

 might be remarked, as the rough and heavy "trunks" are either 

 borne directly on the top of the head, or resting on the shoul- 

 ders, back and neck. Wooden sandals are generally worn on 

 the feet to keep the bottoms of the shoes from contact with the 

 sloppy surface. The porter receives on an average about a 

 penny farthing for carrying each box of fish to the salesman. 

 The taking of it fiom the salesmen to the conveyance of the 

 buyer is an optional charge, depending upon the kinds of fish 

 and distance to be carried. 



Land-borne fish enter the building on the Thames street side, 

 while river-borne fish are brought into the market through the 

 s(juth door facing the river. The boats bringing them to Lon- 

 don are not permitted to come alongside the building to vinload, 

 but, for some reason unknown to me, are required to make fast 

 to fastenings provided for them adjacent to floating pontoons 

 and barges that intervene. Planks, mostly unprotected by side 

 rails, extend from boat to market about a hundred feet distant. 

 Up and down and across these planks the porters tramp with 

 their heavy burdens, for each trunk weighs about loo pounds. 



Nine steam carriers run to and from Billingsgate and the fleets 

 in the North sea, and bring the bulk of the water-borne fish. 

 The unloading of these boats — indeed all kinds of craft — is an 

 interesting sight. But let Sala tell tiie story : "This wharf is 

 c:overed with fish, and the scaly things tliemselves are being 

 landed with prodigious celerity, and in quantities almost as 

 prodigious, from vessels moored in tripple tier before the mar- 

 ket. Here are Dutch boats that bring eels, and bcjats from the 

 North sea that bring lobsters, and boats from Hartlepool, Whit- 

 stable, Hai wicli. Great Grimsby and other English seaports and 



