THE BRITISH FISH TRADE. 55 



lingsgate stands on one of the most valuable sites in 

 London. It is no exaggeration to say that unless its area 

 is doubled, and Thames Street is broadened from end to 

 end, all the necessary conditions of an adequate market 

 will not be fulfilled. Improvements of such a character, 

 however, will not cost merely thousands, or tens of thou- 

 sands, but hundreds of thousands of pounds ; and it is for 

 the Corporation to determine whether the game is worth 

 the candle, or whether it would not be better to build 

 at once a new market on another and new site at the 

 waterside. 



People who think hastily, or who do not think at all, 

 usually suppose that the high price of fish in London is 

 consequent on the inconvenience of Billingsgate ; and they 

 frequently use the oddest of arguments to support their 

 conclusions. Fish they say is cheap enough at Billings- 

 gate, it may be purchased for 2d. per lb. ; but it is dear in 

 the west end shops, and is not procurable for less than 

 ^d. a lb. It may be doubted whether such statements as 

 these have any real basis. Those who have most ac- 

 quaintance with the case will hesitate to believe that the 

 average price of all the fish sold at Billingsgate ever falls 

 so low as 2d. per lb., or that the average price of all the 

 fish sold by retail in London ever rises so high as 8^. 

 Large as the profits of the retailers may be, they are not 

 so large as common rumour supposes. If, however, the 

 price of fish in west end shops is high, it is certain that 

 the crowded streets of Billingsgate is not solely responsible 

 for it. If the inconveniences of the market enhanced the 

 price, it is obvious that they would raise the price in 

 Billingsgate itself They can have no effect on the price 

 when the fish has once passed into the hands of the retailer. 

 The whole gist of the ordinary complaint, however, is that 



