58 THE BRITISH FISH TRADE. 



sent an addition of \d. 2i lb. to the price ; and the fish, 

 therefore, if they were given away on the shore, could not 

 be retailed in London for less than a i^. a lb. 



It is no doubt true that one half of these charges could be 

 avoided if the consumer went to Billingsgate and purchased 

 his own fish ; and it is alleged that if Billingsgate were 

 made more convenient and more accessible many con- 

 sumers would take this course. But very little reflection 

 will show that this course could not be taken by the ma- 

 jority of householders. It must be a more inconvenient and 

 costly thing for a householder to travel to Billingsgate for 

 the sake of buying sixpennyworth of fish than to pay a 

 tradesman a shilling for bringing the fish to his own door. 

 Even then if the smaller householder could afford to pay 

 as much as a \s. for his fish, and the price of fish in the 

 retail market was twice as much as its cost at Billingsgate, 

 most people would find it cheaper and easier to employ a 

 retail tradesman. The retailer, in fact, is carrying out the 

 great principle of the subdivision of labour which is, in one 

 sense, the cause and in another sense the consequence of 

 modern progress ; and it would be absurd to suppose that 

 his services could be dispensed with by a civilised com- 

 munity. 



Fish sold at Billingsgate are sold as a rule by auction. 

 Fish sold on the coast in smaller ports, where there are no 

 licensed auctioneers, are usually sold by what is called 

 Dutch auction. On the coast the fish is generally bought 

 by a buyer who is in direct communication with some firm 

 at Billingsgate, which acts as the buyer's salesman. At 

 Billingsgate the fish is either bought by the retailer direct, 

 or by a middleman, who is known in the market as a 

 " bomaree." The " bomaree " fulfils the same functions in 

 the fish market which the " regrater " used to discharge in the 



