Of the Forestalling of Markets and the Billingsgate Bummarees.

“Forestalling,” writes Adam Smith, “is the buying or contracting for any cattle, provisions, or merchandize, on its way to the market (or at market), or dissuading persons from buying their goods there, or persuading them to raise the price, or spreading any false rumour with intent to enhance the value of any article. In the remoter periods of our history several statutes were passed, prohibiting forestalling under severe penalties; but as more enlarged views upon such subjects began to prevail, their impolicy became obvious, and they were consequently repealed in 1772. But forestalling is still punishable by fine and imprisonment; though it be doubtful whether any jury would now convict an individual accused of such practices.”

In Billingsgate the “forestallers” or middlemen are known as “bummarees,” who, as regards means, are a far superior class to the “hagglers” (the forestallers of the “green” markets). The bummaree is the jobber or speculator on the fish-exchange. Perhaps on every busy morning 100 men buy a quantity of fish, which they account likely to be remunerative, and retail it, or dispose of it in lots to the fishmongers or costermongers. Few if any of these dealers, however, are merely bummarees. A salesman, if he have disposed of the fish consigned to himself, will turn bummaree if any bargain tempt him. Or a fishmonger may purchase twice the quantity he requires for his own trade, in order to procure a cheaper stock, and “bummaree” what he does not require. These speculations in fish are far more hazardous than those in fruit or vegetables, for later in the day a large consignment by railway may reach Billingsgate, and, being thrown upon the market, may reduce the price one half. In the vegetable and fruit markets there is but one arrival. The costermongers are among the best customers of the bummarees.

I asked several parties as to the origin of the word “bummaree,” and how long it had been in use. “Why, bless your soul, sir,” said one Billingsgate labourer, “there always was bummarees, and there always will be; just as Jack there is a ‘rough,’ and I’m a blessed ‘bobber.’” One man assured me it was a French name; another that it was Dutch. A fishmonger, to whom I was indebted for information, told me he thought that the bummaree was originally a bum-boat man, who purchased of the wind-bound smacks at Gravesend or the Nore, and sent the fish up rapidly to the market by land.

I may add, as an instance of the probable gains of the forestallers, in the olden time, that a tradesman whose family had been long connected with Billingsgate, showed me by his predecessors’ books and memoranda, that in the depth of winter, when the Thames was perhaps choked with ice, and no supply of fish “got up” to London, any, that might, by management, reach Billingsgate used to command exorbitant prices. To speak only of the present century: March 11th, 1802, a cod fish (8 lbs.) was bought by Messrs. Phillips and Robertson, fishmongers, Bond-street, for 1l. 8s. February, 1809, a salmon (19 lbs.) was bought by Mr. Phillips at a guinea a pound, 19l. 19s. for the fish! March 24th, 1824, three lobsters were sold for a guinea each.

The “haggler,” I may here observe, is the bummaree or forestaller or middleman of the green markets; as far as the costermonger’s trade is concerned, he deals in fruit and vegetables. Of these trafficers there are fully 200 in Covent-garden-market; from 60 to 70 in Farringdon; from 40 to 50 in the Borough; from 50 to 60 in Spitalfields; and none in Portman-market; such being the only wholesale green-markets for the purposes of the costermongers. The haggler is a middleman who makes his purchases of the growers when the day is somewhat advanced, and the whole produce conveyed to the market has not been disposed of. The grower will then, rather than be detained in town, sell the whole lot remaining in his cart or wagon to a haggler, who re-sells it to the costers, or to any other customer, from a stand which he hires by the day. The costermongers who are the most provident, and either have means or club their resources for a large purchase, often buy early in the morning, and so have the advantage of anticipating their fellows in the street-trade, with the day before them. Those who buy later are the customers of the hagglers, and are street-sellers, whose means do not command an extensive purchase, or who do not care to venture upon one unless it be very cheap. These men speak very bitterly of the hagglers, calling them “cracked-up shop-keepers” and “scurfs,” and declaring that but for them the growers must remain, and sell off their produce cheap to the costermongers.

A species of forestalling is now not uncommon, and is on the increase among the costermongers themselves. There are four men, having the command of money, who attend the markets and buy either fish or vegetables largely. One man especially buys almost daily as much fruit and vegetables as will supply thirty street-dealers. He adds 3d. a bushel to the wholesale market price of apples; 6d. to that of pears; 9d. to plums; and 1s. to cherries. A purchaser can thus get a smaller quantity than he can always buy at market, and avails himself of the opportunity.

Moreover, a good many of the more intelligent street-dealers now club together--six of them, for instance--contributing 15s. each, and a quantity of fish is thus bought by one of their body (a smaller contribution suffices to buy vegetables). Perhaps, on an equal partition, each man thus gets for his 15s. as much as might have cost him 20s., had he bought “single-handed.” This mode of purchase is also on the increase.

OF “WET” FISH-SELLERS IN THE STREETS.

Concerning the sale of “wet” or fresh fish, I had the following account from a trustworthy man, of considerable experience and superior education:

“I have sold ‘wet fish’ in the streets for more than fourteen years,” he said; “before that I was a gentleman, and was brought up a gentleman, if I’m a beggar now. I bought fish largely in the north of England once, and now I must sell it in the streets of London. Never mind talking about that, sir; there’s some things won’t bear talking about. There’s a wonderful difference in the streets since I knew them first; I could make a pound then, where I can hardly make a crown now. People had more money, and less meanness then. I consider that the railways have injured me, and all wet fish-sellers, to a great extent. Fish now, you see, sir, comes in at all hours, so that nobody can calculate on the quantity that will be received--nobody. That’s the mischief of it; we are afraid to buy, and miss many a chance of turning a penny. In my time, since railways were in, I’ve seen cod-fish sold at a guinea in the morning that were a shilling at noon; for either the wind and the tide had served, or else the railway fishing-places were more than commonly supplied, and there was a glut to London. There’s no trade requires greater judgment than mine--none whatever. Before the railways--and I never could see the good of them--the fish came in by the tide, and we knew how to buy, for there would be no more till next tide. Now, we don’t know. I go to Billingsgate to buy my fish, and am very well known to Mr. ---- and Mr. ---- (mentioning the names of some well-known salesmen). The Jews are my ruin there now. When I go to Billingsgate, Mr. ---- will say, or rather, I will say to him, ‘How much for this pad of soles?’ He will answer, ‘Fourteen shillings.’ ‘Fourteen shillings!’ I say, ‘I’ll give you seven shillings,--that’s the proper amount;’ then the Jew boys--none of them twenty that are there--ranged about will begin; and one says, when I bid 7s., ‘I’ll give 8s;’ ‘nine,’ says another, close on my left; ‘ten,’ shouts another, on my right, and so they go offering on; at last Mr. ---- says to one of them, as grave as a judge, ‘Yours, sir, at 13s,’ but it’s all gammon. The 13s. buyer isn’t a buyer at all, and isn’t required to pay a farthing, and never touches the goods. It’s all done to keep up the price to poor fishmen, and so to poor buyers that are our customers in the streets. Money makes money, and it don’t matter how. Those Jew boys--I dare say they’re the same sort as once sold oranges about the streets--are paid, I know 1s. for spending three or four hours that way in the cold and wet. My trade has been injured, too, by the great increase of Irish costermongers; for an Irishman will starve out an Englishman any day; besides if a tailor can’t live by his trade, he’ll take to fish, or fruit and cabbages. The month of May is a fine season for plaice, which is bought very largely by my customers. Plaice are sold at 1/2d. and 1d. a piece. It is a difficult fish to manage, and in poor neighbourhoods an important one to manage well. The old hands make a profit out of it; new hands a loss. There’s not much cod or other wet fish sold to the poor, while plaice is in. My customers are poor men’s wives,--mechanics, I fancy. They want fish at most unreasonable prices. If I could go and pull them off a line flung off Waterloo-bridge, and no other expense, I couldn’t supply them as cheap as they expect them. Very cheap fish-sellers lose their customers, through the Billingsgate bummarees, for they have pipes, and blow up the cod-fish, most of all, and puff up their bellies till they are twice the size, but when it comes to table, there’s hardly to say any fish at all. The Billingsgate authorities would soon stop it, if they knew all I know. They won’t allow any roguery, or any trick, if they only come to hear of it. These bummarees have caused many respectable people to avoid street-buying, and so fair traders like me are injured. I’ve nothing to complain of about the police. Oft enough, if I could be allowed ten minutes longer on a Saturday night, I could get through all my stock without loss. About a quarter to twelve I begin to halloo away as hard as I can, and there’s plenty of customers that lay out never a farthing till that time, and then they can’t be served fast enough, so they get their fish cheaper than I do. If any halloos out that way sooner, we must all do the same. Anything rather than keep fish over a warm Sunday. I have kept mine in ice; I haven’t opportunity now, but it’ll keep in a cool place this time of year. I think there’s as many sellers as buyers in the streets, and there’s scores of them don’t give just weight or measure. I wish there was good moral rules in force, and everybody gave proper weight. I often talk to street-dealers about it. I’ve given them many a lecture; but they say they only do what plenty of shopkeepers do, and just get fined and go on again, without being a pin the worse thought of. They are abusive sometimes, too; I mean the street-sellers are, because they are ignorant. I have no children, thank God, and my wife helps me in my business. Take the year through, I clear from 10s. to 12s. every week. That’s not much to support two people. Some weeks I earn only 4s.,--such as in wet March weather. In others I earn 18s. or 1l. November, December, and January are good months for me. I wouldn’t mind if they lasted all the year round. I’m often very badly off indeed--very badly; and the misery of being hard up, sir, is not when you’re making a struggle to get out of your trouble; no, nor to raise a meal off herrings that you’ve given away once, but when your wife and you’s sitting by a grate without a fire, and putting the candle out to save it, a planning how to raise money. ‘Can we borrow there?’ ‘Can we manage to sell if we can borrow?’ ‘Shall we get from very bad to the parish?’ Then, perhaps, there’s a day lost, and without a bite in our mouths trying to borrow. Let alone a little drop to give a body courage, which perhaps is the only good use of spirit after all. That’s the pinch, sir. When the rain you hear outside puts you in mind of drownding!”

Subjoined is the amount (in round numbers) of wet fish annually disposed of in the metropolis by the street-sellers:

No. of Fish. lbs. weight. Salmon 20,000 175,000 Live-cod 100,000 1,000,000 Soles 6,500,000 1,650,000 Whiting 4,440,000 1,680,000 Haddock 250,000 500,000 Plaice 29,400,000 29,400,000 Mackarel 15,700,000 15,700,000 Herrings 875,000,000 210,000,000 Sprats „ 3,000,000 Eels, from Holland 400,000 65,000 Flounders 260,000 43,000 Dabs 270,000 48,000 ----------- ----------- Total quantity of } wet fish sold in the } 932,340,000 263,261,000 streets of London }

From the above Table we perceive that the fish, of which the greatest quantity is eaten by the poor, is herrings; of this, compared with plaice there is upwards of thirty times the number consumed. After plaice rank mackerel, and of these the consumption is about one-half less in number than plaice, while the number of soles vended in the streets, is again half of that of mackerel. Then come whiting, which are about two-thirds the number of the soles, while the consumption to the poor of haddock, cod, eels, and salmon, is comparatively insignificant. Of sprats, which are estimated by weight, only one-fifth of the number of pounds are consumed compared with the weight of mackerel. The pounds’ weight of herrings sold in the streets, in the course of a year, is upwards of seven times that of plaice, and fourteen times that of mackerel. Altogether more than 260,000,000 pounds, or 116,000 tons weight of wet fish are yearly purchased in the streets of London, for the consumption of the humbler classes. Of this aggregate amount, no less than five-sixths consists of herrings; which, indeed, constitute the great slop diet of the metropolis.