Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-02
IN MINCING LANE.
THECURIOsITIEs OF ENGLAND's
GREAT IMPORTING TRAFFIC.

favor with the wealthy, SAYS a London
letter to the Philadelphia Press, is that
branch of commerce which is carried on
in Mincing Lane. This is England's great
wholesale shop for tea, coffee, sugar and
spice; cotton aud jute; indigo, gums, dry
salteries and woods. Many of these arti-
cles come to US from some part of
America. and also from the East Indies
and our colonies. For very many years
this department of trade has centred
round about Tower Hill, and Mncing
+ Lane mas always been famous for its fine
houses occupied by merchants. These
houses have now given place to offices,
built on a scale which is not to be sur
passed by blocks in any other part of
London. AS SAMPLES require to be in
spected under a good north light the sky
lights are placed conveniently and the
architect prepares his plans accordingly.
Some long while ago, so the historians
relate, the nuns of Bishopsgate-''M inch-
cons" they were called-Owned some
tenements in the Lane, which thereby
took the name of the gentle sisters, and in
course of time the corruption E'Mincing''
Lane came into general use. The Cloth
workers COmpany--one OF the richest Of the
city guilds, whose existence IS now threat
Z cNEu-udN lnGlI AuAtL NAH 6LdHuluR Ill Z
court of Mincing Lane at the
time of the great fire of London; indeed,
the cOnhagratIOn stopped short at this
point. The present building, as regards
its interior, is layishly decorated with
gold, and near by is the commercial sales
rooms, the headquarters of Mincing Lane
men.
These commercial salesrooms, where
the bulk OF the produce is disposed OF,
g .aa~tnH
/ open to the public, and a room to which
| subscribers only are admitted.
Principals Of firm are admitted to the
J ''rOOms" as members, and they have the
right 10 propose nominees" to represent
them. Market clerks are ewplOved u
pay particular attention to one article
and ''pupils" are taken on for three years
to learn the trade. the premium often be-
/ ing 81 800. There are lot of unscrupu-
l0us firms who pocket this money and
/ give nothing in return except the right OF
/ using stool in their office. At the end
/ Of the term the pupil is turned adritt hav-
ing learned nOtnlng, save 1t be TO kill
/ time.
/ There are no warehouses at Mincing
/ Lane, for the goods are stored at the docks.
! and the warrants. which the dock COM
papies issue, are The tokens dealt in. The
docks on the north bank Of the Thames
I are HOW alLll~l CONTINUOUS. ana wear Dk
year they are marching down toward the
estuary. The docks at present mostly
used by Mmcing Lane importers are the
London and st. Katherine, the London.
aud the East and West India.
The import dock of the West India
docks is 1900 feet long 500 feet wide, and
% feet deep. IL is connected with the
Lime-house basin by an entrance thirty
six feet vile, and il also opens into the
Rfuf.L- gyFall ftaGig and fnt
river by an entrance 1870 feet long and As
feet wide. The export dock is 1900 fee t
long and / 400 feet wide. The third dock
is $3.50 feet long. The import dock has a
noble range OF warehouses. There are
I some roofs covered with copper, the re-
suit OF limiting the original dividend to 10
/ per cent. The company, so Mr.. Clark
Russell says, accumulated 100000 and.
not knowing what 10 do with it. spent it
in cOverin-, the roofs with copper.
Last year the inward tonnage into the
dock amounted to $4,000 Of tons. L may
say that ships of POO tons of miscelIane-
GUS cargo are usually discharged in thir-
teen to sixteen hours. From 800 to 3. 500
men are employed daily, the weekly
wages exceeding $4,000.
Take staple commodity, indigo, for
example, which is not actually sold al
the dBck Ks, but is placed ION show in the
dock Sheds; there may be viewed a very
curious scene. Owing 20 its dusty ma
ture, ruinOus to good tailoring, every
body concerned clothes himself in old
garments or in long blue blOuses and
white paper caps. 1t is rather difficult
in this guise to recognize the chief au-
th0rIty on matters relating to indigo Mr..
LAYERS. There may be seen similarly
grotesquely attired the rapid valuer-Mr.
Haie-Wh0 runs over strings OF samples
in the time taken up by "A bewildered
pupil in puZZling his brain over one.
When the vdlUing is completed, at an
early day comes the sale, which is held
III Mincing Lane. At 10 O'Clock sharp the
auction room is filled with buyers. The
seats are raised tier above tier in the
form of an amphitheatre, the auctIOneer's
pulpit being IN the well. Perhaps 400 or
500 persons are present, and they vent
their lmpatience by stamping their feet,
wnistling and indulging IN that peculiar
shTlll and vulgar cry which is mostly
heard at theatres on boxing night, and
goes by the name Of ''cat-call." At five
minutes past the hour, perhaps, an nOnI-
cal burst of cheering announces the arri-
val Of the broker whose catalogue is first
on the list. The brokers are their own
auctiOneers, and they show considerable
variety Of style.
Mr.. Peat, who is the first to mount the
rOstrum, is a genial man, fond of his joke,
and imperturbably he untOlds his cata-
logUe, chooses quill, mOist9Es the nib,
takes dip of ink and plunges IN medidS
TeS by crying out:
Lot /. gentlemen. What do you say
for lot ~ Put it in, please. I'm going to
selll"
sometimes the bids will he lively. Five
shilling, penny, two, three, four, five and
five. Thank you,' and down comes tue
hammer.
Clutch" another staple article, is used
for dyeing and tanning purposes. 1t is
imported IN boxes, and the liner kinds are
always prepared in slabs about nine
inches long by tive inches wide, and one
and One-half inches thick. Each slab is
wrapped in paper shirtings. Gambler Is
also used for tanning, and it is more rapid
in its action than oak bark. 1t is packed
in bales, which have the appearance of
hardened mats of sugar. This is called
black gambler. Free gambler is worth
more. and is called free because the cubes
do not stick together, as they do in the
cheaper sorts.
Bankers of Lombard street might almost
be termed sleeping partners in the Mine
ing Lane business, which, without their
assistance. would he difficult one to
finance. Every Saturday i more or less
i pay day. as much produce Is sold at
fourteen days prompt or credit. In
addition. there is the quarterly prompt or
settling day, on which all goods are sup
posed To be paid for, or arrangements
made for carrying over he liabilities by
pOstpuning payment Strange tn say the
prompt falls invariabl, on q Saturday,
"A day when the usual half-hOliday has had
the effect Of shortening banking hours by
sixty precious minutes. The business
mainly to be done on the prompt is the
exchanging OF dock warrants for checks,
the operation going on from hand to hand
until the warrants reach the last pur-
chaser. who, by this means alone, can ct
his goods.
Loans must be given and taken, and,
disappointed in expected remlttances, the
broker. short of capital, must pledge his
warrants with his banker. Advances on
warrants are quite regular, within mar
gin. but il often occurs that the loan
manager in the Lombard street establish
ment is unexpectedly asked for more
money Just at closing time by clerk who
has rushed with bundle of warrants from
Mincng Lane. and who throws the Onus
OF delay upon his employers.
Lombard street. within stones throw
of the Royal Exchange and Bank of Eng
land. has been the rem ieZvOus for bankers
ever since the Jews from LOmbardy nrst
set their three golden balls there.
one Who knows his way about town has
N 40