West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1891-10-29
OovEnI oARosn.
The Great Fruit snd v .etabie Garden Of


London.
John, duke OF Bedford. hrd chance
To live IN tho memory OF his country
men as u public bcncfactor as great as
the carl of Salisbury. and neglected 1t
for what? Tor tho mistaken idea that
his market tolls were too valuable 10 be
given up. have seen /. stntcd since
his death, says n London letter 10 the
Philadelphia TilGca, that he would have
been willing TO sell Covent Garden mar
lSct IL he could have found focal au-
thority 10 undertake its responsibilities
and expense. Eut he knew very well
that his monopoly of market tolls would
some day or other be taken from his
family. and by nbolishing them himself,
by destroying Covent Garden market
and improving its site, he could have
added n more than comparative amount
90 tho value OF his other property. The
report of the royal commission on mar
lsct right and tolls has just been pub
hshcd, and in reading IL one learns
nfrcsh how England is still ribbed
through and through with customs that
ought to bc obsolete, and how weighty
with her is the example OF precedent
that ought never 70 have been set. Be-
GAUGE It was once held that grant to
hold Il market was franchise carrying
an exclusive right, two of London's
chief markets, Covcnt Garden and
Spitalficlds, remain to-day in private
hauds--thosc of the duke OF Bedford
and Sir Julian Goldsmid respectively.
Coycnt Garden is, rs Is well known, the
great fruit, flower and vegetable mar
let, and its owner can by law prevent
any other market from being cs.ab-
lished within seven miles of him. It is
worth to the Bcdforls about fifteen
Thousand pounds n yer, end for Spital-
fields Sir Julian Golasinid gets Ave thou
sand pounds year rent from the pres
cnt lessee.
The eight markets established or con-
trolled by the city of London--Billings
gate, Sraithfcld hay, the Central meat
and the Central fish, Faringdon, Load
cnhan, the Islington cattle and the
Deptford foreign cattle marl,cts--insure
yearly net profit of about twenty-five
thousand pounds sterling to their his
toric owner, all OF which, OF course,
goes into the pockets Of the corpora
ton and is no benefit whatever To the
rest of the metropolis. Through these
markets passes practically all the meat
and poultry supply of London and near
~ all the fsh. Thus, IL will be seen,
through the Capitalization OF markets
not only does the Londoncr's dinner
pay what Is almost equivalent to an
octroi, bat before IL gets to him 1t must
make long journeys across the city 20
the central depots and back again. This
Capitalization is thought to be greater
evil than the imposition of tolls, and
probably it is so. The commissions re-
port on the tolls IS found 10 be rather
unsatisfactory document. It's historical
treatment Of the subject of markets is
all that could be desired, but IL submits
no definite plan for correcting the pres
ert system. majority OF tho commits
sion does indeed favor compensation
upon the abolishing of the private fran
chises. Eut c man need not be social
ist to feel that IL is absurd to talk CT
compromising the otvner OF y nuisance.
Covent Gardcl market In the light OF
the needs OF modern London, is not
Only coastructivcly but actually
nuisance md, considering that the only
vegetables you get in Eagland after all
are boiled potatoes aai brussels
sprouts, nuisance wholly without
justification In common sense.