Morning journal and courier., 1892-10-01
has fourished with greater vieor than ever

has fiourished with greater vieor than ever.
The varieties of fish which are In their
respective seasons delivered a. BIlliueseste
market number nearly one hundred. Dur.
ing this month have noticed perch. peri
winkies, pike, anehovies, roach, salmon,
gurnets, haddocks, herrings, founders.
turbot, sprats, jack, ling, plsice. dorees'
prawns, catfish, mullets, whelks, coalfi.h'
trout, soles, pilchards, eels and coneer
cells, dogfsh, cod, Dream. brill, hake, shsd.
weavers, skate. smelts, whitebait, tench'
sturgeon and perhaps g dozen other ysrie-
ties; and the total weight Ia from twelve
to thirteen Thousand tons per month, or
one hundred and fifty thousand tons per
yearI
OF this vast quantity fully two thirds
reaches London by railway. All tie fab
from Ireland Is sent soross st. Georges
channel in fast steamers and thence by
rail. Salmon and trout all come by rail:
and much of the northern North sea yield,
taken of east Scottish shores, and even
some of the catches from about Yarmouth
and Scarborough are, for the sake of time
saving, thus transferred. Small wheeled,
lesd-lined vans are provided by the rail
ways. These are dragged by horses from
fishing stations or quays to railway sta
tons, wheeled into the railway vans and
thus brought to London without breaking
bulk. On arrival hsre they are wheeled 70
the street and dragged by horses through
the streets from various stations to Bill
lingsgate. Fully one hundred thousand
tons of hsh annually reach the market In
this manner; and from Eve O'Clock of any
weekday morning hundreds upon hun
dreds of these vans choke up every mar
row avenue of approach, waiting their
turn to unload.
nrar fhraa fnrrfho 0f all Ak
sumed by London passes inspection at
Billipgegate- As the market is city prop
erty the officials for this purpose, four
in number, are appointed by the Court
of the Fishmongers company, one of the
ancient but still thoroughly active guilds
or trades companies of London. It has
a fine Fishmonger's hall near London
Bridge, and expends many thousands
yearly in preventing the sale of decayed
fish. All fish condemned by its inspectors
are Immediately conveyed to a waiting
barge, treated with carbolic acid, and
sent to fertilizing works at Rainhanl,
where after being baked dry they are
ground to powder, and sold at about Eve
pounds per ton TO the strawberry and
hop farmers of Kent for fertilizing pur-
poses.
The fish steamers arrive alongside the
market at ali hours of the night and ear
ly morning. At precisely five O'Clock in
the morning the market opens. Long
linss of plank are laid from the market
quay, over bsrges aud pontoons to the
steamers decks, and every ounce of fish
is brought over these in baskets and bags
on porters' heads and backs. At the
same time the railway vans are unload
ing on the landward side. But ak can
be cared for at the came time. The con-
fusion and ENHANCEMENT are indesoribs-
BILE. One who witnesses the scene for
the first time is filled with smszement
that the largest and most civilized capt.
tai in the world will tolerate such anti
qusted methods. But the porters are
wonderfully deft, alert and carry incred-
ible loads. I have seen many laden with
from two to three hundred pounds
weight. They will positively frisk under
barrel of herrings which weighs two
hundred pounds, and there is no question
that many of these fellows can easily get
about the market with upwards of four
hundred pounds properly distributed upon
head and back.
These Billingsgate pOrters are regarded
as the strongest, quickest aud most sth-
letic men in London. They live in every
respect like the water rats OF the Thames
and the aristocracy of the Whitechspel
district. Their only earthly ambitions are
to eat, drink, visit ''peuny gaffs," rat and
dog fights and excel in pu2ilism. They
are big, brswny, hairy-chested fellows of
apparent endless good-nature, but are
brutes by heredisy, instinct and deepest
yesrning. Whatever their want of char
sater outside the market. a more demure
and lamb-like set Of fellows was never
seen than they are while on duty here.
They are licensed, and the strictest reguls-
tions exist regarding their conduct, even
to the character of language. To lose
their license is worse than imprisonment
as q criminal. Their regulations" among
their fellows, the costers, and the East
End slums are gained by their prowess
and strength here 1t ia their world, their
highest, brosdest outlook, and they are
really curiosities in social or literary study.
They delight especially in odd-sounding
nicknames. In my few yisits to Billings
gate have already come to know, and be
fsvorably known by "Fishy Jim, "Cocky
Jim," "Blsck Prince" Jack and Float"
"Hsppy Jack" johnny Shoe-blsck,"
Jimmy Fingers" the latter because of his
thieving propensities, "Bluse-Nose Mike"
"Cross- eyed Joe" and -Four ale Jim"
The latter Ia never quite at his best unless
he has druuk six or seven quarts of ale be-
fore breakfast. The oath of all these Bill
lingsgste porters, like that of the costers.
so which class they have marked afi mites,
is "Gor bli mel" and its wickedness is too
abhorent for translation. They comprise
two classes, In their daily market work,
those who bring the fish from the steam
ers into the market, who are called ''shor
ers," and those who remove the fish to the
stsllmens' wagons or the costers' carts,
who are called ''mobbers
The pugilists of London chiefly have
their origin among the Billiugsgste por-
ters. They have their regular champions
at "seven stone six, Eight stone six" and
"eleven stone" and Officer 790, Policeman
F. Wade, informed me that there Is not
a man among them who has not at some
time or another appeared in a Whitechapel
ring. Bill Goode, who fought Slavin, is
still licensed porter here. Among many
curious characters is one Cornelius Gala
han, known as "Mike, the Tipster." He
is a neer-do-well and a privileged person.
He makes great ostentation of his knowl-
edge of the state of the market. Getting
up at two o'clock in the morning he prowls
about the fishing steamers, and then just
before the market opens he slips about
among buyers and sellers and whispers
s'the tip O. the day in their ears The hs'
penny is always forthcoming. On Sstur-
day afternoon, just before the market is
closed for the week, they "have game
with Mike" He regularly appears for his
buffeting, and often in the rough play that
ensues poor Miks ia nearly killed. Then
the hat is passed and from ak to ten shil-
lings is always paid the willing victim
All BilIingsgste fish are sold by auction,
and veritable Babsl the place is from five
to eight or nine O'Clock. There are two
classes of sellers. One comprises the reg
ular commission men 10 whom the fisher
men consign their catches, and the other
is thoroughly hated but most prosperous
class, known to B,llingsgate from time i'm
memorial as '.bummarees" These are