COST OF LIVING IN LONDON.

West Coast Times, Issue 241, 30 June 1866, Page 2

COST OF LIVING IN LONDON.

The expenses of living in London are assuming proportions that threaten to be very serious to that very large stratum of middle-class respectability which lives from hand to mouth, and finds it hard, even with the most careful economy, to make both ends meet. For years rent has been annually rising. " The extension of the confines of the metropolis, tho demand for land for public buildiugs and railways, and the ■ demolition of thousands - of "houses, has raised the value of house property ,al-' most as much in London as in Paris. So much so, that there is scarcely a man of from L2OO to L3OO a-year obliged to live in or near London who does not find that his house rent is out of all proportion to his income, and is, ' indeed, the heaviest item in his expenditure. To the high valud of houses • unist now be added the high price of meat, poultry, and milk. In fact, there aro no oheap artioles of home produce . to be' procured in London. Vegetables aro uniformly dear, though fruit is occasionally cheap. Fish, though cheaper than* it was a year or two ago, is still dear, considering how abundant is the supply all round our coast. Salmon we must expect to pay dearly for, for at least the next three or four years ; but there can be no reason why fish should not be brought to London at a price at once acceptable to the purchaser and < remunerative to the dealer. All that is wanted is a better arrangement between the metropolis and the coast. But for this we must wait. Meanwhile, the price of meat will increase the demand for poultry, fish,. and bacon, which of course will rise correspondingly in price; so that there is no present prospect of any of these necessaries becoming cheaper. Indeed, they will probably' become dearer, for" farmers are already" desisting from fattening stock for the -market, lest when all the expense has been incurred the disease should carry , off their fat beast before he can reach the market. This is not a bright prospect for any- of us, but it is especially hard upon those who must' live 1 in London, and must therefore v be dependent upon the supplies of the London markets, and must pay London prices. For them we see no hope of better times at present. Already the cattle murrain has entirely overturned the stock market, and it will be a year at least before it is rectified. More** over, the disease is almost entirely amongst cows, and this will seriously lessen the supply of calves next year. Those calves must be kept for full growth, so that tho supply of veal will probably be wholly cut off for a year, or at least only bo obtainable at fancy prices. • "-