This alone gives rise to _twenty thousand questions_. If, on the other hand, a broker is employed, each of the two hundred persons who constitute the market, will have to answer those two questions only to his own broker; consequently, there will only be four hundred such questions. If there are twenty brokers, these may meet together at the market, and each stating his commissions both for purchase and for sale, a list may be immediately formed by which the state of the market as to supply and demand becomes known, and in the event of there being but little difference in the quality of the articles, it becomes easy for the brokers to arrange the requisite exchanges at prices which are equitable for all parties. § Great, however, as this advantage is, it is small compared with another which we shall now consider. When a bargain is made directly by the two individuals interested in it, there usually occurs on both sides an attempt to appear more or less indifferent about it, in order to secure advantageous terms. Thus price is made to depend partly upon the personal feelings and qualities of the parties, and the less impulsive and more sagacious will gain considerable advantage over the hasty and inexperienced. A certain degree also of misrepresentation often occurs, and the price demanded is frequently greater than that which the seller is willing to take: thus the quantity of time consumed by parties themselves in bargaining, is always much greater than that in which their brokers can do the business for them on more advantageous terms. Again: the broker has an interest in effecting sales, because he is paid in proportion to their amount. But he has no interest in favouring one class of his customers more than another: his profits depend entirely upon his knowledge, his industry, and his integrity. The necessity of the intervening broker arises from the imperfections of mankind, and when rigidly honest his services are invaluable. If one party is perfectly aware of all circumstances relating to the state of the market, he has no need of any broker, because he can acquire no new information: on the other hand, those who treat with him may as well save themselves the expense of a broker, because nothing can be communicated on the subject which is not already known. When these principles, which are found to prevail in large transactions, are applied to the retail concerns of everyday life, the intervention of the broker is not required. This arises from the multitude of the transactions, the smallness of the individual amount of each, and the immense variety of the articles of exchange.