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The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization with EIN [Employee Identification Number] 64-6221541 Title: Second Shetland Truck System Report Author: William Guthrie Release Date: January, 2003 [Etext #3611] [Yes, we are about one year ahead of schedule] [The actual date this file first posted = 06/13/01] Edition: 10 Language: English Project Gutenberg's Second Shetland Truck System Report, by William Guthrie ***********This file should be named 3611.txt or 3611.zip************ Project Gutenberg Etexts are usually created from multiple editions, all of which are in the Public Domain in the United States, unless a copyright notice is included. Therefore, we usually do NOT keep any of these books in compliance with any particular paper edition. We are now trying to release all our books one year in advance of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. 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Money should be paid to the: "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at: hart@pobox.com *END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.06/12/01*END* [Portions of this header are copyright (C) 2001 by Michael S. Hart and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] [Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or software or any other related product without express permission.] Second Shetland Truck System Report by William Guthrie NOTES 1. Truck - The payment of wages otherwise than in money, the system or practice of such a payment. References/Edinburgh enquiry/book/archives/size of original doc. OED. The Truck Commission Enquiry, 1872, is a major social history source the Shetland Islands in the 19th century. It followed on from an existing Truck Commission enquiry in 1871, after evidence from Shetland was heard in Edinburgh. 45,125 questions covered the rest of the country, 17,070 for Shetland. Despite this effort, little effect immediately resulted in Shetland from legislation following on the national enquiry. References George W. Hilton, The Truck System, including a History of the British Truck Acts, 1465-1960, W. Heffer and Sons, Ltd., Cambridge, 1960. Hance D. Smith, Introduction (to facsimile reprint of the Report of the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the Truck System (Shetland), Sandwick, 1978. Hance D. Smith, Shetland Life and Trade, 1550-1914, John Donald Publishers Ltd., Edinburgh, 1984, ISBN 0859761037. For further queries, contact Shetland.archives@sic.shetland.gov.uk. NOTES 2. The original documents come in a double column, small print format. Since it isn't possible, or even desirable to reproduce that here, some alterations have been made. Page numbers are indicated within square brackets - [Page x]. Tables, which were in even smaller print, have also been altered somewhat where necessary. In particular, Table I-IV in the Report section have been split up for ease of use, and put after, rather than in the middle of the section referring to them. The use of italics has been indicated by means of the following . The most obvious typographical errors have been removed, but otherwise the text is untouched. However, the spelling of place names and personal names has altered a bit over the years, and the items below cover most of the obvious problems, as well as some misapprehensions and errors. Blanch- now Blance. ca'in/caain whales- alternative spellings of the same word - for Pilot Whale, usually. Clunas- now usually Cluness. Colafirth- now Collafirth. Coningsburgh- now Cunningsburgh. Cumlywick- now Cumlewick. Cunningster- now Cunnister. Dalzell- alternatively Dalziel, Dalyell, Deyell, and even Yell. Dunrosness- now Dunrossness. Edmonston/Edmonstone- now Edmondston. Eskerness- probably Eshaness. Exter, Janet- a misapprehension - actual name unknown but possibly Janet Inkster. Fetler- now Fetlar. Fiedeland- now Fethaland. Flaus/Flawes/Flaws- alternative spellings of the same name now usually Flaws. Garrioch/Garriock/Garrick- can be alternative spellings of the same name. ghive/geo/gio- gio - an inlet. Goudie/Gaudie- now Goudie. Hancliffe- probably Hangcliff. Harra- now Herra. Hildesha- now Hildasay, an island. Hillyar/Hillyard- probably Heylor. Humphray/Humphrey/Umphray- can be alternative spellings of the same name. Jameson/Jamieson- now usually Jamieson. Lasetter- now Lusetter. Lebidden- now Leabitten. Leisk/Leask- alternative spellings of the same name. Lesslie/Leslie- alternative spellings of the same name. Lingord- now Lingarth. Luija- probably Linga, an island. Malcolmson/Malcomson- now usually Malcolmson. Manaster- prob. Mangaster. Mavisgrind- now Mavis Grind. Nicholson- now usually Nicolson. North Mavine/Northmaven- now Northmavine. Rennesta- probably Ringasta. Roenessvoe- now Ronas Voe. Satter- now Setter. scatthold/scattales/scattholes- now scattald. scaups/scaaps- alternative spellings of the same word, a bed of shellfish on the sea bottom. Simbister- now Symbister. Stenness- now Stennes. Sullem/Sullam- now Sullom. Thomason/Thomson/Thompson- alternative spellings of the same name. Trosswick- now Troswick. Urrafirth- now Urafirth. Usiness- prob. Ustaness. Vinsgarth- now Veensgarth. Waterbru- now Waterbrough. West Sandwick- now Westsandwick. Angus Johnson, May, 2001. [Page 1 rpt.] REPORT. _______ TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE HENRY AUSTEN BRUCE, ONE OF HER MAJESTY'S PRINCIPAL SECRETARIES OF STATE. SIR, THE Report on the Truck System, presented to Parliament in 1871, stated that the Commissioners, Messrs. Bowen and Sellar, had received information from four witnesses with regard to Shetland, 'tending to show that the existence of Truck in an oppressive form is general in the staple trades of the islands'. The Commissioners in their Report call attention to this evidence, and add: 'Time would not allow of a local inquiry at Shetland, nor can an inquiry be adequately conducted into the Truck which is alleged to prevail there otherwise than upon the spot. No opinion accordingly is offered either as to the extent of, or the remedy for, the alleged evils; but the necessity of some investigation by Her Majesty's Government into the condition of these islands seems made out.' Having been appointed, by a warrant under your hand, dated Dec. 23, 1871, one of the Commissioners under the Truck Commission Act, 1870, in room of Mr. Bowen, I was directed to proceed to Shetland and institute an inquiry there under that Act. I inquired respecting the matters embraced under the instructions of the Act, and I have now to report as follows:- I went to Shetland at the beginning of the year, a time when the seafaring people of the country are generally at their homes, and I at once began to take evidence with regard to the system of barter or truck which prevails in various trades and industries in these islands. Evidence was taken respecting the hosiery or knitting trade, in which a very large proportion of the women of the country are engaged. Evidence was also taken with regard to the fishing trade, which in its different branches affords employment for part of the year to the whole of the male population, with few exceptions. With regard to the manner in which sales of farm stock and produce are transacted, rents are paid, and land is held in Shetland, information has also been obtained, without which it appeared to be impossible to form a correct idea of the condition of the people, and the way in which barter or truck presents itself as an inseparable element of their daily life and habits. A large amount of evidence was also pressed upon me with regard to the engagement of seamen at Lerwick for sealing and whaling voyages to Greenland and Davis Straits. Sittings for the purpose of taking evidence were held at Lerwick, Brae (Delting), Hillswick (Northmaven), Mid Yell, Balta Sound (Unst), Boddam (Dunrossness), and Scalloway, in Shetland. I visited Kirkwall, in Orkney, for the purpose of examining certain witnesses now residing there with regard to the condition of Fair Island, which was inaccessible at the time of my journey. Sittings were also held in Edinburgh for the examination of a few witnesses residing there. Public notice by printed bills was given of all meetings, and circulars were also sent to all clergymen, schoolmasters, and landed proprietors, and to all persons in the fishcuring and hosiery trades. Evidence was received from almost all who tendered it, from a large number of persons suggested or put forward by employers of labour and purchasers of hosiery goods and fish, and from many witnesses who were selected and cited. ________________________ GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SHETLAND. The Shetland Islands are upwards of a hundred in number, varying in size from the Mainland, which is about seventy miles in length and thirty at its greatest breadth, to small rocks not even affording pasturage to sheep. The outlines of all the islands, as shown on the accompanying map are very irregular, long bays or voes indenting them so deeply that no point is more than three miles from the sea. The country is hilly, but none of the [Page 2 rpt.] hills are very lofty. Twenty-eight of the islands are inhabited; some of the smaller islands containing only two, or in some cases only one family. The population in 1861 was 31,670, viz. 18,617 females, and 13,053 males. The population in 1871 was 31,605, viz. 18,525 females, and 13,080 males. The census is taken at a time of the year when many men who are sailors in the merchant service are absent from their homes, which they visit once a year or oftener. At the last census there were 6,494 families, 5,740 inhabited houses, 220 vacant houses, and 10 houses building. The Agricultural Returns for Great Britain for 1871 state the number of occupiers of land in Shetland, from whom returns have been obtained, at 3992, occupying on an average thirteen acres each. The total acreage under all kinds of crops, bare, fallow, and grass, is given as 50,454 acres in 1870, and 50,720 in 1871, of which, in the latter year, 11,626 acres were under corn crops, 3,493 under green crops (2,909 being potatoes), 522 under clover and grasses under rotation, and 33,227 permanent pasture, meadow, or grass not broken up in rotation, exclusive of heath or mountain land. The total number of horses returned to the Statistical Department, as on 25th June 1871, was 5,354; of cattle 21,735; of sheep, 86,834; and of pigs, 5,251. _________________ SOCIAL STATE. The 'toons,' or townships, in which the peasantry of Shetland live, are generally situated along the margins of the voes, or far-stretching inland bays which intersect the country; and although in some districts they extend into the valleys running into the interior, they are almost always within a short distance from the sea. It is natural, therefore, that the Shetlander should be a fisherman or a sailor; and for two centuries it appears that he has generally combined the occupations of farming and fishing. The following description of the rural polity of Shetland, taken from Dr. Arthur Edmonstone's View of the Ancient and Present State of the Zetland Islands (2 vols. 8vo, Edin. 1809), is for the most part applicable at the present day. 'The enclosed land in Zetland is divided into what are called merks and ures. A merk, it is said, should contain 1600 square fathoms, and an ure is the eighth part of a merk; but the merks are everywhere of unequal dimensions, and scarcely two are of the same size. The oldest rentals state the number of merks to be about 13,500, and those of the present time make them no more. A considerable portion, however, of common has been enclosed and cultivated since the appearance of the first rentals, although not included in them. When a part of the common is enclosed and farmed, the enclosure is called an outset; but the outsets are never included in the numeration of merks of rental land. From these circumstances it is very difficult to ascertain the actual quantity of cultivated ground in Zetland. 'The enclosures are made, generally, in the neighbourhood of the sea, and contain from 4 to 70 merks, which are frequently the property of different heritors, and are always subdivided among several tenants. Such place is called a town or a room, and each has a particular name. 'The uncultivated ground outside of the enclosure is called the scatthold, and is used for general pasture, and to furnish turf for firing. Every tenant may rear as many sheep, cattle, or horses, on the general scatthold attached to the town in which his farm lies as he can. There is no restriction on this head, whether he rent a large or a small farm. If there be no moss in the scatthold contiguous to his farm, the tenant must pay for the privilege to cut peat in some other common, and this payment is called It seldom exceeds 3s. per annum. 'The kelp shores and the pasture islands are seldom or never let to the tenant along with the land; these the landholder retains in his own hands. In some parts of Zetland, particularly in the island of Unst, the proprietor furnishes the tenant, gratis, with a house, barn, and stable, which he also keeps in a state of repair. In other parts of the country this expense is divided between them, but the chief proportion of it always falls on the landholder. 'The quantity of land farmed by a tenant varies from 3 to 12 merks, and sometimes more; but the average number to each may be taken at 5. In a few instances regular leases are granted, and some of them for a great number of years; but these are comparatively rare. In the great majority of cases, nothing more takes place than a verbal agreement on the part of the tenant to occupy a farm under certain conditions, for one year only, at the expiration of which both he and the landholder consider themselves at perfect liberty to enter on a new engagement .... 'The rents are paid in cash and various articles of country produce, such as fish, butter, oil, etc.; and the amount of the rent varies, according as the tenant has the exclusive disposal of his labour or agrees to fish to his landholder. In the former case, the probable profits on the sale of fish and the other articles of produce are estimated, and the lands are let at their full value. In the latter case, or where the tenant fishes to the landholder, he comes under an agreement to deliver to him his fish, butter,* and oil, at a certain price, and then the lands are let at a considerably reduced rate. This system, where there is a reciprocity of profit between the landholder and the tenant, is by far the most general, and the practice is immemorial in Zetland. 'The merks are divided into different classes, such as , and merks. These are arbitrary numbers, employed to designate certain differences in the rents of the merks, according to their size and produce. Thus nine-penny merks should be more valuable than six-penny merks, and twelve-penny more so than nine-penny. But these distinctions, although rounded, no doubt, originally on real differences, are at present very inaccurate measures of the relative value of the different classes of merks; for sometimes happens that a six-penny merk is as large and productive as a twelve-penny one. . . 'The lands in the different towns generally lie, , intimately mingled together, which not only [Page 3 rpt.] creates frequent disputes, but prevents the more industrious tenants from making smaller enclosures... 'The ground is divided into what is called and . The outfield is the land which has been last brought into a state of cultivation, and in most parts the soil is mossy. It is sown generally with oats. The infield, on the contrary, has been long in a state of culture, and it produces barley, called in Zetland bear, and potatoes. The outfield is seldom well drained, although it might be easily done without any additional trouble or expense. Thus, when cutting peat for fuel, which is often done within the dyke, instead of doing this in parallel lines, leaving a considerable space between them to become a future corn-field, the people cut in every direction, disfigure the ground, and very often form reservoirs for water to accumulate in. The outfield is allowed to remain fallow for one, and sometimes two years in succession, but the infield is generally turned over every year.'** [Vol. i p. 147 sqq.] * This does not accurately describe the present mode of paying rents. The rent is always nominally a money rent, although it may be paid in account, as will afterwards be shown ** It would be out of place to make extensive quotations from this valuable work. But I refer to it as containing discussions the social state of Shetland, showing that many of the questions involved in the present inquiry required an answer seventy years ago. See also Hibbert's (Edin. 1822) The enclosed lands were formerly runrig, held by the inhabitants of the township in scattered allotments, at different places within the dyke or enclosing wall,-the allotments being made, apparently, in such a manner as to give the tenants equal shares of the different qualities of land. In late years, however, much progress is said to have been made in dividing the farms and throwing the ground of each tenant into one lot. [J.S. Houston, 9654; W. Stewart, 8992; A. Sandison, 9993.] DWELLINGS. The following description of the Shetland hut or cottage is written by Dr. Arthur Mitchell, now one of the Commissioners of Lunacy for Scotland, a very accurate and careful observer (Appendix to the Second Report of the General Board of Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland, 1860):- 'The Shetland cottage or hut is of the rudest description. It is usually built of undressed stone, with a cement of clay or turf. Over the rafters is laid a covering of pones, divots, or flaas,* and above this again a thatch of straw, bound down with ropes of heather, weighted at the ends with stones, as a protection against the high winds which are so prevalent. Chimneys and windows are rarely to be seen. One or more holes in the roof permit the escape of the smoke, and at the same time admit light. Open doors, the thatched roof, and loose joinings everywhere, insure a certain ventilation, without which the dwellings would often be more unhealthy than many in the lanes of our large cities. To this, there is no doubt, we must attribute the comparative absence of fever, the occasional presence of which, I think, is greatly due to that violation of the plainest law of nature, the box-bed. This evil is often intensified in Shetland by having the beds arranged in tiers one above the other, in ship fashion, with the apertures of access reduced to the smallest possible size. 'Drainage is wholly unattended to, and the dunghill is invariably found at the very door. As the house is entered, the visitor first comes upon that part allotted to the cattle, which in summer are out night and day, but in winter are chiefly within doors. Their dung is frequently allowed to accumulate about them; and I was told that this part of the house is sometimes used by the family in winter as a privy. Passing through the byre, the human habitation is reached. The separation between it and the part for the cattle is ingeniously effected by an arrangement of the furniture, the bed chiefly serving for this purpose. The floor is of clay, and the fire is nearly always in the middle of it .... 'In some respects, however, the Zetland dwellings stand a favourable comparison with those of the Western Islands. There is a bareness and desolation about the misery of a Harris house that is tenfold more depressing. It is a poor house and an empty one - a decaying, mouldy shell, without the pretence of a kernel. Whereas in Zetland there is usually a certain fulness. There are bulky sea-chests, with smaller ones on the top of them; chairs, with generally an effort at an easy one; a wooden bench, a table, beds, spades, fishing-rods, baskets, and a score of other little things, which help, after all, to make it a domus. The very teapot, in Zetland always to be found at the fireside, speaks of home and woman, and reminds one of the sobriety of the people - that very important difference between them and the inhabitants of the Hebridean islands. I think the Zetlanders, too, are more intelligent, and more inclined to be industrious, and give greater evidence of the tendency to accumulate or provide. 'Instead of describing the house occupied by each patient, I have given this general account of the average Zetland dwelling, and then, in my individual reports, I have spoken of the special houses as of, above, or below the average.' *Different terms signifying varieties of sod. Since 1860, the dwellings of the people have undergone considerable improvement, especially in the more advanced districts, such as Unst; but the description given of them by Dr. Cowie,* the latest writer on Shetland and himself a Shetlander, and my own observation so far as it went, enables me to state that Dr. Mitchell's description of the average cottage of the fisherman-farmer is still substantially correct. Cottages to which the description exactly applies may be found within a mile of Lerwick. In Lerwick, the capital, the poorer dwellings are, to say the least, not better than those of the same class in other towns of its size. [D. Edmonstone, 10,683; Rev. W. Smith, 10,718; Dr. Cowie, 14,745.] *l. By Robert Cowie, M.A., M.D., Aberdeen. 1871. See p. 91. Edmonstone's , vol. ii., p. 48. , p. 138. ______________________________ THE LING FISHERY. DIFFERENT KINDS OF FISHING. It is necessary to distinguish the terms which are somewhat loosely used in speaking of the different kinds of fishing carried on in Shetland. The home or summer fishing, when that term is used in its widest sense, includes all the fishing for ling, cod, tusk, [Page 4 rpt.] and seath prosecuted in open boats, whether of six oars, or of a smaller size such as are still used for the seath fishery at Sumburgh. The 'haaf fishery' is, in the greater part of Shetland, synonymous with the home or summer fishery, being distinguished from it only where, as at Sumburgh, seath fishing is prosecuted in summer in the smaller open boats. 'Haaf' is 'the deep sea - the fishing of cod, ling, and tusk.'* This fishery is also generically known as the ling fishing, because, though, considerable quantities of tusk and cod are also caught at the haaf, ling is by far the most important part of its produce. The term 'cod fishing' is sometimes applied to what is usually called the 'Faroe fishing', which is prosecuted in large smacks in the vicinity of the Faroe Islands, and in autumn as far north as Iceland. On the west coast of the mainland, the 'cod fishing'- or 'home cod fishing' as it is called, to distinguish it from the Faroe fishing - is carried on, though now to a comparatively trifling extent, in smacks of a smaller size, at banks to the south-west of Shetland. The 'winter fishing' is prosecuted in small boats of four oars, which belong entirely to the men engaged in it, the fish being generally cured by themselves, or sold to any merchant they please for a price fixed and paid in money or goods at the time. * Edmonstone's (Edin. 1866.) FISHING TENURE FORMERLY EXISTING. The ling and tusk fishery is the oldest of the existing fishing industries of Shetland. It appears in the seventeenth century to have been in the hands of Dutch merchants and shipowners, who supplied the natives with the means of fishing; cured, or at least dried, the fish on the beaches; and carried it to Holland. It is said that the proprietors of Shetland were first induced about the beginning of the eighteenth century to take the ling fishing into their own hands, supplying their tenants with materials, and receiving the fish at a stipulated rate.* The system which grew up after this change is referred to by Dr. Adam Smith,** and appears to have been in full vigour in at least one part of Shetland but a few years ago. It is thus described by a witness, William Stewart, as it existed till 1862 in Whalsay, where he was a tenant of the late Mr. Bruce of Simbister:- '8978. What rent did you pay there?-The rent I always paid for my ground was 26s.' '8979. Did you fish for Mr. Bruce at that time?-Yes, for the late Mr. William Bruce.' '8980. And you had an account with him at the shop in Whalsay?-Yes.' '8981. How did you pay your rent?-Generally by fishing.' '8982. Was it put into your account?-Yes. The thing was carried on on a very strange system. Our land was put in to us at a low rent, and our fish were taken from us at as low a value. The prices for the fish never varied, either for the spring or summer.' '8983. Do you mean that they were the same every year?-They were. Whatever they might be in the markets, they were all the same to us.' '8984. Had you never the benefit of a rise in the market at all?- Never.' '8985. Did you not object to that?-We had just to content ourselves with it, or leave the place.' '8986. It was part of your bargain for your land, that you were to give your fish at a certain rate?-Yes; there were so much of the fish taken off for the land. That was the first of the fishing. We got 3s. 4d. a cwt. for ling, 2s. 6d. for tusk, and 20d. for cod, and so much of each kind of fish was taken off until the land was paid for; and then the prices were raised to 4s, I think, for ling, 3s. 2d. for tusk, and 2s. 6d. for cod, for all the rest of the summer fishing.' '8987. Did you get these prices for a number of years?-I think for the thirteen years that I was on the station they never varied one halfpenny for the summer fishing. The prices for the winter fishing varied a little. Sometimes we would sell the small cod as low as 2s. 6d, and at other times at 3s.' '8988. Did you sell the winter fishing for payment at the time, or did it go into the account too?-It was never put into the account at all; we just got what we required for it. It was ready payment; but it was very rarely that we got money for the winter fishing.' '8989. Did you know at the time that the prices you were paid at the latter part of the season were lower than the market price of the fish?-We knew that; but it was just the bargain.' '8990. Was that the system with all the tenants in Whalsay at that time?-With every one.' '8991. When did that system cease?-I think it ceased about a year after I came here-about 1863.' [W. Stewart, 8978; See J.S. Houston, 9727.] * Edmonstone's , vol. ii., p. 232., Brand's , etc., pp. 73, 89, 128, 136, etc. (Edin. 1701). ** , b.i.c. xi. LAND QUESTION CONNECTED WITH TRUCK QUESTION. It is impossible to separate the question of Truck in Shetland from the land question - (1.) Because Truck, in the form in which it chiefly exists, has arisen out of these old relations between landlords and tenants in the times when the landlords were the principal or the only purchasers and curers of fish; and (2.) because, to a very material extent, the relations between the fish-curer and the fishermen are still subservient and ancillary to the landlord's security for his rent.* That this is so will appear from a description of the ling fishery as it now exists. * General Observations on Shetland, by Lawrence Edmonstone M.D., in , p. 160 (Edin. 1841) TACKSMEN AND MERCHANTS. Although the proprietors may originally have had some concern with all the fishing of the year, it is in the ling fishery that they till lately occupied, and in some instances still occupy, the position of the old Dutch traders. In this position they have now, for the most part, been succeeded by merchants, who in some instances are tacksmen (or [Page 5 rpt.] 'tacksmasters,'-, principal lessees or middle-men, having sub-tenants), and in others are merely lessees of a fishing station, with its invariable appendage, a retail shop or store for goods of every kind. There is a regular season for the haaf fishing, lasting from about the 20th of May till the 12th of August. It is carried on chiefly from stations as near as possible to the haaf, where lodges or huts are erected for each boat's crew. The men return to their homes at the end of each week. At each station where the fish are landed, whether that is a temporary station,-such as Feideland, Whalsay Skerries, Stenness, Papa Stour, Spiggie, or Gloup,-or a permanent curing establishment and shop, such as Reawick, Uyea Sound, Quendale, or Hillswick,-factors are employed by the merchants to receive and weigh the fish, and enter the weight in a fish-book. These factors at the temporary stations are entrusted with a small supply of meal, lines, hooks, and other articles likely to be wanted by the fishermen, which they sell to them in the same way as the merchants themselves or their servants do at the permanent shops. [W. Irvine, p. 85.] MODE OF FISHING. The mode of fishing is similar to the long-line fishing in the North Sea, described in the Report of the Sea Fisheries Commission, 1866, App. p. 6. AGREEMENTS AND SETTLEMENTS. A boat is usually divided into six shares, each of the crew having one share; the proceeds of the fish, after deducting the price or hire of the boat and other expenses incurred on account of the crew, for which the crew is responsible as a company, being also divided into six shares. In some rare cases the shares are fewer, and one or two of the men are hired. It is an invariable rule that a boat's crew delivers all its fish taken during the summer to the same merchant. In a few cases this arises, as it formerly did almost universally, simply from the fact that the men are all tenants of a proprietor or middle-man, who makes it a condition of their holding their crofts that they shall fish for him. In others, it is the subject of an express or tacit arrangement with a particular fish-curer. When he delivers his fish, the fisherman does not receive payment for it, nor does he know what price it will bring. The arrangement or understanding is, that the price is to be at the current rate at the end of the season. The season ends, so far as the fishing is concerned, at or about August 12; but the sales are not made until September and October, when the process of curing is completed. The settlement of the price does not take place till November, December, or January; and in the case of one merchant, it appears to have been more than once delayed to a considerably later period. When a number of crews deliver their fish to the same merchant, especially if he has a number of stations at different parts of the islands, his settlements are considerably protracted. Each crew, as I have said, has got supplies at the fishing station; it has also got fishing materials, and it may have to pay the hire, or instalments of the price, of its boat. These are all debited to the crew in a ledger account, kept in the name of the skipper and crew, thus -'John Simpson & Co., Stenness.' The sums due for these items being deducted from the total amount of the boat's fishing, the balance is divided into shares, which are carried to the private accounts of the several fishermen; for in almost every case the fisherman and his family obtain, during the year, 'supplies' of goods from the shop of the fish-curer. In the great majority of cases there are no passbooks for such accounts. The private account is read over to the fisherman by the fishcurer, or by his shopkeeper, where he does not personally manage that department of his business; and the fisherman being satisfied as to its correctness, or, as it often happens, trusting to the honesty of the merchant, it is settled, any balance due to the fisherman being paid in cash, any balance against him being carried to his debit in a new account. [See below - SETTLEMENTS AND PASS-BOOKS] THE debit against the fisherman consists-(1.) Of any balance against him in the account of the previous year; (2.) Of goods of various kinds supplied from the store; (3.) Of cash advanced in the course of the year, either to himself personally, or for rent, taxes, or other payments made on his account. It may possibly occur in a bad season, that his share of a balance against the crew with which he has been fishing may increase his indebtedness; but no case of this kind has been brought under my notice. On the other hand, he is credited with the price of his fish at the current rate, and with the price of any cattle or ponies sold by him to the merchant. The smaller farm produce, such as butter and eggs, although very often sold to the same merchant, does not enter the account, having been paid in goods across the counter, rarely in cash, at the time of delivery. [See below, p. 24.] [Page 6 rpt.] TRUCK. It thus appears to be quite possible that fishermen should receive the whole of their earnings in shop goods, and I understand that the truth of the allegation that most of the men actually are so paid, and that they have no option but to take goods for their fish, at prices fixed by the merchant, was intended to be the main subject of this inquiry. COMPLAINTS BY FISHERMEN. Upon this subject the complaints of the men themselves were not loud or frequent. The only cases in which fishermen came forward voluntarily for the purpose of stating grievances, on hearing of the Commission, were those in which they are bound by their tenure to deliver their fish to the proprietor of the ground, or his tacksman. As in all these cases they are also supplied with goods from the landlord's or tacksman's shop, it was necessary to hear fully what the men had to say, even although their complaints appeared to involve a question as to the tenure of land, as well as the payment of wages. FISHING TENURES. Complaints on this subject were made by tenants on the estates of Sumburgh and Quendale, in the parish of Dunrossness, and on the island of Burra. It also appeared in the evidence of persons cited, that the obligation exists and is enforced on the estate of Lunna, in the parish of Nesting and Lunnasting; on that of Ollaberry, in Northmaven; on those of Mr. Henderson, Mrs. Budge, Messrs. Pole & Hoseason, in Yell; in the island of Whalsay, held by Messrs. Hay & Co. from Mr. Bruce of Simbister; on the Gossaburgh estate, in Yell and Northmaven, held by them from Mrs. Henderson Robertson; and in Skerries, of which Mr. Adie has a tack from Mr. Bruce. On other estates the tenants are nominally free, although it may sometimes be doubtful how far they are able to exercise any choice. SUMBURGH [Qu. 548 sqq.] The first witness who came forward to speak of the obligation to deliver the fish to the landlord was Laurence Mail, who was not summoned, and his evidence shows how naturally this grievance is connected with the system of Truck. He says:- '559. What is the complaint you wish to make?-There is one thing we complain of: that we are bound to deliver our fish, wet or green, to the landlord.' '560. That is, you have to deliver the fish as they are caught?- Yes; of course we have to take out the bowels and cut off the heads: it is the bodies of the fish we give. We think it would be much better if we had liberty to dry the fish ourselves, as we used to do formerly.' '561. To whom are you bound to give your fish?-To Mr. Bruce, our landlord.' '562. Is he a fish-curer or fish-merchant?-Yes.' '563. Is it Mr. Bruce or his son that you are speaking of?-It is young Mr. Bruce. He is the landlord or tack-master. His father is alive; but I think young Mr. Bruce has got power from his father to engage the tenants according to his own pleasure.' '564. Do you pay your rent to young Mr. Bruce?-Yes.' '565. And does he give you a receipt for it in his own name?-We settle once a year with him for our fishing, and for the store goods we have got, and rent and everything together.' '566. Do you get an account for the whole?-He generally gives us a copy of our account. Sometimes, perhaps, he does not do so; but he will give it if we ask for it ....' '568. Is that all you have got to say on the subject of your complaint?-No; I have something more. Of course, as we are bound to fish for Mr. Bruce, a man, unless he has money of his own, is shut up to deal at Mr. Bruce's shop. His credit is gone at every other place, and that binds us to take our goods from his store; and generally the goods there are sold at the highest value.' In the case of the Sumburgh tenants, who are above two hundred in number, there was a period of freedom, following a general increase of rent; but about 1862 the son of the landlord began business as a fish-merchant, and as a preparation for that obtained a lease of the southern portion of his father's estate. Intimation of the trick was made to the tenants; and it appears to have been intimated at the same time that the tenants must deliver their fish to young Mr. Bruce, the tacksman. Some of the tenants were required to sign an obligation so to deliver their fish. The merchants who had previously had stores on Mr, Bruce's property were removed. [L. Mail, 625; G. Williamson, 4961; H. Gilbertson, 4575; J. Harper, 4507; G. Leslie, 4612; R. Halcrow, 4646, 4656; L. Smith 4720; A. Tulloch, 468; T. Aitken, 4803-4835; L. Mail, 639] QUENDALE. On the neighbouring estate of Quendale, where about fifty fishermen are employed, a similar statement was made to the tenants when the present proprietor became a fish-merchant. A change upon the previous system is said to have been then made; but one witness, who has lived on the property for at least fifty years, says that during all that period he never had freedom. The proprietor says that his tenants have sat upon the ground subject to that condition for three generations, since it was purchased by his family in 1765. James Flawes, the first witness examined as to this place, says:- [Page 7 rpt.] '4913. Is your obligation a written one, or is it part of a verbal lease of your land?-When young Mr. Grierson got the fishing, he read out a statement to his tenantry at large, in the schoolroom at Quendale.' '4914. How long ago was that?-Twelve years ago. That statement which he read gave the tenantry to understand that he was to become their fish-merchant, or the man they were to deliver their fish to; and that they were all bound to give him every tail of their fish from end to end of the season, as long as they held their land under him. If they did not do that, they knew the consequences: they would be turned out.' '4915. Was that all stated to you in the schoolroom on that occasion?-Yes; it was all read off by Mr. Grierson himself.' '4916. Were you present?-Yes.' '4917. Did he state that you would be paid for your fish according to the current price at the time of settlement?-Yes; that was stated also at that time.' [James Flawes, 4911; G. Goudie, 5034; C. Eunson, 5056; L. Leslie, 5077; J. Burgess, 5099; H. Leslie, 5131; cf. C. Eunson, 5060, L. Leslie, 5087.] LUNNA. On Lunna estate, about the same time, Mr. Bell, then sheriff-substitute of the county, handed over the estate and fishing to Mr. John Robertson, sen., a merchant in Lerwick, as tacksman, the tenants being told, at a meeting at Lunna House, that they must in future fish for Mr. Robertson if they went to fish at Skerries, the principal fishing station in that part of the country. [James Hay, 5425, L. Simpson, 13,833; John Robertson, sen., 14,075; John Johnston, 9224; L. Robertson, 13,934; Robert Simpson, 13,983; A. Anderson; 9277; J. Henderson, 5512.] WHALSAY. The men in Whalsay are not under Messrs. Hay & Co. as tacksmen, but they are bound to deliver their fish to them. Particulars were given by Mr. Irvine,. who is a partner of Hay & Co., and factor for the proprietor. No complaints came from this island. It may be remarked that the farms in it are more productive than in some other parts of Shetland, and that it is but lately that the people were emancipated from a very primitive kind of tenure, already described. [W. Irvine, 3623, and see above, W. Stewart, 8978. See above, Page 4, rpt.] BURRA ISLANDS. As soon as I arrived at Lerwick, a complaint was laid before me in writing by the inhabitants of the Burra Islands, part of the trust-estate of the family of Scott of Scalloway. These islands are leased to Messrs. Hay & Co. for a tack duty nearly equal to the gross rental paid to them by the sub-tenants. The tack duty is paid by Messrs. Hay & Co. half-yearly, while they receive their sub-rents at the annual settlement. The chief inducement to Messrs. Hay to hold the lease of the island is that they may obtain the fish of the inhabitants, who are bold and successful fishermen, and are more favourably situated for the haaf fishing than any other people in Shetland. [W. Irvine, 3623.] The complaint made by the men of Burra was simply that they were not at liberty to cure their own fish and sell them in the highest market. Fourteen years ago the late Mr. William Hay told them that they must sell to him, and eight years ago a similar intimation was made on the part of the present firm, who wished the men to sign an obligation to deliver all their fish to them. The following is the statement of Walter Williamson, who was the chief spokesman of the Burra men who came to Lerwick:- '790. Why do you not do it ( cure and sell your own fish)?- Because we would be ejected from the place if we were not to deliver our fish to them.' '791. What is your reason for supposing that?-Because we have been told so.' '792. Was it on the occasion you have mentioned, eight years ago, that you were told so?-It was.' '793. Have you been told since that you would be ejected if you did not deliver your fish to Messrs. Hay & Co.?-I have never since asked anything about it, so that I had no reason to be told so.' '794. Has any person been ejected for selling fish to other merchants than Hay & Co., or for curing his own fish?-I think there have been such cases in Burra. I believe John Leask was ejected for not serving as a fisherman to Messrs. Hay & Co.' '795. How long ago was that?-I think it would be about thirteen years since, or close thereby.' [W. Williamson, 764, 776; P. Smith, 980; T. Christie, 1064; C. Sinclair, 1109; G. Goodlad, 1208.] Liberty money was exacted by Messrs. Hay from some of the Burra men some years ago, a payment of 20s., in respect of a tenant or his sons having failed to deliver fish to the lessee. [Peter Smith, 1012.] But in some cases, at least, it appears that this money was repaid. Messrs. Hay & Co. explain that- 'Some years ago, after a time of bad crops and bad fishings, when we had to give them large quantities of meal for their support, and many of them were unable to pay rents, the islands were indebted the best part of £1000. We made an attempt at that time to get the young men to fish to us and assist their parents, and I think in two cases we imposed fines of 20s.; but it had a contrary effect to what we intended, and, so far as I remember, the money was given back.' And Mr. Irvine says in his examination, 'The object of the fine was to compel the sons to assist the fathers.' The written obligation itself has not been recovered, and neither Mr. Irvine, of Hay & Co., nor other witnesses, have a very clear recollection of its contents. I am inclined to believe, however, although Mr. Irvine appears to have a different impression, that the obligation it sought to impose was wide enough in its terms to include the Faroe fishing, in which Messrs. Hay & Co. are engaged very extensively. There is some evidence that constraint or compulsion, or rather influence, such as a landlord can exercise over his tenants, has been used in Burra and elsewhere, in order to get [Page 8 rpt.] Faroe fishing-smacks well manned. But so far as Burra is concerned, that influence seems not to have been applied in late years, and it is not general elsewhere. [W. Irvine, 3623, 3754 sqq.; Peter Smith, 1041; C. Sinclair, 1135, 1143; W. Irvine, 3920, W. Williamson, 923; Peter Smith, 1012, 1057; C. Sinclair, 1118; J.L. Pole, 9370.] GOSSABURGH. The tenants on the estate of Gossaburgh, in South Yell and Northmaven, about 120 in number, are also bound to deliver their fish, both in summer and winter, to Messrs. Hay & Co., as tacksmen of the property, if they engage in the ling fishing. In the Northmaven portion of the estate (North Roe), thirty-three out of fifty-six tenants actually fished for the tacksmen last year; three fished by sufferance to other curers, two were at Faroe, and two or three were sailing south; others were employed by the lessees as curers and tradesmen, and probably a few were unfit for fishing. The average rent paid by the tenants on this part of the estate is £3, 3s. It seems that the profit of Messrs. Hay & Co. on their tack consists, as it does in the case of Burra, almost entirely in the power it gives them over the fishermen tenants. [J. Pottinger, 13,540; W. Robertson, 13, 628; W. Irvine, 3818; D. Greig, 7116-7131; W. Irvine, 3623, 3624, 3811; Andrew Ratter, 7404 sqq.] BURRAVOE. The tenants on the estate of Burravoe, in the south of Yell, belonging to Mr. Henderson, are bound to fish to their landlord. Both Mr. Henderson and his son were unable to attend the sitting at Mid Yell, in consequence of the state of their health; but I saw Mr. George Henderson at his place of business, examined his books, and obtained a full return from him. Mr. Henderson had thirty men fishing for him last year, but these were not all tenants of his own. On this estate, as on some others, it appears to be the rule, subject perhaps to exceptions, that a tenant who cannot or does not fish must quit his farm, or pay a higher rent. [R. Smith, 9121, 9123 sqq.; D. More, 9639.] SKERRIES The tenants on the Out Skerries, north-east of Whalsay, forming six boats' crews, are obliged to fish to Mr. Adie, who holds a tack of the islands from Mr. Bruce of Simbister. Mr. Adie says:- '5767. Is the rent which you pay for Skerries calculated so as to allow you a profit upon the rents of the sub-tenants?-No; I pay £110 of tack duty, and the gross rental from the tenants is only £68. I virtually pay the difference just for the station that is, station rent for the store and premises which are put up there.' '5768. Is it not also for the privilege of having these fishermen to fish for you?-I believe I could make more of these lands if I had them as grazing ground, without any fishermen there at all. There is only one of the Skerries I hold now; one of them has been sold to the Lighthouse Commissioners.' '5769. If you could make more of the island as grazing ground, why don't you turn it into that?-If I were to do so, what could I make of the men? There are fourteen families, and if I turned them adrift it would be a fearful thing.' '5770. Is it difficult for men to get land in Shetland?-It is very difficult now; there are so many requiring it, that almost every place is taken up. I have boats that go from the mainland to fish at the Skerries with the natives.' '5771. Then it is useful as a station for them?-Yes.' [T. Hutchison, 12,622; P. Henderson, 12,734; D. Anderson, 12,774; A. Humphray, 12,802.] YELL, ETC. The tenants on certain scattered properties in Yell. and the Mainland belonging to Mr. Pole, held in tack by him, or for which he is factor, are bound, if he requires them, to fish to the firm of Pole, Hoseason, & Co.; and this obligation extends to the Faroe fishing also. [W. Pole, 5936; J.L. Pole, 9369.] OLLABERRY. The tenants on the Ollaberry property in Northmaven parish are obliged to fish to a firm, of which the principal member is Mr. John Anderson, Hillswick, brother of the proprietor and tacksman of the estate. There are fifty or sixty tenants on this estate. There is some evidence that in this place the bound men or tenants get a lower price for their fish than those who are 'free.' [John Anderson, 6592; W. Blance, 6014, 6026, 6048; A. Johnson, 14,890, 14,908, 14,947.] CASE OF SEAFIELD TENANTS. I have still to mention the latest case of this exercise of the patrimonial right of disposing of a tenant's fish, which is an instructive instance of the submissive way in which the right is accepted are Shetland. The tenants on the small property of Seafield, on Reafirth or Mid Yell Voe, twenty-one or twenty-two in number, had been in use to sell their fish in summer to Laurence Williamson, a fish-curer and merchant on the opposite side of the voe. There was, however, a shop at Seafield, the tenant of which had been carrying on business not very successfully. He had resolved to leave the place, and the business premises were likely to be shut up. In this state of matters, the law-agent for the proprietor wrote the following letter to a leading man among the tenants, William Stewart:- ', 22 Nov. 1870. 'WILLIAM,-I now write, as I promised, to explain what I expect the Seafield tenants to do in regard to fishing, that you may communicate the same to them. The business premises at Seafield cannot be allowed to remain vacant, and consequently unprofitable, while it is clear they must do so unless the tenants fish to the tenant of these premises. The Seafield tenants, therefore, must fish to Mr. Thomas Williamson upon fair and reasonable terms, and I understand he is quite prepared to meet them on such terms. I believe he will, in every respect, do you justice; and so long as [Page 9 rpt.] he does so, you have no reason to complain. But should it happen that he fails to treat you fairly and honourably (of which I have no fear), you can let me know, and matters will soon be put right. You and the tenants, however, must not act towards Mr. Williamson in a selfish or hard way either, for it is quite as possible for you to do so to him as it is for him to do so to you. Both he and you all must work together heartily and agreeably; and if you do so, I have no fear, humanly speaking, that the result will be success to both.- I am, yours faithfully, W. SIEVWRIGHT 'William Stewart, Kirkabister, Seafield, Mid Yell.' [W. Stewart, 8917] Mr. Sievwright made a statement with regard to this letter, which adds nothing to what appears in it, except the fact that most of the tenants were in arrear for rent. It is stated also by Thomas Williamson (who was put into business apparently by Mr. Leask, a very extensive merchant in Lerwick), that he did not 'want any of the men to fish for him;' that 'scarcely any man could keep the premises there and carry on business in them without the privilege of having the men to fish for him.' Twelve men of the Seafield tenants, forming two boats' crews, had entered into a written agreement to fish to Laurence Williamson in 1871; but they were obliged to leave him and he says 'I slightly objected to it but of course I could not help it .... Of they had to leave me because they knew, or at least they believed, they would be differently dealt with if they did not leave.' [W. Sievwright, 15,118; T. Williamson, 9493; W. Robertson, 13,660; L. Williamson, 9003, 9005.] In short, it has been so much a habit of the Shetlander's life to fish for his landlord, that he is only now discovering that there is anything strange or anomalous in it. This man, William Stewart, to whom Mr. Sievwright wrote, had lived in Whalsay, as I have already shown, under what appears to have been a still more disadvantageous and servile tenure. He is a fair specimen of the average peasant of such a district as Yell. It is evident that men who have been brought up in such habits, and with the tradition among them of a still more subservient time in the past, are prepared not only to submit to extreme oppression on the part of their proprietors, or those to whom their proprietors hand them over, but also to become easily subjected to the influence of merchants who possess no avowed control over them. CASE OF ROBERT MOUAT AT MOUL An instance of the abuse to which the system is liable in the hands of an unscrupulous tacksman, is afforded by the case of Robert Mouat, who held, until two years ago, a tack of the estate of Mr. Bruce of Simbister, in Sandwick parish. A number of witnesses came forward to testify to the thraldom of the tenantry, and the injustice which they had suffered under his rule. The evidence against Mouat was certainly given with such freedom, I might say with such an earnestness of hatred, as was not displayed towards any merchant or tacksman who is still in the country. After making allowance for exaggeration, it is certain that the state of Coningsburgh during the seventeen years of his rule must have been very distressing. Every tenant on the ground was bound to sell to him not only his fish, but all the saleable produce of his farm. Money could not be got from him, according to one witness, either at settlement or during the season. The witness John Halcrow, who is much less vehement in his language than some others, says: '13,089. Were they bound to deal with him for shop goods?-The fishermen were. They were required to go to him with all their produce, meal, ponies, and eggs, as well as with their fish.' '13,090. But they were not bound to buy their goods from him?- No; but they had to do so, because he received all their produce, and they could not go anywhere else. They had no money.' '13,091. Would he not give them money for their produce?-Yes, for such as cattle he would. But it was very few of them who had any money to get from him.' '13,092. Why?-Because they were bound to fish for him, and he received all their fish.' '13,093. But if he received all their fish he would have to pay them money for them?-It was very hard to get it from him.' '13,094. Did he prefer to give them the price in goods?-Yes, if they would take it.' '13,095. And did they take it in goods?-Not very much.' '13,096. Why?-Because they were not very good.' '13,097. Then they would have money to get at the end of the year if they did not take very much in goods?-Yes.' '13,098. Did they get the money at the end of the year?-No. He said he did not have it to give them.' '13,099. Then they did not get their money at all?-In some cases they got it.' '13,100. But some of them did not get it?-Yes.' '13,101. And some of them did not get goods either?-Yes; they would not take his goods.' '13,102· Then did they go without either money or goods?-Yes.' '13,103. Was that often?-I have had to do it myself.' '13,104. When was that?-In 1870. He said he had no money to give me.' '13,105. Was that at settlement?-Yes. He had the tack for two years more at that time, and he gave me a receipt for the rent of 1871. Then he failed; and I had to pay my rent for 1871 over again to Mr. William Irvine.' And the witness produced documents to show that he had actually paid rent in advance to Mouat in June 1871, which, according to the law of Scotland, does not discharge the tenant; and that he had afterwards paid it to Mr. Irvine, as factor for Mr. Bruce. While it may be taken for granted that the condition of tenants under Mr. Mouat was at no time enviable, some of the statements about his conduct ought probably to be accepted as literally true only with regard to the period of struggling circumstances immediately preceding his bankruptcy. [John Leask, 1284; Gavin Colvin, 1382; M. Malcolmson, 2978; W. Manson, 3018; H. Sinclair, 5312; W. Irvine, 3948.] [Page 10 rpt.] EVICTION AND LIBERTY MONEY. In all the cases where tenants are bound to fish for the landlord, there is a firm conviction that the penalty of disobedience is eviction, or payment of 'liberty money.' 'We knew quite well,' said James Flawes (4964), a tenant on Quendale, 'from the statement which was made to us before, that, if any one transgressed the rule, the penalty would just be our forty days' warning.' And cases of threatened removal for this cause, and payment of liberty money or fines, though not common, have yet been sufficiently numerous to keep alive a wholesome apprehension, and prevent widespread disobedience. Eviction to a Shetlander is a serious matter, especially when it is for such a cause as this. A new farm is always difficult to get. 'In the south,' says one witness, 'a man can shift from town to town and get employment; but here, if he leaves his house and farm, he has no place to go to except Lerwick, and there is no room to be got there, either for love or money.' [W. Irvine, 3625, 3755; L. Smith, 4486; J. Flawes, 4956; C. Eunson, 5069; J. Johnston, 9238; J. Hutchison, 12,693; Peter Smith, 1012; M. Malcolmson, 2994; W. Manson, 3025; W. Goudie, 4274, 4385, etc.; H. Sinclair, 5320; John Johnston, 9423; T.M. Adie, 5770.] There is an impression, not perhaps always correct in a region where the excessive subdivision of land is ascribed to the desire of landlords to increase the number of their fishing tenants, that a man who is independent enough to differ from his landlord with regard to the terms of his lease is not likely to find favour in the eyes of other proprietors. A witness, speaking of another condition of his holding, says:- '801. Are you not at liberty to make your own bargain about the land, the same as any other tenant in Scotland is?-I am not aware of that.' '802. Suppose you were to object to make such a bargain, could you not leave the land and get a holding elsewhere?-It is not likely we would get a holding elsewhere.' '803. Why?-We would very likely be deprecated as not being legal subjects, and the heritors would all know that we were not convenient parties to give land to. That is one reason; and another reason is, that places are sometimes not very easily got.' '804. Do the same conditions exist on other properties in Shetland?-So far as I know, they prevail all over the country, or nearly so.' 805. You think that, if you were trying to move, you would not get free of a condition of that sort?-We might get free of it for a time, but by next year the parties to whose ground we had removed might bind us down to the same thing.' 806. But supposing all the men were united in refusing to agree to such conditions, there could be no compulsion upon them?-They have not the courage, I expect, to make such an agreement among themselves.' [Walter Williamson, 801.] THE FORTY DAYS' WARNING TOO SHORT It is proper to call attention here to the fact that in agricultural subjects held from Martinmas to Martinmas on a yearly tack, the forty days' warning to remove, which is held sufficient by the law of Scotland, is objected to, with some reason, as too short. A crofter witness makes the following statement:- '4688. Is there anything else you wish to say?-There is only forty days' warning given before Martinmas. No doubt that may be well enough for tenants town like Lerwick, who hold nothing except a room to live in, but it is very disagreeable for a tenant holding a small piece of land as we do. As soon as our crop is taken in, we must start work immediately, and prepare the land for next season. We have to make provision for manure, and collect our peats, and prepare stuff for thatching our houses, and perhaps by Martinmas we have expended from £6 worth of labour and expense on our little farms. In that case, it is a very hard thing for us to be turned out of our holdings after receiving only forty days' notice, and perhaps only getting £1 or £2 for all that labour. Now what I would suggest is, that instead of that short notice we should be entitled to receive a longer notice, perhaps six or nine months before the term, that we are to be turned out.' '4689. Do you think you would be more at liberty to dispose of your fish, and to deal at any shop you pleased, if you were entitled to that longer warning?-I don't think the warning would alter anything with regard to that; but if I knew that I was to be turned out at Martinmas, I would probably start fishing earlier, and I might have a larger price to get for them, instead of working upon my land.' '4690. But you can be punished more easily by your landlord for selling your fish to another man, when he can turn you out on forty days' warning, than if he could only do it on six or eight months' warning?-I think it would be much the same with regard to that.' '4691. You don't think that would make any difference as to the fishing?-It might make a little difference, because if I received my warning in March, and knew that I was to leave at Martinmas, if I saw that I was to have a better price for my fish from another, I would not fish to my landlord at all; but I would go to any man I would get the best price from.' [R. Halcrow, 4688.] The same view is taken by the Rev. James Fraser, who gave very valuable information, both at the sitting held at Brae, and in a subsequent letter, printed in the evidence. [R. Fraser, 8054 sqq.] STATEMENTS BY LANDHOLDERS AND TACKSMEN It is unnecessary to refer in detail to mere admissions on the part of landlords and tacksmen, that such obligations exist on the estates under their control. Such admissions were made in all the cases already referred to, as will be seen from the references on the margin. In some cases, however, arguments were stated in justification of the practice. Mr. Irvine perhaps put the case lower than any of this class of witnesses for he simply said in regard to Burra, that the tack had been held for a very long time by his firm, and that when it expired many of the people owed debts, some of which would [Page 11 rpt.] not have been recovered if the island had passed to another fish-merchant as tacksman. He assumed that here, as in other cases, the landlord in Shetland must depend on the fishing for payment of his rents. Mr. Bruce, younger, of Sumburgh thus states his views:- 'The tenants on the property in this parish managed by me are at liberty to go to sea to the Greenland or Faroe fishing, or to pursue any land occupation as they please; but if they remain at home and go to the home fishing, they are expected to deliver their fish to me, and receive for it the full market value. This is one of the conditions on which they hold their farms, and is, I consider, a beneficial rule for the fishermen. They must fish to some merchant, and as I give them as high a price as they could get from another, they are no losers, while I provide suitable curing and fishing stations, and these stations of mine are the most convenient places for them to deliver their fish .... This, I will endeavour to show, is no grievance at all, but an advantage to the fishermen.' 'In looking over the whole of Shetland, it will be found that the most prosperous districts are those under the direct management of the landlords.' 'Many of the fishermen in this country (as, indeed, many of the poorer classes everywhere) are unable, from want of thrift and care, to manage their own matters in a satisfactory manner, and require to be thought for and acted for, and generally treated like children, and are much better off under the management of a landlord who has an interest in their welfare, than they would be if in the hands of a merchant whose only object was to make a profit out of them.' 'A merchant who has no control over the fishermen, may, in some cases, wish to get them and keep them in his debt, in order to secure their custom; but the case of a landlord also a merchant is quite different. It is his interest to have a prosperous, thrifty, and independent tenantry; and he will use his utmost endeavour to keep them out of debt, and to encourage saving habits.' 'I can see no reason why the fact of a man being a landlord should prevent him from being also a merchant and fish-curer; and if so, why he should not secure a lot of good fishermen by making it one of the conditions of occupancy by his tenants, that if fishermen they shall fish to him.' 'The very fact of a landlord being a fish-curer would lead up to this, for tenants would naturally wish to stand well with their landlord, and, other conditions being equal, would prefer to give him their fish ....' 'There are, no doubt, many things in the Shetland system of trade which might be improved; but the system has been of long growth, and is so engrained in the minds of the people, that any change must be very gradual: a sudden and sweeping change to complete free-trade principles and ready-money payments would not suit the people, but would produce endless confusion, hardship, and increased pauperism.' 'Under the present system, with our small rentals and large population, our poor-rates are very high. But the landlords support a great many families which would otherwise be thrown on the rates.' 'It is no uncommon thing, where a family is deprived of its breadwinner, for the landlord to support the family till the younger members grow up, and are abler to provide for themselves, and repay the landlord's advances.' 'Abolish the present system suddenly, and I am afraid our poor-rates would become unbearable, and nothing would save the country but depopulation.' [W. Irvine, 3623, 3625, 3920, 3974, etc.; P.M. Sandison, 5211; W. Pole, 5936; J. Anderson, 6573, 6592; D. Greig, 7111, 7215; J.L. Pole, 9370; T. Williamson, 9466, 9493, 9520; W. Robertson, 10,858, 13,667; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,299; G. Irvine, 13,130; John Bruce, jun., p. 330a; A.J. Grierson, 15,061; John Robertson, sen., 14,075; W. Rivine, 3916, 3920 sqq.] And Mr. A.J. Grierson of Quendale speaks still more forcibly to the same effect. [A.J. Grierson, 15,062, 15,078.] In almost every case, however, except those of Mr. Bruce and Mr. Grierson, the condition as to fishing is spoken of by those in whose favour it is imposed, in apologetic terms. It is plain that the right to have men bound to give fish is regarded as a valuable one, since tacksmen so shrewd as Messrs. Hay & Co. are willing to pay for it a rent equal to the full amount of the sub-rents, and to manage and uphold the property besides. [D. Greig, 7110; W. Irvine, 3816, 3929.] PAYMENT OF RENTS THROUGH MERCHANTS. Although the custom of delivering fish to the landlord or his lessee, as merchant and curer, has become less common, that custom has left its traces in the arrangement by which it has been superseded. [W. Irvine, 3962.] The merchants who receive fish from the tenants have still no small concern with their rent; and it may be said that even now the final cause of the existing system of settlements and agreements with fishermen is to give security to the landlord for his rent. Mr. Gifford, factor on the largest estate in Shetland (Busta), says that there is now no understanding with the merchants who have establishments on that property that they shall be responsible for the rents of the men. 'There is not a single tenant on the Busta estate, out of the whole 480 on it, or out of the 530 with whom I have to do, that any of the merchants is liable for, even as a cautioner. That used to be the case some time before, but it has not been so for a long time.' It does not follow, however, that the merchant has nothing to do with the payment of the rent. Everywhere, without any exception, rents are paid only once a year, at on about Martinmas. It was a frequent practice, when the rent day arrived before the tenants had received their money for fish, that they should get 'lines' from the curer, the stated sums in which were placed to their credit by the landlord. The sum-total of these lines was sent with a list to the curer, who returned a cheque for the amount. A witness, [J.S. Houston, 9657.] who speaks of the practice as it existed when he collected Major Cameron's rents in Yell, says that there was an understanding between Major Cameron and Sandison Brothers, then the chief curers there, that - 'Any of Major Cameron's tenants who were what might be called reckless or careless, should not be allowed to overdraw their earnings, but that something should be left for their rent.' [Page 12 rpt.] '9661. Was Mr. Sandison a tenant of Major Cameron's in his fish-curing premises?-Yes.' '9662. Were these lines always in the same form?-Generally they were the same. I have plenty of them at home.' '9663. Are you aware of a similar practice having existed on any other estate?-I believe it has existed; but I cannot speak so positively about it on other estates. I may say that similar lines have also been given to Major Cameron and myself from another curer in North Yell, Mr. William Pole, jun., before he became a partner of the Mossbank firm.' '9664. Had he premises from Major Cameron also?-No; he had his father's premises. With regard to these lines, I may state that, although there was no understanding on the subject, Major Cameron made it a practice not to come to his tenants asking for their rents until he was pretty sure that everything was nearly cut-and-dry for him.' '9665. Do you think it is a general practice in Shetland for the landlord to fix his rent day so as to be convenient for the fishermen?-I think it is. They fix it after settlement. Mr. Walker, the first year he was factor for Major Cameron, came nearly close to his time, 11th November, but since then he has not done so.' '9666. You are not aware whether that practice of giving lines exists in Yell now?-It does exist. I myself have paid rents by orders for cattle bought from Major Cameron's tenants.' In these and similar cases the curers are not formally tacksmen, nor indeed do they formally guarantee to the proprietors the rents of the tenants who deliver their fish to them; but it may be said that there is a custom having almost the force of a legal obligation, which makes it unusual for a merchant to refuse an advance for payment of rent even to a man who is indebted to him. An extreme example of this custom as it prevailed in Unst is thus described by a very intelligent merchant, Mr. Sandison:- 'I have here a letter which I wrote in 1860, and which represents my views on that subject, and I may as well read an extract from it:-"If we don't give unlimited advances, we are told the fishermen will be taken from us. I have now been nearly twelve months in this place (that was after I came first to Uyea), and have closely watched the system pursued by proprietors and others, and certainly agree with you that it is a bad one; but I know I have no right to make any remarks or trouble you with my views on that subject, further than to state that I cannot see any good that will result from burdening the tenants with debt to the fish-curers. It has been my desire, ever since I knew anything about Shetland tenantry, to see them raised in the social scale, and made thoroughly independent both of proprietors, fish-curers, and others, and I have felt deeply interested in the -- properties, no doubt from being more in contact with them; but when the poor among them are in terror of the proprietors alike, and bound by forced advances to different fish-curers, alas for liberty! and more offered to any fish-curer who will advance more on them. This is not calculated to raise any tenant in self-respect." '10,025. You speak in that letter of "forced advances:" what were these?-What I meant by that was this: the proprietor's ground officer or agent in the island, for the time being, told the tenant that he might fish for me this year. I found that he had only £2 or £3 to get; and the ground officer told that tenant that if he did not go to me and get an advance for his rent, he would take him from me and give him to any other man who would advance the rent. That looked very like forced advances.' '10,026. That, however, was in 1860?-Yes.' '10,027. Was that a common practice in those times?-I believe that thirteen years ago truck existed ten times as much as it does now.' '10,028. But in 1860 was it a common thing for a proprietor's ground officer to threaten to remove a tenant unless he could get his rent from the fish-curer?-Yes; to threaten to remove him from the ground unless he could pay his rent, or to move him from a fish-curer who would not give him an advance for that purpose, to some other fish-curer who would do so.' '10,029. Have you known instances of fishermen who were treated in that way?-Yes. I was referring to cases of that kind when I was writing that letter. It was my own experience at the time when I was at Uyeasound as a fish-curer, trying to engage any men who came to me. Many came to me and fell into debt, because I found that many of them required more from the shop than their fishing amounted to; and then I advanced rent after rent, until I saw that I was advancing to my own ruin.' '10,030. After advancing rent in that way, have you been informed that they were to be transferred to another fish-curer unless their rent was still advanced by you?-Yes; in more cases than one.' '10,031. Were you so informed by the landlord or by his factor?- It was generally by the tenant himself, when he came seeking the money.' '10,032. Were you ever informed of it by the landlord, or any one representing him?-No.' '10,033. Had you any reason to believe the story which the fishermen told you?-Yes. I believed them, because I knew of the men being taken away sometimes.' '10,034. Was that after they had made such statements to you, and although they were in your debt?-Yes.' '10,035. Were you able in these cases to make any arrangement with the new employer to pay up their debt?-In some cases we did that, but in other cases we did not; oftener we made no arrangement ....' '10,039. Have you, within the last twelve years, met with cases of that sort, in which the proprietor endeavoured to coerce you to pay his rent?-Yes. I have had cases where the tenants came asking me for money, and I told them I could not advance them any further. They would then go away, and come back and tell me that the proprietor's agent or ground-officer had informed them that they must get their rent, and that I must pay it; and that if I did not do that, they would not be allowed to fish for me.' '10,040. Did that system continue until 1868?-No; it prevailed principally under the ground-officership of Mr. Sinclair, who acted for Mrs. Mouat, in Unst.' [C. Nicholson, 11,912-11,933; T. Tulloch, 13,008; J. Smith, 13,047-13,055; W. Robertson, 13,689; John Laurenson, 9849; M. Henderson, 9925; J. Walker, 15,984; Andrew Tulloch, 488; L. Williamson, 9065; A. Sandison, 10,024.] Mr. David Edmonstone, once a fish-merchant and tacksman, now a farmer and factor on the Buness estate in Unst, states that the want of cash payments is the reason why this arrangement with the curer is desired by the proprietor. '10,640. Is it usual for the proprietor to enter into any arrangement with the fish-curer for the payment of his rents?-We do that on the Buness estate, and I should like to explain the reason of it. The tenants have all been told that they are at perfect liberty to fish to whom they like; but after they have engaged to fish to a certain curer, we wish them to bring a guarantee from their curer or curers for the rent of the year on which they have entered, and during which they are to fish. Our reason for that-in fact the only reason-is, that the men do not get money payments, and therefore a great number of them will be [Page 13 rpt.] induced to run a heavy account at the shop, and when we collect the rents at Martinmas we would have nothing to get. If the men were paid in money, daily or weekly or fortnightly, then we would make no such arrangement, but would collect the rents directly from the men.' '10,641. Then, in fact, that arrangement is made in order to limit the credit which the fish-merchant gives to his men?-Yes; and to secure that we are to get part of that money.' '10,642. But it has the effect of limiting their credit?-Yes.' SPENCE & CO.'S LEASE Since November 1868 Mr. Sandison's present firm of Spence & Co. have been responsible as tacksmen for the rents of the fishermen tenants of Major Cameron's estate in Unst. At that time they obtained a tack of the estate for twelve years, which was formerly described by Mr. Walker*, and is in some respects peculiar. Spence & Co., as lessees of the greater part of the estate, which includes nearly half of the island, pay a fixed sum of rent (£1100), and are bound to expend, or to get the sub-tenants to expend, a certain annual sum on improvements at the sight of the proprietor. Regulations for the cultivation of the small farms are annexed to the lease, and are to form conditions of the sub-leases to be granted by Spence & Co. The effect of these regulations and of the lease is thus explained by Mr. Sandison: [Comp. J. Walker, 15,977.] * Truck Commission Evidence, qu. 44,450 sq. Appx. '10,159. Any tenants not complying with these regulations may be removed by you?-Yes; they will get their leases unless they comply with them, and we can remove them at any time ....' '10,161. How many of the tenants have adopted these regulations?-I should say that, to a greater or less extent, they have all made a fair commencement in the improvements and rotation of cropping.' '10,162. But you have absolute power to remove them if they do not comply with that?-We have. The property is absolutely let to us, and we can absolutely turn them out if they do not comply with the regulations. The lease is clear enough upon that point.' '10,163. Have you had occasion to exercise that power?-Not in any case.' '10,164. Have you threatened to do so?-Not so far as is known to me.' '10,165. There is no obligation on the tenants, under this lease, either to fish for you or to sell the produce of their farms to your firm?-No; it is long since I read the lease, but I don't think there is anything of that sort in it.' '10,166. In point of fact, is there any understanding on the part of the tenants that they are bound to do so?- No.' '10,167. You have told them that they are under no such obligation?-Yes.' '10,168. But, in point of fact, most of them do sell their fish to you?-They do.' '10,169. And, in point of fact, most of them do sell their eggs and butter to you?-I think the great bulk of them do, but I cannot tell so well about the butter and eggs. We buy fully as much now at Uyea Sound we did in any season before the company commenced.' '10,170. And a number of the tenants also run accounts for shop goods with your shops?-Yes; I think most of them do so ....' '10,174. But although this lease does not contain an express condition that the tenants are to fish for you, it gives you a power of ejecting them?-Of course it does.' '10,175. And the tenants are aware of that?-Yes.' '10,176. And of course they may feel a little more unwilling to deal with another party or to fish for him in consequence? -That may be. I don't know what their private feelings may be, but the lease gives us a stronger power than that: it reserves the peats, and what could they do without peats? We have absolute power in that respect, if we choose to put it in force, but I hope never to see that done. We can refuse them peats altogether and scattald altogether, and we can shut them up altogether, but I hope I will never live to see that day.' '10,177. In short, you can do anything you please with the tenants, except deprive any one of his holding who complies with these rules and regulations?-Yes.' '10,178. The only security he has is to comply with them?-Yes.' '10,179. As to the peats and scattalds, he has no security at all?- None.' The rental annexed to the leases contains a list of 170 tenants, paying £834, 19s. 4d., exclusive of certain farms which do not fall under the lease until the expiry of current tacks. The surplus rent paid by Spence & Co. is understood to be for the scattalds. Mr. Spence, the senior partner of the firm of Spence & Co., speaks of this liability of the curer for rent as a serious obstacle to the introduction of a system of cash payments, which he and his partners desire; but it is obvious that if payments were made in cash, no such guarantees could reasonably be asked from the curers. [J. Spence, 10,580 f.n.] The evidence of Mr. Sandison above quoted, the belief which the men themselves entertain, and the statements of Mr. Walker, the factor on the estate, show that the tenants on this property can hardly decline to fish for Spence & Co., even if there were other large merchants in Unst who could furnish them with materials and supplies, and purchase their fish. If they are not bound to sell their fish to Spence & Co., they have no opportunity and no liberty to sell them to any one else. [J. Harper, 10,404; J. Walker, 15,999.] RESTRICTION OF FISHERMEN BY LETTING OF BEACHES A limitation of the freedom of the fishermen arises in some districts where they are nominally free, from the beaches and fishing stations being let to particular curers, so that other merchants are excluded from the market; and even it would seem the fishermen are disabled, by the want of a suitable beach for drying their fish, from curing for themselves. There is not much evidence on this matter, which was brought under my notice at a late period of the inquiry by a statement made with regard to the fishermen at Spiggie and Ireland, in Dunrossness. The Act 29 Geo. II. c. 23 gives fishermen ample [Page 14 rpt.] powers to erect all apparatus and booths necessary for curing their fish on waste land within a hundred yards of high-water mark; but perhaps it could not be held as Mr. J. Harrison seems to think, to prevent a proprietor from enclosing and letting any part of his land adjacent to the sea for the purposes of a curing establishment. [R. Henderson, 12,841; A. Irvine, 13,501; R. Mullay, 15,144; John Robertson, jun., 15,159; John Harrison, 16,470; T.M. Adie, 5762; Jas. Robertson, 8466; G. Gaunson, 8863; A. Sandison, ; J. Spence, ; John Harrison, 16,470.] ____________________________________ TRUCK SYSTEM-ADVANCES AND SETTLEMENTS. The existing Truck Act (as well as the Bill now before Parliament) prohibits the payment of wages in goods in the various trades to which it applies. Even, therefore, if fishermen formed one of the classes of workmen falling under the Act, they would not be protected by it, because they do not receive wages, but are paid a price for their fish. One result of this is, that Truck, as it exists in Shetland, is without disguise or concealment. No machinery has been contrived for evading the law; and almost all the masters, and even some of the fishermen, regard the system which prevails, as wholesome, natural, and indeed inevitable. I have already explained that the price of the fish is ascertained and settled only for once in the year. But fishermen, as Adam Smith remarks, have been poor since the days of Theocritus; and in Shetland the Truck system begins when, his farm produce failing to support the family, the fisherman farmer finds it necessary to obtain from the 'merchant' supplies or advances before the time of settlement, and, it may be, a boat, fishing materials, and provisions, to enable him to prosecute his calling. In Shetland the merchant needs to use no influence or compulsion to bring the fisherman to his shop. He has no black-list, and has to enforce no penalties for 'sloping.' As the laws against Truck do not apply to him, even remotely, he scarcely ever seeks to conceal the fact that the earnings of those whom he employs are paid to a large extent, in goods, and he is even prepared with arguments in vindication of the practice. The man whose farm cannot keep his family until settlement, comes, as a matter of course, to the fish-curer's store; and even the thriving and prosperous man, who has money in the bank, 'almost invariably' has an account at the shop. In the great majority cases there is a mutual understanding, that when a merchant buys your fish, you ought in fairness to get at least a part of your goods at his shop. [Andrew Tulloch, 509; L. Mail, 568; W. Williamson, 855; P.M. Sandison, 5146; Rev. D. Miller, 5998; J. Brown, 7986, 7997; T.M. Adie, 5633; 5735; A. Tulloch, 5472, 5501; John Anderson, 6546; G. Robertson, 9311; G. Gilbertson, 9557; J. Laurenson, 9837; M. Henderson, 9830-1; J. Harper, 10,387; C. Nicolson, 11,939; A. Abernethy, 12,268; L. Garriock, p. 303a etc., 12,347, 12,356, 12,360, 12,388 sq.; T. Hutchison, 12,686; L. Henderson, 12,744; J. Halcrow, 13,090; R. Simpson, 13,980; John Robertson, jun., 15169.] 'There is a tacit understanding' says the Rev D. Miller, 'at least that they must do that; but I believe that is induced by the circumstance, that for a large portion of the year their money is in the merchants' hands, and that again affords the kind of facility for running into debt which I have spoken of.' '5999. Do you think that makes them incur larger debts than they otherwise would do?-I think so.' '6000. Can you suggest any remedy for this state of things?-The remedy I would suggest is this: that the payments be as prompt as possible and that they be cash payments. I am quite ready to state how I think the cash payments would operate. At present the fisherman's money is all in the merchant's hands; but he is requiring goods in the meantime and he has money to procure them with, and therefore he goes to the merchant and procures his goods. The merchant is under no constraint,-he can put his own price on the articles which he sells; and of course, where there is a credit system like the present, there are a large number of defaulters. These defaulters do not pay their own debts; but the merchant must live notwithstanding, and therefore the honest men have to pay for the defaulters. The merchant could not carry on his business unless that were done. He must have his losses covered; and a system of that sort tells very heavily upon the public, because the merchant must charge a large margin of profit.' The existence of such an understanding is sometimes denied, as by Mr. Pole, a merchant; but he evidently means only that there is no expressed bargain or arrangement. He adds, at the same time (speaking of the women employed at so much per ton in collecting kelp, who, like every other class of people in Shetland, have similar accounts), that they take a considerable part of their wages in goods: '5925. Is there any expectation or understanding, when these women are engaged, that they shall open an account and take their wages, or the greater part of them, in goods at your shop?-No, there is no understanding; but we have every reason to believe that they will come to us, because they cannot manage otherwise.' '5926. Are the goods which they take generally provisions or soft goods?-Chiefly provisions, but some soft goods too.' '5927. In engaging these women, do you give any preference to those who deal at your shop?-No; but they mostly all deal there.' '5928. Has each of them a ledger account in her own name with you?-Yes.' A very observant and shrewd witness, speaking of the lobster and oyster trade, in which he is engaged, says: [Page 15 rpt.] '11,817. I understood you to say that when the men come with oysters and lobsters to the shop, and were paid, they generally took away some supplies from the shop?-They generally do, but they are not asked to do it.' '11,818. Do they appear to think it a fair and proper thing that they should do so?-I think they do.' '11,819. Is that a common sort of feeling, among the men?-Yes, it is it common feeling in the country.' '11,820. In short, they apologize if they don't spend the money in the shop where they get it?-Something like that. I should not say that they apologize, but sometimes they tell me what they want the money for, and they say they have to take it away. Of course they are not asked to leave it.' '11,821. But there seems to be it kind of understanding that they are to spend part of their earnings in the shop?-The people seem to have the opinion that they ought to do that.' '11,822. And I suppose the merchant has some feeling of the same kind also?-I never ask them to spend the money in the shop; but of course we are glad to get what money we can.' '11,823. I suppose they don't require to be asked to spend some of it?-No.' [W. Harcus, 11,817.] CASH ADVANCES There is a reluctance on the part of the men to ask for an advance of cash, arising partly from the feeling I have mentioned, and partly from the habitual and natural reluctance of the merchant to give it. When cash is given, it is for a special purpose, such as the payment of rent or taxes, or the purchase of some article which the merchant himself cannot supply. [P. Peterson, 6845; J. Laurenson, 9872; W.G. Mouat, 10,249; C. Nicholson, 11,977; l. Garriock, 12,589; J. Robertson, 8484; T. Robertson, 8597, J. Harrison, 16,509.] '4973. Does Mr. Grierson advance you money in the course of the year before settlement when you ask for it?-He does.' '4974. Can you not take that money and deal with it at any other store that suits you better than Mr. Grierson's?-We do that very often.' '4975. Then how is it that you say that you have not the means of dealing where you choose?-What I mean by that is, that we don't have the chance to do it so often as we would like to do it; and we don't like to be always running to him for money for the small things we require. It is only in particular cases, when we require it pound or so to help us, that we ask it from him.' [James Flawes, 4973-5.] '8522. You say you were not bound to do it: is it common for men to feel that they are bound to do that?-Of course. If I was employed by a curer or a merchant, and had been in the habit of dealing with another before I was employed by him, I would consider it something like a duty, in a moral point of view, to put my money into his shop; and I have done so, although I have never been obligated to do it.' [P. Blanch, 8522.] In some cases the evidence shows that cash advances during the season have been absolutely refused, or that at least it is thought useless to ask for them. Thus, says Malcolm Malcolmson: '3004. Did you consider yourselves bound to take goods from Mouat's store?-We could not do anything else.' '3005. Why?-Because we had no money to purchase them with from other stores. We received no money during the fishing season.' '3006. Did you ever ask for advances of money during the fishing season?-Yes; but they were refused.' '3007. Why?-Because he just would not give it. He gave no reason, except that he could not give it.' [M. Malcolmson.] [W. Manson, 3040; J. Nicholson, 8747.] The merchant, both in Faroe fishing and ling fishing, naturally prefers to make any necessary advances in goods rather than money: .. 'They make advances, perhaps before, but as soon the men engage to go to the fishing. It may be about this time, or it may be a month previous to this, when they make the engagement to go.' '8526. And they make an advance then either in cash or in out-takes?-I don't think they will likely give much cash. They may give 8s. or 10s. in cash; but unless they know the man is to be depended upon, I don't think they will give much more. They may give £1 to a man until he has made some earning by his fishing; but unless it is a case where they know it can be paid back again by the man otherwise, they will not give it. He may pay it out of his stock, for instance, or he may have some other means.' [Peter Blanch.] It was common in the past-though now cash is given more readily, at least in Lerwick and by the leading merchants-to refuse money before settlement, while the merchant was quite willing to advance to any reasonable amount in goods. This preference is sometimes shown very unmistakeably even in settling for the winter fish. This applies to Faroe still more than to ling fishing. [W. Williamson, 821, 833; C. Sinclair, 1177; A. Tulloch, 5495; J. Anderson, 6550; J. Goodlad, 1188; J, Manson, 2962.] The truth as to cash advances is very succinctly stated by a large employer, Mr. John Anderson of Hillswick, who says: 'I think they would not get cash (before settlement) unless they were clear, or unless we had good cause to know that they were really in necessity for something.' [J. Anderson, 6546; A. Sandison, 7076; J. Robertson, 8484; T. Hutchison, 12,637.] But although witnesses do not speak of many cases of actual refusal to advance money before settlement, it is well understood that the merchant, to whom the men look for more or less liberal support in bad seasons, prefers to make advances in goods. The Shetland peasant is quick to comprehend and act upon such a feeling; and hence the understanding is almost universal that cash is asked for only within [Page 16 rpt.] very moderate limits, even by unindebted men, and the particular purpose for which it is wanted is generally specified. There are, of course, differences in the readiness with which cash is advanced by the various merchants, as the returns made to me show. Thus there is unanimous testimony to the fact, that Mr. John Bruce, jun., whose 'bondage' and prices were most loudly complained of, never refuses money advances before settlement, when asked, to the full amount of the fish at a man's credit, and, in the case of a good man, to any reasonable amount he may ask for. In some places, advances are mostly made at the settlement of the previous year, to men who have got as much money as they require. [L. Smith, 4457, 4486; H. Gilbertson, 4533; G. Leslie, 4629; R. Halcrow, 4676; A. Leslie, 4885; G. Williamson, 4905; J. Bruce, Jun., 13,322; G. Irvine, 13, 162; J.L. Pole, 9391.] The effect of the long settlements in compelling men to deal at the merchant's shop is very clear to the men themselves, although they do not appear to regard it as a great hardship, except where the goods at a particular shop are of bad quality or high price. William Goudie says: '4298. Are you under any obligation to buy your goods from Mr. Bruce's shop?-Not strictly speaking.' '4299. What do you mean by "not strictly speaking?"-In one sense we are not bound, yet in another sense we are bound. There is no rule issued out that we must purchase our goods from there; but as we fish for Mr. Bruce, and have no ready money, we can hardly expect to run accounts with those who have no profit from us. That confines many of us to purchase our goods from his shop.' .....'We cannot expect to run a heavy account with a man who has no profit from us, when we are uncertain whether we will be able to clear that account or not. Therefore, as a rule, we do not run heavy accounts for such things as meal, for instance, when our crops are a failure, with any man except Mr. Bruce.' [Wm. Goudie, 4928, 4307.] [L. Smith, 4480, 4488.] And another witness says: '4669. But if the prices are so much higher at the Boddam shop than elsewhere, why do you go there when you say you are not obliged in any way to take goods from the Boddam shop? Why do you not go to Gavin Henderson's for them?-I am obliged to go to the Boddam shop and take my goods there if I have no money in my pocket to buy them elsewhere.' '4670. Does that often happen?-Perhaps not very often with me, but it happens as a general thing among many of the men. I believe there are as many men who have to go to Mr. Bruce's store and take their goods there, in consequence of the want of money to pay for them at other places, as there are who can go and open accounts with other merchants and pay them yearly' [R. Halcrow, 4669.] MEN MUST DEAL AT CURER'S SHOP The main reason why men must deal with the fish-curer is, that most of them have neither money nor credit elsewhere. The fish-curer is secured in the fisherman's services for the fishing season, and holds his earnings in his hands for a year. He cannot lose by him, unless he voluntarily allows his 'out-takes' to exceed his earnings. But other shopkeepers have no such security; indeed they know that the man is already engaged to fish for a rival shopkeeper, and that the latter will not only pay himself for his possibly large account, but will also retain the man's rent, leaving for other creditors at best but a small balance, and not always a balance, of his earnings. Add to this that in bad seasons many fishermen depend on the merchants for larger advances than one season's fishing can repay, and it becomes apparent that the attraction to the merchant's shop is not only the possibility of present credit, but gratitude for past favours, and the certain expectation of having to ask for similar favours in future. It is quite true, as Mr. Irvine says, that 'one great drawback on a Shetland business is fishermen's bad debts, and our chief study is to limit the supplies when we know the men to be improvident; but it is quite impossible to keep men clear when the fishing proves unsuccessful.' And there is evidence that in bad seasons, such as 1868-69, merchants are expected to advance, and do advance, large amounts in meal and other necessaries, and in cash for rent. Where such advances are made, the fishermen are of course bound, sometimes by a written obligation, to fish for their creditor next season. [M. Johnson, 7909, 7921, 7928; James Brown, 7977; C. Georgeson, 12,126; James Hay, 5401; W. Irvine, 3623, p. 83b 3793; A. Sandison, 10,016; J. Hay, 10,540; A.J. Grierson, 15,089; W. Irvine, 3796.] The habit of dealing on credit at the fish-curer's store is so inveterate, that even men who have means to buy their provisions, etc., frequently begin the account for the year at the very time of settlement. Mr. Grierson says: '15,096. But do you think a man would stand permanently in arrear at settlement with you if he had money in the bank?-No; but if I settle with him in January, I believe he would go and deposit a £10 note from that year's settlement, and begin a new account with me, and get a new boat, and let it stand to his credit until next year. But he would never think of having a permanent running balance with me if he had money of his own in bank.' '15,097. Is it a general thing among the men to go and deposit some of their money in bank and begin a new account with you?- Yes, I believe they do that for a single year. They would be great fools if they did not. They keep a pass-book, if they choose, with, the shop, and they would be no better off if they were to pay for their goods in money.' [A.J. Grierson, 15,096.] [Page 17 rpt.] 'Plenty of them,' says Mr. Peter Garriock, speaking of Faroe fishers, 'are able to live on their own resources, but still they come for their supplies;'and he gives an example, which is not a solitary one. Mr. John Harrison says: ... 'The system has obtained so long, of fishermen requiring advances, or rather taking advances, that they cannot see, or do not understand, why they should take their own money in order to buy the necessary supplies before they proceed to the fishing. I have no doubt that they have also this idea, that the fish-curer takes a sufficient profit upon the goods supplied, and they consider they have a right to keep their money and not to pay for them until the end of the season.' [P. Garriock, 15,223; W.B.M. Harrison, 15,724; John Harrison, 16,511] It is of course a result of this system, that a large shop business, in many districts, can be carried on only by one who has a fish-curing establishment. In Lerwick and in Walls, in one case in Dunrossness (Gavin Henderson), and perhaps in Unst, some shops have succeeded without the aid of fishing, but always under difficulties. Fish-curers have also attempted to confirm or extend this monopoly by artificial means, such as the prohibition of rival shops,-as in Burra, Whalsay, Unst, Northmaven, Fetlar , and Yell. [T. Williamson, 9463; G. Georgeson, 12,111; A. Sandison, 10,133.] It has thus come to pass that there is almost nowhere in Shetland, out of Lerwick, a shop of any size not belonging to a fish-curer. I attempted to ascertain the views of various small shopkeepers, struggling to make a trade, with regard to their larger neighbours. Sometimes these men did not understand the disadvantage under which they are placed; or they may have had views of eventually rising by the same means which have led their competitors on to fortune; or, as there was sometimes reason to suspect, they may have been put into business by a larger merchant to sell his goods on commission, or have been otherwise indebted to him or dependent upon him. Whatever may be the cause, shopkeepers of this class are not so sensitive, or not so communicative, on this point as might be expected. One or two, however, were found independent enough, or intelligent enough, to tell how their business is hampered and confined by the local custom, which thirls the men to the shops of the fish-merchants. Mr. Georgeson, a respectable shopkeeper in the parish of Walls not engaged in fish-curing, says that men who sell their fish green are necessarily less frequent customers of his than those who cure their own fish. He thinks that the skipper generally influences his men to take their supplies from the shop of the merchant, or at least that the men are apt to be guided to do so by his example; while his neighbour, Mr. Twatt, thinks 'there is a little bribe which the skippers get for seeing that the men go to the shop.' I give this, however, merely as an opinion by a shrewd but not disinterested local observer. The force of custom, the want of ready money, and the other influences already mentioned, are quite sufficient to account for the great amount of this kind of Truck which exists in Shetland, without having recourse to the supposition that skippers or others are bribed to induce men to buy goods at the employer's shop. [G. Georgeson, 12,122; J. Twatt, 12,200; R. Henderson, 12,860.] ARGUMENTS FOR PRESENT SYSTEM I have said that some of the employers are prepared with arguments to vindicate the system of annual settlements. The favourite argument is, that it affords the men, or at least a certain class of them, protection against their own improvidence. For instance, Mr. P.M. Sandison says: '5235. Does not that system of long settlements induce people to be a little careless about their money, and improvident?-There are a certain class who, if they had money, would spend it. That class are pretty well looked after by the fish-curer; they are only allowed advances in such small proportions as enable them to get through the year, and to be as little in arrear as possible at the end. If these same parties had the money in their hands, I am certain it would not last them so long as it does in the fish-curer's hands.' '5236. That is to say, he will only allow them certain amount of supplies from the shop?-Yes, so much a week or a fortnight.' '5237. Or cash if they want it, but to a limited extent?-Yes; I should think that cash would be given to a free man.' '5238. But not to a bound fisherman?-Not unless it was for a necessary purpose-to purchase something, for instance, which the merchant cannot supply.' [P. Smith, 986; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,372; W. Irvine, 3641, 3826; J. Anderson, 6707; Rev. J. Sutherland, 7518; A. Harrison, 7664; T. Gifford, 8102-8124; D. More, 9634; A. Sandison, p.248 f.n. to 10,205, 10,483; J. Spence, 10.559.] The members of the firm which holds the lands and fishings in Unst urged strongly that only a large concern like theirs would have the interests of the men in view as well as their own, and, by possessing a monopoly and restricting the men's credit, keep them free from debt. With this view they have made war against small shops in that island. The returns show that they have not yet succeeded in keeping the men free from debt. [A. Sandison, 10,494; J. Spence, 10,559.] The sort of partnership that exists between merchant and fisherman, the latter being paid in proportion to the results of the whole year's transactions, is the chief excuse for delaying settlements. The views of the merchants on this point may be seen from the following passage in the examination of Mr. Robertson, manager for Mr. Leask, one of the chief merchants in Shetland. Mr. Robertson came forward with other [Page 18 rpt.] merchants for the purpose of denying the Report of Mr. Hamilton to the Board of Trade, and the other statements made in the previous inquiry:- ... 'Then I deny that the truck system in an open or disguised form prevails in Shetland to an extent which is unknown in any other part of the United Kingdom. I have no proof to offer in contradiction of that statement; I simply deny it, and I don't believe it.' '13,698. What is the population of Shetland?-About 30,000.' '13,699. Of these, how many do you suppose consist of fishermen and their families?-I should say that perhaps about three-fourths of them are fishermen and seamen, and their families.' '13,700. I suppose the seamen are mostly the younger members of the families?-Yes.' '13,701. Is it not the case that almost every fisherman has an account with the merchant to whom he sells his fish?-Yes; but I don't consider that to be truck at all.' '13,702. That account is settled at the end of the year, part of the value of the man's fish being taken out in supplies of goods, and the balance being paid in cash, if any balance is due?-Yes. He simply has an account, in the same way that all the retail merchants in Shetland and everywhere else have to deal with wholesale merchants, and have to pay them.' '13,703. Do you suppose Mr. Hamilton meant anything else than that by saying that the truck system prevailed in Shetland?-I am not bound to know what he meant, but I deny his statement.' '13,704. I presume he merely intended to state that a great part of the earnings of every fisherman, as well as of some other people in Shetland, were really settled by taking out goods from the employers. Do you suppose he meant anything else than that?-I am afraid he did. I am afraid he meant to convey the idea that the men got nothing but goods when they should have got money.' '13,705. Is it not the case that many of them do get nothing but goods?-That is their own fault.' '13,706. Still it may be the fact, although it is their own fault?-It may be the fact, because the men earn very little, and they require supplies of provisions and clothing; and no person would give them such supplies unless the person who employs them. But I don't think that is truck, in the common meaning of the word.' '13,707. Then the difference between you is rather a dispute about the meaning of the word "truck" than as to the actual state of matters in Shetland?-I would not even admit that. I don't think there is any room for complaint about the state of matters in Shetland, as a rule.' '13,708. I suppose you mean that the fishermen have a certain advantage by getting advances of goods? -Of course they have.' '13,709. But you do not mean to deny the fact that they do get such advances when they require them?- Of course I don't deny that; but the shipowner or curer runs a great risk in advancing goods on the security of fish which have to be caught. It is a very good thing in a good season, but in a bad season he may come rather short.' '13,710. On the other hand, he does not pay for the fish that are caught until six or seven months afterwards?-He does not realize them until then. None of the fishcurers get one penny for their fish until about the end of December, except perhaps for a very small parcel which they may send to a retail dealer in the south.' '13,711. That may be quite true; but is any employer of labour in a better position?-Yes.' '13,712. A farmer, for instance, pays his labourers weekly or fortnightly, as the case may be, and he very often does not realize his crops until many months afterwards?-That is true; but he is selling his butter and milk and cattle.' '13,713. Still it does not follow that he is paid for them at the time?-Cattle, I think, are generally paid for in cash.' '13,714. But there are other producers, such as manufacturers, who are only paid by long-dated bills, generally at three months?-Yes; but here the merchant does not get his return until the end of twelve months. The fish-merchant or curer begins to advance in the beginning of January, and he continues to advance until the end of December, without getting any money back; so that he lies out of his money for twelve months. He neither gets money from the party to whom he advances the goods, nor from the party to whom he sells his fish.' '13,715. Do you think that is the main justification for the long settlements which are made with the men?-Of course it is.' The real or imaginary necessity under which the men are placed, of dealing at the merchant's shop, is demonstrated by their taking meal and other bulky articles a distance of many miles to their own houses, although there are shops nearer home where they could be purchased of as good quality, and it would seem sometimes better and cheaper. Thus James Hay says: '5343. Do you deal at his shop for all your provisions and your purchases of cotton and other things?-I do for the principal part of what I need, but not altogether.' '5344. How far do you live from Mr. Adie's nearest shop?-About 71/2 miles; his shop is at Voe.' '5345. Do you always go there for what you want?-Yes; generally I do that, unless sometimes when I am needing some small things, I may go to another: but I am not bound to go to his shop unless I choose to go.' '5346. Then why do you go so far?-Because I generally fish to Mr. Adie, and I have the greatest part of my dealings with him. I have not been accustomed to shift very much, unless it might be an inconvenience to me, and sometimes I have gone to another shop.'. . . '5399. Are you under any obligation to go to Mr. Adie's shop for the goods you want in the course of the year?-None that I am aware of.' '5400. You have never been told it of course; but is it a great deal more convenient for you to go there than to deal at another shop?-No; it is not more convenient. I could go to a shop somewhat nearer; but still I don't think I would be any better; and as it has always been my custom to go there, I just continue to go.' '5401. Is it only because it is your custom to go, or is it because you are in the way of delivering your fish to Mr. Adie, that you go to his store?-Mr. Adie has been very obliging to me many a time, by helping me when I could not help myself, and therefore I always felt a warm heart towards him, and went to his store.' '5402. But is it the way with the fishermen here, that they go to the shop of the man that they sell their fish to?-I am not able to speak to that except for myself.' '5403. Do you not know what your neighbours do? -It depends on the circumstances that my neighbours are in. If they are indebted to the man they are fishing to, of course they will go to that man, and perhaps have very little to go to him with.' '5404. Are those neighbours of yours who are so indebted also likely to engage to fish for the same the merchant during the following season?-Yes. When a man is short of money, and has not enough with [Page 19 rpt.] which to pay his land rent, he may go to the man he is fishing to, and he will help him with what he requires; but the understanding in that case is, that he will serve him at the fishing for the rising year. That is generally the way it is done.' '5405. Do you mean that when a man gets advances at a merchant's shop, it is understood that he must fish to him in the coming year?-Yes; that is generally understood.' [James Hay, 5352 etc.; W. Green, 5860 (Voe to Sullom); W. Blance, 6057, 6118 (Voe to Ollaberry); G. Scollay, 8417; J. Robertson, 8454 (Muckle Roe to Hillswick); J. Johnston, 9552 (Voe to Burravoe); T. Robertson, 8590.] So John Twatt, a merchant, says: '12,210. Is it not the fact that men who live near you do go to Reawick for supplies, although it is much farther away?-Yes.' '12,211. And although it is inconvenient?-Yes, it is inconvenient. They could do much better by coming to my shop, which is next door to them, and they could get as good articles at the same price as they can at Reawick.' '12,212. How far is it from your place to Reawick?-I think it is about 10 or 12 miles.' '12,213. When the men go there for meal or other supplies, are these supplies brought across the country?-Sometimes they are brought by boats, and sometimes round by the rocks.' BOATS AND FISHING MATERIALS. Advances by the fish-curer to fishermen, in the form of boats and fishing materials, form a very material portion of the debits in the men's accounts. For the most part the boats used in the ling fishing belong to the men. It is generally understood that when a crew gets a new boat, it is to be paid up in three years. Sometimes a good fishing enables them to pay it the first year; more frequently the payment extends beyond the three years-generally for five fishing seasons. The price of the boat is charged against the crew, which has a company account in the merchant's books, and they are labourers jointly and severally liable for the whole. When a boat is furnished, it is always understood that the men are to continue to fish for the merchant who furnishes it until the whole price is paid; and this of course constitutes a bond over the men for three or more years, as the case may be. Sometimes hire is charged for the boat, or for the boat and lines. A new boat, ready for sea, costs £20; if supplied with new lines, the whole cost will be from £35 to £40. The men agree to pay £6 as hire for boat and lines, or £2 to £3 for the boat, for the period of the summer fishing. In Yell and other places, the merchant, for this hire, undertakes the risk of the whole. On the west coast of Shetland, the rate charged as hire and the amount of the annual instalment of the price of the boat and lines appear to be the same; and the lines, if lost, are understood, it is said, to be at the risk of the men in both cases, which is an inversion of the ordinary rule of law in location. It is generally said that little or no profit is derived by merchants from boat hires or the sale of boats. In some places, however, those who are anxious to get into business make deductions from the boat hire; in order to get men to agree to fish to depending entirely for their profit on the fish and goods sold. Hence it may be inferred, either that the hires charged are sufficient to remunerate the merchant for his outlay and risk, or that the profits made from the fish and goods sold are so large as to allow of this bonus being given. [W. Irvine, 3838; T.M. Adie, 5607; T. Tulloch, 12,960; G. Irvine, 13,272; O. Jamieson, 13,396; P.M. Sandison, 5206; T.M. Adie, 5610; W. Pole, 5881, 5890, 5953; D. Greig, 7125, 7153, 7209; L. Williamson, 9092; John Laurenson, 9856; T. Tulloch, 12,958; A. Johnson, 14,933; T.M. Adie, 5638, 5642; P. Peterson, 6808; A. Sandison, 10,133; C. Nicholson, 11,950; L. Williamson, 9092; T. Williamson, 9514.] With regard to lines and hooks, and such things as the men require for the fishing, they are bound or expected at most places to buy them from the merchant for whom they fish. [J. Robertson, 8454; P. Blanch, 8717.] Turning from the debit to the credit side of the account between the curer and the fisherman, the most important branch of the latter is the price of the fish. This is fixed in Shetland only when the annual sales of cured fish have been effected, in September or October. The understanding is that the men shall get the current price. This is not ascertained in any formal way; but as there is little difference between the prices obtained by the various curers, each calculates for himself how much he can afford to give to the crews for the green fish, and pays accordingly. There is always, of course, some knowledge, more or less vague and general, of the prices obtained and given by other curers, and there may be a consultation of some kind between the leading merchants. In some cases, curers, especially those who are in a small way, wait until the leading merchants have settled with their men, and thus avoid questions with their men. In all cases the men hear how much their neighbours have got for their green fish; and it may be supposed that there is sufficient competition for men to ensure that the highest possible sum will be given. The fishermen themselves, however, do not seem to be satisfied of this, and there is an impression among some of them that 'the current price' of green fish is fixed by arrangement among the merchants at a lower rate than they might afford. This belief has originated, or has been encouraged, by the fact that the dealers of Cunningsburgh, in Sandwick parish, have for some years paid considerably more than 'the current price.' In 1871, the usual payment to fishermen was 8s. per cwt. of wet fish, which was thus ascertained: 21/4 cwt. of wet fish are calculated to produce [Page 20 rpt.] cwt dry. The current price of dry fish was 23s. per cwt.; cost of curing is usually estimated at 2s. 6d. per cwt. dry (or by Mr. Irvine at 3s.). Thus:- Price of 21/2- cwt. wet ling, at 8s., 18s. 0d. Cost of curing, at 2s. 6d., 2s. 6d. Merchants' profit and commission, 2s. 6d., 2s. 6d. Total, 23s. or about 11 per cent.* Merchants say that the cost of curing is actually greater than 2s. 6d. per cwt., and that their profit has to cover not only the risk of bad debts and insurance, but likewise a loss upon boat hires and sales, which never remunerate. Fishermen, on the other hand, assert that curing never costs so much as 2s. 6d. per cwt.; and they appeal, in support of this, not only to their experience in curing their own fish, but to the higher rates paid by Messrs. Smith & Tulloch in Sandwick parish The reply, as regards these merchants, is that they sell to retail merchants direct, and thus save profit of the middlemen or wholesale purchasers; but there is evidently a feeling of irritation among other fishcurers, because they have broken in upon the practice of paying a uniform price throughout the islands. A similar question with regard to the cost of curing has been raised in the Faroe fishing. [L.F.U. Garriock, 12,581; W. Irvine, 3742; J.L. Pole, 9423; J. Bruce, jun., 13,332; J. Flawes, 4919; A.J. Grierson, 15,105; L. Williamson, 9085; A. Sandison, 10,154; L. Williamson, 9097; T. Williamson, 9515, 9536; L. Mail, 662; R. Halcrow, 4694; G. Blance; 5561; A. Sandison, 7062; J. Nicholson, 8721; J. Flawes, 4990; J.S. Houston, 9673; W. Irvine, 3623; W. Pole, 5882 sqq.; J.S. Houston, 9698; A. Sandison, 10,125; W. Robertson, 13, 646; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,565.] Some men complain because they do not know what they are to get for their fish and that they 'work away as if they were blind;' but it is said on in a few cases where a price has been fixed at the beginning of the season and the price that has risen, the men have grumbled, and the curer has been obliged to pay the higher current price in order to retain the future services of the men. There is not, however, sufficient evidence to justify the conclusion that Shetland fishermen would, as a body, resent a merchant's adherence to a bargain which on other occasions must turn out to be a favourable one for themselves and a losing one for him. If there is any advantage in the present system, it is, as the Rev. Mr. Fraser points out, on the side of the fisherman, who is less able than the merchant to foresee the probable course of the market, and who, if the suggested change were adopted, would have to take, in the run of cases, such a price as the merchant might judge safe for himself. [James Hay, 5375; A.J. Grierson, 15,081; P. Garriock, 15,228; J. S. Houston, 9862; A. Sandison, 10,009; Rev. J. Fraser, 8071, but see P. Blanch, 8546.] *CURERS' PROFITS. Mr. Irvine (3623) says the prices of last year leave only 40s. per ton to the curer, out of which he has to pay store rent, weighing, skippers' fees, gratuities to fishermen, and to meet loss by small and damaged fish, and of interest and risk. The total quantity of cod, ling, and hake landed from open boats and cured in Shetland in the year ending 31st December 1871, according to the returns made to the Fisheries Board, was 46,391 cwt. If we suppose that the expenses which are to be paid out of the fishcurers' 2s. per cwt. amount to 6d. per cwt., there remains a sum of £3479, 6s. 8d., as the total profit earned by thirty-seven fish-curers and fish-curing firms. If we suppose that these expenses absorb 1s. of this surplus, then the total profit amounts only to £2319, 11s. It may be observed, however that other sources of profit are open to these fish-curers. All of them have shops, in which the aggregate credit sales to fishermen amounted in the year 1871 (from settlement to settlement) to probably £14,000. A considerable amount of cash transactions, and sales of goods for butter and eggs, also take place at their counters; and many of them deal in cattle and kelp, and are engaged in the Faroe fishing. With all these sources of income, however, it is difficult to believe that no larger direct profit per cent. is earned from so complicated and hazardous a business as the ling fishing. STOCK SOLD TO MERCHANTS Next to fish, cattle sold form the largest and most common credit in the account of the fisherman farmer, although this is not, like fish, an indispensable item in the account. Cattle, ponies, sheep, and pigs, are an important part of the Shetlander's means, and they, like the rest of his saleable produce, are generally purchased by the merchant, who buys all that leaves the country, from a whale to an egg, and sells everything that the country people want, from a boll of meal or a suit of clothes to a darning-needle. The stock goes into the account, and is settled for at the yearly settlement. There is a custom throughout the country of holding public sales twice, sometimes four times in the year 'for the benefit of the tenant' as a witness puts it' but also for the benefit of the landlords and merchants. The sales are managed by the proprietor of the estate for which they are held, or by his tacksman or factor, and the prices of all the animals sold are paid, under the conditions of sale, into his hands. He has thus, just as in purchasing the fish of his tenants, an opportunity of retaining what is due to him for rent, and of making effectual his hypothec, or rather of avoiding the necessity of enforcing it at all. No cases have been alleged or proved in which advantage has been taken by proprietors or merchants of the power given them by their position, or by the indebtedness of tenants, for the purpose of getting cattle at low prices; and, indeed, the publicity of these sales to be a sufficient safeguard against such abuses. There is a practice, formerly much more widely prevalent than it is now, of marking the horns of animals with the initials of a creditor, which is supposed to hypothecate the debtor's cattle effectually as against all but the landlord's claim for rent. The practical effects appear to have been formerly injurious; , a well-informed and reliable witness says that, twenty years ago, when a merchant bought a beast from one of his debtors, he could really fix the price himself. [Page 21 rpt.] But the practice seems now to be so rare, probably because its legal inefficacy is better understood, that it need not be more particularly referred to. [J. Laurenson, 9873; T. Gifford, 8133; A. Sandison, 10,079.] There is evidence as to the sales of cattle on the Sumburgh, Busta, Gossaburgh, and Ollaberry estates, and in the islands of Unst and Yell. A man who is in debt to the landlord or merchant-tacksman is expected to offer his cow or pony which is for sale to him first. If the owner is dissatisfied with the price offered, he has an opportunity of exposing it at the next half-yearly or quarterly sale, where all the money passes through the hands of the merchant or landlord, and is settled for at the end of the year, the owner getting supplies from the shop if he requires them in the meantime. Intimation is given to all the tenants of the sale; and a man who is very deeply in debt is 'so far forced to bring his cattle and sell them.' [W. Irvine, 3772; R. Halcrow, 4673; P.M. Sandison, 5271; D. Greig, 7228; Rev. J. Sutherland, 7600; T. Gifford, 8130; J.S. Houston, 9686; J. Laurenson, 9873; G. Irvine, 13,241; J. Bruce, jun., 13,329; R. Halcrow, 4684.] An instance of a sale of wool to a merchant-tacksman by an indebted tenant, at a lower price than might have been obtained (according to the tenant's own statement), is given by Robert Simpson: '14,014. Was 111/2d. the current price for wool last autumn?-I cannot say. That was what we got for it from Mr. Sutherland.' '14,015. Did anybody else offer to buy it from you?-We did not offer it to anybody else, because we thought he had a better right to it, as he was paying the rent. There were several people asking me for it, but I would not sell it to them.' '14,016. How much did they offer you for the wool?-We never came to any particular agreement about the price, because I would not consent to sell it to them at all.' '14,017. Did they not say anything about what they would give you?-They spoke of 1s.; but I thought it better to sell it for 111/2d. wholesale than to sell it to them for 1s., even although I had had power to do it. Besides, I thought Mr. Robertson had the best right to it.' '14,018. Had Mr. Robertson told you that he expected to get your wool?-I cannot say that he had.' '14,019. Had Mr. Sutherland told you that?-If I could have paid my debt he would not have asked it.' '14,020. But did Mr. Sutherland tell you that he expected to get your wool?-Sometimes he would ask me if I would give him the wool, and that I would be better to give it to him than to sell it to another.' '14,021. Even at a halfpenny less?-Yes.' This is probably a true enough picture of the transactions in regard to cattle, which in bad times are still commonly resorted to for the purpose of reducing large debts; but of which, in the late prosperous years, little has been heard. ________________________________ THE EXTENT OF INDEBTEDNESS. ADVANCES ARE MADE UPON AN ENGAGEMENT TO FISH. The evidence taken in Shetland does not confirm the statement made before this Commission in 1871, that 'the success of a merchant in Shetland consists in being able to accumulate such an amount of bad debts about him as will thirl the whole families in his neighbourhood, and then he succeeds,' etc. So far as this exaggerated statement has any truth, it may be said to mean that a merchant often avails himself of the power given him by his past advances, and by the hope of more, to secure both the fish and the shop custom of the fishermen in his neighbourhood; while fishermen so often need accommodation from the merchants, that even those who for the time are clear do not think it prudent to break off their connection with the merchant of the place from whom they have hitherto got supplies, and by whom they expect to be assisted in future bad years. But it does not mean, and probably was not intended to mean, that merchants ever deliberately sink a part of their capital in binding fishermen to them by the uqestionable bond of hopeless debt. The truth, so far as the highest class of merchants is concerned, seems to be fairly stated by Mr. Irvine, who says, with regard to the system of paying for fish by reference to the current price, that - 'Fishermen are quite safe with this arrangement. They know the competition between curers all over the islands is so keen, that they are secure to get the highest possible price that the markets can afford. Any curer that can offer a little advantage to the fishermen over the others is certain to get more boats the following year; and this is carried so far, that men with limited capital, in their endeavours to obtain a large share of the trade by giving credit and gratuities, in one way and another leave nothing to themselves, and in the end come to grief.' [John Walker, qu. 44,319; W. Irvine, 3623, 3856 sqq.; See L. Williamson, 9092; T. Williamson, 9513.] Undoubtedly, all the merchants are in the habit of making advances to fishermen, chiefly in the form of goods, long before the fishing season begins. In such cases there is, as a matter of course, an obligation, sometimes in writing, to fish for the ensuing year; and for the purpose of more easily getting such advances, boats' crews are often formed as early as November and December. Advances of boats and lines are invariably made upon an engagement by the men who get them to deliver their fish. [Page 22 rpt.] But many of the merchants examined as witnesses agree in stating that indebtedness does not give them a hold over their men; a statement which must, however, be limited to the case of men who are hopelessly and irredeemably sunk in debt, who see no means of escape from it, or rather no means of obtaining supplies beyond the barest subsistence, but by removing to another employment. A merchant is not always desirous to retain the services of such men, because his chance of getting the old debts repaid is small, while he cannot continue to employ them without making further advances to enable them to go on with the fishing. The statements made by merchants, that indebtedness is the great drawback to their business, that indebted men are worst to deal with, and that debt gives them no control over the men, must, I think, be referred to such extreme cases only, and are not applicable to the relations between merchants and men who, not of being already hopelessly involved, require some advances in money for rent, in the form of boat and lines, or in goods for family use, after settlement and before the fishing season begins. In all such cases the debt is incurred on the express or understood condition that the man shall deliver his fish next season, and where the advance consists of boat and lines, until it is altogether paid off. To this extent it cannot be said that the debt gives the merchant no hold over the men. EFFECT OF DEBT IN BINDING THE MEN TO A MERCHANT ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN MERCHANTS ON WEST COAST NOT TO INTERFERE WITH EACH OTHER'S MEN In districts where indebtedness is general, the bond formed by debt is stronger. Merchants are there obliged to save themselves by enforcing their claims against indebted men, whom others, in more fortunate districts, would gladly get rid of. The merchants have allowed their debts to become too numerous and too large, either from a wrong system in the management of their business or from a desire to 'thirl' the west side men to them. On the coast of Northmaven and of Delting, a complete monopoly of the fish trade is possessed, not by landholders or their tacksmen or factors, but by three merchants (Messrs. Adie at Olnafirth Voe, Inkster at Brae, and Anderson at Hillswick and Ollaberry), who lease curing premises and a small portion of agricultural or pasture land from the Busta trustees. Except at North Roe, where Messrs. Hay have a station, there is no other merchant, along a coast-line extending for many miles, to whom the tenant can sell his fish; and the indebted man has not the liberty, which he seems to be able to exercise in some other districts, of entering into an engagement with another merchant, with whom he begins afresh, with clear books, and the hope of keeping clear. I do not say that it is morally wrong for the merchant to endeavour to secure payment of a debt by requiring the debtor to agree to deliver to him the produce of his fishing. But it cannot be a wholesome system which has led the merchants into giving credits, which they can only recover or secure by such means, and which induces them to enter into a formal written engagement among themselves-'not to tamper with or engage each other's fishermen, or allow our boat-skippers or men to do so, or to make advances of rent to them on their cattle, sheep, or ponies, or under any circumstances whatever, unless they produce a certificate from any of us whom they last fished for to the effect that he is clear of debt.' The formal stipulation thus undertaken is only what has been very frequently, not universally, acted upon throughout the western and northern parts of Shetland; for men changing their employment often find at settlement the debts due to their late master standing against them in the books of the new master. Sometimes in coming to a new employer the men's debts are, with their consent, transferred to his books, or they get cash to discharge them. [Wm. Adie, 8641; J. Anderson, 7775; M. Laurenson, 7354; A. Harrison, 7746; T. Gifford, 8126; J. Wood, 8371; M. Henderson, 9940; A. Sandison, 10,497; T. Tulloch, 13,001; C. Ollason, 16,019; John Robertson, sen., 14,126; L. Williamson, 9074.] The fishermen, on the other hand, for the most part admit that, so long as they are indebted to a merchant, they must continue to fish for him. Notwithstanding the statements of the merchants before referred to (see above), the truth appears to be that most of them do so continue from honesty as much as from fear of onsequences. But, so far as the practical effects of the system are concerned, it is perhaps of small importance whether supplies are given in the belief that a man's honesty and his fear of legal execution will make him continue to work them off by his labour, or in the belief that his fear of legal consequences alone will have such an effect. [G. Blance, 5554; C. Young, 5829; P. Blanch, 8575; C. Nicholson, 8694.] Some merchants do not hesitate to admit that being indebted compels, or at least induces, men to fish to the creditor; and, indeed, it is so obviously and naturally an inducement to do so, that it is impossible to avoid regarding indebtedness to the merchant and the engagement to fish for him as more than a merely accidental sequence of events. Experience, however, has been teaching the more extensive merchants, and teaching them perhaps more readily because they have less difficulty than others in getting fishermen, that free or unindebted men are the most successful fishermen; and that to act on the old Shetland maxim, 'If you once get a man into debt, you have a hold over him,' is to fill their boats with inferior or at least half-hearted men, and their books with bad debts. Thus the returns show that at two important stations of a leading firm 244 men were employed in 1867, and 260 in 1871; and that of these, 72, or less than a third, owed sums averaging only £2, 7s. 9d. at the settlement of 1867; while in 1871 only 9 owed sums averaging £l. In this and other cases, where debt is less, the supplies of goods also bear a less proportion to the money payments. [L.F.U. Garriock, 12,549; T. Tulloch, 12,998; J. Harrison, 16451; Rev. D. Miller, 5596; D. Greig, 7165.] The extent of indebtedness thus differs in the different districts. It is difficult to say whether this difference is caused by accidental circumstances, or by the degrees of firmness with which the various merchants act on the principle of restricting advances and supplies when a man is getting behind. In bad years still more after a succession of lean fishings and harvests restriction is of course universal, and all the inhabitants of an island or a parish may be getting weekly doles of meal at the merchant's shop. At Grutness store, a day is fixed for the families who are 'on allowance' to come for their meal. The proportion of men in a state of indebtedness, and the amount of their debts, will be best seen from the tables afterwards given. There are, however, many general statements on this subject which I shall briefly refer to. In considering these and the tables, it must be kept in view that, in spite of some bad fishings and harvests in late years, the people are generally in a more thriving condition than they were ten or fifteen years ago. They have shared in the general prosperity of the empire. The Rev. Mr. Miller, who says that the majority of the fishermen at Mossbank are further in debt than they can hope to pay in one year, believes that they were once worse, and that eight or ten years ago hardly a fisherman was not in debt. The Rev. J. Fraser of Sullom believes that a great number of the men are very seldom clear, and that permanent indebtedness prevails to a much larger extent than is good for the community. It must be admitted that the sums due by the men are much smaller in Shetland than the sums which, it is said, are often due by fishermen in Wick, where the boats and nets advanced to the men are comparatively expensive. In a few cases, debts of £40 have been contracted; but that seems to be a rare and indeed is considered a hopeless amount. The returns show that the average debt of chronic debtors, so far as it can be ascertained, is very much less. Mr. Anderson states it to be £12. 4s. in 1871 at Hillswick, having been £14, 2s. in 1868. The witnesses are numerous-so numerous that it is not necessary to note their names-who say that they have been in debt at settlement for many years, or that the balance is generally against them. [T. Hutchison, 12,640; L. Robertson, 13,966; G. Irvine, 13,178; Rev. D. Miller, 5989; Rev. J. Fraser, 8019; A. Harrison, 7446; J. Anderson, 7770, 7835; A. Humphray, 12,822; J. Anderson, 7834.] It is almost superfluous to point out the connection between the system of accounts at the shops and the general indebtedness of the peasantry; but it may be interesting to refer to the evidence of Magnus Johnston, now a small shopkeeper, and formerly skipper of a Faroe smack. He says: '... I think it would be better for the people to have no accounts at all.' '7932. Do you mean that it would be better for their own sakes?- Yes. '7933. What would be the advantage to them?-For my own part, if I had no money, but if I had credit, I might go to a shop and take out more goods than perhaps I ought to do, without regard to whether I would be able to pay them or not; whereas if a man did not have that liberty, but went into a shop with only a few pence in his pocket, he might make it spin out better, or more to his own advantage. '7934. Do you think he might get his meal cheaper by going to another shop and paying for it in cash?-He might, or he might take better care of his money, and manage to spin it out more.' '7935. I suppose a merchant like yourself, if you were giving long credit in that way, would require little more profit on your goods?-Of course.' '7936. But you can afford to sell cheaper because you are paid in cash?-Yes; and I think it would be better for the public in general if all payments were made in cash.' [M. Johnson, 7931.] Again, Mr. James Hay, formerly a merchant in Unst, but never concerned in fishcuring, says: '... My own conviction is, that if a ready-money system was once in operation, and had a fair start, it would work better than the present system.' '10,528. But how are you prepared to give it a start?-I think that if the men were paid their money monthly or fortnightly, that would make them feel their independence better. Perhaps they would husband their means better; and if there were those among them who were careless about it, they would be taught a lesson when the year was done, which would serve as a warning for them in time to come. There might, however, be a difficulty in beginning such a system. I can remember, and others present will remember it too, two or three years of bad fishing, followed by a year of blight, when the man who wrought most anxiously and was honest-hearted could not meet the demands upon him. At such times, if there was no qualification or mitigation of the ready-money system, perhaps the men might get into difficulty.' '10,529. But do you not think that with that system of fortnightly payments a respectable fisherman and tenant would get credit just as easily as he gets it now?-I believe he would.' '10,530. From a greater number of persons, and on advantageous terms?-I think he would.' '10,531. Do you think there would be more places open to respectable fishermen, at which they could get credit if it was absolutely required in a bad season?-Yes.' '10,532. I suppose in a bad season now no merchant would give credit to the fishermen unless he was secure of their services for next season?-I should suppose so.' '10,533. Therefore the fishermen, as a rule, are shut up to the one shop?-Yes, it comes to that.' '10,534. Where fishermen were paid monthly or fortnightly, and you knew a man to be a respectable man, would you, as a merchant, have any hesitation in a bad season in giving him credit for the support of his family?-I would have no hesitation in doing that at all, and I have done it. ....' '10,537. But do you think you would be more likely to obtain repayment if there was an open system, and the whole country was not monopolized by one or two great firms?-I think so; because if the men were paid their money I think they would feel more independent, and they would, so to say, eke out that money in the most economical way, and thus be better off.' '10,538. Probably, also, they would not be encouraged to run so very much in debt with any merchant as they are at present?-I think they would not. If the system were altered, and cash payments introduced, I think the men would feel that they could not ask credit to such a large extent as they do now, except in cases of urgent necessity.' [J. Hay, 10,527; See also J. Anderson, 6537, Dr. R. Cowie, 14,731.] SETTLEMENTS AND PASS-BOOKS The accounts between merchants and fishermen are settled in a sufficiently loose manner. In many cases no pass-book is kept. Sometimes it has been refused by the shopkeeper on account of the trouble; sometimes it is the fisherman who could not be 'fashed' with it; sometimes it has been used for a time and given up because of the customer's irregularity in bringing it. There is undoubtedly much carelessness among the men with regard to their accounts. They get what they want without much trouble. The merchant or landlord helps them through bad times; and they do not always minutely scrutinize the items charged against them. They have a considerable, and probably not misplaced, confidence in the honesty of the shopkeeper, so far as the quantities of their 'out-takes' are concerned. Some men indeed keep private notes of their out-takes, which they compare with the shop ledger when read over to them; but most trust to their memory to check their accounts, and sometimes they are in a hurry to get home, and the ceremony of reading over the account is omitted altogether. The shopkeeper of course does not insist on doing so: in some places, indeed, it is read over only if expressly asked. William Blance, who fishes to the firm of T.M. Adie, is a specimen of the more careless class of men: '... There are somethings which you have got which are not put in here?-Yes; I have gone to the shop when I did not have my book, and I have got what I asked.' '6086. What goods you got in that way when you did not have your pass-book were all put down in Mr. Adie's book, and you remembered about them when you came to settle?-Sometimes, and sometimes not.' '6087. If you did not remember them, did you trust to the honesty of the shopkeepers?-Yes.' '6088. Is your account read over to you at settling time?-Yes, if I ask it to be done.' '6089. Do you generally ask it?-Sometimes I do not, if I am in a hurry to get home.' '6090. Then you have perfect confidence in their honesty?-I always think it would do more harm to them than to me if they were not honest ....' '6119. Do you get your meal at Voe?-Yes; most that we use comes from there.' '6120. I see it is not entered in your pass-book?-No; because the meal has generally been sent in my absence, and I carry the book about with me.' '6121. How is it sent?-I have got some of it sent from Aberdeen to Ollaberry direct.' '6122. How much of it was there of it at a time?-I don't remember ....' '6127. What did you pay for that meal?-I cannot say.' '6128. Is it settled for yet?-My account is squared up.' '6130. Do you know what you paid for it before?-I don't remember.' '6131. When was your account squared up?-Fourteen days ago.' '6132. It was not squared up in your pass-book then?- No, I had it with me; but I wanted to get home soon, and I did not ask Mr. Adie to look over the pass-book.' '6133. You saw there was a balance against you then?-Yes.' '6134. Did you not ask the price of the meal you had got?-No.' '6135. Did you not hear it mentioned?-No.' [J. Hay, 5370; L. Mail, 690; J. Leask, 1348; G. Colvin, 1340; W. Irvine, 3668, 3778; W. Goudie, 4333; G. Goudie, 5402; P.M. Sandison, 5169; G. Blance, 5574; P. Peterson, 6790; T. Robertson, 8619; G. Garriock, 8828; J.L. Pole, 9359; J. Laurenson, 9827; G. Tulloch, 11,441; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,295; G. Irvine, 13,176, 13,267; W. Robertson, 13,791; R. Simpson, 13,990; Wm. Blance, 6085, 6119.] The effect of the prevailing indebtedness plainly is to make the men careless about prices: '8698. What is the price of meal at Mossbank just now?-I cannot say rightly.' '8699. When did you know last? Have you made your settlement this year?-Yes.' '8700. Don't you know what you were charged for meal then?- No.' '8701. Do you ask the price of your meal as you buy it?- Sometimes; but we must take it, whatever it is, because we have no money to purchase it with elsewhere.' '8702. Whose fault is that?-I don't know.' '8703. Is it the merchant's fault?-I cannot say that it is.' [C. Nicholson, 8698.] THE RETURNS AND TABLES. It was for the purpose of ascertaining the area and degree of debt, as well as the degree to which truck prevails in the various districts of Shetland, that a series of questions was sent, some time after the inquiry had been opened, to most of the fish-merchants in Shetland. The answers to these questions must have cost in the larger establishments a good deal of time and trouble, which I am bound to say was in most cases ungrudgingly bestowed. The returns for the home fishing of 1867 (Table I.) are furnished by merchants, who, according to the returns made to the Fishery Board, produced more than four-fifths of the whole cure from that fishery in that year. They show that out of 1913 fishermen in their employment, 596 were indebted at the settlement of 1866, and 1832 at that of 1867, showing an average debt of £6, 11s. per man in 1866, and £6, 13s. 8d. per man in 1867. In the same year the total sum due to their fishermen by the eighteen curers making returns was £19,362, 17s. 23/4d., and the total amount received by the men from the curers was £21,456, 5s. 10d., which resulted, according to the 10th column, in an increase of the debt by £1,631, 9s. 8d. The goods supplied in account by these curers to fishermen in 1867 amounted to £10,860, 1s. 41/2d., rather more than a fourth being charged to the crews for fishing expenses. Thus rather more than one half of the total payments were made in goods. The returns for 1871 (Table II.) were made by the same merchants, with the exception of two who had not settled for that year, and represent, according to the Fishery Board returns, nearly three fourths of the total cure of the year. Out of 1615 fishermen, 644 were indebted in a total amount of £5,026, 19s. 13/4d., or an average sum per man of £7, 13s. 33/4d. at the settlement of 1870; and 614 were indebted in a total amount of £4,437, 1s. 21/2d., or an average sum per man of £7, 4s. 61/4d. at the settlement of 1871. The total amount due to their fishermen by these fifteen curers was £20,759, 17s, 33/4d., and the total amount which the men got from them was £20,579, 14s. 13/4d. The debt was reduced by £589, 18s. 111/4d. The goods supplied in account were £8,927, 2s. 10d., £2,574, 12s. 51/2d. being for fishing expenses. Thus, in this prosperous year, considerably less than a half of the whole earnings of the fishermen were received in goods. In 1867 about three fourths, in 1871 about a half, of the cash paid was paid before settlement. Table III., for the Faroe fishing of 1867, applies to 509 men out of 699 who were engaged in that fishery in smacks belonging to Shetland curers. The average debt of 219 debtors in 1866 was £4, 13s. 2d., and of 125 debtors in 1867, £4, 11s. 31/2d. The total amount credited to the men was £6,764, 16s. 6d., and £6,723, 18s. 31/2d. was paid to them, of which £3,120, 14s. 9d., or less than half, was paid in goods. In 1871 (Table IV.) the returns apply to 605 men out of 816 engaged in Shetland smacks in that year. Of these, 53 debtors in 1870 owed on the average £3, 8s. 93/4d each, and in 1871, 240 debtors owed £4, 6s. 91/4d. each. They had got altogether £8,177, 2s. 1d., or about £770 more than was due to them; and of that sum, £4, 146, 16s. 2d., or one half, was paid in truck. Tables V. and VI. are Tables I. and II. in a different form, showing more clearly the total debits and credits of the men. They also show how accurately, upon the whole, the returns have been made up. Certain discrepancies are shown by the figures in the column entitled 'Amount indebted in excess of statement.' These may be accounted for in various ways;-where the discrepancy is small, by trivial errors in making the returns; where it is greater, by the omission from the returns of transactions of a less usual character, sales of cloth, which were not supposed to be within the questions asked; and in the two cases where the difference is largest, it may be conjectured that the large amount of debt may have been reduced by drafts upon secret bank accounts or hoards, on sons at sea, or on the earnings of the female members of the debtors' families. These Tables show that from one third to one half of the fishermen are in debt to the curers each year at the time of settlement, after their fishing has been credited to them. It is not less true, as shown by the evidence, that during the rest of the year nearly the whole of them are in debt to the curers, because the goods and advances are debited to them as they get them, while the credit for fish only comes at the end of the year. TABLE I.--HOME FISHING--SEASON 1867. [Page 25] 1. No. of Fishermen employed 2. Amount of Goods debited to Fishermen 3. Cash advanced before Settlement 5. Gross Sum credited to Men for Fish 6. Gross Sum credited to them for Stock, etc. 7. Cash due to Fishermen at Settlement 8. Cash paid to them at Settlement. 9.1. No. of Fishermen indebted at Settlement of 1866 9.2. Total Debts. 10.1 No. of Fishermen indebted at Settlement of 1866 10.2. Total Debts. 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 A 191 £1114 17 11 £625 1 0 *B 79 576 18 9 79 19 11 C 48 349 18 81/4 118 12 31/2 D 46 164 8 2 54 10 7 *E 244 765 10 1 280 13 6 *F, 180 1006 5 1 537 6 5 G, 23 95 0 0 35 18 0 *H, 95 248 2 1 153 11 8 J, 52 428 14 111/2 120 0 91/2 K, 28 124 15 10 15 0 0 *L, 30 76 16 51/4 0 0 0 *M, 122 881 0 31/2 190 5 6 *N 189 480 7 11 617 1 5 O, 58 288 12 9 172 3 4 *P, 209 788 16 21/2 946 9 1‡ †Q, 31 149 5 91/2 79 15 6 R, 70 354 5 1 128 18 9 †S, 122 160 0 8 221 2 5 †T, 96 563 8 7 153 6 7 1913 £8617 5 31/2 £4529 16 9 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 A £367 1 5 £2594 2 81/2 £738 6 101/2 *B 88 10 9 769 18 01/2 31 0 93/4 C 51 15 0 338 14 1/4 92 4 9 D 69 16 9 292 8 1 43 4 4 *e 465 10 0 2233 10 10 0 0 0 *F, 126 0 0 863 10 10 213 13 0 G, 0 0 0§ 208 10 2 0 0 0 *H, 39 8 10 866 0 2 304 14 0 J, 162 13 3 415 8 101/2 114 12 81/2 K, 19 0 0 286 6 0 0 0 0 *L, 45 0 0 164 1 8 0 0 0 *M, 292 3 6 878 17 1 366 11 61/2 *N 331 1 4 1763 12 61/2 100 13 10 O, 0 0 0 650 4 1 0 0 0 *P, 0 0 0§ 2063 18 01/2 284 0 01/2 †Q, 12 9 7 174 5 11 50 4 91/2 R, 55 14 6 520 7 0 32 7 10 †S, 56 13 5 1054 6 111/2 0 0 0 †T, 59 17 9 861 11 8 91 8 0 £2242 16 1 £16,999 14 81/4 £2463 2 61/4 7 7 7 8 8 8 9.1 A £1077 1 11 £1444 7 1 114 *B 163 5 03/4 248 7 31/4 31 C 32 4 21/2 30 10 21/2 17 D 85 3 31/2 85 3 31/2 11 *e 834 6 3 834 6 3 25 *F, 0 0 0 0 0 0±¶ 118 G, 106 17 0 106 17 0 6 *H, 342 7 1 342 7 1 27 J, 34 11 41/2 28 10 0 29 K, 133 9 91/2 159 17 10 6 *L, 87 5 23/4 87 5 23/4 6 *M, 265 18 01/2 294 17 11/2 67 *N 484 4 11/2 479 8 1 22 O, 216 14 81/2 216 14 81/2 22 *P, 693 0 5 693 0 5 15 †Q, 21 17 9 21 17 9 6 R, 125 3 8 125 3 8 32 †S, 616 5 61/2 616 5 61/2 7 †T, 256 9 2 251 9 2 35 £5576 4 71/2 £6066 7 81/2 596 9.2 9.2 9.2 10.1 10.2 10.2 10.2 A £1160 8 8 143 £1379 5 7 *B 101 9 1/4 50 294 8 93/4 C 27 17 41/2 35 150 17 101/2 D 29 1 0 18 67 7 41/2 *e 59 11 9 72 172 1 9 *F, 783 0 0 141 948 18 3 G, 45 19 4 9 87 19 7 *H, 159 2 2 21 137 11 11 J, 220 11 7 38 401 12 31/2 K, 13 0 41/2 8 26 8 01/2 *L, 25 7 51/4 7 26 14 63/4 *M, 538 3 31/2 76 737 0 7 *N 74 18 0 27 122 15 81/2 O, 195 11 11 19 197 16 7 *P, 70 7 8 41 150 16 31/2 †Q, 9 16 4 16 48 14 31/2 R, 101 17 5 50 213 4 7 †S, 20 16 5 9 24 10 2 †T, 292 2 7 52 372 7 9 £3929 2 4 832 £5560 12 0 *See Note (*) on table II., Home Fishing, 1871. † This includes the Herring fishing. ‡ Includes $540, 9s. of Rents paid. § Included in No. 2. ± Although a few would have cash to get, yet the supplies to the whole exceeded their earnings by about £536, 7s. 8d. TABLE II.--HOME FISHING--SEASON 1871. [Page 26] 1. No. of Fishermen employed 2. Amount of Goods debited to Fishermen. 3. Cash advanced before Settlement. 4. Fishing Expenses charged to the Men. 5. Gross Sum credited to them for Fish. 6. Gross Sum credited to them for Stock, etc. 7. Cash due to them at Settlement. 8. Cash paid to them at Settlement 9.1 No. of Fishermen indebted at Settlement of 1870 9.2 Total Debts 10.1. No. of Fishermen indebted at Settlement of 1871 10.2. Total Debts 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 A 182 £911 19 5 £809 16 8 *B 79 406 8 1/4 137 15 41/2 *C 46 308 16 1 103 19 61/2 D 100 411 15 8 249 18 0 *E 260 634 0 6 251 0 4 *F, 144 735 2 2 640 3 1 G, 23 60 0 0 40 17 0 *H, 103 260 12 4 182 16 1 J, 60 279 11 61/2 110 17 101/2 K, 12 65 11 111/2 23 0 0 Q 142 479 17 4 371 11 5 *M, 147 1136 17 61/2 276 8 0 O, 36 108 6 5 55 0 6 *N 185 345 6 91/2 560 11 01/2 S 66 107 14 8 110 14 11/2 *L 30 100 9 11 1615 £6352 10 41/4 £3924 9 01/2 *†U, 150 1125 3 1 £658 5 21/2 *†T, 126 1042 10 11 356 2 6 *†P, 281 788 1 21/2 1048 19 111/2 2202 £9308 5 63/4 £5987 16 81/2 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 A £274 10 1 £3101 14 3 £859 6 2 *B 73 18 0 1090 6 1 14 10 91/2 *C 49 10 6 578 0 21/2 115 2 83/4 D 178 9 21/2 999 3 9 33 3 61/2 *E 540 10 11 3436 16 7 *F, 99 0 0 1330 1 7 335 12 0 G, ‡ 310 4 0 *H, 163 18 9 1151 11 4 197 3 11 J, 161 14 111/2 623 4 8 60 8 6 K, 6 0 0 102 19 6 Q 123 8 5 1124 10 5 35 11 6 *M, 459 12 31/2 1800 7 21/2 385 19 11/2 O, 337 15 3 *N 324 17 41/2 1780 3 4 79 9 11 S 73 1 111/2 625 6 3 *L 46 0 0 251 4 81/2 £2574 12 51/2 £18,643 9 11/2 £2116 8 21/4 *†U, £50 4 8 £1651 11 11/2 £417 16 6 *†T, 67 4 0 1880 10 11 183 6 5 *†P, 2729 8 71/2 412 1 21/2 £2692 1 11/2 £24,904 19 91/2 £3129 12 33/4 7 7 7 8 8 8 9.1 A £1555 13 6 £1842 8 4 105 *B 463 1 11/2 519 16 61/2 27 *C 160 9 31/2 176 0 8 30 D 252 16 6 252 16 6 34 *E 1983 8 2 1983 8 2 17 *F, 235 8 4 235 8 4 136 G, 174 8 8 174 8 8 10 *H, 376 14 8 376 14 8 25 J, 90 5 6 74 5 21/2 44 K, 15 16 11/2 5 Q 299 9 10 299 9 10 46 *M, 890 7 51/2 501 16 41/2 82 O, 219 13 7 219 13 7 13 *N 586 13 111/2 571 9 111/2 31 S 333 15 41/2 333 15 41/2 32 *L 150 14 91/4 150 14 91/4 7 £7773 0 83/4 £7728 3 11/4 644 *†U, £276 6 4 £245 6 4 *†T, 710 16 8 874 16 6 82 *†P, 1305 10 71/2 1305 10 71/2 48 £10,065 14 41/4 £10,153 16 63/4 774 9.2 9.2 9.2 10.1 10.2 10.2 10.2 A £961 16 2 133 £839 10 0 *B 120 1 23/4 35 164 15 9 *C 141 19 01/4 22 94 16 93/4 D 92 12 101/2 48 153 4 111/2 *E 36 17 2 9 9 0 6 *F, 1433 12 11 99 1215 4 4 G, 56 13 0 5 23 10 0 *H, 244 0 1 25 232 18 8 J, 524 3 101/2 37 452 9 11 K, 18 1 7 6 19 10 2 Q 146 4 11 68 260 10 0 *M, 858 7 51/2 65 657 17 21/2 O, 163 15 10 11 140 6 0 *N 125 9 3 23 88 3 2 S 52 11 101/2 21 48 6 11/2 *L 50 11 103/4 7 36 17 71/4 £5026 19 13/4 614 £4437 1 21/2 *†U, £561 16 4 606 18 11/2 *†T, 433 18 9 68 710 5 10 *†P, 274 0 10 44 275 2 91/2 £6296 15 03/4 726 £6037 7 111/2 *In the Returns made by those marked (*), rents payable by men to them are included in the cash payments, except those of H. † The Returns by U, T., and P are for the year 1870. ‡ This in included in No. 2. NOTES BY P. TO HIS ANSWERS 1870. --281. This includes 84 men engaged by me for the herring fishing, which on only begins on the 12th August. These men fish to other curers at the ling-fishing during the summer, and only] come to me for the herring fishing. They get no goods from me, nor cash advances, but receive the gross value of their fish in one payment when the fishing is over. .--£788, 1s. 21/2d. This represents the gross amount of the store accounts charged, and includes (the answer to question No. 4) all fishing expenses, and in some cases may included small advances in cash. .--£1048, 19s. 111/2d. This answer includes rent paid for the men, and should be-- Cash advanced ....... £481 11 7 Rents paid, ............. 567 8 41/2 £1048 19 111/2 --£2729, 8s. 71/2d. This sum includes £432 due for herrings to the 84 men mentioned in note on answer No. 1. --£412, 1s. 21/2d. This includes the sum of £21, 5s. 61/2d. received from fishermen at settlement. --All sums to the fishermen were at settlement. .--This includes £432 paid to the 84 men mentioned in note on answer No. 1 for herrings. TABLE III.--FAROE FISHING--SEASON 1867. [Page 27] 1. No. of Fishermen employed 2. Amount of Goods debited to Fishermen. 3. Cash advanced before Settlement. 4. Fishing Expenses charged to the Men. 5. Gross Sum credited to Men for Fish. 6. Gross Sum credited to them for Stock, etc. 7. Cash due to Fishermen at Settlement. 8. Cash paid to them at Settlement. 9.1. No. of Fishermen indebted at Settlement of 1866. 9.2. Total Debts 10.1. No. of Fishermen indebted at Settlement of 1867. 10.2. Total Debts 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 A, 47 £234 15 5.5 £141 6 0 B, 71 323 3 6.5 221 9 61/2 C, 41 221 11 0 196 18 11 D, 91 839 15 9.5 451 13 9 E, 11 20 10 9.5 13 15 0 F, 148 481 18 1.5 432 6 12 G, 31 122 0 3 80 8 2 H, 69 362 3 4 229 19 2 509 £2605 18 31/2 £1767 17 6 †J 28 163 10 11 51 7 2 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 A, £46 17 9 £656 5 9 £0 0 0 B, 32 16 6.5 901 14 91/2 0 0 0 C, 42 5 7 457 16 0 98 11 8 D, 0 0 0* 1696 1 1 0 0 0 E, 16 12 7 98 5 91/2 2 18 9 F, 331 14 6 1667 8 4 44 12 7 G, 14 13 6 312 5 11 0 0 0 H, 29 16 0 828 15 10 0 0 0 £514 16 51/2 £6618 13 6 £146 3 0 †J £14 14 11 171 0 0 42 6 9 7 7 7 8 8 8 9.1 A, £183 15 01/2 £183 15 01/2 20 B, 294 11 11/2 294 11 11/2 31 C, 88 7 6 89 7 6 17 D, 478 4 11 478 4 11 55 E, 50 19 21/2 50 19 21/2 1 F, 443 11 9 373 9 01/2 34 G, 99 8 31/2 99 8 31/2 3 H, 265 10 11 265 10 11 58 £1904 8 9 £1835 6 01/2 219 †J 0 19 1 0 19 1 25 9.2 9.2 9.2 10.1 10.2 10.2 10.2 A, £81 5 81/2 8 £31 14 2 B, 164 1 101/2 23 134 7 10 C, 60 12 11 15 54 8 3 D, 307 0 4 22 141 16 01/2 E, 0 16 2 1 1 9 6 F, 164 0 2 26 133 13 91/2 G, 10 7 7 9 14 6 10 H, 232 1 4 21 58 13 7 £1020 6 1 125 £570 10 0 †J 86 5 5 28 137 7 41/2 *Under this head no fishing expenses were charged against the men's accounts. The only fishing expenses were bait, and curing of fish, which were deducted from the gross amount before division, as agreed upon. † This Return in for 1866. In 1866 there was a remarkably 'lean' Fishing. TABLE IV.--FAROE FISHING--SEASON 1871. [Page 28] 1. No. of Fishermen employed 2. Amount of Goods debited to Fishermen. 3. Cash advanced before Settlement. 4. Fishing Expenses charged to the Men. 5. Gross Sum credited to Men for Fish. 6. Gross Sum credited to them for Stock, etc. 7. Cash paid to them at Settlement. 8. Cash paid to them at Settlement. 9.1. Total Debts 9.2. No. of Fishermen indebted at Settlement of 1870. 10.1. Total Debts 10.2. No. of Fishermen indebted at Settlement of 1871. 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 F, 139 £563 5 6 £618 6 11 A, 51 205 0 81/2 123 12 6 C, 57 358 2 2 284 11 2 D, 85 774 13 2 467 1 9 H, 125 775 14 11 216 5 1 J, 13 85 10 3 24 19 6 E, 23 104 18 91/2 94 14 10 G, 47 266 18 1 111 17 10 †B, 65 249 19 3 203 18 21/2 605 £3384 2 10 £2145 7 91/2 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 F, £556 0 4 £2093 2 9 £32 6 0 A, 26 4 31/2 331 5 1 0 0 0 C, 51 3 6 150 4 6 647 0 2 D, 0 0 0 1810 12 7 0 0 0 H, 45 19 1 942 0 0 0 0 0 J, 9 12 0 39 17 1 4 9 71/2 E, 14 2 1 204 6 31/4 33 0 3 G, 28 18 10 545 10 3 0 0 0 †B, 30 13 21/2 572 6 4 ... ... ... £762 13 4 £6689 4 101/4 £716 16 1/2 7 7 7 8 8 8 9.1 F, £473 16 2 £375 12 3 21 A, 69 19 6 69 19 6 2 C, 168 14 21/2 172 10 61/2 13 D, 589 9 10 589 9 10 7 H, 253 1 2 253 1 2 4 J, 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 E, 49 1 10 48 17 111/2 2 G, 166 19 41/2 165 5 9 0 †B, 210 1 11/2 210 1 11/2 1 £1981 3 21/2 £1984 18 11/2 53 9.2 9.2 9.2 10.1 10.2 10.2 10.2 F, £83 1 11 31 £174 19 9* A, 0 11 6 26 94 3 51/2 C, 59 2 7 28 128 5 3 D, 19 2 91/2 19 35 0 10 H, 10 4 0 65 349 0 3 J, 1 19 0 13 72 0 61/2 E, 5 5 111/2 10 33 11 53/4 G, 0 0 0 14 29 3 111/2 †B, 2 18 6 34 125 3 111/2 £182 6 3 240 £1041 9 53/4 * Of this sum, £174, 19s, 9d., there was due by 13 men, the crew of one unsuccessful vessel, £105, 14s. 4d. The fishery of 1871 was comparatively a failure, and left many of the men in debt; while the previous year was very good, and the men were nearly all clear. † Excluding the crew of one smack, the crew of which had not been settled with. TABLE V.--HOME FISHING--SEASON 1867. [Page 29] No. of Fishermen in Debt at Settlement of 1866, and Amount of Debts. 1.1. No. 1.2. Amount. 2. Fishing Expenses Charged to the Men. 3. Goods charged to the Men. CASH. 4.1. Advanced to the Men before Settlement 4.2. Paid to them at Settlement. 5. Total Debits to Fishermen. Gross Sums credited to the Men. 6.1. For Fish. 6.2. For Stock. 7. Total Credits to Fishermen. No. of Fishermen in Debt at Settlement of 1867, and Amount Indebted. 8.1. No. 8.2. Amount. 8.3. Amount as per Statement. 8.4. Amount indebted in excess of Statement 9. No. of men engaged during the Year. 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 2 2 2 A, 114 £1160 8 8 £367 1 5 B, 31 101 9 01/4 88 10 9 C, 17 27 17 4.5 51 15 0 D, 11 29 1 0 69 16 9 E, 25 59 11 9 465 10 0 F, 118 783 0 0 126 0 0 G, 6 45 19 4 H, 27 159 2 2 39 8 10 I, 29 £220 11 7 162 13 3 K, 6 £13 0 41/2 19 0 0 L, 6 25 7 51/4 45 0 0 M, 67 538 3 31/2 292 3 6 N, 22 74 18 0 331 1 4 O, 22 195 11 11 P, 15 70 7 8 Q, 6 9 16 4 12 9 7 R, 32 101 17 5 55 14 6 S, 7 20 16 5 56 13 5 T, 35 292 2 7 59 17 9 596 £3939 2 4 £2242 16 1 3 3 3 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.2 A, £1114 17 11 625 1 0 1444 7 1 B, 576 18 9 79 19 11 248 7 31/4 C, 339 18 81/4 118 12 31/2 30 10 21/2 D, 164 8 2 54 10 7 85 3 31/2 E, 765 10 1 280 13 6 834 6 3 F, 1006 5 1 537 6 5 G, 95 0 0 35 18 8 106 17 0 H, 248 2 1 153 11 8 342 7 1 I, 428 14 111/2 120 0 91/2 28 10 0 K, 124 15 10 15 0 0 159 17 10 L, 76 16 51/4 87 5 23/4 M, 881 0 31/2 190 5 6 294 17 11/2 N, 480 7 11 617 1 5 479 8 1 O, 288 12 9 172 3 4 216 14 81/2 P, 788 16 21/2 946 9 1 693 0 5 Q, 149 5 91/2 79 15 6 21 17 9 R, 354 5 1 128 18 9 125 3 8 S, 160 0 8 221 2 5 616 5 61/2 T, 563 8 7 153 6 7 351 9 2 £8617 5 31/2 £4529 16 9 £6066 7 81/2 5 5 5 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.2 A, £4711 16 1 £2594 2 81/2 £738 6 101/2 B, 1095 5 81/2 769 18 01/2 31 0 93/4 C, 578 13 63/4 338 14 01/4 92 4 9 D, 402 19 91/2 292 8 1 43 4 4 E, 2405 11 7 2233 10 10 F, 2452 11 6 863 10 10 213 13 0 G, 283 14 4 208 10 2 H, 942 11 10 866 0 2 304 14 0 I, 960 10 7 415 8 101/2 114 12 81/2 K, 331 14 01/2 286 6 0 L, 234 9 11/4 164 1 8 M, 2196 9 81/2 878 17 1 366 11 61/2 N, 1982 16 9 1763 12 61/2 100 13 10 O, 873 2 81/2 650 4 1 P, 2498 13 41/2 2063 18 01/2 284 0 01/2 Q, 273 4 111/2 174 5 11 50 4 91/2 R, 765 19 5 520 7 0 32 7 10 S, 1074 18 51/2 1054 6 111/2 T, 1320 4 8 861 11 8 91 8 0 £25385 8 2 £16999 14 81/4 £2463 2 61/4 7 7 7 8.1 8.2 8.2 8.2 A, £3332 9 7 143 £1379 6 6 B, 800 18 101/4 50 294 6 101/4 C, 430 18 91/4 35 147 14 91/2 D, 335 12 5 18 67 7 41/2 E, 2233 10 10 72 172 0 0 F, 1077 3 10 141 1375 7 8 G, 208 10 2 9 75 4 2 H, 1170 14 2 21 <228 2 4> I, 530 1 7 38 430 9 0 K, 286 6 0 8 45 8 01/2 L, 164 1 8 7 70 7 51/4 M, 1245 8 71/2 76 951 1 1 N, 1864 6 41/2 27 118 10 41/2 O, 650 4 1 19 222 18 71/2 P, 2347 18 1 41 150 15 31/2 Q, 224 10 81/2 16 48 14 3 R, 552 14 10 50 213 4 7 S, 1054 6 111/2 9 20 11 6 T, 952 19 8 52 367 5 0 £19462 18 21/2 832 £5922 10 111/2 8.3 8.3 8.3 8.4 8.4 8.4 9 A, £1379 5 7 £0 0 11 191 B, 294 8 93/4 <0 1 111/2> 79 C, 150 17 101/2 <3 3 1> 48 D, 67 7 41/2 46 E, 172 1 9 <0 1 0> 244 F, 948 18 3 426 9 5 180 G, 87 19 7 <12 15 5> 23 H, 137 11 11 <365 14 3> 95 I, 401 12 31/2 28 16 81/2 52 K, 26 8 01/2 19 0 0 28 L, 26 14 63/4 43 12 101/2 30 M, 737 0 7 214 0 6 122 N, 122 15 81/2 <4 5 4> 189 O, 197 16 7 25 2 01/2 58 P, 150 16 31/2 <0 1 0> 209 Q, 48 14 31/2 <0 0 01/2> 31 R, 213 4 7 70 S, 24 10 2 <3 18 8> 122 T, 372 7 9 <5 2 9> 96 £5560 12 0 361 18 111/2 1913 *Where the amount is less than the Statement, the figures are noted in italics, and effect is given to these sums in the addition. TABLE VI.--HOME FISHING--SEASON 1871. [Page 30] No. of Fishermen in Debt at Settlement of 1870, and Amount of Debts. 1.1. No. 1.2. Amount. 2. Fishing Expenses Charged to the Men. 3. Goods charged to the Men. CASH. 4.1. Advanced to the Men before Settlement. 4.2. Paid to them at Settlement. 5. Total Debits to Fishermen. Gross Sums credited to the Men. 6.1. For Fish. 6.2. For Stock. 7. Total Credits to Fishermen. No. of Fishermen in Debt at Settlement of 1871, and Amount Indebted. 8.1. No. 8.2. Amount to Balance. 8.3. Amount as per Statement. 8.4. Amount indebted in excess of Statement 9. No. of men engaged during the Year. 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 2 2 2 A, 105 £961 16 2 £274 10 1 B, 27 120 1 23/4 73 18 0 C, 30 141 19 01/4 49 10 6 D, 34 92 12 101/2 178 9 21/2 E, 17 36 17 2 540 10 11 F, 136 1433 12 11 99 0 0 G, 10 56 13 0 H, 25 244 0 1 163 18 9 I, 44 524 3 101/2 161 14 12 K, 5 18 1 7 6 0 0 R, 46 146 4 11 123 8 5 M, 82 858 7 51/2 459 12 31/2 O, 13 163 15 10 N, 31 125 9 3 324 17 41/2 S, 32 52 11 101/2 73 1 12 L, 7 50 11 103/4 46 0 0 644 £5026 19 13/4 £2574 12 51/2 U, £561 16 4 £50 4 8 T, 82 433 18 9 67 4 0 P, 48 274 0 10 774 £6296 15 03/4 £2692 1 11/2 3 3 3 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.2 A, £911 19 5 £809 16 8 £1842 8 4 B, 406 8 01/4 137 15 41/2 519 16 61/2 C, 308 16 1 103 19 61/2 176 0 8 D, 411 15 8 249 18 0 252 16 6 E, 634 0 6 251 0 4 1983 8 2 F, 735 2 2 640 3 1 235 8 4 G, 60 0 0 40 17 0 174 8 8 H, 260 12 4 182 16 1 376 14 8 I, 279 11 61/2 110 17 101/2 74 5 21/2 K, 65 11 111/2 23 0 0 15 16 11/2 R, 479 17 4 371 11 5 299 9 10 M, 1136 17 61/2 276 8 0 501 16 41/2 O, 108 6 5 55 0 6 219 13 7 N, 345 6 91/2 560 11 01/2 571 9 111/2 S, 107 14 8 110 14 11/2 333 15 41/2 L, 100 9 11 150 14 91/4 £6352 10 41/4 £3924 9 01/2 £7728 3 11/4 U, £1125 3 1 £658 5 21/2 £245 6 4 T, 1042 10 11 356 2 6 874 16 6 P, 788 1 21/2 1048 19 111/2 1305 10 71/2 £9308 5 63/4 £5987 16 81/2 £10153 16 63/4 5 5 5 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.2 A, £4800 10 8 £3101 14 3 £859 6 2 B, 1257 19 2 £1090 6 1 14 10 91/2 C, £780 5 93/4 578 0 21/2 115 2 83/4 D, 1185 12 3 999 3 9 33 3 61/2 E, 3445 17 1 3436 16 7 F, 3143 6 6 1330 1 7 335 12 0 G, 331 18 8 310 4 0 H, 1228 1 11 1151 11 4 197 3 11 I, 1150 13 51/2 623 4 8 60 8 6 K, 128 9 8 102 19 6 R, 1420 11 11 1124 10 5 35 11 6 M, 3233 1 8 1800 7 21/2 385 19 11/2 O, 546 16 4 337 15 3 N, 1927 14 5 1780 3 4 79 9 11 S, 677 18 0 625 6 3 L, 347 16 7 251 4 81/2 £25606 14 13/4 £18643 9 11/2 £2116 8 21/4 U, £2640 15 71/2 £1651 11 11/2 £417 16 6 T, 2774 12 8 1880 10 11 183 6 5 P, 3416 12 71/2 2729 8 71/2 412 1 21/2 £34438 15 01/4 £24904 19 91/2 £3129 12 33/4 7 7 7 8.1 8.2 8.2 8.2 A, £3961 0 5 133 £839 10 3 B, 1104 16 101/2 £35 153 2 £4 C, 693 2 111/4 22 87 2 101/2 D, 1032 7 31/2 48 153 4 111/2 E, 3436 16 7 9 9 0 6 F, 1665 13 7 99 1477 12 11 G, 310 4 0 5 21 14 8 H, 1348 15 3 25 <120 13 4> I, 683 13 2 37 467 0 31/2 K, 102 19 6 6 25 10 2 R, 1160 1 11 68 260 10 0 M, 2186 6 4 65 1046 15 4 O, 337 15 3 11 209 1 1 N, 1859 13 3 23 68 1 2 S, 625 6 3 21 52 11 9 L, 251 4 81/2 17 96 11 101/2 £20759 17 33/4 624 £4846 16 91/2 U, £2069 7 71/2 £571 8 0 T, 2063 17 4 68 710 15 4 P, 3141 9 10 44 275 2 91/2 £28034 12 11/4 736 £6404 2 11 8.3 8.3 8.3 8.4 8.4 8.4 9 A, £839 10 0 £0 0 3 217 B, 164 15 £9 <11 13 51/2> 79 C, 94 16 93/4 <7 13 111/4> 46 D, 153 4 111/2 100 E, 9 0 6 260 F, 1215 4 4 262 8 7 144 G, 23 10 0 <1 15 4> 23 H, 232 18 8 <353 12 0> 103 I, 452 9 11 14 10 41/2 60 K, 19 10 2 6 0 0 12 R, 260 10 0 142 M, 657 17 21/2 388 18 11/2 147 O, 140 6 0 68 15 1 36 N, 88 3 2 <20 2 0> 185 S, 48 6 11/2 4 5 71/2 66 L, 36 17 71/4 59 14 31/4 30 £4437 1 21/2 £409 15 £7 1650 U, £606 18 11/2 <35 10 11/2> 150 T, 710 5 10 0 9 6 126 P, 275 2 91/2 281 £6029 7 111/2 £374 14 111/2 2207 *Where the amount is less than the Statement, the figures are noted in italics, and effect is given to these sums in the addition. _______________________________ [Page 31] PRICES AT THE SHOPS OF FISH-CURERS. Of an inquiry regarding the existence and effects of Truck, the quality and prices of the goods furnished by the employer in lieu of money forms a necessary part. In Lerwick, as might be expected, competition, and the greater facility of communication with other places, have kept the prices of the necessaries of life at a moderate figure. No complaints were made as to prices there, and it was thought unnecessary to make a minute investigation. Evidence was taken, however, for the purpose of comparing the prices of meal and flour as sold in Lerwick with those charged at the fish-curers' shops in the country districts. It is a fact of some significance, that few persons above the condition of peasants purchase supplies for family use from the shops in Shetland. Provisions and groceries, as well as clothing are to a large extent imported by private individuals from Aberdeen, Leith, and Edinburgh. The Rev. Mr. Sutherland says that he gets his goods twice a year from the south, and does not deal with any local shop, unless he happens to be out of a particular article; and that, so far as he knows, it is common for clergymen and others in the same position to get their supplies from the south: '7570. Why is that done?-I cannot afford to buy articles here; they are too dear for me. My stipend would not afford to pay for them.' '7571. Do you know if the same reason operates in the case of your fellow clergymen?-I don't know; but they have often spoken about it. In the first place, I hold the goods to be, as might be expected, inferior in quality to the goods I would like. I don't blame the merchants for not having goods of better quality, because their customers perhaps would not be in the way of buying them; but I could not afford to buy from the merchants here, in consequence of the tremendous percentage which they charge upon their goods.' [C. Robertson, 15,017; J. Robertson, sen., 14,072.] Statements to the same effect are made by the Rev. D. Miller, United Presbyterian minister at Mossbank, and the Rev. W. Smith, minister of Unst. [6001; 10,714.] Many witnesses complained that prices are higher at the 'shops' than at Lerwick. Thus the leading witness from Dunrossness said that oatmeal at Mr. Bruce's shop at Grutness was 4s. a boll (140 lbs.), or 8s. per sack or quarter, above its price in Lerwick. [L. Mail, 568.] GRUTNESS The prices charged here are much too high; and this arises not merely from the want of the check of competition, as regards the men thirled to the shop by want of money to deal elsewhere, but also from the very peculiar way in which the prices are fixed. This may possibly be explained by the fact that neither Mr. Bruce nor his shopkeeper have been properly trained to the business of the shop, which has been taken up as an appendage of the fish trade. Gilbert Irvine, the shopkeeper, was unable to give any very clear explanation of the way in which the price of meal at Grutness is fixed, and why the men never knew the price of it until the settlement. [G. Irvine, 13,173.] But Mr. Bruce says: '13,306. In what way do you fix the average price of meal for the year?--We take what other people are charging in Lerwick and elsewhere; and after considering the quality of the meal, and our extra expense upon it, we charge what we think it can reasonably bring, without any regard to the cost price of it.' '13,307. Do you not take the cost price into consideration at all?- Of course it is an element, but not the principal element, in fixing the price.' This loose method of proceeding may account for the complaints of the price made by all the men, who were quite satisfied with the quality. No man deals at the store at Grutness who can possibly get money to buy his goods elsewhere, and Mr. Bruce himself speaks of the shop as a necessity for the fishing, and not a source of profit in itself. The price of meal was ascertained by William Goudie to be at least 3s. per boll above, the price elsewhere. There is also at Grutness an ambiguity about weight -pecks being sold by 'lispund weight,' 4 to 32 lbs., instead of boll weight, 4 to 35 lbs. = quarter boll. The price of oatmeal for the whole of 1870 was 22s. at Grutness, which was the highest price it attained in Lerwick for a very short time after the breaking out of the French war. During by far the greater part of the year, it varied at Lerwick from 17s. 3d. to 19s. It is instructive to compare the price at Grutness with a note of the prices charged by Mr. Gavin Henderson at Scousbrough, three miles distant, where no fishermen are bound to the shopkeeper or engaged by him. This note (p. 319 of Evidence) brings out an average of 18s. 3d. per boll on all Mr. Henderson's sales for that year. Comparison of Mr. Henderson's note of prices for that year with Mr. Charles Robertson's (p. 378), shows that a merchant carrying on business twenty miles from Lerwick can sell his meal as cheaply as merchants there are in the practice of doing. Mr. Bruce's own invoices show that his meal for the season 1870 was purchased at an average price of 16s. 8d. per boll, and that out of the whole supply of 171 bolls, all but 25 bolls was bought at 16s. 3d. and under. The freight from Aberdeen to Grutness he states to be 1s. 5d. per boll. Thus 16s. 8d. +1s. 5d. = 18s. 1d., leaving 3s. 11d. for profit and risk, or about 22 per cent. But Mr. Bruce explains that, as his shop is not conducted on purely commercial principles, but as an auxiliary to the fishing, this is all required to cover expenses of management. It is nevertheless very expensive for the retail purchasers. 2 lb. lines at Grutness are sold for 2s. 2d.; at Mr. Henderson's, for 2s. Tea, of which Shetlanders consume a large quantity, and of which they are said to be good judges, is said by one witness to be from 4d. to 8d. dearer per lb. at Boddam, where there is a shop of Mr. Bruce's, than at Lerwick or Gavin Henderson's, a shop in the neighbourhood; cotton to be 2d. a yard dearer, and tobacco 1d. or 2d. a quarter lb. The evidence of Mr. Charles Fleming shows that some cotton stuffs, pieces of which were obtained at the shop at Grutness, and which were said by Mr. Irvine to be sold at 41/2d., 8d., and 1s. a yard respectively, were worth in retail very much less than these prices. [J. Bruce, jun., H. Mailand, 4858; W. Goudie, 4317; G. Irvine, 13, 259; J. Brown, 5300; H. Gilbertson, 4551; C. Robertson, 15,040; J. Robertson, sen., 14,587; T. Aitken, 4833; G. Irvine, 13,224; J. Bruce, jun., 13, 319; G. Irvine, 13,291; R. Henderson, 12,877; R. Halcrow, 4663; C. Fleming, 17,042; G. Irvine, 13,200.] QUENDALE The general import of the evidence as to Mr. Grierson's shop at Quendale is that the prices are not so high as at Grutness, but higher (2s. or 3s per boll for meal than those at Gavin Henderson's at Scousborough and even than those at Messrs. Hay & Co.'s at Dunrossness. Here the prices of fishing lines are-2 lb., 2s. 3d.; 21/2 lb., 2s. 6d; 13/4 lb., 2s.; 11/2 lb., 1s. 9d. At Gavin Henderson's, 2 lb., 2s.; 21/4lb., 2s. 3d. [J. Flawes, 4978; C. Eunson, 5067; G. Goudie, 13,392; R. Henderson, 12,877.] MOSSBANK The difference between prices at Mossbank and Lerwick has been not less than 4s. or 4s. 6d. per boll, although Mr. Pole (5962) says that in general the difference is from 1s. 6d. to 2s. per boll. The difference between Mossbank prices for meal and the shop of Magnus Johnston at Tofts, a mile distant, is said by Johnston to be a penny a peck, or 1s. 5d. per boll. At the shop of the same firm at Greenbank, in North Yell, the price of meal was 5s. 8d. per lispund (32 lbs.) in the summer of 1871- about 24s. 6d. per boll, while in Lerwick it ranged at 21s. 6d. Similar differences exist there as regards other articles, such as tea and sugar. [J. Henderson, 5514; J. Nicholson, 8738; M. Johnston, 7897; J.L. Pole, 9396, J. Nicholson, 8736.] HAY & CO.'S SHOPS From Burra, Whalsay, and the other establishments of Messrs. Hay & Co., no complaints as to prices were made. Some of their stations are so near Lerwick that they must sell as low as possible, in order to secure the custom of the men. It is said that at Fetlar, one of their most remote stations, the goods are as cheap and good as at Lerwick. The books kept at Fetlar show sales of meal in July last at 23s., in August at 22s. 8d., and in September at 21s.; while in these months the prices in Lerwick were-July, 21s. 6d.; August, 21s.; September, 21s. In Fetlar, Messrs. Hay & Co. have the only large shop. At North Roe (Hay & Co.), the most remote shop on the mainland, the price of meal per boll, at the beginning of the fishing season of 1871, was only 6d. or 1s. higher than at Lerwick at the same date, according as the purchase spoken to by a witness was made in April or May. It seems to be a fair conclusion from the evidence that this firm does not, as a rule, charge high prices. No complaint has been made with respect to quality. [W. Irvine, 3715; Catherine Petrie, 1458; G. Gaunson, 8887; J. Garriock, 8766; A. Ratter, 7400; C. Robertson, 15,040; T. Aitken, 4836.] VOE The establishment of Mr. Adie at Voe (Olnafirth) is one of the largest in Shetland. No specimens were obtained from it for examination; but the oral evidence as to the provisions sold there may be briefly referred to. Mr. Adie himself admits that the cost of carriage necessarily enhances prices at Voe, and that meal is therefore generally 2s. per boll dearer than at Lerwick. A witness who lately went to live there, however, paid 1s. 5d. per peck for meal which he would have got in Lerwick for 1s. 2d., or five months ago for 1s. 3d. This is a difference not of 2s., but of 4s. per boll; and although the witness Gilbert Scollay impressed me unfavourably by the manner of his evidence, there is much to corroborate his statement with regard to his dealings with the shop at Voe. He says that - 'Ultimately I wrote to the meal dealers in the south, and I found that there was a difference of 10s. on the sack of meal; that, upon 12 sacks, would have been a saving of £6 alone.' [T.M. Adie, 5699; R. Mouat, 4240; C. Robertson, 15,040.] Of course 2s. 6d., or in winter, according to Mr. Adie, 5s. per sack, must be deducted from this difference for freight. Again, on April 21, 1868, meal being 26s. 6d. per boll see or 1s. 7d. per peck, was sold at Voe at 1s. 9d. per peck. [See G. Scollay, 14,975; C. Robertson, 15,040.] R. MOUAT'S SHOP The worst accounts are given of the meal kept at the shop of Robert Mouat, Sandwick, formerly referred to. Henry Sinclair says that 'the greater part of it was fit for nothing but the pigs.' What he called his second flour, says another witness, 'was of such a quality that it could not be eaten by human beings;' but,' he adds, 'it had to be eaten for the support of life while it existed.' [5330; M. Malcolmson, 3013, 3014; W. Manson, 3039; T. Williamson, 9470; J. Robertson, jun., 15,186.] BURRAVOE Gilbert Robertson, a boatskipper and an elder of the kirk, gets his supplies in Lerwick, because he found flour to be 2s. per sack, and meal 3s. or 4s. a sack, cheaper than Burravoe, a place to which there has for some years been steam communication from Lerwick twice a week. [9320] UNST In Unst a witness got meal from Spence & Co., at the date of the sitting there, at 1s. 5d. per peck, or as nearly as possible 24s. 11/2d. per boll, allowing 1/2d. a peck for loss in weighing; the price in Lerwick being 19s. 6d. per boll, or 131/2d. a peck. During almost the whole of the previous year the same price was charged there, though it was sometimes 1s. 4d.; and 1s. 4d. was the price of the same meal at Isbister's adjacent shop. The books kept at Balta Sound show that meal was being sold at 5s. 8d. and 5s, 9d. per lispund, or above 24s. per boll, in October 1871, while the price in Lerwick in that month was 19s. 6d. per boll. An opinion is expressed by the registrar of the parish Unst, that the 2s. 6d. tea he gets in Lerwick is 'much about the same as the 3s. tea which he gets from Spence & Co. at Balta Sound. But a favourable report upon Spence & Co.'s 3s. tea sold to me is afterwards referred to. [Janet Robertson, 9812; C, Robertson, 15,042; J. Laurenson, 9843, 9905; W. G. Mouat, 10,254; C. Robertson, 15,040; P. Johnson, 10,227.] SKERRIES At Skerries, where Mr. Adie has the shop, and is tacksman of the islands, meal is said to be charged 7s. a sack higher than it is in Lerwick; and an instance is given in which 6s. a sack was paid for it, while it could have been had from any merchant in Lerwick for 50s. or 51s. In January of the present year the price was 1s, 4d. per peck, or 23s. per per boll, at Skerries, being 19s. 6d., or 1s. 11/2d. per peck, at Lerwick. A similar difference existed in spring 1871. All articles at Skerries are stated to be over-priced, such as soap, soda, and sugar, which can be got much cheaper even at Whalsay, where Hay & Co. have a shop. On soda the overcharge is said to be 50 per cent. [T. Hutchison, 12,658; J. Robertson, sen., 14,569; P. Henderson, 12,756; D. Anderson, 12,795; A. Humphrey, 12,826; T. Hutchison, 12,685.] VIDLIN Although Mr. Robertson carries on an extensive trade in meal at Lerwick, and there sells at town prices, his shopkeeper at Vidlin, in Lunnasting, charges about the ordinary prices of the country shops. A pass-book produced by a witness shows meal charged at 22s. 8d. and 22s. in September 1870, when the Lerwick price was 19s. The difference, however, does not appear to be so great here as at some other places. Thus in February 1870 meal was 1s. 11/2 d. per peck, being 1s. per peck at Lerwick. In June 1871 overhead flour was sold at Voe at 1s. 3d. per peck; the price at Lerwick being 16s. 6d. per boll, or 1s. per peck, or for the finer quality of overhead flour, about 1s. 11/2 d. per peck. [L. Simpson, 13,884; G. Scollay, 15,013; C. Robertson, 15,032; G. Scollay, 15,010; 15,012; C. Robertson, 15,037, 15,043.] YELL, OLLABERRY, ETC Prices charged by some other merchants may be mentioned at random. Laurence Williamson, Mid Yell, sold meal in August 1871 at 3s. per 1/2 lispund, or about 25s. per boll, the Lerwick price being then 21s. At Ollaberry shop (Anderson & Co.) 21/4 lines are charged 2s. 3d. cash, and 2s. 6d. if marked down, while they are got by a witness direct from Glasgow 'for 1s. 11d., including freight and everything.' In 1871 men fishing for William Jack Williamson at Ulsta, South Yell, paid 1s. 3d. for flour, while there was as good at Messrs. Hay's at Feideland, a remote fishing station, for 1s. 1d. Paraffin oil in Unst was retailed in January at the rate of 2s. 6d. per gallon, being purchased at 1s. 5d. [L. Williamson, 9068; A. Johnson, 14,933, G. Gilbertson, 9583.] These are but a few instances of the statements of witnesses with regard to the prices and qualities of goods. They appear to show that the truck system of Shetland resembles the truck of the English and Scotch mining and manufacturing districts in enhancing the prices of goods to the purchasers. This is the natural result of a system in which the purchaser has no option as to the dealer to whom he goes for necessary supplies; but it must also be remembered that in retail trade in rural districts custom has a powerful effect in fixing prices, and that even if truck did not exist, prices in so remote a region would be somewhat above the level of Aberdeen or Wick. I conclude this part of the subject by referring to the evidence of Mr. James Lewis, an extensive and experienced merchant in Edinburgh, as to the price and quality of certain samples of goods submitted to him. The goods were purchased at the shops of Messrs. Pole, Hoseason, & Co., Mossbank, by a person employed by me, and that of Mr. Morgan Laurenson, Lochend, Northmaven, by Charlotte Johnson, for her own use; and at Messrs. Spence & Co.'s shop at Uyea Sound, by myself. [A.T. Jamieson, 7945; C. Johnson, 15,811.] MOSSBANK The four articles first spoken to by Mr. Lewis were got at Mossbank. The meal was of very inferior quality, not saleable in the Canongate of Edinburgh; and though bought at 1s. 5d. a peck = £1, 4s. 6d. per boll, is valued at 20s. This corresponds exactly with the Shetland evidence as to value. Tea bought at 2s. 10d. is valued at 2s. 4d. as the retail price in Edinburgh, which gives 211/2 per cent. to cover carriage, risk, and profit. A tea bought at Mossbank at 2s. 4d. is of the same value as the 2s. 10d. tea, though somewhat different 'in style.' Sugar obtained at Mossbank at 6d. per lb. is worth 41/2d. in retail in Canongate, so that the merchant in Shetland takes 33 per cent. to cover carriage and profit. [J. Lewis, 16,816.] UYEASOUND. Tea bought at 2s. 8d. is valued at 2s. 6d. here; and Mr. Lewis thinks 2s. 10d. would be a fair value for it in Shetland, being a good tea, and carrying, according to the practice of the trade, a larger profit. Sugar bought at 5d. is valued at 41/2d. LOCHEND. Tea, for which the witness paid 4s. 4d., is valued at 3s., and though by far the best of the teas examined, was much over-priced. Loaf-sugar at 10d. should have cost only 6d., and would be too dear at 8d. even in Shetland. Flour bought at 2d. per lb. is not fit for use, and is not flour at all in the opinion of the reporter. Rice at 31/2d. per lb. is fairish; would sell at 21/2d. in Canongate, and might fairly be sold at 3d. in Shetland. Soap bought at 6d. per lb. was worth 4d., so far as Mr. Lewis could judge of it in a dry state. Tobacco sold at Grutness at 4d. per oz., and another sample sold at Gavin Henderson's, Dunrossness, at 4d. per oz., are both valued at 4s. per lb., or 3d. per oz. Throughout the islands the prices charged to the men in account are the same, with few exceptions, as those charged to the purchaser for cash. Mr. Adie gives a discount where the amount purchased is worth discounting, but he also usually gives a discount of 5 per cent. upon his men's accounts. In Unst a lower price seems to be charged where cash is paid. [W. Irvine, 3625; A. Tulloch, 5446; J.L. Pole, 9440, 9448; W. Robertson, 11,111, 13,635; W.B.M. Harrison, 15,726; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,295; T.M. Adie, 5636; J. Harper, 10,393; T. Anderson, 10,507.] __________________________________ SPLITTERS, BEACH-BOYS, AND WOMEN. WAGES SETTLED IN GOODS The fishermen hitherto spoken of are not strictly labourers receiving wages, but may be regarded as vendors of wet fish to the fish-merchant, or less properly as partners with him. But to persons employed in curing fish, wages are paid, and are often paid in goods to their full amount. In the payment of these persons, especially the women and boys, undisguised truck exists to an extent not exceeded in any of the trades in which the system has been carried to the highest perfection; but the important distinction is to be observed, that little or no compulsion or influence is required to make the work-people take the goods. WEEKLY PAYMENTS, CURING BY CONTRACT In some of the curing establishments at Lerwick the pays are as frequent as it is reasonably possible to make them. The people are paid every week; but in nine cases out of ten a large part of their weekly wages is anticipated in supplies at the employer's shop. This of course involves an amount of time and trouble, and a risk of bad debts, which no merchant would incur, except for a large profit, and which indeed led Messrs. Harrison & Sons to refuse altogether to give 'out-takes' to work-people of this class. The wages are, however, paid at Lerwick, and some of the people spend their money at the shops of the firm, which adjoin the pay-office. At Scalloway, where Messrs. Garriock & Co. have no shop, they employ persons at daily wages, which are paid weekly, or within the fortnight. But the habit of running accounts is so inveterate in Shetlanders that 'often what they have to get on the Saturday night is forestalled in the shops.' In contracts for curing, which are sometimes made, Messrs. Garriock & Co. have no dealings with the work-people employed by the contractors, but make such advances as are necessary to them in money. It is not always so where curing is ostensibly done by contract. Thus, in Unst, many of the work-people employed by a contractor at Westing have accounts in the shop-books of Spence & Co. at Uyea Sound; settlements being effected, and sometimes advances made, by the merchants themselves on the authority of lines given by the contractor, stating the amount of the beach fee. The balance due is ascertained in the merchant's books, after deducting the amount due by the contractor for his own supplies at the shop. [W.B.M. Harrison, 15,772; J. Manson, 2941; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,445, 12,443; A. Sandison, 10,108; P. Smith, 10,344.] BEACH FEES These are the cases in which exceptional circumstances are found in dealings between merchants and persons employed at the beaches. Throughout Shetland the most common arrangement is to pay splitters and beach-boys or women by a beach fee, which varies from £8 or £10 for the season to an experienced head curer, to 30s. to a beach-boy in his first year. Sometimes extra hands are paid weekly wages as day-workers. But even in these cases advances are generally made in goods; and sometimes, as at Mossbank and Greenbank, the account runs 'three, four, five, or six weeks or perhaps the whole season.' In a passage already quoted from the evidence of an extensive employer, it is made very clear that these people, in whatever way they are paid, are 'expected' to come to the employer for supplies. [W. Pole, 5917; p. 14, see above.] The operation of truck in this department is shown in the examination of Mr. Robertson, manager for Mr. Leask, who employs 80 persons regularly, and others occasionally, in his curing establishments near Lerwick. Mr. Robertson afterwards produced a 'time-book' for the people employed at Sound Beach, near Lerwick, 13,607. ....'to show the proportion of money and of goods received by each. [Produces book.]' '13,608. That is a time-book for the work-people employed in 1871 at Sound Beach, which is about a mile from Lerwick?-Yes. It shows the amount of cash paid, the balance, of course, being the amount of their accounts for the week.' '13,609. The first name is M'Gowan Gray?-He is the superintendent.' '13,610. The entry in his case is, Cash 2s., time 6, wages 10s.: what does that mean?-He has 10s. a week of wages, six days a week, and 2s. is the cash he has to get.' '13,611. The entry in the inner column is made at pay-day, showing the amount of cash he has to get?-Yes.' '13,612. How is the amount of cash ascertained?-We have a ledger account with each individual, which is settled every week, but perhaps it may not be balanced. We do not generally balance until the end of the year, but we square accounts before.' '13,613. Is the account squared to ascertain the amount of cash payable?-Yes, the amount of cash due to the individual.' '13,618. Are the balances entered here always paid in cash?- Always.' '13,619. Are they never allowed to lie?-Not with the work-people.' '13,620. Is the week ending 2d Sept. 1871, of which this- [showing]-is the account, a fair average of week throughout the season?-I think it will be about a fair average.' '13,621. It shows £5, 17s. 5d. as the total amount of wages earned; and of that, £3, 19s. 7d. was paid in cash at the end of the week, the rest having been taken out in the course of the week in goods?-Yes, principally in provisions.' '13,622. I see that in one case it had been altogether taken out in goods, and there was no cash due?-Yes; but in others you will find that there has been nothing taken out, and that the whole was paid in cash.' '13,623. I see that in six cases cash has been paid in full out of twenty-seven people employed?-Yes.' '13,624. I fancy that in that week rather more has been paid in cash than the average, because in the following week £2, 9s. 2d. was due, and £1, 1s. 6d was paid in cash. In another week £4, 12s. 2d. was payable, and £1, 11s. 10d. was paid in cash. In another week £4, 6s. 9d. was payable, and £1,4s. 5d was paid in cash, there being twenty-five persons employed in that week. Then, in the last week which appears in the book, £3, 14s. 7d. was payable, and £1, 2s. 7d. was paid in cash, there being twenty-five persons employed then also?-Yes; people of course require the same amount of provisions whether they earn much or little, the amount of their balance in cash being less where the work has been less.' [W. Robertson, 11,248.] The story from other places is much the same. Thus, at Scalloway, where Messrs. Hay & Co. have a curing establishment, their manager's evidence is:- '11,430. Is payment made to them in the shop at the counter?- Yes. Their advances are entered against them in the book, and then their wages are placed to their credit; and if they have anything to get, it is given to them.' '11,431. Is there a separate ledger account for each of these parties?-Yes; every one has an account, and when he gets advances these are put to that account.' '11,432. Can you say that any money ever passes at any settlement with these beach people?-Sometimes there has been a little, but not a great deal.' [G. Tulloch, 11,430.] The beach fee, which is the usual mode of payment to beach-boys, is almost always anticipated to a large extent, and the advances of goods sometimes begin as soon as the boy is engaged in the winter-, from three to six months before the work is begun. An example of the practice is presented in the evidence of James Garrioch, shopkeeper at Fetlar for Messrs. Hay & Co.; from an analysis of which it appears that of £16, 6s. payable as beach fees to nine boys, less than £7 was paid in cash, chiefly at settlement; and of £13, 5s. due to two men employed as curers, only £3 was paid in money. An examination of the books of Spence & Co. leaves the impression that most of the men and boys employed by them in curing at Balta Sound and Haroldswick take goods to an amount exceeding their beach fees. [W. Goudie, 4401; J. Flaws, 5011; T.M. Adie, 5754; T. Thomason, 6241; J. Anderson, 6602; T. Hutchison, 12,608; J. Robertson, sen.,14,086; J. Garrioch, 8791; W.G. Mouat, 10,277.] At Quendale, Sumburgh, and other places, where the tenants are bound to deliver their fish to the landlord, it is one of the conditions of their holding that 'they have to supply boys when they have them suitable for the purpose.' [G. Jamieson, 13,361; A. J.Grierson, J. Bruce jun., G. Irvine, W. Goudie, 4369; J. Burgess, 5106.] FAROE FISHING. The cod fishing in smacks, chiefly on the banks near the Faroe Islands, has become an important branch of commerce in Shetland, In 1871 it employed 63 smacks, whose total tonnage was 2809 tons. They carried 816 men.' The produce of the fishing 1871, an unsuccessful year, was 370,597 fish, weighing 14,337 cwt. dry. In addition to these vessels belonging to Shetland owners, five curers in Shetland purchased at a fixed price the fish of 21 English smacks (tonnage, 680; men, 210), being 200,042 fish, weighing 5097 cwt. dry. The whole cure from the Shetland Faroe fishing was thus 19,434 cwt. In 1867 the Shetland smacks, 61 in number, weighing 2326 tons, and carrying 699 men, brought home 399,148 fish, or 14,031 cwt. In that year 24 English smacks (tonnage, 960; men, 222) sold to curers in Shetland 175,125 fish, or 6280 cwt.; making the total cure in Shetland in that year 21,301 cwt. In the Faroe fishery the smacks always belong to the curer or merchant. A written contract is made with the men, generally in December. They agree to join the vessel on a day fixed, or to be fixed, in March, and to prosecute the fishing until the middle of August, on the coasts of Faroe, or other places in the North Sea, exerting themselves to make a successful fishing. If any person fails in the performance of his duty, his fee is to be reduced. The owners become bound to cure the fish, which the men split and salt on board as soon as caught. The owners sell the fish, when cured, for the benefit of all concerned. From the proceeds are deducted the expense of curing and of bait, together with a commission of five per cent. in some cases, for management and sale, allowances to master and mate, and score money, 6d. or 9d. per score of sizeable fish, to be divided among the crew according to the number caught by each man. The net proceeds after these deductions are equally divided between the owners and the crew, the crew accepting their half in full of wages and provisions, except 1 lb. of biscuit provided by the owners. The share to be taken by each man, whether a full share or a half share, 2-3, 7-12 share, or whatever it may be, is written opposite the signature of each man. The men are bound, if the master or owners see fit, to leave Faroe for Iceland before the 30th August 'to endeavour for a late voyage' to go and fish for wages and victuals on a scale annexed to the agreement. These stipulations, with some others for the protection of the vessel, are usually in the agreement; but one owner uses a much shorter form, which will be found in the Evidence. [L.F.U. Garriock, 12,414; T.M.Adie, 5726; J. Walker, 15,941, 15,957; W. Pole, 5956; W. Robertson, 13,603.] The vessel is fitted out ready for sea by the owners; salt and curing materials are put on board at the joint expense; but the men provide themselves with lines and hooks, and all provisions except bread. These they always buy at the owner's shop, and they are entered in their private accounts. It is unnecessary to analyze the evidence as to the custom of dealing with the merchant-owner for provisions, etc. for the family, which is exactly similar to the custom already described as prevailing among the ling fishermen. Some of that evidence has already been noticed, and the chief passages are noted on the margin. Some of the evidence led me to think that the proportion of out-takes to earnings is less in the Faroe fishing than the ling fishing, and this theory was confirmed by several obvious considerations. The men are often young men without families or with small families, and they sometimes live at such distances from the merchant's shop as to make it inconvenient to resort thither constantly. Moreover, in years of average success, the earnings of the Faroe fishing are larger than those of the ling fishing, and the men therefore are generally more independent. It follows from the nature of the employment, that they are also upon the whole a more active and energetic class of men than those exclusively engaged in the ling fishery. [C. Sinclair, 1157; J. Johnston, 12,232; W.B.M. Harrison, 15,720; P. Garriock, 15,212; M. Johnston, 7868; J. Pottinger, 13,592; W. Blance, 6099; P. Blance, 8521, (supra p. 15) W. Pole, 5956.] It appears, notwithstanding, both from the statements of witnesses and the returns, that a very considerable proportion, not less than in the ling fishery, of the earnings of Faroe fishermen is paid in 'out-takes.' Mr. Lewis Garriock, one of the leading merchants, says: 'The fishermen's proportion is paid to each of them in cash, under deduction of any provisions and articles of clothing for themselves, and provisions, etc., supplied to their families during the season, so far as they have supplied themselves from us; but they are under no obligation to take such advance from us, and can, if they choose, buy their articles from any shopkeeper, either for cash (which many of them have spare) or on credit. A few of the men can do without advances, having spare money; but the fishing could not be carried on if we were not to supply them, especially as regards the lads in their first and second year.' 'In years when the fishing is not remunerative advances merchants making these lose heavily in bad debts.' 'I have gone carefully over the accounts with the crews of two smacks, and produce an abstract of the men's accounts, which shows that, as respects one of them in 1870, we accounted to them for £427,19s. 2d., of which they had from us for lines, hooks, and provisions on board, £71, 7s. 9d.; clothing, and supplies of meal, etc., to their families, £114, 14s. 5d.; and in cash, £239, 17s. The other crew, in 1870, had, in lines, hooks, and provisions, £81, 7s. 11d.; goods, £129, 0s. 8d.; and in cash, £374, 13s. 6d. The same crew, in 1871, in lines, provisions, etc., £63, 3s. 4d.; goods, £67, 7s.; cash, £198, 9s. 7d. Looking at the last two years, as regards our fishermen in smacks, it appears they have had considerably more than half their gross shares paid them in cash .' 'We would, as merchants, greatly prefer a cash system, payment being made upon the fish being delivered, the same as we do to English smacks fishing-for us at a contract price-and we derive about one-third of our cure from this source. But I believe were such a mode attempted, it would lead to fixed wages, and would end in loss to both men and owners and a great falling off in this branch of the fishery.' I have already mentioned that some attempts have been made to hold tenants or their sons bound to engage in their landlords' or tacksmen's smacks for this fishing; but it rather appears that these attempts have not always been successful. [See pp. 7, 15] The men have not come forward to complain of this. The only grievance which some of them have stated is, that they do not see the bills of sale, and that they are therefore not satisfied that they are fairly treated in settling. [M. Johnston, 7868; P. Blance, 8531; J. Pottinger, 13, 658.] HOME COD FISHERY. This fishery is carried on chiefly by Garriock & Co., Reawick, who used to have ten or twelve, but last year had only five smacks engaged in it, with crews of nine hands. The fishing season is from 1st May to 15th August.* The men are engaged on shares, and are settled with in the same way as those on board the Faroe smacks. There is this difference, that the owners do not provide bread or coals, and the men get seven-twelfths of the earnings. The men come home every week. A copy of a settlement with the crew of one of these vessels, produced by Mr. Garriock, shows that four-fifths of the whole earnings were paid in cash, the rest being taken in goods. * , 31,851, 31,974. by A. Anderson, p. 22 (London 1834. Pp. 32). [L.F.U. Garriock, 14,468; J. Johnston, 12,236; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,474.] KELP The manufacture of kelp from sea-weed is still prosecuted to a large extent on the coasts of Shetland. The tang or sea-weed is gathered and burnt by women, from May till August. In most cases the fish-merchant of the district has a tack or lease of the kelp-shores from the landlord, for payment of a royalty of about 15s. per ton. The women are employed by him, or without any previous arrangement gather the kelp and burn it,- of course with the understanding that they must deliver it to him. They invariably have accounts at his shop for provisions, tea, and dry goods. The merchants themselves state that these accounts generally exhaust the whole summer's earnings. The accounts are generally settled in winter,-sometimes, as in Unst, when the kelp is delivered; and it is not alleged that the women have any difficulty in getting money, if any is due to them, at settlement. There are in most districts two prices for kelp, or more properly two rates of wages for gathering and burning kelp,-at present, 4s. per cwt. if paid in cash, 4s. 6d. if paid in goods; and it is usually paid in goods. In one or two places I found only one price, 4s.; and at Greenbank, in North Yell, Messrs. Pole, Hoseason, & Co. pay 3s. 6d. in cash, and 4s. in goods. In Unst, from 120 to 130 women were employed and at Lunna 60. [P.M. Sandison, 5262; H. Williamson, 6337; Mrs Hughson, 6360; E. Peterson; 6466; J. Anderson, 6632; D. Greig; J. Brown, 7986; J. Garriock, 8839.] EGGS, BUTTER, ETC. Every shopkeeper in the country districts buys eggs and butter. The wife of the small farmer has the management of this department of rural economy. She takes the eggs and butter to the shop, and seldom thinks of getting money for them. They are commonly paid for in goods, which are handed over at the time; but it does not appear that money would be refused if asked for. I found no instance of transactions of this kind being entered in an account. [E. Peterson, 6484; W. Stewart, 8967; A. Sandison, 10,169; G. Tulloch, 11,437; W. Harcus, 11,853; G. Georgeson, 12,038, 12,047; A. Abernethy, 12,254; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,295; R. Henderson, 12,929; T. Tulloch, 13,015; R. Simpson, 14,022.] HOME-SPUN CLOTH. In some districts the people make a grey woollen cloth, which they dispose of to the merchants or shopkeepers. Mr. Anderson, Hillswick, states that most of his dealings in this cloth are settled for at the time in cash or goods. Another witness testifies to the difficulty of getting money, and his being obliged to take goods; and it appears that formerly there was one price in goods and another in cash. There is little evidence about this industry, which is now confined to particular districts. It shows that those who are free prefer to settle in cash or goods, as they choose, at the time of delivery; but that where the maker or her husband is indebted, it enters the account, and the merchant gives such amount of cash or goods as he judges fit. The wool is sometimes provided by the merchants at a price fixed and marked in account, and the cloth is paid for at the current price when returned, the cost of the wool being deducted. The people never think of selling the manufactured goods to another merchant. It may be a question whether the colourable sale of the materials to the workwoman saves transactions of this kind, in the making of woollen cloth, from the operation of the existing Truck Act. [Mrs. C. Johnston, 8163, 8124.] HERRING FISHERY. The herring fishery is prosecuted in Shetland to a very limited extent, and in late years has not been fortunate. It has been said that this want of success is because the men of Shetland do not go to the herring fishing till late in the year, when the shoals have passed them. In 1833 the herring fishing in Shetland is stated to have employed 500 boats and 2500 men; and the total number of barrels cured to have been 10,000 in 1830, 20,000 in 1831, 28,000 in 1832, and 36,000 in 1833.* It is carried on in August and September by some of the men who have been engaged in the ling fishery during the earlier part of the season. The men are paid at a fixed rate per cran, as at Wick, the men buying from the curer nets, which are put into their accounts. A witness stated that it took him, or rather his crew, between eight and nine years to pay off the price of his nets, 'because they had lean fishings.' The price of the herrings is credited to the men at the annual settlement. *Mr. Anderson's pamphlet on the 'Herring and White Fisheries in the Shetland Islands,' gives an account of the herring fishing as it existed in 1834, showing that it was prosecuted then, as it is now, under the same circumstances as to truck and tenure as have been detailed with regard to the ling fishery. [T. Robertson, 8605; W. Williamson, 10,337.] Mr. J. Robertson, sen., describes his recent experience in the herring fishery in the north-west of the Mainland. He arranged with some of the men who fished ling for him in summer that they should fish herring also for him, instead of Mr. Adie, for whom they had in previous years gone to the herring fishing. It was part of the arrangement that he should 'clear them off with Mr. Adie,' by paying their debts in accounts with him. It thus cost Mr. Robertson £300 in cash advances, which, he says, 'account for the large amount of debt shown to be due in 1870' by his fishermen. These men get half the fish for their labour, and the other half goes to the credit of the boat and nets supplied by the merchant. The price of the herring is the same as that paid by Messrs. Hay & Co. [J. Robertson, sen., 14,108; 14,126.] It would seem that the large sum required for nets is apt, as at Wick, to lay upon the fisherman an amount of debt which he is ill able to bear. [C. Sinclair, 1135.] PAYMENTS TO PAUPERS. In the last Report of the Board of Supervision of the Poor, there is a 'Special Report by the General Superintendent of the Northern District (Mr. Peterkin) as to the Administration of the Poor-Law in Shetland.' The concluding part of this Report describes fully and correctly the facts as to shop dealings with paupers; and as it was communicated to me before I went to Shetland, I did not consider it necessary to spend much time in making further inquiries in regard to a subject already so carefully investigated. In one of the parishes, where the poor-law is practically administered, as Mr. Peterkin says, by these merchants and fish-curers, the inspector of poor was examined; and his evidence shows, I think, that the recent action of the Board of Supervision in this matter has been as effective as could be expected in a country where it is difficult or impossible to find either members of boards or inspectors altogether free from interest in 'shops.' An example of the state of things described by Mr. Peterkin is afforded by the evidence of Gilbert Scollay, who is employed by the parishes of Delting and Lunnasting to keep paupers. He is indebted to Mr. Adie, chairman of the Parochial Board of Delting; he signed an order entitling Mr. Adie to draw all the money payable to him by the parish for the support of a lunatic in his charge; and he got part of his supplies from Mr. Adie's shop, and part from Mr. Robertson's shop at Vidlin, in Lunnasting, in consequence of his having in his keeping another pauper from that parish. [Appendix, p. 65; J. Bruce, 7638, L.F.U. Garriock, 12,503; G. Jamieson, 15,407, 15,418, 15,468; G. Scollay, 8387, 8389, 8418, 8419, 8427; Poor-Law Directory for 1871.] FAIR ISLAND. This island is situated half way between Orkney and Shetland, being about twenty-five miles distant from each. It is about two miles in length, and one in breadth. The population in 1861 was 380; but, after a season of great scarcity, about 100 of the people emigrated to America. Emigration has taken place also at other times. Thus-'Six families left Fair Island and came to Kirkwall in 1869. We all left because meal was so dear, and wages were so low. They all left of their own accord.' I was informed by Mr. Balfour, of Balfour and Trenaby, that a colony of Fair Island people form a fishing village in Stronsay, in Orkney, where they have now been for two generations. At all times emigration must have been necessary to prevent intolerable overcrowding in so small an area. and yet the whole circumstances of the island show that this remedy is resorted to with great reluctance. At present the island is inhabited by about 40 families, or 226 persons. [T. Wilson, p. 425; J. Bruce, jun. p. 330; T. Wilson, 16,656.] The island is the property of Mr. John Bruce, jun., of Sumburgh. Before 1864 it belonged to Mr. Stewart of Brough, a proprietor in Orkney, and was held in tack by merchants of Orkney, who bought the people's fish and sold them provisions and goods. It was impossible in winter to visit the island, or to get any witnesses brought out of it. But as the truck system was generally said to be practised there to an excessive degree, I received evidence from various persons acquainted with the island, viz.: Mr. Bruce, the proprietor; his factor; persons who had visited the island in his employment; and from two of its former inhabitants now living at Kirkwall, who left it about two years ago. The people are obliged to sell their fish (seath or coal-fish) to Mr. Bruce. They get a lower price than that paid in Shetland. Mr. Bruce says: 'As I have to keep a store there for the convenience of the islanders, I discourage them from trading with any one else, as the only chance to make my store pay is to get the whole or the greater part of their custom.' 'Though there is a rule that the islanders shall not trade with others, I have never enforced this rule where I believed the parties visiting the island did not attempt to buy fish-in fact, in many cases I have given liberty to parties to trade with the islanders; and the only case in which I have enforced the rule, is in the case of a man from Orkney who, I had evidence to prove, stole my fish from the station at night, and shipped it on board of his vessel.' 'I have no poor-rates and no paupers in Fair Isle, and I have never evicted a tenant. If a widow or other poor person can't pay their rents, they sit rent free, and get help from their friends; and my manager has orders to see that no one starves.' And again: '13,326. With regard to Fair Isle, is there a standing prohibition against other traders dealing with the inhabitants there?-To a certain extent there is. I don't object to people trading there, if they confine themselves to hosiery and eggs, and that sort of thing; but what I am afraid of is, that persons may go there and buy fish.' '13,327. The inhabitants there are under an obligation, as a condition of their tenure, to fish for you?-Yes.' '13,328. As the landlord, do you place a restriction upon the sale of their cattle also?-Yes, there is a rule to that effect, but it is a very lax one.' '13,329. Is it not virtually the result of the obligation to fish or to sell cattle to the proprietor alone, that the proprietor has the power of fixing the price, and that the tenant has no option at all with regard to that in either case?-That is not the result. Even although the proprietor buys the cattle, and prevents any one else from competing with him, still he respects public opinion so far that he gives the full value for the animal.' '13,330. Then public opinion is the only check upon the proprietor, and of course his own sense of right?-That is his only check.'' It is obvious that rules such as these must be injurious, unless they are worked not only with a sincere desire for the true welfare of the people, but with diligent care and sound judgment. There is no reason to doubt that Mr. Bruce desires to be both kind and just to his people; but it is plain that at Fair Island, as at Sumburgh, his system has not proved advantageous to the people who are placed so entirely at his mercy. The people complain that they get a lower price for the fish than is paid in Shetland, and that excessively high prices are charged for the goods sold to them at the shop. They also complain that wages allowed for work to the proprietor are too low, and that they were prevented by him from working at better wages to one Williamson, who bought a ship wrecked on the island in 1868, and who employed men to work at the wreck. The settlements are annual, though sometimes a year has been passed; and they do not take place till June, when all accounts are settled up to let May. No money is asked for or paid until settlement. The restrictions of the islanders to the master's store is strict, and indeed avowed; and there is some difficulty and risk in dealing with the strangers who occasionally come to the island to trade. One of these, James Rendall of Westray, Orkney, has come into collision with Mr. Bruce's people; the people of the house in which he lodged were forbidden to allow his business to be carried on there, and he was driven to erect a stage below high-water mark and sell his goods there. Once at least, when Mr. Bruce and his factor were on the island, he carried on his traffic by night. The prohibition is directed, according to Mr. Bruce, only against the sale to strangers of cattle and fish; but the people have so little money, that that may be held as nearly equivalent to a prohibition to buy goods from them. [H. Smith, 4747; T. Wilson, 16,656; L. Wilson, 16,659; G. Irvine, 13,238; J. Smith, 13,058.] The price paid for fish by Mr. Bruce is generally 10s. a ton less than he gives at Grutness. The prices of goods are considerably higher than even the prices at Grutness. Thus two witnesses say that meal, before they left the island in 1869, was never lower than 30s. per boll, while they had bought it from Rendall at 26s. and 24s., and from Williamson, when he was working at the wreck of the 'Lessing,' 3s. or 4s. cheaper than at the shop. It could then be got at Kirkwall at 23s. or 24s. Rendall sold sugar at 6d., while the same quality was 7d. at the shop; and tea at 9d. and 10d., while it was 11d. and 1s. 1d. at the shop, and once 1s. 3d. On a rare occasion Mr. Bruce had loaf-sugar at the shop, which was 1s 2d. or 1s. 3d. per lb. Soap, invoiced to Mr. Bruce at 28s. per cwt., was sold at Fair Island at 6d. per lb., exactly double the wholesale price. [H. Gilbertson, 4734; T. Wilson, 16,656; L. Wilson, 16,659; G. Irvine, 13,234, 13,235.] FOULA. CENSUS. This island is situated eighteen miles from the nearest point on the west side of the Mainland. It is three miles long, and two miles broad. Its hills or precipices are very lofty, the highest point being 1369 feet above the sea. In 1861, the population was 233. The people are said to be a superior race to those of Fair Island. It is the property of R.T.C. Scott, Esq. of Melby. The fishing and the shop are entirely in the hands of Messrs. Garriock & Co., who are factors for the proprietor. No other shop is allowed, and no other traders have tempted for some time to trade with the people at the island. I did not hear, directly or indirectly, that any complaints are made by the people with regard to the business arrangements of Mr. Garriock. It is said, indeed, that the people are trucked; but current rumour in Shetland, even among the opponents of truck, does not allege that any gross abuses exist in the island. The island is difficult of access, and the only evidence with regard to it is that of Mr. Garriock himself. '12,880. Would you continue to supply them if you did not have the bulk of their dealings?-No, we would not keep a shop there if we did not have the bulk of their dealings; it would not be worth our while. I may explain that, a few years ago, some of the youngmen wished to cure their own fish, and go out with them to the Mainland. There was a little discussion amongst them about it, and we put it to them whether they would wish to have that liberty or not; and in order to ascertain their views, we sent in a paper to the schoolmaster, and asked him to circulate it among the men. [The witness put in a document in the following terms, signed in the affirmative by 65 men:- . '"Garriock & Co., who have for the last fourteen years kept a curing establishment on the island of Foula, and found the undivided produce small enough to pay for the trouble and risk of it, while furnishing the necessaries of life, fishing material, etc., at ordinary rates, would, now that some parties have shown an inclination and even begun to cure their own fish, wish to ascertain the views of the people as to whether they desire G. & Co. to continue their establishment as before; or would they prefer each to cure as it suits him, and provide his necessaries as he can? Whilst there is always the most perfect freedom to all to fish, labour and sell their produce in what appears to them the best market, the isolated position of the island appears to require that one system be followed by all." ' '"The heads of families and other fishermen will therefore please indicate their views by subscribing below, adding yes if the former system be preferred; or no, if otherwise.-1867."] '12,381. Were there any negatives to the paper?-No. It created great alarm amongst the people, because they were afraid they would be left to their own resources.' '12,382. In consequence of that you continued to supply the islanders?-Yes, we went on as before ....' '12,386. Since you sent in that paper, has any attempt been made by the inhabitants of Foula to cure their fish themselves?-No; we found it needless to have sent in that paper, because they had given it up themselves, as it had not been paying them.' '12,387. But that paper had the effect of making it quite clear to the inhabitants of Foula that they must either give their fish to you green, or you would remove your shop?-We would either have their whole trade or none of it. It is a great risk to send vessels and boats there, and part of their trade would not pay, I may say that we supply goods there at the same price as we do at our shop at Reawick.' NORTHERN WHALE AND SEAL FISHING. The owners of Vessels engaged in this trade, and belonging to Hull, Dundee, and Peterhead, find it convenient to engage large numbers of their crew at Lerwick, where they call in their voyages northwards in February or March and in May. For this purpose agents at Lerwick are employed, who receive a commission of 21/2 per cent. on the wages of the men. None of these agents are, I believe, licensed by the Board of Trade, under sec. 146 of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1854; but no prosecution for penalties for supplying seamen, under sec. 147 of the Statute, has been directed against any of them, or against the masters of the ships for which they act. The men are paid by monthly wages at a low rate, and by sums of 'striking-money,' 'fish money,' 'oil money,' and 'bone money,' which vary according to the success of the voyage. The whole earnings are payable when the men are discharged, except a second payment of oil-money-a small balance left over until the oil has been boiled, and its exact due amount ascertained. It was stated by witnesses examined before Mr. Sellar in 1871,* and by Mr. Hamilton in a Report to the Board of Trade partly printed in the former Report,** that the chief profit of these agents, who are also shopkeepers, 'arises from what they can make out of the earnings of the men;' that the agents are interested in finding employment for the men who are in their debt, the inference being that they procure engagements for them in preference to others; that, for security of the agent's advances, allotment notes are made out in his favour; that even men who have means to pay for their outfit are obliged to deal at the agents' shops, that they may have their assistance in getting an engagement; and that settlements of wages, which ought by law to be made at the Custom-house within three days of the ship's return, are often delayed for months, in order that the accounts at the agents' shops may be increased. *First Report, Min. of Ev., qu. 44,217 ** Report, p. xcix. AGENTS' EVIDENCE IN CONTRADICTION OF FORMER REPORT Most of the agents engaged in this business came forward to contradict the statements of the former witnesses, and of Mr. Hamilton's official Report; and they evinced much indignation, especially with regard to the latter. Upon their own evidence, however, the state of matters in times not very long past is not inaccurately described by Mr. Hamilton. It is true, indeed, that his Report, as printed, does not notice that the Board of Trade, acting through Mr. Gatherer, Collector of Customs and Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office at Lerwick, had, shortly before he wrote, taken measures to secure that the men should be paid their wages according to law, in cash, in presence of the Superintendent; but the efforts of the authorities do not appear to have been quite successful at the time when the Report was written. Although even now some improvements are required, the men's dealings with the agents have evidently decreased during the last few years. [L.F.U. Garriock, 12,543.] The understanding that men shall get their supplies where they get their employment is so universal in Shetland, that it is not surprising that it should have extended to the men employed in the whaling ships; and although Mr. Hamilton's description may be coloured by his personal acquaintance with a few extreme cases, a knowledge of the system prevailing in the local fisheries certainly raises the strongest presumption in favour of its substantial accuracy. [A. Sandison, 7088; A. Moffat, 16,352; A. Goodlad, 16,399; P. Halcrow, 15,549; W. Robertson, 16,581.] The substance of the evidence on this subject may be stated in a few sentences:- The debts of the seamen to the agents are often considerable in bad years, and the agents often lose a great deal by bad debts. The amount of the accounts after successful voyages may be seen from the abstracts given in by Messrs. Hay & Co. and Mr. Tulloch. Mr. Tulloch and Mr. Tait agree in saying that the men's average out-takes still amount to about one-fifth of their earnings; and Mr. Robertson estimates them at one-fourth. In the case of the 'Camperdown,' in 1865, under the old system, the men's earnings for both the seal and whale fishery amounted to £1537, 10s. 3d.; the amount of cash paid was £1120, 12s. 3d.; leaving £416, 18s. for goods sold. This case was selected by the witness. The accounts in the agent's ledger are settled when the men come to Lerwick for the purpose, many within a month or two after the men are landed, but in other cases, where the men live at a distance, not for several months. No doubt the men are in some measure to be blamed for this; but there can be no doubt that they would attend for payment at the proper time if the agents and shipmaster seriously insisted on their doing so. Before 1867 the men received the balance of wages due to them at the agent's office, the whole of the payments in cash and supplies of goods made in the course of the year to themselves or their families having been deducted. The account was balanced by payment of the sum remaining due after these deductions. Since 1867 the account in the agent's books is still in the same form, and is balanced exactly in the same way; but the seaman goes through the form of receiving at the Mercantile Marine Office the whole sum due to him, under deduction only of the advances, etc., allowed by the Merchant Shipping Act. His account is read over and made ready for settlement before he goes to the Mercantile Marine Office; and after he has got the lawful sum of money there, he returns to the agent's office, and either hands back what he owes for goods or cash advanced over and above the legitimate deductions already made, or he hands over the whole money he has got at the Custom-house to the agent, that he may pay himself, and settle the account in the regular Shetland fashion. The accounts due for former years to other agents are sometimes deducted from the balance due; and with this view, it was formerly the practice, not yet quite obsolete, that lists of indebted men should be handed from one agent to another, and that their old accounts should be found standing against them in the books of their new agent. Down to 1870 accounts were still 'squared' at the Custom-house in some cases, the agent handing over there only the exact sum due to the men. [W. Robertson, 10,938, 10,048; J. Gatherer, 15,895; A. Munro, 16,193; W. Robertson, 16,631; W. Robertson, 11,130, 11,213; J. Leisk, 14,632; A. Goodlad, 16,419; A. Munro, 16,161; G. Williamson, 9624; W. Robertson, 11,029; W.B. Tulloch, 14,382; W. Garriock, 16,800; W.Robertson, 10,974, 11,031; W.B. Tulloch, 14,420, A. Munro, 16,182.] It is explained to the men, when they first come to the agent's office and have their ledger account adjusted, that the 'account of wages' settled at the Mercantile Marine Office does not include the agent's account of supplies, and that he has to pay that afterwards; or he is told at the Custom-house to go down and pay his money back. It is still quite understood that the agent having the first claim on the man's wages in honour, if not in law, he has to go down at once to pay the amount of his account; and instances of failure in this respect are hardly known. [W. Robertson, 11,022, 11,212; G.R. Tait, 14,529.] The outfit and some of the family supplies are almost always taken from the agent's shop; but many of the men live so far from Lerwick, that the distance forbids them to deal with him to a large extent. The circumstances of the men are generally so much better than those of ordinary ling fishermen, that they are not compelled to get credit to the same extent, or perhaps can get it near home, since the enforcement of the law in 1867 gave some security that the earnings of the year's voyages would not be forestalled. The outfit is still almost invariably got from the agent; and Mr. Robertson, whose special mission was to deny everything in the former evidence and in the Report by Mr. Hamilton, could not point to any case where it had been got elsewhere. Young hands in their first voyage must get their outfit from the agent; and as in their case the outfit is generally very expensive, the number of young hands engaged since 1867 has decreased, the agents being unwilling to give an outfit or credit, which one season's wages are often insufficient to pay. [W. Robertson, 10,973; A.B. Jamieson, 14,318, 14, 321; J. Leisk, 14,637, 14,680; W. Robertson, 10,940, 10,954; W.B. Tulloch, 14,448; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,509; W. Robertson, 16,593; P. Moodie, 14,675.] Notwithstanding the enforcement of the law as to payment of wages, the old custom of dealing with the agent who gets the engagement is still not without force; and some men say that it is still so strong as to deprive them of credit elsewhere, because they are expected not only by the agent, but by other tradesmen, to be running an account at his shop. [A. Moffat, 16,352; A. Goodlad, 16,399.] Allotment notes have not come into general use at Lerwick; and when they are drawn up, they are sometimes taken in the name of the agent, or some one in his employment. Many families in either case are supplied with goods as they want them, or, if they live in Lerwick, with a weekly allowance of meal, the only difference being that the sums in allotment notes need not undergo the process of being handed over at the Mercantile Marine Office. The money obtained on advance notes is often paid back at once to the agent for outfit or supplies, or rather the advance note is left with the agent, in security of the goods supplied. It is stated by Mr. Robertson (10,968) that the first month's advance is paid in cash. and that the men may spend it where they like. But since leaving Shetland I have received a very detailed statement by a seaman, that he was this year refused such payment unless he took two-thirds in goods. That statement, however, is not an oath, and therefore does not form part of the evidence. Of course an advance note is not strictly due until after the man has joined the ship; but the practice is as Mr. Robertson states in his evidence. Only one case is spoken to in which an agent refused or hesitated to give cash for a balance due to a seaman. But in older times it was usual to 'shove off' the men, giving 10s. or £1 at a time, and refusing to settle with them. [A. Blanch, 9144; G. Williamson, 9608; A.B. Jamieson, 14,311, W. Robertson, 11,180; A. Goodlad, 16,358; P. Halcrow, 15,552; W. Laurenson, 15,601.] It is in evidence that many men believe that the agents, who have unquestionably a voice in regard to the selection of the men, procure berths in the first place for those who are indebted to them for outfit and supplies. Of course they have, as they admit, a strong interest to do so; and it is said that masters have complained of inferior men being put upon them for this reason. But no very distinct evidence as to this could be obtained. Two cases are referred to in which agents declined to procure engagements for men, or tried to prevent their being engaged. In one of these the offence was having drawn the money due for the sealing voyage, instead of letting it remain until after the whaling voyage. [W.R. Tulloch, 14,490; W. Robertson, 16,572; W. Garriock, 16,280; T. Gifford, 15,552; W. Robertson, 10,959; G.R. Tait, 14,558; F. Gifford, 15,499; W.R. Tulloch, 14,483.] While, therefore, Mr. Hamilton's Report must be received with some qualification in regard to one or two points as to which he could not have full information, and while it must be granted that a cursory perusal of it leaves a stronger impression of the abuses it exposes than a more critical study of its language justifies, its general correctness with regard to a recent time has not been disproved but confirmed by the attacks to which it has been subjected. Indeed, nothing could more clearly demonstrate the truth of the general conclusions to which it leads, than the fact's, (1) that Messrs. Hay & Co., Mr. Tait, and Messrs. Laurenson & Tulloch, three out of the four agents at Lerwick, have within the last two years retired from the business, all stating that the commission of 21/2 per cent. is insufficient to remunerate them for the trouble of engaging and settling with the men; and (2) that all the agents concur, by refusing credits, in excluding from engagements the 'green hands,' from whom the chief part of their profits was formerly derived. It is not surprising that these respectable merchants, whose error consisted in carrying on business on a system deeply rooted in the country, and which in more than one case had descended to them from their fathers and grandfathers, should have felt deeply the interference of new laws, the expediency of which they were naturally unable to see. But, in noticing the effect of these laws, imperfectly as they have hitherto been observed, it is impossible to avoid asking whether some analogous regulations might not effectually extirpate the truck system in the other fishing industries in Shetland. HOSIERY AND SHETLAND In the Evidence, the word hosiery is used improperly to include the large class of woollen articles knitted by the Shetland women. The fineness of the wool of the Shetland sheep probably gave a very early impulse to this industry. It is recorded that in the seventeenth century a great fair for the sale of hosiery, properly so called, was held each year, on the occasion of the visit of the Dutch fishing fleet to Bressay Sound. The Rev. Mr. Brand says: 'The Hollanders also repair to these isles in June, as hath been said, for their herring fishing; but they cannot be said so properly to trade with the countrey as to fish upon their coasts, and they use to bring all sorts of provisions necessary with them, save some fresh victuals, as sheep, lambs, hens, etc., which they buy on shore. Stockins also are brought by the countrey people from all quarters to Lerwick, and sold to these fishers; for sometimes many thousands of them will be ashore at one time, and ordinary it is with them to buy stockins to themselves; and some likewise do so to their wives and children, which is very beneficial to the inhabitants, for so money is brought into the country there is a vent for the wooll, and the poor are employed. Stockins also are brought from Orkney, and sold there, whereby some gain accrues to the retailers, who wait the coming of the Dutch fleet for a market.' [Brand's , p. 132.] The 'Truck system' was even then in operation, for Mr. Brand says: 'These (Hamburg and Bremen)merchants seek nothing better in exchange for their commodities than to truck with the countrey for their fishes, which when the fishers engage to, the merchants will give them either money or ware, which they please.'-p. 131. The finer articles, now known as Shetland shawls, veils, etc., were not manufactured till a much more recent date. Dr. Edmonstone speaks of stockings as if they were the only product of the Shetland knitter's industry; * and stockings and gloves are the only articles of woollen manufacture specified as made in Shetland by the writers of the Statistical Account in 1841 [Stat. Acc. 16, 47]. Originally the trade was entirely carried on by persons knitting the wool grown by their own flocks, or procured from their neighbours; and they bartered the articles so made to merchants in Lerwick or elsewhere for goods of every kind. Transactions of this kind, which are still common, do not fall within the provisions of the existing Truck Acts, which apply only to the payment of wages, and not to sales. Mr. Arthur Laurenson, the head of the oldest house in this business, says: * , vol ii p. 1 (Edinr. 1809) 'It is only within the last twenty or thirty years that the women have been employed, so to speak, by the merchants. It was about 1840 or 1841 that the making of shawls began to get very common here; and about 1845 or 1846 there was a very great demand for them. After that the veil knitting commenced, about 1848 or 1849, and from 1852 to 1856 there was a very great trade done in veils.' KNITTING PAID IN GOODS Although payment in goods, or in account, of work done with the merchants' wool may be held to be an offence under the existing law, the custom of barter has so long existed in Shetland, and is so thoroughly interwoven with the habits of the people, that the question has never been raised in the local courts, and it does not even appear to have occurred to merchants that they might be held to infringe the law. In regard to both branches of the trade, the sale or barter of the knitted articles, and the employment of women to knit them, evidence has been freely given by the merchants themselves. In both branches of the trade, it is the custom and understanding of the country, from Unst to Dunrossness, that payment shall be made in goods. Formerly money payment was never thought of. Of late, however, the custom of giving a portion of the payment in cash has, according to Mr. Laurenson and other merchants, been increasing. But this alleged increase is, I think, so slight as to be hardly worth mentioning, except in regard to the very highest class of articles. These the merchants are anxious to get, and the women who knit them have learned to demand payment of the whole or a portion of the price in money. There are few knitters, however, of this class, and some of them sell their work out of Shetland. An effort was made by some merchants to show that money had, in some cases, been paid for hosiery; but the few cases in which sums of any amount were so paid, and the smallness of the payments (3d., 6d., and 1s.) which, in all but one or two exceptional cases, appear in the women's accounts, only prove how strictly the rule is observed that all hosiery transactions are to be settled in goods. The cases are too numerous to be specified in which women say that they never get money, because it is a thing the merchants never give, and that they never ask for it; or that they asked for it once, and being refused, did not apply again. I give a single example. Margaret Williamson says: '8314. Do you always get goods for your knitting?-Yes; I get goods, because I can get nothing else.' '8315. Do you want to get money?-I hardly ever ask for money. I asked for a penny the last time out of 35s., and they refused to give it to me. I bought all that I could buy out of the work I had taken in, and when it came to the last penny I asked for it, but they would not give it. That was at Mr. Linklater's.' '8316. What did he say he would give it in: sweeties?-No; they would not keep any sweeties for fear of having to give them.' '8317. What did they give you?-They gave me the penny at length, but they said we must take goods.' [A. Laurenson, 2136, 2168; R. Sinclair, 2399; C. Brown, 17,026; J. Anderson, 6645; R. Sinclair, 2440; W. Johnstone, 2836; J.J. Bruce, 3384; R. Sinclair, 2436; A. Eunson, 3422; C. Winwick, 15; E. Robertson, 238; A. Simpson, 313; B. Johnstone, 379; Janet Irvine, 87; M. Clunas, 3459; C. Williamson, 165; Jemima Tait, 354; E. Paterson, 6460; M. Hughson, 6347.] Knitters who sell their goods to the shopkeepers have not always an account in their books; perhaps, indeed, it may be said that, in a majority of cases in Lerwick, they have not. It is different in the country. But as it may often happen that a woman who brings a fine shawl or a lot of veils for sale does not want the whole value in goods at the time, or cannot make up her mind as to the particular article she will take, a balance of the price often stands over. The merchant will not give cash, unless it has been so specially agreed beforehand, for he would thereby lose the expected profit on his goods sold; and the knitter never thinks of offering to pay a discount for money. The balance is therefore (where the knitter has not an account) marked down in some corner of the day-book, or a line or voucher is given. The latter device has been adopted to a large extent in some shops. The most perfect, and perhaps the most extensive system of lines, is that in use in the shop of Messrs. R. Sinclair & Co. at Lerwick. This firm does not wish, they say, to give out lines, but would prefer that the women should take out the value at once. They have, however, been obliged to give lines; and they keep a line-book as a check, which was produced at the examination of Mr. R. Sinclair. This he stated to be the second book of the same kind which he had used since he perfected the system. It is a register of all the lines issued at the shop, and begins at the top of the first page, thus: LINE-BOOK 'Line-Book, March 1871. B.H. 6 £0 2 6 £0 2 6 17 0 3 3 0 3 3 45 0 11 0 0 11 0' And so on. M. Sanderson, 7297; R. Sinclair, 2592; J. Sinclair, 3251; R. Linklater, 2695.] For several pages at the beginning of the book the numbers are not consecutive; and it was explained that the unpaid notes in a previous book had been copied into this book, book, in order to avoid having to refer to two books in the course of business. The notation employed consists of the letters of the alphabet, with a number up to 100. When the single letters were exhausted, that is, when 2600 lines were issued, the lines were marked AA 1, AA 2, and so on, up to 100; and then AB 1, AB 2, up to 100, and so on till the latest entry, which was on January 4, 1872, DA 90. Each of the tickets (which are in this form-'CY 92-Credit bearer value in goods for 18s. R. Sinclair & Co., J.J.B. 22/12/72') is marked with the same letters and number the corresponding entry in this book. When it is returned, goods are given for its amount, or for part of it,-the payment in the latter case being sometimes marked on the line which is retained by the knitter. When the whole amount is paid the line is marked in the line-book 'Paid,' and the date of settlement is generally added, thus: 'B.H. 93 Paid 18/11/71 W.B. £0 1 6 £0 1 6 98 Paid 23/11/71 0 15 0 0 15 0' The majority of the lines now standing in the early pages of this book are still unpaid. Thus, on page 1, out of 29 lines from BAH 6 to BL 34 (199 lines issued within the same period having presumably been paid before this new register was begun), only 3 are remarked as paid. So, on the second page, out of 30 lines, from BL 36 to BO 24, only 4 are marked paid; and on page 3, from BO 40 to BR 57, only 3 are marked as paid. Taking as a specimen the 74 lines issued on the first four days of December 1871, the average amount of the sums for which they are granted is 5s. 6d. the actual amounts varying from 31s. 6d. to 1s. Out of these 74, 21 lines, amounting in all to £8, 6s. 2d (and averaging 7s. 1020/21d), were paid at 4th January. It does not appear whether the extinction of the lines is always effected by taking goods to the full amount of the line, or whether part of a line is not, on the occasion of a purchase of goods, transferred to a new line, which might very readily be done. Although Mr. Sinclair has the largest transactions in lines, they are resorted to when required by most of the merchants who buy hosiery or fancy goods. [J. Anderson, 6709; L. Moncrieff, 11,497.] A few other merchants employ the same system of lines and a line-book on a smaller scale; and they, too, ascribe the practice to their solicitude for the convenience of the knitters. The merchants of course have the benefit of getting their hosiery, to some extent, on credit; they have the use of the money without interest so long as it remains in their hands; and when they pay, they pay in goods on which they have a large profit. [T. Nicholson, 35; M. Laurenson, 7299.] SALE OR BARTER OF LINES It is natural to suppose that documents of this kind should come to be used as a sort of currency, in a district where money is so scarce as Shetland. This custom is not so wide-spread as might have been expected; but that lines are frequently transferred by the original holder, is clearly enough proved. The merchants who issue them are chary of admitting that such transfers are made, and some even seem to think it necessary to take precautions against such a proceeding. That the practice exists appears from the evidence of Mr. Sinclair's chief shopman, who admits that he has heard a 'vague report' that the lines have been exchanged; and when asked to explain the entry 'To lines' occurring in accounts in the journal or work-book, says: '... Sometimes the party that the account belongs to will have to pay another party so much, and she gives us instructions to mark a line for a certain amount in the book, and then give her that line to give to the other party, who comes back with it and gets the amount in goods.' '3383. Then the line is granted to your knitters for the purpose of paying their debt to another?-Yes.' '3384. Is that frequently done?-Not very often. It has happened occasionally.' [J.J. Bruce, 3355; R. Sinclair, 2581, 2591, 3617.] The evidence of the knitters themselves proves that the practice of selling or exchanging these lines is quite usual and well-known among the more necessitous of them, those who have no means of living but knitting. One respectable merchant in Lerwick gave up the practice of issuing lines, on account of the trouble and annoyance occasioned by this practice. [E. Robertson, 248; M. Hutchison, 1592; E. Moodie, 1879; W. Johnstone, 2880; J. Henderson, 11,637, 2897; W. Johnston, 2875.] WORK-BOOKS FOR KNITTERS EMPLOYED BY MERCHANTS The accounts of women who knit with the merchant's wool are kept in a 'work-book.' Settlements are made from time to time, more frequently than in the case of fishermen's accounts; and the women, though they seldom have a balance in their favour, are seldom allowed to take a larger amount in goods than is owing to them for work. I examined a number of work-books, and among others that of R. Sinclair & Co., which may be taken as a specimen. Each knitter has an account current with the firm, the debit side of which contains the amount of the goods and worsted furnished, the credit side the amount of articles of hosiery returned, and the sum allowed for each. The book seems to be well enough kept, and each account bears to be balanced from time to time. No signature is attached to the balance. The entries of tea are numerous, frequently more than one parcel being given in one day. Those of cash paid are very rare; in many accounts there are none. To Catharine M'Courtenay, who has numerous dealings, amounting to above £5 in eleven months, there are three payments of cash, of 31/2d. and 3d. each, on December 1st, 9th, and 19th, 1871. Mr. Sinclair pointed out the case of Marion Sinclair and sisters (who are tenants of his own at a rent of 17s. 6d. a quarter, which is entered on the debit side of the account), as one in which cash had been paid. The amount of the account from January 16, 1871, when there is a balance against her of £1, 5s. 41/2d. is nearly £10 and the amount of cash paid is 9s. 9d., of which 1s. 3d. is entered 'Cash for dressing. On the other hand, looking through the book, I found one payment of 10s. in cash to Mrs. Irvine, Scalloway, and of 5s. to another, while one woman from Troswick is credited with a payment of 5s. in cash. Other payments in cash, on one side or the other, occur, but they are rare and of small amount. [A. Laurenson, 2216; R. Sinclair, 2378, 2462; R. Anderson, 3069.] PASS-BOOKS Sometimes, but not in the majority of cases, knitters have pass-books. The neglect to have them is no doubt due to the same reluctance to undertake unnecessary trouble on the one side, and carelessness or trustfulness on the other side, which make pass-books so rare among fishermen. [R. Sinclair, 2383, 2455; B. Johnston, 385; Janet Exter, 4099; E. Robertson, 232; see above p. 24. (fishermen).; Mrs. Nicholson, 3504; M. Jamieson, 14,045.] The tone in which the knitters themselves speak of the custom of the trade varies considerably. In general, they declare their decided preference for payment in cash; and many came forward voluntarily to complain of the present custom. Some have felt it for years back to be a grievance, and have been in the habit of complaining of it to those from whom they could look for sympathy or assistance; while all try to sell their productions for money rather than goods, if they can get as high a nominal price. They manage to sell many articles to strangers who visit the country in summer, to ladies who have made a practice of getting them sold to friends from charitable motives, and to women in Lerwick who act as agents for merchants in the south. [C. Winwick, 53; J. Irvine, 82; M. Hutchison, 1564; M. Clunas.] It is stated that there are two prices for knitted articles, a price in goods and a cash price; but the impression among many of the people is, that it is better to take the high price in goods than the lower price in money This is described by Mr Sinclair: '2609. Have you ever stated to the knitters, who were coming to sell to you, that they had better take ready money and take less of it?-I have. It would save us a very great deal of bother if they would do so.' '2610. What have they said to that proposal?- They have never entered heartily into it. There was a case I may refer to, not of women employed to knit for us, but of women from whom we bought shawls over the counter, which corroborates what I have already said on that subject. I cannot now recall the names of the parties, but I would know their faces at once.' '2611. Were they women from Dunrossness?-Yes. Three girls came into my shop, each of them having a shawl to sell, worth £1. At that time the noise had come up about cash payments, and I said to them, "Now, what would you take for these in money? I am not saying that I will give you money, but what would you take for them in money?" One of them said, "I ken you will just be going to give us money." I said "Why? Don't you think the goods you get cost us money?" She said, "I ken that fine. I will give my 20s. shawl for 18s. 6d." I said, "I could not give her 18s. 6d. for it, and asked her if she would take 17s." She said, "No," and that it would be most unconscionable to take 3s. off the price of a shawl. I said, "I don't think it, because when I sell the shawl again, I can only get 20s. for it, and then there is a discount of 5 per cent. taken off." '2612. I suppose that bit of trading came to nothing: they did not take money?-No; they did not take money; but another one said, "I would not sell my shawl for 18s. 6d. or 19s. either, for I see a plaid in your shop that I want for my shawl; and what good would it do me to sell you the shawl for 17s., and then take 3s. out of my pocket to pay you in addition, when you are willing to give me the plaid in exchange for the shawl?" That was her answer to me.' [A. Laurenson, 2168; R. Sinclair, 2397; R. Linklater, 2726; H. Linklater, 2920 (contra).] Mr. Morgan Laurenson says: '7306. In that case, is a lower price given in cash than would have been given in goods?-Yes, because in ordinary transactions I have a profit only on the goods sold. I may state, however, that the women are unwilling to take cash. I remember that on one occasion, when I was changing from one place of business to another, I had no goods, and I offered the knitters cash for their hosiery, at such a price as would give me a reasonable profit, but they objected to take it. For instance, in the case of gentlemen's undershirts, the usual price given may be from 4s. to 4s. 6d. I have offered to give them in the one case 3s. 8d., and in the other 4s. in cash, but they have invariably refused. They would rather leave it, and get such goods as they wanted, than take a lower price in cash; and that has got to be the rule. They are very fond of getting the highest nominal value; and I can show from my books that, as a rule, I give the full price for each article which we charge in selling them, and have only a profit on the goods we give in exchange.' Some knitters say that the price is low enough, even if it were paid in cash, and conclude, perhaps illogically, that they are therefore better to take the goods. [Joan Ogilvy, 9752; M. Jamieson, 14,052.] SALE OF GOODS GOT FOR KNITTING With many women money is a necessity for payment of rent, purchase of provisions, and other purposes. Cotton goods, tea, and shoes, which are almost the only things they can get for their knitting, are not enough to keep life in them. Those who depend entirely on their own labour have therefore to find some other means of providing themselves with these necessaries; and it is chiefly by them that the complaints of the present system are made. Some work out-of-doors for part of the year, in fish-curing or farm-work. In many cases they have sold the goods obtained at the shop, or bartered them with neighbours, for potatoes or meal. This practice cannot be described as universal, because the greater number of knitters live with parents, or have some supplementary occupation by which they get money. But still the practice is proved to have been so common that the ignorance which many witnesses profess with regard to its existence is surprising. Tea especially is a sort of currency with which knitters obtain supplies of provisions. Even if there were not direct testimony to this effect, it would be a fair inference from the large quantities of tea which the pass-books and merchants' books show that they get. Thus, in one account, more than a half of the total amount consists of 1/4lb. packages of tea. [J. Irvine, 120; B. Johnston, 401; M. Clunas, 3466; R. Henderson, 1295; M. Jamieson, 14,053; Dr Cowie, 14,709; J. Coutts, 15,336; R. Irvine, 15,748; M. Quin, 16,657; C. Sutherland, 16,660; C. Borthwick, 1627; 1645; Mrs. Nicholson, 3516; Mary Coutts, 11,601, Agnes Tait, 11,758; E. Russell, 11,583; E. Moncrieff, 11,474; Janet Exter, 4112; C. Nicholson, 11,997; M. Tulloch, 1487; Jane Sandison, 4151; A. Johnstone, 4226; R. Sinclair, 2436; J. Anderson, 6696; C. Greig, 11,559; M. Jamieson, 14,058; I. Henderson, 11,656, 11,663. Cotton and drapery goods are also sold or exchanged by knitters in order to get provisions or wool, and sometimes at a considerable loss. Thus Isabella Henderson says she had to give goods which cost 6s. 6d. for 5s. worth of meal. Women at Scalloway stated that they had frequently hawked the goods given them for knitting through the country for meal and potatoes. Mary Coutts says: '11,601. How do you get your provisions, such as meal and potatoes?-We give tea to the farmers, and get meal and potatoes for it. We have sometimes to go to the west side, to Walls and Sandness, for that. Our aunt, Elizabeth Coutts, has done that for us. She has not been to Walls and Sandness for the last two years, but she went regularly before. It was only for our own house, not for other people, that she took the tea there and got the meal and potatoes in exchange.' '11,602. During the last two years how have you got your meal and provisions?-We have knitted for Mr. Moncrieff last year.' '11,603. And therefore you did not need to barter your tea?-No.' '11,604. Did you get the full price for your tea from the armers?-I suppose we did sometimes, but I could not say. They did not weigh out the meal and potatoes which they gave in exchange; they merely gave a little for the tea which my aunt gave them. I have known her go as far as Papa Stour, twenty-four miles away, to make these exchanges. That was where most of her friends were.' '11,605. Have you often had to barter your goods for less than they were worth?-Sometimes, if there had been 21/2 yards of cotton lying and a peck of meal came in, we would give it for the meal. The cotton would be worth 6d. a yard, or 15d.; and the meal would be worth 1s. I remember doing that about three years ago; but we frequently sold the goods for less than they had cost us in Lerwick.' MERCHANT'S PROFIT ON HOSIERY One of the peculiarities of the hosiery trade, as described in the evidence of the merchants, is that they have no profit on the hosiery and fancy articles, which they invoice to merchants in the south at prices either the same as the prices paid for them in goods, or so little higher as only to cover the risk and loss upon damaged articles and job lots. They say that the only exception to this is in the case of fine fancy work, which is often bought for cash, and in selling which they can readily obtain a sufficient profit. There is a good deal of evidence about this which rather tends to show that although dealers in Shetland invoice their goods to trade purchasers in London, Edinburgh, and elsewhere, at such prices as are, upon the whole of their sales, sufficient to keep them free from loss and allow a profit, yet that profit is very small, being at most a small commission for the trouble of getting the goods disposed of; and that they have a much less, but still considerable, trade with private purchasers, in which they realize considerable profit. The inquiry into traders' profits was not prosecuted in a more searching way, by examining themselves and their knitters at length upon invoices and specimens of goods, because the sufficiently intrusive inquiry which was made, and which stands in various parts of the printed evidence, seemed clearly enough to show that the truth as to this collateral question is as I have stated it. [A. Laurenson, 2199, 2264; R. Sinclair, 2525, 3246, etc.; R. Linklater, 2728; J. Tulloch, 2795, etc.; W. Johnston, 2844; T. Nicholson, 3584; M. Laurenson, 7517.] MERCHANTS PRICES FOR GOODS But while the merchants assert that they have no direct profit upon their sales of knitted goods, or at least none but the smallest, they do not deny that, in order to repay themselves for the trouble and risk involved in the two transactions upon which this profit is realized, they charge considerably more for their tea and drapery goods than the ordinary retail price in other districts. In other words, although there is nominally no profit upon the knitted goods, there is a double profit, or a very large profit, on the drapery goods, tea, etc., bartered for it. If, therefore, we calculate what the price of these goods should be at the ordinary retail rate, and deduct the surplus from the nominal price of the knitted articles, we find that the usual percentage of profit is obtained on the latter as well as on the tea and drapery. TWO PRICES FOR GOODS In some places, indeed, there are two prices for goods, according as they are paid for with hosiery or with money; and formerly this was the custom in Lerwick. Mr. R. Sinclair says: '2574. Then I understand you to say that in every bargain with a knitter, and generally with a seller, of a shawl, the understanding is that they are to take the price in goods?-Yes; that has been so time out of mind. I remember a time, about forty years ago, when it was different, and when there were two prices on the goods which they sold.' '2575. There were two prices then-one for cash, and the other for goods?-Yes; perhaps from 20 to 30 per cent. of difference. I remember hearing that question discussed at my father's fire when I was a mere youth. I have been told, although I do not know it myself, because I was not in the trade then, that a woman may have bought a piece of goods for 16d., when a party paying cash for it only paid 1s. The more intelligent of the natives thought that was an iniquitous thing; but then it was always known and done avowedly, and the people yielded to it. They said it was not possible for them to take barter, and sell their goods at the same rate, because there was so much risk and outlay. That reason never appeared satisfactory to me; and it was not until I came behind the scenes, as it were, that I saw the reason for it was that the value given for Shetland goods was far beyond what it really was worth in the market. Its real value in the market was about the same amount less than what was charged as an addition upon the goods. What I mean is, that, supposing a woman came in with a pair of stockings, the real market price of which was 2s., but for which she wished 2s. 6d., the merchant, in order to secure a sale for his goods, would give her goods in exchange of the nominal value of 2s. 6d., but he would put 3d. a yard on the price of the goods which he gave in exchange. That explains how it is that a person knowing the value of the articles, seeing the purchase which the woman might have made, and hearing the price of it, might have said that they were about 25 per cent. too high, whereas in reality they were not so. She had merely been getting value for her goods, although she did not know it; and it would not have made any difference, although it had been as many pounds higher, while the relative proportions were kept up between the value of the two articles.' '2576. Is that done now?-Not that I know of.' A discount for cash is still given there by some (or all?) of the merchants; but it has not been shown, nor I think alleged, with regard to Lerwick, that the principal merchants now avowedly sell their goods at different prices for cash and for hosiery. There are, however, passages in their evidence which create a strong impression that the custom described by Mr. Sinclair as a thing of the past is not yet entirely obsolete, even in the capital. Thus Mr. Sinclair himself has now two drapery shops in Lerwick, in one of which no hosiery is bought at all, all the dealings being for cash. He admits that in some things, calicoes, there is 'a very small shade of difference' between the prices there and in his other shop, which is his principal one. Mr. Johnstone's reason for ceasing to issue lines was simply that people used to come to his shop and bargain for articles as for cash, and end by presenting one of his 'lines' in payment, which would not have been felt as a grievance if the principle of having only one price were rigidly adhered to. The evidence as to the general prices at the shops which take in knitted articles also leads to the conclusion that, although articles are nominally for sale at one price, a purchaser for cash often succeeds in getting a reduction if she is a shrewd bargainer. The shopkeeper classifies some articles as 'money articles,' which is a convenient reason for not giving them in exchange for hosiery; and the impression seemed to exist in the minds of some keen purchasers examined as witnesses, that goods are sometimes rather rapidly transferred into that category, when it is unexpectedly discovered, after the negotiations have reached a certain point, that the intention is to pay for them otherwise than in cash. [T. Nicholson, 3586; R. Sinclair, 3229; W. Johnstone, 2280; Mrs. Nicholson, 3510; L. Leslie, 5093.] In the rural districts, the custom of selling goods at two prices, according as the payment is in money, or in knitted articles or yarn, still prevails. By Messrs. Pole, Hoseason, & Co., it has been given up quite lately. [P. Blanch, 8578; G. Scollay, 8639; J. S. Houston, 9715; Rev. J. Fraser, 8039.] There is no doubt that the general prices of tea and drapery goods are higher where hosiery is dealt in. It may be that a cash purchaser gets a reduction occasionally, or always if it is asked for. But there is a general concurrence of testimony to the effect that goods got by knitters at the hosiery shops are dearer than at other shops in Shetland. Various merchants admit that a higher profit is charged, in consequence of the custom of paying in hosiery. Two respectable shopkeepers in the country say that the goods which knitters have bartered at their shops for provisions were said to have been got at higher nominal prices than those charged for the same things by them. And various witnesses state, as the result of their experience, that prices at hosiery shops are higher than at others, and that they would get more goods for cash at the ready-money shops than for the same nominal amount in hosiery, where that is rather bought. Mrs. Nicholson, a very intelligent witness, says: '3509. Are there drapery shops now in Lerwick that do not deal in hosiery?-Yes.' '3510. And is it the case that you can purchase the same goods at those shops at a lower price than you can at shops where the hosiery business is carried on?-Yes; I know that from experience, because I have the money in my hand, and I can go and purchase them cheaper elsewhere than I can do at some of these shops. I don't say at them all; but I know there are some of the drapery shops in Lerwick where they could be got cheaper. I will give a case of that. Last summer I had to buy a woollen shirt, and I went into a shop and saw a piece that I thought would do. The merchant brought it down and said it was 1s. 8d. a yard. Another merchant had charged me 1s. 6d. for something of the same kind, and I told this merchant that the thing was too dear. He said, "I will give it to you for 1s. 6d. a yard;" and I said, "Well, I will give you 4s. 6d. for 31/4 yards of it;" and he gave it me. A day or two afterwards a woman came into my house and saw the goods, and said, "That is the same as I have bought; what did you pay for that?" I said I had paid money,-because it is an understanding that some shops can give it for less with money than with hosiery. I told her I paid 4s. 6d. for 31/4 yards; and she then told me that she had paid 2s. of hosiery for a yard of it-6s. for 3, or 6s. 6d. for 31/4 yards-just the quantity required.' '3511. Have you any objection to give me the name of the woman and the names of the shops?-I could give the names, but I would prefer to do so privately. The stuff I bought is still in existence, and also what she bought, and they could be compared, to show that they are of the same quality. I did not do that with any intention of finding out the difference in prices; it just occurred accidentally, and I only give it as an instance, to prove that if we could get money for our hosiery goods it would be far better for us." [A. Laurenson, 2206, 2245; W. Johnston, 2869; Contra-R. Sinclair, 2523 sq.; C. Nicholson, 12,004; R. Henderson, 12,916; A. Johnstone, 4215; J. Halcrow, 4174 sqq.] The evidence of Mr. Morgan Laurenson, quoted above, may be referred to. Mr. Laurenson says he gets no profit on hosiery, except the profit on the goods he gets in exchange. What the amount of that profit is, has been shown in dealing of prices. [above p. 35] SHETLAND YARN The trade in the raw material of the knitting trade presents some features of interest. Some women stated that they could not get worsted from the merchants in exchange for their work-wool and worsted being called by them 'money articles.' Further inquiry showed that this was uniformly true only with regard to the true Shetland yarn, which the shopkeepers can with great difficulty get in sufficient quantity for their own purposes and for which, even if they could keep it for sale, the people would give only the price for which they can get it from their neighbours, the same price at which the shopkeepers have bought it. Even when sold for money, it is given as a favour, or, at least, the transaction is out of the usual course. But even the Yorkshire or Scotch yarn cannot always be got from the shops in exchange for knitted work. Of course, both kinds are given out to knitters working on the employment of the merchant. Shetland yarn and wool may be bought occasionally in small quantities at the shops of grocers and provision-dealers, who have got it from country people in exchange for meal and goods. [J. Irvine, 115; C. Williamson, 152; C. Petrie, 1423, 1430; B. Johnston, 449; A. Laurenson, 2288; R. Sinclair, 2465; R. Anderson, 3179; W. Johnston, 2897; J. Tulloch, 2781; R. Linklater, 2752, 2765; A. Laurenson, 2304; Mrs Nicholson, 3530.] The merchants, who give out both kinds of worsted to be knitted for them, generally purchase only articles made of real Shetland wool. [C. Greig, 11,551.] SPINNING. In the country, the knitters or the older women in their families commonly spin their own wool; or if, as in Lerwick and Scalloway is generally the case, they have not sheep, they spin wool bought from neighbours or at the shops just mentioned, and knit the yarn so manufactured. For instance, a witness says that she barters tea or a parcel of goods for a small quantity of wool, which she spins herself, having no money to buy worsted-money article-or to put the wool to the spinner because that would require money too; or at times she may get a little wool in exchange for a days work, 'but it is not often we can get that.' [C. Greig, 11,532, 11,547; E. Russell, 11,572; M. Coutts, 11,617; Joan Fordyce, 16,049; P.M. Sandison, 5192; M. Jamieson, 14,053; G.C. Petrie, 1425.] Exceedingly high prices are sometimes given for the finest qualities of Shetland worsted. It is sold by the cut, which is nominally 100 threads. The weight of the worsted is of course less in proportion to the fineness of its quality, and 7d. per cut being where the price of the finest quality, which is rare, the price per lb. reaches £4, or even £7. Ordinary yarn for fancy work is 3d. to 4d. per cut, or 24s. to 40s. per lb. [A. Sandison, 10,186.] GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. As I have not had the advantage of considering, in conjunction with a colleague, the questions suggested by the facts now detailed, I do not make definite and detailed recommendations. These are indeed questions of policy, which it is for a Government rather than a Commissioner to decide. But the duty committed to me will not be discharged without an attempt to show what is the general result of the inquiry, what are the questions presenting themselves, and how these questions are viewed by some of the witnesses who have intimate personal concern with them. MODES IN WHICH WAGES ARE PAID The system of barter which has been described does not extend to any trades or handicrafts in which wages are paid to the workmen or workwomen, with three exceptions, viz.: (1) the knitters who knit the merchants' yarn; (2) the persons employed in curing fish, boatbuilding, and some miscellaneous employments connected for the most part with fishing; and (3) the kelp-gatherers. The days' wages also of fishermen occasionally employed by proprietors or merchants in agricultural work are sometimes carried into their accounts. If it be assumed that legislation for the prevention of truck is expedient, there can be little difficulty in applying to these three classes any Act of Parliament that may be passed for that end. And on the same assumption, there is as much reason for protecting the persons engaged in these trades from being compelled, by their own misfortune, weakness, or improvidence, to take payment of their wages, or part of them, in goods, as for giving such protection to workmen in other parts of the empire. APPLICATION OF STATUTES It has already been mentioned that one branch of the knitting of Shetland goods probably falls under the existing Truck Act, 1 and 2 Will. iv. c. 37. It rather seems, however, that such knitting will not be one of the trades to which the bill now before Parliament applies. It seems also doubtful whether the application clause of the bill will extend, as it now stands, to all the branches of fish-curing, or to the manufacture of kelp. See 33 and 34 Vict. c. 62, sch. 2; 34 and 35 Vict. c. 4. BARTER OF EGGS ETC. It will hardly be contended that in the system of bartering eggs or butter for goods, which prevails in Shetland, delivery being made on both sides at the time when the bargain is made, and the transaction being thus finished at once,-there are evils similar to those which legislation against truck is intended to remedy, or at least that the law ought to prevent buyers and sellers in such cases from making any contracts they please. This custom, which was or is not uncommon in other remote rural districts, will probably disappear of itself as the islands are brought into more frequent and intimate relations with the rest of the world. BARTER OF KNITTED ARTICLES The same might be said with regard to the barter of knitted articles for tea and drapery, where the knitter is in no sense employed or engaged to manufacture the raw material provided by the merchant. Here, however, the element of credit or accounting is often introduced; and it is a question whether, so far as it is so, this handicraft ought not to be ruled by the same considerations as the fishing trade. The evils arising from long accounts in this trade and in fishing seem to point to the necessity of extending to these cases the prohibition of set-off contained in §5 of the existing Act and in §10 of the Bill now before Parliament. Another uggestion is, that a short prescription for such accounts should be introduced-say a prescription of three months, running from the date of the earliest item in the account, and accompanied by a provision that no acknowledgment shall bar prescription unless it be contained in a holograph or probative writing. CASES IN WHICH LABOUR IS PAID BY A SHARE OF THE PROFITS In the ling fishing the fisherman may be regarded, if we speak technically, as a vendor to the merchant. Practically he is a partner, for the price of his wet fish is in proportion to the proceeds of the merchant's sales of the cured fish. In the Faroe fishing the fisherman is more distinctly and formally a partner, for the agreement signed by the merchant and the crew entitles him to a share of one-half of the net proceeds of the fishing. The question to be answered is, whether the principle of the Truck Acts extends to these two occupations, so as to justify the State in laying down such rules as shall prevent the fisherman in either case from taking part of his earnings, although they are not wages, otherwise than in current coin; and if that be so, what practical difficulties stand in the way of applying the principle. It is difficult to read the evidence without arriving at the conclusion, that if it is right to protect the skilled artisans of Sheffield and Birmingham, and the highly paid miners of Lanarkshire and South Wales, from receiving their wages in goods, it is also right to require the fish-curer of Shetland to give money instead of goods to his fishermen. By whatever name we may call the earnings of the latter, there is not such a difference in the positions of the two classes as to justify us in applying to them different rules of law. Both are labouring men; for the Shetlander's possession of a small allotment of third-rate land does not elevate above the condition of a peasant. If we apply to the Shetlander the legal distinctions which occur in the existing law, he differs but little from some of the protected crafts in England. He engages to fish the curer, and to give him the produce of his labour at the current price, just as a collier contracts to put out coal at a certain rate per ton. If the law is to protect from truck the man who agrees to be paid not directly for his labour, but for the result of his labour, the Shetland ling fisher may be held to fall within that principle. There is, indeed, this distinction, that his remuneration depends on the price eventually obtained for the produce of his labour, so that he takes the risk of the market. The amount of his earnings is affected both by his success in catching fish and by the fluctuations of the market. The collier, on the other hand, works for wages fixed at a certain rate, and the only element of uncertainty is the quantity of his out-put. The fisherman certainly works upon the co-operative principle at present; and in considering any legislative change, it may be desirable to avoid interfering with this principle of the present system, and unintentionally leading to the substitution of fixed wages. ARGUMENTS AGAINST LEGISLATIVE INTERFERENCE TO ENFORCE SHORT PAYMENTS It is maintained on various grounds that the provisions suggested for the prevention of truck in other trades cannot be advantageously applied to fishing. Most of the merchants are averse to short pays, and I cannot say that the fishermen themselves are in general desirous to have them introduced. I endeavoured to ascertain from the witnesses examined whether there is any insuperable obstacle to the introduction of ready-money payments for fish. The objections may be reduced, to two classes:- SHORT PAYMENTS 'IMPRACTICABLE'. 1. That payment of the fish on delivery would be 'impracticable;' which is explained to mean, (1) that it would necessitate the employment of more highly paid factors at the stations, and the conveyance of considerable sums of money for distances of many miles, there being no banks in Shetland except at Lerwick; and (2) that the settlement with the men would take up a long time and detain them from the prosecution of the fishing, which, during the summer months, requires incessant activity. On the other hand, it may be said that every cargo of fish is now received at the station by a factor employed by the curer, who weighs the fish and enters the weight of each kind in his fish-book. If the price of the fish were fixed, there could be no difficulty in ascertaining the money share of each man in a particular haul, or in the catch of a week or a fortnight, as is done in Fife and in some of the Wick fisheries; and the factor might either pay it in cash or give an order, which the fisherman or one of his family could cash at the merchant's counting-house. If the price were left to be fixed at the end of the season, the law might require payment of a proportion of the estimated price, as it does now in the case of the Northern whale fishery. The argument, that the settlement would take up an intolerable time, and prevent crews from getting to sea in favourable weather, is sometimes fortified by the assertion that the people of Shetland are singularly defective in arithmetic. Even if we assume this statement to be correct, there is so little intricacy in a calculation of the price of 18 cwt. of fish at 6s. 6d. per cwt., and dividing the sum among five or six men, that a very low arithmetical faculty would not be severely taxed in checking it. There is little doubt that in stating this objection, which scarcely deserves refutation, the simple settlement at landing a cargo of fish, or at paying cash for a week's fishing, is confounded with the very different kind of settlement to which the witnesses are accustomed at present, and in which all the transactions of a year in fish, cattle, meal, tea, clothing, soap, fishing lines, and a hundred other things, have to be gone over in detail, and checked generally, on one side at least, from memory. SHORT PAYS 'NOT ADVANTAGEOUS TO FISHERMEN' 2. It is maintained that a system of short payments in cash would not be advantageous to the fishermen, because, in the first place, their improvident habits would lead them to spend their receipts at once, so that at the end of the year they would have nothing left with which to pay their rents, and no means of living in the spring, when the meal from their crofts is exhausted; and, in the second place, because it is inconsistent with their being paid according to the price actually realized for the fish, which is commonly higher than the 'beach price' during the season, or the market price at the time when agreements for the summer fishing are made. The first of these reasons is felt and stated by some of the fishermen themselves. But are Shetland fishermen more improvident than other people similarly situated would be? Under the present system of credit transactions, indeed, it would be strange if a part of them were not careless and extravagant, and it would not be strange if a great majority were hopelessly improvident and insolvent. No man is more likely to waste his means than he who never knows how much he has to spend; and this general truth is not likely to fail in its application to men following a precarious calling in which there are great runs of luck, and who have been brought up from their earliest years to expect their employers to supply their pressing wants in times of adversity. But the objectors themselves assert, and there is no reason to doubt, that a very considerable proportion of the people have saved money in spite of the influences under which they live, and have, for their rank in life, large deposits in the banks. If many of them are careless and improvident, that is a reason, not for continuing, but for altering a system which is admirably conceived for promoting extravagance and recklessness about money. If some Shetlanders are improvident, it is the system which has made them so; and if it be a fact that so many have saved money, it proves that under a better system the people of Shetland would compare favourably with those of any other district in frugality and foresight. If the fisherman had his money in his hand, it is not likely that he would forget rent day and the time of short supplies which he has often to pass through in spring. [R. Halcrow, 4700; R. Malcolmson, 4781; P.M. Sandison, 5227; G. Gilbertson, 9578; J. Hay, 5375; P. Blanch, 8565; C. Young, 5815, 5918.] It is said that in bad years, when the crops or the fishing, or both, have failed, the population would starve in winter and spring if the merchants were not to make advances of meal and provisions; and that they could not do this, but for the security afforded by having the men engaged to fish to them for a price to be settled only at a distant day. Even if supplies of food are not required, men may be unable to go to the fishing for want of boats, lines, and hooks, which they have to get from the curer, and which, it is contended, may properly form a first charge against the proceeds of the enterprise. Fishing is always most productive when the men are paid by shares, not by wages; and it is not desirable to introduce any change which would necessitate the payment of the men by wages. [W. Irvine, 3896; T. Gifford, 8150; H. Hughson, 9599; W. Irvine, 3834; A. Sandison, 10,007; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,605.] It may be replied, that however true this may be, it just presents one of those cases in which the weaker party is likely to be led into a disadvantageous bargain, and in which, upon recognised principles, the law may interfere for his protection, by regulating the bargain so made, or by teaching him how to escape from the position of disadvantage. The transition to a new state of things might in bad seasons be attended with some difficulties and hardships, especially to those who are now indebted. Thus Mr. A. Sandison, in recommending a system of monthly payments, says, 'I think it would pauperize a number of the fishermen, because there are a great number of them in debt, and in the transition from the one system to the other they would require to pay up their debts, so far as their means would go' (Q. 10,015).* One cannot avoid observing that this class of objectors to cash payments exaggerate both the inability of the people to provide against the evil future, and the value of the 'merchants' as a source of credit in bad times. It is impossible to judge of the energy that would be exerted under the stimulus of necessity by a population which has always had landlords, tacksmen, and merchants to depend on in adversity. Those who urge that the men could not live, or at least could not go to fish, unless the merchants were there to supply their wants, forget that, while the existing system presents one ready source of credit to fishermen, it closes up all others. The fish-merchants, by getting delivery of their debtors' fish, have such a security for their accounts, that other shopkeepers do not now venture to furnish any but the smallest quantity of goods to the average fisherman on credit. But if there was some certainty that the fish-merchant had not a contra account against the fisherman, at least equal to the price of his fish, other merchants would not have the same reason, in cases of necessity, for refusing to give some credit to deserving men. This is shown by the fact-certainly an exceptional one-that a most successful business has been established in Dunrossness by Mr. Gavin Henderson, in a district where the tenants are strictly bound, and that he has been in the habit of giving credit to considerable amounts to fishermen bound to other merchants. And other cases of credit sales by others than the fish-merchant are recorded. The extension of credit dealings with smaller shopkeepers is, however, strongly deprecated by Mr. Spence and Mr. Sandison, partners of the firm of Spence & Co. It is enough to remark, that such credits would be subject to the ordinary rules of the law; and that if they were found to be injurious, it would for the Legislature to consider whether the rule of the Arrestment of Wages (Scotland) Act 1871, or a short prescription, should not be extended to them. *'10,016. Do you think the fishermen under that new system would not be able to get credit to a certain extent?-I don't see how some of them could. For instance, take the year 1869. In 1868 the fishings were almost a failure. Our total catch in Unst and Yell amounted to £1607, which could not average much over £4, 10s. to each fisherman. That year we imported meal and flour to the amount of £1824, cost price per invoice; we paid in cash for rents to Major Cameron, Mr. Edmonstone, Lord Zetland, and others, £1600; and we expended on fishing-boats and fish-curing materials £780,-being a gross amount of outlay of £4223 against the fishing, the return for which, as said, was only £1607.' [R. Henderson, 12,855; M. Laurenson, 7342; D. Edmonstone, 10,658; J. Thomson, 11,711; L. Moncrieff, 11,518; G. Georgeson, 12,032, 12,118; J. Twatt, 12,186; J. Spence, 10,559; A. Sandison, p. 248, f.n. 10, 494.] It may be contended that a law which would restrict the freedom of fishermen to contract for payment in proportion to the profits realized on their fish, would be inexpedient; but it is not impossible to frame an enactment which, leaving them this power, should require payment, weekly or monthly, of such a proportion of their earnings as would obviate the necessity of living on credit. OPINION OF MR SANDISON IN FAVOUR OF SHORT PAYMENTS It is satisfactory to find one of the most enterprising and intelligent merchants in Shetland stating a strong opinion in favour of a system of monthly payments for fish. Mr. Sandison's evidence on this subject, with which the other members of his firm agree is as follows:- '10,006. Do you think it would be possible to introduce any system by which the settlement should not be made at such long intervals?-I have considered the matter seriously since the Truck Commission was first spoken about, and I have come to the settled conviction that it would be very much better for the curer to pay monthly in cash.' '10,007. Would that payment be according to the quantity of fish delivered, or by way of wages, or partially both?-There are two reasons why I think wages would not do. In the first place, the fishermen would not like to take wages, because if they make a good fishing they would not get so much as they do now; and, in the second place, I am sorry to say that with the greater part of them, if they got wages they would not fish half so much.' '10,008. Then what system would you suggest?-I think the right system is just to fix a price at the beginning of the year of so much per cwt. for green fish, and pay it monthly or fortnightly in cash as may be agreed upon.' '10,009. Do you think it likely from your experience that the fishermen would agree to that?-Two years ago in North Yell, when I settled with the fishermen there, I urged the men to take cash payments, because we had no store there, and it was an inconvenience for us to send goods. We had to employ a man and pay him, which cost us something. But I found that they all declined my proposal. In the same year, 1870, I tried to engage our fishermen in the south of Unst and in Yell at a fixed price, and I did so. Every fisherman who went out in the south end of Unst and Yell that year was engaged at 7s. per cwt. I made that bargain in December in writing; but when settling time came we could afford to pay them 7s. 3d., and I did so, according to the previous practice. I might have pocketed £30 by that transaction; but if I had done so, the fishermen would have thought I had treated them dishonestly.' '10,010. Were they going to grumble?-I have no doubt some of them would have grumbled if they had not got the additional price. I would not say that all of them would have grumbled, because there are some of our fishermen who are very intelligent and very reasonable men, and who would have understood the thing, and said that a bargain was a bargain.' GENERAL INQUIRIES AS TO FISHERIES IN OTHER PLACES I have thus endeavoured to state some of the general considerations on both sides of the question as to the possibility and expediency of introducing, by direct or indirect legislative action, a system of cash payments into the Shetland fisheries. In such an investigation it is natural to ask how fishing undertakings are conducted elsewhere, and whether indebtedness and truck are necessary elements in the condition of all fishermen. In the hope of obtaining an answer to this question, which might either suggest a remedy for the case of Shetland, or might show how far local and exceptional legislation is admissible, I made some very general inquiry as to the state of fishermen elsewhere in regard to the mode of paying their earnings. For this purpose some personal and informal inquiries were made in Orkney and Wick; and at Edinburgh two of the employees of Mr. Methuen, the most extensive fish-curer in Scotland, who has stations on almost all parts of the coast, were examined. The prima facie conclusion derived from such inquiries is, that where fishermen are not within easy reach of a fresh market, they are apt to be largely in debt to the fish-curers. In Orkney, the social state of which formerly closely resembled Shetland as it now is, a great change has been effected by the improvement of agriculture. The tenants have to a large extent abandoned fishing, finding sufficient employment and adequate support in cultivating their farms. In Orkney the fish-curers have in general no shops. I was not able to ascertain whether there is any practice of guarantees, such as is said to exist at Wick and Stornoway. [G.S. Sutherland, 16,661 sqq.; D. Davidson, 16,920 sqq.] COMBINATION OF FISHING AND FARMING Orkney is referred to as showing the beneficial effect of separating the occupation of fishing from that of farming. It is not, however, certain that the immediate separation of fishing and farming in Shetland is either possible or desirable. It is held by some of the chief opponents of truck in Shetland that the land will be most profitably managed under a system of sheep farming, and that the fisheries also will be most productive if the fishermen are not dependent for a material part of their subsistence upon their crofts, but are stimulated by necessity to go to sea during the greater part of the year. The 'improvements' which have been begun with the view of effecting this separation on the Garth and Annsbrae estates, have given rise to much of the indignation which the introduction the of sheep farming and depopulation has been wont to excite in similar cases. Nothing but actual experiment, however, will prove whether cod and ling fishery can be prosecuted successfully from the coasts of Shetland in winter. The fishermen here do not, like those of Wick, described in the paper of Mr. M'Lennan, fish all the year round in modes adapted to the varying seasons. Almost their only profitable fishing is in the summer months; and it seems to be certain that the haaf fishing could not be successfully prosecuted in winter with the present open boats. These, buoyant and wonderfully safe and handy as they are, afford no shelter, and cannot in stormy winter weather keep the sea for any length of time. When a storm comes on the Shetland fisherman makes for land, although it is in approaching it that he meets with the dangerous tideways in which the shipwrecks of his comrades have usually taken place. In winter and spring these storms are so frequent and so sudden, that it is impossible for open boats to pursue the haaf fishing successfully. It is disputed whether larger vessels, such as the smacks employed in the Faroe fishing, or those of the Grimsby and Yarmouth men, could carry on the long-line fishing in the deep water and rocky bottom of the Shetland haul, and the best authorities say that they could not, because on that fishing ground the lines cannot be taken in by the boats while sailing. It does not, however, appear whether recent attempts have been made on a sufficiently large scale to justify a decision in the negative; and it is satisfactory to know that a company has been formed for the express purpose of extending the season of the ling fishing, and carrying it on without the ordinary connection with a shop. [Appx. p. 61; C. Williamson, 10,841; L.F.U. Garriock, 12,478, etc.; C. Williamson, 10,839, 10,794; J. Walker, 15,941, 15,952.] INQUIRIES AT WICK At Wick many of the resident fishermen are nothing but fishermen; but some who fish from Wick in summer have small farms along the coast, and many of the hired men who are required for the herring fishing come from Highland districts, where they combine agricultural and seafaring occupations during the rest of the year. The paper by Mr. M'Lennan of Wick affords interesting information with regard to the Wick fisheries. It shows, by the experience of the haddock fishing and the winter cod fishing, that payment to crews fishing on shares, or 'on deal' as it is there called, may easily be made each Saturday night; by that of the winter herring fishing that payment may be made at landing the fish, and by that of the Lewis herring fishery, how a settlement in a very extensive fishing with complicated arrangements is made immediately at the close of the fishing season. [Mr M'Lennan, Appendix II; D. Davidson, G.S. Sutherland, 16,806, 16,750.] At Wick the herring fishing alone is directly affected by the indebtedness of the fishermen, and in it alone is the settlement delayed for two months after the close of the season. The amount of indebtedness existing among the fishermen, and its effects upon the bargains which they make, is remarkable. In Shetland, as has been seen, one-third, and in some districts a much less proportion, of the fishermen is indebted to the curers. There, £20 or £30 is a very large debt for a fisherman to owe, and such debts make no disadvantageous distinction between the debtors and other fishermen in regard to the price paid for the fish. At Wick, on the contrary, the expense of boats and nets is so great, that debts of £200 and upwards are not uncommon; and all who owe above a certain amount are obliged to fish for 20 per cent., or according to another witness 1s. per cran, less than free men get. These statements agree with the information I received personally from a large fish-curer at Wick. Mr. M'Lennan says that 'there is no such thing as truck; and payment, when payment is owing, is made in cash.' But it appears both from his paper and from the evidence of Mr. Sutherland, that at Wick, and in the Hebrides and West Highlands, the men cannot prosecute the fishing without supplies being advanced to them. Except, however, as regards boats and fishing materials, these advances are not made directly by the curers, who do not keep provision shops but by the local shopkeepers upon 'lines' or guarantees by the curers. 'It is tolerable certain,' says Mr. M'Lennan, 'that the curer receives an abatement or discount from the merchants' prices of meal, goods, ropes, nets, or other things which the fishermen procure on his guarantee.' Nothing, indeed, can be more probable; but no inquiry being made into transactions between curers and fishermen out of Shetland, except for the purposes of suggestion and comparison, I am not able to say whether such a system of disguised truck does in fact prevail. [G.S. Sutherland, 16,805.] It seems to be fairly deducible from this evidence, that cash payments for fish are not impracticable and inexpedient, as some witnesses have said. The condition of fishermen in Wick and the West Highlands shows further that Shetland is not, as has sometimes been thought, a peculiar and exceptional country. Elsewhere also fishermen have crofts, are poor, and in debt; require advances for boats, fishing implements, and provisions; and obtain them from or through the curers to whom they sell their fish. The evidence given before the Select Committee on the Irish Sea Fisheries Bill of 1867 shows that the condition of many fishermen on the Irish coast is worse in regard to indebtedness than that of any in Shetland. The question may then be asked, whether a partial and local remedy should be applied to Shetland, while nothing is done for the fishermen of other districts; and whether it is expedient to pass an Act of Parliament for the protection of a particular trade in a single county, unless it be fully ascertained that its circumstances are materially different from those of the same trade in the rest of the empire. It is for Her Majesty's Government to decide whether it can introduce a measure for the repression of truck, and the regulation of agreements between fishermen and their employers, without having information as to the nature of the present relations between these parties throughout the empire. There is a good deal to lead to the conclusion, if any general conclusion may be formed from a local and partial investigation, that fishermen and fish-curers may fairly be subjected to regulations analogous to those which the Merchant Shipping Act lays down for the engagement of seamen. It is also a point worthy of consideration, whether the prohibition of set-off should not be extended to all dealings between fishermen and fish-merchants, with this exception, that the curer or merchant should be at liberty to retain one third of each week's or month's earnings for payment of any boats or lines supplied to the fishermen by him or on his guarantee. The carelessness or incompetence of fishermen in regard to pass-books and accounts, suggests also the propriety of a limitation of action upon such accounts to three months, with a provision that no acknowledgments shall bar prescription unless holograph, or signed before witnesses. LAND QUESTION. I have not thought myself at liberty to enter upon the land question in Shetland as substantive part of the inquiry; but it is plain that the prevalence of truck is due in no small degree to the habit of dependence, or submission, which the faulty relations between landlords and tenants have fostered. Here, too, however, it may perhaps be said that legislation ought not to be of a local and exceptional character. I may at least be permitted to hope that, in any reform of the land tenancy laws of Scotland, the case of Shetland will not be forgotten. The introduction of a class of peasant proprietors seems impossible, except by some measure resembling the 44th clause of the Irish Land Act, 1870; while the sudden expulsion of the present population, and the substitution of sheep, would probably be destructive to the fishing industries as they now subsist. But the present insecurity of tenure is not consistent either with the permanent interests of the land (in which the country still more than the landlord is concerned), or with the formation or maintenance of a race of independent and intelligent citizens. Probably a law of landlord and tenant, passed with no arrière pensee as to maintaining the authority of the landlord, but with the honest intention of reconciling the rights and interests with the independence of both parties to the contract, would not permit the landlord to evict without cause upon forty days' warning. It may even be maintained that in the present state of agricultural science, no tenure for so short a period as one year ought to be permitted. Farmers of the larger class, however, are or ought to be able to protect themselves in their bargains with landlords; and as this Report has nothing to do with such tenant farmers, they may be left out of the question. But in the case of small fishermen farmers, it is worthy of consideration whether a warning of at least one year, excepting cases of insolvency or specified kinds of misconduct, ought not to be required before eviction from any agricultural holding below a certain rental; and whether in such holdings tenants should not have some summary means of recovering from the landlord or succeeding tenant any extraordinary expenditure they make upon their land or houses. . (Signed) W. GUTHRIE. EDINBURGH, 15, 1872 APPENDIX to COMMISSION ON THE TRUCK SYSTEM (SHETLAND). I. LEASES AND RULES FOR TENANTS. I. CONDITIONS OF SET of all LANDS forming parts of the ESTATE of QUENDALE, in the Parishes of DUNROSSNESS, AITHSTING AND SANDSTING, TINGWALL, WHITENESS AND WEISDALE, and LERWICK, in SHETLAND. 1. The proprietor reserves--(1.) All mines and minerals, limestone and stone quarries, marl and clay, in his lands, with full power to work the same. (2.) All shell-fish, and especially mussels and mussel scawps, and all shell-sand on the shores of his lands, with sole and exclusive power to take and use the same. (3.) All game and rabbits on his lands, and sole right to take and kill the same, with full power to enter on and use his lands for that purpose. (4.) All lochs and burns, with power to drain the lochs, and divert the course of the burns, the proprietor making compensation for damage by any of his said operations; and the tenant being entitled to take and use, for his own purposes only, the limestone, stone quarries, marl and clay in the lands occupied by him, and the shell-fish, mussels, and shell-sand on the shores thereof, subject always to such rules and restrictions as the proprietor may establish or prescribe in regard to any or all of these matters. 2. The proprietor reserves the heritors' share of all ca'ing whales killed or stranded on the shores of his lands; and every tenant, on behalf of himself, and all in family with him, acknowledges the proprietor's right to one-third of such whales. 3. The landlord reserves to himself all tang and other sea-weed, growing and drift, with power to enter upon all his lands, and use the same for the purpose of manufacturing the same, without making any compensation to the tenants therefor; but the tenants shall be entitled to take such tang and sea-weed as they may require for manure. 4. The proprietor reserves full power -- (l.) To redivide his enclosed lands, to the effect of placing the lands of each tenant in one or more portions, and in a different place or places from where they may have previously lain. (2.) To regulate and control the use of the town mails, grass, and arable lands, by placing restrictions on the tenants in the keeping of swine, geese, or otherwise. (3.) To enclose or otherwise withdraw from the scattalds such portions, not exceeding one-fourth of each scattald, to be judged of as at the date of each tack, as he may deem proper. (4.) To regulate the amount of sheep and horse stock to be kept by each tenant on the scattald, so that each tenant shall have an amount of pasturage proportionate to his rent. (5.) To limit the number of swine and geese to be kept by each tenant on the scattald, and, if he sees fit, to prohibit the tenants from turning loose or keeping swine or geese on the scattalds altogether, and, where allowing of such stocks, to place the keeping of them under such regulations as he deems proper. 5. The proprietor reserves all trout fish in the lochs and burns on his lands, and sole right to fish therefor; and every tenant shall be held specially to consent, and shall be expressly bound and obliged, alike as regards himself and all in family with him, to abstain from fishing for trout (fresh-water or sea-trout alike) in all fresh-water lochs, waters, and burns, and also in all burn-mouths into which the sea-water may flow, and in all voes, inlets, or bays, though consisting wholly or partially of salt or sea-water, into which any fresh-water lochs or burns flow, and bounded wholly or partially by lands belonging to the Busta estate; and shall in no way take, or attempt to take (by rod, net, cruive, or hoovie, or in any other way), any trout fish therein, unless with the express leave of the proprietor; and when such leave extends to fishing by net, then with a net of the size of mesh, used in the manner, and at the time, and to the extent, expressly allowed and prescribed by him. 6. All tenants shall be bound, if required, to pay, over and above their stipulated rents, their proportion of all public and parochial burdens which the law has laid, or may lay, directly upon tenants, any custom to the contrary notwithstanding. 7. No office house must, hereafter, be erected on the side or end of a dwelling-house, without the written permission of the proprietor; and no tenant shall be entitled to remove from out the dwelling-house or offices possessed by him at the expiry of his lease, any roof, window, door, loft, stair, or other plenishing of a like fixed nature, even though furnished and put in by himself, unless his tack specially confers upon him such power; but the incoming tenant shall be bound to pay the outgoing tenant the value of the roofs, windows, and doors of the office-houses, if such roofs, doors, and windows were paid for by him at entry, or furnished by him during his lease. 8. Every tenant shall be bound, throughout the whole currency of his tack, to maintain good and sufficient dykes of every sort, including yard dykes, and to maintain sufficient and convenient grinds in his dykes at all places usual and needful, and to have all dykes in thorough and sufficient repair, and all grinds sufficient and properly hung, at the latest on or before the first day of April, and to keep up said dykes and grinds until the first day of November in each year. 9. That in the event of any tenant not keeping dykes and grinds in sufficient order, the proprietor shall be entitled to enter upon the lands, and to repair the same, and to charge the tenant 10 per cent. on the sums expended by him in said repairs; and the amount shall be held as conclusively ascertained and fixed by a certificate thereof, under the hands of the factor on the estate of Quendale for the time. 10. Every tenant shall be bound to cultivate his lands in a proper and husbandlike manner, with reference to the best practice of husbandry in the district, and to consume upon his lands the whole straw, hay, and fodder grown thereon, and not to sell or remove any thereof, or any manure made upon the said lands from off the same, even during the last year of his lease; the incoming tenant being, however, bound to pay the outgoing tenant the value of the straw, hay, fodder, or manure left by him on the lands. 11. In all cases, where arable lands are situated on a slope or declivity, and are laboured by spade, the tenant shall, when labouring, delve the riggs lengthwise, or along the side of the rigg, each feal or fur extending from the top to the bottom of the rigg, and the delving to begin one season at the right side, and the next season at the left side of the rigg; and, in situations where it is necessary to delve down hill, the tenant shall remove the first or lower feal or fur at the bottom of each rigg, and along the whole breadth thereof, and shall, when the rigg is completely delved, carry the said removed feel or fur to the top, and deposit it in the last fur or hollow at the top formed by the turning down of the topmost feel or fur, so as much as possible to prevent the removal, to the foot of the rigg, of earth from the higher ground. 12. No tenant shall be entitled to bring upon the lands possessed by him (enclosed or scattald), or to allow to remain thereon, any stock that does not belong to himself, or any halvers stock, or stock that belongs wholly or partially to others, even though such owners or co-owners be members of his own family, without the express leave in writing of the proprietor; but tenants shall be entitled to take for hire cattle to feed on their enclosed lands during summer, or any tenants of parks or islands to take for hire cattle to feed during the year round. 13. No tenant shall, on any pretext, keep or allow to be kept on his enclosed lands or scattald, any swine, unless the same shall be properly ringed; and it shall be the duty of all persons finding unringed swine on lands belonging to the estate, immediately to inform the factor or ground officers, or, the persons so finding unringed swine, may lay hold of them, forthwith informing the factor or ground officers of the circumstance; and no tenant shall be entitled to cut truck or take earth, whether for the purpose of manure, or any other purpose whatever, or to cut peats, feal, or divot, or to cast pones, or ryve flaws, or ryve or strike, or cut thack or heather, or to cut, pull, or to take floss, or rushes, at any places or times, or in any way or manner, except at the places, and at the times, and in the way and manner, that shall be allowed by the proprietor; and, until special places, times, ways, and manners shall be pointed out and prescribed, tenants shall only do these acts at the places and times proper and usual, and in the way and manner least calculated to exhaust the supply and injure the pasture or other subject; and especially in cutting truck and taking earth, no tenant shall be entitled to do it where the soil is thin and the ground high or sloping, nor to scrape mould on such ground, but only to cut truck and take earth from places where the soil is deep, or where, from being in a hollow, it will speedily again accumulate and sward over; and, in cutting peats, tenants shall on all occasions open the banks in a straight line, and in the line of the watercourse, and make proper drains from the lower end of the banks, in order to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water, and shall carefully preserve the surface feal, and as soon as the peats are cut, smooth the surface of the bottom of the banks, and replace properly the surface feals with the grass side uppermost. 14. No tenant shall be entitled to keep more than two dogs, and which dogs shall be harmless, and properly trained not to follow sheep, except when sent after them by their masters; and every tenant shall be responsible for all damage done by any vicious dogs kept by him, and shall be bound to part with any dogs judged by the proprietor to be vicious, on a requisition by him to that effect. 15. No tenant shall be entitled to sell or retail, or allow to be sold or retailed on his lands, any spirituous or malt liquor, tobacco, snuff, or tea, nor to carry on, nor allow to be carried on upon his lands, any fish-curing business of any kind, without the consent of the proprietor; with power, however, to the tenant, if a fisherman, to cure the fish caught by himself; and that either separately or in conjunction with other fishermen. 16. No tenant shall receive into his house nor allow to harbour on his lands, any useless or disabled persons, not members of his own family, or any idle or disorderly or disreputable person or persons whatever, or any married persons (except himself), though relations, without the leave of the proprietor; and every tenant shall be bound to maintain all members of his family, who, from infirmity, age, or otherwise, may be incapable of supporting themselves, so as to prevent their becoming a burden on the Parochial Board. 17. Every tenant shall be bound to maintain good neighbourhood; to abstain from all encroachments on his neighbours, either by allowing his cattle improperly to stray on their grounds or otherwise, and to that end to keep his cattle properly tethered within the limits of his own grass, ley, or stubble ground, from the 1st day of April to the 1st day of November in each year; and to maintain in all respects a character and conduct becoming an industrious and Christian man, and to enforce such a line of conduct on all living in family with him. 18. Every tenant shall be bound to bring up and educate his children properly, according to his means and opportunities, by using every endeavour to allow of their attendance at schools where sound religious and secular knowledge may be acquired; and, by precept and example, otherwise training them up to be pious, industrious, and good members of society. 19. It is expressly declared, that all powers conferred on the proprietor by these conditions shall be capable of being effectually exercised and carried into effect by, and at the instance of, the duly appointed factor on the estate of Quendale, and by the sub-factors and ground officers under them. II. RULES FOR THE BETTER MANAGEMENT OF THE SUMBURGH ESTATE. Any tenant on the estate can apply for a copy of these regulations; and on his obtaining said copy, duly dated and signed by himself and the landlord, these rules shall form a binding agreement between himself and the landlord, and shall have all the force of a lease. Each holding shall be valued by the landlord, and the nature of the holding and value declared on the back of the copy of these rules, handed to the tenant thereof; and the rent shall not afterwards be raised to that tenant for the term of fifty years, except as herein provided. As, in time past, money has gradually but surely decreased in value, and land has gradually increased in value in the same or a greater proportion, it shall be in the option of the landlord, at the end of ten years from the signing of this agreement, to make such addition to the rent paid by the tenant as he shall see fit and reasonable, according to the times; but said addition shall, under no circumstances, exceed twenty per cent., or one-fifth of the rent formerly paid, and so on, at the end of every ten years. The tenant shall be at liberty to make such improvements on the property in his occupation as shall be sanctioned by the landlord; and such improvements, when executed, shall be inspected by the landlord, and shall be described in a minute appended to this agreement; and said minute shall declare the value of said improvements, and the number of years it is considered the tenant ought to occupy said holding, in order to obtain repayment for said improvements; and should the tenant leave his holding before the expiry of said number of years, he shall be entitled to receive from the landlord compensation for the unexhausted part of his improvements, as under:-- Dividing the declared value of the improvement by the number of years of occupancy required to repay the outlay, the tenant shall receive one part for every such unexpired year; thus: suppose the improvement cost twenty pounds, and the number of years required to repay the outlay were twenty years,-- if the tenant left after five years, he would be entitled to fifteen pounds; if after ten years, to ten pounds; if after fifteen years, to five pounds; and so on. No tenant shall have a right to claim compensation for improvements which have not been approved of by the landlord, by a signed minute, appended to this agreement. Should any tenant fail to execute such improvements as the landlord shall consider necessary, then the landlord shall be entitled to enter on said holding, and execute said improvements himself; and shall charge the tenant, in addition to his rent, such interest on said improvements as he shall see fit,--said interest not to exceed ten per cent., or two shillings in the pound, on the total cost. Should any tenant desire improvements which he is unable to execute without assistance, he may apply to the landlord, and obtain from him such assistance as he may require; the landlord charging interest on such outlay made by him, as above provided, and the tenant being entitled to compensation, as above provided, on his part of the outlay. All houses, buildings, fences, and drains, as well as any improvement made, as above, must be kept up by the tenant during his occupancy, and in good tenantable repair; and the fact of any tenant allowing such improved property to deteriorate, shall debar him from claiming compensation for it. After any farm shall have been enclosed, the tenant shall be bound to adhere to a rotation of crops, or course of cropping,-- the ordinary five-course shift of or , or other rotation, to be approved of by the landlord. No tenant shall cut up the grass lands for truck, feals, or divots, either within the town dykes or in the scattald, except on such spots as may be pointed out by the ground officer. Peats are only to be cut where pointed out by the ground officer: the banks to be opened in straight lines, the moss cut to the channel, and the feals laid down, carefully, with the grass side up. No tenant shall allow his swine to go at large. No tenant shall sublet any part of his holding, or shall take in a second family to live with him or on his farm, without permission from the landlord. The landlord reserves to himself all minerals, game, shooting, and trout fishing on the estate; and shall be at liberty, at all times, to enter on any holding, to search for and work minerals and quarries, to lay off and make roads, and to alter the marches of any farm in such a manner as he shall see fit. But should such action of his lessen the value of any farm, he will make a proportionate reduction of rent. The tenant shall be bound to observe all the rules generally in force on the property for the time being. . III. ARTICLES, REGULATIONS, AND CONDITIONS OF LEASE, which are to have the same effect as if engrossed at length in the Leases agreed betwixt the PROPRIETOR of the Estates of GARTH and ANNSBRAE, on the one part, and the Tenants of said Lands, on the other part. 1. . -- The lease shall be for ten years from Martinmas. The rent shall be due and payable at the term of Martinmas every year. 2. . -- Such local or other taxes as shall be levied upon tenants shall be duly paid by them when due, or if advanced by the proprietor, shall be settled for along with the rent. 3. -- The tenant is bound not to sublet or assign in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, without the permission in writing of the proprietor or his factor. Without similar permission, only one family shall occupy the subject let. The head of the family is responsible for the conduct of all the members of same. The tack is to go to the lawful heirs-male of the tenant, according to seniority in the first instance, and failing heirs-male, to the heirs-female by the same rules, without division. But the tenant is allowed, notwithstanding, by a written deed or letter under his hand, to select any one of his children in preference to another to succeed him in the lease, who will be recognised and received as tenant, upon due intimation being given in writing, provided that the lease descends to the individual named free and unencumbered. 4. -- The tenants are bound to maintain, keep, and leave at the end of their lease in good tenantable condition the houses, and all permanent improvements handed over, or that may be added during the lease. 5. -- In consequence of the land being unenclosed, and in need of draining and other permanent improvements, the tenants are bound to annually expend upon their farms, in such manner as may be pointed out by the proprietor or his factor, improvements equal in value to the amount of the annual rent. During the first five years of the lease the proprietor will allow annually an amount equal to one half of such permanent improvements as may have been executed in a satisfactory manner (said amount in no case to exceed one half of the amount of rent). During the last five years of the lease, the tenants are bound to pay in addition to the annual rent a further rent-charge, at the rate of seven per cent. per annum upon the total sum or sums allowed for improvements during the first five years of the lease. 6. --The practice of continuing to labour without any regular rotation, and to exhaust the soil by over-cropping, being extremely prejudicial both to the interests of the proprietor and tenants, it is stipulated that every tenant shall follow a five-shift rotation of crops in the order after prescribed, viz.:--one-fifth of the farm under summer fallow, or green crop properly cleaned and dunged; two-fifths to be under corn crops, but not immediately following each other in the, same division; and two-fifths in first and second years grass. During the first three years, as it may be impossible to follow the rotation, the tenants are bound to follow such orders of cropping as may be pointed out by the proprietor or his factor. 7. -- To insure the improving the lands, no tenant shall be at liberty to sell or otherwise dispose of any straw, turnips, hay, or dung produce upon his farm. All that class of produce must be consumed on the farm, unless with the written permission of the proprietor or his factor. 8. -- In compensation for the tenants leaving their lands in a more improved condition, and for being prevented from disposing of certain portions of their crops, the tenants are to be paid for the grass seeds sown with the way-going crop, as also for their straw, hay, and turnips left at the end of their lease, and for all dung made during the last six months of said lease, all at the value as appraised by two arbiters mutually chosen. 9. -- To insure improvement upon stock, no tenant is allowed to keep any bull, stallion, ram, or boar, except such as has been approved of, and permitted in writing by the proprietor or his factor. 10. -- To prevent the destruction of, or annoyance to, the stock upon the scattalds, no tenant will allowed to keep a dog or dogs. 11. -- The proprietor reserves to himself the right of searching for, opening, and working mines and minerals, on paying such surface damage only as may be ascertained and fixed by two arbiters mutually chosen. The proprietor also reserves the shootings, and the salmon and trout fishings. 12. -- The proprietor further reserves to himself all the peat-mosses, sea-weed, and shell-sand, with power to regulate and divide them as circumstances may render necessary. All tenants are bound in future to cast such peats as may be allotted, in a regular manner, and to lay down the turf in neat and regular order, without potting, and to the satisfaction of any one duly appointed by the proprietor. The drift, seaweed, and shell-sand to be used as manure, will be divided amongst the tenants, according to the quantity of land held by each. All other sea-weed, rights of foreshore, share of whales, etc., are expressly reserved by the proprietor. 13. noust,< etc.> -- All privileges of grazing upon scattalds, removing ' truck,' etc., is reserved by the proprietor. No tenant is allowed any privilege outside the boundary of his farm, with the single exception of the boats nousts as presently enjoyed. 14. -- The tenants are bound to accede to all local regulations which are or may be established for the more orderly management of the property, and the general interests of all concerned. 15. -- It is expressly stipulated, that when any act of bankruptcy upon the part of the tenant takes place, that his lease shall terminate and revert back to the proprietor at the first term after such act of bankruptcy; but to remove all grounds to complain of injustice, whatever rise of rent is actually obtained from the farm in a bona fide manner, when let anew, shall be accounted for annually when received during the balance of the lease to the creditor or trustee, or an equivalent paid in one sum for all the years of the lease unexpired. 16. -- The proprietor reserves to himself the right to grant feus off any farm, upon allowing such deduction of rent only as may be determined by two valuators mutually chosen. 17. -- All tenants are bound to conform to the foregoing articles, regulations, and conditions of lease, under the penalty of forfeiture of all the benefits of their lease, and immediate loss of their farms. 18. --A printed copy of these conditions and regulations, signed by the proprietor or his factor, before witnesses, shall be delivered to each person who is accepted as a tenant, and the tenant's name, designation of farm, amount of rent, etc. entered in a minute-book specially kept for such purpose; and the tenant may at any time afterwards claim a regular lease upon stamped paper, to be extended at his own expense. 19. -- Every tenant shall be bound to remove from the houses and lands at the expiry of the lease, without notice of removal or other legal warning, and shall be liable to double the previous year's rent for every year that he or she may remain in possession after the termination of the tack. IV. CIRCULAR sent to TENANTS on Major CAMERON'S Estate in Unst, by the Tacksmen, Messrs. SPENCE & CO. As there has been, for some time past, many vague reports throughout the island regarding the change of system in the management of the tenantry, consequent on the withdrawal from them of the scattalds, which of late have been looked upon as more valuable than formerly, with other changes in the mode of farming, etc., We therefore deem it right to make it generally known to the tenants on the Garth and Annsbrae estates in Unst, that, knowing the change was certain, and believing it would be severely felt at first, if not gradually and judiciously introduced; we have, hoping to modify to a certain extent coming changes, obtained a lease of these estates; and, with the view at the commencement, and throughout, if possible, of retaining the scattalds in connection with the arable lands and outsets, have taken the scattalds at a fixed and separate rent. The scattalds, on this footing, if viewed as a business speculation, could be enclosed, as has been done here and elsewhere, and let out to strangers, or occupied by ourselves. Such a course, however, we consider would be hard on the present tenants, and therefore, in the meantime, purpose to forego all pecuniary advantage which might, by keeping the scattalds, arise to ourselves, and give such over to the general advantage of tenants, on condition of receiving for all animals pasturing thereon a fixed rate per head, to be determined yearly. With this view, and in order to disturb existing arrangements as little as possible this year, we shall begin with fixing a charge of 1s. 6d. per head on byre cattle, 3s. 6d. per head on all horse stock over one year old, with 9d. per head for sheep, payable at Martinmas 1868. These rates will be doubled for stock to tenants on any other property found pasturing on the scattalds rented by us; and before these neutral tenants will be allowed to pasture stock on our scattalds, they must pay in advance, and obtain a licence for such number as they wish to pasture on the grounds. Thus the benefit of the scattalds will be secured to those who pay for them. Measures will be adopted to protect the tenants and ourselves from all unlawful trespass. As regards the 'rules and regulations' in force on the Garth and Annsbrae estates, copies of which have been given to the tenants in Unst, we have obtained such modifications of these, as, we believe, will be found satisfactory, easily wrought, and we fondly hope for the good of all concerned in the end. These modified rules, however, will not come into operation this year; tenants will have time to consider them; and, when introduced, we believe generally, they will see the advantage accruing to themselves. We do not expect that the idle and thriftless will admire them, but it may help them to discover that 'Idleness is the parent of want, while the hand of the diligent maketh rich.' From these remarks we hope it will be seen that our desire is to help and benefit the tenants, and, as far as we can, raise them, socially and morally. With a strict regard to equity, confining ourselves entirely to this affair and business, on strictly fair and just principles, we shall persevere and hope, under the blessing of Providence, that all will result well to proprietors, tenants, and ourselves. In carrying this work forward, we ask the tenants' help and assistance; we will study never to present ourselves in a false light, and we shall at all times claim honest and fair dealings on the tenants' part; doubledealing, deceit, and dishonesty will be punished; the idle-inclined and the spendthrift will meet with encouragement only as they abandon those habits. The careful, honest, active man will receive all help and encouragement in our power. Our desire is to benefit all under our care, and we will do so, unless the tenants themselves prevent it. JOHN SPENCE. WILLIAM G. MOUAT. JOHN THOMSON. 1867. ALEXANDER SANDISON. V. EXCERPTS from LEASE between Major T.M. CAMERON of Annsbrae and Messrs. SPENCE & CO. The subjects set are all and whole the town and farms of Norwick, Balliasta, and others, together with the outsets thereon, as more particularly specified in the rental annexed, and subscribed by the contracting parties as relative hereto, together also with the scattalds, dwelling-houses, piers, booths, beaches, and all parts, pertinents, and privileges of the said lands not hereby expressly reserved, and not inconsistent with the working of the lands under the rules of good management, all lying in the parish and island of Unst and county of Shetland, with entry to the said lands and others (excepting as to the following farms and subjects held on lease by the respective tenants, viz.: Crossbister, held by Edward Ramsay; Balliasta, held by Charles Gray and James Manson; the grass parks of Gardie, held by Alexander Sandison; house and one merk in Himron, held by Alexander Harper; the mill Westing, now vacant; Saredale, held by John Nisbit; Muness, held by James Thomson; Collaster, held by James Smith; and Uyeasound, held by Donald Johnson) at the term of Martinmas, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and from thenceforth to be peaceably occupied and possessed by the said lessees for the space of twelve years, say until the term of Martinmas in the year eighteen hundred and eighty; and with respect to the said subjects already let by the proprietor, with entry at the termination of the respective tacks thereof, and from thenceforth the whole of said subjects to be peaceably possessed by the said lessees till the said term of Martinmas, eighteen hundred and eighty; but declaring that, notwithstanding the term of entry to these subjects is postponed on account of their being already let, it is provided and declared that the lessees under this tack shall draw the rents payable in respect thereof from and after the term of Martinmas, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight; together also with the right to the said lessees of manufacturing kelp from seaweed grown upon or gathered from the shores of the said lands, together also with the right of collecting drift-weed be used as manure, and the right of cutting turf or 'pones,' but that only for the purpose of keeping in repair the roofs of the houses hereby let, and only in parts of the subjects where the same would be least injurious to the lands; and in the event of any difference of opinion arising as to this, the same to be determined by the arbiter hereinafter appointed; together also with the right of cutting peats in the manner after mentioned in the rules for subtenants; reserving to the proprietor all mines and minerals, with liberty to search for, etc. And in respect the lessees are taken bound, as after-mentioned, to expend yearly for five years certain sums on the improvement of the property hereby let, the one half of which is to be repaid to them by the proprietors in the manner afterwards stated: And whereas they contemplate getting their half of these improvements executed by their sub-tenants under certain stipulations in the sub-leases after mentioned, the condition of which sub-leases are new in Shetland, and a number of the tenants may decline to enter into them, thus leaving vacant farms, and entailing on the lessees themselves the half of the expense of carrying out the improvements upon these farms; it is hereby provided and declared, and the said Thomas Mouat Cameron, for himself and his foresaids, their heirs and successors, binds and obliges him and them, that should such a number of the said farms remain vacant as to entail of annual outlay an annual amount altogether exceeding one hundred pounds sterling, he and they shall be bound to advance any excess of that sum, making an annual rent-charge upon the lessees of 10 per cent. on their half of said advance (as, for example, should improvements to the value of only six hundred pounds per annum be effected by means of the sub-tenants, leaving three hundred to be expended by the lessees, the proprietors would, in such case, advance the agreed-upon four hundred and fifty pounds at six pounds fourteen shillings per cent. per annum, and of the one hundred and fifty pounds expended by the lessees, the excess of one hundred pounds -- namely, fifty pounds -- at a rentcharge of ten per cent. per annum): And where as some of the houses on the property hereby let are not in good repair, the said Thomas Mouat Cameron binds and obliges himself, and his and their foresaids, to put the same in good tenantable order and condition within two years from the commencement of this lease ..... And it is hereby provided and declared that this lease is granted, and the same is hereby accepted, under the restrictions and reservations, and subject to the following conditions, viz.: , That the said lessees and their foresaids shall annually, during the first five years of this lease, and that before the first day of September in each year, expend, either by themselves or by their sub-tenants, under rule 5 of the rules and regulations for sub-leases, afterwards referred to, and annexed hereto, upon permanent improvements upon the subjects hereby let, in such a way as may be pointed out by the proprietors or their factor (the laying off and subdividing the ground to be improved to be at the expense of the proprietor), the sum of nine hundred pounds sterling per annum; it being provided and declared that the first annual expenditure, or as much thereof as the lessees may require, shall be made on fencing, subject always, however, to the aforesaid sanction of the said proprietors or their factor; the one half of said sum, viz. four hundred and fifty pounds sterling per annum, for five years, shall be repaid to the said lessees by the proprietors, through some drainage or land improvement company, at the term of Martinmas yearly, provided always that the said improvements shall have been executed by the said lessees before the previous said first day of September in each year, and shall, previous to said payment, have been inspected and passed by the Government inspector, and shall have in every respect been executed in the way pointed out by the proprietors or their factor; or, in the event of their having failed to point out the improvements required at least ten months before the said first September, then it shall be sufficient if the lessees have executed them in the way they deem best; upon which advances the lessees shall pay halfyearly, at the terms of Whitsunday and Martinmas, during the continuance of this lease, the whole of the rent-charge payable in respect of said advance by such drainage or other company, at such rate as the said company may charge upon a twenty-five years' loan, but not to exceed six pounds fourteen shillings per cent. per annum; and the lessees shall also pay the poor-rates and road-money, if any, exigible from the landlord in respect of said rent-charge; and it is also provided and declared that, in the event of the said lessees failing regularly to pay the said rent-charge and the said annual rent, and allowing the same to remain unpaid for more than ten days after the terms at which the said payments thereof respectively become due in any year, then, and in that event, it shall be in the option of the proprietors, or their foresaids, to put an end to and terminate this lease, and the same shall become null and void. ................................................ : That the lessees 'shall labour, cultivate, and manure such parts of the subjects hereby let as are brought or to be brought under cultivation, according to the rules of good husbandry, and shall follow a six course shift or rotation, and leave the same in that state, but with reference to rule 6 of the rules with sub-tenant annexed hereto. . That the lessees are bound to offer to the present tenants sub-leases of such portion of the lands hereby let as may be laid off to accompany their houses, and may, during the first six years of the lease, sublet to others any farms so laid off, and which the present tenants may refuse to take and during the remaining six years any sub-tenancy becoming vacant can only be sublet with the consent, in writing, of the proprietors or their agent; but such sub-leases can only be entered into on observing the conditions rules, and regulations for that purpose annexed, and subscribed by the contracting parties as relative hereto, to which special reference is made, and which shall be held to be as binding on both parties as if the same were incorporated herein. . That the lessees shall be bound to leave upon the subjects hereby let a flock of Cheviot or black-faced ewes average quality, and not less in number than six hundred of equal proportion one, two, three, and four years of age, and shall be bound to hand the same over to the proprietors at the end of this lease, at the valuation of two persons to be mutually and specially chosen for the purpose. . That the lessees shall arrange that only one family shall be in the occupation of each holding at the expiry of this lease, and for at least one year prior thereto. , It is hereby stipulated and agreed on by the lessors and lessees that this lease may be added to, altered, or modified, by simple letters exchanged between or modifications be found necessary in order to work out its different provisions and the lease being of a nature new and untried in Shetland, that it shall be interpreted as favourably as possible for the lessees, consistent with already expressed intentions of the two parties. RULES AND REGULATIONS to be entered into between the LESSEES under the foregoing Lease and their SUB-TENANTS referred to, and subscribed by the parties with special reference to said Lease. 1. No sub-lease shall extend beyond the term of Martinmas eighteen hundred and eighty. 2. Such local or other taxes as shall be levied upon tenants shall be duly paid by the sub-tenants according to the amount of their rents, or if advanced by the lessees shall be repaid to them by the sub-tenants. 3. Only one family shall be allowed to occupy each holding. 4. The sub-tenants shall be bound to maintain, keep, and leave at the end of their sub-leases in good tenantable condition, the houses and all permanent improvements handed over or that may be added during the existence of the sub lease. 5. The sub-tenants shall be bound to expend annually upon their respective holdings, in such manner as may be pointed out by the proprietor, or his factor improvements equal in value to the amount of the annual rent. During the first five years of the sub-lease, the lessees will allow annually an amount equal to one half of such permanent improvements as may have been executed in a satisfactory manner (said amount in no case to exceed one half of the amount of rent), and the sub-tenants shall be bound to pay at the rate of seven per cent. per annum on all advances so made during the period of endurance of their sub-leases. 6. Every sub-tenant shall be bound to follow a six-shift rotation of crops, according to the rules of good husbandry. During the first three years, as it may be impossible to follow the rotation, the sub-tenants are bound to follow such orders of cropping as may be pointed out by the proprietors or their factor and the lessees. 7. No sub-tenant shall be at liberty to sell or otherwise dispose of any straw, turnips, hay, or dung produced on his farm except to neighbours, tenants on the property. All that class of produce must be consumed on the farm, unless with the written permission of the proprietors which will be given to any tenant agreeing to expend the full value of any such produce sold upon the purchase of oilcake or special manure to be consumed on the farm during the same season. 8. In compensation for the sub-tenants leaving their lands in a more improved condition, and for being prevented from disposing of certain portions of their crops, the sub-tenants shall be paid by the proprietor of the lands, through the lessees for the grass seeds sown with way-going crop, as also for their corn and straw, hay and turnips, or other produce left at the end of their sub-leases, and for all dung made during the last six months of said sub-lease, all at the value as the same shall be determined by two valuators to be mutually chosen for the purpose. 9. No sub-tenant shall be allowed to keep any bull, stallion, ram, or boar, unless such as permitted by the lessees. 10. The lessees shall reserve from the sub-leases, for behoof of the proprietor, the right of searching for and working mines and minerals, and the right of salmon and trout fishings and shootings. 11. The lessees shall also reserve all the peat-mosses, shell-sand, and sea-weed, and shall regulate and divide them among their sub-tenants as circumstances shall render necessary; the lessees shall also bind the sub-tenants to 'cast', such peats as may be allotted in a regular manner, and to relay the turf in neat and regular order, with the grass side uppermost. The drift sea-weed and shell-sand to be used as manure will be divided by the lessees among their sub-tenants according to the quantity of land held by each. 12. No sub-tenant shall have an right to strike theek, cut turf, except as hereinbefore provided for repairing roofs of houses, or floss, remove earth, or in any way deteriorate or injure the lands hereby let, without the consent of the proprietors or their agent or factor. 13. The sub-tenant shall be bound to accede to all local regulations which may be made by lessees, with consent of the proprietors, for the more orderly management of the property and the general interests of all concerned. 14. When any act of bankruptcy shall take place upon the part of any sub-tenants, it shall be stipulated that this lease shall terminate and revert back to the lessees at the first term after such act of bankruptcy. 15. The lessees shall be bound to reserve from the sub-leases the right to the proprietor to grant feus off any farm, upon his allowing such deduction of rent to the lessees, and through them to the sub-tenant, as may be determined by two valuators mutually chosen for the purpose, and upon his finding security, to the satisfaction of the lessees, that the said feus shall not be used in any form what ever for purposes of business during the existence of their lease. 16. A clause shall be inserted in the sub-leases binding the tenants to remove from the houses and lands at the expiry of their respective sub-leases without notice of removal or other legal warning. 17. Lastly, a clause shall be inserted in the sub-leases binding the sub-tenants to conform to the foregoing regulations and conditions, under the penalty of forfeiture thereof. II.--THE FISHERIES AND FISHING TRADE OF WICK. (Communicated by Malcolm M'Lennan, Esq., procurator-Fiscal, Wick.) White-fishing is but a secondary enterprise at Wick. In the end of September, annually, a number of boats engage in fishing for haddocks, and prosecute this fishing till November. This year fifteen boats engaged in this work, each manned by eight men. The best boats of the herring fishing fleet are employed, and for the use of the boat one-ninth part of the proceeds of the fishing is paid to the boatowner. In local phraseology, the boat is said to be held by the crew 'on deal,' and the consideration paid for it is 'the boat's deal.' The average winnings of these boats for the seven weeks or two months of the haddock-fishing are reckoned at £100, divisible into nine shares, eight for the crew and one for the boat's deal. The men hire the boat, and provide each his own lines and bait. Before commencing this fishing the fishermen generally agree with a fish-curer, who binds himself to take all the haddocks which they catch at a fixed price. This year the rate was 8s. per cwt. The price is paid in cash each Saturday night of the season. In the end of November or beginning of December the fishermen enter into engagements for the cod and ling fishing, then about to commence. This fishing is prosecuted from December till March, both months included. This year about 30 boats are engaged in it. The system pursued is much as in the haddock-fishing. Good boats are hired by the crews 'on deal,' and the crews supply their own lines and bait; and having arranged with a fish-curer, deliver their fish to him as they catch them. The contract is, however, varied to some extent. The men bargain for 'a bounty ' which is paid to them in cash at the time of forming the bargain. This year it ranged from £8 to £12, and the bounty is at once divided by the crew. The fish are sold not by weight, but at a fixed price for each fish of a certain standard of length, which this year was fourteen pence for each fish of sixteen inches. All smaller fish are rejected by the curers, and are sold by the fishermen in the local markets. The curers pay cash each Saturday night for fish delivered to them in course of the preceding week. Simultaneously with the cod and ling fishing what is known as 'the winter herring-fishing' is prosecuted. Indeed, the cod and ling fishing is, in a large measure, dependent on this fishing for herrings -- fresh herrings being found to be the best bait for cod and ling. The value of the herrings landed at Wick in course of December, January, and February in some years has touched £5000, but generally is very much less. The herrings are sold to the highest bidder on the arrival of the boats at the harbour, and paid for in cash on the instant, there being no such contract concerning them as in the case of white fish. By the time the cod and ling fishing ceases in March the fishermen begin preparations for the herring-fishing on the west coast Lewis and the Hebrides which commences about the middle of May. For this fishing much the same up of five or six joint-adventurers, each supplying his share of nets; or, if a less number of partners embark in it they hire one or more fishermen to complete the crew and of course, have each a larger share of the profits. Generally they take with them in their boats their supplies of meal, groceries, and biscuit, etc. In the west-coast fishing, so far as boats from Caithness engage in it, the fishermen engage themselves to deliver all their fish to a curer at an agreed on price per cran, which price is paid in cash at the end of the fishing, about 1st July. In the majority of cases the men get an advance of cash from the curers when fitting out their boats, to the amount of £4 or £5 per man. Such sums, of course, are deducted from the price of the herrings in the final settlement. The Caithness herring-fishing next follows, commencing about 18th July, and lasting till 6th or 10th September. Hitherto the whole course of the dealings between the fishermen and fish-curers noticed in this statement has been unexceptionable, being simply the delivery of fish by the former at agreed on rates of price, paid by the latter, the curers, in cash at short periods. In the great Caithness herring-fishing a change of system occurs, which appears to be mainly owing to the heavy cost of the boats and material employed, and the heavy sums disbursed by each boat for labour and maintenance in each season. A new fishing-boat of the best class costs from £120 to £140, including sails and rigging complete. A drift of 35 nets (and the drift often consists of a greater number), at 10s. per net, is value for £120. A boat well kept is reckoned to stand fourteen years. The drift of nets is said to require renewal every eight years. The ordinary case is, that one fisherman is either really or nominally owner of the boat and drift with which he engages in this fishing. At least a fisherman actually undertakes the whole enterprise of the season's fishing with the boat of which he has possession with all the liabilities attending it. This is, however, subject to variation, as sometimes two men, and sometimes but less frequently three men, are the real or nominal owners of a boat and take the risks of it . Assuming that a man starts with a new boat and drift free of debt, not only must he have a capital of about £250 invested in these, but he must be prepared to undertake further the following charges of the season:-- 1 Wages of four hired men (generally strangers from the Highlands or Islands) and a boy, ...... £ 30 0 0 2. Their lodgings, ..... 3 0 0 3. Their allowance of meal, .... 4 0 0 4. Cost of barking nets, .... 3 0 0 5. Cartage and drying-green for nets,. . 3 0 0 6. Harbour dues, ..... 1 0 0 44 0 0 But taking into account that accidentally many nets are lost or destroyed in each year, and that the fishing is prosecuted in boats, and with nets more or less worn, and that thus there is need of considerable annual repair and replacement, it will be seen that in the ordinary case the expense of a fishing season is largely greater than in the case of an adventure, with a new boat and drift. Thus the expense, as above, ..... £ 44 0 0 Replacing 4 nets, ..... 14 0 0 Repairing drift, ..... 2 0 0 Repairing and tarring boat, barking ropes, sails, etc. , ...... 2 0 0 To which falls to be added, to meet the annual deterioration of the boat 10 0 0 £72 0 0 It follows that the fisherman can have no advantage from the Caithness herring-fishing unless his boat clears a sum of £ 72, or thereabout, in which case the surplus over that amount will constitute his profit. But if the fisherman has borrowed the money invested in the boat and nets, it is apparent that his annual burden is increased by the sum of interest which he must pay for it. And this leads to reference to a local custom of some importance. If the fisherman has borrowed the money to purchase his boat and nets, or if, as is usually the case, he receives them from a fish-curer to whom he thus becomes debtor for their value, he does so on the condition -- very natural in the circumstances -- that he shall deliver all his fish to the creditor as long as he remains in debt. In such a case the price of the herrings is not fixed by contract, but is 'the general terms' of price conceded by fish-curers to fishermen in their debt; and these terms are generally about 20 per cent. below the price paid by the curers to men free of debt, and able to bargain beforehand concerning it. This is so while interest is charged on the amount of the debt, or while the fisherman is charged with 'boat's deal' as he usually is, when the debt is not wiped off within the second year. For the years 1860-70, the average annual take of herrings was only 86 crans. The average price is not stated in any tabular form, but it certainly did not amount to £1 per cran under 'the general terms' system. Thus, assuming that that portion of the herring fleet held by fishermen in debt fished its fair average of these eleven years, it will be seen that the total sum realized but barely sufficed to meet the necessary outlays of the season, and to pay interest on the capital involved This average, however, represents the mean of success and failure. In every year a few boats fish largely in excess of the average, and a still larger number fall more or less short of it. The latter lose money, if they have money to lose. They who have none fall into debt, or into deeper debt. It is said that fully two-thirds of the fishermen are in debt, and pursue this extensive enterprise burdened with all the disadvantages of debt. Their debts range from all kinds of figures up to £300. Still there is no such thing as truck; and payment, when payment is owing, is made in cash. In the case of men free of debt, the price, being fixed, is at once paid at the close of the fishing, or soon thereafter. In the case of men in debt, circumstances make the settlement more complicated. At the outset of his career the fisherman is desirous of standing as little as possible in debt to his curer. One or two unsuccessful seasons or seasons of but partial success quickly change his view and he becomes eager to lay as much of the burden of the fishing as possible on the fishcurer. Thus, when he wants nets, he calls on the curer to guarantee payment to the seller of nets. He gets tar, and cutch, and ropes in the same way. The curer guarantees payment of the wages, meal, and other supplies of the crew; and of the cartage of the nets, and the rent of their drying ground. All these are, of course, debited in the fisherman's account. Generally the curer pays off all those claims that require instant settlement at the close of the fishing season. If things have gone fairly well, he may make the man a payment in cash at the same time; but the final settlement of the year is postponed till Martinmas, when, if cash is owing, it is paid. If no balance accrues to the fisherman, his account is handed to him; and if he is a crofter, or a reliable man the curer advances to him £12 or £20, to pay his rent and tide him over the hard times in winter. Sometimes the curer assists his fishermen debtors by supplies of meal for their families in winter, the meal being procured by the curer's orders to millers or meal dealers. It is tolerably certain that the curer receives an abatement or discount from the merchant's prices of the meal, goods, ropes, nets, or other things which the fishermen procure on his guarantee. But sometimes the guarantee is an open one, with which the fisherman goes to any merchant he chooses making the best bargain he can. Thus the basis of the system in this, the herring-fishing, is also mainly one of cash payments. On the first relation of it, too, it seems a system conducted in very liberal ways, inasmuch as the fish-curers are prompt to supply the capital, or the boat and materials equivalent to the capital, needed by the fisherman, and to pay him promptly the whole profits. But this, a thing unusual in ordinary commercial dealings, lays the system open to suspicion; and it is, in fact, highly objectionable, and replete with hard and injurious consequences to the fishermen. Take an ordinary case. A fisherman has made a lucky fishing with an old boat, and finds himself at the end of the year clear of debt, or near to that fortunate condition. He has for years used the old boat, as he knows, at a serious disadvantage, for the old boat and defective gearing are insufficient to carry the fisherman twenty or more miles from shore nightly, and at such distances the shoals of herrings often are. His curer will give him a boat one year old, and he takes it, agreeing to pay for it what it originally cost the curer. If the old boat is worth anything, the curer will take it in part payment. But thus the fisherman at once becomes debtor in a £100 or thereby, and bound to fish on 'general terms.' He has probably been so bound all his fishing career. In the same way, a fish-curer will readily trust a boat to a smart young fisherman wishing to start on his own account. Of course, the curer takes care that he has power by writing to seize the boat again, if necessary for his security. It is commonly calculated that few men fish over 100 crans of herrings oftener than in one season out of five and all the chances are that our fisherman will do little to reduce his debt for some years to come. If the price is not paid by a lucky fishing in the first year, but runs unpaid to a second or third, the curer generally charges the man with deal for the boat, £10 or £14 as may be, and this year after year; so that, when at last the price is paid, and the fisherman gets free, the boat has actually cost him £150 or more. This, however, only occurs with fish-curers who are of a lower class than the most respectable. The leading men in the trade generally credit the sums paid as deal in the final settlement of the boat's price. The probabilities are that the fisherman will increase the debt year after year, for some years. Then the curer takes from him a sale-note of the boat and of his drift. The boat is beached, so as to preserve the curer's right to it. The nets are sent to his store. The generosity of the original transaction disappears. It is, of course, understood that the boat and nets may be redeemed; but in many cases interest is added to the debt year after year, the deal is always charged for the boat, and the fisherman loses about 20 per cent. of his earnings by the 'general terms.' The sense of failure operates injuriously on the man, perhaps makes him negligent. He finds the curer disinclined to increase the debt by an additional advance of money just when money is most necessary to him for subsistence, and things go on from bad to worse. At last his year of luck comes round. He fishes 100 or 120 crans, perhaps 200 crans. His debt is reduced so as to be fairly less than the value of the boat and drift. Then he may go on for another course of the same risk and indebtedness. But not unfrequently the curer at this juncture closes the transaction by retaining and appropriating the boat and drift, and dismissing the man. The appropriation is made not seldom without any valuation of the property, and the man is dismissed without discharge or balancing of the debt. The disadvantages of this system to the fishermen are apparent, and are really very great. , Responsibility for the whole expenses of the fishing is cast upon them, while really the boats and nets are the fishcurer's. , They are charged with the maintenance of these boats and nets, in effect to keep the curer's capital put into their hands as near to its original value as possible. , They pay interest in some cases, and not seldom an arbitrary profit on part of the capital in form of boat's deal. , They receive 20 per cent. less for their fish than free fishermen do. The disadvantages of the fishermen are the advantages of the fish-curers. But these advantages are not wholly unmixed. The fish-curer has not only in the majority of cases to find the boats and nets, but to disburse all the charges of the fishing where the proceeds of the catch are insufficient to do it, and 'to keep on' the fishermen by advances for their food and rents. Thus the aggregate of the debts is a continual strain on the curer's capital, and payment is as uncertain as the chances of fishermen individually getting extraordinary hauls of fish. There is still further the risk of the debtor dying, in which event the debt is wholly lost beyond the value of the boat and nets. On the death of a fish-curer recently, his books were found to contain about £16,000 of debts due to him by fishermen, and these for the most part valueless. Still, if the system were not advantageous to the curers, it is plain that they would not conduct their trade in so questionable a method. The fisherman's profits in good years are swallowed up by the charges and drawbacks of bad and indifferent years, unless happily there be for him a succession of good years. But, considering how little the average value of the fishing exceeds the actual outlays of the year, it is not surprising that this great fishing should be carried on under a mass of debt, spread over fully two-thirds of the fleet. It is unquestionably a national misfortune that any great enterprise like the Caithness herring-fishing should be conducted under such serious disadvantages, and with such unfortunate results to the large and adventurous class of men who labour in it. These results are mainly owing to the great error of the fishermen in accepting the use of capital on terms unreasonably to their own disadvantage, standing debtor for the whole charges of the fishing, and submitting to the large deduction of 20 per cent. on the value of their fish. But they do it with their eyes open; and it is of contract, partly expressed and partly understood, and regulated by local custom. If it were desirable to regulate the arrangements of the trade by Act of Parliament, and if it were provided (1) that no person could advance money or money's worth to a fisherman, with the view of engaging in or equipping him for the fishing, without thereby constituting himself a partner of the fisherman, to the extent of such advance, proportionately to the value of the boat, drift of nets, etc. possessed by the fisherman and used in the fishing, and becoming liable as such partner for a proportional share of the charges of the fisherman's adventure, and (2) that the custom of fixing the price 'by general terms' be abolished; the trade would, it is thought, soon revert to legitimate methods of dealing. The real capitalist would share the risks and generally engross them; while the labour and zeal of the individual fisherman, who may have only his labour and zeal to give, would find their value in wages or other remuneration. But it is not to be denied that any such legislation would be extremely arbitrary and indefensible in principle. It should here be stated that what the fishermen earn in white-fishing, and in the winter and Lewis herring-fishing, is always paid in cash, irrespective of the debt resting owing in respect of the Caithness herring-fishing. The individual debtor of the herring-fishing is lost in the five, six, or eight joint-adventurers who man the boats in the fishings first mentioned. The men who hire themselves as boatmen for the herring-fishing season bargain for wages to be paid in cash at the end of the season. These wages vary from £4 to £8, according to the skill or strength of the boatman. Besides the money wages, these men have lodgings and cooking of their food supplied to them, and each receives a stone of meal weekly. The money wage is payable at the close of the fishing, and is always paid in cash. The number of men so employed is about 4000 at Wick alone. These men make their engagements with the boatmasters, who, as already stated, are ostensibly owners of the boats. They used to experience much hardship by the failure of the boatmasters to pay them in bad years. To enforce payment was difficult, for the fish-curers were invariably found to be the owners of the boats and nets, the sole possessions of the boatmasters. This has come to be remedied to a great extent by the men refusing to engage without receiving a guarantee for payment by the curer. With regard to coopers, they are engaged for terms longer or shorter, to make barrels at current wages or rates, and payments are fortnightly and always in cash. The women employed in gutting and curing the herring are engaged for the season. They are paid 6d. per barrel, and 1s. 3d. a day for repacking and filling up the barrels. 1500 of them may be employed. The payments are made in cash at the end of the season. Thus it will be seen that the whole business of the Caithness fishings is based on cash payments; and if it were not for the specialties of the herring-fishing, the whole would be sound and equitable. These specialties operate so extensive an injury, that they well merit the attention of the Legislature. It remains to be noticed that the inducements to engage in the herring-fishing under all the disadvantages set forth are very great. It has all the precarious and enticing character of a lottery. Every year a few lucky men fish large hauls, exceeding £200 in value in the brief fishing season. As a rule, fishermen marry young; and how can the young fisherman so easily procure the means or chance of livelihood as by accepting the boat and nets which the curer so readily offers? But, apart from any such special prompting, our fishermen, essentially venturous, all too eagerly incur the debt and risk a life of indebtedness for the chance of winning the comparative comfort to which a few, a very few, of their class attain. I know of no class requiring protection from their own recklessness in these contracts more than do the fishermen of Caithness. III.-- EXTRACTS FROM LETTER FROM REV. MR. ARTHUR, UYEA SOUND, UNST. UYEA SOUND, 1. 1872. I have yours of the 26th Jan. '72, making inquiries about the price and quality of provisions, etc. in the Fair Isle. When I arrived there in summer '70, my furniture and provisions I had brought with me from Edinburgh had not arrived, through the gross misconduct of Mr. Bruce's skipper; so I had no alternative but to get provisions from his store, the only shop in the island. Tea, equal to 2s. or 2s. 2d. a pound in Glasgow, which I had tried from curiosity, was sold to me for 4s.; sugar (East India brown) worth 31/2d. a pound, cost 7d.; soap, the same; coarse biscuit (the only bread), 4d. a pound. All these articles were, I conceived, about 100 per cent. above the ordinary selling price, or profits, in other places. I afterwards bought other articles, but I forget the price, and could not tell the profits. Meal is the great demand of the island, besides tea, tobacco, etc. I heard great complaints of the price of the meal, but I needed none. They said the bere-meal cost about 20s. a boll, but they did not know the precise price till settling day, once a year or two years. Then they had to pay whatever Mr. Bruce chose to name, after it was all eaten. He kept off the price from that of their fish; and there too, they had to take whatever he named. I found from an Orkney newspaper that bere-meal was selling there at 13s. a boll. As the meal was bought with their own money, and the price of their own fish of last year, I suppose a penny letter could order 100 bolls, shipped at Aberdeen or Kirkwall; the price of carriage to Lerwick would be, say 6d. a boll; then conveyed to Fair Isle in Mr. Bruce's own vessel, with a reasonable freight would clear about one thousand per cent. on the actual outlay or he would pocket £30 for a penny letter. The people 'were restricted (as you say you have been informed) to buy from any one else, both by word and writing, and by the fact that they had nothing to pay it with till July last from 1869-1871. Mr. Bruce tried to establish a complete monopoly, but he did not altogether succeed. Others came and undersold him vastly, though even they were VERY DEAR, and would not sell above high- water mark. Every time any one came to the island to sell tea, sugar, coffee, soap, etc., it was reported that any one buying from such would get their warning to leave the island--the grand and only punishment known there. Of course, they all bought more or less secretly or openly and none were turned away I was at first astounded to find they did not believe a word I said, and I soon learned not to believe a word they said. I don't mean all were liars alike, but only a stranger can't tell whom to trust. One seller came three times to the island that summer(1870) and took away a good deal of money and goods each time. I bought bread, sugar, fowls, etc, for Mr Bruce's laws did not apply to me Good sugar 6d. a pound, would have cost 5d. and 51/2d. in Glasgow. Soap equally cheap, I was told. Bread 2d. above Kirkwall price, a 4 lb. loaf 8d. instead of 6d. at Kirkwall. This man and his boat's crew of two or three men remained six days on one occasion in good weather selling and collecting accounts, and took away cattle, etc. It was in regard to him that the notice was stuck up in the store window by Mr Bruce that he advised his tenants not to deal with strangers, nor to receive them into their houses. As to the fish, the people complained that they got 9d. a cwt. less than those at Sumburgh for the same fish; their prices varying from 2s. 6d. to 3s., about 25 per cent. below the same article twenty-four miles distant, so that £75 would pay as much fish there as £100 at Sumburgh. If the Sumburgh fishermen complain you may guess what the islanders will do if they dare speak out. I am told the Unst fishermen have got this year 8s. a cwt. for cod and ling -- the cod-fish of Fair Isle are bought at half-price. When I was there for my furniture in July last I asked for curiosity, what they got for their fish as Mr. Bruce was there settling. They said 2s. 9d. and 3s. that would be 5s 6d. and 6s. for cod. Now 6s. is to 8s. as £75 is to £100. If the fish are not paid till a year or two after they are delivered, the only capital required is the outlay for salt; and I should think £20 of salt should serve £200 of clear profit on the fish -- equal to 1000 per cent. on the outlay as You may think their plots of ground are let cheap with a view to profit on the fish. The reverse is the fact. The price of land there is nearly double that of the lots I have priced in Sutherlandshire and the rest of Shetland The land is the source of the people's and . They say Mr. Bruce has doubled the rents since he got the island, four or five years ago and the tacksmen had overtaxed them before he got it. Many have left the island since then, on the plea of oppression voluntarily submitting to the only punishment they have to fear. ......................................... I received letters in October dated July, and none after till I came for them in March, although the people were fishing every month in the year, and we could speak the mail steamer going north twice in three trips. Going south, she is generally under night or very early in the morning. I have gone to the mail and spoken to the captain in October, November and December, and my letters and papers on board were carried fifty miles past me, to be obtained when anybody coming to the island chose to ask them; and thus I might obtain them in a few months, OR NEVER. And so of letters the island. Now, a few pounds could establish a post-office in the island and the mail steamer could deliver a bag forty or fifty times in the year when going north; indeed always, unless she passed in a fog, or in the dark, or in a storm from a south or south-east wind. In a north wind, the harbour is perfectly calm, and the island shelters the steamer. IV.--EXTRACT FROM LETTER BY WM. MOUAT, ESQ. OF GARTH, ADVOCATE, TO MACCULLOCH, AUTHOR OF 'THE HIGHLANDS AND WESTERN ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND' (DISCOVERED AMONGST THE GARTH PAPERS IN MARCH 1872). <2d November> 1820. . . . With regard to the points in question, I think, if I can make myself understood, I should be able to satisfy you; but our mode of holding, or rather of describing property, is so different from anything practised either in England or Scotland, that I suspect it will be necessary to take a very elementary view before I can be sure of succeeding. In the first place, then, there are no , or anything analogous to them, either in the person of Lord Dundas or of any other person. The reason why you have heard his Lordship spoken of as so universal a proprietor in the commons is, that although his is only a third or fourth rate property, it is so much scattered, that there are few commons (scattales or scattholes) in the country in which he has not something to say, . The Crown is the universal superior, and all the land is freehold. It is true that Lord Dundas lately possessed over all the country, and does still possess over some few estates, the right to the Crown rents. These were the feu-duties exigible from the feued lands, and a payment called scatt, exigible both from Udal and feued land; but this was simply a right to collect the payments, and did not infer any right of superiority. Etymologically, scatt certainly seems to have some connection with , but practically it has none whatever, so far as the receiver is concerned, and is as to him simply a feu-duty. The opinion of the country, however, is so far in favour of the etymological view, that it is generally conceived that all towns ( townships) paying scatt have right to a share of the commons, while those who do not have none; but this point has never been settled by any judicial authority. In the second place, you are mistaken in supposing that tenants pay no rent for the scattholds. Every township its own scatthold, the boundaries of which are, or ought to be, known. I say 'ought to be,' because I believe in many instances a knowledge of the marches has been lost. Any scatthold, therefore, is common merely as respects the township to which it belongs; and it is the exclusive property of the owners of that township, or, more strictly speaking, forms a part of the township itself. Each township consists of a certain number of merks. The following history of the origin of this term (which is our universal denomination of land, both in letting it to tenants and in conveying it from one proprietor to another) may help to explain its nature. It seems, then, to have arisen in the times when rents were fixed by public authority, each township being valued, , at so many merks of money as it was considered worth. The share of each landlord was then naturally said to consist of so many merks, because the rent was in fact his whole interest, the farmer being, according to the old Danish law, the real proprietor, and the landlord only a sort of lord of the manor. The term, by a very easy change, came, with the changes of laws, to apply to that portion of land which had originally paid a money merk of rent, but did not, and does not to this day, denote any particular spot or measurement, but merely such proportion of the whole township as had been equivalent to one money merk of rent, when the whole was valued at a given number. This hypothesis, for I acknowledge it is little more, at least gives a result corresponding precisely to our present idea of a merk of land, and also accounts for the great variety of contents which we find in merk, since, to be equal in value, they must have been of very different extent in different situations. The number of merks in each town is known from old records and traditions, or, practically, from the sum of all the proprietors. Thus, if in the town of M. 40 merks belong to A., 30 to B., and 20 to C., then is M. a town of 40 + 30 + 20 = 90 merks. It is of no consequence here whether M. contains five acres or five hundred, 40-90ths of the whole belong to A., and 30-90ths to B., etc. And, on the other hand, the number of merks might be double, triple, or in any other proportion, without at all altering the extent or state of the property, except that the interest of each proprietor would be expressed by proportionally higher figures. A. would have 80-180ths, B. 60-180ths, and so forth. In these circumstances, if a landlord lets to a tenant any given number of merks, it is just giving him a fractional share, of which the total number of merks in the town is the denominators, and the number let the numerator. A tenant taking ten merks in the above supposed town of M., would just have right to 10-90ths of the corn land, 10-90ths of the meadow land, 10-90ths of the stinted pasture within the dyke, and 10-90ths of the unstinted pasture, or 'scatthold,' without the dyke. But the rent is charged at so much per merk -- , the tenant does pay rent for the scatthold, Q.E.D.!! I do not, however, allege that the rent thus paid is anything like what it might easily be under a better system. That the rents were anciently fixed by public authority, is, I believe, an established fact, and there is reason to believe that the practice continued long after the transference of this country from Norway to Scotland, when, of course, it ceased to be law. This practice, and the long period for which both rents and improvements were stationary, had produced so strong an impression upon our habits of thinking on this subject, that, at so late a period as to be distinctly within my own recollection, landlords, in general, had no clear practical confidence in their own right to demand a direct rise of rent, and, under this feeling, resorted, in many instances, to indirect methods of doing that which they had a right to have done openly and avowedly. The sight of this sort of thing, without an understanding of the circumstances and habits of thinking which lie to it, gave superficial observers an idea that much oppression and injustice was exercised towards the tenantry, and produced much of that obloquy (some of which may possibly have fallen in your way) which has been thrown upon the Shetland landholders. This idea has now, however, completely vanished, and many Shetland proprietors have let their lands at a raised money rent, without reserving any further claim upon the tenants: and if all have not done so, it arises from other causes, and not from any feeling of the kind described above, or from any inclination to take undue advantages. As to your question why the scattholds remain undivided, the general backwardness of improvement, and want of agricultural skill and capital, are the immediate causes. The present tenantry are so ignorant of the means of turning these commons to any proper account, that the fee-simple of most of them would, under the present management, hardly pay a common land-measurer for surveying them, far less could they bear any litigation. There are, however, many considerable scattholds at present the exclusive property of one or a few persons. Improved management has begun, and will probably take root, first in such situations, and afterwards, when its advantages are seen, and a sufficient number of people trained to practise it has arisen, it will spread over those lands where the difficulty and expense of divisions have to be previously incurred. Your alternative of levying a rent of so much per head of beasts pasturing, would not answer, because, as I have already endeavoured to explain, the tenants, in paying a rent per merk, pay for their scattholds as well as for their other ]and. Your other suggestion, however, numerically limiting the stock according to the rent, or, which is the same thing, according to the moths, would be highly beneficial both to tenants and landlords. If you ask, Why then is it not carried into effect? I can only answer that we have not long turned our attention the way of agricultural improvement, and have only begun to discover that what is difficult is not always impossible. V. -- EXCERPT FROM REPORT OF MR. PETERKIN, GENERAL INSPECTOR OF BOARD SUPERVISION OF THE POOR IN SCOTLAND. .--The Board are aware of the constantly recurring reference I have had to make for many years to the tendency of Inspectors and members of Parochial Boards, here and there, over the whole of Scotland, to traffic with paupers, by furnishing them with goods of all kinds, and with lodgings, and intercepting the parochial allowances in payment thereof. On this subject there has, since the institution of the Board, been a constant struggle; for here and there, all over Scotland, in the large towns as well as in rural and remote parishes, the practice prevailed, and was occasionally discovered-- generally by accident. The Board long ago expressed decided opinions on the impropriety of the practice. Now in Shetland, it so happens that almost the only persons who are practically the administrators of the Poor Law are more or less directly or indirectly interested in the local trade -- in the fish-curing, or in the shops, or in the stores of one kind or another. In one parish the Poor Law is practically administered by these merchants and fish-curers, and to their shops the paupers must of necessity go to make their purchases. In two other parishes nearly the same thing occurs. There is probably no parish in Shetland, where, to a greater or less extent, this is not the case; and to find there persons capable of transacting business, and of acting as members of Boards or Inspectors of Poor, who are not, in some way or other, directly or indirectly interested in a shop, or connected with a shopkeeper, is perhaps impossible. Where the line is to be drawn, when all interest in the business of the shop will cease, is beyond my powers of discovery. Even among the more recent appointments of Inspectors we have one who is personally unobjectionable, having no shop; but his mother keeps "" of the district. Another was a shopkeeper; and on his appointment as Inspector he gave up his shop and goods, and with them, of course, it was to be supposed all interest in the business; but he made them all over to his niece, ! And the third, having ceased to keep a shop, acts as agent for his brother and his partners, who have shops and stores and curing stations; but at present he sells nothing. These three men seem to me in themselves to be really as competent as can be for their duties, and are, I believe, as good and efficient men as can be found in their respective parishes. In another parish we have as an Inspector the paid shopman or servant of the firm who has "." In another parish the chairman of the Board has "," and his brother has "." In short, everything in Shetland gravitates towards "." To it the child takes a dozen eggs in a morning, and obtains for the family breakfast what is called a ";" to it the young woman takes her knitted hosiery, and in exchange will receive either tea or some article or material of dress; to it the pauper takes the pass-book, or pay-ticket of the parish, and on that guarantee will get the "," or the ";' and he who supplies the goods over the counter is almost certain to be a member of the Board, or a near relative of one who is, or of the Inspector, -- he may even be the chairman of the Board himself. 'I do not pretend to be able to offer any suggestions to remedy such a state of matters, but too rely state the facts as they have come under my observation. I have, however, no doubt that the poors' rates in Shetland are, to a great extent, but the natural results of such parochial arrangements as I have referred to.' VI.--NOTES OF PRICES PAID BY JAMES METHUEN, LEITH, FOR (CURED) SALT FISH, FREE ON BOARD AT LERWICK, FROM 1853 TO 1871. Year Ling Cod Tusk Saith 1853 £20, 10s. £18 £20. 10s. £10. 10s. 1854-5 .... .... .... .... 1856 .... £15 .... £11, 10s. to £12 1857 £21 to £22 £18 to £17 £19, 5s. £12, 10s. 1858 £21, 10s. £16, 10s. .... £12 1859 £20 to £22 £15, 10s. .... £10 to £11 1860 £19 to £21 £17. 15s £20 £13 1861 £18 to £17, 10s. £17, 10s. £18 £12 to £13 1862 £17 to £18 £15 to £16 £17 £8, 10s. 1863 £18 to £20, 10s. £18 £20 £9 1864 £18 to £21 £17 to £19 £21, 5s. £12 1865 £23 to £24 £21 to £22 £23 £15 1866 £23 to £25, 10s. £19 to £23 £24 £13, 10s. 1867 £17 to £18 £16 £17 £7 1868 £18 to £19 £16 .... .... 1869 £20 to £20, 10s. £17 £18, 10s. £11 1870 £21, 10s. to £22 £18 £20 .... 1871 £22, 10s. to £24 £20 .... £13, 10s. Priced per ton VII.--ABSTRACTS OF SETTLEMENTS PRODUCED BY MR. GARRIOCK. 1. ABSTRACT of SETTLEMENT with FAROE FISHERMEN by GARRIOCK & CO. Vessel Earning Paid in Lines, Clothes, Cash Hooks Meal, etc., and Stores for Self and used on Family Board 'Mizpah' 1870. £585 2 1 £374 13 6 £81 7 11 £129 0 8 'Mizpah' 1871. £328 19 11 £198 9 7 £63 3 4 £67 7 0 'Sylvia' 1870. £427 19 2 £239 17 0 £71 7 9 £16 4 5 2. ABSTRACT OF SETTLEMENT with CREWS of FISHERMEN at DALE and WALLS -- Season 1871. Name of Crew Gross Earning Lines, Nets, Salt, Meal, and Goods Amount paid in Cash <6-oared boats> James Twatt and crew £66 8 6 £16 4 4 £50 4 2 John Jeromson and crew 88 16 111/2 18 4 4 70 12 71/2 Wm. Jameson and crew 74 11 11 36 12 11 37 19 0 Fraser Henry and crew 100 0 41/2 20 1 61/2 79 18 10 Thomas Laurenson and crew 100 2 7 27 14 6 72 8 1 Jacob Christie and crew 96 6 6 15 2 71/2 81 3 101/2 36 men Total £526 6 10 £134 0 3 £392 6 7 <4-oared boats> Scott Williamson and crew £21 2 11/2 £9 8 91/2 £11 13 4 Chas. Williamson and crew 33 2 11/2 19 16 81/2 13 5 6 William Smith and crew 21 17 7 10 2 31/2 11 15 31/2 Jas. Tait and crew 34 3 41/2 7 19 21/2 26 4 2 Geo. Georgeson and crew 16 0 7 .... 16 0 7 Thomas Moffat and crew 18 15 41/2 4 14 81/2 14 0 8 Magnus Thomson and crew* Thos. Thomson and crew* Mat. Thomson and crew* 158 11 0 42 18 9 115 12 3 34 men Total £829 19 1 £229 0 81/2 £600 18 41/2 * 4 boats with 3 men each = 12 men AVERAGE. Earning Goods, etc. Cash 36 men in six-oared boats, each £14 12 5 £3 14 5 £10 17 11 34 men in four-oared boats, each £8 18 7 £2 15 103/4 £6 2 81/4 Minutes of Evidence taken before the Commission on the Truck System (Shetland) Lerwick: Monday, January 1, 1872. Mr Guthrie, Commissioner. .-I have come here, as a Commissioner appointed under the Truck Act of 1870, to inquire into the system of Truck, and to report upon that and upon the operation of all Acts or provisions of Acts prohibiting the truck system; and I have power under the Act, as it says, 'to investigate all offences against such Acts which have occurred within the period of two years immediately preceding the passing of this Act (that was, in 1870), and to make such report on the subject of the truck system, and of the existing laws in relation thereto, as they (the Commissioners) shall deem proper and useful'. I wish all that are here, and all that are interested in the subject of this inquiry, to remember that the object for which I am sent here is simply to find out the truth, and the whole truth, about the way in which the system of truck, or, if it is not properly called the system of truck, the system of paying wages and the price of productions,-which is said to prevail in Shetland, operates; and I trust and believe that I shall receive from all of you every assistance in ascertaining the truth with regard to that matter. I wish every person in Shetland, and every person interested in the matter, to bear in mind, first of all, that I come here with no formed opinion as to the operation of that system, either on the one side or on the other. I come here to find out the truth; and I believe that, so far as Shetland is concerned, the Government which has sent me here is in exactly the same position, and has not formed any opinion. It is simply anxious to find out what is the truth about the system which is alleged to prevail here; and I trust, as I have already said, that I shall receive every assistance from everybody in prosecuting that inquiry. I have to thank some gentlemen, to whom I have already made application for information, for the courteous way in which they have responded to my application. The interests of some of them may be supposed to be affected by the inquiry, but I hope that they and all of you will come forward frankly and tell me what you know about the matter. It is right, however, to mention, that the Act of Parliament under which I am sent here, furnishes me with special and very stringent powers with regard to the obtaining of information. In particular, I am empowered, among other things, to examine witnesses upon oath; to compel them to answer such questions, as may be put to them; to compel the production of documents; to order the inspection of any real or personal property; and a summons requiring the attendance of a witness must be obeyed just in the same way as if it were issued by any of Her Majesty's superior courts. I hope and trust, however, that it will be unnecessary to exercise any of these powers. I think the people of Shetland have sufficient intelligence and good sense to make the enforcement of these powers quite unnecessary. I rely upon their good sense and courtesy to allow the truth to be ascertained, without any difficulty or any resistance or attempt at concealment. I may mention-although perhaps in this country it is less necessary-that the Act of Parliament gives me power, when any person examined as a witness makes a full and true disclosure touching all matters with respect to which he is examined, to give him a certificate stating that he has made such a full and true disclosure; and that certificate has the effect of protecting him against any civil or criminal procedure which might be taken against him in consequence of anything that he speaks to. Further, I have to express a hope that no person who is interested in the system that is said to prevail here will in any way attempt to interfere with this inquiry by intimidating any witness who is to be called before me, or exercising any undue or improper influence upon him. If any instance of such intimidation or improper influence takes place, I hope the party on whom it is attempted to be exercised will at once make the circumstance known to me, whether that intimidation is exercised by a threat of dismissal from employment or a refusal of work, or in whatever other way it may be done. All these things would be a serious violation of the law, and would be visited with severe punishment. I shall be ready to receive any information that any person may wish to give on the subject of the inquiry; and if any one wishes to give evidence or to suggest any point for inquiry, I have to ask that they will give that information privately, as the inquiry itself, so far as the taking down of evidence is concerned, must, by the terms of the Act, be held in public. Lerwick, January 1, 1872. CATHERINE WINWICK, examined 1. You live in Lerwick?-Yes. 2. You are in the habit of knitting for Mr. Linklater?-Yes. 3. For any one else?-No. 4. Do you supply your own wool?-No. 5. Where do you get it?-I knit Mr. Linklater's own worsted. 6. Do you get a supply of it at his shop?-Yes. [Page 2] 7. Do you pay for it when you get it?-No; he pays me for the knitting. 8. Are you paid in money?-Some in money and some in goods. 9. What is your system of dealing? When you go with anything you have knitted to Mr. Linklater's shop, do you put a price upon it?-No; he gives what he thinks right. 10. He puts the price upon it?-Yes. 11. Does he pay you that price usually in money?-Part in money and part in goods. He does not pay all in money. 12. Do you keep a pass-book with him?-No. 13. Do you get all the money you want?-I always get what money I ask for; but I never ask for all in money. I have asked for a few shillings in money, and I have always got it. 14. Why did you not ask for the whole in money?-Because he was not in the habit of giving all money for his knitting. 15. Do you mean that you knew if you had asked for it you would not have got it?-I don't think I would have got it all in money; I never asked him for it all, but I always got what I asked for. If I asked him for a few shillings of money, he always gave it to me. 16. Is a settlement always made when you bring your work back?-Sometimes it is, and sometimes not perhaps sometimes I have something in his hands to get, and perhaps sometimes I am due him a little. 17. Due him for what?-For anything. Perhaps he might give me something sometimes when I did not have it to get, if I asked him for it. 18. Did you ever wish to buy your goods at any other place?-No; I could not buy my goods at any other place. 19. Were you always content with what you got?-Yes; I was always content. 20. Then if you wanted money, it would be for some other purpose, such as paying rent?-Yes. 21. Or for provisions?-Yes. 22. And you always got what you wanted for these purposes?- Yes. When I asked for a few shillings of money for knitting, I always got it. 23. Do you live by yourself?-Yes. 24. And not in family with any others?-No. 25. Do you make all your living by knitting?-Yes. 26. You have no other means of getting money to pay your rent?- No. 27. You pay rent for a room?-Yes. 28. And you have always got enough from the employer to whom you sell your work to pay your room rent and your food?-Yes. It had to be enough, for I could not get anything else. 29. Do you mean by that, that you would have liked to have had more money to spend upon food?-Yes. 30. But you could only get goods?-Yes. 31. How much do you earn by knitting in a week or in a month?-I suppose perhaps about 10s. in a month. I would knit a shawl in a month, and the merchant would allow me that sum for knitting it. 32. Would it take you a month to knit a shawl, working at nothing else?-Yes. Of course I would not be always at it. People cannot sit and knit continually; but it would take a month to make it, working in an ordinary way. 33. When you take that shawl to the shop, price of say 10s. is put upon it, how much of that do you got in money, and how much in goods?-I have knitted a shawl for 10s, and I have got 5s. in money on it from Mr. Linklater. 34. Is that the usual proportion of money you get?-No, not always. Sometimes I don't get so much as that. 35. Did you ever ask for more?-No; I think never asked for any more on one shawl. 36. Supposing you were going with a shawl of that value what goods would you get? Take the last time you went, for instance: what did you get?-Cottons, or such things as I would be requiring. The last time I was there I bought nine yards of cotton at 81/2d. a yard. 37. Was that to make a dress with?-No; it was white cotton. 38. Did you ask for that?-Yes. 39. Did you want it for any particular purpose?-Yes; I wanted it. 40. What else did you get?-That is all I remember getting at that time. 41. Did you get the rest in money?-Yes. 42. Have you any reason to complain of the quality of the goods you get?-No, I have not. 43. Would you wish to go to any other shop if you got money?-I have no reason to leave Mr. Linklater, for he has always given me money as well as I could have got it from any other merchant, I believe. 44. What arrangement do you make about the supplying of the wool?-We make no arrangement. 45. Then you are supplied with the wool; and the 10s. is the price not of the shawl, but of your work upon it?-Yes. 46. Is that the usual way in which the knitting trade is carried on by the women in Shetland?-Yes. 47. Do they generally get the wool supplied to them that way?-I believe they do. At least it is the way with some of them. They won't want it. 48. They don't buy the wool themselves?-They are not able to buy the wool. 49. Have you worked for other merchants than Mr. Linklater?- No; only for him. I have knitted a few things for a lady, but I never knitted to any other merchant than Mr. Linklater. 50. Then you don't know how the other merchants deal with the women who knit for them?-No; I cannot say anything about that. 51. Would you prefer to sell your goods to a private lady, or to a stranger counting to Shetland, rather than have to take them to a merchant?-If I could get all money for them, I would prefer that. 52. Supposing there was a merchant here who paid for goods altogether in money, would you prefer to take your hosiery to him?-Yes; if I could get all money, I would prefer that. 53. Is there no such person?-No; there is no such person here as that. A lady may buy a thing or two at a time, and give money for them, but that could not be a general thing. 54. How do you know that you cannot got money from the merchants? Is it because you have attempted to get it, or simply because you have a sort of understanding to that effect?-The merchants don't allow all money for the knitting. 55. Have they told you that?-Yes. 56. Who has told you?-Just the whole of them. None of them pay wholly in money for anything. 57. But who has told you that? I think you said you had never been refused?-I never was refused a few shillings on anything by Mr. Linklater. When I took home work to him and asked him for a few shillings of money, I always got it. 58. But you would rather have it all in money?-Yes. 59. And you cannot get it?-No. 60. How do you know that?-They won't give it to us. If we buy worsted ourselves, and knit the work, and take it to them, they won't give any money at all. 61. Have you tried that?-Yes. 62. You have knitted a shawl with your own worsted, and gone to them to sell it; and they would not allow money on it?-Yes. 63. Has Mr. Linklater done that?-Yes. 64. Did he refuse to give you money for that shawl?-Yes. 65. But he would pay for the shawl in goods?-Yes, if I would sell it. 66. When did that happen?-I could not just remember the time; but it has been often. 67. You did that yourself?-Yes, I have done that myself; and I have got shawls from friends to sell, and have gone out with them, and the merchants would not give money on them. 68. Is there anything else you want to say?-No. [Page 3] Lerwick, January 1, 1872, JANET IRVINE, examined. 69. Do you live in Lerwick?-Yes. 70. Your mother is a widow?-Yes. 71. Do you support yourself by knitting?-Yes; and partly by working outside at the fish. 72. What have you to do with the fish?-I help to cure them in the fish-curing establishment. 73. For whom do you knit?-Sometimes for myself, and sometimes for Miss Mary Hutchison. 74. Is she a dealer in hosiery?-Yes; she knits shawls herself, and sends them south. 75. Is she an agent?-Yes. 76. For whom?-I think she is agent for Mr. White, in Edinburgh. 77. Do you sometimes work for others?-No; not very often. I sometimes work for myself when I have any time. I knit a veil or a necktie, but in the summer 1 have not much time for that. 78. Do you knit these things for the purpose of selling them?- Yes. 79. Do you sometimes sell to the merchants in Lerwick?-Yes. 80. To whom?-To any one who is buying anything. 81. Do you generally get money for your shawls?-No; I got money from Miss Hutchison when I ask for it. 82. Do you get the price all in money from her?-When I want it all in money, I get it all in money, and when I want any other thing, she gives it to me. 83. Do you generally ask for it all in money from her?-Yes; I generally ask for it in money, because that is the only way we have to get it. 84. Does she deal in goods?-No. She generally brings home a little tea. 85. Does she only deal in tea?-In nothing else, so far as I know. 86. Then you sometimes get payment from her in tea?-Yes. When I ask it, I get it; but when I ask money, I get money. 87. When you sell to the merchants in Lerwick, do you get payment in money?-No; I never asked it, because I know they would not give it to us, as it is not the custom. They do not give it here. 88. Do you get part of it in money?-No; I get no money. 89. You have to take it all in goods?-Yes. 90. Do you prefer to get it in goods or in money?-I would like to get money if I could; but I can't get it. 91. And Miss Hutchison is not always ready to buy, from you?- No; she does not buy anything but her own. She brings home worsted, or buys worsted here, and I get it from her to knit. 92. What you sell to the merchants you knit with your own worsted?-Yes. 93. Where do you buy your worsted?-From the shops. 94. Which shops?-I used to buy from Mr. Brown, but he is not alive now; and I buy from Mr. Sinclair. 95. Do you pay ready-money for your worsted when you buy it?- Yes. 96. Do you not get worsted from the shops to knit into articles for the merchants?-No. 97. You sell to the shops only when Miss Hutchison has not got work for you?-Yes. It is only when I have it of my own that I sell to the shops. 98. Have you asked for money instead of goods at any of the shops?-No; I never asked for it. 99. Your sister also works in the same way?-Yes; she knits, but she does not work outside. She is not here to-day. 100. When was the last time you took anything of your own knitting to a shop to sell? Was it long ago?-No; it is not long,- perhaps about two or three weeks ago. 101. What was it?-A necktie. 102. Where did you take it?-I took it to Mr. Sinclair's. I could not get it sold that night, because he was not in, and the servants could not take it in his absence. I took it home with me. 103. What did you do with it?-The woman who dressed it sold it for me at Mr. Sinclair's. She generally dresses things, and sometimes sells them for me. 104. What is dressing?-Getting them sorted for sale. After being knitted, they are washed and dressed and starched. 105. Do you give the woman who dresses the articles a commission to sell them?-Yes; she sells them for me. 106. Why is that?-Because she is generally in the way of doing it. She can do it better than I can. 107. Do you mean that she can make a better bargain?-She dresses goods for the merchants, and sometimes she sells them too. She sold that article for me. 108. Who is the woman?-Mrs. William Arcus; she lives at the Docks. 109. What was the price put upon that necktie which she sold?- Eighteenpence. 110. What did you get for it?-I just got anything I required. 111. What did you require at that time?-I got a little tea, and the rest in cotton. 112. Did you want the tea?-Yes. 113. Have you sometimes asked the merchants for goods which they would not give you?-No. 114. When you go to a merchant to sell a shawl, can you get any kind of goods you want?-I don't sell any shawls, because I don't have any of my own. I have not had any of my own for a long time. 115. But when you go to sell any of the goods you have knitted, can you get anything you want?-I cannot get money, but I can get anything else, except worsted. They won't give it. 116. Will they not give you worsted for your knitted goods?-No. They won't give it for the hosiery. They want money for the worsted. 117. Do they give any reason for that?-I don't know. They say it is a money article. 118. Does that mean ready-money?-Yes. 119. It is cotton or tea you generally get?-Yes; or any other small thing except money. We can get anything except it. 120. You work at other things; so that I suppose you have money from your wages in the fish-curing establishment for the purpose of paying your rent, and things that you must pay in money?-Yes. 121. You get your wages there in money?-Yes; I get money for that. 122. You work for Mr. Leask?-Yes. 123. He does not keep a store of any kind?-No; he has no store, but he keeps a shop. 124. Have you to take goods for your wages there?-No; I can either get money or goods, whichever I want. 125. But what do you do in point of fact? Do you take money or do you take goods from Mr. Leask's shop?-I take money. 126. Always?-Not always. I take other things too, because they keep everything there that is required. 127. You have no complaint to make about that?-No. 128. You are quite content to go to Mr. Leask's shop for what you want?-Yes. 129. When you buy things there, you pay your money across the counter?-Yes. 130. You have got that money from the pay-clerk previously?- Yes. 131. Where is that money paid to you?-In the shop. 132. In which shop?-In Mr. Leask's shop. We get it in the office, and we pay it in the shop. He has two shops there. 133. Is the office at the Docks?-No; it is in the town. 134. Are you expected to go to Mr. Leask's shop when you get your wages?-No; we can go anywhere we like. 135. How long in the year do you work for Mr. Leask?- Sometimes, when the vessels get fish early, we begin soon. We begin in the spring. 136. Will you work there for six months?-Some [Page 4] times longer. We sometimes begin in spring, and work until after Martinmas. 137. During all that time you won't do much knitting?-No. 138. But you get your wages every week?-Yes. 139. How much do you get?-1s. a day. 140. And that is paid weekly on Saturdays at the office?-Yes. 141. Do you take that money home?-Yes; what I don't pay away. 142. You perhaps want something on the Saturday, and go into the shop for it?-Yes; what I want I go into the shop for. 143. How much of it do you generally take home after making your purchases?-I cannot say. 144. As a general thing, do you spend the half of it in the shop?- Yes; I spend the half of it. 145. Every week?-No; sometimes it is more, and sometimes less. 146. Have you ever been told that you ought to go to the shop?- No. 147. Or that you are expected to go there?-No. 148. Would you still be employed there in the same way although you went and bought your goods elsewhere?-They don't bid any of their people buy out of the shop. They just please themselves. Mr. Leask just gives the money, and he does not care where you buy from. Lerwick, January 1, 1872, Mrs. CHRISTINA WILLIAMSON, examined. 149. You are a widow, and live in the Widows' Asylum in Lerwick?-Yes. 150. Are you in the habit of knitting goods for sale?-Yes. 151. Do you knit for any particular merchant?-No; I knit for myself. 152. Do you buy your own wool?-Yes; I generally get wool, and get a woman to spin it for me. 153. Who is that woman?-Mrs. Irvine, Burn's Close. 154. Is that the mother of the last witness?-Yes. 155. Do you buy the wool from a farmer?-Yes. 156. And then you knit it for yourself, and take the shawls and sell them?-Yes. 157. Do you do that upon an order, or just upon chance?-Just upon chance. 158. Who do you generally sell to?-I have some unsold just now. The last one is unsold. 159. How long have you had it?-I have had that one lying for a twelvemonth. 160. Why don't you sell it?-Because I can't get money for it. 161. Who have you asked to buy it?-I have asked none lately. 162. Who have you asked at all?-I have asked no one in the town. 163. Why do you know you would not get money?-Because it is not the custom to give it, and therefore did not ask it. 164. Have you ever asked money for your shawls?-Yes; often. 165. From whom have you asked money?-I have asked it from the whole of the merchants in the town, but they are not used to giving money. 166. Who are the merchants in the town?-Mr. Sinclair and Mr. Tulloch, and Mr. Laurenson. 167. Are these all you remember?-Yes. 168. Have you sold any shawls to any of these gentlemen lately?- Yes; I sold one to Mr. Laurenson about three months ago. 169. What was the price put upon it?-30s. 170. Was that what you call fine knitting?-Yes. 171. How were you paid for it?-I got goods for it. 172. Did you get no money at all?-No. 173. Did you ask to get some of it in money?-No; I did not ask that. 174. Did you want to get the goods?-Yes; because the goods suited. 175. What goods did you get?-I got bread. 176. Does Mr. Laurenson sell bread in his shop?-Yes. 177. Was there an account run for that?-Yes. 178. What else did you?-Just all kinds of things I was using. 179. Was it all provisions that you got?-No; there was light and plenty of things. 180. Any clothes?-No clothes. 181. Was there any account due before you sold that shawl?-No. 182. Did you get all these goods away with you at the time?-No; I just ran an account for them. 183. Have you got a pass-book?-I have got one, but I don't have it with me. 184. Was that pass-book going on with Laurenson before you sold him the shawl?-No; it just commenced when I sold the shawl. 185. Does that account still continue?-Yes. 186. Do you remember how much it comes to now?-No; I don't remember exactly. 187. Do you live in the Widows' Asylum?-Yes. 188. Are you not provided for there?-No. 189. You have to get your own food?-Yes. 190. You got what you wanted on that occasion from Mr. Laurenson?-Yes. 191. Have you sold anything to him since then?-No. 192. Have you sold anything to any one else?-No. 193. Did you not knit a shawl for' Mr. Tulloch about a month ago?-Yes. 194. You did not sell it to him?-No; I did not sell it. 195. Did he supply the wool in that case?-Yes. 196. Was that because you had not wool of your own?-Yes. 197. What did he charge for the wool?-He just gave me £1 for knitting the shawl. 198. He supplied the wool, and agreed to pay you for knitting the shawl?-Yes. 199. Were you paid that £1?-Yes. 200. In money?-No. 201. Did you ask for money?-No. 202. Are you sure you did not ask for it in money?-Yes; I am sure of that. 203. Did you get any part of it in money?-No. 204. What did you get?-Just any clothes that I was needing. 205. When you went into the shop with the shawl, what passed between you?-I said, 'Here is your shawl Mr. Tulloch.' He asked me what I was wanting. 206. Did you say you wanted money?-No. 207. What did you say?-That I was wanting some goods. 208. Did you mention the goods you wanted?-Yes. 209. What were they?-I believe I took 6 yards of white cotton at 6d. a yard; I also took 41/4 yards of cloth at 4s. 2d. a yard, with which to make waterproof clothing. I got some small things with the balance but I don't remember what they were. 210. But the shawl was to be £1; the cotton came to 3s., and the waterproof cloth to 17s. 81/2d., so that you were rather in Mr. Tulloch's debt: was that left standing till the next time?-Yes. 211. Then you are to knit him something more?-Yes. 212. You have another order just now?-Yes. 213. Are you working at it?-I have not begun to it just yet. 214. Have you anything else to sell just now?-Yes. 215. Is it something you have knitted with your own wool?-Yes; but I have sent it south. 216. Is that because you expect to get money there?-Yes; I have sent it to an old neighbour woman of mine who is now in Thurso. 217. Is she a person who makes a practice of dealing in such things?-No; she is just an acquaintance of mine. 218. Is there anything else you wish to say?-No. [Page 5] Lerwick, January 1, 1872, ELIZABETH ROBERTSON, examined. 219. Are you a knitter in Lerwick?-Yes. 220. Do you live alone?-I live with my aged stepmother. 221. Who do you work for?-For the last six years I have knitted for myself, but before that I used to knit for the merchants in general. I knitted for the late Mr. Laurenson, and Mr. G. Harrison, and Mr. Tulloch, and Mr. Linklater,-in short, for almost all the merchants. 222. But that was six years ago?-Yes. 223. When you knitted for the merchants, was the wool supplied to you by them?-Yes. 224. Did you pay for it when you got it out, or when you were paid for your work upon it?-I was just paid for my work. 225. How much would you be able to make in a week at that sort of work?-I could not exactly say how much. I was in delicate health; but in some weeks I might have earned 1s. 6d. a day, and in some weeks perhaps less. 226. Was that the only thing you were working at?-Yes. The only sort of knitting I had was veils and shawls. 227. But was knitting the only thing you were employed at that time?-That was the only thing I was ever employed at in my life. 228. Then, on an average, you earned from 5s. to 6s. a week?- Yes; or from 4s. to 5s. 229. How often were you paid?-Just when I asked for any sort of goods that were in the shop. 230. Would you go once a week or once a fortnight to the shop for payment?-Yes; perhaps I would. I just went as I was done with the work which they required. 231. Did you get a book?-No. I never kept a book. 232. How did you know how much was due to you?-I just depended on the truth of the gentlemen's statements when they added up my accounts. 233. They kept an account in a book?-Yes. 234. Was that the same with all the dealers?-Yes; all that I dealt with before the last six years. 235. Did these merchants supply you with all kinds of goods?- Only with soft goods, and tea and sugar. 236. What did you do for your provisions, such as meal and bread?-I had often to buy such things as I could get, and sell them again at half the price to anybody in the row who would take them from me. 237. Were these the goods you got from the merchants?-Yes. 238. Could you not get anything from them you wanted, except what you have mentioned?-Sometimes I would get a sixpence and sometimes a shilling, but just occasionally. 239. Was that given you as a favour?-Yes, and because they knew I really needed it. It was a mere favour. 240. Were you supporting your stepmother at that time?-No; not at that time. I had only myself to support. 241. But you had no other means of support than your knitting?- No other means at all. 242. Did you ask for money at that time?-Yes; I always asked for money, because I required it so much. 243. Was it generally on a Saturday that you were with?-I did not make any particular settlement; it was just any time that I went. 244. When you got a settlement and took home some of these soft goods, did you go to your neighbours, or to the baker's or provision dealer's shop, and ask for what you wanted in the way of food?-No; but any neighbours that knew me would take from me some of the goods I had, and perhaps give them to a country friend of theirs, and get the money for them. 245. During the last six years you have got into the way of knitting with your own wool?-Yes. 246. Where do you buy your wool, or how do you get it?-There is a lady in the town-a dressmaker and milliner-who deals very largely in hosiery. 247. What is her name?-Miss Robertson. She takes goods from me on lines which I get for my shawls and she gives me wool and cash to favour me, because she knows I have no other way of getting money. 248. What do you mean by taking goods on lines-When I sell a shawl to any hosiery merchant in the town, I get any sort of goods that are in the shop, except wool to knit with; but if I don't want the goods at the time, then the gentleman will give me a line to the amount I have to get. 249. Is that an I O U?-That used to be on them. I think there are other two letters now; but they mean all the same thing. 250. Have you any of these lines?-I have one home. I shall bring it. If I go back to the shop with the line, or send anybody back with it, the merchant's servants will serve the party who brings it with the amount. 251. They will give you full value for it?-Yes, to the full value of the lines. 252. Then Miss Robertson takes these I O U's from you, and gives you worsted for them?-Yes. 253. That worsted you knit into shawls, and these shawls you sell to the merchants, getting from them I O U's?-Yes. 254. Are you any better off under this system than you were before?-Yes. She brings home the wools, and shows me the invoice for them, and I get the wools at what she pays for them. That is much cheaper than I can purchase them for in Lerwick. 255. But you did not buy the wool under the old way of working: you got the wool supplied to you, and were paid for your work?- Yes. 256. Do you think you make more money under the present system?-Yes. 257. When you get these I O U's, you spend only part of them in purchasing worsted?-I get no worsted on them except what I get from Miss Robertson. 258. But you spend only part of them in paying Miss Robertson for worsted?-Yes; and I get part money from her for them, because they serve her just the same as money would do, in getting articles from the merchants. She favours me in that way, and enables me to support my stepmother and myself, and pay rent and taxation. 259. Do you hand all your I O U's to Miss Robertson?-No; only what I can spare. 260. You sometimes take one of them yourself to the merchant from whom you got it, and you get goods from him for it?-Yes. 261. You have more money passing through your hands now than you had formerly?-Yes. I am able now to pay my rent. 262. How did you pay your rent formerly?-I did not require it then so much. My father was alive then. 263. But you have now to pay rent?-Yes; and to support my stepmother partly. 264. Have you within the last six years asked for money instead of these lines?-Yes; I have asked almost daily for money, and I get a little. 265. When did you ask last for money?-On Saturday. 266. Who did you ask?-Mr. Sinclair. 267. What did he say?-He gave me what I asked. 268. How much was that?-I just asked 1s. 269. Did you present one of his lines?-No; I sold him a shawl, and bought goods, and got a line for the rest, and 1s. of cash. 270. How much was it altogether?-I got 10s. 6d. for the shawl. 271. And you got 1s. in cash, and 9s. 6d. in goods or in line?- Yes. 272. Did you ask for more money than that?-Not on Saturday. 273. You got all the money you wanted then?-Yes. 274. How much did you the time before?-I got 2s. 6d. then. 275. From whom?-From Mr. Sinclair. 276. How much were you selling at that time?-15s. worth, I think. 277. Was that a fortnight's work?-It was more than that; it would be about three weeks'. [Page 6] 278. How much money did you ask that time?-I asked for 5s. 279. What was said?-There was no more money at hand at the counter at that time, and I got 2s. 6d. 280. What did you get for the 12s. 6d.?-It was some other little things I was purchasing. I don't remember what they were. 281. You did not get a line at that time?-No. 282. The things you got you really wanted?-Yes. 283. Suppose you had got 15s. in cash, would you have purchased your goods there?-Yes. Whatever wearing goods I required, I would not have purchased them anywhere else. I am quite satisfied with Mr. Sinclair's goods; but I am always needing money so much that I have always to ask it. 284. Does this system of not getting money, or being paid in goods, make you buy more dress or clothing than you would otherwise care for?-Yes; I would not need one half the clothes I get, if I could get money. 285. That is to say, you would prefer to take the money, and spend it upon food?-Yes. 286. Or lay it by?-I should not think much of laying it by, if I could only get enough to serve the present time. 287. Have you handed the I O U's to anybody else than Miss Robertson?-Yes; to lots of people. 288. For money?-Yes; for money, and for peats or fuel for the winter. My acquaintances will sometimes take a line from me to oblige me, because I have no money to give them. 289. Name one of them?-John Ridling, Burn's Lane, is one of them. 290. What would he do with it?-Mrs. Ridling would send it to the shop and purchase anything she wanted. 291. Have you known these lines passing through more hands than one before coming to the shop?-Yes; they would do that. 292. For instance, if Mrs. Ridling wanted money instead of goods at the shop, might she pass the line to somebody who would give her money for it?-No, not that I know of. 293. You said you had known the lines passing from hand to hand before going back to the shop?-Yes; sometimes they do that. 294. That is to say, if you handed a line to a person for money, that person might sell it again for money to another neighbour?-I do not know of selling the lines for money; but they might pass from one person to another in a quiet way. 295. For goods?-Yes; but not for money, so far as I know. 296. For fish?-Yes; I have got that on lines. 297. And bread?-Yes. 298. And then the party from whom the fish or bread was got would hand the line to the merchant?-Yes; and get what things suited them. 299. Is that it common thing in Lerwick?-No, it is not common; but it is the case with me. 300. Have you known any one else who has passed her lines in that way?-Yes; I have heard of some people who have taken lines from others. I know that Miss Hutchison has taken lines from people, and given them money for them. [The witness produced a line, in the following terms: 'C. W. 20.-Cr. Bearer value in goods for thirteen shillings stg. 13s. To hat, 3s. R. SINCLAIR & Co. . W.T.M. Lerwick, 5. 12. 71.'] I think the letters 'C.W.' are a private mark. It used to be I O U. The entry, 'To hat, 3s.' is an article I have got since, and there is therefore a balance of 10s. left on the line. 301. Have you any particular reason for preferring these lines to the old way of getting goods?-Yes; sometimes I can get the lines turned into cash. 302. You can turn them into money more readily?-Yes; through Miss Robertson taking them from me. 303. Are there many such lines given to people at shops?-Yes. 304. Do most of the people prefer the lines to being paid in goods?-Sometimes they don't perhaps require the articles at the time; but when they require them, they go with the lines and get them. Lerwick, January 1, 1872, Mrs. ANDRINA SIMPSON, examined. 305. Are you a knitter in Lerwick?-Yes. 306. For whom do you knit?-For myself. 307. Have you always done so?-I have always done so for a good many years back. 308. Where do you purchase your wool?-I purchase it just from any person, and I spin it for myself. 309. Do you purchase it from farmers?-Yes. 310. To whom do you sell your work?-To any the merchants who will take it. I generally sold it to Mr. Spence when he was in the town, and to his sister Miss Spence since he went away. 311. Does she still deal in hosiery?-Yes. 312. How are you paid?-Generally just by goods. 313. Do you ask for money?-For the last shawl I sold I asked 2s. in money. She did not appear very willing to give it; but I got 2s. on it, and the rest in goods. 314. What was the value of the shawl?-It was 12s. 315. Did you not ask for more than 2s. upon it?-No. I did not ask for any more, because she did not wish to give any more. 316. You did not ask for the whole price of the shawl in money?- No. 317. Did you want it all in money?-I would have liked it all in money. 318. Why? What would you have done with the money if you had had it?-There is many a thing that can be done with money. 319. But had you any particular reason for wanting the money instead of the goods? Did you not want the goods?-I could have been doing at that time without the articles that I got; but I just had to take them, because I could get no more than 2s. in money on the shawl. 320. Is that the usual practice in your dealings with the merchants?-Not always. Sometimes I have seen me getting a few shillings more from her; and at other times, if she did not have a particular order for the articles, she seemed not to be willing to give any, money at all. 321. How do you square your accounts when you get goods in that way? For instance, when you sold that 12s. shawl and got the 2s. in money, did you also get so many yards of cloth?-Yes; of print. 322. At how much?-At 7d. per yard. I also got some wincey. 323. Did that balance the account exactly?-Yes. 324. You got what made exactly the 10s. worth?-Yes. 325. Do you generally take just so much cloth as makes up the value of the shawl?-Yes; generally. 326. Do you do anything else in the way of working for your living than by knitting these articles?-Yes. I am married. 327. Then knitting is an extra sort of thing with you?-Yes. 328. Have you tried any of the other shops in the town to see if they would give you money for your hosiery?-No, none for a good while back; but it is not very much that I can do at it, on account of the house-work. My husband is a shoemaker. 329. Have you ever got lines for your shawls?-No: I generally settle up for the whole in goods at the time when I sell the shawls. 330. Is that all you want to say?-Yes. [Page 7] Lerwick, January 1, 1872, Mrs. JEMIMA BROWN or TAIT, examined. 331. Are you a knitter in Lerwick?-Yes. 332. Do you live with your parents?-Yes. 333. What is your father?-A shoemaker. 334. And you knit for your own benefit?-Yes. 335. For whom do you knit-For Mr. Robert Linklater. 336. What kind of goods do you knit?-Generally veils. 337. How much do you make in a week?-Sometimes 3s., and sometimes not so much, just according as the merchant buys the articles we make. 338. Is it his worsted you work?-Yes. 339. And he pays you so much for the work you put upon it?- Yes. 340. What is the value of the work you put upon the veil?-The last veils I made I got 9d. apiece for them. 341. Does what you get for them depend upon the size of the veils?-A good deal. These were the largest veils of all. 342. Then you will sometimes make four or five of them in a week?-I just made three of these. They were large ones. 343. How often do you get settled with for your work?-We have a pass-book, and the merchant lets it go on until he thinks we have got goods up to the value we have knitted for. He then makes up the book. [Produces pass-book in name of Harriet Brown, and another in name of Amelia Brown.] These are my sisters. One book served for the whole of us. 344. Did any one tell you to come here and bring those books?- No; I just heard what was to be done, and I came of my own accord. 345. These books contain the goods which you have purchased from Mr. Linklater?-Yes. 346. The last one begins on April 16; 1870, and is added up in January 1871. The amount at your credit is £5, 5s. 2d.: what does that mean?-It means, that we have knitted articles to that amount, and we have also got goods of that value. That was a square balance. The articles we have knitted bringing out that sum, are entered in a separate account at the end of the same book. 347. Is that account the same as appears in Mr. Linklater's books?-Yes. 348. It is-April 16, By balance at account, 10s. 111/2d.; May 5, twenty veils at 1s., £1: are these entered at the time you hand them back?-Yes; I took twenty veils to Mr. Linklater at that time. 349. The next entry is-September 6, twenty veils at 1s., £1. I thought you said you got 9d. for the largest veils you made?-Yes, for the largest size; but the veils I took in then were finer work, and the price for them was 1s. each. 350. Then-December 29, twenty veils at 1s, £1; March 30, two shawls at 3s. 6d, 7s.; August 19, nine veils at 1s., 9s.; same date, one shawl, 3s. 6d.-in all, £5, 10s. 51/2d. There is deducted £5, 5s. 2d., leaving a balance in your favour of. 5s. 31/2d.; and then the account begins again, and is continued down till December 26?- Yes. 351. Do you live with your father?-Yes. 352. Therefore you don't want much money for your own purposes?-We can never get any money. We would be very glad to get it if we could. 353. Have you asked money for your shawls instead of goods?- Yes. 354. What answer was made to your request?-That he never gave any money, and that he could not give it. 355. Was it not because you had this account, standing against you that he refused to give you any money?-No. The merchants don't give money to anybody, unless it be just to favourites. 356. At August 19 there was 5s. 31/2d. at your credit: did you not ask for that in money?-No; I did not ask for money then, but I had asked for it before. 357. I see that on August 19, when you were settling up, and when there was 5s. 31/2d. due to you, you took a hat and feathers, some velvet, and a jacket. You got a great deal more then than was due to you-Yes; because we had a number of veils knitting for the merchant at the time, and they all go into the account for the goods we get. 358. You say you did not ask for money at that time: did you not want it?-We always want it; but we never got it when we did ask for it; and it is no use always asking for it. 359. When did you ask for it last?-Some time in 1871. 360. I see there are no goods entered in your book as having been received by you from Mr. Linklater between January 1871 and October 1871: had you stopped working for him during that time?-I was in the south then. 361. But your sister was here?-Yes; but she was not knitting any. She was very sickly. 362. Is there anything else you want to say?-No. 363. Your sister Amelia is here to make the same statement that you have now made?-Yes. Lerwick, January 1, 1872, BARBARA JOHNSTON, examined. 364. You have come from the parish of Sandwick?-Yes. 365. How far is that from Lerwick?-About thirteen miles. 366. Who do you live with there?-I live with my mother, Mrs. Johnston. My father is dead. 367. How many of a family are there of you?-I have two brothers and a sister in the south and there is a sister at home besides myself. 368. You do some work in knitting?-Yes. 369. For whom do you work?-For Mr. Robert Linklater. 370. Do you always work for him?-Yes. I work for nobody else. 371. Have you a pass-book?-No. 372. How long have you worked for Mr. Linklater?-For some years. I cannot say the number exactly. 373. Do you get wool from him, or do you supply it yourself?-I get the worsted from him, and I am paid by him for my work. 374. What kind of wages do you get?-I get 10s. for making a big shawl. 375. That is not the finest quality of knitting?-No; it is about the coarsest. 376. Is it always shawls that you work at?-No; sometimes I make veils. 377. When you take your work back to Mr. Linklater, are you paid for it in money or in goods?-In goods. 378. Do you sometimes ask for money?-Yes. 379. What has he said to you when you asked for money?-He says he never gives it, and that he won't give it to me. I got 2s. from him today; but that is all I ever got, except, I think, one sixpence before. I also got the offer of a pass-book to-day. I had never been offered one before. 380. Was it after you had seen me this forenoon that you got the 2s. and the offer of the pass-book?-Yes. 381. When you get your worsted, is there a bargain made between the merchant and you about the payment you are to receive for the work?-No. I have just an idea what I think the thing will come to; and then, when I come back with it, he gives me what he likes. 382. You don't make any bargain beforehand?-No. 383. But you might do so if liked?-He won't do it. I have asked him, but he said he would see the thing when I came back with it. 384. I suppose, he wants to see the quality of the work before he pays for it?-Yes. [Page 8] 385. Did you take the pass-book that was offered you today?-No. 386. Why?-I had no particular I reason for not taking it. 387. Did you not want it?-I thought I would not mind it to-day, as I had never had one before. 388. Do you remember the last time before to-day when you went to Mr. Linklater with some of your work?-Yes. 389. How much was due to you at that time?-I think he was due me about £1. 390. That would be for more than one shawl?-Yes; it was for some veils about four months ago. I have made two shawls for him since, and some veils. 391. But the last time you went with your work, how much was due you?-I think there would be about £1. 392. Did you ask for money then?-Yes. 393. Who did you ask it from?-Mr. Linklater. 394. Was it from Mr. Linklater himself, or one of his people?-It was either from Mr. Linklater or from Mr. Anderson; I don't remember which. 395. What was said to you?-He just said that he would not give it, as he never gave any. 396. What goods did you get?-Some stuff for a dress, and some tea and cotton. 397. Had you made up your mind before you went there as to what you wanted to buy?-Yes. 398. And you got what you wanted?-I had to take what he had. I had no other chance. 399. Did you want these goods at that time?-If I had got the money, I would not have bought them at that time. 400. What would you have done with the money?-I would have bought grocery things-things that he did not have. 401. How do you get provisions when you want them?-My mother has a farm, and I work with her. 402. You sometimes work out-of-doors?-Yes. 403. How do you pay your rent for the farm?-My mother sometimes sells an animal, and pays the rent with the price. 404. To whom does she sell these animals?-To any one she can get to buy them. I don't know any one particularly to whom she sells them. 405. Whose ground are you on?-Mr. Bruce of Sand Lodge. 406. Is there any one in your family who goes to the fishing?-No; my brothers are all in the south. 407. Do you sometimes exchange for provisions the goods you get from Mr. Linklater for your hosiery?-No; I always get provisions home with me without changing them. 408. How is that? Have you some money?-Yes. It is by the farm that we have it. 409. Have you ever had occasion to exchange your goods for provisions?-No. 410. Do you know whether that is a common practice in your district?-I don't know. 411. Have you ever received a line instead of goods?-No. 412. Have you ever asked for a line?-No. 413. You say that to-day you took a shawl to Mr. Linklater, which he had ordered, and that you got from him along with goods?- Yes. 414. What was the value put upon the shawl?-10s.; but I had had a shawl in with him before and some veils since I was in the town last. 415. Had these been paid for?-No. 416. Then what was the whole sum due to you day?-I think it was £1, 2s. 6d. 417. Why did you not get your money or goods the last time you went in?-I sent the articles in then; I did not come myself. 418. So that there was no opportunity of settling with you before today?-No. 419. How much money did you ask for to-day?-I asked for 2s., and I got it. 420. Did you not want more?-I did not ask more and I don't think I would have got more if I had asked it. That was the reason why I did not ask it; because Mr. Linklater does not make it his practice give money. 421. Then when you go in any day to the merchant, you just say, 'Here is your shawl,' and you ask how much you are to get for it?-Yes. 422. What is his answer?-He just mentions whatever he likes to give. 423. But he gives you a fair value for the work, does he?-Yes; sometimes. 424. Do you think he puts too low a value on your work?-Yes; I often think that. 425. Do you think there is anything very unreasonable in the value he puts upon it?-Yes; sometimes I do. 426. How long does it take you to make a 10s. shawl-I would make one of them in a month if I was not doing much else. 427. Would it take you so long as a month?-Yes. 428. When you take in the shawl, you say the merchant puts his value upon it: do you ask him for a little more than he says, or are you satisfied with the value he puts on it?-If it is reasonable-like, I say nothing about it. 429. He does not hand you the money?-No. 430. What takes place then?-He asks me what I want in goods. If I ask for money, he says no. 431. Does he give any reason for refusing you money?-He says he never gives it, and he won't give it to me. 432. Is that the only reason that has ever been assigned to you for not giving you money?-Yes. There was one of them in the shop that said that to-day, and Mr. Linklater himself came in and gave me 2s. 433. Then you were refused money to-day by the shopman?-Yes. 434. He wanted you to take the whole amount in goods?-Yes. 435. He did so, because that was the practice?-Yes; and Mr. Linklater himself gave the 2s., and he also offered me a pass-book. 436. Who was the shopman who did that?-I think Robert Anderson is his name. 437. Did you say anything to Mr. Linklater when he came in?-I just asked him for the money. 438. You applied to him for the money when the shopman had refused it?-Yes. 439. And Mr. Linklater gave it to you without any hesitation?- Yes. 440. The 2s. was all that you asked?-Yes. I thought I would not get any money, because I had been denied it before. 441. Did you take the pass-book that was offered to you?-No; I did not think of taking it to-day. 442. Were you thinking of not dealing with Mr. Linklater any more?-No; I have got another shawl from him to make. 443. Did you get the worsted for it to-day?-Yes. 444. Does Mr. Linklater take a note of the quantity of worsted he gives out to you?-Yes; he weighs it. 445. He knows how much it will take to make a shawl, and he weighs the shawl when it is brought back?-Yes. 446. Have you ever bought worsted for your own knitting?-No; I could not get it bought, because I was not in the way of earning money. 447. Have you tried to buy it?-I could not try without the money. He would not give worsted for nothing. 448. And you had no money to pay for it?-No; I could not have it. 449. But when you were taking back your work to him, have you never asked to take part of the value of it in worsted?-I have; and I have been refused. 450. When did you do that?-It is long ago now; but I have done it. 451. What did he say when he refused you the worsted?-That it was a money article and he could not give it without the money. 452. Was it Mr. Linklater or Mr. Anderson who, said so?-I cannot remember now, it is so long ago. 453. Has that happened with you more than once?[Page 9]-I only remember asking it once. I never did it again, when I got a denial the first time. 454. Your sister also knits, and many of your acquaintances?- Yes. I would like to speak on my sister's behalf as well as my own. She is not here, but she wants to say the same thing that I have done. 455. She wants to make the same complaint?-Yes. She is not well, and is unable to come in. Lerwick, January 1, 1872, ANDREW TULLOCH, examined. 456. You are a fisherman at Cunningsburgh?-Yes. 457. Have you got a piece of ground there?-Yes. 458. You are a tenant of whom?-Mr. Bruce of Sumburgh. 459. Who do you fish for?-Thomas Tulloch at present. 460. Is he a relation of yours?-No. 461. Where is his place?-At Lebidden, close by Sand Lodge. There are some houses there. 462. Do you live there?-No; I live at Cunningsburgh. 463. Is Mr. Thomas Tulloch a tacks-master under Mr. Bruce. 464. What is he?-He is just a merchant carrying on business there, and he has stepped into the fishing. He sold goods before he began to it. 465. Does he keep a shop at Lebidden?-Yes, for the fishermen; and to sell to other people as well. 466. You engage to fish to him: is that for the summer fishing?- Yes, chiefly; or for the whole season, if we can follow it up. 467. Do you go to the Faroe fishing for him?-No; only to the ling fishing, in the six-oared boats. 468. What have you come here to say?-Chiefly, that we should like to have our freedom. We have freedom at present; but we are afraid of young Mr. Bruce taking the tack of the tenants into his own hands. He got a lease of the tenants from his father last season. 469. What did he get a lease of?-Of his father's premises at Cunningsburgh. 470. Then he got a lease of the whole lands of Cunningsburgh?- Yes, from his father. That was his statement the last time we settled with him. 471. What did he say then?-He said he was prepared to settle with the tenants, because he had got a lease from his father of the lands. 472. But you say you have your freedom?-Yes, at present; but we are doubtful if we can keep it, because young Mr. Bruce has taken the tenants at the place where he is living himself-at Dunrossness. He took the tenants there some three or four years ago, and he has built a house; and both we and the merchant are doubtful that he may take us into his own hand too. We rather think we might be worse off if we were taken back. 473. What do you mean by being taken back?-I mean, if the tenants were taken into his own hands again. 474. Have you any objection to the arrangement you have just now with Mr. Thomas Tulloch?-We cannot complain of it, further than that we don't know the price we are to get until we settle. We never had any chance of knowing that from any merchant we ever dealt with. 475. When do you arrange to go out to fish?-About the beginning of May. In some years it may be a month or a fortnight earlier, just as the weather is. 476. At that time do you make a bargain with Mr. Tulloch about the fishing, to fish for him, during the whole season?-Yes. We have so much confidence in him that we do not make any written agreement; it is all done by word of mouth. 477. To whom do the boats belong that you go out in?-The boat I go in is our own. It belongs to the crew. 478. How many of you are there?-Five men and a boy. 479. How long have you had your boat?-We have had our present boat for about seven or eight years. She was a second-hand boat, about five years old, when we got her. 480. You bought her yourselves?-Yes. 481. Is the price all paid up now?-Yes; it was paid a few years ago. 482. Then Mr. Tulloch makes his arrangement with you to go to fish about the 1st of May?-Yes. 483. What is the bargain? Is it that you are to fish for him during the whole season?-No; only till Lammas that is, the end of July; and after that we stick to the herring fishing. 484. But when you are at the ling fishing you give him all your fish?-Yes; the whole. Every time we come ashore we deliver them to his factor. 485. That is for the purpose of being cured?-Yes. 486. He takes an account of them as he receives them?-Yes. 487. And the only complaint you have against Mr. Tulloch is, that you don't get settled until when?-We get settled generally at settlement time but we don't know our price until we come to settle. 488. When is the settlement made?-We are not quite settled yet for last year; but when we are called on by our landlord to pay our rent, Mr. Tulloch has no objection to give us money for that. 489. Who do you pay your rent to?-To Mr. Bruce; he is the proprietor. 490. Then your complaint is, that you don't know the price of your fish until January?-Yes. 491. Would you rather contract with Mr. Tulloch to supply all your fish at so much per cwt.?-Yes. 492. But you cannot get that bargain made?-Some of the men seem very reluctant to agree to it. A few of them have said that they would leave and go to another merchant before they would have that. 493. Does Mr. Tulloch keep a store?-Yes; he has a store, and he supplies all the fishermen. 494. What does he supply them with?-Just with material. He also keeps meal; and they take it from him, more or less, as their families require it. He keeps other things besides, such as lines, hooks, and tar for the boats. 495. Are these things which you get from the store marked down in pass-books of your own, or in the books of the store?-We can have a book for ourselves if we like. I did not bring mine with me. 496. Does the storekeeper mark the things in your pass-book as you get them?-Yes. 497. Are the quantities of fish also marked into that pass-book as they are delivered?-No; they are entered into another book which the factor keeps, and we keep the accounts in a book for ourselves. 498. You mark them down for yourselves in another book?-Yes. 499. Is that the general practice among the fishermen in your locality?-It is; and then we compare the quantities with the factor before we go up to settle. 500. Then each fisherman has two books-a passbook for his dealings with the store, and a book of his own in which he marks down the quantities of fish delivered?-Yes. 501. When you came to settle, do you generally get a large balance paid to you in cash?-Every year is not alike. If it has been a bad fishing season, and if the crops are light, then perhaps the accounts will not square. But there have been two or three good seasons lately. 502. When the accounts do not square, you mean that, you may be in debt to the fish-merchant?-Yes; £2 or so. 503. And he allows that to over, and to be paid next year?-Yes. 504. But you have no serious complaint to make about that system?-No; we cannot complain about the regulations in Shetland. 505. Could you make a better bargain with anybody else?-I don't think we could-in Shetland. [Page 10] 506. Is that your fault, or the fault of the fish-merchant?-I think, for my own part, I would stick into any place where I could get the best bargain. We have been fishing for some years to some of the merchants who would give 3d. or 6d. per cwt. more for the fish than we could get in Lerwick, and therefore we have stuck by them. 507. Suppose another merchant were at hand at Cunningsburgh, would you be quite at liberty to sell your fish to him?-Yes. 508. Is there any such merchant there within reach of you?-There is another merchant close by, named James Smith. Part of the men on the beach I belong to fish for him, and part to Thomas Tulloch. 509. Are there any other stores than Mr. Tulloch's at Cunningsburgh or in the neighbourhood?-There are some small shops that we could get small groceries from, but I do not do much with them. 510. Suppose you were to agree at the beginning of the season to sell your fish to another than Mr. Tulloch, would you have any difficulty in getting credit at his store for your supplies?-He would not like that very well. 511. Would you not get your supplies there?-No, not unless the man who asked them was one he was well acquainted with. 512. Would you be able to get them anywhere else?-I don't know. I don't think I would try to get them, unless at the place I was sending my fish to. 513. But if you had not the money yourself, would you get credit for your supplies during the summer from any other shopkeeper, either in Lerwick or Cunningsburgh?-Yes. All the fish-merchants we deal with in Lerwick I can get a little credit from up to the present day. 514. And in that way you are not bound over to Mr. Tulloch in any way?-No. We can leave him this season if we have a mind. 515. You were to say something about the herring fishing: I thought there was not much herring fishing here?-There will be nothing at all this season in Shetland. We generally fished to Messrs. Hay & Co. when we were in it. 516. Have you any complaint to make about it?-Much the same as about the ling fishing The don't like to give a stated price. 517. Where do you deliver the fish when you go to the herring fishing?-There is a small ghioe* close by our own place at Cunningsburgh. Hay & Co. send down a cooper there, and they have a booth for their stores close by. 518. What is the bargain you make with them about that?-They generally wish us to go to the fishing, and they will pay us accordingly. 519. What do you do about a boat?-We use the same boat as we have in the ling fishing. 520. Then your only complaint about the herring fishery is, that you don't know the price until settling time?-Yes. But there has been no herring fishery on the island at all this season, to speak of. 521. Do you require advances of money at all during the season?- We are often in want of a few shillings. 522. How do you get that?-The man we are dealing with just now (Mr. Tulloch) has never said no, so far as what we asked was reasonable. I got an advance of £2 from him last season to buy a cow. We were out of milk that season, and he did not refuse me the money when I asked it. 523. Do you get advances from Messrs. Hay also when you need it?-1 don't think they are so very frank about that, and I don't like to ask it; but they will give us any small thing we need from their shops. * -A deep ravine which admits the sea.-. 524. Do they supply you with goods also?-Yes. 525. Where is their store from which you get the goods?-There is their shop in town. 526. Do you come to Lerwick for them?-Yes. 527. Do you run an account there?-Sometimes we do, and sometimes not; but we have not much to do with Messrs. Hay on that footing. 528. You said that your reason for coming here and offering to give evidence to-day was, that you were afraid of young Mr. Bruce taking the fishing into his own hands?-Yes; that is the thing we find to be most oppressive, if it was coming to be the case. 529. Is it the general opinion in the country that he has undertaken to manage the fishings on his father's estates?-He addressed himself so in the note he gave us. He called himself general merchant and fish-curer. 530. Did he give you intimation of that one year at rent time?- Yes; that was last year. 531. But he has not yet taken the management of the fishing at Cunningsburgh?-No. 532. Has he fishing establishments elsewhere?-He has-at Dunrossness. He has taken all the tenants there into his own hands. The property, I daresay, is twice as large as Cunningsburgh. 533. Do you know from your own knowledge whether the tenants there are obliged to fish for him?-Yes; they are fishing to himself. 534. Have they no choice but to fish for him?-I don't think it. As far as my knowledge goes, they have not. 535. Are you acquainted with any of the fishermen there?-I know a little about them, from passing them on the road. 536. Have they ever complained to you about the state of matters at Dunrossness?-I cannot say much about that, except that they think they would have been fully better with their freedom. 537. Have they not got their freedom?-They cannot have their freedom when they are fishing to him. 538. But they may fish to him of their own free will?-They might; but I think he has gripped them so that they cannot have their freedom. 539. That, however, is only your own supposition?-I think it is true. It is so true that both the merchant and us are afraid that he will grip us too. Lerwick, January 1, 1872, SIMON LAURENSON, examined. 540. You are a fisherman at Cunningsburgh?-Yes. 541. Do you fish for Mr. Tulloch?-No; I fish for James Smith. 542. You have heard the evidence of the previous witness, Andrew Tulloch?-Yes. 543. Is the statement you wish to make very much the same as his?-Very much the same. We want to know, as British subjects, whether, if we pay our rent annually, we are entitled to our freedom. 544. You mean, whether you are to be allowed to fish to any person you choose?-Yes; to fish to any person, or to work at any kind of work for which we have a mind. 545. Have you been told by young Mr. Bruce, or any one else on his behalf, that you are not to have your freedom?-No. We only got a hint of it from the fish-merchant. 546. And your alarm has been excited by what you have heard from the people at Dunrossness?-Yes. 547. Do you know what Mr. Bruce's system is with the tenants under him there?-I cannot say exactly, except that they are not well satisfied with it. At least I know that some of them are not satisfied. . [Page 11] Lerwick: Tuesday, January 2, 1872. LAURENCE MAIL, examined. 548. You are a fisherman at Scatness, in Dunrossness?-I am. 549. Are you a tenant of land?-Yes. 550. Under whom?-Under Mr. Bruce of Sumburgh. 551. How much rent do you pay?-For the present year I pay between £10 and £11 of rent. 552. Have you more land this year than usual?-Yes; I have more than I used to have. 553. Do you fish in the home fishing?-Yes. 554. Do you fish in the Faroe fishing?-No; I don't go to it. 555. How long have you been at Dunrossness?-Ever since I was a child. 556. Have you always been in the same house?-Yes; except for about two and a half years. 557. What is your age?-I am thirty-eight years old. 558. You have come here today to make some statement about the system of fishing?-Yes. 559. What is the complaint you wish to make?-There is one thing we complain of: that we are bound to deliver our fish, wet or green, to the landlord. 560. That is, you have to deliver the fish as they are caught?-Yes; of course we have to take out the bowels and cut off the heads: it is the bodies of the fish we give. We think it would be much better if we had liberty to dry the fish ourselves, as we used to do formerly. 561. To whom are you bound to give your fish?-To Mr. Bruce, our landlord. 562. Is he a fish-curer or fish-merchant?-Yes. 563. Is it Mr. Bruce or his son that you are speaking of?-It is young Mr. Bruce. He is the landlord or tack-master. His father is alive; but I think young Mr. Bruce has got power from his father to manage the tenants according to his own pleasure. 564. Do you pay your rent to young Mr. Bruce?-Yes. 565. And does he give you a receipt for it in his own name?-We settle once a year with him for our fishing, and for the store goods we have got, and rent and everything together. 566. Do you get an account for the whole?-He generally gives us a copy of our account. Sometimes, perhaps, he does not do so; but he will give it if we ask for it. 567. Have you got a copy of your account for any year with you?- I have not got one here, but I will send one. 568. Is that all you have got to say on the subject of your complaint?-No; I have something more. Of course, as we are bound to fish for Mr. Bruce, a man, unless he has money of his own, is shut up to deal at Mr. Bruce's shop. His credit is gone at every other place, and that binds us to take our goods from his store; and generally the goods there are sold at the highest value. Meal, particularly, has for some years been 4s. a boll above what it was in Lerwick; and very often, when we ask the price of goods at the time we get them, they do not know the price which they are to charge us, and we never learn what the price is until we come to settle. 569. Is there any other store in the neighbourhood from which you could purchase at a cheaper rate?-There are some other stores in the parish that we could purchase from. 570. Where is the store situated that you are speaking of?-It is situated not very far from us-perhaps about a mile or more from Scatness. 571. Is that the most populous part of Dunrossness parish?-No; Scatness is at the very land's end, near Sumburgh point. 572. Are there many fishermen there?-There are good many. There is a population down that way of nearly 500, most of whom are fishermen; and out of the whole lot of them there was not a man who would come here and represent their case except myself. Every man among them was frightened he would get his warning if he came forward. 573. How do you know that?-They said so themselves. 574. Was there any meeting on the subject?-Yes; there was a meeting held last Friday night. 575. What were the names of the men who said they were afraid to come?-There was one Sinclair Cheyne: he said that perhaps they might get their warning; and I think Robert Malcolmson also signified something of the same kind. However, I know it was the general feeling among the whole lot of them. 576. Was there any particular ground stated for that apprehension?-I don't know. Of course every one suspected that if the landlord heard that they were coming forward with any case against him, he would warn them out. That was the general suspicion. 577. Has the landlord or his factor ever told you that a man not dealing at the store, or refusing to deliver his fish to him (the landlord), would be turned out of his farm?-The landlord never told me exactly that if I did not fish for him I would be turned out, but I have seen an evidence of that in the case of a neighbour. 578. What was the name of that neighbour?-James Harper. His son dried a few hundredweight of fish for himself and gave them to Mr. Bruce, and on that account his father was warned. 579. Do you say that the father was warned although the son gave the fish to Mr. Bruce?-Yes, he gave then to him dried; and because he did not give them to him wet, his father was warned. 580. When was that?-I think it was seven or eight years ago; and, if I am not mistaken, the father had to pay 30s. so that he might sit still. 581. But he did sit still?-Yes; he is there yet. 582. Do you know anything about the case of a James Brown?- Yes; it was reported, I believe, to Mr. Bruce that Brown had given some fish to some other merchant, and directly his house was put up for let. 583. In what way was it put up for let? Was it advertised?-Yes; it was advertised at the store, as it was a public place. 584. Did you see the notice?-No; I did not see it, but I was informed that some notice was put up. The thing was found out to be false, and Brown got leave to stay where he was. 585. How long ago was that?-I could not exactly say, but I think it was somewhere about eight or ten years ago. 586. Have you known of any person being warned off the ground for not dealing at the store?-No; there is no compulsion about that. We have liberty to deal at any place we like; but when our credit is cut off the way I have mentioned, there is no use in having that liberty. 587. You say your credit is cut off because you are compelled to fish for the landlord?-Yes. 588. Therefore that is virtually compulsion to deal at the store: is that what you mean to say?-Yes; of course it comes to that. Suppose we have liberty to deal at any place we like, still if a man does not have money his credit is cut off with any other merchant, so that he must deal at the landlord's store. 589. When you deliver your fish, do you get any money that you want?-Yes. Mr. Bruce always gave me money when I wanted it, if he had money of mine in his hands; indeed he always gave me what money I asked, whether I had any to get or not. I always found him very generous in that way. 590. Therefore, whenever you wanted money for your fish you got it, even although it was a long time before settling day?-Yes; Mr. Bruce will give money at any time throughout the whole season, especially to men that he knows have it to get. [Page 12] 591. You have no complaint to make about that?-No. 592. The fishing, I understand, begins in April?-Yes. 593. And when does it end?-About September. 594. Suppose you wanted to draw all the money, or about all the money, that was due to you in August or September, is it likely that you would get it?-If I did not have very much to get, perhaps I might get it all, or perhaps more; but if I did have much to get, I don't think he would be inclined to give it all. 595. If you wanted anything, and could not get the money, would you be obliged to take the goods out of his store?-Of course if I could not get money from him, and was requiring the goods, I had no other chance than taking them from the store. 596. If you wanted a supply of provisions or clothing, you would have to get them there?-Yes. 597. Do you get both provisions and clothes at the store?-There is not much clothing there. 598. Where do you get the rest of your clothing?-At any place where we can get it cheapest when we can have a few shillings in hand. 599. Where are the other stores in that district?-There is a man, Mr. Gavin Henderson, who has a store about four or five miles from us; and I believe he generally sells things at as cheap a rate as they can be got in the country. 600. Have you dealt at his store?-Yes; occasionally. 601. Do you find the goods that you get from Henderson to be cheaper than those in Mr. Bruce's store?-Yes; they are cheaper than we can get them at any other place. 602. Give me an instance of that: have you bought meal at both places?-No, I have not bought meal from there. 603. What have you bought at Henderson's store?-I have sometimes bought leather for making boots and shoes. 604. Do you not buy your shoes ready-made?-No. 605. You buy your leather, and get somebody to make them?- Yes. 606. What is the difference in the price of the leather at the two places?-We generally think that we can get it a few shillings cheaper at Henderson's store than we can get it elsewhere. 607. Do you mean that the leather for a pair of boots is a few shillings cheaper at Henderson's store than at Mr. Bruce's?-Yes. 608. Is there any other article you can specify on which there is a difference of price?-I don't know shout anything else in particular. 609. Where do you get your bread?-We buy all our meal, and bake it for ourselves. 610. You spoke about the meal being 4s. a boll cheaper at Lerwick than at Mr. Bruce's: do you know that because you have bought it there yourself?-No; but I have asked what the price of the meal was in Lerwick-sometimes when I was there, and sometimes from people that I could rely upon. Of course we did not know what the price of Mr. Bruce's meal was until we came to settle. 611. But you found out at settling time that Mr. Bruce had charged you 4s. more per boll than meal was selling for at the same time in Lerwick?-Yes. 612. Are you quite sure of that?-Yes. 613. Is the quality of meal from the store good?-Generally it is; 614. You have no fault to find with the quality?-I have no complaint against it or against the quality of any of the goods sold there; they are generally good. 615. What is the price of a boll of meal at Mr. Bruce's store just now?-I cannot say. There is not much meal bought at the store about this time. Most of us have small farms of our own from which we get meal. 616. Then it is generally in summer that you buy meal from Mr. Bruce's store?-Yes. 617. What was the price of meal during last summer?-I cannot say, because I had none from them last summer, except the fourth of a boll. 618. What was the price of that?-I won't know the price of it until settling time. I don't think any man dealing there knows the price of his meal until that time. 619. Is the only compulsion upon you to fish for Mr. Bruce, that you are afraid of being turned out of your holdings?-Of course. 620. If you did not fish for him, or if you sold your fish to another, would you have to pay liberty money?-I don't think there is anything of that kind done with us. 621. You have no written leases?-No. We got the offer of a lease last year. But it would have made us worse than we are, because Mr. Bruce would give a lease for fifty years; but he had it in his power every ten years to raise the rent, so that it would have been double at the end of the fifty years. 622. But you had it in your power to refuse that?-Of course; and we did refuse it. 623. But you had it in your power to refuse at the end of the ten years, as well as at first, to pay the increased rent?-No. That was the condition he offered to give us the lease upon. Besides, he was to have it in his power to cause any man who took a lease to make such improvements as he thought proper; and if he did not make the improvements then Mr. Bruce was to make them himself, and charge the men a certain interest. 624. Was the lease which he offered you in writing?-No, it was in print. I will send a copy of it. 625. You say there is no liberty money paid in your district now?-No. My father paid 50s. of liberty money at one time; but the rents have been raised, so that the liberty money is included in the rent now. 626. How long ago was that?-I think it is about ten years since the rent was raised. 627. Have you any other reason than you have stated for supposing that you will be turned out of your ground if you fished for another than Mr. Bruce?-It is a general belief that we would be turned out. 628. But I want to know the ground of that belief. How long is it since Mr. Bruce took up the business?-Eleven years. 629. Was there at that time any intimation made to you or to the other tenants that you were expected to hand your fish over to him?-There was a letter from old Mr. Bruce sent round to all his tenants. One letter served for them all. If I am not mistaken, the officer went round among them with it. 630. Did he show you the letter?-He read the letter; and in it Mr. Bruce stated that he gave his tenants over into the hands of his son. His son became his tack-master. 631. That letter was not delivered to you?-No; I don't think it was. 632. Was there not a copy of it sent to each tenant?-I don't think there was. It is eleven years ago; and I don't remember any of the particulars that were in it. 633. Do you mean to say that that letter was the beginning of the understanding which now exists about fishing?-Certainly it was. 634. What did it say about that matter?-I really cannot say now what was in the letter. 635. Did it intimate that he had handed over the Dunrossness tenants to his son?-Yes; I think that was the purport of the thing. 636. Did it say anything about the fishing?-It was understood that he handed over the fishing. At that time there were different merchants in Lerwick who were receiving fish from the tenants, and they had all to remove their goods from that district. 637. Had they stores?-Yes, they had stores and goods for supplying the fishermen; and they had all to remove except Messrs. Hay & Co. 638. Were these merchants warned out?-I cannot say. 639. I suppose they paid rent to Mr. Bruce for these stores?-Yes; at least for liberty to have the stores there. [Page 13] 640. Who were these merchants?-Hay & Co. were put out of the store that Mr. Bruce now occupies. 641. But they have a store at Dunrossness yet?-Yes, they have a store there. 642. How far is it from you?-I think about a quarter of an hour's walk. 643. Is it nearer your place than Gavin Henderson's store?-Yes. 644. Is Hay & Company's store on Mr. Bruce's property?-Yes; but they have a lease of it, otherwise I believe they would not have been there. 645. Can you not sell your fish to Messrs. Hay & Co.?-No. 646. From whom do they buy fish in that quarter?-The tenants of Mr. Bruce of Simbister, through the parish, have liberty to sell their fish where they please, and some of them are sold to Hay & Co. 647. Have you ever been prevented from selling your fish to Messrs. Hay?-I never tried to sell my fish to any other person than Mr. Bruce since he took the fishing. 648. Do you know if any man has tried to do that?-Yes; there are various men who have sold a few to other merchants. On one occasion young Mr. Bruce asked me whether I had sold any fish to any other person than him. 649. When was that?-It would be about half a dozen years ago. I told him I had sold a little, and I did not think I was doing any sin before God or man for doing it. 650. You were not turned out for that?-No. 651. Have you any grievance in Dunrossness with regard to whales?-Yes, we often drive whales on shore there; and after they are killed and pulled ashore, and the oil all taken out, the landlord takes one-third. 652. But you are allowed to sell the other two-thirds?-Yes. 653. To whom do you sell the two-thirds of the oil?-Generally to merchants in Lerwick. 654. How are you paid for that?-Not very well at the present time. 655. Are you paid in money?-Yes; in cash. Of course it comes through the proprietor's hands. 656. Does it enter into your annual accounting with the proprietor?-Yes. 657. The proprietor gets the whole money for the oil, retains his third, and hands you over or puts to your credit the remaining two-thirds?-Yes. Of course if a man requires the money to clear his way with the proprietor, it answers that end. If not, then the proprietors pass over the money to him. 658. Do you really think that if the proprietor had no store there, and you could buy your dry goods and provisions from anybody you like, you would be better off with respect to what you buy?- No; we could not do without the proprietor's store, because, if we have to give our earnings to the proprietor, we are obliged to take goods from his store in return. 659. But supposing you had liberty to sell your fish where you pleased, and to buy your goods where you pleased, do you think you would be any better off than you are?-Yes. There is a man named Laurence Leslie who went to the fishing in the same boat with me last summer. He lives in Lerwick, and was a free man, and he dried his fish for himself, and after he had paid for salt and curing he had about £5 more than any of us. 660. Do you mean that he had about £5 more from the home fishing than you had?-Yes. 661. Can you tell now the proceeds of your last summer's fishing?- We will be paid the price that has been paid already in the country. 662. But you don't know yet what you are to get?-No; Mr. Bruce said at the commencement that he would give us the currency of the country. Now Mr. Bruce is one of the greatest fish-dealers in the country, and of course he has it so far in his power to make the currency; but it is likely we will get the same as the other merchants are paying. 663. Then, in speaking of the sum which Leslie has earned more than you, you are calculating in this way: you know the price which other merchants have paid, and you know the quantity you have delivered?-Yes; and we know in that way what the amount will be. 664. What do you think the amount of your take will be?-About £18. 665. You think your fishing for the whole of last season will be £18, at the prices which are going in Lerwick?-Yes. 666. And you know how much Laurence Leslie has got?-Yes. 667. Had he about the same quantity of fish as you-Yes; he had the same quantity divided green. 668. What quantity had you?-I cannot exactly say. We had so much ling, so much cod, and so much saith. 669. You say he was in the same boat with you: were not all the boat's crew obliged to fish to Mr. Bruce?-All but that one man. 670. You separated your fish: did you just give Leslie his proportion of the whole fish in the boat?-Yes. We kept an account of his fish and of ours, and we gave him his share; and then he dried his part for himself. 671. How many men were in the boat?-Six. 672. Then, when you came to shore, you delivered five-sixths of the fish to Mr. Bruce, and Leslie got one sixth?-Yes; that was the way it generally went. Sometimes we would give all the fish to Mr. Bruce, and sometimes all to Laurence Leslie, and we kept an account; so that we could put the thing all right in the end. 673. Did you do that among yourselves?-Yes. 674. How did Leslie happen to go in that boat among Mr. Bruce's men?-Because he belonged to the place originally, and he agreed with us to go. He only left the place last year. 675. Has he not had a farm there for the last year?-No. 676. And therefore he did not consider himself bound to deliver his fish to Mr. Bruce?-Yes. 677. Who did he sell his fish to?-To Hay. 678. Were they cured when he sold them?-Yes. Mr. Bruce would not allow him to weigh his fish on his scales and weights, because he would not give them to him. 679. Who forbade him?-Mr. Bruce's factor. 680. Was that Mr. Irvine?-It was not Mr. Irvine; it was the man who was there in his place. I recollect that one day we were a good deal put about in consequence of that. It was a very coarse day at the fishing, and Hay & Co. did not have weights at the place, and Mr. Bruce's man would not allow us to weigh the fish on his weights. 681. But you were obliged to weigh them in order to find out how much was Mr. Bruce's share?-We were obliged to weigh the fish in order to know how they were to be divided among ourselves, and they had to lie for a whole day until weights were got. 682. Do you know how much money Leslie got for his fishing?-I think the whole amount was pretty nearly £26; but then he had expenses for salt and cure to be taken from that-perhaps 30s. 683. He would also have his own time and trouble to allow for?- He had a lad for curing the fish; that is included in the 30s. Of course Leslie would have some more trouble with it than we had. 684. That makes a difference of £6, 10s. between you, whereas you said the difference was about £5?-There may be some difference of that kind; I am not exactly sure to a few shillings. 685. Was there no objection made to Laurence Leslie going in the boat with you?-They did not know that he was, not to fish for Mr. Bruce until we commenced the fishing, and then they could not object; but Mr. Bruce's rule is, that he won't take part of a boat. The whole boat must be for him; and in that way there have been men who have been forced to part company who were nearly as bad to part as man and wife. 686. After the boat's crew was made up, was any objection taken to Leslie fishing with you?-They could not object then, because we had begun to the fishing, [Page 14] and they could not get another man to take his place, even although they had objected. 687. Do you keep a pass-book, at Mr. Bruce's store for the supplies you get for your house?-No; it would be of no use for me to do so. 688. Why?-Because I do not know the prices of the goods, and they won't mark them down themselves. 689. But they would mark the quantities of the articles you got, would they not?-No; they would not be bothered with that. 690. Have you ever asked for a pass-book?-Yes; I had a pass-book, and I had to drop it, because Irvine said he would not be bothered with it. 691. Does Mr. Irvine keep the store himself?-Yes. 692. Does he collect the rents on the property?-No; Mr. Bruce carries through the annual accounting himself. 693. When you go to settle with him, the books of the store are all made up by Mr. Irvine; and does Mr. Bruce state the balance to you?-Yes. 694. Does he show you how it is made up?-Mr. Irvine tells us the amount we have had from the store, and hands that in to Mr. Bruce. Mr. Bruce enters that against us along with the rent, and tells us the balance. 695. What means have you for checking that statement of his? How do you know whether it is correct or not?-We don't have the chance of knowing whether is correct or not. 696. Do you not know how much goods you have got?-Perhaps we might; but we cannot know the price of the goods. 697. But you might know how much goods you have got, and how much fish you have delivered, and how much you have to pay?- But we don't know the price of the goods. 698. Do you not know the price of the goods at the end?-We hear it read over as fast perhaps as it can be read. 699. Do you not get a copy of it?-Not of the shop account. 700. Have you ever asked for one?-No. 701. I thought you told me that you had a copy for some years?- Yes; from Mr. Bruce, but not from Mr. Irvine, for the store. I have had a copy of my account from Mr. Bruce for the whole thing, and it contained a sum for the goods got from the store; but it was all one sum. 702. It is a slump sum, and does not show the different articles?- Yes; that is the account which I promised to send. 703. You say you have asked for a pass-book, and have been refused it?-Yes; I had one, and Mr. Irvine threw it back again, and said he would not be bothered with it. 704. When was that?-I think about two years ago. 705. You brought a pass-book and handed it to Mr. Irvine, and asked him to put your account into it as the articles were furnished, and he refused to do so?-Yes; I wished to have a knowledge of how I was going on. 706. When does the annual settlement take place?-Generally in February or March. 707. Where do you meet for the purpose of settling?-At Sumburgh, at Mr. Bruce's office. 708. Has he an office in his own house?-Yes. 709. Are all the people summoned to meet there on a particular day?-There are certain men called for a particular day, according as he can get through them,-so many men for each day. 710. How long does it take you to settle with him?-Perhaps three or four hours. It is possible I might be three or four hours with him myself. Generally three men go in a boat, and the three men would probably take six hours, or perhaps only four hours. 711. You said there were six men in your boat last year?-Yes, there were six in our boat, but three is the usual number in the smaller boats. 712. And they will perhaps all go together to Mr. Bruce?-Yes, the men in every boat go together; and Mr. Bruce gives us every chance of being satisfied with our accounts that he possibly can. 713. Except giving you a note of them?-He will give us a note. 714. A short note; but he won't give you the full account?-We don't get the full account from the shop, but that, of course is not in Mr. Bruce's hand. 715. He only gets the sum-total due at the shop?-Yes; and he has the rest in his own books. The rest of the balance is in his own hand, and of course he gives us every satisfaction about it. 716. But the shop is his too?-Yes. 717. Did you ever ask him to let a pass-book be allowed you, or an account to be given you at the shop?-No; I never asked him for that. 718. Did you ever complain to him that you did not get it?-No. 719. Did you ever complain about any of the sums brought out in the shop account as not being due by you?-No, I could not do that, because I could scarcely tell whether it was right or wrong. 720. In fact you trusted to the honesty of the shopkeeper?-I was obliged to do that. 721. Then you say that you never see any statement of your account for goods supplied to you at the shop at all?-None, except the total. The total is handed in to Mr. Bruce at settling time. 722. Is there anything else you wish to say?-There is one thing I would like to ask. In consequence of my coming here, I expect nothing but that I will be turned off; and I would ask how I am to proceed. 723. I don't think you need be afraid of that; but if there is anything done to you in consequence of the evidence which you have given here, you had better write and let me know. Of course I am only to be here for a short time; but it would be my duty to communicate the fact to some of my superiors. There is one other thing I would like to mention: that any amount of liberty would be of very little account in Shetland, so long as the proprietors have power to turn off men at any time when they have a mind to do so. 724. At the end of the summer fishing is there generally a balance in your favour at the accounting between you and the landlord?- Sometimes there is, and sometimes not. I believe I generally stand about half and half. 725. Do you mean that if your fishing is worth £18, your account at the store and your rent will be about £9 or £10?-No; there are some years in which my account at the store, and my rent, are above the whole amount of my year's earnings,-while there are other years when my earnings are above my shop account and rent. 726. When the year's earnings are less than your account, is the balance written down against you for the next year?-Yes. 727. Then that is an additional reason why you are bound to fish to your landlord, because when you are in his debt you cannot very well sell your fish to another?-If we had our liberty, we could sell our fish to another merchant. 728. But suppose you had liberty, would not the fact of your being in debt to your landlord still be a sort of obligation upon you to fish for him?-It would still bind us, of course. 729. Does that cause operate, in fact, to tie the fishermen to the same merchant?-When the men have had their liberty, that has been the case. 730. Was it the case before Mr. Bruce took the fishing into his own hands?-Yes. 731. So that many men in those times would be unable to sell their fish to another merchant than Messrs. Hay or Mr. Robertson, who had the fishing then?-Yes; of course there were times when the fishing was small, and perhaps men required a lot of meal, and they could not get it without going into debt; and when merchants supported them in that way, the men could not do better than hand over their fish to the merchants to whom they were in debt. 732. So that there was even then a certain obligation on the men to fish to a particular merchant?-[Page 15] Yes. When a man is in debt, he is under an obligation to clear his debt. 733. But your complaint is, that you are much more strictly bound now?-Yes; there was no obligation for a man to clear his debt with any merchant before now. 734. Was there then any obligation to purchase at that merchant's store?-None. 735. Except that perhaps they would not get credit elsewhere?- Exactly. 736. In those times did the men get advances in money during the season when they asked them?-Yes. 737. But you still get that?-Yes, we get that still, of course. 738. If you choose, you can get your provisions elsewhere; and if you choose to get them elsewhere, you will get all your money at the end of the season?-Yes, if we had any over; but if we had no money over, of course the merchant from whom we had to get our goods would have to want. Lerwick, January 2, 1872, LAURENCE LESLIE, examined. 739. You are now a fisherman in Lerwick?-Yes. 740. You formerly lived at Dunrossness?-Yes. 741. And you had a piece of ground from Mr. Bruce of Sumburgh?-Yes. 742. You have been present during the examination of the previous witness, and heard the whole of his examination?-Yes. 743. Do you concur in that part of it which referred to yourself with regard to the quantity of fish you got last season?-I do. 744. What may be the total price you got for your cured fish?-We had three different kinds of fish-saith, cod, and ling. We got 12s. per cwt. for saith, I think 18s. for cod, and 20s. for ling, dried. 745. The quantity which you had to sell was the same when weighed green as that which Laurence Mail delivered to Mr. Bruce?-Of course. 746. You lived in Dunrossness for a number of years?-Yes. 747. Do you concur with the rest of the evidence which Laurence Mail gave?-I do. 748. It was all correct?-Yes. 749. Do you know a man named William Brown at Millpond?- Yes. 750. Was he a fisherman?-Yes. 751. How far did he live from your place?-I think about two miles. 752. Do you know whether at any time lately he and some other old men went fishing on their own account, and were obliged to pay liberty money?-Yes; he stated that he had been applied to for payment of liberty money. 753. How long ago was that?-I think it was three years ago. 754. Is Brown an old man?-Yes; perhaps between fifty and sixty. 755. Would he be able to come to Lerwick?-He might. 756. Would it not be rather hard for a man of his age to come this length?-I think it would be rather hard; but I think he could come. 757. To whom had he to pay that liberty money?-To Mr. Grierson of Quendale, his landlord. 758. Is Mr. Grierson a fish-merchant too?-Yes. 759. Do you know James Williamson at Berlin, Dunrossness?- Yes. 760. Is he on Mr. Grierson's land?-Yes. 761. Do you know anything about a boy of his who had gone out to service with a neighbouring farmer lately?-I know that he has a boy, but I cannot say anything about him going to service. I don't think Williamson could come here; he is in ill health at present. Lerwick, January 2, 1872, WALTER WILLIAMSON, examined. 762. You are a fisherman in the island of Burra?-I am. 763. Do you hold a piece of ground there under Messrs. Hay & Co., who are the lessees of Burra under Misses Scott of Scalloway?-I do. 764. You are one of the men who signed the following letter which has been addressed to me:- ' Burra Isle, 1st Jan. 1872. 'SIR, We, the undersigned, desire to give evidence to the following effect, and will be glad to be informed when it will be convenient for you to receive our evidence':- 'We are bound by agreement to fish to our landlord; but no price is agreed upon until the time of settlement, which occurs about once a year. We have then to take what price is offered; and if we or our sons fish to any other person, we have to pay 20s. each yearly of '.' 'We can get no leases of our farms, and have to build and repair our own houses at our own expense, without any compensation when leaving the farm, or when ejected from it. 'As we settle only once a year, of course we have to buy from our landlord's shop till the end of the year, at which time we seldom have any money to get, except when we have better fishings than ordinary. 'If we capture whales, we have to pay one-third of the proceeds to the landlord. 'Those of us who have daughters engaged in knitting can testify to the fact that they are invariably paid in goods, both for the goods they sell, and also for their wages when engaged to knit for the hosiery dealers. 'We have to add, that we wish to be free to fish to whom we please, or to cure our own fish, and to receive compensation for improvements effected on our houses or farms when we leave them. 'Other details we will state when called before you. Meantime we remain, sir, your most obedient servants, 'WALTER WILLIAMSON. 'GILBERT GOODLAD. 'LAURENCE POTTINGER. 'PETER SMITH. 'LAURENCE INKSTER. 'CHARLES SINCLAIR 'JOHN NEWTON GOODLAD. 'HANCE SMITH. 'ROBERT SINCLAIR. 'JOHN POTTINGER. 'ALEXANDER SINCLAIR. 'THOMAS CHRISTIE. 'GEORGE JAMIESON. 'To WILLIAM GUTHRIE, Esq., ' H.M. Commissioner, Lerwick.' -I am. 765. You say in that letter, 'We are bound by agreement to fish to our landlord, but no price is agreed upon until the time of settlement, which occurs about once a year. We have then to take what price offered; and if we or our sons fish to any other person, we have to pay 20s. each yearly of 'liberty money.' Is that an obligation which you have entered into with Messrs. Hay & Co.?-It is an obligation that we are under, that we are bound over to them. 766. Have you signed any obligation to that effect?-I was asked to sign an obligation to that effect; but I said I could not sign to bind my sons, and that I would on no account come under that obligation. 767. How long ago was that?-To the best of my recollection, it was about eight years ago. 768. Was there an agreement to that effect handed to you for signature?-Yes. 769. And to a number of other men at the same time?-Yes. 770. By whom was it handed to you?-By Mr. Wm. Irvine, who is a partner of the firm of Hay & Co. 771. Was that in Burra or here?-It was in Messrs. Hay & Co.'s office in Lerwick. 772. Was it handed to the other men at the same time?-It was offered to them at the same time that it [Page 16] was offered to me. A certain number of them were present at the time. 773. How many?-I should think there might have been five present, exclusive of myself. 774. Did they all sign it?-I cannot say that they did, for I went out and left them there. 775. Then you are under no written obligation to fish for your landlord?-No. 776. Is there any other understanding or bargain between you that you shall fish only for him?-Yes, we were told that we must fish for them. 777. When was that said to you?-At the time, when I took a property from them in Burra. 778. How long is that since?-About fourteen years ago. 779. Who told you so then?-The late Mr. William Hay. 780. Have you ever been told so since?-I have. 781. By whom?-By Mr. William Irvine. 782. How long ago is that?-It is just eight years. 783. Was that at the same time when you were asked to sign the agreement?-Yes; it was on the same day. 784. Have you ever been told so since that time?-No; I have never sought to fish for anybody else, nor asked my liberty since then. I asked for my liberty that day when I was asked to sign the agreement. 785. Was it given to you?-No. I offered to pay 20s. if they would give me my liberty, but I could not get it for that. 786. Was any price fixed by them for that?-I offered 20s. for my liberty to fish for whom I liked, or to cure for myself, and I could not get it for the paying of the 20s. 787. Were you told what they would give it to you for?-No; they would not say. 788. Do you wish to fish for anybody else?-I should certainly wish to fish for anybody that I could get most from; but I should like especially to be the master of my own fish, to cure them for myself, and to sell them to the best advantage. 789. You mean you would like to catch and cure your own fish, and then sell them, do you?-Yes; that is what I would like. 790. Why do you, not do it?-Because we would be ejected from the place if we were not to deliver our fish to them. 791. What is your reason for supposing that?-Because we have been told so. 792. Was it on the occasion you have mentioned, eight years ago, that you were told so?-It was. 793. Have you been told since that you would be ejected if you did not deliver your fish to Messrs. Hay & Co.?-I have never since asked anything about it, so that I had no reason to be told so. 794. Has any person been ejected for selling fish to other merchants than Hay & Co., or for curing his own fish?-I think there have been such cases in Burra. I believe John Leask was ejected for not serving as a fisherman to Messrs. Hay & Co. 795. How long ago was that?-I think it would be about thirteen years since, or close thereby. 796. That is an old story. Has there been anybody ejected since?- I don't remember any one at present. 797. Do you know from your own knowledge of any threats of ejection having been made to parties who were fishing for others?-Yes. 798. Who were so threatened?-We were threatened at that very time, eight years ago, that we should be ejected if we did not sign the agreement. 799. But do you know of any threats to particular parties for particular offences since that time?-There never have been any threats made to me, and I cannot remember exactly about them having been used to others; but there are parties here who may remember better about that than I do. 800. You say further in the letter, 'We can get no leases of our farms, and we have to build and repair our own houses at our own expense, without any compensation when leaving the farm, or when ejected from it.' That does not exactly fall under this inquiry, though it may perhaps indirectly affect it; but I suppose the obligation to build and repair your own houses is part of the bargain you enter into on taking the land?-It is. 801. Are you not at liberty to make your own bargain about the land, the same as any other tenant in Scotland is?-I am not aware of that. 802. Suppose you were to object to make such a bargain, could you not leave the land and get a holding elsewhere?-It is not likely we would get a holding elsewhere. 803. Why?-We would very likely be deprecated as not being legal subjects, and the heritors would all know that we were not convenient parties to give land to. What is one reason; and another reason is, that places are sometimes not very easily got. 804. Do the same conditions exist on other properties in Shetland?-So far as I know, they prevail all over the country, or nearly so. 805. You think that if you were trying to move, you would not get free of a condition of that sort?-We might get free of it for a time, but by next year the parties to whose ground we had removed might bind us down to the same thing. 806. But supposing all the men were united in refusing to agree to such conditions, there could be no compulsion upon them?-They have not the courage, I expect, to make such an agreement among themselves. 807. To come to the more proper subject of the inquiry: you go on to say, 'As we settle only once year, of course we have to buy from our landlord's shop till the end of the year, at which time we have seldom any money to get, except when we have better fishings than ordinary.' Your settlement, I suppose, takes place about the beginning of the year for the whole of the previous year?-Yes; generally a month after the beginning of the year. 808. And at that time you settle with your landlords, Messrs. Hay & Co., for all the provisions you have got from their shop?-Yes. 809. Where is their shop?-They have shops both at Lerwick and Scalloway. 810. Does the same man keep an account at both shops?-The same company keeps a store at Scalloway and a store at Lerwick. 811. But has the same man a book in both shops?-Yes; he has a book in both shops. 812. The men deal at both?-Some men in the islands deal at both, and others, again, have liberty to deal only at one. 813. Then, at the settlement time, you settle for all the provisions you have got from the shops, and for the rent that is due for your farm, and they set against that the price of the fish you have delivered?-Yes. 814. And you say that generally the account against you is as large, or larger, than that in your favour?-Taking it generally amongst the tenants on the island, I believe it is. 815. Do you get money advanced to you in the course of the season when you ask for it?-Yes, I have always, or generally, got it when I asked for it. 816. Suppose that at the close of the fishing season-that is, in September-you were to ask for all the money that was due for your fish, or for a sum about equal to the value of your fish, would you get it?-I don't expect I would get it. 817. Have you ever asked for it?-Yes. 818. In September, or about that time?-I asked it on 1st November, thirteen years ago. 819. That is a long time ago?-That was the first year I was resident in Burra; I had been there for a twelvemonth then. 820. What did you ask for, then?-I asked for the value of the fish that belonged to a fee'd man who had been along with me for three months in autumn. I fee'd a young man for these months to go along with me to the summer fishing at that time; he was to get one-third of the fish, and I was to supply him with boat, lines, and lodging. At the end of autumn he went home, and he wanted me to introduce him to Messrs. Hay's agent, so that he might get his money. [Page 17] 821. Did he want to leave the island?-He did not belong to the island; and as he was going home, he wanted to be paid, and he asked me to introduce to the agent, which I did. 822. Did you apply for his money?-Yes, as being a stranger I wanted them to settle with him; but they would not settle with him at all, I then asked for an advance of 20s. on my own account, and I would give it to him for his trouble; but they would not give that either. 823. At that time had you and he a large contra account against you in the shop?-Neither of us had any account against us at all. He told me that at the time he had not a penny taken out from either of their stores. 824. Was he offered goods at that time?-Yes; in my hearing. 825. What was said about that?-He was told to take anything he wanted out of the store. 826. Where was that?-At Scalloway, I expect, or Lerwick. 827. Can you tell me of anything of the same kind happening within the last two or three years?-I don't recollect anything of the kind happening within that time, so far as I was personally concerned. 828. Have you, within the last two or three years, always had a large account against you at the beginning of the winter?-Not of a bad debt. 829. But have you had a large account against you for goods supplied during the course of the season?-Yes; I have generally had a considerable account so far as our accounts go. 830. Was that the reason for your not asking for a settlement of it at that time?-I cannot say whether that would be the reason or not. 831. Did you know that you had got the value of your fish, or something approaching to it, in provisions?-Some of us in Burra had, no doubt, got the whole value in goods, and had even overdrawn their accounts, but others of us had not. 832. But if you want money in the course of the autumn or in the early part of the winter, do you not get an advance on applying for it at Messrs. Hay's place?-I only know of those getting it who might be worthy of it, who had not overdrawn their accounts. 833. But they will give you money as readily as they will give you goods now?-I suppose they would in Lerwick, but I don't think they would do that at Scalloway. 834. What is your reason for supposing that?-About twelve months ago I went once, twice, and at last three times with some fish to their fish-curing place in Scalloway; and their law there was that we should only get goods for our fish, but no money. 835. Who told you that?-Mr. Gilbert Tulloch, the shopkeeper, the master of the store. 836. Is he the shopkeeper for Messrs. Hay at Scalloway?-Yes. 837. Did you on that occasion ask for money for the fish you delivered?-The last time I went up, after taking a number of small things that I was requiring, there was a shilling due to me on the fish which I had delivered, and I asked for it. Mr. Tulloch said that I knew it was not the custom to give money. I said I knew that too well, but that it could not affect him very much to give me a few pence, as he had got much more from me in the course of the year. He hung on for a little bit and then put his hand on the counter and gave it to me; but he bade me remember it was to be the last. 838. You say the amount of your account is made up in the beginning of the year: how did you know that the cost of the provisions you were getting at the time you have now mentioned came to within 1s. of what was due?-There is a misunderstanding between us there. We have an opportunity of taking goods out of their stores; but when we come to their store at Scalloway with a little fish, we get goods from them there, without them entering into the annual settlement. That is not the proper place where we deliver our fish to Messrs. Hay-the proper place is in the island of Burra itself, but we have a chance of coming to Scalloway occasionally when we have got a few small fish, and we get goods home with us. 839. Then, when you want goods, you take the fish to Scalloway?-Yes, but we can also get goods there, although we deliver the fish at the proper place in Burra. 840. In that case, do you get a line from the manager at Burra stating that you have delivered so much fish?-No. 841. Then how do they know to allow you goods?-When we take the fish up to the store at Scalloway, we only get goods for their exact value. In the case I have mentioned I got goods up to the value of my fish within a shilling. 842. Did you not say you could also get goods at Scalloway although you delivered the fish at Burra?-Yes; that is on account of the fish which we give to the local factor. 843. And the goods you get in that case go to the general account for the whole year?-Yes. 844. Then those which you deliver at Scalloway are not put into the general account at all?-No. 845. That is to say, you are at liberty to deliver your fish elsewhere than to the factor at Burra?-Yes. 846. But the only place where you are at liberty to deliver them, if you do not deliver them to the factor in Burra, is to the store at Scalloway?-Yes. 847. And you take them there if you want a supply of goods?- Yes. 848. Is there any reason for preferring that way of dealing?-We have none. 849. But have you any reason for preferring to take the fish to Scalloway and getting the goods, rather than delivering them to the factor at Burra and having the goods entered in your general account?-We have then got the pleasure of seeing our fish paid for all at once. That is all the advantage we have about it, so far as I know. 850. Have you a chance of getting more money in hand if you take the fish to Scalloway?-Not one farthing more. I have got none this year. 851. But on the other system you may still get an advance of money if you ask for it?-Yes; I believe I might get some money if I wanted it. 852. Would you get it from the factor at Burra, or at Scalloway or Lerwick?-So far as I am aware, I would only get it at Lerwick. 853. Do you purchase in that way, from Messrs. Hay, all your provisions and clothing, and everything you want for the support of your families?-As a general thing over the islands, it is only from them we can get them. It is only from them we need ask them, because we have no power to sell the labour of our hands to any one else. 854. And you have no credit with any one else?-Some of us would have credit; but the system prevents us from getting credit, because we could not pay the parties from whom we got the goods. 855. But if these parties knew that you were getting money from Messrs. Hay for your fish, would it not be possible for you to get the money from Messrs. Hay, and with it to pay the other dealers?-That may be done no doubt on a very small scale, for anything I know. I believe it is done, to a certain extent, by persons who get a few pence or a few pounds from Messrs. Hay; but it is only a few of the men who are able to deal in that way. 856. You say in your letter that you don't know the prices you are to get for your fish until the end of the year: is that so?-Yes, it is so. 857. Messrs. Hay & Co. do not fix the price until what time of the year?-They do not fix it until we settle-about a month after the New Year. 858. So that you don't know before then what you are to get?-We never do. 859. Have you ever been to agree to fish at a certain price per cwt.?-I never was asked to agree to that during the whole fourteen years I have served them. 860. Would you like to have a certain price per cwt. [Page 18] fixed before the commencement of the season?-We should like that well enough if we had power ourselves to inquire after it, but we should not like it if it was to be left in the hands of another who had power to make the price what he pleased. 861. You also say, in your letter, 'If we capture whales, we have to pay one-third of the proceeds to the landlord.' Is that a frequent source of profit to you in Shetland?-It is not, a very frequent source. It is occasional, but not frequent. 862. What is your objection to that system?-We think that as we the fishermen, drive the whales ashore, and they are all flinched and wrought below high-water mark, we have a right to the whole proceeds. We think the proprietor has no right to anything at all, any more than he has to the fish that come ashore in our boats. 863. But when you get the whales you get two-thirds of the oil?- We do. 864. And you can sell that in any market you like-I believe we can. 865. Do you get cash for it?-Yes. 866. So that there is no truck there?-No; none. 867. Do you dispose of the oil yourselves, or is it done for you by the landlord?-I always knew of it being sold by public auction on the beach where it was landed. 868. Is it sold in lots consisting of the amount of oil which each man gets?-I always knew of it being sold in company; but it is set up in lots, perhaps of a tun, or five tuns, or half a tun, and so on, and it is carried away by the purchaser. 869. Then the landlord does not sell it you?-No. 870. How is his third set apart?-It is taken off the whole money when it has been paid by the purchasers. Any party or parties who buy the oil at auction, pay the money to the landlord, and he gets a third, and pays the other two-thirds to the fishermen. 871. Is it paid to you at the time, or is it put into your general account?-So far as I know, it is always paid at the time. 872. But that is not a common occurrence?-No. Perhaps it may not occur in the same place for ten or twelve or twenty years, or sometimes longer than that. 873. Does not the value of the oil go into the general accounts of the men at the end of the year?-I have had a share in whales on two occasions, and I believe that some of the fishermen who are in debt to the landlord will allow their shares to go into the general account. Those who are not in debt will get the money clear out. 874. You are not obliged to take that in goods?-I never knew of that being done. 875. In speaking of the fishing, for which you settle with Messrs. Hay in the beginning of the year, all your evidence has had regard to what is called the home or summer fishing?-Yes. 876. It has not had reference to the Faroe fishing-Not so much, so far as I know. 877. It is only with regard to the home fishing that you are bound to fish for them?-It is only with regard to it that I can speak, for I am not a Faroe fisherman. 878. Are the men in Burra free to ship for the Faroe fishing with any master they like?-I expect they are; but there are some of the men to be examined afterwards, who will be better witnesses on that subject than I can be. 879. The fish you take in the summer fishing are ling, cod, and haddocks?-Yes. There are plenty in the islands who fish herrings also. 880. But that is a distinct thing altogether from the summer fishing?-Yes. 881. The fishing you have been speaking to during all your examination has been the fishing for ling and cod?-I have been speaking of the whole home fishing of every kind, the herring fishing as well. 882. What do you catch in what you call the home fishing?-Ling, cod, and herrings. 883. And haddocks?-Yes; there are plenty of the men who catch haddocks also. 884. You spoke of taking some fish to Scalloway: were not these merely the small fish or haddocks?-Yes; the haddocks chiefly, and small cod. 885. Is that done at a particular season of the year?-Yes. 886. That is, when Messrs. Hay have not men at Burra to receive the large fish; or have they men there all the year round?-They have them all the year round. 887. Then why is it generally the smaller fish that you take at Scalloway?-I cannot give a particular statement why it is, except that the men get their account cleared off at Scalloway with these small fish. It is only haddocks that are taken there. The haddocks have never been taken in at their fish-curing station at Burra, so far as I know. 888. At what season of the year are these haddocks generally caught?-In winter. 889. Do they smoke the haddocks in Burra?-No; they never did that. 890. Their establishment there is only for curing the larger fish?- Yes. 891. Then, in order to get your haddocks smoked and cured, you must bring them to Scalloway, and deliver them at the store there?-Yes. 892. And that is the reason why you bring some of your fish to Scalloway?-It is. 893. Supposing you bring these fish there, is it still in your option to let them enter your general account, instead of getting goods for them at the time?-We can either take the value of them at the time in goods, or we can have them entered in our general account. 894. Have you ever asked, when bringing fish to Scalloway, to get the price of them in money?-Yes. 895. Have you asked for the whole price in money?-I don't remember that I ever asked to get the whole of it in that way. 896. Why?-Because, of course, I knew I would not get it. 897. How did you know that?-I knew it, because last year I asked only for a shilling on one occasion, and I was told by the shopkeeper that it was to be the last. 898. Then you go on to say in your letter, 'Those of us who have daughters engaged in knitting can testify to the fact that they are invariably paid in goods both for the goods they sell and also for their wages when engaged to knit for the hosiery dealers.' Have you sold goods for your daughters, or do they generally take them to the market themselves?-I have no daughters, and I cannot give evidence about the knitting. 899. You further say, 'We have to add, that we wish to be free to fish to whom we please or to cure our own fish, and to receive compensation for improvements effected on our houses or farms when we leave them. Other details we will state when called before you. That is the same complaint which you made at the commencement of your letter?-Yes. 900. Are there any other details on the subject which occur to you at this moment, and which you desire to add?-There is one thing which I desire to ask on behalf of myself and of the parties who shall be examined after me. I have been desired to ask you whether they shall be at liberty to speak here? If her Majesty's Government will give an obligation to protect them, they will speak then, and if not, they won't. 901. What is the obligation to protect them that you want?-An obligation that they shall not be ejected or fined. 902. I don't think there is any probability of that. You know you are all protected by the law, and I can give you no further protection than the law affords. The Government have it under contemplation at present to alter the law, and this inquiry is for the purpose of ascertaining whether the law ought to be altered in any respect.-If we had not been under the belief that it would surely be altered, we would not have come here. 903. Do you remember, three or four years ago, of the men in Burra getting up a memorial stating their [Page 19] grievances, and what they wanted, and having it forwarded to the agent for the proprietor of the island?-I do. 904. Were you concerned in that matter?-I was. 905. Was there any inquiry made at that time?-There was a petition sent up at that time to the trustee in Edinburgh for Misses Scott of Scalloway, by their tenants in Burra, asking for their liberty. 906. Was there any particular reason at that time for the petition being got up?-There was plenty of reason. 907. Was there any more reason for it then than at any other time? Was there any threatened expulsion, or any strict enforcement of the obligation to fish?-If my memory serves me right it was immediately after we had been asked to sign an obligation in Messrs. Hay's office to pay for our sons' labour. 908. But you said that was eight years ago?-Yes; about that time. 909. Was the memorial not sent up within the last three or four years?-No; it was longer than that, to the best of my recollection. Our petition was got up very shortly after we were wanted to sign the obligation. 910. Did you complain much at that time about the herring fishery?-I believe some of the men did but am not a herring fisher. 911. What is the usual amount of rent that you pay in Burra?-It will run from £6 to £2, 10s., or perhaps as high as £7. 912. That rent is paid for a small piece of ground?-Yes. 913. Is there a right to the pasture in the scattald besides?-Yes. 914. Your scattalds in Burra are not extensive or of much value?- No; they are of very little value. 915. Do you know of any other agreement having been signed by the Burra men, or asked from them, except that one eight years ago?-I have heard of another, but it was before I came to the island. 916. Was there any particular reason for getting the agreement signed eight years ago? Was there general renewal of your holdings; or what reason was assigned for it?-I know of no reason for it, except merely that we were to fish for nobody except Messrs. Hay & Co. 917. But was there any reason for it being signed that particular time?-I believe it was about that time, or immediately after, that Mr. Irvine came to be a partner of Messrs. Hay & Co. 918. There was a change in the firm about that time?-Yes. 919. Are there any leases given in Burra?-I never knew of any being given. 920. Do you know that most of the young men in Burra go to the Faroe fishing?-They do. 921. Do you know that they have shipped both with Messrs. Hay and with other merchants?-Yes. 922. Do they get the same terms both from Messrs. Hay and from other merchants?-I believe they do, so far as I know. 923. Do you know from your own knowledge, whether there is any objection made by Messrs. Hay to their shipping with other merchants for the Faroe fishing?-I have not heard of any recently, but it used to be objected to a few years back. There have been good fishings at Faroe for some time back, and all the agents can get plenty of men; so that there is no need for any restrictions. 924. Supposing you were at liberty to deliver your fish to any other merchant than Messrs. Hay, what reason have you for supposing that you would be better paid than you now are?-I have been a fisherman in Burra for fourteen years, and I was a fisherman in Havera for twenty years before that. There I cured my own fish, and I could do with them what I liked; and I learned there how much I could make by curing them for myself, or selling them to any one within reach who would buy them green. 925. It costs you something, both money and trouble in curing them?-Yes. 926. But, notwithstanding that, you would make more money by being allowed cure them for yourself?-We believe that, and we know it. We know that we would make more money than we have ever got. 927. To whom would you have an opportunity of selling your fish cured?-We could them to any one who would give us the most for them. 928. Are there people there who would buy them from you?-Yes, there are plenty of merchants in Shetland or in the south country who would come and buy them; and we would have a chance of sending them south at our own risk, or to our own advantage. 929. Has any one in Burra ever cured his own fish?-No; I believe no one has ever done so since Burra rose out of the water. 930. Has any one near Burra done so?-Havera is near Burra, and belongs to the same parish, and I cured my own fish there. 931. Why did you leave Havera and go to Burra?-Havera is a very small island, and it became too strait for me. 932. The population was increasing too rapidly?-Yes. 933. Had you not a holding of your own there?-No; I got married, and had to look out for a holding somewhere; and I was, by the law of necessity, compelled to move against my will. 934. Are there any dealers in Scalloway who would buy your fish from you if you were allowed to sell them?-Yes; there are Charles Nicholson and Robert Tait. 935. Do they buy fish cured?-They buy them either cured or uncured, and also what may be properly called half-cured-that is, salted but not dried. 936. Do they employ fishermen?-Charles Nicholson employs fishermen. 937. Do the fishermen who are employed by Nicholson and Tait supply their fish to them green or dry, as they like?-They only give them to them green, so far as I know. 938. But these merchants also buy cured fish from independent fishermen?-Yes. 939. With regard to your farm, do you sell any produce off your land?-We sell none. 940. What does it bear?-Oats and barley, or bere, and potatoes or turnips, and some cabbage. 941. Do you sell these things, or do you consume them yourselves?-We consume them either by ourselves, or by the stock on our farm. We have some cattle and sheep and pigs . 942. Do you sell your stock?-The cattle are generally sold to relieve the tenant's necessities, and in order to let him have a few shillings in money. 943. What is that money used for? Is it for things that you cannot buy in the store?-Yes; and sometimes for paying our rent. 944. I thought the rent was entered as part of your account with Messrs. Hay?-If our earnings are not sufficient to meet Messrs. Hay's account, or if we have overdrawn our account with them, then we sell an animal, and the price of it is put into the account. 945. Is there anything else for which you have to sell your cattle?-I am not aware of anything. 946. How do you sell them? Is it at a roup or at a public market?-We sell our cattle where we can dispose of them to the best advantage-sometimes at the market at Lerwick, and at other times cattle-dealers come round and ask us for them. If we choose to give them to the dealers, we have every advantage in selling our cattle. 947. You are quite free to sell them where you like-Yes. 948. Have you any ponies in Burra?-Yes; a few of the men have some. 949. And you have also and poultry?-Yes. 950. You can dispose of them as you please?-Yes. 951. Is there any shop on the island?-No. 952. You have to go over to Scalloway or to Lerwick for all your goods?-Yes. We don't have liberty to have any shop on the islands. 953. Are Messrs. Hay sometimes largely in advance [Page 20] to the people on the island after a bad season?-Yes; I believe they are largely in advance in some seasons. 954. Then they will trust you for a year or two until a good season comes, and the balance is then paid off?-Yes; most commonly they do that. 955. You would not have had that advantage if you were all free to fish for anybody you liked?-We believe that, if we had our freedom, we would not require to have that advantage. We believe we would be so clear that we would be independent. Neither have we the advantage of having a shop there, and keeping the penny among ourselves. 956. Do you think the goods you get at Messrs. Hay's shop are expensive as compared with the prices you would pay for them elsewhere?-I never thought that, and I never thought them worse than we could get elsewhere. 957. But as to the price, do you think they charge more for their goods than other people?-No; I have nothing to say against that. 958. Or as to the quality?-Both as to the quality and the price I was always satisfied as I would have been with any other body's. 959. You don't suppose they charge a higher price in consequence of the long credit they give?-No. 960. You get your goods from January onwards, and they are not settled for until the following January?-That is so. 961. But then there is credit on both sides; so that I suppose there need be no higher price on that account?-That is the case, so far as I am aware. 962. Is there anything else you wish to say?-You have not asked what may be the difference on a hundredweight of fish, if we had the advantage of selling them for ourselves, as against what we get for them under the present system. I believe the difference would be between 2s. and 3s. per cwt. 963. Do you think your profit would be 2s. or 3s. more per cwt. if the fish was sold by you?-Yes; if we were free agents to act for ourselves. 964. But in the case of a man who was curing on a large scale, has he not an advantage in the way of curing cheaper than a single fisherman would have?-We cannot think he would. We know what we could, cure them for ourselves: that is a matter within our own knowledge. The merchants tell us they cure, at a dearer rate, but we cannot enter into their accounts. If it costs them so much to cure the fish, then they must cure them much dearer than we know they could be cured for by ourselves. 965. Is it from your experience in Havera, as compared with your experience in Burra, that you believe you would be 2s. or 3s. per cwt. better off by curing the fish for yourselves?-That is from my experience in Havera, and also from my experience in Burra. 966. But you have had no experience of selling your own fish cured for at least thirteen years?-Not cured; but I have had a little experience in half-cured fish since that time. 967. Have you sold fish half-cured?-Yes; I have sold a little this year. 968. Were these small fish?-Yes. 969. Did you make more of them than you would have done by delivering them to the merchant?-I did. 970. Was any objection taken by Messrs. Hay to your selling the fish in that way?-I must tell the truth: we did smuggle a few. We would not like them to know of it, but I suppose they will know of it by and by. 971. Is there much smuggling carried on in that way among the fishermen?-I believe it is done on a very small scale. 972. But the restrictions you are under do induce you to smuggle occasionally, in order to get a larger price?-Yes; and on some occasions, in order to get the ready money. 973. Do you not always get ready money for smuggled fish?-We can get it now. 974. From people in Scalloway?-Yes; but if had our liberty like Englishmen, we would have no need to smuggle. 975. Is there anything more you want to say about the matters referred to in your letter?-I think I have said all I wish to say, only that our errand in here has been undertaken under the protection of you, as a commissioner from Her Majesty's Government, who can give us our liberty; and if it had not been on that account we would not have come. Lerwick, January 2, 1872, PETER SMITH, examined. 976. You are a fisherman in Burra?-Yes. 977. You hold some land in that island under Messrs Hay, and you fish for them in the home fishing?-Yes. 978. Do you go to the Faroe fishing also?-No; I never went there. 979. You have been present during the examination of Walter Williamson?-Yes. 980. Do you concur generally in what you have heard him say?- Yes. 981. You have been engaged in the herring fishery also?-Yes. 982. And you were one of the parties who signed memorial to the trustee on the estate of Scalloway some years ago?-Yes. 983. Can you remember how long it is since that petition was got up?-I cannot exactly say, but think it was eight years ago. 984. Was it shortly after you were asked to sign the obligation which Williamson mentioned?-Yes. 985. Do you remember the grievances that were set forth in the memorial?-Were they the same things that you are complaining of now, or was there anything additional?-There was nothing additional. 986. Was there any prohibition at that time to sell tea to your neighbours?-There was very little of it sold. 987. But was it forbidden to sell tea to your neighbours?-Yes. 988. Is that forbidden now?-We have never tried it since. 989. Who forbade it?-Messrs. Hay. 990. Why?-Because they won't allow that to be done on the island. 991. What was their reason for that? Did you want to sell tea?- We did not want to sell tea, except that we were locked up in the island, and we could not get to Scalloway every day. If a storm came on and lasted for perhaps eight days, we could not get to the shop; and some parties might have had a pound or half a pound of tea in small parcels, and they would supply it to any of their neighbours who happened be run out. 992. How did any of the people happen have much tea by them?- They were working among the fish for Messrs. Hay, and they took the tea out of their store. 993. Why did they take it? Did they not want it?-They sometimes required a few pennies. The merchants at that time would give nothing but truck, and the people took the tea, and sold it to their neighbours in order to get a few pence. 994. How do you know that was forbidden? Was there any order issued in writing, or otherwise, stating that people should not sell tea to their neighbours?-It was ordered by word of mouth, and it was also stated by the obligation which we had to sign in Messrs. Hay's office. 995. Did you sign that document?-Yes. 996. So that, you are now under a written obligation not to sell tea?-Yes; a written obligation. 997. Have you heard anything of late years about that prohibition against selling tea?-No. 998. Is it common for a neighbour who has got more tea than he wants, to sell it to another?-No they don't do it now. [Page 21] 999. Why?-I don't know, except just that they are afraid. 1000. Then, if you want tea or any other goods, must go direct to the store at Scalloway for them?-Yes, if we have not got money. If we had money, then we could go to any store we like, and buy what we want. 1001. Have the Burra people any complaints to make with regard to oysters?-I don't deal in them. 1002. You were engaged in the herring fishery. Was there any special complaint made in the memorial, or have you any special complaint to make just now, as to that fishery?-The herring fishery is carried on under the same restrictions as the ling, 1003. You are bound to hand over the fish to Messrs. Hay, and they are entered into the account the same as the others?-Yes. 1004. When you prepared that petition some years ago, did you land your herring on the island, or were they handed in to some vessel?-There were two or three years about that time when a vessel came to Hamnavoe, and we measured them on board of her. When she was full, we had to measure them on shore. 1005. Who sent that vessel?-It was a man who came with a vessel from Hamburg for herrings, and he bought them from Messrs. Hay. 1006. Did the man pay you for the fish?-No; we had nothing to do with him, so far as the paying was concerned. 1007. Was it one of the grievances set forth in the petition, that you were paid in goods for these herrings, while the Wick fishermen got a larger price in cash?-I don't remember about that. 1008. You say you signed the obligation about eight years ago. Have you ever endeavoured or wished to break through it and to obtain your liberty?-No. 1009. You have never attempted that?-No. 1010. Does that obligation bind your family as well as yourself?- Yes, if they like to do it. 1011. But in the obligation itself did you become bound that your sons as well as yourself should fish for Messrs. Hay?-Yes. 1012. Have had to pay liberty money for any of your sons?-Yes; I had to pay it for one of my sons-Robert Smith. He was two years away. One year he was with Mr. Harrison, and the year following he was with Mr. Garriock, and I paid liberty money in these years to Messrs. Hay on his account. 1013. How long ago was that?-I think it was three years ago. 1014. Then the obligation to fish applied to the Faroe fishing as well as to the home fishing?-Yes; to the whole fishings. 1015. Have you ever had to pay liberty money for your sons leaving the home fishing and going to some other employment?- No; they never followed the home fishing. They would not go to it. 1016. Then, if a man does not choose to go to the home fishing at all, he is free?-Yes. 1017. But if a man does go to the home fishing he is to fish for the landlord?-Yes, if he be a tenant. 1018. But he need not fish unless he likes?-No; it is only if he does fish, and if he is a person holding land, that he must fish for Messrs. Hay. 1019. Or if he is the son of a landholder, and living in his father's house?-Yes. 1020. I believe the liberty money amounts to 20s.?-Yes. 1021. When is it paid?-When we settle. 1022. Is it deducted from the amount due?-Yes. 1023. Do you know of any cases where that liberty money has been paid back by Messrs, Hay?-Yes. 1024. Was it paid back to you?-Yes; it was paid back to me for my son. 1025. Then the money you mentioned just now as having been paid by you for your son was paid back to you?-Yes; it was paid back to me afterwards. 1026. How long afterwards?-I think about a year and a half. 1027. Did you ask for it to be paid back?-Yes; I asked it over and over again before I got it. I think I asked for it two or three times, if I remember right. 1028. Did they give it back to you as a favour?-Yes. 1029. Was the amount of liberty money fixed in the obligation which you signed?-Yes. 1030. Did you get a copy of that obligation?-No. 1031. Have you been spoken to about that obligation since you signed it, and told that it was in force?-Never, except when they charged liberty money. I objected to pay it; and their answer was, that I had signed an obligation to pay it, and therefore that I was obliged to do so. 1032. Do you know any one else who has paid liberty money within the last year or two?-Yes; Andrew Laurenson paid it for his brother. 1033. Is Laurenson here?-No. 1034. Why did he have to pay it for his brother?-Because I think the father was not able, and Andrew had just to pay it. 1035. Were both the Laurensons living with their father?-No, Andrew was not living with him; he was married, and had gone away. But Robert was living with his father; and Andrew paid the money for the brother, because his father could not. 1036. Has there been any other case?-Yes; Peter Henry paid liberty money for himself about three years ago. 1037. Was Laurenson's money paid back?-Yes. 1038. After he had asked it?-I don't know if he asked it, but I know that it was paid back. 1039. Was Henry's paid back?-I don't know. 1040. Did these cases all occur about the same year?-Yes, all about the same time. 1041. Is it the case that at time you had several bad fishing seasons?-Yes. 1042. And is it the case that at that time Messrs. Hay were largely in advance to the fishermen in Burra?-Yes; for some years they were largely in advance. 1043. Did they want to get the young men to go to the Faroe fishing in order to get their parents out of debt: did they assign that as a reason for charging liberty money?-Yes, sometimes they did. 1044. Did they tell you, or did you understand, that these fines were required in order to induce the young men to go to the Faroe fishing, and to pay off the debt due by their parents?-Yes, I understood that. 1045. Were you told that by Messrs. Hay at the time?-Yes. 1046. Are these the only cases in which such fines have been exacted, within your knowledge?-Yes. 1047. Have all the landholders since that time fished for Messrs. Hay, to your knowledge?-Yes; they have all fished for them at the home fishing. 1048. And at the Faroe fishing too?-There are very few of the landholders who go to the Faroe fishing. 1049. Are there many men in Burra who go to the Faroe fishing?- Yes, a considerable number. 1050. But these are the younger men?-Yes; generally they are. 1051. And they are not bound in any way?-No, are not now. 1052. Do they generally ship with the Messrs. Hay?-Some of them do, and some do not. It is not general thing with them to do so. 1053. They can do as they like?-Yes. 1054. Can your sons do as they like in that matter, and ship with any person they please?-Yes. 1055. Do they go to the Faroe fishing?-Yes. 1056. And you are not asked to pay liberty money for them now?-No. 1057. Is that because Messrs. Hay have ceased to require payment of liberty money?-Yes; they thought the thing was not legal, and they have given it up. 1058. Are your sons living in your house still?-One of them is, but the other one is married, and is away from me. 1059. And the one who is living with you goes to the Faroe fishing?-Yes. 1060. Have you ever cured fish for yourself?-No. 1061. Then you don't know from your own experience, [Page 22] whether you would have a larger profit if you did cure them on your own account?-No; not from my own experience. 1062. Except when you signed the document you have mentioned, was there any occasion on which you were told by any of the firm of Hay & Co. that you were bound to fish for them only?-I don't remember any other time. Lerwick, January 2, 1872, THOMAS CHRISTIE, examined. 1063. You are a fisherman in Burra, and a tenant under Messrs. Hay?-Yes. 1064. You have been present during the examination of the two preceding witnesses?-Yes. 1065. Do you concur with them as to the most of the facts which they have stated?-Yes. 1066. Did you sign the obligation which has been spoken to?-I signed it once, about eight years ago. 1067. Did you do so willingly, or did you refuse first?-I did so willingly. 1068. Had you not received warning to leave your ground first?- No, I don't think it. 1069. Were you ever told that you would have to leave your ground if you did not sign it?-Yes; I suppose I was. 1070. Have you complied ever since with that obligation to fish for Hay & Co.?-Yes. 1071. You did not try to break it in any way?-No. 1072. Have you ever had to pay liberty money for yourself or any of your children?-No. 1073. Have you cured fish for yourself?-No. 1074. Is it your opinion, as well as that of the other witnesses, that you would make a larger profit if you cured your own fish?-I think we would. 1075. Can you give me any reason for supposing that?-No; no particular reason, because I never cured them. 1076. But you know that is the general belief?-Yes. 1077. Have you any knitters in your family?-Yes. 1078. The letter you have signed says that they are invariably paid in goods, both for the goods they sell, and also for their wages when engaged to knit for the hosiery dealers: is that so?-Yes. 1079. Have you ever sold any articles for your daughters?-Yes. 1080. Do you sometimes take the goods they knit the shops and sell them for them?-Yes. 1081. Where have you taken them to?-To Linklater. 1082. Do you keep an account with him?-No. 1083. You just take the article in and sell it?-Yes, and get what they want for it. 1084. Do your daughters knit with their own wool?-No, they knit with wool supplied by Mr. Linklater. 1085. Is it through you that the dealing generally takes place?- No; not through me. 1086. Your daughters generally manage it themselves?-Yes. 1087. But you have brought in articles which they have knitted?- Yes; on one or two occasions. 1088. On these occasions what took place?-I was just ordered to get some things from the shop, and I got them. 1089. Did you ever ask for money?-No, they never expected to get money, they never asked for it. 1090. You were told the articles that you were to bring home, and the value that was to be put upon the shawls?-Yes. 1091. Did you not leave the fixing of the price to the merchant?- He knew the price himself. It was marked down in the book, what I brought in for them was added to the account. 1092. Do your daughters have a book?-No; but the merchant enters these things in his own book. 1093. Then they have an account with Mr. Linklater-which is kept in his book?-Yes. 1094. What is the name of your daughter?-Elizabeth Christie. 1095. Is the account in Mr. Linklater's book kept in her name?- Yes. 1096. You say that you buy your goods until the end of the year from your landlord's shop: is it from the shop at Scalloway or in Lerwick that you generally buy?-I buy from both places. 1097. Is there an account in your name in both shops?-Yes; I can go to any place I like. 1098. And you get the same class of goods at both?-I don't think there is much difference. 1099. Do you get every kind of goods at both shops?-Yes. Lerwick, January 2, 1872, CHARLES SINCLAIR, examined. 1100. You are a fisherman in Burra?-Yes. 1101. Do you hold any land there?-No, I have only a room, and pay rent for it, in an old mansion-house on the island. 1102. To whom do you pay rent?-To Messrs. Hay. 1103. How do you make your living?-By fishing, and sometimes by going as master of a small coasting vessel. 1104. Does that vessel belong to you?-No; I sometimes get employment from the owners in Lerwick,-from Mr. Leask, or Messrs. Hay, or others. 1105. You have not a permanent employment as master?-No, but I am competent for taking charge of a vessel at times. 1106. Is that a vessel employed in the fishing trade?-Yes, and sometimes in the coasting trade, taking cured fish to any port in England or Scotland. 1107. You have been present during the examination of the previous witnesses during the day?-Yes. 1108. Do you concur generally in what they have stated?-So far as I can remember it, I do. 1109. Is there anything additional you want to say?-Yes. Our wishes are to have our liberty to fish for whoever we please, and to make the best we can of our fish. 1110. But you are not bound in any way?-I am bound to fish for Messrs. Hay in the long-line and herring fishing in the island. 1111. Did you sign any obligation-to fish for Messrs. Hay only?- No. 1112. Then in what way are you bound?-By our father signing an obligation. 1113. Are you the son of a Burra man?-Yes. 1114. Did your father sign the obligation eight years ago?-Yes. 1115. What reason have you to suppose that binds you to fish?- My father told me when he came home, that neither he nor his sons were to be allowed to fish to any other men than Messrs. Hay. 1116. Is it eight years since he told you that-Yes. 1117. Is your father alive?-Yes, he is here. His name is John Sinclair. 1118. Have you attempted or wished to fish for any other than Messrs. Hay?-Yes; in the Faroe fishing, but nowhere else. 1119. Was there any objection taken to your doing so?-No; because at the time when I broke off from Messrs. Hay they could not suit me with a vessel. I was competent to take charge of a vessel, and they had none to give me, and for that reason they let me off. 1120. Do you go in for the home fishing?-Sometimes. 1121. Have you fished for any other than Messrs. Hay in that fishing?-No, not in the long-line fishing. 1122. Have you proposed to do so?-No. 1123. Then you have never been interfered with in any way yourself?-No, not further than that. Occasionally I have had to fish a little for them when I was not engaged at anything else. [Page 23] 1124. How had you to fish to them?-To support myself. 1125. But if you had chosen, you might have engaged with any other merchant than Messrs. Hay?-No, not for the home fishing. 1126. Why do you say that?-Because we were made to understand that we would not be allowed to do so. 1127. You say that your only reason for understanding that, was what your father had told you. What would have been the result to you if you had done it?-The result would have been, that my father would have been turned out on my account. 1128. Is that what you were afraid of?-Yes. 1129. And is that the reason why you never tried to get engaged with any other merchant?-Yes. 1130. Had you ever to pay liberty money?-No. 1131. Had your father ever to pay liberty money for you or any of his sons?-I believe he had to pay for one who died. 1132. Do you know that yourself?-I am confident of it, from having heard about it. 1133. Was that when you were young?-Yes. 1134. But that was a good many years ago?-Yes. I cannot remember the time. 1135. Is that all you wish to say?-I remember in my early years, when I was a young fellow, and commenced to fish along with my father, we went chiefly to the herring fishing, and we had to catch herring for Messrs. Hay at a very low price. We had a certain allowance of meal, which I suppose would amount to about twenty-four pounds for seven or eight days; and it was hardly fit to sustain a family of about eight people. My father had to find boats and nets with which to proceed to the fishing, and that put him into debt; and about four years ago I and my brothers had to come good for that debt. 1136. Was that an old debt which your father had contracted?-It was a debt accumulated chiefly in the herring fishing. 1137. When was it begun to be incurred?-About fifteen or sixteen years ago. 1138. Had the debt increased, or did it merely stand over?-It was not regular; it sometimes rose and sometimes fell. 1139. But your father was constantly in debt up to four years ago?-Yes, so far as I can remember. 1140. Was that debt made out by the annual accountings which we have heard about to-day? Was it a debt in the books of Messrs. Hay for provisions supplied at the store?-Yes, and for fishing materials. 1141. Was it for a boat also?-It was chiefly for a new boat and nets. He purchased a new boat, which put him further down than ever. 1142. Was it purchased about fifteen or twenty years ago?-No; it is perhaps ten or twelve years ago. 1143. And you say that about four years ago this debt became so large that you and your brother had to become bound for it?-Yes. 1144. How did that happen?-Because they wrote out, or pretended to write out, what might be called a travelling-ticket, or a warning to remove off the land. 1145. At what term?-Was it at Martinmas?-As far as I recollect, it was. 1146. Some people have taken special objection to the short Martinmas warning. Do you concur in that objection?-Yes. It is only forty days in some cases. 1147. And your father got that warning?-Yes. 1148. How much was he in debt at that time?-Perhaps from £9 to £12. I and my brother Robert had to pay £6, and I believe that was the half of it. 1149. Did you sign any document obliging you pay that money?- No. 1150. Then how did you become bound?-On account of my father being warned out. 1151. But in what way did you become bound? Did you merely promise by word of mouth that you would pay it?-Yes; we had to become good for it. 1152. But you did not sign any agreement?-No; we handed over the money-the sum of £6. 1153. Was that money which you had earned?-Yes. 1154. Was it due to you in your account with Messrs. Hay?-No; I had it in my pocket. I had saved it in other employments. 1155. Then you had no difficulty in getting money for your wages when you wanted it? You were not obliged to take your wages in goods?-No, not our wages; but we have to take the proceeds of our fishing in that way, to a certain extent. They will give us part of that in goods. 1156. Is that the proceeds of the Faroe fishing?-No; of the home fishing. 1157. In the Faroe fishing, what arrangement do you make about the payment of your share?-We can get it all in money if we choose to have it. 1158. You have been at the Faroe fishing?-Yes. 1159. There is no difficulty in that fishing in getting cash at the end of the season?-No; not at the settling times, which take place once a year. 1160. How do you do about your supplies for the Faroe fishing?- We generally apply for them to the merchant we fish for. 1161. And you get a supply from him of provisions, clothing, fishing material, and everything you require?-Yes. 1162. That is marked down against you in the book, and deducted from the price of your fish at the end of the season?-Yes. 1163. Is the price for these fish fixed only at settling time?-Yes. 1164. Who does the boat belong to in which you go to the Faroe fishing?-I have been at that fishing for different owners. 1165. Does the boat always belong to the merchant, or does it sometimes belong to the men themselves?-No; it always belongs to the merchant. 1166. But the whole material required for that fishing, except the boat, belongs to the men?-Yes; and it is purchased by them from the shipowner. We have to find our hooks and lines and provisions. That is all we have to find, the owner finds the rest. 1167. Are you a married man?-Yes, I have a wife and two children. 1168. How are your family supported during your absence at the Faroe fishing? Where do they get their supplies?-They can get them in the owner's store if they require them, but, for myself, I do not require to go there. I can get them at any place I please. 1169. Is it a common thing for the other men who go to the Faroe fishing, to buy their goods at the owners store?-When they don't have money to buy them at other places, they go there for them. 1170. But is that a common thing?-I cannot say exactly. I suppose it is not uncommon. 1171. Does it often happen that a man employed in the Faroe fishing finds an account against him in the owner's store for provisions at settling time as large as the amount which he has to receive for his fishing?-I am not acquainted with that myself. 1172. When you are away at the Faroe fishing, and your family have occasion for money, is there any difficulty in getting it from the parties who employ you?-Not if they know we have money to get. If we have a balance in our favour, they are not against giving it. 1173. How long are you generally absent at that fishing?- Sometimes six months, sometimes seven, and sometimes as low as three months. 1174. Suppose you had been away from home for two or three months, there would certainly be two or three months take of fish, if it was a middling season, for which money would be due to you?-Yes. 1175. Would your wife at home be able to get an advance of money from the merchant in that case, if she required it for the support of the family?-Yes. 1176. There is no difficulty made about that?-No. 1177. Is it a common thing in Shetland for a man's wife to get such advances of money during his absence-Yes, they would get a small sum of money, but the merchant would prefer them to take goods. [Page 24] 1178. If she comes for the money is she ever told to take it in goods; or is there any understanding that she is to take it in goods?-I cannot answer that, because I am not acquainted with what goes on while I am away. I can only speak to what has come within my own experience. Lerwick, January 2, 1872, GILBERT GOODLAD, examined. 1179. You are a fisherman in Burra, and you hold land there under Messrs. Hay?-Yes. 1180. You have been present during the examination of the previous witnesses?-Yes. 1181. Do you agree with most of what Williamson and Smith have said?-Yes. 1182. Is it all correct?-Yes; all correct. 1183. You generally go to the Faroe fishing?-I do. 1184. How long may you be absent at that fishing?-It just depends upon the season: sometimes we may be away for perhaps four months. We are generally home once in the middle of the time. We are sometimes we may be away longer than four months, sometimes not so long ago. 1185. What merchants have you generally engaged with?-I have engaged with a great many merchants in Shetland. 1186. There has been no objection made to your going with any merchant you liked?-No. 1187. Messrs. Hay have not objected to that?-No. They might not have been requiring me when I was going, and therefore I could go where I liked. 1188. When you go there, how do you arrange for your family to be supplied during your absence?-The merchant supplies them during my absence. 1189. What merchant?-Whatever owner I am out for. 1190. When your wife wants supplies, does she go to his shop for them?-Yes. 1191. If she wants money, does she ask it from him too?-She may, but sometimes she has been refused it. They are not willing to give money. If they think we are doing well at the fishing, they will advance her a little money; but if they think we are not succeeding well, they will not give it, because they would think then that we might come to be in their debt. 1192. Is there any communication with the vessels when they are at the fishing?-Yes. Some of the vessels may go home and come back again, or an accident may occur on board of one of them, and she may go home and give an account of how the fishing is going on. They may also send letters from Faroe, by Denmark, to Shetland; so that there are several ways of communicating from there to here. 1193. Who are some of the parties with whom you have shipped for the Faroe fishing?-I have been out for Mr. Garriock in Reawick, Mr. Garriock in Lerwick, Mr. Leask, and Messrs. Hay. 1194. But, whoever you go out for, your wife generally goes to their shop for her supplies?-She is obliged to go there, if we have no other means to live on. 1195. Can you tell me one occasion on which she went and was refused money, or on which you have asked them to give her money and it has been refused?-I am not quite sure that there has been any occasion of that kind, because we know that if we are not fishing well, we need not ask for money. 1196. Have you been told that by any of the shopkeepers?-I have seen it, and experienced it. 1197. When, and how?-Even during the last season with the Faroe fishing, there were some of the merchants who would not make an advance to the people when they required it. 1198. Did they require to get an advance of money?-They might try to live on through the season without money, and they might have done it if they could only have got some meal and some bread to live upon. 1199. Do you mean that the people at the fishing had to do so?- No; the people whom they left at home got so little that they could hardly subsist upon it, and they had to try some other means in order to enable them to live. 1200. What other means had they?-They might have a cow or two, and make butter, and sell the milk, and buy a little meal with that. 1201. Do any of the members of your family knit?-I have two daughters who knit 1202. Do they get money for that knitting?-Not one cent. 1203. Have you sold the hosiery work for them?-I never did. They always manage these matters for themselves. 1204. Have you ever represented their case to the merchants, and said that they ought to pay them in cash?-No. It is no use saying anything of the kind, because the merchants would not give them money. There is one thing I should like to say with regard to the Faroe fishing. We come into the town of Lerwick, or any other port in Shetland where the vessels happen be fitting out, and commence to fit the vessels so as to have them ready for sea. We have to go on board, and have only an allowance of one pound of bread a day for every day we are on board the vessel. We have nothing else to live on during the time we are fitting out the vessels, and if we are absent on any account whatever during the time the vessels are being fitted out they charge 2s., 6d. per day for that, in order to put a man in our place. 1205. Is not that merely a part of your bargain with the merchants for whom you engage to fish?-It is part of the bargain, but it is a very bad part. 1206. If you did not choose to make a bargain of that kind, you would not be bound to carry it out?-That is true; but the poor people here cannot strike as they do in England: because they are so poor, the merchants can just do as they please with them. 1207. Did you sign the obligation eight years ago which has been spoken to by the previous witnesses?-No. 1208. Do you go in for the home fishing at all?-Yes; I am a fisherman in the Burra Isles. 1209. Do you consider yourself bound to fish only for Messrs. Hay in the home fishing?-I do. 1210. Have you ever been told so by Messrs. Hay?-Yes, I have been told that; and there was a document made out, but I did not sign it. I have got no notice about the matter since then, because we knew that we had to carry on the fishing in the same way. 1211. Have you ever paid liberty money?-No, I never had anybody to pay it for, and I never paid for myself. 1212. Have you ever asked to have the price of your fish fixed at the beginning of the season?-No. 1213. Is there not a feeling among the men, that that would be a better mode of dealing than the present?-We durst not go in for anything of the kind. 1214. Would it not be a better plan in the Faroe fishing?-We could not do anything of the kind there, because the merchants don't know what the price of the fish will be until they can be sold. The market may rise. 1215. You take your chance of the markets there-Yes; whatever chance the merchant gets, we get too. We run shares with the merchants in that fishing. 1216. You are not paid at so much per cwt.?-No; we have shares. One half of the fish that are brought in by the vessel belongs to the crew, and the other half belongs to the owners. 1217. Then you are not serving for wages there at all?-No; they give us wages if we have to go to Iceland in the fall of the year but they give no wages for the summer fishing at Faroe. It is just a partnership that is made up for the fish that are caught. 1218. Is there anything further you wish to say?-No; I think everything which we have to say has been pretty well said by the other men. 1219. Are all the thirteen men here who signed the letter to me about Burra?-Yes. 1220. Have any of them anything further to say?-[No answer.] . [Page 25] Lerwick: Wednesday, January 3, 1872. -Mr Guthrie. JOHN LEASK, examined. 1221. You are a fisherman at Channerwick, parish of Sandwick?- I am. 1222. You came here yesterday for the purpose making some statement: what was it about?-I wanted to make some statement about how I have been treated three years back, particularly. 1223. Are you a tenant of land?-Yes. 1224. Are you a yearly tenant?-Yes. 1225. Under whom?-Under Mr. Robert Bruce of Simbister. 1226. Do you pay your rent to him?-We pay our rent to Mr. William Irvine, the factor. 1227. Is that Mr. Irvine of Hay & Co.?-Yes. 1228. What quantity of land do you hold?-It is rather more than what are called two merks and about a third. 1229. How much is that in acres?-I don't know. It is a Danish measurement. 1230. How much rent do you pay for that?-£4, 2s. 10d. 1231. Do you also pay taxes and poor-rates in addition?-No; that is included in the sum I have mentioned. 1232. What did you come to complain about?-About the way we were dealt with when we were under tack for seventeen years to Mr. Robert Mouat. He got bankrupt in the latter end. 1233. How long is it since he became bankrupt?-It was only last year, and he went away then. 1234. Before that, had he a tack of the whole lands of Mr. Bruce in that part of the country?-He had Levenwick, Channerwick and Coningsburgh in tack. 1235. Had you to pay your rent to him?-Yes. 1236. He was what is called a middle-man in Shetland?-Yes; a middle-man or tacksmaster. The Shetland name for it is tacksmaster. 1237. You were under tack to him, and you paid the same rent to him that you have mentioned just now?-Yes, I suppose so, but I don't remember what rent I paid to him, for I never got my rent from him. 1238. How do you mean?-Because he was the tacksman, and he took what rent he liked. 1239. Do you mean to say that you did not pay £4, 2s. 10d. to him the same as you are doing now?-I paid him more. 1240. When was your rent fixed at £4, 2s. 10d.?-This year. 1241. What was your rent before?-I cannot tell what it was under Mouat, for I never heard what it was. He never told me what my rent was; it was just what he liked to take. But after Mouat left, Mr. Bruce gave us our liberty. We have had our liberty for the past year, and we go now and pay our rent to the factor, and he has told us what our rent is. 1242. Did you fish for Mouat when he was there?-I was bound by the proprietor to do so. 1243. Had you signed any agreement to do that?-I was never called upon to sign any agreement, but Mouat told me that his agreement with the proprietor was that I was bound to fish for him; and he told me that if I did not fish for him, he had power to warn me out of the place where I lived. 1244. When did he tell you that?-He told me that at the commencement of the tack, seventeen years ago. 1245. Had you been in the same ground before that time?-Yes. 1246. Who did you hold from at that time?-The tacksman before Mouat was Mr. Spence, Lerwick. He collected the rents for Mr. Bruce. 1247. Was he the tacksman or only a factor?-He was a lawyer or tacksman, taking up the money for Mr. Bruce. 1248. Were you bound then to fish for any particular individual?- We were always bound. 1249. After Mouat told you that you must fish for him, did you ever fish for any one else during the whole of these seventeen years?-No. 1250. Why did you not sell your fish to any one else?-For fear of being warned off the property where was living; and I had nowhere else to go to, because I was a poor man. 1251. Is it the home fishing you are now speaking of?-Yes, the home or ling fishing; but I have been in the whale fishery, and in the straits fishery, and the Faroe fishery, as well as in the home fishery. 1252. But you were not at these other fishings for Mouat?-No; I was at home when I fished for him. 1253. Could you engage with any one you pleased for the whale fishing or the Faroe fishing?-Yes. 1254. You have no complaint to make about that-No; I could go to any one I liked, only I was bound under tack to Mouat. 1255. When you fished for Mouat, did you deliver your fish to his people?-Yes. 1256. Where?-At Levenwick. 1257. Did you deliver them green or dry?-Green. 1258. How were you paid for them?-We were just paid as he liked to pay us. He gave us just what he chose. 1259. When were you paid for them?-Sometimes in March, sometimes about the New Year, or just when he chose to make arrangements for paying us. 1260. Did he pay you then for all the fish of the previous season?-Yes. 1261. At what time in the season did you begin to fish?-We began in the spring-generally in the month of May. 1262. And all the fish which you caught from May down to next winter were paid for in January or February or March?-Yes; or at any time, just as he chose to make arrangements for paying. 1263. Did you make a bargain about the price at the beginning of the season?-No. 1264. Did you make your bargain when you delivered your fish to him?-No. 1265. When did you fix the price which you were to get?-He fixed the price when he paid us. 1266. Did you ever object to the price which he fixed?-Many a time. 1267. You made that objection at settling day?-Yes. 1268. What did he when you asked for a larger price?-He told us that we should have no more, and that we were in duty bound to fish for him. 1269. Had Mouat a shop?-Yes; his shop was at the Moul of Channerwick, close to my house. 1270. Are there many fishermen living close by there?-There are a good many, and almost all men are fishermen. 1271. Do they live near that shop?-Yes. 1272. How many houses may be there, or about that neighbourhood?-I think there are about nineteen of them close together. 1273. Are there many more houses at a little distance?-There are no more at that particular place, but in the town of Levenwick, about a mile to the south of the Moul, there are more. 1274. Is there another shop there?-No. 1275. Do the Levenwick people come to the Channerwick shop?- Yes. 1276. What did you get in Mouat's shop?-We got the goods he pleased to give us. 1277. Did you get the goods you wanted?-No; we did not get the goods we wanted. We could just get the goods he had. 1278. What did you get?-We sometimes got a [Page 26] little tea and cotton and anything we asked for that was there. If it was there for us to get it was very well; but if it was not there, we had to walk home without, and we could get no money to buy it with. 1279. How could you get no money?-Because he would not give it to us on any consideration at all. 1280. Did you often ask for?-Every year and every time. 1281. What do you mean by every time?-Every time we came to that store when we thought his goods were not a bargain for us to take we asked for some money to go somewhere else and get a better bargain; but of course we were denied it. We could get none. 1282. Did you never get an advance of money from the time the fishing began, until settling time?-No. 1283. Did you ever get any money from Mouat during the whole seventeen years you fished for him?-No. 1284. Did you not get money if there was, a balance over at settling time?-No. 1285. Do you swear that?-Yes, I do. 1286. Supposing that at the time of settling there was a balance due to you after paying your account at the shop and your rent did you not get, that in money?-No. I had to take it in goods or else go without. 1287. Were you told that you must take it in goods?-Yes; I could get no money. 1288. Did you generally take goods there and then or did you get them afterwards just as you wanted them?-Sometimes I got them as I wanted them and at other times I might take a little goods expecting that I would perhaps get a shilling of money along with them as I was in necessity for it; but I could not get any. 1289. Did you expect that you might get a shilling for the goods?-As I had a balance due I expected that I might get a shilling in money; and I did not take all the goods at one time but I took a little now when I required them, and a little the next time; and always when I came to the store I asked if I could not get a shilling in money because goods could not serve me every time. 1290. Did you sell the goods which you got from the shop in order to raise a little money?-Sometimes. 1291. Did you sell them to your neighbours?-I could not sell them to my neighbours, because they were in the same state as I was myself. 1292. Where did you sell them?-Sometimes we would take a little and fall in with a boy or a laddie, who would buy a bit of cloth from us, or the like of that, at a reduced price and thus help us to get a few shillings. 1293. To what boys or lads did you sell these goods?-Just to any lad that would buy them. Perhaps my own lad would be going elsewhere, such as to the sea, where he would be paid by a fee; and sometimes I would get a bit of goods and give it to my boy, and he would pay me for it with a few shillings out of his fee and that would serve my ends for the time. 1294. Had you anything to sell off your farm?-Yes. 1295. You sold a beast now and then?-Yes; but Mouat took the whole of them. 1296. Did he buy your beasts too?-Yes. 1297. Did you not have liberty to sell them to other people?-No, we had no liberty at all; because he said we were under the same obligation with regard to beasts and eggs and all the produce of our farms as we were under with regard to the fish, and therefore, if he got the one, he compelled us to give him the other too. 1298. When did he tell you that about the beasts and the eggs?- He told us about it in the same year that he took the tack. 1299. Did you ever try to sell them to another?-Yes, I tried that sometimes. 1300. To whom did you try to sell them?-To any one who came round asking for such things; but I knew that if I did such a thing, and Mouat came to know about it, I must be prepared to take to my heels and fly. 1301. Did you ever actually sell any of the produce of your farm to another than Mouat?-I never sold any, except one little horse; and I sold it when I was in starvation for meal. That was towards the end of Mouat's tack. 1302. How long ago was it?-I think it is two years past. 1303. Who did you sell it to?-I sold it to a man in the neighbourhood of Quarff. 1304. What was his name?-Andrew Jamieson, he lives at Quarff now. 1305. What did you get for it?-I got £2; it was a small beast 1306. Did Mouat know that you had sold that beast to Jamieson?-Yes, and as soon as he heard about it he sent for me, and told me what he was determined to do, and that I might prepare myself for going. 1307. How long was that before he failed?-I think I only paid one year after that. 1308. Do you mean that there was only one settlement with him after that?-Yes. 1309. When you were making your settlements, I suppose it was the previous Whitsunday and Martinmas rents that you settled for at each?-Yes. 1310. How long would it be before the settlement that you sold the horse?-I sold it after the settlement for the year. Mouat knew that I had a pony to sell and he wanted me to give it to him. I said that I would give him the pony as he told me I was bound to do it but he must bring me some meal, because it was a very bad season, and I could not sow down my ground. He would not bring me any meal and therefore I resolved that, whatever might happen to me whether I should be put out or not, I would sell my animal and procure a living for my house; and I did so. 1311. At what time of the year did you sell it?-In March. 1312. That would be shortly after the settlement?-Yes. 1313. How long was it after that when Mouat told you that you must leave?-Just about eight days-as soon as he heard it. 1314. But he did not turn you off?-No. 1315. Could he not have turned you off at the following Whitsunday term?-Yes; he could have turned me off then. 1316. But he did not do it?-No; because I went to the proprietor, Mr. Bruce, and told him what I had done, and what Mouat was going to do to me. I don't know what took place between Mr. Bruce and Mouat about that, but I did not get my warning? 1317. What did Mr. Bruce say to you about it when you saw him?-He said very little. I went to him, and also to the factor, Mr. Irvine, and told him about it. I got no satisfaction at the time, and therefore I expected I would be turned off; but in the end I was not put off the ground. 1318. That would be in the spring of 1870?-Yes. 1319. Have you paid any rent to Mr. Irvine or to Mr Bruce this year?-Yes; I paid my rent about six weeks ago. 1320. To whom do you deliver your fish now?-To any one I choose. 1321. Who did you fish for last season?-For Mr. Robertson. 1322. Where do you get your goods now?-I can get them from Mr. Robertson. He bought Mouat's store in Channerwick. 1323. Do you still get your goods there?-Yes. 1324. Are you bound to get them there?-We are not bound particularly, because if we ask Mr. Robertson for a few shillings of money during the time we are fishing for him, we will get them. 1325. Have you got money from him since he took that store?- Yes; I got my rent from him this year. 1326. You mean, that you got money from him to pay your rent?- Yes. 1327. Can you mention the name of any person who [Page 27] was turned away for selling his fish or the produce of his farm to another merchant than during the seventeen years he held the tack?-I cannot mention any one particularly, except an old man who was turned off his farm; but that was a good while ago. His name was Henry Sinclair, in Levenwick. That occurred about the beginning of Mouat's tack. 1328. What was he turned out for?-For an 'outfall' about some fishing. 1329. What had he done with his fish?-It was his son that the thing occurred with. 1330. What had his son done?-His son got into some sort of dispute with Mouat about fishing, I can not tell what the cause of it was exactly; but Mouat gave him warning, and sent him off the property that he was staying on. Sinclair took a little bit of scattald outside of the premises, and built a house on it, and he is living there in a very mean condition. 1331. Did the other people in the neighbourhood take that case as a warning?-Yes. 1332. It frightened them, did it?-Yes; Shetland people are of that nature, to be frightened by such things-very much to their hurt. 1333. Do you know of any other person who was turned off in the same way?-No, I don't remember of any other person being turned off; because Mouat had no occasion to turn them off. They did not transgress his law. 1334. Do you know of any other who was threatened to be turned off?-Every one of us was threatened, the next man was threatened, and we were all threatened; so that we were frightened. 1335. Do you know of any person who sold his fish or his beasts or eggs to another than Mouat?-Towards the end of his tack, in the very last fishing when I fished for him, my family and I were in a state of starvation for want of meal. I have seen me out at sea under him for two days and part of a third, on two pounds of meal; and I saw that I must make some effort for a living, Accordingly I went to another store close by and gave them some of the fish I had caught, and got some meal from them. If Mouat's tack had continued longer, I have no doubt I would have been punished for that; but as it was nearly broken, he did not have it in his power to do me any hurt. 1336. Did Mouat speak to you about that?-Yes. There came a letter from him to the people in the neighbourhood, because some of them did take their liberty and go away. 1337. Was that in the last year of his tack?-Yes. 1338. What kind of letters were these?-They were letters from Mouat telling them not to prepare their turf or anything to keep them in their farms, because they had their warning to go. I got a letter as well as the rest. 1339. Did it refer to the fish that you had sold to the other merchant?-Yes. 1340. Have you got that letter?-I don't know. I don't know what became of it. I think I burnt it; but there ought to be letters in the neighbourhood that came from Mouat at that time. 1341. You said you did not get all the goods you wanted at Mouat's shop. What were the goods you asked for and could not get?-I generally asked for little tea. 1342. Could you not get that?-Yes, I always got that, and I could get a bit of cotton or anything out of the store that I wanted. 1343. Did you get the tackle you wanted for your fishing from him?-Yes. 1344. And clothes for your family?-I could get clothes for my family if I asked for them. Sometimes I did get a little clothing from him. 1345. Was it principally meal and tea that you got from Mouat?- Yes; and if his meal had been grain, it would have been good enough; but as it was, it was not fit for human food. 1346. You mean that it was not of good quality?-It was not; and we paid at the dearest rate for it. 1347. How do you know that?-Because we heard it from the storeman who sold it to us. Mouat had a storeman in the shop; and when we got the meal from him, he told us what the price of it was. 1348. Had you a pass-book?-We sometimes had a pass-book, but it was not always taken there; and besides, the storeman was not very willing to be bothered with it. 1349. Did you ever ask the price of meal and tea in Lerwick?- Yes. 1350. Did you ever buy these articles in Lerwick when you happened to have some money?-Yes, sometimes when I had any money I did so; but it was very little money that ever I had, because where could we get it, when we could get no money at all for our fishing? 1351. Have you bought these articles in Lerwick within the last two or three years?-Yes. 1352. Did you find the Lerwick meal better and cheaper than what you got from Mouat?-Yes; the Lerwick meal was grain, but Mouat's meal was nothing but the refuse of the worst that was given to us poor fishing slaves. 1353. Then the complaint you have to make is only about what is past?-Yes; about how I was treated during the seventeen years I was under Mouat. I have nothing to say against Mr. Robert Bruce, or against Mr. Robertson either, with regard to our present condition. 1354. You are quite content with your way of dealing at present?-Yes, I have nothing to say against that, but I am frightened for the future. 1355. Have you a boat of your own?-No. 1356. How do you do for a boat?-I generally arrange with some fish-curer, and he procures me a boat, and takes a hire for it for the season. 1357. How much is the hire?-The hire, as a general rule, has been £2 for three months, or £3, 10s. for the whole season. 1358. Is that the way you did with Mr. Robertson last year?-Yes. 1359. You got goods at his store?-Yes. 1360. As many goods as you wanted during the fishing season?- Yes. 1361. And a little money when you asked for it?-Yes. 1362. How much money would you get at a time from him?-If I asked Mr. Robertson for 5s. or 2s. or 6s., I would get it, according as I asked for it. 1363. If you asked for the whole of your earnings in money, and took no goods out of Mr. Robertson's store, is it likely that you would get the money, so that you could go elsewhere and buy your goods?-I could not say anything about that, because I did not ask it. 1364. You don't wish to go anywhere else?-No; I have not tried that. 1365. Do you think the quality of Mr. Robertson's goods is better than Mouat's?-Oh, Mouat's was nothing at all. 1366. Have you any daughters in your family who knit?-I have two. 1367. Do they knit their own worsted?-Yes; they make worsted for themselves from the wool of our own sheep. 1368. Do they go into Lerwick to sell the articles they have made?-They do. 1369. To whom do they sell them?-To anybody; they do not knit for a merchant. They go to any merchant they choose and sell their shawls, because the worsted with which they are made is their own. If they go into one store with the shawl, and the price is not suitable, they go into the next one. 1370. How are they paid for their shawls?-They are paid in goods at any store where they can sell them. 1371. Do they ever ask for money?-They have asked for it often, but they have never got it; and therefore they say there is no use asking for it, because they know they won't get it. 1372. Are you satisfied with the value of the goods they get in exchange for their shawls?-Sometimes, but not always. Sometimes the goods which they get [Page 28] in exchange are not worth the value put upon them. Sometimes they get cottons for 10d. which are not worth above 8d. 1373. How do you know that?-Because I see the quality of them. 1374. Have they told you the price which the merchant has charged for them?-Yes; and sometimes when my daughters have knitted a shawl, and it is ready to go to the dresser, there may be no money in the house to pay for the dressing of it, and it has to be paid in money. I have known my daughters detained in that way for some days, until I went to a neighbour and borrowed a shilling to pay for the dressing of the shawl, or until I could sell something off the farm; and then, when the shawl was dressed, they went to the merchant with it and sold it to him for goods, according to the custom. 1375. Can your daughters not dress the shawls themselves?-No; they are shawl-makers, but not shawl-dressers. Their dresser is Mrs. Arcus, at the Docks. 1376. Is she the only dresser here?-No; there are other dressers than her, but she is the only one that my daughters go to. 1377. Would she not give them credit for the dressing?-No. 1378. She always requires ready money for that?-Yes; she might give credit to a girl living in the town, but I live sixteen miles from Lerwick, and she would not give credit to a party living at that distance. 1379. How long have your daughters knitted?-A long time now. There is one of them twenty-seven years of age, and she has knitted since she was about eighteen. 1380. Have you ever seen your daughters bring home money for their knitting?-No; I never saw a shilling come into our house in my life which had been got for a shawl. I have paid out several shillings for the dressing of the shawls but I never saw any money given in for them. 1381. Is there anything more you wish to say?-No. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, GAVIN COLVIN, examined. 1382. Are you a fisherman?-Yes. 1383. Where?-In Levenwick, Sandwick parish. 1384. Was the ground there held in tack by Robert Mouat at one time?-Yes. 1385. How long have you been there?-I have been there all my life. 1386. What was your rent when you held your land under Mouat?-It was £4, excluding poor-rates and road money. 1387. That was what you paid to Mouat?-Yes. 1388. Then you knew what your rent was?-Yes. Of course he told us what our rent was. 1389. And it was accounted for at the settlement?-Yes. At the settlement he summed up our accounts, and told us we were due so much-so much for rent and so much for goods. 1390. Had you a pass-book?-No. He did not approve of pass-books. 1391. Did you take a note yourself of the goods you got, or did you just trust to the people at the store?-I trusted to the people at the store,-to his storekeeper. 1392. Have you been present during the examination of John Leask?-Yes. 1393. You have heard all that he said about the way of dealing, and about the store, and the quality of the goods?-Yes. 1394. Do you agree with all that he said?-Yes, I agree more particularly with what he said about the quality of the goods. The goods were very inferior at Mouat's store. 1395. You also agree with him in his description of the way of dealing with Mouat?-Yes. 1396. Do you also say that you were compelled to sell all your fish to him?-Yes. All our earnings, whether by sea or land, were in duty bound to his store. That was stated to us every year at the settlement. 1397. Was that stated to you by Mouat?-Yes. We were told that we were in duty bound to bring every iota of our produce, whether by sea or land, to his store. 1398. Did you ever get any letter threatening you for selling your fish or your goods to another than Mouat?-I never did, I got no letter, because I never got far forward as to require that treatment. 1399. You never got warning to go away?-No, but I was often told that I would get warning if I persisted in such things. 1400. Do you know of any of your neighbours having got such letters?-No; not in my neighbourhood. 1401. Is there anything you wish to add to the statement made by John Leask?-Nothing. 1402. Who were you fishing for last year?-For Mr. Robertson. 1403. Did you get goods at his store?-Yes. 1404. They were of better quality than those you got from Mouat?-Certainly they were. 1405. Do you get all the money you ask for?-I get what goods I require, and if I ask for money I will get it. At the settlement, if there is anything due to me I will get it; and if I don't have money for my rent, he will help me with it. 1406. But if you want all your balance in money, will you get it?- Yes. I got it last time. We are quite satisfied with Mr. Robertson according to the custom of the country. 1407. But are you satisfied with the custom of the country?-No; I don't agree with it. 1408. What do you want to be changed?-I am not prepared to say in the meantime. 1409. Do you want the price of your fish fixed in advance?-We would require that, I think, for some encouragement to us. 1410. Could you not get it fixed then, if you asked for it?-We have asked for it, but we have never got it yet. 1411. Who did you ask it from?-From the dealers we were fishing to, all along. 1412. But you have fished for no dealers except Mouat and Robertson?-No. 1413. Have you asked them to fix the price before?-Yes. 1414. Did they refuse your request?-Yes. They refused to state a price then, and said they would give the currency of the country at the end of the season. 1415. Have you asked them to pay for the fish as they were delivered?-No; I never asked them for that. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, CATHERINE PETRIE, examined. 1416. You come from the island of Fetlar?-Yes. 1417. Where do you live there?-In Aithness. 1418. Are you a married woman?-No. 1419. Do you live with your people?-Yes. 1420. Are you in the habit of knitting?-Yes. 1421. What do you knit?-Fine shawls and veils. 1422. Do you knit these articles with your own wool?-Yes. 1423. Do you make your own worsted, or buy it?-I buy wool, and make it. 1424. Where do you buy it?-From any person who sells it. There is a Mrs. Smith in Fetlar who sells wool. She lives at a place called Smithfield. 1425. Has she a shop?-No. They formerly had shop, but they don't have one now. She is a widow 1426. Has she any land?-Yes; she has a small farm. She has some sheep, and she obliges any person with wool who wants it. 1427. Do you always buy your wool from her?-[Page 29] Sometimes from her, and sometimes from any merchant I can get it from. 1428. Do you pay for it in money?-Yes; or in work. 1429. What kind of work?-Any kind of household work that they have to do. People employ others to do so much work, and give them wool for it. 1430. Do you mean work on their farms or ground-Yes; and they will give them wool in return, because the wool in Fetlar is so scarce. 1431. You knit on your own account, and sell what you knit?- Yes. 1432. Do you sell it to merchants in Fetlar?-No. There are no merchants in Fetlar who take it. I come down to Lerwick with it once a year. 1433. Do you then bring in with you all that you have knitted during the season?-Yes. 1434. How much will you bring?-It is not much; perhaps two or three shawls. I have had as high as five shawls when I came down. We have household work to attend to, and we cannot knit so fast as they do here in Lerwick. 1435. It is just part of your time that you can give?-Yes. 1436. Have you come down just now for the purpose of selling the articles you have knitted?-Yes. 1437. How many shawls did you bring with you this year?-Two. 1438. That is less than usual?-Yes. 1439. How do you get paid for your shawls?-I get goods out of the shop. 1440. Does the merchant fix the price 'for the shawl' when you take it in?-Yes. 1441. How much did you get for the two you brought down this time?-16s. for one, and 17s. for the other; and I had one belonging to another person that I got 19s. for. 1442. Who was the merchant that you sold them to?-Mr. Sinclair. 1443. What did you get for them?-Goods. 1444. Did you ask for money?-I did not ask for money, because it has been understood for many years back that they would not give any, and goods are marked on the paper that we get. When I come down I employ a person to dress the shawls, and then that person sells them for me in the shop, and I get back a note from her, stating the amount in goods that I am to get for them. I understand not to ask for money, because the thing is always in that form. 1445. When you get the note, do you hand it back at the shop and get the goods in return?-Yes. 1446. Have you got any of these notes?-No; I have got the goods for them, and I was preparing to return to Fetlar when I was summoned here. 1447. Is the note printed or written?-It is all written. 1448. Who is the dresser that you employ?-A Miss Robertson. I don't know where she lives. The woman I live with when in Lerwick-Mrs. Park, Charlotte Place-went with her when she sold the shawls. 1449. Do you never go to the shop and sell your own shawls?- Sometimes I do; but not this time. 1450. Did you ever go to the shop to sell your shawls, and ask to be paid in money?-No; because I understood I would get no money. 1451. Did you ever get any part of the balance in money?-None. 1452. What do you get in goods?-Any kind of soft goods which I want, and which are in the shop. If the goods I want are not in the shop, then they would say that they did not have them; and I would have to take something else. 1453. Is it just soft goods that are in the shop?-Yes. 1454. Not provisions?-No; not provisions. 1455. Is there any tea?-No. 1456. You go to the shop yourself for your goods, and hand your line in payment for them?-Yes. 1457. Could you the same goods in Fetlar?-I could get the goods in Fetlar if I had money to give for them; but I could not get money for shawls or veils in Fetlar. 1458. But if you had the money, could you get the goods as good and cheap in Fetlar as in Lerwick?-Yes; they are very cheap in Fetlar. Messrs. Hay Co. have a shop there. 1459. And you think you could get your goods as good and cheap there as you can in Lerwick?-Yes. 1460. And of course you would not have to carry them back with you?-No. 1461. Are there many people in Fetlar who knit the same way as you do, and come in to Lerwick to sell their shawls?-Yes; there are a good many people who knit in the same way that I do, and come down here with their shawls, because there is no other way of disposing of them. 1462. Do they get their payment in the same way?-So far as I know, they do. 1463. Do they always get goods for their lines when they come down?-Yes. 1464. Will they not get a line to come down at another time for the goods?-No; I don't think they would get them in that way. 1465. Suppose you did not want the whole amount of your line in goods at one time, could you not take the line home with you, and when you happened to be again in Lerwick might you not get the balance in any kind of goods you wanted that were in the shop?- Yes; and I could get the goods at any time if I were to send down the line. 1466. Is that sometimes done?-I have never done it; but I suppose the merchants would do it. 1467. Did you ever know of a line being sold to another for money, or for another kind of goods?-No; I never did that myself, and I don't know of it being done. 1468. Is it all drapery that you are taking back?-Yes. 1469. Then you will have about £2 or £3 worth of it this time?- Yes. 1470. Do you want all that for your own use?-The girl for whom I sold one of the shawls will get her share of it. 1471. But when you brought down five shawls you might have twice as much to take back as you have this time?-It is not very much that they give for the shawls sometimes; and once, when I came down from Fetlar and had to pay the freight, I had to take what they would give me; and I could not get what I asked. 1472. Is it all stuff for, your own use that you are taking back, in exchange for your own, shawls which you sold?-Yes. 1473. Do you want the goods?-Yes. 1474. Are you to use them for yourself?-Yes. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, MARGARET TULLOCH, examined. 1475. You live in Lerwick 1476. Are you in the habit of knitting for merchants here?-Yes. 1477. Do you buy your own wool?-For about eighteen months I have bought it. 1478. Before that, how did you do?-I knitted for Mr. Robert Linklater. 1479. You got the wool from him and knitted it, and took back the articles to him?-Yes. 1480. When you got the wool from him, in what way were you paid?-In goods. 1481. Had you a pass-book?-Yes. 1482. Have you got it with you?-Yes. [Produces it] 1483. The goods you got at the shop are entered in the first part of the book, and then at the end there are entries of the knitted work which you have brought back to the shop?-Yes; I knitted a great deal before I took the pass-book out at all. 1484. The knitting begins on July 7th, 1869, and the goods begin in November 1866, and there was balance due for knitting of £3, 17s., 10d., which is not entered in the book at all: how do you explain in that?-It was them who always made up the book. [Page 30] 1485. Had you a pass-book for goods before this?-I knitted a long time before I took a pass-book. 1486. When did you begin to knit?-I cannot remember how many years it is ago. I had knitted for two or three years to Mr. Linklater before I got the book. 1487. Are the goods which are entered here just for your own use?-No; I sold some tea and got money for it, for I could not get money out of the shop. 1488. I see that in, 1867, on January 3d, you have, Tea 1s. 10d.; 24th, 9d.; 26th, tea 11d., tea 11d., 1s. 10d: does the last entry mean that you got two separate parcels of tea, each 11d.?-It may have been that; I cannot exactly say. 1489. How much tea would you get for 11d.?-A quarter of a pound. 1490. Then you got two quarter pounds on one day?-I suppose so. One would be for my own use and the other not. 1491. What would the other be for?-I would likely sell the other, in order to get money for it. 1492. Who do you generally sell it to?-I cannot remember who I sold it to. Sometimes there would be men coming to the house to buy, tea, and I supplied them. 1493. What kind of men were these?-Men come from the country and want to have some tea made and I supply them with it because I have it in the house. 1494. Do you keep lodgers?-I have very few lodgers; but sometimes people come from the country and want tea made for them, although they do not stay all night. 1495. Why, did they not stay all night?-Because they went home. 1496. Was it part of your business to take in people and give them tea?-No; but they would come into the house and get tea made, and then go out and do their errands. 1497. Then they came to your house to get refreshments?-Yes. 1498. And they sometimes paid you for the which they got?-Yes; I was always paid for the tea which I gave them in that way. 1499. Did you sell it to them in quarter pounds or smaller quantities?-Smaller quantities. 1500. Do you make a profit off that?-I get money for that, but I cannot say that I make a profit. Sometimes I had people working for me, to whom I gave a quarter pound of tea. 1501. When you got two quarter pounds, would you sell one quarter entire?-Yes. When people were working for me, then I had to give them a quarter of a pound of tea in order to pay them, because I did not have money to give them. 1502. What people had you working for you?-I have sometimes been sick, and I have had a person attending upon me, because I am not healthy; and I had to pay these persons in tea. 1503. Are you a married woman?-No. 1504. Have you a house of your own?-Yes; a room. 1505. The entries in this book only come down to February 1870. Have you had no book since then?-No. 1506. Have you still been dealing with Mr. Linklater?-No; I have been working for myself with my own worsted. That was when I stopped knitting for him. 1507. I see an entry on September 9th 1868, Tea 10d., tea 8d., 1s. 6d.: would these be two quarter pounds of tea of different quality?-Sometimes they would be that, and sometimes not. 1508. But I am speaking of that particular entry. Was it so in that, case?-I cannot remember. 1509. But when you got tea at 10d. and tea at 8d., that must have been two quarter pounds of different qualities?-Yes; I would get better tea, and tea that was not so good. 1510. When you got them on the same day, would you be intending to sell one of them?-Yes. 1511. Is that a common practice, to get two quarter pounds of tea and to sell one of them, or to get several quarter pounds in payment for your shawl?-No; I just got it as I asked for it. 1512. Have you sold anything else besides tea which you got from the shop?-Yes, cottons and some moleskins which I had to take out of the shop in order to pay my rent. 1513. I don't see any moleskins marked here?-No; they are not in that book. 1514. Had you any other book?-No; it was when I sold my own shawls that I took the moleskins. 1515. You say you buy your own wool: where do you buy it?- There is a woman who spins it for me. I buy it in worsted. 1516. Do you pay her for it in money?-Yes. 1517. And you sell your shawls to any merchant who will buy them?-Yes. 1518. How are you paid for them?-I sold the last two to Miss Robina Leisk. 1519. Is she a merchant in Lerwick?-Yes. 1520. Has she a shop?-Yes. 1521. How were you paid for these shawls?-I got £2, 14s. for the two-27s. apiece. 1522. Were you paid in money?-No. 1523. Were they fine shawls?-Yes 1524-5. Did you get any part of that sum in money?-14s. 1526. Was that all you asked for in money?-Yes. 1527. And you got the rest in goods?-Yes. 1528. Did you want these goods for your own use?-No; I took some moleskins to sell. 1529. Was that because you could not get the rest in money?- Yes. 1530. Did you ask for more in money?-She did not want to give me more. 1531. Did you ask for more?-I did not ask for it, because I knew I would not get it. 1532. Did she say she would give you that much, without your asking?-Yes. 1533. What did you do with the moleskins?-I sold them. 1534. How much of them did you take?-21/2 yards. 1535. What was the price of them?-2s. 8d. a yard. 1536. Was there anything else you bought for the purpose of selling?-Yes; I bought some cotton. 1537. Have you sold it?-Yes. 1538. Did you get as much for it as you paid?-Yes. 1539. Did you get a little more?-No; no more. I thought it a favour to get the same price. 1540. Did you know any person who would take these goods from you at the time you got them, or did you buy them on the chance of selling them?-No; I knew a person who would buy them from me. 1541. Is that the way you generally deal when you have shawls to sell?-Yes. 1542. You get some things that you want, and some things that your neighbours want, and as much as you can in money?-Yes. 1543. Do you often get tea for the purpose of selling it?-I get it when I ask it; but I only ask it when I know of a person who will take it from me for what they have done for me. 1544. How do you purchase the provisions-the meal and bread- that you want?-When I sell anything that I get for my work, I buy them with the money. 1545. But if you don't have the money, what do you do?-I don't have money at the time, I go down to a shop and get it from them until I can get the money to pay for it. 1546. What did you do with the 14s. that you got for the shawls from Miss Leisk?-It would go for worsted to make other things. 1547. Have you always to pay money for your worsted?-Yes. 1548. You don't get provisions, either meal or bread, at the shops where you sell your shawls?-No. 1549. Is that never done in Lerwick?-No; I never had it done to me. Those who buy the shawls keep nothing of that kind. 1550. Would you be content to take a lower price [Page 31] for your shawls if you were paid for them in money instead of goods?-Yes. 1551. Have the merchants ever offered you a lower price for your shawls in money?-No. 1552. Have you ever asked them to do that, or tried to get them to do it?-I knew that I need not try that, because I would not have got it. 1553. Do you manage to sell many of your shawls privately in the town, or to visitors in the summer?-No. 1554. Is there not a good deal of that done in Lerwick?-I believe some people do that, but I don't do it. 1555. Is it not an advantage to get them sold in that way?-Yes; I think it would be an advantage to get ready money. 1556. Do charitable ladies sometimes take the shawls-and get them sold to their friends at a distance?-I can say nothing about that, because I never sold them in that way. 1557. Do you give receipts for the goods or money which you get as the price of your shawls?-No. 1558. The transaction is all done across the counter, without any writing?-Yes. 1559. Do you know whether the shopkeeper enters the price of the shawls, and the amount of the goods sold to you in return for them, in any book? Do you see whether that is done?-No, I don't see it. 1560. You have never noticed that?-No. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, MARY HUTCHISON, examined. 1561. You live in Lerwick?-Yes. 1562. Are you in the habit of knitting?-Yes. 1563. Do you knit with your own wool?-Yes. 1564. Do you sell your knitting in Lerwick?-I sell some of it in Lerwick; but I send the most of it south, to Mr. John F. White, Edinburgh. 1565. Do you also act as an agent for him in Lerwick, by taking in things from other people?-Yes; a little. 1566. How are you paid for the articles you send to him?-I am paid in ready money. 1567. Is it remitted to you by a post office order or a bank cheque, as the case may be?-Yes. 1568. How much do you send to him?-I never send a large quantity. I just send what he tells me: a few shawls at a time. 1569. He gives you orders which you execute?-Yes. 1570. Do many women who knit come and sell their shawls to you?-No; I don't buy shawls. I give out wool to be knitted. 1571. How do you purchase your wool?-I buy it for money. 1572. From merchants in Lerwick?-Yes. Sometimes I buy from Mr. Sinclair, but generally I send to the North Isles for it, to people who buy it in there. 1573. There are people in the North Isles who buy the wool from their neighbours and sell it to you, such as Mrs. Smith, who was spoken of by a previous witness?-Yes; much the same. 1574 Have you dealt with her?-No. 1575. Do you pay the women who work for you in money?-Yes. 1576. You don't keep a store?-No, nothing except the money; or whatever they require they got it. 1577. Do you make a bargain when you give out the wool, or fix price when you see the work?-I buy the wool, and employ them to knit it. 1578. You do not merely act as agent for Mr. White?-No; I just buy the wool and employ the women, and pay them according to the size of the shawl. 1579. How many women are working for you in that way?-I cannot say exactly. 1580. Are there about half a dozen?-Yes, just about that. 1581. Do you find that the women here are anxious to work for you?-Yes; they are anxious to get money. 1582. You think they would much rather work, for you than for a merchant who keeps a shop?-Yes; I am never at a loss for them. When I am in a hurry I always get them to help me, because I pay in money. 1583. I suppose you get the choice of the knitters?-I don't know about that. I just get done what I have to do. 1584. Have you often been applied to by women who were anxious to work for you rather than for the shops?-Yes; very often. 1585. Do they tell you that it is a kindness or charity to employ them?-Yes; because they could not get the money out of the shops. 1586. Do you know, from your own observation of the system, as to the mode of dealing at the shops?-I often sell shawls in the shops, although I am not in the habit of going with them myself, so that I am often dealing a little in the shops. 1587. You send them by some other person?-Yes: I employ a girl to go and sell them for me. 1588. In that case, how is the transaction carried out?-I just get a line out of the shop, and get goods for it. 1589. Is the line in your name?-No; it is just a simple line or I O U, and I send it back: to the shop at any time when I want the goods. 1590. Have you any of these lines with you?-I have one at home, which I will send in. 1591. From whom did you get it?-From Mr Robert Sinclair. 1592. Have you sometimes got these lines from knitters?-Yes; often. 1593. They wanted money, and could not get it at the shops, and brought their lines to you?-Yes; I have often taken a line and given them money for it in order to meet their necessities, because they would not get money elsewhere. 1594. You kept these lines until you could make some use of them yourself?-Yes. Whenever I required any little thing, I sent to the shop for it, and paid for it with these lines. 1595. Have you any of these lines belonging to other women in your hands just now?-I have not. 1596. How much money may you have had lying out in that way at a time?-Not very much; perhaps a few shillings now and then. 1597. Are the lines generally for a large amount?-No; from 8s. to 7s. or 8s., or thereabout. 1598. May you have had two or three of them at a time?-Perhaps one or two. 1599. Have you known other, people taking lines in the same way?-Yes;, I believe there are many who do it. 1600. Do you know any one who is often applied to in that way?- I cannot say exactly; but I have often taken a line from Miss Elizabeth Robertson, who was examined on Monday, and given her money for it, because she was in necessity. 1601. Does Janet Irvine knit for you?-Yes. 1602. Have you taken lines, from her?-No; she is a fish-girl, and does not knit much. 1603. In selling your own shawls to the shops, have you asked for money?-No; but I have told the girl who went with the shawls to sell them for me to ask for a shilling or two, and she said she need not ask for it because she would not get it. 1604. But that was a case of sale. You know nothing about the case where, the wool has been given out by the shops?-No, I don't know about that, because it is long since I knitted any for the shops. 1605. Do you know of any other person in Lerwick who sends hosiery south in the same way?-Yes; there are plenty of them through the town. 1606. Do they send the hosiery, south direct to White or to other merchants in Edinburgh or Glasgow?-Yes; there are, plenty who do that; but I never have any dealings with any one except Mr. White. 1607. Who else in Lerwick deals in that way with [Page 32] the shops in the south?-There is a Mrs. James Henry in Burn's Lane, and a Mrs. Elizabeth Anderson, and several other people. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, CATHERINE BORTHWICK, examined. 1608. Are you a knitter in Lerwick?-I am. 1609. Do you buy your own wool?-No. 1610. Who do you knit for?-For Mr. Robert Sinclair, Mr. Thomas Nicholson, and sometimes for Miss Robina Leisk. 1611. Have you books with all these people 1612. Have you any pass-book at all?-No. 1613. You get the wool weighed out to you, and you take back the article which has been ordered?-Yes. 1614. What articles do you knit?-Veils, shawls, neckties, ladies' scarfs, and the like. 1615. How long have you been doing business in that way?- About fifteen years. 1616. How are you paid?-Just in goods from the shops. 1617. You take an article which you have made to the shop, and tell them what the price is?-No; they price it themselves. 1618. Do they price it when the material is given out to you?-No; they price it when the article is brought to them again. 1619. When they have fixed the price, what takes place?-I can get anything out of their shop in the shape of goods that I ask for, only I cannot get any money. 1620. Do you not get part of the price in money?-No; I have never any money from Mr. Sinclair, except perhaps 5s., for the whole fourteen years I have wrought for him. 1621. Do you get money from other dealers you have mentioned?-I have got a little money from Mr. Thomas Nicholson; but it is not long since he began business for himself. 1622. Do you often go into the shops with articles worth about 10s?-Yes. 1623. How much of that do you get in money?-I have never got any money from Mr. Sinclair at all. It is about seven years since I asked him for 1s., and he would not give it me, and I have not asked since. 1624. Can you only get dry goods and tea at the shops?-I can get tea, and soap, and soda, and blue, and starch, and the like of that. 1625. How do you get your food?-I have a father, who buys it for me. 1626. You live with your father, and get your food with the family?-Yes; what his wages can bring in. 1627. Is that the only way you have of getting a living?-No; sometimes I have to take things out of the shop and sell them for money. 1628. To whom do you sell them?-To any neighbour or any person who requires them. 1629. Do you do that often?-No; I have not done it for the last two years, because some of the ladies in the town have employed me to knit for money. 1630. Do you prefer to sell to ladies in the town?-Yes. 1631. Are the goods which you knit for them for their own use?- Yes; or perhaps they get an order from the south, and they will rather put the money our way than go to the merchants with it. 1632. Do many ladies befriend you in that way?-Not many. There is Mrs. Walker, the Rev. Mr. Walker's lady. 1633. Who else?-I have not done anything for any other person for money. 1634. But Mrs. Walker pays you in money?-Yes; and the same amount as I would get in goods from the shops. 1635. Are the women who knit anxious to get customers of that kind?-Yes. 1636. Would you be content with a lower price for your shawls if you could get it in cash?-Yes. 1637. Have you ever been to take a lower price and get the money?-No. 1638. Have you ever offered to take less for your shawls if you could get money?-Yes. 1639. To whom did you make that offer?-I offered a white half- shawl to Mr. Robert Sinclair, and I also offered a white half-shawl to Mr. Thomas Nicholson. 1640. When?-The one I sold to Mr. Nicholson was in the spring, and that to Mr. Sinclair was about two years back. 1641. How much less did you offer to take in these cases?-2s. The shawl was worth £1, and I offered it for 18s. 1642. Was anything due to you by Mr. Sinclair at the time you asked for the shilling?-Yes; I think he was due me about 5s. 6d. at that time. 1643. Do you mean that you took goods to the shop worth 5s. 6d.?-No; he was due me about 5s., 6d. at that time. I was knitting a shawl for him, and was settling up for it. 1644. Was the shawl not finished?-Yes; I brought the shawl ready, and I was settling up. I had all the price of the shawl to get, and I took some goods, and then there was about 5s. 6d. over; and I asked him for 1s., and he said he could not give it to me. 1645. How did you square the balance at that time?-I just took something to give to a girl who had been working in our peats. 1646. What did you take?-A petticoat. 1647. Was it worth. 5s. 6d.?-Yes; the girl took it because she knew I could not get the money. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, MRS. MARGERY MANSON or ANDERSON, examined. 1648. Are you a knitter in Lerwick?-Yes. 1649. Do you knit with your own wool?-I have done so for the last twelve months. 1650. Before that, who did you knit for?-For Mr. Robert Linklater. 1651. You got wool from him?-Yes. 1652. Were you paid for your work in goods, or in money?-In goods. 1653. Did you get any money from him that you asked for, if you, wanted some?-I knew that I need not ask him for any, because I would not have got it. 1654. You are married, and therefore you don't spend all your time in knitting?-No. 1655. Why did you give up knitting for Mr. Linklater?-Because I could not do with it; it did not pay me. 1656. How did it not pay you?-I could not get money. 1657. But were the goods you got not as good you as money?- No. 1658. Were they not worth the money value that was put upon them?-No. 1659. Why was that?-I did not have money to live upon. 1660. But your husband keeps you?-No; he is sickly, and I have to do for myself. 1661. You have heard the evidence of the preceding witnesses, Catherine Borthwick and Margaret Tulloch?-Yes. 1662. They have explained the way of dealing here. Is that the way you have been accustomed to?-Yes. 1663. Have you anything different to say about the way in which you were paid for shawls that you knitted with Mr. Linklater's wool?-No. 1664. Did you ever get lines when you would not take goods?- No; I had a pass-book. 1665. Have you got it here?-No. 1666. Was it kept in the same way as Margaret Tulloch's?-Yes. 1667. The goods you got were entered at one end, and the shawls you gave in were entered at the other, and a balance was made now and then?-Yes. [Page 33] 1668. How often was your book balanced?-I don't remember. 1669. Did you sign your pass-book as a receipt?-No; he signed it. 1670. You have had no pass-book since you began to knit with your own wool?-No. 1671. Where do you buy your wool now?-I have a woman spinning for me, and I buy the worsted from her. 1672. You pay her in ready money?-Yes. 1673. Do you sell your shawls to any person in particular?-Yes; to Mr Robert Sinclair. 1674. Are you paid for them in goods?-Yes, and a little in money. I always get some money from him to buy the worsted with. 1675. Would you be content with a lower price for your shawls if you were paid in money?-Yes. 1676. Have you ever asked to get it all in money, and offered to take less?-No. 1677. Do you ever sell shawls to ladies or to any person not in the trade?-No; Mr. Robert Sinclair has bought them all from me. 1678. Have you ever asked for more money from any of the merchants than they would give you?-No. 1679. Have you ever got lines?-Yes, I got lines from Mr. Sinclair. 1680. When?-When I gave in my articles. 1681. And when you did not happen to want goods?-Yes. 1682. Have you got any of these lines?-No. 1683. What did you do with them?-I gave them back when I got the goods. 1684. Was that long ago?-No, not long ago; it was when I sold my last shawl to him. 1685. Would that be a month or two?-Yes. 1686. Was a line given to you for the whole price of the shawl that you were selling, or was it only for the balance?-27s., was the price of the shawl. 1687. How much of that did you take in goods?-I took about one half of it, and I got a line for the rest. 1688. Did you take the line out in goods afterwards-Yes. 1689. You did not think of asking money for the line?-No; I never asked money at that time. 1690. Did you ever know of people selling their lines to their neighbours?-No. 1691. Or dealing with them in any way, or letting their neighbours get goods for them?-No. 1692. How much of the 27s., the price of your last shawl, did you get in money?-7s. 1693. When was that?-I think about two months ago, I do not recollect exactly. 1694. Was the 7s. all that you asked for?-Yes; I asked for the 7s. and he said he would give it to me. 1695. Did you take 4s. or 5s, worth of goods at the same time?- Yes; or perhaps more. 1696. And the rest in a line?-Yes. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, JEMIMA SANDISON, examined. 1697. Are you a knitter in Lerwick?-Yes. 1698. Do you knit with your own wool?-No. 1699. Do you knit for merchants in the town?-Yes; for Mr. Robert Sinclair. 1700. Have you a pass-book?-Yes. [Produces it.] 1701. Do you deal with Mr Sinclair in the way which has been described already by the Witnesses you have heard?-No. 1702. Do you deal in a different way?-Yes. 1703. How is that? You get wool from him to knit into shawls or veils?-Yes; chiefly veils. 1704. The goods you get are entered in the passbook you have produced, and the goods given in are entered at the end of it?- Yes. 1705. Are the goods supplied to you always goods which you are requiring for your own use?-Yes. 1706. You do not sell any of them, or get them for your neighbours?-No; unless such goods as my own family require. 1707. Do you live with your own family?-Yes; with my mother. 1708. Do you get part of the payment for your shawls and veils in money?-Yes; whenever I ask money I get it. I never asked a shilling from Mr. Sinclair himself but that I always got it. 1709. When you got money for a shawl, how was it entered in the book?-I cannot say anything about that. 1710. If you were to take two veils to Mr. Sinclair and ask the money for them, do you think you would get it?-I cannot say, because I never asked it; but whenever I asked for a small quantity of money, such as 2s. or the like of that, I got it. 1711. What quantity of goods did you generally take at a time?-I cannot say that either. I don't think I ever had money to get out of his book. I was always due him something, and in that way I could not ask him for money. 1712. Then your account was larger than the value of the articles which you took to him?-Yes. 1713. If that was so, did you ever ask him for money at all?-Yes; sometimes, when I was in a strait for money I asked him for a little, and I got it. 1714. Then that was an advance, which he made when there was nothing due to you?-Yes; I have asked him for money when I was due him. 1715. But you don't know how that was entered in the pass-book, or whether it was entered there at all?-No; I don't think it was entered. 1716. I see there are entries in your pass-book: April 28, 1871, cash 1s.; April 26, cash 6d.: is that the way the money was entered?-Yes. 1717. There is an entry of worsted, 5d. was that worsted given to you for the purpose of knitting shawls to Mr. Sinclair?-I asked for worsted to buy, and I got it to knit for myself, and to sell again. 1718. Then it is entered in the pass-book just as goods?-Yes. 1719. Is there any difficulty made about giving you worsted in that way and entering it in the pass-book?-No; whenever I ask for worsted, I get it the same as any other thing out of the shop. 1720. Were you ever told that worsted was a money article?-No; I never was told that, so far as I can remember. 1721. Have you dealt in any other shop than Mr. Sinclair's in this way?-No; I have knitted for two and a half years for Mr, Sinclair. 1722. And always in the same way?-Yes. 1723. Are you a North Unst woman?-Yes. 1724. Do you live in Lerwick by yourself?-I live with my mother and my two sisters in a room. 1725. Does your mother knit?-No; she spins. 1726. Does she spin your wool?-No; she gets wool from other people to spin, and gets money for her work. She only spins for those who employ her. 1727. Does she spin for the shops?-No; she spins generally for ladies in the town, who employ her to make worsted for them. 1728. Ask her employers altogether ladies, not merchants?-They are just merchants' wives, and ladies in the town-chiefly Dr. Cowie's lady. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, MRS ANN ARCUS, examined. 1729. You are a dresser in Lerwick?-Yes. 1730. How do you carry on that business? What is the nature of it?-I sometimes make shawls myself, and sell them. There [producing it] is a line of mine, which I got from Mr. Sinclair. 1731. Do you dress shawls or make them?-I dress shawls, and sometimes I make them or get them made. 1732. What is the dressing business?-Washing the shawls, and stretching them on the grass, and mending [Page 34] them and making them ready for the market. The stitches sometimes give way when they are stretched and then I mend them. 1733. Do you also bleach the shawls?-We whiten them with brimstone. 1734. You do that before stretching them on the grass?-Yes. 1735. That is part of the washing process?-Yes. 1736. Does every shawl, after being knitted require to be so dressed before it is sold?-Yes. 1737. The merchants don't buy shawls until after they are dressed?-No. 1738. Are your transactions in dressing shawls always with the knitters, or are they sometimes with the merchants?-Sometimes they are with the merchants, and sometimes with the knitters. 1739. Then the merchants do buy shawls undressed?-No; they do not buy them undressed, but they send some shawls out to be worked for themselves; and it is these shawls I dress for them 1740 In that way a knitter who works for a merchant has nothing to do with you?-No. 1741. When she has knitted a shawl with wool supplied by the merchant, she takes it to the merchant, and he sends it to you to be dressed?-Yes. 1742. It is only the knitters who work with their own wool who come to you?-Yes. 1743. Do you also buy shawls from knitters yourself?-No; but I get shawls made in the same way as the merchants do, and then I sell them. 1744. To whom do you sell them?-To the merchants. 1745. Do you send any shawls south?-No. 1746. Do you sometimes sell knitted articles to the merchants on behalf of the knitters?-Yes. 1747. When a knitter brings you a shawl to dress, I suppose she pays you in money?-Yes. 1748. What is the usual for that?-There are different charges, according to the size of the shawl; but for the general run of them it is 6d. 1749. And that is always paid by the knitter to you in money?- Yes. 1750. In what way is it that you are sometimes asked to sell articles for the knitters?-Because I cannot always have them dressed and ready for them to sell after the time they come in with the goods and before they go away again. These women come from the country, and I cannot have their things ready before they want to go home again; and therefore I sell them for them before they come back. 1751. You sell them as their agent?-Yes. 1752. And then you account to them for the price?-Yes. I get the price from some of the merchants, but others mark it in their books, and don't give lines. These merchants mark down the price of the shawl, and the name of the woman who owns it. 1753. And she, when she comes to the merchant again, arranges with him as to the price?-Yes. 1754. Is it within your knowledge that these shawls are always paid for in goods?-The country girls don't want money, and don't ask it. It is always clothing they need, and they get it. 1755. Then they just knit for the purpose of supplying themselves with clothing?-Yes. 1756. How is it that they don't want money?-They have some other way of doing at home, and I suppose they only want their clothing from the shops in Lerwick. 1757. Then the knitting with them is an extra sort of employment?-Yes; it is not exactly a livelihood for them. 1758. Is that the case with the town girls too?-No; they generally depend on their knitting for a living. 1759. Do they regard it as a hardship not to get money?-I can only speak for myself, not for them. When I have a shawl of my own, and ask some money on it, I get it. 1760. Do the town girls come to you to sell their articles for them?-No; they sell their own work themselves. I dress the shawls for them, and they get the price themselves-sometimes in money I suppose, to pay me with. 1761. You think they get sufficient money for their shawls from the merchants, to pay your charge?-They get money somewhere to pay me with: whether it is their own money or not I don't know. I don't take anything but money. 1762. You give them credit sometimes until their shawl is sold?- Yes. 1763. And then they come back you with the charge for dressing?-Yes. 1764. You shown me a line: where did you get it?-I got it in Mr. Robert Sinclair's shop-I think from his clerk. 1765. When?-When I sold my shawl-a shawl of my own, which I knitted myself. 1766. You did not want anything particular at the time, and therefore you took the line: was that so?-No. I asked him for a little money on the shawl, and I got it; and then I got the line, so that I could buy what I required afterwards as I needed it. 1767. Did you ask for money?-Yes; I asked for a little, and I got the sum which is marked on the line as having been paid to me in cash. 1768. He gave you 6s. in cash?-Yes. 1769. Was that all you wanted?-Yes. I did not ask for that sum, I only said I wanted a little money, he gave that. 1770. The line, is in these terms: 'C Z 91-Cr. bearer value in goods twenty six shillings 26s. stg. 'To cash 6s; to Vict. tartan 4s. 7d. ' ' White cotton, 6d.; wincey, 2s. 10d. ' ' Grey cotton, 6d. 'R. SINCLAIR & CO. 'C. S. '28.12.71' This was last Thursday?-Yes. 1771. Was the shawl with your own?-Yes. 1772. Then it was just a sale to Mr. Sinclair?-Yes. 1773. You got 6s. in cash and 8s. 5d. in goods, and the rest is still due?-Yes, for me to get when I require it. 1774. Is that a usual way of doing business in Lerwick?-Yes; but I have got the whole of the price in money from a merchant for a shawl when asked for it-not for myself, but for a country girl. 1775. From whom have you got it all in money?-From Mr William Johnston. The price was 20s. 1776. Is he a hosiery dealer, just in the same way as Sinclair & Co., and Mr. Laurenson, and Mr. Linklater?-Yes. I have had money from them all whenever I asked for it. 1777. Would the women get money from them if they were selling the shawls themselves?-I cannot answer for that. I don't know that they would. 1778. Is it not the fact that the reason why you are sometimes asked to sell shawls for these women is that you can get the money for them?-I don't ask any money for the country girls at all; they never asked me to seek it. 1779. Do not the girls employ you to sell their shawls because they think you may get some money from the merchants, when they would not?-It is just because they think I can get a better price; at least that is what I think is the reason. They don't bid me get money. 1780. Do you think the merchants give you a better price?-They think so. 1781. Perhaps you can make a better bargain for them?-They have that idea. 1782. Have you never been asked by a country girl to sell a shawl for her and to get money for it?-Never. 1783. Then, on the occasions when you have got money, it has been for shawls which you have sold either for yourself or for town girls?-Yes, but particularly for my self. 1784. Have you sold them for town girls, and got money for them?-No; I have never asked money for any person but myself, and I have always got it. [Page 35] 1785. How many shawls may you sell for yourself in the course of a year?-Sometimes there may be two. 1786. May there sometimes be three?-I could not tell the number particularly, but I have always one or two in the course of the twelvemonth. 1787. I suppose you are chiefly engaged with your dressing business, and have not much time to knit shawls?-Yes; the dressing is my only way of living. 1788. Are you a widow?-Yes. 1789. Have you often got lines similar to the one you have now produced?-Yes. Whenever I sell a shawl to Mr. Sinclair I get these lines, and then I give them to the girls to whom the shawls belong. 1790. Then they don't always want the value of their shawls in goods, but they sometimes take a line-Yes; and they keep it until they want something else. They are always served with what they want when they come with a line. 1791. You have not a pass-book with any of the merchants?-No. 1792. I suppose pass-books are only used where girls knit with the merchants wool?-Yes. 1793. Do you keep a pass-book with any of the merchants for the shawls which you dress for them?-No; I just get the money. 1794. Are you paid for them at the time?-Yes. 1795. Will the merchant send you a large consignment of shawls at a time to be dressed?-Yes; sometimes he may send a good lot. 1796. And you return the lot you have got when they are finished, and get paid for them when you return them?-Yes; in money. 1797. There is nothing entered in any book between you about that?-No. 1798. Are you the largest dresser in Lerwick?-I don't know that I am. 1799. Are there any others in the business?-Yes; there are a good many. 1800. Do they live mostly at the Docks?-No; there are one or two dressers who live at the Docks. They don't do so much as I do, but Mr. Sinclair has dressers of his own who do more than I. 1801. Does he pay them day's wages?-No; I think he pays them just as they work for him. The veils, neckties, and scarfs go by dozens. 1802. Is that the way you charge for these things?-I charge 11s. 6d. for a dozen veils, and the same for a dozen neckties or scarfs. I charge 6d. for every shawl, sometimes 3d. or 4d. if it is small, or 1s. if it is a very fine one. 1803. Have you ever sold shawls to any people except merchants?-I have. 1804. Do you sometimes sell to private ladies?-Yes, and gentlemen too. 1805. Do you sell to visitors in summer, and to people living in Lerwick?-Yes. 1806. Do you consider you are likely to get a better bargain with them than with the merchants?-I get the money from them. 1807. But you have no reason for dealing with them for the purpose of getting the money, because you say you get money from the merchants if you ask it?-Yes; but if a gentleman comes and asks me for a shawl, he has nothing to give me except the money, and I get it all in money then. 1808. Would you rather do with a gentleman or lady in that way than with a merchant?-It is only sometimes that they can take a shawl in that way; but the merchant always takes them. 1809. But would you prefer to deal with strangers rather than with the merchants?-If they were always here, I should like it very well. 1810. That is because you get a better bargain, and you are sure to get all money?-Yes. 1811. Is it not rather a favour to you that the merchant gives you money when you ask it?-I don't know whether it is a favour to me, but I always get it when I ask it. But I don't have such a great run of shawls as some of the other women have. 1812. It is rather out of your ordinary way to be selling shawls?- Yes; but when I do make one and ask money, I get it. 1813. Have you ever got the whole price of a shawl in money?- Yes. 1814. From the whole of merchants you have named?-No, only from Mr. Johnston; and that was for a country girl, because she was in need of it. 1815. That was a case in which you went out of your usual way, because the girl required it?-Yes. 1816. Have you asked the whole money from any of the other merchants?-No, I never did. 1817. You have only asked a part of it in money?-Yes. 1818. On a shawl worth 25s. that you were selling for yourself or for a girl, how much might you, in a general way, ask in money?- I have got as high as 10s. or 7s. 6d. or 5s., just as I asked it. 1819. But you never thought of asking the whole price of it in money?-No; but I was always requiring something that the merchants had to give me. 1820. Supposing you had a shawl to sell, would you give it to a merchant for a lower price if he paid it down in cash, than if he paid you in goods for it?-Yes; if I was requiring the cash, I would. 1821. Would you not do it in any case?-I would be glad of the money, certainly. 1822. Do you think it would be worth while for the knitters, as a rule, to take a less price for their shawls and to get money for them, rather than to go on in the present way?-I don't know about that. For my own part, I should like if the people were to get part of both-both money and articles. Nobody can live without articles; and it is just as well to get them from the merchants who buy our shawls, as to get the money. 1823. But if the merchants did pay all the price of the shawls in money, it would just come back to them, because, as you say very truly, people cannot do without some of the merchants' goods, and the money would return to them in payment for their goods. Don't you think, that would be a better system for all parties than the present?-Those who need money would like to get it; but some people don't stand so much in need of money as others. For instance, if I were knitting shawls only, I would need most of the price in money, because I have no other way of living but I don't mean to say that girls who work merely for the sake of getting clothing, require to get the whole price in money. 1824. But suppose they got all the price of their work in money, might it not be easier for them to make the purchases of the goods they require?-They would not get so much for their shawls then; they could not expect it. 1825. That is because the merchant makes a profit upon the goods he sells, as well as upon the shawls?-Yes. 1826. Are you aware whether it is a common thing in Lerwick, to sell shawls cheaper for money than they would be given for goods?-Yes, any person who required money would rather sell a shawl for 1s. or 2s. less, in order to get it. 1827. Have you often seen that done?-Yes. 1828. Have you often done that yourself on behalf of the country girls?-Yes. 1829. You mentioned a case where you got the whole price of a shawl in money from Mr. Johnston: did you, in that case, say you would give it for 2s. or 3s. less if you could get the whole price in money?-Yes; because the girl required it, and told me to do that. She wanted the money to pay her rent with. 1830. Was the price you got a fair price for the shawl?-It was at that time. 1831. Is there anything else you wish to say on this subject?-I have only to say that I think the girls ought to be very thankful to the merchants, for they have done more for them than any one in the place has done yet. They have bought their work, and then they have gone and distributed it throughout the country. This knitted work is not worn here; but the merchants have got a market for it, and therefore I think the girls ought to be very grateful to them. [Page 36] 1832. Do you think they would not have got a market for their goods themselves?-No; plenty of them would never have been able to have gone to the market, even if they had thought of it. 1833. How long is it since that trade became general here?-I can hardly tell; I was a little girl when it began. The first shawl I made I got 7s. 6d. for, and I was very proud of it. 1834. How much would you get for that now?-They would not buy such a thing now, the work was so open. I can just recollect of it. I don't think I was much more than ten years at the time. I sold it to Mr. Harrison, and he and Mr. Laurenson were about the first who began to buy them. We got groceries and everything we wanted then for our shawls. 1835. You do not get these things now, because the merchants who buy the shawls don't have them?-They have them all except groceries. 1836. With regard to the girls in town who sell the shawls to merchants and get only goods in return, how do they do for a living?-Some girls live with their parents, and can do very well. 1837. But a number of them live in rooms by themselves, and perhaps have a parent or some other person to support out of their earnings: how do they generally do for their food?-I can hardly answer that. I don't know how they do; but I know that some of the girls that I am in the habit of dressing the shawls for, come and tell me they have sold a shawl today, and what they got for it, and that they have got some money. Some of the merchants give them money, and some of them tea, and worsted to knit another shawl with; and that is just money. 1838. But if they have to make shawl with the worsted, they cannot turn it into provisions?-No; but they will make another shawl. 1839. And they may get 1s. or 2s. in money?-Yes. 1840. But if they only get 1s. or 2s. on each shawl, that is not sufficient either to pay their house rent or to supply them with provisions?-No; but I think there are some of them who may get a shawl sold for all money, and then that pays the rent. 1841. They do happen to get that occasionally?-Yes; some lady who wants one for a present to a friend might buy it from them. That is the only way I can think of in which they can get their provisions; but if it was the case that the merchants had groceries in their shops, people would not require very much money, and then they would get their livelihood. 1842. What kind of goods do you generally get for your country girls in exchange for their shawls?-I do not buy them; they buy them for themselves. 1843. You get lines, and they choose the goods for themselves when they next come to town?-Yes. 1844. In that way you do not know what they get?-No; but I always hear them say that they got very good bargains, and they are generally well pleased. 1845. You say shawls are sometimes sold to a lady or gentleman passing through the town; I suppose, in that case, there will be two prices for them?-No. 1846. Would you ask from them the same price that you get from the merchant in goods?-We might ask it, but, seeing the money, we might give the shawl for less. Some people don't ask to have the price reduced, but others do. 1847. You just make the best bargain you can, in each case?-Yes. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, Mrs. ELIZABETH MOODIE, examined. 1848. Are you in the habit of knitting for any one in Lerwick?- Yes; for Mr. Sinclair. 1849. Has any one asked you to come and give evidence here to-day?-Yes; I was summoned. 1850. Did any one ask you besides that?-No. 1851. Do you knit with your own wool, or is it with wool supplied to you by Mr. Sinclair?-Partly both, I generally have a shawl of my own in hand, but I always knit for Mr. Sinclair. 1852. Do you keep a pass-book?-No; I never had a pass-book with him. 1853. Are you paid in the same way both for your own shawls that you sell, and for those that you knit for him?-No; generally when I knit a shawl for Mr. Sinclair, he allows me so much for the knitting of it; but when I sell a shawl, I price it myself. 1854. Is that price paid in the same way that the wages are paid to you for knitting?-No. 1855. Is it paid to you in money in both cases; or in goods?-It is paid in goods in both cases. 1856. Is there not a certain part of it, in both cases, that you can get money for?-Yes. When I knitted for Mr. Sinclair before I was married, he generally gave me money whenever I asked for it; but since I had a house of my own, I generally manage my affairs so that I do not have to ask him for money. I usually take clothes for my children and myself from him without getting money at all; but if I did ask him for money, I have no doubt he would give it to me. 1857. Have you always got money when you asked for it?-Yes; whenever I asked I got it. 1858. Do you generally take the whole value of your shawls in goods?-Yes, I always do. 1859. And no money passes between you at all?-No, not since I was married; but previously, when I asked him for money, I always got it. 1860. Did you generally ask for a considerable part of the price of your shawls in money?-Yes. 1861. How much might you get out of a 20s. shawl, for instance?- Perhaps I might have asked him for 2s. or 2s, 6d., and so on, money. 1862. Would that be about the usual thing?-Yes; that was generally about the usual thing. 1863. Did you ever get the whole price of a shawl or of any hosiery goods in money?-No; I never asked it. 1864. Do you live at home with your people, or did you live by yourself before you were married?-I lived at home with my father. 1865. So that you did not require any money with which to purchase food for yourself?-No. 1866. You merely knitted to supply yourself with dress, or whatever you wanted for yourself?-Yes. 1867. Did you require for your dress all the payments you received for your knitting?-No, I cannot say that I required it all for myself. I might have supplied some of my brothers or sisters with any little thing they wanted. 1868. Did they repay you for that, or did you make a present of it to them?-I generally made a present of it to them, as I was at home. 1869. Would you have preferred to have been paid wholly in money?-I should prefer to be paid part of both, if I could manage it. 1870. Would you prefer to get half the price in money?-Yes, I would like that very well. 1871. Could you not get one half of it in money if you asked for it?-I believe if I had asked for it I could have got it, but I did not ask it. 1872. Then, if you preferred it, why did you not ask for it?-I told you I managed my affairs in such a way that I did not need it. 1873. But you said you would have preferred to have had half of it in money?-Provided I could have got it, I should have liked it very well; but I did not ask that. 1874. Why did you not ask it? Do you think there would have been a difficulty in getting it?-I don't know; I only know that I never asked for one half of it in money. 1875. Why?-I generally took a line for what remained to me upon a shawl. I might have got the money instead of a line, but I did not ask it. 1876. You have taken lines sometimes?-Yes, I generally took them. 1877. Have you any of these lines have none just now?-No, I have none just now. 1878. When you get a line, do you always take it [Page 37] back to the shop, and get goods?-Yes; I sometimes take it back to the shop. 1879. What do you do with it at other times?-Sometimes a friend may require a line from me, and give me money for it. 1880. If you were selling your goods for ready money, would you take a less price for them?-Sometimes I have seen me take a shilling or so less if it was all money. 1881. But you said you never got the whole price of a shawl in money?-Occasionally I sold a shawl to a stranger in the place in the summer time, and I might give it to him for a shilling less. 1882. Do you generally get a smaller price when you sell to a stranger in that way?-Perhaps I may sometimes have asked a smaller price, as it was the money I was to get. 1883. If you wanted the money, why did you not, when selling your shawls to a merchant, ask him for the ready money, and take 1s. or 2s. less?-I don't know. I never thought of that. 1884. Was it not because it was not the practice here to give money?-Yes; that is the truth. 1885. Of course a shawl which you sold to a stranger in that way would be one knitted with your own worsted which you had bought?-Yes. 1886. Do you always pay ready money for your worsted?- Always. 1887. Do you always buy your worsted from the merchants in town?-Sometimes; and sometimes, when the country people come down, they have worsted with them, and I buy it from them too. 1888. Is the price the same in both cases?-Yes, always. 1889. If you were selling a shawl to a merchant and taking goods, and if you asked to have part of the goods in worsted, is there any objection made to that way of dealing?-No; I never heard any objection made to that. 1890. Did you ever get worsted as part of the goods you received in payment for your shawls?-Yes. 1891. Often?-Not very often; sometimes. 1892. You never knew of any objection being made to giving you worsted as part of what you were to get for your shawls?-No. 1893. Or for a line?-No; I never heard any objection. 1894. Do you knit to a large extent?-Yes; knit a good deal 1895. How much will you make in a month or in a week in that way?-I could not exactly say. It takes a good long time to make a nice shawl. 1896. Is it mostly shawls you make?-Yes. 1897. Will it take a month to make a shawl which is worth £1?- Yes. I have other things to do, and cannot keep constantly at it. 1898. But you do make one shawl a month or there about?-Yes. 1899. So that your dealings in that way will come perhaps £12 or £14 a year?-They will be more than that. I would reckon that they would be about £15. 1900. Would that all be your own knitting?-I could not say that. Perhaps I might get some one to help me a little with a shawl. 1901. But it would be mostly your own work?-Yes. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, MARGARET OLLASON, examined. 1902. Are you in the habit of knitting for merchants in Lerwick?- No; I knit for myself, and I sell the goods. 1903. How are you paid for them?-I generally make articles for which I get an order. 1904. From whom?-From ladies who employ me. 1905. Have you never sold to merchants at all?-I have sometimes sold to Mr. Sinclair. 1906. When you sell to him, are you paid in money?-I have asked for part of both-money and goods-and I got it. 1907. You did not ask for the whole in money?-No. 1908. Why?-Just because I thought it was not the custom of the place. 1909. Did you want the whole in money?-No; I was requiring the goods at the time. 1910. Does it often happen that you sell articles to Mr. Sinclair in that way?-Yes; I sold him two shawls lately. 1911. How much of the price did you get in money?-The price of one of the shawls was 35s., and I got 17s. 6d. in money. 1912. Did you ask for that?-Yes. 1913. And you had no difficulty in getting it?-No. I sold the other shawl for 28s., and I got 8s. in money and £1 in goods. 1914. That was the arrangement that you wanted yourself?-Yes; I asked it. 1915. You wanted the goods?-Yes. 1916. Would you have made a better bargain by selling these shawls to a lady in Lerwick, or to a stranger visiting the place?-I got much the same price from Mr. Sinclair as I had been in the habit of getting. 1917. Do you sell to visitors, or to ladies in Lerwick, because you prefer to do that?-We sell to them because we are not requiring the goods. 1918. And you prefer to sell to them because you wish to get the money?-Yes. 1919. Do you live with your friends?-I live with my father. 1920. And you buy your own worsted?-Yes. 1921. Where do you buy it?-I get it from the North Isles,-from Yell. 1922. You get it from people who make it there?-Yes. 1923. Do you generally knit for ladies who have given you an order, or do you knit your shawl and then seek for a purchaser?- Sometimes I get an order for shawl and make it, and at other times I make one and keep it until I get an order. 1924. Is it considered among you who knit, to be a better way of living that you knit to ladies than to merchants?-Yes. 1925. Do you ever try to dispose of your shawls to visitors who come to Shetland in the summer?-No, I never did that, for I generally get orders for them as soon as I have them ready. 1926. Do you know that it is the practice to look out for visitors in summer, or to send shawls to places such as hotels or lodging-houses where they stay, in order to get buyers among them?-I know that is a common thing, but I have never done it. 1927. Is that done because it is a more profitable way of disposing of the goods than by selling them to the merchants?-I think that is the reason. 1928. Or is it done because they get money from the visitors or strangers?-I believe it is because they get money. 1929. Do you get as large a price from a visitor in money as you get from a merchant in goods?-Yes. 1930. Do you know that from your own experience?-Yes. 1931. You said you had sold a shawl for 35s. to Mr. Sinclair: if you had sold that shawl to a visitor, or to a lady in Lerwick, or to a stranger in the summer time, would you have got 35s. for it?-I would. 1932. Have you got that price for a shawl exactly the same?-Yes; I have got it from Dr. Hamilton in Bressay, who was requiring it for a lady. 1933. You sold another shawl for 28s. Could you have got as high a price in money from a visitor for it as you got in goods from the merchant?-Yes. 1934. You don't know that there are two prices for shawls, according as they are paid in money or in goods?-I don't know that, for I have not experienced it. 1935. Would you have given either of these two shawls you mentioned for a lower price if you had got the whole price of it in money?-No; I don't think [Page 38] I could have done it, for I thought the shawls were worth the price I put upon them. 1936. Don't you think you could have got a higher price than 35s. for that shawl from a visitor?-I don't think it. 1937. When you sold the shawl to Mr. Sinclair at that price, you knew that he was buying it for the purpose of selling it again: was the price which he gave you not something of a wholesale price?- It was just the price I would have asked any one for it, because it was just what I thought it was worth. The price I put upon it was just sufficient to pay me for my worsted and my work. 1938. But Mr. Sinclair must make his profit off the shawl when he purchased it in order to be re-sold, so that there may be two prices in that way: do you know anything about that?-No; I don't know anything about it. 1939. You thought you ought to get at least 35s. for the shawl, and you were prepared to take as much more as you could get?-Yes. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, Mrs. BARBARA BOLT, examined. 1940. You are the wife of William Bolt who lives in Lerwick?- Yes. 1941. Are you in the habit of knitting Mr. Sinclair?-I knit for myself, but I sell my work to Mr. Sinclair. 1942. You have no pass-book in that way of dealing?-No. 1943. Did you hear Margaret Ollason's evidence?-Yes. 1944. Do you knit the same kind of goods as she does?-No; I generally knit veils and shawls to Mr. Sinclair. 1945. Do you deal in the same way as she has described?-Yes; something like the same. 1946. Do you sell to other people than Mr. Sinclair?-No; I generally sell everything have to him. 1947. When you go to him to sell your work, do you get payment in money or in goods?-In goods. 1948. Do you prefer that way of dealing; or do you want all money?-I generally require goods. 1949. Have you a family?-Yes; the goods were wanted for them. 1950. You don't get provisions there: you provide them otherwise?-Yes. 1951. Do you sometimes ask for money from Mr. Sinclair?-Yes, I have asked for money, and I got it when I asked it. I have not sold anything to any other shop for the last fifteen years. 1952. Would you prefer to get money if you could?-I don't know. If I were getting money, I would just have to buy goods with it, so that the goods are the same to me as money. 1953. Do you know that any one can get money for their goods if they want it?-I know there are plenty who get it. 1954. But can any one get whatever money they require for their goods?-I don't know. I only know that there are many who want money; but for my own part, I generally ask for goods, and I get them; and if I require a little money, I always get it. 1955. Do you sometimes get lines?-Yes; and worsted to knit, which is the same as money. 1956. If you are in want of worsted, do you buy it from Mr. Sinclair in payment for your shawls?-Yes. 1957. Do you keep any account, or do you just deal across the counter?-I just get the things as I want them. 1958. You go to the shop and say you want so much worsted as part of what you are taking?-Yes. 1959. Do you get it at the ordinary price?-Yes; it is just the same price. 1960. Does your sister-in-law, Mrs. James Bolt, deal in the same way?-Yes; in the same manner. 1961. And, altogether with Mr. Sinclair?-Yes. We always knit together, and what hosiery we have we always sell to him. 1962. Do you buy the worsted from Mr. Sinclair exactly in the same way as you would buy a piece of cotton or a dress?-Yes; just the same. 1963. The price of the worsted is reckoned up as part of the price of the shawl that you are selling?-Yes. We get it on a line the same as the other goods. 1964. Of course: there is no writing: it is just a transaction across the counter unless there is a line?-Yes. 1965. But if you have a line, and bring it back to the shop in order to get goods, do you get worsted for it just as you get any other goods?-Yes; I have got worsted on a line. 1966. Do you know that these transactions are all entered in Mr. Sinclair's book?-Yes. 1967. You have seen that done?-Yes. 1968. The worsted is entered there as well as the other things?- Yes. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, Mrs. WILHELMINA BOLT, examined. 1969. Have you anything different to say about the way in which you knit and deal in your hosiery business from what you have heard stated by your sister-in-law?-No; I have nothing more to say. 1970. You agree with her in everything?-Yes. 1971. And there is no difference or addition that you can state?- No. 1972. Have you asked for money and got all you wanted?-Yes; I never asked for money and did not get it. When I had a line from Mr. Sinclair, I just got the same goods from him upon it as I would have got for money. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, MRS HELEN FLAUS, examined. 1973. Are you a dresser in Lerwick?-I dress a little and I knit a little. 1974. Did you hear the evidence which Mrs. Arcus gave to-day?- Yes. 1975. Do you do business in the same way that she described?- Much the same. 1976. Do you dress shawls for some of the knitters in Lerwick?- Yes. 1977. And you take ready money for that?-Yes. 1978. Do they sell the shawls direct to the merchants themselves?-Yes. 1979. Do you also dress shawls for knitters from the country?- Yes. 1980. Do you sell these shawls, or do you return them to the girls who bring them to you?-I sometimes sell them, and sometimes they sell them. 1981. When you sell them to the merchants, do you get ready money or lines, or do you get goods for the girls?-I get lines from those merchants who give lines, and those who give no lines mark them down in their books. 1982. Who gives you the lines?-Mr. Sinclair. Mr. Laurenson generally is the only other merchant I sell to and he marks them down in his own book. He does not give lines. 1983. You don't sell to any of the other merchants?-Sometimes I do. 1984. Do you sell to Mr. Johnston?-Not very much. 1985. Does he give you a line when you sell to him for a country girl?-Yes. 1986. Do you sell to Mr. Linklater?-Yes, occasionally. He does not give lines; he marks the articles down in his book. [Page 39] 1987. How does he know the girl for whom the shawl has been sold, when he only marks it in the book?-I give in the girl's name to him, and she goes and asks for the amount that is marked in her name, and gets it. 1988. If she knows the amount?-I tell her the amount. 1989. Then she knows the amount, and that is sufficient to identify her?-Yes. 1990. Do these country girls sometimes ask you to get money for them rather than goods?-No; they have never asked me to do that. 1991. Do they sometimes get part of their payment in money?-I cannot tell about that. They always get a line from me, and I cannot tell how the merchants and they settle. 1992. Do you know whether lines are sometimes given for the goods which are sold by the knitters in town?-I cannot say anything about that. 1993. Or which are sold by yourself?-No; I don't know anything about that myself. 1994. You never took lines for the shawls you knitted yourself?- No; not for my own goods. 1995. Do you sometimes sell to strangers, or to people who are not in the trade?-No; I have never done that. 1996. I suppose you meet with people who knit a good deal, and have a number of transactions with them?-Yes. 1997. Do you know whether they prefer to sell to strangers, or to merchants in town?-Sometimes they require money, and at other times they require goods as well as money; and they would then just as well have the goods as the money. 1998. But if they want the money, can they not have it from the merchants if they ask for it?-I always got it when I asked it. For any others, I cannot say. 1999. Do you dress goods for any of the merchants?-No. 2000. Only for the knitters?-Yes. 2001. You are never employed by the merchants at all?-No. 2002. Can you tell me; why there is not a system of paying always in money for the hosiery?-Because it has not been a customary thing, and they never ask it. 2003. Would it not be just as convenient for all parties to pay in money?-I don't think it. I think we may just as well have the goods. 2004. But if you had the money, it would be better for the knitters, would it not; because they could buy what goods they wanted? They might have to hand the money back across the counter, but they would be able to make their own bargain for what they bought?-Yes; but they would get a less price for their shawls. 2005. How do you know that?-It is so stated. 2006. Who states it?-They generally say that if they get money, they will not get so much as in goods. 2007. Do you mean that the merchants say that?-Yes; when we sell shawls for money, they say they will not give so much for them in money as in goods. 2008. Who has told you that?-The merchants. 2009. Has that often been said to you?-Not often; but it has been said. 2011. Who has said it?-Mr. Sinclair: I sold shawl to him last night. 2012. And he told you last night that he would give you more in goods for it than he would give in money?-Yes, than he could give in money. 2013. What was the price of that shawl?-I got 15s. for it. 2014. Did you take that in goods?-Yes. 2015. Or in a line?-In goods. 2016. In goods that you took away at the time?-Yes. 2017. What would you have got if you had sold your shawl for money?-I cannot exactly say. He did not particularize that. 2018. You did not go into particulars, because you wanted the goods?-Yes. 2019. Do you sometimes sell goods that you get from the merchants?-No; for I always require them for myself. 2020. Is it the practice for some of the knitters to sell the goods they get?-I cannot say; I never saw it done. 2021. You never bought any goods from a knitter which she had got in that way?-No, never. 2022. You are always paid in cash for your own dressing?-Yes. 2023. Do you think the knitters generally would be content with lower prices if they got paid in cash?-I cannot speak for any one but myself. 2024. You don't know the feelings of the girls deal with you from the town?-I do not. 2025. Do you know how most of these girls are provided with their food?-I cannot say. Occasionally the girls don't require money. 2026. Is it not the case that a number of single women live in rooms in and knit for a living?-I cannot say, because I am not much acquainted through the place. 2027. You do not know the private circumstances of your customers?-I do not. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, Mrs. ANDRINA MOUAT, examined. 2028. Where do you live?-I live in Girlsta, parish of Tingwall. 2029. Are you a married woman?-Yes 2030. Is your husband alive?-Yes, he is at Leith; but I have had nothing from him for five years. I live by my own knitting; and that is what has made me so anxious to come here. 2031 Have you any family?-I have only one son. He is sailing out of Leith. 2032. Do you knit with your own wool?-Yes. 2033. Where do you buy it?-I buy it mostly from my friends- some of it from my brother. 2034. Is your brother a farmer near where you live?-Yes. 2035. Do you pay him for the wool?-Yes. 2036. To whom do you sell your hosiery goods?-I always sold them to Mr. Spence before he went away. I made fancy stockings and knitted gloves, and things of that kind. 2037. You don't knit the fine hosiery; it is all stockings and gloves and mittens you do?-Yes, and men's frocks. I made them for Mr. Spence, but since he went away I have been very poorly off. 2038. He was a merchant in Lerwick?-Yes. 2039. Did he keep a shop here?-Yes. 2040. The same kind of shop as is kept by Mr. Sinclair and Mr. Linklater?-No. He had not so much goods in his shop, as Mr. Sinclair has, but he sometimes gave me money when I wanted it- either money or goods. 2041. Does his sister carry on the business for him now?-Yes. 2042. Do you sell to her?-No; she is not buying anything. 2043. How were you paid for your goods?-Just middling. 2044. Were you paid in money or in goods?-Either in money or goods. 2045. If you brought a lot of articles: and asked Mr. Spence to buy them, he would fix a price; and if the price suited you, you gave him the articles?-Yes. 2046. Did he pay you money across the counter?-Yes. 2047. Were you ever obliged to take goods from him?-Yes; many a time. [Page 40] 2048. Did he tell you he would not give you money?-No; he did not say that. 2049. What did he say?-He just gave me anything I wanted- sometimes money and sometimes goods. 2050. He never told you that he did not want to give you money?-Sometimes he did so. Sometimes he was very unwilling to give money, but he did give it. 2051. Was that pretty often?-No; not very often. My articles were always good. 2052. Did you sometimes ask him to give you money when you did not get it?-Yes. 2053. Is it long since he left the business?-I have never sold anything to him since the month of July. 2054. Who do you sell to now?-I have sent what articles I have made since to my son in the south, and he has sold them in Leith. 2055. Do you get as good a price for them there as you used to get from Mr. Spence?-No. 2056. But your son sends you money for the goods you send to him?-Yes; he always sends me money, and his shipmates buy what I make. 2057. Do many women knit that sort of goods that you deal in- stockings and gloves?-A great many. 2058. Is it mostly that kind of knitting that is carried on in your part of the country at Girlsta?-Yes. 2059. They don't knit fine work there?-No. 2060. Who buys the sort of work they make?-Most of the merchants do so. 2061. Do the people in your part of the country generally get payment in goods?-Yes. 2062. Or in money?-No; they never ask for money. 2063. Why?-Because the country people are not needing it. 2064. Do they not need money?-Yes they need money; but when they get the goods the same they always ask the goods. 2065. You think there would no use getting money for your knitting, and just handing it back across the counter the next minute for goods?-I suppose that is what they think; but they would be better if they could get the money. 2066. Can they not get it?-Not very well. 2067. Why?-Because the merchants are not willing to give it. 2068. I thought you said the country people did not get money because they did not want it?-Well, sometimes there is no use of them getting it, and giving it back again to the merchant they are dealing with; they might just as well have the goods, because they have plenty of meal and other things to serve their ends, and they are not like us, who have to buy everything. We would be glad of the money sometimes to buy things that the merchant does not have, or to pay our rent with; but the country people have plenty of these things, and it is only goods they are wanting, and that is the reason why they take them. 2069. Then you have no reason to complain of this system of paying in goods?-We have to complain of it many a time. 2070. Why do you complain?-Because if we had money it could answer for other things, and in other ways than when we get goods; but we cannot get it. 2071. Is it a common subject of complaint in the country, that you cannot get money?-It is every one's complaint; and when we get articles, we are sorry to have to part with them for perhaps half-price. 2072. Do you sometimes sell the articles which you get at the shops?-Yes. I am in the habit of making very good things, and I am very sorry sometimes that I have to give them away at so low a price. 2073. But suppose you come into town and get goods in return for your knitting, have you sometimes to sell these goods again?-No; I have not done that. 2074. Is there anything more you wish to say?-No. Lerwick, January 3, 1872, MARY ANN SINCLAIR, examined. 2075. You knit for Mr. Sinclair?-Yes. 2076. Do you knit with his wool?-Yes. 2077. Do you keep a pass-book?-No. 2078. You just settle for the work as you take it back each time?- Yes. 2079. Are you generally paid in money or in goods?-Part in both. 2080. Do you knit shawls or veils?-Mostly veils. 2081. How many veils will you take to him in a week?-I could not exactly say. There are four of us besides me. 2082. Do you all knit for Mr. Sinclair?-There is one who knits besides me, and another dresses. 2083. Does she dress only your own knitting, or does she take in other people's knitting to dress too?-She dresses what she gets to do for other people. 2084. Does she do a good deal in that way for other people?-Yes. 2085. You cannot tell me how many veils you take: to Mr. Sinclair in a week?-We might do three in week, each of us, if we were able to work constantly at it. 2086. Do you work at anything else?-Nothing else-only veils; but we are so often in trouble, that I could hardly tell you how many we do in a week. There are three sisters and one brother of us alive now: my father and mother are dead. 2087. Is your brother a fisherman?-No; he is in a shop. 2088. You are not a married woman?-No. 2089. How much will you get for your veils when you take a lot of them to Mr. Sinclair? Are they sold at 1s. each?-It is generally very fine veils that we knit, and we get 1s. 6d. each for them. 2090. How many do you take at a time to the shop?-Perhaps a dozen, or perhaps two dozen. 2091. If you take a dozen, that would be 18s. worth?-Yes. 2092. How much of that will you get in money?-Our rent is paid from the knitting. That, of course, is money. 2093. You have to get as much as will pay your rent?-Yes. 2094. How do you get your provisions?-We get money whenever we ask it, besides what is taken for our rent. 2095. Are you tenants of Mr Sinclair?-Yes. 2096. You have a house from him, and he keeps your rent off what you have to get for your knitting?-Yes; and we have sometimes to get as high as 5s. a week from him, and we always get it. 2097. That is, for your living?-Yes. 2098. Do you get as much money in payment for your veils as you require?-Yes; as much as we ask for. 2099. Will you manage to take a dozen veils to him in the course of a fortnight?-Yes; or perhaps a dozen in three weeks. 2100. You are speaking both of your sisters and yourself?-Yes. 2101. How much of that 18s. as a general thing, will you get in money?-I can hardly say. If we were to ask money weekly we would get it: but since our brother's wages were raised, we have not asked so often for money. 2102. That is to say, you have spent more of the produce of your knitting in goods-in clothing?-Yes. 2103. Have you ever had to sell any of the goods that you got at the shop?-No. 2104. Or tea?-No. 2105. You don't knit any for selling, and you never did?-No. 2106. Do you think you would be any better off if you got all the price of your knitting in money?-I don't think it, because if I got it in money I would just lay it down on the counter and get goods for it. 2107. That is to say, you would get the same quantity of goods that you get now?-Yes. Of course I would not take the money and go to another shop with it. [Page 41] 2108. Mr. Sinclair recommended you to come here today?-Yes; he said he thought I should come. 2109. How much did you get for knitting your last shawl?-I think we got £2, 10s. for our last shawl. [, £2, 15s.] Yes, it was £2, 15s. 2110. That was a remarkably large one, I suppose?-Yes it was very fine. 2111. It was knitted by you and your sisters?-Yes. 2112. How long ago was that?-It was in the month of April or May, I think. 2113. How much of that did you get in money?-It was just marked in to our account, and we got the money as we asked for it. 2114. You did not tell me before that was the way in which you dealt?-I thought I did. You asked me if I had a pass-book, and I said it was just marked into the book. 2115. I rather understood that a settlement was made with you each time you took in your work?-No, we have an account. 2116. And that £2, 15s. was marked into it?-Yes. 2117. You did not take any goods at that time?-I hardly think it; but I really forget. 2118. Did you get any money at that time?-I don't think it. 2119. Did you ask for money?-No; and it was merely because I did not ask for it that I did not get it. . Lerwick: Thursday, January 4, 1872. -Mr. Guthrie. ARTHUR LAURENSON, examined. 2120. You are a partner of the firm of Laurenson & Co., Shetland warehousemen and clothiers in Lerwick?-I am. 2121. That is the oldest house in that business in Shetland, is it not?-I believe it is. 2122. The other partner of the house is your brother-in-law, Mr. William Bruce Tulloch?-Yes. 2123. You succeeded your father in the business?-Yes. I was in business with him for a good many years before his death. 2124. Besides carrying on that business, you also act as a trustee or factor?-Yes; in bankruptcies. I am also treasurer for the Shetland Widows' Fund under Anderson's Trust. 2125. And in that capacity you have the management of a considerable income to be devoted to charitable purposes?-Yes; I am a member of the local committee. There are three other gentlemen on the committee. And I am also treasurer, and have been so for a long time. I was appointed by Mr. Anderson in his lifetime, and I have always been so since. 2126. In the Shetland hosiery business you get the goods from the women knitters, who I believe are of two classes: those who knit for you, and those who sell to you?-Yes. There are those who bring the article and just exchange it over the counter. The greater part of our business now consists in the exchanging of goods, rather than in the employing of women to knit for us. Some years ago we were more in that way than we are now. Our principal business now just consists in buying their own productions, or rather, I should say, in the exchanging of them. 2127. By using the word exchanging, what is it that you mean to imply?-I mean to make a difference between that and buying for actual cash. If I were using the word, buying, it might convey the idea that we pay cash down. When I say exchanging, I mean that they bring us the article, and we give them other articles in exchange for it. 2128. By that you mean to imply that the transaction is understood as a barter?-Precisely. 2129. What is the character of the stock that you keep?-Drapery articles altogether, and general soft goods. The only grocery goods we keep are tea and soap. 2130. And the exchanges which you make with your customers for their hosiery are of drapery goods, tea, and soap?-Yes. 2131. Are these purchases made chiefly from women who live in Lerwick, or from women who come from the country?-Part of both. We deal principally with women from the country. The Lerwick women only make fine goods, such as shawls and veils, as a rule, although some of them do make underclothing too. 2132. That practice of barter has, I understand, been of long continuance in Shetland?-Long before my memory. I suppose, as Mr. Walker humorously remarked in his evidence, it has probably prevailed since the days of Adam. 2133. Is any proportion of the payment now made in cash?- Sometimes it is; and that custom, I think, is a growing one. When I first came into the business with my father, it was, I may say, an unheard of thing to give any cash at all,-such a thing was not thought of or expected by the women; but now for a good many years-I should say for ten or twelve years-the custom has begun to give a certain portion of the price in cash, and it seems to be gradually increasing,-that is to say, each year we are paying more in cash than we did in the previous year. 2134. Is that because more cash is asked?-Perhaps it may be, and it may also be from a greater readiness on the part of the dealers to give it. I don't mean to say, by any means, that it is the rule to make cash payments; but I say that the custom of making occasional cash payments, at any rate, is getting more common. 2135. Are you speaking from your experience your own business, or do you speak generally?-I am speaking of my own experience, but I presume that will be the experience of others in the trade as well. 2136. Formerly people did not use to ask for money at all?-No. When I went first into the business it was never thought of. 2137. At that time was the trade one of purchase, or was it one of manufacturing for the merchant?-I think it was pure barter. 2138. It was barter in either case, but was the trade usually carried on by purchases from people who knitted their own wool?-I think in former times it was altogether that. It is only within the last twenty or thirty years that the women have been employed, so to speak, by the merchants. It was about 1840 or 1841 that the making of shawls began to get very common here; and about 1845 or 1846 there was a very great demand for them. After that the veil knitting commenced, about 1848 or 1849, and from 1852 to 1856 there was a very great trade done in veils. These are the dates, so far as I recollect them. 2139. Shawls and veils are the staple articles of the Lerwick women's manufacture?-Yes; and they also make country hosiery of different sorts. 2140. That is the coarser hosiery?-Not necessarily coarser, but stockings and fine underclothing for both ladies' and gentlemen's wear. 2141. Under the description of shawls I suppose you include the cloaks which are made?-Yes; opera-[Page 42] cloaks, mantles, and squares. There is a great variety of them made, in different styles. 2142. At present are you in the habit of giving cash whenever it is asked?-I am. 2143. Do you remember, during the last few years, of having refused to give money to any person who asked for it?-I have no recollection of doing so for a good many years back. 2144. Have the people in your shop any instructions on that point?-My assistants would not give cash without coming to me, because such a transaction has to be entered in the cash-book. If there was any cash to be paid, they would come to me for it, so that I might enter it. It would not be paid out of the ordinary shop-till, because we have to keep an account of it. 2145. But they would be at liberty to purchase hosiery and pay for it in goods without consulting you?-Either my brother-in-law or myself would fix the prices. 2146. Then none of your people have authority to purchase?- No; they would not purchase without consulting me or my brother-in-law. 2147. So that either of the partners must be in the shop, or must be consulted in every case of purchase?-Yes. 2148. Do you give the same answer with regard to cases in which parties employed by you are returning their work?-Perhaps any small sums of money, such as 6d. or 1s., they might get in my absence; but if it was anything larger that was desired, they would be asked to wait until either I or my brother-in-law came in. 2149. But in that case, if they wanted to take out the whole value of the article, they might get it in goods, in the absence of you and your brother-in-law?-Yes, they might. 2150. Does it depend upon the state of their account, whether they would get the whole value in goods or not?-No. Most of them have been long known to us, and even if they were in debt (which sometimes happens) to a small amount, it would not matter much, if they wanted anything. I may mention, as an instance illustrating that, that last night a girl called and asked me for some money to pay the police assessment which had been charged upon her father. She said her father was not able to pay it, and they had no money in the house, and she asked for money to pay it with. Money is often wanted in that way, and of course I gave it to her. 2151. Had she a pass-book with her?-No; she just came in with a small article of fancy knitting which she wanted to sell, and she sold it and got the cash for it. 2152. Did she get the full price in cash?-Yes. She told me what she wanted the money for. Of course I did not ask her or insist to know what the money was for, but she mentioned it incidentally. 2153. How much was the price of that article?-It was a small thing, 8s.-a pair of lace sleeves for ladies' under-dresses. 2154. Would you say that that was a transaction of a very usual kind?-No; I should not say it was very usual. 2155. But if that had been asked at any time during the last three or four years, would the same result have followed? Would she have got the money?-I think so, with me, if the request had come from the same person, or from a person who had been long employed by us. 2156. That case you have mentioned was one of sale?-Yes. 2157. It was an article made with her own material?-Yes; it was her own material and her own article altogether. I have just mentioned it, as the latest thing of the kind that has occurred. 2158. Do you know a Mrs. Williamson who lives at the Asylum?-I think there are two Mrs. Williamsons in the Asylum: there is a Mrs. Williamson who has been there since the Asylum was opened, and there is another who has come there quite lately, within the last twelve months. If the question you are to put has anything to do with knitting, it will probably refer the last one. The first Mrs, Williamson is in very good circumstances, and I don't think she would be employing herself in that way. 2159. I speak of one who knits with her own wool, and knits fine articles.-I am sure to know her if she is an inmate of the Asylum, though I could not just identify her at present. 2160. Then you don't know whether she knits to you?-She does not knit to me. 2161. Or sells goods to you?-She may come into the shop to sell goods as any other woman does, but I have no recollection of anything of the kind. 2162. Is there another Mr. Laurenson in Lerwick?-There is a firm of R.B. Laurence & Co. 2163. Do they sell provisions?-I don't know. 2164. Do you sell bread?-I sell nothing except general drapery stock, and the other articles I have mentioned. There is a Mr. Laurence, a baker, and his sons are the firm of R. B. Laurence & Co. 2165. Does Mr. Laurence buy hosiery?-Not so far as I am aware. He was in business as a hosier some years ago but he is now only a grocer and baker. 2166. Did you buy a shawl for 80s., about three months ago, from a Mrs. Williamson who lives at the Asylum?-Not to my recollection. If there is anything particular about the transaction, that might enable me to remember it. 2167. You did not purchase such a shawl, and pay part of the price in bread?-No; I could not have done that. I may mention that the name of the firm of R. B. Laurence & Co. is generally pronounced by the people here in the same way as my own, they speak of them as Laurenson, although their names are Laurence. 2168. Have you sometimes paid large sums in cash for shawls?- Very often, in separate transactions. I have frequently paid cash down for particular shawls worth £2 or £2, 10s. I have given as much as £5 in cash for a single shawl; but that, of course, was very special article. 2169. Would you make any objection to paying so much in cash?-No; but I would be pretty sure the article was worth it. 2170. In the case you have just now referred to, was it necessary for the woman to make any particular representation as to her wanting the cash before she could get it, or was she asked to take the price in goods?-No; I did not ask her to do that. Probably when she produced the article, she said she wished to sell it for cash, and so the price was fixed. 2171. Does a demand of that kind for payment in cash affect the price for the shawl?-Certainly. We could not give so much in cash as we could give in goods; and if a cash tariff were adopted, there would have to be a general deduction made all round-a deduction equivalent to the ordinary retail profit in the drapery trade. 2172. Do the sellers of these hosiery goods to you understand that if they demand cash they must take a smaller price?-Yes, they understand that; and they would be quite prepared to take it. 2173. Is it quite understood that there are two prices for these articles-a cash price, and a price in goods?-Yes; I think that is quite understood. Of course, if a woman comes in with a shawl for which she is willing to take 20s. in goods, she would be equally willing to take 16s. or 17s. in cash, because the difference between the 16s. or 17s. in cash and the 20s. in goods represents the retail draper's profit, which is supposed to run from 15 to 20 or 25 per cent. on these articles. That is the case over all the kingdom. 2174. Would not the result to the woman be, that if she took the 17s. in cash she would only be able to buy 17s. worth of goods with it?-Well, that is true; but she might be requiring grocery goods or meal, or some kind of articles that we don't keep in our drapery shops. Of course there would be an advantage to her, because she might be requiring the cash in order to help her in paying her rent, or anything of that kind. 2175. In that way, does it not come to be a disadvantage to the women to take cash?-It cannot be a disadvantage if they require it for these other purposes. [Page 43] It would not answer them at all times to get drapery goods. 2176. Is it an advantage to you, as a dealer in hosiery, to pay the price of the hosiery in goods?-Of course it is an advantage to us, as retail drapers, to sell as much of these goods as possible. 2177. But is it any advantage to you, if by buying for cash you are to get the same profit upon your hosiery goods on a re-sale of them?-There is this to be considered: that if we were buying for cash exclusively, then we would only buy such things as we were actually requiring, either for orders which we had, or which we thought were likely to sell; but according to the present system, although I don't mean to defend it altogether, we might have a pretty large stock, and have really no orders, and no immediate prospect of selling them. At the same time, so long as it is a system of barter or exchange, we can quite easily give goods of one description over the counter in exchange for goods of another description,-for this reason, that these goods of another description, which are received in exchange, can be stored by us as well as our drapery goods. At such times we would not be willing to pay anything in cash. 2178. Then what you mean to say is, that the opportunity of selling your drapery goods is an inducement to you to increase your stock of hosiery although the market may be unfavourable?-Exactly; because we have already invested our cash in these drapery goods, and we may just as well have that cash lying in Shetland hosiery as in drapery goods, in many cases. 2179. If you did not pay in goods, would the result be that you might still purchase the hosiery, but at a much lower rate?-That would be one result of it; and another result would be, that when the Shetland hosiery trade was dead, as it very often is for many months, we would have then to give up buying altogether. At the same time, I don't say but what an entirely cash system would ultimately be advantageous to both parties,-both to us as dealers, and also to the women knitters. 2180. In what way do you think that that?-I think it would simplify the thing, and prevent a good many disagreeable occurrences. In fact the present system is a complicated, antiquated sort of thing; and I, for my own part, would be willing if some plan could be adopted for introducing a cash system altogether. It certainly would be simpler, and I have no doubt it would ultimately come to be as convenient to us all; but you will please to observe that the present system is just a continuance of an old traditional system that we who are now in the trade found existing when we came into it, and it is rather difficult to get it changed. 2181. Do you think it is any advantage for the women to be able to get 20s. in goods rather than 16s. of cash?-It think it would be better for the women to be always paid in cash. 2182. For what reason?-Because they would then have the cash at their own disposal, and they could do with it what they liked. They might buy their goods from me or from any other body, just as they pleased. 2183. Do you think they could manage their cash better?-I don't know, but at any rate they would be more independent. If they did not choose to deal with me, they could go to any other shop where they thought they could lay it out to better advantage. 2184. Is it the fact that they cannot get the price of their goods in cash just now?-I believe, as a general rule, that is quite true. I have heard the evidence of two or three of the girls who have been examined on previous days with regard to that. 2185. I am speaking now entirely of the purchase system. I will ask you something afterwards with regard to the system of knitting with the merchants' own wool; but you understand that you have hitherto been speaking about the system of purchasing?-Yes; hitherto I have been referring to the exchange of articles over the counter. 2186. Your general observations have applied to both systems?- Yes, to both. 2187. Speaking then, in the meantime, about the purchase system, there is now in point of fact a difficulty in getting cash?-There is no doubt of that, because it is the custom of the trade, and has all along been, that these hosiery articles should be paid for in goods. That is known and understood on both sides. 2188. Will you tell me exactly where the advantage to the woman lies who sells her hosiery for 20s. in goods rather than for 16s. in cash? Are these 20s. of goods worth more to her than 16s. in cash would be-I mean, apart altogether from the question as to whether she wants other goods than hosiery?-Is the money value of the 20s. worth of goods greater than 16s. in cash?-The money value of them cannot be greater, because the retail profit is included in that. 2189. Yes, but the money value to you is one thing, and the money value to the woman may be another?-I assume, as a general rule, that all the goods which the women take they are actually requiring. 2190. Is that the fact?-I heard some statements made here by some witnesses yesterday, and I suppose they were quite correct, since the women made them, but I was not aware of it before, that they had to take goods and re-sell them afterwards. 2191. You were not previously aware of the existence of such a practice?-No; I was not aware of it until I heard it deponed to yesterday. 2192. You say there are periods of depression in the Shetland trade?-Yes; for many months there is little or no demand for Shetland goods, and at such times our stocks lie over and accumulate. 2193. In such a period of depression I presume that your prices, whether in money or in goods, are lower than at other times?- They naturally tend downwards, as in all other trades, because in many cases we really don't want the goods. Having quite sufficient and more than sufficient of the article, we don't want any more of them; but very often we take them, just as you may say, to oblige the women, and give them tea for them, or things which they may actually be requiring, although we may have no prospect of selling these articles for a year or so. 2194. Is there not a difficulty in the trade also from the nature of the articles which are made?-There is a very great difficulty in that respect, owing to the want of uniformity in the articles, and the great variety of them. You can never get two shawls alike; you cannot even get a dozen pair of half-stockings alike. If you were to get an order for twenty dozen socks of a particular colour, size, and price, you would not be able to get that number of socks alike in Shetland. 2195. The result of that is, that you cannot give a large order?- We cannot undertake to execute it; and it is only such houses in the south as are acquainted with the Shetland trade, and who know that, when they give an order for a certain quantity of goods, they must get them varied in colour and in quality, and who make up their minds for that, and don't expect anything else it is such houses who generally deal in Shetland goods. 2196. Does that fact, and the want of knowledge of that fact, restrict the number of houses in the south with which you can deal?-There is no doubt of it. Suppose an English house, who had never done anything in Shetland goods before, were to send down an order for a certain quantity of goods, they would expect to get them as uniform as if they were sending that order to Leicester, or any hosiery district in the south. 2197. In what way does that affect the system of paying in goods?-There are limits to the demand. It affects the market. We don't have such a large market. 2198. And it increases the inducement to merchants to make their payments in the drapery goods which they sell, and upon which they have another profit?-Exactly. 2199. I suppose the reason for paying in goods is really, that you manage to make two profits: the profit upon the drapery, and then the profit upon the re-sale of the hosiery?-For the most part, we have to be content with one profit. No doubt, like all other men, we would be glad to make two profits if we could; but I think it is a rule in the Shetland hosiery trade, that [Page 44] the dealer is quite content if he gets the price for the hosiery goods which he would have paid for them in cash, even with a very good discount off; that is to say, with £10 worth of Shetland hosiery, for which he had paid that sum in goods, he would be willing to sell them for £10 in cash, and 5 per cent. off for cash. He would not expect to get a profit on the hosiery also. 2200. Do you mean to say that a lot of hosiery purchased for £10 you would sell to a merchant in the south for £10, and give him 5 per cent. discount besides?-Yes. 2201. Then you would make a loss?-No; because we have paid the £10 in goods at retail prices, and we have the retail profit on them, which is more that 5 per cent. 2202. You mean that you have a profit on the goods?-Yes; the goods amounting to £10, for which we have got the hosiery. Perhaps the profit on these goods is 15 per cent.; and if we sell the hosiery afterwards for £10, and take off 5 per cent. for cash, we still have 10 per cent. for our trouble. 2203. That comes to this: that, keeping it apart from your trade in goods, you make no profit upon the hosiery at all, but you will pay 5 per cent. discount to a wholesale merchant in the south for paying it promptly?-Yes; and I believe, in some cases where the dealers in Shetland don't have good connections in the south and good markets, they generally sell at a much lower price. I believe it is quite common in the Edinburgh auction-rooms for parcels of Shetland hosiery to be exposed for sale, and sold at a rate much lower than they could be sold for in Shetland. That, I suppose, is done by dealers who are pressed for cash; and they have to sell their hosiery stocks at any sacrifice, at what they can get for them, because they cannot get them sold in the regular market at a profit. 2204. Does it not seem to you that it would be a more reasonable way, in such a state of matters, to reduce the price of your hosiery?-It would be better to introduce a system of cash payments. 2205. But, whether there was a system of cash payments or of payment in goods, would it not look better in your books, and would it not be the natural way of dealing, to purchase the hosiery only at such figures as would enable you to make a profit upon it?-Yes; that would be better, decidedly. It might practically make very little difference to the dealer; it would just be taking it out of the one pocket and putting it into the other, but it would be more business-like, and a simpler plan. 2206. Is it not one result of that system, that as the merchant runs two risks,-a risk upon the hosiery and a risk (not so great, but still a risk) upon his goods,-he is obliged to make a larger profit upon his goods than he otherwise would?-I believe that is so. 2207. So that the goods are really dearer to the retail purchaser here than they would be if another system were adopted?-I think 2208. You say you are quite ready to adopt a system of cash payments, and to carry it out if it were usual in the trade?-Quite ready. 2209. Is there any difficulty in a single house proceeding to act upon that system?-There has been no proposal made for it. 2210. Do you mean there has been no demand made for it by the sellers of hosiery?-I mean there has been no proposal made among the dealers in hosiery to adopt such a system; and it would be difficult for one house to begin to attempt it unless there was some plan agreed upon, and some tariff of prices. I think it would be necessary, in the first place, to have some scale fixed. 2211. Would the market not fix the prices just as it does in other trades?-By and by I have no doubt it would; but what I mean is, that at the beginning of the new plan, in the transition between the present state and a new system of cash payments there would require to be some sort of agreement. 2212. With regard to those women whom you pay for working, do you generally keep pass-books with them?-I don't think many of them have them now. In fact, within the last seven years we have not been very much in that branch of the Shetland hosiery trade. We still have a few knitting to us in that way, and I think some of them have pass-books. 2213. How many women do you employ in that way?-I could not say precisely, because for several years our shop-woman has attended to that altogether, and the books which I have brought with me are kept by her. I can give her name, and she will be able to give any information that may be wanted on that subject. 2214. What is her name?-Andrina Aitken. 2215. I suppose your books will show at once the number of people you employ in that way?-Yes, these books will show, but I cannot say from memory how many there are. 2216. Has not each woman whom you so employ a page in the ledger?-I think, for the most part, they just settle for each article as they bring it. If a girl or woman is knitting a shawl, she comes in with it; there is a price put upon it, and she settles up there and then for it. If there is a balance, whether for or against her, it is noted up as at that date. We don't keep long accounts with them. 2217. How is it noted?-It is noted in the book at the place where the work is marked as having been given out. The balance is stated there [produces book]. 2218. What is that book?-We call it a work-book. 2219. Is it kept as a day-book from day to day?-Yes. 2220. Is that the only book you keep?-It is the only book used for that purpose. 2221. Therefore you keep accounts, because when a balance stands against a woman you have to look back to where the balance is?-Yes; and where work is given out again, the balance is marked against her, that balance being agreed upon between the shop-woman and her. 2222. Is there any index to the names of the women in that book?-No; the girl knows them all. 2223. I see that the entries on two pages of it serve for a month?- Yes; the entries from December 5 to January 2 are all on two pages. These contain all our transactions with that sort of people, and it shows that we have very few of them. 2224. I see here an entry: 'December 5-Barbara Hunter, 11/4 oz. black mohair. D. 1s.-retd.' Will you explain that entry?-D. means debtor. It means that the woman got supplies to the extent of 1s. The 11/4 oz. black mohair was the worsted which she got at that time to knit up. Then on the 21st she comes back and returns it. At that time there is this entry: December 21-Barbara Hunter, 11/4 oz. black mohair. D. 1s. 4d., D. 6d. 2225. What does 'retd.' mean in the first entry?-It means that the work was returned on a certain day. The return would be made on the 21st, when she got out the same quantity of additional stuff, and then the balance is carried forward. 2226. Are there any entries in your books showing how the D. 1s. or the D. 1s. 4d. was made up?-No; I could not even tell what it was for. 2227. But it was a balance upon goods supplied to her?-Yes. It may have been tea, or some small sums of cash, or anything. Our shop-girl would go over it with her, and they would agree upon it that this was the balance due at that time; and then, when she came back with the work she had got out on the 21st, there would be another balance. 2228. Here is another entry: 'December 15-Christina Sinclair, 2 oz. black mohair. D. 1s. 4d., D. 13s. 3d., D. 5s. 1d.-retd.' How does it happen that, under the same entry and in the same line, there are three separate sums?-The girl came on separate occasions and got these supplies, and they have been, entered separately. She has been back since then, because the work which she got out at that time has been returned. 2229. Then follows the entry: 'December 26 [Page 45]-Christian Sinclair, 2 oz. black mohair. D. 10d. (in pencil), D. 11s. 11d.' The 11s. 11d. would be the balance on the previous three debtor entries, and the 10d., I suppose, had been got subsequently?-I presume it had been quarter it pound of tea for 10d. Christina Sinclair lives in Hancliffe Lane. 2230. Does she support herself entirely by knitting?-She lives with her father. She knits a good deal on her own account, and comes and sells it to us. These had been some veils and other things, which she makes for us occasionally when she happens not to have worsted of her own. 2231. The 11s. 11d., I think you say, shows a balance upon goods got by her?-Yes; I presume it is the balance, after deducting what she got for that work. 2232. What would she probably get for the work bestowed by her upon 2 oz. black mohair?-I suppose that would make four or five veils. Perhaps she might get 5s. Then, besides these little things which are entered there, she might have got some things when she was personally present, and the last balance would be struck upon the whole. 2233. I understand you to state quite distinctly that this book is the only one in which entries are made of any transactions with workers employed by you?-The only one. As I said before, we do very little in that way now; and this represents the whole of it. 2234. Do your sales to these women not appear in your shop day-book?-No; these are the whole entries. If they get anything when they come with their work, there is no entry made of it at all. 2235. If a woman, either a knitter employed by you, or one who sells to you, comes to your shop and has a large sum of money to get, is it the practice that you do not pay her entirely in goods, but give her an advance in cash; or is it sometimes your practice to give her a line?-We don't give lines at all; but I may say that it is very seldom any of them have very much to get. 2236. If a woman has something to get and does not want goods, do you make an entry of any kind to her credit similar to those debtor entries against her?-I see here an entry: 'December 26- Ann Anderson, 2 oz. black mohair. D. 5d., Cr. 7s. 6d.' That 5d. has been got afterwards. 2237. Then she could have come at any time and got that 7s. 6d.?-Yes; and more if she had wanted it. 2238. That sum is probably standing to her credit yet?-Yes; she has that to get just now. 2239. If she had got it, in what way would it have been marked out?-It would have been marked returned, and another entry made of the new work which she had got. 2240. I show you an entry in another part of the same book: what does that mean?-It is a memorandum of the goods given to women to dress. These are the goods given to Mrs. John Gifford. They are marked down when they are given out, and when they are returned they are marked out. There are more dressers than one. 2241. Here is one entry: 'January 3-Mary Greig, Trondra, 9 oz. black. D. 8d., Cr. 7s.' Was that a country girl?-Yes. 2242. Is it not usual for country girls to take away all the value of their goods when they come in with them?-I think that is generally what they do; but sometimes, as in that case, the girl does not seem to have been requiring anything. 2243. You don't know whether that girl asked for money?-I don't know; but the shop-girl would be able to tell. 2244. You have no doubt that if she had asked for it, she would have got it?-If she had asked for it, she would have got it; but, as I have said before, it had been so long the custom not to pay money, that they did not ask it, not expecting to get it. 2245. Do you say that your profit upon your drapery goods is calculated at about 15 per cent.?-I should say about 15 to 25 per cent.; that is the ordinary retail profit over all. 2246. Supposing you were to make a profit upon your hosiery goods, what profit would you expect to get from your drapery goods?-I understand that in the south the profit in the drapery trade is generally estimated at 15 per cent. on an average. 2247. And you make it vary here, according to the different goods, at from 15 to 25 per cent.?-Yes. 2248. Is that in order to cover your risk upon the hosiery?-Yes; I should say so. It would be much better for us to sell for cash down, with a smaller price, than to sell at a higher nominal price, and to lie out of the money for perhaps a couple of years, and perhaps run the risk of making a bad debt with the hosiery. I may add that we sometimes do make bad debts to a pretty large amount. Some years ago I lost £150 by one customer. 2249. Was he a purchaser of hosiery?-Yes. 2250. Show me any entry in this book relating to a shawl made for you?-There [showing] is 7 oz. black, which was given to a woman for a shawl which she is at present making. Here is another, Mary Greig, who made a black shawl, and returned it. 2251. Does the book show how much was the payment usually got for the making of it?-She came back on 23d January, and she is credited with the amount. She had 2s. to get when she got the work to do. 2252. And she has now 7s.; but the difference between 2s. and 7s. does not show the payment to her?-No; because she might have got more goods at the time, and there would be nothing put down in the book then except the actual balance. 2253. You don't know what goods she got?-No; but I have no doubt the shop-girl will be able to tell. 2254. Can you tell me what payment would be made to a worker of that kind for such a shawl?-I think perhaps 10s. It depends a good deal on the size of thread and on the style of knitting. Of two shawls of the same size, and having the same weight of wool in them, one may be worth 2s. 6d. more for knitting than another, on account of the pattern the girl might put into it, and the style in which it was done. 2255. Then that shawl would be sent south, I presume?-We might sell it here. 2256. What do you consider the value of the material for that shawl, 9 oz.?-That black worsted would have cost us in England about 8s. a pound. 2257. Then the worsted would come to about 4s. 6d. as the value of the material?-Yes. 2258. And 10s. for the work: that would be 14s. 6d.?-Yes. 2259. And 6d. for dressing, or 15s. altogether?-Yes. 2260. At what price would that shawl be invoiced to a customer in the south?-It would depend upon whether it was to a wholesale house or to a retail customer. We have to sell these goods at a lower price to wholesale houses in the south, who have again to sell them, than we would sell them for to others. 2261. In that way there are two classes of customers?-Yes. 2262. Who are your principal correspondents in the south?-[The witness shows the names in a book.] This is the day-book, which we use exclusively for our transactions in hosiery with the south. That book has just been finished. The last entry is 6th November 1871, and since then our entries as to hosiery sent south have gone into our ordinary shop day-book: we have not provided a separate book for them. 2263. You say that you have two classes of customers, wholesale and retail?-Yes; we have wholesale customers, such as these houses whose names I have pointed out to you. We also sell to private persons, and of course we must make a difference. We must sell to these wholesale houses at a much less figure, because they have again to sell them perhaps to the very same retail customers. 2264. At what price would that shawl of Mary Greig's be invoiced to the south?-It is not away yet but I think I will be able to find some of the same [Page 46] kind. It is very difficult to say what it would be, because there is such a difference in the quality of the worsted, and the price of the raw material differs a good deal. For instance, here is black Pyrenees wool, costing about 8s. a pound, and here is black mohair wool, 27s. a pound. It would cost us roughly about 2s. an oz.; but that shawl, I should say, would be of Pyrenees wool, costing about 8s. a pound. That [showing an entry of a shawl invoiced to a house in London at 20s.] would be something like it. I may mention that an account like that won't be paid for eighteen months, and then it will be paid with a discount of 5 per cent. 2265. Is that a fair specimen of the average sales of shawls?-Yes. 2266. And the average difference between the cost for materials and workmanship?-Yes. 2267. Do you pay the freight?-The consignee pays the freight. 2268. Is this day-book a copy of your invoices which you send to these houses?-Yes. In some cases we copy the invoices in a letter-book, and then re-write them into this day-book. I can produce the letter-book if you wish to see it. 2269. Does not that difference between the price marked in the book and the price you have to pay for materials and workmanship show something in the shape of profit?-Yes, undoubtedly. 2270. Then how do you reconcile that with your previous statement, that there is really no profit upon your hosiery?-I don't think I meant to say that there really was not a profit. What I meant to say was, that, as a rule we would be very well pleased, on an average of all our hosiery goods, just to get what we pay for them. Of course, if you take out a special article here and there, the rule might not hold good; but I think, on the whole, you will find the result to be as I stated. 2271. Do you make any distinction, in your statement with regard to profits, between those cases where an article has been made for you and those in which it has been purchased by you?-I think, as a rule, the articles which we purchase or exchange over the counter are generally sold by us just for what we have paid for them. The others we have a good deal more trouble about. The raw material has to be ordered, and the money paid for it pretty soon; and then it has to be given out, and these accounts kept, and the articles have to be dressed. In fact we have three or four times the trouble about articles of that description which we have with regard to articles that we buy in exchange. 2272. Do you make that profit upon the goods made to your order, by charging a higher price to your customer in the south, or by paying a smaller rate to the women who knit for you?-The rate we pay the work-women here depends on what the other dealers in town are paying. I suppose we all pay much about the same rates. 2273. But I don't see how the same articles if made by one of your own work-women, can be charged at a different price to your customer in the south from what it would be if it were purchased by you across the counter?-As I have said, we have much more trouble with it. 2274. But the customer in the south fixes the price; and you cannot give articles that are really the same in quality at a different price, in consequence of the way in which they have come into your hands?-No; but on some articles we must have less profit than on others, and we must just make the one balance the other. 2275. But your customer would object to take two identical articles at different prices?-No doubt he would; but such articles as these black shawls we never buy over the counter. In fact I don't think I ever did buy one in that way; they are always made to order. We bring in the raw material, and the women knit it up. The material of which these black shawls are made is not Shetland wool. The women don't have it. Of course they could get it if they chose to buy it in the shops: we would sell it to them just the same as anything else. 2276. Do you purchase stockings?-Yes. 2277. You don't have them made?-No; they are all bought over the counter. 2278. Are they generally paid for in goods?-Yes; I may say universally. 2279. Are they made by the people in the country rather than by those in Lerwick?-There are very few made in Lerwick; all the hosiery proper is made in the country districts. When I speak of the hosiery proper, I mean stockings. 2280. What do you call the other kind?-Under-clothing. Articles such as shawls, veils, neckties, and the like, we call fancy work. Then there is under-clothing-men's under shirts, gentlemen's drawers, ladies sleeve, ladies' under-dresses, ladies' drawers ladies' spencers, which are worn under the clothing. 2281. I see in your day-book a charge for half dozen white veils, 12s., that is, 2s. each: is not 2s. a high price for veils?-It depends very much on the quality. 2282. Would that be an average quality?-No; it is a good quality. 2283. Were these purchased or made to order?-I could not say as to that particular lot. The best veils may be specially made or they may be bought. We very often buy veils in the ordinary retail way over the counter, and give 2s. 6d. for them; but these would be particularly well knitted. 2284. Do you give so much as 2s. 6d. for veils?-Yes, for the finest quality. 2285. Then these 2s. veils were sent to a retail house?-Yes; but of course they are buying from us, and we are selling to them, and they get 5 per cent. off that. 2286. What might be the price of these veils to you?-Perhaps 18d. or 20d. 2287. Is there anything else that you wish to state about the hosiery trade?-Nothing that I recollect of, particularly; but I may perhaps be allowed to refer to some of the answers given to questions by the witnesses who were examined before the Commission in Edinburgh. In question 44,156, Mr. George Smith is asked, 'Who supplies them (the knitters) with the wool?'-and he replies, 'That is a very difficult question. They get it chiefly from the small farmers, and sometimes from the merchants?'-I don't see why Mr. Smith should have said that that was a difficult question. There was no difficulty in it whatever. 2288. Where do the knitters generally get their wool?-In the case of the country girls, their families sometimes have sheep running on the scattald, and the wool is their own property, and is spun by some member of the family. 2289. Are there people in the country who collect wool from a number of families and give it out to spin?-I believe, in some districts of the country, there are dealers who buy up the wool and sell it out again as wool. I was to say that the knitters can buy it from them also, or from their neighbours. These are the three ways in which they can get it. 2290. Is the greater part of the wool that is used in Shetland of native production?-Yes; the greater part of it is, except the Bradford and English manufactured wools, principally black mohair and alpaca. 2291. Is much of that sold to women who knit on their own account?-I do not know if there is much sold; but in my own case, if they came to me wanting it, and I had it in stock, they should have it, whether they paid for it in cash or got it put to their account. 2292. If a woman came to you and sold a shawl, and wanted part of the price of it in worsted, would she get it without any demur?-Certainly. 2293. Do you know whether objections are made by any of the merchants to that being done?-I have seen it stated in the evidence that there are such objections. 2294. But, apart from the evidence before this Commission, do you know from your own knowledge, or from the statements of people in Shetland, whether there has been a difficulty in getting worsted for knitting in that way?-Yes, I have heard that. 2295. Do you know from what that difficulty arises?[Page 47]-I do not; unless it is because the dealer thinks that worsted is an article on which he does not have so much profit as on other goods, and is unwilling to give it. 2296. There has been no difficulty of that kind in your shop at any time?-No, none. 2297. Is there any reason why, in dealing with knitters, worsted should be called a money article or a ready-money article, which was only sold to them for money?-The Shetland worsted, which is generally spun in the north isles, in North Yell and Unst, is almost always bought and paid for in cash. It has always been the custom, at least for many years,-I should say for fifteen years,- that when the women come down from the north isles with worsted and sell it either to private persons or in the shops, they are paid for it in cash at the rate of 3d. or 31/2d. or 4d. per cut of nominally 100 threads, which in reality, when counted, runs to 80 or 90. I have seen a cut of worsted for which you paid 8d. supposed to be 100 threads, which when counted was only found to be 55; but that was an extreme case. 2298. But that wool is obtained by merchants or other persons who want it, from Shetland women coming mostly from the north isles?-Yes; where it is principally manufactured. 2299. Is the price of it always paid to them in cash?-As a rule, it is. Perhaps there may be exceptions, but, as a rule, it is paid in cash. 2300. Is that assigned in the trade as a reason why, when it is sold out to other women, it should be paid for by them in cash?-I should say that that was the reason, because there would be no profit on it otherwise. For instance worsted for which a dealer paid 31/2d. a cut would be sold by him at the same price; and if he gave it in exchange for goods, he might be out of his money for weeks or months. 2301. Does he not get more than 31/2d. for it when selling it?-I don't think it. There is a sort of fixed price for the various qualities of it. 2302. Does he not make a profit on retailing it?-No; I think not. He would either refuse to sell it at all, or give it at the price at which he bought it. 2303. Then his purchase of the worsted must have been made primarily for the use of the knitters employed by him?-Yes, I believe so. 2304. So that selling it to those women who knit on their own account would be a little out of his ordinary way of business?- Yes. 2305. He does not profess to get it for that purpose?-No. It is the raw material brought in by him or bought by him for his own uses. 2306. Is it wool or worsted you are speaking of?-Worsted. Before it is carded and spun we call it wool; after it is carded and spun we call it worsted. 2307. It is brought in the shape of worsted?-Yes. 2308. So that all you have been speaking of is really worsted?- Yes. 2309. Is much of that sent south from Shetland by the merchants in the shape of worsted?-Not much, I should say. It is more profitable, of course, for dealers and knitters to make it up, as all the raw material would come to would be comparatively trifling. 2310. Then you are not in the habit of sending it south in the shape of worsted?-No. In fact it is difficult to get. Sometimes we get an order for a small quantity for the south, for darning purposes. When a customer orders a dozen or two dozen socks, he will ask for some worsted along with them for that purpose; but it is not easy sometimes to get that for him. I was to refer to one or two other questions in the previous evidence. In question 44,289 Mr. Walker is asked, 'These merchants have no hold over them as being their tenants?'-and he replies, 'Not in the town, except in very few instances; not as a rule.' Now I don't know what instances he refers to. For my own part, I cannot imagine how any of us Lerwick dealers can have any hold on the Lerwick knitters, because they can come to us or any other body, just as they please. 2311. None of them are your tenants?-No; but even if they were, I don't think it would matter. 2312. If their rent were in arrear, would the merchant not have a hold over them?-He, as their landlord, would just have the same redress as any other landlord would have. Then the next question is, 'Is it considered a lucrative business?-Oh ! immensely so.' 2313. You have already made a statement with regard to that answer; at least you have explained what the profit is?-Yes; but he says, 'I know for a fact, that the worsted of a shawl which sells at about 30s. is worth from 2s. to 3s.' Now that is quite incorrect, because with the very lowest price of worsted the cheapest would be at least 4s. 6d.; but for a shawl selling at 30s. the worsted of it would certainly cost me 10s. 2314. Do you mean the worsted of any shawl that would sell for that in the south market or to a south country merchant?-Yes, or to any customer here. We sell a good many of these shawls to ladies in Lerwick, or to any people who come in to buy them; and any shawl that would sell for 30s. the worsted of it would cost 9s. or 10s. 2315. How much would the workmanship of a 30s. shawl come to?-Perhaps 12s., and sometimes more. Sometimes we give as high as 15s. for it. We paid 17s. 6d. last week for making a fine shawl. Then he says, A good deal of the worsted is now made in England, and brought down to Shetland. 2316. Is there much worsted imported from England?-Yes. Mr. Walker says further, 'The demand is so great for the Shetland goods, that it (the worsted) is made in Yorkshire, and brought down at 8s. a pound; and a quarter of a pound of that worsted will make a large shawl.' That is a mistake, because nothing less than half a pound of worsted of that quality could by any possibility make a shawl. 2317. Is 8s. per pound a correct statement of the price?-For some qualities it is. There is a great variety of qualities. The qualities of Pyrenees and mohair and alpaca wools go by numbers, and according to fineness the numbers rise. 2318. Can you mention the various prices at present?-7s. and 8s. per pound for blacks and whites; 9s. and 10s. for scarlet and ingrained colours. 2319. That is for Yorkshire wool?-Yes, of the finer descriptions; and then mohair and alpaca will range from 20s. to 24s. and 30s. 2320. I thought you said 32s. before?-Yes; and I have no doubt some of the numbers are even higher. 2321. I suppose there is not much variety in the size of shawls used for opera-cloaks or dress purposes?-No, they are all made about a size; but the value does not depend so much upon the size as upon the style of the workmanship. 2322. It will also depend to some extent on the quality of the wool?-Yes, to some extent. 2323. But principally on the workmanship?-Yes, it depends in great measure on that; and that is the reason why there are constant disputes with the knitters. Two knitters may come in with two shawls made of the same material and the same size and yet the one will be 25 per cent. better than the other, on account of the work bestowed upon it, and the niceness of the pattern; but it is very difficult to get these girls to understand that they should be paid according to that. 2324. Can you show me any instance of a shawl made of Yorkshire wool for which you paid 20s.? That would be rather a fine quality, would it not?-Yes; that would be mohair or alpaca. 2325. But not the finest quality?-No, not the finest. 2326. We may take that as an average quality. You said it would take about half a pound of material to make the shawl; but you also said that the finer the wools are, the less thread it takes to make them. How much would it take to make a shawl of that kind?-Perhaps it would take 6 oz. 2327. That would be about 7s. 6d. for the material?-Yes; but a great deal depends on the way in which [Page 48] it is knitted. It is almost impossible to say, except with a very special article, what the knitter would get for it, because this is not like a uniform trade at all. 2328. Then you fix the price to the knitter according to the judgment of your eye?-Yes, after the work is brought back. Properly speaking, every shawl requires to be priced individually. 2329. Between what sums would you say that the price of the workmanship of a shawl made of that sort of stuff would vary?- That depends entirely on the workmanship itself. Some of the best knitters we have in town put very high prices on their work. 2330. I am assuming that it varies; but there must be a limit to it. Can you not give what would be about the average?-I will give an instance. About a fortnight ago I bought a shawl from a girl for 35s., made of common Yorkshire wool. It was her own material, and she just came in with it, and sold it over the counter. The material of that shawl, for which I gave her 35s., had not cost her 4s. It was a half-square shawl. It is still lying in the shop, and I can produce it if it is desired. The whole value of that article depended on the workmanship contained in it. 2331. Is it a black or white shawl?-White. It is not even fine Shetland worsted, which is the most valuable sort of thing. 2332. Is fine Shetland worsted more valuable than the other worsted at 32s?-Yes, we can always get a better price; and indeed the article is much more valuable when made of fine white Shetland wool than of fine white English wool, because there is a hardness and coarseness in the English wool that is not in the Shetland. 2333. But you don't pay so much as 32s. per pound for Shetland wool in any case?-No, I doubt think we pay so much as that for it, but the Shetland wool is more rare. The supply of it is limited. You can get any quantity of mohair or alpaca, but you cannot get any quantity of fine Shetland wool. 2334. Do you purchase that quality of fine Shetland wool to any extent?-I buy some of it. I have paid as high as 6d. a cut of nominally 100 threads for it; but that was a rare article. 4d. per cut is the usual thing. 2335. How much is that per pound?-We don't reckon the Shetland worsted by the pound. 2336. But as you do so little business in giving out work, I suppose you don't purchase great quantities of the Shetland wool for your own use?-No. 2337. Is there any other part of the evidence you wish to refer to?-There is another question, 44,301, where Mr. Walker is asked, 'Is it all done through the middle-man?'-referring to the buying of woollen goods: he says, 'Through the merchants. Then, in considering the hosiery matter, when you leave the town, you come to the middle-men, merchants, or merchant factors, or merchant proprietors; in which case the knitters are their tenants. All worsted goods taken and sold in town are virtually taken surreptitiously or on the sly.' I wish to remark with regard to that, that I never heard of such a thing until I saw it here. 2338. Are there hosiery merchants and worsted merchants in the country?-Yes, here and there. 2339. Do they possess any hold over the knitters?-I suppose in some cases they will be factors for the proprietors, and these knitters will be living in family with the tenants who have the holdings. 2340. Do you know any instance of such hosiery merchants being proprietors in the country?-I don't know about them being proprietors. 2341. Or factors for proprietors?-I suppose Spence & Co., in Unst, are in that position. 2342. Are they hosiery merchants?-They deal extensively in hosiery; and I understand they are factors or lessees or the greater part of the island. 2343. But the other fish-curers generally are not hosiery merchants?-I think not, as a rule. 2344. Then you deny that, as a general rule, knitters are bound in any way to sell to dealers in the country?-I never heard of such a thing before especially this statement, that all worsted goods taken and sold in town are virtually taken surreptitiously. That may be true, but I never heard it till I read it in this evidence; and I don't believe it is true. 2345. Do you often send orders to the country?-Yes; we send orders to the merchants in the country for hosiery just the same as we order goods from the south, and the merchants in the country make them up. 2346. Do they have their profit on the hosiery in the first instance?-I suppose so. We pay them in cash. 2347. And you have a commission or a profit in your turn?-Yes, we must have that otherwise it would be no object for us to buy the articles. 2348. Is there any other point in the previous evidence which you wish to mention?-I don't think there is anything else. 2349. Is there any other correction you wish make upon that evidence, or upon the evidence which has been taken here, so far as you have heard it?-No. I heard the evidence of several of these knitting women, and I have no reason to doubt its general correctness. 2350. Is it the case that the knitters are more commonly in debt to the merchant than the other way,-that they are generally rather behind in their accounts with him?-In my own case, I don't think that is so, at least not to any extent. 2351. In a bad season do they not fall behind, and require credit to some extent from the merchant?-I don't think that obtains very much with the knitters. It would obtain more with the fishermen and heads of houses. 2352. But if a woman is depending entirely on knitting for her livelihood, and the prices of provisions are high, while at the same time the prices for knitted goods may happen to be low, is it usual for a merchant to make advances to her in goods or, in cash?- There being no system of cash payments, I would not say that I would make advances of cash to her. 2353. But would the merchant, in such a case, make advances to her in goods?-He probably would. We know most of these knitting girls, and we would not see them at a loss for anything they actually required. I believe most of the dealers would be ready to help them in that way. 2354. Does that come to be any inducement to the knitting women to sell their goods to particular merchants afterwards, or to submit to take their payments in goods when, in other circumstances, they would prefer to have them in cash?-I think, in many cases, if they were in debt to me, they would not scruple very much at walking off and dealing with some other body afterwards, and leaving my debt to take its chance; for they know there would be no legal proceedings taken-no summoning, or anything of that kind. I never heard of any case in Lerwick where a knitter was summoned for any balance which she was due. 2355. Perhaps the balances generally are so small, that it is not worth the merchants' while to summon the women for them?-I daresay that is the case. I have been told that one of the witnesses yesterday, Mrs. Arcus, referred to the state of the trade in my late fathers time and said it was better then, because the women who made these goods were in the habit of getting meal and groceries from my father for them. 2356. Was that actually the case?-It was. For a great many years my father kept meal, barley, rice, sugar, soap, tea, and all sorts of provisions; but the consequence was, that when newer dealers came into the trade, and went more extensively into the drapery goods, then the knitters and people selling for drapery came more upon my father for groceries, on which there was a much smaller profit; and of course that put us to a great disadvantage. The consequence was, that we gradually gave up the grocery part of the trade. I believe that is the explanation of the statement, which I daresay was quite correct. 2357. Of course there are some women who live entirely by knitting? Can you explain how they supply themselves with food if they are paid entirely or almost entirely with goods? Have you turned your [Page 49] attention to that point at all?-No, I must say I was rather astonished to hear some of the evidence which has been given here, although, I have no doubt it was quite correct. It had not occurred to me that some of these women were under such conditions as it appears they are. 2358. However, you have not turned your attention to that point?-No, but I have no doubt that what they said was quite correct; and perhaps there is a grievance there which ought to be remedied. I show you an entry in my invoice-book of a dozen gentleman's drawers sold for 48s., which is exactly the price paid for them in goods. My customer does not pay for eighteen months, so that I lose the interest for that time; and there is also 5 per cent. off at the end of the eighteen months. The two next items are in precisely the same position. They are charged at the nominal prices which we have paid for them in goods. 2359. The long credit which you give, in that case, arises from the state of the market in London?-Yes; these London houses are generally long in paying. 2360. But cannot you get your customers here, from whom you buy the goods, to take less for them?-No, we don't require to do that. I believe that when a woman makes a pair of drawers, or anything else that kind, she cannot be paid for them with less than 4s. 2361. Is that an article in which you deal extensively?-Yes; we buy a good many of them, but it is an article on which we have no profit. 2362. A statement has been made in this inquiry, that the success of a merchant in Shetland consists in being able to accumulate such an amount of bad debts about him as thirls the whole families in a neighbourhood to him, and then he gets on: do you concur in that statement?-I think that statement must have been intended as a burlesque. I cannot understand how any man could thrive by accumulating a large amount of bad debts. I read the statement at the time, but I could not understand it. 2363. It can only mean this: that the man has a number of debts which his debtors have difficulty in paying, but that they are in the course of earning money year after year and that they are compelled to spend entire earnings in is shop: do you think that is the case?-I can only say that in my own business I make a point of making as few debts as possible, and never any bad ones. To make bad debts I should consider a misfortune rather than a piece of good luck. 2364. But they may not be bad debts, although payment of them may be delayed for a long time. It is perhaps a misnomer, to call them bad debts?-Yes I should say so. 2365. I understand you were engaged at one time in the whaling agency business?-Yes, for some years. My brother-in-law and partner managed that part of the business; and he purposes to come forward and give some evidence, and produce books which he kept at that time. We went out of that trade last spring. Lerwick, January 4, 1872, ROBERT SINCLAIR, examined. 2366. You are the principal partner of the firm of Robert Sinclair & Co., merchants in Lerwick?-I am the sole partner of that firm. 2367. Your stock, I understand, consists of drapery goods and tea?-Drapery, millinery, boots and shoes, tea, and various other articles. I also keep various kinds of groceries-not many; but there are tea, soap, soda, and blue. 2368. You do not keep provisions?-Not provisions. 2369. Do you keep sugar?-No; I do not sell sugar now. 2370. Besides that trade, you are employed in the purchase and sale of hosiery?-I am. 2371. Your hosiery is obtained in two ways: either women that knit upon your employment or from parties who come with their own goods and sell them to you?-They are principally the latter. 2372. How many women can you state, have been employed on an average during the last three years in knitting for you with worsted supplied by you?-I never was at the pains to reckon exactly the number of knitters I had. I should suppose there would be on an average from 80 to 100-sometimes more and sometimes fewer; but that is only a guess. I have books here which will show it exactly. 2373. Are those women who knit for you paid generally in money, or in goods; or is there an account between you?-There is always an account kept with the knitters, and they are paid in cash or in goods-principally in goods; but there is no objection to pay them in cash when they want it. 2374. Are your people instructed to pay in cash when cash is asked for?-I never gave any direct instructions to that effect; but occasionally they may pay in cash when they know a customer well. If it is advances that are wanted, they would require to know the character of the customer to whom the advances are made. 2375. Do you mean to say that the question whether a request for an advance is to be granted or not, depends upon the state of the customer's account at that time?-Exactly, or mostly that. 2376. Then, if a knitter has a considerable amount at her credit, and wants money, is it the rule in your shop that she will get an advance?-She will get an advance in money when she has it to get; but we don't call that an advance,-it is a debt; and it has been generally understood, as has been often stated, that it is goods which they are to get for their work. That rule, however, has often been departed from-more particularly lately. 2377. You say there is an understanding they are to be paid in goods, but that that understanding has been departed from?-Yes, often. But the last question put to me was a double one. With regard to the other part of it,-as to them having a large amount at their credit,-the fact is, that they seldom have anything at their credit, but when the goods come in, they have to be entered to their credit, to make up for advances which they received when they were knitting. That is the rule, but there are several exceptions to it. 2378. As a general rule, has a knitter got more goods from you than the value of her work?-Yes; she generally has got quite equal to the value of it, and frequently more. 2379. You say that she has either got more goods than the value of the hosiery which she brings, or she has got at least up to the value of the work returned?-Yes; generally. 2380. Have you formed any idea as to whether the kind of goods which you supply to your knitters consists to a greater extent of articles of ordinary dress, such as cotton, and dress stuffs, and boots and shoes, or of millinery, and the finer articles which you deal in?-They consist principally of strong usable wearing apparel, boots and shoes, and other things that are generally required for domestic purposes or for their own wear. 2381. You say that you have about 80 or 100 women engaged knitting to you?-I only guessed that. I think there must be more. 2382. Is the system of dealing with the whole of these, that an account is kept?-Yes. 2383. Is that account kept in a pass-book with the knitter?-Not always. When they want a pass-book, they get it. You can see from that book [producing work-book], who have pass-books and who have not. 2384. Has every knitter a separate page in your work-ledger?- Yes; the book speaks for itself. 2385. It may be convenient for both of us if you take the case of Jemima Sandison just now, whose passbook I have got here. Is that pass-book an exact copy of the page in her name in your ledger?-Yes; the entries in both are made, at the same time. She brings the pass-book when she wants any article and the entry is made in the work-book at the same time as in the [Page 50] pass-book. Unless there is any error in summation or date, the one should be an exact transcript of the other. 2386. Is it generally known by you or your shopkeeper whether there is a sum at the credit of the worker, or whether the account stands the other way?-After they have gone on for a while, and when they come in with any work, of course we square up the books and examine them. 2387. In adding up Jemima Sandison's book, I find from November 11, 1870, to December 28, 1871, the amount of goods and cash supplied to her was £3, 5s. 3d.?-Yes; but there is something I may explain with regard to this particular case. All the work she has done does not appear here. If she wants to get wool or any other article, she can get it out of the shop on bringing goods for it, and that does not appear in the book. She sells the goods to us when she has made them, and gets either cash or goods for them according she wishes. That book does not show all our transactions with her. 2388. Some of them may be ready-money transactions?-Not ready-money, but private transactions, that do not appear in the books at all, because the book only contains the goods she gets from us, and for which she returns knitted work. She is paid for the knitting of these goods, and not for the whole value. 2389. How do you distinguish, in that case, between the goods that go into the pass-book and those which she gets, but which do not enter the pass-book?-There is no occasion to distinguish between them at all, because they are separate transactions. 2390. When she comes with a separate article to sell, how do you do?-Suppose a time when trade is dull, as Mr. Laurenson has explained, and we are not making falls (which is the principal thing this woman makes for us), we try to keep her in work by giving her out material, and she makes anything else with it that she likes. We do not enter that in the book at all. She makes it for herself. We may buy it from her, or she may go and sell it to another if she likes; or she, may have a private order for it, and sell it in that way. These transactions do not appear in the book. 2391. But when she comes to you, and you do happen to buy an article in that way from her, is she paid for it to a certain extent in goods?-Yes, if she wants them. 2392. These goods are not entered in the day-book?-Of course not. 2393. You just deliver there to her across the counter, in the same way as you would deliver them to any party who came in to make a ready-money transaction?-Yes. 2394. If she does not want exactly the value of goods which will pay for her shawl, or for any other article which she may have brought to you, do you enter the balance in any book?-No; we do not enter it in the book, except in the line-book. We give her a receipt for the balance, and we give her the balance in cash or in goods at any other time. 2395. If she wishes money for the balance, is it usual thing in your trade to pay it in money?-The fact is that we never refused her money when she asked it. She stated that in her evidence. 2396. That may have been the case with this particular woman, but is it the fact that any knitter who wants a balance of that kind in money is able to get it?-If she has bargained to take goods, and if the price we put on the article be such that we cannot give money on it without making a loss by it, then we don't give the money: we stick to the bargain. If the bargain has been such that it would allow us any little profit on it, then we give it all in money, if they want it in that way. 2397. The question whether she is to get money or goods for the balance, depends on the bargain which the woman has made?- Yes; decidedly. 2398. Can you tell me any case in which you have paid the whole price for hosiery goods in money?-I could tell you many cases of that kind, For instance, I could mention the case of Miss Gifford. 2399. What was the transaction you had with her?-My last transaction with her-indeed I have only had one for a long time-was for a shawl which bought from her; and paid all cash for it. 2400. When was that?-About three months ago. 2401. What was the price?-The price of the shawl was £4, and I gave her four £1 notes for it. 2402. Was not that a very valuable shawl?-Yes but I would rather have taken it and paid money for it, than I would have given barter for a thing that might lie on my hands until the moths eat it. 2403. The quality of the thing was so good, that you wanted to have it at any price?-Yes, and I could charge a small profit on it; but I cannot do that on the great bulk of the things I get. 2404. Did you pay for that in cash because it was an exceptional article?-I paid for it in cash because I wanted it. I would do the same for anything I wanted; but when goods are forced upon us, and goods asked for them, we cannot be expected to put our hands into the till and pay out cash for them. 2405. Are goods forced upon you?-Yes. 2406. Have you no option but to buy them?-No. That is not the meaning of my words. I do not mean that we are forced to buy them, in that sense. I mean, that people come in importuning us to buy goods which we do not want. 2407. You do buy them, however?-Sometimes, and sometimes not. 2408. Is it in consequence of the importunity of your customers that you buy them?-Sometimes, and sometimes not. 2409. But you say that sometimes you are forced by the importunity of your customers to buy their goods?-Yes; we may be induced to do it by an importunate woman. 2410. And when the importunity is so great that you are constrained to buy them, are these the cases in which you pay in goods?-No; the people often don't want the cash. They don't ask for it. They come to us with the general understanding that the, trade is done in goods-I mean in barter. 2411. Do you say the general understanding is that the payment is to be in goods, and also that you have sometimes to buy goods because you are importuned to do so?-Decidedly. I say I do buy them sometimes, because I cannot get rid of the customer otherwise, but these are exceptional cases. 2412. Is it because of the importunity, or because it is the general custom, that the payment is in goods?-That has been a tradition from time immemorial. 2413. But you have assigned the fact of paying in goods to both of these causes, and I wish to know which of them it is that you really refer it to?-It is sometimes the one and sometimes the other. 2414. But you are not obliged to buy hosiery and pay with goods unless you like?-Not at all; nor for money either. What I stated was, that I would rather pay in cash for a good article which I can sell again, than purchase a thing on barter that I have a great risk in selling. That is the whole import and purpose of what I said. 2415. You instanced one transaction,-that which you had with Elizabeth Gifford?-Yes; and there is another girl, Catherine Brown, who is in Leith just now, from whom I bought a great number of shawls, and paid her cash down for them. 2416. Was that long ago?-It has gone over a number of years. 2417. Was your reason for paying the cash the same in that case: because the articles which you got from her were good?-Yes; they were prime articles. 2418. Is there any one else you wish to mention?-There are many cases in which I paid cash for hosiery articles, although I could not name the persons just now. They were people whose faces I knew, but I cannot recollect their names. 2419. Were these cases in which you paid the whole value in cash?-Yes. 2420. Did these transactions enter your books?-No; the cash was just paid for them at the time. 2421. Do you take no notice of the cash paid out in [Page 51] that way?-Not generally. I don't that there is any special entry in the cash-book showing what it had been paid for. 2422. Don't you take a receipt from such persons?-No, I never did. 2423. Then how do you know the price at which to sell these shawls?-Because I put the prices on the shawls myself. 2424. Do you mark them all at the time?-Yes. 2425. And you swear that no entry of such a payment enters into any of your books?-I swear that, to my knowledge, there is no memorandum taken of a cash transaction carried through in that way. With regard Elizabeth Gifford, I may explain that I gave her a receipt for a shawl to be paid for in cash, and she came to my shop some time afterwards and got the cash. 2426. Then that cash entered your book?-Yes. Here is the entry [produces line-book]: 'C. M. 95. 1. 11.71. Paid in cash, 80s. £4.' 2427. How do you know that is the transaction?-Because it is the only transaction of the kind that is in the book, it is the only transaction in which £4 was paid in cash. 2428. Was that entry all made at one time?-The first part of it was made when she brought the shawl. The date when she got the line is not here. 2429. Then it was on 1st November 1871 that she got the money?-Yes. 2430. The entry made at first was 'C.M. 95. 80s. £4?'-Yes. 2431. And the figures '1. 11. 71,' and the words 'paid in cash,' were inserted when the money was given?-Yes 2432. There is no entry of the date of the issuing of the line at first?-No; the book was not being dated then. 2433. When did the book begin to be dated?-We have the date on the line itself, and therefore it is quite sufficient to enter the numbers of the lines in the book. 2434. But when did the book begin to be dated?-On 30th October. 2435. Then it must have been a few days before 30th October when the line was first given out?-Yes. 2436. To come back to Jemima Sandison's book the total amount supplied to her was £3, 5s. 31/2d. in period of thirteen months, and there was a balance of 16s. to begin with. The amount that appears to have been paid in cash during that time is 3s. 6d. on all these transaction: is that so?-It may be; but I have ready explained that the entries in the book do not represent all the cash which she got from me. 2437. She also appears to have got tea on thirty-seven different occasions, in quantities of 8d., 9d., and 10d. worth at the time?- Yes; that would be a quarter of a pound. 2438. The amount of tea altogether comes to 5d. or more than one-half of the total quantity of all that she got from you. If we assume that she got a amount of tea as part of the previous balance of 16s, there is thus only 8s. 6d. paid in cash, 30s. or more paid in tea, and the rest paid in goods. Can you give me any idea whether the amount of cash paid to this woman on the separate transactions you have been speaking of would be greater or less than the amount appearing in this book?-I could not swear as to what it was, because we are transacting business of that kind with her very frequently, and it is impossible to remember what amount of goods or of cash she got on these particular transactions. I should say that what the book gives about a fair average of what it might be upon the other sales as well, or it might be that it would rather exceed it; but I should wish to remark that she never was refused the cash that was asked for by her. 2439. Do you think the case of this woman Sandison may be taken as a fair specimen of the accounts which you keep with the other women employed by you?-No, there are exceptions; there are some who got a good deal more cash than she did. 2440. Was there any reason, in these other cases, for their getting more cash?-Of course they asked for more and perhaps they needed it. There are some who are equally dependent with her, and who have perhaps less chances of getting money otherwise. As I said, she sometimes makes to order, and gets cash from that source. If you will take the case of Mary Ann Sinclair and her sisters as it appears in the book, you will see that they got more cash than Sandison did. 2441. I see in Mary Ann Sinclair's account on 'September 30, 1868, cash 5s.; October 13, cash for meal 11s. 3d.; November 18, cash 1s.; November 23, to paid William Smith for meal 5s. 4d.; November. 27, cash 1s.' Do you give that as an average specimen of the amount of cash that was paid?-There may be exceptional cases; but I daresay, taking the whole thing, Sandison's pass-book may be regarded as a fair specimen of the way in which the thing has gone on. 2442. In that account of Mary Ann Sinclair's which you have just showed me there is an entry of 5s. 4d. paid to William Smith for meal: who is William Smith?-He is a grocer in town. 2443. Was that paid to him directly, or did the money pass through the hands of the woman Sinclair?-I generally gave her the money, and told her to go anywhere she liked with it; but in some cases, if it happened that I did not have the cash on the counter, or handy, she went to the same person that she used to deal with, or to any one she wanted to go to, and got what she required, and I paid the cash for it perhaps on the same day. 2444. In what way was that transaction carried out? Did you give her a line to go to Smith for the meal?-I don't think it. I have no recollection of doing it. 2445. Is that a common kind of entry in your book?-No. 2446. There is another entry of 11s. 3d, for meal: would that be paid to Smith or to the woman Sinclair?-I think it was paid to herself. 2447. Then why is it entered in your book as being for meal?- Very often we did that in order to distinguish the things she wanted the cash for, and to keep a check on them. For instance, they might come in and ask cash from me and they would receive it. 2448. But why should you wish to keep a check on them in a case like that?-I don't know. 2449. Had you any interest in the way in which the woman was to spend her money?-No; but if we paid cash to a person for one of these women, we marked it down as having been paid. 2450. Then when you put down this sum of 11s. 3d. for meal, did that mean that you had paid the money to Smith or to some other meal-dealer, or that you had paid the money to Mary Ann Sinclair herself?-I cannot recollect. 2451. I only want you to explain, if possible, or to suggest an explanation if you don't remember, about how it happened that that entry was made for meal. If the woman got it in cash, would it not be simply marked down as cash?-I don't remember about that. She might have got the meal from Smith, and paid him the money at any time. She may have told us that she had to pay Smith an account, and asked us to pay it for her. That is the only explanation I can give of it. Sometimes she would ask to get a little meal; and as we did not have meal, we would tell her to go to anyone she liked and get it, and we would pay the party for it. I may say, at the same time, that I did not have a fraction upon that. There was no compact about in between me and the man who supplied her with the meal. We just paid her account to him in cash. 2452. You don't remember either of these payments?-No; I cannot remember them. 2453 Do you know whether such entries are frequent in your books?-They are not; there is no occasion for them being frequent. 2454. Does a woman often come and say to you, 'I want some money to pay for meal or some groceries, and I wish you would give me so much?'-No; I have no recollection of any other case than the one which [Page 52] has been referred to. There may have been cases in which, when selling an article, they may have asked for a few shillings for themselves, and where they may have mentioned what they wanted it for; but with regard to Mary Ann Sinclair's case, to the best of my recollection, this was just an account which I paid for her to a meal-dealer that she was owing it to. 2455. You say that some of your knitters don't have pass-books at all?-The majority of them have. 2456. In that case, the only account kept with them is the one entered in your work-book?-Yes; but whenever we settle, we carefully read over all the items to them and if they take any objection to them, of course they get some explanation. 2457. The work-book you have produced is the current one?- Yes. 2458. Is there any entry in it showing where a pass-book has been given?-Yes; it is generally marked in red pencil where there is a pass-book. There are not many pass-books; I don't think we have a dozen altogether; but the women are never refused a pass-book if they want it. It entails a great deal more trouble on us to keep them. 2459. When you come to settle one of these accounts where there is no pass-book, how do you proceed?-For instance, here is Elizabeth Hunter, from Trondra: she comes into town on September 2, and you find then a balance for articles brought in, which she takes in goods?-She takes more than she has to get. 2460. Are all these items read over to her at that time?-Every item is read over to every person when we settle with them. We always make a point of reading over the account in detail, and satisfying them about it. Sometimes it happens that they cannot remember about a particular thing, and some explanation is given to them, generally by one of the people the shop; and that satisfies them. 2461. Does it sometimes happen that the balance such a case is in favour of the knitter?-Yes; sometimes. 2462. Is it, then, the practice simply to carry the balance on to the new account, or does the woman receive any acknowledgment for the balance?-The balance generally the other way. I may say that we never take goods in advance. They generally go ahead, and we must keep a tight rein on some of them otherwise they would go deep enough. For instance here is a copy of the account of Elizabeth Robertson, who was examined before you on Monday. [Produces copy account.] 2463. Before going into that, I believe you think that in some parts of the previous evidence an erroneous impression has been produced to the effect that no worsted can be got in exchange for the knitted goods?-Yes; I can state that I myself with my own hands have given Elizabeth Robertson worsted in payment for shawls more than once. I have given her the greater part of the value of her shawls, or of the goods she had to sell, in worsted, although that does not appear in her account. 2464. That has occurred when she has brought articles to you for sale or exchange?-Yes. 2465. Do you say you have often given her the greater part of her work in worsted?-I have not often given her the greater part, but I have often given her part, and sometimes the greater part, in worsted. Those in my shop can bear testimony to the same effect, that they have given her worsted too. In fact we never refused to give Pyrenees wool for the knitted goods when we had it, except on rare occasions, when we had very little of it, and had to give it out ourselves for work that we required. 2466. I suppose you know that if you give them that worsted in return for their hosiery, they will bring it back to you?-They may, or they may not. 2467. Do they not bring it to somebody?-They may to somebody, but perhaps not to me. They may have an order for it from a lady in the south, or dispose of it in other ways. We do not ask them what they do with it, unless we give it out to them to make a special article with. The fact is, with regard to that kind of worsted we do scarcely anything in it, but we sell it to any knitter in order to accommodate them. 2468. Then you say you have given Pyrenees worsted to Elizabeth Robertson?-Yes. 2469. Have you ever given her the other kinds of worsted that come from Yorkshire?-That is the same thing. 2470. Is the Pyrenees and the Yorkshire worsted all the same?- No, the Pyrenees is one class. There is mohair worsted. I don't recollect whether I ever gave any of it. It is used, for knitting falls. 'The Pyrenees is generally made into shawls. 2471. Does Robertson generally make shawls-Yes, generally; but she makes falls too. I don't recollect giving her mohair; but I have given her Pyrenees often. She would get any kind when she asked for it; but mohair is a thing we never do sell, because we only bring it in for our own use 2472. Is it the highest priced of all?-Yes. 2473. Is it higher than the Shetland wool?-We don't sell the Shetland wool, except in rare, exceptional cases. The fine wool we never sell, because we have great difficulty in getting it. We never send it south; nor do we sell it in the shop as an article of sale, except on occasions when a person is very much in want of it for any particular purpose. 2474. For darning, for instance?-No, that kind of wool is not fit for darning; it is only the coarser kind that is used in that way. 2475. Then you don't regard the Shetland wool as an article of commerce?-No, it is a material we use for ourselves and we have very great difficulty in getting as much of it as we require. We pay cash for it; and if we were to sell it would put a stop to our trade. 2476. You heard the evidence of Mr. Laurenson about Shetland wool?-Yes; it is something different from my experience. If a lady or a retail dealer in the south orders a Shetland shawl, we don't send a shawl made of Shetland wool unless we know that they want that particular kind, but if we send one of Pyrenees wool, we tell them what it is made of and that if will not do, they can return it. 2477. With regard to the worsted, does the idea that knitters cannot purchase worsted from merchants in Lerwick arise from the fact that the merchants do not regard Shetland wool as an article of commerce?-That is my impression. They not only do not so regard it; but the fact is, if they made it an article of commerce, it would put a stop to their business. 2478. How so?-Because they cannot get sufficient material for their own use and also for sale. 2479. Do you mean that if you sold Shetland wool to any one who asked it, you would not have a sufficient supply for your own trade?-That is one reason; but there is another reason: because it would be like changing a shilling, for the people know the value of these things, and they would just pay me for the wool what I paid for it in cash. 2480. They can get the wool from the same dealers from whom you buy?-Yes, and of course the price of it is as well known to them as to me. Another thing is, that if I take a parcel of worsted of perhaps 600 or 700 cuts, a knitter who wants some of it won't be pleased unless she gets the very pick of it; and for the very pick of it she won't give me any more than I had to pay for the whole of it overhead. 2481. That is substantially what Mr. Laurenson said with regard to the reason for not selling Shetland wool. He does not sell it either?-None of the principal dealers sell it. Sometimes some of the wool is sold to grocers in town who don't deal in shawls, and the knitters buy it from them. 2482. But if the knitters ask for Shetland wool, and offer cash for it, is it usual to sell it?-No, except in very exceptional cases; and you will see that an exception has been made in the case of that girl Robertson. [Page 53] 2483. You want to point that out?-Yes; I consider that we dealt with her in rather an exceptional way. 2484. I see '12 cuts worsted:' is that what you refer to?-There is more than that in the account. The very first thing is a balance on worsted from a previous account, of 2s.; then on December 16, 1865, she gets 12 and 16 cuts at the same time, but at different prices. The 16 cuts are charged at 3d. per cut, which is a kind of worsted we very seldom sell. Then July 5, 1866, there are 12 cuts; and in 1868 there are other sales of worsted to her. 2485. Is this a copy from your books of the account with Elizabeth Robertson?-Yes; exactly. 2486. The crosses on the side show where worsted has been given?-Yes. 2487. Do these entries refer to Shetland worsted?-I think mostly. 2488. But you say this is an exceptional case?-Yes; it was to favour her that I did it. 2489. Was there any particular reason for favouring her in that way?-It was done because I thought she was a needful person, and she pleaded for it. 2490. Was it that sort of wool that she was in the way of knitting?-It was that kind she wanted; and although I was not in the habit of selling it, I gave it to oblige her. 2491. Do these entries appear in the ordinary account which you kept with her as a knitter employed by you?-She was never employed by me specially. 2492. Did she always knit with her own wool?-Always with me. She did not knit specially to me, that I recollect of I have no recollection of ever employing her. [Shown account in work-book.] I see from this that she has knitted for me. She knitted three shawls for me in 1867. The others are shawls she knitted for herself, and sold in the shop. At 15, March 1870, she was due me £4, 16s. 31/2d. 2493. I see that between March 29 and December 28 she has paid off that balance with the exception about £1?-Yes. Then she said in her evidence that she would not have taken out so much in clothes, or half so much, if it had not been that she was compelled to take goods for her work. Now I would ask how that statement is consistent with the fact that for about twelve months she was due me that sum, mostly for clothes, when she was not asked to take them, but the reverse. 2494. She got them on credit?-Yes. 2495. Then this account of hers you happen to have, because she was knitting at that time for you?-I would not assign that is a reason for her getting the goods. 2496. But I am asking you the reason why you have this account?-Because it is in my books. 2497. I rather understood that the only women who had accounts entered in your books were those who were employed by you as knitters: is not that so?-Of course, when the women get into my debt, I must take note of what they bring to me with which to pay off their debt; and that must pass through my books. I do not take a note of all the transactions over the counter; it is only when a woman runs into debt that anything appears in the books. 2498. Is this account taken from what you call the work-book?- No; it is entered first in our ledgers, and now it has been transferred to the work-book. 2499. Is the ledger a different book?-The work-book is a kind of compound between the two. It was entered first in the one, and then in the other. 2500. But it was because the woman was working for you that the account happened to be put in that form?-Of course. I think that was mostly the way in which the credit was got. She would just creep in and then, and she was in the habit of getting things that she asked for, and these were put into the book. That is the only way in which I can account for her getting them. But I would draw attention to the copy of her account, as showing that she got goods she needed them and it was a mere subterfuge for her to say that she got goods from the merchant although she did not knit for him. 2501. Is there anything further you wish to say with regard to the evidence of Elizabeth Robertson?-Nothing, except with regard to these two items of it. 2502. When she was under examination she handed me this line [showing line quoted in Elizabeth Robertson's evidence]; and I have also got a line in these 'C. Y. 92.-Credit bearer value in goods for 18s. 'R. SINCLAIR & CO. 'J.J.B. '22. 12. 71.' Do you give out many of these lines in your business?-Yes, a good many. 2503. How is that?-It is not our wish to give lines, if the women would only take the value out at once; but when they have bargained to take goods for their work or for their hosiery, and they will not take them at the time, what are we to do?-We might enter them in a book, but they prefer to have a line, and come with it and get what they want marked on it later, whenever they want the goods. 2504. What is the meaning of the initial letters at the commencement of the line?-They are put there so that we may be able to identify the lines at a glance and they correspond with the same letters in the line-book, where a check is kept. The numbers begin under each initial letter, and run to 100 consecutively until that number is reached, and then we begin with another initial letter. For instance, after C. W. we have C. X. 2505. There are two letters: how do you explain that?-Because, when we get to the end of the alphabet we must distinguish; we could not begin with again. 2506. In introducing this system of notation you began with?- Yes, and went on to Z. 2507. You numbered these receipts or notes, or whatever they may be called, A 1, A 2, and so on up to A 100, and then you went through the alphabet with one letter until you came to Z 100?- Yes. 2508. When you began to take A A 1, and so on?-I think it was A B, until we came to the end of the alphabet again. 2509. Then you took BA, and so on to B Z, using the double letters BA, 100 times, and the double letters BC 100 times?-Yes. 2510. How long is it since this system was introduced?-I have no recollection how long it is since it began. It is not two years, I think; but it may be more. 2511. Does that mean that you have issued some 6000 or 8000 of these lines in two years?-I suppose so. It will just mean about that. 2512. Can you give me any idea, or do your books give any idea, within what time these lines are brought back to be liquidated?- Sometimes in two hours, and sometimes longer. When we take goods from the knitters, we generally, in order to prevent any mistake, give them a receipt for them in that form; and having other work to do when we are very busy, they take that in their pocket and go away, and then they look in again when we have a slack moment and get the value of it, sometimes on the very same day. I don't know how often it is on the same day, but it is very often. 2513. Are these lines only given to the people who sell you goods, or are they given also to your work-people?-There are very few of the work-people who got lines in that way. It is only when the people selling goods that they may get such a line if they want it. 2514. Can you tell me any of your work-people who have got lines in that way?-I cannot; but the work-book would show if such lines had been given. 2515. In what way does the work-book show it?-By an entry to the individual's debit. I think you will find very few of them. 2516. What do you call these things? Do you call them I O U's, or receipts, or lines; or what are they?-They are just vouchers for their value. [Page 54] 2517. Is it a general practice in the trade in Lerwick to give these lines?-It is only within the last few years that it has been practised to any extent, and we would, much rather do away with them if we could. 2518. How could they be done away with?-Just by giving the people value for their goods when they bring them. That is the only way I know. 2519. Do you mean the value in cash?-The value in cash or in goods. If it cash tariff were introduced, which I suppose would be better for the whole of us, it would save us all this bother. 2520. Do you think it would be better to have a cash system introduced altogether?-It would be better for the trade, at any rate. 2521. But the nominal price paid to the knitters would in that case be less?-I think that, in some cases, not only the nominal but the real price would be less. 2522. Do you mean that the knitter would really get less value for her work?-I do mean that, as we have always endeavoured to deal on that principle,-to sell on cash terms, and to take the very least we could for the article in cash. 2523. You mean that you take the smallest profit you can on your goods?-Yes. Suppose for instance, a woman comes in with a shawl, the market value of which is 20s. that is the price I should expect to get, and would get, for it. 2524. Do you mean that is the market value in Lerwick?-No; it is the market value in the south. Suppose the value put upon it were £1, I would only get 20s. for it in the south. 2525. Do you sell your goods to retail or wholesale dealers?-I sell them wherever I can get them sold, but the greater part of them are sold wholesale; that is, we sell them wholesale to retail dealers. 2526. You sell them to retail dealers, so that you have only one price, for your goods going south?-Yes. 2527. You heard Mr. Laurenson state that there was sometimes it difference in the price which he charged, according as the sale was one to dealer, or to a dealer who sold retail?-I understood Mr. Laurenson to mean that he made a difference when he sold a shawl to a private customer, and when he sold a dozen or two to a retail dealer; and so do we. 2528. Is that the only difference you make in selling your goods?-Yes; and we think that is only fair the trade. 2529. I interrupted you when you were putting the case of a shawl worth 20s. What did you wish to say about that?-We fix our lowest rate of profits, and we give the people goods the same as if they had cash to lay down for them; and I can bring evidence to that effect if you want it. 2530. Do you mean that you fix your lowest rate of profit upon the hosiery goods you buy?-No; our lowest rate of profit on the goods we sell. A third way of explaining it is, that we treat as cash the goods which we buy. A shawl worth 20s. is reckoned by us as a £1 note would be reckoned,-with this difference, that if a man is laying down a £l note we would give him 5 per cent. discount when he bought our goods. We consider that the trouble we have with the shawls, and the time we lie out of our money, is worth 5 per cent. 2531. Then what you say comes to this: that upon your hosiery goods you make no profit at all?-Not when they are once sold; that is to say, when they are once bought, the profit lies in the profit we have upon the goods. That is the only profit we have in the matter. 2532. But upon the hosiery, looked at by itself, you do not make any profit at all?-No; I say that I make none, and I swear to that most emphatically. 2533. In other words, the profit you make upon your purchases of hosiery is only the profit you make upon your sales of goods, which are given in return for the hosiery?-Yes; in short, it is two sales for one profit. 2534. That is to say, you are obliged to take the hosiery at the market price in the south, in order to get payment for your drapery and other goods?-With regard to that, I am not obliged to take them, further than that is the only thing in the country that reckoned as a kind of payment. 2535. It is the only thing which your purchasers have to give you for your goods?-That is my meaning exactly. 2536. You were going to offer me some evidence of that?-I can give evidence of it afterwards. My own employees can prove it, also women who have been in my employment, and also people who have been purchasing both for cash and goods. 2537. What can they prove?-They can prove that there is no difference between the two prices, and that the price which I charged is the lowest price I can fix. 2538. You are prepared to give evidence of this fact, that the price you allow to the seller of hosiery in Shetland is the price you get from the buyer in the south?-Yes, I can prove that. At least I can prove that it is so on the whole, by comparison, the invoiced prices of the goods sent south with the general prices of goods bought in the country. Here is a list of them [producing trade list]. 2539. Is this list what you send to your purchasing customers?- Yes; and if you compare these prices with the prices of similar goods bought at the counter of my shop, you will find that there is no difference. The question was put to me, whether there would be a difference between the nominal value a customer would receive under the present system and if a cash system were introduced. I say there would be a real difference, but ultimately the merchant would be no loser. The difference would lie in this: that if I were compelled to buy goods for cash, that is, if I could not barter them, I would have no profit by giving the same rate that I now give. That, I think, is plain from what I have already stated. Then I would require to buy them at a discount equivalent to the profit I now have on my goods, or else I could not carry on my trade; and that would be the same with whoever dealt in these articles. The cash price we can afford to give for Shetland goods here is just the value we pay for the goods that we give in exchange for them; and if we were to give more than that price, there would be an end of the trade. 2540. Do you not mean that it is the value you pay for the goods you give in exchange, plus your profit upon these goods?-I say the price we could afford to pay in cash is just the price we do pay cash, which is paid not to the knitter, but to the party in the south that we buy our goods from. Our goods cost us cash: that cash, thousands of pounds every year, would go into the hands of the knitters here; but in that case we would just give them that money, less the profit we have on the goods. That is speaking of the thing in a broad sense. There would be a real loss to the knitters in that case where they were fairly dealt with, because they could not get goods without a profit, and they in that case would have to put their hands into their pockets and give a few shillings more. For instance, suppose the case of a 20s. shawl: they get 20s. of real good value for it under the present system. If I were obliged to pay in cash, I suppose I could not give more than 16s. or 17s. for it; and if the individual wanted the very same thing from me which she can now get for the 20s., yet under the other system she would require to go to some other shop and purchase it, paying 3s. or 4s. more for it than she now does. 2541. Is this what it comes to: that if a cash system were introduced, the knitter would be worse off, because the merchant would require to take two profits instead of one?-He would only have one profit to take. 2542. But if it were a cash system, would he have to take two profits?-No, he would not take two profits. 2543. If there were a cash system, would not the [Page 55] buyer of the hosiery from the knitter require to make a profit upon the hosiery?-Decidedly. 2544. And further, would not the seller of the goods to her require to have a profit upon these goods as well?-Certainly. 2545. Therefore there would be two profits?-Yes; there would be two profits taken from the knitter, but not by me. 2546. But I am putting the case of the knitter, and in that case the buyer of the hosiery might be a different person altogether?-That is my meaning. 2547. The knitter would have to sell her hosiery at such a price that the hosiery merchant would make a profit on his re-sale, while she would have to buy the goods at such a price that the dealer from whom she bought them would make something like the present profit which you make upon them?-Yes. Suppose we were to purchase for cash, and the cash system were introduced, in all probability the drapers would be simply drapers, and not hosiers at all; or they might withdraw their capital from the drapery business and embark it in the hosiery business altogether. 2548. Then what you mean to make out is, that at present you are making only one profit?-I do mean to make that out, for it is true; and I am very thankful when I can get it. 2549. How do you prove that there is only one profit at present?- By looking at the prices at which the goods are bought and sold. 2550. Let us take a single instance: you have put in a wholesale trade list for 1870?-Yes; we have later ones, but that will be sufficient for the purpose. There is no difference on them. 2551. Is that list issued at the beginning of the year?-I should like that others proved that, and not me. You can get it from my employees, or from my books, or from people who buy from me. 2552. In what way do you suggest that it should be shown? By this wholesale trade list, and by taking a variety of instances from your books in which prices have been paid for the articles that are mentioned here?-Yes. 2553. How would that be shown in your books?-By entries to the knitters whom we deal with. 2554. We could not find that by the entries in the work-book, because they show it only in detail?-I am not speaking of the work-book just now. 2555. It could only be shown by the sales?-Yes; and of course that list has been prepared from the prices which we pay for the goods. 2556. Do you mean the prices to dealers, or prices to people who sell them over the counter to you?-I mean the prices that we pay to the people for them, and which I pay over to them. 2557. But I think you said that when you buy the goods over the counter, no record is kept of these prices?-No; but the people that we buy them from would tell you the prices they get for them. In some instances, where debts have been paid by means of these goods, there may be entries in the books which will show the prices. 2558. Is there any entry in your books at all of your purchases of hosiery? I rather understood you to say that there was no such entry?-I think I said that when goods were presented for sale, there was note taken of what was given for them; but when goods come from the north isles or from people who send them to us from a distance, we enter them in the books. 2559. Are there dealers in the north isles who send goods to you?-Either dealers or private individuals may send us falls or various other things, and the entries with regard to them will show the prices given for them. 2560. These transactions will appear in the day-book?-I think so. 2561.You think Mr. Sandison, your bookkeeper, would be better able to point these out than you?-He would be better able to lay his hand on them; but sometimes we buy from dealers and pay cash for them, and same thing applies in that case which Mr. Laurenson stated, that we charge a small percentage on these goods, because we pay in cash for them. 2562. You put in the trade list, and you also put in a copy invoice, which you have shown to me, containing the prices at which you have sold the goods there mentioned?-Yes. It shows that there is a certain discount allowed; but that discount does not come off the profits charged on the hosiery, but off the sales of goods I give for them. 2563. Do you calculate that there is a larger profit upon hosiery goods which are made by your own knitters than on those which you buy and sell in the way you have described?-That is it question I have sometimes asked myself; and, taking the thing altogether, I don't think there is much difference. 2564. Don't you allow a little for the extra trouble and risk you have with your knitters?-There is a certain market price that we cannot get beyond. We must take the price in the market. Unless one merchant was able to monopolize the trade altogether, and force up the prices, he would not get more than the market price of the goods. 2565. You have said that the footing on which you settle with your knitters and with those who sell to you is, that the bargain between you is that they are to take goods?-That is the understanding. We do not make any formal bargain. 2566. Is that bargain made with the knitters whom you employ at the time when you give out the wool?-I have said already that we make no formal bargain, but it is generally understood that we pay them in kind. They know that, and consequently they very seldom ask for anything else. But we don't stick entirely to that. 2567. You sometimes give them cash?-Yes. 2568. Is it regarded as a great favour to pay them a considerable sum in cash?-I may give an instance. The general price paid for knitting a fall of Shetland yarn is about 1s. That is about the average price, although the coarser quality may be lower than that. The yarn for that fall costs us from 6d. to 7d. That is paid in cash; and the girl is paid part in cash and part in goods, or it may be all in goods. That brings up the cost to 19d.; but if it is wanted black we must pay freight south, in order to have it dyed, and freight back to Shetland. We also pay for the dyeing of it; and these things altogether come to about 11/2d. per fall-that is 1s. 81/2d.; and then there is dressing, 1d. 2569. When do you send it south for dyeing?-When it is made. 2570. And do you bring it back here to be dressed?-Yes; that is an additional expense upon it, which has never been pointed out. 2571. Could it not be dressed in the south?-No, it could not. 2572. It must come back here simply for the dressing?-Yes; we could not value it unless we got it back and sorted it, and knew the value of it. 2573. You don't know the value of it until it is dressed?-We do not ask ourselves the value before then. We know the average value of them pretty nearly; but we send them south, and get them back dyed, and then we must dress them. There are a number of them which may be damaged, either in the working or the dyeing, and that detracts from their value, and that very fall I am now referring to, when it comes to be sold, will not bring more than perhaps 2s. In that way you can calculate where our profit lies. There are cheaper falls that do not bring more than 18d., and sometimes even lower. 2574. Then I understand you to say that in every bargain with a knitter, and generally with a seller, of a shawl, the understanding is that they are to take the price in goods?-Yes; that has been so time out of mind: I remember a time about forty years ago, when it was different and when there were two prices on goods which they sold. 2575. There were two prices then-one for cash, and the other for goods?-Yes; perhaps from 20 to per cent. of difference. I remember hearing that question discussed at my father's fire when I was a mere youth. I have been told, although I do know it [Page 56] myself, because I was not in the trade then, a woman may have bought a piece of goods for 16d., when a party paying cash for it only paid 1s. The more intelligent of, the natives thought that was an iniquitous thing; but then it was always known and done avowedly, and the people yielded to it. They said it was not possible for them to take barter, and sell their goods at the same rate because there was so much risk and outlay. That reason never appeared satisfactory to me; and it was not until I came behind the scenes, as it were, that I saw the reason for it was, that the value given for Shetland goods was far beyond what it really was worth in the market. Its real value in the market was about the same amount less than what was charged as an addition upon the goods. What I mean is that, supposing a woman came in with a pair of stockings, the real market price of which was 2s., but for which she wished 2s. 6d., the merchant, in order to secure a sale for his goods, would give her goods in exchange of the nominal value of 2s. 6d., but he would put 3d. a yard on the price of the goods which he gave in exchange. That explains how it is that a person knowing the value of the articles, seeing the purchase which the woman might have made, and hearing the price of it, might have said that they were about 25 per cent. too high, whereas in reality they were not so. She had merely been getting value for her goods, although she did not know it; and it would not have made any difference; although it had been as many pounds higher, while the relative proportions were kept up between the value of the two articles. 2576. Is that done now?-Not that I know of. 2577. If a woman puts a higher price on her goods, is it not the usual thing for a merchant to put a little additional on the price of the goods which he is to give her in exchange?-I don't know what other merchants do, but we never do it. Only the other day, a woman carried out two shawls which I could have bought if I had departed from our usual practice, but I thought they were priced too high. I could have sold the shawls at 1s. or 2s. lower, but I would not buy them these terms. We have one fixed price for cash and goods. I am not aware whether the practice I have mentioned exists now in the town; I don't think it does. When I commenced business I made it a point fix my price in that way, and I have always adhered that. I was told by some parties I would never do business in that manner; but I had some faith in common sense, and I hoped the people would come to see that they were as well dealt with in taking the real cash value and getting the real cash value; so that we never give a higher price than we consider the thing is worth in the market, and we do not give lower. 2578. You say your understanding is, that goods are to be taken in payment, but that cash is given to a small extent: do you not consider that to be a departure from the understanding?- Decidedly. 2579. You do that, as a favour to the knitter?-Yes; and I wish it to be distinctly understood, that in every case when I give 1s. of cash, I consider it is just 2d. out of my pocket. 2580. Would you not have that profit if the 1s. was spent in your shop?-Yes. 2581. With regard to the lines or receipts which you issue, can you say whether they are generally presented at your shop by the parties to whom they were originally given out?-They are made payable to the bearer, and they may not be presented by these parties. 2582. But, in point of fact, are they generally presented by the parties to whom they have been given out?-It is impossible to know who they have been given out to, or who brings them back. 2583. Then what is the purpose of your keeping this register of them?-It is a check upon the lines. If we had no check of that kind, we would not know what lines were out. 2584. And you would not know what amount was lying out in that way?-No; that is one reason for keeping it. Another thing is, that if a line was lost, and its value paid to another person who had found it, we could see by this book when it was paid. 2585. Could it show to whom it was paid?-No. 2586. I suppose the lines themselves are destroyed when they have been settled for?-Yes. 2587. You have no means of telling from your books, whether they have been presented by the original creditor in them, or by another?-No. 2588. And you don't know about that from your own personal knowledge?-As regards my own personal knowledge, I know that, in the generality of cases, they are presented by the parties to whom they have been given originally. 2589. Does that lead you to conclude that this system of lines is not a new kind of currency that has been generally adopted in Shetland?-I never heard of that. 2590. Does one of these lines pass from hand to hand, in payment for what the creditor in it wants?-Not to my knowledge. It is only now or lately that I have ever heard of such a thing being done. 2591. You have not known of them being transferred to other hands, and being presented by some one from whom the knitter has obtained other goods or services?-There never was any such thing stated to me. 2592. Of course you pay the value of the line to any one who presents it?-Yes. There was a girl, Borthwick, examined here, who said she had to sell her tea at half-price, in order to get other things which she wanted. I spoke to her about it, and said I had never heard of such a thing being done before, and that she must be a great fool to do anything of the kind; for she had come to us and said that she wanted the money, she would have got it upon giving a small discount for it. 2593. Have you actually given money upon that discount when requested?-I have. 2594. That is to say, one of these lines has been presented to you and cash asked for it?-Yes; part cash. I have sometimes given cash on these lines, although it was goods that was bargained for. 2595. The lines bear to be payable in goods?-Yes; but when I saw that the person was really requiring the cash, and that it was not just a 'try-on,' as it were, I took 2d. off the 1s. and paid in cash. 2596. May that have occurred often?-No; very seldom. 2597. Has it been lately?-Yes. I was obliged to make that deduction, because, if I had not done so, it would have opened a door for a system which would have robbed us of every penny of profit. If we were obliged to pay cash instead of goods, we would have no profit at all. 2598. But that has occurred sometimes?-I think it has only occurred twice in the whole of my transactions. 2599. When a discount is taken in that way, how is the entry made in the line-book?-The lines are entered when they are finally paid up. The way in which they are paid does not appear here at all. 2600. Then that discount will not appear in the book?-No; but I may say that I often give small sums of cash on these lines without taking a discount, where I think the person is really in need of it. 2601. I think you said these lines were very seldom given to women whom you employ to knit for you?-Very seldom, I think. 2602. Can you name any of these women who have got them?-I cannot; perhaps Mr. Sandison can. He is more in the way of settling with these people than I am. 2603. Have you any dealings in stockings and the commoner kinds of hosiery?-The price-list will show that. 2604. Is the system of dealing in these just the same as you have already described?-The same principle applies to all the trade. 2605. That kind of goods is generally brought in from the country, I understand?-Yes, generally. 2606. Is it the case that people coming in from the country take goods more readily than the town?-There are very few of the people from the country who ask for cash, but they are now beginning [Page 57] to do it. They think the Truck Commission will force us to give cash. 2607. What is their reason for wanting cash, if they are as well off with goods?-I suppose it is just for same reason, that we all want cash. 2608. But if they get goods, why should they not be content with that?-I don't know. We have no objection to give them cash, if they will only be content to take less of it, on the principle have already explained. 2609. Have you ever stated to the knitters who were coming to sell to you, that they had better take ready money and take less of it?- I have. It would very great deal of bother if they would do so. 2610. What have they said to that proposal?-They have never entered heartily into it. There was a case I may refer to, not of women employed to knit for us but of women from whom we bought shawls over the counter which corroborates what I have already said on that subject. I cannot now recall the names the parties, but I would know their faces at once. 2611. Were they women from Dunrossness?-Three girls came into my shop, each of them having a shawl to sell worth £1. At that time the noise had come up about cash payments, and I said to them, 'Now, what would you take for these in money? I am not saying that I will give you money, but what would you take for them in money?' One of them said, 'Oh, I ken you will just be going to give us money.' I said, 'Why? Don't you think the goods you get cost us money?' She said, 'I ken that fine. I will give my 20s. shawl for 18s. 6d.' I said, I could not give her 18s. 6d. for it, and asked her if she would take 17s. She said, 'No,' and that it would be most unconscionable to take 3s. off the price of a shawl. I said, 'I don't think it, because when I sell the shawl again, I can only get 20s. for it, and then there is a discount of 5 per cent. taken off. 2612. I suppose that bit of trading came to nothing: they did not take money?-No; they did not money; but another one said, 'I would not sell my shawl for 18s. 6d. or 19s. either, for I see a plaid in your shop that I want for my shawl; and what good would it do me to sell you the shawl for 17s., and then take 3s. out of my pocket to pay you in addition, when you are willing to give me the plaid in exchange for the shawl?' That was her answer to me. 2613. Was one of these women Catherine Leslie?-I think so. Leslie was her surname, but her first name I cannot recollect. 2614. There were some payments made by you to Mary Ann Sinclair for meal. Have you often paid accounts to tradesmen for meal?-Not often for meal. 2615. Or for provisions?-Very seldom. We sometimes pay small sums for such things when the people want them. 2616. But you are not able to say whether these goods are paid for directly to the dealer or through the hands of the women?-We sometimes pay for them to the dealer. For instance, if a woman was due an account to a shoemaker or any other person, and told us to pay a part of it for them, we would do it. 2617. Does the tradesman come to your shop and get the payment?-No; we just settle with him. He may come to the shop for it, or he may not; but it is very seldom that such things happen-so seldom, as not to be worth mentioning. The case of Mary Ann Sinclair to which you referred was just a cash transaction. 2618. You remember that now?-I remember that it was a cash transaction. She had to get cash from us to pay her meal with; but the particulars of the transaction I cannot recollect. 2619. She wanted the meal?-Yes; she wanted it, and we did not have it. 2620. But there were two transactions of that kind which she was concerned; one in which she was paid 11s. 3d. for meal, and another in which the entry is, 'Paid William Smith for meal.' Do you recollect about these transactions?-She had to get her meal from some one; but I really cannot say what took place 2621. I want to know what you think about the way in which these women get their living. Have you anything to say about that?-If Mary Ann Sinclair, or any one of her sisters, had come and said, 'I want so much money for meal,' I would have gone to the counter and given her out the money, and she would have gone to any one she pleased for it; or she might have come when I was out, and she could not get the money; or there might not have been money at the counter at the time; and in that case I would say 'Go over to William Smith and get half a boll of meal, and I will pay him again.' I don't think there was any great breach of honesty in that. 2622. I do not say there was; I only want to know your opinion about the way in which those women supply themselves with provisions. Some of them I find are entirely dependent on the proceeds of their knitting for getting supplies of food; is not that so?-Yes. 2623. Now, if they take all the payment for their knitting, or the greater part of it, in goods, I don't quite see as yet where the money comes from with which they pay for their living. Have you considered that point at all?-I have not. They have never complained to me about it. 2624. Don't they say, when they come to you and beg you to give them a little money rather than goods, that they must have something to live upon?-I never heard that yet. It is very seldom they ask for money. 2625. Many of them live with their parents, and are provided for in that way; and when a woman is married, her husband provides for her; but there are single women in Lerwick, are there not, who depend upon their knitting mostly or entirely for their living, and how do they manage if they are paid almost entirely in goods?- These are the cases I have just been explaining to you. For instance, there are the Sinclair girls. 2626. They come and beg for a little money from you in that way?-Yes. 2627. Are there any others?-There are many others who get a little money. 2628. Who are some of these others?-I really don't know that I can go into the matter more fully than I have done. There are several benevolent ladies in the town who buy knitting from these women. They are not bound to work for us; and these ladies, I suppose, pay them in cash. That is one of the ways in which it may be accounted for. 2629. Do you know whether the women prefer to sell to these ladies or to you?-They have never told me anything about that. They just sell their goods where they think they will get the best bargain; but there is this to be said about it, that if they had not some place like ours, they would not get rid of one half the goods they make. The greater part of our knitters are in the country. 2630. And they knit with their own wool?-Yes. 2631. They are mostly the daughters of labourers, or farmers, or fishermen?-Yes; and they spend their leisure hours in knitting. 2632. You have no knowledge of the fact that there is often a want of food among these knitting women?-I never heard that they were really in want. 2633. Have they not stated that as a reason for your giving them money?-No; they have been very reticent on that point if it is a fact. I should be very sorry to know that there were any poor persons starving when I could help them. 2634. I suppose the character of the Shetland people is such that they don't like to confess their poverty if they can help it?-That may be so. They may be too prudent on that point, for all I know; but I suppose there is a great variety of character here as everywhere else. 2635. Has this been a fair season in the knitting trade?-The season is getting over in some departments. It is generally in the fall that we sell most. 2636. I don't mean for the sales, but for your purchases?-Well, the busy season is getting over. [Page 58] 2637. I see from your line-book that on December 13th you gave out about 20 of these acknowledgments; on the 14th, about 20 also; 15th, 18; 16th, 17; 17th, 38; 18th, 10; 20th, 24; and on the 21st, 29. Would that be a busy season of the year?-Yes; very busy. 2638. Perhaps during the rest of the year you were not giving out quite so many each day?-Perhaps not. 2639. The dates of payment are all entered in the book, showing how long the lines have been in currency?-Yes; these have not been long in currency. 2640. I see that a great number of them have been paid up on the very day they were issued?-Yes; it was a system which I adopted in order to prevent any mistake or trusting to memory when I purchase a parcel of hosiery from a woman. Instead of trusting to memory, I give her a receipt for it, and she takes it with her. She may go anywhere else she likes, and then she comes back and gets the value of the line from me; it may be on the same day or two days afterwards, or it may be weeks. The greater part of these lines need not have appeared in the book at all, because they were paid up immediately afterwards. We might have kept a memorandum of them in the shop, and the people might have come and got the value afterwards. I believe other merchants do that, but I thought it was better to give the people an acknowledgment for their goods at the moment they brought them in. 2641. Do these lines go mostly to women in the country or in the town?-Just to any person who brings in goods. There is no distinction. 2642. You cannot say that the one class of women get them more commonly than the other?-No; I cannot say that they do. 2643. Is there any other point you wish to speak to?-I wish to refer to a statement made by one of the previous witnesses, Catherine Borthwick. I was present when she said that she could get no cash, and also that there was a time when there was 5s. 6d. due to her, and she had asked me for 1s. which I did not give to her. I had no recollection of the transaction at the time, and I have none still; but on referring to her account, I cannot find any occasion on which she had 5s. 6d. to get when she came to settle. I now show her account, from which it appears that she did get cash. 2644. Do you remember whether her statement referred to a sale of goods or to money that was due to her for knitting?-I understood she referred to transactions she had had in the shop with regard to her knitting. At least that was my impression at the time. 2645. But if it were a sale of goods that she spoke of, that would not be entered in your books at all?-No, not if it were a sale of goods. 2646. Is there any other point you wish to speakto?-I should wish to make a remark or two about the value of a Shetland shawl. It was stated before the last Commission that a Shetland shawl could be made for very little money. I heard Mr. Laurenson's evidence about that, and I was rather surprised to hear that a 30s. shawl could be made for so little as he stated, or anything approaching to it. It certainly has not been my experience. For a 30s. shawl the worsted would cost 10s.; and if Mr. Laurenson meant a real Shetland shawl, I should say it would cost 12s. at any rate. I consider that the prime cost of a Shetland shawl that would bring 30s. would be this: thirty-six cuts at 4d., 12s.; knitting, 14s.; dressing, 6d.-in all, 26s. 6d. 2647. The 30s. at which that shawl would sell in the south would be the price charged by the retail dealer there?-No. I don't know what the retail dealer's charge for it would be. 2648. Then the 30s. is your charge for it?-Yes. 2649. That is 3s. 6d. you would have on it?-Yes. 2650. Is not that a profit?-Well; it is not a very heavy one. 2651. But still there is a profit?-Did I ever say that we had no profit? 2652. I thought you rather made out that the only profit you had was on the goods you sold?-I am speaking here of the cash value of the thing. We don't get our wool for barter; the wool costs us cash 2653. You allow something for interest on the price of the wool?-Yes. I say that is what I would have to pay for a shawl of that value in cash if I were buying it, or if I were trying to get it made. 2654. You would pay 26s. 6d., and you would sell it at 30s.?- Yes. 2655. Do you not call the 3s. 6d. a profit?-I do; but then in that case there is nothing else for a profit. 2656. You are supposing that you pay the 26s. 6d. in cash? If you were paying for the shawl in goods, would you pay 26s. 6d., or anything more?-If I were paying for it in goods, I would pay 30s. There might 6d. less or 6d. more; but as far as my experience goes of this kind of goods, and selling them at a wholesale price, I could not expect to realize a higher price for them than I pay, taking discounts and all together. 2657. What is the kind of evidence you are to give me to prove that there is no profit on a 30s. shawl which you pay for in goods?-I have no evidence to offer as to that. 2658. Except your trade list?-That would be taking a wide view of the thing. It would embrace the whole trade. The case I have given is a special one in contradiction of the statement made, which was a false one that a Shetland shawl could be made at that price. 2659. The list enables you to say what you sell the articles for, and you leave me to find out the price you pay from particular cases?-Yes; and if an examination of my books would help you in that, they are open to you. I am also prepared to give you the names of a number of women who would be able to tell you what prices they get for their goods. 2660. Can you give me any particular kind of goods which you think would be a fair test of that?-You may take the winter shawls, white, brown, and grey, natural colours, and straight borders. 2661. Do you think that would be a fair test?-I think it would. 2662. But there are no entries in your books which will show at what price you bought these shawls?-There may be. If a woman brings in a shawl, and gets so much goods at the time, then the balance only might be marked down, and that would be no guide to you; but at other times the whole price is marked. 2663. That is, where there are credit balances with people who come to you with shawls?-Yes. 2664. Which book will show that?-The day-book or women's ledger. 2665. Is there anything else you wish to say?-I don't think there is anything else. Lerwick, January 4, 1872, ROBERT LINKLATER, examined. 2666. You carry on business as a merchant in Lerwick?-Yes. 2667. You purchase hosiery, and you keep a stock of drapery goods, and tea, and other articles?-Yes. Tea is the only thing in the grocery line which I keep. 2668. Have you heard the evidence of the preceding witnesses?- Only of the last witness. 2669. Is the manner of conducting business in your establishment similar to that which has been described as being carried on in Mr. Sinclair's?-Very similar; there are some differences. 2670. You deal with knitters of two kinds-women who knit with your wool, and those who sell to you?-Yes. 2671. In both cases are the settlements usually made by means of goods which they take from you?-Yes, principally. 2672. In what proportion is money paid to women who knit with your wool?-I cannot say what the proportion may be. [Page 59] 2673. But is there a much larger proportion of the prices taken in goods?-Yes, very much larger. 2674. Is it the general rule that it is to be paid in goods?-Yes, it is the understanding that goods are given out. 2675. And that any money that is paid is the exception?-Yes. 2676. Is the dealing with these women usually carried on by means of pass-books?-The greater number of the knitters whom I employ have pass-books. 2677. And these pass-books are transcripts of the accounts kept in your ledger?-Yes. 2678. You ledger, I presume, is kept on the principle of having a page for the account of each woman?-Yes; or sometimes a page for two. 2679. On the one side there are the entries of goods got by the woman, and on the other there are entered the payments due to her for knitting?-There is double money column which shows both the credit and debit on the same side. 2680. How many women do you generally employ to knit for you?-I could not say exactly; but I think there might be over 300. 2681. Are these scattered all over the island?-Yes, all over the country. 2682. Is it a subject of complaint with these women that they do not get payment for their work in money?-No; I have not heard much complaint about that. 2683. The understanding is, that the payment is to be in goods?- Yes, it is the understanding that goods are to be taken when the work is given out; but I give a good deal of money. 2681. Is it considered a matter of favour when a woman gets payment in money when she asks for it?-No, I don't think it. 2685. If a woman asks for money rather than goods, is it given to her as a matter of course?-As a matter of course. 2686. Is that done whenever she asks for money?-As far as my recollection goes, it is. The greater number of the knitters whom I employ live in the country, and they very seldom ask for money. When they come in with their work, I generally ask them what they want, and they select the goods which they require. 2687. Do you know Mrs. Jemima Brown or Tait?-Yes; her sister, Harriet Brown, is the only one I have in my books. 2688. Have you ever told Mrs. Tait, or any of her sisters, that you could not give them money, and that you never did it?-I don't remember doing that. I don't remember any money being asked by them. 2689. Is it likely you said that?-I don't think I said it. I don't think I would say it, if I had goods of hers in my hand. 2690. Did she knit with your wool?-Yes. I have no recollection of her asking for money and being refused. 2691. I suppose a knitter of that kind is not likely to ask for money unless there is a balance coming to her upon her account?-It is not likely, and I think there is rather a balance against her. 2692. Is it a probable thing that you may have refused to give her money?- I don't think I did so. 2693. May your shopman, Mr. Anderson, have done so?-Not so far as I know. 2694. Do you issue any kind of lines or acknowledgments for the balances upon sales made to you?-I give no lines. 2695. If a party comes and sells a shawl to you, and does not wish goods to the whole value of it, what is done?-I understand you to refer to goods bought over the counter; in that case I mark the balance down in a book. If they come with a shawl or any other article, and sell it over the counter, and if they don't wish goods to the whole value, I mark the balance down in any name that is given to me. 2696. In what way is that entered?-It is entered on the back of the day-book by itself. 2697. Is there a special place in the day-book for making entries of that kind?-Yes. 2698. They are put under the particular date?-Yes. 2699. And are these balances generally settled up within a short time afterwards?-Generally. 2700. The party comes back soon to you for goods?-Sometimes soon, and sometimes she delays a good while. 2701. Is it usual for a party who has a balance of that kind to ask to get it in cash?-No; that is not usual at all. 2702. When you buy a shawl in that way, do you consider it to be part of your bargain that the payment is to be taken in goods?- Yes; it is distinctly sold for goods in exchange, and paid for in that way. 2703. Is that because there is a distinct understanding to that effect prevailing among the people, or is it stated at the time when the bargain is made?-It is not stated at the time, but there is a distinct understanding that payment is to be taken in goods. 2704. Will you show me the way in which these balances are entered?-[Produces day-book.]. The entry is merely the name of the party and the amount left. I generally put the date upon the top of the page but not the date for each entry. 2705. Then all these entries at the end of the book are entries of balances due by you?-Yes. 2706. And when a party comes and gets the goods, the balance is marked as 'settled'?-Yes. 2707. Where there is a sum like 3s. 4d. or 7s. 101/2d. due, there must sometimes be a little difficulty in making it square exactly, is there not?-No difficulty whatever. 2708. Is there not a difficulty in getting the exact quantity of goods to answer to that balance?-No, I don't see any difficulty. 2709. The woman may want so many yards of cotton, or a pair of gloves, or a packet of tea, and she may bring up the sum to 7s. 6d. or 7s. 3d., there being 7s. 101/2d. due to her; in such a case, how do you square off the balance?-She always takes the full value of it when she comes to settle. 2710. If the goods she gets come to something more than the balance due to her, does she pay the rest in money?-If it comes to anything more, she either pays it in money, or she may have another piece of goods to sell. 2711. Suppose 7s. 101/2d. is the sum at her credit, and she takes various articles amounting to 7s. 7d., leaving 31/2d. over, might she not have some difficulty in selecting an article to cover that?-No, I don't find any difficulty in that at all. 2712. I suppose you or your shopman can suggest something very easily?-Well, there is always something required. 2713. Have you often been importuned by these women to pay them in money, because they could not supply themselves with the means of living unless they were paid for their work partly in cash?-No; there are many cases where cash is given. 2714. These are cases where the people were in circumstances to require it?-Yes. 2715. And I suppose you are acquainted with these cases?-Yes; I generally know the people who are actually requiring money when they ask for it. 2716. Do people often ask for money in that way?-Not often. 2717. Then there are few of them who are in circumstances to require money?-I should not say that. I think there are many of them who require money. 2718. Do you mean that many of them are in need of money payments for their knitting, in order to provide themselves with the necessaries of life?-In the town there are a good many who at particular seasons of the year have other ways of working outside as well as knitting. 2719. For these, do they get money payments?-Yes. 2720. Or they have friends with whom they live?-Yes; and in the country there are a great many who live with their parents. 2721. But there are some women who depend entirely upon their knitting for a living?-I believe there are. [Page 60] 2722. You don't know any of them yourself?-I could not mark out any one. 2723. But when you do meet with a woman of that description, and have dealings with her, cash payments must sometimes be made?-Yes; it little cash. 2724. If she takes her goods from you and only little cash, how do you suppose she supplements her means of living?-Just in the way I have stated, by working outside at the proper season of the year. 2725. Is that in the fish-curing business?-There is fish-curing, but there is other work outside besides that. 2726. Do you agree with the preceding witness, that there are two prices for hosiery goods bought-a cash price, and a price when paid in goods?-I very seldom buy goods for cash. 2727. But if you were doing so, would you have two prices?-I would not give the same price in cash as in goods. 2728. Do you also agree with his statement, that where you buy a shawl or other Shetland hosiery for goods, you do not get any profit except the profit which you have upon the goods?-I would not say that. 2729. In pricing a shawl, do you allow a certain margin for your own profit?-There must be that; because we get a very great deal of bad stock, and a good many of the things lie on our hands for a considerable time before we can realize what they cost us, and therefore we must have a margin for profit. 2730. There has been a statement made, that a shawl which sells in the south for 30s. can be made in Shetland for 26s. 6d.; do you agree with that?-Yes; from about 25s. to 26s. 6d. 2731. You think that statement is about correct?-Yes. 2732. Is that the price you would give in cash for such a shawl?-I am not prepared to say that. Until a cash tariff comes in, I could not decidedly say what I would give for it. 2733. Is that because of the rarity of your dealings in cash?-It is not exactly that; I should think that there would be an ordinary profit. 2734. I am speaking of a shawl that would sell in the south for 30s.; would the price you give for that shawl in goods be 26s. 6d.?-No; would be nearer 30s. in goods, perhaps about 28s. 6d. 2735. And if you were to buy it for cash, the price would be from 25s. to 26s.?-Perhaps about 26s. 2736. Then, if a similar shawl were made by your own knitters, how would you calculate the cost of production? would you supply a certain amount of Shetland wool?-Yes. 2737. How much would it require?-I think it would require about 35 or 36 cuts at 4d.-12s.; 13s. for the knitting of the shawl, and 6d. for the dressing; making 25s. 6d. That is for a white shawl, without speaking of dyeing at all. 2738. Do you deal in the commoner hosiery?-Yes. 2739. Is the system pursued in that business the same as you have described?-Yes. 2740. There is no difference that you think worth referring to?- No. 2741. Do you agree generally with Mr. Sinclair on all the other points he has spoken to?-I do. 2742. You have pointed out some differences in answer to my questions with regard to several of the points, but you don't remember anything else on which you incline to differ from him?-No; I think there is very little in which I would be inclined to differ from him. 2743. Is there anything else you wish to state?-I should wish to make one explanation with regard to the evidence given in Edinburgh about the cost of the worsted for a 30s. shawl. 2744. That evidence has already been spoken to by Mr. Laurenson?-I did not hear his evidence. 2745. He stated that the worsted for a 30s. shawl would come to at least 10s.?-If it is Shetland wool, the worsted for a 30s. shawl would cost me about 12s. 2746. If a 30s. shawl is made with any other kind of wool, is there a difference in the cost of the wool?-There would be a difference of about 3s. 2747. The English wool would be about 3s. cheaper?-Yes. 2748. And the shawl would sell for how much?-I suppose for about that much less, or about 27s. 2749. A shawl exactly the same in other respects would be made out of English wool for 3s. less?-Yes; for 2s. or 3s. less. 2750. And it would also sell in the market for 2s. or 3s. less?- Yes. 2751. The knitting in that case would be paid at the same rate?- Yes. 2752. Do you buy much wool in Shetland?-We buy all the fine wool we can get. In fact, we cannot get supplied with as much Shetland wool as we want. 2753. You don't buy it to resell?-No; I just buy it for my own use. 2754. Is it the fact that some of your Shetland hosiery is sold without any profit at all?- There is some of it sold below cost price when it comes to be bad stock. 2755. Are gentlemen's drawers, for instance, sold without a profit?-I think they are sold at no reduction. 2756. Do you make any profit upon them?-Yes, I make a profit. 2757. You sell them south at a higher rate than you pay to the knitters for them?-Yes; at a shade higher, some of them. 2758. I have had evidence today from one gentleman that he bought them and sold them at a lower price. Do you think that is the case?-It is quite possible, and I have known instances of that with myself. 2759. Does that happen with you in some kinds of goods?-Yes; with certain kinds of goods which are produced in larger quantities than are required. 2760. But that over-production does not continue over a long period of time?-It does in the knitting trade with myself. I don't pay off any of the knitters; I keep them on. 2761. Can they not turn their attention to some other kinds of work when there is too much stock of a particular kind?-It is generally lacework, veils or shawls, that I give out for knitting. 2762. But when there is an over-production of that kind of goods, can the knitters not turn their hands to something else?-They do so occasionally. 2763. So that you have not an increasing stock of goods which you cannot sell at a profit?-Very often they cannot get the wool with which to make the coarser sort of goods. It is not to be got, and there is a very large proportion of the Shetland wool sent south, and sold as raw material. 2764. Then the women are restricted to the articles for which they have suitable wool?-Yes; both those who knit for themselves, and those who knit with the wool which we give out. 2765. That is to say, you have not always the kind of wool that you want?-No; we cannot get a sufficient quantity of fine Shetland wool; but I don't give out any wool for making coarse goods, only the lace goods. I don't give out wool for such things as men's underclothing and stockings. 2766. Have you anything else to say?-No; there is nothing more that occurs to me to say. Lerwick, January 4, 1872, JAMES TULLOCH, examined. 2767. You are a merchant in Lerwick?-I am. 2768. You keep a drapery store?-Yes. 2769. Do you sell any other goods?-The only grocery goods I sell are tea and soap. 2770. Do you purchase hosiery?-My chief business in it is purchasing it. I have very few knitters employed. 2771. Do you pay them in money or goods?-It is the understanding that they are to be paid in goods; but I often give a few shillings when they ask for it, [Page 61] both when purchasing and when I employ the women to knit. I have only one or two persons knitting for me in Lerwick just now, and not more than three or four that I remember of in the country. My business in that way is mostly done by purchase. 2772. Do your knitters have pass-books?-No; the account with them is just kept in the day-book and ledger. 2773. You have an account in the ledger with each knitter?-Yes. 2774. Does it show what proportion of the payment to the knitter is made in cash?-No. In some cases the price is marked in and sometimes not. 2775. Then how do you know what you have paid if it is not marked?-The transaction is very often carried through without reference to the book at all, particularly in the case of a purchase. 2776. But I am speaking only of those knitters whom you employ. I am quite aware that in sales it generally a transaction that is finished at the time; but in the case of your knitters, how do you know how much is paid to them in cash?-I had many more knitters at one time than I have now, but I have given them up. With regard to the one who is knitting for me just now, I don't remember whether she ever asked me for any cash upon her knitting or not. 2777. Have you only one woman knitting for you just now?-I have only two, and one of them has had no knitting for some time. I don't remember of either of these two having ever asked me for money. 2778. They have an account in your books, and they take goods, and their account is balanced now and again?-Yes. 2779. Do you sell worsted?-No. For the last few months I have had a little of the Pyrenees wool to sell, and I have sold it. 2780. Is that extensively purchased by people who wish to knit?- There seems to be a good deal of it wrought into small articles at present. I have never wrought up any of it. 2781. Is it an article that is sold for cash?-Yes; but sometimes we give it out upon the work that is brought in. 2782. There is no difficulty made about giving it out upon a transaction of that sort?-No; not that kind of it. I never object to give Scotch wool. 2783. But you do object to give the Shetland wool that is purchased for cash?-Yes; we have a profit on the Pyrenees wool. 2784. Why is it called Pyrenees wool?-I don't know. It is sometimes called Scotch wool too. 2785. Is it the practice in your shop to give workers lines for a balance that is due upon goods sold?-Yes. 2786. What is the form of these lines?-I have one or two of them here. (Produces lines.) It is in this form: 'I O U 1s. 3d. in goods. JAMES TULLOCH 3. 1. 72.' There is a private mark in the corner which is only known to myself, showing the amount; and there is also a private stamp on the corner, as a guarantee for the genuineness of the line. 2787. The other one which you produce is a blank form?-Yes. I keep some of them on hand, ready for filling up. 2788. Can your clerk issue them in your absence?-Yes; he knows the private mark too, and he puts it there. 2789. Do you keep a register of these notes?-No; they are just given out as they are required, and goods are given for them when they are brought in. Sometimes I have given goods for a note which the people said they had lost or torn; but it is only as a matter of convenience for them that they are given at all. 2790. You would rather give the goods to them at once?-Yes. Sometimes lines are given to them when we do not have a particular thing they want; and we also give them out sometimes when we are in a hurry. 2791. Have you ever been asked to give money in return for these lines instead of goods?-I cannot charge my memory just now with any case of that kind, but sometimes it may happen. The lines are only given out for goods purchased, and not for knitting; and several times I have given 5s., and 4s., and 3s., and 2s., and so on, in cash; but if they ask for much money on a shawl, the understanding then is that I shall get it at a little less. 2792. That is arranged at the time of the sale?-Yes. 2793. But suppose the sale is concluded, and one of these lines is given for the balance, do you then understand that the whole sum due is to be taken in goods?-Yes. The reason why I expect to get the shawl for a little less if large part of the price is wanted in money, is because I never consider that I realize above what I pay in goods for my hosiery, and very often there is a heavy discount off. I have heard some of the other evidence which seems to clash a little with that, but I can easily explain it. 2794. What can you explain?-The apparent discrepancy between the value received in goods, and what the articles realize in the market. The hosiery market is a very uneven thing. 2795. If there is anything you can explain on which Mr. Laurenson and Mr. Sinclair have differed, I shall be glad to hear it?-Of course it is not my business to try to reconcile their evidence, but I was about to say that the hosiery market in the south is very irregular. It is done to some extent by a kind of, I can hardly call it favouritism, but there are houses in England that if they begin to buy from one party, they will not afterwards buy from another. If they get a very long credit, they will give a higher price, and I know of persons they are constantly dealing with to whom they will give 9s. or 10s., for an article, while they would only offer 6s. or 7s. for it to another. 2796. Are you now referring to people in the south?-Yes, wholesale dealers. And just as we may happen to get into the good graces of a good customer, so prices vary. 2797. But every article has a different price of its own, I fancy? You cannot price a Shetland shawl without seeing it and judging of it both as to the material and the workmanship?-No; that is quite true. 2798. You cannot get twenty shawls of a certain size at the same price?-No; but we can perhaps select them out of a greater quantity. 2799. But you cannot get twenty shawls made to order exactly of the same value?-No. 2800. What is your reason for carrying on that system of paying in goods?-It has been of old date. It was the practice when I commenced to the trade; but my own impression is that if a money system were adopted, only a very few of the producers would accept of it, because they would, as a consequence and as a general rule, have to take 20 or 25 per cent. less in money than they would get in goods. We buy with the understanding that we are to realize what we pay in goods. As I have said, sometimes for a certain article, or in a good market, a good deal more may be realized; but then we have the risk of loss, and we have a heavy discount; and therefore we have to live by the profit on the goods we sell. If we were to pay in cash, then of course we must buy at a lower rate, so as to give us some profit on the shawl, and consequently if a woman were to come in with a shawl, and to agree that the price was to be 20s. worth of goods, it is not likely that, unless she was very hard up for money, she would take 15s. or 16s. 2801. Can you give me any instance in which you have paid a cash price for a shawl which was lower than what you were willing to give in goods?-I don't recollect any case of that kind just now, except one. 2802. How long ago was that?-Not very long; perhaps a few months. 2803. What were the circumstances of that transaction?-It was one of these fine shawls. I don't know what I would have offered for it, but the person said she would give it to me for £2 in money, and it was agreed that that was to be the bargain. When [Page 62] I saw the shawl, it did not turn out to be quite so good as I had expected. The woman had got £1 of money at the time when the bargain was made, and after that she had taken up some goods out of the shop, and the balance of the price was taken out in goods. 2804. The bargain was made in that case, before the shawl was knitted?-No, the shawl was knitted. 2805. I thought you said, it did not turn out to be quite so good as you expected?-No, it was not quite so good when I came to see it as I expected from hearing of it. 2806. Had you looked at the shawl before you made the bargain?-I had seen her knitting it. I may remark, that very often these goods turn out better than they look when they are in an undressed state, and sometimes much worse. 2807. Have you any objection to adopt a cash system the people are willing to agree to it?-Of course I would have no particular objection; but my own impression is, that a cash system, if adopted, would give a very great check to the sale of goods. 2808. Don't you think it would be better for the merchant?-I don't know. I think a merchant would never risk so much if he had to pay in cash, or push so hard as he does now. 2809. Would the merchant in that case not make sure of getting two profits instead of one?-No, he would not do that. 2810. He would have a profit on his hosiery, because he would buy it at a cash price, and sell it at a price which would pay him for his risk, would he not?-There much competition in the trade already that the price kept up to its utmost point. Indeed, it is kept above what the goods actually realize. 2811. But if a man was depending upon the profit he was to get on his hosiery, he would not pay more for it than he could afford?- Of course he would not; but just as in other businesses, opposition here is sometimes the life of trade, and sometimes it is the death of trade. 2812. How do you apply that principle here?-There is sometimes such a keen competition that people cut up one another. 2813. Do you think the competition, would be so keen that the cash prices for the hosiery would be forced up to the level of the goods prices that are paid now?-That would depend. Those who had the best markets would be able to give the best, price, and no doubt they might by that means be able to drive others comparatively out of the trade. 2814. Is it the case, that you generally send your shawls south at such a figure as leaves you no profit upon them?-Taking it all in all, I never have any profit on certain articles. When I have an opportunity of selling to a private person, or when I get private orders, I generally realize a profit, but when I sell to wholesale merchants taking the thing as a whole, I consider that I have never realized the full price of my goods from the hosiery which I have sold. 2815. Is that one of the reasons which lead you to continue the system of paying in goods?-Of course, the system is quite general. 2816. No doubt; but supposing it were not general, would that be a reason for continuing it in order that you might make a profit out of the goods you give for the hosiery?-Of course I cannot say exactly what it might be, further than that, as I have already stated, we had to pay in cash, we would have to buy at considerably lower rates, and I am not aware that there is such a demand in the south as to enable us to do that. 2817. But you say that at present you do not make a profit upon the goods sent south?-Yes; I say that there is no profit upon the goods sent south, taking it as a general thing. The profit I have is upon the goods which I sell in exchange for the hosiery which I buy. 2818. You say you generally buy shawls: you do not get them knitted for you?-No, I have very few knitted for me. 2819. Suppose you pay 25s. for a shawl, at what price will you invoice that to your southern customer?-Generally, I would just invoice it at about the same price. Sometimes I am obliged to put it lower, but when an article after dressing turns out to be better than I expected, then I may put a shilling or so upon it. 2820. Do you keep an invoice-book?-I keep no invoice-book, but only a day-book and ledger. 2821. The day-book shows the number of shawls you send south, and the prices at which they are invoiced?-Yes. Lerwick, January 4, 1872, WILLIAM JOHNSTONE, examined. 2822. You are a merchant in Lerwick in the same line of business that is carried on by Mr. Robert Sinclair?-Yes, something similar 2823. You deal in the same articles, and purchase hosiery in the same way?-Yes. 2824. Do you also employ knitters?-Yes. 2825. How many of them do you employ?-I can hardly tell. I have very few just now. I have sometimes had as many as from 30 to 50, but I have not nearly so many at present. I don't think I have a dozen altogether just now. 2826. Do they mostly live in Lerwick?-Yes. 2827. Are these knitters so employed by you paid for their work by taking goods, or do you, sometimes pay them in cash?-They are generally paid by taking goods. If they ask for a little cash at any time, I will give it. 2828. Are their names entered in your books?-Yes. 2829. Has each of them an account in your ledger?-Yes; a small book which I keep for the purpose. [Produces book.] We generally settle for an article when they bring it in, but sometimes there may be a balance on one side or the other. 2830. Does this book show the amount of cash that is paid for the shawls brought in to you?-No. There are many transactions that are never entered here at all. 2831. But does the book show the amount of cash that is paid for shawls which are knitted to order with your own wool?-No; when I give out wool for the knitting of a shawl, no note of it appears in the book at all. 2832. What note do you take of it?-I merely take a memorandum on a piece of paper. 2833. Then you may have a lot of slips of that kind lying beside you?-No. I very likely burn them whenever the shawls are returned, and if I know the woman sufficiently well, I may give the wool to her without keeping any note of it of any kind. 2834. Do you trust to your memory for that?-Yes. I weigh the wool before it goes out. 2835. What proportion of the wages of these workers is paid by you in money?-I cannot say. 2836. Will there be a shilling in the pound paid money?-I cannot say, but I think there will be more than that. 2837. May there be 2s.?-I cannot say exactly. Perhaps if they come with a shawl for which they are to get 8s. or 10s., they may get 1s. or 2s. upon it, but if they did not ask it, they would not get it. 2838. The understanding is that you pay them goods?-Yes. 2839. Are you often asked to give some money?-Very seldom; but whenever they ask for money, they get it, or any other thing I have in the shop. 2840. Can you explain how women who knit for you support themselves if they only get soft goods and tea for their knitting?- There are very few of them who do not do other work. There may be a few who do nothing but knit, but the greater part of the girls and women who employ themselves at knitting have other work to do besides. Some of them sew slop shirts for the agents shops, and various other things. 2841. These are required for the men who go to the whale-fishing?-Yes. [Produces day-book.] The [Page 63] details of the goods sent south are all there. It is only the amount that is posted into the ledger. 2842. What would be the cost of producing this one dozen socks [showing]?-They were bought with barter for exactly the same value of goods as is charged for them there. I have also to be at the expense of dressing them and packing them, and then perhaps lying out of my money for twelve months. 2843. Then you dress them for nothing?-I must dress them for nothing. 2844. Is not that a loss to you?-Yes. 2845. And you must pay yourself for that out of the profit on the goods which you give for them?-Yes. 2846. Is that a common thing in your trade?-I believe it is. Of course there are some of the articles on which there is a profit. 2847. I see here 'One brown half hap shawl, 3s. 9d.:' would there be a profit upon that?-There would not be much; perhaps there would be 8d. on it. 2848. 'One large hap, 18s.:' would you have a profit on that?- Yes; I might have about 2s. That article was made specially to order. 2849. Was it made with, your own wool?-Yes. 2850. 'One white hap, 9s. 6d.?'-There might be about 1s. on that hap. 2851. Was it bought over the counter for goods?-I think that one was made upon an order; but it was paid for by me in goods. 2852. There is another one at 9s. 6d.?-That is one of the same size and of the same colour. 2853. Suppose that 9s. 6d. hap had not been made to order, but had been bought over the counter and had been settled for with goods, what profit do you suppose would have been upon it apart from the goods?-I cannot say. 2854. Was 9s. 6d. the price which you paid to the party selling, or was it somewhat less?-It was 8s. 6d., and I would have a profit of a shilling on it. 2855. That was when it was knitted for you?-Yes. 2856. But I am speaking of articles which were bought by you: what profit would you have upon such an article then?-I could not tell unless I knew the kind of goods they were to take for it. 2857. But apart from the goods altogether, what would you give for a shawl that you would sell for 9s. 6d., if it was offered to you for sale?-Perhaps I might give 9s. 6d. worth or goods. 2858. Would that be the usual way of dealing?-Sometimes it is. It depends very much upon the quality of the article. Sometimes we pay a dear price for them, and at other times we get them pretty cheap. 2859. Do you say that you generally buy an article of that kind at the price payable in goods for which you sell it to the merchant in the south?-Very often we do. 2860. Therefore you take no profit off your hosiery at all?-In some cases we do not. We cannot get it; we are glad to get what we pay in goods for them. 2861. So that the fact that you get your goods disposed of, is the inducement which you have in buying an article over the counter?-Yes. 2862. Is that one of the reasons why this system of dealing in goods continues?-I believe that is the very reason of it, and the scarcity of money. 2863. Do you approve of the system, or would you rather have cash payments?-I would rather have cash payments. 2864. In that case would you not have two profits instead of one? You would make, sure of a profit on the hosiery, as you would be able to pay for it in cash?-Yes. 2865. And would you not have the same profit that you now have on the goods that you give for the hosiery?-I think we might. 2866. Would you not have a smaller profit upon them?-Of course, if we were selling for cash over the counter, we would try to cut the goods as low as we could. 2867. If you were selling your goods for cash over the counter instead of for hosiery, would you reduce your prices?-We could do that quite easily; because often we buy hosiery articles which lie on our hands for years and the moths get into them, and we get nothing for them at all. 2868. Therefore, in consequence of being paid in hosiery you must put a higher price upon the drapery goods and tea that you sell?-I do not put a higher price on them in consequence of that, because I generally charge the same price to those from whom I get hosiery as to those who pay me in cash. 2869. But if there was no such thing as paying hosiery with goods, you could sell your goods a little cheaper, because you must calculate upon a little loss on the hosiery?-Yes. 2870. So that both the customers who pay in hosiery, and those who pay in cash, are made to pay for a possible loss upon the hosiery?-Yes. 2871. In that way they are made to pay rather higher for their goods?-Yes. 2872. Does not that rather show that the system is a source of loss to the whole community?-There is not the slightest doubt about it, but what can we do until things are put upon a better footing. 2873. You would be glad to pay in cash if you could get your goods disposed of?-I would be very glad. For one thing, it would save us a little trouble. 2874. There is a complicated system of bookkeeping entailed by the present system?-There is. 2875. Have you had any balances to settle on lines or acknowledgments or vouchers?-No; I do not give any lines. I have always been against it. 2876. Did you give any formerly?-I gave them very rarely, unless when I could not help it. 2877. That is to say when a person came to sell hosiery to you and she did not want to take the whole price out in goods, you gave her a line?-Yes; if there was a balance then they would want a line for it. 2878. Would they not have preferred money?-They never asked for money; at least very seldom. 2879. How long, is it since you ceased to give these lines?-I have not given any lines for the last two years, or nearly that time, and I just gave them occasionally. 2880. What was your reason for laying down that rule?-Because there was such a great deal of bother about it. At a time when you were busy they would come in and pop down their lines and that is another secret in the line business. Some of the people like to sell shawls and get a line for them and then they go away and give that line to some other person, and that person comes in and orders goods of different kinds and prices them at the lowest rate we can give them for. Then, when they have screwed us down to the lowest price, they throw their line down upon the counter the same as if it were a bank-note. 2881. They do so, after having bargained and bothered with you to get you to reduce your prices, on the footing that they were to pay you in cash?-Yes; and of course you cannot refuse the line when it is offered to you. You must just take it and say nothing. 2882. Was that one of the reasons why you gave up giving lines?- It was not exactly for that I gave it up, but it was one of the reasons, because it was a great annoyance and bother. They would come in with the lines perhaps on mail-day, and bother us then. 2883. But a person might come in with a shawl on mail-day, and wish to take the value of it in goods. What would you do then?-I might tell them to come back again, and they would do it. 2884. Would they not do that if they had a line?-They would take care of that. They would get the goods they wanted, and then they would pop the line in. 2885. Then you think you are under an obligation to serve the people whenever they choose, if they have a line of yours?-Yes. 2886. But if the people have bargained with you, and you had offered them goods at a somewhat lower price for cash, and if a line was then offered to you in the way you have mentioned, would you not refuse to take the line in exchange for the goods?- No, I would not. It would not be right to do it. [Page 64] 2887. Would you not say,-If you are to pay with a line, you must take the goods at the ordinary price?-I never thought of doing that, and I don't think anybody would do it. 2888. You would not like to have the appearance of drawing back from your bargain?-No; it would not look very well. 2889. Have you heard any of the evidence that has been given to-day?-I was present when Mr. Laurenson was examined, and also during the first part of Mr. Sinclair's examination. 2890. Do you concur generally with the statements which Mr. Laurenson made with regard to the trade in Lerwick?-Yes; I think he gave a very just statement. 2891. You think what he said was generally correct?-I think so. 2892. Do you know how the women who live alone, and entirely by knitting, get their provisions?-I used to keep meal, but I don't do it now. I cannot do it, because it destroyed my place with moths. 2893. Do you know how these women supply themselves with meal now?-I cannot say. 2894. Most of them are likely employed at other work as well as at nitting?-Yes. 2895. But some of them will do nothing else?-There are very few who do nothing else, except those who are in bad health, and who are not able to work outside. 2896. Have you known any of these women taking goods from you and selling them again, in order to get money?-No; I never heard of any one doing that, so far as I know. 2897. But at the time when you gave I O U's they often exchanged them for money?-Yes; or gave them to some other body to come to my shop with them. These are the only cases where I knew of them being exchanged. I heard yesterday, when I was present, that yarn had been refused upon these lines, but I always gave them yarn when they asked it from me. 2898. Did you give them Shetland yarn?-I seldom had it for my own use, but I have often given them Pyrenees wool. 2899. I suppose the reason why the idea has arisen among the knitters that they cannot get wool in exchange for their work, is because Shetland wool is very difficult to get?-I suppose so. 2900. The merchants don't keep it for sale?-No; they cannot get enough of it. I may say that I supply the women with sugar and tea, and with paraffin oil when have it. 2901. I think you are the only soft goods merchant in Lerwick who keeps sugar?-I don't know. Perhaps there are more; but I keep sugar, tea, coffee, rice, and brimstone, which they need for dressing their shawls. 2902. Is it the case that your purchases of hosiery are more commonly paid in tea and sugar than in drapery goods?-The knitters who work to me generally take what tea and sugar they require. They also take drapery goods when they need them. When we buy hosiery over the counter, it is generally drapery goods that are paid for them; but they get tea also if they ask for it. 2903. The tea is made up in quarter-pound parcels?-Yes. 2904. Do you know of any case where it has been exchanged after being purchased from you?-No. Lerwick, January 4, 1872, HUGH LINKLATER, examined. 2905. You are a merchant in Lerwick?-Yes. 2906. Is the business which you carry on similar to that of Mr. Laurenson?-No. I don't give out wool for people to knit. I only purchase a little over the counter, and I do very little of any kind in the fancy line. 2907. You do more in the coarser hosiery?-Yes. 2908. Do you deal largely in that business?-No, I don't do much in hosiery at all. 2909. What is your business?-Selling drapery goods. 2910. Do you sell them in the ordinary way for cash?-Yes, and I take a little hosiery when it is offered in exchange. 2911. But the bulk of your transactions are in cash?-Yes. 2912. Are you engaged in any other business?-No. 2913. Do you concur generally in the evidence which Mr. Laurenson gave, so far as the hosiery business is concerned?-I do. I think he gave a very fair statement of it. 2914. You do not wish to add anything to it?-No, for it is not much that I do in that line. I may say that I don't do any in fancy goods at all, I am not much acquainted with them. 2915. But you have a considerable trade in drapery goods and tea for cash?-Yes, or in exchange for goods. It is principally with country people that I deal. 2916. With small farmers and such like?-Yes. 2917. Do you find that they are generally ready and able to pay you in cash for the goods you sell?-There are some cases where I hate to lie out of it for a good while. 2918. But your general mode of dealing is in cash?-Yes; but if they come forward with an article which is suitable for my hosiery trade, I may take it and give them goods for it, the same as if they were to pay me in cash. 2919. Money payments are the rule in your shop, and hosiery the exception?-Yes. 2920. But when you are offered hosiery, is there a different price charged by you for your I make no difference. I buy their hosiery, such of it as I accept, the same as cash, and I expect to get a cash price for it. 2921. In selling hosiery, do you put a profit upon it?-By no means. 2922. You sell it at the price which you put upon it to the person who brought it?-Yes, so that I can get the price of my goods. 2923. You regard it merely as a currency in which you are paid for your proper drapery goods?-Yes. Lerwick, January 4, 1872, JOHN MANSON, examined. 2924. You were at one time a fisherman at Dunrossness?-Yes. 2925. You are now employed on weekly wages by Mr. Harrison, fish merchant, Lerwick?-Yes. 2926. You cure his fish when they are landed in Bressay?-Yes. 2927. You are his superintendent there and have charge of all his men?-Yes. 2928. How many men are employed under you?-It is generally women and lads who are employed under me. 2929. Is Mr. Harrison a large trader in the home fishing?-Not in the home fishing; principally in the Faroe fishing. 2930. Are his fish from that fishery landed in Bressay?-Yes. 2931. How many people are generally employed there?-The numbers vary according to the demand for work. They may range from 80 to 60 hands daily for five months in the year, during the fish-curing season. 2932. Mr. Harrison has a store in Lerwick, where he sells all kinds of provisions and dry goods?-Yes, he has a provision shop and a clothier's shop; they are different shops. 2933. Do you and the other persons employed in his fish-curing establishment deal at these shops? Do you get your supplies for your families there?-Not generally, unless we choose to do so. 2934. But in point of fact, do you get many of your [Page 65] supplies there?-I buy the greater part of my groceries from that shop. 2935. Is there any obligation upon you to do so?-No. 2936. You have never been told that you ought to do that?-No. 2937. Do you deal at the shop for ready money?-Yes. 2938. You pay for the articles as you get them?-Yes. 2939. How are your wages paid to you?-In cash. 2940. Are you paid at the end of each week?-Yes; unless when the weather prevents us from getting across the Sound, which does not very often occur. 2941. When you or any of your family come over to make your market in Lerwick, and go to Mr. Harrison's shop, do you bring with you the money which has been paid to you in Bressay?-We are paid at Lerwick in Mr. Harrison's office, for our work; and if we choose to go into either of his shops we can do so. We get the cash at the office; and if we go to the shop, we pay that cash for the soft goods or groceries which we get, but we can take the money to any other shop we please. 2942. Is the office near the shop?-The office and the clothier's shop are connected they are both on the same premises. 2943. Do many of the people employed under you deal at these shops?-Not so far as I am aware. They do deal there in a certain way, but not in a compulsory way. 2944. Is there any system of pass-books carried on there?-Not so far as I am aware. 2945. You don't think any of them have pass books at the shop?- I don't think it. I may mention in passing, that very often when we get our wages, instead of being urged to buy from them, are cautioned to use our wages in the most economical way possible, and to go elsewhere if we think we can be better 2946. Who cautioned you in that way?-Mr. Harrison himself. I don't mention that as giving you an idea that there is any grievance in the way of our not getting as good remuneration for our money in these shops as we do elsewhere, but to show the independence of the service. We are in no way bound. 2947. I know that you have not come here because you have any complaint at all?-No; I have no complaint to make in that way. 2948. Do you find the supplies which you get in these shops to be quite satisfactory?-Quite satisfactory. 2949. Do you know anything with regard to the dealings at that store of men employed, in the Faroe fishing?-Yes, a little. 2950. Is that from your own personal knowledge, or merely from hearsay?-A little from my own personal knowledge. I know the way in which the men deal with regard to getting their outfit when the fishing commences. 2951. You know that they go to the store for their outfit and that is put down in a ledger account against each man?-Yes, each man has generally a private account for himself. 2952. The contract for the Faroe fishing is that the fisherman makes certain supplies for the ship, and he is to get one half of the take?-Yes. 2953. Is the price for the fish fixed at the beginning of the season or at the end?-At the end. 2954. And no fisherman knows the price he is to get until the settlement time comes round?-Not so far as the Faroe fishing is concerned. 2955. During the absence of the fisherman at the fishing, are his family generally supplied with goods from the employer's store?- Generally; if the family are in circumstances to require supplies. Plenty of them do not require them, but those who do are supplied in that way. 2956. Do you mean that they are supplied with goods?-They are supplied with goods and cash. 2957. How does it happen that some of them do not require supplies?-A few of them live in the country, and have little patches of land, and they do not require so much goods during the season as others. 2958. Do you know the way in which the business is conducted as between these fishermen and the store?-So far as I know, they get what they ask. 2959. Do they get what money they ask?-They get money or goods, whatever they ask. 2960. And an account runs, which is settled at the end of the year?-Yes. 2961. Is there any obligation on these Faroe fishermen to deal at the store?-Not so far as I am aware. 2962. Are they not obliged to deal there for their outfit?-It is generally understood that they will take their outfit there, because it is more like giving them an advance of money than anything else. 2963. What is the name of Mr. Harrison's store-keeper in Lerwick?-There is no special storekeeper; he has several shopkeepers. 2964. But who attends to the shop?-James Mouat is in the clothier's shop. 2965. Who gives out the stores to the fishermen for their outfit?- Mouat generally gives them anything in the way of soft goods, and Gilbert Harrison, junr. supplies them with what they require in the provision shop. 2966. However you have not much experience of that part of the business?-Not much. 2967. I suppose you don't know much about Dunrossness at present?-Not much just now; it is ten years since I was a regular resident there. 2968. Have you been there lately?-It is about twelve months since I was there last. 2969. Have you relations living there still?-Yes. I have brothers there. 2970. What was the reason for your leaving Dunrossness?- Because I thought I could better myself elsewhere. 2971. Had you a farm there?-Yes. 2972. Have you one here?-No. 2973. When you were at Dunrossness, were you bound to fish to any particular person?-No; I happened not to be bound at that time, but I was singular in that respect because there were not many who were not bound. 2974. Is it a common thing in Shetland for a fisherman not to be able to fish for any one he likes?-It is quite common where the landlord is also a fishcurer. 2975. Can you tell me any men who are so bound in any part of the islands?-I think that generally the tenants on the estates of Mr Grierson and Mr. Bruce are bound to fish for their landlords. 2976. You don't know any other case within your own knowledge where a fisherman has been checked for fishing to another than his landlord or tacksman?-No, not within my own knowledge. 2977. Nor for taking goods from a store other than that of his landlord, or employer?-No; I understand that is the case in other parts of Shetland, but only from report. I don't know it from personal knowledge. . [Page 66] Lerwick: Saturday, January 6, 1872. -Mr. Guthrie. MALCOLM MALCOLMSON, examined 2978. Are you a fisherman at Channerwick?-I am. 2979. Do you hold land there?-My father holds land under Mr. Bruce of Simbister. 2980. Robert Mouat was formerly tacksman of Channerwick and Levenwick under Mr. Bruce?-Yes. 2981. He carried on a fish-curing business there up till last year?- Yes. 2982. During the time he held the tack, were the tenants there in use to fish for and deliver their fish to Mouat?-Yes. 2983. Was it supposed that there was an obligation on them to deliver their fish to him only?-Yes; they thought so. 2984. Was it the case that there was such an obligation?-It was not, but in their ignorance, they did not know otherwise. 2985. How do you know it was not the case?-Because afterwards, when he was put out of the place, Mr. Bruce, the proprietor, told them they never were bound to Mouat; only that if he gave them as high a price as was given in the country, and served them as well in every respect as they could be served anywhere else, why should they not fish to him as well as to another? If, however, Mouat came anything short of that, then they were under no obligation whatever, but they could put their produce where they pleased, and they had only to pay him their rent on a given day. 2986. When did Mr. Bruce tell you that?-In 1871. 2987. Had he never told you so before?-He never told the tenants that before. He had given a statement to Mouat before, but Mouat never revealed it to the tenantry until after his departure; and then it was known, and only then, how matters stood. 2988. To whom did Mr. Bruce make that statement? Was it in writing, or to some particular person?-I could not exactly answer that for I have never seen the statement myself. It is only from hearsay among the tenantry at large that I know about it. 2989. Have you heard that from many of the tenants?-Yes, from many. 2990. What is your father's name?-Malcom Malcolmson. He is unable to come here, unless it is absolutely necessary. 2991. Is he not in good health?-No; not at present. 2992. Was it the practice in Mouat's time to require the tenants to deliver their fish to him only?-Yes. 2993. Did he object to their selling them to others?-Yes. 2994. Did he turn out any people for doing so, or threaten to turn them out?-He threatened a few, and turned out one 2995. Who was that one?-Henry Sinclair, Levenwick. 2996. Was that a long time ago?-Yes; a few years ago. I don't remember the number of years in particular but it is a good while ago. 2997. You have given me a letter in these terms: 'MOUL, 18. 1869. 'Mr. Malcolm Malcolmson. 'Dear Sir,-I am sorrey to think that I shoud hav met to-day what I have, but you will be pleased to lok out for A place at Martamas 1869, 'ROBT. MOUAT, 'as I am goen to set your land.' What had he met that day?-He had received intelligence from his storekeeper at Channerwick that Malcolm Malcolmson's son (that is myself) had given part of the fish of Thomas Jamieson's boat to another fish-merchant, Thomas Tulloch, in Sandwick parish. 2998. Does Tulloch live in Sandwick?-Yes, near Sand Lodge. 2999. He keeps a shop and cures fish there?-Yes. 3000. How do you know that that was the reason for this letter being written?-Because Mouat told my father himself in my presence. 3001. Was that before or after the letter was received?-It was after the letter was received, and when my father asked the reason why he was to give his land to another. 3002. Was your father put out of the farm at that time?-He was not. 3003. How did that happen?-Because he lost the use of one of his hands or of his right thumb, and Mouat had a sort of sympathy with him as being unable to earn his bread as he used to do before, and therefore he let him alone for a season until he could get round again, and regain perfect health and strength, but before that season rolled round, Mouat was out the place himself. 3004. Did you consider yourselves bound to take goods from Mouat's store?-We could not do anything else. 3005. Why?-Because we had no money to purchase them with from other stores. We received no money during the fishing season. 3006. Did you ever ask for advances of money during the fishing season?-Yes; but they were refused. 3007. Why?-Because he just would not give it. He gave no reason, except that he could not give it. 3008. But you would get any kind of goods you wanted?-Yes. 3009. What was the quality of the goods at Mouats' store?-They were of a very inferior quality to what we could purchase anywhere else in the island. 3010. Are you speaking just now from your own knowledge, or from the common understanding of the people about?-I am speaking from nothing else but my own knowledge. 3011. But are you a good judge of the quality of goods?-I cannot say that I am a very good judge, only I know well enough a bad article from a good one. 3012. What particular thing are you speaking of just now?-Say cottons, moleskins, and cloth. 3013. And what as to the provisions?-They were of inferior quality as well. We had meal from his store which he called his second flour. It was as dear, if not dearer, than we could purchase it anywhere else, and it was of such a quality that it could not be eaten by human beings. 3014. Then you did not eat it?-It had to be eaten for the support of life, while it existed; but had it not been for the provisions that came from other stores, and from people who had them to sell, Mouat's tenantry could not have been alive now, and I among the rest. 3015. How could they get provisions from other stores if they had no money to purchase them with?-They made a statement of how they were situated under Mouat, and how they could not receive any meal at all, and that they had to give all their fish to him; and the other shopkeepers felt such sympathy for them, that they gave them supplies to save their own lives and the lives of their families, and to put the men to the fishing. At the same time, when they gave them these supplies, they had no expectation whatever of receiving anything for them from a good many, because they were so poor that they could not give it. 3016. Do you think the storekeepers gave the fisher [Page 67] men credit, without any expectation of being repaid?-One of the shopkeepers told me so himself. 3017. Who was that?-James Smith, Hill Cottage, Sandwick parish. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, WILLIAM MANSON, examined. 3018. Are you a fisherman at Channerwick, in Sandwick parish?- Yes. 3019. Do you hold a piece of land under Mr. Bruce of Simbister?-Yes. 3020. It was formerly included in the tack to Robert Mouat?-Yes. 3021. Were you bound to fish for Mouat?-Yes. 3022. Did you give your fish to any other merchant during the time of his tack?-Yes. In 1870, the year that Mouat failed in business, I gave my fish to James Smith, because I saw I could not live for want of meal, and therefore I and some others were determined to give our fish where we could get both meat and money; and for doing so, Mouat served me with a summons. 3023. Were Smith and Tulloch the only fish merchants in that neighbourhood besides Mouat?-Yes; they cure fish, but not in a large way. 3024. But they buy your fish, and sell you provisions and goods?- Yes. 3025. In consequence of selling your fish to Smith, did you receive a letter from Mouat?-Yes; I have lost that letter. 3026. Did it warn you that you were to leave your ground?-Yes. 3027. Did you also get a formal warning to quit?-I did. I have it. [Produces summons of removing.] 3028. This is a summons at the instance of Robert Mouat, residing in Lerwick, principal tenant under Robert Bruce, Esq. of Simbister, dated 29th September 1870, giving you warning to leave at Martinmas: was that summons served upon you by a sheriff officer?-Yes. 3029. Did you leave in consequence of it?-No; it was in the latter part of the harvest that I received it, which was a very inconvenient time for me to leave, and I went to Mouat and spoke to him about it. He told me that if I would promise to be an obedient tenant, and agree to fish for him the same as I had been doing before, and pay the expense of the summons, I could stay. I knew that it was then coming towards the end of his lease, and I agreed to do that. If I had thought he was to continue longer on the place, I would have left. 3030. Did you pay for the summons?-I did. 3031. You have handed me another letter in the following terms: 'MOUL, 1869, . 18. 'THOMAS JAMIESON. 'LAURANCE MALCOLMSON. 'WILLIAM MANSON. 'WILLIAM MOUAT. 'I this day duly give you notice to look out for A house at Martamas 1869, as I am not incline to keep such men as you for your preasent condick. 'ROBERT MOUAT.' 3032. What does that letter refer to?-It was sent to us because we had allowed Malcolm Malcolmson to give his share of the fish away to another merchant than Mouat. 3033. You understood Mouat to refer to Malcolmson having sold, his fish to Tulloch?-Yes. 3034. This letter was written at an earlier period than the warning you received yourself?-Yes, the year before. 3035. How do you know it was that particular act on your part which caused this letter to be written?-Because Mouat told me so himself. 3036. When did he tell you so?-That same year, just a few days after the letter was written 3037. How was it that you did not leave your ground at that time?-We just never minded him, but went on as we had been doing. I and the rest of the men fished for him, and that man fished for Thomas Tulloch as he had been doing, and Mouat never asked anything about it afterwards. He just annulled the letter, as it were. 3038. You have produced another summons of removing: what does it refer to?-It is the summons that was served upon another man, Thomas Jamieson, at the same time that the summons was served upon me, and for the same thing. He knew that I was coming here, and he wanted me to bring his summons also, that I might show it to you. He had also fished for James Smith in 1870. 3039. Have you anything to say about Mouat's shop?-It was very little worth. 3040. Did you get all your goods there?-Yes. 3041. Were you obliged to take them there?-We were because we could not get them anywhere else. 3042. Did Mouat tell you that you must take them from him?-He did not say that we must take them; but when we were fishing for him, and getting no money, we were obliged to go and take our goods from his shop. Although they had been double the price of what they were anywhere else, we had no other way of doing. We could not make a better of it. 3043. You think the quality of the articles you got there was not good?-It was not. 3044. The meal especially was bad?-Yes; the meal was worst. 3045. Was the tea good?-No; it was bad, and it was dear. 3046. For whom were you fishing last year?-For James Smith. 3047. Are you perfectly at liberty now to fish for any one you please?-Yes, we are at perfect liberty. 3048. Smith is not a tacksman?-No; he just takes our fish, and pays us well for them, as high as can be got in the place. 3049. Do you deal at Smith's shop?-Yes. 3050. And you settle with him annually?-Yes; I have just settled with him this week. 3051. Had you a balance to receive from him?-Yes; £4, 14s. 3052. That was your balance of the season's fishing, after deducting the price of the goods you had got during the season from his shop?-Yes. 3053. Is that a usual balance in a good season, or is it under or over?-It is just about the general thing. 3054. Was that paid to you in cash?-Yes. 3055. You paid your rent to Mr. Irvine, of Hay & Co.?-Yes. 3056. Have Hay & Co. any fish-curing places in that neighbourhood?-No, they have a place down at Dunrossness, but that is a long way from us. 3057. You are not expected to fish for them?-No; we have heard nothing about that yet. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, ROBERT ANDERSON, examined. 3058. You are principal shopman to Mr. Robert Linklater, merchant, Lerwick?-Yes. 3059. I understand you desire to make some explanation with regard to the evidence of two women who were examined here?- Yes; of Margaret Tulloch, and of Mrs. Thomas Anderson, Margaret Tulloch said she refused to take worsted from us to knit, because she could not get cash for her work. I have to state that we refused to give her work because she kept it so very long; and when she was asked why she had kept it so long, she said she had so many lodgers, that she had scarcely any time for knitting. The last thing she had from us was a small handkerchief, the knitting of which was worth 1s. 6d., and which could easily be [Page 68] made in three days. She had it in hand for two days short of five months. Mrs. Anderson made the same remark, that she would not take worsted, because she could not get cash for her knitting. I have the same explanation to make with regard to her, that we refused her work because kept it too long. She got a little shawl to knit on 28d February 1870, and she returned it to use on 14th June. The knitting of it cost 2s. 3060. You find that from your work-book?-Yes. When we asked her why she kept the work so long, she replied that she had so much out-door work to do, that she had scarcely any time for knitting. Then there was one of the girls Brown, Mrs. Tait, who was examined the first day, and who said, I think, that I would not give her cash, but would only give it to my favourites. There are some sisters of that family, and the book was in name of one of the sisters. I only recollect her asking me once for a shilling, which I gave her. 3061. If she got cash, would it not appear in the book?-Yes. 3062. Did she sometimes deal with you in the way of selling her hosiery?-No. 3063. She always knitted for you?-Yes. On 2d July 1869 there is cash 1s. marked: that is the only time I recollect her asking it; and she got it, although I may have made the remark when handing it to her, that we were not in the habit of giving cash. I did not refuse it for all that, but in the act of handing it I may have made that remark. 3064. Mr. Linklater stated that there are about 300 people knitting for him: are the names of all these parties entered in your work-book in separate accounts?-Yes. [Produces work-book.] 3065. Will you show me the way, you make settlement with one of your workers?-Here [showing] is the case of Mary Henry, a country girl. 3066. Is that a good enough instance of it?-Yes. She brings in ten veils, and she has to get 1s. each for knitting them. That is entered to her credit. She will ask what she is to get, and we tell her. Then she will take whatever she wants at that time. She may have sent the veils in with another girl, and come in afterwards herself to get the goods. 3067. I see she has taken out 17s. 41/2d., worth in goods?-She had taken out the amount she had to get, and she brought in other ten veils afterwards, the date of which I find is not marked. Then she asked what she had to get, and she was told it was 4s. 111/2d. We would ask her if she was to settle for that, and she said yes, and we marked it settled. 3068. Was that 4s. 111/2d, which is marked as the balance due to her, paid in cash or got in goods?-It was got in goods entirely. 3069. The items of that do not appear here?-No. When we are busy we scarcely have time to enter all the items; but at other times, when we are not so busy, we enter them all. 3070. It is a rule in your business that you do not give lines for a balance of that kind?-Yes. 3071. You do not give them on a purchase of goods either?-No. 3072. Do the purchases of goods from parties who do not knit with your worsted appear in any of your books?-No; unless a balance is left, and it appears in the end of the day-book where I now point it out. [Showing.] On page 38 there is the account of Helen Arcus, our dresser. 3073. Is that Mrs. Arcus who has been examined?-No; she does not dress for us. That account of Helen Arcus is entirely for dressing. 3074. Is it settled by goods?-No. I wish to explain how we deal with her. She gets out a quantity of shawls and veils or neckties to dress. When they are finished, she brings them down to our hosiery shop where we keep our hosiery and she gets the amount marked on a bit of a line with which she goes to the other shop. I ask her what she wants and perhaps if the amount is 8s. 71/2d. she will ask for a quarter pound of tea for 10d. I then ask her what she wants next, and she says, 'I want 2s. or 3s. in cash.' There is then a balance left, which I mark in the book thus 'By 4s. 81/2d.,' which stands as a balance due to her. If she wants any cash in the interim between that time and the time when she brings down her dressing, she comes to the shop and gets cash, say 6d., or any goods she requires. She gets at the very least 5s. a week in cash all the year round. That does not appear in the book, but she gets whatever she asks. 3075. How do you balance the account when the time comes for doing that?-We add up the two sides of it. 3076. I see that each line in the account contains both debit and credit entries?-Yes, but there are two money columns at the end, and the entries are carried out to them according as they are debit or credit. 3077. How do you do with regard to sending goods south?-When we get orders for Shetland goods in the winter time, they go to our house in Edinburgh. We have already forwarded goods there, and they are kept in store; the orders received at that season are executed there, and a statement is sent down to us. This [producing document] is one of the statements which have been sent from Edinburgh for veils, and here [producing document] is another for shawls. I have brought a sample of each. 3078. The veils are numbered according to quality?-Yes. When we send them of different prices, there must be a different number, to let the people in the south know what the prices are. 3079. You fix the price here at which they are to be sold in Edinburgh?-Yes. 3080. That is the wholesale price?-Yes. Here is June 4: 4 dozen grey veils No. 1, 18s.-£3, 12s.; 4 dozen grey veils No. 6, 21s.- £4, 4s.; 3 dozen No. 7, 27s.-£4, 1s. 3081. Have these grey veils No. 1 been knitted for you by your own knitters?-The principal part of them; but we buy some. 3082. Show me one of the entries of the payment to a knitter for these veils?-I could scarcely show it for these identical veils. 3083. But for veils of the very same quality?-I should think this [showing] would be of the same quality: '10 veils, 9d.-Barbara Pottinger, Burra Isle.' 3084. Then the No. 1 veil which you sell at 1s. 6d. would cost 9d. for the knitting?-We pay 9d. for the knitting of it. 3085. You give out the worsted: what will that cost?-I should think for the coarsest, about 5d. 3086. Would that be the price you pay for it, or the price you would ask for it from a knitter?-It is the price we pay for it; it is Shetland wool. 3087. Which you don't sell?-Which we don't sell. We sell no kinds of wool. 3088. What does the veil cost you for dressing?-11/2d. 3089. Is there any other expense connected with?-There is not on that identical veil, but there is other expense connected with the trade. 3090. Have you to pay freight?-Not freight; but when we get a quantity of goods of that kind, perhaps one-half of them cannot be sold as they are. The colour is so uneven, that we have to send them south and dye a great part of them. 3091. Do you send one-half of each lot south?-Sometimes one-half, and sometimes more and sometimes less. 3092. What is the cost of dyeing?-We pay 1s. a dozen for dyeing; and there is the freight south and the freight back again, and we require to re-dress a great many of them. 3093. So that some of these veils may actually cost you 1s. 6d.?- Yes; and some of them cost less. 3094. What margin of profit does that leave?-I really cannot say. I think no Shetland merchant can tell the exact profit he has on any of his goods. 3095. But there are a number of incidental expenses of that kind, which bring the actual cost of the veils up to about 1s. 6d. apiece?-Yes. [Page 69] 3096. May that be said with regard to other goods also?-It can be said of shawls. 3097. You think the expenses of that kind for sending south, and dyeing and re-dressing, often make the cost of production nearly equal to the selling price?-Yes; and in many cases more than the selling price. 3098. How much wool would there be in a dozen of these Shetland veils?-I should say there would be twenty-one cuts of Shetland wool in a dozen No. 1 veils at 18s. 3099. What is the price of that Shetland wool per cut?-3d. is the price for a fairish quality. Some of the veils turn out very bad from the 3d. worsted, while others turn out to be a little better. 3100. Therefore the worsted costs 5s. 3d., the knitting 9s., and the dressing 1s. 6d.: that leaves 2s. 3d. What proportion of these veils can go to the market without any dyeing or re-dressing?-I don't think there will be more than half of them. The worsted looks very well before it is given out to the knitter; but when it comes back, there are dark and light bars through it. 3101. Then upon one-half of them you have the expense of a double freight to Edinburgh, and also the expense of dyeing and of re-dressing?-Yes. 3102. But it is only a fraction of those sent south require to be re-dressed when they come back?-They all require to be re-dressed when they come back from the dyers. 3103. What dyers do you send them to?-P. & P. Campbell, Cockburn Street, Edinburgh. 3104. What is their charge for dyeing?-I think it 1s. 6d.; but they give 5 per cent. off at the end of the season. 3105. Coming to the English wool; I see there are four dozen black veils No. 5s. 33s., made with English wool: what quantity of wool is required to make dozen of these?-It requires about 3 oz. for a dozen, or about a quarter oz. to make a single veil. 3106. Do you sell that wool by the ounce or the pound?-We buy it by the pound, at 32s. 6d. 3107. Then 3 oz. would cost about 6s.?-Yes; a fraction over that. We don't give them to the knitters here; we give them to a person in the country, who gets them knitted for us. We pay 14s. for the knitting of them to that person in the country. 3108. Is there any particular reason for employing a party in the country for that kind of goods?-We think we can get them better done in that district of the country. 3109. Where is that?-In Unst. 3110. Who is your agent there?-It is a private person. I would rather not tell her name in public. 3111. What is the expense of dressing these veils?-1s. 6d. a dozen. 3112. Does the same proportion of them require dyeing as in the other case?-No; none of these require dyeing, because they are black. 3113. Then there is no expense for dyeing with regard to them?- Very seldom. 3114. Is that sum of 21s. 6d. the whole cost of production of these veils?-No. 3115. What additional cost is there?-There is about the same proportion of them both in the knitting and in the dressing that gets damaged, we cannot get the prices for them that we allow for the knitting. 3116. Do you mean that such a large proportion of them are destroyed in the knitting and the dressing, that you cannot sell them?-Yes; we cannot sell them at very much more than half-price. 3117. What proportion of them are so damaged?-I cannot say exactly; but I should think about the same proportion as in the other case. 3118. Therefore the high price you put upon these veils is intended to cover the loss incurred in that way?-Yes. 3319. The damage, I understand, occurs in the dressing?-Yes; and in the knitting too. There are a good many black lumps in the wool, and the people are very careless, and knit in the black lumps, and thus destroy the veils. 3120. Under what description do you sell these damaged veils?- As job lots; but I wish to state that the woman whom we employ in this way is a dealer, and we have to give the goods to her at a very great reduction. We have to give them to her at the wholesale price. The goods which we pay for the knitting are sold much cheaper to her than to others. 3121. You pay this woman in goods?-Yes; at wholesale prices. It is almost the same as cash, because we have to give the goods so much cheaper. 3122. Does she keep a shop?-No; but she deals in a small way. I think she has a room in which she has some small things. It is in one sense a shop, and in another it is not. 3123. Do you require as much as 11s. 6d. to cover what you lose on the job lots?-I think we do. 3124. Have you any books here which show an entry of a job lot of that kind?-I don't have them here. 3125. How does that appear in your books?-They are entered as so many dozen veils job. 3126. They are entered in that way in your day-book as sent south to your correspondent in Edinburgh?-Yes; there are a good many of the same kind of veils, which having to lie over the season get crushed, and are taken back and re-dressed, and sent south again. 3127. But losses of that kind occur in all trades, I suppose?-I suppose so. 3128. You said you would charge for a job lot about half-price?- Less than half-price. 3129. Can you calculate how many job lots there would be out of say ten dozen of these black veils?-I have often taken one-half of them out for job lots. 3130. Do you say that, as a rule, there would be five dozen job lots in ten dozen black veils?-Very often there are that number. 3131. Would that be an average?-I think average is scarcely so high, but very near it. 3132. Then, of all the black veils No. 5 sent to your correspondent in Edinburgh, nearly one-half will be job lots?-Yes; of the one kind of veils-that is-the finest kind. There are very few of the cheaper veils jobbed in the same way, 3133. Why are there so many of them in these fine veils?-The worsted is so fine, that they get torn, and the slightest mistake injures them. 3134. Will you show me an entry of some veils of the medium quality?-Here [showing] is an entry of No. 7 veils at 24s.: these are Shetland wool. 3135. I would rather take a case where English wool was used?-I don't think there is any case of that kind there. No. 2 is the only one very near it of English wool. 3136. Here [showing] is an entry of four dozen black veils No. 2, 21s.: what would the cost of wool be there?-About 10s. 6d, per pound. 3137. What quantity of wool would be required for a dozen?-I think 1 oz. would make three veils., 3138. Then 4 oz. would make a dozen; that is 2s. 71/2d. as the cost of wool for a dozen?-Yes. 3139. What would be the cost of knitting a dozen?-12s. in goods. 3140. And of dressing?-1s. 6d. 3141. Have you to dye these?-No; we don't dye them. 3142. Is there the same risk of loss from their being spoiled as in the other case?-Not quite the same; but there are a certain number of job lots there too. 3143. What proportion of job lots may there be in that sort of veil?-Generally from one-eighth to one-fourth of the whole. 3144. Do these sell at half-price, or more than half-price?- Generally about half-price-sometimes a shade less and sometimes a shade more, according to the state of the market. 3145. Then the price you charge for them, 21s. is calculated to cover the loss upon job lots?-Yes. 3146. There is thus a difference of nearly 5s. between the cost price and the selling price of these No. 2 veils: is it not the fact that that difference is allowed for profit?-It is the fact that it is not allowed for a profit: the profit is not so much. [Page 70] 3147. But it is calculated so as to allow you a certain amount of profit?-Yes; a certain amount. 3148. That is not the actual profit receive; but the price is so calculated as to cover the loss upon job lots and to allow you a certain amount of profit as well?-Yes. 3149. In fact, so as to make it safe that you may get some profits- Yes. 3150. Is that not so with the prices, of all your hosiery goods?- With the lace goods that we get knitted it is the case. We only put out lace goods to be knitted; we buy all the other goods over the counter. 3151. What do you mean by lace goods?-Lace shawls and veils, principally, and neckties. 3152. Do you call all the open lace goods Shetland goods, whether they are made of English or Shetland wool?-Yes. 3153. This [showing] is an invoice of shawls?-Yes. 3154. Is there any material difference, with respect to the shawls, from the calculations with regard to the cost of production and profit which we have just made with respect to the veils?-I think it is very similar. 3155. It comes to something like the same thing?-Yes; but the difference is not quite so marked. 3156. You think there is not so much difference in the cost to you, in the case of shawls, as in the case of veils?-No; because we don't get job shawls, and we don't require to guard against that. 3157. Are there no job shawls at all?-It is extremely seldom that there are any. 3158. Therefore, in that case, you require to make the margin less?-Yes. 3159. What do you think would be the percentage of profit upon the lots of veils and shawls mentioned in this account [showing]?-I really could not say. I am quite sure that no person in the trade could tell that. 3160. You have never made an exact calculation of it?-Never. 3161. Can you give me an approximation to it? Will it be 10 per cent.?-Yes; it will be more. 3162. Will it be under 15?-I think it will be. 3163. That is not taking into consideration the fact that they are paid for in goods?-There is nothing like 15 per cent. in that view. I am taking the whole profit in every way connected with them. 3164. But the question I am asking is, whether, calculating the cost of production in money as I have done just now, and calculating the selling price in money, the profit realized upon these two invoices you have handed to me will amount to 10 or 15 per cent.?-I don't exactly understand the question. 3165. We have been calculating the cost of the article to you?- Yes; and the real cost to us, I would say the profit will be 15 per cent. 3166. Then, in addition to that, you sell goods to the parties who bring in the articles?-Not in addition to that. 3167. You don't mean to say that you give your goods in return for these articles at cost price?-No, we don't. 3168. You have a profit upon the goods?-Yes; but we don't have a separate profit of 15 per cent. on the hosiery. 3169. But the purpose of the calculations we have been going into just now is to show what the hosiery costs?-Yes; what is the cost to Mr. Linklater. 3170. How do you get at the actual cost?-I cannot get at it exactly. I really don't know what it is. 3171. But when you say you pay a woman 10s. for knitting, that is marked down in your book as the price paid to her for knitting, just in the same way as if it had been paid in money?-Yes; but I say that we don't have 15 per cent. of profit on these goods over and above the profit we have on the goods given to the knitter. 3172. But, setting aside in the meantime the fact that the women are paid in goods, and supposing that the 10s. entered in your book is paid to the knitter in cash, do you mean to say that your profit is not 10 or 15 per cent.?-If it was cash, I should say it was 10 or 15 per cent.,-on some things a little more, and on some things a little less. 3173. I am speaking of the hosiery exclusively at present; but in point of fact the 10s. that is entered in your book as the cost of knitting is invariably, or almost invariably, settled for by means of goods on the other side of the account?-Yes. 3174. Are these goods charged to the knitter at wholesale prices or at retail prices?-At retail prices. 3175. Then that retail price implies that there is a profit on the goods?-That is what I am saying; but I say that we don't have 15 per cent. profit on the shawls, and a profit on the goods besides. I say that if we were paying the actual cash for the knitting of the shawls, then we might have 15 per cent. of profit. 3176. Do you mean that if you were paying actual cash for the knitting of the shawls, you would allow smaller profit on your goods?-I do. 3177. Then when you said with regard to the grey veils No. 1, at 18s., that the cost of knitting was 9s. a dozen, that payment to the knitter was higher than if you paid her in cash?-Yes. 3178. How much higher?-I think that one would not be safe in that case to pay more than 7s. or 7s. 6d., but some knitters make rather better things than others. Of course that is only my own opinion, and it is a thing I have never discussed either one way or another. 3179. You don't sell the Shetland worsted?-No. 3180. And you say an average price for it is 3d. a cut?-Yes; fine worsted may be from 3d. to 6d. a cut. 3181. The payment for that is generally in goods?-No, it is generally in cash, but we do sometimes get it for goods. 3182. You pay for it generally in cash: how do you account for that deviation from your general practice in Shetland?-We buy a good lot of it from merchants, and there are a good many old women who spin for a living, who we think require the cash. There is also such a demand for it that we are very glad to get it for cash, when the market is generally overstocked with everything else. 3183. Is there much Shetland wool sold in the southern markets?-No; we only send very small quantities of it south, for darning purposes. 3184. Are you aware whether there are merchants in Shetland, either in Lerwick or in the country, who send Shetland wool to the southern markets?-I know it has been sent from Yell. 3185. To a large extent?-No; it is not produced to a large extent. All that is produced in Shetland is very trifling. 3186. How did it happen to be sent from Yell?-Because a hosiery merchant in the south, who was selling their goods, got an order for worsted, and it was sent to him. I only know or that one instance. 3187. Was it sent by a proprietor?-I am not sure. It was Mr. Pole of Greenbank who sent it. I rather think his father is proprietor of Greenbank. Mr. Pole is now at Mossbank. 3188. What is the cost per pound of that worsted which sells at 3d. per cut?-Ordinary good 3d. worsted should be about 20s. a pound. 3189. Therefore it is not so dear as the English worsted?-It is much dearer. 3190. But there is some of the English worsted high as 32s. a pound?-Yes; but we have bought Shetland wool at 96s. 3191. Is that the finest quality of Shetland worsted?-Yes 3192. How much is that per cut?-I think about 7d. We have paid 7d. a cut for it, and on weighing it out I have found there were 12 cuts to the ounce. A cut is 100 threads, and a reel is about a yard long, or scarcely so much. 3193. There will be a greater number of cuts in a pound of fine worsted than in a pound of coarse worsted?-Yes. 3194. So that the proportion between the price per [Page 71] cut and the price per pound will differ very much?-Yes 3195. In your trade is there any quantity of goods sold for cash?- Yes. 3196. Are these marked and sold at the same price as those which you give in return for hosiery?-Yes; they are marked at the same price, and generally sold at the same price. On rare occasions there is a slight discount given for ready cash. 3197. How much is that discount?-I should say about 1s. per £1. 3198. Why is that not allowed when the settlement with hosiery?-Because we consider that in our transactions throughout the year we do not realize for our hosiery goods the full price which we pay. 3199. Have you two shops?-Yes. 3200. In one of these is hosiery kept and bought?-In one of them hosiery is kept; it is only in bought that shop now on very rare occasions. When Mr. Linklater or I happen to be there, we may buy something, and send the customer to the other shop to settle for it. 3201. Then the buying of hosiery is only conducted in the drapery shop?-The settlement for hosiery is only conducted in the hosiery shop. 3202. As a rule, a person selling a shawl or veil would go to the drapery shop?-Yes; and if Mr. Linklater or I was not there, she would go to the other shop to see if we were there. 3203. How do you settle with them if the purchase is made in the hosiery shop?-Generally one of us goes across with them, and on other occasions we give a line to the other shop such as this: '12s. R. L.,'-just the sum and the initials, and they go to the other shop, where it is settled at once. 3204. That is in cases of purchase, and has nothing to do with your knitters?-Nothing; unless in the case of the dresser, who has to bring all the dressed goods to the other shop. She sometimes gets a similar line; at other times she just tells the amount. Of course we put every confidence in her; and whether she has a line or not, she is settled with all the same. 3205. Do you exchange a large quantity of tea for hosiery and knitted work?-Not a large quantity; only a small quantity. 3206. Was it larger formerly than it is now?-I don't think it. 3207. The principal dealing is in goods?-Yes; in goods. Of course when people ask for tea, they are never refused it; but we don't sell much. 3208. Do you give them tea for goods at the ordinary market price that it is got at in the other grocery shops in town?-I have no idea what their tea costs them at other places. One merchant does not know what another merchant's goods are sold for. 3209. At what prices do you sell your teas?-Generally at 9d. and 10d. per quarter. 3210. Have you only two qualities?-Yes. 3211. Is it always sold in quarter pounds?-No; it is sometimes sold in half ounces. 3212. It is just put up as the people ask for it?-Yes. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, ROBERT SINCLAIR, recalled. 3213. Have you anything further to add to the evidence you previously gave?-I produce a list of names of parties who have sold goods to me, and they can be examined as to the prices they have got for their goods, that the range of prices may be ascertained. [Produces list.] 3214. I believe you also wish to explain something about the number of your knitters?-Yes; I made a mistake about that. I find from the index in our workers' book that the number is upwards of 300. I believe, however, that a great number of the knitters who appear in our books will also appear in the books of other merchants. They take work from two or perhaps three, at the same time; and consequently the aggregate number of knitters is not represented by the number that is found collectively in the books of the employers. 3215. You wish also to speak about Catherine Borthwick's evidence. She said she had never got any money from you; that she had asked you about two years ago for 1s,, when there was about 5s. 6d. due to her; that you refused it; and that she had never asked you for any since?-I have no evidence either to corroborate or to disprove that statement. I have not the least recollection of it; but I don't believe that it happened 3216. Is there anything in your books to contradict it?-Nothing. 3217. Then there is nothing for it but her statement, and your statement on the other side?-Quite so. 3218. In a large business like yours there might be a cash transaction at a time, apart from your books, which was settled for there and then?-Yes, it might have been; but it is a very unlikely thing that she asked me for 1s. in cash and I refused it unless I had very good grounds for doing so. She was generally behind in my books. 3219. But what she deponed to might have happened when she was behind?-Yes; I think it was very seldom, until I settled up with her, that she was not behind. 3220. In the work-book, I notice that dressing is occasionally charged against you on the credit side?-That is in the case where the knitter also dresses, and she is paid for that as well as for the knitting. We sometimes included both in the same payment, but not very often. Now we always separate them. 3221. When you were examined previously with regard to the cost of the wool in a shawl made of English wool, were you speaking of the price which you paid for the wool, or of the price at which you would retail it?-With regard to English or south-country wool, I may just repeat what I said before; that we really do very little in it, especially for fine shawls. I never charged 30s., or anything like it, for a shawl made of Pyrenees wool, because I did not consider that it was real Shetland goods. 3222. Then you deal in the real Shetland goods?-Yes, mostly. Occasionally, if I have to send a shawl of another kind to the south, I state that it is not handspun wool-that it is not the real Shetland wool. 3223. So that the great majority of your goods consists of Shetland wool; and in estimating the cost of production of a shawl, you estimated it at the price you paid for the wool?-Just so. 3224. And not at the retail price to a customer?-No; it was the cash price meant. There is one exception-that is, in the mohair falls-similar to those Mr. Anderson has been referring to, where, as rule, we pay a higher rate for knitting than that mentioned. These mohair falls are the only thing we deal in that is not Shetland. 3225. That is, the grey and black falls?-Yes. We never buy black wool; we always dye the falls after they are knitted. 3226. Are falls and veils the same thing?-We don't buy the mohair black; we think we get a more uniform shade of colour when we buy them in the piece. 3227. I understand you have two shops?-Yes. 3228. One of them is a shop where you only deal in drapery goods?-Yes; where we only deal for cash. 3229. There are no hosiery dealings carried on there?-No. 3230. Are the same prices charged for the drapery goods in the two shops?-There is a very small shade of difference on some things. Some things are exactly the same in both; on others there is a small difference. I should say that there is such a difference on calicoes. There are several things we sell in that shop, such as fancy goods and sewed articles, which are not kept in our hosiery shop at all; but winceys and stuff goods, such as camlets and satteens, and other things for dresses, are charged alike in both shops, so far as I remember. [Page 72] 3231. Is there any difference made in the price of the tea?-We don't sell tea in the drapery shop. While on this subject I would call attention to one thing that was stated in Mr. Walker's evidence. He said that the merchants gave mostly flowers and ribands, and things of that description in exchange for the hosiery; while the fact is that flowers and ribands are just the kind of goods which I would avoid giving, if I could, because we do not realize a profit on them. In our cash shop we never have flowers or ribands, unless when we are obliged to have them for the accommodation of our customers; and we would rather want them. I was four years in the trade, so far as I recollect, before I had any flowers or ribands in stock at all, because I knew from former experience they were a thing which did not pay. 3232. What is the reason why these things do not pay?-They may pay some people in the south, who charge a higher rate for them; but we do not charge so high for them as in the south. 3233. How are you obliged to have them now?-Because the people will have them, and they have got into the habit of buying them at the ordinary rates. An ordinary retail profit put on any of these things won't pay us, because so many of the flowers are lost, crushed, or destroyed; and sometimes I have seen us have to throw a box of them from the pier. Another thing is that ribands go out of fashion. There are boxes of ribands standing in my shop, which I would sell for one-fourth of the cash I paid for them. 3234. Do you not keep these, goods because you find it necessary to have them in order to induce people to come to your shop with their hosiery goods?-By no means. They come without any inducement of that kind. 3235. But they want them when they are selling their hosiery?- We could do without them, for that part of it. There are many customers who come for them, as well as hosiery customers. When we want a particular article of hosiery, and have an order for it, we can arrange, and often do arrange, to buy it for cash; and the people may go and buy their goods where they like. That is frequently done when we have a standing order for an article; so that we do not keep these things as baits for the public at all. 3236. You buy a good deal of wool from the north isles?-Yes. 3237. I think you said you did not send any of it south?-No; I don't require to send it south. 3238. Are you aware of Shetland wool being bought and sent south in considerable quantities?-I was told by a south-country dealer that he had bought a considerable quantity of wool from Shetland; but that is all. I know about it. I have no personal knowledge of the thing being done. 3239. You don't understand that it is bought up by the proprietors or factors or middle-men?-I never heard anything about that, except from Mr. Walker's evidence; and it is a dream. 3240. You don't buy it yourself for any purpose of that kind?-No; there are none of the merchants who do that. There is one thing in my previous evidence which I wish to correct: I thought of it after I left here. In calculating the value of a 30s. shawl, I put down 14s. as the value of the knitting; but in that case I did not make the deduction I should have made for the percentage of the goods paid for it, which would increase the real profit to the dealer. As, however, in a great many instances, when we require a fine shawl of that kind, a good deal of it is paid in cash, I think that, taking it as a general thing, not more than 1s., 6d. would fall to be deducted for that from the figure I gave. In some cases the price is paid wholly in cash, especially for things of that kind. That sum of 1s. 6d. would therefore fall to be added to the profit if the article was paid in goods; but if paid in cash, then my statement was quite correct. 3241. Did you hear the evidence which has been given by Mr. Anderson with regard to the cost of making shawls and veils?-I did. 3242. It was mostly veils he spoke to, and the selling price of them: do you think his calculations that on subject were generally near the truth?-I believe they were perfectly correct, so far as my own experience goes, but I may say that my experience in that matter has been somewhat different from his, inasmuch, as for that class of wool, and knitting. I often pay a higher rate to good knitters. There is this; however, to be said in my case, that I do not have so many job lots, which compensates to a great extent for the difference; and another thing is that I do not charge such a high price for them as he stated, when sending them south. If I am selling to a private individual, I may but it is very seldom that I sell to private individuals. 3243. That may be accounted for in this way: that you sell more to wholesale customers, while I suppose Mr. Linklater's business in Edinburgh is really a retail business?-Yes; he has a very extensive establishment in Edinburgh. 3244. His own establishment there is a retail one; so that the prices Mr. Anderson was speaking of were probably retail prices?-I suppose so. I think if the one was balanced with the other, there would be found to be very little difference between Mr. Linklater's experience in the trade and my own. I wish it to be distinctly understood, that when I said we got no profit, on the goods except what we realized on the first purchase, I meant that we do not realize indeed we often don't realize so much-as the price we paid for them in goods. In particular cases, we may charge a shade over what the thing has actually cost us; but there are a great many articles for which we must charge less, and that much more than balances the other. If our customers in the south were private individuals or consumers, we could very easily pay the same rate in cash that we now pay in goods, but as we have to sell to retail dealers in a wholesale way, we cannot afford to do that, unless we were to rob the retail dealer of his profit altogether. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, ISABELLA SINCLAIR, examined. 3245. You are the daughter of Mr. Sinclair, who has just been examined, and one of the assistants in shop?-Yes. 3246. Are you sometimes concerned in the purchase of hosiery goods?-No; I never purchase hosiery. 3247. You only sell in the shop?-Yes. 3248. Is it the case that the lines which are given out in your father's shop are generally brought back by the same parties to whom they are issued? Do you know who the lines are given to?-No; we keep no note of their names. 3249. But do you happen to know them?-I know several cases in which the lines have been brought back by the same parties to whom they were given out; and there have been other cases where I know that they have been given by that party to another party, just the same as sending them an errand. 3250. Do you know of any cases in which they have been brought back by people with whom they have been exchanged for money or for goods which could not be got in your father's shop?-No; they would never mention such a thing to us. 3251. And no such case has come within your knowledge?-I have heard vague reports of such things being done but nothing that I could, state positively. I know that if they had come to the shop and asked money for their lines, they would have got 10d., in the shilling for them from my father. 3252. Have you ever been asked for that?-Very seldom. There was one girl who came in a few nights ago and offered me a veil. My father happened to be in the back shop, and I went to him with it, and he said he would give her 1s. 4d. for the veil. I came back to the girl, and she said, 'Would I give her 1s. 4d. in money?' I said, 'Certainly not,' because the veil season was over; and also I did think that money [Page 73] and goods were the same thing. I said I would give here 1s. 1d. in money, and she asked if I would give her 1s. 2d. I said, 'No;' I would only give her 1s. 1d. and she took that and went away. 3253. Is that a usual sort of transaction?-No. I never heard them asking for money before; at least not asking for it in that way. I have heard them wanting to get the same price in money that they got in goods. 3254. Is that a common thing for them to ask?-Well, it is. 3255. Do you know anything about the work-book?-Yes. 3256. Do you sometimes settle the accounts in that book with the knitters?-Occasionally, when the clerk is out. 3257. Are the items in the account always read over to the knitter?-Yes. 3258. Is there any receipt or acknowledgment given when an account is settled?-Occasionally they take a line for the amount if the balance is in their favour, because sometimes the shop is so crowded that we don't have time to turn up the account. 3259. In that case the account is marked as settled in full?-Yes. 3260. In other cases the balance is carried to the next account simply, without any line?-Yes. 3261. Is the work-book kept in the shop, or in the office at the back?-We used to keep it in the shop, but they came and bothered us at the time we were writing, and we thought it better to keep it in the office. But we take the book into the front shop, and read the items over to them when we settle. 3262. If a woman comes with work and gets it entered in the work-book, and then wants a certain quantity of goods, do you communicate with the clerk at the back before giving out the goods, in order to see the state of her account?-Yes. 3263. Who enters the goods in the book?-The clerk, when he is present; or if he is not present, then any of us who retail the goods may enter them. 3264. Do you go into the back shop for the purpose of doing that?-I take down a note of the goods they get on a slip of paper. 3265. And the contents of that slip are entered into the book?- Yes, by the clerk. 3266. Then there may be a great number of these slips to enter in the course of the day?-They are handed to the clerk at once. If he is busy about anything else, any of us may take the book and mark the goods in ourselves. 3267. Are these slips preserved?-No. 3268. They are just destroyed when entered?-Yes. I have occasionally given them to the people themselves, if it was a case where they were getting goods for another person. If they had been sent an errand by any one, I have handed them their slip, in order to show the person who sent them what they had got. 3269. Is there anything else you wish to say?-I wish to say that in a very short time the Shetland wool will be entirely destroyed, because the breed of sheep is wearing out. The Cheviot wool is taking its place. 3270. You mean that the introduction of Cheviot sheep into Shetland is entirely destroying the breed of native sheep?-Yes. 3271. Do you do a good deal in purchasing wool from the Shetland people?-No; I don't purchase but I know the quality of it. 3272. Do you find from the qualities that pass through your hands, that the Shetland wool is not so good as it used to be?-Yes; it is deteriorating very much. 3273. You find it is becoming more like what you buy from the south?-Yes; there is a great difference upon it. There is more elasticity in the Shetland wool than in the Pyrenees wool. 3274. Do you buy the wool yourself?-No; it is spun and knitted by people. 3275. Do they bring it to you, or have you people who gather it in for you?-They bring it to us to the shop: and I have heard the people very often making complaints that they could not get wool at all from any source. 3276. How do you buy wool?-We do not buy wool at all. 3277. Do you buy Shetland worsted?-Yes. 3278. Do the spinners bring it to your shop and sell it?-Very seldom. We buy it mostly from merchants in the country-in Unst and Fetlar. When a spinner comes in with worsted, she generally wants ready money for it. 3279. When a woman comes with it or sends it, how is she paid?-She gets anything she asks for-either goods at wholesale prices, or the cash. 3280. When you buy worsted and give goods for it, you give them at the wholesale prices it is the same as cash?-Yes. 3281. Are there many merchants who deal in that kind of way?-I suppose most of them do so in the places where it is made. It is mostly in the north isles. Occasionally, I think, they do a little in Dunrossness. 3282. Is it bought in by a shopkeeper at Dunrossness?-I don't know how it is done. I simply know that there are some goods made there. 3283. But where do you get your worsted from?-We don't get worsted from any merchant in Dunrossness. I was merely stating where the worsted was spun. 3284. Do you get Shetland worsted from merchants in the north of the mainland as well as in the north isles?-Yes. 3285. Do you get any from Mossbank or Lunna?-No. 3286. Do you get any from Northmavine?-I think we get a little worsted from a merchant there. The books will show where it is got. 3287. Do you know about the prices paid for goods bought in the shop? I don't mean goods knitted you, but goods bought?-Yes. 3288. What do you generally pay for a dozen of men's hose?-I think about 20s.-sometimes more, but very seldom less. That is a thing very seldom sold now, except knickerbocker stockings. 3289. I see in an account five white lace shawls sold each. What would be the price of these if bought over the counter?-8s. in goods. 3290. If paid in cash, what would the price be?-About is 9d., I should say. 3291. Do you buy many of them for cash?-We sometimes buy the larger things for cash. I have been in the shop when large shawls were paid for in that way. 3292. In the same account I see twelve hap-shawls at 11s. 6d.: what would these be bought for across the counter?-It is very likely that 11s. 6d. would be paid for them in goods. 3293. In this account I see one hap-shawl entered at 14s., and then at 13s.: what does that mean?-It means that 14s., was paid for it, and it was sold for 13s. Perhaps it may have been slightly ill-coloured. 3294. In the wholesale trade list which has been given in, I see white, brown, and grey shawls, natural colours, charged 8s. 6d. to 18s.: do you know, from what you see in the shop, the prices at which these are generally bought over the counter?-They are just bought at the same prices at which they are invoiced, and which are put down there. 3295. When a shawl is brought to the shop and paid for in goods, is it ticketed for the south market?-Yes; the fine shawls are ticketed. 3296. Wrap or winter shawls, 8s. 6d.: would these be ticketed?- No. 3297. Why?-Because my father knows the prices so well; they are sold by measure. 3298. The prices at which they are charged do not depend so much on fancy?-No. 3299. Then the prices of these shawls are fixed afterwards?-Yes. 3300. How do you know that the prices which are charged for these shawls are the same as have been paid for them over the counter?-Because I have seen haps sold at the counter for 8s. 6d.; and afterwards, [Page 74] when they were ready for the market, they were charged at the same, or nearly the same, price. 3301. Don't you sometimes see them charged at a higher price?-I cannot say exactly, because I do not always notice what the prices are; but I know that I have sometimes seen the same prices charged. I have noticed that particularly in haps. 3302. There are grey and brown long shawls, 20s. to 24s. are these also haps?-Yes. 3303. Are they generally bought at from 20s. to 24s.?-Yes. 3304. And sold at the same prices?-Yes, I have noticed that. 3305. You have nothing to do with the pricing of them yourself?- Nothing at all. I merely see the tickets, and recognise the article. Perhaps there was something particular about it which led me to recognise it. 3306. How often has that happened?-I could not say. 3307. Has it happened a dozen times?-It has surely happened more than a dozen times. That is a very small number. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, JOHN JAMES BRUCE, examined. 3308. Are you a shopman to Mr. Sinclair?-Yes. 3309. You are not the bookkeeper?-No. 3310. Do you know the prices at which hosiery goods are bought across the counter?-Yes. 3311. Do you also know the prices at which these same goods are invoiced to the southern market?-Yes. 3312. Is the price at which they are bought and the price at which they are sold the same, or different, on the ordinary run of goods?-They are charged to the wholesale or the retail dealer in the south at the same price as we pay for them in goods at the counter. 3313. Is that the invariable practice?-Yes. 3314. The goods, I understand, are not all ticketed when bought?-Fine shawls are generally ticketed, but haps and other goods are judged of afterwards, when being looked out in order to be sent to the market in the south. 3315. In the case of fine shawls, is it within your own knowledge that the ticket put upon them at the time of the purchase bears generally the same price as has been paid for them in goods?- Yes. Mr Sinclair puts up these goods himself for the market, and the ticket is put on them at the time of the purchase, in order to bring to his remembrance, when he is putting them up for the market, the price he paid for them at the counter. 3316. In all these cases there is only one valuation of the shawl, and it is made to the person who brings it to you for sale?-Yes. 3317. The ticket is put on them, and the invoice price is the same as the price on the ticket?-Yes, the same. 3318. Do you make no allowance, in that case, for the loss upon the dressing or the dyeing of the shawl?-When a girl comes with an article that is ill-coloured, she may ask a certain price for it; but we state that we cannot give her that price, owing to it being ill-coloured, and that it requires to be dyed. In that case we deduct the price of the dyeing from the price which is paid to her. 3319. Is that deduction made before the price is put on the ticket?-We don't ticket it then. It has to be sent south to the dyer, and to come back and to be dressed here. 3320. In that case you must make an estimate, because you cannot identify the shawl afterwards?-No; we just leave it to our own judgment afterwards. 3321. Then it appears that you don't invoice the goods at exactly the same price that is paid in every case?-We don't invoice them at the same price if we are selling them to private individuals; but when we sell them to a retail dealer, we invoice them at the same price. 3322. But you have said that very often you require to send them to the dyer, in which case they are not ticketed at the time you purchase them?-No; but the retail dealer must pay for the dyeing. 3323. But the goods are not always ticketed at the time they are bought?-No; not always. I did not say they were. 3324. Are they ticketed, as a rule, when they are bought?-The finest of the lace goods or shawls are ticketed. 3325. And veils?-No, not veils; but the fine lace shawls are generally ticketed. 3326. How is the invoice price of the veils fixed, if they are not ticketed when they are bought?-We can easily judge of the quality of a veil by looking at it, and we can tell what we paid for it. Of course, in fixing the price, we always refer to what we paid for it, and we know that at a glance by the quality of the work and the worsted. 3327. You cannot tell what you paid for a particular lot of veils, because you cannot identify them?-No. 3328. But you know by the quality what they likely to have cost you?-Yes. 3329. Is the price at which veils are sold generally the same as that at which they are bought?-Yes. Veils which have been bought across the counter are charged at the same price that we consider we paid for them. 3330. Are many of the shawls dyed?-A good many. Some are dyed on account of being ill-coloured. Perhaps we don't discover, at the time when they are taken in over the counter, that they are ill-coloured; we only find that out afterwards, and then we have to dye them. Sometimes we dye shawls, not on account of them being ill-coloured, but because we require them of a particular colour. 3331. Is that done with fine shawls?-Both with fine and coarse. 3332. But not with haps?-Sometimes with haps too. We dye haps scarlet and black. 3333. Therefore there is a considerable quantity of the shawl goods which it is not possible to ticket at the time when they are bought, because they have afterwards to be dyed-Yes, a considerable quantity. 3334. And, in that case, the price is fixed afterwards, according to your own notions of the quality?-Yes. 3335. Who fixes the invoice price of shawls when they are sent out finally to the market?-Mr. Sinclair himself. He takes that department. 3336. Do you know whether, in doing so, he takes into account the market price in the south?-Although he makes up the articles, they pass through my hands in packing, and I see the tickets. They generally have a ticket on them, in order to guide the clerk in checking them and entering them into the book. 3337. But you don't know the principle on which Mr. Sinclair values these shawls when they are invoiced?-He just judges of them in the same manner as he did at first when taking them in over the counter. 3338. What proportion of the shawls may be revalued in that way?-Will it be one-third or one-half of them?-They are all re-valued in that way, unless those which are ticketed. 3339. But what proportion of them are not ticketed at first?-I could not say. 3340. Is it not the case that very few of them are ticketed at first?-There are only the finest lace shawls that are ticketed at first. 3341. Therefore the bulk of the shawls are not ticketed then, but valued afterwards?-Yes; they are valued in the same manner at that time as they were when taken in at the counter. 3342. Are you in a position to state whether or not that valuation which is made when they are sent out exceeds the valuation which is put upon them when they are purchased for the market?-I have reason to believe from Mr. Sinclair's long experience in the trade, that he will know to a fraction what he paid for the [Page 75] shawls; and I can swear that they are not charged by him at a higher price than the price which was paid for them in goods at the counter. Of course deductions are made afterwards by the wholesale dealer, if he thinks the article is inferior. 3343. Do you issue the lines which are given out in the shop?-I very often issue lines. I perhaps issue more of them than any one else. 3344. Do you also serve customers who have lines?-Yes. 3345. Is it consistent with your knowledge, that the lines are generally brought back by the parties to whom they were originally given out?-They are generally brought back by the owner of the hosiery. 3346. Is it the party herself to whom the line has been given that usually brings it back?-Very often but sometimes they may send a line in by another party as a messenger. 3347. How do you know that?-Sometimes a line may be brought back an hour after it has been given out, by a different party, and they will perhaps make remark in order to let me know that they have been sent by the party to whom the line belonged. 3348. Are you aware that the lines are exchanged or sold by the parties to whom they were first issued?-I have heard something to that effect this very morning. 3349. But you have not known of that in your own experience?- No. It has not come under my notice, unless from report. 3350. Does the party bringing one of these lines for goods ever tell you that she had purchased it?-No. I don't remember an instance of that kind. 3351. You don't remember any particular case in which there had been a sale of the line for cash, or for other goods which you don't supply?-I say there was an instance this morning which came under my notice, in which a line had been exchanged, and in which the party had got cash for the line. 3352. From whom had the cash been got?-I could give the name of the party to whom the line belonged, but not of the other party. 3353. Was that an instance of a line being brought back by a person to whom it had not been originally issued?-No; it was merely a party in the shop who said that some time ago-she did not state the time-she had a line which she had given to another person, and had got cash for it. But at the same time she said that she did not ask cash from Mr. Sinclair, or she might have got it. She felt diffident in asking for cash, because she had brought her hosiery to the shop on the understanding that she was to take goods for it. The receipt she got had not been a cash transaction. 3354. Is that the only time, in your experience in the shop, that you have heard of these lines being exchanged for cash, or for other goods than those which Mr. Sinclair sells?-It is the only one I can point to in particular. 3355. But do you swear that you don't know that lines have been so exchanged?-No, I would not swear that. I said I have heard a vague report that on several occasions they have been exchanged, but I could not point to any other case than the one I have mentioned. 3356. Is cash ever given in your shop upon lines?-Yes, often. It is given on lines, even when the hosiery article has been taken in over the counter with understanding that the party was to take all goods for it. 3357. The lines bear that their value is to be given in goods but notwithstanding that you know that cash had been given on them?-Yes. 3358. How often?-I could not say how often, but I can point to one woman in particular who has got cash in that way. She stated that she was in need of it, and she got it even when the hosiery article was taken with the understanding that only goods were to be given for it. 3359. In that case, was any discount taken for cash?-No. 3360. Was the whole amount given in cash?-Yes, all cash. She said she required it to buy meal with. 3361. What was the amount of that line?-It was the case with that woman on several lines, not on one line in particular. 3362. Who was the woman?-I should prefer to give her name in private. 3363. What proportion of her line was given in cash?-I could not say what proportion, but she got the proportion she asked for. Of course, when giving money in that way, we considered it was a deduction from the profit on our goods. 3364. Then it was given as a sort of charity?-It might be considered as a sort of favour, because it was a deduction from our profit. 3365. Do you say that it was really a deduction from the profit?- Yes. 3366. But you said before, and I have been informed by other parties, that there is no profit at all upon the hosiery goods; so that if you pay the lines in cash, you take away all the profit you make upon a purchase of hosiery?-Yes; that is only if we charge the wholesale dealer the same price. 3367. But you say that, practically, the wholesale dealer is charged the same price?-Yes. Even should we pay the same price in cash as we get from the wholesale dealer, if we were sure that this party would come back to the shop with the money which we gave her and take our goods, it would not be a loss; but if she did not come back, then there would be a loss. 3368. In other words, the effect of the lines and of paying in goods is, that these sellers of hosiery are bound to take their goods at your shop, instead of another; and therein lies your profit?-Of course. We just have our profit on the goods. We have two sales for one profit. 3369. But you say that although you suspected, and had heard from rumour, that these lines were commonly exchanged for money or for other goods than you dealt in, you have known of no particular case except the one you have mentioned?-No. 3370. Have you known of cases where goods which had been delivered in return for hosiery had been exchanged by the women for other goods or for cash?-I could not point out any case. 3371. Did you ever hear of any case?-I could not point out any one. 3372. But did you ever hear of any such case?-I have heard that rumour, the same as I heard of the other thing. 3373. Have the women told you that themselves?-Yes; just speaking of it among the crowd in the shop. 3374. You don't remember the names of these women?-I do not. 3375. Have you any doubt at all that that is done?-No; I am led to believe that it is done. 3376. How are you led to believe that?-Because I have heard the vague report so often-not once, but several times. 3377. Does that report lead you to believe that it is done to any great extent?-I could not say to what extent. 3378. How does report speak of it?-Just that it was not uncommon. The report did not say that it was very common, but only that it was common. 3379. Do you swear that you cannot remember the names of any women who have done it?-I do. 3380. Or who have spoken to you about it?-None, except the one who has said it to-day 3381. Or that you have heard speak of it?-No. 3382. In the journal, or work-book, I see that there is sometimes a line entered. I do not mean merely that the balance is struck, but sometimes there are entries, 'To lines.' Can you explain that?- Sometimes the party that the account belongs to will have to pay another party so much, and she gives us instructions to mark a line for a certain amount in the book, and then give her that line to give to the other party, who comes back with it and gets the amount in goods. 3383. Then the line is granted to your knitters for the purpose of paying their debt to another?-Yes. 3384. Is that frequently done?-Not very often. [Page 76] It has happened occasionally. I have entered such lines myself in the work-book; and sometimes, although not very often, when looking over their account, instead of taking the balance that may be in their favour, they will take a line for it. I may say, however, that where hosiery has been taken from a person on the understanding that they were to take all goods for it, I have never known a case where cash was refused to them when they said they were in need of it. 3385. That just amounts to this: that Mr. Sinclair, in a case of that kind, throws away the whole of his profit?-Yes; it shows a charitable spirit in Mr. Sinclair. 3386. In the case of Mary Ann Sinclair, there was an entry in the journal of cash paid to William Smith for meal: can you explain how that was done?-I heard Mr. Sinclair's examination about that. His attention was directed to an entry of 'Cash, for meal,' he was asked why that was not entered merely cash. I cannot say whether the entry was in my writing or not, but I remember that girl coming into the shop and asking for cash, and she made a remark that it was for meal. I think that the entry is in my hand, and that I just put it down as she said it. 3387. The giving of that cash was a deviation from your usual practice?-Yes, these parties depend chiefly upon the knitting, and they get a larger supply of cash than the general workers. There are not many cases, I don't think we have a similar case in the town, where the parties depend entirely on their knitting. Our knitters belong chiefly to the country, and the knitting is with them an extra piece of work. 3388. In the same witness's account there was another entry of 'Cash, for meal:' do you explain that in the same way?-Yes; but of course they were at liberty to go to any shop for it they liked. 3389. Does the entry, 'To William Smith, for meal,' mean that you paid the money directly to Smith?-Sometimes we did. His account would show that the amount which he received from us was just the same as had been marked to the women. In his account he would state that he had given out so much meal to them. 3390. Has Mr. Smith an account with R. Sinclair & Co.?- Sometimes there was an account between them at that time. 3391. Was that account for supplies to work-people?-Sometimes it would be for such supplies along with Mr. Sinclair's personal account. 3392. Does Mr. Smith make frequent supplies to Mr. Sinclair's work-people?-No; it has not been done very frequently. 3393. To what class of work-people are these supplies made?- Chiefly to the party who has been already examined, Mary Ann Sinclair, and that has not been done of late. These girls have not been so dependent on their knitting lately, because they have got help from another quarter. 3394. Then this payment for meal, and that payment to W. Smith for meal, were really so much taken out of Mr. Sinclair's profit?- I think so, because their knitting was estimated at the goods price, not at the cash price. 3395. I see that in the same account there are other two entries of purchases of meal?-Yes, that was merely put down because the parties said they wanted meal, and for a considerable time they had just a weekly allowance. 3396. The entries of these two purchases of meal are really equivalent to entries of cash?-Yes; sometimes when it is said, 'Cash, for meal,' they got the cash into their own hands. 3397. And sometimes it was entered in the account with Mr. Smith?-Yes. 3398. Was that account of Mr. Smith's a personal account of Mr. Sinclair's?-I suppose it was just made out as an account of R. Sinclair & Co. 3399. What was the nature of the dealings with Smith? Have you seen his account?-I cannot remember. I saw the account when it was handed in, but I cannot say what was in it. 3400. You don't know about it personally?-No. 3401. Is there anything you wish to state on the subject of this inquiry?-I wish to state that, supposing a new system of cash payments is adopted, there will be a change, which I don't think will be altogether in favour of the worker. No doubt it would be to some extent. 3402. What difference would there be?-I shall suppose that a woman comes in with a shawl, say to-day, while the present system exists, and gets 20s. in goods. She wants grey cotton, and she will get forty yards of it for her 20s. To-morrow she comes in, and the system is changed, and she must be paid in cash. Well, she gets the cash, and she requires the same kind of goods, but she thinks there is no need for going out of the shop, as the goods here are as cheap as anywhere else. Then she will get for her cash the usual discount of 5 per cent. That would be 16s. 91/2d., and she would only have then about thirty-three yards of cotton instead of forty yards. 3403. But in the case you have supposed, would not the cotton be sold cheaper, because the merchant would not require to put all his profit on the cotton, as you say he does now, but he would also put a profit on the hosiery; and therefore he could afford to sell the cotton at a smaller profit?-The merchant would not have two profits on his hosiery. 3404. If he was buying for cash, he would?-No, it would merely be embarking his capital a second time. 3405. If he were buying the shawl for 16s. in cash, would he not sell it for 20s., as he does just now?-Yes; he would embark that cash again. 3406. That allows a profit of 4s. upon the hosiery, perhaps under deductions for certain contingencies; but it certainly allows a profit which on your own statement, he does not have now. According to your own statement, there is no profit on the hosiery now, because it is bought for the same price in goods as it is sold for; but if he were paying 16s. in cash for it, there would then be a profit upon the hosiery of 3s. or 4s. Now, would not the fact that a profit is taken upon the hosiery enable him to sell his cotton goods with a somewhat less margin of profit than he does just now?-It might. 3407. Besides, the case which you have put just now implies that the woman wants something which Mr. Sinclair has in his shop?- Yes. 3408. It does not allow at all for a case in which she wants something different and in order to get which she might perhaps have to part with the goods at a loss?-Viewing it in the light I have stated would perhaps be a disadvantage to the knitter; but there would certainly be an advantage to her, as she would have cash with which to go and buy groceries or other things wherever she wanted, 3409. Then that would be an advantage?-It would be an advantage; but another disadvantage to her might be, that the merchant would not take her goods at all unless he actually wanted them and he had orders for them, and unless they were of good quality. There would thus be only one advantage against two disadvantages. 3410. But if one merchant did not take her goods, another would, if they were worth buying at all?-Perhaps he might; but I was only speaking about how the thing might act if such a system were introduced. There might be a second advantage, in this way: that more encouragement might be given to the trade in the south, as the cash system might be a means of producing better articles. The knitters might be induced to bestow more pains on the manufacture of their goods and then there would not be periods when the market was in a dead, dull kind of state, as it sometimes is now. 3411. Is it ever in a dead, dull kind of state?-Yes, at certain seasons it is. 3412. Is there ever a time when you refuse to take Shetland goods?-Yes; at this very season we cannot buy veils at all, because we have no market for them. The market is blocked up entirely. But if the manufacture was improved, and the goods were somewhat [Page 77] better than they are now, there might be a regular flow of goods into the market. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, ROBERT SINCLAIR, recalled. 3413. Is there anything further you wish to say?-With regard to Mr. Bruce's evidence as to the account with Smith, I think he is mistaken in saying that there is any entry of that meal in any of Smith's accounts. I remember only one case where Miss Sinclair got her meal from Smith, and I went myself, either that day or the following day, to him with the money. That is the only case I know of; and I am almost sure there is no such thing as meal supplied to her entered in any contra account of Mr. Smith, because we paid the meal in cash at once. I know of no other person being supplied by Mr. Smith except her. Another thing is with regard to the number of shawls that are dyed. Mr. Bruce does not seem to recollect that the number of shawls dyed bears a very small proportion to the number of shawls we sell. It is only a fraction of them that are dyed. I don't think there is one out of eighty which requires to be dyed for selling south. With regard to the valuation of the shawls, the fact is, that although sometimes it happens that we detect a fault in the goods when we are buying them, and make a deduction for that from the price, yet in the majority of cases the faults are only detected after the goods are bought, and no deduction for that can be made from the price which we pay to the knitters. In all such cases we have to dye them for nothing. 3414. Do you mean that the fault is detected after the shawls are bought from you?-Not after they are bought from us, but after we have bought them; and consequently we have to dye them. Then when they are dyed, they very often, indeed generally, do not bring more than they would have brought if they had been white; but that is such a trifling thing, that it is not worth speaking about. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, Mrs. ANN EUNSON, examined. 3415. You live in Lerwick?-Yes. 3416. You have come forward voluntarily to make a statement?- Yes. 3417. Nobody has sent you here?-No. 3418. Have you knitted for a long time to Mr. Linklater?-Yes, for a long time; I don't remember how long. 3419. What have you made?-Little hap-shawls. 3420. How have you been paid for them?-I have been well paid for them, according to what I sought. 3421. Did you get money or goods?-When I sought money I got it; but when I required anything which he had, I thought it was my duty to take it from him, and not from another. He always gave me a little money when I asked it. 3422. How much would you get at a time?-I might not ask above 6d. at a time, but I would get it. 3423. How much would you make in a week by knitting?-It was just as I had time to sit at it. 3424. Did you do a good deal at it?-Not a great deal I made a good many haps for myself when I could. I am a widow. I had seven children, who are all dead, and I have supported myself entirely by my work. 3425. Have you supported yourself entirely by knitting?-Yes. I had no other work, except that of going for peats, or anything else I had to do. 3426. Were these your own peats?-Yes. 3427. Therefore you had no other means except by knitting?-No; except that for some time back I have had 1s. a week from the parochial board. 3428. Before you got that, did you support yourself entirely by knitting?-Yes; only at times I have got some things from friends. 3429. Did you get your meal and provisions from the proceeds of your knitting?-Yes. 3430. How did you manage that, when you were paid mostly in goods?-Often, when I had a little time, I made small shawls for myself; and when travelling merchants came to town, they would take my shawls and sell them for me for a little money. 3431. Did you do that because it was not the custom to give money for such things at the merchants' shops?-It was not the usual thing always to give money at the merchants shops. If they had given it, I might not have given my shawls to these travelling merchants, 3432. If you had got money from the merchants shops, you would have been as ready to sell your shawls to them as to these strangers?-Yes; but I sold some haps to Mr. Linklater, and got much the same from him as I got from them. 3433., Only you got it in goods?-Yes; but if had sought a little money, I would have got it. 3434. What was the price of the hap-shawls which you made?-I have got as high as 3s. and 4s. for them. I don't make the fine knitting. 3435. Do you ever make hose or stockings?-Yes. 3436. What do you get for them?-I don't make many stockings; I think I am better paid by making these little haps. 3437. Do you take any lodgers?-I don't take any now. I am in the Widows' Asylum; but before I went there, I took one or two. 3438. Did these lodgers help you in your living?-Yes, a little. 3439. Then you would get money in that way with which to purchase provisions?-Yes; but I could not get so much knitting made when I had lodgers. 3440. But the money you got from them would help you to buy meal and bread, and what you wanted to live upon?-No; I did not have above 6d. a week from my lodgers, and sometimes it was 1s.; but I got through with it, and now it is come to a conclusion. 3441. How old are you?-I think I am about seventy-two. 3442. You are still knitting a little?-Yes; my fingers are as clever as can be yet. 3448. You don't get money for your knitting now?-I get money from Mr. Linklater when I ask it. 3444. How often do you ask it?-I don't like to trouble him too much, but I know that he would give me what I sought; and many a time I have got it. He often supplied me when I required it, and when I had nothing in his hands to get. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, JOHN JAMES BRUCE, recalled. 3445. I understand you wish to make some correction on your former evidence?-Yes; I find I made a mistake. On going back to the shop after giving my evidence, I found the same girl there whom I mentioned before, and I spoke to her about what I had said here. She said it was not a line that she had exchanged. She has an account in the book, and she had got a bonnet, and had given it to the other party. Of course it was to the same effect as if she had given a line. She had got goods from us, and had given them to another person for cash. 3446. Was all the rest of your statement correct?-Yes. 3447. Have you anything to say with regard to the proportion of goods which are re-dyed about which Mr. Sinclair made some explanation?-What I meant to say was, that all the goods not ticketed are re-valued, and that some of them are dyed,-these, of course, not being re-valued until they come back from the dyer. Only the finer qualities of goods are ticketed at the time they are taken from the customer. [Page 78] 3448. So that the larger proportion of goods are, in point of fact, re-valued?-Yes. By being re-valued, I mean that they are judged of again in the same way that they were judged of, on being taken from the customer. I don't mean to say that a different price is put upon the article; it may be the same price. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, ROBERT SINCLAIR, recalled. 3449. Is there anything you wish to add?-I may make one remark about that last point,-the valuation of the goods. Many years ago I had a partner, from which the firm took its name of Sinclair & Co. At that time we ticketed all the shawls that we bought, with the exception of the lower-priced ones. We found it a little inconvenient to be always doing that, and my partner and I, in order to test our own judgment with regard to these articles, entered the goods in a book at the ticketed value when we bought them. When we put them out to the dressing, of course the tickets were taken off; but when they came back, we re-valued them according to our own judgment, without any reference to the entries we had made in the book; and I can declare on my oath that we never varied one per cent. on the things-we knew their value so well. When I came to see that I could judge of the values so well, I did not ticket the lower qualities of goods-only those of the value of which there could be any doubt. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, MARGARET CLUNAS, examined. 3450. You are a native of Unst, and you have lived there until lately?-Yes. 3451. Are you in the habit of knitting?-Yes. 3452. For whom did you knit in Unst?-For Mr. Thomas Jamieson. 3453. Is he a merchant and purchaser of hosiery?-Yes. 3454. Did you knit with wool supplied by him?-Yes; generally. 3455. You sometimes knitted with worsted of your own?-Yes. 3456. How were you paid for what you knitted with his worsted?-The veils were 1s. when made with Scotch worsted, and 10d. when made with Shetland worsted, and for shawls of twenty-four scores we were paid 9s. for knitting. 3457. What do you mean by twenty-four scores?-That was the size of the shawl. 3458. Did he pay you in money when you knitted for him in that way?-No. 3459. Did you ever get any money from him?-No, I never got it, because it was a thing he never gave, and we never asked for it. 3460. Were you content to take the value in goods?-Sometimes, and sometimes not. 3461. When were you not content to do that?-When I could not fall in with the things I was wanting. 3462. Was that often?-Not very often; but sometimes he was out of things I wanted. 3463. When you wanted anything which you could not fall in with in his shop, what did you do?-Sometimes he sent for it to us, and sometimes not; and we had then to take just what things were there. 3464. Did you live with your father?-Yes. 3465. He kept you in food, so that you did not require to buy any food for yourself?-Only sometimes in the summer time chiefly. 3466. Did you work out in the summer time?-Yes, for day's wages. 3467. Then you did not require to knit for your living, but only for your clothing?-Only for our clothing; but of course we could not have got food for our knitting from that man, even if we had required it. He would not have given it. 3468. How much would you make in the week in Unst by knitting?-Perhaps 3s. or 4s., according to what we did. 3469. That was his value in goods?-Yes. 3470. Were you paid in the same way when you knitted with your own worsted?-Yes, we were generally paid in the same way. 3471. What kind of goods did you get from Mr Jamieson?- Cotton and winceys. 3472. Did you get tea?-He would sometimes refuse to give above a quarter pound of tea on a 9s. shawl he did not like to give much tea. 3473. Why?-He called it a money article, and he would not give it. 3474. How long is it since you left Unst?-It is about two or three months since I left it first, but I have been home again for some time. 3475. Did you come to Lerwick to knit?-No, I came to be a servant. 3476. Are you not knitting here now?-Yes, I am knitting at present. 3477. Are you out of a place?-Yes. 3478. Do you deal in the same way here as you did in Unst, or is there any difference?-There is a woman in Lerwick that I knit to, and she gets money for our goods, and is thus able to pay us in money. 3479. Who is that?-Miss Hutchison, Burn's Lane. 3480. Does she always pay you in money?-Yes; or if she has any little thing, which she has got, we can get it. 3481. Are there other merchants in Unst besides Mr. Jamieson who buy hosiery?-Yes. 3482. Who are they?-Mr. Alexander Sandison, at Uyea Sound. 3483. Where is Mr. Jamieson's place?-At Westing. 3484. How did you happen to have wool of your own to knit with?-We generally bought it from people who had wool. 3485. You got it from the neighbours?-Yes. 3486. What did you pay for fine Shetland worsted?-We bought the wool, and we spun it for ourselves. 3487. Did you ever sell the worsted that you spun?-Yes. 3488. What did you get for it?-3d. a cut. 3489. Was that from Mr. Jamieson?-Yes; or from Mr. Sandison, or any of them. 3490. Was that paid to you in money?-No. 3491. Was it always paid in goods?-Yes, but we would have got more money articles for the worsted than we could get for knitting. 3492. They would have given you tea for worsted?-Yes. 3493. Would they not have given cash for it?-We never asked it; but I believe if we had asked it, we would have got it for worsted. 3494. Then you did not ask money for your worsted, simply because you wanted the goods?-Yes Lerwick, January 6, 1872, Mrs. ANDRINA ANDERSON or NICHOLSON, examined. 3495. You live in Lerwick?-Yes, at the Docks, but we call it Lerwick. 3496. Your husband is alive?-Yes. 3497. Do you sometimes knit?-I don't knit so much at present as I was accustomed to do, on account of my husband being at home; and I don't require to do it. 3498. Have you heard a good deal of the evidence which has been given here?-Yes; I came here for that purpose, but not to speak. I wished to hear the evidence which was given, because I had heard so much said on both sides of the subject. 3499. In the evidence you have heard, is there much that you differ from and wish to correct?-As I have [Page 79] had a good deal of knowledge with regard to the hosiery business and about the payment in goods, I should like to say what I know about that, and what I think would be a better plan to take, so far as my experience goes. 3500. You have heard a description given of the system as it exists,-how hosiery is paid for in goods or in lines?-I have not only heard it, but I have had experience of it for a long time. The first shawl I knitted was in 1840, and since then almost all that I have done has been in the hosiery line, either knitting or dressing. 3501. Has all your work been paid for by goods in an account?- Almost the whole of it has been paid in that way, that is, what I have done in Lerwick; but I have done something for Miss Hutchison. I have also sent some goods south to Mr. John White, and been paid for them in money. 3502. But all that you have done for the merchants in Lerwick has been paid for to you in goods?-I think the whole of it. 3503. You are speaking now of all the shops in Lerwick?-I don't have any particular statement to make about one more than another, because I have dealt with three or four different shops. 3504. Are you speaking now of articles which you have knitted with your own wool, or with the wool which was given out to you by merchants?-I chiefly knitted an article and sold it; but I was in the way of dressing for a good many years, and, I saw then how the people complained about getting goods for their work. Their complaints on that subject were very frequent, and in some cases I thought they had great reason to complain. 3505. Why was that?-Because the goods were charged so much more in some cases than what they could have been got for in ready money. I may tell you what first opened my mind to that point. I required a good deal of money at one time. I could not get it in the way we were then doing, and I then adopted the plan of trying to dress for some of the hosiers, and getting money for it. 3506. How long ago was that?-I think it will be about sixteen years ago. Fourteen years past in July I went south and sold a Shetland shawl to Mr. Mackenzie, a Shetland warehouseman, in Princes Street, Edinburgh. He asked me what I wanted for the shawl, and I said 10s. He said he would give me 8s. I told him I could get 10s. in Lerwick for it, from the merchants there; and he said, 'But when I give you 8s., that is just as good to you as 10s. from them.' I had felt the truth of that, but I had never seen it properly before. 3507. Did he explain to you how 8s. in cash from him was equal to 10s. from the merchants in Lerwick?-He told me the profit was laid on the goods; and at that time, and before that time, I will declare it was. 3508. You mean that the goods were dearer in Lerwick than you could have bought them in the south?-Not only in the south, but dearer than we could have bought them in another shop in the town. We could have bought them cheaper in shops in Lerwick when we were not dealing in the hosiery business. 3509. Are there drapery shops now in Lerwick that do not deal in hosiery?-Yes. 3510. And is it the case that you can purchase the same goods at those shops at a lower price than you can at shops where the hosiery business is carried on?-Yes; I know that from experience, because I have the money in my hand, and I can go and purchase them cheaper elsewhere than I can do at some of these shops. I don't say at them all, but I know there are some of the drapery shops in Lerwick where they could be got cheaper. I will give a case of that. Last summer I had to buy a woollen shirt, and I went into a shop, and saw a piece that I thought would do. The merchant brought it down and said it was 1s. 8d. a yard. Another merchant had charged me 1s. 6d. for something of the same kind, and I told this merchant that the thing was too dear. He said, ' I will give it to you for 1s. 6d. a yard;' and I said, 'Well, I will give you 4s. 6d. for 31/4 yards of it;' and he gave it me. A day or two afterwards a woman came into my house and saw the goods, and said, 'That is the same as I have bought; what did you pay for that?'-I said I had paid money, because it is an understanding that some shops can give it for less with money than with hosiery. I told her I paid 4s. 6d. for 31/4 yards; and she then told me that she had paid 2s. of hosiery for a yard of it-6s. for 3, or, 6s. 6d. for 31/4 yards-just the quantity required. 3511. Have you any objection to give me the name of the woman and the names of the shops?-I could give the names, but I would prefer to do so privately. The stuff I bought is still in existence, and also what she bought, and they could be compared, to show that they are of the same quality. I did not do that with any intention of finding out the difference in prices; it just occurred accidentally, and I only give it as an instance, to prove that if we could get money for our hosiery goods it would be far better for us. I know that many a poor creature in Lerwick, if she could get money for her articles, even although she were to get less of it, could make more of it than she does now, by getting the money in her own hand, to be applied for any purpose she thought proper. I heard you ask one of the witnesses whether people would give them articles for less in money than in goods, and that was what made me think over it. 3512. Do you think they would be willing to do so?-I think so. I remember one time when Mr. Mackenzie-the same gentleman I have already mentioned-came down to Lerwick and stayed here for some time, and he gave money for the articles that were brought to him, but scarcely so much as his own customers in Lerwick will give you in goods; and that was the way he came to know that if he gave me 8s., he would pay me as well as some of those who paid me with 10s. 3513. Did you sell anything to him at that time?-I sold to him at the time I was south. I did not sell to him at Lerwick. I could not get in to see him there, because there were so many people who came with their work for the sake of getting money for it, although it was a less sum that he gave than the merchants here. 3514. How long ago was that?-It was when Mr. Harrison was dealing in the business. I think it will be about twenty-five years ago. 3515. Then the custom at that time was to deal in goods, as it is now?-Yes; and indeed the goods are rather a better price now than they were then. We could get scarcely any money articles at that time at all. I think that the articles are more reasonably priced now than they were at that time. I have seen us go into a shop then, and they would ask us what sort of goods we wanted for our knitting; and if they saw we wanted money article they would perhaps not take the goods at all. 3516. You say that you know many girls who would be much better off by being paid in money?-Yes, if what they tell me is true. They say that there are many purposes to which they would require to put money if they had it, but they cannot get it without doing something for it in some other way, as has been already explained. I have heard you put a question to some of them about their being compelled to sell their lines. I don't know any case of that kind, but I know that they have done that, or equivalent to it, by taking a piece of cotton out of the shops and selling it in order to serve the purpose they required the money for. 3517. I suppose some of them manage to live by taking in lodgers occasionally?-That is done only on very small scale in Lerwick. 3518. Do not people in the country sometimes come in and stay with them for a night or two?-Yes but it could scarcely be called a lodging-house as that is understood in the south. 3519. But people do come from the country for a night or two, and perhaps bring their own provisions with them?-There is very little of that can be done in Lerwick at present, because there have been so [Page 80] many people warned out of their farms in the country. 3520. Have you known many cases, within your own knowledge, of girls being in straits in consequence of that system of dealing?-Yes, I have had to supply them many a time with things. I bought some little things from a girl within the last week or two at a reduced price, which she took from me because I could give her the money. I did not require the article. I only bought it from her as a charity, and I would not have mentioned it unless you had asked me. 3521. Have you ever known of girls falling into evil courses in consequence of the want of money?-Perhaps if they had the inclination, they would have fallen into them any way. I think, on the whole, that if they had money, they would be able to save a good deal out of the expense for dress which they sometimes wear. They would then have their money, to do what they chose with it. Perhaps they might apply some of it for a religious purpose, or put it into a missionary box; or if they did not think of doing that, they might have an opportunity to put it into the savings bank, which Lerwick knitters have never yet had the pleasure doing. 3522. Is there no savings bank here?-There is a post-office savings bank; but I don't think there are many of the knitters who can get the blessing of putting cash into it for a rainy day, either to pay the doctor or anything else. 3523. You seem to think that the effect of the system is to lead them to spend more of their earnings on dress than they would otherwise do?-When I was young myself and unmarried, and when I was getting dresses instead of getting money articles for my work, I would not have thought much of putting a very expensive dress on; but when I got money I did not like to spend so much upon dress, because I prized the money so much more. I only judge others as I would judge myself; but I know that when I was paid only in goods for my knitting, I would be more ready to take an expensive dress than if I were to get money. 3524. I asked you a question just now which you did not answer quite distinctly: whether you had known of girls who were knitters falling into evil courses?-I cannot say about that. 3525. Do you think girls are led to fall into a bad way of living from the system which prevails here, and from being led by it to indulge more in dress than they ought to do, or from being in straits from want of food?-I cannot answer that question. I don't see why they should do that in consequence of the system; but what I mean is, that if they could get money for their goods, that would perhaps prevent them from spending all their earnings in dress, and expensive articles of that kind, and they would have something for other purposes which are as necessary, or more so. 3526. You said the prices differed at certain shops in town: would you give me an instance of that besides what you have mentioned? Suppose, for instance, that cotton is charged at 6d. a yard, is not that the common price for cotton that is given for hosiery?-Yes. 3527. Do you know whether that could be got cheaper at any other shop?-That particular thing does not vary so much just now as it used to do; but with regard to the dress pieces, and things of that kind, I know there are some shops that have a higher price marked on the articles than the other shops have on an article of the same appearance and, I think, of the same value. 3528. You know that from examining them in the shops?-I know it by going from shop to shop and purchasing the articles with money for myself. 3529. What is your husband's business?-He is a cooper. 3530. Have you bought Shetland worsted yourself?-I have. 3531. From merchants or from people?-Generally from country people. 3532. Do you always pay money for it?-Yes. 3533. Have you bought it from merchants too?-Yes. 3534. Do you always pay them money for it?-I have seen Mr. Sinclair sometimes supply me with some of it on work, although it was a money article and I felt obliged to him for it, because I sometimes could not get it from the country as well as he could. 3535. That was given you to work into things for yourself?-Yes. 3536. But the price was the same, in both cases?-Yes; of the Shetland worsted. 3537. And when you got it from the shop in that way, it was as a favour that you got it?-Yes. 3538. What would be the value of the Shetland worsted in a shawl that was worth 20s.?-I generally deal with Mr. John White in shawls that are worth more than that. I do not send many to him now. 3539. Do you get a high price for them from him?-No; I can get as much for them in Lerwick. 3540. What price do you get for these shawls?-From 28s. to 30s.; and I can go in with the same shawl to any of the shops in Lerwick and get the same price, only in goods. I don't say that Mr. White will give us any more for our shawls than the merchants here will give us in goods. 3541. Only you think that, if you get 30s. in cash from Mr. White, you could possibly buy what you want cheaper than you would get it from the merchants here in exchange for your hosiery?-Yes, that is what I mean to say. 3542. With regard to a shawl worth 30s., how much would you pay for the Shetland worsted that it is made of?-Perhaps about 9s. or 9s. 6d., or perhaps 8s. 6d. if I could buy it economically. 3543. About what quantity of worsted would there be in it?- About thirty-three cuts to that size of shawl. 3544. Would it be worth more than 8d. a cut?-No. Some people might charge more, but I generally get it for that. 3545. Then thirty-three cuts at 3d. a cut would be 8s. 3d. for the worsted?-Yes. 3546. How long would it take you to knit such a shawl?-It would take me a long time just now. 3547. Perhaps it is hardly possible to calculate how long it would take?-No. 3548. The worsted is the only expense you would have in making such a shawl?-Yes; I could dress it for myself. 3549. But if you did not, what would be the charge for dressing?- 6d. 3550. So that the payment for your labour on a shawl of that kind would be about 21s.?-Yes; but of course, if I was getting it knitted, I might get it done for about 12s. A knitter would make it for me for that sum if I were giving her the worsted. 3551. Have you ever dealt in that way giving out worsted to knitters, and getting shawls knitted for yourself?-Only on a very small scale. I knitted more to others when I was young. 3552. But you have given out some knitting to others?-Yes, perhaps part of a shawl; so that I calculate the whole cost would be about that. 3553. Therefore, if you were giving out a shawl to knit, it would cost you 8s. 9d. for the material and the dressing, and you would pay 12s. for the knitting-in all, 20s. 9d.; and you could sell it to Mr. White in cash for 9s. 3d. of profit?-I would not call it all profit, because sometimes I have a good deal to do before I can get the worsted wrought as good as I would like to put it into Mr. White's shawls, and then I have to lie out of my money until I can get a party to take it in. Besides, if I were putting it out to knitter, I would have to stand the risk of getting it done properly to my mind. There might be some faults in the shawl; and if there was anything of that kind, there must be an allowance made for that. I am not saying that I ever did that, I am only speaking of how it could be done. 3554. You are speaking of what you could do, and of what you know can be done, from your experience in giving out part of your own work?-Yes. 3555. Do you know anything about the stocking [Page 81] business-the cheaper and coarser kind of Shetland goods?-No; I have not much acquaintance with that. I may say, that while I think in Lerwick it would be far better for the people if they could get money for their work, yet the country people are not requiring the money quite so much, as they need the goods at any rate; but if, as a rule, a money system were once established, and the people were all to get money for the work, I think those who purchase the work would find the profit of it as well as those who have to sell it. 3556. Have you ever considered why this system of paying in goods is kept up?-Yes. 3557. What do you suppose to be the reason for it?-If I had had it in my power, I would perhaps have done the very same as the merchants have done, because they have got the good of it. 3558. How have they got the good of it?-Because I think they must have had a profit on it. 3559. On the hosiery?-Not so much on the hosiery as on the goods. Reason teaches me that there must be a profit somewhere, or else it would not have been carried on to such an extent. 3560. I suppose the present system of payment induces the people who sell hosiery to the merchants, to buy their goods from them rather than from another?-Certainly it does; because, when I go in with a shawl to a merchant, I consider that I have to take the whole value of that shawl out in goods. 3561. It makes the merchants sure of their customers?-Yes. 3562. Is there anything else you wish to say?-I may mention, that I think the system of paying half in money and half in goods would not do. One party was asked whether she would be pleased to take one half in money, and the rest of the payment in goods. That may be a good enough plan if it were established and carried on throughout the year; but I remember that at one time one-half the value of a shawl was given in groceries, and that plan died away. The merchants kept groceries at that time, for the sake of getting hosiery with which to supply their orders. The merchants who did so were Mr. Harrison and Mr. Laurenson. As the season of the year came round when they did not have orders for their shawls, then, if they bought shawls, they had to lay them past until the market opened again; and there were very few groceries given out, because I understood they had more profit on their drapery goods. By and by the system of giving groceries died out altogether. 3563. Was that because they had a less profit on them than on the drapery?-I understood so. I remember Mrs. Harrison, the party with whom Mr. Mackenzie lodged, telling me that as soon as the country people began to knit, we, the town's people, would suffer very much. I could not understand very well what she meant at that time, but afterwards, when the country people supplied the merchants with the goods which they required, then they saw that these people from the country only required drapery, and they could get their orders supplied from the country. That led the merchants to pay for the hosiery only in drapery goods, and the Lerwick people had to comply with the same rule. It was when the country people came in to do the knitting that the supply of groceries died away, because the merchants could get their orders so much cheaper from the country people. They did not require the groceries like the town's people, because knitting was not the only thing which they had for their living. 3564. Do you think the ready-money system would be better for the merchants than the present?-It would be better for those who have very little profit on the goods they sell, but it would not be so good for those merchants who take a great deal of profit. 3565. Are there any of the merchants who take very little profit on their goods?-There are some who have less than others. 3566. And you think they would profit by a cash system?-I think, on the whole, they would. 3567. They would have no bad debts?-No; and they would not issue so many lines or have so many clerks; and there are a great many ways in which I think it would be better for them. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, THOMAS NICHOLSON, examined. 3568. You are a draper and dealer in hosiery in Lerwick?-Yes, principally a draper. I don't do much in hosiery. 3569. You were formerly in the service of Robert Sinclair & Co.?-Yes. 3570. You have heard some of the evidence that has been given here?-Yes, some of it. I think Mrs. Nicholson and Mr. Johnstone are the only persons whose evidence I have heard throughout. 3571. Do you concur generally with what Mr. Johnstone said about the system of business here?-Yes. I also heard a good part of Mr. Laurenson's evidence, and I thought it gave a fair statement of the matter. 3572. Is there anything you wish to add with regard to the system of paying in goods?-I have nothing to add to what I believe has already been stated. 3573. Do you give lines?-Only a very few, when they are asked. 3574. Do you give them to people from whom you buy hosiery, or to those who knit for you?-Only to those from whom I buy hosiery. I don't give out any hosiery to knit at all. 3575. Is it understood in your trade, as well as in that of the other gentlemen who have been examined, that all purchases of hosiery are to be settled for in goods?-Yes, that is generally understood. It has always been the habit, and we have never got it altered yet. 3576. Do you think it would be expedient to have a change in that respect?-I believe it would, if it could only be got to work. 3577. What is the difficulty in the way of having another system?-We could not give so much in cash for the goods we buy. 3578. Do you think the people generally would not take cash?- Yes, I believe they would want goods. So far as I am concerned, they always take goods from me, and I have never heard them ask for cash. I deal both with country people and with people from Lerwick, and none of them ever asked me for it. 3579. Is it long since you left Mr. Sinclair's employment?-About two and a half years ago. 3580. There has been no important change made in the system of carrying on business either in your shop or in his during that time?-No. 3581. Do you do much in the coarser kinds of hosiery?-A little not a great deal. The stockings are generally done by the country people, and the finer work by the town's people. 3582. You buy the stockings from the country people?-Yes, I just exchange the one article for the other. 3583. You fix a nominal price at which you are to buy the stockings?-Yes; the price. I expect to get for them, as near as I can fix it. 3584. You don't expect to make a profit on them?-No; I would often be very thankful to get what I have paid for them. 3585. Then your profit is on the goods which you give in exchange?-Yes. 3586. Do you think you take a higher profit on your goods in consequence of accepting payment for them in hosiery rather than in cash?-No; the goods are all marked in plain figures. When I get cash I generally give off 21/2 or 33/4 cent. 3587. But don't you take a higher profit from all your customers because so much of your goods are paid for in hosiery?-No; if I did so, I would run the risk of losing my business; and in fact I would rather give up the hosiery altogether, because I don't think it [Page 82] pays very well, so much of it gets damaged, and the moths get into it. 3588. How long were you in Mr. Sinclair's shop?-For thirteen years. 3589. Were you acquainted both with the prices paid for hosiery goods and the prices obtained for them in the south?-Yes. 3590. Was more asked for them from the merchants in the south than was paid for them to the knitters in Lerwick?-No; we were always very thankful to get what we had given in goods for them. 3591. But if a cash price was paid for an article, was a higher price put upon it when it was sold south?-Yes; if we paid cash, we required a little more than we had paid. We could not have carried on the business without having a little profit on it. 3592. You do not give out any knitting at all?-Scarcely any. I think I have only two girls knitting for me at present. 3593. Do they get any part of their payment in cash?-Yes, whenever they ask it. 3594. But is it not the understanding that they shall be paid in goods?-Yes; it is generally understood that they shall get anything they want. 3595. How much are they in use to ask for in cash?-Probably a shilling now and then. 3596. Do they live by their knitting, or have they other means of support?-There is one party that does something for me who lives exclusively, or almost exclusively, by knitting; but almost all the girls have something else to do besides that. 3597. What is the name of the girl who lives almost exclusively by knitting?-I think one of them is Catherine Borthwick. 3598. Tea is one of the most common articles you give in exchange for the knitting?-Yes. 3599. Have you ever known of the goods you gave being exchanged for necessaries after you gave them?-No. 3600. Or of your lines being exchanged for necessaries or for cash?-I never knew of a case where that was done. 3601. Have you heard of such a thing being done?-I have heard of it; but I never knew of any of my lines, or any of the goods bought, from me, being exchanged. 3602. Are your lines generally brought back by the same parties to whom they were given out?-I think so; but I am not quite sure, because we just put on them 'Credit the bearer' so much. 3603. Have you a register of your lines?-Yes; I enter the number of the lines in a book. 3604. Was that a system which you adopted from Mr. Sinclair?-It was partly a system of my own. When I commenced on my own account, I adopted the system of keeping a check, the same as a bank chequebook. 3605. How many of these lines do you suppose you issue?-I don't do a great deal in that way. It is only for the accommodation of the parties that I give any at all. I would be quite prepared to settle with them at once if they liked. 3606. I suppose these lines are generally given for the balance upon a shawl, or anything that you buy?-Yes, for any little thing they are selling. 3607. Part of the price is taken in goods, and they take the balance in a line if they don't want the whole of it?-Yes; or perhaps a line may be taken for the whole of it, and they come and get tea and other articles as they want them. 3608. Is it generally long before they come back with these lines?-Some of them may be returned perhaps in a few days, and some of them in a few months. A country girl may keep a line beside her for perhaps a month or twelve months. I have known them keep them for three years, when I was in Mr. Sinclair's employment. 3609. Then the system of lines existed when you were with Mr. Sinclair?-Yes. 3610. But he had not a register of them at that time?-Not for all the lines: he had a check for them, but they were not all registered then. 3611. Are you aware of the fact that the knitters in Shetland are anxious to sell their goods to others than merchants, in order to get ready money for them?-I believe some of them are; but I never met with many who were anxious to sell their goods for cash. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, ISABELLA SINCLAIR, recalled. 3612. Do you wish to add anything to your previous evidence?-I wish merely to say, that I have known cases where people have gone out with hosiery and sold it for money, and then come into our shop and bought what goods they required. 3613. Was that hosiery which had been offered to you before and was refused?-Yes. 3614. You had refused to buy it at the price they wanted?-Yes; at any price. I remember one case of that kind with regard to some half-stockings. 3615. When you refused to take them, the woman went and sold them elsewhere, and then came back to you with the money?- Yes. 3616. Was that long ago?-Yes, a good while ago. Of course there may have been other cases of that kind which I don't know about, but in that particular case the woman told me she had done it, I don't remember her name. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, ROBERT SINCLAIR, recalled. 3617. Do you wish to add anything?-I should like to state something which struck me just now about a case where I saw lines given for money. It occurred in my own shop, and I believe it occurs oftener than we think; but there was one time when I detected it. A customer came into my shop and made some purchases, and at the same time another customer came in who I knew had got lines from the shop. The first person who was making the purchase was carrying through a cash transaction with me, and I expected to have been paid in money for it; but the other customer who had the lines took the other person aside and handed over the lines to her, and I was paid with them. I did not object to take the lines for their value, because the goods were charged at a fixed value for cash or line, but it certainly deprived me of the cash at that time. 3618. And it deprived you also of the profit which you would have had upon the goods that ought to have been given for the line?- Yes. I merely mention that as an instance in which cash was given for lines. . [Page 83] Lerwick: Monday, January 8, 1872. -Mr. Guthrie. WILLIAM IRVINE, examined 3619. You are a partner of the firm of Hay & Co., merchants in Lerwick?-I am. 3620. You have been so for many years?-Yes. 3621. I presume you take a principal part in the management of the affairs of that firm?-I do. 3622. In consequence of hearing that this inquiry had been appointed to take place, you have prepared a written statement with regard to the system pursued in the fish-curing business in Shetland, which you now hand in?-Yes. 3623. It is a correct statement?-It is quite correct, to the best of my knowledge. [The following statement was put in by the witness:-] I have had many years' experience of Shetland business generally, and especially of the fish-curing trade. Most of the time I have been connected with my present partners, and we have curing stations and establishments at several parts of the islands. We also manage four estates in the country-two as factors for the proprietors, and two as lessees. For the first we only account for the rents collected, but for the other two we pay fixed tack-duties. The tenants on one of the estates for which we act as factors are altogether free to fish where they choose, and to dispose of their farm produce as they think proper, and their rents are received in cash every year at Martinmas. The tenants on the other, which I believe is next the largest in Shetland, are also free (with the exception of the island of Whalsay, and Whalsay Skerries); and we seldom see them unless when they come to town to pay their rents. Some fish to one curer, and some to another, as they find convenient; and they are quite at liberty to dispose of all their produce, such as cattle, ponies, hosiery, and the like, where they can obtain the best prices. We are not liable to the proprietor for bad debts on this estate either, but the rents are generally well paid, and very few of the tenants are in arrears. In Whalsay there is only one curing station, and we pay the proprietor a yearly rent for the stores, booths, kelp-shores, and other privileges; and receive fish, oil, and kelp from the tenants, for which we settle at the current prices of the country. We have a factor there, with assistants, who manages for us, and supplies fishing materials and other necessaries to the men and their families during the year; and I usually go there myself soon after Martinmas, to square up accounts, pay the balance due the fishermen, and collect rents from the tenants. We also pay large sums of money at all our other country stations. In 1870, when north settling, I paid the men at Whalsay, after deducting their advances, £1222; and I find from a state prepared by the factor, that of fish, oil, and herrings received there that year, amounting to £2529, 15s. 1d., we paid the men £1584, 12s. 9d. in cash. We have not yet made up a similar account for 1871; but when settling there lately, after retaining their advances, I paid them no less than £1374. There are very few debts in the books there, and the people are considered to be in good circumstances. Of this estate I can speak with confidence, as the management is more immediately in my department. There are 430 tenants on the lands-nearly all fishermen and sailors. When we strike out of the arrear list those tenants who have not had the opportunity of paying their rents for last year,-two who are old and infirm, and another who retains his balance for alleged improvements,-the amount due for the three years it has been in our hands is only £57, 13s. 1d. None of the tenants have been warned or sold out. Shetland fishermen have been represented as ignorant and uneducated. This is a great mistake. They are as intelligent, shrewd, and capable of attending to their own interest as any similar class of men in Scotland. Many of them have sailed in all quarters of the world. Newspapers are now circulated all over the islands; and the Aberdeen, Leith, and Clyde Shipping Companies' powerful steamers bring mails with great regularity twice a week in summer, and once a week in winter; and in consequence of the frequent communication, all sorts of farm produce have largely increased in price. I have seen eggs selling in the islands at 11/2d. for sixteen,-now the price is 10d. per dozen; butter 6d., now 1s. and 1s. 2d. per pound; fat cattle £3 each, now £6 to £7; ponies 40s., now £6 to £10. In our dealings with fishermen, they are charged the same prices for goods that we sell at for ready money to the public. We employ a number of carpenters and other tradesmen here, all of whom receive their wages in cash every Saturday night. The Burra Islands are one of the properties which we hold in tack. We have two curing stations in the islands for convenience of the fishermen, and factors on the spot to receive the fish as they are landed from the boats. The fishings are prosecuted on the coasts in small boats in spring and summer, but the best of the men are employed out of the islands, and the fishings are now very unimportant. These men who fish out of the islands are employed in smacks belonging to Hay & Co., and various other owners, and prosecute the fishing on the coasts of Faroe and elsewhere, from the end of March to the middle of August. Those who fish to us get the same as those who are employed by others. The tenants of these islands sell their cattle, ponies, hosiery, eggs, and all other produce (except the few fish caught on the coast), as they like, without let or hindrance. We have no shop in the islands, and the men employed by us get their supplies from our stores here and at Scalloway. Some years ago, after a time of bad crops and bad fishings, when we had to give them large quantities of meal for their support, and many of them were unable to pay rents, the islands were indebted the best part of £1000. We made an attempt at that time to get the young men to fish to us and assist their parents, and I think in two cases we imposed fines of 20s.; but it had a contrary effect to what we intended, and, so far as I remember, the money was given back. I do not mention that the men are confined to our stores. They can deal with any other curer or shopkeeper they choose, and all our fishermen over islands can do the same, and at settlement receive their season's earnings wholly in cash. I believe this is the general practice; and were it otherwise, there is the small-debt court, the sheriff court, and several lawyers here to help them to their rights. On the other estate referred to of which we are lessees, the tenants who remain at home are nearly all employed in the ling fishing. Some go south sailing, and pay their rents in cash, and we never exercise any control over them; but as we pay the current price to the tenants who remain at home, we insist on getting their fish as a security for their rents, otherwise the improvident might squander their earnings, and in some bad years be unable to pay. We never interfere with any of the tenants' produce except fish, on this estate more than the others. They are left to dispose of it where they like. We have other curing stations at different parts of the islands, and employ a number of men and boys [Page 84] from all quarters during the summer months, but after they settle, we have no transactions with them till another year comes round, when they return to our employment if they think they have been well served. As already mentioned, we are engaged in the deep-sea cod fishing, and, like others, send vessels to fish at Faroe, Rockall, and Iceland. The crews are engaged on shares, and the fish are salted on board, and afterwards landed at the curing stations in a wet state. When ready for market, they are sold at the best price that can be obtained, and, after deducting expenses and other charges according to agreement, the proceeds are divided equally- one-half to the owners, and the other to the crew. Fishings of all kinds succeed best when the men are paid by shares. When they are secured on monthly wages, there is no inducement for exertion. The fishing season being short, the utmost activity is necessary; and when the weather is favourable, the men are often obliged to work day and night. Shetland fishermen are not altogether dependent for their livelihood on the produce of the fishings. In most cases they have farms that can keep their families six to eight months, and with good crops many of them have no occasion to buy meal the year round. They cannot afford to use fresh beef, but, as a rule, most families can kill a pig; and on the whole, in ordinary seasons, I believe they have a much greater abundance of the necessaries of life than a great many people of their class in the kingdom. They are, without doubt, more independent and less under control than mechanics and others (who are obliged to work under a master a stated number of hours every day), and consequently are more happy and contented. We have no international societies in Shetland. Some of the dwelling-houses are not what they should be, but a great improvement has taken place in this respect since the timber-duty was repealed; and, for my own part, I would ten times rather live a year in a Shetland cottage, surrounded by pure air, than week in one of the slums of London or Glasgow. Preparations for the ling fishing commence early in spring. The men form themselves into crews, and appoint the most experienced man as skipper. If they have no boat of their own, one must be hired, or a new one built; but the lines in most cases belong to themselves, and they always find curers ready to supply them with what they want, on condition that they receive their fish. No curer would be safe to make these advances, without the men engaging to deliver their fish-a new boat alone costing about £20 without lines, The price of the summer fish is seldom fixed until the end of the season, when the fish are sold for the south-country markets. Fishermen are quite safe with this arrangement. They know the competition between curers all over the islands is so keen, that they are secure to get the highest possible price that the markets can afford. Any curer that can offer a little advantage to the fishermen over the others is certain to get more boats the following year; and this is carried so far, that men with limited capital, in their endeavours to obtain a large share of the trade by giving credit and gratuities, in one way and another leave nothing to themselves, and in the end come to grief. I have known crews to be engaged at fixed prices before the commencement of the fishing but as markets improved towards the end of the season, we were obliged to throw the agreement aside and pay the same as others, in order not to lose the men's services the following year. When the fishing season is over and the fish prepared for market, south-country dealers contract for it at prices free on board; and with them again there is competition, so that curers seldom fail to get the full value of the article. People in the south, who have to pay perhaps 4s. to 7s. 6d. for a fresh cod or ling, are surprised to hear that the poor Shetland fishermen only get 6d. to 9d.; and we have had a great deal of clever writing on this subject lately, without much common sense. The shipping price of ling in the past season has been £23,-rather higher than usual,-and fishermen have been paid 8s. per cwt. wet, or about 9d. per fish. Although it has been rather a good year for curers, the following statement will show that fortunes are not rapidly accumulated in the trade:- 21/4 cwt. wet fish, cured ready for market, weigh only 1 cwt.-21/4 cwt. @ 8s. £0 18 0 Add cost of salt, hire of vats, tubs, tarpaulins, and other curing materials; also wages to men and boys splitting, washing, and drying; and expense of flitting from beaches-weighing and storing usually reckoned. . . 0 3 0 £1 1 0 21s. per cwt., or £21 per ton, leaving 40s. to the curer, out of which he has to pay store rent, weighing, shipping, skippers' fees, gratuities to fishermen, and to meet loss by small and damaged fish, and of interest-the sales being made at three months in October, and the men settled with in November; and further, when the risk of sales is also taken into account, the sum left to remunerate the curer for his season's work is not very large. One great drawback on a Shetland business is fishermen's bad debts, and our chief study is to limit the supplies when we know the men to be improvident; but it is quite impossible to keep men clear when the fishing proves unsuccessful. There is no difficulty, however, when dealing with careful men. At various stations round the islands near the fishing grounds, where there are natural beaches, the men have small huts to live in during the fishing season, and the crews assemble there about the middle of May to commence operations. The merchants or fish-curers have the necessary curing materials on the spot, and factors, splitters, and beach boys attending to receive and cure the fish; and, while the fishing is carried on, the men go to their respective homes every Saturday, taking with them small and unmerchantable fish for the use of their families-returning to the stations, with provisions for the week, every Monday. They generally make two or three trips during the week, according to the state of the weather, and weigh and deliver over the catch when they land. Their families get supplies from the factor's shop as required; but the men have opportunities weekly of seeing their accounts and can limit these supplies if they choose. The Whalsay fishermen deliver their fish in summer, and live at small holms to seaward of the main island near the fishing ground, and a large boat is employed to remove their fish to the beach at Simbister to be dried. The men are thus enabled to make more voyages to the haaf than by landing each time at the curing-beach. As settling time approaches, our managers in the country prepare by sending for the men, and reading over to them individually their private accounts, comparing and making up pass-books, where any are kept, and giving copies of the accounts when desired; and when we come to settle, each man knows exactly the amount of his season's expenditure. If a ready-money system were adopted, and payments made in cash for each landing, I believe it would scarcely be practicable to carry it out. Large sums of money would require to be kept at these stations,-men with some knowledge of figures and accounts to be always present,-and half the fishermen's time would be taken up with the settlements. The money would then be carried home to their families, and in many cases at the end of the season there would be little left to pay rent and provide necessaries for the winter months, when there are no fishings, and no work except at their own farms. Such a mode of dealing would otherwise injure the men, as curers with small means would be driven out of the trade, and in some measure competition prevented. From twenty-five to thirty years ago I had several opportunities of seeing how the fishings were conducted Barra and South Uist. At that time the fishermen were all living in wretched hovels along the sea-coast, and the islands let for grazing cattle and in sheep farms. Very few of them were able to keep a cow, and they knew nothing of the luxuries of life, and could scarcely command a bare existence. Their chief living in winter [Page 85] and spring was potatoes not fit for pigs, and shell-fish, with any small fish they could catch in the bays. There were plenty of fish on the coast, but no middle-men with capital to encourage the men to work. In summer they prosecuted the fishing a little distance outside of the islands, where their buoys could be seen from the shore. Their boats were clumsy and unmanageable-some with sails and some without; and the lines were made by themselves out of hemp obtained on credit, and only lasted one year. They were set on the fishing ground at the commencement of the season, and seldom taken up to dry. Now, however, I understand large capital is embarked in the fishing trade in that quarter, and of late years it has been very prosperous, and the circumstances of the natives greatly improved. In 1785 a Commissioner was sent by Government to inquire into the state of the fisheries in the Hebrides, and in his report to a committee of the House of Commons, on being asked 'whether he thought it would be benefit to the lower classes of people if any of the tacksmen or others were debarred by law from entering into a contract with these people for obtaining the pre-emption of their fish, etc., as specified in his report,' he answered, 'That, so far from thinking it would be a benefit to the people, he should think it would prove a material injury to them; for they have no other possible way of being supplied with the necessaries they want from distant markets but by the intervention of those persons who keep stores in the manner described in the report; neither have they in general any means of finding money to purchase boats and other necessary apparatus for fishing; and that, unless they were furnished by these storekeepers upon credit, very few of them could engage in the fisheries at all; and, in the present situation of that country, as they have no other possible way of paying the debts they thus contract but by the fish they catch, no person would furnish these upon credit unless they had the pre-emption of them: that it has been already stated in the report, that this kind of trade, though apparently very oppressive to the poor in all cases, affords but very little profit to the merchants; and that he knew several instances where the people who keep these stores, by acting in a disinterested manner, have contributed very essentially to promote the welfare of the country.' Since that date the Shetland fisheries also have been largely extended by the introduction of capital and the opening of stores among the different islands, where the men can always obtain fishing materials and supplies for their families; but to the present day the answer still holds good: curers must have the pre-emption of the fish, as a security for payment. In the evidence before the Truck Commission in Edinburgh lately, witnesses were examined who had little knowledge of Shetland business, and many of the statements were not only contrary to fact, but simply absurd. For instance, can any man of common sense imagine that a merchant would come to grief in consequence of not having enough of bad debts, and that if he could carry on until he had £2000 of bad debts, he would do a flourishing trade, 'because they keep it going in a circle, and it never gets worse?' That was one of the extraordinary statements made to the Commission. Is it not clear that if a dealer with small means emptied his shop of goods to people who could not pay for them, then, as soon as the bills he had granted for these goods fell due, he might shut it up? As already mentioned, the Shetland fishing trade has been largely developed by increased capital of late years, but in all time past it has been conducted on the same principles, with few modifications, as at present, and will be so, I think, in all time coming. If the islands and their fishing banks could be removed to near London, where the fish might be sold fresh at high prices, the fishermen would be greatly benefited; but as this is impossible, we must all submit to the inevitable. It is true, Government may attempt to change the trade by Act of Parliament; but in that case they will either have to remove the entire fishing population to some other and better country, or keep them at home as paupers, by annual grants for food and clothing. We are not engaged in the hosiery trade; but I know it to be the most troublesome business in the islands, being conducted chiefly by barter. I think it could not be carried on very well to any extent otherwise. We would be quite ready to embark in it and buy for cash, if we could make a commission; but I do not believe it would pay the expenses and servants' wages. Giving goods in exchange, hosiers can afford to allow a much higher price for the articles than we could for cash, and therefore very little of the trade would come our way if we took it up. Besides the fishing trade, we have acted a long time as agents for ships engaged in the Greenland and Davis' Straits whale and seal fishing. These vessels call here to complete their crews in February and March; and when they return, the men are either landed at Lerwick, or some other point of the islands as they pass south. When they go out, the men are engaged at the shipping office, and receive a month's wages in advance, in presence of the shipping master, and the agents are reimbursed when they send the accounts to the owners. When the ships return and the men are landed, they disperse without a moment's delay (in most cases) to their several homes, and come back to Lerwick to settle for their wages and first payment of oil-money, individually, as it suits their own convenience; and in the same way, a second time, to receive the balance of their oil-money and sign the ship's release. This may be better understood from the following correspondence that took place the past year between Hay & Co. and one of the Peterhead shipowners, in respect to a notice said to be issued by the Board of Trade, headed 'Truck System in Lerwick:'- 'PETERHEAD, 16 1871. 'R. KIDD HAY & CO. 'I enclose you letter I have received from H.M. Customs as regards the engaging and paying of the men engaged in the Greenland fishing ships. You will know how to act in regard to this. You have likely received direct orders, and I only enclose it to keep you in mind of it.' The document to which Mr. Kidd's letter refers is given below.* * 'TRUCK SYSTEM IN LERWICK. 'It appears from the returns and documents received by the Registrar-General of Seamen, that the indulgence granted by the Board of Trade under their special regulations, M. 2884/1864, to the owners and masters of sealing and whaling vessels, in respect to seamen engaged at Orkney and Shetland, has in a great measure been abused, and the whole object of the regulations defeated by the agents employed by and representing the owners at Lerwick. The Board of Trade are informed that many of the Shetland seamen who should have been discharged before the Superintendent there, within a reasonable time after their being landed on the termination of a first or second voyage, remain undischarged and unpaid even into the currency of the succeeding year, and that some of the releases for 1870 still remain incomplete. 'It should be borne in mind that the exceptional regulations referred to were issued by the Board of Trade, with a view to the convenience of the owners and masters of this class of vessels, and the protection of the Shetland seamen; but as the latter intention seems to have been purposely frustrated, the Board of Trade direct you to inform the owners and masters of those vessels whose crews are engaged before you during the ensuing season, that unless they cause their agents to comply with the spirit as well as the letter of these regulations, and discharge the men within one month of their being landed, the Board will be necessitated either to render the regulations more stringent, or withdraw them altogether. If the latter alternative were adopted, the discharge of the Orkney and Shetland whaling crews would have to take place under the more rigid terms prescribed by the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, which of all other vessels at ports in the United Kingdom.' 'CUSTOM HOUSE, PETERHEAD, '10 1871 'SIR,-The foregoing is a copy of directions just received from the Board of Trade, dated 7th March, regarding the faulty way in which seamen are discharged from Peterhead whaling vessels at Lerwick; and I now beg to call your attention thereto, requesting that you would instruct your agent at Lerwick to attend to the previous instructions issued, which were circulated among the masters and agents when they were issued. 'W.R. BALFOUR. 'Mr. R. KIDD, Merchant.' [Page 86] 'LERWICK, 27 1871. 'HAY & CO. R. KIDD. 'We are duly favoured with your's of 16th instant, enclosing a communication from the Board of Trade in reference to payment of wages to Shetlandmen on board of ships in the Greenland trade, and headed by the words, 'Truck in Lerwick,'-a cry raised by a stranger who has taken up his residence in Shetland, and is now endeavouring, by every means in his power, to make himself prominent both here and elsewhere. 'We utterly deny that we have ever 'purposely frustrated' the Board regulations in respect to the payment of these men; on the contrary, we have kept a clerk, whose time has been chiefly occupied in settling the wages in presence of the collector as they came to town one by one, according to their own convenience; and you know how far the commission we get from the ships can go towards his salary. Nobody can compel the men to come to town all at one time for their wages; and if the releases of 1870 are not yet completed, it is not our fault. 'Without attaching any blame to you, we consider the document referred to-if it is meant to apply to us-a gratuitous insult. The Greenland agency is no great object, and after this season we shall not put ourselves in a position to have it repeated.' 'PETERHEAD, 23 1871. 'R. KIDD HAY & CO. 'I sent the document from the Board of Trade, in case you should not have received a copy. I am of opinion that the men will suffer more by this new order than the merchants, from the experience I have had here. Were I not to give some credit to some of our own men during the winter, their families would starve. I do not wonder you feel sore upon the subject of the report.' 'LERWICK, 27 1871. 'HAY & CO. R. KIDD. 'We have yours of 23d instant. With respect to advances, our people are differently circumstanced from yours. The married men have all farms in the country, and the young men live with their friends there, and we never see them from the time they settle the one year until they come to town to engage the next; so during the winter they neither ask, nor would we give them any supplies if they did, as in all probability they would offer their services first to agents who held no claim against them. Of the twenty men engaged for the 'Mazinthien,' not one was due us a shilling, and their month's wages was paid to them in cash at the shipping office at the time they signed articles; and any advances their families may get during their absence is given on their monthly notes, which are the only authority we have for making the deduction from their wages when they return. 'A great deal of absurdity has been written lately on this subject by well-meaning people, but who were entirely ignorant of the whole matter, and ready to believe whatever was told them, without taking the trouble to ascertain whether it was true or false.' 'LERWICK, 22 1871 'HAY & CO. R. KIDD. 'Referring to your letter of 16th March, we now send you enclosed abstract account of payments to Shetlandmen on board vessels for which we have acted as agents during the past three seasons, 1869, 1870, and 1871, to show how far we have benefited by what the Board of Trade are pleased to call the 'Truck System in Lerwick.' 'We are almost inclined to suppose the document now referred to, received in your letter of the above date, was titled at Peterhead, as we can scarcely believe it would be issued from a public office in London before previous inquiry had been made on the subject. 'As to signing the releases at the Custom House, neither the owners nor agents of the ship can compel the men to come to Lerwick for their wages, otherwise than they find it convenient for themselves. It would save us much trouble if they would wait in town a few hours after the ship's arrival, and receive their wages all at once at the Custom House; or, when they happen to be landed at a distance from Lerwick, if they could arrange to meet together here for the purpose at the same time. 'While matters remain as at present, whether these releases are signed or not, we can only do as we have always done in time past: pay the men promptly when they call. The supplies mentioned in the account now enclosed consist mostly of meal given to the men's families to account of their half-pay notes, and on which the profits cannot pay cellar rents, and servants' wages receiving and delivering it; so that, beyond the 21/2 per cent. commission on the wages, we have no inducement to continue in the trade.' The abstract account above referred to is given below.* * ABSTRACT ACCOUNT of WAGES paid by HAY & CO., Lerwick, to Shetlandmen belonging to Ships engaged in the Greenland and Davis' Straits Seal and Whale Fishery, during the years 1869, 1870, and 1871:- Name of Ship Men Amount of Supplies before Paid in Wages and Sailing, and to Cash Oil-Money family during the Man's Absence 1869 Labrador 20 £94 14 10 £4 3 9 £90 11 1 1869 Intrepid 28 355 0 21/2 71 19 51/2 283 0 9 1869 Alexander 21 272 19 8 31 14 11 241 4 9 Total 69 £722 14 81/2 £107 18 11/2 £614 16 7 1870 Labrador 21 £196 9 5 £7 18 0 £188 11 5 1870 Mazinthien16 226 18 0 49 7 1 177 10 11 1870 Eclipse 12 256 2 0 29 5 9 226 16 3 1870 Erik 30 562 0 6 66 17 41/2 495 3 11/2 Total 79 £1241 9 11 £153 8 21/2 £1088 1 1/2 1871 Labrador 25 £221 7 4 ...... £221 7 4 1871 Erik 26 138 2 5 £ 8 15 3 £129 7 2 1871 Eclipse# 1871 Mazinthein# 1871 Erik to D. Straits# 51 £359 9 9 £8 15 3 £350 14 6 1869 69 £722 14 81/2 £107 18 11/2 £614 16 7 1870 79 £1241 9 11 £153 8 21/2 £1088 1 81/2 1871 51 £359 9 9 £ 8 15 3 £350 14 6 199 £2323 14 41/2 £270 1 7 £2053 12 9 1/2 Average per man for the three years £11 13 6 £1 7 2 £10 6 4 # Voyage not ended. In conclusion, I have only to add, that Hay & Co. have given notice to their friends, the shipowners in Peterhead and Dundee, that they cannot continue any longer to act for them. 3624. You say in that statement that you manage four estates in the country: what are these estates?-There are two for which we act as factors-the estates of Lord Zetland, and Mr. Bruce of Simbister; and there are two of which we are lessees-the Burra islands, belonging to the Misses Scott of Scalloway, and the Gossaburgh estate, in Yell and Northmavine. 3625. You say that the tenants on the estate of Mr. Bruce of Simbister, with the exception of those on the island of Whalsay, and Whalsay Skerries, are free to fish for whom they like: what is the nature of the obligation under which the tenants in the island of Whalsay lie?-There is only one fish-curing establishment there, and the men could not conveniently fish out of the island. We have a place rented from the proprietor as a curing establishment, with booths and beaches, and all curing preparations made for receiving their fish; and it is an understood thing that the tenants are to deliver the fish to us at the current price of the country. 3626. That is not an obligation that enters into any written lease?-No; it is merely an understanding with the proprietor. We have no lease of the island. 3627. Is it a condition of the verbal tacks of the [Page 87] tenants, that they shall fish for you?-Yes; they are made to understand that they are to deliver their fish to us at the current price. 3628. That applies to the home fishing?-To the home fishing only. The Whalsay men are not engaged in any other fishing. 3629. They don't go to the Faroe fishing at all?-No. 3630. Is yours the only shop upon that island?-The only shop. 3631. Have you an establishment at the Out Skerries too?-Do you mean at the Skerries lying to the eastward, where the boats deliver their fish? 3632. Yes.-No, we have no establishment for supplying the people with goods; but we have beach boys and curing materials at the Skerries to the east of Whalsay. 3633. Is there not a firm who have an establishment there?-Yes, at Skerries; but that is a different Skerries, which lies farther out beyond where the lighthouse is. There is more than one curer there, but the Whalsay men don't deliver any of their fish at that place. 3634. It is at the Out Skerries where other firms have establishments-both shops and curing places?-Yes; but we have nothing there. 3635. Do the Whalsay people fish for these other firms at the Out Skerries?-No. 3636. Where do their fishermen come from?-From Lunnasting, Delting, Nesting, and other places. 3637. They are not inhabitants of the islands?-No. 3638. Then the establishment at Out Skerries is a temporary one?-No. I think one curer has an establishment there all the year round, and a factor; but the fishermen don't live there all the year round. They live in huts during the fishing, and go home to their families when the fishing is over. 3639. You say that some of the men fish to one curer and some to another, as they find convenient: in that statement do you refer to the Simbister estate, with the exception of Whalsay?-Yes, with the exception of Whalsay. It includes Whalsay also, so far as the cattle, ponies, hosiery, and other things are concerned. There is no restriction on them selling these where they like; it is simply the fish they take in the island that we expect to get. 3640. In Whalsay, are the fishermen expected to deal only in your store for their fishing materials and the supplies for their families?-That is quite optional. They can take their supplies from our store; and suppose they take most of them there, because it is more convenient for them than to go anywhere else. 3641. In point of fact they have no option, because there is no other shop in Whalsay?-There is not, but they can go to Lerwick, and they do go there sometimes. I think the note I have given in as to Burra answers that question. 3642. Is there any restriction on the establishment of other shops in Whalsay?-There is no means for any person opening a shop there. There is no shop, and no building, and no right to build in the island without the proprietor's liberty. There is only the one shop there. 3643. What is the population of the island?-I don't think the census of last year would show that, because it is mixed up with other parts of the parish. 3644. Have you any idea how many fishermen are employed by you in the island?-Yes, I can tell that. We have twenty-seven fully-manned boats, each with six men and boys. These are the fishermen; but there are tenants who are not fishermen, and fishermen who are not tenants. 3645. That would give a total of 162 fishermen employed by you, but some of them may be members of the same family?-Yes. 3646. Are there many tenants who are not fishermen?-Not very many. 3647. Have there been any applications for liberty to establish a new shop in the island of Whalsay?-No. 3648. You have never, in your capacity as factor for Mr. Bruce, received an application for ground for that purpose?-Never. 3649. Would you have any objection to grant such permission if it were asked?-Although I am acting as factor for Mr. Bruce, the granting or refusal of such an application would depend entirely upon the proprietor. 3650. I suppose you cannot tell whether he would refuse it or not?-I cannot tell. In fact we have the only curing establishment there. We have the beaches, and all the preparations for curing, and there could be no other establishment in Whalsay. 3651. I am not speaking of an establishment for fish-curing; but suppose a merchant wished to establish a shop there for the sale of provisions and soft goods, do you think he would meet with a refusal from Mr. Bruce?-I cannot answer that question. 3652. In Whalsay you are only factors for Mr. Bruce, not lessees of the island?-We are not lessees. I act as Mr. Bruce's factor. 3653. Yet, notwithstanding that, the islanders are bound to fish for any one to whom the proprietor lets the fish-curing establishment?-Yes; on the understanding with the curer, that he pays the same price as other curers in the country pay for the produce of the fishing. 3654. You pay rent to Mr. Bruce for your booths and curing establishment; and in consideration of that rent it is understood that the tenants are bound to deliver their fish to you?-Yes. 3655. Have the fishermen refused, in any cases within your experience, to fulfil that obligation? Have they smuggled their fish away, or endeavoured to evade that stipulation?-I understand that before we came to the island they smuggled a great part of their fish away to other curers, but, so far as I can learn, I don't think they smuggle any of them away now. I believe we have got the whole procedure. 3656. How long is it since you got the island?-I think it is five or six years ago. 3657. Who was the merchant before?-The proprietor received their fish himself. 3658. Suppose a fisherman were to bring his fish to Lerwick, or take them to Skerries or any other station, and sell them, would the result be, that he would have to leave his farm?-I cannot say what the result would be if he were to do so, because we have never been aware of any single case where a fisherman went past us with his fish. 3659. But if he did so, would you consider yourselves entitled to remove him?-No, not to remove him; but we would consider ourselves entitled to complain to Mr. Bruce. 3660. And he would remove him?-If he thought proper. 3661. You say that in 1870, after deducting advances, you paid the men in that island £1222: would the number of men fishing for you at that time be about the same that you have now?-I think there were 155 in 1870. 3662. That sum of £1222 was the amount of cash balances due to them and paid to them at the end of the year?-Yes; and which, when paid, left them entirely clear in our books. 3663. Was their rent paid in account with you?-These were the payments to the fishermen. The tenants would pay their rents to me as factor separately out of that sum. 3664. But in what form are your accounts made up?-My factory accounts are kept entirely free from our fishing accounts. 3665. The payment of rent there would be made at the same time when you went to settle with your fishermen?-Yes. 3666. I presume you gave them a separate receipt for their rents, and entered the payment in a separate factory book?-Yes. 3667. Is the form of accounting with the fishermen in Whalsay the same as you use in your dealings with your other fishermen?- Quite the same. 3668. Have they pass-books at the shop?-Some of them have pass-books, and some have not. [Page 88] 3669. I suppose that in the name of each fisherman, there is an account in the books kept at the shop?-Every fisherman has a page for himself. 3670. In it all the goods furnished to him or to his family are entered on the one side?-Yes. 3671. Is there a credit side to the account?-Yes. When we settle with him, we give him credit for his share of the fishing. 3672. Is there a separate fishing-book?-There is a book kept by the fish factor, in which he enters the fish as he receives them. 3673. He is a separate man from the shopman?-Yes; he keeps a separate book, in which the green fish as they are received are entered in name of the company or crew. 3674. Is a bargain made with the fishermen at the beginning of the year?-Sometimes, but not often. Where there is no bargain made with them, the general understanding is, that the men get what supplies they require, and that they get also the current price of the season for their fish. 3675. That is the current price at the end of the season?-Yes. 3676. Are they entitled to one-half of the take?-Not in this case. They get the whole of their take. It is a different agreement altogether from that which obtains in the case of the smacks that prosecute the cod fishing at Faroe. In this case the boat and lines belong to the men themselves, and the whole of their catch belongs to them. At the end of the season their catch is added up and divided, and, after any company expenses are taken off, the rest is divided among the men. 3677. How are they valued?-The fish are weighed green and measured, and the weight is entered in the factor's book. They deliver to us twice or thrice a week, and at the end of the season the whole is added up and converted into money. 3678. How do you estimate the money value then?-Just according to the price of the fish for the year. 3679. But the price you pay is for cured fish?-No; t