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Title: Second Shetland Truck System Report
Author: William Guthrie
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Edition: 10
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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 <italics>.
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.
Blanchnow
Blance.
ca'in/caain whalesalternative
spellings of the same word - for Pilot Whale, usually.
Clunasnow
usually Cluness.
Colafirthnow
Collafirth.
Coningsburghnow
Cunningsburgh.
Cumlywicknow
Cumlewick.
Cunningsternow
Cunnister.
Dalzellalternatively
Dalziel, Dalyell, Deyell, and even Yell.
Dunrosnessnow
Dunrossness.
Edmonston/Edmonstonenow
Edmondston.
Eskernessprobably
Eshaness.
Exter, Janeta
misapprehension - actual name unknown but possibly
Janet Inkster.
Fetlernow
Fetlar.
Fiedelandnow
Fethaland.
Flaus/Flawes/Flawsalternative
spellings of the same name now usually
Flaws.
Garrioch/Garriock/Garrickcan
be alternative spellings of the same name.
ghive/geo/giogio
- an inlet.
Goudie/Gaudienow
Goudie.
Hancliffeprobably
Hangcliff.
Harranow
Herra.
Hildeshanow
Hildasay, an island.
Hillyar/Hillyardprobably
Heylor.
Humphray/Humphrey/Umphraycan
be alternative spellings of the same name.
Jameson/Jamiesonnow
usually Jamieson.
Lasetternow
Lusetter.
Lebiddennow
Leabitten.
Leisk/Leaskalternative
spellings of the same name.
Lesslie/Lesliealternative
spellings of the same name.
Lingordnow
Lingarth.
Luijaprobably
Linga, an island.
Malcolmson/Malcomsonnow
usually Malcolmson.
Manasterprob.
Mangaster.
Mavisgrindnow
Mavis Grind.
Nicholsonnow
usually Nicolson.
North Mavine/Northmavennow
Northmavine.
Rennestaprobably
Ringasta.
Roenessvoenow
Ronas Voe.
Satternow
Setter.
scatthold/scattales/scattholesnow
scattald.
scaups/scaapsalternative
spellings of the same word, a bed of
shellfish on the sea bottom.
Simbisternow
Symbister.
Stennessnow
Stennes.
Sullem/Sullamnow
Sullom.
Thomason/Thomson/Thompsonalternative
spellings of the same name.
Trosswicknow
Troswick.
Urrafirthnow
Urafirth.
Usinessprob.
Ustaness.
Vinsgarthnow
Veensgarth.
Waterbrunow
Waterbrough.
West Sandwicknow
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 <hogalif.> 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 <six-penny, nine-penny>, and <twelve-penny> 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, <pro indiviso>, 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 <outfield> and <infield>. 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 <Description of the Shetland Islands> (Edin. 1822)
The enclosed lands were formerly runrig, <i.e.> 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.]
*<Shetland: Descriptive and Historica>l. By Robert Cowie, M.A., M.D., Aberdeen. 1871. See p. 91. Edmonstone's <View of the Zetland Islands>, vol. ii., p. 48. <New Statistical Account of the Shetland Islands>, 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 <Etymological Glossary of Orkney and Shetland Dialect> (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 <View of the Zetland Islands>, vol. ii., p. 232., Brand's <Brief Description of Orkney, Zetland>, etc., pp. 73, 89, 128, 136, etc. (Edin. 1701). ** <Wealth of Nations>, 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.
*<See> General Observations on Shetland, by Lawrence
Edmonstone
M.D., in <New Statistical Account>, 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,'-<Anglicé>, 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, <i.e.> 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 (<i.e.> 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, <i.e.> 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:-
'<Lerwick>, 22<d> 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. <See> 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, <passim>; J. Spence, <passim>; 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, <i.e.> 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; <e.g.>, 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, <e.g.> 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]
- No. of Fishermen employed
- Amount of Goods debited to Fishermen
- Cash advanced before Settlement
- Gross Sum credited to Men for Fish
- Gross Sum credited to them for Stock, etc.
- Cash due to Fishermen at Settlement
- 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]
- No. of Fishermen employed
- Amount of Goods debited to Fishermen.
- Cash advanced before Settlement.
- Fishing Expenses charged to the Men.
- Gross Sum credited to them for Fish.
- Gross Sum credited to them for Stock, etc.
- Cash due to them at Settlement.
- 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.
<Question No. 1.>--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.
<Question No. 2>.--£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.
<Question No. 3>.--£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
<Question No. 5.>--£2729, 8s. 71/2d. This sum includes £432 due for
herrings to the 84 men mentioned in note on answer No. 1.
<Question No. 6.>--£412, 1s. 21/2d. This includes the sum of £21, 5s.
61/2d. received from fishermen at settlement.
<Question No. 7.>--All sums <due> to the fishermen were <paid> at
settlement.
<Question No. 8>.--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]
- No. of Fishermen employed
- Amount of Goods debited to Fishermen.
- Cash advanced before Settlement.
- Fishing Expenses charged to the Men.
- Gross Sum credited to Men for Fish.
- Gross Sum credited to them for Stock, etc.
- Cash due to Fishermen at Settlement.
- 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]
- No. of Fishermen employed
- Amount of Goods debited to Fishermen.
- Cash advanced before Settlement.
- Fishing Expenses charged to the Men.
- Gross Sum credited to Men for Fish.
- Gross Sum credited to them for Stock, etc.
- Cash paid to them at Settlement.
- 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,' <i.e.> 4 to 32 lbs., instead of boll weight, <i.e.> 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-<i.e.> 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 <additional> 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 <extra> 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-<i.e.>, 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, <i.e.> 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 <per diem> 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.
- <Sea Fisheries Commission Evidence>, 31,851, 31,974. <Account of Herring and White Fisheries in the Shetland Islands> 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 <Shetland>, 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:
- <View, etc.>, 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, <i.e.> 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, <e.g.> 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, <e.g.> 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, <i.e.> 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'.
- 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, <June> 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 <corn, turnips> or <potatoes, corn, grass>, 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.
<Subject to the above rules, the landlord reserves right to take into his own hands any part of his estate, at any time, on giving the tenant legal notice>.
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.
- <Length of Lease and Rent Term>. -- The lease shall be for ten years from Martinmas. The rent shall be due and payable at the term of Martinmas every year.
- <Payment of Taxes>. -- 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.
- <Subletting, etc.> -- 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.
- <Repairs to Houses, etc.> -- 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.
- <Enclosing and other permanent Improvements.> -- 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.
- <Rotation of Cropping.>--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.
- <Selling Straw, Turnips, etc.> -- 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.
- <Way-going Crop.> -- 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.
- <Keeping second-rate Animals for breeding purposes.> -- 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.
- <No Dogs allowed.> -- To prevent the destruction of, or annoyance to, the stock upon the scattalds, no tenant will allowed to keep a dog or dogs.
- <Minerals, Shootings, etc. reserved.> -- 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.
- <Peat-moss, Sea-weed, and Shell-sand reserved.> -- 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.
- <Boats> 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.
- <Regulations, etc.> -- 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.
- <Bankruptcy.> -- 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.
- <Feus reserved.> -- 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.
- <Penalties.> -- 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.
- <Formal Lease, etc.>--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.
- <Removal.> -- 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.
<December> 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.: <First>, 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 <ipso facto> become null and void.
................................................ <Fourth>: 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.
<Fifth>. 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.
<Sixth>. 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.
<Seventh>. 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.
<Twelfth>, 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.
- No sub-lease shall extend beyond the term of Martinmas eighteen hundred and eighty.
- 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.
- Only one family shall be allowed to occupy each holding.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- No sub-tenant shall be allowed to keep any bull, stallion, ram, or boar, unless such as permitted by the lessees.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. <First>, Responsibility for the whole expenses of the fishing is cast upon them, while really the boats and nets are the fishcurer's. <Second>, 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. <Third>, They pay interest in some cases, and not seldom an arbitrary profit on part of the capital in form of boat's deal. <Fourth>, 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<st Feb>. 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, <e.g.> 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 <signed> 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 <loudest> and <bitterest complaints>. 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 <leaving> 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 <Manorial rights>, 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, <simply, however, as a proprietor>. 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 <scattholds>, 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 (<i.e.> 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, <in cumulo>, 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 -- <Ergo>, 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.
<Shop Dealings with Paupers>.--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 "<the
shop>" 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, <a girl fifteen>! 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 "<the store>." In
another parish the chairman of the Board has "<the shop>," and
his brother has "<the other shop>." In short, everything in
Shetland gravitates towards "<the shop>." To it the child takes a
dozen eggs in a morning, and obtains for the family breakfast what
is called a "<corn o' tea>;" 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 "<corn
o' tea>," or the "<corn o meal>;' 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.
- 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.
<Mr. Guthrie>.-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
- You live in Lerwick?-Yes.
- You are in the habit of knitting for Mr. Linklater?-Yes.
- For any one else?-No.
- Do you supply your own wool?-No.
- Where do you get it?-I knit Mr. Linklater's own worsted.
- 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.
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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.
<pr>. 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.
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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.
- <Gio>-A deep ravine which admits the sea.-<Edmonstone's Glossary>. 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.
<Adjourned>.
[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