Second Shetland Truck System Report Part 392

16,807. Is that because the men hold yearly tacks?-They hold crofts year by year, and they are fishermen at the same time.

16,808. Do you know whether they pay their rent to the landlord direct, or through the fish-curer?-They pay it twice a year, at Candlemas and Martinmas, to the landlord; but they are not in the same way bound as the Shetland fishermen are. They are not in the same state of bondage.

16,809. Wherein do you think is the difference?-They are free to leave the place when they like, and they may go down to the town and fish; but they might incur the proprietor's displeasure if they were to go away and leave the place altogether if their crofts were under lease.

16,810. Are these the only cases of the kind which you know?- They are; and they are very small in extent.

16,811. Do you know any districts where it is frequently the case that a fisherman does not receive any money at all in payment for his fish, but runs an account for goods which is more than sufficient to balance the money due for the fish?-There may be a stray case of that kind, but it is not common. Where the fishermen are so negligent that they are hopelessly sunk in debt, the fish-curer, of course, tries to give them as little advance as possible, and to get them to fish as much as possible, in order that they may get out of debt; but in some cases where they make a poor fishing and have been heavily in debt he cannot give them any advance in money, but he may give them an advance in goods.

16,812. Is that a common thing in your experience?-It is not.

16,813. In what districts would you say it was most common?- Along the Caithness coast.

16,814. Can you furnish me from your books with a note of the price cod, ling, and tusk in September, for the last ten or fifteen years?-Yes. We usually buy from the Shetland fish-curers during the month of August. Between May and August we often ask quotations from them for a quant.i.ty of fish to be delivered either in Ireland or in Leith in September or October, and they usually send on the quotation in September. We have bought largely in that way during the last ten years, so that I can furnish a list of the prices.

16,815. Do you supply hooks and lines to your fishermen?-There is a little of that done to the Gairloch and west coast fishermen, because there are no places there from which they can supply themselves. We buy the materials in Glasgow, and send them on to the men, and allow them to lie at the debit of the crew's account until they are able to pay for them. The only thing we supply usually is cutch to fishermen.

EDINBURGH: THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 1872

-MR GUTHRIE.

JAMES LEWIS, examined.

16,816. What are you?-I am a grocer and wine merchant in Canongate, Edinburgh. I have other two places of business besides that.

16,817. Have you carried on an extensive business in Edinburgh?-I have, for nearly forty years.

16,818. You have examined some samples which I sent to you, and given me a report of the values you put upon them?-Yes.

16,819. Is it a correct report?-It is.*

16,820. You examined a small parcel of oatmeal, No. 1 in the report, which you value at 1s. per 7 lbs.: how much is that per boll?-There is 140 lbs. in the boll, so that it would be exactly 20s. per boll. At the time I made the valuation that was a fair average price for it in Edinburgh.

16,821. Was it a good quality of meal?-It was not; not so good as some samples which I have frequently seen. I could not sell it in my premises, for instance.

16,822. Would it be considered inferior quality in Canongate?- Yes.

16,823. Could you not sell it at all?-Perhaps I could sell it; but I should not like to trust selling it to my customers, as they might not like to come back again.

16,824. Is it above or below the average quality of meal that is sold in country districts?-I think that in Shetland it will perhaps be about the average quality sold there, as it has likely been made from oats grown in [Page 433] that country; but it is not like meal made from oats grown in Midlothian.

16,825. Do you know that from any knowledge which you have of Shetland trade?-I don't know anything about it, further than from seeing the quality of the meal which was submitted to me; and comparing it with what could be made in Midlothian, I should say that it was inferior in quality to anything that would be sold as good meal here.

16,826. Perhaps you do not know much about the business which is carried on in country districts?-I cannot say that I have carried it on, but I know a good deal about it.

16,827. Have you examined any samples of meal from districts similar to Shetland?-I have had meal from Aberdeenshire and from Caithness.

16,828. Was this meal which you examined inferior to the average quality of Caithness meal?-It was.

16,829. Was it much inferior?-I could not exactly say that, but it was inferior.

16,830. The sample of tea, No. 2, submitted to you, you have valued at 2s. 4d. per lb.; and you state at the end of your report, that of course an allowance must be made for carriage, etc. to Shetland?-Yes. Of course, tea must be sent to Shetland; they must get it either from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, or London.

16,831. Is the value of 2s. 4d., which you have put upon it, what you consider the retail price of that tea would be in Edinburgh?- Yes.

16,832. Would it be reasonable to charge a much higher price than that, in respect of the carriage to Shetland?-I think about 1s. per cwt., or from that to 2s. at the outside, would be the expense of carriage to Shetland.

16,833. That would make a very slight rise upon the price per lb.?-It would be a mere trifle; because there would be about 84 to 90 lbs. in a chest, and they could get that sent down for 1s.

16,834. Would you consider 2s. 10d. an extravagant charge for that in Shetland?-I would; because the value of 2s. 4d. which I put upon it includes the profit of the merchant here.

16,835. Would 2s. 10d. be an extravagant charge for it in Shetland, even as a credit price?-Yes; it would be so anywhere.

16,836. The tea No. 3 you also value at 2s. 4d. per lb.: is there any difference between these two teas?-So far as I could see, I think they are very like the same value. There is a little difference between the style of the two teas, but nothing to affect the actual value of them.

16,837. Could you account for one of them being sold at 81/2d. per qr. and the other at 7d. per qr. lb.?-No; unless the party may have bought the one too dear. The merchant must have his profit in any case; but if he is not a judge of what he is buying, the wholesale merchant will get a larger profit out of him than another.

16,838. Would you be surprised to be informed that these teas were sold at these different prices?-I could not be done in that way.

16,839. But you suppose the Shetland retail merchants may be done in that way?-They may be ignorant of their business, for anything I know. There are a great many small people in the country who carry on such a business as selling tea and who know very little about it.

16,840. Still you think the teas are of the same quality, although one of them was sold at 2s. 4d. and the other at 2s. 10d. per lb.?- So far as I can judge, they are of the same quality; but I could easily suppose there would be a difference of 6d. per lb. in the way I have mentioned.

16,841. From a mistake on the part of the retailer?-Yes; or from his ignorance of his business and the wholesale dealer taking advantage of that.

16,842. Might he not have purchased the No. 3 tea as a bargain, and given his customers the advantage of that?-He might have done that; but it is not likely a Shetland man would do that.

16,843. The sample No. 4 was a specimen of sugar which you value at 41/2d. per lb.: was that a fair quality of sugar?-Yes; a very fair quality of sugar at that price.

16,844. Would 6d. per lb. be an extravagant price for it?-It would be so here.

16,845. Would you consider it an extravagant price in a country district also?-I think it would be. I think 5d. would be about the value of that sugar in Shetland; it would not be more.

16,846. No. 5 is a sample of tea also which you value at 2s. 6d. per lb.?-Yes; it is better than the others.

16,847. Would 2s. 10d. per lb. be an extravagant price for it in Shetland?-I think it might sell there for 2s. 10d., or even 3s. I consider it to be a very good tea.

16,848. You value it at 2s. 6d?-Yes, here; but I think 2s. 10d.

would be a fair value for it in Shetland.

16,849. You allow a greater advance upon that tea as sold in Shetland than you did upon the others?-Yes. The higher the price of the tea is, generally speaking, there is a larger profit upon it.

16,850. Do you think a merchant would be fairly ent.i.tled to take a larger profit upon No. 5 than upon No. 2?-Yes; a little.

16,851. Then 2s. 10d. would not be a very extravagant charge for it?-I don't think it.