Second Shetland Truck System Report Part 5

'Many of the fishermen in this country (as, indeed, many of the poorer cla.s.ses 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 princ.i.p.ally under the ground-officership of Mr. Sinclair, who acted for Mrs. Mouat, in Unst.'

[C. Nicholson, 11,912-11,933; T. Tulloch, 13,008; J. Smith, 13,047-13,055; W. Robertson, 13,689; John Laurenson, 9849; M.

Henderson, 9925; J. Walker, 15,984; Andrew Tulloch, 488; L.

Williamson, 9065; A. Sandison, 10,024.]

Mr. David Edmonstone, once a fish-merchant and tacksman, now a farmer and factor on the Buness estate in Unst, states that the want of cash payments is the reason why this arrangement with the curer is desired by the proprietor.

'10,640. Is it usual for the proprietor to enter into any arrangement with the fish-curer for the payment of his rents?-We do that on the Buness estate, and I should like to explain the reason of it. The tenants have all been told that they are at perfect liberty to fish to whom they like; but after they have engaged to fish to a certain curer, we wish them to bring a guarantee from their curer or curers for the rent of the year on which they have entered, and during which they are to fish. Our reason for that-in fact the only reason-is, that the men do not get money payments, and therefore a great number of them will be [Page 13 rpt.] induced to run a heavy account at the shop, and when we collect the rents at Martinmas we would have nothing to get. If the men were paid in money, daily or weekly or fortnightly, then we would make no such arrangement, but would collect the rents directly from the men.'

'10,641. Then, in fact, that arrangement is made in order to limit the credit which the fish-merchant gives to his men?-Yes; and to secure that we are to get part of that money.'

'10,642. But it has the effect of limiting their credit?-Yes.'

SPENCE & CO.'S LEASE

Since November 1868 Mr. Sandison's present firm of Spence & Co. have been responsible as tacksmen for the rents of the fishermen tenants of Major Cameron's estate in Unst. At that time they obtained a tack of the estate for twelve years, which was formerly described by Mr. Walker*, and is in some respects peculiar. Spence & Co., as lessees of the greater part of the estate, which includes nearly half of the island, pay a fixed sum of rent (1100), and are bound to expend, or to get the sub-tenants to expend, a certain annual sum on improvements at the sight of the proprietor. Regulations for the cultivation of the small farms are annexed to the lease, and are to form conditions of the sub-leases to be granted by Spence & Co. The effect of these regulations and of the lease is thus explained by Mr. Sandison: [Comp. J. Walker, 15,977.]

* Truck Commission Evidence, qu. 44,450 sq. Appx.

'10,159. Any tenants not complying with these regulations may be removed by you?-Yes; they will get their leases unless they comply with them, and we can remove them at any time ....'

'10,161. How many of the tenants have adopted these regulations?-I should say that, to a greater or less extent, they have all made a fair commencement in the improvements and rotation of cropping.'

'10,162. But you have absolute power to remove them if they do not comply with that?-We have. The property is absolutely let to us, and we can absolutely turn them out if they do not comply with the regulations. The lease is clear enough upon that point.'

'10,163. Have you had occasion to exercise that power?-Not in any case.'

'10,164. Have you threatened to do so?-Not so far as is known to me.'

'10,165. There is no obligation on the tenants, under this lease, either to fish for you or to sell the produce of their farms to your firm?-No; it is long since I read the lease, but I don't think there is anything of that sort in it.'

'10,166. In point of fact, is there any understanding on the part of the tenants that they are bound to do so?- No.'

'10,167. You have told them that they are under no such obligation?-Yes.'

'10,168. But, in point of fact, most of them do sell their fish to you?-They do.'

'10,169. And, in point of fact, most of them do sell their eggs and b.u.t.ter to you?-I think the great bulk of them do, but I cannot tell so well about the b.u.t.ter 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.'