Second Shetland Truck System Report Part 9

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 acc.u.mulate 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 a.s.sisted 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 cla.s.s 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 compet.i.tion 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 circ.u.mstances 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 circ.u.mstances, 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 Pa.s.s-BOOKS

The accounts between merchants and fishermen are settled in a sufficiently loose manner. In many cases no pa.s.s-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 quant.i.ties 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 cla.s.s 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 pa.s.s-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 pa.s.s-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 pa.s.s-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 pa.s.s-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.'