Chapter V: Excerpt From Report of Mr. Peterkin, General Inspector of Board (33)

8681. Are you a fisherman?-I am.

8682. Who do you fish for?-Messrs. Pole, Hoseason, & Co.

8683. How far do you live from Mossbank?-About a mile.

8684. How long have you fished for Pole, Hoseason, & Co.?-Five years.

8685. Do you keep an account at the Mossbank shop?-Yes.

8686. Do you make a settlement at the end of the year?-Yes.

8687. Do you get any money at settlement?-Yes, I get my rent.

8688. Who do you pay your rent to?-Mr. John Robertson. I live on the Lunna estate; Sheriff Bell is the proprietor.

8689. Do you get any more money from Pole, Hoseason, & Co., besides your rent?-No more money, as I don't have it to get.

8690. Is that because you are in debt?-Yes.

8691. How far are you behind?-I was behind £3 at the last settlement, but I have been as much behind as £13.

8692. Are you always behind in your accounts?-Yes.

8693. And you always go to fish for Pole, Hoseason, & Co., in the hope of paying them off?-Yes.

8694. Are you at liberty to fish for any other merchant?-No.

8695. Why?-Because I am in debt, and I cannot pay my debt, therefore I am obliged to fish for Mr. Pole.

8696. If you were to go to fish for another merchant and get paid by him in money, could you not pay off your debt to Pole, Hoseason, & Co.?-I might, but I don't see what good that would do. I get the same price for my fish from Mr. Pole as I would get from any other body.

8697. But don't you think you run up a bigger account when you are dealing with Pole, Hoseason, & Co., than you would do if you were getting your cash in hand?-Yes; if I had cash to purchase my meal, which is the principal thing I require, I would get it cheaper elsewhere.

8698. What is the price of meal at Mossbank just now?-I cannot say rightly.

[Page 212]

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 is.

8704. Do you think Messrs. Pole Hoseason, & Co. charge too high for their goods?-Yes; if we had money we could get them cheaper in Lerwick.

8705. But I suppose you would have money if you could save as much as would keep you for one year?-Yes.

8706. If you could manage that, you would not run into the merchant's debt at all, but you would have all your cash to get at settlement?-Yes, if we had as much as would once clear us off.

8707. Can you not manage to do that?-No. I have a small family, and there is a great quantity of bread to buy, and clothes and everything. I have nothing but what I can earn by the fishing.

8708. What kind of bread do you buy?-Oatmeal and flour.

8709. Are there many men who are in debt at Mossbank in the same way as you?-I believe there are a few, but I cannot say.

8710. Do you want to go to fish for any other merchant?-No; I don't see any good that that would do to me.

8711. Is there anything else you wish to say?-Nothing.

8712. Was there anything else you wanted to say when you came here?-No.

Brae, January 13, 1872, PETER BLANCH, recalled.

8713. Do you wish to add anything to your former evidence?- About the cost of fish-curing, I said I was not speaking exactly from my own experience with regard to the sum paid, but I know that we have never used more than a ton of salt to a ton of fish on the average. I wish also to say that I have been told more than once by parties who have cured fish for Mr. Adie and others, that they only paid 12s. per ton of fish for the labour of curing. I also say that I have paid 1s. for landing salt at Lerwick, and nothing more, and I allow 2s. for wastage. These are things which Mr. William Adie thought I had no doubt exaggerated, but I am conscious of the fact that I told nothing but the truth.

8714. Was 12s. per ton a price which was paid under contract?- Yes.

8715. Who are the parties who told you about that?-Arthur Harrison was the last one I spoke to. I landed fish to be cured by him, and he told me so. There was another man who told me the same thing about five years ago, John Henry, Sandsting, in Walls. With regard to the price paid for lines, I wish also to say that we have to furnish our own lines in the Faroe fishing. You were asking me if I thought there was a possibility of our bettering ourselves. I thought there was, and that was one of the ways in which I thought we might do so. I have always thought that the owner, when he provided a vessel, ought also to provide the material for the catching of the fish; but instead of that we have to provide our own lines, and supply other lines if we happen to lose them, at a very dear price. We 21/2 lines for each man, and we pay 2s. 6d. for what I know the merchants buy at 2s. or 1s. 6d.

8716. Could you not buy your lines at another shop if you chose?-Yes; we could do that.

8717. Is it part of the arrangement that you are to take these lines from the owner of the vessel?-I don't know that it is part of the arrangement, but I don't think they would like it very well if we went to another; still I don't know that we would be prevented.

8718. Do not the men sometimes hire the lines?-No; never in my experience in the Faroe fishing.

Brae, January 13, 1872, JOHN NICHOLSON, examined.

8719. Where do you come from?-North Delting.

8720. Who do you fish for?-Messrs Pole, Hoseason, & Co.

8721. Have you heard the evidence of Charles Nicholson?-Yes; and I would like to say about the price of our fish, that I don't think it is very right that the men should have to go to the fishing at the beginning of the season, and don't know what they are to get until they come to settle.

8722. Do you think you ought to have your price fixed at the beginning of the season?-Yes.

8723. Have you ever asked for that?-No; we have never asked for it.

8724. Why?-Because some of the crew are for it and others are against it, and we could not get the thing rightly settled up amongst ourselves.

8725. How long have you fished for Pole, Hoseason, & Co?-I have fished there for about fourteen years, both before and after Mr. Pole came to Mossbank.

8726. Where do you buy your goods?-From Mr. Pole.

8727. Anywhere else?-No.

8728. Do you never go to any other shop in the neighbourhood?- Not very often.

8729. Why is that?-Because sometimes I don't have ready money to go with.

8730. If you had ready money would you go anywhere else?-Yes.

8731. Why?-Because I could get my goods cheaper and better.

8732. Are you not satisfied with the quality of the goods at the Mossbank shop?-No. There are some of the articles there which are inferior to other people's, and dearer too.

8733. What articles are inferior?-Tea and sugar and meal.

8734. Where could you get them better?-In Lerwick.

8735. That is a long way to go for them?-Yes; but a man must take some trouble upon himself when he gets them cheaper and better.

8736. What are you paying at Mossbank store for these things just now?-Tea is 3s. per lb., sugar is 5d., and meal is 50s.

8737. When did you buy any of these three articles in Lerwick?- About a month ago.

8738. What did you get them for?-I got tea for 2s. 4d., sugar for 4d., and meal for 32s.

8739. What is the price of meal now?- About 48s. but it was 50s. in summer, and I bought a sack, or two bolls, at 32s. in Lerwick.

8740. What quantity of meal did you buy at Mossbank last, for which you paid 48s.?-I got it out in lesser quantities. They don't like to give very much at one time, and I had to take it in less quantities than I could get it in Lerwick.

8741. Were you in debt to the shop at the time?-A little; not very much.

8742. And they would not give it to you because you were in debt?-No.

8743. Was it by the lispund you bought it at Mossbank?-Yes; I paid 5s. 8d. per lispund for it, but about the end of July it was 6s. We generally take it by the quarter boll there.

8744. There are 32 lbs. to the lispund, and 280 lbs. in the sack?- Yes.

8745. Was the quality of the articles you bought in Lerwick, at the price you have mentioned, as good as what you got at Mossbank at the prices which [Page 213] say are charged there?-If there was any difference, they were better.

8746. But you had to carry them to Mossbank?-I had. The meal came by the steamer, and I had to pay 8d. for that.

8747. Can you not get cash from Pole, Hoseason, Co. when you require it, and go and buy your supplies in Lerwick?-Yes; what I require for the fishing, but not otherwise.

8748. You cannot get what you require for your family?-No.

8749. How did you happen to have money when you went and bought the meal in Lerwick?-I had it from my small boat fishing in the winter, and I saved the money.

Brae, January 13, 1872, WILLIAM ADIE (recalled), examined.

8750. Is there anything further in what Blanch has said to which you wish to refer?-Yes; he said that 12s. was the contract price for curing our fish: that is false. We paid 13s. for curing fish at Urrafirth, by Arthur Harrison.

8751. Was that your contract price for the fish cured by him this year?-He has cured none for us this year. He only cured a few fish for us in the fall, and he got more than that for them.

8752. Then that was the contract price in 1870?-Yes, for curing alone. Then we had to pay 3s. a ton for landing and shipping these fish from Voe to Urrafirth, and 3s. to Voe again; so that the curing of the fish would cost us about £1.

8753. Why do you pay so heavy freights? Can you not have the fish landed at Urrafirth in the first place?-No. We send them there as a convenience for ourselves, but the men are bound to land them at Voe, and we have to remove them at our own expense. We have no storage at Urrafirth for them, and they have to be removed to our own stores again.

8754. Why do you carry your fish to Urrafirth to be cured?- Because we have not sufficient accommodation for them all at Voe when we have a large take of fish.

8755. Then you have to send your surplus fish all that way to be cured?-Yes.

8756. Does it not arise in that way that you have a loss upon these fish?-Yes, we have a loss upon the fish when we cure them by contract.

8757. These fish will cost you more than 50s. for curing?-Yes, they cost us considerably more.

8758. But that will be recouped by your other profit?-Yes; but of course we must pay that extra out of our own pockets.

8759. But it does not follow that you have a loss upon the total proceeds of the fish?-No, we would not need to have that.

8760. The profit you calculate upon obtaining from the sale of your fish is sufficient to cover an occasional loss of that sort, and is calculated accordingly?- Yes. Of course, the extra charge on the curing at Urrafirth won't come to nearly the £1 per ton which we have for storage and commission on the fish.

8761. Is there any one else who wishes to be examined?- [No answer.] Then I adjourn the inquiry here until further notice.

[<Adjourned.>]

Brae, January 13, 1872, JAMES GARRIOCH, examined.

8762. You are shopkeeper to Messrs. Hay & Co. at their shop in the island of Fetlar?-I am.

8763. How long have you been there?-Three years past on 1st December. Before that I was a store-keeper with them in Lerwick.

8764. Was that establishment in Lerwick the one from which both Faroe fishers and home fishers got their supplies for the season, and their outfit for the fishing?-Yes; and Messrs. Hay's country shops were also supplied from that shop for the most part.

8765. I understand the supplies for the country shops are sent down to you with invoices of the prices at which you are to sell them?-That is done with some shops belonging to Messrs. Hay, but with others it is not. To some of them the goods are sent down at cost price, and the shopkeeper fixes what prices he thinks right. That is what is done at Fetlar.

8766. I see from the books you have produced, that on September 25 oatmeal was 5s. 3d.: is that per lispund?-That is for a quarter-boll.

8767. Do you not sell by the lispund?-Sometimes we do, just as the parties want it.

8768. A quarter-boll would be 3 lbs. more than a lispund?-Yes.

8769. And 5s. 3d. per quarter-boll would be for 35 lbs.?-Yes.

8770. Have you the invoice showing at what price that was invoiced to you from Lerwick?-I have not.

8771. Do you remember how much it was invoiced at?-No. It was not a fixed thing for the whole season; it varies.

8772. When did you get your supplies of meal last summer?-It comes from Aberdeen almost weekly or fortnightly during the time the fishing continues.

8773. You do not sell much meal in Fetlar after the fishing is over?-No; the people then have their crops to depend upon.

8774. When do you begin to sell the greatest quantity of goods at your store?-About April; we begin to be much busier then. From September until April the people are depending for the most part upon their own crop, but sometimes they do take a little meal from us.

8775. Was 5s. 3d. per quarter-boll the selling price for meal during the whole season?-No; it differs greatly. Sometimes you will see it is more, and sometimes less.

8776. I see that it is 5s. 3d. in September, and 5s. 9d. in July?- Yes; I expect that would be about the dearest time.

8777. I see an entry of oatmeal, 22s. 8d., in August?-That would be for a boll.

8778. Do you sell a boll at the same price, proportionally, as a quarter-boll?-Just the same.

8779. You do not make a difference for the retail?-None whatever.

8780. Do Messrs. Hay hold Fetlar, or any part of it, under tack?- Not so far as I am aware.

8781. Are the fishermen there bound to fish for them in any way?-I don't think they are; at least not to my knowledge. They have tenants there; at least they are not tenants exactly, but Messrs. Hay are factors for the Earl of Zetland. I don't know how Lord Zetland's tenants do, but I don't think they are bound.

8782. At any rate they are not bound by their tacks in any way?- Not so far as I am aware,

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8783. Is it mostly Lord Zetland's tenants who fish for Messrs. Hay in Fetlar?-I think not.

8784. Do some of Lady Nicholson's tenants fish for them also?- Yes; I should think about half-and-half.

8785. Are there any other proprietors in Fetlar than Lord Zetland and Lady Nicholson?-Not for the fishermen. There are other proprietors in the island, but none of their tenants fish.

8786. I see here, under date June 1, 1871, an entry against George Gaunson, 'Cash for penalty per current account, £4, 2s. 2d.:' what does that mean?-He was summoned to court for some wrecked timber that he was in possession of, and that was his penalty, which was paid by me for him.

8787. You entered that to his debit?-Yes. What meant by 'current account' is, that I paid the money at Lerwick, and it was charged to me at current account, and I gave Hay & Co. credit for it in my book at Fetlar.

8788. How many tons of dry fish did you sell from Fetlar last year?-We sold the following quantities for 1871:

Tons. Cwt. Qrs. Lbs.
Ling, 32 2 3 11
Tusk, 5 2 1 22
Cod, 3 16 3 17
Saith, 0 18 2 15

8789. Had you only ten boats' crews fishing for you last season?- There were eleven boats.

8790. Did they contain sixty-six men, or were some of them smaller boats?-Some of them were smaller boats, with only five men. For instance, in Laurence Donaldson's boat, although there were only six men, there were five shares, because two boys count for a share.

8791. How many women and boys had you employed in curing at Fetlar?-We had eight men and boys-no women.

8792. Have the beach boys got accounts in the ledger also?-Yes. They are all in one place. [Shows.]

8793. The first is Laurence Brown. His fee was 10s., and, after debiting his out-takes, he received 7s. 31/2d. in cash in full?-Yes.

8794. The next is John Sinclair, jun.; after debiting his out-takes, he received 8s. 4d. in cash?-Yes.

8795. The next is John Coutts, who received 9s. 6d.?-Yes.

8796. The next is James Laurenson; his fee was only 5s., and he received 14s. 11/2d. in cash?-Yes.

8797. The next is Arthur James Tulloch; his fee was 16s., and he received 6s. 21/2d.?-Yes; he was only employed during part of the season. I think I had eight besides him.

8798. The next is Peter Sinclair; he had a fee of 10s., and, after deducting his out-takes, he received 6d. in cash in full, but he had received 19s. 6d. in cash during the season?-Yes.

8799. The next is George Laurenson; his fee was £4 and he received £1, 14s. 6d. in cash at settlement, and sundry small sums in cash have been paid to him in the course of the year?- Yes. He was a young lad, about sixteen years of age, I think.

8800. The next is Robert Johnston; his fee was 15s., and he received 7s. 1d. in cash at settlement, having received 5s. 4d. in cash during the season?-Yes.

8801. The next is George Donaldson; his fee was 10s. and he received 9s. 1d. in cash at settlement?-Yes.

8802. He seems to have got a number of loaves and biscuit?-Yes. His supplies were almost entirely for food.

8803. There are also the accounts of two men here; one of them is Magnus Brown. Is he one of your principal curers?-Yes.

8804. His fee, called beach-fee was £8, 5s., and he received 17s. 41/2d. in cash at settlement?-Yes. He received £1 at the commencement, and the next entry is 6s. 9d. paid for purchase at sale. That was purchase at a sale of wreck, which was paid for him by me, and was the same as cash. Including that purchase at the sale, he received about 30s. in cash in the course of the season.

8805. The next is Arthur N. Henderson: was the other beach-man?-Yes.

8806. His fee was £5; he received £1, 6s. 3d. in cash at settlement, and 4s. 6d. was paid to him during the season?-Yes.

8807. Were these all your beach people?-Yes.

8808. Why are they not paid weekly wages?-They could have it in that way if they wanted it. It would be all the same to us; I don't see any difference.

8809. Why do they not want it?-I don't think there is any particular reason, except that they don't wish it in that way.

8810. Do you think they would rather have it settled for at the end of the year?-I think so.

8811. Are not the people that Messrs. Hay employ in the curing at Lerwick paid weekly wages?-Yes.

8812. But at all the stations, I suppose, they are paid by beach fees?-Yes; and these are paid at the end of the year.

8813. The books which you keep at Fetlar are, first, the wet fish book, in which each boat's crew has the amount of each delivery of fish entered?-Yes.

8814. Then you have another fish book showing the amount of dry fish shipped by your different vessels?-Yes; that book [showing] is for the season of 1871.

8815. Do you begin to ship so early as June?-Yes. The men generally catch a few fish in winter now, and these are shipped first. The wet fish that are caught in winter are not in the book I have brought.

8816. Have you a separate book for your winter fish?-Yes.

8817. What quantity of winter fish do you generally sell?-I cannot say exactly; but for about two years I have had only about 2 or 21/2 tons of dry fish. They are cured along with the first fish caught in the spring, and sent down.

8818. Then the shipment on June 6th of 4 tons 7 cwt. of ling will include some summer fish as well?-Yes, spring fish.

8819. The only other book you keep is the ledger?-Yes, and the goods account book-a book for the goods and the expenses on the fish-curing.

8820. How do you keep your goods account book?-I enter every invoice as it comes from Lerwick, and against them I enter my returns.

8821. All your sales of goods are entered under the names of the parties to whom they are sold?-Yes.

8822. And that is the only entry of sales you make?-Yes. We don't enter what we get ready money for.

8823. You do not keep a waste day-book?-No.

8824. How do you balance the accounts with your fishermen?- The ledger will show.

8825. Is that done by you, or by some one from, Lerwick?- Always by some one from Lerwick.

8826. How long does it generally take to get all your fishermen settled with?-Not long; I think about three days.

8827. Some one comes from Lerwick, and the fishermen come to the office and are settled with in his presence and in yours?-Yes.

8828. Are the accounts read over to the men, or do they generally have a pass-book?-They are generally read over. Some carry a pass-book, and some do not.

8829. Are they always read over?-I don't think they are always read over. Generally I read them, over before the men come up to settle, so as to have them added up and ready.

8830. The ledger is written up from day to day as the goods are taken out?-Yes, perhaps twice or thrice, in a day.

8831. And the fisherman signs at settlement?-Yes.

8832. He signs also when there is a balance against him, which sometimes happens?-Yes.

8833. Have Messrs. Hay & Co. a spirit licence for the sale of whisky?-No.

8834. Do you not sell whisky at till?-No, not unless a man asks me to order it for him; and that [Page 215] goes into the current account at Lerwick, and is a separate thing altogether from the ordinary dealings.

8835. Is there no public-house in the island?-None.

8836. Do you buy hosiery at the store in Fetlar?-None.

8837. Are there any entries in this book [showing] relating to the purchase of kelp?-The parties who work the kelp have accounts in the book, and the kelp is credited to them there.

8838. How many people are employed gathering kelp in Fetlar?- There is no one regularly employed, only those who are ready to make it.

8839. Have Messrs. Hay & Co. a tack of the kelp shores?-No; it is done by any one who wishes to make it.

8840. And the entries are made to the credit of the women who gather it and burn it?-Yes.

8841. From how many of them have you made purchases during last year?-Only from about half a dozen. I have only purchased about 28 cwt. of it.

8842. What is the price paid for it?-4s. 6d. a cwt.

8843. Is that generally taken out in goods?-No.

8844. Do you pay 4s. 6d. when it is paid in cash?-Just the same; I make no difference.

8845. Do you not have two prices for it as they have in some places?-No; it is all the same to me whether they take money or goods. I should like them to take the goods, no doubt, but I don't compel them.

8846. In Robina Fraser's account I see that she has got more money than she has given kelp for: why was that?-She made a promise to work more, but she has not done it yet.

8847. Have you ever tried to send out a number of men to the winter fishing in large boats from Fetlar?-No.

8848. Do you consider that would be impracticable?-I think so. The coast is rather tempestuous, with heavy tides, and I don't think they would make anything of it.

8849. Do you purchase cattle and other farm stock for Messrs. Hay?-I purchase fat cattle at Martinmas, but only from the people privately. I bought eleven last Martinmas.

8850. Are these generally credited to the sellers in the ledger, or are they paid for in cash?-They are paid for in cash at the time when the cattle are taken away.

8851. Do any of these purchases appear in the ledger?-No.

8852. Are the rents on Lord Zetland's property in Fetlar collected by you?-No, they are generally collected by the man who comes up to settle with the fishermen.

8853. Are separate receipts given for them?-Yes.

8854. Does he also settle for the cattle?-No, I generally settle for the cattle myself.

8855. So that the cattle do not enter the rent account?-Sometimes they do. Sometimes they wish me to send on the amount to Hay & Co, to be credited in the next account.

8856. Of the eleven cattle which you purchased last year, would some be settled for in that way?-Yes. I cannot say how many, but I think four.

8857. You have no books showing that?-None here.

8858. They will be in the possession of Messrs. Hay; or have you a cattle-book?-No; I don't have one.

8859. Do the purchases of cattle pass through your current account with Hay & Co.?-Yes.

8860. Have you a private account of your own?-My account is in the ledger, but we have a current account besides that. That current account contains whatever comes from Lerwick, charged at the Lerwick retail prices, and then all my returns of money or anything are put to the current account.

Mid Yell, January 17, 1872, GEORGE GAUNSON, examined.

8861. You are a fisherman in Fetlar, and a tenant on Lord Zetland's property?-I am.

8862. Are you at liberty to fish for any one you please?-I don't know; we get as good a price from Messrs. Hay as we would get from any one else, and we fish for them.

8863. Is there any one else on the island who would buy your fish?-There is only one man on the east side, Jerome Brown, who takes a little besides Messrs. Hay's people.

8864. But you don't know whether you are at liberty to fish for Brown or not?-I don't know.

8865. Did you make any arrangement about fishing when you took your land?-I did not.

8866. How long have you held it?-I think I have been 28 or 30 years in the island.

8867. Have you fished every year during that period?-Sometimes I fished, and sometimes I was at sea.

8868. But when you have been at home you have always fished, and sold your fish to Messrs. Hay at the current price at the end of the season?-Yes.

8869. Have you generally found that you had balance in your favour at the end of the season?-Yes, very often; but it did not matter, because when I wanted anything, whether money or goods or meal, I always got it. Very often we had no money for the house, but we always got supplies from them.

8870. Where do you sell your cattle and your eggs, and other farm stock?-We sell them just wherever we can get any person to buy them. There are cattle dealers and other persons who come about buying them.

8871. Do you sell oftener to them or to Messrs. Hay?-It makes very little difference; when we have any cattle to sell, whenever any one comes round he gets them.

8872. Did you ever sell a beast to anybody but Messrs. Hay?- Yes; many a time. I have sold some horses to lots of people who were going about. I have sold some to Mr. Thomas Williamson, in Yell. I think he got the last one I sold; it was in February. It was a little horse.

8873. Who have you sold your cattle to?-Sometimes to Messrs. Hay's people, and sometimes to any other people who came round asking for them.

8874. Did you ever sell them to anybody except Messrs. Hay?-I have.

8875. When?-Some time before this.

8876. How long ago?-Last year I had none but the horse.

8877. Do you sell one or two beasts every year?-No; some years I sell none at all, and some years only one.

8878. Where do you sell your eggs?-Just anywhere that we can get the best price for them.

8879. Do you sell them generally to Messrs. Hay?-No; sometimes not.

8880. Is there anybody else in Fetlar who buys eggs?-Yes; Mr. William Tulloch buys some.

8881. Has he a small shop?-It is not a great deal of a shop that he has. He deals in cottons and such as that, and he buys eggs. I get 6d. a dozen for them sometimes, and sometimes perhaps 7d.

8882. Did you sell most of your eggs last year to Mr. Tulloch or to Mr. Garrioch?-I could not say. I don't deal much in that way myself.

8883. You leave that to your wife?-Yes.

8884. Do you always get your supplies from Hay Co.?-Yes. I never deal with Tulloch or Brown, and there is no other shop in the island that is worth going into.

8885. But are there any other shops at all except Tulloch's and Brown's?-I daresay some woman would sell some things sometimes, but they would not be of any account.

8886. Do you know where Tulloch and Brown, and that woman you speak of, get the goods they sell don't know.

[Page 216]

8887. Do you generally get a good quality of stuff from Hay & Co., at a fair price?-Yes; they are very fair prices.

8888. Have you ever got goods at Lerwick?-Yes.

8889. Do you find the goods supplied at Hay & Co.'s shop in Fetlar to be as good and as cheap its those you get in Lerwick?- Yes; I have no reason to complain about that.

8890. What was the price of meal that you have been buying lately?-It is much the same as we get it at in Lerwick; sometimes it little higher and sometimes a little cheaper. I think last season it was generally about 20s. per boll for oatmeal; but I don't remember about that particularly.

8891. Do you have to keep up your own houses and your own fences?-Yes; the house I am living in was built when I came to it, and it is the same yet; we have to keep it in good order.

8892. The landlord does not do that for you?-I don't know; but the last time something was done to the house it was put down to Lord Zetland's account.

8893. Are most of the tenants on Lord Zetland's property in Fetlar fishing for Messrs. Hay?-I suppose most of them do.

8894. Do they generally understand that they are under any obligation to fish for them?-I don't think so; but it would make very little difference fishing for any other body, when we would get the same price from them.

8895. You don't think of curing your own fish, then?-No.

8896. Where do the Fetlar people sell their hosiery?-Generally in Lerwick; they go down there with it. My family do not knit much, because they have no wool, unless they get some to buy.

8897. What is paid for wool?-Sometimes it is 2s. per lb. for fine wool, sometimes 1s. 6d., and so on.

8898. Do you get that from your neighbours?-There are not many neighbours near us who have any sheep.

8899. Where do you buy it, then?-Sometimes we go to Lerwick and buy it, and sometimes in Yell.

8900. Is there no shop in Fetlar where you can buy it?-No.

8901. Where do you buy it in Lerwick?-I don't know; I do not buy it myself. They buy it just at any place where they can get it best.

8902. To whom do you pay your rent?-To Hay & Co.

8903. Is it deducted from your account when you settle?-Yes.

8904. Have you ever tried the winter fishing?-No; they don't do much in that with us. They might catch some in winter, but not many. They have generally a long way to go to seek them, and it requires particularly good weather to go out with the little boats.

8905. Have you not large enough boats for the winter fishing?- No.

8906. Do you think you could do anything if you had large decked boats?-I don't know; they have never tried them there. They might do something with them, but I don't think they would pay very well.

8907. Have your rents been raised lately?-No; they were raised a little about eight or nine years ago.

8908. Was there any different arrangement made at that time about the fishing?-No.

8909. Have you ever known any man in Fetlar who had to pay liberty money for freedom to sell his fish to another than the tacksman or factor?-No.

8910. And no man in your time has been put out of his ground for fishing to another?-No; I never heard of anything of the kind in Fetlar, either on Lord Zetland's or Lady Nicholson's ground.

Mid Yell, January 17, 1872, WILLIAM STEWART, examined.

8911. You are a tenant and fisherman at Seafield, Mid Yell?- Yes. Kirkabister is the town I live in.

8912. Who is your landlord?-Mrs. Budge.

8913. To whom do you sell your fish now?-I have sold them this year to Mr. Thomas Williamson.

8914. Who did you sell them to last year?-To Mr. Laurence Williamson, Linkshouse.

8915. Why did you leave him?-Because Mr. Sievwright, Mrs. Budge's factor, wished us to do it.

8916. Did you get a letter from him about the fishing?-Yes.

8917. Have you got it?-Yes. [Produces the following letter]:

'<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 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.'

8918. Is that the only letter you have got on the subject?-The only one.

8919. Have you a written tack?-No.

8920. You hold your land from year to year?-Yes.

8921. Have you, since you received that letter, fished for Mr. Thomas Williamson?-Yes, in the spring and summer.

8922. And in winter?-In winter there was not a great deal doing.

8923. But what fish you did catch, what did you do with them?-I believe we sometimes went to Mr. Laurence Williamson and sometimes to Mr. Thomas Williamson with them, just as it suited.

8924. When you received that letter, had you made any arrangement to fish for the following year?-No.

8925. Had you not arranged to fish for Mr Laurence Williamson?-No, not for myself.

8926. Nor for any one else?-No. There were none of our boat's crew who had made any arrangement with Laurence Williamson, so far as I know; but the other boat's crew I think had made some sort of arrangement. There are only two boats' crews that belong to Mrs. Budge's property.

8927. How many tenants are there on her property?-I think there were formerly 23, but now there are only either 21 or 22.

8928. Mr. Sievwright speaks in his letter about the business premises at Seafield: what do you understand by that?-The shop and the station.

8929. Are there a merchant's shop and a curing station at Seafield?-Yes.

8930. Were they not let previously to the time when that letter was written?-No.

8931. Do you get the same price from Mr. Thomas Williamson that Mr. Laurence Williamson used to give you?-Yes.

8932. That was the current price at the end of the year?-Yes.

8933. But you have got your goods from him instead of buying them from Laurence Williamson?-For myself I did; but I think some of the men bought their goods from Lerwick.

8934. Were these men paid in cash?-Yes.

8935. Was Mr. Thomas Williamson's shop [Page 217]the nearest place to your house where you could get goods?-Yes.

8936. Did you take your goods from him before you fished for him?-Sometimes. I had a sort of running account at his shop. I was doing bits of jobs for him, and sometimes I got money, and sometimes I took some of his goods.

8937. But you did not do so much with him before as after you got that letter?-No; the principal part of my dealing was for the fishing.

8938. But you did not buy so many goods from him before last winter?-Certainly not.

8939. Did you buy from Mr. Laurence Williamson then?-I did, because I was keeping a running account with him then.

8940. Do you keep a running account with him now?-I was forced to do that, because I was not clear with him when I went to fish for Mr. Thomas Williamson.

8941. Were you therefore forced to keep a running account with him?-I was not in any way forced, but the account was not cleared up, because I did not have the means.

8942. Have you added to it since then?-Not much.

8943. But it is not paid up?-It is not; I have never been able to do it.

8944. Do you ever sell any beasts off your ground?-I sold one at 1st May last year, at the sale.

8945. Who was the purchaser?-Mr. Thomas Williamson.

8946. Was that at a sale at Mid Yell for the whole country?-The sale to which I went was at Cullivoe for North Yell.

8947. Had you promised Mr. Thomas Williamson the beast before you went?-No. When I went I was at liberty to sell it to any one I liked, but he bought the beast at the roup.

8948. Did anybody else bid for it?-No.

8949. Was it marked?-No. It never was entered into the bill of sale at the roup.

8950. But were the horns of the beast marked at any time?-I don't know.

8951. Why was it not entered in the bill of sale?-I made an agreement with Williamson just to take it away at the price I fixed. He said he would give what I asked for it. I asked £5, and I sent the beast home, and he gave me that for it.

8952. That took place in the first season you fished for Mr. Thomas Williamson?-Yes.

8953. By that time, I suppose, he had a little account against you?-I don't think it would be much. About that time the spring fishing was finished, and I don't think there was very much either way between us. I don't think I had much to give him, or that he had much to give me.

8954. Have you a pass-book?-No.

8955. How was the price of that beast paid?-It was remitted to Mr. Sievwright for my previous year's rent.

8956. Why had you not paid it before?-Because I had not the means.

8957. Had Mr. Sievwright been asking you for your rent before?- Yes. When he was here at Hallowmas I offered him the beast, and he told me to keep her until any time when I was aware that cattle would be at the best price.

8958. Did he say anything to you about selling it?-No. I just sold it to Mr. Williamson, and he remitted the money to Mr. Sievwright.

8959. Was that arranged between you and Mr. Sievwright, or between you and Mr. Williamson?-It was arranged between Mr. Williamson and me that he was to send on the money.

8960. Did Williamson ask you to agree to that arrangement?-No; I asked him to do it for me, because he was in the habit of writing to Mr. Sievwright oftener than me.

8961. Had you paid your rent through Mr. Williamson before, or have you done it since?-No.

8962. Have you paid your rent that was due at November?-I have not paid it yet. I intended to be in Lerwick before this time, but I have not been able to get.

8963. Have you settled with Mr. Williamson for the last year's fishing?-Yes. I think I had £6, 14s. to get, and I got it in cash.

8964. Did none of that go to pay your rent?-It is lying yet to go. I have it in my possession, because I have not seen Mr. Sievwright since.

8965. What price do you pay for meal at Seafield?-I think the first I got was 22s. 6d. I think the last was much about the same, but there might be a difference of 6d. or so.

8966. Was it of good quality?-It was very good.

8967. Where does your wife sell her eggs?-Anywhere that she can get the best tea, from Lerwick north to Seafield.

8968. Does she always sell them for tea?-For tea, or any small thing she can get.

8969. Are these sales settled for at the time?-Yes; they are settled right away.

8970. How much tea will she get for a dozen eggs?-I cannot tell, because I leave all these matters to her.

8971. Where does she sell her knitting?-She does not do much of that.

8972. Has she an account of her own?-No; she never had.

8973. Is there any kelp gathered here?-Very little.

8974. Who buys it?-Mr Thomas Williamson has bought some for a year or two back but I don't think he bought any last year. My eldest daughter was employed for two years in working at it in the summer time, and I think she had an account for it; but I don't know much about that.

8975. Were you at one time a tenant in Whalsay?-Yes.

8976. When did you leave it?-In 1862.

8977. Up till that time you were a tenant under Mr. Bruce of Simbister?-Yes.

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 just had 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. 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 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 [Page 218] 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 that time?-With every one.

8991. When did that system cease?-I think it ceased about a year after I came here about 1863.

8992. Why did you leave Whalsay?-There was new division of the land, and I did not consider that I was getting a good farm. I was personally acquainted with Mr. Budge, who was leaving the island then and coming to this property, and I came along with him.

Mid Yell, January 17, 1872, LAURENCE WILLIAMSON, examined.

8993. You are a merchant in this neighbourhood?-Yes; at Linkshouse, Mid Yell.

8994. Have you been long in business there?-Nearly eight years.

8995. On whose property are your premises?-The late Robert Nevin Spence's property.

8996. Are there many tenants on it?-There are a few, but I could not tell the number exactly.

8997. Are they engaged in fishing?-Some of them are.

8998. Are they at liberty to fish to any one they please?-Yes.

8999. You were engaged in the fish-curing business to a certain extent?-Yes. I do very little in it now.

9000. Your business has been considerably reduced?-Yes.

9001. Has that been since Mr. Sievwright wrote the letter which was produced by the last witness?-Yes. Mrs. Budge's tenants were the men that I had fishing to me and when they went away I could not fill up my boats.

9002. Had you made arrangements with any men for the fishing of last season when they were taken away?-Yes. It was rather too late when they let me know they were going.

9003. How do you mean that they were too late?-They commonly make up their boats' crews about Hallowmas or Martinmas, at the time of settlement, and one of the crews had agreed to fish for me for the rising season, not knowing then that they were to be taken away. Of course they had to leave me, because they knew, or at least they believed, they would be differently dealt with if they did not leave.

9004. Did you make any objection to them leaving after having struck a bargain with you?-Yes, I slightly objected to it; but, of course, I could not help it.

9005. In what way did you object?-The men who formed that boat's crew had signed a sort of written agreement that they were to fish for me in the rising year, on the same terms as they had agreed with me before. Sometimes they don't have a written agreement, only a verbal one, but on this occasion there was written agreement entered into.

9006. I suppose a verbal agreement is the usual way of arranging for the season's fishing?-Yes, generally.

9007. Did these men happen to have a written agreement?-Yes; we had a little bit form drawn up and agreed to.

9008. Had you any reason for having a written agreement at that time?-I was rather doubtful in my own mind that they would be leaving me, or rather that they would be forced to leave.

9009. Was that because there had been some talk about Mr. Thomas Williamson getting these fishermen?-The talk was not about Mr. Thomas Williamson at that time, but about Mr. Magnus Mouat. I think his name was mentioned when the talk commenced about the men leaving.

9010. But you did not insist in your objection to your agreement with the men being departed from?-No.

9011. Was that for fear of injuring the men?-Yes. Of course I saw that I could not legally hold them.

9012. Why? If they had agreed to fish for you, were they not bound to fulfil their bargain?-I thought I could not legally hold them, and I just let them go.

9013. Were you not afraid of them suffering for it if they fulfilled their bargain with you?-They must have suffered for it too.

9014. Did you make any representation on the subject to Mr. Sievwright?-No. The only communication I had was with the men themselves.

9015. How many men did you lose in that way?-Twelve.

9016. Were some of these men in your debt at the time?-Some of them were. They had a sort of running account.

9017. Have you any men fishing for you this year at all?-For the rising year I believe we will have two or three boats' crews.

9018. Had you any last year?-We had two. I and another man are in a sort of company, and we had two boats last year-one each.

9019. Did you find that the fact of Mrs. Budge's tenants leaving you and going across the water materially affected your business in the shop?-I cannot say that it injured it very much.

9020. But it would make some difference?-I don't think it made a great deal.

9021. Were not their accounts taken away from you?-There are a good many of them who deal with me still, but not to the same extent.

9022. From what quarter did you get your fishermen who engaged with you for the rising season?-From the parish of North Yell. That is the next parish to this.

9023. How far do they live from you?-Some of them are 10 miles from here.

9024. What estates are they on?-I could hardly tell, except about some of them.

9025. Have any of these men accounts for supplies in your shop?-Yes; perhaps 4 or 5 of them.

9026. For whom were they fishing last year?-Some of them fished for Pole, Hoseason, & Co, and some for Spence & Co.

9027. Do you know why they are leaving these merchants?-I cannot say.

9028. Have you offered them better terms?-I don't think so. They hardly ever say what they have been getting before. We just make them an offer, and if they accept it we come to an understanding.

9029. Do you know whether any of them were indebted, at last settlement, to Pole, Hoseason, & Co., or Spence & Co.?-I cannot say.

9030. Are these men nearer to Greenbank than to you?-Yes, a great deal.

9031. Are your accounts with fishermen kept in a ledger?-I keep them in a sort of shop ledger. Each boat's crew has a company account, and each man has private account. [Produces ledger.]

9032. Your fish-book is a separate book?-Yes; with columns showing the weight of the fish delivered.

9033. What are these pages which you have turned down in your ledger?-They contain the account of William Stewart, who has just been examined.

9034. I see that for 1869 the balance of his account carried forward was £10, 0s. 41/2d., the total of his out-takes at the end of 1869, including that balance was £17, 8s. 11d. The balance due by him then was £6, 19s., after allowing £10, 9s. 11d. for his fish, which was reduced by half of skipper's fee £1, being a balance of £5, 19s. carried to the year 1870?-Yes.