12,033. And with him, as you said, you settle every year?-Yes.
12,034. Are there many of these accounts in your business?- There may be some hundreds of them; I cannot say how many.
12,035. Does not every one of your customers open an account in that way?-Not every one; perhaps not above one-third of them.
12,036. You have an annual settlement with them?-When we get an annual settlement, we consider that to be very good.
Sometimes it does not come up to that; but we would like it every three months if possible.
12,037. Are many of your transactions settled by means of barter?-Not many.
12,038. In what way is that system of barter carried on with you?
Is it by the purchase of eggs and other produce?-Yes; eggs are looked upon as money. We make no difference upon the price of our goods whether they are paid for in eggs or money. With regard to hosiery, our trade is a mere nothing. I think would cover all that I buy in the year.
12,039. Do you pay for hosiery in cash at all?-No.
12,040. I suppose the system that prevails with you is very much the same as that which exists in Lerwick?-It is not the same as in that town at all. The difference is, that we do not manufacture goods to order. We merely buy them when they are offered to us, if they please us. I don"t think there is any other difference.
12,041. Is the price you fix for the hosiery generally such as to allow you a profit upon the sale of it?-It is not; sometimes we really pay more for it than we get.
12,042. But do you sometimes look for a profit upon it?-If we look for a profit we don"t get it out of the hosiery. If we have a profit, it must be upon the goods that are given in exchange for it, because we often sell hosiery below its value, according to its value here.
12,043. But I suppose you sell it below its real value only in consequence of some change in the market, or some miscalculation?-Perhaps that is the case; but, in point of fact, we don"t buy hosiery as a trade. We are forced to buy it. We don"t care for that trade at all, because we always lose by it.
12,044. In fixing the price to be given for the hosiery goods, don"t you endeavour to make it at such a figure as will at least keep you safe, and possibly allow you a small profit on the hosiery itself?-I cannot say that we do. We are forced to take the hosiery as a matter of business. We don"t deal in that at all, so to speak.
12,045. But don"t you endeavour to fix the price at such a figure as would allow you a profit?-Of course we do, so far as we can; but in many cases we sell the hosiery goods below what we paid for them.
12,046. Do you sell them in Lerwick, or send them south?-We send them to Scotland. We don"t sell them in Lerwick at all.
12,047. In what other departments of your business does a barter system prevail?-I may say that, except in eggs and hosiery, our trade is princ.i.p.ally for cash and we deal in barter for eggs because we look upon them as being the same as money.
12,048. Do you give the full price for eggs?-Yes.
12,049. Do you pay for them princ.i.p.ally in tea?-In anything the people want. It is all the same to us. If they want cash, and we pay a few shillings in cash, then we pay a halfpenny less per dozen for the eggs; but that is all the difference we make otherwise we treat them the same as cash.
12,050. Do you purchase a considerable quant.i.ty of eggs in that way?-I cannot state the amount exactly.
12,051. Do you send a box south by every steamer?-Yes, and sometimes more than that in the season. Perhaps we send a couple of boxes in the season when they are being brought in.
12,052. Do you send 10 or 20 dozen?-More than that. We can put, perhaps, from 70 to 100 dozen in a box, and we may have two such boxes a week in the season.
12,053. And these, as a rule, are all paid for in goods?-Yes.
12,054. At what time of the year do you generally get your accounts settled?-The fishermen settle their accounts generally about November or December.
12,055. Is that after having settled with the fishcurers?-Yes. I supply the men with what they want through the season until that time, and then they settle. Most of the men who deal with me cure their own fish, and sell them the best way they can.
12,056. Is it a common thing in your district for the fishermen to cure their own fish?-Yes; they have liberty to do that.
12,057. To whom are the sales of these fish made?-They sell them anywhere they choose. Sometimes they send them south, but princ.i.p.ally they sell them to Garriock & Co. The men are rather confined in that way. They don"t have exactly their free will to sell them, unless merely a little.
12,058. Do you mean that they have not their free will to sell their fish where they like?-They have that way; but where a proprietor is dealing in fish, the men are generally expected to sell to him.
12,059. Are Messrs. Garriock & Co. factors for some of the proprietors there?-Yes. They are factors for the estate of Dr.
Scott of Melby.
12,060. Do the men look upon themselves as being bound?-They are not really bound. They have a little liberty.
12,061. But they think they ought to sell their fish to Garriock & Co. rather than to another?-Yes, that is what is understood, but they are not really bound.
12,062. In what way have you observed that feeling among the men, that they ought to sell to Garriock & Co.? Do they sometimes speak of it to you?-If Garriock & Co. offered them the same price as other merchants, they consider they ought to give them the preference; that is the only way in which I have seen it.
12,063. Would they sell to Garriock & Co. if they were offered a less price?-I don"t think they would.
12,064. They would be independent enough not to agree to that?- I think so. But there is a confusion there. I could not enter into explanations upon that point fully.
12,065. Why?-Because I don"t think it is necessary.
12,066. But that is just the very point I want to know about. What have you to say with regard to it?-I know that sometimes, if I were offering the same price as Garriock & Co., I would not get the fish from the men.
12,067. Have you tried that recently?-I have.
12,068. Were you willing to resume the business of buying fish?- Certainly.
12,069. But the compet.i.tion of Garriock & Co. was too much for you?-Not the compet.i.tion, because I offered the same price, and perhaps even more, and could not get them.
12,070. Do you mean that Garriock & Co. had such an advantage over you, from their position as factors and proprietors in the district, that you could not venture to compete with them?-Yes, I ventured, and I could not get the fish.
12,071. Was that the reason why you gave up the fish-buying originally?-No, that was not the reason. I had some small vessels, and they were unsuccessful, and I just dropped out from the business.
12,072. But you think that the buying of the fish from the fishermen might be more remunerative lately than it was before?-I could not say about that; but the fishermen had the liberty to cure their own fish if they had liked, and then they sold them dry.
12,073. Was it dry fish that you proposed to purchase?-Yes. It was dry fish that I made the offer to buy, but we would not get them even if we had given the same price as Garriock & Co., or more.
12,074. How long is it since you offered to buy the dry fish?- Perhaps 4 or 5 years ago.
12,075. In what way did you make your intention known: did you offer to certain fishermen at that time [Page 297] to take their fish?-Yes. I have sometimes offered them to buy their fish, but I never could get them to sell them to me.
12,075. [sic] Do you remember any particular men to whom you made that offer?-I could not mention any particular man; but I have offered to several crews to buy their fish, and they would not sell them.
12,076. Do you remember what skippers you offered to?-If it is necessary to give names, I would rather do so in private. [Hands in the name of one skipper and crew.]
12,077. Do you remember any others?-I might mention several, but I don"t think it is necessary.
12,078. What answers did they give to your offer?-I sometimes offered the currency, or above the currency, but that did not matter: I could not get their fish.
12,079. Did they decline to entertain your offer?-Yes.