681. But you were obliged to weigh them in order to find out how much was Mr. Bruce"s share?-We were obliged to weigh the fish in order to know how they were to be divided among ourselves, and they had to lie for a whole day until weights were got.
682. Do you know how much money Leslie got for his fishing?-I think the whole amount was pretty nearly 26; but then he had expenses for salt and cure to be taken from that-perhaps 30s.
683. He would also have his own time and trouble to allow for?- He had a lad for curing the fish; that is included in the 30s. Of course Leslie would have some more trouble with it than we had.
684. That makes a difference of 6, 10s. between you, whereas you said the difference was about 5?-There may be some difference of that kind; I am not exactly sure to a few shillings.
685. Was there no objection made to Laurence Leslie going in the boat with you?-They did not know that he was, not to fish for Mr. Bruce until we commenced the fishing, and then they could not object; but Mr. Bruce"s rule is, that he won"t take part of a boat. The whole boat must be for him; and in that way there have been men who have been forced to part company who were nearly as bad to part as man and wife.
686. After the boat"s crew was made up, was any objection taken to Leslie fishing with you?-They could not object then, because we had begun to the fishing, [Page 14] and they could not get another man to take his place, even although they had objected.
687. Do you keep a pa.s.s-book, at Mr. Bruce"s store for the supplies you get for your house?-No; it would be of no use for me to do so.
688. Why?-Because I do not know the prices of the goods, and they won"t mark them down themselves.
689. But they would mark the quant.i.ties of the articles you got, would they not?-No; they would not be bothered with that.
690. Have you ever asked for a pa.s.s-book?-Yes; I had a pa.s.s-book, and I had to drop it, because Irvine said he would not be bothered with it.
691. Does Mr. Irvine keep the store himself?-Yes.
692. Does he collect the rents on the property?-No; Mr. Bruce carries through the annual accounting himself.
693. When you go to settle with him, the books of the store are all made up by Mr. Irvine; and does Mr. Bruce state the balance to you?-Yes.
694. Does he show you how it is made up?-Mr. Irvine tells us the amount we have had from the store, and hands that in to Mr.
Bruce. Mr. Bruce enters that against us along with the rent, and tells us the balance.
695. What means have you for checking that statement of his?
How do you know whether it is correct or not?-We don"t have the chance of knowing whether is correct or not.
696. Do you not know how much goods you have got?-Perhaps we might; but we cannot know the price of the goods.
697. But you might know how much goods you have got, and how much fish you have delivered, and how much you have to pay?- But we don"t know the price of the goods.
698. Do you not know the price of the goods at the end?-We hear it read over as fast perhaps as it can be read.
699. Do you not get a copy of it?-Not of the shop account.
700. Have you ever asked for one?-No.
701. I thought you told me that you had a copy for some years?- Yes; from Mr. Bruce, but not from Mr. Irvine, for the store. I have had a copy of my account from Mr. Bruce for the whole thing, and it contained a sum for the goods got from the store; but it was all one sum.
702. It is a slump sum, and does not show the different articles?- Yes; that is the account which I promised to send.
703. You say you have asked for a pa.s.s-book, and have been refused it?-Yes; I had one, and Mr. Irvine threw it back again, and said he would not be bothered with it.
704. When was that?-I think about two years ago.
705. You brought a pa.s.s-book and handed it to Mr. Irvine, and asked him to put your account into it as the articles were furnished, and he refused to do so?-Yes; I wished to have a knowledge of how I was going on.
706. When does the annual settlement take place?-Generally in February or March.
707. Where do you meet for the purpose of settling?-At Sumburgh, at Mr. Bruce"s office.
708. Has he an office in his own house?-Yes.
709. Are all the people summoned to meet there on a particular day?-There are certain men called for a particular day, according as he can get through them,-so many men for each day.
710. How long does it take you to settle with him?-Perhaps three or four hours. It is possible I might be three or four hours with him myself. Generally three men go in a boat, and the three men would probably take six hours, or perhaps only four hours.
711. You said there were six men in your boat last year?-Yes, there were six in our boat, but three is the usual number in the smaller boats.
712. And they will perhaps all go together to Mr. Bruce?-Yes, the men in every boat go together; and Mr. Bruce gives us every chance of being satisfied with our accounts that he possibly can.
713. Except giving you a note of them?-He will give us a note.
714. A short note; but he won"t give you the full account?-We don"t get the full account from the shop, but that, of course is not in Mr. Bruce"s hand.
715. He only gets the sum-total due at the shop?-Yes; and he has the rest in his own books. The rest of the balance is in his own hand, and of course he gives us every satisfaction about it.
716. But the shop is his too?-Yes.
717. Did you ever ask him to let a pa.s.s-book be allowed you, or an account to be given you at the shop?-No; I never asked him for that.
718. Did you ever complain to him that you did not get it?-No.
719. Did you ever complain about any of the sums brought out in the shop account as not being due by you?-No, I could not do that, because I could scarcely tell whether it was right or wrong.
720. In fact you trusted to the honesty of the shopkeeper?-I was obliged to do that.
721. Then you say that you never see any statement of your account for goods supplied to you at the shop at all?-None, except the total. The total is handed in to Mr. Bruce at settling time.
722. Is there anything else you wish to say?-There is one thing I would like to ask. In consequence of my coming here, I expect nothing but that I will be turned off; and I would ask how I am to proceed.
723. I don"t think you need be afraid of that; but if there is anything done to you in consequence of the evidence which you have given here, you had better write and let me know. Of course I am only to be here for a short time; but it would be my duty to communicate the fact to some of my superiors. There is one other thing I would like to mention: that any amount of liberty would be of very little account in Shetland, so long as the proprietors have power to turn off men at any time when they have a mind to do so.
724. At the end of the summer fishing is there generally a balance in your favour at the accounting between you and the landlord?- Sometimes there is, and sometimes not. I believe I generally stand about half and half.
725. Do you mean that if your fishing is worth 18, your account at the store and your rent will be about 9 or 10?-No; there are some years in which my account at the store, and my rent, are above the whole amount of my year"s earnings,-while there are other years when my earnings are above my shop account and rent.
726. When the year"s earnings are less than your account, is the balance written down against you for the next year?-Yes.
727. Then that is an additional reason why you are bound to fish to your landlord, because when you are in his debt you cannot very well sell your fish to another?-If we had our liberty, we could sell our fish to another merchant.
728. But suppose you had liberty, would not the fact of your being in debt to your landlord still be a sort of obligation upon you to fish for him?-It would still bind us, of course.
729. Does that cause operate, in fact, to tie the fishermen to the same merchant?-When the men have had their liberty, that has been the case.