16,894. What do you get for a boat of that size, such as you are in the habit of building?-22, 10s. That is just for the sh.e.l.l of the boat, with the ironwork attached to it. The men have the masts, sails, and oars to supply on their own responsibility.
16,895. How much would the mast and ropes and other fittings cost, including the sail?-I don"t know what quant.i.ty of ropes they would require, but with the yawls which are used in fishing in the Firth of Forth, it generally costs about 1, 10s. to fit them with mast and oars, and the necessary spar, without the sail. The sail, I think, would cost about 4.
16,896. You have seen a Shetland boat: have you any idea whether such a boat as is used there would cost more or less than a boat such as you have been speaking of?-The Shetland boats of the same size would not be half the value of our boats here.
16,897. Why?-Because the timber is inferior, and they are lighter. I might have 24 timbers in a side, when they would only have 10 or 12.
16,898. Are your boats built in the same style as the Shetland boats? Are they clinker-built?-Yes; but I don"t suppose they use the same materials. I think it is Norwegian timber they use; and if that is so, the cost of them would be considerably less.
16,899. About how much less would it be?-I cannot calculate that exactly, because wages there are less than they are here.
16,900. What would be the difference in the cost of the timber?
Would it be so much as one half?-No. Larch is about 14s. per 100 feet of planking, and the timber they use would be from 8s. to 10s.
16,901. I suppose boat-builders" wages are considerably less in Shetland and Caithness than here?-Yes; they are from 6s. to 8s.
a week less, at any rate. I pay 24s. here, and I should think that 16s. would be about their figure there.
16,902. How long will one of your boats last?-From seventeen to twenty years.
16,903. Is that the ordinary calculation as to the life of a boat?-It depends a great deal upon the kind of work they are put to. In some cases they do not last so long; but if they are preserved from accident, they may last for that time.
16,904. Will a Shetland boat, such as you have seen, last its long as that?-It will not last so long, according to my judgement.
16,905. Suppose it were used only for three or four months in the summer, would it last longer than it would do if it were more used?-Certainly it would.
16,906. But you think it would not last so long in any case its seventeen or eighteen years?-No. The frame is much weaker: there are fewer ribs in it than in our boats; because, while in a Shetland boat there might be a rib every 2 or 3 feet, I might have them 10 or 12 [Page 435] inches apart, and of course the ribs are the strength of the boat.
16,907. Would twelve or fourteen years be the outside of the life of a Shetland boat?-I would suppose that would be about as long as they could run them with safety.
16,908. About how much do you think it takes to keep up a boat of that size?-1s. a day during the time she is at work would keep her up amply.
16,909. Suppose she were at work for 100 days in the year, that would be 5. Do you mean to say that for every year a boat is at work she will require 5 for repairs to keep her up?-The Newhaven fishermen allow that for their 25 feet yawls. A sail is not supposed to last above five years, or not more than three years without repairs; and then they have the chance of breaking oars, or any other accident that may occur. The allowance of 1s. a day may be it little too much to cover all that; but there is an eighth share allowed for the repairs of a boat in the case of the large decked boats.
16,910. Are these the new boats which you have now got at Newhaven?-No, they are the boats which were built in Caithness nine or ten years ago. There is an eighth or a ninth share allowed to the owner to keep them up.
16,911. Is that a ninth share of the fish taken?-Yes, or of the money; but these Caithness boats are much dearer in price and of better value than the Shetland boats.
16,912. From whom do you generally take your orders for building boats? Is it from the fishermen or from the curers?-From the fishermen altogether. I built one for Westray, in Orkney, last year, and I also built a little one that went to Stromness.
16,913. Were these open boats or half-decked?-They were small boats of about 18 feet keel. The one that went to Westray, I built her for 14, because she was so light.
16,914. Do you think that 20 would be about the cost of one of the Shetland six-oared boats ready for sea?-I would think they were not too dear at that, if the sail and everything was provided.
16,915. Do you know anything about the practice of hiring boats to fishermen on any part of the coast?-Yes. I was twelve years at the herring fishing at Wick, and I knew about it there.
16,916. But the boats you had there were of a different cla.s.s?- Yes, they were far better boats than the Shetland boats. I had a boat myself that cost me 94.
16,917. Are you able to say what would be a fair hire to charge for one of the Shetland six-oared boats?-No; it depends altogether on the material of which the boat is made. If I had seen the boat, I could at once have given an opinion.
16,918. Suppose a fisherman was hiring one of the boats such as you have seen for a season, that is, for about 31/2 months in summer, what would be a fair rate of hire to pay, supposing the boat had cost 20?-The boat would require about one half of a man"s share, whatever was the income, unless they made a bargain for so many pounds for the three months, or the two months, or whatever period was fixed.
16,919. Would 2, 10s. be an extravagant hire for that period?-I don"t think it would.
Edinburgh, April 18, 1872, DONALD DAVIDSON, examined.
16,920. What are you?-I am a fish-curer in Burntisland.
16,921 Were you for a long time in the employment of Mr.
Methuen?-Yes.
16,922. Have you again gone into his employment?-Yes.
16,923. Are you acquainted with the system of agreements between the fish-merchants and fishermen throughout all the Scotch fishings, both on the east and west coast?-Yes; I have had a good deal of experience of them.
16,924. Had you anything to do with Mr. Methuen"s fishing transactions in Shetland?-Not particularly. I occasionally sent stock there when ordered, such as empty barrels and salt to supply the stations.
16,925. How long is it since these stations were given up?-About two years ago, I think.
16,926. Do you refer to the stations in the Sandwick district?- Yes.
16,927. Had Mr. Methuen any shop there?-No.
16,928. Do you know how the fishermen there got their supplies during the fishing season?-I understand that a party who held the land where the fishermen resided agreed for the boats with the proprietor, and paid the proprietor at the end of the season, and then the proprietor settled with the men. If they required any goods during the fishing season, I think they got a line from the proprietor to go to the shops in Lerwick or Scalloway for them.
16,929. But I thought it was Mr. Methuen who agreed the boats?- I think that most of the boats that he had were agreed in that way.
16,930. Had he an agent in Shetland?-Yes. The men who fished for him belonged to a certain district, and the proprietor of that district had a control over the boats, and it was him who arranged with Mr. Methuen.
16,931. Do you know whether Mr. Methuen"s agent there was in the habit of giving lines to the fishermen to enable them to get supplies from the shops in Lerwick?-I am not aware of that.
16,932. I thought that was what you said?-No; it was the proprietor of the land in the district where Mr. Methuen had the fishing station that gave the lines to the fishermen.
16,933. Was that Mr. Bruce of Sandlodge?-Yes.
16,934. Were Mr. Methuen"s arrangements to get these boats to deliver their fish to him all made with the proprietor?-Yes.
16,935. Then he had no direct agreement with the fishermen?-I understand not.
16,936. Have you any personal knowledge about that?-The information I received was from the men who had charge there for Mr. Methuen.
16,937. Are any of these men now in Edinburgh?-I don"t think they are.
16,938. Do you know whether Mr. Methuen was in the habit of making payments to the fishermen during the fishing season, or whether all his payments to the fishermen were made at the end of the season?-I understand that if any advance was given to the men, it was given through the proprietor, Mr. Bruce.
16,939. What is the nature of the contract entered into with the men employed in the cod and ling fishing in Lewis and the western islands?-The boats are agreed at a certain time, sometimes in March, to commence to fish about 20th May, and they get so much per cran and so much of bounty.
16,940. Have you made such contracts yourself, both on your own and on Mr. Methuen"s account?-Yes; but princ.i.p.ally for Mr.
Methuen.