17,037. Did you ever hear of lines or goods being sold by knitters which they had got for their hosiery?-No, not lines. I have heard of them selling their goods, but I could not say whether it was true or not. I have not heard of that often.
17,038. When a merchant buys a fine shawl or a neck-tie or a lot of veils from a knitter, do you know whether he sells them in the south for a larger price than he pays?-I don"t know anything about that.
17,039. Have you ever bought shawls or veils in Edinburgh?-No.
17,040. Or priced them?-No.
17,041. Are the prices of goods in the Lerwick shops generally higher or lower than the prices you pay here for such goods, for instance, as cottons or petticoats-I am a stranger here, and I have not bought anything yet, except a piece of velvet, and I paid the same price for it here as I would have done in Lerwick.
Edinburgh, April 18, 1872, CHARLES FLEMING, examined.
17,042. What are you?-I am a draper to trade, and I am the buyer in that department for Messrs. M"Laren, Son, & Co., High Street, Edinburgh.
17,043. Is that a wholesale as well as a retail house?-Yes.
17,044. How many years" experience have you had in the business?-Eighteen years. I have been two years in my present position as buyer.
17,045. I suppose you are one of the largest buyers in that line in Scotland?-I believe we are, for the retail trade; but we are wholesale as well.
17,046. Do you buy for the wholesale trade, or only for the retail?-I buy for both.
17,047. I show you a piece of half-bleached cotton: what is the usual price of that as an article of retail trade?-It depends upon the width. There are a number of different widths, but the usual widths made are 29, 32, and 36 inches. It is also made 40 inches and wider, but these are not usually sold.
17,048. Can you tell from the sample what the width has been?- No.
17,049. What would be the proper retail price for the 29 inch width?-I should say 21/2d.
17,050. Would that be the fair price in a country district?-I think it would be a very fair price.
17,051. Would it not be legitimate to charge a somewhat higher rate in a remote district of the Highlands?-I think not, for an article such as this. That would be the outside stretch that it would be worth at the present time for 29 inches.
17,052. Is there anything narrower than that?-I am not aware of anything. That is the trade term for them; but I don"t know that they exactly measure the width which is named.
17,053. Would you be surprised to be asked 41/2d. a yard for that?-I think it would be very much out of the way.
17,054. What would be a fair price for it if it were 32 inches wide?-About 31/4d. a yard; and about 33/4d. for 36 inches.
17,055. In all these valuations, are you a.s.suming that the article is sold in a country district, and not in a large city establishment where there is a rapid turnover and great compet.i.tion?-Yes. I think that usually very little difference is made on that cla.s.s of stuff, wherever it is sold.
17,056. Is it a very common sort of article?-It is the most common thing of the kind that is made. It is generally used for an inter-lining for different parts of ladies" dress, being put between two other materials.
17,057. What would it be used for by working people in the country?-It might be used for lining dress skirts, or such as that.
17,058. I show you another piece of half-bleached cotton: is that also made of different widths?-Yes. The value of that, at 29 inches, would be 4d. a yard; at 32 inches, 51/4d.; and at 36 inches, 61/2d. It is made also in greater widths, but not usually sold, unless for some special purpose.
17,059. Of what greater width is it made?-It is made in 40 inches, and 48 and 54.
17,060. Would the price rise in proportion to the widths in the same ratio as in the three widths you have already mentioned?- Yes.
17,061. But 36 inches is the widest that is commonly sold?-Yes.
17,062. Is that used by fishermen for making oil-cloth?-It may be used for that purpose.
17,063. If used in that way, what width would most likely be selected?-36 inches would be the best width for cutting out. It is the most usual width made in this cla.s.s of stuff for almost any purpose. Although I am terming it 36 inches, it may measure less, perhaps 341/2 or 35 inches; and the same proportion with the other widths.
17,064. For 36 inches wide, would 8d. a yard be too high a price for that cotton?-I think it would be very dear at 8d. a yard, even at the present price of cotton.
17,065. Was the price in January higher or lower?-It was lower in January than now. There has been an advance of about 5 per cent. on cotton goods since then, and there has been a difference of 10 per cent. since October last. Cotton goods were very steady all last season until then.
17,066. I show you a piece of shirting: what value do you put upon that in the same way?-It is usually made in two widths, 32 and 36 inches. Those, of course, are the same as calicoes; they don"t measure exactly what the makers term them, but they are known as these widths. The 32 inches is the width princ.i.p.ally used, and this cla.s.s of stuff is about 63/4d. at the present time. I daresay had it been bought a couple of months ago it would have been 61/2d. In the other width it would be about 1d. more.
17,067. Would 1s. a yard be a high price for that?-It would be a very exorbitant price, in my judgement.
17,068. Would it be so in any part of the kingdom?-It would be so in any part of the world, I should say, either in or out of the kingdom. It would be a very extraordinary price to charge.
17,069. Is there no greater width than 36 inches?-Not in this cla.s.s of stuff, of this make. This is Glasgow-made stripe, and they don"t make them wider than 36. There is a Kirkcaldy stripe too, but it is different cla.s.s from this altogether.
17,070. Is that stuff used for making shirts for men?-That is what it is princ.i.p.ally used for. Country people also use it for what they term short-gowns and children"s dresses, and different things of that kind; but its princ.i.p.al use is for working-men"s shirts.
[Page 439]
INDEX.
ABERNETHY, Archibald (a.n.a.lysis of his evidence, p. 301), is a shopkeeper at Whiteness in Tingwall, 12,251; deals in eggs, b.u.t.ter, groceries, and soft goods, 12,252, 12,253; generally pays in goods, but gives money often for eggs, 12,254; buys fish green, and cures, 12,257; men prefer to have price of fish fixed at end of season, 12,259.
ADIE, Thomas Mountford (a.n.a.lysis of his evidence, p. 138), fish merchant at Voe (Olnafirth), 5593; as a rule, fishermen are engaged to deliver all their fish, and take the current price at the end of season, 5596; has once or twice made contracts to buy fish at fixed price from men, and found that they were discontented if afterwards the price of fish rose, and he was obliged to pay more than he had agreed, 5598-5601; thinks the price, if fixed at beginning of year, would be lower than they generally get at present, 5604; under it no advances could be made to men, 5608; buying of boats, 5609-5624; 3d. per cwt. more paid at Voe for fish to men having their own boats, 5610-5612; most men have an account at store, 5633; discount for cash payments, 5636; fishing lines, 5640-5646; bad debts are no advantage to merchant, 5655; men are now in great fear lest any change be made, 5657; smuggled fish, 5663; bucht lines, 5664-5666; men not compelled to take goods from store, 5679; fish the merchants" only security, 5685, 5686; price of meal, 5697-5700; curers have a very small profit on fish, 5704; Faroe fishing, 5726; hosiery, 5741; is always paid for in goods, 5742; there is no profit on it, 5743; does not think knitters would take a less price in cash, 5749; beach boys, 5751; tacksman has no profit on rents, 5767.
ADIE, William (a.n.a.lysis of his evidence, p. 210), son and partner of T. M. Adie (p. 138), 8640; there is an arrangement that when an indebted fisherman goes to another employer he is bound to pay the debt incurred to a former employer, 8641; cost of curing, 8660. (recalled, p. 213). Gives further evidence as to the cost of curing fish, 8750.
ADVANCES of cash during season, 815, 1177, 5030, 8587, 9390, 9544, 9600, 9868, 10,249, 10,631, 10,940, 11,172, 11,977, 12,589, 13,162, 13,322, 13,882, 14,782, 15,574, 15,911.
for boats and boat hires, etc., 3623, 3839, 5206, 5357, 5609, 6507, 6724, 7208, 9092, 9856, 10,139, 10,572, 11,879, 12,295, 12,957, 13,270, 13,396, 14,109, 14,933, 15,053, 15,095, 16,794, 16,890, 16,999.
AITKEN, Thomas (a.n.a.lysis of his evidence, p. 119), fisherman, Eastsh.o.r.e, Dunrossness, 4801; and tenant of house, 4802; is bound by writing to fish for landlord, 4803; thinks freedom in fishing would be an advantage, 4806; could get meal cheaper than at store, 4835; wages fixed by landlord, 4853-4855; must work for landlord because there is no one else to work for, 4855.
ALLOWANCES to indebted men, 12,641, 13,162, 13,179, 13,967.
ANDERSON, Andrew (a.n.a.lysis of his evidence, p. 166), fisherman at Hillyar, 6866; fishes for Mr. Laurence Smith, 6868; previously fished for a number of other dealers, 6869; changed employer frequently, because he got in debt and could not get supplies, 6875, 6876.
ANDERSON, Arthur (a.n.a.lysis of his evidence, p. 224), fisherman at Burravoe, 9271; formerly tenant and fisherman at Lunna, 9272; was bound to fish for tacksman, 9275; fishes now for Mr. Adie, 9284; deals generally with him, 9286; makes no complaint as to prices, 9299.
ANDERSON, David (a.n.a.lysis of his evidence, p. 316), fisherman and tenant in Skerries, 12,772, 12,773; bound to fish, 12,774; sells farm produce to curer, 12,778; has no wish for a change, 12,781; dealers" prices too high, 12,785.
ANDERSON, John (a.n.a.lysis of his evidence, p. 158), merchant and fish-curer at Hillswick, 6498; tacksman of estate of Ollaberry, 6499; men engaged for fishing paid current price at end of season, 6503; men having their own boats and being free from debt paid 6d. per cwt. extra for fish, 6507; ling fishing, 6523; does not think long settlements cause debt, 6537; does not think the fixing of a price at the beginning of season would be an advantage to the men, 6543; men under no obligation to deal at store, 6554; men smuggle a good deal, 6564; buys cattle and farm produce, 6583; generally pays for them in cash, 6585; beach boys, 6602; and curers paid at end of season, 6605; kelp, 6628-6640; paid either in cash or goods, 6631; hosiery, 6641; generally paid in goods, 6642, 6643; there is no profit on it, 6645; people generally ask goods, but this may be because they understand it is the custom to pay in kind, 6656; there would be no advantage in a cash system, 6671-6674; home-spun tweed usually paid in cash, 6681-6688; tea often taken by knitters, 6696; never knew goods exchanged for cash, 6697; lines, 6700; generally brought back by original holder, 6701; there is no impediment to the opening of other shops, 6707; is agent for Shipwrecked Mariners" Society, 6711; in the case of men losing a boat, would not stop the compensation money to pay shop account, but if they were indebted for the boat he would stop it, 6717-6722; boat-building, 6724; thinks a great boon to Shetland would be the introduction of a land bill, as at present a tenant improving his farm is liable to be ejected or have his rent raised at any moment, 6749; proprietors are unwilling to give leases, 6751.
ANDERSON, John (recalled, p. 189). There is an agreement amongst merchants, to protect them from attempts on the part of men to escape payment of debts, that they shall not engage the men without seeing that their debts are paid, 7776; dissents from evidence of Rev. Mr. Sutherland (p. 179), 7796; and thinks the people may be favourably compared with their equals in other places for frugality, foresight, and moral virtues, 7797-7800; it is not possible to introduce a more extensive system of winter fishing, 7804.