10,248. I suppose few of them care to keep pa.s.sbooks?-Some of them keep pa.s.s-books over the whole season, but others of them do not. Here [showing account in shop ledger] is a sample of the transactions for this season. The amount of that account is carried into the ledger, but the credits due to the man do not appear in the shop ledger.
10,249. Do you generally find the men applying to you for cash early in the year, before the fishing begins?-Not often. If they are requiring a few shillings they may ask for it, and get it, but I cannot say that they ever ask for much.
10,250. I see here an entry on January 5, "To biscuit, 1s. 2d.:" what quant.i.ty of biscuit would that be?-I suppose it would be 4 lbs. of what are called cabin biscuit.
10,251. "Tobacco, 1s. 1d?" -That would be a 1/4 lb. at 31/2d. an ounce and the man got 1d. off by taking a quant.i.ty.
10,252. "Tea, 11d.,:" is that the best quality of tea?-Yes. We have cheaper tea than that at 8d. and 10d.
10,253. Are Shetland people, I understand, are very particular about their tea?-Yes; and they are very good judges of it.
10,254. I see another entry on October, 28 " To meal, 2s. 10d.?"- That would be 16 lbs., or half a lispund.
10,255. On October 5 the meal was 5s, 9d., so that there had been a fall between that date and October 28?-Yes. There is often a rise and fall in the price of meal.
10,256. Where do you get your meal?-Generally from Aberdeen, from Glenny & Cruickshank, and Mr. Mess, and Mr. Walker, and Mr. Tulloch, all in Aberdeen. We generally get our flour from Messrs. Tod, Stockbridge.
10,257. I see an entry, "To meal per meal-book:" is that a separate book which you keep for meal?-Yes; it is a book we generally keep in the cellar, where the meal is weighed out. The meal is marked there at the time the people get it, and then it is entered as a whole in the ledger.
10,258. That is done to save repet.i.tion of entries in the lodger?- Yes. This [showing] is one of the accounts referred to by Mr.
Sandison, kept by six men on the station as a company, and it is in that account that we give them credit for 2s. per 20 weighs. We put it to their credit there, and then charge the men only for the balance in their accounts.
10,259. How is that credited in their account?-It has not been done yet. The crew have not settled.
10,260. But how would it be entered?-Just for an allowance.
10,261. You take the whole quant.i.ty of fish delivered, and calculate what the allowance is upon that?-Yes; on the quant.i.ties delivered of cod, tusk, and ling. We don"t allow it upon the saith.
10,262. Is the saith an inferior item in the season"s fishing?-It has been rather low for some years back until this year, but it has been rather better.
10,263. I see, under January 12, in Andrew Mouat"s account, "Paraffin oil, 5d." How much oil was that?-About 51/2 gills, I suppose.
10,264. What is the selling price of paraffin oil at your store?-2s.
a gallon.
10,265. How many gills are in a gallon?-32.
10,266. So that the price which Mouat paid for his oil was a little more than 2s. 6d. a gallon?- Yes, but the bottles are not all alike.
Some may hold 6 gills, and some only 51/2. We generally fill the bottle for 5d. when they bring it to us.
10,267. Where do you get your paraffin oil?-From Young"s Paraffin Light Co.
10,268. Do you generally import it once a year or so in the beginning of winter?-No; we generally get 1 or 2 or 3 casks by the steamer now and then, as we require it.
10,269. When did you last get a supply of oil from that company?-I don"t know if we had any last season at all; because we got 3 or 4 casks early in the spring, which served us throughout the season.
10,270. What was the price of it?-I think the last we bought from Young & Co. was 1s. 5d. or 1s. 6d.-I think 1s. 5d. per gallon; but then there is double freight to pay on it.
10,271. Where do Young & Co. deliver it?-At Granton.
10,272. What is the freight from there?-I think it is nearly 2d. per gallon; but we have had the oil much dearer from Young & Co.
than 1s. 5d.
10,273. Have you ever got any from Rowatt & Son?-We have had oil from a person named Williamson, but not direct. I think the last we got from him was through an agent in Leith.
10,274. Where is Williamson"s place?-I cannot say; only saw the name on the cask. We got it from Mr. J.B. Leask.
10,275. Do either of these books which you have produced contain the accounts of persons employed in your curing business?-Yes.
10,276. Do you contract for curing at Baltasound [Page 250] and Haroldswick?-No; we employ the people ourselves; and their accounts are entered generally in the Baltasound book.
10,277. I see an account of Thomas Mouat, beach boy, February 17, 1870, "To Baltasound shop account 2, 0s. 3d., by fee 1, 10s., by balance to account, 10s. 3d.," which is carried to next account, and he is charged 6d of interest on it. Then November 17, "To Baltasound shop account 1, 10s. 8d., by beach fee 1, 15s., by balance to account 6s. 5d." Has he been working for you this year?-No.
10,278. Has that balance of 6s. 5d. been settled?-No.
10,279. Where is the boy now?-He is working as a blacksmith.
10,280. Do you charge these boys interest when they are in debt?-Yes, we have done so; but only for the last two years.
10,281. Has that been with the view of reducing their balance?-It will rather increase them.
10,282. But has it been done in order to lead them to incur less debt?-I wish it would; but in many cases I believe they cannot help themselves. It is not their wish to incur debt
10,283. Does it generally happen that a beach boy is in your debt at the end of the season?-Not generally.
10,284. I see that John Miller has a balance of 4s. against him in 1870, and a balance of 9d. to get in 1871?-Yes.
10,285. Robert Gardiner has a balance of 1, 19s., against him in 1870. Has he not settled that yet?-No; he is in Glasgow.
10,286. Thomas Abernethy, beach boy, got a fee of 2. 10s., and 15s. for drying fish for 30 days, and he had to receive a balance of 1s. 01/2d. at the end of the year?-Yes.
10,287. John Jamieson, beach boy, had a beach fee of 2, 5s., 39 days drying fish at 5d.-16s. 3d. and there is a balance of 11s. 11d.
against him upon his shop account?-Yes.
10,288. Nicol Thomson had a beach fee of 1, and he had a balance of 5s. 3d. against him for 1870, and has since got supplies to the amount of 5s. 61/2d?-Yes. He was only employed for part of the season.
10,289. Was he working for you last year?-No.
10,290. John Harrison has a balance in his favour of 2s. 101/2d.?- Yes.
10,291. Archibald Thomson, in 1870, had a balance against him of 17s. He settled again the day before yesterday, and got a balance in cash of 2, 6s. 31/2 d?-Yes. He was a fisherman last year.
10,292. He had 9, 1s. to get for his fish?-Yes; and he had credit with another boat. He went with one boat for a time in place of another man who was laid up.
10,293. In the account of Charles Sandison, fish-curer, his shop account at Uyea Sound was 3, 2s. 11d. in 1870, and 3, 11s.
101/2d. at Baltasound, and there also a balance of rent of 11s. 6d.
charged against him. The balance against him at November 12, 1869, and carried to new account, is 4, 5s. 31/2d. The interest on that is 4s. 3d., and the balance against him on March 18, 1871, was 9, 8s. 51/2d.?-Yes.
10,294. He has since put in 6, 3s. 9d. and 1 to his credit, the first being the price of a cow, and the other a payment made by his son, or carried from his son"s account into his?-Yes, by his order.