10,295. That was done with the view of reducing his debt?-Yes; the son was living with the father, and it was done to reduce his father"s debt.
10,296. This account has not been settled yet?-No, and this year"s rent has not been debited to the account. We have not yet taken it out of the land ledger.
10,297. Has he been working for you?-No. He is an old man, and I think his son intends to take the farm, and to join him.
10,298. There is 4, 12s. 6d. of rent debited to him in 1870. To whom was that rent payable?-To Spence & Co. That is one of the farms included in their lease.
10,299. In the account of Thomas Peterson he is credited with a beach fee of 5, and he had a balance against him in 1869 in 6s.
101/2d. The balance in his favour at settling in 1871 was 1s.
41/2d., but in that year he had been fishing, not regularly, but occasionally, with certain boats?-Yes. He has been fishing regularly this year, but his account is not settled yet.
10,300. This account [showing] contains the total beach fees paid by you in 1869 and 1870, being 91, 12s. 8d. in 1869 and 115, 12s. 8d. in 1870?-Yes.
10,301. What are the entries on page 251?-That is a page which I am using as a cash-book in settling up with the men at the present settlement.
10,302. It shows the amount paid in cash to each man?-Yes.
10,303. The total is 162, 10s. 21/2d., which been paid to thirty-two men?-Yes.
10,304. That does not show the men whose balances were the other way?-No.
10,305. Would there be a larger number whose balances were the other way?-There would be great deal more money out, whether the number of men were larger or not.
10,306. Have you any dealings in hosiery at your shop?-We do very little in that way.
10,307. When you do deal with a woman for hosiery, do you open an account in her name?-Sometimes. Of course if she gets worsted from our shop we have to debit her with it, and see that she returns it.
10,308. Does she generally take out goods for the amount of her knitting?-Sometimes.
10 309. Have you a special book for these accounts?-No, not now.
10,310. Did you use to have a woman"s book for them?-Yes; we had a small ledger when we commenced. It was not exactly a woman"s book, but the hosiery accounts were generally kept in it.
10,311. Did it contain accounts for b.u.t.ter and eggs?-No; we did not keep accounts for them. Of course if a man comes in with 16 or 20 or 30 or 40 lbs. of b.u.t.ter, that goes to his credit if he wishes it to be settled for in that way.
10,312. You do not take any share in the management of the shop at Haroldswick?-I sometimes take a little.
10,313. I have been told to-day that Mrs. Spence"s hosiery purchases are settled for with goods got in the shop there?-Yes.
10,314. Are Mrs. Spence"s purchases of hosiery and worsted made by her on account of the firm?-No. She generally sells for herself what hosiery she buys.
10,315. Then, when the hosiery is paid for by means of goods supplied from the shop at Haroldswick, how does that enter the books of the firm?-She is just debited with the amount paid to so and so.
10,316. Are these goods debited to her at cost price?-No, at retail price.
10,317. And the firm has no connection with the purchase or sale of that hosiery?-No.
10,318. Where do you get your supplies of tea?-We get them from different places.
10,319. Do you get any from R. & C. Robertson, Lerwick?-No, I don"t think we have got 20 lbs. of tea from them since we commenced business in 1868. We get our tea from Aberdeen, Glasgow, and London.
Baltasound, Unst, January 19, 1872, WILLIAM WILLIAMSON, examined.
10,320. You are a fisherman at Snarravoe, and hold a bit of land on Lord Zetland"s property?-Yes.
10,321. To whom do you pay your rent?-To Mr. Mouat, the commissioner for Mr. Hay, and Mr. Hay is the commissioner for the Earl.
10,322. Does Mr. Mouat enter the rent in your account?-Yes.
10,323. Do you fish for Spence & Co?-Yes. I have fished for them since they became a company, and before that I fished for Hay & Co.
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10,324. Are you quite at liberty to fish for any person you please?-I suppose I am.
10,325. And to deal at any shop you please?-Yes.
10,326. Do you generally deal in Spence & Co."s shop?-Yes, because I find I am as well served there as I would be at any other place.
10.327. Snarravoe is in the south of the island, and you go to the shop at Uyeasound?-Yes.
10,328. Is that the nearest shop to you?-There are some small shops nearer, but I find that I am as well served at that shop as I would be at any other shop I could go to. I have very little dealings in any other shop.
10,329. Do you keep a pa.s.s-book?-I had a pa.s.sbook at one time, but it was not kept regularly, and I don"t have one now. I found that the keeping of it made very little difference.
10,330. Were you ever employed in fishing at a fixed price for the whole fish taken during the season?-Yes; but we were generally paid it little more than the fixed price.
10,331. When were you engaged in that way?-About a year or two years ago by Spence & Co. We engaged at 7s., and we were paid it few pence more-I think 3d. more.
10,332. Did you ask for that?-No; they gave it freely, because the fish turned out a little better than they expected at the time when we made the engagement for the fishing.
10,333. If they had turned out a little worse, would the men have taken less for their fish?-No doubt they would have looked for their bargain; but it would have been just in them to have taken it little less in that case, as well as to get a little more when the price was high.
10,334. Do you think the men in this district would be content to have a bargain of that sort as a rule?-I don"t know; because sometimes the markets go up, and the men may get a little more for their fish if the price is settled at the end of the season.
10,335. Therefore you think it is better to have the price fixed at the end of the season, when you see how the markets have turned out?-Sometimes it would be.
10,336. But if the markets were to fall towards the end of the year, might the fisherman not gain something if he had engaged at a fixed price?-He would; and that was the kind of engagements we had in the herring fishing in Hay & Co."s time.
10,337. Have you gone to the herring fishing?-Yes, but we were always paid a little more than we agreed for. We were paid 10s. or 11s., or more, per cran.
10,338. Were you always successful at it?-Only sometimes. That fishing has been a failure for the last few years.
10,339. But you had no arrangement there except to get so much per cran for all the herrings you took?-That was all.
10,340. Were you running an account in the shop while the fishing was going on?-Yes.
10,341. Don"t you think you would be better off to have your money paid down once a month or so, as the fish are delivered, and be able to pay for your purchases as you get them?-I don"t know. I suppose the goods are all the same price, whether I pay for them when I get them or not.