13,916. Why do you not deal more with him for your supplies when he is your banker?-I deal with him in Lerwick, but I deal as little as possible at Vidlin, unless when I run out.
13,917. Do you get goods from Mr. Robertson in Lerwick?-Yes, I get what I want.
13,918. Have you an account with him here as well as an account in the shop at Vidlin?-Yes.
13,919. Do you get any meal from him in Lerwick?-Yes, and tea and sugar.
13,920. Do you get them cheaper from Mr. Robertson in Lerwick than at Vidlin?-Yes.
13,921. On the opposite side of your Lerwick account is there entered any money or interest that is due to you?-Yes; Mr.
Robertson enters that in his book.
13,922. Do you know whether John Hughson buys a large quant.i.ty of fish in the course of a year?-I cannot say.
13,923. Why do the men prefer to sell to him?-They do it of their own free will.
13,924. Do they get a larger price from him?-Perhaps they may, but they only sell to him privately.
13,925. Did any man ever tell you that he had got a larger price from Hughson?-I don"t remember.
13,926. Would he be paying money at the time for the fish which were sold to him?-Perhaps he might, or in any trifle of goods which were needed at the time. There are some things which Mr.
Robertson may be out of in Skerries, and we have to go to another merchant for them. For instance, if we wanted a refreshment of spirits, or anything like that, we have to go to Mr. Adie for it.
13,927. Does Hughson"s man keep spirits too?-I don"t know.
Perhaps he may have a little for supplying his own men, but I don"t know anything about that.
13,928. Has Mr. Adie got a licence?-Yes.
13,929. When fish are bought by Mr. Adie"s man or by Hughson"s man, are they paid for at the time, or is there an account kept of them?-I cannot say; perhaps the men may run a small account, and settle it up afterwards. I have had to go to Mr. Adie for many a thing, and I have run an account with him for them.
13,930. Do you not sell fish to him?-No.
13,931. You merely run an account with him for anything you want?-Yes.
13,932. Has Mr. Robertson not a shopkeeper at Skerries in the summer time as well as Mr. Adie?-He has a small supply of goods there, such as lines, and tea and sugar; but that is all.
Sometimes I required something else and went to Mr. Adie for it, and sometimes I bought my stores at Lerwick.
[Page 348]
Lerwick, January 27, 1872, LAURENCE ROBERTSON, examined.
13,933. Are you a fisherman at Skelberry, in Lunnasting?-I am.
13,934. Are you bound to fish for the tacksman, Mr. Robertson?- Yes.
13,935. How do you know that you are bound?-Because I understand we are bound by Mr. Bell to fish for him.
13,936. Who told you that?-When Mr. Bell came in to rule over us at first, the agreement was that the tenants were to give the offer of all their produce to him, and to no other man.
13,937. Did Mr. Bell tell you that?-Yes.
13,938. Was that about ten or twelve years ago?-It is longer ago than that.
13,939. Was it when Mr. Bell came to the estate first?-Yes.
13,940. Did he buy your fish at that time?-Yes.
13,941. Was there a meeting at which Mr. Bell told you that?- Yes; it took place in the house of Lunna.
13,942. How were you informed that Mr. Robertson became the tacksman?-We were informed that he was the tacksman, and we knew it.
13,943. Was there a meeting at that time too?-I was aware of none.
13,944. You only heard that Mr. Robertson became tacksman, and you don"t remember who told you?-No.
13,945. Have you always fished for him since, and got the current price?-Yes.
13,946. Do you get your provisions at the shop at Vidlin?-Yes; and sometimes I get them from Mr. Robertson"s shop in Lerwick, if I ask them there.
13,947. Do you keep an account at Lerwick also?-Yes, a small account.
13,948. Is it separate from the Vidlin account?-They are all brought together and settled for at the same time.
13,949. Do you get your goods cheaper when you come to Lerwick for them, than when you get them at Vidlin?-I cannot say, because I never had money to purchase them with.
13,950. You have always had to run an account?-Yes.
13,951. Had you a balance to get in cash at the end of last year?- No; I was in debt.
13,952. Have you been so for many years?-Yes.
13,953. Have you sometimes bought your goods at other shops?- Not often, because I did not have money to buy them with there.
13,954. When you did buy them at other shops, where did you get the money?-In the first part of the time I had a little; but I have not bought anything at other shops lately.
13,955. Do you not sometimes sell your winter fish for a little money in hand?-No.
13,956. Do you sometimes get an advance from Mr. Robertson?- Yes. If I ask for a little money I get it.
13,957. Have you got a pa.s.s-book?-Yes. I have got an account of my last year"s dealings here. [Produces it.]
13,958. Have you always had a pa.s.s-book?-No.
13,959. Is this the first one you had?-Yes.
13,960. You pay your rent to Mr. Robertson, and it is put into your account?-Yes.
13,961. You begin on December 12, 1870, with a balance against you of 22, 18s. 8d., and that was increased at December last to 39, 14s. 2d., including the rent?-Yes.