2902. Is it the case that your purchases of hosiery are more commonly paid in tea and sugar than in drapery goods?-The knitters who work to me generally take what tea and sugar they require. They also take drapery goods when they need them. When we buy hosiery over the counter, it is generally drapery goods that are paid for them; but they get tea also if they ask for it.
2903. The tea is made up in quarter-pound parcels?-Yes.
2904. Do you know of any case where it has been exchanged after being purchased from you?-No.
Lerwick, January 4, 1872, HUGH LINKLATER, examined.
2905. You are a merchant in Lerwick?-Yes.
2906. Is the business which you carry on similar to that of Mr. Laurenson?-No. I don't give out wool for people to knit. I only purchase a little over the counter, and I do very little of any kind in the fancy line.
2907. You do more in the coarser hosiery?-Yes.
2908. Do you deal largely in that business?-No, I don't do much in hosiery at all.
2909. What is your business?-Selling drapery goods.
2910. Do you sell them in the ordinary way for cash?-Yes, and I take a little hosiery when it is offered in exchange.
2911. But the bulk of your transactions are in cash?-Yes.
2912. Are you engaged in any other business?-No.
2913. Do you concur generally in the evidence which Mr. Laurenson gave, so far as the hosiery business is concerned?-I do. I think he gave a very fair statement of it.
2914. You do not wish to add anything to it?-No, for it is not much that I do in that line. I may say that I don't do any in fancy goods at all, I am not much acquainted with them.
2915. But you have a considerable trade in drapery goods and tea for cash?-Yes, or in exchange for goods. It is principally with country people that I deal.
2916. With small farmers and such like?-Yes.
2917. Do you find that they are generally ready and able to pay you in cash for the goods you sell?-There are some cases where I hate to lie out of it for a good while.
2918. But your general mode of dealing is in cash?-Yes; but if they come forward with an article which is suitable for my hosiery trade, I may take it and give them goods for it, the same as if they were to pay me in cash.
2919. Money payments are the rule in your shop, and hosiery the exception?-Yes.
2920. But when you are offered hosiery, is there a different price charged by you for your I make no difference. I buy their hosiery, such of it as I accept, the same as cash, and I expect to get a cash price for it.
2921. In selling hosiery, do you put a profit upon it?-By no means.
2922. You sell it at the price which you put upon it to the person who brought it?-Yes, so that I can get the price of my goods.
2923. You regard it merely as a currency in which you are paid for your proper drapery goods?-Yes.
Lerwick, January 4, 1872, JOHN MANSON, examined.
2924. You were at one time a fisherman at Dunrossness?-Yes.
2925. You are now employed on weekly wages by Mr. Harrison, fish merchant, Lerwick?-Yes.
2926. You cure his fish when they are landed in Bressay?-Yes.
2927. You are his superintendent there and have charge of all his men?-Yes.
2928. How many men are employed under you?-It is generally women and lads who are employed under me.
2929. Is Mr. Harrison a large trader in the home fishing?-Not in the home fishing; principally in the Faroe fishing.
2930. Are his fish from that fishery landed in Bressay?-Yes.
2931. How many people are generally employed there?-The numbers vary according to the demand for work. They may range from 80 to 60 hands daily for five months in the year, during the fish-curing season.
2932. Mr. Harrison has a store in Lerwick, where he sells all kinds of provisions and dry goods?-Yes, he has a provision shop and a clothier's shop; they are different shops.
2933. Do you and the other persons employed in his fish-curing establishment deal at these shops? Do you get your supplies for your families there?-Not generally, unless we choose to do so.
2934. But in point of fact, do you get many of your [Page 65] supplies there?-I buy the greater part of my groceries from that shop.
2935. Is there any obligation upon you to do so?-No.
2936. You have never been told that you ought to do that?-No.
2937. Do you deal at the shop for ready money?-Yes.
2938. You pay for the articles as you get them?-Yes.
2939. How are your wages paid to you?-In cash.
2940. Are you paid at the end of each week?-Yes; unless when the weather prevents us from getting across the Sound, which does not very often occur.
2941. When you or any of your family come over to make your market in Lerwick, and go to Mr. Harrison's shop, do you bring with you the money which has been paid to you in Bressay?-We are paid at Lerwick in Mr. Harrison's office, for our work; and if we choose to go into either of his shops we can do so. We get the cash at the office; and if we go to the shop, we pay that cash for the soft goods or groceries which we get, but we can take the money to any other shop we please.
2942. Is the office near the shop?-The office and the clothier's shop are connected they are both on the same premises.
2943. Do many of the people employed under you deal at these shops?-Not so far as I am aware. They do deal there in a certain way, but not in a compulsory way.
2944. Is there any system of pass-books carried on there?-Not so far as I am aware.
2945. You don't think any of them have pass books at the shop?- I don't think it. I may mention in passing, that very often when we get our wages, instead of being urged to buy from them, are cautioned to use our wages in the most economical way possible, and to go elsewhere if we think we can be better
2946. Who cautioned you in that way?-Mr. Harrison himself. I don't mention that as giving you an idea that there is any grievance in the way of our not getting as good remuneration for our money in these shops as we do elsewhere, but to show the independence of the service. We are in no way bound.
2947. I know that you have not come here because you have any complaint at all?-No; I have no complaint to make in that way.
2948. Do you find the supplies which you get in these shops to be quite satisfactory?-Quite satisfactory.
2949. Do you know anything with regard to the dealings at that store of men employed, in the Faroe fishing?-Yes, a little.
2950. Is that from your own personal knowledge, or merely from hearsay?-A little from my own personal knowledge. I know the way in which the men deal with regard to getting their outfit when the fishing commences.
2951. You know that they go to the store for their outfit and that is put down in a ledger account against each man?-Yes, each man has generally a private account for himself.
2952. The contract for the Faroe fishing is that the fisherman makes certain supplies for the ship, and he is to get one half of the take?-Yes.
2953. Is the price for the fish fixed at the beginning of the season or at the end?-At the end.
2954. And no fisherman knows the price he is to get until the settlement time comes round?-Not so far as the Faroe fishing is concerned.
2955. During the absence of the fisherman at the fishing, are his family generally supplied with goods from the employer's store?- Generally; if the family are in circumstances to require supplies. Plenty of them do not require them, but those who do are supplied in that way.
2956. Do you mean that they are supplied with goods?-They are supplied with goods and cash.
2957. How does it happen that some of them do not require supplies?-A few of them live in the country, and have little patches of land, and they do not require so much goods during the season as others.
2958. Do you know the way in which the business is conducted as between these fishermen and the store?-So far as I know, they get what they ask.
2959. Do they get what money they ask?-They get money or goods, whatever they ask.
2960. And an account runs, which is settled at the end of the year?-Yes.
2961. Is there any obligation on these Faroe fishermen to deal at the store?-Not so far as I am aware.
2962. Are they not obliged to deal there for their outfit?-It is generally understood that they will take their outfit there, because it is more like giving them an advance of money than anything else.
2963. What is the name of Mr. Harrison's store-keeper in Lerwick?-There is no special storekeeper; he has several shopkeepers.
2964. But who attends to the shop?-James Mouat is in the clothier's shop.
2965. Who gives out the stores to the fishermen for their outfit?- Mouat generally gives them anything in the way of soft goods, and Gilbert Harrison, junr. supplies them with what they require in the provision shop.
2966. However you have not much experience of that part of the business?-Not much.
2967. I suppose you don't know much about Dunrossness at present?-Not much just now; it is ten years since I was a regular resident there.
2968. Have you been there lately?-It is about twelve months since I was there last.
2969. Have you relations living there still?-Yes. I have brothers there.
2970. What was the reason for your leaving Dunrossness?- Because I thought I could better myself elsewhere.
2971. Had you a farm there?-Yes.
2972. Have you one here?-No.
2973. When you were at Dunrossness, were you bound to fish to any particular person?-No; I happened not to be bound at that time, but I was singular in that respect because there were not many who were not bound.
2974. Is it a common thing in Shetland for a fisherman not to be able to fish for any one he likes?-It is quite common where the landlord is also a fishcurer.
2975. Can you tell me any men who are so bound in any part of the islands?-I think that generally the tenants on the estates of Mr Grierson and Mr. Bruce are bound to fish for their landlords.
2976. You don't know any other case within your own knowledge where a fisherman has been checked for fishing to another than his landlord or tacksman?-No, not within my own knowledge.
2977. Nor for taking goods from a store other than that of his landlord, or employer?-No; I understand that is the case in other parts of Shetland, but only from report. I don't know it from personal knowledge.
[Page 66]
Lerwick: Saturday, January 6, 1872.
MALCOLM MALCOLMSON, examined
2978. Are you a fisherman at Channerwick?-I am.
2979. Do you hold land there?-My father holds land under Mr. Bruce of Simbister.
2980. Robert Mouat was formerly tacksman of Channerwick and Levenwick under Mr. Bruce?-Yes.
2981. He carried on a fish-curing business there up till last year?- Yes.
2982. During the time he held the tack, were the tenants there in use to fish for and deliver their fish to Mouat?-Yes.
2983. Was it supposed that there was an obligation on them to deliver their fish to him only?-Yes; they thought so.
2984. Was it the case that there was such an obligation?-It was not, but in their ignorance, they did not know otherwise.
2985. How do you know it was not the case?-Because afterwards, when he was put out of the place, Mr. Bruce, the proprietor, told them they never were bound to Mouat; only that if he gave them as high a price as was given in the country, and served them as well in every respect as they could be served anywhere else, why should they not fish to him as well as to another? If, however, Mouat came anything short of that, then they were under no obligation whatever, but they could put their produce where they pleased, and they had only to pay him their rent on a given day.
2986. When did Mr. Bruce tell you that?-In 1871.
2987. Had he never told you so before?-He never told the tenants that before. He had given a statement to Mouat before, but Mouat never revealed it to the tenantry until after his departure; and then it was known, and only then, how matters stood.
2988. To whom did Mr. Bruce make that statement? Was it in writing, or to some particular person?-I could not exactly answer that for I have never seen the statement myself. It is only from hearsay among the tenantry at large that I know about it.
2989. Have you heard that from many of the tenants?-Yes, from many.
2990. What is your father's name?-Malcom Malcolmson. He is unable to come here, unless it is absolutely necessary.
2991. Is he not in good health?-No; not at present.
2992. Was it the practice in Mouat's time to require the tenants to deliver their fish to him only?-Yes.
2993. Did he object to their selling them to others?-Yes.
2994. Did he turn out any people for doing so, or threaten to turn them out?-He threatened a few, and turned out one
2995. Who was that one?-Henry Sinclair, Levenwick.
2996. Was that a long time ago?-Yes; a few years ago. I don't remember the number of years in particular but it is a good while ago.
2997. You have given me a letter in these terms:
'MOUL, 18
What had he met that day?-He had received intelligence from his storekeeper at Channerwick that Malcolm Malcolmson's son (that is myself) had given part of the fish of Thomas Jamieson's boat to another fish-merchant, Thomas Tulloch, in Sandwick parish.
2998. Does Tulloch live in Sandwick?-Yes, near Sand Lodge.
2999. He keeps a shop and cures fish there?-Yes.
3000. How do you know that that was the reason for this letter being written?-Because Mouat told my father himself in my presence.
3001. Was that before or after the letter was received?-It was after the letter was received, and when my father asked the reason why he was to give his land to another.
3002. Was your father put out of the farm at that time?-He was not.
3003. How did that happen?-Because he lost the use of one of his hands or of his right thumb, and Mouat had a sort of sympathy with him as being unable to earn his bread as he used to do before, and therefore he let him alone for a season until he could get round again, and regain perfect health and strength, but before that season rolled round, Mouat was out the place himself.
3004. Did you consider yourselves bound to take goods from Mouat's store?-We could not do anything else.
3005. Why?-Because we had no money to purchase them with from other stores. We received no money during the fishing season.
3006. Did you ever ask for advances of money during the fishing season?-Yes; but they were refused.
3007. Why?-Because he just would not give it. He gave no reason, except that he could not give it.
3008. But you would get any kind of goods you wanted?-Yes.
3009. What was the quality of the goods at Mouats' store?-They were of a very inferior quality to what we could purchase anywhere else in the island.
3010. Are you speaking just now from your own knowledge, or from the common understanding of the people about?-I am speaking from nothing else but my own knowledge.
3011. But are you a good judge of the quality of goods?-I cannot say that I am a very good judge, only I know well enough a bad article from a good one.
3012. What particular thing are you speaking of just now?-Say cottons, moleskins, and cloth.
3013. And what as to the provisions?-They were of inferior quality as well. We had meal from his store which he called his second flour. It was as dear, if not dearer, than we could purchase it anywhere else, and it was of such a quality that it could not be eaten by human beings.
3014. Then you did not eat it?-It had to be eaten for the support of life, while it existed; but had it not been for the provisions that came from other stores, and from people who had them to sell, Mouat's tenantry could not have been alive now, and I among the rest.
3015. How could they get provisions from other stores if they had no money to purchase them with?-They made a statement of how they were situated under Mouat, and how they could not receive any meal at all, and that they had to give all their fish to him; and the other shopkeepers felt such sympathy for them, that they gave them supplies to save their own lives and the lives of their families, and to put the men to the fishing. At the same time, when they gave them these supplies, they had no expectation whatever of receiving anything for them from a good many, because they were so poor that they could not give it.
3016. Do you think the storekeepers gave the fisher [Page 67] men credit, without any expectation of being repaid?-One of the shopkeepers told me so himself.
3017. Who was that?-James Smith, Hill Cottage, Sandwick parish.
Lerwick, January 6, 1872, WILLIAM MANSON, examined.
3018. Are you a fisherman at Channerwick, in Sandwick parish?- Yes.
3019. Do you hold a piece of land under Mr. Bruce of Simbister?-Yes.
3020. It was formerly included in the tack to Robert Mouat?-Yes.
3021. Were you bound to fish for Mouat?-Yes.
3022. Did you give your fish to any other merchant during the time of his tack?-Yes. In 1870, the year that Mouat failed in business, I gave my fish to James Smith, because I saw I could not live for want of meal, and therefore I and some others were determined to give our fish where we could get both meat and money; and for doing so, Mouat served me with a summons.
3023. Were Smith and Tulloch the only fish merchants in that neighbourhood besides Mouat?-Yes; they cure fish, but not in a large way.
3024. But they buy your fish, and sell you provisions and goods?- Yes.
3025. In consequence of selling your fish to Smith, did you receive a letter from Mouat?-Yes; I have lost that letter.
3026. Did it warn you that you were to leave your ground?-Yes.
3027. Did you also get a formal warning to quit?-I did. I have it. [Produces summons of removing.]
3028. This is a summons at the instance of Robert Mouat, residing in Lerwick, principal tenant under Robert Bruce, Esq. of Simbister, dated 29th September 1870, giving you warning to leave at Martinmas: was that summons served upon you by a sheriff officer?-Yes.
3029. Did you leave in consequence of it?-No; it was in the latter part of the harvest that I received it, which was a very inconvenient time for me to leave, and I went to Mouat and spoke to him about it. He told me that if I would promise to be an obedient tenant, and agree to fish for him the same as I had been doing before, and pay the expense of the summons, I could stay. I knew that it was then coming towards the end of his lease, and I agreed to do that. If I had thought he was to continue longer on the place, I would have left.
3030. Did you pay for the summons?-I did.
3031. You have handed me another letter in the following terms:
'MOUL, 1869, 'I this day duly give you notice to look out for A house at
Martamas 1869, as I am not incline to keep such men as you for
your preasent condick. 3032. What does that letter refer to?-It was sent to us because we
had allowed Malcolm Malcolmson to give his share of the fish
away to another merchant than Mouat. 3033. You understood Mouat to refer to Malcolmson having sold,
his fish to Tulloch?-Yes. 3034. This letter was written at an earlier period than the warning
you received yourself?-Yes, the year before. 3035. How do you know it was that particular act on your part
which caused this letter to be written?-Because Mouat told me so
himself. 3036. When did he tell you so?-That same year, just a few days
after the letter was written 3037. How was it that you did not leave your ground at that
time?-We just never minded him, but went on as we had been
doing. I and the rest of the men fished for him, and that man
fished for Thomas Tulloch as he had been doing, and Mouat never
asked anything about it afterwards. He just annulled the letter, as
it were. 3038. You have produced another summons of removing: what
does it refer to?-It is the summons that was served upon another
man, Thomas Jamieson, at the same time that the summons was
served upon me, and for the same thing. He knew that I was
coming here, and he wanted me to bring his summons also, that I
might show it to you. He had also fished for James Smith in 1870. 3039. Have you anything to say about Mouat's shop?-It was very
little worth. 3040. Did you get all your goods there?-Yes. 3041. Were you obliged to take them there?-We were because
we could not get them anywhere else. 3042. Did Mouat tell you that you must take them from him?-He
did not say that we must take them; but when we were fishing for
him, and getting no money, we were obliged to go and take our
goods from his shop. Although they had been double the price of
what they were anywhere else, we had no other way of doing. We
could not make a better of it. 3043. You think the quality of the articles you got there was not
good?-It was not. 3044. The meal especially was bad?-Yes; the meal was worst. 3045. Was the tea good?-No; it was bad, and it was dear. 3046. For whom were you fishing last year?-For James Smith. 3047. Are you perfectly at liberty now to fish for any one you
please?-Yes, we are at perfect liberty. 3048. Smith is not a tacksman?-No; he just takes our fish, and
pays us well for them, as high as can be got in the place. 3049. Do you deal at Smith's shop?-Yes. 3050. And you settle with him annually?-Yes; I have just settled
with him this week. 3051. Had you a balance to receive from him?-Yes; £4, 14s. 3052. That was your balance of the season's fishing, after
deducting the price of the goods you had got during the season
from his shop?-Yes. 3053. Is that a usual balance in a good season, or is it under or
over?-It is just about the general thing. 3054. Was that paid to you in cash?-Yes. 3055. You paid your rent to Mr. Irvine, of Hay & Co.?-Yes. 3056. Have Hay & Co. any fish-curing places in that
neighbourhood?-No, they have a place down at Dunrossness, but
that is a long way from us. 3057. You are not expected to fish for them?-No; we have heard
nothing about that yet. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, ROBERT ANDERSON, examined. 3058. You are principal shopman to Mr. Robert Linklater,
merchant, Lerwick?-Yes. 3059. I understand you desire to make some explanation with
regard to the evidence of two women who were examined here?-
Yes; of Margaret Tulloch, and of Mrs. Thomas Anderson,
Margaret Tulloch said she refused to take worsted from us to knit,
because she could not get cash for her work. I have to state that
we refused to give her work because she kept it so very long; and
when she was asked why she had kept it so long, she said she had
so many lodgers, that she had scarcely any time for knitting. The
last thing she had from us was a small handkerchief, the knitting of
which was worth 1s. 6d., and which could easily be [Page 68]
made in three days. She had it in hand for two days short of five
months. Mrs. Anderson made the same remark, that she would not
take worsted, because she could not get cash for her knitting. I
have the same explanation to make with regard to her, that we
refused her work because kept it too long. She got a little shawl to
knit on 28d February 1870, and she returned it to use on 14th
June. The knitting of it cost 2s. 3060. You find that from your work-book?-Yes. When we asked
her why she kept the work so long, she replied that she had so
much out-door work to do, that she had scarcely any time for
knitting. Then there was one of the girls Brown, Mrs. Tait, who
was examined the first day, and who said, I think, that I would not
give her cash, but would only give it to my favourites. There are
some sisters of that family, and the book was in name of one of the
sisters. I only recollect her asking me once for a shilling, which I
gave her. 3061. If she got cash, would it not appear in the book?-Yes. 3062. Did she sometimes deal with you in the way of selling her
hosiery?-No. 3063. She always knitted for you?-Yes. On 2d July 1869 there is
cash 1s. marked: that is the only time I recollect her asking it; and
she got it, although I may have made the remark when handing it
to her, that we were not in the habit of giving cash. I did not
refuse it for all that, but in the act of handing it I may have made
that remark. 3064. Mr. Linklater stated that there are about 300 people knitting
for him: are the names of all these parties entered in your
work-book in separate accounts?-Yes. [Produces work-book.] 3065. Will you show me the way, you make settlement with one of
your workers?-Here [showing] is the case of Mary Henry, a
country girl. 3066. Is that a good enough instance of it?-Yes. She brings in
ten veils, and she has to get 1s. each for knitting them. That is
entered to her credit. She will ask what she is to get, and we tell
her. Then she will take whatever she wants at that time. She may
have sent the veils in with another girl, and come in afterwards
herself to get the goods. 3067. I see she has taken out 17s. 41/2d., worth in goods?-She had
taken out the amount she had to get, and she brought in other ten
veils afterwards, the date of which I find is not marked. Then she
asked what she had to get, and she was told it was 4s. 111/2d. We
would ask her if she was to settle for that, and she said yes, and we
marked it settled. 3068. Was that 4s. 111/2d, which is marked as the balance due to
her, paid in cash or got in goods?-It was got in goods entirely. 3069. The items of that do not appear here?-No. When we are
busy we scarcely have time to enter all the items; but at other
times, when we are not so busy, we enter them all. 3070. It is a rule in your business that you do not give lines for a
balance of that kind?-Yes. 3071. You do not give them on a purchase of goods either?-No. 3072. Do the purchases of goods from parties who do not knit with
your worsted appear in any of your books?-No; unless a balance
is left, and it appears in the end of the day-book where I now point
it out. [Showing.] On page 38 there is the account of Helen
Arcus, our dresser. 3073. Is that Mrs. Arcus who has been examined?-No; she does
not dress for us. That account of Helen Arcus is entirely for
dressing. 3074. Is it settled by goods?-No. I wish to explain how we deal
with her. She gets out a quantity of shawls and veils or neckties to
dress. When they are finished, she brings them down to our
hosiery shop where we keep our hosiery and she gets the amount
marked on a bit of a line with which she goes to the other shop. I
ask her what she wants and perhaps if the amount is 8s. 71/2d. she
will ask for a quarter pound of tea for 10d. I then ask her what she
wants next, and she says, 'I want 2s. or 3s. in cash.' There is then
a balance left, which I mark in the book thus 'By 4s. 81/2d.,' which
stands as a balance due to her. If she wants any cash in the interim
between that time and the time when she brings down her
dressing, she comes to the shop and gets cash, say 6d., or any
goods she requires. She gets at the very least 5s. a week in cash all
the year round. That does not appear in the book, but she gets
whatever she asks. 3075. How do you balance the account when the time comes for
doing that?-We add up the two sides of it. 3076. I see that each line in the account contains both debit and
credit entries?-Yes, but there are two money columns at the end,
and the entries are carried out to them according as they are debit
or credit. 3077. How do you do with regard to sending goods south?-When
we get orders for Shetland goods in the winter time, they go to our
house in Edinburgh. We have already forwarded goods there, and
they are kept in store; the orders received at that season are
executed there, and a statement is sent down to us. This
[producing document] is one of the statements which have been
sent from Edinburgh for veils, and here [producing document] is
another for shawls. I have brought a sample of each. 3078. The veils are numbered according to quality?-Yes. When
we send them of different prices, there must be a different number,
to let the people in the south know what the prices are. 3079. You fix the price here at which they are to be sold in
Edinburgh?-Yes. 3080. That is the wholesale price?-Yes. Here is June 4: 4 dozen
grey veils No. 1, 18s.-£3, 12s.; 4 dozen grey veils No. 6, 21s.-
£4, 4s.; 3 dozen No. 7, 27s.-£4, 1s. 3081. Have these grey veils No. 1 been knitted for you by your
own knitters?-The principal part of them; but we buy some. 3082. Show me one of the entries of the payment to a knitter for
these veils?-I could scarcely show it for these identical veils. 3083. But for veils of the very same quality?-I should think this
[showing] would be of the same quality: '10 veils, 9d.-Barbara
Pottinger, Burra Isle.' 3084. Then the No. 1 veil which you sell at 1s. 6d. would cost 9d.
for the knitting?-We pay 9d. for the knitting of it. 3085. You give out the worsted: what will that cost?-I should
think for the coarsest, about 5d. 3086. Would that be the price you pay for it, or the price you
would ask for it from a knitter?-It is the price we pay for it; it is
Shetland wool. 3087. Which you don't sell?-Which we don't sell. We sell no
kinds of wool. 3088. What does the veil cost you for dressing?-11/2d. 3089. Is there any other expense connected with?-There is not on
that identical veil, but there is other expense connected with the
trade. 3090. Have you to pay freight?-Not freight; but when we get a
quantity of goods of that kind, perhaps one-half of them cannot be
sold as they are. The colour is so uneven, that we have to send
them south and dye a great part of them. 3091. Do you send one-half of each lot south?-Sometimes
one-half, and sometimes more and sometimes less. 3092. What is the cost of dyeing?-We pay 1s. a dozen for dyeing;
and there is the freight south and the freight back again, and we
require to re-dress a great many of them. 3093. So that some of these veils may actually cost you 1s. 6d.?-
Yes; and some of them cost less. 3094. What margin of profit does that leave?-I really cannot say.
I think no Shetland merchant can tell the exact profit he has on any
of his goods. 3095. But there are a number of incidental expenses of that kind,
which bring the actual cost of the veils up to about 1s. 6d.
apiece?-Yes. [Page 69] 3096. May that be said with regard to other goods also?-It can be
said of shawls. 3097. You think the expenses of that kind for sending south, and
dyeing and re-dressing, often make the cost of production nearly
equal to the selling price?-Yes; and in many cases more than the
selling price. 3098. How much wool would there be in a dozen of these Shetland
veils?-I should say there would be twenty-one cuts of Shetland
wool in a dozen No. 1 veils at 18s. 3099. What is the price of that Shetland wool per cut?-3d. is the
price for a fairish quality. Some of the veils turn out very bad
from the 3d. worsted, while others turn out to be a little better. 3100. Therefore the worsted costs 5s. 3d., the knitting 9s., and the
dressing 1s. 6d.: that leaves 2s. 3d. What proportion of these veils
can go to the market without any dyeing or re-dressing?-I don't
think there will be more than half of them. The worsted looks
very well before it is given out to the knitter; but when it comes
back, there are dark and light bars through it. 3101. Then upon one-half of them you have the expense of a
double freight to Edinburgh, and also the expense of dyeing and of
re-dressing?-Yes. 3102. But it is only a fraction of those sent south require to be
re-dressed when they come back?-They all require to be
re-dressed when they come back from the dyers. 3103. What dyers do you send them to?-P. & P. Campbell,
Cockburn Street, Edinburgh. 3104. What is their charge for dyeing?-I think it 1s. 6d.; but they
give 5 per cent. off at the end of the season. 3105. Coming to the English wool; I see there are four dozen black
veils No. 5s. 33s., made with English wool: what quantity of wool
is required to make dozen of these?-It requires about 3 oz. for a
dozen, or about a quarter oz. to make a single veil. 3106. Do you sell that wool by the ounce or the pound?-We buy
it by the pound, at 32s. 6d. 3107. Then 3 oz. would cost about 6s.?-Yes; a fraction over that.
We don't give them to the knitters here; we give them to a person
in the country, who gets them knitted for us. We pay 14s. for the
knitting of them to that person in the country. 3108. Is there any particular reason for employing a party in the
country for that kind of goods?-We think we can get them better
done in that district of the country. 3109. Where is that?-In Unst. 3110. Who is your agent there?-It is a private person. I would
rather not tell her name in public. 3111. What is the expense of dressing these veils?-1s. 6d. a
dozen. 3112. Does the same proportion of them require dyeing as in the
other case?-No; none of these require dyeing, because they are
black. 3113. Then there is no expense for dyeing with regard to them?-
Very seldom. 3114. Is that sum of 21s. 6d. the whole cost of production of these
veils?-No. 3115. What additional cost is there?-There is about the same
proportion of them both in the knitting and in the dressing that gets
damaged, we cannot get the prices for them that we allow for the
knitting. 3116. Do you mean that such a large proportion of them are
destroyed in the knitting and the dressing, that you cannot sell
them?-Yes; we cannot sell them at very much more than
half-price. 3117. What proportion of them are so damaged?-I cannot say
exactly; but I should think about the same proportion as in the
other case. 3118. Therefore the high price you put upon these veils is intended
to cover the loss incurred in that way?-Yes. 3319. The damage, I understand, occurs in the dressing?-Yes;
and in the knitting too. There are a good many black lumps in the
wool, and the people are very careless, and knit in the black lumps,
and thus destroy the veils. 3120. Under what description do you sell these damaged veils?-
As job lots; but I wish to state that the woman whom we employ in
this way is a dealer, and we have to give the goods to her at a very
great reduction. We have to give them to her at the wholesale
price. The goods which we pay for the knitting are sold much
cheaper to her than to others. 3121. You pay this woman in goods?-Yes; at wholesale prices.
It is almost the same as cash, because we have to give the goods so
much cheaper. 3122. Does she keep a shop?-No; but she deals in a small way. I
think she has a room in which she has some small things. It is in
one sense a shop, and in another it is not. 3123. Do you require as much as 11s. 6d. to cover what you lose
on the job lots?-I think we do. 3124. Have you any books here which show an entry of a job lot of
that kind?-I don't have them here. 3125. How does that appear in your books?-They are entered as
so many dozen veils job. 3126. They are entered in that way in your day-book as sent south
to your correspondent in Edinburgh?-Yes; there are a good many
of the same kind of veils, which having to lie over the season get
crushed, and are taken back and re-dressed, and sent south again. 3127. But losses of that kind occur in all trades, I suppose?-I
suppose so. 3128. You said you would charge for a job lot about half-price?-
Less than half-price. 3129. Can you calculate how many job lots there would be out of
say ten dozen of these black veils?-I have often taken one-half of
them out for job lots. 3130. Do you say that, as a rule, there would be five dozen job lots
in ten dozen black veils?-Very often there are that number. 3131. Would that be an average?-I think average is scarcely so
high, but very near it. 3132. Then, of all the black veils No. 5 sent to your correspondent
in Edinburgh, nearly one-half will be job lots?-Yes; of the one
kind of veils-that is-the finest kind. There are very few of the
cheaper veils jobbed in the same way, 3133. Why are there so many of them in these fine veils?-The
worsted is so fine, that they get torn, and the slightest mistake
injures them. 3134. Will you show me an entry of some veils of the medium
quality?-Here [showing] is an entry of No. 7 veils at 24s.: these
are Shetland wool. 3135. I would rather take a case where English wool was used?-I
don't think there is any case of that kind there. No. 2 is the only
one very near it of English wool. 3136. Here [showing] is an entry of four dozen black veils No. 2,
21s.: what would the cost of wool be there?-About 10s. 6d, per
pound. 3137. What quantity of wool would be required for a dozen?-I
think 1 oz. would make three veils., 3138. Then 4 oz. would make a dozen; that is 2s. 71/2d. as the cost
of wool for a dozen?-Yes. 3139. What would be the cost of knitting a dozen?-12s. in goods. 3140. And of dressing?-1s. 6d. 3141. Have you to dye these?-No; we don't dye them. 3142. Is there the same risk of loss from their being spoiled as in
the other case?-Not quite the same; but there are a certain
number of job lots there too. 3143. What proportion of job lots may there be in that sort of
veil?-Generally from one-eighth to one-fourth of the whole. 3144. Do these sell at half-price, or more than half-price?-
Generally about half-price-sometimes a shade less and
sometimes a shade more, according to the state of the market. 3145. Then the price you charge for them, 21s. is calculated to
cover the loss upon job lots?-Yes. 3146. There is thus a difference of nearly 5s. between the cost
price and the selling price of these No. 2 veils: is it not the fact that
that difference is allowed for profit?-It is the fact that it is not
allowed for a profit: the profit is not so much. [Page 70] 3147. But it is calculated so as to allow you a certain amount of
profit?-Yes; a certain amount. 3148. That is not the actual profit receive; but the price is so
calculated as to cover the loss upon job lots and to allow you a
certain amount of profit as well?-Yes. 3149. In fact, so as to make it safe that you may get some profits-
Yes. 3150. Is that not so with the prices, of all your hosiery goods?-
With the lace goods that we get knitted it is the case. We only put
out lace goods to be knitted; we buy all the other goods over the
counter. 3151. What do you mean by lace goods?-Lace shawls and veils,
principally, and neckties. 3152. Do you call all the open lace goods Shetland goods, whether
they are made of English or Shetland wool?-Yes. 3153. This [showing] is an invoice of shawls?-Yes. 3154. Is there any material difference, with respect to the shawls,
from the calculations with regard to the cost of production and
profit which we have just made with respect to the veils?-I think
it is very similar. 3155. It comes to something like the same thing?-Yes; but the
difference is not quite so marked. 3156. You think there is not so much difference in the cost to you,
in the case of shawls, as in the case of veils?-No; because we
don't get job shawls, and we don't require to guard against that. 3157. Are there no job shawls at all?-It is extremely seldom that
there are any. 3158. Therefore, in that case, you require to make the margin
less?-Yes. 3159. What do you think would be the percentage of profit upon
the lots of veils and shawls mentioned in this account
[showing]?-I really could not say. I am quite sure that no person
in the trade could tell that. 3160. You have never made an exact calculation of it?-Never. 3161. Can you give me an approximation to it? Will it be 10 per
cent.?-Yes; it will be more. 3162. Will it be under 15?-I think it will be. 3163. That is not taking into consideration the fact that they are
paid for in goods?-There is nothing like 15 per cent. in that view.
I am taking the whole profit in every way connected with them. 3164. But the question I am asking is, whether, calculating the cost
of production in money as I have done just now, and calculating
the selling price in money, the profit realized upon these two
invoices you have handed to me will amount to 10 or 15 per
cent.?-I don't exactly understand the question. 3165. We have been calculating the cost of the article to you?-
Yes; and the real cost to us, I would say the profit will be 15 per
cent. 3166. Then, in addition to that, you sell goods to the parties who
bring in the articles?-Not in addition to that. 3167. You don't mean to say that you give your goods in return for
these articles at cost price?-No, we don't. 3168. You have a profit upon the goods?-Yes; but we don't have
a separate profit of 15 per cent. on the hosiery. 3169. But the purpose of the calculations we have been going into
just now is to show what the hosiery costs?-Yes; what is the cost
to Mr. Linklater. 3170. How do you get at the actual cost?-I cannot get at it
exactly. I really don't know what it is. 3171. But when you say you pay a woman 10s. for knitting, that is
marked down in your book as the price paid to her for knitting, just
in the same way as if it had been paid in money?-Yes; but I say
that we don't have 15 per cent. of profit on these goods over and
above the profit we have on the goods given to the knitter. 3172. But, setting aside in the meantime the fact that the women
are paid in goods, and supposing that the 10s. entered in your book
is paid to the knitter in cash, do you mean to say that your profit is
not 10 or 15 per cent.?-If it was cash, I should say it was 10 or 15
per cent.,-on some things a little more, and on some things a
little less. 3173. I am speaking of the hosiery exclusively at present; but in
point of fact the 10s. that is entered in your book as the cost of
knitting is invariably, or almost invariably, settled for by means of
goods on the other side of the account?-Yes. 3174. Are these goods charged to the knitter at wholesale prices or
at retail prices?-At retail prices. 3175. Then that retail price implies that there is a profit on the
goods?-That is what I am saying; but I say that we don't have 15
per cent. profit on the shawls, and a profit on the goods besides. I
say that if we were paying the actual cash for the knitting of the
shawls, then we might have 15 per cent. of profit. 3176. Do you mean that if you were paying actual cash for the
knitting of the shawls, you would allow smaller profit on your
goods?-I do. 3177. Then when you said with regard to the grey veils No. 1, at
18s., that the cost of knitting was 9s. a dozen, that payment to the
knitter was higher than if you paid her in cash?-Yes. 3178. How much higher?-I think that one would not be safe in
that case to pay more than 7s. or 7s. 6d., but some knitters make
rather better things than others. Of course that is only my own
opinion, and it is a thing I have never discussed either one way or
another. 3179. You don't sell the Shetland worsted?-No. 3180. And you say an average price for it is 3d. a cut?-Yes; fine
worsted may be from 3d. to 6d. a cut. 3181. The payment for that is generally in goods?-No, it is
generally in cash, but we do sometimes get it for goods. 3182. You pay for it generally in cash: how do you account for that
deviation from your general practice in Shetland?-We buy a good
lot of it from merchants, and there are a good many old women
who spin for a living, who we think require the cash. There is also
such a demand for it that we are very glad to get it for cash, when
the market is generally overstocked with everything else. 3183. Is there much Shetland wool sold in the southern
markets?-No; we only send very small quantities of it south, for
darning purposes. 3184. Are you aware whether there are merchants in Shetland,
either in Lerwick or in the country, who send Shetland wool to the
southern markets?-I know it has been sent from Yell. 3185. To a large extent?-No; it is not produced to a large extent.
All that is produced in Shetland is very trifling. 3186. How did it happen to be sent from Yell?-Because a hosiery
merchant in the south, who was selling their goods, got an order
for worsted, and it was sent to him. I only know or that one
instance. 3187. Was it sent by a proprietor?-I am not sure. It was Mr. Pole
of Greenbank who sent it. I rather think his father is proprietor of
Greenbank. Mr. Pole is now at Mossbank. 3188. What is the cost per pound of that worsted which sells at 3d.
per cut?-Ordinary good 3d. worsted should be about 20s. a
pound. 3189. Therefore it is not so dear as the English worsted?-It is
much dearer. 3190. But there is some of the English worsted high as 32s. a
pound?-Yes; but we have bought Shetland wool at 96s. 3191. Is that the finest quality of Shetland worsted?-Yes 3192. How much is that per cut?-I think about 7d. We have paid
7d. a cut for it, and on weighing it out I have found there were 12
cuts to the ounce. A cut is 100 threads, and a reel is about a yard
long, or scarcely so much. 3193. There will be a greater number of cuts in a pound of fine
worsted than in a pound of coarse worsted?-Yes. 3194. So that the proportion between the price per [Page 71] cut
and the price per pound will differ very much?-Yes 3195. In your trade is there any quantity of goods sold for cash?-
Yes. 3196. Are these marked and sold at the same price as those which
you give in return for hosiery?-Yes; they are marked at the same
price, and generally sold at the same price. On rare occasions
there is a slight discount given for ready cash. 3197. How much is that discount?-I should say about 1s. per £1. 3198. Why is that not allowed when the settlement with
hosiery?-Because we consider that in our transactions throughout
the year we do not realize for our hosiery goods the full price
which we pay. 3199. Have you two shops?-Yes. 3200. In one of these is hosiery kept and bought?-In one of them
hosiery is kept; it is only in bought that shop now on very rare
occasions. When Mr. Linklater or I happen to be there, we may
buy something, and send the customer to the other shop to settle
for it. 3201. Then the buying of hosiery is only conducted in the drapery
shop?-The settlement for hosiery is only conducted in the hosiery
shop. 3202. As a rule, a person selling a shawl or veil would go to the
drapery shop?-Yes; and if Mr. Linklater or I was not there, she
would go to the other shop to see if we were there. 3203. How do you settle with them if the purchase is made in the
hosiery shop?-Generally one of us goes across with them, and on
other occasions we give a line to the other shop such as this: '12s.
R. L.,'-just the sum and the initials, and they go to the other
shop, where it is settled at once. 3204. That is in cases of purchase, and has nothing to do with your
knitters?-Nothing; unless in the case of the dresser, who has to
bring all the dressed goods to the other shop. She sometimes gets
a similar line; at other times she just tells the amount. Of course
we put every confidence in her; and whether she has a line or not,
she is settled with all the same. 3205. Do you exchange a large quantity of tea for hosiery and
knitted work?-Not a large quantity; only a small quantity. 3206. Was it larger formerly than it is now?-I don't think it. 3207. The principal dealing is in goods?-Yes; in goods. Of
course when people ask for tea, they are never refused it; but we
don't sell much. 3208. Do you give them tea for goods at the ordinary market price
that it is got at in the other grocery shops in town?-I have no idea
what their tea costs them at other places. One merchant does not
know what another merchant's goods are sold for. 3209. At what prices do you sell your teas?-Generally at 9d. and
10d. per quarter. 3210. Have you only two qualities?-Yes. 3211. Is it always sold in quarter pounds?-No; it is sometimes
sold in half ounces. 3212. It is just put up as the people ask for it?-Yes. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, ROBERT SINCLAIR, recalled. 3213. Have you anything further to add to the evidence you
previously gave?-I produce a list of names of parties who have
sold goods to me, and they can be examined as to the prices they
have got for their goods, that the range of prices may be
ascertained. [Produces list.] 3214. I believe you also wish to explain something about the
number of your knitters?-Yes; I made a mistake about that. I
find from the index in our workers' book that the number is
upwards of 300. I believe, however, that a great number of the
knitters who appear in our books will also appear in the books of
other merchants. They take work from two or perhaps three, at the
same time; and consequently the aggregate number of knitters is
not represented by the number that is found collectively in the
books of the employers. 3215. You wish also to speak about Catherine Borthwick's
evidence. She said she had never got any money from you; that
she had asked you about two years ago for 1s,, when there was
about 5s. 6d. due to her; that you refused it; and that she had never
asked you for any since?-I have no evidence either to corroborate
or to disprove that statement. I have not the least recollection of
it; but I don't believe that it happened 3216. Is there anything in your books to contradict it?-Nothing. 3217. Then there is nothing for it but her statement, and your
statement on the other side?-Quite so. 3218. In a large business like yours there might be a cash
transaction at a time, apart from your books, which was settled for
there and then?-Yes, it might have been; but it is a very unlikely
thing that she asked me for 1s. in cash and I refused it unless I had
very good grounds for doing so. She was generally behind in my
books. 3219. But what she deponed to might have happened when she
was behind?-Yes; I think it was very seldom, until I settled up
with her, that she was not behind. 3220. In the work-book, I notice that dressing is occasionally
charged against you on the credit side?-That is in the case where
the knitter also dresses, and she is paid for that as well as for the
knitting. We sometimes included both in the same payment, but
not very often. Now we always separate them. 3221. When you were examined previously with regard to the cost
of the wool in a shawl made of English wool, were you speaking
of the price which you paid for the wool, or of the price at which
you would retail it?-With regard to English or south-country
wool, I may just repeat what I said before; that we really do very
little in it, especially for fine shawls. I never charged 30s., or
anything like it, for a shawl made of Pyrenees wool, because I did
not consider that it was real Shetland goods. 3222. Then you deal in the real Shetland goods?-Yes, mostly.
Occasionally, if I have to send a shawl of another kind to the
south, I state that it is not handspun wool-that it is not the real
Shetland wool. 3223. So that the great majority of your goods consists of Shetland
wool; and in estimating the cost of production of a shawl, you
estimated it at the price you paid for the wool?-Just so. 3224. And not at the retail price to a customer?-No; it was the
cash price meant. There is one exception-that is, in the mohair
falls-similar to those Mr. Anderson has been referring to, where,
as rule, we pay a higher rate for knitting than that mentioned.
These mohair falls are the only thing we deal in that is not
Shetland. 3225. That is, the grey and black falls?-Yes. We never buy black
wool; we always dye the falls after they are knitted. 3226. Are falls and veils the same thing?-We don't buy the
mohair black; we think we get a more uniform shade of colour
when we buy them in the piece. 3227. I understand you have two shops?-Yes. 3228. One of them is a shop where you only deal in drapery
goods?-Yes; where we only deal for cash. 3229. There are no hosiery dealings carried on there?-No. 3230. Are the same prices charged for the drapery goods in the two
shops?-There is a very small shade of difference on some things.
Some things are exactly the same in both; on others there is a
small difference. I should say that there is such a difference on
calicoes. There are several things we sell in that shop, such as
fancy goods and sewed articles, which are not kept in our hosiery
shop at all; but winceys and stuff goods, such as camlets and
satteens, and other things for dresses, are charged alike in both
shops, so far as I remember. [Page 72] 3231. Is there any difference made in the price of the tea?-We
don't sell tea in the drapery shop. While on this subject I would
call attention to one thing that was stated in Mr. Walker's
evidence. He said that the merchants gave mostly flowers and
ribands, and things of that description in exchange for the hosiery;
while the fact is that flowers and ribands are just the kind of goods
which I would avoid giving, if I could, because we do not realize a
profit on them. In our cash shop we never have flowers or ribands,
unless when we are obliged to have them for the accommodation
of our customers; and we would rather want them. I was four
years in the trade, so far as I recollect, before I had any flowers or
ribands in stock at all, because I knew from former experience
they were a thing which did not pay. 3232. What is the reason why these things do not pay?-They may
pay some people in the south, who charge a higher rate for them;
but we do not charge so high for them as in the south. 3233. How are you obliged to have them now?-Because the
people will have them, and they have got into the habit of buying
them at the ordinary rates. An ordinary retail profit put on any of
these things won't pay us, because so many of the flowers are lost,
crushed, or destroyed; and sometimes I have seen us have to throw
a box of them from the pier. Another thing is that ribands go out
of fashion. There are boxes of ribands standing in my shop, which
I would sell for one-fourth of the cash I paid for them. 3234. Do you not keep these, goods because you find it necessary
to have them in order to induce people to come to your shop with
their hosiery goods?-By no means. They come without any
inducement of that kind. 3235. But they want them when they are selling their hosiery?-
We could do without them, for that part of it. There are many
customers who come for them, as well as hosiery customers.
When we want a particular article of hosiery, and have an order for
it, we can arrange, and often do arrange, to buy it for cash; and the
people may go and buy their goods where they like. That is
frequently done when we have a standing order for an article; so
that we do not keep these things as baits for the public at all. 3236. You buy a good deal of wool from the north isles?-Yes. 3237. I think you said you did not send any of it south?-No; I
don't require to send it south. 3238. Are you aware of Shetland wool being bought and sent south
in considerable quantities?-I was told by a south-country dealer
that he had bought a considerable quantity of wool from Shetland;
but that is all. I know about it. I have no personal knowledge of
the thing being done. 3239. You don't understand that it is bought up by the proprietors
or factors or middle-men?-I never heard anything about that,
except from Mr. Walker's evidence; and it is a dream. 3240. You don't buy it yourself for any purpose of that kind?-No;
there are none of the merchants who do that. There is one thing in
my previous evidence which I wish to correct: I thought of it after I
left here. In calculating the value of a 30s. shawl, I put down 14s.
as the value of the knitting; but in that case I did not make the
deduction I should have made for the percentage of the goods paid
for it, which would increase the real profit to the dealer. As,
however, in a great many instances, when we require a fine shawl
of that kind, a good deal of it is paid in cash, I think that, taking it
as a general thing, not more than 1s., 6d. would fall to be deducted
for that from the figure I gave. In some cases the price is paid
wholly in cash, especially for things of that kind. That sum of 1s.
6d. would therefore fall to be added to the profit if the article was
paid in goods; but if paid in cash, then my statement was quite
correct. 3241. Did you hear the evidence which has been given by Mr.
Anderson with regard to the cost of making shawls and veils?-I
did. 3242. It was mostly veils he spoke to, and the selling price of
them: do you think his calculations that on subject were generally
near the truth?-I believe they were perfectly correct, so far as my
own experience goes, but I may say that my experience in that
matter has been somewhat different from his, inasmuch, as for that
class of wool, and knitting. I often pay a higher rate to good
knitters. There is this; however, to be said in my case, that I do not
have so many job lots, which compensates to a great extent for the
difference; and another thing is that I do not charge such a high
price for them as he stated, when sending them south. If I am
selling to a private individual, I may but it is very seldom that I sell
to private individuals. 3243. That may be accounted for in this way: that you sell more to
wholesale customers, while I suppose Mr. Linklater's business in
Edinburgh is really a retail business?-Yes; he has a very
extensive establishment in Edinburgh. 3244. His own establishment there is a retail one; so that the prices
Mr. Anderson was speaking of were probably retail prices?-I
suppose so. I think if the one was balanced with the other, there
would be found to be very little difference between Mr. Linklater's
experience in the trade and my own. I wish it to be distinctly
understood, that when I said we got no profit, on the goods except
what we realized on the first purchase, I meant that we do not
realize indeed we often don't realize so much-as the price we
paid for them in goods. In particular cases, we may charge a shade
over what the thing has actually cost us; but there are a great many
articles for which we must charge less, and that much more than
balances the other. If our customers in the south were private
individuals or consumers, we could very easily pay the same rate
in cash that we now pay in goods, but as we have to sell to retail
dealers in a wholesale way, we cannot afford to do that, unless we
were to rob the retail dealer of his profit altogether. Lerwick, January 6, 1872, ISABELLA SINCLAIR, examined. 3245. You are the daughter of Mr. Sinclair, who has just been
examined, and one of the assistants in shop?-Yes. 3246. Are you sometimes concerned in the purchase of hosiery
goods?-No; I never purchase hosiery. 3247. You only sell in the shop?-Yes. 3248. Is it the case that the lines which are given out in your
father's shop are generally brought back by the same parties to
whom they are issued? Do you know who the lines are given
to?-No; we keep no note of their names. 3249. But do you happen to know them?-I know several cases in
which the lines have been brought back by the same parties to
whom they were given out; and there have been other cases where
I know that they have been given by that party to another party,
just the same as sending them an errand. 3250. Do you know of any cases in which they have been brought
back by people with whom they have been exchanged for money
or for goods which could not be got in your father's shop?-No;
they would never mention such a thing to us. 3251. And no such case has come within your knowledge?-I have
heard vague reports of such things being done but nothing that I
could, state positively. I know that if they had come to the shop
and asked money for their lines, they would have got 10d., in the
shilling for them from my father. 3252. Have you ever been asked for that?-Very seldom. There
was one girl who came in a few nights ago and offered me a veil.
My father happened to be in the back shop, and I went to him with
it, and he said he would give her 1s. 4d. for the veil. I came back
to the girl, and she said, 'Would I give her 1s. 4d. in money?' I
said, 'Certainly not,' because the veil season was over; and also I
did think that money [Page 73] and goods were the same thing. I
said I would give here 1s. 1d. in money, and she asked if I would
give her 1s. 2d. I said, 'No;' I would only give her 1s. 1d. and she
took that and went away..'THOMAS JAMIESON.'LAURANCE MALCOLMSON.'WILLIAM MANSON.'WILLIAM MOUAT.
Back to IndexNext