Second Shetland Truck System ReportGuthrie, William
History
Second Shetland Truck System Report
Guthrie, William
Labor law -- Truck system -- History -- England; Shetland (Scotland) -- History
605. You buy your leather, and get somebody to make them?-
Yes.
606. What is the difference in the price of the leather at the two
places?-We generally think that we can get it a few shillings
cheaper at Henderson's store than we can get it elsewhere.
607. Do you mean that the leather for a pair of boots is a few
shillings cheaper at Henderson's store than at Mr. Bruce's?-Yes.
608. Is there any other article you can specify on which there is a
difference of price?-I don't know shout anything else in
particular.
609. Where do you get your bread?-We buy all our meal, and
bake it for ourselves.
610. You spoke about the meal being 4s. a boll cheaper at Lerwick
than at Mr. Bruce's: do you know that because you have bought it
there yourself?-No; but I have asked what the price of the meal
was in Lerwick-sometimes when I was there, and sometimes
from people that I could rely upon. Of course we did not know
what the price of Mr. Bruce's meal was until we came to settle.
611. But you found out at settling time that Mr. Bruce had charged
you 4s. more per boll than meal was selling for at the same time in
Lerwick?-Yes.
612. Are you quite sure of that?-Yes.
613. Is the quality of meal from the store good?-Generally it is;
614. You have no fault to find with the quality?-I have no
complaint against it or against the quality of any of the goods sold
there; they are generally good.
615. What is the price of a boll of meal at Mr. Bruce's store just
now?-I cannot say. There is not much meal bought at the store
about this time. Most of us have small farms of our own from
which we get meal.
616. Then it is generally in summer that you buy meal from Mr.
Bruce's store?-Yes.
617. What was the price of meal during last summer?-I cannot
say, because I had none from them last summer, except the fourth
of a boll.
618. What was the price of that?-I won't know the price of it
until settling time. I don't think any man dealing there knows the
price of his meal until that time.
619. Is the only compulsion upon you to fish for Mr. Bruce, that
you are afraid of being turned out of your holdings?-Of course.
620. If you did not fish for him, or if you sold your fish to another,
would you have to pay liberty money?-I don't think there is
anything of that kind done with us.
621. You have no written leases?-No. We got the offer of a lease
last year. But it would have made us worse than we are, because
Mr. Bruce would give a lease for fifty years; but he had it in his
power every ten years to raise the rent, so that it would have been
double at the end of the fifty years.
622. But you had it in your power to refuse that?-Of course; and
we did refuse it.
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