Second Shetland Truck System ReportGuthrie, William
History
Second Shetland Truck System Report
Guthrie, William
Labor law -- Truck system -- History -- England; Shetland (Scotland) -- History
1330. What had his son done?-His son got into some sort of
dispute with Mouat about fishing, I can not tell what the cause of it
was exactly; but Mouat gave him warning, and sent him off the
property that he was staying on. Sinclair took a little bit of
scattald outside of the premises, and built a house on it, and he is
living there in a very mean condition.
1331. Did the other people in the neighbourhood take that case as
a warning?-Yes.
1332. It frightened them, did it?-Yes; Shetland people are of that
nature, to be frightened by such things-very much to their hurt.
1333. Do you know of any other person who was turned off in the
same way?-No, I don't remember of any other person being
turned off; because Mouat had no occasion to turn them off. They
did not transgress his law.
1334. Do you know of any other who was threatened to be turned
off?-Every one of us was threatened, the next man was
threatened, and we were all threatened; so that we were frightened.
1335. Do you know of any person who sold his fish or his beasts or
eggs to another than Mouat?-Towards the end of his tack, in the
very last fishing when I fished for him, my family and I were in a
state of starvation for want of meal. I have seen me out at sea
under him for two days and part of a third, on two pounds of meal;
and I saw that I must make some effort for a living, Accordingly I
went to another store close by and gave them some of the fish I
had caught, and got some meal from them. If Mouat's tack had
continued longer, I have no doubt I would have been punished for
that; but as it was nearly broken, he did not have it in his power to
do me any hurt.
1336. Did Mouat speak to you about that?-Yes. There came a
letter from him to the people in the neighbourhood, because some
of them did take their liberty and go away.
1337. Was that in the last year of his tack?-Yes.
1338. What kind of letters were these?-They were letters from
Mouat telling them not to prepare their turf or anything to keep
them in their farms, because they had their warning to go. I got a
letter as well as the rest.
1339. Did it refer to the fish that you had sold to the other
merchant?-Yes.
1340. Have you got that letter?-I don't know. I don't know what
became of it. I think I burnt it; but there ought to be letters in the
neighbourhood that came from Mouat at that time.
1341. You said you did not get all the goods you wanted at
Mouat's shop. What were the goods you asked for and could not
get?-I generally asked for little tea.
1342. Could you not get that?-Yes, I always got that, and I could
get a bit of cotton or anything out of the store that I wanted.
1343. Did you get the tackle you wanted for your fishing from
him?-Yes.
1344. And clothes for your family?-I could get clothes for my
family if I asked for them. Sometimes I did get a little clothing
from him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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