The existing Truck Act (as well as the Bill now before Parliament)
prohibits the payment of wages in goods in the various trades to
which it applies. Even, therefore, if fishermen formed one of the
classes of workmen falling under the Act, they would not be
protected by it, because they do not receive wages, but are paid a
price for their fish. One result of this is, that Truck, as it exists in
Shetland, is without disguise or concealment. No machinery has
been contrived for evading the law; and almost all the masters, and
even some of the fishermen, regard the system which prevails, as
wholesome, natural, and indeed inevitable.
I have already explained that the price of the fish is ascertained
and settled only for once in the year. But fishermen, as Adam
Smith remarks, have been poor since the days of Theocritus;
and in Shetland the Truck system begins when, his farm produce
failing to support the family, the fisherman farmer finds it
necessary to obtain from the 'merchant' supplies or advances
before the time of settlement, and, it may be, a boat, fishing
materials, and provisions, to enable him to prosecute his calling.
In Shetland the merchant needs to use no influence or compulsion
to bring the fisherman to his shop. He has no black-list, and has to
enforce no penalties for 'sloping.' As the laws against Truck do
not apply to him, even remotely, he scarcely ever seeks to conceal
the fact that the earnings of those whom he employs are paid to a
large extent, in goods, and he is even prepared with arguments in
vindication of the practice. The man whose farm cannot keep
his family until settlement, comes, as a matter of course, to the
fish-curer's store; and even the thriving and prosperous man, who
has money in the bank, 'almost invariably' has an account at the
shop. In the great majority cases there is a mutual understanding,
that when a merchant buys your fish, you ought in fairness to get at
least a part of your goods at his shop.
[Andrew Tulloch, 509; L. Mail, 568; W. Williamson, 855; P.M.
Sandison, 5146; Rev. D. Miller, 5998; J. Brown, 7986, 7997; T.M.
Adie, 5633; 5735; A. Tulloch, 5472, 5501; John Anderson, 6546;
G. Robertson, 9311; G. Gilbertson, 9557; J. Laurenson, 9837; M.
Henderson, 9830-1; J. Harper, 10,387; C. Nicolson, 11,939; A.
Abernethy, 12,268; L. Garriock, p. 303a etc., 12,347, 12,356,
12,360, 12,388 sq.; T. Hutchison, 12,686; L. Henderson, 12,744;
J. Halcrow, 13,090; R. Simpson, 13,980; John Robertson, jun.,
15169.]
'There is a tacit understanding' says the Rev D. Miller, 'at
least that they must do that; but I believe that is induced by the
circumstance, that for a large portion of the year their money is in
the merchants' hands, and that again affords the kind of facility for
running into debt which I have spoken of.'
'5999. Do you think that makes them incur larger debts than they
otherwise would do?-I think so.'
'6000. Can you suggest any remedy for this state of things?-The
remedy I would suggest is this: that the payments be as prompt as
possible and that they be cash payments. I am quite ready to state
how I think the cash payments would operate. At present the
fisherman's money is all in the merchant's hands; but he is
requiring goods in the meantime and he has money to procure
them with, and therefore he goes to the merchant and procures his
goods. The merchant is under no constraint,-he can put his own
price on the articles which he sells; and of course, where there is
a credit system like the present, there are a large number of
defaulters. These defaulters do not pay their own debts; but the
merchant must live notwithstanding, and therefore the honest men
have to pay for the defaulters. The merchant could not carry on
his business unless that were done. He must have his losses
covered; and a system of that sort tells very heavily upon the
public, because the merchant must charge a large margin of
profit.'
The existence of such an understanding is sometimes denied, as by
Mr. Pole, a merchant; but he evidently means only that there is no
expressed bargain or arrangement. He adds, at the same time
(speaking of the women employed at so much per ton in collecting
kelp, who, like every other class of people in Shetland, have
similar accounts), that they take a considerable part of their wages
in goods:
'5925. Is there any expectation or understanding, when these
women are engaged, that they shall open an account and take their
wages, or the greater part of them, in goods at your shop?-No,
there is no understanding; but we have every reason to believe that
they will come to us, because they cannot manage otherwise.'
'5926. Are the goods which they take generally provisions or soft
goods?-Chiefly provisions, but some soft goods too.'
'5927. In engaging these women, do you give any preference to
those who deal at your shop?-No; but they mostly all deal there.'
'5928. Has each of them a ledger account in her own name with you?-Yes.'
A very observant and shrewd witness, speaking of the lobster and
oyster trade, in which he is engaged, says:
[Page 15 rpt.]
'11,817. I understood you to say that when the men come with
oysters and lobsters to the shop, and were paid, they generally took
away some supplies from the shop?-They generally do, but they
are not asked to do it.'
'11,818. Do they appear to think it a fair and proper thing that they
should do so?-I think they do.'
'11,819. Is that a common sort of feeling, among the men?-Yes,
it is it common feeling in the country.'
'11,820. In short, they apologize if they don't spend the money in
the shop where they get it?-Something like that. I should not say
that they apologize, but sometimes they tell me what they want the
money for, and they say they have to take it away. Of course they
are not asked to leave it.'
'11,821. But there seems to be it kind of understanding that they
are to spend part of their earnings in the shop?-The people seem
to have the opinion that they ought to do that.'
'11,822. And I suppose the merchant has some feeling of the same
kind also?-I never ask them to spend the money in the shop; but
of course we are glad to get what money we can.'
'11,823. I suppose they don't require to be asked to spend some of
it?-No.'
[W. Harcus, 11,817.]