The four articles first spoken to by Mr. Lewis were got at
Mossbank. The meal was of very inferior quality, not saleable in
the Canongate of Edinburgh; and though bought at 1s. 5d. a peck =
£1, 4s. 6d. per boll, is valued at 20s. This corresponds exactly with
the Shetland evidence as to value. Tea bought at 2s. 10d. is valued
at 2s. 4d. as the retail price in Edinburgh, which gives 211/2 per
cent. to cover carriage, risk, and <additional> profit. A tea bought
at Mossbank at 2s. 4d. is of the same value as the 2s. 10d. tea,
though somewhat different 'in style.' Sugar obtained at Mossbank
at 6d. per lb. is worth 41/2d. in retail in Canongate, so that the
merchant in Shetland takes 33 per cent. to cover carriage and <extra> profit.
[J. Lewis, 16,816.]