With many women money is a necessity for payment of rent,
purchase of provisions, and other purposes. Cotton goods, tea,
and shoes, which are almost the only things they can get for their
knitting, are not enough to keep life in them. Those who depend
entirely on their own labour have therefore to find some other
means of providing themselves with these necessaries; and it is
chiefly by them that the complaints of the present system are
made. Some work out-of-doors for part of the year, <e.g.> in
fish-curing or farm-work. In many cases they have sold the
goods obtained at the shop, or bartered them with neighbours, for
potatoes or meal. This practice cannot be described as universal,
because the greater number of knitters live with parents, or have
some supplementary occupation by which they get money. But
still the practice is proved to have been so common that the
ignorance which many witnesses profess with regard to its
existence is surprising. Tea especially is a sort of currency with
which knitters obtain supplies of provisions. Even if there were
not direct testimony to this effect, it would be a fair inference from
the large quantities of tea which the pass-books and merchants'
books show that they get. Thus, in one account, more than a half
of the total amount consists of 1/4lb. packages of tea.
[J. Irvine, 120; B. Johnston, 401; M. Clunas, 3466; R. Henderson,
1295; M. Jamieson, 14,053; Dr Cowie, 14,709; J. Coutts, 15,336;
R. Irvine, 15,748; M. Quin, 16,657; C. Sutherland, 16,660; C.
Borthwick, 1627; 1645; Mrs. Nicholson, 3516; Mary Coutts,
11,601, Agnes Tait, 11,758; E. Russell, 11,583; E. Moncrieff,
11,474; Janet Exter, 4112; C. Nicholson, 11,997; M. Tulloch,
1487; Jane Sandison, 4151; A. Johnstone, 4226; R. Sinclair, 2436;
J. Anderson, 6696; C. Greig, 11,559; M. Jamieson, 14,058; I.
Henderson, 11,656, 11,663.
Cotton and drapery goods are also sold or exchanged by knitters in
order to get provisions or wool, and sometimes at a considerable
loss. Thus Isabella Henderson says she had to give goods which
cost 6s. 6d. for 5s. worth of meal. Women at Scalloway stated that
they had frequently hawked the goods given them for knitting
through the country for meal and potatoes. Mary Coutts says:
'11,601. How do you get your provisions, such as meal and
potatoes?-We give tea to the farmers, and get meal and potatoes
for it. We have sometimes to go to the west side, to Walls and
Sandness, for that. Our aunt, Elizabeth Coutts, has done that for
us. She has not been to Walls and Sandness for the last two years,
but she went regularly before. It was only for our own house, not
for other people, that she took the tea there and got the meal and
potatoes in exchange.'
'11,602. During the last two years how have you got your meal and
provisions?-We have knitted for Mr. Moncrieff last year.'
'11,603. And therefore you did not need to barter your tea?-No.'
'11,604. Did you get the full price for your tea from the
armers?-I suppose we did sometimes, but I could not say.
They did not weigh out the meal and potatoes which they gave
in exchange; they merely gave a little for the tea which my aunt
gave them. I have known her go as far as Papa Stour, twenty-four
miles away, to make these exchanges. That was where most of her
friends were.'
'11,605. Have you often had to barter your goods for less than they
were worth?-Sometimes, if there had been 21/2 yards of cotton
lying and a peck of meal came in, we would give it for the meal.
The cotton would be worth 6d. a yard, or 15d.; and the meal
would be worth 1s. I remember doing that about three years ago;
but we frequently sold the goods for less than they had cost us in
Lerwick.'