One of the peculiarities of the hosiery trade, as described in the
evidence of the merchants, is that they have no profit on the
hosiery and fancy articles, which they invoice to merchants in the
south at prices either the same as the prices paid for them in goods,
or so little higher as only to cover the risk and loss upon damaged
articles and job lots. They say that the only exception to this is in
the case of fine fancy work, which is often bought for cash, and in
selling which they can readily obtain a sufficient profit. There is
a good deal of evidence about this which rather tends to show
that although dealers in Shetland invoice their goods to trade
purchasers in London, Edinburgh, and elsewhere, at such prices as
are, upon the whole of their sales, sufficient to keep them free
from loss and allow a profit, yet that profit is very small, being at
most a small commission for the trouble of getting the goods
disposed of; and that they have a much less, but still considerable,
trade with private purchasers, in which they realize considerable
profit. The inquiry into traders' profits was not prosecuted in a
more searching way, by examining themselves and their knitters
at length upon invoices and specimens of goods, because the
sufficiently intrusive inquiry which was made, and which stands in
various parts of the printed evidence, seemed clearly enough to
show that the truth as to this collateral question is as I have stated
it.
[A. Laurenson, 2199, 2264; R. Sinclair, 2525, 3246, etc.; R.
Linklater, 2728; J. Tulloch, 2795, etc.; W. Johnston, 2844; T.
Nicholson, 3584; M. Laurenson, 7517.]