12,967. I understand the current price last year was 8s. for ling?-I don't think it was so much.
12,968. What did you pay?-I paid 8s. 3d. in 1870, and 8s. 9d. in 1871.
12,969. Do you think the current price was less than 8s.?-I think so, but I am not quite certain.
12,970. Are you obliged to give a higher price in consequence of competition among fish-curers in your neighbourhood?-No.
12,971. Then why do you do it?-We just want to satisfy the men.
12,972. Do the men in your district require a higher price than their neighbours in order to be satisfied?-Yes; they want a higher price, and it has been paid for some years back.
12,973. Can you account for that in any way?-No. I once got into the way of giving a little more than the currency, and the men have always looked for it since.
12,974. Were not the men in your district, until lately, bound to fish for a tacksman, Robert Mouat?-Not in our district. The men who fished for him lived at some distance from me.
12,975. Have you settled this year?-Yes.
12,976. What would be about the average amount of cash which each man had to receive at settlement?-I should say about £4.