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15,515. You went up and got your money from the Custom House from the agent or his clerk, and then you came down to the shop and paid your account?-Yes.
15,516. When you went to the shop in the first place, were you always told to come back and pay your account?-Yes.
15,517. Who tells you to do that?-The agent.
15,518. Have you always had your account clear at the end of the season, or have you sometimes been in debt to the shop?-I have always been clear.
15,519. Do you know that young hands are sometimes in debt to the shop at the end of the season?-Yes.
15,520. Has there sometimes been a difficulty in getting berths in the sealing and whaling vessels, in consequence of more men applying than were wanted?-Yes.
15,521. What kind of men are preferred in such circumstances; is it the best quality of men?-There are generally all sorts of hands-green hands, and able seamen, and ordinary seamen of all kinds.
15,522. When a man is in debt to an agent, do you think he has any better chance of getting a berth?-My partners think so. They think that if a man is in debt the agent will perhaps try to get him into a vessel, in order that he may be able to clear off his debt.
15,523. Do you know that they have done that?-Yes, I have seen it.