17,039. Have you ever bought shawls or veils in Edinburgh?-No.
17,040. Or priced them?-No.
17,041. Are the prices of goods in the Lerwick shops generally higher or lower than the prices you pay here for such goods, for instance, as cottons or petticoats-I am a stranger here, and I have not bought anything yet, except a piece of velvet, and I paid the same price for it here as I would have done in Lerwick.
Edinburgh, April 18, 1872, CHARLES FLEMING, examined.
17,042. What are you?-I am a draper to trade, and I am the buyer in that department for Messrs. M'Laren, Son, & Co., High Street, Edinburgh.
17,043. Is that a wholesale as well as a retail house?-Yes.
17,044. How many years' experience have you had in the business?-Eighteen years. I have been two years in my present position as buyer.
17,045. I suppose you are one of the largest buyers in that line in Scotland?-I believe we are, for the retail trade; but we are wholesale as well.
17,046. Do you buy for the wholesale trade, or only for the retail?-I buy for both.
17,047. I show you a piece of half-bleached cotton: what is the usual price of that as an article of retail trade?-It depends upon the width. There are a number of different widths, but the usual widths made are 29, 32, and 36 inches. It is also made 40 inches and wider, but these are not usually sold.