8604. How are they better, when the same price is always paid at the end of the year by all the curers?-I cannot see where they can be better by shifting from one man to another; I never felt that I would be any better to do so.
8605. I understand all the merchants hereabout pay the same current price for fish?-Yes. Mr. Adie proposed a stated agreement to me for fishing herring. The herrings in Shetland then were 7s. a cran, and he agreed that he would give us 8s. a cran; but we have only got 8s. a cran for two years. The price varies with the agreement in each year; sometimes we get 13s. a cran, sometimes 10s., and sometimes 12s.-just up and down.
8606. Do you generally go to the herring fishing every year?-Yes.
8607. At what season of the year do you go?-August and September; after we are done with the ling fishing.
8608. And the bargain for the herring fishing is that you are to get so much a cran?-Yes; that was the agreement we had with Mr. Adie when we took our nets.
8609. Do you hire nets from him for that fishing?-No, we buy them, and they are put into our accounts.
8610. Have you paid off the price of these nets now?-Yes.
8611. How long did it take you to pay them?-I could not say exactly, but I think it took us between 8 and 9 years to pay for them all, because we had lean fishings.
8612. You mean that the herring fishing was poor?-Yes.
8613. Did you get them paid off at last?-Yes.