and that when it expired many of the people owed debts, some of
which would [Page 11 rpt.] not have been recovered if the island
had passed to another fish-merchant as tacksman. He assumed
that here, as in other cases, the landlord in Shetland must depend
on the fishing for payment of his rents. Mr. Bruce, younger, of
Sumburgh thus states his views:-

'The tenants on the property in this parish managed by me are
at liberty to go to sea to the Greenland or Faroe fishing, or to
pursue any land occupation as they please; but if they remain at
home and go to the home fishing, they are expected to deliver their
fish to me, and receive for it the full market value. This is one of
the conditions on which they hold their farms, and is, I consider, a
beneficial rule for the fishermen. They must fish to some
merchant, and as I give them as high a price as they could get from
another, they are no losers, while I provide suitable curing and
fishing stations, and these stations of mine are the most convenient
places for them to deliver their fish .... This, I will endeavour to
show, is no grievance at all, but an advantage to the fishermen.'

'In looking over the whole of Shetland, it will be found that the
most prosperous districts are those under the direct management of
the landlords.'

'Many of the fishermen in this country (as, indeed, many of the
poorer classes everywhere) are unable, from want of thrift and
care, to manage their own matters in a satisfactory manner, and
require to be thought for and acted for, and generally treated like
children, and are much better off under the management of a
landlord who has an interest in their welfare, than they would be if