in the hands of a merchant whose only object was to make a profit
out of them.'

'A merchant who has no control over the fishermen, may, in
some cases, wish to get them and keep them in his debt, in order to
secure their custom; but the case of a landlord also a merchant is
quite different. It is his interest to have a prosperous, thrifty, and
independent tenantry; and he will use his utmost endeavour to
keep them out of debt, and to encourage saving habits.'

'I can see no reason why the fact of a man being a landlord
should prevent him from being also a merchant and fish-curer; and
if so, why he should not secure a lot of good fishermen by making
it one of the conditions of occupancy by his tenants, that if
fishermen they shall fish to him.'

'The very fact of a landlord being a fish-curer would lead up to
this, for tenants would naturally wish to stand well with their
landlord, and, other conditions being equal, would prefer to give
him their fish ....'

'There are, no doubt, many things in the Shetland system of
trade which might be improved; but the system has been of long
growth, and is so engrained in the minds of the people, that any
change must be very gradual: a sudden and sweeping change to
complete free-trade principles and ready-money payments would
not suit the people, but would produce endless confusion,
hardship, and increased pauperism.'

'Under the present system, with our small rentals and large