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diff --git a/old/51271-0.txt b/old/51271-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 992ba7d..0000000 --- a/old/51271-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10222 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The History of the Highland Clearances, by -Alexander Mackenzie - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: The History of the Highland Clearances - Second Edition, Altered and Revised - - -Author: Alexander Mackenzie - - - -Release Date: February 21, 2016 [eBook #51271] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND -CLEARANCES*** - - -E-text prepared by Henry Flower and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team (http://www.pgdp.net from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive/American Libraries (https://archive.org/details/americana) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive/American Libraries. See - https://archive.org/details/historyofhighlan00mackrich - - - - - -THE HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLEARANCES - -by - -ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, F.S.A., Scot. - -With a New Introduction by Ian Macpherson, M.P. - - - “Truth is stranger than fiction.” - - - - - - - -P. J. O’Callaghan, -132-134 West Nile Street, Glasgow. - -First Edition 1883. - -Second Edition, altered and revised 1914. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - EDITOR’S PREFACE, 7 - - INTRODUCTION, 9 - - SUTHERLAND-- - - Alexander Mackenzie on the Clearances, 19 - The Rev. Donald Sage on the Sutherland Clearances, 32 - General Stewart of Garth on the Sutherland Clearances, 41 - Hugh Miller on the Sutherland Clearances, 52 - Mr. James Loch on Sutherland Improvements, 69 - Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe on the Sutherland Clearances, 78 - Reply to Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe by Donald Macleod, 88 - - TRIAL OF PATRICK SELLAR, 115 - - ROSS-SHIRE-- - - Glencalvie, 128 - The Eviction of the Rosses, 134 - Kintail, 143 - Coigeach, 144 - Strathconon, 144 - The Black Isle, 146 - The Island of Lewis, 147 - Mr. Alexander Mackenzie on the Leckmelm Evictions, 149 - Lochcarron, 161 - The 78th Highlanders, 167 - The Rev. Dr. John Kennedy on the Ross-shire Clearances, 169 - - INVERNESS-SHIRE-- - - Glengarry, 170 - Strathglass, 187 - Guisachan, 193 - Glenelg, 194 - Glendesseray and Locharkaig, 196 - - THE HEBRIDES-- - - North Uist, 198 - Boreraig and Suisinish, Isle of Skye, 202 - A Contrast, 212 - South Uist and Barra, 213 - The Island of Rum, 222 - - ARGYLLSHIRE-- - - The Island of Mull, 228 - Ardnamurchan, 232 - Morven, 235 - Glenorchy, 237 - - BUTESHIRE-- - - Arran, 240 - - PERTHSHIRE-- - - Rannoch, 242 - Breadalbane, 245 - - NOTABLE DICTA-- - - The Rev. Dr. Maclachlan, 247 - A Highland Sheriff, 253 - The Wizard of the North, 254 - A Continental Historian, 254 - Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace, 255 - A French Economist, 259 - Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, 263 - Hardships Endured by First Emigrants, 264 - An Evicting Agent, 271 - An Octogenarian Gael, 274 - - STATISTICAL STATEMENT-- - - Showing the Population in 1831, 1841, 1851, 1881, and - 1911, of all Parishes in whole or in part in the Counties - of Perth, Argyll, Inverness, Ross and - Cromarty, Caithness, and Sutherland, 278-282 - - APPENDICES, 283 - - - - -EDITOR’S PREFACE - -TO SECOND EDITION. - - -Mackenzie’s _History of the Highland Clearances_, with its thrilling -and almost incredible narratives of oppression and eviction, has -been for a long time out of print. In view of the current movement, -described by Mr. Asquith as an “organised campaign against the present -system of land tenure,” it has occurred to the holder of the copyright, -Mr. Eneas Mackay, publisher, Stirling, that, at the present juncture, -a re-issue might be expediently prepared. He recognised that the story -of the great upheaval which, early in the nineteenth century, took -place among the Highland crofters would be of undoubted interest and -utility to those who follow the efforts now put forth to settle the -land question in Scotland. At his request I readily undertook the task -of re-editing. - -The circumstances, or points of view, having changed in no slight -measure since the first appearance of the work, I decided to subject -it to a pretty thorough revision--to excise a large mass of irrelevant -matter and to introduce several fresh articles. Donald Macleod’s -“Gloomy Memories” are omitted out of considerations for space, -and because it is proposed to reprint them shortly in a separate -form. There is included, for the first time, a vindication of the -Sutherland Clearances by Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle -Tom’s Cabin,” and another by Mr. James Loch, principal factor on the -Sutherland Estates during the time the removals were carried out. -There are also given graphic and realistic word pictures of these -evictions by the Rev. Donald Sage. The general arrangement of the -book has been altered to the extent of grouping together the accounts -relating to each particular county, and descriptions are added of a -number of Clearances which were not dealt with in the first edition. - -I have pleasure in acknowledging my indebtedness to Mr. Ian Macpherson, -M.P., and Dr. J. H. Fullarton, London, for kindly looking over the -proofs. - -Special and very sincere thanks are due to Mr. John Henderson, -secretary of the National Library Club, London, who manifested the -kindest and liveliest interest in the undertaking. Not only did he read -the proofs with scrupulous care, but he was ever ready to give advice -and offer suggestions when cases of doubt arose. To me, one of the most -pleasant memories connected with the labour of editing is the valuable -assistance always so promptly and cheerfully given by Mr. Henderson. - -I greatly appreciate the courtesy shown by Messrs. Daniel Ross & Co., -Ltd., publishers, Wick, in permitting extracts to be taken from Mr. -Sage’s _Memorabilia Domestica_. - -Regarding the Publisher, I may be permitted to mention that he rendered -my task very easy by providing, sometimes at considerable trouble and -expense, all works of reference which I considered would be of service -in endeavouring to make this History thoroughly accurate and reliable. - - - - -_INTRODUCTION._ - - -It is with great pleasure that I accede to the request that I should -write a short introduction to welcome this reprint of so interesting -and valuable a book as Mackenzie’s _Highland Clearances_. It has long -been out of print, which anyone who recalls its first appearance will -easily understand. It was written by a Highlander who commanded in -a great measure the esteem of Highlanders, and it collected for the -first time the sane and authenticated accounts of the experience of the -Highlanders in the great agrarian crisis of their history. It appealed -to the race as no book within recent years has done. The Highlander -loves his past and his native land with a passionate attachment, and -the story of the great wrongs of the days of the clearances is still -deeply embedded in his mind. Within the last year or two many accounts, -more or less imaginary, have appeared purporting to be true stories -of those terrible days in the north, and it is peculiarly appropriate -that, when once again men’s minds are centred on the great problem of -the land in this country as a whole, and specific attention has been -directed towards the Highlands, this reprint should now appear. We -are all, therefore, under deep obligations to the public spirit and -enterprize of the publishers and others who have been good enough to -secure in an accessible form a reliable account of the conditions and -events which at once intensified the acuteness of the land-hunger in -the Highlands and constituted the blackest page in Highland history. - -Many evil deeds have been associated with the abuse of the monopoly -power of land ownership in this and other countries, but it is safe -to say that nowhere within the limits of those islands, or, indeed, -anywhere else at any time have blacker or more foul deeds been -committed in the sacred name of property than in the Highlands of -Scotland in those days. It has always been a matter of astonishment -that a brave race should ever have submitted to them. This becomes all -the more remarkable, too, when one remembers that during those very -years regiments raised in these very districts of the finest soldiers -who ever marched to the stirring strains of the bagpipes, were gaining -for the empire and for British arms the most noted achievements ever -won in the Napoleonic wars and in the colonies. It is true, of course, -and it is an eternal discredit, that many of these brave fellows came -back wounded and war-scarred to find, not that a grateful country had -taken care that the homes and the helpless ones they had left behind -were kept sacred and immune from the greed and ruthless savagery of -the landlord or his hirelings, but that their hearths and homes were -desecrated and destroyed, and every moral law of patriotism and honour -had been violated. “Their humble dwellings,” says Hugh Miller, “were -of their own rearing; it was they themselves who had broken in their -little fields from the waste; from time immemorial, far beyond the -reach of history, they had possessed their mountain holdings, they had -defended them so well of old that the soil was still virgin ground, -in which the invader had found only a grave; and their young men were -now in foreign lands fighting at the command of their chieftainess the -battles of their country, not in the character of hired soldiers, but -of men who regarded these very holdings as their stake in the quarrel.” -Well has my friend Mackenzie MacBride expressed it:-- - - “Ye remnant of the brave! - Who charge when the pipes are heard; - Don’t think, my lads, that you fight for your own, - ’Tis but for the good of the land. - - And when the fight is done - And you come back over the foam, - ‘Well done,’ they say, ‘you are good and true, - But we cannot give you a home. - - ‘For the hill we want for the deer, - And the glen the birds enjoy, - And bad for the game is the smoke of the cot, - And the song of the crofter’s boy.’” - -The silence with which men of that calibre met these hardships and -cruelty might well remain an enigma to one who does not know the -Highlands. They knew that for centuries their ancestors had tilled -those lands and lived free and untrammelled. By every moral law, if not -by the law of the land, they had a right to the soil which had been -defended with their own right arm and that of their ancestors. These -were the days when they were useful to the chief, who assumed some -indefinable right to the land. But the day came after the “Forty-Five” -when men were no longer assets to the chief. His territorial -jurisdiction was broken. He wanted money, not men, and the lonely -silences of the hills instead of merry laughter and prattle of children -singing graces by the wayside. And these men bore the change which -meant so much to them with patience. Why? The Highlands were permeated -then as now with a deep religious sense. They lent a willing ear to the -teachings of the ministers of the Gospel, who wielded the power of the -iron hand which left its deep impress on the social life and even the -literature of the Highlands. They regarded the minister as the stern -oracle of truth, and the strict interpreter of the meaning of the ways -of God to man. What happened was right. And a perusal of the pages that -are to follow will show what a mean use many of these ministers made -of the power which their faithful flock believed was vested in them. -These men were--with a noble exception or two--in reality the servile -tools of the “estate” whose powers they feared, and whose support they -received. In their own interests and in those of their earthly lord -and master, they assured the people that all their troubles were but -part of the punishment inflicted on them by Providence in the course -of working out their redemption! This attitude of the ministers had -another significance. In many parishes they were the only persons -who were educated enough to write, and so able to express the wrongs -which their people were called upon to endure. But their voices were -silent and their pens were idle, except, indeed, when they were used -to ennoble the character, the prestige, and the benevolence of the -evicting tyrant! - -If they were thus comparatively passive in their “white-washing,” there -were others openly active. In Hugh Miller’s words. “Ever since the -planning of the fatal experience which ruined Sutherland, the noble -family through which it was originated and carried on, had betrayed -the utmost jealousy in having its real result made public. Volumes -of special pleading have been written on the subject. Pamphlets have -been published, laboured articles have been inserted in widely-spread -reviews--statistical accounts have been watched over with the utmost -surveillance. If the misrepresentations of the press could have altered -the matter of fact, famine would not now be gnawing the vitals of -Sutherland in a year a little less abundant than its predecessors, nor -would the dejected and oppressed people be feeding their discontent -amid present misery, with the recollections of a happier past. If a -singularly well-conditioned and wholesome district of country has -been converted into one wide ulcer of wretchedness and woe, it must -be confessed that the sore has been carefully bandaged up from the -public eye that if there has been little done for its cure, there has -at least been much done for its concealment.” And then he goes on to -say, “It has been said that the Gaelic language removed a district -more effectually from the influence of English opinion than an ocean -of three thousand miles, and that the British public know better what -is doing in New York than what is doing in Lewis or Skye.” And so the -House of Sutherland inveigles Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, fresh from -her literary triumphs in the American environment of “Uncle Tom’s -Cabin,” with no knowledge of the Gaelic language which “separated so -effectually the district in which it was spoken” from English public -opinion, but in which language alone grievances were likely to be -expressed, to write a grovelling apology. This she does, forsooth, -in “Sunny Memories,” when the hearts and the spirits of the people -outside the circle in which she was receiving well-merited, if short, -hospitality were broken! Readers of the “Clearances” will notice -how completely Donald M’Leod, whose name every lover of nobility of -character, courage, and justice will ever honour, demolishes her -insipid table-talk. An even worse type of white-washer was James Loch, -who is now put forward as an unbiassed and disinterested observer of -the gracious benevolence and marvellous generosity of the House of -Sutherland. It was not mentioned that he was the factor for the then -Duke! - -The most notorious of all the evictions were the Sutherlandshire -ones, and though there are many accounts of them in this volume, the -gruesomeness of which has become a bye-word, they do not tell the -whole tale. Since this question was revived during these last few -months, I have had letters from descendants of the evicted from all -over the colonies with new and conclusive proofs of the recklessness -and severity which characterised them. A factor visited a township in -western Sutherland, and went towards the house of the great grandmother -of one correspondent. He met her as she was returning from milking the -cows carrying a wooden vessel of milk. Brutally he snatched it from -her, and to use his words, “drowned for ever the fire of her hearth -with it,” and then drove her and her children to search through great -privation for some foothold on rugged ground beside the western sea. -When this factor died, his body was carried through another township. -The sympathy of the people was but slight, for they remembered his -cruelty. An old woman expressed the general, but hitherto suppressed, -feeling of the community when she said, “Cha deach am maor rìamh troimh -na bhaile cho samhach sa chaidh e an duigh” (“The factor never went -through this township so peacefully as he went to-day”). - -If, as Hugh Miller says, there has been no lack of professional -white-washers, there has equally been no lack of testimony, straight -and true, from the hearts of the people, in bitter lamentation over -the cruelty that befel the race at the hands of mercenary landlords. -This testimony does not come from one class nor from one county. I have -shown in another place how even Dr. Johnson, who loved neither the -Scots nor their traditions, found himself “full of the old Highland -spirit, and was dissatisfied at hearing of rack rents and emigration,” -and was compelled to remark, “A rapacious chief would make a wilderness -of his estate;” how unprejudiced writers like Mrs. Grant of Laggan -bemoaned the rapacity of those who drove away the descendants of men -whom their fathers led; and how bitterly a scholar like Professor -Blackie viewed the depopulated glens where once heroes lived and -fought. The bitterest note of all, as well as the truest, is sung by -the Gaelic bards. They were of the people, and lived among them. They -knew their feelings, none better, and it was their right to express -that feeling with truth and with fearlessness in the language of the -people. And I know of no bard in any county in the Highlands who has -not vigorously denounced in some way the cruelty to which his people -were arbitrarily subjected. It was a blow to them to find that chiefs -of the old school had departed, that a change--in Gaelic, change is -the best word for death--had taken place from the spirit of the chief -who said, “I would rather drink punch in the house of my people than -be enabled by their hardships to drink claret in my own.” Well might -a good Celt of a later day have written of the new type of so-called -chief: - - “See that you kindly use them, O man - To whom God giveth - Stewardship over them in thy short span, - Not for thy pleasure; - Woe be to them who choose for a clan - Four-footed people.” - -Take the Islay bard. He seeks to arouse our indignation because of -glens and hillsides reft of men to work and fight and of children who -might sing to Nature and her God. Clearly his patriotic soul is sorely -burdened: the cold iron that has entered into it has made his soul -terribly bitter. “Facit indignatio versus.” When he looks around and -thinks of the days that were, his spirit is that of blood and carnage. -He describes the hills that he loves with wonderful grace of diction; -he hears a song or two--shieling songs--of marvellous beauty, and -“shieling songs contain many soft, siren strains, which were believed -to have their source in fairyland,” for their airs came from the good -folk of the hills. But these things do not tempt him long; he is soon -back again to the point that was sorest of all to him--the desolate -glens and the hillsides “left to be garrisoned by the lonely shepherd.” -Some of the poets were sportsmen like Duncan M’Intyre. Their grievance -was always against the sheep, and the lowland shepherds, who desecrated -for filthy lucre the hills which were their birthright and who spoke an -alien tongue which frightened even the echoes! - -Deer and sporting rights (after game laws were enacted) soon became -more profitable than sheep, and it is amusing to find controversialists -of to-day attempting to show that evictions never took place on account -of deer forests. It was not the fault of the landlords that they did -not. Evictions took place for the object that was at the moment most -profitable. The Napoleonic wars made sheep runs temporarily more -profitable; but the moment there was more profit to be obtained from -sport and deer forests, then deer forests were to a large extent -substituted for sheep runs. To-day there are over three million acres -in Northern Scotland alone devoted to these preserves; and in 1892 -the Deer Forest Commission scheduled over one million seven hundred -thousand acres as being fit for small-holding purposes. The casual -reader must beware, and must notice that this vast number of acres -includes grazing lands also, otherwise critics who “avowedly represent -the landlord interests” may feel aggrieved. But it will also be -remembered that evictions primarily took place for grazing purposes; -and further, that a small holding in Scotland is not quite the same -as a small holding in England. In England it consists of a number -of acres which are under cultivation; in Scotland, I am referring, -of course, to the deer forest country, it consists of some acres of -cultivated land with very often a very large common outrun in moorland -and hills for the township. So that when the uninitiated see pictures -of deer forests that are said to be fit for small-holding purposes, -they will now understand and suppress a smile. If only men could -realise what can be produced out of what might appear to be the most -impossible places! It has been said that if you give a man the secure -possession of a rock, he will turn it into a garden, and one has only -got to visit the Highlands to see how a hard-working and industrious -peasantry have sought in this way with success to fight against the -ills with which they were confronted by an ungrateful landlordism. -One of the worst features of the “Clearances” was the method in which -they were perpetrated. Examples will be found in these pages of sick -people being carried out of their houses, and left on the wayside when -their houses were in flames, and the present locations of some of the -crofters are grim reminders of the extreme privations suffered by -the people who settled in them. Perched on the rocks and moorlands, -these people were driven from the inland valleys, and had to build -themselves shelters from the turf and stones of the hillside, and carve -out of barren land with enormous industry, and under the constant -menace of famine, the miserable patches of land which remain to-day -as evidence of their labours. The others were forced to emigrate, and -the sufferings of those who survived well-nigh baffle description. -The horrors of the small emigrant sailing ships of these days, and -particularly on these occasions when people were packed together -regardless of comfort and the decencies of life, and without sufficient -food, were equalled only by the terrible privations and struggle for -existence that awaited those who landed on the frozen lands of the -north of Canada, to be assailed by hostile Indians, the rigours of the -weather, and the desolation of an unfriendly country. It is altogether -a tale of barbarous action unequalled in the annals of agrarian crime. - -And need I do more than add what one who will never be regarded -other than as a typical Tory, has written: “In too many instances -the Highlands have been drained, not of their superfluity of -population, but of the whole mass of the inhabitants, dispossessed -by an unrelenting avarice, which will one day be found to have been -as shortsighted as it is selfish and unjust. Meantime, the Highlands -may become the fairy ground for romance and poetry, or the subject -of experiment for the professors of speculation, historical and -economical. But, if the hour of need should come, the pibroch may sound -through the deserted region, but the summons will remain unanswered.” -These are the words of Sir Walter Scott. - - J. I. MACPHERSON. - - - - -_Highland Clearances._ - - - - -_SUTHERLAND._ - - -ALEXANDER MACKENZIE ON THE CLEARANCES.[1] - -[1] Mackenzie’s Pamphlet, 1881. - -To give a proper account of the Sutherland Clearances would take a -bulky volume. Indeed, a large tome of 354 pages has been written and -published in their defence by him who was mainly responsible for them, -called “An Account of the Sutherland Improvements,” by James Loch, at -that time Commissioner for the Marchioness of Stafford and heiress of -Sutherland. This was the first account I ever read of these so-called -improvements; and it was quite enough to convince me, and it will be -sufficient to convince anyone who knows anything of the country, that -the improvement of the people, by driving them in the most merciless -and cruel manner from the homes of their fathers, was carried out on a -huge scale and in the most inconsiderate and heartless manner by those -in charge of the Sutherland estates. But when one reads the other side, -Macleod’s “Gloomy Memories,” General Stewart of Garth’s “Sketches of -the Highlanders,” and other contemporary publications, one wonders -that such iniquities could ever have been permitted in any Christian -country, much more so in Great Britain, which has done so much for the -amelioration of subject races and the oppressed in every part of the -world, while her own brave sons have been persecuted, oppressed and -banished without compensation by greedy and cold-blooded proprietors, -who owed their position and their lands to the ancestors of the very -men they were now treating so cruelly. - -The motives of the landlords, generally led by southern factors -worse than themselves, were, in most cases, pure self-interest, -and they pursued their policy of extermination with a recklessness -and remorselessness unparalleled anywhere else where the Gospel of -peace and charity was preached--except, perhaps, unhappy Ireland. -Generally, law and justice, religion and humanity, were either totally -disregarded, or, what was worse, in many cases converted into and -applied as instruments of oppression. Every conceivable means, short -of the musket and the sword, were used to drive the natives from -the land they loved, and to force them to exchange their crofts and -homes--brought originally into cultivation and built by themselves, -or by their forefathers--for wretched patches among the barren rocks -on the sea shore, and to depend, after losing their cattle and their -sheep, and after having their houses burnt about their ears or razed to -the ground, on the uncertain produce of the sea for subsistence, and -that in the case of a people, who, in many instances, and especially in -Sutherlandshire, were totally unacquainted with a seafaring life, and -quite unfitted to contend with its perils. - -What was true generally of the Highlands, was in the county of -Sutherland carried to the greatest extreme. That unfortunate county, -according to an eye-witness, was made another Moscow. The inhabitants -were literally burnt out, and every contrivance and ingenious and -unrelenting cruelty was eagerly adopted for extirpating the race. Many -lives were sacrificed by famine and other hardships and privations; -hundreds, stripped of their all, emigrated to the Canadas and other -parts of America; great numbers, especially of the young and athletic, -sought employment in the Lowlands and in England, where, few of them -being skilled workmen, they were obliged--even farmers who had lived -in comparative affluence in their own country--to compete with common -labourers, in communities where their language and simple manners -rendered them objects of derision and ridicule. The aged and infirm, -the widows and orphans, with those of their families who could not -think of leaving them alone in their helplessness, and a number, whose -attachment to the soil which contained the ashes of their ancestors, -were induced to accept of the wretched allotments offered them on the -wild moors and barren rocks. The mild nature and religious training of -the Highlanders prevented a resort to that determined resistance and -revenge which has repeatedly set bounds to the rapacity of landlords -in Ireland. Their ignorance of the English language, and the want of -natural leaders, made it impossible for them to make their grievances -known to the outside world. They were, therefore, maltreated with -impunity. The ministers generally sided with the oppressing lairds, who -had the Church patronage at their disposal for themselves and for their -sons. The professed ministers of religion sanctioned the iniquity, -“the foulest deeds were glossed over, and all the evil which could -not be attributed to the natives themselves, such as severe seasons, -famines, and consequent disease, was by these pious gentlemen ascribed -to Providence, as a punishment for sin.” - -The system of turning out the ancient inhabitants from their native -soil throughout the Highlands during the first half of the nineteenth -century has been carried into effect in the county of Sutherland -with greater severity and revolting cruelty than in any other part -of the Highlands, and that though the Countess-Marchioness and her -husband, the Marquis of Stafford, were by no means devoid of humanity, -however atrocious and devoid of human feeling were the acts carried -out in their name by heartless underlings, who represented the -ancient tenantry to their superiors as lazy and rebellious, though, -they maintained, everything was being done for their advantage and -improvement. How this was done will be seen in the sequel. South -countrymen were introduced and the land given to them for sheep farms -over the heads of the native tenantry. These strangers were made -justices of the peace and armed with all sorts of authority in the -county, and thus enabled to act in the most harsh and tyrannical -fashion, none making them afraid; while the oppressed natives were -placed completely at their mercy. They dare not even complain, for were -not their oppressors also the administrators of the law? The seventeen -parish ministers, with the single exception of the Rev. Mr. Sage, took -the side of the powers that were, exhorting the people to submit and to -stifle their cries of distress, telling them that all their sufferings -came from the hand of their Heavenly Father as a punishment for their -past transgressions. Most of these ministers have since rendered their -account, and let us hope they have been forgiven for such cruel and -blasphemous conduct. But one cannot help noting, to what horrid uses -these men in Sutherlandshire and elsewhere prostituted their sacred -office and high calling. - -The Sutherland clearances were commenced in a comparatively mild way -in 1807, by the ejection of ninety families from Farr and Lairg. -These were provided for some fifteen or seventeen miles distant with -smaller lots, to which they were permitted to remove their cattle and -plenishing, leaving their crops unprotected, however, in the ground -from which they were evicted. They had to pull down their old houses, -remove the timber, and build new ones, during which period they had -in many cases to sleep under the open canopy of heaven. In the autumn -they carried away, with great difficulty, what remained of their crops, -but the fatigue incurred cost a few of them their lives, while others -contracted diseases which stuck to them during the remainder of their -lives, and shortened their days. - -In 1809 several hundred were evicted from the parishes of Dornoch, -Rogart, Loth, Clyne, and Golspie, under circumstances of much greater -severity than those already described. Several were driven by various -means to leave the country altogether, and to those who could not be -induced to do so, patches of moor and bog were offered on Dornoch -Moor and Brora Links--quite unfit for cultivation. This process was -carried on annually until, in 1811, the land from which the people were -ejected was divided into large farms, and advertised as huge sheep -runs. The country was overrun with strangers who came to look at these -extensive tracts. Some of these gentlemen got up a cry that they were -afraid of their lives among the evicted tenantry. A trumped-up story -was manufactured that one of the interlopers was pursued by some of -the natives of Kildonan, and put in bodily fear. The military were -sent for from Fort George. The 21st Regiment was marched to Dunrobin -Castle, with artillery and cartloads of ammunition. A great farce was -performed; the people were sent for by the factors to the Castle at a -certain hour. They came peaceably, but the farce must be gone through, -the Riot Act was read; a few sheepish, innocent Highlanders were made -prisoners, but nothing could be laid to their charge, and they were -almost immediately set at liberty, while the soldiers were ordered back -to Fort George. The demonstration, however, had the desired effect in -cowing and frightening the people into the most absolute submission. -They became dismayed and broken-hearted, and quietly submitted to their -fate. The clergy all this time were assiduous in preaching that all the -misfortunes of the people were “fore-ordained of God, and denouncing -the vengeance of Heaven and eternal damnation on all those who would -presume to make the slightest resistance.” At the May term of 1812 -large districts of these parishes were cleared in the most peaceable -manner, the poor creatures foolishly believing the false teaching -of their selfish and dishonest spiritual guides--save the mark! The -Earl of Selkirk, who went personally to the district, allured many -of the evicted people to emigrate to his estates on the Red River -in British North America, whither a whole ship-cargo of them went. -After a long and otherwise disastrous passage they found themselves -deceived and deserted by the Earl, left to their unhappy fate in an -inclement wilderness, without any protection from the hordes of Red -Indian savages by whom the district was infested, and who plundered -them of their all on their arrival and finally massacred them, save a -small remnant who managed to escape, and travelled, through immense -difficulties, across trackless forests to Upper Canada. - -The notorious Mr. Sellar was at this time sub-factor, and in the -spring of 1814 he took a large portion of the parishes of Farr and -Kildonan into his own hands. In the month of March the old tenantry -received notices to quit at the ensuing May term, and a few days after -the summonses were served the greater portion of the heath pasture -was, by his orders, set on fire. By this cruel proceeding the cattle -belonging to the old tenantry were left without food during the spring, -and it was impossible to dispose of them at a fair price, the price -having fallen after the war; for Napoleon was now a prisoner in Elba, -and the demand for cattle became temporarily dull, and prices very -much reduced. To make matters worse, fodder was unusually scarce this -spring, and the poor people’s cattle depended for subsistence solely on -the spring grass which sprouts out among the heather, but which this -year had been burnt by the factor who would himself reap the benefit -when he came into possession later on. - -In May the work of ejectment was again commenced, accompanied by -cruelties hitherto unknown even in the Highlands. Atrocities were -perpetrated which I cannot trust myself to describe in my own words. I -shall give what is much more valuable--a description by an eye-witness -in his own language. He says:--In former removals the tenants had been -allowed to carry away the timber of their old dwellings to erect houses -on their new allotments, but now a more summary mode was adopted by -setting fire to them. The able-bodied men were by this time away after -their cattle or otherwise engaged at a distance, so that the immediate -sufferers by the general house-burning that now commenced were the -aged and infirm, the women and children. As the lands were now in the -hands of the factor himself, and were to be occupied as sheep farms, -and as the people made no resistance, they expected, at least, some -indulgence in the way of permission to occupy their houses and other -buildings till they could gradually remove, and meanwhile look after -their growing crops. Their consternation was therefore greater, when -immediately after the May term-day, a commencement was made to pull -down and set fire to the houses over their heads. The old people, women -and others, then began to preserve the timber which was their own; but -the devastators proceeded with the greatest celerity, demolishing all -before them, and when they had overthrown all the houses in a large -tract of country they set fire to the wreck. Timber, furniture, and -every other article that could not be instantly removed was consumed -by fire or otherwise utterly destroyed. The proceedings were carried -on with the greatest rapidity and the most reckless cruelty. The cries -of the victims, the confusion, the despair and horror painted on the -countenances of the one party, and the exulting ferocity of the other, -beggar all description. At these scenes Mr. Sellar was present, and -apparently, as sworn by several witnesses at his subsequent trial, -ordering and directing the whole. Many deaths ensued from alarm, -from fatigue, and cold, the people having been instantly deprived of -shelter, and left to the mercies of the elements. Some old men took -to the woods and to the rocks, wandering about in a state approaching -to, or of absolute, insanity; and several of them in this situation -lived only a few days. Pregnant women were taken in premature labour, -and several children did not long survive their sufferings. “To these -scenes,” says Donald Macleod[2], “I was an eye-witness, and am ready to -substantiate the truth of my statements, not only by my own testimony, -but by that of many others who were present at the time. In such a -scene of general devastation, it is almost useless to particularise the -cases of individuals; the suffering was great and universal. I shall, -however, notice a very few of the extreme cases of which I was myself -an eye-witness. John Mackay’s wife, Ravigill, in attempting to pull -down her house, in the absence of her husband, to preserve the timber, -fell through the roof. She was in consequence taken in premature -labour, and in that state was exposed to the open air and to the view -of all the by-standers. Donald Munro, Garvott, lying in a fever, was -turned out of his house and exposed to the elements. Donald Macbeath, -an infirm and bed-ridden old man, had the house unroofed over him, and -was in that state exposed to the wind and rain until death put a period -to his sufferings. I was present at the pulling down and burning of the -house of William Chisholm, Badinloskin, in which was lying his wife’s -mother, an old bed-ridden woman of nearly 100 years of age, none of the -family being present. I informed the persons about to set fire to the -house of this circumstance, and prevailed on them to wait until Mr. -Sellar came. On his arrival, I told him of the poor old woman being -in a condition unfit for removal, when he replied, ‘Damn her, the old -witch, she has lived too long--let her burn.’ Fire was immediately set -to the house, and the blankets in which she was carried out were in -flames before she could be got out. She was placed in a little shed, -and it was with great difficulty they were prevented from firing it -also. The old woman’s daughter arrived while the house was on fire, and -assisted the neighbours in removing her mother out of the flames and -smoke, presenting a picture of horror which I shall never forget, but -cannot attempt to describe.” Within five days she was a corpse. - -[2] Author of “Gloomy Memories,” etc. - -In 1816 Sellar was charged at Inverness, before the Court of -Justiciary, with culpable homicide and fire-raising in connection -with these proceedings, and, considering all the circumstances, it -is not at all surprising that he was “honourably” acquitted of the -grave charges made against him. Almost immediately after, however, he -ceased to be factor on the Sutherland estates, and Mr. Loch came into -power. Evictions were carried out from 1814 down to 1819 and 1820, -pretty much of the same character as those already described, but the -removal of Mr. Young, the chief factor, and Mr. Sellar from power was -hailed with delight by the whole remaining population. Their very -names had become a terror. Their appearance in any part of the county -caused such alarm as to make women fall into fits. One woman became -so terrified that she became insane, and whenever she saw any one she -did not recognise, she invariably cried out in a state of absolute -terror--“_Oh! sin Sellar_”--“Oh! there’s Sellar.” The people, however, -soon discovered that the new factors were not much better. Several -leases which were current would not expire until 1819 and 1820, so that -the evictions were necessarily only partial from 1814 down to that -period. The people were reduced to such a state of poverty that even -Mr. Loch himself, in his “Sutherland Improvements,” page 76, admits -that--“Their wretchedness was so great that, after pawning everything -they possessed to the fishermen on the coast, such as had no cattle -were reduced to come down from the hills in hundreds for the purpose -of gathering cockles on the shore. Those who lived in the more remote -situations of the county were obliged to subsist upon broth made of -nettles, thickened with a little oatmeal. Those who had cattle had -recourse to the still more wretched expedient of bleeding them, and -mixing the blood with oatmeal, which they afterwards cut into slices -and fried. Those who had a little money came down and slept all night -upon the beach, in order to watch the boats returning from the fishing, -that they might be in time to obtain a part of what had been caught.” -He, however, omitted to mention the share he and his predecessors had -taken in reducing the people to such misery, and the fact that at this -very time he had constables stationed at the Little Ferry to prevent -the starved tenantry from collecting shellfish in the only place where -they could find them. - -He prevailed upon the people to sign documents consenting to remove -at the next Whitsunday term, promising at the same time to make good -provision for them elsewhere. In about a month after, the work of -demolition and devastation again commenced, and parts of the parishes -of Golspie, Rogart, Farr, and the whole of Kildonan were in a blaze. -Strong parties with faggots and other combustible material were set -to work; three hundred houses were given ruthlessly to the flames, and -their occupants pushed out in the open air without food or shelter. -Macleod, who was present, describes the horrible scene as follows:-- - -“The consternation and confusion were extreme; little or no time was -given for the removal of persons or property; the people striving to -remove the sick and the helpless before the fire should reach them; -next, struggling to save the most valuable of their effects. The cries -of the women and children, the roaring of the affrighted cattle, -hunted at the same time by the yelling dogs of the shepherds amid the -smoke and fire, altogether presented a scene that completely baffles -description--it required to be seen to be believed. A dense cloud -of smoke enveloped the whole country by day, and even extended far -out to sea; at night an awfully grand but terrific scene presented -itself--all the houses in an extensive district in flames at once. -I myself ascended a height about eleven o’clock in the evening, and -counted two hundred and fifty blazing houses, many of the owners of -which were my relations, and all of whom I personally knew, but whose -present condition--whether in or out of the flames--I could not tell. -The conflagration lasted six days, till the whole of the dwellings were -reduced to ashes or smoking ruins. During one of these days a boat -actually lost her way in the dense smoke as she approached the shore, -but at night was enabled to reach a landing-place by the lurid light of -the flames.” - -The whole of the inhabitants of Kildonan, numbering nearly 2000 souls, -except three families, were utterly rooted and burnt out, and the whole -parish converted into a solitary wilderness. The suffering was intense. -Some lost their reason. Over a hundred souls took passage to Caithness -in a small sloop, the master humanely agreeing to take them in the -hold, from which he had just unloaded a cargo of quicklime. A head -storm came on, and they were nine days at sea in the most miserable -condition--men, women, and helpless children huddled up together, with -barely any provisions. Several died in consequence, and others became -invalids for the rest of their days. One man, Donald Mackay, whose -family was suffering from a severe fever, carried two of his children -a distance of twenty-five miles to this vessel. Another old man took -shelter in a meal mill, where he was kept from starvation by licking -the meal refuse scattered among the dust on the floor, and protected -from the rats and other vermin by his faithful collie. George Munro, -the miller at Farr, who had six of his family down with fever, had to -remove them in that state to a damp kiln, while his home was given to -the flames. And all this was done in the name of proprietors who could -not be considered tyrants in the ordinary sense of the term. - -General Stewart of Garth, about a year after the cruelties perpetrated -in Sutherland, writes with regret of the unnatural proceedings as -“the delusions practised (by his subordinates) on a generous and -public-spirited proprietor, which have been so perseveringly applied, -that it would appear as if all feeling of former kindness towards the -native tenantry had ceased to exist. To them any uncultivated spot of -moorland, however small, was considered sufficient for the support of a -family; while the most lavish encouragement has been given to all the -new tenants, on whom, with the erection of buildings, the improvement -of lands, roads, bridges, &c., upwards of £210,000 had been expended -since 1808 (in fourteen years). With this proof of unprecedented -liberality, it cannot be sufficiently lamented that an estimate of the -character of these poor people was taken from the misrepresentation -of interested persons, instead of judging from the conduct of the -same men when brought into the world, where they obtained a name -and character which have secured the esteem and approbation of men -high in honour and rank, and, from their talents and experience, -perfectly capable of judging with correctness. With such proofs of -capability, and with such materials for carrying on the improvements -and maintaining the permanent prosperity of the county, when occupied -by a hardy, abstemious race, easily led on to a full exertion of their -faculties by a proper management, there cannot be a question but that -if, instead of placing them, as has been done, in situations bearing -too near a resemblance to the potato-gardens of Ireland, they had been -permitted to remain as cultivators of the soil, receiving a moderate -share of the vast sums lavished on their richer successors, such a -humane and considerate regard to the prosperity of a whole people -would undoubtedly have answered every good purpose.” He then goes -on to show that when the valleys and higher grounds were let to the -sheep-farmers, the whole native population was driven to the sea shore, -where they were crowded on small lots of land to earn subsistence -by labour and sea-fishing, the latter so little congenial to their -former habits and experience. “And these _one or two acre lots_ are -represented as _improvements!_” He then asks how in a country, without -regular employment or manufactories, a family is to be supported on one -or two acres? The thing was impossible, and the consequence is that -“over the whole of this district, where the sea-shore is accessible, -the coast is thickly studded with thatched cottages, crowded with -starving inhabitants,” while strangers, with capital, usurp the land -and dispossess the swain. Ancient respectable tenants, who passed the -greater part of their lives in the enjoyment of abundance, and in the -exercise of hospitality and charity, possessing stocks of ten, twenty, -and thirty breeding cows, with the usual proportion of other stock, are -now pining on one or two acres of bad land, with one or two starved -cows; and for this accommodation a calculation is made, that they must -support their families, and pay the rents of their lots, not from the -produce, but from the sea. When the herring fishery succeeds, they -generally satisfy the landlords, whatever privations they may suffer; -but when the fishing fails, they fall in arrears and are sequestrated -and their stocks sold to pay the rents, their lots given to others, and -they and their families turned adrift on the world; but in these trying -circumstances, he concludes, “we cannot sufficiently admire their meek -and patient spirit, supported by the powerful influence of moral and -religious principle.” - -The beautiful Strathnaver, containing a population equal to Kildonan, -had been cleared in the same heartless manner. - -In 1828, Donald Macleod, after a considerable absence, returned to his -native Kildonan, where he attended divine service in the parish church, -which he found attended by a congregation consisting of eight shepherds -and their dogs--numbering between twenty and thirty--the minister, and -three members of his family. Macleod came in too late for the first -psalm, but at the conclusion of the service the fine old tune Bangor -was given out, “when the four-footed hearers became excited, got up on -the seats, and raised a most infernal chorus of howling. Their masters -attacked them with their crooks, which only made matters worse; the -yelping and howling continued to the end of the service.” And Donald -Macleod retired to contemplate the painful and shameful scene, and -contrast it with what he had previously experienced as a member, for -many years, of the large and devout congregation that worshipped -formerly in the parish church of his native valley. - -The Parish Church of Farr was no longer in existence; the fine -population of Strathnaver was rooted and burnt out during the general -conflagration, and presented a similar aspect to his own native parish. -The church, no longer found necessary, was razed to the ground, and its -timbers conveyed to construct one of the Sutherland “improvements”--the -Inn at Altnaharra, while the minister’s house was converted into -a dwelling for a fox-hunter. A woman, well-known in the parish, -travelling through the desolated Strath next year after the evictions, -was asked on her return home for her news, when she replied--“O, chan -eil ach sgiala bronach! sgiala bronach!” “Oh, only sad news, sad news! -I have seen the timber of our well attended kirk covering the inn at -Altnaharra; I have seen the kirk-yard where our friends are mouldering -filled with tarry sheep, and Mr. Sage’s study turned into a kennel for -Robert Gunn’s dogs, and I have seen a crow’s nest in James Gordon’s -chimney head;” after which she fell into a paroxysm of grief. - - -THE REV. DONALD SAGE ON THE SUTHERLAND CLEARANCES. - -I remained for about a year in the capacity of tutor in the family -of Mr. Robert MacKid, Sheriff-Substitute of Sutherland, who lived -at Kirkton, in the parish of Golspie. I shall briefly sum up what I -remember of this period. - -It was a very short time previous to my residence in Mr. MacKid’s -family that the first “Sutherland Clearance” took place. This consisted -in the ejection from their minutely-divided farms of several hundreds -of the Sutherlandshire aborigines, who had from time immemorial been -in possession of their mountain tenements. This sweeping desolation -extended over many parishes, but it fell most heavily on the parish -of Kildonan. It was the device of one William Young, a successful -corn-dealer and land-improver. He rose from indigence, but was -naturally a man of taste, of an ingenious turn of mind, and a shrewd -calculator. After realising some hundreds of pounds by corn-dealing, -he purchased from Sir Archibald Dunbar of Thundertown a small and -valueless property in Morayshire called Inverugie. It lay upon the -sea-shore, and, like many properties of more ancient date, it had been -completely covered with sea-sand which had drifted upon its surface. -For this small and worthless spot he paid a correspondingly small -price--about £700--but, tasking his native and vigorous genius for -improvement, he set himself at once to better his bargain. Making use -of a plough of peculiar construction, he turned the sand down and -the rich old soil up, and thus made it one of the most productive -properties in the county. This, with other necessary improvements, -however, involved him in debt; but, just as it became a question with -him how to pay it, his praise in the north as a scientific improver -of land reached the ears of the Stafford family, who, in connection -with their immense wealth, were racked with the anxiety to improve -their Highland estate. As William Young had been so successful on the -estate of Inverugie they thought he could not but be equally so on -the Sutherland estate. Young introduced the depopulating system into -Sutherland.[3] This system, during his tenure of office as commissioner -on the Sutherland property, was just at its commencement. It was -first brought to bear on the parish of Kildonan. The whole north and -south sides of the Strath, from Kildonan to Caen on the left bank of -the river, and from Dalcharn to Marrel on the right bank, were, at -one fell sweep, cleared of their inhabitants. The measures for their -ejectment had been taken with such promptness, and were so suddenly and -brutally carried out, as to excite a tumult among the people. Young -had as his associate in the factorship a man of the name of Sellar, -who acted in the subordinate capacity of legal agent and accountant on -the estate, and who, by his unprincipled recklessness in conducting -the process of ejectment, added fuel to the flame. It was said that -the people rose almost _en masse_, that the constables and officials -were resisted and their lives threatened, and the combination among -the peasantry was represented as assuming at last so alarming an -aspect that the Sheriff-Depute of the county was under the necessity -of calling in the military to quell the riot. A detachment of soldiers -was accordingly sent from Fort-George, a powder magazine was erected -at Dornoch, and every preparation made as for the commencement of a -civil war. But the chief magistrate of the county, shrewdly suspecting -the origin of these reports, ordered back the military, came himself -alone among the people, and instituted a cool and impartial enquiry -into their proceedings. The result was that the formidable riot, which -was reported to have for its objects the murder of Young and Sellar, -the expulsion of the store-farmers, and the burning of Dunrobin -Castle, amounted after all only to this, that a certain number of the -people had congregated in different places and had given vent to their -outraged feelings and sense of oppression in rash and unguarded terms. -It could not be proved that a single act of violence was committed. -Sellar laboured hard to involve my father and mother in the criminality -of these proceedings, but he utterly failed. The peasantry, as fine -as any in the world, were treated by the owners of the soil as “good -for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under feet of men,” while -the tract of country thus depopulated was divided into two large sheep -farms, one of which was given in lease to William Cluness of Cracaig, -and the other to a Mr. Reid from Northumberland. - -[3] “Clearances” had, however, been effected in some parts of -Sutherland previous to this period, although to a smaller extent. From -along the banks of the river Oykell, for instance, many families were -evicted, in the year 1780. (Statement by the Rev. Dr. Aird, of Creich). - -The reckless lordly proprietors had resolved upon the expulsion -of their long-standing and much-attached tenantry from their -widely-extended estates, and the Sutherland Clearance of 1819 was -not only the climax of their system of oppression for many years -before, but the extinction of the last remnant of the ancient Highland -peasantry in the north. As violent tempests send out before them many -a deep and sullen roar, so did the advancing storm give notice of -its approach by various single acts of oppression. I can yet recall -to memory the deep and thrilling sensation which I experienced, as -I sat at the fireside in my rude, little parlour at Achness, when -the tidings of the meditated removal of my poor flock first reached -me from headquarters. It might be about the beginning of October, -1818. A tenant from the middle of the Strath had been to Rhives, the -residence of Mr. Young, the commissioner, paying his rent. He was -informed, and authorised to tell his neighbours, that the rent for -the half-year, ending in May, 1819, would not be demanded, as it was -determined to lay the districts of Strathnaver and Upper Kildonan -under sheep. This intelligence when first announced was indignantly -discredited by the people. Notwithstanding their knowledge of former -clearances they clung to the hope that the “Ban-mhorair Chataibh” (the -Duchess of Sutherland) would not give her consent to the warning as -issued by her subordinates, and thus deprive herself of her people, -as truly a part of her noble inheritance as were her broad acres. But -the course of a few weeks soon undeceived them. Summonses of ejectment -were issued and despatched all over the district. These must have -amounted to upwards of a thousand, as the population of the Mission -alone was 1600 souls, and many more than those of the Mission were -ejected. The summonses were distributed with the utmost preciseness. -They were handed in at every house and hovel alike, be the occupiers -of them who or what they might--minister, catechist, or elder, tenant, -or sub-tenant, out-servant, or cottar--all were made to feel the -irresponsible power of the proprietor. The enormous amount of citations -might also be accounted for by the fact that Mr. Peter Sellar had a -threefold personal interest in the whole matter. He was, in the first -place, factor on the Sutherland estate at the time; then, he was law -agent for the proprietors; and, lastly, the lessee or tacksman of more -than a third of the county to be cleared of its inhabitants. It may -easily be conceived how such a three-plied cord of worldly interest -would bind him over to greater rigour, and even atrocity, in executing -the orders of his superiors on the wretched people among whom he was -thus let loose like a beast of prey. But the effects produced by these -decided measures I now distinctly remember. Having myself, in common -with the rest of my people, received one of these notices, I resolved -that, at the ensuing term of Martinmas, I would remove from Achness, -and go once more permanently to reside under my father’s roof, although -I would at the same time continue the punctual discharge of my pastoral -duties among the people till they also should be removed. I could not -but regard the summoning of the minister as tantamount to the putting -down of the ministration of the Word and ordinances of religion in that -part of the country. And, indeed, it is a fact, that, although this -desolate district is still occupied by shepherds, no provision has, -since that time, been made for their spiritual wants. I left Achness, -therefore, about the middle of November, 1818, sold my cow at the -Ardgay market, and got my furniture conveyed to Kildonan by my father’s -horses and my own. The people received the legal warning to leave for -ever the homes of their fathers with a sort of stupor--that apparent -indifference which is often the external aspect of intense feeling. -As they began, however, to awaken from the stunning effects of this -first intimation, their feelings found vent, and I was much struck -with the different ways in which they expressed their sentiments. -The truly pious acknowledged the mighty hand of God in the matter. -In their prayers and religious conferences not a solitary expression -could be heard indicative of anger or vindictiveness, but in the sight -of God they humbled themselves, and received the chastisement at His -hand. Those, however, who were strangers to such exalted and ennobling -impressions of the Gospel breathed deep and muttered curses on the -heads of the persons who subjected them to such treatment. The more -reckless portion of them fully realised the character of the impenitent -in all ages, and indulged in the most culpable excesses, even while -this divine punishment was still suspended over them. These last, -however, were very few in number--not more than a dozen. To my poor and -defenceless flock the dark hour of trial came at last in right earnest. -It was in the month of April, and about the middle of it, that they -were all--man, woman, and child--from the heights of Farr to the mouth -of the Naver, on one day, to quit their tenements and go--many of them -knew not whither. For a few, some miserable patches of ground along -the shores were doled out as lots, without aught in the shape of the -poorest hut to shelter them. Upon these lots it was intended that they -should build houses at their own expense, and cultivate the ground, at -the same time occupying themselves as fishermen, although the great -majority of them had never set foot on a boat in their lives. Thither, -therefore, they were driven at a week’s warning. As for the rest most -of them knew not whither to go, unless their neighbours on the shore -provided them with a temporary shelter; for, on the day of their -removal, they would not be allowed to remain, even on the bleakest -moor, and in the open air, for a distance of twenty miles around. - -On the Sabbath, a fortnight previous to the fated day, I preached -my valedictory sermon in Achness, and the Sabbath thereafter at -Ach-na-h-uaigh. Both occasions were felt by myself and by the people -from the oldest to the youngest, to be among the bitterest and most -overwhelming experiences of our lives. In Strathnaver we assembled, -for the last time, at the place of Langdale, where I had frequently -preached before, on a beautiful green sward overhung by Robert Gordon’s -antique, romantic little cottage on an eminence close beside us. The -still-flowing waters of the Naver swept past us a few yards to the -eastward. The Sabbath morning was unusually fine, and mountain, hill, -and dale, water and woodland, among which we had so long dwelt, and -with which all our associations of “home” and “native land” were so -fondly linked, appeared to unite their attractions to bid us farewell. -My preparations for the pulpit had always cost me much anxiety, but -in view of this sore scene of parting, they caused me pain almost -beyond endurance. I selected a text which had a pointed reference to -the peculiarity of our circumstances, but my difficulty was how to -restrain my feelings till I should illustrate and enforce the great -truths which it involved with reference to eternity. The service began. -The very aspect of the congregation was of itself a sermon, and a most -impressive one. Old Achoul sat right opposite to me. As my eye fell -upon his venerable countenance, bearing the impress of eighty-seven -winters, I was deeply affected, and could scarcely articulate the -psalm. I preached and the people listened, but every sentence uttered -and heard was in opposition to the tide of our natural feelings, which, -setting in against us, mounted at every step of our progress higher -and higher. At last all restraints were compelled to give way. The -preacher ceased to speak, the people to listen. All lifted up their -voices, and wept, mingling their tears together. It was indeed the -place of parting, and the hour. The greater number parted never again -to behold each other in the land of the living. My adieu to the people -of Ach-na-h-uaighe was scarcely less affecting, although somewhat -alleviated by the consideration that I had the prospect of ministering -still to those among them who had leases of their farms, and whom Mr. -Sellar, the factor and law agent, had no power to remove. - -The middle of the week brought on the day of the Strathnaver Clearance -(1819). It was a Tuesday. At an early hour of that day Mr. Sellar, -accompanied by the Fiscal, and escorted by a strong body of constables, -sheriff-officers and others, commenced work at Grummore, the first -inhabited township to the west of the Achness district. Their plan of -operations was to clear the cottages of their inmates, giving them -about half-an-hour to pack up and carry off their furniture, and then -set the cottages on fire. To this plan they ruthlessly adhered, without -the slightest regard to any obstacle that might arise while carrying it -into execution. - -At Grumbeg lived a soldier’s widow, Henny Munro. She had followed her -husband in all his campaigns, marches, and battles, in Sicily and in -Spain. Whether his death was on the field of battle, or the result of -fever or fatigue, I forget; but his faithful helpmeet attended him -to his last hour, and, when his spirit fled, closed his eyes, and -followed his remains to their last resting-place. After his death she -returned to Grumbeg, the place of her nativity, and, as she was utterly -destitute of any means of support, she was affectionately received by -her friends, who built her a small cottage and gave her a cow and grass -for it. The din of arms, orders, and counter-orders from headquarters, -marchings and counter-marchings and pitched battles, retreats and -advances, were the leading and nearly unceasing subjects of her winter -evening conversations. She was a joyous, cheery old creature; so -inoffensive, moreover, and so contented, and brimful of good-will that -all who got acquainted with old Henny Munro could only desire to do -her a good turn, were it merely for the warm and hearty expressions -of gratitude with which it was received. Surely the factor and his -followers did not personally know old Henny, or they could not have -treated her as they did. After the cottages at Grummore were emptied -of their inmates, and roofs and rafters had been lighted up into one -red blaze, Mr. Sellar and his iron-hearted attendants approached the -residence of the soldier’s widow. Henny stood up to plead for her -furniture--the coarsest and most valueless that well could be, but -still her earthly all. She first asked that, as her neighbours were -so occupied with their own furniture, hers might be allowed to remain -till they should be free to remove it for her. This request was curtly -refused. She then besought them to allow a shepherd who was present and -offered his services for that purpose, to remove the furniture to his -own residence on the opposite shore of the loch, to remain there till -she could carry it away. This also was refused, and she was told, with -an oath, that if she did not take her trumpery off within half-an-hour -it would be burned. The poor widow had only to task the remains of -her bodily strength, and address herself to the work of dragging her -chests, beds, presses, and stools out at the door, and placing them at -the gable of her cottage. No sooner was her task accomplished than the -torch was applied, the widow’s hut, built of very combustible material, -speedily ignited, and there rose up rapidly, first a dense cloud of -smoke, and soon thereafter a bright red flame. The wind unfortunately -blew in the direction of the furniture, and the flame, lighting upon -it, speedily reduced it to ashes. - -In their progress down the Strath, Ceann-na-coille was the next -township reached by the fire-raising evictors. An aged widow lived -there who, by infirmity, had been reduced to such a state of bodily -weakness that she could neither walk nor lie in bed. She could only, -night and day, sit in her chair; and having been confined for many -years in that posture, her limbs had become so stiff that any attempt -to move her was attended with acute pain. She was the mother-in-law of -Samuel Matheson, and had, with her family, been removed by Mr. Sellar -from Rhimisdale some time before. His treatment of her and others on -that occasion had brought Mr. Sellar into trouble, but now, in the -Providence of God, she was once more in his power. “Bean Raomasdail,” -or “the good wife of Rhimisdale,” as she was called, was much revered. -In her house I have held diets of catechising and meetings for prayer, -and been signally refreshed by her Christian converse. When the -evicting party commenced their operations in her township, the aged -widow’s house was among the very first that was to be consigned to the -flames. Her family and neighbours represented the widow’s strong claims -on their compassion, and the imminent danger to her life of removing -her to such a distance as the lower end of the Strath, at least ten -miles off, without suitable means of conveyance. They implored that she -might be allowed to remain for only two days till a conveyance could be -provided for her. They were told that they should have thought on that -before, and that she must immediately be removed by her friends, or the -constables would be ordered to do it. The good wife of Rhimisdale was, -therefore, raised by her weeping family, from her chair and laid on a -blanket, the corners of which were held up by four of the strongest -youths in the place. All this she bore with meekness, and while the -eyes of her attendants were streaming with tears, her pale and gentle -countenance was suffused with a smile. The change of posture and the -rapid motion of the bearers, however, awakened the most intense pain, -and her cries never ceased till within a few miles of her destination, -when she fell asleep. A burning fever supervened, of which she died a -few months later. - -During these proceedings, I was resident at my father’s house, but I -had occasion on the week immediately ensuing to visit the manse of -Tongue. On my way thither, I passed through the scene of the campaign -of burning. The spectacle presented was hideous and ghastly! The banks -of the lake and the river, formerly studded with cottages, now met -the eye as a scene of desolation. Of all the houses, the thatched -roofs were gone, but the walls, built of alternate layers of turf and -stone, remained. The flames of the preceding week still slumbered in -their ruins, and sent up into the air spiral columns of smoke; whilst -here a gable, and there a long side-wall, undermined by the fire -burning within them, might be seen tumbling to the ground, from which -a cloud of smoke, and then a dusky flame, slowly sprang up. The sooty -rafters of the cottages, as they were being consumed, filled the air -with a heavy and most offensive odour. In short, nothing could more -vividly represent the horrors of grinding oppression, and the extent -to which one man, dressed up in a “little brief authority,” will -exercise that power, without feeling or restraint, to the injury of his -fellow-creatures. - - -GENERAL STEWART OF GARTH ON THE SUTHERLAND CLEARANCES.[4] - -[4] “Sketches of the Highlanders.” First edition. - -On the part of those who instituted similar improvements, in which so -few of the people were to have a share, conciliatory measures, and a -degree of tenderness, beyond what would have been shown to strangers, -were to have been expected towards the hereditary supporters of their -families. It was, however, unfortunately the natural consequences of -the measures which were adopted, that few men of liberal feelings could -be induced to undertake their execution. The respectable gentlemen, -who, in so many cases, had formerly been entrusted with the management -of Highland property, resigned, and their places were supplied by -persons cast in a coarser mould, and, generally, strangers to the -country, who, detesting the people, and ignorant of their character, -capability, and language, quickly surmounted every obstacle, and -hurried on the change, without reflecting on the distress of which it -might be productive, or allowing the kindlier feelings of landlords to -operate in favour of their ancient tenantry. To attempt a new system, -and become acceptable tenants, required a little time and a little -indulgence, two things which it was resolved should not be conceded -them: they were immediately removed from the fertile and cultivated -farms; some left the country, and others were offered limited -portions of land on uncultivated moors, on which they were to form a -settlement; and thus, while particular districts have been desolated, -the gross numerical population has, in some manner, been preserved. -Many judicious men, however, doubt the policy of these measures, and -dread their consequences on the condition and habits of the people. -The following account of their situation is from the respectable and -intelligent clergyman of an extensive parish in the county:-- - -“When the valleys and higher grounds were let to the shepherds, the -whole population was drawn down to the sea-shore, where they were -crowded on small lots of land, to earn their subsistence by labour -(where all are labourers and few employers) and by sea-fishing, the -latter so little congenial to their former habits. This cutting down -farms into lots was found so profitable, that over the whole of this -district, the sea-coast, where the shore is accessible, is thickly -studded with wretched cottages, crowded with starving inhabitants. -Ancient respectable tenants, who passed the greater part of life in the -enjoyment of abundance, and in the exercise of hospitality and charity, -possessing stocks of ten, twenty, and thirty breeding cows, with the -usual proportion of other stock, are now pining on one or two acres of -bad land, with one or two starved cows, and, for this accommodation -a calculation is made, that they must support their families and pay -the rent of their lots, which the land cannot afford. When the herring -fishery (the only fishery prosecuted on this coast) succeeds, they -generally satisfy the landlords, whatever privations they may suffer, -but when the fishing fails, they fall in arrears, and are sequestrated, -and their stock sold to pay the rents, their lots given to others, -and they and their families turned adrift on the world. The herring -fishery, always precarious, has, for a succession of years, been very -defective, and this class of people are reduced to extreme misery. -At first, some of them possessed capital, from converting their farm -stock into cash, but this has been long exhausted. It is distressing -to view the general poverty of this class of people, aggravated by -their having once enjoyed abundance and independence; and we cannot -sufficiently admire their meek and patient spirit, supported by the -powerful influence of religious and moral principle. There are still a -few small tenants on the old system, occupying the same farm jointly, -but they are falling fast to decay, and sinking into the new class of -cottars.” - -This mode of sub-dividing small portions of inferior land is bad enough -certainly, and to propose the establishment of villages, in a pastoral -country, for the benefit of men who can neither betake themselves to -the cultivation of the land nor to commerce for earning the means of -subsistence, is doubtless a refinement in policy solely to be ascribed -to the enlightened and enlarged views peculiar to the new system. But, -leaving out of view the consideration that, from the prevalence of -turning corn lands into pasture, the demand for labour is diminished, -while the number of labourers is increased, it can scarcely be expected -that a man who had once been in the condition of a farmer, possessed -of land, and of considerable property in cattle, horses, sheep, and -money, often employing servants himself, conscious of his independence, -and proud of his ability to assist others, should, without the most -poignant feelings, descend to the rank of a hired labourer, even where -labour and payment can be obtained, more especially if he must serve on -the farms or in the country where he formerly commanded as a master. - -It is not easy for those who live in a country like England, where -so many of the lower orders have nothing but what they acquire by -the labour of the passing day, and possess no permanent property or -share in the agricultural produce of the soil, to appreciate the -nature of the spirit of independence which is generated in countries -where the free cultivators of the soil constitute the major part of -the population. It can scarcely be imagined how proudly a man feels, -however small his property may be, when he has a spot of arable -land and pasture, stocked with corn, horses, and cows, a species of -property which, more than any other, binds him, by ties of interest -and attachment, to the spot with which he is connected. He considers -himself an independent person, placed in a station in society far -above the day labourer, who has no stake in the permanency of -existing circumstances, beyond the prospect of daily employment; his -independence being founded on permanent property, he has an interest -in the welfare of the state, by supporting which he renders his own -property more secure, and, although the value of the property may not -be great, it is every day in his view; his cattle and horses feed -around him; his grass and corn he sees growing and ripening; his -property is visible to all observers, which is calculated to raise -the owner in general consideration; and when a passing friend or -neighbour praises his thriving crops and his cattle, his heart swells -with pleasure, and he exerts himself to support and to preserve that -government and those laws which render it secure. Such is the case in -many parts of the world; such was formerly the case in Scotland, and is -still in many parts of the Highlands. Those who wish to see only the -two castes of capitalists and day-labourers, may smile at this union -of independence and poverty. But, that the opposite system is daily -quenching the independent spirit of the Highlanders, is an undoubted -fact, and gives additional strength to the arguments of those who -object to the reduction of the agricultural population, and regret -their removal to the great towns, and to the villages in preparation in -some parts of the country. - -It is painful to dwell on this subject, but as information communicated -by men of honour, judgment, and perfect veracity, descriptive of -what they daily witness, affords the best means of forming a correct -judgment, and as these gentlemen, from their situations in life, have -no immediate interest in the determination of the question, beyond what -is dictated by humanity and a love of truth, their authority may be -considered as undoubted. - -The following extract of a letter from a friend, as well as the extract -already quoted, is of this description. Speaking of the settlers on the -new allotments, he says:-- - -“I scarcely need tell you that these wretched people exhibit every -symptom of the most abject poverty, and the most helpless distress. -Their miserable lots in the moors, notwithstanding their utmost labour -and strictest economy, have not yielded them a sufficient crop for -the support of their families for three months. The little money they -were able to derive from the sale of their stock has, therefore, been -expended in the purchase of necessaries, and is now wholly exhausted. -Though they have now, therefore, overcome all their scruples about -leaving their native land, and possess the most ardent desire to -emigrate, in order to avoid more intolerable evils of starvation, and -have been much encouraged by the favourable accounts they have received -from their countrymen already in America, they cannot possibly pay the -expense of transporting themselves and their families thither.” - -It has been said that an old Highlander warned his countrymen “to -take care of themselves, for the law had reached Ross-shire.” When -his fears were excited by vague apprehensions of change, he could -not well anticipate that the introduction of civil order, and the -extension of legal authority, which in an enlightened age tend to -advance the prosperity as well as promote the security of a nation, -should have been to his countrymen either the signals of banishment -from their native country, or the means of lowering the condition of -those who were permitted to remain. With more reason it might have -been expected that the principles of an enlightened age would have -gradually introduced beneficial changes among the ancient race; that -they would have softened down the harsher features of their character, -and prepared them for habits better suited to the cultivation of the -soil, than the indolent freedom of a pastoral life. Instead of this, -the new system, whatever may be its intrinsic merits or defects, has, -in too many cases, been carried into execution in a manner which has -excited the strongest and most indignant sensations in the breasts of -those who do not overlook the present inconvenience and distress of -the many, in the eager pursuit of a prospective advantage to the few. -The consequences which have resulted, and the contrast between the -present and past condition of the people, and between their present and -past disposition and feelings towards their superiors, show, in the -most striking light, the impolicy of attempting, with such unnatural -rapidity, innovations which it would require an age, instead of a few -years, to accomplish in a salutary manner, and the impossibility of -effecting them without inflicting great misery, endangering morals, and -undermining loyalty to the king, and respect for constituted authority. - -A love of change, proceeding from the actual possession of wealth, -or from the desire of acquiring it, disturbs, by an ill-directed -influence, the gradual and effectual progress of those improvements -which, instead of benefiting the man of capital alone, should equally -distribute their advantages to all. In the prosecution of recent -changes in the north, it would appear that the original inhabitants -were never thought of, nor included in the system which was to be -productive of such wealth to the landlord, the man of capital, and the -country at large,--and that no native could be intrusted with, or, -perhaps, none was found hardy enough to act a part in the execution of -plans which commenced with the ejectment of their unfortunate friends -and neighbours. Strangers were, therefore, called in, and whole glens -cleared of their inhabitants, who, in some instances, resisted these -mandates (although legally executed), in the hope of preserving to -their families their ancient homes, to which all were enthusiastically -attached. These people, blameless in every respect, save their poverty -and ignorance of modern agriculture, could not believe that such harsh -measures proceeded from their honoured superiors, who had hitherto been -kind, and to whom they themselves had ever been attached and faithful. -The whole was attributed to the acting agents, and to them, therefore, -their indignation was principally directed; and, in some instances, -their resistance was so obstinate, that it became necessary to enforce -the orders “vi et armis,” and to have recourse to a mode of ejectment, -happily long obsolete, by setting their houses on fire. This last -species of legal proceeding was so peculiarly conclusive and forcible -that even the stubborn Highlanders, with all their attachment to the -homes of their fathers, were compelled to yield. - -In the first instances of this mode of removing refractory tenants, a -small compensation (six shillings), in two separate sums, was allowed -for the houses destroyed. Some of the ejected tenants were also allowed -small allotments of land, on which they were to build houses at their -own expense, no assistance being given for that purpose. Perhaps it -was owing to this that they were the more reluctant to remove till -they had built houses on their new stations. The compensations allowed -in the more recent removals are stated to have been more liberal; and -the improvements which have succeeded those summary ejectments of -the ancient inhabitants are highly eulogised both in pamphlets and -newspapers. - -Some people may, however, be inclined to doubt the advantages of -improvements which called for such frequent apologies; for, if more -lenient measures had been pursued, vindication would have, perhaps, -been unnecessary, and the trial of one of the acting agents might have -been avoided. - -This trial was brought forward at the instance of the Lord Advocate, -in consequence of the loud cry of indignation raised in the country -against proceedings characterised by the sheriff of the county as -“conduct which has seldom disgraced any country.” But the trial ended -(as was expected by every person who understood the circumstances) in -the acquittal of the acting agent, the verdict of the jury proceeding -on the principle that he acted under legal authority. This acquittal, -however, did by no means diminish the general feeling of culpability; -it only transferred the offence from the agent to a quarter too high -and too distant to be directly affected by public indignation, if, -indeed, there be any station so elevated, or so distant, that public -indignation, justly excited, will not, sooner or later, reach, so as to -touch the feelings, however obtuse, of the transgressor of that law of -humanity written on every upright mind, and deeply engraved on every -kind and generous heart. - -It must, however, be a matter of deep regret, that such a line of -proceeding was pursued with regard to these brave, unfortunate, and -well-principled people, as excited a sensation of horror, and a -conviction of culpability, so powerful as only to be removed by an -appeal to a criminal court. It is no less to be deplored that any -conduct sanctioned by authority, even although productive of ultimate -advantage (and how it can produce any advantage beyond what might have -been obtained by pursuing a scheme of conciliation and encouragement -is a very questionable point), should have, in the first instance, -inflicted such general misery. More humane measures would undoubtedly -have answered every good purpose; and had such a course been pursued, -as an enlightened humanity would have suggested, instead of depopulated -glens and starving peasantry, alienated from their superiors, and, -in the exacerbation of their feelings, too ready to imbibe opinions -hostile to the best interests of their country, we should still have -seen a high-spirited and loyal people, ready, at the nod of their -respected chiefs, to embody themselves into regiments, with the same -zeal as in former times; and when enrolled among the defenders of -their country, to exhibit a conduct honourable to that country and -to their profession. Such is the acknowledged character of the men -of these districts as soldiers, when called forth in the service of -their country, although they be now described as irregular in their -habits, and a burthen on the lands which gave them birth, and on which -their forefathers maintained the honour, and promoted the wealth and -prosperity of the ancestors of those who now reject them. - -But is it conceivable that the people at home should be so degraded, -while their brothers and sons who become soldiers maintain an -honourable character? The people ought not to be reproached with -incapacity or immorality without better evidence than that of their -prejudiced and unfeeling calumniators. If it be so, however, and if -this virtuous and honourable race, which has contributed to raise -and uphold the character of the British peasantry in the eyes of all -Europe, are thus fallen, and so suddenly fallen, how great and powerful -must be the cause, and how heavy the responsibility of its authors? -But if at home they are thus low in character, how unparalleled must -be the improvement which is produced by difference of profession, as -for example, when they become soldiers, and associate in barracks -with troops of all characters, or in quarters, or billets, with the -lowest of the people, instead of mingling with such society as they -left in their native homes? Why should these Highlanders be at home so -degenerate as they are represented, and as in recent instances they -would actually appear to be? And why, when they mount the cockade, -are they found to be so virtuous and regular, that one thousand men -of Sutherland have been embodied four and five years together, at -different and distant periods, from 1759 to 1763, from 1779 to 1783, -and from 1793 to 1798, without an instance of military punishment? -These men performed all the duties of soldiers to the perfect -satisfaction of their commanders, and continued so unexceptionable in -their conduct down to the latest period, when embodied into the 93rd -regiment, that, according to the words of a distinguished general -officer, “Although the youngest regiment in the service, they might -form an example to all:” and on general parades for punishment, -the Sutherland Highlanders have been ordered to their quarters, as -“examples of this kind were not necessary for such honourable soldiers.” - -General Stewart adds the following in the third edition of his -_Sketches_, published in 1825:-- - -The great changes which have taken place in the above parishes of -Sutherland, and some others, have excited a warm and general interest. -While the liberal expenditure of capital was applauded by all, many -intelligent persons lamented that its application was so much in -one direction; that the ancient tenantry were to have no share in -this expenditure; and that so small a portion was allotted for the -future settlement of the numerous population who had been removed -from their farms, and were placed in situations so new, and in many -respects so unsuitable,--certain that, in the first instance, great -distress, disaffection, and hostility towards the landlords and -government, with a diminution of that spirit of independence, and -those proper principles which had hitherto distinguished them, would -be the inevitable result. So sudden and universal a change of station, -habits, and circumstances, and their being reduced from the state of -independent tenants to that of cottagers and day-labourers, could not -fail of arresting the notice of the public. - -Anxious to obtain the best information on this interesting subject, -I early made the most minute enquiry, careful, at the same time, to -form no opinion on intelligence communicated by the people of the -district, or by persons connected with them, and who would naturally be -interested in, and prejudiced against, or in favour of those changes. -I was the more desirous for the best information as the statements -published with regard to the character, capability, and principles of -the people, exhibited a perfect contrast to my own personal experience -and knowledge of the admirable character and exemplary conduct of that -portion of them that had left their native country; and I believe it -improbable, nay impossible, that the sons of worthless parents, without -religious or moral principle--as they have been described--could -conduct themselves in such an honourable manner as to be held up as an -example to the British army. But, indeed, as to information, so much -publicity had been given by various statements explanatory of, and -in vindication of these proceedings, that little more was necessary, -beyond what these publications afforded, to show the nature of the -plans, and the manner in which they were carried into execution. - -Forming my opinions, therefore, from those statements, and from -information communicated by persons not immediately connected with -that part of the country, I drew the conclusions which appeared in -the former editions of these _Sketches_. But, with a strong desire to -be correct and well informed in all I state, and with an intention -of correcting myself, in this edition, should I find that I had -been misinformed, or had taken up mistaken views of the subject, in -the different statements I had produced, I embraced the first spare -time I could command, and in autumn, 1823, I travelled over the -“improved” districts, and a large portion of those parts which had been -depopulated and laid out in extensive pastoral farms, as well as the -stations in which the people are placed. After as strict an examination -as circumstances permitted, and a careful inquiry among those who, from -their knowledge and judgment were enabled to form the best opinions, -I do not find that I have one statement to alter, or one opinion to -correct; though I am fully aware that many hold very different opinions. - -But however much I may differ in some points, there is one in which -I warmly and cordially join; and that is, in expressing my high -satisfaction and admiration at the liberality displayed in the immense -sums expended on buildings, in enclosing, clearing, and draining land, -in forming roads and communications, and introducing the most improved -agricultural implements. In all these, the generous distribution of -such exemplary encouragement stands unparalleled and alone. Equally -remarkable is the great abatement of rents given to the tenants of -capital--abatements which it was not to be expected they would ask, -considering the preference and encouragement given them, and the -promises they had held out of great and unprecedented revenue, from -their skill and exertions. But these promises seem to have been early -forgotten; the tenants of capital were the first to call for relief; -and so great and generous has this relief been that the rents are -reduced so low as to be almost on a level with what they were when -the great changes commenced. Thus while upwards of £210,000 have been -expended on improvements, no return is to be looked for from this -vast expenditure; and in the failure of their promised rents, the -tenants have sufficiently proved the unstable and fallacious nature -of the system which they, with so much plausibility and perseverance, -got established by delusions, practised on a high-minded, honourable -individual, not aware of the evils produced by so universal a -movement of a whole people. Every friend to a brave and valuable -race must rejoice that these evils are in progress of alleviation -by a return of that kindness and protection which had formerly been -so conspicuous towards that race of tenantry, and which could never -have been interrupted had it not been for those delusions to which I -have more than once alluded, and which have been prosecuted, within -the last twenty years, in many parts of the Highlands, with a degree -of assiduity and antipathy to the unfortunate inhabitants altogether -remarkable. - - -HUGH MILLER ON THE SUTHERLAND CLEARANCES.[5] - -[5] Leading articles on _Sutherland as it was and is_. - -So much has been already said about these disastrous Sutherland -evictions that we greatly fear the reader is sickened with the horrid -narrative, but as it is intended to make the present record of these -atrocious proceedings, not only in Sutherland but throughout the whole -Highlands, as complete as it is now possible to make it, we shall -yet place before the reader at considerable length Hugh Miller’s -observations on this National Crime--especially as his remarks largely -embody the philosophical views and conclusions of the able and -far-seeing French writer Sismondi, who in his great work declares:--“It -is by a cruel use of legal power--it is by an unjust usurpation--that -the tacksman and the tenant of Sutherland are considered as having no -right to the land which they have occupied for so many ages.... A count -or earl has no more right to expel from their homes the inhabitants of -his county, than a king to expel from his country the inhabitants of -his kingdom.” Hugh Miller introduces his remarks on Sutherland by a -reference to the celebrated Frenchman’s work, and his opinion of the -Sutherland Clearances, thus:-- - -There appeared at Paris, about five years ago, a singularly ingenious -work on political economy, from the pen of the late M. de Sismondi, a -writer of European reputation. The greater part of the first volume is -taken up with discussions on territorial wealth, and the condition of -the cultivators of the soil; and in this portion of the work there is a -prominent place assigned to a subject which perhaps few Scotch readers -would expect to see introduced through the medium of a foreign tongue -to the people of a great continental state. We find this philosophic -writer, whose works are known far beyond the limits of his language, -devoting an entire essay to the case of the Duchess of Sutherland and -her tenants, and forming a judgment on it very unlike the decision of -political economists in our own country, who have not hesitated to -characterise her great and singularly harsh experiment, whose worst -effects we are but beginning to see, as at once justifiable in itself -and happy in its results. It is curious to observe how deeds done as if -in darkness and in a corner, are beginning, after the lapse of nearly -thirty years, to be proclaimed on the house-tops. The experiment of -the late Duchess was not intended to be made in the eye of Europe. Its -details would ill bear the exposure. When Cobbett simply referred to -it, only ten years ago, the noble proprietrix was startled, as if a -rather delicate family secret was on the eve of being divulged; and yet -nothing seems more evident now than that civilised man all over the -world is to be made aware of how the experiment was accomplished, and -what it is ultimately to produce. - -In a time of quiet and good order, when law, whether in the right or -the wrong, is all-potent in enforcing its findings, the argument which -the philosophic Frenchman employs in behalf of the ejected tenantry of -Sutherland is an argument at which proprietors may afford to smile. -In a time of revolution, however, when lands change their owners, -and old families give place to new ones, it might be found somewhat -formidable,--sufficiently so, at least, to lead a wise proprietor in an -unsettled age rather to conciliate than oppress and irritate the class -who would be able in such circumstances to urge it with most effect. -It is not easy doing justice in a few sentences to the facts and -reasonings of an elaborate essay; but the line of argument runs thus:-- - -Under the old Celtic tenures--the only tenures, be it remembered -through which the Lords of Sutherland derive their rights to their -lands,--the _Klaan_, or children of the soil, were the proprietors of -the soil--“the whole of Sutherland,” says Sismondi, belonged to “the -men of Sutherland.” Their chief was their monarch, and a very absolute -monarch he was. “He gave the different _tacks_ of land to his officers, -or took them away from them, according as they showed themselves -more or less useful in war. But though he could thus, in a military -sense, reward or punish the clan, he could not diminish in the least -the property of the clan itself;”--he was a chief, not a proprietor, -and had “no more right to expel from their homes the inhabitants of -his county, than a king to expel from his country the inhabitants of -his kingdom.” “Now, the Gaelic tenant,” continues the Frenchman, “has -never been conquered; nor did he forfeit, on any after occasion, the -rights which he originally possessed;” in point of right, he is still a -co-proprietor with his captain. To a Scotchman acquainted with the law -of property as it has existed among us, in even the Highlands, for the -last century, and everywhere else for at least two centuries more, the -view may seem extreme; not so, however, to a native of the Continent, -in many parts of which prescription and custom are found ranged, not -on the side of the chief, but on that of the vassal. “Switzerland,” -says Sismondi, “which in so many respects resembles Scotland,--in its -lakes, its mountains, its climate, and the character, manners, and -habits of its children,--was likewise at the same period parcelled out -among a small number of lords. If the Counts of Kyburgh, of Lentzburg, -of Hapsburg, and of Gruyeres, had been protected by the English -laws, they would find themselves at the present day precisely in the -condition in which the Earls of Sutherland were twenty years ago. Some -of them would perhaps have had the same taste for _improvements_, and -several republics would have been expelled from the Alps, to make room -for flocks of sheep. But while the law has given to the Swiss peasant -a guarantee of perpetuity, it is to the Scottish laird that it has -extended this guarantee in the British empire, leaving the peasant in -a precarious situation. The clan,--recognised at first by the captain, -whom they followed in war, and obeyed for their common advantage, as -his friends and relations, then as his soldiers, then as his vassals, -then as his farmers,--he has come finally to regard as hired labourers, -whom he may perchance allow to remain on the soil of their common -country for his own advantage, but whom he has the power to expel so -soon as he no longer finds it for his interest to keep them.” - -Arguments like those of Sismondi, however much their force may be -felt on the Continent, would be formidable at home, as we have said, -in only a time of revolution, when the very foundations of society -would be unfixed, and opinions set loose, to pull down or re-construct -at pleasure. But it is surely not uninteresting to mark how, in the -course of events, that very law of England which, in the view of the -Frenchman, has done the Highland peasant so much less, and the Highland -chief so much more than justice, is bidding fair, in the case of -Sutherland at least, to carry its rude equalising remedy along with it. -Between the years 1811 and 1820, fifteen thousand inhabitants of this -northern district were ejected from their snug inland farms, by means -for which we would in vain seek a precedent, except, perchance, in the -history of the Irish massacre. - -But though the interior of the county was thus improved into a desert, -in which there are many thousands of sheep, but few human habitations, -let it not be supposed by the reader that its general population was -in any degree lessened. So far was this from being the case, that -the census of 1821 showed an increase over the census of 1811 of more -than two hundred; and the present population of Sutherland exceeds, -by a thousand, its population before the change. The county has not -been depopulated--its population has been merely arranged after a new -fashion. The late Duchess found it spread equally over the interior -and the sea-coast, and in very comfortable circumstances;--she left -it compressed into a wretched selvage of poverty and suffering that -fringes the county on its eastern and western shores, and the law which -enabled her to make such an arrangement, maugre the ancient rights -of the poor Highlander, is now on the eve of stepping in, in its own -clumsy way, to make her family pay the penalty. The southern kingdom -must and will give us a poor-law; and then shall the selvage of deep -poverty which fringes the sea-coasts of Sutherland avenge on the titled -proprietor of the county both his mother’s error and his own. If our -British laws, unlike those of Switzerland, failed miserably in her day -in protecting the vassal, they will more than fail, in those of her -successor, in protecting the lord. Our political economists shall have -an opportunity of reducing their arguments regarding the improvements -in Sutherland, into a few arithmetical terms, which the merest tyro -will be able to grapple with. - -There is but poor comfort, however, to know, when one sees a country -ruined, that the perpetrators of the mischief have not ruined it to -their own advantage. We purpose showing how signal in the case of -Sutherland this ruin has been, and how very extreme the infatuation -which continues to possess its hereditary lord. We are old enough to -remember the county in its original state, when it was at once the -happiest and one of the most exemplary districts in Scotland, and -passed, at two several periods, a considerable time among its hills; we -are not unacquainted with it now, nor with its melancholy and dejected -people, that wear out life in their comfortless cottages on the -sea-shore. The problem solved in this remote district of the kingdom -is not at all unworthy the attention which it seems but beginning to -draw, but which is already not restricted to one kingdom, or even one -continent. - -But what, asks the reader, was the economic condition--the condition -with regard to circumstances and means of living--of these Sutherland -Highlanders? How did they fare? The question has been variously -answered: much must depend on the class selected from among them as -specimens of the whole,--much, too, taking for granted the honesty -of the party who replies, on his own condition in life, and his -acquaintance with the circumstances of the poorer people of Scotland -generally. The county had its less genial localities, in which, for a -month or two in the summer season, when the stock of grain from the -previous year was fast running out, and the crops on the ground not -yet ripened for use, the people experienced a considerable degree of -scarcity--such scarcity as a mechanic in the South feels when he has -been a fortnight out of employment. But the Highlander had resources -in these seasons which the mechanic has not. He had his cattle and -his wild potherbs, such as the mug-wort and the nettle. It has been -adduced by the advocates of the change which has ruined Sutherland, as -a proof of the extreme hardship of the Highlander’s condition, that at -such times he could have eaten as food broth made of nettles, mixed -up with a little oatmeal, or have had recourse to the expedient of -bleeding his cattle, and making the blood into a sort of pudding. And -it is quite true that the Sutherlandshire Highlander was in the habit -at such times, of having recourse to such food. It is not less true, -however, that the statement is just as little conclusive regarding his -condition, as if it were alleged that there must always be famine in -France when the people eat the hind legs of frogs, or in Italy when -they make dishes of snails. With regard to the general comfort of the -people in their old condition, there are better tests than can be -drawn from the kind of food they occasionally ate. The country hears -often of dearth in Sutherland now. Every year in which the crop falls -a little below average in other districts, is a year of famine there, -but the country never heard of dearth in Sutherland then. There were -very few among the holders of its small inland farms who had not -saved a little money. Their circumstances were such, that their moral -nature found full room to develop itself, and in a way the world has -rarely witnessed. Never were there a happier or more contented people, -or a people more strongly attached to the soil; and not one of them -now lives in the altered circumstances on which they were so rudely -precipitated by the landlord, who does not look back on this period of -comfort and enjoyment with sad and hopeless regret. - -But we have not yet said how this ruinous revolution was effected in -Sutherland,--how the aggravations of the _mode_, if we may so speak, -still fester in the recollections of the people,--or how thoroughly -that policy of the lord of the soil, through which he now seems -determined to complete the work of ruin which his predecessor began, -harmonizes with its worst details. We must first relate, however, a -disastrous change which took place, in the providence of God, in the -noble family of Sutherland, and which, though it dates fully eighty -years back, may be regarded as pregnant with the disasters which -afterwards befell the county. - -The marriage of the young countess into a noble English family was -fraught with further disaster to the county. There are many Englishmen -quite intelligent enough to perceive the difference between a smoky -cottage of turf, and a whitewashed cottage of stone, whose judgments on -their respective inhabitants would be of but little value. Sutherland, -as a county of men, stood higher at this period than perhaps any other -district in the British Empire; but, as our descriptions have shown, it -by no means stood high as a county of farms and cottages. The marriage -of the countess brought a new set of eyes upon it,--eyes accustomed -to quite a different face of things. It seemed a wild, rude county, -where all was wrong, and all had to be set right,--a sort of Russia on -a small scale, that had just got another Peter the Great to civilize -it,--or a sort of barbarous Egypt, with an energetic Ali Pasha at its -head. Even the vast wealth and great liberality of the Stafford family -militated against this hapless county! It enabled them to treat it as a -mere subject of an interesting experiment, in which gain to themselves -was really no object,--nearly as little so, as if they had resolved -on dissecting a dog alive for the benefit of science. It was a still -farther disadvantage, that they had to carry on their experiment by -the hands, and to watch its first effects with the eyes, of others. -The agonies of the dog might have had their softening influence on -a dissecter who held the knife himself; but there could be no such -influence exerted over him, did he merely issue orders to his footman -that the dissection should be completed, remaining himself, meanwhile, -out of sight and out of hearing. The plan of improvement sketched out -by his English family was a plan exceedingly easy of conception. Here -is a vast tract of land, furnished with two distinct sources of wealth. -Its shores may be made the seats of extensive fisheries, and the whole -of its interior parcelled out into productive sheep farms. All is -waste in its present state; it has no fisheries, and two-thirds of its -internal produce is consumed by the inhabitants. It had contributed, -for the use of the community and the landlord, its large herds of black -cattle; but the English family saw, and, we believe, saw truly, that -for every one pound of beef which it produced, it could be made to -produce two pounds of mutton, and perhaps a pound of fish in addition. -And it was resolved, therefore, that the inhabitants of the central -districts, who, as they were mere Celts, could not be transformed, it -was held, into store farmers, should be marched down to the sea-side, -there to convert themselves into fishermen, on the shortest possible -notice, and that a few farmers of capital, of the industrious Lowland -race, should be invited to occupy the new sub-divisions of the interior. - -And, pray, what objections can be urged against so liberal and -large-minded a scheme? The poor inhabitants of the interior had very -serious objections to urge against it. Their humble dwellings were -of their own rearing; it was they themselves who had broken in their -little fields from the waste; from time immemorial, far beyond the -reach of history, had they possessed their mountain holdings,--they had -defended them so well of old that the soil was still virgin ground, -in which the invader had found only a grave; and their young men were -now in foreign lands fighting at the command of their chieftainess -the battles of their country, not in the character of hired soldiers, -but of men who regarded these very holdings as their stake in the -quarrel. To them, then, the scheme seemed fraught with the most -flagrant, the most monstrous injustice. Were it to be suggested by -some Chartist convention in a time of revolution that Sutherland might -be still further improved--that it was really a piece of great waste -to suffer the revenues of so extensive a district to be squandered by -one individual--that it would be better to appropriate them to the -use of the community in general--that the community in general might -be still further benefited by the removal of the said individual from -Dunrobin to a roadside, where he might be profitably employed in -breaking stones--and that this new arrangement could not be entered -on too soon--the noble Duke would not be a whit more astonished, or -rendered a whit more indignant by the scheme than were the Highlanders -of Sutherland by the scheme of his predecessor. - -The reader must keep in view, therefore, that if atrocities unexampled -in Britain for at least a century were perpetrated in the clearing -of Sutherland, there was a species of at least passive resistance -on the part of the people (for active resistance there was none), -which in some degree provoked them. Had the Highlanders, on receiving -orders, marched down to the sea-coast and become fishermen with the -readiness with which a regiment deploys on review day, the atrocities -would, we doubt not, have been much fewer. But though the orders -were very distinct, the Highlanders were very unwilling to obey; and -the severities formed merely a part of the means through which the -necessary obedience was ultimately secured. We shall instance a single -case as illustrative of the process. - -In the month of March, 1814, a large proportion of the Highlanders -of Farr and Kildonan, two parishes in Sutherland, were summoned to -quit their farms in the following May. In a few days after, the -surrounding heath on which they pastured their cattle and from which, -at that season, the sole supply of herbage is derived (for in those -northern districts the grass springs late, and the cattle-feeder in -the spring months depends chiefly on the heather), were set on fire -and burnt up. There was that sort of policy in the stroke which men -deem allowable in a state of war. The starving cattle went roaming over -the burnt pastures, and found nothing to eat. Many of them perished, -and the greater part of what remained, though in miserable condition, -the Highlanders had to sell perforce. Most of the able-bodied men -were engaged in this latter business at a distance from home, when -the dreaded term-day came on. The pasturage had been destroyed before -the legal term, and while in even the eye of the law it was still the -property of the poor Highlanders; but ere disturbing them in their -dwellings, term-day was suffered to pass. The work of demolition then -began. A numerous party of men, with a factor at their head, entered -the district, and commenced pulling down the houses over the heads of -the inhabitants. In an extensive tract of country not a human dwelling -was left standing, and then, the more effectually to prevent their -temporary re-erection, the destroyers set fire to the wreck. In one day -were the people deprived of home and shelter, and left exposed to the -elements. Many deaths are said to have ensued from alarm, fatigue, and -cold. - -Our author then corroborates in detail the atrocities, cruelties, and -personal hardships described by Donald MacLeod and proceeds:--But to -employ the language of Southey, - - “Things such as these, we know, must be - At every famous victory.” - -And in this instance the victory of the lord of the soil over the -children of the soil was signal and complete. In little more than -nine years a population of fifteen thousand individuals were removed -from the interior of Sutherland to its sea-coasts or had emigrated to -America. The inland districts were converted into deserts through which -the traveller may take a long day’s journey, amid ruins that still bear -the scathe of fire, and grassy patches betraying, when the evening -sun casts aslant its long deep shadows, the half-effaced lines of the -plough. - -After pointing out how at the Disruption sites for churches were -refused, Hugh Miller proceeds:--We have exhibited to our readers, -in the _clearing_ of Sutherland a process of ruin so thoroughly -disastrous, that it might be deemed scarcely possible to render it -more complete. And yet with all its apparent completeness, it admitted -of a supplementary process. To employ one of the striking figures -of Scripture, it was possible to grind into powder what had been -previously broken into fragments,--to degrade the poor inhabitants -to a still lower level than that on which they had been so cruelly -precipitated,--though persons of a not very original cast of mind -might have found it difficult to say how the Duke of Sutherland has -been ingenious enough to fall on exactly the one proper expedient -for supplementing their ruin. All in mere circumstance and situation -that could lower and deteriorate had been present as ingredients in -the first process; but there still remained for the people, however -reduced to poverty or broken in spirit, all in religion that consoles -and ennobles. Sabbath-days came round with their humanising influences; -and, under the teachings of the gospel, the poor and the oppressed -looked longingly forward to a future scene of being, in which there -is no poverty or oppression. They still possessed, amid their misery, -something positively good, of which it was impossible to deprive -them; and hence the ability derived to the present lord of Sutherland -of deepening and rendering more signal the ruin accomplished by his -predecessor. - -These harmonise but too well with the mode in which the interior of -Sutherland was cleared, and the improved cottages of its sea-coasts -erected. The plan has its two items. No sites are to be granted in -the district for Free Churches, and no dwelling-houses for Free -Church ministers. The climate is severe,--the winters prolonged and -stormy,--the roads which connect the chief seats of population with the -neighbouring counties, dreary and long. May not ministers and people -be eventually worn out in this way? Such is the portion of the plan -which his Grace and his Grace’s creatures can afford to present to the -light. But there are supplementary items of a somewhat darker kind. -The poor cotters are, in the great majority of cases, tenants-at-will; -and there has been much pains taken to inform them that, to the crime -of entertaining and sheltering a Protesting minister, the penalty -of ejection from their holdings must inevitably attach. The laws of -Charles have again returned in this unhappy district, and free and -tolerating Scotland has got, in the nineteenth century, as in the -seventeenth, its intercommuned ministers. We shall not say that the -intimation has emanated from the Duke. It is the misfortune of such -men that there creep around them creatures whose business it is to -anticipate their wishes; but who, at times, doubtless, instead of -anticipating misinterpret them; and who, even when not very much -mistaken, impart to whatever they do the impress of their own low and -menial natures, and thus exaggerate in the act the intention of their -masters. We do not say, therefore, that the intimation has emanated -from the Duke; but this we say, that an exemplary Sutherlandshire -minister of the Protesting Church, who resigned his worldly all for the -sake of his principles, had lately to travel, that he might preach to -his attached people, a long journey of forty-four miles outwards, and -as much in return, and all this without taking shelter under cover of a -roof, or without partaking of any other refreshment than that furnished -by the slender store of provisions which he had carried with him from -his new home. Willingly would the poor Highlanders have received him at -any risk; but knowing from experience what a Sutherlandshire removal -means he preferred enduring any amount of hardship rather than that the -hospitality of his people should be made the occasion of their ruin. -We have already adverted to the case of a lady of Sutherland threatened -with ejection from her home because she had extended the shelter of her -roof to one of the Protesting clergy,--an aged and venerable man, who -had quitted the neighbouring manse, his home for many years, because -he could no longer enjoy it in consistency with his principles; and we -have shown that that aged and venerable man was the lady’s own father. -What amount of oppression of a smaller and more petty character may not -be expected in the circumstances, when cases such as these are found to -stand but a very little over the ordinary level? - -The meannesses to which ducal hostility can stoop in this hapless -district, impress with a feeling of surprise. In the parish of Dornoch -for instance, where his Grace is fortunately not the sole landowner, -there has been a site procured on the most generous terms from Sir -George Gunn Munro of Poyntzfield; and this gentleman, believing himself -possessed of a hereditary right to a quarry, which, though on the -Duke’s ground, had been long resorted to by the proprietors of the -district generally, instructed the builder to take from it the stones -which he needed. Never had the quarry been prohibited before, but on -this occasion a stringent interdict arrested its use. If his Grace -could not prevent a hated Free Church from arising in the district, he -could at least add to the expense of its erection. We have even heard -that the portion of the building previously erected had to be pulled -down and the stones returned. - -How are we to account for a hostility so determined, and that can stoop -so low? In two different ways, we are of opinion, and in both have -the people of Scotland a direct interest. Did his Grace entertain a -very intense regard for Established Presbytery, it is probably that he -himself would be a Presbyterian of the Establishment. But such is not -the case. The church into which he would so fain force the people has -been long since deserted by himself. The secret of the course which -he pursues can have no connection therefore with religious motive or -belief. It can be no proselytising spirit that misleads his Grace. Let -us remark, in the first place, rather however in the way of embodying -a fact than imputing a motive, that with his present views, and in -his present circumstances, it may not seem particularly his Grace’s -interest to make the county of Sutherland a happy or desirable home -to the people of Scotland. It may not be his Grace’s interest that -the population of the district should increase. The clearing of the -sea-coast may seem as little prejudicial to his Grace’s welfare now -as the clearing of the interior seemed adverse to the interests of -his predecessor thirty years ago; nay, it is quite possible that his -Grace may be led to regard the clearing of the coast as the better -and more important clearing of the two. Let it not be forgotten that -a poor-law hangs over Scotland,--that the shores of Sutherland are -covered with what seems one vast straggling village, inhabited by an -impoverished and ruined people,--and that the coming assessment may -yet fall so weighty that the extra profits accruing to his Grace from -his large sheep-farms may go but a small way in supporting his extra -paupers. It is not in the least improbable that he may live to find the -revolution effected by his predecessor taking to itself the form, not -of a crime,--for that would be nothing,--but of a disastrous and very -terrible blunder. - -There is another remark which may prove not unworthy the consideration -of the reader. Ever since the completion of the fatal experiment which -ruined Sutherland, the noble family through which it was originated -and carried on have betrayed the utmost jealousy of having its real -results made public. Volumes of special pleading have been written -on the subject,--pamphlets have been published, laboured articles -have been inserted in widely-spread reviews,--statistical accounts -have been watched over with the most careful surveillance. If the -misrepresentations of the press could have altered the matter of fact, -famine would not be gnawing the vitals of Sutherland in a year a -little less abundant than its predecessors, nor would the dejected and -oppressed people be feeding their discontent, amid present misery, with -the recollections of a happier past. If a singularly well-conditioned -and wholesome district of country has been converted into one wide -ulcer of wretchedness and woe, it must be confessed that the sore has -been carefully bandaged up from the public eye,--that if there has been -little done for its cure, there has at least been much done for its -concealment. Now, be it remembered that a Free Church threatened to -insert a _tent_ into this wound and so keep it open. It has been said -that the Gaelic language removes a district more effectually from the -influence of English opinion than an ocean of three thousand miles, -and that the British public know better what is doing in New York -than what is doing in Lewis or Skye. And hence one cause, at least, -of the thick obscurity that has so long enveloped the miseries which -the poor Highlander has had to endure, and the oppressions to which he -has been subjected. The Free Church threatens to translate her wrongs -into English, and to give them currency in the general mart of opinion. -She might possibly enough be no silent spectator of conflagrations -such as those which characterised the first general improvement of -Sutherland,--nor yet of such Egyptian schemes of house-building as -that which formed part of the improvements of a later plan. She might -be somewhat apt to betray the real state of the district and thus -render laborious misrepresentation of little avail. She might effect -a diversion in the cause of the people, and shake the foundations of -the hitherto despotic power which has so long weighed them down. She -might do for Sutherland what Cobbett promised to do, but what Cobbett -had not character enough to accomplish, and what did he not live even -to attempt. A combination of circumstances have conspired to vest in a -Scottish proprietor, in this northern district, a more despotic power -than even the most absolute monarchs of the Continent possess; and it -is, perhaps, no great wonder that that proprietor should be jealous of -the introduction of an element which threatens, it may seem, materially -to lessen it. And so he struggled hard to exclude the Free Church, and, -though no member of the Establishment himself, declares warmly in its -behalf. Certain it is that from the Establishment as now constituted -he can have nothing to fear and the people nothing to hope. - -After what manner may his Grace the Duke of Sutherland be most -effectually met in this matter, so that the case of toleration and -freedom of conscience may be maintained in the extensive district which -God, in his providence, has consigned to his stewardship? We are not -unacquainted with the Celtic character as developed in the Highlands -of Scotland. Highlanders, up to a certain point, are the most docile, -patient, enduring of men; but that point once passed, endurance ceases, -and the all too gentle lamb starts up an angry lion. The spirit is -stirred and maddens at the sight of the naked weapon, and that in its -headlong rush upon the enemy, discipline can neither check nor control. -Let our oppressed Highlanders of Sutherland beware. They have suffered -much; but, so far as man is the agent, their battles can be fought only -on the arena of public opinion, and on that ground which the political -field may be soon found to furnish. - -Let us follow, for a little, the poor Highlanders of Sutherland to the -sea-coast. It would be easy dwelling on the terrors of their expulsion, -and multiplying facts of horror; but had there been no permanent -deterioration effected in their condition, these, all harrowing and -repulsive as they were, would have mattered less. Sutherland would -have soon recovered the burning up of a few hundred hamlets, or the -loss of a few bed-ridden old people, who would have died as certainly -under cover, though perhaps a few months later, as when exposed to the -elements in the open air. Nay, had it lost a thousand of its best men -in the way in which it lost so many at the storming of New Orleans, the -blank ere now would have been completely filled up. The calamities of -fire or of decimation even, however distressing in themselves, never -yet ruined a country; no calamity ruins a country that leaves the -surviving inhabitants to develop, in their old circumstances, their old -character and resources. - -In one of the eastern eclogues of Collins, where two shepherds are -described as flying for their lives before the troops of a ruthless -invader, we see with how much of the terrible the imagination of a poet -could invest the evils of war, when aggravated by pitiless barbarity. -Fertile as that imagination was, however, there might be found new -circumstances to heighten the horrors of the scene--circumstances -beyond the reach of invention--in the retreat of the Sutherland -Highlanders from the smoking ruins of their cottages to their -allotments on the coast. We have heard of one man, named Mackay, -whose family at the time of the greater conflagration referred to by -Macleod, were all lying ill of fever, who had to carry two of his -sick children on his back a distance of twenty-five miles. We have -heard of the famished people blackening the shores, like the crew of -some vessel wrecked on an inhospitable coast, that they might sustain -life by the shell-fish and sea-weed laid bare by the ebb. Many of -their allotments, especially on the western coast, were barren in the -extreme--unsheltered by bush or tree, and exposed to the sweeping -sea-winds, and in time of tempest, to the blighting spray; and it was -found a matter of the extremest difficulty to keep the few cattle which -they had retained, from wandering, especially in the night-time, into -the better sheltered and more fertile interior. The poor animals were -intelligent enough to read a practical comment on the nature of the -change effected; and, from the harshness of the shepherds to whom the -care of the interior had been entrusted, they served materially to add -to the distress of their unhappy masters. They were getting continually -impounded; and vexatious fines, in the form of trespass-money, came -thus to be wrung from the already impoverished Highlanders. Many who -had no money to give were obliged to relieve them by depositing some of -their few portable articles of value, such as bed or bodyclothes, or, -more distressing still, watches, and rings, and pins--the only relics, -in not a few instances, of brave men whose bones were mouldering under -the fatal rampart at New Orleans, or in the arid sands of Egypt--on -that spot of proud recollection, where the invincibles of Napoleon went -down before the Highland bayonet. Their first efforts as fishermen -were what might be expected from a rural people unaccustomed to the -sea. The shores of Sutherland, for immense tracts together, are -iron-bound, and much exposed--open on the Eastern coast to the waves -of the German Ocean, and on the North and West to the long roll of the -Atlantic. There could not be more perilous seas for the unpractised -boatman to take his first lessons on; but though the casualties were -numerous and the loss of life great, many of the younger Highlanders -became expert fishermen. The experiment was harsh in the extreme, -but so far, at least, it succeeded. It lies open, however, to other -objections than those which have been urged against it on the score of -its inhumanity. - - -MR JAMES LOCH ON SUTHERLAND IMPROVEMENTS.[6] - -[6] An Account of the Improvements on the Estates of the Marquis of -Stafford, by James Kinloch, General Agent of the Sutherland Estates. -London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1820. - -No country of Europe at any period of its history ever presented more -formidable obstacles to the improvement of a people arising out of the -prejudices and feelings of the people themselves. To the tacksman, it -is clear, from what has already been stated, such a change could not -be agreeable. Its effect being to alter his condition, and remove him -from a state of idle independence, in habits almost of equality with -his chief, to a situation, although fully, if not more respectable, -yet one in which his livelihood was to be obtained by his exertions -and industry, and in many instances by an application to pursuits, -which were by him considered as beneath the occupation of a gentleman, -although leading to real independence and wealth, to a degree he never -could arrive at in his original condition. Nor could it be agreeable to -him to lose that command and influence, which he had hitherto exercised -without control, over his sub-tenants and dependants; while it was at -variance with every feeling and prejudice in which he had been brought -up and educated. It required minds of no ordinary cast to rise superior -to these feelings: and men of no common understanding and vigour of -intellect were required, to shake off habits so opposed to active -industry and exertion. From a certain set of this class, therefore, -a real and determined opposition to any change was to be looked for. -This expectation has not been disappointed; and it is from individuals -of this class, and persons connected with them, that those false and -malignant representations have proceeded, which have been so loudly and -extensively circulated. Actuated by motives of a mere personal nature, -regardless of the happiness of the people, whose improvement it was -the great object of the landlord to effect, they attempted to make an -appeal in favour of a set of people who were never before the objects -of their commiseration, in order that they might, if possible, reduce -them, for their own selfish purposes, to that state of degradation -from which they had been just emancipated. This was, however, by no -means true of the whole, or of the greater part of this class of -gentlemen; for the bulk of the most active improvers of Sutherland are -natives, who, both as sheep farmers, and as skilful and enterprising -agriculturists, are equal to any to be met with in the kingdom. They -have, with an intelligence and liberality of feeling which reflects -upon them the highest honour, embraced with alacrity the new scene of -active exertion presented for their adoption; seconding the views of -the landlords with the utmost zeal, marked with much foresight and -prudence. Out of the twenty-nine principal tacksmen on the estate, -seventeen are natives of Sutherland, four are Northumbrians, two are -from the county of Moray, two from Roxburghshire, two from Caithness, -one from Midlothian, and one from the Merse. - -So strong, however, were the prejudices of the people, that, even to -those who were subjected to the power and control of the tacksmen, -this mode of life had charms which attached them strongly to it. He -extended, in some degree, to the more respectable of those who were -placed under him, the same familiarity which he received from the -chief. The burden of the outdoor work was cast upon the females. The -men deemed such an occupation unworthy of them, continued labour of any -sort being most adverse to their habits. They were contented with the -most simple and the poorest fare. Like all mountaineers, accustomed -to a life of irregular exertion, with intervals of sloth, they were -attached with a degree of enthusiasm, only felt by the natives of a -poor country, to their own glen and mountainside, adhering in the -strongest manner to the habits and homes of their fathers. They deemed -no comfort worth the possessing, which was to be purchased at the price -of regular industry; no improvement worthy of adoption, if it was to -be obtained at the expense of sacrificing the customs, or leaving the -homes of their ancestors. So strongly did these feelings operate, that -it cost them nearly the same effort to remove from the spot in which -they were born and brought up, though the place of their new dwelling -was situated on the sea-shore at the mouth of their native strath, or -even in a neighbouring glen, as it cost them to make an exertion equal -to transporting themselves across the Atlantic. - -The cattle which they reared on the mountains, and from the sale of -which they depended for the payment of their rents, were of the poorest -description. During summer they procured a scanty sustenance, with much -toil and labour, by roaming over the mountains; while in winter they -died in numbers for the want of support; notwithstanding a practice, -which they universally adopted, of killing every second calf, on -account of the want of winter keep. To such an extent did this calamity -at times amount, that, in the spring of 1807, there died in the parish -of Kildonan alone, two hundred cows, five hundred head of cattle, and -more than two hundred small horses. - -As soon as the works, undertaken under the direction of the -Parliamentary Commissioners, opened a prospect of removing successfully -the obstacles which stood in the way of the improvements of the -people, steps were taken to new model and arrange these extensive -possessions. The utmost caution and deliberation was used in doing -so, and plans were never more maturely weighed, nor executed with -more anxiety and tenderness. To aid the further arrangement of these -matters, application was made to William Young, Esq., of Inverugie, -in the county of Elgin, whose active mind and indefatigable industry -had been exhibited in what he had done upon his own estate. This -gentleman superintended the commencement of those vast improvements -which were undertaken on the estate of Sutherland. The success of the -measures carried into effect under his direction, combined with the -difficulties he had to contend with, must always be the best proof -of the ability and indefatigable zeal with which he executed the -charge of which he had taken the direction, and which he performed so -much to his own credit and the advantage of the country. It is only -doing justice to his merits to say, that the rapidity of the earlier -improvements was owing in a principal degree to the impulse and action -inspired by his intelligent and enterprising mind. Mr. Young resigned -his superintendence in 1816, when the local management of the estate -of Sutherland was entrusted to the present factor, Mr. Francis Suther, -whose good temper and judicious conduct in the immediate management -at Trentham, recommended him to the situation he now holds. These -expectations have been fully justified by the manner he has executed -the details of the late arrangements, in which he received the most -cordial and able assistance from Captain John Mackay, late of the 26th -Foot, the factor of Strathnaver, and from Lieutenant George Gunn, of -the Royal Marines, Chief of the clan Gunn, factor of Assynt. - -These gentlemen deserve equal credit for the manner in which they have -enforced and promoted the plans which were laid down for the extension -of the fisheries and the cultivation of the coast side, as for their -kind and careful conduct towards the people. Mr. Suther’s exertions in -promoting and carrying into effect every arrangement which was made for -the encouragement and the success of the fishing station and village -of Helmsdale, requires particular commendation. - -It is well known that the borders of the two kingdoms were inhabited -by a numerous population, who, in their pursuits, manners, and general -structure of society, bore a considerable resemblance to that which -existed in the Highlands of Scotland. When the union of the crowns, and -those subsequent transactions which arose out of that event, rendered -the maintenance of that irregular population not only unnecessary, but -a burden to the proprietor to whom the land belonged, the people were -removed, and the mountains were covered with sheep. So that it had been -for a length of time proved by the experience of the stock farmers -of those mountain tracts, which comprise the northern districts of -England, and the southern parts of Scotland, that such situations were -peculiarly suited for the maintenance of this species of stock. Taking -this example as their guide, experience had still further proved, -that the central and western Highlands of Scotland were equally well -calculated for the same end. - -Reasoning from this success, and observing that the climate of -Sutherland, owing to its vicinity to the ocean, and to its being -considerably intersected by arms of the sea, was much more moderate -than this latter district, it was fairly concluded that this county -was even better fitted for this system of management, than the heights -of Perthshire and Inverness-shire. The inferior elevation of its -mountains contributed still further to this effect, and held out every -encouragement to adopt the same course which had been pursued with such -success in both parts of the kingdom. - -The succession of those Alpine plants, which are common to the Cheviot -Hills, when they are put under sheep, being also the natural herbage of -the mountains of Sutherland, renders them still more suitable to this -mode of occupation. - -On the first melting of the snow, the cotton grass is found to have -been growing rapidly; it forms a healthy and an abundant food for -sheep, until about the beginning of May, at which time it is in seed; -when, after a short interval, the deer hair takes its place, starting -up almost instantaneously, and forming, in the course of one week (if -the ground has been recently burnt, and the weather be favourable), a -green cover to the mountains. This plant grows with several varieties -of bents, until the end of July, when the cotton grass again begins -to spring, and with the pry moss, comes a second time into flower, in -September, after which the heather and more heating plants continue -until the frosts of winter. Nor is there any part of these mountains, -over which the sheep cannot roam with ease, in search of food, -rendering the whole available and profitable. - -As there was every reason therefore for concluding, that the -mountainous parts of the estate and indeed of the county of Sutherland, -were as much calculated for the maintenance of stock as they were unfit -for the habitation of man, there could be no doubt as to the propriety -of converting them into sheep walks, _provided_ the people could be -at the same time settled in situations, where, by the exercise of -their honest industry, they could obtain a decent livelihood, and add -to the general mass of national wealth, and where they should not be -exposed to the recurrence of those privations, which so frequently and -so terribly afflicted them, when situated among the mountains. It was -a matter of important consideration, to determine how this was to be -accomplished. The local peculiarities of the county presented none of -those advantages in disposing of, and absorbing the surplus population, -which the borders of the two kingdoms, and the southern and eastern -highlands had enjoyed. Besides it had made no approximation to the -state in which the rest of Scotland was placed, when those changes were -carried into effect. It had stood still in the midst of that career of -improvement which had so remarkably and so splendidly distinguished the -rest of the kingdom; and remained separated by its habits, prejudices, -and language, from all around. - -It had long been known, that the coast of Sutherland abounded with -many different kinds of fish, not only sufficient for the consumption -of the country, but affording also a supply _to any extent_, for more -distant markets or for exportation, when cured and salted. Besides -the regular and continual supply of white fish, with which the shores -thus abound, the coast of Sutherland is annually visited by one of -those vast shoals of herrings, which frequent the coast of Scotland. -It seemed as if it had been pointed out by Nature, that the system -for this remote district, in order that it might bear its suitable -importance in contributing its share to the general stock of the -country, was, to convert the mountainous districts into sheep walks, -and to remove the inhabitants to the coast, or to the valleys near the -sea. - -It will be seen, that the object to be obtained by this arrangement, -was two-fold: it was, in the first place, to render this mountainous -district contributory, as far as it was possible, to the general -wealth and industry of the country, and in the manner most suitable to -its situation and peculiar circumstances. This was to be effected by -making it produce a large supply of wool, for the staple manufactory -of England. While, at the same time, it should support as numerous, -and a far more laborious and useful population, than it hitherto had -done at home: and, in the second place, to convert the inhabitants of -those districts to the habits of regular and continued industry, and to -enable them to bring to market a very considerable surplus quantity of -provisions, for the supply of the large towns in the southern parts of -the island, or for the purpose of exportation. - -A policy well calculated to raise the importance, and increase the -happiness of the individuals themselves, who were the objects of -the change, to benefit those to whom these extensive but hitherto -unproductive possessions belonged, and to promote the general -prosperity of the nation. Such was the system which was adopted. In -carrying it into effect, every care was taken to explain the object -proposed to be accomplished, to those who were to be removed, and to -point out to them, the ultimate advantages that would necessarily -accrue to them, from their completion. - -These communications were made to the people by the factor personally, -or by written statements, communicated to them by the ground officers. -That nothing might be omitted in this respect, the different ministers, -and the principal tacksmen connected with the districts which were -to be newly arranged, were written to, explaining to them, fully and -explicitly, the intentions of the proprietors in adopting them. It was -particularly requested of these gentlemen, that they would impress -upon the minds of the people, the propriety of agreeing to them, and -of explaining, that the motives which dictated this step, arose out of -a real regard for their interests and prosperity, as well as for the -general improvement of the estate. - -It was distinctly admitted, that it was not to be expected, that -the people should be immediately reconciled to them. Such was to -expect more than it was possible to hope for. But it was represented, -that if this was so fully felt, and so clearly admitted, that the -landlords must have been strongly and conscientiously impressed with -the necessity and propriety of the measures adopted, as tending -directly to the happiness of those placed under their protection. -These representations had the desired effect, and nothing can be more -praiseworthy, or deserve more to be applauded, than the conduct of the -people on quitting their original habitations; for although they left -them with much regret, they did so in the most quiet, orderly, and -peaceable manner. - -If, upon one occasion, in the earlier years of these arrangements, a -momentary feeling of a contrary nature was exhibited, it arose entirely -from the misconduct of persons whose duty it was to have recommended -and enforced obedience to the laws, in place of infusing into the -minds of the people, feelings of a contrary description. As soon, -however, as the interference of these persons was withdrawn, the poor -people returned to their usual state of quietness and repose. All the -statements, giving a different account of their conduct, are absolutely -false, and a libel upon their good conduct and peaceable character. - -These arrangements commenced in 1807, and have been carried on -from that period, as the different tacks expired, and afforded an -opportunity of doing so. Bad years, and the failure of crops continuing -to produce the same miserable effects they had constantly occasioned to -that portion of the population, which still continued to reside among -the mountains. This calamity fell with great severity upon them in the -seasons of 1812-13 and 1816-17. - -During the latter period they suffered the extremes of want and of -human misery, notwithstanding every aid that could be given to them, -through the bounty of their landlords. Their wretchedness was so great, -that after pawning everything they were possessed of, to the fishermen -on the coast, such as had no cattle were reduced to come down from the -hills in hundreds, for the purpose of gathering cockles on the shore. -Those who lived in the more remote situations of the country were -obliged to subsist upon broth made of nettles, thickened with a little -oatmeal. Those who had cattle had recourse to the still more wretched -expedient of bleeding them, and mixing the blood with oatmeal, which -they afterwards cut into slices and fried. Those who had a little money -came down and slept all night upon the beach, in order to watch the -boat returning from the fishing, that they might be in time to obtain -a part of what had been caught. - -In order to alleviate this misery, every exertion was made by Lord -Stafford. To those who had cattle he advanced money to the amount of -above three thousand pounds. - -To supply those who had no cattle, he sent meal into the country to the -amount of nearly nine thousand pounds. Besides which, Lady Stafford -distributed money to each parish on the estate: in order that no -pains nor consideration might be wanting, it was arranged that the -gentleman who is at the head of his Lordship’s affairs, the writer -of this statement, should go to Dunrobin to settle with the local -management and the clergymen, what was the best and most effectual -way of distributing his Lordship’s relief. Similar means were taken -by Lord Reay, to alleviate the distresses of his people. While such -was the distress of those who still remained among the hills, _it was -hardly felt by those who had been settled upon the coast_. Their new -occupation, as fishermen, rendered them not only independent of that -which produced the misery of their neighbours, but enabled them at -the same time, in some degree, to become contributors towards their -support, both by the fish they were able to sell to them, and also by -the regular payment of their rents. While it need hardly be stated, -that these wretched sufferers not only required to be relieved, but -failed entirely in the payment of what they owed the landlord. - - -MRS. HARRIET BEECHER STOWE ON THE SUTHERLAND CLEARANCES.[7] - -[7] “Sunny Memories,” Letter xvii. - -As to those ridiculous stories about the Duchess of Sutherland, which -have found their way into many of the prints in America, one has only -to be here, moving in society, to see how excessively absurd they are. - -All my way through Scotland, and through England, I was associating, -from day to day, with people of every religious denomination, and every -rank of life. I have been with dissenters and with churchmen; with the -national Presbyterian church and the free Presbyterian; with Quakers -and Baptists. - -In all these circles I have heard the great and noble of the land -freely spoken of and canvassed, and if there had been the least shadow -of a foundation for any such accusations, I certainly should have -heard it recognized in some manner. If in no other, such warm friends -as I have heard speak would have alluded to the subject in the way of -defence; but I have actually never heard any allusion of any sort, as -if there was anything to be explained or accounted for. - -As I have before intimated, the Howard family, to which the duchess -belongs, is one which has always been on the side of popular rights and -popular reform. Lord Carlisle, her brother, has been a leader of the -people, particularly during the time of the corn-law reformation, and -_she_ has been known to take a wide and generous interest in all these -subjects. Everywhere that I have moved through Scotland and England I -have heard her kindness of heart, her affability of manner, and her -attention to the feelings of others spoken of as marked characteristics. - -Imagine, then, what people must think when they find in respectable -American prints the absurd story of her turning her tenants out into -the snow, and ordering the cottages to be set on fire over their heads -because they would not go out. - -But, if you ask how such an absurd story could ever have been made up, -whether there is the least foundation to make it on, I answer that it -is the exaggerated report of a movement made by the present Duke of -Sutherland’s father, in the year 1811, and which was part of a great -movement that passed through the Highlands of Scotland, when the -advancing progress of civilisation began to make it necessary to change -the estates from military to agricultural establishments. - -Soon after the union of the crowns of England and Scotland, the border -chiefs found it profitable to adopt upon their estates that system of -agriculture to which their hills were adapted, rather than to continue -the maintenence of military retainers. Instead of keeping garrisons, -with small armies, in a district, they decided to keep only so many as -could profitably cultivate the land. The effect of this, of course, -was like disbanding an army. It threw many people out of employ, and -forced them to seek for a home elsewhere. Like many other movements -which, in their final results, are beneficial to society, this was at -first vehemently resisted, and had to be carried into effect in some -cases by force. As I have said, it began first in the southern counties -of Scotland, soon after the union of the English and Scottish crowns, -and gradually crept northward--one county after another yielding to the -change. To a certain extent, as it progressed northward, the demand for -labour in the great towns absorbed the surplus population; but when it -came in to the extreme Highlands, this refuge was wanting. Emigration -to America now became the resource; and the surplus population -were induced to this by means such as the Colonization Society now -recommends and approves for promoting emigration to Liberia. - -The first farm that was so formed on the Sutherland estate was in 1806. -The great change was made in 1811-12, and completed in 1819-20. - -The Sutherland estates are in the most northern portion of Scotland. -The distance of this district from the more advanced parts of the -kingdom, the total want of roads, the unfrequent communication by sea, -and the want of towns, made it necessary to adopt a different course -in regard to the location of the Sutherland population from that which -circumstances had provided in other parts of Scotland, where they had -been removed from the bleak and uncultivable mountains. They had lots -given them near the sea, or in more fertile spots, where, by labour and -industry, they might maintain themselves. They had two years allowed -them for preparing for the change, without payment of rent. Timber for -their houses was given, and many other facilities for assisting their -change. - -The general agent of the Sutherland estate is Mr. Loch. In a speech of -this gentleman in the House of Commons on the second reading of the -Scotch Poor-Law Bill, June 12, 1845, he states the following fact with -regard to the management of the Sutherland estate during this period, -from 1811 to 1833, which certainly can speak for itself: “I can state -as from fact that, from 1811 to 1833, not one sixpence of rent has been -received from that county, but, on the contrary, there has been sent -there, for the benefit and improvement of the people, a sum exceeding -sixty thousand pounds.” - -Mr. Loch goes on in the same speech to say: “There is no set of people -more industrious than the people of Sutherland. Thirty years since they -were engaged in illegal distillation to a very great extent; at the -present moment there is not, I believe, an illegal still in the county. -Their morals have improved as those habits have been abandoned; and -they have added many hundreds, I believe thousands, of acres to the -land in cultivation since they were placed upon the shore. - -“Previous to the change to which I have referred, they exported very -few cattle, and hardly anything else. They were also, every now and -then, exposed to all the difficulties of extreme famine. In the years -1812-13, and 1816-17, so great was the misery that it was necessary -to send down oatmeal for their supply to the amount of nine thousand -pounds, and that was given to the people. But, since, industrious -habits were introduced, and they were settled within reach of fishing, -no such calamity has overtaken them. Their condition was then so low -that they were obliged to bleed their cattle during the winter, and mix -the blood with the remnant of meal they had, in order to save from them -starvation. - -“Since then the country has improved so much that the fish, in -particular, which they exported, in 1815, from one village alone, -Helmsdale (which, previous to 1811, did not exist), amounted to five -thousand three hundred and eighteen barrels of herring, and in 1844 -thirty-seven thousand five hundred and ninety-four barrels, giving -employment to about three thousand nine hundred people. This extends -over the whole of the county, in which fifty-six thousand barrels were -cured. - -“Do not let me be supposed to say that there are not cases requiring -attention: it must be so in a large population; but there can be no -means taken by a landlord, or by those under him, that are not bestowed -upon that tenantry. - -“It has been said that the contribution by the heritor (the duke) -to one kirk session for the poor was but six pounds. Now, in the -eight parishes which are called Sutherland proper, the amount of -the contribution of the Duke of Sutherland to the kirk session is -forty-two pounds a-year. That is a very small sum, but that sum merely -is so given because the landlord thinks that he can distribute his -charity in a more beneficial manner to the people; and the amount of -charity which he gives--and which, I may say, is settled on them, for -it is given regularly--is above four hundred and fifty pounds a-year. - -“Therefore the statements that have been made, so far from being -correct, are in every way an exaggeration of what is the fact. No -portion of the kingdom has advanced in prosperity so much; and if the -honourable member (Mr. S. Crawford) will go down there, I will give him -every facility for seeing the state of the people, and he shall judge -with his own eyes whether my representation be not correct. I could -go through a great many other particulars, but I will not trouble the -House now with them. The statements I have made are accurate, and I am -quite ready to prove them in any way that is necessary.” - -The same Mr. Loch has published a pamphlet, in which he has traced out -the effects of the system pursued on the Sutherland estate, in many -very important particulars. It appears from this that previously to -1811 the people were generally sub-tenants to middlemen, who exacted -high rents, and also various perquisites, such as the delivery of -poultry and eggs, giving so many days’ labour in harvest time, cutting -and carrying peat and stones for building. - -Since 1811 the people have become immediate tenants, at a greatly -diminished rate of rent, and released from all these exactions. For -instance, in two parishes, in 1812, the rents were one thousand five -hundred and ninety-three pounds, and in 1823 they were only nine -hundred and seventy-two pounds. In another parish the reduction of -rents has amounted, on an average, to thirty-six per cent. Previous -to 1811 the houses were turf huts of the poorest description, in many -instances the cattle being kept under the same roof with the family. -Since 1811 a large proportion of their houses have been rebuilt in a -superior manner--the landlord having paid them for their old timber -where it could not be moved, and having also contributed the new -timber, with lime. - -Before 1811 all the rents of the estates were used for the personal -profit of the landlord; but since that time, both by the present duke -and his father, all the rents have been expended on improvements in the -county, besides sixty thousand pounds more which have been remitted -from England for the purpose. This money has been spent on churches, -school-houses, harbours, public inns, roads, and bridges. - -In 1811 there was not a carriage-road in the county, and only two -bridges. Since that time four hundred and thirty miles of road have -been constructed on the estate, at the expense of the proprietor and -tenants. There is not a turnpike-gate in the county, and yet the roads -are kept perfect. - -Before 1811 the mail was conveyed entirely by a foot runner, and there -was but one post-office in the county; and there was no direct post -across the county, but letters to the north and west were forwarded -once a month. A mail-coach has since been established, to which -the late Duke of Sutherland contributed more than two thousand six -hundred pounds; and since 1834 mail-gigs have been established to -convey letters to the north and west coast, towards which the Duke of -Sutherland contributes three hundred pounds a year. There are sixteen -post-offices and sub-offices in the county. Before 1811 there was no -inn in the county fit for the reception of strangers. Since that time -there have been fourteen inns either built or enlarged by the duke. - -Before 1811 there was scarcely a cart on the estate; all the carriage -was done on the backs of ponies. The cultivation of the interior was -generally executed with a rude kind of spade, and there was not a gig -in the county. In 1845 there were one thousand one hundred and thirty -carts owned on the estate, and seven hundred and eight ploughs, also -forty-one gigs. - -Before 1812 there was no baker, and only two shops. In 1845 there were -eight bakers and forty-six grocers’ shops, in nearly all of which -shoe-blacking was sold to some extent, an unmistakable evidence of -advancing civilization. - -In 1808 the cultivation of the coast-side of Sutherland was so -defective that it was necessary often, in a fall of snow, to cut down -the young Scotch firs to feed the cattle on; and in 1808 hay had to -be imported. _Now_ the coast side of Sutherland exhibits an extensive -district of land cultivated according to the best principles of modern -agriculture; several thousand acres have been added to the arable land -by these improvements. - -Before 1811 there were no woodlands of any extent on the estate, -and timber had to be obtained from a distance. Since that time many -thousand acres of woodland have been planted, the thinnings of which, -being sold to the people at a moderate rate, have greatly increased -their comfort and improved their domestic arrangements. - -Before 1811 there were only two blacksmiths in the county. In 1845 -there were forty-two blacksmiths and sixty-three carpenters. Before -1829 the exports of the county consisted of black cattle of an inferior -description, pickled salmon, and some ponies; but these were precarious -sources of profit, as many died in winter for want of food; for -example, in the spring of 1807, two hundred cows, five hundred cattle, -and more than two hundred ponies died in the parish of Kildonan alone. -Since that time the measures pursued by the Duke of Sutherland, in -introducing improved breeds of cattle, pigs, and modes of agriculture, -have produced results in exports which tell their own story. About -forty thousand sheep and one hundred and eighty thousand fleece of wool -are exported annually; also fifty thousand barrels of herring. - -The whole fishing village of Helmsdale has been built since that -time. It now contains from thirteen to fifteen curing yards covered -with slate, and several streets with houses similarly built. The -herring fishery, which has been mentioned as so productive, has been -established since the change, and affords employment to three thousand -nine hundred people. - -Since 1811, also, a savings-bank has been established in every parish, -of which the Duke of Sutherland is patron and treasurer, and the -savings have been very considerable. - -The education of the children of the people has been a subject of deep -interest to the Duke of Sutherland. Besides the parochial schools -(which answer, I suppose, to our district schools), of which the -greater number have been rebuilt or repaired at an expense exceeding -what is legally required for such purposes, the Duke of Sutherland -contributes to the support of several schools for young females, at -which sewing and other branches of education are taught; and in 1844 he -agreed to establish twelve General Assembly schools, in such parts of -the county as were without the sphere of the parochial schools, and to -build schools and schoolmasters’ houses, which will, upon an average, -cost two hundred pounds each; and to contribute annually two hundred -pounds in aid of salaries to the teachers, besides a garden and cow’s -grass; and in 1845 he made an arrangement with the education committee -of the Free Church, whereby no child, of whatever persuasion, will be -beyond the reach of moral and religious education. - -There are five medical gentlemen on the estate, three of whom receive -allowances from the Duke of Sutherland for attendance on the poor in -the districts in which they reside. - -An agricultural association, or farmers’ club, has been formed under -the patronage of the Duke of Sutherland, of which the other proprietors -in the county, and the larger tenantry, are members, which is in a very -active and flourishing state. They have recently invited Professor -Johnston to visit Sutherland and give lectures on agricultural -chemistry. - -The total population of the Sutherland estate is twenty-one thousand -seven hundred and eighty-four. To have the charge and care of so large -an estate, of course, must require very systematic arrangements; but a -talent for system seems to be rather the forte of the English. - -The estate is first divided into three districts, and each district -is under the superintendence of a factor, who communicates with the -duke through a general agent. Besides this, when the duke is on the -estate, which is during a portion of every year, he receives on Monday -whoever of his tenants wishes to see him. Their complaints or wishes -are presented in writing; he takes them into consideration, and gives -written replies. - -Besides the three factors there is a ground officer, or sub-factor, in -every parish, and an agriculturist in the Dunrobin district, who gives -particular attention to instructing the people in the best methods of -farming. The factors, the ground officers, and the agriculturists, -all work to one common end. They teach the advantages of draining; -of ploughing deep, and forming their ridges in straight lines; of -constructing tanks for saving liquid manure. The young farmers also -pick up a great deal of knowledge when working as ploughmen or -labourers on the more immediate grounds of the estate. - -The head agent, Mr. Loch, has been kind enough to put into my hands a -general report of the condition of the estate, which he drew up for the -inspection of the duke, May 12, 1853, and in which he goes minutely -over the condition of every part of the estate. - -One anecdote of the former Duke of Sutherland will show the spirit -which has influenced the family in their management of the estate. In -1817, when there was much suffering on account of bad seasons, the Duke -of Sutherland sent down his chief agent to look into the condition of -the people, who desired the ministers of the parishes to send in their -lists of poor. To his surprise it was found that there were located -on the estate a number of people who had settled there without leave. -They amounted to four hundred and eight families, or two thousand -persons; and though they had no legal title to remain where they were, -no hesitation was shown in supplying them with food in the same manner -with those who were tenants, on the sole condition that on the first -opportunity they should take cottages on the sea-shore, and become -industrious people. It was the constant object of the duke to keep the -rents of his poorer tenants at a nominal amount. - -What led me more particularly to inquire into these facts was, that I -received by mail, while in London, an account containing some of these -stories, which had been industriously circulated in America. There were -dreadful accounts of cruelties practised in the process of inducing -the tenants to change their places of residence. The following is a -specimen of these stories:-- - -“I was present at the pulling down and burning of the house of William -Chisholm, Badinloskin, in which was lying his wife’s mother, an old, -bed-ridden woman of near one hundred years of age, none of the family -being present. I informed the persons about to set fire to the house of -this circumstance, and prevailed on them to wait till Mr. Sellar came. -On his arrival I told him of the poor old woman, being a condition -unfit for removal. He replied, ‘The old witch! she has lived too long; -let her burn.’ Fire was immediately set to the house, and the blankets -in which she was carried were in flames before she could be got out. -She was placed in a little shed, and it was with great difficulty they -were prevented from firing that also. The old woman’s daughter arrived -while the house was on fire, and assisted the neighbours in removing -her mother out of the flames and smoke, presenting a picture of horror -which I shall never forget but cannot attempt to describe. She died -within five days.” - -With regard to this story, Mr. Loch, the agent, says: “I must notice -the only thing like a fact stated in the newspaper extract which -you sent to me, wherein Mr. Sellar is accused of acts of cruelty -towards some of the people. This Mr. Sellar tested, by bringing an -action against the then Sheriff-substitute of the county. He obtained -a verdict for heavy damages. The Sheriff, by whom the slander was -propagated, left the county. Both are since dead.” - -Having, through Lord Shaftesbury’s kindness, received the benefit of -Mr. Loch’s corrections to this statement, I am permitted to make a -little further extract from his reply. He says:-- - -“In addition to what I was able to say in my former paper, I can -now state that the Duke of Sutherland has received from one of -the most determined opposers of the measures, who travelled to the -north of Scotland as editor of a newspaper, a letter regretting all -he had written on the subject, being convinced that he was entirely -misinformed. As you take so much interest in the subject, I will -conclude by saying that nothing could exceed the prosperity of the -county during the past year; their stock, sheep, and other things sold -at high prices; their crops of grain and turnips were never so good, -and the potatoes were free from all disease: rents have been paid -better than was ever known. * * * As an instance of the improved habits -of the farmers, no house is now built for them that they do not require -a hot bath and water-closets.” - -From this long epitome you can gather the following results. First, if -the system were a bad one, the Duchess of Sutherland had nothing to do -with it, since it was first introduced in 1806, the same year her grace -was born; and the accusation against Mr. Sellar, dates in 1811, when -her grace was five or six years old. The Sutherland arrangements were -completed in 1819, and her grace was not married to the duke till 1823, -so that, had the arrangement been the worst in the world, it is nothing -to the purpose so far as she is concerned. - -As to whether the arrangement _is_ a bad one, the facts which have -been stated speak for themselves. To my view it is an almost sublime -instance of the benevolent employment of superior wealth and power in -shortening the struggles of advancing civilization, and elevating in -a few years a whole community to a point of education and material -prosperity, which, unassisted, they might never have obtained. - - -REPLY TO MRS. BEECHER STOWE BY DONALD MACLEOD.[8] - -[8] From enlarged edition of “Gloomy Memories,” published in Canada in -1857. - -From the year 1812 to 1820, the whole interior of the county of -Sutherland--whose inhabitants were advancing rapidly in the science -of agriculture and education, who by nature and exemplary training -were the bravest, the most moral and patriotic people that ever -existed--even admitting a few of them did violate the excise laws, the -only sin which Mr. Loch and all the rest of their avowed enemies could -bring against them--where a body of men could be raised on the shortest -possible notice that kings and emperors might and would be proud of; -and where the whole fertile valleys and straths which gave them birth -were in due season waving with corn; their mountains and hill-sides -studded with sheep and cattle; where rejoicing, felicity, happiness, -and true piety prevailed; where the martial notes of the bagpipes -sounded and reverberated from mountain to glen, from glen to mountain. -I say, marvellous! in eight years converted to a solitary wilderness, -where the voice of man praising God is not to be heard, nor the image -of God upon man to be seen; where you can set a compass with twenty -miles of a radius upon it, and go round with it full stretched, and not -find one acre of land within the circumference which has come under the -plough for the last thirty years, except a few in the parishes of Lairg -and Tongue,--all under mute brute animals. This is the advancement of -civilization, is it not, madam? - -Return now with me to the beginning of your elaborate eulogy on the -Duchess of Sutherland, and if you are open to conviction, I think -you should be convinced that I never published nor circulated in the -American, English, or Scotch public prints any ridiculous, absurd -stories about her Grace of Sutherland. An abridgment of my lucubrations -is now in the hands of the public, and you may peruse them. I stand -by them as facts (stubborn chiels). I can prove them to be so even -in this country (Canada), by a cloud of living witnesses, and my -readers will find that, instead of bringing absurd accusations against -her Grace, that I have endeavoured in some instances to screen her -and her predecessors from the public odium their own policy and the -doings of their servants merited. Moreover, there is thirty years -since I began to expostulate with the House of Sutherland for their -shortsighted policy in dealing with their people as they were doing, -and it is twenty years since I began to expose them publicly, with my -real name, Donald MacLeod, attached to each letter, sending a copy of -the public paper where it appeared, directed by post, to the Duke of -Sutherland. These exposing and remonstrating letters were published -in the Edinburgh papers, where the Duke and his predecessors had -their principal Scotch law agent, and you may easily believe that I -was closely watched, with the view to find one false accusation in my -letters, but they were baffled. I am well aware that each letter I have -written on the subject would, if untrue, constitute a libel, and I knew -the editors, printers, and publishers of these papers were as liable -or responsible for libel as I was. But the House of Sutherland could -never venture to raise an action of damages against either of us. In -1841, when I published my first pamphlet, I paid $4 50c., for binding -one of them, in a splendid style, which I sent by mail to his Grace -the present Duke of Sutherland, with a complimentary note requesting -him to peruse it, and let me know if it contained anything offensive -or untrue. I never received a reply, nor did I expect it; yet I am -satisfied that his Grace did peruse it. I posted a copy of it to Mr. -Loch, his chief commissioner; to Mr. W. Mackenzie, his chief lawyer -in Edinburgh; to every one of their underlings, to sheep farmers, and -ministers in the county of Sutherland, who abetted the depopulators, -and I challenged the whole of them, and other literary scourges who -aid and justified their unhallowed doings, to gainsay one statement I -have made. Can you or any other believe that a poor sinner like Donald -MacLeod would be allowed for so many years to escape with impunity, -had he been circulating and publishing calumnious, absurd falsehoods -against such personages as the House of Sutherland? No, I tell you, if -money could secure my punishment, without establishing their own shame -and guilt, that it would be considered well-spent long ere now,--they -would eat me in penny pies if they could get me cooked for them. - -I agree with you that the Duchess of Sutherland is a beautiful, -accomplished lady, who would shudder at the idea of taking a faggot or -a burning torch in her hand to set fire to the cottages of her tenants, -and so would her predecessor, the first Duchess of Sutherland, her -good mother; likewise would the late and present Dukes of Sutherland, -at least I am willing to believe that they would. Yet it was done -in their name, under their authority, to their knowledge, and with -their sanction. The dukes and duchesses of Sutherland, and those of -their depopulating order, had not, nor have they any call to defile -their pure hands in milder work than to burn people’s houses; no, -no, they had, and have plenty of willing tools at their beck to -perform their dirty work. Whatever amount of humanity and purity of -heart the late or the present Duke and Duchess may possess or be -ascribed to them, we know the class of men from whom they selected -their commissioners, factors, and underlings. I knew every one of the -unrighteous servants who ruled the Sutherland estate for the last fifty -years, and I am justified in saying that the most skilful phrenologist -and physiognomist that ever existed could not discern one spark of -humanity in the whole of them, from Mr. Loch down to Donald Sgrios, -or Damnable Donald, the name by which the latter was known. The most -of those cruel executors of the atrocities I have been describing are -now dead, and to be feared but not lamented. But it seems their chief -was left to give you all the information you required about British -slavery and oppression. I have read from speeches delivered by Mr. -Loch at public dinners among his own party, “that he would never be -satisfied until the Gaelic language and the Gaelic people would be -extirpated root and branch from the Sutherland estate; yes, from the -Highlands of Scotland.” He published a book, where he stated as a -positive fact, “that when he got the management of the Sutherland -estate he found 408 families on the estate who never heard the name of -Jesus,”--whereas I could make oath that there were not at that time, -and for ages prior to it, above two families within the limits of the -county who did not worship that Name and holy Being every morning and -evening. I know there are hundreds in the Canadas who will bear me out -in this assertion. I was at the pulling down and burning of the house -of William Chisholm. I got my hands burnt taking out the poor old woman -from amidst the flames of her once-comfortable though humble dwelling, -and a more horrifying and lamentable scene could scarcely be witnessed. -I may say the skeleton of a once tall, robust, high-cheek-boned, -respectable woman, who had seen better days; who could neither hear, -see, nor speak; without a tooth in her mouth, her cheek skin meeting -in the centre, her eyes sunk out of sight in their sockets, her mouth -wide open, her nose standing upright among smoke and flames, uttering -piercing moans of distress and agony, in articulations from which -could be only understood, “_Oh, Dhia, Dhia, teine, teine_--Oh God, -God, fire, fire.” When she came to the pure air, her bosom heaved to -a most extraordinary degree, accompanied by a deep hollow sound from -her lungs, comparable to the sound of thunder at a distance. When laid -down upon the bare, soft, moss floor of the roofless shed, I will -never forget the foam of perspiration which emitted and covered the -pallid death-looking countenance. This was a scene, madam, worthy of an -artist’s pencil, and of a conspicuous place on the stages of tragedy. -Yet you call this a specimen of the ridiculous stories which found -their way into respectable prints, because Mr. Loch, the chief actor, -told you that Sellar, the head executive, brought an action against the -sheriff and obtained a verdict for heavy damages. What a subterfuge; -but it will not answer the purpose, “_the bed is too short to stretch -yourself, and the covering too narrow and short to cover you_.” If you -took the information and evidence upon which you founded your _Uncle -Tom’s Cabin_ from such unreliable sources (as I said before), who can -believe the one-tenth of your novel? I cannot. I have at my hand here -the grandchild of the slaughtered old woman, who recollects well of -the circumstance. I have not far from me a respectable man, an elder -in the Free Church, who was examined as a witness at Sellar’s trial, -at the Spring Assizes of Inverness, in 1816, which you will find -narrated in letters four and five of my work. Had you the opportunity, -madam, of seeing the scenes which I, and hundreds more, have seen--the -wild ferocious appearance of the infamous _gang_ who constituted the -burning party, covered over face and hands with soot and ashes of the -burning houses, cemented by torch-grease and their own sweat, kept -continually drunk or half-drunk while at work; and to observe the -hellish amusements some of them would get up for themselves and for -an additional pleasure to their leaders! The people’s houses were -generally built upon declivities, and in many cases not far from pretty -steep precipices. They preserved their meal in tight-made boxes, or -chests, as they were called, and when this fiendish party found any -quantity of meal, they would carry it between them to the brink, -and dispatch it down the precipice amidst shrieks and yells. It was -considered grand sport to see the box breaking to atoms and the meal -mixed with the air. When they would set fire to a house, they would -watch any of the domestic animals making their escape from the flames, -such as dogs, cats, hens, or any poultry; these were caught and thrown -back to the flames--grand sport for demons in human form! - -As to the vaunted letter which his “Grace received from one of the most -determined opposers of the measures, who travelled in the north of -Scotland as editor of a newspaper, regretting all that he had written -on the subject, being convinced that he was misinformed,” I may tell -you, madam, that this man did not travel to the north or in the north -of Scotland, as editor; his name was Thomas Mulock; he came to Scotland -a fanatic speculator in literature in search of money, or a lucrative -situation, vainly thinking that he would be a dictator to every -editor in Scotland. He first attacked the immortal Hugh Miller of the -_Witness_, Edinburgh, but in him he met more than his match. He then -went to the north, got hold of my first pamphlet, and by setting it up -in a literary style, and in better English than I, he made a splendid -and promising appearance in the northern papers for some time; but -he found out that the money expected was not coming in, and that the -hotels, head inns, and taverns would not keep him up any longer without -the prospect of being paid for the past or for the future. I found out -that he was hard up, and a few of the Highlanders in Edinburgh and -myself sent him from twenty to thirty pounds sterling. When he saw -that that was all he was to get, he at once turned tail upon us, and -instead of expressing his gratitude, he abused us unsparingly, and -regretted that ever he wrote in behalf of such a hungry, moneyless -class. He smelled (like others we suspect) where the gold was hoarded -up for hypocrites and flatterers, and that one apologising letter to -his Grace would be worth ten times as much as he could expect from the -Highlanders all his lifetime; and I doubt not it was, for his apology -for the sin of misinformation got wide circulation. - -He then went to France and started an English paper in Paris, and for -the service he rendered Napoleon in crushing republicanism during the -besieging of Rome, etc., the Emperor presented him with a _gold pin_, -and in a few days afterwards sent a _gendarme_ to him with a brief -notice that his service was not any longer required, and a warning to -quit France in a few days, which he had to do. What became of him after -I know not, but very likely he is dictating to young Loch, or some -other Metternich. - -No feelings of hostile vindictiveness, no desire to inflict -chastisement, no desire to make riches, influenced my mind, pourtraying -the scenes of havoc and misery which in those past days darkened the -annals of Sutherland. I write in my own humble style, with higher -aims, wishing to prepare the way for demonstrating to the Dukes of -Sutherland, and all other Highland proprietors, great and small, that -the path of selfish aggrandisement and oppression leads by sure and -inevitable results, yea to the ruin and destruction of the blind and -misguided oppressors themselves. I consider the Duke himself victimised -on a large scale by an incurably wrong system, and by being enthralled -by wicked counsellors and servants. I have no hesitation in saying, had -his Grace and his predecessors bestowed one-half of the encouragement -they had bestowed upon strangers on the aborigines--a hardy, healthy, -abstemious people, who lived peaceably in their primitive habitations, -unaffected with the vices of a subtle civilization, possessing little, -but enjoying much; a race devoted to their hereditary chief, ready to -abide by his counsels; a race profitable in peace, and loyal, available -in war; I say, his Grace, the present Duke of Sutherland, and his -beautiful Duchess, would be without compeers in the British dominions, -their rents, at least doubled; would be as secure from invasion and -annoyance in Dunrobin Castle as Queen Victoria could, or can be, in -her Highland residence, at Balmoral, and far safer than she is in -her English home, Buckingham Palace; every man and son of Sutherland -would be ready, as in the days of yore, to shed the last drop of -their blood in defence of their chief, if required. Congratulations, -rejoicings, dancing to the martial notes of the pipes, would meet -them at the entrance to every glen and strath in Sutherlandshire, -accompanied, surrounded, and greeted, as they proceeded, by the most -grateful, devotedly attached, happy, and bravest peasantry that ever -existed; yes, but alas! where there is nothing now, but desolation and -the cries of famine and want, to meet the noble pair--the ruins of -once comfortable dwellings--will be seen the landmarks of the furrows -and ridges which yielded food to thousands, the footprints of the -arch-enemy of human happiness, and ravager--before, after, and on each -side, solitude, stillness, and the quiet of the grave, disturbed only -at intervals by the yells of a shepherd, or fox-hunter, and the bark -of a collie dog. Surely we must admit that the Marquises and Dukes -of Sutherland have been duped and victimised to a most extraordinary -and incredible extent; and we have Mr. Loch’s own words for it in his -speech in the House of Commons, June 21st, 1845: “I can state, as -from facts, that from 1811 to 1833, not one sixpence of rent has been -received from that county; but, on the contrary, there has been sent -there for the benefit and improvement of the people a sum exceeding -sixty thousand pounds sterling.” Now think you of this immense wealth -which has been expended. I am not certain, but I think the rental of -the county would exceed £60,000 a year; you have then from 1811 to -1833, twenty-two years, leaving them at the above figures, and the -sum total will amount to £1,320,000 expended upon the self-styled -Sutherland improvements; add to this £60,000 sent down to preserve the -lives of the victims of those improvements from death by famine, and -the sum total will turn out in the shape of £1,380,000. It surely cost -the heads of the house of Sutherland an immense sum of money to convert -the county into the state I have described it in a former part of this -work (and I challenge contradiction). - -You should be surprised to hear and learn, madam, for what purposes -most of the money drained from the Duke’s coffers yearly are expended -since he became the Duke and proprietor of Sutherland, upholding the -Loch policy. There are no fewer than seventeen who are known by the -name of water bailiffs in the county, who receive yearly salaries, -what doing, think you? Protecting the operations of the Loch policy, -watching day and night the freshwater lakes, rivers, and creeks, -teeming with the finest salmon and trout fish in the world, guarding -from the famishing people, even during the years of famine and -dire distress, when many had to subsist upon weeds, sea-ware, and -shell-fish, yet guarded and preserved for the amusement of English -anglers; and what is still more heartrending, to prevent the dying by -hunger to pick up any of the dead fish left by the sporting anglers -rotting on the lake, creek, and river sides, when the smallest of them, -or a morsel, would be considered by hundreds, I may say thousands, -of the needy natives, a treat; but they durst not touch them, or if -they did and were found out to jail they were conducted, or removed -summarily from his Grace’s domains; (let me be understood, these -gentlemen had no use for the fish, killing them for amusement, only -what they required for their own use, and complimented to the factors; -they were not permitted to cure them). - -You will find, madam, that about three miles from Dunrobin Castle -there is a branch of the sea which extends up the county about six -miles, where shell-fish, called mussels, abound. Here you will find -two sturdy men, called mussel bailiffs, supplied with rifles and -ammunition, and as many Newfoundland dogs as assistants, watching -the mussel scalps, or beds, to preserve them from the people in the -surrounding parishes of Dornoch, Rogart, and Golspie, and keep them, -to supply the fishermen, on the opposite side of the Moray Firth, -with bait, who come there every year and take away thousands of tons -of this nutritive shell-fish, when many hundreds of the people would -be thankful for a diet per day of them, to pacify the cravings of -nature. You will find that the unfortunate native fishermen, who -pay a yearly rent to his Grace for bait, are only permitted theirs -from the refuse left by the strangers of the other side of the Moray -Firth, and if they violate the _iron_ rule laid down to them, they are -entirely at the mercy of the underlings. There has been an instance -of two of the fishermen’s wives going on a cold, snowy, frosty day to -gather bait, but on account of the boisterous sea, could not reach the -place appointed by the factors; one took what they required from the -forbidden ground, and was observed by some of the bailiffs, in ambush, -who pursued them like tigers. One came up to her unobserved, took out -his knife, and cut the straps by which the basket or creel on her back -was suspended; the weight on her back fell to the ground, and she, poor -woman, big in the family way, fell her whole length forward in the snow -and frost. Her companion turned round to see what had happened, when -she was pushed back with such force that she fell; he then trampled -their baskets and mussels to atoms, took them both prisoners, ordered -one of them to call his superior bailiff to assist him, and kept the -other for two hours standing, wet as she was, among frost and snow, -until the superior came a distance of three miles. After a short -consultation upon the enormity of the crime, the two poor women were -led, like convicted criminals, to Golspie, to appear before Lycurgus -Gunn, and in that deplorable condition were left standing before their -own doors in the snow, until Marshall Gunn found it convenient to -appear and pronounce judgment,--verdict: You are allowed to go into -your houses this night; this day week you must leave this village -for ever, and the whole of the fishermen of the village are strictly -prohibited from taking bait from the Little Ferry until you leave; my -bailiffs are requested to see this my decree strictly attended to. -Being the middle of winter and heavy snow, they delayed a week longer: -ultimately the villagers had to expel the two families from among -them, so that they would get bait, having nothing to depend upon for -subsistence but the fishing, and fish they could not without bait. -This is a specimen of the injustice to and subjugation of the Golspie -fishermen, and of the people at large; likewise of the purposes for -which the Duke’s money is expended in that quarter. If you go, then, to -the other side of the domain, you will find another Kyle, or a branch -of the sea, which abounds in cockles and other shell-fish, fortunately -for the poor people, not forbidden by a Loch ukase. But in the years -of distress, when the people were principally living upon vegetables, -sea-weeds, and shell-fish, various diseases made their appearance -amongst them hitherto unknown. The absence of meal of any kind being -considered the primary cause, some of the people thought they would be -permitted to exchange shell-fish for meal with their more fortunate -neighbours in Caithness, to whom such shell-fish were a rarity, and -so far the understanding went between them, that the Caithness boats -came up loaded with meal, but the Loch embargo, through his underling -in Tongue, who was watching their movements, was at once placed upon -it; the Caithness boats had to return home with the meal, and the -Duke’s people might live or die, as they best could. Now, madam, you -have steeped your brains, and ransacked the English language to find -refined terms for your panegyric on the Duke, Duchess, and family of -Sutherland. (I find no fault with you, knowing you have been well paid -for it.) But I would briefly ask you (and others who devoted much of -their time and talents in the same strain), would it not be more like -a noble pair--if they did merit such noble praise as you have bestowed -upon them--if they had, especially during years of famine and distress, -freely opened up all these bountiful resources which God in His eternal -wisdom and goodness prepared for His people, and which should never be -intercepted nor restricted by man or men. You and others have composed -hymns of praise, which it is questionable if there is a tune in heaven -to sing them to. - - So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under - the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had - no comforter: and on the side of their oppressors there was power; - but they had no comforter.--Ecclesiastes iv. 1. - - The wretch that works and weeps without relief - Has one that notices his silent grief. - He, from whose hands all pow’r proceeds - Ranks its abuse among the foulest deeds, - Considers _all_ injustice with a frown, - But _marks_ the man that treads his fellow down. - Remember Heav’n has an avenging rod-- - To smite the poor is treason against God.--_Cowper._ - -But you shall find the Duke’s money is expended for most astonishing -purposes; not a little of it goes to hire hypocrites, and renowned -literary flatterers, to vindicate the mal-administration of those to -whom he entrusted the management of his affairs, and make his Grace -(who is by nature a simple-minded man) believe his servants are -innocent of all the charges brought against them, and doing justice to -himself and to his people, when they are doing the greatest injustice -to both; so that instead of calling his servants to account at any -time, and enquiring into the broad charges brought against them--as -every wise landlord should do--it seems the greater the enormities of -foul deeds they commit, and the louder their accusations may sound -through the land, the farther they are received into his favour. The -fact is, that James Loch was Duke of Sutherland, and not the “tall, -slender man with rather a thin face, light brown hair, and mild blue -eyes,” who armed you up the extraordinary elegant staircase in Stafford -House. - -The Duchess of Sutherland pays a visit every year to Dunrobin Castle, -and has seen and heard so many supplicating appeals presented to her -husband by the poor fishermen of Golspie, soliciting liberty to take -mussels from the Little Ferry Sands to bait their nets--a liberty of -which they were deprived by his factors, though paying yearly rent for -it; yet returned by his Grace with the brief deliverance, that he could -do nothing for them. Can I believe that this is the same personage -who can set out from Dunrobin Castle, her own Highland seat, and -after travelling from it, then can ride in one direction over thirty -miles, in another direction forty-four miles, in another, by taking -the necessary circuitous route, sixty miles, and that over fertile -glens, valleys, and straths, bursting with fatness, which gave birth -to, and where were reared for ages, thousands of the bravest, the most -moral, virtuous, and religious men that Europe could boast of; ready -to a man, at a moment’s warning from their chiefs, to rise in defence -of their king, queen, and country; animated with patriotism and love -to their chief, and irresistible in the battle contest for victory? -But these valiant men had then a _country_, a _home_, and a _chief_ -worth the fighting for. But I can tell her that she can now ride over -these extensive tracts in the interior of the county without seeing the -image of God upon a man travelling these roads, with the exception of -a wandering Highland shepherd, wrapped up in a grey plaid to the eyes, -with a collie dog behind him as a drill sergeant to train his ewes and -to marshal his tups. There may happen to travel over the dreary tract a -geologist, a tourist, or a lonely carrier, but these are as rare as a -pelican in the wilderness, or a camel’s convoy caravan in the deserts -of Arabia. Add to this a few English sportsmen, with their stag hounds, -pointer dogs, and servants, and put themselves and their bravery -together, and one company of French soldiers would put ten thousand of -them to a disorderly flight, to save their own carcases, leaving their -ewes and tups to feed the invaders! - -The question may arise, where those people, who inhabited this -country at one period, have gone? In America and Australia the most -of them will be found. The Sutherland family and the nation had no -need of their services; hence they did not regard their patriotism -or loyalty, and disregarded their past services. Sheep, bullocks, -deer, and game, became more valuable than men. Yet a remnant, or in -other words a _skeleton_, of them is to be found along the sea shore, -huddled together in motley groups upon barren moors, among cliffs and -precipices, in the most impoverished, degraded, subjugated, slavish, -spiritless, condition that human beings could exist in. If this is -really the lady who has “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, -and good will to men,” in view, and who is so religiously denouncing -the American statute which “denies the slave the sanctity of marriage, -with all its joys, rights, and obligations--which separates, at the -will of the master, the wife from the husband, the children from the -parents,” I would advise her in God’s name to take a tour round the -sea-skirts of Sutherland, her own estate, beginning at Brora, then to -Helmsdale, Portskerra, Strathy, Farr, Tongue, Durness, Eddrachillis, -and Assynt, and learn the subjugated, degraded, impoverished, -uneducated condition of the spiritless people of that sea-beaten coast, -about two hundred miles in length, and let her with similar zeal -remonstrate with her husband, that their condition is bettered; for the -cure for all their misery and want is lying unmolested in the fertile -valleys above, and all under his control; and to advise his Grace, her -husband, to be no longer guided by his Ahitophel, Mr. Loch, but to -discontinue his depopulating schemes, which have separated many a wife -from her husband, never to meet--which caused many a premature death, -and that separated many sons and daughters, never to see each other; -and by all means to withdraw that mandate of Mr. Loch, which forbids -marriage on the Sutherland estate, under pains and penalties of being -banished from the county; for it has already augmented illegitimate -connections and issues fifty per cent above what such were a few years -ago--before this unnatural, ungodly law was put in force. - -Let us see what the character of these ill-used people was! General -Stewart of Garth, in his “Sketches of the Highlands” says: In the -words of a general officer by whom the 93rd Sutherlanders were once -reviewed, “They exhibit a perfect pattern of military discipline and -moral rectitude. In the case of such men disgraceful punishment would -be as unnecessary as it would be pernicious.” “Indeed,” says the -General, “so remote was the idea of such a measure in regard to them, -that when punishments were to be inflicted on others, and the troops -in garrison assembled to witness their execution, the presence of -the Sutherland Highlanders was dispensed with, the effects of terror -as a check to crime being in their case uncalled for, as examples of -that nature were not necessary for such honourable soldiers. When -the Sutherland Highlanders were stationed at the Cape of Good Hope -anxious to enjoy the advantages of religious instruction agreeably -to the tenets of their national church, and there being no religious -service in the garrison except the customary one of reading prayers to -the soldiers on parade, the Sutherland men formed themselves into a -congregation, appointed elders of their own number, engaged and paid a -stipend (collected among themselves) to a clergyman of the Church of -Scotland, and had divine service performed agreeably to the ritual of -the Established Church every Sabbath, and prayer meetings through the -week.” This reverend gentleman, Mr. Thom, in a letter which appeared -in the _Christian Herald_ of October, 1814, writes thus: “When the -93rd Highlanders left Cape Town last month, there were among them 156 -members of the church, including three elders and three deacons, all of -whom, so far as men can know the heart from the life, were pious men. -The regiment was certainly a pattern of morality, and good behaviour -to all other corps. They read their Bibles and observed the Sabbath. -They saved their money to do good. 7000 rix dollars, a sum equal to -£1200, the non-commissioned officers and privates saved for books, -societies, and for the spread of the Gospel, a sum unparalleled in -any other corps in the world, given in the short space of eighteen -months. Their example had a general good effect on both the colonists -and the heathen. If ever apostolic days were revived in modern times -on earth, I certainly believe some of those to have been granted -to us in Africa.” Another letter of a similar kind, addressed to -the Committee of the Edinburgh Gaelic School Society (fourth annual -report), says: “The 93rd Highlanders arrived in England, when they -immediately received orders to proceed to North America; but before -they re-embarked the sum collected for your society was made up -and remitted to your treasurer, amounting to seventy-eight pounds, -sterling.” “In addition to this,” says the noble-minded, immortal -General, “such of them as had parents and friends in Sutherland did -not forget their destitute condition, occasioned by the operation of -the _fire and faggot_, _mis_-improved state of the county.” During -the short period the regiment was quartered at Plymouth, upwards of -£500 was lodged in one banking-house, to be remitted to Sutherland, -exclusive of many sums sent through the Post Office and by officers; -some of the sums exceeding £20 from an individual soldier. Men like -these do credit to the peasantry of a country. “It must appear strange, -and somewhat inconsistent,” continues the General, “when the same men -who are so loud in their profession of an eager desire to promote -and preserve the religious and moral virtues of the people, should -so frequently take the lead in removing them from where they imbibed -principles which have attracted the notice of Europe and of measures -which lead to a deterioration, placing families on patches of potato -ground as in Ireland, a system pregnant with degradation, poverty, and -disaffection.” It is only when parents and heads of families in the -Highlands are moral, happy, and contented, that they can instil sound -principles into their children, who in their intercourse with the world -may become what the men of Sutherland have already been, “an honourable -example, worthy the imitation of all.” - -I cannot help being grieved at my unavoidable abbreviation of these -heart-stirring and heart-warming extracts, which should ornament every -mantel-piece and library in the Highlands of Scotland; but I could -refer to other authors of similar weight; among the last (though not -the least), Mr. Hugh Millar of the _Witness_, in his “Sutherland as -it was and is: or, How a country can be ruined;” a work which should -silence and put to shame every vile, malignant calumniator of Highland -religion and moral virtue in bygone years, who in their sophistical -profession of a desire to promote the temporal and spiritual welfare of -the people, had their own sordid cupidity and aggrandisement in view in -all their unworthy lucubrations. - -At the commencement of the Russian war a correspondent wrote as -follows: “Your predictions are making their appearance at last, great -demands are here for men to go to Russia, but they are not to be -found. It seems that the Secretary of War has corresponded with all -our Highland proprietors, to raise as many men as they could for the -Crimean war, and ordered so many officers of rank to the Highlands to -assist the proprietors in doing so--but it has been a complete failure -as yet. The nobles advertised, by placards, meetings of the people; -these proclamations were attended to, but when they came to understand -what they were about, in most cases the recruiting proprietors and -staff were saluted with the ominous cry of ‘Maa! maa! boo! boo!’ -imitating sheep and bullocks, and, ‘Send your deer, your roes, your -rams, dogs, shepherds, and gamekeepers to fight the Russians, they -have never done us any harm.’ The success of his Grace the Duke of -Sutherland was deplorable; I believe you would have pitied the poor old -man had you seen him. - -“In my last letter I told you that his head commissioner, Mr. Loch, -and military officer, was in Sutherland for the last six weeks, and -failed in getting one man to enlist; on getting these doleful tidings, -the Duke himself left London for Sutherland, arriving at Dunrobin -about ten days ago, and after presenting himself upon the streets of -Golspie and Brora, he called a meeting of the male inhabitants of the -parishes of Clyne, Rogart, and Golspie; the meeting was well attended; -upwards of 400 were punctual at the hour; his Grace in his carriage, -with his military staff and factors appeared shortly after; the people -gave them a hearty cheer; his Grace took the chair. Three or four -clerks took their seats at the table, and loosened down bulky packages -of bank notes, and spread out platefuls of glittering gold. The Duke -addressed the people very seriously, and entered upon the necessity of -going to war with Russia, and the danger of allowing the Czar to have -more power than what he holds already; of his cruel, despotic reign in -Russia, etc.; likewise praising the Queen and her government, rulers -and nobles of Great Britain, who stood so much in need of men to put -and keep down the tyrant of Russia, and foil him in his wicked schemes -to take possession of Turkey. In concluding his address, which was -often cheered, the Duke told the young able-bodied men that his clerks -were ready to take down the names of all those willing to enlist, and -everyone who would enlist in the 93rd Highlanders, that the clerk -would give him, there and then, £6 sterling; those who would rather -enter any other corps, would get £3, all from his own private purse, -independently of the government bounty. After advancing many silly -flattering decoyments, he sat down to see the result, but there was no -movement among the people; after sitting for a long time looking at -the clerks, and they at him, at last his anxious looks at the people -assumed a somewhat indignant appearance, when he suddenly rose up and -asked what was the cause of their non-attention to the proposals he -made, but no reply; it was the silence of the grave. Still standing, -his Grace suddenly asked the cause; but no reply; at last an old man, -leaning upon his staff, was observed moving towards the Duke, and when -he approached near enough, he addressed his Grace something as follows: -‘I am sorry for the response your Grace’s proposals are meeting here -to-day, so near the spot where your maternal grandmother, by giving -forty-eight hours’ notice, marshalled fifteen hundred men to pick out -of them the nine hundred she required, but there is a cause for it, and -a grievous cause, and as your Grace demands to know it, I must tell -you, as I see no one else are inclined in this assembly to do it. Your -Grace’s mother and predecessors applied to our fathers for men upon -former occasions, and our fathers responded to their call; they have -made liberal promises, which neither them nor you performed; we are, we -think, a little wiser than our fathers, and we estimate your promises -of to-day at the value of theirs, besides you should bear in mind -that your predecessors and yourself expelled us in a most cruel and -unjust manner from the land which our fathers held in lien from your -family, for their sons, brothers, cousins, and relations, which were -handed over to your parents to keep up their dignity, and to kill the -Americans, Turks, French, and the Irish; and these lands are devoted -now to rear dumb brute animals, which you and your parents consider -of far more value than men. I do assure your Grace that it is the -prevailing opinion in this county, that should the Czar of Russia take -possession of Dunrobin Castle and of Stafford House next term, that we -could not expect worse treatment at his hands, than we have experienced -at the hands of your family for the last fifty years. Your parents, -yourself, and your commissioners, have desolated the glens and straths -of Sutherland, where you should find hundreds, yea, thousands of men -to meet you, and respond cheerfully to your call, had your parents and -yourself kept faith with them. How could your Grace expect to find men -where they are not, and the few of them which are to be found among -the rubbish or ruins of the county, has more sense than to be decoyed -by chaff to the field of slaughter; but one comfort you have, though -you cannot find men to fight, you can supply those who will fight with -plenty of mutton, beef, and venison.’ The Duke rose up, put on his hat, -and left the field.” - -Whether my correspondent added to the old man’s reply to his Grace or -not, I cannot say, but one thing is evident, it was the very reply his -Grace deserved. - -I know for a certainty this to be the prevailing feeling throughout -the whole Highlands of Scotland, and who should wonder at it? How -many thousands of them who served out their 21, 22, 25, and 26 years, -fighting for the British aristocracy, and on their return--wounded, -maimed, or worn out--to their own country, promising themselves to -spend the remainder of their days in peace, and enjoying the blessings -and comfort their fathers enjoyed among their Highland, healthy, -delightful hills, but found to their grief, that their parents were -expelled from the country to make room for sheep, deer, and game, the -glens where they were born, desolate, and the abodes which sheltered -them at birth, and where they were reared to manhood, burnt to the -ground; and instead of meeting the cheers, shaking-hands, hospitality, -and affections of fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and relations, -met with desolated glens, bleating of sheep, barking of dogs; and if -they should happen to rest their worn-out frame upon the green sod -which has grown upon their father’s hearth, and a gamekeeper, factor, -or water bailiff, to come round, he would very unceremoniously tell -them to absent themselves as smart as they could, and not to annoy the -deer. No race on record has suffered so much at the hands of those who -should be their patrons, and proved to be so tenacious of patriotism as -the Celtic race, but I assure you it has found its level now, and will -disappear soon altogether; and as soon as patriotism shall disappear -in any nation, so sure that nation’s glory is tarnished, victories -uncertain, her greatness diminished, and decaying consumptive death -will be the result. If ever the old adage, which says, “Those whom the -gods determine to destroy, they first deprive them of reason,” was -verified, it was, and is, in the case of the British aristocracy, and -Highland proprietors in particular. I am not so void of feeling as -to blame the Duke of Sutherland, his parents, or any other Highland -absentee proprietor for all the evil done in the land, but the evil -was done in their name, and under the authority they have invested in -wicked, cruel servants. For instance, the only silly man who enlisted -from among the great assembly which his Grace addressed, was a married -man, with three of a family and his wife; it was generally believed -that his bread was baked for life, but no sooner was he away to Fort -George to join his regiment, than his place of abode was pulled -down, his wife and family turned out, and only permitted to live in -a hut, from which an old female pauper was carried a few days before -to the churchyard; there the young family were sheltered, and their -names registered upon the poor roll for support; his Grace could not -be guilty of such low rascality as this, yet he was told of it, but -took no cognisance of those who did it in his name. It is likewise -said that this man got a furlough of two weeks to see his wife and -family before going abroad, and that when the factor heard he was -coming, he ordered the ground officer of the parish of Rogart, named -MacLeod, to watch the soldier, and not allow him to see nor speak to -his wife, but in his (the officer’s) presence. We had at the same -time, in the parish, an old bachelor of the name of John Macdonald, -who had three idiot sisters, whom he upheld, independent of any source -of relief; but a favourite of George, the notorious factor, envied -this poor bachelor’s farm, and he was summoned to remove at next term. -The poor fellow petitioned his Grace and Loch, but to no purpose; he -was doomed to walk away on the term day, as the factor told him, “to -America, Glasgow, or to the devil if he choosed.” Seeing he had no -other alternative, two days before the day of his removal he yoked his -cart, and got neighbours to help him to haul the three idiots into it, -and drove away with them to Dunrobin Castle. When he came up to factor -Gunn’s door, he capsized them out upon the green, and wheeled about -and went away home. The three idiots finding themselves upon the top -of one another so sudden, they raised an inhuman-like yell, fixed into -one another to fight, and scratched, yelled, and screeched so terrific -that Mr. Gunn, his lady, his daughters, and all the clerks and servants -were soon about them; but they hearkened to no reason, for they had -none themselves, but continued their fighting and inharmonious music. -Messenger after messenger was sent after John, but of no use; at last -the great Gunn himself followed and overtook him, asked him how did he -come to leave his sisters in such a state? He replied, “I kept them -while I had a piece of land to support them; you have taken that land -from me, then take them along with the land, and make of them what you -can; I must look out for myself, but I cannot carry them to the labour -market.” Gunn was in a fix, and had to give John assurance that he -would not be removed if he would take his sisters, so John took them -home, and has not been molested as yet. - -I have here beside me (in Canada) a respectable girl of the name of -Ann Murray, whose father was removed during the time of the wholesale -_faggot_ removals, but got a lot of a barren moor to cultivate. -However barren-like it was, he was raising a family of industrious -young sons, and by dint of hard labour and perseverance, they made it -a comfortable home; but the young sons one by one left the country -(and four of them are within two miles of where I sit); the result -was, that Ann was the only one who remained with the parents. The -mother, who had an attack of palsy, was left entirely under Ann’s -care after the family left; and she took it so much to heart that her -daughter’s attention was required day and night, until death put an -end to her afflictions, after twelve years’ suffering. Shortly after -the mother’s death, the father took ill, and was confined to bed for -nine months; and Ann’s labour re-commenced until his decease. Though -Ann Murray could be numbered among the most dutiful of daughters, -yet her incessant labour, for a period of more than thirteen years, -made visible inroads upon her tender constitution; yet by the liberal -assistance of her brothers, who did not loose sight of her and their -parent (though upon a foreign strand), Ann Murray kept the farm in the -best of order, no doubt expecting that she would be allowed to keep -it after her parent’s decease, but this was not in store for her; the -very day after her father’s funeral, the officer came to her and told -her that she was to be removed in a few weeks, that the farm was let to -another, and that Factor Gunn wished to see her. She was at that time -afflicted with jaundice, and told the officer she could not undertake -the journey, which was only ten miles. Next day the officer was at her -again, more urgent than before, and made use of extraordinary threats; -so she had to go. When she appeared before this Bashaw, he swore like -a trooper, and damned her soul, why she disobeyed his first summons; -she excused herself, trembling, that she was unwell; another volley -of oaths and threats met her response, and told her to remove herself -from the estate next week, for her conduct; and with a threat, which -well becomes a Highland tyrant, not to take away, nor sell a single -article of furniture, implements of husbandry, cattle, or crop; nothing -was allowed but her own body clothes; everything was to be handed over -to her brother, who was to have the farm. Seeing there was neither -mercy nor justice for her, she told him the crop, house, and every -other thing belonging to the farm, belonged to her and her brothers -in America, and that the brother to whom he (the factor) intended to -hand over the farm and effects never helped her father or mother while -in trouble; and that she was determined that he should not enjoy what -she laboured for, and what her other brothers paid for. She went and -got the advice of a man of business, advertised a sale, and sold off, -in the face of threats of interdict, and came to Canada, where she was -warmly received by brothers, sisters, and friends, now in Woodstock, -and can tell her tale better than I can. No one could think nor believe -that his Grace would ever countenance such doings as these; but it was -done in his name. - -I have here within ten miles of me, Mr. William Ross, once taxman of -Achtomleeny, Sutherlandshire, who occupied the most convenient farm -to the principal deer-stalking hills in the county. Often have the -English and Irish lords, connected in marriage with the Sutherlands, -dined and took their lunch at William Ross’s table, and at his expense; -and more than once passed the night under his roof. Mr. Ross being -so well acquainted among the mountains and haunts of the deer, was -often engaged as a guide and instructor to these noblemen on their -deer-stalking and fishing excursions, and became a real favourite with -the Sutherland family, which enabled him to erect superior buildings -to the common rule, and improve his farm in a superior style; so that -his mountain-side farm was nothing short of a Highland paradise. But -unfortunately for William, his nearest neighbour, one Major Gilchrist, -a sheep farmer, coveted Mr. Ross’s vineyard, and tried many underhand -schemes to secure the place for himself, but in vain. Ross would -hearken to none of his proposals. But Ahab was a chief friend of Factor -Gunn; and William Ross got notice of removal. Ross prepared a memorial -to the first and late Duchess of Sutherland, and placed it in her own -hand. Her Grace read it, instantly went into the factor’s office, and -told him that William Ross was not to be removed from Achtomleeny while -he lived; and wrote the same on the petition, and handed it back to -Ross, with a graceful smile, saying, “You are now out of the reach of -factors; now, William, go home in peace.” William bowed, and departed -cheerfully; but the factor and ground-officer followed close behind -him, and while Ross was reading her Grace’s deliverance, the officer, -David Ross, came and snapped the paper out of his hand, and ran to -Factor Gunn with it. Ross followed, but Gunn put it in his pocket, -saying, “William, you would need to give it to me afterwards, at any -rate, and I will keep it till I read it, and then return it to you,” -and with a tiger-like smile on his face, said, “I believe you came -good speed to-day, and I am glad of it;” but William never got it in -his hand again. However, he was not molested during her Grace’s life. -Next year she paid a visit to Dunrobin Castle, when Factor William -Gunn advised Ross to apply to her for a reduction of rent, under the -mask of favouring him. He did so, and it was granted cheerfully. Her -Grace left Dunrobin that year never to return; in the beginning of the -next spring she was carried back to Dunrobin a corpse, and a few days -after was interred in Dornoch. William Ross was served with a summons -of removal from Achtomleeny, and he had nothing to show. He petitioned -the present Duke, and his commissioner, Mr. Loch, and related the whole -circumstances to them, but to no avail, only he was told that Factor -Gunn was ordered to give him some other lot of land, which he did: and -having no other resource, William accepted of it to his loss; for -between loss of cattle, building and repairing houses, he was minus one -hundred and fifty pounds sterling, of his means, and substance, from -the time he was removed from Achtomleeny till he removed himself to -Canada. Besides, he had a written agreement or promise for melioration -or valuation for all the farm improvements and house building at -Achtomleeny, which was valued by the family surveyor at £250. William -was always promised to get it, until they came to learn that he was -leaving for America, then they would not give him a cent. William Ross -left them with it to join his family in Canada; but he can in his old -age sit at as comfortable a table, and sleep on as comfortable a bed, -with greater ease of mind and a clearer conscience, among his own -dutiful and affectionate children, than the tyrant factor ever did, or -ever will among his. I know as well as any one can tell me, that this -is but one or two cases out of the thousand I could enumerate, where -the liberality and benevolence of his Grace, and of his parents, were -abused, and that to their patron’s loss. You see in the above case -that William was advised to plead for a reduction of rent, so that the -factor’s favourite, Ahab Gilchrist, would have the benefit of Naboth -Ross’s improvement, and the reduction he got on his rent, which would -not be obtained otherwise. - -The unhallowed crew of factors and officials, from the highest to the -lowest grade, employed by the family of Sutherland, got the corrupt -portion of the public press on their side, to applaud their wicked -doings and schemes, as the only mode of improvement and civilisation -in the Highlands of Scotland. They have got what is still more to -be lamented, all the Established ministers, with few exceptions, on -their side; and in them they found faithful auxiliaries in crushing -the people. Any of them could hold a whole congregation by the hair -of their heads over hell-fire, if they offered to resist the powers -that be, until they submitted. If a single individual resisted, he was -denounced from the pulpit, and considered afterwards a dangerous man -in the community; and he might depart as quick as he could. Any man, -or men, may violate the laws of God, and violate the laws of heaven, -as often as he chooses; he is never heeded, and has nothing to fear; -but if he offends the Duke’s factor, the lowest of his minions, or -violates the least of their laws and regulations, it is an unpardonable -sin. The present Duke’s mother was no doubt a liberal lady of many good -parts, and seemed to be much attached to the natives, but unfortunately -for them, she employed for her factors a vile, unprincipled crew, who -were their avowed enemies; she would hearken to the complaints of the -people, and would write to the ministers of the Gospel to ascertain -the correctness of complaints, and the factor was justified, however -gross the outrage was that he committed--the minister dined with the -factor, and could not refuse to favour him. The present Duke[9] is a -simple, narrow-minded gentleman, who concerns himself very little even -about his own pecuniary affairs; he entrusts his whole affairs to his -factors, and the people are enslaved so much, that it is now considered -the most foolish thing a man can do to petition his Grace, whatever is -done to him, for it will go hard with the factor, or he will punish and -make an example of him to deter others. - -[9] Macleod wrote this in 1854.--ED. - -To detail what I knew myself personally, and what I have learned from -others of their conduct, would, as I said before, fill a volume. For -instance:--When a marriage in the family of Sutherland takes place, or -the birth of an heir, a feast is ordered for the Sutherland people, -consisting of whisky, porter, ale, and plenty of eatables. The day -of feasting and rejoicing is appointed, and heralded throughout -the country, and the people are enjoined in marshal terms to -assemble--barrels of raw and adulterated whisky are forwarded to each -parish, some raw adulterated sugar, and that is all. Bonfires are to -be prepared on the tops of the highest mountains. The poorest of the -poor are warned by family officers to carry the materials, consisting -of peats and tar barrels, upon their backs; the scene is lamentable -to see groups of these wretched, half-clad and ill-shod, climbing up -these mountains with their loads; however, the work must be done, -there is no denial, the evening of rejoicing is arrived, and the people -are assembled at their different clachans. The barrels of whisky are -taken out to the open field, poured into large tubs, a good amount of -abominable-looking sugar is mixed with it, and a sturdy favourite is -employed to stir it about with a flail handle, or some long cudgel--all -sorts of drinking implements are produced, tumblers, bowls, ladles, and -tin jugs. Bagpipers are set up with great glee. In the absence of the -factor, the animal called the ground officer, and in some instances -the parish minister, will open the jollification, and show an example -to the people how to deal with this coarse beverage. After the first -round, the respectable portion of the people will depart, or retire -to an inn, where they can enjoy themselves; but the _drouthies_, and -ignorant youthful, will keep the field of revelling until tearing of -clothes and faces comes to be the rule; fists and cudgels supplant jugs -and ladles, and this will continue until king Bacchus enters the field -and hushes the most heroic brawlers and the most ferocious combatants -to sound snoring on the field of rejoicing, where many of them enter -into contracts with death, from which they could never extricate -themselves. With the co-operation and assistance of factors, ministers, -and editors, a most flourishing account is sent to the world, and -to the absentee family in London, who knows nothing about how the -affair was conducted. The world will say how happy must the people be -who live under such good and noble, liberal-minded patrons; and the -patrons themselves are so highly-pleased with the report that, however -extraordinary the bill that comes to them on the rent day, in place of -money, for roast beef and mutton, bread and cheese, London porter and -Edinburgh ale, which was never bought, nor tasted by the people, they -will consider their commissioners used great economy; no cognizance is -taken, the bill is accepted, and discharged, the people are deceived, -and the proprietors injured. - - - - -_TRIAL OF PATRICK SELLAR._[10] - -[10] See Note A in Appendices. - - -For his action in connection with the Sutherland Clearances, Patrick -Sellar was placed on trial at a sitting of the Circuit Court at -Inverness in 1816. The bench was occupied by Lord Pitmilly. We give the -indictment, defences, judge’s summing up, and other particulars, but -omit the evidence, as no authentic record thereof is available. - - -THE INDICTMENT. - -PATRICK SELLAR, now or lately residing at Culmaily, in the parish of -Golspie, and shire of Sutherland, and under factor for the Most Noble -the Marquis and Marchioness of Stafford. You are indicted and accused, -at the instance of Archibald Colquhoun of Killermont, his Majesty’s -Advocate for his Majesty’s interest: That albeit, by the laws of -this and of every other well-governed realm, culpable homicide, as -also oppression and real injury, more particularly the wickedly and -maliciously setting on fire and burning, or causing and procuring -to be set on fire and burnt, a great extent of heath and pasture, -on which a number of small tenants and other poor persons maintain -their cattle, to the great injury and distress of the said persons; -the violently turning, or causing and procuring to be turned out of -their habitations, a number of the said tenants and other poor people, -especially aged, infirm, and impotent persons and pregnant women, -and cruelly depriving them of all cover or shelter, to their great -distress, and the imminent danger of their lives; the wickedly and -maliciously setting on fire, burning, pulling down, and demolishing, -or causing and procuring to be set on fire, burnt, pulled down, and -demolishing, the dwelling-houses, barns, kilns, mills, and other -buildings, lawfully occupied by the said persons, whereby they -themselves are turned out, without cover or shelter, as aforesaid, -and the greater part of their different crops is lost and destroyed, -from the want of the usual and necessary accommodation for securing -and manufacturing the same; and the wantonly setting on fire, burning, -and otherwise destroying, or causing and procuring to be set on fire, -burnt, and otherwise destroyed, growing corn, timber, furniture, -money, and other effects, the property, or in the lawful possession -of the said tenants and other poor persons, are crimes of a heinous -nature, and severely punishable. Yet true it is, and of verity, -that you the said Patrick Sellar are guilty of the said crimes, or -of one or more of them, actor, or art in part; in so far as you the -said Patrick Sellar did, on the 15th day of March, 1814, or on one -or other of the days of that month, or of April and May immediately -following, and on many occasions during the said months of March, -April and May, wickedly and maliciously set on fire and burn, or cause -and procure John Dryden and John M’Kay, both at that time shepherds -in your service, to set on fire and burn a great extent of heath and -pasture, many miles in length and breadth, situate in the heights of -the parishes of Farr and Kildonan, in the county of Sutherland, and -in particular in the lands of Ravigill, Rhiphail, Rhiloisk, Rossal, -Rhimsdale, Garvault, Truderskaig, and Dalcharrel, whereby many of the -tenants and others in the lands aforesaid were deprived of pasturage -for their cattle, and in consequence thereof reduced to great distress -and poverty; and many of them were obliged to feed their cattle with -the potatoes intended for the use of their families, and with their -seed corn; particularly William Gordon, James M’Kay, Hugh Grant, and -Donald M’Kay, all then tenants in Rhiloisk aforesaid; John Gordon and -Hugh M’Beath, then tenants in Rhimsdale aforesaid; Donald M’Beath, -then tenant in Rhiphail aforesaid; Murdo M’Kay and John M’Kay, then -tenants in Truderskaig aforesaid. And further, you the said Patrick -Sellar did, upon the 13th day of June, 1814, or on one or other of -the days of that month, or of May immediately preceding, or of July -immediately following, together with four or more persons, your -assistants, proceed to the district of country above-mentioned, and -did, then and there, violently turn, or cause or procure to be turned -out of their habitations, a number of the tenants and poor people -dwelling there; and particularly Donald M’Kay, a feeble old man of -the age of four-score years or thereby, then residing in Rhiloisk -aforesaid; who, upon being so turned out, not being able to travel to -the nearest inhabited place, lay for several days and nights thereafter -in the woods in the vicinity, without cover or shelter, to his great -distress, and to the danger of his life. As also, Barbara M’Kay, wife -of John M’Kay, then tenant in Ravigill aforesaid, who was at the time -pregnant, and was moreover confined to her bed in consequence of being -severely hurt and bruised by a fall; and you the said Patrick Sellar -did, then and there, notwithstanding the entreaties of the said John -M’Kay, give orders that the said Barbara M’Kay should be instantly -turned out, whatever the consequences might be, saying, That you would -have the house pulled about her ears; and the said John M’Kay was -accordingly compelled, with the assistance of some women and neighbours -to lift his said wife from her bed, and carry her nearly a mile across -the country to the imminent danger of her life: As also, time last -above-mentioned, you the said Patrick Sellar did forcibly turn out, or -cause and procure your assistants aforesaid, to turn out, of his bed -and dwelling, in Garvault aforesaid, Donald Munro, a young lad, who -lay sick in bed at the time. And further, you the said Patrick Sellar, -did time aforesaid, wickedly and maliciously set on fire, burn, pull -down, and demolish, or cause and procure your assistants aforesaid -to set on fire, burn, pull down, and demolish a great number of the -dwelling-houses, barns, kilns, mills, and other buildings, lawfully -occupied by the tenants and other inhabitants in the said district of -country; and in particular, the houses, barns, kilns, mills, lawfully -occupied by the above-mentioned William Gordon, James M’Kay, Hugh -Grant, in Rhiloisk aforesaid; and John Gordon in Rhimsdale aforesaid; -As also, the barns and kilns in Rhiphail aforesaid, lawfully -occupied by Alexander Manson, John M’Kay, and others, then tenants or -residenters there; the barns and kilns in Ravigill aforesaid, lawfully -occupied by John M’Kay, Murdo M’Kay, and others, then tenants there; -and the barns and kilns in Garvault aforesaid, lawfully occupied by -William Nicol and John Monro, then tenants there; As also, the house -and barn in Ravigill aforesaid, lawfully occupied by Barbara M’Kay, -an infirm old widow, nearly fourscore years of age, and who was -obliged to sell three of her five cattle at an under value, in order -to support herself, her crop being destroyed from the want of her -barn: As also, the greater part of the houses, barns, kilns, mills, -and other buildings in the whole district of country above mentioned, -was, time aforesaid, maliciously set on fire, burnt, pulled down, and -demolished, by you, the said Patrick Sellar, or by your assistance or -by your orders, whereby the inhabitants and lawful occupiers thereof -were turned out, without cover or shelter; and the greater part of -their different crops was lost and destroyed from want of the usual and -necessary accommodation for securing and manufacturing the same; and -especially the lawful occupiers of the barns, kilns, mills, and other -buildings particularly above mentioned, to have been set on fire and -destroyed as aforesaid, did sustain great loss in their crops, from -being thus deprived of the means of securing and manufacturing the -same. And further, you, the said Patrick Sellar, did, time aforesaid, -culpably kill Donald M’Beath, father to Hugh M’Beath, then tenant in -Rhimsdale aforesaid, by unroofing and pulling down, or causing to be -unroofed and pulled down, the whole house in Rhimsdale aforesaid, where -the said Donald M’Beath was then lying on his sick bed, saving only a -small space of roof, to the extent of five or six yards, whereby the -said Donald M’Beath was exposed, in a cold and comfortless situation, -without cover or shelter, to the weather; and he, the said Donald -M’Beath, in consequence of being so exposed, never spoke a word more, -but languished and died about eight days thereafter, and was thereby -culpably killed by you, the said Patrick Sellar: Or otherwise, you, -the said Patrick Sellar, did, time and place aforesaid, cruelly expose -the said Donald M’Beath to the weather, without cover or shelter, by -pulling down and unroofing, or caused to be pulled down and unroofed, -the greater part of the house where he then lay sick in bed, to his -great distress, and the imminent danger of his life; and this you, -the said Patrick Sellar, did, notwithstanding the entreaties of the -said Hugh M’Beath, and others, you saying, in a rage, when it was -proposed that the said Donald M’Beath should remain, “The devil a -man of them, sick or well, shall be permitted to remain,” or words -to that effect. And further, you, the said Patrick Sellar, did, time -aforesaid, wickedly and maliciously set on fire, burn, and demolish, or -cause and procure your assistants to set on fire, burn, and demolish, -the dwelling-house, barn, kiln, sheep-cot, and other building then -lawfully occupied by William Chisholm in Badinloskin, in the parish -of Farr aforesaid, although you knew that Margaret M’Kay, a very old -woman of the age of 90 years, less or more, and who had been bed-ridden -for years, was at that time within the said house; and this you did, -notwithstanding you were told that the said old woman could not be -removed without imminent danger to her life; and the flames having -approached the bed whereon the said Margaret M’Kay lay, she shrieked -aloud in Gaelic, “O’n teine,” that is to say, “O the fire,” or words -to that effect; and was forthwith carried out by her daughter, Janet -M’Kay, and placed in a small bothy, and the blanket in which she was -wrapped was burnt in several places, and the said Margaret M’Kay -never spoke a word thereafter, but remained insensible from that -hour, and died in about five days thereafter, in consequence of the -fright and alarm; and, in particular, in consequence of her removal, -as aforesaid, from her bed into a cold and uncomfortable place, unfit -for the habitation of any human being; and the said Margaret M’Kay was -thereby culpably killed by you, the said Patrick Sellar; or otherwise, -you, the said Patrick Sellar, did, time and place aforesaid, cruelly -turn, or cause to be turned, out of her bed and dwelling-place, the -said Margaret Mackay, by setting on fire, burning, and demolishing, or -causing and procuring to be set on fire, burnt, and demolished, the -said house and other buildings, in manner above mentioned, to her great -distress, and the imminent danger of her life. And farther, all the -persons whose houses, barns, kilns, mills, and other buildings, were -burnt and destroyed, or caused and procured to be burnt and destroyed -by you, the said Patrick Sellar, all as above described, did sustain -great loss in their moss wood, and other timber, which was broken and -demolished, and destroyed by fire and otherwise, at the same time, -and in the same manner, with the buildings as aforesaid; and also in -their furniture and other effects, all their lawful property, or in -their lawful possession at the time: And, in particular, the said -Barbara M’Kay in Ravigill, aforesaid, lost her door and door-posts, and -timber of her house and barn, her meal-chest, and several articles of -furniture, all her property, or in her lawful possession, which were -then and there destroyed, or caused to be destroyed, by you, the said -Patrick Sellar, as aforesaid; and the greatest part of the furniture, -and timber belonging to the said William Chisholm, together with three -pounds in bank notes, and a ridge of growing corn, all the property, or -in the lawful possession of the said William Chisholm, in Badinloskin, -aforesaid, were then and there destroyed by fire, and otherwise, by -you, the said Patrick Sellar. And you, the said Patrick Sellar, having -been apprehended and taken before Mr. Robert Mackid, Sheriff-Substitute -of Sutherland, did, in his presence, at Dornoch, on the 31st day -of May, 1815, emit and subscribe a declaration; which declaration, -together with a paper entitled “Notice given to the Strathnaver -tenants, 15 Dec., 1813,” being to be used in evidence against you, at -your trial, will be lodged in due time in the hands of the Clerk of the -Circuit Court of Justiciary, before which you are to be tried, that -you may have an opportunity of seeing the same: at least, time and -places above-mentioned, the said heath and pasture, was wickedly and -maliciously set on fire and burnt, or caused and procured to be set on -fire and burnt, to the great injury and distress of the said tenants -and others; and the said persons were violently turned, or caused and -procured to be turned, out of their habitations, and deprived of all -cover and shelter, to their great distress, and the imminent danger -of their lives; and the said Donald M’Beath and Margaret M’Kay were -culpably killed in manner above mentioned, or were cruelly turned out -of their habitations as aforesaid; and the said dwelling-houses, barns, -kilns, mills, and other buildings, lawfully inhabited and occupied -by the said persons, were maliciously set on fire, burnt, pulled -down, and demolished, or were caused and procured to be set on fire, -burnt, pulled down, and demolished, and the inhabitants and lawful -occupiers thereof turned out as aforesaid; and the greater part of -their different crops was lost or destroyed, from want of the usual -and necessary accommodation for securing and manufacturing the same; -and the growing corn, timber, furniture, money, and other effects, -the property, or in the lawful possession, of the said persons, were -wantonly set on fire, burnt, and otherwise destroyed or caused and -procured to be set on fire, burnt, and otherwise destroyed: And you, -the said Patrick Sellar, are guilty of the said crimes, or of one or -more of them, actor, or art and part. All which, or part thereof, -being found proven by the verdict of an assize, before the Lord -Justice-General, the Lord Justice-Clerk, and Lords Commissioners of -Justiciary, in a Circuit Court of Justiciary to be holden by them, or -by any one or more of their number, within the burgh of Inverness, in -the month of April, in this present year, 1816, you, the said Patrick -Sellar, ought to be punished with the pains of law, to deter others -from committing the like crimes in all time coming. - - H. HOME DRUMMOND, _A.D._ - -Mr Sellar, having pleaded NOT GUILTY, the following defences were -read:--“_First_, The panel objects to the relevancy of various parts -of the libel. _Second_, In so far as the libel is relevant, the panel -denies its truth; the whole of the charges are utterly false, in so -much so, that the Prosecutor is not only unable to bring any sufficient -evidence in support of his own accusations, but the panel will -bring positive proof _against_ them. The panel will prove, that the -ejectments which have given rise to this trial, were done in due order -of law, and, under the warrants of the proper Judge, issued on regular -process. Farther, he will prove that great indulgence was shown to the -tenants, even after they had resisted the regular decrees of the Judge; -that nothing was done on his part, or with his knowledge or approval, -either cruel, oppressive or illegal. That he committed no acts of -homicide; and, on the whole, he will prove, that throughout every -part of this affair, he (the panel) has been the victim, not only of -the most unfounded local prejudices, but of long continued and active -defamation, on the part of certain persons, who have made it their -business to traduce the whole system of improvements introduced into -the Sutherland estate, and to vilify the panel, by whom, they have been -pleased to suppose, that these improvements have been partly conducted. -He rejoices, however, in the first opportunity, which has now been -afforded to him, of meeting these calumnies and prepossessions in a -Court of Justice, and relying, as he does, with implicit confidence on -the candour and dispassionate attention of a British jury, he has no -doubt whatever of being able to establish his complete innocence of all -the charges now brought against him. - - “_Under protestation to add and eik._ - - “J. GORDON. - “H. COCKBURN. - “PAT. ROBERTSON.” - -Mr. Robertson opened the case on the part of the panel. The object of -addressing the court at this time was to state such observations as -occurred on the relevancy of the indictment, and to give a general -view of the line of defence. On the former, he remarked, that various -objections did occur to the relevancy of the charges, particularly to -the second and fourth branches of the indictment. With these, however, -he did not mean to trouble the Court, as Mr. Sellar was so conscious -of his innocence, that he courted investigation, being unwilling that -any part of his conduct should be left uninvestigated. No objection -was, therefore, made to the relevancy of any part of the indictment, -so far as it charged any specific crime against which the panel might -be prepared to defend himself. But, certainly, he did object to those -parts of it which contained general charges, of destroying “a number -of houses,” injuring “a number of tenants,” &c., unless these were -understood merely as introductory to the specific crimes mentioned. He -also objected to the last charge, if meant as anything more than matter -of mere aggravation. - -On the merits, he gave a short sketch of the causes which gave rise to -the present trial,--alluded to the clamour which had been raised in the -country--the prejudices of the people,--the disgraceful publications -in a newspaper called the _Military Register_, and the pains which had -been taken to circulate these false and mischievous papers through -Sutherland and the adjacent counties. The general line of defence he -stated to be, That, as to the first charge, of heath-burning, this was -done with the express consent of the tenantry, and, as could be proved, -to their positive advantage. As to the removings, the defence was quite -clear. The lands mentioned in the indictment were advertised to be set -on the 5th of December, 1813, at the Inn of Golspie, and Mr. Sellar was -preferred as the highest offerer. Before Whitsunday, 1814, he brought -regular actions of removing, and it was not until after he had obtained -decrees in these actions, charged the whole of the tenants to remove, -and taken out precepts of ejection against them, that they were, in -the month of June, actually removed from their lawless and violent -possession. These facts were established by the decrees and precepts in -the hands of the Clerk of Court. As to the demolition of the houses, no -houses were pulled down till after the ejections had been completed, -and the property had become Mr. Sellar’s. No furniture was destroyed -by him, or by his orders,--no unnecessary violence was used, nor any -cruelty exercised, but everything was done in due order of law, and -without oppression of any kind. The charges of culpable homicide were -quite out of the question, and Mr. Sellar defied the Public Prosecutor -to prove them. Upon the whole, it was not doubted, that if truth and -justice were to prevail over malice and conspiracy, Mr. Sellar would -obtain an honourable and triumphant acquittal. - - * * * * * - -The Advocate-Depute having here stated that he did not mean to insist -on any charges, excepting those which were specially and articulately -mentioned in the indictment, Lord Pitmilly said:-- - - “It would be improper for me to enter at present into the origin - of the prosecution, or the nature of the defences. Neither shall I - say anything of the publications which have been alluded to, except - that they appear to be of the most contemptible nature, and the only - prejudice which I can entertain is the other way; that is, against - the cause requiring such aid. I have no doubt as to the relevancy of - the libel.” - -The jury was composed of the following gentlemen:-- - - James Fraser, of Belladrum. - William Fraser, of Culbockie. - William Mackintosh, of Balnaspeck. - Duncan Fraser, of Fingask. - Alexander Smith, merchant in Inverness. - John Gillanders, of Highfield. - William Reid, of Muirtown. - William Mackenzie, of Strathgarve. - George Falconer Mackenzie, of Allangrange. - Robert Denham, tacksman of Dunglass. - George Kay, residing at Tannachy. - Bailie Robert Joss, merchant in Elgin. - John Barclay, writer, Elgin. - John Collie, farmer at Alvas. - John Smith, tacksman of Greens. - -Evidence for the prosecution and for the defence having been led at -considerable length, - -Mr. Drummond addressed the jury on the part of the Crown. He stated -that he gave up all the charges except the one which regarded the -ejections from the barns, and that of real injury in the case of the -old woman at Badinloskin. He certainly did not think the evidence in -this case last was sufficient to establish culpable homicide; but he -argued, that the circumstances proved were sufficient to authorise the -jury in finding a verdict of guilty to the extent of an injury, as -she had been removed at the risk of her life, which he maintained to -be contrary to law. As to the barns, he contended that the conduct of -Mr. Sellar was irregular and illegal, and consequently oppressive, the -outgoing tenants being entitled, by the custom of Sutherland, to retain -them as long as the arable land. - -Mr. Gordon addressed the jury on the part of the panel, and replied -to the arguments used on behalf of the prosecution. He entered at -great length into the history and objects of the prosecution; the -preconcerted plan on which certain persons had instigated the people -of Strathnaver to complain at first, and to persist afterwards; the -views they entertained of successfully opposing the improvements -of Sutherland, by affecting the noble persons to whom the property -belonged, through the sides of Mr. Sellar, as a convenient medium -of succeeding; the disgraceful measures to which these persons -had resorted, with a view to affect the channels of justice, the -impartiality of jurymen, and the purity of evidence. He attacked the -measures and conduct of Mr. Mackid in the most pointed terms; exposed -the characters of the evidence of Chisholm and others, and dwelt in the -clear evidence of the total innocence of Mr. Sellar, and on the points -of law which applied to the particular charges as criminal charges, at -considerable length, and with reference to various law authorities; -and finally, concluded by maintaining to the jury, that this was not -merely the trial of Mr. Sellar, but, in truth, a conflict between the -law of the land and a resistance to that law: That the question at -issue involved the future fate and progress of agricultural, and even -moral improvements, in the county of Sutherland; that (though certainly -not so intended by the Public Prosecutor, whose conduct throughout has -been candid, correct, and liberal), it was nevertheless, in substance, -and in fact, a trial of strength between the abettors of anarchy and -misrule, and the magistracy, as well as the laws of this country. - -Lord Pitmilly, after having stated the law as applicable to this case, -summed up the evidence in a very clear and able manner. His lordship -stated, that it was unnecessary for the jury to consider any of the -charges, excepting the one in regard to the old woman at Badinloskin. -As to the first, there could be no doubt of the practice in the -country, of retaining these barns till the crops would be threshed out; -neither could it be doubted, that Mr. Sellar had not left the whole of -the barns for the use of the outgoing tenants, and in consequence of -this, the tenants suffered damage. But _in point of law_, as the Court -of Session had decided in a similar question, Mr. Sellar was not bound -by any such practice, but was entitled to proceed in the ejections. -In regard to the injury charged to have been done to Margaret M’Kay, -his Lordship directed the attention of the jury to the evidence of -Chisholm. This witness, although contradicted in some particulars by -his wife, was confirmed by John M’Kay, whose testimony his Lordship -also laid before them. On the other hand, he brought under their view, -the evidence of Sutherland, Fraser, and Burns, and stated that it was -the duty of the Jury to balance betwixt these two sets of witnesses. -His Lordship also said, that if the jury were at all at a loss on this -part of the case, they ought to take into view the character of the -accused; for this was always of importance in balancing contradictory -testimony. Now here there was, in the _first_ place, real evidence, -from the conduct of Mr. Sellar, in regard to the sick, for this, in -several instances, had been proved to be most humane. And _secondly_, -there were the letters of Sir George Abercromby, Mr. Brodie, and Mr. -Fenton, which, _although not evidence_,[11] must have some weight -with the jury; and there were the testimonies of Mr. Gilzean and Sir -Archibald Dunbar--all establishing Mr. Sellar’s humanity of disposition. - -[11] The italics are mine.--ED. - -The jury having retired for a quarter of an hour, returned a _viva -voce_ verdict, unanimously finding Mr. Sellar NOT GUILTY. - -Lord Pitmilly observed that his opinion completely concurred with that -of the jury, and in dismissing them after so long a trial, he was happy -to say they had paid the most patient attention to the case, and had -returned a verdict satisfactory to the Court. - -The verdict having been recorded, - -The Advocate-Depute declared that he thought it fair to the panel, and -that it would be satisfactory to the jury, to state his conviction, -that if those witnesses who were rejected on account of errors in their -designations, had been examined, the result of the trial would have -been the same. - -Lord Pitmilly then addressed Mr. Sellar. - -His Lordship said, “Mr. Sellar, it is now my duty to dismiss you from -the bar; and you have the satisfaction of thinking, that you are -discharged by the unanimous opinion of the jury and the Court. I am -sure that, although your feelings must have been agitated, you cannot -regret that this trial took place, and I am hopeful it will have due -effect on the minds of the country, which have been so much, and so -improperly agitated.” - -The Court then pronounced an interlocutor, in respect of the verdict of -the assize, assoilzieing the panel _simpliciter_, and dismissing him -from the bar. - -The trial lasted from ten o’clock on Tuesday till one o’clock on -Wednesday morning, and the Court-room was crowded to excess. - - - - -_ROSS-SHIRE._ - - -GLENCALVIE. - -Great cruelties were perpetrated at Glencalvie, Ross-shire, where -the evicted had to retire into the parish churchyard. There for more -than a week they found the only shelter obtainable in their native -land. No one dared to succour them, under a threat of receiving -similar treatment to those whose hard fate had driven them thus among -the tombs. Many of them, indeed, wished that their lot had landed -them under the sod with their ancestors and friends, rather than be -treated and driven out of house and home in such a ruthless manner. -A special commissioner sent down by the London _Times_ describes the -circumstances as follows:-- - - ARDGAY, NEAR TAIN, ROSS-SHIRE, - _15th May, 1845_. - - Those who remember the misery and destitution to which large masses - of the population were thrown by the systematic “Clearances” (as - they are here called) carried on in Sutherlandshire some 20 years - ago, under the direction and on the estate of the late Marchioness - of Stafford--those who have not forgotten to what an extent the - ancient ties which bound clansmen to their chiefs were then torn - asunder--will regret to learn the heartless scourge with all its - sequences of misery, of destitution, and of crime, is again being - resorted to in Ross-shire. Amongst an imaginative people like the - Highlanders, who, poetic from dwelling amongst wild and romantic - scenery, shut out from the world and clinging to the traditions of - the past, it requires little, with fair treatment, to make them - almost idolise their heritor. They would spend the last drop of their - blood in his service. But this feeling of respectful attachment - to the landowners, which money cannot buy, is fast passing away. - This change is not without cause; and perhaps if the dark deeds of - calculating “feelosophy” transacted through the instrumentality of - factors in some of these lonely glens; if the almost inconceivable - misery and hopeless destitution in which, for the expected - acquisition of a few pounds, hundreds of peaceable and generally - industrious and contented peasants are driven out from the means of - self-support, to become wanderers and starving beggars, and in which - a brave and valuable population is destroyed--are exposed to the gaze - of the world, general indignation and disgust may effect what moral - obligations and humanity cannot. One of these clearances is about to - take place in the parish of Kincardine, from which I now write; and - throughout the whole district it has created the strongest feeling of - indignation. - - This parish is divided into two districts each of great extent; one - is called the parliamentary district of Croick. The length of this - district is about 20 miles, with a breadth of from 10 to 15 miles. - It extends amongst the most remote and unfrequented parts of the - country, consisting chiefly of hills of heather and rock, peopled - only in a few straths and glens. This district was formerly thickly - peopled; but one of those clearances many years ago nearly swept away - the population, and now the whole number of its inhabitants amounts, - I am told, to only 370 souls. These are divided into three straths or - glens, and live in a strath called Amatnatua, another strath called - Greenyard, and in Glencalvie. It is the inhabitants of Glencalvie, - in number 90 people, whose turn it is now to be turned out of their - homes, all at once, the aged and the helpless as well as the young - and strong; nearly the whole of them without hope or prospect for - the future. The proprietor of this glen is Major Charles Robertson - of Kindeace, who is at present out with his regiment in Australia; - and his factor or steward who acts for him in his absence is Mr. - James Gillanders of Highfield Cottage, near Dingwall. Glencalvie is - situated about 25 miles from Tain, eastward. Bleak rough hills, whose - surface are almost all rock and heather, closed in on all sides, - leaving in the valley a gentle declivity of arable land of a very - poor description, dotted over by cairns of stone and rock, not, at - the utmost computation, of more than 15 to 20 acres in extent. For - this piece of indifferent land with a right of pasturage on the hills - impinging upon it--and on which, if it were not a fact that sheep do - live, you would not credit that they could live, so entirely does it - seem void of vegetation, beyond the brown heather, whilst its rocky - nature makes it dangerous and impossible even for a sheep walk--the - almost increditable rent of £55 10s. has been paid. I am convinced - that for the same land no farmer in England would give £15 at the - utmost. - - Even respectable farmers here say they do not know how the people - raise the rent for it. Potatoes and barley were grown in the valley, - and some sheep and a few black cattle find provender amongst the - heather. Eighteen families have each a cottage in the valley; they - have always paid their rent punctually, and they have contrived to - support themselves in all ordinary seasons. They have no poor on the - poor roll, and they help one another over the winter. I am told that - not an inhabitant of this valley has been charged with any offence - for years back. During the war it furnished many soldiers; and an old - pensioner, 82 years of age, who has served in India, is now dying in - one of these cottages, where he was born. For the convenience of the - proprietor, some ten years ago, four of the principal tenants became - bound for the rest, to collect all the rents and pay the whole in one - sum. - - The clearance of this valley, having attracted much notice, has been - thoroughly enquired into, and a kind of defence has been entered - upon respecting it, which I am told has been forwarded to the Lord - Advocate. Through the politeness of Mr. Mackenzie, writer, Tain, I - have been favoured with a copy of it. The only explanation or defence - of the clearance, that I can find in it, is that shortly after Mr. - Gillanders assumed the management of Major Robertson’s estate, he - found that it became absolutely necessary to adopt a different - system, in regard to the lands of Glencalvie, “from that hitherto - pursued.” - - The “different system” as it appears was to turn the barley and - potato grounds into a sheep walk, and the “absolute necessity” for it - is an alleged increase of rent. - - It was accordingly, in 1843, attempted to serve summonses of - removal upon the tenants. They were in no arrears of rent, they - had no burdens in poor; for 500 years their fathers had peaceably - occupied the glen, and the people were naturally indignant. Who - can be surprised that, on the constables going amongst them with - the summonses, they acted in a manner which, while it showed their - excitement, not the less evinced their wish to avoid breaking the - law? The women met the constables beyond the boundaries, over - the river, and seized the hand of the one who held the notices; - whilst some held it out by the wrist, others held a live coal to - the papers and set fire to them. They were afraid of being charged - with destroying the notices, and they sought thus to evade the - consequences. This act of resistance on their part has been made the - most of. One of the men told me, hearing they were to be turned out - because they did not pay rent enough, that they offered to pay £15 - a year more, and afterwards to pay as much rent as any other man - would give for the place. The following year (1844), however, the - four chief tenants were decoyed to Tain, under the assurance that - Mr. Gillanders was going to settle with them, they believing that - their holdings were to be continued to them. The notices were then, - as they say, in a treacherous and tricky manner, served upon them, - however. Having been served, “a decreet of removal” was obtained - against them, under which, of course, if they refused to turn out - they would be put out by force. Finding themselves in this position, - they entered into an arrangement with Mr. Gillanders, in which after - several propositions on either side, it was agreed that they should - remain until the 12th of May, to give them time to provide themselves - with holdings elsewhere, Mr. Gillanders agreeing to pay them £100 on - quitting, and to take their stock on at a valuation. They were also - to have liberty to carry away the timber of their houses, which was - really worthless, except for firewood. On their part they agreed to - leave peaceably, and not to lay down any crop. Beyond the excessive - harshness of removing the people at all, it is but right to say that - the mode of proceeding in the removal hitherto has been temperate and - considerate. - - Two respectable farmers became bound for the people that they would - carry out their part of the agreement, and the time of removal has - since been extended to the 25th of this month. In the defence got - up for this proceeding it is stated that all have been provided - for; this is not only not the case, but seems to be intentionally - deceptive. In speaking of all, the four principal tenants only are - meant; for, according to the factor, these were all he had to do - with; but this is not the case even in regard to the four principal - tenants. Two only, a father and son, have got a piece of black moor, - near Tain, 25 miles off, without any house or shed on it, out of - which they hope to obtain subsistence. For this they are to pay £1 - rent for 7 acres the first year; £2 for the second year; and £3 for - a continuation. Another old man with a family has got a house and a - small lot of land in Edderton, about 20 miles off. These three, the - whole who have obtained places where they may hope to make a living. - The old pensioner, if removing does not kill him, has obtained for - himself and family, and for his son’s family, a house at a rent of £3 - or £4, some ten miles off, without any land or means of subsistence - attached to it. This old soldier has been offered 2s. a week by - the factor to support him while he lived. He was one of the four - principal tenants bound for the rent; and he indignantly refused to - be kept as a pauper. - - A widow with four children, two imbecile, has obtained two small - apartments in a bothy or turf hut near Bonar Bridge, for which she is - to pay £2 rent, without any land or means of subsistence. Another, - a man with a wife and four children, has got an apartment at Bonar - Bridge, at £1 rent. He goes there quite destitute, without means of - living. Six only of eighteen households, therefore, have been able - to obtain places in which to put their heads; and of these, three - only have any means of subsistence before them. The rest are hopeless - and helpless. Two or three of the men told me they have been round - to every factor and proprietor in the neighbourhood, and they could - obtain no place, and nothing to do, and they did not know where to go - to, or what to do to live. - - And for what are all these people to be reduced from comfort to - beggary? For what is this virtuous and contented community to be - scattered? I confess I can find no answer. It is said that the factor - would rather have one tenant than many, as it saves him trouble! - But so long as the rent is punctually paid as this has been, it is - contrary to all experience to suppose that one large tenant will pay - more rent than many small ones, or that a sheep walk can pay more - rent than cultivated land. - - Let me add that so far from the clearance at Glencalvie being a - solitary instance in this neighbourhood, it is one of many. The - tenants of Newmore, near Tain, who I am told, amount to 16 families, - are to be weeded out (as they express it here) on the 25th, by the - same Mr. Gillanders. The same factor manages the Strathconon estate, - about 30 miles from Newmore, from which during the last four years, - some hundreds of families have been weeded. The Government Church - of that district, built eighteen years ago, to meet the necessities - of the population, is now almost unnecessary from the want of - population. At Black Isle, near Dingwall, the same agent is pursuing - the same course, and so strong is the feeling of the poor Highlanders - at these outrageous proceedings, so far as they are concerned wholly - unwarranted from any cause whatever, that I am informed on the best - authority, and by those who go amongst them and hear what they say, - that it is owing to the influence of religion alone that they refrain - from breaking out into open and turbulent resistance of the law. I - enclose you the defence of this proceeding, with a list of the names - and numbers of each family in Glencalvie--in all 92 persons.[12] - -[12] London _Times_ of Tuesday, 20th May, 1845. - - -THE EVICTION OF THE ROSSES. - -In a “Sermon for the Times,” the Rev. Richard Hibbs of the Episcopal -Church, Edinburgh, referring to these evictions, says:--“Take first, -the awful proof how far in oppression men can go--men highly educated -and largely gifted in every way--property, talents, all; for the most -part indeed, they are so-called noblemen. What, then, are they doing -in the Highland districts, according to the testimony of a learned -professor in this city? Why, depopulating those districts in order -to make room for red deer. And how? By buying off the cottars, and -giving them money to emigrate? Not at all, but by starving them out; -by rendering them absolutely incapable of procuring subsistence for -themselves and families; for they first take away from them their -apportionments of poor lands, although they may have paid their rents; -and if that don’t suffice to eradicate from their hearts that love -of the soil on which they have been born and bred--a love which the -great Proprietor of all has manifestly implanted in our nature--why, -then, these inhuman landlords, who are far more merciful to their very -beasts, take away from these poor cottars the very roofs above their -defenceless heads, and expose them, worn down with age and destitute of -everything, to the inclemencies of a northern sky; and this, forsooth, -because they must have plenty room for their dogs and deer. For -plentiful instances of the most wanton barbarities under this head we -need only point to the Knoydart evictions. Here were perpetrated such -enormities as might well have caused the very sun to hide his face at -noon-day.” Macleod, referring to this sermon, says:-- - -“It has been intimated to me by an individual who heard this discourse -on the first occasion that the statements referring to the Highland -landlords have been controverted. I was well aware, long before the -receipt of this intimation, that some defence had appeared; and here I -can truly say, that none would have rejoiced more than myself to find -that a complete vindication had been made. But, unhappily, the case is -far otherwise. In order to be fully acquainted with all that had passed -on the subject, I have put myself during the week in communication -with the learned professor to whose letter, which appeared some months -ago in the _Times_, I referred. From him I learn that none of his -statements were invalidated--nay, not even impugned; and he adds, that -to do this was simply impossible, as he had been at great pains to -verify the facts. All that could be called in question was the theory -that he had based upon those facts--namely, that evictions were made -for the purpose of making room for more deer. This, of course, was open -to contradiction on the part of those landlords who had not openly -avowed their object in evicting the poor Highland families. As to -the evictions themselves--and this was the main point--no attempt at -contradiction was made.” - -In addition to all that the benevolent Professor [Black] has made known -to the world under this head, who has not heard of “The Massacre of -the Rosses,” and the clearing of the glens? “I hold in my hand,” Mr. -Hibbs continued, “a little work thus entitled, which has passed into -the second edition. The author, Mr. Donald Ross--a gentleman whom -all who feel sympathy for the downtrodden and oppressed must highly -esteem. What a humiliating picture of the barbarity and cruelty of -fallen humanity does this little book present! The reader, utterly -appalled by its horrifying statements, finds it difficult to retain -the recollection that he is perusing the history of his own times, and -country too. He would fain yield himself to the tempting illusion that -the ruthless atrocities which are depicted were enacted in a fabulous -period, in ages long past; or at all events, if it be contemporaneous -history, that the scene of such heart-rending cruelties, the -perpetrators of which were regardless alike of the innocency of infancy -and the helplessness of old age, is some far distant, and as yet not -merely unchristianized, but wholly savage and uncivilized region of our -globe. But alas! it is Scotland, in the latter half of the nineteenth -century, of which he treats. One feature of the heart-harrowing case -is the shocking and barbarous cruelty that was practised on this -occasion upon the female portion of the evicted clan. Mr. D. Ross, in a -letter addressed to the Right Hon. the Lord Advocate, Edinburgh, dated -April 19, 1854, thus writes in reference to one of those clearances -and evictions which had just then taken place, under the authority of -a certain Sheriff of the district, and by means of a body of policemen -as executioners:--‘The feeling on this subject, not only in the -district, but in Sutherlandshire and Ross-shire, is, among the great -majority of the people, one of universal condemnation of the Sheriff’s -reckless conduct, and of indignation and disgust at the brutality of -the policemen. Such, indeed, was the sad havoc made on the females on -the banks of the Carron, on the memorable 31st March last, that pools -of blood were on the ground--that the grass and earth were dyed red -with it--that the dogs of the district came and licked up the blood; -and at last, such was the state of feeling of parties who went from a -distance to see the field, that a party (it is understood by order or -instructions from headquarters) actually harrowed the ground during the -night to hide the blood! - -“‘The affair at Greenyard, on the morning of the 31st March last, is -not calculated to inspire much love of country, or rouse the martial -spirit of the already ill-used Highlanders. The savage treatment of -innocent females on that morning, by an enraged body of police, throws -the Sinope butchery into the shade; for the Ross-shire Haynaus have -shown themselves more cruel and more blood-thirsty than the Austrian -women-floggers. What could these poor men and women--with their wounds -and scars, and broken bones, and disjointed arms, stretched on beds of -sickness, or moving on crutches, the result of the brutal treatment of -them by the police at Greenyard--have to dread from the invasion of -Scotland by Russia?’” - -Commenting on this incredible atrocity, committed in the middle of -the nineteenth century, Donald Macleod says truly that:--“It was -so horrifying and so brutal that they did not wonder at the rev. -gentleman’s delicacy in speaking of it, and directing his hearers to -peruse Mr. Ross’s pamphlet for full information. Mr. Ross went from -Glasgow to Greenyard, all the way to investigate the case upon the -spot, and found that Mr. Taylor, a native of Sutherland, well educated -in the evicting schemes and murderous cruelty of that county, and -Sheriff-substitute of Ross-shire, marched from Tain upon the morning of -the 31st March, at the head of a strong party of armed constables, with -heavy bludgeons and fire-arms, conveyed in carts and other vehicles, -allowing them as much ardent drink as they chose to take before leaving -and on their march, so as to qualify them for the bloody work which -they had to perform; fit for any outrage, fully equipped, and told by -the Sheriff to show no mercy to any one who would oppose them, and not -allow themselves to be called cowards, by allowing these mountaineers -victory over them. In this excited, half-drunken state, they came in -contact with the unfortunate women of Greenyard, who were determined to -prevent the officers from serving the summonses of removal upon them, -and keep their holding of small farms where they and their forefathers -lived and died for generations. But no time was allowed for parley; -the Sheriff gave the order to clear the way, and, be it said to his -everlasting disgrace, he struck the first blow at a woman, the mother -of a large family, and large in the family way at the time, who tried -to keep him back; then a general slaughter commenced; the women made -noble resistance, until the bravest of them got their arms broken; then -they gave way. This did not allay the rage of the murderous brutes, -they continued clubbing at the protectless creatures until every one -of them was stretched on the field, weltering in their blood, or with -broken arms, ribs, and bruised limbs. In this woeful condition many of -them were hand-cuffed together, others tied with coarse ropes, huddled -into carts, and carried prisoners to Tain. I have seen myself in the -possession of Mr. Ross, Glasgow, patches or scalps of the skin with -the long hair adhering to them, which was found upon the field a few -days after this inhuman affray. I did not see the women, but I was told -that gashes were found on the heads of two young female prisoners in -Tain jail, which exactly corresponded with the slices of scalps which -I have seen, so that Sutherland and Ross-shire may boast of having had -the Nana Sahib and his chiefs some few years before India, and that in -the persons of some whose education, training, and parental example -should prepare their minds to perform and act differently. Mr. Donald -Ross placed the whole affair before the Lord Advocate for Scotland, but -no notice was taken of it by that functionary, further than that the -majesty of the law would need to be observed and attended to. - -“In this unfortunate country, the law of God and humanity may be -violated and trampled under foot, but the law of wicked men which -sanctions murder, rapine, and robbery must be observed. From the same -estate (the estate of Robertson of Kindeace, if I am not mistaken in -the date) in the year 1843 the whole inhabitants of Glencalvie were -evicted in a similar manner, and so unprovided and unprepared were they -for removal at such an inclement season of the year, that they had -to shelter themselves in a Church and a burying-ground. I have seen -myself nineteen families within this gloomy and solitary resting abode -of the dead, they were there for months. The London _Times_ sent a -commissioner direct from London to investigate into this case, and he -did his duty; but like the Sutherland cases, it was hushed up in order -to maintain the majesty of the law, and in order to keep the right, the -majesty of the people, and the laws of God in the dark. - -“In the year 1819 or ’20, about the time when the depopulation of -Sutherlandshire was completed, and the annual conflagration of burning -the houses ceased, and when there was not a glen or strath in the -county to let to a sheep farmer, one of these insatiable monsters of -Sutherlandshire sheep farmers fixed his eyes upon a glen in Ross-shire, -inhabited by a brave, hardy race for time immemorial. Summonses of -removal were served upon them at once. The people resisted--a military -force was brought against them--the military and the women of the -glen met at the entrance to the glen, and a bloody conflict took -place; without reading the riot act or taking any other precaution, -the military fired (by the order of Sheriff MacLeod) ball cartridge -upon the women; one young girl of the name of Mathieson was shot dead -on the spot; many were wounded. When this murder was observed by the -survivors, and some young men concealed in the background, they made -a heroic sudden rush upon the military, when a hand-to-hand melee or -fight took place. In a few minutes the military were put to disorder -by flight; in their retreat they were unmercifully dealt with, only -two of them escaping with whole heads. The Sheriff’s coach was smashed -to atoms, and he made a narrow escape himself with a whole head. But -no legal cognizance was taken of this affair, as the Sheriff and the -military were the violators. However, for fear of prosecution, the -Sheriff settled a pension of £6 sterling yearly upon the murdered -girl’s father, and the case was hushed up likewise. The result was that -the people kept possession of the glen, and that the proprietor and the -oldest and most insatiable of Sutherlandshire scourges went to law, -which ended in the ruination of the latter, who died a pauper.” - -Hugh Miller, describing a “Highland Clearing,” in one of his able -leading articles in the _Witness_, since published in volume form, -quotes freely from an article by John Robertson, which appeared in the -_Glasgow National_ in August, 1844, on the evictions of the Rosses of -Glencalvie. When the article from which Hugh Miller quotes was written, -the inhabitants of the glen had just received notices of removal, -but the evictions had not yet been carried out. Commenting on the -proceedings Hugh Miller says:-- - -“In an adjacent glen (to Strathcarron), through which the Calvie -works its headlong way to the Carron, that terror of the Highlanders, -a summons of removal, has been served within the last few months on -a whole community; and the graphic sketch of Mr. Robertson relates -both the peculiar circumstances in which it has been issued, and the -feelings which it has excited. We find from his testimony that the old -state of things which is so immediately on the eve of being broken up -in this locality, lacked not a few of those sources of terror to the -proprietary of the county, that are becoming so very formidable to them -in the newer states.” - -The constitution of society in the Glens, says Mr. Robertson, is -remarkably simple. Four heads of families are bound for the whole -rental. The number of souls was about ninety, sixteen cottages paid -rent; they supported a teacher for the education of their own children; -they supported their own poor. “The laird has never lost a farthing of -rent in bad years, such as 1836 and 1837, the people may have required -the favour of a few weeks’ delay, but they are not now a single -farthing in arrears;” that is, when they are in receipt of summonses -of removal. “For a century,” Mr. Robertson continues, speaking of the -Highlanders, “their privileges have been lessening; they dare not now -hunt the deer, or shoot the grouse or the blackcock; they have no -longer the range of the hills for their cattle and their sheep; they -must not catch a salmon in the stream: in earth, air, and water, the -rights of the laird are greater, and the rights of the people are -smaller, than they were in the days of their forefathers.” The same -writer eloquently concludes:-- - -“The father of the laird of Kindeace bought Glencalvie. It was sold by -a Ross two short centuries ago. The swords of the Rosses of Glencalvie -did their part in protecting this little glen, as well as the broad -lands of Pitcalvie, from the ravages and the clutches of hostile septs. -These clansmen bled and died in the belief that every principle of -honour and morals secured their descendants a right to subsisting on -the soil. The chiefs and their children had the same charter of the -sword. Some Legislatures have made the right of the people superior -to the right of the chief; British law-makers made the rights of the -chief everything, and those of their followers nothing. The ideas -of the morality of property are in most men the creatures of their -interests and sympathies. Of this there cannot be a doubt, however, the -chiefs would not have had the land at all, could the clansmen have -foreseen the present state of the Highlands--their children in mournful -groups going into exile--the faggot of legal myrmidons in the thatch -of the feal cabin--the hearths of their homes and their lives the -green sheep-walks of the stranger. Sad it is, that it is seemingly the -will of our constituencies that our laws shall prefer the few to the -many. Most mournful will it be, should the clansmen of the Highlands -have been cleared away, ejected, exiled, in deference to a political, -a moral, a social, and an economical mistake,--a suggestion not of -philosophy, but of mammon,--a system in which the demon of sordidness -assumed the shape of the angel of civilization and of light.” - -That the Eviction of the Rosses was of a harsh character is amply -corroborated by the following account, extracted from the _Inverness -Courier_:--“We mentioned last week that considerable obstruction was -anticipated in the execution of the summonses of removal upon the -tenants of Major Robertson of Kindeace, on his property of Greenyards, -near Bonar Bridge. The office turned out to be of a very formidable -character. At six o’clock on the morning of Friday last, Sheriff Taylor -proceeded from Tain, accompanied by several Sheriff’s officers, and a -police force of about thirty more, partly belonging to the constabulary -force of Ross-shire, and partly to that of Inverness-shire,--the latter -under the charge of Mr. Mackay, inspector, Fort William. On arriving at -Greenyards, which is nearly four miles from Bonar Bridge, it was found -that about three hundred persons, fully two-thirds of whom were women, -had assembled from the county round about, all apparently prepared -to resist the execution of the law. The women stood in front, armed -with stones, and the men occupied the background, all, or nearly all, -furnished with sticks. - -“The Sheriff attempted to reason with the crowd, and to show them the -necessity of yielding to the law: but his efforts were fruitless; some -of the women tried to lay hold of him and to strike him, and after a -painful effort to effect the object in view by peaceable means--which -was renewed in vain by Mr. Cumming, the superintendent of the -Ross-shire police--the Sheriff was reluctantly obliged to employ force. -The force was led by Mr. Cumming into the crowd, and, after a sharp -resistance, which happily lasted only a few minutes, the people were -dispersed, and the Sheriff was enabled to execute the summonses upon -the four tenants. The women, as they bore the brunt of the battle, were -the principal sufferers. A large number of them--fifteen or sixteen, we -believe, were seriously hurt, and of these several are under medical -treatment; one woman, we believe, still lies in a precarious condition. -The policemen appear to have used their batons with great force, but -they escaped themselves almost unhurt. Several correspondents from the -district, who do not appear, however, to make sufficient allowance -for the critical position of affairs, and the necessity of at once -impressing so large a multitude with the serious nature of the case, -complain that the policemen used their batons with wanton cruelty. -Others state that they not only did their duty, but that less firmness -might have proved fatal to themselves. The instances of violence are -certainly, though very naturally, on the part of the attacking force; -several batons were smashed in the melee; a great number of men and -women were seriously hurt, especially about the head and face, while -not one of the policemen, so far as we can learn, suffered any injury -in consequence. As soon as the mob was fairly dispersed, the police -made active pursuit, in the hope of catching some of the ringleaders. -The men had, however, fled, and the only persons apprehended were -some women, who had been active in the opposition, and who had been -wounded. They were conveyed to the prison at Tain, but liberated on -bail next day, through the intercession of a gallant friend, who became -responsible for their appearance.” - -“A correspondent writes,” continues the _Courier_, “ten young women -were wounded in the back of the skull and other parts of their -bodies.... The wounds on these women show plainly the severe manner in -which they were dealt with by the police when they were retreating. It -was currently reported last night that one of them was dead; and the -feeling of indignation is so strong against the manner in which the -constables have acted, that I fully believe the life of any stranger, -if he were supposed to be an officer of the law, would not be worth -twopence in the district.” - -The _Northern Ensign_, referring to the same case, says:--“One -day lately a preventive officer with two cutter men made their -appearance on the boundaries of the estate and were taken for Tain -Sheriff-officers. The signals were at once given, and in course of -half-an-hour the poor gauger and his men were surrounded by 300 men and -women, who would not be remonstrated with either in English or Gaelic; -the poor fellows were taken and denuded of their clothing, all papers -and documents were extracted and burnt, amongst which was a purse with -a considerable quantity of money. In this state they were carried -shoulder-high off the estate, and left at the braes of Downie, where -the great Culrain riot took place thirty years ago.” - - -KINTAIL. - -During the first years of the century a great many were cleared -from Kintail by Seaforth at the instigation of his Kintail factor, -Duncan Mor Macrae, and his father, who themselves added the land -taken from the ancient tenantry to their own sheep farms, already -far too extensive. In Glengarry, Canada, a few years ago, we met one -man, 93 years of age, who was among the evicted. He was in excellent -circumstances, his three sons having three valuable farms of their -own, and considered wealthy in the district. In the same county there -is a large colony of Kintail men, the descendants of those cleared -from that district, all comfortable, many of them very well off, one -of them being then member for his county in the dominion Parliament. -While this has been the case with many of the evicted from Kintail -and their descendants in Canada, the grasping sheep farmer who was -the original cause of their eviction from their native land, died -ruined and penniless; and the Seaforths, not long after, had to sell -the last inch of their ancient inheritance in Lochalsh and Kintail. -Shortly after these Glenelchaig evictions, about fifty families were -banished in the same way and by the same people from the district of -Letterfearn. This property has also changed hands since, and is now -in possession of Sir Alexander Matheson, Baronet of Lochalsh. Letter -of Lochalsh was cleared by Sir Hugh Innes, almost as soon as he came -into possession by purchase of that portion of the ancient heritage of -Seaforth and Kintail. The property has since passed into the hands of -the Lillingstones. - - -COIGEACH. - -The attempt to evict the Coigeach crofters must also be mentioned. -Here the people made a stout resistance, the women disarming about -twenty policemen and sheriff-officers, burning the summonses in a heap, -throwing their batons into the sea, and ducking the representatives -of the law in a neighbouring pool. The men formed the second line of -defence, in case the women should receive any ill-treatment. They, -however, never put a finger on the officers of law, all of whom -returned home without serving a single summons or evicting a single -crofter. The proceedings of her subordinates fortunately came to the -ears of the noble proprietrix, with the result that the Coigeach -tenants are still where they were, and are to-day among the most -comfortable crofters in the north of Scotland. - - -STRATHCONON.[13] - -[13] By Alexander Mackenzie. - -From 1840 to 1848 Strathconon was almost entirely cleared of its -ancient inhabitants to make room for sheep and deer, as in other -places; and also for the purposes of extensive forest plantations. The -property was under trustees when the harsh proceedings were commenced -by the factor, Mr. Rose, a notorious Dingwall solicitor. He began by -taking away, first, the extensive hill-pasture, for generations held as -club-farms by the townships, thus reducing the people from a position -of comfort and independence; and secondly, as we saw done elsewhere, -finally evicting them from the arable portion of the strath, though -they were not a single penny in arrear of rent. Coirre-Bhuic and -Scard-Roy were first cleared, and given, respectively, as sheep-farms -to Mr. Brown, from Morayshire, and Colin Munro, from Dingwall. Mr. -Balfour, when he came of age, cleared Coire-Feola and Achadh-an-eas; -Carnach was similarly treated, while no fewer than twenty-seven -families were evicted from Glen-Meine alone. Baile-a-Mhuilinn and -Baile-na-Creige were cleared in 1844, no fewer than twenty-four -families from these townships removing to the neighbourhood of -Knock-farrel and Loch Ussie, above Dingwall, where they were provided -with holdings by the late John Hay Mackenzie of Cromartie, father of -the present Duchess of Sutherland, and where a few of themselves and -many of their descendants are now in fairly comfortable circumstances. -A great many more found shelter on various properties in the Black -Isle--some at Drynie Park, Maol-Bui; others at Kilcoy, Allangrange, -Cromarty, and the Aird. - -It is computed that from four to five hundred souls were thus driven -from Strathconon, and cast adrift on the world, including a large -number of persons quite helpless, from old age, blindness, and other -infirmities. The scenes were much the same as we have described -in connection with other places. There is, however, one aspect of -the harshness and cruelty practised on the Strathconon people, not -applicable in many other cases, namely, that in most instances where -they settled down and reclaimed land, they were afterwards re-evicted, -and the lands brought into cultivation by themselves, taken from them, -without any compensation whatever, and given at enhanced rents to large -farmers. This is specially true of those who settled down in the Black -Isle, where they reclaimed a great deal of waste now making some of -the best farms in that district. Next after Mr. Rose of Dingwall, -the principal instrument in clearing Strathconon, was the late James -Gillanders of Highfield, already so well and unfavourably known to the -reader in connection with the evictions at Glencalvie and elsewhere. - -It may be remarked that the Strathconon evictions are worthy of note -for the forcible illustration they furnish of how, by these arbitrary -and unexpected removals, hardships and ruin have frequently been -brought on families and communities who were at the time in contented -and comfortable circumstances. At one time, and previous to the earlier -evictions, perhaps no glen of its size in the Highlands had a larger -population than Strathconon. The club farm system, once so common -in the North, seems to have been peculiarly successful here. Hence -a large proportion of the people were well to do, but when suddenly -called upon to give up their hill pasture, and afterwards their arable -land, and in the absence of other suitable places to settle in, the -means they had very soon disappeared, and the trials and difficulties -of new conditions had to be encountered. As a rule, in most of these -Highland evictions, the evicted were lost sight of, they having either -emigrated to foreign lands or become absorbed in the ever-increasing -unemployed population of the large towns. In the case of Strathconon -it was different, as has been already stated; many of the families -evicted were allowed to settle on some of the wildest unreclaimed land -in the Black Isle. Their subsequent history there, and the excellent -agricultural condition into which they in after years brought their -small holdings, is a standing refutation of the charge so often made -against the Highland people, that they are lazy and incapable of -properly cultivating the land. - - -THE BLACK ISLE. - -Respecting the estates of Drynie and Kilcoy, a correspondent, who says, -“I well remember my excessive grief when my father had to leave the -farm which his forefathers had farmed for five generations,” writes:-- - -“All the tenants to the east of Drynie, as far as Craigiehow, were -turned out, one by one, to make room for one large tenant, Mr. -Robertson, who had no less than four centres for stackyards. A most -prosperous tenantry were turned out to make room for him, and what is -the end of it all! Mr. Robertson has come to grief as a farmer, and now -holds a very humble position in the town of Inverness. Drumderfit used -to be occupied by fifteen or sixteen tenants who were gradually, and -from time to time, evicted, during the last fifty years. Balnakyle was -tenanted by five very comfortable and respectable farmers, four of whom -were turned out within the last thirty years; Balnaguie was occupied by -three; Torr by six; and Croft-cruive by five; the once famous names of -Drum-na-marg and Moreton are now extinct, as well as the old tenantry -whose forefathers farmed these places for generations. The present farm -of Kilcoy includes a number of holdings whose tenants were evicted -to make room for one large farmer;” and this is equally true of many -others in the district. Nothing can better illustrate the cruel manner -in which the ancient tenantry of the country have been treated than -these facts; and special comment on the evictions from Strathconon and -the Black Isle, after what has been said about others of a similar -character, would be superfluous. - - -THE ISLAND OF LEWIS. - -No one was evicted from the Island of Lewis, in the strict sense of -the term, but 2231 souls had to leave it between 1851 and 1863. To pay -their passage money, their inland railway fares on arrival, and to -provide them with clothing and other furnishings, the late Sir James -Matheson paid a sum of £11,855. Notwithstanding all this expenditure, -many of these poor people would have died from starvation on their -arrival without the good offices of friends in Canada. - -In 1841, before Mr. Matheson bought it, a cargo of emigrants from -the Lews arrived at Quebec late in the autumn, accompanied by a Rev. -Mr. Maclean, sent out to minister to their spiritual wants, but it -appears that no provision had been made for the more pressing demands -of a severe Canadian winter; and were it not for the Saint Andrew’s -Society of Montreal, every soul of them would have been starved to -death that winter in a strange land. The necessities of the case, and -how this patriotic Society saved their countrymen from a horrid death -will be seen on perusal of the following minutes, extracted from the -books of the Society, during the writer’s recent tour in Canada:--“A -special meeting of the office-bearers was summoned on the 20th -September, 1841, to take into consideration an application made by Mr. -Morris, President of the Emigration Association of the district of St. -Francis, for some pecuniary aid to a body of 229 destitute emigrants -who had recently arrived from the Island of Lewis (Scotland), and who -were then supported chiefly by the contributions of the charitable -inhabitants of the town of Sherbrooke and its neighbourhood. Mr. -Morris’ letter intimated that unless other assistance was received, -it would be impossible for these emigrants to outlive the winter, as -they were in a state of utter destitution, and the inhabitants of the -township could not support so large a number of persons from their own -unaided resources. The meeting decided that the Constitution of the -Society prohibited them from applying its funds to an object like the -one presented--it did not appear to authorise the granting of relief -from its funds except to cases of destitution in the city; but as -this case appeared of an urgent nature, and one particularly calling -for assistance, Messrs. Hew Ramsay and Neil M’Intosh were appointed -to collect subscriptions on behalf of the emigrants. This committee -acquitted itself with great diligence and success, having collected the -handsome sum of £234 14s. 6d., the whole of which was, at different -times, remitted to Mr. Morris, and expended by him in this charity. -Letters were received from Mr. Morris, expressing the gratitude of the -emigrants for this large and timely aid, which was principally the -means of keeping them from starvation.” The whole of these emigrants -are now in easy circumstances. - -Commenting on the conduct of those in power, who sent out their poor -tenantry totally unprovided for, is unnecessary. The idea of sending -out a minister and nothing else, in such circumstances, makes one -shudder to think of the uses which are sometimes made of the clergy, -and how, in such cases, the Gospel they are supposed not only to preach -but to practise, is only in many instances caricatured. The provisions -sent by the Society had to be forwarded to where these starving -emigrants were, a distance of 80 miles from Sherbrooke, on sledges, -through a trackless and dense forest. The descendants of these people -now form a happy and prosperous community at Lingwick and Winslow. - - -LECKMELM. - -MR. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE ON THE LECKMELM EVICTIONS. - -This small property, in the Parish of Lochbroom, changed hands in 1879, -Mr. A. C. Pirie, paper manufacturer, Aberdeen, having purchased it for -£19,000 from Colonel Davidson, now of Tulloch. No sooner did it come -into Mr. Pirie’s possession than a notice, dated 2nd November, 1879, in -the following terms, was issued to all the tenants:-- - -“I am instructed by Mr. Pirie, proprietor of Leckmelm, to give you -notice that the present arrangements by which you hold the cottage, -byre, and other buildings, together with lands on that estate, will -cease from and after the term of Martinmas, 1880; and further, I am -instructed to intimate to you that at the said term of Martinmas, 1880, -Mr. Pirie purposes taking the whole arable and pasture lands, but that -he is desirous of making arrangements whereby you may continue tenant -of the cottage upon terms and conditions yet to be settled upon. I -have further to inform you that unless you and the other tenants at -once prevent your sheep and other stock from grazing or trespassing -upon the enclosures and hill, and other lands now in the occupation or -possession of the said Mr. Pirie, he will not, upon any conditions, -permit you to remain in the cottage you now occupy, after the said term -of Martinmas, 1880, but will clear all off the estate, and take down -the cottages.” - -This notice affected twenty-three families, numbering above one hundred -souls. Sixteen tenants paid between them a rent of £96 10s.--ranging -from £3 to £12 each per annum. The stock allowed them was 72 head of -cattle, 8 horses, and 320 sheep. The arable portion of Leckmelm was -about the best tilled and the most productive land in possession of -any crofters in the parish. It could all be worked with the plough, -now a very uncommon thing in the Highlands; for almost invariably land -of that class is in the hands of the proprietors themselves, when not -let to sheep farmers or sportsmen. The intention of the new proprietor -was strictly carried out. At Martinmas, 1880, he took every inch of -land--arable and pastoral--into his own hands, and thus by one cruel -stroke, reduced a comfortable tenantry from comparative affluence -and independence to the position of mere cottars and day labourers, -absolutely dependent for subsistence on his own will and the likes or -dislikes of his subordinates, who may perhaps, for a short time, be in -a position to supply the remnant that will remain, in their altered -circumstances, with such common labour as trenching, draining, fencing, -carrying stones, lime and mortar, for the laird’s mansion-house and -outhouses. With the exception of one, all the tenants who remained -are still permitted to live in their old cottages, but they are not -permitted to keep a living thing about them--not even a hen. They are -existing in a state of abject dependence on Mr. Pirie’s will and that -of his servants; and in a constant state of terror that next they -will even be turned out of their cottages. As regards work and the -necessaries of life, they have been reduced to that of common navvies. -In place of milk, butter, and cheese in fair abundance, they have now -to be satisfied with sugar, treacle, or whatever else they can buy, to -their porridge and potatoes, and their supply of meat, grown and fed -hitherto by themselves, is gone for ever. Two, a man and his wife, if -not more, have since been provided for by the Parochial authorities, -and, no doubt, that will ultimately be the fate of many more of this -once thriving and contented people. - -An agitation against Mr. Pirie’s conduct was raised at the time, and -the advantage which he had taken of his position was universally -condemned by the press (excepting the _Scotsman_, of course), and by -the general public voice of the country; but conscious of his strength, -and that the law, made by the landlords in their own interest, was -on his side, he relentlessly and persistently carried out his cruel -purpose to the bitter end, and evicted from their lands and hill -grazings every soul upon his property; but in the meantime allowed -them to remain in their cottages, with the exception of Donald Munro, -to whose case reference will be made hereafter, and two other persons -whose houses were pulled down and themselves evicted. - -When the notices of removal were received, the Rev. John MacMillan, -Free Church minister of the parish, called public attention to Mr. -Pirie’s proceedings in the Northern newspapers, and soon the eye of -the whole country was directed to this modern evictor--a man, in -other respects, reputed considerate and even kind to those under him -in his business of paper manufacturing in Aberdeen. People, in their -simplicity, for years back, thought that evictions on such a large -scale, in the face of a more enlightened public opinion, had become -mere unpleasant recollections of a barbarous past; forgetting that -the same laws which permitted the clearances of Sutherland and other -portions of the Scottish Highlands during the first half of the present -century were still in force, ready to be applied by any tyrant who had -the courage, for personal ends, to outrage the more advanced and humane -public opinion of the present generation. - -The noble conduct of the Rev. Mr. MacMillan, in connection with those -evictions, deserves commemoration in a work in which the name of his -prototype in Sutherland, the Rev. Mr. Sage, shows to such advantage -during the infamous clearances in that county, already described -at length. At the urgent request of many friends of the Highland -crofters, resident in Inverness, Mr. MacMillan agreed to lay the case -of his evicted parishioners before the public. Early in December, -1880, he delivered an address in Inverness to one of the largest and -most enthusiastic meetings which has ever been held in that town, and -we cannot do better here than quote at considerable length from his -instructive, eloquent, and rousing appeal on that occasion. Though -his remarks do not seem to have influenced Mr. Pirie’s conduct, or to -have benefited his unfortunate subjects, the Inverness meeting was the -real beginning in earnest of the subsequent movement throughout the -Highlands in favour of Land Reform, and the curtailment of landlord -power over their unfortunate tenants. Mr. Pirie can thus claim to have -done our poorer countrymen no small amount of good, though probably, -quite contrary to his intentions, by his cruel and high-handed conduct -in dealing with the ancient tenants of Leckmelm. He has set the heather -on fire, and it is likely to continue burning until such proceedings -as those for which he is responsible at Leckmelm will be finally made -impossible in Scotland. Mr. MacMillan after informing his audience that -Mr. Pirie “is now in a fair way of reaching a notoriety which he little -dreamt of when he became owner of the Leckmelm estate,” proceeds to -tell how the harsh proceedings were gone about, and says:-- - -“As the public are aware, Mr. Pirie’s first step after becoming owner -of the estate, was to inform the tenantry, by the hands of Mr. Manners, -C.E., Inverness, that at Martinmas following they were to deliver -their arable land and stock, consisting of sheep and cattle, into -his hands, but that some of them, on conditions yet to be revealed, -and on showing entire submission to the new _régime_ of things, and, -withal, a good certificate of character from his factotum, William -Gould, might remain in their cottages to act as serfs or slaves on -his farm. On this conditional promise they were to live in the best -of hope, for the future and all at the mercy of the absolute master -of the situation, with a _summum jus_ at his back to enable him to -effect all the purposes of his heart. As a prologue to the drama which -was to follow, and to give a sample of what they might expect in the -sequel, two acts were presented, or properly speaking, one act in two -parts. These were to prepare them for what was to come, reminding us of -what we read somewhere in our youth, of a husband who on marrying his -fair spouse wished to teach her prompt obedience to all his commands, -whatever their character. His first lesson in this direction was one -assuredly calculated to strike terror into her tender breast. It was -the shooting on the spot of the horse which drew his carriage or -conveyance, on showing some slight restiveness. The second lesson was -of a similar nature; we can easily imagine that his object was gained. -Then, after coming home, he commanded his spouse to untie his boots and -shoes, and take them off, and to engage in the most servile acts. Of -course prompt obedience was given to all these commands and his end was -gained. His wife was obedient to him to the last degree. Of the wisdom -and propriety of such a procedure in a husband towards his lawful wife, -I shall not here and now wait to enquire, but one thing is plain to us -all; there was a species of earthly and carnal wisdom in it which was -entirely overshadowed by its cruelty. - -“Now this illustrates exactly how Mr. Pirie acted towards the people -of Leckmelm. To strike terror into their hearts, first of all, two -houses were pulled down, I might say about the ears of their respective -occupants, without any warning whatever, except a verbal one of the -shortest kind. The first was a deaf pauper woman, about middle life, -living alone for years in a bothy of her own, altogether apart from the -other houses, beside a purling stream, where she had at all seasons -pure water to drink if her bread was at times somewhat scanty. After -this most cruel eviction no provision was made for the helpless woman, -but she was allowed to get shelter elsewhere or anywhere, as best -she could. If any of you ever go the way of Leckmelm you can see -a gamekeeper’s house, the gentry of our land, close to the side of -Iseabal Bheag’s bothy, and a dog kennel quite in its neighbourhood, or -as I said in one of my letters, adorning it. This then is act the first -of this drama. Act second comes next. Mrs. Campbell was a widow with -two children; after the decease of her husband she tried to support -herself and them by serving in gentlemen’s families as a servant. -Whether she was all the time in Tulloch’s family I cannot say, but, -at all events, it was from that family she returned to Leckmelm, in -failing health, and on getting rather heavy for active service. Of -course her father had died since she had left, and the house in which -he lived and died, and in which in all likelihood he had reared his -family, and in which he was born and bred, was now tenantless. It was -empty, the land attached to it being in the hands of another person. -Here Widow Campbell turned aside for a while until something else -would in kind Providence turn up. But, behold, during her sojourn from -her native township, another king arose, who knew not Joseph, and the -inexorable edict had gone forth to raze her habitation to the ground. -Her house also was pulled down about her ears. This woman has since -gone to America, the asylum of many an evicted family from hearth -and home. Such tragedies as I have mentioned roused some of us to -remonstrate with the actors engaged in them, and to the best of our -ability to expose their conduct, and, furthermore, we have brought -them to the bar of public judgment to pass their verdict, which I hope -before all is over, will be one of condemnation and condign punishment.” - -Having referred at some length to the worst classes of evictions -throughout the Highlands in the past, and already described in this -work, the reverend lecturer proceeded:-- - -“But there is another way, a more gentle, politic, and insinuating -way at work which depopulates our country quite as effectually as the -wholesale clearances of which we have been speaking and against which -we protest, and to which we must draw your attention for a little. -There are many proprietors who get the name of being good and kind -to their tenants, and who cannot be charged with evicting any of -them save for misbehaviour--a deserving cause at all times--who are -nevertheless inch by inch secretly and stealthily laying waste the -country and undermining the well-being of our people. I have some -of these gentlemen before my mind at this moment. When they took -possession of their estates all promised fair and well, but by-and-bye -the fatal blow was struck, to dispossess the people of their sheep. -Mark that _first move_ and resist it to the utmost. As long as tenants -have a hold of the hill pasture by sheep, and especially if it be what -we term a commonage or club farm, it is impossible to lay it waste in -part. But once you snap this tie asunder, you are henceforth at the -mercy of the owner to do with you as he pleases. This then is how the -business is transacted, and in the most business-like fashion too. To -be sure none are to be forcibly evicted from their holdings: that would -be highly impolitic, because it would bring public condemnation on -the sacred heads of the evictors, which some of them could in no way -confront, for they have a character and a name to sustain, and also -because they are more susceptible to the failings common to humanity. -They are moving, too, in the choicest circles of society. It would not -do that their names should be figuring in every newspaper in the land, -as cruel and oppressive landlords, or that the Rev. this and the Rev. -that should excommunicate them from society and stigmatise them as -tyrants and despots. But all are not so sensitive as this of name and -character, as we see abundantly demonstrated, because they have none -to lose. You might expose them upon a gibbet before the gaze of an -assembled universe and they would hardly blush, “they are harder than -the nether mill-stone.” But the more sensitive do their work, all the -same, after all, and it is done in this fashion. When a tenant dies, -or removes otherwise, the order goes forth that his croft or lot is -to be laid waste. It is not given to a neighbouring tenant, except in -some instances, nor to a stranger, to occupy it. In this inch-by-inch -clearance, the work of depopulation is effected in a few years, or -in a generation at most, quite as effectually as by the more glaring -and reprehensible method. This more secret and insinuating way of -depopulating our native land should be as stoutly resisted as the more -open and defiant one, the result it produces being the same.” - -Describing the character of the Highlanders, as shown by their conduct -in our Highland regiments, and the impossibility of recruiting from -them in future, if harsh evictions are not stopped, the reverend -gentlemen continued:-- - -“Let me give you words more eloquent than mine on this point, which -will show the infatuation of our Government in allowing her bravest -soldiers to be driven to foreign lands and to be crushed and oppressed -by the tyrant’s rod. After having asked, What have these people done -against the State, when they were so remorselessly driven from their -native shores, year by year in batches of thousands? What class -have they wronged that they should suffer a penalty so dreadful? -this writer[14] gives the answer:--‘They have done no wrong. Yearly -they have sent forth their thousands from their glens to follow the -battle flag of Britain wherever it flew. It was a Highland _rearlorn_ -hope that followed the broken wreck of Cumberland’s army after the -disastrous day at Fontenoy, when more British soldiers lay dead upon -the field than fell at Waterloo itself. It was another Highland -regiment that scaled the rock-face over the St. Lawrence, and first -formed a line in the September dawn on the level sward of Abraham. It -was a Highland line that broke the power of the Maharatta hordes and -gave Wellington his maiden victory at Assaye. Thirty-four battalions -marched from these glens to fight in America, Germany, and India ere -the 18th century had run its course; and yet, while abroad over the -earth, Highlanders were the first in assault and the last in retreat, -their lowly homes in far away glens were being dragged down, and the -wail of women and the cry of children went out on the same breeze that -bore too upon its wings the scent of heather, the freshness of gorse -blossom, and the myriad sweets that made the lowly life of Scotland’s -peasantry blest with health and happiness. These are crimes done in -the dark hours of strife, and amid the blaze of man’s passions, that -sometimes make the blood run cold as we read them; but they are not -so terrible in their red-handed vengeance as the cold malignity of a -civilized law, which permits a brave and noble race to disappear by the -operation of its legalised injustice. To convert the Highland glens -into vast wastes untenanted by human beings; to drive forth to distant -and inhospitable shores men whose forefathers had held their own among -these hills, despite Roman legion, Saxon archer, or Norman chivalry, -men whose sons died freely for England’s honour through those wide -dominions their bravery had won for her. Such was the work of laws -formed in a cruel mockery of name by the Commons of England. Thus it -was, that about the year 1808 the stream of Highland soldiery, which -had been gradually ebbing, gave symptoms of running completely dry. -Recruits for Highland regiments could not be obtained for the simple -reason that the Highlands had been depopulated. Six regiments which -from the date of their foundation had worn the kilt and bonnet were -ordered to lay aside their distinctive uniform and henceforth became -merged into the ordinary line corps. From the mainland the work of -destruction passed rapidly to the isles. These remote resting-places -of the Celt were quickly cleared, during the first ten years of the -great war, Skye had given 4000 of its sons to the army. It has been -computed that 1600 Skyemen stood in the ranks at Waterloo. To-day in -Skye, far as the eye can reach, nothing but a bare brown waste is to be -seen, where still the mounds and ruined gables rise over the melancholy -landscapes, sole vestiges of a soldier race for ever passed away.’” - -[14] Major W. S. Butler in _MacMillan’s Magazine_ for May, 1878. - -In January, 1882, news had reached Inverness that Murdo Munro, one -of the most comfortable tenants on the Leckmelm property, had been -turned out, with his wife and young family, in the snow; whereupon -the writer started to enquire into the facts, and spent a whole day -among the people. What he had seen proved to be as bad as any of the -evictions of the past, except that it applied in this instance only to -one family. Murdo Munro was too independent for the local managers, -and to some extent led the people in their opposition to Mr. Pirie’s -proceedings: he was first persecuted and afterwards evicted in the most -cruel fashion. Other reasons were afterwards given for the manner in -which this poor man and his family were treated, but it has been shown -conclusively, in a report published at the time, that these reasons -were an after-thought.[15] From this report we shall quote a few -extracts:-- - -[15] See pamphlet published at the time entitled _Report on the -Leckmelm Evictions, by Alexander Mackenzie, F.S.A., Scot., Editor of -the “Celtic Magazine,” and Dean of Guild of Inverness_. - -“So long as the laws of the land permit men like Mr. Pirie to drive -from the soil, without compensation, the men who, by their labour and -money, made their properties what they are, it must be admitted that -he is acting within his legal rights, however much we may deplore the -manner in which he has chosen to exercise them. We have to deal more -with the system which allows him to act thus, than with the special -reasons which he considers sufficient to justify his proceedings; and -if his conduct in Leckmelm will, as I trust it may, hasten on a change -in our land legislation, the hardships endured by the luckless people -who had the misfortune to come under his unfeeling yoke and his ideas -of moral right and wrong, will be more than counterbalanced by the -benefits which will ultimately accrue to the people at large. This is -why I, and I believe the public, take such an interest in this question -of the evictions at Leckmelm. - -“I have made the most careful and complete inquiry possible among Mr. -Pirie’s servants, the tenants, and the people of Ullapool. Mr. Pirie’s -local manager, after I had informed him of my object, and put him on -his guard as to the use which I might make of his answers, informed -me that he never had any fault to find with Munro, that he always -found him quite civil, and that he had nothing to say against him. -The tenants, without exception, spoke of him as a good neighbour. The -people of Ullapool, without exception, so far as I could discover, -after enquiries from the leading men in every section of the community, -speak well of him, and condemn Mr. Pirie. Munro is universally spoken -of as one of the best and most industrious workmen in the whole parish, -and, by his industry and sobriety, he has been able to save a little -money in Leckmelm, where he was able to keep a fairly good stock on -his small farm, and worked steadily with a horse and cart. The stock -handed over by him to Mr. Pirie consisted of 1 bull, 2 cows, 1 stirk, -1 Highland pony, and about 40 sheep, which represented a considerable -saving. Several of the other tenants had a similar stock, and some of -them had even more, all of which they had to dispense with under the -new arrangements, and consequently lost the annual income in money and -produce available therefrom. We all know that the sum received for -this stock cannot last long, and cannot be advantageously invested in -anything else. The people must now live on their small capital, instead -of what it produced, so long as it lasts, after which they are sure to -be helpless, and many of them become chargeable to the parish. - -“The system of petty tyranny which prevails at Leckmelm is scarcely -credible. Contractors have been told not to employ Munro. For this -I have the authority of some of the contractors themselves. Local -employers of labour were requested not to employ any longer people -who had gone to look on among the crowd, while Munro’s family, goods, -and furniture, were being turned out. Letters were received by others -complaining of the same thing from higher quarters, and threatening -ulterior consequences. Of all this I have the most complete evidence, -but in the interests of those involved, I shall mention no names, -except in Court, where I challenge Mr. Pirie and his subordinates to -the proof if they deny it. - - * * * * * - -“The extract in the action of removal was signed only on the 24th of -January last in Dingwall. On the following day the charge is dated, -and two days after, on the 27th of January, the eviction is complete. -When I visited the scene on Friday morning, I found a substantially -built cottage, and a stable at the end of it, unroofed to within three -feet of the top on either side, and the whole surroundings a perfect -scene of desolation; the thatch, and part of the furniture, including -portions of broken bedsteads, tubs, basins, teapots, and various other -articles, strewn outside. The cross-beams, couples, and cabars were -still there, a portion of the latter brought from Mr. Pirie’s manager, -and paid for within the last three years. The Sheriff officers had -placed a padlock on the door, but I made my way to the inside of the -house through one of the windows from which the frame and glass had -been removed. I found that the house, before the partitions had been -removed, consisted of two good-sized rooms and a closet, with fireplace -and chimney in each gable, the crook still hanging in one of them, the -officer having apparently been unable to remove it after a considerable -amount of wrenching. The kitchen window, containing eight panes of -glass, was still whole, but the closet window, with four panes, had -been smashed; while the one in the “ben” end of the house had been -removed. The cottage, as crofters’ houses go, must have been fairly -comfortable. Indeed, the cottages in Leckmelm are altogether superior -to the usual run of crofters’ houses on the West Coast, and the tenants -are allowed to have been the most comfortable in all respects in the -parish, before the land was taken from them. They are certainly not -the poor, miserable creatures, badly housed, which Mr. Pirie and his -friends led the public to believe within the last two years. - -“The barn in which the wife and infant had to remain all night had the -upper part of both gables blown out by the recent storm, and the door -was scarcely any protection from the weather. The potatoes, which had -been thrown out in showers of snow, were still there, gathered and a -little earth put over them by the friendly neighbours. - -“The mother and children wept piteously during the eviction, and many -of the neighbours, afraid to succour or shelter them, were visibly -affected to tears; and the whole scene was such that, if Mr. Pirie -could have seen it, I feel sure that he would never consent to be held -responsible for another. His humanity would soon drive his stern ideas -of legal right out of his head, and we would hear no more of evictions -at Leckmelm.” - -Those of the tenants who are still at Leckmelm are permitted to remain -in their cottages as half-yearly tenants on payment of 12s. per annum, -but liable to be removed at any moment that their absolute lord may -take it into his head to evict them; or, what is much more precarious, -when they may give the slightest offence to any of his meanest -subordinates. - - -LOCHCARRON. - -BY ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. - -The following account was written in April, 1882, after a most -careful enquiry on the spot:--So much whitewash has been distributed -in our Northern newspapers of late by “Local Correspondents,” in the -interest of personal friends who are responsible for the Lochcarron -evictions--the worst and most indefensible that have ever been -attempted even in the Highlands--that we consider it a duty to state -the actual facts. We are really sorry for those more immediately -concerned, but our friendly feeling for them otherwise cannot be -allowed to come between us and our plain duty. A few days before -the famous “Battle of the Braes,” in the Isle of Skye, we received -information that summonses of ejectment were served on Mackenzie and -Maclean, Lochcarron. The writer at once communicated with Mr. Dugald -Stuart, the proprietor, intimating to him the statements received, and -asking him if they were accurate, and if Mr. Stuart had anything to say -in explanation of them. Mr. Stuart immediately replied, admitting the -accuracy of the statements generally, but maintaining that he had good -and valid reasons for carrying out the evictions, which he expressed -himself anxious to explain to us on the following day, while passing -through Inverness on his way South. Unfortunately, his letter reached -us too late, and we were unable to see him. The only reason which he -vouchsafed to give in his letter was to the following effect:--“Was -it at all likely that he, a Highlander, born and brought up in the -Highlands, the son of a Highlander, and married to a Highland lady, -would be guilty of evicting any of his tenants without good cause?” We -replied that, unfortunately, all these reasons could be urged by most -of those who had in the past depopulated the country, but expressing a -hope that, in his case, the facts stated by him would prove sufficient -to restrain him from carrying out his determination to evict parents -admittedly innocent of their sons’ proceedings, even if those -proceedings were unjustifiable. Early in April, 1882, we proceeded to -Lochcarron to make enquiry on the spot, and the writer on his return -from Skye a few days later reported as follows to the Highland Land Law -Reform Association:-- - -“Of all the cases of eviction which have hitherto come under my notice -I never heard of any so utterly unjustifiable as those now in course -of being carried out by Mr. D. Stuart in Lochcarron. The circumstances -which led up to these evictions are as follows:--In March, 1881, two -young men, George Mackenzie and Donald Maclean, masons, entered into -a contract with Mr. Stuart’s ground officer for the erection of a -sheep fank, and a dispute afterwards arose as to the payment for the -work. When the factor, Mr. Donald Macdonald, Tormore, was some time -afterwards collecting the rents in the district, the contractors -approached him and related their grievance against the ground officer, -who, while the men were in the room, came in and addressed them in -libellous and defamatory language, for which they have since obtained -substantial damages and expenses, in all amounting to £22 13s. 8d., in -the Sheriff Court of the County. I have a certified copy of the whole -proceedings in Court in my possession, and, without going into the -merits, what I have just stated is the result, and Mr. Stuart and his -ground officer became furious. - -“The contractors are two single men who live with their parents, -the latter being crofters on Mr. Stuart’s property, and as the -real offenders--if such can be called men who have stood up for -and succeeded in establishing their rights and their characters in -Court--could not be got at, Mr. Stuart issued summonses of ejection -against their parents--parents who, in one of the cases at least, -strongly urged his son not to proceed against the ground officer, -pointing out to him that an eviction might possibly ensue, and that it -was better even to suffer in character and purse than run the risk of -eviction from his holding at the age of eighty. We have all heard of -the doctrine of visiting the sins of the parents upon the children, but -it has been left for Mr. Dugald Stuart of Lochcarron and his ground -officer, in the present generation--the highly-favoured nineteenth -century--to reverse all this, and to punish the unoffending parents, -for proceedings on the part of their children which the Sheriff of the -County and all unprejudiced people who know the facts consider fully -justifiable. - -“Now, so far as I can discover, after careful enquiry among the men’s -neighbours and in the village of Lochcarron, nothing can be said -against either of them. Their characters are in every respect above -suspicion. The ground officer, whom I have seen, admits all this, -and makes no pretence that the eviction is for any other reason than -the conduct of the young men in prosecuting and succeeding against -himself in the Sheriff Court for defamation of character. Maclean -paid rent for his present holding for the last sixty years, and never -failed to pay it on the appointed day. His father, grandfather, and -great-grandfather occupied the same place, and so did their ancestors -before them. Indeed, his grandfather held one-half of the township, -now occupied by more than a hundred people. The old man is in his 81st -year, and bed-ridden--on his death-bed in fact--since the middle of -January last, he having then had a paralytic stroke from which it is -quite impossible he can ever recover. It was most pitiable to see the -aged and frail human wreck as I saw him that day, and to have heard him -talking of the cruelty and hard-heartedness of those who took advantage -of the existing law to push him out of the home which he has occupied -so long, while he is already on the brink of eternity. I quite agreed -with him, and I have no hesitation in saying that if Mr. Stuart and -his ground officer only called to see the miserable old man, as I did, -their hearts, however adamantine, would melt, and they would at once -declare to him that he would be allowed to end his days, and die in -peace, under the roof which for generations had sheltered himself and -his ancestors. The wife is over 70 years of age, and the frail old -couple have no one to succour them but the son who has been the cause, -by defending his own character, of their present misfortunes. Whatever -Mr. Stuart and his ground officer may do, or attempt to do, the old man -will not, and cannot be evicted until he is carried to the churchyard; -and it would be far more gracious on their part to relent and allow the -old man to die in peace. - -“Mackenzie has paid rent for over 40 years, and his ancestors have done -so for several generations before him. He is nearly sixty years of age, -and is highly popular among his neighbours, all of whom are intensely -grieved at Mr. Stuart’s cruel and hard-hearted conduct towards him and -Maclean, and they still hope that he will not proceed to extremities. - -“The whole case is a lamentable abuse of the existing law, and such as -will do more to secure its abolition, when the facts are fully known, -than all the other cases of eviction which have taken place in the -Highlands during the present generation. There is no pretence that -the case is anything else than a gross and cruel piece of retaliation -against the innocent parents for conduct on the part of their sons -which must have been very aggravating to this proprietor and his ground -officer, who appear to think themselves fully justified in perpetuating -such acts of grossest cruelty and injustice.” - -This report was slightly noticed at the time in the local and -Glasgow newspapers, and attention was thus directed to Mr. Stuart’s -proceedings. His whole conduct appeared so cruelly tyrannical that -most people expected him to relent before the day of eviction arrived. -But not so; a sheriff officer and his assistants from Dingwall duly -arrived, and proceeded to turn Mackenzie’s furniture out of his house. -People congregated from all parts of the district, some of them coming -more than twenty miles. The sheriff officer sent for the Lochcarron -policemen to aid him, but, notwithstanding, the law which admitted -of such unmitigated cruelty and oppression was set at defiance; -the sheriff officers were deforced, and the furniture returned to -the house by the sympathising crowd. What was to be done next? The -Procurator-Fiscal for the county was Mr. Stuart’s law agent in carrying -out the evictions. How could he criminally prosecute for deforcement -in these circumstances? The Crown authorities found themselves in a -dilemma, and through the tyranny of the proprietor on the one hand, -and the interference of the Procurator-Fiscal in civil business which -has ended in public disturbance and deforcement of the Sheriff’s -officers, on the other, the Crown authorities found themselves helpless -to vindicate the law. This is a pity; for all right-thinking people -have almost as little sympathy for law breakers, even when that law is -unjust and cruel, as they have for those cruel landlords who, like Mr. -Stuart of Lochcarron, bring the law and his own order into disrepute by -the oppressive application of it against innocent people. The proper -remedy is to have the law abolished, not to break it; and to bring this -about such conduct as that of Mr. Stuart and his ground officer is more -potent than all the Land Leagues and Reform Associations in the United -Kingdom.[16] - -[16] _Celtic Magazine_ for July, 1882. - -Mr. William Mackenzie of the _Aberdeen Free Press_, who was on the -ground, writes, next morning, after the deforcement of the sheriff -officers:-- - -“During the encounter the local police constable drew his baton, but he -was peremptorily ordered to lay it down, and he did so. The officers -then gave up the contest and left the place about three in the morning. -Yesterday, before they left, and in course of the evening, they were -offered refreshments, but these they declined. The people are this -evening in possession as before. - -“When every article was restored to its place, the song and the dance -were resumed, the native drink was freely quaffed--for ‘freedom an’ -whisky gang thegither’--the steam was kept up throughout the greater -part of yesterday, and Mackenzie’s mantelpiece to-day is adorned with a -long tier of empty bottles, standing there as monuments of the eventful -night of the 29th-30th May, 1882. - - A chuirm sgaoilte chualas an ceòl - Ard-shòlas an talla nan treun! - -“While these things were going on in the quiet township of Slumbay, -the Fiery Cross appears to have been despatched over the neighbouring -parishes; and from Kintail, Lochalsh, Applecross, and even Gairloch, -the Highlanders began to gather yesterday with the view of helping the -Slumbay men, if occasion should arise. Few of these reached Slumbay, -but they were in small detachments in the neighbourhood ready at any -moment to come to the rescue on the appearance of any hostile force. -After all the trains had come and gone for the day, and as neither -policemen nor Sheriff’s officers had appeared on the scene, these -different groups retired to their respective places of abode. The -Slumbay men, too, resolved to suspend their festivities. A procession -was formed, and, being headed by the piper, they marched triumphantly -through Slumbay and Jeantown, and escorted some of the strangers on -their way to their homes, returning to Slumbay in course of the night.” - -As a contrast to Mr. Stuart’s conduct we are glad to record the noble -action of Mr. C. J. Murray, M.P. for Hastings, who has, fortunately for -the oppressed tenants on the Lochcarron property, just purchased the -estate. He has made it a condition that Maclean and Mackenzie shall be -allowed to remain; and a further public scandal has thus been avoided. -This is a good beginning for the new proprietor, and we trust to -see his action as widely circulated and commended as the tyrannical -proceedings of his predecessor have been condemned. - -It is also fair to state what we know on the very best authority, -namely, that the factor on the estate, Mr. Donald Macdonald, Tormore, -strongly urged upon Mr. Stuart not to evict these people, and that his -own wife also implored and begged of him not to carry out his cruel -and vindictive purpose. Where these agencies failed, it is gratifying -to find that Mr. Murray has succeeded; and all parties--landlords and -tenants--throughout the Highlands are to be congratulated on the result. - - -THE 78TH HIGHLANDERS. - -In connection with the evictions from the County of Ross, the following -will appropriately come in at this stage. Referring to the glorious -deeds of the 78th Highlanders in India, under General Havelock, the -editor of the _Northern Ensign_ writes:--All modern history, from the -rebellion in 1715, to the Cawnpore massacre of 1857, teems with the -record of Highland bravery and prowess. What say our Highland evicting -lairds to these facts, and to the treatment of the Highlanders? What -reward have these men received for saving their country, fighting its -battles, conquering its enemies, turning the tide of revolt, rescuing -women and children from the hands of Indian fiends, and establishing -order, when disorder and bloody cruelty have held their murderous -carnival? And we ask, in the name of men who have, ere now, we fondly -hope, saved our gallant countrymen and heroic countrywomen at Lucknow; -in the name of those who fought in the trenches of Sebastopol, and -proudly planted the British standard on the heights of the Alma, -how are they, their fathers, brothers, and little ones treated? Is -the mere shuttle-cocking of an irrepressible cry of admiration from -mouth to mouth, and the setting to music of a song in their praise, -all the return the race is to get for such noble acts? We can fancy -the expression of admiration of Highland bravery at the Dunrobin -dinner table, recently, when the dukes, earls, lairds, and other -aristocratic notables enjoyed the princely hospitality of the Duke. -We can imagine the mutual congratulations of the Highland lairds as -they prided themselves on being proprietors of the soil which gave -birth to the race of “Highland heroes.” Alas, for the blush that -would cover their faces if they would allow themselves to reflect -that, in their names, and by their authority, and at their expense, -the fathers, mothers, brothers, wives, of the invincible “78th” have -been remorselessly driven from their native soil; and that, at the -very hour when Cawnpore was gallantly retaken, and the ruffian, Nana -Sahib, was obliged to leave the bloody scene of his fiendish massacre, -there were Highlanders, within a few miles of the princely Dunrobin, -driven from their homes and left to starve and to die in the open -field. Alas, for the blush that would reprint its scarlet dye on their -proud faces as they thought in one county alone, since Waterloo was -fought, more than 14,000 of this same “race of heroes” of whom Canning -so proudly boasted, have been hunted out of their native homes; and -that where the pibroch and the bugle once evoked the martial spirit of -thousands of brave hearts, razed and burning cottages have formed the -tragic scenes of eviction and desolation; and the abodes of a loyal -and a liberty-loving people are made sacred to the rearing of sheep, -and sanctified to the preservation of game! Yes; we echo back the -cry, “Well done, brave Highlanders!” But to what purpose would it be -carried on the wings of the wind to the once happy straths and glens of -Sutherland? Who, what, would echo back our acclaims of praise? Perhaps -a shepherd’s or a gillie’s child, playing amid the unbroken wilds, and -innocent of seeing a human face but that of its own parents, would -hear it; or the cry might startle a herd of timid deer, or frighten -a covey of partridges, or call forth a bleat from a herd of sheep; -but men would not, could not, hear it. We must go to the backwoods of -Canada, to Detroit, to Hamilton, to Woodstock, to Toronto, to Montreal; -we must stand by the waters of Lake Huron or Lake Ontario, where the -cry--“Well done, brave Highlanders!” would call up a thousand brawny -fellows, and draw down a tear on a thousand manly cheeks. Or we must -go to the bare rocks that skirt the sea-coast of Sutherland, where -the residuary population were generously treated to barren steeps and -inhospitable shores, on which to keep up the breed of heroes, and -fight for the men who dared--_dared_--to drive them from houses for -which they fought, and from land which was purchased with the blood -of their fathers. But the cry, “Well done, brave Highlanders,” would -evoke no effective response from the race. Need the reader wonder? -Wherefore should they fight? To what purpose did their fathers climb -the Peninsular heights and gloriously write in blood the superiority of -Britain, when their sons were rewarded by extirpation, or toleration to -starve, in sight of fertile straths and glens devoted to beasts? These -are words of truth and soberness. They are but repetitions in other -forms of arguments, employed by us for years; and we shall continue to -ring changes on them so long as our brave Highland people are subjected -to treatment to which no other race would have submitted. We are no -alarmists. But we tell Highland proprietors that were Britain some -twenty years hence to have the misfortune to be plunged into such a -crisis as the present, there will be few such men as the Highlanders of -the 78th to fight her battles, and that the country will find when too -late, if another policy towards the Highlanders is not adopted, that -sheep and deer, ptarmigan and grouse, can do but little to save it in -such a calamity. - - -THE REV. DR. JOHN KENNEDY ON THE ROSS-SHIRE CLEARANCES.[17] - -[17] _The Days of the Fathers in Ross-shire_, 1861, pp. 15, 16. - -Dr. John Kennedy, the highly, deservedly respected, and eminent -minister of Dingwall so long resident among the scenes which he -describes, and so intimately acquainted with all classes of the people -in his native county of Ross, informs us that it was at a time when -the Highlanders became most distinguished as the most peaceable and -virtuous peasantry in the world--“at the climax of their spiritual -prosperity,” in Ross-shire--“that the cruel work of eviction began to -lay waste the hill-sides and the plains of the North. Swayed by the -example of the godly among them, and away from the influences by which -less sequestered localities were corrupted, the body of the people in -the Highlands became distinguished as the most peaceable and virtuous -peasantry in Britain. It was just then that they began to be driven off -by ungodly oppressors, to clear their native soil for strangers, red -deer, and sheep. With few exceptions, the owners of the soil began to -act as if they were also owners of the people, and, disposed to regard -them as the vilest part of their estate, they treated them without -respect to the requirements of righteousness or to the dictates of -mercy. Without the inducement of gain, in the recklessness of cruelty, -families by hundreds were driven across the sea, or gathered, as the -sweepings of the hill-sides, into wretched hamlets on the shore. By -wholesale evictions, wastes were formed for the red deer, that the -gentry of the nineteenth century might indulge in the sports of the -savages of three centuries before. Of many happy households sheep -walks were cleared for strangers, who, fattening amidst the ruined -homes of the banished, corrupted by their example the few natives who -remained. Meanwhile their rulers, while deaf to the Highlanders’ cry of -oppression, were wasting their sinews and their blood on battle-fields, -that, but for their prowess and their bravery, would have been the -scene of their country’s defeat.” - - - - -_INVERNESS-SHIRE._ - - -GLENGARRY. - -BY ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. - -Glengarry was peopled down to the end of last century with a fine -race of men. In 1745, six hundred stalwart vassals followed the -chief of Glengarry to the battle of Culloden. Some few years later -they became so disgusted with the return made by their chief that -many of them emigrated to the United States, though they were -almost all in comfortable, some indeed, in affluent circumstances. -Notwithstanding this semi-voluntary exodus, Major John Macdonell of -Lochgarry, was able in 1777, to raise a fine regiment--the 76th or -Macdonald Highlanders--numbering 1086 men, 750 of whom were Highlanders -mainly from the Glengarry property. In 1794, Alexander Macdonnell -of Glengarry, raised a Fencible regiment, described as “a handsome -body of men,” of whom one-half were enlisted on the same estate. On -being disbanded in 1802, these men were again so shabbily treated, -that they followed the example of the men of the “Forty-five,” -and emigrated in a body, with their families, to Canada, taking -two Gaelic-speaking ministers along with them to their new home. -They afterwards distinguished themselves as part of the “Glengarry -Fencibles” of Canada, in defence of their adopted country, and called -their settlement there after their native glen in Scotland. The chiefs -of Glengarry drove away their people, only, as in most other cases in -the Highlands, to be themselves ousted soon after them. - -The Glengarry property at one time covered an area of nearly 200 square -miles, and to-day, while many of their expatriated vassals are landed -proprietors and in affluent circumstances in Canada, not an inch of the -old possessions of the ancient and powerful family of Glengarry remains -to the descendants of those who caused the banishment of a people who, -on many a well-fought field, shed their blood for their chief and -country. In 1853, every inch of the ancient heritage was possessed by -the stranger, except Knoydart in the west, and this has long ago become -the property of one of the Bairds. In the year named, young Glengarry -was a minor, his mother, the widow of the late chief, being one of his -trustees. She does not appear to have learned any lesson of wisdom from -the past misfortunes of her house. Indeed, considering her limited -power and possessions, she was comparatively the worst of them all. - -The tenants of Knoydart, like all other Highlanders, had suffered -severely during and after the potato famine in 1846 and 1847, and some -of them got into arrear with a year and some with two years’ rent, -but they were fast clearing it off. Mrs. Macdonell and her factor -determined to evict every crofter on her property, to make room for -sheep. In the spring of 1853, they were all served with summonses of -removal, accompanied by a message that Sir John Macneil, chairman of -the Board of Supervision, had agreed to convey them to Australia. Their -feelings were not considered worthy of the slightest consideration. -They were not even asked whether they would prefer to follow their -countrymen to America and Canada. They were to be treated as if they -were nothing better than Africans, and the laws of their country on a -level with those which regulated South American slavery. The people, -however, had no alternative but to accept any offer made to them. They -could not get an inch of land on any of the neighbouring estates, and -any one who would give them a night’s shelter was threatened with -eviction. - -It was afterwards found not convenient to transport them to Australia, -and it was then intimated to the poor creatures, as if they were -nothing but common slaves to be disposed of at will, that they would -be taken to North America, and that a ship would be at Isle Ornsay, -in the Isle of Skye, in a few days, to receive them, and that they -_must_ go on board. The _Sillery_ soon arrived. Mrs. Macdonell and -her factor came all the way from Edinburgh to see the people hounded -across in boats, and put on board this ship whether they would or not. -An eye-witness who described the proceeding at the time, in a now rare -pamphlet, and whom we met a few years ago in Nova Scotia, characterises -the scene as heart-rending. “The wail of the poor women and children -as they were torn away from their homes would have melted a heart of -stone.” Some few families, principally cottars, refused to go, in spite -of every influence brought to bear upon them; and the treatment they -afterwards received was cruel beyond belief. The houses, not only of -those who went, but of those who remained, were burnt and levelled to -the ground. The Strath was dotted all over with black spots, showing -where yesterday stood the habitations of men. The scarred half-burned -wood--couples, rafters, cabars--were strewn about in every direction. -Stooks of corn and plots of unlifted potatoes could be seen on all -sides, but man was gone. No voice could be heard. Those who refused to -go aboard the _Sillery_ were in hiding among the rocks and the caves, -while their friends were packed off like so many African slaves to the -Cuban market. - -No mercy was shown to those who refused to emigrate; their few articles -of furniture were thrown out of their houses after them--beds, chairs, -tables, pots, stoneware, clothing, in many cases, rolling down the -hill. What took years to erect and collect were destroyed and scattered -in a few minutes. “From house to house, from hut to hut, and from barn -to barn, the factor and his menials proceeded, carrying on the work of -demolition, until there was scarcely a human habitation left standing -in the district. Able-bodied men who, if the matter would rest with -a mere trial of physical force, would have bound the factor and his -party hand and foot, and sent them out of the district, stood aside -as dumb spectators. Women wrung their hands and cried aloud, children -ran to and fro dreadfully frightened; and while all this work of -demolition and destruction was going on no opposition was offered by -the inhabitants, no hand was lifted, no stone cast, no angry word was -spoken.” The few huts left undemolished were occupied by the paupers, -but before the factor left for the south even they were warned not -to give any shelter to the evicted, or their huts would assuredly -meet with the same fate. Eleven families, numbering in all over sixty -persons, mostly old and decrepit men and women, and helpless children, -were exposed that night, and many of them long afterwards, to the cold -air, without shelter of any description beyond what little they were -able to save out of the wreck of their burnt dwellings. - -We feel unwilling to inflict pain on the reader by the recitation of -the untold cruelties perpetrated on the poor Highlanders of Knoydart, -but doing so may, perhaps, serve a good purpose. It may convince the -evil-doer that his work shall not be forgotten, and any who may be -disposed to follow the example of past evictors may hesitate before -they proceed to immortalise themselves in such a hateful manner. We -shall, therefore, quote a few cases from the pamphlet already referred -to:-- - -John Macdugald, aged about 50, with a wife and family, was a cottar, -and earned his subsistence chiefly by fishing. He was in bad health, -and had two of his sons in the hospital, at Elgin, ill of smallpox, -when the _Sillery_ was sent to convey the Knoydart people to Canada. -He refused to go on that occasion owing to the state of his health, -and his boys being at a distance under medical treatment. The factor -and the officers, however, arrived, turned Macdugald and his family -adrift, put their bits of furniture out on the field, and in a few -minutes levelled their house to the ground. The whole family had now -no shelter but the broad canopy of heaven. The mother and the youngest -of the children could not sleep owing to the cold, and the father, on -account of his sickness, kept wandering about all night near where his -helpless family lay down to repose. After the factor and the officers -left the district Macdugald and his wife went back to the ruins of -their house, collected some of the stones and turf into something like -walls, threw a few cabars across, covered them over with blankets, -old sails, and turf, and then, with their children, crept underneath, -trusting that they would be allowed, at least for a time, to take -shelter under this temporary covering. But, alas! they were doomed to -bitter disappointment. A week had not elapsed when the local manager, -accompanied by a _posse_ of officers and menials, traversed the country -and levelled to the ground every hut or shelter erected by the evicted -peasantry. Macdugald was at this time away from Knoydart; his wife -was at Inverie, distant about six miles, seeing a sick relative; the -oldest children were working at the shore; and in the hut, when the -manager came with the “levellers,” he found none of the family except -Lucy and Jane, the two youngest. The moment they saw the officers they -screamed and fled for their lives. The demolition of the shelter was -easily accomplished--it was but the work of two or three minutes; and, -this over, the officers and menials of the manager amused themselves -by seizing hold of chairs, stools, tables, spinning-wheels, or any -other light articles, by throwing them a considerable distance from the -hut. The mother, as I said, was at Inverie, distant about six or seven -miles, and Lucy and Jane proceeded in that direction hoping to meet -her. They had not gone far, however, when they missed the footpath and -wandered far out of the way. In the interval the mother returned from -Inverie and found the hut razed to the ground, her furniture scattered -far and near, her bedclothes lying under turf, clay, and _debris_, and -her children gone! Just imagine the feelings of this poor Highland -mother on the occasion! But, to proceed, the other children returned -from the shore, and they too stood aside, amazed and grieved at the -sudden destruction of their humble refuge, and at the absence of their -two little sisters. At first they thought they were under the ruins, -and creeping down on their knees they carefully removed every turf and -stone, but found nothing except a few broken dishes. A consultation -was now held and a search resolved upon. The mother, brother and -sisters set off in opposite directions, among the rocks, over hills, -through moor and moss, searching every place, and calling aloud for -them by name, but they could discover no trace of them. Night was now -approaching and with it all hopes of finding them, till next day, were -fast dying away. The mother was now returning “home” (alas! to what a -_home_), the shades of night closed in, and still she had about three -miles to travel. She made for the footpath, scrutinized every bush, and -looked round every rock and hillock, hoping to find them. Sometimes she -imagined that she saw her two lasses walking before her at some short -distance, but it was an illusion caused by bushes just about their -size. The moon now emerged from behind a cloud and spread its light on -the path and surrounding district. A sharp frost set in, and ice began -to form on the little pools. Passing near a rock and some bushes, where -the children of the tenants used to meet when herding the cattle, she -felt as if something beckoned her to search there; this she did, and -found her two little children fast asleep, beside a favourite bush, the -youngest with her head resting on the breast of the eldest! Their own -version of their mishap is this: that when they saw the officers they -crept out and ran in the direction of Inverie to tell their mother; -that they missed the footpath, then wandered about crying, and finally -returned, they knew not how, to their favourite herding ground, and -being completely exhausted, fell asleep. The mother took the young one -on her back, sent the other on before her, and soon joined her other -children near the ruins of their old dwelling. They put a few sticks up -to an old fence, placed a blanket over it, and slept on the bare ground -that night. Macdugald soon returned from his distant journey, found his -family shelterless, and again set about erecting some refuge for them -from the wreck of the old buildings. Again, however, the local manager -appeared with levellers, turned them all adrift, and in a few moments -pulled down and destroyed all that he had built up. Matters continued -in this way for a week or two until Macdugald’s health became serious, -and then a neighbouring farmer gave him and his family temporary -shelter in an out-house; and for this act of disinterested humanity -he has already received some most improper and threatening letters -from the managers on the estate of Knoydart. It is very likely that -in consequence of this interference Macdugald is again taking shelter -among the rocks or amid the wreck of his former residence. - -John Mackinnon, a cottar, aged 44, with a wife and six children, -had his house pulled down, and had no place to put his head in, -consequently he and his family, for the first night or two, had to -burrow among the rocks near the shore! When he thought that the factor -and his party had left the district, he emerged from the rocks, -surveyed the ruins of his former dwelling, saw his furniture and other -effects exposed to the elements, and now scarcely worth the lifting. -The demolition was so complete that he considered it utterly impossible -to make any use of the ruins of the old house. The ruins of an old -chapel, however, were near at hand, and parts of the walls were still -standing; thither Mackinnon proceeded with his family, and having swept -away some rubbish and removed some grass and nettles, they placed a few -cabars up to one of the walls, spread some sails and blankets across, -brought in some meadow hay, and laid it in a corner for a bed, stuck a -piece of iron into the wall in another corner, on which they placed a -crook, then kindled a fire, washed some potatoes, and put a pot on the -fire, and boiled them, and when these and a few fish roasted on the -embers were ready, Mackinnon and his family had _one_ good diet, being -the first regular meal they tasted since the destruction of their house! - -Mackinnon is a tall man, but poor and unhealthy-looking. His wife is -a poor weak women, evidently struggling with a diseased constitution -and dreadful trials. The boys, Ronald and Archibald, were lying in -“bed”--(may I call a “pickle” hay on the bare ground a bed?)--suffering -from rheumatism and cholic. The other children are apparently healthy -enough as yet, but very ragged. There is no door to their wretched -abode, consequently every breeze and gust that blow have free ingress -to the inmates. A savage from Terra-del-Fuego, or a Red Indian from -beyond the Rocky Mountains, would not exchange huts with these victims, -nor humanity with their persecutors. Mackinnon’s wife was pregnant -when she was turned out of her house among the rocks. In about four -days after she had a premature birth; and this and her exposure to -the elements, and the want of proper shelter and nutritious diet, has -brought on consumption from which there is no chance whatever of her -recovery. - -There was something very solemn indeed in this scene. Here, amid the -ruins of the old sanctuary, where the swallows fluttered, where the -ivy tried to screen the grey moss-covered stones, where nettles and -grass grew up luxuriously, where the floor was damp, the walls sombre -and uninviting, where there were no doors nor windows, nor roof, and -where the owl, the bat, and the fox used to take refuge, a Christian -family was obliged to take shelter! One would think that as Mackinnon -took refuge amid the ruins of this most singular place, that he would -be let alone, that he would not any longer be molested by man. But, -alas! that was not to be. The manager of Knoydart and his minions -appeared, and invaded this helpless family, even within the walls of -the sanctuary. They pulled down the sticks and sails he set up within -its ruins--put his wife and children out on the cold shore--threw his -tables, stools, chairs, etc., over the walls--burnt up the hay on -which they slept--put out the fire, and then left the district. Four -times have these officers broken in upon poor Mackinnon in this way, -destroying his place of shelter, and sent him and his family adrift on -the cold coast of Knoydart. When I looked in upon these creatures last -week I found them in utter consternation, having just learned that the -officers would appear next day, and would again destroy the huts. The -children looked at me as if I had been a wolf; they crept behind their -father, and stared wildly, dreading I was a law officer. The sight was -most painful. The very idea that, in Christian Scotland, and in the -nineteenth century, these tender infants should be subjected to such -gross treatment reflects strongly upon our humanity and civilization. -Had they been suffering from the ravages of famine, or pestilence, -or war, I could understand it and account for it, but suffering to -gratify the ambition of some unfeeling spectator in brute beasts, I -think it most unwarranted, and deserving the emphatic condemnation of -every Christian man. Had Mackinnon been in arrears of rent, which he -was not, even this would not justify the harsh, cruel, and inhuman -conduct pursued towards himself and his family. No language of mine can -describe the condition of this poor family, exaggeration is impossible. -The ruins of an old chapel is the last place in the world to which a -poor Highlander would resort with his wife and children, unless he was -driven to it by dire necessity. Take another case, that of - -Elizabeth Gillies, a widow, aged 60 years. This is a most lamentable -case. Neither age, sex, nor circumstance saved this poor creature from -the most wanton and cruel aggression. Her house was on the brow of a -hill, near a stream that formed the boundary between a large sheep farm -and the lands of the tenants of Knoydart. Widow Gillies was warned to -quit like the rest of the tenants, and was offered a passage first to -Australia and then to Canada, but she refused to go, saying she could -do nothing in Canada. The widow, however, made no promises, and the -factor went away. She had then a nice young daughter staying with her, -but ere the vessel that was to convey the Knoydart people away arrived -at Isle Ornsay, this young girl died, and poor Widow Gillies was left -alone. When the time for pulling down the houses arrived, it was hoped -that some mercy would have been shown to this poor, bereaved widow, but -there was none. Widow Gillies was sitting inside her house when the -factor and officers arrived. They ordered her to remove herself and -effects instantly, as they were, they said, to pull down the house! -She asked them where she would remove to; the factor would give no -answer, but continued insisting on her leaving the house. This she at -last positively refused. Two men then took hold of her, and tried to -pull her out by force, but she sat down beside the fire, and would -not move an inch. One of the assistants threw water on the fire and -extinguished it, and then joined the other two in forcibly removing -the poor widow from the house. At first she struggled hard, seized -hold of every post or stone within her reach, taking a death grasp of -each to keep possession. But the officers were too many and too cruel -for her. They struck her over the fingers, and compelled her to let go -her hold, and then all she could do was to greet and cry out murder! -She was ultimately thrust out at the door, from where she crept on her -hands and feet to a dyke side, being quite exhausted and panting for -breath, owing to her hard struggle with three powerful men. Whenever -they got her outside, the work of destruction immediately commenced. -Stools, chairs, tables, cupboard, spinning-wheel, bed, blankets, straw, -dishes, pots, and chest, were thrown out in the gutter. They broke -down the partitions, took down the crook from over the fire-place, -destroyed the hen roosts, and then beat the hens out through the broad -vent in the roof of the house. This done, they set to work on the walls -outside with picks and iron levers. They pulled down the thatch, cut -the couples, and in a few minutes the walls fell out, while the roof -fell in with a dismal crash! - -When the factor and his party were done with this house, they proceeded -to another district, pulling down and destroying dwelling-places as -they went along. The shades of night at last closed in, and here was -the poor helpless widow sitting like a pelican, alone and cheerless. -Allan Macdonald, a cottar, whose house was also pulled down, ran across -the hill to see how the poor widow had been treated, and found her -moaning beside the dyke. He led her to where his own children had taken -shelter, treated her kindly, and did all he could to comfort her under -the circumstances. - -When I visited Knoydart I found the poor widow at work, repairing -her shed, and such a shed, and such a dwelling, I never before -witnessed. The poor creature spoke remarkably well, and appeared to -me to be a very sensible woman. I expressed my sympathy for her, -and my disapprobation of the conduct of those who so unmercifully -treated her. She said it was indeed most ungrateful on the part of -the representatives of Glengarry to have treated her so cruelly--that -her predecessors were, from time immemorial, on the Glengarry -estates--that many of them died in defence of, or fighting for, the old -chieftains--and that they had always been true and faithful subjects. -I asked why she refused to go to Canada? - -“For a very good reason,” she said, “I am now old, and not able to -clear a way in the forests of Canada; and, besides, I am unfit for -service; and, further, I am averse to leave my native country, and -rather than leave it, I would much prefer that my grave was opened -beside my dear daughter, although I should be buried alive!” - -I do think she was sincere in what she said. Despair and anguish were -marked in her countenance, and her attachment to her old habitation and -its associations were so strong that I believe they can only be cut -asunder by death! I left her in this miserable shed which she occupied, -and I question much if there is another human residence like it in -Europe. The wig-wam of the wild Indian, or the cave of the Greenlander, -are palaces in comparison with it; and even the meanest dog-kennel -in England would be a thousand times more preferable as a place of -residence. If this poor Highland woman will stand it out all winter in -this abode it will be indeed a great wonder. The factor has issued an -_ukase_, which aggravates all these cases of eviction with peculiar -hardship; he has warned all and sundry on the Knoydart estates from -receiving or entertaining the evicted peasantry into their houses under -pain of removal. - -Allan Macdonald, aged 54, a widower, with four children, was similarly -treated. Our informant says of him:--“When his late Majesty George IV. -visited Scotland in 1823, and when Highland lairds sent up to -Edinburgh specimens of the bone and sinew--human produce--of their -properties, old Glengarry took care to give Allan Macdonald a polite -invitation to this ‘Royal exhibition.’ Alas! how matters have so sadly -changed. Within the last 30 years _man_ has fallen off dreadfully in -the estimation of Highland proprietors. Commercially speaking, Allan -Macdonald has now no value at all. Had he been a roe, a deer, a sheep, -or a bullock, a Highland laird in speculating could estimate his -‘real’ worth to within a few shillings, but Allan is _only_ a man. -Then his children; they are of no value, nor taken into account in -the calculations of the sportsman. They cannot be shot at like hares, -blackcocks, or grouse, nor yet can they be sent south as game to feed -the London market.” - -Another case is that of Archibald Macisaac, crofter, aged 66; wife 54, -with a family of ten children. Archibald’s house, byre, barn, and -stable were levelled to the ground. The furniture of the house was -thrown down the hill, and a general destruction then commenced. The -roof, fixtures, and woodwork were smashed to pieces, the walls razed to -the very foundation, and all that was left for poor Archibald to look -upon was a black dismal wreck. Twelve human beings were thus deprived -of their home in less than half-an-hour. It was grossly illegal to have -destroyed the barn, for, according even to the law of Scotland, the -outgoing or removing tenant is entitled to the use of the barn until -his crops are disposed of. But, of course, in a remote district, and -among simple and primitive people like the inhabitants of Knoydart, the -laws that concern them and define their rights are unknown to them. - -Archibald had now to make the best shift he could. No mercy or favour -could be expected from the factor. Having convened his children beside -an old fence where he sat looking on when the destruction of his home -was accomplished, he addressed them on the peculiar nature of the -position in which they were placed, and the necessity of asking for -wisdom from above to guide them in any future action. His wife and -children wept, but the old man said, “Neither weeping nor reflection -will now avail; we must prepare some shelter.” The children collected -some cabars and turf, and in the hollow between two ditches, the old -man constructed a rude shelter for the night, and having kindled a fire -and gathered in his family, they all engaged in family worship and -sung psalms as usual. Next morning they examined the ruins, picked up -some broken pieces of furniture, dishes, etc., and then made another -addition to their shelter in the ditch. Matters went on this way for -about a week, when the local manager and his men came down upon them, -and after much abuse for daring to take shelters on the lands of -Knoydart, they destroyed the shelter and put old Archy and his people -again out on the hill. - -I found Archibald and his numerous family still at Knoydart and in a -shelter beside the old ditch. Any residence more wretched or more -truly melancholy, I have never witnessed. A feal, or turf erection, -about 3 feet high, 4 feet broad, and about 5 feet long, was at the end -of the shelter, and this formed the sleeping place of the mother and -her five daughters! They creep in and out on their knees, and their bed -is just a layer of hay on the cold earth of the ditch! There is surely -monstrous cruelty in this treatment of British females, and the laws -that sanction or tolerate such flagrant and gross abuses are a disgrace -to the Statute book and to the country that permits it. Macisaac and -his family are, so far as I could learn, very decent, respectable, and -well-behaved people, and can we not perceive a monstrous injustice -in treating them worse than slaves because they refuse to allow -themselves to be packed off to the Colonies just like so many bales of -manufactured goods? - -Again:-- - -Donald Maceachan, a cottar at Arar, married, with a wife, and five -children. This poor man, his wife, and children were fully twenty-three -nights without any shelter but the broad and blue heavens. They kindled -a fire, and prepared their food beside a rock, and then slept in the -open air. Just imagine the condition of this poor mother, Donald’s -wife, nursing a delicate child, and subjected to merciless storms of -wind and rain during a long October night. One of these melancholy -nights the blankets that covered them were frozen and white with frost. - -The next case is as follows;-- - -Charles Macdonald, aged 70 years, a widower, having no family. This -poor man was also “keeled” for the Colonies, and, as he refused to go, -his house or cabin was levelled to the ground. What on earth could old -Charles do in America? Was there any mercy or humanity in offering -_him_ a free passage across the Atlantic? In England, Charles would -have been considered a proper object of parochial protection and -relief, but in Scotland no such relief is afforded except to “sick -folks” and tender infants. There can be no question, however, that -the factor looked forward to the period when Charles would become -chargeable as a pauper, and, acting as a “prudent man,” he resolved -to get quit of him at once. Three or four pounds would send the old -man across the Atlantic, but if he remained in Knoydart, it would -likely take four or five pounds to keep him each year that he lived. -When the factor and his party arrived at Charles’s door, they knocked -and demanded admission; the factor intimated his object, and ordered -the old man to quit. “As soon as I can,” said Charles, and, taking -up his plaid and staff and adjusting his blue bonnet, he walked out, -merely remarking to the factor that the man who could turn out an old, -inoffensive Highlander of seventy, from such a place, and at such a -season, could do a great deal more if the laws of the country permitted -him. Charles took to the rocks, and from that day to this he has never -gone near his old habitation. He has neither house nor home, but -receives occasional supplies of food from his evicted neighbours, _and -he sleeps on the hill!_ Poor old man, who would not pity him--who would -not share with him a crust or a covering--who? - -Alexander Macdonald, aged 40 years, with a wife and family of four -children, had his house pulled down. His wife was pregnant; still the -levellers thrust her out, and then put the children out after her. The -husband argued, remonstrated, and protested, but it was all in vain; -for in a few minutes all he had for his (to him once comfortable) home -was a lot of rubbish, blackened rafters, and heaps of stones. The -levellers laughed at him and at his protests, and when their work was -over, moved away, leaving him to find refuge the best way he could. -Alexander had, like the rest of his evicted brethren, to burrow among -the rocks and in caves until he put up a temporary shelter amid the -wreck of his old habitation, but from which he was repeatedly driven -away. For three days Alexander Macdonald’s wife lay sick beside a bush, -where, owing to terror and exposure to cold, she had a miscarriage. She -was then removed to the shelter of the walls of her former house, and -for three days she lay so ill that her life was despaired of. These are -facts as to which I challenge contradiction. I have not inserted them -without the most satisfactory evidence of their accuracy. - -Catherine Mackinnon, aged about 50 years, unmarried; Peggy Mackinnon, -aged about 48 years, unmarried; and Catherine Macphee (a half-sister -of the two Mackinnons), also unmarried; occupied one house. Catherine -Mackinnon was for a long time sick, and she was confined to bed when -the factor and his party came to beat down the house. At first they -requested her to get up and walk out, but her sisters said she could -not, as she was so unwell. They answered, “Oh, she is scheming;” the -sisters said she was not, that she had been ill for a considerable -time, and the sick woman herself, who then feebly spoke, said she was -quite unfit to be removed, but if God spared her and bestowed upon her -better health that she would remove of her own accord. This would not -suffice; _they forced her out of bed, sick as she was, and left her -beside a ditch from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m._, when, afraid that she would -die, as she was seriously unwell, they removed her to a house and -provided her with cordials and warm clothing. Let the reader imagine -the sufferings of this poor female, so ruthlessly torn from a bed of -sickness and laid down beside a cold ditch and there left exposed for -seven long hours, and then say if such conduct does not loudly call -for the condemnation of every lover of human liberty and humanity. -Peggy and her half-sister Macphee are still burrowing among the ruins -of their old home. When I left Knoydart last week there were no hope -whatever of Catherine Mackinnon’s recovery. - -I challenge the factor to contradict one sentence in this short -narrative of the poor females. The melancholy truth of it is too -palpable, too well-known in the district to admit of even a tenable -explanation. Nothing can palliate or excuse such gross inhumanity, -and it is but right and proper that British Christians should be made -aware of such unchristian conduct--such cruelty towards helpless -fellow-creatures in sickness and distress. - -The last case, at present, is that of - -Duncan Robertson, aged 35 years, with wife aged 32 years, and a family -of three children. Very poor; the oldest boy is deformed and weak -in mind and body, requiring almost the constant care of one of his -parents. Robertson was warned out like the rest of the tenants, and -decree of removal was obtained against him. At the levelling time the -factor came up with his men before Robertson’s door, and ordered the -inmates out. Robertson pleaded for mercy on account of his sick and -imbecile boy, but the factor appeared at first inexorable; at last he -sent in one of the officers to see the boy, who, on his return, said -that the boy was really and truly an object of pity. The factor said -he could not help it, that he must pull down. Some pieces of furniture -were then thrown out, and the picks were fixed in the walls, when -Robertson’s wife ran out and implored delay, asking the factor, for -heaven’s sake, to come in and see her sick child. He replied, “I am -sure I am no doctor.” “I know that,” she said, “but God might have -given you Christian feelings and bowels of compassion notwithstanding.” -“Bring him out here,” said the factor; and the poor mother ran to the -bed and brought out her sick boy in her arms. When the factor saw him, -he admitted that he was an object of pity, but warned Robertson that -he must quit Knoydart as soon as possible, so that his house would be -pulled down about his ears. The levellers peep in once a week to see if -the boy is getting better, so that the house may be razed. - -We could give additional particulars of the cruelties which had to be -endured by the poor wretches who remained--cruelties which would never -be tolerated in any other civilized country than Britain, and which in -Britain would secure instant and severe punishment if inflicted on a -dog or a pig, but the record would only inflict further pain, and we -have said enough. - -Retribution has overtaken the evictors, and is it a wonder that the -chiefs of Glengarry are now as little known, and own as little of their -ancient domains in the Highlands as their devoted clansmen? There -is now scarcely one of the name of Macdonald in the wide district -once inhabited by thousands. It is a huge wilderness in which barely -anything is met but wild animals and sheep, and the few keepers and -shepherds necessary to take care of them. - - -STRATHGLASS. - -BY ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. - -It has been shown, under “Glengarry,” that a chief’s widow, during her -son’s minority, was responsible for the Knoydart evictions in 1853. -Another chief’s widow, _Marsali Bhinneach_--Marjory, daughter of Sir -Ludovick Grant of Dalvey, widow of Duncan Macdonnell of Glengarry, who -died in 1788--gave the whole of Glencruaich as a sheep farm to one -south country shepherd, and to make room for him she evicted over 500 -people from their ancient homes. The late Edward Ellice stated before -a Committee of the House of Commons, in 1873, that about the time of -the rebellion in 1745, the population of Glengarry amounted to between -5000 and 6000. At the same time the glen turned out an able-bodied -warrior in support of Prince Charles for every pound of rental paid -to the proprietor. To-day it is questionable if the same district -could turn out twenty men--certainly not that number of Macdonalds. -The bad example of this heartless woman was unfortunately imitated -afterwards by her daughter Elizabeth, who, in 1795, married William -Chisholm of Chisholm, and to whose evil influence may be traced the -great eviction which, in 1801, cleared Strathglass almost to a man of -its ancient inhabitants. The Chisholm was delicate, and often in bad -health, so that the management of the estate fell into the hands of -his strong-minded and hard-hearted wife. In 1801, no less than 799 -took ship at Fort William and Isle Martin from Strathglass, the Aird, -Glen Urquhart, and the neighbouring districts, all for Pictou, Nova -Scotia; while in the following year, 473 from the same district left -Fort William, for Upper Canada, and 128 for Pictou. Five hundred and -fifty went aboard another ship at Knoydart, many of whom were from -Strathglass. In 1803, four different batches of 120 souls each, by -four different ships, left Strathglass, also for Pictou; while not a -few went away with emigrants from other parts of the Highlands. During -these three years we find that no less than 5390 were driven out of -these Highland glens, and it will be seen that a very large portion of -them were evicted from Strathglass by the daughter of the notorious -_Marsali Bhinneach_. From among the living cargo of one of the vessels -which sailed from Fort William no less than fifty-three souls died, -on the way out, of an epidemic; and, on the arrival of the living -portion of the cargo at Pictou, they were shut in on a narrow point -of land, from whence they were not allowed to communicate with any of -their friends who had gone before them, for fear of communicating the -contagion. Here they suffered indescribable hardships. - -By a peculiar arrangement between the Chisholm who died in 1793, and -his wife, a considerable portion of the people were saved for a time -from the ruthless conduct of _Marsali Bhinneach’s_ daughter and her -co-adjutors. Alexander Chisholm married Elizabeth, daughter of a Dr. -Wilson, in Edinburgh. He made provision for his wife in case of her -outliving him, by which it was left optional with her to take a stated -sum annually, or the rental of certain townships, or club farms. Her -husband died in 1793, when the estate reverted to his half-brother, -William, and the widow, on the advice of her only child, Mary, who, -afterwards became Mrs. James Gooden of London, made choice of the joint -farms, instead of the sum of money named in her marriage settlement; -and though great efforts were made by _Marsali Bhinneach’s_ daughter -and her friends, the widow, Mrs. Alexander Chisholm, kept the farms in -her own hands, and took great pleasure in seeing a prosperous tenantry -in these townships, while all their neighbours were heartlessly driven -away. Not one of her tenants were disturbed or interfered with in any -way from the death of her husband, in February 1793, until her own -death in January, 1826, when, unfortunately for them, their farms all -came into the hands of the young heir (whose sickly father died in -1817), and his cruel mother. For a few years the tenants were left -in possession, but only waiting an opportunity to make a complete -clearance of the whole Strath. Some had a few years of their leases to -run on other parts of the property, and could not just then be expelled. - -In 1830 every man who held land on the property was requested to meet -his chief at the local inn of Cannich. They all obeyed, and were there -at the appointed time, but no chief came to meet them. The factor soon -turned up, however, and informed them that the laird had determined to -enter into no negotiation or any new arrangements with them that day. -They were all in good circumstances, without any arrears of rent, but -were practically banished from their homes in the most inconsiderate -and cruel manner, and it afterwards became known that their farms -had been secretly let to sheep farmers from the south, without the -knowledge of the native population in possession. - -Mr. Colin Chisholm, who was present at the meeting at Cannich, -writes:--“I leave you to imagine the bitter grief and disappointment -of men who attended with glowing hopes in the morning, but had to -tell their families and dependents in the evening that they could see -no alternative before them but the emigrant ship, and choose between -the scorching prairies of Australia and the icy regions of North -America.” It did not, however, come to that. The late Lord Lovat, -hearing of the harsh proceedings, proposed to one of the large sheep -farmers on his neighbouring property to give up his farm, his lordship -offering to give full value for his stock, so that he might divide -it among those evicted from the Chisholm estate. This arrangement -was amicably carried through, and at the next Whitsunday--1831--the -evicted tenants from Strathglass came into possession of the large -sheep farm of Glenstrathfarrar, and paid over to the late tenant of -the farm every farthing of the value set upon the stock by two of the -leading valuators in the country; a fact which conclusively proved -that the Strathglass tenants were quite capable of holding their own, -and perfectly able to meet all claims that could be made upon them by -their old proprietor and unnatural chief. They became very comfortable -in their new homes; but about fifteen years after their eviction from -Strathglass they were again removed to make room for deer. On this -occasion the late Lord Lovat gave them similar holdings on other -portions of his property, and the sons and grandsons of the evicted -tenants of Strathglass are now, on the Lovat property, among the most -respectable and comfortable middle-class farmers in the county. - -The result of the Strathglass evictions was that only two of the -ancient native stock remained in possession of an inch of land on the -estate of Chisholm. When the present Chisholm came into possession he -found, on his return from Canada, only that small remnant of his own -name and clan to receive him. He brought back a few Chisholms from the -Lovat property, and re-established on his old farm a tenant who had -been evicted nineteen years before from the holding in which his father -and grandfather died. The great-grandfather was killed at Culloden, -having been shot while carrying his commander, young Chisholm, -mortally wounded, from the field. The gratitude of that chief’s -successors had been shown by his ruthless eviction from the ancient -home of his ancestors; but it is gratifying to find the present chief -making some reparation by bringing back and liberally supporting the -representatives of such a devoted follower of his forbears. The present -Chisholm, who has the character of being a good landlord, is descended -from a distant collateral branch of the family. The evicting Chisholms, -and their offspring have, however, every one of them, disappeared, -and Mr. Colin Chisholm informs us that there is not a human being -now in Strathglass of the descendants of the chief, or of the south -country farmers, who were the chief instruments in evicting the native -population. - -To give the reader an idea of the class of men who occupied this -district, it may be stated that of the descendants of those who lived -in Glen Canaich, one of several smaller glens, at one time thickly -populated in the Strath, but now a perfect wilderness--there lived in -the present generation, no less than three colonels, one major, three -captains, three lieutenants, seven ensigns, one bishop, and fifteen -priests. - -Earlier in the history of Strathglass and towards the end of last -century, an attempt was made by south country sheep farmers to persuade -Alexander Chisholm to follow the example of Glengarry, by clearing out -the whole native population. Four southerners, among them Gillespie, -who took the farm of Glencruaich, cleared by Glengarry, called upon -the Chisholm, at Comar, and tried hard to convince him of the many -advantages which would accrue to him by the eviction of his tenantry, -and turning the largest and best portions of his estate into great -sheep walks, for which they offered to pay him large rents. His -daughter, Mary, already referred to as Mrs. James Gooden, was then in -her teens. She heard the arguments used, and having mildly expressed -her objection to the heartless proposal of the greedy southerners, she -was ordered out of the room, crying bitterly. She, however, found her -way to the kitchen, called all the servants together, and explained -the cause of her trouble. The object of the guests at Comar was soon -circulated through the Strath, and early the following morning over -a thousand men met together in front of Comar House, and demanded an -interview with their chief. This was at once granted, and the whole -body of the people remonstrated with him for entertaining, even for a -moment, the cruel proceedings suggested by the strangers, whose conduct -the frightened natives characterised as infinitely worse than that of -the freebooting Lochaber men who, centuries before, came with their -swords and other instruments of death to rob his ancestors of their -patrimony, but who were defeated and driven out of the district by -the ancestors of those whom it was now proposed to evict out of their -native Strath, to make room for the greedy freebooters of modern times -and their sheep. The chief counselled quietness, and suggested that the -action they had taken might be construed as an act of inhospitality to -his guests, not characteristic, in any circumstances, of a Highland -chief. - -The sheep farmers who stood inside the open drawing-room window, -heard all that had passed, and, seeing the unexpected turn events were -taking, and the desperate resolve shown by the objects of their cruel -purpose, they adopted the better part of valour, slipped quietly out -by the back door, mounted their horses, galloped away as fast as their -steeds could carry them, and crossed the river Glass among the hooting -and derision of the assembled tenantry, heard until they crossed the -hill which separates Strathglass from Corriemony. The result of the -interview with their laird was a complete understanding between him and -his tenants; and the flying horsemen, looking behind them for the first -time when they reached the top of the Maol Bhuidhe, saw the assembled -tenantry forming a procession in front of Comar House, with pipers at -their head, and the Chisholm being carried, mounted shoulder-high, -by his stalwart vassals, on their way to Invercannich. The pleasant -outcome of the whole was that chief and clan expressed renewed -confidence in each other, a determination to continue in future in the -same happy relationship, and to maintain, each on his part, all modern -and ancient bonds of fealty ever entered into by their respective -ancestors. - -This, in fact, turned out to be one of the happiest days that ever -dawned on the glen. The people were left unmolested so long as -this Chisholm survived--a fact which shows the wisdom of chief and -people meeting face to face, and refusing to permit others whether -greedy outsiders or selfish factors--to come and foment mischief and -misunderstanding between parties whose interests are so closely bound -together, and who, if they met and discussed their differences, would -seldom or ever have any disagreements of a serious character. Worse -counsel prevailed after Alexander’s death, and the result under the -cruel daughter of the notorious _Marsali Bhinneach_, has been already -described. - -Reference has been made to the clearance of Glenstrathfarrar by the -late Lord Lovat, but for the people removed from there and other -portions of the Lovat property, he allotted lands in various other -places on his own estates, so that, although these changes were most -injurious to his tenants, his lordship’s proceedings can hardly be -called evictions in the ordinary sense of the term. His predecessor, -Archibald Fraser of Lovat, however, evicted, like the Chisholms, -hundreds from the Lovat estates. - - -GUISACHAN. - -BY ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. - -The modern clearances which took place within the last quarter of -a century in Guisachan, Strathglass, by Sir Dudley Marjoribanks, -have been described in all their phases before a Committee of the -House of Commons in 1872. The Inspector of Poor for the parish of -Kiltarlity wrote a letter which was brought before the Committee, with -a statement from another source that, “in 1855, there were 16 farmers -on the estate; the number of cows they had was 62, and horses, 24; the -principal farmer had 2000 sheep, the next 1000, and the rest between -them 1200, giving a total of 4200. Now (1873) there is but one farmer, -and he leaves at Whitsunday; all these farmers lost the holdings on -which they ever lived in competency; indeed, it is well known that some -of them were able to lay by some money. They have been sent to the four -quarters of the globe, or to vegetate in Sir Dudley’s dandy cottages at -Tomich, made more for show than convenience, where they have to depend -on his employment or charity. To prove that all this is true, take at -random, the smith, the shoemaker, or the tailor, and say whether the -poverty and starvation were then or now? For instance, under the old -_régime_, the smith farmed a piece of land which supplied the wants -of his family with meal and potatoes; he had two cows, a horse, and a -score or two of sheep on the hill; he paid £7 of yearly rent; he now -has nothing but the bare walls of his cottage and smithy, for which -he pays £10. Of course he had his trade then as he has now. Will he -live more comfortably now than he did then?” It was stated, at the -same time, that, when Sir Dudley Marjoribanks bought the property, -there was a population of 255 souls upon it, and Sir Dudley, in his -examination, though he threw some doubt upon that statement, was quite -unable to refute it. The proprietor, on being asked, said that he did -not evict any of the people. But Mr. Macombie having said, “Then the -tenants went away of their own free will,” Sir Dudley replied, “I must -not say so quite. I told them that when they had found other places to -go to, I wished to have their farms.” - -They were, in point of fact, evicted as much as any others of the -ancient tenantry in the Highlands, though it is but fair to say that -the same harsh cruelty was not applied in their case as in many of the -others recorded in these pages. Those who had been allowed to remain in -the new cottages, are without cow or sheep, or an inch of land, while -those alive of those sent off are spread over the wide world, like -those sent, as already described, from other places. - - -GLENELG. - -BY ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. - -In 1849 more than 500 souls left Glenelg. These petitioned the -proprietor, Mr. Baillie of Dochfour, to provide means of existence for -them at home by means of reclamation and improvements in the district, -or, failing this, to help them to emigrate. Mr. Baillie, after repeated -communications, made choice of the latter alternative, and suggested -that a local committee should be appointed to procure and supply him -with information as to the number of families willing to emigrate, -their circumstances, and the amount of aid necessary to enable them to -do so. This was done, and it was intimated to the proprietor that a sum -of £3000 would be required to land those willing to emigrate at Quebec. -This sum included passage money, free rations, a month’s sustenance -after the arrival of the party in Canada, and some clothing for the -more destitute. Ultimately, the proprietor offered the sum of £2000, -while the Highland Destitution Committee promised £500. A great deal -of misunderstanding occurred before the _Liscard_ finally sailed, in -consequence of misrepresentations made as to the food to be supplied on -board, while there were loud protests against sending the people away -without any medical man in charge. Through the activity and generous -sympathy of the late Mr. Stewart of Ensay, then tenant of Ellanreach, -on the Glenelg property, who took the side of the people, matters were -soon rectified. A doctor was secured, and the people satisfied as to -the rations to be served out to them during the passage, though these -did not come up to one-half what was originally promised. On the whole, -Mr. Baillie behaved liberally, but, considering the suitability of the -beautiful valley of Glenelg for arable and food-producing purposes, it -is to be regretted that he did not decide upon utilizing the labour -of the natives in bringing the district into a state of cultivation, -rather than have paid so much to banish them to a foreign land. That -they would themselves have preferred this is beyond question. - -Mr. Mulock, father of the author of “John Halifax, Gentleman,” an -Englishman who could not be charged with any preconceived prejudices -or partiality for the Highlanders, travelled at this period through -the whole North, and ultimately published an account of what he had -seen. Regarding the Glenelg business, he says, as to their willingness -to emigrate:--“To suppose that numerous families would as a matter -of choice sever themselves from their loved soil, abolish all the -associations of local and patriotic sentiment, fling to the winds every -endearing recollection connected with the sojourneying spot of vanished -generations, and blot themselves, as it were, out of the book of -‘home-born happiness,’ is an hypothesis too unnatural to be encouraged -by any sober, well-regulated mind.” To satisfy himself, he called forty -to fifty heads of families together at Glenelg, who had signed an -agreement to emigrate, but who did not find room in the _Liscard_, and -were left behind, after selling off everything they possessed, and were -consequently reduced to a state of starvation. “I asked,” he says, -“these poor perfidiously treated creatures if, notwithstanding all -their hardships, they were willing emigrants from their native land. -With one voice they assured me that nothing short of the impossibility -of obtaining land or employment at home could drive them to seek the -doubtful benefits of a foreign shore. So far from the emigration -being, at Glenelg, or Lochalsh, or South Uist, a spontaneous movement -springing out of the wishes of the tenantry, I aver it to be, on the -contrary, the product of desperation, the calamitous light of hopeless -oppression visiting their sad hearts.” We have no hesitation in saying -that this is not only true of those to whom Mr. Mulock specially -refers, but to almost every soul who have left the Highlands for the -last sixty years. Only those who know the people intimately, and the -means adopted by factors, clergy, and others to produce an appearance -of spontaneity on the part of the helpless tenantry, can understand the -extent to which this statement is true. If a judicious system had been -applied of cultivating excellent land, capable of producing food in -abundance, in Glenelg, there was not another property in the Highlands -on which it was less necessary to send the people away than in that -beautiful and fertile valley. - - -GLENDESSERAY AND LOCHARKAIG - -Great numbers were evicted from the Cameron country of Lochaber, -especially from Glendesseray and Locharkaig side. Indeed it is said -that there were so few Camerons left in the district, that not a -single tenant of the name attended the banquet given by the tenantry -when the late Lochiel came into possession. The details of Cameron -evictions would be found pretty much the same as those in other places, -except that an attempt has been made in this case to hold the factor -entirely and solely responsible for the removal of this noble people, -so renowned in the martial history of the country. That is a question, -however, which it is no part of our present purpose to discuss. What -we wish to expose is the unrighteous system which allowed such cruel -proceedings to take place here and elsewhere, by landlord or factor. - - - - -THE HEBRIDES. - - -BY ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. - -The people of Skye and the Uist, where the Macdonalds for centuries -ruled in the manner of princes over a loyal and devoted people, were -treated not a whit better than those on the mainland, when their -services were no longer required to fight the battles of the Lords of -the Isles, or to secure to them their possessions, their dignity, and -power. _Bha latha eile ann!_ There was another day! When possessions -were held by the sword, those who wielded them were highly valued, and -well cared for. Now that sheep skins are found sufficient, what could -be more appropriate in the opinion of some of the sheepish chiefs of -modern times than to displace the people who anciently secured and held -the lands for real chiefs worthy of the name, and replace them by the -animals that produced the modern sheep skins by which they hold their -lands; especially when these were found to be better titles than the -old ones--the blood and sinew of their ancient vassals. - -Prior to 1849, the manufacture of kelp in the Outer Hebrides had been -for many years a large source of income to the proprietors of those -islands, and a considerable revenue to the inhabitants; the lairds, in -consequence, for many years encouraged the people to remain, and it is -alleged that they multiplied to a degree quite out of proportion to -the means of subsistence within reach when kelp manufacture failed. -To make matters worse for the poor tenants, the rents were meanwhile -raised by the proprietors to more than double--not because the land -was considered worth more by itself, but because the possession of it -enabled the poor tenants to earn a certain sum a year from kelp made -out of the sea-ware to which their holdings entitled them, and out of -which the proprietor pocketed a profit of from £3 to £4 per ton, in -addition to the enhanced rent obtained from the crofter for the land. -In these circumstances one would have thought that some consideration -would have been shown to the people, who, it may perhaps be admitted, -were found in the altered circumstances too numerous to obtain a -livelihood in those islands; but such consideration does not appear to -have been given--indeed the very reverse. - - -NORTH UIST. - -In 1849 Lord Macdonald determined to evict between 600 and 700 -persons from Sollas, in North Uist, of which he was then proprietor. -They were at the time in a state of great misery from the failure of -the potato crop for several years previously in succession, many of -them having had to work for ninety-six hours a week for a pittance -of two stones of Indian meal once a fortnight. Sometimes even that -miserable dole was not forthcoming, and families had to live for weeks -solely on shell-fish picked up on the sea-shore. Some of the men were -employed on drainage works, for which public money was advanced to -the proprietors; but here, as in most other places throughout the -Highlands, the money earned was applied by the factors to wipe off -old arrears, while the people were permitted generally to starve. -His lordship having decided that they must go, notices of ejectment -were served upon them, to take effect on the 15th of May, 1849. They -asked for delay, to enable them to dispose of their cattle and other -effects to the best advantage at the summer markets, and offered to -work meanwhile making kelp, on terms which would prove remunerative -to the proprietors, if only, in the altered circumstances, they might -get their crofts on equitable terms--for their value, as such--apart -from the kelp manufacture, on account of which the rents had previously -been raised. Their petitions were ignored. No answers were received, -while at the same time they were directed to sow as much corn and -potatoes as they could during that spring, and for which, they were -told, they would be fully compensated, whatever happened. They sold -much of their effects to procure seed, and continued to work and -sow up to and even after the 15th of May. They then began to cut -their peats as usual, thinking they were after all to be allowed to -get the benefit. They were, however, soon disappointed--their goods -were hypothecated. Many of them were turned out of their houses, -the doors locked, and everything they possessed--cattle, crops, and -peats--seized. Even their bits of furniture were thrown out of doors in -the manner which had long become the fashion in such cases. The season -was too far advanced--towards the end of July--to start for Canada. -Before they could arrive there the cold winter would be upon them, -without means or money to provide against it. They naturally rebelled, -and the principal Sheriff-Substitute, Colquhoun, with his officers and -a strong body of police left Inverness for North Uist, to eject them -from their homes. Naturally unwilling to proceed to extremes, on the -arrival of the steamer at Armadale, they sent a messenger ashore to ask -for instructions to guide them in case of resistance, or if possible -to obtain a modification of his lordship’s views. Lord Macdonald had -no instructions to give, but referred the Sheriff to Mr. Cooper, his -factor, whose answer was that the whole population of Sollas would -be subject to eviction if they did not at once agree to emigrate. -A few men were arrested who obstructed the evictors on a previous -occasion. They were marched off to Lochmaddy by the police. The work of -destruction soon commenced. At first no opposition was made by the poor -people. An eye-witness, whose sympathies were believed to be favourable -to the proprietor, describes some of the proceedings as follows:-- - -“In evicting Macpherson, the first case taken up, no opposition to the -law officers was made. In two or three minutes the few articles of -furniture he possessed--a bench, a chair, a broken chair, a barrel, a -bag of wool, and two or three small articles, which comprised his whole -household of goods and gear--were turned out to the door, and his bothy -left roofless. The wife of the prisoner Macphail (one of those taken -to Lochmaddy on the previous day) was the next evicted. Her domestic -plenishing was of the simplest character--its greatest, and by far its -most valuable part, being three small children, dressed in nothing more -than a single coat of coarse blanketing, who played about her knee, -while the poor woman, herself half-clothed, with her face bathed in -tears, and holding an infant in her arms, assured the Sheriff that she -and her children were totally destitute and without food of any kind. -The Sheriff at once sent for the Inspector of Poor, and ordered him to -place the woman and her family on the poor’s roll.” - -The next house was occupied by very old and infirm people, whom the -Sheriff positively refused to evict. He also refused to eject eight -other families where an irregularity was discovered by him in the -notices served upon them. The next family ejected led to the almost -solitary instance hitherto in the history of Highland evictions where -the people made anything like real resistance. This man was a crofter -and weaver, having a wife and nine children to provide for. At this -stage a crowd of men and women gathered on an eminence a little -distance from the house, and gave the first indications of a hostile -intention by raising shouts, as the police advanced to help in the -work of demolition, accompanied by about a dozen men who came to their -assistance in unroofing the houses from the other end of the island. -The crowd, exasperated at the conduct of their own neighbours, threw -some stones at the latter. The police were then drawn up in two lines. -The furniture was thrown outside, the web was cut of the loom, and -the terrified woman rushed to the door with a infant in her arms, -exclaiming in a passionate and wailing voice--“Tha mo chlann air a -bhi’ air a muirt” (My children are to be murdered). The crowd became -excited, stones were thrown at the officers, their assistants were -driven from the roof of the house, and they had to retire behind the -police for shelter. Volleys of stones and other missiles followed. The -police charged in two divisions. There were some cuts and bruises on -both sides. The work of demolition was then allowed to go on without -further opposition from the crowd. - -Several heart-rending scenes followed, but we shall only give a -description of the last which took place on that occasion, and which -brought about a little delay in the cruel work. In one case it was -found necessary to remove the women out of the house by force. “One of -them threw herself upon the ground and fell into hysterics, uttering -the most doleful sounds, and barking and yelling like a dog for about -ten minutes. Another, with many tears, sobs, and groans put up a -petition to the Sheriff that they would leave the roof over part of her -house, where she had a loom with cloth in it, which she was weaving; -and a third woman, the eldest of the family, made an attack with a -stick on an officer, and, missing him, she sprang upon him, and knocked -off his hat. So violently did this old woman conduct herself that two -stout policemen had great difficulty in carrying her outside the door. -The excitement was again getting so strong that the factor, seeing -the determination of the people, and finding that if he continued and -took their crops away from those who would not leave, even when their -houses were pulled down about their ears, they would have to be fed and -maintained at the expense of the parish during the forthcoming winter, -relaxed and agreed to allow them to occupy their houses until next -spring, if the heads of families undertook and signed an agreement to -emigrate any time next year, from the 1st of February to the end of -June. Some agreed to these conditions, but the majority declined; and, -in the circumstances, the people were permitted to go back to their -unroofed and ruined homes for a few months longer. Their cattle were, -however, mostly taken possession of, and applied to the reduction of -old arrears.” - -Four of the men were afterwards charged with deforcing the officers, -and sentenced at Inverness Court of Justiciary each to four months’ -imprisonment. The following year the district was completely and -mercilessly cleared of all its remaining inhabitants, numbering 603 -souls.[18] - -[18] A very full account of these proceedings, written on the spot, -appeared at the time in the _Inverness Courier_, to which we are -indebted for the above facts. - -The Sollas evictions did not satisfy the evicting craze which his -lordship afterwards so bitterly regretted. In 1851-53, he, or rather -his trustee, determined to evict the people from the villages of - - -BORERAIG AND SUISINISH, ISLE OF SKYE. - -His lordship’s position in regard to the proceedings was most -unfortunate. Donald Ross, writing as an eye-witness of these evictions, -says-- - -“Some years ago Lord Macdonald incurred debts on his property to -the extent of £200,000 sterling, and his lands being entailed, his -creditors could not dispose of them, but they placed a trustee over -them in order to intercept certain portions of the rent in payment of -the debt. Lord Macdonald, of course, continues to have an interest -and a surveillance over the property in the matter of removals, the -letting of the fishings and shootings, and the general improvement -of his estates. The trustee and the local factor under him have no -particular interest in the property, nor in the people thereon, beyond -collecting their quota of the rents for the creditors; consequently -the property is mismanaged, and the crofter and cottar population are -greatly neglected. The tenants of Suisinish and Boreraig were the -descendants of a long line of peasantry on the Macdonald estates, and -were remarkable for their patience, loyalty, and general good conduct.” - -The only plea made at the time for evicting them was that of -over-population. Ten families received the usual summonses, and -passages were secured for them in the _Hercules_, an unfortunate ship -which sailed with a cargo of passengers under the auspices of a body -calling itself “The Highland and Island Emigration Society.” A deadly -fever broke out among the passengers, the ship was detained at Cork in -consequence, and a large number of the passengers died of the epidemic. -After the sad fate of so many of those previously cleared out, in -the ill-fated ship, it was generally thought that some compassion -would be shown for those who had been still permitted to remain. Not -so, however. On the 4th of April, 1853, they were all warned out of -their holdings. They petitioned and pleaded with his lordship to no -purpose. They were ordered to remove their cattle from the pasture, -and themselves from their houses and lands. They again petitioned -his lordship for his merciful consideration. For a time no reply was -forthcoming. Subsequently, however, they were informed that they would -get land on another part of the estate--portions of a barren moor, -quite unfit for cultivation. - -In the middle of September following, Lord Macdonald’s ground officer, -with a body of constables, arrived, and at once proceeded to eject in -the most heartless manner the whole population, numbering thirty-two -families, and that at a period when the able-bodied male members of -the families were away from home trying to earn something by which to -pay their rents, and help to carry their families through the coming -winter. In spite of the wailing of the helpless women and children, -the cruel work was proceeded with as rapidly as possible, and without -the slightest apparent compunction. The furniture was thrown out in -what had now become the orthodox fashion. The aged and infirm, some -of them so frail that they could not move, were pushed or carried -out. “The scene was truly heart-rending. The women and children went -about tearing their hair, and rending the heavens with their cries. -Mothers with tender infants at the breast looked helplessly on, while -their effects and their aged and infirm relatives, were cast out, and -the doors of their houses locked in their faces.” The young children, -poor, helpless, little creatures, gathered in groups, gave vent to -their feelings in loud and bitter wailings. “No mercy was shown to -age or sex, all were indiscriminately thrust out and left to perish -on the hills.” Untold cruelties were perpetrated on this occasion on -the helpless creatures during the absence of their husbands and other -principal bread-winners. - -Donald Ross in his pamphlet, “Real Scottish Grievances,” published in -1854, and who not only was an eye-witness, but generously supplied the -people with a great quantity of food and clothing, describes several -of the cases. I can only find room here, however, for his first. - -Flora Robertson or Matheson, a widow, aged ninety-six years, then -residing with her son, Alexander Matheson, who had a small lot of -land in Suisinish. Her son was a widower, with four children; and -shortly before the time for evicting the people arrived, he went away -to labour at harvest in the south, taking his oldest boy with him. -The grandmother and the other three children were left in the house. -“When the evicting officers and factor arrived, the poor old woman -was sitting on a couch outside the house. The day being fine, her -grandchildren lifted her out of her bed and brought her to the door. -She was very frail; and it would have gladdened any heart to have seen -how the two youngest of her grandchildren helped her along; how they -seated her where there was most shelter; and then, how they brought her -some clothing and clad her, and endeavoured to make her comfortable. -The gratitude of the old woman was unbounded at these little acts of -kindness and compassion; and the poor children, on the other hand, -felt highly pleased at finding their services so well appreciated. The -sun was shining beautifully, the air was refreshing, the gentle breeze -wafted across the hills, and, mollified by passing over the waters of -Loch Slapin, brought great relief and vigour to poor old Flora. Often -with eyes directed towards heaven, and with uplifted hands, did she -invoke the blessings of the God of Jacob on the young children who were -ministering so faithfully to her bodily wants. - -Nothing could exceed the beauty of the scene. The sea was glittering -with millions of little waves and globules, and looked like a lake of -silver, gently agitated. The hills, with the heather in full bloom, -and with the wild flowers in their beauty, had assumed all the colours -of the rainbow, and were most pleasant to the eye to look upon. The -crops of corn in the neighbourhood were beginning to get yellow for the -harvest; the small patches of potatoes were under flower, and promised -well; the sheep and cattle, as if tired of feeding, had lain down to -rest on the face of the hills; and the dogs, as if satisfied their -services were not required for a time, chose for themselves pleasant, -well-sheltered spots and lay basking at full length in the sun. Even -the little boats on the loch, though their sails were spread, made no -progress, but lay at rest, reflecting their own tiny shadows on the -bosom of the deep and still waters. The scene was most enchanting; and, -although old Flora’s eyes were getting dim with age, she looked on the -objects before her with great delight. Her grandchildren brought her -a cup of warm milk and some bread from a neighbour’s house, and tried -to feed her as if she had been a pet bird; but the old woman could -not take much, although she was greatly invigorated by the change of -air. Nature seemed to take repose. A white fleecy cloud now and then -ascended, but the sun soon dispelled it; thin wreaths of cottage smoke -went up and along, but there was no wind to move them, and they floated -on the air; and, indeed, with the exception of a stream which passed -near the house, and made a continuous noise in its progress over rocks -and stones, there was nothing above or around to disturb the eye or the -ear for one moment. While the old woman was thus enjoying the benefit -of the fresh air, admiring the beauty of the landscape, and just when -the poor children had entered the house to prepare a frugal meal for -themselves, and their aged charge, a sudden barking of dogs gave signal -intimation of the approach of strangers. The native inquisitiveness of -the young ones was immediately set on edge, and off they set across the -fields, and over fences, after the dogs. They soon returned, however, -with horror depicted in their countenances; they had a fearful tale to -unfold. The furniture and other effects of their nearest neighbours, -just across the hill, they saw thrown out; they heard the children -screaming, and they saw the factor’s men putting bars and locks on the -doors. This was enough. The heart of the old woman, so recently revived -and invigorated, was now like to break within her. What was she to -do? What could she do? Absolutely nothing! The poor children, in the -plenitude of their knowledge of the humanity of lords and factors, -thought that if they could only get their aged grannie inside before -the evicting officers arrived, that would be safe,--as no one, they -thought, would interfere with an old creature of ninety-six, especially -when her son was not there to take charge of her; and, acting upon this -supposition, they began to remove their grandmother into the house. The -officers, however, arrived before they could get this accomplished; and -in place of letting the old woman in, they threw out before the door -every article that was inside the house, and then they placed large -bars and padlocks on the door! The grandchildren were horror-struck at -this procedure--and no wonder. Here they were, shut out of house and -home, their father and elder brother several hundred miles away from -them, their mother dead, and their grandmother, now aged, frail, and -unable to move, sitting before them, quite unfit to help herself,--and -with no other shelter than the broad canopy of heaven. Here, then, was -a crisis, a predicament, that would have twisted the strongest nerve -and tried the stoutest heart and healthiest frame,--with nothing but -helpless infancy and old age and infirmities to meet it. We cannot -comprehend the feelings of the poor children on this occasion; and -cannot find language sufficiently strong to express condemnation of -those who rendered them houseless. Shall we call them savages? That -would be paying them too high a compliment, for among savages conduct -such as theirs is unknown. But let us proceed. After the grandchildren -had cried until they were hoarse, and after their little eyes had -emptied themselves of the tears which anguish, sorrow, and terror had -accumulated within them, and when they had exhausted their strength in -the general wail, along with the other children of the district, as -house after house was swept of its furniture, the inmates evicted, and -the doors locked,--they returned to their poor old grandmother, and -began to exchange sorrows and consolations with her. But what could the -poor children do? The shades of evening were closing in, and the air, -which at mid-day was fresh and balmy, was now cold and freezing. The -neighbours were all locked out, and could give no shelter, and the -old woman was unable to travel to where lodgings for the night could -be got. What were they to do? We may rest satisfied that their minds -were fully occupied with their unfortunate condition, and that they had -serious consultations as to future action. The first consideration, -however, was shelter for the first night, and a sheep-cot being near, -the children prepared to remove the old woman to it. True, it was small -and damp, and it had no door, no fire-place, no window, no bed,--but -then, it was better than exposure to the night air; and this they -represented to their grandmother, backing it with all the other little -bits of arguments they could advance, and with professions of sincere -attachment which, coming from such a quarter, and at such a period, -gladdened her old heart. There was a difficulty, however, which they -at first overlooked. The grandmother could not walk, and the distance -was some hundreds of yards, and they could get no assistance, for all -the neighbours were similarly situated, and were weeping and wailing -for the distress which had come upon them. Here was a dilemma; but the -children helped the poor woman to creep along, sometimes she walked a -few yards, at other times she crawled on her hands and knees, and in -this way, and most materially aided by her grandchildren, she at last -reached the cot. - -The sheep-cot was a most wretched habitation, quite unfit for human -beings, yet here the widow was compelled to remain until the month of -December following. When her son came home from the harvest in the -south, he was amazed at the treatment his aged mother and his children -had received. He was then in good health; but in a few weeks the cold -and damp of the sheep-cot had a most deadly effect upon his health, for -he was seized with violent cramps, then with cough; at last his limbs -and body swelled, and then he died! When dead, his corpse lay across -the floor, his feet at the opposite wall, and his head being at the -door, the wind waved his long black hair to and fro until he was placed -in his coffin. - -The inspector of poor, who, be it remembered, was ground officer to -Lord Macdonald, and also acted as the chief officer in the evictions, -at last appeared, and removed the old woman to another house; not, -however, until he was threatened with a prosecution for neglect of -duty. The grandchildren were also removed from the sheep-cot, for they -were ill; Peggy and William were seriously so, but Sandy, although ill, -could walk a little. The inspector for the poor gave the children, -during their illness, only 14 lbs. of meal and 3 lbs. of rice, as -aliment for three weeks, and nothing else. To the grandmother he -allowed two shillings and sixpence per month, but made no provision for -fuel, lodgings, nutritious diet, or cordials--all of which this old -woman much required. - -When I visited the house where old Flora Matheson and her grandchildren -reside, I found her lying on a miserable pallet of straw, which, with -a few rags of clothing, are on the bare floor. She is reduced to a -skeleton, and from her own statement to me, in presence of witnesses, -coupled with other inquiries and examinations, I have no hesitation in -declaring that she was then actually starving. She had no nourishment, -no cordials, nothing whatever in the way of food but a few wet potatoes -and two or three shell-fish. The picture she presented, as she lay on -her wretched pallet of black rags and brown straw, with her mutch as -black as soot, and her long arms thrown across, with nothing on them -but the skin, was a most lamentable one--and one that reflects the -deepest discredit on the parochial authorities of Strath. There was -no one to attend to the wants or infirmities of this aged pauper but -her grandchild, a young girl, ten years of age. Surely in a country -boasting of its humanity, liberty, and Christianity, such conduct -should not be any longer tolerated in dealing with the infirm and -helpless poor. The pittance of 2s. 6d. a month is but a mockery of -the claims of this old woman; it is insulting to the commonsense and -every-day experience of people of feeling, and it is a shameful evasion -of the law. But for accidental charity, and that from a distance, Widow -Matheson would long ere this have perished of starvation. - -Three men were afterwards charged with deforcing the officers of the -law before the Court of Justiciary at Inverness. They were first -imprisoned at Portree, and afterwards marched on foot to Inverness, a -distance of over a hundred miles, where they arrived two days before -the date of their trial. The factor and sheriff-officers came in their -conveyances, at the public expense, and lived right royally, never -dreaming but they would obtain a victory, and get the three men sent -to the Penitentiary, to wear hoddy, break stones, or pick oakum for at -least twelve months. The accused, through the influence of charitable -friends, secured the services of Mr. Rennie, solicitor, Inverness, who -was able to show to the jury the unfounded and farcical nature of the -charges made against them. His eloquent and able address to the jury in -their behalf was irresistible, and we cannot better explain the nature -of the proceedings than by quoting it in part from the report given of -it, at the time, in the _Inverness Advertiser_:-- - -“Before proceeding to comment on the evidence in this case, he would -call attention to its general features. It was one of a fearful series -of ejectments now being carried through in the Highlands; and it really -became a matter of serious reflection, how far the pound of flesh -allowed by law was to be permitted to be extracted from the bodies of -the Highlanders. Here were thirty-two families, averaging four members -each, or from 130 to 150 in all, driven out from their houses and -happy homes, and for what? For a tenant who, he believed, was not yet -found. But it was the will of Lord Macdonald and of Messrs. Brown and -Ballingal, that they should be ejected; and the civil law having failed -them, the criminal law with all its terrors, is called in to overwhelm -these unhappy people. But, thank God, it has come before a jury--before -you, who are sworn to return, and will return, an impartial verdict; -and which verdict will, I trust, be one that will stamp out with -ignominy the cruel actors in it. The Duke of Newcastle had querulously -asked, ‘Could he not do as he liked with his own?’ but a greater man -had answered, that ‘property had its duties as well as its rights,’ -and the concurrent opinion of an admiring age testified to this truth. -Had the factor here done his duty? No! He had driven the miserable -inhabitants out to the barren heaths and wet mosses. He had come with -the force of the civil power to dispossess them, and make way for -sheep and cattle. But had he provided adequate refuge? The evictions -in Knoydart, which had lately occupied the attention of the press and -all thinking men, were cruel enough; but there a refuge was provided -for a portion of the evicted, and ships for their conveyance to a -distant land. Would such a state of matters be tolerated in a country -where a single spark of Highland spirit existed? No! Their verdict -that day would proclaim, over the length and breadth of the land, an -indignant denial. Approaching the present case more minutely, he would -observe that the prosecutor, by deleting from this libel the charge -of obstruction, which was passive, had cut away the ground from under -his feet. The remaining charge of deforcement being active, pushing, -shoving, or striking, was essential. But he would ask, What was the -character of the village, and the household of Macinnes? There were -mutual remonstrances; but was force used? The only things the officer, -Macdonald, seized were carried out. A spade and creel were talked of -as being taken from him, but in this he was unsupported. The charge -against the panel, Macinnes, only applied to what took place inside -his house. As to the other panels, John Macrae was merely present. He -had a right to be there; but he touched neither man nor thing, and he -at any rate must be acquitted. Even with regard to Duncan Macrae, the -evidence _quoad_ him was contemptible. According to Allison, in order -to constitute the crime of deforcement, there must be such violence -as to intimidate a person of ordinary firmness of character. Now, -there was no violence here, they did not even speak aloud, they merely -stood in the door; that might be obstruction, it was certainly not -deforcement. Had Macdonald, who it appeared combined in his single -person the triple offices of sheriff-officer, ground-officer, and -inspector of poor, known anything of his business, and gone about it -in a proper and regular manner, the present case would never have been -heard of. As an instance of his irregularity, whilst his execution of -deforcement bore that he read his warrants, he by his own mouth, stated -that he only read part of them. Something was attempted to be made of -the fact of Duncan Macrae seizing one of the constables and pulling him -away; but this was done in a good-natured manner, and the constable -admitted he feared no violence. In short, it would be a farce to call -this a case of deforcement. As to the general character of the panels, -it was unreproached and irreproachable, and their behaviour on that day -was their best certificate.” - -The jury immediately returned a verdict of “Not guilty,” and the poor -Skyemen were dismissed from the bar, amid the cheers of an Inverness -crowd. The families of these men were at the next Christmas evicted in -the most spiteful and cruel manner, delicate mothers, half-dressed, -and recently-born infants, having been pushed out into the drifting -snow. Their few bits of furniture, blankets and other clothing lay -for days under the snow, while they found shelter themselves as best -they could in broken-down, dilapidated out-houses and barns. These -latter proceedings were afterwards found to have been illegal, the -original summonses, on which the second proceedings were taken, -having been exhausted in the previous evictions, when the Macinneses -and the Macraes were unsuccessfully charged with deforcing the -sheriff-officers. The proceedings were universally condemned by every -right-thinking person who knew the district, as quite uncalled for, -most unjustifiable and improper, as well as for “the reckless cruelty -and inhumanity with which they were carried through.” Yet, the factor -issued a circular in defence of such horrid work in which he coolly -informed the public that these evictions were “prompted by motives of -benevolence, piety, and humanity,” and that the cause for them all -was “because they (the people) were too far from Church.” Oh God! -what crimes have been committed in Thy name, and in that of religion! -Preserve us from such piety and humanity as were exhibited by Lord -Macdonald and his factor on this and other occasions. - - -A CONTRAST. - -Before leaving Skye, it will be interesting to see the difference of -opinion which existed among the chiefs regarding the eviction of the -people at this period and a century earlier. We have just seen what -a Lord Macdonald has done in the present century, little more than -thirty years ago. Let us compare his proceedings and feelings to those -of his ancestor, in 1739, a century earlier. In that year a certain -Norman Macleod managed to get some islanders to emigrate, and it was -feared that Government would hold Sir Alexander Macdonald of Sleat -responsible, as he was reported to have encouraged Macleod. - -The baronet being from home, his wife, Lady Margaret, wrote to Lord -Justice-Clerk Milton on the 1st of January, 1740, pleading with him -to use all his influence against a prosecution of her husband, which, -“tho’ it cannot be dangerouse to him, yett it cannot faill of being -both troublesome and expensive.” She begins her letter by stating -that she was informed “by different hands from Edinburgh that there -is a currant report of a ship’s haveing gone from thiss country with -a greate many people designed for America, and that Sir Alexander is -thought to have concurred in forceing these people away.” She then -declares the charge against her husband to be “a falsehood,” but she -“is quite acquainted with the danger of a report” of that nature. -Instead of Sir Alexander being a party to the proceedings of this -“Norman Macleod, with a number of fellows that he had picked up execute -his intentions,” he “was both angry and concern’d to hear that some of -his oune people were taken in thiss affair.” - -What a contrast between the sentiments here expressed and those which -carried out the modern evictions! And yet it is well-known that, in -other respects no more humane man ever lived than he who was nominally -responsible for the cruelties in Skye and at Sollas. He allowed -himself to be imposed upon by others, and completely abdicated his -high functions as landlord and chief of his people. We have the most -conclusive testimony and assurance from one who knew his lordship -intimately, that, to his dying day, he never ceased to regret what had -been done in his name, and at the time, with his tacit approval, in -Skye and in North Uist. - - -SOUTH UIST AND BARRA. - -Napoleon Bonaparte, at one time, took 500 prisoners and was unable to -provide food for them. Let them go he would not, though he saw that -they would perish by famine. His ideas of mercy suggested to him to -have them all shot. They were by his orders formed into a square, and -2000 French muskets with ball cartridge was simultaneously levelled at -them, which soon put the disarmed mass of human beings out of pain. -Donald Macleod refers to this painful act as follows:-- - -“All the Christian nations of Europe were horrified, every breast was -full of indignation at the perpetrator of this horrible tragedy, and -France wept bitterly for the manner in which the tender mercies of -their wicked Emperor were exhibited. Ah! but guilty Christians, you -Protestant law-making Britain, tremble when you look towards the great -day of retribution. Under the protection of your law, Colonel Gordon -has consigned 1500 men, women, and children, to a death a hundred-fold -more agonising and horrifying. With the sanction of your law he -(Colonel Gordon) and his predecessors, in imitation of his Grace the -Duke of Sutherland and his predecessors, removed the people from the -land created by God, suitable for cultivation, and for the use of man, -and put it under brute animals; and threw the people upon bye-corners, -precipices, and barren moors, there exacting exorbitant rack-rents, -until the people were made penniless, so that they could neither -leave the place nor better their condition in it. The potato-blight -blasted their last hopes of retaining life upon the unproductive -patches--hence they became clamourous for food. Their distress was made -known through the public press; public meetings were held, and it was -managed by some known knaves to saddle the God of providence with the -whole misery--a job in which many of God’s professing and well-paid -servants took a very active part. The generous public responded; -immense sums of money were placed in the hands of Government agents and -other individuals, to save the people from death by famine on British -soil. - -“Colonel Gordon and his worthy allies were silent contributors, though -terrified. The gallant gentleman solicited Government, through the -Home Secretary, to purchase the Island of Barra for a penal colony, -but it would not suit. Yet our humane Government sympathised with the -Colonel and his coadjutors, and consulted the honourable and brave -MacNeil, the chief pauper gauger of Scotland, upon the most effective -and speediest scheme to relieve the gallant Colonel and colleagues -from this clamour and eye-sore, as well as to save their pockets -from able-bodied paupers. The result was, that a liberal grant from -the public money, which had been granted a twelve-month before for -the purpose of improving and cultivating the Highlands, was made to -Highland proprietors to assist them to drain the nation of its best -blood, and to banish the Highlanders across the Atlantic, there to -die by famine among strangers in the frozen regions of Canada, far -from British sympathy, and far from the resting-place of their brave -ancestors, though the idea of mingling with kindred dust, to the -Highlanders, is a consolation at death, more than any other race of -people I have known or read of under heaven. - -“Oh! Christian people, Christian people, Christian fathers and mothers, -who are living at ease, and never experienced such treatment and -concomitant sufferings; you Christian rulers, Christian electors, and -representatives, permit not Christianity to blush and hide her face -with shame before heathenism and idolatry any longer. I speak with -reverence when I say, permit not Mahomet Ali to deride our Saviour -with the conduct of His followers--allow not demons to exclaim in the -face of heaven, ‘What can you expect of us, when Christians, thy chosen -people, are guilty of such deeds of inhumanity to their own species?’ - -“Come, then, for the sake of neglected humanity and prostrated -Christianity, and look at this helpless, unfortunate people; place -yourselves for a moment in their hopeless condition at their -embarkation, decoyed, in the name of the British Government, by false -promises of assistance, to procure homes and comforts in Canada, -which were denied to them at home--decoyed, I say, to an unwilling -and partial consent--and those who resisted or recoiled from this -conditional consent, and who fled to the caves and mountains to -hide themselves from the brigands, look at them, chased and caught -by policemen, constables, and other underlings of Colonel Gordon, -handcuffed, it is said, and huddled together with the rest on an -emigrant vessel. Hear the sobbing, sighing, and throbbings of -their guileless, warm Highland hearts, taking their last look, and -bidding a final adieu to their romantic mountains and valleys, the -fertile straths, dales, and glens, which their forefathers from time -immemorial inhabited, and where they are now lying in undisturbed and -everlasting repose, in spots endeared and sacred to the memory of -their unfortunate offspring, who must now bid a mournful farewell to -their early associations, which were as dear and as sacred to them -as their very existence, and which had hitherto made them patient in -suffering. But follow them on their six weeks’ dreary passage, rolling -upon the mountainous billows of the Atlantic, ill-fed, ill-clad, -among sickness, disease, and excrements. Then come ashore with them -where death is in store for them--hear the captain giving orders to -discharge the cargo of live stock--see the confusion, hear the noise, -the bitter weeping and bustle; hear mothers and children asking fathers -and husbands, where are we going? hear the reply, ‘chan eil fios -againn’--we know not; see them in groups in search of the Government -Agent, who, they were told, was to give them money; look at their -despairing countenances when they come to learn that no agent in Canada -is authorised to give them a penny; hear them praying the captain to -bring them back that they might die among their native hills, that -their ashes might mingle with those of their forefathers; hear this -request refused, and the poor helpless wanderers bidding adieu to the -captain and crew, who showed them all the kindness they could, and to -the vessel to which they formed something like an attachment during -the voyage; look at them scantily clothed, destitute of food, without -implements of husbandry, consigned to their fate, carrying their -children on their backs, begging as they crawl along in a strange land, -unqualified to beg or buy their food for want of English, until the -slow moving and mournful company reach Toronto and Hamilton, in Upper -Canada, where, according to all accounts, they spread themselves over -their respective burying-places, where famine and frost-bitten deaths -were awaiting them. - -“This is a painful picture, the English language fails to supply me -with words to describe it. I wish the spectrum would depart from me to -those who could describe it and tell the result. But how can Colonel -Gordon, the Duke of Sutherland, James Loch, Lord Macdonald, and others -of the unhallowed league and abettors, after looking at this sight, -remain in Christian communion, ruling elders in Christian Churches, -and partake of the emblems of Christ’s body broken and shed blood? -But the great question is, Can we as a nation be guiltless and allow -so many of our fellow creatures to be treated in such a manner, and -not exert ourselves to put a stop to it and punish the perpetrators? -Is ambition, which attempted to dethrone God, become omnipotent, or -so powerful, when incarnated in the shape of Highland dukes, lords, -esquires, colonels, and knights, that we must needs submit to its -revolting deeds? Are parchment rights of property so sacred that -thousands of human beings must be sacrificed year after year, till -there is no end of such, to preserve them inviolate? Are sheep walks, -deer forests, hunting parks, and game preserves, so beneficial to the -nation that the Highlands must be converted into a hunting desert, and -the aborigines banished and murdered? I know that thousands will answer -in the negative; yet they will fold their arms in criminal apathy until -the extirpation and destruction of my race shall be completed. Fearful -is the catalogue of those who have already become the victims of the -cursed clearing system in the Highlands, by famine, fire, drowning, -banishment, vice, and crime.” - -He then publishes the following communication from an eye-witness, on -the enormities perpetrated in South Uist and in the Island of Barra in -the summer of 1851:-- - -“The unfeeling and deceitful conduct of those acting for Colonel Gordon -cannot be too strongly censured. The duplicity and art which was used -by them in order to entrap the unwary natives, is worthy of the craft -and cunning of an old slave-trader. Many of the poor people were told -in my hearing that Sir John M’Neil would be in Canada before them, -where he would have every necessary prepared for them. Some of the -officials signed a document binding themselves to emigrate, in order -to induce the poor people to give their names; but in spite of all -these stratagems, many of the people saw through them and refused out -and out to go. When the transports anchored in Loch Boisdale these -tyrants threw off their masks, and the work of devastation and cruelty -commenced. The poor people were commanded to attend a public meeting -at Loch Boisdale, where the transports lay, and, according to the -intimation, any one absenting himself from the meeting was to be fined -in the sum of two pounds sterling. At this meeting some of the natives -were seized and, in spite of their entreaties, sent on board the -transports. One stout Highlander, named Angus Johnston, resisted with -such pith that they had to handcuff him before he could be mastered; -but in consequence of the priest’s interference his manacles were -removed, and he was marched between four officers on board the emigrant -vessel. One morning, during the transporting season, we were suddenly -awakened by the screams of a young female who had been re-captured -in an adjoining house, she having escaped after her first capture. -We all rushed to the door, and saw the broken-hearted creature, with -dishevelled hair and swollen face, dragged away by two constables and -a ground officer. Were you to see the racing and chasing of policemen, -constables, and ground officers, pursuing the outlawed natives, you -would think, only for their colour, that you had been, by some miracle, -transported to the banks of the Gambia, on the slave coast of Africa. - -“The conduct of the Rev. H. Beatson on that occasion is deserving of -the censure of every feeling heart. This ‘wolf in sheeps’ clothing’ -made himself very officious, as he always does, when he has an -opportunity of oppressing the poor Barra men, and of gaining the favour -of Colonel Gordon. In fact, he is the most vigilant and assiduous -officer Colonel Gordon has. He may be seen in Castle Bay, the principal -anchorage in Barra, whenever a sail is hoisted, directing his men, -like a gamekeeper with his hounds, in case any of the doomed Barra men -should escape. He offered one day to board an Arran boat, that had a -poor man concealed, but the master, John Crawford, lifted a hand-spike -and threatened to split the skull of the first man who would attempt to -board his boat, and thus the poor Barra man escaped their clutches. - -“I may state in conclusion that, two girls, daughters of John -Macdougall, brother of Barr Macdougall, whose name is mentioned in Sir -John M’Neil’s report, have fled to the mountains to elude the grasp -of the expatriators, where they still are, if in life. Their father, -a frail, old man, along with the rest of the family, has been sent to -Canada. The respective ages of these girls are 12 and 14 years. Others -have fled in the same way, but I cannot give their names just now.”[19] - -[19] See Note B in Appendices. - -We shall now take the reader after these people to Canada, and witness -their deplorable and helpless condition and privations in a strange -land. The following is extracted from a Quebec newspaper:-- - -“We noticed in our last the deplorable condition of the 600 paupers -who were sent to this country from the Kilrush Unions. We have to-day -a still more dismal picture to draw. Many of our readers may not be -aware that there lives such a personage as Colonel Gordon, proprietor -of large estates in South Uist and Barra, in the Highlands of Scotland. -We are sorry to be obliged to introduce him to their notice under -circumstances which will not give them a very favourable opinion of his -character and heart. - -“It appears that his tenants on the above-mentioned estates were on -the verge of starvation, and had probably become an eye-sore to the -gallant Colonel! He decided on shipping them to America. What they were -to do there was a question he never put to his conscience. Once landed -in Canada, he had no further concern about them. Up to last week, some -1100 souls from his estates had landed at Quebec, and begged their way -to Upper Canada; when in the summer season, having only a daily morsel -of food to procure, they probably escaped the extreme misery which -seems to be the lot of those who followed them. - -“On their arrival here, they voluntarily made and signed the following -statement:--‘We, the undersigned passengers per _Admiral_, from -Stornoway, in the Highlands of Scotland, do solemnly depose to the -following facts:--That Colonel Gordon is proprietor of estates in South -Uist and Barra; that among many hundreds of tenants and cottars whom -he has sent this season from his estates to Canada, he gave directions -to his factor, Mr. Fleming of Cluny Castle, Aberdeenshire, to ship on -board of the above-named vessel a number of nearly 450 of said tenants -and cottars, from the estate in Barra; that, accordingly, a great -majority of these people, among whom were the undersigned, proceeded -voluntarily to embark on board the _Admiral_, at Loch Boisdale, on -or about the 11th August, 1851; but that several of the people who -were intended to be shipped for this port, Quebec, refused to proceed -on board, and, in fact, absconded from their homes to avoid the -embarkation. Whereupon Mr. Fleming gave orders to a policeman, who -was accompanied by the ground officer of the estate in Barra, and -some constables, to pursue the people, who had run away, among the -mountains; which they did, and succeeded in capturing about twenty from -the mountains and islands in the neighbourhood; but only came with the -officers on an attempt being made to handcuff them; and that some who -ran away were not brought back, in consequence of which four families -at least have been divided, some having come in the ships to Quebec, -while the other members of the same families are left in the Highlands. - -“‘The undersigned further declare that those who voluntarily embarked -did so under promises to the effect that Colonel Gordon would defray -their passage to Quebec; that the Government Emigration Agent there -would send the whole party free to Upper Canada, where, on arrival, the -Government agents would give them work, and furthermore, grant them -land on certain conditions. - -“‘The undersigned finally declare, that they are now landed in Quebec -so destitute, that if immediate relief be not afforded them, and -continued until they are settled in employment, the whole will be -liable to perish with want.’ - - (Signed) “HECTOR LAMONT, - and 70 others. - -“This is a beautiful picture! Had the scene been laid in Russia or -Turkey, the barbarity of the proceeding would have shocked the nerves -of the reader; but when it happens in Britain, emphatically the land -of liberty, where every man’s house, even the hut of the poorest, is -said to be his castle, the expulsion of these unfortunate creatures -from their homes--the man-hunt with policemen and bailiffs--the violent -separation of families--the parent torn from the child, the mother -from her daughter, the infamous trickery practised on those who did -embark--the abandonment of the aged, the infirm, women, and tender -children, in a foreign land--forms a tableau which cannot be dwelt on -for an instant without horror. Words cannot depict the atrocity of the -deed. For cruelty less savage, the slave-dealers of the South have been -held up to the execration of the world. - -“And if, as men, the sufferings of these our fellow-creatures find -sympathy in our hearts, as Canadians their wrongs concern us more -dearly. The fifteen hundred souls whom Colonel Gordon has sent to -Quebec this season have all been supported for the past week, at least, -and conveyed to Upper Canada at the expense of the colony; and on their -arrival in Toronto and Hamilton the greater number have been dependent -on the charity of the benevolent for a morsel of bread. Four hundred -are in the river at present, and will arrive in a day or two, making a -total of nearly 2000 of Colonel Gordon’s tenants and cottars whom the -province will have to support. The winter is at hand, work is becoming -scarce in Upper Canada. Where are these people to find food?”[20] - -[20] _Quebec Times._ - -We take the following from an Upper Canadian paper describing the -position of the same people after finding their way to Ontario:-- - -“We have been pained beyond measure for some time past to witness -in our streets so many unfortunate Highland emigrants, apparently -destitute of any means of subsistence, and many of them sick from -want and other attendant causes. It was pitiful the other day to view -a funeral of one of these wretched people. It was, indeed, a sad -procession. The coffin was constructed of the rudest material; a few -rough boards nailed together was all that could be afforded to convey -to its last resting-place the body of the homeless emigrant. Children -followed in the mournful train; perchance they followed a brother’s -bier, one with whom they had sported and played for many a healthful -day among their native glens. Theirs were looks of indescribable -sorrow. They were in rags; their mourning weeds were the shapeless -fragments of what had once been clothes. There was a mother, too, among -the mourners, one who had tended the departed with anxious care in -infancy, and had doubtless looked forward to a happier future in this -land of plenty. The anguish of her countenance told too plainly these -hopes were blasted, and she was about to bury them in the grave of her -child. - -“There will be many to sound the fulsome noise of flattery in the -ear of the generous landlord, who had spent so much to assist the -emigration of his poor tenants. They will give him the misnomer of -a _benefactor_, and for what? Because he has rid his estates of the -encumbrance of a pauper population. - -“Emigrants of the poorer class who arrive here from the Western -Highlands of Scotland are often so situated that their emigration is -more cruel than banishment. Their last shilling is spent probably -before they reach the upper province--they are reduced to the necessity -of begging. But, again, the case of those emigrants of whom we speak is -rendered more deplorable from their ignorance of the English tongue. Of -the hundreds of Highlanders in and around Dundas at present, perhaps -not half-a-dozen understand anything but Gaelic. - -“In looking at these matters, we are impressed with the conviction -that, so far from emigration being a panacea for Highland destitution, -it is fraught with disasters of no ordinary magnitude to the emigrant -whose previous habits, under the most favourable circumstances, render -him unable to take advantage of the industry of Canada, even when -brought hither free of expense. We may assist these poor creatures for -a time, but charity will scarcely bide the hungry cravings of so many -for a very long period. Winter is approaching, and then--but we leave -this painful subject for the present.[21]” - -[21] _Dundas Warder_, 2nd October, 1851. - - -THE ISLAND OF RUM. - -This island, at one time, had a large population, all of whom were -weeded out in the usual way. The Rev. Donald Maclean, Minister of the -Parish of Small Isles, informs us in _The New Statistical Account_, -that “in 1826 all the inhabitants of the Island of Rum, amounting at -least to 400 souls, found it necessary to leave their native land, -and to seek for new abodes in the distant wilds of our colonies in -America. Of all the old residenters, only one family remained upon -the Island. The old and the young, the feeble and the strong, were -all united in this general emigration--the former to find tombs in a -foreign land--the latter to encounter toils, privations, and dangers, -to become familiar with customs, and to acquire that to which they had -been entire strangers. A similar emigration took place in 1828, from -the Island of Muck, so that the parish has now become much depopulated.” - -In 1831 the population of the whole parish was 1015, while before that -date it was much larger. In 1851 it was 916. In 1881 it was reduced to -550. The total population of Rum in 1881 was 89 souls. - -Hugh Miller, who visited the Island, describes it and the evictions -thus:-- - -“The evening was clear, calm, golden-tinted; even wild heaths and rude -rocks had assumed a flush of transient beauty; and the emerald-green -patches on the hill-sides, barred by the plough lengthwise, diagonally, -and transverse, had borrowed an aspect of soft and velvety richness, -from the mellowed light and the broadening shadows. All was solitary. -We could see among the deserted fields the grass-grown foundations -of cottages razed to the ground; but the valley, more desolate than -that which we had left, had not even its single inhabited dwelling; -it seemed as if man had done with it for ever. The island, eighteen -years before, had been divested of its inhabitants, amounting at the -time to rather more than four hundred souls, to make way for one sheep -farmer and eight thousand sheep. All the aborigines of Rum crossed the -Atlantic; and, at the close of 1828, the entire population consisted -of but the sheep farmer, and a few shepherds, his servants: the Island -of Rum reckoned up scarce a single family at this period for every -five square miles of area which it contained. But depopulation on so -extreme a scale was found inconvenient; the place had been rendered -too thoroughly a desert for the comfort of the occupant; and on the -occasion of a clearing which took place shortly after in Skye, he -accommodated some ten or twelve of the ejected families with sites -for cottages, and pasturage for a few cows, on the bit of morass -beside Loch Scresort, on which I had seen their humble dwellings. But -the whole of the once-peopled interior remains a wilderness, without -inhabitants,--all the more lonely in its aspect from the circumstance -that the solitary valleys, with their plough-furrowed patches, and -their ruined heaps of stone, open upon shores every whit as solitary as -themselves, and that the wide untrodden sea stretches drearily around. - -“The armies of the insect world were sporting in the light this evening -by the million; a brown stream that runs through the valley yielded -an incessant poppling sound, from the myriads of fish that were -ceaselessly leaping in the pools, beguiled by the quick glancing wings -of green and gold that fluttered over them; along a distant hillside -there ran what seemed the ruins of a grey-stone fence, erected, says -tradition, in a remote age to facilitate the hunting of the deer; there -were fields on which the heath and moss of the surrounding moorlands -were fast encroaching, that had borne many a successive harvest; and -prostrate cottages, that had been the scenes of christenings, and -bridals, and blythe new-year’s days;--all seemed to bespeak the place -of fitting habitation for man, in which not only the necessaries, but -also a few of the luxuries of life, might be procured; but in the -entire prospect not a man nor a man’s dwelling could the eye command. -The landscape was one without figures. - -“I do not much like extermination carried out so thoroughly and on -system;--it seems bad policy; and I have not succeeded in thinking any -the better of it though assured by the economists that there are more -than enough people in Scotland still. There are, I believe, more than -enough in our workhouses--more than enough on our pauper rolls--more -than enough muddled up, disreputable, useless, and unhappy, in their -miasmatic valleys and typhoid courts of our large towns; but I have -yet to learn how arguments for local depopulation are to be drawn -from facts such as these. A brave and hardy people, favourably placed -for the development of all that is excellent in human nature, form -the glory and strength of a country;--a people sunk into an abyss -of degradation and misery, and in which it is the whole tendency of -external circumstances to sink them yet deeper, constitute its weakness -and its shame; and I cannot quite see on what principle the ominous -increase which is taking place among us in the worse class, is to form -our solace or apology for the wholesale expatriation of the better. - -“It did not seem as if the depopulation of Rum had tended much to -anyone’s advantage. The single sheep farmer who had occupied the -holdings of so many had been unfortunate in his speculations, and had -left the island; the proprietor, his landlord, seemed to have been -as little fortunate as the tenant, for the island itself was in the -market, and a report went current at the time that it was on the eve of -being purchased by some wealthy Englishman, who purposed converting it -into a deer forest. - -“How strange a cycle! Uninhabited originally, save by wild animals, -it became at an early period a home of men, who, as the gray wall on -the hillside testified, derived in part at least, their sustenance -from the chase. They broke in from the waste the furrowed patches on -the slopes of the valleys,--they reared herds of cattle and flocks of -sheep,--their number increased to nearly five hundred souls,--they -enjoyed the average happiness of human creatures in the present -imperfect state of being,--they contributed their portion of hardy and -vigorous manhood to the armies of the country, and a few of their more -adventurous spirits, impatient of the narrow bounds which confined -them, and a course of life little varied by incident, emigrated to -America. Then came the change of system so general in the Highlands; -and the island lost all its original inhabitants, on a wool and mutton -speculation,--inhabitants, the descendants of men who had chased the -deer on its hills five hundred years before, and who, though they -recognized some wild island lord as their superior, and did him -service, had regarded the place as indisputably their own. And now yet -another change was on the eve of ensuing, and the island was to return -to its original state, as a home of wild animals, where a few hunters -from the mainland might enjoy the chase for a month or two every -twelve-month, but which could form no permanent place of human abode. -Once more a strange, and surely most melancholy cycle!”[22] - -[22] Leading articles from the _Witness_. - -In another place the same writer asks, - -“Where was the one tenant of the island, for whose sake so many others -had been removed?” and he answers, “We found his house occupied by a -humble shepherd, who had in charge the wreck of his property,--property -no longer his, but held for the benefit of his creditors. The great -sheep farmer had gone down under circumstances of very general bearing, -and on whose after development, when in their latent state, improving -landlords had failed to calculate.” - -HARRIS and the other Western Islands suffered in a similar manner. -Mull, Tiree, and others in Argyllshire are noticed in dealing with that -county. - - - - -_ARGYLLSHIRE._ - - -BY ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. - -In many parts of Argyllshire the people have been weeded out none the -less effectively, that the process generally was of a milder nature -than that adopted in some of the places already described. By some -means or other, however, the ancient tenantry have largely disappeared -to make room for the sheep farmer and the sportsman. Mr. Somerville, -Lochgilphead, writing on this subject, says, “The watchword of all -is exterminate, exterminate the native race. Through this monomania -of landlords the cottier population is all but extinct; and the -substantial yeoman is undergoing the same process of dissolution.” He -then proceeds:-- - -“About nine miles of country on the west side of Loch Awe, in -Argyllshire, that formerly maintained 45 families, are now rented by -one person as a sheep farm; and in the island of Luing, same county, -which formerly contained about 50 substantial farmers, besides -cottiers, this number is now reduced to about six. The work of eviction -commenced by giving, in many cases, to the ejected population, -facilities and pecuniary aid for emigration; but now the people -are turned adrift, penniless and shelterless, to seek a precarious -subsistence on the sea-board, in the nearest hamlet or village, -and in the cities, many of whom sink down helpless paupers on our -poor-roll; and others, festering in our villages, form a formidable -Arab population, who drink our money contributed as parochial relief. -This wholesale depopulation is perpetrated, too, in a spirit of -invidiousness, harshness, cruelty, and injustice, and must eventuate -in permanent injury to the moral, political, and social interests -of the kingdom.... The immediate effects of this new system are the -dissociation of the people from the land, who are virtually denied -the right to labour on God’s creation. In L----, for instance, garden -ground and small allotments of land are in great demand by families, -and especially by the aged, whose labouring days are done, for the -purpose of keeping cows, and by which they might be able to earn an -honest, independent maintenence for their families, and whereby their -children might be brought up to labour instead of growing up vagabonds -and thieves. But such, even in our centres of population, cannot be -got; the whole is let in large farms and turned into grazing. The few -patches of bare pasture, formed by the delta of rivers, the detritus -of rocks, and tidal deposits, are let for grazing at the exorbitant -rent of £3 10s. each for a small Highland cow; and the small space to -be had for garden ground is equally extravagant. The consequence of -these exorbitant rents and the want of agricultural facilities is a -depressed, degraded, and pauperised population.” - -These remarks are only too true, and applicable not only in -Argyllshire, but throughout the Highlands generally. - -A deputation from the Glasgow Highland Relief Board, consisting of Dr. -Robert Macgregor, and Mr. Charles R. Baird, their Secretary, visited -Mull, Ulva, Iona, Tiree, Coll, and part of Morvern, in 1849, and they -immediately afterwards issued a printed report on the state of these -places, from which a few extracts will prove instructive. They inform -us that the population of - - -THE ISLAND OF MULL. - -according to the Government Census of 1821, was 10,612; in 1841, -10,064. In 1871, we find it reduced to 6441, and by the Census of 1881, -now before us, it is stated at 5624, or a fraction more than half the -number that inhabited the Island in 1821. - -TOBERMORY, we are told, “has been for some time the resort of the -greater part of the small crofters and cottars, _ejected_ from their -holdings and houses on the surrounding estates, and thus there has been -a great accumulation of distress.” Then we are told that “severe as -the destitution has been in the rural districts, we think it has been -still more so in Tobermory and other villages”--a telling comment on, -and reply to, those who would now have us believe that the evictors of -those days and of our own were acting the character of wise benefactors -when they ejected the people from the inland and rural districts of -the various counties to wretched villages, and rocky hamlets on the -sea-shore. - -ULVA.--The population of the Island of Ulva in 1849 was 360 souls. The -reporters state that a “large portion” of it “has lately been converted -into a sheep farm, and consequently a number of small crofters and -cottars have been warned away” by Mr. Clark. “Some of these will find -great difficulty in settling themselves anywhere, and all of them have -little prospect of employment.... Whatever may be the ultimate effect -to the landowners of the conversion of a number of small crofts into -large farms, we need scarcely say that this process is causing much -poverty and misery among the crofters.” How Mr. Clark carried out his -intention of evicting the tenantry of Ulva may be seen from the fact -that the population of 360 souls, in 1849, was reduced to 51 in 1881. - -KILFINICHEN.--In this district we are told that “The crofters and -cottars having been warned off, 26 individuals emigrated to America, -at their own expense and one at that of the Parochial Board; a good -many removed to Kinloch, where they are now in great poverty, and those -who remained were not allowed to cultivate any ground for crop or even -garden stuffs. The stock and other effects of a number of crofters -on Kinloch last year (1848), whose rents averaged from £5 to £15 per -annum, having been sequestrated and sold, these parties are now reduced -to a state of pauperism, having no employment or means of subsistence -whatever.” As to the cottars, it is said that “the great mass of them -are now in a very deplorable state.” On the estate of - -GRIBUN, Colonel Macdonald of Inchkenneth, the proprietor, gave the -people plenty of work, by which they were quite independent of relief -from any quarter, and the character which he gives to the deputation -of the people generally is most refreshing, when we compare it with -the baseless charges usually made against them by the majority of -his class. The reporters state that “Colonel Macdonald spoke in high -terms of the honesty of the people and of their great patience and -forbearance under their severe privations.” It is gratifying to be able -to record this simple act of justice, not only as the people’s due, but -specially to the credit of Colonel Macdonald’s memory and goodness of -heart. - -BUNESSAN.--Respecting this district, belonging to the Duke of Argyll, -our authority says:--“It will be recollected that the [Relief] -Committee, some time ago, advanced £128 to assist in procuring -provisions for a number of emigrants from the Duke of Argyll’s estate, -in the Ross of Mull and Iona, in all 243 persons--125 adults and 118 -children. When there, we made inquiry into the matter, and were -informed [by those, as it proved, quite ignorant of the facts] that -the emigration had been productive of much good, as the parties who -emigrated could not find the means of subsistence in this country, -and had every _prospect_ of doing so in Canada, where all of them -had relations; and also because the land occupied by some of these -emigrants had been given to increase the crofts of others. Since -our return home, however, we have received the very melancholy and -distressing intelligence, that many of these emigrants had been seized -with cholera on their arrival in Canada; that not a few of them had -fallen victims to it; and that the survivors had suffered great -privations.” Compare the “prospect,” of much good, predicted for these -poor creatures, with the sad reality of having been forced away to die -a terrible death immediately on their arrival on a foreign shore! - -IONA, at this time, contained a population of 500, reduced in 1881 to -243. It also is the property of the Duke of Argyll, as well as - -THE ISLAND OF TIREE, the population of which is given in the report -as follows:--In 1755, it was 1509, increasing in 1777, to 1681; -in 1801, to 2416; in 1821, to 4181; and in 1841 to 4687. In 1849, -“after considerable emigrations,” it was 3903; while in 1881, it was -reduced to 2733. The deputation recommended emigration from Tiree -as imperatively necessary, but they “call especial attention to the -necessity of emigration being conducted on proper principles, or, ‘on -a system calculated to promote the permanent benefit of those who -emigrate, and of those who remain,’ because we have reason to fear that -not a few parties in these districts are anxious to get rid of the -small crofters and cottars at all hazard, and without making sufficient -provision for their future comfort and settlement elsewhere; and -because we have seen the very distressing account of the privations and -sufferings of the poor people who emigrated from Tiree and the Ross of -Mull to Canada this year (1849), and would spare no pains to prevent -a recurrence of such deplorable circumstances. As we were informed -that the Duke of Argyll had expended nearly £1200 on account of the -emigrants (in all 247 souls) from Tiree; as the Committee advanced -£131 15s. to purchase provisions for them; and as funds were remitted -to Montreal to carry them up the country, we sincerely trust that -the account we have seen of their sufferings in Canada is somewhat -over-charged, and that it is not at all events to be ascribed to want -of due provision being made for them, ere they left this country, to -carry them to their destination. Be this as it may, however, we trust -that no emigration will in future be promoted by proprietors or others, -which will not secure, as far as human effort can, _the benefit of -those who emigrate_, as well as of those who are left at home.... Being -aware of the poverty of the great majority of the inhabitants of this -island, and of the many difficulties with which they have to contend, -we were agreeably surprised to find their dwellings remarkably neat and -clean--very superior indeed, both externally and internally, to those -of the other islands; nay, more, such as would bear comparison with -cottages in any part of the kingdom. The inhabitants, too, we believe, -are active and enterprising, and, if once put in a fair way of doing -so, would soon raise themselves to comfort and independence.” Very -good, indeed, Tiree! - -THE ISLAND OF COLL, which is separated from Tiree by a channel only two -miles in width, had a population, in 1755, of 1193; in 1771, of 1200; -in 1801, of 1162; in 1821, of 1264. In 1841 it reached 1409. At the -time of the visit of the deputation, from whose report we quote, the -population of the Island was down to 1235; while in 1881 it had fallen -to 643. The deputation report that during the destitution the work -done by the Coll people “approximates, if it does exceed, the supplies -given;” they are “hard working and industrious.... We saw considerable -tracts of ground which we were assured might be reclaimed and -cultivated with profit, and are satisfied that fishing is a resource -capable of great improvement, and at which, therefore, many of the -people might be employed to advantage; we are disposed to think that, -by a little attention and prudent outlay of capital, the condition -of the people here might ere long be greatly improved. The grand -difficulty in the way, however, is the want of capital. Mr. Maclean, -the principal proprietor, always acted most liberally when he had it in -his power to do so, but, unfortunately, he has no longer the ability, -and the other two proprietors are also under trust.” Notwithstanding -these possibilities the population is undergoing a constant process of -diminution. - -We shall now return to the mainland portion of the County, and take a -glance at the parish of - - -ARDNAMURCHAN.[23] - -[23] Compiled partly from evidence submitted to Deer Forest Commission -of 1892 (see Minute of Evidence, vol. ii., pp. 884-5 and pp. 912-3), -and partly from notes of conversations which the Editor has had with -actual witnesses of the incidents described. - -“Uaine gu’m mullach” (green to their tops!). So Dr. Norman Macleod -described the bens of Ardnamurchan in his inimitable sketch, the -“Emigrant Ship,” and so they appear even to this day. Their beautiful -slopes show scarcely a vestige of heather, but an abundance of rich, -sweet grass of a quality eminently suitable for pasturage. - -As the steamboat passenger sails northward through the Sound of Mull, -he sees straight ahead, and stretching at right angles across his -course, a long range of low hills culminating in a finely-shaped mass -which seems to rise abruptly from the edge of the sea. The hills are -those of Ardnamurchan, and the dominating pile is Ben Hiant, 1729 feet -in height, and “green to its top.” Around the base of the mountain -and for miles in every direction the land is fair, fertile, and well -adapted either for arable or grazing purposes. It comprises the farm of -Mingary, and, to-day, is wholly under deer. - -Down to the second decade of last century it supported about twenty-six -families, which were distributed over the component townships of -Coire-mhuilinn, Skinid, Buarblaig, and Tornamona. At one sweep, the -whole place was cleared, and the grounds added to the adjacent sheep -farm of Mingary. The evictions were carried out in 1828, the process -being attended with many acts of heartless cruelty on the part of -the laird’s representatives. In one case a half-witted woman who -flatly refused to flit, was locked up in her cottage, the door being -barricaded on the outside by mason-work. She was visited every morning -to see if she had arrived at a tractable frame of mind, but for days -she held out. It was not until her slender store of food was exhausted -that she ceased to argue with the inevitable and decided to capitulate. -It is to cases of this character that Dr. John MacLachlan, the Sweet -Singer of Rahoy, referred in the lines-- - - “An dall, an seann duine san oinid - Toirt am mallachd air do bhuaireas.” - -(The blind, the aged, and the imbecile calling curses on thy greed.) -The proprietor at whose instance these “removals” were carried out was -Sir James Milles Riddell, Bart. Of the dislodged families a few were -given small patches of waste land, some were given holdings in various -townships on the estate--the crofts of which were sub-divided for -their accommodation--and some were forced to seek sanctuary beyond the -Atlantic. - -Additional clearances were effected on the Ardnamurchan estate in -1853, when Swordle-chaol, Swordle-mhor, and Swordle-chorrach, with an -aggregate area of about 3000 acres, were divested of their crofting -population, and thrown into a single sheep farm. Swordle-chaol was -occupied by four tenants, Swordle-mhor by six, and Swordle-chorrach by -six. Five years previous to the evictions, all the crofters came under -a written obligation to the proprietor to build new dwelling-houses. -The walls were to be of stone and lime, 40 ft. long, 17-1/2 ft. wide, -and 7-1/2 ft. high. The houses, two-gabled, were to have each two -rooms and a kitchen, with wooden ceiling and floors, the kitchen -alone to be floored with flags. By the end of 1851 all the tenants -had faithfully implemented their promise, and the work of building -was quite completed. Tradesmen had been employed in every case, and -the cost averaged from £45 to £50. When the people were ejected, two -years later, they received no compensation whatever for their labours -and outlays. They were not even permitted to remove a door, a window, -or a fixed cupboard. Some of the houses are still intact in this year -of grace, 1914, one being occupied by a shepherd on Swordle farm, -and another used as a byre. They compare favourably as regards size, -design, and workmanship with the best and most modern crofter houses -in the Ardnamurchan district. The Swordle tenants were among the -best-to-do on the estate, and not one of them owed the proprietor a -shilling in the way of arrears of rent. When cast adrift, the majority -of them were assigned “holdings” of one acre or so in the rough lands -of Sanna and Portuairk, where they had to start to reclaim peatbogs and -to build for themselves houses and steadings. Sir James Milles Riddell -was the proprietor responsible for clearing the Swordles as well as the -Ben Hiant townships.[24] - -[24] See Note C in Appendices. - -Other places which he divested of people and placed under sheep were -Laga, held by eight tenants, and Tarbert, which was in the hands of -four. - -About sixteen years ago Ben Hiant, or Mingary, as well as the Swordles, -Laga, Tarbert, and other farms, was swept clean of sheep and converted -into a deer forest, the preserve having a total area of 22,000 acres. -The woolly ruminants met with a retribution, direful and complete, and -the native people viewed the change with mild amusement. Sheep had been -the means of ruining their forefathers, whereas deer had never done -them or their kinsfolk the smallest injury. - -The highest hill on the estate of Ardnamurchan is Ben Hiant, the -altitude of which is 1729 feet. It may be described as an isolated -peak. It forms no part of any definite mountain range, although, when -viewed from the sea, it seems to blend with Ben an Leathaid and other -local eminences. For the most part, the elevation of the area embraced -in the Ardnamurchan deer forest varies from 600 feet or 700 feet to -sea-level. - - -MORVEN. - -The population of this extensive parish in 1755 was 1223; in 1795 it -increased to 1764; in 1801 to 2000; in 1821, it was 1995; in 1831, it -rose to 2137; and in 1841 it came down to 1781; in 1871, it was only -973; while in the Census Returns for 1881 we find it stated at 714, or -less than one-third of what it was fifty years before. - -The late Dr. Norman Macleod, after describing the happy state of things -which existed in this parish before the clearances, says:-- - -“But all this was changed when those tacksmen were swept away to make -room for the large sheep farms, and when the remnants of the people -flocked from their empty glens to occupy houses in wretched villages -near the sea-shore, by way of becoming fishers--often where no fish -could be caught. The result has been that ‘the Parish,’ for example, -which once had a population of 2200 souls, and received only £11 -per annum from public (Church) funds for the support of the poor, -expends now [1863] under the poor law upwards of £600 annually, with a -population diminished by one-half [since diminished to one-third] and -with poverty increased in a greater ratio.... Below these gentlemen -tacksmen were those who paid a much lower rent, and who lived very -comfortably, and shared hospitality with others, the gifts which God -gave them. I remember a group of men, tenants in a large glen, which -now has not a smoke in it, as the Highlanders say, throughout its -length of twenty miles. They had the custom of entertaining in rotation -every traveller who cast himself on their hospitality. The host on the -occasion was bound to summon his neighbours to the homely feast. It was -my good fortune to be a guest when they received the present minister -of ‘the Parish,’ while _en route_ to visit some of his flock. We had a -most sumptuous feast--oat-cakes, crisp and fresh from the fire; cream, -rich and thick, and more beautiful than nectar,--whatever that may be; -blue Highland cheese, finer than Stilton; fat hens, slowly cooked on -the fire in a pot of potatoes, without their skins, and with fresh -butter--‘stoved hens,’ as the superb dish was called; and though last, -not least, tender kid, roasted as nicely as Charles Lamb’s cracklin’ -pig. All was served up with the utmost propriety, on a table covered -with a fine white cloth, and with all the requisites for a comfortable -dinner, including the champagne of elastic, buoyant, and exciting -mountain air. The manners and conversations of those men would have -pleased the best-bred gentleman. Everything was so simple, modest, -unassuming, unaffected, yet so frank and cordial. The conversation -was such as might be heard at the table of any intelligent man. Alas! -there is not a vestige remaining of their homes. I know not whither -they are gone, but they have left no representatives behind. The land -in the glen is divided between sheep, shepherds, and the shadows of the -clouds.”[25] - -[25] _Reminiscences of a Highland Parish._ - -The Rev. Donald Macleod, editor of _Good Words_--describing the death -of the late Dr. John Macleod, the “minister of the Parish” referred to -by Dr. Norman in the above quotation, and for fifty years minister of -Morven--says of the noble patriarch:-- - -“His later years were spent in pathetic loneliness. He had seen his -parish almost emptied of its people. Glen after glen had been turned -into sheep-walks, and the cottages in which generations of gallant -Highlanders had lived and died were unroofed, their torn walls and -gables left standing like mourners beside the grave, and the little -plots of garden or of cultivated enclosure allowed to merge into the -moorland pasture. He had seen every property in the parish change -hands, and though, on the whole, kindly and pleasant proprietors came -in place of the old families, yet they were strangers to the people, -neither understanding their language nor their ways. The consequence -was that they perhaps scarcely realised the havoc produced by the -changes they inaugurated. ‘At one stroke of the pen,’ he said to me, -with a look of sadness and indignation, ‘two hundred of the people -were ordered off. There was not one of these whom I did not know, and -their fathers before them; and finer men and women never left the -Highlands.’ He thus found himself the sole remaining link between -the past and present--the one man above the rank of a peasant who -remembered the old days and the traditions of the people. The sense -of change was intensely saddened as he went through his parish and -passed ruined houses here, there, and everywhere. ‘There is not a -smoke there now,’ he used to say with pathos, of the glens which he -had known tenanted by a manly and loyal peasantry, among whom lived -song and story and the elevating influences of brave traditions. All -are gone, and the place that once knew them, knows them no more! The -hill-side, which had once borne a happy people and echoed the voices of -joyous children is now a silent sheep walk. The supposed necessities of -Political Economy have effected the exchange, but the day may come when -the country may feel the loss of the loyal and brave race which has -been driven away, and find a new meaning perhaps in the old question, -‘Is not a man better than a sheep?’ They who ‘would have shed their -blood like water’ for Queen and country, are in other lands, Highland -still, but expatriated for ever. - - From the dim shieling on the misty island, - Mountains divide us and a world of seas, - But still our hearts are true, our hearts are Highland, - And in our dreams we behold the Hebrides. - Tall are these mountains, and these woods are grand, - But we are exiled from our father’s land.”[26] - -[26] _Farewell to Fiunary_, by Donald Macleod, D.D., in _Good Words_ -for August, 1882. - - -GLENORCHY. - -Glenorchy, of which the Marquis of Breadalbane is sole proprietor, -was, like many other places, ruthlessly cleared of its whole native -population. The writer of the New Statistical Account of the Parish, -in 1843, the Rev. Duncan Maclean, “Fior Ghael” of the _Teachdaire_, -informs us that the census taken by Dr. Webster in 1755, and by Dr. -MacIntyre forty years later, in 1795, “differ exceedingly little,” only -to the number of sixty. The Marquis of the day, it is well known, was a -good friend of his reverence; the feeling was naturally reciprocated, -and one of the apparent results is that the reverend author abstained -from giving, in his Account of the Parish, the population statistics -of the Glenorchy district. It was, however, impossible to pass over -that important portion of his duty altogether, and, apparently with -reluctance, he makes the following sad admission:--“A great and rapid -decrease has, however, taken place since [referring to the population -in 1795]. This decrease is mainly attributable to the introduction of -sheep, and the absorption of small into large tenements. The aboriginal -population of the parish of Glenorchy (not of Inishail) has been -nearly supplanted by adventurers from the neighbouring district of -Breadalbane, who now occupy the far largest share of the parish. There -are a few, and only a few, shoots from the stems that supplied the -ancient population. Some clans, who were rather numerous and powerful, -have disappeared altogether; others, viz., the Downies, Macnabs, -Macnicols, and Fletchers, have nearly ceased to exist. The Macgregors, -at one time lords of the soil, have totally disappeared; not one of the -name is to be found among the population. The Macintyres, at once time -extremely numerous, are likewise greatly reduced.” - -By this nobleman’s mania for evictions, the population of Glenorchy was -reduced from 1806 in 1831 to 831 in 1841, or by nearly a thousand souls -in the short space of ten years! It is, however, gratifying to find -that it has since, under wiser management, very largely increased. - -In spite of all this we have been seriously told that there has been no - - DEPOPULATION OF THE COUNTY - -in the rural districts. In this connection some very extraordinary -public utterances were recently made by two gentlemen closely connected -with the county of Argyll, questioning or attempting to explain away -statements, made in the House of Commons by Mr. D. H. Macfarlane, M.P., -to the effect that the rural population was, from various causes, fast -disappearing from the Highlands. These utterances were--one by a no -less distinguished person that the Duke of Argyll, who published his -remarkable propositions in the _Times_; the other by Mr. John Ramsay, -M.P., the Islay distiller, who imposed his baseless statement on his -brother members in the House of Commons. These oracles should have -known better. They must clearly have taken no trouble whatever to -ascertain the facts for themselves, or, having ascertained them, kept -them back that the public might be misled on a question with which, it -is obvious to all, the personal interests of both are largely mixed up. - -Let us see how the assertions of these authorities agreed with -the actual facts. In 1831 the population of the county of Argyll -was 100,973; in 1841 it was 97,371; in 1851 it was reduced to -88,567; and in 1881 it was down to 76,468. Of the latter number the -Registrar-General classifies 30,387 as urban, or the population of -“towns and villages,” leaving us only 46,081 as the total rural -population of the county of Argyll at the date of the last Census, in -1881. In 1911 the total population for the county had dropped to 70,902. - -It will be necessary to keep in mind that in 1831 the county could not -be said to have had many “town and village” inhabitants--not more than -from 12,000 to 15,000 at most. These resided chiefly in Campbeltown, -Inveraray, and Oban; and if we deduct from the total population for -that year, numbering 100,973, even the larger estimate, 15,000 of an -urban or town population, we have still left, in 1831, an actual rural -population of 85,973, or within a fraction of double the whole rural -population of the county in 1881. In other words, the rural population -of Argyllshire was reduced in fifty years from 85,973 to 46,081, or -nearly by one-half. - -The increase of the urban or town population is going on at a fairly -rapid rate; Campbeltown, Dunoon, Oban, Ballachulish, Blairmore, and -Strone, Innellan, Lochgilphead, Tarbet, and Tighnabruaich, combined, -having added no less than some 5500 to the population of the county in -the ten years from 1871 to 1881. These populous places will be found -respectively in the parishes of Campbeltown, Lismore, and Appin, Dunoon -and Kilmun, Glassary, Kilcalmonell and Kilbery, and in Kilfinan; and -this will at once account for the comparatively good figure which -these parishes make in the tabulated statement in the Appendix. -That table will show exactly in which parishes and at what rate -depopulation progressed during the last fifty years. In many instances -the population was larger prior to 1831 than at that date, but the -years given will generally give the best idea of how the matter stood -throughout that whole period. The state of the population given in 1831 -was before the famine which occurred in 1836; while that in 1841 comes -in between that of 1836 and 1846-47, during which period large numbers -were sent away, or left for the Colonies. There was no famine between -1851 and 1881, a time during which the population was reduced from -88,567 to 76,468, notwithstanding the great increase which took place -simultaneously in the “town and village” section of the people in the -county, as well as throughout the country generally. - - - - -_BUTESHIRE._ - - -ARRAN. - -DUGALD MACKENZIE MACKILLOP ON THE ARRAN CLEARANCES.[27] - -[27] Megantic, by Dugald Mackenzie Mackillop. - -Once upon a time--and the time was 1828--Alexander, tenth Duke of -Hamilton, decided that he would make large farms on his estate, and, -of course, the will and wish of a duke in his own domains must -be respected, even though--as in one instance--the land rented by -twenty-seven families was converted into one farm. - -For various reasons, the islanders had for many years been -discontented, and there seemed no hope of a change for the better. If a -man worked his place in a progressive way and made improvements on the -farm, the benefit accrued solely to the landed proprietor, who thanked -the good tenant by promptly raising his rent. If the farmer objected -to paying more rent, his only alternative was to submit to be turned -off his holding at the expiration of his lease; then the landlord would -collect the increased rent from the new tenant. - -So when the duke made overtures to a large number of his tenants to the -effect that if they would make room for him by getting away from their -ancestral moorings in Arran, he would see that they were well provided -for in the new world, it is not to be wondered at that they accepted -his proposition. It is so nice when you are cast out to be told where -you can go, and be directed what to do. The Duke promised to secure for -each family a grant of 100 acres of land in Canada, and the same amount -of land for each son in each family who at that time had reached the -age of 21. - -Arrived at their destination at Johnston Ford, province of Quebec, each -family constructed a tent by stretching blankets, quilts, etc., over -poles suitably disposed and tied together at the top with withes and -ropes. Fortunately the season was favourable and fires were needed only -for cooking. As just stated, the Duke of Hamilton had promised that -each family and each young man who had attained his majority should -receive a grant of 100 acres of land; but, when the colony was actually -on the scene, the Government officials refused to give a grant except -to the heads of the families. - -The matter of grants has been so variously stated that it is difficult -to determine what the conditions were, but it appears that the actual -agreement of the Duke of Hamilton was that grants should be given for -two years only. Those who came out in 1829 and 1830 secured certain -grants after a delay. Those, however, who did not arrive till 1831 were -told by the agents that grants were no longer to be had. - - - - -_PERTHSHIRE._ - - -RANNOCH. - -BY ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. - -Regarding the state of matters in this district a correspondent writes -us as follows:--I am very glad to learn that you are soon to publish -a new edition of your “Highland Clearances.” You have done good work -already in rousing the conscience of the public against the conduct -of certain landlords in the Highlands, who long ere now should have -been held up to public scorn and execration, as the best means of -deterring others from pursuing a policy which has been so fatal to the -best interests of our beloved land.... And now, if I am not too late, -I should like to direct your attention to a few authenticated facts -connected with two districts in the Highlands, that I am familiar with, -and which facts you may utilise, though I shall merely give notes. - -In 1851 the population of the district known as the quoad sacra parish -of Rannoch numbered altogether 1800; at the census of 1881 it was below -900. Even in 1851 it was not nearly what it was earlier. Why this -constant decrease? Several no doubt left the district voluntarily; but -the great bulk of those who left were evicted. - -Take, first, the Slios Min, north side of Loch Rannoch. Fifty years -ago the farm of Ardlarich, near the west end, was tenanted by three -farmers, who were in good circumstances. These were turned out to make -room for one large farmer, who was rouped out last year, penniless; -and the farm is now tenantless. The next place, further east, is the -township of Killichoan, containing about thirty to forty houses, with -small crofts attached to each. The crofters here are very comfortable -and happy, and their houses and crofts are models of what industry, -thrift and good taste can effect. Further east is the farm of Liaran, -now tenantless. Fifty years ago it was farmed by seven tenants who were -turned out to make room for one man, and that at a lower rent than -was paid by the former tenants. Further, in the same direction, there -are Aulich, Craganour, and Annat, every one of them tenantless. These -three farms, lately in the occupation of one tenant, and for which he -paid a rental of £900, at one time maintained fifty to sixty families -in comfort, all of whom have vanished, or were virtually banished from -their native land. - -It is only right to say that the present proprietor is not responsible -for the eviction of any of the smaller tenants; the deed was done -before he came into possession. On the contrary, he is very kind to his -crofter tenantry, but unfortunately for him he inherits the fruits of -a bad policy which has been the ruin of the Rannoch estates. - -Then take the Slios Garbh, south-side of Loch Rannoch. Beginning in the -west-end, we have Georgetown, which, about fifty years ago, contained -twenty-five or twenty-six houses, every one of which were knocked down -by the late laird of Struan, and the people evicted. The crofters -of Finnart were ejected in the same way. Next comes the township -of Camghouran, a place pretty similar to Killichoan, but smaller. -The people are very industrious, cleanly, and fairly comfortable, -reflecting much credit upon themselves and the present proprietor. Next -comes Dall, where there used to be a number of tenants, but now in -the hands of the proprietor, an Englishman. The estate of Innerhaden -comes next. It used to be divided into ten lots--two held by the laird, -and eight by as many tenants. The whole is now in the hands of one -family. The rest of Bun-Rannoch includes the estates of Dalchosnie, -Lassintullich, and Crossmount, where there used to be a large number of -small tenants--most of them well-to-do--but now held by five. - -Lastly, take the north side of the river Dubhag, which flows out -from Loch Rannoch, and is erroneously called the Tummel. Kinloch, -Druimchurn, and Druimchaisteil, always in the hands of three tenants, -are now held by one. Drumaglass contains a number of small holdings, -with good houses on many of them. Balmore, which always had six tenants -in it, has now only one, the remaining portion of it being laid out -in grass parks. Ballintuim, with a good house upon it, is tenantless. -Auchitarsin, where there used to be twenty houses, is now reduced to -four. The whole district from, and including, Kinloch to Auchitarsin -belongs to General Sir Alastair Macdonald of Dalchosnie, Commander of -Her Majesty’s Forces in Scotland. His father, Sir John, during his -life, took a great delight in having a numerous, thriving, and sturdy -tenantry on the estates of Dalchosnie, Kinloch, Lochgarry, Dunalastair, -and Morlaggan. On one occasion his tenant of Dalchosnie offered to take -from Sir John on lease all the land on the north side of the river. -“Ay, man,” said he, “you would take all that land, would you, and turn -out all my people! Who would I get, if my house took fire, to put it -out?” - -The present proprietor has virtually turned out the great bulk of those -that Sir John had loved so well. Though, it is said, he did not evict -any man directly, he is alleged to have made their positions so hot for -them that they had to leave. Sir John could have raised hundreds of -Volunteers on his estates--men who would have died for the gallant old -soldier. But how many could be now raised by his son? Not a dozen men; -though he goes about inspecting Volunteers and praising the movement -officially throughout the length and breadth of Scotland. - -The author of the _New Statistical Account_, writing of the Parish of -Fortingall, of which the district referred to by our correspondent -forms a part, says:--“At present [1838] no part of the parish is -more populous than it was in 1790; whereas in several districts, the -population has since decreased one-half; and the same will be found to -have taken place, though not perhaps in so great a proportion, in most -or all of the pastoral districts of the county.” - -According to the census of 1801 the population was 3875; in 1811, -3236; in 1821, 3189; in 1831, 3067; and in 1881 it was reduced to 1690. - -Upwards of 120 families, the same writer says, “crossed the Atlantic -from this parish, since the previous Account was drawn up [in 1791], -besides many individuals of both sexes; while many others have sought -a livelihood in the Low Country, especially in the great towns of -Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Perth, Crieff, and others. The system of -uniting several farms together, and letting them to one individual, has -more than any other circumstance” produced this result. - - -BREADALBANE. - -Mr. R. Alister, author of _Barriers to the National Prosperity of -Scotland_, had a controversy with the Marquis of Breadalbane in 1853, -about the eviction of his tenantry. In a letter, dated July of that -year, Mr. Alister made a charge against his lordship which, for obvious -reasons, he never attempted to answer, as follows:-- - -“Your lordship states that in reality there has been no depopulation -of the district. This, and other parts of your lordship’s letter, -would certainly lead any who know nothing of the facts to suppose that -there had been no clearings on the Breadalbane estates; whereas it is -generally believed that your lordship removed, since 1834, no less than -500 families! Some may think this is a small matter; but I do not. I -think it is a great calamity for a family to be thrown out, destitute -of the means of life, without a roof over their heads, and cast upon -the wide sea of an unfeeling world. In Glenqueich, near Amulree, some -sixty families formerly lived, where there are now only four or five; -and in America, there is a glen inhabited by its ousted tenants, and -called Glenqueich still. Yet, forsooth, it is maintained there has been -no depopulation here! The desolations here look like the ruins of Irish -cabins, although the population of Glenqueich were always characterised -as being remarkably thrifty, economical, and wealthy. On the Braes of -Taymouth, at the back of Drummond Hill, and at Tullochyoule, some -forty or fifty families formerly resided, where there is not one -now! Glenorchy, by the returns of 1831, showed a population of 1806; -in 1841, 831;--is there no depopulation there? Is it true that in -Glenetive there were sixteen tenants a year or two ago, where there -is not a single one now? Is it true, my lord, that you purchased an -island on the west coast, called Luing, where some twenty-five families -lived at the beginning _of this year_, but who are now cleared off to -make room for one tenant, for whom an extensive steading is now being -erected? If my information be correct, I shall allow the public to -draw their own conclusions; but, from every thing that I have heard, I -believe that your lordship has done more to exterminate the Scottish -peasantry than any man now living; and perhaps you ought to be ranked -next to the Marquis of Stafford in the unenviable clearing celebrities. -If I have over-estimated the clearances at 500 families, please to -correct me.” As we have already said, his lordship thought it prudent, -and by far the best policy, not to make the attempt. - -In another letter the same writer says:-- - -“You must be aware that your late father raised 2300 men during the -last war, and that 1600 of that number were from the Breadalbane -estates. My statement is, that 150 could not _now_ be raised. Your -lordship has most carefully evaded all allusion to this,--perhaps the -worst charge of the whole. From your lordship’s silence I am surely -justified in concluding that you may endeavour to evade the question, -but you dare not attempt an open contradiction. I have often made -inquiries of Highlanders on this point, and the number above stated -was the _highest_ estimate. Many who should know, state to me that -your lordship would not get _fifty_ followers from the whole estates; -and another says:--‘Why, he would not get half-a-dozen, and not one of -them unless they could not possibly do otherwise.’ This, then, is the -position of the question: in 1793-4, there was such a numerous, hardy, -and industrious population on the Breadalbane estates, that there -could be spared of valorous defenders of their country in her hour of -danger, 1600; highest estimate now, 150; highest banished, 1450. _Per -contra_--Game of all sorts increased a hundred-fold.” - -In 1831, Glenorchy, of which his lordship of Breadalbane was -proprietor, was 1806; in 1841 it was reduced to 831. Those best -acquainted with the Breadalbane estates assert that on the whole -property no less than 500 families, or about 2500 souls, were driven -into exile by the hard-hearted Marquis of that day. - -It is, however, gratifying to know that the present Lord Breadalbane, -who is descended from a different and remote branch of the family, is -an excellent landlord, and takes an entirely different view of his -duties and relationship to the tenants on his vast property. - - - - -_NOTABLE DICTA._ - - -THE REV. DR. MACLACHLAN. - -The late Rev. Dr. Maclachlan, Edinburgh, wrote a series of articles -in the _Witness_, during its palmy days under the editorship of Hugh -Miller. These were afterwards published in 1849, under the title of -“The Depopulation System of the Highlands,” in pamphlet form, by -Johnston and Hunter. The rev. author visited all the places to which he -refers. He says:-- - -“A complete history of Highland clearances would, we doubt not, both -interest and surprise the British public. Men talk of the Sutherland -clearings as if they stood alone amidst the atrocities of the system; -but those who know fully the facts of the case can speak with as much -truth of the Ross-shire clearings, the Inverness-shire clearings, the -Perthshire clearings, and, to some extent, the Argyllshire clearings. -The earliest of these was the great clearing on the Glengarry estate, -towards, we believe, the latter end of the last century. The tradition -among the Highlanders is (and some Gaelic poems composed at the time -would go to confirm it), that the chief’s lady had taken umbrage at -the clan. Whatever the cause might have been, the offence was deep, -and could only be expiated by the extirpation of the race. Summonses -of ejection were served over the whole property, even on families -the most closely connected with the chief; and if we now seek for -the Highlanders of Glengarry, we must search on the banks of the St. -Lawrence. - -“To the westward of Glengarry lies the estate of Lochiel--a name to -which the imperishable poetry of Campbell has attached much interest. -It is the country of the brave clan Cameron, to whom, were there -nothing to speak of but their conduct at Waterloo, Britain owes a debt. -Many of our readers have passed along Loch Lochy, and they have likely -had the mansion of Auchnacarry pointed out to them, and they have -been told of the Dark Mile, surpassing, as some say, the Trossachs in -romantic beauty; but perhaps they were not aware that beyond lies the -wide expanse of Loch Arkaig, whose banks have been the scene of a most -extensive clearing. There was a day when three hundred able, active -men could have been collected from the shores of this extensive inland -loch; but eviction has long ago rooted them out, and nothing is now -to be seen but the ruins of their huts, with the occasional bothy of -a shepherd, while their lands are held by one or two farmers from the -borders. - -“Crossing to the south of the great glen, we may begin with Glencoe. -How much of its romantic interest does this glen owe to its desolation? -Let us remember, however, that the desolation, in a large part of it, -is the result of the extrusion of the inhabitants. Travel eastward, and -the footprints of the destroyer cannot be lost sight of. Large tracks -along the Spean and its tributaries are a wide waste. The southern bank -of Loch Lochy is almost without inhabitants, though the symptoms of -former occupancy are frequent. - -“When we enter the country of the Frasers, the same spectacle presents -itself--a desolate land. With the exception of the miserable village -of Fort-Augustus the native population is almost extinguished, while -those who do remain are left as if, by their squalid misery, to -make darkness the more visible. Across the hills, in Stratherrick, -the property of Lord Lovat, with the exception of a few large sheep -farmers, and a very few tenants, is one wide waste. To the north of -Loch Ness, the territory of the Grants, both Glenmoriston and the Earl -of Seafield, presents a pleasing feature amidst the sea of desolation. -But beyond this, again, let us trace the large rivers of the east coast -to their sources. - -“Trace the Beauly through all its upper reaches, and how many thousands -upon thousands of acres, once peopled, are, as respects human beings, -a wide wilderness! The lands of the Chisholm have been stripped of -their population down to a mere fragment; the possessors of those -of Lovat have not been behind with their share of the same sad -doings. Let us cross to the Conon and its branches, and we will find -that the chieftains of the Mackenzies have not been less active in -extermination. Breadalbane and Rannoch, in Perthshire, have a similar -tale to tell, vast masses of the population having been forcibly -expelled. The upper portions of Athole have also suffered, while many -of the valleys along the Spey and its tributaries are without an -inhabitant, if we except a few shepherds. Sutherland, with all its -atrocities, affords but a fraction of the atrocities that have been -perpetrated in following out the ejectment system of the Highlands. -In truth, of the habitable portion of the whole country but a small -part is now really inhabited. We are unwilling to weary our readers by -carrying them along the west coast from the Linnhe Loch, northwards; -but if they inquire, they will find that the same system has been, in -the case of most of the estates, relentlessly pursued. - -“These are facts of which, we believe, the British public know little, -but they are facts on which the changes should be rung until they have -listened to them and seriously considered them. May it not be that part -of the guilt is theirs, who might, yet did not, step forward to stop -such cruel and unwise proceedings? - -“Let us leave the past, however” he continues, “and consider the -present. And it is a melancholy reflection that the year 1849 has -added its long list to the roll of Highland ejectments. While the -law is banishing its tens for terms of seven or fourteen years, as -the penalty of deep-dyed crimes, irresponsible and infatuated power -is banishing its thousands for life for no crime whatever. This year -brings forward, as leader in the work of expatriation, the Duke of -Argyll. Is it possible that his vast possessions are over-densely -peopled? “_Credat Judæus appelles._” And the Highland Destitution -Committee co-operate. We had understood that the large sums of money -at their disposal had been given them for the purpose of relieving, -and not of banishing, the destitute. Next we have Mr. Baillie of -Glenelg, professedly at their own request, sending five hundred souls -off to America. Their native glen must have been made not a little -uncomfortable for these poor people, ere they could have petitioned -for so sore a favour. Then we have Colonel Gordon expelling upwards of -eighteen hundred souls from South Uist; Lord Macdonald follows with a -sentence of banishment against six or seven hundred of the people of -North Uist, with a threat, as we learn, that three thousand are to be -driven from Skye next season; and Mr. Lillingston of Lochalsh, Maclean -of Ardgour, and Lochiel, bring up the rear of the black catalogue, -a large body of people having left the estates of the two latter, -who, after a heart-rending scene of parting with their native land, -are now on the wide sea on their way to Australia. Thus, within the -last three or four months, considerably upwards of three thousand of -the most moral and loyal of our people--people who, even in the most -trying circumstances, never required a soldier, seldom a policeman, -among them, to maintain the peace--are driven forcibly away to seek -subsistence on a foreign soil.” - -Writing in 1850, on more “Recent Highland Evictions,” the same author -says:-- - -“The moral responsibility for these transactions lies in a measure -with the nation, and not merely with the individuals immediately -concerned in them. Some years ago the fearful scenes that attended the -slave trade were depicted in colours that finally roused the national -conscience, and the nation gave its loud, indignant, and effective -testimony against them. The tearing of human beings, with hearts as -warm, and affections as strong as dwell in the bosom of the white -man, from their beloved homes and families--the packing them into the -holds of over-crowded vessels, in the burning heat of the tropics--the -stifling atmosphere, the clanking chain, the pestilence, the bodies of -the dead corrupting in the midst of the living--presented a picture -which deeply moved the national mind; and there was felt to be guilt, -deep-dyed guilt, and the nation relieved itself by abolishing the -traffic. And is the nation free of guilt in this kind of white-slave -traffic that is now going on--this tearing of men whether they will or -not, from their country and kindred--this crowding them into often foul -and unwholesome vessels with the accompanying deaths of hundreds whose -eyes never rest on the land to which they are driven. Men may say that -they have rights in the one case that they have not in the other. Then -we say that they are rights into whose nature and fruits we would do -well to enquire, lest it be found that the rude and lawless barbarism -of Africa, and the high and boasted civilisation of Britain, land us in -the same final results.... It is to British legislation that the people -of the Highlands owe the relative position in which they stand to their -chiefs. There was a time when they were strangers to the feudal system -which prevailed in the rest of the kingdom. Every man among them sat as -free as his chief. But by degrees the power of the latter, assisted by -Saxon legislation, encroached upon the liberty of the former. Highland -chiefs became feudal lords--the people were robbed to increase their -power--and now we are reaping the fruits of this in recent evictions.” - -At a meeting of the Inverness, Ross, and Nairn Club, in Edinburgh, -in 1877, the venerable Doctor referred to the same sad subject amid -applause and expressions of regret. We extract the following from a -report of the meeting which appeared at the time in the _Inverness -Courier_:-- - -“The current that ran against their language seemed to be rising -against the people themselves. The cry seemed to be, Do away with the -people: this is the shorthand way of doing away with the language. He -reminded them of the saying of a queen, that she would turn Scotland -into a hunting field, and of the reply of a Duke of Argyll it is time -for me to make my hounds ready, and said he did not know whether -there was now an Argyll who would make the same reply. But there were -other folks--less folks than queens--who had gone pretty deep in -the direction indicated by this queen. He would not say it was not -a desirable thing to see Highlanders scattered over the earth--they -were greatly indebted to them in their cities and the colonies; but he -wished to preserve their Highland homes, from which the colonies and -large cities derived their very best blood. Drive off the Highlander -and destroy his home, and you destroy that which had produced some of -the best and noblest men who filled important positions throughout the -empire. In the interests of great cities, as a citizen of Edinburgh, -he desired to keep the Highlanders in their own country, and to make -them as comfortable as possible. He only wished that some of the -Highland proprietors could see their way to offer sections of the land -for improvement by the people, who were quite as able to improve the -land in their own country as to improve the great forests of Canada. -He himself would rather to-morrow begin to cultivate an acre in any -habitable part of the Highlands of Scotland than to begin to cultivate -land such as that on which he had seen thousands of them working in -the forests of Canada. What had all this to do with Celtic Literature? -Dr. Maclachlan replied that the whole interest which Celtic Literature -had to him was connected with the Celtic people, and if they destroyed -the Celtic people, his entire interest in their literature perished. -They had been told the other day that this was sentiment, and that -there were cases in which sentiment was not desirable. He agreed with -this so far; but he believed that when sentiment was driven out of -a Highlander the best part of him was driven out, for it ever had a -strong place among mountain people. He himself had a warm patriotic -feeling, and he grieved whenever he saw a ruined house in any of their -mountain glens. And ruined homes and ruined villages he, alas! had -seen--villages on fire--the hills red with burning homes. He never -wished to see this sorry sight again. It was a sad, a lamentable sight, -for he was convinced the country had not a nobler class of people than -the Highland people, or a set of people better worth preserving.” - - -A HIGHLAND SHERIFF. - -Mr. Robert Brown, Sheriff-Substitute of the Western District of -Inverness-shire, in 1806, wrote a pamphlet of 120 pages, now very -scarce, entitled, “Strictures and Remarks on the Earl of Selkirk’s -‘Observations on the Present State of the Highlands of Scotland,’” -Sheriff Brown was a man of keen observation, and his work is a powerful -argument against the forced depopulation of the country. Summing up the -number who left from 1801 to 1803, he says:-- - -“In the year 1801, a Mr. George Dennon, from Pictou, carried out -two cargoes of emigrants from Fort William to Pictou, consisting of -about seven hundred souls. A vessel sailed the same season from Isle -Martin with about one hundred passengers, it is believed, for the same -place. No more vessels sailed that year; but in 1802, eleven large -ships sailed with emigrants to America. Of these, four were from Fort -William, one from Knoydart, one from Isle Martin, one from Uist, one -from Greenock. Five of these were bound for Canada, four for Pictou, -and one for Cape Breton. The only remaining vessel, which took a cargo -of people in Skye, sailed for Wilmington, in the United States. In -the year 1803, exclusive of Lord Selkirk’s transport, eleven cargoes -of emigrants went from the North Highlands. Of these, four were from -the Moray Firth, two from Ullapool, three from Stornoway, and two from -Fort William. The whole of these cargoes were bound for the British -settlements, and most of them were discharged at Pictou.” - -Soon after, several other vessels sailed from the North West Highlands -with emigrants, the whole of whom were for the British Colonies. In -addition to these, Lord Selkirk took out 250 from South Uist in 1802, -and in 1803 he sent out to Prince Edward Island about 800 souls, in -three different vessels, most of whom were from the Island of Skye, and -the remainder from Ross-shire, North Argyll, the interior of the County -of Inverness, and the Island of Uist. In 1804, 1805, and 1806, several -cargoes of Highlanders left Mull, Skye, and other Western Islands, for -Prince Edward Island and other North American Colonies. Altogether, not -less than 10,000 souls left the West Highlands and Isles during the -first six years of the present century, a fact which will now appear -incredible. - - -THE WIZARD OF THE NORTH. - -Sir Walter Scott writes:--“In too many instances the Highlands have -been drained, not of their superfluity of population, but of the whole -mass of the inhabitants, dispossessed by an unrelenting avarice, which -will be one day found to have been as shortsighted as it is unjust -and selfish. Meantime, the Highlands may become the fairy ground for -romance and poetry, or the subject of experiment for the professors of -speculation, political and economical. But if the hour of need should -come--and it may not, perhaps, be far distant--the pibroch may sound -through the deserted region, but the summons will remain unanswered.” - - -A CONTINENTAL HISTORIAN. - -M. Michelet, the great Continental historian, writes:--“The Scottish -Highlanders will ere long disappear from the face of the earth; the -mountains are daily depopulating; the great estates have ruined the -land of the Gael, as they did ancient Italy. The Highlander will ere -long exist only in the romances of Walter Scott. The tartan and the -claymore excite surprise in the streets of Edinburgh; the Highlanders -disappear--they emigrate--their national airs will ere long be lost, as -the music of the Eolian harp when the winds are hushed.” - - -MR. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE. - -In his work on the Nationalisation of Land, Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace, -in the chapter on “Landlordism in Scotland,” says to the English -people:-- - -“The facts stated in this chapter will possess, I feel sure, for many -Englishmen, an almost startling novelty; the tale of oppression and -cruelty they reveal reads like one of those hideous stories peculiar -to the dark ages, rather than a simple record of events happening upon -our own land and within the memory of the present generation. For a -parallel to this monstrous power of the landowner, under which life -and property are entirely at his mercy, we must go back to mediæval, -or to the days when serfdom not having been abolished, the Russian -noble was armed with despotic authority; while the more pitiful results -of this landlord tyranny, the wide devastation of cultivated lands, -the heartless burning of houses, the reckless creation of pauperism -and misery, out of well-being and contentment, could only be expected -under the rule of Turkish Sultans or greedy and cruel Pashas. Yet these -cruel deeds have been perpetrated in one of the most beautiful portions -of our native land. They are not the work of uncultured barbarians -or of fanatic Moslems, but of so-called civilised and Christian men; -and--worst feature of all--they are not due to any high-handed exercise -of power beyond the law, but are strictly legal, are in many cases the -acts of members of the Legislature itself, and, notwithstanding that -they have been repeatedly made known for at least sixty years past, -no steps have been taken, or are even proposed to be taken, by the -Legislature to prevent them for the future! Surely it is time that -the people of England should declare that such things shall no longer -exist--that the rich shall no longer have such legal power to oppress -the poor--that the land shall be free for all who are willing to pay a -fair value for its use--and, as this is not possible under landlordism, -that landlordism shall be abolished.... - -“The general results of the system of modern landlordism in Scotland -are not less painful than the hardship and misery brought upon -individual sufferers. The earlier improvers, who drove the peasants -from their sheltered valleys to the exposed sea-coast, in order to -make room for sheep and sheep farmers, pleaded erroneously the public -benefit as the justification of their conduct. They maintained that -more food and clothing would be produced by the new system, and that -the people themselves would have the advantage of the produce of -the sea as well as that of the land for their support. The result, -however, proved them to be mistaken, for henceforth the cry of Highland -destitution began to be heard, culminating at intervals into actual -famines, like that of 1836-37, when £70,000 were distributed to keep -the Highlanders from death by starvation. ... just as in Ireland, there -was abundance of land capable of cultivation, but the people were -driven to the coast and to the towns to make way for sheep, and cattle, -and lowland farmers; and when the barren and inhospitable tracts -allotted to them became overcrowded, they were told to emigrate. As the -Rev. J. Macleod says:--“By the clearances one part is depopulation and -the other overpopulated; the people are gathered into villages where -there is no steady employment for them, where idleness has its baneful -influence and lands them in penury and want. - -“The actual effect of this system of eviction and emigration--of -banishing the native of the soil and giving it to the stranger--is -shown in the steady increase of poverty indicated by the amount spent -for the relief of the poor having increased from less than £300,000 in -1846 to more than £900,000 now; while in the same period the population -has only increased from 2,770,000 to 3,627,000, so that pauperism has -grown about nine times faster than population!... The fact that a whole -population could be driven from their homes like cattle at the will -of a landlord, and that the Government which taxed them, and for whom -they freely shed their blood on the battle-field, neither would nor -could protect them from cruel interference with their personal liberty, -is surely the most convincing and most absolute demonstration of the -incompatibility of landlordism with the elementary rights of a free -people. - -“As if, however, to prove this still more clearly, and to show how -absolutely incompatible with the well-being of the community is modern -landlordism, the great lords of the soil in Scotland have for the -last twenty years or more been systematically laying waste enormous -areas of land for purposes of sport, just as the Norman Conqueror laid -waste the area of the New Forest for similar purposes. At the present -time, more than two million acres of Scottish soil are devoted to the -preservation of deer alone--an area larger than the entire Counties -of Kent and Surrey combined. Glen Tilt Forest includes 100,000 acres; -the Black Mount is sixty miles in circumference; and Ben Alder Forest -is fifteen miles long by seven broad. On many of these forests there -is the finest pasture in Scotland, while the valleys would support a -considerable population of small farmers, yet all this land is devoted -to the sport of the wealthy, farms being destroyed, houses pulled -down, and men, sheep, and cattle all banished to create a wilderness -for the deer-stalkers! At the same time the whole people of England -are shut out from many of the grandest and most interesting scenes of -their native land, gamekeepers and watchers forbidding the tourist or -naturalist to trespass on some of the wildest Scotch mountains. - -“Now, when we remember that the right to a property in these unenclosed -mountains was most unjustly given to the representatives of the -Highland chiefs little more than a century ago, and that they and their -successors have grossly abused their power ever since, it is surely -time to assert those fundamental maxims of jurisprudence which state -that--“No man can have a vested right in the misfortunes and woes -of his country,” and that “the Sovereign ought not to allow either -communities or private individuals to acquire large tracts of land -in order to leave it uncultivated.” If the oft-repeated maxim that -“property has its duties as well as its rights” is not altogether a -mockery, then we maintain that in this case the _total_ neglect of -all the duties devolving on the owners of these vast tracts of land -affords ample reason why the State should take possession of them for -the public benefit. A landlord government will, of course, never do -this till the people declare unmistakably that it must be done. To -such a government the rights of property are _sacred_, while those of -their fellow-citizens are of comparatively little moment; but we feel -sure that when the people fully know and understand the doings of the -landlords of Scotland, the reckless destruction of homesteads, and the -silent sufferings of the brave Highlanders, they will make their will -known, and, when they do so, that _will_ must soon be embodied into -law.” - -After quoting the opinion of the Rev. Dr. John Kennedy of Dingwall, -given at length on other pages, Mr. Wallace next quotes from an -article in the _Westminster Review_, in 1868. “The Gaels,” this writer -says, “rooted from the dawn of history on the slopes of the northern -mountains, have been thinned out and thrown away like young turnips -too thickly planted. Noble gentlemen and noble ladies have shown a -flintiness of heart and a meanness of detail in carrying out their -clearings, upon which it is revolting to dwell; and after all, are -the evils of over-population cured? Does not the disease still spring -up under the very torture of the knife? Are not the crofts slowly and -silently taken at every opportunity out of the hands of the peasantry? -When a Highlander has to leave his hut there is now no resting-place -for him save the cellars or attics of the closes of Glasgow, or some -other large centre of employment; it has been noticed that the poor -Gael is even more liable than the Irishman to sink under the debasement -in which he is then immersed.” The same writer holds:--“No error could -be grosser than that of reviewing the chiefs as unlimited proprietors -not only of the land, but of the whole territory of the mountain, lake, -river, and sea-shore, held and won during hundreds of years by the -broad swords of the clansmen. Could any Maclean admit, even in a dream, -that his chief could clear Mull of all the Macleans and replace them -with Campbells; or the Mackintosh people his lands with Macdonalds, and -drive away his own race, any more than Louis Napoleon could evict all -the population of France and supply their place with English and German -colonists?” Yet this very power and right the English Government, in -its aristocratic selfishness, bestowed upon the chiefs, when, after -the great rebellion of 1745, it took away their privileges of war and -criminal jurisdiction, and endeavoured to assimilate them to the nobles -and great landowners of England. The rights of the clansmen were left -entirely out of consideration.[28] - -[28] _Land Nationalisation, its Necessities and Aims; being a -Comparison of the System of Landlord and Tenant with that of Occupying -Ownership, in their influence on the well-being of the People_, by -Alfred Russel Wallace, author of “The Malay Archipelago,” “Island -Life,” &c. London: Trübner & Co., 1882. - - -A FRENCH ECONOMIST. - -The following remarks by the celebrated French economist, M. de -Lavaleye, will prove interesting. There is no greater living authority -on land tenure than this writer, and being a foreigner, his opinions -are not open--as the opinions of our own countrymen may be--to the -suspicion of political bias or partisanship on a question which is of -universal interest all over the world. Referring to land tenure in this -country, he says:-- - -“The dispossession of the old proprietors, transformed by time into new -tenants, was effected on a larger scale by the “clearing of estates.” -When a lord of the manor, for his own profit, wanted to turn the small -holdings into large farms, or into pasturage, the small cultivators -were of no use. The proprietors adopted a simple means of getting rid -of them; and, by destroying their dwellings, forced them into exile. -The classical land of this system is Ireland, or more particularly the -Highlands of Scotland. - -“It is now clearly established that in Scotland, just as in Ireland, -the soil was once the property of the clan or sept. The chiefs of -the clan had certain rights over the communal domain; but they were -even further from being proprietors than was Louis XIV. from being -proprietor of the territory of France. By successive encroachments, -however, they transformed their authority of suzerain into a right of -private ownership, without even recognising in their old co-proprietors -a right of hereditary possession. In a similar way the Zemindars -and Talugdars in India were, by the Act of the British Government, -transformed into absolute proprietors. Until modern days the chiefs of -the clan were interested in retaining a large number of vassals, as -their power, and often their security, were only guaranteed by their -arms. But when the order was established, and the chiefs--or lords, -as they now were--began to reside in the towns, and required large -revenues rather than numerous retainers, they endeavoured to introduce -large farms and pasturage. - -“We may follow the first phases of this revolution, which commences -after the last rising under the Pretender, in the works of James -Anderson, and James Stuart. The latter tells us that in his time--in -the last third of the 18th century--the Highlands of Scotland still -presented a miniature picture of the Europe of four hundred years ago. -The rent (so he misnames the tribute paid to the chief of the clan) of -these lands is very little in comparison with their extent, but if it -is regarded relatively to the number of mouths which the farm supports, -it will be seen that land in the Scotch Highlands supports perhaps -twice as many persons as land of the same value in a fertile province. -When, in the last thirty years of the 18th century, they began to expel -the Gaels, they at the same time forbade them to emigrate to a foreign -country, so as to compel them by these means to congregate in Glasgow -and other manufacturing towns. - -“In his observations on Smith’s _Wealth of Nations_, published in 1814, -David Buchanan gives us an idea of the progress made by the clearing of -estates. ‘In the Highlands,’ he says, ‘the landed proprietor, without -regard to the hereditary tenants’ (he wrongly applies this term to -the clansmen who were joint proprietors of the soil), ‘offers the land -to the highest bidder, who, if he wishes to improve the cultivation, -is anxious for nothing but the introduction of a new system. The soil, -dotted with small peasant proprietors, was formerly well populated -in proportion to its natural fertility. The new system of improved -agriculture and increased rents demands the greatest net profit with -the least possible outlay, and with this object the cultivators are got -rid of as being of no further use. Thus cast from their native soil, -they go to seek their living in the manufacturing towns.’ - -“George Ensor, in a work published in 1818, says:--They (the landed -proprietors of Scotland) dispossessed families as they would grub -up coppice-wood, and they treated the villages and their people as -Indians harassed with wild beasts do in their vengeance a jungle with -tigers.... Is it credible, that in the 18th century, in this missionary -age, in this Christian era, man shall be bartered for a fleece or a -carcase of mutton--nay, held cheaper?... Why, how much worse is it -than the intention of the Moguls, who, when they had broken into the -northern provinces of China, proposed in Council to exterminate the -inhabitants, and convert the land into pasture? This proposal many -Highland proprietors have effected in their own country against their -own countrymen. - -“M. de Sismondi has rendered celebrated on the Continent the famous -clearing executed between 1814 and 1820 by the Duchess of Sutherland. -More than three thousand families were driven out; and 800,000 acres -of land, which formerly belonged to the clan, were transformed into -seignorial domain. Men were driven out to make room for sheep. The -sheep are now replaced by deer, and the pastures converted into deer -forests, which are treeless solitudes. The _Economist_ of June 2, 1866, -said on this subject:--Feudal instincts have as full career now as in -the time when the Conqueror destroyed thirty-six villages to make the -New Forest. Two millions of acres, comprising most fertile land, have -been changed into desert. The natural herbage in Glen Tilt was known -as the most succulent in Perth; the deer forest of Ben Alder was the -best natural meadow of Badenoch; the forest of Black Mount was the best -pasturage in Scotland for black-woolled sheep. The soil thus sacrificed -for the pleasures of the chase extends over an area larger than the -county of Perth. The land in the new Ben Alder forest supported 15,000 -sheep; and this is but the thirtieth part of the territory sacrificed, -and thus rendered as unproductive as if it were buried in the depths of -the sea. - -“The destruction of small property is still going on, no longer, -however, by encroachment, but by purchase. Whenever land comes into -the market it is bought by some rich capitalist, because the expenses -of legal inquiry are too great for a small investment. Thus, large -properties are consolidated, and fall, so to speak, into mortmain, -in consequence of the law of primogeniture and entails. In the 15th -century, according to Chancellor Fortescue, England was quoted -throughout Europe for its number of proprietors and the comfort of its -inhabitants. In 1688, Gregory King estimates that there were 180,000 -proprietors, exclusive of 16,560 proprietors of noble rank. In 1786 -there were 250,000 proprietors of England. According to the “Domesday -Book” of 1876, there were 170,000 rural proprietors in England owning -above an acre; 21,000 in Ireland, and 8000 in Scotland. A fifth of the -entire country is in the hands of 523 persons. Are you aware, said Mr. -Bright, in a speech delivered at Birmingham, August 27, 1866, that -one-half of the soil of Scotland belongs to ten or twelve persons? -Are you aware of the fact that the monopoly of landed property is -continually increasing and becoming more and more exclusive? - -“In England, then, as at Rome, large property has swallowed up small -property, in consequence of a continuous evolution unchecked from the -beginning to the end of the nation’s history; and the social order -seems to be threatened just as in the Roman Empire. - -“An ardent desire for a more equal division of the produce of labour -inflames the labouring classes, and passes from land to land. In -England, it arouses agitation among the industrial classes, and is -beginning to invade the rural districts. It obviously menaces landed -property as constituted in this country. The labourers who till the -soil will claim their share in it; and, if they fail to obtain it here, -will cross the sea in search of it. To retain a hold on them they must -be given a vote; and there is fresh danger in increasing the number -of electors while that of proprietors diminishes, and maintaining -laws which renders inequality greater and more striking, while ideas -of equality are assuming more formidable sway. To make the possession -of the soil a closed monopoly and to augment the political powers of -the class who are rigidly excluded, is at once to provoke levelling -measures and to facilitate them. Accordingly we find that England is -the country where the scheme of the nationalisation of the land finds -most adherents, and is most widely proclaimed. The country which is -furthest from the primitive organisations of property is likewise the -one where the social order seems most menaced.” - - -MR. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN. - -In a speech delivered at Inverness, on 18th September, 1885, Mr. Joseph -Chamberlain said:-- - -“The history of the Highland clearances is a black page in the account -with private ownership in land, and if it were to form a precedent, -if there could be any precedent for wrong-doing, if the sins of -the fathers ought to be visited upon the children, we should have -an excuse for more drastic legislation than any which the wildest -reformer has ever proposed. Thousands of industrious, hard-working, -God-fearing people were driven from the lands which had belonged to -their ancestors, and which for generations they had cultivated; their -houses were unroofed and destroyed, they were turned out homeless and -forlorn, exposed to the inclemency of the winter season, left to perish -on the hillsides or to swell the full flood of misery and destitution -in the cities to which they were driven for refuge. In some cases the -cruel kindness of their landlords provided the means of emigration--in -some cases they were actually driven abroad. They suffered greatly -in foreign countries, being unprovided with the means of sustaining -themselves until they could earn a livelihood, but the descendants -of those who survived have contributed in no mean degree to the -prosperity of the countries in which they finally settled. Those who -remained behind had, I am afraid, little cause to be grateful for the -consideration which was shown to them. In the course of years they were -deprived of all the advantages which they had previously enjoyed. They -had never had legal security of tenure, and they were transferred from -their original holdings in the glens and straths, which at one time -resounded with their industry, and they were placed out upon barren -patches on the sea-shore where it was impossible for the most exacting -toil and industry to obtain a subsistence. The picture that I have -drawn was no doubt relieved in some cases by the exceptional generosity -and kindness of particular proprietors, but, speaking generally, I -think it is the fact that the Highland country was to a considerable -extent depopulated by those clearances. The general condition of the -people suffered, and it has gone on deteriorating until it has become -at last a matter of national concern. If I am correct in the statement -in which I have endeavoured to summarise what I have read, and learned -upon this subject, I ask you whether it is not time that we should -submit to careful examination and review a system which places such -vast powers for evil in the hands of irresponsible individuals, and -which makes the possession of land not a trust but a means of extortion -and exaction?” - - -HARDSHIPS ENDURED BY FIRST EMIGRANTS. - -BY Alexander MACKENZIE. - -The reader is already acquainted with the misery endured by those -evicted from Barra and South Uist by Colonel Gordon, after their -arrival in Canada. This was no isolated case. We shall here give a -few instances of the unspeakable suffering of those pioneers who left -so early as 1773, in the ship _Hector_, for Pictou, Nova Scotia, -gathered from trustworthy sources during the writer’s late visit to -that country. The _Hector_ was owned by two men, Pagan and Witherspoon, -who bought three shares of land in Pictou, and they engaged a Mr. -John Ross as their agent, to accompany the vessel to Scotland, to -bring out as many colonists as could be induced, by misrepresentation -and falsehoods, to leave their homes. They offered a free passage, a -farm, and a year’s free provisions to their dupes. On his arrival in -Scotland, Ross drew a glowing picture of the land and other manifold -advantages of the country to which he was enticing the people. - -The Highlanders knew nothing of the difficulties awaiting them in a -land covered over with a dense unbroken forest; and, tempted by the -prospect of owning splendid farms of their own, they were imposed upon -by his promise, and many of them agreed to accompany him across the -Atlantic and embraced his proposals. Calling first at Greenock, three -families and five single young men joined the vessel at that port. -She then sailed to Lochbroom, in Ross-shire, where she received 33 -families and 25 single men, the whole of her passengers numbering about -200 souls. This band, in the beginning of July, 1773, bade a final -farewell to their native land, not a soul on board having ever crossed -the Atlantic except a single sailor and John Ross, the agent. As they -were leaving, a piper came on board who had not paid his passage; the -captain ordered him ashore, but the strains of the national instrument -affected those on board so much that they pleaded to have him allowed -to accompany them, and offered to share their own rations with him in -exchange for his music during the passage. Their request was granted, -and his performances aided in no small degree to cheer the noble band -of pioneers in their long voyage of eleven weeks, in a miserable hulk, -across the Atlantic. - -The pilgrim band kept up their spirits as best they could by song, -pipe-music, dancing, wrestling, and other amusements, through the long -and painful voyage. The ship was so rotten that the passengers could -pick the wood out of her sides with their fingers. They met with a -severe gale off the Newfoundland coast, and were driven back by it so -far that it took them about fourteen days to get back to the point at -which the storm met them. The accommodation was wretched, smallpox and -dysentry broke out among the passengers. Eighteen of the children died, -and were committed to the deep amidst such anguish and heart-rending -agony as only a Highlander can understand. Their stock of provisions -became almost exhausted, the water became scarce and bad; the remnant -of provisions left consisted mainly of salt meat, which, from the -scarcity of water, added greatly to their sufferings. The oatcake -carried by them became mouldy, so that much of it had been thrown away -before they dreamt of having such a long passage. Fortunately for them, -one of the passengers, Hugh Macleod, more prudent than the others, -gathered up the despised scraps into a bag, and during the last few -days of the voyage his fellows were too glad to join him in devouring -this refuse to keep souls and bodies together. - -At last the _Hector_ dropped anchor in the harbour, opposite where -the town of Pictou now stands. Though the Highland dress was then -proscribed at home, this emigrant band carried theirs along with them, -and, in celebration of their arrival, many of the younger men donned -their national dress--to which a few of them were able to add the -_sgian dubh_ and the claymore--while the piper blew up his pipes with -might and main, its thrilling tones, for the first time, startling the -denizens of the endless forest, and its echoes resounding through the -wild solitude. Scottish emigrants are admitted upon all hands to have -given its backbone of moral and religious strength to the Province, -and to those brought over from the Highlands in this vessel is due the -honour of being in the forefront--the pioneers and vanguard. - -But how different was the reality to the expectations of these poor -creatures, led by the plausibility of the emigration agent, to expect -free estates on their arrival. - -The whole scene, as far as the eye could see, was a dense forest. They -crowded on the deck to take stock of their future home, and their -hearts sank within them. They were landed without the provisions -promised, without shelter of any kind, and were only able by the aid of -those few before them, to erect camps of the rudest and most primitive -description, to shelter their wives and their children from the -elements. Their feelings of disappointment were most bitter, when they -compared the actual facts with the free farms and the comfort promised -them by the lying emigration agent. Many of them sat down in the forest -and wept bitterly; hardly any provisions were possessed by the few who -were before them, and what there was among them was soon devoured; -making all--old and new comers--almost destitute. It was now too late -to raise any crops that year. To make matters worse they were sent some -three miles into the forest, so that they could not even take advantage -with the same ease of any fish that might be caught in the harbour. The -whole thing appeared an utter mockery. To unskilled men the work of -clearing seemed hopeless; they were naturally afraid of the Red Indian -and of the wild beasts of the forest; without roads or paths, they were -frightened to move for fear of getting lost. - -Can we wonder that, in such circumstances, they refused to settle on -the company’s lands? though, in consequence, when provisions arrived, -the agents refused to give them any. Ross and the company quarrelled, -and he ultimately left the newcomers to their fate. The few of them who -had a little money bought what provisions they could from the agents, -while others, less fortunate, exchanged their clothes for food; but -the greater number had neither money nor clothes to spend or exchange, -and they were all soon left quite destitute. Thus driven to extremity, -they determined to have the provisions retained by the agents, right -or wrong, and two of them went to claim them. They were positively -refused, but they determined to take what they could by force. They -seized the agents, tied them, took their guns from them, which they -hid at a distance; told them that they must have the food for their -families, but that they were quite willing and determined to pay for -them if ever they were able to do so. They then carefully weighed or -measured the various articles, took account of what each man received -and left, except one, the latter, a powerful and determined fellow, who -was left behind to release the two agents. This he did, after allowing -sufficient time for his friends to get to a safe distance, when he -informed the prisoners where they could find their guns. Intelligence -was sent to Halifax that the Highlanders were in rebellion, from whence -orders were sent to a Captain Archibald in Truro, to march his company -of militia to suppress and pacify them; but to his honour be it said, -he, point blank, refused, and sent word that he would do no such thing. -“I know the Highlanders,” he said, “and if they are fairly treated -there will be no trouble with them.” Finally, orders were given to -supply them with provisions, and Mr. Paterson, one of the agents, used -afterwards to say that the Highlanders who arrived in poverty, and who -had been so badly treated, had paid him every farthing with which he -had trusted them. - -It would be tedious to describe the sufferings which they afterwards -endured. Many of them left. Others, fathers, mothers, and children, -bound themselves away, as virtual slaves, in other settlements, for -mere subsistence. Those who remained lived in small huts, covered only -with the bark of branches of trees to shelter them from the bitter -winter cold, of the severity of which they had no previous conception. -They had to walk some eighty miles, through a trackless forest, in -deep snow to Truro, to obtain a few bushels of potatoes, or a little -flour in exchange for their labour, dragging these back all the way -again on their backs, and endless cases of great suffering from actual -want occurred. The remembrance of these terrible days sank deep into -the minds of that generation, and long after, even to this day, the -narration of the scenes and cruel hardships through which they had to -pass beguiled, and now beguiles many a winter’s night as they sit by -their now comfortable firesides. - -In the following spring they set to work. They cleared some of the -forest, and planted a larger crop. They learned to hunt the moose, -a kind of large deer. They began to cut timber, and sent a cargo of -it from Pictou--the first of a trade very profitably and extensively -carried on ever since. The population had, however, grown less than -it was before their arrival; for in this year it amounted only to 78 -persons. One of the modes of laying up a supply of food for the winter -was to dig up a large quantity of clams or large oysters, pile them -in large heaps on the sea-shore, and then cover them over with sand, -though they were often, in winter, obliged to cut through ice more -than a foot thick to get at them. This will give a fair idea of the -hardships experienced by the earlier emigrants to these Colonies. - -In Prince Edward Island, however, a colony from Lockerbie, in -Dumfriesshire, who came out in 1774, seemed to have fared even worse. -They commenced operations on the Island with fair prospects of success, -when a plague of locusts, or field mice, broke out, and consumed -everything, even the potatoes in the ground; and for eighteen months -the settlers experienced all the miseries of a famine, having for -several months only what lobsters or shell-fish they could gather from -the sea-shore. The winter brought them to such a state of weakness that -they were unable to convey food a reasonable distance even when they -had means to buy it. - -In this pitiful position they heard that the Pictou people were making -progress that year, and that they had even some provisions to spare. -They sent one of their number to make enquiry. An American settler, -when he came to Pictou, brought a few slaves with him, and at this time -he had just been to Truro to sell one of them, and brought home some -provisions with the proceeds of the sale of his negro. The messenger -from Prince Edward Island was putting up at this man’s house. He was a -bit of a humorist, and continued cheerful in spite of all his troubles. -On his return to the Island, the people congregated to hear the news. -“What kind of place is Pictou?” enquired one. “Oh, an awful place. Why, -I was staying with a man who was just eating the last of his niggers;” -and the poor creatures were reduced to such a point themselves that -they actually believed the people of Pictou to be in such a condition -as to oblige them to live on the flesh of their coloured servants. They -were told, however, that matters were not quite so bad as that, and -fifteen families left for the earlier settlement, where, for a time, -they fared but very little better, but afterwards became prosperous and -happy. A few of their children and thousands of their grandchildren are -now living in comfort and plenty. - -But who can think of these early hardships and cruel existences without -condemning--even hating--the memories of the harsh and heartless -Highland and Scottish lairds, who made existence at home even almost as -miserable for those noble fellows, and who then drove them in thousands -out of their native land, not caring one iota whether they sank in -the Atlantic, or were starved to death on a strange and uncongenial -soil? Retributive justice demands that posterity should execrate the -memories of the authors of such misery and horrid cruelty. It may -seem uncharitable to write thus of the dead; but it is impossible to -forget their inhuman conduct, though, no thanks to them--cruel tigers -in human form--it has turned out for the better, for the descendants -of those who were banished to what was then infinitely worse than -transportation for the worst crimes. Such criminals were looked after -and cared for; but those poor fellows, driven out of their homes by the -Highland lairds, and sent across there, were left to starve, helpless, -and uncared for. Their descendants are now a prosperous and thriving -people, and retribution is at hand. The descendants of the evicted -from Sutherland, Ross, Inverness-shires, and elsewhere, to Canada, -are producing enormous quantities of food, and millions of cattle, to -pour them into this country. What will be the consequence? The sheep -farmer--the primary and original cause of the evictions--will be the -first to suffer. The price of stock in Scotland must inevitably fall. -Rents must follow, and the joint authors of the original iniquity will, -as a class, then suffer the natural and just penalty of their past -misconduct. - - -AN EVICTING AGENT. - -Giving evidence before the Deer Forest Commission of 1892, the late -Mr. Æneas R. Macdonell of Camusdarroch, Arisaig, made an interesting -statement. After mentioning that he was a member of the Scottish Bar, -and had previously been proprietor of Morar, he proceeded:-- - -I am able to speak generally as to the population there used to be in -Arisaig in my young days,--in fact, the whole tract of country seemed -to be populated and to have numerous houses on all parts of it; but -I want to confine my evidence almost entirely to that portion of the -district which is now under deer forest. It is now called Rhu-Arisaig, -but 100 years ago it was called Dubh-chamus. - -Although I am only seventy-two years of age, I am able to speak of -thirty years beyond that, from 1794. My grandfather occupied the -various places or townships in Dubh-chamus or Rudha. These were -Dubh-chamus, Rhu, Tirnadrish, Torbae, Rhubrec, Tormor, Rhuemoch, -Claggan, Portavullid, Bal-ur, Ardgaserie, and Achagarrailt. I am able -to speak concerning that period from an old account-book belonging -to my grandfather, to which I had access a good many years ago, and -it was in connection with a very melancholy occasion in which I was -unfortunately implicated, viz., an emigration from the estate of -Loch Sheil in Moidart. In that account-book I found thirty-seven -names of individuals in the various families who were paying rent, as -sub-tenants to my grandfather, Archibald Macdonald, Rudha, Arisaig, who -died, I think, in 1828 or 1829. I don’t know where that account-book -now is. At that time it was in the possession of my uncle, Macdonald of -Loch Sheil; and I may as well mention that it was in connection with -Rudha that I came to examine the book. - -First I should mention that these people occupied Rhu as cottars, and -they had land for which apparently they paid no rent, but worked the -land, of which Mr. Macdonald of Rudha cropped a portion. They paid rent -for grazing,--a small nominal sum, and he himself paid a very small -rent also to the then proprietor, Macdonald of Clanranald. In fact -he, as well as Macdonald of Borrodale and Macdonald of Glen Alladale, -came into possession of the various lands as being sons of the then -Macdonald of Clanranald. They took these lands with the population on -them, and occupied them. - -The rents were paid to the tenants, to these Macdonalds, at a very -small rate, because they themselves were not highly charged. - -It so came to pass that in Lord Cranston’s time my uncle, Gregor -Macdonald, who then occupied Rudha, had to give a large increase of -rent, or be quit of it. Well, he could not under the old system on -which he held it afford to give more rent. The consequence was that the -farm was taken over him; and the cruel thing was, that he was obliged -to remove all the sub-tenants upon it who had been there generations -before him or his ancestors. The only thing that he could do was to get -his brother Macdonald of Loch Sheil to take the people over to Loch -Sheil in Moidart. Times grew black, and the potato famine occurred, and -the consequence was that there was a redundant population, for Moidart -had previously been well inhabitated, and the addition of so many -families from Rudha, Arisaig, quite overwhelmed them when the potato -famine occurred. - -I was then puzzled to know how many came from Rhu, Arisaig, and I got -access in that way to the old books from which I took an extract, and I -have here a list of the names of the various people and the portions of -Rudha that they occupied. In _Ardgaserich_ there were 12, viz., Lachlan -Mackinnon, Donald Roy Macinnes, John Macintyre, John Mackinnon, Patrick -Maccormack, Neil Mackinnon, Ronald Macdonald, Mrs. Macdonald, Donald -Macvarish, Duncan Macinnes, John Macdonald, and Allan Mackinnon. In -_Torbae_ there were 4, viz., Angus Smith, L. Mackinnon, J. Macdonald, -John Maciasaac. In _Dubh-chamus_, ten, viz., John Kinnaird, John -Macisaac, Finlay Mackellaig, Archibald Macfarlane, James Macdonald, -Widow Maceachan, Patrick Grant, Allan Mackinnon, Dugald Macpherson, -and Widow Maclean. In _Rudha_, 11, viz., Mrs. Donald Macdonald, Donald -Macinnes, Roderick Mackinnon, John Maccormack, Rory Smith, Angus Bain -Macdonald, Ewan Mackinnon, Peter Macfarlane, Dugald Gillies, Alexander -Macleod, Angus Roy Maceachan. These are in all 37, and they are -evidently of different families. The rents were given, and the payments -made, and everything in connection with their holdings. The date of -this is 1794. - -I was going on to explain that these people, or rather the descendants -of some of them, had to be removed to Moidart, and in the congested -state of the estate it had to be considered what was best to be done. -I was then a young man. I had just passed at the Bar, and I and the -late respected James Macgregor of Fort William were appointed trustees -to do what was best. We could see nothing for it,--it was impossible -for the people to subsist,--but to assist them to emigrate, and we -were assisted very materially in carrying out the emigration by the -resident Catholic clergyman of that time, Rev. Ronald Rankine, who -indeed followed them. So many of them went to Australia and a few of -them to America. But never shall I forget until my dying day,--it is a -source of grief to me that I had anything whatsoever to do with that -emigration, although, at the same time, God knows I cannot understand -how it could have been averted. Many of the people have succeeded well -and are well-to-do, but if they had remained, they would have been -impoverished themselves, and they would have impoverished the few that -are still on the estate. - - -AN OCTOGENARIAN GAEL. - -In his interesting volume entitled _Reminiscences and Reflections of -an Octogenarian Gael_, Mr. Duncan Campbell, for over twenty-six years -editor of the _Northern Chronicle_, writes as follows with regard to -the Breadalbane Evictions:-- - -As second Marquis, “the son of his father,” contrary to all -prognostications, became, as soon as expiring leases permitted it, an -evicting landlord on a large scale, and he continued to pursue the -policy of joining farm to farm, and turning out native people, to -the end of his twenty-eight years’ reign. But like the first spout -of the haggis, his first spout of evicting energy was the hottest. -I saw with childish sorrow, impotent wrath, and awful wonder at -man’s inhumanity to man, the harsh and sweeping Roro and Morenish -clearances, and heard much talk about others which were said to be as -bad if not worse. A comparison of the census returns for 1831 with -those of 1861 will show how the second Marquis reduced the rural -population on his large estates, while the inhabitants of certain -villages were allowed, or, as at Aberfeldy, encouraged to increase. -When such a loud and long-continued outcry took place about the -Sutherland clearances, it seems at first sight strange that such small -notice was taken by the Press, authors, and contemporary politicians, -of the Breadalbane evictions, and that the only set attack on the -Marquis should have been left to the vainglorious, blundering, Dunkeld -coal merchant, who added the chief-like word “Dunalastair” to his -designation. One reason--perchance the chief one--for the Marquis’s -immunity was the prominent manner in which he associated himself -with the Nonintrusionists, and his subsequently becoming an elder -and a liberal benefactor of the Free Church. He had a Presbyterian -upbringing, and lived in accordance with that upbringing. His Free -Church zeal may, therefore, have been as genuine as he wished it to be -believed; but whether simply real or partly simulated, it covered as -with a saintly cloak his evictions proceedings in the eyes of those -who would have been his loud denouncers and scourging critics had he -been an Episcopalian or remained in the Church of Scotland. The people -he evicted, and all of us, young and old, who were witnesses of the -clearances, could not give him much credit for any good in what seemed -to us the purely hard and commercial spirit of the policy which he -carried out as the owner of a princely Highland property. Such of the -witnesses of the clearances as have lived to see the present desolation -of rural baronies on the Breadalbane estates can now charitably assume -that, had he foreseen what his land-management policy was to lead up -to, he would, at least, have gone about his thinning-out business in a -more cautious, kindly, and considerate manner, and not rudely cut, as -he did, the precious ties of hereditary mutual sympathy and reliance -which had long existed between the lords and the native Highland people -of Breadalbane. - -It is quite true that in 1834 the population on the Breadalbane -estate needed thinning. The old Marquis had made a great mistake -in dividing holdings which were too small before, in order to make -room for Fencible soldiers who were not, as eldest sons, heirs to -existing holdings. In twenty years, congestion to an alarming extent -was the natural result of the old man’s mistaken kindness. There was -indeed a good deal of congestion before that mistake was committed, -although migration and emigration helped to keep it within some limits. -Emigration would have proceeded briskly from 1760 onwards had it -not been discouraged by landlords who found the fighting manhood on -their estates a valuable asset; and when not positively prohibited, -emigration was impeded in various ways by the Government, now alive -to the value of Highlands and Isles as a nursery of soldiers and -sailors. Although discouraged and impeded, emigration was never wholly -stopped, and after Waterloo Glenlyon, Fortingall, and Breadalbane, -Rannoch, Strathearn and Balquhidder, sent off swarms to Canada, the -United States, and the West Indies. A large swarm from Breadalbane, -Lochearnhead, and Balquhidder went off to Nova Scotia about 1828, -and got Gaelic-speaking ministers to follow them. In 1829 a great -number of Skyemen from Lord Macdonald’s estate went to Cape Breton, -where Gaelic is the language of the people and pulpit to this day. -The second Marquis of Breadalbane would have won for himself lasting -glory and honour, and done his race and country valuable service, if -he had chosen to place himself at the head of an emigration scheme -for his surplus people, instead of merely driving them away, and -further trampling on their feelings by letting the big farms he made -by clearing out the native population to strangers in race, language, -and sympathies. He was rich, childless, and gifted, and he utterly -missed his vocation, or grand chance for gaining lasting fame among the -children of the Gael. - -At a later period of my life than this of which I am now writing, -I looked into many kirk session books, and found that those of the -parishes of Kenmore and Killin indicated a worse state of matters in -Breadalbane than existed in any of the neighbouring parishes. Pauperism -was increasing at a rapid rate, although it was a notorious fact that -rents there were lower than on other Highland estates. The old Marquis -was never a rack-renter. Other proprietors, when leases terminated, -took more advantage than he did of a chance to raise rents, and when -once raised they strove ever afterwards to keep them up. But I do not -wonder that his son thought that if things were allowed to go on as he -found them on succeeding to titles and estates, a general bankruptcy -would soon be the result. Without ceasing to regret and detest his -methods, I learned to see the reasonableness of the second Marquis’s -view of the alarming situation. The population had simply outgrown -the means of decent subsistence from the carefully cultivated small -holdings which were the general rule. Had it not been for the frugality -and self-helpfulness of the people, the crisis of general poverty would -have come when the inflated war prices ceased, or at least in the -short-crop year of 1826, when the corn raised in Breadalbane, although -the hillsides were cultivated as far up as any cereal crop could -be expected to ripen in the most favourable season, did not supply -meal enough for two-thirds of the people. But the “calanas” of the -women, especially as long as flax-spinning continued in a flourishing -condition, brought in a good deal of money; and for many years “Calum -a Mhuilin” (Calum of the Mill), otherwise Malcolm Campbell, road -contractor, Killin, led out a host of young men to make roads in -various parts of the country, and these returned with their earnings to -spend the winter at home. These sources of profit were beginning to dry -up when the old Marquis died. - -What came of the dispersed? The least adventurous or poorest of them -slipped away into the nearest manufacturing town, or mining districts -where there was a demand for unskilled labourers. There some of them -flourished, but not a few of them foundered. The larger portion of -them emigrated to Canada, mainly to the London district of Ontario, -where they cleared forest farms, cherished their Gaelic language and -traditions, prospered, and hated the Marquis more, perhaps, than -he rightly deserved when things were looked at from his own hard -political-economy point of view. - - - - -_STATISTICAL STATEMENT._ - - -POPULATION IN 1831, 1841, 1851, 1881, AND 1911, OF ALL THE PARISHES IN -WHOLE OR IN PART IN THE COUNTY OF PERTHSHIRE. - - 1831 1841 1851 1881 1911 - - Aberdalgie 434 360 343 297 278 - Aberfoyle 660 543 514 465 1102 - Abernethy 1915 1920 2026 1714 1297 - Abernyte 254 280 275 275 209 - Arngask 712 750 685 547 652 - Auchterarder 3182 3434 4160 3648 3175 - Auchtergaven 3417 3366 3232 2195 1250 - Balquhidder 1049 871 874 627 734 - Bendochy 780 783 773 715 502 - Blackford 1897 1782 2012 1595 1374 - Blair-Athol 2495 2231 2084 1742 1342 - Blairgowrie 2644 3471 2497 5162 ... - Callander 1909 1665 1716 2167 1977 - Caputh 2303 2317 2037 2096 1565 - Cargill 1628 1642 1629 1348 1329 - Clunie 944 763 723 582 474 - Collace 730 702 581 409 324 - Culross 1484 1444 1487 1130 1499 - Comrie 2622 2471 2463 1858 1447 - Dron 464 441 394 335 256 - Dull 4590 3811 3342 2565 ... - Dunbarney 1162 1104 1066 756 862 - Dunkeld 2032 1752 1662 791 628 - Dunning 2045 2128 2206 1639 1145 - Errol 2992 2832 2796 2421 2083 - Findo-Gask 428 436 405 364 357 - Forgandenny 913 796 828 617 565 - Forteviot 624 638 638 618 524 - Fortingall 3067 2740 2486 1690 ... - Fossoway and Tulliebole 1576 1724 1621 1267 805 - Foulis-Wester 1681 1609 1483 412 704 - Glendevon 620 157 128 147 111 - Inchture 878 769 745 650 545 - Kenmore 3126 2539 2257 1508 686 - Killin 2002 1702 1608 1277 913 - Kilmadock 3752 4055 3659 3012 2272 - Kilspindie 760 709 684 693 498 - Kincardine 2455 2232 1993 1351 ... - Kinclaven 890 880 881 588 468 - Kinfauns 732 720 650 583 558 - Kinnaird 461 458 370 260 172 - Kinnoull 2957 2879 3134 3461 4076 - Kirkmichael 1568 1412 1280 849 421 - Lethendy and Kinloch 708 662 556 404 327 - Little Dunkeld 2867 2718 2155 2175 1945 - Logierait 3138 2959 2875 2323 1371 - Longforgan 1638 1660 1787 1854 1997 - Madderty 713 634 593 527 438 - Meigle 873 728 686 696 856 - Methven 2714 2446 2454 1910 1843 - Moneydie 300 315 321 233 232 - Monzie 1195 1261 1199 753 428 - Monievaird and Strowan 926 853 790 700 438 - Moulin 2022 2019 2022 2066 2518 - Muckhart 617 706 685 601 528 - Muthill 3297 3067 2972 1702 1431 - Redgorton 1866 1929 2047 1452 1086 - Rhynd 400 402 338 297 205 - St. Madoes 327 327 288 316 258 - St. Martins 1135 1071 983 741 630 - Scone 2268 2422 2381 2402 2389 - Tibbermore 1223 1661 1495 1883 2443 - Trinity-Gask 620 620 597 396 360 - Tulliallan 3550 3196 3043 2207 2091 - Weem 1209 890 740 474 391 - - -POPULATION IN 1831, 1841, 1851, 1881, AND 1911, OF ALL THE PARISHES IN -WHOLE OR IN PART IN THE COUNTY OF ARGYLL. - - Ardchattan and Muckairn 2420 2264 2313 2005 2047 - Ardnamurchan 5669 5581 5446 4105 3172 - Campbeltown 9472 9539 9381 9755 9497 - Craignish 892 970 873 451 325 - Dunoon and Kilmun 2416 2853 4518 8002 6107 - Gigha and Cara 534 550 547 382 326 - Glassary 4054 5369 4711 4348 ... - Glenorchy and Inishail 1806 831 1450 1705 931 - Inveraray 2233 2277 2229 946 919 - Inverchaolain 596 699 474 407 371 - Jura and Colonsay 2205 2291 1901 1343 843 - Kilbrandon and Kilchattan 2833 2602 2375 1767 1370 - Kilcalmonell and Kilberry 3488 2460 2859 2304 815 - Kilchoman 4822 4505 4142 2547 1459 - Kilchrenan and Dalavich 1096 894 776 504 357 - Kildalton 3065 3315 3310 2271 1471 - Kilfinan 2004 1816 1695 2153 928 - Kilfinichen and Kilviceuen 3819 4102 3054 1982 1403 - Killarrow and Kilmeny 7105 7341 4882 2756 2552 - Killean and Kilchenzie 2866 2401 2219 1386 1019 - Kilmartin 1475 1213 1144 811 582 - Kilmodan 648 578 500 323 264 - Kilmore and Kilbride 2836 4327 3131 5142 7154 - Kilninian and Kilmore 4830 4322 3954 2540 1811 - Kilniver and Kilmelford 1072 970 714 405 392 - Knapdale, North 2583 2170 1666 927 656 - Knapdale, South 2137 1537 2178 2536 2100 - Lismore and Appin 4365 4193 4097 3433 3279 - Lochgoilhead and Kilmorich 1196 1100 834 870 1023 - Morvern 2036 1781 1547 828 635 - Saddell and Skipness 2152 1798 1504 1163 964 - Small Isles 1015 993 916 550 396 - Southend 2120 1598 1406 955 767 - Strachur and Stralachan 1083 1086 915 932 700 - Tiree and Coll 5769 6096 4818 3376 2214 - Torosay 1889 1616 1361 1102 959 - - -POPULATION IN 1831, 1841, 1851, 1881, AND 1911, OF ALL THE PARISHES IN -WHOLE OR IN PART IN THE COUNTY OF INVERNESS. - - Abernethy 2092 1920 1871 1530 1228 - Alvie 1092 972 914 707 564 - Ardersier 1268 1475 1241[29] 2086 1913 - Ardnamurchan 5669 5581 5446 4105 3172 - Boleskin and Abertarff 1829 1876 2006 1448 1791 - Cawdor 1187 1150 1202 1070 859 - Cromdale 3234 3561 3990 3642 1920 - Croy 1664 1684 1770 1709 1384 - Daviot and Dunlichity 1641 1681 1857 1252 907 - Dores 1736 1745 1650 1148 794 - Duthil 1920 1759 1788 1664 1345 - Glenelg 2874 2729 2470 1601 1638 - Inverness 14324 15418 16496 21725 25669 - Kilmallie 4210 5397 5235 4157 3704 - Kilmonivaig 2869 2791 2583 1928 1234 - Kilmorach (including Beauly) 2709 2694 3007 2618 1811 - Kiltarlity 2715 2896 2965 2134 1523 - Kingussie and Insh 2080 2047 2201 1987 2199 - Kirkhill 1715 1829 1730 1480 1237 - Laggan 1196 1201 1223 917 754 - Moy and Dalarossie 1098 967 1018 822 696 - Petty 1836 1749 1784 1531 1263 - Urquhart and Glenmoriston 2942 3104 3280 2438 1675 - Urray 2768 2716 2621 2478 1848 - _Insular_-- - Barra 2097 2363 1873 2161 2620 - Bracadale 1769 1824 1597 929 805 - Duirinish 4765 4983 5330 4391 3093 - Harris 3900 4429 4250 4814 4944 - Kilmuir 3415 3629 3177 2562 1964 - North Uist 4603 4428 3918 4264 4096 - Portree 3441 3574 3557 3191 2431 - Sleat 2756 2706 2531 2060 1385 - Small Isles 1015 993 916 550 396 - Snizort 3487 3220 3101 2120 1694 - South Uist 6890 7333 6173 6078 5469 - Strath 2962 3150 3243 2616 1947 - -[29] Including 948 military and militia in Fort-George in 1881. - - -POPULATION IN 1831, 1841, 1851, 1881, AND 1911, OF ALL THE PARISHES IN -WHOLE OR IN PART IN THE COUNTIES OF ROSS AND CROMARTY. - - Alness 1437 1269 1240 1033 898 - Applecross 2892 2861 2709 2239 2498 - Avoch 1956 1931 2029 1691 1782 - Contin 2023 1770 1562 1422 957 - Cromarty 2900 2662 2727 2009 5637 - Dingwall 1159 2100 2364 2220 2942 - Edderton 1023 975 890 431 545 - Fearn 1695 1914 2122 2135 1785 - Fodderty 2232 2437 2342 2047 1648 - Gairloch 4445 4880 5186 4594 3328 - Glenshiel 715 745 573 424 339 - Killearnan 1479 1643 1794 1059 741 - Kilmuir-Easter 1556 1486 1437 1146 887 - Kiltearn 1605 1436 1538 1182 1138 - Kincardine 1887 2108 1896 1472 1025 - Kintail 1240 1186 1009 688 ... - Knockbain 2139 2565 3005 1866 1397 - Lochalsh 2433 2597 2299 2050 1761 - Lochbroom 4615 4799 4813 4191 2794 - Lochcarron 2136 1960 1612 1456 982 - Logie-Easter 934 1015 965 827 700 - Nigg 1404 1426 1457 1000 827 - Resolis or Kirkmichael 1470 1549 1551 1424 954 - Rosemarkie 1799 1719 1776 1357 726 - Rosskeen 2916 3222 3699 3773 3362 - Tain 3078 3128 3574 3009 2507 - Tarbat 1809 1826 2151 1878 1224 - Urquhart and Logie-Wester 2864 2997 3153 2525 2006 - Urray 2768 2716 2621 2474 1848 - _Insular_-- - Barvas 3011 3850 4189 5325 6040 - Lochs 3067 3653 4256 6248 6689 - Stornoway 5491 6218 8057 10389 13438 - Uig 3041 3316 3209 3489 3436 - - -POPULATION IN 1831, 1841, 1851, 1881, AND 1911, OF ALL THE PARISHES IN -WHOLE OR IN PART IN THE COUNTY OF CAITHNESS. - - 1831 1841 1851 1881 1911 - Bower 1615 1689 1658 1608 1393 - Canisbay 2364 2306 2437 2626 1866 - Dunnet 1906 1880 1868 1607 1147 - Halkirk 2847 2963 2918 2705 2041 - Latheron 7030 7637 8224 6675 4512 - Olrig 1146 1584 1873 2002 1450 - [31]Reay 2881 2811 2506 2191 1811 - Thurso 4679 4881 5096 6217 4732 - Watten 1234 1966 1351 1406 1079 - Wick 9850 10393 11851 12822 12772 - - -POPULATION IN 1801, 1811, 1821, 1831, 1841, 1851, 1871, 1881, AND 1911, -OF ALL THE PARISHES IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN THE COUNTY OF SUTHERLAND. - - 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1871 1881 1911 - Assynt 2419 2479 2803 3161 3178 2989 3006 2781 2111 - Clyne 1643 1639 1874 1711 1765 1933 1733 1812 1749 - Creich 1974 1969 2354 2562 2852 2714 2524 2223 1713 - Dornoch 2362 2681 3100 3380 2714 2981 2764 2525 2724 - Durness 1208 1155 1004 1153 1109 1152 1049 987 830 - Eddrachillis 1253 1147 1229 1965 1699 1576 1530 1525 1259 - Farr 2408 2408 1994 2073 2217 2403 2019 1930 1673 - Golspie 1616 1391 1049 1149 1214 1529 1804 1556 1685 - Kildonan 1440 1574 565 257 256 [30]2288 1916 1942 1786 - Lairg 1209 1354 1094 1045 913 1162 978 1335 995 - Loth 1374 1330 2008 2234 2526 [30]640 583 584 367 - [31]Reay 2406 2317 2758 2881 2811 2506 2331 2191 1581 - Rogart 2022 2148 1986 1805 1501 1535 1341 1227 892 - Tongue 1348 1493 1736 2030 2041 2018 2051 1929 1609 - -[30] The lands of Helmsdale and others previously in the parish of Loth -were, about this time, added to Kildonan, which accounts for this large -increase. It also accounts for the decrease in Loth. - -[31] Note that Reay is given both in Caithness and Sutherland records -same figures. The parish lies one half in each county. - - - - -_APPENDICES._ - - -NOTE A. (See Page 115.) - -The following pertinent observations appeared in the _Dundee -Advertiser_, of 10th January, 1914. They are from the pen of a notable -Dundee lawyer, Mr. John Walker, who has made a special study of the -legal aspects of the Highland Clearances:-- - -At the time of Patrick Sellar’s trial the ruthless evictions carried -out by the Stafford family had been so long in process of execution -that no one had the slightest doubt of the facts of these taking -place. The question tried was not whether they took place, but whether -they were carried out, in one particular instance, in such a way as -to directly cause the death of Donald M’Beath and Janet M’Kay, two -helpless, old, bedridden people. The trial took place at Inverness. -Of the 15 jurors 8 were landed proprietors, and the rest were mostly -either factors or those interested in factors. The most of the -witnesses for the prosecution were evidently terrified to say one word -against the accused. When Sellar was arrested, he emitted a declaration -which was put in evidence at the trial, and, to be strictly fair, -I shall confine myself to that. The gist of it is as follows:--In -December, 1813, the crofting lands were advertised to let, and at the -set, where apparently the lands were disposed of to sheep farmers, -a paper was read that the removed tenants would get allotments “in -the lower part of the county.” “That Lord and Lady Stafford directed -the declarant (Sellar) to offer at the set for any farm he chose a -few pounds beyond the highest offerer; and they directed Mr. Young -on his so offering to prefer him.” That thus Sellar got possession -of the farms of Rhiloisk and Rossal. That in April, 1814, decrees of -removing were got against all the tenants on these farms. That the -ejections were carried out in June, 1814, and “that his directions to -the officers were that they should lawfully eject the tenants, and -that after ejecting ... they should remove the roof of every house -in Rhimsdale excepting those occupied by families, wherein sickness -was mentioned to have been.” That he was present at the first part -of the ejections (of the towns of Garvault, Ravigill, Rhiphail, and -Rhiloisk), but after they had ejected from a few houses and had -unroofed these the tenants of the others “in the neighbourhood yielded -obedience to the warrant, and removed themselves.” “Interrogated. If -the declarant’s orders to the officer and party were not to throw down -the couples and timber of the different dwelling-houses, barns, kilns, -and sheep cots? Declares that the declarant directed the officers ... -to remove the tenants’ property and effects from the premises; and -thereafter to unroof the huts to prevent them from retaking possession -after the declarant should leave that part of the county.” Sellar -himself admitted burning only in one case. The proceedings from a -judicial aspect were largely a farce, as can be judged from the fact -that the first evidence adduced for the defence consisted of written -certificates from three landed proprietors, who did not appear, as to -“Mr. Sellar’s character for humanity,” and that these certificates, -although not evidence, were founded on in Lord Pitmilly’s charge to the -jury. But the important thing is that Sellar’s declaration implicates -Lord and Lady Stafford as being by their own instructions the direct -instruments of putting this tyrannical under-factor in the position of -rendering homeless some hundreds of their helpless tenants. The little -crofts were made into large sheep farms, which were advertised to let -to the highest offerer, and the exposure was a farce, because the -Sutherland family had personally arranged that Sellar was to be allowed -to cap the highest offer. One would require a double-power microscope -to see the noble philanthropy of that transaction! I have extracted -the above summary from the report of the trial, which was prepared and -circulated by Sellar’s own junior counsel. - -On the other hand, the stories yet told in Sutherland represent a much -harsher state of matters. I personally have talked with men whose -fathers were as young children turned out on the hillside to see their -little cottages burned to the ground, and I have had pointed out to me -the sites of these same cottages and crofts, where now there is nothing -but miles and miles of dreary waste; and this did not happen in one or -two instances, but in the whole of Strathnaver, Strathbrora, and many -other places in all parts of the county. - - -NOTE B. (See Page 218.) - -The following interesting letter has been handed to the Editor by Mr. -J. Stewart Bannatyne, solicitor, Glasgow: - - “CASTLEBAY, BARRA. - - “_September 21st, 1912._ - - “Dear Sir, - - “In reply to your letter of the 6th inst., and after consulting the - older inhabitants, I beg to inform you that it was John Bannatyne - who rescued Mrs. J. M’Kinnon, her sister and another woman, from - compulsory emigration, but it was John Crawford who rescued John - M’Lean. I know the women and M’Lean as well as I know my two fingers, - and heard the whole story from their own lips different times. - - “Both my father and mother were eye-witnesses of people being chased - like wild cattle over the hills, not in Barra, but in North and South - Uists. People can hardly believe now what took place then, and what - my mother, who died in my arms at the fall of last year, told me it - would be enough to make the devil himself desperate, if I am not - using too strong an expression. - - “There is a man still living at Mallaig, Inverness-shire, named Ewen - M’Dugald, who sailed with John Bannatyne. - - “People nowadays are trying to deny that such brutalities were - carried out by landlords, but they need not attempt such nonsense. I - have no doubt but the descendants of the perpetrators of those acts - are ashamed of the deeds--and no wonder. - - “Yours faithfully, - “DON. M’AULAY. - - “JOHN STEWART BANNATYNE, Esq., - “Solicitor, Glasgow.” - - -NOTE C. (See page 234.) - -In the _Inverness Courier_ for 11th October, 1837, appears the -following:-- - -A large body of emigrants sailed from Tobermory, on the 27th September, -for New South Wales. The vessel was the “Brilliant,” and its size and -splendid fittings were greatly admired. “The people to be conveyed -by this vessel are decidedly the most valuable that have ever left -the shores of Great Britain. They are of excellent moral character, -and, from their knowledge of agriculture, and management of sheep -and cattle, must prove a most valuable acquisition to a colony like -New South Wales.” The Rev. Mr. Macpherson, of Tobermory, preached a -farewell sermon before the party sailed. The total number of emigrants -was 322, made up as follows:--From Ardnamurchan and Strontian, 105; -from Coll and Tiree, 104; from Mull and Iona, 56; from Morven, 25; -and from Dunoon, 28. There were two teachers and two surgeons. A -visitor from New South Wales presented as many of the party as he met -with letters of introduction, and expressed himself highly gratified -with the prospect of having so valuable an addition to the colony. A -Government agent superintended the embarkation. - - -_Jamieson & Munro, Ltd., Printers, Stirling._ - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -The following apparent errors have been corrected: - -p. 50 "d minution" changed to "diminution" - -p. 63 "ineviably" changed to "inevitably" - -p. 64 "Pontyzfield" changed to "Poyntzfield" - -p. 69 (note) "1820)" changed to "1820" - -p. 86 "hour" changed to "four" - -p. 87 the line beginning "paper, I can" was originally printed at the -end of another paragraph on the same page - -p. 105 "“I am" changed to "‘I am" - -p. 106 "thanmen" changed to "than men" - -p. 106 "n this county" changed to "in this county" - -p. 106 "y2ur" changed to "your" - -p. 119 "assitants" changed to "assistants" - -p. 126 "he character" changed to "the character" - -p. 128 "and and of" changed to "and of" - -p. 134 "Hibbs’" changed to "Hibbs" - -p. 136 "“The affair" changed to "“‘The affair" - -p. 136 "tha the" changed to "that they" - -p. 145 "apect" changed to "aspect" - -p. 152 "instructive" changed to "instructive," - -p. 152 "regimé" changed to "régime" - -p. 153 "Now this" changed to "“"Now this" - -p. 166 "frmo" changed to "from" - -p. 166 "Makenzie" changed to "Mackenzie" - -p. 169 (note) "pp" changed to "pp." - -p. 171 "number bering" changed to "numbering" - -p. 172 "disposed" changed to "be disposed" - -p. 179 "sad" changed to "said" - -p. 182 "desstroyed" changed to "destroyed" - -p. 185 "unmarried; aand" changed to "unmarried; and" - -p. 188 "marraige" changed to "marriage" - -p. 190 "offpsring" changed to "offspring" - -p. 193 "trade than" changed to "trade then" - -p. 197 "MACKENKIE" changed to "MACKENZIE" - -p. 197 "enchanced" changed to "enhanced" - -p. 199 "desscribes" changed to "describes" - -p. 209 "right loyally" changed to "right royally" - -p. 215 "species?”" changed to "species?’" - -p. 218 "opprsseing" changed to "oppressing" - -p. 228 "souls" changed to "souls." - -p. 236 "stored" changed to "stoved" - -p. 242 "pennilness" changed to "penniless" - -p. 246 "uneviable" changed to "unenviable" - -p. 250 "months’" changed to "months," - -p. 260 "In his" changed to "“In his" - -p. 261 "It is credible, that in the 19th" changed to "Is it credible, -that in the 18th" - -p. 261 "fretile" changed to "fertile" - -p. 266 "wood cut" changed to "wood out" - -p. 267 "refused, bu" changed to "refused, but" - -p. 278 "the in" changed to "the parishes in" - -p. 280 "Ardersier," changed to "Ardersier" - - -The following are used inconsistently in the text: - -bedridden and bed-ridden - -coadjutors and co-adjutors - -fireplace and fire-place - -fourscore and four-score - -handcuffed and hand-cuffed - -heartrending and heart-rending - -hillside and hill-side - -mantelpiece and mantel-piece - -mountainside and mountain-side - -outhouses and out-houses - -overcrowded and overcrowded - -sheepwalk and sheep-walk - -shellfish and shell-fish - - -p. 204 "“When the evicting" has no corresponding closing quotation mark - -p. 256 "“By the" has no corresponding closing quotation mark - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND -CLEARANCES*** - - -******* This file should be named 51271-0.txt or 51271-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/1/2/7/51271 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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