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ORY  OF  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 


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THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS,  ABERDEE> 

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THE 

HISTORY 


OF  THE 


HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES; 


CONTAINING  A  REPRINT  OF  DONALD  MACLEOD'S  "GLOOMY 

MEMORIES  OF   THE  HIGHLANDS";    ISLE  OF  SKYE 

IN  1882 ;    AND  A  VERBATIM  REPORT  OF  THE 

TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS, 


BY 

;ANDER  MACKENZIE,  F.S.A.  Scot., 

Editor  of  the  Celtic  Magazine  ;  Author  of  The  History  of  the  Mackenzies ; 

The  History  of  the  Macdonalds  and  Lords  of  the  Isles  ;  The  Macdotialds  of 

Glengarry  ;  The  Macdonalds  of  Clanra?iald  ;  The  History  of  the 

Mathesons;  The  Prophecies  of  tlu  Brahan  Seer ;  Historical 

Tales  and  Legends  of  the  Highlands,  etc. 


'Crufk  struttficr  than  fiction.         51 4^9 'i 


INVERNESS  :   A.  &  W.  MACKENZIE. 


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TO 


JOHN    MACKAY,    C.E., 

A  NATIVE  OF  SUTHERLAND, 

A  TRUE  HIGHLANDER, 

AND  ONE  OF  NATURE'S  NOBLEMEN, 

AS  AN   ACKNOWLEDGMENT  OF   HIS   MANLY   PATRIOTISM 

AND   READY   LIBERALITY   IN   THE   CAUSE   OF 

HIS  OPPRESSED  COUNTRYMEN, 

BY   THE 

AUTHOR. 


vv 


PREFACE. 


THE  late  Robert  Carruthers,  LL.D.,  reviewing  in 
1878  in  the  hiverness  Courier,  a  paper  on  the 
Strathglass  evictions,  by  Mr.  Colin  Chisholm,  published 
in  the  Transactions  of  the  Gaelic  Society  of  Inverness, 
wrote  : — "A  good  history  of  the  changes  in  the  High- 
lands, .  .  .  and  the  '  Clearances,'  since  the  great 
Glengarry  emigration,  for  the  last  century  and  a  half, 
would  form  a  most  interesting  volume,  and  sufficient 
materials  exist  for  a  diligent  and  honest  enquirer. 
We  recommend  the  task  to  the  editor  of  the  Celtic 
Magazine'' 

We  had  an  idea  long  before  this,  that  we  might 
possibly  some  day  attempt  a  work  such  as  our  vener- 
able friend  here  suggested,  and  the  high  compliment, 
from  such  a  quarter,  implied  in  the  terms  of  the 
proposal,  induced  us  to  pay  more  attention  to  the 
subject  and  keep  a  sharper  eye  than  ever  on  any- 
thing which  could  throw  light  on  the  history  of 
the  Highland  Clearances.  The  result  will  be  found 
in  the  following  pages.     There   is  little  attempt  to 


via  PREFACE. 

do  more  than  place  the  facts  before  the  reader,  so 
far  as  they  can  be  ascertained,  accompanied  by  the 
views  of  contemporary  writers,  and  others,  whose 
opinions  are  sure  to  command  respect.  This  we 
hold  to  be  infinitely  more  valuable  than  anything 
original  which  we  could  have  written  on  the  subject. 

Some  people  may  ask  "  Why  rake  up  all  this 
iniquity  just  now  ?  "  We  answer  that  the  same  laws 
which  permitted  the  cruelties,  the  inhuman  atrocities, 
described  in  this  book,  are  still  the  laws  of  the  country, 
and  any  tyrant  who  may  be  indifferent  to  the  healthier 
public  opinion  which  now  prevails,  may  legally  repeat 
the  same  proceedings  whenever  he  may  take  it  into 
his  head  to  do  so. 

It  is  not  in  our  power  to  alter  the  Laws  of  the  Land 
so  that  a  repetition  of  these  evictions  cannot  take 
place,  but  the  fear  of  getting  pilloried,  in  a  work  like 
this,  may  possibly  induce  the  tyrant  to  hold  his  hand, 
for  very  shame,  until  a  more  just  and  humane  law  shall 
make  such  mean  and  cruel  work  as  the  Highland 
Clearances  for  ever  impossible  ;  and  there  is  hope  for 
such  a  result  in  the  fact  that  the  descendants  of  the 
oppressors  of  a  past  generation  are  so  much  ashamed 
of  what  was  done  by  their  predecessors  that  they 
would  give  much  of  what  they  at  present  possess  if 
they  could  but  recal  the  mean,  indefensible,  and  harsh 
evictions  of  the  past. 

There  is  nothing  in  History  so  absolutely  mean  as 
the  Eviction  of  the  Highlanders  by  chiefs  solely  in- 


-^"^ — 


PREFACE.  IX 

debted  for  every  inch  of  land  they  ever  held  to  the 
strong  arms  and  trusty  blades  of  the  progenitors  of 
those  whom  the  effeminate  and  ungrateful  chiefs  of 
the  nineteenth  century  have  so  ruthlessly  oppressed, 
evicted,  and  despoiled. 

The  interest  in  the  subject  of  the  Highland  Evic- 
tions may  be  gathered  from  the  fact,  that  of  a  pamphlet 
published  by  the  present  writer,  in  1881,  an  edition  of 
fifteen  hundred  copies  went  out  of  print  in  a  few  months, 
and  that  it  has  supplied  the  material  for  most  of  the 
speeches  made,  and  many  of  the  newspaper  articles 
written,  on  the  subject  ever  since,  though  seldom  or 
ever  acknowledged  by  those  who  had  found  it  so 
useful  and  convenient ! 

It  is  hoped  that  the  portion  of  this  work  relating 
to  the  Social  state  of  the  Isle  of  Skye  in  1882,  illus- 
trated by  the  Trial  of  the  Braes  Crofters,  and  other 
proceedings  connected  with  the  Island,  will  be  found 
both  instructive  and  interesting. 

The  statistics  of  the  population  of  the  Highland 
Counties  and  Parishes,  given  in  the  Appendix,  will 
be  found  in  a  convenient  form  for  reference,  and  they 
may  possibly  prove  useful,  and  perhaps  interesting  to 
those  who  concern  themselves  about  the  steady  and 
rapid  decrease  of  the  rural  population  in  the  Highlands 
during  the  last  fifty  years. 

For  many  items  which  we  could  not  otherwise 
obtain  (most  of  the  Census  Returns  having  gone  out 
of  print),  we  are  indebted  to  the  prompt  and  obliging 


$ 


X  PREFACE. 

courtesy  of  the  Registrar-General  for  England  ;  for 
there  are  no  copies  prior  to  1841  kept  in  the  Scotch 
Office !  All  others  to  whom  we  are  indebted — and  to 
many  of  them  we  are  under  deep  obligations — are 
mentioned  in  the  body  of  the  work,  except  Mr. 
Dugald  Cowan,  who,  after  considerable  trouble  and 
difficulty,  succeeded  in  procuring  for  us  some  valuable 
information  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Physicians,  Edinburgh. 

A.  M. 

Inverness,  /anuarjf,  i88j. 


aBtfaoBg-^^- 


CONTENTS. 


Page 
Letter  I.     Introductory  Remarks — Meeting  of  Scottish  Noblemen 

and  Gentlemen  in  Edinburgh,      .  .  .  .  •         i 

Letter  IL     Original  Causes  of  the  Sutherland  Clearances,  .  .        4 

Letter  IIL  Evictions  in  Dornoch,  Rogart,  Loth,  Clyne,  and  Gol- 
spie— Young  and  Sellar — New  Comers  get  up  a  False  cry — 
Dunrobin  prepared  for  a  siege — Arrival  of  a  military  force — a 
Farce — Attitude  of  the  Clergy — A  number  emigrate  to  the  Red 
River — Their  fate  there,  ......         8 

Letter  IV,  Evictions  in  Farr  and  Kildman — Terrible  cruelties  per- 
petrated—Instances—Effect on  the  people,        .  .  •      ^3 

Letter  V.  Trial  and  Acquittal  of  Patrick  Sellar  for  alleged  cul- 
pable homicide  and  fire-raising — Letter  from  Sheriff  Mackid  to 
Lord  Stafford— Young  and  Sellar  are  no  longer  Factors,  .       17 

Letter  VI.  Sheriff  MacKid  dismissed  and  retires  to  Caithness — 
Mr.  Loch  becomes  Commissioner — The  people  disappointed 
with  the  New  Factor — Terror  of  the  inhabitants— Further  Evic- 
tions— Terrible  suffering  during  the  winter  of  1816 — Deseases 
introduced — Condition  of  the  people  generally,  .  .       21 

Letter  VII.  Effect  of  Sellar's  acquittal— The  people  become  pros- 
trate— Renewed  Evictions  in  Farr,  Rogart,  Golspie,  and  Kil- 
donan — 300  houses  in  flames  at  once — Terrible  scenes— 20 
families  escape  to  Caithness— Instances  of  painful  suffering 
and  cruelty — Factors,  Magistrates,  and  Clergy  unconcerned 
spectators  of  the  whole,    ...  ...       27 

Letter  VIII.  General  Stewart  of  Garth  on  the  Sutherland  Evictions 
— The  Rev.  Mr.  Sage  sides  with  the  people,  is  persecuted,  and 
has  to  leave  the  county — Strathnaver  cleared  and  utterly  deso- 
lated— Captain  John  Mackay  sub-factor,  .  .  -32 

Letter  IX.  The  Sutherland  ministers  and  the  evictions— Deteriora- 
tion of  the  people,  .  .  .  .  .  -3^ 


XU  CONTEXTS. 

PAGE 

Lettes  X.  The  infamd  inhabitants  are  dri^nen  to  the  rocbr  and  baircn 
sea-ooast — ^Their  wretdied  condition  there— Iniquitous  conduct 
of  Lord  Sta£Ricd's  shepherds — Many  of  the  people's  remaining 
cattle  and  sheep  destroyed  by  the  Southern  shephenls— As- 
sociation ft>r  the  suppression  of  sheep-stealing— The  saddle  on 
the  right  horse,     .......      39 

Lettkk  XI.  Straggles  of  the  people  cm  the  sea-coast,  where  many 
of  them  lose  their  Kwes  Cnom  inexperience  of  a  sea-foring  life — 
Great  expenditnre  on  the  new  Tenants ;  but  nothing  ta  en- 
oooiage  the  oati^^es,  who  in  some  instances  are  re-e\-icted  .      44 

Letter  XII.  Visit  of  Lady  Stafibrd  to  Sutherland- The  people 
forced  to  subscribe  to  a  Testimonial  by  those  in  power, 
and  the  real  state  of  the  people  concealed  from  her  by  the 
factors — Her  benevolent  intentions  frustrated  by  the  meanest 
dnpBcity,  ........      49 

Letter  XIII. — The  people  are  forced  to  build  new  houses  of  stone 

—make  "bricks  without  straw" — Shameful  consequences,        .       53 

Letter  XIV.  Hoase-boilding  stopped  by  Lord  Leveson  Gower  on 
witnessing  what  was  being  done,  during  a  \isit  to  the  county — 
New  orders  issued  as  soon  as  he  left — Death  and  funeral  of  the 
Duke — Distress  in  1836 — Specially  severe  in  Sutherland — No 
ontside  teBef  aflforded,  and  the  reason  why — Unparalleled 
sufferings  of  the  Crofters,  .  .  .  .  •      5<5 

Letter  XV.  Relief  at  last — Mismanagement  in  its  distribution^ — 
Misleading  address  to  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  during  a  visit 
to  the  county,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Tongue — The  clergy  secure 
lands  for  themselves  and  make  conditions  to  have  the  tenants 
in  possessicm  evicted         .  .  .  .  .  .61 

Letter  X\T.  The  Relief  has  to  be  paid  for !— means  t-iken  to  en- 
force payment — General  and  wide-spread  distress  of  the  w^hole 
native  populadon — Great  change  in  the  position  and  character 
of  the  natives — Means  taken  to  grind  them  down,         .  .       66 

Letter  XVII.  Death  of  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland  in  1S39 — Her 
funeral — Her  character — Remittance  of  aU  arrears  of  rent  on 
certain  conditions,  .  .  .  .  .  -71 

Letter  XVIII.    General  observations  on  the  Sutheriand  Qearances 

— On  the  actors  in  them — and  on  the  condition  of  the  crofters,  .     74 

Letter  XIX.  A  Sketch  of  Donald  MacLeods  life  and  family— Dis- 
graceful scene  in  Court  between  him  and  his  Factor. Judge — He 
is  cruelly  persecuted  and  finally  evicted,  .  .  -79 


CONTENTS. 


XUl 


PAGE 

Letter  XX.      Sufferings  of   MacLeod's   wife   and   family — Mean 

conduct  towards  them,     ......       85 

Letter  XXL  The  incredible  events  which  preceded  Donald  Mac- 
Leod's expulsion  fuUy  described,  .  .  .  .89 

Letter  XXII.     Riots  in  Durness — The  Causes  which  led  to  them,  .      95 

Letter  XXIII.     The  Inverness   Courier  on   the   Durness  Riots — 

It  is  freely  handled  by  MacLeod,  .  .  .  .98 

Letter  XXIV.    More  about  the  Durness  Riots — ^Various  accounts — 

Free  criticism  —Incredible  tyranny,         ....     102 

Letter  XXV.    General  Observations  on  the  preceding  Letters,        .     109 


Mrs.  Beecher  Stowe's  Sunny  Memories — ^A  Reply, 


11: 


Opinions  on  the  Sutherland  Clearances  by  Writers  of  Authority  : — 


By  General  Stewart  of  Garth,      . 

.    162 

By  Hugh  Miller, 

•     175 

By  Professor  Blaclde, 

.    197 

By  John  Mackay,  C.E.,  Hereford, 

.    202 

Glencalvie  Evictions, 

.     211 

Eviction  of  the  Rosses,    . 

.    219 

North  Uist, 

.    231 

Boreraig  and  Suisinish,  Isle  of  Skye, 

.    236 

A  Contrast, 

.    248 

South  Uist  and  Barra,     . 

.    250 

The  Island  of  Rum, 

.    261 

Glengarry  and  Knoydart, 

.    265 

Strathglass, 

.    284 

Guiachan, 

.     291 

Glenelg,  .... 

.    293 

Glendesseray  and  Locharkaig,    . 

.    295 

Kintail,    .... 

•    307 

Coigeach, 

.    308 

Strathconon, 

.    308 

Black  Isle, 

.    311 

Leckmelm,           .            ,            , 

.    314 

Lochcarron, 

.    326 

The  78th  Highlanders  and  Recruiting  i 

n  Ross- 

shire, 

.    333 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kennedy  on  Evictions, 

•    336 

Mr.  Charles  Innas  on  Evictions, 

•    337 

Athol,       .... 

.     340 

XIV 


CONTENTS. 


Rnnnoch, 

Breadalbane, 

County  of  Argyll— General  Remarks, 

The  Island  of  Mull, 

lona,        .  .  .  • 

Tiree,       .... 

Coll 

Mon'ern, 

Glenorchy, 

Depopulation  of  the  County  of  Argyll, 

The  Rev.  Thomas  MacLachlan,  LL.D, 

population  generally. 
Sheriff  Brown  on  the  same— Striking  Fi 
Sir  Walter  Scott, 
M.  Michelet, 

Mr.  Alfred  Russel  Wallace, 
Mr.  Samuel  Smith,  M.P.  for  Liverpool 
M.  de  Lavaleye  on  Evictions  and  Land  Tenure, 
Hardships  endured  by  the  First  Highland  Emigrants  to  Nova  Scotia, 
An  Irish  Companion  Picture,     ...... 

Land  Legislation  in  the  Fifteenth  Century — 1482  v.  1882, 


-A  Living  Witness — on  De- 


gures, 


PAGE 

343 
347 
350 
352 
354 
354 
355 
356 
360 
361 

364 
370 
372 
372 

372 
378 

385 
389 
397 
402 


THE   ISLE  OF   SKYE   IN    1882— 

The  Braes  Crofters  and  Lord  Macdonald,         ....  407 

The  Glendale  Crofters  and  their  Grievances,      ....  413 

Dr.  Nicol  Martin's  Estate  Management,            ....  422 

Burning  of  the  First  Summonses  in  the  Braes,  ....  424 

March  of  the  Dismal  Brigade  and  the  Battle  of  the  Braes,        .            .  426 

Arrest  and  Trial  of  the  Braes  Crofters,  .....  435 

The  Accused  in  the  Prison  of  Inverness,             ....  436 

They  are  committed  for  Trial  and  Bailed  out,  ....  437 

Reception  on  their  Arrival  at  Portree,    .....  438 
Refusal  of  Trial  by  Jury,              .            .            .            .            .            -439 

Agent's  Letter  to  the  Lord-Advocate,    .....  44° 

Questions  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  His  Lordship's  Reply,         .  442 

Reflections  suggested  by  His  Lordship's  Refusal,          .            .            .  443 

Protest  by  seven  Members  of  Parliament  in  the  Times,            .            .  445 

The  Trial  is  commenced  before  Sheriff  BlaiB — the  Indictment,             .  448 

The  Jurisdiction  of  the  Court  objected  to  and  sustained,          .            .  450 
The  Charge  of  Deforcement  objected  to — found  Irrelevant — Prisoners 

charged  with  a  Common  Assault,             ....  453 


CONTENTS. 


XV 


The  Evidence  for  the  Prosecution  :■ 

Angus  Martin,  Sheriff  Ofificer,  . 
Ewen  Robertson,  Concurrent,  . 
Norman  Beaton,  Ground  Officer, 
Alexander  Macdonald,  Factor,  . 
Declarations  of  the  Prisoners,     . 


4S6 
461 
464 
467 
473 


The  Evidence  for  the  Defence : — 
Donald  Macdonald,  Tormore,  late  Factor,  for  Lord  Macdonald,  and 

Glendale,  . 
John  Finlayson,  . 
Alexander  Finlayson, 
James  Matheson, 
John  Nicolson  (i), 
John  Nicolson  (2), 
John  Maclean, 

Mr.  Kenneth  Macdonald's  Address  on  behalf  of  the  Accused 
Sheriff  Blair's  Judgment  and  Sentence, 
The  Fines  paid,  and  the  men  liberated, 

The  Autumn  Catnfaign  : — 
Service  of  Writs  at  Gedintailler  in  September,  . 
The  Sheriff  Officers  again  in  the  Braes, . 
Lord  Macdonald  visits  the  Braes, 
Proposal  to  send  a  Military  force. 
Final  attempt  to  serve  the  Writs, 
Effect  of  Courier  Special  Correspondence, 
Munificent  offer  by  Malcolm  Mackenzie, 
Military  force  refused— Letter  from  the  Lord  Advocate, 
Meeting  of  Police  Committee  for  the  County,    . 
Special  Meeting  of  Commissioners  of  Supply — Report  by  Sheriff  Ivory, 
Police  Authorities  generally  refuse  Police  aid,   . 
Settlement  of  the  Braes  Dispute, 
The  Glendale  Crofters  in  the  Court  of  Session, 
Alleged  Deforcement  of  Sheriff  Officer,  . 

Appendix.  Showing  the  population  of  the  Counties  of  Perth,  Argyle, 
Inverness,  Ross  and  Cromarty,  Sutherland,  and  Caithness,  at 
each  Decennial  period  from  1801  to  1881,  both  inclusive  ;  with 
a  Tabulated  Statement  showing  the  population  of  the  parishes 
within  these  Counties  in  1831,  1841,  1851,  and  1881,  and  in  the 
case  of  Sutherland  the  population  is  given  for  each  decade  since 
1801,  ....... 


475 
476 

477 
478 

479 
479 
479 
479 
486 

488 


489 
490 
492 

493 
494 
500 

501 
507 
508 

509 
513 
514 
515 
517 


519 


I 

A 
r 


THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 


SUTHERLAND. 

DONALD  MACLEOD'S  "  Gloomy  Memories," 
originally  appeared  as  a  series  of  Letters  in 
the  Edinburgh  Weekly  Chronicle.  These  letters  were 
afterwards  published  separately  in  a  thick  pamphlet  ; 
which  has  long  become  so  rare  in  this  country  that  no 
money  will  procure  it.  After  a  search  of  more  than 
twenty  years,  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  pick  up  a 
copy  of  the  enlarged  Canadian  edition  in  Nova  Scotia, 
during  a  visit  there,  in  1879.  The  Letters  originally 
published  in  this  country,  are  given  in  the  following 
pages  in  the  form  in  which  they  first  appeared,  with 
the  exception  of  a  slight  toning  down  in  two  or  three 
instances. 


LETTER  I. 

I  AM  a  native  of  Sutherlandshire,  and  remember  when 
the  inhabitants  of  that  country  lived  comfortably  and 
happily,  when  the  mansions  of  proprietors  and  the  abodes 
of  factors,  magistrates,  and  ministers,  were  the  seats  of  honour, 
truth,  and  good  example — when  people  of  quality  were 
indeed  what  they  were  styled,  the  friends  and  benefactors  of 


2  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

all  who  lived  upon  their  domains.     But  all  this  is  changed. 
Alas,  alas  !     I  have  lived  to  see  calamity  upon  calamity 
overtake  the  Sutherlanders.     For  five  successive  years,  on 
or  about  the  term  day,  has  scarcely  anything  been  seen  but 
removing  the   inhabitants  in  the  most  cruel  and  unfeeling 
manner,  and  burning  the  houses  which  they  and  their  fore- 
fathers had  occupied  from  time  immemorial.     The  country 
was  darkened  by  the  smoke  of  the  burnings,  and  the  des- 
cendants of  those  who  drew  their  swords  at  Bannockburn, 
Sheriffmuir,  and  Killicrankie — the  children  and  nearest  rela- 
tions of  those  who  sustained  the  honour  of  the  British  name  in 
many  a  bloody  field — the  heroes  of  Egypt,  Corunna,  Toulouse, 
Salamanca,    and   Waterloo — were    ruined,    trampled   upon, 
dispersed,  and   compelled   to   seek   an   asylum   across   the 
Atlantic  ;  while  those  who  remained  from  inability  to  emi- 
grate, deprived  of  all  the  comforts  of  life,  became  paupers — 
beggars — a  disgrace  to  the  nation  whose  freedom  and  honour 
many  of  them  had  maintained  by  their  valour  and  cemented 
with  their  blood. 

To  these  causes  the  destitution  and  misery  that  exists  in 
Sutherlandshire  are  to  be  ascribed ;  misery  as  great,  if  not 
the  greatest  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  Highlands,  and 
that  not  the  fruit  of  indolence  or  improvidence,  as  some 
would  allege,  but  the  inevitable  result  of  the  avarice  and 
tyranny  of  the  landlords  and  factors  for  the  last  thirty  or 
forty  years ;  of  treatment,  I  presume  to  say,  without  a 
parallel  in  the  history  of  this  nation.  I  know  that  a  great 
deal  has  been  done  to  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  the  High- 
landers some  years  back,  both  by  Government  aid  and  public 
.subscriptions,  but  the  unhappy  county  of  Sutherland  was 
excluded  from  the  benefits  derived  from  these  sources,  by 
means  of  false  statements  and  public  speeches,  made  by 
hired  agents,  or  by  those  whose  interest  it  was  to  conceal 


SUTHERLAND,  3 

the  misery  and  destitution  in  the  country  of  which  themselves 
were  the  authors.  Thus  the  Sutherlandshire  sufferers  have 
been  shut  out  from  receiving  the  assistance  afforded  by 
Government  or  by  private  individuals  ;  and  owing  to  the 
thraldom  and  subjugation  in  which  this  once  brave  and 
happy  people  are  to  factors,  magistrates,  and  ministers,  they 
durst  scarce  whimper  a  complaint,  much  less  say  plainly, 
"  Thus  and  thus  have  you  done  ". 

On  the  2oth  of  last  April,  a  meeting  of  noblemen  and 
gentlemen,  connected  with  different  districts  of  Scotland, 
was  held  in  the  British  Hotel,  Edinburgh,  for  the  purpose 
of  making  inquiry  into  the  misery  and  destitution  prevailing 
in  Scotland,  and  particularly  in  the  Highlands,  with  a  view 
to  discover  the  causes  and  discuss  means  for  meeting  the 
prevailing  evil.  Gentlemen  were  appointed  to  make  the 
necessary  inquiry,  and  a  committee  named,  wnth  which  these 
gentlemen  were  to  communicate.  At  this  meeting  a 
Sutherlandshire  proprietor  made  such  representations  re- 
garding the  inhabitants  of  that  county,  that,  relying,  I  suppose, 
on  his  mere  assertions,  the  proposed  inquiry  has  never  been 
carried  into  that  district.  Under  these  circumstances,  I, 
who  have  been  largely  a  sufferer,  and  a  spectator  of  the 
sufferings  of  multitudes  of  my  countrymen,  would  have  felt 
myself  deeply  culpable  if  I  kept  silence,  and  did  not  take 
means  to  lay  before  the  committee  and  the  public  the 
information  of  which  I  am  possessed,  to  put  the  benevolent 
on  their  guard  respecting  the  men  who  undertake  to  pervert, 
if  they  cannot  stifle,  the  inquiry  as  to  the  causes  and  extent 
of  distress  in  the  shire  of  Sutherland.  With  a  view  to  dis- 
charging this  incumbent  duty,  I  pubUshed  a  few  remarks, 
signed  "  A  Highlander,"  in  the  Edinhirgh  Weekly  Journal 
of  29th  May  last,  on  the  aforesaid  proprietor's  speech ;  to 
which  he  made  a  reply,  accusing  me  of  singular  ignorance 


4  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

and  misrepresentation,  and  endeavouring  to  exonerate  him- 
self.    Another  letter  has  since  appeared  in  the  same  paper, 
signed,  "  A  Sutherlandshire  Tenant,"  denying  my  assertions 
and  challenging  me  to  prove  them  by  stating  facts.     To  meet 
this  challenge,  aud  to  let  these  parties  know  that  I  am  not 
so  ignorant  as   they  would   represent ;   and  also   to  afford 
information   to   the  before-mentioned   committee,    it  being 
impossible  for  those  gentlemen  to  apply  an  adequate  remedy 
till  they  know  the  real  cause  and  nature  of  the  disease,  I 
addressed  a  second  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Weekly  Journal ; 
but,  to  my  astonishment,  it  was  refused  insertion ;  through 
what  influence  I  am  not  prepared  to  say.     I  have,  in  con- 
sequence, been  subjected  to  much  reflection  and  obloquy 
for  deserting  a  cause  which  would  be  so  much  benefited  by 
public  discussion ;  and  for  failing  to  substantiate  charges  so 
publicly  made.      I  have,    therefore,  now  to  request,  that, 
through  the  medium  of  your  valuable  and  impartial  paper, 
the  public  may  be  made  acquainted  with  the  real  state  of 
the  case;  and  I  pledge  myself  not  only   to  meet  the  two 
opponents  mentioned,  but  to  produce  and  substantiate  such 
a  series  of  appalling  facts,  as  will  sufliciently  account  for  the 
distress  prevailing  in  Sutherlandshire ;  and,  I  trust,  have  a 
tendency  towards  its  mitigation. 


LETTER  II. 

Previous  to  redeeming  my  pledge  to  bring  before  the 
PubUc  a  series  of  facts  relating  to  the  more  recent  oppres- 
sions and  expatriation  of  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  of 
Sutherlandshire,  it  is  necessary  to  take  a  brief  retrospective 
glance  at  the  original  causes. 

Down  from  the  feudal  times,  the  inhabitants  of  the  hills 


SUTHERLAND.  5 

and  straths  of  Sutherlandshire,  in  a  state  of  transition  from 
vassalage  to  tenancy,  looked  upon  the  farms  they  occupied 
from  their  ancestors  as  their  own,  though  subject  to  the 
arrangements  as  to  rent,  duties  and  services  imposed  by  the 
chief  in  possession,  to  whom,  though  his  own  title  might  be 
equivocal,  they  habitually  looked  up  with  a  degree  of 
clannish  veneration.  Every  thing  was  done  "  to  please  the 
Laird ".  In  this  kind  of  patriarchial  dominion  on  the  one 
side,  and  obedience  and  confidence  on  the  other,  did  the 
late  tenantry  and  their  progenitors  experience  much  happi- 
ness, and  a  degree  of  congenial  comfort  and  simple  pastoral 
enjoyment.  But  the  late  war  and  its  consequences  interfered 
with  this  happy  state  of  things,  and  hence  a  foundation  was 
laid  for  all  the  suffering  and  depopulation  which  has 
followed.  This  has  not  been  peculiar  to  Sutherlandshire; 
the  general  plan  of  almost  all  the  Highland  proprietors  of 
that  period  being  to  get  rid  of  the  original  inhabitants,  and 
turn  the  land  into  sheep  farms,  though  from  peculiar 
circumstances  this  plan  was  there  carried  into  effect  with 
more  revolting  and  wholesale  severity  than  in  any  of  the 
surrounding  counties. 

The  first  attempt  at  a  general  Clearing  was  partially 
made  in  Ross-shire,  about  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century ;  but  from  the  resistance  of  the  tenantry  and  other 
causes,  it  has  never  been  carried  into  general  operation.  The 
same  was  more  or  less  the  case  in  other  counties.  Effects 
do  not  occur  without  cause,  nor  do  men  become  tyrants  and 
monsters  of  cruelty  all  at  once.  Self-interest,  real  or 
imaginary,  first  prompts  ;  the  moral  boundary  is  overstepped, 
the  oppressed  offer  either  passive  or  active  resistance,  and, 
in  the  arrogance  of  power,  the  strong  resort  to  such  means 
as  will  effect  their  purpose,  reckless  of  consequences,  and 
enforcing   what   they   call   the    rights   of  property,    utterly 


6  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

neglect  its  duties.  I  do  not  pretend  to  represent  the  late 
Duchess  or  Duke  of  Sutherlandshire  in  particular,  as 
destitute  of  the  common  attributes  of  humanity,  however 
atrocious  may  have  been  the  acts  perpetrated  in  their  name, 
or  by  their  authority.  They  were  generally  absentees,  and 
while  they  gave-in  to  the  general  clearing  scheme,  I  have  no 
doubt  they  wished  it  to  be  carried  into  effect  with  as  little 
hardship  as  possible.  But  their  prompters  and  underlings 
pursued  a  more  reckless  course,  and,  intent  only  on  their 
own  selfish  ends,  deceived  these  high  personages,  repre- 
senting the  people  as  slothful  and  rebellious,  while,  as  they 
pretended,  everything  necessary  was  done  for  their  accommo- 
dation. 

I  have  mentioned  above  that  the  late  war  and  its 
consequences  laid  the  foundation  of  the  evil  complained  of. 
Great  Britain  with  her  immense  naval  and  military  establish- 
ments, being  in  a  great  measure  shut  out  from  foreign 
supplies,  and  in  a  state  of  hostility  or  non-intercourse  with 
all  Europe  and  North  America,  almost  all  the  necessaries  of 
life  had  to  be  drawn  from  our  own  soil.  Hence,  its  whole 
powers  of  production  were  required  to  supply  the  immense 
and  daily  increasing  demand ;  and  while  the  agricultural 
portions  of  the  country  were  strained  to  yield  an  increase  of 
grain,  the  more  northern  and  mountainous  districts  were 
looked  to  for  additional  supplies  of  animal  food.  Hence, 
also,  all  the  speculations  to  get  rid  of  the  human  inhabitants 
of  the  Highlands,  and  replace  them  with  cattle  and  sheep 
for  the  English  market.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  these 
effects  were  about  to  cease  with  their  cause,  but  the  corn 
laws,  and  other  food  taxes  then  interfered,  and  the  excluding 
of  foreign  animal  food  altogether,  and  grain  till  it  was  at 
a  famine  price,  caused  the  increasing  population  to  press 
against  home  produce,  so  as  still  to  make  it  the  interest  of 


SUTHERLAND.  7 

the  Highland  lairds  to  prefer  cattle  to  human  beings,  and  to 
encourage  speculators  with  capital  from  England  and  the 
south  of  Scotland  to  take  the  lands  over  the  heads  of  the 
original  tenantry.  Thus  Highland  wrongs  were  continued, 
and  annually  augmented,  till  the  mass  of  guilt  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  suffering  on  the  other,  became  so  great  as 
almost  to  exceed  description  or  belief  Hence  the  difficulty 
of  bringing  it  fully  before  the  public,  especially  as  those 
interested  in  suppressing  inquiry  are  numerous,  powerful, 
and  unsparing  in  the  use  of  every  influence  to  stop  the 
mouths  of  the  sufferers.  J  Almost  all  the  new  tenants  in 
Sutherlandshire  have  been  made  justices  of  the  peace,  or 
otherwise  armed  with  authority,  and  can  thus,  under  colour 
of  law,  commit  violence  and  oppression  whenever  they  find 
it  convenient — the  poor  people  having  no  redress  and  scarce 
daring  even  to  complain.  The  clergy  also,  whose  duty  it  is 
to  denounce  the  oppressors,  and  aid  the  oppressed,  have  all, 
the  whole  seventeen  parish  ministers  in  Sutherlandshire, 
with  one  exception,  found  their  account  in  abetting  the 
wrong-doers,  exhorting  the  people  to  quiet  submission,  help- 
ing to  stifle  their  cries,  telling  them  that  all  their  sufferings 
came  from  the  hand  of  God,  and  was  a  just  punishment  for 
their  sins  !  In  what  manner  these  reverend  gentlemen  were 
benefited  by  the  change,  and  bribed  thus  to  desert  the 
cause  of  the  people,  I  shall  explain  as  I  proceed.  ][ 

The  whole  county,  with  the  exception  of  a  com.paratively 
small  part  of  one  parish,  held  by  Mr.  Dempster  of  Skibo, 
and  similar  portions  on  the  outskirts  of  the  county  held  by 
two  or  three  other  proprietors,  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the 
Sutherland  family,  who,  very  rarely,  perhaps  only  once  in 
four  or  five  years,  visit  their  Highland  estates.  Hence  the 
impunity  afforded  to  the  actors  in  the  scenes  of  devastation 
and  cruelty — the   wholesale   expulsion  of  the  people,  and 


8  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

pulling  down  and  burning  their  habitations,  which  latter 
proceeding  was  peculiar  to  Sutherlandshire.  In  my  subse- 
quent communications  I  shall  produce  a  selection  of  such 
facts  and  incidents,  as  can  be  supported  by  sufficient 
testimony,  to  many  of  which  I  was  an  eye-witness,  or  was 
otherwise  cognizant  of  them.  I  have  been,  with  my  family, 
for  many  years,  removed,  and  at  a  distance  from  those 
scenes,  and  have  no  personal  malice  to  gratify,  my  only 
motive  being  a  desire  to  vindicate  my  ill-used  countrymen 
from  the  aspersions  cast  upon  them,  to  draw  public  attention 
to  their  wrongs,  and,  if  possible,  to  bring  about  a  fair  inquiry, 
to  be  conducted  by  disinterested  men,  as  to  the  real  causes, 
of  their  long-protracted  misery  and  destitution,  in  order 
that  the  public  sympathies  may  be  awakened  in  their 
behalf,  and  something  effected  for  their  relief  With  these 
observations  I  now  conclude,  and  in  my  next  letter  I  will 
enter  upon  my  narration  of  a  few  of  such  facts  as  can  be 
fully  authenticated  by  living  testimony. 


LETTER  III. 

In  my  last  letter,  I  endeavoured  to  trace  the  causes  that 
led  to  the  general  clearing  and  consequent  distress  in  Suther- 
landshire, which  dates  its  commencement  from  the  year 
1807.  Previous  to  that  period,  partial  removals  had  taken 
place,  on  the  estates  of  Lord  Reay,  Mr.  Honeyman  of 
Armidale,  and  others :  but  these  removals  were  under 
ordinary  and  comparatively  favourable  circumstances.  Those 
who  were  ejected  from  their  farms,  were  accommodated  with 
smaller  portions  of  land,  and  those  who  chose  to  emigrate 
had  means  in  their  power  to  do  so,  by  the  sale  of  their 
cattle,  which  then  fetched  an  extraordinary  high  price.     But 


SUTHERLAND.  9 

in  the  year  above  mentioned,  the  system  commenced  on  the 
Duchess  of  Sutherland's  property ;  about  90  famiUes  were 
removed  from  the  parishes  of  Farr  and  Larg.  These  people 
were,  however,  in  some  degree  provided  for,  by  giving  them 
smaller  lots  of  land,  but  many  of  these  lots  were  at  a  distance 
of  from  10  to  17  miles,  so  that  the  people  had  to  remove 
their  cattle  and  furniture  thither,  leaving  the  crops  on  the 
ground  behind.  Watching  this  crop  from  trespass  of  the 
cattle  of  the  incoming  tenants,  and  removing  it  in  the 
autumn,  was  attended  with  great  difficulty  and  loss.  Besides, 
there  was  also  much  personal  suffering,  from  their  having  to 
pull  down  their  houses  and  carry  away  the  timber  of  them, 
to  erect  houses  on  their  new  possessions,  which  houses  they 
had  to  inhabit  immediately  on  being  covered  in,  and  in  the 
meantime,  to  live  and  sleep  in  the  open  air,  except  a  few, 
who  might  be  fortunate  enough  to  get  an  unoccupied  barn, 
or  shed,  from  some  of  their  charitable  new-come  neighbours. 

The  effects  of  these  circumstances  on  the  health  of  the 
aged  and  infirm,  and  on  the  women  and  children,  may  be 
readily  conceived — some  lost  their  lives,  and  others  con- 
tracted diseases  that  stuck  to  them  for  life. 

During  the  year  1809,  in  the  parishes  of  Dornoch,  Rogart, 
Loth,  Clyne,  and  Golspie,  an  extensive  removal  took  place ; 
several  hundred  families  were  turned  out,  but  under  circum- 
stances of  greater  severity  than  the  preceding.  Every  means 
were  resorted  to,  to  discourage  the  people,  and  to  persuade 
them  to  give  up  their  holdings  quietly,  and  quit  the  country ; 
and  to  those  who  could  not  be  induced  to  do  so,  scraps  of 
moor,  and  bog  lands,  were  offered  in  Dornoch  moor,  and 
Brora  links,  on  which  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  exist,  in 
order  that  they  may  be  scared  into  going  entirely  away.  At 
this  time,  the  estate  was  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Young, 
a  corn-dealer,  as  chief,  and  Mr.  Patrick  Sellar,  a  writer,  as 


lO  THE    HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

undcr-Factor,  the  latter  of  whom  will  make  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  my  future  communications.  These  gentlemen  were 
both  from  Morayshire ;  and,  in  order  to  favour  their  own 
country  people,  and  get  rid  of  the  natives,  the  former  were 
constantly  employed  in  all  the  improvements  and  public 
works  under  their  direction,  while  the  latter  were  taken  at 
inferior  wages,  and  only  when  strangers  could  not  be  had. 

Thus,  a  large  portion  of  the  people  of  these  five  parishes 
were,  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years,  almost  entirely 
rooted  out,  and  those  few  who  took  the  miserable  allotments 
above  mentioned,  and  some  of  their  descendants,  continue  to 
exist  on  them  in  great  poverty.  Among  these  were  the 
widows  and  orphans  of  those  heads  of  families  who  had  been 
drowned  in  the  same  year,  in  going  to  attend  a  fair,  when 
upwards  of  one  hundred  individuals  lost  their  lives,  while 
crossing  the  ferry  between  Sutherland  and  Tain.  These 
destitute  creatures  were  obliged  to  accept  of  any  spot  which 
afforded  them  a  residence,  from  inability  to  go  elsewhere. 

From  this  time  till  1812  the  process  of  ejection  was  carried 
on  annually,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  and  during  this 
period  the  estates  of  Gordonbush  and  Uppet  were  added, 
by  purchase,  to  the  ducal  property,  and  in  the  subsequent 
years,  till  1829,  the  whole  of  the  county,  with  the  small 
exceptions  before  mentioned,  had  passed  into  the  hands  of 
this  great  family. 

In  the  year  181 1  a  new  era  of  depopulation  commenced  ; 
summonses  of  removal  were  served  on  large  portions  of  the 
inhabitants.  The  lands  were  divided  into  extensive  lots, 
and  advertised  to  be  let  for  sheep  farms. 

Strangers  were  seen  daily  traversing  the  country,  viewing 
these  lots,  previous  to  bidding  for  them.  They  appeared  to 
be  in  great  fear  of  rough  treatment  from  the  inhabitants  whom 
they  were  about  to  supersede ;  but  the  event  proved  they 


SUTHERLAND.  1 1 

had  no  cause  ;  they  were  uniformly  treated  with  civility,  and 
even  hospitality,  thus  affording  no  excuse  for  the  measures 
of  severity  to  which  the  factors  and  their  adherents  after- 
wards had  recourse.  However,  the  pretext  desired  was  soon 
found  in  an  apparently  concerted  plan.  A  person  from  the 
south,  of  the  name  of  Reid,  a  manager  on  one  of  the  sheep 
farms,  raised  an  alarm  that  he  had  been  pursued  by  some  of 
the  natives  of  Kildonan,  and  put  in  bodily  fear.  The  factors 
eagerly  jumped  as  this  trumped-up  story ;  they  immediately 
swore-in  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  retainers,  and  the  new 
inhabitants,  as  special  constables  ;  trimmed  and  charged  the 
cannon  at  Dunrobin  Castle,  which  had  reposed  in  silence 
since  the  last  defeat  of  the  unfortunate  Stuarts.  Messengers 
were  then  dispatched,  warning  the  people  to  attend  at  the 
castle  at  a  certain  hour,  under  the  pretence  of  making 
amicable  arrangements.  Accordingly,  large  numbers  pre- 
pared to  obey  the  summons,  ignorant  of  their  enemies' 
intentions,  till,  when  about  six  miles  from  the  castle,  a  large 
body  of  them  got  a  hint  of  their  danger  from  some  one  in 
the  secret,  on  which  they  called  a  halt  and  held  a  con- 
sultation, when  it  was  resolved  to  pass  on  to  the  Inn  at 
Golspie,  and  there  await  the  recontre  with  the  factors.  The 
latter  were  much  disappointed  at  this  derangement  of  their 
plans  ;  but  on  their  arrival  with  the  sheriff,  constables,  and 
others,  they  told  the  people,  to  their  astonishment,  that  a 
number  of  them  were  to  be  apprehended,  and  sent  to  Dor- 
noch Jail,  on  suspicion  of  an  attempt  to  take  Mr.  Reid's  life  ! 
The  people,  with  one  voice,  declared  their  innocence,  and  that 
they  would  not  suffer  any  of  their  number  to  be  imprisoned 
on  such  a  pretence.  Without  further  provocation,  the  sheriff 
proceeded  to  read  the  riot  act,  a  thing  quite  new  and 
unintelligible  to  the  poor  Sutherlanders  so  long  accustomed 
to  bear  their  wrongs  patiently ;  however,  they  immediately 


12  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES, 

dispersed   and  returned   to   their   homes   in  peace.      The 
factors,  having  now  found  the  pretext  desired,  mounted  their 
horses  and  galloped  to  the  castle  in  pretended  alarm,  sought 
protection   under  the   guns  of  their   fortress,  and  sent  an 
express  to  Fort  George  for  a  military  force  to  suppress  the 
rebellion  in  Sutherlandshire !     The  21st  Regiment  of  foot 
(Irish)  was  accordingly  ordered  to  proceed  by  forced  marches, 
night  and  day,  a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  with  artillery,  and 
cart-loads  of  ammunition.     On  their  arrival,  some  of  them 
were  heard  to  declare  they  would  now  have  revenge  on  the 
Sutherlanders  for  the  carnage  of  their  countrymen  at  Tara- 
hill  and  Ballynamuck ;  but  they  were  disappointed,  for  they 
found  no  rebels  to  cope  with ;  so  that,  after  having  made  a 
few  prisoners,  who  were  all  liberated  on  a  precognition  being 
taken,  they   were  ordered   away  to   their  barracks.      The 
people,  meantime,  dismayed  and  spirit-broken  at  the  array 
of  power  brought    against  them,  and  seeing  nothing   but 
enemies  on  every  side,  even  in  those  from  whom  they  should 
have  had  comfort  and  succour,  quietly  submitted  to  their 
fate.      The   clergy,    too,   were   continually   preaching   sub- 
mission, declaring  these  proceedings  were  fore-ordained  of 
God,  and  denouncing  the  vengeance  of  Heaven  and  eternal 
damnation  on  those  who  should  presume  to  make  the  least 
resistance.     No  wonder  the  poor  Highlanders  quailed  under 
such  influences  ;  and  the  result  was,  that  large  districts  of 
the  parishes  before  mentioned  were  dispossessed  at  the  May 
term,  18 12. 

The  Earl  of  Selkirk  hearing  of  these  proceedings,  came 
personally  into  Sutherlandshire,  and  by  fair  promises  of 
encouragement,  and  other  allurements,  induced  a  number  of 
the  distressed  outcasts  to  enter  into  an  arrangement  with  him, 
to  emigrate  to  his  estates  on  the  Red  River,  North  America. 
Accordingly,  a  whole  shipful  of  them  went  thither ;  but  on 


SUTHERLAND.  1 5 

their  arrival,  after  a  tedious  and  disastrous  passage,  they 
found  themselves  deceived  and  deserted  by  his  lordship,  and 
left  to  their  fate  in  an  inclement  wilderness,  without  pro- 
tection against  the  savages,  who  plundered  them  on  their 
arrival,  and,  finally  massacred  them  all,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  who  escaped  with  their  lives,  and  travelled  across 
trackless  wilds  till  they  at  last  arrived  in  Canada. 

This  is  a  brief  recital  of  the  proceedings  up  to  1813 ;  and 
these  were  the  only  acts  of  riot  and  resistance  that  ever  took 
place  in  Sutherlandshire. 


LETTER  IV. 

In  the  month  of  March,  18 14,  a  great  number  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  parishes  of  Farr  and  Kildonan  were 
summoned  to  give  up  their  farms  at  the  May  term  following, 
and,  in  order  to  ensure  and  hasten  their  removal  with  their 
cattle,  in  a  few  days  after,  the  greatest  part  of  the  heath 
pasture  was  set  fire  to  and  burnt,  by  order  of  Mr.  Sellar,  the 
factor,  who  had  taken  these  lands  for  himself.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  explain  the  effects  of  this  proceeding.  In  the  spring, 
especially  when  fodder  is  scarce,  as  was  the  case  in  the 
above  year,  the  Highland  cattle  depend  almost  solely  on  the 
heather.  As  soon,  too,  as  the  grass  begins  to  sprout  about 
the  roots  of  the  bushes,  the  animals  get  a  good  bite,  and  are 
thus  kept  in  tolerable  condition.  Deprived  of  this  resource 
by  the  burning,  the  cattle  were  generally  left  without  food, 
and  this  being  the  period  of  temporary  peace,  during 
Buonaparte's  residence  in  Elba,  there  was  Uttle  demand  for 
good  cattle,  much  less  for  these  poor  starving  animals,  who 
roamed  about  over  their  burnt  pasture  till  a  great  part  of 
them  were  lost,  or  sold  for  a  mere  trifle.      The  arable  parts 


14  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

of  the  land  were  cropped  by  the  outgoing  tenants,  as  is 
customary,  but  the  fences  being  mostly  destroyed  by  the 
burning,  the  cattle  of  the  incoming  tenant  were  continually 
trespassing  throughout  the  summer  and  harvest,  and  those 
who  remained  to  look  after  the  crop  had  no  shelter ;  even 
watching  being  disallowed,  and  the  people  were  hunted  by 
the  new  herdsmen  and  their  dogs  from  watching  their  own 
corn  !  As  the  spring  had  been  severe,  so  the  harvest  was 
wet,  cold,  and  disastrous  for  the  poor  people,  who,  under 
every  difficulty,  were  endeavouring  to  secure  the  residue  of 
their  crops.  The  barns,  kilns,  and  mills,  except  a  few 
necessary  to  the  new  tenant,  had,  as  well  as  the  houses,  been 
burnt  or  otherwise  destroyed  and  no  shelter  left,  except  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  now  overflowing  its  banks  from 
the  continual  rains ;  so  that,  after  all  their  labour  and 
privations,  the  people  lost  nearly  the  whole  of  their  crops,  as 
they  had  already  lost  their  cattle,  and  were  thus  entirely 
ruined. 

But  I  must  now  go  back  to  the  May  term  and  attempt  to 
give  some  account  of  the  ejection  of  the  inhabitants ;  for  to 
give  anything  like  an  adequate  description  I  am  not  capable. 
If  I  were,  its  horrors  would  exceed  belief 

The  houses  had  been  all  built,  not  by  the  landlord  as  in 
the  low  country,  but  by  the  tenants  or  by  their  ancestors, 
and,  consequently,  were  their  property  by  right,  if  not  by  law. 
They  were  timbered  chiefly  with  bog  fir,  which  makes 
excellent  roofing  but  is  very  inflammable :  by  immemorial 
usage  this  species  of  timber  was  considered  the  property  of 
the  tenant  on  whose  lands  it  was  found.  To  the  upland 
timber,  for  which  the  laird  or  the  factor  had  to  be  asked,  the 
laird  might  lay  some  claim,  but  not  so  to  the  other  sort,  and 
in  every  house  there  was  generally  a  part  of  both. 

In  former  removals  the  tenants  had  been  allowed  to  carry 


SUTHERLAND.  1 5 

away  this  timber  to  erect  houses  on  their  new  allotments 
but  now  a  more  summary  mode  was  adopted,  by  setting  fire 
to  the  houses  !  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  con- 
sternation, was,  therefore,  the  greater  when,  immediately 
after  the  May  term  day,  and  about  two  months  after  they 
had  received  summonses  of  removal,  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 
try  to  preserve  the  timber  which  they  were  entitled  to  con- 
sider as  their  own.  But  the  devastators  proceeded  with  the 
greatest  celerity,  demolishing  all  before  them,  and  when  they 
had  overthrown  the  houses  in  a  large  tract  of  country,  they 
ultimately  set  fire  to  the  wreck.  So  that  timber,  furniture> 
and  every  other  article  that  could  not  be  instantly  removed, 
was  consumed  by  fire,  or  otherwise  utterly  destroyed. 

These  proceedings  were  carried  on  with  the  greatest 
rapidity  as  well  as  with  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.  In  these  scenes  Mr. 
Sellar  was  present,  and  apparently,  (as  was  sworn  by  several 
witnesses  at  his  subsequent  trial,)  ordering  and  directing  the 
whole.  Many  deaths  ensued  from  alarm,  from  fatigue,  and 
cold ;  the  people  being  instantly  deprived  of  shelter,  and  left 


1 6  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

to  the  mercy  of  the  elements.  Some  old  men  took  to  the 
woods  and  precipices,  wandering  about  in  a  state  approaching 
to,  or  of  absolute  insanity,  and  several  of  them,  in  this  situa- 
tion, lived  only  a  few  days.  Pregnant  women  were  taken 
with  premature  labour,  and  several  children  did  not  long 
survive  their  sufferings.  To  these  scenes  I  was  an  eye- 
witness, and  am.  ready  to  substantiate  the  truth  of  my  state- 
ments, 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  particularize  the  cases  of  individuals — the  suffering  was 
great  and  universal.  I  shall,  however,  just  notice  a  very  few 
of  the  extreme  cases  which  occur  to  my  recollection,  to  most 
of  which  I  was  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  with  premature  labour,  and 
in  that  state,  was  exposed  to  the  open  air  and  the  view  of 
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  wind  and  rain  till  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  near  loo  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  in  a  condition 
unfit  for  removal.  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 


SUTHERLAND.  1 7 

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  neigh- 
bours 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. 

I  could  multiply  instances  to  a  great  extent,  but  must 
leave  to  the  reader  to  conceive  the  state  of  the  inhabitants 
during  this  scene  of  general  devastation,  to  which  few 
parallels  occur  in  the  history  of  this  or  any  other  civilized 
country.  Many  a  life  was  lost  or  shortened,  and  many  a 
strong  constitution  ruined ; — the  comfort  and  social  happi- 
ness of  all  destroyed  ;  and  their  prospects  in  life,  then  of  the 
most  dismal  kind,  have,  generally  speaking,  been  unhappily 
realized. 


LETTER  V. 

At  the  spring  assizes  of  Inverness,  in  1816,  Mr.  Sellar  was 
brought  to  trial,  before  Lord  Pitmilly,  for  his  proceedings,  as 
partly  detailed  in  my  last  letter.  The  indictment,  charging 
him  with  culpable  homicide,  fire-raising,  &c.,  was  prosecuted 
by  his  Majesty's  advocate.  In  the  report  of  the  trial,  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  Sellar's  counsel,  it  is  said,  "  To  this  measure 
his  lordship  seems  to  have  been  induced,  chiefly  for  the 
purpose  of  satisfying  the  public  mind  and  putting  an  end  to 
the  clamours  of  the  country  ".  If  this,  and  not  the  ends  of 
justice,  was  the  intention,  it  was  completely  successful,  for 
the  gentleman  was  acquitted,  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
natives,  and  the  oppressors  were  thereby  emboldened  to 
proceed  in  their  subsequent  operations  with  a  higher  hand, 

and  with  perfect  impunity,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel. 

2 


iS  THE  HlCaULSD  CX£A>LAXC£S. 

Il  is  a  ^fficnk  aund  haaidoos  attenqpt  to  impogn  pro- 
ceefdmgs  canied  od  by  hk  Mjjesi^ls  advocate,  presided  oper 
by  an  lionoanJ)te  jodge^  and  decided  by  a  jmy  of  lespec^^ 
men;  but  I  majmeittioaa  fev^  dicnmstanoes  vfaidi  na^bit 
bxpe  a  tendency  to  dsa^ppoinlt  the  pec^ple.  Out  of  foi^ 
vitnessK  esanuned  at  a  precogpiiioa  bdfore  tbe  dienl^  diexe 
mere  on^  deten,  and  those  not  the  most  competent^  broij^A 
lcM»aid  lor  Ae  ctovn;  and  the  rest,  some  of  vhom  mi^ 
have  snifMvted  matemd  paits  of  the  indidmeaA: — as,  for 
mstanoe.  in  the  case  of  Donald  Monro — vene  nevar  called  at 
1-     I:     .-  sesfar  theprosecntion,  beii^sinqile, 

::r  testimony  in  Gadic,  vfaich  iras 

■5   ^vefl  known,  much 

-r_-:;_r    _      -    :   0     :     ;        :  _       r   e^':^ race  so  taken, 

~-^;:^;^i^?    "^      V  -    :  ::;"_:  "tv.  widi  very 

i?^  e  ;;:;;„:     —^rn^  dr- 

-  .1  ~.:  :.  ;::i»ts  in  S_:  re.  and 


jostioeaf 


^5  to 


of  ibesaam&%  lec&ved  expKSsia^  AwiAlSaist  p^^ctmi^ 
be  done,  die  case  was  laid  be^sre  die  dtsessff^epstey  Mx. 
Cranstcsfniy  vlio  sent  an  eqptEss  infmairtkw  to  Mi;  Sflbeit 
MacKid,  siienffsiilKtitiite  fer  llse  coontj,  to  take  a  pteoog- 
nitkmof  tbecase,  and  if  fliae  appeared  saMdeat  came,  to 
take  3ir  Sdlar  into  cnsto^,  Tbe  dsenffsolsslitiaate  was  a 
man  of  acknowJe^jed  probifj,  but  from  tbe  le^nssemtatioas 
be  bad  prefioo^  xecetied,  was  oooradesed  md^nvmable  to 
die  caose  of  tbe  people.  On  examining^  tbe  w^nesses* 
boverer,  a  case  of  sodi  enocmitj  was  made  ocit  as  indinifgd 
Mm  to  use  some  stxoog  eiqxes^-  fned  m  a  ietiter  to 

Lofd  StaSord,  wbicb  I  bene  SDib|om,  and  wfaadiir  witb  seme 
fajse  aUcgatioos;,  weie  mged  a^onsc:  Mm  on  tbe  tiial,  so  tbat, 
imder  die  directioa  of  tbe  cocnt,  tbe  adfocate-dqxMe  passed 
from  Ms  ewidence  on  die  pounds  of  JDabce  and  imdnfy 
expressed  opinioa,  and  tbns  Mi,  MacKid's  impoctant  testi- 
mony was  lost.  On  tbe  wbc^  tMs  case  fmrmlTies  an 
instance  of  "tbe  g^orioos  micettainly  of  'Law". 

TO  LORD  STAFFORD. 

KistKjmrs  p,  GcaLsniE,  3fA  Ms^^  iSs^ 
3ifr  LoBD, — IuiM»jdi»fe&ada%-l€weaoryparL£iEd^g>,ao3aaiEes  f 


iptsssM.  oeesBum,  aand  stwuxs  ^minntfmg adt I ha»e adl&aa  had 
to  pEcfinmL 

Yoag  LoBtMtip  taow^  &a£iasaBBnerllast,abanidepd!itiEaB.  safeacdted 
bf  a  wmahpr  df  teaaats  aa.  1&:.  S^bs's  dnqp  fimm  an  f^sr  aod  RnMrnam, 
was  ■peessaeed  to  TjaAf  S/esSSsxA,  tTiiiTft^iriiiir;^'  off  ^airiairo  acts  off  mpnrjr, 

CXHiJ^SSIlfl  OppSSCSB,  all^BlA  to  basebseiS  r«mMiim"<i<im(T  ■anpnm  liij^r  |>S3QII5 

aad  pntpcEtf,  Inp  Mc  Sc-fflanr^  ja  dbe  iij[iirw„  and  '"""■—"' ^  off  i&oC  jesc 
To  liiscsaiiaiBt.  her  lad^dq^  apaa  doe  2SBd  off  JaSj-IlagsB,  was  j 

|J|p  JMTiil  «tl  mgfrnann  gn»  anncMgiir  ma  «  f  jinrw;;^'        Tw  St,  ItgT  T  J!lgfa»dWi^  -gfth  Star  1 

riiiUmi •  aad  JBWgJifB*),  aa^  •— rfi  }»«ngirty  uljbiawg^  "TbaCffaanrpaaaBOB 
die  ^^-afir  diajll  naoawtt  ai^Slssd  Htviriillniii**'*.  "diiiip  -wSIl  n^ier  coBBiderftas 

bostiletofaerM'dief  Iiaveiscaiaiae  tok^isiiBes,  as  a  noEt  sbcoee  aafr  aa 

TLpt  Tj»«iij«JiMijjt  gflq*  iiB*rM>-«iitf  «!■  **  T&oft  sbe  lad  < 
die  lUM^iLat  lo  Ifc.  Sdfar.  fca:  1^  - : 
her". 


zo  "i"sx  h:i-hi_     :    - "  -  -  "^.  a  vcK=- 


l«i^  Yoi^cif  A^ 


-.^-Sk 


I  3!S3r£:  -    asatsfl  «6&aOlf  to  lie  V. 


xsBL'CKas^  smS  x«Smoe2  ito  a^Qr%  2  poor 


-same     iLLJC^     ».;-.--:._  ^        j.r 

proceed  r:    : .  - .      .       . 

tweeadsiseasBdifee  7-_r  i^if  , _:  _ 

liae  leBOQwailb  I  lore  £r?zfT  ri      Mr 


kr    ~      ,  -^-xs  i:  ir:  ecc :  re  re:-  .  ,  -  ■  : 

g^aitiie  ■  -       .   -       ■ :         ■  .  -     "" 

£1  evt-:.^  :^-,  ^^^,_  ,__,__:.:,  .__ 

\ 


22  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

I  have  hitherto  given  the  noble  proprietors  the  title  they 
bore  at  the  time  of  the  occurrences  mentioned,  but  in  order 
to  avoid  ambiguity,  it  may  be  necessary  to  give  a  very  brief 
historical  sketch  of  the  family.  The  late  Duchess  of  Suther- 
land, premier  peeress  of  Scotland,  in  her  own  right,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  estates  of  her  father,  William,  21st  Earl  of 
Sutherland,  with  the  title  of  Countess,  in  the  year  1766, 
being  then  only  one  year  old.  In  1785  she  married  the 
Marquis  of  Stafford  and  took  his  title  in  addition. 

In  the  year  1833,  the  Marquis  was  created  a  Duke,  and 
his  lady  was  subsequently  styled  Duchess-Countess  of  Suther- 
land. She  was  a  lady  of  superior  mind  and  attainments,  but 
her  great  and  good  qualities  were  lost  to  her  Highland 
tenantry,  from  her  being  non-resident,  and  having  adopted 
the  plan  of  removing  the  natives,  and  letting  the  lands  to 
strangers.  Their  eldest  surviving  son,  Lord  Leveson  Gower, 
also  an  eminent  person,  succeeded  to  the  titles  and  estates  of 
both  parents  on  their  decease,  and  is  now  the  Duke  of 
Sutherland. 

The  family  mansion,  Dunrobin  Castle,  is  situated  on  the 
southern  border  of  the  county,  and  in  the  rare  case  of  any 
of  the  noble  family  coming  to  the  Highlands  during  the 
period  of  the  removals,  they  only  came  to  the  castle  and 
stopped  there,  where  the  old  tenants  were  strictly  denied 
access,  while  the  new  occupiers  had  free  personal  com- 
munication with  the  proprietors.  When  any  memorial  or 
petition  from  the  former  could  be  got  introduced,  there 
was  no  attention  paid  to  them  if  not  signed  by  a  minister  ; 
and  this  was  next  to  impossible^  as  the  clergy,  with  one 
honourable  exception,  had  taken  the  other  side.  In  every 
case  it  appeared  that  the  factors  and  ministers  were  consulted, 
and  the  decision  given  according  to  their  suggestions  and 
advice. 


SUTHERLAND.  23 

On  the   resignation  or  dismissal  of  Messrs.  Young  and 
Sellar,  Mr.  Loch,  now  M.P.  for  the  Northern  Burghs,  came 
into  full  power  as  chief,  and  a  Mr.  Suther  as  under  factor. 
Mr.  Loch  is  a  Scotsman,  but  not  a  Highlander.     He  had 
previously  been  chief  agent  on  the  Enghsh  estates,  general 
adviser  in  the  proceedings  relative  to  the  Sutherland  tenantr}', 
and   cognizant  of  all  the   severities  towards   them.      This 
gentleman  has  written  a  work  entitled,  "  An  Account  of 
the  Improvements  on  the  estates  of  the  Marquis  of  Stafford, 
in  the  counties  of  Stafford  and  Salop,  and  on  the  estate  of 
Sutherland,"  in  which  he  has  attempted  to  justify  or  palliate 
the  proceedings  in  which  he  bore  a  most  important  part. 
His  book  is,  therefore,  scarce  ever  to  be  relied  on  for  a  single 
fact,  when  the  main  object  interfered ;  he  vilifies  the  High- 
landers, and  misrepresents  every  thing  to  answer  his  purpose. 
He  has  been  fully  answered,  his  arguments  refuted,  and  his 
sophistries     exposed    by     Major-General    Stewart,    in     his 
"Sketches  of  the  Character  and  Manners  of  the  Highlanders 
of  Scotland,"   to  which  excellent  work  I  beg  to  call   the 
attention  of  every  friend  to  truth  and  justice,  and  especially 
those  who  take  an  interest  in  the  fate  of  the  expatriated 
tenantry.      The  General    has    completely    vindicated    the 
character  of  the  Highland  tenantry,  and  shown  the  impolicy, 
as  well  as  cruelty,  of  the  means  used  for  their  ejection.     The 
removal  of  Messrs.  Young  and  Sellar,  particularly  the  latter, 
from  the  power  they  had  exercised  so  despotically,  was  hailed 
with  the  greatest  joy  by  the  people,  to  whom  their  very 
names  were  a  terror.     Their  appearance  in  any  neighbour- 
hood had  been  such  a  cause  of  alarm,  as  to  make  women 
fall  into  fits,  and  in  one  instance  caused  a  woman  to  lose  her 
reason,  which,  as  far  as  I  know,  she  has  not  yet  recovered ; 
whenever  she  saw  a  stranger  she  cried  out,  with  a  terrific 
tone  and  manner,  Oh !  sin  Sellar! — "Oh!  there's  Sellar!" 


24  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

Bitter,  however,  was  the  people's  disappointment  when 
they  found  the  way  in  which  the  new  factors  began  to  exer- 
cise their  powers.      The  measures  of  their  predecessors  were 
continued  and  aggravated,  though,  on  account  of  unexpired 
leases,  the  removals  were  but  partial  till  the  years  1819  and 
1S20.      However,  I  must  not  pass  over  the  expulsion  and 
sufferings  of  forty  families  who  were  removed  by  Mr.  Sellar, 
almost  immediately  after  his  trial.     This  person,  not  finding 
it  convenient  to  occupy  the  whole  of  the  6,000  or  7,000 
acres,   which  he  had  obtained  possession  of,  and  partially 
cleared  in  18 14,  had  agreed  to  let  these  forty  families  remain 
as  tenants  at  will ;  but  he  now  proceeded  to  remove  them  in 
the  same  unfeeling  manner  as  he  had  ejected  the  others, 
only   he  contented   himself  with  utterly  demolishing   their 
houses,  barns,  &c.,  but  did  not,  as  before,  set  fire  to  them 
till  the  inmates  were  removed ;  they  leaving  their  crops  in 
the  ground  as  before  described.     This  year  (18 16)  will  be 
remembered  for  its   severity  by  many  in  Scotland.      The 
winter  commenced  by  the  snow  falling  in  large  quantities  in 
the  month  of  October,  and  continued  with  increasing  rigour, 
so  that  the  difficulty — almost  impossibility — of  the  people, 
without  barns  or  shelter  of  any  kind,  securing  their  crops, 
may  be  easily  conceived.      I  have  seen  scores  of  these  poor 
outcasts  employed  for  weeks  together,  with  the  snow  from 
two   to   four   feet    deep,    watching  their  corn    from,    being 
devoured  by  the  hungry  sheep  of  the  incoming  tenants  ; 
carrying  on  their  backs — horses  being  unavailable   in  such 
a  case,  across  a  country,  without  roads — on  an  average  of 
twenty  miles,  to  their  new  allotments  on  the  sea-coast,  any 
portion  of  their  grain  and  potatoes  they  could  secure  under 
such  dreadful  circumstances.     During  labour  and  sufferings, 
which  none  but  a  Highlander  could  sustain,  they  had  to 
subsist  entirely  on  potatoes  dug  out  of  the  snow ;  cooking 


SUTHERLAND.  2$ 

them  as  they  could,  in  the  open  air,  among  the  ruins  of  their 
once  comfortable  dwellings !  While  alternate  frosts  and 
thaws,  snow-storms  and  rain  were  succeeding  each  other  in 
all  the  severity  of  mid-winter,  the  people  might  be  seen 
carrying  on  their  labours,  and  bearing  their  burdens  of  damp 
produce,  under  which  many,  especially  the  females,  were 
occasionally  sinking  in  a  fainting  state,  till  assisted  by  others 
little  better  off  than  themselves.  In  some  very  rare  instances 
only,  a  little  humane  assistance  was  afforded  by  the  shepherds ; 
in  general,  their  tender  mercies,  like  those  of  their  unfeeling 
masters,  were  only  cruelties. 

The  fining  up  of  this  feeble  outUne  must  be  left  to  the 
imagination  of  the  reader,  but  I  may  mention  that  attendant 
on  all  previous  and  subsequent  removals,  and  especially  this 
one,  many  severe  diseases  made  their  appearance ;  such  as 
had  been  hitherto  almost  unknown  among  the  Highland 
population;  viz.,  typhus  fever,  consumption,  and  pulmonary 
complaints  in  all  their  varieties,  bloody  flux,  bowel  complaints, 
eruptions,  rheumatisms,  piles,  and  maladies  peculiar  to 
females.  So  that  the  new  and  uncomfortable  dwellings  of 
this  lately  robust  and  healthy  peasantry,  "  their  country's- 
pride,"  were  now  become  family  hospitals  and  lazar-houses  of 
the  sick  and  the  dying !  Famine  and  utter  destitution 
inevitably  followed,  till  the  misery  of  my  once  happy  country- 
men reached  an  alarming  height,  and  began  to  attract 
attention  as  an  almost  national  calamity. 

Even  Mr.  Loch  in  his  before -mentioned  work,  has  been 
constrained  to  admit  the  extreme  distress  of  the  people.  He 
says,  (page  76,)  "  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 


26  THE  HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  boats  returning  from  the  fishing,  that 
they  might  be  in  time  to  obtain  a  part  of  what  had  been 
caught."  This  gentleman,  however,  omits  to  mention,  the 
share  he  had  in  bringing  things  to  such  a  pass,  and  also  that, 
at  the  same  time,  he  had  armed  constables  stationed  at 
Little-ferry,  the  only  place  where  shell-fish  were  to  be  found, 
to  prevent  the  people  from  gathering  them.  In  his  next  page 
he  gives  an  exaggerated  account  of  the  relief  afforded  by  the 
proprietors.  I  shall  not  copy  his  mis-statements,  but  proceed 
to  say  what  that  relief,  so  ostentatiously  put  forth,  really  con- 
sisted of.  As  to  his  assertion  that  ";^3,ooo  had  been  given 
by  way  of  loan  to  those  who  had  cattle,"  I  look  upon  it  as 
a  fabrication,  or,  if  the  money  really  was  sent  by  the  noble 
proprietors,  it  must  have  been  retained  by  those  intrusted 
with  its  distribution  ;  for,  to  my  knowledge,  it  never  came  to 
the  hands  of  any  of  the  small  tenants.  There  was,  indeed,  a 
considerable  quantity  of  meal  sent,  though  for  from  enough 
to  afford  effectual  relief,  but  this  meal  represented  to  be  given 
in  charity,  was  charged  at  the  following  Martinmas  term,  at 
the  rate  of  50s.  per  boll.  Payment  was  rigorously  exacted, 
and  those  who  had  cattle  were  obliged  to  give  them  up  for 
that  purpose,  but  this  latter  part  of  the  story  was  never  sent 
to  the  newspapers,  and  Mr.  Loch  has  also  forgotten  to 
mention  it !  There  was  a  considerable  quantity  of  medicine 
given  to  the  ministers  for  distribution,  for  which  no  charge 
was  made,  and  this  was  the  whole  amount  of  relief  afforded. 


SUTHERLAND.  2  7 


LETTER  VII. 


The  honourable  acquittal  of  Mr.  Sellar,  and  the  compli- 
ments he  received,  in  consequence,  from  the  presiding  judge, 
with  the  dismissal  of  the  sheriffs,  had  the  desired  effect  upon 
the  minds  of  the  poor  Sutherlanders,  and  those  who  took 
an  interest  in  their  case.  Every  voice  in  their  behalf  was 
silenced  and  every  pen  laid  down — in  short,  every  channel 
for  redress  or  protection  from  future  violence  was  closed ;  the 
people  were  prostrated  under  the  feet  of  their  oppressors,  who 
well  knew  how  to  take  advantage  of  their  position.  It 
appeared,  that,  for  a  considerable  interval,  there  were  no 
regular  sheriffs  in  the  county,  and  that  the  authority  usually 
exercised  by  them  was  vested  in  Captain  Kenneth  MacKay, 
a  native  of  the  county,  and  now  one  of  its  extensive  sheep 
farmers.  It  was  by  virtue  of  warrants  granted  by  this  gentle- 
man that  the  proceedings  I  am  about  to  describe  took  place, 
and,  if  the  sheriff-officers,  constables,  and  assistants,  exceeded 
their  authority,  they  did  so  under  his  immediate  eye  and 
cognizance,  as  he  was  all  the  time  residing  in  his  house, 
situated  so  that  he  must  have  witnessed  a  great  part  of  the 
scene  from  his  own  front  windows.  Therefore,  if  he  did  not 
immediately  authorize  the  atrocities  to  the  extent  committed 
(which  I  will  not  assert),  he  at  least  used  no  means  to 
restrain  them. 

At  this  period  a  great  majority  of  the  inhabitants  were 
tenants-at-will,  and  therefore  liable  to  ejectment  on  getting 
regular  notice ;  there  were,  however,  a  few  who  had  still 
existing  tacks  (although  some  had  been  wheedled  or  fright- 
ened into  surrendering  them),  and  these  were,  of  course, 
unmolested  till  the  expiration  of  their  tacks ;  they  were  then 
turned  out  like  the  rest ;  but  the  great  body  of  the  tenantry 
were  in  the  former  condition.     Meantime,  the  factors,  taking 


2  8  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

advantage  of  the  broken  spirit  and  prostrate  state  of  the 
people — trembling  at  their  words  or  even  looks — betook 
themselves  to  a  new  scheme  to  facilitate  their  intended 
proceedings,  and  this  was  to  induce  every  householder  to 
sign  a  bond  or  paper  containing  a  promise  of  removal ;  and 
alternate  threats  and  promises  were  used  to  induce  them  to 
do  so.  The  promises  were  never  realised,  but,  notwith- 
standing the  people's  compliance,  the  threats  were  put  in 
execution.  In  about  a  month  after  the  factors  had  obtained 
this  promise  of  removal,  and  thirteen  days  before  the  May 
term,  the  work  of  devastation  was  begun.  They  commenced 
by  setting  fire  to  the  houses  of  the  small  tenants  in  extensive 
districts — part  of  the  parishes  of  Farr,  Rogart,  Golspie,  and 
the  whole  parish  of  Kildonan.  I  was  an  eye-witness  of  the 
scene.  This  calamity  came  on  the  people  quite  unexpectedly. 
Strong  parties,  for  each  district,  furnished  with  faggots  and 
other  combustibles,  rushed  on  the  dwellings  of  this  devoted 
people,  and  immediately  commenced  setting  fire  to  them, 
proceeding  in  their  work  with  the  greatest  rapidity  till  about 
three  hundred  houses  were  in  flames  !  The  consternation 
and  confusion  were  extreme ;  little  or  no  time  was  given  for 
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  des- 
cription :  it  required  to  be  seen  to  be  believed.  A  dense 
cloud  of  smoke  enveloped  the  whole  country  by  day,  and 
even  extended  far  on  the  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 


SUTHERLAND.  2^ 

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  lost  her  way  in  the 
dense  smoke  as  she  approached  the  shore  ;  but  at  night  she 
was  enabled  to  reach  a  landing  place  by  the  light  of  the 
flames  ! 

It  would  be  an  endless  task  to  give  a  detail  of  the 
sufferings  of  families  and  individuals  during  this  calamitous 
period ;  or  to  describe  its  dreadful  consequences  on  the 
health  and  lives  of  the  victims.  I  will,  however,  attempt  a 
very  few  cases.  While  the  burning  was  going  on,  a  small 
sloop  arrived,  laden  with  quick-lime,  and  while  discharging 
her  cargo,  the  skipper  agreed  to  take  as  many  of  the  people 
to  Caithness  as  he  could  carry,  on  his  return.  Accordingly, 
about  twenty  families  went  on  board,  filling  deck,  hold,  and 
every  part  of  the  vessel.  There  were  childhood  and  age, 
male  and  female,  sick  and  well,  with  a  small  portion  of  their 
effects,  saved  from  the  flames,  all  huddled  together  in  heaps. 
Many  of  these  persons  had  never  been  on  sea  before,  and 
when  they  began  to  sicken  a  scene  indescribable  ensued. 
To  add  to  their  miseries,  a  storm  and  contrary  winds  pre- 
vailed, so  that  instead  of  a  day  or  two,  the  usual  time  of 
passage,  it  was  nine  days  before  they  reached  Caithness.  All 
this  time,  the  poor  creatures,  almost  without  necessaries,  most 
of  them  dying  with  sickness,  were  either  wallowing  among 
the  lime,  and  various  excrements  in  the  hold,  or  lying  on  the 
deck,  exposed  to  the  raging  elements  !  This  voyage  soon 
proved  fatal  to  many,  and  some  of  the  survivors  feel  its 
effects  to  this  day.     During  this  time,  also,  typhus  fever  was 


30  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

raging  in  the  country,  and  many  in  a  critical  state  had  to  fly, 
or  were  carried  by  their  friends  out  of  the  burning  houses. 
Among  the  rest,  a  young  man,  Donald  MacKay  of  Grumb- 
mor,  was  ordered  out  of  his  parents'  house ;  he  obeyed,  in 
a  state  of  delirium,  and  (nearly  naked)  ran  into  some  bushes 
adjoining,  where  he  lay  for  a  considerable  time  deprived  of 
reason ;  the  house  was  immediately  in  flames,  and  his 
effects  burned.  Robert  MacKay,  whose  whole  family  were 
in  the  fever,  or  otherwise  ailing,  had  to  carry  his  two 
daughters  on  his  back  a  distance  of  about  twenty-five  miles. 
He  accomplished  this  by  first  carrying  one,  and  laying  her 
down  in  the  open  air,  and  returning,  did  the  same  with  the 
other,  till  he  reached  the  sea-shore,  and  then  went  with  them 
on  board  the  Ume  vessel  before  mentioned.  An  old  man  of 
the  same  name,  betook  himself  to  a  deserted  mill,  and  lay 
there  unable  to  move ;  and  to  the  best  of  my  recollection, 
he  died  there.  He  had  no  sustenance  but  what  he  obtained 
by  licking  the  dust  and  refuse  of  the  meal  strewed  about, 
and  was  defended  from  the  rats  and  other  vermin,  by  his 
faithful  collie,  his  companion  and  protector.  A  number  of 
the  sick,  who  could  not  be  carried  away  instantly,  on  account 
of  their  dangerous  situation,  were  collected  by  their  friends 
and  placed  in  an  obscure,  uncomfortable  hut,  and  there,  for 
a  time,  left  to  their  fate.  The  cries  of  these  victims  were 
heart-rending — exclaiming  in  their  anguish,  "  Are  you  going 
to  leave  us  to  perish  in  the  flames  ? "  However,  the 
destroyers  passed  near  the  hut,  apparently  without  noticing 
it,  and  consequently  they  remained  unmolested,  till  they 
could  be  conveyed  to  the  shore,  and  put  on  board  the 
before-mentioned  sloop.  George  Munro,  miller  at  Farr, 
residing  within  400  yards  of  the  minister's  house,  had  his 
whole  family,  consisting  of  six  or  seven  persons,  lying  in  a 
fever ;  and  being  ordered  instantly  to  remove,  was  enabled. 


SUTHERLAND,  3 1 

with  the  assistance  of  his  neighbours  to  carry  them  to  a 
damp  kiln,  where  they  remained  till  the  fire  abated,  so  that 
they  could  be  removed.  Meantime  the  house  was  burnt. 
It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  mention  generally,  that 
the  clergy,  factors,  and  magistrates,  were  cool  and  apparently 
unconcerned  spectators  of  the  scenes  I  have  been  describing, 
which  were  indeed  perpetrated  under  their  immediate 
authority.  The  splendid  and  comfortable  mansions  of  these 
gentlemen,  were  reddened  with  the  glare  of  their  neighbours' 
flaming  houses,  without  exciting  any  compassion  for  the 
sufferers ;  no  spiritual,  temporal,  or  medical  aid  was  afforded 
them  ;  and  this  time  they  were  all  driven  away  without  being 
allowed  the  benefit  of  their  outgoing  crop  !  Nothing  but  the 
sword  was  wanting  to  make  the  scene  one  of  as  great  bar- 
barity as  the  earth  ever  witnessed ;  and  in  my  opinion,  this 
would,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  have  been  mercy,  by  saving 
them  from  what  they  were  afterwards  doomed  to  endure. 
The  clergy,  indeed,  in  their  sermons,  maintained  that  the 
whole  was  a  merciful  interposition  of  Providence  to  bring 
them  to  repentance,  rather  than  to  send  them  all  to  hell,  as 
they  so  richly  deserved  !  And  here  I  beg  leave  to  ask  those 
rev.  gentlemen,  or  the  survivors  of  them,  and  especially  my 
late  minister,  Mr.  MacKenzie  of  Farr,  if  it  be  true,  as  was 
generally  reported,  that  during  these  horrors  I  have  been 
feebly  endeavouring  to  describe — there  was  a  letter  sent  from 
the  proprietors,  addressed  to  him,  or  to  the  general  body, 
requesting  to  know  if  the  removed  tenants  were  well  pro- 
vided for,  and  comfortable,  or  words  to  that  effect,  and  that 
the  answer  returned  was,  that  the  people  were  quite  com- 
fortable in  their  new  allotments,  and  that  the  change  was 
greatly  for  their  benefit.  This  is  the  report  that  was 
circulated  and  believed ;  and  the  subsequent  conduct  of  the 
clergy  affords  too  much  reason  for  giving  it  credence,  as  I 
shall  soon  have  occasion  to  show. 


■f^ 


32  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

LETTER  VIII. 
The  depopulation  I  have  been  treating  of,  with  its  attend- 
ant horrors  and  miseries,  as  well  as  its  impolicy,  is  so  justly 
reasoned  upon  by  General  Stewart,  in  the  work  formerly 
alluded  to,  that  I   beg  to  transcribe  a  paragraph  or  two. 
At  page  168  he  says: — "The  system  of  overlooking  the 
original  occupiers,  and  of  giving  every  support  to  strangers, 
has  been  much  practised  in  the  highland  counties ;  and  on 
one  great  estate  (the  Sutherland)  the  support  which  was 
given  to  farmers  of  capital,  as  well  in  the  amount  of  sums 
expended  on  improvements,  as  in  the  liberal  abatement  of 
rents,  is,  I  believe,  unparalleled  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
and  affords  additional  matter  of  regret,  that  the  delusions 
practised    on    a   generous   and    public-spirited   landholder, 
have  been  so  perseveringly  and  successfully  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   con- 
sidered sufficient  for  the  support   of  a  family;  while  the 
most   lavish   encouragement   has   been   given   to   the   new 
tenants,  on  whom,  and  with  the  erection  of  buildings,  the 
improvement    of    lands,    roads,    bridges,    etc.,    upwards   of 
^210,000  has  been  expended  since  the  year  1808.     With 
this  proof  of  unprecedented  liberality,    it  cannot  be  suffi- 
ciently lamented,  that  an  estimate  of  the  character  of  these 
poor  people  was  taken  from  the  misrepresentations  of  in- 
terested persons,   instead  of  judging  from  the  conduct  of 
the  same  men  when  brought  into  the  world,  where  they  ob- 
tained 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  judg- 
ing with  correctness.     With  such  proofs  of  capability,  and 


.    SUTHERLAND.  33 

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."  In  reference  to  the  new 
allotments,  he  says :  "  when  the  valleys  and  higher  grounds 
were  let  to  the  shepherds,  the  whole  population  was  driven 
to  the  sea  shore,  where  they  were  crowded  on  small  lots  of 
land,  to  earn  their  subsistence  by  labour  and  by  sea  fishing, 
the  latter  so  little  congenial  to  their  former  habits."  He 
goes  on  to  remark,  in  a  note,  that  these  one  or  two  acre  lots, 
are  represented  as  an  improved  system.  "  In  a  country 
without  regular  employment  and  without  manufactures,  a 
family  is  to  be  supported  on  one  or  two  acres  ! ! "  The  con- 
sequence was  and  continues  to  be,  that,  "  over  the  whole  of 
this  district,  where  the  sea  shore  is  accessible,  the  coast  is 
thickly  studded  with  wretched  cottages,  crowded  with  starv- 
ing inhabitants."  Strangers  "  with  capital "  usurp  the  land 
and  dispossess  the  swain.  "Ancient  respectable  tenants, 
who  passed  the  greater  part  of  life  in  the  enjoyment  of 
abundance,  and  in  the  exercises  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, 

3 


34  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

not  from  the  produce  but  from  the  sea.  When  the  herring 
fishery  succeeds  they  generally  satisfy  the  landlords,  what- 
ever 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.  There  are  still  a 
few  small  tenants  on  the  old  system ;  but  they  are  fast  fall- 
ing into  decay,  and  sinking  into  the  class  just  described." 
Again,  "we  cannot  sufficiently  admire  their  meek  and 
patient  spirit,  supported  by  the  powerful  influence  of 
moral  and  religious  principle."  I  need  not  go  further,  but 
again  beg  the  reader's  attention  to  this  most  valuable  work, 
especially  the  article  "  Change  of  Tenancy,"  as  illustrative  of 
the  condition  and  exponent  of  the  character  and  feelings  of 
my  poor  countrymen,  as  well  as  corroborative  of  the  facts  to 
which  I  am  endeavouring  to  call  public  attention,  as  causes 
of  the  distress  and  destitution  still  prevailing  in  Sutherland- 
shire. 

By  the  means  described,  large  tracts  of  country  were  de- 
populated, and  converted  into  solitary  wastes.  The  whole 
inhabitants  of  Kildonan  parish  (with  the  exception  of  three 
families),  amounting  to  near  2,000  souls,  were  utterly  rooted 
and  burned  out.  Many,  especially  the  young  and  robust, 
left  the  country;  but  the  aged,  the  females  and  children, 
were  obliged  to  stay  and  accept  the  wretched  allotments 
allowed  them  on  the  sea  shore,  and  endeavour  to  learn  fish- 
ing, for  which  all  their  former  habits  rendered  them  unfit ; 
hence  their  time  was  spent  in  unproductive  toil  and  misery, 
and  many  lives  were  lost.  Mr.  Sage,  of  evergreen  memory, 
was  the  parish  minister — 

Among  the  faithless,  faithful  only  he  ! 

This  gentleman  had  dissented  from  his  brethren,  and,  to 


SUTHERLAND.  35 

the  best  of  his  power,  opposed  their  proceedings  ;  hence  he 
was  persecuted  and  despised  by  them  and  the  factors,  and 
treated  with  marked  disrespect.  After  the  burning  out, 
having  lost  his  pious  elders  and  attached  congregation,  he 
went  about  mourning  till  his  demise,  which  happened  not 
long  after.  His  son  had  been  appointed  by  the  people 
minister  of  a  chapel  of  ease,  parish  of  Farr,  and  paid  by 
them ;  but,  when  the  expulsion  took  place,  he  removed  to 
Aberdeen,  and  afterwards  to  a  parish  in  Ross-shire.  On 
account  of  his  father's  integrity  he  could  not  expect  a  kirk 
in  Sutherlandshire. 

After  a  considerable  interval  of  absence,  I  revisited  my 
native  place  in  the  year  1828,  and  attended  divine  worship 
in  the  parish  church,  now  reduced  to  the  size  and  appear- 
ance of  a  dove-cot.  The  whole  congregation  consisted  of 
eight  shepherds,  with  their  dogs,  to  the  number  of  between 
20  and  30,  the  minister,  three  of  his  family,  and  myself!  I 
came  in  after  the  first  singing,  but,  at  the  conclusion,  the 
1 20th  psalm  was  given  us,  and  we  struck  up  to  the  famous 
tune  Bangor ;  when  the  four-footed  hearers,  became  excited, 
got  up  on  the  seats  and  raised  a  most  infernal  chorus  of 
howling.  Their  masters  then  attacked  them  with  their 
crooks,  which  only  made  matters  worse;  the  yelping  and 
howling  continued  to  the  end  of  the  service.  I  retired,  to 
contemplate  the  shameful  scene,  and  compare  it  with  what  I 
had  previously  witnessed  in  the  large  and  devout  congrega- 
tions formerly  attending  in  that  kirk.  What  must  the 
worthy  Mr.  Campbell  have  felt  while  endeavouring  to  edify 
such  a  congregation  ! 

The  Barony  of  Strathnaver,  in  the  parish  of  Farr,  25  miles 
in  length,  containing  a  population  as  numerous  as  Kildonan, 
who  had  been  all  rooted  out  at  the  general  conflagration, 
presented  a  similar  aspect.      Here,  the  church  no  longer 


36  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

found  necessary,  was  razed  to  the  ground,  and  the  timber  of 
it  conveyed  to  Altnaharrow,  to  be  used  in  erecting  an  Inn 
(one  of  the  new   improvements)  there,    and   the   minister's 
house   converted   into   the   dweUing   of  a   fox-hunter.      A 
woman,  well  known  in  that  parish,   happening  to  traverse 
the  Strath  the  year  after  the  burning,  was  asked,  on  her 
return,  what  news?    "Oh,"  said  she,  "  Sgeul  bronach,  sgeul 
bronach  ?  sad  news,    sad   news !    I    have   seen   the   timber 
of  our  well-attended  kirk,  covering  the  Inn  at  Altnaharrow ; 
I  have  seen  the  kirk-yard,  where  our  friends  are  mouldering, 
filled  with  tarry  sheep,  and  Mr.  Sage's  study  room,  a  kennel 
for  Robert  Gunn's  dogs ;  and  I  have  seen  a  crow's  nest  in 
James  Gordon's  chimney  head ! "     On  this  she  fell  into  a 
paroxysm  of  grief,  and  it  was  several  days  before  she  could 
utter  a  word  to  be  understood.     During  the  late  devasta- 
tions, a  Captain  John  MacKay  was  appointed  sub-factor, 
under   Mr.   Loch,    for   the   district   of  Strathnaver.      This 
gentleman,  had  he  been  allowed  his  own  way,  would  have 
exercised  his  power   beneficially ;   but   he   was   subject   to 
persons  cast  in  another  mould,  and  had  to  sanction  what 
he  could  not  approve.     He  did  all  he  could  to  mitigate  the 
condition  of    the  natives  by  giving  them  employment,  in 
preference  to  strangers,  at  the  public  works  and  improve- 
ments, as  they  were  called ;  but  finding  their  enemies  too 
powerful  and  malignant,  and  the  misery  and  destitution  too 
great  to  be  even  partially  removed,  he   shrunk   from  his 
ungracious  task  and  went  to  America,  where  he  breathed 
his  last,  much  regretted  by  all  who  knew  him  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic. 


LETTER  IX. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  the  clergy  of  the  Estab- 


SUTHERLAND.  37 

lished  Church  (none  other  were  tolerated  in  Sutherland),  all 
but  Mr.  Sage,  were  consenting  parties  to  the  expulsion  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  had  substantial  reasons  for  their  readiness 
to  accept  woolly  and  hairy  animals — sheeps  and  dogs — in 
place  of  their  human  flocks.  The  kirks  and  manses  were 
mostly  situated  in  the  low  grounds,  and  the  clergy  hitherto 
held  their  pasturage  in  common  with  the  tenantry ;  and  this 
state  of  things,  established  by  law  and  usage,  no  factor  or 
proprietor  had  power  to  alter  without  mutual  consent.  Had 
the  ministers  maintained  those  rights,  they  would  have 
placed  in  many  cases,  an  effectual  bar  to  the  oppressive 
proceedings  of  the  factors ;  for  the  strange  sheep-farmers 
would  not  bid  for,  or  take  the  lands  where  the  minister's 
sheep  and  cattle  would  be  allowed  to  co-mingle  with  theirs. 
But  no  !  Anxious  to  please  the  "  powers  that  be,"  and  no 
less  anxious  to  drive  advantageous  bargains  with  them, 
these  reverend  gentlemen  found  means  to  get  their  lines 
laid  "in  pleasant  places,"  and  to  secure  good  and  conveni- 
ent portions  of  the  pasture  lands  enclosed  for  themselves : 
many  of  the  small  tenants  were  removed  purely  to  satisfy 
them  in  these  arrangements.  Their  subserviency  to  the 
factors,  in  all  things,  was  not  for  nought.  Besides  getting 
their  hill  pasturage  enclosed,  their  tillage  lands  were  extend- 
ed, new  manses  and  offices  were  built  for  them,  and  roads 
made  specially  for  their  accommodation,  and  ever}'  arrange- 
ment made  for  their  advantage.  They  basked  in  the  sun- 
shine of  favour  :  they  were  the  bosom  friends  of  the  factors 
and  new  tenants  (many  of  whom  were  soon  made  magis- 
trates), and  had  the  honour  of  occasional  visits,  at  their 
manses,  from  the  proprietors  themselves.  They  were  always 
employed  to  explain  and  interpret  to  the  assembled  people 
the  orders  and  designs  of  the  factors;  and  they  did  not 
spare  their  college  paint  on  these  occasions.      Black  was 


38  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

made  white,  or  white  black,  as  it  answered  their  purpose,  in 
discharging  what  they  called  their  duty  !  They  did  not 
scruple  to  introduce  the  name  of  the  Deity;  representing 
Him  as  the  author  and  abetter  of  all  the  foul  and  cruel  pro- 
ceedings carried  on ;  and  they  had  at  hand  another  useful 
being  ready  to  seize  every  soul  who  might  feel  any  inclination 
to  revolt.  Indeed,  the  manifest  works  of  the  latter  in  their 
own  hands,  were  sufficient  to  prove  his  existence ;  while  the 
whole  appearance  of  the  country,  and  the  state  of  its  inhabi- 
tants at  this  period,  afforded  ample  proof  that  the  principle 
of  evil  was  in  the  ascendant.  The  tyranny  of  one  class, 
and  the  wrongs  and  sufferings  of  the  other,  had  demoralising 
effects  on  both ;  the  national  character  and  manners  were 
changed  and  deteriorated ;  and  a  comparatively  degenerate 
race  is  the  consequence.  This  was  already  manifest  in  the 
year  1822,  when  George  IV.  made  his  famous  visit  to  Edin- 
burgh. The  brave,  athletic  and  gallant  men,  who,  in  1745, 
and  again  more  recently,  in  1800,  rose  in  thousands  at  the  call 
of  their  chief,  were  no  longer  to  be  traced  in  their  descen- 
dants. When  the  clans  gathered  to  honour  His  Majesty  on  the 
latter  occasion,  the  Sutherland  turn-out  was  contemptible. 
Some  two  or  three  dozen  of  squalid-looking,  ill-dressed,  and 
ill-appointed  men,  were  all  that  Sutherland  produced.  So 
inferior,  indeed,  was  their  appearance  to  the  other  High- 
landers, that  those  who  had  the  management  refused  to 
allow  them  to  walk  in  the  procession,  and  employed  them 
in  some  duty  out  of  public  view.  If  their  appearance  was 
so  bad,  so  also  were  their  accommodations.  They  were 
huddled  together,  in  an  old  empty  house,  sleeping  on  straw, 
and  fed  with  the  coarsest  fare,  while  the  other  clans  were 
living  in  comparative  luxury.  Lord  Francis  Leveson  Gower, 
and  Mr.  Loch,  who  were  present,  reaped  little  honour  by  the 
exhibition  of  their  Sutherland  retainers  on  that  great  occa- 


SUTHERLAND. 


sion.  Moral  degradation  also,  to  some  extent,  followed  that 
of  physical.  Many  vices,  hitherto  almost  unknown,  began 
to  make  their  appearance;  and  though  the  people  never 
resorted  to  "wild  savage  justice,"  like  those  of  Ireland  in 
similar  circumstances,  the  minor  transgressions  of  squabb- 
ling, drunkeness,  and  incontinency  became  less  rare — the 
natural  consequence  of  their  altered  condition.  Religion 
also,  from  the  conduct  of  the  clergy,  began  to  lose  its  hold 
on  their  minds — and  who  can  wonder  at  it? — when  they 
saw  these  holy  men  closely  leagued  with  their  oppressors. 
"  Ichabod,"  the  glory  of  Sutherland  had  departed — perhaps 
never  to  return  ! 


LETTER  X. 

I  NOW  proceed  to  describe  the  "  allotments  "  on  which  the 
expelled  and  burnt-out  inhabitants  were  allowed  to  locate 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  factors.  These  allotments  were 
generally  situated  on  the  sea-coast,  the  intention  being  to 
force  those  who  could  not  or  would  not  leave  the  country, 
to  draw  their  subsistence  from  the  sea  by  fishing  ;  and  in 
order  to  deprive  them  of  any  other  means,  the  lots  were  not 
only  made  small,  (varying  from  one  to  three  acres)  but  their 
nature  and  situation  rendered  them  unfit  for  any  useful 
purpose.  If  the  reader  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  the 
map  of  Sutherlandshire  by  Mr.  Loch,  he  will  perceive  that 
the  county  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Northern  Ocean, 
on  the  south  by  the  county  of  Ross,  on  the  west  by  the 
Mynch,  on  the  north-east  by  Caithness,  and  on  the  south-east 
by  the  Moray  Firth.  To  the  sea-coasts,  then,  which  surround 
the  greatest  part  of  the  country  were  the  whole  mass  of  the 
inhabitants,  to   the  amount  of   several  thousand  families. 


40  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

driven    by    unrelenting    tyrants,    in    the    manner    I  have 
described,  to  subsist  as  they  could,  on  the  sea  or  the  air ; 
for  the  spots  allowed  them  could  not  be  called  land,  being 
composed  of  narrow  stripes,  promontories,  cliffs  and  preci- 
pices, rocks,  and  deep  crevices,  interspersed  with  bogs  and 
deep   morasses.      The    whole    was   quite  useless   to   their 
superiors,  and  evidently  never  designed  by  nature  for  the 
habitation  of  man  or  beast.      This  was,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, the  character  of  the  allotments.     The  patches  of  soil 
where  anything  could  be  grown,  were  so  few  and  scanty  that 
when  any  dispute  arose  about  the  property  of  them,   the 
owner  could  almost  carry  them  in  a  creel  on  his  back  and 
deposit  them  in  another  place.      In  many  places,  the  spots 
the  poor  people  endeavoured  to  cultivate  were  so  steep  that 
while  one  was  delving,  another  had  to  hold  up  the  soil  with 
his  hands,  lest  it  should  roll  into   the  sea,   and  from  its 
constant  tendency  to  slide  downwards,  they  had  frequently 
to  carry  it  up  again  every  spring  and  spread  it  upon  the 
higher  parts.     These  patches  were  so  small  that  few  of  them 
would  afford  room  for  more  than  a  few  handfuls  of  seeds,  and 
in  harvest,  if  there  happened  to  be  any  crop,  it  was  in  con- 
tinual danger  of  being  blown  into  the  sea,    in  that  bleak 
inclement  region,  where  neither  tree  nor  shrub  could  exist  to 
arrest   its    progress.      In   most   years,    indeed,    when    any 
mentionable  crop  was  realised,  it  was  generally  destroyed 
before  it  could  come  to  maturity,  by  sea-blasts  and  mildew. 
In  some  places,   on  the  north  coast,  the  sea  is  forced  up 
through  crevices,  rising  in  columns  to  a  prodigious  height  and 
scattering  its  spray  upon  the  adjoining  spots  of  land,  to  the 
utter  destruction  of  any  thing  that  may  be  growing  on  them. 
These  were  the  circumstances  to  which  this  devoted  people 
were  reduced,  and  to  which  none  but  a  hardy,  patient  and 
moral  race,   with  an   ardent  attachment   to   their  country, 


SUTHERLAND.  4 1 

would  have  quietly  submitted ;  here  they,  with  their  cattle, 
had  to  remain  for  the  present,  expecting  the  southern  dealers 
to  come  at  the  usual  time  (the  months  of  June  and  July)  to 
purchase  their  stocks  ;  but  the  time  came  and  passed,  and  no 
dealers  made  their  appearance;  none  would  venture  into  the 
country  !  The  poor  animals  in  a  starving  state,  were  con- 
tinually running  to  and  fro,  and  frequently  could  not  be 
prevented  from  straying  towards  their  former  pasture 
grounds,  especially  in  the  night,  notwithstanding  all  the 
care  taken  to  prevent  it.  When  this  occurred,  they  were 
immediately  seized  by  the  shepherds  and  impounded  with- 
out food  or  water,  till  trespass  was  paid  !  this  was  repeated 
till  a  great  many  of  the  cattle  were  rendered  useless. 
It  was  nothing  strange  to  see  the  pinfolds,  of  twenty 
or  thirty  yards  square,  filled  to  the  entrance  with  horses, 
cows,  sheep  and  goats,  promiscuously  for  nights  and 
days  together,  in  that  starving  state,  trampling  on  and  goring 
each  other.  The  lamentable  neighing,  lowing,  and  bleating 
of  these  creatures,  and  the  pitiful  looks  they  cast  on  their 
owners  when  they  could  recognise  them,  were  distressing  to 
witness ;  and  formed  an  addition  to  the  mass  of  suffering 
then  prevailing.  But  this  was  not  all  that  beset  the  poor 
beasts.  In  some  instances  when  they  had  been  trespassing, 
they  were  hurried  back  by  the  pursuing  shepherds  or  by 
their  owners,  and  in  running  near  the  precipices  many  of 
them  had  their  bones  broken  or  dislocated,  and  a  great 
number  fell  over  the  rocks  into  the  sea,  and  w^ere  never  seen 
after.  Vast  numbers  of  sheep  and  many  horses  and  other 
cattle  which  escaped  their  keepers  and  strayed  to  a  distance 
to  their  former  pastures,  were  baited  by  men  and  dogs  till 
they  were  either  partially  or  totally  destroyed,  or  become 
meat  for  their  hunters.  I  have  myself  seen  instances  of  the 
kind,  where  the  animals  were  lying  partly  consumed  by  the 


42  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

dogs,  though  Still  alive,  and  their  eyes  picked  out  by  birds 
of  prey.  When  the  cattle  were  detained  by  the  shepherds 
in  the  folds  before  mentioned,  for  trespass,  to  any  amount 
the  latter  thought  proper  to  exact,  those  of  their  owners  who 
had  not  money — and  they  were  the  majority — were  obliged 
to  relieve  them  by  depositing  their  bed  and  body-clothes, 
watches,  rings,  pins,  brooches,  etc.,  though  many  of  these  were 
the  relics  of  dear  and  valued  relatives,  now  no  more,  not  a 
few  of  whom  had  shed  their  blood  in  defence  of  that  country 
from  which  their  friends  were  now  ignominously  driven,  or 
treated  as  useless  lumber,  to  be  got  rid  of  at  any  price.  The 
situation  of  the  people  with  their  families  and  cattle,  driven 
to  these  inhospitable  coasts,  harassed  and  oppressed  in 
every  possible  way,  presented  a  lamentable  contrast  to  their 
former  way  of  life.  While  they  were  grudged  those  barren 
and  useless  spots — and  at  high  rents  too — the  new  tenants 
were  accommodated  with  leases  of  as  much  land  as  they 
choose  to  occupy,  and  at  reduced  rents ;  many  of  them  holding 
farms  containing  many  thousand  acres.  One  farm  held  by 
Messrs.  Atkinson  and  Marshall,  two  gentlemen  from  Nor- 
thumberland, contained  a  hundred  thousand  acres  of  good 
pasture-land  !  Mr.  Sellar  had  three  large  farms,  one  of  which 
was  twenty-five  miles  long ;  and,  in  some  places,  nine  or  ten 
miles  broad,  situated  in  the  barony  of  Strathnaver.  This 
gentleman  was  said  to  have  lost,  annually,  large  quantities 
of  sheep ;  and  others  of  the  new  tenants  were  frequently 
making  complaints  of  the  same  kind ;  all  these  depredations, 
as  well  as  every  other,  were  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  small 
tenants.  An  association  was  formed  for  the  suppression  of 
sheep-stealing  in  Sutherlandshire,  and  large  rewards  were 
laid  out — Lord  Stafford  himself  offering  ^^30  for  the  con- 
viction of  any  of  the  offenders.  But  though  every  effort 
was  used  to  bring  the  crime  home  to  the  natives  (one  gentle- 


SUTHERLAND.  43 

man,  whom,  for  obvious  reasons  I  will  not  name,  said  in  my 
hearing,  he  would  rather  than  p^iooo  get  one  conviction 
from  among  them) :  yet,  I  am  proud  to  say,  all  these 
endeavours  were  ineffectual.  Not  one  conviction  could 
they  obtain  !  In  time,  however,  the  saddle  came  to 
be  laid  on  the  right  horse ;  the  shepherds  could  rob  their 
masters'  flocks  in  safety,  while  the  natives  got  the  blame  of 
all,  and  they  were  evidently  no  way  sparing  ;  but  at  last  they 
were  found  out,  and  I  have  reason  to  know  that  several  of 
them  were  dismissed,  and  some  had  their  own  private  stocks 
confiscated  to  their  masters  to  make  good  the  damage  of 
their  depredations.  This  was,  however,  all  done  privately, 
so  that  the  odium  might  still  attach  to  the  natives.  In  con- 
cluding this  part  of  the  subject,  I  may  observe  that  such  of 
the  cattle  as  strayed  on  the  ministers'  grounds,  fared  no 
better  than  others  ;  only  that,  as  far  as  I  know,  these  gentle- 
men did  not  follow  the  practice  of  the  shepherds  in  working 
the  horses  all  day  and  returning  them  to  the  pinfold  at  night : 
and  I  am  very  happy  in  being  able  to  give  this  testimony  in 
favour  of  these  reverend  gentlemen. 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention  here  an  anecdote  illustrative 
of  the  state  of  things  prevailing  at  that  time.  One  of  the 
shepherds  on  returning  home  one  Sabbath  evening,  after 
partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  the  church  of  Farr, 
observed  a  number  of  the  poor  people's  sheep  and  goats 
trespassing  at  the  outskirts  of  his  master's  hill-pasturage,  and, 
with  the  assistance  of  his  dogs,  which  had  also  been  at  the 
kirk,  drove  them  home  and  impounded  them.  On  Monday 
morning  he  took  as  many  of  the  lambs  and  kids  as  he 
thought  proper,  and  had  them  killed  for  the  use  of  his  own 
family  !  The  owners  complained  to  his  master,  who  was  a 
magistrate  ;  but  the  answer  was,  that  they  should  keep  them 
off  his  property,  or  eat  them  themselves,  and  then  his  servants 


44  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

could  not  do  it  for  them,  or  words  to  that  effect.  One  way 
or  other,  by  starvation,  accidents,  and  the  depredations  of 
the  shepherds  and  their  dogs,  the  people's  cattle  to  the 
amount  of  many  hundred  head,  were  utterly  lost  and  de- 
stroyed. 


LETTER  XI. 

I  HAVE  now  endeavoured  to  shadow  forth  the  cruel  ex- 
pulsion of  my  "  co-mates  and  brothers  in  exile  "  from  their 
native  hearths,  and  to  give  a  faint  sketch  of  their  extreme 
sufferings  and  privations  in  consequence.  Few  instances 
are  to  be  found  in  modern  European  history,  and  scarce  any 
in  Britain,  of  such  a  wholesale  extirpation,  and  with  such 
revolting  circumstances.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  give 
more  than  an  outline;  the  fiUing  up  would  take  a  large 
volume,  and  the  sufferings,  insult,  and  misery,  to  which  this 
simple,  pastoral  race  were  exposed,  would  exceed  belief  But 
if  I  can  draw  public  attention  to  their  case,  so  as  to  promote 
that  authorised  inquiry,  so  much  deprecated  by  Highland 
proprietors,  my  end  will  be  attained.  If  the  original  in- 
habitants could  have  been  got  rid  of  totally,  and  their 
language  and  memory  eradicated,  the  oppressors  were  not 
disposed  to  be  scrupulous  about  the  means.  Justice, 
humanity,  and  even  the  laws  of  the  land,  were  violated  with 
impunity,  when  they  stood  in  the  way  of  the  new  plans  on 
"  Change  of  Tenancy"  ;  and  these  plans,  with  more  or  less 
severity,  continue  to  be  acted  upon  in  several  of  the 
Highland  counties,  but  more  especially  in  Sutherland,  to 
this  day.  But  there  is  still  a  number  left,  abject,  '•  scattered 
and  peeled  "  as  they  are,  in  whose  behalf  I  would  plead, 
and  to  those  wrongs  I  would  wish  to  give  a  tongue,  in  hopes 


SUTHERLAND.  45 

that  the  feeble  remnant  of  a  once  happy  and  estimable 
people,  may  yet  find  some  redress,  or  at  least  the  comfort  of 
public  sympathy.  I  now  proceed  to  give  some  account  of 
the  state  of  the  Sutherlanders,  on  their  maritime  "allot- 
ments," and  how  they  got  on  in  their  new  trade  of  fishing. 

People  accustomed  to  witness  only  the  quiet  friths  and 
petty  heavings  of  the  sea,  from  lowland  shores,  can  form 
little  conception  of  the  gigantic  workings  of  the  Northern 
sea,  which,  from  a  comparatively  placid  state,  often  rises  sud- 
denly without  apparent  cause,  into  mountainous  billows;  and, 
when  north  winds  prevail,  its  appearance  becomes  terrific 
beygnd  description.     To  this  raging  element,  however,  the 
poor  people  were  now  compelled  to  look  for  their  subsistence, 
or  starve,  which  was  the  only  other  alternative.     It  is  hard 
to  extinguish  the  love  of  life,  and  it  was  almost  as  hard  to 
extinguish  the  love  of  country  in  a  Highlandman  in  past 
times  ;    so  that,  though  many  of  the  vigorous  and  enter- 
prising pursued  their  fortunes  in  other  chmes,  and  in  various 
parts  of  Scotland  and  England,  yet  many  remained,  and 
struggled  to  accommodate  themselves  to  their  new  and  appal- 
ling circumstances.    The  regular  fishermen,  who  had  hitherto 
pursued  the  finny  race  in  the  northern  sea,  were,  from  the 
extreme  hazard  of  the  trade,  extremely  few,  and  nothing 
could  exceed  the  contempt  and  derision — mingled   some- 
times with  pity,  even  in  their  rugged  breasts — with  which  they 
viewed  the  awkward  attempts  and  sad  disasters  of  their  new 
landward  competitors.     Nothing,  indeed,  could  seem  more 
helpless,  than  the  attempt  to  draw  subsistence  from  such  a 
boisterous  sea  with  such  means  as  they  possessed,  and  in  the 
most  complete  ignorance  of  all  sea-faring  matters  ;  but  the 
attempt  had  to  be  made,  and  the  success  was  such  as  might  be 
expected  in  their  circumstances ;  while  many — very  many 
— lost  their  lives,  some  became  in  time  expert  fishermen. 


46  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

Numerous  as  were  the  casualties,  and  of  almost  daily  oc- 
currence, yet  the  escapes,  many  of  them  extraordinary,  were 
happily  still  more  frequent ;  their  disasters,  on  the  whole, 
arose  to  a  frightful  aggregate  of  human  misery.  I  shall 
proceed  to  notice  a  very  few  cases,  to  which  I  was  a  witness, 
or  which  occur  to  my  recollection. 

William  MacKay,  a  respectable  man,  shortly  after  settling 
in  his  allotment  on  the  coast,  went  one  day  to  explore  his 
new  possession,  and  in  venturing  to  examine  more  nearly 
the  ware  growing  within  the  flood  mark,  was  suddenly  swept 
away  by  a  splash  of  the  sea,  from  one  of  the  adjoining 
creeks,  and  lost  his  life,  before  the  eyes  of  his  miserable 
wife,  in  the  last  month  of  her  pregnancy,  and  three  helpless 
children  who  were  left  to  deplore  his  fate.  James  Campbell, 
a  man  also  with  a  family,  on  attempting  to  catch  a  peculiar 
kind  of  small  fish  among  the  rocks,  was  carried  away  by  the 
sea,  and  never  seen  afterwards.  Bell  MacKay,  a  married 
woman,  and  mother  of  a  family,  while  in  the  act  of  taking 
up  salt  water  to  make  salt  of,  was  carried  away  in  a  similar 
manner,  and  nothing  more  seen  of  her.  Robert  MacKay, 
who  with  his  family  was  suffering  extreme  want,  in  en- 
deavouring to  procure  some  sea-fowls'  eggs  among  the  rocks, 
lost  his  hold,  and  falling  from  a  prodigious  height  was  dashed 
to  pieces,  and  leaving  a  wife  and  five  destitute  children  be- 
hind him.  John  MacDonald,  while  fishing,  was  swept  oflf 
the  rocks,  and  never  seen  again. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  swell  my  narrative,  by  reciting 
the  "  moving  accidents  "  that  befel  individuals  and  boats' 
crews,  in  their  new  and  hazardous  occupation  ;  suffice  it  to 
say,  they  were  many  and  deplorable.  Most  of  the  boats  were 
such  as  the  regular  fishermen  had  cast  off  as  unserviceable 
or  unsafe,  but  which  those  poor  creatures  were  obliged  to 
purchase  and  go  to  sea  with,  at  the  hourly  peril  of  their 


SUTHERLAND.  47 

lives ;  yet  they  often  not  only  escaped  the  death  to  which 
others  became  a  prey,  but  were  very  successful.  One 
instance  of  this  kind,  in  which  I  bore  a  part  myself,  I  will 
here  relate.  Five  venturous  young  men,  of  whom  I  was 
one,  having  bought  an  old  crazy  boat,  that  had  long  been 
laid  up  as  useless,  and  having  procured  lines  of  an  inferior 
description  for  haddock  fishing,  put  to  sea,  without  sail, 
helm,  or  compass,  with  three  patched  oars  ;  only  one  of  the 
party  ever  having  been  at  sea  before.  This  apparently 
insane  attempt  gathered  a  crowd  of  spectators,  some  in 
derision  cheering  us  on,  and  our  friends  imploring  us  to 
come  back.  However,  Neptune  being  then  in  one  of  his 
placid  moods,  we  boldly  ventured  on,  human  life  having 
become  reduced  in  value ;  and,  after  a  night  spent  on  the 
sea,  in  which  we  freshmen  suffered  severely  from  sea-sick- 
ness, to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  people  on  shore,  the 
Heather-boat,  as  she  was  called,  reached  land  in  the 
morning — all  hands  safe,  with  a  very  good  take  of  fish. 
In  these  and  similar  ways,  did  the  young  men  serve  a 
dangerous  and  painful  apprenticeship  to  the  sea,  "  urged  on 
by  fearless  want,"  in  time  became  good  fishermen,  and 
were  thereby  enabled  in  some  measure  to  support  their 
families,  and  those  dependent  on  them  :  but  owing  to 
peculiar  circumstances,  their  utmost  efforts  were,  in  a  great 
degree,  abortive.  The  coast  was,  as  I  have  said,  extremely 
boisterous  and  destructive  to  their  boats,  tackle,  etc.  They 
had  no  harbours  where  they  could  land  and  secure  their 
boats  in  safety,  and  little  or  no  capital  to  procure  sound 
boats,  or  to  replace  those  which  were  lost.  In  one  year,  on 
the  coast,  between  Portskerra  and  Rabbit  Island  (about  30 
miles),  upwards  of  one  hundred  boats  had  either  been 
totally  destroyed  or  so  materially  injured  as  to  render  them 
unserviceable  ;  and  many  of  their  crews  had  found  a  watery 


48  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

grave!  It  is  lamentable  to  think,  that  while  ^^2 10,000  were 
expended  on  the  so-called  improvements,  besides  ;^5oo 
subscribed  by  the  proprietors,  for  making  a  harbour,  the 
most  needful  of  all ;  not  a  shilling  of  the  vast  sum  was  ever 
expended  for  behoof  of  the  small  tenantry,  nor  the  least 
pains  taken  to  mitigate  their  lot !  Roads,  bridges,  inns,  and 
manses,  to  be  sure,  were  provided  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  new  gentlemen  tenantry  and  clergy,  but  those  who  spoke 
the  Gaelic  tongue  were  a  proscribed  race,  and  everything  was 
done  to  get  rid  of  them,  by  driving  them  into  the  forlorn 
hope  of  drawing  subsistence  from  the  sea,  while  squatting 
on  their  miserable  allotments,  where,  in  their  wretched 
hovels,  they  lingered  out  an  almost  hopeless  existence,  and 
where  none  but  such  hardy  "  sons  of  the  mountain  and  the 
flood  "  could  have  existed  at  all.  Add  to  this,  though  at 
some  seasons  they  procured  abundance  of  fish,  that  they  had 
no  market  for  the  surplus ;  the  few  shepherds  were  soon  sup- 
plied, and  they  had  no  means  of  conveying  them  to  distant 
towns,  so  that  very  little  money  could  .be  realized  to  pay  rent, 
or  procure  other  necessaries,  fishing  tackle,  etc.,  and  when  the 
finny  race  thought  proper  to  desert  their  shores  (as,  in  their 
caprice,  they  often  did),  their  misery  was  complete !  Besides 
those  located  on  the  sea-shore,  there  was  a  portion  of  the 
people  sent  to  the  moors,  and  these  were  no  better  off. 
Here  they  could  neither  get  fish  nor  fowl,  and  the  scraps  of 
land  given  them  were  good  for  nothing — white  or  reddish 
gravel,  covered  with  a  thin  layer  of  moss,  and  for  this  they 
were  to  pay  rent,  and  raise  food  from  it  to  maintain  their 
families  !  By  immense  labour  they  did  improve  some  spots 
in  these  moors,  and  raise  a  little  very  inferior  produce,  but 
not  unfrequently,  after  all  their  toil,  if  they  displeased  the 
factors,  or  the  shepherds,  in  the  least,  even  by  a  word,  or 
failed  in  paying  the  rent,  they  were  unceremoniously  turned 


SUTHERLAND.  49 

out ;  hence,  their  state  of  bondage  may  be  understood ;  they 
dare  not  even  complain  !  *  The  people  on  the  property  of 
Mr.  Dempster,  of  Skibo,  were  little,  if  anything,  better  off. 
They  were  driven  out,  though  not  by  burning,  and  located 
on  patches  of  moors,  in  a  similiar  way  to  those  on  the 
Sutherland  property,  with  the  only  difference  that  they  had 
to  pay  higher  than  the  latter  for  their  wretched  allotments. 
Mr.  Dempster  says  "  he  has  kept  his  tenantry  "  ;  but  how 
has  he  treated  them  ?  This  question  will  be  solved,  I  hope, 
when  the  authorised  inquiry  into  the  state  of  the  poor 
Highlands  takes  place. 


LETTER  XIL 

Were  it  not  that  I  am  unwilling  to  occupy  your  valuable 
columns  to  a  much  greater  extent,  I  could  bring  forward,  in 
the  history  of  many  families,  several  interesting  episodes  to 
illustrate  this  narrative  of  my  country's  misfortunes.  Nume- 
rous are  the  instances  (some  of  the  subjects  of  them  could 
be  produced  even  in  this  city)  of  persons,  especially  females, 
whose  mental  and  bodily  sufferings,  during  the  scenes  I  have 
described,  have  entailed  on  them  diseases  which  baffle 
medical  skill,  and  which  death  only  can  put  an  end  to  ;  but 
I  forbear  to  dwell  on  these  at  present,  and  pass  on  to  the 
year  1827. 

The  depopulation  of  the  county  (with  the  exceptions  I 
have  described)  was  now  complete.  The  land  had  passed 
into  the  hands  of  a  few  capitalists,  and  everything  was  done 
to  promote  their  prosperity  and  convenience,  while  every- 
thing that  had  been  promised  to  the  small  tenants,  was,  as 

*  For  corroboration  of  these  statements  see  quotations  from  Hugh 
Miller,  and  other  high  authorities,  in  the  sequel. — A.  M. 

4 


50  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

regularly,  left  undone.  But  yet  the  latter  were  so  stubborn 
that  they  could  not  be  brought  to  rob  or  steal,  to  afford 
cause  for  hanging  or  transporting  them  ;  nor  were  they  even 
willing  to  beg,  though  many  of  them  were  gradually  forced 
to  submit  to  this  last  degradation  to  the  feehngs  of  the 
high-minded  Gael.  It  was  in  this  year  that  her  ladyship,  the 
proprietrix,  and  suite,  made  a  visit  to  Dunrobin  Castle. 
Previous  to  her  arrival,  the  clergy  and  factors,  and  the  new 
tenants,  set  about  raising  a  subscription  throughout  the 
county,  to  provide  a  costly  set  of  ornaments,  with  compli- 
mentary inscriptions,  to  be  presented  to  her  ladyship  in 
name  of  her  tenantry.  Emissaries  were  despatched  for  this 
purpose  even  to  the  small  tenantry,  located  on  the  moors 
and  barren  cliffs,  and  every  means  used  to  wheedle  or  scare 
them  into  contributing.  They  were  told  that  those  who 
would  subscribe  would  thereby  secure  her  ladyship's  and  the 
factor's  favour,  and  those  who  could  not  or  would  not,  were 
given  to  understand,  very  significantly,  what  they  had  to 
expect,  by  plenty  of  menacing  looks  and  ominous  shakings 
of  the  head.  This  caused  many  of  the  poor  creatures  to 
part  with  their  last  shilling,  to  supply  complimentary  orna- 
ments to  honour  this  illustrious  family,  and  which  went  to 
purchase  additional  favour  for  those  who  were  enjoying  the 
lands  from  which  they  had  been  so  cruelly  expelled. 

These  testimonials  were  presented  at  a  splendid  entertain- 
ment, and  many  high-flown  compliments  passed  between 
the  givers  and  receiver ;  but,  of  course,  none  of  the 
poor  victims  were  present ;  no  compliments  were  paid  to 
them  ;  and  it  is  questionable  if  her  ladyship  ever  knew  that 
one  of  them  subscribed — indeed,  I  am  almost  certain  that 
she  never  did.  Three  years  after,  she  made  a  more  length- 
ened visit,  and  this  time  she  took  a  tour  round  the  northern 
districts  on  the  sea-shore,  where  the  poor  people  were  lo- 


SUTHERLAND.  5 1 

cated,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  the  clergy,  the  factors, 
etc.  She  was  astonished  and  distressed  at  the  destitution, 
nakedness,  and  extreme  misery,  which  met  her  eye  in 
every  direction,  made  inquiries  into  their  condition,  and 
ordered  a  general  distribution  of  clothing  to  be  made  among 
the  most  destitute ;  but  unfortunately  she  confined  her 
inquiries  to  those  who  surrounded  her,  and  made  them  the 
medium  for  distributing  her  bounty — the-  very  parties  who 
had  been  the  main  cause  of  this  deplorable  destitution,  and 
whose  interest  it  was  to  conceal  the  real  state  of  the  people, 
as  it  continues  to  be  to  this  day. 

At  one  place  she  stood  upon  an  eminence,  where  she  had 
about  a  hundred  of  those  wretched  dwellings  in  view ;  at 
least  she  could  see  the  smoke  of  them  ascending  from  the 
horrid  places  in  which  they  were  situated.  She  turned  to 
the  parish  minister  in  the  utmost  astonishment,  and  asked, 
"  Is  it  possible  that  there  are  people  living  in  yonder 
places?" — "O  yes,  my  lady,"  was  the  reply.  "And  can 
you  tell  me  if  they  are  in  any  way  comfortable?"  "  Quite 
comfortable,  my  lady."  Now,  sir,  I  can  declare  that  at  the 
very  moment  this  reverend  gentlemen  uttered  these  words, 
he  was  fully  aware  of  the  horrors  of  their  situation ;  and, 
besides  that,  some  of  the  outcasts  were  then  begging  in  the 
neighbouring  county  of  Caithness,  many  of  them  carrying 
certificates  from  this  very  gentleman  attesting  that  they  were 
objects  of  charity ! 

Her  ladyship,  however,  was  not  quite  satisfied  with  these 
answers.  She  caused  a  general  warning  to  be  issued, 
directing  the  people  to  meet  her,  at  stated  places  as  she  pro- 
ceeded, and  wherever  a  body  of  them  met  her,  she  alighted 
from  her  carriage,  and  questioned  them  if  they  were  com- 
fortable, and  how  the  factors  were  behaving  to  them  ? 
[N.B.     The  factors  were  always  present  on  these  occasions,] 


52  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

But  they  durst  make  little  or  no  complaints.     What  they  did 
say  was  in  Gaelic,  and  of  course,  as  in  other  cases,  left  to 
the  minister's  interpretation  ;  but  their  forlorn,  haggard,  and 
destitute  appearance,  sufficiently  testified  their  real  condi- 
tion.    I  am  quite  certain,  that  had  this  great,  and  (I  am 
willing  to  admit,  when  not  misled)  good  woman  remained 
on  her  estates,  their  situation  would  have  been  materially 
bettered,  but  as  all  her  charity  was  left  to  be  dispensed  by 
those  who  were  anxious  to  get  rid  of  the  people,  root  and 
branch,  little  benefit  resulted  from  it,  at  least  to  those  she 
meant  to  reheve.     As  I  mentioned  above,  she  ordered  bed 
and  body  clothes  to  all  who  were  in  need  of  them,  but,  as 
usual,  all  was  entrusted  to  the  ministers  and  factors,  and 
they  managed  this  business  with  the  same  selfishness,  in- 
justice, and  partiaUty,  that  had  marked  their  conduct  on 
former  occasions.     Many  of  the  most  needy  got  nothing, 
and  others  next  to  nothing.     For  an  instance  of  the  latter, 
several  families,  consisting  of  seven  or  eight,  and  in  great 
distress,  got  only  a  yard  and  a  half  of  coarse  blue  flannel, 
each  family.     Those,  however,  who  were  the  favourites  and 
toadies  of  the  distributors,  and  their  servants,  got  an  ample 
supply  of  both   bed   and   body  clothes,  but  this  was  the 
exception;  generally  speaking,  the  poor  people  were  nothing 
benefited  by  her  ladyship's   charitable  intentions ;   though 
they  afforded  hay-making  seasons  to  those  who  had  enough 
already,  and  also  furnished  matter  for  glowing  accounts  in 
the  newspapers,  of  her  ladyship's  extraordinary  munificence. 
To   a   decent    highland   woman,    who   had   interested    her 
ladyship,  she  ordered  a  present  of  a  gown-piece,  and  the 
gentleman  factor   who  was  entrusted  to   procure  it,   some 
time  after  sent  six  yards  of  cotton  stuff  not  worth  2S.  in  the 
whole.     The  woman  laid  it  aside,  intending  to  show  it  to 
her  ladyship  on  her  next  visit,  but  her  own  death  occurred 


SUTHERLAND.  53 

in  the  meantime.  Thus,  in  every  way,  were  her  ladyship's 
benevolent  intentions  frustrated  or  misapplied,  and  that 
ardent  attachment  to  her  family  which  had  subsisted  through 
so  many  generations,  materially  weakened,  if  not  totally 
destroyed,  by  a  mistaken  policy  towards  her  people,  and  an 
undue  confidence  in  those  to  whose  management  she  com- 
mitted them,  and  who,  in  almost  every  instance,  betrayed 
that  confidence,  and  cruelly  abused  that  delegated  power. 
Hence,  and  hence  only,  the  fearful  misery  and  destitution 
in  Sutherlandshire. 


LETTER  XIII. 

In  the  year  1832,  and  soon  after  the  events  I  have  been 
describing,  an  order  was  issued  by  Mr.  Loch,  in  the  name 
of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  that  all  the  small 
tenants,  on  both  sides  of  the  road  from  Bighouse  to  Melness 
(about  thirty  miles),  where  their  cottages  were  thickly 
studded,  must  build  new  houses,  with  stone  and  mortar, 
according  to  a  prescribed  plan  and  specification.  The  poor 
people,  finding  their  utter  inability,  in  their  present  con- 
dition, to  erect  such  houses  (which,  when  finished,  would 
cost  ^30  to  ;^4o  each),  got  up  petitions  to  the  proprietors, 
setting  forth  their  distressed  condition,  and  the  impossibility 
of  complying  with  the  requisition  at  present.  These  petitions 
they  supplicated  and  implored  the  ministers  to  sign,  well 
knowing  that  otherwise  they  had  little  chance  of  being 
attended  to  ;  but  these  gentlemen  could  be  moved  by  no 
entreaties,  and  answered  all  their  applications  by  a  con- 
temptuous refusal.  The  petitions  had,  therefore,  to  be 
forwarded  to  London  without  ecclesiastical  sanction,  and,  of 
course,  effected  nothing.     The  answer  returned  was,  that  if 


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SUTHERLAND.  55 

and  shall  endeavour  to  describe  a  small  part  of  what  met  my 
eye  on  that  occasion.  In  one  district  (and  this  was  a  fair 
specimen  of  all  the  rest),  when  the  building  was  going  on, 
I  saw  fourteen  different  squads  of  masons  at  work,  the 
natives  attending  them.  Old  grey-headed  men,  worn  down 
by  previous  hardship  and  present  want,  were  to  be  seen 
carrying  stones,  and  wheeling  them  and  other  materials  on 
barrows,  or  carrying  them  on  their  backs  to  the  buildings, 
and,  with  their  tottering;  hmbs  and  trembling  hands  straining 
to  raise  the  stones,  etc.  to  the  walls.  The  young  men  also, 
after  toiling  all  night  at  sea  endeavouring  to  obtain  subsis- 
tence, instead  of  rest,  were  obliged  to  yield  their  exhausted 
frames  to  the  labours  of  the  day.  Even  female  labour  could 
not  be  dispensed  with  ;  the  strong  as  well  as  the  weak,  the 
delicate  and  sickly,  and  (shame  to  the  nature  of  their 
oppressors !)  even  the  pregnant,  bare-footed,  and  scantily 
clothed  and  fed,  were  obliged  to  join  in  these  rugged, 
unfeminine  labours,  carr\-ing  stones,  clay,  lime,  wood,  etc., 
on  their  backs  or  on  barrows,  their  tracks  often  reddened 
with  the  blood  from  their  hands  and  feet,  and  from  hurts 
received  bv  their  awkwardness  in  handling  the  rude  materials. 
In  one  instance  I  saw  the  husband  quarrying  stones,  and 
the  wife  and  children  dragging  them  along  in  an  old  cart  to 
the  building.  Such  were  the  building  scenes  of  that  period. 
The  poor  people  had  ot\en  to  gi^-e  the  last  morsel  of  food 
they  possessed  to  feed  the  masons,  and  subsist  on  shell-fish 
themselves  when  they  could  get  them.  The  timber  for  their 
houses  was  furnished  by  the  factors,  and  charged  them  about 
a  third  higher  than  it  could  be  purchased  at  in  any  of  the 
neighbouring  sea-ports.  I  spent  two  melancbdfy  days 
witnessing  these  scenes,  which  are  now  present  to  my  mind, 
and  which  I  can  never  forget-  This  went  on  for  se\-eral 
years,  in  the  course  of  which,  many  hundreds  of  houses  were 


56  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

erected  on   inhospitable  spots,    unfit  for  human  residence. 

It  might.be  thought  that  the  design  of  forcing  the  people  to 

build  such  houses,   was  to  provide  for  their  comfort  and 

accommodation ;  but  there  was  another  object,  which  I  believe 

was  the  only  true  motive,  and  that  was,  to  hide  the  misery 

that  prevailed.     There  had  been  a  great  sensation  created  in 

the  public  mind,  by  the  cruelties  exercised  in  these  districts; 

and  it  was  thought  that  a  number   of  neat   white  houses, 

ranged  on  each  side  of  the  road,  would  take  the  eyes  of 

strangers  and  visitors,  and  give  a  practical  contradiction  to 

the  rumours  afloat ;  hence,  the  poor  creatures  were  forced  to 

resort  to  such  means,  and  to  endure  such  hardships  and 

privations  as  I  have  described,  to  carry  the  scheme  into 

effect.     And  after  they  had  spent  their  all,  and  much  more 

than  their  all,  on  the  erection  of  these  houses,  and  involved 

themselves  in  debt,  for  which  they  have  been  harassed  and 

pursued  ever  since,  they  are  still  but  whitened  tombs  ;  many 

of  them  now  ten  years  in  existence,  and  still  without  proper 

doors  or  windows,  destitute  of  furniture,  and  of  comfort ; 

merely   providing   a  lair   for   a  heart-broken,  squahd,  and 

degenerated  race. 


LETTER  XIV. 

During  the  period  in  which  the  building  was  going  on,  I 
think  in  the  year  1833,  Lord  Leveson  Gower,  the  present 
Duke  of  Sutherland,  visited  the  country,  and  remained  a  few 
weeks,  during  which  he  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing 
the  scenes  I  have  described  in  my  last ;  and  such  was  the 
impression  made  on  his  mind,  that  he  gave  public  orders 
that  the  people  should  not  be  forced  to  build  according  to 
the  specific  plan,  but  be  allowed  to  erect  such  houses  as 
suited  themselves.     These  were  glad  tidings  of  mercy  to  the 


SUTHERLAND.  57 

poor  people,  but  they  were  soon  turned  to  bitter  disappoint- 
ment ;  for  no  sooner  had  his  lordship  left  the  country,  than 
Mr.  Loch  or  his  underlings  issued  fresh  orders  for  the 
building  to  go  on  as  before. 

Shortly  after  this,  in  July,  1833,  his  Grace  created  first 
Duke  of  Sutherland,  who  had  been  some  time  in  bad 
health,  breathed  his  last  in  Dunrobin  Castle,  and  was 
interred  with  great  pomp  in  the  family  burying-place  in  the 
cathedral  of  Dornoch.  The  day  of  his  funeral  was  ordered 
to  be  kept  as  a  fast-day  by  all  the  tenantry,  under  penalty  of 
the  highest  displeasure  of  those  in  authority,  though  it  was 
just  then  herring-fishing  season,  when  much  depended  on  a 
day.  Still  this  was  a  minor  hardship.  The  next  year  a 
l^roject  was  set  on  foot,  by  the  same  parties  who  formerly 
got  up  the  expensive  family  ornaments  presented  to  her 
Grace,  to  raise  a  monument  to  the  Duke.  Exactly 
similiar  measures  were  resorted  to,  to  make  the  small 
tenantry  subscribe,  in  the  midst  of  all  their  distresses,  and 
with  similiar  results.  All  who  could  raise  a  shilling  gave  it, 
and  those  who  could  not,  awaited  in  terror  the  consequences 
of  their  default.  No  doubt,  the  Duke  deserved  the  highest 
posthumous  honours  from  a  portion  of  his  tenantry — those 
who  had  benefited  by  the  large  sums  he  and  the  Duchess 
had  lavished  for  their  accommodation  ;  but  the  poor  small 
tenantry,  what  had  been  done  for  them  ?  While  the  minis- 
ters, factors,  and  new  tenantry,  were  rich  and  luxurious, 
basking  in  the  sunshine  of  favour  and  prosperity,  the 
miseries  and  oppressions  of  the  natives  remain  unabated  j 
they  were  emphatically  in  the  shade,  and  certainly  had  little 
for  which  to  be  grateful  to  those  whose  abuse  of  power  had 
brought  them  to  such  a  pass— who  had  drained  their  cup  of 
every  thing  that  could  sweeten  life,  and  left  only 
A  mass  of  sordid  lees  behind ! 


58  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

Passing  the  next  two  years,  I  now  proceed  to  describe  the 
failure  of  the  harvest  in  1836,  and  the  consequences  to  the 
Highlands  generally,  and  to  Sutherland  in  particular.  In 
this  year  the  crops  all  over  Britain  were  deficient,  having 
had  bad  weather  for  growing  and  ripening,  and  still  worse 
for  gathering  in.  But  in  the  Highlands  they  were  an  entire 
failure,  and  on  the  untoward  spots  occupied  by  the  Suther- 
land small  tenants  there  was  literally  nothing — at  least 
nothing  fit  for  human  subsistence ;  and  to  add  to  the 
calamity,  the  weather  had  prevented  them  from  securing  the 
peats,  their  only  fuel;  so  that,  to  their  exhausted  state  from 
their  disproportionate  exertions  in  building,  cold  and  hunger 
were  now  to  be  superadded.  The  sufferings  of  the  succeeding 
winter,  endured  by  the  poor  Highlanders,  truly  beggar  des- 
cription. Even  the  herring-fishing  had  failed,  and  conse- 
quently their  credit  in  Caithness,  which  depended  on  its 
success,  was  at  an  end.  Any  little  provision  they  might  be 
able  to  procure  was  of  the  most  inferior  and  unwholesome 
description.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  people 
searching  among  the  snow  for  the  frosted  potatoes  to  eat,  in 
order  to  preserve  life.  As  the  harvest  had  been  disastrous, 
so  the  winter  was  uncommonly  boisterous  and  severe,  and 
consequently  little  could  be  obtained  from  the  sea  to  mitigate 
the  calamity.  The  distress  rose  to  such  a  height  as  to  cause 
a  universal  sensation  all  over  the  island,  and  a  general  cry 
for  government  interference  to  save  the  people  from  death 
by  famine ;  and  the  appeal,  backed  by  the  clergy  of  all 
denominations  throughout  the  Highlands  (with  the  exception 
of  Sutherland),  was  not  made  in  vain. 

Dr.  MacLeod  of  Glasgow  was  particularly  zealous  on  this 
occasion.  He  took  reports  from  all  the  parish  ministers  in 
the  destitute  districts,  and  went  personally  to  London  to 
represent  the  case  to  government  and  implore  aid,  and  the 


SUTHERLAND.  59 

case  was  even  laid  before  both  houses  of  parliament.  In 
consequence  of  these  applications  and  proceedings,  money 
and  provisions  to  a  great  amount  were  sent  down,  and  the 
magistrates  and  ministers  entrusted  with  the  distribution  of 
them  :  and  in  the  ensuing  summer,  vessels  were  sent  to  take 
on  board  a  number  of  those  who  were  willing  to  emigrate  to 
Australia.  Besides  this,  private  subscriptions  were  entered 
into,  and  money  obtained  to  a  very  great  amount.  Public 
meetings  were  got  up  in  all  the  principal  cities  and  towns  in 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  large  funds  collected;  so  that 
,  effectual  relief  was  afforded  to  every  place  that  required  it, 
with  the  single  exception  of  that  county  which,  of  all  others, 
was  in  the  most  deplorable  state — the  county  of  Sutherland ! 
The  reason  of  this  I  will  explain  presently ;  but  first  let  me 
draw  the  reader's  attention  for  a  moment  to  the  new  circum- 
stances in  which  the  Highlands  were  placed.  Failure  in  the 
crops  in  those  northern  and  north-western  parts  of  Scotland 
was  a  case  of  frequent  and  common  occurrence  ;  but  famine 
and  solicitations  for  national  aid  and  charitable  relief,  were 
something  quite  new.  I  will  endeavour  to  account  for  the 
change.  Previous  to  the  "  change  of  tenancy,"  as  the  cruel 
spoliation  and  expatriation  of  the  native  inhabitants  was 
denominated,  when  a  failure  occurred  in  the  grain  and  potato 
crops,  they  had  recourse  to  their  cattle.  Selling  a  few 
additional  head,  or  an  extra  score  of  sheep,  enabled  them  to 
purchase  at  the  sea-ports  what  grain  was  wanted.  But  now 
they  had  no  cattle  to  sell ;  and  when  the  crops  totally  failed 
on  their  spots  of  barren  ground,  and  when,  at  the  same  time, 
the  fishing  proved  unprosperous,  they  were  immediately 
reduced  to  a  state  of  famine  ;  and  hence  the  cry  for  relief, 
which,  as  I  have  mentioned,  was  so  generously  responded 
to.  But,  I  would  ask,  who  were  the  authors  of  all  this  mass 
of  distress  ?     Surely,  the  proprietors,  who,  unmindful  that 


6o  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

"  property  has  its  duties  as  well  as  its  rights,"  brought  about 
this  state  of  things.  They,  in  common  with  other  landed 
legislators,  enacted  the  food  taxes,  causing  a  competition  for 
land,  and  then  encouraged  strange  adventurers  to  supersede 
the  natives,  and  drive  them  out,  in  order  that  the  whole  of 
the  Highlands  should  be  turned  into  a  manufactory,  to  make 
beef  and  mutton  for  the  English  market.  And  when,  by 
these  means,  they  had  reduced  the  natives  to  destitution  and 
famine,  they  left  it  to  the  government  and  to  charitable 
individuals  to  provide  relief!  Language  is  scarcely  adequate 
to  characterize  such  conduct ;  yet  these  are  the  great,  the 
noble,  and  right  honourable  of  the  land  !  However,  with 
the  exception  of  my  unfortunate  native  county,  relief  was 
afforded,  though  not  by  those  whose  right  it  was  to  afford  it. 
Large  quantities  of  oatmeal,  seed  oats,  and  barley,  potatoes, 
etc.,  were  brought  up  and  forwarded  to  the  North  and  West 
Highlands,  and  distributed  among  all  who  were  in  need;  but 
nothing  of  all  this  for  the  Sutherlanders.  Even  Dr.  Mac- 
Leod, in  all  the  zeal  of  his  charitable*  mission,  passed  from 
Stornoway  to  the  Shetland  Islands  without  vouchsafing  a 
glance  at  Sutherland  on  his  way.  The  reason  of  all  this  I 
will  now  explain.  It  was  constantly  asserted  and  reiterated 
in  all  places,  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  government  or 
other  charitable  aid  to  Sutherland,  as  the  noble  proprietors 
would  themselves  take  in  hand  to  afford  their  tenantry  ample 
relief  This  story  v»'as  circulated  through  the  newspapers, 
and  repeated  by  the  clergy  and  factors  at  all  public  meetings, 
till  the  public  was  quite  satisfied  on  the  subject.  Meantime 
the  wretched  people  were  suffering  the  most  unparalleled 
distress ;  famine  had  brought  their  misery  to  a  frightful 
climax,  and  disease  and  death  had  commenced  their  work  ! 
In  their  agony  they  had  recourse  to  the  ministers,  imploring 
them  to  represent  their  case  to  government,  that  they  might 


SUTHERLAND.  6 1 

partake  of  the  relief  afforded  to  other  counties  ;  but  all  in 
vain  !  I  am  aware  that  what  I  here  assert  is  incredible,  but 
not  less  true,  that  of  the  whole  seventeen  parish  ministers, 
not  one  could  be  moved  by  the  supplications  and  cries  of 
the  famishing  wretches  to  take  any  steps  for  their  rehef ! 
They  answered  all  entreaties  with  a  cold  refusal,  alleging 
that  the  proprietors  would,  in  their  own  good  time,  send  the 
necessary  relief !  but,  so  far  as  I  could  ever  learn,  they  took 
no  means  to  hasten  that  relief.  They  said  in  their  sermons 
"  that  the  Lord  had  a  controversy  with  the  land  for  the 
people's  wickedness  ;  and  that  in  his  providence,  and  even 
in  his  mercy,  he  had  sent  this  scourge  to  bring  them  to 
repentance,"  etc.  Some  people  (wicked  people,  of  course) 
may  think  such  language,  in  such  circumstances,  savoured 
more  of  blasphemy  than  of  religious  truth.  Meantime,  the 
newspapers  were  keeping  up  the  public  expectations  of  the 
munificent  donations  the  proprietors  were  sending.  One 
journal  had  it  that  ^2^9,000  worth  of  provisions  were  on  the 
way ;  others  ^8,000,  and  ^7,000,  etc.  However,  the  other 
Highlanders  had  received  relief  at  least  two  months  before 
anything  came  to  Sutherland.  At  last  it  did  come  ;  the 
amount  of  relief,  and  the  manner  of  its  appropriation  shall 
be  explained  in  my  next. 


LETTER  XV. 

In  my  last  I  quoted  an. expression  current  among  the  clergy 
at  the  time  of  the  famine  "  that  God  had  a  controversy  with 
the  people  for  their  sins,"  but  I  contend — and  I  think  my 
readers  in  general  will  agree  with  me — that  the  poor  Suther- 
landers  were  "  more  sinned  against  than  sinning  ".  To  the 
aspersions  cast  upon  them  by  Mr.  Loch,  in  his  book  (written 


62  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

by  an  interested  party,  and  evidently  for  a  purpose),  I  beg 
the  public  to  contrast  the  important  work  by  General  Stewart 
before  mentioned,  and  draw  their  own  conclusions.  The 
truth  is,  that  the  Sutherlanders  were  examples  of  almost  all 
the  humble  virtues — a  simple  and  uncorrupted,  rural,  and 
pastoral  population;  even  the  unexampled  protracted  cruelty 
with  which  they  were  treated,  never  stirred  them  to  take  wild 
or  lawless  revenge.  During  a  period  of  200  years,  there  had 
been  only  three  capital  convictions,  and  very  few  crimes  of 
any  description ;  the  few  that  did  occur  were  chiefly  against 
the  excise  laws.  But  those  who  coveted  the  lands,  which  in 
justice  were  their  patrimony,  like  Queen  Jezebel  of  old,  got 
false  witnesses  to  defame  them  (in  order  that  a  pretext  might 
be  afforded  for  expeUing  them  from  the  possessions  which 
had  been  defended  with  the  blood  of  their  forefathers).  It 
was  the  factors,  the  capitalists,  and  the  clergy,  that  had  a 
controversy  with  the  people,  and  not  the  Almighty,  as  they 
blasphemously  asserted.  The  Sutherlanders  had  always 
been  a  religious,  a  devout,  and  a  praying  people,  and  now 
their  oppressors,  and  not  Divine  Providence,  had  made 
them  a  fasting  people.  I  proceed  to  give  some  account  of 
that  mockery  of  relief  which  was  so  ostentatiously  paraded 
before  the  public  in  the  newspapers,  and  at  public  meetings. 
I  have  already  observed  that  the  relief  afforded  to  the 
Highland  districts  generally,  by  the  government,  and  by 
private  charity,  was  not  only  effectual  in  meeting  the  exigency, 
but  it  was  a  bo7ia-fide  charity,  and  was  forthcoming  in  time ; 
while  the  pittance  doled  out  to  the  Sutherlanders,  was  desti- 
tute of  those  characteristics.  How  the  poor  people  passed 
the  winter  and  spring  under  the  circumstances  already 
mentioned,  I  must  leave  to  the  reader's  imagination ;  suffice 
it  to  say,  that  though  worn  to  the  bone  by  cold,  hunger,  and 
nakedness,  the  bulk  of  them  still  survived.      The  High- 


SUTHERLAND.  63 

landers  are  still  proverbially  tenacious  of  life.  In  the  latter 
end  of  April,  1837,  when  news  reached  them  that  the 
long-promised  relief,  consisting  of  meal,  barley,  potatoes, 
and  seed  oats,  had  actually  arrived,  and  was  to  be  im- 
mediately distributed  at  Tongue  and  other  stated  places, 
the  people  at  once  flocked  to  these  places,  but  were  told 
that  nothing  would  be  given  to  anyone,  till  they  produced  a 
certificate  from  their  parish  minister  that  they  were  proper 
objects  of  charity.  Here  was  a  new  obstacle.  They  had  to 
return  and  implore  those  haughty  priests  for  certificates, 
which  were  frequently  withheld  from  mere  caprice,  or  for  some 
alleged  offence  or  lack  of  homage  in  the  applicant,  who  if 
not  totally  refused,  had  to  be  humbled  in  the  dust,  sickened 
by  delay,  and  the  boon  only  at  last  yielded  to  the  inter- 
cession of  some  of  the  more  humane  of  the  shepherds. 
Those  who  were  in  the  fishing  trade  were  peremptorily 
refused.  This  is  the  way  in  which  man,  religious  man,  too  ! 
can  trifle  with  the  distress  of  his  famishing  brother. 

The  places  appointed  for  distribution  were  distant  from 
the  homes  of  many  of  the  sufferers,  so  that  by  the  time  they 
had  waited  on  the  ministers  for  the  necessary  qualification, 
and  travelled  again  to  places  of  distribution  and  back  again, 
with  what  they  could  obtain,  on  their  backs,  several  days 
were  consumed,  and  in  many  cases  from  50  to  100  miles 
traversed.  And  what  amount  of  relief  did  they  receive 
after  all  ?  From  7  to  28  H)S.  of  meal,  with  seed  oats  and 
potatoes  in  the  same  proportion ;  and  this  not  for  indivi- 
duals, but  for  whole  families  !  In  the  fields,  and  about  the 
dykes  adjoining  the  places  where  these  pittances  were 
doled  out,  groups  of  famishing  creatures  might  be  lying  in 
the  mornings  (many  of  them  having  travelled  the  whole  day 
and  night  previous),  waiting  the  leisure  of  the  factors  or 
their  clerks,  and  no  attention  was  paid  to  them  till  those 


64  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

gentlemen  had  breakfasted  and  dressed ;  by  which  time 
the  day  was  far  advanced. 

Several  subsequent  distributions  of  meal  took  place  ;  but 
in  every  new  case,  fresh  certificates  of  continued  destitution 
had  to  be  procured  from  the  ministers  and  elders  of  the 
respective  parishes.  This  was  the  kind,  and  quantity,  of 
rehef  afforded,  and  the  mode  of  dispensing  it ;  different 
indeed  from  what  was  represented  in  the  glozing  falsehoods 
so  industriously  palmed  on  public  credulity. 

In  the  month  of  September,  her  Grace  being  then  on  a 
visit  in  the  country,  the  following  proceedings  took  place, 
reported  in  the  public  papers  of  the  day,  which  afforded  a 
specimen  of  groundless  assertions,  clerical  sycophancy,  and 
fulsome  adulation,  for  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
parallel : — 

The  Presbytery  of  Tongue,  at  their  last  meeting,   agreed  to  present  the 
following  address  to  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland.      Her  Grace  being  then 
at  Tongue,  the  Presbytery  waited  on  her :  and  the  address  being  read  by  - 
the  Moderator,  she  made  a  suitable  reply  : — 
"  May  it  please  your  Grace, 

"  We,  the  Presbytery  of  Tongue,  beg  leave  to  approach  your  Grace  with 
feelings  of  profound  respect,  and  to  express  our  joy  at  your  safe  arrival 
within  our  bounds. 

"We  have  met  here  this  day  for  the  purpose  of  communicating  to  your 
Grace  the  deep  sense  which  we  entertain  of  your  kindness  during  the  past 
season  to  the  people  under  our  charge. 

"  When  it  pleased  Providence  by  an  unfavourable  harvest  to  afiflict  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland  with  a  scarcity  of  bread,  and  when  the  clergymen  of 
other  districts  appealed  to  public  charity  on  behalf  of  their  parishioners,  the 
confidence  which  we  placed  in  your  Grace's  liberality  led  us  to  refrain  from 
making  a  similar  appeal. 

"When  we  say  that  this  confidence  has  been  amply  realised,  we  only 
express  the  feelings  of  our  people ;  and  participating  strongly  in  these 
feelings,  as  we  do,  to  withhold  the  expression  of  them  from  your  Grace, 
would  do  injustice  alike  to  ourselves  and  to  them. 

"  In  their  name,  therefore,  as  well  as  in  our  own,  we  beg  to  offer  to 
your  Grace  our  warmest  gratitude.  When  other  districts  were  left  to  the 
precarious  supplies  of  a  distant  benevolence,  your  Grace  took  on  yourself 


SUTHERLAND.  65 

the  charge  of  supporting  your  people  ;  by  a  constant  supply  of  meal,  you 
not  only  saved  them  from  famine,  but  enabled  them  to  live  in  comfort  ;  and 
by  a  seasonable  provision  of  seed,  you  were  the  means,  under  God,  of 
securing  to  them  the  blessing  of  the  present  abundant  harvest. 

"That  Almighty  God  may  bless  your  Grace, — that  he  may  long  spare 
you  to  be  a  blessing  to  your  people, — and  that  He  may  finally  give  you  the 
inheritance  which  is  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  is 
the  prayer  of, 

"  May  it  please  your  Grace, 
"The  Members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Tongue, 

(Signed)  "HUGH  MACKENZIE,  A/oderaior/' 

The  evident  tendency  of  this  document  was  to  mislead 
her  Grace,  and  by  deluding  the  public,  to  allay  anxiety, 
stifle  inquiry,  and  conceal  the  truth.  However,  her  Grace 
made  a  "suitable  reply,"  and  great  favour  was  shown  to  the 
adulators.  About  a  year  before,  the  very  clergyman  whose 
signature  is  appended  to  this  address  exchanged  part  of  his 
glebe  for  the  lands  of  Diansad  and  Inshverry ;  but  in  con- 
senting to  the  change,  he  made  an  express  condition  that  the 
present  occupiers,  amounting  to  eight  families,  should  be 
"removed,"  and  accordingly  they  were  driven  out  in  a 
body  !  To  this  gentleman,  then,  the  honour  is  due  of  hav- 
ing consummated  the  Sutherland  ejections ;  and  hence  he 
was  admirably  fitted  for  signing  the  address.  I  must 
not  omit  to  notice  "  the  abundant  harvest,"  said  to  succeed 
the  famine.  The  family  "allotments"  only  afforded  the 
sowing  of  from  a  half  firlot  to  two  or  three  firlots  of  oats, 
and  a  like  quantity  of  barley,  which,  at  an  average  in  good 
seasons,  yielded  about  three  times  the  quantity  sown ;  in 
bad  years  little  or  nothing ;  and  even  in  the  most  favour- 
able cases,  along  with  their  patches  of  potatoes,  could  not 
maintain  the  people  more  than  three  months  in  the  year. 
The  crop  succeeding  the  famine  was  anything  but  an  abund- 
ant one  to  the  poor  people ;  they  had  got  the  seed  too  late, 
and  the  season  was  not  the  most  favourable  for  bringing  it 


66  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

to  even  ordinary  perfection.  Hence,  that  "abundance," 
mentioned  in  the  address  was  hke  all  the  rest  of  its  ground- 
less assumption.  But  I  have  still  to  add  to  the  crowning 
iniquity — the  provisions  distributed  in  charity  had  to  be 
paid  for  !  but  this  point — I  must  postpone  till  my  next. 


LETTER  XVI. 

It  would  require  a  closer  acquaintance  with  the  recent 
history  of  Sutherlandshire  than  I  am  able  to  communicate, 
and  better  abilities  than  mine  to  convey  to  the  reader  an 
adequate  idea  of  the  mournful  contrast  between  the  former 
comfortable  and  independent  state  of  the  people  and  that 
presented  in  my  last.     They  were  now,  generally  speaking, 
become  a  race  of  paupers,  trembling  at  the  very  looks  of 
their  oppressors,   objects   of  derision  and  mockery  to  the 
basest  underlings,  and  fed  by  the  scanty  hand  of  those  who 
had  been  the  means  of  reducing  them  to  their  present  state ; 
To  their  capability  of  endurance  must,  in  a  great  measure, 
be  ascribed  their  surviving,  in  any  considerable  numbers, 
the  manifold  inflictions  they  had  to  encounter.     During  the 
spring  and  summer  many  of  the  young  and  robust  of  both 
sexes  left  the  country  in  quest  of  employment ;  some  to  the 
neighbouring  county  of  Caithness,  but  most  of  them  went 
to  the  Lowlands,  and  even  into  England,  to  serve  as  cattle 
drivers,    labourers,  and  in   other  menial  occupations.     No 
drudgery  was  too  low  for  their  acceptance,  nor  any  means 
left  untried,  by  which  they  could  sustain  life  in  the  most 
frugal  manner,  and  anything  earned  above  this  was  carefully 
transmitted  to  their  suffering   relations  at   home.      When 
harvest  commenced  they  were  rather  better  employed,  and 
then  the  object  was  to  save  a  little  to  pay  the  rent  at  the 


SUTHERLAND.  67 

approaching  term ;  but  there  was  another  use  they  had 
never  thought  of,  to  which  their  hard  and  scanty  earnings 
had  to  be  appUed. 

Not   long   after   the   termination   of    the    Duchess'   visit 
(during  which  the  address  given  in  my  last  was  presented), 
I  think  just  about  two  months  after,  the  people  were  aston- 
ished at  seeing   placards   posted   up  in  all    public   places, 
warning  them  to  prepare  to  pay  their  rents,   and  also  the 
meal,  potatoes,  and  seed  oats  and  barley  they  had  got  during 
the  spring  and  summer  !     This  was  done  in  the  name  of  the 
Duchess,  by  the  orders  of  Mr.  Loch  and  his  under-factors. 
Ground-officers  were  despatched  in  all  directions  to  explain 
and  enforce  this  edict,  and  to  inform  the  small  tenants  that 
their  rents  would  not  be  received  till  the  accounts  for  the 
provisions  were  first  settled.     This  was  news  indeed  ! — as- 
tonishing intelligence  this — that  the  pitiful  mite  of  relief, 
obtained  with  so  much  labour  and  ceremony,  and  doled  out 
by  pampered  underlings  with  more  than  the  usual  insolence 
of  charity,  was  after  all  to  be  paid  for  !     After  government 
aid   and   private   charity,  so   effectually  afforded   to   other 
Highland   districts   had   been    intercepted   by   ostentatious 
promises  of  ample  relief  from  the  bounty  of  her  Grace ; 
after  the  clergy  had  lauded  the  Almighty,  and  her  Grace  no 
less,  for  that  bounty ;  the  poor  creatures  were  to  be  con- 
cussed into  paying  for  it,  and  at  a  rate  too,  considerably 
above  the  current   prices.      I   know  this,   to   persons   un- 
acquainted with  Highland  tyranny,  extortion  and  oppression, 
will  appear  incredible;  but   I  am  able  to  substantiate  its 
truth  by  clouds  of  living  witnesses. 

The  plan  adopted  deserves  particular  notice.  The  people 
were  told,  "their  rents  would  not  be  received  till  the  pro- 
visions were  first  paid  for".  By  this  time  those  who  had 
procured  a  little  money  by  labouring  elsewere,  were  returning 


68  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

with  their  savings  to  enable  their  relatives  to  meet  the  rents, 
and  this  was  thought  a  good  time  to  get  the  "  charity  "  paid 
up.  Accordingly  when  the  people,  as  usual,  waited  upon 
the  factor  with  the  rent,  they  were  told  distinctly  that  the 
meal,  etc.,  must  be  paid  first,  and  that  if  any  lenity  was 
shown,  it  would  be  for  the  rent,  but  none  for  the  provisions ! 
The  meaning  of  this  scheme  seems  to  be,  that  by  securing 
payment  for  the  provisions  in  the  first  instance,  they  would 
avoid  the  odium  of  pursuing  for  what  was  given  as  charity, 
knowing  that  they  could  at  any  time  enforce  payment  of  the 
rent,  by  the  usual  summary  means  to  which  they  were  in  the 
habit  of  resorting.  Some  laid  down  their  money  at  once, 
and  the  price  of  all  they  had  got  was  then  deducted,  and  a 
receipt  handed  to  them  for  the  balance,  in  part  of  their  rent. 
Others  seeing  this,  remonstrated  and  insisted  on  paying  their 
rents  first,  and  the  provisions  afterwards,  if  they  must  be 
paid ;  but  their  pleading  went  for  nothing,  their  money  was 
taken  in  the  same  manner  (no  receipts  in  any  case  being 
given  for  the  payment  of  the  "  charity,"),  and  they  were 
driven  contemptuously  from  the  counting-table. 

A  few  refused  to  pay,  especially  unless  receipts  were 
granted  for  the  "charity,"  and  returned  home  with  their 
money,  but  most  of  them  were  induced  by  the  terror  of 
their  families  to  carry  it  back  and  submit  like  the  rest.  A 
smaller  portion,  however,  still  continued  refractory,  and 
alternate  threats  and  wheedlings  were  used  by  the  underlings 
to  make  these  comply ;  so  that  gradually  all  were  made  to 
pay  the  last  shilling  it  was  possible  for  them  to  raise.  Some 
who  had  got  certificates  of  destitution  being  unable,  from 
age  or  illness,  to  undergo  the  fatigue  of  waiting  on  the 
factors  for  their  portion,  or  of  carrying  it  home,  had  to  obtain 
the  charitable  assistance  of  some  of  their  abler  fellow 
sufferers  for  that  purpose,  but  when  there  was  any  difficulty 


SUTHERLAND.  69 

about  the  payment,  the  carriers  were  made  accountable  the 
same  as  if  they  had  been  the  receivers  !  Hitherto,  the 
money  collected  at  the  church  doors,  had  been  divided 
among  the  poor,  but  this  year  it  was  withheld ;  in  one  parish 
to  my  personal  knowledge  (and  as  far  as  my  information 
goes  the  refusal  was  general),  the  parish  minister  telUng 
them  that  they  could  not  expect  to  get  meal  and  money  both, 
signifying  that  the  deficient  payments  for  the  provisions  had 
to  be  made  up  from  the  church  collections.  Whether  this 
was  the  truth  or  not,  it  served  for  a  pretext  to  deprive  the 
poor  of  this  slender  resource ;  for,  ever  since — now  four 
years — they  have  got  nothing.  This  is  one  among  many 
subjects  of  inquiry.  Verily  there  is  much  need  for  light  to 
be  thrown  on  this  corner  of  the  land  !  A  rev.  gentleman 
from  the  west,  whose  failing  it  was  to  transgress  the  ten 
commandments,  had,  through  some  special  favour,  obtained 
a  parish  in  Sutherlandshire,  and  thinking  probably  that 
charity  should  begin  at  home,  had  rather  misapplied  the 
poor's  money  which  was  left  in  his  hand,  for  on  his  removal 
to  another  parish,  there  was  none  of  it  forthcoming.  The 
elders  of  his  new  parish  being  aware  of  this,  refused  to 
entrust  him  with  the  treasureship,  and  had  the  collection- 
money  kept  in  a  locked  box  in  the  church,  but  when  it 
amounted  to  some  pounds,  the  box  was  broken  up  and 
the  money  was  taken  out.  The  minister  had  the  key  of  the 
church. 

Owing  to  the  complete  exhaustion  of  the  poor  people's 
means  in  the  manner  I  have  been  describing,  the  succeeding 
year  (1838)  found  them  in  circumstances  Httle  better  than 
its  predecessor.  What  any  of  them  owed  in  Caithness  and 
elsewhere,  they  had  been  unable  to  pay,  and  consequently 
their  credit  was  at  an  end,  and  they  were  obliged  to  live 


7©  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARA^XES. 

from  hand  to  mouth ;  besides,  this  year  was  unproductive  in 
the  fishing,  as  the  years  since  have  also  been. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  this  correspondence,  I  have  treated 
of  the  large  sums  said  to  have  been  laid  out  on  improve- 
ments (roads,  bridges,  inns,  churches,  manses,  and  mansions 
for  the  new  tenants) ;  but  I  have  yet  to  mention  a  poll-tax 
called  road-money,  amounting  to  4s.  on  every  male  of  18 
years  and  upwards,  which  was  laid  on  about  the  year  18 10, 
most  rigorously  exacted,  and  continues  to  be  levied  on  each 
individual  in  the  most  summary  way,  by  seizure  of  any  kind 
of  moveables  in  or  about  the  dwelling  till  the  money  is  paid. 
To  some  poor  families  this  tax  comes  to  ^i  and  upwards 
every  year,  and  be  it  observed  that  the  capitalist  possessing 
50,000  acres,  only  .pays  in  the  same  proportion,  and  his 
shepherds  are  entirely  exempt !  Those  of  the  small  tenantry 
or  their  families,  who  may  have  been  absent  for  two  or  three 
years,  on  their  return  are  obliged  to  pay  up  their  arrears  of 
this  tax,  the  same  as  if  they  had  been  all  the  time  at  home  ;^ 
and  payment  is  enforced  by  seizure  of  the  goods  of  any 
house  in  which  they  may  reside.  The  reader  will  perceive 
that  the  laws  of  Sutherlandshire  are  diiferent,  and  differently 
administered,  from  what  they  are  in  other  parts  of  the 
country — in  fact  those  in  authority  do  just  what  they  please, 
whether  legal  or  otherwise,  none  daring  to  question  what 
they  do.  Nothwithstanding  this  burdensome  tax,  the  roads, 
as  far  as  the  small  tenants'  interests  are  concerned,  are 
shamefully  neglected,  while  every  attention  is  paid  to  suit  the 
convenience  and  pleasure  ot  the  ruling  parties  and  the  new 
tenantry,  by  bringing  roads  to  their  very  doors. 


SUTHERLAND.  7 1 


LETTER  XVI I. 


In  my  last  letter  I  mentioned  something  about  the  with- 
holding  and  misappropriation   of  the  money  collected  at 
church  doors  for  the  poor;  but  let  it  be  understood  that 
notwithstanding  the  iniquitous  conduct  of  persons  so  acting, 
the  loss  to  the  poor  was  not  very  great.     The  Highlander 
abhors  to  be  thought  a  pauper,  and  the  sum  afforded  to 
each  of  the  few  who  were  obliged  to  accept  of  it,  varied 
from  IS.  6d.  to  5s.  a  year;  the  congregations  being  much 
diminished,  as  I  had  before  occasion  to  observe.     It  is  no 
wonder,  then,  that  the  poor,  if  at  all  able,  flee  from  such  a 
country   and   seek   employment  and   relief  in   the  various 
maritime  towns  in  Scotland,  where  they  arrive  broken  down 
and  exhausted  by  previous  hardship — meatless  and  money 
less ;  and  when  unable  to  labour,  or  unsuccessful  in  obtain- 
ing work,  they  become  a  burden  to  a  community  who  have 
no  right  to  bear  it,  while  those  who  have  reduced  them  to 
that  state  escape  scot-free.     Any  person  acquainted  gener- 
ally with  the  statistics  of  pauperism   in   Scotland   will,   I 
am  sure,  admit  the  correctness  of  these  statements.     The 
Highland  landlords  formerly  counted  their  riches  by  the 
number  of  their  vassals  or  tenants,   and  were  anxious  to 
retain  them;  hence  the  poem  of  Burns,  addressed  to  the 
Highland  lairds,  and  signed  Beelzebub,  by  which  the  ever 
selfish   policy   of  those    gendemen   is   celebrated   in   their 
endeavouring,  by  force,  to  restrain  emigration  to  Canada. 
But  since  then  the  case  is  reversed.      First  the  war,   and 
then  the  food  monopoly  has  made  raising  of  cattle  for  the 
English  markets,  the  more  ehgible  speculation,  against  which 
the  boasted  feelings  of  clanship,  as  well  as  the  claims  of 
common  humanity  have  entirely  lost  their  force.     Regard- 
ing the  poll-tax  or  road  money,  it  is  also  necessary  to  state, 


72  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

that  in  every  case  when  it  is  not  paid  on  the  appointed  day, 
expenses  are  arbitrarily  added  (though  no  legal  progress  has 
been  entered)  which  the  defaulter  is  obliged  to  submit  to 
without  means  of  redress.  There  are  no  tolls  in  the  county; 
the  roads,  etc.,  being  kept  up  by  this  poll-tax,  paid  by  the 
small  tenants  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of  those  who  have 
superseded  them.  In  this  way  very  large  sums  are  screwed 
out  of  the  people,  even  the  poorest,  and  from  the  absentees, 
if  they  ever  return  to  reside.  So  that  if  the  population  are 
not  extirpated  wholesale,  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
sums  laid  out  on  improvements  will  ultimately  return  to  the 
proprietors,  from  a  source  whence,  of  all  others,  they  have 
no  shadow  of  right  to  obtain  it. 

I  have  now  arrived  at  an  important  event  in  my  narrative; 
the  death  of  an  exalted  personage  to  whom  I  have  often  had 
occasion  to  refer — the  Duchess-Countess  of  Sutherland. 

This  lady  who  had,  during  a  long  life,  maintained  a  high 
position  in  courtly  and  aristocratic  society,  and  who  was 
possessed  of  many  great  qualities,  was  called  to  her  account 
on  the  29th  of  January,  1839,  in  the  74th  year  of  her  age. 
Her  death  took  place  in  London,  and  her  body  was  con- 
veyed  to    Sutherland   by   Aberdeen,    and    finally   interred 
with  great  pomp  in  the  family  vault,  beside  the  late  Duke, 
her  husband,  in  the  Cathedral  of  Dornoch.      The  funeral 
was  attended  to  Blackwell  by  many  of  the  first  nobility  in 
England,  and  afterwards  by  her  two  grandsons.  Lord  Edward 
Howard,  and  the  Honourable  Francis  Egerton,  and  by  her 
friend  and  confidential  servant,  Mr.  Loch,  with  their  respec- 
tive suites.      The  procession  was  met  by  Mr.   Sellars,  Mr. 
Young,  and   many   of    her   under-factors  and   subordinate 
retainers,  together  with  the  whole  body  of  the  new  occupiers, 
while  the  small  tenantry  brought  up  the  rear  of  the  solemn 
cavalcade.     She  was  buried  with  the  rites  of  the  Church  of 


SUTHERLAND.  73 

England.  Mr.  George  Gunn,  under-factor,  was  the  only 
gentleman  native  of  the  county  who  took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  management  of  the  funeral,  and  who  certainly  did 
not  obtain  that  honour  by  the  exercise  of  extraordinary  vir- 
tues towards  his  poor  countrymen  :  the  rest  were  all  those 
who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  scenes  of  injustice  and 
cruelty  which  I  have  been  endeavouring  to  represent  to  the 
reader,  in  the  previous  part  of  my  narrative.  The  trump  of 
fame  has  been  seldom  made  to  sound  a  louder  blast,  than 
that  which  echoed  through  the  island,  with  the  virtues  of  the 
Duchess ;  every  periodical,  especially  in  Scotland,  was  for  a 
time  literally  crammed  with  them,  but  in  those  extravagant 
encomiums  few  or  none  of  her  native  tenantry  could  honestly 
join.  That  she  had  many  great  and  good  qualities  none 
will  attempt  to  deny,  but  at  the  same  time,  under  the  sanc- 
tion or  guise  of  her  name  and  authority,  were  continually 
perpetrated  deeds  of  the  most  atrocious  character,  and  her 
people's  wrongs  still  remained  unredressed.  Her  severity 
was  felt,  perhaps,  far  beyond  her  own  intentions ;  while  her 
benevolence  was  intercepted  by  the  instruments  she  em- 
ployed, and  who  so  unworthily  enjoyed  her  favour  and  con- 
fidence. Her  favours  were  showered  on  aliens  and  strangers; 
while  few,  indeed,  were  the  drops  which  came  to  the  relief  of 
those  from  whom  she  sprung,  and  whose  co-eval,  though 
subordinate  right  to  their  native  soil,  had  been  recognised 
for  centuries. 

The  same  course  of  draining  the  small  tenants,  under  one 
pretext  or  another,  continued  for  some  time  after  her  Grace's 
decease ;  but  exactions  must  terminate,  when  the  means  of 
meeting  them  are  exhausted.  You  cannot  starve  a  hen  and 
make  her  lay  eggs  at  the  same  time.  The  factors,  having 
taken  all,  had  to  make  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  advise  the 
Duke  to  an  act  of  high-sounding  generosity — to  remit  all 


74  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

arrears  due  by  the  small  tenantry.  Due  proclamation  was 
made  of  his  Grace's  benevolent  intentions,  with  an  express 
condition  annexed,  that  no  future  arrears  would  be  allowed, 
and  that  all  future  defaulters  should  be  instantly  removed, 
and  their  holdings  (not  let  to  tenants,  but)  handed  over  to 
their  next  neighbour,  and  failing  him,  to  the  next  again,  and 
so  on.  This  edict  was  proclaimed  under  the  authority  of 
his  Grace  and  the  factors,  in  the  year  1840,  about  twelve 
months  after  the  Duchess's  decease,  and  continues  the  law 
of  the  estate  as  regards  the  unfortunate  natives,  or  small 
tenantry  as  they  are  generally  called. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  I  have  now  brought  my  narrative 
to  an  end.  I  may,  however,  with  your  permission,  trouble 
you  with  a  few  remarks  in  your  next  publication,  by  way  of 
conclusion. 


LETTER  XVIII. 

In  concluding  my  narrative,  allow  me  to  express — ^or  rather 
to  declare  my  inability  to  express — the  deep  sense  I  enter- 
tain of  your  kindness  in  permitting  me  to  occupy  so  large  a 
space  of  your  columns,  in  an  attempt  to  pourtray  the  wrongs 
of  my  countrymen.  I  trust  these  feelings  will  be  participated 
by  those  whose  cause  you  have  thus  enabled  me  to  bring 
before  the  public,  as  well  as  by  all  benevolent  and  enlight- 
ened minds,  who  abhor  oppression,  and  sympathize  with  its 
victims.  I  am  conscious  that  my  attempt  has  been  a  feeble 
one.  In  many  cases  my  powers  of  language  fell  short,  and 
in  others  I  abstained  from  going  to  the  full  extent,  when  I 
was  not  quite  prepared  with  proof,  or  when  the  deeds  of  our 
oppressors  were  so  horrible  in  their  nature  and  consequence 
as  to  exceed  belief. 


SUTHERLAND.  75 

Though  nowhere  in  the  North  Highlands  have  such 
atrocities  been  practised  in  the  wholesale  way  they  have 
been  in  Sutherland,  yet  the  same  causes  are  producing  like 
effects,  more  or  less  generally  in  most,  if  not  all,  the  sur- 
rounding counties.  Sutherland  has  served  as  a  model  for 
successfully  "clearing"  the  land  of  its  aboriginal  inhabitants, 
driving  them  to  the  sea-shore,  or  into  the  sea, — to  spots  of 
barren  moors — to  the  wilds  of  Canada — and  to  Australia ;  or 
if  unable  to  go  so  far,  to  spread  themselves  over  Lowlands, 
in  quest  of  menial  employment  among  strangers,  to  whom 
their  language  seems  barbarous,  who  are  already  overstocked 
with  native  labourers,  besides  those  continually  pouring  in 
from  Ireland.  No  wonder  the  Highland  lairds  combine  to 
resist  a  government  inquiry,  which  would  lead  to  an  exposure 
of  their  dark  and  daring  deeds,  and  render  a  system  of 
efficient  poor  laws  (not  sham,  like  those  now  existing) 
inevitable.  Were  all  the  paupers  they  have  created,  by 
"  removing "  the  natives  and  substituting  strangers  and 
cattle  in  their  places,  enabled  to  claim  that  support  from  the 
soil  they  are  justly  entitled  to,  what  would  become  of  their 
estates  ? 

Hence  their  alarm  and  anxiety  to  stifle  all  inquiry  but 
that  conducted  by  themselves,  their  favourites  and  retainers, 
and  their  ever-subservient  auxiliaries,  the  parochial  clergy. 
Will  these  parties  expose  themselves  by  tracing  the  true 
causes  of  Highland  destitution  ?  Oh,  no  !  What  they 
cannot  ascribe  to  Providence,  they  will  lay  to  the  charge  of 
the  "indolent,  improvident,  and  intractable  character,"  they 
endeavour  to  cover  their  own  foul  deeds  by  ascribing  to  their 
too  passive  victims.  They  say  "the  Highlanders  would  pay 
no  rent ".  A  falsehood  on  the  very  face  of  it.  Were  not 
the  tenants'  principal  effects  in  cattle,  the  article  of  all  others 
most  convenient  of  arrest  ?     "  The  Highlanders  were  un- 


^a 


76  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

teachable,  enemies  to  innovation  or  improvement,  and 
incorrigibly  opposed  to  the  will  of  their  superiors."  Where 
are  the  proofs  ?  What  methods  were  taken  to  instruct  them 
in  improved  husbandry,  or  any  other  improvements?  None! 
They  were  driven  out  of  the  land  of  their  fathers,  causelessly, 
cruelly,  and  recklessly.  Let  their  enemies  say  what  have 
been  their  crimes  of  revenge  under  the  most  inhumane 
provocation  ?  Where  are  the  records  in  our  courts  of  law, 
■or  in  the  statistics  of  crime,  of  the  fell  deeds  laid  to  the 
charge  of  the  expatriated  Highlander  ?  They  are  nowhere 
to  be  found,  except  in  the  groundless  accusations  of  the 
oppressors,  who  calculating  on  their  simplicity,  their  patient, 
moral,  and  religious  character,  which  even  the  base  conduct 
of  their  clergy  could  not  pervert,  drove  them  unresisting, 
like  sheep  to  the  slaughter,  or  like  mute  fishes,  unable  to 
scream,  on  whom  any  violence  could  be  practised  with 
impunity.  It  was  thought  an  illiterate  people,  speaking  a 
lauguage  almost  unknown  to  the  public  press,  could  not 
make  their  wrongs  heard  as  they  ought  to  be,  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  To  give  their  wrongs  a 
tongue — to  implore  inquiry  by  official,  disinterested  parties 
into  the  cause  of  mal-practices  which  have  been  so  long 
going  on,  so  as  if  possible  to  procure  some  remedy  in  future — 
has  been  my  only  motive  for  availing  myself  of  your  kindness 
to  throw  a  gleam  of  light  on  Highland  misery,  its  causes  and 
its  consequences.  And  I  cannot  too  earnestly  implore  all 
those  in  any  authority,  who  take  an  interest  in  the  cause  of 
humanity,  to  resist  that  partial  and  close-conducted,  sham 
inquiry  to  which  interested  parties  would  have  recourse  to 
screen  themselves  from  public  odium,  and  save  their  pockets. 
Some  of  these  parties  are  great,  wealthy,  and  influential. 
Several  of  them  have  talent,  education,  and  other  facilities 
for  perverting  what  they  cannot  altogether  suppress,  making 


SUTHERLAND. 


77 


"the  worst  appear  the  better  reason,"  and  white-washing  their 
blackest  deeds — therefore,  I  say,  beware  !     They  want-  now 
a  government  grant,  forsooth,  to  take  away  the  redundant 
population  !      There  is  no  redundant  population  but  black 
cattle  and  sheep,  and  their  owners,  which  the  lairds  have 
themselves  introduced;  and  do  they  want  a  grant  to  rid 
of  these  ?     Verily,  no  !     Their  misdeeds  are  only  equalled 
by  their   shameless   impudence  to  propose  such  a   thing. 
First,  to  ruin  the  people  and  make  them  paupers,  and  when 
their  wrongs  and  miseries  have  made  the  very  stones  cry 
out,  seek  to  get  rid  of  them  at  the  public  expense !     Insolent 
proposition  !      "  Contumelious  their  humanity."     No  doubt 
there  have  been  some  new  churches  built,  but  where  are  the 
congregations  ?      Some  schools  erected,   but  how  can  the 
children  of  parents  steeped  in  poverty  profit  by  them  ?     The 
clergy  say  they  dispense  the  bread  of  life,  but  if  they  do  so, 
do  they  give  it  freely— do  they  not  sell  it  for  as  much  as  they 
can  get,  and  do  the  dirty  work  of  the  proprietors,  instead  of 
the  behests  of  Him  they  pretend  to  serve?   Did  this  precious 
article  grow  on  any  lands  which  the  proprietors  could  turn 
into  sheep  walks,  I  verily  believe  they  would  do  so,  and  the 
clergy  would  sanction  the  deed  !     They  and  the  proprietors 
think  the  natives  have  no  right  to  any  of  God's  mercies,  but 
what  they  dole  out  in  a  stinted  and  miserable  charity.     Mr. 
Dempster  of  Skibo,  the  orator  and  apologist  of  the  Highland 
lairds,  says  he  "  keeps  two  permanetit  soup-kitchens  on  his 
estate  " ;  if  this  were  true  (as  I  have  reason  to  believe  it  is 
not),  what  is  to  be  inferred  but  that  the  wholesome  ruin 
inflicted   on   the   natives   has   rendered  such   a   degrading 
expedient    necessary.      Their    forefathers,    a   stalwart   and 
athletic   race,    needed   no   soup-kitchens,    nor  would   their 
progeny,  if  they  had  not  been  inhumanely  and   unjustly 
treated.     Mr,  Loch  says  in  his  work,  that  the  Sutherlanders 


yS  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

were  "  in  a  state  of  nature  ".  Well ;  he  and  his  coadjutors 
have  done  what  they  could  to  put  them  in  an  unnatural 
state — a  state  from  which  it  would  take  an  age  to  reclaim 
them.  I  admit  there  was  great  need  of  improvement  in 
Sutherland  fifty  years  ago,  as  there  was  at  that  time  in  the 
Lothians  and  elsewhere;  but  where,  except  in  the  Highlands, 
do  we  find  general  expulsion  and  degradation  of  the  inhabi- 
tants resorted  to  by  way  of  improvement  ?  But  Mr.  Loch 
has  improved — if  not  in  virtue,  at  least  in  station — and 
become  a  great  man  and  a  legislator,  from  very  small  be- 
ginnings ;  he  and  his  coadjutors  have  waxed  fat  on  the 
miseries  of  their  fellow-creatures,  and  on  the  animals  they 
have  substituted  for  human  beings.  Well,  I  would  not 
incur  their  responsibility  for  all  their  grandeur  and  emolu- 
ments. Mr.  Dempster  has  improved,  and  his  factor  from 
being  a  kitchen  boy,  has  become  a  very  thriving  gentleman. 
These  are  the  kind  of  improvements  which  have  taken 
place,  and  all  would  go  merrily  if  they  could  get  entirely 
rid  of  the  small  tenants,  "  the  redundant  population,"  by  a 
grant  of  public  money.  A  redundant  population  in  an 
extensively  exporting  country  !  This  is  /ris/i  political  eco- 
nomy. The  same  cause  (the  food  taxes)  is  in  operation  in 
that  unhappy  country,  and  producing  similar  results  ;  but 
the  Irish  do  not  always  bear  it  so  tamely;  a  little  Lynch  law, 
a  few-extra  judicial  executions  is  now  and  then  administered, 
by  way  of  example.  This,  however,  is  a  wrong  mode  of 
proceeding,  and  one  which  I  trust  my  countrymen  will  never 
imitate  :  better  suffer  than  commit  a  crime.  No  system  of 
poor  law  in  the  Highlands  would  be  of  any  avail,  but  one 
that  would  confer  settlement  on  every  person  born  in 
THE  PARISH.  The  lairds  will  evade  every  other,  and  to  save 
their  pockets  would  be  quite  unscrupulous  as  to  the  means. 
They  could  easily  resort  again  to  their  burning  and  hunting, 


SUTHERLAND. 


79 


but  a  settlement  on  the  English  plan  would  oblige  them 
either  to  support  the  paupers  they  have  made,  or  send  them 
away  at  their  own  expense.  This  would  be  bare  justice,  and 
in  my  humble  opinion  nothing  short  of  it  would  be  of  any 
avail.  Comparatively  few  of  the  sufferers  would  now  claim 
the  benefit  of  such  settlements  ;  the  greater  part  of  them 
have  already  emigrated,  and  located  elsewhere,  and  would 
not  fancy  to  come  back  as  paupers  whatever  their  right 
might  be.  But  there  are  still  too  many  groaning  and  pining 
away  in  helpless  and  hopeless  destitution  in  Sutherland,  and 
in  the  surrounding  counties,  and  I  have  reason  to  know  that 
the  West  Highlands  are  much  in  the  same  situation.  There 
is  much  need,  then,  for  official  inquiry,  to  prevent  this  mass 
of  human  misery  from  accumulating,  as  well  as  to  afford 
some  hope  of  relief  to  present  sufferers.  I  have  now  made 
an  end  for  the  present;  but  should  any  contradiction  appear, 
or  any  new  event  of  importance  to  my  countrymen  occur,  I 
shall  claim  your  kind  indulgence  to  resume  the  pen. 


LETTER  XIX. 

I  AM  glad  to  find  that  some  of  my  countrymen  are  coming 
forward  with  communications  to  your  paper  confirming  my 
statements,  and  expressing  that  gratitude  we  ought  all  deeply 
to  feel  for  the  opportunity  you  have  afforded  of  bringing  our 
case  before  the  public,  by  so  humble  an  instrument  as  my- 
self. 

Nothing,  I  am  convinced,  but  fear  of  further  persecution, 
prevents  many  more  from  writing  such  letters,  and  hence 
you  need  not  wonder  if  some  of  those  you  receive  are  anony- 
mous. They  express  a  wish,  which  from  various  sources  of 
information,  I  am  inclined  to  think  general,  that  my  narra- 


8o  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

tive  should  appear,  as  it  now  will,  in  the  form  of  a  pamphlet, 
and  that  my  own  particular  case  should  form  an  appendage 
to  it.  I  had  no  intention  originally  of  bringing  my  particular 
case  and  family  sufferings  before  the  public,  but  called  on, 
as  I  am,  it  appears  a  duty  to  the  public,  as  well  as  myself, 
to  give  a  brief  account  of  it,  lest  withholding  it  might  lead  to 
suspicion  as  to  my  motives  and  character. 

I  served  an  apprenticeship  in  the  mason  trade  to  my 
father,  and  on  coming  to  man's  estate  I  married  my  present 
wife,  the  partner  of  my  fortunes,  most  of  which  have  been 
adverse,  and  she,  the  weaker  vessel,  has  largely  partaken  of 
my  misfortunes  in  a  life  of  suffering  and  a  ruined  constitu- 
tion. Our  marriage  took  place  in  1818.  My  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  Charles  Gordon,  a  man  well  known  and  highly 
esteemed  in  the  parish  of  Farr,  and  indeed  throughout  the 
county,  for  his  religious  and  moral  character. 

For  some  years  I  followed  the  practice  of  going  south 
during  the  summer  months  for  the  purpose  of  improving  in 
my  trade  and  obtaining  better  wages,  and  returning  in  the 
winter  to  enjoy  the  society  of  my  family  and  friends ;  and 
also,  to  my  grief,  to  witness  the  scenes  of  devastation  that 
were  going  on,  to  which,  in  the  year  1820,  my  worthy  father- 
in-law  fell  a  victim.  He  breathed  his  last  amid  the  scenes  I 
have  described,  leaving  six  orphans  in  a  state  of  entire  desti- 
tution to  be  provided  for ;  for  he  had  lost  his  all,  in  common 
with  the  other  ejected  inhabitants  of  the  county. 

This  helpless  family  now  fell  to  my  care,  and,  in  order  to 
discharge  my  duty  to  them  more  effectually,  I  wished  to  give 
up  my  summer  excursions,  and  settle  and  pursue  my  busi- 
ness at  home. 

I,  therefore,  returned  from  Edinburgh  in  the  year  1822, 
and  soon  began  to  find  employment,  undertaking  mason 
work  by  estimate,  etc.,  and  had  I  possessed  a  less  independ- 


SUTHERLAND.  8 1 

ent  mind  and  a  more  crouching  disposition,  I  might  perhaps 
have  remained.     But  stung  with  the  oppression  and  injus- 
tice prevaihng  around  me,  and  seeing  the  contrast  my  country 
exhibited  to  the  state  of  the  Lowlands,  I  could  not  always 
hold  my  peace  ;  hence  I  soon  became  a  marked  man,  and 
my  words  and  actions  were  carefully  watched  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  make  an  example  of  me.      After  I  had  baffled 
many  attempts,   knowing   how   they  were   set  for  me,  my 
powerful  enemies  at  last  succeeded  in  effecting  my  ruin  after 
seven  years'  labour  in  the  pious  work  !     If  any  chose  to  say 
,  I  owed  them  money,  they  had  no  more  to  do  than  summon 
me   to   the  court,   in   which  the  factor   was  judge,  and  a 
decreet,  right  or  wrong,  was  sure  to  issue.     Did  any  owe 
me  money,  it  was  quite  optional  whether  they  paid  me  or 
not,  they  well  knew  I  could  obtain  no  legal  redress. 

In  the  year  1827,  I  was  summoned  for  ^5  8s.,  which  I 
had  previously  paid  [in  this  case  the  factor  was  both  pursuer 
and  judge  !].  I  defended,  and  produced  receipts  and  other 
vouchers  of  payment  having  been  made;  all  went  for  nothing! 
The  factor,  pursuer  and  judge,  commenced  the  following 
dialogue  : — 

Judge — Well,  Donald,  do  you  owe  this  money  ? 

Donald — I  would  like  to  see  the  pursuer  before  I  would 
enter  into  any  defences. 

Judge — I'll  pursue  you. 

Donald — I  thought  you  were  my  judge,  sir. 

Judge — I'll  both  pursue  and  judge  you — did  you  not 
promise  me  on  a  former  occasion  that  you  would  pay  this 
debt? 

Donald — No,  Sir, 

Judge — John  MacKay  (constable),  seize  the  defender. 

I  was  accordingly  collared  like  a  criminal,  and  kept  a 
prisoner  in  an  adjoining  room  for  some  hours,  and  after- 

6 


82  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

wards    placed   again   at    the   bar,    when   the   conversation 
continued. 

Judge — Well,  Donald,  what  have  you  got  to  say  now,  will 
you  pay  the  money  ? 

Donald — Just  the  same,  sir,  as  before  you  imprisoned  me ; 
I  deny  the  debt. 

Judge — Well,  Donald,  you  are  one  of  the  damn'dest  rascals 
in  existence,  but  if  you  have  the  sum  pursued  for  between 
heaven  and  hell,  I'll  make  you  pay  it,  whatever  receipts  you 
may  hold,  and  I'll  get  you  removed  from  the  estate. 

Donald — Mind,  sir,  you  are  in  a  magisterial  capacity. 

Judge— V\\  let  you  know  that — (with  another  volley  of 
execrations). 

Donald — Sir,  your  conduct  disqualifies  you  for  your  office, 
and  under  the  protection  of  the  law  of  the  land,  and  in 
presence  of  this  court,  I  put  you  to  defiance. 

I  was  then  ordered  from  the  bar,  and  the  case  continued 
undecided.  Steps  were,  however,  immediately  taken  to  put 
the  latter  threat — my  removal — my  banishment ! — into  exe- 
cution. 

Determined  to  leave  no  means  untried  to  obtain  deliver- 
ance, I  prepared  an  humble  memorial  in  my  own  name,  and 
that  of  the  helpless  orphans,  whose  protector  I  was,  and  had 
it  transmitted  to  the  Marquis  and  Marchioness  of  Stafford, 
praying  for  an  investigation.  In  consequence  of  this,  on  the 
very  term  day,  on  which  I  had  been  ordered  to  remove,  I 
received  a  verbal  message  from  one  of  the  under-factors,  that 
it  was  the  noble  proprietor's  pleasure  that  I  should  retain 
possession,  repair  my  houses  and  provide  my  fuel  as  usual, 
until  Mr.  Loch  should  come  to  Sutherlandshire,  and  then 
my  case  would  be  investigated.  On  this  announcement 
becoming  known  to  my  opponent,  he  became  alarmed,  and 
the  parish  minister  no  less  so,  that  the  man  he  feasted  with 


■^>-4 


SUTHERLAND.  83 

was  in  danger  of  being  disgraced  ;  every  iron  was  therefore 
put  in  the  fire,  to  defeat  and  ruin  Donald  for  his  presumption 
in  disputing  the  will  of  a  factor,  and  to  make  him  an  example 
to  deter  others  from  a  similar  rebellion. 

The  result  proved  how  weak  a  just  cause  must  prove  in 
Sutherland,  or  anywhere,  against  cruel  despotic  factors  and 
graceless  ministers  ;  my  case  was  judged  and  decided  be- 
fore Mr.  Loch  left  London  !  I,  however,  got  Jeddart  justice, 
for  on  that  gentleman's  arrival,  I  was  brought  before  him  for 
examination,  though,  I  had  good  reason  to  know,  my  sentence 
had  been  pronounced  in  London  six  weeks  before,  and 
ever}'thing  he  said  confirmed  what  I  had  been  told.  I  pro- 
duced the  receipts  and  other  documents,  and  evidence,  which 
proved  fully  the  statements  in  my  memorial,  and  vindicated 
my  character  apparently  to  his  satisfaction.  He  dismissed 
me  courteously,  and  in  a  soothing  tone  of  voice  bade  me  go 
home  and  make  myself  easy,  and  before  he  left  the  country 
he  would  let  me  know  the  result.  I  carried  home  the  good 
news  to  my  wife,  but  her  fears,  her  dreams,  and  forebodings 
were  not  so  easily  got  over,  and  the  event  proved  that  her 
apprehensions  were  too  well  "  founded,  for,  on  the  20th 
October,  1830,  about  a  month  after  the  investigation  by  Mr. 
Loch,  the  concluding  scene  took  place. 

On  that  day  a  messenger  with  a  party  of  eight  men  follow- 
ing entered  my  dwelling  (I  being  away  about  forty  miles  off 
at  work),  about  three  o'clock  just  as  the  family  were  rising  from 
dinner  ;  my  wife  was  seized  with  a  fearful  panic  at  seeing  the 
fulfilment  of  all  her  worst  forebodings  about  to  take  place. 
The  party  allowed  no  time  for  parley,  but,  having  put  out 
the  family  with  violence,  proceeded  to  fling  out  the  furniture, 
bedding,  and  other  effects  in  quick  time,  and  after  extin- 
guishing the  fire,  proceeded  to  nail  up  the  doors  and  windows 
in  the  face  of  the  helpless  woman,  with  a  sucking  infant  at 


84  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

her  breast,  and  three  other  children,  the  eldest  under  eight 
years  of  age,  at  her  side.  But  how  shall  I  describe  the 
horrors  of  that  scene  ?  Wind,  rain  and  sleet  were  ushering 
in  a  night  of  extraordinary  darkness  and  violence,  even  in 
that  inclement  region.  My  wife  and  children,  after  remaining 
motionless  a  while  in  mute  astonishment  at  the  ruin  which 
had  so  suddenly  overtaken  them,  were  compelled  to  seek 
refuge  for  the  night  under  some  neighbour's  roof,  but  they 
found  every  door  shut  against  them  !  Messengers  had  been 
despatched  warning  all  the  surrounding  inhabitants,  at  the 
peril  of  similar  treatment,  against  affording  shelter,  or  assis- 
tance, to  wife,  child,  or  animal  belonging  to  Donald 
MacLeod.  The  poor  people,  well  aware  of  the  rigour  with 
which  such  edicts  were  carried  into  execution,  durst  not 
afford  my  distressed  family  any  assistance  in  such  a  night 
as  even  an  "  enemy's  dog "  might  have  expected  shelter. 
After  spending  most  part  of  the  night  in  fruitless  attempts  to 
obtain  the  shelter  of  a  roof  or  hovel,  my  wife  at  last  returned 
to  collect  some  of  her  scattered  furniture,  and  to  erect  with  her 
own  hands  a  temporary  shelter  against  the  walls  of  her  late 
comfortable  residence,  but  even  this  attempt  proved  in  vain ; 
the  wind  dispersed  her  materials  as  fast  as  she  could  collect 
them,  and  she  was  obliged  to  bide  the  pelting  of  the  pitiless 
storm  with  no  covering  but  the  frowning  heavens,  and  no 
sound  in  her  ears  but  the  storm,  and  the  cries  of  her 
famishing  children.  Death  seemed  to  be  staring  them  in 
the  face,  for  by  remaining  where  they  were  till  morning,  it 
was  next  to  impossible  that  even  the  strongest  of  them  could 
survive,  and  to  travel  any  distance  amid  the  wind,  rain,  and 
darkness,  in  that  rugged  district,  seemed  to  afford  no  pro- 
spect but  that  of  death  by  falling  over  some  of  the  cliffs  or 
precipices  with  which  they  were  surrounded,  or  even  into 
the  sea,  as  many  others  had  done  before. 


SUTHERLAND.  85 


LETTER  XX. 

Before  proceeding  to  detail  the  occurrences  of  that 
memorable  night  in  which  my  wife  and  children  were  driven 
from  their  dwelling,  it  seems  necessary  to  guard  against  any 
misconception  that  might  arise  from  my  rather  incredible 
statement,  that  the  factor  (whose  name  I  omit  for  obvious 
reasons)  was  both  pursuer  and  judge. 

The  pretended  debt  had  been  paid,  for  which  I  hold  a 
receipt,  but  the  person  represented  it  as  still  due,  and  the 
factor  advanced  the  amount,  issued  the  summons,  etc.,  and 
proceeded  in  court  in  the  manner  I  have  described  in  my 
last.     But  to  proceed  with  my  narrative. 

The  only  means  left  my  wife  seemed  to  be  the  choice  of 
perishing  with  her  children  where  she  was,  or  of  making 
some  perilous  attempts  to  reach  distant  human  habitations 
where  she  might  hope  for  shelter.  Being  a  woman  of  some 
resolution,  she  determined  on  the  latter  course.  Buckling 
up  her  children,  including  the  one  she  had  hitherto  held  at  her 
breast,  in  the  best  manner  she  could,  she  left  them  in  charge 
of  the  eldest  (now  a  soldier  in  the  78th  regiment),  giving 
them  such  victuals  as  she  could  collect,  and  prepared  to  take 
the  road  for  Caithness,  fifteen  miles  off,  in  such  a  night  and 
by  such  a  road  as  might  have  appalled  a  stout  heart  of  the 
other  sex !  And  for  a  long  while  she  had  the  cries  of  her 
children,  whom  she  had  slender  hopes  of  seeing  again  alive, 
sounding  in  her  ears.  This  was  too  much  !  No  wonder 
she  has  not  been  the  same  person  since.  She  had  not 
proceeded  many  miles  when  she  met  with  a  good  Samaritan, 
and  acquaintance,  of  the  name  of  Donald  MacDonald,  who, 
disregarding  the  danger  he  incurred,  opened  his  door  to  her, 
refreshed  and  consoled  her,  and  (still  under  the  cover  of 


86  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

night),  accompanied  her  to  the  dwelling  of  William  Innes, 
Esq.,  of  Sandside,  Caithness,  and  through  his  influence,  that 
gentlemen  took  her  under  his  protection,  and  gave  her  per- 
mission to  occupy  an  empty  house  of  his  at  Armidale  (a 
sheep  farm  he  held  of  the  Sutherland  family),  only  a  few 
miles  from  the  dwelling  she  had  been  turned  out  of  the  day 
before.  On  arriving  there  she  was  obliged  to  take  some 
rest  for  her  exhausted  frame,  notwithstanding  the  horrible 
suspense  she  was  in  as  to  the  fate  of  her  children. 

At  this  time  I  was  working  in  Wick,  and  on  that  night 
had  laboured  under  such  great  uneasiness  and  apprehension 
of  something  wrong  at  home  that  I  could  get  no  rest,  and  at 
last  determined  to  set  out  and  see  how  it  fared  with  my 
family,  and  late  in  the  evening  I  overtook  my  wife  and  her 
benevolent  conductor  proceeding  from  Sandside.  After  a 
brief  recital  of  the  events  of  the  previous  night,  she  implored 
me  to  leave  her  and  seek  the  children,  of  whose  fate  she 
was  ignorant.  At  that  moment  I  was  in  a  fit  mood  for  a 
deed  that  would  have  served  as  a  future  warning  to  Highland 
tyrants,  but  the  situation  of  my  imploring  wife,  who  suspected 
my  intention,  and  the  hope  of  saving  my  children,  stayed  my 
hand,  and  delayed  the  execution  of  justice  on  the  miscreants, 
till  they  shall  have  appeared  at  a  higher  tribunal. 

I  made  the  best  of  my  way  to  the  place  near  our  dwelling 
where  the  children  were  left,  and  to  my  agreeable  surprise, 
found  them  alive ;  the  eldest  boy,  in  pursuance  of  his 
mother's  instructions,  had  made  great  exertions,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  for  them  temporary  shelter.  He  took 
the  infant  on  his  back,  and  the  other  two  took  hold  of  him 
by  the  kilt,  and  in  this  way  they  travelled  in  darkness, 
through  rough  and  smooth,  bog  and  mire,  till  they  arrived 
at  a  grand-aunt's  house,  when,  finding  the  door  open,  they 
bolted  in,  and  the  boy  advancing  to  his  astonished  aunt,  laid 


SUTHERLAND,  87 

his  infant  burden  in  her  lap,  without  saying  a  word,  and 
proceeding  to  unbuckle  the  other  two,  he  placed  them  before 
the  fire  without  waiting  for  invitation.  The  goodman  here 
rose,  and  said  he  must  leave  the  house  and  seek  a  lodging 
for  himself,  as  he  could  not  think  of  turning  the  children 
out,  and  yet  dreaded  the  ruin  threatend  to  any  that  would 
harbour  or  shelter  them,  and  he  had  no  doubt  his  house 
would  be  watched  to  see  if  he  should  transgress  against  the 
order.  His  wife,  a  pious  woman,  upbraided  him  with 
cowardice,  and  declared  that  if  a  legion  of  devils  were 
watching  her,  she  would  not  put  out  the  children  or  leave 
the  house  either.  So  they  got  leave  to  remain  till  I  found 
them  next  day,  but  the  man  impelled  by  his  fears,  did  go 
and  obtain  a  lodging  two  miles  off.  I  now  brought  the 
children  to  their  mother,  and  set  about  collecting  my  little 
furniture  and  other  effects,  which  had  been  damaged  by 
exposure  to  the  weather,  and  some  of  it  lost  or  destroyed. 
I  brought  what  I  thought  worth  the  trouble,  to  Armidale, 
and  having  thus  secured  them  and  seen  the  family  under 
shelter,  I  began  to  cast  about  to  see  how  they  were  to  live, 
and  here  I  found  troubles  and  difficulties  besetting  us  on 
every  side. 

I  had  no  fear  of  being  able  by  my  work  to  maintain  the 
family  in  common  necessaries,  if  we  could  get  them  for 
money,  but  one  important  necessary,  fuel,  we  could  scarcely 
at  all  obtain,  as  nobody  would  venture  to  sell  or  give  us 
peats  (the  only  fuel  used),  for  fear  of  the  factors ;  but  at  last 
it  was  contrived  that  they  would  allow  us  to  take  them  by 
stealth,  and  under  cover  of  night ! 

My  employment  obliging  me  to  be  often  from  home,  this 
laborious  task  fell  to  the  lot  of  my  poor  wife.  The  winter 
came  on  with  more  than  usual  severity,  and  often  amidst 
blinding,  suffocating  drifts,  and  tempests  unknown  in  the 


88  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

lowlands,  had  this  poor,  tenderly  brought-up  woman  to  toil 
through  snow,  wind,  and  rain,  for  miles,  with  a  burden  of 
peats  on  her  back  !  Instances,  however,  were  not  few  of 
the  kind  assistance  of  neighbours  endeavouring  by  various 
ways  to  mitigate  her  hard  lot,  though,  of  course,  all  by 
stealth,  lest  they  should  incur  the  vengeance  of  the  factors. 

During  the  winter  and  following  spring,  every  means  was 
used  to  induce  Mr.  Innes  to  withdraw  his  protection  and 
turn  us  out  of  the  house ;  so  that  I  at  last  determined  to 
take  steps  for  removing  myself  and  family  for  ever  from  those 
scenes  of  persecution  and  misery.  With  this  view,  in  the 
latter  end  of  spring,  I  went  to  Edinburgh,  and  found 
employment,  mtending  w^hen  I  had  saved  as  much  as  would 
cover  the  expenses,  to  bring  the  family  away.  As  soon  as 
it  was  known  that  I  was  away,  our  enemies  recommenced 

their  work.     Mr. ,  a  gentleman,  who  fattened  on  the 

spoils  of  the  poor  in  Sutherland,  and  who  is  now  pursuing 
the  same  course  on  the  estates  of  Sir  John  Sinclair  in  Caith- 
ness ;  this  manager  and  factor  bounced  into  my  house  one 
day  quite  unexpectedly,  and  began  abusing  my  wife,  and 
threatened  her  if  she  did  not  instantly  remove,  he  would 
take  steps  that  would  astonish  her,  the  nature  of  which  she 
would  not  know  till  they  fell  upon  her,  adding  that  he  knew 
Donald  MacLeod  was  now  in  Edinburgh,  and  could  not 
assist  her  in  making  resistance.  The  poor  woman,  knowing 
she  had  no  mercy  to  expect,  and  fearing  even  for  her  life, 
removed  with  her  family  and  little  effects  to  my  mother's 
house  which  stood  near  the  parish  church,  and  was  received 
kindly  by  her.  There  she  hoped  to  find  shelter  and  repose 
for  a  short  time,  till  I  should  come  and  take  her  and  the 
family  away,  and  this  being  the  week  of  the  sacrament,  she 
was  anxious  to  partake  of  that  ordinance,  in  the  house  where 
her  forefathers  had  worshipped,  before  she  bade  it  farewell 


^il 


SUTHERLAND.  89 

for  ever.  But  on  the  Thursday  previous  to  that  solemn 
occasion,  the  factor  again  terrified  her  by  his  appearance, 
and  alarmed  my  mother  to  such  an  extent  that  my  poor 
family  had  again  to  turn  out  in  the  night,  and  had  they  not 
a  more  powerful  friend,  they  would  have  been  forced  to 
spend  that  night  in  the  open  air.  Next  day  she  bade  adieu 
to  her  native  country  and  friends,  leaving  the  sacrament  to 
be  received  by  her  oppressors,  from  the  hands  of  one  no 
better  than  themselves,  and,  after  two  days  of  incredible  toil, 
she  arrived  with  the  family  at  Thurso,  a  distance  of  nearly 
forty  miles  ! 

These  protracted  sufferings  and  alarms  have  made  fatal 
inroads  on  the  health  of  this  once  strong  and  healthy 
woman — one  of  the  best  of  wives — so  that  instead  of  the 
cheerful  and  active  helpmate  she  formerly  was,  she  is  now, 
except  at  short  intervals,  a  burden  to  herself,  with  little  or 
no  hope  of  recovery.  She  has  been  under  medical  treat- 
ment for  years,  and  has  used  a  great  quantity  of  medicine 
with  little  effect ;  the  injuries  she  received  in  body  and  mind, 
were  too  deep  for  even  her  good  spirits  and  excellent  consti- 
tution to  overcome,  and  she  remains  a  living  monument  of 
Highland  oppression. 


LETTER  XXI. 

I  BEG  leave,  by  way  of  conclusion,  to  take  a  retro- 
spective glance  at  some  of  the  occurrences  that  preceded 
the  violent  expulsion  of  my  family,  as  described  in  my  two 
last  letters,  and  our  final  retirement  from  the  country  of  our 
nativity. 

For  reasons  before  stated,  nothing  could  have  given  more 
satisfaction  to  the  factors,  clergy,  and  all  the  Jacks-in-ofifice 


90  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

under  them,  than  a  final  riddance  of  that  troublesome  man, 
Donald  MacLeod  ;  and  hence  their  extreme  eagerness  to 
make  an  example  of  him,  to  deter  others  from  calUng  their 
proceedings  in  question.  I  mentioned  in  letter  XIX  that 
on  being  unjustly  and  illegally  imprisoned,  and  decerned  to 
pay  money  I  did  not  owe,  I  prepared  and  forwarded  a 
memorial  to  the  noble  proprietors  (the  then  Marquis  and 
Marchioness  of  Stafford),  setting  forth  the  hardships  of  my 
case,  and  praying  for  investigation,  alleging  that  I  would 
answer  the  accusation  of  my  enemies,  by  undeniable  testi- 
monials of  honest  and  peaceful  character.  This  memorial 
was  returned  with  the  deliverance  that  Mr.  Loch,  on  his 
next  visit  to  Sutherland,  would  examine  into  my  case  and 
decide.  I  then  set  about  procuring  my  proposed  certificate 
preparatory  to  the  investigation,  but  here  I  found  myself 
baffled  and  disappointed  in  a  quarter  from  which  I  had  no 
reason  to  expect  such  treatment.  I  waited  on  my  parish 
minister,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mackenzie,  requesting  him  to  give 
me  a  certificate,  and  then,  after  him,  I  could  obtain  the 
signatures  of  the  elders  and  as  many  of  the  other  parishoners 
as  might  be  necessary.  He  made  no  objection  at  the  time, 
but  alleging  that  he  was  then  engaged,  said  I  could  send  my 
wife  for  it.  I  left  directions  wdth  her  accordingly,  and  re- 
turned to  my  work.  The  same  night  the  factor  (my 
pretended  creditor  and  judge)  had  the  minister  and  his 
family  to  spend  the  evening  ^vith  him,  and  the  consequence 
was  that  in  the  morning  a  messenger  was  dispatched  from 
his  reverence  to  my  wife,  to  say,  that  she  need  not  take  the 
trouble  of  calling  for  the  certificate,  as  he  had  changed  his 
mind  !  Some  days  after,  I  returned  and  waited  on  the  Rev. 
gentleman  to  inquire  the  cause  of  this  change.  I  had  great 
difficulty  in  obtaining  an  audience,  and  when  at  last  I  did, 
it   was  little  to   my   satisfaction.      His   manner   was   con- 


SUTHERLAND.  91 

temptuous  and  forbidding  ;  at  last  he  told  me  that  he  could 
not  give  me  a  certificate  as  I  was  at  variance  with  the  factor; 
that  my  conduct  was  unscriptural,  as  I  obeyed  not  those  set 
in  authority  over  me,  etc.  I  excused  and  defended  myself 
as  well  as  I  could,  but  all  went  for  nothing,  and  at  last  he 
ordered  me  to  be  off,  and  shut  the  door  in  my  face.  This 
took  place  in  June,  1830,  and  Mr.  Loch  was  not  expected 
till  the  September  following,  during  which  interval  I  had 
several  rencounters  with  the  minister.  Many  of  his  elders 
and  parishioners  pleaded  and  remonstrated  with  him  on  my 
'  behalf,  well  knowing  that  little  attention  would  be  paid  in 
high  quarters  to  my  complaints,  however  just,  without  his 
sanction ;  and  considerable  excitement  prevailed  in  the 
parish  about  this  dispute,  but  the  minister  remained  im- 
moveable. Meantime  the  parish  schoolmaster  mentioned  in 
confidence  to  one  of  the  elders  (who  was  a  relation  of  my 
wife,  and  communicated  it  to  us)  that  my  case  was  already 
decided  by  Mr.  Loch,  though  a  sham  trial  would  take  place ; 
that  he  had  been  told  this,  and  he  had  it  from  good 
authority,  and  that  the  best  thing  I  could  do  was  to  leave 
the  place  entirely.  I  could  not  believe  this,  but  the  result 
proved  the  truth  of  it.  Matters  continued  in  the  same  way 
till  Mr.  Loch's  arrival,  when  I  ventured  to  repeat  my  request 
to  the  minister,  but  found  him  still  more  determined,  and  I 
was  dismissed  with  more  than  usual  contempt.  I  then  got 
a  certificate  prepared  myself,  and  readily  obtained  the 
signatures  of  the  elders  and  neighbouring  parishioners  to  the 
number  of  several  hundreds,  which  I  presented  to  Mr.  Loch, 
along  whh  the  before-mentioned  memorial,  when  the 
following  dialogue  took  place  between  that  gentleman  and 
me  in  presence  of  the  factors,  etc. 

Mr.  Loch. — Well,  Mr.  MacLeod,  why  don't  you  pay  this 
J[^^  8s.  you  were  summoned  for  ? 


92  VllK    IIIOIILAN])    CLKARANCES. 

Donald. — Just,  sir,  because  I  don't  consider  myself  entitled 
to  pay  it.  I  hold  legal  receipts  to  show  that  I  paid  it  two 
years  ago  ;  besides,  that  is  a  case  to  be  legally  decided  before 
a  competent  court,  and  has  no  connection  with  my  memorial. 

Mr.  L. — Will  you  jxay  it  altogether  or  by  instalments,  if 
you  are  allowed  to  remain  on  the  estate  ? 

D. — Let  the  case  be  withdrawn  from  the  civil  court  or 
decided  by  the  civil  magistrate,  before  I  answer  that  question. 

Mr.  L. — Well,  can  you  produce  the  certificate  of  character 
mentioned  in  this  memorial  ? 

I  handed  over  to  him  the  certificate  mentioned  above, 
with  lliree  or  four  sheets  full  of  names  attached  to  it.  He 
looked  at  it  for  some  time  (perhaps  surjirised  at  the  number 
of  signatures)  and  then  said, — 

Mr.  L. — I  cannot  see  the  minister's  name  here,  how  is 
this  ? 

D. — I  ai)i)lied  to  the  minister  and  he  would  not  sign  it. 

Mr.  Z.— Why  ? 

D. — He  stated  as  his  reason  that  I  was  at  \ariance  with 
the  factors. 

One  of  the  Factors. — That  is  a  falsehood. 

Mr.  L. — I  will  wait  upon  Mr,  MacKenzie  on  the  subject. 

D. — Will  you  allow  me,  sir,  to  meet  you  and  Mr. 
MacKen/ie  f:\ce  to  face,  when  he  is  asked  to  give  his 
reasons  ? 

Mr.  L. — Why  will  you  not  believe  what  he  says  ? 

D. — I  have  got  too  much  reason  to  doubt  it ;  but  if  he 
attempts  to  deny  what  I  have  stated,  I  hope  you  will  allow 
him  to  be  examined  on  oath  ? 

Mr.  L. — By  no  means,  we  must  surely  believe  the  minister. 

After  asking  me  some  further  questions  which  had  nothing 
to  do  witli  the  matter  in  hand,  he  dismissed  me  in  seeming 
good  humour. 


SUTHERLAND.  93 

I  pressed  to  know  his  decision  in  my  case,  but  he  said, 
"  you  will  get  to  know  it  before  I  leave  the  country ;  make 
yourself  easy,  I  will  write  to  your  parish  minister  in  a  few 
days  ".  'J'he  result  was  the  cruel  expulsion  of  my  family  and 
I  he  si)oliation  of  my  goods,  as  detailed  in  my  two  last  letters. 

Mr.  Locli,  ill  liis  judgment  on  my  case,  alleged  as  his 
|)rincipal  reason  for  punishing  me  that  Mr.  MacKenzie 
denied  my  assertions  in  regard  to  himself,  and  represented 
me  as  a  turbulent  character. 

During  our  temporary  residence  at  Armidale,  I  took  an 
oijportunity  of  again  waiting  on  the  rev.  gentleman  when  he 
was  catechising  in  a  neighbouring  fishing  village  with  several 
of  his  elders  in  company,  and  asked  to  speak  with  him  in 
their  presence.  He  attempted  to  meet  me  outside  the  door, 
but  T  pushed  in  where  the  elders  were  sitting  at  breakfast ; 
saying,  "  No  sir,  I  wish  what  passes  between  you  and  me  to 
l)e  before  witnesses.  I  want  a  certificate  of  my  moral  charac- 
ter, or  an  explanation  from  you  before  your  elders  why  it  is 
withheld."  Here  my  worthy  friend  Donald  MacDonald  (the 
preserver  of  my  wife's  life  on  the  memorable  night  of  her 
expulsion)  interfered  and  expostulated  with  his  reverence, 
who  driven  into  a  corner,  found  no  excuse  for  refusal,  except 
that  he  had  not  writing  materials  convenient.  I  directly  met 
this  objection  by  producing  the  articles  required,  yet,  strange 
to  say,  he  found  means  to  shuffle  the  business  over  by  a 
solemn  promise,  in  presence  of  his  elders,  to  do  it  on  a 
t;ertain  mcnlioiu'd  day.  I  waited  on  him  that  day,  and  after 
long  delay  was  admitted  into  his  parlour  and  accosted  with, 
"  Well,  MacLeod,  I  am  not  intending  to  give  you  a  certi- 
ficate." "Why  so,  sir?"  "Because  you  have  told  false- 
hoods of  me  to  Mr.  Loch,  and  I  cannot  certify  for  a  man 
that  I  know  to  be  a  liar,"  adding  "  Donald,  I  would  favour 
)0U  on  your    father's   account,    and  much   more  on  your 


■94  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

father-in-law's  account,  but  after  what  you  have  said  of  me, 
I  cannot."  I  repelled  the  charge  of  being  a  liar,  and  said, 
"  I  do  believe  that  if  my  father  and  father-in-law,  whom  you 
have  mentioned  with  so  much  respect,  stood  at  the  gate  of 
Heaven  seeking  admittance,  and  nothing  to  prevent  them 
but  a  false  accusation  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  factors,  you 
would  join  in  refusing  their  entrance,  to  all  eternity".  He 
rose  up  and  said,  "  you  are  a  Satan  and  not  fit  for  human 
society".  I  retired  for  that  time ;  but  ultimately  forced  him, 
by  incessant  applications,  to  write  and  sign  the  following : — 

"This  certifies  that  the  bearer,  Donald  Macleod,  is  a  native  of 
this  parish,  a  married  man,  free  from  church  censure  ;  therefore  he, 
his  wife  and  family  may  be  admitted  as  Gospel  hearers  wherever 
Providence  may  order  their  lot. 

Given  at  Farr  Manse.  (Signed) 

Previous  to  granting  this  certificate,  the  minister  proposed 
to  bind  me  up  not  to  use  it  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Marquis 
of  Stafi'ord,  or  any  of  his  factors.  This  point,  however,  he 
did  not  carry,  for  when  he  submitted  it  to  the  session  he  was 
overruled  by  their  votes. 

This  concludes  the  narrative  of  what  I  have  myself  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  the  petty  tyrants  whom  I  had  enraged  by 
denouncing  their  barbarous  treatment  of  my  countrymen, 
and  whose  infamous  deeds  I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of 
exposing  to  public  reprobation.  I  shall  not  resume  the  pen 
on  this  subject  unless  I  see  that  what  I  have  written  requires 
to  be  followed  up  to  prevent  a  continuation  of  such  atrocities 
as  I  have  already  recorded. 


RIOTS  IN  DURNESS. 


LETTER  XXII. 


When  concluding  that  series  of  letters,  descriptive  of  the 
woes  of  Sutherlandshire,  which  I  now  republish  in  the  form 
of  a  pamphlet,  I  was  not  expecting  so  soon  to  find  occasion 
to  add  important  new  matter  to  the  sad  detail.  Another 
portion  of  my  native  county  has  fallen  under  the  oppressor, 
and  got  into  the  fangs  of  law,  which  being  administered  by 
those  interested,  little  mercy  can  be  expected  by  the  wretched 
defaulters. 

All  those  conversant  with  the  public  papers  will  have  seen 
an  article,  copied  from  the  l7iverness  Courier,  entitled,  "Riot 
in  Durness,  Sutherlandshire,"  in  which  as  usual  a  partial  and 
one-sided  account  of  the  affair  is  given,  and  the  whole  blame 
laid  on  the  unfortunate  inhabitants.  The  violation  of  law, 
committed  by  the  poor  people,  driven  to  desperation,  and  for 
which  they  will  no  doubt  have  to  pay  dear,  is  exaggerated, 
while  their  inhuman  oppression  and  provocation  are  carefully 
left  out  of  sight.  The  following  facts  of  the  case  are  a  com- 
bination of  my  own  knowledge,  and  that  of  trustworthy 
correspondents  who  were  eye-witnesses  of  this  unfortunate 
occurrence,  which  will  yet  be  productive  of  much  misery  to 
the  victims — perhaps  end  in  causing  their  blood  to  be  shed  ! 

Mr.  Anderson,  the  tacksman  of  Keenabin,  and  other  farms 
under  Lord  Reay,  which  were  the  scene  of  the  riot,  was  one 


96 


THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 


of  the  earliest  of  that  unhallowed  crew  of  new  tenants,  or 
middle-men,   who  came  in   over  the  heads  of  the   native 
farmers.      He,  with  several  others  I  could  name,  some  of 
whom  have  come  to  an  unhappy  end,  counting  the  natives 
as   their    slaves    and    prey,    disposed   without   scruple    of 
them  and  all  that  they  had,  just   as  it  suited  their  own 
interest  or  convenience,  reckless  of  the  wrongs  and  misery 
they  inflicted  on  these  simple,  unresisting  people.    They  were 
removed  from  their  comfortable  houses  and  farms  in  the  in- 
terior, to  spots  on  the  sea  shore,  to  make  room  for  the  new 
comers  with  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  to  get  their  living, 
and  pay  exorbitant  rents,  by  cultivating  kelp,  and  deep-sea 
fishing.      In  these  pursuits  their  persevering  courage  and 
industry  enabled  them   to   surmount  appalling  difficulties, 
though  with  much  suffering  and  waste  of  health  and  life. 
The  tacksman  set  up  for  a  fish  curer  and  rented  the  sea  to 
them  at  his  own  pleasure,  furnishing  boats  and  implements 
at  an  exorbitant  price,  while  he  took  their  fish  at  his  own 
price,  and  thus  got  them  drowned  in  debt  and  consequent 
bondage,  from  which,  by  failures  both  in  the  kelp  and  fish- 
ing trades,  they  have  never  been  able  to  relieve  themselves. 
Seeing  this,  and  thinking  he  could,  after  taking  their  all  for 
thirty  years,   put  their   little   holdings,  improved   by  their 
exertions,  to  a  more  profitable  use,  this  gentlemen  humanely 
resolved  to  extirpate  them,  root  and  branch,  after  he  had 
sucked  their  blood  and  peeled  their  flesh,  till  nothing  more 
could  be  got  from  them,  and  regardless  of  the  misery  to  which 
he  doomed  them,  how  they  might  fare,  or  which  way  they 
were  to  turn  to  procure  a  subsistence.       To  emigrate  they 
were  unable,  and  to  repair  to  the  manufacturing  towns  in 
quest  of  employment,  when  such  multitudes  are  in  destitu- 
tion already,  would  afford  no  hope  of  relief     Where,  then, 
were  they  to  find  refuge  ?     To  this  question,  so  often  urged 


SUTHERLAND.  97 

by  the  poor  outcasts  in  Sutherlandshire,  the  general  answer 
of  their  tyrants  was,  "let  them  go  to  hell,  but  they  must 
leave  our  boundaries  ". 

Human  patience  and  endurance  have  limits,  and  is  it  to 
be  wondered  at  that  poor  creatures  driven  to  such  extremi- 
ties should  be  tempted  to  turn  on  their   oppressors,   and 
violate  the  letter  of  the  law  ?     Hence  it  is  true  that  the  poor 
people  gathered,  and  seized  and  burned  the  paper,  which 
appeared  as  a  death  warrant  to  them  (and  may  in  one  way 
or  other  prove  so  to  them)  and  did  their  utmost,  though 
without  much  personal  violence,  to  scare  away  their  enemies; 
and  though  law  may  punish,  will  humanity  not  sympathise 
with  them  ?      The  story  as  represented  in  the  papers,  of 
severe  beating  and  maltreatment  of  the  officers  is,  to  say  the 
least,  a  gross  exaggeration.     The  intention,  however  indefen- 
sible on  the  score  of  law,  was  merely  to  intimidate,  not  to 
injure.     The  military,  it  seems,  is  now  to  be  called  upon  to 
wind  up  the  drama  in  the  way  of  their  profession.    I  pray  it 
may  not  end  tragically.       If  the  sword  be  unsheathed  at 
Cape  Wrath,  let  the  Southrons  look  out !     If  the  poor  and 
destitute — made   so   by  injustice — are  to  be   cut  down  in 
Sutherland,  it  may  only  be  the  beginning ;  there  are  plenty 
of  poor  and  destitute  elsewhere,  whose  numbers  the  land- 
lords, to  save  their  monopoly,  might  find  it  convenient  to 
curtail ;  and  to  do  which  they  only  want  a  colourable  pretext. 
Meanwhile,  I  shall  watch  the  progress  of  the  affair  at  Dur- 
ness, and    beg  to  call  on  all  rightly  constituted  minds  to 
sympathise  with  the  distress  of  the  unfortunate  people. 


98  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 


LETTER  XXIII. 

Having  lately  exposed  the  partial  and  exaggerated  state- 
ments in  the  Inverness  Courier,  the  organ  of  the  oppressors 
of  Sutherlandshire,  my  attention  is  again  called  to  subse- 
quent paragraphs  in  that  paper,  and  which  I  feel  it  my  duty 
to  notice. 

Since  my  last,  I  have  received  communications  from 
correspondents  on  whom  I  can  rely,  which,  I  need  scarcely 
say,  give  a  very  different  colour  to  the  proceedings  from 
what  appears  in  the  Courier,  emanating,  as  it  evidently  does, 
from  the  party  inflicting  the  injury.  The  first  notice  in  that 
paper  represents  the  conduct  of  the  poor  natives  in  the 
blackest  aspect,  while  the  latter,  that  of  the  27th  October, 
is  calculated  to  mislead  the  public  in  another  way,  by  repre- 
senting them  as  sensible  of  their  errors,  and  acknowledging 
the  justice  of  the  severities  practised  upon  them. 

The  Courier  says,  "  We  are  happy  to  learn  that  the  ex- 
citement that  led  to  the  disturbance  by  Mr.  Anderson's 
tenants  in  Durness  has  subsided,  and  that  the  people  are 
quiet,  peaceful,  and  fully  sensible  of  the  illegality  and  un- 
justifiable nature  of  their  proceedings.  The  Sheriff  addressed 
the  people  in  a  powerful  speech,  with  an  effect  which  had 
the  best  consequences.  They  soon  made  written  communi- 
cations to  the  Sheriff  and  Mr.  Anderson,  stating  their  con. 
trition,  and  soliciting  forgiveness  ;  promising  to  remove  vol- 
untarily in  May  next,  if  permitted  in  the  meantime  to  remain 
and  occupy  their  houses.  An  arrangement  on  this  footing 
was  then  happily  accomplished,  which,  while  it  vindicates 
the  law,  tempers  justice  with  mercy.  Subsequently,  Mr. 
Napier,  Advocate-Depute,  arrived  at  the  place  to  conduct 
the  investigation." 


SUTHERLAND.  99 

Latterly,  the  Courier  says — "  The  clergyman  of  the  parish 
convinced  the  people,  and  Mr.  Lumsden,  the  Sheriff, 
addressed  them  on  the  serious  nature  of  their  late  proceed- 
ings ;  this  induced  them  to  petition  Mr.  Anderson,  their 
landlord,  asking  his  forgiveness  ;  and  he  has  allowed  them 
to  remain  till  May  next.  We  trust  something  will  be  done 
in  the  interval  for  the  poor  homeless  Mountaineers."  This 
is  the  subdued,  though  contemptuous  tone  of  the  Courier^ 
owing  doubtless  to  the  noble  and  impartial  conduct  of  the 
Advocate-Depute,  Mr.  Napier,  who  in  conducting  the  inves- 
tigation, found,  notwithstanding  the  virulent  and  railing 
accusations  brought  by  those  who  had  driven  the  poor  people 
to  madness,  that  their  conduct  was  very  different  from  what 
it  had  been  represented.  The  Courier,  in  his  first  article, 
called  for  the  military  "  to  vindicate  the  law  "  by  shedding 
the  blood  of  the  Sutherland  rebels ;  but  now  calls  them 
"  poor  homeless  mountaineers  ".  His  crocodile  tears  accord 
ill  with  the  former  virulence  of  him  and  his  employers,  and 
we  have  to  thank  Mr.  Napier  for  the  change.  The  local 
authorities  who  assisted  at  the  precognition  did  the  utmost 
that  malice  could  suggest  to  exasperate  that  gentleman 
against  the  people,  but  he  went  through  the  case  in  his  own 
way,  probing  it  to  the  bottom,  and  qualifying  their  rage  by 
his  coolness  and  impartiality. 

Notwithstanding  a  series  of  injuries  and  provocations  un- 
paralleled, this  is  the  first  time  the  poor  Sutherlanders,  so 
famous  in  their  happier  days  for  defending  their  country  and 
its  laws,  have  been  led  to  transgress  ;  and  I  hope  when  the 
day  of  trial  comes,  the  very  worst  of  them  will  be  found 
"more  sinned  against  than  sinning".  It  is  to  be  lamented 
that  the  law  has  been  violated,  but  still  more  to  be  lamented 
that  all  the  best  attributes  of  our  common  nature — all  the 
principles  of  justice,  mercy,  and  religion,  had  been  violated 


100  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

by  the  oppressors  of  this  people,  under  colour  of  law  !  The 
poor  victims,  simple,  ignorant,  and  heart-broken,  have  men 
of  wealth,  talent,  and  influence  for  their  opponents  and 
accusers — the  very  individuals  who  have  been  the  authors 
of  all  their  woes,  are  now  their  vindictive  persecutors. 
Against  the  combination  of  landlords,  factors,  and  other 
ofificials,  there  is  none  to  espouse  their  cause.  One  of  my 
correspondents  says,  that  the  only  gentleman  who  seemed 
to  take  any  interest  in  the  people's  cause  was  ordered  by 
Sheriff  Lumsden  out  of  his  presence.  Another  says,  no 
wonder  the  Sheriff  was  so  disposed,  for  when  he  arrived  in 
Dornoch,  the  officials  represented  the  people  as  savages  in 
a  state  of  rebellion,  so  that  he  at  first  declined  proceeding 
without  military  protection,  and  in  consequence,  a  detach- 
ment of  the  53rd  Regiment,  in  Edinburgh  Castle,  received 
orders  to  march ;  and  could  a  steamboat  have  been  pro- 
cured at  the  time,  which  providence  prevented,  one  hundred 
rank  and  file  would  have  been  landed  on  the  shores  of 
Sutherlandshire,  and,  under  the  direction  of  the  people's 
enemies,  would  probably  have  stained  their  arms  with 
innocent  blood  !  But  before  a  proper  conveyance  could  be 
obtained,  the  order  was  countermanded,  the  Sheriff  having 
found  cause  to  alter  his  opinion,  and  the  people,  though 
goaded  into  momentary  error,  became  immediately  amenable 
to  his  advice.  The  clergyman  of  the  parish,  also  made  him- 
self useful  on  this  occasion,  threatening  the  people  with 
punishment  here  and  hereafter,  if  they  refused  to  bow  their 
necks  to  the  oppressor.  According  to  him,  all  the  evils  in- 
flicted upon  them  were  ordained  of  God,  and  for  their  good, 
whereas  any  opposition  on  their  part  proceeded  from  the 
devil,  and  subjected  them  to  just  punishment  here,  and 
eternal  torment  hereafter.  Christ  says  : — "  Of  how  much 
more   value  is   a  man  than  a  sheep  ? "     The  Sutherland 


SUTHERLAND.  lOI 

clergy  never  preached  this  doctrine,  but  practically  the  re- 
verse. They  literally  prefer  flocks  of  sheep  to  their  human 
flocks,  and  lend  their  aid  to  every  scheme  for  extirpating  the 
latter  to  make  room  for  the  former.  They  find  their  account 
in  leaguing  with  the  oppressors,  following  up  the  threaten- 
ings  of  fire  and  sword  by  the  Sheriff  with  the  terrors  of  the 
bottomless  pit.  They  gained  their  end ;  the  people  pros- 
trated themselves  at  the  feet  of  their  oppressors,  "  whose 
tender  mercies  are  cruel ".  The  Courier  says,  "  the  law 
has  thus  been  vindicated  ".  Is  it  not  rather  injustice  and 
tyranny  that  have  been  vindicated,  and  the  people  made  a 
prey  ?  When  they  were  ordered,  in  the  manner  described, 
to  put  themselves  entirely  in  the  wrong,  and  beg  mercy, 
they  were  led  to  believe  this  would  procure  a  full  pardon 
and  kinder  treatment.  But  their  submission  was  immedi- 
ately followed  up  by  the  precognition,  in  which,  as  I  said 
before,  every  means  was  used  to  criminate  them,  and 
exaggerate  their  offence,  and  it  depends  on  the  view  the 
Lord  Advocate  may  be  induced  to  take,  what  is  to  be  their 
fate.  One  thing  is  certain,  Mr.  Anderson  and  his  col- 
leagues will  be  content  with  nothing  short  of  their  expa- 
triation, either  to  Van  Dieman's  Land  or  the  place  the  clergy 
consigned  them  to ;  he  cares  not  which.  For  the  mercy 
which,  as  the  Courier  says,  has  been  tempered  with  justice, 
of  allowing  the  people  to  possess  their  houses  till  May, 
while  their  crop  has  been  lost  by  the  bad  weather,  or  des- 
troyed by  neglect  during  the  disturbance,  they  are  mainly 
indebted  to  Mr.  Napier.  Anderson  found  himself  shamed 
into  a  consent,  which  he  would  otherwise  never  have  given. 
God  knows,  their  miserable  allotments,  notwithstanding  the 
toil  and  money  they  have  expended  on  them,  are  not 
worth  contending  for,  did  the  poor  creatures  know  where 
to   go   when   banished?     but   this   with   their  attachment 


I02  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

to  the  soil,  makes  them  feel  it  like  death  itself,  to  think  of 
removing. 

Anderson  craftily  turned  this  feeling  to  his  advantage,  for, 
though  he  obtained  the  decrees  of  ejectment  in  April,  he 
postponed  their  execution  till  the  herring  fishing  was  over, 
in  order  to  drain  every  shilUng  the  poor  people  had  earned, 
exciting  the  hope,  that  if  they  paid  up,  they  would  be 
allowed  to  remain  !  The  Courier  hopes  "  something  will 
be  done  for  the  poor  mountaineers  ".  O  my  late  happy, 
high-minded  countrymen,  has  it  come  to  this  ?  Represented 
as  wild  animals  or  savages,  and  hunted  accordingly  in  your 
own  native  straths,  so  often  defended  by  the  sinews  and 
blood  of  your  vigorous  ancestors  ! 

Surely,  your  case  must  arouse  the  sympathy  of  generous 
Britons,  otherwise  the  very  stones  will  cry  out !  Surely, 
there  is  still  so  much  virtue  remaining  in  the  country  that 
your  wrongs  will  be  made  to  ring  in  the  ears  of  your 
oppressors,  till  they  are  obliged  to  hide  their  heads  for  very 
shame,  and  tardy  justice  at  length  overtake  them  in  the 
shape  of  public  indignation. 


LETTER  XXIV. 

Since  my  last  communication  was  written,  I  have  received 
letters  from  several  correspondents  in  the  north  of  Scot- 
land, and  I  now  proceed  to  lay  a  portion  of  the  contents 
before  the  public.  Much  of  the  information  I  have  received 
must  be  suppressed,  from  prudential  considerations.  Utter 
ruin  would  instantly  overtake  the  individual,  especially  if  he 
were  an  official,  who  dared  to  throw  a  gleam  of  light  on  the 
black  deeds  going  on,   or  give  a  tongue  to  the  people's 


SUTHERLAND.  I03 

wrongs.  Besides,  the  language  of  some  of  the  letters  is  too 
strong  and  justly  indignant,  to  venture  its  publication,  least  I 
might  involve  myself  and  others  in  the  toils  of  the  law,  with 
the  meshes  of  which  I  am  but.  little  acquainted;  hence  my 
correspondence  must,  generally  speaking,  be  suppressed  or 
emasculated.  From  the  mass  of  evidence  received,  I  am 
fully  satisfied  that  the  feeble  resistance  to  the  instruments 
of  cruelty  and  oppression  at  Durness — and  which  was  but  a 
solitary  and  momentry  outbreak  of  feeling — owes  its  import- 
ance as  a  riot  entirely  to  the  inventive  and  colouring  talents 
of  the  correspondent  of  the  hiverness  Courier.  One  of  my 
correspondents  says,  "  this  affray  must  be  a  pre-concerted 
one  on  the  part  of  the  authorities";  another  says  "the 
Advocate-Depute  asked  me,  why  did  the  Duke  of  Suther- 
land's tenants  join  Mr.  Anderson's  tenants ;  my  reply  was 
(which  he  allowed  to  be  true)  that  when  Anderson  would 
remove  his,  he  and  his  either  hand  neighbours  would  directly 
use  their  influence  to  get  the  duke's  small  tenants  removed 
likewise,  as  they  now  hate  to  see  a  poor  man  at  all,  and  if 
any  of  the  tenants  would  offer  to  say  so  much,  they  would 
not  be  believed.  This  is  the  way  the  offspring  of  the  once 
valiant  MacKays  are  now  used ;  their  condition  is  beyond 
what  pen  can  describe,  but  we  are  here  afraid  to  corres- 
pond with  such  a  character  as  you  :  if  it  was  known,  we 
would  be  ruined  at  once."  Another  says,  "  there  was  not 
a  pane  of  glass,  a  door,  or  railing,  or  any  article  of  furniture 
broken  within  or  without  the  inn  at  Durine,  nor  as  much  as 
a  hair  of  the  head  of  a  Sheriff,  Fiscal,  or  Constable  touched. 
If  it  was  the  Sheriff  or  Fiscal  Fraser  who  published  the 
first  article,  entitled  Durness  Riot,  in  the  Inverness  Courier, 
indeed,  they  should  be  ashamed  of  their  unpardonable 
conduct " ;  another  says,  "  after  all  their  ingenuity  it  was 
only  one  Judas  they  made  in  Durness,  and  if  there  was  any 


104  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

one  guilty  of  endeavouring  to  create  disturbance,  it  was 
himself.  Therefore,  we  may  call  him  Donald  Judas  Mac 
an  Diabhuil,  fear  casaid  na  braithrean,  and  the  authorities 
should  consider  what  credence  his  evidence  deserved  in 
criminating  the  people  he  was  trying  to  mislead."  Another 
correspondent  says,  "  Fraser  the  Fiscal  (a  countryman  him- 
self, but  an  enemy,  as  all  renegades  are)  inserted  a  most 
glaring  and  highly  coloured  mis-statement  in  the  Inverness 
Courier,  and  is  ever  on  the  alert  to  publish  anything  that 
might  serve  his  employers  and  injure  his  poor  countrymen" ; 
another  says,  "the  Fiscal  and  Sheriff  Lumsden  were  very 
severe  on  the  people  before  the  Advocate-Depute,  but  after 
he  had  gone  through  the  business  they  found  it  prudent  to 
alter  their  tone  a  good  deal " ;  he  adds,  "  I  incurred  the 
Fiscal's  displeasure  for  not  giving  the  evidence  he  wajited  for 
condemning  the  people,  and  to  punish  me,  he  would  pay  me 
only  IDS.  for  attending  the  precognition  five  days  and  a 
night.  But  when  the  Duke  comes  I  will  lay  the  case  be- 
fore him  and  tell  him  how  Fraser  was  so  anxious  to  get  the 
people  into  a  scrape.  He  is  a  little  worth  gentleman."  The 
conduct  of  the  Fiscal  requires  no  comment,  and  his,  it  is 
said,  is  the  Courier's  authority  for  its  mis-statements.  The 
plan  of  the  persecutors  is  not  only  to  ruin  and  expel  the 
natives,  by  any  and  every  means,  but  to  deprive  them  of 
public  sympathy,  by  slandering  their  character,  belying  their 
actions,  and  harassing  them  in  every  possible  way,  so  as  to 
make  them  willing  to  leave  their  native  soil  before  a  regular 
authorised  enquiry  takes  place,  which  would  (in  case  their 
victims  remain  on  the  spot)  not  only  expose  their  nefarious 
deeds,  but  also  lead  the  way  to  a  regular  law  for  obliging 
them  to  provide  in  some  way  for  the  poor  they  have  made. 
These  are  now  the  two  objects  of  their  fears  ;  first,  lest 
they  should  be  shown  up,  and  secondly,  that  a  real — and 


SUTHERLAND.  105 

not,  as  hitherto,  a  sham — poor-law  should  be  established, 
to  make  them  contribute  to  relieve  the  misery  they  have  so 
recklessly  and  wickedly  created.  With  these  preliminaries, 
I  present  you  with  a  large  extract  verbatim,  from  the  letter 
of  a  gentleman,  with  whom,  though  I  know  his  highly  respect- 
able connexions,  I  am  personally  unacquainted.  Coming 
evidently  from  a  person  of  education  and  character,  it  seems 
justly  entitled  to  the  consideration  of  all  who  are  pleased  to 
interest  themselves  in  the  woes  and  wrongs  of  Sutherland, 
and  the  outrages  there  offered  to  our  common  humanity : — 
"You  are  aware  that  Anderson  was  a  pretty  considerable 
speculator  in  his  time  (but  not  so  great  a  speculator  as  *  *  *), 
extensively  engaged  in  the  white  and  herring  fishings,  at 
the  time  he  held  out  the  greatest  inducements  to  the  poor 
natives  who  were  expelled  from  other  places  in  this  parish, 
came  and  built  little  huts  on  his  farm,  and  were  entirely 
dependent  on  their  fishings,  and  earnings  with  him.  In  this 
humble  sphere  they  were  maintaining  themselves  and  fami- 
lies, until  God  in  just  retribution  turned  the  scales  upon 
Anderson ;  his  speculations  proved  unsuccessful,  he  lost  his 
shipping,  and  his  cash  was  fast  following ;  he  broke  down 
his  herring  establishments,  and  so  the  poor  fishermen  had 
to  make  the  best  of  it  they  could  with  other  curers.  Ander- 
son now  began  to  turn  his  attention  to  sheep  farming,  and 
removed  a  great  many  of  his  former  tenants  and  fishermen  : 
however,  he  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  details  of  sheep 
farming,  and  was  entirely  guided  by  the  advice  of  his  either 
hand  neighbours,  Alex.  Clark,  Erribol,  and  John  Scobie,  of 
Koldale  (both  sheep  farmers) ;  and  it  is  notorious  that  it 
was  at  the  instigation  of  these  creatures  that  he  adopted 
such  severe  measures  against  those  remaining  of  his  tenants 
— but,  be  this  as  it  may,  this  last  summer  when  the  whole 
male  adult  population  were  away  at  the  fishing  in  Wick,  he 


Io6  THE    HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

employed  a  fellow  of  the  name  of  C 1  to  summon  and 

frighten  the  poor  women  in  the  absence  of  their  husbands. 
The  proceeding  was  both  cowardly  and  illegal.     However, 

the  women  (acting  as  it  can  be  proved  upon  C I's 

own  suggestion  !)  congregated,  lighted  a  fire,  laid  hands  on 

C 1  and  compelled  him  to  consign  his  papers  to  the 

flames  !  Anderson  immediately  reported  the  case  to  the 
Dornoch  law-mongers,  who,  smeUing  a  job,  dispatched  their 
officer ; — off  he  set  to  Durness  as  big  as  a  mountain,  and 
together  with  one  of  Anderson's  shepherds  proceeded  to 

finish  what  C 1  had  begun  :  however,  he   '  reckoned 

without  his  host,'  for  ere  he  got  half  through,  the  women 
fell  in  hot  love  with  him  also — and  embraced  him  so 
cordially,  that  he  left  with  them  his  waterproof  Mackintosh, 
and  '  cut '  to  the  tune  of  Cabarfeidh.  No  sooner  had  he 
arrived  in  Dornoch,  than  the  gentlemen  there  concluded 
that  they  themselves  had  been  insulted  and  ill-used  by  proxy 
in  Durness.  Shortly  afterwards  they  dispatched  the  same 
officer  and  a  messenger-at-arms,  with  instructions  to  raise 
a  trusty  party  by  the  way  to  aid  them.  They  came  by 
Tongue,  went  down  to  Farr  on  the  Saturday  evening,  raised 
Donald  MacKay,  pensioner,  and  other  two  old  veterans, 
whom  they  sent  off  before  them  on  the  Sabbath,  iticog. ;  how- 
ever, they  only  advanced  to  the  ferry  at  Hope  when  they 
were  told  that  the  Durness  people  were  fully  prepared  to 
give  them  a  warm  reception,  so  they  went  no  further,  but 
returned  to  Dornoch,  and  told  there  a  doleful  Don  Quixote 
tale.  Immediately  thereafter,  a  '  council  of  war '  was  held, 
and  the  sheriff-substitute,  together  with  the  fiscal  and  a  band 
of  fourteen  special  constables  marched  oif  to  Durness. 
Before  they  arrived  the  people  heard  of  their  approach,  and 
consulted  among  themselves  what  had  best  be  done  (the 
men  were  by  this  time  all  returned  home).     They  allowed 


SUTHERLAND.  I07 

the  whole  party  to  pass  through  the  parish  till  they  reached 
the  inn ;  this  was  on  a  Saturday  evening  about  eight  or  nine 
o'clock  ; — the  men  of  the  parish  to  the  amount  of  four  dozen 
called  at  the  inn,  and  wanted  to  have  a  conference  with  the 
sheriff.  This  was  refused  to  them.  They  then  respectfully 
requested  an  assurance  from  him  that  they  would  not 
be  interfered  with  during  the  Sabbath,  which  was  likewise 
refused  to  them.  Then  the  people  got  a  little  exasperated, 
and,  determined  in  the  first  place  on  depriving  the  sheriff  of 
his  sting.  They  took  his  constables  one  by  one,  and  turned 
them  out  of  the  house  minus  their  batons.  There  was  not 
the  least  injury  done,  or  violence  shewn  to  the  persons  of 
any  of  the  party.  The  natives  now  made  their  way  to  the 
sheriff's  room  and  began  to  dictate  (!)  to  him  ;  however,  as 
they  could  not  get  him  to  accede  to  their  terms,  they 
ordered  him  to  march  off;  which,  after  some  persuasion  he 
did;  they  laid  no  hands  on  him  or  the  fiscal.  And,  to 
show  their  civility,  they  actually  harnessed  the  horses  for 
them,  and  escorted  them  beyond  the  precincts  of  the 
parish  !  !  ! 

The  affair  had  now  assumed  rather  an  alarming  aspect. 
The  glaring  and  highly  coloured  statement  already  referred 
to,  appeared  in  the  Inverness  Courier,  and  soon  found  its 
way  into  all  the  provincial  and  metropolitan  prints ;  the 
parties  referred  to  were  threatened  with  a  military  force. 
The  Duke  of  Sutherland  was  stormed  on  all  hands  with 
letters  and  petitions.  The  matter  came  to  the  ears  of  the 
Lord  Advocate.  Mr.  Napier,  the  Depute-Advocate,  was 
sent  from  Auld  Reekie,  and  the  whole  affair  investigated 
before  him  and  the  Sheriff,  and  Clerk  and  Fiscal  of  the 
County.  How  this  may  ultimately  terminate  I  cannot  yet 
say,  but,  one  thing  is  certain,  the  investigators  have  disco- 
vered some  informality  in  the  proceedings  on  the  part  of  the 


lo8  THE    HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

petty  lawyers,  which  has  for  the  present  suspended  all 
further  procedure  !  I  am  glad  to  understand  that  the  Duke 
of  Sutherland  expresses  great  sympathy  with  the  poor  people. 
Indeed,  I  am  inclined  to  give  his  Grace  credit  for  good 
intentions,  if  he  only  knew  how  his  people  are  harassed ; 
but  this  is  religiously  concealed  from  him. 

I  live  at  some  distance  from  Tongue,  but  I  satisfied  my- 
self of  the  certainty  of  the  following  extraordinary  case 
which  could  have  occurred  nowhere  but  in  Sutherland. 

The  present  factor  in  Tongue  is  from  Edinburgh.  This 
harvest,  a  brother  of  his  who  is  a  clerk,  or  something  in 
that  city,  came  down  to  pay  him  a  visit ;  they  went  out 
a-shooting  one  day  in  September,  but  could  kill  no  birds. 
They,  however,  determined  to  have  some  sport  before 
returning  home,  so,  falling  in  with  a  flock  of  goats  belong- 
ing to  a  man  of  the  name  of  Manson,  and  within  a  few 
hundred  yards  of  the  man's  own  house,  they  set  to,  and 
after  firing  a  number  of  ineffectual  shots,  succeeded  at 
length,  in  taking  down  two  of  the  goats,  which  they  left  on 
the  ground  !  Satisfied  and  delighted  with  this  manly  sport 
they  returned  to  Tongue.  Next  day  when  called  upon  by 
the  poor  man  who  owned  the  goats,  and  told  that  they  were 
all  he  had  to  pay  his  rent  with,  this  exemplary  factor  told 
him,  "  he  did  not  care  should  he  never  pay  his  rent," — "  he 
was  only  sorry  he  had  not  proper  ammunition  at  the  time," — 
as  "  he  would  not  have  left  one  of  them  alive  ! ! !  "  Think 
you,  would  the  Duke  tolerate  such  conduct  as  this,  or  what 
would  he  say  did  the  fact  come  to  his  ears  ?  As  Burns 
says  : — 

This  is  a  sketch  of  H h's  way, 

Thus  does  he  slaughter,  kill,  and  slay, 
And  's  weel  paid  for  't. 

The  poor  man  durst  not  whisper  a  complaint  for  this  act 


SUTHERLAND.  IO9 

of  brutal  despotism  ;  but  I  respectfully  ask,  will  the  Duke  of 
Sutherland  tolerate  such  conduct  ?  I  ask  will  such  conduct 
be  tolerated  by  the  legislature  ?  Will  Fiscal  Eraser  and  the 
Dornoch  law-mongers  smell  this  job  ?  " 


LETTER  XXV. 

Having  done  my  best  to  bring  the  wrongs  of  the  Suther- 
landers  in  general,  and,  latterly,  those  of  Mr.  Anderson's 
tenantry  in  particular,  under  the  public  eye  in  your  valu- 
able columns,  I  beg  leave  to  close  my  correspondence  for 
the  present,  with  a  few  additional  facts  and  observations. 
Before  doing  so,  however,  I  must  repeat  my  sense — in 
which  I  am  confident  my  countrymen  will  participate — of 
your  great  kindness  in  allowing  me  such  a  vehicle  as  your 
excellent  paper  through  which  to  vent  our  complaints  and 
proclaim  our  wrongs.  I  also  gratefully  acknowledge  the 
disinterested  kindness  of  another  individual,  whose  name 
it  is  not  now  necessary  to  mention,  who  has  assisted  me  in 
revising  and  preparing  my  letters  for  the  press.  I  hope 
such  friends  will  have  their  reward. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  spin  out  the  story  of  the  Durness 
Riot  (as  it  is  called)  any  longer.  It  evidently  turns  out  what 
I  believed  it  to  be  from  the  beginning— a  humbug  scheme 
for  further  oppressing  and  destroying  the  people ;  carrying 
out,  by  the  most  wicked  and  reckless  means,  the  long  pre- 
vailing system  of  expatriation,  and,  at  the  same  time,  by 
gross  misrepresentations,  depriving  them  of  that  public 
sympathy  to  which  their  protracted  sufferings  and  present 
misery  give  them  such  strong  claims.     In  my  latest  corres- 


'• 


no  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

I 

pondence  from  that  quarter  the  following  facts  are  con- 
tained, which  further  justify  my  previous  remarks,  viz.  : — 

A  gentleman  who  makes  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  pro- 
ceedings against  the  people  is  law-agent  for  Mr.  Anderson, 
the  lessee,  from  whose  property  the  poor  crofters  were  to  be 

ejected;  and  C 1,  the  first  ofificer  sent  to  Durness,  was 

employed  by  them.      This  C 1  was  an  unqualified 

officer,  but  used  as  a  convenient  tool  by  his  employers,  and 
it  was  actually,  as  I  am  assured,  this  man  who  advised  or 
suggested  to  the  poor  women  and  boys,  in  absence  of  the 
male  adults,  to  kindle  the  fire,  and  lay  hold  of  him,  and 
compel  him  to  consign  his  papers  to  the  flames  ! — acting 
probably  under  the  directions  of  his  employers. 

The  next  emissary  sent  was  a  qualified  officer — qualified 
by  having  served  an  apprenticeship  as  a  thief-catcher  in  the 
police  establishment  of  Edinburgh,  who,  when  he  came  in 
contact  with  the  virtuous  Durness  women,  behaved  as  he 
was  wont  to  do  among  those  of  a  different  sort  in  Anchor 
Close  and  Halkerston's  Wynd ;  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  some 
of  the  former  were  inhumanly  and  shamefully  dealt  with  by 
him. — See  Inver7iess  Courier  of  17th  November.  And 
here,  I  am  happy  to  be  able  in  a  great  degree  to  exonerate 
that  journal  from  the  charge  brought  against  it  in  former 
letters.  The  Editor  has  at  last  put  the  saddle  on  the  right 
horse — namely,  his  first  informers,  the  advisers  and  actors 
in  the  cruel  and  vindictive  proceedings  against  the  poor 
victims  of  oppression. 

It  is  lamentable  to  think  that  the  Sheriff-substitute  of 
Sutherland  should  arrive  in  Durness,  with  a  formidable 
party  and  a  train  of  carts,  to  carry  off  to  Dornoch  Jail  the 
prisoners  he  intended  to  make,  on  the  Sabbath-day  !  If  this 
was  not  his  intention,  what  was  the  cause  of  the  resistance 
and  defeat  he  and  his  party  met  with  ?     Just  this  (according 


SUTHERLAND.  Ill 

to  the  Courier  and  my  own  correspondents),  that  he  would 
not  consent  to  give  his  word  that  he  would  not  execute  his 
warrant  on  the  Sabbath-day,  although  they  were  willing  to 
give  him  every  assurance  of  peaceably  surrendering  on  the 
Monday  following.     Provoked   by  his  refusal,  the  men  of 
Durness,    noted   for   piety   as   well   as   forbearance,    chose 
rather  to  break  the  laws  of  man  on  the  Saturday,  than  see 
the  laws  of  God  violated  in  such  a  manner  on  the  Sabbath, 
He  and  his  party,  who  had  bagpipes  playing  before  them 
on  leaving  Dornoch,  told  inquirers,  that  "  they  were  going 
to  a  wedding  in  Durness  ".     It  was  rather  a  divorce,  to  tear 
the  people  away  from  their   dearly-loved,   though   barren, 
hills.     Under  all  the  circumstances,  many,  I  doubt  not  will 
think  with  me  that  these  willing  emissaries  of  mischief  got 
better  treatment  than  they  deserved.     It  is  high  time  the 
law-breaking  and  law-wresting  petifoggers  of  Sutherlandshire 
were   looked   after.      This   brings   again  to  my   mind  the 
goat-shooting  scene,  described   in  my  last,   which  was  the 
more  aggravated  and  diabolical   from  having  been  perpe- 
trated during  the  late  troubles,  and  while  a  military  force 
was  hourly  expected  to  cut  down  such  as  should  dare  to 
move  a  finger  against  those  in  authority ;   knowing  that, 
under  these  circumstances,  no   complaints   of  the   people 
would  be  listened  to.     But  this  was  not  the  only  atrocity 
of  the  kind  that  took  place  in  the  country  at  this  time.     I 
have  seen  a  letter  from  a  respectable  widow  woman  residing 
in  Blairmore,  parish  of  Rogart,  to  her  son  in  Edinburgh, 
which,  after  detailing  the  harassment  and  misery  to  which 
the  country  is  subject,  says — "  I  had  only  seven  sheep,  and 
one  of  Mr.   Sellar's   shepherds   drowned  five   of  them  in 
Lochsalchie,   along   with   other  five  belonging   to    Donald 
MacKenzie ;  and  many  more,  the  property  of  other  neigh- 
bours, sharing  the  same  fate.     We  could  not  get  so  much  as 


112  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

the  skins  of  them."  But  they  durst  not  say  one  word  about 
it,  or  if  they  did  no  one  would  hearken  to  their  complaints. 
God  alone  knows  how  they  are  used  in  that  unfortunate 
country,  and  he  will  avenge  it  in  his  own  time. 

A  correspondent  of  mine  says — "  At  an  early  period  of 
your  narrative,  you  stated  that  the  natives  were  refused 
employment  at  public  works,  even  at  reduced  wages ;  but, 
if  you  believe  me,  sir,  in  the  last  and  present  year,  masons, 
carpenters,  etc.,  were  brought  here  from  Aberdeenshire,  and 
employed  at  those  works,  while  equally  good,  if  not  better 
native  tradesmen  were  refused,  and  obliged  to  go  idle. 
This,  however,  was  not  admitted  as  an  excuse  when  house- 
rent,  poll-tax,  or  road  money  was  demanded,  but  the  most 
summary  and  oppressive  means  were  used  for  recovery. 
They  have  been  paying  these  strangers  four  or  five  shillings 
a-day,  when  equally  good  workmen  among  the  natives 
would  be  glad  of  eighteen-pence  ! " 

In  this  way,  the  money  drained  from  the  natives  in  the 
most  rigorous  manner,  is  paid  away  to  strangers  before  their 
eyes,  while  they  themselves  are  refused  permission  to  earn 
a  share  of  it !  My  correspondent  adds — "  We  know  the 
late  Duchess,  some  years  before  her  demise,  gave  orders 
(and  we  cannot  think  the  present  Duke  of  Sutherland  has 
annulled  these  orders)  that  no  stranger  should  be  employed, 
while  natives  could  be  found  to  execute  the  work.  But  it 
seems  the  officials,  and  their  under-strappers,  can  do  what 
they  please,  without  being  called  to  account ;  and  this  is  but 
one  instance  among  the  many  in  which  their  tyranny  and 
injustice  is  manifested,"  Every  means,  direct  and  indirect, 
are  used  to  discourage  the  aborigines,  to  make  them  wiUing 
to  fly  the  country,  or  be  content  to  starve  in  it. 

May  I  not  ask,  will  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  never  look 
into  the  state  of  his  county?     Will   he  continue  to  suffer 


SUTHERLAND.  1 13 

such  treatment  of  the  people  to  whom  he  owes  his  great- 
ness ;  proceedings  so  hazardous  to  his  own  real  interest  and 
safety  ?  Is  it  not  high  time  that  that  illustrious  family  should 
institute  a  searching  inquiry  into  the  past  and  present  con- 
duct of  those  who  have  wielded  their  power  only  to  abuse  it  ? 

Their  extensive  domains  are  now,  generally  speaking,  in 
the  hands  of  a  few  selfish,  ambitious  strangers,  who  would 
laugh  at  any  calamity  that  might  befall  the  people  as  they 
do  at  the  miseries  of  those  faithful  subjects  whom  they  have 
supplanted.  Many  of  these  new  tenants  have  risen  from 
running  about  with  hobnails  in  their  shoes,  and  a  collie  dog 
behind  them,  their  whole  wardrobe  being  on  their  back — and 
all  their  other  appointments  and  equipage  bearing  the  same 
proportion — to  be  Esquires,  Justices  of  the  Peace,  and 
gentlemen  riding  in  carriages,  or  on  blood-horses,  and 
living  in  splendid  mansions,  all  at  the  expense  of  his  Grace's 
family,  and  of  those  whom  they  have  despoiled  of  their 
inheritance.  The  time  may  come — I  see  it  approaching 
already — when  these  gentlemen  will  say  to  his  Grace,  "If  you 
do  not  let  your  land  to  us  on  our  own  terms,  you  may  take 
it  and  make  the  best  of  it ;  who  can  compete  with  us  ? " 
This  will  be  the  case,  especially  when  the  natives  are  driven 
away,  and  the  competition  for  land,  caused  by  the  food 
taxes,  comes  to  an  end.  Let  his  Grace  consider  these 
things,  and  no  longer  be  entirely  guided  by  the  counsels  of 
his  Ahitophel,  nor  adopt  the  system  of  Rehoboam  towards 
the  race  of  the  devoted  vassals  of  his  ancestors,  a  portion  of 
whose  blood  runs  in  his  veins. 

"  Woe  is  me  !  the  possessors  of  my  people  slay  them,  and 
hold  themselves  not  guilty " ;  and  they  that  sell  them  say, 
"  blessed  be  the  Lord,  for  I  am  rich ;  and  their  own  shep- 
herds pity  them  not ".     "  Let  me  mourn  and  howl "  for  the 

pride  of  Sutherland  is  spoiled  ! " 

8 


114  'i"HE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

In  a  former  letter  I  put  the  question  to  the  Sutherland 
clergy,  "of  how  much  more  value  is  a  man  than  a  sheep?" 
No  reply  has  been  made. 

I  ask  again,  "  You  that  have  a  thousand  score  of  sheep 
feeding  on  the  straths  that  formerly  reared  tens  of  thousand 
of  as  brave  and  virtuous  men  as  Britain  could  boast  of, 
ready  to  shed  their  blood  for  their  country  or  their  chief ; 
were  these  not  of  more  value  than  your  animals,  your  shep- 
herds, or  yourselves  ?  You  that  spend  your  ill-gotten  gains 
in  riotous  living,  in  hunting,  gaming,  and  debauchery,  of 
how  much  more  value  were  the  men  you  have  dispersed, 
ruined,  and  tortured  out  of  existence,  than  you  and  your 
base  companions  ?  "  But  I  must  now  cease  to  unpack  my 
heart  with  words,  and  take  leave  of  the  subject  for  the 
present ;  assuring  my  kind  correspondents,  that  their  names 
will  never  be  divulged  by  me,  and  pledging  myself  to  con- 
tinue exposing  oppression  so  long  as  it  exists  in  my  native 
country. 

In  conclusion  I  implore  the  Government  to  make  inquiry 
into  the  condition  of  this  part  of  the  empire,  and  not  look 
lightly  at  the  out-rooting  of  a  brave  and  loyal  people  and 
the  razing  to  the  ground  of  that  important  portion  of  the 
national  bulwarks,  to  gratify  the  cupidity  of  a  few,  to  whose 
character  neither  bravery  nor  good  feeling  can  be  attributed. 


REPLY    TO    MRS.    BEECHER    STOWE'S 
"SUNNY    MEMORIES". 

[Abridged.'] 

MACLEOD  here  apologises  for  his  style  in  the  following 
terms  : — "  I  am  quite  aware  that  great  allowance  must  be 
made  by  readers  of  education  and  literary  taste,  should 
these  pages  be  honoured  with  a  perusal  by  any  such, 
I  am  not  capable  of  writing  to  please  critics ;  I  had  a 
higher  aim,  and  my  success  in  bringing  out  the  case  of  my 
countrymen  must  now  stand  the  ordeal  of  public  opinion. 
For  my  own  part,  zeal  and  faithfulness  are  all  I  lay  claim  to, 
and  if  my  conscience  tells  me  true,  I  deserve  to  have  both 
conceded  to  me,  by  both  friends  and  foes."  He  then  refers 
particularly  to  various  acts  of  tyranny,  one  of  these 
being  the  evictions  from  Coire-Bhuic,  in  Strathconan,  and 
the  case  of  Angus  Campbell,  Rogart,  the  particulars  of 
which   he   relates  thus  : — 

Angus  Campbell  possessed  a  small  lot  of  land  in  the  parish  of  Rogart, 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  parish  minister,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie. This  rev.  divine,  it  seems,  had,  like  King  Ahab,  coveted  this  poor 
man's  small  possession,  in  addition  to  his  own  extensive  glebe,  and  obtained 
a  grant  of  it  from  the  factor.  Angus  Campbell,  besides  his  own  numerous 
family,  was  the  only  support  of  his  elder  brother,  who  had  laboured  for 
many  years  under  a  painful  and  lingering  disease,  and  had  spent  his  all 
upon  physicians. 

Angus  having  got  notice  of  the  rev.  gentleman's  designs,  had  a  memo- 
i-ial  drawn  up  and  presented  to  her  grace  the  late  Duchess,  who,  in  answer, 
gave  orders  to  the  factor  to  the  effect  that,  if  Angus  Campbell  was  to  be 


Il6  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

removed  for  the  convenience  of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  he  should  be  provided  with 
another  lot  of  land  equally  as  good  as  the  one  he  possessed.  But,  like  all 
the  other  good  promised  by  her  Grace,  this  was  disregarded  as  soon  as  she 
turned  her  back  :  the  process  of  removal  was  carried  on,  and  to  punish 
Angus  for  having  applied  to  her,  he  was  dealt  with  in  the  following  manner, 
as  stated  in  a  memorial  to  his  Grace  the  present  Duke,  dated  30th  March, 
1840. 

In  his  absence,  a  messenger-at-arms,  with  a  party,  came  from  Dor- 
noch to  his  house,  and  ejected  his  wife  and  family  ;  and  having  flung  out 
their  effects,  locked  the  doors  of  the  dwelling  house,  offices,  etc.,  and 
carried  the  keys  to  the  safe  keeping  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mackenzie,  for  his 
own  behoof.  These  proceedings  were  a  sufficient  warning  to  all  neighbours 
not  to  afford  shelter  or  relief  to  the  victims  ;  hence  the  poor  woman  had  to 
wander  about,  sheltering  her  family  as  well  as  she  could  in  severe  weather, 
till  her  husband's  arrival.  When  Angus  came  home,  he  had  recourse  to 
an  expedient  which  annoyed  his  reverence  very  much  ;  he  erected  a  booth 
on  his  own  ground  in  the  churchyard,  and  on  the  tomb  of  his  father,  and 
in  this  solitary  abode  he  kindled  a  fire,  endeavouring  to  shelter  and  com- 
fort his  distressed  family,  and  showed  a  determination  to  remain,  notwith- 
standing the  wrath  and  threatenings  of  the  minister  and  factors.  But  as 
they  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  expel  him  thence  by  force,  they  thought  of 
a  stratagem,  which  succeeded.  They  spoke  him  fair,  and  agreed  to  allow 
him  to  resume  his  former  possession,  if  he  would  pay  the  expenses,  ;^4  13s., 
incurred  in  ejecting  him.  The  poor  man  consented,  but  no  sooner  had  he 
paid  the  money  than  he  was  turned  out  again,  and  good  care  taken  this 
time  to  keep  him  out  of  the  churchyard.  He  had  then  to  betake  him- 
self to  the  open  fields,  where  he  remained  with  his  family  till  his  wife  was 
seized  with  an  alarming  trouble,  when  some  charitable  friend  at  last 
ventured  to  afford  him  a  temporary  covering ;  but  no  distress  could 
soften  the  heart  of  his  reverence,  so  as  to  make  him  relent ! 

This  Campbell  is  a  man  of  good  and  inoffensive  character,  to  attest 
which  he  forwarded  a  certificate  numerously  signed,  along  with  his 
memorial  to  the  Duke,  but  received  for  answer,  that,  as  the  case  was 
settled  by  his  factor,  his  Grace  could  not  interfere  ! 

The  second  case  is  that  of  an  aged  woman  of  four-score — 
Isabella  Graham,  of  the  parish  of  Lairg,  who  was  also 
ejected  with  great  cruelty.  She,  too,  sought  redress  at  the 
hands  of  his  Grace,  but  with  no  better  success.  A  copy  of 
the  substance  of  her  memorial,  which  was  backed  by  a 
host  of  certificates,  I  here  subjoin  : — 

That  your  Grace's  humble  applicant,  who  has  resided  with  her  hus- 
band on  the  lands  of  Toroball  for  upwards  of  fifty  years,  has  been  removed 


SUTHERLAND.  1 1? 

from  her  possession  for  no  other  reason  than  that  Robert  Murray,  holding 
an  adjoining  lot,  coveted  her's  in  addition.  That  she  is  nothing  in  arrears 
of  her  rent,  and  hopes  from  your  Grace's  generosity  and  charitable 
disposition,  that  she  will  be  permitted  to  remain  in  one  of  the  houses 
belonging  to  her  lot,  till  by  some  means  or  other  she  may  obtain  another 
place  previous  to  the  coming  winter,  and  may  be  able  to  get  her  bed 
removed  from  the  open  field,  where  she  has  had  her  abode  during  the  last 
fifteen  weeks!  Your  Grace's  humane  interposition  is  most  earnestly  but  res- 
pectfully implored  on  the  present  occasion,  and  your  granting  immediate 
relief  will  confirm  a  debt  of  never-ending  gratitude,  and  your  memorialist 
shall  ever  pray,  etc. 


In  the  enlarged  edition  of  his  work,  pubUshed  in  Canada, 
in  1857,  MacLeod  falls  foul  of  Mrs.  Beecher  Stowe,  who 
had  attacked  him  in  her  Sunny  Memories.  A  great  portion 
of  the  controversy  is  personal  and  now  of  little  interest 
to  any  one.  When  it  is  not  personal  it  is  directed  against 
classes  and  institutions  lauded  to  the  skies  by  Mrs.  Beecher 
Stowe.  Referring  to  her  sympathies  for  the  slaves  of 
America,  MacLeod  contrasts,  in  feeling  and  eloquent 
language,  her  labours  in  their  interest  with  her  laudation  of 
those  in  high  places  in  this  country,  who  had  treated  their 
dependents  worse  than  the  slaves  of  the  Southern  States. 
"  The  American  slave-owners,"  he  says,  "  are  to  be  pitied, 
for  they  are  the  dupes  or  victims  of  false  doctrine,  or 
rather,  say,  of  the  misinterpretation  of  sacred  records. 
They  believe  to  have  a  divine  right  to  sell  and  buy  African 
slaves ;  to  flog,  hang,  and  shoot  them  for  disobedience ; 
and  to  chase  them  with  bloodhounds  and  methodist 
ministers  if  they  run  away.  But  the  English  aristocracy 
maintain  to  still  higher  prerogatives,  in  direct  opposition  to 
sacred  records, — they  believe  to  have  divine  right  to  mono- 
polise the  whole  creation  of  God  in  Britain  for  their  own 
private  use,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  the  rest  of  His  creatures. 
They  have  enacted  laws  to  establish  these  rights,  and  they 


Il8  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

blush  not  to  declare  these  laws  sacred.  And  it  is  to  be 
lamented  that  these  laws  and  doctrines  are  generally- 
believed.  Let  any  one  peruse  their  Parchment  Rights  of 
Property,  and  he  will  find  that  they  include  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  all  the  minerals  below  the  surface  to  the  centre,  all 
that  is  above  it  up  to  the  heavens,  rivers  of  water,  bays  and 
creeks  of  mixed  salt  water  and  fresh  water  for  one  and  one- 
fourth  of  a  league  out  to  sea,  with  all  the  fish  of  every 
description  which  spawn  or  feed  therein,  and  all  the  fowls 
who  lay  and  are  raised  on  land, — a  right  to  deprive  the 
people  of  the  least  pretention  of  right  to  the  creation  of 
God  but  what  they  choose  to  give  them, — a  right  to  compel 
the  people  to  defend  their  properties  from  invaders;  to  press 
and  ballot  as  many  of  them  as  they  choose;  handcuff  them  if 
they  are  unwilling,  and  force  them  to  swear  by  God  to  be 
true  and  faithful  slaves, — a  right  to  imprison,  to  flog,  to 
hang,  and  shoot  them,  if  refractory,  or  for  the  least  dis- 
obedience. Yes,  a  right  to  force  them  away  to  foreign  and 
unhealthy  climes,  to  fight  nations  who  never  did  them 
any  injury,  where  they  perish  in  thousands  by  disease, 
fatigue,  and  starvation,  like  brute  beasts  ;  to  hang,  shoot,  or 
flog  them  to  death  for  even  taking  a  morsel  of  food  when 
dying  for  the  want  of  it — all  to  gain  more  possessions  and 
power  for  the  British  aristocracy. 

"Slavery  is  damnable,  and  is  the  most  disgusting  word 
in  the  English  or  any  other  language ;  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  Americans  will  soon  discern  its  deformity,  pollution 
and  iniquity,  and  wipe  away  that  old  English  polluted  stain 
from  their  character.  But  there  is  not  the  least  shadow  of 
hope  that  ever  the  British  aristocracy  will  think  shame,  or 
give  up  their  system  of  slavery — for  it  is  the  most  profitable 
now  under  heaven,  the  most  admired,  and  is  adopted  by  all 
other  nations  of  the  earth — at  least,  until  the  promised  Mil- 


SUTHERLAND.  1 1 9 

lenium  will  arrive,  whatever  time  that  blessed  era  will  take  in 
coming — unless  the  people  in  their  might  will  rise  some 
morning  early,  and  demand  their  rights  and  liberties  with 
the  united  voice  of  thunder  which  will  'make  the  most 
hardened  and  stubborn  of  the  aristocratic  adamant  hearts 
tremble  and  ache '." 

Mrs.  Beecher  Stowe,  referring  to  the  so-called  "Sutherland 
Improvements,"  wrote : — "To  my  view  it  is  an  almost  sublime 
instance  of  the  benevolent  employment  of  superior  wealth 
and  power  in  shortening  the  struggles  of  civilisation,  and 
elevating  in  a  few  years  a  whole  community  to  a  point  of 
education  and  material  prosperity,  which,  unassisted,  they 
might  never  have  obtained".  To  this  remarkable  statement 
MacLeod  replies  : — Yes,  indeed,  the  shortest  process  of 
civilisation  recorded  in  the  history  of  nations.  Oh,  mar- 
vellous !  From  the  year  1812  to  1820,  the  whole  interior  of 
the  county  of  Sutherland — whose  inhabitants  were  advanc- 
ing 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 


I20  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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 
civilisation,  is  is  not,  madam  ?     Return  now  with  me  to  the 
begining    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  abridgement  of  my  lucubrations  is  now  in  the  hands  of 
the  public,  and  you  may  peruse  them.     I  stand  by  them  as 
facts  (stubborn  chieh).     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  accusa- 
tions 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  ser- 
vants merited.     Moreover,  there  is  thirty  years  since  I  began 
to  expostulate  with  the  House  of  Sutherland  for  their  short- 
sighted  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    Suther- 
land.     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 


SUTHERLAND.  121 

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  pubhshed 
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  re- 
questing 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  de- 
populators,  and  I  challenged  the  whole  of  them,  and  other 
literary  scourges  who  aided  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  Suther- 
land. No,  I  tell  you,  if  money  could  secure  my  punish- 
ment, 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 


122  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES, 

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  Suther- 
land, 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  physiogno- 
mist 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  execu- 
tors 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 


SUTHERLAND.  1 23 

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,  ieme—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 


124  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  oppor- 
tunity, 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  con- 
vinced that  he  was   misinformed,"  I  may  tell  you,  madam. 


SUTHERLAND.  1 25 

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  Edin- 
burgh 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  grati- 
tude, 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  mis-information  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 


126  THE    HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

became  of  him  after  I  know  not,  but  very  likely  he  is  dic- 
tating 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  con- 
sider 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  civilisation,  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  annoy- 
ance 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 


SUTHERLAND.  1 27 

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  com- 
fortable dwellings — will  be  seen  the  land-marks  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  181 1  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 
x8ii  to  1833,  twenty-two  years,  leaving  them  at  the  above 
figures,  and  the  sum  total  will  amount  to  ;^i, 320,000  ex- 
pended upon  the  self-styled  Sutherland  improvements ;  add 
to  this  ;^6o,ooo  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  ;^i, 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 


128  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES, 

contradiction).  I  say  the  expelling  of  the  people  from  their 
glens  and  straths,  and  huddling  them  in  motley  groups  on 
the  sea-shore  and  barren  moors,  and  to  keep  them  alive 
there,  and  to  make  them  willing  to  be  banished  from  the 
nation  when  they  thought  proper,  or  when  they  could  get 
a  haul  of  the  public  money  to  pay  their  passage  to 
America  or  Australia,  cost  them  a  great  deal.  This  fabulous, 
incredible  munificence  of  their  Graces  to  the  people  I  will 
leave  the  explanation  of.  what  it  was,  how  it  was  distributed, 
and  the  manner  in  which  payment  and  refunding  of  the 
whole  of  it  was  exacted  from  the  people,  to  my  former  des- 
cription of  it  in  this  work ;  yet  I  am  willing  to  admit  that  a 
very  small  portion,  if  any,  of  the  reftmding  of  the  amount 
sent  down  ever  reached  the  Duke's  or  the  Marquis's  coffers. 
Whatever  particle  of  good  the  present  Duke  might  feel 
inclined  to  do  will  be  ever  frustrated  by  the  counteracting 
energy  of  a  prominent  evil  principle ;  I  know  the  adopting 
and  operations  of  the  Loch  policy  towards  the  Sutherland 
peasantry  cost  the  present  Duke  and  his  father  many 
thousands  of  pounds,  and,  I  predict,  it  will  continue  to  cost 
them  on  a  large  scale  while  a  Loch  is  at  the  head  of  their 
affairs,  and  is  principal  adviser.  Besides,  how  may  they 
endanger  what  is  far  more  valuable  than  gold  and  silver ; 
for  those  who  are  advised  by  men  who  never  sought  counsel 
or  advice  from  God  all  their  lifetime,  as  their  work  will 
testify,  do  hazard  much,  and  are  trifling  with  Omniscience. 

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 


SUTHERLAND.  1 29 

the  operations  of  the  Loch  poUcy,  watching  day  and  night 
the  freshwater  lakes,  rivers,  and  creeks,  teeming  with  the 
finest  sahnon  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  shellfish,  yet  guarded  and  preserved  for  the 
amusement  of  English  anglers ;  and  what  is  still  more  heart- 
rending, 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,  kilfing  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  shellfish,  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  shellfish, 
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  per- 

9 


130  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

mitted  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  Licurgus 
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 


SUTHERLAND,  131 

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   shellfish,  fortunately   for   the  poor  people,  not 
forbidden   by   a  Loch  ukase.      But   in  the   years   of  dis- 
tress, when  the  people  were  principally  living  upon  vege- 
tables, sea-weeds,  and  shellfish,  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   shellfish    for    meal    with    their    more   fortunate 
neighbours  in  Caithness,  to   whom  such  shellfish  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 


132  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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. — ECCLES.  iv.  i. 

The  wretch  that  works  and  weeps  without  rehef 

Has  one  that  notices  his  silent  grief. 

He,  from  whose  hands  alone  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  lind  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  enor- 
mities 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. 


SUTHERLAND.  1 33 

Allow  me  to  allude  to  an  historical  parallel.     After  the 
conquest,  the  Norman  kings  afforested  a  large  portion  of  the 
soil  of  conquered  England,  in  much  the  same  way  as  the 
landlords  are  now  doing  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.     To 
such  an  extent  was  this  practice  carried  on,  that  an  historian 
informs  us,   that  in  the  reign  of  King  John  "the  greater 
part  of  the  kingdom  "  was  turned  into  forest,  and  that  so 
multiform  and  oppressive  were  the  forest  laws,  that  it  was 
impossible  for  any  man  who  lived  within  the  boundaries  to 
escape  falling  a  victim  to  them.     To  prepare  the  land  for 
these  forests,  the  people  were  required  to  be  driven,   in 
many  cases,  as  in  the  Highlands,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet ; 
cultivated  lands  were  laid  waste,  villages  were  destroyed, 
and  the  inhabitants  extirpated.     Distress  ensued,  and  dis- 
content followed  as  natural   consequences.     But  observe, 
the  Norman  kings  did  all  this  in  virtue  of  their  feudal 
supremacy ;  and  in  point  of  law  and  right,  were  better  en- 
titled to  do  it  than  the  Highland  lairds  are  to  imitate  their 
example  in  the  present  day.     Was  it,  however,  to  be  toler- 
ated ?  were  the  people  to  groan  for  ever  under  this  oppres- 
sion ?     No.     The  English  Barons  gave  a  practical  reply  to 
these  questions  at  Runneymede,  which  it  is  unnecessary  to 
detail.     King  John  did  cry  out  Utopian  at  first,  but   was 
compelled  to  disafforest  the  land,  and  restore  it  to  its  natural 
and  appropriate  use ;   and  the  records  of  that  great  day's 
proceedings  are  universally  esteemed  as  one  of  the  brightest 
pages  in  English  history.     With  this  great  example  before 
their  eyes,  let  the   most  conservative  pause   before   they 
yield  implicit  faith  in  the  doctrine  that  every  one  of  them 
may  do  with  his  lands  as  he  pleases.     The  fundamental 
principle    of  land  tenure   are   unchanged   since   the   days 
of  Magna  Charta ;   and  however  much   the   tendency   of 
modern  ideas  may  have  cast  these  principles  into  oblivion, 


134  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

they  are  still  deeply  graven  in  the  constitution,  and  if  ne- 
cessity called,  would  be  found  as  strong  and  operative  in 
the  present  day  as  they  were  five  centuries  ago.     If  the 
barons  could  compel  the  sovereign   to   open   his   forests, 
surely  the  sovereign  may  more  orderly  compel  the  barons  to 
open  theirs,  and  restore  them  to  their  natural  and  appropriate 
use ;  and  there  is  a  power  behind  the  throne  which  impels 
and  governs  all.     These  are  deep  questions  that  should  be 
stirred  in  the  country,  in  the  midst  of  extremities  and  abuse 
of  power.     For  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  travel  in  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  cast  his  eyes  about  him  without 
feeling  inwardly  that  such  a  crisis  is  approaching,  and  in- 
deed consider  it  should  have  arrived  long  ago.     Sufferings 
have  been  inflicted  in  the  Highlands  as  severe  as  those  occa- 
sioned by  the  policy  of  the  brutal  Roman  kings  in  England; 
deer  have  extended  ranges,  while  men  have  been  hunted 
within  a  narrower  and  still  narrower  circle.    The  strong  have 
fainted  in  the  race  for  life ;  the  old  have  been  left  to  die. 
One  after  another  of  their  liberties  have  been  cloven  down. 
To  kill  a  fish  in  the  stream,  or  a  wild  beast  in  the  hill, 
is   a  transportable   crime,  even   in   time   of  famine.      To 
travel  through  the  fenceless  forest  is  a  crime  ;   paths  which 
at  one  time  linked  hamlet  to  hamlet  for  ages  have  been  shut 
and  barred.     These  oppressions  are  daily  on  the  increase, 
and  if  pushed  much  farther,  (I  should  say  if  not  speedily 
and  timely  pushed  back)  it  is  obvious  that  the  sufferings  of 
the   people   will  reach  a  pitch,  when  action  will   be   the 
'plainest  duty,  and  the  most  sacred  instinct.     To  prevent 
such  forbidden  calamity,  permit  me  to  address  a  few  lines  to 
Her  Majesty. 

Come  Victoria,  Queen  of  Great  Britain,  Berwick-upon- 
Tweed,  and  Ireland ;  thou,  the  most  beloved  of  all  Sove- 
reigns upon  earth,  in  whose  bosom  and  veins  the  blood  of 


SUTHERLAND.        '  1 35 

the  Stuarts,  the  legitimate  Sovereigns  of  Scotland  is  freely 
circulating ;  who  hath  endeared  thyself  to  thy  Celtic  lieges 
in  a  peculiar  manner,  stretch  forth  thy  Royal  hand  to 
preserve  that  noble  race  from  extirpation,  and  becoming 
extinct,  and  to  protect  them  from  the  violence,  oppression, 
and  spoliation  to  which  they  have  been  subjected  for  many 
years.  Bear  in  mind,  that  this  is  the  race  in  whom  your 
forefathers  confided,  trusted,  and  depended  on  so  much  at 
all  times,  especially  when  a  foreign  invader  threatened  and 
attempted  to  take  possession  of  the  Scottish  throne;  and 
never  trusted  to  them  in  vain.  And  though  they  unfor- 
tunately divided  upon  who  of  the  Stuart  family  was  to 
rule  over  them,  and  much  valuable  blood  shed  on  that 
account ;  yet  the  impartial  investigator  into  that  affair  will 
find  the  zeal,  patriotism  and  loyalty  of  each  party  meriting 
equal  praise  and  admiration,  though  the  butchers  and 
literary  scourges  of  the  defeated  party  converted  the  praise 
and  loyalty  due  to  them  into  calumny  and  abuse.  But 
these  gloomy  days  of  strife  and  murder  are  over,  and  the 
defeated  consider  that  they  sustained  no  loss  but  that  they 
gained  much  ;  and  I  assure  your  Majesty  that  your  name  is 
now  imprinted  upon  every  Scotch  Highlander's  heart  in 
letters  more  valuable  than  gold,  and  that  the  remnant  of 
them  still  left,  are  as  willing  and  as  ready  to  shed  their 
blood  for  the  honour  and  dignity  of  your  crown,  and  the 
safety  of  your  person  and  family,  as  their  fathers  were  for 
your  grandsires.  Then  allow  not  this  noble  race  to  be 
extirpated,  nor  deteriorated  in  their  soul,  mind,  chivalry, 
character,  and  persons  :  allow  it  not,  your  Majesty,  to  be 
told  in  Gath,  nor  published  in  the  streets  of  Askelon, 
that  other  nations  have  to  feed  and  keep  alive  your  High- 
land Scotch  warriors,  while  you  require  their  service  on  the 
battle  field  ;  while  the  nursery  where  these  brave  men,  who 


136  THE  RIORLAXD  dJEAR-OCCK^ 

canied  many  a  Uurel  10  ihe  British  cjrv>\vn  frcam  foreign 
stonds>  are  now  convened  into  game  presemes,  hunting 
paiH  and  kirs  for  trild  animah.  Come  then,  like  a  Ck<d- 
feaiins^  God4oTin$  and  Ouisdan  queai;  lil%  a  subject- 
logins  and  bdoved  soT»tasn»  and  demand  the  restitution  of 
tfkdr  inalienable  i^ts  for  jour  Highland  lieges»  and  the 
lestoratkn  of  ^  Highland  ^oadis  and  ^ans  to  thdr  natuial 
and  aqK*^p(^^  ^^^^  Exunine,  Uke  JUktsmtms^  the  book  of 
lecmrds  of  the  dtronides,  and  find  vhat  senrice  the  High- 
landos  rendered  you  and  your  for^thexs»  and  how  they 
were  lequitted  "^  Wlto  knowedi  whether  diou  art  come  to 
the  kingdom  for  snch  a  time  as  this?'^  and  ''  how  cm  }>:m 
«nduie  to  see  the  evil  that  came  upon  your  peq[>ie»  or  how 
can  yoa  endure  to  see  the  destiw^on  of  your  kindred" 
people?  and  tiien  Kke  good  Quern  Esther,  declare  b(ddty 
and  pubK(%  that  you  shall  not  have  a  Hamanite  or  a 
Hamanitess  about  your  parson,  in  your  housdiold,  or  in 
your  counsd.  H^^ihnd  pn^prietoits  hold  dte  lands  and 
otho-  i^ts  tiiey  ptundared  firom  die  people,  on  the  prindple 
that  Hob  Roy  maintained  his  right  to  dte  cattle  he  stole 
fiom  1^  distant  ne^^ibouis  in  Badatodi.  But  die  day  is 
diawing  nj^  whoi  diese  rank  ddusions  in  hig^  quartets 
win  be  d^pdkd.  It  is  a  Satanic  imposture,  tfiat  the 
stevatdshqp  of  God^  soil  is  fte«fy  convartible  into  a  mis- 
chenous  pow^  of  t^piessing  the  poor.  The  premier  use  of 
ptc^ieitT  is  to  make  pn^ieity  usdul ;  where  th^  is  not  don^ 
h  were  bettiar  for  land  owners  to  have  been  bom  beggars, 
dian  to  five  in  luxmy  whik  causing  die  wretched  to  want 
andweq».  IknowdiatiTourSovere^Lady  wastomake 
such  a  demand  as  this,  that  ^le  would  inoir  die  ore  and 
^spleasureof  dietuif  andqportingdassessa  consuming  not 
a  producing  bod^,  the  most  destructive^  vicious,  cxud,  dis- 
ctdiair,  unvi!ti]!o<!xs.  revdlin^anddiemostusdessof  aQ  her 


SUTHEKLAyD-  1 37 

Majesty's  subjects.  On  the  other  hand  her  ^lajesQr  wotdd 
gain  for  herself  the  praise  and  admiration  of  all  the  most 
wise,  prudent,  liberal,  humane,  virtuous,  and  most  ocemplaiy 
of  the  nation ;  the  blessings  of  the  peoj^  and  of  heaven 
would  rest  upon  her,  and  remain  with  her,  and  Hi^land 
proprietors,  their  children,  and  diildren's  children  would 
have  caase  to  hold  her  name  and  memory  in  grat^iil 
recollection-  Their  estates  would  in  a  few  years  douUe 
their  rents,  and  they  and  their  heirs  would  be  redeemed 
from  insolvency,  and  secured  from  beggary.  The  poor  law 
vould  become  a  dead  letter.  The  poaching  game  law 
expenditure,  along  with  many  other  unri^teoos  laws,  which 
are  hanging  heavily  upon  the  nation,  would  fell  to  disuse ; 
the  people  would  prosper,  and  nothing  would  be  lost  but 
hunting  grounds  for  the  younger  branches  of  the  aristoc- 
racy and  English  snobs,  and  that  could  be  easily  supplied 
by  Her  Majesty  directing  the  attention  of  this  cruel 
cowardly  class  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  North  West 
Territories,  where  they  might  have  plenty  useful  sport, 
destro)ing  animals  much  of  their  own  disposition,  though 
not  half  so  injurious. 

The  Duchess  of  Sutherland  pays  a  visit  every  year  to 
Dunrobin  Castle,  and  has  seen  and  heard  so  many  suppli- 
cating 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 


13S  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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 
cowitry,  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  gray 
plaid  to  the  eyes,  with  a  colly  dog  behind  him  as  a  drill 
Serjeant  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  sportsmien, 
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- 


SUTHERLAND.  139 

shore,  huddled  together  in  motley  groups  upon  barren 
moors,  among  cliffs  and  precipices,  in  the  most  im- 
poverished, degraded,  subjugated,  slavish,  spiritless  condi- 
tion 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,  de- 
graded, 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  be  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  advice  his 
Grace,  her  husband,  to  be  no  longer  guided  by  his  Ahito- 
phel,  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  man- 
date of  Mr.  Loch,  which  forbids  marriage  on  the  Sutherland 
estate,  under  pains  and  penalties  of  being  banished  from 
the  county ;  for  it  has  already  been  the  cause  of  a  great 
amount  of  prostitution,  and  his  augmented  illegitimate  con- 
nections and  issues  fifty  per  cent,  above  what  such  were  a 
few  years  ago — before  this  unnatural,  ungodly  law  was  put 
in  force. 


140  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

Let  US  see  what  the  character  of  these  ill-used  people  was ! 
General  Stewart  of  Garth,  in  his  "Sketches  of  the  High- 
lands," says  : — In  the  words  of  a  general  ofificer  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,"  says  the  General,  "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  gentlemen,  Mr.  Thorn, 
in  a  letter  which  appeared  in  the  Christian  Herald  of  Octo- 
ber, 1814,  writes  thus  :—"  When  the  93rd  Highlanders  left 
Cape  Town  last  month,  there  were  among  them  156  mem- 
bers 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 


SUTHERLAND.  I4I 

their  Bibles  and  observed  the  Sabbath.  They  saved  their 
money  to  do  good.  7,000  rix  dollars,  a  sum  equal  to 
;!£"i,2oo,  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  destitude 
condition,  occasioned  by  the  operation  of  the  (fire  and 
faggot)  OTZJ-improved  state  of  the  county."  During  the  short 
period  the  regiment  was  quartered  at  Plymouth,  upwards  of 
;^5oo  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 


142  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

lead  to  a  deterioration,  placing  families  on  patches  of 
potato  ground  as  in  Ireland,  a  system  pregnant  with  de- 
gradation, 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  abbrevia- 
tion 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  Miller  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  (as  I  will  endea- 
vour to  show  at  a  future  period).  Come  then,  ye  perfidious 
declaimers  and  denouncers ;  you  literary  scourges  of  High- 
land happiness,  under  whatever  garb,  whether  political 
economist  or  theology  mongers,  answer  for  yourselves — What 
good  have  you  achieved,  after  expending  such  enormous 
sums  of  money  ?  Is  it  possible  that  the  world  will  believe 
you,  or  put  confidence  in  you  any  longer?  Before  I  am 
done  with  you,  come,  you  professing  preachers  of  the  ever- 
lasting Gospel  of  peace  and  of  good  will  to  men,  stand 
alongside  and  on  the  same  platform  with  the  Highland 
Destitution  Relief  Board,   exhibited  before  God  and   the 


SUTHERLAND.  1 43 

world,  and  accused  of  misapplying  and  squandering  away 
an  enormous  amount  of  money,  and  of  having  in  your 
league,  and  combination  with  political  economists — -treach- 
erous professing  civilizers  and  improvers  of  the  Highlands 
and  Highland  population, — produced  the  most  truly  deplor- 
able results  that  ever  were  recorded  in  the  history  of  any 
nation,  the  utter  ruin  and  destruction  of  as  brave,  moral, 
religious,  loyal,  and  patriotic  a  race  of  men  as  ever  existed. 
Spiritual  and  temporal  destitution  in  the  Highlands  has  been 
a  profitable  field  for  you  these  many  years  back.  Many  a 
scheme  has  been  tried,  hitherto  successful,  to  extract  money 
from  the  pockets  of  the  credulous  benevolent  public,  who 
unfortunately  believed  your  fabulous  accusation  and  mis- 
representation of  the  Highlanders,  and  who  confided  in 
your  honesty;  and  although  you,  yourselves,  may  see,  the 
public,  yea,  and  he  that  runneth  may  see,  that  the  Lord, 
not  without  a  cause,  has  discountenanced  you,  still  you  con- 
tinue pour  appeals  to  the  public,  that  your  traffic  may  con- 
tinue likewise ;  appeals  from  respectable  quarters  have  lately 
been  made  for  Gaelic  teachers,  Gaelic  bibles,  and  psalm 
books,  and  tracts,  for  the  poor  Highlanders,  who  are  dying 
for  want  of  food.  Depend  upon  it  that  there  is  a  squad  of 
students  out  of  employment,  and  a  great  deal  of  these 
books  unsold  somewhere,  that  must  be  turned  to  money.  We 
have  now  an  association  forming  in  Edinburgh,  got  up  by 
men  from  whom  better  things  should  be  expected,  who  have 
for  their  object  to  export  these  dying,  penniless  Highlanders 
to  Ireland,  to  mix  location  with  the  poor  Irish — who  have 
gone  through  many  a  fiery  ordeal  for  the  last  sixty  years — 
that  the  wastes  of  Ireland  may  be  reclaimed  from  nature, 
and  cultivated  by  Highlanders;  just  as  if  there  was  no 
waste  land  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland  to 
reclaim  and  cultivate ;  or,  as  if  there  was  something  devilish 


144 


THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 


or  unnatural  in  the  Highland  soil,  detrimental  to  the  pro- 
gress of  its  inhabitants. 

Britain  will  some  day  bewail  the  loss  of  her  Highland 
sons,  Highland  bravery,  loyalty,  patriotism,  and  Highland 
virtue.     May  God  hasten  the  day,  that  I  may  live  to  see  it. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Russian  war  a  correspond- 
ent wrote  MacLeod  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  pro- 
clamations were  attended  to,  but  when  they  came  to  under- 
stand 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 


SUTHERLAND.  1 45 

hour ;  his  Grace  in  his  carriage,  with  his  miUtary  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,  des- 
potic 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  indig- 
nant 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  ob- 
served 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  pro- 

10 


146  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

posals  are  meeting  here  to-day,  so  near  the  spot  where  your 
maternal  grand-mother,  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 
appUed  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 
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  pre- 
vailing 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  tlie  rubbish  or  ruins  of  the  county,  has  more  sense 


SUTHERLAND.  I 47 

an  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  game-keeper,  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 


148  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  deter- 
mine 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  church-yard  ;  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)  pre- 
sence. 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 


SUTHERLAND.  149 

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   mes- 
senger 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  re- 
plied, "  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 


150  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  expect- 
ing 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  extra- 
ordinary 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 


SUTHERLAND,  1 5  I 

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  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,  adver- 
tised 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  oc- 
cupied 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  l^eing  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 


152  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  unfor- 
tunately 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,  in- 
stantly 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,  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  sjDring,  she   was  carried  back  to  Dunrobin  a  corpse, 


SUTHERLAND.  1 53 

and  a  few  days  after  was  interred  in  Dornoch.  William 
Ross  was  served  with  a  summons  of  removal  from  Achtom- 
leeny,  and  he  had  nothing  to  show.  He  petitioned  the 
present  Duke,  and  his  commissioner,  Mr.  Loch,  and  re- 
lated 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  Achtom- 
leeny  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  Ach- 
tomleeny,  which  was  valued  by  the  family  surveyor  at  ;^25o. 
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  reduc- 
tion 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 


154  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  civilisa- 
tion 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  com- 
plaints 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  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 


SUTHERLAND.  155 

go  hard  with  the  factor,  or  he  will  punish  and  make  an 
example  of  him  to  deter  others. 

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.  Bag- 
pipers 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  drout/ues,  and 


156 


THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 


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  flourish- 
ing account  is  sent  to  the  world,  and  to  the  absentee  family 
in  London,  who  knows  nothing  about  how  the  affair  was  con- 
ducted. 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. 


JOHN  MACKIE. 

Donald  MacLeod  continues  his  remarks  on  the  Suther- 
land thus  : — 

"I  am  sorry  that  for  the  present  I  must  lay  aside  many 
important  communications  bearing  upon  the  clearing  system 
of  the  Highlanders  which  corroborates  and  substantiates 
my  description  of  it,  such  as  letters  published  by  Mr, 
Somers  and  Mr.  Donald  Ross,  Glasgow,  Mr.  Donald 
Sutherland,  which  appeared  in   the    Woodstock   Sentinel,  a 


SUTHERLAND.  1 5  7 

few  weeks  ago ;  but  above  all  I  regret  how  little  I  can  take 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Mackie,  editor  of  the  Northern 
Ensign^  Wick,  Caithness,  a  gentleman  who,  since  the 
appearance  of  his  valuable  paper,  proved  himself  the  faithful 
friend  of  the  oppressed,  the  indefatigable  exposer  of  their 
wrongs,  the  terror  of  their  oppressors,  and  chastiser  of  their 
tools,  apologisers  and  abettors,  though  his  pecuniary  benefits 
would  be  to  sail  in  the  same  boat  with  his  unprincipled 
contemporaries  in  the  north  of  Scotland ;  but  he  chose  the 
better  part,  and  there  is  a  higher  promise  of  reward  for  him 
than  worm  Dukes,  Lords,  Esquires,  and  their  vile  underlings 
could  bestow.  The  following  is  among  the  last  of  Mr. 
Mackie's  productions  on  the  subject"  : — 

WILLING   HANDS    FOR    INDIA. 

Over  this  title  Punch  of  last  week  gives  a  very  exciting 
illustration.  A  towering  cart-load  of  ingathered  grain,  with 
a  crowing  cock  on  its  summit,  forms  the  background ;  while 
in  front  a  recruiting  officer  and  a  party  are  cheered  by  the 
excited  harvesters,  coming  forward  with  reaping-hooks  in 
their  hands,  to  volunteer  for  India,  the  banner  borne  by  the 
officer  representing  the  British  lion  in  the  act  of  springing 
on  the  Bengal  tiger.  The  recruits,  not  yet  returned  from 
the  harvest  field,  are  all  enthusiasm,  and  are  eagerly  rush- 
ing to  enrol  themselves  among  the  avengers  of  the  butch- 
eries that  have  been  perpetrated  in  our  Indian  empire. 

The  newspapers  of  the  south  report  that  the  recruiting  in 
certain  districts  had  been  most  successful,  and  that  already 
many  thousand  young  men  of  promise  have  entered  the 
line.  It  is  remarkable,  however,  particularly  so,  that  all 
reference  to  the  districts  from  which  the  main  strength  of 
our  regular  army  was  formerly  obtained  is  most  studiously 


158  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

avoided.  May  we  ask  the  authorities  what  success  the 
recruiting  officer  has  now  met  with  in  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland?  Time  was,  in  former  exigencies,  when  all  eyes 
were  turned  in  that  direction,  and  not  in  vain.  Time  was 
when,  in  only  five  days,  the  county  of  Sutherland  alone 
contributed  one  thousand  young  men ;  and  when,  in  four- 
teen days,  no  fewer  than  eleven  times  that  number  were 
enrolled  as  recruits  from  the  various  Highland  districts. 
Time  was  when  the  immortal  Chatham  boasted  that  "he 
had  found  upon  the  mountains  of  Caledonia  a  gallant 
though  oppressed  race  of  heroes,  who  had  triumphantly 
carried  the  British  banner  into  every  quarter  of  the  globe  ". 
Time  was  when  Punch  would,  in  such  an  illustration  as  that 
of  last  week,  have  included  in  his  representation  some  half- 
dozen  kilted  Celts,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  issuing  from  their 
mountain  homes,  and  panting  to  be  let  loose  on  the  Indian 
bloodhounds. 

Why  not  now?  Answer  the  question,  my  Lord  Duke  of 
Sutherland.  Tell  Her  Majesty,  my  Lord,  why  the  bagpipes 
of  the  recruiting  party  are  silent  in  Sutherland,  and  why  no 
"willing  hands  for  India"  are  found  in  your  Grace's  vast 
Highland  domain.  Tell  her  how  it  happens  that  the  pat- 
riotic enthusiasm  v/hich  at  the  close  of  the  last  century  was 
shown  in  the  almost  magical  enrolment  of  thousands  of 
brawny  Sutherlanders,  who  gained  wide-world  renown  at 
Corunna,  at  Fuentes  d'Onor,  at  Vittoria,  at  Waterloo,  and 
elsewhere,  is  now  unknown  in  Sutherland,  and  how  the 
enrolment  of  one  man  in  that  large  county  is  a  seven  years' 
wonder.  If  your  Grace  is  silent,  the  answer  is  not  wanting, 
nor  is  Her  Majesty  ignorant  of  it. 

And  yet  the  cursed  system  which  has  disheartened  and 
well-nigh  destroyed  that  "  race  of  heroes,"  is  pertinaciously 
persevered  in  by  the  very  men  who,  of  all  others,  should 


SUTHERLAND.  159 

be  the  first  to  come  forward  and  denounce  it.     "Willing 
hands  for  India,"  says  Pimch.     "  No,"  says  high-bred  lords 
and  coroneted  peers ;  "  give  us  game  preserves,  deer  forests, 
and  sheep  walks.     Perish  your  bold  peasantry  !  and  life  to 
the  pleasures  of  the  forest  and  the  mountain  heath."     And 
thus  it  is  that  landlord  after  landlord  is  yearly  weeding  out 
the   aborigines,    and   converting    Scotland    into   one   pon- 
derous deer  forest.     Not  a  year  passes  without  seeing  hun- 
dreds of  unoffending  men,  women,  and  children,  from  Cape 
Wrath  to  Mull  of  Galloway,  remorselessly  unhoused,   and 
their  little  crofts  added  to  the  vast  waste.      And  now  that 
Britain  for  the  second  time  in  four  years  has  again  to  invoke 
the  patriotism  of  her  sons,  and  to  call  for  aid  in  the  eventful 
crisis  in  India,  the  blast  of  the  recruiter's  bugle  evokes  only 
the  bleat  of  sheep,  or  the  pitiful  bray  of  the  timid  deer,  in 
the  greater  part  of  these  wide  regions  which  formerly  con- 
tributed their  tens  of  thousands  of  men  to  fight  their  coun- 
try's  battles.     Oh,  had  Chatham  been  alive  now,  what  a 
feeling  would  have  been  awakened  in  his  manly  breast  as  he 
surveyed  the  wreck  which  the  Loch  policy  had  occasioned ; 
and  with  what  crushing  eloquence  would  he  have  invoked 
the  curse  of  heaven  on  that  system.     Meanwhile,  Britain 
misses  her  Highland  heroes,  and  the  imperilled  troops  in 
India,  with  the  unoffending  women  and  children,  must  wait 
the  tardy  arrival  of  "willing  hands"  to  assist  them,  while, 
had  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland  been  as  they  once  were, 
in  one  week  more  men  would  have  been  raised  for  India 
than  would  have  sufficed  to  have  effectually  crushed  the 
Indian  revolt,  had  it  spread  itself  from   the  foot   of  the 
Himalaya  mountains   to   the  most   distant   district  of  our 
Indian  empire. 

Let    Highland   evictors,    from    Dukes    to   the    meanest 
squires,  beware.      Popular  patience   has   a   limit;    and   it 


l6o  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

seems  to  me  that  the  time  is  rapidly  nearing  when,  if 
Parhament  remains  longer  silent,  the  people  of  the  country 
will  arouse  themselves,  and,  by  one  united  expression  of 
their  will,  drive  back  to  its  native  den  the  foul  and  disastrous 
policy  which  has  depeopled  the  Scottish  Highlands. 

MacLeod  continues  : — To  detail  individual  deaths,  suffer- 
ings, and  oppressions  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  would 
be  an  endless  work.     A  few  months  ago  a  letter  from  Donald 
Sutherland,  farmer.  West  Lorra,  Canada  West,  appeared  in 
the  Woodstock  Sentinel,  detailing  what  his  father  and  family 
suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Sutherlandshire  landlords  ;  all 
the  offence  his  father  was  guilty  of  was  that  he,  along  with 
others,  went  and  remonstrated  with  the  house  burners  and 
made   them   desist   until   the   people   could   remove   their 
families  and  chattels  out  of  their  houses  ;  for  this  offence  he 
would  not  be  allowed  to  remain  on  the  estate.      He  took 
shelter  with  his  family  under  the  roof  of  his  father-in-law ; 
from  this  abode  he  was  expelled,  and  his  father-in-law  made 
a  narrow  escape  from  sharing  the  same  fate  for  affording  him 
shelter.     He  was  thus  persecuted  from  one  parish  to  another, 
until  ultimately  another  proprietor,  Skibo,  took  pity  upon 
him,  and  permitted  him,  in  the  beginning  of  an  extraordinary 
stormy  winter,  to  build  a  house  in  the  middle  of  a  bog  or 
swamp,  during  the  building  of  which,  he  having  no  assistance, 
his  family  being  all  young,  and  far  from  his  friends,   and 
having  all  materials  to  carry  on  his  back,  the  stance  of  his  new 
house  being  inaccessible  by  horses  or  carts,  he,  poor  fellow, 
fell  a  victim  to  cold  and  fever,  and  a  combination  of  other 
troubles,  and  died  before  the  house  was  finished,  leaving  a 
widow  and  six  fatherless  children  in  this  half-finished  hut, 
in  the  middle  of  a  swamp,  to  the  mercy  of  the  world.     Well 
might  Donald  Sutherland,  who  was  the  oldest  of  the  family, 
and  who  recollects  what  his  father  suffered,  and  his  death. 


SUTHERLAND.  l6l 

I  say,  charge  the  Sutherland  family  and  their  tools  with  his 
death. 

But  many  were  the  hundreds  who  suffered  alike,  and  died 
similar  deaths  in  Sutherlandshire  during  the  wholesale 
evictions  and  house-burnings  of  the  County.  But  I 
must  now  cease  to  unpack  my  heart  upon  these  revolting 
scenes  and  gloomy  memories.  I  know  many  will  say  that 
I  have  dealt  too  hard  with  the  House  of  Sutherland, — that 
such  disclosures  as  I  have  made  cannot  be  of  any  public 
service, — that  the  present  Duke  of  Sutherland  is  a  good  man, 
and  that  in  England  he  is  called  the  Good  Duke.  I  have 
in  my  own  unvarnished  way  brought  to  light  a  great  amount 
of  inhumanity,  foul,  unconstitutional,  and  barbarous  atrocities, 
committed  and  perpetrated  in  his  name,  and  in  the  name  of 
his  parents,  and  by  their  authority.  I  stand  by  these  as 
stern  facts. 


The  preceding  pages  are  a  reproduction  of  the  Canadian 
edition  of  Donald  MacLeod's  "Gloomy  Memories  of  the 
Highlands,"  published  at  Woodstock,  in  1857.  The 
*'  Letters  "  are,  with  very  slight  alterations,  re-printed  entire; 
but  the  author's  Appendix,  written  in  reply  to  Mrs.  Beecher 
Stowe's  "  Sunny  Memories  "  is  considerably  abridged  and 
otherwise  modified. 

We  shall  next  give  the  opinions  of  such  eminent  authors 
as  General  Stewart  of  Garth,  Hugh  Miller,  Professor  John 
Stuart  Blackie,  John  Mackay  C.E.,  born  and  bred  in  the 
Couiity ;  and  others. 


II 


'^% 


GENERAL  STEWART  OF  GARTH, 

Referring  to  the  Sutherland  evictions,  in  his  first  edi- 
tion, writes  : — 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  indul- 
gence, 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 


SUTHERLAND.  1 63 

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  that  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  re- 
spectable 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 


164  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  abihty  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  independ- 
ence, which  is  generated  in  countries  where  the  free  cultivators 


SUTHERLAND.  1 65 

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  circum- 
stances, 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  govern- 
ment 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 


1 66  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

veracity,  descriptive  of  what  they  daily  \Yitness,  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,  notwithstand- 
ing 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  pos- 
sess 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,  tliey  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  banish- 


SUTHERLAND.  1 67 

ment  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  prospec- 
tive 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  toward  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  under- 
mining 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  pro- 


l68  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

ductive  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  neigh- 
bours. 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  pro- 
ceeded 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 


SUTHERLAND.  1 69 

are  stated  to  have  been  more  liberal;  and  the  improve- 
ments which  have  succeeded  those  summary  ejectments  of 
the  ancient  inhabitants  are  highly  eulogised  both  in  pam- 
phlets 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,  per- 
haps, 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  conse- 
quence 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  culpabiUty;  it  only  transferred  the  offence  from 
the  agent  to  a  quarter  too  high  and  too  distant  to  be  di- 
rectly 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  sensa- 
tion 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 


X 


170  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

(and  how  it  can  produce  any  advantage  beyond  what  might 
have  been  obtained  by  pursuing  a  scheme  of  concihation 
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  feel- 
ings, 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  pro- 
moted 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  char- 
acter ?  The  people  ought  not  to  be  reproached  with  inca- 
pacity 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  ? 


SUTHERLAND.  I  7  I 

But  if  at  home  they  are  thus  low  in  character,  how  un- 
paralleled 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  char- 
acters, or  in  quarters,  or  billets,  with  the  lowest  of  the  people, 
instead  of  mingling  with  such  society  as  they  left  in  their 
native  homes  ?  AVhy  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  necess- 
ary for  such  honourable  soldiers  ".* 

The  same  author  adds  the  following,  in  the  third  edition 
of  the  same  work,  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 

*  Sketches  of  the  Character,  Manners,  and  Present  State  of  the  High- 
landers of  Scotland,  with  details  of  the  Military  Service  of  the  Highland 
Regiments,  by  Colonel  David  Stewart,  1822. 


172  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

lamented  that  its  application  was  so  much  in  one  direction ; 
that  the  ancient  tenantry  were  to  have  no  share  in  this  ex- 
penditure ;  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  inevi- 
table 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  inquiry,  careful,  at 
the  same  time,  to  form  no  opinion  on  intelligence  communi- 
cated 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  prin- 
ciples of  the  people,  exhibited  a  perfect  contrast  to  my  own 
personal  experience  and  knowledge  of  the  admirable  char- 
acter 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  arm).  But, 
indeed,  as  to  information,  so  much  publicity  had  been 
given,  by  various  statements  explanatory  of,  and  in  vindi- 


SUTHERLAND.  173 

cation  of  these  proceedings,  that  Uttle  more  was  necessary, 
beyond  what  these  pubUcations  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   im- 
mediately 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  em- 
braced  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  in- 
quiry 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  cofnmunications,  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  — 


174  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  ;^2 10,000  have  been  expended  on  improve- 
ments, no  return  is  to  be  looked  for  from  this  vast  expen- 
diture; 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. 

But  in  the  county  in  question,  no  antipathy  to  the  people 
is  now  to  be  dreaded ;  a  return  of  ancient  kindness  will 
cement  with  ancient  fidelity  and  attachment ;  and  if  the 
people  are  rendered  comfortable  and  contented,  they  will 
be  kept  loyal,  warlike,  and  brave. 


HUGH  MILLER. 

So  MUCH  has  been  already  said  about  these  disastrous 
Sutherland  evictions  that  we  greatly  fear  the  reader  is  already 
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  con- 
clusions of  the  able  and  far-seeing  French  writer  Sismondi, 
who  in  his  great  work  declares, — "  It  is  by  a  cruel  use  of 
legal — it  is  by  an  unjust  usurpation — that  the  tacks- 
man 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 


176  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  hesi- 
tated to  characterise  her  great  and  singularly  harsh  experi- 
ment, 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  eye  on  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  accom- 
plished, 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 


SUTHERLAND.  177 

doing  justice  in  a  few  sentences  to  the  facts  and  reasonings 
of  an  elaborate  essay ;  but  the  line  of  the  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,  accord- 
ing 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  pro- 
prietor, 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 

12 


178  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  improvejitenfs,  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  ov/n  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 
181 1  and  1820,  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants  of  this  northern 
district  were  ejected  from  their  snug  inland  farms,  by  means 


SUTHERLAND.  1 79 

for  which  we  would  in  vain  seek  a  precedent,  except,  per- 
chance, 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  less- 
ened. So  far  was  this  from  being  the  case,  that  the  census 
of  182 1  showed  an  increase  over  the  census  of  1811  of  more 
than  two  hundred  ;  and  the  present  population  of  Suther- 
land exceeds,  by  a  thousand,  its  population  before  the 
change.  The  county  has  not  been  depopulated — its  popula- 
tion 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  High- 
lander, 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  econo- 
mists shall  have  an  opportunity  of  reducing  their  argu- 
ments 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 


l8o  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  remem- 
ber the  county  in  its  original  state,  when  it  was  at  once  the 
happiest  and  one  of  the  most  exemplary  districts  in  Scot- 
land, 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  pot- 
herbs, such  as  the  mug-wort  and  the  nettle.  It  has  been 
adduced  by  the  advocates  of  the  change  which  has  ruined 


SUTHERLAND.  l8l 

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  Highlanders  was 
in  the  habit,  at  such  times,  of  having  a  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 


l82  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  per- 
ceive the  difference  between  a  smoky  cottage  of  turf,  and  a 
whitewashed  cottage  of  stone,  whose  judgment  on  their  res- 
pective inhabitants  would  be  of  but  little  value.  Sutherland, 
as  a  county  of  men,  stood  higher  at  this  period  than  per- 
haps 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  accus- 
tomed 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  the  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 


SUTHERLAND.  1 83 

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  concep- 
tion. 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  pro- 
duce 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  trans- 
formed, 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 


184  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES, 

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  one  said  individual  from  Dunrobin  to  a  road-side, 
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  aston- 
ished, 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  perpet- 
rated 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  High- 
landers were  very  unwilling  to  obey;  and  the  severities 
formed  merely  a  part  of  the  means  though  which  the  ne- 
cessary 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 


SUTHERLAND.  1 85 

Highlanders  of  Farr  and  Kildonan,  two  parishes  in  Suther- 
land, were  summoned  to  quit  their  farms  in  the  following 
May.  In  a  few  days  after,  the  surrounding  heaths  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 
l|ave  ensued  from  alarm,  fatigue,  and  cold. 
\  Our  author  then  corroborates  in  detail  the  atrocities, 
crtK^lties,  and  personal  hardships  already  described  by 
Dcijild  MacLeod  and  proceeds  : — But  to  employ  the  langu- 
age- f  Southey, 

'  Things  such  as  these,  we  know,  must  be 

At  every  famous  victory. 


1 86  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  pro- 
cess 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  pre- 
sent 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 


SUTHERLAND.  1 87 

Still  posessed,  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  deepen- 
ing 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  hold- 
ings must  inevitably  attach.  The  laws  of  Charles  have 
again  returned  in  this  unhappy  district,  and  free  and  tolerat- 
ing 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, 


1 88  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

that  the  intimation  has  emanted  from  the  Duke ;  but  this  we 
say,  that  an  exemplary  Sutherlandshire  minister  of  the  Pro- 
testing 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  out- 
wards, 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  meanness  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  fortu- 
nately not  the  sole  landowner,  there  has  been  a  site  pro- 
cured on  the  most  generous  terms  from  Sir  George  Gunn 
Munro  of  Poyntzfield ;  and  this  gentleman,  believing  him- 
self possessed  of  a  hereditary  right  to  a  quarry,  which, 
though  on  the  Duke's  ground,  had  been  long  resorted  to 


SUTHERLAND.  1 89 

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  con- 
nection 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  popu- 
lation 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  in- 
terests 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 


190 


THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 


what  seems  one  vast  straggling  village,  inhabited  by  an  im- 
poverished and  ruined  people, — and  thac  the  coming  assess- 
ment 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  supponing  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 
pubUc.  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  abun- 
dant 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  remem- 
bered, 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 


SUTHERLAND.  19I 

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  High- 
lander 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 
he  did  not  live  even  to  attempt.  A  combination  of  circum- 
stances 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  hitaself,  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 


192  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  on  only  the  arena  of  public 
opinion,  and  on  that  ground  which  the  political  field  may  be 
soon  found  to  furnish. 

Such  of  our  readers  as  are  acquainted  with  the  memoir 
of  Lady  Glenorchy,  must  remember  a  deeply  melancholy 
incident  which  occurred  in  the  history  of  this  excellent 
woman,  in  connection  with  the  noble  family  of  Sutherland. 
Her  only  sister  had  been  married  to  William,  seventeenth 
Earl  of  Sutherland,— "  the  first  of  the  good  Earls";  "a 
nobleman,"  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jones  in  his  Memoir,  "  who 
to  the  finest  person  united  all  the  dignity  and  amenity  of 
manners  and  character  which  give  lustre  to  greatness ". 
But  his  sun  was  destined  soon  to  go  down.  Five  years 
after  his  marriage,  which  proved  one  of  the  happiest,  and 
was  blessed  with  two  children,  the  elder  of  the  two,  the 
young  Lady  Catherine,  a  singularly  engaging  child,  was 
taken  from  him  by  death,  in  his  old  hereditary  castle  of 
Dunrobin.  The  event  deeply  affected  both  parents,  and 
preyed  on  their  health  and  spirits.  It  had  taken  place 
amid  the  gloom  of  a  severe  northern  winter,  and  the  soli- 


SUTHERLAND.  1 93 

tude  of  the  Highlands ;  and,  acquiescing  in  the  advice  of 
friends,  the  Earl  and  his  lady  quitted  the  family  seat,  where 
there  was  so  much  to  remind  them  of  their  bereavement, 
and  sought  relief  in  the  more  cheerful  atmosphere  of  Bath. 
But  they  were  not  to  find  it  there.  Shortly  after  their 
arrival,  the  Earl  was  seized  by  a  malignant  fever,  with  which, 
upheld  by  a  powerful  constitution,  he  struggled  for  fifty-four 
days,  and  then  expired.  "  For  the  first  twenty-one  days  and 
nights  of  these,"  says  Dr.  Jones,  "  Lady  Sutherland  never 
left  his  bedside ;  and  then,  at  last,  overcome  with  fatigue, 
anxiety,  and  grief,  she  sank  an  unavailing  victim  to  an 
amiable  but  excessive  attachment,  seventeen  days  before  the 
death  of  her  lord."  The  period,  though  not  very  remote, 
v/as  one  in  which  the  intelligence  of  events  travelled 
slowly;  and  in  this  instance  the  distraction  of  the  family 
must  have  served  to  retard  it  beyond  the  ordinary  time. 
Her  ladyship's  mother,  when  hastening  from  Edinburgh  to 
her  assistance,  alighted  one  day  from  her  carriage  at  an  inn, 
and  on  seeing  two  hearses  standing  by  the  wayside,  in- 
quired of  an  attendant  whose  remains  they  contained  ?  The 
reply  was,  the  remains  of  Lord  and  Lady  Sutherland,  on 
their  way  for  interment  to  the  Royal  Chapel  of  Holyrood 
House.  And  such  was  the  first  intimation  of  which  the 
lady  received  of  the  death  of  her  daughter  and  son-in- 
law. 

The  event  was  pregnant  with  disaster  to  Sutherland, 
though  many  years  elapsed  ere  the  ruin  which  it  involved 
fell  on  that  hapless  country.  The  sole  survivor  and  heir  of 
the  family  was  a  femal^  infant  of  but  a  year  old.  Her 
maternal  grandmother,  an  ambitious,  intriging  woman  of 
the  world,  had  the  chief  share  in  her  general  training  and 
education ;  and  she  was  brought  up  in  the  south  of  Scot- 
land, of  which  her  grandmother  was  a  native,  far  removed 

13 


194  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

from  the  influence  of  those  genial  sympathies  with  the 
people  of  her  clan,  for  which  the  old  lords  of  Sutherland 
had  been  so  remarkable,  and,  what  was  a  sorer  evil  still, 
from  the  influence  of  the  vitalities  of  that  religion  which, 
for  five  generations  together,  her  fathers  had  illustrated  and 
adorned.  The  special  mode  in  which  the  disaster  told  first, 
was  through  the  patronage  of  the  county,  the  larger  part  of 
which  was  vested  in  the  family  of  Sutherland.  Some  of  the 
old  Earls  had  been  content,  as  we  have  seen,  to  place  them- 
selves on  the  level  of  the  Christian  men  of  their  parishes, 
and  thus  to  unite  with  them  in  calling  to  their  churches  the 
ministers  of  their  choice.  They  know, — what  regenerated 
natures  can  alone  know,  with  the  proper  emphasis,  that  in 
Christ  Jesus  the  vassal  ranks  with  his  lord,  and  they  con- 
scientiously acted  on  the  conviction.  But  matters  were  now 
regulated  differently.  The  presentation  supplanted  the 
call,  and  ministers  came  to  be  placed  in  the  parishes  of 
Sutherland  without  the  consent,  and  contrary  to  the  will  of 
the  people.  Churches,  well-filled  hitherto,  were  deserted  by 
their  congregations,  just  because  a  respectable  woman  of  the 
world,  making  free  use  of  what  she  deemed  her  own,  had 
planted  them  with  men  of  the  world,  who  were  only  tolerably 
respectable ;  and  in  houses  and  barns,  the  devout  men  of 
the  district  learned  to  hold  numerously-attended  Sabbath 
meetings  for  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  mutual  exhortation 
and  prayer,  as  a  sort  of  substitute  for  the  public  services,  in 
which  they  found  they  could  no  longer  join  with  profit. 
The  spirit  awakened  by  the  old  Earls  had  survived  them- 
selves, and  ran  directly  counter  to  the  policy  of  their 
descendant.  Strongly  attached  to  the  Establishment,  the 
people,  though  they  thus  forsook  their  old  places  of  worship, 
still  remained  members  of  the  national  Church,  and 
travelled  far  in  the  summer  season   to  attend  the  better 


SUTHERLAND.  1 95 

ministers  of  their  own  and  the  neighbouring  counties.  We 
have  been  assured,  too,  from  men  whose  judgment  we 
respect,  that,  under  all  their  disadvantages,  religion  con- 
tinued peculiarly  to  flourish  among  them  ; — "  a  deep-toned 
evangelism  prevailed ;  so  that  perhaps  the  visible  Church 
throughout  the  world  at  the  time  could  furnish  no  more 
striking  contrast  than  that  which  obtained  between  the 
cold,  bald,  common-place  service  of  the  pulpit  in  some  of 
these  parishes,  and  the  fervid  prayers  and  exhortations 
which  give  life  and  interest  to  these  humble  meetings  of  the 
people."  What  a  pity  it  is  that  differences  such  as  these  the 
Duke  of  Sutherland  cannot  see  ! 

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  repul- 
sive 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 


196  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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 — circum- 
stances 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  Maclecd,  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  body- 
clothes,  or,  more  distressing  still,  watches,  and  rings,  and 
pins, — the  only  relics,  in  not  a  few  instances,  of  brave  men 


SUTHERLAND.  1 97 

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  boatmen  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  fisher- 
men. 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.* 


PROFESSOR  JOHN  STUART  BLACKIE. 

Professor  Blackie  in  his  recently  published  and  splen- 
did work,  "  Altavona,"  sums  up  his  chapter  on  the  Sutherland 
Clearances  in  appropriate  terms.  Having  listened  to  the 
leading  character  in  the  book — the  Professor  himself — 
giving  both  sides  of  the  question  at  length,  Biicherblume, 
the  German  scholar,  exclaimed  : — 

"  If  all  this  is  true,""  the  power  of  a  factor,  under  one  of 
your  gigantic  landowners  in  Scotland,  and  wielding  laws, 
made  for  the  most  part  by  landlords  in  their  own  interests, 
and  manipulated  by  lawyers  and  judges,  who  were  them- 

^  Hugh  Miller's  leading  articles  on  "  Suthci-land  as  it  was  and  is  ", 


198  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

selves  mostly  landowners,  must  have  been  tremendous,  not 
a  whit  less  galling  than  the  domination  of  the  police  in 
Prussia,  under  the  Government  of  the  old  unqualified  bureau- 
cracy." 

Mac. — "  Tremendous,  indeed.  Even  now  the  factor  of 
an  absentee  landlord,  or  of  a  resident  landlord,  who  may  be 
feeble,  or  careless,  or  asleep,  is  the  most  absolute  of 
despots.  In  many  matters  of  vital  importance  to  the  poor 
peasant  there  is  neither  law  nor  public  opinion  to  lay  a 
check  on  his  high-handedness." 

The  Professor  then  reproduces  the  conversation  which 
took  place  between  Donald  Macleod  and  his  judge  at 
Dornoch,  already  printed  at  pp.  81-82  of  this  work,  when 
Biicherblume  again  exclaims  : — 

"  Good  heavens  !  And  this  is  British  liberty  in  the  year 
1827.  Our  Teutonic  Michel  must  learn  to  admire  the  glorious 
British  Constitution  less  from  a  moral  point  of  view." 

Mac. — "Very  wise.  There  are  rats  sometimes  in  the 
biggest  palaces,  as  well  as  in  the  lowest  hovels ; "  and  he 
sums  up  by  laying  down  the  following  propositions  : — 

I.  I  hold  it  to  be  quite  certain,  as  a  consequence  of  the 
altered  relation  of  the  Highlands  to  the  Government  occa- 
sioned by  the  rebellion  of  '45,  and  the  gradual  opening  up 
of  "  the  rough  boundaries  "  to  Lowland  influences  thereupon 
following,  that  some  very  considerable  changes  would  require 
to  take  place  in  the  management  of  Highland  properties. 

II.  Among  these  changes,  I  consider  it  proven  that  the 
introduction  of  sheep-farming  was  one  of  the  most  obvious, 
and  has  proved  one  of  the  most  beneficial. 

III.  I  lay  it  down  as  an  axiom  of  social  science,  that  all 
changes  affecting  the  welfare  and  comfort  of  large  classes 
of  men  ought  not  to  be  made  hastily,  and  in  the  way  of  a 
sharp  revolution,  but  gradually,  moderately,  and  with  great 


SUTHERLAND,  1 99 

tenderness :  and  this  especially  when  the  sufferers  by  any 
social  changes  are  not  to  be  the  few  rich  and  prosperous, 
but  the  many  poor  and  industrious  of  the  land. 

IV.  As  a  deduction  from  this  axiom,  it  is  plain  that  the 
introduction  of  sheep-farming  in  the  wholesale  manner 
practised  by  the  managers  of  the  Sutherland  estates  at  the 
commencement  of  the  present  century  was  harsh,  cruel,  and 
tyrannical,  and  in  the  circumstances  altogether  unjustifiable. 

V.  I  hold  it  proven,  that  by  the  use  and  wont  of  clan 
law,  and  the  practice  of  their  recognised  chiefs,  the  High- 
land peasantry  had  a  right  to  expect,  that,  unless  convicted 
of  gross  misconduct,  they  were  not  to  be  ejected  from  their 
holdings  :  certainly  not  in  favour  of  strangers,  who  had  no 
interest  in  the  country,  but  to  extrude  the  native  popula- 
tion, and  make  money  by  the  wholesale  substitution  of 
sheep  for  men. 

VI.  I  hold  it  not  proven,  that  for  the  introduction  of  sheep- 
farming  into  the  Sutherland  estates,  it  was  necessary  to 
hand  over  the  whole  glens  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Lowland 
adventurers,  and  men  of  business  eager  to  make  money ; 
and  that  it  would  have  been  more  poHtic  and  more  wise, 
not  to  say  more  human,  to  have  gradually  enlarged  the 
holdings,  as  the  holders  might  die  out,  or,  at  all  events,  to 
have  attached  to  each  new  sheep  farm  of  more  moderate  di- 
mensions, a  certain  number  of  small  crofts  for  the  supply  of 
labour,  or  finally  to  have  kept  the  peasantry  on  the  property 
by  the  introduction  of  club-farms,  or  otherwise,  according  to 
circumstances ;  not  proven  also,  that  sheep-farming  cannot 
be  carried  on  beneficially  in  conjunction  with  the  other 
forms  of  rural  economy ;  but  generally  rather  proven,  that 
eagerness  to  make  money,  combined  with  a  fashionable 
doctrinaire  mania  for  large  farms,  and  a  natural  desire  in  the 
factors  to  get  clear  returns  Avith  as  little  trouble  as  possible, 


200  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

was  the  real  cause  of  the  atrocious  proceedings  commonly 
known  as  the  Sutherland  Clearances. 

VII.  I  hold  it  proven  that  in  Sutherland,  as  in  other  parts 
of  the  Highlands,  there  existed  a  large  population,  beyond 
what  the  district  could  profitably  support,  who  dragged  on 
their  tenure  from  father  to  son  without  any  capacity  of  pro- 
gress ;  but,  as  this  population  had  been  allowed  to  grow  up 
under  the  eye  and  even  with  the  encouragement  of  the  pro- 
prietor and  the  Goverment,  it  was  not  the  people  who  ought 
to  have  been  made  to  suffer  from  the  neglect  and  the  miscon- 
duct of  their  natural  heads;  and  this  state  of  the  case  furnished 
an  additional  reason  why  any  changes  that  took  place  should 
have  been  made  with  peculiar  tenderness  and  delicacy. 

VIII.  I  hold  it  proven  that  the  government  of  large  High- 
land estates  by  absentee  landlords,  English  Commissioners, 
and  Lowland  factors,  utterly  ignorant  of  the  language,  the 
feelings,  and  the  consuetudinary  rights  of  the  people  from 
whom  they  draw  their  rents,  is  the  form  of  economical 
administration  naturally  the  best  calculated  to  produce  those 
harsh,  inhuman,  and  impolitic  agrarian  changes  commonly 
called  the  Sutherland  Clearances. 

Are  you  satisfied?  asks  the  Professor,  and  the  German 
replies  : — 

"  I  am  :  so  far,  at  least,  as  one  may  be,  who  has  not,  like 
you,  carefully  read  all  the  documents.  I  must  say,  however, 
that  my  own  convictions  on  the  general  question  are  so. 
strongly  on  your  side,  arising  partly  from  my  practical  know- 
ledge of  the  condition  of  rural  economy  in  Westphalia  and 
other  parts  of  my  fatherland,  partly  from  the  recollections  I 
have  of  the  admirable  prelections  on  this  subject  delivered 
by  Professor  Roscher  in  Leipzig,  that  no  evidence  that  I  am 
likely  to  get  from  the  detailed  consideration  of  the  docu- 
ments from  which  you  have  quoted  so  copiously,   would 


SUTHERLAND.  20I 

have  any  power  to  rebut  the  moral  and  political  presump- 
tions, which  from  the  beginning  have  led  me  to  condemn 
the  whole  ugly  process  by  which  your  selfish,  anti-social,  or 
ignorant  and  short-sighted  oligarchs  have  turned  the  green 
glens  of  Alba,  smoking  with  rows  of  bonnie  white  cottages, 
into  banks  of  investment  for  Dumfriesshire  farmers,  and 
braes  of  browsing  ground  for  wild  beasts.  My  German 
opinion  on  this  big  British  blunder  is  expressed  in  one  short 
classical  sentence — 

LATIFUNDIA  PERDIDERE  CALEDONIAM!" 

The  Professor,  alias  "Macdonald,"  expresses  the  following 
"sentiments,"  as  he  terms  them,  to  which  the  philosophical 
German,  in  each  case,  adds  his  hearty  Amen  : — 

If  there  be  any  person  who  maintains  that  money,  rather 
than  men,  constitutes  the  wealth  of  a  healthy  and  well- 
ordered  State,  let  him  be  anathema-maranatha  ! 

If  there  be  any  person  who  maintains  that  it  is  better  to 
make  one  big  Lowland  farmer  rich  than  a  hundred  High- 
landers happy  and  prosperous  in  a  Highland  glen,  let  him 
be  anathema-maranatha ! 

If  any  man  maintain  that  landlords  have  no  duties  but  to 
gather  rents,  and  that  they  may,  without  sin  before  God, 
and  without  injury  to  society,  neglect  the  condition  and  the 
distribution  of  the  people,  from  whom  they  draw  their  rents, 
let  him  be  anathema-maranatha  ! 

If  any  say  that  cash  payment  is  and  ought  to  be  the  only 
bond  of  cement  between  the  different  classes  of  society,  let 
him  be  anathema-maranatha ! 

If  any  one  maintain  that  it  is  better  for  the  land  of  a 
country  to  be  held  by  a  few  large  proprietors,  than  to  be 
distributed  into  many  properties,  of  various  sizes  and 
qualities,  let  him  be  anathema-maranatha  ! 


202  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

If  any  man  maintain  that  a  lord  of  the  soil  is  justified 
in  extruding  an  old  and  faithful  tenantry,  and  making  a 
deer  forest  of  their  cultivable  lots,  merely  because  he  can 
make  more  money  of  it,  or  indulge  himself  in  a  wild 
pleasure,  let  him  be  anathema-maranatha  ! 

If  any  man  maintain  that  the  distinctive  glory  of  a  landed 
proprietor  in  Scotland  consists  in  the  number  of  grouse 
which  he  can  shoot,  the  number  of  deer  which  he  can  stalk, 
and  the  number  of  salmon  which  he  can  hook  during  the 
season,  let  him  be  anathema-maranatha  ! 

If  any  man  maintain  that  Scotland  is  only  a  northern 
province  of  England,  and  the  sooner  all  local  distinctions 
between  the  two  peoples  are  merged  in  the  universal 
dominance  of  purely  English  manners,  customs,  and  institu- 
tions, let  him  be  anathema-maranatha  ! 

If  any  man  maintain  that  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  are 
fit  for  nothing  but  being  hired  out  as  hunting-ground  to  the 
English  aristocracy  and  plutocracy,  let  him  be  anathema- 
maranatha  !* 

To  all  of  which  we  also  say— Amen  ! 

The  Sutherland  Clearances  Professor  Blackie  finally 
condemns  as  "  a  social  crime  and  a  blunder  "  for  which  he 
holds  the  land  laws  principally  to  blame. 


JOHN  MACKAY,  C.E., 

Referring  to  the  Sutherland  Clearances,  Mr.  John 
Mackay,  C.E.,  Hereford,  said  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Edinburgh  Sutherland  Association  : — 

*  Altavona ;  Fact  and  Fiction  from  my  Life  in  the  Highlands.  By 
John  Stuart  Blackie,  F.R.S.E.,  Professor  of  Greek,  Edinburgh:  David 
Douglas,  1882. 


SUTHERLAND.  203 

We  Still  helplessly  condemn  the  fatuity  that  caused  the  m 
we  hopelessly  deplore  the  national  blunder  that  permitted 
such  barbaric  acts  to  be  perpetrated  upon  such  a  generous, 
loyal,  and  unoffending  people,  the  most  moral,  the  most 
religious  population  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  leaving 
the  remnant  of  it  that  could  not  take  itself  away,  struck  and 
benumbed  with  a  terror  from  which  it  has  not  yet  recovered, 
and  never  will. 

Gus  an  till  an  gradh  's  an  t-iochd 
'S  dual  do  athair  thoirt  d'a  shliochd 
'S  gu'm  faic  na  triath  gur  fearr  na  treun 
Na  milte  uan  am  mile  treud. 

Thrust  out  of  their  ancient  homes  in  fertile  plains  and 
sheltered  valleys  on  to  sterile  hill-sides,  or  equally  sterile 
sea  shores,  to  make  new  habitations  for  themselves,  if  they 
could  or  would,  out  of  moory,  mossy,  heathery  hillsides,  or 
lead  an  amphibious  life  on  sandy,  rocky,  stormy  sea  shores, 
without  aid,  without  even  encouragement  being  given  or 
extended  to  them,  to  live  or  not  to  live,  to  dig  or  not  to  dig, 
to  improve  or  not  to  improve,  often  without  sufficient  susten- 
ance, need  it  be  surprising  that  the  population  has  dwarfed 
and  dwindled  away  ?  The  greater  surprise  is  that  it  has  not 
died  out  of  existence  altogether,  and  that  it  has  in  spite  of 
oppression,  repression,  contumely,  and  neglect,  maintained 
itself  as  it  has.  Surely  such  facts  as  these  speak  volumes- 
for  the  tenacity  and  morals  of  that  people.  What  was  the 
condition  of  the  population  thus  treated  in  so  barbarous  a 
manner  in  a  civilized  country,  vaunting  so  much  of  its  civili- 
zation ?  I  will  give  it  you  in  the  words  of  a  Sutherland 
lady,  put  by  her  on  record  upwards  of  fifty  years  ago.  She 
says: — "I  have  of  late  frequently  heard  strangers  coming 
amongst  us  express  their  surprise  at  the  marked  intelligence 
evinced  by  the  old  people  of  this  district,  devoid  of  any 


204  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

degree  of  early  cultivation.  To  this  it  may  be  answered 
that  the  state  of  society  was  very  different  then  from  what  it 
is  now,  progressively  retrograding  as  it  has  been  for  the  last 
few  years,  at  least  in  this  part  of  the  country.  At  the  time 
I  allude  to  the  lords,  lairds,  and  gentleman  of  the  county 
not  only  interested  themselves  in  the  welfare  and  happiness 
of  their  clan  and  dependants,  but  they  were  always 
solicitous  that  their  manners,  and  customs,  and  intelligence, 
should  keep  pace  with  their  personal  appearance.  The 
fact  was  the  chief  knew  his  clansmen,  and  it  was  deemed  no 
inconsiderable  part  of  duty  in  the  higher  classes  of  the 
community  to  elevate  the  minds  as  well  as  to  assist  in  in- 
creasing the  means  of  their  humbler  relatives  and  clansmen. 
I  am  aware  that  many  unacquainted  with  the  close  ties  of 
such  a  system  argue  largely  that  the  distinction  of  rank  ap- 
pointed by  God  could  not  be  maintained  by  such  indiscrimi- 
nate intercourse — still  the  habits  of  that  day  never  produced 
a  contrary  effect.  The  chiefs  here  for  many  generations 
had  been  'men  fearing  God  and  hating  covetousness '. 
Iniquity  was  ashamed  and  obliged  to  hide  its  face.  A 
dishonourable  action  excluded  the  guilty  person  from  the 
invaluable  privilege  enjoyed  by  his  equals  in  the  kind 
notice  and  approbation  of  their  superiors.  Grievances  of 
any  kind  were  minutely  inquired  into  and  redressed,  and 
the  humble  orders  of  the  community  had  a  degree  of 
external  polish  and  manly  mildness  of  deportment  in 
domestic  life  that  few  of  the  present  generation  have 
attained  to,  much  as  had  been  said  of  modern  improve- 
ments." That  is  a  picture  to  you  of  the  civilization  and 
morality  existing  and  reigning  in  Sutherland,  and  other 
districts  of  the  Highlands,  at  the  beginning  of  this  century, 
before  the  dark  and  dread  days  of  the  evictions  were  seen 
or  thought  of,  and  it  may  be  asked  what  was  the  result  of 


SUTHERLAND,  205 

such  kind  and  considerate  conduct  on  the  part  of  chiefs, 
lords,  and  lairds  ?  History  has  a  ready  reply.  From  1760 
to  1 8 10,  a  period  of  only  half  a  century,  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland,  under  the  regime  which  the  Sutherland  lady  so 
graphically  described,  sent  forth  80,000  of  its  best  and 
bravest  men  to  defend  the  country,  and  fight  its  battles, 
and  when  they  did  go  forth,  they  restored  the  prestige 
of  the  country,  retrieved  its  laurels,  and  brought  victory 
to  crown  British  banners  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 
There  is  not  a  village  round  Paris,  nor  round  Brussels, 
in  which  I  have  been,  and  conversed  with  their  oldest 
inhabitants,  but  still  revere  the  conduct  of  those  Highland 
soldiers ;  so  different  it  was  to  that  of  the  other  regiments 
of  the  British  army.  Were  this  the  time  and  place,  I 
could  keep  you  long  relating  anecdotes  I  gathered  from 
French  and  Belgians  of  the  grand  "  soldats  Ecossais" 
lambs  in  the  house,  lions  in  the  field  of  battle.  It  was 
from^that  grand  population  in  the  Highlands,  nurtured  and 
reared  in  the'  way  the  Sutherland  lady  describes  so  truly, 
that  those  gallant,  brave  soldiers  went  forth  in  legions  to 
conquer  or  to  die.  What  has  Sutherland  itself  done  in 
that  eventful  period  of  our  history,  before  sheep  became  to 
be  of  greater  value  in  the  estimation  of  lairds,  than  a  brave 
and  loyal  population  of  happy,  contented,  and  hardy 
peasantry  !  In  the  '45  the  chiefs  of  Sutherland  had  2550 
men  under  arms  in  the  defence  of  the  Throne  and  the 
country.  In  1760,  in  the  short  space  of  nine  days,  11 00 
Sutherland  men  responded  to  the  call  of  their  chiefs  and 
served  their  country  for  four  years.  In  1777,  when  the 
country  was  in  dire  need  of  men,  gallant  and  true,  an  equal 
number  answered  the  call  to  arms,  and  served  under  their 
chiefs  for  five  years.  In  1794,  the  Sutherland  chiefs  again 
appealed  to  their  clansmen,  and  1800  men  followed  them 


2o6  THK  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

into  the  field,  Sutherlands  and  Mackays.  These  men, 
sons  of  crofters  and  tacksmen,  behaved  themselves  in  Eng- 
land, Ireland,  and  the  Channel  Islands  in  a  manner  that 
drew  forth  from  commanding  generals  the  highest  enconiums 
for  their  good  conduct  and  miUtary  bearing  in  quarters, 
and  in  the  field.  General  Lake,  on  his  defeat  by  the 
French  at  Castlebar,  said  of  the  Mackay  Regiment  of  Fenci- 
bles,  "  If  I  had  my  brave  and  honest  Reays  here  this  would 
not  have  happened".  In  1800,  the  93rd  Highlanders  was 
raised,  1000  strong  ;  800  of  them  were  Sutherland  men,  and 
how  that  regiment  comported  itself  whenever  it  had  an 
opportunity  of  showing  the  stern  stuff  of  which  it  was  com- 
posed, its  history  nobly  tells.  In  the  Cape  Colony  all  the 
Dutchmen  spoke  of  it  with  raptures.  By  its  conciliatory 
and  gentle,  and  considerate  conduct,  it  alleviated  conquest 
to  the  conquered.  Such  were  the  sons  and  brothers  of  the 
evicted  of  Sutherland. 

Where  are  they  now  ?    Tell  us  where  are  thy  sons  and  daughters, 

Sutherland  !  sad  mother  !  no  more  in  thy  bosom  they  dwell ; 
Far,  far  away,  they  have  found  a  new  home  o'er  the  waters, 

Yearning  for  thee  with  a  love  that  no  language  can  tell. 
Nimrods  and  hunters  are  now  lords  of  the  mount  and  forest. 

Men  but  encumber  the  soil  where  their  forefathers  trod  ; 
The'  for  their  country  they  fought  when  its  need  was  the  sorest, 

Forth  they  must  wander,  their  hope  not  in  man,  but  in  God. 

I  need  not  enlarge  upon  this  theme,  but  I  may  be  permitted 
to  ask  what  are  loyalty  and  affection  ?  Are  they  virtues  to  be 
held  cheap  by  the  country  ?  It  is  said  that  loyalty  in  the  sub- 
ject is  the  stability  and  safety  of  the  throne,  the  palace,  and 
the  castle ;  but  after  all,  loyalty  and  affection  are  simply  the 
development  of  our  best  sentiments,  which  can  be  cultivated, 
which  can  be  increased  or  diminished  by  kind  or  harsh  treat- 
ment, by  good  or  bad  government,  exactly  as  the  Sutherland 
lady  described  in  the  past,  and  as  we  ourselves,  most  unfor- 


SUTHERLAND.  207 

tunately,  see  in  our  own  day  in  the  Highlands  and  in 
Ireland — grievances  unheeded  and  unredressed,  till  agitation 
and  outrage  bring  them  to  the  light  of  day.  Then  remedies 
more  or  less  drastic  have  to  be  applied,  and  loud  complaints 
heard  of  confiscation  and  cries  for  compensation.  Was  any 
compensation  ever  heard  of  for  the  evicted  of  the  Highlands? 
Highlanders  carried  the  spirit  of  loyalty  with  them  even 
when  evicted.  They  were  proud  of  the  sentiment,  and 
maintained  it,  from  the  furnace  of  fire  on  the  field  of 
CuUoden,  so  glorious  to  the  vanquished,  so  humiliating  to 
the  conquerors,  to  the  fires  of  the  evictions  and  through 
them  to  the  present  day,  in  spite  of  the  divorce  from  their 
chiefs,  in  spite  of  the  want  of  sympathy  that  might  reason- 
ably have  been  expected  from  chiefs  whom  they  so  implicitly 
trusted,  and  whom  they  so  well  served,  little  conscious  of 
what  was  their  own  due  for  such  elevated  services,  and  in 
spite,  too,  of  after  neglect,  harsh  treatment,  and  want  of  any 
encouragement  when  the  evil  day  overtook  them.  Greed 
of  gold,  love  of  display  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  High- 
land chiefs,  led  to  the  national  disaster  of  the  extirpation  of 
the  heroic  population  of  the  Highlands  of  seventy  years  ago, 
the  boast  and  the  pride  of  Scotland,  the  safety  of  England 
and  the  terror  of  her  foes.  Shall  we  see  its  like  again? 
No,  not  for  another  century  or  more.  Wealth,  with  its 
concomitant  vices — pride,  luxury,  tyranny,  oppression,  and 
disregard  of  the  golden  rule^lead  to  nihilism,  socialism, 
communism,  as  it  has  led  to  the  decline  and  fall  of  empires 
and  kingdoms,  ancient  and  modern.  Well  will  it  be  for  us 
and  for  themselves  if  our  aristocracy  and  plutocracy, 
imitating  the  bright  and  grand  example  of  the  best  and  most 
beloved  monarch  that  ever  ruled  the  destinies  of  our  coun- 
try, to  exercise  the  rights  conferred  upon  them  by  the 
Crown,  and  by  Acts  of  Parliament  framed  by  themselves, 


2o8  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

that  from  them  to  us  might  flow  a  stream  of  affection,  pure  and 
unalloyed,  and  from  us  to  them  course  its  way  back  in  veins 
of  true  loyalty  and  attachment,  as  a  return  for  the  proper 
exercise  of  duties  implied  and  understood  in  the  conferring 
of  rights.  This  done  and  observed,  the  throne  and  the 
castle  are  secure ;  this  not  done,  both  are  insecure — a 
breath  can  unmake  them,  as  a  breath  has  made.  Both  are 
in  danger  of  being  swept  away  here  as  elsewhere,  and  in 
other  countries  : 

Remember,  man,  the  universal  cause 
Acts  not  by  partial,  but  by  general  laws. 

The  eternal  law  of  right  and  justice  to  all  classes  and 
between  all  classes  must  ultimately  prevail.  The  British 
Government  is  no  longer  at  the  dictation  of  the  rich  and 
powerful.  Was  not  the  great  principle  of  National  Edu- 
cation in  Scotland  wrung  from  rapacious  noblemen  by  John 
Knox  ?  Was  not  political  power  wrenched  from  an 
unwilling  oligarchy  half  a  century  ago  ?  Has  not  free  trade 
in  corn  been  made  the  law  of  the  land  in  spite  of  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  landed  interest  ?  Were  not  civil  and  religious 
freedom  secured  to  us  by  the  best  blood  of  our  countrymen, 
in  the  face  of  much  opposition  and  bloodshed  ?  Frequently 
evil  is  done  by  want  of  thought  as  much  as  by  want  of 
heart.  I  have  attempted  to  describe  what  was  the  happy 
and  contented  condition  of  the  Highland  people,  and  the 
state  of  civilization  that  ruled  at  the  beginning  of  this 
century,  before  the  terrible  change  came  that  tore  them 
from  their  homes,  and  thrust  them  out  totally  unprepared  for 
such  a  dire  catastrophe.  Humanity  shudders  at  the  scene. . 
Need  it  be  surprising  that  a  people  so  accustomed  to  gentle, 
kind,  considerate  treatment  and  cultivation  from  former 
chiefs,  were  absolutely  stunned  by  such  a  sudden  and  terrible 
revolutionary  visitation.     No  wonder  that  the  people  reeled 


■  X- 

SUTHERLAND.  209 

and  staggered  like  ships  caught  in  a  storm  and  about  to 
sink  into  an  unknown  abyss.     Bowing  to  their  fate  with 
despair  in  their  looks  and  terror  in  their  hearts,   without 
striking  a  blow   in  self-defence,  or  in  the  preservation  of 
what  they  considered  almost  their  own,  they  have   not  yet 
recovered  from  the  shock,   and  never  will,   if  left  to  the 
tender    mercies    of    ruthless    factors,    strangers    to   them, 
ignorant  of  their  language,  their  character,  their  capabilities, 
and  their  idiosyncrasies.     These  men  in  the  past  were,  as 
we  know,  ruthless  ;   they  may  be  better  now,  yet  many  of 
them  are  still  accused  of  exceeding  their  authority,  and  pro- 
voking the  kindlier  feelings  of  landlords  from  operating  in 
favour  of  their  ancient  tenantry.     The  Highland  crofter  has 
been  accused,  is  now  accused,   of  indolence  and  want  of 
industrious  habits.     What  was  ?  what  is  the  premium  offered 
him  for  industry  ?     Where  is  there  now,  even  in  this  day, 
an  inducement  held  out  to  him  to  be  industrious  ?     The 
terror   frequently   inspired   by  factors   unmans   him.     The 
fear  of  eviction  and  rent-raising  represses  him.      Is  this  a 
state  of  things,  a  condition  of  tenantry  worthy  of  Highland 
lords  and  lairds — worthy  of  the  benign  rule  of  Victoria  ? 
How  different  from  the  period  when  chiefs  knew  their  men, 
lived  amongst   them,  and  guided  them   in   the  way  they 
should  go  ?     No  man  may  be  more  independent  with  gener- 
ous and  judicious  treatment,  though  comparatively    poor, 
than  the  crofter  on  a  good  croft,  with  his  horses,  and  his 
cows,  and  his  sheep,  and  his  rent  paid.     He  rightly  con- 
siders himself  placed  in  a  situation  and  in  a  station  of  life 
and  society  far  above  the  day  labourer.     Those  who  wish 
to  see  only  two  castes — capitalists  and  day  labourers — may 
smile   at   this   union    of    independence    and    comparative 
poverty;   but  it  is   established  beyond   a  doubt   that   the 
opposite  system  has  quenched  the  independent  spirit  of  the 

14 


2IO  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

Highlanders,  and  it  gives  additional  strength  to  the  argument 
of  those  who  object  to  reduction  of  the  agricultural  popula- 
tion, and  regret  their  removal  to  the  centres  of  population  and 
seats  of  industry,  seats  of  misery,  vice,  and  immorality.  It 
would  really  appear  that  the  eviction  of  rural  populations, 
and  forcing  them  to  leave  the  country  for  the  purpose  of 
adding  field  to  field,  has  brought  about  its  own  retribution 
at  last.  The  evicted,  after  enduring  severe  hardships,  many 
struggles,  and  untold  misery,  now  produce  a  surplus,  send  it 
to  this  country,  and  thereby  force  down  prices  to  an  extent 
unequal  to  pay  the  rents  exacted  for  large  farms,  thus 
showing  that  in  the  long  run  there  is  a  compensation  for 
all  evils ;  and  many  regard  the  present  condition  of 
agricultural  affairs  as  a  retribution  for  past  misdeeds. 


So  much,  and,  in  many  respects,  it  is  more  than  enough, 
about  the  Sutherland  Clearances  !  We  shall  next  record 
instances,  many  of  them  exhibiting  equal  ingratitude  and 
brutality,  though  not  so  well-known,  in  other  places,  and  by 
different  people,  throughout  the  Highlands, 


GLENCALVIE. 

Great  cruelties  were  perpetrated  at  Glencalvie,  Ross-shire, 
where  the  evicted  had  to  retire  into  the  parish  churchyard, 
where  for  more  than  a  week  they  found  the  only  shelter 
obtainable  in  their  native  land,  no  one  daring  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, 
iSih  May,  1845. 

Those  who  remember  the  misery  and  destitution  to  which 
large  masses  of  the  population  were  thrown  by  the  system- 
atic "  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  source  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 


-^■mHMI 


212  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  parlia- 
mentary 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 


GLENCALVIE.  213 

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  so  devoid  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  los.,  has  been 
paid.  I  am  convinced  that  for  the  same  land  no  farmer  in 
England  would  give  ;^i5  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 


214  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  Robert- 
son's estate,  he  found  that  it  became  absolutely  necessary  to 
adopt  a  different  system,  in  regard  to  the  lands  of  Glen- 
calvie  "  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  sum- 
monses 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. 


GLENCALVIE, 


215 


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  ;£i%  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  harsh- 
ness 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,  accord- 


2l6  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

ing  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  jQ\  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  £2,  or  p^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  bothie  or  turf  hut  near  Bonar 
Bridge,  for  which  she  is  to  pay  jQ2  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  ;^i 
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,  nor  what  to  do  to  live. 

Speaking  of  the  cottages  the  Commissioner  says  : — The 


GLENCALVIE.  217 

fire  is  on  a  stone  in  the  middle  of  the  family  or  centre 
room,  and  warms  the  whole  cottage.  Though  the  roofs  and 
sides  are  blackened  with  the  peat  smoke,  everything  within 
is  clean  and  orderly. 

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  Glen- 
calvie  being  a  solitary  instance  in  this  neighbourhood,  it  is 
one  of  many.  The  tenants  of  Newmore,  near  Tain,  who  I 
am  told,  amount  to  i6  families,  are  to  be  weeded  out  (as 
they  express  it  here)  on  the  25th,  by  the  same  Mr.  Gil- 
landers.  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 


2l8  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

proceeding,  with  a  list  of  the  names  and  numbers  of  each 

family  in  Glencalvie — in  all  92  persons.* 

Mr.  Gillanders  has  been  severely  hit  off  for  his  conduct 

here,  in  Strathconon,  and  elsewhere,  by  Duncan  Mackenzie, 

the  Kenlochewe  Bard,  in  a  long  Gaelic  poem,  from  which 

we  extract  the  following  stanzas  : — 

'S  dhearbh  Seumas  a  dhuthchas, 
A  bhi  na  shiamarlan  bruideal, 
Mar  bha  sheanair  bho  thus,  » 

A  creach,  's  a  rusgadh  nam  bochd.  I' 

Am  fior-anmhaidh,  gun  churam,  | 

Gun  Dia,  gun  chreideamh,  gun  umhlaclid,  | 

Gun  chliUj  gun  tuigse,  gun  diulam,  J' 

Ach  na  umaidh  gun  tlachd  ;  i 

Gheibh  e  bhreitheanas  dubailt,  ,' 

Air  son  na  Rosaicli  a  sgiursadh,  ;; 

A  Gleann-a-Chalbhaidh  le  dhurachd,  1 

Na  daoine  ionraic  gun  lochd,  ■ 

Bha  riamh  onarach,  sumhail, 
Gun  sgilig  f  hiachan  air  chul  orr', 
'S  na  mail  paight'  aig  gach  aon  diubh, 
'S  gach  cis  shaoghalt  bha  orr'. 

Bu  truagh,  cianail,  a  dh-fhag  e, 

Gleann-a-Chalbhaidh  na  fhasach, 

An  sluagh  sgaipte  amis  gach  aite, 

Gun  cheo,  gun  larach,  gun  tigh, 

Air  an  ruagadh  le  tamailt,  ■; 

'S  olc  a  f  huair  iad  an  caradh,  J; 

Gun  aite  fuirich  na  tamh  ac',  ^'I'i 

Gun  truas,  gun  chairdeas,  gun  iochd.  ^ 

Chaidh  cuid  a  chomhnuidh  fuidh  sgail  dhiubh, 

Ann  an  cladh  Chinn  a-Chairdin  ; 

Thug  sud  masladh,  'us  taire, 

Dha  'n  t-Siorr'achd  ghaidh'leach  so  'm  feasd  ; 

'S  bi'  Seumas  mor  air  a  phaigheadh, 

An  lath  a'  ghairmeas  am  bas  e, 

'S  cha  bhi  bron  air  na  Gaidheil, 

Nuair  theid  a  charadh  fuidh  lie. 

*  London  Times  ol  Tuesday,  20th  of  May,  1845. 


EVICTION    OF   THE   ROSSES.  219 

Rinn  am  buamasdair  grannda, 
Obair  eile,  bha  graineil, 
A  chur  air  ruaig  Cloinn-'ic-Thearlaich, 
Bha  paigheadh  mal  Choirre-bhuic, 
An  tuath  chothromach,  laidir, 
Nach  dh-fhuair  masladh,  no  taire, 
Gus  an  d-thainig  an  namhaid 
Nach  deanadh  fabhar  air  bith. 
Chaidh  an  Sgaoileadh  's  gach  aite  ; 
Cha  robh  trocair  'na  nadurs', 
Fear  gun  choguis,  gun  naire, 
Air  an  laidh  an  caineadh  is  mios', 
'S  iomadh  athchuimhnich  araidh, 
'Chaidh  a  ghuidhe  d'  a  chnaimhean  ; 
'S  cha  'n  urrainu  es'  a  bhi  sabhailt 
Ann  an  aite  sam  bith. 


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,  accord- 
ing 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  starv- 
ing 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 


2  20  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  destitude  of 
of  everything,  to  the  inclemencies  of  a  northern  sky ;  and 
this,  forsooth,  because  they  must  have  plenty  of  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,  un- 
happily, 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  impos- 
sible, 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  land- 
lords who  had  not  openly  avowed  their  object  in  evicting 


EVICTION    OF   THE   ROSSES.  221 

the  poor  Highland  famiUes.  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  down-trodden  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  recollec- 
tion 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  help- 
lessness of  old  age,  is  some  far  distant,  and  as  yet  not  merely 
unchristianized,  but  wholly  savage  and  uncivilized  region  of 
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,  Edin- 
burgh, 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 : — 


i«l 


2  22  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

"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  Sheriffs 
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  head- 
quarters) 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  he  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, 


EVICTION    OF   THE   ROSSES.  223 

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-substitue  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  woful  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 


224  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

of  the  skin  with  the  long  hair  adhering  to  them,  which  ^i 

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  unpre- 
pared 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  depopu- 
lation of  Sutherlandshire  was  completed,  and  the  annual 


EVICTION    OF    THE    ROSSES.  225 

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   race,    hardy  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^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  cart- 
ridge 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  cognisance  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  ;£,(i  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  Robert- 
as 


2  26  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

son,  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.  Com- 
menting on  the  proceedings  our  authority  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  Glen,  says  Mr.  Robert-" 
son,  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.  Robert- 
son 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 


EVICTION    OF   THE   ROSSES.  227 

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  most  brutal 
character  is  amply  corroborated  by  the  following  account, 
extracted  from  the  Inverness  Courier : — -"We  mentioned  last 
week  that  considerable  obstruction  was  anticipated  in  the 


228  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

execution  of  the  summonses  of  removal  upon  the  tenants  of 
Major  Robertson  of  Kuideace,  on  his  property  of  Green- 
yards, 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,  accom- 
panied 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  pre- 
pared 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.  Gumming,  the  superintendent  of  the  Ross- 
shire  police — the  Sheriff  was  reluctantly  obliged  to  employ 
force.  The  force  was  led  by  Mr.  Gumming  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 


EVICTION    OF   THE   ROSSES.  229 

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  interces- 
sion 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.  This 
unfortunate  affair  reminds  me  of  an  Irishman  who  was 
successful  in  a  law  suit,  and  after  all,  said  he  had  only 


230  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

'  gained  a  loss ' ;  and  truly  the  authority  of  the  law  has  fared 
in  a  similar  way  in  the  parish  of  Kincardine.  The  fact  is 
that  the  authority  of  the  law  has  served  to  clear  an  estate  of 
paupers  at  the  public  expense ;  for  if  the  relation  that  ought 
to  exist  between  landlord  and  tenant  existed  in  this  case, 
neither  law  nor  blows  would  be  required  in  the  removal  of 
the  poor  crofters.  If  we  refer  to  your  paper  in  the  spring 
of  1845  '^^2  shall  find  summonses  peaceably  served  on  70  or 
80  tenants  in  Glencalvie.  Repeated  applications  were  then 
made  for  the  military  and  refused.  Could  not  our  Lord- 
Advocate  introduce  some  short  measure  that  would  do  away 
with  these  harrowing  Clearances  ?  " 

The  Northern  E?isig?i,  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." 


THE  HEBRIDES. 

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  ajm !  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  appro- 
priate 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 ;  es- 
pecially 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  propor- 
tion to  the  means  of  subsistance  within  reach  when  kelp 
manufacture  failed.  To  make  matters  worse  for  the  poor 
tenants,  the  rents  were  meanwhile  raised  by  the  proprietors 


232  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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 
entided  them,  and  out  of  which  the  proprietor  pocketed  a 
profit  of  from  £,^  to  ;£^  per  ton,  in  addition  to  the  en- 
chanced  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  cir- 
cumstances, 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  pro- 
prietors ;  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 


THE   HEBRIDES.  233 

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  equit- 
able terms — for  their  value,  as  such— apart  from  the  kelp 
manufacture,  on  account  of  which  the  lents  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  15  th  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  dis- 
appointed —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  Arma- 
dale, 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. 


234  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

Cooper,  his  factor,  whose  answer  was  that  the  v/hole  popu- 
lation of  SoUas  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  Mac- 
pherson,  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,  whilst  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  al- 
most solitary  instance  hitherto  in  the  history  of  Highland 
evictions  where  the  people  made  anything  like  real  resistance. 


THE   HEBRIDES.  235 

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   Httle   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  out  of  the 
loom,  and  the  terrified  woman  rushed  to  the  door  with  an 
infant  in  her  arms,  exclaiming  in  a  passionate  and  wailing 
voice — "Tha  mochlann  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  demoli- 
tion 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  mciny  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 


236  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  ist  of  February  to  the  end  of  June. 
Some  agreed  to  these  conditions,  but  the  majority  declined; 
and,  in  the  circumstance,  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.* 

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 

*  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   HEBRIDES.  ,  237 

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  popula- 
tion 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  fd^  them  in  the  Hercules^  an  unfor- 
tunate 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  still  been 
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 


238  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

the  pasture,  and  themselves  from  their  houses  and  lands. 
They  again  petitioned  his  Lordship  for  his  merciful  con- 
sideration. For  a  time  no  reply  was  forthcoming.  Subse- 
quently, 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  ap- 
parent compunction.  The  furnitute  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  hus- 
bands and  other  principal  bread-winners.  Donald  Ross  in 
his   pamphlet,   "  Real   Scottish   Grievances,"  published   in 


THE    HEBRIDES.  239 

1854,  and  who  not  only  was  an  eye-witness,  but  generously 
supplied  the  people  with  a  great  quantity  of  food  and  cloth- 
ing, describes  several  of  the  cases.  I  can  only  find  room 
here,  however,  for  his  first,  that  of 

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  beauti- 
fully,   the   air   was    refreshing,    the    gentle    breeze   wafted 
across  the  hills,  and,  molUfied  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  faith- 
fully to  her  bodily  wants.     Nothing  could  now  exceed  the 
beauty  of  the  scene.     The  sea  was  glittering  with  millions 
of  little  waves  and  globules,  and  looked  like  a  lake  of  silver. 


I     I  If  •.^^^^(•^►^rt-^w* 


240  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  them- 
selves 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  bark- 
ing of    dogs   gave   signal   intimation  of   the   approach   of 


THE   HEBRIDES.  241 

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  all  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  accom- 
pHshed  ;  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 

16 


242  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

old  age  and  infirmities  to  meet  it.  We  cannot  compre- 
hend the  feehngs  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  grand- 
children 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  consola- 
tions 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?  AVe 
may  rest  satisfied  that  their  minds  were  fully  occupied  with 
their  unfortunate  condition,  and  that  they  had  serious  con- 
sultations 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 


THE   HEBRIDES.  243 

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  un- 
fit 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 
grand-children  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, 


244  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  grand-children  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  help- 
less poor.  The  pittance  of  2S  6d  a  month  is  but  a  mockery 
of  the  claims  of  this  old  woman ;  it  is  insulting  to  the  com- 
monsense  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  Inver- 
ness. They  were  first  imprisoned  at  Portree,  and  afterwards 
marched  on  foot  to   Inverness,  a  distance  of  over  a   loo 


THE   HEBRIDES.  245 

miles,  where  they  arrived  two  days  before  the  date  of  their 
trial.  The  factor  and  sheriff-ofBcers  came  in  their  con- 
veyances, 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 


246  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  obstruc- 
tion, 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  Alison 
in  order  to  constitute  the  crime  of  deforcement,  there  must  be 
such  violence  as  to  intimidate  a  person  of  ordinary  firmness 


THE    HEBRIDES.  247 

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  no  deforcement.  Had 
Macdonald,  who  it  appeared  combined  in  his  single  person 
the  triple  offices  of  sheriff-officer,  ground-officer,  and  in- 
spector 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 


248  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  in- 
humanity 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  dif- 
ference 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  reponsible,  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  ist  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  troublsome  and  expensive". 
She  begins  her  letter  by  stating  that  she  was  informed  "  by 


THE   HEBRIDES.  249 

different  hands  from  Edinburgh  that  there  is  a  currant 
report  of  a  ships  haveing  gon  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  to  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  senti- 
ments 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  SoUas.  He  al- 
lowed 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  as- 
surance 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.  This  should  be  a  warning  to 
other  proprietors,  and  induce  them  to  consider  carefully 
proposals  submitted  to  them  by  heartless  or  inexperienced 
subordinates.  It  is  very  generally  believed  that  to  this  same 
dependence  on  and  belief  in  subordinates  some  of  the  more 
recent  evictions  in  the  Highlands  can  be  traced;  but  matters 
had  proceeded  so  far  that  it  was  found  impossible  to  retrace 
without  an  appearance  of  giving  way  to  the  clamour  raised 
by  outsiders.  These  are  only  specimens  of  the  proceedings 
carried  out  on  an  extensive  scale  in  the  Western  Islands. 


250  the  highland  clearances. 

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  horri- 
fied, every  breast  was  full  of  indignation  at  the  perpe- 
trator 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  Christian,  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  retain- 
ing 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 


THE   HEBRIDES.  25  I 

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  ;  im- 
mense sums  of  money  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  Govern- 
ment 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  soUcited  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  ganger  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  twelvemonth  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 


252  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  ?'      I  appeal  to  your 
feelings,  to  your  respect  for  Christianity  and  the  cause  of 
Christ   in   the   world,  that  Christianity  may  be  redeemed 
from  the  derision  of  infidels,  Mahomedans,  idolaters,  and 
demons — that  our  beloved  Queen  and  constitutional  laws 
may  not  be  any  longer  a  laughing  stock  and  derision  to  the 
despots  of  the  Continent,  who  can  justly  say,  'You  interfere 
with  us  for  our  dealings  with  our  people;  but  look  at  your  cruel 
conduct  toward  your  own.     Ye  hypocrites,  first  cast  out  the 
beam  out  of  your  own  eye,  before  you  meddle  with  the  mote 
in  ours.'     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  unwill- 
ing 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  un- 
disturbed and  everlasting  repose,  in  spots  endeared  and  sacred 
to  the  memory  of  their  unfortunate  offspring,  who  must  now 


THE   HEBRIDES.  253 

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  a- 
shore  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  hus- 
bands, where  are  we  going  ?  hear  the  reply,  '  cha  neil  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  im- 
plements 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.     Mothers  in  Christian  Britain,  look,  I 
say,  at  these  Highland  mothers,  who  conceived  and  gave 
birth,  and  who  are  equally  as  fond  of  their  offspring  as  you 


254  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

can  be ;  look  at  them  by  this  time,  wrapping  their  frozen 
remains  in  rags  and  committing  them  to  a  frozen  hole — 
fathers,  mothers,  sons,  and  daughters,  participants  of  similar 
sufferings  and  death,  and  the  living  who  are  seeking  for 
death  (yet  death  fleeing  from  them  for  a  time)  performing 
a  similar  painful  duty.  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  Mac- 
donald,  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  broken  body  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  des- 
truction of  my  race  shall  be  completed.  Fearful  is  the 
catalogue  of  those  who  have  already  become  the  victims  of 


THE    HEBRIDES.  255 

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,  of  the  enormities  perpetrated  in  South  Uist  and 
in  the  Island  of  Barra  in  the  summer  of  1851  : — The  un- 
feeling 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  w^ere  told  in  my 
hearing,  that  Sir  John  McNeil  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  devas- 
tation 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 
hand-cuff  him  before  he  could  be  mastered  ;  but  in  con- 
sequence 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  trans- 
porting 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 


256  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  sheep's  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  game-keeper  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  McNeill'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. 

We   shall   now   take   the   reader  after   these    people   to 


THE   HEBRIDES.  257 

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  iioo  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 

17 


258  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  nth  August,  185 1  ;  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  volun- 
tarily 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  reUef  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 


THE   HEBRIDES.  259 

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  ?  * 

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 

*  Quebec  Times. 


26o  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  con- 
structed 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  doubt- 
less 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  be7iefacto7%  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  which  we  speak, 
is  rendered  more  deplorable  from  their  ignorance  of  the 


THE   HEBRIDES.  261 

English  tongue.  Of  the  hundreds  of  Highlanders  in  and 
around  Dundas  at  present,  perhaps  not  half-a-dozen  under- 
stand 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* 


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  in- 
habitants 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  re- 
mained 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 

*  Dundas  Warder,  2nd  October,  1851. 


262  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

entire  strangers.  A  similar  emigration  took  place  in  1828, 
from  the  Island  of  Muck,  so  that  the  parish  has  now  become 
much  depopulated." 

In  1 83 1,  the  population  of  the  whole  parish  was  10 15, 
while  before  that  date  it  was  much  larger.  In  185 1,  it  was 
916.  In  1 88 1,  it  was  reduced  to  550.  The  total  popula- 
tion of  Rum,  in  1881,  was  89  souls. 

Hugh  Miller,  who  visited  the  Island  afterwards,  de- 
scribes 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 


THE    HEBRIDES.  263 

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  gray-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  Ufe,  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  fike  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  people  enough  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 


264  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  de- 
velopment 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  mnch  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  im- 
perfect 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  canie 


GLENGARRY.  265 

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  recognised  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  twelvemonth,  but  which  could  form  no 
permanent  place  of  human  abode.  Once  more  a  strange, 
and  surely  most  melancholy  cycle  !  * 

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  Argyleshire,  will 
be  noticed  when  we  come  to  deal  with  that  county. 


GLENGARRY. 

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 

*  Leading  Articles  from  the  Witness. 


266  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

CuUoden.  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 — number- 
ing 1086  men,  750  of  whom  were  Highlanders  mainly  from 
the  Glengarry  property.  In  1794,  Alexander  Macdonell  of 
Glengarry,  raised  a  Fencible  regiment,  described  as  "a  hand- 
some 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  Fen- 
cibles  "  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  them- 
selves 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.  267 

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  misfor- 
tunes 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,  ^i^d  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  con- 
sidered 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  neigh- 
bouring 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 


268  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  proceed- 
ing 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,  princi- 
pally 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, 
and  cabars — were  strewn  about  in  every  direction.  Stocks  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 


GLENGARRY.  269 

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  recita- 
tion of  the  untold  cruelties  perpetrated  on  the  poor  High- 
landers 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 


270  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  under- 
neath, 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 
jjosse  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  Knoy- 
dart ;  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 


GLENGARRY.  2  7  I 

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,  brothers  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.  Pass- 
ing 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  : 


272  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

that  when  they  saw  the  officers  they  creeped  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  re- 
turned 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  Knoy- 
dart.  It  is  very  likely  that  in  consequence  of  this  inter- 
ference 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  dweUing,  saw  his  furniture  and  other 
effects  exposed  to  the  elements,  and  now  scarcely  worth  the 
lifting.    The  demolition  was  so  complete  that  he  considered 


GLENGARRY.  273 

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  woman,  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  rheuma- 
tisms 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  con- 
sumption, from  which  there  is  no  chance  whatever  of  her 
recovery. 

There  was  something  very  solemn  indeed  in  this  scene. 

18 


274  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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 
creeped  behind  their  father,  and  stared  wildly,  dreading  I 
was  a  law  officer.    Thesight  was  most  painful.    The  very  idea 
that,  in  Christian  Scotland,  and  in  the  19th  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  speculator  in  brute 
beasts,  I  think  it  most  unwarranted,  and  deserving  the  em- 


GLENGARRY.  275 

phatic  condemnation  of  every  Christian  man.  Had  Mac- 
kinnon  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,  exaggera- 
tion 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  : — 

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  aggres- 
sion. 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  con- 
tinued 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 


276  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  com- 
pelled 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  creeped  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  des- 
truction 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  des- 
troying 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, 
however,  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 


GLENGARRY.  277 

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  disap- 
probation 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  im- 
memorial, on  the  Glengarry  estates — that  many  of  them 
died  in  defence  of,  or  fighting  for,  the  old  cheftains — 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,  farther,  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  wigwam  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 


278  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

all  these  cases  of  eviction  with  peculiar  hardship ;  he  has 
warned  all  and  sundry  on  the  Knoydart  estates  from  re- 
ceiving 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  in- 
vitation to  this  '  Royal  exhibition '.  Alas  !  how  matters  have 
so  sadly  changed.  Within  the  last  30  years  ma7i  has  fallen  oif 
dreadfully  in  the  estimation  of  Highland  proprietors.  Com- 
mercially 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 — 

Archibald  Macisaac's,  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  wood  work  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, 


GLENGARRY.  279 

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  accom- 
plished, he  addressed  them  on  the  peculiar  nature  of 
the  position  in  which  they  were  placed,  and  the  necessity  of 
asking  for  v.isdom  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 
shelter  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  Knoy- 
dart 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 ! 


28o  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  is, 

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  Eng- 
land, 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  charge- 
able as  a  pauper,  and,  acting  as  a  '  prudent  man,'  he  re- 
solved to  get  quit  of  him  at  once.  Three  or  four  pounds 
would   send  the  old  man  across  the  Atlantic,  but  if   he 


GLENGARRY.  28 1 

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  High- 
lander of  seventy,  from  such  a  place,  and  at  such  a  season, 
could  do  a  great  deal  more  if  the  laws  of  the  country  per- 
mitted 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,  re- 
monstrated, 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  ahelter  of  the  walls  of  her  former  house,  and  for  three 


282  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

days  she  lay  so  ill  that  her  life  was  despaired  of.  These  are 
facts  as  to  which  I  challenge  contradiction.  I  have  not  in- 
serted 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  be- 
stowed upon  her  better  health  that  she  would  remove  of  her 
own  accord.  This  would  not  sufifice  ;  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  hopes  whatever  of  Catharine  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 


GLENGARRY.  283 

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  un- 
christian conduct— such  cruelty  towards  helpless  fellow- 
creatures  in  sickness  and  distress.    The  last,  at  present,  is 

Duncan  Robertson,  aged  35  years,  with  wife  aged  32 
years,  and  a  family  of  three  children.  Very  poor ;  the 
eldest  boy  is  deformed  and  weak  in  mind  and  body,  re- 
quiring 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  level- 
ling 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  notwith- 
standing '.  '  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,  or  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 


284  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  in- 
stant and  severe  punishment  if  inflicted  on  a  dog  or  a  pig, 
but  the  record  would  only  inflict  further  pain,  and  we  have 
said  enough.  In  the  words  of  our  informant — "There  is 
something  melancholy  in  connection  with  the  entire  removal 
of  a  people  from  an  inhabited  and  cultivated  district — 
when  a  whole  country-side  is  at  one  fell  swoop  cleared  of  its 
population  to  make  room  for  sheep— when  all  the  ties,  affec- 
tions, and  associations  that  bind  the  inhabitants  to  their 
country  and  homes  are  struck  at  and  cut  asunder  by  one  un- 
flinching blow.  When  the  march  of  improvement  and  cul- 
tivation is  checked ;  and  when  the  country  is  transformed 
into  a  wilderness,  and  the  land  to  perpetual  barrenness,  not 
only  are  the  best  feelings  of  our  common  humanity  violated, 
but  the  decree  is  tantamount  to  interdicting  the  command 
of  the  Most  High,  who  said  to  man — "Go,  replenish  the 
earth  and  subdue  it ". 

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. 

It  has  been  shown,  under   "  Glengarry,"  that  a  chief's 
widow,  during  her  son's  minority,  was  responsible  for  the 


STRATHGLASS.  285 

Knoydart  evictions  in  1853.  Another  chief's  widow,  Marsali 
Bhinneach—M.2ix]orY,  daughter  of  Sir  Ludovick  Grant  of  Dal- 
vey,  widow  of  Duncan  Macdonnel  of  Glengarry,  who  died  in 
1788 — gave  the  whole  of  Glencuaich  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  ques- 
tionable 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 
WiUiam  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.  550  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 


286  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

a  very  large  portion  of  them  were  evicted  from  Strathglass  by 
the  daughter  of  the  notorious  Marsali  Bhinneach.  From 
among  the  Hving  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  BhinneacJCs  daughter  and  her  co-adjutors.  Alex- 
ander 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  after- 
wards 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  BhinneacKs  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  was  dis- 
turbed 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 


STRATHGLASS.  287 

18 1 7),  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  pro- 
perty, 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,  with- 
out 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  depen- 
dants 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 


288  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  chiefs 
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  de- 
voted 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 


STRATHGLASS.  289 

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  popu- 
lation. 

To  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  class  of  men  who  occu- 
pied 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  m.ade  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  Glencuaich,  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  caus«  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 

19 


290 


THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 


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  instru- 
ments 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  re- 
solve 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  inter\'iew  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  stal- 
wart vassals,  on  their  way  to  Invercannich.     The  pleasant 


?- 


V 


STRATHGLASS. 


291 


outcome  of  the  whole  was  that  chief  and  clan  expressed 
renewed  confidence  in  each  other,  a  determination  to  con- 
tinue in  future  in  the  same  happy  relationship,  and  to  main- 
tain, 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  jieople  were  left  un- 
molested so  long  as  this  Chisholm  survived — a  fact  which 
shows  the  wisdom  of  chief  and  peoi)le  meeting  face  to  face, 
and  refusing  to  permit  others — whether  greedy  outsiders  or 
selfish  factors — to  come  and  foment  mischief  and  misunder- 
standing 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 
Mixrsali  Bhitineach,  has  been  already  described. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  clearance  of  Glenstrath- 
farrar  by  the  late  Lord  Lovat,  but  for  the  people  removed 
from  there  and  other  i)ortions  of  the  Lovat  property,  he 
allotted  lands  in  various  other  places  on  his  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,  hun- 
dreds from  the  Lovat  estates. 


GUIS.ACHAN. 

The  modern  clearances  which  took  place  within  the  last 
■juarter  of  a  century  in  Guisachan,  Strathglass,  by  Sir  Dudley 
Marjoribanks,  have  been  described  in  all  their  phases 
)efore  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1873. 
rhe  Inspector  of  Poor  for  the  parish  of  Kilterlitz  wrote  a 


292  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

letter  which  was  brought  before  the  Committee,  with  a  state- 
ment 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  regime,  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  £^  of 
yearly  rent ;  he  now  has  nothing  but  the  bare  walls  of  his 
cottage  and  smithy,  for  which  he  pays  p^io.  Of  course  he 
had  his  trade  then  as  he  has  now.  Will  he  live  more  com- 
fortably 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." 


GLENELG.  293 

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. 

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 
;^3ooo  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.  Ulti- 
mately, the  proprietor  offered  the  sum  of  ;2^2ooo,  while 
the  Highland  Destitution  Committee  promised  ;!^5oo.  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 


294  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES, 

EUanreach,  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  willing- 
ness 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  genera- 
tions, and  blot  themselves,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  book  of 
'  home-borne  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  con- 
sequently reduced  to  a  state  of  starvation.  "  I  asked,"  he 
says,  "these  poor  perfidiously  treated  creatures  if,  notwith- 


GLENDESSERAY  AND    LOCHARKAIG.  295 

Standing  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 
present  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  respon- 
sible for  the  removal  of  this  noble  people,  so  renowned  in 


296  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

the  martial  history  of  the  country.  That  is  a  question,  how- 
ever, which  it  is  no  part  of  our  present  purpose  to  discuss. 
,  What  we  wish  to  expose  is  the  unrighteous  system  whith 
allowed  such  cruel  proceedings  to  take  place  here  and 
elsewhere,  by  landlord  or  factor. 

Principal  Shairp  of  St.  Andrews,  and  Professor  of  Poetry 
in  the  University  of  Oxford,  has  described  the  evictions 
from  the  country  of  the  Camerons  in  a  fine  poem  of  seven 
cantos,  entitled,  "  The  Clearing  of  the  Glens,"  published  in 
Vol.  II.  of  the  Celtic  Magazme,  1876-77.  It  would  be  im- 
possible to  describe  them  so  completely  as  has  been  done 
in  this  excellent  poem,  and  we  shall  therefore  leave  Principal 
Shairp  to  do  so  himself,  by  quoting,  at  some  length,  from 
his  sixth  and  seventh  cantos,  though,  to  get  the  pathetic 
picture  complete,  the  reader  must  peruse  the  whole  poem. 

In  an  introductory  note,  the  Principal  informs  us  that  he 
attempts,  in  the  poem,  "  to  reproduce  facts  heard,  and 
impressions  received,  during  the  wanderings  of  several 
successive  summers  among  the  scenes  "  which  he  describes. 
"Whatever  view  political  economists  may  take  of  these 
events,  it  can  hardly  be  denied  that  the  form  of  human 
society,  and  the  phase  of  human  suffering,  here  attempted 
to  be  described,  deserve  at  least  some  record.  ...  Of 
the  main  outlines  and  leading  events  of  the  simple  story,  it 
may  well  be  said,  '  It's  an  over  true  tale '."  After  some 
beautiful  and  touching  descriptions  of  the  state,  physically 
and  socially,  of  the  Cameron  country,  some  years  earlier, 
Angus  Cameron,  who  had  been  away  for  seven  years  in  the 
service  of  his  country,  returns,  and  is  horror-stricken  at 
seeing  the  desolation  brought  about  during  his  absence,  in 
Lochaber  and  the  vicinity.  As  he  comes  in  sight  of  his 
own  native  place,  the  poet  describes  the  scene  thus — 


GLENDESSERAY   AND   LOCHARKAIG.  297 

There  far  below,  inlaid  between 
Steep  mountain  walls,  lay  calm  and  green 
Glen  Desseray,  bright  in  morning  sheen. 
As  down  the  rough  track  Angus  trode 
The  path  that  led  to  his  old  abode, 
Calm  as  of  old  the  lone  green  glen 
Lay  stretched  before  him  long  miles  ten ; 
He  looked,  the  braes  as  erst  were  fair, 
But  smoke  none  rose  on  the  morning  air  ; 
He  listened,  came  no  blithe  cock-crowing 
From  wakening  farms,  no  cattle  lowing, 
No  voice  of  man,  no  cry  of  child, 
Blent  with  the  loneness  of  the  wild  ; 
Only  the  wind  thro'  the  bent  and  ferns, 
Only  the  moan  of  the  corrie-burns. 
Can  it  be  ?  doth  this  silence  tell 

The  same  sad  tale  as  yester-eve  ? 
My  clansmen  here  who  wont  to  dwell 

Have  they  too  ta'en  their  last  long  leave  ? 
Adown  this  glen  too,  hath  there  been 
The  besom  of  destruction  keen 
Sweeping  it  of  its  people  clean  ? 
That  anxious  tremour  in  his  breast 
One  half-hour  onward  set  at  rest  ; 
Where  once  his  home  had  been,  now  stare 
Two  gables  roofless,  gaunt,  and  bare  ; 
Two  gables,  and  a  broken  wall, 
Are  all  now  left  of  Sheniebhal, 
The  huts  around  of  the  old  farm-toun, 

Wherein  the  poorer  tenants  dwelt, 
Moss-covered  stone-heaps,  crumbling  down, 

Into  the  wilderness  slowly  melt. 
The  slopes  below,  where  had  gardens  been, 
Lay  thick  with  rushes  darkly  green, 
The  furrows  on  the  braes  above 
Where  erst  the  flax  and  the  barley  throve, 
With  ferns  and  heather  covered  o'er. 
To  Nature  had  gone  back  once  more. 
And  there  beneath,  the  meadow  lay. 

The  long  smooth  reach  of  meadowy  ground. 
Where  intertwining  east  away 

In  loop  ou  loop  the  river  wound  : 


298  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

There,  where  he  heard  a  former  day 
The  bhthe,  loud  shouting,  shinty  play, 
Was  silence  now  as  the,  grave  profound. 

Then  looking  back  with  one  wide  ken, 

Where  stood  the  Farms,  each  side  the  glen — 

Tome-na-hua,  Cuil,  Glac-fern, 

Each  he  clearly  could  discern  ; 

Once  groups  of  homes,  wherein  did  dwell 

The  people  he  had  known  so  well. 

These  stood  blank  skeletons,  one  and  all, 

Like  his  own  home,  Sheniebhal : 

And  he  sighed  as  he  gazed  on  the  pathways  untrodden, 

"  These  be  the  homes  of  the  men  of  Culloden  !  " 

"This  desolation  !  whence  hath  come? 
What  power  hath  hushed  this  living  glen, 
Once  blithe  with  happy  sounds  of  men, 

Into  a  wilderness  blank  and  dumb  ? 
Alas  for  them  !:  leal  souls  and  true  ! 
Kindred  and  clansmen  whom  I  knew  ! 
Their  homes  stand  roofless  on  the  brae. 
And  the  hearts  that  loved  them,  where  are  they  ? 
Ah  me  !  what  days  with  them  I've  seen 
On  the  summer  braes  at  the  shielings  green  ! 
What  nights  of  winter,  dark  and  long, 
Made  brief  and  bright  by  the  joy  of  song  ! 
The  men  in  peace  so  gentle  and  mild, 
In  battle  onset  lion-wild, 
When  the  pibroch  of  Donald  Dhu 

Sounded  the  summons  of  Lochiel, 
From  these  homes  to  his  standard  flew, 

By  him  stood  through  woe  and  weal. 
Against  Clan-Chattan,  age  by  age 
Held  his  ancient  heritage  : 
And  when  the  Stuart  cause  was  down. 
And  Lochiel  rose  for  King  and  Crown, 
Who  like  these  same  CamercJn  men 

Gave  their  gallant  heart-blood  pure 
At  Inverlochy,  Killiecrankie, 

Preston-pans,  Culloden  Moor  ? 
And  when  red  vengeance  on  the  Gael 


GLENDESSERAY   AND    LOCHARKAIG.  299 

Fell  bloody,  did  their  fealty  fail  ? 
Did  they  not  screen  with  lives  of  men 
Their  outlawed  Prince  in  desert  and  den  ? 
And  when  their  chief  fled  far  away, 
Who  were  his  sole  support  but  they  ? 
Alas  for  them  !  those  faithful  men  ! 

And  this  is  all  reward  they  have  f 
These  unroofed  homes,  this  emptied  glen, 

A  forlorn  exile,  then  the  grave." 


That  night,  as  October  winds  were  tirling 

The  birchen  woods  down  Lochiel's  long  shore. 
The  wan,  dead  leaves  on  the  rain-blast  whirling, 

A  low  knock  came  to  our  cottage  door. 
"Lift  the  latch,  bid  him  welcome,"  cried  my  sire. 

Straight  a  plaided  stranger  entered  in, 
And  we  saw  by  the  light  of  the  red  peat  fire, 

A  long,  lank  form,  and  visage  thin. 
We  children  stared — as  tho'  a  ghost 

Had  crossed  the  door — on  that  face  unknown  ; 
But  my  father  cried — "  O  loved  and  lost  ! 

That  voice,  my  brother,  is  thine  own." 
Then  each  on  the  other's  neck  they  fell, 

And  long  embraced,  and  wept  aloud  ; 
We  children  stood — I  remember  well — 

Our  heads  in  wondering  silence  bowed. 
But  when  our  unck  raised  his  head. 
Gazing  round  the  house,  he  said — 
"  I've  travelled  down  Glendesseray  bare. 

Looked  on  our  desolate  home  to-day, 
But  those  my  heart  most  longed  for,  where  ? 

Father  and  mother,  where  are  they  I 
For  them  has  their  own  country  found 
No  home,  save  underneath  the  ground." 

"  Too  truly  has  your  heart  divined," 
My  father  answered  him,   "  for  they 
Came  hither  but  not  long  to  stay — 
With  the  fall  o'  the  year  away  they  dwined, 
Not  loth  another  home  to  find. 

Where  none  could  say  them  nay. 


300  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES.      . 

Above  their  heads  to-night  the  sward 
Is  green  in  Kilmallie's  lold  kirkyard." 

In  vain  for  him  the  board  we  strewed, 

He  little  cared  for  rest  or  food — 

On  this  alone  intent — to  know, 

Whence  had  come  the  ruin  and  woe. 

"Tell  me,  O  tell  me  whence,"  he  cried, 

"  Hath  spread  this  desolation  wide  ; 

What  ministers  of  dark  despair— 

From  neither  pit  or  upper  air — 

On  the  poor  country  of  the  Gael, 

Hath  breathed  this  blasting  bhght  and  bale. 

By  lone  Lochourn,  too,  I  have  been, 

And  Runieval  in  ruin  seen  : 

I  know  that  home  is  desolate — 

Tell  me  the  dweller's  earthly  fate." 

"  Ah,  these  are  gone,  with  many  more," 

My  father  said,   "  to  a  far-off  shore, 

By  some  great  lake,  whereof  we  know 

Only  the  name—  Ontario. 

They  tell  us  there  are  broad  lands  there, 

Whereof  whoever  will  may  share. 

Great  forests— trees  of  giant  stem — 

Glen-mallie  pines  are  naught  to  them. 

But  of  all  that  we  nothing  know. 

Save  the  great  name,  Ontario." 

"  But  whence  came  all  this  ruin  ?    Tell 

From  whom  the  cruel  outrage  fell. 

On  our  poor  people,"     With  a  sigh 

My  father  fain  had  put  him  by  ; 

"  A  tale  so  full  of  sorrow  and  wrong, 

To-night  to  tell  were  all  too  long, 

Weary  and  hungry  thou  need'st  must  be — 

Sit  down  at  the  board  we  have  spread  for  thee  ! " 

I  wot  we  had  spread  it  of  our  best. 

But  for  him  our  dainties  had  little  zest ; 

Nor  would  he  eat  or  drink  until, 

Of  that  dark  tale  he  had  heard  his  filL 

"  Since  then  it  must  be,  I  will  try, 
Rehearse  that  cruel  history," 


GLENDESSERAY   AND    LOCHARKAIG.  30I 

My  father  said,    "  but  why  remount 
Up  to  the  first  full-flowing  fount, 
Of  misery  ?     From  whence  it  came, 
That  ruin,  or  with  whom  the  blame, 
These  things  I  know  not — only  know 
It  fell  with  a  crushing  weight  of  woe, 
And  broke  in  twain  those  hearts  for  grief, 
Who  would  have  died  for  King  and  Chief. 
Is  inborn  loyalty  that  could  keep 
Its  troth  to  death,  a  thing  so  cheap — 
Clan-love  and  honour,  that  would  give 
Their  life-blood  that  the  Chief  might  live — 
So  vile  a  growth,  so  little  worth. 
That  men  do  well  to  sweep  from  earth, 
Or  trample  under  careless  feet, 
The  truest  hearts  that  ever  beat. 
As  though  they  were  of  count  no  more 
Than  sea-weed  on  the  wreck-strewn  shore  ?  " 

Rememberest  not  how  brightly  burned 
Our  beacon-fires  when  the  Chiefs  returned  ? 
When  clansmen  hailed  Clanranald's  lord. 

Glengarry,  and  our  own  Lochiel, 
As  fathers  to  their  own  restored  — 

All  wrongs  to  right,  all  wounds  to  heal  ? 
They  dreamed  again  'neath  Chiefs  as  kings, 

To  live  lives  happy  and  secure  ? 
They  knew  not  that  old  form  of  things 

Had  perished  on  CuUoden  Moor. 
Like  lairds  or  English  squires — no  more, 

As  fathers  of  their  people — they 
Handed  their  kindly  tenants  o'er 

To  factor's  grinding  sway. 
And  left  their  castles  and  lone  glens, 
To  dwell  as  dainty  citizens. 
And  'mid  the  smiles  of  court  and  town, 
Air  their  high  names  of  old  renown  ; 
While  we  with  ceaseless  toil  and  moil, 

Hard-struggling,  scarce  could  win, 
From  drenching  skies  and  niggard  soil. 

Enough  to  keep  life  in. 


302  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

Claymore  and  targe  fottever  cast 

Behind  them,  foray  and  raid — 
Their  thoughts  were  changed,  their  days  were  passed 

'Mid  mattock,  plough,  and  spade. 
Launched  sudden  on  the  industrial  race 

'Gainst  lowland  thrift  and  trade, 
If  chance  they  sought  the  factor's  face, 

For  guidance,  counsel,  aid. 
As  well  they  might  to  the  rocks  have  turned, 
So  rudely  from  his  presence  spurned, 
Our  people  home  with  taunts  were  sent, 
'  Ye  are  idle,  idle — rent,  more  rent '. 

At  length,  poor  souls,  in  their  despair, 
They  looked  around  for  help  elsewhere. 


Far  down  the  loch  I  watched  the  sail. 
Round  the  last  headland  disappear, 
But  long  the  pibroch's  moaning  wail — 
Knell  of  the  broken-hearted  Gael — 

Came  back  upon  my  ear, 
Echoing  to  crag,  and  cave,  and  shore, 
'  We  return  no  more — return  no  more  '. 

Three  summers  more  went  by — the  third 
Brought  to  our  glen  the  warning  word, 
That  from  their  homes  at  Martinmas, 
The  tenants,  every  man,  must  pass — 
Must  leave  the  glen  their  fathers  held, 
As  clansmen,  from  an  unknown  eld. 
To  make  room  for  some  Sassenach  loon 
Who,  from  the  Borders  coming  soon. 
With  flocks  of  long-wooUed  sheep  would  fill 
The  emptied  country,  glen,  and  hill. 
Nor  less  dismayed  Glenkinzie  heard — 
Glen-Pean,  too — that  startling  word, 
And  all  the  lesser  glens  that  hide 
Down  long  Loch  Arkaig,  either  side, 
Then  'gan  our  men,  in  sore  dismay, 
Look  each  in  other's  face,  and  say — 


GLENDESSERAY   AND   LOCHARKAIG.  303 

"  What  have  we  done,  that  we  should  reap 

For  all  that's  past,  but  this  reward  ? 
Is  it  that  we  have  failed  to  keep 

All  service  due  to  our  liege  lord  ? 
Is  it  because  o'er  seas  abroad, 

We  sent  for  years  a  second  rent, 
To  succour  our  dear  Chiefs  outlawed, 

And  pining  lone  in  banishment  ? 
Was  it  for  this  our  beacons  burned, 
So  brightly  when  Lochiel  returned  ? " 

But  when  November,  bleak  and  wan. 

With  moaning  winds  wound  up  the  year, 
Then  rose  the  dim  and  dripping  dawn, 

That  saw  our  people  disappear — 
Saw  thirty  families  close  their  door, 
And  leave  the  Glen  for  evermore. 
Ah  !  then  the  grief,  long  inly  pent, 
From  many  a  breaking  heart  found  vent, 
In  one  wild  agony  of  lament ; 
Old  men,  and  bairns  of  tender  years. 
Mingling  their  crying  and  their  tears. 
The  wail  of  a  forlorn  leave-taking, 
As  though  an  hundred  hearts  were  breaking. 
And  love  and  hope  the  world  forsaking. 
By  afternoon  our  people  crept 
Past  Achnacarry  slow,  and  wept. 
Lochiel  was  gentle  and  humane. 

As  all  his  race  before — 
To  see  aught  living  suffer  pain. 

It  grieved  his  kind  heart  sore. 
And  he,  the  Chief,  was  by  that  day, 
As  our  poor  people  wound  their  way 
Dov/n  the  Pass  called  'The  Darksome  Mile,' 
And  when  from  out  the  deep  defile. 
The  sounds  of  men  and  cattle  brake, 
He  to  the  factor  turned  and  spake — 
"  Whose  lowing  kine  are  these  I  hear? 
What  means  this  bleating  in  mine  ear  ?  '* 
But  when  the  factor  answered,  "  They 
Are  the  people  from  Glendesseray, " 


304  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

Lochiel,  though  mil!^,  with  anger  burned, 

And  on  the  factor  sternly  turned — 

"  You  told  me  they  were  abjects  all, 

Leading  a  squalid,  hopeless  life — 

I  never  paupers  knew  withal, 

Have  store  of  sheep  and  kine  so  rife  ; 

Would  that  I  ne'er  thy  face  had  known, 

Ere  thus  with  all  the  past  I  broke, 
And  drove  from  homes  that  were  their  own, 

These  leal  and  simple-hearted  folk  ! 
This  deed,  which  you  have  made  me  do, 
Until  my  dying  day  I'll  rue." 

Well  might  he  rue  it,  he  had  driven. 

Forth  from  the  homes  to  which  they  clave, 
Without  a  home  or  hope  but  heaven, 
Two  hundred  hearts  that  would  have  given 

Their  lives  his  life  to  save. 
Sad  thoughts  that  night  were  with  the  Chief, 

But  these  the  people  could  not  know — 
They  only  knew  that  no  relief 

Came  to  their  utter  woe. 
Our  fate  was  fixed,  the  deed  was  done, 

Nor  Chief  nor  factor  could  repeal  ; — 
We  wandered  on — that  setting  sun 

Sank  o'er  Loch-Linnhe  and  Lochiel, 
As  we  that  night,  on  cold  shore  bare. 
Encamped  beneath  the  frosty  air. 
To  all  who  would  were  crofts  assigned — 

Small,  meagre  crofts  of  moory  lea — 
Within  this  narrow  marge  confined, 

Between  the  mountains  and  the  sea. 
But  all  the  strong,  who  would  not  brook 
That  day  of  ruin  and  rebuke — 
Whose  sturdy  souls  could  not  endure 
To  sink  down  'mid  the  helpless  poor. 
They  spurned  the  crofts,  and  launched  away, 
To  seek  new  homes  in  Canada — 
The  flower  of  all  the  glens  they  bore, 
Unwilling  to  that  unknown  shore, 
Hearts  warm  with  Highland  love  and  lore, 


GLENDESSERAY   AND    LOCHARKAIG.  305 

There  with  home-yearnings  sad  to  beat, 
Such  hearts  as  here  no  more  we  meet. 

But  we — our  parents  all  too  frail, 
Too  overdone  with  age  to  sail 
On  that  far  voyage — were  constrained 
To  take  the  refuge  that  remained 
Hard  by,  and  on  this  croft  to  raise 
A  rooftree  o'er  their  latest  days. 

Not  long  they  needed  it — soon  they  found 
A  surer  shelter,  safely  laid 

Within  yon  ancient  kirkyard  ground, 
'Neath  the  old  beech  trees'  shade. 
While  we,  poor  remnant,  left  behind, 
Like  the  last  leaves  which  autumn  wind 
Spares  when  it  strips  the  forest  bare — 

We  still  to  poor  Lochaber  cling, 
Content  if  ceaseless  toil  and  care. 

Scant  living  from  these  rocks  may  wring, 
Confined  to  this  lean  strip  of  shore, 
The  Mountains  free  to  range  no  more, 
All  gone — our  goats  and  bonny  kye. 
That  were  so  bounteous  to  supply 
Alike  the  children's  wants  and  ours  ; 
We  drudge  through  late  and  early  hours, 
And  for  our  toiling  hardly  win, 
Of  fuel,  food,  and  raiment  thin, 
Enough  to  keep  this  poor  life  in. 
How  different  from  the  easeful  wealth 

Of  mountain-living,  those  old  days. 
When  we  drank  freedom,  joy,  and  health, 

High  on  Glendesseray  braes  ! 
But  that  dear  Glen,  as  thou  hast  seen, 

To-day  is  silent  as  the  grave, 
No  songs  at  the  high  shealings  green. 

No  voices  in  the  valley,  save 
The  bleating  of  the  thousand  sheep, 

W^hich  o'er  our  fields  and  gardens  feed, 
That  Lowland  drover  thence  may  reap, 

O'erflowing  gain  to  glut  his  greed. 
The  floors  on  which  we  kneeled  in  prayer, 

20 


2o6  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

\\ 
The  hearths  roundl  which  we  wont  to  meet, 

Lie  roofless  and  forsaken — bare 
To  Saxon  shepherd's  careless  feet. 

Enough  of  this  !  why  linger  o'er, 

Old  homes  gone  back  to  wilderness  ? 

A  heavenly  home  hes  on  before — 
Thereto  we'll  forward  press. 

Not  many  days  my  father's  roof 

That  soldier-brother  could  retain  ; 
To  wander  to  far  lands  aloof 

His  heart  was  on  the  strain. 
But  while  within  our  home  he  stayed, 

He  turned  him  every  day. 
To  where,  in  sombre  beech  trees'  shade. 
His  parents  both  are  lowly  laid, 

'Neath  mountain  flag-stone  grey, 
The  last  time  that  he  lingered  there, 

Some  moss  he  gathered  from  the  grave, 
The  one  memorial  he  could  bear. 
Where'er  his  wandering  feet  might  fare, 

Beyond  the  western  wave. 
And  then  he  left  my  father's  door, 
And  bidding  farewell  evermore 
To  dwellers  on  this  mountain  shore. 
He  sets  his  face  to  that  world  afar, 
On  which  descends  the  evening  star. 


WESTER  ROSS. 

KiNTAIL. 

During  the  first  years  of  the  century  a  great  many  wei^ 
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  com- 
fortable, 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  fifiy  families  were  ban- 
ished 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 


308  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

cleared  by  Sir  Hugh  Ir|nes,  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  LilUngstones. 


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  the  law,  all  of  whom  returned  home  without  serving  a 
single  summons  or  evicting  a  single  crofter.  The  proceed- 
ings 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. 

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 


STRATHCONON.  309 

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  Coirre-Feola  and 
Achadh-an-eas  ;  Carnach  was  similarly  treated,  while  no  less 
than  twenty-seven  families  were  evicted  from  Glen-Meine 
alone.  Baile-a-Mhuilinn  and  Baile-na-Creige  were  cleared  in 
1844,  no  less  than  twenty-four  families  from  these  town- 
ships 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,  AUangrange, 
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  of  the  fates  to  be 
recorded  in  the  case  of  many  of  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  culti- 
vation by  themselves,  taken  from  them,  without  any  compen- 
sation whatever,  and  given  at  enhanced  rents  to  large  farmers. 


3IO  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  Strath- 
conon,  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  com- 
munities who  were  at  the  time  in  contented  and  comfortable 
circumstances.  At  one  tirrie,  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  peculiar- 
ly 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.  31i 

The  Black  Isle. 

Respecting  the  estates  of  Drynie  and  Kilcoy,  a  correspon- 
dent, 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  : — 

"Within  recent  times  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. 


312  the  highland  clearances. 

The!  Island  of  Lews. 

No  one  was  evicted  from  the  Island  of  Lews,  in  the  strict 
sense  of  the  term,  but  2231  souls  had  to  leave  it  between 
1 85 1  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  ;j^i  1,855.  But  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   1 84 1,   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  Emigra- 
tion 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  Lews  (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 


THE   ISLAND   OF   LEWS.  313 

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  Con- 
stitution 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  MTntosh  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.  66..,  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. 
Comment  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. 


314  the  highland  clearances. 

Leckmelm. 

This  small  property,  in  the  Parish  of  Lochbroom,  changed 
hands  in  1879,  Mr.  A.  C.  Pirie,  Paper  Manufacturer, 
Aberdeen,  having  purchased  it  for  ;^i 9,000  from  Colonel 
Davidson,  now  of  TuUoch,  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,  1S80  ;  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  de- 
sirous 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  pre- 
vent 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  about 
one  hundred  souls.  Sixteen  tenants  paid  between  them  a 
rent  of  ^96  los. — ranging  from  ;^3  to  J[,\2  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 


LECKMELM.  315 

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  ahen.  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  present 
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 


3l6  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

hill  grazings  every  soul  hpon  his  property ;  but  in  the  mean- 
time 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  permit- 
ted 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  con- 
nection 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  the  Music  Hall 
to  one  of  the  largest  and  most  enthusiastic  meetings  which 
has  ever  been  held  within  its  walls,  and  we  cannot  do  better 


LECKMELM,  3 1  7 

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  present 
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  tlie  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  regime  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  con- 
ditional 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  sumvmtn 
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 


3l8  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

\; 

lesson  in  this  direction  was  i,\ne  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  Leckinelm  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  TuUoch'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  slie  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 


] 


LECKMELM.  3 1 9 

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  pubhc  judgment  to  pass  their  verdict,  which  I  hope 
before  all  is  over  will  be  one  of  condemnation  and  condign  punishment. 
Behold  how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth.  Leckmelm  and  its 
inhabitants  are  a  small  matter,  but  it  may  be  as  the  spark  which  sets  on 
fire  the  vast  prairie.  It  may  prove  to  be  Janet  Geddes's  ghost  again, 
which  once  caused  an  entire  revolution  in  Scotland — a  revolution  which 
bears  its  mark  and  produces  its  fruits  to  this  moment,  and,  I  hope,  for 
ever,  while  sun  and  season  endure,  while  men  and  women  remain  on  its 
soil.  And  here  I  would  say  without  pretending  to  be  a  prophet,  that 
whatever  becomes  of  Leckmelm  and  its  interests,  whose  fate  so  far  as  I 
can  apprehend  is  already  sealed  (I  must  say  through  the  supineness  of 
the  country  and  the  indifference  of  our  representatives  in  Parliament), 
I  confidently  hope  that  a  campaign  has  been  inaugurated  which  shall  not 
be  abandoned  until  the  cruel  and  ravaging  foe  is  routed  for  ever  off  the 
field,  and  a  yoke  of  iron  which  neither  we  nor  our  fathers  were  able  to 
bear,  will  be  wrenched  and  snapped  asunder  and  removed  from  the  necks 
of  our  peasantry  never  more  to  be  replaced,  until  the  civilisation  of  the 
19th  century  will  give  place  to  the  barbarism  of  the  original  Britons. 

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  M'ay,  a  more  gentle,  politic,  and  insinuating  way 
at  work  which  depopulates  our  country  quite  as  effectually  as  the  whole- 
sale 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  never- 
theless 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  com- 
monage 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 


-120  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

\ 

to  do  with  you  as  he  pleases.  This  then  is  how  the  business  is  transacted 
and  in  the  most  business-Hke  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  oppres- 
sive landlords,  or  that  the  Rev.  this  and  the  Rev.  that  should  excom- 
municate 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  impos- 
sibility of  recruiting  from  them  in  future,  if  harsh  evictions 
are  not  stopped,  the  reverend  gentleman  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  gives  the  answer  : — "  They  have  done  no  wong.  Yearly  they 
have  sent  forth  their  thousands  from  their  glens  to  follow  the  battle  flag 
of  Britain  wherever  it  flew.  It  was  a  Highland  rearloru  hope  that 
followed  the  broken  wreck  of  Cumberland's  army  after  the  disastrous 


LECKMELM.  32 1 

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  i8th  century  had 
run  its  course  ;  and  yet,  while  abroad  over  the  earth,  Highlanders  wers 
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  civilised  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  Com- 
mons 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  there  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. " 

Again  the  same  writer  in  speaking  of  the  strength  of  the 

21 


322  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

V 

rank  and  file  of  Irishman  and  Scotchmen  who  were  engaged 
in  the  Russian  war  in  the  year  1854,  says : — 

"Victorious  in  every  fight,  the  army  perished  miserably  from  want. 
Then  came  frantic  efforts  to  replace  that  stout  rank  and  file  that  lay 
beneath  the  mounds  on  Cathcart's  Hill,  and  at  Scutari,  but  it  could  not 
be  done.  Men  were  indeed  got  together,  but  they  were  as  unlike  the 
stuff  that  had  gone,  as  the  sapling  is  unlike  the  forest  tree."  "  Has  the 
nation,"  he  asks,  "ever  realised  the  full  meaning  of  the  failure  to  carry 
the  Redan  on  the  8th  of  September  ?  'The  old  soldiers  behaved  ad- 
mirably and  stood  by  their  officers  to  the  last,  but  the  young,'  writes  an 
onlooker,  '  were  deficient  in  discipline  and  in  confidence  in  their  officers. ' 
He  might  have  added  more  :  They  were  the  sweepings  of  the  large 
crowded  cities.  It  is  in  moments  such  as  this,  that  the  cabin  on  the 
hillside,  the  shieling  in  the  Highland  glen,  become  towers  of  strength 
to  the  nation  that  possesses  them.  It  is  in  moments  such  as  this  that 
between  the  peasant-born  soldier  and  the  man  who  first  saw  light  in  a 
crowded  court,  between  the  coster  and  the  cottier  there  comes  that 
gulf  which  measures  the  distance  between  victory  and  defeat.  Alma  and 
Inkerman  on  the  one  side,  the  Redan  on  the  1 8th  June  and  8th  Septem- 
ber on  the  other."* 

The  question  which  confronts  us  now  is,  Is  there  any  remedy  for  all 
this?  Can  the  work  of  depopulation  in  the  Highlands  be  reversed  i . 
We  believe  there  is  a  remedy  and  that  in  a  great  measure  the  evil  which 
has  been  done  can  be  reversed.  It  was  the  opinion  of  a  few  far-seeing 
men  among  us,  when  the  mania  for  monster  sheep  farms  began,  that 
they  would  have  their  day  and  that  again  the  hand  of  providence  would 
take  another  turn  for  the  better.  This  was  especially  the  opinion  of  old 
Lachlan  Mackenzie,  Lochcarron,  a  household  name  in  the  Highlands, 
who  raised  his  powerful  voice  against  the  system  of  depopulation  which 
then  began  by  preaching  a  series  of  sermons  from  the  5th  chapter  of 
Isaiah,  8th  v.,  "Woe  unto  them  that  join  house  to  house  and  lay  field  to 
field,  till  there  be  no  place  that  they  may  be  placed  alone  in  the  midst 
of  the  earth.  In  mine  ears  said  the  Lord  of  Hosts  of  a  truth  many 
houses  shall  be  desolate  even  great  and  fair  without  inhabitant."  He 
said  that  the  system  would  be  altered,  or  that  the  sheep  would  be 
destroyed  in  a  way  that  was  not  expected  in  Scotland.  He  did  not 
take  upon  himself  to  determine  the  times  or  the  seasons  of  the  great 
alteration  which  he  predicted.  But  when  one,  in  private  conversation, 
mentioned  to  him  that  many  thousands  of  sheep  had  been  lost  in  a  snow 

*  Major  W.  S.  Butler,  in  MacMillan's  Magazine  for  May,  1878. 


LECKMELM.  323 

storm,  and  took  occasion  to  say  that  Mr.  Lachlan's  predictions  were 
thus  in  the  way  of  being  fulfilled,  he  replied,  that  it  was  not  in  this 
way  .that  he  anticipated  a  change  ;  he  was  not  looking  to  present 
appearances — it  was  neither  the  snow  of  winter  nor  such  heat  as  would 
dry  the  tongue  of  the  raven  that  would  bring  deliverance  from  the  system 
of  oppression  and  grinding  the  face  of  the  poor.  But  added  he,  if  the 
people  would  be  earnest  and  faithful  in  prayer,  the  deliverance  will  come 
sooner  than  it  arrived  to  the  children  of  Israel  in  Babylon.  This  was 
said  in  the  year  1816,  when  the  new  leases  were  making  great  changes 
in  Lochcarron. 

These  words  which  seem  to  have  been  delivered  in  a  prophetic  strain 
are  now  beginning  to  be  fulfilled.  It  is  felt  on  every  side  that  monster 
farms  are  not  the  thing  after  all,  and  that  smaller  holdings  are  more 
profitable  to  the  owner  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  more  beneficial  to  the  nation 
at  large.  The  hand  of  Him  who  guides  the  stars  seems  to  fight  against 
them  in  the  seasons  and  in  various  ways  ;  among  others  in  the  competi- 
tion of  foreign  markets — iu  the  increased  quantities  of  preserved  meat 
from  America  and  Australia.  From  all  these  causes,  it  is  evident  that 
the  days  of  unwieldy  farms  are  numbered,  and  as  for  the  deer  forests,  I 
hope  they  have  received  their  death  blow,  as  a  certain  member  of 
Parliament  remarked,  in  the  Hares  and  Rabbits  Bill. 

Mr.  MacMillan  concluded  by  an  eloquent  appeal  to  his 
brother  ministers  of  religion  to  rouse  themselves  and  oppose 
their  influence  to  the  tyranny  of  the  strong  and  powerful  in 
their  grinding  and  heartless  conduct  towards  the  poor  and 
the  weak  ;  after  which  he  received  the  unanimous  thanks  of 
one  of  the  largest,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic 
meetings  ever  held  in  the  capital  of  the  Highlands. 

In  January,  1882,  news  had  reached  Inverness  that  Murdo 
Munro,  one  of  the  most  comfortable  tenants  on  the  Leck- 
melm  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  evic- 
tions 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 


324  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 


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.*  From  this  report  we  shall 
quote  a  few  extracts  :  — 

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  in  consequence  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  inquiries  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  I  bull,  2  cows, 

*  See  Pamphlet  published  at  the  time  entitled  Report  oti  the  Leckmelm 
Evictions,  by  Alexander  Mackenzie,  F.S.A.  Scot.,  Editor  of  the  "  Celtic 
Magazine.^'  and  Dean  of  Guild  of  Inverness. 


I 


LECKMELM.  335 

I  stirk,  I  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  advan- 
tageously 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  charge- 
able 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  subor- 
dinates 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  bought  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  a  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 


326  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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,  gath- 
ered, 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  respon- 
sible 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  per- 
mitted 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  shghtest  offence  to  any  of  his  meanest 
subordinates. 


LOCHCARRON. 

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 


LOCHCARRON.  327 

facts.  We  are  really  sorry  for  those  more  immediately  con- 
cerned, 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  communicating  with  Mr.  Dugald  Stuart,  the 
proprietor,  intimating  to  him  the  statements  received,  and 
asking  him  if  they  were  accurate,  and  if  Mr.  Stuart  had  any- 
thing 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  proceed- 
ings were  unjustifiable.  The  day  immediately  preceding 
the  "  Battle  of  the  Braes  "  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  High- 
land Land  Law  Reform  Association  : — 

"  Of  all  the  cases  of  eviction  which  have  hitherto  come 


328  'KIE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES, 

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  contracters  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  genera- 


LOCHCARRON.  329 

tion — 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  60  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  grand- 
father held  one-half  of  the  township,  now  occupied  by  more 
than  a  hundred  people.  The  old  man  is  in  his  8ist  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 


33°  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  ances- 
tors 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  the  sons  which 
must  have  been  very  aggravating  to  this  proprietor  and  his 
ground-ofificer,  who  appear  to  think  themselves  fully  justified 
in  perpetuating  such  acts  of  grossest  cruelty  and  injustice — 
acts  which  indeed  I  dare  not  characterise  as  they  deserve — 
but  conduct  which  on  the  part  of  the  young  men  has  been 
fully  justified  and  sustained  by  the  courts  of  the  country, 
and  for  which  the  son  of  a  late  Vice-Chancellor  of  England 
ought  to  have  some  respect." 

This  report  was  slightly  noticed  at  the  time  in  the  local 
and  Glasgow  newspapers,  and  attention  was  thus  directed  to 


LOCHCARRON.  331 

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  the  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,  notwith- 
standing, 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  circum- 
stances? 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,  hke  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.* 

Mr.  William  Mackenzie  9f  the  Free  Press,  who  was  on  the 

*  Celtic  Magazine  for  July,  1882, 


332  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

ground,  writes,  n^xt  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  event- 
ful night  of  the  29th-3oth  May,  1882. 

A  chuirm  sgaoilte  chualas  an  ceol 
Ard-sholas  an  talla  nan  treun  ! 

"  While  these  things  were  going  on  in  the  quiet  township 
of  Slumbay,  the  Fiery  Cross  appears  to  have  been  des- 
patched 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, 


THE    78TH    HIGHLANDERS.  333 

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  circu- 
lated 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  congra- 
tulated 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.  Re- 
ferring 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 
17 15,  to  the  Cawnpore  massacre  in  1857,  teems  with  the 
record  of  Highland  bravery  and  prowess.  What  say  our 
Highland  evicting  lairds  to  these  facts,  and  to  the  treatment 


334  T^E   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  estabhshing 
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  country- 
men 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  admira- 
tion 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  High- 
land bravery  at  the  Dunrobin  dinner  table,  recently,  when 
the  dukes,  earls,  lairds,  and  other  aristocratic  notables  en- 
joyed the  princely  hospitality  of  the  Dake.  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  them- 
selves 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, 


THE    78TH    HIGHLANDERS.  335 

more  than  14,000  of  this  same  "race  of  heroes"  of  whom 
Canning  so  proudly  boasted,  have  been  haunted  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  High- 
landers !  "  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  Suther- 
land, 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 — dtxred — 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  High- 
landers," 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 


336  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  sober- 
ness. 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. 

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  seques- 
tered localities  were  corrupted,  the  body  of  the  people  in  the 
Highlands  became  distinguished  as  the  most  peaceable  and 


MR.    CHARLES    INNES.  337 

virtuous  peasantry  in  Britain.  It  was  just  then  that  they 
began  to  be  driven  off  by  ungodly  oppressors,  to  dear  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  reckless- 
ness 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."  * 


Mr.  CHARLES  INNES. 

Mr.  Charles  Innes  is  a  Tory  of  the  bluest  type.  He 
is  the  Conservative  agent  for  the  county  of  Inverness, 
Sheriff-Clerk  for  the  County  of  Ross  ;  Secretary  for  the 
Northern  Tory  Newspaper  and  Printing  Company ;  and 
general  Organiser  for  the  Tory  landowners  of  the  North  of 
Scotland.     Such  a  position  gives  peculiar  interest  to  any 

*The  Days  of  the  Fathers  in  Ross-shire,  1861,  pp.  15-16. 

22 


338  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

opinions  he  may  express  on  a  question  like  this.  In  July, 
1874,  he  had  occasion  to  defend  some  of  the  Bernera 
crofters,  in  the  Lews,  who  were  tried  on  a  charge  of  deforc- 
ing a  sheriff-officer.  A  Report  of  the  trial  was  afterwards 
published,  in  pamphlet  form,  containing  the  speech  deli- 
vered by  Mr.  Innes  on  the  occasion,  and,  it  is  understood, 
revised  and  edited  by  his  own  hand.  The  late  Chamberlain 
of  the  Lews,  it  will  be  remembered,  resolved  to  evict  the 
tenants,  since  known  as  "  the  Bernera  Rioters ".  The 
sheriff-officer  who  went  to  serve  the  notices  of  ejectment  on 
them  met  with  a  reception  which  the  Crown  authorities  in 
the  person  of  the  Chamberlain  himself,  who  was  also  Procura- 
tor-Fiscal of  the  district,  construed  into  the  serious  charge 
of  deforcement,  and  the  crofters  were  duly  tried  for  that 
grave  offence.  Addressing  the  jury  on  their  behalf,  Mr. 
Innes  eloquently  declared  that : — 

"  Love  of  Fatherland  is  a  feeling  which  is  implanted  in 
the  breasts  of  all  men,  and  in  none  more  so  than  those  in 
whose  veins  Celtic  blood  flows.  If,  then,  gentlemen,  that 
sentiment  and  that  feeling  animates  you — as  I  am  sure  it 
does — you  can,  when  you  think  of  it,  readily  understand 
that  love  of  country  not  only  may  be,  but  is,  as  strongly 
felt  by  these  poor  men.  You  can  understand  what  a 
wrench  their  heartstrings  must  receive  when  '  notice  to 
quit '  is  served  upon  them  without  good  cause.  Their 
houses  may  be  mere  mud  huts,  but  still  they  are  their 
homes,  and  were  the  homes  of  their  forefathers  for  many 
generations ;  and,  however  humble  they  are,  there  is,  and 
ever  will  be,  for  them  a  venerated  halo  of  fond  and  loving 
memories  floating  around  them.  So  long  as  such  men  pay 
their  rents  with  regularity ;  so  long  as  they  conduct  them- 
selves decently  and  with  propriety ;  so  long  as  they  are 
wishful  to  remain  in  possession — I  say  that  the  man  who 


MR.    CHARLES   INNES.  339 

summarily,  without  cause,  and,  in  the  face  of  an  under- 
standing to  the  contrary,  removes  them,  or  attempts  to 
remove  them,  from  the  soil  on  which  they  were  reared,  and 
which   they  cultivate,  and  turns  them  adrift  on  the  cold 

world,   IS    NOT   A    FRIEND    OF    HIS    COUNTRY." 

The  result  was  that  the  so-called  "  rioters "  were  dis- 
missed ;  their  proposed  eviction  was  brought  under  the 
notice  of  their  humane  proprietor,  the  late  Sir  James 
Matheson  of  the  Lews,  Baronet,  and  they  are  still  in  pos- 
session of  their  holdings ;  while  the  Chamberlain  who 
tried  to  evict  them  was  shortly  after  dismissed  from  his 
position  as  virtual  king  of  the  Island  principality  of  the 
Lews,  and  soon  after  deprived  of  the  office  of  Procurator- 
Fiscal  for  the  district. 


COUNTY  OF  PERTH. 


Athol. 


Donald  Macleod,  referring  to  the  evictions  from  this 
district,  says  : — "A  Duke  of  Athol  can,  with  propriety,  claim 
the  origin  of  the  Highland  clearances.  Whatever  merit  the 
family  of  Sutherland  may  take  to  themselves  for  the  fire  and 
the  faggot  expulsion  of  the  people  from  the  glens  of  Suther- 
land, they  cannot  claim  the  merit  of  originality.  The  present 
[6th]  Duke  of  Athol's  grandfather  cleared  Glen  Tilt,  so  far 
as  I  can  learn,  in  1784.  This  beautiful  valley  was  occupied 
in  the  same  way  as  other  Highland  valleys,  each  family 
possessing  a  piece  of  arable  land,  while  the  pasture  was 
held  in  common.  The  people  held  a  right  and  full  liberty 
to  fish  in  the  Tilt,  an  excellent  salmon  river,  and  the  plea- 
sure and  profits  of  the  chase,  with  their  chief;  but  the  then 
Duke  acquired  a  great  taste  for  deer.  The  people  were,  from 
time  immemorial,  accustomed  to  take  their  cattle,  in  the 
summer  season,  to  a  higher  glen,  which  is  watered  by  the 
river  Tarf;  but  the  Duke  appointed  Glen  Tarf  for  a 
deer-forest,  and  built  a  high  dyke  at  the  head  of  Glen  Tilt. 
The  people  submitted  to  this  encroachment  on  their  ancient 
rights.  The  deer  increased  and  did  not  pay  much  regard  to 
the  march  ;  they  would  jump  over  the  dyke  and  destroy  the 
people's  crops  ;  the  people  complained,  and  his  grace  re- 
joiced ;  and  to  gratify  the  raving  propensities  of  these  light- 
footed  animals,  he  added  another  slice  of  some  thousand 


ATHOL.  341 

acres   of  the  people's  land  to  the  grazing  ground  of  his 
favourite   deer.     Gradually   the   forest   extended,   and   the 
marks  of  civilisation  were  effaced,  till  the  last  of  the  brave 
Glen   Tilt   men,    who   fought   and   often   confronted    and 
defeated   the   enemies   of    Scotland   and   her   kings   upon 
many  a  bloody  battle-field  were  routed  off,  and  bade  a  final 
farewell  to  the  beautiful  Glen  Tilt,  which  they  and  their 
fathers  had  considered  their  own  healthy  and  sweet  home. 
An  event  occurred  at  this  period,  according  to  history,  which 
afforded  a  pretext  to  the  Duke  for  this  heartless  extirpation 
of  the  aborigines  of  Glen  Tilt.     Highland  chieftains  else- 
where were  exhibiting  their  patriotism  by  raising  regiments 
to  serve   in   the  American  War,   and  the  Duke  of  Athol 
could  not  be  indifferent  in  such  a  cause.     Great  efforts  were 
made  to  enlist  the  Glen  Tilt  people,  who  are  still  remem- 
bered in  the  district  as  a  strong,  athletic  race.     Perpetual 
possession  of  their  lands,  at  their  existing  rents,  was  pro- 
mised them,  if  they  would  raise  a  contingent  force  equal  to 
a  man  from  each  family.     Some  consented,  but  the  majority, 
with  a  praiseworthy  resolution  not  to  be  dragged  at  the  tail 
of  a  chief  into  a  war  of  which  they  knew  neither  the  begin- 
ning nor  the  end,  refused.     The  Duke  flew  into  a  rage,  and 
press-gangs  were  sent  up  the  glen  to  carry  off  the  young 
men  by  force.     One  of  these  companies  seized  a  cripple 
tailor,  who  lived  at  the  foot  of  Beneygloe,  and  afraid  lest  he 
might  carry  intelligence  of  their  approach  up  the  glen,  they 
bound  him,  hand  and  foot,  and  left  him  lying  on  the  cold 
hill-side,  where  he  contracted  disease  from  which  he  never 
recovered.     By  impressment  and  violence  the  regiment  was 
at  length  raised ;  and  when  peace  was  proclaimed,  instead 
of  restoring  the  soldiers  to  their  friends  and  their  homes,  the 
Duke,  as  if  he  had  been  a  trafficker  in  slaves,  was  only  pre- 
vented from  selling  them  to  the  East  Indian  Company  by 


342  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

the  mutiny  of  the  regiment.  He  afterwards  pretended  great 
offence  at  the  Glen  Tilt  people  for  their  obstinacy  in  refusing 
to  enlist,  and  it  may  now  be  added— to  be  sold.  Their  con- 
duct in  this  affair  was  given  out  as  the  reason  why  he 
cleared  them  out  from  the  glen— an  excuse  which,  in  the 
present  day,  may  increase  our  admiration  of  the  people,  but 
can  never  palliate  the  heartlessness  of  his  conduct.  His 
ireful  policy,  however,  has  taken  full  effect.  The  romantic 
Glen  Tilt,  with  its  fertile  holms  and  verdant  steeps,  is  little 
better  than  a  desert.  The  very  deer  rarely  visit  it,  and  the 
wasted  grass  is  burned  like  heather,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  to  make  room  for  the  new  verdure.  On  the  spot 
where  I  found  the  grass  most  luxuriant,  I  traced  the  seats  of 
thirty  cottages,  and  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that  under 
skill,  the  industrious  habits,  and  the  agricultural  facilities,  of 
the  present  day,  the  land,  once  occupied  by  the  tenants  of 
Glen  Tilt,  is  capable  of  maintaining  a  thousand  people  and 
have  a  large  proportion  of  sheep  and  cattle  for  exportation 
besides.  In  the  meantime  it  serves  no  better  purpose  than 
the  occasional  playground  of  the  Duke,  to  whom  Pope's 
lines  are  most  appropriate  : — 

Proud  Nimrod  first  the  bloody  chase  began, 

A  mighty  hunter — and  his  prey  was  man. 

Our  haughty  Norman  boasts  the  barbarous  name, 

And  makes  his  trembling  slaves  the  royal  game, 

The  fields  are  ravished  from  industrious  swains, 

From  men  their  cities,  and  from  gods  their  fanes. 

In  vain  kind  seasons  swell  the  beaming  grain, 

Soft  showers,  distilled,  and  suns  grow  warm  in  vain  ; 

The  swain  with  tears,  his  prostrate  labours  yields, 

And,  famished,  dies  amidst  his  ripening  fields. 

What  wonder  then  a  beast  or  subject  slain 

Were  equal  crimes  in  a  despotic  reign  ? 

Both,  doomed  alike,  for  sportive  tyrants  bled  ; 

But  while  the  subject  starved,  the  beast  was  fed. 


RANNOCH.  343 

"  The  Glens  of  Athol  are  intersected  by  smaller  valleys,  pre- 
senting various  aspects,  from  the  most  fertile  carse  to  the 
bleakest  moorland.  But  man  durst  not  be  seen  there.  The 
image  of  God  is  forbidden  unless  it  be  stamped  upon  the 
Duke,  his  foresters,  and  gamekeepers,  that  the  deer  may 
not  be  disturbed." 

In  1 84 1  the  Parish  of  Blair  Athol  had  a  population  of 
2231  ;  in  1 88 1  it  was  reduced  to  1742,  notwithstanding 
the  great  increase  in  Blair  Athol  and  other  rising  villages. 


Rannoch. 

Regarding  the  state  of  matters  in  this  district  a  correspon- 
dent writes  us  as  follows  : — I  am  very  glad  to  learn  that 
you  are  soon  to  publish  a  new  edition  of  your  "  Highland 
Clearances,"  with  Macleod's  "Gloomy  Memories"  included. 
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  185 1,  the  population  of  the  district  known  as  the 
Quod  Sacra  parish  of  Rannoch  numbered  altogether  1800  ; 
at  last  Census  it  was  below  900.  Even  in  1851  it  was  not 
nearly  what  it  was  earlier.     Why  this   constant  decrease  ? 


344  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

Several  no  doubt  left  the  district  voluntarily ;  but  the  great 
bulk  of  those  who  left  were  evicted. 

Take  the  Slios  Min,  north  side  of  Loch  Rannoch,  first. 
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  town- 
ship 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  di- 
rection, 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  ^z^goo,  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  unfortu- 
nately 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 


^ 


RANNOCH.  345 

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,  Lassin- 
tullich,  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  Uruimchaisteil,  always 
in  the  hands  of  three  tenants,  are  now  held  by  one.  Druma- 
glass  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 


346  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  Volun- 
teers 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  in- 
specting 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  de- 
creased 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 

tiie 

population  was 

.    3875. 

J>                           )J                        !) 

„   1811 

>) 

>j              f) 

.    3236. 

»>                           >>                        )» 

„   1821 

J> 

j>              >> 

.   3189. 

)>                           ))                        )> 

„   1831 

55 

»)              )) 

.   3067. 

In  1 881  it  was  reduced 

to 

, 

... 

.   1600. 

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 


BREADALBANE.  347 

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  famihes  !  Some  may 
think  this  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  depopula- 
tion here  !  The  desolations  here  look  like  the  ruins  of 
Irish  cabins,  although  the  population  of  Glenqueich  were 
always  characterized  as  being  remarkably  thrifty,  economical, 
and  wealthy.  On  the  Braes  of  Taymouth,  at  the  back  of 
Drummond  Hill,  and  at  TuUochyoule,  some  forty  or  fifty 
families   formerly  resided   where   there   is   not   one    now ! 


348  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES, 

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  Ling,  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  uneviable  clearing  cele- 
brities. 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  poUcy, 
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  7iow  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 


COUNTY   OF    PERTH.  349 

position  of  the  question;  in  1793-4,  there  was  such  a 
numerous,  hardy,  and  industrious  population  on  the  Bread- 
albane  estates,  that  there  could  be  spared  of  valorous 
defenders  of  their  country  in  her  hour  of  danger  .  1600 
Highest  estimate  now  .         .         .         .         .         150 


„        Banished 1450 

"  Per  Contra — Game  of  all  sorts  increased  a  hundred-fold." 

In  1 83 1,  Glenorchy,  of  which  his  Lordship  of  Breadal- 
bane  was  proprietor,  the  population,  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  2,500  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. 


COUNTY  OF  ARGYLL. 

In  many  parts  of  Argyllshire  the  people  have  been 
weeded  out  none  the  less  effectively,  that  the  process  gener- 
ally 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  com- 
menced 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  help- 
less paupers  on  our  poor-roll ;  and  others,  festering  in  our 
villages,  form  a  formidable  Arab  population,  who  drink  our 


COUNTY  OF   ARGYLL.  35 1 

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  dis-association  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  maintainence  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  ;£2>  i°s.  each  for  a  small  High- 
land 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,  lona,  Tiree,  Coll, 
and  part  of  Morvern  in  1849,  ^"^^^  they  immediately  after- 
wards 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 


352  the  highland  clearances. 

The  Island  of  Mull, 

according  to  the  Government  Census  in  182 1,  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  182 1. 

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  " ;  and  then  we  are  told  that  "  severe  as  the  destitu- 
tion 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  be- 
lieve 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  Ulvain  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,  w^s  reduced  to  51  in  1881. 


ISLAND    OF   MULL.  353 

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  re- 
mained 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),  and  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  pro- 
prietor, gave  the  people  plenty  of  work,  by  which  they  were 
quite  independent  of  reUef  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  ;^i28  to 
assist  in  procuring  provisions  for  a  number  of  emigrants 
from  the  Duke  of  Argyll's  estate,  in  the  Ross  of  AIuU  and 

23 


354  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

lona,  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 ! 

loNA,  at  this  time,  contained  a  population  of  500,  reduced 
in  1 88 1  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  is  reduced  to  2733.  The  de- 
putation recommended  emigration  from  Tiree,  as  impera- 
tively 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 


TIREE   AND    COLL.  355 

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  re- 
currence of  such  deplorable  circumstances.     As  we  were 
informed   that  the  Duke  of  Argyll  had  expended  nearly 
jQi2oo  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  some- 
what 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 


356  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

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  popula- 
tion of  the  Island  was  down  to  1235  >  while  in  1881,  it  had 
fallen  to  643.  The  deputation  report  that  during  the  desti- 
tution 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  there- 
fore, 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,  aud  the  other  two  proprietors  are  also 
under  trust."  Notwithstanding  these  possibilities  the  popul- 
ation has  now  been  reduced  to  less  than  one  half  what  it 
was  only  forty  years  ago. 


We  shall  now  return  to  the  mainland  portion  of  County, 
and  take  a  glance  at  the  parish  of 

MORVERN. 

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 


MORVERN.  357 

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  ago. 

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  nsh  could  be  caught.  The  result  has  been  that  '  the 
Parish  '  for  example,  which  once  had  a  population  of  2,200 
souls,  and  received  only  ^ii  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  com- 
fortably, 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  High- 
landers say,  throughout  its  length  of  twenty  miles.  They 
had  the  custom  of  entertaining  in  rotation  every  traveller 
who  cast  himself  on  their  hospitaHty.  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 


3S8  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

skins,  and  with  fresh  butter — '  stored  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  con- 
versations of  those  men  'would  have  pleased  the  best-bred 
gentleman.  Every  thing  was  so  simple,  modest,  unassum- 
ing, 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."* 
The  Rev.  Donald  Macleod,  editor  of  Good  Words — des- 
cribing 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  Morvern — says,  of 
the  noble  patriarch : — "  His  later  years  were  spent  in  pathetic 
loneliness.  He  had  seen  his  parish  almost  emptied  of  its  peo- 
ple. 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 

*Remimscences  of  a  Highland  Parish — Good  Words,  1863. 


.^WsriCrr 


MORVERN.  359 

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."* 

*  Farewell  to  Fiunary,   by  Donald  Macleod,  D.D.,  in  Good  Words  for 
August,  1882. 


360  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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. 
Maclntyre  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  supphed  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  Maclntyres,  at  one 
time  extremely  numerous,  are  likewise  greatly  reduced." 


..^^L^dcijaariUtfi^aa 


DEPOPULATION   OF  ARGYLL.  36 1 

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  la^-gely  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  extra- 
ordinary 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  than  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  statements  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  agree 
with  the  actual  facts.  In  1831  the  population  of  the  County 
of  Argyll  was  100,973  ;  in  1841  it  was  97,371  ;  in  185 1  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 


3^2  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

US  only  46,081  as  the  total  rural  population  of  the  county  of 
Argyll  at  the  date  of  the  last  Census,  in  1881. 

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  Campbelton,  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  1 88 1.  In  other  words,  the  rural  population  of  Argyll- 
shire is  reduced  in  fifty  years  from  85,973  to  46,081,  or 
nearly  one-half 

The  increase  of  the  urban  or  town  population  is  going  on 
at  a  fairly  rapid  rate ;  Campbeltown,  Dunoon,  Oban,  Balla- 
chulish,    Blairmore    and  Strone,     Innellan,    Lochgilphead, 
Tarbet,  and  Tighnabruaich,  combined,  having  added  no  less 
than  some  5,500  to  the  population  of  the  county  in  the  ten 
years  from  187 1  to  1881.     These  populous  places  will  be 
found  respectively  in  the  parishes  of  Campbeltown,  Lismore, 
and  Appin,  Dunnoon  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    1841    comes   in 
between  that  of  1836   and   1846-47,  during  which  period 


-^a^jgf,^,,;^^^ 


DEPOPULATION    OF   ARGYLL.  363 

large  numbers  were  sent  away,  or  left  for  the  Colonies. 
There  was  no  famine  between  1851  and  i88i,atime  during 
which  the  population  was  reduced  from  88,567  to  76,468, 
notwithstanding  the  great  increase  which  took  place  simul- 
taneously in  the  "  town  and  village  "  section  of  the  people 
in  the  county,  as  well  as  throughout  the  country  generally. 

The  Table  in  the  appendix  will  be  found,  like  its  compan- 
ions, of  considerable  interest  and  value,  in  the  face  of  such 
absurd  and  groundless  statements  as  those  to  which  we  have 
referred,  coming  as  they  do  from  such  high  authorities !  We 
venture  to  think  that  these  Tables  will  not  only  prove  in- 
teresting, but  valuable,  at  a  time  like  this,  in  helping  to 
remove  the  dust  thrown  for  so  many  years  past  in  the  eyes 
of  the  public  on  this  question  of  Highland  depopulation  by 
individuals  personally  interested  in  concealing  the  actual 
facts  from  those  who  have  it  in  their  power  to  put  an  effec- 
tive check  on  the  few  unpatriotic  proprietors  in  the  North 
who  are  mainly  responsible  for  clearing  the  country,  by  one 
means  or  another,  for  their  own  selfish  ends. 


THE  TESTIMONY  OF  A  LIVING  WITNESS. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Maclauchlan,  Edinburgh,  wrote  a  series  of 
articles  in  the  Witness,  during  its  palmy  days  under  the 
editorship  of  Hugh  Miller.  These  were  afterwards  pub- 
lished, 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,  and  all  Highlanders  are  glad  that  he  is 
still  among  us — perfectly  able  to  maintain  the  accuracy  of 
the  following  extracts  from  his  pages.     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 


aiiiL 


THE   TESTIMONY   OF   A   LIVING   WITNESS.  365 

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  foot-prints  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  occu- 
pancy 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 


i 


366  THE   HIGHULND   CLEARANCES. 

darkness  the  more  visible.     Across  the  hills,  in  Stratherrick, 
the  property  of  Lord  Lovat,  with  the  exception  of  a  few- 
large  sheep  fiirmers,  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  fearare  amidst  the  sea  of  desolation.     But  beyond 
this,  again,  let  us  trace  the  large  rivers  of  the  east  coast  to 
dieir  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  wilder- 
ness ;     The  lands  of  the  Chisholm  have  been  stripped  of 
their  population  down  to  a  mere  fi"agment :  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  wiU  find  that  the  chieftains  of  the  Macken- 
zies  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  aU  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  otur  readers  by  carrying  them 
along  the  west  coast  from  the  Linnhe  Loch,  northwards ;  but 
if  they  inquire,  they  wiU  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  fects  on  which  the  changes  should  be  nmg 
until  they  have  listened  to  them  and  seriously  considered 
them.     May  it  not  be  that  part  of  the  guilt  is  theirs,  who 


THE  TESnMOXY   OF   A   LIVIXG  WITSXSS.  367 

might,  yet  did  not,  step  forward  to  stop  such  crael  and 
unwise  proceedings  ? 

Let  US  leave  the  past,  however  (he  continues),  and  con- 
sider the  present  And  it  is  a  melancholy  reflection  that  die 
year  1849  ^^^  added  its  long  list  to  the  roll  of  Highland 
ejectments.  While  the  law  is  tenishing  its  tens  for  terms  of 
seven  or  fourteen  years,  as  the  penalty  of  deep^yed  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? 
"  Credai  JudiEus  aj^pdhsr  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.  BaiHie  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  up>- 
wards  of  eighteen  hundred  souls  from  South  Uist :  Lord 
Macdonald  follows  with  a  sentence  of  banishment  against 
sis  or  seven  hundred  of  the  people  of  North  Uist,  with  a 
threat,  as  we  learn,  that  three  thousand  are  to  driven  from 
Skye  next  season  j  and  Mr.  TJHingston  of  Lochalsh.  Maclean 
of  Ardgour,  and  Lochiel,  taing  up  the  rear  of  the  black 
catalogue,  a  large  body  of  people  having  left  the  estates  of 
the  two  laner,  who,  after  a  heart-rending  scene  ;:'  .-irr 
with  their  native  land,  are  now  on  the  wide  se^  c::  tzeir 
way  to  Australia.  Thus,  within  the  last  three  or  four  monihs 
considerably  upwards  of  three  thousand  of  the  most  moral 
and  loyal  of  om-  people — people  who,  even  in  the  most  try- 
ing circumstances,  never  required  a  soldier,  seldom  a  police- 


368  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

man,  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  con- 
science, 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  cor- 
rupting 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  abol- 
ishing 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  TESTIMONY   OF   A    LIVING   WITNESS.  369 

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  in- 
dicated 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  they  could. 

He  only  wished  that  some  of  the  Highland  proprietors  could 

24 


37°  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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.  Maclauchlan 
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  senti- 
ment was  not  desirable.  He  agreed  with  this  so  far  ;  but  he 
beUeved  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. 

Mr.  ROBERT  BROWN, 

Sheriff-Substitute  of  the  Western  District  of  Inverness-shire, 
in  1806,  wrote  a  pamphlet  of  120  pp.,  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, 


MR.    ROBERT   BROWN.  37 1 

and  his  work  is  a  powerful  argument  against  the  forced 
depopulation  of  the  country.  Summing  up  the  number 
who  left  from  1801  to  1S03,  he  says: — ^"  In  the  year 
1 80 1,  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  beheved,  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  in  a  cargo  of  people 
in  Skye,  sailed  for  Wilmington,  in  the  United  States.  In 
the  year  1803,  exclusive  of  Lord  Selkirk's  transports,  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  settle- 
ments, 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  i8o(5,  several  cargoes  of  High- 
landers 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  High- 


372  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

lands  and  Isles  during  the  first  six  years  of  the  present 
century,  a  fact  which  will  now  appear  incredible. 


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  unre- 
lenting avarice,  which  will  be  one  day,  found  to  have  been 
as  short-sighted  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." 


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  recent  work  on  the  Nationalisation  of  Land,  Mr. 
Alfred  Russel  Wallace,  in  the  chapter  on  "  Landlordism  in 


MR,    ALFRED   RUSSEL   WALLACE.  373 

Scotland,"  saj's  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 
mediaeval,  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  heart- 
less 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  aboUshed The  general 


374  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES, 

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  cloth- 
ing 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  thenceforth 
the  cry  of  Highland  destitution  began  to  be  heard,  cul- 
minating at  intervals  into  actual  famines,  like  that  of  1836-37, 
when  jQ'jo^ooo  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  depopulated 
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  _;!^9oo,ooo  now ;  while  in  the  same  period  the  popula- 
tion has  only  increased  from  2,770,000  to  3,627,000,  so  that 
pauperism  has  grown  about  nine  times  faster  than  popula- 


f 


MR.  ALFRED  RUSSEL  WALLACE.  375 

tion !  .  .  .  .  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  pur- 
poses 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  Aulder  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 


376  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

representatives  of  the  Highland  chiefs  httle  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  oh  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  land- 
lords 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  at  pp.  336-337,  Mr.  Wallace  next 
quotes  from  an  article  in  the  Westminster  Raneiu^  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 


MR.    ALFRED    RUSSEL   WALLACE.  377 

desease  still  spring  up  under  the  very  torture  of  the  knife  ? 
Are  not  the  crofts  slowly  and  silently  taken  at  every  oppor- 
tunity out  of  the  hands  of  the  peasantry  ?  When  a  High- 
lander 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  pro- 
prietors, 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  clans- 
men. 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  Mackintoshr  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  pri- 
vileges of  war  and  criminal  jurisdiction,  and  endeavoured  to 
assimilate  them  to  the  nobles  and  great  landowners  of  Eng- 
land. The  rights  of  the  clansmen  were  left  entirely  out  of 
consideration,* 


*  Land  Nationalisation,  its  Necessities  and  Aiins  ;  being  a  comparison 
of  the  System  of  Latidlord  and  Tenant  with  tliat  of  occupying  Ownership,  in 
t/ieir  influence  on.  the  well-being  of  the  people,  by  Alfred  Russel  Wallace, 
author  of  "  The  Malay  Archipelago,"  "  Island  Life,"  &c.  London  :  Triibner 
&  Co.,  1882. 


378  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 


MR.  SAMUEL  SMITH,  M.P. 

At  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Federation  of  Celtic  Socie- 
ties, held  in  Liverpool,  on  the  2nd  of  January,  1883,  a 
Resolution  dealing  with  Depopulation  and  Eviction  in  the 
Highlands,  was  moved  by  Mr.  D.  H.  Macfarlane,  M.R, 
seconded  by  Mr.  John  Mackay,  C.E.,  Hereford,  and  sup- 
ported in  a  telUng  speech  by  Mr.  Samuel  Smith,  M.R, 
recently  returned  as  a  supporter  of  the  Gladstone  Govern- 
ment for  the  City  of  Liverpool.  Such  a  statement  from  so 
influential  a  quarter  is,  in  present  circumstances,  of  great 
importance,  and  deserves  all  the  permanency  and  circulation 
which  this  work  can  give  it.  The  resolution,  carried  by 
acclamation,  by  an  audience  largely  composed  of  English- 
men, was  as  follows  : — 

In  view  of  the  serious  aspect  recently  assumed  by  events  in 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  of  the  alarming  decrease  of  the 
rural  population,  as  disclosed  by  the  census  returns  of  1881, 
the  Federation  of  Celtic  Societies  is  of  opinion  that  such  steps 
ought  to  be  immediately  taken,  as  will  deliver  the  Highland 
crofters  from  the  bondage  iti  which  they  are  at  present  held,  in- 
crease the  size  of  their  holdings,  relieve  them  from  the  fear  of 
arbitrary  eviction,  and  define  their  rights  to  the  soil  upon 
which  they  and  their  forefathers  have  lived  from  time  imme- 
morial. 

Mr.  Smith,  on  rising  to  support  this  resolution,  was  received 
with  great  enthusiasm,  the  audience  rising  to  their  feet,  and 
cheering  lustily — as  indeed  they  did  throughout  the  delivery 
of  his  able,  eloquent,  statesman-like,  and  sympathetic  speech. 
In  the  course  of  his  remarks,  he  said  : — 

I  am  extremely  happy  to  be  with  you  to-night.     I  have 


MR.    SAMUEL   SMITH,    M.P.  379 

come  here  more  to  be  a  learner  than  a  teacher.  I  have  so 
large  a  sympathy  with  the  Highland  population,  and  such  a 
general  knowledge  of  the  wrongs  they  have  suffered^  that 
I  felt  I  was  in  my  right  place  amongst  you  to-night.  I 
have  been  deeply  interested  in  listening  to  the  speeches  that 
have  been  made.  In  the  main,  I  can  testify  from  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  history  of  Scotland,  that  what  has-  been 
stated  to-night  is  quite  correct,  and  I  am  very  glad  that 
these  facts  are  coming  to  be  known  throughout  the  country, 
and  are  forming  the  basis  of  a  tide  of  popular  opinion  which 
I  am  sure  will,  sooner  or  later,  rectify  many  of  those  wrongs 
in  the  Highlands.  The  fact  is,  the  Highlanders  may  be 
said  in  some  sense,  to  have  suffered  from  the  remarkable 
loyalty  and  peaceableness  of  their  character.  There  is  no 
part  of  the  British  Islands  in  which  there  is  so  little  crime 
as  in  the  Highlands  of  Scodand.  There  is  no  part  of  the 
British  Islands  where  the  people  are  naturally  more  loyal, 
more  orderly,  and  more  religious.  From  many  points  of 
view  the  Highlanders  are  one  of  the  most  valuable  portions 
of  the  British  population,  and  certainly  it  ought  to  be  the 
policy  of  any  government  to  preserve  and  develop  such  a 
population,  instead  of  suffering  them  to  be  driven  from  our 
shores.  The  point  that  strikes  me  most  in  connection  with 
the  wrongs  of  the  Highlands,  is  the  turning  of  large  tracts 
of  country  into  deer  forests.  I  have  long  felt  that  this  was 
a  use  of  the  rights  of  proprietors  which  can  only  be  called 
the  greatest  abuse.  It  is  a  use  which  the  law  has  sanctioned^ 
I  think,  very  wrongfully,  and  the  time  has  come  when  we 
must  reconsider  the  whole  basis  of  our  law,  and  admit  new 
principles  into  it,  which  will  put  an  end  to  the  depopulation 
of  huge  tracts  of  country  for  the  purposes  of  deer.  I  largely 
agree  with  what  several  speakers  have  said  about  the  very 
arbitrary  and  extreme  rights  our  law  has  conceded  to  pro- 


380  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

prietors,  and  it  ought  to  be  well  known  to  the  English 
public,  that  these  principles  of  law  which  have  been  pushed 
to  such  an  unwarrantable  degree  in  the  Highlands,  are 
modern  principles  unknown  to  the  ancient  Gaelic  law.  The 
ancient  Gaelic  law  was  identical  with  the  ancient  Irish 
law.  It  was  of  the  tribal  order,  in  which  the  clan  was  full 
proprietor  with  the  chieftain.  The  Highlands  were  occupied 
from  time  immemorial  by  clans,  bodies  of  men  bound  to- 
gether by  common  ties  of  kindred,  having  the  same  name, 
presided  over  by  an  hereditary  chief,  and  occupying  a 
certain  portion  of  soil  in  common.  That  existed  until  the 
batde  of  CuUoden.  After  that  the  principles  of  English 
law  was  introduced.  The  old  rights  of  the  clansmen  were 
confiscated,  and  superseded  by  a  state  of  law  totally  un- 
known to  them.  In  fact  a  very  gross  injustice  was  done, 
which  has  been  going  on  these  130  years,  and  has  led  to  the 
depopulation  of  large  tracts  of  the  Highlands,  and  to  the  loss 
by  this  country  of  a  most  valuable  element  of  the  population. 
Now,  it  has  been  strongly  impressed  upon  my  mind  that 
those  principles  which  we  have  conceded  to  Ireland — and  I 
think  justly  conceded,  for  I  believe  Mr.  Gladstone's  Land 
Act  was  based  on  great  and  broad  principles  of  justice — I 
think  that  the  time  has  come  when  the  same  principles,  per- 
haps modified  by  local  circumstances,  ought  to  be  applied 
to  the  crofter  population  of  the  Highlands.  I  only  regret, 
and  I  do  so  very  deeply,  that  it  is  so  very  late  in  the  day 
that  we  have  begun  to  repair  the  errors  of  our  forefathers. 
We  have  already  lost  a  great  portion  of  that  loyal  and  brave 
population,  and  it  seems  very  difficult  indeed  to  recall 
them.  Large  tracts  of  the  Highlands  have  been  turned  into 
wildernesses,  and  it  seems  at  this  time  of  day  almost  too 
late  to  bring  back  the  native  population.  Were  it  possible 
to  restore  them,  were  there  means  to  re-people  the  country 


MR.    SAMUEL   SMITH,    M.P.  38 1 

with  those  hardy  and  loyal  men  who  have  been  in  the  front 
of  every  British  battle  for  the  last  150  years,  I  for  one  should 
be  very  glad  to  consider  them  in  order  to  see  whether  it  was 
practicable  or   not.     But   there   are   many  wrongs  which, 
when  once  done,  it  is  difficult  to  undo.     Many  of  the  people 
have  sunk  into  the  purlieus  of  the  large  towns,  descended 
in  the  social  scale,  and  lost  the  associations  of  their  youth, 
and  it  would  be  difficult  to  replant  them  ;  but  we  ought  to 
do  the  best  we  can  to  retain  what  remains  of  that  peasantry, 
and  root  them  to  the  soil  of  their  birth  by  wise  and  just 
laws.      I    do   not   suppose   that  any  town   population  can 
fully  understand   the   intense   love   of  home  that   belongs 
to  people  among  the  mountains.     All  mountainous  coun- 
tries are  patriotic   in   the   highest  possible  degree.     Whe- 
ther   it    be    Switzerland,    the    Tyrol,    the    Highlands     of 
Scotland,  or  any   other  mountainous  country,  there  is  an 
intense  love  of  country  which  exists  nowhere  else.     That 
intense  love  of  country  is  a  great  force  in  the  State,  a  great 
power  that  ought  not  to  be  lightly  thrown  away.     There  is, 
as  it  were,  an  immense  reserve  which  a  Government  can 
draw  upon  in  a  time  of  national  crisis.     There  is  no  such 
intense  love  of  country  in  town  populations.     I  attribute,  in 
some  degree,  that  also  to  the  strong  tribal  feeling,  to  the 
wonderful  loyalty  that  the  Highland  soldiers  have  always 
shown  to  their  leaders.     There  is  also  another  point  to  be 
considered.     A  great  portion  of  this  Highland  population 
has  drifted  away  to  our  large  towns.     It  has  not  always 
emigrated.     Those  who  have  emigrated  have  done  the  best, 
I  think ;  they  have  improved  their  condition  by  going  to 
foreign  countries — America  and   Canada.     The   Canadian 
settlements  have  been  on  the  whole  prosperous.     I  do  not 
say,  in  the  least  degree,  I  object  to  a  healthy  emigration.     I 
hold  for  this  densely-populated  country  a  continuous  stream 


382  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES, 

of  healthy  emigration  is  necessary  to  keep  us  in  a  proper 
state,  and  whether  in  Ireland  or  in  the  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land the  population  is  congested — wherever  there  is  an 
immense  number  of  small  cottiers  dwelling  together — a 
healthy  emigration  is  not  to  be  deplored.  But  I  object  to 
clear  whole  districts  of  a  country  to  make  room  for  deer. 
And,  as  it  has  been  well  said  by  one  of  the  speakers,  these 
wholesale  clearances  have  in  no  way  improved  the  condi- 
tion of  the  people  they  leave  behind.  If  they  had  improved 
the  condition  of  those  behind,  one  could  have  looked 
upon  them  in  a  somewhat  different  light.  I  think  we 
may  even  take  broader  grounds  in  looking  at  this  question. 
The  whole  tendency  of  English  law  for  many  years  past 
has  been  to  deplete  the  rural  districts.  It  is  a  fact  that 
we  have  to  look  in  the  face,  and  a  fact  that  we  have  to 
deplore,  that  the  rural  population  of  the  British  Islands 
has  been  steadily  decreasing  for  many  years  past.  Now, 
I  think  it  is  a  matter  of  national  policy  to  keep  up  the 
rural  population  of  the  country.  The  rural  population, 
I  venture  to  say,  is  the  backbone  of  any  country.  The 
rural  populations  are  much  hardier ;  they  live  in  a  much 
simpler  way  ;  they  are  capable  of  undergoing  greater  fatigue 
and  toil  than  town  populations.  A  rural  population  which 
drifts  into  a  town  often  falls  into  a  much  lower  state  than 
they  occupied  in  their  country  homes.  They  are  not  fitted 
to  contend  with  the  temptations  of  large  towns,  and  often- 
times fall  victims  to  the  vices  and  habits  of  the  low  quarters 
of  our  towns.  If  a  Gaelic  population  were  drifted  into 
Edinburgh  or  Glasgow,  it  would  be  found,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  Irish  population  who  have  come  into  our  large  English 
towns,  that  a  considerable  part  would  fall  into  habits  they 
would  not  have  contracted  if  they  had  remained  in  their 
native  place.     The  associations  of  youth   and  the  public 


MR.    SAMUEL   SMITH,    ]M.P.  383 

opinion  of  our  native  home  is  one  of  the  most  powerful 
means  of  supporting  people  in  the  paths  of  virtue  and  recti- 
tude. Break  up  these  associations,  separate  people  from 
the  friends  of  their  youth,  let  them  become  mere  units 
amongst  the  masses,  with  poor  and  degraded  people  about 
them,  and  you  will  find  that,  for  the  most  part,  they  will 
sink  morally  as  well  as  socially.  I  think  that  it  ought  to  be 
the  policy  of  any  government  to  do  whatever  it  can  by  wise 
legislation  to  maintain  the  rural  population,  to  encourage  its 
growth — at  all  events,  to  do  what  it  can  to  prevent  its 
gradual  extinction.  I  hold  that  the  proprietorship  of  land 
ought  to  be  made  subject  to  just  laws,  and  that  land  ought 
not  to  be  treated  as  goods  and  chattels.  I  object  to  the 
principle  which  our  law  at  present  recognises  that,  if  a  man 
by  the  accident  of  birth  happens  to  own  a  county  in  Scot- 
land, he  may  drive  out  every  human  being  in  it,  and  put  in 
deer.  I  hold  that  no  principles  of  justice  can  sanction  such 
rights  as  these.  I  look  upon  it  as  a  gross  abuse  that  a  man 
who  owns  a  large  track  of  country  should  drain  it  of  the  last 
sixpence  he  can  get,  and  then  spend  it  perhaps  at  the  gaming 
tables  of  Paris,  Baden-Baden,  and  such  places.  I  hold  very 
strongly  that  property  has  its  duties  as  well  as  its  rights — 
that  proprietors  should  live  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
year  amongst  their  tenantry,  that  they  should  identify  them- 
selves with  the  people  and  cultivate  a  family  feeling  amongst 
them,  and  be  the  friends  of  the  weak  and  helpless.  Where 
proprietors  perform  these  duties,  and  recognise  the  position 
in  which  they  stand,  there  are  no  men  who  are  more  popular, 
or  to  whom  is  accorded  more  freely  the  first  position  in  the 
county  in  which  they  live  ;  but  where,  as  I  am  sorry  to  say 
it  is  so  in  too  many  cases,  they  entirely  neglect  those  duties, 
live  for  pure  selfishness,  and  totally  ignore  the  interests  of 
the  tenants,  they  gradually  lose  all  hold  upon  their  attach- 


384  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

ment ;  and  I  am  afraid  that  has  taken  place  already  in  too 
many  cases  in  the  Highlands.  It  is  a  very  difficult  thing, 
as  we  have  found  in  Ireland,  to  define  rights  which  existed 
some  200  years  ago — rights  which  have  no  existence  in  the 
statute  book,  and  which  are  only  traditional ;  to  restore  such 
rights  now  by  means  of  law,  you  must  all  admit,  is  an  ex- 
tremely difficult  thing.  But  in  the  case  of  the  small  crofters 
it  may  be  necessary.  I  don't  think  that  with  regard  to  the 
sheep  farms  it  is  necessary.  In  such  cases  the  relations 
between  landlord  and  tenant  are  purely  commercial,  and  the 
large  farmer  can  protect  himself  as  well  as  the  landlord.  It 
is  with  regard  to  the  small  tenantry  that  I  am  speaking.  I 
only  desire  to  keep  the  rural  population  fixed  upon  the  soil, 
and,  in  order  to  do  so,  to  concede  to  them  something  like 
fixity  of  tenure.  There  are  no  people  more  valuable  to  the 
country  than  the  Highlanders,  and  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the 
State  to  maintain  that  people.  I  hope  that  this  agitation 
will  be  conducted  constitutionally,  and  that  all  Highlanders 
will  use  their  influence  to  prevent  anything  being  done  that 
will  stain  the  character  of  that  people  with  a  dark  blot.  I 
think  it  is  only  a  question  of  time,  when  these  rights  will  be 
conceded.  The  county  franchise  must  be  soon  extended, 
and  when  it  is  we  will  have  a  different  class  of  represen- 
tatives, not  only  in  Scotland,  but  in  England,  who  will  be 
very  much  more  alive  to  the  interests  of  the  labouring 
classes.  This  cannot  be  deferred  for  more  than  two  or 
three  years,  and  in  the  meantime  your  object  should  be  to 
enlighten  the  people  upon  the  subject,  and  to  call  upon  the 
Government  to  appoint  a  Royal  Commission  to  thoroughly 
and  exhaustively  analyse  the  subject,  and  prepare  the  way 
for  a  parliamentary  measure  which  would  do  a  great  deal  to 
satisfy  our  Highland  brethren.* 

*  From  the  Liverpool  Mercury  oi  3rd  January,  1883. 


M.    DE    LAVALEYE.  385 

M.  DE  LAVALEYE. 

The  following  remarks  by  the  celebrated  French  econo- 
mist, 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  partizanship  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  estabhshed  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,  hov/ever,  they 
transformed  their  authority  of  suzerain  into  a  right  of  private 
ownership,  without  even  recognising  in  their  old  co-proprie- 
tors 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 

25 


386  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

when  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  endea- 
voured 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  Tames  Anderson  and  James  Stuart.      The  latter 
tells  us  that  in  his  time — in  the  last  third  of  the  i8th  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  30  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  m-anu- 
facturing  towns.     In  his  observations  on  Smith's    Wealth  of 
Nations,  pubUshed  in   18 14,  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  propor- 
tion to  its  natural  fertiUty.      The  new  system  of  improved 
agriculture  and  increased  rents  demands  the  greatest  net 
profit  with  the  least  possible  outlay,  and  with  this  object  the 


M.    DE    LAV  ALEVE.  387 

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  19th 
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  Conti- 
nent the  famous  clearing  executed  between  18 14  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  seig- 
norial  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    times    when    the    Conquerer    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  Aulder  was  the 
best   natural  meadow   of  Badenoch ;   the  forest  of  Black 
Mount  was  the  best  pasturage  in  Scotland  for  black-woolled 


388  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  Aulder  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.  When- 
ever 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  consoli- 
dated, and  fall,  so  to  speak,  into  mortmain,  in  consequence 
of  the  law  of  primogeniture  and  entails.  In  the  15th  cen- 
tury, 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  "Domes- 
day 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  con- 
tinuous 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. 


FIRST   EMIGRANTS   TO   NOVA    SCOTIA.  389 

An  ardent  desire  for  a  more  equal  division  of  the  pro- 
duce 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  consti- 
tuted 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  render  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. 


HARDSHIPS   ENDURED   BY   THE   FIRST   HIGH- 
LAND EMIGRANTS  TO  NOVA  SCOTIA. 

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 


»jfr->^-t*^y— -" 


390  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

ship  Hector,  for  Pictou,  Nova  Scotia,  gathered  from  trust- 
worthy sources  during  the  author'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  they  could 
induce,  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, 


Hii^^^^fiMMiiii^i^iiSMttMi^ 


FIRST    EMIGRANTS   TO   NOVA   SCOTIA.  39 1 

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  wdth  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,  small-pox  and  dysentery  broke 
out  among  the  passengers.  Eighteen  of  the  children  died, 
and  were  coinmitted  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  con- 
sisted 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;  but, 
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  DiibJi  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. 


322  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

Scottish  immigrants  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  tjie  emigration 
agent,  to  expect  free  estates  on  their  arrival.!  The  whole 
scene,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see,  was  a  dense  imprest.  They 
crowded  on  the  deck  to  take  stock  of  their  futute  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  thtiim,  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  com- 
pared 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  in  the  unbroken  forest.  Can  we  wonder 
that,  in  such  circumstances,  they  refused  to  settle  on  the 
company's  lands  ?  though,  in  consequence,  when  provisions 


FIRST   EMIGRANTS   TO    NOVA    SCOTIA.  393 

arrived,  the  agents  refused  to  give  them  any.  Ross  and  the 
company  quarrelled,  and  he  ultimately  left  the  new  comers 
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,  tooks  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  com- 
pany 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  High- 
landers," he  said,  "and  if  they  are  fairly  treated  there  wiU  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. 


394  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

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  or 
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  j^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  wall  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  hard- 
ships experienced  by  the  earlier  emigrants  to  these  Colonies. 

In  Prince  Edward  Island,  however,  a  colony  from  Lock- 
erbie, in  Dumfrieshire,  who  came  out  in   1774,  seemed  to 


FIRST   EMIGRANTS    TO    NOVA   SCOTIA.  395 

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  nigger";  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. 


396  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

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  descend- 
ants of  the  evicted  from  Sutherland,  Ross,  Inverness-shires, 
and  elsewhere,  to  Canada,  are  producing  enormous  quan- 
tities 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    IRISH    COMPANION   PICTURE.  397 

AN  IRISH  COMPANION  PICTURE. 

We  have  read  with  warm  sympathy  and  interest  Mr.  A. 
M.  SulUvan's  Chapter,  entitled  "  Lochaber  no  more,"  in  his 
briUiant  and  intensely  interesting  work,  New  Ireland.  Mr. 
Sullivan  has  always  exhibited  a  friendly  side  to  the  High- 
landers of  Scotland,  and  we  desire  to  acknowledge  this 
kindly  sympathy  in  the  only  way  which  has  yet  presented 
itself,  by  calling  attention  on  this  side,  among  Highlanders 
especially,  to  this  remarkable  work,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
quote  from  it,  to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  brutality 
meted  out  by  Irish  landlords  to  their  countrymen  in  the 
past,  in  connection  with  this  infamous  mania  for  driving 
the  people  away  from  their  native  soil.  Mr.  Sullivan  in- 
troduces his  chapter  on  Irish  evictions  thus  : — A  Highland 
friend  whose  people  were  swept  away  by  the  great  Suther- 
land clearances,  describing  to  me  some  of  the  scenes  in 
that  great  dispersion,  often  dwelt  with  emotion'  on  the 
spectacle  of  the  evicted  clansmen  marching  through  the 
glens  on  their  way  to  exile,  their  pipes  playing  as  a  last 
farewell,  "  Lochaber  no  more  "  ! 

Lochaber  no  more  !  Lochaber  no  more  ! 
We'll  maybe  return  to  Lochaber  no  more  ! 

I  sympathised  with  his  story ;  I  shared  all  his  feelings.  I 
had  seen  my  own  countrymen  march  in  like  sorrowful 
procession  on  their  way  to  an  emigrant  ship.  Not  alone  in 
one  district,  however,  but  all  over  the  island,  were  such 
scenes  to  be  witnessed  in  Ireland,  from  1847  to  1857. 
Within  that  decade  of  years  nearly  one  million  of  people 
were  cleared  off  the  island  by  eviction,  or  emigration. 

The  picture  which  Mr.  Sullivan  presents  as  to  the  attach- 
ment of  his  countrymen  to  their  native  soil,  and  the  un- 


398  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

speakable  cruelties  involved  in  a  simple  eviction  are  equally 
true  in  the  case  of  the  Highlanders.  He  says : — As  a  rule,  his 
farm  has  been  to  him  and  his  forefathers  for  generations  a 
fixed  and  cherished  home.  Every  bush  and  brake,  every 
shrub  and  tree,  every  meadow-path  or  grassy  knoll,  has 
some  association  for  him  which  is,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  his 
existence.  Whatever  there  is  on  or  above  the  surface  of  the 
earth  in  the  shape  of  house  or  office,  or  steading,  of  fence  or 
road,  of  gate  or  stiles,  has  been  created  by  the  tenant's  hand. 
Under  this  humble  thatch  roof  he  first  drew  breath,  and  has 
grown  to  manhood.  Hither  he  brought  the  fair  young  girl 
he  won  as  a  wife.  Here  have  his  little  children  been  born. 
This  farm-plot  is  his  whole  dominion,  his  world,  his  all ;  he 
is  verily  a  part  of  it,  like  the  ash  or  the  oak,  that  has  sprung 
from  its  soil.  Removal  in  his  case  is  a  tearing  up  by  the 
roots,  where  transplantation  is  death.  The  attachment  of 
the  Irish  peasant  to  his  farm  is  something  almost  impossible 
to  be  comprehended  by  those  who  have  not  spent  their 
lives  amongst  the  class,  and  seen  from  day  to  day  the  depth 
and  force  and  intensity  of  these  home  feelings. 

An  Irish  eviction,  therefore,  it  may  well  be  supposed,  is  a 
scene  to  try  the  sternest  nature.  I  know  sheriffs  and  sub- 
sheriffs  who  have  protested  to  me  that,  odious  and  distressing 
as  were  the  duties  they  had  to  perform  at  an  execution  on 
the  public  scaffold,  far  more  painful  to  their  feelings  were 
those  which  fell  to  their  lot  in  carrying  out  an  eviction, 
where,  as  in  the  case  of  these  "clearances,"  the  houses  had 
to  be  levelled.  The  anger  of  the  elements  affords  no 
warrant  for  respite  or  reprieve.  In  hail  or  thunder,  rain  or 
snow,  out  the  inmate  must  go.  The  bed-ridden  grandsire, 
the  infant  in  the  cradle,  the  sick,  the  aged,  and  the  dying, 
must  alike  be  thrust  forth,  though  other  roof  or  home  the 
world  has  naught  for  them,  and  the  stormy  sky  must  be 


AN    IRISH    COMPANION    PICTURE.  399 

their  canopy  during  the  night  at  hand.  This  is  no  fancy 
picture.  It  is  but  a  brief  and  simple  outUne  sketch  of 
reaUties  witnessed  all  over  Ireland  in  the  ten  years  that 
followed  the  famine.  I  recall  the  words  of  an  eye-witness, 
describing  one  of  these  scenes  :  "  Seven  hundred  human 
beings,"  says  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Nulty,  Catholic  Bishop  of 
Meath,  "  were  driven  from  their  homes  on  this  one  day. 
There  was  not  a  shilling  of  rent  due  on  the  estate  at  the 
time,  except  by  one  man.  The  sheriffs'  assistants  employed 
on  the  occasion  to  extinguish  the  hearths  and  demolish  the 
homes  of  those  honest,  industrious  men,  worked  away  with 
a  will  at  their  awful  calling  until  evening  fell.  At  length  an 
incident  occurred  that  varied  the  monotony  of  the  grim  and 
ghastly  ruin  which  they  were  spreading  all  around.  They 
stopped  suddenly  and  recoiled,  panic-stricken  with  terror, 
from  two  dwellings  which  they  were  directed  to  destroy  with 
the  rest.  They  had  just  learned  that  typhus  fever  held 
these  houses  in  its  grasp,  and  had  already  brought  death  to 
some  of  their  inmates.  They  therefore  supplicated  the 
agent  to  spare  these  houses  a  little  longer ;  but  he  was  in- 
exorable, and  insisted  that  they  should  come  down.  He 
ordered  a  large  winnowing  sheet  to  be  secured  over  the  beds 
in  which  the  fever-victims  lay — fortunately,  they  happened 
to  be  delirious  at  the  time — aud  then  directed  the  houses  to 
be  unroofed  cautiously  and  slowly.  I  administered  the  last 
Sacrament  of  the  Church  to  four  of  these  fever-victims  next 
day,  and  save  the  above-mentioned  winnowing  sheet,  there 
was  not  then  a  roof  nearer  to  me  than  the  canopy  of  heaven. 
The  scene  of  that  eviction  day  I  must  remember  all  my  life 
long.  The  wailing  of  women,  the  screams,  the  terror,  the 
consternation  of  children,  the  speechless  agony  of  men, 
wrung  tears  of  grief  from  all  who  saw  them.  I  saw  the 
officers  and  men  of  a  large  police  force  who  were  obliged  to 


400  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES.  , 

attend  on  the  occasion  cry  like  children.  The  heavy  rains 
that  usually  attend  the  autumnal  equinoxes  descended  in 
cold  copious  torrents  throughout  the  night,  and  at  once 
revealed  to  the  houseless  sufferers  the  awful  realities  of  their 
condition.  I  visited  them  next  morning,  and  rode  from 
place  to  place  administering  to  them  all  the  comfort  and 
consolation  I  could.  The  landed  proprietors  in  a  circle 
all  round,  and  for  many  miles  in  every  direction,  warned 
their  tenantry  against  admitting  them  to  even  a  single  night's 
shelter.  Many  of  these  poor  people  were  unable  to  emi- 
grate. After  battling  in  vain  with  privation  and  pestilence, 
they  at  last  graduated  from  the  workhouse  to  the  tomb,  and 
in  little  more  than  three  years  nearly  a  fourth  of  them  lay 
quietly  in  their  grave." 

The  picture  is  most  painful,  but  the  evicted  must  be 
followed  yet  a  little  further  to  complete  it.  The  author, 
after  giving  a  vivid  description  of  the  mode  of  eviction  which 
had  almost  become  a  science  in  his  native  land,  continues: — 
The  Irish  exodus  had  one  awful  concomitant,  which  in  the 
Irish  memory  of  that  time,  fills  nearly  as  large  a  space  as 
the  famine  itself.  The  people,  flying  from  fever-tainted 
hovel  and  workhouse,  carried  the  plague  with  them  on 
board.  Each  vessel  became  a  floating  charnel-house.  Day 
by  day  the  American  public  was  thrilled  by  the  ghastly  tale 
of  ships  arriving  off  the  harbours  reeking  with  typhus  and 
cholera;  the  track  they  had  followed  across  the  ocean  strewn 
with  the  corpses  flung  overboard  on  the  way.  Speaking  in 
the  House  of  Commons  on  the  nth  of  February,  184S,  [the 
late]  Mr.  Labouchere  referred  to  one  year's  havoc  on  board 
the  ships  saiUng  to  Canada  and  New  Brunswick  alone  in 
the  following  words  : — 

Out  of  106,000  emigrants  who  during  the  last  twelve  months  crossed 
the  Atlantic  for  Canada  and  New  Brunswick,  6100  perished  on  the 


AN    IRISH   COMPANION   PICTURE.  40I 

voyage,  4100  on  their  arrival,  5200  in  the  hospitals,  and  1900  in  the 
towns  to  which  they  repaired.  The  total  mortality  was  not  less  than  17 
per  cent,  of  the  total  number  emigrating  to  those  places  ;  the  number  of 
deaths  being  17,300. 

In   all   the   great   ports   of  America  and  Canada,  huge 
quarantine  hospitals  had  to  be  hastily  erected.     Into  these 
every  day  newly  arriving  plague-ships  poured  what  survived 
of  their  human  freight,  for  whom  room  was  as  rapidly  made 
in  those  wards  by  the  havoc  of  death.     Whole  families  dis- 
appeared between  land  and  land,  as  sailors  say.     Frequently 
the  adults  were  swept  away,  the  children  alone  surviving. 
It  was  impossible  in  every  case  to  ascertain  the  names  of 
the  sufferers,  and  often  all  clue  to  identification  was  lost. 
The  public  authorities,  or  the  nobly  humane  organisations 
that  had  established  those  lazar-houses,  found   themselves 
towards  the  close  of  their  labours  in  charge  of  hundreds  of 
orphan  children,  of  whom  name  and  parentage  alike  were 
now  impossible  to  be  traced.     About  eight  years  ago  I  was 
waited  upon  in  Dublin  by  one  of  these  waifs,  now  a  man 
of  considerable  wealth  and  honourable  position.     He  had 
come  across  the  Atlantic  in  pursuit  of  a  purpose  to  which 
he  is  devoting  years  of  his  Hfe — an  endeavour  to  obtain 
some  clue  to  his  family,  who  perished  in  one  of  the  great 
shore  hospitals  in  1849.     Piously  he  treasures  a  few  pieces 
of  a  red-painted  emigrant  box,  which  he  believes  belonged 
to  his  father.     Eagerly  he  travels  from  place  to  place  in 
Clare,  and  Kerry,  and  Galway,  to  see  if  he  may  dig  from  the 
tomb  of  that  terrible  past  the  secret  lost  to  him,  I  fear,  for 
ever  ! 

"From  Grosse  Island,  the  great  charnel-house  of  victimised 
humanity,"  says  the  Official  Report  of  the  Montreal  Emigrant 
Society  for  1847,  "up  to  Port  Sarnia,  and  along  the  borders 
of  our  magnificent  river ;  upon  the  shores  of  Lakes  Ontario 

26 


402  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

and  Erie — wherever  the  tide  of  emigration  has  extended,  are 
to  be  found  the  final  resting  places  of  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  Erin ;  one  unbroken  chain  of  graves,  where  repose  fathers 
and  mothers,  sisters  and  brothers,  in  one  commingled  heap, 
without  a  tear  bedewing  the  soil  or  a  stone  marking  the 
spot.  Twenty  thousand  and  upwards  have  thus  gone  down 
to  their  graves."* 


LAND  LEGISLATION  IN  THE  FIFTEENTH 

CENTURY. 

A   REMARKABLE   CONTRAST:    I482    V.    1882. 

The  following  passage  will  be  found  in  Bacon's  History 
of  Henry  VII  :— 

"  Inclosures  at  that  time  began  to  be  more  frequent, 
whereby  arable  land,  which  could  not  be  manured  without 
people  and  families,  was  turned  into  pasture,  which  was 
easily  rid  by  a  few  herdsmen ;  and  tenancies  for  years,  lives, 
and  at  will,  whereupon  much  of  the  yeomanry  lived,  were 
turned  into  demesnes.  This  bred  a  decay  of  people,  and 
by  consequence  a  decay  of  towns,  churches,  by  this,  and  the 
like.  The  King  likewise  knew  full  well  and  in  nowise  forgot, 
that  there  ensued  withal  upon  this  a  decay  and  diminution 
of  subsidies  and  taxes ;  for  the  more  gentlemen  even  the 
lower  books  of  subsidies.  In  remedying  of  this  incon- 
venience, the  King's  wisdom  was  admirable,  and  the  parlia- 
ment's at  that  time.  Inclosures  they  would  not  forbid,  for 
that  had  been  to  forbid  the  improvement  of  the  patrimony 

*  New  Ireland:  Political  Sketches  and  Personal  Reminiscences  of  Thirty 
Years  of  Irish  Public  Life,  by  A.  M.  Sullivan. 


LAND    LEGISLATION    IN   THE    FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.     403 

of  the  Kingdom ;  nor  tillage  they  would  not  compel,  for 
that  was  to  strive  with  nature  and  utility ;  but  they  took  a 
course  to  take  away  depopulating  inclosures  and  depopu- 
lating pasturage,  and  yet  not  by  that  name,  or  by  any  im- 
perious express  prohibition,  but  by  consequence.  The 
ordinance  was,  '  That  all  houses  of  husbandry  that  were 
used  with  twenty  acres  of  ground  or  upwards,  should  be 
maintained  and  kept  for  ever '." 

In  the  preambles  to  several  acts  of  parliament  about  that 
date,  references  are  found  which  are  singularly  appropriate  to 
the  present  state  of  things  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland. 
In  4th  Henry  VII.  c.  i6,  it  is  laid  down  that : — • 

"  Forasmuch  as  it  is  to  the  King  our  Sovereign  lord's  great 
surety  and  also  to  the  surety  of  this  realm  of  England,  that 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  in  the  county  of  Southampton,  be  well 
inhabited  with  English  people  for  the  defence  as  well  of 
his  antient  enemies  of  the  realm  of  France  as  of  other 
parties,  the  which  isle  is  lately  decayed  of  people  by  reason 
that  many  towns  and  villages  have  been  beaten  down,  and 
the  fields  ditched  and  made  pastures  for  beasts  and  catties  ; 
and  also  many  dwelling  places,  ferms  and  fermholds,  have 
of  late  times  been  used  to  be  taken  in  one  man's  hold  and 
hands,  that  of  old  time  were  wont  to  be  in  many  persons 
holds  and  hands,  and  many  several  households  kept  in 
them,  and  thereby  much  people  multiplied,  and  the  same 
isle  well  inhabited,  the  which  now  by  the  occasion  aforesaid 
is  desolate  and  not  inhabited,  but  occupied  with  beasts  and 
catties.  The  enactment  is,  that  none  shall  take  more  ferms 
than  one  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  exceeding  ten  merks  rent." 

Another  preamble  not  less  remarkable  is  that  of  25  Henry 
VIII.  chap.  13.     It  is  as  follows: — 

"  Forasmuch  as  divers  and  sundry  persons  of  the  King's 
subjects  of  this  realm,  to  whom  God  of  His  goodness  hath 


404  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

disposed  great  plenty  and  abundance  of  moveable  substance, 
now  of  late  within  few  years  have  daily  studied,  practised, 
and  invented  ways  and  means  how  they  might  accumulate 
and  gather  together  into  few  hands,  as  well  great  multitude 
of  farms  as  great  plenty  of  cattle,  and  in  especial  sheep, 
putting  such  lands  as  they  can  get,  to  pasture,  and  not  to 
tillage,  whereby  they  have  not  only  pulled  down  churches 
and  towns,  and  enchanced  the  old  rates  of  the  rents  of  the 
possessions  of  this  realm,  or  else  brought  it  to  such  excessive 
fines  that  no  poor  man  is  able  to  meddle  with  it,  but  also 
have  raised  and  enchanced  the  prices  of  all  manner  of  corn, 
cattle,  wool,  pigs,  geese,  hens,  chickens,  eggs,  and  such 
other,   almost   double  above   the   prices  which  have  been 
accustomed  ;  by  reason  whereof  a  marvellous  multitude  and 
number  of  the  people  of  this  realm  be  not  able  to  provide 
meat,  drink,  and  clothes,  necessary  for   themselves,  their 
wives,  and  children,  but  be  so  discouraged  with  misery  and 
poverty  that  they  fall  daily  to  theft,  robbery,  and  other  in- 
conveniences, or  pitifully  die  for  hunger  and  cold ;  and  as  it 
is  thought  by  the  King's  most  humble  and  loving  subjects, 
that  one  of  the  greatest  occasions  that  moveth  and  pro- 
voketh  those  greedy  and  covetous  people  so  to  accumulate 
and  keep  in  their  hands  such  great  portions  and  parts  of  the 
grounds  and  lands  of  this  realm  from  the  occupying  of  the 
poor  husbandmen,  and  so  to  use  it  in  pasture  and  not  in 
tillage,  is  only  the  great  profit  that  cometh  of  sheep,  which 
now  be  come  to  a  few  persons  hands  of  this  realm,  in  res- 
pect of  the  whole  number  of  the  King's  subjects,  that  some 
have  four-and-twenty  thousand,  some  twenty  thousand,  some 
ten  thousand,  some  six  thousand,  some  five  thousand,  and 
some  more,  and  some  less ;  by  the  which  a  good  sheep  for 
victual  that  was  accustomed  to  be  sold  for  two  shillings 
fourpence,  or  three  shillings  at  the  most,  is  now  sold  for  six 


LAND   LEGISLATION    IN   THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY.     405 

shillings  or  five  shillings,  or  four  shillings  at  the  least ; 
and  a  stone  of  clothing  wool,  that  in  some  shires  in  this 
realm  was  accustomed  to  be  sold  for  eighteen-pence  or 
twenty-pence,  is  now  sold  for  four  shillings,  or  three  shillings 
fourpence  at  the  least ;  and  in  some  countries  where  it  hath 
been  sold  for  two  shillings  fourpence  or  two  shillings  eight- 
pence,  or  three  shillings  at  the  most,  it  is  now  sold  for  five 
shillings,  or  four  shillings  eightpence  at  least,  and  so  raised  in 
every  part  of  this  realm  ;  which  things,  thus  used,  be  princi- 
pally to  the  high  displeasure  of  Almighty  God,  to  the  decay 
of  the  hospitahty  of  this  realm,  to  the  diminishing  of  the 
King's  people,  and  to  the  let  of  the  cloth  making,  whereby 
many  poor  people  have  been  accustomed  to  be  set  on  work ; 
and  in  conclusion,  if  remedy  be  not  found,  it  may  turn  to 
the  utter  destruction  and  desolation  of  this  realm,  which 
God  defend." 

Hume,  in  his  History  of  England,  remarks  that  "  during 
a  century  and  a  half  after  this  period,  there  was  a  continual 
renewal  of  laws  against  depopulation,  whence  we  may  infer 
that  none  of  them  were  ever  executed.  The  natural  course 
of  improvement  at  last  provided  a  remedy." — Vol.  III.,  p. 
42s,  ed.  1763. 

Of  the  popular  clamours  on  the  subject,  a  curious  speci- 
men occurs  in  some  lines  preserved  in  Lewis's  History  of 
the  English  Trajislations  of  the  Bible  : — 

"  Before  that  sheepe  so  much  dyd  rayne, 
Where  is  one  plough  there  was  then  twayne  ; 
Of  corne  and  victual  right  greate  plentye, 
And  for  one  pennye  egges  twentye. 
I  truste  to  God  it  will  be  redressed, 
That  men  by  sheepe  be  not  subpressed. 
Sheepe  have  eaten  men  full  many  a  yere, 
Now  let  men  eate  sheepe  and  make  good  cheere. 


406  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

Those  that  have  many  sheepe  in  store 
They  may  repente  it  more  and  more  ; 
Seynge  the  greate  extreme  necessitee, 
And  yet  they  shewe  no  more  charitee." 

Is  this  not,  in  many  respects,  curiously  appropriate  to  our 
own  day  ? 


THE  ISLE  OF  SKYE  IN  1882. 

THE  BRAES  CROFTERS  AND  LORD  MACDONALD. 

No  evictions  have  yet  taken  place  in  consequence  of  the 
social  revolution  which  has,  during  this  year,  directed  the 
attention  of  the  world  to  the  position  of  landlord  and  tenant 
in  the  Isle  of  Skye.  Matters  have,  however,  reached  such 
a  pass,  that  in  a  work  like  this  considerable  space  must 
be  devoted  to  what  has  already  occurred.  The  writer 
went  over  the  ground,  and  he  has  carefully  considered  the 
whole  question.  The  following  statement  was  published  by 
him,  on  his  return  from  the  Island,  in  the  Celtic  Magazine 
for  May  last,  and  he  has  not  hitherto  found  it  necessary  to 
modify  a  single  sentence  of  what  he  then  wrote,  though  he 
has  watched  all  the  proceedings  which  have  since  occurred — 
including  the  evidence  given  at  the  trial  of  the  Braes 
crofters — with  great  care.  Indeed,  it  has  been  admitted  by 
those  more  immediately  concerned  on  the  landlords'  side, 
that  his  account  was  exceedingly  moderate  in  tone,  carefully 
couched  in  temperate  language,  and  accurately  stated  in  all 
its  details.     It  is  as  follows  : — 

That  we  were,  and  still  are,  on  the  verge  of  a  social  revo- 
lution in  Skye  is  beyond  question,  and  those  who  have  any 
influence  with  the  people  as  well  as  those  lairds  and  factors 
who  have  the  interests  of  the  'population  virtually  in  their 
keeping,  will  incur  a  very  grave  responsibility  at  a  critical 
time  like  this,  unless  the  utmost  care  is  taken  to  keep  the 


408  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

action  of  the  aggrieved  tenants  within  the  law,  and  on  the 
other  hand  grant  to  the  people,  in  a  friendly  and  judicious 
spirit,  material  concessions  in  response  to  grievances  regard- 
ing any  hardships  which  can  be  proved  to  exist. 

It  is  quite  true  that,  though  innumerable  grievances  un- 
questionably do  exist,  no  single  one  by  itself  is  of  sufficient 
magnitude  to  make  a  deep  impression  on  the  public  mind, 
or  upon  any  mere  superficial  enquirer.  It  is  the  constant 
accumulation  of  numberless  petty  annoyances,  all  in  the 
same  direction,  that  exasperate  the  people.  The  whole 
tendency,  and,  it  is  feared,  the  real  object  of  the  general 
treatment  of  the  crofter  is  to  crush  his  spirit,  and  keep  him 
enslaved  within  the  grasp  of  his  landlord  and  factor.  Indeed, 
one  of  the  latter  freely  admitted  to  us  that  his  object  in 
sometimes  serving  large  numbers  of  notices  of  removal, 
which  he  had  not  the  slightest  intention  of  carrying  into 
effect,  was  that  he  might  "have  the  whip-hand  over  them". 
This  practice  can  only  be  intended  to  keep  the  people  in  a 
constant  state  of  terror  and  insecurity,  and  it  has  hitherto 
succeeded  only  too  well. 

The  most  material  grievance,  however,  as  well  as  the 
most  exasperating,  is  the  gradual  but  certain  encroachment 
made  on  the  present  holdings.  The  pasture  is  taken  from 
the  crofters  piecemeal ;  their  crofts  are  in  many  cases  sub- 
divided to  make  room  for  those  gradually  evicted  from 
other  places — in  a  way  to  avoid  public  attention — to  make 
room  for  sheep  or  deer,  or  both.  The  people  see  that  they 
are  being  gradually  but  surely  driven  to  the  sea,  and  that  if 
they  do  not  resist  in  time  they  will  ultimately,  and  at  no 
distant  date,  be  driven  into  it,  or  altogether  expelled  from 
their  native  land.  A  little  more  pressure  in  this  direction, 
and  no  amount  of  argument  or  advice  will  keep  the  people 
from  taking  the  law  into  their  own  hands  and  resisting  it  by 


THE    ISLE    OF    SKYE    IN    1882.  409 

force.  The  time  for  argument  has  already  gone.  The 
powers  that  be  has  hitherto  refused  to  Usten  to  the  voice  of 
reason,  and  the  consequence  is  that  scarcely  any  one  can 
now  be  found  on  either  side  who  will  wait  to  argue  whether 
or  not  a  change  is  necessary.  It  is  admitted  on  all  hands 
that  a  change,  and  a  very  material  change,  must  take  place 
at  no  distant  date,  and  the  only  question  at  present  being 
considered  in  the  West  at  least,  is,  What  is  to  be  the  nature 
of  the  change?  This  is  what  we  have  now  been  brought 
face  to  face  to,  and,  however  difificult  the  problem  may  be 
— and  it  is  surrounded  with  endless  difficulties  on  all  sides 
— the  change  must  come ;  and  it  is  admitted  all  round  that 
the  day  when  it  shall  take  place  has  been  brought  much 
nearer  by  the  inconsiderate  action  and  unbending  spirit  of 
those  at  present  in  power  in  the  Isle  of  Skye.  This  is  now 
seen  and  admitted  by  themselves.  In  short,  a  great  blunder 
has  been  committed.  This  opinion  is  almost  universal  in 
the  Island,  and  it  will  be  a  crime  against  owners  of  land, 
against  the  interests  of  society,  and  against  common  sense, 
if  the  blunder  is  not  at  once  rectified  by  the  good  sense  of 
those  who  have  it  in  their  power  to  do  so.  The  error  will 
soon  be  forgotten  if  rectified  with  as  little  delay  as  possible ; 
and  the  class  of  men  who  are  willing  to  sacrifice  their  own 
ideas  of  self-importance  to  confer  a  great  boon  upon  society 
is  so  limited,  that  we  appeal  with  no  slight  confidence  to 
Lord  Macdonald's  factor  to  retrace  his  steps,  and  arrange  a 
settlement  with  his  people  in  the  Braes ;  and  thus  assuredly 
raise  himself  to  a  higher  position  in  public  estimation  than 
he  has  ever  yet  occupied,  with  all  his  power;  and  at  the 
same  time  become  an  example  for  good  to  others.  He  can 
do  all  this  with  the  less  difficulty,  seeing  that  not  a  single 
one  of  the  grievances  of  the  Braes  tenants  were  originated 
since  he  became  factor  on  the  Macdonald  estates,  and  that 


41 0  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

the  only  thing  with  which  he  can  fairly  be  charged  in  con- 
nection with  them  was  a  too  imperious  disinchnation  to 
listen  to  the  people's  claims,  and  that  he  had  not  fully  and 
sufficiently  early  enquired  into  the  justice  of  them.  On  his 
prudence  very  much  depends  at  present  the  amicable  settle- 
ment of  a  great  question,  or  at  least  the  shape  which  the 
present  agitation  for  the  settlement  of  the  relations  of  land- 
lord and  tenant  in  the  Highlands  will  ultimately  take. 

We  believe  that  the  sad  consequences  of  the  recent  pro- 
ceedings against  the  Braes  tenants  is  deplored  by  himself  as 
much  as  by  any  in  the  Isle  of  Skye,  where  the  feeling  of 
regret  and  shame  is  universal  among  the  people,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  irrespective  of  position  or  party. 

There  is  a  very  strong  feeling  that  the  law  must  be  main- 
tained ;  but  the  opinion  is  very  generally  expressed  that  the 
people  ought  not  on  this  occasion,  and  in  the  present  state 
of  the  public  mind,  to  have  been  brought  into  contact  with 
the  criminal  authorities ;  and  that  by  a  little  judicious  rea- 
soning this  could  have  been  very  easily  avoided.  We  quite 
agree  that  the  law  must  not  only  be  respected,  but  firmly 
vindicated,  when  occasion  demands  it ;  but  at  the  same 
time  the  owners  of  land  who  press  hard  upon  their  poor 
tenants  are  living  in  a  fool's  paradise  if  they  expect  that 
harsh  laws,  harshly  administered,  will  be  allowed  to  stand 
much  longer  on  the  statute-book  if  such  as  the  recent  pro- 
ceedings at  the  Braes  are  to  be  repeated  elsewhere  throughout 
the  country.  Just  now  the  facts  of  history  deserve  careful 
study,  and  we  trust  that  the  lessons  they  teach  will  not  be 
thrown  away  on  those  more  immediately  concerned  in  main- 
taining their  present  position  in  connection  with  the  land. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  that  the  Braes  tenants 
have  no  real  grievances ;  and  our  own  opinion  before  we 
went  to  examine  them  on  the  spot  was,  and  it  is  so  still. 


r-     1 


THE   ISLE   OF   SKYE   IN    1882.  4II 

that  they  are,  from  a  legal  standpoint,  in  a  far  worse  position 
to  assert  their  claims  than  the  tenants  of  Glendale,  Dr. 
Nicol  Martin's,  and  other  proprietors  on  the  Island.  We 
are  now  satisfied,  however,  that  they  have  very  considerable 
grievances  from  a  moral  standpoint,  and  no  one  will  dispute 
that  grievances  of  that  kind  are  generally  as  important,  and 
often  more  substantial  and  exasperating  than  those  which 
can  be  enforced  in  a  court  of  law. 

The  Braes  tenants  maintain  that  in  two  instances  con- 
siderable portions  of  their  lands  have  been  taken  from  them 
without  any  reduction  of  rent,  and  their  contentions  are 
capable  of  legal  proof. 

I.  There  is  no  doubt  at  all  that  they  had  the  grazings  of 
Benlee — the  original  cause  of  the  present  dispute — down  to 
1865,  when  it  was  taken  from  them  and  let  to  a  sheep 
farmer  as  a  separate  holding.  It  can  be  proved  that  Lord 
Macdonald  paid  them  rent  for  a  small  portion  of  it,  which 
he  took  into  his  own  hands  for  the  site  of  a  forester's  house 
and  garden.  It  can  also  be  proved  that  it  was  not  a 
"common"  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  that  term,  though 
it  is  called  so  in  a  map  made  by  a  surveyor,  named  Black- 
adder,  who,  in  18 10,  divided  the  crofts  from  the  run-rig 
system  into  ordinary  lots,  while  the  grazings  of  Benlee  con- 
tinued to  be  held  in  common  as  before.  The  Uist  people, 
and  others  from  the  West,  paid  a  rent  for  the  use  of  it  to 
the  Braes  tenants  when  resting  their  droves  on  their  way  to 
the  Southern  markets. 

II.  The  townships  are,  or  were,  divided  into  seven  crofts, 
occupied  by  as  many  tenants,  and  an  eighth,  called  the 
shepherd's  croft,  which  that  necessary  adjunct  to  a  common 
or  club  farm  received  in  return  for  his  services.  The 
shepherd's  croft  has  been  since  withdrawn,  and  let  direct  by 
the  factor  to  an  eighth  tenant,  and  that  without  any  reduc- 


412  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

tion  of  rent  to  the  other  seven  crofters  in  each  township, 
while  they  have  now  to  bear  the  burden  of  paying  their 
shepherd  from  their  own  resources.  This  is  a  virtual  raising 
of  the  rents,  without  any  equivalent,  by  more  than  13I  per 
cent.,  altogether  apart  from  the  appropriation  of  Benlee, 

These  grievances  took  shape  long  before  the  present 
factor  came  into  power,  and  he  himself  has  stated  that  it  was 
only  since  the  present  agitation  began  that  he  became  even 
acquainted  with  the  complaint  regarding  the  shepherds' 
crofts.  For  townships  to  have  such  a  croft  is  quite  common 
in  the  Island,  and  the  practice  is  well  known  and  under- 
stood. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  rents  are  now  not  higher  than 
they  were  in  18 10,  but,  apart  from  the  fact  that  Benlee  and 
the  eighth  croft  have  since  been  taken  away,  why  compare 
the  present  with  18 10,  a  time  at  which,  in  consequence  of 
the  wars  of  the  period,  and  the  high  price  obtained  for  kelp, 
rents  and  produce  of  every  kind  were  very  high.  The  rental 
of  Lord  Macdonald's  Skye  property,  we  understand,  was 
^8000,  while  in  1830,  it  fell  to  ;^5ooo,  but  no  corresponding 
reduction  was  made  in  the  Braes.  The  tenants  maintain 
that  they  have  repeatedly  claimed  Benlee,  and  that  the 
late  factor  told  them  if  they  had  been  firm  when  the  previous 
lease  expired,  they  would  have  got  it,  though  whether  with 
or  without  rent  was  not  stated.  This  is  admitted,  though 
different  views  were  held  by  each  as  to  the  payment  of  rent 
— the  tenants  expecting  they  were  to  get  it  in  terms  of  their 
request,  without  any  payment,  while  the  factor  says  that  he 
meant  them  to  get  it  on  payment  of  the  then  rent.  In  any 
case  it  is  impossible  that  they  can  now  obtain  a  decent  liveli- 
hood without  additional  pasture  for  their  stock,  for  they 
have  been  obliged  to  allow  a  great  portion  of  their  arable 
land  to  run  into  waste,  to  graze  their  cattle  upon  it.     They 


THE   ISLE   OF   SKYE   IN    1882.  413 

are  willing  to  pay  some  rent  for  Benlee,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  in  all  the  circumstances,  that  the  factor  will  meet 
them  in  a  liberal  spirit  (as  he  can,  without  difficulty,  get  the 
lands  from  the  present  tenant  at  Whitsunday  next),*  and  thus 
avoid  further  heart-burnings  and  estrangements  between  the 
landlord  and  his  tenants.  That  they  have  moral  claims  of 
a  very  substantial  character  cannot  be  disputed,  and  the 
mere  fact  that  the  lands  have  been  taken  from  them  so  long 
back  as  1865,  can  scarcely  be  pleaded  as  a  reason  why  this 
state  of  matters  should  be  continued.  It  has  indeed  been 
suggested,  with  some  amount  of  apparent  justice,  whether  in 
ail  the  circumstances  the  people  have  not  a  moral  claim  to 
a  return  of  the  value  of  Benlee  for  the  period  during  which 
it  has  been  out  of  their  possession,  seeing  that  they  still  have 
the  arable  portions  and  part  of  the  grazings  of  their  original 
holdings. 


'&-" 


Glendale. 

We  visited  this  property,  some  30  to  35  miles  from 
Portree,  and  7  to  12  miles  from  Dunvegan,  accompanied  by 
the  special  commissioners  for  the  Aberdeen  Daily  Free  Press^ 
the  Dundee  Advertiser,  and  the  Glasgow  Citizen.  The 
whole  surroundings  of  Glendale  at  once  indicate  a  more 
than  average  comfortable  tenantry,  indeed,  the  most 
prosperous,  to  outward  appearance,  that  we  have  seen  in  the 
North-West  Highlands.  The  estate  is  owned  by  the  Trustees 
of  the  late  Sir  John  Macpherson  Macleod.  The  people 
are  remarkably  intelligent  and  well  informed,  and  their 
grievances  place  those  of  the  Braes  men  entirely  in  the 
shade.  The  following  account  of  them  and  their  position 
generally,  largely  from  Mr.  William  Mackenzie's  account  in 

*  This  was  written  in  April,  1882. 


414  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

the  Free  Press,  and    taken  down   in  the  presence   of  the 
writer,  may  be  accepted  as  a  true  statement  of  their  case  : — 

While  the  people  are  thoroughly  firm  in  their  demands,  it 
would  be  a  mistake  to  call  their  attitude  and  actions  a  "  no 
rent "  agitation.  They  are  all  alive  to  their  obligation  to 
pay  rent  to  the  landlord,  and  where  rent  is  witheld  that  is 
done,  not  in  defiance  of  the  landlord's  rights,  but  as  the  best, 
and  perhaps  the  only,  means  they  can  devise  to  induce  the 
landlord  to  consider  the  claims  and  grievances  of  the  people. 
The  estate  managed  by  the  trustees  of  the  late  John 
Macpherson  Macleod  consists  of  about  a  dozen  townships. 
According  to  the  current  valuation  roll,  lands,  etc.,  of  the 
annual  value  of  ^400  9s.  are  in  the  occupancy  of  the 
trustees.  Dr.  Martin  pays  £,t.Z?>  foi"  Waterstein,  and  the 
shooting  tenant  pays  ;!^i4o.  The  ground  officer  pays  some 
;^3o  for  lands  at  Colbost,  while  the  rest  of  the  estate  is 
occupied  by  crofters,  who  among  them  pay  a  rent  of  about 
^700.  The  extent  of  the  estate  is  about  35,000  acres. 
Ten  years  ago  the  rent  was  £12$'],  while  now  it  is  ;^i397 
odds,  shewing  a  net  increase  on  the  decade  of  ;^i39  i6s.  id. 
or  slightly  over  1 1  per  cent. 

The  tenants  complain  that  the  different  townships  were 
deprived  of  rights  anciently  possessed  by  them  ;  that  some 
townships  were  by  degrees  cleared  of  the  crofters  to  enable 
the  laird  or  the  factor  to  increase  his  stock  of  sheep,  and 
that  such  of  these  people  as  did  not  leave  the  estate  were 
crowded  into  other  townships,  individual  tenants  in  these 
townships  being  required  to  give  a  portion  of  their  holdings 
to  make  room  for  these  new  comers.  They  also  complain 
of  the  arrogant  and  dictatorial  manner  in  which  the  factor 
deals  with  them.  So  the  Glendale  crofters,  wearied  for 
years  with  what  they  have  regarded  as  oppression,  have  now 
risen  as  one  man,  resolved  to  unfold  before  the  pubhc  gaze 


THE   ISLE   OF   SKYE   IN    1882.  415 

those  matters  of  which  they  complain,  and  to  demand  of 
their  territorial  superiors  to  restore  to  them  lands  which  at 
one  time  were  occupied  by  themselves  and  their  ancestors, 
to  lessen,  if  not  to  remove,  what  they  regard  as  the  severity 
of  the  factor's  yoke,  and  generally  to  place  them  in  that 
position  of  independence  and  security  to  which  they  con- 
sider they  are  fairly  and  justly  entitled.  The  functions  per- 
formed by  the  factor  of  Glendale  are  exceedingly  varied  in 
their  character.  He  is,  they  say,  as  a  rule,  sole  judge  of 
any  little  dispute  that  may  arise  between  the  crofters.  He 
decides  these  disputes  according  to  his  own  notions  of  right 
or  wrong,  and  if  anyone  is  dissatisfied — a  not  uncommon 
occurrence  even  among  litigants  before  the  Supreme  Courts 
— the  dissatisfied  one  dare  not  carry  the  matter  to  the 
regularly  constituted  tribunals  of  the  land.  To  impugn  the 
judgment  of  the  factor  by  such  conduct  might  entail  more 
serious  consequences  than  any  one  would  be  disposed  to 
incur,  and,  further,  the  extraordinary  and  mistaken  notion 
appears  to  have  prevailed  that  if  any  one  brought  a  case 
before  the  Sheriff  Court  the  factor's  letter  would  be  there 
before  him  to  nonsuit  him.  This  factorial  mode  of  adminis- 
trating the  law  is  probably  a  vestige  that  still  lingers  in 
isolated  districts  of  the  ancient  heritable  jurisdiction  of 
Scotland ;  and  it  is  only  right  to  state  that  Glendale  is  not 
the  only  place  in  the  Highlands  where  the  laird  or  the 
factor  have  been  wont  to  administer  the  law.  Among  the 
privileges  which  the  Glendale  people  formerly  possessed 
was  the  right  to  collect  and  get  the  salvage  for  timber 
drifted  from  wrecks  to  the  shore.  Of  this  privilege  it  was 
resolved  to  deprive  them,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
written  notice  which  was  posted  up  at  the  local  post-office, 
the  most  pubhc  part  of  the  district : — 

Notice. — Whereas   parties   are   in  the  habit   of  trespassing  on  the 


41 6  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

lands  of  Glendale,  Lowergill,  Ramasaig,  and  Waterstein,  in  searching 
and  carrying  away  drift  timber,  notice  is  hereby  given  that  the  shep- 
herds and  herds  on  these  lands  have  instructions  to  give  up  the  names 
of  any  persons  found  hereafter  on  any  part  of  said  lands,  as  also  anyone 
found  carrying  away  timber  from  the  shore  by  boats  or  otherwise,  that 
they  may  be  dealt  with  according  to  law. — Factor's  Office,  Tormore, 
4th  January,  1882. 

The  lands  over  which  they  were  thus  forbidden  to  walk, 
consist  mainly  of  sheep  grazing,  in  the  occupation  of  the 
trustees,  and  managed  for  them  by  the  factor.  The  people 
were  also  forbidden  to  keep  dogs. 

These  notices,  it  is  stated,  had  the  desired  effect ;  tres- 
passing ceased,  and  the  crofter,  with  a  sad  heart,  destroyed 
his  canine  friend.  Grievances  multiplying  in  this  way,  it 
was  resolved  by  some  leader  in  the  district  to  convene  a 
public  meeting  of  the  crofters  to  consider  the  situation. 
The  notice  calling  the  meeting  together,  was  in  these 
terms  : — 

We,  the  tenants  on  the  estate  of  Glendale,  do  hereby  warn  each 
other  to  meet  at  Glendale  Church  on  the  7th  day  of  February,  on  or 
about  one  p.m.,  of  1882,  for  the  purpose  of  stating  our  respective 
grievances  publicly,  in  order  to  communicate  the  same  to  our  superiors, 
when  the  ground-officer  is  requested  to  attend. 

Such  a  revolutionary  movement  as  this,  the  people  actually 
daring  to  meet  together  to  consider  their  relations  with  the 
laird,  and  make  demands,  was  not  to  be  lightly  entered 
upon,  and  it  need  not  be  wondered  at  if  some  of  them  at  first 
wanted  the  moral  courage  to  come  up  to  the  occasion.  If 
any  one  showed  symptoms  of  weakness  in  this  way  he  was 
encouraged,  and  on  the  appointed  day  the  clansmen  met 
and  deliberated  on  the  situation.  At  that  meeting  their 
grievances  received  full  expression.  It  was  in  particular 
pointed  out  that  the  township  of  Ramasaig,  which  fifteen 
years  ago   was  occupied   by  22   separate   crofters,  is   now 


THE   ISLE   OF  SKYE   IN    1882,  417 

reduced  to  two,  the  land  taken  from  or  given  up  by  the 
other  twenty  famiHes  having  been  put  under  sheep  by  the 
factor.  The  people,  who  presumably  were  less  valuable 
than  the  sheep,  in  some  cases  left  the  country  altogether, 
while  those  that  remained  were  provided  with  half  crofts  on 
another  part  of  the  estate. 

For  instance,  a  crofter  who  perhaps  had  a  ten  pound 
croft,  say,  at  Milivaig  was  requested  to  give  up  the  one-half 
of  it  to  a  crofter  removed  from  Ramasaig,  a  corresponding 
reduction  being  made  in  the  rent.  In  this  way,  while  the 
sheep  stocks  under  the  charge  of  the  factor  were  increasing, 
the  status  of  the  crofters  was  gradually  diminishing,  and  the 
necessity  for  their  depending  more  and  more  on  other  indus- 
tries than  the  cultivation  of  their  croft  was  increasing.  To 
illustrate  this  all  the  more  forcibly,  we  may  state  that  the 
crofters  at  Ramasaig  had  eight  milk  cows  and  their  fol- 
lowers, and  about  forty  sheep  on  each  whole  croft — altoge- 
ther over  a  hundred  head  of  cattle  and  from  300  to  400 
sheep.  Lowerkell  was  similarly  cleared.  At  the  meeting 
of  the  crofters,  to  which  I  have  alluded,  it  was  resolved 
that,  as  a  body,  they  should  adopt  a  united  course  of  action. 
They  were  all  similarly  situated.  Each  man  and  each 
township  had  a  grievance,  and  no  individual  was  to  be 
called  upon  to  make  a  separate  claim.  Each  township  or 
combination  of  townships  was  to  make  one  demand,  and  if 
any  punishment  should  follow  on  such  an  act  of  temerity,  it 
should  not  be  allowed  to  fall  on  any  one  person,  but  on  the 
united  body  as  a  whole.  To  guard  against  any  backsliding, 
and  to  prevent  any  weakling  or  chicken-hearted  leaguer  (if 
any  should  exist)  from  falhng  out  of  the  ranks,  they,  one 
and  all,  subscribed  their  names  in  a  book,  pledging  them- 
selves as  a  matter  of  honour  to  adhere  in  a  body  to  the 
resolution  thus  arrived  at.     The  scheme  having  thus  been 

27 


41 8  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

formulated,  each  township  or  combination  proceeded  to  get 
up  petitions  embodying  their  respective  cases,  and  sending 
them  to  the  trustees.  Professor  Macpherson,  of  Edinburgh, 
and  his  brother. 

The  tenants  of  Skinidin  claim  two  islands,  opposite  their 
crofts,  in  Loch  Dunvegan,  Apart  from  this,  they  complain 
that  they  do  not  get  the  quantity  of  seaweed  to  which  they 
were  entitled.  This  may  appear  to  some  a  small  matter, 
but  to  the  cultivator  of  a  croft  it  is  a  matter  of  great  import- 
ance, for  seaware  is  the  only  manure  which  he  can  conveni- 
ently get,  excepting,  of  course,  the  manure  produced  by  his 
cows.  The  quantity  of  ware  promised  to  the  Skinidin 
crofters  was  one  ton  each,  but  the  one-half  of  it,  they  say, 
was  taken  from  them  some  time  ago,  and  given  to  the 
"  wealthy  men  "  and  favourites  of  the  place.  The  result  is 
that  they  have  to  cross  to  the  opposite  side  of  Loch  Dun- 
vegan  and  buy  sea-ware  there  at  31s.  6d.  per  ton.  This  is 
not  only  an  outlay  of  money,  which  the  poor  crofters  can  ill 
afford  to  incur,  but  it  also  entails  great  labour,  which  is 
attended  with  no  inconsiderable  danger  to  life.  The  crofters 
accordingly  demand  the  quantity  of  ware  to  which,  they  say, 
they  are  entitled. 

The  Colbost  tenants,  to  the  number  of  twenty-five,  also 
sent  in  a  petition,  in  which  they  complained  of  high  rents, 
and  stated  that  owing  to  incessant  tilling  the  land  is  becom- 
ing exhausted,  and  ceasing  to  yield  that  crop  which  they 
might  fairly  expect.  In  1848,  they  say  they  got  Colbost 
with  its  old  rights  at  its  old  rent  with  the  sanction  of  the 
proprietor.  The  local  factor,  Norman  Macraild,  subse- 
quently deprived  them  of  these  privileges,  while  the  rents 
were  being  constantly  increased.  They  accordingly  demand 
that  their  old  privileges  should  be  restored,  and  the  rents 


THE   ISLE  OF   SKYE    IN    1882,  419 

reduced  to  the  old  standard,  otherwise  they  will  not  be  able 
to  meet  their  engagements. 

We  shall  next  take  the  petition  of  the  Harmaravirein 
crofters.  The  place  is  occupied  by  John  Campbell,  who 
Pays;^9  15s-  4d.;  John  Maclean,  ^5  3s.  46.;  John  Mackay, 
^6  2s.  8d.j  and  Donald  Nicolson,  ^4  12s.  The  petition, 
which  was  in  the  following  terms,  deserves  record  : — 

We,  the  crofters  of  Harmaravirein,  do  humbly  show  by  this  peti- 
tion that  we  agree  with  our  fellow-petitioners  in  Glendale  as  to  their 
requests.  We  do,  by  the  same  petition,  respectfully  ask  redress  for 
grievances  laid  upon  us  by  a  despotic  factor,  Donald  Macdonald,  Tor- 
more,  who  thirteen  years  ago  for  the  first  time  took  from  us  part  of  our 
land,  against  our  will,  and  gave  it  to  others,  whom  he  drove  from  ano- 
ther quarter  of  the  estate  of  Glendale,  to  extend  his  own  boundaries, 
and  acted  similarly  two  years  ago,  when  he  dispersed  the  Ramasaig 
tenantry.  We,  your  humble  petitioners,  believe  that  none  of  the  griev- 
ances mentioned  were  known  to  our  late  good  and  famous  proprietor, 
being  an  absentee,  in  whom  we  might  place  our  confidence  had  he  been 
present  to  hear  and  grant  our  request.  As  an  instance  of  his  goodwill 
to  his  subjects,  the  benefits  he  bestowed  on  the  people  of  St.  Kilda  are 
manifest  to  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain.  We,  your  petitioners,  pray 
our  new  proprietors  to  consider  our  case,  and  grant  that  the  tenantry 
be  reinstated  in  the  places  which  have  been  cleared  of  their  inhabitants 
by  him  in  Tormore. 

The  petition  of  the  Upper  and  Lower  Milivaig  and  Borro- 
dale  crofters  set  forth  that,  notwithstanding  their  going  north 
and  south  all  over  the  country  to  earn  their  bread,  they  are 
still  declining  into  poverty.  The  crofts  too  are  getting  ex- 
hausted through  constant  tilling.  Before  1845  they  say  there 
were  only  16  families  in  the  two  Milivaigs  and  one  in  Borro- 
dale.  There  are  now  5  in  Borrodale,  19  in  Upper  Milivaig, 
and  20  in  Lower  Milivaig,  averaging  six  souls  in  each  family. 
The  rent  before  1845  ^o^  the  two  Milivaigs  was  ;^4o.  At 
the  date  mentioned,  Macleod  of  Macleod,  who  was  then 
proprietor,  divided  each  of  the  two  Milivaigs  into  16  crofts. 


420  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

They  prayed  that  they  might  get  the  lands  of  Waterstein 
now  tenanted  by  Dr.  Martin.     The  petition  concluded : — 

Further,  we  would  beg,  along  with  our  fellow-petitioners  in  Glen- 
dale,  that  the  tenantry  who  have  been  turned  out  of  Lowerkell,  Rama- 
saig,  and  Hamara  by  our  ill-ruling  factor  be  reinstated. 

The  tenants  of  Holmesdale  and  Liepbein,  29  in  number, 
stated  in  their  petition,  that  48  years  ago  the  place  was  let 
to  ten  tenants  at  about  ;^6o,  and  afterwards  re-let  to  25 
tenants  at  about  ^^85,  besides  a  sum  of  ^3  2s.  6d.  for 
providing  peats  for  the  proprietor.  The  rents,  they  say, 
have  nearly  doubled  since  then,  and  the  inhabitants  in- 
creased, the  present  number  being  nearly  200,  occupying  33 
dwellings.  There  was  much  overcrowding,  there  being  as 
many  as  15  persons  upon  crofts  of  four  acres.  The  petition 
contained  the  following  estimate  of  factors  : — "  Unless  poor 
crofters  are  to  be  protected  by  the  proprietor  of  the  estate, 
we  need  not  expect  anything  better  than  suppression  from 
factors  who  are  constantly  watching  and  causing  the  down- 
fall of  their  fellow-beings,  in  order  to  turn  their  small  portion 
of  the  soil  into  sheep-walks."  These  tenants  prayed  that 
the  evicted  townships  of  Lowerkell,  Ramasaig,  and  Hamara, 
should  be  restored  to  the  tenants,  and  thus  to  afford  relief 
to  the  overcrowded  townships.  The  crofters  of  Glasvein 
said  they  had  no  hill  pasture  for  sheep,  and  no  peat  moss 
to  get  their  fuel  from.  When  some  of  the  present  crofters, 
they  say,  came  into  possession  of  their  crofts,  the  town- 
ship of  Glasvein  was  allotted  to  seven  tenants,  each  paying 
an  average  rent  of  ^^,  whereas  now  the  township  is  in  the 
possession  of  12  crofters,  paying  each  an  average  rent  of 
^4  or  so.  They  accordingly  sought  to  have  this  matter 
remedied. 

It  may  be  stated  that  most  of  the  tenants  of  Glendale 


THE   ISLE   OF   SKYE   IN   1882.  42 1 

appear  to  be  all  hard-working,  industrious  men,  and  their 
houses  are  better,  on  the  whole,  than  any  crofter  district  that 
that  we  have  yet  visited  in  Skye.  The  soil  is  more  fertile, 
well  drained,  and  comparatively  well  cultivated.  The  men 
seem  to  be  thoroughly  intelligent,  and  some  of  them  not 
only  read  newspapers,  but  have  very  decided  opinions  in 
regard  to  some  of  them.  One  of  these,  the  Scotsman^ 
we  heard  them  designating  as  "  The  United  Liar ".  But 
newspaper  reading — that  is  Liberal  newspaper  reading — is 
not  encouraged  in  Glendale.  One  man  whom  we  met 
informed  us  that  a  crofter  in  Glendale  was  accused  of 
reading  too  many  newspapers,  a  circumstance  which  the 
factor  strongly  suspected  accounted  for  the  heinous  crime  of 
the  crofter  being  a  Liberal.  At  one  time  there  were  some 
small  shops  in  Glendale,  but  these  would  appear  to  have 
practically  vanished.  Some  years  ago  the  factor  set  up  a 
meal  store  himself,  and  the  crofters,  we  are  informed,  were 
given  to  understand  that  shopkeepers  would  have  to  pay  a 
rent  of  ^2  each  for  these  so-called  shops,  in  addition  to 
their  rents.  No  one,  however,  appears  to  have  ever  been 
asked  to  pay  this,  but  the  shops  ceased  to  exist ! 

Perhaps  the  most  indefensible  custom  of  all  was  to  compel 
the  incoming  tenant  to  pay  up  the  arrears,  however  large  a 
sum,  of  his  predecessor.  This  appeared  so  incredible  that 
no  one  present  felt  justified  in  publishing  it ;  but  on  our 
consulting  the  factor  personally,  he  not  only  admitted  but 
actually  defended  the  practice  as  a  kind  of  fair  enough 
premium  or  "goodwill"  for  the  concern,  and  said  it  was 
quite  a  common  practice  in  the  Isle  of  Skye.  We  would 
describe  it  in  very  different  terms,  but  that  is  unnecessary. 
It  only  wants  to  be  stated  to  be  condemned  by  all  honest 
men  as  an  outrage  on  public  morality. 

As  we  left  the  district  the  crofters  were  in  great  glee  at  the 


422  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

prospect  of  a  visit  from  the  trustees  to  arrange  matters  with 
them.  They  are  hopeful  that  important  concessions  may  be 
made  to  them,  and  if  these  hopes  should  not  be  realised, 
they  appear  to  be  animated  with  an  unflinching  determination 
to  stand  by  one  another,  and,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  agitate 
for  the  redress  of  what  they  firmly  maintain  to  be  great  and 


serious  grievances. 


Dr.  Martin's  Estate. 

We  have  left  ourselves  but  little  space  to  speak  of  the 
condition  of  affairs  on  the  estate  of  Dr.  Martin.  This 
estate  is  one  which  is  of  great  interest  to  Highlanders. 
Borreraig,  one  of  the  townships  in  revolt,  was  anciently 
held  rent  free  by  the  MacCrimmons,  the  hereditary  pipers 
of  Macleod  of  Dunvegan.  The  principal  grievance  com- 
plained of  by  the  crofters  may  be  briefly  stated.  The 
crofters  are  required  to  sell  to  the  laird  all  the  fish  they 
catch  at  a  uniform  rate  of  sixpence  for  ling  and  fourpence 
for  cod,  and  we  have  actually  been  informed  of  a  case 
where  some  one  was  accused  at  a  semi-public  meeting  of 
interfering  in  a  sort  of  clandestine  way  with  the  doctor's 
privileges  by  buying  the  fish  at  higher  prices.  The 
crofters  were  also  required  to  sell  their  cattle  to  the  doctor's 
bailiff  at  his  own  price.  A  man  spoke  of  his  having  some 
time  ago  sold  a  stirk  to  a  foreign  drover,  and  was  after  all  re- 
quired to  break  his  bargain  with  the  outsider  and  hand  over 
the  animal  to  the  bailift*.  This  bailiff  was,  however,  dis- 
missed last  Whitsunday,  a  fact  stated  in  defence  by  Dr. 
Martin's  friends.  Tenants  are  also  required  to  give  eight 
days'  free  labour  each  year  to  the  laird,  failing  which  to  pay 
a  penalty  of  2S.  6d.  per  day  ;  and  while  thus  working,  we 
were  informed  that  if  any  one  by  accident  broke  any  of  the 


THE    ISLE   OF   SKYE   IN    1882.  423 

tools  he  used,  he  was  required  to  pay  for  the  damage.  The 
breaking  of  a  shearing-hook  subjected  the  man  who  did  it  to 
pay  2S.  6d.  for  it.  We  are  aware  that  the  friends  of  the 
laird  maintain  that  the  labour  thus  contributed  by  the  people 
is  in  reality  not  for  labour,  but  an  equivalent  for  a  portion 
of  the  rent.  This  is  a  very  plausible  excuse,  but  it  will  not 
bear  examination.  If  it  is  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  rent, 
rates  should  be  paid  upon  it,  and  the  "annual  value"  or 
rent  returned  to  the  county  valuator  each  year  should  be 
the  amount  actually  paid  in  money  plus  the  value  of  the 
eight  days'  labour.  Thus,  either  the  labour  is  free,  or  there 
is  an  unjust  and  inequitable  burden  thrown  on  the  other 
crofters  in  the  parish  who  do  not  perform  such  labour,  as, 
of  course,  the  labour  given  by  Dr.  Martin's  tenants  is  not 
rated.  The  tenants  have  now  struck  against  performing 
this  work,  and  Dr.  IMartin's  work  was  done  this  year  on 
ordinary  day  labour. 

The  people  also  complain  that  the  hill  land  was  taken 
from  the  tenants  of  Galtrigill,  and  the  hill  grounds  of 
Borreraig,  the  neighbouring  township,  thrown  open  to  them. 
This  was  a  very  material  curtailment  of  the  subjects  let,  but 
further,  sums  of  from  los.  to  30s.  were  added  to  the  rent 
of  each  holding.  No  crofter  on  the  estate  has  a  sheep  or  a 
horse,  and  they  are  obliged  to  buy  wool  for  their  clothing 
from  a  distance,  as  Dr.  Martin,  they  say,  will  not  sell  them 
any.  The  tenants  paid  their  rents  at  Martinmas  last,  but 
they  have  given  notice  that  unless  their  demands  are  con- 
ceded they  w'ill  not  pay  the  rent  due  at  Martinmas  next. 
The  leading  points  of  their  petition  are  that  the  rents  be 
reduced,  the  old  land-marks  restored,  and  the  hill  grounds 
as  of  old  given  to  them.  This  petition  the  tenants  sent 
to  Dr.  Martin  some  time  ago,  but  he  has  not  made  any 
reply.     The  tenants  do  not  appear  to  be  very  hopeful  that 


424  THE  HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

he  will  make  any  concession,  but  they  are  evidently  deter- 
mined to  walk  in  the  same  paths  as  their  neighbours  on  the 
estate  of  Sir  John  Macpherson  Macleod,  and  they  are  in 
great  hopes  that  the  friends  of  the  Gael  in  the  large  towns 
of  the  south  will  manfully  aid  them  in  their  battle  against 
landlordism.  This  statement  will  enable  the  reader  to  form 
his  own  opinion  on  the  question  which  has  produced  such  a 
feeling  of  insecurity  and  terror  in  the  minds  of  both  crofter 
and  proprietor  for  the  last  two  years  in  the  Isle  of  Skye, 
indeed  throughout  the  whole  Highlands. 

Burning  the  Summonses  in  the  Braes. 

We  shall  next  give  a  short  account  of  what  followed  upon 
the  refusal  of  these  proprietors  to  give  favourable  considera- 
tion to  the  claims  of  their  crofting  tenantry.  A  correspon- 
dent of  the  Free  Press,  early  in  April  last,  described  what 
had  occurred — after  the  tenants  had  refused  to  pay  any  rent 
until  their  grievances  were  considered — in  the  following 
terms  : — 

The  quarrel  between  Lord  Macdonald  and  his  tenants  of 
Balmeanach,  Peinichorrain,  and  Gedintaillear,  in  the  Braes 
of  Portree,  is  developing  into  portentous  importance.  His 
lordship,  it  appears,  has  made  up  his  mind  to  put  the  law  in 
force  against  them,  and  not  on  any  account  to  yield  to  their 
demands ;  and  on  Friday  a  sheriff-officer  and  assistant, 
accompanied  by  his  lordship's  ground-officer  from  Portree, 
proceeded  to  serve  summonses  of  removing,  and  small  debt 
summonses  for  rent  upon  about  a  score  of  the  refractory 
ones.  The  tenants,  however,  for  some  time  past,  since  they 
took  up  their  present  attitude,  have  been  posting  regular 
sentinels  on  watch  to  give  warning  of  any  stranger's  approach, 
and  when  the  officer  and  his  party  were  at  the  Bealach  near 


Jsmi-      -it 


THE    ISLE    OF   SKYE    IN    1882.  425 

the  schoolhouse,  two  youngsters  who  were  on  duty  there- 
about gave  the  signal,  and,  immediately,  it  was  transmitted 
far  and  near  with  the  result  of  bringing  together  from  all 
quarters  from  their  spring  work  a  gathering  of  about  150  or 
200  men,  women,  and  children,  who  rushed  to  meet  the 
ofificer  before  he  had  got  near  the  intended  scene  of  his 
operation,  viz.,  the  townships  of  Peinichorrain,  Balmeanach, 
and  Gedintaillear,  and,  surrounding  him,  demanded  his 
business.  Upon  understanding  it,  and  being  shown  the 
summonses,  the  documents  were  immediately  taken  from 
him  and  burnt  before  his  eyes,  and  thereupon  he  was  coolly 
requested  to  go  to  his  master  for  more  of  them.  The  officer, 
who  is  well  known  among  them,  with  good  tact,  humoured 
them,  and  so  escaped  with  a  sound  skin,  so  that  no  violence 
was  used  ;  but  it  appears  the  temper  of  the  people  was  such 
that  had  he  been  less  conciliatory,  or  had  he  attempted  to 
resist  the  people,  the  consequence  would  have  been  inevi- 
tably very  serious  for  him.  When  they  were  gathering  from 
the  sea-shore,  where  many  of  them  were  cutting  sea-ware 
with  reaping-hooks,  their  leaders  judiciously  shouted  out  to 
leave  their  hooks  behind,  which  was  done,  so  that  the  risk 
of  u*sing  such  ugly  arms  in  the  event  of  a  melee  was  avoided. 
The  officer  spoke  lightly  before  proceeding  to  the  place  of 
the  resistance  he  was  likely  to  meet,  and  thought  there 
would  really  be  none,  as  he  knew  the  people  so  well  and 
they  knew  him,  many  of  them  being  his  relations,  but  his 
impressions  now  of  the  real  state  of  the  people's  minds  is 
said  to  be  very  different,  and  he  believes  .there  would  be 
no  use  attempting  any  legal  steps  again  by  the  employment 
of  the  officers  of  civil  law.  The  same  paper  in  a  later  issue 
says : — 

We  have  received  the  following  narrative  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  summonses  were  burned  on  Friday  last : — The 


426 


THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 


people  met  the  officer  on  the  road,  about  a  mile  from  the 
scene  of  his  intended  labours.  They  were  clamorous  and 
angry,  of  course.  He  told  them  his  mission,  and  that  he 
would  give  them  the  summonses  on  the  spot  if  they  liked. 
They  said,  "  Thoir  dhuinn  iad,"  (Give  them  to  us)  and  he  did 
so.  The  officer  was  then  asked  to  light  a  fire.  He  did  so ; 
and  a  fish  liver  being  placed  upon  it,  that  oily  material  was 
soon  in  a  blaze.  The  officer  was  then  peremptorily  ordered 
to  consign  the  summonses  to  the  flames,  which  he  did ! 
The  summonses  were  of  course  straightway  consumed  to 
ashes.  The  interchange  of  compliments  between  the 
officers  of  the  law  and  the  people  were,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, of  a  fiery  character.  The  chief  officer  was  graciously 
and  considerately  informed  that  his  conduct — as  he  had 
only  acted  in  the  performance  of  a  public  official  duty — was 
excusable;  but  with  his  assistant,  or  concurrent,  it  was 
different.  He  was  there  for  pay,  and  he  would  not  go 
home  without  it.  Certain  domestic  utensils,  fully  charged, 
were  suddenly  brought  on  the  scene,  and  their  contents 
were  showered  on  the  unlucky  assistant,  who  immediately 
disappeared,  followed  by  a  howling  crowd  of  boys. 


March  of  the  Dismal  Brigade. 

The  summonses  were  never  served,  and  the  County  Au- 
thorities after  full  consideration  determined  to  arrest  and 
punish  the  ringleaders  for  deforcing  the  officers  of  the  law. 
Sheriff  Ivory  obtained  a  body  of  police  from  Glasgow,  and 
with  these,  twelve  from  the  mainland  of  the  County  of  In- 
verness, and  the  Skye  portion  of  the  force,  he,  with  the 
leading  county  officials  invaded  the  Isle  of  Skye  during  the 
night  of  the  17th  of  April.     After  consulting  with  the  local 


'■   --  '" 


THE   ISLE   OF   SKYE    IN    1 882.  427 

authorities  in  Portree,  an  early  start  was  made  for  the  Braes 
to  surprise  and  arrest  the  ringleaders.  The  secret  was  well 
kept,  but  two  newspaper  correspondents  were  fortunate 
enough  to  get  an  inkling  of  the  proceedings,  namely,  Mr. 
Mackinnon  Ramsay,  of  the  Citizen,  who  followed  the  in- 
vading force  from  Glasgow,  and  Mr.  Alexander  Gow,  a 
special  correspondent  of  the  Dundee  Advertiser,  who  had 
gone  to  Portree  a  few  days  before  the  Battle  of  the  Braes. 
These  gentlemen  accompanied  the  county  officials,  saw  the 
whole  proceedings,  and  sent  a  full  description  of  the  desper- 
ate and  humiliating  scrimmage  to  their  respective  papers. 
We  give  below  Mr.  Gow's  graphic  account,  every  particular 
of  which  we  found  corroborated  by  the  leading  county 
officials  on  our  arrival  in  Portree  the  same  evening.  After 
describing  the  state  of  feeling,  and  the  acts  on  the  part  of 
the  crofters  which  led  up  to  direct  contact  with  the  criminal 
authorities,  Mr.  Gow  proceeds  : — 

Here  we  were,  then — two  Sheriffs,  two  Fiscals,  a  Captain 
of  police,  forty-seven  members  of  the  Glasgow  pohce  force, 
and  a  number  of  the  county  constabulary,  as  well  as  a 
couple  of  newspaper  representatives  from  Dundee  and  Glas- 
gow, and  a  gentleman  representing  a  well-known  Glasgow 
drapery  house — fairly  started  on  an  eight-mile  tramp  to  the 
Land  League  camp  at  Braes,  in  weather  that  for  sheer  brutal 
ferocity  had  not  been  experienced  in  Skye  for  a  very  long 
time.  In  the  cold  grey  dawn  the  procession  wore  a  sombre 
aspect.  It  looked  for  all  the  world  like  a  Highland  funeral. 
It  was  quite  on  the  cards,  indeed,  that  the  return  journey 
might  partake  of  the  nature  of  a  funeral  procession.  There 
could  be  no  doubt  that  every  one  was  fully  impressed  with 
the  gravity  of  the  mission  on  which  we  were  proceeding. 
It  is  literal  truth  to  say  that  no  member  of  the  company 
expected  to  return  without  receiving  knocks,  if  not  some- 


428 


THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 


thing  more  serious.  We  were  perfectly  aware  that  the 
crofters  had  made  preparations  for  giving  us  a  warm  recep- 
tion. In  front,  some  distance  ahead  of  the  main  body, 
walked  the  sheriff-officer,  a  policeman,  and  another  person 
occupying  for  the  time  being  some  official  position.  Then 
came  the  police  detachment,  and  the  Sheriffs  and  the  Fiscals 
brought  up  the  rear — the  three  unofficial  persons  already 
mentioned  forming  what  may  be  termed  the  rearguard.  In 
this  manner  we  proceeded  without  incident  for  four  miles, 
when  the  Sheriff  and  his  friends  left  the  vehicle  and  sent  it 
back.  About  half-past  six  o'clock  we  reached  the  boundary 
of  the  disaffected  district  nearest  Portree.  Hitherto  scarcely 
a  single  soul  was  observed  along  the  route,  and  some  sur- 
prise was  expressed  by  those  in  charge.  At  the  schoolhouse, 
however,  it  was  expected  that  a  portion  of  the  colony  would 
be  encountered,  but  the  place  was  untenanted.  On  another 
mile,  and  signs  of  life  appeared  among  the  hillocks.  Pre- 
sently our  ears  were  saluted  with  whistling  and  cheering, 
and  this  was  interpreted  as  a  sign  that  it  was  time  to  close 
the  ranks.  Gedentailler  township  was  passed  without  any 
demonstrations  of  hostility.  At  the  south  end  of  this  town- 
ship there  is  an  ugly  looking  pass,  which  seemed  to  cause 
some  anxiety  to  the  officers  in  charge.  No  wonder,  as  there 
could  not  be  a  finer  position  for  an  attack  on  a  hostile  body 
of  men.  On  the  west,  a  steep  rocky  brae  rises  sheer  from 
the  road  to  the  height  of  about  400  or  500  feet.  On  the 
other  side,  a  terrific  precipice  descends  to  the  sea.  We 
passed  through  it  in  safety,  however,  but  Inspector  Cameron, 
of  the  Skye  police,  had  reason  to  believe  that  the  return 
passage  would  be  disputed. 

Arrived  at  the  boundary  of  Balmeanach,  we  found  a  collec- 
tion of  men,  women,  and  children,  numbering  well  on  to 
100.      They  cheered  as  we  mounted  the  knoll,  and  the 


Mk£ 


THE    ISLE   OF   SKYE    IN    1882.  429 

women  saluted  the  policemen  with  volleys  of  sarcasms  about 
their  voyage  from  Glasgow.  A  halt  was  then  called,  and  a 
parley  ensued  between  the  local  inspector  and  what  ap- 
peared to  be  the  leader  of  the  townships.  What  is  passing 
between  the  two  it  is  difficult  for  an  outsider  to  understand, 
and  while  the  conversation  is  in  progress  it  is  worth  while 
to  look  about.  At  the  base  of  the  steep  cliff  on  which  we 
stood,  and  extending  to  the  seashore,  lay  the  hamlet  of 
Balmeanach.  There  might  be  about  a  score  of  houses 
dotted  over  this  plain.  From  each  of  these  the  owners  were 
running  hillward  with  all  speed.  It  was  evident  they 
had  been  taken  by  surprise.  Men,  women,  and  children 
rushed  forward,  in  all  stages  of  attire,  most  of  the  females 
with  their  hair  down  and  streaming  loosely  in  the  breeze. 
Every  soul  carried  a  weapon  of  some  kind  or  another,  but 
in  most  cases  these  were  laid  down  when  the  detachment 
was  approached.  While  we  were  watching  the  crowds 
scrambling  up  the  declivity,  scores  of  persons  had  gathered 
from  other  districts,  and  they  now  completely  surrounded  the 
procession.  The  confusion  that  prevailed  baffles  description. 
The  women,  with  infuriated  looks  and  bedraggled  dress — for 
it  was  still  raining  heavily — were  shouting  at  the  pitch  of 
their  voices,  uttering  the  most  fearful  imprecations,  hurling 
forth  the  most  terrible  vows  of  vengeance  against  the  enemy. 
Martin  was  of  course  the  object  of  greatest  abuse.  He  was 
cursed  in  his  own  person  and  in  that  of  his  children,  if  he 
should  have  any,  one  female  shrieking  curses  with  especial 
vehemence.  The  authorities  proceeded  at  once  to  perform 
their  disagreeable  task,  and  in  the  course  of  twenty  minutes 
the  five  suspected  persons  were  apprehended.  A  scene  utterly 
indescribable  followed.  The  women,  with  the  most  violent 
gestures  and  imprecations,  declared  that  the  police  should  be 
attacked.    Stones  began  to  be  thrown,  and  so  serious  an  aspect 


430  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

did  matters  assume  that  the  police  drew  their  batons  and 
charged.  This  was  the  signal  for  a  general  attack.  Huge 
boulders  darkened  the  horizon  as  they  sped  from  the  hands 
of  infuriated  men  and  women.  Large  sticks  and  flails  were 
brandished  and  brought  down  with  crushing  force  upon  the 
police — the  poor  prisoners  coming  in  for  their  share  of  the 
blows.  One  difficult  point  had  to  be  captured,  and  as  the 
expedition  approached  this  dangerous  position,  it  was  seen 
to  be  strongly  occupied  with  men  and  women,  armed  with 
stones  and  boulders,  A  halt  was  called  and  the  situation 
discussed.  Finally  it  was  agreed  to  attempt  to  force  a  way 
through  a  narrow  gully.  By  this  time  a  crowd  had  gathered 
in  the  rear  of  the  party.  A  rush  was  made  for  the  pass,  and 
from  the  heights  a  fearful  fusilade  of  stones  descended. 
The  advance  was  checked.  The  party  could  neither  ad- 
vance nor  recede.  For  two  minutes  the  expedition  stood 
exposed  to  the  merciless  shower  of  missiles.  Many  were 
struck,  and  a  number  more  or  less  injured.  The  situation 
was  highly  dangerous,  Raising  a  yell  that  might  have  been 
heard  at  a  distance  of  two  miles,  the  crofters,  maddened  by 
the  apprehension  of  some  of  the  oldest  men  in  the  township, 
rushed  on  the  police,  each  person  armed  with  huge  stones, 
which,  on  approaching  near  enough,  they  discharged  with  a 
vigour  that  nothing  could  resist.  The  women  were  by  far 
the  most  troublesome  assailants.  Thinking  apparently 
that  the  constables  would  offer  them  no  resistance,  they 
approached  to  within  a  few  yards'  distance,  and  poured  a 
fearful  volley  into  the  compact  mass.  The  police  charged, 
but  the  crowd  gave  way  scarcely  a  yard.  Returning  again, 
Captain  Donald  gave  orders  to  drive  back  the  howling  mob, 
at  the  same  time  advising  the  Sheriffs  and  the  constables  in 
charge  of  the  prisoners  to  move  rapidly  forward.  This 
second  charge  was  more  effective,  as  the  attacking  force  was 


THE   ISLE   OF    SKYE    IN    1882.  431 

driven  back  about  a  hundred  yards.  The  isolated  con- 
stables now,  however,  found  their  position  very  dangerous. 
The  crofters  rallied  and  hemmed  them  in,  and  a  rush  had 
to  be  made  to  catch  up  the  main  body  in  safety.  At  this 
point  several  members  of  the  constabulary  received  serious 
buffetings,  and  had  they  not  regained  their  comrades,  some 
of  their  number  would  in  all  probability  have  been  mortally 
wounded.     Meanwhile  the  crowd  increased  in  strength. 

The  time  within  which  summonses  of  ejectment  could 
be  legally  served  having  expired,  the  crofters  had  for  a 
day  or  two  relaxed  their  vigilance,  and  not  expecting  the 
constables  so  early  in  the  morning,  they  had  no  time 
to  gather  their  full  strength.  But  the  "  Fiery  Cross  "  had 
in  five  minutes  passed  through  the  whole  township  from 
ev^ery  point.  Hundreds  of  determined  looking  persons 
could  be  observed  converging  on  the  procession,  and 
matters  began  to  assume  a  serious  aspect.  With  great 
oaths,  the  men  demanded  where  were  the  Peinichorrain  men. 
This  township  was  the  most  distant,  and  the  men  had  not 
yet  had  time  to  come  up.  But  they  were  coming.  Cheers 
and  yells  were  raised.  "  The  rock  !  the  rock  ! "  suddenly 
shouted  some  one.  "  The  rock !  the  rock ! "  was  taken 
up,  and  roared  out  from  a  hundred  throats.  The  strength 
of  the  position  was  realised  by  the  crofters ;  so  also  it 
was  by  the  constables.  The  latter  were  ordered  to  run  at 
the  double.  The  people  saw  the  move,  and  the  screaming 
and  yelling  became  fiercer  than  ever.  The  detachment 
reached  the  opening  of  the  gulley.  Would  they  manage 
to  run  through  ?  Yes  !  No  !  On  went  the  blue  coats,  but 
their  progress  was  soon  checked.  It  was  simply  insane  to 
attempt  the  passage.  Stones  were  coming  down  hke  hail, 
while  huge  boulders  where  hurled  down  before  which 
nothing  could  stand.     These  bounded  over  the  road  and 


432  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

descended  the  precipice  with  a  noise  hke  thunder.  An 
order  was  given  to  dislodge  a  number  of  the  most  deter- 
mined assailants,  but  the  attempt  proved  futile.  They 
could  not  be  dislodged.  Here  and  there  a  constable  might 
be  seen  actually  bending  under  the  pressure  of  a  well- 
directed  rounder,  losing  his  footing,  and  rolling  down  the 
hill,  followed  by  scores  of  missiles.  This  state  of  matters 
could  not  continue.  The  chief  officials  were  securing  their 
share  of  attention.  Captain  Donald  is  hit  in  the  knee  with 
a  stone  as  large  as  a  matured  turnip.  A  rush  must  be  made 
for  the  pass,  or  there  seems  a  possibility  that  Sheriff  Ivory 
himself  will  be  deforced.  Once  more  the  order  w^as  given 
to  double.  On,  on,  the  procession  went — Sheriffs  and  Fiscals 
forgetting  their  dignity,  and  taking  to  their  heels.  The  scene 
was  the  most  exciting  that  either  the  spectators  or  those  who 
passed  through  the  fire  ever  experienced,  or  are  likely  ever 
to  see  again.  By  keeping  up  the  rush,  the  party  got  through 
the  defile,  and  emerged  triumphantly  on  the  Portree  side, 
not  however,  without  severe  injuries.  If  the  south  end 
township  had  turned  out,  the  pass  would,  I  believe,  never 
have  been  forced,  and  some  would  in  all  probability  have 
lost  their  lives. 

The  crofters  seemed  to  have  become  more  infuriated  by 
the  loss  of  their  position,  and  rushing  along  the  shoulder  of 
the  hill  prepared  to  attack  once  more.  This  was  the  final 
struggle.  In  other  attacks  the  police  used  truncheons  freely. 
But  at  this  point  they  retaliated  with  both  truncheons  and 
stones.  The  consequences  were  very  serious  indeed.  Scores 
of  bloody  faces  could  be  seen  on  the  slope  of  the  hill.  One 
woman,  named  Mary  Nicolson,  was  fearfully  cut  in  the  head, 
and  fainted  on  the  road.  When  she  was  found,  blood  was 
pouring  down  her  neck  and  ears.  Another  woman,  Mrs. 
Finlayson,   was    badly  gashed   on   the    cheek   with    some 


THE   ISLE   OF   SKYE   IN    1 882,  433 

missile.  Mrs.  Nicolson,  whose  husband,  James  Nicolson, 
was  one  of  the  prisoners,  had  her  head  badly  laid  open,  but 
whether  with  a  truncheon  or  stone  is  not  known.  Another 
woman,  well  advanced  in  years,  was  hustled  in  the  scrimmage 
on  the  hill,  and,  losing  her  balance,  rolled  down  a  consider- 
able distance,  her  example  being  followed  by  a  stout  police- 
man, the  two  ultimately  coming  into  violent  collision.  The 
poor  old  person  was  badly  bruised,  and  turned  sick  and 
faint.  Of  the  men  a  considerable  number  sustained  severe 
bruises,  but  so  far  as  I  could  ascertain  none  of  them  were 
disabled.  About  a  dozen  of  the  police  were  injured  more 
or  less  seriously.  One  of  the  Glasgow  men  had  his  nose 
almost  cut  through  with  a  stone,  and  was  terribly  gashed 
about  the  brow.  Captain  Donald,  as  already  stated,  was 
struck  on  the  knee,  and  his  leg  swelled  up  badly  after  the 
return  to  Portree.  Neither  the  Sheriffs  nor  the  Fiscals  were 
injured,  but  it  is  understood  that  they  all  received  hits  in 
the  encounter  on  the  hill. 

After  the  serious  scrimmage  at  Gedintailler,  no  further  de- 
monstrations of  hostility  were  made,  and  the  procession  went 
on,  without  further  adventure,  to  Portree.  Rain  fell  without 
intermission  during  the  entire  journey  out  and  home,  and 
all  arrived  at  their  destination  completely  exhausted.  On 
arrival  in  town  the  police  were  loudly  hooted  and  hissed 
as  they  passed  through  the  square  to  the  jail,  and  subse- 
quently when  they  marched  from  the  Court-house  to  the 
Royal  Hotel.  The  prisoners  were  lodged  in  the  prison. 
There  names  are  : — Alexander  Finlayson,  aged  between  60 
and  70  years  ;  Malcolm  Finlayson,  a  son  of  the  above,  and 
living  in  the  same  house  (the  latter  is  married) ;  Peter 
Macdonald  has  a  wife  and  eight  of  a  family  ;  Donald  Nicol- 
son, 66  years  of  age,  and  is  married ;  and  James  Nicolson, 

whose  wife  was  one  of  the  women  seriously  injured. 

28 


434 


THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 


Unless  appearances  are  totally  misleading,  the  work  which 
they  were  obliged  to  accomplish  was  most  repugnant  to 
Sheriff  Ivory,  Sheriff  Spiers,  Mr.  James  Anderson,  Pro- 
curator-Fiscal for  the  County,  and  Mr.  MacLennan;  and  the 
hope  may  be  expressed  that  they  will  never  again  be  called 
upon  to  undertake  similar  duties. 

The  "Battle  of  the  Braes"  has  been  capitally  hit  off  in  the 
following  parody,  published  in  the  Daily  Mail  of  the  26th  of 
April  last : — 


CHARGE  OF  THE  SKYE  BRIGADE. 

Half  a  league,  half  a  league  ! 

Four  a-breast — onward  ! 
All  in  the  valley  of  Braes 

Marched  the  half-hundred. 
"Forward,  Police  Brigade ! 
In  front  of  me,"  bold  Ivory  said  ; 
Into  the  valley  of  Braes 

Charged  the  half-hundred. 

"  Forward,  Police  Brigade  ! 
Charge  each  auld  wife  and  maid  ! " 
E'en  though  the  Bobbies  knew 

Some  one  had  blundered  ! 
Their's  not  to  make  reply  ; 
Their's  not  to  reason  why  ; 
Their's  but  to  do  or  die  ; 
Into  the  valley  of  Braes 

Charged  the  half-hundred. 

"  Chuckles  "  to  right  of  them, 
"  Divots  "  to  left  of  them, 
Women  in  front  of  them. 

Volleyed  and  thundered  ! 
Stormed  at  with  stone  and  shell, 
Boldly  they  charged,  they  tell, 
Down  on  the  Island  Host ! 
Into  the  mouth  of — well  ! 

Charged  the  half-hundred. 


TRIAL   OF   THE   BRAES   CROFTERS.  435 

Flourished  their  batons  bare, 
Not  in  the  empty  air — 
Clubbing  the  lasses  there, 
Charging  the  Cailleachs,  while 

All  Scotland  wondered  ! 
Plunged  in  the  mist  and  smoke. 
Right  thro'  the  line  they  broke ; — 
Cailleach  and  maiden 
Reeled  from  the  baton  stroke, 

Shattered  and  sundered  ; 
Then  they  marched  back — intact — 

All  the  half-hundred. 

Missiles  to  right  of  them. 
Brickbats  to  left  of  them. 
Old  wives  behind  them 

Volleyed  and  floundered. 
Stormed  at  with  stone  and  shell — 
Whilst  only  Ivory  fell — 
They  that  had  fought  so  well 
Broke  thro'  the  Island  Host, 
Back  from  the  mouth  of — well  ! 
All  that  was  left  of  them — 

All  the  half-hundred  ! 

When  can  their  glory  fade  ? 
O,  the  wild  charge  they  made  ! 

All  Scotland  wondered  ! 
Honour  the  charge  they  made  ! 
Honour  the  Skye  Brigade  ! 

Donald's  half-hundred  ! 

ALFRED  TENNYSON,  Junior. 


TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS. 

When  the  "  Battle  of  the  Braes  "  had  been  fought  and  won, 
and  the  gallant  Sheriff  with  his  brave  contingent  of  blue- 
coats  covered  with  the  mud  of  the  Braes  and  the  glory  of 


43^  THE    HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

their  masterly  retreat  before  the  old  men  and  women  of 
Gedintailler  had  retired  to  their  quarters  in  Portree,  the 
friends  of  the  prisoners  began  to  think  of  their  defence  when 
they  came  before  the  Law  Courts  for  trial. 

A  few  hours  after  the  Police  Brigade  returned  to  Portree, 
Dean  of  Guild  Mackenzie,  Inverness,  editor  of  the  Celtic 
Magazine,  who  had  gone,  as  representative  of  the  Highland 
Land  Law  Reform  Association,  to  report  upon  the  alleged 
grievances  of  the  crofters  in  Skye,  arrived  In  Portree.  Him 
the  friends  of  the  prisoners  consulted,  with  the  result  that 
he  dispatched  a  telegram  to  Mr.  Kenneth  Macdonald, 
Town  Clerk  of  Inverness,  asking  him  to  undertake  the 
defence.  Curiously  enough  a  number  of  sympathisers  in 
Glasgow,  who  had  formed  themselves  into  a  defence  com- 
mittee, met  about  the  same  time,  and  they  also,  through 
their  secretary,  Mr.  Hugh  Macleod,  Writer,  Glasgow,  tele- 
graphed to  know  if  Mr.  Macdonald  would  defend  the 
prisoners.  Both  telegrams  were  delivered  about  the  same 
time  and  to  each  an  affirmative  reply  was  immediately 
sent. 

At  this  time  nothing  definite  was  known  of  the  charge 
preferred  against  the  prisoners,  and  it  was  not  until  the  26th 
of  April,  1882,  a  week  after  the  arrest,  and  when  they  could 
no  longer  be  legally  detained  without  having  a  copy  of  the 
charge  delivered  to  them,  that  the  prisoners  were  committed 
for  trial  and  allowed  to  see  an  adviser.  Such  is  the 
humanity  of  the  Criminal  Law  of  Scotland.  During  the 
week  which  a  prisoner  can  thus  be  legally  kept  in  close 
confinement,  he  will  not  be  permitted  to  see  friend  or 
adviser  of  any  kind,  but  he  may  be  brought  day  after  day 
before  the  Sheriff  and  subjected  to  examination  by  a 
skilful  lawyer  whose  main  if  not  sole  object  is  to  get  from 
him  admissions  which  will  tend  to  prove  his  guilt,  and  every 


mm 


TRIAL   OF   THE    BRAES   CROFTERS.  437 

word   he  utters  during  this   time   is   taken  down  for  the 
purpose  of  being  used  against  him  at  his  trial. 

After  the  prisoners  were  committed  for  trial,  they  were 
visited  by  their  agent,  with  the  editor  of  the  Celtic  Magazine 
as  interpreter,  and  in  course  of  conversation,  and  in  reply 
to  questions,  the  prisoners  expressed  a  desire  to  get  home 
to  proceed  with  the  spring  work  on  their  crofts.  By  this 
time  the  sympathy  with  the  prisoners  among  the  outside 
public,  not  merely  in  the  Highlands  but  in  the  large  cities 
of  the  south,  had  extended  through  all  classes  of  society. 
Many  who  were  in  entire  sympathy  with  them  in  their  per- 
sonal grievances  thought  that  they  saw  in  the  proceedings 
taken  against  them,  and  in  the  outrages  perpetrated  in  Skye 
in  the  name  of  law,  a  means  of  creating  a  public  opinion 
which  would  compel  the  Legislature  to  take  up  the  question 
of  land  tenure  in  the  Highlands.  It  was  the  desire  of  this 
party  that  the  accused  should  be  allowed  to  remain  in  prison 
until  their  trial  came  on,  in  order  that  the  public  sympathy 
which  their  apprehension  and  imprisonment  evoked  should 
have  time  to  take  definite  form.  If  the  calculations  of  these 
sympathisers  should  turn  out  accurate,  the  infliction  of  a 
slight  hardship  upon  these  men  would  result  in  permanent 
good  to  themselves  and  the  whole  class  to  which  they 
belonged.  The  desires  of  the  men  themselves,  however, 
of  their  friends  in  Inverness,  and  the  interest  of  their  fami- 
lies, naturally  guided  Mr.  Macdonald's  proceedings,  and  he 
presented  a  petition  to  the  Sheriff  to  fix  bail.  The  bail  was 
fixed  by  Sheriff  Blair  at  ;z^2o  sterling  for  each  prisoner 
— ;^ioo  in  all— and  immediately  it  became  known  that 
persons  were  wanted,  to  sign  the  bond,  gentlemen  offered 
themselves,  the  required  subscriptions  were  obtained,  and 
the  five  prisoners  were  liberated  that  night.  The  gentlemen 
who  signed  the  bond  were  :    Mr.  John  Macdonald,  mer- 


438  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

chant,  Exchange;  Dean  of  Guild  Mackenzie;  Councillor 
Duncan  Macdonald;  Councillor  W.  G.  Stuart;  Mr.  Wm. 
Gunn,  Castle  Street;  Mr.  T.  B.  Snowie,  gunmaker;  Mr. 
Donald  Campbell,  draper;  and  Mr.  Duncan  MacBeath, 
Duncraig  Street — all  of  Inverness.  On  the  following  day 
the  accused  left  Inverness  for  Skye  by  the  9  a.m.  train, 
accompanied  to  the  station  by  several  of  their  friends, 
including  the  Reverend  and  venerable  Dr.  George  Mackay. 
The  following  account  of  the  reception  of  the  liberated 
men  on  their  return  to  Portree  is  taken  from  the  Aberdeen 
Daily  Free  Press,  whose  special  correspondent,  Mr.  William 
Mackenzie,  was  on  the  spot : — 

The  five  men  from  the  prison  of  Inverness  arrived  at  Portree  this 
evening,  and  were  received  with  imbounded  enthusiasm.  Early  in  the 
day  a  telegram  was  received  intimating  that  they  had  left  Inverness  in 
the  morning,  and  that  the  venerable  pastor  of  the  North  Church,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Mackay,  gave  them  there  a  friendly  farewell.  Mairi  Nighean 
Iain  Bhain,  to  whose  poetic  effusions  on  the  men  of  the  Braes  and 
Benlee,  I  have  formerly  alluded,  went  by  the  steamer  from  Portree  in 
the  morning  to  meet  them  at  Strome  Ferry.  She  was  accompanied  by 
Colin  the  piper,  and  on  the  homeward  journey  the  men  were  inspired 
with  the  songs  of  the  poetess,  the  music  of  the  Highland  war-pipe,  and 
a  scarcely  less  potent  stimulant,  the  famous  Talisker,  It  was  known 
far  and  wide  that  the  men  were  to  come  to-night,  and  their  fellow- 
crofters  in  the  Braes  resolved  to  give  them  a  hearty  reception.  The 
Braes  men  accordingly  began  to  straggle  into  the  town  in  the  afternoon, 
and  groups  of  them  might  be  seen  along  the  street  eagerly  discussing 
the  situation.  Endeavours  were  made  to  induce  the  "suspects"  to 
leave  the  steamer  at  Raasay  and  row  afterwards  to  the  Braes.  This 
would,  of  course,  deprive  their  friends  of  any  chance  to  give  them  an 
ovation  at  Portree,  and  lead  outsiders  to  suppose  that  the  Portree  people 
regarded  the  matter  with  indifference.  The  liberated  men  were,  how- 
ever, warned  against  being  caught  in  the  snare  which  was  laid  for  them, 
and  they  came  straight  on  to  Portree.  The  steamer  did  not  arrive  till 
about  eight  o'clock,  but  whenever  she  reached  the  quay  the  assembled 
multitude  raised  a  deafening  cheer,  again  and  again  renewed,  which 
completely  drowned  Colin's  pipes.     As  soon  as  the  steamer  was  brought 


mm 


TRIAL   OF   THE    BRAES   CROFTERS.  439 

alongside  the  quay,  Colin  stepped  out,  playing  "Gabhaidh  sinn  an 
rathad  mor  ".  He  was  followed  by  the  poetess,  and  after  her  the  five 
liberated  men.  Each  man,  as  he  stepped  on  the  quay,  was  embraced 
by  the  males,  and  hugged  and  kissed  by  the  females,  amid  volumes  of 
queries  as  to  their  condition  since  they  left,  and  congratulations  on  their 
return.  These  friendly  greetings  were  not  allowed  to  be  of  any  duration, 
for  each  man  was  hoisted  and  carried  shoulder-high  in  triumph  through 
the  streets  of  Portree.  The  Braes  men  themselves  mustered  in  full 
force,  and  in  the  procession  they  were  joined  by  numerous  sympathisers 
in  the  district  and  the  village  of  Portree.  The  crowd,  headed  by  the 
piper  and  the  poetess,  proceeded  along  the  principal  thoroughfare  to 
the  Portree  Hotel.  Bonnets  were  carried  on  the  tops  of  walking  sticks, 
and  held  up  above  the  heads  of  the  people,  amid  cries  of  "Still  higher 
yet  my  bonnet,"  while  the  women  of  Portree  waved  their  white'  hand- 
kerchiefs and  shouted  Gaelic  exclamations  of  joy  as  the  "lads  wi'  the 
bonnets  o'  blue"  were  carried  along  in  trium|)h.  On  reaching  the 
Portree  Hotel  a  number  of  them,  including  the  "suspects, "  went  in, 
and  Mr,  Maclnnes,  the  popular  tenant  of  that  excellent  and  well- 
conducted  establishment,  treated  the  "suspects"  to  refreshments. 
Who  should  happen  to  turn  up  unexpectedly  at  the  hotel  but  the  factor, 
accompanied  by  some  of  his  friends,  and  when  that  individual  emerged 
from  the  door  of  the  hotel,  he  was  received  with  a  volume  of  groans. 
The  Braes  men  left  the  hotel  without  any  delay  and  marched  to  their 
homes  in  a  body,  shouting  and  cheering  as  they  proceeded  on  their  way. 
A  carriage  was  sent  after  them  to  convey  the  five  men  from  Inverness 
to  their  respective  places  of  abode. 

In  the  meantime  an  intimation  had  been  conveyed  to  the 
Prisoners'  Agent  by  Mr.  James  Anderson,  Procurator-Fiscal 
of  Inverness,  that  he  had  been  ordered  by  the  Crown  Agent 
to  have  the  prisoners  tried  summarily  before  the  Sheriff  for 
the  crimes  of  deforcement  and  assault.  This  was,  so  far  as 
known,  the  first  time  in  Scottish  Legal  History  that  so 
serious  a  crime,  so  seriously  treated  by  the  authorities  at  the 
outset,  had  been  ordered  for  summary  trial.  There  was 
something  suspicious  in  the  order,  and  although  the  letter 
of  it  was  adhered  to,  it  is  probable  that  but  for  the  protests 
made  on  behalf  of  the  prisoners,  both  in  and  out  of  Parlia- 
ment, the  true  meaning  of  the  order  would  have  been  made 


44°  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

evident  at  the  trial.  On  receiving  intimation  of  the  order, 
Mr.  Macdonald  wrote  to  the  Lord-Advocate  for  Scotland, 
requesting  that  he  should  instruct  the  trial  to  proceed  before 
a  jury.     To  that  letter  the  following  reply  was  received : — 

Whitehall,  April  29,  1882. 
Sir, 

I  am  directed  by  the  Lord-Advocate  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your 
letter  of  27th  current,  and  to  say  in  reply  that  he  sees  no  reason  for  re- 
calhng  the  order  for  trial  of  the  Skye  crofters  charged  with  assault  and 
deforcement  before  the  Sheriff  summarily,  and  that  the  order  will  there- 
fore be  carried  out. 

I  am, 

Sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

D.  CRAWFORD. 
Kenneth  Macdonald,  Esq. 

Mr.    Macdonald,    immediately   on    receiving   the   reply, 
addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  Lord-Advocate  :— 

Inverness,  ist  May,  1882. 
My  Lord, 

I  have  received  from  your  Secretary  a  letter  stating  that  you 
"see  no  reason  for  recalling  the  order  for  trial  of  the  Skye  crofters 
charged  with  assault  and  deforcement  before  the  Sheriff  summarily,  and 
that  the  order  will  therefore  be  carried  out ".  I  thought  when  I  first 
wrote  you  that  the  request  for  a  jury  trial  was  so  fair  and  reasonable 
that  I  did  not  require  to  adduce  any  reason  in  support  of  it,  and  that  it 
lay  with  you,  if  you  refused  it,  to  give  a  reason  for  the  refusal.  Since, 
however,  you  do  not  seem  to  take  this  view  of  the  matter,  you  will 
permit  me  to  state  some  of  the  reasons  which  I  think  ought  to  induce 
you  to  grant  the  request  of  the  prisoners. 

The  crime  with  which  the  men  are  charged  is  said  to  have  been  com- 
mitted in  the  Skye  district  of  this  county.  In  that  district  there  is  a 
Court  which  has  hitherto,  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  tried  all  summary 
cases  arising  in  the  district.  And  yet  without  any  reason  assigned,  the 
present  case  has  been  ordered  for  trial  at  Inverness.  Had  the  case  been 
sent  for  a  jury  trial  it  would  have  been  the  usual,  and  indeed,  necessary, 


aBBB&asi 


TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS.  44I 

course  to  try  the  case  here,  but  it  is  a  thing  hitherto  unheard  of  that  a 
summary  trial  from  one  of  the  outlying  districts  of  the  county  should  be 
taken  here.  With  a  complete  machinery  for  conducting  summary 
trials  in  the  District  Court,  the  prisoners  are  entitled  to  some  explana- 
tion of  the  reason  why  they  are  put  to  the  expense  of  bringing  their 
witnesses  and  themselves  from  Skye  to  Inverness,  when,  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  things,  they  ought  to  go  no  further  from  home  than  Portree. 
It  may  be  answered  that  as  the  resident  Sheriff  at  Portree  was  engaged 
in  the  apprehension  of  the  prisoners,  he  ought  not  to  try  the  case. 
That  is  perfectly  true.  The  prisoners  quite  agree  that  it  would  be  im- 
proper to  have  the  case  tried  by  Mr.  Spiers,  but  they  are  not  responsible 
for  what  he  has  done,  and  ought  not  to  suffer  for  it.  If  Sheriff  Spiers 
has  disqualified  himself  from  trying  the  case,  that  affords  no  reason  for 
punishing  the  persons  to  be  tried.  All  that  would  be  required  to  be 
done  would  be  to  have  the  trial  conducted  in  Portree  by  Sheriff  Blair, 
who  would,  according  to  your  order,  conduct  it  in  Inverness. 

What  I  have  said  is  sufficient  to  show  that  your  order  is  an  excep- 
tional one,  and  the  prisoners,  and,  I  believe,  the  public  also,  will 
expect  you  to  justify  it.  Had  these  prisoners  stood  alone,  their  poverty 
would  have  prevented  them  bringing  a  single  witness  from  Skye  to  es- 
tablish their  innocence,  and  your  order  would  have  meant  a  simple 
denial  of  justice. 

But,  further,  the  crime  with  which  these  men  are  charged  is  that  of 
deforcement  of  an  officer  of  the  Sheriff  of  Inverness,  and  your  order  is 
that  the  Sheriff,  whose  servant  is  said  to  have  been  deforced,  shall  be 
the  sole  judge  of  whether  the  crime  was  committed  or  not.  It  is  not 
my  wish  to  draw  historical  parallels,  but  the  circumstances  will,  no 
doubt,  suggest  to  your  lordship  a  series  of  trials  which  took  place  in 
Scotland  nearly  ninety  years  ago,  when  Muir  and  his  fellow-reformers 
were  convicted  of  sedition.  It  is  not  for  me  to  suggest,  and  I  do  not 
suggest,  that  any  of  our  local  judges  would  deal  unfairly  with  the 
prisoners,  but  I  ask  what  is  your  reason  for  refusing  them  a  trial  by  jury. 
It  is  to  yoii  they  look  in  the  first  instance,  and  it  is  yoitr  reasons  for 
pursuing  an  exceptional  course  with  men  who  have  already  been 
harshly  dealt  with  that  the  public  will  canvass. 

I  presume  the  object  of  the  proceedings  which  have  already  been 
adopted  with  regard  to  these  men,  and  of  the  trial  which  is  to  follow, 
is  to  inspire  them  and  their  fellows  with  a  proper  respect  for  the  law. 
If  this  is  so,  let  them  have  no  excuse  for  saying  they  have  not  got  fair 
play.  If  their  crime  was  so  important  as  to  call  for  the  exceptional 
measures  taken  for  their  apprehension,  it  is  surely  too  important  to  be 


442 


THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 


disposed  of  by  a  Court  whose  duties  are  usually  confined  to  mere 
matters  of  police.  The  belief  of  the  prisoners  is  that  the  object  of 
your  order  is  to  secure  their  conviction  at  all  hazards  irrespective  of 
their  guilt  or  innocence,  and  this  belief  is  shared  by  a  growing  number 
of  the  outside  public.  It  is  for  you  to  dispel  this  misapprehension  if  it 
is  one. 

In  such  circumstances  as  I  have  described  a  summary  trial  would  be 
little  else  than  a  farce  ;  and  you  will  never  inspire  the  Highland  crofters 
or  their  friends  with  respect  for  the  law  if  you  persist  in  enacting  such 
a  farce  in  its  name.  I  trust,  therefore,  you  will  reconsider  your  resolu- 
tion, and  yet  order  the  trial  of  the  prisoners  in  a  manner  which  will 
inspire  them  with  confidence  in  the  administration  of  the  law  of  their 
country. 

I  am. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

KENNETH  MACDONALD. 

The  Honourable  the  Lord-Advocate  for  Scotland, 
Home  Office,  Whitehall,  London,  S.W. 


On  the  same  evening  that  the  letter  was  written  Mr. 
Fraser-Mackintosh  (M.P.  for  the  Inverness  Burghs),  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  asked  the  Lord-Advocate  whether  he 
would  order  that  the  Skye  crofters  now  committed  for  trial 
should,  instead  of  being  tried  summarily,  have  the  privilege 
of  being  tried  by  a  jury  of  their  countrymen,  and  that  the 
presiding  judge  should  be  one  disconnected  with  the 
exceptional  proceedings  attendant  on  their  recent  apprehen- 
sion ? 

Mr.  Dick  Peddie  had  also  the  following  question  to  ask 
the  Lord-Advocate — Whether  it  is  the  case  that  instructions 
have  been  given  that  the  five  crofters  recently  arrested  in 
Skye,  and  now  released  on  bail,  be  tried  summarily;  whether 
they  have  applied  through  their  agent  to  be  tried  by  jury : 
and  whether  he  intended  to  comply  with  their  application  ? 

The  Lord-Advocate,  in  reply,  said  he  saw  no  reason  for 
recalling  the  order  for  the  trial  before  a  summary  magistrate. 


TRIAL    OF    THE    BRAES    CROFTERS.  443 

After  due  consideration  with  his  learned  friend,  the  SoUcitor- 
General  for  Scotland,  this  decision  had  been  arrived  at  when 
the  case  was  before  them  during  the  Easter  recess.  The 
people  of  Skye  were  generally  peaceful,  and  having  reason  to 
believe  that  they  were  misled  by  bad  advice,  or  they  would 
not  have  resisted  officers  of  the  law  in  the  execution  of  a 
legal  warrant,  he,  with  his  learned  colleague,  thought  that 
the  offence  would  not  be  repeated  if  it  was  made  clear  to  the 
people  as  rapidly  as  possible  that  the  law  will  be  vindicated. 
The  charges  preferred  were  of  the  least  grave  class  that 
could  be  preferred  on  behalf  of  the  Crown,  and  summary 
trial  proceedings  afforded  little  delay.  The  maximum 
sentence  that  could  be  inflicted  was  sixty  days,  and  of 
course  a  lighter  sentence  would  be  passed  if  in  the  discretion 
of  the  magistrate  it  met  the  justice  of  the  case.  As  to  the 
last  part  of  the  question,  it  was  intended  that  the  trial  should 
proceed  before  the  Sheriff  of  Inverness  who  had  not  hitherto 
taken  part  in  measures  which  unfortunately  became  necessary 
to  vindicate  the  authority  of  the  law  in  Skye. 

The  refusal  of  a  Jury  trial  was  final  so  far  as  the  Crown 
was  concerned.  Curious  as  it  may  seem,  an  accused  person 
in  Scotland  has  no  right  to  demand  a  trial  by  his  peers. 
Our  forefathers  were  not  so  careful  of  their  liberties  in  this 
respect,  or  not  so  powerful  to  enforce  them  as  our  neighbours 
over  the  border.  They  took  care  centuries  ago  to  secure 
this  right ;  we  have  not  secured  it  yet. 

What  might  have  occurred  in  this  particular  case  but  for 
the  fear  of  public  indignation  it  is  hard  to  say.  Tyranny 
has  a  peculiar  fascination  for  weak  men.  Lord-Advocate 
Balfour,  a  good  lawyer,  but  a  weak  politician,  the  holder  of 
an  office  which  was  long  since  stripped  of  most  of  its  power, 
and  which  immediately  before  his  accession  to  it  was  so 
emasculated  that  his  predecessor  declined  to  sacrifice  his 


444  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

self-respect  by  continuing  to  hold  it, — desired  to  do  one 
ofificial  act  which  had  an  appearance  of  strength  about  it 
without  the  reality.  He  had  brought  contempt  upon  the 
administration  of  the  law  by  sanctioning  or  suggesting  the 
sending  of  a  large  body  of  police  from  Glasgow  to  Skye  to 
arrest  a  few  old  men  of  peaceful  habits  and  general  good 
character,  whose  worst  weapon,  it  has  been  proved,  was  a 
lump  of  wet  turf,  and  when  the  whole  country  was  indulging 
in  a  roar  of  laughter  over  the  ignominious  retreat  of  the  in- 
vading army  of  policemen  before  the  women  of  the  Braes, 
and  the  ridiculous  ending  of  a  performance  which  was  in- 
tended to  represent  the  dignity  of  the  Law,  he,  the  person 
primarily  responsible  for  the  mistake  which  had  been  com- 
mitted, would  naturally  desire  to  cover  his  blunder  by 
securing  a  conviction  against  the  few  harmless  cottars  whom 
the  policemen  in  their  blind  panic  had  first  laid  hands 
on. 

If  ever  there  was  a  case  which  ought  to  be  tried  by  a 
Jury  this  was  one.  At  no  time  is  the  right  of  Jury  trial 
more  valuable  than  when  the  opinions  of  the  public,  and  the 
acts  of  the  Crown,  as  represented  by  its  officials,  run  counter 
to  each  other,  and  when  these  acts  are  in  any  way  connected 
with  the  offence  to  be  tried.  At  no  time  ought  the  right  to 
be  more  readily  conceded.  Here,  however,  it  was  deter- 
minedly denied.  To  Mr.  Macdonald's  second  letter  no 
answer  was  ever  given.  We  believe  none  was  expected. 
Except  in  the  answer  given  to  the  questions  of  Mr.  Fraser- 
Mackintosh  and  Mr.  Dick  Peddie  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  at  least  twenty-four  hours  before  Mr.  Mac- 
donald's letter  reached  him,  the  Lord-Advocate  did  not 
attempt  either  to  explain  or  defend  his  conduct.  In  point 
of  fact,  complete  explanation  or  defence  was  impossible. 
All  that  time  the  Crown  officers  must  have  known  what  was 


TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS.  445 

not  known  to  the  prisoners'  advisers  at  the  time,  that  there 
was  no  evidence  against  the  prisoners  upon  which  any  sane 
Jury  would  convict.  But  the  Lord-Advocate  seems  never 
to  have  forgotten  that  the  officialism  of  the  County  of 
Inverness  had  involved  itself  in  the  mess,  and  in  a  sum- 
mary trial  officialism  might  be  left  to  vindicate  its  own 
dignity.  This  would  also  vindicate  the  dignity  of  the 
law,  and  the  wisdom  of  its  administrators — at  least  so  they 
thought.  This  theory  was  universally  accepted  outside  official 
circles  as  the  reason  for  the  resolution  to  try  summarily,  and 
but  for  the  protests  made  by  outsiders,  and  particularly  a 
number  of  Scottish  Members  of  Parliament  to  secure  a  fair 
trial  for  the  prisoners,  most  people  believed  that  the  trial 
would  have  been  even  a  greater  farce  than  it  turned  out 
to  be,  but  with  a  far  different  ending. 

The  efforts  of  the  Scottish  Members  to  obtain  a  Jury  trial 
did  not  end  with  the  questions  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
Efforts  were  made  privately  by  some  of  these  gentlemen  to 
save  the  Administration  of  Justice  in  Scotland  from  being 
sullied,  but  without  result,  and  when  all  their  efforts  failed, 
the  members  who  had  taken  most  interest  in  the  matter, 
published  the  following  protest  in  the  Times  of  loth  May, 
1882,  from  which  it  was  quoted  by  almost  every  newspaper 
in  the  Kingdom  : — 

The  circumstances  of  the  arrest,  by  a  large  body  of  police  brought 
from  Glasgow,  of  half-a-dozen  Skye  crofters,  accused  of  deforcing  a 
sheriff's  officer  who  went  among  them  to  serve  writs,  and  the  attempt  at 
a  rescue  which  attended  it,  must  be  fresh  in  the  minds  of  your  readers. 
We  need  not  say  that  the  case  has  excited  great  public  interest  in 
Scotland.  It  is  most  important,  therefore,  in  order  to  secure  any  moral 
effect,  that  the  trial  should  be  conducted  under  such  circumstances  as 
will  place  the  verdict  above  all  suspicion.  This,  we  regret  to  say,  is 
not  to  be  done,  and  already  many  persons  who  sympathise  with  the 
men,  and  desire  that  their  case  shall  be  fairly  heard,  openly  accuse  the 
Executive  of  resorting  to  unworthy  means  to  obtain  a  conviction.     For 


446  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

ourselves,  we  may  at  once  state  our  perfect  belief  in  the  sincerity  of  the 
Lord  Advocate  in  his  profession  of  a  desire,  while  vindicating  the  law, 
to  provide  for  the  accused  that  form  of  trial  which  will  protect  them 
from  an  unnecessarily  heavy  punishment.  But  punishment  pre-supposes 
guilt,  while  what  the  accused  contend  is  that  they  are  not  guilty. 
What  they  claim  is  that  they  shall  first  have  their  guilt  established  in 
the  ordinary  way,  and  if  found  guilty  they  are  willing  to  take  their 
chance  of  that  punishment  their  conduct  may  seem  to  deserve. 

Now,  persons  accused  of  crimes  committed  in  Skye  have  'hitherto 
been  invariably  tried  in  one  of  two  ways.  If  the  cases  are  considered 
so  trivial  as  to  be  dealt  with  summarily,  they  are  tried  by  a  sheriff- 
substitute  sitting  at  Portree.  This  course  secures  to  the  accused  the 
important  advantage  that  evidence  for  his  defence  is  procurable  at  a 
minimum  of  expense  and  inconvenience.  If  the  case  is  of  a  grave 
character,  it  is  tried  by  a  jury  at  Inverness.  This,  of  course,  involves 
much  more  inconvenience  and  expense  to  the  defence,  but  it  secures  the 
services  of  a  jury,  a  tribunal  which,  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  on 
matters  of  fact,  is  admittedly  superior  to  a  Judge,  however  impartial, 
sitting  alone.  But  in  the  case  of  the  Skye  crofters  the  trial  is  to  be  at 
Inverness,  without  a  jury.  The  defence  thus  incurs  all  the  incon- 
venience and  expense  usually  attendant  on  a  jury  trial,  and  obtains  none 
of  the  advantages  in  the  way  of  a  tribunal  the  best  qualified  to  pro- 
nounce on  the  question  of  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the  accused.  It  is 
stated  that  Portree  is  in  such  an  excited  state  that  it  is  unadvisable  that 
the  trial  should  take  place  there,  and  that,  therefore,  it  has  to  be 
removed  to  Inverness.  There  is  not  the  smallest  reason,  however, 
why,  being  held  at  Inverness,  it  should  not  be  held  in  the  usual 
manner.  The  accused  dispute  the  facts  alleged  by  the  prosecution. 
Their  agent  has  asked  for  a  jury  to  decide  on  the  question  of  fact.  A 
jury  trial  is  the  invariable  mode  of  disposing  of  Skye  cases  tried  at 
Inverness  ;  but  a  jury  trial,  though  in  this  case  specially  demanded,  has 
been  refused.  The  reason  given  for  its  refusal  is  that  the  Crown 
authorities  having  originally  intended  that  the  trial  should  be  a  summary 
one  at  Portree,  though  it  has  now  been  deemed  advisable  to  remove  it 
to  Inverness,  they  see  no  reason  to  change  the  form  of  trial  on  that 
account.  The  reply  is  that  at  Portree  there  would  have  been  nothing 
unusual  in  a  summary  trial,  and  trial  at  Portree  would  have  secured 
material  advantages  to  the  accused.  At  Inverness  the  summary  trial  of 
a  Skye  case  is  unprecedented,  and  the  expense  to  the  accused  as  heavy 
as  would  be  that  of  a  jury  trial. 

But  the  Lord  Advocate  has  explained  that  if  the  cases  had  been  tried 


TRIAL   OF   THE    BRAES    CROFTERS.  447 

by  jury  the  sentences  might  have  been  much  heavier  than  those  to  virhich 
they  would  be  exposed  on  summary  conviction.  That  is  true,  but  it  is 
equally  true  that  the  judge  might  have  awarded  sentences  as  light  as  he 
deemed  proper.  In  the  interests  of  justice  it  is  desirable  that  the 
punishment  should  be  commensurate  with  the  offence.  There  is  no 
reason  why  a  judge  sitting  with  a  jury  on  circuit  or  in  the  Sheriff  Court 
should  not  award  the  slightest  possible  sentence.  That  is  what  the 
agent  for  accused  thinks,  and,  knowing  their  case,  he  is  willing  to  take 
his  chance  of  the  heavier  sentence  if  they  are  found  guilty  and  are 
thought  to  deserve  it. 

On  the  point  of  guilt  or  innocence,  however,  he  prefers  the  verdict  of 
a  jury  to  the  decision  of  a  judge,  and  that  has  been  refused.  In 
criminal  cases  in  Scotland  a  bare  majority  of  the  jury  convicts,  and 
if  the  case  is  not  strong  enough  to  convince  eight  men  out  of  fifteen, 
the  prisoners  are  surely  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  the  doubt.  That  is 
all  that  has  been  asked,  and  that,  despite  the  strongest  representations, 
has  been  refused.  To  us  its  refusal  in  this  particular  case,  on  grounds 
of  public  policy,  seems  particularly  regretable,  and  we  beg  through 
your  columns  publicly  to  protest  against  it. 

Charles  Cameron. 
C.  Fraser-Mackintosh. 
P.  Stewart  Macliver. 
James  Cowan. 
Frank  Henderson. 
J.  Dick  Peddie. 
James  W.  Barclay. 

House  of  Commons.  May  9,  1882^ 

Commenting  on  this  protest  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  of  loth 
May,  said  : — 

It  is  hard  to  see  what  answer  there  can  be  to  the  protest  on  behalf 
of  the  Skye  crofters  raised  in  the  Times  this  morning  by  seven  Scotch 
members.  Skye  cases  have  hitherto  always  been  disposed  of  either 
summarily  at  Portree  or  by  trial  before  a  jury  at  Inverness.  If  the 
accused  had  not  the  satisfaction  of  submitting  his  case  to  a  jury,  he  was, 
at  least,  relieved  from  the  expense  of  being  tried  at  a  distance  from 
home.  But  in  the  present  instance  it  is  proposed  to  try  the  crofters  at 
Inverness,  but  without  a  jury.  Why  should  the  crofters  be  subjected  to 
the  disadvantage  of  both  methods  of  trial  without  the  benefit  of  either  ? 


448  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

Whether  if  published  earlier  this  Protest  would  have  had 
any  effect  it  is  hard  to  say.  Probably  not.  As  it  was,  it  only 
appeared  in  the  Times  the  day  before  that  fixed  for  the  trial. 
By  that  time  the  arrangements  were  complete.  Some  days 
before  then  Mr.  Macdonald,  the  accused's  agent,  finding  that 
the  trial  was  to  proceed  summarily,  had  gone  to  Skye  and 
precognosced  a  large  number  of  witnesses,  several  of  whom 
were  cited  for  the  defence.  On  the  morning  the  Protest 
appeared  in  the  Times  the  accused  and  the  witnesses  for  the 
prosecution  and  defence  left  Portree  for  Inverness,  the  trial 
having  been  fixed  for  the  nth  of  May,  1882. 

On  that  day  the  accused  took  their  place  at  the  Bar  of 
the  Sheriff  Court  in  the  Castle  of  Inverness.  The  hour  of 
commencement  was  noon,  and  by  that  time  the  Court-house 
was  crowded.  Sheriff  Blair,  the  presiding  judge,  was  accom- 
panied on  the  bench  by  Sheriff  Shaw,  late  of  Lochmaddy. 
Besides  numerous  members  of  the  Faculty,  there  were 
around  the  bar — Mr.  Alex.  Macdonald,  factor,  Portree;  Mr. 
Macleod,  secretary  of  the  Skye  Vigilance  Committee, 
Glasgow;  Dean' of  Guild  Mackenzie;  Bailie  Smith;  Mr. 
Alex.  Macdonald  Maclellan;  Mr,  MacHugh;  Mr.  Cameron 
of  the  Standard,  and  several  others. 

The  imlictmeiit  set  forth  that  Alexander  Fiiilayson,  tenant  or 
crofter  ;  Donald  Nicolson,  tenant  or  crofter ;  James  Nicolson,  now  or 
lately  residing  with  the  said  Donald  Nicolson ;  Malcolm  Finlayson, 
son  of,  and  now  or  lately  residing  with,  the  said  Alexander  Finlayson  ; 
and  Peter  Macdonald,  son  of,  and  now  or  lately  residing  with,  Donald 
Macdonald,  tenant  or  crofter,  all  residing  at  Balmeanach,  had  all  and 
each,  or  one  or  more  of  them,  been  guilty  of  the  crime  of  deforcing 
an  officer  of  the- law  in  the  execution  of  his  duty  ;  or  of  the  crime  of  vio- 
lently resisting  and  obstructing  an  officer  of  the  law  in  the  execution  of  his 
duty,  or  persons  employed  by  and  assisting  an  offi.cer  of  the  lazu  in  the 
execution  of  his  duty  ;  and  also  of  the  crime  of  a.%sz.n[i,  or  of  one  or  other 
of  these  crimes,  actor  or  actors  or  art  and  part,  in  so  far  as  Angus 
Martin,  now  or  lately  residing  at  Lisigarry,  near  Portree,  in  the  parish 


TRIAL   OF   THE   BRAES   CROFTERS.  449 

Portree  aforesaid,  having  been  as  a  sheriff-officer  of  the  County  of  Inver- 
ness, on  or  about  the  7th  day  of  April,  1882,  instructed  by  Alexander 
Macdonald,  solicitor  in  Portree  aforesaid,  as  agent  for  the  Right 
Honourable  Ronald  Archibald  Macdonald,  Lord  Macdonald,  of 
Armadale  Castle,  Skye,  to  go  to  Balmeanach,  Penachorain,  and  Geden- 
tailor,  three  of  the  townships  in  the  district  of  Braes,  in  the  parish  of 
Portree  aforesaid,  to  serve  actions  of  removing,  which,  with  the  warrants 
thereon,  he  delivered  to  the  said  Angus  Martin  for  that  purpose,  raised 
in  the  Sheriff  Court  of  Inverness,  Elgin,  and  Nairn  at  Portree,  at  the 
instance  of  the  said  Right  Honourable  Ronald  Archibald  Macdonald, 
Lord  Macdonald,  upon  the  tenants  in  the  said  townships  .  .  .  and  also 
to  serve  small  debt  summonses  for  debt  .  .  .  and  the  said  Angus  Martin 
having  upon  the  said  7th  day  of  April,  1882,  or  about  that  time,  pro- 
ceeded towards,  or  in  the  direction  of  the  said  three  townships  of  Bal- 
meanach, Penachorain,  and  Gedentailor,  in  order  to  serve  the  said 
actions  and  small  debt  summonses,  accompanied  by  Ewen  Robertson, 
now  or  lately  residing  at  Lisigary  aforesaid,  as  his  concurrent  and 
assistant,  and  by  Norman  Beaton,  ground-officer  on  the  estates  of  the 
said  Lord  Macdonald,  and  now  or  lately  residing  at  Shullisheddar,  in  the 
parish  of  Portree  aforesaid,  the  said  Alex.  Finlayson,  Donald  Nicolson, 
James  Nicolson,  Malcolm  Finlayson,  and  Peter  Macdonald,  did  all 
and  each,  or  one  or  more  of  them,  assisted  by  a  crowd  of  people  to  the 
number  of  150  or  thereby,  whose  names  are  to  the  complainer  un- 
known, actors  or  actor,  or  art  and  part,  at  or  near  Gedentailor  aforesaid 
[and  at  a  part  thereof  three  hundred  yards  or  thereby  on  the  south  of 
the  schoolhouse,  known  by  the  name  of  MacDermid's  Institution,  on 
the  lands  of  Olach  in  the  parish  of  Portree  aforesaid,  and  now  or  lately 
occupied  by  Kenneth  MacLean,  teacher  there],  wickedly  and  felonious- 
ly attack  and  assault  the  said  Angus  Martin,  tvell  k)ioi.oing  him  to  be  an 
officer  of  the  law,  attd  in  the  execution  of  his  duty  as  such,  and  that  he  held 
the  said  actions  and  small  debt  summonses  and  warrants  for  service,  and  the 
said  Ewen  Robertson,  well  knowing  him  to  be  the  assistant  ajid  concur- 
rent and  witness  of  the  said  Angus  Martin  and  the  said  Norman 
Beaton,  and  did  knock  them,  or  one  or  more  of  them  to  the  ground,  and 
did  by  force  at  or  near  Gedentailor  aforesaid,  forcibly  seize  hold  of,  and 
destroy  the  service  copies  of  the  actions  and  ^small  debt  summonses 
before  mentioned,  and  did  also  upon  the  lands  of  Upper  Olach,  being 
another  township  in  the  said  district  of  Braes,  and  in  the  parish  of  Por- 
tree aforesaid  [and  at  a  part  of  said  lands  occupied  by  Donald  Mac- 
pherson,  crofter,  there,  forty  yards  or  thereby  on  the  south  of  the  said 
schoolhouse],  forcibly  seize  hold  of  and  burn,  or  cause,  or  procure  to  be 

29 


450  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

burned,  the  principal  copies  of  the  said  actions  and  small  debt  summon- 
ses and  warrants  thereon,  and  did  further  upon  the  said  township  of 
Gedentailor,  and  upon  the  said  township  of  Upper  Olach,  and  upon 
the  high  road  leading  from  these  townships  to  Portree  aforesaid  [and  on 
that  part  of  said  road  lying  between  Gedentailor  aforesaid  and  the  said 
Schoolhouse],  throw  stones  and  clods  of  earth  and  peat  at  the  said 
Angus  Martin,  Ewen  Robertson,  and  Norman  Beaton,  by  which  they, 
or  one  or  more  of  them  were  struck  to  the  hurt  and  injury  of  their  per- 
sons ;  and  by  all  which  or  part  thereof  the  said  Aftgus  Martin,  attd  the 
said  Ewen  Robertson  were  deforced  and  by  force,  prevented  from  executing 
and  discharging  their  duty  and  from  serving  the  said  actions  and  small 
debt  summonses. 

Mr.  James  Anderson,  Procurator-Fiscal  for  the  county, 
conducted  the  prosecution,  and  Mr.  Kenneth  Macdonald, 
solicitor,  and  Town  Clerk  of  Inverness,  appeared  for  the 
prisoners. 

The  Procurator-Fiscal  asked  that  certain  amendments 
should  be  made  on  the  complaint  with  the  object  of  more 
specifically  defining  the  places  at  which  the  acts  charged 
against  the  prisoners  were  alleged  to  have  been  committed. 
The  amendments  were  not  objected  to  and  were  allowed. 
The  lines  introduced  are  those  within  [  ]  in  the  preceding 
copy  of  the  libel. 

Immediately  after  the  amendments  had  been  made,  Mr. 
Macdonald  said  that,  before  the  complaint  was  gone  into, 
he  had  to  state  objections  to  the  relevancy  of  the  in- 
dictment and  also  to  the  competency  of  the  Court  to  try  the 
case.  He  objected  to  the  competency  of  the  Court  on  the 
ground  that  the  crime  charged  was  of  such  a  serious  nature 
that  it  ought  to  be  tried  by  a  jury ;  and  he  objected  to  the 
competency  of  the  complaint  on  the  ground  that  the  punish- 
ment attached  by  law  to  the  crime  charged  in  the  indictment 
is  beyond  that  which  could  be  imposed  in  that  court.  The 
charge  in  this  case  was  that  of  deforcing  an  officer  of  the 
law  in  the  execution  of  his  duty,  and  that  was  said  to  have 


TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS.         45 1 

been  done  by  the  prisoners  in  concert  with  a  crowd  of  150 
people ;  so  that  the  deforcement  ran  into  the  other  serious 
charge  of  mobbing  and  rioting,  the  most  serious  kind  of 
deforcement  known  to  the  law.  This  was  the  first  time,  he 
believed,  in  the  legal  history  of  Scotland  that  a  charge  of 
such  a  serious  nature  had  been  tried  in  a  Summary  Court. 
The  accused  had  been  brought  to  that  Court ;  they  objected 
to  being  brought  there.  The  public  prosecutor  had  no  right 
to  dictate  what  was  the  competent  Court  for  the  trial  of  a 
case ;  it  was  for  his  lordship  to  say  whether  the  Court  was 
competent  or  incompetent.  The  public  prosecutor  had 
refused  to  go  to  a  higher  Court;  he  had  refused  to  give 
these  men  the  benefit  of  trial  by  jury ;  and  it  was  now  for  his 
lordship  to  say  whether  these  men  were  to  have  that  bene- 
fit. It  had  been  said  that  the  reason  for  bringing  the  trial 
in  the  Summary  Court  was  the  fact  that  the  maximum 
sentence  was  so  small,  but  his  lordship  had  the  same  power 
in  the  Jury  Court  as  he  had  in  the  Summary  Court. 

The  Sheriff  said  there  was  no  question  whatever  in 
regard  to  the  power  of  a  judge  sitting  in  the  Jury  Court  to 
inflict  the  minimum  punishment  in  a  case  of  deforcement ; 
and  he  instanced  a  case  of  that  kind,  tried  by  Lord  Young 
at  the  Inverness  Circuit  Court,  in  which  the  sentence  was  a 
fine  of  40s.,  with  the  alternative  of  one  month's  imprison- 
ment. 

Mr.  Macdonald  quoted  the  acts  of  the  Scottish  Parlia- 
ment of  1581  (C.  118),  1587,  (C.  85),  and  1591  (C.  152), 
which  regulated  the  punishment  which  by  statute  followed 
on  conviction,  to  show  the  serious  nature  of  the  charse 
against  the  prisoners,  and  argued  that  as  the  libel  concluded 
generally  for  "  the  pains  of  law "  and  these  pains  were 
statutory  and  such  as  were  beyond  the  power  of  a  Court  of 
summary  jurisdiction  to  inflict,  the  Court  was  incompetent  to 


452  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

dispose  of  the  cause.  He  also  quoted  from  Hume  and 
Alison  to  show  that  the  High  Court  had  frequently  suspended 
sentences  pronounced  in  a  Summary  Court  when  the  crime 
charged  was  too  serious  for  such  a  mode  of  trial.  He 
maintained  that  before  1864  there  never  was  a  case  of  such 
magnitude  tried  before  a  Summary  Court,  and  if  not  before 
1864  there  was  nothing  in  the  Act  of  that  date  which  would 
entitle  them  to  try  it. 

The  Sheriff  said  that  this  was  an  offence  at  common  law 
as  well  as  under  the  statute.  They  were  proceeding  at 
common  law,  and  the  pains  and  penalties  which  the 
prosecutor  asked  should  be  inflicted,  were  the  pains  and 
penalties  applicable  under  the  Summary  Procedure  Acts. 

Mr.  Macdonald  held  that  the  punishment  was  statutory, 
even  though  the  offence  was  charged  at  common  law. 

The  Sheriff  said  the  punishment  was  statutory  if  the 
prosecution  was  under  the  statute ;  but  if  the  prosecution 
was  at  common  law,  it  was  not  necessary  for  the  Court  to 
take  the  statutory  penalty. 

Mr.  Macdonald  contended  that  when  his  lordship  was 
asked  generally,  as  in  this  complaint,  to  inflict  the  pains  of 
law  upon  defenders,  that  carried  them  back  to  the  statute 

law. 

The  Sheriff— That  carries  you  back  to  the  statute  under 
which  you  are  proceeding;  and  the  statute  under  which  you 
are  proceeding  is  the  Summary  Procedure  Acts. 

Mr.  Macdonald — If  that  is  your  lordship's  view,  there  is 
no  use  in  any  further  pressing  my  contention. 

The  Sheriff  said  that  was  the  view  he  was  inclined  to  take. 
He  might  mention  that  he  had  been  aware  that  some  objec- 
tion of  this  sort  might  be  taken,  and  he  had  given  the  point 
careful  consideration.  Personally  he  should  have  preferred 
that  the  case  had  been  tried  by  jury,  on  the  ground  that  it 


TRIAL  OF   THE   BRAES   CROFTERS.  453 

would  have  relieved  him  of  a  considerable  deal  of  personal 
responsibility  ;  but  it  was  not  what  he  desired,  but  what  was 
really  the  law  on  the  point.  It  was  quite  true,  and  it  had 
been  the  opinion  of  most  distinguished  lawyers  in  this 
country,  that  there  was  no  point  less  fixed  than  as  to  when 
a  trial  was  to  be  by  jury  or  not.  In  the  present  case,  even 
should  he  have  been  of  opinion — which  he  was  not — that 
the  nature  of  the  offence  as  detailed  in  the  complaint  before 
him  was  unfit  for  summary  trial,  he  did  not  think  he  could 
interfere  with  the  discretion  of  the  public  prosecutor  in 
trying  under  the  Summary  Procedure  Acts,  as  the  penalty 
craved  did  not  extend  beyond  the  limits  set  forth  in  these 
Acts. 

Mr.  Macdonald  then  stated  that  he  objected  to  the  relev- 
ancy of  the  indictment.  The  libel  amounted  to  this — that 
Angus  Martin,  who  lived  at  Portree,  proceeded  on  a  certain 
day  towards,  or  in  the  direction  of,  certain  townships  ;  and 
that  on  the  way  there,  at  a  certain  place,  he  was  met  by 
certain  people,  and  had  his  warrants  taken  from  him.  The 
question  for  his  lordship  was  whether  that  amounted  to 
deforcement.  The  act  charged  in  the  indictment,  Mr. 
Macdonald  contended,  might  be  theft,  or  mobbing  and 
rioting,  or  assault,  but  it  was  not  deforcement.  To  be 
deforced,  an  officer  must  be  assaulted,  and  be  in  bodily  fear 
while  in  the  execution  of  his  duty ;  but  in  the  libel  it  was 
not  mentioned  that  Martin  ever  made  an  attempt  to  execute 
the  warrants  he  carried.  There  was  nothing  to  show  that 
the  officers  had  got  near  to  the  residences  of  any  of  the 
persons  upon  whom  they  meant  to  serve  the  summonses — 
nothing  even  to  show  that  even  on  the  road  they  were  near 
to  any  of  the  men  against  whom  they  held  summonses.  He 
quoted  from  Hume,  Alison,  and  Macdonald's  works  on 
Criminal  Law  to  show  that  an  officer  could  only  be  deforced 


454  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

while  he  was  actually  in  the  execution  of  his  duty  as  an 
officer,  or  in  aciu  proximo  to  its  execution.  There  was 
nothing  in  the  Ubel  to  show  that  the  officers  in  this  case 
were  in  the  execution  of  their  duty,  or  on  the  point  of 
executing  it,  or  even  near  any  of  the  places  where  their  duty 
fell  to  be  executed,  indeed,  the  presumption  was,  from  the 
terms  of  the  libel — and  this  presumption  was  strengthened  by 
the  amendments  just  made  by  the  PubUc  Prosecutor— that 
they  had  not  reached  the  place  when  they  were  met  by  the 
people. 

As  to  the  alternative  charge  of  violently  resisting  and 
obstructing  an  officer  of  the  law  in  the  execution  of  his 
duty,  that  was  simply  an  unsuccessful  attempt  at  deforcement, 
and  would  only  be  committed  in  circumstances  which,  had 
the  resistance  been  successful,  would  have  amounted  to 
deforcement.  In  short,  here  also  the  officer  must  be 
executing,  or  on  the  point  of  executing,  his  duty,  otherwise 
the  crime  would  not  be  committed.  If,  therefore,  the  libel 
was  irrelevant  as  regarded  the  charge  of  deforcement  it  was 
necessarily  so  as  regards  the  less  serious  charge  of 
obstructing  also. 

The  Procurator-Fiscal,  in  reply,  quoted  from  Alison  and 
Macdonald  to  show  that  it  was  unquestionably  deforcement 
if  when  a  messenger  had  come  near  to  the  debtor's  house 
he  was  met  by  a  host  of  people  who  drove  him  off  on  notice 
or  suspicion  of  his  purpose.  In  this  case  the  officer  was  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  place  where  he  in- 
tended to  serve  his  warrants,  as  stated  in  the  hbel ;  and 
therefore  the  act  charged  amounted  to  deforcement. 

The  Sheriff,  after  full  consideration,  said — The  objection 
taken  to  the  complaint  is  one  of  very  great  importance, 
and  if  sustained  detracts  very  materially  from  the  gravity 
of  the  offence  with  which  they  are  charged.     The  offence 


TRIAL   OF   THE  BRAES   CROFTERS.  455 

of  deforcement,  as  Mr.  Hume  says,  is  not  to  the  indi- 
vidual, but  to  the  officer  and  the  law,  which  is  violated 
in  his  person  ;  and  it  lies  in  the  hindrance  of  these  formal 
and  solemn  proceedings,  which  took  place  under  regular 
written  authority,  which  it  belongs  only  to  an  officer  of  the 
law  to  perform.  It  therefore  appears  to  me  to  be  indispen- 
sable that  the  complaint  should  bear  that  the  officer  said  to 
be  deforced  was  at  or  near  the  premises  of  the  parties  against 
whom  the  writs  were  issued;  or  that  the  officer  had  assumed 
that  official  character  and  entered  on  his  commission,  being 
in  the  near  and  immediate  preparation  with  proceeding  to 
the  first  formalities  in  the  execution  of  that  commission. 
This  complaint  does  not,  in  my  opinion,  contain  those 
essentials  ;  and  therefore,  to  the  extent  that  I  have  now 
stated,  the  objection  must  be  sustained. 

The  Procurator-Fiscal— In  these  circumstances,  there  is 
no  case  of  deforcement,  and  I  propose  now  to  proceed  with 
the  case  as  one  of  assault. 

The  Sheriff^Of  course  the  offence,  though  not  deforce- 
ment, may  be  assault  and  battery,  aggravated  certainly  by 
the  station  of  the  officer. 

Mr.  Macdonald — All  that  there  is  in  the  complaint  re- 
garding assault  is  the  phrase,  "as  also  of  the  crime  of 
assault".  There  is  not  a  single  word  about  aggravation. 
I  hope  there  will  be  no  attempt  to  prove  aggravation  when 
there  is  no  aggravation  libelled. 

The  Sheriff— The  offence  now  to  be  tried  is  that  of 
assault.  Assault,  as  we  know,  may  be  of  various  degrees. 
It  may  be  of  such  a  character  as  would  be  met  by  the 
minimum  sentence,  and  it  may  be  a  serious  assault.  I  used 
the  word  "aggravated"  in  the  popular  rather  than  the 
technical  sense.     The  case  to  be  tried  was  not  an  assault 


456  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

with  an  aggravation,  but  an  assault  which  might  or  might 
not  be  of  a  serious  character. 

The  effect  of  this  judgment  was  that  the  charge  of  deforce- 
ment was  struck  out  of  the  hbel  and  the  words  printed  in 
itahcs  were  held  as  deleted. 

The  prisoners  were  then  asked  to  plead  to  the  charge  of 
assault,  and  Mr.  Macdonald  stated  that  their  plea  was  "Not 
Guilty  ". 

THE  SHERIFF-OFFICER  AT  THE  BRAES. 

Angus  Martin,  sheriff-officer,  Portree,  was  the  first  witness  called. 
Examined  by  Mr.  Anderson,  he  said — A  few  days  before  tlie  7th  April 
last  I  received  instructions  to  go  to  the  Braes  for  the  purpose  of  serving 
summonses.  I  went  on  the  7th  April  to  the  Braes,  which  is  about 
eight  miles  from  Portree.  It  is  on  the  estate  of  Lord  Macdonald.  The 
summonses  I  had  were  for  removal,  and  I  had  also  some  small  debt 
summonses  for  arrears  of  rent.  I  left  Portree  about  twelve  o'clock,  ac- 
companied by  Ewen  Robertson,  and  Norman  Beaton.  As  we  were 
going  towards  the  Braes,  my  attention  was  directed  to  two  little  boys, 
who*came  out  on  the  road  and  looked  at  us.  They  ran  away,  but 
returned  a  second  time  with  small  flags  in  their  hands.  Then  they  ran 
towards  the  townships  of  Balmeanach,  Peinachorrain,  and  Gedintailler, 
"When  I  went  to  Gedintailler  I  saw  two  young  men  with  flags.  They 
were  bawling  out  and  waving  the  flags,  the  boys  were  also  waving  their 
flags.     When  I  got  to  Gedintailler  a  great  number  of  persons  came  out. 

The  Sheriff— Were  there  two  flags  ?     Witness— Yes. 

The  Sheriff— After  the  waving  a  great  many  people  came  ?  Witness 
— Yes.     A  crowd  came  from  the  townships. 

The  Sheriff— How  many  would  there  be  ?  Witness — I  should  say 
there  would  be  from  150  to  200,  including  women  and  children. 
(Laughter. ) 

Mr.  Anderson — When  you  say  women  and  children  do  you  also  in- 
clude men  ?    Yes. 

Did  they  surround  you  ?     Yes,  sir,  they  did. 

The  Sheriff — They  came  towards  you  and  surrounded  you  ?  Yes,  my 
lord.     I  had  not  then  gone  off  the  public  road. 

Mr.  Anderson — Did  they  ask  you  anything  ? — They  called  out  to  me 
to  return.     I  had  the  summonses  in  my  pocket,  and  I  took  them  out  and 


TRIAL   OF   THE    BRAES    CROFTERS.  457 

told  them  my  name  was  Angus  Martin,  and  that  I  was  a  sheriff-officer 
from  the  Sheriff.  When  I  took  out  the  summonses  they  rushed  forward 
and  snatched  the  summonses  out  of  my  hand.  This  was  done  by 
Donald  Nicolson. 

Mr.  Macdonald — I  think  we  might  stop  this  line  of  examination 
now. 

Mr.  Anderson — On  what  principle  ? 

Mr.  Macdonald — The  charge  is  one  of  assault  merely,  and  the  evi- 
dence with  which  it  was  intended  to  support  the  charge  of  deforcement  is 
now  being  led  for  the  purpose  as  I  take  it  of  proving  an  aggravation 
which  is  not  libelled. 

The  Sheriff  overruled  the  objection. 

Mr.  Anderson — Were  the  crowd  quiet  at  that  time? — No.  They 
were  very  excited. 

What  was  done  with  the  summonses  ? — They  tried  to  tear  them  up 
and  threw  them  on  the  ground. 

Did  any  person  come  up  to  you  then? — Yes,  Alex.  Finlayson,  who 
had  a  staff  in  his  hand.  He  told  us  that  unless  we  turned  back  we 
would  lose  our  lives,  meaning  myself  and  the  ground-officer. 

Dfd  he  dare  you  to  proceed  further  ? — Yes.  He  was  also  brandishing 
the  stick.  Stones  were  thrown  by  the  crowd,  and  the  whole  five 
prisoners  were  amongst  the  crowd.  I  cannot  say  who  threw  the  stones. 
My  concurrent  was  taken  hold  of  by  Donald  Nicolson,  who  said,  "  Get 

away  you  b ".      He  had  a  hold  of  Robertson  about  the  back,  and 

Robertson  was  afterwards  thrown  to  the  ground.  Nicolson  said 
(evidently  referring  to  the  summonses),  "  Lift  them  now,  and  take  them 

away,   you ".      I  do  not  know  who  it  was  among  the  crowd  who 

threw  Robertson  on  the  ground.  The  women  were  very  busy  at  that 
time.  (Laughter.)  I  saw  James  Nicolson  when  my  concurrent  was  on 
the  ground.      He  rushed  forward  with  his  two  hands  closed,  and  asked 

who  was  that?     On  being  told,  he  said,   "Kill  the  b ".     I  can't 

say  what  Robertson  did  then,  as  I  did  not  like  to  turn  my  back.  I 
wished  to  keep  my  front  to  them.  (Laughter.)  1  think  he  ran  towards 
Portree.  He  was  followed  by  a  large  crowd.  The  crowd  continued  to 
threaten  me.  I  spoke  to  them,  and  tried  to  pacify  them  as  best  I 
could,  though  I  was  very  shaky.  (Laughter.)  I  proceeded  towards 
Portree,  but  the  crowd  followed,  and  continued  to  threaten  me.  Stones 
were  thrown  by  the  crowd  from  Gedintailler  until  I  reached  the  school- 
house  at  Olach,  when  I  got  rid  of  them. 

Mr.  Anderson — Did  they  say  anything  about  you  not  coming  back 
there  again  ? — Yes.     They  told  me  not  to  come  back,  because  I  might 


458  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

be  killed,  and  said  if  it  had  been  any  other  officer  he  would  have  been 
killed. 

Mr.  Anderson — Did  Malcolm  Finlayson  do  anything  ? — He  came  to 
me  in  a  great  hurry  and  said  the  people  wished  to  speak  to  me  ;  and  I 
said  I  would  be  very  glad.  He  asked  me,  If  I  had  any  summonses, 
and  I  told  him  I  had  the  principals  and  copies.  He  snatched  them  out 
of  my  hand,  and  after  trying  to  tear  them  threw  them  on  the  ground. 
The  crowd  were  about  me  at  this  time,  and  one  of  the  prisoners,  Peter 
Macdonald,  said  something  about  burning  the  summonses.  He  said, 
addressing  me,  "unless  you  burn  these  you  will  not  go  home  alive". 
There  were  murmurs  among  the  crowd  and  I  was  asked  to  burn  the 
summonses.  They  tried  to  burn  the  summonses  themselves  first,  and 
tried  to  light  them  at  a  burning  peat,  but  were  unsuccessful.  When  I 
was  threatened  with  my  life,  I  asked  for  a  piece  of  paper,  and  one  of  the 
crowd  handed  me  a  bit  of  the  torn  summons.  I  blew  the  burning  peat 
as  hard  as  I  could  to  make  it  burn  and  I  lighted  the  piece  paper  at  the 
burning  peat,  and  handed  it  to  some  one  in  the  crowd,  crying  "go 
ahead  ".  I  was  induced  to  do  this,  because  I  was  afraid  of  my  life,  as 
I  had  been  told  before  I  went  up  that  I  would  be  killed.  Nothing  else 
indiiced  me  to  burn  the  summonses. 

Mr.  Anderson — You  were  afraid  of  your  life  ? — Yes ;  I  was,  and  I 
was  very  glad  to  get  away.     (Laughter.) 

Between  the  place  where  the  summonses  were  torn  and  where  they 
were  destroyed  was  there  much  stone-throwing? — Yes,  stones  and  clods, 
but  I  was  not  struck  with  them. 

Did  you  see  your  assistants  struck  ? — Well,  I  did  not  like  to  look 
back — (Laughter) — but  I  think  they  must  have  been  getting  some  of 
them. 

When  you  got  home  you  reported  the  matter  to  the  Fiscal  ? — Yes. 

Cross-examined  by  Mr.  Kenneth  Macdonald — What  do  you  do  ? — I 
am  a  sheriff-officer  and  auctioneer. 

Are  you  also  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  Lord  Macdonald's  factor? — I  am. 

Mr.  Macdonald — Anything  else?— I  am  sanitary  inspector,  clerk  to 
the  Local  Authority,  and  clerk  to  the  Road  Trustees. 

Do  you  hold  many  other  offices  ? — I  am  a  crofter.     (Laughter.) 

In  which  capacity  did  you  go  to  the  Braes  ? — I  went  in  my  capacity 
as  sheriff-officer.  I  called  in  to  Mr.  Macdonald,  the  factor's  office,  that 
morning  to  tell  that  I  was  going  away  for  a  time.  I  did  not  get  the 
summonses  against  these  people  signed  as  the  Factor's  clerk.  They 
were  handed  to  me  by  the  Sheriff-Clerk.  I  was  instructed  to  get  them 
from  him  by  Mr.  Macdonald,  and  I  proceeded  to  the  Braes  to  serve 


TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS.         459 

them.     I  was  quite  sober  then,  as  sober  as  I  am  now,  and  I  think  I  am 
sober.     Donald  Nicolson  snatched  the  summonses  from  me. 

Mr.  Macdonald — Will  you  swear  to  that  ? — Yes. 

Who  saw  him  ?— Lots  of  people,  besides  my  concurrent  and  the 
ground- officer.  He  tore  some  of  them  and  did  not  hand  them  back  to 
me.  I  turned  my  back  shortly  afterwards,  but  by  that  time  the  papers 
were  lying  on  the  ground. 

Did  Nicolson  ask  you  for  the  summonses  ?  —No. 

How  did  he  come  to  get  them  from  you  ? — I  did  not  give  them  to 
him. 

How  did  he  come  to  have  them  then? — I  took  them  out  of  my 
pocket  and  said  I  would  give  the  summonses  to  them  as  I  saw  some  of 
the  persons  for  whom  they  were  in  the  crowd. 

Was  the  bundle  tied  up  ? — There  was  an  elastic  band  about  it. 

Did  you  hand  the  summonses  to  anyone  ? — They  were  snatched  out 
of  my  hand  by  Nicolson. 

Do  you  swear  that  he  did  not  hand  them  back  ? — No.  I  swear  that, 
so  far  as  I  can  remember. 

You  must  remember  that  ? 

The  Sheriff — Have  you  any  doubt  about  it  ? — No,  my  lord. 

Mr.  Macdonald— What  became  of  the  summonses?— I  don't  know. 
They  were  lying  on  the  road. 

You  were  not  struck  by  a  stone  ? — No. 

Or  by  anything  else  ? — One  of  the  women,  I  think,  struck  me  with 
some  soft  stuff  on  the  head. 

One  of  the  women  ?— I  think  so. 

Was  that  Mrs.  Flora  Nicolson?     Witness— Which  Mrs.  Nicolson? 

Mr.  Macdonald — You  know  Mrs.  Nicolson  ? — There  are  so  many 
Mrs.  Nicolsons. 

Do  you  know  Widow  Nicolson,  to  whom  you  made  the  statement 
about  the  widows  of  Gedintailler  ? — I  know  two  widows  of  that  name. 

Do  you  remember  a  widow  you  made  remarks  about  before  that  ? — 
There  are  so  many  of  them  I  can't  remember. 

Do  you  know  Widow  Nicolson  of  Gedintailler  to  whom  you  made  a 
statement  about  the  widows  of  Gedintailler.? — I  know  more  than  one 
Widow  Nicolson  in  Gedintailler,  but  I  don't  know  their  first  names. 

The  Sheriff — Did  you  see  any  of  th«se  widows  ? — Yes,  I  saw  Widow 
Nicolson,  Balmeanach. 

By  Mr.  Macdonald — Did  she  strike  you  ? — No,  Sir. 

Did  she  call  upon  the  widows  of  Gedintailler  to  come  round  Martin 
to  get  their  character  ? — No,  I  am  not  sure. 


460  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

Did  you  make  a  statement  about  the  widows  of  Gedintailler  in  Por- 
tree before  that  ? — I  do  not  think  it.  I  would  always  be  speaking  to 
them  about  rents. 

Did  you  make  a  statement  about  the  character  of  the  widows  ? — No, 
no. 

Were  you  rebuked  by  Norman  Beaton  about  the  filthiness  of  your 
language  about  these  women  ? — Filthy  language  !  I  do  not  remember. 
I  was  not  checked  by  Norman  Beaton  or  any  other. 

The  Sheriff  objected  to  this,  but  Mr.  Macdonald  said  he  wished  to 
show  that  the  whole  of  the  disturbance  arose  out  of  an  attack  made  by 
Martin  a  short  time  before,  on  the  character  of  the  ladies  who  formed 
the  major  part  of  the  crowd. 

Mr.  Macdonald — Did  Widow  Nicolson  strike  you  ? — No. 
Did  any  one  strike  you  ? — No,  but  it  was  a  narrow  shave. 
Did  any  one  threaten  to  strike  you? — Yes,  Donald  Finlayson  with  a 
stick. 

And  you  did  not  attempt  to  proceed  further  ? — No,  not  I. 
Did  you  make  any  attempt  to  regain  the  doubles  of  your  summonses  ? 
I  just  let  them  go. 

I  suppose  you  were  glad  to  get  rid  of  them  ?— Oh  no,  not  in  that 
way. 

How  far  had  you  gone  back  towards  Portree  before  you  were  again 
overtaken  by  the  crowd  ? — Well,  I  think  it  would  be  about  three-quar- 
ters of  a  mile.  Malcolm  Finlayson  came  up  to  me  then,  and  I  took  the 
summonses  out  of  my  pocket.  He  snatched  them  from  me,  although  I 
had  a  good  hold  of  them.  He  did  not  return  them,  and  I  heard  nobody 
tell  him  to  return  them  to  me. 

You  said  some  one  tried  to  burn  the  summonses  and  failed  ? — Yes. 
And  then  you  said  "  I  have  a  good  breath,"  did  you  not  ? — I  was 
hearing  murmurs  in  the  crowd  that  they  would  make  me  burn  them,  so 
I  took  a  piece  of  paper  and  set  fire  to  a  bit  of  one  of  the  summonses. 

What  did  you  say  then  ? — I  handed  it  to  some  one  in  the  crowd,  and 
immediately  there  was  a  great  clapping  of  hands. 

Now,  did  you  not  set  fire  to  the  summonses  ?  — No,  I  set  fire  to  a  bit 
of  one  of  them  with  a  piece  of  paper  which  I  lighted  at  a  burning 
peat. 

Did  you  not  bend  down  and  set  fire  to  them  ?— No,  I  am  quite  certain 
I  did  not. 

Did  you  not,  Martin,  in  setting  fire  to  these  summonses  say,  "  Now, 
keep  back,  boys,  and  give  it  air  ?  "—I  did  not  set  fire  to  the  summonses, 
but  after  they  set  fire  to  them  there  was  a  great  cheering. 


TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS.  46 1 

Did  you  call  on  the  crowd  to  keep  back  and  give  it  (the  fire)  air  ? — 
I  may  have  said  stand  back,  but  not  to  give  it  air, 

Now,  why  did  you  say  that  ? — In  order  to  please  them. 

Did  you  make  a  speech  after  that?— Yes,  for  their  kindness,  I 
thanked  them  because  they  had  not  struck  me,  and  as  I  wanted  to  get 
rid  of  their  company. 

Did  anbody  say — "Angus,  boy,  you  need  not  fear?" — Yes.  That 
was  at  the  first  stage  of  the  proceedings,  when  I  said  don't  kill  me. 

Did  you  say  you  were  not  afraid  of  anything  ? — I  said  I  was  there 
independent  of  factor  or  anybody  else. 

Did  you  say  you  were  not  afraid  of  anybody  ? — Well,  I  might  have 
said  so. 

Was  that  true  ? — No,  it  was  not.     (Laughter). 

Did  you  say  that  all  the  people  of  the  Braes  would  not  hurt  you  ? — 
Very  likely. 

And  that  was  not  true  ? — Well,  I  saw  it  was  not  true  at  that  stage. 
(Laughter). 

Did  you  tell  any  more  lies  that  day  ? — Well,  I  do  not  remember.  It 
is  not  my  profession  to  tell  lies. 

You  seem  to  practice  it  occasionally,     (Laughter). 

You  asked  for  a  smoke  ? — -Yes. 

Why  did  you  ask  for  that  ? — I  was  not  a  smoker,  but  I  asked  for  it 
to  please  them. 

How  long  did  you  smoke  ? — For  five  or  six  minutes. 

In  answer  to  further  questions,  witness  said  that  when  leaving  he 
shook  hands  with  a  number  of  the  men  in  the  crowd.  He  denied 
having  advised  the  crowd,  in  his  speech,  to  be  smart  and  hard  about 
Ben-Lee,  and  that  they  would  get  it.  He  had  no  whisky  that  day,  and 
denied  emphatically  that  he  had  lately  been  dismissed  for  drunkenness. 
He  reported  the  case  to  the  Fiscal  when  he  went  home. 

Mr.  Macdonald — Is  this  the  first  criminal  charge  against  the  Braes 
tenants  ? — No. 

There  was  a  charge  of  intimidation,  but  it  broke  down  ? — Yes. 

Did  you  go  to  the  Braes  with  the  intention  of  serving  these  summon- 
ses ? — Yes,  and  I  thought  I  was  safe  in  serving  summonses  in  any  part 
of  Skye  up  to  that  time, 

Is  it  not  the  case  that  you  were  sent  to  the  Braes  with  the  view  of 
getting  up  a  charge  of  deforcement  against  these  people  ? — It  was  not,  sir. 

EVIDENCE  OF  EWEN  ROBERTSON,  PORTREE. 
Ewen  Robertson,  who  spoke  through  Mr.   Whyte  as  interpreter. 


462 


THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 


said — I  am  a  labourer,  residing  at  Portree.  On  the  7th  April  last,  I 
went  as  witness  with  Angus  Martin  to  the  Braes  with  summonses. 
The  ground  officer,  Norman  Beaton,  was  also  with  us.  When  we 
came  to  Gedintailler  we  saw  two  boys,  and  they  had  flags  in  their 
hands  on  the  point  of  a  stick.  They  ran  ahead  of  us.  They  were 
waving  the  flags,  and  ran  away  to  a  knoll  on  the  low  side  of  Gedin- 
tailler. When  we  went  on  we  saw  a  man,  and  he  came  down  where 
we  were.  A  number  of  people  collected,  but  I  do  not  know  how 
many.  The  crowd  surrounded  us.  I  knew  the  people,  but  did  not 
see  but  Donald  and  James  Nicolson.  The  crowd  knocked  me  down 
three  times.  I  was  pushed  down  on  the  road.  The  crowd  was  much 
excited.  I  was  hurt  every  time  they  knocked  me  down.  I  went  off 
when  I  got  on  my  feet.  I  heard  them  saying  to  us  that  they  would 
kill  us.  I  heard  James  Nicolson  saying  so.  I  did  not  hear  Donald. 
After  throwing  the  summonses  down,  Donald  seized  me  by  the  back  of 
the  neck.  Donald  plucked  the  summonses  from  Martin  and  tore  them, 
and  then  seized  me.  He  did  not  throw  me  down,  but  caught  me  by 
the  back  of  the  neck  and  told  me  to  lift  the  pieces,  and  I  said  there  was 
no  use  of  them.  He  told  me  where  the  summonses  were.  I  was 
frightened  at  that  stage,  "and  it  was  not  little".  The  crowd  were 
excited,  and  I  took  myself  away,  and  was  followed  by  about  a  dozen 
youths  throwing  mud  at  me,  I  do  not  know  who  knocked  me  down, 
but  I  was  thrown  down  three  times.  They  also  threw  a  pail  of  water 
at  me,  but  I  don't  know  who  did.  When  I  ran  away  a  great  deal  of 
stones  and  earth  were  thrown  at  me.  Some  of  them  struck  me,  but 
I  was  avoiding  them  as  well  as  I  could.  It  was  only  a  few  youths  who 
followed  me.     The  youths  were  among  the  crowd  first. 

You  did  not  go  back  again  ?— Oh,  indeed,  I  would  not  go.  I  did 
not  see  the  summonses  burned,  and  was  frightened  for  my  life. 

By  Mr.  Macdonald— What  is  your  occupation  ?— Anything  I  can  do 
if  I  get  payment  for  it. 

Are  you  in  the  habit  of  accompanying  Martin  ?— Yes,  and  his  father 
before  him  for  forty  years,  and  others  of  the  same  kind  before  him,  and 
nothing  ever  happened  to  me. 

This  profession  I  take  it  is  not  very  highly  respected  in  the  Island  of 
Skye  ?— I  never  heard  anything  about  it.  Before  that  time  everything 
went  on  quietly,  and  we  did  our  message  and  got  the  best  in  the  house 
before  we  went  away. 

Did  you  see  anything  happen  to  Martin  ?— No  ;  I  did  not.  I  went 
away. 

When  you  were  asked  in  Portree  to  submit  to  precognition  on  behalf 


TRIAL   OF  THE   BRAES   CROFTERS.  463 

of  the  Prisoners,  what  was  your  reply  the  first  time  ? — I  said  who  asked 
that  of  me. 

Did  you  refuse  to  answer  any  question  when  I  asked  you  ? — I  said  I 
had  been  already  examined,  and  until  I  would  go  before  the  judge  I 
would  not  answer  more  questions. 

You  came  the  following  day  and  gave  information.  What  led  to 
the  change  in  your  opinion  ?— Yes ;  I  did  that  when  I  heard  who 
it  was. 

Did  I  not  tell  you  the  first  night  who  it  was  ? — Oh,  yes,  you  did. 
(Laughter). 
What  brought  about  the  change  ?— I  did  not  wish  to  be  examined. 
Did  Martin  tell  you  not  to  answer  any  questions  ? — He  did  not. 
Did  you  see  Martin  that  night  ? — Yes. 
Where  ? — On  the  street  at  Portree. 
At  the  hotel  door  ? — Yes. 

Waiting  for  you  ? — I  do  not  know  whether  he  was  or  not. 
Did  he  tell  you  to  refuse  to  answer  questions  ? — No !  he  did  not  indeed. 
How  did  Donald  Nicolson  come  to  get  hold  of  the  summonses  ? — He 
just  came  over  from  where  he  was  and  took  them  from  him. 

How  long  had  Martin  the  summonses  in  his  hand  before  Nicolson  got 
them  ?— No  time  ;  and  he  said  he  had  come  to  deliver  the  summonses 
with  the  Sheriff's  warrant. 

Did  he  take  them  out  of  his  pocket?— Yes. 

How  long  was  that  before  Nicolson  got  them  ? — I  cannot  say  what 
time.     I  had  no  watch. 

Did  Martin  offer  the  men  the  summonses  ?— I  did  not  hear  him.  The 
people  would  not  take  them  from  him. 

Then  he  did  offer  them  ?— He  did  not  offer  them  at  that  time. 
Why  had  he  the  summonses  in  his  hand  ? — There  were  some  there  for 
whom  the  summonses  were. 

My  question  was,  why  had  Martin  the  summonses  in  his  hand  ? — Oh, 
God  !     How  could  I  know  what  they  were  in  his  hand  for. 
Did  he  offer  them  ?— He  did  not  require  to  offer  them. 
How  long  were  you  beside  Martin  at  this  time?— I  was  not  long 
when  I  was  thrust  away  by  the  people. 

Did  you  know  all  the  people  ?— I  did  not  know  them  all. 
Had  they  anything  on  their  heads  ?— The  women  had  handkerchiefs 
on  their  heads,  but  I  do  not  know  was  it  to  protect  them  from  the  sun 
or  hide  them. 

Why  did  you  not  lift  up  the  summonses?— Why  should  I  lift  them 
when  they  were  in  pieces. 


464  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

Who  tore  them  ? — Nicolson  did. 

Did  you  see  him  ? — I  will  swear  that. 

Did  you  see  the  destruction  of  the  other  summonses  ? 

Witness  (before  interpretation) — No. 

Mr.  Macdonald — This  witness  had  good  English  a  week  ago. 
(Laughter). 

Did  you  see  any  person  touch  Martin  ? — No,  I  did  not  see  them. 

Or  Beaton  ? — No,  I  do  not,  but  they  might  have  killed  him  for  all  I 
know. 

You  ran  home  ? — I  ran  back  as  fast  as  I  could. 

Did  any  of  them  touch  you  ? — I  am  not  aware  of  any  of  them  touch- 
ing me. 

EVIDENCE  OF  NORMAN  BEATON. 

Norman  Beaton,  ground-ofhcer,  said — I  reside  at  Shullisheddar.  I 
accompanied  the  sheriff-officer  on  17th  April  last.  I  went  to  point  out 
the  places.  He  had  summonses  to  serve  at  Penachorrain,  Balmeanach, 
and  Gedintailler.  On  coming  near  Gedintailler  we  saw  two  boys,  and 
they  ran  away.  We  afterwards  saw  a  man  with  a  flag  waving  it. 
They  came  and  asked  where  we  were  going,  and  Martin  said  he  was 
going  to  serve  summonses  on  them.  He  took  the  summonses  out  of 
his  pocket.  Alexander  Finlayson  said  he  would  not  allow  them  to  go 
on.  He  said  lifting  his  staff,  "You  won't  go  any  further  ".  He  said, 
"Surely  you  all  know  me,  I  came  here  by  order  of  the  Sheriff". 
Donald  Nicolson  took  the  summonses  out  of  Martin's  hands  and  threw 
them  on  the  road,  but  I  could  not  say  who  tore  them.  I  saw  them  in 
bits  on  the  road.  The  people  were  gathering.  There  was  about  150 
altogether — men,  women,  and  children  and  girls.  I  saw  them  all  in  the 
crowd.  Martin  I  and  returned  back  towards  Portree.  Robertson  turned 
first,  and  after  he  left  I  saw  him  knocked  down  in  the  road.  The 
crowd  followed  us  when  we  turned  back  to  Portree,  and  some  of  them 
were  throwing  stones  and  clods  at  us,  near  Gedintailler  on  the  road. 
Not  many  of  them  struck  me.  Near  Murchison's  schoolhouse,  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  place  where  the  summonses  were  des- 
troyed, the  crowd  followed  us,  and  amongst  them  were  James  Nicolson, 
Peter  Macdonald,  and  Malcolm  Finlayson.  They  were  very  much 
excited,  and  using  threats.  They  ran  after  us,  and  asked  if  we  had 
any  more  summonses.  Martin  said  he  had  the  principal  summonses  to 
bring  them  back  to  Portree.  He  took  them  out  of  his  pocket  and 
showed  them,  and  Malcolm  Finlayson  snatched  them  out  of  his  hand 


TRIAL    OF    THE    BRAES    CROFTERS.  465 

and  threw  them  in  the  road.  They  were  not  torn,  and  I  could  not  say 
if  they  were  afterwards  torn.  1  saw  peat  lying  beside  them ;  it  was 
alive.  Martin  stood  on  the  road,  and  I  stood  nearer  Portree.  I  saw 
smoke,  but  could  not  say  if  the  summonses  were  burning.  I  was 
alarmed  but  not  hurt,  and  afraid  to  go  on. 

Cross-examined  by  Mr.  Macdonald — In  what  capacity  did  you  go 
with  Martin  to  the  Braes  ? — I  think  I  went  as  ground-officer — as  Lord 
Macdonald's  servant. 

You  did  not  go  as  Martin's  concurrent  ? — I  was  sent  there  by  Lord 
Macdonald's  factor,  by  whom  I  was  employed.  Martin  was  not  to 
pay  me. 

Were  the  crowd  principally  women  and  children  ? — Yes,  and  men. 

Were  they  principally  women  and  children  ? — No  answer.  Were 
there  more  women  and  children  than  there  were  men  ?  I  believe  there 
were  more  men.  To  make  three  shares  of  them,  I  believe  there  were 
more  men.      More  than  one  third  were  men. 

You  said  that  Robertson  was  knocked  down  by  some  women  and 
men  ? — Yes. 

He  had  gone  away  from  the  crowd  at  that  time  ? — Yes. 

When  Martin  came  up  first  with  the  summonses,  how  was  it  he  hap- 
pened to  take  them  out  of  his  pocket  ? — They  asked  him  where  he  was 
going,  and  what  brought  him  there,  and  he  took  the  summonses  out  of 
his  pocket.  He  told  them  it  was  for  that  purpose  he  came.  He  kept 
the  summonses  in  his  hand. 

Close  to  his  body  ? — He  held  them  out  a  little.  He  said,  "  Here  they 
are".  Donald  Nicolson  then  took  them.  He  was  not  very  close  to 
them,  just  past  him  a  yard  or  two. 

Was  not  this  what  took  place  ?  Did  not  Nicolson  put  out  his  hand 
and  take  them? — He  was  not  so  close  as  that.— Was  Martin  offering 
them  at  the  time  ? 

The  Procurator-Fiscal — Martin  did'nt  say  that.  You  are  putting 
words  in  the  witness's  mouth  he  never  used. 

Mr.  Macdonald — If  I  put  a  question,  it  is  not  the  part  of  the  Pro- 
curator-Fiscal to  instruct  his  own  witness  what  to  say  in  answer  to  it. 

Cross-examination  continued — What  were  Martin's  words  ?— He 
said,  "Here  they  are".  I  swear  he  did  not  say,  "Here  they  are  to 
you  ".     I  will  swear  to  that. 

Were  they  pointed  in  the  direction  of  Nicolson  ? — They  were  pointed 
in  the  way  of  the  crowd  as  well  as  Nicolson.  He  was  along  with  the 
crowd. 

And  he  took  the  summonses  ? — Yes. 

30 


466         •  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

Did  he  offer  them  back  to  Martin  ? — I  did  not  see  that.  I  was  close 
to  Martin  all  the  time  and  I  did  not  see  that.     I  was  very  close  behind. 

Might  they  have  been  offered  to  Martin  without  you  seeing  it  ? — 
They  could  not,  and  I  did  not  see  them  offered.  He  tore  the  sum- 
monses.    I  could  not  see  Nicolson  put  them  on  the  ground. 

Were  they  torn  then  ? — No,  they  were  not  torn  when  he  put  them  on 
the  ground. 

How  long  after  you  first  saw  them  on  the  ground  did  you  see  them 
torn  ? — I  could  not  say.      It  was  some  little  time. 

Did  you  see  them  in  anybody's  hand  between  the  time  you  saw  them 
on  the  ground  untorn  and  when  you  saw  them  torn  ? — No. 

The  whole  crowd  was  walking  over  them.  I  cannot  say  if  that 
would  account  for  the  tearing  of  them.  The  band  which  bound  the 
summonses  was  off  when  I  saw  them  on  the  road.  It  was  torn  off 
about  the  time  they  were  dropped  upon  the  road.  Nicolson  took  the 
band  off  and  threw  it  upon  the  road.  By  the  time  I  went  down  to  the 
school-house,  I  was  struck  with  stones  and  clods  by  some  women — not 
by  men — in  the  crowd. 

Did  you  hear  anything  said  by  Mrs.  Nicolson  there  as  to  the  character 
of  the  women  of  Gedintailler  ? — I  did  not. 

Did  not  you  hear  her  say,  "Now,  come,  women  of  Gedintailler,  and 
hear  your  character  from  Angus  Martin  ?  " — I  did.  I  heard  her  also 
say  that  he  should  burn  the  summonses.  I  heard  her  say  that  he  was 
saving  some  words  to  her  in  Portree  about  the  character  of  the  women 
of  Gedintailler.     She  told  words  to  me  herself  at  that  time. 

At  what  time  ?— At  Olach.  Not  in  the  presence  of  Martin.  It  was 
said  to  me  near  Murchison's  school-house.  Martin  was  not  there  at  the 
time. 

She  complained  of  the  language  Martin  had  used? — I  cannot  remem- 
ber what  words  he  had  used.  It  occurred  after  the  meeting  of  the 
Disaster  Committee  in  Portree.  I  did  not  hear  anything  about  the 
language  till  she  told  me  there  that  day. 

Is  it  not  a  fact  that  you  and  Lachlan  Ross  checked  him  for  the 
language  in  Portree  ? — I  can't  remember  of  it.  Was  it  filthy  language? 
— Yes,  very  fihhy. 

And  she  referred  to  it  this  day  at  Gedintailler  ? — Yes. 
After  you  got  down  to  near  Murchison's  school-house  the  principal 
summonses  were  produced  by  Martin  ? — Yes.  He  was  asked  if  he  had 
any  more  of  them,  and  he  took  them  out  of  his  pocket.  He  caught 
them  in  his  hand  and  told  me  to  bring  them  back  to  Portree.  He  did 
not  offer  them  to  Malcolm  Finlayson.     He  said,  "I  have  them  here, 


TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS.  467 

and  I  have  to  take  them  back  to  Portree  ".  I  did  not  hear  him  ask  for 
a  match.  I  heard  some  one  in  the  crowd  ask  for  a  match  to  burn  them. 
I  did  not  see  any  weapons  in  their  hands. 

No  sticks  or  anything  of  that  sort  ? — No. 

I  heard  Martin  asking  for  a  smoke  from  some  of  the  crowd  who  were 
about.     I  think  he  got  a  smoke.     I  believe  Martin  was  afraid. 

And  yet  he  asked  for  a  smoke  1 — Yes. 

How  long  did  he  stand  smoking? — I  could  not  say.  I  saw  him  on 
the  road  and  some  of  the  crowd  speaking  to  him.  It  was  about  that 
time  Mrs.  Nicolson  came,  and  there  were  some  women  with  her. 

She  wanted  Martin  to  repeat  what  he  had  said  at  Portree  ? — I  could 
not  say. 

Did  you  hear  Martin  make  a  speech  ? — No,  sir. 

Did  you  observe  her  speaking  to  the  crowd — can  you  tell  us  what  was 
said  ? — No.  I  could  not  say  how  many  he  shook  hands  with.  There 
was  not  many  about  that  time.  I  was  struck  in  Gedintailler  with 
stones  and  clods  by  the  women.  They  did  not  hurt  me.  I  was  struck 
at  Olach  with  stones  and  clods  again,  but  they  did  not  hurt  me.  Some 
women  were  throwing  them. 

Did  one  of  the  men  wipe  off  the  mark  of  a  clod  on  Martin's  clothes 
with  the  sleeve  of  his  coat  ? — I  saw  that  done  to  Martin.  A  woman  be- 
fore that  had  taken  a  handful  of  turf  and  rubbed  it  on  his  jacket. 

Did  one  of  the  men  come  and  wipe  it  off  with  his  sleeve  ? — One  of 
the  men  of  the  crowd  came  and  wiped  off  the  mark  with  his  coat. 

Mr.  Macdonald  here  turned  to  consult  his  notes,  and  witness,  who 
was  apparently  getting  rather  uneasy,  hurriedly  left  the  box.  Mr.  Mac- 
donald, without  turning  fully  round,  put  the  question,  ' '  Did  Martin 
make  a  speech, "  but  getting  no  answer  he  found  to  his  surprise  that  the 
box  was  empty,  and  the  witness  escaping  rapidly  by  the  door  of  the 
Court-room.  He  was  recalled  amidst  much  laughter,  and,  having 
answered  a  few  questions,  was  allowed  to  go. 

ESTATE  MANAGEMENT  IN  SKYE. 

EVIDENCE  OF  MR.  MACDONALD,  FACTOR  FOR  LORD  MACDONALD. 

Alexander  Macdonald,  factor,  examined — I  am  a  solicitor  at  Portree, 
and  act  as  factor  for  Lord  Macdonald.  In  the  middle  of  April,  I  in- 
structed summonses  against  Donald  Nicolson,  Balmeanach ;  Alex. 
Finlayson,  do.  ;  Samuel  Nicolson,  do.  ;  John  Nicolson,  do.  ;  James 
Matheson,   Widow  C.   Matheson,  Widow  C.  Nicolson,  Widow  Mac- 


468  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

kinnon,  John  Stuart,  and  Donald  Macwilliam.     I  instructed  Martin  to 
go  and  serve  the  summonses,  and  he  proceeded  to  do  so. 

Cross-examined  by  Mr.   Macdonald — Is  Martin  your  clerk? — Yes, 
and  has  been  so  for  a  long  time. 

How  long  has  he  been  so  ? — I  think  he  entered  my  office  first,  at  the 
very  beginning,  and  then  he  vv'ent  to  Glasgow,  and  came  back,  and  has 
been  with  me  for  the  last  eight  or  ten  years. 
From  the  beginning  of  what  ? — Of  his  career. 

How  many  years  will  that  be  ? — I  cannot  tell  you,  Mr.  Macdonald. 
He  was  in  your  office  before  he  became  sheriff-officer  ?— Yes. 
Is  he  your  clerk  still  ? — Yes. 

Was  he  absent  for  a  time  recently  ? — Well,  I  think  he  was. 
What  was  that  for  ? — I  cannot  tell  you.     I  was  away  (a  pause).     Let 
me  see  (another  pause).     I  think  I  was  away  in  the  south  somewhere, 

and  when  I  came  home  (a  pause) 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald — Oh,  don't  be  afraid — (laughter). 

Witness— I  am  not  afraid  at  all.     I  beg  to  assure  you 

Mr.  Macdonald — Well,  go  on  then. 

Witness — I  was  absent  from  the  office  lately,  and,  during  my  absence 
from  home,  I  understand  he  was  absent. 

The  Sheriff— What  was  the  cause  of  the  absence  ? 
Witness — I  don't  know.     He  was  absent  when  I  returned.     I  think 
he  was  absent  for  a  fortnight,  or  nine  or  ten  days. 

Did  you  enquire  what  was  the  cause  of  his  absence  ?— No,  I  did  not 
enquire  particularly. 

The  Sheriff^Did  you  not  enquire  at  all  ? — Yes. 

By  Mr.  Macdonald — And  what  was  the  result  of  your  enquiries  ? — 
I  heard  a  suspicion  cast  on  him  by  some  people  that  he  was  rather  un- 
steady, but  I  do  not  think  it  is  true  at  all. 
Did  you  dismiss  him  ? — No,  certainly  not. 

You  took  him  back  whenever  he  came  ? — I  forget  the  circumstances, 
I  was  not  prepared  to  speak  to  this.     I  took  him  back. 

And  made  little  enquiry  ?— I  asked  of  his  mother  and  wife,  but  I 
don't  remember  much  about  it, 

Martin  is  your  clerk  and  a  sheriff-officer.  Does  he  hold  other  offices  ? 
— He  is  clerk  to  the  Road  Trustees  and  collector  of  rates  for  the  parish 
of  Snizort,  about  five  miles  from  Portree,  and  collector  of  poor  rates  for 
Bracadale,  nine  miles  away.  I  do  not  recollect  if  he  is  collector  for  any 
other  parish. 

How  many  proprietors  are  you  factor  for  besides  Lord  Macdonald  I 


TRIAL   OF   THE   BRAES   CROFTERS.  469 

— Macleod  of  Macleod,  Mr.  Macallister  of  Strathaird,  Mr.  Macdonald  of 
Skaebost,  and  Major  Fraser  of  Kilmuir. 

I  suppose  that  is  the  greater  part  of  Skye  ? — Yes,  decidedly. 

And  in  addition  to  this  you  are  also  a  landed  proprietor  yourself? — 
Well,  I  believe  I  am.     (Laughter). 

You  are  also  a  solicitor  and  bank-agent  ? — Yes. 

And  1  believe  you  are  agent  for  Captain  Macdonald  of  Waternish  ? — 
Oh,  I  have  a  number  of  appointments  besides  these,  and  lots  of  clients. 

And  your  influence  extends  all  over  the  Isle  of  Skye? — I  do  not  know 
about  my  influence,  but  I  hold  the  positions  mentioned. 

You  are  distributor  of  stamps?— Yes. 

And  Clerk  of  the  Peace  for  the  Skye  district? — Yes,  Depute  under 
Mr.  Andrew  ilacdonald.     (Laughter). 

Any  other  offices?— I  may  have  some,  but  I  do  not  remember  any 
more.  I  do  not  see  vs^hat  right  you  have  to  ask  these  questions.  Do 
you  mean  to  assess  my  income  ?  I  will  tell  the  Assessor  of  Taxes  when 
he  asks  me,  but  you  have  no  right  to  inquire. 

You  are  also  a  coal-merchant  ? — I  am  not  aware,  Mr.  Macdonald. 
(Laughter). 

And  how  many  School  Boards  and  Parochial  Boards  are  you  a 
member  of? — Several. 

The  Sheriff — I  don't  want  to  interrupt  you,  but  what  has  this  to  do 
with  the  case  ? 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald — To  show  that  this  gentleman  is  the  King  of  Skye 
— the  uncrowned  King  of  the  Island — (laughter) — an  absolute  monarch 
who  punishes  a  murmur  by  transportation  to  the  mainland.  There  are 
some  other  offices  which  you  hold  in  Skye  ?     Witness — Yes. 

Mr.  Macdonald — In  point  of  fact,  you  and  Martin  hold  between  you 
pretty  much  all  the  valuable  offices  in  Skye  except  that  of  parish 
minister  ? — (great  laughter).  Witness  (warmly) — Not  all,  sir  ;  not  at 
all — (laughter). 

Did  the  people  of  the  Braes  petition  you  about  Benlee  ?— They  lodged 
a  document,  but  I  do  not  call  it  a  petition.  I  call  it  a  demand  or 
ultimatum.  The  witness  read  the  document,  which  was  to  the  effect 
that  the  petitioners  "demand"  the  grazings  of  Benlee,  otherwise  they 
would  not  pay  their  rents. 

INIr.  K.  Macdonald — These  people  of  the  Braes  are  not  very  well 
educated  ?     Witness — Some  of  them  are. 

What  did  you  do  with  that  petition  when  you  got  it? — I  kept  it. 

Did  you  send  it  to  Lord  Macdonald  ? — No,  but  I  wrote  to  Lord 
Macdonald  about  it. 


470  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

Did  you  make  any  inquiry  on  the  spot  as  to  the  grievances  of  these 
people  ? — I  understood  what  they  meant  by  the  petition  itself. 

Did  you  make  any  inquiry  to  ascertain  if  their  grievances  could  be 
substantiated  ? — Yes,  I  made  inquiries  of  a  number  of  people. 

Did  you  go  to  the  place  to  make  the  inquiries  ? — No,  I  do  not  require 
to  do  that,  as  I  know  the  place  perfectly  well. 

Is  the  statement  which  they  made  true  or  not  ? — I  believe  that  the 
demand  for  the  exclusive  possession  of  Benlee  is  not  a  well  founded 
claim. 

The  Sheriff — That  is  irrelevant ;  we  need  not  go  into  that  matter. 

Mr.  Anderson  was  of  the  same  opinion,  but  would  not  object. 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald — If  your  lordship  wishes  me  to  stop,  I  will  do  so. 
I  am  probably  outside  of  the  immediate  issue  now,  but  I  am  led  on  by 
the  hope  that  if  an  explanation  is  now  made  of  the  position  taken  up 
by  Lord  Macdonald  and  his  factor  in  relation  to  the  demands  of  the 
prisoners  and  tlieir  neighbours  in  Skye,  an  arrangement  may  be  come 
to  which  will  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the  events  which  have  led  to  the 
present  trial. 

The  Sheriff — If  any  opposition  was  taken  by  the  prosecution,  I  would 
stop  this  course  of  examination  at  once. 

Mr.  Anderson — I  do  not  object,  my  lord. 

The  Sheriff— I  do  not  see  what  bearing  it  has  on  the  case. 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald — Did  these  people  refuse  to  pay  their  rents  until 
the  grievances  complained  of  were  inquired  into  and  redressed? — Until 
they  got  Benlee.  I  sent  them  circulars  and  letters,  copies  of  which  are 
produced. 

You  state  in  the  printed  letter  that  they  have  each  65  acres  arable 
land,  with  a  right  to  keep  5  cows,  20  sheep,  and  I  horse  ? — Yes. 

Did  you  ascertain  the  accuracy  of  that  statement  before  you  made  it  ? 
— I  have  only  acted  as  factor  for  two  and  a-half  years,  and  that  state- 
ment regarding  the  townships  was  given  to  me  shortly  after  I  entered, 
and  I  think  it  is  quite  correct. 

Are  you  not  aware  now  that,  if  these  tenants  would  put  all  these 
cattle  and  sheep  on  the  ground,  they  would  die  from  starvation  ? — I  am 
not  aware  of  anything  of  the  sort,  sir,  but  we  are  quite  prepared  to 
look  into  that.     The  request  was  never  civilly  made. 

Did  a  deputation  of  these  people  come  to  you  in  November  last  ? — 
There  was  a  deputation  of  their  sons,  but  there  were  no  tenants  except 
one. 

An  old  man  of  85  ? — I  do  not  think  he  was  85.  I  told  them  the 
tenants  must  come  themselves,  and  not  their  sons.     I  saw  this  man 


TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS.         47 1 

Nicolson,  but  I  do  not  think  Nicolson  came  into  my  office,   though  I 
met  him-  on  the  street. 

Was  there  a  man  Angus  Stewart  there  ?— Well,  I  don't  remem- 
ber. 

Was  not  Angus  Stewart,  a  tenant  of  Lord  Macdonald  for  the  last  65 
years,  their  principal  speaker  ?— You  refer  to  a  different  occasion. 

When  was  that  2— When  they  came  arm-in-arm  and  shoulder-to- 
shouider  with  a  piper  at  their  head.     (Laughter). 

Is  it  not  the  case  that  they  were  met  by  this  piper,  who  plays  for 
money  in  Portree  ?— On  the  first  occasion  there  was  no  piper,  but  on 
the  second  occasion  they  came  with  this  piper,  and  would  scarcely  listen 
to  me.  They  never  came  quietly  to  me.  (Laughter).  The  time  they 
came  with  a  piper  they  entered  the  rent  collection  room  and  would 
scarcely  listen  to  me.  I  called  over  their  names  to  see  I  had  nobody 
but  tenants  to  deal  with. 

What  was  the  object  of  this,  Mr.  Macdonald  ?— I  told  you  before  that 
it  was  to  ascertain  that  I  had  nobody  but  tenants  to  deal  with. 

No  intimidation  in  it  ? — I  do  not  believe  the  men  were  ever  afraid  of 
me,  nor  that  they  are  so  yet.  (Laughter).  I  do  not  see  why  they 
should  be  so  unless  they  were  doing  wrong. 

Did  you  prefer  a  criminal  charge  against  some  of  these  men  before 
this  charge  was  made  ? — Two  widows 

Mr.  Kenneth  Macdonald — Never  mind  the  widows. 

Witness  (excitedly)— You  have  asked  me  a  question,  and  I  must 
answer  it. 

The  Sheriff — Did  you  make  a  criminal  charge  against  these  people  ? 
Witness — I  cannot  answer  no  or  yes,  but  two  widows  came  to  me 
weeping,  saying  they  had  been  intimidated  bj'  a  number  of  men  in  the 
Braes  for  paying  their  rents,  and  1  went  with  these  two  widows  to  the 
Fiscal. 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald — Was  there  a  charge  of  intimidation  made  to  the 
Fiscal  ? 

The  Sheriff — He  says  the  two  old  ladies 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald — They  are  widows,  my  lord,  but  not  old.  (Laugh- 
ter.) 

The  Sheriff — The  question  is  a  simple  one.     Did  you  or  did  you  not? 

Witness — They  made  a  charge  of  intimidation. 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald— But  the  charge  fell  through? — Not  so  far  as  I 
know. 

When  did  you  hear  the  last  of  it  ? — I  do  not  know  if  I  have  heard 
the  last  of  it  yet.     (Laughter. ) 


472  THE    HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES, 

Did  you  hear  that  Crown  Counsel  had  ordered  no  further  proceedings 
to  be  taken  on  that  charge  ? — Yes. 

Was  it  after  that  you  caused  the  summonses  of  removing  to  be  pre- 
pared?— Yes,  but  the  one  thing  has  no  connection  with  the  other. 
There  mav  have  been  a  coincidence  of  time,  but  there  was  no  relation 
between  the  two  cases.  The  summonses  were  for  ejectment  for  non- 
payment of  rent. 

Was  it  not  the  fact  that  Martin  arranged  to  be  deforced  before  he  left 
Portree  ?— Certainly  not  ;  he  did  not  expect  it.     (Laughter.) 

The  Sheriff— Is  Martin  a  native  of  the  Braes  ? — No  ;  he  is  a  native 
of  Portree.     His  people  belong  to  Kilmuir. 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald — Is  it  your  practice  to  issue  summonses  of  re- 
moving that  you  have  no  intention  to  enforce? — No,  of  course  I  do  not 
enforce  them  if  the  cause  for  which  they  were  issued  has  been  removed. 

Question  repeated  ? — No,  but  they  may  not  be  followed  out,  because 
if  the  rent  be  paid  there  is  nothing  more  about  it. 

Then  you  intend  to  evict  these  people  ? — Certainly,  if  they  do  not 
pay  their  rent,  or  show  good  reason  why  they  should  not. 

Had  you  Lord  Macdonald's  authority  for  evicting  these  people  ? — I 
did  not  want  to  evict  them,  nor  do  I  intend  to  evict  them  if  they  pay 
their  rent. 

Mr.  Macdonald — Kindly  answer  my  question.  Had  you  Lord  Mac- 
donald's authority  for  what  you  did  ?— I  cannot  give  you  a  more  direct 
answer.  1  believe  I  said  something  to  Lord  Macdonald  that  it  would 
be  necessary  to  do  something  to  the  ringleaders.  I  did  not  ask  for  any 
instructions  to  evict,  but  said  it  would  be  necessary  to  warn  them  out 
for  not  paying  their  rents. 

Had  you  Lord  Macdonald's  authority  for  evicting  these  people  ? — I 
did  not  require  his  authority  for  that. 

The  Sheriff — Were  your  instructions  special  or  general  ? — I  had  no 
special  instructions,  as  I  did  not  ask  for  them. 

Mr,  Anderson — ^When  you  got  the  petition,  Mr.  Macdonald,  did  you 
write  to  say  that  they  would  get  the  hill  according  to  the  value  of  the 
present  day,  and  expressed  your  wish  to  have  it  valued  by  an  experienced 
person,  and  sent  to  Lord  Macdonald  for  his  consideration  ? 

Witness — Yes,  but  I  got  no  answer  from  them. 

Did  you  also  offer  them  Benlee  ?— I  offered  them  Benlee  if  they  would 
pay  for  it,  and  would  give  a  lease  of  it  to  any  tacksman  who  would 
come  forward. 

The  Sheriff— That  will  do. 

Witness — (sharply)— Are  you  done,   Mr.   Macdonald?     (Laughter.) 


TRIAL   OF   THE    BRAES    CROFTERS.  473 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald — Oh,  yes. 

Prisoners'  Declarations. 

The  prisoners'  declarations  were  then  read.     They  are  as  follows  : — 

Donald  Nicolson,  Balmeanach,  sixty-six  'years  of  age,  declared — I 
know  Angus  Martin,  Portree,  and  I  know  that  he  is  a  sheriff-officer. 
I  also  know,  but  only  by  sight,  Ewen  Robertson,  residing  at  Lisigarry, 
Portree.  I  also  know  Norman  Beaton,  ground-officer,  Portree.  I  saw 
the  three  of  them  at  Braes  about  a  fortnight  ago.  They  were  on  the 
township  of  Gedintailler,  and  there  was  a  crowd  about  them.  We  were 
hearing  that  they  were  going  up  with  summonses  of  removing.  I  was 
in  the  crowd,  and  I  saw  papers  in  Martin's  hand.  I  could  not  tell  what 
they  were. 

Did  you  take  the  papers  out  of  his  hands  % — He  knows  himself. 
There  were  plenty  of  witnesses  if  they  saw  me  do  so.  I  did  not  catch 
hold  of  Ewen  Robertson  or  touch  any  one  there  ;  neither  did  I  throw 
anything,  nor  was  I  swearing.  I  asked  Robertson  to  lift  up  the  papers 
which  were  at  the  time  scattered  on  the  road. 

James  Nicolson,  son-in-law,  residing  with  the  above  Donald  Nicol- 
son, is  30  years  of  age.  He  knew  Martin  to  be  a  sheriff-officer,  and  he 
also  knew  Robertson  and  Beaton.  He  saw  the  three  of  them  at  Ged- 
intailler on  the  occasion  in  question.  The  Declaration  continued — 
There  was  a  crowd  about  them  when  I  saw  them.  I  joined  the  crowd. 
I  knew  that  it  was  with  summonses  of  removing  they  had  come. 
When  I  joined  the  crowd  I  did  not  cry  out  to  kill  Slartin.  I  have  no 
recollection  of  saying,  or  hearing  said,  that  even  with  the  support  of  the 
Volunteers  no  one  would  dare  to  come  to  Braes  to  put  us  out.  I  saw 
Martin  having  papers.  I  did  not  know  what  the  papers  were,  but  I 
thought  they  were  the  summonses.  I  saw  Martin  handing  out  the 
papers,  and  some  one  taking  them  out  of  his  hand,  and  I  afterwards 
saw  them  on  the  road  torn.  I  did  not  see  Ewen  Robertson  down  on 
the  ground.  I  saw  a  crowd  of  boys  and  girls  after  him  along  the  road. 
They  were  saying  that  I  was  cursing  and  swearing,  but  I  was  not,  and  I 
did  not  put  a  hand  on  any  one  that  day  or  on  the  papers  which  the 
sheriff-officer  had.  I  did  not  think  there  was  any  harm  in  anything  I 
saw  done. 

Peter  Macdonald,  Balmeanach,  aged  48,  and  married,  said  he  heard 
that  Martin  was  a  sheriff-officer.  He  saw  Martin  and  Beaton  at  the 
Braes,  but  not  Robertson.  He  was  not  present  when  Martin  arrived. 
The  Declaration  continued— We  were  thinking  it  was  with  the  sum- 
monses of  removing  he  (Martin)  came.     There  was  a  crowd  gathered 


47  4  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

about  him  when  he  arrived  of  about  150  women  and  children.  I  did  not 
see  papers  with  him  until  I  saw  them  on  the  road  at  Olach.  I  saw  them 
before  they  were  burnt.  The  crowd  called  out — that  is,  the  women 
called  out — that  Martin  and  his  assistants  would  require  to  burn  them 
themselves.  I  did  not  say  to  Martin  that  he  would  be  made  to  burn 
them  himself  It  was  at  Olach  that  I  joined  the  crowd.  I  have  nothing 
further  to  say  but  that  Martin  burned  the  papers  himself  The  place 
Olach  above  alluded  to  is  about  half  a-mile  from  Gedentailler,  in  the 
direction  of  Portree. 

Alexander  Finlayson,  Balmeanach,  70  years  of  age,  declared  that  he 
did  not  know  until  Martin  arrived  that  he  had  come  to  the  Braes  to  serve 
the  summonses.  He  was  not  present  when  Martin  arrived,  and  he  saw 
him  first  among  a  number  of  men,  women,  and  children  at  Gedentailler. 
He  did  not  know  that  Robertson  was  helping  Martin.  The  Declaration 
continued— I  told  him  to  return  and  burn  them.  At  this  time  there  was 
some  torn  papers  scattered  about  the  road,  and  it  was  to  these  papers  I 
referred.  The  papers  were  torn  and  on  the  ground  before  I  joined  the 
crowd.  I  did  not  know  that  these  papers  were  summonses  of  removing, 
but  some  of  the  people  were  saying  that  they  were.  I  did  not  know  that 
Martin  was  going  with  summonses  to  us  that  day,  but  we  were  hearing 
a  rumour  that  we  were  to  be  warned.  I  did  not  dare  Martin  to  proceed 
further  with  his  summonses  that  day.  I  had  a  staff  in  my  hand.  I  was 
not  flourishing  it.  I  did  not  hear  Martin  say  that  he  had  the  Sheriff's 
warrant  for  serving  the  summonses  that  day.  I  thought  we  ought  to  get 
justice  concerning  the  matter  in  dispute,  which  was  the  hill  pasture  of 
Benlee,  which  we  ever  had.  When  had  you  the  pasture  ? — We  had 
it  ever  in  connection  with  our  town-ships.  It  was  taken  from  us  about 
sixteen  years  ago  by  bad  rulers.  We  have  not  possessed  it  for  the  last 
seventeen  years.  It  was  let  to  another  tenant.  I  and  my  father  before 
me,  and  my  grandfather,  great-grandfather,  and  great-great-grandfather, 
have  been  living  in  the  township  of  Balmeanach,  and  the  hill  of  Ben- 
lee was  all  that  time  connected  with  our  township. 

Alex.  Finlayson,  son  of  and  residing  with  the  said  Alex.  Finlayson, 
Balmeanach,  is  married,  and  about  thirty  years  of  age.  He  saw  Martin 
at  the  Braes  on  the  day  in  question.  The  Declaration  continued — I  did 
not  know  then  that  Martin  was  a  sheriff-officer.  I  only  knew  that  he 
was  the  factor's  clerk  when  I  saw  him  at  the  Braes  on  that  occasion. 
Martin  had  a  bunch  of  papers.  I  did  not  know  what  the  papers  were, 
but  he  told  us  they  were  summonses,  some  of  removing  and  some  of 
rent.  I  did  not  take  these  papers  out  of  Martin's  hands,  but  after 
seeing  them  in  his  hands,  I  saw  them  torn  and  scattered  on  the  road,     I 


idk^ilkiaHHMnMMMMBM^MlMIMMMHHaMHMliM^ 


TRIAL   OF   THE    BRAES    CROFTERS.  475 

saw  some  of  the  papers  which  Martin  had  burnt  at  Olach  that  day,  but 
these  were  different  papers  from  those  I  saw  scattered  on  the  road  at 
Gedentailler.  It  was  I  who  took  the  papers  which  were  burnt  at  Olach 
out  of  Martin's  hand.  He  stretched  out  his  hand  holding  these  papers, 
and  I  took  them  out  of  his  hands.  Somebody  said  I  should  not  take 
them,  and  I  offered  them  back  to  him,  but  he  would  not  take  them,  and 
I  let  them  fall  on  the  road.  At  this  time  there  were  a  good  many 
people  about  Martin,  and  some  of  them  cried  out  to  burn  the  papers, 
but  I  am  not  sure  whether  I  said  this  or  not.  Martin  then  asked  for  a 
match,  but  there  was  no  match  to  be  found.  A  lighted  peat,  however, 
was  produced,  and  Martin  set  fire  to  one  of  the  summonses,  and  then 
the  whole  caught  tire  and  were  burned.  The  crowd  did  not  very  much 
force  Martin  to  burn  the  summonses.  They  told  him  to  burn  them,  and 
he  did  so.  The  crowd  did  not  call  bad  names  to  Martin,  but  he  told 
the  people  he  would  be  put  out  of  his  situation  by  the  factor  if  he  had 
not  come  to  give  them  the  summonses  that  day.  They  did  not  say  any- 
thing worse  than  his  name  to  him.  I  told  him  to  move  on,  as  I  was 
afraid  the  scholars  and  women  would  come  and  hurt  him.  He  then 
asked  us  to  see  him  safe  over  the  burn,  and  we  did  so. 

THE   EVIDENCE   FOR   THE   DEFENCE. 

Mr.  Donald  Macdonald,  Tormore,  examined  by  Mr.  K.  Macdonald 
— You  were  factor  for  Lord  Macdonald  until  about  two  years  and  a-half 
ago  ?— Some  time  about  that. 

You  know  the  Braes  ? — I  do. 

When  you  were  factor  did  the  tenants  of  the  Braes  townships  com- 
plain to  you  about  the  want  of  the  hill  of  Ben-Lee  ? — They  may  have 
done.  I  have  no  distinct  recollection  about  their  making  any  specific 
charge. 

You  know  the  story  about  the  shepherd's  house  being  built,  about 
which  some  of  the  crofters  complained  ? — Yes. 

What  did  you  do  ? — Well,  the  complaint  was  that  the  tenant  of  Ben- 
lee  was  building  a  house  on  a  portion  of  what  they  considered  their 
land. 

The  Sheriff— All  this  occurred  two  or  three  years  ago,  Mr.  Macdon- 
ald ?— Yes. 

The  Sheriff  asked  Mr.  K.  Macdonald  if  he  meant  to  justify  the 
action  of  the  prisoners  by  this  evidence  ?  He  did  not  see  that  it  had 
any  relevancy. 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald— It  has  a  bearing  on  what  followed. 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald  (to  witness) — There  was  a  lease  of  Benlee  which 
expires  at  Whitsunday  1882,     Is  not  that  so  ?— I  believe  it  does. 


476  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES, 

And  the  people  wished  to  get  the  land  back  at  that  term  ?— There 
was  some  indication  that  way. 

Did  you  make  them  any  promise  ? — I  made  no  promise. 

Did  you  hold  out  any  hope  ? — No  ;  certainly  no  distinct  hope. 

Then,  was  it  from  you  they  got  their  information  ? — I  don't  remember, 
but  it  is  quite  possible. 

Did  you  renew  the  lease  during  your  factorship  1     I  believe  I  did. 

For  a  further  period  ? — Yes.  And  without  informing  them  ?  I  don't 
remember,  but  it  is  quite  possible. 

In  answer  to  Mr.  Anderson,  Mr.  Macdonald  said  Benlee  had  not 
been  in  the  possession  of  the  crofters  for  the  past  i6  or  17  years. 

The  Sheriff.  —  Benlee  is  advertised  to  let  now. 

Mr.  K.  Macdonald—  Yes,  in  the  Courier  of  to-day. 

Mr.  A.  Macdonald,  factor — And  the  tenants  may  have  it  if  they  like 
to  pay  rent  for  it. 

EVIDENCE  OF  CROFTERS. 

John  Finlayson,  a  tenant  of  the  Braes,  said,  in  reply  to  Mr.  Mac- 
donald—I  was  at  the  Braes  when  Martin  arrived,  and  saw  him  with  the 
papers  in  his  hands.  He  handed  them  over  to  Donald  Nicolson,  who 
took  them  and  threw  them  back  to  Martin,  who  turned  his  back,  and  I 
think  refused  to  take  them  back.  Some  one  in  the  crowd  said  to  Nicol- 
son that  he  had  no  right  to  the  papers,  and  he  then  dropped  them  on  the 
ground,  and  the  children  trod  upon  them.  No  one  struck  Martin,  or 
even  threatened  to  strike  him.  I  heard  some  one  saying  to  Martin, 
"Be  not  afraid,  no  one  will  touch  you".  Robertson  at  this  time  had 
gone  homewards,  the  children  following  him.  Martin  also  followed, 
but  after  he  had  gone  some  distance  he  stopped,  and  asked  for  a  light. 
He  got  an  ember  of  a  peat,  with  which  he  set  a  paper  (a  paper  about 
the  size  of  a  summons)  on  fire,  and  put  some  more  with  it.  He  said, 
"  Stand  back  and  don't  smother  it,"  and  added,  "  There  it  is  for  you, 
boys  ".  He  appeared  to  be  laughing,  and  did  not  seem  to  be  afraid. 
He  afterwards  had  a  smoke  and  chatted  with  the  people.  He  made  a 
speech  before  leaving,  in  which  he  said,  "Be  hardy  and  active  ;  you 
will  not  see  me  again,  and  you  will  get  Benlee  ".  He  also  said  he  did 
not  blame  them  for  what  they  had  done,  and  said  if  he  had  been  in 
their  place  he  would  have  done  the  same  thing.  He  shook  hands  with 
a  number  of  people  before  leaving.  I  did  not  see  any  person  strike 
Martin. 

By  Mr.  Anderson — I  joined  the  crowd  when  they  began.  I  went 
there  just  because  I  followed  the  rest. 


TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS.  477 

You  saw  some  boys  with  flags  on  the  watch  ? — There  were. 

And  what  were  these  boys  to  do?— They  were  to  give  us  notice. 

Of  what  ? — About  the  force  that  was  being  sent  to  us. 

Was  that  a  sheriff-officer  you  expected  ? — We  did  not  know  that  it  was 
a  sheriff-officer. 

Did  you  expect  Martin  ? — No. 

Did  you  expect  summonses  ? — Yes,  I  expected  a  summons. 

Now,  was  it  for  persons  coming  with  summonses  that  you  placed  the 
boys  on  the  watch  ? — Yes. 

And  it  was  arranged  that  as  soon  as  a  boy  saw  them  he  was  to  give 
warning  ? — Yes. 

And  you  were  to  collect  then  ? — Yes. 

Mr.  Macdonald  objected  to  this  line  of  examination,  as  being  really 
an  attempt  to  prove  the  charge  of  Deforcement  which  the  Prosecutor 
had  not  been  able  to  libel  relevantly.     The  Sheriff  however  allowed  it. 

Was  it  said  that  he  would  not  be  allowed  to  serve  a  summons  ? — I 
did  not  hear  that. 

What  were  you  going  to  do  when  you  met  the  persons  coming  with 
the  summonses  ?— To  return  them. 

That  is  to  return  him  to  Portree? — I  do  not  know  where.    (Laughter.) 

I  suppose  you  know  that  you  were  to  turn  him  off  the  Braes  ? — Yes, 
we  were  going  to  turn  him  off  the  Braes. 

Are  you  any  relation  of  Finlaysons  in  the  box  ? — I  am  a  brother  of 
Malcolm's  and  a  son  of  Alexander  Finlayson. 

Did  you  see  any  stones  thrown  ? — No. 

Nor  clods  of  earth  ? — No. 

Nor  peats  ?— No. 

Did  you  see  Robertson  on  the  ground  ? — Yes^ 

Did  you  see  him  lying  on  the  ground  ? — No. 

Did  you  see  anybody  touch  him  ?— No. 

What  became  of  him  ? — I  saw  him  going  away,  and  the  children  were 
cheering  him  home.     (Laughter.) 

Were  they  throwing  anything  after  him  ? — I  did  not  see,  I  was  far 
from  him.  Witness  saw  only  two  of  the  prisoners,  Malcolm  Finlayson 
and  Patrick  Macdonald  following  Martin  to  the  second  crowd,  near 
Murchison's  schoolhouse. 

Alexander  Finlayson,  Peinachorrain,  was  at  Gedentailler  on  the  day 
when  Martin  came  with  the  papers.  He  knew  that  ]\Iartin  was  the 
factor's  clerk,  but  did  not  know  that  he  was  a  sheriff-officer.  The 
papers  were  lying  on  the  road  when  he  saw  them  first,  and  Martin  was 
laughing  and   talking,    and   did  not   appear  to   be   frightened.      He 


478  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

generally  corroborated  the  previous  witness  regarding  the  burning  of 
the  papers,  and  said  he  did  not  see  any  stones  thrown  at  Martin.  In 
answer  to  Mr.  Anderson,  he  said  he  was  a  son  of  Alexander  Finlayson, 
one  of  the  prisoners,  and  brother  of  Malcolm  Finlayson,  another  of 
the  prisoners.     Martin  did  not  seem  to  be  in  the  least  afraid. 

James  Mathieson,  on  being  asked  to  take  the  oath  in  English,  declined. 
He  said — Oh  no.  All  the  speaking  in  this  case  has  been  done  in 
Gaehc,  and  I  am  not  going  to  interpret  Gaelic  into  English.  (Laughter.) 
The  oath  having  been  administered  in  Gaelic,  he  said  he  resided  at  Bal- 
meanach,  and  was  at  Gedentailler  on  the  i  yth  April  when  ilartin  came 
to  serve  the  summonses.  When  the  people  came  up  Martin  held  out 
some  papers  in  his  hands.  He  held  them  out  in  the  direction  of  Donald 
Nicolson,  and  said,  "There  they  are,  take  them  ".  I  don't  know  whether 
he  said  this  to  Nicolson  or  to  the  rest  of  the  peojile.  Nicolson,  how- 
ever, took  them.  He  did  not  snatch  them  from  Martin,  and  Martin  did 
not  endeavour  to  keep  them  from  him.  In  answer  to  other  questions, 
witness  said  Martin  did  not  appear  to  be  frightened,  and  had  no  occasion 
to  be  so. 

What  occurred  near  Murchison's  schoolhouse  ? — I  saw  him  with  more 
papers  there.  When  I  arrived  he  had  them  in  his  hand  as  at  first.  He 
was  offering  them  to  anyone  who  would  receive  them.  I  don't  know 
where  Robertson  was.  He  went  along  before  them.  I  don't  know  if 
they  were  following  him  at  that  time,  but  they  were  before  that,  and 
some  children. 

Was  Martin  quite  sober  at  that  time?— Well,  I  don't  know.  I  would 
think  him  like  a  man  that  would  have  a  little. 

Did  you  hear  Martin  ask  for  a  match  ? — Yes.  He  said,  Was  there  no 
one  there  had  a  match?  They  replied  that  they  had  a  burning  ember 
for  lighting  his  pipe.  After  this  Martin  asked  where  it  was.  They  said. 
It  was  here.  I  was  standing  at  the  side  of  the  road,  and  I  saw  him  go 
over  by  the  papers.  I  saw  him  point  to  them  and  say,  "Lads, 
there  is  a  fire,  stand  back  and  don't  choke  it  ".  I  saw  the  papers  on  fire 
after  that.  I  saw  him  drink  at  the  well.  He  was  inclined  to  bend  at 
the  well,  but  they  told  him  there  was  a  pail.  He  asked.  Have  any  of  you 
a  pipe  till  I  smoke  ?  Alexander  Nicolson  went  to  give  him  his  pipe,  but 
it  was  broken.  Nicolson  then  went  to  get  another  man's,  and  after 
cleaning  it  so  (here  the  witness  made  a  movement  as  if  wiping  a  pipe 
clean)  he  handed  it  to  Martin,  and  Martin  smoked  it.  He  (Martin)  was 
in  the  very  middle  of  the  crowd  smoking  it. 

Was  he  talking  to  them  and  smoking  ? — Yes,  smoking  and  talking. 
I  did  not  see  any  appearance  of  fright  about  him.  There  was  no 
occasion  for  his  being  frightened. 


TRIAL   OF   THE   BRAES    CROFTERS.  479 

Did  you  hear  Murdo  Nicolson  say  anything  to  him  ? — I  heard  some 
one  say,  I  am  not  very  certain  if  it  was  Angus  Nicolson,  but  I  heard 
some  one  say,  "  No  one  here  will  do  anything  to  him  ". 

What  did  he  say  to  that  ?— He  said,  "  Oh,  I  had  no  fear.  I  know 
that  the  Braes  people  will  not  do  anything  to  me."  He  was  shaking 
hands  with  the  people  before  he  went  away.  He  was  shaking  hands 
and  thanking  them  for  dealing  so  gently  with  him.  He  told  them  to  be 
active  after  this,  as  ic  was  now  they  had  it  to  do.  1  don't  know  what 
he  meant  by  that.  I  did  not  hear  him  say  he  was  a  sheriff-officer,  or 
that  he  came  from  the  Sheriff.  I  know  he  is  the  factor's  clerk  in 
Portree.  I  thought  the  "bailie  "  sent  him  there  that  day.  I  saw  the 
widows  standing  up  as  if  they  were  speaking  to  him.  One  of  them. 
Widow  Nicolson,  seemed  to  be  angry.  I  did  not  hear  Martin  say  any- 
thing to  her  at  the  time.  She  was  done  speaking  to  him  before  I  came. 
I  don't  know  what  they  were  talking  about,  but  people  were  telling  me 
afterwards.  I  did  not  see  anyone  touching  Martin  other  than  to  shake 
him  by  the  hand. 

John  Nicoison,  Gedintailler,  gave  corroborative  evidence.  He  saw 
no  one  putting  a  hand  on  Martin,  and  said  Martin  seemed  quite  pleased, 
and  put  the  papers  on  the  top  of  the  fire. 

John  Nicolson,  Peinachorrain,  also  gave  evidence  regarding  the  pro- 
ceedings at  Martin's  visit.  He  saw  no  stones  thrown.  In  cross- 
examination  by  Mr.  Anderson,  he  admitted  that  clods  had  been  thrown 
by  the  school  children,  but  if  Martin  was  frightened  it  was  only  at 
seeing  so  many  women.     (Laughter.) 

John  Maclean,  Balmeanach,  described  the  scene  at  the  schoolhouse 
where  the  papers  were  burnt.  He  said  Martin  stepped  into  the  centre 
of  the  crowd,  and  getting  a  fire-brand  blew  it  until  he  had  lighted  the 
papers.  He  then  set  them  on  the  ground,  and  said,  "Men  of  the 
Braes,  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  your  kindness ".  He  appeared  quite 
hearty,  and  shook  hands  with  the  people.  There  was  no  reason  for 
Martin  fearing  anything.  He  added,  I  was  in  the  factor's  office  in 
November  last  as  one  of  the  deputation.  Our  names  were  taken  down 
at  that  time,  and  we  were  charged  with  impertinence.  The  factor  was 
sending  us  letters  after  that  threatening  us. 

This  brought  the  evidence  to  a  close. 

Mr.  Anderson  did  not  address  the  court,  but  simply 
asked  a  conviction  for  assault. 

Mr.  Macdonald  began  by  showing  the  effect  upon  the 
indictment,  of  the  judgment  sustaining  his  objection  to  the 


480  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

relevancy  of  the  charge  of  deforcement,  and  the  minor 
charge  of  obstructing  an  officer  of  the  law  in  the  performance 
of  his  duty ;  and  he  read  what  was  left  of  the  indictment,  to 
show  that  all  that  remained  was  a  charge  of  simple  assault 
against  the  prisoners.  He  went  on  to  say : — When  I  first 
addressed  your  Lordship  to-day,  I  attempted  to  show  that 
the  case  as  it  then  stood  was  too  important  for  trial  in  this 
court.  It  has  now  been  reduced  to  such  slender  propor- 
tions that  the  wonder  is  it  was  ever  brought  into  any  court. 
It  has  been  attempted,  by  leading  irrelevant  evidence,  to 
give  the  case  a  fictitious  importance,  but  the  prosecutor  has 
been  flogging  a  dead  horse.  A  common  assault  such  as  is 
now  charged  would  never  have  justified  the  measures  taken 
to  apprehend  the  men  now  in  the  dock.  Would  the  public 
have  looked  on  in  silent  wonder  if  they  had  been  told  that 
the  army  of  policemen  sent  to  Skye  had  been  sent  there  to 
apprehend  a  few  men — most  of  them  old  men — whose  only 
crime  was  that  they  looked  on  while  a  few  respectable  women 
threw  dirt  at  a  man  who  had  slandered  them.  I  rather 
think  they  would  then  do  what  those  of  them  who  have  not 
to  pay  for  it  will  do  now — they  would  laugh  outright.  I 
really  feel  some  difficulty  in  discussing  seriously  the  very 
small  mouse  which  this  mountain  in  labour  has  brought 
forth.  The  charge  is  assault.  What  is  the  evidence  in 
support  of  it  ?  It  is  certainly  not  the  sort  of  evidence  usu- 
ally led  in  cases  of  assault.  We  heard  of  a  sheriff-officer 
being  sent  from  Portree  to  serve  writs  at  a  place  nine  or  ten 
miles  away,  of  his  seeing  boys  with  flags  and  afterwards 
being  met  by  a  crowd  of  people,  of  his  papers  being  burnt 
by  himself,  and  of  his  making  a  speech  thanking  the  people 
for  their  kindness  to  him,  and  encouraging  them  to  perse- 
vere in  their  demands ;  but  very  little,  and  that  unreliable, 
of  an  assault  by  anybody,  nothing  of  ah  assault  by  the  men 


TRIAL  OF  THE  BRAES  CROFTERS.  48 1 

at  the  bar.  In  fact  the  public  prosecutor  never  anticipated 
having  to  prove  a  charge  of  assault,  and  had  no  evidence  to 
support  it.  The  turn  the  case  took  when  the  Court  held 
his  main  charges  irrelevantly  stated  had  taken  him  by  sur- 
prise, and  he  ought  then  to  have  thrown  up  the  whole  case. 
He  had  not  done  that.  He  had  led  evidence  which  showed 
that  the  prisoners  had  done  certain  things  which  might  or 
might  not  be  criminal,  but  which  certainly  did  not  constitute 
the  crime  with  which  they  now  stood  charged,  nor,  for  that 
matter,  any  of  the  crimes  with  which  the  indictment,  as  it 
originally  stood,  sought  to  charge  them.  The  prosecutor 
had  not  stated  the  grounds  upon  which  he  asked  for  a  con- 
viction on  the  charge  of  assault, — there  were  none  to  state. 
The  only  hope  he  could  have  was  that  the  Court  would 
convict  them  of  a  crime  of  which  they  were  not  guilty, 
because  the  evidence  showed  that  they  came  near  commit- 
ting another  and  a  totally  different  offence  with  which  they 
could  not  be  charged.  If  this  was  the  hope  of  the  prose- 
cutor, he  hoped  it  w^ould  be  disappointed,  and  that  these 
men  would  not  be  convicted  of  a  crime  of  which  they  were 
not  guilty  simply  because  some  victims  were  required  to 
shield  officials  from  the  charge  of  playing  a  huge  practical 
joke  at  the  expense  of  the  public.  I  shall  now,  with  your 
Lordship's  permission,  go  over  the  evidence  shortly,  and  I 
think  I  shall  be  able  to  show  that  there  is  no  evidence — no 
reliable  evidence — that  any  one  of  the  accused  committed 
an  assault,  while  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  reliable 
evidence  to  show  that  not  only  was  no  assault  committed, 
but  that  Martin  and  the  ground-officer  were  on  the  best  of 
terms  with  the  prisoners  while  they  were  together — terms  so 
friendly  that  the  idea  of  an  assault  having  been  committed 
during  the  interview  is  utterly  precluded.  As  to  Robertson, 
he  was  clearly  not  a  popular  favourite,  and  he  retreated 

31 


482  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

towards  Portree  at  an  early  stage,  followed  by  some  children. 
If  he  was  assaulted  at  that  time,  the  prisoners  were  no  par- 
ties to  it.  Robertson  was,  however,  the  only  person  who 
was  said  in  evidence  to  have  been  touched  by  one  of  the 
accused ;  but  the  evidence  on  that  point  came  from  so  sus- 
picious a  source,  and  was,  as  would  be  shown  immediately, 
so  strongly  contradicted,  that  I  have  no  hesitation  in  asking 
your  Lordship  to  disbeUeve  it.  Mr.  Macdonald  then  pro- 
ceeded to  review  the  evidence  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
that  Martin,  Robertson,  and  Beaton  had  contradicted  each 
other  in  important  particulars  in  their  account  of  what  had 
taken  place,  and  that  the  story  told  by  the  witnesses  for  the 
defence  was  consistent  throughout,  and  entirely  inconsistent 
with  those  of  Martin  and  his  associates.  Martin,  he  said, 
had  to  account  to  his  master,  the  factor,  for  his  failure  to 
serve  the  summonses,  if,  indeed,  it  was  not  intended  before 
he  went  that  he  should  fail ;  and  this  was  the  story  he  told 
on  his  return.  The  enlightened  management  of  Lord  Mac- 
donald's  estates  in  Skye  by  his  omnipotent  and  unapproach- 
able factor  had  brought  about  a  state  of  matters  which  the 
usual  machinery  of  the  factor's  office — summonses  of  re- 
moving and  occasional  evictions,  supplemented  by  threats 
of  undefined  pains  and  penalties — was  unable  to  deal  with. 
An  attempt  even  to  get  up  a  criminal  prosecution  had  failed. 
What  more  natural,  then, 'than  to  get  up  a  sensational  charge 
which  would  bring  a  large  force  to  the  rescue  of  the  powerless 
factor  without  expense  to  his  employer.  I  do  not  say  this 
is  the  explanation  of  what  took  place,  but  it  is  a  possible 
interpretation  of  the  evidence,  and  it  would  go  a  long  way 
to  account  for  the  peculiar  "coincidence,"  as  Mr.  Macdonald 
calls  it,  that  while  the  criminal  authorities  intimated  the 
abandonment  of  the  first  criminal  charge  on  ist  April,  the 
attempt  to  serve  the  summons  of  removing  was  made  on 


I 


TRIAL   OF   THE   BRAES   CROFTERS.  483 

the  7th  of  the  same  month.     Be  that,  however,  as  it  may, 
the  evidence  which,  by  the  forbearance  of  the  Court,  I  was 
permitted  to  lead,  showed  that  the  present  unhappy  state  of 
matters  among  Lord  Macdonald's  tenants  was  entirely  attri- 
butable to  mismanagement  on  the  part  of  successive  factors. 
Before  1865  those  people  were  comfortable  and  contented. 
They  had  their  patches  of  arable  land  near  the  sea  and  the 
hill  grazings   beyond.      The   grazings  were  on   Benlee,  of 
which  so  much  has  been  heard.     The  rent  for  both  lands 
was  paid  in  one  sum,  and  was  fixed  on  the  basis  of  the 
number  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  each  tenant  was  able  to 
keep.     In  1865,  however,  a  factor  deprived  them  of  the  hill 
while  their  rents  remained  the  same.     They  were  pushed 
down  towards  the  sea-shore,  and  there,  under  the  shadow  of 
their  mountain,  and  a  few  inches  above  highwater  mark,  on 
what  was  at  no  very  distant  date  a  sea-beach,  they  eked  out 
a  precarious  living  from  their  patches  of  mixed  rock  and 
sand,  dignified  with  the  name  of  arable  land.     For  years 
these  people  went  on  uncomplainingly,  while  year  by  year 
they  became  poorer.      Their  horses   first  went, — in   1865 
every  man  had  a  horse — most  of  them  several ;  now  there  is 
not  a  horse  for  every  three  tenants.     Then  the  little  stocks 
of  sheep  and  cattle  gradually  dwindled  down,  while  all  the 
time  their  owners  were  paying  rents  for  the  grazing  of  three 
or  four  times  the  number  of  sheep  and  cattle  the  grazings 
left  to  them  would  feed.     At  last  the  inevitable  came — the 
people  saw  starvation  or  pauperism  staring  them  in  the  face, 
and  they  made  a  humble  appeal  for  redress.     To  whom  ? 
To   Lord    Macdonald  ?      No !      To   his    factor,   and    the 
factor  made  fair  promises — at  least  so  say  the  people.     He 
told  them,  they  say,  that  the  hill  was  let  on  lease,  but  the 
lease  would  expire  in  1882,  when  they  would  get  it.     How 
does  he  keep  his  promise?     Several  years  before  1882,  he, 


484 


THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 


without  saying  anything  to  the  crofters  who  were  patiently 
enduring  poverty  and  hardship  waiting  for  the  fulfihnent  of 
his  promise,  let  the  hill  on  a  new  lease,  and  then  leaving  this 
little  complication  for  his  successor  to  settle,  he  resigned  his 
factorship.  The  successor  was  Mr.  Alexander  Macdonald. 
It  was  Mr.  Macdonald's  misfortune  that  in  his  time  the 
crofters  found  out  how  they  had  been  deceived,  and  that,  not 
taking  the  trouble  to  understand  their  grievances,  he 
threatened  them  when  he  ought  to  exhibit  at  least  the  appear- 
ance of  sympathy,  and  to  attempt  to  conciliate  them.  To 
the  crofters  Martin  was  simply  the  factor's  clerk,  Beaton  the 
factor's  underling,  and  with  the  factor  and  all  his  belongings 
they  resolved  to  have  nothing  to  do.  To  Lord  Macdonald 
they  must  appeal.  They  believed  that  he  had  never  autho- 
rised the  harsh  measures  adopted  towards  them,  and  the 
evidence  led  to-day  shows  that  their  belief  was  well  founded. 
Lord  Macdonald,  in  whose  name  these  proceedings  were 
carried  on,  never  authorised  them,  was  never  even  consulted 
about  them.  Proceedings  which  had  for  their  ostensible 
object  the  eviction  of  the  inhabitants  of  three  townships, — 
several  hundred  people  in  all, — were  not  important  enough 
forsooth  to  lead  the  factor  to  consult  his  master.  The  people 
knew  well  that  less  than  thirty  years  before  similar  pro- 
ceedings had  been  carried  out  to  their  bitter  end  in  the  name 
of  their  landlord's  father  without  his  authority,  and  they  knew 
that  to  the  day  of  his  death  that  Lord  Macdonald  bitterly 
regretted  these  proceedings.  Well  might  they  believe  that 
this  Lord  Macdonald  would  not  lightly  consent  to  their  whole- 
sale eviction  and  expatriation.  They  knew,  and  he  knew, 
that  the  strong  arm  of  their  ancestors  was  the  only  title  deed 
by  which  his  ancestors  held  their  land,  and  that  but  for  the 
sturdy  clansmen  of  the  Isles,  Lord  Macdonald  would  not 
now  hold  an  acre  of  land  in  Skye.     It  was  not,  therefore,  the 


TRIAL   OF   THE   BRAES    CROFTERS.  485 

law  in  the  person  of  its  officers,  it  was  not  even  their  land- 
lord, these  men  resisted,  it  was  the  factor — the  man  who  was 
in  their  eyes  the  impersonation  of  all  the  injustice  and  hard- 
ship to  which  they  had  been  subjected,  and  I  ask  was  there 
not  some  justification  for  their  resistance  ?  This  being  the 
position  taken  up  by  the  accused  and  their  neighbouis,  was 
it  probable  that  they  would  degrade  themselves  and  their 
cause  by  assaulting  a  person  in  Martin's  position  ?  I  think 
not.  Further,  was  Martin's  own  story  consistent  with  the 
theory  of  an  assault  ?  Would  a  man  who  had  just  been 
assaulted,  and  who  was  in  mortal  terror,  as  Martin  says  he 
was,  find  himself  so  sound  in  wind  as  Martin  admits  he  was. 
When  a  lighted  peat  was  procured  to  burn  the  summonses, 
some  of  the  men  in  the  crowd  tried  to  blow  it  into  a  flame 
but  failed.  Martin,  however,  notwithstanding  his  terror 
found  himself,  as  he  admits,  "  in  better  breath  "  than  his 
alleged  assailants,  and  succeeded  in  blowing  the  peat  into  a 
flame  when  they  had  failed  to  do  so.  (Laughter.)  Though 
terror-stricken  and  in  mortal  fear  he  managed  somehow  to 
enjoy  a  smoke  quietly.  When  he  wanted  a  drink  of  water 
he  was  not  afraid  to  go  off  the  road  to  a  well,  and  to  go  on 
his  knees  and  dip  his  head  into  it.  It  never  occurred  to  him 
that  this  dangerous  crowd  finding  his  head  in  the  water  might 
keep  it  there.  He  gauged  the  crowd  correctly  enough  as  his 
conduct  showed.  He  stood  among  them,  chatted  with  them, 
drunk  out  of  their  pails,  borrowed  and  smoked  one  of  their 
pipes,  and  on  parting  made  them  a  speech.  That  was  the 
evidence  of  the  prosecution,  as  well  as  of  the  defence.  The 
Prosecutor  did  not  make  an  attempt,  after  hearing  the 
evidence,  to  argue  that  Martin  had  been  assaulted.  To  do 
so  in  the  face  of  such  evidence  would  be  an  outrage  on 
common  sense.  Mr.  Macdonald  concluded  by  asking  for  a 
verdict  of  not  guilty.     (Applause.) 


486  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

THE   PRISONERS    FOUND   GUILTY — THE   SENTENCE. 

The  Sheriff  said — The  charge  now  is  one  of  assault  against 
these  men  combinedly  or  against  one  or  other  of  them, 
"actor  or  art  and  part,"  so  that  if  the  prosecution  has  proved 
that  one  of  them  assaulted  one  or  other  of  the  men  said  to 
be  assaulted,  and  that  the  other  prisoners  aided  and  abetted 
them  in  that  assault,  that,  I  take  it,  would  be  sufficient  to 
enable  me  to  find  the  whole  of  them  guilty  as  libelled. 
Throwing  aside  all  that  is  really  unnecessary,  the  simple 
question  for  me  to  determine  is  this — Did  these  men  "  or 
one  or  other  of  them  "  do  something  to  one  or  other  of  the 
three  men,  Martin,  Beaton,  and  Robertson,  which  in  the  eye 
of  the  law  is  assault  ?  Now,  it  is  quite  true  that  there  are 
certain  discrepancies  in  the  evidence  which  has  been  adduced. 
There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  witnesses  for  the  defence 
do  not  support  the  evidence  for  the  prosecution ;  but  the 
evidence  for  the  defence  confirms  to  a  very  great  extent  the 
statements  that  are  made  by  the  principal  witnesses  for  the 
prosecution.  And  part  of  the  evidence  of  the  defence  is 
really  of  a  mere  negative  character.  Certain  of  the  witnesses 
— the  first  three — say  that  they  were  not  present  at  the 
beginning  of  this  disturbance.  They  came  to  the  ground 
after  the  papers  were  taken  out  of  Martin's  pocket.  Now, 
Martin  says  that  when  he  came  to  the  place  he  had  the 
papers  in  his  pocket,  and  they  were  only  taken  out  of  it 
when  he  was  asked  for  them.  I  may  mention,  before  pro- 
ceeding further,  that  I  see  no  reason  whatever  to  doubt 
Martin's  statement.  Martin  gave  his  evidence  fairly,  and  in 
a  way  which  convinced  me  at  least  that  he  really  was  telling 
the  truth,  and  I  do  not  think  there  was  anything  in  his 
cross-examination  which  tended  to  render  Martin's  evidence 
untrustworthy.      Now   Martin  says  that    Donald   Nicolson 


mmmm 


TRIAL   OF   THE   BRAES   CROFTERS.  487 

took  a  leading  part  in  this  affair,  and  he  stated  that  Donald 
Nicolson  caught  hold  of  Ewen  Robertson  by  the  back  of  the 
neck  "and  called  out  to  me  in  language  which  was  not  very 
polite,"  but  it  had  reference  to  things  which  had  taken  place 
before  then.  Robertson  tells  us  more  particularly  how 
Donald  acted  after  the  summonses  had  been  plucked  from 
Martin.  He  laid  hold  of  him  by  the  neck  and  so  on. 
Now,  I  take  it  that  this  is  an  assault  within  the  four  corners 
of  this  complaint.  It  will  not  do  for  any  one  to  say  that 
because  five  or  six  witnesses  did  not  see  this  that  the  affair 
did  not  take  place.  There  is  the  direct  evidence  of  two 
witnesses  which  is  a  great  deal  better  than  the  indirect 
evidence  or  negative  testimony  of  a  score.  Therefore,  if 
Robertson's  and  Martin's  evidence  were  true,  Donald  Nicol- 
son was  guilty  of  an  assault.  Now,  if  Donald  Nicolson  was 
guilty  of  an  assault,  the  question  will  then  come  to  be,  what 
part  did  the  others  take  in  regard  to  this  ?  Donald  Nicol- 
son, according  to  Martin,  came  forward  and  took  the  papers 
from  him.  The  next  person  who  comes  on  the  scene  is 
Alex.  Finlayson,  and  the  proceedings  that  he  adopts  are 
certainly  of  a  most  threatening  character.  There  is  no  doubt 
whatever  that  he  had  a  stick  in  his  hand,  and  the  testimony 
given  by  Robertson  and  others  is  that  he  comes  forward 
and  threatens  them,  flourishing  his  stick  and  daring  them  to 
proceed  further.  And  then  he  proceeds  to  tell  us  of  the 
throwing  of  stones,  in  which  Finlayson  took  an  active  part, 
and  in  this  way  he  became  "  art  and  part "  with  Nicolson  in 
the  assault  upon  these  men.  I  therefore  take  it  that  when 
you  have  Nicolson  behaving  as  he  had  done,  and  Finlayson 
being  there  with  him,  and  taking  the  part  he  did,  that 
Finlayson  is  guilty  of  the  assault  as  a  party — as  one  acting 
art  and  part  with  Nicolson.  Then  the  next  persons  who 
come  before  us  are  James  Nicolson  and   the  other  two. 


488  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

These  three  men  are  not  said  to  have  done  anything  except 
to  be  accessories  along  with  these  people.  Peter  Macdonald, 
indeed,  after  a  time,  comes  to  make  himself  conspicuous  by 
telling  Martin  that  unless  he  burns  his  papers,  Martin  would 
not  get  home  alive ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  of  Macdonald 
doing  anything  in  particular  beyond  threatening  Martin  and 
the  others.  Malcolm  Finlayson  appears  afterwards  near  the 
schoolhouse,  and  all  three  form  part  of  the  threatening 
crowd.  It  appears  to  me,  however,  that  Peter  Macdonald, 
Malcolm  Finlayson,  and  James  Nicolson  did  not  take  that 
conspicuous  part  which  Donald  Nicolson  and  Alexander 
Finlayson  took.  And,  therefore,  although  the  case  against 
each  and  all  of  these  prisoners  has  been  proved,  I  think 
there  is  a  distinction  between  the  conduct  of  Donald  Nicol- 
son, and  Alexander  Finlayson,  and  the  others.  These  two 
are  really  the  persons  who  committed  the  assault,  and  a 
distinction  must  be  made  between  them  and  the  others. 
The  judgment  of  the  Court  is  that  Donald  Nicolson  and 
Alexander  Finlayson  be  each  fined  £^2  los.,  or,  failing 
payment,  one  month's  imprisonment ;  and  the  other  three 
prisoners,  Peter  Macdonald,  Malcolm  Finlayson,  and  James 
Nicolson,  be  each  fined  20s.,  or  fourteen  days'  imprisonment. 

LIBERATION   OF   THE   PRISONERS. 

The  result  was  received  with  some  surprise,  though  not 
with  dissatisfaction.  As  the  Sheriff  summed  up  strongly 
against  two  of  the  prisoners  it  was  anticipated  that  the  full 
penalty  in  their  case,  at  least,  would  be  inflicted,  and  that 
on  the  other  three  prisoners  the  sentence  would  have  been 
more  severe  than  that  pronounced.  The  leniency  of  the 
judgment,  therefore,  was  satisfactory  to  the  audience.  Dean 
of  Guild  Mackenzie  at  once  passed  a  cheque  for  the  full 


^ 


MUMBBfllfeMlMr*'- 


TRIAL   OF   THE   BRAES   CROFTERS.  489 

amount  of  the  fines  to  Mr.  Anderson,  but  the  agent  for  the 
prisoners  (Mr.  Macdonald)  intimated  that  it  was  paid  under 
protest  in  order  to  enable  him  to  lodge  an  appeal  if  this 
should  afterwards  be  resolved  upon.  * 

The  prisoners,  who  had  been  confined  between  two 
policemen  throughout  the  day,  were  then  liberated.  As  they 
emerged  from  the  Castle,  they  were  met  by  a  large  crowd, 
who  greeted  them  with  cheers  and  calls  for  a  speech.  They, 
however,  were  allowed  to  proceed  to  their  hotel  without  any 
further  demonstration. 

The  men  and  the  witnesses  were  lodged,  and  provided 
with  a  liberal  supply  of  all  the  creature  comforts,  in  the 
Glenalbyn  Hotel,  where  they  were  visited  by  many  of  those 
in  Inverness  who  sympathised  with  their  position.  Next 
morning  they  left  by  train  and  steamer  for  Portree,  their 
fares  having  been  paid,  and  provision  made  for  anything 
they  might  require  on  the  journey.  On  their  arrival  the 
same  evening  in  the  Capital  of  Skye  they  were  met  by 
their  friends  and  the  people  of  Portree,  who  greeted  them 
with  great  enthusiasm,  and  many  of  whom  convoyed  them 
the  greater  part  of  their  way  to  the  Braes. 

THE  AUTUMN  CAMPAIGN. 

Nothing  of  importance  occurred  for  months  after  the 
trial,  until  the  crofters  appear  to  have  allowed  their  sheep 
to  take  possession  of  Benlee,  and,  it  is  alleged,  refused 
to  take  them  back  to  their  own  ground. 

Early  in  October,  Lord  Macdonald's  Edinburgh  agents 

*A  cheque  for  the  whole  amount  of  the  fines  was  shortly  afterwards 
received  from  Mr.  Norman  Macleod,  Bookseller,  Bank  Street,  Edinburgh, 
on  behalf  of  a  few  Highlanders  in  that  city,  who  were  quite  willing  to  subscribe 
much  more  had  it  Leen  found  necessary.  The  whole  of  the  other  expenses 
of  the  Trial  was  paid  by  the  Federation  of  Celtic  Societies. 


49°  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

sent  to  the  Braes  crofters  registered  letters  requesting  them 
to  withdraw  their  stock  from  Benlee  without  delay.  These 
letters  were,  in  the  ordinary  course,  sent  to  the  district  post- 
ofifice.  Delivery  of  two  or  three  was  accepted,  but  on  their 
contents  becoming  known  the  rest  of  the  crofters  resolved  to 
have  nothing  to  do  with  them,  and  refused  to  take  delivery. 
A  copy  of  one  of  these  letters  appeared  at  the  time  in  the 
Aberdeen  Free  Press.  The  burden  of  its  contents  was  a 
request  to  the  crofters  to  pay  up  their  arrears  and  remove  their 
stock  from  Benlee,  otherwise  proceedings  would  be  taken 
against  them.  The  rents  had  not  been  paid,  the  stock  was 
still  on  Benlee,  and  the  threat  by  Lord  Macdonald's  agents 
was  immediately  followed  up  ;  the  Court  of  Session  granted 
notes  of  suspension  and  interdict  against  the  crofters  with 
regard  to  the  grazings  of  Benlee.  Mr.  x\lexander  Mac- 
donald,  Messenger-at-arms,  Inverness,  proceeded  from 
Inverness  with  the  Court  of  Session  writs  in  his  possession. 
On  Saturday  morning,  the  2nd  of  September,  he  left  Portree 
for  the  Braes  to  serve  the  writs,  accompanied  by  Lord 
Macdonald's  ground-ofificer.  Gedentailler  is  the  township 
nearest  to  Portree,  and  on  arriving  there  the  officer  of  Court 
proceeded  to  serve  the  documents  on  the  different  crofters. 
He  appears  to  have  got  on  smoothly  enough  there,  but  word 
seems  to  have  been  sent  to  Balmeanach,  the  largest  of  the 
three  townships,  that  the  officer  and  his  companions  were 
approaching.  Thereupon  the  women  and  children  of 
Balmeanach  gathered  in  large  numbers,  covering  their  heads 
with  handkerchiefs  to  disguise  themselves  as  well  as  they 
could.  They  proceeded  towards  Gedentailler,  and  met  the 
officers  on  the  way.  There  the  second  Battle  of  the  Braes 
began.  Stones  and  clods  were  flying  freely,  the  officers 
thought  it  expedient  to  beat  a  retreat,  and  the  writs  were  not 
served  in  the  township  of  Balmeanach,  or  Peinachorrain. 


^atmUM 


THE   AUTUMN    CAMPAIGN.  49 1 

Mr.  William  Mackenzie,  the  special  correspondent  of  the 
Aberdeen  Free  Press,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  nar- 
rative of  these  proceedings,  visited  the  Braes  on  the  following 
Tuesday,  while  the  sheriff-officers  were  still  in  Portree, 
waiting  for  further  instructions  from  the  authorities  at  Inver- 
ness.    He  writes  on  Tuesday  evening  : — 

The  serving  of  writs  at  Gedentailler  was  evidently  managed 
with  great  rapidity,  for  the  work  was  done  before  the  people 
realised  their  position.  The  people  of  the  other  townships 
got  hurried  word  of  what  was  going  on,  and  they  mustered 
and  drove  the  officers  away  before  they  reached  Balmean- 
ach.  The  whole  of  the  people  are  now  in  a  state  of  great 
anxiety,  and  every  stranger  visiting  the  district  is  watched. 
The  children,  indeed,  run  away  weeping  and  crying  "  Tha 
iad  a'  tighinn,  tha  iad  a'  tighinn  "  (They  are  coming,  they 
are  coming),  on  the  approach  of  any  suspected  person.  An 
impression  was  abroad  last  night  that  the  officers  were  again 
to  proceed  to  the  Braes  to-day,  and,  accordingly,  the  women 
and  children,  in  large  numbers,  gathered  and  formed  them- 
selves into  two  divisions- — the  one  being  detailed  to  watch 
and  protect  Peinachorrain — (the  farthest  south  of  the  town- 
ships), in  case  of  the  officers  coming  on  them  from  Sligach- 
an,  and  the  other  to  defend  Balmeanach,  the  middle 
township,  in  case  of  their  coming  from  Portree.  They 
occupied  their  respective  positions  for  a  considerable  time 
during  the  day,  but  ultimately  as  the  "  foe  "  did  not  appear, 
they  retired  to  their  homes,  leaving  sentries  on  duty,. to  warn 
them  of  the  approach  of  danger.  These  sentinels  soon  saw 
me,  and  gave  the  alarm,  and  in  a  very  short  time  I  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  large  crowd  of  women  and  children,  and  a  few 
men.  Each  Amazon  as  she  came  up  looked  anything  but 
friendly ;  but  as  I  came  to  be  known  I  received  a  cordial 
welcome.     The  old  men  who  were  present  regarded  the 


492  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

conduct  of  the  proprietor  towards  them  as  harsh ;  but  they 
thought  that  the  Court  of  Session  writs  should  be  peaceably 
accepted.  The  Amazons,  however,  thought  otherwise,  and 
they  expressed  in  no  qualified  terms  their  intention  to  resist. 

Those  who  suffered  in  spring  are  looked  upon  as  heroes 
and  martyrs,  and  some  feel  themselves  driven  to  such  a 
state  of  desperation  and  exasperation  that  they  are  well  nigh 
indifferent  as  to  what  may  happen.  "  Whatever  becomes  of 
us,"  they  say,  "we  cannot  he  worse  off  than  we  are."  The 
application  of  force  may  crush  them  individually,  but  in  the 
present  frame  of  mind  of  these  people,  force  will  be  no  more 
a  remedy  in  the  Braes  than  in  Ireland ;  and  I  am  satisfied 
that  any  attempt  at  evicting  them,  or  selling  them  out,  with- 
out some  attempt  at  an  amicable  settlement,  will  be  attended 
with  some  rough  work. 

The  officers  were  re-called  to  Inverness  on  the  nth  of 
September,  having  remained  in  the  Island  for  nine  days 
without  again  attempting  to  serve  the  writs. 

The  same  correspondent,  in  one  of  a  series  of  able 
articles,  writes,  under  date  of  nth  October,  regarding  a 
rumour  which  was  then  current  in  well-informed  circles,  to 
the  following  effect : — "  During  the  week  of  the  Argyle- 
shire  gathering,  when  the  gentry  and  nobility  of  the  west 
were  promoting  social  intercourse  in  Oban,  an  informal 
meeting  of  proprietors  was  there  held  in  private,  to  consider 
the  present  position  and  future  prospects  of  land  ownership 
in  the  Highlands.  The  Skye  question  naturally  formed  a 
leading  topic  of  discussion,  and  the  opinion  was  expressed 
that  Lord  Macdonald,  in  the  interests  of  his  class,  ought  to 
have  gone  long  ago  to  the  Braes  and  to  have  endeavoured 
to  settle  the  dispute  between  himself  and  the  crofters ;  and 
it  was  felt  that  so  long  as  the  question  remained  in  its  present 
aspect  it  will  naturally  be  kept  before  the  country,  and  the 


THE   AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  493 

popular  mind  will  be  imbibing  doctrines  with  regard  to  the 
land  which  may  probably  end  in  restricting  the  liberties  in 
dealing  with  landed  estates  now  enjoyed  by  their  owners." 
The  Northern  Meeting  at  Inverness  took  place  on  21st  and 
22nd  September  (in  the  following  week),  and  many  of  the 
gentlemen  present  at  the  Argyleshire  Meeting  attended  the 
meeting  in  the  Highland  capital.  Lord  Macdonald  was  also 
present.  Whether  his  lordship  had  any  interview  with  those 
gentlemen  I  know  not,  but  on  Saturday,  23rd  of  September, 
he  left  Inverness,  and  on  Monday,  the  25th,  he  visited 
the  Braes.  The  conference  was  fruitless.  The  tenants, 
who  had  hitherto  demanded  Benlee  free  of  rent,  now, 
in  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  present  turmoil,  offered 
to  give  about  ^40.  Lord  Macdonald,  who  receives 
^128  from  the  present  tenant,  agreed  to  accept  ^100. 
Possibly  another  interview  might  lead  to  a  compromise  be- 
tween parties — the  tenants  offering  more  and  the  landlord 
agreeing  to  accept  less.  But  whether  there  will  be  another 
interview  or  not  is  a  matter  that  must  lie  with  the  proprietor, 
for  in  their  present  frame  of  mind  the  tenants  are  not  likely 
to  seek  an  interview  at  the  stage  which  the  case  has  now 
reached. 

Now,  with  regard  to  the  threatened  military  invasion. 
That  it  was  the  intention  of  the  authorities  at  one  time  to 
send  one  or  two  companies  of  soldiers  to  Skye  is  not 
denied ;  aud  that  these  companies  were  to  go  from  Fort- 
George.  This  w^ould  undoubtedly  be  very  distasteful  w^ork 
to  Highland  soldiers,  but  if  ordered  they  would  have  no 
alternative  but  to  obey.  That  they  were  warned  to  be  in 
readiness  for  "active  service"  in  the  Braes  is  certain  ;  but  I 
have  good  reasons  for  stating  that  military  opinion  at  the 
Fort  was  decidedly  against  any  such  task  being  assigned  to 
Highland  soldiers,  and  that  such  remonstrances  as  could  be 


494  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

made  consistent  with  military  discipline  were  sent  to  the 
superior  authorities.  The  reasons  for  this  are  obvious.  The 
country  is  now  divided  into  regimental  districts,  and  Skye 
is  one  of  the  recruiting  districts  for  the  Highland  regiments 
which  have  their  depots  at  Fort-George.  The  belief  among 
Highland  officers  is  that  if  a  company  of  Highland  soldiers 
were  sent  to  Skye  on  such  an  errand  there  would  be  no 
more  recruits  from  that  island  for  at  least  half  a  century. 
That  this  opinion  is  a  sound  one  will  be  readily  admitted  by 
any  one  acquainted  with  the  Highland  character. 

It  was  ultimately  resolved  to  make  another  attempt,  with 
a  larger  force  of  police,  to  serve  the  writs  on  the  tenants  of 
Balmeanach  and  Peinachorrain,  on  Tuesday  the  24th  of  Oc- 
tober. The  special  correspondent  of  the  Inverness  Courier, 
who  accompanied  the  expedition,  describes  the  proceedings 
thus  : — 

At  half-past  eight  this  morning,  in  weather  as  pleasant  as 
one  could  desire,  there  drove  from  Portree  for  the  Braes  two 
waggonettes  containing  Mr.  A.  Macdonald,  messenger-at- 
arms,  Inverness  (who  was  to  serve  the  writs);  his  concurrent; 
his  guide,  the  ground-officer  on  Lord  Macdonald's  estates  ; 
Mr.  Aitchison,  superintendent  of  the  County  Police ;  Mr. 
Macdonald,  inspector,  Portree  ;  and  a  body  of  nine  police 
constables.  Some  newspaper  correspondents  followed  in  a 
third  conveyance.  All  along  the  route  there  was  manifested 
the  most  intense  interest — I  may  say  excitement.  Soon 
after  leaving  Portree  we  met  two  pleasant  old  men — crofters 
at  Balmeanach — who  had  not  heard  that  the  officers  were 
coming,  but  who,  when  asked  as  to  what  kind  of  reception 
they  might  expect,  shook  their  heads,  and  indicated  that  their 
reception  would  be  somewhat  warm,  but  decidedly  un- 
pleasant. One  of  them  told  us  that  the  officers  had  spoken 
to  him  as  he  came  along,  he  having  been  pointed  out  as  one 


THE   AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  495 

of  the  crofters  in  question  by  Mr.  Beaton,  They  asked  him 
to  accept  the  "  paper,"  but  he  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  it ;  he  did  not  understand  that  it  was  anything  else 
than  a  paper  the  reception  of  which  would  end  in  his 
being  reduced  to  misery  and  want.  Then,  as  we  proceeded, 
we  met  people  who  told  us  that  a  reception  was  quite 
prepared  at  the  Braes  for  the  officers,  and  for  the  police. 
Here,  and  at  several  other  points,  information  which  we 
received  in  Portree  last  night  was  confirmed,  information, 
namely,  that  the  crofters  had  been  advised  that  officers  were 
approaching  them,  had  been  counselled  to  receive  the 
papers,  and  that  they  had  been  on  the  watch  all  night.  We 
passed  on  and  on  through  a  country  which  plainly  had  at 
one  time  been  thickly  peopled,  but  which  is  now  a  scene 
solitary  to  an  extent  that  is  painful  to  contemplate.  At  a 
little  township  near  the  Braes,  women  stopped  their  work  at 
the  peats  to  look  at  the  passing  carriages.  A  Uttle  further 
on  the  officers  and  policemen  left  their  waggonettes,  and 
walked  to  Gedintailler — a  distance  of  over  two  miles — on 
foot.     We  adopted  the  same  course. 

The  high  green  hill  which,  at  the  very  entrance  to  the 
township  of  Gedintailler,  rises  right  up  from  the  roadside, 
was  soon  before  us — a  little  over  a  mile  ahead.  We  could 
see  that  there  were  groups  of  people  on  the  height,  and  a 
couple  of  crofters  belonging  to  a  place  immediately  on  the 
Portree  side  of  Gedintailler,  and  who  joined  us  here — going 
forward  to  see  the  fun — said  that  sixty  people  had  been  on 
the  watch  there  ever  since  the  dawn  of  day,  and  that  they 
carried  flags  with  which  they  were  to  wave  to  the  whole 
community  signals  of  approaching  strangers.  As  soon  as  we 
approached  the  borders  of  Gedintailler,  it  was  plainly  seen 
that  the  officers,  who  were  now  a  third  of  a  mile  ahead 
of  us,   were   engagod   in   a  task  of  a  most  delicate    and 


496  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

difficult    nature.        A    band   of   young    men,   and     stout 
lads,    and    girls,   occupied    a    height,    from    which,    with 
stones,    they   could   command   the    passage    by   the   road 
underneath.       Here,  we   learned   that    the   people    whose 
writs  were  served  successfully  on  the  2nd  September  last  had 
driven  their  cattle  off,  thinking  that  the  officers  had  come  to 
seize  them.     Further  on,  we  could  see  that  the  officers  and 
the  policemen  were  marching  along  a  road,  on  each  side  of 
which  were  gathered  here  and  there  small  knots  of  men, 
women,  and  children.     As  the   officers   and   police   force 
advanced,  these  knots  of  people  retreated  before  them — all, 
however,  to  concentrate  at  a  point  just  within  the  march  that 
separates  the  township  of  Gedintailler  from  the  township  of 
Balmeanach.     The  people  were  angry  and  excited.     Some 
carried  sticks.     Others  doubtless  were  quite  prepared  to  use 
the  stones  that  lay  everywhere  about.     Many  wore  an  aspect 
of  determination  which  was  ominous  in  the  extreme.     It  was 
clear  that  a  whole  country-side  was  up  in  arms  against  the 
messenger-at-arms,  the  police,  and  the  writs.     One  young 
fellow,  in  answer  to  a  question  by  myself,  spoke  in  a  tone  and 
with  a  look  which  were  the  opposite  of  encouraging ;  and 
only  changed  his  behaviour  when  he  heard  that  I  had  come 
from  a  newspaper.     This  much  must  be  said  of  everyone 
else ;  they  were  kind  and  courteous  to  those  who  were  not 
connected  with  the  officials  who  came  to  visit  them ;  they 
seem  well  disposed  too  so  long  as  you  did  not  propose  to 
take    Benlee    from    them ;    in  appearance  and  demeanour 
altogether  there  was  nothing  when  they  were  away  from  the 
officers,  but  what  is  creditable.     They,  however,  hate  the 
writs,  and  all  connected  with  them;  and  they  entertain  a 
bitter   aversion   to   the   very   word   "police" — an  aversion 
deeply  rooted  in  the  minds  of  the  youngest— because  pre- 
sumably of  the  recollection  of  the  visit  which  was  made  to 


THE   AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  497 

them  in  April  last.  But  extreme  excitement  is  perfectly 
compatible  with  this  courtesy  towards  those  who  they  know 
are  not  connected  with  the  writs.  If  I  were  asked  to  describe 
the  Braes  to-day,  I  should  say  the  whole  community 
resembled  a  barrel  of  gunpowder  that  only  required  the 
lighted  match  to  produce  an  explosion. 

The  officers  and  the  police  were  stopped  at  the  entrance 
to  the  township  of  Balmeanach — quite  near  the  first  house  in 
the  township — by  a  body  of  men,  women,  and  children, 
variously  estimated  at  from  140  to  160  individuals. 

The  scene,  while  officers  and  crowd  were  face  to  face  with 
each  other,  was  one  both  striking  and  picturesque.  While 
officers  and  people  discussed  in  Gaelic  we  wandered  around 
to  see  what  was  to  be  seen,  and  hear  what  of  English  was  to 
be  heard.  There  they  were,  a  great  crowd  engaged  in  loud 
and  angry  talk,  varied  now  and  again  by  strange  cries  and 
shouts  from  the  women ;  and  the  very  gathering  and  the 
noise  and  the  excitement  lent  additional  interest  to  the  more 
distant  scenes,  which  were  already  striking  in  solitude  and 
grandeur.  The  girls,  who  were  attending  to  the  cattle  or 
the  green  hill-sides,  gathered  in  little  knots  to  hear  what  wao 
going  on.  The  children  who  played  on  the  roadside,  or 
watched  on  the  green  turf  infants  of  tender  years,  whose 
mothers  were  confronting  the  officers,  seemed  to  have  a 
perfect  idea  of  what  was  taking  place.  At  the  beach,  far 
down  below  the  roadway,  there  lay  a  little  boat  in  which  three 
fishermen  were  engaged  in  shaking  out  of  the  nets  some 
herrings  which  the  night  before  they  had  got  in  Loch-Eynart. 
They,  too,  had  to  be  apprised  of  what  was  going  on. 
Occasionally  one  of  the  crew  would  land,  ascend  the  steep 
brae,  and  look  on  the  crowd.  But  while  he  was  in  the  boat 
a  knot  of  young  women  far  up  above  the  beach,  would  report 
the  movements. 

32 


498  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

The  interview  between  the  people  and  the  officers  con- 
tinued near  an  hour  and  a-half.  The  conversation  was  carried 
on  in  Gaelic.  It  would  appear  that  every  advice  given  to 
the  crofters  to  receive  the  writs  was  lost  upon  them  ;  they 
apparently  did  not  know  what  the  papers  were,  what  they 
meant,  or  what  the  receiving  of  them  would  result  in 
beyond  the  taking  from  them  of  Benlee.  It  is  said  they 
had  been  advised  to  receive  the  writs  by  two  ministers  and 
others ;  and  in  the  afternoon  we  were  shown  the  following 
telegram  which  had  been  handed  in  at  Inverness  at  4.52 
P.M.,  Monday,  and  which  had  been  received  in  Portree  at 
5  P.M.  :— 

"  Fro7n  Dean  of  Guild  Mackenzie,  Inverness. 

'*  To  Mr.  Neil  Buchanan,  or  any  of  the  Braes,  Crofters, 
near  Portree. 

•'  Sheriff-officers,  with  body  of  County  Police,  left  to-day 
with  writs  for  Braes  crofters.  Be  wise.  Receive  sum- 
monses peaceably.  Trust  to  support  of  public  opinion 
afterwards." 

But  the  unfortunate  crofters  declined  the  counsel  thus 
given.  They  regard  Benlee  as  belonging  to  their  holdings, 
and  Benlee,  and  nothing  but  Benlee  they  would  have. 

There  were  heads  of  families  in  the  crowd,  and  these 
were  pointed  out  to  the  messenger-at-arms  by  the  ground- 
officer.  The  messenger-at-arms  then  endeavoured  to  effect 
the  service  of  the  writs,  but  his  efforts  were  of  no  avail. 
The  officer  tried  them  over  and  over  again,  but  in  vain.  At 
length,  he  said  he  would  go  to  the  houses,  and  lodge  the 
papers  there.  He  endeavoured  to  go,  but  women  rushed 
to  intercept  him,  carrying  stones  and  sticks,  and  all  indi- 


THE   AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  499 

eating  that  the  proposed  action  on  the  part  of  the  ofificers 
would  not  be  allowed.  At  this  stage,  Beaton,  the  ground- 
officer,  declined  to  go  further  to  point  out  the  houses,  the 
enterprise  threatening  to  be  accompanied  with  danger. 
Shortly  thereafter  Mr.  Macdonald  said,  "  Very  well,  good- 
bye, ladies  and  gentlemen".  Some  women  replied,  "  Good 
morning  and  a  half  to  you,  sir".  The  officers  and  the  police 
force— the  "dismal  brigade,"  as  they  were  once  happily 
termed — turned  their  backs  on  the  Braes,  marched  to  the 
spot  where  the  waggonettes  were  awaiting  them,  and  re- 
turned to  Portree,  bearing  with  them  the  undelivered  writs 
of  the  Court  of  Session. 

During  the  interview  with  the  officers,  some  of  the  women 
were  weeping,  and  even  at  a  distance  from  the  crowd  could 
be  heard  exclamations  in  Gaelic  about  the  number  of  help- 
less widows  and  orphans  that  were  in  the  Braes.  Some 
called  out  that  the  curses  of  the  orphans  and  widows  would 
follow  all  these  things.  One  woman  said  she  would  not 
like  to  see  any  one  suffer  greatly,  but  if  those  over  them 
continued  these  actions  much  longer  she  did  not  know 
what  she  might  wish  them.  Once  a  man  was  heard  to 
say  that  the  officers  seemed  to  have  come  in  a  friendly 
way ;  but  he  was  replied  to  with  a  chorus  of  voices  that  they 
came  in  no  friendly  way,  that  they  were  come  to  ruin  poor 
people,  and  that  they  would  not  be  allowed  to  go  further. 
The  police  came  in  for  a  considerable  share  of  the  angry  ex- 
pressions of  the  women.  One  person  reminded  the  police 
that  there  were  people  there  who  yet  suffered  from  wounds 
they  received  in  April.  Actions  and  expressions  were  fre- 
quently greeted  with  cries  on  the  part  of  the  crowd,  which 
were  very  far  from  encouraging  to  the  officers.  Occasion- 
ally, however,  there  were  signs  of  good  humour ;  but  these 
were  few,  and  disappeared  as  soon  as  the  officers  tried  to  go 


500  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

to  the  dwelling-houses.  Altogether,  as  will  have  been 
clearly  seen,  the  atmosphere  was  troubled  in  the  extreme. 
A  single  injudicious  act  on  the  part  of  the  messenger  or 
police  would  unquestionably  have  produced  an  explosion  of 
feeling  which  would  have  compelled  the  legal  force  to  re- 
treat with  greater  haste  and  with  less  dignity  than  that  with 
which  they  did  actually  retire.  At  one  point  a  row  seemed 
imminent,  but  it  was  prevented  by  the  officers  and  the 
police  exercising  prudence  as  the  better  virtue. 

Judging  from  the  appearance  and  the  demeanour  of  the 
people  to-day,  my  own  opinion  is  that,  if  these  writs  are  to  be 
served  by  force,  they  must  be  served  by  men  protected  by  the 
military.  This,  too,  is  the  opinion  of  many  people  in  Portree. 
The  truth  is,  these  frequent  visits  of  officers  and  men  in  drib- 
lets to  serve  papers,  which  the  crofters  associate  with  im- 
pending misery,  and  possibly,  eviction,  are  irritating  and 
distressing  the  people.  As  it  is,  the  people  have  become 
exasperated ;  and  it  will  be  absolutely  cruel,  considering 
their  ignorance  of  legal  forms,  their  extreme  poverty,  and 
their  attachment  to  the  soil,  to  serve  the  writs  by  any  other 
force  than  one  which,  by  previously  overawing  them,  will 
preclude  the  possibility  of  inflicting  personal  wounds  on 
either  man  or  woman.  The  appearance  of  the  military  may 
possibly  overawe  them,  if  they  be  sent  in  sufficient  force ; 
but  a  police  force  will  only  still  more  exasperate  them,  and 
lead  to  a  repetition  of  the  painful  scenes  of  April  last. 

The  tone  and  spirit  of  this  communication  was  altogether 
different  to  anything  that  had  hitherto  appeared  in  the 
Courier.  It  began  to  dawn  upon  the  landlords  that  there 
must  be  something  in  the  complaints  of  the  people,  after 
all,  when  this  newspaper  published  such  an  account  of  the 
Braes  and  its  unfortunate  inhabitants.  The  change  in  its 
views  produced  a  sensation,  and  pressure  was  immediately 


THE   AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  50I 

brought  to  bear  upon  Lord  Macdonald  by  some  of  the 
Highland  lairds  to  bring  about  a  settlement  with  his  people, 
if  at  all  possible ;  but  hitherto,  so  long  as  he  expected  a 
military  force  to  crush  them,  without  avail. 

The  urgent  appeals  made  by  the  County  authorities  to 
the  Home  Office  for  a  military  force  completely  failed.  It 
is  well  known  in  certain  circles  that  Sir  William  Harcourt 
would  not  even  listen  to  the  proposal,  and  that  he  openly 
ridiculed  the  idea  of  sending  Her  Majesty's  soldiers  to 
settle  a  paltry  dispute  between  a  landlord  and  a  few  of  his 
crofters,  which,  by  the  exercise  of  a  little  sound  judgment 
and  ordinary  prudence,  could  be  arranged  by  sensible  men 
in  a  few  minutes.  In  consequence  of  this  attitude  on  the 
part  of  the  Crown  authorities  further  pressure  was  brought 
to  bear  upon  Lord  Macdonald  to  come  to  terms  with  the 
Braes  crofters,  and  it  is  well  known  in  well-informed  circles 
that  under  this  pressure  he  finally  agreed  to  enter  into 
negotiation,  in  the  event  of  proposals  to  that  eifect  emanat- 
ing from  the  crofters  themselves  or  from  any  of  their  friends. 
After  a  good  deal  of  private  correspondence  in  influential 
circles  on  both  sides,  negotiations  were  arranged,  as  we  shall 
see  hereafter,  which  ultimately  ended  in  a  settlement  satis- 
factory in  the  circumstances  to  all  concerned. 

The  special  correspondence  in  the  Courier  had  an  effect 
also  in  other  quarters  than  that  of  the  landowners.  Immedi- 
ately on  its  perusal  a  patriotic  Highland  gentleman  of  means, 
who  resides  in  the  Channel  Islands  during  the  winter 
months,  telegraphed  on  the  28th  of  October,  as  follows,  to 
the  writer  of  these  pages  : — 

''''To  Alexaiider  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  Dean  of  Guild  of  hiverness, 
frofu  Alalcolm  Mackenzie,  Viie  du  Lac,  Guernsey. 

^'  Tender  by  telegraph  to  Lord  Macdonald's  agent  all  arrears  of  rent 


502  THE  HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

due  by  Braes  crofters,  and  to  stay  proceedings.     I  write  by  post  and 
send  securities  for  one  thousand  pounds  on  Monday." 

These  instructions  were  carried  out,  and  the  following  reply  was 
received  in  due  course  : — 

5  Thistle  Street,  Edinburgh,  30th  Oct.,  1882. 

Sir, — We  have  received  your  telegram  of  to-day  stating  that  you  are 
authorised  by  a  Mr.  Malcolm  Mackenzie,  Guernsey,  to  tender  payment 
of  the  last  two  years'  arrears  of  rent  due  to  Lord  Macdonald  by  the  Braes 
crofters,  on  condition  that  all  proceedings  against  them  are  stopped,  and 
that  you  will  be  prepared  to  deposit  securities  for  one  thousand  pounds 
to-morrow. 

Although  we  know  nothing  of  the  gentleman  you  mention,  we  will 
communicate  your  telegram  to  Lord  Macdonald.  At  the  same  time,  we 
must  observe,  that  you  seem  to  be  labouring  under  a  misapprehension 
as  to  the  matter  at  issue  between  his  lordship  and  the  crofters,  the 
proceedings  against  whom  were  raised  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
trespass,  and  not  for  recovering  arrears  of  rent. — We  are,  &c., 

(Signed)        JOHN  C.  Brodie  &  Sons. 

To  Dean  of  Guild  Mackenzie,  Celtic  Magazine  Office,  Inverness. 

To  the  above  letter  the  writer  replied  as  follows  : — 

Celtic  Magazi7ie  Office,  Inverness,  Nov.  i,  1882. 

Sirs, — I  am  in  receipt  of  your  favour  of  Monday  acknowledging  my 
telegram  on  behalf  of  Malcolm  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  Guernsey,  offering  to 
pay  arrears  of  Braes  crofters  on  terms  stated  therein. 

I  was  fully  aware  of  the  nature  of  the  proceedings  against  the  crofters^ 
though  possibly  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  not,  and  I  simply  carried  out  my 
instructions.  I  think,  however,  that,  if  Lord  Macdonald  desires  to  settle 
amicably  with  the  people,  this  proposal,  if  it  does  nothing  else,  will 
give  him  an  opportunity  of  doing  so  without  any  sacrifice  of  his  position 
beyond  showing  a  willingness  to  discuss  the  matter  with  a  view  to 
settle  it  in  a  way  that  will  extricate  all  parties  from  a  difficult  position. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  has  now,  through  me,  deposited  securities  amounting 
to  over  ^1000  in  bank  here,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you 
when  you  shall  have  heard  from  his  lordship. — I  am.  Sirs,  your  obedient 
servant, 

A.  Macicenzie. 
Messrs.  John  C.  Brodie  &  Sons,  W.S. 


THE   AUTUMN    CAMPAIGN,  503 

Lord  Macdonald's  agents  having  published  their  letter,  as 
above,  in  the  Inverness  Courier  of  2nd  November,  Dean  of 
Guild  Mackenzie  wrote  them  another  letter  in  the  course  of 
which  he  said  : — 

Referrring  to  the  second  paragraph  of  my  letter  of  yesterday,  permit 
me  to  express  my  opinion  that  a  favourable  opportunity  has  now 
arrived  to  compromise  tlae  question  in  dispute  advantageously  to  both 
parties,  and  if  I  can  in  any  way  aid  in  that  object,  nothing  will  give  me 
greater  satisfaction.  I  have  had  no  communication  either  direct  or  in- 
direct with  the  Braes  people  since  the  recent  trial,  except  the  telegram 
which  has  appeared  in  the  papers  ;  but  if  a  desire  is  expressed  for  an 
amicable  arrangement,  I  shall  be  glad  to  visit  them  and  do  what  I  can 
to  bring  such  about.  I  believe  if  a  proposal  were  made  to  appoint  an 
independent  valuator  connected  with  the  West,  and  one  in  whom  the 
people  might  fairly  place  confidence  as  to  his  knowledge  of  the  country 
and  the  climate,  the  question  might  be  settled  in  a  few  days.  This 
valuator  should  value  the  crofts  and  Benlee  together,  and  name  one 
sum  for  the  whole.  Though  I  have  no  authority  for  making  this  pro- 
posal, I  believe  it  could  be  carried  out  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned, 
and  it  would  extricate  the  authorities  and  Lord  Macdonald  from  a  most 
unenviable  position. 

To  these  letters  no  reply  was  received. 

Mr.  Malcolm  Mackenzie  followed  up  his  telegram  of  28th 
October  with  a  letter,  of  the  same  date,  at  once  published 
in  almost  all  the  newspapers  in  Scotland,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  said : — 

On  reading  in  the  Inverness  Courier  an  account  of  the  proceedings 
of  Tuesday  last  against  the  Braes  crofters,  I  thought  that  something 
might  be  done  to  take  everybody  out  of  a  difficulty,  and  wired  you  the 
following  message  : — "  Tender  by  telegraph  to  Lord  Macdonald's  agent 
all  arrears  of  rent  due  by  Braes  crofters,  and  to  stay  proceedings.  I 
write  by  post,  and  send  securities  for  one  thousand  pounds  on  Monday." 

I  trust  that  Lord  Macdonald  will  be  advised  to  accept  payment  of 
arrears,  and  to  leave  the  people  of  the  Braes  in  peace  until  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  country  can  overtake  measures  to  judge  between  him  and 
them.  It  will  be  a  heavy  responsibility  and  a  disgrace  to  call  soldiers 
to  Skye  at  the  present  time.     Her  Majesty  has  more  important  work  to 


504  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES.  Ji* 

do  with  her  soldiers  than  to  place  them  at  the  service  of  the  Court  of 
Session  in  vindication  of  an  unconstitutional  law  which  is  not  based  on 
principles  of  justice,  and  which  has,  by  the  progress  of  events  and  the 
evolution  of  time,  become  inoperative.  The  Court  of  Session  looks 
for  precedents.  Where  are  these  precedents  for  the  reign  of  Queen 
Victoria  ? 

Our  dual  system  is  no  longer  possible.  Lord  Macdonald  does  not 
know  what  to  do.  Nobody  knows  what  to  do.  There  is  an  absence 
of  law  and  justice.  In  Scotland  the  administrator  of  justice  is  the 
robber  who  deprives  the  people  of  their  natural  and  indefeasible  right 
to  the  soil  and  of  the  labour  which  they  have  incorporated  with  it.  Is 
that  not  a  terrible  contingency  for  any  country  to  be  in  ?  It  is  peculiarly 
disgraceful  that  it  should  be  so  in  respect  of  the  Highland  race,  who 
successfully  defended  their  country,  their  lands,  and  liberties,  against 
Romans  and  Normans.  What  have  we  come  to  ?  Are  they  going  to 
send  for  the  Highland  Brigade  from  Egypt  to  slaughter  the  people  of 
Skye? 

We  call  for  Mr.  Gladstone.  What  can  poor  Mr.  Gladstone  do,  with 
time  against  him,  society  in  a  state  of  revolt,  a  demoralised  House  of 
Commons,  a  recalcitrant  House  of  Lords,  and  the  Court  of  Session  at 
its  wit's  ends  ?  Let  us  pray  that  he  may  be  able  to  act  as  a  governor  on 
this  rickety  steam-engine  of  society  which,  under  high  pressure,  and  bjr 
reason  of  great  friction,  is  in  danger  of  tearing  itself  to  pieces.  In  the 
meantime,  and  until  the  machine  is  put  in  some  sort  of  order,  by  Rules 
of  Procedure  and  alteration  of  the  law,  it  is  every  man's  duty  to  keep 
her  Majesty's  peace  and  prevent  bloodshed  ;  and  as  you  appear  to  me, 
sir,  to  be  doing  yours,  like  a  good  Seaforth  Highlander,  or  Ross-shire 
Buff,  allow  me  to  subscribe  myself,  very  faithfully  and  loyally  yours. 

The  following  letters  explain  themselves  : — 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  INVERNESS  COURIER. 

Celtic  Magazine  Office,  2  Ness  Bank,  Inverness,  8th  November,  1882. 

Sir, — I  have  just  received  the  enclosed  letter  from  Mr.  Malcolm 
Mackenzie,  Guernsey.  Please  publish  it  in  the  Courier,  as  you  have 
already  published  the  reply  to  my  telegram  from  Lord  Macdonald's 
agents. 

Permit  me,  at  the  same  time,  to  state  that  the  sum  of  ;^iooo,  in  actual 
cash,  has  now  been  placed  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  at  my  disposal  in  the 
Caledonian  Bank,  and,  in  the  event  of  his  offer  being  entertained  by 


THE  AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  505 

Lord  Macdonald,  that  I  shall  be  ready  at  any  moment  to  implement  Mr. 
Mackenzie's  offer.— lam,  &c., 

Alexander  Mackenzie. 

Guernsey,  4th  November,  1882. 

Alexander  Mackenzie,  Esq. ,  Dean  of  Guild,  Inverness. 

Dear  Sir, — 1  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  ist,  enclosing  the  reply 
of  Lord  Macdonald's  solicitors  to  your  telegram  tendering  them  payment 
of  two  years'  rent  due  by  the  Braes  crofters. 

From  Lord  Macdonald's  dignified  position,  he  might  be  thought 
entitled  to  ask  me  for  an  introduction  before  accepting  any  assistance  on 
behalf  of  his  tenants  ;  but  acting  as  I  was,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment, 
to  prevent  bloodshed,  and  possibly  to  avert  an  act  of  civil  war,  I  did  not 
think  that  in  these  hard-money  days  his  solicitors  would  raise  any  objec- 
tions on  the  ground  of  my  being  unknown  to  them,  especially  as  I  made 
the  Dean  of  Guild  of  Inverness  the  medium  of  my  communication. 

As  the  days  of  chivalry  are  gone,  and  as  clan  ties  and  feelings  of 
patriotism  and  humanity  are  no  longer  of  binding  obligation,  I  could  not 
imagine  that  a  firm  of  solicitors  would  stand  on  so  much  ceremony. 

Whatever  misapprehension  Lord  Macdonald's  advisers  are  labouring 
under,  I  can  assure  them  that  I  am  labouring  under  none  as  to  the  real 
issues  between  him  and  his  crofters.  It  would,  doubtless,  suit  them  to 
have  the  case  tried  on  a  false  issue  of  trespass  before  a  Court  which  must 
be  bound  by  former  decisions  and  prevailing  canons  as  to  the  rights  of 
Highland  landlords.  The  plea  of  the  poor  people  is  that  Lord 
Macdonald  is  the  trespasser,  in  depriving  them  of  theirmountain  grazings, 
without  consent  or  compensation,  and  thereby  reducing  them  to  abject 
poverty.  What  can  they  do  ?  It  would  raise  the  whole  question  of  con- 
stitutional right,  and,  as  I  have  said,  the  Court  is  bound  by  former 
decisions  that  the  landlord  has  the  right  to  resume  possession,  and  to 
evict  and  banish  the  peasantry  after  having  first  reduced  them  to  the  last 
nettle  of  subsistence.  A  sentence  of  banishment  used  to  be  regarded  as 
a  punishment  only  next  to  death,  but  in  the  phraseology  of  landlords  it 
is  now  an  "improvement". 

In  the  days  of  "bloody"  George  of  our  own  ilk,  the  Court  of  Session 
knew  better  how  to  apply  the  "boot  "  and  the  thumb-screw  than  con- 
stitutional law.  Eveji  later,  such  ruffians  as  old  Braxfield  recognised  no 
right  in  the  people,  and  according  to  their  dog  Latin,  they  found  that 
the  landlord  was  the  only  person  who  had  a  persena  standi.  It  might, 
indeed,  be  an  interesting  question  for  more  enlightened  and  better  men 


5o6  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

to  discuss,  whether  the  Crown  of  Scotland  conferred  on  the  chieftains  by 
their  charters  the  right  of  wholesale  clearances  and  forcible  banishment 
of  the  people  from  their  native  country  ;  and  when  their  military  service 
was  commuted  into  rent  charges,  if  it  extended  to  the  landlord  the  right 
to  make  it  so  oppressive  that  they  could  not  live  without  appealing  to  the 
public  bounty  for  charity.  But  I  fear  it  is  now  too  late  to  expect  the 
High  Court  of  Scotland  to  remedy  the  evil,  and  that  we  must  look  to 
some  other  Court  for  redress. 

It  is  in  the  hope  that  such  a  Court  of  equity  may  be  established  for 
Scotland  as  regards  land  and  the  well-being  of  the  people,  that  I  ventured 
to  offer  my  assistance,  and  I  thought  that  Lord  Macdonald  and  his 
advisers  would  be  glad  to  make  it  the  means  of  getting  out  of  a  difficulty, 
and  quashing  a  case  that  has  become  a  public  scandal,  instead  of  standing 
on  ceremony. — I  am,  sir,  faithfully  yours, 

(Signed)        Mal.  Mackenzie. 

No  further  reply  was  received  from  Lord  Macdonald  or 
his  agents  to  Mr.  Mackenzie's  munificent  offer,  the  accepting 
of  it  being  understood  by  them  as  equivalent  to  giving  up  the 
grazings  in  question  to  the  people,  without  any  rent  what- 
ever, the  only  proceedings  then  current  against  them  being 
the  Note  of  Suspension  and  Interdict  to  remove  and  keep 
their  stock  off  Benlee.  They  quite  understood  that,  if  these 
proceedings  were  withdrawn,  as  conditioned  in  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie's offer,  the  Braes  Crofters  would  have  the  grazings  in 
dispute  on  their  own  terms,  until  some  settlement  was  arrived 
at  between  them  and  Lord  Macdonald ;  and  rather  than  agree 
to  this,  his  Lordship,  if  the  crown  authorities  had  been  pliant 
enough,  would  have  chosen  to  see  them  slaughtered  by  a 
military  force.  Better  counsels  have  fortunately  prevailed, 
and  his  Lordship  was  saved  by  others  from  making  his 
name  for  ever  infamous  among  the  Highlanders,  especially 
among  his  own  clansmen,  and  this  although  it  was  only 
through  the  strong  arms  and  trusty  blades  of  their  forbears 
that  his  ancestors  were  able  to  leave  him  an.  inch  of  his  vast 
estates  !. 


THE   AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  507 

While  strong  efforts  were  being  made  in  private  to  induce 
his  Lordship  to  yield,  the  following  letter,  refusing  the  ex- 
pected military  force,  was  received  from  the  Lord  Advocate 
by  the  Sheriff  of  the  County  : — 

Whitehall,  3rd  November,  1882. 

Sir, — I  received  on  the  28th  ulto.  the  Report  of  the  Procurator-Fiscal 
at  Portree,  relative  to  the  occurrences  which  took  place  at  Braes  on  the 
24th,  and  the  precognitions  referred  to  in  the  Report  reached  me  on  the 
30th.  These  documents  have  been  carefully  considered,  along  with  the 
previous  papers,  and  I  have  now  to  communicate  to  you  the  view  enter- 
ta,ined  by  the  Government  on  the  subject  to  which  they  relate. 

It  is  clear  that  Lord  Macdonald  is  entitled  to  have  adequate  protection 
for  the  Messengers-at-Arms  whom  he  may  employ  for  the  purpose  of 
serving  writs  upon  the  crofters  at  Braes,  and  the  question  to  be  deter- 
mined is,  by  whom  should  that  protecting  force  be  provided,  and  should 
it  consist  of  police  or  soldiers  ? 

The  duty  of  preserving  the  peace  and  executing  the  law  within  the 
County  rests  upon  the  County  Authorities,  who  are  by  statute  authorised 
to  provide  and  maintain  a  police  force  for  these  purposes.  The  number 
of  the  force  must  necessarily  depend  upon  the  condition  of  the  county, 
and  the  nature  of  the  services  which  require  to  be  performed  in  it. 
Recourse  should  not  be  had  to  military  aid  unless  in  cases  of  sudden  riot 
or  extraordinary  emergency,  to  deal  adequately  with  which  police  can- 
not be  obtained,  and  soldiers  should  not  be  employed  upon  police  duty 
which  is  likely  to  be  of  a  continuing  character.  From,  the  various  reports 
which  have  been  received,  it  appears  that  one  or  more  places  in  the 
Island  of  Skye  are  in  a  disturbed  condition,  though  actual  riot  or  violence 
is  not  anticipated  unless  on  the  occasion  of  the  service  of  writs,  or  the 
apprehension  of  offenders,  and  it  further  appears,  that  any  force  em- 
ployed in  protecting  the  officers  performing  such  duties  would  probably  be 
required  not  once  only,  but  in  connection  with  services  falling  to  be  made 
throughout  the  successive  stages  of  the  process  of  Suspension  and  Inter- 
dict, and  of  the  Petition  for  Breach  of  Interdict,  by  which  it  would,  in 
all  likelihood,  be  followed.  It  further  seems  to  be  the  view  of  the 
Authorities  in  Skye  that  the  force  would  require  to  remain  in  the  Island 
for  a  considerable  time.  These  considerations  have  led  the  Government 
to  the  conclusion  that  they  ought  not  to  sanction  the  employment  of  a 
military  force  under  existing  circumstances,  but  that  the  County 
Authorities  should  provide  or  obtain  the  services  of  such  a  force  of  police 


5o8  THE  HIGHLAND  CLEARANCES. 

as  they  may  consider  necessary  for  preserving  the  peace  and  executing 
the  law  within  the  county.  It  is  not  for  the  Government  to  prescribe  or 
even  to  suggest  the  particular  mode  in  which  the  County  Authorities 
should  fulfil  this  duty,  whether  by  adding  to  their  own  pohce  force,  or 
by  temporarily  obtaining  the  services  of  police  from  other  Counties  or 
Burghs,  but  I  am  authorised  by  Sir  William  Harcourt  to  say,  that  if  they 
should  resolve  to  make  an  addition  to  the  number  of  their  own  police, 
he  will  be  ready  to  grant  his  consent,  in  terms  of  section  5  of  the  Pohce 
(Scotland)  Act  of  1857,  to  whatever  addition  they  may  consider 
requisite. — I  am.  Sir,  Your  obedient  Servant, 

(Signed)        J.  B.  Balfour. 
To  William  Ivory,  Esq. ,  Sheriff  of  Inverness. 

This  letter  was  a  bitter  pill  for  the  County  Authorities, 
who  naturally  desired  to  escape  the  serious  responsibility  of 
serving  the  writs  in  Skye  by  the  small  police  force  at  their 
disposal.  The  Police  Committee  held  a  meeting  on  the 
13th  of  November  to  consider  the  document,  and  to  decide 
what  was  necessary  to  be  done  in  the  altered  circumstances. 
After  serious  deliberation  Mackintosh  of  Mackintosh  moved  : 

"That  while  protesting  against  the  assumption  that  under  existing 
circumstances  the  county  was  bound,  without  the  special  aid  asked  for 
from  the  Government,  to  execute  the  Supreme  Court's  warrants  within 
the  disturbed  districts  ;  and  while  disclaiming  all  responsibility  for  any 
consequences  which  may  result  from  the  action  which  is  now  forced  upon 
them,  the  Committee  ageee  to  make  a  strenuous  effort  to  execute  the 
Court's  warrants,  and  with  that  view  they  resolve  that  the  police  autho- 
rities of  Scotland  be  immediately  communicated  with,  asking  them  to 
furnish  the  largest  number  of  constables  they  can  possibly  spare  on  a 
given  date,  and  to  place  this  force  at  the  disposal  of  the  executive  of  the 
county;"  which  motion  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Davidson  of  Cantray,  and 
unanimously  agreed  to. 

Lord  Lovat  then  moved  "That  the  Committee  recommend  to  the 
Commissioners  of  Supply  to  increase  the  present  force  by  50  con- 
stables;" which  motion  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Davidson,  and  unanimously 
agreed  to. 

It  was  also  agreed  to  recommend  that  a  meeting  of  Commissioners  be 
held  on  Monday  following  to  consider  and  dispose  of  this  recommenda- 
tion. 


.^..e £3 


--i*"^-- '■  ^     -i^iir^iMidttfc 


THE   AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  509 

The  meeting  of  Commissioners  of  Supply  was  duly  held 
on  the  following  Monday,  when  the  subjoined  interesting 
Report,  dated  Edinburgh,  iSth  November,  was  submitted  by 
Sheriff  Ivory : — 

1.  The  second  deforcement  at  the  Braes  took  place  on  and  September, 
1882.  A  full  account  of  that  and  the  previous  deforcement  is  given 
in  my  report  to  the  Home  Secretary,  and  appending  which  is  sent 
herewith. 

2.  On  6th  September  an  order  was  issued  by  Crown  Counsel,  after 
consultation  with  the  Lord  Advocate,  to  serve  on  upwards  of  fifty  crofters 
at  Braes  notes  of  suspension  and  interdict  prohibiting  them  from  tres- 
passing on  Benlee,  which  was  then,  and  had  been  for  seventeen  years 
previous,  occupied  by  another  tenant,  at  a  rent  of  ^130. 

3.  That  order  was  given  to  the  Procurator-Fiscal  of  the  Skye  district, 
who  was  directed  to  judge  of  the  amount  of  the  police  force  that  would 
be  required,  and  to  ask  the  police  authorities  to  furnish  it,  the  particular 
mode  in  which  the  writs  were  to  be  served  being  distinctly  specified  in 
Crown  Counsel's  order. 

4.  The  above  order  was  on  the  7th  September  communicated  by  the 
Procurator-Fiscal  (Skye  District)  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Police  Committee, 
the  former  intimating  at  the  same  time  that  he  and  Sheriff  Spiers  con- 
sidered 1 00  police  necessary,  and  that  they  should  be  supported  by 
troops.  The  order  was  thereafter  communicated  to  me  as  Chairman  of 
the  Police  Committee,  whereupon  I  at  once  put  myself  in  communica- 
tion with  the  Lord  Advocate,  and  asked  for  instructions. 

5.  The  Lord  Advocate  thereafter  requested  the  "Procurator-Fiscal  of 
Inverness-shire  and  myself  to  go  to  Edinburgh,  and  consult  with  him 
there.  We  went,  and  on  the  i6th  September,  after  a  long  and  anxious 
consultation  (in  the  course  of  which  I  strongly  advocated  an  expedition 
with  a  Government  steamer  and  marines),  it  was  finally  resolved  that, 
as  the  calling  in  of  strange  police  had  caused  a  serious  riot  on  a  pre- 
vious occasion,  and  would  be  likely  on  the  next  occasion  to  cause  much 
more  disturbance  and  bloodshed  than  a  military  force,  it  was  the  best 
course  to  prevent  a  serious  riot  and  perhaps  loss  of  life,  to  call  in  the 
aid  of  the  military,  and  I  was  requested  by  the  Lord  Advocate  to  make 
the  necessary  requisition  to  the  military  authorities. 

6.  On  21st  September  I  intimated  to  the  Home  Secretary  that,  after 
consultation  with  the  Lord  Advocate,  I  intended  to  make  a  requisition 
for  troops,  and  sent  him  at  the  same  time,  through  the  Lord  Advocate, 


5IO  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

a  full  report  in  regard  to  the  disturbed  state  of  Skye,  and  the  previous 
deforcements  and  assault  on  50  Glasgow  police  and  myself  at  Braes. 

7.  The  requisition  for  troops  was  made  by  me  on  23rd  September, 
and  on  my  informing  the  Lord  Advocate  of  the  fact,  his  lordship  wrote 
me  on  25th  September  that  he  did  not  see  that  the  county  authorities 
had  then  any  alternative  but  to  request  military  aid. 

8.  On  30th  September  the  Home  Secretary  wrote  me  deprecating  the 
use  of  military,  unless  it  was  absolutely  necessary,  and  suggesting  that 
if  the  expedition  had  not  started  I  should  again  consult  with  the  Lord 
Advocate  on  the  subject. 

9.  On  30th  September,  and  again  on  ist  October,  I  pressed  on  the 
Lord  Advocate  my  decided  opinion  that  (failing  the  Government  fur- 
nishes a  steamer  and  marines)  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  make  use 
of  the  military. 

10.  Shortly  after  this  Lord  Macdonald  visited  the  Braes,  and  in  con- 
sequence the  Lord  Advocate  directed  me  to  suspend  the  requisition  for 
themihtary;  and  on  12th  October,  I  intimated  this  order  to  Colonel 
Preston. 

11.  On  17th  October,  the  Lord  Advocate  wrote  me  that  the  Braes 
arrangement  was  at  an  end ;  that  the  position  of  matters  had  altered  since 
the  requisition  for  the  military  was  made  ;  and  that,  in  his  lordship's 
opinion,  a  further  attempt  should  be  made  to  ascertain,  by  the  test  of 
experience,  whether  a  military  force  was  absolutely  essential. 

12.  That  further  attempt  was  made  on  23rd  October  and  failed.  A 
full  report  of  the  expedition  was  afterwards  communicated  to  the  Lord 
Advocate. 

13.  Considerable  misapprehension  exists  in  regard  to  this  expedition. 
The  Lord  Advocate  was  of  opinion  that,  from  what  passed  during  the 
negotiations  between  Lord  Macdonald  and  his  crofters,  the  latter  had 
indicated  a  more  peaceable  frame  of  mind,  and  that  there  was  no  ground 
for  assuming  that  they  would  forcibly  resist  a  well-conducted  service. 
The  Police  Sub-committee  and  I  entertained  doubts  as  to  the  propriety 
of  sending  such  a  small  force  of  police  to  the  Braes,  as  in  the  present 
excited  state  of  the  people  they  might  suffer  severe  injury.  These  doubts 
were  intimated  to  the  Lord  Advocate  and  Home  Secretary,  but  at  the 
same  time,  in  deference  to  the  views  of  the  former,  the  expedition  was 
carried  out.  In  giving  their  consent  to  this  expedition,  the  Sub-com- 
mittee stated  that  they  '  were  decidedly  of  opinion  that  if  the  m.essenger 
should  be  deforced  on  this  occasion  it  will  be  absolutely  necessary  that 
a  military  or  naval  force  should  immediately  thereafter  be  sent  with  the 
messenger  to  insure  service  and  the  vindication  of  the  law.     The  com- 


THE   AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  51I 

mittee  were  strongly  of  opinion  that  a  gun-boat  and  naval  force  would 
be  preferable,  and  that  the  boat  should  remain  for  some  time  in  the 
district. 

Sheriff  Ivory  here  relates,  in  paragraphs  14,  15,  and  16,  the  resolution 
of  the  Police  Committee  to  apply  to  counties  and  burghs  in  Scotland 
for  a  special  police  force,  and  to  permanently  increase  the  force  of  the 
county  by  50  men  (see  excerpt  from  their  minute  already  given).  He 
proceeds — 

1 7.  These  resolutions  on  the  part  of  the  Police  Committee  are  in  my 
opinion  highly  creditable  to  them,  and  I  sincerely  trust  that  they  will  be 
unanimously  approved  of  and  adopted  by  the  Commissioners  of  Supply. 
For,  while  the  latter  have  no  doubt  great  reason  to  complain  of  the 
great  delay  that  has  already  occurred  in  consequence  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  Government  has  acted,  and  of  the  delay  that  in  all  probability 
must  still  take  place,  if  the  Government  adhere  to  their  resolution  to 
refuse  military  aid,  and  while  I  think  the  Commissioners  ought  to  pro- 
test against  the  present  attempt  of  the  Government  to  throw  on  the 
county  authorities  the  whole  responsibility  of  serving  writs,  apprehend- 
ing offenders,  executing  the  law,  and  preserving  the  peace  of  the 
county,  without  naval  or  military  aid,  in  the  present  disturbed  state  of 
Skye,  and  to  disclaim  all  responsibility  for  the  consequences,  should 
serious  bloodshed  or  loss  of  life  ensue — I  am  of  opinion  that  the  con- 
duct of  the  Government  in  the  matter  renders  it  all  the  more  necessary 
for  the  county  authorities  to  do  their  utmost  in  the  meantime  to  preserve 
the  peace,  and  vindicate  the  authority  of  the  law  in  Skye. 

18.  For  my  own  part  I  regret  exceedingly  the  delay  that  has  already 
occurred,  and  that  will  in  all  probability  still  occur,  before  the  law  is 
duly  vindicated  in  Skye.  Such  delay  will  be  most  prejudicial,  in  my 
opinion,  to  the  best  interests  of  the  island.  Had  I  foreseen  the  course 
which  matters  have  unfortunately  taken,  I  should  at  once  have  recom- 
mended the  county  authorities — when  application  was  made  to  them  for 
a  sufficient  force  to  serve  the  writs — to  do  then  what  they  propose  to  do 
now — viz. ,  to  apply  to  Glasgow  and  other  police  authorities  for  a  larger 
force  of  police  to  ensure  the  due  service  of  the  writs.  But  this  course 
appeared  to  me  objectionable  in  many  respects.  In  particular,  nothing 
gave  such  great  offence  to  the  crofters  and  their  friends  as  the  sending 
on  the  last  occasion  a  large  force  of  strange  police  to  Skye,  and  I  am 
credibly  informed,  and  believe  that  if  such  a  force  was  sent  again,  a 
serious  riot,  and  probably  bloodshed  would  ensue.  Further,  it  ap- 
peared to  me  far  from  a  judicious  course  to  apply  to  Glasgow  and  other 
burgh  and  county  authorities  for  police,  thereby  necessitating  innumer- 


512  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

able  discussions  regarding  the  rights  of  crofters  before  the  Police  Com- 
mittees of  Scotland,  while  at  the  same  time  it  was  very  doubtful 
whether  these  authorities  could  or  would  supply  the  necessary  force. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  was  assured  by  many  persons  who  were  much 
interested  in  Skye,  and  who  knew  the  people  well,  that  if  a  force  was 
sent  by  Government — ^whether  naval  or  marine — the  people  would  see 
that  the  Government  were  determined  to  vindicate  the  law  in  Skye — 
that  in  that  case  in  all  probability  no  resistance  would  be  offered,  and 
the  writs  would  not  only  be  served  in  peace  and  quietness,  but  in  all 
likelihood  the  people  would  in  future  refrain  from  trespassing  on  ground 
to  which  they  had  no  right  or  committing  breaches  of  interdict,  or 
otherwise  setting  the  law  at  defiance.  On  these  grounds  when  I  failed 
to  get  the  use  of  a  Government  steamer  and  marines,  I  willingly  ac- 
cepted the  other  alternative  of  making  a  requisition  for  military  aid. 
It  must  be  kept  in  view,  however,  that  the  suggestion  for  military  aid 
came  neither  from  the  county  authorities  nor  from  myself.  It  was 
originally  insisted  on  by  the  Procurator-Fiscal  of  Skye  (acting  as  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  Advocate  in  the  matter)  as  necessary  to  enable  him 
to  fulfd  the  order  of  the  Crown  Counsel  to  serve  the  writs  at  Braes  ;  it 
was  afterwards  adopted  by  the  Lord  Advocate,  after  long  and  anxious 
consultation  with  the  parties  on  whose  judgment  his  lordship  thought 
proper  to  rely — as  the  best  course  to  be  followed  in  all  the  circumstances; 
and  while  the  formal  requisition  was  made — as  it  could  only  formally 
be  made  by  me  as  Sheriff  of  the  county — in  point  of  fact  the  requisi- 
tion for  military  aid,  which  has  now  after  two  months'  delay  been 
refused  by  her  Majesty's  Government,  was  truly  made  at  the  request, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  but  the  views  of  the  Lord  Advocate, 
who  at  the  time  represented  her  Majesty's  Government  in  Scotland. 

(Signed)        W.  Ivory. 

The  following  excerpt  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Police 
Committee  Meeting,  held  on  the  i8th  of  September  was 
also  read  : — 

The  Committee,  having  reference  to  the  Procurator-Fiscal's  letter,  as 
to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  force  necessary  to  be  employed,  and  to 
the  reports  made  to  them  at  the  time  of  the  previous  disturbances  at  the 
Braes,  were  of  opinion  that  no  force  of  police  at  their  disposal  will  be 
adequate  to  the  duty  the  county  authorities  are  now  called  upon  to  per- 
form, and  that  with  the  view  not  only  of  securing  the  service  of  the 
writs,  and  the  apprehension  of  the  accused  parties,  but  of  duly  impressing 


THE   AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  513 

the  people  of  Skye  with  the  resolution  of  the  authorities  to  maintain  the 
law,  a  military  or  naval  force  should  accompany  the  authorities  in  their 
endeavour  to  enforce  the  law,  to  be  employed  as  a  protection  and  aid  to 
the  civil  officers,  in  the  event  of  their  being  overpowered  ;  and  the 
Sheriff  was  requested  to  make  requisition  to  that  effect  in  the  proper 
quarter. 

It  was  agreed  that  the  county  police  force  should  be  placed  at  the 
Sheriff's  disposal,  but  they  do  not  think  it  advisable  again  to  apply  for 
police  from  Glasgow.  Especially,  seeing  that  a  strong  feeling  of  irrita- 
tion was  excited  in  Skye  against  them  on  the  former  occasion,  the  moral 
effect  would  be  less  than  were  the  military  employed,  and  also  because 
difficulties  may  be  anticipated  with  the  Glasgow  Town  Council  in  pro- 
curing the  necessary  force. 

After  considerable  discussion  and  some  opposition,  it  was 
resolved  to  increase  the  police  force  of  the  county  from  44 
to  94  men  ;  at  an  estimated  cost  of  over  ;^3ooo  per  annum. 
It  was  also  agreed 

"To  make  a  strenuous  effort  to  execute  the  Court's  warrants,  and  with 
that  view  they  resolve  that  the  police  authorities  of  Scotland  be  immedi- 
ately communicated  with,  asking  them  to  furnish  the  largest  number  of 
constables  they  can  possibly  spare  on  a  given  date,  and  to  place  this 
force  at  the  disposal  of  the  executive  of  the  county." 

The  police  authorities  of  Scotland  had  been  applied  to,  and 
the  response  was  of  so  discouraging  a  character  that  the 
proposed  police  force  has  not  yet  been  sent  to  Skye,  and 
it  is  most  unlikely  that  it  ever  shall  be.  A  few  counties 
agreed  to  send  small  detachments,  which  resolution  some 
of  them  afterwards  rescinded.  All  the  burghs  point  blank 
refused  to  send  any.  This  indicated  an  ominous  state  of 
adverse  feeling  throughout  the  countryregarding  the  proposed 
action  of  the  Inverness  County  Authorities,  and  they  became 
paralyzed  in  consequence.  The  Commissioners  of  Police 
for  the  Burgh  of  Inverness,  on  the  motion  of  the  present 
writer,  refused  the  appHcation  of  the  County  Authorities 
(on  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  the  Commissioners  of 
Supply  resolved  to  ask  for  it),  by  a  majority  of  14  to  5,  the 

33 


514  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

minority,  it  has  been  pointed  out,  consisting  of  three  factors — 
CuUoden's,  Sir  Alexander  Mathieson's,  and  Flichity's,  with 
Lord  Lovat's  Law  Agent,  and  the  local  architect  of  Mackin- 
tosh and  Sir  John  Ramsden. 

What  was  to  be  done  next  ?  Neither  military  nor  police 
could  be  had  to  serve  Lord  Macdonald's  writs  ;  the  county 
authorities  were  virtually  powerless,  and  various  efforts  were 
made  to  secure  a  settlement.  They  had  in  fact  to  fall  back 
on  the  friends  of  the  crofters,  one  of  whom,  a  gentleman  in 
Skye,  was  communicated  with  by  his  Lordship's  agents,  urging 
him  to  use  his  good  offices  to  get  the  crofters  to  let  his  Lord- 
ship drop  easy,  by  getting  proposals  of  settlement  to  emanate 
from  them.  The  result  was  a  visit  by  the  factor,  Mr. 
Alexander  Macdonald,  to  the  Braes,  on  the  27th  of  Novem- 
ber last ;  a  long  conference  with  the  tenants,  and  a  final 
settlement,  the  people  agreeing  to  pay  a  rent  of  ^74  15s.  a 
year  for  the  now  celebrated  Benlee,  for  which  the  late  tenant, 
Mr.  John  Mackay,  had  been  paying  ^128  per  annum,  and 
he,  who  was  joint-petitioner  with  Lord  Macdonald,  in  the 
Note  of  Suspension  and  Interdict,  in  the  Court  of  Session, 
having  given  his  consent,  the  case  was  withdrawn  in 
the  month  of  December,  and  peace,  which,  with  a  little 
prudence,  and  the  exercise  of  the  smallest  modicum  of 
common-sense,  need  never  to  have  been  broken,  now  reigns 
supreme  in  the  Braes. 

It  should  be  mentioned  that  the  Braes  crofters  told  their 
friends  from  the  beginning  that,  although  they  considered 
themselves  entitled  to  Benlee  without  any  rent,  still  they 
were  willing  to  pay  a  fair  sum  for  it,  if  Lord  Macdonald 
or  his  factor  would  only  listen  to  their  grievances  or  con- 
descend to  discuss  with  them,  with  the  view  of  arriving  at 
any  reasonable  compromise,  such  as  that  which  has  now  been 
agreed  upon,  apparently  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 


the  autumn  campaign.  515 

The  Glendale  Crofters  in  the  Court  of  Session. 

It  appears  that  the  Glendale  crofters  have  permitted  their 
stock  to  remain  on  the  farm  of  Waterstein,  notwithstanding 
an  interdict  procured  against  them,  in  absence,  in  the  Court 
of  Session,  and  they  are  now  further  charged  with  an  assault 
on  one  of  the  shepherds.  Unlike  the  Braes  tenants,  they 
are  apparently  not  only  quite  willing  to  receive  any  number 
of  writs,  but  they  are  at  the  same  time  most  courteous  to 
the  officers  of  the  law,  who  have  had  occasion  to  visit  them 
repeatedly  in  the  performance  of  their  official  duties.  On 
the  last  occasion  they,  with  the  greatest  consideration,  ferried 
Mr.  MacTavish,  the  sheriff"  officer,  across  the  loch  from  one 
district  to  another  with  the  unserved  portion  of  the  writs, 
for  those  on  the  opposite  side,  in  his  possession. 

The  following  report  of  what  took  place  in  the  Court  of 
Session  will  explain  how  the  matter  stands  with  them,  as  we 
go  to  press  — 

Petition  and  Complaint. — Macleod's  Trustees  v.  Mac- 
Kinnon and  Others, — Glendale  Crofters. 

This  petition  and  complaint  was  presented  by  the  Trustees 
of  the  late  Sir  John  Macpherson  MacLeod,  of  Duirinish, 
K.C.S.I.,  and  the  petitioners  complain  of  various  breaches 
of  interdict  against  five  of  the  crofters  on  the  estate  of 
Duirinish  and  Glendale,  in  the  island  of  Skye,  which  estate 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  petitioners  as  trustees.  The  case 
was  before  the  Court  on  the  i  ith  of  January,  when 

Mr.  Murray,  for  the  petitioners,  appeared  and  said — In 
this  case  no  answers  have  been  lodged,  and  I  have  to  ask 
your  lordships  to  pronounce  an  order  ordaining  the  respon- 
dents to  appear  at  the  bar.  In  the  special  circumstances  of 
this  case  I  shall  ask  your  lordships  to  allow  us  to  send  the 
order  by  registered  letter. 


5l6  THE   HIGHLAND    CLEARANCES. 

The  Lord-President — What  is  the  order  you  ask  for  ? 

Mr.  Murray — The  order  I  ask  for  is  to  ordain  the  respon- 
dents to  appear  at  the  bar. 

Lord  Mure — How  many  respondents  are  there  ? 

Mr.  Murray — There  are  five  of  them. 

The  Lord-President — Have  you  any  precedent  for  that 
mode  of  sending  an  order,  Mr.  Murray  ? 

Mr.  Murray — No,  my  lord  :  there  is  no  authority.  I  think 
the  matter  is  entirely  in  your  lordships'  hands.  The  matter 
is  not  regulated  by  any  express  enactment.  The  Act  of 
Sederunt  that  deals  with  it  is  28,  which  simply  says  that  the 
procedure  shall  be,  so  far  as  possible,  the  same  as  the 
procedure  in  a  petition  and  complaint  against  the  freeholders. 
Your  lordships  see  that  this  is  really  simply  intimating  an 
order  of  Court,  and  one  great  reason  for  this,  without 
directing  your  attention  to  any  other  special  circumstances, 
is  the  very  large  expense  that  is  incurred  by  service  in  such 
a  remote  part.  The  service  in  this  case  practically  costs 
p^4o.  Now,  there  have  already  been  three  services.  There 
was  first  the  original  service  of  interdict;  and  then  there 
was  the  service  of  interim  interdict ;  and  then,  lastly,  there 
was  the  service  of  the  petition  and  complaint. 

The  Lord-President — Is  there  any  messenger-at-arms  ? 

Mr.  Murray — There  is  nobody  nearer  than  Glasgow  or 
Inverness. 

Lord  Mure — What  do  you  say  the  expense  was? 

Mr.  Murray — ;^4o  on  each  occasion.     ;^3o  of  fee,  and 
;^io  of  expenses. 

The  Lord-President — Is  there  a  Sheriff  Court  officer  in 
Skye? 

Lord  Mure— There  is  a  Sheriff-Substitute  at  Skye  if  there 
is  not  a  sheriff  officer. 

After  a  consultation  the  Lord-President  stated  that  their 


THE   AUTUMN   CAMPAIGN.  517 

lordships  would  dispose  of  the  matter  in  the  course  of  the 
day. 

When  the  case  again  came  up  in  the  afternoon,  the  Lord- 
President  said  their  lordships  did  not  see  their  way  to  grant 
the  request  to  serve  the  order  by  registered  letter,  and  they 
would  just  have  to  serve  it  in  the  ordinary  way.  They  would 
make  an  order  for  the  respondents  to  appear  personally  at 
the  bar,  but  he  thought  probably  they  had  better  make  it  so 
many  days  after  service.  He  supposed  it  was  a  matter  of  no 
consequence  whether  they  authorised  it  to  be  done  by  a 
sheriff  officer  rather  than  a  messenger-at-arms. 

Mr.  Murray  said  it  would  be  better  if  they  had  the  option 
of  employing  either  the  one  or  the  other.  He  would  not 
like  to  be  tied  down  to  a  sheriff  officer. 

The  Court,  therefore,  in  respect  of  no  answer  and  no 
appearance  for  the  respondents,  made  an  order  for  them  to 
appear  personally  at  the  bar  on  the  ist  day  of  February  next, 
provided  this  order  was  served  on  them  ten  days  before  that 
date,  and  authorised  either  a  sheriff  officer  or  messenger-at- 
arms  to  serve  the  order. 

The  Sheriff-Officer,  in  due  course,  proceeded  to  Skye,  to 
serve  the  Order  of  the  Court,  but  on  arriving  in  Glendale 
he  was  met  by  a  large  crowd  of  men,  women,  and  children, 
who  refused  to  receive  the  writs,  As  we  go  to  press  with 
these  lines,  a  warrant  has  been  granted  for  the  apprehension 
of  four  of  the  men  on  the  charge  of  deforcement,  but  what 
the  result  may  be  it  is  difficult  to  predict.  Application  has 
again  been  made  to  the  Crown  authorities  for  a  military 
force  for  the  apprehension  of  the  accused,  without  which  it 
is  admitted  on  all  hands,  no  apprehensions  can  possibly  be 
made. 

Alluding  to  our  present  Land   Laws,  St.   Michael,  ad- 


5lS  THE   HIGHLAND   CLEARANCES. 

dressing  the  Preacher,  in  a  recently  pubHshed  extreme,  but, 
in  many  respects,  true  and  powerful  poem,  says : — 

Can  Law  be  Law  when  based  on  Wrong  ? 

Can  Law  be  Law  when  for  the  strong  ? 

Can  Law  be  Law  when  landlords  stand 

Rack-renthig  mankind  off  the  land  ? 

By  '  Law  '  a  landlord  can  become 

The  ghost  of  every  Crofter's  home  ; 

By  '  Law '  their  little  cots  can  be 

Dark  dens  of  dirt  and  misery  ; 

By  '  Law '  the  tax  upon  their  toil 

Is  squandered  on  an  alien  soil  ; 

By  '  Law '  their  daughters,  sons,  and  wives> 

Are  doomed  to  slavish  drudgery's  lives  ; 

By  '  Law '  Eviction's  dreadful  crimes 

Are  possible  in  Christian  times  ; 

By  '  Law  '  a  spendthrift  lord's  intents 

Are  met  by  drawing  higher  rents  ; 

By  '  Law*  all  food-producing  glens 

Are  changed  from  farms  to  cattle  pens  : 

This  is  your  '  Law '  whereby  a  few 

Are  shielded  in  the  deeds  they  do.* 

*  St  Michael  and  the  Preacher,  a  Tale  of  Skye.     By  the  Rev.  Donald 
MacSiller,  Minister  of  the  [New]  Gospel,  Portree.    Inverness:  Law,  Justice 
and  Co. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  figures  given  in  the  following  tables  will  show  at 
what  rate  the  population  increased  or  decreased  in 
the  different  Parishes,  in  whole  or  in  part,  within  the  counties 
named,  during  the  periods  between  1831,  1841,  185 1,  and 
1 88 1,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  County  of  Sutherland,  during 
each  decennial  period  since  1801,  The  total  population 
of  each  County  for  each  decade  is  as  follows  : — 

Perth. — This  County  had  a  total  population,  in  1801, 
of  126,366;  in  1811,  of  135,093;  in  1821,  of  139,050;  in 
1831,  of  142,166;  in  1841,  of  137,457;  in  1851,  of 
138,660 ;  in  1861,  of  133,500 ;  in  1871,  of  127,768 ;  and  in 
1881,  of  129,007,  The  present  total  population  will  thus 
be  found  more  than  6,000  less  than  it  was  70  years  ago; 
10,000  less  than  it  was  60  years  ago  ;  and  more  than  13,000 
less  than  it  was  50  years  ago.  The  town  and  village  popu- 
lation increased  in  the  last  decade — from  187 1  to  1881 — 
by  14,420.  The  total  rural  population  in  1881  was  57,016, 
against  78,364  in  1831,  making  a  decrease  in  the  rural  in- 
habitants of  the  County  in  50  years  of  21,348  souls,  or 
considerably  more  than  one-third  of  the  present  rural  popu- 
lation of  the  County.  A  few  parishes,  in  the  more  Southern, 
non-Highland,  portions  of  this  County  are  not  given  in  the 
Table  applicable  to  it  in  this  Appendix. 


520  APPEirDDL 

Argyix. — ^This  Connty  had  a  population  in  iSoi,  of 
of  71,859;  in  181 1,  of  85,859;  in  1821,  of  97,316:  in 
1831,  of  icx>,973;  in  1841,  of  97,371;  in  1851,  of  89,298; 
in  1861,  of  79,724;  in  1871,  of  75,679;  and  in  1881,  of 
76^68.  The  present  total  population  will  thus  be  found 
9,117  less  than  it  was  70  years  ago;  20,848  less  than  it  was 
60  yeais  ago ;  and  24,505  less  than  it  was  50  years  ago. 
The  town  and  village  population  increased,  between  1871 
and  1881,  from  25,713  to  30,387 ;  while  during  the  same 
decennial  period,  the  rural  population  deo-eased  from 
49,966  to  46,081,  oc  by  nearly  4,000  souls.  The  rural  po- 
pulation of  the  County  in  1881  was  46,081.  Thus,  while 
the  town  popnlaticni  more  than  doubled  since  1831,  the 
rural  population  decreased  by  more  than  one-half  There 
could  not  have  been  15,000  of  a  town  population  in  183 1, 
as  so^ested  at  page  362,  and  therefore  the  decrease  in 
die  rural  population  is  necessarily  greater  than  is  there 
stated. 

JxvESLKESS. — This  County  had  a  population  in  1801,  of 
74,292 ;  in  1811,  of  785336;  in  1821,  of  90,157;  in  1831, 
of  94,797;  in  1841,  of  97,799;  in  185 1,  of  96,500;  in 
1861-  of  88,261;  in  1871,  of  88,015;  and  in  1881,  of 
90,454.  The  present  total  population  of  the  County  will 
thus  be  found  only  297  more  than  it  was  60  years  ago;  4,343 
less  dian  it  was  50  years  ago ;  and  7,345  less  than  it  was  40 
years  ago,  notwithstanding  that  the  population  of  the  Town 
of  Inverness  akme  increased  during  the  last  50  years,  from 
9,663,  in  1831,  to  17,385,  in  1881,  or  7,922  souls.  The 
village  population  also  increased  considerably  during  the 
same  period.  From  4,624  in  1871,  it  increased  to  5,714  in 
188 1,  while,  during  the  same  decade,  the  rural  population 
shows  a  decrease  from  68,881,  in  187 1,  to  67,355,  in  1881, 


APPENDIX.  521 

or  1,526  souls.  The  town  and  village  population  of  the 
County  in  1881,  was  23,099.  Of  this  number  there  could 
not  have  been  more  than  12,000  in  1841,  making  the  rural 
population  at  that  date  nearly  86,000,  as  against  67,355,  in 
1 88 1,  or  a  reduction  of  considerably  more  than  one-fourth, 
of  the  present  rural  population  of  the  County,  in  forty 
years. 

Ross  AND  Cromarty. — The  population  of  these  Coun- 
ties, combined,  in  1801,  was  55,343.  In  181 1,  they  had  a 
population  of  60,853;  in  1821,  of  68,828;  in  1831,  of 
74,820;  in  1841,  of  78,685  ;  in  1851,  of  82,707  ;  in  1861, 
of  81,406;  in  1871,  of  80,955;  and  in  1881,  of  78,547. 
These  figures  show  an  increase  of  3,727  on  the  population 
of  1 83 1,  or  of  fifty  years  ago,  while  they  show  a  decrease  of 
238  on  that  of  1841,  and  a  reduction  of  4,160  on  that  of 
185 1,  The  population  of  the  towns  and  villages  appear 
to  have  remained  stationary,  except  in  the  villages  of  Alness 
and  Invergordon,  on  the  mainland.  The  latter  accounts 
for  the  increase  which  appears  in  the  Table,  in  the  popula- 
tion of  the  parishes  of  Roskeen  and  Fearn.  The  same 
remarks  hold  true  of  the  town  and  parish  of  Stornoway, 
in  the  Lews.  The  rural  population  of  Ross  and  Cromarty 
decreased  from  53,223  in  1871,  to  49,882  in  1881  ;  or 
3,341  during  the  last  ten  years. 

Sutherland. — This  County  had  a  population  in  1801, 
of  23,117;  in  1811,  of  23,629;  in  1821,  of  23,840;  in 
1831,  of  25,518;  in  1841,  of  24,782;  in  1851,  of  25,793 ; 
in  1861,  of  25,246;  in  1871,  of  24,317;  and  in  1881,  of 
23,370.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  population  of  the  whole 
County  was,  in  1881,  only  253  souls  more  than  it  was  in 
1 80 1,  and  that  it  was  decreasing  at  the  rate  of  nearly  1000 


522  APPENDIX. 

each  decade  since  185 1.  The  County  may  be  said  to  be 
entirely  rural,  if  we  except  the  wretched  villages  of  Bonar, 
Dornoch,  Helmsdale,  Embo,  and  Portskerra,  with  those  of 
Golspie,  and  Brora,  which  are  in  a  slightly  less  wretched 
condition  from  their  contiguity  to  Dunrobin  Castle.  These, 
among  them,  had  a  village  population  of  4,674,  in  1881, 
as  against  4,779,  in  187 1.  Most  of  these  villages  have 
arisen  since  the  Clearances,  which  took  place  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  century,  and  the  result  of  which,  in  the 
parishes  more  particularly  affected,  may  be  traced  in  the 
tabulated  statement  for  the  County,  which  is  carried  back 
to  1 80 1,  for  this  purpose. 

Caithness. — This  County  had  a  population,  in  1 801,  of 
22,609;  i^  1811,  of  23,419;  in  1821,  of  30,238;  in  1831, 
of  34,529;  in  1841,  of  36,343;  in  1851,  of  38,709;  in 
1861,  of  41,111;  in  1871,  of  39,992;  and  in  1881,  of 
38,865.  In  181 1,  the  population  of  the  town  of  Wick  was 
only  994;  in  1881,  it  was  1,860.  The  population  of 
Pultneytown,  Louisburgh,  and  Bankhead,  in  181 1,  was  duly 
755;  in  1881,  it  numbered  6,193;  total  in  1811 — 1749  j 
total  in  1 88 1 — 8,053.  The  fishing  villages  of  Broadhaven, 
Staxigoe,  Papigoe,  and  others,  have  also  added  considerably 
to  the  population  of  the  Parish.  The  same  remarks  also 
hold  true  of  the  parish  of  Olrig,  which  includes  the  modern 
village  of  Castletown,  containing  a  population  of  932, 
mainly  slate  quarriers,  in  188 1.  The  town  of  Thurso  had  a 
population  of  only  2,429,  in  1831 ;  in  1881,  it  increased 
to  4,055.  From  these  figures  it  is  clear  that  the  rural 
population  of  the  County,  which,  in  1881,  only  numbered 
24,309,  is  rapidly  decreasing.  Since  187 1,  it  fell  from 
25,763  to  24,309,  or  1,454  in  one  decade. 


APPENDIX.  523 


Population  in  1831,  1841,  1851,  and  1881,  of  all  the  Parishes  in  whole 
or  in  part  in  the  County  of  Perthshire. 

1831. 
Aberdalgie 434 

Aberfoyle , 660 

Abernethy 1915 

Abernyte 254 

Arngask 712 

Auchterarder 31 82 

Auchtergeven 34i  7 

Balquhidder 1 049 

Bendochy 780 

Blackford 1 89  7 

Blair- Athol 2495 

Blairgowrie 2644 

Callander 1 909 

Caputh 2303 

Cargill 1628 

Cluny 944 

Collace 730 

C  ulross 1484 

Comrie 2622 

Dron 464 

Dull 4590 

Dunbarney 1 162 

Dunkeld 2032 

Dunning 2045 

Errol 2992 

Findo-Gask 428 

Forgandenny 913 

Forteviot 624 

Fortingall 3067 

Fossovvay  and  Tulliebole 1576 

Fowlis-Wester 168 1 

Glendevon 620 

Inchture 878 

Kenmore 3126 

Killin 2002 


I84I. 

1851. 

i88i. 

360 

343 

297 

543 

514 

465 

1920 

2026 

1714 

280 

275 

275 

750 

685 

547 

3434 

4160 

3648 

3366 

3232 

2195 

871 

874 

627 

783 

773 

715 

1782 

2012 

1595 

2231 

2084 

1742 

3471 

2497 

5162 

1665 

1716 

2167 

2317 

2037 

2096 

1642 

1629 

1348 

763 

723 

582 

702 

S8i 

409 

1444 

1487 

1 130 

2471 

2463 

1858 

441 

394 

335 

381 1 

3342 

2565 

1 104 

1066 

756 

1752 

1662 

791 

2128 

2206 

1639 

2832 

2796 

2421 

436 

405 

364 

796 

828 

617 

638 

638 

618 

2740 

2486 

1690 

1724 

1621 

1267 

1609 

1483 

412 

157 

128 

147 

769 

745 

650 

2539 

2257 

1508 

1702 

1608 

1277 

524  APPENDIX, 

1831. 

Kilmadock 3752 

Kilspindie 760 

Kincardine 2455 

Kinclaven 890 

Kinfauns 732 

Kinnaird 461 

Kinnoull 295  7 

Kirkmichael 1568 

Lethendy  and  Kinloch 708 

Little  Dunkeld 2867 

Logierait 3138 

Longforgan 1638 

Madderty 713 

Meigle 873 

Methven 2714 

Moneydie 300 

Monzie II95 

Monievaird  and  Strowan 926 

Moulin 2022 

Muckhart 617 

Muthill 3297 

Redgorton 1866 

Rhynd 400 

St.  Madoes 327 

St.  Martins 1135 

Scone 2268 

Tibbermore 1223 

Trinity-Gask 620 

Tulliallan 3S5o 

Weem 1209 


1 841. 

1851. 

18  Si- 

4055 

3659 

3012 

709 

684 

693 

2232 

1993 

I35I 

880 

881 

588 

720 

650 

583 

458 

370 

260 

2879 

3134 

3461 

I4I2 

I2S0 

849 

662 

556 

404 

2718 

2155 

2175 

2959 

2875 

2323 

1660 

1787 

1854 

634 

593 

527 

728 

686 

696 

2446 

2454 

I9IO 

315 

321 

233 

I26I 

1 199 

753 

853 

790 

700 

2019 

2022 

2066 

706 

685 

601 

3067 

2972 

1702 

1929 

2047 

1452 

402 

338 

297 

327 

288 

316 

I07I 

983. 

741 

2422 

2381 

2402 

I66I 

1495 

1883 

620 

597 

396 

3196 

3043 

2207 

890 

740 

474 

APPENDIX.  525 

Population  in  1831,  1841,  1S51,  and  18S1,  of  all  the  Parishes  in  "whole 

or  in  part  tn  the  County  of  Argyll, 

1831.  1841.  1851.  i88i" 

Ardchattan  and  Muckaim 2420  2264  2313  2005 

Ardnamurchan 5669  5581  544^  4105 

Campbelton 9472  9539  9381  9755 

Craignish 892  970  873  451 

Dunoon  and  Kilmun 2416  2853  4518  8002 

GighaandCara 534  550  547  382 

Glassary 4054  5369  4711  4348 

Glenorchy  and  Inishail 1806  831  1450  1705 

Inveraray 2233  2277  2229  946 

Inverchaolain 596  699  474  407 

Jura  and  Colonsay 2205  2291  1901  1343 

Kilbrandon  and  Kilchattan 2833  2602  2375  1767 

Kilcalmonell  and  Kilberry 34^8  2460  2859  2304 

Kilchoman 4822  4505  4142  2547' 

Ivilchrenan  and  Dalavich 1096  894  776  504 

Kildalton 3065  3315  3310  2271 

Kilfinan 2004  1816  1695  2153 

Kilfinichen  and  Kilviceuen 3819  4102  3054  19S2 

Killarrow  and  Kilmeny 7105  7341  4882  2756 

Killean  and  Kilchenzie 2866  2401  2219  1368 

Kilmallie 4210  5397  5235  4157 

Kilmartin 1475  1213  1144  811 

Kilmodan 648  578  500  323 

Kilmore  and  Kilbride 2836  4327  3131  5142 

Kilninian  and  Kilmore 4830  4322  3954  2540 

Kilninver  and  Kilmelford 1072  970  714  405 

Knapdale,  North 2583  2170  1666  927 

Knapdale,  South 2137  1537  2178  2536 

Lismore  and  Appin 4365  4193  4097  3433 

Lochgoilhead  and  Kilmorich 1196  11 00  834  870 

Morvern 2036  1781  1547  828 

Saddell  and  Skipness 2152  1798  1504  1163 

Small  Isles 1015  993  916  550 

Southend 2120  1598  1406  955 

Strachur  and  Stralachan 1083  1086  915  932 

Tiree  and  Coll 5769  6096  4818  3376 

Torosay 1889  1616  1361  1102 


526  APPENDIX. 

Population  in  1 83 1,  1 84 1,  1 85 1,  and  1 88 1,  of  all  the  Parishes  in  whole 

or  in  part  in  the  County  of  Inverness. 

1831.  1841.  1851.  18S1. 

Abemethy 2092  1920  1871  1530 

Alvie 1092  972  914  707 

Ardersier 1268  I47S  1241  *2o86 

Ardnamurchan  5669  5581  5446  4105 

Boleskine  and  Abertarff. 1829  1876  2006  1448 

Cawdor I187  1150  1202  1070 

Cromdale 3234  356i  399°  3^42 

Croy 1664  1684  1770  1709 

Daviot  and  Dunlichity 1641  1681     '    1857  1252 

Dores , 1736  i745  1650  1148 

Duthil 1920  1759  1788  1664 

Glenelg 2874  2729  2470  1601 

Inverness 14324  15418  16496  21725 

Kilmallie 4210  5397  5235  4i57 

Kilmonivaig 2869  2791  2583  1928 

Kilmorack  (including  Beauly) 2709  2694  3007  2618 

Kiltarlity 2715  2896  2965  2134 

Kingussie  and  Insh 2080  2047  2201  1987 

Kirkhill 1715  1S29  1730  14S0 

Laggan 1196  1201  1223  917 

Moy  and  Dalarossie 1098  967  1018  822 

Petty 1836  1749  1784  1531 

Urquhart  and  Glenmoriston 2942  3104  3280  2438 

Urray 2768  2716  2621  2478 

Insular — 

Barra 2097  2363  1873  2161 

Bracadale 1769  1824  1597  929 

Duirinish 4765  4983  533°  4319 

Harris 390O  4429  4250  4814 

Kilmuir 34i5  3^29  3177  2562 

North  Uist 4603  4428  3918  4264 

Portree 3441  3574  3557  3191 

Sleat 2756  2706  2531  2060 

Small  Isles 1015  993  916  550 

Snizort 3487  3220  3101  2120 

South  Uist 6890  7333  6173  607S 

Strath 2962  3150  3243  2616 

*  Including  948  military  and  militia  in  Fort-George  in  1881. 


APPENDIX. 


527 


Population  in  1831,  1841,  1851,  and  1881,  of  all  the  Parishes  in  whole 

or  in  part  in  the  COUNTIES  OF  Ross  and  Cromarty. 

1831.  1841.  1851.  1881. 

Alness 1437  1269  1240  1033 

Applecross  2892  2861  2709  2239 

Avoch , 1956  1931  2029  1691 

Contin 2023  1770  1562  1422 

Cromarty 2900  2662  2727  2009 

Dingwall 1159  2100  2364  2220 

Edderton 1023  975           890  431 

Fearn 1695  1914  2122  2135 

Fodderty 2232  2437  2342  2047 

Gairloch 4445  4880  5186  4594 

Glenshiel 715  745           573  424 

Killearnan 1479  1643  1794  1059 

Kilmuir-Easter 1556  i486  1437  1146 

Kiltearn 1605  1436  1538  1182 

Kincardine 1887  2108  1896  1472 

Kintail 1240  It86  1009  688 

Knockbain 2139  2565  3005  1866 

Lochalsh 2433  2597  2299  2050 

Lochbroom 4615  4799  4813  4191 

Lochcarron 2136  i960  1612  1456 

Logie-Easter 934  1015           965  827 

Nigg 1404  1426  1457  1000 

Resolis  or  Kirkmichael 1470  1549  1551  1424 

Rosemarkie 1799  1719  1776  1357 

Rosskeen 2916  3222  3699  3773 

Tain 3078  3128  3754  3009 

Tarbat 1809  1826  2151  1878 

Urquhart  and  Logie-Wester 2864  2997  3153  2t;25 

Urray 2768  2716  2621  2474 

Insular — 

Barvas 3011  3850  4189  5325 

Lochs 3067  3653  4256  6284 

Stornoway 5491  6218  8057  10389 

Uig 3041  3316  3209  3489 


\ 


528  APPENDIX. 


Population  in  1801,  1811,  1821,  1831,  1841,  1851,  1871,  and  1881,  of 

all  the  Parishes  in  -mholc  or  in  part  i7t  the  County  of   Suth- 
erland. 

1801.       1811.       1821.       1831.       1841.  1851.  1871.       1881. 

Assynt 2419      2479      2803      3161      3178  2989  3006      2781 

Clyne 1643      1639      1874      1711       1765  1933  1733      i8i2 

Creich 1974      1969      2354      2562      2852  2714  2524      2223 

Dornoch...  2362      2681      3100      33S0      2714  2981  2764      2525 

Durness....   1208      1155      1004      1153      1109  1152  1049        987 

Eddrachillis  1253      1147       1229      1965      1699  1576  1530      1525 

Farr 2408      2408      1994      2073      2217  2403  2019      1930 

Golspie 1616      1391       1049      1 149      1214  1529  1804      1556 

Kildonan..    1440      1574        565         257        256  *228S  1916       1942 

Lairg 1209      1354      1094      1045        9i3  "62  978      1355 

Loth 1374      1330      200S      2234      2526  *640  583        584 

Reay 2406      2317      2758      2S81       2811  2506  2331       2191 

Rogart 2022      2148      1986      1805      1501  1535  1341      1227 

Tongue 1348      1493      1736      2030      2041  2018  2051      1929 

*  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. 


Population  in  1831,  1841,  1851,  and\%%i,  of  all  the  Parishes  in  whole 

or  in  part  in  the  COUNTY  OF  CAITHNESS. 

1831.  1841.  1851.  iSBi. 

Bower 1615  1689  1658  1608 

Canisbay 2364  2306  2437  2626 

Dunnet 1906  1880  1868  1607 

Halkirk 2S47  2963  2918  2705 

Latheron 7030  7637  8224  6675 

Ol^g 1146  1584  1873  2002 

Reay 2881  2811  2506  2191 

Thurso 4679  4881  5096  6217 

Watten 1234  1966  1351  1406 

Wick 9850  10393  11851  12822 


'I 


H' 


(Established  in  1875), 
WRITTEN  ALMOST  ENTIRELY  IN  ENGLISH, 

Ana  devoted  to  the  Literature,  History,  Antiquities,  Folk-Lore,  Traditions, 
and  the  Moral  and  Material  interests  of  the  Celts  at  Home  and  Abroad, 

Conducted  by  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE,   F.S.A.  Scot., 

//as  been  again  ENLARGED  and  otJierwise  much  improved,    /t  is  now  printed 
on  Thick  Paper,  on  a  new  fount  of  clear  and  bold  Old  faced  Type. 

PRICE  in  Advance — Single  Number  6d.  |  Price  Per  Annum 6/ 

By  Post  in  Great  Britain,  Canada,  the  United  States,  and  all  places 

wittiin  tiie  Postal  Union 7/ 

By  Post  to  India 9/ 

By  Post  to  Australia  and  New  Zealand 10/ 

Credit 2/  additional  per  Annum. 

Publishers— A.  &  W.  MACKENZIE,  Inverness. 

Among  the  past  and" present  Contributors  to  the  '■^Celtic  Magazine"  are  tlie 
following  well-known  and  popular  writers : — 

Principal  Shairp  ;  Professor  Blackie  ;  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Argyll ;  Rev. 
Alexander  Stewart,  F.S.A.  Scot.,  "  Nether-Lochaber ;  "  Charles  Fraser- 
Mackintosh,  M.P.,  F.S.A.  Scot.  ;  Rev.  Thomas  Maclauchlan,  LL.D., 
F.S.A.  Scot. ;  late  Rev.  Alexander  Macgregor,  M.A. ;  late  Archibald 
Farquharson,  Tiree ;  late  Rev.  George  GilfiUan ;  late  Dr.  Buchan ;  late 
John  Cameron  Macphee,  President,  Gaehc  Society  of  London  ;  late  D.  C. 
Macpherson,  Advocates'  Library ;  late  Alexander  Fraser,  Registrar ;  Rev. 
P.  Hately  Waddell,  LL.D.  ;  Patrick  Macgregor,  M.A.,  Author  of  "The 
Genuine  Remains  of  Ossian  ";  Hector  Maclean,  Islay  ;  Nigel  Macneil ;  H. 
Gaidoz,  Editor  Revue  Celtique,  Paris;  Rev.  John  Macpherson,  Lairg; 
William  Jolly,  Her  Majesty's  Inspector  of  Schools  ;  William  Allan ;  Mary 
Mackellar  ;  Evan  MacColl ;  Charies  Mackay,  LL.D. ;  D.  Macgregor  Crerar, 
New  York;  Neil  Macleod  ;  Rev.  And.  D.  Mackenzie,  M.A.,  Kilmorack  ; 
Lachlan  Macbean ;  William  Mackenzie,  Secretary  of  the  Gaelic  Society  of 
Inverness  ;  Rev.  John  Darroch,  M.A.  ;  James  Barron,  F.S.A.  Scot.,  Editor 
of  the  Inverness  Courier ;  Rev.  A.  C.  Sutherland,  B.D. ;  Rev.  John  Dewar, 
B.D.,  Kilmartin ;  John  Mackay,  C.E.  ;  Rev.  Alex.  Cameron,  Brodick; 
Lachlan  Macdonald  of  Skeabost ;  John  Mackenzie,  M.D.,  ex-Provost  of 
Inverness;  K.  Macdonald,  F.S.A.  Scot.,  Town-Clerk  of  Inverness;  H.  C. 
Macandrew,  F.S.A.  Scot.  ;  Charles  Innes,  Chairman  of  Inverness  School 
Board  ;  Thomas  Stratton,  M.D.,  R.N.  ;  Alex.  Mackay,  Edinburgh  ;  Wm. 
Brockie,  Sunderiand  ;  J.  S.  Terram,  M.A.,  Oxon.  ;  late  James  Macknight, 
W.S.  ;  Rev.  Allan  Sinclair,  M.A.  ;  Rev.  John  Sinclair,  B.D.  ;  Angus  Mac- 
phail;  A.  C.  Cameron,  M.A. ;  Alex.  Mackintosh  Shaw,  Author  of  "The 
History  of  Clan  Chattan ;"  J.  E.  Muddock,  Author  of  "The  Wingless 
Angel,"  &c.  ;  George  Cupples  ;  "  M.  A.  Rose;"  Rev.  Archibald  Mac- 
donald ;  Major  James  D.  Mackenzie  of  Findon ;  Colin  Chisholm,  ex- 
President  of  the  Gaehc  Society  of  London ;  Major-General  A.  Stewart  Allan, 
F.S.A.  Scot.  ;  Captain  Cohn  Mackenzie,  F.S.A.  Scot.  ;  Donald  Macleod, 
M.A.  ;  Rev.  A.  Maclean  Sinclair,  Nova  Scotia;  Farquhar  Macdonald,  the 
Poet;  Donald  Ross,  Nova  Scotia;  George  Miller  Sutherland,  F.S.A.  Scot.; 
late  Angus  Macdonald,  the  Gaehc  Bard ;  Rev,  Archibald  Clerk,  LL.D.  ; 
Rev.  Donald  Masson,  M.A.,  M.D. ;  Mary  T.  MacColl ;  John  Campbell, 
Ledaig ;  W.  A.  Sim-;  Alex.  Logan ;  Charles  Ferguson ;  Rev,  A.  Macgregor 
Rose,  and  many  others. 

The  Magazine  is  conducted  entirely  apart  from  Politics  in  Church  and  State. 
Jrfistoiy  and  Genealogy  o/Higliland  Families  are  leading  features.  [oVEK. 


Works  Published  by  A.  and  W.  Mackenzie. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

This  magazine,  having  a  specific  character,  and  illustrating  the  history 
and  traditions  of  the  Highlands,  occupies  a  place  which  no  other  magazine 
can  supply.  The  Editor  may  be  congratulated  on  the  success  it  has 
attained.  It  has  already  made  for  itself  a  position  in  periodical  literature. 
— Inver?iess  Courier. 

The  continued  supply  of  piquant  and  attractive  papers  proves  that  in 
Gaelic  legendary  and  historical  lore  there  is  a  valuable  vein  which  vdll  repay 
the  working,  and  which  augurs  well  for  the  future  volumes  of  this  well-edited 
and  specially  interesting  periodical. — Glasgow  Herald. 

Ev<^ry  Scotsman  and  scientific  inquirer  into  language,  early  literature,  and 
antiquities  must  wish  it  success. — Edinburgh  Daily  Review. 

Ably  conducted  by  Alexander  Mackenzie,  F.S.A.,  an  enthusiastic  High- 
lander, who  thoroughly  understands  the  traditions,  habits,  and  desires  of 
the  Celtic  people.  It  appeals  to  all  who  take  an  interest  in  matters  hterary, 
scientific,  or  social,  pertaining  to  the  North.  That  it  has  taken  hold  of  the 
public  mind  is  evident.  The  letterpress  is  of  a  high  character  .... 
The  writing  is  altogether  vigorous  and  sensible,  and  bespeaks  even  a  larger 
measure  of  success  for  the  Magazine. — Dundee  Advertiser. 

We  cut  and  read  the  pages  of  this,  the  enlarged  series,  with  a  feeling  of 
admiration  for  the  enterprise  of  the  Editor,  mingled  with  doubt  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  giving  such  a  quantity  of  excellent  matter  on  paper  of  the  best 
quaUty  and  type  of  the  "aged  portion"  fount  for  the  low  price  of  this 
Magazine.  The  Celtic  is  fast  becoming  a  national  periodical,  and  the 
present  number  should  tend  to  double  its  constituency.  It  is  the  best  we 
have  read,  and  that  is  saying  a  good  deal. — Oba9t  Times. 

The  contents  are  rich  both  as  to  variety  of  subject  and  quality.  Its 
success  has  transcended  the  most  hopeful  expectations  of  its  most  sanguine 
friends  ....  Mr.  Mackenzie,  the  laborious  Editor,  exhibits  tact  and 
industry  of  a  high  order  in  the  production  of  a  work  which,  to  the  uninitiated 
Lowlander,  might  seem  to  have  a  limited  basis  ;  but  perusal  will  convince 
the  reader  that  Gaelic  literature  is  not  by  any  means  so  restricted  in  its 
range  as  might  ignorantly  be  supposed. — Greenock  Telegraph. 

The  Celtic  Magazine  is  certainly  the  representative  journal  of  Scotland 
and  Scotsmen.  To  Gaelic-speaking  people,  and  to  those  who  do  not  speak 
that  language,  it  possesses  attractions  of  a  high  order.  Being  greatly  en- 
larged and  otherwise  improved,  the  journal  should  receive  a  great  accession 
of  popularity. — Greenock  Advertiser. 

It  is  now  more  worthy  than  ever  of  being  recognised  as  the  representative 
literary  organ  of  the  Scottish  Celts. — Northern  Ensign. 

With  all  the  marks  of  robust  strength  and  vigorous  efficiency. — Limerick 
Reporter. 

The  Editor  seenis  determined,  if  possible,  to  improve  the  contents  of  his 
publication.  We  are  far  from  saying  that  they  were  in  need  of  being  im- 
proved.    .     .     .     It  is  full  of  splendid  articles. — Invcrgordon  Times, 


Works  Puclished  by  A.  and  W.  Mackenzik.        3 

In  a  flourishing  state  both  at  home  and  in  the  colonies. — Perthshire 

Constitutional. 

As  usual  the  contents  are  valuable  and  interesting,  not  only  to  those 
specially  concerned  with  the  language,  literature,  and  antiquities  of  the 
Highlands,  but  to  all  classes  of  readers.  ...  In  its  new  form  we  hope 
the  Celtic  Magazine  will  meet  with  the  appreciation  it  so  richly  deserves. — 
Perthshire  Advertiser. 

The  articles  are  all  of  a  most  readable  description,  and  most  of  them  refer 
to  the  leading  questions  of  the  day. — Caithness  Courier. 

"This  populaf  and  ably-conducted  Magazine  appears  in  a  form  con- 
siderably enlarged  and  improved.  .  .  .  warranted  from  the  continued 
success  which  has  attended  it  from  the  first — a  success  which  must  be  highly 
gratifying  to  all  Highlanders  and  lovers  of  Celtic  hterature.  The  subjects 
are  treated  in  a  manner  which  entitles  the  Celtic  to  be  ranked  among  the 
leading  Magazines  of  the  day." — Rothesay  Express. 

' '  A  very  able  monthly  periodical.  Peculiarly  interesting  and  instructive. 
There  is  a  continued  supply  of  piquant  and  attractive  papers." — Coleraine 
Chronicle. 

' '  Of  all  our  most  valued  exchanges,  none  receives  a  warmer  welcome 
tlian  the  Celtic  Magazine.  No  one  can  open  its  pages  without  finding 
something  of  pleasure,  profit,  or  instruction." — American  Scotsman. 

"  Deserves  an  extensive  circmlation  amongst  those  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  Highlands  and  Islands." — Aberdeen  Herald. 

"The  articles  are  those  in  which  the  Highlanders  take  delight,  and  are 
treated  in  an  able  and  painstaking  manner." — Jolut  d Groat  Journal. 

"  It  is  well  conducted,  and  should  meet  the  approval  of  every  Highlander 
possessed  of  a  spark  of  patriotism." — Leith  Herald. 

"  In  affording  a  means  of  interchange  of  opinion  among  students  of 
philology  and  admirers  of  Celtic  literature,  the  Magazine  is  doing  a  good 
work,  deserving  of  all  the  success  it  has  attained.  All  the  articles  are  well 
wri tten . ' ' — Newcastle  Chron icle. 

"  Its  general  excellency  has  exceeded  our  expectations." — Bute/nan. 

"We  have  sincere  pleasure  in  commending  this  able,  interesting,  and 
instructive  Magazine  to  all  who  take  an  interest  in  the  literature  and 
language  of  the  Gael." — Oian  Telegraph. 

"  We  are  glad  to  see  this  well-edited  Magazine  conducted  with  all  the 
vigour  and  freshness  which  characterised  it  from  the  beginning.  The  Editor 
displays  great  care  and  judgment  in  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  his 
materials,  and  it  forms  a  real  storehouse  of  quaint  and  out-of-the-way 
information  on  Celtic  matters." — Huntly  Express. 

"  We  are  glad  to  find  that  it  has  secured  a  very  large  circulation." — /n- 
ve/'Airdon  Times. 


4        Works  Published  by  A.  and  W.  Mackenzie. 
Just  Published,  Price  25/  and  42/, 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  MACDONALUS  AND 
LORDS  OF  THE  ISLES, 

WITH 

AUTHENTIC  GENEALOGIES  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL 
FAMILIES  OF  THE  NAME, 

By  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE,  F.S.A.,  Scot., 

Editor  of  "  Celtic  Magazine," 

Author  of  "  The  History  and  Genealogies  of  the  Clan  Mackenzie," 

"  The  Prophecies  of  the  Brahan  Seer," 

"  The  Historical  Tales  and  Legends  of  the  Highlands," 

"The  Highland  Clearances,"  &c.,  &c. 


77^1?  Work  is  published  in  One  Volume  of  534  fages.  Demy  %vo, 
printed  in  clear,  bold,  old-faced  type,  oji  thick  toned  paper,  Roxburgh 
binding,  top  gilt,  tmiform  -with  "  The  History  and  Genealogies  of  the 
Clan  Mackenzie,"  and  the  issue  is  limited  to  425  copies.  Demy  8vo,  at  25/, 
and  75,  Demy  4to,  at  42/  :  only  a  small  number  of  ^t-hich  now  remain 
unsold. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS, 

"  This  is,  beyond  all  question,  Mr.  Mackenzie's  chefd'mcvre—m 
every  sense  the  completest  and  best  clan  history  that  has  ever  been 
written.  If  Mr.  Mackenzie,"  instead  of  the  great  deal  that  he  has  other- 
wise done  for  Celtic  literature  and  the  elucidation  of  folk-lore,  had  done 
no  more  than  give  us  this  history  of  one  of  the  best  and  bravest  of  High- 
land clans,  he  would,  by  this  work  alone,  have  richly  merited  the  grati- 
tude and  goodwill  of  every  generous  and  genuine  Celt  at  home  and 
abroad.  If  the  reader  has  not  already  supplied  himself  with  a  copy  of 
this  work,  we  would  take  leave  to  hint  that  his  library,  whatever  else  it 
may  contain,  is  to  be  considered  very  largely  incomplete  until  he  has 
added  to  it  Mackenzie's  '  History  of  the  Macdonalds  and  Lords  of  the 
Isles'." — "  Nether-Lochaber"  in  the  Inverness  Courier. 

"  The  author  deserves  credit  for  the  industry  and  research  which  he 
has  employed  in  tracing  the  respective  pedigrees  of  the  three  great  High- 
land families  of  Sleat,  Glengarry,  and  Clanranald,  from  'the  Royal 
Somerled  '  of  the  twelfth  century  down  to  the  present  day.  If  there  is 
a  good  deal  of  disputable  matter  in  his  pages  there  is  also  much  solid 
and  interesting  information.  .  ,  .  The  work  is  one  which  no  future 
historian  of  Celtic  Scotland  will  be  in  a  position  to  overlook." — Scots- 
man. 

"  Shows  deep  research  into  family  annals."' — Glasgow  News. 


Works  Published  by  A.  and  W.  Mackenzie.        5 

"  Although  it  has  involved  enormous  work,  it  is  well  wortli  all  the 
labour  bestowed  on  the  part  of  the  writer  and  his  patrons.  The  history 
of  the  Clan  Macdonald  has  been  traced  most  searchingly,  and  a  collec- 
tion of  most  valuable  information  has  been  olitained,  and  has  been  pre- 
sented as  attractively,  we  dare  say,  as  could  be  possible  under  the 
circumstances.  All  the  clan  are  under  a  debt  of  obligation  to  Mr. 
Mackenzie  for  his  painstaking  and  skilful  work.  The  book  is  got  up  in 
a  substantial  and  handsome  style." — Daily  KevieuK 

"  '  The  History  of  the  Macdonalds  and  Lords  of  the  Isles  '  is  a  per- 
fect example  of  what  a  genealogical  work  should  be.  .  .  .  The 
labour  involved  in  preparing  such  a  work  can  only  be  adequately  appre- 
ciated by, those  who  have  been  engaged  in  similar  pursuits  ;  yet  thougli 
we  have  tested  the  genealogies  given  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  rather  severely 
we  have  found  them  invariably  correct.  His  discrimination  in  bringing 
his  vast  stores  of  knowledge  to  bear  upon  his  subject  has  enabled  him  to 
make  his  work  authoritative.  Those  acquainted  with  his  literary  style 
know  that  he  has  the  rare  art  of  making  dry  topics  interesting  and 
cloudy  points  luminous  ;  and  the  many  thrilling  and  pathetic  anecdotes 
of  his  heroes  which  he  weaves  into  the  history  serve  to  transform  what 
would  otherwise  be  a  musty  genealogy  into  an  entrancing  '  tale  of  the 
days  of  other  years'.  From  Somerled,  the  celebrated  Thane  of  Argyll, 
he  traces  the  descent  of  the  family  of  Macdonald  in  all  its  branches  to 
the  present  date.  His  work  is  certain  to  become  the  foundation  of  all 
future  writings  upon  this  subject." — Diuidee  Advertiser. 

"  A  monument  of  laborious  investigation.  .  .  .  The  three  chief 
houses  of  the  clan — Sleat,  Glengarry,  and  Clanranald — with  their  cadet 
offbhoots,  will  find  their  respective  pedigrees  and  histories  given  in  a 
fuller  and  fairer  manner  in  this  book  than  in  any  other  single  work. 
,  .  .  It  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  rapidly  accumulating  of 
Gaelic  history  written  in  English." — Northern  Chronicle. 

"Gives  evidence  of  a  great  deal  of  care  and  research,  the  best 
authority  in  existence  on  the  subject.  If  is  highly  interesting,  most 
carefully  written,  exhaustive,  and  the  best  that  was  ever  written." — 
Northern  Ensign. 

"  Not  less  painstaking,  accurate,  and  exhaustive  than  its  predecessor. 
.  .  .  The  History  of  the  Macdonalds,  like  its  predecessor,  is  char- 
acterised by  a  painstaking  fullness  and  lucidity  of  statement  that  leave 
nothing  to  be  desired.  Mr.  Mackenzie  seems  to  have  overlooked  no 
source  of  information  ;  and  he  knows  how  to  use  the  abundant  materials 
which  his  painstaking  industry  has  accumulated." — Greenock  Telegraph. 
"  Those  who  have  followed  this  history  must  have  been  struck  by  the 
careful  research  and  literary  ability  displayed  by  the  author,  and  when 
completed  it  will  take  its  place  among  the  standard  works  relating  to 
the  History  of  the  Highlands.  .  .  .  The  patient  historical  research 
and  literary  ability  which  has  previously  characterised  it  is  again  con- 
spicuous, a  list  of  the  authorities  quoted  showing  the  enormous  amount 
of  labour  which  must  have  been  bestowed  upon  its  compilation." — 
Invergordon  Times. 

"Mr.  Mackenzie  has  already  shown  that  he  is  well  able  to  grapple 
with  the  perplexing  details  of  Clan  history,  and  in  the  work  before  us 


6       Works  Published  ky  A.  and  W.  Mackenzie. 

he  presents  the  results  of  his  investigations  in  a  way  that  is  so  full,  clear, 
and  interestinjj,  that  the  book  at  once  takes  its  position  as  the  leading 

authority  on  the  subject It  is  a  work  which  must  have 

cost  enormous  labour,  but  Mr.  Mackenzie  seems  to  have  entered  upon 
his  task  with  true  Celtic  enthusiasm,  and  he  has  accomplished  it  in  a 
way  that  will  add  considerably  to  his  reputation  as  a  writer  of  Clan 
Histories. " — Perthshire  Constitutional. 

"The  work  is  most  creditable,   and  the  Large  Paper  Edition  an 
ornament." — Charles  Fraser-RIackiniosh,  F.S.A.,  Scot.,  ALP. 


Just  Published,  frice  j/d,     Isstte  limited  to  150  Copies, 

THE    MAC DONALDS 

OF 

CLANRANALD, 

BY 

ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE,  F.S.A.,  SCOT., 

Editor  of  the   "Celtic  Magazine,"  Author  of  "The  History  and  Genea- 
logies of  the  Clan  Mackenzie,"  "  The  History  of  the  Macdonalds  and  Lords 
of  the  Isles,"  "The  Prophecies  of  the  Brahan  Seer,"  "  The  Historical  Tales 
and  Legends  of  the  Highlands,"  "The  Highland  Clearances,"  etc.,  etc. 


Inverness  .-  A.  &  W.  MACKENZIE. 
MDCCCLXXXI. 


"Jtist  Published,  price  lid.     Issue  limited  to  \^o  Copies, 

THE    MACDONALDS 

OF 

GLENGARRY, 

BY 

ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE,  F.S.A.,  SCOT., 

Editor  of  the   "Celtic  Magazine,''  Author  of  "The  History  and  Genea- 
logies of  the  Clan  Mackenzie,"  "The  History  of  the  Macdonalds  and  Lords 
of  the  Isles,"  "The  Prophecies  of  the  Brahan  Seer,"  "  The  Historical  Tak-s 
and  Legends  of  the  Highlands,"  "The  Highland  Clearances,"  etc.,  etc. 


Inverness  :   A.  &  W.  MACKENZIE. 
MDCCCLXXXI. 


Works  Published  by  A.  and  W.  Mackenzie.       7 
ONLY  50  COPIES   REMAINING— PRICE  10/6. 

HISTORY  AND  GENEALOGIES  OF  THE 
MATHESONS; 

INCLUDING   THE 

FAMILIES   OF   BENNETSFIELD,   ARDROSS   AND   LOCHALSH, 
ACHANY.  AND  THE  LEWIS,   lOMAIKE,   &C..   &C. 

By  the  same  Author. 


,  The  Issue  is  limited  to  250  copies,  Demy  Svo,  same  type,  binding,  &c. , 
as  the  "  Mackeiizies"  and  the  "  Macdonalds  ". 


Orders  to  be  sent  to 

A.    &  W.    MACKENZIE,    INVERNESS. 

Strand  Edition,  Just  Published.     Price  3/6  ;  by  post,   3/9, 

THE  LIFE  AND  ADVENTURES  OF  FLORA 
MACDONALD. 

Giving  a  Full  Account  of  her  Youth  ;  Education  ;  Rescuk  of 

Fkince  Charles;  her  Marriage;  her  Emigration  to  America; 

Return  to  Skye  ;  her  Death  and  Funeral. 

By  the  Late  Rev.  ALEX.  MACGREGOR,  M.A.,  Inverness. 

With    an    APPENDIX,    giving   Flora    Macdonald's    Descendants,    their 
Marriages,  Professions,  &c.,  &c.,  and  a  Life  of  the  Author. 

By  Al'CXander  Mackenzie,  F.S.A.  Scot.,  Editor  of  Celtic  Magazine,  &c. 


"A  pleasantly  written  and  most  interesting  volume,  the  only  really 
authentic  and  trustworthy  history  of  Flora  Macdonald  in  existence.  .  .  . 
Stripped  of  every  shred  of  sensational  fiction,  and  yet  more  interesting  to 
the  thoughtful  reader,  and  even  more  genuinely  romantic  as  a  simple 
narrative  of  well  authenticated  facts,  than  if  presented  to  our  attention  with 
all  the  embellishments  of  ballad,  poetiy,  and  romance." — Nether  Lochaber. 

"The  very  noblest  romance  in  all  our  history  is  the  story  of  Flora 
Macdonald." — Greenock  Advertiser. 


8       Works  Published  by  A.  and  W,  Mackenzie. 

Third  Edition,  uniform  with  "  Flora  Macdojiald  andFrince  C/iarles," 
Price  2s.  6d.,  by  Post  2s.  gd., 

THE  PROPHECIES  OF  THE  BRAHAN  SEER 

(Coinneach  Odhar  Fiosaiche), 

By  Alexander  Mackenzie,  F.S.A.,  Scot.,  Editor  of  the  Celtic 

Magazine,  &c. ,  &c. 

With  an  Appendix  of  66  pages,  on  "Highland  Superstition,  Second  Sight, 

Fairies,  Hallowe'en,  Druidism,  Witchcraft,  Sacred  Wells  and  Lochs,  &c., 

&c.,"  by  the  Rev.  Alexander  Macgregor,  M.A.,  Inverness. 

A.  &  W.  Mackenzie,  Celtic  Magazine  Office,  Inverness. 

OPINIONS  OF  THE  PREsFon'tHE  FIRST  EDITION. 

"May  be  safely  commended  to  the  lovers  of  the  marvellous  as  a 
sweet  morsel." — Scotsntnn. 
.     "  Welcome  with  avidity  this  brochure^ — Edi7ilnngh  Coiirant. 

"Remarkable  prophecies.     .     .     .     A  curious  and  readable  book." 
• — Glasgow  Herald. 

"A  weird  prediction  foretelling  the  downfall  of  the  Seaforths." — 
Chambers' s  Journal. 

"  A  clump  of  wonders." — Dundee  Advertiser. 

"  Most  wonderful  fulfilment." — People's  Friend. 

"Very  singular  and  interesting." — Northern  Ensign. 

"Remarkable  utterances — exact  fulfilment — hard  nuts  to  crack." — 
Greenock  Telegraph. 

"If  you  wish  to  know  all  about  the  story  of  Seaforth,  which  is  told 
with  a  terrible  realism,  get  this  book." — People's  Journal. 

"It  is  certain  that  such  a  prediction  was  prevalent  before  its  fulfil- 
ment.    .     .     the  coincidence  was  remarkable." — InvcrKess  Courier. 

"A  very  interesting  book." — Ross-shire  Journal. 

"  Most  curious." — Huntly  Express. 

"Most  remarkable." — Invergordon  Times. 

"  Most  wonderful." — Coleraine  Chronicle. 

"One  is  not  a  little  startled  at  the  apparent  fulfilment  of  many  of 
the  predictions." — Leith  Herald. 

"One  of  the  strangest  accounts  of  by-gone  times  and  beliefs." — 
Inverness  Advertiser. 

"If  the  Editor  of  the    Celtic   Magazine  had  done  no   other  work 
.     .     ,     he  would  have  deserved  well  of  his  country." — Highlander. 


FIFTY  COPIES  are  printed  on  Large  Paper,  Crown  Quarto,  fine 
thick  quality,  giving  a  handsome  margin,  uniform  with  the  Large  Paper 
edition  of"  The  Life  of  Flora  Macdonald". 

Price  7/6  ;  by  Post,  8/3. 


Publishers  :  A.  &  W.  MACKENZIE,  Inverness. 


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Mackenzie,   Alexander 

The  history  of  the 
Highland  clearances 


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