The Sun.
London, England, 1841-04-20 00:00:00

ONENING EDITIONi

l'e
. • • • -
e Vote ;
le grea4.e.r
le off the
1k of the
r the opw
; they
Les as
Ve"
may be
ply with
almot

rated
ralizatw"
omethwg
rAiartists'
le elai'es'
little idle , ,
speakiol;
neat
than 00'
NT A PASII4
lepettl6
as the}
Lye act,
elves `,4'
instea'
uld h3se
vhiel) are
Y' °lit
ar, the-
re
,es are
the go'

•
inistal•
.d crentir,
lEovlly
state
,TiOarth
1,1,001
of tratkt
:arris
eeni,
lig
fFrae'the
oa Vets,
ng the",
of
the
yon
ord A.sl'

runilingif
Jove. P
get it's
e are iv'
liberties

rain efl"

tillil
;1 610
al

rew; Rev. Norman M‘Leod, Minister in Glasgow, D.D
D.D.
M'Leod, Alinister of Morven; Mr. Alexander
c.421'.,er, Factor; Thomas Rolph, M.D., Resident,
.Upper
lipe4; Isle. Andrew Scott, Factor; •Alr. A. H. Mackinnon,
Ply':. alA3andowner ; Hon. C. A. Hagerman. Judge of
ue,.• . ~
keli,,• `,° PerCanadi • Mr. Alexander Macdonald,
.for-
-I,,6J:l'Kelpi Agent ; , Mr. Thomas Knox, Chamberlain, of
43,43'. Rev. Robert M'Pherson, Minister in Inverness ; Mr.
.Ne?la Shaw, Factor, North Uist.
onupon the evidence of theSe gentlemen, not
Le of whom is of the people, some of whom
I:ve,a mere business connection with the places
"estion, and with the people into whose con-
wh`t°ll the inquiry is to be- made, and two
,of
Islands
have no connection whateVer with the
been
and Highlands, and may - never have
ti en there in their lives ; without 'examining a
tarligle person of 'those whose condition the Corn-
.
thittee was ordered to inquire into, it comes to
~..s conclusion :
m,,_lleY.onsidered that they shall best discharge their duty by
fitting to the House that portion of the evidence which
teln:heady been received, and which, imperfcat in some
grtlglls as it necessarily is, may have the effect of showing, the
!importance of the subject they have endeavoured to in-
-14 0;"e-the urgency of the distress that periodically prevails
rkr,Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland, arming
ktOF from the excessive population; and also 9r calling the
tiltlort of the House to the necessty of. consideting some
cAt.remedies to alleviate the existing evils, amongst which,.
liiittl,,llleh appears from the evidence to be. of primary im-
a•!l‘.e is a well arranged system of emigration."
A very natural and to be expected conclusion
iofrom the sort of witnesses examined—a conclu-
txn) We may well say, come to before they were
aruined at least by the Chairman, and to which
heir examination was, we believe, to give a
tole
tit:rLand supply a pretext. What strange no-
oli4 - tuese Committee men must have of evi-
nee-----of the nature of the facts to be inquired
into,
to have called before them Justice HAGER-
kb" and Writer BAIRD, to learn something
10°14 the condition of the inhabitants of Harris
0:1 Skye, and not to bring before them
e of those inhabitants. Such a proceeding
teestai,_. to us an outrage on all .common sense and
tt,rtilosopliy, and vitiates, from beginning to
coill'ttl the investigations and conclusions of the
Nttee. Unfortunately, a similar mode of
proceedingtw is generally adopted by Parliament,
ir '4
its Committees. While masters know
ctiin g of their workmen, and neighbours know
or nothing of each other, the Legislature is
644 fled with the hearsays or foregone conclusions
6 ).ilieorists or interested persons ; and on all
!,Itlrnin estions concerning the people, rarely or never
Z:aes the people themselves. We know not,
wever, that it would be of use were the House
i
aet otherwise, for it would legislate after the
Inquiry as before, on the pre-conceived theories
tlp
its Members, on their passions, or to gratify
their
~ short-sighted interests. It may as well
'llare us, therefore, the expense and mockery of'
it
°Re- sided inquiry, intended only to justify
40
l'te equally one-sided legislation;
Our readers will probably be surprised to
beam that besides the expense of Committee-
.°lns, clerks, printing, &c., the expense of these
~°
711 e-sided witnesses amounts to no less than 4361.

.

:ities, 4361. spent to gather guesses and conjec
; res to justify false conclusions and beguile the
I,egislature and the public into a liking for con-
tinued darkness. When such is the basis—the
Initiative of a wholesale system of dealing
the population, and the people whose
ndition is thus ascertained through the
medium of comparative strangers, not one of
theul being ever consulted, either as to what
his knowledge or his feelings, what is
e cause of his distress, and what he wishes
legislation
for him, can it excite any surprise that
gives no satisfaction, and that it fails,
I,le times out of ten, to attain its object ? Such
amode of treatment implies, disguise it how Mr.
I:AILEY and his Committee may, that these
‘lighland lairds and writer bodies yet consider
tie population to be slaves, who may be dealt
tit as the proprietors deal with cattle. But
IQ' at mode of acting will not now do; and if they
not laid aside the habits of clan chief-
tills, the people have outgrown the customs of
servitude.
• It is not necessary to travel beyond the first
age or two of the evidence to find ample reason,
'l,t think, why some of the " population from
larris or Skye were not brought to London, as
Nell as writers from Glasgow, and factors from
'torven, to give evidence before the Committee.
The object seems to have been concealment
lather than to make known. At the very com-
m4-encernent it leaks out that "during the war kelp
'etched - high-iwiee; no 'quantity .that could be
taadO'Wfts;,' left unsold, and the proprietors laid
°zit' their properties with reference to the manu-
facture of this article, and a large population
'ere encouraged to settle on their land." " The
.11P0Prietors then did not hesitate to divide their
-lands, and most of the crofts intended for one
larnily, had on them two, three, and sometimes
lour:, At the same time, we find these pro-
prietors and the Government united in giving
bounties on the herring fishery ; in consequence
. 45f which bounties, let it be especially
ternembered, " very extensive fishing vil-
• la, ges were erected along the coast." But
It
hturned out that the bounties, though
caused the villages to be built, and
encouraged the increase of the population—to
enrich the landlords, could not secure the supi
Ply of herrings or the supply of food. The mi-
gratory fish did not obey the same laws as the
bounty, and a multitude of persons were col-
. lected on the, shore, who appear not to have had
the art of following the herrings into the deep
8, ea, and, when they came no more into the
coact .not catch them, and were destitute of
subsistence.'. We see, then, that the landed pro-
', PrieiorS and the Government, with its bounties,

are the really guilty parties in this case. They
have treated these poor simple Islanders and
Righlanders as cattle. They stimulated the in-
crease in their numbers as long as that could
serve to supply the kelp market and catch the
herring-bounty. If the people themselves had
been called before the Committee, instead of
ractot..s, advocates, parsons, and Canada Judges,
soxn e inkling of the truth might have broken in
e'en on the darkness-loving Committee, on the
Legislature, and on the public. But that was to
be kept out, and so the few simple facts were
covered over with learned theories, and far-
fetched disserta•tions by Rev. Doctors and Canada
judges.

As Mr. WALTER'S friend, Mr. WHITEHEAD,
boasted for him at Nottingham, that he had
~„.:Voted against the Corn-laws, we have looked
~illback to HANSARD'S Debates for the proofs of that
dtAsertion. We can only find three divisions on
'iltt:fhe' Corn-law question during the time that Mr.
I
7WALTER was in Parliament. The first was a
VIC ion 'made by Mr. FRYER, in 1833, for which
!/ •
:1VIr• WALTER did not vote. The next was a mo-
Cron made by Mr. HUME, in 1834, for which Mr.
WALTIat did vote. The third was a motion
made by Mr. CLAY,• for which Mr. WALTER
gain did :not vote. Thus on two out of three
°ecasions, -when he had an opportunity in Puna-.
lnent of recording his vote against the iniquitous
bread-tax, Mr. WALTER was ,not found to take
the poor man's part. On what ground, then,
does he assume the name of the poor man's
triend? The '.working man is not a pauper—Mr.
W.ALTER. proposes only. to befriend paupers.

The letter signed. " L." on the high price of
b
„ utcher's meat,. is well worthy of public atten-
tll':;.l -!iou. Our Correspondent is quite correct in say-
4, ing that the tex on provisions makes grievous
411.: '-hroads into the. comforts of the mic?dle classes.
`'lt is, in truth, somewhat mean in the nation
't° give its gallant defenders 65., 10s.,
L,, ''2°S• a-day half-pay, according to their rank,, and
'''!l ' ..then mulct them of 2.0 or 30 per cent. of
41 '', what is given, to enrich those they hav,'
1114',..
_;4efended. It is, also,
a heartless proceed- '
'44i ' 411 g on the.. part of the aristocracy to sti-
, . Illulate all other classes to imitate their splendid
extravagance, and yet to prevent them having
, ' the means of comfort by selfish taxation. vve-
.l:;(,,' ill that the middle classes would take our Cor-
'''') ',°Le.sl)9lnlent's remarks seriously into considera-
: f ')V9lty arid by a determined. and resolute proceed-
-1114 place their own comforts and the labourers'
Ilecessltries beyond the reach of the harpy claws
t'f' the landlords.
0 In' Correspondent very properly says that
tor .;up.plies of food are not adequate to
e Mail v increasing population. That is a
~,i
ve 4.41 an d palpable fact, and that fact co-
,' elsts with, and is of itself a complete con-
' _Tn. nation, of, the corn and provision laws,
"Ilelt are. 'tsaid by their friends to be intended to