Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-06-22
DAILY EVENING STAR.
CLEARING EsTATES-CRUELTY OF THE
ARIST0CRACY IN SCOTLAND.

AkISTOCRACY IN SCOTLAND.
We make the following extract from
the last letter by Karl Mark" I" the Lon
don correspondent of the New York
Tribune:
Your readers will remember NV des-
eription of the progress of clearing es-
tateS in Ireland and Scotland, which,
within the first half of this century
swept away so many thousands of human
beings from the soil of their fathers.
TIE process still continues, and with a
v1gor quite worthy of that virtuous, re-
hned, religious, philanthropic aristoracy
OF this model country. Houses are either
hred or knocked to pieces over the heads
OF the helpless inmates. At Neagaat in
knoydart, the house of Donald Macdon-
aid, a respectable, honest, Woodworking
man. was attacked last autumn by the
landlords order. His wife was confined
to bed, unfit to be removed, vet the
factor and his ruffians turned out Mac
donald's family of six children, all under
fifteen years of age, and demolished the
house with the exception of one small bit
of the roof over his wife's bed.
The man was so affected that his brain
gave way. He has been declared insane
by medical men, and he is now wander.
ing about, looking for his children among
the ruins Of the burnt and broken cot
tages. His starving children are crying
around him, but he knows them not, and
ne is left roaming at large, unaided and
uncared for, because his insanity is
harmless.
Two married females in an advanced
stage of pregnancy had their houses
pulled down about Their ears. Thev had
to sleep in the open air for many nights,
and the consequence was that, amid ex-
cruciating sufferings, they had premature
births, their reason became affected, and
they are wandering about with large
families, helpless and hopeless imbeciles.
dreadful witnesses against that class of
persons called the British aristocracy.
Even children are driven mad by terror
and persecution. At Doune, in Knoy-
dart, the cottagers were evicted and took
refuge in an old storehouse. The agents
of the landlord surrounded that store
house in the dead of night and set fire to
1t as the poor outcasts were covering
beneath its shelter. Frantic they rushed
from the flames, and some We're driven
mad by terror. The Northern Ensign
newspaper says: % That one boy is de-
ranged that he will require to be placed
in confinement he jumps out of bed
crying Fire. fire." and assures those
near him that there are men and children
in the burning storehouse. Whenever
night approaches, he is terrified at the
sight of fire. The awful sight at Dounc,
when the storehouse was in flames illu-
minating the district-when men, women
and children ran about half frantic with
fear, gave such a shock to his reason.
Such is the conduct of the aristocracy
to the able-bodied poor who make them
rich.
But the ruffianism ends not here. 4
slaughter has been perpetrated at Strath-
carrOn. Excited to frenzy by the cruelty
Of the eyictionS, and further ores that
were expected, a number of women gath
cred in the streets on hearing that num-
Der OF officers were coming to clear out
the tenantry. The latter, however, were
Excisemen, and not sherif''s officers; but
on hearing that their real character was
mistaken, these men, instead of correct
ing their mistake, enjoyed it-gave them
selves out for sheriff's officers, and said
they came to turn the people out, and
were determined to do so. On the group
of women becoming excited, the officers
presented loaded pistol at them. What
followed, we extract from the letter Of
Mr.. Donald Ross, who went over from
GLASGOW to Strathcarren, and spent two
days in the district, collecting infor1na-
ton and examining the wounded. His
letter is dated Royal Hotel, Oain, April
Is, 1854, and states as follows:
''My information goes to show shame
full course of conduct On the part of the
Sheriff. He did not warn the people of
the intention on his part to let the police
loose on them. He read no riot act. He
did not give them time to dIsperse; but,
on the contrary, the moment he approach
ed with his force, stick in hand, cried
out /: Clear the way" and in the next
breath said: 'sKnock them down. and
Immediately scene ensued which battles
description. The policemen laid their
heavy batons on the heads of the unfor-
tunate females and leveled them to the
ground, jumped and tramplcd upon them
after they were down, and kicked them in
every part of their bodies with savage
brutality. The field was soon covered
with blood. The cries of the women and
OF the boys and girls, lying weltering in
their blood, was rending the very heavens.
Some of the females, pursued by the po-
icemen, jumped into the deep and rapid
rolling CarrOn, trusting to its mercieS
more than to that Of the policeman or the
Sheriff. There were females who had
parcels of their hair torn out by the
batons Of the policemen, and one girl had
piece of flesh, about seyen inches long
by one and a quarter broad, and more
than a quarter of an inch thick torn of
her shoulder by violent blow with
baton.
A young girl, who was only spec
tator, was run after by three policemen.
They struck her on the forehead, cut
open her skull, and after she fell down
they kicked her, The doctor abstracted
from the wound a portion of the cap
sunk into it by the baton of the savage
police. The marks of their hobnails are
still visible in her back shoulders. There
are still in Strathcarron thirteen females
in O state of GREAT distress, owing to the