Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-11-16

complete disruption of the clan system.
Then followed the abolition of heritable
jurisdiction. The power of the chiefs,
good or bad, was transferred to LAWYER
adventures sent into the north from
Glasgow and Edinburgh. The High
lauders began to loathe their own coun
try, and the chiefs lost sill interest in the
welfare of their people. Important I'M
migration resulted, lessening products
and revenues. Many great clan terrific
ries changed hands. New landlords or
dispirited and bankrupt former chiefs
began to look upon the highland peas
antry simply rs chattels to be
bought and sold as mere slaves.
Then in the latter part of the last
and the first part of the present century,
as the propretors of estates, abandoned
all mercy to q people with inherent rights
in the soil from which they sprang, and
taking refuge under the absolutism
vested in the powers granted under the
old Scottish feudal laws, which, by sue
cessive encroachments, had transformed
the original authority of suzeraiu into
absolute private ownership, came the
barbarous ''clearauces or forcible
evictions of Glen Dessary, Clanranald
and Glengarry. Following this, and
continuing from 1907 to 1929, were per-
petrated the atrocious Sutherland
clearances. The most of the entire
shire of Sutherland then belonged and
still belongs to the noble house of Suth-
erland aud Stafford, related by inter-
marriage. The then living representa-
tives of these noble families conceived
the idea that sheep were
MORE PROFITABLE THAN HIGHLANDERS.
That was before British sportsmen let
the Highland landlords know that deer
and grouse could be made more profita-
BILE than either. But in the period
named practically the entire shire, one
of the largest in Scotland, and compris-
ing an area of nearly , ,00O, 900 acres, was
depopulated. The helpless noun
tanners, were driven from their
own homes, and these leveled
to the ground by fire. Hundreds
perlshed from fright, exposure and
brutal treatment. Those who had the
means of flight, or whose friends in
Canada or the states could furnish them
the same, emgrated to America. The
remainder were huddled in vile cabins
along the sea-shore, and forced to escape
actual starvation by gathering
kelp and mussles, this poor shift being
finally denied them, or in Drawing the
uduReTS Oh Tue sea III usnlug, InOue OF
life to which they were as much
stranger Us your own ten
derry cared-for child. There is not
TO be found in all history more
scandalous page of ingenious and SUI
preme human cruelty. And yet it was
set down by eco omic writers of the time
as a great benefit to society at large, as
it cost the noble houses of Sutherland
Stafford over 81 200. 900, and in the I'M
biased history of Scottish and English
gazeteers and encyclopedias as "a nota-
bic improvement of the highlands.
The same kind of improvements
Internationally remained in vogue though
on lesser scale, under sanction of these
old Scottish land laws up to very recent
date, in Banff, Elgin, Marin, Inverness,
Caithness, Koss and Argyll shires and in
the Hebrides. II q landlord wished TO
transform his great holdings into sheep
walks or game preserves, it was soon
bruited about that the district was Coon
gested. - Then crotters were cleared out
entirely, or summsrily removed to
wretched patches of uncultivated land.
to begin anew life of starvation I'M
der increased penalties of rental
burdens and environment. Aside
from these hesrtless, cruelties
it seems as though the most devlish