, 1890-11-20

was sublime In Its desperate loyalty,
and furnish some of the most thrill.
Ing pages In history. But being too
far from Edinburgh, London and
Paris to "know the political time OF
| day." he always fought for % lost
cause. Naturally little mercy was
shown him or his more dangerous
chlefs. You Gan to-day still see the
tremendous walls Of Fort William,
Fort Augustus, Fort George and
Kings House. the trans-Grampian
uries established after the first re-
bellion Of l7l6, to awe him into sub
mission, their English names break
Ing, his spirit greater than the men
and armament they housed.
Then, after Culloden when all his
hopes were blasted In the utter ruin
of the House Of Stuart, came the
disarming act, deprlving him of the
right to bear arms, essential In his
eyes to manhood; and Immediately
on the heels of this followed that
most bemeaning of all Highland
humiliation, the interdlct against his
beloved kilt and tartan, which for
years made him slxulk and hide In
his mountain home q pitifui object
of contumely and disgrace.
The downfall of the Stuarts
caused a complete disruption of the
complete abolition of heritable jurls-
diction. The power Of the chiefs
good or bad, was transferred to law
yer adventures sent into the north
from Glasgow and Edin burgh. The
IIighlanders began to loathe their
own country and the chiefs lost all
interest In the welfare of their peo-
pie. Important
EMIGRATION RESULTED,
lessening products and revenues.
Many great clan territories changed
hands. New landlords or displrlted
and bankrupt former chiefs began
to look upon the Highland peas
antry simply as 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 proprietors of estates,
abandoned all mercy to people
with inherent. rights in the soil
fram which they sprang, and taking
refuge under the absolutism vested
In the powers granted under the
old Scottish feudal laws, which, by
successive encroachments, had
transformed the original authority
of suzerain into absolute private
ownership, came the barbarous
"clearances" or forcible evictions,
of Glen Dessary, Clanranald and
Glengarry. Followin this, and
continuing from 1907 to 1929,
were perpetrated the atroclous
Sutherland clearances. The most of
tho entire shire of Sutherland then
belonged and still belongs to the
noble house of Sutherland and Stat
ford, related by inter-marriage. The
then living representatives of these
noble families conceived the idea
that sheep were more profitable than
Highlanders. That was before the
the British sportsmen let the High
land landlords know that deer and
grouse could he made more profit
able than either. But In the period
named practically the entire heirs,
one of the largest In Scotland, and
comprising an area of nearly 2,0O0,-
900 acres, was depopulated. The
helpless mountaineers were driven
from their own homes, and these
leveled to the ground by fire. Hun
dreds perished 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, emigrated to America. The
remainder were huddled in vile
cabins along the sea shore, and
forced to escape actual starvation
by gathering kelp and mussels, this
poor shift being finally denied
them, or in Drawing the sea In fish
ing, mode of life to which they
were as much stranger as your
own tenderly cared-for child. There
IL not to be found in all history a
more scandalous page of ingenious
and supreme human cruelty. And
yet 1t was set down by economic
writers of the time as "a great benefit
TO society ut large, as 1t cost the
noble houses of Sutherland-Stafiord
over $1,000, 900, and in the un-
biased history of Scottish and Eng
lish gazeteers and encyclopedias as
"a notable improvement" of the
Highlands.
THESE oUTRAGEs CONTINUED.
The same kind of ''improve.
ments" Internationally remained in
vogue, though on u lesser scale, un.
der sanction of these old Scottish
land laws up to very recent date,
in Banh, Elgin, Nairn, Inverness,
Caithness, Ross and Argyll shires
and in the Hebrides. If "a landlord
wished to transform his great hold
ings into sheep walks or game pre-
serves, 1t was soon bruited about
that the district was "congested.n
Then crofters We're cleared out en-
tireiy, or summarily removed to
wretched patches of uncultivated
land, to begin anew a life of starva-
ton under increased penalties Of
rental burdens and environment.
Aside from these heartless cruelties
it seems as though the most devil
ish ingenuities in eXtortions and hui
Mutations were also imposed. After
the new croft was improved, at the
termination of the usual nineteen
year lease, additional rental was de-
manded. If not paid the croft was
rack-rented, or leased to u new ten
ant.
The terrified crofter, rather than
become homeless, attempted the
new burden, struggled along under
increasing arrears, and was finally
evicted, securing no compensation
whatever for his improvements. If
he entered the presence of the factor