Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1890-11-22


a flat piece without sides) being joined to
the back by two little straps of linen or
ribbon, and a ribbon crosses the top to tie
with another piece which is sewed to the
lower edge of the front. Boxes of suita-
BILE size may also be made in this way for
gloves and handkerchiefs, the inside hay-
ing wadded lining of silk and the. out
side being covered with embroidered grey |
or cream white linen. HILARY.
MIR. wAKEMAN,s JOURNKYINGs. /
At Lerw1ck, Shetland-The ssCrof-
ters, Act, of Iss6-sheep Raising
The Croners, Conditional Smfle- |
less and Almost voiceIess People.
LERwIcK, Shetland, Oct 2.
To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
Whatever may be the average tourists
impressions from passing glimpses of
crofters' communities, crofters' homes and
the crofters themselves, believe one who
passes some time among them cannot turn
from them to his own world of brightness
and progress without a genuine sense of
sadness for their permanent, hopeless con-
dition. 1t is unquestionably true that the
"Crofters' act" of 1886 was Just and be-
almost universally fixed; arrears impossi-
BILE of liquidation have been either wholly
Cancelled or largely reduced; and personal
freedom as a man, subject and voter has
been established. The Crofters' commits
sion has already righted countless wrongs
to which the crofter had been subjected
for nearly century and a half; and it
may be truthfully said that all has been
done for this Highland grounding that
ever can be done under the present land
system of Great Britain. Individual
owners are SO few, such vast tracts, espe-
cially in the north and west of Scotland,
have been permanently transformed inte
game preserves, such insignificant and IN
adequate holdings are in the crofters pos
session under the new order of things, and
communities of these people are SO few,
and those SO meager in numbers, that bet
| terment to these Highlanders as a class
seems impossible.
As stated in previous article, the pro-
cess of thinning them out of, or their &C.
tual extirpation from, tremendous areas
had been SO thorough by the owners of
Highland estates, that few crofters were
left to receive benefits. The tenacity with
which, despite all sacrifice and terror,
these few clung to their mountain homes,
| is wonderful tribute to love of home
land, which, in hardy race like the
Highland crofters, could have been turned
to infinitely better account by Scot3zxA
and even Scottish landlords, than could
the rentals from sportsmen tenants. This
sentiment is SO strong and deep one to-
day among Scottish people of all sections,
that there is noticeable growing and
stubborn demand for Gland division, "
Gland reform" and even in some quarters
for Naturalization of the land" Many
intelligent crofters seem confident that
some form of legislation will sometime
give them adequately large holdings. An
idea is certainly gaining ground that at
least sportsmen will go out and sheep-rais-
ing return. Sentiment is not wholly re-
sponsible for this. The first experiment
by the great Highland land-holders, after
the barbarous clearances of the Highland
ers, was in sheep raising. This was sue
cessiul, and in consequence the clearances
were largely condoned by a most impor
tant class in Scotland; men who assist in
making and unmaking parliaments. These
! were the Lowland farmers. Countless
{ thousands of Highland sheep reared in the
, north were annually driven through the
> Grampian passes, and, before reaching tht
shambles, wintered by Lowland farmers
who thus secured profitable disposal o
immense quantities of produce. Since tn
British sportsmen got possession of tn,
4 northern and western glens Highland
e - ~4. -
2 Therefore what the Highland estate own
ers have gained by game the Lowland far
a mers have immeasurably more than lost
8 The latter have no pity for the crofter Oh
his own account, but they know in a di
rect, hard headed way that he and his col
lie dog are the best shepherds in the world
l So these and some other pressing economi
: forces are gradually blending the "crofte
= "question" and the Gland question" il
s Scotland, and providing an economi
. question which may at last reach that forT
: of legislation which will break down tn
. now invisible yet inflexible walls of thes
q great Highland estates, and cause the II
q peopling of their grand mountain side
i and glens. But that can hardly come
"a the grave, sad eyes of the crofter wh
n now lives. And it is this man whose COZ
4 dition, environment and home-life / hay
= set out to describe.
n Whether he lives In the same cabi
Is where his forefathers lived before him, {
.s is one who has been removed" from IL
II old home to some new and worthless pate
y of grouud for the larger liberty of dee
Is he is never the possessor, as tenant,
,e more than thirty acres of land, whi
I nine-tenths of the entire class do not o
le cupy more than five. In some instanc,
a. he has an "outrun" or common grazing
N with others where from twenty to thiri
ID sheep and two or three COWS may
grazed, and when this is so he is consi
A cred very well off. To find him in th
Of condition is the rarest exception; and o
n dinarily his miserable patch of soil,
a from, say, two to six acres, scarcely a
as fords him the bsrest means of hveEhoo
ag For this tiny croft he pays an averal
# rental of six pounds under the new 'fa
id rent system, and under the old sra,
of rent regime he tried to pay, but new
ut paid, from ten to fifteen and TWEEN
or | pounds. With the certain unoertainti
ad of Highland climate in mind, no one C,
I'D for moment believe it possible for {
IS crofter to pay even the reduced rent q,
10, sustain himself and family from the !,
he suits of his labor upon the soil alone.
on believe it would be truthful asssrti
he that the croft in no single instance ey
to sustained the crofter. 1t viii not susts
to him under the "fair rent" system of |
ny day The landlord now gets nearly t
Is utmost limit of what the soil itself C
se produce. The salvation of the croft
DIS can only be attained by providing h
all with larger crofts, 30 that the labor
I'D himself and family may be concentrai
, where most profitable results can obta
he or rentals for the beggarly patch he
ret forced to exist upon must be reduced
! almost q nominal sum. A prosperc
peasantry is impossible wherethe energ
as of the family are dissipated in half d
lis en- different vocations TO simply pay n
i'd. that q thatch may be kept over the het
nd of the very old and very young of
w family.
ch Briefly, that is the condition of
rd. orofter, and it is all that is, or ever
ece been, the matter with him. To merely
be ist he has been forced into becoming q
of er, kelp- -gatherer, poacher; anything
the live His wife becomes fisher, "gutter'
the dresser of herrings at the sea side, mus
not gatherer, or does any torturous labor p
sible to add pound or shilling to the st
ag- for meeting the inexorable demand of
ine rent The daughters are forced fr
tch home into service, and their altered cor
un- ton and needs deprive them of both IL
and love of the Highland home and the pol
saf. to bestow more than a pittance upon
bid keeping. The sons become gillies to Hi
and land sportsmen with few weeks of