, 1890-11-20


and making adjudications, what
are called "fair rents" to which
both proprietor and crofter-tenant
are bound, In all cases of crofters
paying an annual rental OF ESQ or
less. Tho commission also has
power to deal with arrears.
The terrible odds against which
these helpless people for more than
a century fought for mere existence
Is clearly shown by the outcome of
the annual proceedings of this
crofters' commission. In July OF
the present year on the estate of
Neiss, near Wick, the crofters Sc.
cured an average reduction of "a
per cent. while 40 per cent. of their
arrears were Cancelled. In the ISL
and of Stroma, lying In the Pent-
land Firth, opposite John O'Groats
house, the same reduction and can
collation. were made. On one estate
I'm Caithness rent reductions have
been as great as 80 per cent. while
90 per cent of arrears have been can
celed. Perhaps one-half of the entire
territory of the Northern and west
ern Highlands has been already nd
judicated upon by the commission.
On an average 'fair rents" have
been established at "a reduction of 40
per cent. The infamous iniquity
and injustice of former years have
been illustrated and partially atoned
for by the commission in an absolute
cancellation of more than one-fourth
of existing arrears, and reduction
or cancellation of fully 70 per cent.
of the remainder. a far greater
good has also been accomplished.
Under the Crofter's act "Poor
Donald" is to-day pretty nearly q
free man.
HE is NOW INDEPENDENT.
Under the old conditions he could
never pay his rent. at was not ex-
pected he would" u factor confided
to me. 'Ho was more manageable
when you could hint of notice and
removal" In other words, land
lords, while certainly rapacious for
the last farthing that could be
pinched out of the croiter, in cold
blood actually calculated upon cer-
tain percentage of arrears piling up
against the terrified crofter, so that
all slavish commands were quickly
assented TO and additional burdens
were imposed without protest. Out
RACES under this form of duress were
countless.
But under the Crofter's Act the
crofter is absolutely Independent of
proprietor or factor, rs long as he
pays the "fair rent" fixed by the
commission. He may vote as he
pleases, pay his rent with his hat
on, his children may remain ut
home, or even marry, without the
proprietor's written consent, and,
marvel of land-law progress! he may
worship at the Established, the Free,
or at Catholic church, without the
vengeance of n bigot master over
taking him.
All this, in degree, is hopeful and
good. But j fear help has come to
the crofters too late. They possess
many of the noblest characteristics
of the noble Scotch race. Their
home life, of which l shall speak in
the next article, and their social
betterment, barely possible under
new although wholly inadequate
conditions, would seem to give no
good ground for encouragement.
There are too few of them. Those
who remain are huddled by the
proprietors into crofter settlements,
and there restricted from the full
of their kindly in
stincts and admirable energies by
miserably insufficient areas of land.
In brief, the landlord class prac-
tically extirpated the croiter class
before they would permit the enact
ment of laws to project the latter.
1t was like specific law against
specific murder, after the killing had
been committed. Over five-sixths
of the entire area of the northern
and western Scottish Highlands are
now in sheep walks or game pre-
serves and principally the latter. /
can take you across Scotland through
the shires of Inverness and Ross,
from Beauty to Strome, and you
may climb every mountain peak be-
tween, without your being able to
count two-score crofter tillers of the
soil. A land has become desolate in
deed when its roads and by-paths
are transformed into paths for deer
and courses for hounds, and the
blackened walls of once happy
homes into lairs for foxes and wolves.
EDGAR l.. WAKEMAN.