Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-12-26
RENTS IN SCOTIA.
Landowners Furious at Recent
Heavy Reductions.
MUCH PROFIT FOR THE "OROFTERs."

Operations of the Land Court Put Mill
ions of Pounds in Their Pockets and
ProPortionatcly Reduce the Lairds' In
comes-Arrest of a Retired French Army
officer for an Audacious and Cold
FLOODED Murder-Dynamite Bombs in
Church-Many Wounded.
LONDON, Dec 26.-The Scotch land own
ers are in furious mood over the action
OF the Highland land court in reducing
rents IN nearly all the cases brought before
the tribunal The court was founded soon
after-and as a result of-the crnfters' agi-
tation of the agrarian question a little
over ten years ago The land owners
fought tooth and nail against the forma-
ton OF the court, claiming that there was
no ground for the complaints Of the croft
ers that their ancient rights and privi-
Ieges had been gradually filched from them
while their obligations had been increased
Creation of the Court Justified.
The establishment of "A court to adjust
the terms of rental rs between landlord
and tenant was declared by the former
class to be useless, in view of their human
1ty and feudal generosity. The section of
Radicals headed by DR.. Clarke, NJ. p, with
great difficulty piloted the measure to vic
tory, aided by many pathetic appeals to the
public through the press of England from
persons who visited the Highlands and the
islands of Scotland, and told piteOus tales
of the effects of modern land tenures upon
the race dwelling there. The event has
amply justified the creation of the court
The court examines every farmpr. and
questions farmers, bailiffs, and owners in
true cadi fashion.
sweeping Reductions of Rent.
As result of this searching examination
into the circumstances of each case there
Is scarcely an estate i'll the region referred
10 wherein sweeping reductions of rents
have not been ordered, and arrears abated.
Millions of pounds have thus been trans
ferred from one side of the balance sheet to
the other-from the pockets of the land
lords to those Of the crcfters. in effect A
careful estimate places the average reduc-
ton of rents at 80 per cent, and of arrears
at 10 per cent In some cases the abate-
ment OF arrears has been as high as 90 per
cent.
His "Generosity'' Was No Go.
The decisions in regard to rents on Sir
Kenneth Matheson's enormous estates in
ROsshire rendered Thursday evening are
typical Sir Kenneth, in anticipation of a
visit of the court, recently made a volun-
tary reduction of rents on his estate of
from 20 to 10 per cent, accompanying the
deed with no little fourishing of trump
cts in advertisement of his generosity"
His hope that the tenants would not after
such concession, appeal to the land court
was disappointed. The intervention of the
court was asked nevertheless, and after
duly considering all the cases brought be-
fore it the tribunal now makes further
average reduction of 16 per cent, bringing
the rents down in some cases to more than
30 per cent. less than they were in 1880.
The arrears are also reduced in proportion
London Tradesmen Feel Its Effects.
The effect of the reduction of incomes
from land has been shown in the curtail-
ment OF expenses on the part of Scotch
land owners, and London tradesmen com
plain that they receive much less patron
age from this class than formerly. Econ
omy is the order of the day among the
owners, but the crofters have been greatly
relieved, and the complaints coming from
the region affected are comparatively few.
The land owners threaten to raise the qlIcs-