The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-03-07

~ in North CarOllna; Z. 10 promote
closer union in the State among
hose of Scottish descent: 5. To en-
,.o1raee Scottish immigration to the
state.
This is an event Of more than pass
IN. interest. OF the several racial ele-
ments that haye been fused into the
DoDulation of North Carolina nom
has contributed more to the industrial,
intellectual, or moral welfare of the
state than h Scotch, and none has
mad a more interesting history in the
New World. The Scotch Highlanders
first began to come TO North Carolina
during the first half Of the eighteenth
century, and from that time until the
Revolution they came by the thou-
sands. There was something unusual
about this emigration from the High
lands, for the Highlander was natu-
rally 3 home-stayer. Deeply devoted
to his own country, he cared nothing
for the luxuries and opportunities OF
more favored lands. He never under
took to conquer foreign territory with
u view TO permanent occupancy. Ills
natural home was in the Highlands,
and his devotion to it was strengthen
I'd by the peculiar organization Of his
domestic institutions. Why, then, did
they in such large numbers willingly
leave their native hills and seek homes
in the wild woods Of America?
The explanation Of this phenomenon
is to be found in the unusual political
and economic conditions of Scotland
in the early part Of the eighteenth
century.
In the dealings Of one chief With
another might made right" For
this reason a chiefs Importance de-
pended largely upon the number OF
armed men be had in his elan. Each
chief. therefore, made constant eft
forts to increase the umb Of his
followers, and to train the men in the
4lse Of the c~laynlore and the dirk rath-
er than in the use of the pillow and the
hoe. Their country, naturally rocky
and barren, could support only 3
small numDcr Of people even when
kept in q high state OF cultivation.
But their agriculture was on the most
limited scale. The work was done in
the simplest manner with h rudest
sort Of tools. Tilling and reaping, and
most Of the other field labor, We're
done chiefly by m
Nor was their trade any better.
TheE had none, except the occasional
sale Of q drove of cattle. There were
30 manufactures, and Of course no
commerce.. That genius and energy
which the people of other countries
1N~1 A-tt1 - ~ ~ -
and agriculture and the
f~iighlaudars We're still devoting, even
rs late as the eighteenth century, to
The arts OF war and the chase. The
result was that in nan of the clans
there were more people than the lane
could support.
To add to b suffering caused by
these conditions, the British cvern-
ment. after the defeat of the High
ianders at Culloden, determined to
break up the clan system. \ great
deal Of their land vas taken away
from the Highland chiefs and given
10 SOLD ers Of King George. These rev
landlords cared nothing for the people
IN the Highlands. 1t did not make
any difference to them what the con-
"ltion OF the H~ighlanders was SO long
as they themselves could make money
out Of their farms. They soon fond
That sheep raising was more profitable
fh2n farming, and SO they turned into
sheep pastures thousands Of acres
which had before this time been cIlti-
waited. This, Of course, added to the
general distress, as it required fewer
people to raise sheep than to cultivate
the land. Thousands We're therefore
thrown out of work, Rents became
higher. Then, too. the money that
came from the sale Of wool and the
sheep was sent out of the Highlands
TO the owners of the land, who lived
in the lowlands in England.
Ihe second cause OF the coming OF
The ~Highianders to America was their
political misfortunes. These came
from their loyalty to the Stuarts as the
royal family of Scotland. The Stuarts
We're regarded by many of the High
land clans as their common chiefs.
however. much they might Quarrel
among themselves, nearly all the
,nleis owned allegiance to the Stnarrc.
me story of their loyalty to this i'll
lated family is too familiar to need
ctpeutlon. After the expulsion Of the
9taafts from England the Highland