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Page 54
Many of the crofters belong to families which have lived on the same
holdings for generations. It is a common experience everywhere that
long-continued use begets and fosters the feeling of ownership. This is
especially true when, as in the crofter's case, there is so much in the
history and traditions of the people and the property that tends to
establish a right of possession. Besides, the crofter, or one of his
ancestors, has in most cases built the house and made other
improvements: sometimes he has reclaimed the land itself and changed a
barren waste into a garden. The labor and money which he and his
ancestors have expended in improving the place seem to him to give him
an additional right to occupy it always. It is his holding and his home,
the home of his fathers and of his family. While he may be unable to
resist the power of his landlord, and may have no legal security for his
rights and interests, he regards the curtailment of his privileges or
the increase of his rent as unjust, and eviction as a terrible outrage.
"The extermination of the Highlanders," says one of their kinsmen, "has
been carried on for many years as systematically and persistently as
that of the North-American Indians.... Who can withhold sympathy as
whole families have turned to take a last look at the heavens red with
their burning homes? The poor people shed no tears, for there was in
their hearts that which stifled such signs of emotion: they were
absorbed in despair. They were forced away from that which was dear to
their hearts, and their patriotism was treated with contemptuous
mockery.... There are various ways in which the crime of murder is
perpetrated. There are killings which are effected by the unjust and
cruel denying of lands to our fellow-creatures to enable them to obtain
food and raiment."
The feeling of the crofters in regard to increase of rent and eviction
is very similar to that of the Irish tenantry. Very recently Mr. Parnell
uttered sentiments which both would accept as their own. "I trust," he
said, "that when any individual feels disposed to violate the divine
commandment by taking, under such circumstances, that which does not
belong to him, he will feel within him the promptings of patriotism and
religion, and that he will turn away from the temptation. Let him
remember that he is doing a great injustice to his country and his
class,--that though he may perhaps benefit materially for a while, yet
that ill-gotten gains will not prosper." Where crofters have been
evicted, or have had their privileges curtailed or their rent raised,
they and their descendants do not soon forget the grievance. Claims have
recently been made for lands which the crofters have not occupied for
two or three generations.
The Scotch landlords are not, as a rule, cruel or unjust. On the
contrary, some of them are exceedingly kind and generous to their
tenants, and have spent large sums of money in making improvements which
add greatly to the prosperity and comfort of those who live on their
estates. Many of them recognize the right of their tenants to occupy
their holdings without interruption so long as the rent is paid
regularly. The natural tendency, however, to insist upon their legal
rights and to make the most they can out of their estates has led to not
a few cases of hardship and injustice. A few such instances in a
community are talked over for years, and often seriously interfere with
the contentment and industry of many families. The traditions and
recollections of the many evictions which have occurred during this
century have often caused the motives of the best landlords to be
suspected and their most benevolent acts to be misunderstood by their
tenants. The crofter system has been an extremely bad one in many
respects. There cannot be much interest in making improvements where the
tenant must build the houses, fences, stables, etc., but has no
guarantee that he will not be turned out of his holding or have his rent
so increased as practically to compel him to leave the place. The
kindness and humanity of the landlords have in many instances mitigated
the worst evils of the system; but, while human nature remains as it is,
no matter how just and generous individual landlords may be, general
prosperity and contentment are impossible under the present
arrangements. The discontent and discouragement caused by the action of
the less kind and considerate landlords and agents frequently extend to
crofters who have no just grounds of complaint, and troubles and
hardships resulting from idleness or improvidence or other causes are
often attributed to the injustice of the laws or the cruelty of the
landlords.
The poverty of the crofter often renders his condition deplorable. His
holding and right of common have been curtailed by the landlord, or he
has sub-divided them among his sons or kinsmen, until it would be
impossible for the produce of the soil to sustain the population, even
if no rent whatever were charged. Some years ago he was able to increase
his income by gathering sea-weed for kelp; but latterly, since iodine
can be obtained more cheaply from other sources, the demand for this
product has ceased. In some places the fishing is valuable, enabling him
to supply his family with food for a part of the year, and bringing him
money besides. He is, however, often too poor to provide the necessary
boats and nets, while in many places the absence of good harbors and
landings is a most serious drawback to the fishing industry. Sometimes
he supplements his income by spending a few months of the year in the
low country and obtaining work there. In most cases, however, a large
part of his income must be derived from the land. If there were plenty
of employment to be had, the little holding would do very well as a
garden, and the stock which he could keep on the common would add
greatly to his comfort. As things now are, he must look chiefly to the
land both for his subsistence and his rent, and, with an unfruitful soil
and an unfriendly climate, he is often on the verge of want.
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