The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1887. LAW IN THE HIGHLANDS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1554, 17 February 1887, Page 2

The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1887. LAW IN THE HIGHLANDS.

Thebe appears in the Scottish Highlander of December 2, 1886, the most extraordinary legal document that has ever come under our notice. It runs as follows "Alexander Macdonald, Sheriff Officer of Inverness, by virtue of a decree of the Sheriff of Inverness, Elgin, and Nairn, containing warrant to poind, dated at Portree the 21st day of October, 1886, at the instance of the Hon. Lord Macdonald, The Lodge, Portree, pursuer, against William Macrae (No, 1), Peinness, Snizort, defender, for payment of the principal sum of £l6 10s, with 18s Id of expsnses, in the said decree, now past due, and no payment made past upon the 18th of November, 1886, with the witnesses and appraisers after-named and designated, who then and thereafter demanded the payment of the sums of money before-mentioned, and payment not being made, I poinded the following effects belonging to said dabtor, which the said appraisers valued on oath at the respective prices following, namely:—

£ f. d. Dresser and crockery ... 0 1 6 Wooden seats ... 0 2 0 Cradle and child 0 0 6 Spinning-wheel ... ... 0 1 0 Two beds and blanket! ... 1 0 0 Dog (puppy) 0 1 0 Okait 0 10 Churn and top 0 10 Qraip 0 2 0 In yard, quantity of corn ... 10 0 In stable, and other effects ... 18 0 0 And I declare the Raid effects to be the properly of the said complainer, and leave the said poinded effects «here the same was poinded, in the hands of the ssid debtor, there to remain at least for 48 hours, and until carried away and sold by public roup, end I also made certification to oil concerned, that whoever carried off or intromitted with the said poinded effects will be liable to summary punishment by fine or imprisonment, and all in -* the atntnt*. This I did before te'ms in • John Campbell, both Alex, i? raser anu , ~-«aa and ap(Tsidentsrs in Portree, praisers in the premise?. “ (Signed) A Macdonald ” Some of the language in the above document is foreign to us, but we have no doubt as to im meaning. It is that ao unhappy tenant of Lord Macdonald,

named William Macrae, owed bis landlord £ls 10s for rent, that the landlord destrained, and that amongst other effects he seized the poor man’s cradle and baby. And, as if to add insnlt to injury, be rained Macrae’s dog (puppy) at one shilling, while the cradle and child were valued at sixpencel The subject is not one at which it is right to laugh, even though thousands of miles of ocean roll between ns and the scene of this monstrous proceeding, The story of the child’s mother throws further light upon the conduct of the landlord’s officer. In reply to a Glasgow Mail reporter she said : “ Macdonald, the officer, came straight towards me, and, taking a hold of my shoulder, shook me violent y, and peremptorily requested me to point out the cattle to him. I told him they were on the hill, and that if he wanted them he could go and fetch them. He continued to shake me, and demanded me to point out the cattle. I asked him to go into tho house and see the large number of young helpless children I had to look after, and consider whether he did not think I had sufficient to do to attend to them without going to the hill in search of (he cattle. He asked me to point out the sheep, and I replied (hat 1 did not know where they were. Macdonald then entered the bouse, and was followed by bin concurrents and several policemen. I have no doubt whatever but he was in earnest when he was shaking me by the shonlder. The policemen looked on at him in apparent amazement, but he persisted in shaking me very violently, and my shoulder was stiff for some time afterwards, When be was entering the house Macdonald rudely pushed me in before him. . My baby, who is two months old, was sleeping in the cradle near the fireside. The officer, when be went towards the fire, said—** I will poind the baby and the cradle.” He turned down the blanket that covered the infant’s face, and said—“ Is it a boy or girl ?” and I replied that it was a lad. 1 really thought al this time the officer was in fun. I knew that the cattle and the sheep and the corn could be poinded, but 1 had not the remotest idea that a child could. All that I said to him when he asked his concurrent to enter into bis book the cradle and child was that my children were fully as good looking as be was. Several people have spoken to me about the poinding, and asked me if it were true. I cannot read, and it is only to-day that I have learned from the inventory of articles poinded that my child is really entered at 6d. The conduct of the officer was savage, but I suppose that even if they remove our children we must remain quiet. You will aae whether this child belongs to me or the landlord in a day or two." This ifl a sample of the conduct of landlords in the Highlands of Scotland. The worst rnffian they can find they appoint as their bailiff, with the result that their poor victims are being subjected to great cruelty. In another instance this same officer entered the house of a dying man and served him with a writ as be was dying, and it is supposed bis inhuman conduct accelerated the poor man’s death, This is all the work of landlordism in Scotland, and the papers are demanding that immediate steps should be taken to remedy the evil. The facts are that, just as in Ireland, prices have come down, and it is impossible for the poor unfortunate crofters to pay their rents, and yet in the face of these facts the landlords will insist on being paid the last farthing. They are being backed up by a villainous Government, and to enable them to exact from the poor unfortunate tenants everything they have—even to the cradle and child —gunboats are placed at their disposal, and large forces of police and marines are poured in amongst the people, end their effects are taken and sold by public “ roup.” This is disgraceful, but wo sincerely hope that the day is not far distant when these inhuman scoundrels will be muzzled, if not wiped off the facs of the earth.