THE CROFTERS AND THEIR LANDLORDS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1687, 17 January 1888, Page 3

THE CROFTERS AND THEIR LANDLORDS.

The folic «t icle « fro . m lhe 61 ®B- - Mail o* f Nov. 26th, bearing upon he troubles of t to® crofters at Lewis Island “ The hnn 'it is np m the far off island Of the Lewi i» ’ after a sporting fashion which has not. been practised there, or elsewhere for- a long time. There has been a “ deer i Wt® ” i. n the forest of Park upon a scale tlbi e magnitude of which surpasses allrecun it expense Not even the notorious with of beaters, engag-® i to urs ® th ® he , rd P aal the armchafr l»h ence he does his slaughter In a favorable . « >d deliberate manner, has ever brought si tc b a force into the field. The cottar pop Ration m the parish of Lochs; sdem to h taive risen in a body, conducted a well-ph vnned and very Bucoessiul invasion-Of the fi west and helped them■elves to a store c venison, which, preserved as they kni »* b °. w to P reser r° A,’ will provide their i families with a t°°thsome bite, for some weeks to come. U£ course they have vie plated the law; ihough to what extent it w «U puzzle tbe ableat lawyers to decide-1 'or deer are not game in any strictly legal , * nd . ? « har ?.® of trespass over bleak ' Highland hills will be rather difficult to make good. No doubt the ringleaders ut the foray will be arrested,* and are sur e to be panished, though it were folly to . bilink the fact that I'ieT are «ery likely to yrelcome the distinction—that their end creed departure Will be bewailed as that o, f men who gave themselves with earnesiiae as, if not with wisdom, to the promotion, of a good cause —and that on their reti wu from captivity they will bo hailed as h ot oes. The folks Who organised the hunt are either starvimr or the representatives of starving P°V' .bo ore lor,*d 10 live on potatoes, lacking the means to provide the wholesome change of porridge. If the Lewis estate official had as much benevolence or common stmae as to have brought a cargo of oatmeal from Glasgow, and distributed it among those who were •tsrviag and desperate, the dlffieulty

might have been avoided. But the policy followed by Lady Matbeson and her advisers in the Lewis has been one of exasperation alike as regards cottar and crofter. The people “ cannot live,” because they have been deprived of the land now given up te the feeding of the deer. It is the old story, but with aggravation, because the Orofter Commissioners have yet to visit the island, and a large-hearted proprietor might have anticipated their searching inquiries by timely concessions and removal of grievances. Instead there has been a churlish “no ” to all petitions, and the cottars, grown desperate, have taken the law into their own hands. Of course they have acted illegally, but it is childish to talk of illegality to men whose families have been starving for weeks, and who have seen famine staring them in the face during the coming winter. These men have year after year seen the deer fattening on the land which formerly maintained their families in comfort j and knowing the miserable condition to which they and cottars in the Highlands have been reduced by the shameful “ clearing-out/’ or should wo say by the “ improving” policy of modern Highland lairds, we frankly say that we cannot bring ourselves to condemn this “ Deer Hunt in the Lewis/’ Nor are we disposed to blame the authorities for sending police, marines, and soldiers to the stands. The greater the fuss and disturbance, the greater the certainty of public attention being directed to the scandalous extension of deer forests in Scotland. Who knows that, excluding the arable lands which are under cultivatien, one-half the area the four great Highland counties are afforested f Who knows that the Yankee millionaire Winans (why does he not find a congenial home and a limitless outrun in the backwood I) leases a territory from one side on which be can view the Atlantic, while from another he can, with a chuckle, cast his eye over the paltry sea which we call the German Ocean I Who knows that one must tramp from Caithness to Argyle without taking hie foot off what is appropriated to these artificial solitudes f These things are trne._ They are a disgrace to our modern civilisation, and they pressingly demand a remedy. To come back to tjie “ Lewis Raid/’ the immediate result is to provide a store of venison to the starving cottars’ families in the Lochs district sufficient to last them for some weeks to come. Thus supplied with food, the cottars are disposed to be content, and, according to the latest telegrams, will have dispersed to their homes by the time the police and military reach the scene of the famous “ deer hunt." A few of the prominent men will no doubt bo identified, tried, and found guilty of trespass. But another “ hunt ” will be organised when the present store of venison is consumed by the cottars’ families, and then, we suppose, there will be another military excursion to Lewis to make an example of a few more starving men. But what is to be the end of the whole business ♦ Does any man in his senses suppose that the country will stand by and see a whole people slowly starved to death, merely because a few Highland lairds are determined to turn fertile lanes into deer runs and sheep walks I