CONDITION OF THE SCOTTISH CROFTERS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2134, 6 December 1890, Page 3

CONDITION OF THE SCOTTISH CROFTERS.

Tbo Commissioners appointed by the Marquii of Lethian last December to enquire into the interests of the population of the Western Highlands and the islands of Scotland have just issued their report, They observe that the crofter's house, like the crofter's condition, varies in different localities, bat they regret that i» many thousands of people, in the Long Island especially, should be content to lire in habitations which are not likely to oreate a feeling of self-respeet, and which weuld probably bejat once condemned by any sanitary authority. In the great majority of cases in the Lewis, and in some instances in the ether islands, the byre in which the cattle are kept is net separated by any partition from the house in which the people live. The only entrance to the dwelling is through the byre; the floor is the ground on which the house is built. Theae is no chimney, and the smoke from the peat fire in the centre of the dwelling finds its way through the thatched roof. The byre is only cleansed when the manure is required for the croft; the drainage from the byre is frequently allowed to accumulate in a ditch round the dwelling; and the people are too indifferent to cut a channel to allow it to run away. Nothing impressed the Commissioners more than the reluctance of the people to help themselves, and their disposition to spend the greater part of their time in idleness they attribute in part to the circumstances, of their position. In many places, especially in the Lewis, they consider the population in excess of that which the area on which they live can properly maintain. They fin«l that the West Coast fisheries are generally less productive than those on the East Coast; and the most productive brauch of the West Coast j fisheries is chiefly worked by the East j Ccast fishermen The want of success j which has attended all attempts to

develop a fishing industry in the West is mainly dae to the fact that fishing on the West Coast has not hitherto, except in a small number of cases, been prosecuted as a distinct industry. "With the object of developing the fishing industry the Commissioners recommend that a series of public works should be undertaken, including railways to give communication with the southern markets, new lines of steamers, harbor improvements, and lighthouses, involving, if they were carried ©ut—which, however, would not be necessary, as some of the schemes are alternative—an expenditure of £280,000 out of the public funds. They point out, however, that much of the expenditure would be dependent upon the provision of local resources which may or may not be forthcoming, and that in any case it would be spread over a series of years.