THE OF SK ALEXANDER MACKENZIE F.S.A. SCO'! THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE ISLE OF SKYE IN i882-i883; ILLUSTRATED BY A FULL REPORT OF THE TRIALS OF THE BRAES AND GLENDALE CROFTERS, AT INVERNESS AND EDINBURGH ; AND AN 'INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, F.S.A., SCOT., EDITOR OF THE Celtic Magazine ; AUTHOR OF The History of the Highland Clearances; T/ie History of the Mackenzies; The History of the Macdonalds and Lords of the Isles ; The Macdonalds of Glengarry ; The Macdonalds ofClanranald ; The History of the Mathesons ; The Prophecies of the Brahan Seer; The Historical Tales and Legends of the High- lands, &"c. ALSO A FULL REPORT OF THE TRIAL OF PATRICK SELLAR. INVERNESS: A. & W. MACKENZIE. 1883. ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS. A * MR. KENNETH MACDONALD, F.S.A, SCOT., TOWN-CLERK OF INVERNESS, A GENUINE FRIEND, AND AN ABLE ADVOCATE OF THE RIGHTS OF THE HIGHLAND PEOPLE, BY HIS FRIEND, THE AUTHOR. 879203 CONTENTS. Introduction : General Remarks ix Sleat and Strath xvii Bracadale xx Glendale xxvii Dr. Martin's Estate xxix Dunvegan xxix Waternish xxxi Grishornish and Lyndale xxxii Kilmuir Major Eraser's xxxiii The Brave Old Crofter xxxvii Eviction Results in Skye xlii Rent' of Benlee paid by Malcolm Mackenzie xliii Liberation of the Glendale Martyrs xliv The Scotsman in the Scales xlvi Patrick Sellar's Trial Hi Lord Napier as Chairman of the Royal Commission liv The Social Revolution in the Braes ; The Braes Crofters and Lord Macdonald 7 The Glendale Crofters and their Grievances 13 Dr. Nicol Martin's Estate Management 22 Burning of the First Summonses in the Braes 24 March of the Dismal Brigade, and Battle of the Braes. 26 Charge of the Skye Brigade 34 Arrest and Trial of the Braes Crofters 35 The Accused in the Prison of Inverness 36 They are Committed for Trial and Bailed out 37 Reception on their arrival at Portree 38 VI CONTENTS. PAGE Refusal of Trial by Jury 39 Agent's Letter to the Lord-Advocate 40 Questions in the House of Commons and Lord Advocate's Reply 42 Reflections suggested by his Lordship's Refusal 43 Protest by seven Members of Parliament in the Times 45 The Trial is commenced before Sheriff Blair the Indictment. ... 48 The Jurisdiction of the Court objected to and sustained 50 The Charge of Deforcement objected to found Irrelevant Prisoners only charged with a Common Assault 53 Evidence for the Prosecution 56 Prisoners' Declarations 73 Evidence for the Defence 75 Mr. Kenneth Macdonald's Address for the Accused 79 Sheriff Blair's Judgment and Sentence 86 Fines Paid, and the Men Liberated 88 The Autumn Campaign : Service of Writs at Gedintaillear in September 89 The Sheriff Officers again in the Braes 90 Lord Macdonald visits the Braes 93 Proposal to send a Military Force 93 Final attempt to Serve the Writs 94 Effect of Courier Special Correspondence loo Munificent offer by Malcolm Mackenzie, and Correspondence.... IOI Military force refused Letter from the Lord- Advocate 107 Meeting of Police Committee for the County 108 Meeting of Commissioners of Supply Report by Sheriff Ivory. 109 Police authorities throughout the country refuse Police aid 113 Settlement of the Braes Dispute .. 114 The Social Revolution in Glendale : The Glendale Crofters' case in the Court of Session 115 Alleged Deforcement of Sheriff Officer 117 Gunboat and Government Official in Glendale 118 Meeting of the people with Government Official 119 John Macpherson and two others surrender and go to Edinburgh 123 They are arrested, on the way, in Glasgow 124 They appear before the Court of Session 125 CONTENTS. vii PAGE Answers to the Charges made against them..., 125 The Trial before Lord Shancl 126 Dean of Faculty's Address before the First Division.. 127 Judgment and Sentence 130 The men in Calton Jail Mistake by Prison Officials 133 The Author visits them in Prison 134 Professor Blackie's Opinion on their Case 135 attacks the Professor is and to The Scotsman ; Bearded Replied 138 The Greenock Telegraph on the Sentence and on the Scotsman. .. 142 Attempted Eviction of 400 people from Glendale 143 The Sheriff Officer turns tail 144 Royal Commission granted to Inquire into the Grievances of the People, and how it was obtained 145 Its Composition 150 Concluding Remarks on Skye 152 THE TRIAL of PATRICK SELLAR for Culpable Homicide and Fire- Raising Full Report with Preface by Alexander Mackenzie, F.S.A., Scot 157-203 INTRODUCTION. body of this book was in type before the Royal THECommission to inquire into the grievances of the Highland Crofters began its labours, but its publication was delayed to enable me to glance at its proceedings in an Introductory Chapter. Some of the statements made in the book itself were described by certain interested indi- viduals as exaggerations; others hesitated not to apply even stronger terms, without the slightest pretence to a personal knowledge of the facts. Keeping this in view, I resolved to await the result of the Inquiry of the Royal Commissioners in Skye before publishing this volume. The first portion of " the work has appeared in my History of the Highland Clearances," now nearly out of print, but I felt that Skye deserved a volume specially dealing with itself, during a period in its history when the eyes of the whole of the British people, and indeed of the civilized world, were upon it. The Social Unrest which has exhibited itself in the Island during the last two years, will prove the turning point in a long reign of oppression in the Highlands. To the Men of Skye will be due the honour of securing a complete change in the system of land tenure which has hitherto kept the Highlands under the foot of the oppressor; and this fact alone will give an interest to what might otherwise appear comparatively trifling incidents, but which, in the X INTRODUCTION. circumstances, I deemed worthy of record in the following pages. Let us first see how the evidence given before the Royal Commission affects what appeared in my previous work, and what I reproduce in the first portion of this volume. " When it first appeared, in my History of the Highland Clearances," few people believed that the description given of the Social Upheaval and its results in the Braes and Glen- dale were not greatly exaggerated. Indeed, that was quite for it incredible that the expected ; does appear antiquated customs and petty tyrannies inflicted upon a noble race by factors and landlords in that part of the Queen's dominions were possible, within the bounds of civilization, much less in the British Isles, whose leading statesmen, in the past, have in most cases secured the brighest" settings in their re- putations by taking the side of oppressed races in what were hitherto held to be much less favoured lands than our own. The Royal Commissioners examining into the grievances of the Highland Crofters have, during their Inquiry, not only brought to light facts corroborative of all that has ever been written or said on that subject, but disclosures have been made in the Isle of Skye which no one unacquainted with the facts could have believed, until, after hearing both sides Crofters, Landlords and Factors, it has now been placed beyond dispute. It is very remarkable, as well as instructive, that the factors made scarcely any attempt much less succeeded in rebutting any of the statements made " " in my recently published Highland Clearances about the affairs state of and what has led up to it, during the last two years, in the Braes and in Glendale. All that I have written, and much more, about the Braes has been corroborated by the witnesses examined before the Commission; and the factor for Lord Macdonald, INTRODUCTION. XI Mr. Alexander Macdonald, has not, in his long and from his stand-point able statement, read before the Commis- sion, made any attempt to rebut a single statement which has been hitherto made. " Mr. Donald Macdonald, the famous Tormore," fails to contradict anything which I have written of his factorial rule in or elsewhere on the he admits Glendale, ; contrary, it all and much more. At page 15, he is referred to in his capacity of judge, and before the Commission he fully accepted the position. In a curiously-involved statement at Portree he declared in this connection that, "In his capacity of factor, justice of the peace, and general well- wisher of the people, it had fallen to his lot to decide two cases against Peter Mackinnon, postmaster, Glendale ". Referring to the harsh notice which he had issued against the people of Glendale for trespassing on the lands of Waterstein, he not only admits having issued it, but adds " that perhaps it was injudiciously worded and written in a " " fit of temper ". It was quite true," he also admits, that the small farm of Lowerkell was cleared and the larger farm of Ramasaig partially and nearly completely so." He confesses to having put the people on their guard against reading certain newspapers and other literature, and then makes the important admission, from him, that, "taking the whole Island," for which he was mainly responsible, "there was some foundation for the discontent that had " manifested and " been ; when asked, Can you suggest " " any remedies ? he replied, Give them more land, with all " my heart," and I would put them on such a footing that they could not be deprived of their lands according to the whim of any proprietor, and certainly not of a factor. It would be a very unhappy thing if matters remained as at present." When examined a few days earlier at Isle Ornsay Xll INTRODUCTION.