§ DR. CLARK (Caithness)I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether it is the case that the Crofters' Commission have determined 7,377 applications for fair rent since their appointment; whether it is the case that the total rental in these cases on application was £40,498, and the fair rent fixed £28,448, a reduction of from under £G each per annum to under £4 per annum; and what is the number of cases where there has been a compulsory enlargement of the crofters' holdings under the Act?
§ MR. J. P. B. ROBERTSONUp to December 31. 1889, the Crofter Commissioners had decided 7,377 applications, the total rental involved being £40,503, or an average of about £5 9s. per croft, the fair rents fixed amounting to £28,450, or an average of £3 17s. per croft. Two hundred and eighty-six crofters in all have had their holdings enlarged under the Act; 35 of these cases were contentious to the end. In the other cases, where there was any opposition at the outset, the applicants and the landlords came to an adjustment during the proceedings.