§ MR. BUCHANAN (Aberdeenshire, E.)I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been called to the case of William Porter, aged 84, crofter at Milton of Fisherie, in Aberdeenshire, who has received from the purchaser of the adjoining farm notice to quit the croft, which he and 863 his ancestors brought into cultivation, and have held for more than a century; and whether the Government will introduce legislation which will give security of tenure to crofters and other small holders similarly situated, and prevent their eviction without their knowledge or consent, and will provide, if evicted, they shall receive payment of the full value of their improvements and interest in the holding.
§ THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (Sir G. TREVELYAN,) Glasgow, BridgetonThe case to which my hon. Friend calls attention is a sad case on the face of it, and I hope that the landlord will attend to the considerations of humanity and justice between man and man which mill landlords in all parts of the country are bound to observe. When the Commission which has been appointed in the Highlands has reported, the Government will contemplate the question of crofter legislation, and the case of those crofters for whom my hon. Friend is pleading will then be carefully considered.