§ DR. MACGREGOR (Inverness-shire)I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been called to the case of four men, resident in the 875 Island of Bernera, in the Hebrides, who have been recently condemned by the Sheriff to 60 days' imprisonment for having opposed the lauding of a new tenant to take possession of land of which the people had, some years ago, been deprived, and to which they consider they have a prior claim while they are willing to pay a fair rent for it; and whether, considering that these poor men erred in pursuance of what they regard as their rights, and that their wives and families are thus left destitute, he will advise that the remainder of their sentence should be remitted?
§ THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (Sir G. TREVELYAN,) Glasgow, BridgetonThe men referred to in the question were cottars, and not crofters. They were part of the two boatfulls of 22 men, 12 of whom boarded the 24 feet keel boat of a tenant who was crossing the Sound of Harris to the farm which lie had taken, the boat containing the tenant, his son, another man, and nine cattle. The men who hoarded the tenant's boat seized the sail, which was a large lugsail, and pulled it down, all to the imminent danger of those on board, and forced them to sail back to Harris. They had also removed from the tenant's farm the cattle which he had ferried across to it the week before, and they had these actually in their boats at the time when they boarded the tenant's boat. I have made full inquiry into the circumstances of the case, and see no ground for remitting the sentence.
§ DR. MACGREGORSeeing that these men were acting under a mistaken impression, I beg to give notice that I shall take the earliest opportunity of drawing attention to the very harsh and oppressive manner in which this law has been administered in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.