HC Deb 07 December 1900 vol 88 cc207-8
MR. WEIR

I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether he is aware that crofters and cottars in the Island of Barra, many of them the sons of crofters who were evicted from lands now forming large farms in Barra, have repeatedly applied to be located on some of the lands in the islands which have been scheduled by the Deer Forest Commissioners as suitable for occupation by the people, and that the people failing in their object and being on the verge of starvation have signified their intention to seize certain lands on the estate of Lady Gordon Cathcart, known as North-bay Farm, Barra; is he aware that the Barra Parish Council petitioned Lady Gordon Cathcart on behalf of the people without avail, and that efforts to secure land for the people under the Allotments Act of 1892 have likewise failed; and, in view of the fact that Lady Gordon Cathcart is sole owner of the island, will he state what action he proposes to take to bring about a solution of the land question in Barra, and other parts of the Highlands of Scotland.

* The SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR SCOTLAND (Mr. C. SCOTT DICKSON,) (for Mr. A. GRAHAM MURRAY) Glasgow, Bridgeton

Without accepting all the statements contained in the first part of the hon. Member's question, I deeply regret to say that it is the fact that some the cottars in the Island of Barra signified their intention to take forcible possession of some land let to a tenant on the estate of Lady Gordon Cathcart. At the same time they sent petitions to Lady Gordon Cathcart and to the Congested Districts Board. The Secretary for Scotland, with the concurrence of the Lord Advocate and on behalf of the Congested Districts Board, sent Mr. Mclntyre, of the Crofters Commission, to inquire and report on the whole circumstances. The report has been received, and the Secretary for Scotland is now in communication on the subject with Lady Gordon Cathcart, who has always shown a warm interest in the welfare of the island, and he hopes to be able to find a solution of the difficulties which undoubtedly exist. The attempts to secure land under the Allotments Act, 1892, were not successful.