§ MR. WEIR (ROSS and Cromarty)I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether the Secretary for Scotland has received a petition from the crofters of Morvich and Invershiel, on the estate of Kintail, in the parish of Glenshiel, Ross-shire, urging that arrangements may be made for the extension of their holdings, and pointing out that much of the land which is suitable for crofters' holdings has been converted into deer forest; is he aware that the Deer Forest Return, 1899, shows that the Forest of Kintail, which includes Morvich, comprises 12, 000 acres, while the Sportsman's Guide shows that the forest contains 27, 000 acres, or an increase of 16, 000 since 1891; and will he state the nature of the reply which he proposes to send to the petitioners.
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. A. GRAHAM MURRAY,) ButeshireThe Secretary for Scotland has received the petition referred to by the hon. Member, and the petitioners have been informed that it has been remitted to the Crofters' Commission for consideration. I may mention that Glenshiel is not a "congested district."
§ MR. WEIRI beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether the Secretary for Scotland is aware that the farm of Inverlael, in the parish of Lochbroom, Ross-shire, recently in the occupation of the 166 late Mr. W. G. Mundell, at a rental of £188, is about to be converted into a deer forest; and, seeing that this farm contains some of the fertile land in the parish, and is shown by the evidence taken before the Highlands and Islands Commission, 1892 (Questions 56,066 to 56,185), to have formerly supported many crofter families, will he consider the expediency of communicating with the proprietor with a view to the acquisition of the farm by the Congested Districts Board for the creation of new holdings.
§ MR. A. GRAHAM MURRAYThe Secretary for Scotland has not, I understand, heard about the conversion referred to by the hon. Member. He does not propose to make any inquiry on the subject.