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The year 1846 is
memorable for the adoption of Peel’s policy for the abolition of the
Corn Laws and the extension of free trade in the case of manufactures;
also for the calamitous famine in Ireland and the failure of the potato
crop in the Highlands, which had mostly escaped the previous year. The
debates in Parliament on the new policy were protracted and angry. Mr
Disraeli, who had previously been a severe critic of Peel, sprang
forward as the real leader of the Protectionists, although Lord George
Bentinck, also a man of force and capacity, was the nominal chief. There
was no choice but to pass Peel’s measure, as he was supported by Whigs
and Radicals, and by such Conservatives as saw no other alternative. His
opponents, however, soon had their revenge. Ministers brought forward a
Protection of Life Bill to strengthen their hands in Ireland, which was
disturbed by outrage as well as by famine. This measure was obnoxious to
the Liberal Opposition and to Irish members, and the Protectionists
joined them. The Corn and Customs Bill passed the Lords on the 25th of
June, and the same night Peel was defeated in the Commons on his
Coercion Bill. The abolition of the corn duties was intended to be
gradual, extending over three years. From the 1st of February 1849 the
amount would fall to one shilling registration duty.
Before Peel’s fall, news had come of the great battles in which Sir Hugh
Gough, Sir Henry Hardinge, and Sir Harry Smith defeated the Sikhs in
India, driving them back across the Sutlej. About the same time
intelligence came of the settlement of the Oregon dispute with the
United States. Lord John Russell was called upon to form the new
administration, and became Prime Minister in a Whig Government.
In our local annals there are numerous subjects of interest. Potato
riots on a serious scale occurred in Inverness in February. The potato
failure in the Highlands was a widespread calamity, the results of which
came to be more fully realised in the following year. The railway mania
was running its course with disastrous results. The formation of a
railway between Inverness and Perth had to be postponed for seventeen
years.
From the “Inverness Courier
January 7.—“In the island of Eigg, Dr Macpherson, the proprietor, has
granted a site for a church and; manse.” This was in connection with the
Free Church. The refusal of a site had long been a subject of dispute.
Ibid.—The horn and bones of a stag were found near the church of Dores,
under nine feet of successive strata of gravel, the diluvium of the burn
of Dores.—The old building known as Dunkinty House, Elgin, the manor
place of the family of Innes of Dunkinty, was in course of removal. The
house was built in 1688 by Stewart, Commissary of Moray and Commissioner
for the Earl of Moray. The initials over the entrance were D. S., for
David Stewart, and M. M., for Mary Mel-drum, his wife.—The issue
contains long extracts from the “Quarterly Review” on sport in the
Highlands.
January 14.—“The number of projected railways that have deposited the
necessary documents, contracts, &c., in the Private Bill Office is
721—about 57 less than those deposited with the Board of Trade. Other
bubbles are expected soon to burst.” Meanwhile the various railway
projects in the North of Scotland were vigorously discussed. Another
scheme mooted at this time was the construction of a bridge across the
Moikle Ferry, between the coasts of Ross-shire and Sutherland. The cost
was estimated at £10,000. It is stated that the fares at the ferry
exceeded on both sides £400.—A long article appears on potato disease,
with suggestions for securing sound seed.
Ibid.—Notes from the island of Hands are of interest. “The natives,” we
are told, “wear clothing entirely of their own manufacture. They dye
their stuffs with an infusion extracted from some native plants; and as
a number of the females are taught to ply the shuttle, they get up their
coarse webs at a comparatively small expense.”
January 21.—A crowded meeting was held in the Northern Meeting Rooms to
pass resolutions and adopt petitions in favour of the repeal of the Corn
Laws. Provost Sutherland was in the chair, and among the chief speaker's
were the Rev. Mr Clark, Rev. Mr Kennedy (of the Congregational Chapel),
Rev. Mr Macconnochie, and Rev. Mr Scott. The petitions were to be
presented to Parliament through Lord Lovat and the burgh member, Mr
Morrison.
January 28.—Parliament opened on Thursday, 22nd inst. The great question
at issue was the repeal of the Corn Laws and the adoption of Free-Trade.
The Royal speech spoke of the “deficient supply of an article of food
which forms the chief subsistence of great numbers of my people.’’ This
referred to the failure of the potato crop in Ireland. After the
speeches of Sir Robert Peel and Lord John Russell iu the House of
Commons, Mr Disraeli opened his campaign against the Prime Minister. The
editor attributed his attack to political animosity, but adds—“Mr
Disraeli, however, says splendid and witty things—he has always some
truth on his side —and the House applauds with a malicious pleasure
those sallies of a rich, inflamed imagination.” The London correspondent
says—“Mi Disraeli was very clever, very bitter, and his sesthetical
epigrams were as brilliant as their point was keen. His speech told
amazingly. It gave utterance to the torrent of pent-up Tory wrath. It
was admirable to listen to. Everybody but Peel enjoyed it; but you felt
that after all Peel was in the right. Disraeli might be very well—in
fact, he was very well—but he was fencing, Peel was fighting.” The
writer added) that the one had intellectual power only, the other
intellectual and moral power combined.
Ibid.—Mr Mackintosh of Haigmore died suddenly on the 25th inst. at his
residence in the neighbourhood of Inverness. He was in his 75th year,
and had spent part of his early life in India, where he founded a
prosperous mercantile house. On his return home lie became a zealous
rural improver, and took an active part in all local questions connected
with the town and county. The editor had differed from him in matters of
controversy, but he felt safe to say “that there never was a man who
devoted more of his time and attention to objects in which he had, no
personal interest or advantage.”
Ibid.—An outbreak of smallpox occurred in the town at this time. It was,
however, not very severe, as the practice of vaccination had become
general.
February 24.—The number contains an analysis of Sir Robert Peel’s great
scheme for the reform of the Com Laws and the reduction or abolition of
duties on manufactures. A letter is published from the Duke of
Sutherland expressing approval of the policy of Musters. “My own
feeling,” he says, “is in favour of the free current of national
industry—of unfettered commerce—of purchase and sale generally, without
excepting any trade on which the sustenance of the people depends.” The
London correspondent thinks it worthy of note that of the thirteen
Cabinet Ministers five were Scotsmen, and all firm supporters of
Free-trade policy. These were the Duke of Buccleuch, the Earls of
Aberdeen, Haddington, and Dalhousie, and Mr Gladstone.
Ibid.—An aged widow named Mackenzie, who lived in the small island of
Rhona, between Skye and Applecross, kept a lamp burning in her window at
night to act as a beacon-light to mariners. “Many a cold and shivering
seaman on landing has been indebted to her for warmth and sustenance.”
The case was accidentally discovered by a correspondent of the
“Courier,” and the Committee of Lloyds, as individuals, assisted by some
other members, raised a contribution of £20 as a gift to the widow.
Ibid.—The season is recorded as remarkable. “Hardly any of the
characteristics of winter have been experienced during the past three
months, and now that we have entered into February, we are apparently to
have a still longer period of mild weather. In the garden of Mi’ Black,
plumber, there is a pear-tree already in leaf, and a cherry tree also
far advanced.” High tides, however, had occurred at Inverness and all
round the coast.
Ibid.—A few further notes may be quoted from this issue. The estate of
Aberarder, in the county of Inverness, was purchased by Capt. Sutherland
of Udale for £30,050.—A crowded public meeting in Inverness, which
included many spirit dealers, resolved to petition Parliament against
the sale of liquor on Sunday.—A great deal of discussion had taken
place, both in committee and public meetings, within the previous
fortnight, regarding the principle of assessment under the new poor-law.
The community was divided on the question whether the rate should be on
“means and substance,” according to rent, or by an actual scrutiny of
incomes; and in the end the Board of Administrators came to the
conclusion to impose the assessment according to rent, subject to
certain modifications, such as had been adopted in Aberdeen.
February 11.—In the previous issue a short paragraph recorded the
beginning of opposition to the shipment of potatoes from the Thombush,
Inverness. Several potato-laden carts were turned back and conveyed out
of the town—“ a venerable dame leading the first horse with a spirit
worthy of old Jenny Geddes.” The present issue states that this
opposition developed into a series of riots, which are described. The
disturbance extended over several days. The windows of the Provost’s
house and of the houses of other prominent citizens were broken. The
shipment of potatoes was prevented, one load being emptied on the pier,
and the cart thrown into the river. Two hundred special constables were
sworn in, and a detachment of the 87th Regiment brought up from
Fort-George. A number of the leading rioters were arrested. At one
exciting time the mob is said to have numbered 5000 persons. They were
reinforced by navvies working at the canal. The riot arose from a fear
of scarcity and high prices. Corn was said to be unsaleable, on account
of the Ministerial measures, and potatoes were the only product that
realised money to the farmer. A disturbance on a small scale also
occurred at Nairn.—A meeting of agriculturists was held at Invergordon
to petition against the abolition of the Corn Laws.
Ibid.—A candle factory in Inverness, belonging to Mr J. Forsyth, was
destroyed by fire.— The Lands of Millbank, Naim, were exposed to public
roup in Edinburgh, and purchased hy Colonel Findlay for £3200
February 18.—The member for the county of Inverness, Mr Henry Baillie,
took part in the debate in the House of Commons on the subject of the
Corn Laws. Mr Baillie was personally opposed to the Government scheme;
but the House, he considered, had only the choice of two
alternatives—they must either accept the compromise now offered them or
throw out the present Administration to make room for another equally
pledged to the abolition of all duties on the importation of foreign
corn. Accordingly, be concluded by stating that he would support the
proposition of the Government from a conviction that in doing so he was
supporting the best interests of the British Empire.
Ibid.—Quiet was restored in the town of Inverness. Thirty-nine rioters
had been committed to prison, but of these nineteen were liberated and
twenty remained for trial. A provision Society was formed to purchase
potatoes and dispose of them to the poorer classes of the town. Potatoes
in pits which had been recently opened in Lochcarron were found to be
mostly rotten.—'The number contains notes on sea weed as a manure in the
Western Islands, and on “A Simple Hebridean Wedding.”
February 25.—A dispute had arisen among the subscribers for the proposed
Northern Asylum. The name of the Provost of Inverness had been omitted
from the sub-committee, though it was on the general committee. The Town
Council regarded this as a slight. At a meeting of subscribers, the name
of the Provost was added to the sub-committee by a majority, but the
minority resented the step. At the same time they protested that they
had no intention of casting any indignity on the Provost of Inverness.
His name bad been omitted only because the sub-committee was limited and
representative of a wide district. March 4.—Full accounts are given of
the bloody battles with the Sikhs who had crossed the Sutlej into
British territory with a force of
60,000 men and 150 pieces of cannon. The battles took place in the
previous December between the 18th and 22nd, at Moodkee and) Ferozeshah,
about twenty miles from Ferozepore. The British army, under Sir Hugh
Gough and Sir Henry Hardinge, defeated the enemy, but at great cost to
our troops. In three battles our losses amounted to 3295 killed and
wounded, including 50 British officers killed and 117 wounded. Among the
killed were Sir Robert Sale and Sir John MacCaskill, the latter a native
of Skye, and an officer of great distinction. Major P. Grant,
Auchterblair [afterwards Field-Marshal Sir Patrick Grant] had hie horse
shot under him, and received three desperate wounds, but was recovering.
“ Two sons of Sheriff Tytler, and a son of Mr Macandrew, solicitor, of
this town, were also in the actions, but escaped! unhurt.” Captain John
Munro, A.D.C., second son of General Munro of Tea-ninich, was severely
wounded and afterwards died.
Ibid.—The protracted debate on the measure for the repeal of the Corn
Laws ended in a majority of 97 for the Government. The condition of
Ireland was afterwards discussed!. “We observe that all the papers
mention the decay of Mr O’Connell’s physical powers. The reporters can
hardly catch his words, so tremulous and feeble is his voice, which once
filled the house with its rich full tones, and his fingers seem unable
to turn over the leaves of any book or document he may chance to refer
to.”—A pamphlet by the burgh member, Mr James Morrison, on “The Defects
of the English System of Railway Legislation,” is noticed in the paper
at some length.
Ibid.—There are reports of several meetings of Farmer Societies. At the
Inverness meeting the relative merits of Drill and Broadcast Sowing, and
Thick and Thin Sowing, were discussed. The Wester Ross Farmer Society
examined samples of potatoes, which were found to be in a healthy state.
It was noticed that several farms in the neighbourhood of Inverness had
been taken at an advance of rent, which showed that tenants were not
alarmed at the abolition of the Corn Laws.
March 18.—“At length the fearful crisis, for some time apprehended, has
arrived in unhappy Ireland. Famine, with its dreadful concomitants of
fever and dysentery, prevails in almost every county and locality of the
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sister kingdom.” A bill was brought in lor the establishment of a
Central Board of Health in Dublin, with branches in the different
parishes and unions, and with provision for the supply of medicines,
food, and other necessaries.
Ibid.—Captain Mackay Sutherland, formerly of Udale, addressed a circular
to the tenantry on the estate of Aberarder, offering to convert the
money rent into a com rent, according to the fiars’ prices each year. It
is stated that several other proprietors in Inverness-shire and
Ross-shire intended making a similar offer.
March 25.—Three Highland dwarfs from Loch-carron excited some interest
at this time, and were engaged to go to London. They consisted of two
brothers and a sister named! Macfinlay. The eldest was twenty-two years
old and forty-five inches in height; the second, twenty years, and
forty-four inches; the third, a girl, eighteen years and forty-three
inches. They had double elbow and knee joints. They were dressed in
Mackenzie tartan, and could chant Gaelic melodies.—The death is recorded
from Harris of a patriarch, John Martin, who was said to be 112 years
old. As a boy he attended Macleod, Bernera, when in hiding after the
battle of Culloden.—A letter gives an account of the fate of an Assynt
witch, who was strangled by a party of boys in 1769. The story is
related by Pennant, who visited Assynt in 1772. The letter is in
correction of an article which had appeared in “Tait’s Magazine.”
April 1.—There is an account of the victory of Aliwal, obtained over the
Sikhs on 28th January by Sir Harry Smith. It may be added here that on
10th February Gough and Hardinge finally crashed the Sikh forces at
Sobraon.
Ibid.—At 8 o’clock on the evening of the 26th ult. fire broke out in the
lower part of the Athenaeum Buildings, the large pile at the corner of
High Street and Church Street, Inverness. There was a copious supply of
water, but the fire engines were in wretched order, the principal engine
having been sent to Glasgow for repair! After two hours’ labour,
however, the fire was subdued, the damage being less than was
anticipated. The fire had broken out in a coal-cellar.
Ibid.—The removal of stones and rock from the side of Loch-Ness road,
near Abriachan, led to the discovery of a cavern largely filled with
stalactite and] stalagmite. The cavern extended twenty-one feet inward,
varying in height from ten to twelve feet, and from one to two yards in
breadth.
April 8.—There is an account of improvements made within the previous
four years on the estate of Rothiemurchus. Waste land had been
reclaimed, roads and drains constructed, plantations renewed, and an
embankment upwards of three miles long raised] to check the inundations
of the Spey. It is mentioned that for seventeen years the mansion-house
and shootings had been rented by the noble family of Bedford, and that
the Duchess Dowager had evinced no small zeal and taste in embellishing
the pleasure grounds.
April 15.—On this date there is an article on the centenary of the
battle of Culloden, falling the following day. The battle was fought on
16th April 1746, old style, and! in spite of the change from old style
to new, making the real anniversary the 27th, the 16th holds its ground
in public memory. In a short description of the battlefield the editor
speaks of part of it being under the plough, but otherwise mentions all
the familiar features—the graves, the marsh which impeded the English
artillery, the Well of the Dead, the Cumberland Stone. He adds—“We can
trace parts of the important stone-wall which, for a space, defended the
right of the Highland) army, but which the Argyllshire Campbells broke
down.” There is thus conclusive proof that remains of the wall were in
existence in 1846. Gowie’s map, as we formerly mentioned, was published
in 1845.
Ibid.—It is stated that Mr James Matheson of the Lews, M.P., had
purchased the estate of Bennetsfield, in Ross-shire, for £12,500.
April 15 and 22.—A movement had arisen to drop for the time the scheme
of a railway between Perth and Inverness. The rush of schemes had raised
the price of labour 50 per cent., and depressed the money market. The
stock of the Inverness and Perth Company was selling at 25s discount. A
meeting of shareholders, which was held in the Caledonian Hotel on the
18th April, adopted by a large majority a resolution declaring that
though they highly approved of the railway, they considered that it
should not be proceeded with meantime. The meeting, however, was called
by an anonymous advertisement, and the directors did not appear. The
issue contains announcements of the winding-up of railway projects both
in England and Scotland.
April 22.—The 16th inst. was a bright, pleasant day, and great crowds of
persons, old and young (the Inverness schools had a holiday), visited
Culloden battlefield. ‘‘The scene was highly animated and striking,
presenting a vivid contrast to the usual quietude of that large, sombre,
tableland, the solitary scene of the battle.” At a dinner held in the
evening in the Caledonian Hotel (Mackintosh of Mackintosh in the chair),
stories were told about the battle and the rising. The proposal was then
made to erect a memorial cairn on the battlefield, and £30 was
subscribed on the spot. Afterwards Mr Patric Park, London, wrote
offering to execute, free of cost, except for the material, the statue
of a Highlander twelve feet high. The outcome of the offer was probably
the design which is now in the Inverness Museum.
Ibid.—Six persons were indicted at the spring Justiciary Court at
Inverness in connection with the potato riots in the preceding February.
Three cases went to trial, and ended in conviction. Two men were
sentenced each to nine months’ imprisonment, and one to four months.
April 29.—An interesting account is given of the “Battle of Little
Ferry,” fought between a hastily assembled force of Sutherland Militia
and a Jacobite force under the Earl of Cromartie, on 15th April 1746.
The Jacobite force was dispersed, and the Earl of Cromartie captured.
The account was contributed by some writer well acquainted with
Sutherland, and who drew on original sources.
May 6.—It is announced that contracts for a new prison on the Castle
Hill had been entered into, and the work was to be immediately proceeded
with.—The first election was held to the Parochial Board of Inverness.
—Mr Hugh Innes Cameron resigned his offices of Clerk of Supply in
Ross-shire and Clerk of the Heritors and Commissioners in the affairs of
Parliament. Mr Alexander Mackenzie, Muirton Cottage, was appointed his
successor.
May 13.—The railway schemes of the Great North of Scotland and the Perth
and Inverness line were now undergoing investigation before a Committee
of the House of Commons. The evidence of Mr Joseph Mitchell for the
Perth to Inverness route is given in this issue.
May 20.—“We resume our notices of the northern railways. The Perth and
Inverness Bill has been rejected on the ground of engineering
difficulties, or obstacles, while the Aberdeen companies have all been
triumphant. The affairs of the former will soon be wound up, and the
secretary announces that the probable expenses will not exceed 15s per
share. A lesser sum, we trust, will be found sufficient, for the
northern scrip-holders already smart sufficiently under the loss, delay,
and disappointment.” The London correspondent says that the difficulty
on which the Committee stumbled was the steepness of some of the
gradients on the Grampian line. “In vain did seven engineers of the
highest professional reputation depone that there was no difficulty in
the case—that several steeper gradients were now successfully worked on
many of the existing lines. ‘But none of such length as is proposed on
this line?’ ask the Committee. No, answer the engineers, but that is of
little consequence, for if you get an engine to ascend a steep gradient
five yards in length, you can get it to proceed in the same way for
fifty or five thousand yards. Engines don’t get exhausted, as animals
do, by a long ascent.” The Committee, however, demurred, and there was
an end of it. The Aberdonians appear to have made much of the
possibility of snow-blocks, but the Inverness promoters replied that
their climate was better than the climate of Aberdeen. “We can raise
wheat, you can’t. We have the finest and driest temperature in Scotland,
and even in our Alpine regions we have evidence to show that our
Highland road was frequently open when your coast roads were blocked up
with snow.” The correspondent observed that the Aberdonians had got the
seven northern counties thirled to them indefinitely for the means of
locomotion and transport, but this prediction was premature. The future
had other things to show.
Ibid.—On the night of Friday last lights were exhibited for the first
time in the lighthouses lately erected at Chanonry Point, Cromarty, and
the Covesea skerries in Morayshire.
Ibid.—Mr John Denham, tenant of Dunglass, in Ross-shire, died on the 8th
inst., and his remains were interred in Fodderty Churchyard. He was one
of the most spirited and! scientific agriculturists in the North.
May 27.—The Factories Bill, restricting the hours of labour to ten hours
a day, was rejected in the House of Commons by the small majority of
ten—193 for and 203 against. The Government opposed it.
Ibid.—“We are informed that the Lords of the Treasury have directed
several Roman and English coins (including groats and silver pennies of
Edwards I., H., and in.) to be sent to Inverness to be deposited in the
Museum of the Northern Institution, now in the Academy Hall. The
collection is already rich in early Scotch and English coins, and this
liberal donation, when it arrives, will form a valuable addition to it.”
June 3.—“On Monday, 18th nit., Mr Matheson, of the celebrated firm of
Matheson & Co., China, accompanied by Miss Matheson, sister of the
proprietor of the Lews, paid his first visit to his recently purchased
estates in Kintail; and as might have been expected the warm-hearted
inhabitants of that non mantic locality, and the numerous tenantry on
the estates, bestirred themselves to testify their joy on the occasion
of placing bonfires on every butting cliff in the neighbourhood1, and
quaffing bumpers to the health and happiness of their esteemed
landlord.”
June 10.—An article on this date speaks of the angry feeling entertained
by some northern landlords and farmers against Sir Robert Peel in
connection with the abolition of the Corn Laws. The feeling, however,
was by no means universal, and the editor was convinced that farmers had
little to fear. He points to the high price of cattle, and believes that
demand and consumption will so increase as to secure steady and
remunerating prices for grain. As to the landlords, if any of them put
their estates into the market, they would fetch as high a price as they
would have done in the most palmy days of the Corn Laws. Another subject
of great importance was the administration of the new Poor-Law. One
gentleman stated that he had paid £500 of poor-law assessment, and he
thought that the tendency of the burden was to increase; indeed, he
feared that unless proper attention was paid to the working of the law,
landlords would be compelled to become absentees. The editor says—“We
believe the assessment to be very heavy in some of our northern
parishes, and yet the poor are but inadequately supplied with the
necessaries of life, owing to the smallness of their allowances and the
comparatively limited exercise of private charity. It is unquestionably
the duty of the local boards to resist and defeat attempts at
imposition. It is equally their duty, however, to take care care that
the just claims of poverty are not opposed1 or disregarded.”
Ibid.—The weather was extremely hot, the thermometer ranging from 75
degs. to 85 degs., and at Elgin it was as high as 86 degs. A
thunderstorm and floods occurred in the uplands of Morayshire. “The heat
and drought have had the effect of reducing the river Ness even below
its level in the dry season of 1826. For days back boys might be seen
wading across the stream.”
Ibid.—A paragraph tells of the number of coaches and steamers in
connection with Inverness. One coach ran between Inverness and Naira,
passing through Culloden Moor twice a day. Two steamers were on
Loch-Ness, one the “Culloden,” commanded by Captain Turner. The “North
Star” was running between Inverness and London, the “Duke of Richmond”
between Inverness and Leith, and the “Maid of Morven” twice a week along
the shores of the Moray Firth, calling at the coast of Sutherland.
Ibid.—A correspondent sends some anecdotes of the siege of the Castle of
Inverness in 1746, as told by his grandfather, who was in the Castle at
the time. The commander, Major Grant, gave the garrison spirits to
stimulate their courage, and they engaged in shooting for a time. The
first round carried away a bundle of straw from the back of a man who
was crossing the stone bridge, the man himself being little hurt. He
crawled away on all fours. “The Castle kept up this hot chance peppering
for about thirty minutes, when in a moment it was stopped in consequence
of a Highlander getting up to a garret, or rather to the rigging of a
house, on the Tomnahurich side, and there taking a deliberate aim. A
ball from his trusty gun penetrated the skull of a red-coat within the
battlements, causing instant death—hence the cessation alluded to. The
brave (though little) major expostulated, threatened, and promised
rewards, but to no effect—all as one man refused resuming operations.”
June 17.—Mr Fox Maule had moved the second reading of his bill for
compelling proprietors to grant sites to the Free Church. Sir James
Graham opposed the bill, but in a conciliatory speech. The editor says
that the number of “repudiators” was now small, the most uncompromising
being the Duke of Buccleuch. Numerous concessions had1 been made in
Ross-shire and other counties, “where proprietors have withdrawn their
refusals, ‘softened by time’ and the return of kindly feelings.” The
bill was afterwards withdrawn.
Ibid.—Great destitution is reported from the island of Harris. The
potatoes stored in pits had turned out a complete failure. “Such is the
destitute state of the poor that they go to the seashore and gather
limpets, cockles, and other shell-fish, and by digging in the sands of
Sacrista they get a species of small fish called sand-eels. On these and
these only do they subsist.”
June 24.—There is a long notice of the work on the Costume of the Clans
issued by John Sobieski and 'Charles Edward Stuart. The two brothers
were still at Eilean Aigas.
July 1.—The Corn Law Bill had passed, and Sir Robert Peel had been
defeated in the House of Commons on the Irish Coercion Bill. “A Prussian
vessel from Dantzic is now lying at our port [Inverness] freighted with
wheat for our enterprising townsman, Mr D. Rose. This is the first
importation of wheat made for at least half-a-century in Inverness for
the consumption of the district.”
Ibid.—The fine weather had been broken by thunderstorms and heavy rains.
Rivers, except the Ness, were in heavy flood. The lightning caused
considerable damage. Several persons were struck and stunned, and one
life was lost in Orkney. A fine ash tree at Reelig, one of the largest
in the North, was shattered, and a sow was killed at Culbokie with a
litter of ten pigs and a stirk. Ten rafts of wood were swept an ay by
the Spey. The thunderstorms extended all over the north as far as
Shetland.
July 8.—Sir Robert Peel had resigned, and Lord John Russell was called
to be Prime Minister, and had formed a new administration. Lord
Palmerston was at the Foreign Office, Sir George Grey at the Home
Office, and Earl Grey at the Colonial Office. Mr Macaulay was
Paymaster-General. Among the household appointments, the Duchess of
Sutherland succeeded the Duchess of Buccleuch as Mistress of the Robes.
July 15.—At the annual sheep and wool market there was a rise of from Is
to 2s on wedders and from Is to 3s on ewes and lambs. The demand for the
two latter classes was almost unprecedented. “The full employment of the
labouring classes, engaged in railways and other works, and the revival
of trade, with the prospect of still further improvement, have no doubt
tended to produce this result.” In wool, however, there was very little
business, the market being, it was alleged, overstocked with foreign
wool. Prices are quoted as follows:—Cheviot wedders, 24s to 33s 6d ;
ewes, 14s 6d to 21s 6d; lambs, 10s to 14s 6d. Blackfaced wedders, 13s
6d’ to 24s; ewes, 10s to 13s; lambs, 8s to 9s. The few sales effected in
wool could hardly be quoted as a criterion of prices.
Ibid.—Mr Bankes of Letterewe had recently purchased the property of
Gruinard, in Loch-broom.
July 22.—Mr David Dundas, member for Sutherland, was the new
Solicitor-General for England. He was afterwards re-elected for the
county without opposition. Mr Macaulay was opposed in Edinburgh by Sir
Culling Smith, but was re-elected by a large majority.
July 29.—At a meeting of shareholders of the Perth and Inverness Railway
Company, held in London, a resolution to dissolve the Company was
adopted. It was stated that 48,000 shares had been, issued, 46,089 paid
upon; that the receipts of the Company were £115,539, and the
liabilities £38,899. This left a balance in the hands of the Company of
£76,639, or about 33s 4£d per share. Thirty shillings a share would be
immediately returned, and the balance as soon as affairs were wound up.
Ibid.—In the trenching of a moss in the neighbourhood of Kishorn,
Lochcarron, some miles from the sea, the remains of a rudely constructed
anchor, of an unusual pattern, were found embedded between the moes and
a substratum of clay. A slight accumulation of marine shells appeared in
the clay, and the upper stratum of moss was five feet thick.
Ibid.—A ferryman and a horse were drowned on a boisterous morning at
Kessock Ferry. The ferryman, named William Mackay, was sitting on the
edge of the boat, holding the horse by the head, when the animal, about
half-way across, leaped out of the boat, carrying the man with it. “Both
shortly rose to the surface; Mackay had gained a seat on the back of the
animal, and they might have been saved by the horse swimming ashore, but
its head was held strongly down by a martingale.” The state of the tide
and the sea prevented assistance.—The same issue records the drowning of
six persons by the swamping of a boat between Portree and Raasay.
August 5.—On 31st July the foundation-stone of the new prison (.its it
was then) was laid with masonic honours on the Castle Hill. Brodie of
Brodie as Provincial Grand Master took the leading part. The county and
burgh were officially represented in the procession.
Ibid.—The weather was hot and the prospects for harvest appeared to be
promising, apart from apprehensions of potato disease. “In Morayshire,
as in our own neighbourhood, the crop appears to be sound and luxuriant;
the same is the case in Sutherland and Caithness ; but in Skye, in
Lochcarron, Kintail, and other parts of the West Highlands there are
undoubtedly large failures. These are indicated! by the blackening and
withering of the shaws, as if struck by irost, and the speedy decay of
the plant. In some parts of Lochaber disease is also beginning to
manifest itself.”
Ibid.—A large quantity of human bones had been found by men digging in a
field near Struy, in Strathglass. “The corpses appear to have been
interred irregularly, in a heap, and are probably the remains of some
clan battle in ancient times, though no account of any conflict in that
district remains. Among these relics was found a rude Highland brooch,
with part of the plaid or garment which it was employed to fasten.”—The
same issue acknowledges a boomerang and “ the skull of a Hume River
warrior,” sent to the Inverness Museum by Mr David Mackenzie from
Australia.
August 12.—'The issue contains extracts from the letter-book of an
Inverness merchant in 1745-46. The merchant was Mr Duncan Grant, a
substantial man, who had his house and other property on the east side
of Castle Street. Duncan was not only a merchant, but a sort of
military' commissary, who supplied the garrisons of Inverness and
Fort-Augustus, and the troops at Bernera (Glenelg) and Ruthven, with
provisions and firing. Naturally, therefore, he was a Hanoverian, and on
the arrival of the first portion of the Highland army in Inverness on
18tli February 1746, he was obliged to fly. “He hid the most valuable of
his goods, and left the remainder in charge of his wife, who seems to
have been a clever woman, for although the malt in town was seized to
feed the rebels’ horses, she found means to secret about forty bolls
till her husband’s return.” The extracts are continued in subsequent
issues.
Ibid.—“No shooting season could begin under more favourable auspices
than that of 1846. The fogs which enveloped and shut out the distant
landscapes have been dispelled by the thunder of last Saturday, and now
the bracing atmosphere invites the young sportsman,” &c. The list of
shootings let numbers about 115.
August 19.—The finding of the bones near Struy is explained by a
gentleman “versant in all Highland antiquities.” The story is that in
the end of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century the men of the Aird
determined to make a cattle raid on Erchless as a reprisal for offences.
The treachery of a woman gave them their opportunity, but they were
attacked before they got the cattle away. The struggle took place near
the ford between the new wooden bridge over the River Glass and the
junction of the Glass with the Farrar. “The cattle were rescued, and
next day so many heads were found in the pool below the ford that the
latter has retained the name of Ath-nan-Ceann—the Ford of the Heads—to
this day.”
August 16 and 26.—The disastrous failure of the potato crop in the
Highlands as well as in Ireland is now realised. A statement on the 19th
says—“The mysterious potato disease, which alike baffles all cure and
prevention, is fast spreading its ravages over this and the neighbouring
counties. Black and withered shaws meet us in various directions, and
the tubers, on being taken up, are found to be generally tainted. One
gentleman who had a crop of fully £200 value informs us that though his
potatoes appeared sound and healthy on Friday last, they are now wholly
gone.” On the 29th reports from numerous quarters reveal the extent of
the calamity. The editor says—“In every kind of soil and situation, in
land newly cultivated and planted for the first time, as on old fields,
and with every kind of seed, the disease has been found to exist; nor
has any remedy been discovered. To meet the calamity requires instant
and comprehensive measures. A meeting was held here [at Inverness] on
Friday, called by the Provost, when a committee was nominated to make
the necessary inquiries, and to co-operate with the Town Council and the
county gentlemen. The latter meet on Tuesday first, pursuant to a
requisition addressed to Mr Ogilvy, joint-convener of the county. A
meeting was held at Portree on the 18th inst.—Lord Macdonald in the
chair—when it was agreed, on the motion of Mr Baillie, M. P., that an
application should be made to Government to advance money by way of
loan, at a low rate of interest, to provide employment for the people.”
As examples of the reports we may quote two passages. A correspondent
writes from Glenmoriston that the disease had done fearful havoc not
only in that glen but throughout the length and breadth of the West
Highlands. “ A friend had a few days ago gone to Knoydart, Skye,
Lochalsh, and Kintail, and he tells me that in all that extensive
district he had scarcely seen one field which was not affected—some to a
great extent, and others presented a most melancholy appearance, as they
were enveloped in one mass of decay. Unless a gracious Providence look
upon our poor Highlanders in mercy, in midst of manifold judgments,
there is every likelihood that starvation, with all its horrors, must be
their portion.” A correspondent writes from Easter Ross—“ The potato
disease has at length visited us, turning one of the finest crops of
this valuable root that ever our eyes beheld into rottenness.” Outside
the potato crop there was a good harvest and what was considered a high
rate of wages to harvesters, namely, Is 4d to Is 8d per day, a fact
which was some mitigation of the calamity. The failure was general in
Scotland, but the crofters were particularly dependent on the potato
crop. From Ireland also the reports were of the very worst kind, and
alarm was universal.
August 29.—There is a paragraph about smuggling which is said to be “ at
length ” nearly extinct. As a general thing, it was extinct a good many
years before tliis time, but it survived in remote corners. Perhaps even
now (1908) the excise officers have to be on the look-out for an
occasional still. In 1846 Mr Bankes of Letterewe found the practice
existing at Udrigil and Achintarsan, and took measures to suppress it.
The paragraph says—“There is not a single still on the Gairloch estates,
and Sir Kenneth Mackenzie’s tutors will not suffer any individual
concerned with smuggling to remain on the property. Since this law of
the estate was enforced, the small farms have improved rapidly, and the
cottars, when they view their present comfortable circumstances compared
with their former hi bits, would on no consideration resume the practice
even if the proprietor allowed them. The late lamented Sir Francis
Mackenzie of Gairloch was one of the first Highland proprietors who
discovered that smuggling was injurious both to proprietors and tenant,
and he suppressed it on his estate. Applecross followed his example, and
caused his foresters and gamekeepers to assist in suppressing bothies.
At first the poor smugglers considered those interferences an invasion
of their feudal liberties, and designated their landlords ‘Gauger
lairds.’ In time, however, they came to take a different view of the
case, and saw that the innovations produced lasting comforts. In
Inverness-shire there is very little smuggling now; and the revenue is
indebted to Mr O’Hy, an indefatigable revenue officer, for its
suppression in Strathoonan. Marine smuggling is almost extinct in the
Hebrides, and it is a difficult matter to fall in with a keg of Hollands,
once so common.”
September 3.—The issue of the “Courier” on this date, Thursday, was a
day later than usual, in order to cover the reports of the Highland and
Agricultural Show, which was held at Inverness, in the Academy Park and
the grounds of Bell’s School, which opened into one another. The paper
consisted of eight large pages instead of four. The show began on
Tuesday, 1st inst., and was a great success. The total entries or lots
numbered 648, divided as follows : —'Cattle, 219 ; horses, 74; sheep,
123; goats, 2; swine, 22; poultry, 36; extra stock, 52; dairy produce,
21; seeds, roots, and plants. 40; implement, 59. Highland cattle were a
fine show, and people were gratified that the second prize for a bull
went to Harris, an animal belonging to Mr Donald Stewart, Luskintyre.
The first went to the Marquis of Breadalbane. The show of shorthorns was
limited in number, but considered to be excellent, considering the
distance of Inverness from the southern districts. The prize bull in
this stock belonged to Mr Hopper, a Yorkshire agriculturist, which had
also carried off the first prize at national shows in England and
Ireland, and was thus the champion of the United Kingdom. A sum of a
thousand guineas had been offered for him. It is stated that the
Aberdeenshire breed—apparently a horned breed, of which there were
specimens—was gradually wearing out, being .supplanted1 by the Angus and
Galloway.
“There was but an indifferent show of polled cattle, but a few good
bulls, and one or two superior two-year-olds.” The show of sheep was
admirable in quality but disappointing in numbers, some of the most
extensive hill farmers failing to compete. On the other hand, the show
of horses was much superior to that at the Society’s exhibition at
Dumfries the previous year. “For active strength and muscular power
there has rarely been a better exhibition of horses, and this seemed to
surprise some of our visitors. Our hardy Highland ponies were also
greatly admired.” The Agricultural Chemistry Association had a meeting
in the Northern Meeting Rooms, at which there were important discussions
“ on the use of prepared) food in feeding cattle, and the mode of
improving hill pastures and hill land generally.” A grand dinner was
held in a pavilion erected near the Academy gates.
Ibid.—A county meeting was held to consider the calamity arising from
the failure of the potato crop. Ample reports were forthcoming as to the
virulence and universality of the disease. The meeting adopted a
memorial to the Government asking for advice and) assistance. It is
stated that Mr Matheson of Achany and the Lews had stepped forward to
guarantee a supply of Indian corn to the amount of £10,000 in order to
meet the inevitable deficiency of food. It is also stated that the value
of the potatoes usually shipped from Perthshire was about £100,000 per
annum, and all this was gone.
Ibid.—The Northern Meeting was held the previous week, the attendance
being the largest for many years. On the Saturday races were held at the
Longman.
Ibid.—The freedom of the burgh of Inverness was conferred on Mr Robert
Wallace, formerly M.P. for Greenock, who had taken an active part in
establishing penny postage and carrying out other public improvements.
He had been obliged to retire from Parliament on account of
ill-health.—The issue contains a long statement of the proceedings
before the Select Committee of the House of Commons in the case of the
Perth and Inverness and Inverness and Elgin Junction Railway Bills.
September 9.—Several memoranda are given in connection with the
Higlilaud Society’s Show. Among the implements exhibited was a chas-chrome
(or Highland spade plough), which stood in contrast to the new iron
ploughs. The Museum likewise furnished a specimen of the ancient
Scandinavian single-stilted plough. A dwarf Highland cow and a small
grey Chinese cow were also among the exhibits. The London correspondent
mentions that a reporter from a London paper was at the show, who
complained of the charge of “a guinea a night for a sleeping room, or
even a couch or sofa,” and declared that the only commodities that might
truly be called cheap were hare soup and Highland whiskyI A
Horticultural Society in Inverness wais active at this time and had
awarded a premium to a cottar in the Black Isle for the neatest cottage
and premises There was, however, only one entry, but it was considered
well worthy of the prize.
Ibid.—The London correspondent mentions the publication of St John’s
book on the Wild Sports of the Scottish Highlands. “It is quite a gem of
its kind—and a very valuable gem it is likely to prove to Highland
lairds, whose rents for sporting quarters will be probably doubled or
trebled by Mr St John’s fascinating work.”
September 16.—A special meeting of the Commissioners of Supply of the
County of Ross was held to. consider the situation arising from the
potato failure. A series of resolutions was passed urging that means
should be taken to provide employment for the people, and to preserve
such of the potatoes as appeared to be sound; also that depots of Indian
corn and other food should be formed at central places. It was believed
that no relief of a general kind was to be expected from the Government,
and that the utmost local effort should1 be made to mitigate the
impending calamity. One speaker suggested road-making, at which he hoped
the Government would assist. A significant fact is stated, namely, that
“probably two-thirds of the food of the labouring classes in this county
has hitherto consisted of potatoes.” In every issue of the paper at this
time there are notes on the failure and suggestions for the future.
September 23.—The Home Secretary bad sent a letter to Mr Baillie, M.P.
for Inverness-shire, in reply to petitions regarding the potato failure.
It stated that the Government were in communication with the Board of
Supervision on the subject; and further, that an experienced
commissariat officer would proceed immediately to Scotland to make an
inspection and report. “This report,” it is added, “will receive the
earliest attention on the part of the Government; but I feel it is my
duty to state that while her Majesty’s Government will be desirous to
promote and facilitate the efforts of landed proprietors to lessen the
distress which is apprehended, they cannot encourage the expectation
that by any direct system of pecuniary advances they can relieve the
proprietors from the obligation which rests upon them, or take upon
themselves the charge of providing for the wants of the people. Her
Majesty's Government have reason to believe that, notwithstanding the
failure of the potatoes, the crop of oats in the West of Scotland is
this year generally abundant, and the quality excellent; and they trust
that other articles of food will be found to exist in larger quantities
than in former years.’’ The letter directs attention to an Act passed
the previous session which authorised the advance of public money for
drainage purposes.
Ibid.—At the Inverness Circuit Court there was a special jury case, an
action of declarator at the instance of Major-General John Munro of
Teaninich against Mrs Catherine Munro or Ross, spouse of Hugh Rose Ross
of Cromarty. There was a long trial and a large amount of evidence. The
pursuer’s property was bounded on the east by the river Alness, which
was admitted to be the boundary between the pursuer and the defender.
The river was liable to frequent floods, and had several times changed
its channel. In particular it was alleged that it had changed its course
from a channel known by the name of the Little River to its present
channel considerably to the westward; and a question of declarator of
property regarding the land between the Little River and the existing
channel subsequently arose. The effect of the verdict returned by the
jury was to give the land to Teaninich and the water, or water rights,
to Mr Ross of Cromarty. It seems that the defender had withdrawn water
from the river for his mills at Dalmore. The verdict looks like a
misfortune for both litigants. The case began on Tuesday, the 15th
inst., and it is an interesting point that the “Courier” was prevented,
by authority, from publishing any part of the evidence till the trial
was over, consequently a mere statement of the case appeared in the
issue of the 16th inst., the whole of the evidence appearing on the
23rd).
September 30.—There is a long and appreciative notice of St John’s “Wild
Sports.”—The issue also contains an announcement of the death of Captain
Munro, Teaninich, a brother of Major-General Munro, the pursuer in the
Alness case. Captain Munro joined the army early in life, and received a
wound at the battle of Nimeguen, by which he lost the sight of both
eyes. “He returned homo about the year 1794, and being of a very
energetic character, commenced to improve his estate. About thirty years
ago he erected the distillery at Teaninich. This was the second erection
of the kind in Ross-shire, and has been carried on with the greatest
spirit. He was also extensively engaged in salmon fishings and farming,
and was a man of singular enterprise. Feeling deeply interested in the
results of the late jury court at Inverness, he was present and returned
home on Friday (the case closed the previous day). He died on Monday
morning, 21st inst., in his 78th year. Captain Munro has acted no
inconsiderable part in the commercial and agricultural improvements of
Ross-shire for the last thirty years.” From Mackenzie’s History of the
Munros we learn that Captain Munro lost his sight at Nimeguen while
carrying off a wounded soldier. The misfortune left no disfigurement,
and although totally blind he was able to write with wonderful accuracy,
and enjoyed riding, his groom always preceding him on the road. He was
the head of the Teaninich family, but in 1831 he sold the estate to his
youngest brother, Major-General John Munro, H.E.I.C.S., who was the
pursuer in the Alness case. The following week the defender, Mr John
Rose Ross of Cromarty, also died.
October 7.—The death is announced of Hugh Rose Ross of Cromarty, at the
age of eighty. He was a proprietor who had filled a considerable amount
of space in the public eye, and had shown uncommon spirit and energy.
“The possession of large property, the numerous transactions thence
arising, and a tenacious and uncompromising disposition led him into
many law-suits and personal quarrels ; and it is somewhat remarkable
that both he and Captain Hugh Munro of Teaninich were seized with their
last illness in this town, immediately after the termination of a civil
jury trial which they were connected with, and attended personally three
weeks ago, and died within a few days of each other.” Mr Rose Ross was a
native of Creich, in Sutherland, a son of the clergyman who was parish
minister there, and afterwards of Tain. He went at an early age to the
West Indies, where he rapidly acquired a large fortune as a contractor
for Government requirements. With the wealth thus obtained he returned
to Ross-shire, and made extensive purchases of land, distinguishing
himself especially as an agricultural improver and friend of education.
An uncompromising Tory, he was generally in opposition to popular
movements, but otherwise a most useful man. “By a free and judicious
expenditure of capital in planting and agriculture, he has changed the
face of an immense extent of country, and converted barren moors into
fine plantations and corn fields.” Chiefly by Mr Ross’s instrumentality,
there was raised a sum of nearly £10,000 by which the Tain Academy was
established and endowed. In the hall of the institution a fine portrait
was placed! of its founder and benefactor. Mr Rose Ross is described as
a man of natural talents and indomintable energy.
Ibid.—A special reporter of the “Courier” had taken a run through the
Black Isle, Easter Ross, the western districts of Inverness-shire and
Ross-shire, and the Islands, to ascertain the condition of the people as
affected by the potato failure. The account, which fills almost two
columns, presents generally a sad 6tate of affairs. In summing up the
writer says—“Two tilings appear evident. First, that there is great
destitution present and in prospect; and secondly, that the proprietors,
on the whole, are meeting the crisis well. Government has offered to put
revenue cutters at their disposal, to carry meal or corn to any part of
the Highlands or islands they can reach. Sir Edward Coffin (the
Government Commissioner) is busy -with his tour of inspection, and the
Board of Supervision are making arrangements to supply all pauper
wants.” From the text of the article, however, it appears that many of
the people, who could not as yet be classed as paupers, were fitter
objects for charity than for assessments. Incidentally, it is mentioned
that the quantity of wheat then grown in Ross-shire was estimated at
20,OOJ quarters, of which 10,000 were annually exported to London, the
other 10,000 sold as flour. This, however, was grown on the ground of
the larger farmers, and the destitution existed among crofters and
cottars. On the Coul estates the rent for potato ground was to be
deducted. On the Lovat estates the proprietor was carrying out
improvements on a gigantic scale, which provided! employment. The farm
of Conon Bank was being trenched and drained, and brought into a
thorough state of cultivatiou. At a meeting of the Parochial Board of
Inverness it was resolved to lay out £300 in the purchase of provisions
for the poor.—The “Times” and ‘Morning Chronicle’’ had Commissioners in
the Highlands reporting on the condition of the people.
Ibid.—It is stated! that the fine property of Fairburn, belonging to Mr
H. M. Ftowler of Raddery had been sold to Seaforth for £39,000.—A fire
which occurred in Inverness, in Ettles Court, behind the old Royal
Hotel, had destroyed several workshops, and gave another proof of the
necessity for a regular fire brigade.
October 14.—The debut of Mr Angus B. Reach as a theatrical writer is
noticed. He had produced at the Lyceum Theatre a farce entitled “Which
Mr Smith?” The “Times” describes it as a very lively production, which
would bear paring down a little, but which gave evidence of spirit and!
originality.
October 21.—The canal bank, adjoining the River Ness, nearly opposite
Torvean, had given way, as the water was being introduced after the
completion of repairs. The rush of water raised the river several feet,
and a heap of debris had formed in the channel. This accident delayed
the re-opening of navigation, which had been fixed for the 2nd of
November.
Ibid.—The Inverness Town Council made arrangements for the equipment of
a fire brigade, and appointed a superintendent. Mr Robertson, the
superintendent of the Glasgow Brigade, had seen the engine put into
proper order.—A cart wheel, which had been found a few weeks previously
in the Spey, near Rothes, was supposed to have been carried away by the
flood of 1829. It was in excellent preservation, and was set to use on
the farm of Dundurcas.
October 28.—There are more communications about the potato failure.
Lochaber was in a very bad way. Round Fort-William the portions least
affected had not yielded one-fourth of the quantity put into the ground
as seed. A meeting was held at which the proprietors agreed to give
employment to all labourers on their respective properties at Is 6d per
day, or an equal value of food at cost price. Several had also spent
considerable sums in the purchase of meal. The most extensive relief was
necessary in the islands. It was estimated that in South Uist and Barra
7000 or 8000 bolls of meal would be required; in North Uist about 4000
bolls, and in Harris 5000 bollis. The Inverness Farmer Society discussed
the question whether a substitute could be found for the potato, and
various kinds lof plaints and vegetables were suggested, such as beans,
pease, cabbage, carrots, and artichokes. It was generally admitted that
a potato diet was too much used in the Highlands.
November 4.—The distress in Ireland was on a vast scale, and large sums
had to be provided for the sustenance of the people. Presentments to the
amount of £700,000 had been granted by the Board of Works; the silver
currency of Ireland had been augmented to the extent of £100,000, in
order to facilitate the payment of labourers; and provisions wore to be
obtained at all the ports and principal places. Disturbances had
occurred in many districts. It is now stated that the destitution in the
Highlands and Islands had induced Ministers to order supplies of
provisions to be forwarded as in the case of Ireland.
Ibid.—A ship “The Deemster,” belonging to Mr James Masson, Inverness,
which left Quebec on 7th September with a cargo ol timber and flour, had
been wrecked in heavy weather off the great bank of Newfoundland. Five
lives were lost, including the master, a native of Avoch, and the
carpenter, a native of Inverness.
November 12.—The Inverness Town Council was engaged in preparing a bill
for improving the harbour. There was an idea of altering the channel,
and the venerable chronicler, John Maclean, mentioned the tradition that
an identical plan was commenced under the auspices of General Monk, when
the troops of the Commonwealth were stationed at Inverness. The
operations were stopped b> the sudden recall of the army after the
Protector’s death. “This was talked off in John's early days” (he was
then between ninety and a hundred years of age). “Upwards of 200 yards
of the line had been cut, as is still visible. Several civilians
assisted, and had, what was then considered good pay, namely, threepence
sterling a day.”—The issue contains a long account of the singular sect
called the Buchanites. The article is a review of a work by Mr Joseph
Train, “the gentleman who so liberally supplied Sir Walter Scott with
hints and materials for his novels, and whose antiquarian diligence
greatly enriched the armoury and collections at Abbotsford.”
November 18.—Distress was increasing in the Highlands and Islands as
winter advanced. According to a gentleman who had been travelling in the
western districts, the instances of suffering and want that met the eye
were sad in the extreme. The two great proprietors of Skye, Lord
Macdonald and Macleod of Macleod, had laid in supplies of meal. Great
credit is given to Captain Inge, a sporting tenant, for the work he had
provided in Strathglass in making roads and bridges. As an illustration
of the suffering in Ireland, it is stated that the arrivals by steamer
in the south-west of Scotland presented touching pictures. Whole
families, carrying with them all but the turf walls that constituted
their homes, were seeking refuge from destitution. “Fathers, in rags,
carry the rude implements that are to be bringers of bread; mothers,
scantily covered, bear children in arms; and children, bareheaded and
barefooted, are loaded with trifling articles of furniture that may
assist in supplying the new hovel, or, disposed of, avert hunger for an
hour.” Fortunately, the season so far had been mild, and work was
abundant in the Southern Counties.
Ibid.—A movement was in progress for putting down the practice of
drinking at Highland funerals. A paper with this object was signed by
heads of families in the town and parish of Dingwall, and a resolution
was passed at a meeting of the inhabitants of Golspie. Steps were
subsequently taken in other places with this view.
November 25.—An interesting column is made up from an interview with
John Maclean, known as the Nonagenarian, and latterly as the
Centenarian, as he lived to be a hundred or over. His recollections are
compared with statements from other sources, such as Burt’s letters.
John thought that in his youth the people had more command of the
necessaries of life, and in their homely way were more comfortable and
contented. Potatoes, he said, were first planted and raised here about
the year 1755 by William and Sanders Dawson, gardeners. They did well in
the orchard grounds, and some of the neighbours (John’s father among the
rest) began to' plant a few. It was long, however, before the potato
became general. “We did not plant many,” said John; “it was a rare thing
to have the last of them for dinner on Christmas day; and before that
only one or two diets would be taken in the week. They were mostly kept
in a corner of the muckle kist, and when they were done people seemed
nowise disappointed.” The daily food) of the common people consisted of
oatmeal porridge, with milk or beer for breakfast; sowens or kail, with
bannocks of barley and pease meal, and sometimes fish, for dinner;
porridge and milk for supper. On Sundays there was generally something
extra; butcher meat was cheap and seldom sold by weight. A hare or
blackcock could always be had in winter. Nothing was sent out of the
country but the cattle which the drovers took south. Everything was
cheap. “ How could it be otherwise,” said John, “when Donald Cameron and
his wife, one Friday forenoon, at the market, bought a leg of mutton, a
peck of meal, and a cart of peats, all for elevenpence, and to make up
the shilling he and his wife had a gill of Hollands for the other
penny.” Contemporary documents give a much less favourable account of
the condition of the people in the eighteenth century than John did, but
his statements about the food appear to have been fairly accurate. He
forgot a good deal about famines, want, and hardship. The population was
smaller. The editor was disposed to believe that at least among the
frugal and thrifty of the poor there was less actual want eighty or
ninety years before than was to be found at the time of writing. John
Maclean remembered the introduction of tea, and gives anecdotes
regarding it.
Ibid.—Plans were submitted to the Inverness Town Council for the Harbour
Bill, and orders were given to prepare the Parliaments many notices.
December 2.—There was a shock of earthquake on the 24th ult., general
over the North, but not very severe.—The Inverness Town Council
appointed a committee to advertise for estimates to put the Island
bridges in a proper state of repair. It was also resolved to advertise
feus at Island! Bank. It was estimated that the suffering population in
the Highlands and Islands numbered upwards of 100,000. The Commission of
Free Church Assembly had authorised a collection in the churches for
their assistance.
December 9.—Sir George Macpherson-Grant, Bart., Balindalloch, died on
the 24th ult., in the 66th year of his age. It is stated that in 1809 he
was returned to Parliament as member for the county of Sutherland, and
sat for nineteen years. He was a most useful member in his attention to
local interests, and a zealous improver of his estate. “He planted very
considerably, and reclaimed much waste land; his improvements being all
on a liberal and comprehensive scale, executed with great judgment, in
consequence of which not one, we believe, has proved a failure.”
December 16.—Two old! Highland letters are given, one illustrating the
relations between the Grants and Glengarry in 1737, another from Lady
Mackintosh of the ’Forty-five to the Marquis of Tullibardine (Jacobite
Duke of Athole). The lady was distressed because Seaforth had hindered a
brother of Mackenzie of Kilcoy from bringing a company of men to the
Prince’s service. She thought the Duke should issue an order for raising
the men, and then he could use a little force! The letter is ill-spelt,
but spelling was not an accomplishment of ladies of the period.
Ibid.—A law-suit was going on between the Marquis of Breadalbane andl
the sheep farmers of the North relative to a drove road by Inverouran
and Tyndrum to Falkirk. The Court of Session decided that the farmers
had a relevant case, and right to the drove stance at Inverouran if they
could prove possession.
Ibid.—A labourer cutting drains on the farm of Connage, m Petty, turned
up three bronze implements. They resembled hatchet heads —two large and
two small—and were to be seen in the Schoolhouse at Ardersier. The field
on which they were found was called the “Blood-field.”
Ibid.—The wood of Ericht, stretching-for about three miles along the
southern side of Loch-Ness, had been marked out for cultivation. “The
soil appears to be of good quality, but there will be some difficulty in
rooting out the stubborn hazel trees that have long held possession of
the picturesque spot. We shall miss the hazels in summer, and also the
hooting of the owls at night, that often scared the peasant as he passed
the solitary road. The change, however, will enhance the value of the
beautiful estate of Mr Fraser-Tytler, and afford occupation for the
people.” Proprietors were taking advantage of the Drainage Act in order
to provide employment.
December 23.—A heavy snowstorm which had prevailed for some weeks was
beginning to disappear. The mails in many places had to bo carried on
horseback, and were irregular.
Ibid.—A meeting was held in Edinburgh under the auspices of the Lord
Provost to consider the destitution of the Highlands. A committee was
appointed to obtain subscriptions and carry out measures of relief.
December 30.—On the 19th inst. a fire broke out in a close of old
thatched houses at the west end of High Street in Dingwall. Its progress
was arrested, but not until four or five families had been tendered
destitute. No lives were lost. |
