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As to those ridiculous
stories about the Duchess of Sutherland, which have found their way into
many of the prints in America, one has only to be here, moving in
society, to see how excessively absurd they are.
All my way through
Scotland, and through England, I was associating, from day to day, with
people of every religious denomination, and every rank of life. I have
been with dissenters and with churchmen; with the national Presbyterian
church and the free Presbyterian; with Quakers and Baptists.
In all these circles I
have heard the great and noble of the land freely spoken of and
canvassed, and if there had been the least shadow of a foundation for
any such accusations, I certainly should have heard it recognized in
some manner. If in no other, such warm friends as I have heard speak
would have alluded to the subject in the way of defence; but I have
actually never heard any allusion of any sort, as if there was anything
to be explained or accounted for.
As I have before
intimated, the Howard family, to which the duchess belongs, is one which
has always been on the side of popular rights and popular reform. Lord
Carlisle, her brother, has been a leader of the people, particularly
during the time of the corn-law reformation, and she has been known to
take a wide and generous interest in all these subjects. Everywhere that
I have moved through Scotland and England I have heard her kindness of
heart, her affability of manner, and her attention to the feelings of
others spoken of as marked characteristics.
Imagine, then, what
people must think when they find in respectable American prints the
absurd story of her turning her tenants out into the snow, and ordering
the cottages to be set on fire over their heads because they would not
go out.
But, if you ask how such
an absurd story could ever have been made up, whether there is the least
foundation to make it on, I answer that it is the exaggerated report of
a movement made by the present Duke of Sutherland's father, in the year
18i z, and which was part of a great movement that passed through the
Highlands of Scotland, when the advancing progress of civilisation began
to make it necessary to change the estates from military to agricultural
establishments.
Soon after the union of
the crowns of England and Scotland, the border chiefs found it
profitable to adopt upon their estates that system of agriculture to
which their hills were adapted, rather than to continue the maintenence
of military retainers. Instead of keeping garrisons, with small armies,
in a district, they decided to keep only so many as could profitably
cultivate the land. The effect of this, of course, was like disbanding
an army. It threw many people out of employ, and forced them to seek for
a home elsewhere. Like many other movements which, in their final
results, are beneficial to society, this was at first vehemently
resisted, and had to be carried into effect in some cases by force. As I
have said, it began first in the southern counties of Scotland, soon
after the union of the English and Scottish crowns, and gradually crept
northward—one county after another yielding to the change. To a certain
extent, as it progressed northward, the demand for labour in the great
towns absorbed the surplus population ; but when it came in to the
extreme Highlands, this refuge was wanting. Emigration to America now
became the resource ; and the surplus population were induced to this by
means such as the Colonization Society now recommends and approves for
promoting emigration to Liberia.
The first farm that was
so formed on the Sutherland estate was in 18o6. The great change was
made in 1811-12, and completed in 1819-20.
The Sutherland estates
are in the most northern portion of Scotland. The distance of this
district from the more advanced parts of the kingdom, the total want of
roads, the unfrequent communication by sea, and the want of towns, made
it necessary to adopt a different course in regard to the location of
the Sutherland population from that which circumstances had provided in
other parts of Scotland, where they had been removed from the bleak and
uncultivable mountains. They had lots given them near the sea, or in
more fertile spots, where, by labour and industry, they might maintain
themselves. They had two years allowed them for preparing for the
change, without payment of rent. Timber for their houses was given, and
many other facilities for assisting their change.
The general agent of the
Sutherland estate is Mr. Loch. In a speech of this gentleman in the
House of Commons on the second reading of the Scotch Poor-Law Bill, June
12, 1845, he states the following fact with regard to the management of
the Sutherland estate during this period, from z8zi to 1833, which
certainly can speak for itself: "I can state as from fact that, from
1811 to 1833, not one sixpence of rent has been received from that
county, but, on the contrary, there has been sent there, for the benefit
and improvement of the people, a sum exceeding sixty thousand pounds."
Mr. Loch goes on in the
same speech to say: "There is no set of people more industrious than the
people of Sutherland. Thirty years since they were engaged in illegal
distillation to a very great extent ; at the present moment there is
not, I believe, an illegal still in the county. Their morals have
improved as those habits have been abandoned ; and they have added many
hundreds, I believe thousands, of acres to the land in cultivation since
they were placed upon the shore.
"Previous to the change
to which I have referred, they exported very few cattle, and hardly
anything else. They were also, every now and then, exposed to all the
difficulties of extreme famine. In the years 1812-13, and 1816-17, so
great was the misery that it was necessary to send down oatmeal for
their supply to the amount of nine thousand pounds, and that was given
to the people. But, since, industrious habits were introduced, and they
were settled within reach of fishing, no such calamity has overtaken
them. Their condition was then so low that they were obliged to bleed
their cattle during the winter, and mix the blood with the remnant of
meal they had, in order to save from them starvation.
"Since then the country
has improved so much that the fish, in particular, which they exported,
in 1815, from one village alone, Helmsdale (which, previous to 1811, did
not exist), amounted to five thousand three hundred and eighteen barrels
of herring, and in 1844 thirty-seven thousand five hundred and
ninety-four barrels, giving employment to about three thousand nine
hundred people. This extends over the whole of the county, in which
fifty-six thousand barrels were cured.
"Do not let me be
supposed to say that there are not cases requiring attention: it must be
so in a large population; but there can be no means taken by a landlord,
or by those under him, that are not bestowed upon that tenantry.
"It has been said that
the contribution by the heritor (the duke) to one kirk session for the
poor was but six pounds. Now, in the eight parishes which are called
Sutherland proper, the amount of the contribution of the Duke of
Sutherland to the kirk session is forty-two pounds a-year. That is a
very small sum, but that sum merely is so given because the landlord
thinks that he can distribute his charity in a more beneficial manner to
the people ; and the amount of charity which he gives —and which, I may
say, is settled on them, for it is given regularly—is above four hundred
and fifty pounds a-year.
"Therefore the statements
that have been made, so far from being correct, are in every way an
exaggeration of what is the fact. No portion of the kingdom has advanced
in prosperity so much; and if the honourable member (Mr. S. Crawford)
will go down there, I will give him every facility for seeing the state
of the people, and he shall judge with his own eyes whether my
representation be not correct. I could go through a great many other
particulars, but I will not trouble the House now with them. The
statements I have made are accurate, and I am quite ready to prove them
in any way that is necessary."
The same Mr. Loch has
published a pamphlet, in which he has traced out the effects of the
system pursued on the Sutherland estate, in many very important
particulars. It appears from this that previously to 1811 the people
were generally sub-tenants to middlemen, who exacted high rents, and
also various perquisites, such as the delivery of poultry and eggs,
giving so many days' labour in harvest time, cutting and carrying peat
and stones for building.
Since 1811 the people
have become immediate tenants, at a greatly diminished rate of rent, and
released from all these exactions. For instance, in two parishes, in
1812, the rents were one thousand five hundred and ninety-three pounds,
and in 1823 they were only nine hundred and seventy-two pounds. In
another parish the reduction of rents has amounted, on an average, to
thirty-six per cent. Previous to 1811 the houses were turf huts of the
poorest description, in many instances the cattle being kept under the
same roof with the family. Since 1811 a large proportion of their houses
have been rebuilt in a superior manner—the landlord having paid them for
their old timber where it could not be moved, and having also
contributed the new timber, with lime.
Before 18zi all the rents
of the estates were used for the personal profit of the landlord; but
since that time, both by the present duke and his father, all the rents
have been expended on improvements in the county, besides sixty thousand
pounds more which have been remitted from England for the purpose. This
money has been spent on churches, school-houses, harbours, public inns,
roads, and bridges.
In 1811 there was not a
carriage-road in the county, and only two bridges. Since that time four
hundred and thirty miles of road have been constructed on the estate, at
the expense of the proprietor and tenants. There is not a turnpike-gate
in the county, and yet the roads are kept perfect.
Before 18ir the mail was
conveyed entirely by a foot runner, and there was but one post-office in
the county; and there was no direct post across the county, but letters
to the north and west were forwarded once a month. A mail-coach has
since been established, to which the late Duke of Sutherland contributed
more than two thousand six hundred pounds; and since 1834 mail-gigs have
been established to convey letters to the north and west coast, towards
which the Duke of Sutherland contributes three hundred pounds a year.
There are sixteen post-offices and sub-offices in the county. Before
1811 there was no inn in the county fit for the reception of strangers.
Since that time there have been fourteen inns either built or enlarged
by the duke.
Before r8rr there was
scarcely a cart on the estate; all the carriage was done on the backs of
ponies. The cultivation of the interior was generally executed with a
rude kind of spade, and there was not a gig in the county. In 1845 there
were one thousand one hundred and thirty carts owned on the estate, and
seven hundred and eight ploughs, also forty-one gigs.
Before 1812 there was no
baker, and only two shops. In 1845 there were eight bakers and forty-six
grocers' shops, in nearly all of which shoe-blacking was sold to some
extent, an unmistakable evidence of advancing civilization.
In 1808 the cultivation
of the coast-side of Sutherland was so defective that it was necessary
often, in a fall of snow, to cut down the young Scotch firs to feed the
cattle on; and in 1808 hay had to be imported. Now the coast side of
Sutherland exhibits an extensive district of land cultivated according
to the best principles of modern agriculture; several thousand acres
have been added to the arable land by these improvements.
Before 1811 there were no
woodlands of any extent on the estate, and timber had to be obtained
from a distance. Since that time many thousand acres of woodland have
been planted, the thinnings of which, being sold to the people at a
moderate rate, have greatly increased their comfort and improved their
domestic arrangements.
Before 1811 there were
only two blacksmiths in the county. In 1845 there were forty-two
blacksmiths and sixty-three carpenters. Before 1829 the exports of the
county consisted of black cattle of an inferior description, pickled
salmon, and some ponies; but these were precarious sources of profit, as
many died in winter for want of food; for example, in the spring of
1807, two hundred cows, five hundred cattle, and more than two hundred
ponies died in the parish of Kildonan alone. Since that time the
measures pursued by the Duke of Sutherland, in introducing improved
breeds of cattle, pigs, and modes of agriculture, have produced results
in exports which tell their own story. About forty thousand sheep and
one hundred and eighty thousand fleece of wool are exported annually;
also fifty thousand barrels of herring.
The whole fishing village
of Helmsdale has been built since that time. It now contains from
thirteen to fifteen curing yards covered with slate, and several streets
with houses similarly built. The herring fishery, which has been
mentioned as so productive, has been established since the change, and
affords employment to three thousand nine hundred people.
Since 1811, also, a
savings-bank has been established in every parish, of which the Duke of
Sutherland is patron and treasurer, and the savings have been very
considerable.
The education of the
children of the people has been a subject of deep interest to the Duke
of Sutherland. Besides the parochial schools (which answer, I suppose,
to our district schools), of which the greater number have been rebuilt
or repaired at an expense exceeding what is legally required for such
purposes, the Duke of Sutherland contributes to the support of several
schools for young females, at which sewing and other branches of
education are taught ; and in 1844 he agreed to establish twelve General
Assembly schools, in such parts of the county as were without the sphere
of the parochial schools, and to build schools and schoolmasters'
houses, which will, upon an average, cost two hundred pounds each; and
to contribute annually two hundred pounds in aid of salaries to the
teachers, besides a garden and cow's grass; and .in 1845 he made an
arrangement with the education committee of the Free Church, whereby no
child, of whatever persuasion, will be beyond the reach of moral and
religious education.
There are five medical
gentlemen on the estate, three of whom receive allowances from the Duke
of Sutherland for attendance on the poor in the districts in which they
reside.
An agricultural
association, or farmers' club, has been formed under the patronage of
the Duke of Sutherland, of which the other proprietors in the county,
and the larger tenantry, are members, which is in a very active and
flourishing state. They have recently invited Professor Johnston to
visit Sutherland and give lectures on agricultural chemistry.
The total population of
the Sutherland estate is twenty-one thousand seven hundred and
eighty-four. To have the charge and care of so large an estate, of
course, must require very systematic arrangements; but a talent for
system seems to be rather the forte of the English.
The estate is first
divided into three districts, and each district is under the
superintendence of a factor, who communicates with the duke through a
general agent. Besides this, when the duke is on the estate, which is
during a portion of every year, he receives on Monday whoever of his
tenants wishes to see him. Their complaints or wishes are presented in
writing; he takes them into consideration, and gives written replies.
Besides the three factors
there is a ground officer, or sub-factor, in every parish, and an
agriculturist in the Dunrobin district, who gives particular attention
to instructing the people in the best methods of farming. The factors,
the ground officers, and the agriculturists, all work to one common end.
They teach the advantages of draining; of ploughing deep, and forming
their ridges in straight lines; of constructing tanks for saving liquid
manure. The young farmers also pick up a great deal of knowledge when
working as ploughmen or labourers on the more immediate grounds of the
estate.
The head agent, Mr. Loch,
has been kind enough to put into my hands a general report of the
condition of the estate, which he drew up for the inspection of the
duke, May 12, 1853, and in which he goes minutely over the condition of
every part of the estate.
One anecdote of the
former Duke of Sutherland will show the spirit which has influenced the
family in their-management of the estate. In 1817, when there was much
suffering on account of bad seasons, the Duke of Sutherland sent down
his chief agent to look into the condition of the people, who desired
the ministers of the parishes to send in their lists of poor. To his
surprise it was found that there were located on the estate a number of
people who had settled there without leave. They amounted to hour
hundred and eight families, or two thousand persons; and though they had
no legal title to remain where they were, no hesitation was shown in
supplying them with food in the same manner with those who were tenants,
on the sole condition that on the first opportunity they should take
cottages on the sea-shore, and become industrious people. It was the
constant object of the duke to keep the rents of his poorer tenants at a
nominal amount.
I
What led me more particularly to inquire into these facts was, that I
received by mail, while in London, an account containing some of these
stories, which had been industriously circulated in America. There were
dreadful accounts of cruelties practised in the process of inducing the
tenants to change their places of residence. The following is a specimen
of these stories "I was present at the pulling down and burning of the
house of William Chisholm, Badinloskin, in which was lying his wife's
mother, an old, bed-ridden woman of near one hundred years of age, none
of the family being present. I informed the persons about to set fire to
the house of this circumstance, and prevailed on them to wait till Mr.
Sellar came. On his arrival I told him of the poor old woman, being a
condition unfit for removal. He replied, 'The old witch I she has lived
too long; let her burn.' Fire was immediately set to the house, and the
blankets in which she was carried were in flames before she could be got
out. She was placed in a little shed, and it was with great difficulty
they were prevented from firing that also. The old woman's daughter
arrived while the house was on fire, and assisted the neighbours in
removing her mother out of the flames and smoke, presenting a picture of
horror which I shall never forget but cannot attempt to describe. She
died within five days." paper, I can now state that the Duke of
Sutherland has With regard to this story, fir. Loch, the agent, says: "I
must notice the only thing like a fact stated in the newspaper extract
which you sent to me, wherein Mr. Sellar is accused of acts of cruelty
towards some of the people. This Mr. Sellar tested, by bringing an
action against the then Sheriff-substitute of the county. He obtained a
verdict for heavy damages. The Sheriff, by whom the slander was
propagated, left the county. Both are since dead."
Having, through Lord
Shaftesbury's kindness, received the benefit of Mr. Loch's corrections
to this statement, I am permitted to make a little further extract from
his reply. He says:-
"In addition to what I
was able to say in my former received from one of the most determined
opposers of the measures, who travelled to the north of Scotland as
editor of a newspaper, a letter regretting all he had written on the
subject, being convinced that he was entirely misinformed. As you take
so much interest in the subject, I will conclude by saying that nothing
could exceed the prosperity of the county during the past year; their
stock, sheep, and other things sold at high prices; their crops of grain
and turnips were never so good, and the potatoes were free from all
disease : rents have been paid better than was ever known. * * * As an
instance of the improved habits of the farmers, no house is now built
for them that they do not require a hot bath and water-closets."
From this long epitome
you can gather the following results. First, if the system were a bad
one, the Duchess of Sutherland had nothing to do with it, since it was
first introduced in 1806, the same year her grace was born; and the
accusation against Mr. Sellar, dates in 1811, when her grace was five or
six years old. The Sutherland arrangements were completed in 1819, and
her grace was not married to the duke till 1823, so that, had the
arrangement been the worst in the world, it is nothing to the purpose so
far as she is concerned.
As to whether the
arrangement is a bad one, the facts which have been stated speak for
themselves. To my view it is an almost sublime instance of the
benevolent employment of superior wealth and power in shortening the
struggles of advancing civilization, and elevating in a few years a
whole community to a point of education and material prosperity, which,
unassisted, they might never have obtained. |
