SMALL HOLDINGS IN SCOTLAND I05 



The existence of these common grazings — either at the date of the Act or 

 in previous time — was in fact one of the determining points in the defini- 

 tion of a crofting parish, to be referred to later. They form one of the 

 modif^nng factors to be taken into account in considering the economic status 

 of the small holder in the crofting counties. The other main factor is the 

 fishing industry, which has, however, of recent years been taken more and 

 more out of the hands of the small local men bj^ the better equipped 

 fishermen of the east coast. 



Agricultural conditions in these counties are not, of course, entirelj' 

 uniform. \'er3" great differences in the extent of land available for agricul- 

 ture, in its fertility, and in the use that is made of it by the occupiers, are 

 naturally found in so wide a terrtory, The general statements made above 

 are, however, sufficient to show that this large area has from an agricultural 

 point of view a character of its own. The typical holding consists of a 

 small amount of arable land with the right to a share in a common grazing, 

 or of a small piece of land occupied by a man who is also engaged in fishing. 

 Of the special characteristic of the inhabitant of these districts, whether 

 Celtic or Norse, it is unnecessary to speak. 



§ 2. The crofters' holdings act, 1886. 



This Act was the outcome of an agrarian crisis in certain parts of the 

 Highlands comparable in intensity, though not in extensiveness, with the 

 agrarian troubles of Ireland. The " clearances " of the early 19th. centurj', 

 when small holdings were destroyed to make room for large sheep farms, 

 were bitterly remembered. Later the movement has been from sheep 

 farms to deer forests. The cultivators were either forced to leave the coun- 

 try altogether or crowded together on the poorest parts of the land on hold- 

 ings too small to afiord a living. The principal grievances felt b}' them 

 were insecurity of tenure, excessive rents and the difficulty of obtaining 

 enlargements of their holdings. As regards the first, the natural feeling 

 of men whose families had for generations occupied the same holdings was 

 that they had a claim to retain them. I/Cgally, however, their tenure was 

 only from year to year, and there was no protection against removal. 

 Again, they were, hke the Irish tenants, liable to be rented on their own 

 improvements, and had no power to obtain compensation for these on re- 

 moval. Their attachment to their homes made them willing to pay excessive 

 rents ; arrears of rent were, however, very common. There was little 

 encouragement to make the most of the land, such as it was, and the 

 standard both of agriculture and of living was and still is, especially in 

 some parts of the Outer Hebrides, very low. A period of agitation finally 

 resulted in open violence. Rents were refused and organised raids were made 

 on large farms. Gunboats were sent by the Government to restore order, 

 but it ^^as recognised that mere repression was of no use. The efforts of 

 those who has long been working for constitutional remedies resulted in the 



