ST. KILDA FROM WITHOUT 177 



St. Kilda has been honoured with a Parliamentary 

 Debate to itself. 



In 1869, when the first Sea-bird Preservation Bill 

 was under discussion, the Duke of Northumberland 

 rose in his place in the House of Lords to move the 

 addition of a clause : ' The operation of this Act shall 

 not extend to the Island of St. Kilda.' 



The amendment was opposed by a second Duke, who, 

 in advance of his times, argued that where there was 

 no policeman to enforce an Act it was unnecessary to 

 enact that it was not to be enforced. A third Duke 

 replied (no legislator of humbler degree took part in 

 the debate), and the House very properly hesitating 

 to give its sanction to the shocking morals propounded 

 by the noble objector the clause was accepted without 

 a division, and has since been embodied in subsequent 

 Acts. Parliament has been before now likened to the 

 elephant's trunk which can pick up a pin or uproot a 

 forest tree. But it would be difficult to find another 

 instance in which the wants of a population of less 

 than eighty l all told have been provided for by special 

 legislation. 



There is a tradition that the sixty or seventy miles 

 over which the Atlantic now rolls, between St. Kilda 

 and the nearest point of the Hebrides, was once bridged 



1 The population of St. Kilda, as shown in the Census returns, was : 



MALES. FEMALES. TOTAL. 



In 1861 . 33 45 78 



1871 

 1881 



1901 



27 44 71 



33 44 77 



32 39 71 



38 39 77 

 M 



