44 THE HIGHLAND CLEARANCES. 



self-respect by continuing to hold it, desired to do one 

 official act which had an appearance of strength about it 

 without the reality. He had brought contempt upon the 

 administration of the law by sanctioning or suggesting the 

 sending of a large body of police from Glasgow to Skye to 

 arrest a few old men of peaceful habits and general good 

 character, whose worst weapon, it has been proved, was a 

 lump of wet turf, and when the whole country was indulging 

 in a roar of laughter over the ignominious retreat of the in- 

 vading army of policemen before the women of the Braes, 

 and the ridiculous ending of a performance which was in- 

 tended to represent the dignity of the Law, he, the person 

 primarily responsible for the mistake which had been com- 

 mitted, would naturally desire to cover his blunder by 

 securing a conviction against the few harmless cottars whom 

 the policemen in their blind panic had first laid hands 

 on. 



If ever there was a case which ought to be tried by a 

 Jury this was one. At no time is the right of Jury trial 

 more valuable than when the opinions of the public, and the 

 acts of the Crown, as represented by its officials, run counter 

 to each other, and when these acts are in any way connected 

 with thexoffence to be tried. At no time ought the right to 

 be more readily conceded. Here, however, it was deter- 

 minedly denied. To Mr. Macdonald's second letter no 

 answer was ever given. We believe none was expected. 

 Except in the answer given to the questions of Mr. Fraser- 

 Mackintosh and Mr. Dick Peddie in the House of 

 Commons, at least twenty-four hours before Mr. Mac- 

 donald's letter reached him, the Lord-Advocate did not 

 attempt either to explain or defend his conduct. In point 

 of fact, complete explanation or defence was impossible. 

 All that time the Crown officers must have known what was 



