82 THE HIGHLAND CLEARANCES. 



towards Portree at an early stage, followed by some children. 

 If he was assaulted at that time, the prisoners were no par- 

 ties to it. Robertson was, however, the only person who 

 was said in evidence to have been touched by one of the 

 accused ; but the evidence on that point came from so sus- 

 picious a source, and was, as would be shown immediately, 

 so strongly contradicted, that I have no hesitation in asking 

 your Lordship to disbelieve it. Mr. Macdonald then pro- 

 ceeded to review the evidence for the purpose of showing 

 that Martin, Robertson, and Beaton had contradicted each 

 other in important particulars in their account of what had 

 taken place, and that the story told by the witnesses for the 

 defence was consistent throughout, and entirely inconsistent 

 with those of Martin and his associates. Martin, he said, 

 had to account to his master, the factor, for his failure to 

 serve the summonses, if, indeed, it was not intended before 

 he went that he should fail ; and this was the story he told 

 on his return. The enlightened management of Lord Mac- 

 donald's estates in Skye by his omnipotent and unapproach- 

 able factor had brought about a state of matters which the 

 usual machinery of the factor's office summonses of re- 

 moving and occasional evictions, supplemented by threats 

 of undefined pains and penalties was unable to deal with. 

 An attempt even to get up a criminal prosecution had failed. 

 What more natural, then, than to get up a sensational charge 

 which would bring a large force to the rescue of the powerless 

 factor without expense to his employer. I do not say this 

 is the explanation of what took place, but it is a possible 

 interpretation of the evidence, and it would go a long way 

 to account for the peculiar "coincidence," as Mr. Macdonald 

 calls it, that while the criminal authorities intimated the 

 abandonment of the first criminal charge on ist April, the 

 attempt to serve the summons of removing was made on 



