GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL IN GLENDALE. 121 



up a march between his farm and the crofters' townships, but that the 

 crofters would not allow him. 



John Macpherson said that was not correct. He had been 37 years 

 in Milovaig, and he and the other crofters thought that no fence ought 

 to have been put up without their having been consulted ; the factor's 

 fence was to have taken a straight line, and this would have taken some 

 of the crofters' land away. 



Peter Mackinnon, a crofter, and keeper of the Post-office at Glendale, 

 repudiated the charge of lawlessness made against them, and pointed to 

 his own services in the Crimea, particularly at the siege of Sebastopol, 

 in proof of his desire to respect order. He had medals of good conduct 

 at home. He had been in Glendale for the last twenty years. He used 

 at one time to buy the fish from the fishermen, but Tormore, when he 

 came, would not allow him to do so ; and by that act of tyranny, he had 

 lost 100. He charged the factor's servants with having with their 

 dogs driven his cow against a fence. The cow died, and he lost 12. 

 He got no compensation for that. The Glendale people were never 

 allowed to go to law, by the tyranny of the factor. Tormore was the 

 Sheriff in this place. When he (Mackinnon) went to Tormore, and 

 bitterly complained of his conduct in preventing the fishermen from 

 selling their fish to him, and in taking the fish himself, Tormore's 

 answer was, " You are reading too many newspapers, and you don't 

 deserve to get justice ". During the time of his factorship Tormore 

 never allowed any case in dispute to go before the Sheriff at Portree, but 

 he decided them in his own way. The people would be evicted if they 

 went against his decision. What the people now wanted to do was to 

 break this tyranny of factors and proprietors, and not to break the law. 

 For 20 years there had been no law in Glendale, but the law of the 

 factor. Mackinnon denied that the people deforced Mactavish, till 

 Mactavish lifted a stick ; and then a half-witted lad threw a pail of 

 water about his ears. The present factor was as bad as the other. 

 Solomon, that was Tormore, beat them with swords ; but Rehoboam, 

 that was Greshornish, tormented them with scorpions. 



Captain Macdonald said the proprietors might be wrong, and the 

 crofters might be right ; but when, in going against the proprietors, the 

 people maltreated policemen and officers of the law, they were grossly 

 breaking the foundations of all good society. 



Peter Mackinnon replied that they had heard it said that " Britons 

 never shall be slaves ". 



Captain Macdonald said the Glendale people would not be slaves ; 

 they would get justice. 



