THE FIFE ADVENTURERS. 187 



i 



planting at their doors of a strong body of vigorous Low- 

 landers, who in time might spread their tentacles across 

 the Minch, and grab the fertile territories on the mainland. 

 The hostility of Mackenzie of Kintail is therefore intelli- 

 gible on grounds other than his desire to acquire Lewis 

 for himself. It was bad policy to have aroused the well- 

 founded suspicion of the powerful clans of the West. It 

 could only have one effect : that of arraying them in 

 secret, but none the less active, dangerous, and solid 

 antagonism towards the schemes of the King and his 

 Land Syndicate. A man like Mackenzie of Kintail was 

 a particularly undesirable foe. Of great ability, and of 

 no greater scrupulosity than the majority of Scotland's 

 magnates, Lowland and Highland alike, he was sufficiently 

 powerful to be able to make or to mar the success of the 

 enterprise. 



A commission of lieutenancy to last for a twelvemonth 

 was, on Qth July, 1599, granted to Lennox and Huntly, 

 the latter of whom had been pardoned for past offences, 

 and during this year was created a marquis. The Act of 

 Council constituting this lieutenancy commences with the 

 usual recitation of the " frequent villanies and barbarous 

 cruelteis " of the " wicked and rebellious " inhabitants of the 

 Isles (the Highlands are this time included in the category), 

 who are " void of all feir or knauledge of God," destitute of 

 reverence for prince, law, or justice, and guilty of treason, 

 murders, and intolerable actions, " very aft every ane of 

 thame batheing themeselffis in the blude of utheris." 

 Then comes the old complaint the crux of the whole 

 matter about the loss of revenue to his Majesty, owing 

 to the shocking state of society in those parts ; and refer- 

 ence is made to the " daily practice by force and policy " 

 of disappointing the King's service in Lewis. To remedy 

 this state of matters, Lennox and Huntly are appointed 

 Lieutenants and Justices within the whole bounds of the 

 Highlands and Isles, and full indemnity is given them and 

 their assistants for any " slauchter, mutilatioun, fyre-raising 

 or utheris inconvenientis " which they might commit in 



