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Lady Baby," he said quickly, "tell me only one thing-has any one, has any other man got anything to do with this particular reason ?"

"I-I can tell you nothing."

He looked at her more keenly. "Are you trying to make me jealous?" he asked with a rather faint smile. "You tried that once before: take care, Lady Baby-you have enough to answer for already. By the way," he added abruptly, "what is Carbury doing here?" "He is -" she began, and then broke off with a start. No-whatever happened, his presence must not be betrayed; that would be base, that would be mean;—in the excess of her remorse Lady Baby felt that it would be so. Had he not already reproached her with making him ridiculous? And how much greater would the absurdity of the position be were his new

quest known? "Have you scen him?" she asked anxiously.

"I have not seen him, but I have caught a glimpse of the inseparable Williams, which means of course that Carbury is here. What is he here for?"

"Nothing; how can I tell I don't know: I didn't know he was here; that is to say, yes-I did.” "You know and you did not know-how am I to understand that?"

"Any way you will; I can't say anything more. Leave me, Sir Peter," she added in evident distress, "please leave me at once." If he did not leave her at once she felt certain that the whole secret would be out, for she was beginning to lose her head.

Then he left her, but he went with the germ of an idea in his mind, and, unknown to himself, that germ was striking root.

THE CROFTERS.

I. THE CROFTER COMMISSION.

THE Crofters Act of 1886 introduced principles hitherto unheard of in Great Britain. The Commission appointed to adminis-. ter that Act have been steadily at work; but it is only now, after their issue of final decisions for the islands belonging to Invernessshire and Ross-shire, that their method of work and the result of it can be tested for any complete and definite area. A new system which has revolutionised not only the law of landlord and tenant, but also the whole relationship in which they stand to each other over the northern counties, must be worthy of examination; but the interest is increased when it is remembered that politicians are not wanting who advocate the general extension of the Act to Scotland at large. As I have in a former article pointed out, all the peculiarities which constitute a "crofting

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country are to be found in an intensified form in the Western Islands. Now, therefore, that the Commission have done their best and worst in these islands, the opportunity has come to inquire-Has this novel legislation succeeded? are the people better off? are their prospects brighter than before? The Commission have visited the islands on three separate occasions, they have heard all the cases that have come before them, ample opportunity has been given to every man to lodge his claim. Hence the rent at which crofts under the limit of £30 are now entered in the rent-rolls may be considered as that which will regulate the relations between landlords and tenants for the future. The following table shows the actual result of the proceedings of the Commission :-/

Fair Rent. Decrease. Arrears. To be paid. Cancelled.

Isle of Skye, 1659 Long Island, 686 'The Lews, 1173

£ 8. d. s. d. £ 3. d. £ s. d. s. d. £ 8. d. 10,082 09 6,924 13 0 3157 7 9 23,547. 38,354 8 1 15,192 13 2 3,018 19 3 2,346 8,0 672 11 3 10,693 13 3,686 38 7,006 17 7 3,235 9 4 2,225 11 0 1009 18 4 15,067 0 2 3,668 14 0 11,398 6.2

Total,

3518 16,336 9 4 11,496 12 0 4839 17 4 49,307 2 8 15,709 5 9 33,597 16 11

Thus, the net result of the work of the Commission in those islands is, that 3518 heads of families, representing about 21,000 persons out of a population of 60,600, have had their rents reduced by £4839, and a large portion of their debts

cancelled. With regard to the reduction of rents, it is impossible and improper to comment on one side or the other. It is undoubtedly the case that in almost every district those who know from long acquaintance the real capacity of

1 This table is compiled from the Reports of the Commission for 1886, 1887, and 1888, and from the tables published in the press for the current year.

every holding can point to numberless instances of glaring inequality in the decisions; but these evils are the inevitable consequence of the policy which was adopted, and the members of the Commission doubtless have the most anxious desire to do right between man and man, and yet are absolutely unable in the short time at their disposal to arrive in all cases at a reasonable decision. There are two methods of fixing rents; one by bargain between landlord and tenant, the other by calling in a Commission with arbitrary powers. Both have their disadvantages. The former prevails over Great Britain, the United States of America, and the continent of Europe; the latter over the Western Highlands and Ireland. Those who perceive the faults of the first will do well to inquire somewhat minutely into the evils of the second before they clamour for the extension of the system. On the subject of rents I have only one more word to add. The fact of considerable reductions having been made, is held to prove that the poor crofters have been living under a system of grinding tyranny. The reductions have amounted over the islands at large to exactly 30 per cent. The reductions on the large farms recently falling out of lease, and relet under the old system of free bargain, have exceeded this figure. It is therefore sufficiently evident there has been no injustice in the treatment of the crofter community by the exaction of rents incommensurate with the value of produce. I now pass to a brief examination of the action of the Commission in wiping out arrears, and it is here that the iniquity of the Act as it stands, and as it is administered, is apparent. The Act, from the landlord's point of view, is indeed iniquitous, for it cancels

debts which are not only due to him for the enjoyment of his property by his tenant, but on account of the sums thus cancelled he has in all cases already defrayed the landlord's share of rates and taxes, and in very many cases those of the tenant besides. Thus, in the case of Lady Matheson of the Lews, arrears due to her to the extent of £11,398 have been cancelled, although she has already paid upon this large sum her share of rates, and in most instances the share which should have been borne by the tenant. Mr Fraser-Mackintosh recently questioned the Lord Advocate as to the accuracy of the statement that Lady Matheson had paid £582 for tenants' rates, she being prevented by legislation from securing repayment. The Lord Advocate confirmed the accuracy of the statement, and added there was no redress. When it is borne in mind that rates for the four parishes in the Lews are of the most extravagant character, it is evident Lady Matheson must have sustained a loss actually out of pocket, besides receiving no rent of many thousand pounds. Surely with such 2 construction of the law operating to their ruin, the proprietors of the north asked no extreme concession when, with one voice, they approached the Government fifteen months ago with this humble prayer. 66 That taxation should not be levied on rents rendered irrecoverable by Act of Parliament." The result is a striking illustration of the powerlessness of any appeal which is not backed by numbers and noisy agitation. The injustice is admitted, but there is no redress. The effect of the arrears clause upon the landlord is, however, unimportant in comparison with the evil it has worked and is working among the people. It is the fruitful

parent of dishonesty, unthrift, jealousy, and disunion among the people at large. As it stands in the statute-book, and as it has been administered, it is a curse to the country. Should legislation designed to effect the same purpose ever be extended to counties beyond the Highland limit, the arrears clause stands out as a beacon of warning lest the evil it has wrought should be extended to other populations. The reasons which ought to restrain criticism and comment on the action of the Commission in fixing rents, have no force in the case of decisions regarding arrears. In the former, a thousand considerations enter into the calculation climate, lie of the ground, distance from market, amount of tenants' improvements, &c., and these protect any decision from effective comment; but in the latter, the decisions themselves afford abundant ground for examination, for comparison, for criticism, for comment, and, as I intend to show, for utter condemnation. Why was the arrears clause introduced? For one reason alone. Rents being, as was alleged, excessive, evictions possible if not probable

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for non-payment of this rent, and arrears having accumulated for two or three years, it was clearly useless to reduce rents for the future if eviction was to be possible on account of the accumulated arrears. Where rents were found to be excessive and arrears had accumulated from inability to pay-in these cases, and in these aloneit was intended the Commission should have power to reduce both rents and arrears. It is clear from the whole debate, and will be admitted by the most strenuous advocate of the rights of tenants, that the Commission received no roving power to cancel arrears because it was a pleasant and charitable thing to do, but they were limited to cancelling arrears or reducing them in so far as they had arisen from honest inability to meet the existing rents. From examples alone is it possible to realise-I dare not say the system adopted by the Com mission, for there is absolutely none, but the course which has been taken. In every one of the following cases the contrasted de cisions were given on the same day, and the holdings were in the same township.

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