Eviction

1881 saw an eviction on Tiree which caused outrage. It was a time of revolution. The bloody Irish land War was just coming to an end and the Highland Land War was just starting. The word ‘eviction’ carries a lot of baggage in the Highlands, but this time, it does not appear that it was the Duke of Argyll or his factor who was behind it.

EVICTION ON TIREE
A case of eviction occurred at Scarinish the other day. The family evicted consisted of a man, his wife and family, and mother-in-law. It seems that the house belonged to the Parochial Board [set up in 1845 to look after paupers], a pauper lived in one end and the family in the other. The pauper died, and the farmer, on whose ground the house was situated turned the people out. The day was wet and stormy, and a neighbour taking pity on the people’s wretched homeless condition, gave them temporary shelter in a shade [shed]. As a last resort the poor man dug a hole in a sand bank, covering it with a sail, and there the happy (?) family reside. (Oban Telegraph and West Highland Chronicle, 8 July 1881, 3)

Another telling of the story by a correspondent calling himself ‘Justice’ gives more details, although these seem to be second-hand:

A CRUEL EVICTION IN THE ISLAND OF TIREE
Sir,—I am just after spending three days in this island, and as I usually like to ask for the welfare of the natives when among them, I found out from enquiries, what seems to me to be the most inhuman and tyrannical act that has ever been known in the West Highlands. A cottar occupied a house on a certain farm, and through spite or some unknown cause, the tenant evicted him with his wife and two young children, to find shelter for themselves as best they could. The poor man was not able to get another house, and but for the kindness of a neighbour who let him have the use of an outhouse for a few nights, he and his family would certainly have been at the mercy of the weather, which has been anything but favourable. In the interval, from a sense of duty to his home, and a feeling of manly independence, he roofed over with turf and other material one of the sand embankments near the beach, having no other resource, and is still occupying it. The heavy rains which we have had has rendered the lives of the poor creatures miserable in the extreme; and from my own personal knowledge, the beds on which they lay were actually drenched, and had to be turned out at intervals to dry. It was pitiful to hear the grandmother of the children (an old woman of 70 or 80 years) who stays with them, relating the ill-treatment they had received, and the sufferings to which they were exposed. She herself being already frail, the exposure and excitement has considerably added to her weakness, and has given a shock to her system from which she may never recover. If this man had objected to a reasonable or any rent, and refused to pay it, there might be some excuse; but on the contrary he offered to pay any rent that might be demanded, and that in advance. That such should be allowed to take place is certainly not creditable to certain parties. Had such a thing occurred in Ireland, it would probably result in bloodshed if not murder, and it is to the credit of this man and the temper of the inhabitants, who feel keenly in the matter, that no violence has been used. I trust, however, that humanity’s cause will be vindicated in this poor man’s case, to the effect of relieving him from the hut in the sand to his former or a better abode.—I am etc. JUSTICE. (Oban Times and Argyllshire Advertiser, 30 July 1881, 3)

The 1881 Census of Scarinish does include a family that may fit the bill: Jane MacDonald, 26 from Coll described as a ‘sailor’s wife’, with two young children 4 and 2 and her mother-in-law.

A lively correspondence in the pages of the Oban Times followed. An ‘R. McLeod’ made the point that an eviction like this was a very ‘un-island’ act:

A TIREE EVICTION—RECOLLECTIONS OF THE LONELY ISLE
… In which part of the lonely, green isle this outrage has occurred, your correspondent has not told; and I, who know the island well, am left to guess whether a McLean, or a Campbell or a McQuarrie has done the ruthless deed. He can’t be a real Highlander who has thus shocked the feelings of the kind, hospitable islanders, among whom I spent some pleasant winter months more than twenty years ago … The Tiree people are not only kind and hospitable, but extremely respectful to strangers—unlike many mainland boors, who will scarcely show a stranger the way—they touch their bonnets and bow as one passes, to indicate the perfect equality of the footing of both parties. The stranger’s name may be unknown, but a strange face is a passport to every part of the island … Then how attentive the islanders are to a stranger’s luggage. They wouldn’t carry it for pay, but, with regard to mine, they had a friendly quarrel as to whose shoulders should bear the burden. They would have kindly carried myself too, had I required such attention. I am, &c., R. McLeod. (Oban Times and Argyllshire Advertiser, 6 August 1881, 3)

This letter stimulated a sharp reply by someone signing themselves ‘Cabar Feidh’:

The removal of a cottar who, for all R. McLeod knows, may be an ignorant, ungrateful, and troublesome squatter, is most certainly not a fair case to bring before the public as a sample of the manner in which the Duke of Argyll allows his dependents (not one of whom is interfered with unknown to him) to be treated. Nowhere in the Highlands can R. McLeod find a more prosperous and therefore more comfortable tenantry, than in the Island of Tiree. They are a shrewd and sensible people, and know much better than he can tell them whether their proprietor is a good ‘laird’ or not. If R. McLeod wishes to propagate a spirit of discontent and rebellion among the Highland crofters, I am confident that he has chosen the wrong place when he has gone to Tiree, or indeed to any other part of the Duke of Argyll’s estates … As a real Highlander (although not a McKenzie), I pray my countrymen may never have a more serious cause of complaint than such as the Tiree eviction, and that they will not allow themselves to be ‘swayed’ by the opinions of men who so rashly and thoughtlessly wield their weapons as R. McLeod,—I am, etc., Cabar-Feidh. Glasgow. (Oban Times and Argyllshire Advertiser, 27 August 1881, 3)

Cabar-Feidh was to be disappointed. Five years later, several hundred marines were camped in Scarinish to put down the unrest following the Greenhill land raid.

Dr John Holliday