To my amazement I came across evidence being given by my husband's great grandfather, whose little croft house we are in at present.
Reading it makes one realise why the crofters were unhappy. Their crofts were made smaller and smaller to make way for big profitable sheep farms. Many were moved to very poor land which they had to try and improve. Many were evicted with nowhere to go.
Did they hate the Duke?
Well a John Mackay giving evidence later on said
"They would hear no ill talked of the Duke"
The Duke was respected but his factors and groundsmen were hated
Here is what our ancestor had to say
Grievances
of Alexander Gunn
My name is Alexander Gunn; my age is 49. I am
a crofter living in
the parish of Rogart. I pay £7,16s. for twelve acres of
land. The number of stock I have
are as follows:—Two Highland horses,
two Highland cows, two young heifers, and eleven sheep. The returns from my croft will
not supply my family with meal and vegetables more than six months in the year. My croft nearly employs my time in its
cultivation, and even when I have
a few days to spare from being employed on my croft it is seldom I get employment otherways. The fact is that between returns of
other employment and cattle and sheep, etc. sold, I can barely sustain my family ; and even I am often
compelled to keep my wife and children from what is termed good clothes on account of my rent. If I had double the amount of arable land that I now possess at fair rent, valued by
competent valuators, appointed by landlord and tenant, and guaranteed to defend
me against capricious eviction, I do
consider that I would be able to
educate and bring up my family in a manner more consonant to my mind, and have sufficient
to defend me against pauperism in my old
age.
My grievance is the smallness of my croft, and the inferior cattle I am obliged to have, and no rule to
govern the rise of rent or the threat of
eviction, as my case will prove.
When my mother died,
twenty years ago, my eldest brother, on getting possession of the lot, had to pay
death premium, or £1 of a rise of
rent. This rise was put on, on the recommendation of two of
the Duke's ground officers, who valued our lot. Three years afterwards my brother died, and I became his successor, and I had to pay a death premium of - 4s. that being
four shillings more than the Duke's servants or ground officers valued my croft
at. Four years ago I received a summons of removal, when on making inquiry I found out that this was an
introduction to another £ l, ls. of a
rise of rent, which I had to
pay, and pay still;
The actual fact is
that I pay £ 1, 5s. per annum more
than what his Grace's own
servants valued my croft at, and all the improvements on the lot were done by
myself and predecessors.—
(Signed) ALEXANDER GUNN.
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