Blair Collection > Celtic monthly > Volume 7, 1899

192
THE CELTIC MONTHLY.
loden, a nuinbei- of representatives of Jacobite
societies made a pilgrimage to the Memorial
Cairn, on the historic battlefield, to the stirring
strains of Jacobite music, and placed wreaths
upon it, in demonstration of loyalty to the
cause. The Scottish, English, and Irish branches
of the Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain
and Ireland, and the Older of St. Germain, were
all separately represented by wreaths. The
Chief of Clan Menzies also sent one on behalf of
Clan Menzies Society, " In memory of 200
Menzies' who fell at the battle;" and Mr. Theo-
dore Napier made a stirring speech. The
Stuart sentiment and the glamour attaching to
the name of "Bonny Prince Charlie " still live
in the Highlands.
The Exterminatino Acts.
Several of the chiefs and chieftains concerned
in the rebellion were forfeited and lost their
estates, although some were afterwards restored;
and two Acts were passed shortly after Cul-
loden, with the object of e.\ terminating the
clans. The first was an Act of 174G, which has
been described as the most " brutal " in concep-
tion and design which has probably ever found
a place on the Statute Book. It provided for
the disarmament of the Highlanders, proscribed
the wearing of the Highland dress and every-
thing connected with it, required the registra-
tion of all schools, a certificate and oath from
all clergymen, schoolmasters, teachers of youth,
private chaplains and tutors in families, while
parents were jirohibited from sending their chil-
dren to any but registered schools and teacliers ;
prayers were enjoined for His Majesty, his heirs
and successors, and for the royal family when-
ever a prayer was said. Infringement of any of
these provisions entailed heavy pains and penal-
ties. The country was harried by English sol-
diers in search of arms. For having or bearing
arms or warlike weapons the penalty was £1.'),
and for concealing arms £100 : on non-payment
the convicted persons, if fit, were sentenced to
serve as soldiers in America. The Government
knew their fighting qualities — they had had
enough of them — and considered this a good
way of recruiting for America, where British
soldiers were then badly wanted. They got rid
of many by this means. If unfit for soldiers they
were to suffer imprisonment for six months and
find bail. In the case of women convicted they
were, in addition to the fine, to suffer six months'
imprisonment in the nearest Tolhooth. Second
offences were punishable with seven years' trans-
portation beyond the seas. But the most dia-
bolical part of the proceedings was the oath of
"good att'ection " (!) extracted from them, which
was in these terms : " I, A. B., do swear, as I
shall answer to God at the great day of judg-
ment, I have not, nor shall have, in my posses-
sion any gun, sword, pistol, or arm whatsoever,
and never use tartan, plaid, or any part of the
Highland garb ; and if I do so may I be cursed
in my undertakings, family, and property ; may
I never see my wife and children, father, mother,
or relations ; may I be killed in battle as a
coward, and lie without Christian burial in a
strange land, far from the grave of my fore-
fathers and kindled ; may all this come across
me if I break my oath." Those who refused to
take this awful oath were treated as rebels. No
wonder that within a short time the Highlands
were cleared of fighting men. For the first ten
years the Act was vigorously enforced, and it
was not till 1782 it was repealed. The second
Act was passed in 1748, and abolished the
heritable jurisdiction of the Highland chiefs.
These two Acts gave the death-blow to the clan
system.
The Highland Exodus.
At first the Highlanders, we are told, bore
their wrongs patiently, but between 1763 and
177.5 upwards of 20,000 emigrated across the
Atlantic. Referring to later emigrations, Mr.
Frank Adam says: "Another large exodus of
Highland families took place between 1810 and
the middle of the jiresent century. The Act of
1748 had, by 1810, borne the fruit which the
the Government had counted on Many chiefs
had ceased to be solicitous for the welfare of
their clansmen. Many, too, preferred the luxury
of the English Metropolis to the homely joys of
Highland life, and needed money to indulge in
the luxuries and pleasures of the south. To
increase their revenues, many Highland land-
owners, during the period above alluded to,
cleared out their tenantry from large tracts of
country, in order to make room for extensive
sheep farms The result of these proceedings
was a wholesale emigration from the Highlands.
In some cases entire clans sought new homes in
the colonies. In Canada especially, large tracts
were colonised by Highlanders driven from
home, not by war, nor, at this time, by Govern-
ment, but by their own chiefs and by sheep.'"*
And, it may be added, to make way for deer
forests. Instead of soldiers for our army, the
Highland hills and straths are now peopled by
sheep and deer. In this magazine tor March
of this year, Mr. Beaton, in his article on "The
Social Condition of the Highlands Since 1800,"
says that between 1773-75 30,000 persons from
various parts of the Highlands crossed the
Atlantic, hut it was not until about the begin-
ning of the present century that the tide of
emigration reached its full height, when the
* What is my Tartan.