Ossian Collection > Romance of the Highlands

THE CLEARANCES. 257
The Forestry Commissioners are doing good work
in carrying out a programme of afforestation. Holdings
for the forest workers, at the rate of five holdings for every
thousand acres of plantable ground, is part of their
policy, and at the end of last year 137 of these holdings
were in the course of formation, 61 being completed and
52 occupied. By this and similar means the Govern-
ment is endeavouring to stem the tide of depopulation
in the Highlands.
It has been adduced that previous to the clearances
the people were very poor and that the land was not able
to support their numbers. This is only partly true. At
times there may have been a considerable amount of
destitution — there were famines in those days in every
part of the land — but the people were never as poor in
comparison as an unemployed workman of the present
day. That they bled their cattle and mixed the blood with
their oatmeal is no criterion. They bled their stock
believing that the operation did the animals good and
because they relished the dish. It served a double
purpose. Everv country and almost every district has
some particular dietary acceptable to itself but probably
objectionable to others. One thing stands out clearly —
that they were always able to support themselves and
never sought any sort of eleemosynary relief.
If the object of the clearances was carried out for the
purpose of reducing poverty it had the directly opposite
effect. How could it be otherwise? The people were
forced into miserable plots exposed to all the severities of
the storms that came from the sea. They were huddled
into little townships and expected to get a livelihood from
fishing, as if a landsman could be made a fisherman by a
wave of the hand ! The result was that they were soon
unable to pay rent. Many landlords refused them the
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