Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
The Scotch landlords are not, as a rule, cruel or unjust. On the
contrary, some of them are exceedingly kind and generous to their
tenants, and have spent large sums of money in making improvements which
add greatly to the prosperity and comfort of those who live on their
estates. Many of them recognize the right of their tenants to occupy
their holdings without interruption so long as the rent is paid
regularly. The natural tendency, however, to insist upon their legal
rights and to make the most they can out of their estates has led to not
a few cases of hardship and injustice. A few such instances in a
community are talked over for years, and often seriously interfere with
the contentment and industry of many families. The traditions and
recollections of the many evictions which have occurred during this
century have often caused the motives of the best landlords to be
suspected and their most benevolent acts to be misunderstood by their
tenants. The crofter system has been an extremely bad one in many
respects. There cannot be much interest in making improvements where the
tenant must build the houses, fences, stables, etc., but has no
guarantee that he will not be turned out of his holding or have his rent
so increased as practically to compel him to leave the place. The
kindness and humanity of the landlords have in many instances mitigated
the worst evils of the system; but, while human nature remains as it is,
no matter how just and generous individual landlords may be, general
prosperity and contentment are impossible under the present
arrangements. The discontent and discouragement caused by the action of
the less kind and considerate landlords and agents frequently extend to
crofters who have no just grounds of complaint, and troubles and
hardships resulting from idleness or improvidence or other causes are
often attributed to the injustice of the laws or the cruelty of the
landlords.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account