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of the land which he rents from the proprietor. But the tenantsor small farmers are of a lower class. They hold their posses-sions at the will of the landlord, or of the tacksman, withoutany lease.
The subtenants are still inferior to these. They hold theirpossession, not from the landlord, nor always from the tacks-man, but more generally of the tenant. Yet this last descrip-tion constitutes the great bulk of the inhabitants of the High-lands of Scotland . They are all tenants at will. They have nolease ; but lie at the mercy of the tacksman or tenant.
This mode of setting and subsetting of land, is one great andgeneral bar to the improvement of the Highlands and Isles. Itis a relic of the feudal system, utterly inconsistent with the in-terest of the landlord, the tenant, or the state. Hence manyof the generous and enlightened proprietors of these districtshave already abolished all such tenures.
One of them, who has, since that time, signalized himself inthe service of his king and country, said very handsomely. ‘ Dur-‘ ing my father’s lifetime his tenants had no will but his. They‘ saw with bis eyes, and heard with his ears; for they were all• tenants at will. But I thank God I have not one tenant but4 now feels himself an independent man, and would go to law‘ with me for half a crown. ’
Besides the tenures, properly so called, the agriculture of theHighlands is injured by the privileges annexed to the different
Allotments of Land.
A very ancient valuation of land is still adhered to in a partof the Western Islands and Highlands. By it the whole districtwas divided into shilling, six-penny, and three-penny lands, Scotchmoney. According to the English denomination of money, theyare termed penny, halfpenny, and farthing lands.
The possession of these lands is regulated by this old valua-tion. A large farm, which is held by a tacksman, contains some-times twenty or thirty of these penny lands, or upwards. Buta number of tenants frequently occupy a farm jointly. Somehave a penny, others a halfpenny, and some only a farthing land.Whatever be the real value of the arable land, each has his cat-tle soumed and roamed, as it is called ; i.e. proportioned to thisvaluation.
A common herd of cattle, thus kept on the same spot, and afarm thus cultivated, cannot be profitable or productive. On thecontrary, such a tenure is an effectual bar to the improvement,either of the breed of cattle, or the cultivation of the soil.
Besides the bad proportions of pasture to particular allotments,
Township Possession,
Is another species of tenure, still more hurtful to agriculture.