JOHN M 'DONALD. Cottar, Lonmore (64)—examined.
4051. The Chairman.
—Have you been freely elected a delegate by the people of Lonmore ?
—Yes.
4052. How long have you been resident there ?
—Four years.
4053. Where did you come from ?
—Watemish.
4054. Are you a fisherman as well as a cottar ?
—I was a fisherman also when I was in Waternish.
4055. What statement have you to make on the part of the people of Lonmore ?
—Another man and I are the only persons living in Lonmore. I was put away from Waternish because of a dispute that was between the M'Fie's and the proprietor, and I was cited as a witness for the M'Fie's. I was on the property then possessed by Mr Gordon M'Leod, and when Captain MacDonald became proprietor, he put me out of my holding, because I told the truth at the Court at Portree.
4056. How did you come to settle at Lonmore?
—I came to be a shepherd to Mr Mackenzie, who was then in Struan in Bracadale, and when he left Struan I had to leave my house. When Mr Mackenzie came to Lonmore I had to leave my house there, and I could not get a place from a landlord. I even reached Raasay, until I came to Mr M'Callum, parish minister in Duirinish, and he gave me a place by the river side. I have not much more to say.
4057. Mr Fraser-Mackintosh.
—Are you complaining at Lonmore ?
— No ; but the reason why I could not get a place about here was that the township was already crowded, and that the captain put my brother and myself away.
4058. The Chairman.
—If I understood you rightly, there are only two cottars at Lonmore. By whom were you elected a delegate ?
—The people of Kilmuir.
4059. Then what have you got to say on the part of the people of Kihnuir ?
—Only that they are very poorly off.
4060. Were there ever any crofters at Lonmore ?
—No; it is only a small place. It is only a small bit of peat land that I have taken in myself, and it is because I could not get a place anywhere else that I took it.
4061. Mr Fraser-Mackintosh.
—But have you anything to say about the people of Kilmuir?
—That they have not a place in which they can keep sheep. A poor man cannot be well off without having sheep.
4062. The Chairman.
—Had they any common pasture at a previous time ?
—Yes, I believe so.
4063. Do you know for certain that they had?
—I am not sure, because it is only eight years since I came.
4064. Is there any other delegate from Kilmuir ?
—Yes, William M'Leod and Roderick Steel.
4065. Has William M'Leod been long resident at Kilmuir ?
—Yes.
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