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33-613: The Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 ( 49 & 50 Vict. c. 29) ( Scottish Gaelic : Achd na Croitearachd 1886 ) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created legal definitions of crofting parish and crofter , granted security of land tenure to crofters and produced the first Crofters Commission , a land court which ruled on disputes between landlords and crofters . The same court ruled on whether parishes were or were not crofting parishes. In many respects

66-417: A crofting parish was a parish where there were year-by-year tenants of land (tenants without leases) who were paying less than £30 a year in rent and who had possessed effective common grazing rights during the 80 years since 24 June 1806. The Crofters' Commission also was in charge of establishing fair rent and reevaluating rents every seven years. If crofters believed that the rent was too high they had

99-521: A population of 5 million. There has been a steady flow of primary legislation on crofting, including: This is summarised in David Findlay's Blog for the Law Society of Scotland. 49 %26 50 Vict. Note that the first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either parliaments of Great Britain or of Ireland ). For acts passed up until 1707, see

132-514: A uniform household (freeholder and leaseholder) franchise to all parliamentary boroughs and counties in the United Kingdom . Section 3 : Men inhabiting a dwelling-house as an employee, whose employer did not live there, were to be treated for franchise purposes as if they were occupying as tenants. Section 4 : Prohibition of multiplicity of votes. This was not to stop people acquiring multiple votes in different constituencies ( plural voting

165-469: Is cited as "39 & 40 Geo. 3 c. 67", meaning the 67th act passed during the session that started in the 39th year of the reign of George III and which finished in the 40th year of that reign. Note that the modern convention is to use Arabic numerals in citations (thus "41 Geo. 3" rather than "41 Geo. III"). Acts of the last session of the Parliament of Great Britain and the first session of the Parliament of

198-634: The 1880 general election , before the passing of the Act, 3,040,050 voters were registered, while in the 1885 general election , after the passing of the Act, there were 5,708,030 registered voters. The bill was so objectionable to the House of Lords that Gladstone was forced to separate the legislation into two bills, the second being the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 , which redistributed constituencies in order to equalise representation within constituencies across

231-652: The 24th Parliament of the United Kingdom , which met from 5 August 1886 until 25 September 1886. No private acts were passed during this session. Representation of the People Act 1884 In the United Kingdom under the premiership of William Gladstone , the Representation of the People Act 1884 ( 48 & 49 Vict. c. 3), also known informally as the Third Reform Act , and the Redistribution Act of

264-692: The Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 1976 in which crofters gained the legal right to purchase their land for fifteen years' rent. However, by owning their own land, crofters lost the right to CCAGS ( Crofting Counties Agricultural Grant Scheme ). In the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 the right of purchase was given to community organizations even against the will of landowners, to advance social and economic development. The Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 granted equality between tenants and landowners, especially with regard to grants and obligations and clarified

297-480: The general election of 1885. Agitation took the form of rent strikes (withholding rent payments) and land raids (occupying land which the landlord had reserved for hunting or sheep). The Act itself did not quell the agitation. In particular it was very weak in terms of enabling the Crofters Commission to resolve disputes about access to land. It was enough however to make much more acceptable, politically,

330-466: The list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland . For acts passed from 1707 to 1800, see the list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain . See also the list of acts of the Parliament of Ireland . For acts of the devolved parliaments and assemblies in the United Kingdom, see the list of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of

363-415: The Act did not delineate the position of cotters , who had never had land. After a while, they saw that the commission was willing to protect their rights, especially with regard to rent security . Unfortunately, the commission was underfunded and there was not enough land to distribute to crofters. The Act did not resolve the greatest complaint of the crofters, that the land should be returned to them. There

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396-675: The Act was modelled on the Irish Land Acts of 1870 and 1881 . By granting the crofters security of tenure, the Act put an end to the Highland Clearances . The Act was largely a result of crofters' agitation which had become well organised and very persistent in Skye and of growing support, throughout the Highlands , for the Crofters Party , which had gained five members of parliament in

429-618: The Isle of Skye and Tiree . In the years after the Act, Comunn Gàidhealach Ath-Leasachadh an Fhearainn (now called Dionnasg an Fhearainn , "the Land League") and the Crofters' Party the political influence that they had had, because they could not agree on the issue of land and how far to follow the "Home Rule" movement in Ireland on the issue of land ownership. This opinion was raised again in

462-519: The Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also the list of acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . The number shown after each act's title is its chapter number. Acts passed before 1963 are cited using this number, preceded by the year(s) of the reign during which the relevant parliamentary session was held; thus the Union with Ireland Act 1800

495-557: The UK. The 1884 Reform Act did not establish universal suffrage : although the size of the electorate was increased considerably, all women and 40% of men were still without the vote. Male suffrage varied throughout the kingdom, too: in England and Wales, two in three adult males had the vote; in Scotland, three in five did; but in Ireland, the figure was only one in two. Section 2 : This extended

528-583: The United Kingdom are both cited as "41 Geo. 3". Acts passed from 1963 onwards are simply cited by calendar year and chapter number. All modern acts have a short title , e.g. the Local Government Act 2003. Some earlier acts also have a short title given to them by later acts, such as by the Short Titles Act 1896 . The first session of the 23rd Parliament of the United Kingdom , which met from 12 January 1886 until 25 June 1886. The first session of

561-413: The details of residency requirements. Now, tenants or owners must live within 32 km (20 miles) of the croft. Crofts not in use may be granted to new tenants. Looking back in history, Hunter believes that the Act established an old-fashioned order, with a place for the tenantry quite different than as in Ireland where crofters could buy their land under "Home Rule" acts. The Act was neither effective in

594-481: The development of crofting communities nor did it encompass the political and social beliefs of those communities. But according to Wightman , the Act paved the road to further land development in Scotland, although it did not affect areas outside the Gàidhealtachd . Wightman also stated that the "land question" has yet to be resolved, as two-thirds of Scotland's land area is still owned by only 1,252 landowners out of

627-475: The following year were laws which further extended the suffrage in the UK after the Derby government's Reform Act 1867 . Taken together, these measures extended the same voting qualifications as existed in the towns to the countryside, more than doubling the electorate in the counties, and essentially established the modern one member constituency as the normal pattern for parliamentary representation. The bill

660-654: The land that they had enjoyed under the clan system from the Middle Ages . Through political and economic development the gentry began to take an alternate perspective on their tenantry: The cultural force of dùthchas [heritage] was pervasive in Gaeldom and was central to the social cohesion of the clan because it articulated the expectations of the masses that the ruling family had the responsibility to act as their protectors and guarantee secure possession of land in return for allegiance, military service, tribute and rental. It

693-527: The lord') was their best-known slogan. The government feared that the "Home Rule" movement would spread to the Gàidhealtachd (Gaelic-speaking areas in Scotland) from Ireland. The Napier Commission interviewed crofters all over the Gàidhealtachd and made careful study of the crofters' position, publishing its report in 1884. William Gladstone tried to pass a new law granting crofters more rights, but it

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726-514: The opportunity to go to the commission. Quite often the rents were lowered or even removed, if the crofters had already been paying too much. The commission had the power to reform the Act and establish other Acts, as well as grant green land to crofters in order to enlarge small crofts. There were different opinions about the Act. On the one hand crofters complained that the Act did not go far enough, because they were not granted automatic right to fertile land for expansion of their small crofts. Worse,

759-480: The rightful owners of the land, crofters used rent strikes and what came to be known as land raids: crofter occupations of land to which crofters believed they should have access for common grazing or for new crofts, but which landlords had given over to sheep farming and hunting parks (called deer forests). The strife grew more intense; the landlords hired warships for protection from the crofters. From time to time there were open uprisings and riots. In 1884 suffrage

792-400: The termination of tenancies. Nothing was suggested in the report, or contained in the Act, to restrict absentee landlordism or limit the amount of land any one individual might own in Scotland, but for the moment a great advantage has been secured." The Act was not fully effective in increasing the equality of land distribution in Scotland. By the year 2000, two-thirds of Scotland's land area

825-550: The use of troops in confrontations with agitators. According to John Lorne Campbell , however, the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 was nothing less than "the Magna Carta of the Highlands and Islands , which conferred on the small tenants there something which the peasantry of Scandinavian countries had known for generations, security of tenure and the right to the principle of compensation for their own improvements at

858-463: Was a powerful and enduring belief which lived on long after the military rationale of clanship itself had disappeared and tribal chiefs had shed their ancient responsibilities and become commercial landlords. Land agitation in Scotland began because of the "Home Rule" movement in Ireland and information and opinions of this movement brought by fishermen to the Outer Hebrides . Believing that they were

891-574: Was extended to men owning land worth at least £ 10 or paying £10 in rent annually. This included many Highland crofters. At a political level the crofters wanted legal rights, so the Comunn Gàidhealach Ath-Leasachadh an Fhearainn ('Highland Land Law Reform Association') was established in 1885 in London . The Crofters' Party was established and elected five MPs in 1885. Is Treasa Tuath na Tighearna ('The people are stronger than

924-413: Was introduced by Gladstone on 28 February 1884. It was initially rejected by the House of Lords on 17 July, but passed a second time and gained royal assent on 6 December of that year. The Act extended the 1867 concessions from the boroughs to the countryside. All men paying an annual rental of £10 and all those holding land valued at £10 now had the vote. This significantly increased the electorate; in

957-506: Was no resolution of the issue where landlords and crofters wanted the same piece of land. On the other hand, the landlords said that there was "communism looming in the future" and The Scotsman wrote that the Act was a "great infringement on the rights of private property.'" The Act did not end the land agitation, because Arthur Balfour believed that the Act gave moral authority to the authorities to quell every uprising to reestablish "law and order." For this reason, warships were sent to

990-570: Was not to confer a county franchise. As many crofters in the Scottish Highlands qualified as £10 occupiers, the Act empowered Scottish Gaels to take action against evictions and rent increases at the end of the Highland Clearances . Their votes led to the formation of the Crofters' Party and Highland Land League , and eventually the passage of the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 , which addressed many of their grievances and put an end to

1023-562: Was still owned by only 1,252 landowners out of a population of 5 million. During the Highland Clearances , the crofters had no official rights to the land. Until 1886, it was legal to evict any crofter at the landlord's convenience. The Land Wars commenced in Scotland in 1874 with the successful legal case of the Bernera Riot on the island of Great Bernera in the Outer Hebrides. The crofters wanted recognition of their traditional rights to

Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-402: Was still permitted), but to restrict sub-division of one property to qualify multiple voters (so-called faggot voters ). Section 5a : A man who was a £10 occupier in a county or borough was to be a voter in that county or borough. This assimilated the previous county occupation franchise and borough occupation franchise into a uniform occupation franchise. Section 6 : Occupation in a borough

1089-852: Was voted down in May 1885. Gladstone left his post in 1885 but the other parties created a new government. Gladstone returned to power in January 1886, and the act was finally passed 25 June 1886. For the first time in Scottish history , the Crofting Act of 1886 affirmed the rights of crofters to their land. It also granted a legal status to crofting towns. The Act dealt with the following points especially: The Act specified eight counties of Scotland as counties where parishes might be recognised as crofting parishes: Argyll , Caithness , Cromarty , Inverness , Orkney , Ross , Shetland , and Sutherland . Within these counties

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