64707: Excerpt from 1851 Diary re emigration

an excerpt from J M Mackenzie’s diary of 1851; entry of Thursday 23rd January:

…..Wrote to the Lochs, Uig and Barvas Ground officers at considerable length on emigration, stating the offer made to the people by the Proprietor and directing them immediately to make a tour of their several districts to ascertain what number will be got to emigrate volun[t]arily – There are two classes I would propose to emigrate, first all bad payers, say those two years in arrears of rent if able bodied & have no reasonable grounds of excuse for being so far in arrear – Secondly – I would propose to clear whole townships which are generally in arrear and are not conveniently situated for fishing and can be converted into grazings several of which are in the Parish of Uig – The difficulty in sending off the people next Spring who is to purchase their cattle, no dealer can be got to take them so early of the Season, they will be in such low condition that they cannot be driven to market – I fear the proprietor must take them and pay a proportion of their value the rest to go to meet arrears of rent ….