- The trial of Patrick Sellar, by Ian Grimble
- A Review by David Reid Mackay
It was ten o’clock in the morning of April 23, 1816. Little did the jurors know that they would still be there after midnight. This was the trial of Patrick Sellar, factor for the Countess of Sutherland. He was charged with culpable homicide, real injury, and oppression, which had occurred during the clearances on the Sutherland estates. It was Sellar who ordered the house of William Chisholm to be set fire for not obeying the eviction order. In the house was Chisholm’s mother-in-law, Margaret Mackay. She was 100 years old and bed-ridden. Her blankets were burnt and she was taken to a small byre and died five days later. The jury, which was made up of eight local property owners, two merchants, and one lawyer, took only 30 minutes to deliberate and acquitted Sellar of all his crimes.
Witness after witness implicated Sellar but he had done his homework, Sellar presented letters from respected people establishing his “humanity of disposition”. His witnesses presented “evidence” that in several instances regarding the sick; Mr. Sellar was most “humane”. The jury was instructed to only take into account the burning of barns and of the house. Lord Pitmilly, Lord Commissioner of Justiciary, said, “This witness, although contradicted in some particulars by his wife, was confirmed by John Mackay. He instructed that “if the jury were at all at a loss on this part of the case, they ought to review the character of the accused; for this was always of importance in balancing contradictory testimony.”
Grimble devotes just one chapter to the actual trial. The remaining eleven chapters of this little book are devoted to the repercussions the results of this trial sent through out the Highlands, Europe, and even to the shores of North America.
In these eleven chapters Grimble discusses the activities of the next 70 years. He includes the comments of several individuals, the establishment and investigations of the Napier Commission, which resulted in the passing of the Poor Law Bill. He develops the character of the outspoken stone mason, Donald Macleod, who brought on the wrath of the Sutherlands, almost destroying him and his wife and children. Macleod’s, Gloomy memories along with the publication in 1889 of Memorabilia Domestica by the Reverend Donald Sage begins to bring to the attention of the world the atrocities of the Highlands.
The story is told of how the Sutherlands tried to repair their damaged reputation by completely duping and using Harriet Beecher Stowe, of Uncle Tom’s Cabin fame. Harriet brought back wonderful tales to the ladies of America how charming the Countess of Sutherland and other nobles had been on her recent visit to the Highlands. This naive lady from Cincinnati, Ohio, daughter of an abolitionist preacher, was completely taken in by lavish entertainment at the house of Stafford. According to Grimble “there is nothing …in her Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands that bears any resemblance to her authoritative statements (supported by documents of which she could not have had any knowledge before she entered Stafford House) concerning the administration of Sutherland during the past forty years”
James Loch, William Young, the large estate owners represented by the Earls of Sutherland, and the politicians attempted to cover up what had happened to the people. Sellar’s role was really only a minor part of an overall policy of greed and prejudice toward the Gaelic people of whom most were Mackays.
This fascinating book of just 154 pages tells a lot of history of the Clan Mackay. It gets very personal into the lives of the common folk, and points out what little support was offered by the Chiefs. Grimble states, “It is a minor wonder of our own day that any respect is still paid to the concept of clan chiefship; even in its surviving milieu, the social gathering in Edinburgh or the association of heirs to the clan name in Australia, New Zealand, and America.” There is little respect among the population of Strathnaver for the old ways. He continues to point out that, “what survives is mutual loyalty, (to the immediate family relationships) reinforced by the strange circumstance that is perhaps the last part of Britain in which many people still possess four grandparents all having the same name. It is still Duthaich ‘Ic Aoidh, the land of the Mackays.
The book is a must reading for those interested in the history of the Mackays.
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