Karl Marx 
Attack upon Sevastopol—Clearing of Estates in Scotland 

New-York Daily Tribune. 
Nr.4095, 2. Juni 1854 

From Our Own Correspondent. 

London, Friday, May 19, 1854. 

The "first attack upon Sevastopol," of which we have a telegraphic an- 
nouncement in to-day's papers, seems to be about the same glorious exploit 
as the bombardment of Odessa, where both parties claimed the victory. The 
attack is described as having been made by means of shells projected from 
"long-ranging" guns, and directed against the outward fortifications. That 
you cannot attack the harbor of Sevastopol or the town itself by guns of any 
range without going up the bay and coming to close quarters with the protect- 
ing batteries, and that you cannot take it at all without the assistance of a 
considerable landing army, is evident from a glance at the map, and is, 
moreover, conceded by every military authority. The operation, if it has 
really taken place, is therefore to be considered as a sham exploit, for the 
edification of the same gobe-mouches whose patriotism is elated by the 
laurels of Odessa. 

The French Government has sent M. Bourrée on an extraordinary mission 
to Greece. He goes accompanied by a brigade under command of General 
Forey, and has orders to claim from King Otho immediate payment of the 
whole interest of the one hundred millions of francs advanced by France to 

the Greek Government in 1828. In case of refusal, the French are to occupy 
Athens and divers other points of the kingdom. 

Your readers will remember my description of the process of clearing 
estates in Ireland and Scotland, which within the first half of this century 
swept away so many thousands of human beings from the soil of their fathers. 
The process still continues, and with a vigor quite worthy of that virtuous, 
refined, religious, philanthropic aristocracy of this model country. Houses 
are either fired or knocked to pieces over the heads of the helpless inmates. 
At Neagaat in Knoydart, the house of Donald Macdonald, a respectable, 
honest, hard-working man, was attacked last autumn by the landlord's order. 

Karl Marx 

His wife was confined to bed unfit to be removed, yet the factor and his 
ruffians turned out Macdonald's family of six children, all under 15 years 
of age, and demolished the house with the exception of one small bit of the 
roof over his wife's bed. 

The man was so affected that his brain gave way. He has been declared 
insane by medical men, and he is now wandering about looking for his 
children among the ruins of the burnt and broken cottages. His starving 
children are crying around him, but he knows them not, and he is left roaming 
at large unaided and uncared for, because his insanity is harmless. 

Two married females in an advanced stage of pregnancy had their houses 
pulled down about their ears. They had to sleep in the open air for many 
nights, and the consequence was that, amid excruciating sufferings, they had 
premature births, their reason became affected, and they are wandering 
about with large families, helpless and hopeless imbeciles, dreadful witnesses 
against that class of persons called the British aristocracy. 

Even children are driven mad by terror and persecution. At Doune, in 
Knoydart, the cottagers were evicted and took refuge in an old storehouse. 
The agents of the landlord surrounded that storehouse in the dead of night 
and set fire to it as the poor outcasts were cowering beneath its shelter. 
Frantic they rushed from the flames, and some were driven mad by terror. 
The Northern Ensign newspaper says: "That one boy is deranged; that he 
will require to be placed in confinement; he jumps out of bed crying, ‘Fire! 
fire!' and assures those near him that there are men and children in the 
burning storehouse. Whenever night approaches he is terrified at the sight 
of fire. The awful sight at Doune, when the storehouse was in flames, il- 
ruminating the district—when men, women and children ran about half frantic 
with fear, gave such a shock to his reason." 

Such is the conduct of the aristocracy to the able-bodied poor who make 
them rich. Listen now to their parochial mercies. I extract the following cases 
from the work of Mr. Donald Ross, of Glasgow, and from The Northern 
Ensign: 

"1. Widow Matherson, aged 96, has only 2s. 6d. per month from the parish 
of Strath, Skye. 

2. Murdo Macintosh, aged 36 years, is totally disabled, by reason of acart 
falling on him fourteen months ago. He has a wife and seven children; the 
oldest 11 years, the youngest 1 year, and all that the parish of Strath allows 
him is 5 s. per month. 

3. Widow Samuel Campbell, aged 77, residing at Broadford, Skye, ina 
wretched house, had Is. 6d. a month from the parish of Strath. She com- 
plained that it was inadequate, and the parochial authorities, after much 

grudging, increased it to 2s. per month. 

Attack upon Sevastopol—Clearing of Estates in Scotland 

4. Widow M'Kinnon, aged 72, parish of Strath, Skye, has 2s. 6d. per 
month. 

5.Donald M'Dugald, aged 102 years, resides at Knoydart. His wife is aged 
77 years, and both are very frail. They only receive 3s. 4d. eachinthe month 

from the parish of Glenelg. 

6. Mary M'Donald, a widow, aged 93 years, and confined to bed. Her 
husband was in the army, and there he lost an arm. He died 20 years ago. 
She has 4s. 4d. in the month from the parish of Glenelg. 

7. Alexander M'Isaac, aged 53 years, totally disabled, has a wife aged 
40 years; has a blind son aged 18 years; and four children under 14 years 
of age. The parish of Glenelg allows this wretched family only 6s. 6d. per 
month between them, just about Is. each per month. 

8. Angus M'Kinnon, aged 72, has a ruptured wife aged 66 years. They have 
2s. 2d. each per month. 

9. Mary M'Isaac, aged 80 years, frail and stone blind, has 3s. 3d. amonth 
from the parish of Glenelg. When she asked more, the Inspector said: 'You 
should be ashamed to ask more when others have less ;' and refused to listen 
to her. 

10. Janet M'Donald, or M'Gillivray, aged 77 years, and totally disabled, 
has only 3s. 3d. per month. 

11. Catherine Gillies, aged 78 years, and totally disabled, has only 3s. 3d. 
from the parish of Glenelg. 

12. Mary Gillies, or Grant, aged 82 years, and for the last eight years 
confined to bed, gets twenty-eight pounds of meal and 8d. inthe month from 

the parish of Ardnamurchan. The Inspector of poor did not visit her for the 
last two years; and she gets no medical aid, no clothing, no nutrition. 

13.John M'Eachan, aged 86 years, and bed-ridden, resides at Auchachraig, 
parish of Ardnamurchan, has just one pound of meal a day, and 8d. of money 
in the month from said parish. He has no clothing nor anything else. 

14. Ewen M'Callum, aged 93 years, and has sore eyes, I found begging on 
the banks of the Crinan Canal, parish [of] Knapdale, Argyllshire. He has just 
4s. 8d. in the month; nothing whatever in the way of clothing, medical aid, 
fuel or lodgings. He is now a moving collection of rags, and a most wretched- 
looking pauper. 

15. Kate Macarthur, aged 74, and bed-ridden, lives alone at Dunardy, 
parish of Knapdale. She has 4s. 8d. per month from the parish, but nothing 
else. No doctor visits her. 

16. Janet Kerr, or M'Callum; a widow, aged 78 years, in bad health; has 
6s. a month from the parish of Glassary. She has no house, and has no aid 
but the money allowance. 

17. Archibald M'Laurin, aged 73, parish of Appin, totally disabled; wife 

Karl Marx 

also disabled; have 3s. 4d. each per month in the name of parish relief—no 
fuel, clothing or lodging. They live in a wretched hovel, unfit for human 
beings. 

18. Widow Margaret M'Leod, aged 81 years; lives at Coigach, parish of 
Lochbroom; has 3s. a month. 

19. Widow John Mackenzie, 81 years, resided at Ullapool, parish of 
Lochbroom. She is stone blind and in very bad health, and has just 2s. a 
month. 

20. Widow Catherine M'Donald, aged 87 years, Island of Luing, parish of 
Kilbrandon; stone blind and confined to bed. Is allowed 7s. a month in name 
of aliment; out of which she has to pay anurse. Her house fell to the ground, 
and yet the parish refused to provide a lodging for her, and she is lying in 
an open out-house on the earthen floor. The Inspector declines doing 
anything for her." 

But the ruffianism ends not here. A slaughter has been perpetrated at 
Strathcarron. Excited to frenzy by the cruelty of the evictions and the further 
ones that were expected, a number of women gathered in the streets on 
hearing that a number of sheriff's officers were coming to clear out the 
tenantry. The latter, however, were Excisemen, and not sheriff's officers; 
but on hearing that their real character was mistaken, these men instead of 
correcting the mistake, enjoyed it—gave themselves out for sheriff's officers, 
and said they came to turn the people out and were determined to do so. On 
the group of women becoming excited, the officers presented a loaded pistol 
at them. What followed we extract from the letter of Mr. Donald Ross, who 
went over from Glasgow to Strathcarron, and spent two days in the district, 
collecting information and examining the wounded. His letter is dated Royal 
Hotel, Tain, April 15, 1854, and states as follows: 

"My information goes to show a shameful course of conduct on the part 
of the sheriff. He did not warn the people of the intention on his part to let 
the police loose on them. He read no Riot Act. He did not give them time 
to disperse; but, on the contrary, the moment he approached with his force, 
stick in hand, cried out: 'Clear the way,' and inthe next breath said: 'Knock 
them down,' and immediately a scene ensued which baffles description. The 
policemen laid their heavy batons on the heads of the unfortunate females 
and leveled them to the ground, jumped and trampled upon them after they 
were down, and kicked them in every part of their bodies with savage 
brutality. The field was soon covered with blood. The cries of the women 
and of the boys and girls, lying weltering in their blood, was rending the very 
heavens. Some of the females, pursued by the policemen, jumped into the 
deep and rapid-rolling Carron, trusting to its mercies more than to that of 
the policeman or the sheriff. There were females who had parcels of their 

Attack upon Sevastopol—Clearing of Estates in Scotland 

hair torn out by the batons of the policemen, and one girl had apiece ofthe 
flesh, about seven inches long by one and a quarter broad, and more than 
a quarter of an inch thick, torn off her shoulder by a violent blow with a baton. 
A young girl, who was only a mere spectator, was run after by three police- 
men. They struck her on the forehead, cut open her skull, and after she fell 
down they kicked her. The doctor abstracted from the wound a portion of 
the cap sunk into it by the baton of the savage police. The marks of their 
hobnails are still visible in her back shoulders. There are still in Strathcarron 
thirteen females in a state of great distress, owing to the brutal beating they 
received at the hands of the police. Three of these are so ill that their medical 
attendant has no hopes whatever of their recovery. It is my own firm con- 
viction, from the appearance of these females and the dangerous nature of 
their wounds, coupled with medical reports which I have procured, that not 
one-half of these injured persons will recover; and all of them, should they 
linger on for a time, will bear about on their persons sad proofs of the horrid 
brutality to which they had been subjected. Among the number seriously 
wounded is a woman advanced in pregnancy. She was not among the crowd 
who met the Sheriff, but at a considerable distance, just looking on; but she 
was violently struck and kicked by the policemen, and she is in a very 
dangerous condition." 

We may further add that the women who were assailed numbered only 
eighteen. The name of the sheriff is Taylor. 

Such is a picture of the British aristocracy in the year 1854. 

The authorities and Government have come to an arrangement that the 
prosecution against Cowell, Grimshaw and the other Preston leaders shall 
be withdrawn, if the investigation against the magistrates and cotton lords 
of Preston is withdrawn also. The latter was accordingly done, pursuant to 
this arrangement. 

Mr. Duncombe's postponement for a fortnight of his motion for a Com- 
mittee of Inquiry into the conduct of the Preston magistrates, is said to be 
in pursuance of the above arrangement. 

Karl Marx.