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A Critical Examination of Dr. Macculloch's Work on the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland
A Critical Examination of Dr Macculloch's Work on the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland Author:James Browne General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1825 Original Publisher: Printed for Daniel Lizars Subjects: Highlands (Scotland) Hebrides (Scotland) History / General History / Europe / Great Britain Travel / Europe / General Travel / Europe / Great Britain Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the o... more »riginal. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: HIGHLAND ECONOMY AND POPULATION. So much, then, for the fidelity and accu-' racy of Dr. Macculloch's statements respecting the character and manners of the Highlanders, and for the literary merits of this magnum opus. The former have been impugned on grounds too firm to be shaken ; of the latter, from the foregoing criticisms, the reader will be enabled to form his own judgment. The way being therefore'cleared, we shall now, in conformity with our design, proceed to examine, as briefly as possible, those of the Doctor's economical statements and doctrines, which are intended to serve either as an apology for the violent changes which have been already effect- ed, or as a recommendation for the further extension of the system presently in operation in the north of Scotland. Every body has remarked how thoroughly the spirit of change has become incorporated with the public mind of the age. We shall not stop at present to inquire whether this be a natural consequence of the general diffusion of knowledge, and the dissemination of what are called liberal opinions, or a result of circumstances and principles accidentally developed by the course of political events ; the fact itself is admitted on all hands ; and the best evidence of it is, that the men who profess an anti-reformatory creed, resist all projects of general improvement, and are never weary extolling " the wisdom of our ancestors" and ...« less