ABSTRACT
Two public bodies, recently created—the Crofters Commission and the Highlands and Islands Development Board—came into existence specifically charged by Parliament, to revive the economy of Gaelic Scotland. The most important part of the 1959 Crofters Commission report dealt with the pressing need for amending legislation to relax the rigid securing of tenure that had sterilised crofting agriculture in an outdated pattern of minute units. The Industrial Estates Management Corporation for Scotland was to be empowered to act as the Board’s agent for building and other work. Throughout the Highlands and Islands, however, the new legislation was widely acclaimed. There were some who saw the Act of Parliament, however, as a lost opportunity to do something really positive for the economic life of the area. The Board’s three hopes for the Highlands—forestry, tourism and general manufacturing are discussed intelligently and hope-fully but nothing new is stated.
