ABSTRACT
The programme for the Sutherland economy consisted of a sequence of clearances from the interior straths, and a simultaneous creation of vigorous coastal settlements which would generate a diversified range of employment opportunities for the majority of the population. It had been launched on the wave of improvement which, with the help of Dempster and Sinclair, reached Sutherland before the turn of the century—years of optimism and rising prices. The drive of Young and Sellar, and the deteriorating economic condition of the inland peasantry, gave added impetus and urgency. The implementation of the policy had met both passive and active resistance from the common people, and an increasingly hostile public opinion.
