Scottish Court of Session Decisions

Under the act 6 and 7 W. IV. c. 42, Lord Macdonald, as heir of entail in possession of the estates of Macdonald and others, in Skye, and also proprietor, in fee-simple, of the estate of Strath, after having given the requisite notice, petitioned the Court to remit to valuators to report on the value of the lands of Strath, and also of a portion of the entailed estate in the island of North Uist, and thereafter to authorize an excambion of these lands. The Court remitted to two persons, a land-surveyor, and a land-factor, “to inspect and adjust the value, and settle the marches of the lands, estate, or heritages proposed to be excambed; as also to report whether the proposed excambion be not liable to any of the exceptions mentioned in section 4th of the statute, and to report upon oath thereafter.”

A report was returned, which bore, inter alia, that the value of the whole entailed estates was £321,374; that the value of the portion of the entailed estate in North Uist which it was proposed to excamb, was £71,158, being £9185 less than one fourth of the value of the whole estates, and therefore within the limits of the statute. The reporters also stated, that the said portion of North Uist did not contain any mansion-house, and was otherwise free of the exceptions in section 4th of the statute: and as it was part of an island which was detached and comparatively distant from the other entailed lands, while the lands of Strath lay in the heart of them, it was eminently for the advantage of the entailed estate that the excambion should be made.

The value of the fee-simple lands of Strath was estimated at £72,699. In bringing out that sum the reporters stated, that the lands were of a highly improvable nature, which they had taken into account, and further, that they had specially considered the great adventitious value belonging to the lands of Strath, as lying in the heart of the entailed estate, and which entitled the proprietor of these lands, in selling to the proprietor of the entailed estate, to a considerably larger price than the natural value of the lands of Strath would otherwise have produced. On this subject the report bore: “So extremely important and desirable do the reporters consider the acquisition of Strath as an integral part of the entailed estate, that, besides estimating it as worth two years' purchase more than the other Macdonald estates in Skye, on account of its great capabilities of improvement, they have allowed £5000 additional, as what they humbly conceive a fair consideration for the other local advantages, as already noticed, arising to the proprietor from the proposed excambion.”

On considering this report, the Court thought it desirable, especially as there was no contradictor appearing, that the reporters should state more specifically the grounds on which they had added the sum of £5000 to the value of the lands of Strath. Their Lordships accordingly “of new, remitted to the reporters to explain more specifically the grounds on which they proposed to allow £5000 ‘for the advantage of connecting the Macdonald entailed estates together, by the excambion of Uist for Strath.’”

Under this new remit the reporters stated, that, as the lands of Strath lay, they intersected a deer-forest, and also a considerable farm, both of which lay partly in the entailed, and partly in the unentailed estates, and would be materially injured if the lands of Strath passed into the hands of a different proprietor from the heir of entail of the Macdonald estates. But they farther stated, that the main ground on which they originally put the extra valuation of £5000 on Strath, and still adhered to that valuation, was their knowledge, as men acquainted with land, and particularly the estates in question, that a party selling the lands of Strath to the proprietor of the entailed lands, would be entitled to receive a considerably larger sum from such entailed proprietor, than from any other purchaser; because, not merely for amenity, but in point of real commercial value, the entailed estates would benefit more, by the addition of Strath, than any other purchaser would gain by acquiring it. And the reporters added, that they considered they had put a low estimate on this item of value in stating it at £5000.

On considering the additional report, the Court approved of it.