The Scottish Land Restoration League was a

Georgist Georgism, also called in modern times Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from Land (economics), ...

political party.

History

In the 1880s,

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

was still in process in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

, and resistance to it often received support from radicals around Britain and Ireland. Branches of the

Irish Land League The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farme ...

, founded in 1879 to campaign against

landlordism Concentration of land ownership refers to the ownership of land in a particular area by a small number of people or organizations. It is sometimes defined as additional concentration beyond that which produces optimally efficient land use. Distri ...

, had been set up in Scotland, but the League was wound up in 1883. In 1884,

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

toured the Highlands and major cities of Scotland on the invitation of the English Land Reform Union. Touring with Edward McHugh, he spoke on his theory of

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultura ...

. The tour culminated with a large meeting Glasgow on 18 February 1884, chaired by John Murdoch. Almost 2,000 people signed up, on the initiative of

Richard McGhee Richard McGhee (1851 –7 April 1930) was an Irish Protestant Nationalist home rule politician. A Georgist Land League and trade union activist, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...

, to form an organisation to propagate and campaign for George's ideas. This group was formed as the "Scottish Land Restoration League". William Forsyth became its first President, and McHugh its first Secretary. The group immediately spread to other cities around the nation. Among those who joined were many former members of the Land League. A second tour by George at the end of 1884 attracted less attention, and McHugh was accused of mismanaging its publicity. Already, the League was in decline, and when it stood five candidates in the 1885 general election, they received a total of only 2,359 vote

McGhee soon assumed the Presidency of the League. In 1888, some members, around

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...

, formed the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak of ...

, and ceased to work with the League. McGhee left his post in 1889, to become honorary President of the

National Union of Dock Labourers The National Union of Dock Labourers (NUDL) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1889 and 1922. History It was formed in Glasgow in 1889 but moved its headquarters to Liverpool within a few years and was thereafter ...

. Alexander Bowman was elected as the League's new President the following year. The League merged with the Henry George Institute and the South Side Single Tax Association and renamed itself the Scottish Land Restoration Federation. Two further organisations were born of the demise of the League—the Scottish Land Restoration Union and the Scottish League for the Taxation of Land Values. Bowman left this post in 1892, but the organisation continued, with a much lower profile, renaming itself as the Scottish Single Tax League. In 1904, it was again renamed, as the Scottish League for the Taxation of Land Values. F. W. S. Craig, ''Minor Parties at British Parliamentary Elections''

Election results

1885 UK general election

Scottish Land Restoration League 1885 contested seats

References

*Henry George, Jr,
The Life of Henry George: Third Period
' *Mairtin O'Caithain,

' *John D. Wood,

' *Graham Boyd,

' * ttp://www.palgrave.com/pdfs/0333968727.pdf

External links

* ttps://archive.org/details/moseslecturedeli00geor ''Moses : a lecture ... delivered in St. Andrew's Hall, Glasgow, December 28, 1884'' Glasgow : Scottish Single Tax League {{Defunct political parties in Scotland Defunct political parties in Scotland Political parties established in 1884 Georgist parties 1884 establishments in Scotland 1904 disestablishments in Scotland Politics of Highland (council area) Taxation in Scotland Defunct agrarian political parties Land reform in Scotland Political parties disestablished in 1904

History

Election results

1885 UK general election

See also

References

External links