In May 29th 1926 an Evie boy who was supposed to be tending cattle up on the hill decided to set fire to the heather there. Being a dry month the fire spread rapidly and soon had destroyed what was described in the Sheriff Court as ‘one of the most valuable of the shootings on the estate.’
The case came to court in June and the boy, who could not be named due to his young age was represented by the local solicitor William Davie, who entered a plea of guilty on his behalf.
The fire had burned for several days, starting on the Saturday, continuing until Monday and destroying 200 acres of the hillside. The remains of birds were found burned alive in their nests. The Prosecution led by James Begg was more concerned, however, with the financial loss to the estate of the shooting which he said was ruined and would take 5 to 6 years to recover.
In his defence it was claimed that in previous times the boy had seen the heather being burned and therefore did not see any harm in what he was doing. The Sheriff, however, said that may be the case but he must have known there were birds nesting amongst the heather.
The Sheriff was feeling more lenient than he often was. It would have been usual for a crime of this sort to send a young lad away to Industrial School.
The Children Act 1908 made local authorities responsible for the provision of reformatory schools and industrial schools (whether alone, or in combination with other local authorities or by using voluntary schools) and for the maintenance of children sent to these schools. – Prisons and Young People
The Sheriff said that he was going to take ‘an extraordinary course’ and instead of sending the child to an Industrial School he would be put into the care of the local Minister, Rev. D.A. Cameron. The lad was also to attend Sunday School regularly and do what the Minister told him for a year being a form of probation.
Fiona Grahame
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