Burning issues: reactions to the Highland Press during the 1885 election campaign

This paper considers the ‘protest’ burning of newspapers in the Highlands in the months immediately preceding the election of November-December 1885. Newspapers took a central role in the Highland Land Agitation, no matter where their political loyalties lay, and the strength of feeling which they awoke among Highlanders is evident in the public burnings of newspapers, particularly those which were perceived to be supporters of the landlords. This paper considers the role which the Highland press played in electioneering as it catered for an expanding and increasingly politicised readership. The dualities of the newspapers, both as purveyors of news, but also featuring in the news, are examined as is the use of Gaelic for electioneering purposes and finally the various reports of newspaper burnings