There was much unrest in the Highlands and Islands in the 1880's, a period of agricultural depression.

The crofters learned of the reforms that had taken place in Ireland after the Irish Land Act of 1881 which provided security of tenure for holdings and judiciously determined rents. This had been due to the vigorous campaigning of men like Charles Parnell. The Highland crofters agitated for similar reforms in Scotland, thus the Highland Land Law Reform Association was founded and crofters were urged to unite in support of local branches.

A branch could not be formed on the Coll Estate as it was in the control of Laird Stewart and his factors and of course they were very 'anti-Land League'. A report in the Oban Times of February 1885 recorded the formation of a branch in the East End of the island. Meetings had been held during the course of the winter in the old school at Struthan, Bousd where the crofters discussed their grievances. At one of the meetings regret was expressed that the ministers of the two island churches had chosen to be minions of the Laird rather than the trusted leaders of the people.

An account was given of how the township of Totronald had been cleared, not by the firebrand but by rack-renting.

John Lome Stewart bought Coll in 1856 and immediately started reorganising the estate for dairy farming. There were six crofts in the Totronald township, total rent of about £78.00. The crofters were ordered to make a certain measurement of drains, each man in his own croft, under the threat of a permanent rise in the rent in any case of non-compliance. All the crofters in the township managed to meet the demands except one who was not able to fulfil his quota of rods because of the rocky nature of the soil. His rent was increased by £1.00 in punishment.

After 4 or 5 years during which these draining improvements continued to be made, the proprietor proposed a 19 years lease on the following terms:

1. For the first three years the rent was to be £150.

2. For the second period of 3 years it was to be £200 and for the remaining thirteen years, £250.00.

3. A separate lease was not to be given to each crofter but to the township and if one or more fell behind or failed, the others were to be responsible for that share of the rent.

4. A new man was not to be brought in on any account as a replacement.

Three of the Totronald tenants later settled in the East End, John MacLean and Archibald MacLean (unrelated) in Sorasdal and John MacKinnon, known as An Taillear Mor (The Big Tailor) at Cnoc in Bousd, so it must have been one of them who related the story. The Sorasdal tenants had each been allotted 15 acres and 5 arable and the Bousd man had 10 acres and 5 arable, all in run-rig.

All the townships on the Coll Estate were dealt with in the same way with the result that people had to quit their holdings wholesale.

The proprietor of the East End of the island, Colin Campbell of Cornaig and Caolas, opened his estate to as many families as wished to settle there, so after the Whitsun term the great exodus took place in June 1861 to Bousd and Sorasdal.

At later meetings a chronic complaint was the deplorable condition of the meagre stretch of road in the East End despite the fact that the tenants were paying the Road Rent regularly. Apart from the building of some bridges, they had to maintain the road themselves. It was well into the next century before they were served with a reasonable road.

Unfortunately neither the minutes of the Coll branch nor the central records of the H.L.L.H.A. are extant so information can be gleaned only from press reports and private correspondence.