The Braid Scotch O't

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 257, 26 July 1930, Page 21

The Braid Scotch O't

Border Farmer on the Plight of Agriculture

Addressing a mass meeting of landowners, occupying owners, tenant farmers, agricultural employees, and others interested, held at Kelso, Scotland, with the Duke of Roxburghe in the chair, Mr. Walter Barrie, speaking in “braid Scotch,” made the hit of the evening, and was reported at full length, as hereunder. It is an interesting exercise, both in linguistics and logic.

IT is a heartsome sicht for sair een to look on a meeting like this. It will let the po’ors that be see that we mean business. We’ll never get verra much if we dinna stick up for oorsels. (Applause.) Even Uriah Heap fand out that there was sic a thing as being ower ’umble. We are gaun to ask naething but what’s reasonable, and if we dinna get it, we’ll want to ken what for. (Applause.) Now, in the first place, I wad like to point oot that the situation referred to in the resolution is a deal wider yin than the maist feck of folk realise. It’s no so much a landlords’ question, although they are badly hutten. It’s no so much a formers’ question, although the arable men are findin’t impossible to gar ends meet by a lang way. It’s no so much a workers’ question, although, if something’s no dune, a gude wheen o’ them will suns find theirsel’s oot o’ a job aithegither. It’s a maitter that vitally concerns the whole nation. (Applause.) Agriculture is the yin indispensable industry. It provides the nation wi’ its meat and ift claes. Folk leeve lang after they are leuchin’ it; but they dinna leeve lang athout either their meat or their claes. (Applause.) When agriculture is prosperous, the whole country is prosperous. When jt. is depressed, the whole country is depressed. That s why we have a million and a-half unemployed drawin’ the dole the day. Lots o’ folk say when the general trade o’ the country’s gude, formin’ will be gude. It’s the other way about—because the husbandman brings oot o’ the grand and circulates wealth that didna exist afore. The mair it brings out the better for the nation. Economic laws never change. It’s the same the day as it was in the days o’ the Psalmist “There shall be an handful corn in the earth and they of the city shall flourish.” Not otherwise. They of the city’ll no flourish verra great if the earth is left to grow only whins and rash busses. (Laughter and applause.) It affects the toons vitally in another way. They absolutely must have the country to draw on for fresh blood to keep up the stamina o’ their population. Gang into the country and Mark the rustic, haggis fed, The treminling ear th resounds his tread; Clap in his walie niev a blade, He’ll mak’ it whissle, And legs and airms and heads will sned Like *taps o’ thrissle. Now gang into the slums o’ oor big toons, and mark the shilpit, shauchlin’, peengin’, wheengin’ craiters stannin’ at the corners o’ their sluifis. What kind o’ sires will they make, think ye? If the toons were alive to ther ain interests they wad be haidin’ mass meetings as well as us. The disastrous state o’ agriculture concerns them even mair than it concerns us. There’s mair o’ them. But that’s their concern. “The Road to Naebit.” Now, let us make nae mistake about what we want. We’re no wantin’ to ha’e to take doon wages. That’s the road to naebit. (Applause.) The disease is ower deep'for wages to be a remedy. Ye might as weel try to pit oot a stackyard Are we’ spittin’ on’t as try to meet this crises wi’ talcin’ doon wages. (Laughter and applause.) What we want, and what we mean to get’s, fair play. Neither mair nor less. We’re no’ wantin’ to be demoralised

wi’ doles. We want nane o’ yer spune feeding. We’re no seekin’ to be coddled on sookin’ bottles. (Laughter.) Gi’es a fair field and nae favour, and we’ll do oor ain turn. (Applause.) Some o’ ye may ask, whit’s unfair? Well, it’s unfair to make this country a free toom for the produce of every nation on the face o‘ the globe. (Applause.) They come wi’ their stuff, dump it doon, and away back for mair. They even say, set oor poliss on to watch that stuff till we get it selled, and they never pay a penny piece. Wha pays the poliss? You and me. Arn’t we silly? Is that fair? It’s unfair to have to compete wi’ countries where they work longer oors for less wages under waur conditions. The French peasants that a see gaun roond wi’ ingans only work 15 or 16 oors a day, because they canna see to work ony langer. Div a want to come doon to that level? In Algiers, where the first o’ the airlie tattas come frae, the tattas is set and howkit by convicts, wi’ officers stannin’ ower them wi’ ' drawn swords. Is that fair competition? The most unkindest cut of all is this German bounty-fed yits. It’s grossly unfair; it’s waur. If it is to be rightly deseribit it wad need language that wasna suitable for an elder o’ the kirk. And if oor political leaders disna ken why the Germans are floodin’ oor markets wi’ them, they are no fit for their jobs. Everybody else kens. We can hardly turn oorsels roon, especially in the dairy trade, but we are hampered and harrassed wi’ vexatious and needless restrictions and regulations, and yet we allow in milk products frae everywhere and nae questions askit. For fair shame they label some o’ thae products unfit for Infants. (Laughter.) But A’ll tell ye whae it’s fit for. It’s fit for oor rulers that lets’s in ava. (Applause.) It’s ower gude for them, if ye ask me. (Laughter and applause.) Well, that unfairness is got to be stoppit. When we send up this resolution to the heid ylns they will dootless curl up the white o’ their een and say it canna be dune. A tak’ it that this meetin’ o’ Borderers says it’ll ha’e to be dune, and, what’s mair, it’ll be dune sune. They’ll likely start and talk a lot o’ nonsense about no taxin’ food, and there’s nae subject, unless it’s milk, about which there’s mair nonsense spoken as this taxin’ o’ food. Sense may teach onybody that it’s no’ food that pays taxes but folk. Ir ee drinkin’ that in? The folk that produce food in this country has to pay taxes and nae few o* them. Then why should the folk that bring food into the country no’ pay at least as much taxation as they wad had to pay if they had produced it in this country? (Applause.) A’ve never met anybody that could answer that question. And never will. We were telled no to speak politics. A’m no speaking politics. A’m speaking sense—a very different thing. If we gang on as we are doin’, we’ll sune ha’e everything to buy frae the foreigner and naething to sell, and then where’ll eer cheap food be? Ee can ca’d protection, ca’d safeguarding, ca’d control, ca’d onything ee like. But stop the foreigner frae shovin’ oor ain produce oot o’ oor ain markets. That’s oor demand, and we’re takin’ nae denial. This is the British nation, and it’ll ha’e to be run in the interests o’ the British people. (Applause.) Scottish agriculture is neither doon nor oot. Gie’s fair play and we’ll hand oor ain against the habitable globe. When we get this fair play we’ll sune make the land rejoice and blossom as the rose. Then oor countryside ' will enjoy as great a measure of prosperity and content as did the Israelites of old in their palmiest days, when the pastures were clothed with flocks.' valleys also, and they were covered over with corn. (Loud applause.)