THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1937 SCOTLAND'S PROBLEMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22775, 8 July 1937, Page 10

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1937 SCOTLAND'S PROBLEMS

Scotland is rejoicing in the State visit of the King and Queen, the fact that Her Majesty is a daughter of Glamis adding particular fervour to the proud and loyal welcome to Holyrood. The millions of Scots of the Empire and the world, and many millions more who are of Scottish descent, feel that they are represented in Edinburgh, and a glow enters their hearts. The union of the countries was a real one, and for that very reason the sense of Scottish nationalism has been preserved. Scotland is conscious that in Westminster and abroad her sons have played an honourable part in shaping the destinies of the Empire and in building it. Yet a desire for self-government is growing. The term "home rule for Scotland" does not imply, however, any wish to separate from England. The measure j of self-government that is sought by a section, a section dismissed con-, temptuously by another with " all havers," is something in the nature j of that exercised by an Australian State. The argument is that West- i minster is so occupied with Imperial and foreign affairs that the domestic concerns of Scotland receive scant attention. A " Scottish night" in the Commons finds many vacant seats. Scotland would still "keep her hand in"' at Westminster, as the Duke of Montrose naively expressed it, and would do her duty in Imperial matters. However, it seems improbable that the dream of the so-called home rulers will be realised in this

; generation, if for no other reason than that Scotland as a whole might ! be classified a distressed area, a I condition which has given force to i the actual proposal. It can be : argued that the pressing domestic j problems of Scotland might be j intensified if Westminster felt less j responsibility toward the country. Although the Clydeside industries | have received a stimulus from naval I construction - and the building of j mercantile ships, Scotland as a | whole has not enjoyed her full share j of the internal recovery. In England | 11 per cent of the insured working i population is unemployed; in Scot- ; land the percentage is between 19 j and 20. One in every seven of the population of Glasgow is receiving public assistance. The reason is ! attributed to the fact that Scotland I is more dependent upon export trade than England. Further, she has only a few great industries —iron and steel, engineering and ship-building, coal mining, fishing and agriculture. It is said that Scotland is now awake to her failure to nurture new indus- j tries in the past. A Development i Council is at work in promoting j enterprise, and a permanent Econo- j mic Committee has been set up to j explore possibilities and encourage j scientific research and technical | training. It is contended that there j are opportunities for an extensive j fruit-canning industry if the primary j industry were developed in the Clyde Valley. The fishing industry is con- j sidered capable of great expansion | both from coastal operations and trawling in Arctic and northern waters. Little is known of the hydrogenating properties of Scottish coal, but there appears to be a chance for producing smokeless fuel i on a large scale. Yet funda- j mental disability remains for all j industries, existing or proposed, which must dispose of their products j out of the country. The decline in j Scotland's national revenue of 30 per j cent in 15 years is largely due to the | contraction of the overseas trade j through a combination of the forces of depression and the practice of economic nationalism. A revival in the world market for the paramount industries would reduce unemployment, stimulate capital expenditure, and increase consumption of the products of agriculture.

Agriculture is not in a happy condition. In spite of subsidies, livestock farming is still depressed, and • I Scottish farmers, while resenting j control, are joining the chorus for | increased restrictions upon meat ; imports. It is a melancholy reflection ! for Scots abroad who have played : a large part in building up the ; Empire and the primary production of the Dominions. Maybe there is room for the opinion in Scotland ; to-day that the country has suffered | through over-migration. It must be i conceded that, apart from the drive i of economic circumstances, the Scot for centuries has been a ready venturer. It is possible that if the urge to migrate had not been so general Scotland long ago would have established a much wider range of industries and maintained a much larger population. It is a remarkable fact that, while nearly all European countries, in spite of the declining birth-rate, recorded increased populations, Scotland's figures dropped from 4,882,000 to 4,842,000 between 1021 and 1931. The balance of births over deaths was 352,800, but migrants numbered 392,000. Threequarters of the population, however, is concentrated in seven counties. The Highlands are very sparsely populated, some counties having fewer people to-day than they had 150 years ago. The original reasons still provoke bitterness, but there are other causes than the creation of deer forests. The Highlander may have humbled his proud heart to serve the tourist, but he will not be industrialised, as Lord Leverhulme found to his cost. To-day in Lewis "stands a deserted factory built by one who wished sincerely to be a fairy prince to a very reluctant Cinderella." The Highlander causes a feeling of "baffled exasperation" to the progressive. A political authority recently remarked sorrowfully that the people of the Isles even had a strong antipathy to keeping a pig. However, enthusiastic residents of the Highlands are talking hopefully of making pastures on the uplands with high-country grasses, but over several thousand square miles the deer is still in possession.