SCOTLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4629, 16 December 1876, Page 2 (Supplement)

SCOTLAND.

:l -"v ''j ■-'■■WWII rti^r-'.;-f..'i.V;)»f,-.7/ ire o-t '■'■' (%#Gii! 'bijVi>wri > *30KRjfcsPOin>BN(B. ).-i '> dm ■■: ,'- j I)'|:J, !liir ':" I'i 9(iDnf]Jthiftri,l 'Dfftoberl26tht--The t Ptffi^'dF.WaleHf.has' been giving his future subjects, in Scotland a little more of his presence than he had hitherto done; Proceeding from his qwn'.Highland residence at Abergeldie, he was the Duke of Suther.; land's -gues^,. for several days at Dunrobin Oastle. Tbehce he proceeded on the 2nd inst, to'Thursp,, t|o open an exhibition held there in aid of th«J local free library.; He was accompanied; bj the Princess of Wales, as well as by the-Dnkes and Duchesses of Sutherland arid V^esfcminster, and Prince John of Glucksburg. Thurso was of course in festival trim, reproducing in miniature the features common to the welcomes given to royalty in large cities. Great numbers of people from all parts of Sutherland and Caithness, as well as from Orkney and Shetland, assembled to see and welcome their Royal Highnesses. The Prince, it may be noted, was dressed in a kilt and jacket of hunting Stuart tartan,- and :wore .a ; glengarry. After opening the ■Exhibition, which *was really a very creditable affair^ the Royal party lunched with Sir Tollemache Sinclair, at Thurso Castle, and 'then took' train back to Dunrobin. The ;Thursonians r however, kept up their festivities till a late hour, the town being i illuminated at night. . A few days later the ! Prince .visited Wick, an( j then proceeded to i John O'Groat's house.

■ Two amusing anecdotes are related of the Prince of |Wales, the events having happened during deerstalking expeditions while he was the Duke! of Sutherland'» guest at Dunrobin. In theihjsfc instance the Prince was passing through jfche forest, when he came near the house '6i a crofter, who ran up to him, salutedi|iith as "my darling Prince," and insisted on his coming in to see the wife and children. As soon as the Prince entered the house the man. produced the inevitable whisky bottle, and poured out a glass, for , the Prince, who merely: pasted it. The crofter was by no means satisfied with this, and strenuously pressed His Royal Highness to finish the glass,, meeting a Royal remark that it was strong with the rejoinder —: " Oh, yes, she'll bd strong, and she'll be good too ; no like yonl na9ty weak stuff you'Jlbe getting in the South." Of course after tbis the Prince had to take a good dram, after which he was^' permitted to" depart, bearing with him the, exuberant blessings :of the crofter and his wife.' The second incident is to the effect that.the Priuca gave a cigar to an old man .while out deer-stalking. The recipient, not knowing what a cigar was, eat part of it, but flung' the rest away in disgust, exclaiming—" She'll no liko ta French meat at all!"

The chief event of the Prince's doings in Scotland, however, was his visit to Glasgow on the 17th inst., to lay the foundation stone of,,the new Post Office there. Ife spent $he previous night as the guest of Colonel: Campbell, at B!y thswbod, near -Renfrew, and came to Glasgow next forenoon, occoinpanied by the Princess, two of theii; sons, and a numerous suite. The Royal party arri7ed at the new station in St. Enoch Square, where a procession was formed end proceeded to the Green, where the Prince reviewed some 6000 Volunteers from varioup parts of the West of Scotland. It rained heavily at the time, and throughout the day, as is customary in Glasgow, but the downpour did not damp the loyalty of the vast crowds who thronged every place whence it was po3sible to get even a momentary glimpse of thb Prince and Princess. After the review the royal party drove along the principal streets to the Lord Provost's hoa«eat the West End Park, where they "partook of luncheon," as the penny-a liners say. They then drove by the Sauchiehall street route to George Square, where the ceremony of laying the foundation stone was duly gone through by the Prince with the usual Masonic forms. A disgraceful scene occurred just as'this part of the programme was about to be carried through. A platform had been set apart for officers of the Grand. Lodge, but a number of half druuk members of country Lodges struggled to get on it too, and quite a fight ensued, in the course of which a good deal of language unfitted for any ears, whether royal or plebeian, was too freely used within a few feet of the royal party, who heard and saw everything:only too.plainly. The Prince looked grave and displeased, the Princess sbooked, and the two young Princes stared in wonder at a scene so strange to them, when suddenly the platform gave way, and the combatants fell into the mud below. This put an end to the unseemly scene, and in a measure relieved everybody of the uncomfortable feeling which the row had produced. The Prince and Princess returned to Colonel Campbell's house to dinner, and left the same evening for London. When the train stopped for a few minutes at Kilmarnock, they bad another specimen of west country manners. The blinds in the royal carriage were drawn down, but the Kilmarnockians bawled to the Prince and Princess to show themselves, and when they did not do so some impatient individuals endeavoured, to open the carriage doors. This had the desired effect; the blinds were drawn down; the elite of Kilmarnock had a sight of royalty, and bawled itself hoarse again, until, the train left, the Prince doubt less being glad that his travels did not often take him among such Boeotians, October has been a miserable month throughout Scotland this year—gloomy and wet, bo tint little progress has been made in securing the crops. The consequence is .that in districts where the harvest is late, much loss has been sustained, and this is especially the case in the Highlands and Islands. In the Lews it has been raining ,with scarcely any intsrruption for two months, and the unfortunate inhabitants, in addition to a failure in the fishing, have now to face a ruined harvest. It will be a hard winter with them, it is to be feared. In other respects, however, the North of Scotland appears to be in a fairly prosperous condition. The Highland Railway Company has just declared a dividend of 5 per cent., and the North of Scotland Banking Company one of-12$ pel cent. The latter'a profit for the year ending on September 30th exceeded £52,000, which is very good for a small institution having to compete with the large Banks which have their headquarters, in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and their branch2B scattered all over the country. .■ . ■ In the early part of the mouth attention was drawn to the large number of new 'vessels on the loading berths at Glasgow, forming a fleet of its kind which has rarely, if ever, been exceeded there. The sailing vessels numbered . 14, of an aggregate of 13,700 tons, a-d the steamers were four in number, aggregating 5550 tons. All these vessels were launched during August and September, and their total cost was fully .£300,000. This temporary spitrt, however, seems to have spent itself, and many laments are heard of the lack of fresh orders, especially at Greenock, where the shipbuilding yards are almost entirely silent and nnoccupied. Of late months, moie sailing yeßstk than formerly have been built on tho ' Clyde, and there has been a corresponding decrease in the number of steamers constructed. The latest returns show, indeed, that more steamers are now built on the Tyne than on the Clyde. '■ After a separate existence of 23 years, the Peebles Railway was amalgamated with the North British on Ootober 7tb. The requiem of the departing existence of the line was a speech by Mr William Chambers, LL.D., the publisher,. In reviewing the share which he had taken in the starting of the line, Mr Chambers referred to the support which he had-received from Mr John Bathgate, whom he spoke of as "now occupying a distinguished position in New Zealand." A public luncheon was held the same day at Peebles in celebration of the event.

The annual contest for the golf championship, which ta'ies place in turn at St. Andrews, Prestwick, and Musselburgh, came off this month on the links at the first-named place. There were -34 candidates, and the competition ended in a tie between Bob Martin of St. Andrews and Davie Strath of North Berwick. A protest lodged against the ■ latter for. violating one of the rules, which forbid 3 anyone from approaching a putting green on which there are players, was- decided against him, bo that Martin was declared the champion for the year.

The Rev. JDr. Wallace, late minister of Old Greyfriars Church, Edinburgh, has " demitted'"'his pastoral charge and ministerial office, and resigned his appdntment as ■ Professor, cf Ecclesiastical History in the University of Edinburgh., Thess steps have been taken by him consequent upon his acceptance of the editorship of the Scotsman, the salary attached to which is £2000 a year,

I iu^bsfe'htf'is^nbw^entifled bnlylto-plain., " Mt" Wallace.. .hM-.U^X -w/ ',; WHifer'ifo'eak^ mky:s£o.'/.mV&tjioS' fliat'.' 'Dr: [ Jl.' fG:: M-'Ken-' • ;Af9% ]ol j^e^diub.ur^hr ScJiQol;6'f^Mediclhe,' ,has b^en'i^ppoiiilied to succeed Dr. Andrew Buchanan as Professor of Physiology in the University of Glasgow. Dr. M'Kendrick, , who'was for neveral years assistant to the lats Professor Bennett, of Edinburgh, is an able and energetic man, but for political reasons a small section of the Glasgow Pres3 condemns his appointment. Disinterested journals, like the Lancet, however, regard it as one likely to advance the best interests of science. .... .

' The necessity of going.from home to learn news is proverbial. It will, therefore, excite no surprise when I state that the following remarkable piece of Highland intelligence is taken from the weekly (with two "cV please) lucubrations of " Atlas," in that true Cockney publication, the World newspaper.:—"lt is not generally known that the leading photographer of Dingwall (N. 8.) keeps: a kilt for. the special use of his patrons from the south.,- His enterprise and forethought in this respect are, I hear, well rewarded by numerous visits from'the coachmen, butlers, and footmen,' who, at this season; migrate north with their Sassenach masters." Thinking that this proof of intimate acquaintance with the tastes of the "gentlemen of the hall" may give rise to ungeuerous suspicion as to his own social status, the writer hastens to add :—"I haye not myself been photographed in this veritable 'garb of old Gaul, 'l but, I understand, to prevent any apparent partiality, the different clan tartans are happily blended into one fantastic whole." '.;

Mr William Gillespie Dickson, Sheriff of Lanarkshire, died suddenly on the 19th inst., while sitting in the midst,of his family and apparently in the enjoyment of his usual health; He held for ten years the appointment of, Procureur and Advocate-General in Mauritius, and for several years was SheriffSubstitute under the late Mr Henry Glassford Bell, whom, he succeeded in January, 1874. Sheriff Dickson was only 53 years old when he died, and he ieavr s a widow and six children, the eldest of whom •is only 19 years of age. The .tramway between Edinburgh and Portobello having proved an entire success, the Company, owning it ia about to seek Parliamentary powera for the extension of the line to Musselburgh. This is the more remarkable as the trains run'almost as fre quently as the cara between Edinburgh and Portobello, which the fare is much le33— that by train (third class) being 3d for the double journey, while the tramway fare is 4d inside and 3d outside,' for the single journey. If the Otago Acclimatisation Society should at any time think of importing more rooks from this country, they should tell their agent to make enquiries iv Easter Ross, where those birds seem to be superabundant. Active war has been carried on against them during the past season, and the tale of those slain is reported to amount to no less than 3286.

The celebration of the centenary of the Rev. Dr Ingram, of Unst, in April last, will be remembered by some of your readers. I then stated that steps were being taken to mark the event in somo more lasting way than by a tea-meeting, and I have now to record that a fortnight ago the venerable minister was presented with a, purse of 237 sovereigns, as a more valuable memorial. He acknowledged tho gift in a few touching, fatherly words, and his son, who would anywhere else be reckoned quite an old man, also thanked the donors for their kindness.

A minister of a different sort, and also a resident in the north, has been attracting some notice through hi 3 somewhat unusual conduct. Thi3 reverend gentleman, whose name and locality have not transpired, was preaching the' other day upoa the Jews, their captivity and patriotism. Warming as he proceeded to dwell upon the latter part of his theme, his own patriotic feelings were kindled, and to the astonishment of his hearers he wound up by reciting the whole of " Scots wha hae"with a vigour worthy of an orator at a Burns anniversary dinner.

The foundation stone of a fine Town Hall was laid with Masonic honours at Dunfermline on the 12th inst. It will have a frontage to Kirkgate of 144 feet, and to Bridge Btreet of 66 feet, as well as a square tower 117 feet high. The contract cost of the building is £16,288. '

The Rev. Dr Duff, of Helensburgh, having been appointed Professor of Church History in the UP. Theological Hall, was on the 2nd inst. presented by Sis lata congregation with a cheque for £1000, a hadsjtuo clock being at the same time presented to Mrs Duff. The Doctor has been 20 years in Helens burgh, where the clumsy square towsr of his church is one of the most prominent and least attractive objects of the. landscape. Mr D. Mitchell, editor and proprietor of the Dumfries Courier, and a journalist of more than average ability, died on October 3," at the ago of 50, after a painful and pro. tracted illness. .

A census taken of the burgh of Kirkcaldy since its late extension shows that its inhabitants number 23,428. The figures are made up as follows :—Abbottshall, 6578 ; Kirkcaldy proper, 8251; and Pathhead, 8599.

A Cabmen's Temperance Society was formed in Dundee the other day, when 32 men and three women joined it as a nucleus. The sum of £1500 has been raissd in the northernmost districts of Scotland for the purpose of presevering^the memory of the late Mr Murray, of Geames, whose death I mentioned two or three months ago. It is proposed to expend from £300 to £500 of the amount in the erection of a drinking fountain or other monument at Tain,.and the remainder ia founding two University -bursaries, tenable by youths educated in Tain or Easter-Rots generally. There seems to be some prospect of the antipathy to the Royal family, in which the Marquis of Bute was brought up by his mother, passing away. He recently had Prince Leopold as his guest at Mount Stuart for two or three days, and entertained him in a right Royal manner—the people of Rothesay also going wild with loyalty on the occasion. Since then the Marquis and Marchioness left Scotland for the Continent.