SCOTLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8557, 27 July 1889, Page 5 (Supplement)

SCOTLAND.

(FfiOll OUK O\YS COHKESPONDENT.) EDixnunGH, June G. THE GENERAL ASSEMBEIES. With the return of the month of May, Edinburgh has been mainly occupied, as usual, with the doings of the supreme courts of the three leading Presbyterian Churches. First, in order of time, came the United Presbyterian Church, over which the Rev. Dr It. S. Drummond, of Glasgow, was chosen to preside as moderator. The attendance of members was the largest on record, consisting of 48G ministers, i missionaries, and 392 elders—total 882. Nothing of outstanding interest marked ,the proceedings of the Synod. The Rev. Dr R. S. Scott, of Glasgow, having resigned his post as Home Mission secretary of the church, after 25 years of service, the Hey. John Ycung, of Newington, Edinburgh, was elected his~successor by 258 votes against 222 given in favoia: of the Rev. G. L, Carstairs, Glasgow. The total number of congregations on the roll of the church was reported to be 5G5, being one more than in the preceding year. The total membership of the church on 31st December 1888, was 182.9G3, being an increase of 793 during the year. Pitifully small as is this increase, it was stated to be " above the average rate of increase for the last 10 years. The Established and Free Churches opened their sessions on May 23. The Earl of Hopoloun was again her Majesty's Lord High Commissioner to the former, of which the Rev. Dr Gloag, of Galashiels, was elected moderator. Except in connection with a courageous but unsuccessful onslaught again made by the Rev. Jacob Primmer upon the "images" in St. Giles' Cathedral, the proceedings of the Established Assembly have attracted scarcely any notice. The Hey. Dr Laird, of Cupar-Fife, was elected moderator of the Free Assembly. Great interest was taken, even by porsons not connected witli the Free Church, in its election of a professor of New Testament exegesis jin its Edinburgh College in succession to the late Dr Smeaton. The name most largely recommended by the presbyteries and synods of the church was that of Dr Marcus Dods, of Glasgow, but he was strenuously opposed by the more conservative section of the church on the ground that his views on inspiration were unsound. They put forward the Rev. Alex. Cusin, of Edinburgh, as their candidate, and an intermediate party supported the Rev. Professor Salmond, of the Free Church College in Aberdeen. In a densely crowded and most animated house the vote was taken after the proposers and seconders of the several candidates had spoken, no further debate being allowed. The recording of the vote occupied almost an hour, and the result was announced to be as follows:— Dods, 383; Cusin, IGS; and Salmond, 110. Dr Dods thus had a majority of 103 over the other two candidatrs put together. The announcement was succeeded by great cheering, and the moderator had difficulty in obtaining silence. The Rev. William Balfour, of Holyrood, tabled an immediate protest against Dr Dods1 election, and it has since been intimated that the constitutional party intend to take further action in the matter. No farther back than 1878 Dr Dods was censured by the assembly for promulgating what were pronounced to be heterodox views regarding the authority and inspiration of the Bible. These views he has never retracted, and now the assembly has, with enthusiasm, elected him to one of the most important professorships in the colleges of the church. No wonder that the Scotsman, commenting on these things, says that " the change o£ faith in the Free Church is nothing less than a revolution." As further emphasizing this, moreover, the Assembly two days later, after a stormy debate, adopted by 413 votes to 130, a motion by Principal Brown, of Aberdeen, appointing a committee to consider what action should be taken " to meet the difficulties and relieve the scruples " of many in the church with respect to the Confession of Faith. The statistics of membership of the Established Church show a total of communicants in 188S amounting to (581,568, being an increase during the year of 25G0! In the Free Church" the total number of members and adherents amounted to 330,335, showing an increase of 3237 during the year. The congregations of the church numbered 1078, being an increase of four during the year. With respect to the sums raised by the three Presbyterian churches under notice, the following is the nearest practicable approach to a comparative statement, the Established Church returns not yet being complete:— KstfiblUlie'l Cburch (nbout) £:!00,oro ... Inc. £ 5 (K'O Free Olmrcli ... ... ti35,93» ... Inc. <m'oß3 United lVmbyteriMi Church 375,100 ... Inc. ifilll Tiie increase on the fiustenlation fund of the Free Cburch during the year was £3476, bringing the total up to £170,550. The iissumW'y this yea'-1 proceeded to elect a secretary lo the sustentation fund,—a post which had Jain in abeyance for a twelve-

uiumn. xne Key. Dr Melville, of Glasgow, senior olerk of the assembly was elected to the office almost unanimously. I may add that the slight increase in the income of the U. P. Church was wholly due to legacies, without an increase in which there would have been a slight decrease in the church's revenue. The average annual stipend of each minister of a congregation in the U. P. Church during 1888 was £259 8s Gd, being £1 9s 3d more than in .1887. The temperance qnsstion continues to make progress, especially in the Free and tj. P. Churches. In the Established Assembly much virtuous denunciation of teetotalism continues to relieve some of its members to amuse the public, who know well the partiality of parish ministers for whisky. Even the Scotsman this year was to be. found jeering at one of them, the iiev. fir Banking of Muthil, though confessedly a contributor to its columns, for his zealous desire to protect the people alike from teetotalism on the one hand and from a fieiy whisky known as "kill the carter" on the other. The Reverend doctor also expressed a wish to "see some deliberate measure adopted so that it might be seen whether a man was able to walk straight, or by testing him with the pronouncing of certain words." Referring to this, in an amusing leader the Scotsman suggested that Dr Eankin should mature Ills test before nexr Assembly time, adding: "And, if he be allowed by the fathers and brethren a measure of license, purely for . experimental purposes, the public will in that case. have . something really interesting to look forward to in the report of his experiences at next May meeting." In the Free Church Assembly it was 3tated that there were now in the church 620 Temperance Associations and Bands of Hope, with a total membership of 03,976. There were also G32 ministerial members of these associations, and as to these there were to be added about 100 more practically abstaining ministers, it amounted to, this that 7-10thsof the ministers of the Free Chiirch were abstainers. In the U.P. Church 362 ministers (including 19 abroad) and 90 per cent, of the students at the Theological Hall, were stated to be teetotallers. EDINBURGH AND MX PABNELL. The final meeting of the Town Council of Edinburgh to consider the proposition to confer the freedom of the city on Mr Parnell was held on May 21. A deputation of leading citizens waited on the council to oppose the step, and after their withdrawal two or three brief but bitter speeches were made by members of the council. The vote was then taken, with the result that the granting of the freedom was reaffirmed, but by a reduced majority, 22 voting for it and 16 against it. But for one of the councillors missing a train the majority would have been only five in favour of the proposal. At the first meeting the majority was 11 and at. the second eight, so that it was steadily dwindling. The matter was then referred in regular course to the Lord Provost's Committee to deal with, and at a meeting of that committee the town clerk was instructed to communicate with Mr Parnell and ask him when it would be convenient for him to attend and receive the freedom. So far as the public are aware no reply has yet been received from Mr Parnell, and the matter is in abeyance in the meanwhile. At the meeting of his committee, the Lord Provost, who is a strong anti-Parnellite, emphatically declared that neither actively nor passively would he take part in the proceedings connected with the presentation of the freedom. Altogether the whole thing has been attended by a great deal of bitter feeling on both sides, and has done more than anything that has occurred for a long time tointensify the already strong feelings of party antagonism prevalent in Edinburgh. At the same time it will probably bo found to have strengthened the Unionist cause in this city, by arousing the apathetic and welding the party into a more homogeneous and compact body. GKEAT STRIKE OP SAILORS. A strike among sailors in the Mersey and elsewhere for a considerable increase of pay, has now spread to most of the leading Scottish ports, and is greatly impeding maritime trade. On the Clyde it is very general, and is daily becoming more so as the notice given by the men expires, in Leith it is almost universal, and the steamers trading to the Continent and to London are all laid up. Such a state of things has not been witnessed there before for a long time, if ever. Both parties seem to be resolute and the men acknowledge that their chief hope lies in the owners giving way in English ports. Hitherto everything has been conducted in a'very quiet and orderly fashion, with no disturbance. The men on strike at Leith have issued two large posters, the one desiring fishermen to keep away from ports in the Firth of Forth, and the other warning the public not to run serious risk by going to sea in steamers manned by improvised and seasick crews. The strike is spreading to Dundee and Aberdeen, and fears are expressed that even the steamers carrying the mails to Orkney and Shetland will be forced to discontinue running till matters are adjusted. On the Clyde and Mersey the owners are trying to man their vessels with Lascars, but these are of no use on the bleak North Sea. Probably a good many foreign sailors will be imported. At present no one seems to be negotiating for peace. On the Clyde another large strike is in progress—viz., one of rivetters in the shipbuilding yards. Over 2000 of these have boon "out "for fully a fortnight, throwing other workmen idle, and there seems no prospect of an early termination of the struggle, AN EDINBURGH SCANDAL. A row of a very extraordinary kind occurred in somewhat select circles in Edinburgh during May. The Fine Art Professor in the University, Mr Baldwin Brown, wrote to the Scotsman complaining that some alterations which were being made on a house in Charlotte square were a disfigurement to architectural beauty of the square. A good many correspondent:, took the matter up, and among them was Sir William Fetters Douglas, the President of the Royal Scottish Academy. In a characteristically illtempered and vulgar letter, he attacked the owner of the house, the Rev. Dr AVhyte, of Free St. George's Church, Edinburgh, and among other things said that " the rer. gentleman in question was, it is understood, early in life picked out of the very gutter." Next day the Scotsman stated that it had received "a perfect shoal of letters" expressing indignation at such a contemptible attack on one of the most honoured men in Edinburgh; and it published several of them, besides giving Sir W. F. Douglas in a leading article a severe castigation. It will be a long time, if ever, before that person regains the public respect which a man in his official position ought to enjoy, or else to retire into ignoble obscurity. On the evening of the day on which the Assemblies opened their sittings, a very large temperance meeting was held in the Free Assembly Hall, and Dr Whyto was one of the speakers. On his rising to speak he was greeted with a perfect tempest of cheering and waving of hats and handkerchiefs, which lasted for a considerable time, only subsiding in deference to Dr Whyte's deprecatory gestures. The moaning of the demonstration was unmistakable. Sir Wilfred Lawson, who had concluded a long speech a few minutes before, looked on at the scene with undisguised astonishment and pleasure. As yet Sir W. F. Douglas has not had the decency to apologise for his shameful conduct, nor is it likely that he will ever be gentlemanly enough to do so. The British Weekly, a London paper, called uppn the members of the Hoyal Scottish Academy to take up the matter promptly and efficiently, to prevent the letters "R.S.A." from " becoming a brand of shame "; but if they have taken any action the fact has not been made public. STRANGE SCENE AT HAWICK. A dispute between the Hawick Town Council and Messrs Laidlaw, millowners, led to curious proceedings recently. Workmen Bent by the council had begun to build up what was formerly an entrance for carts to a sandbank in the river, when a squad of men came from the factory and demolished their work. With true Border pertinacity both parties kept at it all day—the one building and the other demolishing. When night came Messrs Laidlaw's men were withdrawn owing to an interdict having been served on the iirm, and the masons were thus at last allowed to finish their job. It is said the straggle willnow be transferred to the drier arena of the law courts. RAILWAY EXTENSION. A short but important line of railway was opened for traffic last week. I refer to the line constructed by the Caledonian Railway Company from Greenock to Gourock. It is three miles and a-quarter in length, and of this no less than 25GOyds are underground, including a tunnel fully cne mile and a-quarter in length, and stated to be about the longest tunnel in Scotland. Much of it is cut through solid rock, and its construction has occupied two years. In the arching of this tunnel 7,896,560 bricks were used. Tho making of this lino has brought about a greatly needed remodelling of the station at Greenock, while a very fine station has been erected at Gourock. At the same time the steaaiboat service has been much improved, so that the beneficial influence of the new line is expected to be felt in many towns

down the Firth, while as for Gourock itself its fortune is now made. In case of war the new line will be of great strategical import ance, as Gourock is the key of the defences intended to protect Greenock and Glasgow from an enemy's cruisers. At one point, curious to say, the line tunnels under a tunnel of the Glasgow arid South-western railway. This part of the work was executed with-great difficulty, as the traffic on the upper railway could not be interfered with. As for the West Highland railway, it is still only under agitation, but the feeling in favour of the North British scheme of an extension from Helensburgh, as against the Caledonian scheme of an extension from Oban, is steadily growing. Such a line would open up a splendid new tourist route, and would also materially aid the development of trade with the Hebrides, as. it would be much their shortest railway route to Glasgow. OBITUARY RECORD. The Countess of Haddington died at Tyninghain on May 29. She was a sister of Sir George Warrender, and in 1854 married the Earl of Haddington, by whom she had six children. Mr Peter Dowie, one of the best known merchants in Leith, died suddenly in Glasgow on May 24. He was apparently in his usual health, and was on his way to the railway station when he fell down in the street. He was taken into a house and a doctor was brought, but Mr Dowie very soon afterwards expired. It was to hi 3 enterprise mainly that the large trade between Leith and America owed its existence. A literary gamekeeper is such a rarity that I may note the decease of one in the person of Mr George Clark, who was in the service of the Duke of Argyle. An injury to his spioe made him an invalid during the last 23 years. He contributed frequent and lengthy articles to the newspapers on matters connected with the topography, archaeology, history, and philology of the Highlands, and particularly of Argyleshire. The Earl of Caithness died suddenly on May 25 of an epileptic fit in the hotel in which he was sojourning; in Edinburgh. He was only 30 years of age, and succeeded to the title in 1881. He was a lord lieutenant of the county of Caithness, and was very popular as a landlord. He was buried in the Chapel-Royal, at Holyrood, on May 29, after a funeral service in St. Giles' Cathedral, whence the coffin was borne on an open funeral car drawn by six horses with postilions, and amir1, other forms of pomp. It is believed that this is the last interment which will be made in the ruined chapel at Holyrood. The late earl was a bachelor, and there seems to be some uncertainty as to his successor in the title. It is stated, however, that the honour devolves upon Mr James Augustus Sinclair, who was born in 1527, and has been one of the agents of the Bank of Scotland in Aberdeen since 18G3. GENERAL NEWS. According to an abstract which has been published of the accounts of the Glasgow Exhibition of last year, the estimated surplus is £41,079, and it is hoped that £4000 more will be obtained through the sale of the buildings. The liquidation of the old and well-known shipbuilding firm of Steeie and Co., Greenock, has now been completed, after going on for six years. In all 8s in the pound has been paid. Lipton, the famous provision dealer, is now going in for selling tea also, and to advertise the fact he had no less than 80 tons of tea landed and warehoused in Glasgow recently, this being the largest single consignment of tea ever landed in that city in one day. The tea was placed on 40 lorries, which were formed into procession and paraded the streets, headed by a band and pipers. A splendid new church having been built for the Barony congregation, Glasgow, the old building (once the church of Norman Macleod) has been sold for £2U7, which covers the cost of the removal of the material. At the annual breakfast of the Highlands and Islands Committee of the Free Church a minister from Campbeltown slated that there were 25 distilleries in that town, and that last year they aided the revenue by a sum of no less than £675,000." He thought that not more than two of the distillers belonged to the Free Church. A sailor, who has had both his legs amputated, has left Dundee on a tricycle journey to Paris, via London and Dover. He expects to reach Paris in three weeks. Another of the numerous blasts, for which Crarae quarry, near Inverary, is noted, took place there the other day. The mine was bored through the solid rock forß4ft, and five tons of gunpowder were placed in a chambei at the extremity. It was fired by means of two indiarubbor-covered fuses, each 6Sft long, which exploded 25-minutes after ignition, and dislodged between 70,000 and 80,000 tons of granite. The personal estate of the late Mr John Donaldson, shipowner, Glasgow, residing at Beechwood House, Partick, ha 3 been sworn as amounting to £59,265; and that of Dr Wm. Wallace, Glasgow, city analvist, at £8928.. At Dundee a child two years oE age choked itself and died by drinking a glass of water too rapidly. " Dixon's Blazes," so well knowu to all Glasgow people, disappeared la3t month for good, owing to the adoption of a new system of captnring the furnace amokain flues, and extracting tar, ammonia, and other residual products from it. The plant by which the change is effected cost £35,000. A scare was recently caused all along the south coast of Fife lately by a report that two lions had escaped from a menagerie which was travelling in the district. Many people locked their doors, and one farmer took his sheep out of the fields for safety. The report proved to be unfounded. A curious episode is reported from a parish church in Dumfriesshire. The precentor had just started a psalm, when the minister leaned over and said, " You are pitched too high." Thereupon, it is stated, " the pre-' centor incontinently dropped his book, looked up at the minister for a second, and saatching up his hat, quitted the church." It is reported that in the church door collections at Albert square Free Church, Dundee, during the past year, there were taken 15,000 pennies and upwards of 7000 halfpennies. Lightning struck a house in Dundee on a recent night, blowing out the bars of a grate and overturning and displacing furniture. The inmates, a father and two sons, slept through it all; and were amazed when they awoke in the morning and saw what had happened.