SCOTLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11046, 25 February 1898, Page 3

SCOTLAND.

(Fkoji Our Own Correspondent.) Edinburgh, January 13. THE FESTIVE SEASON. Despite the labour war, and the threatening outlook in so many parts of the world, people have been making holiday and seeking to he merry with unabated energy. This is, indeed, the onetime of year when the grave and plodding Scotsman becomes almost recklessly jolly, and yet he seems to have singularly little to show for his money and time when all is over aud be returns to his daily grind. This year Glasgow struggled on to Christmas through fogg which on one day (December 23) were said to have been uuequalled even in that quarter for 20 years. The lights in the street lamps were scarcely visible, and locomotion became not only difficult bat dangerous. Several people walked over the quays into the river, and one man, a c*rter, was. drowned. His horse and a girl who had been asking him the way were only just saved from a similar fate. The amount of gas delivered by the corporation in the one day was 31 millions of cubic feet, which is the highest figure on.recorfl in Glasgow, and represents six million feet more than the average daily supply at that time of year. The electric light supply was exhausted early in the day. Chrintmas Day itself was pleasant, and almost like spring. It was chiefly marked by the abnormal pressure on the post office, especially in regard to parcels, the number of which grows apacs e-?ery year. In Edinburgh English customs are ! steadily gaining ground, and each year sees an increase in the number of shops closed and of services held in churches of all denominations, j In the country generally, however, Christmas is still a day of small account.

Hogmanay was mild, though rather damp uuder foot, and New Sear's Bay was also very mild. In the ovening rain came on aud made things very, uncomfortable. The new year was welcomed with the customary carousing, and the scenes which were occasionally to be witnessed were shocking in the extreme. For several years past the publie-housas, at the re-com-ueuelation of the magistrates, were closed on New Year's Day. This year they were kept open till. 5 p.m., with the result that there was au enormous increase of drunkenness. E7en boys and girls were to be seen staggering about. A city councillor publicly stated that on visiting the police cells he found that their inmates had to be discharged aftar a few hours' incarceration.in order to make room for more helpless inebriates. As usual, the anniversary did not pass without its crop of accidents and crimes. A compositor named Herdman, residing ia Milne square, Edinburgh, is in custody charged with murdering, in a drunken frenzy, a wretched woman with whom he lived. She had l,een stabbed through, the lungs with a knife, and had previously been fearfully bit- . tered with some blunt wiiod^n implement, "probably a chair.... ..At Muss-lburgh a gardener in drunken rag 4 neatly killed his iiiecs. At Coatbridge a labourer in the same condition locked binnelf and his wife into, their house, which took fire,.and before thsy could be extricated both of tbem were burned to deafen. A number of deaths also occurred ia various places of persons who fell into cauais or perished from exposure while under the influence of drink. Every New Yuar drink costs Scotland as many lives as a battle. TERIUBLE RAILWA.Y COLLISION. As is too irequeutly the case, tne holiday season has besn marred by the occurrence of a sad fatality on the railway,, tikiug ou this occasion the form of a collision at Dunbar, by which a joung lady was killed and 11 other persons injured. The express which lets London at 11.30 p.m. on Sunday, tha2nd iusfc., .was somewhat late, riwiug to a storm of wind and I rain, and advantage was takeu of it being i behind time to ihuut a coal train at Dunbar. In doing this two waggons were c*p*iz-d. One of them was righted, but before this rould be done with the other the London express, drawn by two powerful engines, came sweeping round this curve at a speed 0f».60 miles an hour. It struck the waggon,, dashing it into spliutecs, while the leading eugius: was smashed, and the sleepers torn up ,lor 30 yards. The second engine, though.damaged, kept tb.9, rails, but two of the carriages were tehscopadj and others had their'sides ripped open by conSact with the coal waggons., To complete the horror of the scene, it was pitch dark. The noise ni*.de by. the collision gave the alarm and brought speedy help, but; *x*s and saws. bad to b« used to extricate aorna of the passengers. The driver of the leading engine received a severe blow on the head, but' his fireman, and the driver and fireman' of the other engine, escaped unhurt. Two young ladies,,. Daughters of exBailie M'Aipine, of Stirling, -were on their way to attend the funeral of their father, who had died on NewvYear's Day. The younger one wss killed, and. her sister was rescued, just iv time to prevent he-r, from succumbing to the pressure of thoVWris upon her.. Father and daughter, were .buried together at Stirling on January 5, amid' general tokens of sympathy. The Board of Trade ha 6 opened an official inquiry .into the csiuse of the aacidenb. . . .FATAL FIRE IN. GLASGOW. ,' .'." . . Glasgow hasten. filled, with mourning on account of the sad fate of four rnmnbsrs of its fire* brigade; ■wHo were killed in the ex<;oution of their duty on January 7. About 2.45 a.m. on that date a; youug clerk, who was escotting two ladies honife from a party, discovered a fire in the basement of premises near the top of Keofield street; occupied by -Messrs W. and R. Hatrick and G>., wholesaler chemists. He promptly gave the alarm, but the fire had got s. firm hold before the brigade could get to work, the''progress of the dimes being assisted by the , rooms being Hued with wood. Suddenly a tremendous explosion took place, sending the roof into the air,, aud in its fall it crushed everything below it. Four of the firemen were; buried iii the blazing ruins, and mnst have beeu killed instantly. Two others were injured, but escaped. The building was.reduced .to a ruin by the explosion, which is believtd to have, been caused by>the ignition of alcoholic preparations, which were stored on the premises in large quantities. AH the firemen leave widows aud families. One of them had been the life of a party the preceding evening. Another was killed before a message reached him from his wife asking him to come home as soon as he could, as his little girl was dying. It is -20 years since a fireman lost his life in GlasgoW while discharging his duty, and the occurrence has produced all the more sensation on that account. The funeral took place two days ago,; the service being held in Stl David's (Ram'shorn) , Parish. Church, Ingram street, close to the headquarters of the fire brigade. The Lord Provost, magistrates, councillors, municipal- officials, and delegates from: other brigades in Scotland were present. The processsipu marched.. from the church to the Necropolis, accompanied by a military and naval escort, and amid crowds larger, it is believed, than any which have ever previously been seen at a funeral in Glasgow. There was also a brief service at the graves.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY. Though several important industries have been suffering during the past year,' the general conditiou of the! country appears to be fairly prosperous. The engineering trouble is the most serious cloud-in the sky, but the jute trade in' Dundee is also very dull, and many looms have been stopped. This state of matters has led to a large decrease in the number of marriages registered in Dundee during the year. The butchers', boycott has caused much annoyance and incouveuience, but it does not appear to have injured any class to any appreciable extent pecuniarily, though the farmers are actively agitating agaiDst it. The Clyde sugar trade is in very lovr water, prices for fifst product beet sugar being the lowest ever knowa. They have averaged 8s 10£cl t as compared with 10s 6id in 1898. It is stated that through the decline of- sugar refining in Greenock the refineries there have been deprived of 530,253 tons of' raw sugar during the past nine years. The coal industry, though not brisk, has done better than was at one time expected, especially ia Fifeshire, whence .large quantities of coal are exported to the northern counties of Europe The total coal export from Scotland in 1897 amounted to 5,262,839 tons, being an increase of '445,810 tons for the year.

For several years there has been a steady growth in the number of limited liability companies formed in Scotland, and it would almost seem as if all the large hotels and retail businesses would in the future be conducted on this basis. Iv 1897 there were registered in Scotland 331 joint-stock concerns, with an aggregate capital of £17,182.633. These totals are the largest reached since the passing of the Limited Liability Companies Act.

_ The customs revenue collected at the principal Scottish ports has been satisfactory on the whole. Glaßgow . shows an increase of £89,083, an<l Dundee one of £53,289. Leith has apparently gone bae'e £25,766, but it is stated that this is explained by the transfer cf certain warehouses from the customs to the inland revenue. Aberdeen shows a decrease of £2695. Granton has advanced £11,802.

The Border tweed industry has been quiai; during tho year, and at no time have all the looms been at work. The dalness of trade has been caused partly by changes of fashion and partly by Yorkshire competition. To meet the latter there is some talk of starting in Hawick a factory for the produstion of ready-;made clothing. It is alleged that faera is somewhat of a falling off in the class of goods manufactured iv she Border towns, under the temptation to meet the demand for cheap articles. The hosieiy manufacture,' however, has maintained its ground.

The large lace manufacturing Bern of Morton and Co., st Darvel, Ayrshire, has for some years been giving its foremen bonuses on the profits of the business. The system has proved so successful that the. firm has in&uguratsd a scheme by which it will be extended to all the hands, numbtriag eoveral hundreds, tmpioyed in the factory.

I mentioned in tny last that, ii lar^e boot factory is about to be established at G»!ashiol*. Another is to be started st Linlitbgow, which

has long been a centre of this trade. The new factories, however, are to be on the American system, which has only been tried for 15 years or so in this country, notably in Jlaybol*, in Ayrshire, and at Glasgow. American machinery in to ba employed, and with this aid it is believed that Scottish workmen willbe able to hold their own. They are already ousting English goods from the Scottißtrmarket. One co operative society in Glasgow tarns out 10,000 pairs of boots weekly at, its factories. The American boots ate sa.id*to .excel in finish, but the English in wearing aualities. Arbroath is also an important bootmaking centre. On account of the importance of the subject,I give under a separate heading some account of CLYDE SHIPBUILDING IN 1897. The lamentable conflict in the engineering trade has, of course, told heavily npon the Clyde shipbuilding industry. But for this, in j fact, 1897 would have been a record year. As I it is, the figures are by no means to ba despised. > The 44 firms engaged in shipbuilding in the ; Clyde region launched between them 329 '■ vesneln, "with an aggregate measurement of 341,540 tons. This is equivalent to about 30 I per cent, of the entire output of the United ! Kingdom. The total value of the new i vessels is estimated at about £3,250,000, lor about a million pounds less thao liv 1896. The Urgest vessel built was the j first class cruiser Europa, oi 11,000 tons, whioh.- ---! ha* cost the British Goverameat £600,000. The ! Clyde builders have received rather a shock on fiadiug themselve3~ cut out in one respect by ! ■ Germany, the largest vessel built in the world during Uaa year being the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, measuring 11,000 tons, built at Stettin, j and which has already captured the Atlantic, record. Of the vessels launched on the Clyde, 120, representing 244,000 tonß, were for British owners ; 102, measuring 87,000 tons, for foreian | owners, Japan leading the' way; and 37, measuring 10,000 tons, for colonial and Indian firms. Only eight sailing vessels were launched during the year. Messrs Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, ' maintain the premier position among the shipbuilding firms io the kingdom with an output of 84,240 tons. The highest individual total on the Clyde only attains to the fourth place ia the figures for the entire kingdom. As usuil I append the names of the six leading firms on the Clyde, for the year, with theirtotel outputs :— Russell and Cj., Port GUsgow, 42 913 tons ; Connell and C 0.,, Scotstouo, 27,483 tons;! W. Denny and Bros., Dumbarton, 25,120 tons; Clydebank Engineering and Shipbuilding Company, 23,120 'tons ; D. and W. Henderson, Meadowside, 22,387 tons; and A. Stephen and Sons, Linthouoe, 21,379 tons. The contracts now in hand amount to fully 350,000 tODS, and include quite a number of warships of different kiuds. If only peace were restored in the engineering trade things would bo exceedingly brisk all along the Clyde. Many orders have bsen lost from this cause, including, it is affirmed by a responsible authority, one for several large warships for Japan. The number of workmen dependent upon the Clyde shipbuilding industry is estimated at close upon 40,000. -. - ; ■': ■■■•"■ A BIG, SAVINGS BANK. Lord PruvosV Richmond, iv presiding at the annual mestiog of the G!asgo\y S^vinga Bank, said it was the greatus-; in the kingdom, and represented tbe largest amount' of money iv- J vested by the public of any cifcy. The,report of j the trustees stated that a. larger volume of j business had bssn transacted daring 1897- than in any previc-us year. The p.usiher of accounts opened during the year'wii 35,302, and the baUnce due to the 198J273 depositors was £7,402.509. There was a free surplus amouh-.j ing co £135,668. In connection with the bank thera wer« 250 psnny. banks, conducted by up- ; wards of 800 iadie-t and g^utlemen who give their : services voluntarily. Th.3 number of youthful i depositors iv these peuny dmilci was 90.000, and during the year they dtpssitei £30:000. It was seated that the engineering dispute h»d not influenced the business of the Savings Bank to any e-xtent Ie must ba remem'oe'ed that this j institution 13 in no \v;ty connected with the-Post | Office Savings Bank.. It is suti^factory to find j that iv Glasgow, with all its squalor, so many j of the poor are able and willing to practise habits of thrift. ■ . : . , uis'IVERSITr OP EDINBURGH. .. •>; ■■ ,-. From tha annual report of this university, jast published, it »ppe.\rs that the total number of matriculated students is 2313, of which 206 are women: The number in ear-h of the Ficultie^is as follows :— .A rr.s,' 777 (including 191 women) ; science. 153 (including 4 wpm«n); Divinity, 60 ; law, 390 ; mediei<«\ 1423 (including 6 woin*«i) ; and music, 10 (■ucluding 5 women). There ara also 88 nou mikricujated students; of whom 43 are woihen, chiefly atbend-. ing music classes. The number: of wtomeu' attending. extra academical lectures, with a view to g-radustion in.'-medicina at the-uuiver-: sity in 1897 was 385, and.of thee 15 were con- ; ferred upon woniea. The Genaiv.l Ciiuncil of the University no> numbsM 8253 members'..'

. OBITUAUY RKpORD. '''!:/ One of the b-tsv kno.i»n of Scos-fih !aps^ap*e" painters has-j.ist pissed away in bh-i persoa of Mr J&tnes Aitkeii, X S.W., at the: age of 51. H« was jotauded for a commercial cireer, hiib'early abandoned bn-siafss for»tt;''aiid became a pupil of the late .H^rkio .M'CuHocb./ He especially achieved distincticii in ■ depicting Highland ruoow, lochs, and cliff *,'. as well as in pictuteiof Cinadiau scenery. In later years he devoted; himself mainly' to water-colour painting, in which he attained to equal emiueace. '

The Rev.; John M'Lacen," D.D ~ parish minister of Larbert, a! clergyman known throughout Scot-land, died on January 5, aged 74. D; M'Laceu had a very distinguished scholastic career, aud at the ngu of 19 became classical mister in George' Watson's Hospital, Edinburgh. He decliiir-ci a professorship in India, and in 18i7 he was appointed to the charge at Lvrber% which he held until his death. All through his life he took a special aad uaaful part in th« furtherance.of t.hs duse of education. la 1837 as : received the degree of D.D. from tho Glasgow University, and last year hs celebrated bia ministerial jubilee. . Mr Thomas G.-uiagr>r, a solicit >r holding an appointmaali in, the office of thti Paisley Police Commissioners, died on New Year's Day under extraordinary citcums-aGces. He was crossing the Clyde in the Renfrew ferry boat', and struck a match, which in abrae way set fire to his clothes. To extinguish the flsnui he leaped lato the river. He was promptly rescued, bat was then unconscious, aud ha died the same evening in Paisley Infirmary from the shock. Deputy Surgeon-general Houston died in Edinburgh..-, on Christmas D?.v. He was a native of Strathspey, and wa"s educated kt Ji-gin and at Glasgow University. His medical ewer was hi ludia frbia 1855 to 1886, during +J« greater pare of which tima he was tha leading medical officer in the State of Mysore, where hfe did good service. He is survived by his wife, ; who is a sister of Sir Arthur Mitchell, KQ.B.j su.d by two sons aud two married daughters. The deaths of the" following' persons are also renounced : —Mr Thomas. Matthews, agent of the National Bidlc of Scotland at Cirluke, and the oldest J.P. in ■ Lanarkshire, in the Middle Ward of which he was an influential man ; Mr James Wilson, factor of Luss estates for the Colquhoun trustees, and for 25 years, previously factor to the Earl of Glasgow at Hankshead ; Sir Archibald Dunbar; Bart., of Nortfield, Duffu3, a Deputy-lieutenant of Elginshire, at the advanced. age of 95; Mr George Paulin, late rector of Irvine Academy, sged 86. GENERAL NEWS. Scotland's share in the customary " N«w Year honours" is as follows :—Sir W. W. Hazier, ef Newlands and Mauldslie Castle, Lanarkshire, who was made «. baronet in 1890, is raised to the peerage. Dr J. B <fcfcy Take, Resident of the Royal College of Puysicians, Edinburgh, and an eminent specialist in mental disease, is knighted. A similar honour is conferred upon the famous anatomist, Emeritus Professor Strutuers, late President cf the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. Professor. Gairduer, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Glasgow University and Physiciau-in-Orduiary to the Quaen in Scotland, is made a'K.O.B. A' movement is on" foot to raise funds to restore, the ancient abbey of Paisley, by rebuilding the trausepts and great central tower. The personal estate of Mr T. H. Gaiiia, merchant, Bothwell street, Glwgiw, his been recorded at £37,359 ; that of Mr John Kidston, writer, Glasgow, at £28,837; ; and that of Mr1 Alexander Oruicksharik, Aberd°en, at "£24-,19t..- ■; . : . ;,. ; ...;.. .

Sir Robert Pullar has ihcreasfld to £6000 hisgift towards the cost of the recent extension and equipment of Shairp's Institution, Perth. Fund 3 are being raised at Hn.ddiugton:'-to meet the estimated cost (£7500) of a new bridge over the Tyne at the foot of Market stveev. .

Tho North- British Railway Company have purchased the Waterloo Hotel. Edinburgh, with a view to turning it into offices for their administrative staff.

A joiner's apprentice at Port Bannatyne, seeing a paper ball en the street, gave ie a kick, when a number of sovereigns and half-sove-reigns rolled out. It was found to contain £131 10.i in gold. JuHb before Christmas one firm «it Dandee shipped 60 terns of whisky to London. It was taken to the docks on 17 lorries, and £4000 of duty was paid upon it During December this ilrm paid over £50,000 in d.uty ou whiaky. The American weed which some time ago threatened to overrun'Locblflr.ea seems to be dying out- of its own accord, immense quantities of it have come away from the roots, and have been piled up in heaps along the shore by the action of the winds and wives.

During 189? the quantity of gmiite exported from Aberdeen amounted to 57.678 tons, beit>g an increase on the previous ysarV total of 4584----tuns. Stranpra to ssy, 13,82* tons of foreign grauile, chiefly from Norway and Sweden, were imported.

At a marriage party at Dunbar, a young baker named Adam Taylor fell ,^o.™ while dancing, and died before a doctor cculd be obtained.

Irregular marriages by a declaration before thi sheriff show an increase iv Glasgow during e«ch of the "last three years. The numljer in

1897 was 902. The working classes favour this procedure on account of its expedition and cheapness. Steps are being taken in Kirkcaldy to obtain the necesaary parliamentary powers to extend the harbour and construct a new line of railway to it, as well as to provide the town with tramj ways on the electric overhead system. At Dysart, too, the harbour is to be enlarged and deepened. . - The. late Miss Mary Playfair hag bequeathed I £1000 for the benefit of the poor of Alvth Perthshire.! K-,~.:v.,-,n ~- ,■;,,,.;,.. ..... .. / '. J The Moray Firth being now the resort of trawlers from different countries, who are said to disreg&rd the laws regulatiug trawling, the Buckie fishermen held a public meeting at j which they reiolved to take the law into their own hands if the Government did not maintain an efficient sea police. Additional vigilanca has consequently"been" enjoined upon'the fishery gunboats, but the Government decline to bring the matter of trawling before the foreign Governments concerned, alleging that the present is not a suitable time to .raise the question. The Marquis and Marchioness oE Breadalbane, who are among the most popular of Highland landed proprietors, celebrated their silver wedding at Taym-iuth Castle on December 22, amid general rejoicings. The tenants presented' Lord . Breadalbane with a congratulatory address encloned in a silver casket; Srid the marchioness with a diamond star. The Breadalbane estates stretch no less-than 100.miles from east to west. .■'"'' '. ''. '"'.■'. The hundredth anniversary of the birth of DV Macbeth Moir, the "Delta" of "Blackwood's .Magazine" and the author of " Mausie Wauch," "was celebrated at Musselburgh on January 5 by a dinner, at which " The Memory of Delta" was proposed by Emeritm-professor Masson. During the proceedings the hall-, keeper, Sergeant Fade, was struck by apoplexy, and died in a few minutes; while one of the guests, Mr A. D. M. Black, W.S., of Edinburgh, sustained a stroke o£ paralysis.