SCOTLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12650, 30 April 1903, Page 10

SCOTLAND.

(Ffiosi Oun. Own Cojimsjosbekt.) EDINBURGH, March 5. STORMS,-FLOODS, AND FIRES. February is proverbially a month of rain or snow in thie. country, and this year it has boon. living. well up, to its reputation. From the first day to the last it has been one continuous storm, with just a very occasional breathing time of calm for a forenoon or so. .Soon after my last letter left'the rainfall brought down tho rivers, and espeoially tho Clydo, Tny, and Spoy, in tremendous flqod. ' Tho two latter riven turned largo tracts of country into a sea, though happily in thinly populated diistrietp. It was otherwise with the Clyde. Just where it enters Glasgow at R-ntherglmi, that- muchused and much-abnsed stream broke through its embankments, and wrought havoc to many of the works which crowd together there, flooding them to a depth varying from Bft to 15ft. The' workers hail to flee for their lives, and • in the case of tho Phcenix Tuba Works some- of tho men had to swim for it, and one was nearly drowned. In the rame place the water, by coming in contact- with a quantity of molten spelter in a- tank, caused an explosion which did great damage. Tlie river knocked down walls and buildings, and carried away machinery in some, pases, and in others covered it. with sand. The damage done is estimated to amount to fully £60,000. Below Glasgow large pieces of the river bank woro swept away in several places,

Last week the -galea culminated in a S.W. titorm. of exceptional violence, which did serious damage, • especially' to shipping on the west coast. Stornoway Harbour was crowded with injured craft of all kinds and sizes, and a largo Bristol steamer was wrecked on the island of Mull. In the Firth of Clyde the wind caused an, exceptionally high tide. At' Ayr tho waves broke over the sea wall and esplanade in huge masses. At Helenslnirgh the water dashed over Clyde street into the shops oij the farther- side. At Dundee the shipping was in danger ovon in the docks', and immense damage- was done to the esplanade. Glasgow.has,had its troubles from fire as well as from water. Tho third disastrous fire which has occurred in ils harbour during the last three months broke out on February 18 in tho timber, oil, and turpentine store of Mr "William Stevens, Old Govan'road, opposite Finnicston Ferry. The inflammable materials caused a stupendous flame, and for a time the roadway-was turned by the burning oil into a river of fire. Next day tho firo broke- out again, and although .all tho fire engines in the city were brought to bear upon it, and there was an abundant water snpply in the river, it was not mastered for houis. A stream of blazing oil ran down n sewer into the river, forming an extraordinary sight and endangering the shipping. The damage is estimated lo exceed , £50,000. A fire by whioh £>10,00f) worth of damage was canned took place in the large house-furnishing warehouse- of Mcssre Moore, Taggart. and Co., Trongatc. A local insurance authority stated the other day that Glasgow has now earned the unenviable reputation of lioing "the fieriest town" in the kingdom. TRADE AND INDUSTRY.

For three years pa3t great new gasworks for the supply of Edinburgh and Leith have been in course of erection at Granton, and they were formally opened on February 27. .Their total eo3t" is about £450,000. The retort-house- is believed to be the largest in the world, and is capable of carbonising 1000 tons of coal per day. Tho gas-holder, which is a prominent object in the landscape even from tho other sido of the Firth of Forth, has a capacity of 7,000,000 cubio feet. On account of its distance from the city the gas-is pumped by.powerful engines-to a central station at Canonmills, whence it is distributed by main pipes varying from 15 to 24- inches in diamoter. By tho adoption of new chemical methods and labour-saving appliances a great economy will bo effected in tho gas-making' operations. As compared with the , outlay at the old works in the valley just to the east of the Waverlcy elation, the saving will amount to no Icm than from £40,000 to £50,000 per annum. Railway connections have been formed with both the Caledonian and North British systems, and tho woUbeing of the workmen has been liberally considered.

Tho reduction in wages in the Clyde-ship-building yards on account of tho falling off in new order 3 ha*- reluctantly been acceded to by the men, acting under the advice of their representative-. At on* time a strike was feared, but nothing could.be- more suicidal, in the present state of affairs. Since the settlement was effected several large orders hayo baen received, which, will help to kee-p things , going. 'It is also 'announced that an amalgamation is lo bo effected between Messrs John Brown and Co. (of Clydebauk and Sheffield) and Messrs Frittr and Co. (Sheffield). This is said to be a result of the- union soma. time ago of Messrs Beardmore (of Glasgow) and Yickers, Son, and Maxim, Limited (of Barrow). It would see,ra as if this wero the beginning of the fusing together of various concerns into bigger 01163, which is taking place so largely in banking and ship-owning <Tust as companies are'swallowing' up private businesses, so these monster combines are swallowing up tho companies 'of more moderate dimensions.. ,

Though little is known on the subject, the building of Shamrock 111, with which Sir Thomas Lipton is gains to try again to win the America Cup, is proceeding steadily in .'Messrs Denny's yard at Dumbarton. It is announced that the- order fr,r tlio yacht's sails Ikis been entrusted to a leading Dundee* firm of manufacturers. The material is stated to bo the finest linen, and lo ba of a slightly yellow colon)'. Whaling docs not seem to ho played out yet, by any means. The company which owns (he Dundee steam whaler Diana has just declared a dividctKl of 25 per cent., in addition to'an, interim dividend of 100 pet

oont. declared- some timu a.gn, making 125 per cent, for the 12 months I am told that it is .1 em-ioiis fact, tbni all the wlinloboue wliieii finds its way into the market,

V.'bero it fetches £2000 per lon nml upwards, is bought lij- Jew.s. Nobody knows what they, do with it, but I am assurod that it is not empoyed in the manufacture of corsets.

As a result of the popular outcry that our railway.; are behind the times and ought lo study and follow the method? adopted in America, (ho Caledonian and London nml North-Western Companies are going to pond, a deputation composed of a number of their leadim; officials to the "United States. They will more especially study llie coxstrnction and handling of rolling stock of large capacity, and the newst methods of automatic

signalling. • The Inspector of Poor in Dundee, in a report just i'siied, says that in all the largo centres o{ nopulation tho aged poor arc slowly and steadily increasing. Tho Work-

men's Compracation Act lias had the effect of driving out the- elderly men and wornout workers, as well ,13 the "weaklings and wokls." Many of the last-named'are the offspring of tho lowest of the population, and have been menially and ' physically feeble from their earliest days. In Dundee, as in all tho larger parishes, the experience of Poor Law authorities was that a prolonged season of prosperity with high wages did not lend to the decrease of pauperism.

Tho Spanish Government sued tho Clydobank Engineering and Shipbuilding Company for £75,000 damages, for failure to

deliver in time four torpedo-bout destroyers which had been ordered for tho purpose of preventing supplies of ammunition from reaching the Cuban insurgents. It was averred that if these vessels had been delivered in iime-tli.e- insurreotion might have been put down- and tho war with America averted. The action mw brought under tho penal clauses of the contract. The judge, Lord KyliVchy, decided in favour of the Spanish Government, and awarded them £67,000 as damage?. The action awakened much interest, and tho decision is regarded as of much importance commercially. MINISTERIAL " FLY TING." For a considerable time the- city of Perth has been agitated and diverted by a squabble- between the Rev. D. G. Manuel, minister of St. Andrew's parish church in that city, and 1115 late- assistant, the Rev. R. S. Bareiay. , After various verbal encounters the matter was fought to a finish in 'the Court of Session. Mr J'arcky claimed £2000 from Mr Manuel for publishing a letter m his parish magazine- in which he said that he knew' of facts in Mr Barclay's life Mid' conduct- which, if dkclosed, wou'.d cause a "terrible revelation." Naturally people thought that this moant drunkenness or immorality, or both. When, however, the case was threshed out in court, it proved that all that the defendant had to allege against his former assistant; was that he- had once or twice been a little untidy in his drees at- olmrrh, that his liocts . on one oecMon had not- been property ; lacod, and that he had written him one or two insub-ordinato letters. The Lord President, in summiiiig up, said that Mr Barclay's conduct had not been entirely free fro:n blame, j-c-t it did not merit bring dcforibsd as a "lerrib'e revelation," and ho thought j the damages should not be nominal, or. very i small. After an absence from court of only 1 eight minutca the- jury returned a verdict j in favour of Mr Barclay, awl- awarded him •■ £500- damages. The. result of the trial j created groat jubilation in Perth, and on j Mr Barclay arriving there from Edinburgh . a crowd numbering several thousands met him at the'station. Hβ was carried shoulder, j high, nreeeded, by three pipers, to his houpo in Mothvcm rtreot, whore h-9 appeared at' an upper window and mado si. speech of 20 . minvttce' duration to tlw crowd. It may be I confidently predicted that one minister at lca?t will be more measured in his language ; in future. It would bo well if tho lesson-' were kid to heart by "the cloth" generally. It is a matter of everyday remark that nowhere is more bitter and violent lan- j guagc indulged in than in church courts ' ami otfer places where clerical volcajicce a-ro wont to break forth in eruption. No ! other gatherings of educated persons aro such glaring sinners in ihw respect. I T/iwyew, teachers, doctors, and business: me-n can differ without abusing each other. ! Why eanhat ministers do so? No wonder that one hears ministers spoken of now in terms of contempt which wore utterly undreamed of 25 years ago. CHURCH RTOT IN ROSS-SHIRE. I have, had from time, to time to record the bitter feeling, culvinating .in open violence, (-specially in the island of -Lewis, c-ausod in tho Highlands and Hands by the union between the Free and United Pros- 1 byterian Churches. TJmc seems to do nothing to allay this feeling, which breaks out every now and again. The other Sunday even-ing, for example, the U.-F. adherents at Urquhart, Ross-shire, who have had to Irare- their church, were worshipping ■ in the school at Kinkell, when some- of tho ; anl.i-Unionistfl flung open the doors, smashed , the windows. ™t throw r-tcnes into the.' building, ro Uiai. it wiw found impassible to , continue the service, which was tho first : one hold iii the district by the Unionises. Further violence has been hinted at, but eo far it has not own attempted. It h difficult for tho non-Cel'tic mind to understand how zeal for Uio worshin of God can find expression in such cowardly rowdyism. Such acts, however, show how little tho meiio religionism of tk Highlands has to do with what is truly spiritual. DRUNKEN .STIRLING.

Tho Rev. Leonard Isitt has been causing some commotion in the nneient burgh of Stirling by • declaring, in an address de- 1 livcred (hero on a recent Sunday evening, I that, "it was 0110 of tho drunkenesl holes ho had over entered." Ho doubted if there wan a town in Great Britain where the liquor traffic was more openly dominant, lawlres, ; and glorified. In 20 minutes on the previous 1 (Saturday) evening he. raw in one of tho main I streets dozens of drunken men entering I pnblichouses. He opened (ho doors of several of these publiohouses and paw drunk men, some hanging <m to the liar, being served with liquor. In one place he found a- mm lying drunk on thn floor, and from another " a mure hoy" had to l>B carried : home. He took two policemen to a publichouse and pointed out drunk men to them, but _ they did nothing. If (here were 20' Christian men in Stirling prepared to do their duty thie state of things need not exist another month. Of coiiKe siioh damaging statements as these wore- bound to call out a reply from the police. T!:c Chief Constable cent to tho magistrates a rcuort in which he eaid that the niorlit referred to by Mr Isitt was an exceptionally quiet one in regard to drunkenness, the weather being wet and stormy. Ihn two constables mentioned by Mr Isilt said that (ho, men whom he had pointed out ' to them in a publichouse- wore- not drunk. Mr Isitt wa? OjSkf.d to indicate tho other ; places of which he had spoken, but he replied, declining to irive the information sought, for. The Chief Constable said that lift considered it was a most cowardly act on the part of Mr Isitt. after making simh lalso charge.-, and slandering a respectable community, to say that he 'could not promice witneesee to corroborate his Matrmcnß So the matter stands, as it usually does in such squabbles. To tlm eye or a teetotal lecturer a place is a "drunken hole," while it own Chief ConstaMo regards it .11 "a respectable community." Perhaps dispassionate neople, especially if they know nny. thing of Stirling will lie disposed to think that t.l'e truth lies between the extreme?— tlirit the town is not quite a hell, Dor yot altogether a, heaven. DRUNKENNESS AND IMPRISONMENT.

During a recent visit to Leith Low! Balour of Btirleigh, tlio Scottish Secretary, lade some interesting remarks regarding his low famous letter to the magistrate's of Jlasgow, in which ho pointed out that the lumber of commitments to priran was, in | iroportion to Mio population, much greater I] Scotland than in England or Ireland. ?ho statistics sho«-«l that this mis due to nany more Scotsmen than Englishmen or rishmen electing'to go to prison rather than i iay a fine. Being convinced that this wiw lot to bo wholly explained by Hie Scottish 'ohictanco to part with money, ho lud had he cases for Scotland ami Ireland (both joing whifky-drinking countries) for Ihrpo ; nontlis carefully examined and compare;!, ft was found that out of 22.000 cases in [reland the fino- was under 5s in 12.000 cases. ■ In Scotland, out of 24,000 fiimiiar rases there wore only 1200 in which the' fine was under 5.5. That explained the matter, showing, ns it did, that in Scotland the money penalty imposed was larger, and so more people wore unahlc to pay it, and hod to go to prison in default. He asked Scottish magistrates to consider wlietW they were too severe, or the costs too high, j j or lrcro the circumistances of the persons irho j

Iwcro fined- sufficiently considered. Ho si>g- ! gested that it was better that oases of ilrunk- '< enness"should'lie purged by a fine, rather i than by an imprisoment which was too show i to reform the- offender, which punifheri inoro ' Bovo'i-oly those cloopndent upon him, ami ■ which put a-prison taint upon a largo, proj portion of the population. It is to he hoped .' these sensible remark? will cause llio Jllimeirous "Bailie bodies" who seek show their importance and to get a reveniio out of the- " drunks " broiight before rliem by. fining themjieavily, to see the .stupidity..ami traelty of their ways. .; - ' . OBITUARY RECORD.

Mr Alexander Walker, senior partner of tlie firm of William Walker and ■Sons, Union stroor, Aberdeen, died on February 10; aged 77. Ho did. £O(i[l service in tlio Town Coun

if, and as jWu of. Build, chairman of the. JCdncatioiial.Trust,, .and in other capacities. He was also- a .discerning and liberal patron of local taSent-in art matters. In 1895 h< received tlio honorary degree of Hi.D. fron

hev. University of Aberdeen. He ,is survived l>3' ilirro sons and two daughters. -Mr .lainc-3 Fiiilajvon, of the well-known firm of Fiiilayjon, .Bousfield, and Co., thread manufacturer.?, died on February 16; aged £0. Ho trai elected 31.P. for lintt Renfrewshire in the Liberal interest in 1885, biit «-Jie:i Mr Gladstone dissolved Parliament in the following year he did not seek xo-olce-lion. Ho was a. director of (lie Glasgow

and-South-Western Railway Company for 30 years, nnd took an influential yart. in the mMKigwnMit of other important undertaking; in the West of Scotland.. i\lt G«'orge Miln, solicitor and bankc

no of the leading citizens of Arbfoath, died in February 15; aged 67. He took a proninsiifc part in tho affairs both of tho town' md coimly, and'was',much respected. ■Mv Joliii L. Gibson, a well-known Damfries manufacturer, died on iebruary 21; aged 81. He was much csfccmwl alike for hie integrity hind enterprise. Ho was the first hosiery manufacturer in the country to abolish the opprerdive " frame rent." This was in 1571, ami some years later he started

making gloves, 'and was th-c first jnmiufachirer in ■ Scotland to adopt fancy tuck work ■to ilioEo articles^

The Rev. Dr David Somervjlle, minister of itaseburn U." F. Church, Edinburgh, died on February 26; aged 64. He was a, dis : languished' student and a. Cunningham lecturer, iw well as a frequent contributor to the .Critical Reviow. lfo held charges in Dundee and Rothesay teforo coming to Edinburgh. As a. cultcred and earnest preacher Iμ was much appreciated. Principal Rainy is an older in Jiis .congregation. He received the (logjijo of D.I), from Edinburgh University, Jiis.p.lma mater, in 1699. But ,i few days before his death the .presbytery' had -granted an application for leave, to calla colleague and• successor to Dr Somervillo, who bad liqen , ' prevented by a throat affection from preaching for somo time.. Mr'Williain'.Miller, actuary of the Glasgow Savings Bank, died on February-21; aged.-56. To his ability, industry, a:id integrity the great, success of the bank is largely due. It has now 250,000 depositors, wilii funds amounting to about £10,000,000,• and is believed to lx> the largest institution of the kind, not'-under Government, in the wHd. Mr' Miller's death has caused great Tertret/iti Glasgow. .'J-ho'Rev. Dr K. it. Speiice, parish -minister of iVrbuthnot, Kinoardinoshire, died on March 3; ■' aged 75. Ho was ordained in 1849, and a , year later 'was appointed to the charge'which he hold up to the end of his life. Ho was widely known as a contributor to periodicals on subjects connected with Biblical criticism; ccelceiology, and other' branches of archaeology. As a Shakeepcrian 1 scholar his einmnice was generally acknow-" 1-ed.god. In IE9O his church was largely restored under his direction. . GENERAL NEWS. The Earl of Leven and Melville has been j again appointed Lord High Commissioner. i to the General' Assembly of the Church of I Scotland, which meets in May, as usual. I The Town Council of Edinburgh has i solved to .confer the freedom of the city J upon-.Lord-. Balfour of Buvlpigh in recogni- ! tion of his public services to Scotland. ! Sir Herbert Oaldey, who was long and widely jraoivn as Professor of Music in the . University.'of Edinburgh, is reported to tie j occupied .in..writing his reminiscences. ! V.iscoliiit.' 'jEdier has purchased the estate of St.tnltj on the phore of Loch Imbnaig, and ; including part of Ben Ledi. He has rented the shooting, there for some years - While 50 troopers of the 17th Lancers were ; exarasmg their liorses on Portobello sands the other day-one of the- men suddenly began to bohavo in such an'extraordinary ; way that ho had to bo bound with horses' ! re "": H< ? "'"■ s conveyed in an ambulance to Piorshill Barracks, wlioro he was foutrtt , to bn suffering' from a fit of epilepsy. He is 21 years of age, and has seen service in ] South Africa. ■• • i The Glasgow magistrates have " wobbled " i on the barmaid question'. ■ After a ■ pro. longed discussion of the subject amongthemeelvcs'in private, they agreed to allow women to be employed in licensed premises .where a bona fide restaurant business is earned on, but men-niiist be employed in any bar need principally for drinking purposes. : The, Rev. .A. E., Garvie, Congregational • Church, MnntrosD. has been appointed Pro- i fo'sor of the Philosophy of Theism, Com-' ; parative P.olistion. and diristian Ethics in the A*w and Hackney Colleges, Hampstead, London. ■• •• ■ At a meetinj-of the Dundee United Free Presbytery -Hie "Rev. J. Bnveridge, convener of the Temperance Committee,' said I'haJ 10,000-'meh)hw.o wore lost to their 1 Church' every year , through intemperance. , fenrfly 66 per cent, of the ministers in the ' presbytery were "supposed to be" total abstainers. : In one of a course of Celtic lectures delivered by him at Glasgow University, Irofepsor Maprnus Maclean said that at tho beginning of the nineteenth century'scarcely a. parish or clachan throughout the Highlands and Islands had not its own poet. ISow, however,' there was not a single Gaelic bard of known reputation anywhore in tho Highlands. These that remained lived in ■the.cities and towns of the south. The mail steamer Kngal, while crossing from the island of Tireo to Olian the- other

I iiom the island of Tireo to Olwn the. other day, met with very heavy weather. A yonnjr t woman on board was eo alarmed by the i rolling; and pitching of the vessel Hiat sho ! went raring mad, ami had to be placed under restraint. _?"'«««[ "DAhicl , J. Cunningham, of Tr.mty College,' 'Dublin, has been anpoWd ; to succeed Sir William Turner n,s Professor I of Anatomy in _ Edinburgh. University. At »n Mitlmsiaptic public meeting held in ! Penicmek. Sir Charles W. Cowan was presented mil, a testimonial on liis retirement mio private life after having anted .as lrovost of tho burgh for no less than 33 years. . , •■■',. The annual report, Just published, of Dr : Uouston, physician sunerintendent of the Mommgsido Asylum, Edinburgh, mentions that during the year there was an cnidemio of colitis, or asylum dysentery. Two of tho. asylum cats .were found to be .suffering from the disease, and thereupon "the catlife of the establishment came to a very abrupt termination "—no doubt to the rejoicing of the rats, whose presence thero Dr Cloiutoh admits. . Damage estimated to amount to fully £6000 .has been done by a. fire' at flie : mansion houso of Ralston, Paisley, the. seat of Sir Charles Cayzer, M.P. The following personal estates of de- ' cosed individuals liavo been recorded fince my lar.t:-Mr Ardiitold Hood. Lof'ini' Pnnl ; Company. ■ ISoswe!!, Midlothian, "£210,147; Mie? fflizab?}h .Qnriiegy, Trinity, Edinburgh, £71,016; Lady.Xouisi. ]3ruce." of Pitliver, Dmifcrmline. sister, of the Karl of Elffin, £60,465: Mr.JaniP* Paton, chwnist, 5 Mer- , chiston' Park-, Edinburgh, £24,936.