NOTES FROM SCOTLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14002, 7 September 1907, Page 5

NOTES FROM SCOTLAND.

(Fkoh Our Ow* Cobrespondent.) EDINBURGH, July 25, ROYAL .VISITORS. The Prince and Princess of Wales arrived at Dalkeith on July 9, and stayed there for a week as -t'he-guests of-, the Duke and Duchess of Buceleuch. On tlhe 10th their Royal. Highnesses opened the great show of the Highland and Agricultural .Society of. Scotland, which, was this year held in Edinburgh, on the^southeastern border of the city. This, of coiiree, helped the attendance, but it did not rise'to the level attained ciglit'years ago, when. it-was opened under""preciselysimilar circumstance} by his'pra-cnt.'Ma-jesty the King, who was then Prince of Wales. The showery weather did not improve the state of the ground, and outside the entrance some 30 shoeblacks did a roaring trade with departing visitore. On the "lltU _ their Royal Highnesses- made their. official. entry into the city, where ths Prince laid the foundation 6tone -of the r.ew Art School, which is to be erected in Lauriston, on the site which was till qnito recently occupied 1 by the cattle market. The chief fire-engine station stands at- the entrance, and here there was erected a novel triumphal arch in the form of a capital A,'composed of;two fire-escapee meeting at the top and braced by a fire-ladder in the centre. Alt three were manned by firemen in uniform, and wearing their polished brass'helmets,. In Minto street there was a beautiful triumphal arch of a floral description. Apart from these, the decorations were very ordinary, and tlio cheering was noticeably poor. After the stone mentioned had been laid, their Royal Highnesses paid a brief visit to the Jubilee Pavilion of the Royal Infirmary. Two days' later the Prince paid a special visit to the t Forth Bridge, which lie minutely inspected, both from the railway and from, the water beneath. He was interested to learn that the weight of the iron and steel in tlio bridge was just about equal to that of four battleships. After leaving the brid.ee the Prince and Princess drove through Queencferry to Hopetoun House, where they were received by the Marchioness of Linlithgow, in the absence from home of the Marquis. On July 15 they left Dalkeith House and returned to London,

VISIT OF THE CHANNEL FLEET. The week before the Prince and Princess of Wales were with us much interest was aroused by a. visit of the First Division of the Channel Fleet, under the command o£ Vice-admiral Lord Charles' Beresford. It wa6 stated to be the most powerful fleet that has ever been seen in the Firth of Forth. It was manned by 20,000 officers and moil, and represented an aggregate money cost of 40 millions sterling. Unhappily, a seaman of the battleship Hibernia fell overboard when tlw fleet wan passing the Baes Rock, and was drowned in spite of prompt efforts 1o save him. The torpedo boats and' destroyers passed under the Forth Bridge and anchored off Rosyth; while the battleships and cruisers anchored in three parallel lines just below the bridge. During the stay of the fleet, which lasted for a week, the weather was for the most part cold and wet, and there was also'some blundering as to co-operation bet-ween the Admiral and the Lord Provost, but 1000 of tho sailors were entertained by the Corporation at a variety performance in the Theatre Royal. On the Sunday, which wis a fine day, tens of thousands of peoplp visited Queensferry, aifd the congestion of vehicles, was so great- that- they wcro not allowed to turn, but had to go on through Queensferry and return toEdinburgh by another road. A boat- containing three visitors was upset alongside the Gladiator, but its occupants were rescuefl. ,- Oil leaving the Forth the fleet proceeded to Aberdeen, where it remained for a week, and .was Hie centre of many festivities. It- then proceeded to Invcrgordon to join the Second Division of. the fleet, which has been there for some* time. Manoeuvres on a- large scale are shortly to take place in the North Sea. The Dreadnought -has been undergoing gunnery trials in the Moray Firth, and the officers of all the ships' have hfen acquiring a useful knowledge of the Scottish coast.

NEW HONOURS. In the list of honours bestowed in connection with the official celebration of the Kin it's birthday Scotland has a fair repre?, sentation. Mr Euwno Wason, a London barrister wlio is M.P. for the Clackmannan Burghs, has been made a Privy Councillor. Mr .Tohn A. Dewar, head of the well-known Perth whisky company, formerly Lord Provost- of Perth, and now M.P. for Inverness-shire, has been'created a Baronet. The new Scottish kniehts are:—Mr David Brand. Sheriff of Ayrshire. well known as President of the Royal Commission for the Highlands and Islands and a member of the Congested Districts Board; Dr Jtpros Donaldson, Principal of. the University .-of St. An--4?!BS6i Mf! Nathaniel jyriciijjil

parkier of the Allan Line Company audi chairman of the Clyde Navigation. Trust;' Mr W. Q. Orchardson, R.A., who is a native of Edinburgh; • and Mr J.' B. Smith, of' the firm, of Smith and Wellstood, ironfoundcrs, of Glasgow, London, and Dublin, who Ims for 20 years been, President of the Stirling Burghs Liberal Association. The appointments .have' given much satisfaction in Scotland, which is ,1 circumstance of its • kind sufficiently, raro to call for notice.

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CLYDE. The advance of the Clyde in its shipbuilding and allied industries is expected to receive an impetus by two events which have been announced'* during the past month. The first, of these is a combination ivliich ins bean entered into by the two great shipbuilding-awl engineering firms of John Brown and Co., of Clydebank and Sheffield, and Harland - and "Wolff, of Belfast. I need say infilling regarding the eminence of these firms, and would simply add that the combined concerns, • with their subsidiary companies, employ in their.various mines and works over 30,000 men, whoso aggregate wages bill.aiiiorunts to more than £2,250,000 per annum. The Belfast firm are at present constructing, repairing works on a large Reals at Southampton. They have been for some time engaged in a bitter dispute with tile Belfast Corporation, whom they accuse of opposing their interests, and at a recent meeting of tho company the Oliainnan announced, with considerable 'heat, that on no account would any further extension of the Belfast-works tako,place. The capital of John Brown and Co. is being increased by a million and a-hnlf. The Chairman of this' latter, company, stated the otlier day that it was not too much to say -that- noarly all the largo Aitlauic.liners now afloat under tho British flag 'had been built either at 'Clydebank or Belfast. Since these words' were £poken the huge Cunarder Lusitanin-, just built at. Clydebank, has been successfully taken down the river; and -is about to undergo lier trials. Part of 'fclio upper channel was specially. dredged for tho occasion, and all passed off without 'a* hitch, though the great ship's progress was extremely slow until'after ehe ihadl passed Dumbarton; .' - ' • Tho other step in advance to which I liavo referred is the • selection, of a site on the Firth of Clyde by tiho Admiralty. for .the .establishment, of a torpedo depot. The site in question is on an extensive pieco of vacant ground immediately adjoining (on the west) Fort Matilda, Greenock.. Here, the nccessary, works, „wjU.. b6 erected, and though at first-only some 400 men will be employed, this nuniber is likely to be increased! -very •• largely. • in! course o! time. . I' happen to know the spot well, and to an ordinary observer iti oertainly looks well adapted to -the- 'purpose in contemplation. The owners- of the jnany handsome villas which'overlook it may not like the development, but they will have to accept-it. The works Trill have tho • protection in time of war. o£ Fort Matilda, as wll as of a. new fort which is being constructed on the opposite shore at Kilereggan. The" torpedoes', when manufactured,' are' to be tested in Looh Long, which is olose at ham 3, deep, a.nd! traversed by very' few' vessels.' ' I should)'not'■wonder if this, new 1 step should in time become a powerful additional argument for the enlarging of tho Forth am<J Clyde Canal, o! which-I -wrote in.my last letter. - ■ SCOTTISH. BANK AMALGAMATION..

, Not. a little surprise Las been created by the announcement that a'scheme is on foot for the amalgamation of tho. Caledonian Banking Company (Ltd.), with the Bank of Scotland. The former, is the youngest and smallest of tho 10 Scottish banks at present iu existence, and its business, is carried on principally in the Higblamls. It wis established in 1838; and carried on a fairly successful business until the panic caused by the failure of tie City of Glasgow Bank in 1878- caused it to close its doors for some months. On resuming business'it gradually retrieved its fortunes' by careful management, and was of much service to the Highland trade.. It is, however, but a small affair compared with the other Scottish banks, its capital amounting to only £150,000. ■ The general depreciation. in securities told heavily upon it, so that by degrees its reserve fund dwindled from £81,000 to £43,000. The manager, Mr C. M. Brown, died on March 3 last, and tlis vacant post has not been filled up. The head office of the Bank is at Inverness. ' i ;

The Bank of Scotland, wbioh lias been rather at a standstill for some years, took a new start- when Sir George. Anderson was appointed its chief officer in 1899. Since then its reserve fund has been increased by'£34o,ooo, and its dividend lias risen from 12 to 16 per cent. In other ways also its position, has been improved, so that at its last annual meeting the- Governor, Lord Balfour of Burleigh, was able to describe ilj as being "in a much stronger position, inside and outside, than it has ever been before in its Ion); history." The amalgamation will bring its total assets up to the large total of £24,000,000. The terms of amalgamation provide, inter alia, that the Bank of Scotland will undertake the whole of the Caledonian Bank's liabilities; that £1 5s stock of'tho Bank of Scotland, carrying dividend front January 28 last, will be allotted to the shareholders of the Caledonian Bank for each share of £2 10s; the present directors of the Caledonian Bank will be continued for 10 years; and the Bank of Scotland will pay all the expenses connectcd with the transfer and winding up of the Caledonian Bank. The officers of the Caledonian Bank arc to be taken over and continued for the present in the service of the Bank of Scotland at their existing salaries. A special meeting of the shareholders of the Caledonian Bank is to bo held on July 31 to consider the ivho'o matter, and to pass certain resolutions, which will have to be. confirmed by a subsequent meeting. The general feeling seems. to he entirely in favour of the amalgamation, though in the Highlands regret ■ is naturally felt at the disappearance of a local institution. The branches of the Caledonian Bank number 34. Of these only four are in places in which the ;Ban!c of Scotland has brandies; and of. these last two have been in existence for a year only.

GRANDDAUGHTERS OF BURNS. The announcement has been made that a civil list pension of £ICO each has been granted to Mrs Sarah Hutchinson and Mies Annie Beckett Bums, both of Cheltenham, "in consideration of the eminence of their grandfather, Robert Burns,, as a poet, and of their advanced age and inadequate means of support." Mrs Hutchinson, who was born in 1821, is the daughter of Colonel James Glencaim Burns by his first wife. She married a Cheltenham doctor in 1847, and has one soil, who is a clerk in Chicago, and married ; two daughters, married, but without issue; and an unmarried• daughter, who resides with her mother. Miss A, B. Burns, who lives with her sister, was born in 1830. Both ladies have been m straitened circumstances, and in consequence of this had to sell various Burns relics. v One of t-hc-se, Burns's- bible, was sold by Mrs Hutchinson for £1750, and was' subsequently acquired for the little museum in Burns's Cottage. General satisfaction is felt at the granting of the pensions to the two aged ladies.

UNDERMINED TOWNS From timo to time one hears of houses been destroyed or abandoned in mining towns because of their having been undermined by coal workings. Bo'ness, for example, lost, its town ball in this way. At Motherwell recently, many buildings in Wellington street have required to be supported by pillars of iron arid woodj while the appearance of others is quit< spoiled by cracks and rents. In Wilsos street, a pleasant locality, the villas arc showing signs of giving way. At Hamilton' also things are looking grave. In IlOpe street the buildings are all leaning to one side; while in Burnbank district the inhabitants of a house' narrowly escaped injury through the roof falling in. The 'situation is being discussed at public meetings held in various towns m Lanarkshire, and it is clear that something needs to be done, and that promptly.