FROM NORTH OF TWEED.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20191, 31 August 1927, Page 12

FROM NORTH OF TWEED.

A LETTER TO OVERSEAS SCOTS. Written for the Otago Daily Times. By Robeet S. Angus. EDINBURGH, July 21. All the talk of the town is still of the Royal visit, which came to an end on Monday afternoon. The King and Queen were obviously delighted by the spontaneous enthusiasm which greeted them everywhere. They contrived to have on© or two hours off strenuous public duty, and were able to pay visits to private friends like Lord Rosebery and the Elphinstones, or, in the case of the Queen, to make a tour of the antique shops in which she delights, vi It is hoped that the success of their stay will induce them to repeat it frequently, and that expectation derives some encouragement from the fact that instructions have been given to renovate the throne room, the only one of the Holyrood public apartments which has not been overhauled during recent years. The presence of the sevoreign and his consert brought a great influx of visitors to the advantage of the hotels and the shopkeepers. No one who has not been behind the scenes can realise the immense amount of pre- ! liminary staff work that is necessary to make such a series of functions go ’ smoothly. On this occasion everything 1 was beautifully done, and there was not i a single hitch. Most fortunate of all was the weather. Occasional morning i showers were an advantage rather than otherwise, and all the royal ceremonials, i especially the garden , party, were . favoured with brilliant sunshine. I THE CRAIGMILLAR PAGEANT. For nothing was the weather more important than the historical pageant at ■ Craigmillar. One shudders to think s what the performances would have been I like if there had been heavy rain. As it i was, the conditions were perfect for all f three presentations, perhaps a little too I warm for the 300 performers in their 3 unaccustomed costumes, such as those of . tho amoured knights, but ideal for the i tens of thousands of onlookers. Craig- , miliar, itself a place of great beauty and " historical interest, formed an ideal setting . for the pageant. Mr Frank Benson, a practised .hand in such enterprises, found an intelligent and enthusiastic support 5 from the members of the cast, which, as ! regards the principal characters, was * drawn from our leading families, many of whom represented ancestors or pre--5 decessors of their own. Lady Mar and Kellie was the moving spirit behind the 5 scenes, and though the expenses were inI cvitalily heavy—about £9OO0 —it is esti- ■ mated that there will be a surplus ot 5 about £SOOO to hand over to the Queen 3 Victoria Jubilee Nursing Service. ’ THE NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL. 1 Perhaps the climax of the Royal visit was tho ceremonial at the opening of tho 3 National War Memorial at Edinburgh ' Castle. The promoters have had to contend with many difficulties, including 5 hostility on tho part of so influential a * personage as Lord Rosebery, and the ■ suspicion of the public in regard to any interference with the castle buildings, some of which—especially those demolished —have small claim to either artistic or historic interest. The Duke of Atholl, however, had faced the situation with his characteristic persistence, and Sir Robert Lorimer, the architect, has designed a building which promises to rank with his masterpiece, the Thistle Chapel at St. Giles. I doubt if any city in the world has a war memorial of greater beauty and dignity, or one marked by greater thought to the minutest details of appropriateness and completeness. Now that it is available for public inspection, tho verdict is not merely unanimously but en- ! thusiastically favourable. THE “TREATY OF UNION ” PICTURE. I am glad to read that the House of Commons paid scant attention to the protest against the presentation of the articles of agreement for the unifln of the Parliaments to Queen Anne being made ; the subject of one of the pictures in ■ “The Building of Britain ” series recently unveiled in St. Stephen’s Hall, Westmin- ; ster. Mr Tom Johnston, M.P., who lacks s neither ability nor a sense of humour, ■ showed neither in his speech, and he gave * the impression, that he was mainly intent i on making capital for the rather moribund campaign in favour of Scottish | Home Rule. But, as Mr John Buchan ! pointed out, the old Scottish Parliament ’ is eititled to no regrets. It was an unrepresentative and undemocratic body, ’ and its disappearance was essential to ; end tho bickering and the danger of war ; between the two countries. Even if the day should ever come when another Par--1 Lament is set up in Edinburgh, that will 1 not diminish the historical importance of the episode which, to theii* mutual ad- ■ vantage, made the two countries one. No i serious attempt was made to support the I theory that the union was brought about i by corruption. The only authority for ■ that statement is Lockhart of Carnwath, . who as a Jacobite and an opponent of the union, was anxious to discredit its origin and authors. All the investigations of the authorities point in the other direction. I should like to see the figures on which Mr Johnston based his statement that there are almost as many \ Englishmen in Glasgow as there are 1 Scotsmen in London. Even if he is right, the fact is a justification of the union rather than an argument against 1 it. MEDICAL CONGRESS. This week we have in Edinburgh between 2000 and 5000 doctors assembled for ' tho annual meeting of the British Medical Association and of its ancillary organisa--1 tions. The president is our Sir Robert I Philip, who is famous all over the world i as one of the pioneers in the open-air I treatment of tuberculosis. I am glad to see that in his opening address he did not assume the self-depreciatory attitude which is often taken on such occasions. On the contrary, he/claimed that no coun- : try in the world is better equipped for the war against disease, and took nride ■ in the fact that the profession is now turning its attention from the cure of the individual to the prevention of disease in the community as a whole. ; The fact that most of the meetings 1 are being thrown open to the public is a significant, indicaton of a change of atttude on the part of the profession Its leaders recognise that it can no longer be treated as a mystery by a population which is becoming increasingly educated, and that if doctors are to have the co-operation of their patients it can only be by keeping them informed. Professional and scientic topics naturally predominate, but such problems as “ Alcohol and the Motorist ” and “ Tobacco and Eyesight ” interest the man in the street as much as the physician in the consulting room. It is appropriate that the association should meet in the Lister centenary year in the city where he laid the foundations o{ his work. Our medical institutions have been able to show the visitor that in both medicine and surgery Edinburgh still counts for something. EDUCATIONAL SURVEY. The annual report of the Education Department is on the whole encouraging. It shows that the school life tefids to lengthen and that attendance at continuation classes is on the increase. One disquieting feature is the increasing neglect of rural subjects and navigation, and concentration on merely literary education. The compulsory reduction in tho size of classes, in itself a valuable reform which is due next year, will impose a heavy financial strain on some of the education authorities in providing the necessary ac--1 commodation, but there should be no lack of teachers. FISHING DEPRESSION. According to the annual report or ihe fishing industry the position has again become serious, I he net result oi last veer's operations was to throw the herring fishing communities of the Moray Firth and "the East Coast back to the position in which they found themselves in the dark days of 1923. At the close of the year their financial resources were

again practically exhausted, and they were once more burdened with a load of debt from which only a series of successful seasons will extricate them The entire community is at the moment living in an elaborate cycle of credit, in which the firms which undertake the reconditioning of drifters, the manufacturing firms that supply gear, and the wholesalers who supply the retailers with for d and other necessities are alike involved. Consideration is being given to the replacement of the steam-drifters by oildriven vessels, cheaper to build and run, but that again involves the expenditure of fresh capital which is not available. A change in that direction is encouraged by the remarkable success of vessels of that type in the Firth of Clyde and Loch Fyne. The men in these waters have developed a new and lucrative system of sending their herring fresh to Germany, and a similar step in the hast would be more helpful than the present bleating over the loss of the Russian market for pickled herring. FRUIT FAILURE. While the reports of crop prospects are generally dismal —as was to be expected in view of the weather —the fruit harvest promises to be even more disappointing. In eastern Perthshire, where during the' last quarter of a century thousands of acres have been converted to fruit growing, it is estimated that the yield of strawberries and raspberries will be little more than half the normal, and while consequent high prices will be some cnipcn sation it is evident that the growers will make little profit. The experience is a lesson to those who think that small holdings and fruit farming are a complete solution of the agricultural problem. PLAYING FIELDS. Edinburgh is generally envied for the abundance of its open spaces, and it is therefore surprising to learn that in the matter of provision of fields suitable for games it has rather less than one-fourth of the minimum which is deemed essential. The total acreage is only 235, and even if 160 acres, which are the property of schools, are added we are still a long way short of the 1700 acres we should have.' In its appeal the newly-formed local association suggests to motorists that if they help to provide playing fields they will diminish the number of children in the streets and thereby make the progress of their cars safer and speedier. THE FUTURE OF ROSYTH. Some false hopes were aroused this week by a report that Rosyth is again about, to become a centre of naval activity as a base for destroyers. All that is intended, I believe, is to use the basins there for laying up a certain number of vessels of that type which are no longer needed. Each vessel will have a care party on board, but that is all. Rosyth will be merely a storage cupboard—not a workshop. OUR FINEST VIEW. An interesting though particularly futile discussion is in progress at present, as to which is’our finest viewpoint. Edinburgh Castle, Arthur’s Seat, Stirling Castle, Largo Law, most of our mountains, the Queen’s Views on Loch Tummel and Inchtavanagh on Loch Lomond, each has its votaries, and I am not prepared to quarrel with any of them. But I know others, as most of my 'readers must do, which, in certain moods at least, seem incomparably finer. In such a sphere there can be no absolute best. Personal asso-( ciations or childhood memories may paint many a scene in colours which are invisible to the eye of the stranger'