FROM NORTH OF TWEED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20870, 9 November 1929, Page 25

FROM NORTH OF TWEED

LETTER TO OVERSEAS SCOTS. Written for the Otago Daily Times. By Robert S. Angus. EDINBURGH, September 19. The Scottish Secretary tells me that ho hopes to announce in the course of the next few days the membership of the Royal Commission on Licensing. Avoiding the mistakes of the Home Secretary iu the case of England, he is to it a small body—probably about nine in number—and to keep out as far as he can known partisans on either side of the controversy.- The chairman, I believe, is to be Lord Mackay, one of the Court of Session judges, a man of common sense and no fads. It is to be hoped that he will turn the attention of his colleagues towards constructive reforms instead of mere essays in further restriction. No doubt the merits of the Scottish Temperance Act, which has irritated its opponents and disappointed its friends, will bulk largely in the evidence. If the talk about developing the Highlands as a tourist centre is to come to anything, special attention should be given to the condition of the hotels. It is idle to expect holidaymakers to come from the south to restrictions greater than they have at home when they can go to the Continent and find greater freedom. HIGHLAND ROAD DEVELOPMENT. Two interesting proposals made this week raise an interesting and difficult problem on, which opinions are not likely to agree. .- One of them is a re newal of the scheme to make a motor road up Glenfeshie, thus connecting the upper valley of the Dee with the Great North road, and the other is to make a bridge to connect Skye with the mainland. From a commercial point of view neither project could be justified; in the main both would be for the advantage of the tourist who likes to have things made, easy for him. The Glenfeshie scheme, which has the support of the local authorities on the Aberdeenshire side, is comparatively simple. The distance is a little over 30 miles, and and the gradients (rising to a height of 1804 feet) are simple compared with those of some existing roads. The region traversed is one of the most picturesque in Scotland, and is practically uninhabited. The question is whether it should be reserved for the few but fit who can walk or ride the distance or should be spoiled from their point of view by being made available to motorists to roll through it at their ease! The Skye scheme is more ambitious and certainly much more costly; Indeed, it is doubtful whether, in view of the strong currents and the deep vrater of the channel it is feasible from the engineering point of view. There, again, the same question arises—whether tha risk is to be taken of spoiling great natural beauty in order to attract more immigrants for two or three months of the year. DEER FOREST ACQUIRED. For the first time the Government has decided to exercise its compulsory powers and to acquire the deer forest of Luckentyre in the island of Harris for the creation of shall holdings. The Socialists, hka the Liberals, have talked so much nonsense about the use of land for deer which could be occupied for agriculture that I suppose they felt bound to do something. I do not know the estate in question, but I do know the island of Harris, and I shall be surprised if the occupants 'of the proposed holdings are able to make a decent living out of them, remote as they are from markets and with a soil and climate far from congenial. The decision was taken as the result of a visit by the Under-Secretary in August; he should have cheeked his conclusions by going about 'the end of November and seeing what port of crops can be raised and in what conditions they arc harvested. AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH. Another ami more hopeful aspect of agriculture js presented by the scheme to develop the West of Scotland College of Agriculture, which in. The course of the year after next will enter into possession of the fine estate of Auchencruive, in Ayrshire, .the gift of Mr John Hannah, of Girvan Mains. For buildings and equipment the directors have to raise about £IOO,OOO, of which £60,000 has been obtained. The latest contribution is one of £SOOO from Lord Woolavington for the purpose of assisting research in’ dairying, which is the central feature of the college work. The gift was the result of a visit to Harrogate by my friend, Mr Harling Turner, whose account of the work of the college—he is its chairman—rwas so eloquent that it had the result 'adicated. If the proprietors and dairy farmers of the west cannot raise the balance and the further £25,000 as an endowment fund it is from want of will rather than want of ability, but they are . entitled to expect some outside help, seeing that the research to be carried on is-for the good of the industry as a whole. GRANGEMOUTH DEVELOPMENT, At the end of last week the Marquis of Zetland—long known as Lord Ronaldshay—paid his first visit to his Grangemouth estates since he become owner of them on the death of Ifts father last April. The present generation has almost forgotten how much it owes to the foresight of the Dundas family. It was Sir Lawrence Dundas, of Kerse, who In 1767 dug the first sod of the Forth and Clyde Canal; ten years later he laid the foundation stone of the port of Grangemouth; In 1837 the then Earl of Zetland built the .first church in the town; and in 1876 the late Marquis laid the foundation atone of the Public Instiand turned on the first gravitation water supply. The family presented the Zetland public park, subject to a feu duty which has never been exacted, and the present Marquis celebrated his visit by handing over the freehold of the ground. Grangemouth may not have much to offer in the way of natural beauty, hut it has a variety of industries soapmaking, chemicals. otl*refining, timber and shipbuilding—which indicate a sturdy enterprise. “LORD” BISHOPS. A discussion, which is all the more amusing to the onlooker because it has become somewhat acrimonious, has broken out on the question whether the leaders of the Scottish Episcopal Church are entitled to be called “ Lord ” bishops. Fhat church, it seems to me, has done itself no good by the airs which some of its members give themselves. They forget sometimes, as the present Archbishop of Canterbury, himself a Presbyterian by origin, once reminded them, that on tills side of the Tweed thev are dissenters and that titles implying‘'some sort of territorial jurisdiction are merely comic, especially on the part of a coni paratively . small section of the community. The admirable work of the church, especially in the poorer districts "f the large towns and in the fishing villages, would suffer nothing if these inflated titles were dropped, or at least not obtruded. The late Bishop Dowden of Edinburgh at one time signed himself “J. Edinburgan,” hut he had the good sense to give up the practice when it raised a storm of ridicule. CHURCH UNION. Leaders of the movement for church reunion, to he completed next month, must view with growing disquiet the evidence that there is a considerable dissentient element in the United Free Church. That it, would diminish when union became plainly inevitable was their hope, but to judge from the congregational voting now in progress the contrary seems to be happening. It is tragic that sincere men should be so lost to a sense of proportion as to create

another schism in the ranks of Presbyterianism, already scandalously numerous, for the sake of theories as to church government for which the present generation cares little or nothing. The fact that all the professors, all the foreign missionaries, all the former moderators, and an overwhelming majority of the ministers and elders are in favour of union seems to count for nothing with the minority, and they are declaring their intention to maintain a church of their own as the United Free Church. The first adjective, at. least, will be singularly out of place. Serious difficulties as to property are already arising. Meanwhile the clerical and lay leaders in the west have decided to resuscitate the Glasgow Church Building Society, which came into being at the Disruption and continued for 10 years afterwards. Its aim is to raise a quarter of a million for the erection of churches in the industrial districts. SIR ROBERT LORIMER. , By the death of Sir Robert Lorimer, Scotland has lost her most distinguished architect and the profession as a whole one of, its leaders. His name will always ne associated with the Thistle Chapel at St. Giles and the Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle. In both of these works he was able to demonstrate his view that for a successful building the co-operation of the stained glass and metal worker, the wood carver, and the furniture designer must be obtained. As was said of him at the time he received the degree of LL.D. from Edinburgh University, “ his crowning merit lay in the revival of the best traditions of Scottish building at its prime and the stimulus he gave to the fine craftsmanship of the Edinburgh school.” Alike for churches and castle in need of restoration, his work was in great demand, and hia friends hoped that when' the Calton Jail site came to be occupied by Government buildings his fine taste would be available. LAW FIRM’S CENTENARY. For a legal firm in a small country town to attain its centenary must be so rare an event that its happening in the case of Messrs T. and J. W. Barty, Dunblane, is worthy of mention. That its office proved an admirable training school is indicated by the fact that among _ former members of its, staff entertained at dinner to celebrate the occasion were the Hon. H. T. Whitehead, late manager of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, Mr John M'Naughton, Chief Constable of Inverness, and many others who hoAre attained positions of distinction. The oldest living assistant is Mr Thomas Finlayaon, Ramoyle, Dunblane, who entered the office in 1859. The firm has a long and honourable record in estate management and the presence of the local landed proprietors was an indication of the esteem in which its members are held. GAS SUPPLY. An interesting development of great interest to the coal industry is marked by the decision of Glasgow Corporation to buy 20 million feet of gas annually from a local coal company at a price of 8a 4d per thousand feet. That is much cheaper than it can be produced at the municipal works and the scheme indicates how surplus products in connection with the manufacture of smokeless fuel can be disposed, of. The Corporation has reserved an option to acquire the whole concern at the close of the agreement which is to run for 15 years.