FROM NORTH OF TWEED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21985, 21 June 1933, Page 10

FROM NORTH OF TWEED

LETTER TO OVERSEAS SCOTS Written for the Otago Daily Times By Robert S. Angus. EDINBURGH, April 5. . During the first three weeks of March the number of registered unemployed in Scotland fell by nearly 13,000, relatively as good an improvement as is recorded by any of the districts into which Gregt Britain is divided. The figure , confirms the general impression that the industrial situation has become slightly better, and there are other factors pointing in the same direction. Thus, though the shipbuilding output on the Clyde was small during March—only two vessels over 100 tons —orders are coming in with what is described as “ pleasing regularity,” a sign that confidence is gradually recovering. Mr James Brown, of Scott’s Shipbuilding Company, Greenock, stated the other day that the 600 men at present employed will soon be increased to T6OO, and that by next winter another 1000 will be taken on. Several other yards are in the same position. The annual report of the National Union of Shale' Workers shows that the schemes recently adopted whereby the men have three weeks’- work —at increased wages—out of four and on the fourth depend on their unemployment pay has been successful and has given satisfaction to all concerned. About 900 additional men have been absorbed into the industry. The experiment has attracted attention elsewhere, and it has been suggested that it might be applicable to coal mining. The difficulty is that the coal own ts cannot'offer the slight increase of wages which made the scheme attractive to the shale -workers. UNEMPLOYMENT ALLEVIATION.

By the rapid tour which he made of the unemployment, centres in the west and in Fife and Dundee, the Prince of Wales has given a stimulus to the voluntary workers. Here and there a few Communists attempted to advertise themselves, but they attracted little attention Though the Prince’s journey was rapid it was not perfunctory, and while he showed the bonhomie which is natural to him, he pounced on the essential'features with a quick eye. He was af ; it from morning till late evening, sandwich-, fng in a round of golf each afternoon and finishing off with'a whole, day. at St. Andrews, What strikes one more, and more about the Prince in his amazing energy;"he can get through a; day of heavy. engagements in a way that would be impossible for anyone who did net keep' himself in, superb physical fitness. He made no pretence, of course, that the work carried on at the centres is, or ca,n, be, more:, than a palliative, but as such it is of inestimable value, and the spirit of; brotherhood which animates •it is, bound to- be contagious.' . ! a Highland inn. ; ;

Mr John Buchan, M.P., spent two nights, in the train in coining from London to open a new hotel which Lord Strathcona has provided onhis . estate at the foot of Glencoe. ..Hitherto there has been no . decent place of -rest ' and! refreshment between Kingshouse^—where there is an admirable inn—and Baliachulish, and the new establishment, 1 small in size but complete in equipment; -should be,a boon to motorists and;sportsmen. Whether it will be a commercial ■success is a matter of comparative unimportance to. Lord Strathcona. ~ln his - speech Mr. Buchan recalled how, when, Prinec; Charlie's' atnijr; approached Edinburgh, the Glencoe men asked to be allowed to, garrison Newliston,: the property of the Stair family, so that they might, prevent any attempt at private, vengeance for the massacre of ,60 years ea^rlier. ';a dundee dock.' , - : Old memories ' were stirred within me by reading that the , Harbour Trustees of Dundee are applying for parliament-' ary sanction to the filling up of King William Dock. Many an , hour have I spent at all; times of , day ,and night trudging its quays in search of news from - incoming ships. When it, was open, a century ago the dock-was regarded as the last word in size and' equipment. Now it is too small to admit vessels of modern size, and, besides, wharves and jetties are now preferred; i„ The step,contemplated will provide an admirably central site oyer-' looking the river, and if so much money had not been spent in rebuilding the' town hall 1 it would have been an ideal ; place for the municipal headquarters, I. hope that the, ground will be reserved 1 for some : public, purpose; ■. overlooking the, riyeivVarid j easy of access'from ’all. quarters, it is too good to be used; for, sheds and warehouses, or—though the public convenience would be great-*—for conversion into a parking place for motor buses. ■ ’ ’ ; . . A WIRELESS PIONEER.

How substantial a part Scotsmen have played in the development of wireless was recalled by this week’s -visit of Sir John Ambrose Fleming. He came to .speak at a religious conference, and opportunity was taken to entertain him at a public luncheon. He is. now 84 years of age, and in a reminiscent speech he recalled the British Association meetings at Edinburgh in 1871, and his collaboration with three famous fellow countrymen—Lord Kelvin, Clerk-Maxwell, and Sir Jaines Dewar. Sir John, as inventor of the thermionic valve, has; done as much as any man to make the development of wireless possible. ; It is not generally known that the first , successful experiments in wireless transmission -were made nearly 90 years ago across the Tay between Broughty Ferry and the Fife shore, a distance of little more than a mile. , v, ' WHERE STUDENTS LIVE

Lord ; Sands, as chairman of the Carnegie .University Trustees, has made an interesting investigation in to the residential conditions of our undergraduates. He finds that of the total number enrolled last academic year—l2,lo4—nearly 2000 came from outside Scotland, St. Andrews having 200 out of its total of 964,,.0r almost as many as Glasgow, with its 5021 enrolments, and actually more tlian .Aberdeen with 1252 students. Edinburgh, as one Would expect, had much the largest number of “ foreigners ” —over 1200 out 4327, due largely to the medical men who come from all over the world. Lord Sands found that the number of students who travel more than 30 miles a day between their homes and the university is considerable, and, though he does not say so in precise terms, he evidently regards that arrangement as undesirable as it deprives the student of many of the best elements of academic life. St. Andrews, partly through ~ tradition and partly through physical causes, has gone furthest in the development of communal life, and Sir James Irvine’s avowed ambition is to carry the process much further. Its

smallness makes it appropriate for such a develpment, for, as one- experienced commentator remarks, it is doubtful wether the mammoth universities ..of. .today can recover the comparative intimacy of academic social; life that has been credited to the universities of the past. Besides, the cheapness of life in lodgings will always, have an attrac- : tion in a country where the majority of the students are poor. GLASGOW GRADUATES.

Glasgow has a list of more than usual distinction for itg graduation ceremony.in June. Among those who are to receive the degree of LL.D. are M. Herriot, Sir Robert Horne, M.P., Sir J. B. M'Ewen, principal of the Royal Academy of Music, Professor Nichol. Smith ; of 1 Oxford, and Dr Mac Lean Walt of Glasgow Cathedral. It is hoped that Professor Einstein, who accepted the degree some time ago, will attend to receive it in person as he is due to deliver the first Gibson Memorial ■ lecture, founded in honour of Professor Gibson, who occupied the mathematics chair with distinction for many' years. DR BRUCE OF BANFF.

By the death of Dr William Straton Bruce at the age of 87 the Church of Scotland has lost one of . its oldest ministers. For over, 50 years die was in charge of the parish of Banff, where he made it his pride to visit every family at least once a year and to take a leading part in the • religious, education, and philanthropic work of the district. As a boy he was, indentured to a, local firm of solicitors in Stonehaven, but coming out at the, top of. the Aberdeen bursary list, he decided on a university career, continued his studies at Tubingen, and became assistant to the famous Dr Norman JlacLeod at! the Barony Church, Glasgow, These j experiences of the ~ outside world were Valuable when he was transferred to the quiet, but busy life of a, small town. AIL his days Dr Bruce was busy with His peri, ' which handled ■ with: equal scholarliness the ’most abstrus . problems Of, philosophy and theology, thc incidents of natural history that came Under the notice of an observant eye, and the re: collections of a long life. It was ; a matter of pride to'him that as a boy he made the acquaintance of Robertson Smith by teaching him to swim when they were boys, and thus laid the foundations of a ■, lifelong; ‘friendship. : ’ INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL. ; In both codes of football Scotland last Saturday finished the season with flying colours, and the team selectors are all the more entitled to. praise for' having trusted to young teams ■ since they would have got plenty of blame if their policy had .failed.’; In the postponed Rugby match against Ireland at Dublin we were fortunate’to win, for K. C. Fyfe had to withdraw at the last mbmenf owing to a motoring- in jury, while lan Smith .was. “crocked” early in the game, and his partner, H. D. B. Lorraine was also crippled.' " Scotland failed .to cross the Irish line, but two dropped goals gave a narrow margin over two‘tries. Not since 1925 has Scotland .beaten the other three home countries in the. same season,.and the youthfulness of the team as a whole—Smith is. the .only veteran—justifies good hopes; for next year.. .• * ■