FROM NORTH OF TWEED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23593, 1 September 1938, Page 16

FROM NORTH OF TWEED

A.LETTER"'TO OVERSEAS SCOTS; Tl-iis .y^lasgow. Fair and* consequently in the Wesft o{.Scotland ape those which provide ; for the transportation'or .'the enjoyment'.;of •' the. holiday-makers. It is estimated that nearly half. a million visions—about half the populatfanMeft the' city-on-. Saturday. At/any rate the railway com-; panies 'ran 340 special, trains*Varid. the bus'services, some of theni; going as far were,taxed to their .utmost;, .We hear ' much; in these dajrs about' the ' *'. staggering " of holidays,, but I doubt if'that, ment would find .much favour with the Gla&gow manl- He is .temperamentally "gregarious, and when he goes prefers to have his friends around him. Me likes crowds and does not seem;,to mind having to pay:;excessive prices for crowded lodguigs. But there is a minority, and a growing one,/which desires a quiet 1 holiday, and the re-opening of the Glen Nevis hostel to replace the one which was burned two years be welcome. A grant frpm the.,King"Geqrge Jubilee Trust has helped to meet,;theA cost, £3OOO. No longer does the, Glasgow household', regard a'itrip/td one of the resorts " down the watet"/ as the inevitable place to spend the Fair weekv The. more bracing climate of the eaSM/coast is now recognised as a more beneficial change, and the increasedvfacilities for travel by land, sea, or airiehables journeys which in former days wojttLd have: been regarded as... out 'of question.. : We had; the'Duchess" of Kerithere en Mondiyj'bri'.'a.short and"/..busy visit. Her primary, object; Qpk as hostess a't^a: garden, party' in the gardens Palace to the delegates of the}'- International* Council *of-*:'Womep 7 /but ,in addition she visited several. lunched with the;- Corporation' '.along with a number.of•■,uanadiahLschoQi : : boys, arld'l;atterided: ;■'.-,&• ..LyceumTheatre .?'in"'' aid ; of theft Royal feflrmary ,• 'extension 4 fund.. Her Royal 'Highness,' 'yt&ii through the heavy ( programme 'with smiling energy, gaming'the admiration of the mert' for;*,he^'good .looks and of the her. fine taste in clothes. The,foreign delegates'-at the garden party- were^delighted'to find that shefqoiild speak to so many of them own--language:■'■•', \. WOMEN'S' CONFERENCE'

For the/'Jast week■•■''worneh from all parts been discussing Of ".social, ~-health, and economiejCihterest tp.Men* The doyen of x.the' gathering;;!; was the Marchioness ;,of who, for 36 council.;;;s£ : session, in;h&pfc honour she' wag-jsbjpwered witjiigift's'; and 'frorri each of the v foreign delegations, and to ithem. she gave lations aiicti Warmest gpcid she.. is, "ah- ■ OctogenarianLa dy Aberdeen; is v '; still •physically' and merft&lity;;vigorous. ; ;•? „f ;< ' . , DAEKE[TH ; :6IL-isoßE :ss%.,' . Though the experts are still cautious in their forecasts, they ob-viously-have high hopes of the oil deposit which, has been tapped at Cousland near Dalkeith at a>depth of about 1800 feet. They will not know for certain until they ascertain the results of blasting which was done this week. But one of them expressed as a reasonable expectation a flow of 10,000 gallons a day for at least 10 years. If-that estimate proves to 'be accurate a valuable addition to the prosperity of the district will have been made. SCOT A5.8.8.C. CHIEF

Scotsmen are entitled, to a legitimate pride in the appointment of one fellow-countryman to succeed another 1 as Director-general of the 8.8. C. Dr., F. W. Ogilvie, President of Queen's University, Belfast, had scarcely .been mentioned among the many possible candidates, but those •who know him are confident that the appointment will be justified. Though he was born in Valparaiso and educated at Oxford, he is the. son of a'Dundee merchant. Here we know him best as having been for eight years Professor of Political Economy at Edinburgh University, and 1 my Ulster friends tell me that he has been equally successful in Belfast. He has avoided politics—not easy in that city—and has shown his administrative gifts far beyond the academic sphere. Like Sir John Keith, he- bears evidence of his service in the war for he lost his right arm there. Mrs Ogilvie is a daughter of the Rev. Professor A. B. Macaulay, at one. time minister of dealing, and for many years one of our most' respected theological teachers, VETERINARY PRINCIPAL After a search of over six months the Governors of the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College have found a principal in the person of Sir Arthur Olver, who recently retired fronl the post of Animal Husbandry Expert to the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research in India. Before that he had a distinguished career in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, with service in the South African and-European wars as well as in Egypt and the Sudan. Unlike his predecessor he will not be expected to combine teaching with his administrative duties. His record suggests that he is exceptionally well qualified for them. '' CELTIC PROFESSOR If ever a man was. born and trained.for the post he is to occupy, Mr James • Carmichael Watson u one. .At the age of 28, he is to. succeed his father in the Chair of Celtic at Edinburgh University, He wap classical dux of the Royal High School and at the University he was medallist in< Celtic and gained the Bruce of. Grangehill scholarship as the most distinguished student of his year -in the' Humanity class. He graduated with first-class honours in Celtic language and literature, and after spending two years in philological studies in Germany, became Celtic lecturer in Glasgow. His publications so far include the Gaelic songs of Mary MacLeod, a seventeenth century poetess of Skye and Harris. Mr Watson has a scholarly knowledge of modern Gaelic and also, of Middle and Old Irish. He has inherited his Celtic aptitude from both his parents for his mother was editor of the Scottish Celtic Review, and her father, Dr. Alexander Carmichael, was a great authority on Gaelic lore. WHITE FISH COMMISSION

Scqttish" interests should be safe in the hands of the White Fish Comwhich has pust been established, for three of its five members are Scotsmen —Professor Alexander Gray, of the Political Economy Chair in Edinburgh, Mr George Dallas, a Glasgow man, formerly an M.P. and now president of the

Trades Union Congress, and Mr Thomas Darling, brother of Edinburgh's city treasurer. HEBRIDEAN ROADS ... Thanks, to.a grant of £IOO,OOO from the Road Fund the class I roads of Barra and North Uist are to be reconstructed —some 48 miles. That is all to the good, but it would' have been better still if .some of the money had' been earmarked for the provision of roads where none exists. The hardships of the crofters who have to travel from one hamlet to another by way of paths across bogs calls more urgently for remedy than the provision of better thoroughfares for motorists. ESTATE FOR LORD REAY There is "a" sentimental satisi'ac-' tion in. seeing Lord Reay, Chief of the .Clan Mackay, becoming .the owner of land in the country .of his ancestors. He has bought the small estate of Langlee, of which he has been tenant. Lord Reay's branch of the Mackays' has been settled in Holland for over two centuries and its lands in Sutherland and Ross have ..passed into, other hands. It would have been more appropriate if he had acquired a settlement in one of these counties, but the fact that Lady Reay is a Border woman no doubt had its influence. Langlee, which-is ■ almost opposite Abbotsford on the Twded, was part of the. property, of Melrose. Abbey, until .the' Reformation. '. : ' .

tation of Cockney mannerisms, and-j