OUR SCOTCH LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 1751, 13 June 1885, Page 8

OUR SCOTCH LETTER.

(FEOM OUB OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Edinburgh, April 2 THE BFAS')N,

March has this year been a very favourable) month for the farmers, who laavo gr>t their eeed in under the most encournging condition?, and with unusually little interruption. If only prices would improve, their proopects would not be bo bad after all, thun far. Tbia important '"'if," however, Fo3im <o Btr.nd hope lessly in the way. Potatoes are a fair drug in the market, and scarculy saleable. The lambing, so far as ifc has gone, has beea in every_ way satisfactory, ami though pasture ia a little backward, roots aro plentiful, and stock are in good condition, Nevofthelets grass parks are being let at lower rates than last season ; while scarcely a day passos without reductions in farm rents being intiin nted. Landed property throughout tin country io evidently finding a lower lavel, not only steadily but speedily, even without lecaiving aid in the process by tbo apecial legislation which is so loudly called for in nrwiy mrtß of the country. The Aberdeen IT tea Pr6as stated a few days ago tbat in AberdsenEtfiire alone there either are, or vary lately have been, fully a dozen fine estate** vainly nffjred for sale. Bitween agriculfcutal depression and laud agitation it i 3 uo enviable position to be a largo landowner now -a - days, and henca large properties find no mtrket. Their days seem to be numbered, and there iv no apparent reason for regret that fchiß shonM ba the case, though the period cf transition from ike old to the new state of things is certain to be attended, like all social changsß, with a measure of inconvenience and hardship. AN EDINBURGH INTKiINATIOSAL EXHIBITION.

A movement baa beon oa foot £»c some timo having for its obj^cfc tho holdiust oi :ra International Industrial Exhibit] on ia Edinb-a-gb nex*year, and although but few prominent nanu s aye thus far conuoeted with it, there saemo to ba a probability of the pro j act; being carried out. It is proposed have a guarantee fund of not le-ps thnn £25.000, and of thia a li.cil hotelkeeper has offered to sublet iba £1000. The Committee, of which Bailie Clatk is chairman, has issued a circular to town councils, chambers of commerce, and othor public bodies in Scotland, and ia aso about to appeal to the nobility, gentry, M P.'s, and leading manufacturers and Eiercbanfcu. It is said that tbe Glasgow Corporation will support the scheme, and further eupport will doubllees be forthcoming. The promoters consider that the exhibition wiU be peculiarly successful in itself, and that — what is far more important — it will give a distinct aud much needed stimulus to Scottish trade and industry. Such calcuiatioua are doubtless based upon the maintenances of pcaao, but if Britain is pngaged inwarwiih f.ucb a Power aa Ruspi a the position of affair* will be so greatly affected that the nuccsfos of the exhibition would be more than imperilled, and I should not bo surprised in that event to hear that the project had been abandoned. Apart from this, ifc is designed that the erdiibnloa shoal d l"c on a, amnh laigsr scala than fcfae U'oreslry Exhibition of last year, and wKh pood manaKeiueufc thore seamß no reason, pcaoo continuing, why it should not be an entire aaccesß.

THE OROITBRS.

Seven of tha croiters from the Glendale district, S'cye, who wore charged with mobbing and assaulliDg sheriff officer* while engaged in discharging their riuty on the B(Hh Daoembcr laat, were tried at Portrae on March 17. Atter a good deal of evidence had been taken, an arrangement was entered into by the agents for the prosecution and detence respectively, by which two of the accu3ed pleaded guilty, and the charges againat the othors were withdrawn. Tbo two men in question weie then sentenced to three weeks' imprisonment by the Shariff. Notwithstanding thi 1 ?, another ca^o of deforcement, though without violence, occurred in the same district during the following week. Major Franar's oroiters, at a public meeting held at Quirang, adopted a resolution to pay rent to tho best of fcheic

aHlity, provided fcho Major collected tho rents Inmaoir, or sent " neutral persons " to do po, allowing a rß.T,sona v ilo timo to croft eri unable to pay, and that '* no reference be mado by osthor party to tho pw, or fulure cf tho agitation." In S mth Ui't tho crnfUva who forcibly seisid Ir'.nd have portioned it out atuonc; fchera tBtV( a, plouehod, and m-inured >*;, and thus far Beem to enj iy undisputed poßwui m. I never eoe or hoar anything a l .iout, the pro posed epocial crofter sohfcloment in Outgo, and do aofc thiok tha orofteva will aver emigiato to il excep*; Uiider much highov induoament I',1 ', and pafiei 1 preaaura from the leaders of the agitation, who oppose emigration beoawsa it does not feuit their plaDB. Thn nroftefa who went fco Manitoba from South UisL and B3nbesula received a great doa! of pecuniary aid and shepherding from Lady Gordon Cathc^rfc and hor agoots, and I »m quite pure your Government would not, aid tbonld not, do as much to pet a few unwilling ssfctlera. Tho misery of tht^ whole bu°,ir,eßn ha^ ba^tn tha allowing sfintimortt to override common souse. This has wl-ouqht bitler and wideapread taischief, and thf> end if a long way of? yot.

MR GLADSTONE ANH 'EDINBURGH.

Amid all the labours and caraa of his unenviable office as Premier, Mr Gladstone finds timo, ifc would appear, to think aboufc matters of pur»Jy infciqiiarian interef^s. AS a mooting of tbo Town Council of Edinburgh last weak, there was read a htter writbou by him to tha Lord Provost, aid in which he asked to b=) " allowed to undertake the restoration of the morcat cross "of th<3 city. Tho lortor fchus proc3tuls : — '• As your great historic city i% the capital of Midlothian, no less than of the kingdom of Scotland, ] earnestly desiro, in the character of tho ropveaenfcative of the county, to leave bahinci mo this amall but visible record of gratofv>l acknowledgment and sincere affection, in v fivm cloiely ascojiakid with local and with national tradition. The Bifce which has baon suggested to ma as m<nt auifcabin is tha ontrance to Parliament Square." The Council •sordia^ly pgraerl to romib f-h.3 mat'ew to tha Lord Provost's CommiUee, with powers, find r.o i'latruct tho town cleik to oxpr.ws tho Council's think-! to Mr Gladstone. Tho interesting monument v/hich ia to bo reproduarr? waa eroded in IGI7, and wai romovdd hi 1756 to allow more roora for the growing traffics of the city. The fra^m'»nfcs of tha centr.il shaft — .* piHas sucmountod by si uiicorn ware collected and ra orectnd inside the railings on the noixh ai'ia of S. Giles' Cathedral :>fc She pxpenr.o of the late D. 1 David L uni», and the column now utands ia fchnc unsuifabio oiLuition. This shift was only a srmll part of I,he original e>w», which consisted of an octagonal building IG't in diamotar and ISffc hif>h, with a pillar at oa-ih angla, and archer connacotasr tho pillars. Four rarved heads ornimaafcnrl ono face, and thpße wore acquired by Sir Wai her Scott, a"d built into hfc gardsa wall at \bbo'«3ford. Th<3 site on which Cb»i cross ics fco be rfip.onsl-.rnofced is at the eastern end of St Gilns' Cathedral, and is within a few yfirdft of tke spot on which it formerly stood. Mi 1 Gladstone's off'r has given genßs:al pleasure to the people of Edinburgh.

THB GBAVKS OT 1 THE SIAOQBEGORS,

Mnn'i interest b«a been excited, Qep?on?ly in the Wi-h!;, vpj.n-dioK ona of the imppn r )ing l-ociiltfl of tho I 'ill promoted by the Corporation of G'^sgow fco iaore^ee tho waror "imply of f.hat city by rai iag the level of Loch Kilrine. Tbia would cause the submotging or the ancient burial ground of the Macgregors in Strath Gartney, oppotMo Stronaohiaob.ir. Thi3 ro tired bttt; famous* spot is only sorno 30't square, is surrounded by high vralls, and contains a number of ancient tombaton6s. Ifc almo-t touches the ad«o of the loch at present, bo that I if tho lovfl of flio latter woro raised a good many feat, tva proposed, tho graves would be j buried beneath the water. Tho erjgineer of the undortaking, howover, says that, if required fco do t o, ho is prepared to keep tho water out of the burial-ground by maims of an onibaiikmeut ,all round it, which wouM certainly cauee ifc to pre'enfcanipgularappaaraacQ. Sheriff Gnthame, of Perthshire, vi=ited the &pofc last weak, and hr-ld thero an official inquiry into tho matter. The members of the clan aro moving in oppositioD to any disturbance or submergence of tho burial ground, and have resu°citafcod the old Gregor Association, with a viow to immediate joint action iv that direction The locality is fuil of remini.scsncos of Rob Roy and other not, much lese redoubtabln members of his once dteadei clau, and abounds with natural beauties not kss than with interesting historical ansociationa. Though so near the tourist track, f.hn gr-woyard is quite secluded, and but little visited by si^htaearf.

ANOTHER REFORMATORY. OUTBREAK

The Duke street Reformatory, G-ltv^ow, where some aarSoua riot* took placa several yeasrs ago, Lm been again earning undesirable notoriety. For come time, ifc seems, the lads in tho institution had baan in a very unruly ffcate — so much so that on their way to and from church they required to be escorted by a force ot police. In spite ot thin guard some of fcboin broke away on a rccout Sunday while £»ing to church, bub they were »ll quickly reeapturod. Oa a subsequent Sunday evening, after dark, a number of them made a more successful attempt at escape x by tcaling the wall. They wore pursnod, however, and four ofthem were caught at Kilrearnock and five at Airdrie. The authorities refusa to give any iaformation on fche subject, but, iv is only too evident that tilings noed improvement, end that fco call the place a reformatory is a misnomer. Many in Scotland think the Aberdson magistrate who some timo ago declared tbat he would send no more culprits to reformatories was right, for theao institutions are conspicuous f&iluros, if nofc worse. Thore svrn not wanting tboqe who Bay that, practically, they are little, bettor taan schools ot crime, and do much more harm than good, Howover this may be, *fc 13 cloar the reformatory system isia iii-geci noed of being reformed, even if the Abgrdoen bailie waa a liUle over the score in saying it should ba abolished. But people nowadays givo all their time to idle or mischievous agitation, and matters really calling for reform are consequently lost Bight of when they are unconnected party manoeuvres.

SCOTTISH RAILWAYS.

After what 1 have written in recent letters regarding ftha prevailing depression in trade, it will not ba inaMer of surprise that usably all the half-yearly dividends of the Scottish railways show a decrease as compared with thoae declared at tha same dates last year. Thus the dividend of the North Britiph has declined from 5.1 to 4^ per cent.; that of the Caledonian from 5 to 4^ per cent. ; tlr\t of thn Glapgow and South-Wentarn from 5£ to 4£ per cent. ; !>nd that of the Callandar and Oban from 4i to 3f ppr cent. An exception is to ba founa in the cafe of the Great North of Scotland Com pany, which, aftar declaring no dividend ftt all for (.hrpo and a-half years, a year ngo declared a dividend of 1 nrr ctnt., and now increases its dividend to 1£ per cent. At tho general mooting of tho ahorfiholders the Chairman, Mr Ferguson, of Kiomundy, said he believed this to be the only railway in the kingdom which is declaring an increaped dividend at tha present time. This result is due to the opening of tha Buckie line, and to the g/eater number o! tourists who vitiited the North last

tvuiutrin in consequence 6i the cholera scare on >\o Continent. At the general meeting of the North BdfcißD Company ib was ptafced that uiore rapid progress in reconstructing the Tay Bridge might now be looked for, aa tho foundations of more than three fourths of the piers were completed. The Chairman said ha hoped tho bridge might ba completed in the course of next year.

A YEARS ORIMK IN EDINBURGH.

TbeChiof Constable ol Edinburgh has issued hus report for 1884, from which it appears that during that y«ar there were made 9928 arrests, ropreaeniiag G565 persona. As comparad with 1883, these figures show an increase of 14 arrests. There is an increase in the cases of begging, wife assaults, and breachos of the peace generally, but a decrease in the number of casas of drunkenness and disorderly conduct, arid shebaening. Thefts from the person and honsabreikinsa exhibit a marked increase. Moat- of the last-named offences consisted of entering the houses of working men by moans of false koys, cheap looks making this a crime oany of commission. The rn-arrests show that. 40 persona were arrested 540 times, or an averatfo of 13^ times each, four of them being arrested over 20 times apiece. The Chief Constable urges reform in the treatment of. habitual offenders, affirming that the present want of system does a great deal of harm.

SCOTTISH REGIMENTAL COLOURS.

Military matters are all the rage here at present, though Edinburgh is at no time lacking in martial ardour. List week another military pageant took pla:;e in connection with the placing ia Sfc. Gilos' G^thsdral of the colours of one of the grandest corps in history— the ancient Scots Brigade, which was f6rmed in Holland iv 1570, and covorod itself with glory in tho ward of the Dutch independence, and subsequently in Britain under William of Onwiga. Later il; was formed into the 94th Regiment of the British Army, and pained^new iaurels in India and the Peninsula War, being at length disbanded at Edinburgh in 1818, Lord Raay recovered the regimental colours of the old Brigade from tha Dutch authorities, and presented them to the city to be preserved along with the others placed in St Gilea' some 18 months pgo. There was a brilliant turn out on tho occasion, both of military and civilians. The military band played three \a''Kea of f.he National Anthem, the choir and fturJieaee joining in, this baing tho rtrst timo that a band over played ia the ancient edifice. It is wall that Dr Bngg ia peacefully laid to rest, for <he proceedings as a whole would have evorchnd him oorely, and not without reason. Tho old colours of tha Q&h Light Infantry were deposited in the Cathedral on the same occa-inn. On the following day the coloura of the 90th Rpgimant (now the 2nd Battalion Scottish Rifles) were dapositsd with due ceremony in S1;.S 1 ;. Mary's Episcopal Church, Hamilton, which contains a momoria! window presented by officers of the regiment to commemorate comrades who fell in recent campaigns.

PKOGRESS IN ABERDEEN.

The " granite city " is famed alike for the commercial enterprise and intellectual activity of its citizens, and they appear to ba,de&irous of maintaining their reputation in both respacts. In connection with the former, some harbour improvements have been in prograas for betweeu five and six years, the moat important of thoae being a large graving dock, cunstructed upon the moat modern principles, and the waut of which has lons been felt Tho machinery omployod in opening and closing the dock is of a very complete and interesting description, while the two pumps employed are capable of raising 18,000 gallons per rriJhnte. The total cost of tha work was originally estimated at £45,000, but owiug to the decline in the prices of labour and material, it is now expected to fall considerably short of that figure. Iv regard to matters intellectual, the preliminaries for the starting of the Free Library are being actively pushed forward. The Library Committee has recommended a site on the east side of Union terrace for the library building's, and this has been agreed upon, subject to the concurrence of tha Town Council. A afcrong feeling prevails that the library should be of the most efficient dosoription, !\nd a number of valuable donations to it at'o already announced. In this matter Aberden ia much more enlightened than Edinburgh, which, with many good libraries, has none that can be called public and free in the proper sense of those terms. Concurrently with the above movements, the Town Council is moving in the direction of im pro varments in the Shorelands district, for which it has obtained a Provisional Order. The Public Health • Committee has recommended tba immediate borrowing of £14,000 for this purpose.

DESTRUCTIVE FIKKS.

A disastrous fire took place the other night at GovaD, in the yard of the London and Glasgow Shinbuilding Company (Limited). Two large buildiuga— one of which measured 300 ft by oOffc, and was three storeys high — were totally destroyed, but the firemen succeeded in saving four vessels which were on the stocka, as well aB a considerable quantity of timber in the yard. Two of the firemen were badly injured by falling from a ladder. Tha damage done ia estimated at £30,000. At Forfar, a large portion of tuo Victoria Works, owned by Messrs John Lowson, jurj., and Co , has been destroyed by fire, which was with difficulty prevented from extanding to the Canmore Works close by. As a high wind waa blowing at the time much excitement prevailed until the firemen got the mastery ovor the fhraes. The damage is estimated at fully £10,000, and is said to be only partially covered by insurance.

Glasgow Cathedral had a narrow escape on tho aighh of Sunday, March 8, as a fire broke out in the roof through a flue being broken. .Happily, the fire was discovered before it had spread, aud was extinguished with but little damage.

NOVEL PRKSENT TO THB QUEEN.

Her Majesty has accepted from the Ray. John Thomson, minister of St. John's Established Church, Hawick, a handsome little plough, manufactured out of swords, dirks, and spears, and accompanied by an illuminated address. The plough was manufactured by a firm at Mayboje, Ayrshire, aud was exhibited at a meeting of the West Teviotdale Farmers' Club, where it excited much admiration. In these days of war, actual and threatened, such a reminder of a coming time of undisturbed peace may be regarded as a specially suitable gift to a monarch whose well-known pacific desires saem to be doomed to Buch bitter and prolonged disappointment.

OBITUABT BEOOHD.

A once noted character has passed away at Berwick in the peraon of Andrew Lyons, tailor, formerly the " priest" of Lamberton toll, where ho celebrated irregular marriages in the days when elnpement3 across the hordar wnra common in England, Sad to say, Lyona died from the effects of a fall, while under the influpneo of liquor. Miss E, C. Duthia, the donor to Aberdeen of the beautiful Park which bears her name, died on March 30, at her residence, Broadford Houße. She inherited great wealth from her uncle and brother, and used it liberally ia

bpnefitiag others. The park referred to cove'M 41 acres, and cost £50,000, It bordefcs bn fcue Dee, and has been very tastefully laid out. l>B opening by the Princess Beatrice, on 27Sb September, 1883, amid great rejoicings, I noted at the timo. All local charitina and religious organisations found in Miss Dathio a kind and generous friend.

Vz H. Brown, of Halkburn. senior partner of the firm of Brown Bros , Buckholm Mill, Galasbiels, died on March SI from the effects of a lamentable accident. Some days before he was pruning young trees in a plantation on his property, when he missed a stroke and inflicted a terrible gash on his thigb, severing the main artery. Professor Annandale was at once brought from Edinburgh, and all that medical skill could do was done, but withoiit success in averting a fatal result. Mr Brown was munti respected in Galashiels and throughout the South of Scotland.

GJSNEBAL NEWS,

The valuation roll of Glasgow for the current year has just baen completed, and shows the gross rental of the city, including railways and canals, to be £3,406,370, which ia a doorcase of 625,744 as compared with the preceding year. The gross number of dwelling-houses this year is 119 554, and the number of unocpnpiod houses ia 6187- The year has witnessed the addition to the city of over 800 families.

The old Royal Infirmary building 3in Edinburgh are now in course of demolition, The School Board are about to erect a school on the central and western portions of ton site, and there seems to be a likelihood of Corporation swimming and other baths being erected on the eastern portion. Messrs Elder and (Vs. shipbuilding yard at Go van is now occupied day and night with an order for 11 starn-wheel steamers for nse by the army on tns Nile. Ten of them measure each 92ft in length, with 20ft beam, and the remaining one 138 ft; b? 23ft. They are built in compartment", of £in steel plates, are flatbjttomed, and draw only 18in of water. They are to be completed in about a month's time, and will be at once Bent out to Egypt in sections. Where the navigation ia unimpeded^ they are expected to display considerably spaed.

At a meeting of natives of Islay, held in Glasgow, it was resolved to take steps for the erection, in Islay, of a suitable monument in memory of the late Mr J. F. Campbell, whose death I noted in my last lettter. Lord Walter Campbell has been collecting funds for a monument at Cannes, where Mr Campbell died, and invited the co-operation of the Glasgow meeting, but the course resolved upon was considered to represent morn accurately the wishes of Highlanders generally.

The curious Lovat coffin case seems to have been settled. The seven plates which had been removed from the coffins were carefully restored to their proper places under the eyes of two clerks from the Lovat Estate office at B?auly, and the vault was then again closed, thing 3 being left as they were before. The affair thus terminated caused a great stir throughout the northern part of the country. At a soiree in Edinburgh of the local members of the Scottish Lopral Life Aasuranca Society, the chairman, Mr James Wallace, nivocate, stated that there were about 18,000 separately registered Friendly Societies in the three kingdoms. A railway between Glasgow and Panley, constructed on the course of the old canal by the Glasgow and South-western Railway Com-o-wiy has baen opened for goods traffic, including a branch to Pottorhill, it is 10£ miles in length. At an exhibition in Edinburgh last week of fretwork and needlework executed by soldiers, sailora, and their wives, there was shown a bedcover made by Sergeant Gothard, late of the 91st Highland Regiment, out of no less than 34,225 pieces of soldiers' tunics. The Scotsman pronounced it to be "very pretty."

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