SCOTLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 1950, 4 April 1889, Page 18

SCOTLAND.

(Feom Ouk Own Correspondent.) Edinburgh, February 7. THE SEASON.

This winter has probably been one of the mildest within living memory in Scotland, and the newspapers have been constantly publishing evidences of this in the shape of accounts of budding and blooming plants, and the finding of birds' nests with eggs in them, and so on. With the advent of Febiuary, however, we have had a nip of opld weather, a very heavy snowfall taking place over the greater part of Scotland on the 2nd inst. As it was accompanied by a very high wind, considerable drifting took place, and farmers were thrown into some anxiety about their sheep, the lambing season being, now close at hand. Since then some more snow has fallen, and the wind has been bleak and cutting, but it is hoped that the season is now too far advanced for much more snow to be dreaded. On account of the mild season, coupled with the revival of trade, the signs of destitution have been much less frequent in the streets this winter, and the criminal and vital statistics both tell encouraging tales. A sad occurrence in connection with the storm alluded to was the wreck of the barque Roseneath, on the rocks at the ruined castle of Dunskey, close to Portpatrick. The vessel, which was of 735 tons register, was on her way, in tow of a tug, from Dublin to Glasgow, but during the storm the tow rope parted. The captain of the Koseneath tried to get into Portpatrick harbour, but the ship •would not answer her helm, and struck on the rocks. Immediately afterwards she heeled over on her beam ends, and a sea swept away the first mate, his wife and child, an apprentice, and two seamen, all of whom were drowned. The captain, second mate, and three seamen were rescued by the rocket apparatus, used by the coastguardsmen, whose gallantry evoked great admiraion. THE EAILWAY EACE JTEOM LONDON. It is currently reported that May or June will witness a resumption of the railway racing from London to Edinburgh which attracted so much attention last summer. The various railway companies concerned have spent the winter in constructing huge and powerful engines specially for this traffic, so that the struggle bids fair to be instructive as well as exciting. The London and North- Western have built a number of new engines at Crewe, with a view to long and fast runs, and as those formerly in use shook very much, the new ones have each been made about 20 tons heavier. The North-Eastern and Great Northern have also got new engines made for their route, and one of them is already being trjed on the former company's system. ' The Great Northern has also followed the example set by the London and North-Western for a good many years, of having water troughs between the lines at certain places, by means of which the engine can replenish its water supply without the train requiring to be stopped for the purpose. By this contrivance, and the employment of tenders constructed to carry •water as well as coal, the Great Northern purpose making the run from London to York without stopping. The distance is 188 miles, or 20 miles more than the run from Euston to Crewe, and will be the longest unbroken run in the world. SHIP CANAL ACROSS SCOTLAND. The commencement of the Manchester ship canal and the agitation for the construction of a similar waterway to Birmingham and another to connect the Bristol and English Channels, have led to the revival of the old idea of making the Forth and Clyde Canal navigable by large vessels. This canal now belongs to the Caledonian Eailway Company. It was formed 100 years ago, is 35 miles long, rises 156 ft, and has 39 locks. Its depth is about 9ft. It is said that the bed is soft sand or mud, and that the canal could easily be widened and deepened so as to admit sea-going vessels of considerable size, the cost being variously estimated at from £1,500,000 to £2,Q00,000. For steamers the canal might be very serviceable, but the long firth navigation at both ends would probably make it of comparatively little use for sailing vessels. Its promoters are sanguine that the canal would secure a large part of the through trade between the northern continental ports and America. It is also likely that its construction would greatly foster trade between the said continental ports of Glasgow. The district through which the passes is very rich in coal and other minerals, which is | another favouring consideration. The strate- ' gie value of the canal in time of war would fee very great, and this consideration has

great weight with many who are not so sanguine as others with respect to its commercial value. In the meantime the railway company is taking no action in the matter, but it would not be surprising to hear at any time that the project had entered on a more practical stage than that of suggestion and speculation as to its desirability. EABTHQUAKE IN EDINBURGH. On January 18 the good folks of this city and neighbourhood enjoyed the unusual sensation of a shock of earthquake— said to be only the second on record in Edinburgh. It occurred a few minutes before 7 a.m., and seems to have been most severely felt in the Water of Leith valley. There seem to have been two shocks, though one of them was so mild as not to have been generally felt ; and a few persons also testified to hearing the rumbling noise which is not unusual on such occasions. Beyond awakening sleepers, rattling crockery and fireirons, and causing wonder and alarm in many cases, the earthquake did no harm in Edinburgh; but at Portobello a large piece of the ceiling of the Episcopal church fell. At Gogar a child was pitched out of bed. At Cockenzie the wind, which was blowing strong and very cold, suddenly became almost unbearably hot for a few minutes, and the fishermen were bathed in perspiration. From the various reports received, the area of the disturbance would seem to have been included between Burntisland on the north and Penicuick on the south, and between Dalkeith on the east and West Calder on the west. Local geologists are inclined to attribute the occurrence to the collapse of a large subterranean cavern, but of course this is pure conjecture. BAILWAY ACCIDENT NEAR HAMILTON. An accident by which about 20 persons were injured occurred on January 21, at Haughhead Junction, on the Lesmahagow branch of the Caledonian railway, about two miles from Hamilton. On the evening of the day specified, the engine of a train fromGlasgow left the rails in turning a sharp curve on to the branch line, and dashed into a bank of mud. The shock caused by the sudden stoppage made the nearest carriages leap into mid-air, and two of them were literally smashed into small fragments. Medical aid was promptly obtained from Hamilton and Motherwell, and great crowds of people soon flocked to the spot. Immense fires were lighted, and gave "the scene a weird picturesqueness. One poor girl was found to have both legs broken, and there were four other cases of broken legs, besides a good many of injuries to the head and various parts of the body. In view of the complete smash of the second and third carriages, universal astonishment was felt that a single person in them escaped with life. An inquiry will, of course, be held, but the general impression is that the accident was due entirely to the sharpness of the curve. THE CLYDESDALE BANK (LIMITED). The annual general meeting of the 'shareholders of this bank was held in Glasgow yesterday, when a dividend was declared at the rate of 10 per cent, (the same as last year). At the same time £5000 was added to the reserve fund, making the latter now amount to £440,000; and £6741 was carried forward. In the directors' report the bank's liabilities in respect to deposit and current accounts are set down at £7,993,145, and in respect to notes in circulation at £649,029. As compared with the preceding year, these totals exhibit increases of £548,321 and £81,203 respectively. The total of the deposits, &c. is the largest in the history of the bank, GENEBAL NEWS. The total Talue of the fish landed on the coast of Scotland in 1888 amounted to \ £1,411,307. Of this £1,000,158 is apportioned to the Bast Coast, £143,775 to Orkney and Shetland, and £267,374 to the West Coast. A sailor at Leith has been caught in the act of smuggling cigars concealed inside a loaf of bread. The death rate in Glasgow during 1888 was the lowest on record— viz., 221 per 1000. This favourable result is stated by I the health officer to have been due to the absence of any severe epidemic, to the | cold summer, and to the warm winter. The inmates of the Glasgow Blind Asylum earned £2605 in wages during the past year. i Perth Penitentiary has just received a certificate from an unexpected quarter. The I Manchester city coroner declared the other I day that it "is considered the healthiest place in Europe." It is proposed to introduce the floorcloth industry into Dundee. A company is being formed to start a factory for the purpose.