SCOTLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2168, 12 September 1895, Page 50

SCOTLAND.

(Fhom Our Own CoBREsroNDENT.} June 27. POLITICAL. Owing n ,to the death of his father, E*rl Selborne, the M.P. for West Edinburgh, Lord Wolmer, was obliged to leave the Housa of Commons for tho House of Lords, though he made an unsuccessful attempt to escape this necessity. An animated contest ensued. The Unionist candidate wai Mr Lewis M'lver, formerly M.P. for the Torquny Burgh, and who for some time has been wooing the electors of South Edinburgh with a view to contenting that seat at the next election. The GladBtonian candidate was the Master of Elibank. The poll resulted in the return of Mr M'lver by a majority of 708, which is an iucronse of 186 on the majority by which Lord Wolmer won the scat. Mr M'lver is a fine speaker, and a mau of more than ordinary ability, so that it is hoped he will make his mark in Parliament. The resignation of Dr MacGregor caused a vacancy in the representation of Invernessahire, which is oue of the most scattered constituencies in tho Kiugdom, mauy of the electors living in Barra aud South Uist. Some hundreds of these, however, were disqualified by non-payment of their rates. The candidates were Mr Baillie, of Dochfour (Unionist) and Mr Macrae, of Balalltn (Ministerialist). The poll was another reverse for the Government, Mr Baillie being returned by a majority of 650. This is a complete reversal of the figures at the la«t election, when the Gladstonian candidate was elected by a majority of 329. Mr Baillie's candidature was ridiculed at the outset, but ho very quickly won great popularity throughout the electorate, on account both of his personal qualities and the liberality and good sense of his views. He promises to be another useful accession to the House of Commons. It is possible, however, thai the general election, which seems to be now imminent, may lead to Dr MaoQregor again coming forward to c mtett tho neat, as he avowedly retired in order to spite the Government ; and ns he is very popular in the constituency, an untried man would find it difficult to beat him. DROUGHT IN SCOTLAND. In common with the rest of the Kingdom, Scotland has been suffering from a severe drought, though north of the Tweed rain has now fa'len in abundance. In Dumfriesehire the drought was especially serious, while at Lanark the Clyde itself was so low that mills had to be stopped for a while during the day to allow tho water to gather. Even at rainy Greenock its effects were felt, the rainfall during the first i five months of the year being only 9in, as compared with 37in during the corresponding period of last year. In the early part of last flreek the drought gave way. Several inches of snow fell on Ben Nevis and other Highland mountains, rtnd in the Lowlands the rainfall was extraordinarily heavy. Next day a severe thunderstorm visited Edinburgh and the country round, as well as more distant places. In this city a villa in the Grange road, and the Outline Memorial Frea Church in the East road, were struck by lightning. So al?p were the spire of the parish church at Clackmannan and the observatory on Ben Nevis. Happily the damage in each care was moderate. Two men who were working in a sewer in Edinburgh were drowned by the sudden rush of water caused by the thunder shower, and their bodies were recovered a mile further down the sewer. The rain will do an i ntnense amount of good. TnC GENKRAL ASSEMBLIES. I noted in my last the opening of these annual church courts. The srssions this year were uucventful in the main— especially that of the Established Church. The Free Church had one ov two lively debates, foremost among these being one upon Professor Henfcy Drummond's latest book, " The Accent of Man." A dozen overtures, all from Highland Presbyteries, were received, assailing the book, whose author was lying ill on the Continent, and waß therefore unable to attend. The Rev. Murdo Macaskill, of Dingwal), led the assault, and fumi-hed the house wMi no little amusement by the way in whioh he stumbled over some of the scientific names which he quoted from it. Ho denounced the book in unmeasured terms, declaring it to be "a mass of fables— a tissue of most terrible falsehoods from beginuing to end." He wound up by charging the church's professors with being the root of all tho mischief which plagued them, and said it was time that tho church asserted itself, and no longer.

allowed itself to be trampled uponbya>gurfd iof professors. An animated debate entoredF, and three motions were proposed. Ultimately ono of these, by Principal Rainy, practically affirming that nothing should be done in the matter, wab adopted by 274 votes to 151. > The annual statistics showed that the volnn* tiry contributions of the Established Churofi amounted to £363,250, being an increaao for the year of £3939. The number of communfr cants in the same church was 620,373, being ad increase of 7965. The total inooms of the Free Church was £603,090, being a decrease of £62,329 as compared with the preceding y«*]F« The suitentation fond amounted to £171,6974 or an increase of £1747 ; bat this remit; was only attained by very severe whipping up in the last) days of the church's financial year. The amount! raised for ths colonies was £3502. The total membership of the Free Church was returned as amounting to 344,273. la his oponfng address the moderator, the Rev. Dr J. H. Wilson, urged the formation of a large special fund for carrying on work in the mining districts. In his closing address he was able to state that £3100 had been given or promised Co this object. Of tho 6um named, Lord Overtodn contributed £2000. A GLASGOW TRAGEDY. A bootmaker named William Agncw, residing at 17 Miller's place, Saltmarket, Glasgow, is in custody on a charge of murdering his wif©. When conversing with a friend on Glasgow Green, Agnew said he could nob gel; into hfs bouso. They went to it together, and found the door locked, but Agnew would not allow it to be forced open. Leaving the place, and crossing the Clyde by the Albert Bridge, Agnew suddoaly climbed upon the parapet and jumped into the water; but on a lifeifooy being thrown to him he seized it and was rescued. The police then locked him up for attempting suicide. His friend then got another man to help him, and they broke into Agnew's house, when they found bis wife lyiug dead on the floor, with fire deeply punctured wounds in her head. She had evidently been dead for s number of hours. The deceased and her husband were both about 40 yeara of age. A man named Walker lodged with them, and Agnew was known to be jealous of him. The last tiaie she was seen alive Mrs Agnew wafl heard to any to her husband that if ho went np tho Bt*ir the would noi do bo, adding, •' You have done enough already." Walker is also in custody, but it is believed that he will be summoned as a witness. f NBW HAII/WAYS. The newly-constructed direct line of railway between Forfar and Breobin was opened fot traffic on Ist June. About 200 passengers travelled by the first train, and there were many signs of rejoicing along the line of routo. The railway ought to aid much the growth of the important town of Brechin, which has been handicapped hitherto by the awkwardness of its railway service. • The B^navie branch of the West Highland railway was also opened for traffic on Ist June, and made a good start. The line extends from Bauavio to Fort William, and there are nine trains each way daily. A petition is bsing actively signed in Inverary and the surrounding districts, asking the directors of the West! Highland R»ilway Company to construct a line to Inverary from their own railway. This would open up a picturesque region to tourjsts and mighb make Inverary a second Oban in the course of time f TItUNK MNES OF TBLKPnONB. June 12 was a noteworthy day in the history o! telephonic progress in the United Kingdom, there beiug then inaugurated the trunk lines of telephone conuectitig London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Be'fiwt, aud Dublin. The Postmaretergeuer&l bj.olci the firtt official message frost London to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and received an appropriate re>ponse. Similat greetingi were then exchanged between tha chief magistrates of Edinburgh and Dublin, ac ft other public men also availed thoimelves of the opportunity. Representatives of the press ia the various towns then subjected tho now lines of communication to a variety of tejt3, wh'ch proved exceedingly B*tiß?»ct«ry. Every word was heard distiuctly, even whispers being plainly audible— as much so, in fact, as if the speakers had been only on the other side of 4 table ins'oad of 400 miles away. Songs and whittling were heard with equtl distinctness, afi also were tha applause and comraeuts of the auditors. A message whs also onvejed with grtat rapidity from Edinburgh to Plymouth, being repeat* d successively at Glasgow, Leeds, Birmiogbam, Bri'fcjl, and Exeter. By a Treasury miuute and subsequent act of Parliament, both passed in 1892, the Government ara to have a monopoly of the truuk telephone line*, the licenced telephone companios confining themselves to towns and other local areas. There are 7595 miles of trunk Hues at present in operation, and the ex ten don to 10,375 miles in progress. Thero can "bo no doubt, however, that in course of time a perfect network of telephone lines will cover the country. For a three minutes' conversation the charge varies according to the distance and simplicity or complexity of the route. Thus between Edinburgh and Glaigow it is only 6J, between either of those to.vns and London 4s 6J, aud between London aud Dublin 7s 6d. The inauguration ol this Byotem of communication is viewed with great satisfaction in commercial circles. Between Edinburgh and Glasgow it has been in operation for a good while, and has on more than one occasion proved very useful in catching criminals. MURDEROUS LUNATICS. A tragic affair ocenrred on June 18 at the village of Chryston, in Lanark«hire. An army pensioner named Thomas Allan, between 50 aud 60 years of age, lived there with his wife and four children. He suffered occasionally from the effects of a tunatroke received in ludia, and of late he had been peculiar in his ways. Among other things he beoame madly jealous of his wifo, until at length, on the day named, she fled from tbe house to escape his violence, taking the children with her. Soon afterwards a woman who lived in the flat below saw smoke issuing from the house, aud oa her going to see what was the matter, Allan suddenly appeared and fired ab her with a revolver. He missed her and she fied, and her screams speedily cuispd all the villagers to assemble. Allan then fired afc & mau of whom he was jealous, but missed him*, too. He then dared anyone to come near him, and said he was determined that the house should burn down, after which he would take his own life. No one, the village constable included, ventured to approach him. When the flames burst through the roof, Allan, thinking the destruction of the house was now assured^ marched into the garden, fired two shots' from his revolver, and then shot himself through feud head. He dropped down on tho spot, and died in an hour. The house and its contents wer* consumed by the fire. A young man named Thomas Dron was brought before the sheriff at Aberdeen, oh a charge of discharging a revolver on the public road at BalUter. He was then avowedly an his way to Balmoral to interview the Queen, and in his pocket there was found a letter to Mr Gladstone in which he stated that he was about to be king. A young man remonstrated with Dron foe using his revolver on the road!.

Dron at once pointed the weapon at him, but the man closed with him, and, with the assistance of a gentleman who happened to be passing, diiarraed him. It was found that fche six chambers of his rerolver were all loaded, and he had 50 more cartridges in his travelling bag. Dr Matthew Hay cirtifled that he was insane. Dron is the son of a farmer near Crieff. SCOTTISH BANKS. The annual report of the directors of the British Liaen Company Bank states that the year's profits amounted to £202,070, oat of which it was resolved to pay a dividend of 15 per $ent , carrjiDg forward to next year a balance of £60,217. The reserve fond remains at its former total of £1,400,000. The half-yearly report of the directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland states that the net profits for the six months amounted to £81,725. A dividend at the rate of 8 per cent, was declared, and a balance of £1725 carried forward. INTEBNATIOKAT, TUG-OF-WAn. Intense excitement prevailed in Edinburgh on Ist June, when the Teams Championship of the World was decided. The attendance numbered 50,000, the sum of £800 being taken at the gate. The contest was expected to lie mainly batween contingents from Dublin, Belfast, Liverpool, and Govan. When at length, in the semi- final, Liverpool and Belfast competed, tho excitement was tremendous, and tho cheering was deafening when the Iri-hmen dragged their antagonists over tbe line in 15seo. The second tug tasted 2(fcec, but Belfast won again, and secured the championship amid cheering that simply befgared description. BUBNING OF MAR LOEO3. Mar Lodge, the Braemar residence of the Dake ef Fife, and described as having been, though built of wtod only, one of the most luxurious mansions in the Kingdom, was burned to the ground on June 14. The flic was caused by some ehavings being ignited by a spark from the fke of some plumbers who were at work. By dint of strenuous ard daring effort muc^ of the furniture and most of the paintings, curios, books, and the great collection of stags' heads wore saved, as also were the ballrcotn, larder, and dairy, Mvhich were at a little distance from the main building. The damage, which ia estimated at fully £12,000, is covered by iasurince. OBITUAEY RECORD. Mary Carlyle AUken, niece of Thomas Carlyle, has died in Edinburgh of pneumonia, following iiiQuccz*. After the death of Mrs Jane Welsh Carlyle she went to Chelse* as Carlyle's hourrkctper and amanuensis, and remained with him till bis death. Mr Urqnhart, of Mil-field, a leading citizen of Elgio, in which he had held several important publio offices, died suddenly on June 4. Oh June 11 the body of Mr James Hall, frailer* r and conft otioner, Selkirk, was found banging on a tree by the side of the road near Linde&n station. Mr Jame» Stewart, of Blackhouse, who was M.P. for Greenock from 1878 to 1884, and took % leading part in tto affairs of that town for Jnany yean, has died in Edinburgh, aged 68. GEWBBAL NEWS. It is stated that tho late Mr Thomas Waddel), of Laith, hat bequeathed his entire r state, Which is fxpected to amount to £200,C00, to be divided between the Leith Hospital ar.d the Kojal Inßrmiry, Longmore Hospital for Incurables, and Royal Blind Asylum, Edinburgh. At a meeting of Highland gentlemen and Dthw, h«ld in Edinburgh, it was rtsolved to found a Celtio scholarship in connection with fche Celtic chair in Edinburgh University, as a memorial of tho late Piofe3sor Blackie. The Sum requiied ?a £3000. The Town Council of Oba.n h*s resolved to erect a ni'-numf nt to the professor there on Crannag^a-Mtiuioteir. The personal estates of tho following deceased perions have been proved at the amount* stated after their names: — Couutess Dowager of Glasgow, £60,289; Mr Thompson, of Pitmedd«n, AberdoeßsVtre, £46 190 ; Mr Colin D. Donald, writer, GU*i.o-v, £29,544; Mr Alex Mathers, formerly secretary of tbe Clydesvale Bank, £23,809; and Mr Nuxman Macleod, of MacJteod, 22_d chief of tho clan Macleod, at £21.339. The coming of age of Viscount KelJmrne, eldest sen of the Eitrl of Glasgow, was Celebrated with public rejoicings at Largo on June 18. A congratulatory telegram was despatched to Lord G!a?go— . The failure is announced of Messrs Stewatt, Brown, and Co., sugar merchants, of Glasgow, London, and Manchwtt-r, with liabilitie? esti- I jnated at £40,000. In a letter to th.ir creditors Ihe firm attribute their failure to spsculations Entered into by ono of their repreeoutatives witfeout their knowledge. The Scotsman is re*poru>iblo for the statement that "the Utiioa Steam Ship Company of New Zealand are likely to oid<u- shortly five >tew»ers 0 £ about 250 ft in length fer their vsry Bxtemive coasting trade in Oceania." In the Ceurt of Session Lord K : .n™irney has flistnweed an- action for tho reduction of the will Df the late »r John Hope, W.S., Kdinbargh. Bis Lordship held that the pursuer/ averments that the tesfctor laboured under insane ballucinaJbioos were not relerant. Tie estate of Pri«rs Carse, six miles from Dumfries, and associated with peculiar memories of Bums, has been sold to the directors of the Crichton Royal Aaylum for £27,500. It 4 re&tal is returned at £800. Tbe Bishop of St. Andrew's, Dr Wilkinson, has bern presented with a splendid cope and miJre by tho cirrgy and laity of his dioceee. The mitre is spudded with precJcu* stones given by lidies, and i 3 valued at £200. At a meeting of Upball School Board it was itated that one of the tenders for extensions to jne schcol amounted to £315 19* 4j{d. The chairWan d/clared that he would never consider fcuch in offer, as it was far too precise. Eventually the board accepted one almost equally precise >-frr£3o2 19«lld. The Duko of Argyle, whose courage is so well Jmown, is about to marry for the third time. The lady is a niece of General Sir John M'Neill, end is 48 years of age, while the Duke ia 72. Sunday, 2nd June, being the two hundred >nd sixteenth anniversary of the bat'le of Druraelog, a religious service was held on the battlefield, according to annual custom. The preacher was the Rev. John Robertson, of the City Temple, Gloßgow. The Wilf on U.P. Church, one of the landmarks of Perth, requiring to be removed for •txeet improvements, the foundation stone has Seen laid of a new church to be built on an adjoining site in the new street at a cost of | £9746. The number of teetotal ministers in the Free Chtircb of Scotland is now 761, being an inoreaaa of 10 during the psst year. Three diggers are still working at the Kilflonan goldfleld. One of them is making labourer's wages, and the other two are believed fo be doing better. The Duke of Sutherland paid them a visit the other day and made perlonal inquiries. The new bridge over the Clyde at Rutherglen W»s inaugurated on 19ih June by the laying of Jhe memorial stone, and is to be opened for (traffic in the antunm. If" is 50ft. wle between Ihe parapets, while the old bridfio was only lo£ft in width. The cost ot the new bridge ia

estimated at £64-,000. The Glasgow Corporation has also decided to comtruct a new stone bridge between Govnn and the Green, and a suspension bridge farther np, between the Green and Oatlauds square, to take tho place of tho present ferry service. Much ratisfaction has been caused at Perth by Mr Robert Fullar, head of the famous firm of dyers in that city, having received Che honour of knighthood. Old students of Edinburgh University, and many others, will be sorry to hear that, on account of advanced age and failing health, Professor Masson is to retire on 31st August from the chair of rhetoric and English literature, which he has filkd with so much distinction for 30 yearn. He will still retain his office of H.M. Historiographer-Royal for Scotland, to which ho was appointed in 1893. The Christian Endeavouc Convention at Adelaide has decided to alter the title to fche United Society, so as to include New Zealand.