SCOTLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2561, 15 April 1903, Page 73

SCOTLAND.

(Fbom Otje Own Cobbespondekt.)

EDINBURGH, February 5. Winter is slipping away, to the relief of many, without our having the Arctic weather so frequently predicted by the weather-wise. It is true we awoke one morning to find that over 6in of anow had fallen during the night, but a thaw and heavy rain set in the 6ame day, and by next morning the snow Lad j mostly disappeared — in the town at anyrate. The state of the streets for some houre was frightful, I never remember seeing anything like it. In the country the snow was still deeper, and the thaw was longer m joming. In Perthshire the line of the Highland railway was only kept open by dint , of severe exertions with snow-ploughs. In*J one place a number of deer which had wandered, on to the line were run into by a snow-plough, and several of them were killed. While the frost lasted the ekater3 and curlers made the most of their opportunities. At Carsebreek, Stirlingshire, there was a grand bonspiel on January 16. There were no less than 299 rinks, accommodating 2392 curlers, belonging to all grades of society from an earl downwards. The contest was between juries representing Scotland to , the north and to the south of the Forth and Clyde canal respectively. The result was: — South, 5039 shots; North, 4145; majority for the South, 894. The game was of the most animated description, and well vindicated its national euithet of "rearing. 1 may add that Scottish curlers are a good deal disappointed that the team sent to Canada has met with so many defeats. "When, however, it ie borne m mind that tne conditions ac to ice and curling-stones were ; quite novel to the Scotsmen, and that Canadians have far greater opportunities of praeisin" that are afforded by our milder and more changeable climate, the result cannot be much wondered at. Since the frost left us we have had a tedions succession of south-westerly gales, which have caused a number of minor accidents in the towns. The barque Julius Palm, which sailed from Glasgow for Dun€din on January 18, put back to Greencck on the 29th, her cargo having shifted during the heavy weather which she encountered in the Atlantic. In the latter part of last week there was a phenomenal rainlaU an across Central Scotland. At Fort William 6in r of ran fell in 24 hours. Perthshire therr were great floods. Part of the C'.ty cf Perth was under water, which submerged both Inches. On the North Inch it was from 4ft to sft deep. In the central parts | of the county the rivers flooded the land till ■ in some parts it looked like a sea. Jhat ever turbulent stream, the Spey, rcse to a record height, and did great damage, burstini?embankments, sweeping away root crops and sheep, and flooding great stretcaes of country. "At Laverne*s the river was in nigh | flood, overflowing its banks and submerging | the islands. Grave fears were entertained that the railway bridge, a stone structure, would be carried away, the river rising almost to the floor of the bridge, and making a .great hole at the base of one of the piers, . so that traffic had to b» shopped. Happ ly ■ the water then began to subside, and the bridge was caved.

DISASTROUS FIRES.

The bad fortune with which the fire msuranoe companies had to contend last year spams to have followed them into 19J6. Although in Scotland we have not had such calamitous conflagrations as have occurred in Eaeland, we have not escaped soot free. On January 23 a fire broke out an the goods she-is at the Princes? Dock. Glasgow, and a st-etch of them— 42oft in length— was consumed. The content.? consisting largely of such inHammable materials as oil, s"<Pj™ r ' and esnarto, ihs blaze was terrific, me damage is astimated at £35,000, wd v overed by .insurance. Only two montns previously a range jf sheds on the opposite side erf the harbour wa.i burned. , At Aberfeldy the branch of the Tjmcai Bank of Scotland, the town clerks office, and two -shops wtire burned on January la, tout the bank's books and cash were saved. The U.F. Church in Argyk ploce, Jidmhurgh, was partially destroyed by fire on January 25. The communion servic; was just being concluded, and the minister manged to 3lose the proceeding: and get the congregation cut without panic. Se" 0""'0 ""' fires have also occuned it Arbroatn ro<i Grangomouth. The report of the chief fficer of the Glasgow Fire Brigade ha.t in 1902 there were 715 fires, in that city, causing losses amounting to £lf 9 000. 1 Iws vra.« tLe same total -fi in 1901, but is £35,400 above the average for th« last 10 .fears.

COAST DEFENCE

Though i:ot much has been said on the subject for a <?ood while, the strengthening of our defences especially on tho East Coast of Scotland, lias been fteadily progressing. As t step in this direction eight la.rge guns axe bsing manufactured at Woolwich Arsenal for the Edinburgh Artillery Volunteers, and the fir.st is already in «*•? for drill purposes. Tin guns are of 4.7 inch bore, ar..d fire 'lyddite or shrainel shells up to 12.000 yards. Each can fire eight rounds per irinute. Each gun is 16£t 2iu in length, weighs 4- ton* Sort, and costs £3000. The guns can bo drawn either by hordes or by traction engines. The seven giuifi .still due are reported to be just .lbout ready for cMnery. They ■will form an important addition to the defences of the. Firth of Forth. LARGE BEQUEST TO GLASGOW POOR.

The tale Mr John Macgregor, who was a native of Gla-gow, and made a fortune as a •timber merchant at Rangoon, • his bequeathed two-thirds of his cstete to be equally divided between those Uvo towns on the death of his wife. The wifi directs that "the money shall not on any account be jrivan to any religion bodies or societies, but entrusted for d istribuaion to the Glasgow mpgistrntea and Rangoon M' ,'iicipality for disposal by them for the benefit of the poor in those two cities as they shall deem fit " It is believed that the total sum to be thus dealt with is £150,000.

NEW PRINCIPAL OF EDINBURGH rxrvEßsrrr.

The important post of Principal of Edinburgh University, which had become vacant by the retirement of Sir William Muir on account of the infirmities of advanced a?e, has been filled by the appointment of Sir 'William Turner, professor of anatomy 111 the university. Sir William war bom at Lancaster in 1832, but he is still ha'.e and vigorous. His father was an Englishman and his mother a Berwickshire woman. He Las occupied the chair of anatomy (which, of course, he now resigns) silica 1t 67, and for 13 years previously had been connected xrith it as a "demonstrator under Professor

Goodsir. He has made the chair a household word in medical circles throughout the English-speaking world, and by far the greater number of anatomical professors and lecturers in Hie United Kingdom were at one time his students or assistants. He has also rendered his university priceless seivices as an organiser. For a number of years he has held the high position of president of the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom. He was knighted 17 years •ago, and in 1901 was made a K.C.B. His appointment as principal lias been greeted with expressions of warm a^rova'j both within and without the university.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY.

Aberdeen enjoyed a good trading prosperity during -902, the revenue of the Harbour Board amounting to £77.649, which was an increase of £3948 on the total for

1901. The total imports amounted to 1,091,002 tons, and the exports to 209,6:6 •tons. These figures show that the trade of the port has doubled during the past 20 years.

The ironworks at Coatbridge are reported to ba very busy, largo orders having been received from Tyneside and from America. A gentleman from the United States, who gave an important order for ora-crushing machines, said these could be made cheaper and better in Coatbridge than in America.

Dundee end Dunfermline also seem to be holding their own with America, the exports from these towns to the United State 3 showing substantial increases during 1902. At the James Watt anniversary dinner of the Institution of Engineers aud Shipbuilders, Glasgow, Mr H. O. Arnold-Foster, M.P., .Secretary to the Admiralty, said that he believed that he was not exaggerating when he said that not less than 50 millions sterling of manufactured goods was controlled annually by the orders of the Government cf this country.

Lord Piovost Primrose, in presiding at the annual meeting of the Royal Glasgow Aeylum for the Blind, eaid that at that institution there could be seen blind men handling steam-driven tools with perfect safety, and with results quite as gcod as those produced by workmen with sight. The eales at the asylum and central waiehouse amounted l««t year to £28,3=)1.

At the annual meeting of the Scottish Navvy Mission, held in Edinburgh a few days ago, it was stated that th:; supply of navvies fell short of the demand. So far at least as Scot'and was- concerned, the typical navvy of former days was becoming extinct ; and in England the same process was going on, though more gradually. One of the missionaries stated that among the navvies engaged in constructing a light railway in Dumbartonshire there was one who had been a teacher of mathematics, and who also knew Latin, Greek, and Hebrew better than he \tlie missionary) knew English.

A very important step has been taken by the three great firms of locomotive buiMcra in Glasgow. They are in process of amalgamation into one concern, witb a grand total of capital amounting to two millions. Tho firms in question are: — Messrs Neilson, Reid, and Co., and Messrs Sharp, Stewart, and Co. (Limited), both of Sprrnuburn : and Messrs Dubs and Co., Polmadic. These firms at present turn out 1150 locomotives annually. Last year they employed an average of 7570 men, against an average of 7279 employed by the eight leading firms in England. This industry is in a very flourishing condition at present, and it is hoped that the amalgamation will lead to greater economy in production, and so will put the " combine " into an ever stronger position than now occupied by its component parts.

Mr Montagu T. Pickstone, of the firm of D. Bruce Peebles and Co. (Limited), electrical engineers, Leith, a few days ago' read before the Royal Scottish Society of Arts an interesting paper on " British Manufacture and Foreign Competition." In the course of it he said that from personal experience he found that the Continental Jabourer did no more work in his 64 hours than the Britisher did in. 54. In America, however, a man did double or treble the amount of work done in this country. To bring the British workman up to the American standard he advocated specialisation and profit-sharing. His own firm had adopted the bonus system of paying wages. They also encouraged the men to think. Notices were posted in the works offering rewards for all ideas which might tend to cheapen production. The suggestions were conhideied each month, and rewarded according to their merit. Mr Pickstone Vso urged the importance of works being so arranged that the handling of material, whether raw or finished, could be rapidiy and cheaply effected. In the discussion which followed his views received general approval.

The annual report of the directors of the Clydesdale Bank, which has just been issued, states that the net profits for the 3'enr amounted to £180,953. The report recommends, among other things, the payment of a dividend of 12 per cent, (as compared with II per cent, a year ago), and the addition of £40.000 to the reserve fund, bringing it up to £700,000. The depooirs and current accounts are set down as amounting to £11.762,731, and the note circulation at £953.012

BURGLARS AND PUBLICANS.

At the annual meeting of the Glasgow Licensed Trade Association the chairman mentioned that fliey had communicated with the Chief Constable regarding persons demanding to b? shown over licensed premises on tlie giound that they were policemen ;n plain clothe?. The Chief Constable said that men who were what they prote-sed to be- would produce their warrant cards when asked for their authority by the licensee or his employees. Anyone who d-.d not co so night be treated as an intruder, and detained till he could be handed o\er to a constable It Fecms that heretofore nry man could go into a publichouse *ayine he u-a= a plain-clothes policeman, and v. as given full access to the piemises. The result vai that many of the criminal class adopted. thii method cf getting an acquaintance with the premises, and afterwards turned their knowledge to account by breaking in and robbing the .safes. Just a few day- before the meeting under notice was held bunjlars entered a pubhehoui-e in Drnry street, blew open the safe with dynamite, and carried oft" £50 in ca^h. The police suspect a Manchester gang of depredatnis. who have recently transferred their activities to Glasgow. REVELATION'S OF GLASGOW SLUMS.

G!a*gow always has the poor with it ,n a very marked degree, and although it.- municipal authorities and many active religious and philanthropic orijanisat.ons lia\e displayed exceptional ci ergy and liberality in the<r endeavour? to iais^ tho -unkt n there- to be an undiiiiini-hed field for their operations Whisky is a match for all the forces brought against it. At the pre-

sent time a commission appointed by the j Town Council to investigate the question of ! the housing of the poorest classes in the ' city is holding frequent meetings, and much of the evidence given is full of interest, though it is often painful reading. It seems that the number of houses demolished for sanitary reasons since 1890 is 1269, and more would be pulled down but for the outlay involved and the difficulty of finding other quarters for their occupants. One of the witnesses examined was Mr Alexander M'Callum, one of the city sanitary inspectors, whose main duty is to visit at night what are known" as "ticketed houses," in order to prevent or detect overcrowding, as prohibited under the Glasgow Police Act. 1860. He gave detailed evidence as to convictions under the act, and said that in the course of their visitations he and his fellowmspeccors " had got both men and women concealed in every conceivable cornej. They had found them hidden in cupboards, under the bed, and even on the housetops. . In the worst case of overcrowding found in the city they took in seven off an adjoining roof." The witness went on to say : "About a month ago they found a young man standing outside a window, two stairs up, holding on by the waste-water pipe. They had also found on several occasions two tiers of people in one bed — 0110 on the boards or on the mattre*s, the bed then flung over, and another living tier on the top of that. In one case they found a son, aged 22, a young woman aged 20, *nd a girl of 16 between the bed and mattress. The father was lying above the son, and two younger members of the family were above the girls. The eldest girl was quite naked. The son and the two girls were working, and the father occasionally. They admitted having an income of over £2 per week, and their rent was only 3s per month." This case illustrates the fact that the lowest classes are not by any means aiways the poorest classes. The witness declared that tne people who lived in these ticketed houses lived by their wits, and would "do anyone they could. Dirt was always prominent in tlieir dwellings. As to the farmea-out houses, he asserted that they often facilitated immorality. "He had seen gentlemen with their fine white shirts lying on beds that he would not like to occupy. Ine average re-nt paid for these houses was Is a night? or 5s a week. Mr M'Callum, in answer to question*, «=aid that minsters very seldom \lslted these liou^. They were afraid to go into them j He admitted, however, that as he hiinselt visited these low localities at night, he wa* , not likely to see many minister* at that time. The Rev. Dr Howie, of Govau, who is a member of the commission, said that he would be glad to go round the district with Professor Glau-ter, another member Mr M'Callum at once said to him: "You wrH require to com* with a rap. You woa t need to come with your ministerial hat. It is to be hoped that so slight an abdication of the dignity which is supposed to hedge- a Moderator of tha General Assembly of the United Free Church will not prevent Dr Howie from seeing for himself what is needed and what can be done to improve matters in D?rkest Gtosgov. Ministerial slumming is largely a matter of the past, ministers usually delegating the \ imitation of the poor and vicious to their cciigregational missionaries, and confining their own visits to the well-to-do amd outwardly respectable. Of course their people follow their example, and so it comes about that practical heathenism lives and increases in all our large cities. Things will not improve until professiag Christians follow the example of their Lord, and set theineelves to seek and to save that which is lost.