SCOTLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2579, 19 August 1903, Page 80

SCOTLAND.

THE TARIFFS QUESTION. (Fbou Oub Own Cobhebpondent.) EDINBURGH, Juno 25. In a country so keenly alive as Scotland 'is to everything which affects commerce and industry, the agitation which has been begun in regard to the fiscal systems of the British Empire is, of course, engaging the closest attention. At the came time Scottish reticence is plainly discernible in the caution with which opinions are expressed. It is felt that' there is needed a fuller of the facts of the case and of the course* proposed to be taken, together with more time to consider such information when it i 3 given, and until these conditions are satisfied Scotsmen are loth to express a definite opinion. There seems, however) a very common agreement on two points — viz., a desire to cultivate closer relations with the colonies, and to counteract^ in such a way as may be deemed best the bounty system by which a number of Continental industries and other enterprises are propped up. Slowly it may be, but all the more surely on that account, mien are coming to see and to say that the times are changed, and that we must change with them. At the annual show of the Strathondrick Agricultural Society, held in the grounds of Buchanan Castle, Stirlingshire, the seat of the Duke of Montroee, his Grace made the following statement:— "The whole time that he wa3 in South Africa he did not think that he ate anything that was manufactured in the United Kingdom. He had German sausages, Swiss milk, Danish butter, Dutch cheese, American tinned fcod.3, and German bser. Indeed, h& did not think he had tasted anything except whisky that had xsome from Scotland. There might be something in- that for their consideration, that the British troops,— and the horses, too, wero fed on Russian oats— should have supplied to them foreign goods imported in such largo quantities to South Africa." One very regrettable feature of the situation is the growing tendency on the part of ' the disjecta membra of the Opposition to view and treat this all-important matter as a party question, or even as a question of personal animosity towards one man— Mr Chamberlain. No w.onder other nations look upon Britain as decadent when its would-be leaders cannot consider even this vital matter dispassionately upon its merits, but must needs_seek to subordinate the interests oi the nation to their desire for the predominance of their party or tho gratification of their personal spite. I may add that all expressions of colonial feeling on his topic are read with the greatest interest. People in this country are earnestly desirous to know how the ,colonies really feel in regard to it. Even the broaching of the subject has perceptibly caused a movement of feeling in the Home Country towards the colonies. THE SEASON. While almost unparalleled rainfall and floods have been converting large areas in the basin" of the Thames into lakes, we in Scotland have had a>r^unusually dry spell for the last two months. It ha 3 been aocompanied by very bitter and piercing north-east winds, so that the pastures are in very poor condition, and the hay crop will be a light one. Cereals are also suffering from lack of rain, but. even more from tho ravages of grubs. The latter evil is attributed by some to the raids which lmvo been made upon the rooks during -the last two seasons. There eeems to be a periodicity in this sort of thing. Every few years an onslaught is made upon the rooks, and their numbers are greatly reduced. Then it is found thai there are worse enemies which the rooks were keeping in check, and the | latter are encouraged for a brief cycle of years — and so on. During the last week frcets have greatly damaged the potato crop, and it is affirmed that the damage thus occasioned is irreparable. Naturally it has been worst in the upland districts, 'though nowhere (,o bad as it is in Ireland, where it is declared th© crop will be th© worst since the year of famine — 1847. INDUSTRIAL NOTES. There is again some talk of the conitruotion of a main line of railway to connect the North of England with Glasgow, via Hawiok. Surveyors are at work on the projected line of route, and it is eaifl that a bill will be ready to be lodged in Parliament by November. A number of years ago this matter was actively disewtaed and some of the preliminary steps wero taken, but it ! Mas. then dropped. A survey for a railway to cross the Cheviots at Carter Fell was made co far back as 1837. Any euch line is sure to be vigorously opposed by the North British Railway Company, and its promoters are consequently likely to proceed with deliberation, as their money would be lost if the parliamentary committee were to strangle the bill at tho outset, as has just happened in the case of the proposed new line to. connect Briatol and London by the London and South- Western. It is re- | ported that the Great Central is the English I Company which is promoting the projected line. Shipbuilding ia rather slack on the Clyde, and 1 it is therefore learned with gratification that one of the large steamers, 650 ft long, ' wbioh are to be built for the Cunard Company for ''intermediate" passenger traffic I is to be constructed by Messrs Brown and Co. at Olydebank. To make the river more easy of navigation by the monster steamers of these times, tho Clyde Navigation Trust is going to remove what is known as the j Elleralie Rock. This is a rocky ledge which j runs across the river at Ellerslie, forming a [

' kind of bar.. Its removal will be a and rather tedious operation. The most hopeful matter in connection -with Clyde shipbuilding is in connection with the building of turbine steamers. Those now running have proved their superiority over the ordinary paddle steamers, in regard both to speed and to economy of fuel. In the latter respect the saving is fully 20 per cent. Steamers built on this system are being placed on the principal routes betweea England and France, and the first i turbine steamer has just crossed the Atlan- { tic, behaving splendidly in the heaviest j weather. I saw the turbine steamer Queen Alexandra on the Clyde a few days ago, and it was beautiful" to notice how quietly and swiftly she slipped through the water. Everybody says tile turbines are the coming boats, and it certainly- seems as if the prophete were likely to prove to be in the right. Some years ago the Scottish mineral oil industry appeared to be on the point of being overwhelmed by American competition. It has weathered the storm, however, and is now making steady, if not brilliant, progress. A review of the trade during the past financial year shows that the four companies concerned made a gross 'aggregate profit of £191,910, which exceeded the pre- ' vious year's total by £35,831. This, moreover, was in spite of the fact that prices ruled lower than they had done id the previous four or five years. It is expected that the present year will show still better results. It is not generally realised, even in the city itself, that Edinburgh is very favour-, ably circumstanced as an industrial centre." As some men might make money if they oould reconcile themselves to blackening their liands and faces, co it might be with the fastidious Scottish capital, though even , as it is its industries are by no means to ibe despised. At the annual meeting of the shareholder.? of the Niddrie and Benliar Coal Company, Mr R. T. Moore, mining engineer, said that the Edinburgh coalfield was the largest in Scotland, and there was no doubt that the coal supply of the country must come largely from it. I may add that at Niddrie coal is being mined almost witEintLe> municipal boundary, but most of it is exported from Leith to the Continent. i A return issued by the Glasgow Corporaj tion Tramway Department shows that during the year ending on 31st May the city tramways carried 177,179,519 passengers, " which is an increase of over 13£ millions as compared with the total of the- preceding year. The receipts amounted to the sum of £653,200, being an increase for the year ; of £40,374. The Edinburgh and District Tramways Company has accepted an offer from the Leith Corporation to purchase the tramways in Leith for £60,000. The<se are still run by horse traotion,' while the Edinburgh tramwaya are on the cable system, which, it is said, the Leith Council is resolved to have" nothing to do with. Probably electric traction will be adopted. f Parliamentary powers are promised for the carrying out of an improvement scheme in the most crowded part of Port Glasgow. , The aTea affected is over four acres, and ha 3 a population exceeding 2000. The cost lis estimated at about £30,000. Edinburgh 1 is also taking steps to deal with one of its slum areae — that in Greenside, sunk in a. deep natural hollow at the base of the Calton Hill. Low-lying physically, this locality has been steadily sinking morally I for years, and it is high time its regencra- • tion was taken in hand. THE BRITISH LINEN CO. BANK. The annual geneial meeting of the share- . holders of this bank has just J>een held. Th© net profits for the year amounted to ' £302,507, and a dividend wad declared at . the rate of 20 per cent. _ £50,000 was added i to the reserve, bringing it up to £1,650,000, I and a balance of £54,021 was carried forward. The bank's liabilities in respect of current and deposit accounts are set down at £12,851,930, and in respect of notes in circulation .at £898,728. MONEY LEFT BEHIND. The following are the amounts of personal estates of come deceased individuals, a« recorded since my last: — Mr James A.. Nasmyth, Middlebank, Dunfermlinc, £266,091; 'Mr Duncan J. Kayo, Drumpark, Dumfries, £242,124; - Mr A. D. Grimond, Dundee, £198,698; Mr Walter J. Houldsworth, of Coltness, Lanarkshire, £181,899; Mr John Lowson, Victoria Works, Forfar, £169,340; Lady Brodio, Edinburgh, widow of Sir T. D. Brodie, Bart., of Idviee, Forfarshirc, £154,068; .Mr Alexander -Porter, retired West India merchant, Saltcoata, £105,849; Dr William Hunter, M.P., Aberdeen, £49,683; Mr George Maxwell, Brcomholm, Dumfriesshire, £46,869; Mr Andrew Ross, alate merchant, Glasgow, £27,207. A PRISONER'S BOLT FOR FREEDOM. Glasgow enjoyed a somewhat exciting experience on Juno 3 through' the action of. Robert Robin, a young raau who had been arrested on a charge of-attempting to break open a publican's safe. - He was in cii3tody in the Northern Police Office, and availed himself of an untried prisoner's privilege of having hi 3 dinner sent in to him from outside. The plate being too large to pass through the ordinary communication hole, the turnkey opened the door to hand it in, when the prisoner made a dash out. Ho knocked two turnkeys and a constable aside, and although without cap or boots, rushed out into the street. The police followed in full chase, blowing their whistles, but Robin outpaced them and disappeared round a corner. Forthwith all the police in the city and suburbs were put on the alert, special detectives were called in, and cyclists were sent out to scour all the roads leading out of the city. After six hours' hunting, two detectives came upon Robin near St. George's Cross, and on their arresting him j he said : " It's all up ; kindly get mo a cab." This was done, and all three drove to the Northern Police Station. Somehow the fact was known, and euch a dense crowd assembled at the station that the officers had difficulty in getting him into the building. During his brief interval of freedom he had shaved off his moustache and provided himself not only with the head and foot gear he stood in need of, but with an entire new rig-out. When tried on the charge upon which ho was originally arrested, ho said he did not break open the safe, as that was an impossibility, but had only attempted to do co. The magistrate drily replied that that was all he was charged with, doing, and forthwith passed upon him a pretty stiff sentence. They don't show any weak sentimentality towards , criminals in tie practical city in the west. GREAT FIRES "AT GREENOOK. Greenock has this month been the scene of two very disastrous fires. The first took 1 place on June l t in the premies oi the

Grangemouth and Greenock Dockyard Company, Main street,- when damage waa done to the estimated amount of £20,000.The second fire was far more destructive.It broke out at 6 -p.m. on June 12 in tha stores of the Ardgowan Distillery Company* Baker street, where a. million gallons o£ whisky were Btored in barrels. • The street is very steep, and the blazing spirit ran down the drains and Get fire to buildings a* lower levels. Many families had to flee from their houses," carrying with them suob of their .effects as they oould remove. The burning- whisky flowed down to th© grain' mills of- Mes3rs Robert Muir and Sons,- in East Stewart street, 500 yards away, and! there the vapour from , it- united with the dust of the flour, ignited, 'and caused a temfio explosion, . which blew down. th& ' wall of the mill in SpringkeJl_ street. ■ A number of persons were buried in the ruins, .and were only got out after several " hours of strenuous labour. Four were then dead and fearfully crushed, and two others were - so. much injured that they died 'Boon after being taken to the -infirmary. Three others were also injured; and a bluejacket, who formed one of a party from H.M.S. Bonbow, who rendered noble ■ service, - had a leg broken while aiding in the work of ■ rescue, and was conveyed to his ship. At one time the fire was raging in five different places at once, and Gome of the women and children .who ran about in terror had narrow escapes from >being caught by ■• the blazing Jwhisky. Some of" the furniture which, was brought out'of the. houses was' burned on the street. The damage at" the distillery is estimated to amount to- £SO,OJ)p; and .' at - the , other, properties to as - much more. ' .'- : ' PERTH AND THE BLACK WATCH.

At the headquarters of the famous regiment .which Scotsmen still, in spite of official change, call the Black Watch, the city of Perth takes a very special interest Ln its welfare and fame. Recently a memorial to the members of the regiment who" fell in the South African war was placed in St. Ninian's Cathedral. With » view . to a more -general and conspicuous monument, however,' a committee was appointed at a public meeting last week to receive, funds. The conveners of. the committee are the Lord Provost of the city and the Lord Lieutenant of the county.' The town clerk' is the secretary.

OBITUARY RECORD.

Mr John Blair, W.S., head of the leading? legal finn of Davidson and Syme, Edin- ■ burgh, died on June 8, aged 63. He, was a self-made man, being the son of a weaver at Dairy, Ayrshire,' and first oame into prominence in conmetionjwith the liquidation, of the City of Glasgow Bank, and the pro* secution of the directors of that concern. He made himself a name as one of the leading commercial lawyers in Scotland, and in that capacity exerted ' a gtjeat influence ) on Scottish business. He was a director of ihe Bank of Scotland and of the Arizona.' Cogper Company. It now transpires -that it was at his instance that the* running ofL Sunday tramway cars Tra3 so suddenly begun' in Edinburgh. He leaves a numerous family. His funeral was' a very large and^ imposing one. • . '' v Mr Dugald M'Laohlan, solicitor land bank agent, Portrea, and one of t&e leading. meir;" in the i6land of Skye, difed suddenly, on.' June 5, from an apoplectic seizure. , He was in earlier life manager of a sugar plantation in. th& West Indies, but for health reasons returned to Sootland. He was * fine speaker, and exerciaed a great anc!, salutary influence over the crofters in Skye.' He alwj rendered valuable aid in a variety of ways to the causes of religion, education, and temperance in the island, -where hk. death has caused universal regret. . , Mr John Tait, Provost cf Kirkoaldy/di'. - there on Juno 6, aged 80. Ho was a floorcloth manufacturer and a successful business man, while at the same time he took an aotive part in the public , affairs of the burc;h, and specially in matters relating to , sanitation and the improvement of the'harbour. His funeral called forth a remarkable demonstration of the esteem in which he was held.

Mr Stephen Williamson,' who was M.P. - for the St. Andrews Burgh-? from 1880 to . 1385, and for the Kilmarncck Burglw from 1886 to 1895, died at Liverpool on the 17th June, ai?ed 76. Ho was a native cf Cdlardyke, Fifeshiro, but his business life was spent in Liverpool .and Valparaiso. At his death ho was head of the firm of Balfour. Williamson, cad Co. He tcok a special interest in Disestablishment and fishdvy masters in Scotland. Ho presented his native place with a church,/ and Anstruther with a town hall. He married a." daughter of the Rev. Dr Thomas GuAhrie, the famous Edinburgh preacher, by whom he had severe sons and a daughter. Mrs Williamson and! several of her family survive him. ■ The Rev. Dr H. -M. Hamilton, formerly minister of the first- charge of the parish' of Hamilton, died a* Dunblane on the 13th, June, aged 66. With the exception of two year 3in the parish of Durisdo&r, Dum-' friesshire, he spent his whole ministerial career at Hamilton, retiring three years ago. He was an imc-le of Lbutenant-geaeral Sir lan Hamilton.

GENERAL MEWS.

The first contract for the Forth navaT base at St. Margaret's Hcpo has now beett let. It is for a range of buildings for the first instalment of the staff required to carry out tho # various works, and it is to» l>e executed * with the- utmost possible desnatch. Mr W. H. B. Martin, of the firm of Gray and Martin, solicitors, Dundee, has _ been elected out of a" great number of applicants •to succeed -the late Sir Thomas Thornton as town clerk of I>undee. The salary- and fees amount to ov6r £1000 a year, and the" appointment stipulates that Mr Martin is. to devote his whole time to the duties of his office. i What is declared to have been the moso alawning fire that ever took place in Sfrorno- - way broke out at 2 a.m. the other Sunday in the store of Messrs James Mackenzie and Sons, ironmongers and general merchants, Cromwell etreet. The adjoining premises? were saved with difficulty, but the- store was entirely consumed. The loss amounts to fully £8000, and is only partially covered bjf

insurance. * Under the will of the lafce Mr D. J. Aaye, of Drumpark, the Dumfries and Galloway, - Royal Infirmary will come in for the sum) of £26,000; and the Convalescent Homo at Glencaple is'left a legacy of £4500 for anr endowment. Aberdeen's new park at Girdieness was formally opened on. June 2. Ifc is intended for game, and so has been laid out in grass, without flower beds. It commands very.fine views, both of land and sea, and .ia eight acres and a-lialf in extent.

A curious occurrence 1 is reported from Ayr. -An «leotric lighting cable crosses the .• road near Tain's Brig, and through some - defect the electricity leaked -out, throwing * down three horses, two men, and three lads as tJiey -unsuspectingly crossed the spot. Happily .they were more astonished than hurt. ■ , , * The. walking craze rampant in England just- now has net caught on much in Scotland as yet. In Dundee, however, the boys have been seized with the fever, and bands of them spend their evenings in walking contests. While still heated after one of 4hese, two boys drank water copiously, were £oon taken ill, and died. The late Mr John Maclachlan, a Glasgow lawyer, has bequeathed £5000 towards the foundation of a chair 'of Mercantile I/aw in Glasgow University. # j The Kelvindale paper mills, Mary-hill, , Glasgow, .which are among the largest worts of the kind in, Scotland, were the scene of a destructive fire on June 9. The damage j amounts to £10.000, and is insured.

At a meeting of the Duns and Chirn«do TJ.F. Presbytery, held at Duns, the Rev. James F. ,G. Orr, of Horndean, resigned hio charge on account of his having accepted "a commission to the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand.

'. The annual concert on Gleniffer Braes, •Paisley,' in • celebration- of the Tannahill anniversary, was .held on June 6." The weather /being splendid, some 20,000 per-*, -son's' wMrelpreserit. " The money thus raised jfi ." given to .the funds of the Royal Alexandra Infirmary, Paisley. The "Auld Brig" of Ayr, immortalised "by Burns, is again in an unsatisfactory con.dition, and a considerable, sura will -have to be laid out upon it to prevent it from collapsing. The new first-class cruiser Berwick has just completed her Fpeed trials on the dyde. She attained a speed' of 7A. 6 knots, »nd' is thus the swiftest ship in -the British navy— of eouree, with the exception of torpedo destroyers. The expenses incurred by the corporation in connection with the recent visit of the King and Queen to Edinburgh amounted to £11,266.,. The late Mr J. R. Russell, tobacconist, Jamaica- street, Glasgow, has bequeathed a sum of almost £30.000 to the Magdalene < Institution in that city. 'According to a statement made at Manchester, this week by the Ducheai of Sutherland, the total annual value of the homespun cloth made in the Highlands and islands' of Scotland is only £25,000.- H-er Grace appealed for the custom of colonials, as well, as that if the people of Scotland and England, to enable the crofters to earn an honest living. At a. meeting of the committee of the Hector Macdonald Memorial Fund, held in "Edinburgh .yesterday, it was ■ reported that £200 out of the £500 required for the monument to be erected in tho Dean Cemetery had been received. Sheriff oGuthrie, having received, in answer to his appeal, sufficient money tp complete the, education of the General's eon, both at school and at "the* university,- that ~fund was closed.