SCOTLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2647, 7 December 1904, Page 15

SCOTLAND.

■THE KING IN THE HIGHLANDS. (Proie Oub Own Correspondent.) EDINBURGH, October 13. Bis Majesty the King seems to have been igreatly enjoying his stay in the Highlands, and, by all accounts, his health has benefited much from the pure and bracing air ♦ fco be enjoyed there, as well as from the freedom from the calls of court functions. ?He was present, along with the Prince and Princess of Wales, at the annual Highland feathering at Braemar, and took (a lively interest in the various sports. The occasion was .further, marked by records being set tup by- Gameron, the well-knowE Fort William athlete, who is now'Vesident at Partick. Cameron threw the heavy hammer -92ft Biin, and .the light hammer 118 ft lOin. He putted the -stone 32ft ll£in. The hammers and stone are those which have been used at this gathering ever since it was started nearly 90 years ago. ' A' little later his, Majesty^ paid a visit 1 to ILord Burton, at^Glenqiioich, in,- the Glengarry country. . 'He enjoyed some deershooting, anid a, fine,, stag fell ..to ,his, rifle. , The sublimity- of. the scenery "greatly imt* pressed fiim, -He declared.- that it far surpassed ajiy thing' to -be seen -in- Switzerland,-! «nd -he expressed'- surprise that " so '-^many __ people' '_ scragiifr' fbrTtke beauties of Nature"! " abroad when there were such striking attrac- j tions at home as those to be seen in this Tegion. On the afternoon of the Sunday of his visit King Edward called at the house of one of the gardeners to inquire after the latte-r's sick child, a kindly act which was •warmly appreciated throughout the Glen. THE PREMIER TO THE RESCUE. The, Prime Minister was a prominent figure in a "rather exciting little affair which took place the other day on the coast of East Lothian. He was playing- golf with the Colonial Secretary, and. two other gentlemen, at Craigielaw, - between Aberlady and | Jjongnidclry, when the • party were startled j by cries for help, raised by four boys who ; were in a small boat about 200 yards, from: the shore Mr Lytfelton at once threw off his jacket, and all four gentlemen ran to the .beach. There they found a boat, which j - they dragged down to the water, Mr Balfour ; leading the way- with the rope over his J shoulder, and all of them waded into the , sea until the water was up to their" waists. I Three of thb golfing- party and. four spectators manned the boat, 'leaving Mr Balfour and: bis caddie to watch their' proceedings. - They succeeded in rescuing the boysf just as. ' the- lalter's boat was almost swamped.- 'It - seems that they had been sitting in the boat playing; draughts, an' 9" were," so irTtlnt upon' *heir gameTthai the rising tido earned their boat out to sea before they awolce to-what .•waa-*hftppening t Happily neither the Pre- ' xnier nor any of: his coadjutors seem to have Buffered from their wetting. - THE CHURCH IMBROGLIO. Things are not looking at all well in regard _to 'a peaceful settlement* of this muddle, 'and" the .violent ~and contemptuous language employed by many of the U.F. ' Church orators (most of whom, I meed, scarcely, say, are clerics) is not calculated to inspire their opponents with peaceable sentiments. The quiet resolution of the ! Frees is much more dignified in the eyes of onlookers than the frothy fury of the "United Frees. Some of the latter migui 1 . do worse than ponder and preach uponjbhe" ■words of Proverbs xi, -12 : "He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour; but a man of understanding holdeth his The Boer war, the Russo-Japanese- war, .and this miserable church squabble all illustrate in a most telling way the folly of despising an antagonist because he is small. The conference between representatives of the" two Churches ■■ took ■ place in Edinburgh on September 28. _,A document embodying the pf oposals:b£ the' U.F. Church ' .was ihen considered. The pith of it was a proposal to submit, the question as to. the temporary use and final possession, of. such of the" property* as" was in dispute to_.a neutral arbiter or arbiters, whose . award should form the basis_ upon .which both Chufrohes should, proceed in^seeking'for-Par-liament to legislate in-, the 'matter. The , document emphasised the number and diffi- j culty of the legal. questions arising in con- j nection with the judgment of the House of Lords, and urged resort to arbitration "to prevent the litigations, most distracting to the work of the Church, as well as costly, uncertain, and prolonged", which will otherwise inevitably arise." The Free Church representatives, however, Tefused to consider the proposal, on the ground that it was -outside the scope of their powers. It was also stated by them that the idea of arbitration came rather late, seeing that the House of Lords had given its decision in favour of the Free Church. The U.F. rightly, deserves this slap. While it thought it "was going to win, the idea of arbitration never entered its mind. It is only put forward now to neutralise as far as possible the effects of the judgment of the House of Lords- The U.F. Church professes to warn peace, but what it really wants is as much of the property as it can keep hold of. At a meeting of the Commission of the Free Church Assembly on October 5 the report of its representatives -to the conference was considered and approved. General trustees to hold the property of the Church were appointed, and professors were also eppointed to 'cocuiust the classes of the New College, Edinburgh, during the ensuing session, opening on November 2. A further conference between the representatives of the churches took place on October 7. It was held in private, and very little' has transpired in regard to it, except that it was intimated that the Free Church I

would not place any obstacle in the way of the usual payments in connection with che Widows and Orphans' Fund being made at the ensuing Martinmas term. The conference was then adjourned until October 14 (to-morrow).

The Emergency Fund of £100,000 which the U.F. Church is seeking to raise is now growing but slowly, notwithstanding great individual sacrifices. For instance^ an elderly lady sold her carriage and pair and gave the proceeds to the fund; while a domestic servant gave to it £100 out of her savings. If litigation is not avoided a great deal more money will be required. In fact, it is plain that the lawyers are- the only people who will derive any benefit from us miserable business.

In the Free Church it is stated that many people in diffeixmt parts of the country are manifesting a disposition to re-enter that fold. Nearly 100 U.F. churches are stated to have made overtures in that direction. Meetings p in support of this movement are to be held in many places shortly. Of course when the union took place in 1900 -there were, many persons who, did not wish for it, but, feeling themselves in a hopeless minority, and no other haven being open .to, them, ihey let themselves be hauled- into , the union. Now that there is a prospect of the Free Church being able to offer- them an "open door, -they- are preparing to return. Ttese .persons^ are the Conservatives of the " .F. Church, and .they are especially, opposed to the new theology which finds in it congenial soil. ANOTHER CHURCH (SQUABBLE. As if we had not already enough ecclesiastical strife and to spare, we are threatened with another contest somewhat similar to that now going^ on. The parties are the remnant of the Evangelical Union churches which did not amalgamate with the Congre.gationalists a few years ago. It seems that the former body has received a bequest of £550 which, was left to " the Evangelical Union Church " ; but the Congregationalism .claim that that church is a part of their communion now, and consequently demand that- the money be handed over to them. The x Evangelical .Union has resolved to 1 resist this claim, and threatens to put forward one on its . own account as being entitled to the property retained by those churches of. the former Evangelical Union which united with the Congregationalists. It is evident that "the term "union" is -oomingia<sham when used in ecclesiastical affairs— about as .great -a sham as ",un'ity" was. before^' th© unions were brought about. AU\tHis sorfc of .thing brings religion into derisipn,- though it "ought not_to do so, for ii -is clearly", antagonistic to religion, and not a part of it." /