SCOTLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2719, 25 April 1906, Page 18

SCOTLAND.

. (Faoii OT7B Own Cokbespondext.) EDINBURGH. March 8. THE NEW PARLIAMENT. With the election of Mr Eugene Wasoa as member for Orkney and ' Shetland the i general election was completed. Mr Wason, who sat in the last Parliament for the same constituency, was in London when the poll was declared, and within two hours thereafter he presented himself at the House of Commons. The 72 Scottish members are made up as follows: — 12 Unionists, 58 Radicals, and two Labour men. The prediction that not a single Unionist would be returned in Scotland is thus falsified, though the Unionist members are now reduced to the apostolic number. Already people, are grumbling that Scotland receives such very scanty notice in the King's Speech, and especially that Scottish education is not mentioned in it. Seeing that the GovernmetH includes Scotsmen as Prime Minister. Lord Chancellor, "War Minister, First Lord of the Admiralty, Colonial Secretary. Minister for Local Government, and that there are Scottish members holding the posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary of State for India, etc., it is thought that Scotland might have been better treated. It is the old story, however— the well-behaved have to wait for any crumbs that may be left after the unruly have been feasted. When Scotland behaves worse it will fare better. | WATER SCARE IX EDINBURGH. | Th s city is never left long in peace in | regard to its water supply. There is usually some alarm sounded regarding it. This time it was a report that water-fleas had been founu in the cisterns and hydi rants, and that we were all in a fair way to ibe poisoned. Even scientific men of eminence were foolish •enough to write upon the subject without ba\ing scon and examined the creature. This proved to be not the " water-fiea " at all — which is a crustacean allied to the shrimp, though very much smaller, — but a tiny insect belonging to the genus C'ollembola. and popularly known as the "spring-tail." It is so small that a strong magnifying-glass is required to make out its shape clearly. Experts assert that it cleanses water, and so is a friend rather than a foe. It seems to be proved, however, that the creature has got into the hydrants on account of their imperfect construction, which is disquieting on other grounds ; yet tho Water Trust informs us that the renewal of the hydrants. which is in progress, will not be completed for six years ! The Icsurely way in which things are done in Edinburgh would provide a Yankee with never-ending amusement. A GAES T TO THE CLYDE. Messrs Yarrow and Co. (Ltd.), the famous shipbuilders and engineers, having been forced to decide upon leaving Poplar, London, on account of the heavy local taxation and the higher cost of labour and material there, have decided to remove their works to Scotstoun. on the north side of the ' Clyde, just below Glasgow. They have secured a suitable site with 780 ft of river frontage, but it is said that it v.'as the

1 convenience of eaiy access to the measured mile at Skelmorlie that caused the Clyde to be chosen. The firm inspected many other sites on the Tyne. Belfast Lough, and other places. As it employs net far short of 1500 hanc's. its coming to Scoxstoun is a good thins; for tl.at locality. BRUCE S3SX-CENTEXARY. In these d-egenerare days, when party j politics have well nigh killed patriotio fervour, Dumfries has been setting a good example by celebrating with becoming enthusiasm the act by which Robert the Bruce began the struggle with England which secured independence to Scotland. This act was the seizing of the royal castle of Dumfries on February 10, 1306, after it had been for seven years in the hands of the English. The whole county entered most "heartily into the celebration of the ' anniversary, the proceedings in connection with which occupied two clays. On February 9 all the schools in the town and district were visited by representative gentlemen, and in each • of them an address was delivered suitable ■to the occasion. At the Dumfries Acad-cmy I Provost Glover made an onslaught on what jhe calls the offensive and audacious mis- ; representations regarding fcfie origin o£ the , Scottish war of ijjdepend-Qiice^ made in the • text-books used in the academy. He j declared that tb.3 boys of to-day must .be tame and unrcsentful, for in his wjhcol days these books would -have been taken out, of the school and publicly burned in front of the academy. This vigorous sa'ly elicited j loud cheers from the boys. I The following day, being a Saturday, there was a big turn out of the public. A procession was formed on the Whiiesands, and included representatives of many local clubs, as w?ll as Ihe provosts and magistrates of the burghs of Dumfriesshire. It marched past larg« crowds to Castle Dykes, an earthen plateau on which the citadel of the castle formerly stool. There a block of native sandstone was laid, which is to form the base for a flagstaff. Ihe ceremony of laying the stone with Masonic honours, was perform-ed by Mr W. Mnarray, of Murraythwaite (Provincial Grand Master), and brief speeches were also made by Provost Glover, by Sir Robert Cranston (Lord Provost of Edinburgh), and by the Earl of Stair. Great enthusiasm pervaded tb.3 uroceedings. A luncheon followed, at which there were more speeches, ard a loyal message was telegiaphed to the King. At a great gathering in the Drill Hall in the evening .his Majesty's reply to this message was read, aud evoked much cheering. A concert of national song followed, and Sir George Douglas, cf Keho, delivered an address upon the event commemorated that day. His oratory was of the most impassioned description, ai.d was received by his hearers with tiue Scottish fervour. The memorial stone above referred to is squared on nw side only, on which the following inscription is cut: — "King Robert the Bruce on February 10. 1306, captured the Castle of Dumfries, which occupied this site, and so b-egan the war which -vindicated Scotland's mdepe ndence. ' The stone weighs two and a-quarter tons. A PUGNACIOUS PROVOST. Kinross is a sleepy place to look at, but at times in the past it has proved to be a slumbering volcano, as most weaving towns indeed are. It now rejoices in a provost named Robert Alles, a millwright, whose political heat has be-?n unduly erupting lately. Being a Radical, he went to a meeting addre c =ed by the Unionist candidate, whom he interrupted with rude shouts, and also struck first with hi* hat and then with his fist a young man sitting in front of him who objected to his behaviour. An older mar who witnessed the assault threatened to defend the youth lif the pi o vast touched him again. The 1 sheriff found the assault proven, and called jit " mn~t coivardlv." Ho fined the accused £3. with the alternative of 21 days' imj prisonment ; but the convicted provost paid the mcripy at the bar where he stood. It would be edifying to see him administering justice to anyone brought before him on a charge of " mo^t cowardly " as-ault. FOOD AND DISEASE. Mr James Henderson, veterinary inspector. Edinburgh, in a lecture delivered beforo the Edinburgh Sanitary Soeictv. stated that tapeworm wa3 common in animals in Shetland, owing, probably to bad water, and moat of the cases of liver evst in the human being treated at the Royal Infirmary came from Shetland. Anthrax, he said, was often brought to this country fiom the Continent in oats, as well as in hides and wool. The disease in cattle popularly known as " wooden tongue" was probably introduced through the food, and the same disease might bo produced in men by chevrina- straw, a habit against which he warned his hearers. Mr Henderson also referred to the consumption of frozen meat in Edinburgh. This, he said, had recently increased, and the quantity of such meat which is now consumed in this city amounts to from six to seven tons per week. A local evening paper, however, says that on inquiry a,t

official sources it is informed that the amount of frozen meat consumed in Edinburgh is approximately 56 or 57 tons per week. This amount comprises the meat imported from all foreign countries, whether frozen, chilled, or killed at port. Mr Henderson also stated in his lecture that a committee of inquiry had brought to light the fact that the inspection of frozen meat in the United States was " only a pretence," as the veterinary inspectors there were subject to corruption. The boneless meat imported in bags and boxes was being sold at from 2^d to 4d per lb. EMIGRATION OF THE UNEMPLOYED. The finding of work for the unemployed , is every year becoming- a bigger and more ! difficult business for municipal authorities, especially in our large towns, and as the unemployable are rapidly increasing in numbers and shamelessness, the problem of what to do to remedy matters is becoming: very serious. A severe winter would bring matters to an outbreak in some places. It seems there is now_ an act of Parliament empowering municipalities to assist in the emigration of working men and their families, and the first place to bring- it into operation is L'eith. The first batch of emigrants is to sail from Glasgow on March 24- for Halifax. Nova Scotia, proceeding thence by rail to Toronto. The cost is calculated £8 per adult, of which £7 will be spent on the journey, leaving £1 as pocket money at the close. This £1 is considered sufficient, as the Canadian Government's representatives pledge it to obtain employment for all who are sent, within an hour of their arrival in Toronto. The majority will be engaged for 12 months to ' work on dairy farms in Ontario. If the men really work they will do well, but on this point one may well be pardoned for having misgivings. If, however, the experiment proves a success, a flow of emigration to Canada is likely to set in. The medical examination of the intending emigrants is being very thoroughly carried out, so that it will j be a case of the fittest, and the unfit will , still be left as a burden to the Home comj munities. One could not expect it to be . otherwise. Still it is well to note the fact 1 that, at the most, emigration can do but little to relieve the congestion at Home. 1 Some more effective and extensive way of dealing with this great and growing evil must be found, or in a few years life will scarcely be worth living- in our principal cities and towns. The cost of the Leith scheme. I should add, is defrayed out of the burgh rates.