NOTES FROM SCOTLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2785, 31 July 1907, Page 15

NOTES FROM SCOTLAND.

(F*ox On* Omr Cobbssfo^dxit.) ! EDINBURGH, May 30. THE COLONIAL PREMIERS. - Scotland, which had the honour of giving these gentlemen their fist public welcome in Britain had also the privilege of windtSF £ P £• «• y Programme. On May 10 Mr Deakin, Sir Joseph Wari, Dr J«£Ln, and General Botha had a busy day in Edin- , aJ^- Is?I s ? Mo °W»> Premier of NataJ, was plained, in London by important business which could not be deferred. The four f« r^S". be S?° tbe day by breakfasting at the University Union with fully 200 students, together with Lord' Provost Gibson, Principal Sir W. Turner, and a num*er of the professors. Each of the colonial guests made a brief speech, and received a warm welcome, General Botha's reception being specially enthusiastic. Mr Deakin said that there was nowhere in the United -K.ing.dom a university more closely united with the colonies than in Edinburgh. Sir Joseph Ward said that there were more i than 100 students from New Zealand in Edinburgh He thought that Imperial unity would be made greater by the fact that they showed on the football and cricket fields that th^y were good and strong men. An adjournment was made to the Synod Hall, in Castle- Terrace, where the freedom of the city was .conferred upon the I f™! 1 ?- 18 ' amid tl *c enthusiastic applause of *. * atw * crow ded audience. Each of theni made a speech in aeknowleygment of the honour.. Sir Joseph Ward emphasised the resemblances of nomenclature, etc, between Edinburgh and Dunedin, and added: "You will also find a statue of your distinguished _poet, Robert Burfs; And you will find, true to tne portrait of those who sketched his career, that his back X to a church, and his face towards something else." This utterance evoked loud laughter. Dr Jameson was loudly cheered as he proclaimed himself a native of Edinburgh, and added that "anyone born in Scotland^ to whatever part of the world he may go, is still a Scotsman. He is proud: of it »nd boaste of it." General Botha was greeted with load and prolonged cheering when he said : " There have been dark days in South Africa, and especially in the Trans.vaal; but I am grateful to say that we thank God Almighty that He has given us courage and power to enable, us to forget the past— and we will only look forward now and use our best endeavours to create a brotherhopd there which' will be an example." After luncheon at the City Chambers the honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred upon General Botha in the hall of the University Library. The General then had half an hour with the members of the South African Union at their Quarters in Buccleuch street, and then had to hurry to the station to catch his train to London. Sir Joseph Ward went to Glasgow, and - next day was present at the launch, at Dumbarton, * of the splendid steamer Maori, which is being built there for the Union S.S. Company. The ship was named by Lady Ward, who was presented with a handsome diamond brooch as a souvenir of the occasion, _ while Miss Ward was presented with a gold purse. At the luncheon Mr James Milk said that his company would have 62 vessels in commission by the end of the year. I should hare mentioned that when Sir Joseph and Lady Ward left Edinburgh for Glasgow, among those who saw them off at the station were tne Lord Provost and town clerk, with about 50 New Zealand students and many of the citizens, and great enthusiasm prevailed. In a brief farewell speech Sir Joseph said that New Zealand would be glad to see the students all back once more, and he would be specially pleased if some of them at least did not come back alone. Amid cries of " No, no," and cheers, he went on to advise them to take unto themselves wives from among the Edinburgh girls. By so. doing they would still further help on that feeling of unity of which they had heard so muoh that day. As the train moved out the 6tudents vigorously raised the Maori war cry. PRINCELY VISITORS. In addition to the colonial Premiers we have had a brief visit from his Imperial Highness Prince Fusbimi, who is on a visit of courtesy to H.M. the King from Japan. He was only able to spend a day ' or so in Edinburgh, but by dint of good | planning- he was able to see the chief ! eights of the city in that time. At Holyrood an amusing little incident occurred. In the drawing room two of the standard lamps bore what purported to be Japanese shades. Naturally the Japanese present ; were interested in these, but examin- i ing them they pronounced both the shades ' and the lettering upon them to be spurious. | One of the Japanese gentlemen sarcastically j observed that they had very likely been j " made in~ Germany." The Prince proceeded to Glasgow, where his etay was a j little longer than in Edinburgh, and he was ! especially interested in what he saw of ] the shipbuilding yards and other leading I industrial establishments. Unfortunately, j the Lord Provosts of both cities were absent \ on an official visit to Lyons, but their places j were ably filled by the senior ba.lks, and I after his departure Prince Fushimi sent hearty messages of thanks for the kindness with which he was received. Since then he has been continuing his tour in England, and has paid special attention to the { shipbuilding of Barrow-in-Furness, and the ! shipping interests of Liverpool. At Barrow, by permission of the Russian authorities, he closely examined a large warship which is being buili for Russia. His Imperial Highness is a man of few words, and he spoke through an interpreter, but he wae evidently a close and practical observer. Our other princely visitor was the Duke of Albany, who is ateo the reigning' Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gbtha. He was accompanied by. the Duchess, but as their visit j was private, their royal highnesses did net bulk largely in the public eye. The only exception to this, and it was but. a partial j one, was on inspection of the Seaiorth Highlanders, a regiment of which the Duke is honorary colonel, and which is at present , stationed in Edinburgh Castle. Unfortu- ■ nately, the inspection had to take place ; in falling rain. The Seaforths are one of the crack infantry regiments in the army, so that it is not surprising that the Duke was much pleased with their a.npearanee. He conferred various Saxe-Coburg and Gotha orders upon the colonel and several of the other orocere. The Duke and Duchess j subsequently proceeded by njolor & Ljn,- |

lithgow, where they inspected with muoh interest the ruins of the famous old palace, as well .88 the venerable^ church of St. Michael, and they then proceeded to Hopetoun House to call on the Marquis of LinMthgow. HOLYROOD CHAPEL. A committee which had been formed to further the restoration of this historic building had intended holding a public meeting while the assemblies were in session. They have been informed, however, that the money which the late Earl of Leven and Melville provisionally bequeathed towards the restoration has been distributed, on account of the restoration having been pronounced to be impracticable. The meeting accordingly is not to be held in the meantime, but the committee do not intend to dissolve, as they are still hopeful that it will be possible to raise the necessary funds apart from the bequest. It is to be feared that in this they are too sanguine, to judge from the extreme difficulty experienced in collecting the very much smaller sum required to* preserve the Auld Brig at Ayr from destruction. Modern patriotism talks much but does little. HECTOR MACDONALD MEMORIAL. The national memorial to the late Majorgeneral Sir Hector Macdonald, erected* on the Greenhill, Dingwall, was opened by the Marquis of Tullibardine on May 23. Special trains were run *o Dingwall for the occasion, from Glasgow, and different points in the north of Scotland. The memorial consists of a massive tower, which commands a very extensive view. ■ Among other places, the General's birthplace in the Black Isle can -be seen from it. The company present included the general's son, Hector, who came from Newcastle, and his brother, Mr Wm. Macdonald, of Rootfield. Mr D. H. Macdonald, president of the Executive Committee, in handing the monument over to the custody of the town, said that it was entirely free of debt. The- cost of its erection had been defrayed by contributions received from almost every part of the globe. Probost Frew, in accepting the custody of the memorial on behalf of the Town Council, said that they would make arrangements for the daily admission of the public to it. The Marquis of Tullibardine, in a straightforward and interesting speech, related his- own connection with Sir Hector in the Soudan and South African campaigns, and paid a high tribute to his soldierly qualities.- He stated that after the South African war the general was left to a great extent a wreok, without the old strength of mind and body which had formerly been his gloryA gold key was presented to the Marquis as a memento of the occasion, and the pipers of the Ist V.B. Seaforfch Highlanders played the lament. A luncheon, attended by 200 persons, was held in the Masonic Hall, and many of the visitors ascended the monument. For several months past rumours had been in circulation that Sir Hector Macdonald was not dead, after all, but had been recognised, in China subsequent to 1903. To silence these reports Lady Macdonald's lawyers wrote to Colonel Stuart Wortley, C.8., who was Military Attache in- Paris at Sir Hector's death, asking him for a statement on the subject. The colonel, in his reply, which has been published in the newspapeis, eaid that he had known Sir Hector since 1879, when he was a sergeant, and had served with him for many years in Egypt and the Soudan. He then goes on to say :— " I shall always look back with much pain to the sad day in 1903. when \ was called to the Hotel Regina in Paris, and found lying in a room the dead body of my old comrade. I placed the body with my own arms in the coffin, and was present while the coffin was being closed, previous to ite removal to the English Church." This, of course, disposes of the rumours, which were largely <ased . upon the fact that no inquest was held, n*v^ the allegation that no person who had known Sir Hector in life had ever eeen his body. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLIES. These ecclesiastical courts have been holding their annual sessions in Edinburgh during the past 10 days, but their proceedings have bad little general interest, and have attracted less notice than usual. Unfortunately the weather on the opening and four following days was extremely wet and cold — colder, in fact, than that which prevailed in Iceland at the same time. Baron Kinnaird, so well known in connection with many forms of good work, and who is specially indentified with the V.M.C.A., was Lord High Commissioner this year, and discharged the onerous duties of the post to the general satisfaction. In the Established Church the Rev. Dr James Mitford Mitchell, Convener of the Church's Colonial Committee, and formerly for a good many years a minister in Aberdeen, was elected Moderator. For other important posts in connection with the Assembly which were vacant, appointments were made as follows -.—Senior Clerk of Assembly, Rev. Dr Norman Macleod; Junior Clerk of Assembly, Rev.- Dr Gilleepie, of Mousewall, Dumfries, Procurator of the Church, Mr C. N. Johnston, K.C., sheriff of Perth. Among the matters considered by the Church was the question of the union of the different Presbyterian Churches in Scotland, regarding which there has been much talking and newspaper correspondence for a good while past. It was agreed, on the motion of the Rev. Dr Scott, of Edinburgh, to appoint a cotnirjttee to consider various overtures which, had been sent forward, but in the meantime to refrain from communicating officially with the Free and United Free Church General Assemblies. Another matter of importance was a proposed new formula, of subscription to the Confession of Faith. At the beginning of the assembly a speciaf committee was appointed to discuss the subject, and on May 27 its report was presented and considered. After a debate of three a.nd a- ! half hours' duration the following-, pro- j posed by Lord Balfour of Burleigh, was . adopted as the formula to be sent down to Presbyteries under the Barrier Act:— "l hereby subscribe the Confesion of Faifh, , t.he public and avowed confession of this Church, approven by former General Assemblies, as most agreeable to the Word , of God, and ratified by Parliament in the , year 1690, declaring that I believe the reroimed faith therein set forth, to which I will adhere." i In the United Free Church the Rev. Dr C. G. M'Crie, of Ayr, wa 6 elected i Moderator. The Rev. Dr Blair having resigned the senior clerkship of the Assembly, the Rev. Dr Henderson, of Crieff, the junior clerk, was appointed to succeed him, and the Rev. ' Chaa. Jerdon, of Greenpek, was fy^JQWtetL,

junior clerk in Dr Henderson's . place. Regretful reference was, of course, madeto. Prjnejpal Rainy's; decease? yet be seemed^ to* be wonderfully little missetk Very f great interest was taken in the appointment of his successor in the Principalship of the New College. It was generally supposed that Professor Marcus Dods would naturally succeed to the post, but he is I persona ingrata to many, especially in the j Highlands, and so Rev. Dr Alexander j Whyte, of Edinburgh, was named in ■ opposition to him. Dr Whyte promptly : wrote to the papers, saying that on no j account would he be a candidate for the • post, but his friends would not accept this < refusal, and pressed his claims upon it, ! with the result that bis nomination by Synods and Presbyterjes considerably ex- ■ ceeded those of Dr Dods. The "flay before 1 the election, however, there was published ' a second letter from Dr Whyte, stating j that nothing would induce him to accept 'the post. His friends accordingly felt obliged to drop his name, and Dr Dods j was then unanimously appointed. He ! subsequently intimated by letter his acoepti ance of the office. The total income of the church for the past year was stated to be £1,015,802, which is an increase of 4> 55,000 on the total . for 1906. The sustentation fund again 1 showed a considerable decrease, and it wae ! alleged that this was largely owing to the | expenditure on church snires and organs ; having made inroads on the giving powers !of the membership. Dr W. Ross Taylor's ! resignation of the convenorship of the Sus- ! tentation Fund Committee, on account of (■ failing health, was regretfully accepted, ' and his services were very heartily ecknowi ledged. ! An interesting event was the appearance | of Lord Balfonr of Burleigh, a leader of ; the Established Church Aasembly. iii the U.F. Assembly, to ask for pecuniary aid for homes for Presbyterian soldiers at Aldershot. His Lordship's reception was of the heartiest kind, and he said that, he was overwhelmed and humiliated by it. I The Free Church Assembly met for the I first time in St. John's Church. LawnI market (Dr Guthrie's old church), which - s had been awarded to it by the Church : Commission. The Rev. Murdo Mackenzie, of Inverness, was Moderator. The pro- !, ceedings were of small- public interest, consisting of grumbles against the Church Commission, attacks upon the U.F. Church, and so forth. In the temperance debate an elder from Shettleston, Glasgow, said j that he had known ministers who never preached the Gospel until' they had three inches of whisky in them. Happily the : Assembly finished all its business in four days'. I GOLD ON LOCH TYNESIDE. Interest has been awakened by the announcement that gold has been discovered in quartz on the estate of Stronoehullin, a few miles from Ardrishaig, and the property of Mr R. Graham Campbell, of Shirvan. More than 50 years ago there were copper and lead workings on the estate, but the presence of gold there ! was only discovered about a year ago. The j auriferous quartz is found near the surface, i but it has not yet been ascertained to what [ depth the reef runs. It is reported to be very rich in gold, and a trial shipment of 20 tons which was sent to Swansea met with a ready sale. The workings are not far from the shore, and the loch is deep. The prospects of working the quartz so_ as to secure commercial success are being carefully investigated, but gold mining in this country is hampered by so many ancient restrictions that a deposit must be rich if it is to be made to pay. | OBITUARY RECORD. I Mr John Mackintosh, LL.D., one of the self-made men who are among the chief honours to Scotland, died at Aberdeen on the 4th May; aged 74. He was the son of a Peninsular veteran, and 'was born at Botriphnie, in Banffshire. He began life as a farm labourer, and afterwards was successively a shoemaker, a policeman in Aberdeen, and a stationer there. Twelve years later he obtained free access to the University Library, and used the privilege with great diligence. In 1878 he published the first volume of his "History of Civilisation in Scotland," and the other volumes appeared in the succeeding nine years. He also wrote the volume on Scotland in the " Story of the Nations " series, besides several minor works. A great part of these works was written on his shop counter in snatches of leisure during business hours. The University of Aberdeen acknowledged his labours and merit by conferring upon him the honorary degree of LL.D., and in 1900 be was awarded an annual pension of £50 from the Civil List. Since then he had lived for the most part in retirement. ; TW Rev. David Macrae, who was at one timo a very prominent man in Scotland, j died in Glasgow on May 16; aged 69. He held a "charge at Gourock, and for promul- j eating views which were held to be unsound , he was, in 1879, deposed from the ministry of the United Presbyterian Church. His father, who was a minister in Glasgow, was j present on the occasion. He began, a few] months later, another ministry in Dundee, "j as pastor, in a church with no denomina- : tional eoimection, to the congregation of i which the Rev. George Gilfillan had been the minister. There he continued nntil 1897, when he retired from the ministry on health grounds, and took up his residence in Glasgow. Mr Macrae was in great request as a lecturer, as he was- -a fine speaker, and possessed a great fund of humour. He was also an ardent advocate of total abstinence, and published two tales in aid of that cause which obtained a very wide circulation. He is survived by his widow. The Rev. Dr George W. Thomson, senior mirrkter of the West U.F. Church, Aberdeen, died in Edinburgh on sth May: aged ( 71. He was born at Stanley, near Perth, and began his ministerial earerr as. assistant to Dr Candlish in Edinburgh. He afterwards held charges at Glasgow and Kirkcaldv, but the bulk of his life work was done in Aberdeen. Dr Thomson was an excellent preacher, and was also held in hieth esteem for h ; s personal qualities. Three sons and four daughters survive him. Lord Young, who was for 31 years a judge of the Court of Session, died in London on May 21, aged almost 88. Xn a •long notice of his career, the Scotsman spoke of him as " one of the most strikinjr figures in the public life of Scotland." and added that "it will be years— probably even generations — before the gap which his departure leaves is adequately filled." Lord Younp was a man of restless ambition, and speedily made his mark at the Bar. He was junior counsel for the prosecution in the trial of Madeline Smith. He was a terrible cross-examiner. He sat in the .Jjttm— .ot Clnrxtmtma for^mne jvears, as mem^^

her for the Wigtown Burghs. Had be not deserted politics for the bench, *it is beliered*&e would hire-reached Cabinet rank. As a judge he was too capricious to be satisfactory, but his dry humour caused his faults to be largely overlooked. Innumerable stories are current regarding his sarcastic sayings. About a month before hie deatH he fainted and fell while walking in the grounds of the Inner Temple, and broke a rib. He was buried in Edinburgh on May 24. He is survived by five eons and -six daughters. Dr Alexander Buchan, who had been secretary of the Sbottisa Meteorological Society since 1860, died on May 13, which was the seventh anniversary of his wife' 6 death, aged 77. In the department of meteorology he did an enormous amount of work, and won a reputation which was as widespread as it was well-deserved. He was a native of Kinnesewood, in Kinrossshire. GENERAL NEWS. Dr Jameson, Premier of Cape Colony, was offered and accepted the freedom of *Stranraer, but as he was unable to find time to visit the burgh before returning to South Africa the bestowal' of the honour has had to be deferred. The widow and family of Mr A. W. Black, M.P., who'was killed in the accident at Elliot Junction, near Arbroath, last December, are suing the North British Railway Company in the Court of Session for £21,000 as damages. Lord Mount Stephen ha 6 given a further donation of £10,000 to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. y • The plant "having 1 been removed from the now disused harbour tunnel at Glasgow, the water is being allowed to fill it gradually. A Norwegian skipper and a young Norse lady sought to be united in marriage at Leith the other day, but as they had not rj|lded for 21 days in Scotland this couid 4?o be legally done. Nothing daunted, the bridegroom hired a tug, in which he and his bride prcoeeded to sea beyond the threemile limit, and were there united by a Norwegian pastor. . _~.^ The openinjf^Sbture by Mr A; 3:/ Keith, lecturer on ancient history at Edinburgh University, was to have been delivered on a recent date, and the members of the Senatus Academicus duly attended in their robes. No lecturer, however, appeared, and so after waiting for some time, the gathering dispersed. It seeflte that the lecturer has resigned for "family reasons." At the annual meet-ng of the Glasgow Humane Society it was stated that 89 persons had been immersed during the year in the Clyde between Belvidere and Govan, and'that 36 of them were saved. During the season millions of cabbages have been grown in the neighbourhood of Prestonp&ns, and sent to all parts of the Kingdom. The industry would extend stall further, but for the great difficulty experienced in getting more land. It is an interesting eight to see a whole trainload -of cabbages passing • by. An extension of Falkiik waterworks has just been opened completing a scheme which has involved an expenditure of £135,000 since powers were obtained in 1900. Experiments conducted for three yearg with dust-guages on roofs, by the chief sanitary inspector of Glasgow, show that from Ist March to Bth June the "smut fall" averaged 22.1190wt per acre per annum; while from let November to Bth February it averaged 25.649cwt per acre per annum. Wick Harbour is to be enlarged and otherwise improved at a total cost of £150,000, and a start is to be made very soon witih the construction of the first port, which is to cost'£9o,ooo. Towards tb-ia the Treasury has made- a grant of £20,000. Hooliganism of the worst kind continues to be ramoant on the south side- of Glasgow. Inoffensive people are knocked down, kicked, and robbed. In one case quite a riot took pl&oe, in which 22 policemen *ere injured, some of them very severely. The culprits who wore arrested were in most oases sent to prison for from 30 to 60 days, only a few being fined. The Rw. James Caesar, parish minister of Panbride, near Arbroath, for 57 yean, celebrated hro ministerial jubilee on May 12, when special services were held in his church. A raid upon foxes has been in progress in the districts of Mid-Arholl and Strathtay. In all 37 of these animals have been killed. The original MS. of "Scots Wha H*e," which wae sold in London not long ago, has been acquired for the Burns Cottage Museum, and is now deposited there. Burn's real has been placed in Burn's monument, on the banks of the Doon, at Alloway. Under their new control, the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, were opened an Sunday for the first time on May 4. An official return just issued states that the total value of the Scottish fisheries in 1906 was £2,977,593, which k £328,445 in excess of any previous record. In a meeting in connection with the Welfare of the Youth Committee of the United Free Church, Professor Hugh Macintosh referred to what he called "tie plague of emigration " from Scotland. To illustrate its effects, he said that he knew a village which used to have 200 Volunteers, but now had only two. The following personal estates nave been recorded:—Mr T. G. Arthur, of Ayr, and of Arthur and Co. (Ltd.), of Glasgow and Leeds, £283.020; Mr John Borthwick, of Crookston House, Midlothian, £40,331; Mr John Adameon, 69 Magdalen Green, Dundee, £33,120. Principal Rainy's trustees yesterday appointed the Rev. P. Carnegie Simpson, of Renfieid United Free Church, Glasgow, to write his biography. Mr Simpson is one of the rising- men of his Church, and has already achieved some success in the realm of authorship. ./ At an auction sale in London yesterday the original MS. instructions for the massacre of Glencoe fetched £1400. The purchaser -nas Mr Tregaskis, a bookseller in Holborn. Mr Brown, an Edinburgh bookseller, bought for £76 nine letters, fry " Bonnie Dundee." A copy by Sir Walter Scott, of his well-known song, "Jock o' Hazeldean," brought £32.

He tossed on the bed at midnight As the clock was striking the hour, And he hoped that he get rid might Of the cough that made him so dour. Hot gruel and slope they gave him, But such treatment he did abjure, Fhere was only one thing that could save him, £y!m Steed* £Ueftt ?eEßcrmint Cur^