NOTES FROM THE HOME LAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3396, 16 April 1919, Page 41

NOTES FROM THE HOME LAND.

BOLSHEVISM IN THE MAKING,

THE RIOT ACT READ IN GLASGOW

ARMY SHIRKERS DEMAND SHORTER HOURS AND MORE PAY.

(Fhom Our Special Correspondent.) GLASGOW, February 1.

Tho people of New Zealand will no doubt have learned long ere these lines reach the Dominion the main facts concerning the labour unrest in the Old Uountry. Let mo, however, set forth some facts which may bo overlooked. The extremists have embraced tho opportunity of proclaiming their "concern", about the want of employment for dischai'ged soldiers. This is a mere pretext. Trades Unions in the majority of cases have protested against the stoppage of work, and as a matter of fact tnose who are taking part in the agitation for shorter hours and more pay are not men who are within these bodies. They are the shirkers who rushedto munition works when the war. broke out to save their skins. The storm centres are in Glasgow and Belfast, and there are Bolshevists in the making in both these industrial cities. To-day I saw thousands upon thousands of young men " demonstrating," and not one of them wore a war badge. . Most were intent upon mischief, and a great amount of damage was done to private property. In one case' they came into violent contact with the police, and .the Sheriff read the Riot Act amid a scene of great excitement. Bottles, and other things were thrown, the Sheriff and the chief constable being among the sufferers. Later some of the leaders were arrested and taken into custody; but the chairman of the Strike Committee, a Jew named Shinwell, who is a member of the City Council, made good his escape, and there is no word of his whereabouts this evening. The character of. the s strikers is well reflected- in their actions. Not a few of them were out for plunder—real Bolshevist plunder,—and in one instance to-day a tobacconist's shop was entered and goods confiscate!! to the amount of more than a hundred pounds. Windowß were smashed, and even a conveyance used for carrying children who are cripples to the schools was attacked and _ damaged while the little ones were inside. This is conduct after the heart of that other Jew who has wrought such havoc with the best interests of the Russians. An attempt is being made to paralyse trade, but so far the strikers have not succeeded in this direction. Terrorism is being used wherever possible to induce men to leave their work. They will not succeed in their Bolshevism. It is not true "trade unionism which is playing this game, and the Scots workman is hot represented by it. A London writer has put the nyrtter fairly and squarely when he . says: ' Soots_ as a whole are suffering because of their refractory fragment. Because: there are a few distilleries in Scotland Scots are regarded as topers. Because they are thrifty they are denounced as mean, and now because Glasgow is a notorious strike stormcentre —well, people here may soon begin to think that all Scots are dangerous malcontents." We will show that it, is otherwise when we have dealt with the Jew Shinwell and his associates."

The real character of the Scottish nation is more truly reflected by the splendid results obtained during Victory Week. 'Edinburgh had a Victory Savings Campaign all of its own at the beginning of November, . when the splendid total of 1500,000 was subscribed. Later on the Central Committee throughout the country, acting on- the suggestion of the Scottish War Savings Committee . hv Edinburgh, inaugurated a national campaign, and the grand total of this effort (inclusive of the Edinburgh subscriptions) is £25,000,000. He it remembered, too, that that sum does not embrace investments made, in many of the Scottish countries, nor- does it include all the investments made direct to London through stockbrokers and others. Glasgow, of course, tops the list with £11,351,976. It is true that in several cases huge sums have been invested on behalf of certain firms and companies; but the workers of the city of Glasgow did magnificently. Men and women of the artisan class flocked in their thousands to lend their money to the Government to meet the extraordinary expenditure of the war, and did so with a cheerfulness which augurs well for the future, when the present rowdy element has been effectively dealt with. Not a few of those who have thus come to the aid" of the country with their .spare cash are men who have taken a leading part in trade union affairs, and, who are yet destined to do so. They do not hesitate to champion the cause of the workers when the need arises, but they believe in playing fair. I understand the military are coming to the aid of the municipal authorities, and if there be broken heads these i:rir ad-sed shirkers who aro out for less work and more money, led by the Jew Shinwell, will be to blame. It is a striking fact too, that even a disaster like that which has befallen the island of liewis in the wreck of the lolaire, at the entrance to.Stornoway Harbour, does not appeal to the class of men now on strike. They are out for the main ohance, and will let the sufferers pull through as best they can. It has now been ascertained that of the 284 men on board the ill-fated lolaire 78 have been saved. The deathroll is therefore 206, and of these the Lewis has lost 190. Some 66 of the men who have perished belong to the parish of Stornoway. 48 to the parish of Baryas, 23 to the Parish of Uig. and 53 to the parish of Lochs. As can be understood, such a heavy death-roll has caused an immense amount of suffering, and for the assistance of dependants it has been decided to set up a fund known as the " lolaire Disaster Fund." A large committee, registered under the War Charities Act, has been formed for its_ administration. The officials of the committee are Provost Maclean (Stornoway), _ chairman ; ex-Provost Mackenzie, vice-chairman; Bailie MacLeod, vice-chairman i Mr Angus MacLeod, secretary; and Mr Angus Cameron (National Bank of Scotland, Stornoway), treasurer. All of these gentlemen will be glad to receive subscriptions, large or small, and to acknowledge receipt of tho same

It is all the more deplorable that such, a disaster should befall the island at a timo

like the present when these men, likely to be relieved soon from their duties as members of the King's Navy, would have ample employment under the great schemes which the new proprietor of the Lewis is about.to inaugurate. Lord Leverhulme has _ devised plans for developing the fishing industry upon most ambitious lines, with many subsidiary lines of business. Under the guidance of his Lordship, with his marvellous capacity for organisation and his immense wealth, a bright future is in prospect for the Lewis. And with the development of the fishing industry there will come tho greater prosperity of the crofting interest, so that in future years those who are spared to see it will no doubt find there a robust and independent race of Gaels who will in a large degree reflect the ancient splendour of the muscular sons of past generations. Scotland is still going strong from tho educational point of view. A couple of Glasgow brothers—Mr William Guthrie Gardiner and Mr F. C. Gardiner—have decided to endow three chairs in the University of Glasgow—one of bacteriology, one of organic chemistry, and one of physiological chemistry. Their intention is to provide £20,000 for each chair, or £60,000 in all. The University Court has accepted with gratitude this munificent benefaction, and has decided that in the ordinances for th» establishment of the new professorships they should .be designated the Gardiner Chairs in honour of the founders. The brothers Gardiner have been prominent members of the commercial community of Glasgow, being partners in the firm of Messrs James Gardiner and Co., shipbrokers. The senior of the two retired, some time ago, but' the younger brother still controls the business of the company, and is largely identified'with the worm of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, of whioh he was recently elected president. To their honour be it said, the Messrs Gardiner have all along done their ptinost to strengthen the prestige of the city in commercial and .industrial affairs. What enhances the value of the gift greatly is the fact that it has been made available during the life time of the donors, and this will no doubt forge still closer the link between the commercial community oi.d the University. A new commercial "library was opened lately in Dundee by Sir Alfred Swing, principal of Edinburgh University, and in the course of the proceedings Principal Sir John Herkless, of St. .Andrew's University, divulged a plan which a merchant in IH'i** dee had for the better eduoation of its youths and boys. One of the condiiloii3 which that gentleman attached was to the effect that the University should follow tie example of Edinburgh University and insti-' tute a degree -in commerce, and that students should not be obliged to pass the preliminary examination.,, or to come from higher or secondary shools. The idea was that boys or youths . presenting themselves should be admitted if they could show they were capable of undertaking University study. Mr George Bonar, merchant, Dundee, who was the gentleman who had been in conversation with him on the subject, offered him the sum of £25,000 to begin the scheme in Dundee College. He. (the principal) had suggested, that an Advisory Council of business men in Dundee should be appointed to tell them the kind of subjects which ought to be introduced for .such commercial courses which Would thus be established, and they .and the University authorities would work together for a" good and honourable. cause. . While at the present moment there is so much unrest among the industrial classes schemes of this kind will no doubt have a salutary effect upon the rising geneartion. There is nothing like education, especially in its higher branches, for having a steadying effect upon the community. At the close of the last General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland I indicated in these columns a step which had been taken by. its leaders and some of its more representative members for the betterment of 'the conditions of the people of the Highlands. The organisation which has been formed, and which has been at work, is styled the Association for the Betterment of the Highlands and the Islands of the Free Church of Scotland. It has presented to the' secretary ' for Scotland} a memorandum on the reconstruction of the Highlands. After inquiry in many of the Highland congregations it has been found that the people regard the sacrifices they have made for King and country as demanding the consideration and help of the Government in the direction of giving the returning soldiers and the friends of those who sacrificed their lives a better share of the land for which they suffered, as well as financial assistance for the development of the fishing Industry and other subsidiary industries engaged in by many of the crofting community. This demand, it is stated, cannot now be shelved with the same ease as the claims repeatedly put forth by their loss sophisticated forbears without serious consequences. Accordingly, with a view to helping the Government in power, the association submits proposals and suggestions which would effect a peaceful revolution. "In the highest interest of the nation itself the association is of opinion that the productiveness of the soil be increased by a virile raoe planted again in the depopulated glens of the Highlands. The tv o great questions underlying all this are—■ that of securing access to the land without confiscation, and. the establishment of a tenant population with fixity of tenure or proprietary rights in the land. The memorandum then goes into detail regarding the suggested improvements. _ and although I cannot homoligp+e everything which it contains, I am inclined to believe that this is an honest attempt to serve the best interests of the Highlands. . The Church which does this, and which helps to restore tho people to the land of the Highlands, is one which deserves well of tho nation as a whole.

No ship in the British navy has aroused a greater amount of interest, especially during its stay in .Scottish waters, than the battle cruiser New Zealand. From the early days of the war she has had her base in the Firth of Forth, and she figured in" both the Dogger Bank and_ Jutland sea fights. It is interesting in this connection to recall the superstition which has its place in the vessel's history. On the New Zealand being commissioned there was presented to the ship, to be worn by the captain in o,ction. a Maori dress, by which, it was believed, ill-fortune would be warded off. Captain Green duly donned the Maori dress before these actions, and while the Liion was knocked out disabled in the Dogger Bank affair, and the Queen Mary. Indefatigable, and Invincible went under at Jutland, the New Zealand came safely through both engagements. the New Zeaand brought the Queen of Norway and the Crown Prince Oiaf to these chores,

and it is now reported that she has been chosen to convey Lord Jellicoe on hie tour round the world to visit the dominions and Allied countries. The people of the Dominion of New Zealand will therefore have the .pleasure in due course of wekx>m> ing home the splendid ship of which they havo every reason to be proud. His Majesty the King has appointed Mr Robert Songster Rait, 0.8. E., M.A., Professor of Scottish History and Literature in Glasgow University, to bo his Majesty's! Historiographer in Scotland in room 0f.,. Professor Peter Hume Brovn, deceased. Mr-J. Lawson Win gate -has been ap« pointed president of the Scottish Academy in room of Sir James Guthrie, resigned. The headquarters of the Scottish Women's Hospitals at Edinburgh has received a further .grant of 50,000d01, this being a third instalment of a grant oi 150,000d0l made at the instance of Mr* Kathleen Burke, U.S.A.