THE HOME LAND

Otago Witness, Issue 3871, 22 May 1928, Page 10

THE HOME LAND

(From Our Special Correspondent.) SCOTLAND, March 28.

Hugh Barrie, the Glasgow student who disappeared on the Cairngorm Mountains on New Year’s Day, has been found dead on the lower slopes of Braeriach, in Glen Eunach. The remains were discovered about two miles from the spot where his comrade, Thomas Baird, another Glasgow student, was met in a dying condition on January 2, and onlj’ about 400yds from a bothy. It was evident from the posture of the body that Barrie collapsed from exhaustion in the blizzard that swept the mountains on January 1, and that Baird struggled on, hoping to be able to bring help to his comrade, until he, too, fell a victim to the weather conditions. Two parties went out on Sunday—one from Nethybridge and one from Aviemore. They met on the western side of the mountain above Glen Eunach, when, crossing a moss bog towards Loch Eunach, the barking of a dog belonging to Mr William Slessor, the gamekeeper from Tomintone Lodge, attracted attention. On proceeding to the spot where the dog stood sniffing, the body of Barrie was found lying in a rut, half covered with snow. The remains had been well preserved by the snow. In his burial the wishes of Barrie, as expressed in a strikingly prophetic poem, have been carried out. The grave was dug in the heather about 200yds from the croft at Whitewells, where Barrie and his unfortunate companion, Thomas Baird, spent the night before going on to the Corrour Bothy. The site was recommended by Major J. P. Grant, the laird of Rothiemurchus, and in the vicinity of many old Celtic graves are said-to lie. Impressive in its simplicity, the committal service will never be forgotten by those who attended it. Not for centuries possibly had a Scot’s interment been given such a wild and rugged setting. Encased in an oak coffin, the remains were carried from Whitewells over the rough heather ground to the graveside on the shoulders of Barrie’s comrades in the Glasgow University O.T.C.

Built in 1425 by a Heiton, Darnick Tower, Melrose, has remained in the possession of the same family for over 500 years. The old keep has outlasted nearly all similar towers once so common on both sides of the Border. The present owner is Mr Andrew Heiton Granger Heiton, and he has decided to open it to the public. Darnick’ Tower is of great historic interest. There still remains the old-doorway with its outer “yet” and its inner nail-studded oaken door and “ tirling pin,” used in place of the modern knocker. On the lintel there is the date of the restoration of the tower by Andrew Heiton in 1569,'and the 'initials A. H. (Andrew Heiton), K. F. (Kate Fisher, his wife), J. H. (John Heiton, their son), and the sacred monogram I. H. S. In the dining room an object of melancholy interest is a patchwork tablecloth made by a soldier from the coats of comrades who fell at Waterloo. There is a picture by Rembrandt with miniatures of the great artist’s father and mother, medallions of Napoleon and Josephine, and some portraits of the Heiton family. A long; low room is the central hall. It contains portraits of Queen Mary, one of which, dated 1558, is by Francis Clouet; another and earlier one is by Jeanette, and there is a small one on copper by an unknown

author. Among the other articles in this room there is a six-legged couch of the seventeenth century, a “ kail pot ” which belonged to Sir Walter Scott’s grandfather, a powder horn which belonged to Prince Charlie, the prince’s dirk with knife and fork, and a piece of tapestry said to have been worked by Mary Queen of Scots. One of the rooms contains a remarkable carved oak bed said to have been used by Queen Mary at Linlithgow Palace. Included among the articles of interest in the armoury is a leather drinking bottle which belonged to Rob Roy, and a shirt of mail made by Hal of the Wynd at Perth. What little land remained in 1820 was sold to Sir Walter Scott by John Heiton, who, however, could not be prevailed upon to part with his«ancient tower. Darnick is certain to be another halting place for our Yankee visitors. Sir George MacDonald was the Rhind lecturer in. Edinburgh this year, his subject being “ Roman Britain.” In dealing with the Agricola period he suggested that the battle of Mons Grampians may have been fought in Kincardineshire or Aberdeenshire. It might also be that the- recall of Agricola to Rome checked his advance in the conquest of Scotland at a highly critical moment. Archaeological evidence as to the continued occupation of South-eastern and Central Scotland after Agricola’s recall was discussed by Sir George in a third He also gave a brief description of Hadrian’s Wall, which was erected between the Solway and the Tyne as a Roman frontier defence against attacks from the north. The wall and its forts, he said, bristled with puzzling problems. He described the character and appearance of the socalled vallum which had provided a fruitful field of speculation to successive generations of antiquaries. The victorious general, Lollius Urbicus, pushed the Roman boundary forward to. the Forth and Clyde isthmus, and built a second wall from sea to sea. That was about 142 a.d. Military men speak warmly of the tactical skill with which the line was chosen. In this respect the wall of Antoninus is much superior to Hadrian’s Wall. Sir George, in his final lecture, dealt with the circumstances leading to the final severance of Britain from the Roman Empire, which he placed at the traditional year of a.d. 410. He described in the most lucid fashion the efforts of the various emperors to defend Britain against the pirates who assailed its coasts, attracted by the wealth which the country had amassed under Roman rule.

Paisley is a Scottish town which has benefited enormously through the generosity of its wealthy citizens. The latest thing of the kind is a gigantic improvement scheme for the amenities of Paisley Abbey and of the George A. Clark Town Hall, the terms of which are embodied in a generous offer submitted to the Town Council of the burgh. The offer is the outcome of the activities of a committee known as the Paisley Abbey and George A. Clark Town Hall Surroundings Improvement .Committee, which, under the leadership of Mr W. H. Coats, "of Woodside, Paisley, has been working unostentatiously for a considerable , .period of yearg in furtherance of what seem to it an essential additional development of one of the greatest restoration- schemes ever’’undertaken, viz., the.'restoration of Paisley Abbey, which, it is expected, will be completed this summer. The scheme, which has been

adopted by the Town Council, in addition to improving and preserving the amenities of Paisley Abbey,, and giving that venerable edifice a setting worthy of its architectural beauty and its historic traditions, makes provision for the widening of fully half a mile of Paisley streets.

At a general assembly of the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh the following were elected associate members of the academy: —Mr J. Morris Henderson, Glasgow, and Mr A. E. Borthwick, Edinburgh. Mr Henderson is a son of the late Mr Joseph Henderson, a well-known portrait and landscape painter in the north of Scotland. Mr Borthwick is the second son of Mr W. H. Borthwick, of Crookston and Borthwick Castle. He studied at Edinburgh and. Paris. His portrait of the Prince of Wales in Highland costume, shown in an unfinished state at the exhibition of the Society of Scottish Artists, is at present on exhibition in Dunedin, New Zealand. Mr Borthwick served in both tli£ South African and the Great Wars.

One of Glasgow’s most noted medical personalities has been removed by the death of Mr George S. Middleton, M.D., LL.D., at his residence in Woodside place. Dr Middleton was a native of Aberdeen. The gathering of old college friends, assistants and colleagues who entertained him to dinner on the occasion of his 73rd birthday on January 14, 1926, when he decided to retire from active practice, was a unique occurrence in the medical history of Scotland, and was eloquent of the regard in which he was held.

There are many natives of Caithness in New Zealand who will regret to learn of the death of Captain John Mackay at the age of 66 years. He was a “ back side” boy, and when “.before the mast,” visited New Zealand and other distant parts in the old-time windjammers. For many years past he has held the responsible position of marine superintendent with Messrs James Currie and Co., shipowners, Leith. Captain Mackay joined the company’s service in 1889, and was promoted to the command of a ship in 1902.’ The following year he was appointed assistant superintendent captain of the Messrs Currie’s fleet, being subsequently promoted to the senior position. Captain Mackay took a warm interest in his native town of Wick. Last summer I had the pleasure of meeting him and his wife there.

The lenient treatment by the law of parents and others convicted of cruelly treating their children was strongly condemned at the annual meeting of the Glasgow District Branch of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Mr Robert Blakely said people -who had ill-treated their children for months were either put on probation or had sentence deferred for six months in the hope that they would improve. This was purely and simply gambling -with the lives of. children, and it was too big a price to pay. Parents who thrashed their children with buckled belts ought to be given the lash. Some people thought that would brutalise them, but in his opinion they were brutes already. If by brutalising one man he could keep others from ill-treating their children, he would be satisfied.

- - * * * The Right Hon. Lord Thomson, who was Air Minister in the Labour Govern-

ment, twitted the Scot on his assertiveness at a Labour demonstration in Edinburgh. He was, he said, a soldier for 26 years, and served under five chiefs of staff, four of whom were Scotsmen and hard taskmasters. In search of liberty, he joined the Labour Party, only to find that his leader was another Scotsman. In a few- years’ time he expected to be taxed out of existence by,., a Scottish -Chancellor of the Exchequer, their distinguished chairman, the Right Hon. William Graham, M.P. Now tliat they bad .by chance an Englishman as Prime Minister, he gathered that they did not think much of him and . meant to eject the Saxon from 10 Downing street.

A dispute between the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Scotland and the Stirlingshire Education Authority over the refusal of the authority to accept the transfer of a school built and opened in Bonnybridge in defiance of the authority has been decided by Lord Murray in the Court of Session. His Lordship holds that in respect of the Scottish Education Department having given consent, at first withheld, to the transfer, the authority has no option but to accept the school. Roman Catholics are not easily, beaten when it comes to a question of this kind. The school at Bonnybridge was built at enormous cost, and now the ratepayers have- to shoulder the burden.

Something of a surprise has been occasioned by the announcement of the resignation of the Rev. Dr W. M. Clow as principal and as professor of the chair of Practical Training and Christian Ethics in the United Free Church College, Glasgow. He is to continue in office until the appointment of his successor by the General Assembly of the church in May. Dr Clow has made notable contributions to doctrinal and devotional theology.

The Rev. William Gray Dixon, M.A., formerly Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, is among those who are to receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Edinburgh at the forthcoming graduation ceremonial.

The Denman Picture Houses Ltd., a new combine, have bought 11 picture theatres in Scotland, and it is expected that many more will yet be acquired by the company.

The passenger steamer Duke of Rothesay, launched this week for the London, Midland, and Scottish Railway Company, is the hundredth vessel built for propulsion by steam turbines by Messrs William Denny and Brothers, Limited, Dumbarton.

Still another Scottish centenarian, Mr John Ford, 7 Rose street, Cowdenbeath, attained the age of 100 years on March 27. Leaving the trade of a shoemaker in his early days he became a miner, and worked in the coal pits till he reached the age of 64. Married in 1854, his wife died 20 years ago. Although confined to bed by leg weakness, Mr Ford is wonderfully hearty in spirits.

A good fall of snow in these modern times means considerable expense to city authorities. The work of clearing the snow from the streets of Edinburgh during the storm from March 11 to 14 cost £558. Earlier this year £214 had been expended for a like purpose.

In 1927 7333 men were liberated from Glasgow prisons—6057 from Barlinnie and 1276 from Duke Street, 793 fewer than in 1926. The number of women liberated from Duke Street Prison was 2262, being 72 fewer than in 1926.

The Education Authority elections throughout Scotland have, on the whole, been favourable to the Moderates. The Socialists have met with rebuffs in many areas. In Glasgow the Roman Catholics lost one seat, and in Edinburgh they lost three seats —half their representation in the last authority.