FROM NORTH OF TWEED.

Otago Witness, Issue 3954, 24 December 1929, Page 29

FROM NORTH OF TWEED.

LETTER TO OVERSEAS SCOTS.

By

Robert S. Angus.

EDINBURGH, November 7. Mr J. H. Thomas’s statement to the House of Commons on his plans for the alleviation of unemployment can hardly be said to have disappointed expectations, for on this side of the Tweed none had been formed. He did not think the Scottish situation worthy even of mention, and seemed indignant when the omission was pointed out by Scottish members. Some of them arc demanding a day for the discussion of our special difficulties, but even if it is given it is not likely to produce much good Mr Torn Johnston, the Scottish Undersecretary, has shown great energy, but, so far, small results. The Forth road bridge and the Mid-Scotland canal, even if decided upon as feasible and desirable, cannot be begun for two or three years, and when begun they will do nothing for the industries which are hardest pressed—coal, steel, and the heavy trades allied with them. Mr Hugh Murnin, M.P., told me the other day that in his district, Stirlingshire, the number of miners employed is little more than half what it was three years ago, and as that area divides its output between the home and the foreign markets, its outlook is the more disquieting. On the other hand, when I met Lord Lovat recently, he was greatly elated by the agreement of the Transport Ministry to defray per cent, of the reconstruction of the road from Fort William to Inverness. But in the whole of the mainland of Inverness the able-bodied unemployed number only 04, so that the whole of the workers will have to be imported—probably most of them from Ireland, ■with consequent difficulties in regard to housing and the preservation of order. As a facility for motor tourists the road will have its value, but as a contribution to the unemployment problem it is merely farcical.

BEEF BOYCOTT. The scheme for branding home-grown beef, so that buyers may know what they are getting, has been met by opposition from the London retailers, but the boycott is bound to break down the moment it is brought to public attention. It inevitably raises suspicion that butchers, who take up so futile an attitude, are apprehensive lest their customers should become more critical of what they buy. It is fair to add that the more reputable members of the trade nave repudiated the movement, and if the Scottish farmers have the pluck to face a few weeks of diminished demand they will ultimately reap the benefit. The importation of bounty-fed German oats is a serious menace, which it is difficult to meet, but in regard to meat the farmers _ have advantages of quality which they must exploit to the utmost. SCOTLAND’S CRITICS. Why is it, I wonder, that a certain type of Scotsman takes a morbid delight in decrying his own country? The latest to indulge in that cheap form of notoriety is Mr Donald Carswell, a Glasgow man who went south a good many years ago to practice at the English Bar. He was given an innings at the Scottish 8.8. C. stations the other night in order to promulgate the view that Scotland’s attitude towards the “art of living” is deplorable. Our literature, painting, architecture, and music—none of them satisfied him, although he had to admit that we have notable products in all of them. Selfdepreciation is a salutary quality within limits, but to turn attention to what is defective and ignore ail that is excellent is merely silly although it may be the surest way of attracting attention and gaining a reputation for smartness. “ Once a Scotsman has made enough money,” says Mr Carswell, “ he runs either a motor car or a crusade to prevent others less rich than himself from doing something he happens to dislike.” That is a foolish generalisation which has only the slenderest ground. I dislike our puritanical restrictions as much as most people, but they have little effect on the “ art of living ” in any true sense. Mr Carswell has been out of his native country for 20 years, but he still sees life through the eyes of a Glasgow undergraduate of his own time. BANKING INQUIRY.

I have not yet seen any of the jocular comments which might have been expected on the fact that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has chosen a Scotsman to preside over the Committee of Inquiry into the relations between banking and industry. No one who knows Mr Hugh Macmillan, K.C., will doubt that Mr Snowden has made a wise selection. Air Macmillan’s professional eminence and public services are well known, and he, if any man, can produce some approach to agreement between the sharply conflicting schools of credit theories from which his committee is drawn. His suavity, his judicial temperament, and his freedom from previous commitments on the problem give him unique qualifications for a difficult duty. CALTON GAOL SITE. Now that the work of demolishing Calton Gaol has begun unexpected tears are being shed over its prospective disappearance. 1 have always understood hitherto that the building was despised by all who had any pretensions to aesthetic culture on the ground that it was a sham, pretending to be an ancient Scottish castle, whereas it was a mere imitation with no claim to cither artistic or historical respect. But Mr Lewis

Spence, one of the champions Scottish nationalism, waxes almost lyrical in praise of this “ romantic and majestic pile,” and demands to be informed by whose authority this outrage on Scottish sentiment is being committed. Per sonally I shall regret the disappearance of a familiar landmark, merely because it is familiar, but my reason tells me that it is foolish to pine over .a heap of masonry which is useless as it stands, is no longer required for its former purpose, cannot be adapted to any other use, and occupies a glorious site which is urgently needed. The thought of what the Government architects may put in place of the present building disquiets me. MACLEOD OF MACLEOD. To the present generation Macleod of Maeleod was little known except as the bearer of a great name, the 23rd chief of a famous clan. As he was over 90 he had long retired from active participation in public affairs, but as a young man he was a soldier with an adven" turous and notable career. Though vast in extent his estates produce°a small revenue, and Dunvegan Castle, the ancient seat of the family, said to be the ’oldest inhabited dwelling in the United Kingdom had become a “ white elephanL I’ortunately his voungei brother, Sir Reginald, who succeeds him as chief at the age of 82—after retiring from the civil service, has been so successful in business that he has been able to restore, modernise and occupy the family seat. Like his brother, Sir Reginald has no son, but I suppose that there will be no lack of heirs to his hereditary distinction.

A GREAT PHYSICIAN. Aberdeen University is faced with a serious loss by the resignation of Pro fessor Ashley Mackintosh from the chair of medicine. He is only 01 years of age, and it may be confidently supposed, has still some years of useful work before him. But he probably takes the view that teaching should be in the hands of the younger men and that he should not stand in the way of their promotion. Professor Mackintosh is essentially a home product, for after post-graduate studies in Cambridge, Vienna, and London, he returned to his native district where the whole of his professional life has been spent. During the war he was commandant of the First Scottish General Hospital, and he has rendered valuable service to the profession at large by his contributions to its literature on nerx-’ous diseases. THE HALDANES OF GLENEAGLES. General Sir Aylmer Haldane has devoted his leisure since retiring from the army to the history of the family to which he belongs. It has been settled at Gleneagles for over 500 years, holding the property on the humoursome tenure of “ a red rose at Yule and a sna’ ba’ at Lammas ” to the King ‘if socht.” The family has had distinguished members in many walks of life—the Indian civil service, the Church, the law, and the public service. Its most outstanding cadet was the late Lord Haldane of Cloan, to whose work as founder of the Territorial Army his soldier cousin naturally gives much well-informed attention. Scottish family histories have generally scanty interest except to genealogists and those connected with the family, but this one has a wider appeal and is admirably done. THE MOTOR SHOW. As I write, preparations are being completed for the annual Scottish Motor Show-, which opens to-morrow in the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. The event neces sarily suffers from the fact that, held a few weeks after the London enterprise, the element of surprise is generally lacking. But with cars and their accessories nearing standardisation the chances of novelties are becoming smaller. That the makers and dealers attach importance to the Scottish market is indicated by the fact that the huge hall is occupied to its full e..tent, and previous experience will be misleading if the attendance is not sufficient to justify the enterprise.