Scotch Notes.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 26, 19 October 1888, Page 5

Scotch Notes.

The action of Archbishop Smith in tbe case of Mr. Flannignn, late Preti 'ent of the Catholic Youi g Men's Society at Edinburgh, is still the snbj ct of discussion, The matter has be<.-u mad- njun- interring by tbe i üblication of a letter from tne Rnv. neorge Ang is to the Archbishop wiich is supplied to have lnflaencjd his Giace. That mild and humble clfiic, who, ace rding o all appearanc s, might moßt suitably have been, I >r example, Brother Tambour- major, in a brigade of the X lghts Templars towards the days of their d cline, reminds the Archbishop of his " p's " and ' q's " in a very arbitrary man Der, and beats tbe reveille in his Grace's ears right savagely. His nverence has the charity to refer to Mr. T. D, Sullivan as a " jail-bird " — al hough someone might instruct him — if his invincible ignorance had also hidden this fact from him, that St. Peter himself was more than once in gaol. He winds up by an awful threat tbat if the conduct of the National League continues, in his own words, "It will be absolutely necessary for me to publicly disavow my connection with these insolent Catholics who deliberately defend a scheme of robbery condemned by the law of the lanel and pronouncel by ihe Pope to be contrary to the law of God,"— that is to say the Plan of Campaign. Still may we not plead that libel is also condemned by the law of the land and forbidden by the law of God and of the Church. But what afl ire-up must there not be on the occasion when bis reverence should put his threat into execution, though, probably th« regret of the people from wh^m his connection was,with the utmost violence and among many mtledictious, s veied would be expressed in th j old saying — 'Joy be with him." Archbishop Bmiih, meantime, protests that he bimstlf is a fervent Home Ruler bat not after the pattern of Mr. Gladstone, whose scheme his Grace deoiarss to mean separation. Ard, verily, Home Rulers at the present day are of many patterns, There f>i instance is also Bishop Vaughau of Salford, who if we may judge by th* pr Sessions as to its principles of his congenial org-m the London Tablet is a Home Ruler as well, yet who, besides all the rest, on a late occasion took bis place on the platform at Manchester as an open supporter of Mr. Balfour's, and who was one of the most sympathetic and delighted lis' - ners while that Statesman hum urously desciibed bis struggle with Mr. O'Brien in Tullamore. It should, we confeßS, add greatly to the interest of the situation to see a Catholic bishop immensely tickled by the details of treatmert that at length led to premature dea'h and suicide. We may, therefore, accept with some hesitation various declarations of a sympathy for Home Rule, and pay some attention to the nature of the Home Rule spoken of with certain men al reservations, and to the motives of the men wio declare th mselves in is favour. The liish Catholics of Edinburgh, tbat is ihe great bulk ot the Catholic population are preparing to present Mr. Plannigan with a testimonial. But perhaps Mr. Angus will persuade tbe Archbishop that the matter is of little consequence, the tailo-s and tinkers and tradesmen generally whom his n verence's aris ocratic soul despises, as quite unworthy of the attention of any distinguished ecclesiastic, forming the great body of the subscribers. There are ecclesiastics in f ct, in Grtat Britain, who would have the Church a silken net con taininpr only goli and silver fishes— each without a blemish, and of the most ancient descent— from the whale, for example, that swallowed Jonah.

Whoever may be the rage that fills celestial minds, the Home Rule cause is nevertheless still briskly supported in Scotland. In Edinburgh itself Mr. Flanni^an on again taking the chair at a meeting of the League, addressed on the occasion by Mr. Deasy M.P , has been received with tnthusiasm as affording in hjs own person an instance of the bi-er bit — a man boycotted for having uph< Id boycotting. At Aberdeen Mr. T. D. Sulhvan. the "g.ol-bird" for duty after the example of St. I eter, has spoken at a great Liberal demonstration held to protest against the imprisonment of John Dillon and where the utm< £t enthusiasm was shown. A similar demonstration attended by some 8,000 people has taken place at Dundee, and other meetings of the same kind have been held with marked success elsewhere.

A curious fault in the Scottish code of laws has been brought to light at Aberdeen. The occasion was that on which a child cruelly maltreated by a man and woman who had adopted her was sent by the Bailie to an industrial school, the magistrate regretting tbat he was not enabled by law to deal with tbe offending people as they deserved. This is surely a grave defect that Bhould be rem-died without delay and which mu9t be all the more appareu 1 , judged by the necessity for such a law made evident by the proceedings of the London -ociety for the protection of children, of wuose work the reports cont in such harrowing details. We may not expect to find in Scotland anything to compire witli what occurs in London under the peculiar conditions of life in bo vast and crowded a city. But still the need m'i«t e^ist eveij where fjr the special protection of the helplets.

An illustration of wl 'it the farmer's life in Scotland must often have been hitherto has just been furnished in the case of a farm in Forfarshire re-let by its owner, Loid Wbarncliffe. The new tenant lakes the holding — one of the best in the county —at a reduction in the rent of 45 per crnt., and aft-r the landlord ha^> spent a large sum on improvements. But. in all probability, had it not been for the current agitation of the laud question, and the consequent coming of landlords to their senses, some unfortunate tenant would still have to struggle on in semi-starvation and the victim of that time-honoured system of usury, resistance to which is still ia some quarters condemned as robbery.

The lodging of arrestments, at the instance o* Mr. Parnell, in the bands of tbe newspaper agents at Edinburgh, against the proprietor and the printer and publisher of the Tim**, a step made uecessary by the Uw of Scotland, has occasioned some stir. The damages are laid at £60,000, and the action is founded on the pablicaiionß made under the beading " Parnellum and Crime." The summons avtrs— ' That the whole of the aforesaid letters and articles quoted are f Use and f tfged. None was written by or signed by t ie pursuer, or with his knowledge or authority, nor have any of tbem ever been seen by him ; and in t c said letter-* and statements, all i f which are of and cone ining the puisuer, it ia falsely, calum* niously, and maliciously alleged and repn S'Cted by the d' feadants : (1) I hat tbe pursuer condoned and approved the murder of Mr. Burke in the Phosnix Park, Dublin ; (2) that in order to pacify certain individuals he wrote letters excusing his public condemnation of tbe crime ; (3) that he supplied funds to enable Frank Byrne to escape to France, in the knowledge that a warrant had been issued against him for his participation in the said crime ; and (4) tbat he wrote a letter to Mr. P. figan, instigating him to accomplish the murder of Mr. W. E. Forster, who was then Chief Secretary for Ireland. The aforesaid letters and statements were published and commented on in almost all the newspapers published in Great Britain, Europe, and the colonies, have formed the subject of discussion in bot« Houses of Parliament, and have ever since their publication beea much commened on and discussed by the general community. They have been extremely hurtful to the feelings of the pursuer, and greatly injuri ms to his personal aud political character aud repataiion " — The trial, it i-* said, will take place in October at the Edinburgh Court of Session, b.for^ Lord Kinnear and a jury. The matter excites much interest, anJ is variously discussed.

Among the distinguishei visitors to the moors this season are the Comte de Pans and bis party who have the shooting at Loch Kennard, where their sport is most successful. The Comtesse aad her daughter, the Princess H6,6ae of Orleaas, are particularly nofcel for their unsrring shots, and show tiemselvas ardent in tbeae pursuits not generally followed by ladies. Toe straagaaess of the matter, however, may not be without its more piquant points for the French society whom it is the object of this family to please — and which obj ct this family, in accordance with their traditions are not at all likely to over-look.

Scotland loses, for a time at least, a bright and noble son, and India gains by her loss. The scion of an ancient house in qaestioa, is the Lord Colin Campbell, who leaves Inverary for the purpose of practising as a binister ia Bjmbav. We <iave heardf rom t'haekarar of Sir Barnes Newcome, as he pathetically alluded on the lecturer's platform to the domestic affections. Some cat* or other may occur ia which Lord Colin will have a smilar opportunity of displaying the heart that is in him, and Indian society will doubtless be able to appreciate the display. Let us wish bis Lordship and tbe Indians good luck in their respective spheres and their mutual relations.

Her Majesty the Q teen has visited Glasgow for the second time during her reign, her former visit having taken place just 39 years before. Her Ylajeity was the guest of Sir Archibald and Lady Gampbell, at Blythswooil. a fine esta-eon the Clyde, situated about seven miles from tbe city, and where she enjoyed the retirement to which she is so much addicted. Great doings, however, attend on her Maj sty's Vint to th.3 exhibition, which was the chief occasion of her coming, although she also opened the new municipal buildings, the city being maguificently adorned and densely crowded, aud all manifestations made, that an en husiactic loyalty .could suggest. The display ol fl igs in the streets is spoken of as particularly striking. The crowds, tney say, could only ha\e been surpassed in London itßelf. The Queen expressed herself as very much impressed by what she had witnessed.

The disciples of Isaac Walton have been delighted by the capture of the largest salmon known to the oldest inhabitant of auy river bank iv Gieat Britain. The munstei weighed 65 lbs., and was taken at Scotscraig m tbe estuary of the Tay— in which river several large finh had already this season met their fa*e. A companion in misfortune captured at the same time weighed 47 lb».

Mr. A. J. Balfour has been disporting himself at North Berwick, where his skill as a golf-player has excited admiration. Nero fiddling ence more 1 The skull at a Persian feast bas bee a represented in tbe case of this sporting promoter of sudden death by the police protection accompanying him.

The crofters' commisßinn ia now engaged with the state of afiain in Oikncy, where the crofters know two classes of oppressors, the landlords properly so-called, and the larger tenants who impose s> system of aorveet on them under penalty of eviction. The farms rented by these task-masters, besides, had been formerly occupied by tne croftera, who were obliged to move baok on the more sterile tracts and make room for them. The people are described as patient, intelligent, and respectable in every way, bat almost driven beyond tbe bounds of human endurance.

A contest is going on between the North -Western and the Great Northern railways as to which shall succeed in running the fattest train from London to Edinburgh. The fight began by tin announcement from the North Western that the 9 hours, so far occupied in the run, would be shortened by half-an-hour. To this the Great Northern responded with an announcement (hat it would make the time shorter still, and do the distance in 8 hours. The contest has been maintained with spirit, time being fet at defiance with great boldness, until the run is now made in from 74 to 7| hours. As yet no accident has happened, but considering the tremendous speed that has to be maintained, and th* recklessness engendered of rivalry, it is much to

b« feared that a catastrophe may put an end to the strife and confer spon the public a not wholly undeserved reward for having encouraged it.

Pootlaid has been favoured with some very distinguished visitors of late. Notable among them his Majesty the King of the Belgians — who attended Mass at Oban on August 10. Tourists, indeed, have generally been attracted by the Glasgow Exhibition, and those from Germany are particularly numerous. Loyal Britons, however, have in some instances been made indignant by the way in which the wandering German, in public places and conveyances, expressed himself as to the Royal family of Great Britain, the Empress Victoria has been very soundly abused by him, and even her Majesty's august mother has not escaped rebuke or comment. The Empress, meantime, is expected to visit the Highlands a little later in the season. where ske will reside for some weeks at Abergeldie.