KOTES FROM SCOTLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 15

KOTES FROM SCOTLAND.

'XFboie Oxtr Own Cobheseohdext.) j EDINBURGH, November 28. I KING'S BIETHDAY HONOURS. " Scotland has. but a scanty- share of these honours, but it is sot disturbing itself about the matter: 1 - Mr-Wißiam M'Ewan, of Edinburgh-, .andu-Mr* O. .-S- -Parker- are made Privy Cpnncillojß, and,, Mr William Bilslarld, Loml Provost of Glasgow, is made a baronet — this is th» sum. total, of the Scottish honours, on the. present occasion^ Mr M'Ewan, who is now .80 years of age, was MJB. for Central Edinburgh from 1886 to 1900.. He is best known- as a brewer on a very large 6cale,~ l a"nd'-iis the^donor, out of bis brewing profits, of the M'Ewan "Hall to: the- 'University of Edinburgh.*"' It i* curious thit an honour Bhoulibe conferretLupon brim by a Gpvern- > ment ' which announces its intention . of dealing in a thorough fashion witk the licensing question during the coming session, of Parliament ; but, in view of Mr M'Ewan's age».l suppose it , was felt that the distinction could not safely be delayed. Mr Parker was M.P. for Perth City from 1868 to 1874 and ,frora 1878' to 1892. His honour is universally regarded as being" weil-earned. Sir WilKam Bilsland, who is 60 years of age, is a native of Stirlingshire. With three brothers be carries on a baking business on an 'immense scale in -Hyde -Park street, Glasgow, and has also aa interest in the well-fchown firm of, Gray; " Dfenn, and '„' Co., of biscuit fame. He entered, the" Town Counca in 1885,and after a thoroughly consistent career there was two,, years, ago , elected .Lord Provost^ in lwhich -capacity : be has. given satisfaction to all parties. - ' NEXT .YEAR'S MODERATORS. , - At the November meetings of -Assembly Commissions-- the Moderators of -the General, Assemblies to be held next May were - nominated. In . the ' Established CEtrrch the Rev. .Dr Theodore" Marshall,; chaplain -to" the 'Garrison in' Edinburgh: 1 Castle I,'and1 ,' and formerlylfbr 21" years minister of Caput% Perthshire, wjjs selected. ' In . the United Free -jChkrti^ the choice fell upon the- Rev; j?* Laws;' of the mission at Livingßfeonia, Africa.; . He will be, the | first- misfeionaryii Moderator- since the union of the Free -'anet United Presbyterian ' Churches- -in 1900; In the -Free Church the Moderator-elect- is -the Rev. John Noble, who- 'has- been settled at Lairg; SutherlanoV sine* 'lßßs. '„-- HIGHLAND MANSES. .A lively eontroveisy is going on just now regarding what are termed the " derelicfc manses" of the Free Church — that is -to say, manses of w.Mcb the Church has. obtained legal' possession, -but for which' It is unable .to'Tind ministerial occupants. "There are "at least 60 of these, and _ the United' Free Church vainly, offered to rent ,35 of" them. A special correspondent of, the Scotsman is going round ;to look -at them and report,- as the- statements made regarding them by jrepresentatives of the rival- churches were hopelessly at variance; So far a* lie hm yet- r spotted, the general condition of" the. manses is not so bad "as rumour made ifc; though' there are cases in which it is bad enotufh. In the Highlands the matter is exciting att°*»ferest beyond the bounds of Southern comprehension. The "United" Free Church, acting on the *dage ikmt. " Heaven helps, those-who help -fchemieJv;eV' israirirrg a. fond of ,££50,000, to be -expended "as 'follows:— io building 65J manses, 2B64;000; in building 90 , churches, £78,000; in-eitras,-£BOOO. One half of the- churches or halls to be erected -wil£ be-in; stone and lime; the others being composite. . The average stipend- of the ministers concerned' is a little, over £160 jjer annum. »Ifc will. be noticed from the figures given that- the average cost of the manses is. greater than, the average cost of the churches. It will be a. happy time . for , the land when all these abodes * are finished and occupied/ so that we may be spared a- continuance of the ministerial snarling and spitting which hayfe made newspaper reading in Scotland a' burden for tfee^last fchrate years and more. - 1 ' THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS, These elections took place, as usual, in the Barly part of November, and this year they possessed feature*; , of special interest. One of these; 'was the attempt of. women to obtain election in five different - constituencies — Edinburgh, Partick, Dumfries* •Millport, and Dollar. In the last of these only wes a lady elected— Mrs Malcolmson, ■wife of 'the " English . master in Dollar 'Academy. ■ She,- has long taken an active and .useful part in public matters, and that she had gained the confidence of her fellowt<JD"nsfolk -is shown by her being elected to the Parish Council as well as to the Town Council. - The Edinburgh woman candidate was Lady Steely widow of^a recent Lord Provost. She has obtained notoriety as a passive resister ami a suffragette, but the citizens evidently did ( not recognise in this fact any strong claim to their support. " ' ' Another interesting feature of the elections wae the utter roui^of the Socialists. In Edinburgh and Leith every one of their .nominees was^- elected." In Glasgow^ a '-jSocialist councillor who sought, re-election retained his seat, but all the fresh, candidates were rejected by large majorities. • Among these was a brother of -Mr, Keir Hardie, who waff defeated by 500 votes. This snmmary repulse, it is to be hoped, will have some effect in moderating the braggadocio of the Socialist party. In Scotland, as yet, z. deeds count for more than words, and the good deeds of the Socialists are not yet in evidence. . . PLAGUE IN GLASGOW. "Uneasiness has been caused in Glasgow ljy the currency of that several cases of. bubonic plague had been discovered .in that qity, .and to restorejpublic oonfidenoe the Medical Officer of Health and the Xioxd Provoe^ have made a statement to. representatives, of the pr«es. According to ' this -statement a c&Se -of death from what -was- believed, t<> oe.fi-' thrax occurred ip August, but a. post tho*tem bacteriological examination, ftwdoaed.

the fact that the real cause of death was plague. In October another, case was discovered and prompt measures were at once taken. The- patient has since recovered, and no other case has occurred in the family, all th<fc members of which were isolaj|d f£r 21 d%Br- In-JbSOl there "was anT outbreak of plague in Glasgow, and since then the trapping of rats has been ' vigorously carried „ on. _„ ..Nearly^ 7000 of these afl^alsjhlve^bfeetfcs^fur^d.gnv snipe arid asb.ore,~ and ofie " of them has been examined by the city bacteriologist, Dr Buchanan, without any' symptoms, of plague being found* in any; of, *them. Tt.js therefore .apparent that, there is no present cause for alarm, though in & port like Glasgow, where vessels arrive from all parts of the world almost daily, there is constant need for vigilance. ' \ WOMEN GRADUATES AND THE * franchise: 1. Five ladies who are graduates of the ■ universities o"f ~" Edinburgh and St. Andrews some time ago brought an action in the Buter House of th& Court of Session against the courts and officials of. the said universities "for declarator that women graduates are entitled to vote at the election of a member of Parliament for the universities. " Lord Salvesen, who tried, the case,^ gave judgment against the ladiee, > who accordingly appealed. . The case was tried again in the Extra Division of the Court on November 16, the- judges being I Lords M'Laren, Pearson, and Ardwall. ■ I They confirmed the judgment of the court I below, and refused the reclaiming note l asked for. Lord M'Laren, who- delivered the judgment of the court, said ihat the expression "each v«ter" used in an act of 1881, which the appellants had" cited, could only refer to men, women not being .admitted to graduation prior to the passing of an act in 1889, ' which; empowered the universities, to make ordinances to that end, and no sucK ordinance was made: till 1892. The act of 1889 did not confer any power upon the university commis-"sie-nere to admit women graduates to the ( franchise, and neither the said -commifi--sioners nor the. university courts • couKt. ! make any deliverance on . this subject. [/The; whole of Lord M'Laren's judgment- ia dearly expressed and very interesting, but naturally the ladies are muc> disappointed -at its being given against them. It is "scarcely likely that they will appeal further, and they- must therefore d&vote theur energies to the wider question, of the enfranchisement of women in general. . FLOURISHING GLASGOW^ At a meeting of the trustees of the Clyde Navigation some interesting figures were stated by fhe chairman (Sir Nathaniel Dunlop), who is retiring after nearly 26 years- of valuable and "much appreciated service. 'He pointed out the great in- \ crease which has. takers place, and is still going on, in the berthage, of the river, as well as in' the widening and deepening of tbe stream. ' The outstanding event was the completion of the boring and blasting \ oi , Elderslie Rock, whose bed* has-been ■ lowered over an area of five acres and'ahalf to a uniform, depth of 28ft below low I water, at a cost to the trustees- of £70,000. !' During the trust's last year, ending on i #nn« 30, the tonnage of vessels dealt with at-,the port was 11,799,613, the tonnage of goods was- 9,795,093, while- the total revenue was £547,862. All these were; record totaks in the history of the "trust, and since £ben the rate of revenue exhibited a fnrtheV increase. These figures gave / general satisfaction, and special - pleasure' was felt- that Sir Nathaniel could make such "a cheering Teport in demitting office, for to' him \» due no small part oi the prosperity: of the trust. '- GftEAT SANITABY WORKS AT V ABERDEEN. Aberdeen has been engaged for some years- in -providing itself' with an. improved' system of; sewerage on a grand scale, Involving very extensive engineering, work, and the first part of it has just been formally inaugurated. It includes the tonstruction of a high-level sewer over three miles, in length, which starts from Skene street and eventually passes, tmdprneath' the bed of the river ana then through, the Hill of Nigg by tunnel emptying itself into the Bay. of Nigg below low water mark. The sewage from two lowlsvel areas is separately dealt with. Another high-level sewer nearly four miles in length is being constructed to drain the northern district of the city. It starts from Woodside and runs along the south bank of the Don to Old Aberdeen, and thence by the old town links and the r eastr •end of the city-to join the Girdlenees highlevel- sewer at the Victoria Bridge. Thus far a sum of over £130,000 has Tseen spent on the .various works, which have been, in progress for six years. • When they are completed the sanitation of Aberdeen should be ensured for a good while to come," as they are planned for a population of 270.000, which is more than 100,000 in excess of the present population of the city. •. m FORGERIES BY. A J.P? A sensation has been created in Edinburgh by the sudden downfall of a wellknown citizen in a good position, Mr John Ayling, J.P., who till a few days before the crash in his affairs came was a partner 'in the well-known printing establishment 'of T. and A. Constable. He was arrested on five charges of forging the names of various gentlemen to promissory notes to a total value of £10,350 andi disposing of these to three banks and two insurance companies. Ayling is a, stepson of Mr John Morley, the Secretary of State for India, and Mr Morley's name was among those which he forged. When brought before the- sheriff at Edinburgh, Ayling pleaded "Guilty," and; was thereupon remitted to the Hight Court for sentence. On November 25 he was •brought up before the Lord Justice-Clerk, Lord Kingsburgh, who, after animadverting upon, the heinousnesp of his offence, sentenced himTtp 10 years' penal servitude. The generaj opinion is that the sentence was fully deserVed. Ayhng is "47 years" of age. - OBITUARY RECORD. Wi4eßtflfead iegrefc jwe: been caused by the <fc&£h of the Rev. -j)r John Blair, of St. John's P«ku&. fanrr&h., Edinburgh^ t&

the age of 70. Dr Blair was born jtt Dunopn and -brought^ tip "jh Islayp-"*^Affer holding a- small charge ' at Saddell and Skipness, he was two years minister of Tarbert, Loch Fyne. _ In:. 1869 he became mihisjber o| St.^Columba'^GaelicJpfiurcjbJ GlSsjfbw, 'where t ' I his labours were attended with the greatest success^.for 'i'^jxear^-' So crowded was the church that even the -« window,* sills w;ere-Oe.t sittings. "-Wjni "lSj^lte^feir w.e& called' sto (^nTßuslarigy* and 10 yeans later he came to his Jast charge, at Edinburgh. _i There -.his ministry' v was v attended by ,. the same extraordinary [ suecefis as elsewhere, in spite of the I church being situated in a "poor locality -and being -in ~a very struggling condition when -he came to it. ' Df Blair's 'diligence', [ good sense, and lovable disposition won all hearts. For six years he did- good work' as chaplain to the Cal ton. Prison, Edinburgh, and he was a noted Gaelic scholar. At his funeral service, the, .church was ! crowded, and among those who were present were some " gaol birds " to whom he had shown kindness when they were in 1 prison. . Be leaves behind him, a fragrant memory.' 4 ' , The Rev. J. C. M'Clure, who had been ' minister of the parish of Mary Kirk, near Montrose r for -only a- -month .short,,, of 5Q : 'yeais, 'dSed'la'n N<rtrember^ 4. ,Se ,'required . jmt asietant until quite recently, though, in addition to his own special duties, he took an active part in the- work of the Parish X and School, Board. >_- Six years 1 ago ' he published, art interestirig* .Volume entitleo!' ! "Marykirk in r fche"Gl£en l Timesw'' * ! Like the last-named minister, the Rev; i William) Watson, minister emeritus of f Castlehill U.F, . Cburch^Eorres;' 3fed Lom^the eve of his jubilee: t His entire career was spent- in' Forrest -and' his fine ' cmirch was erected. 36. years *ago througb 'ihisr .exertions: „-.H e served onfall the school boards since their institution^ except_for about three years. , s- .". ' - r '\ iMr W,.« E r ;Qhristie,-.-principal of 'the r Collegiate/Schooli Queen's P*i^ Glasgow; * dieoiifrojcti'h^aft' failure while, Attending, a ineeiing; of*, fcirfe^sesiKHi in' Qn»en's Park U.F. Chusch. -" •< Ek£< was , a ' native oi 1 Br'echin^ and'^fter graduatinic at -the, Uni- \ versity .of 'Ed&ibutghy. started in. 1870 tho I well-known schooiiiKttaed-:* s .> ■ •-:;-i' - J Mrs. HHunterr r a Scotewomaa who claimed !' to be 111 years of age, 1 and who is known I.to-Baveiieen at least 106, has just died at , Liverpool. Shs was" - a native-i ef Baimaghier, in Kirkeudbrigfeti. and married, a. jßaenißjer of^tfee-GaßowySl&ilaawhb" served in' -the NapoleotJie 1 ' wais:" "She" rememt- bered a- season of dearth, m her girlhood, j wfien she and, her sieter, .after goifig alt' | thTooghrthe .pstrish 1 in searchv of oatmeal,, i only . got "a small quantity, " which was1 parted witit- as a, favour T and--for, Yhich f they had fed pay a* the - fate of "'Ealf-a-I guinea, a stone. ' * • * [ Mrs* Gordon,,-, elder "daughter of tho f famous scientist, Sir David Brewster, i died at Mstipse on" November 8, "aged 85. I Site, was bja^t- knowm |by-h«r- brogyaphy ofi , her 'wnich passed through several editions, but. she also" published a number of other works. M* Stewart Clark r thread manufacturer, Paisleys died. a& : ■, hi§ ; "Tna»sk>B> Castle' Dundae, South Queensferry, on November 21, "agedi 77. Along with hie three brothers, lie gave to the town of Faisley the George ,A. .C^axk T^w-ttt H§ill, the sf ebsf *df wMcb. was* esfimaieaC to' be ; about £100,000. - He' was also an active anct munificent supporter of philanthropic undertakinigs' of"arafieireiife" Tcfntfs,* tmd he took a keen interest- in yachting. He was elected M.P. for Paisley, in 1884, but finding; that his parliameoCaiy' duties interfered; with -His ability- to look after hie business, he resigned Ms seat after holding it for two sessions". He is survived by his whJow an«f a grown-up family. GEJfEEAL NEWS. The great Highland Bazaar held in Glasgow resulted in. the drawing of £8000 in ! alt The earn <Je«reof was £10,000. ! Dr Charlesr O". Easte'rbrook, of Ayr, has . been appointed to succeed Dr Rutherford, who has" retired 5 , as medical saperinteiident of the great a&yiam known as the Crichton Road Institution, near Dumfries. Sir Norman .Lockyer, -wha has been, investigating- the astronomical alignment of the stone circles of Aberdeenshire, has come to the conclusion that these circles" are more than 1000 years more recfintr than those is, Cornwall. ' ' Mr ' Andrew Carnegie and Lord Avebury were nominated for the Tectorship of St. Andrew's University. As, however, Mr Carnegie refused to stand for a third term, of office, Lord Avebury was declared to be elected without opposition. Though rente were promptly paid on the whole in Edinburgh at the Martinmas term, it is stated that there is unlet property in the city amounting in value tono less than. £130,000. Montrose is suffering from an epidemic 1 of 'typhoid . fever, and at t!he Kirklands Asylum, Bothwell, there has been a serious outbreak of enteric fever./ The .Caledonian railway bridge over the Forth at ' Stirling; which has been in course of reconstruction for more than a year, is again open for traffic. It was tested by the company's engineers on Sunday, November 17. - , There were- greatt rejoicings at -Wishaw on November 12, on the occasion of' the homecoming of the . master of Belhaven and his young wife. T^iey were married in 1904-, but have lived since then in India, where the hussar regiment to which the master belongs has been stationed. In a letter to tha secretary of the Scotitish Anti-tobacco Society, Lord Charles Beresford denounces smoking by juveniles. - He says that the evil effect of cigarette smoking on the nerves impairs the vital energy of the^ nation. The Prime Minister ■ writes that he is not" without hope that during the next session of Parliament something may be done to cope with the evil of juvenile smoking At Dundee a man who was surprised in the act of breaking into a house in Welljngton street, was surrounded by the neighbouring housewives. -He succeeded in breaking -through, but, after being-.chased. through the streets by men, women, and' tjoys for nearly a- mile, he- was^ captured. At the. Police Court he was sentenced to .ftQ daj* 1 imprisonment. " . . - v " ' \j

In.r^ecomiit^^"ol^ig i public service^ 1V& -^Jha^rtes^carrtef wfio" was Lord ProvosS of -Dundee in 1 1902-0&J has been presented with hie porfeait, painted by Sir. James 'Gruthrie, PrR.B.A. 5 .A presentation^ of 'Bilvef.plate-iwaS l also-taade to Mrs'^BSrrie. Steps^are being t«keivin Glasgow to help Jhe iSewsßoyß^-tne Jubrifr Provost taking an active part in the movementA-^.y^A*-.News-* ;po^ C€3uJ^ is to^^^alli^ifcml^.l TErio^cK' sqtuJre, wßefe a savings bank and labour bureau will be started, .^ajjd -,t-hs. " bovsY will 6V' J taught 1 shortiana. * " They ' will dlso be;. systematically visited at their"hoD.fesl. . v . ~,\» > " , J " [Since I^9o Perth- has, spent £68,000 in"providing^pchooX accommodationj - and a "large new school >is about-to be .erected in the northern dastricfc of the cit-y at accost of,-£iS,DGo. r J v ■. - i :- r?" " -r^ \ 5 A company is being" formed to rebpeif* jmd work deposits of haematite and copSer pyrites\at-Sandlorge, Shefchind;' about 2 miles from Lerwick. They were worked "a number of years ago^ancf^ several thousand--- tons'"'of l "oref jcoritarinrng"64" per ,cent» of iron, .were shippecl, but -the mines were closed .dqwn in 1881, as they did not pay. „ Messrs O^ten and Tennaut (Limited), iGb^sgow, hkve'begattjanjactiori'againslj the-.-Daily Record, a Glasgow newspaper,- and the Associated Newspapers (Limited) 1 , : London, in which they sue for £25,000 damages for slander^, alleged .to have^been contamed'- in' articieß''j <s relart;ing ,to" VS& "Soap Trtsst War," 'and publisl[ect in. the Daily Record and Weekly Record, and in. the Daily Mail and Evening STews^ of London 1 , in October^ and November, 19Q6. Th«;jfoHowß% personal estates have been recorded i — Me .John Stirling^ of Fairburhi'.Muir of.Cfed^aii ironmaster in Gum•berlan'd. and Northumberland, £908,158^ Mr « J. " ,W- ThomsoH, shipowner, Leithi, :> £169,951 ; • Mr Jas.' W". Balfour, of Balffbur and T^rertabie, ,£43,175; Mjse.M. BL Some, "1 " Ventaor terrace-, Edinburgh, £36,904; Mr A. M. M'Donald, advocate* Aberd«eri,"/£S^i79o;, Mr W. Mowat, leather ' merchant, Stonehaven, £28,404. The Earl of Dummore left" unsettled property to -tfe» value 0f. '£14,318, with personal estate, rdi, „ ,',~ -, cJ .#.