FROM NORTH OF TWEED.

Otago Witness, Issue 4029, 2 June 1931, Page 79

FROM NORTH OF TWEED.

LETTER TO OVERSEAS SCOTS By Robert S. Angus. EDINBURGH, April 2.'' With one phase of “ Home Rule for Scotland ” there will be general sympathy. I refer to the stand which the coal owners and miners are now making for the right to manage their own affairs in their own way. They have agreed that the difficult situation of their industry can be best met by a continuance of the present system of ■spread-over of working hours—eight hours a day during 11 days of each fortnight. But the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain, whose assent is neces■sary to make that arrangement legal, has decided that it should cease. That power was granted mainly to “ save the face ” of the federation, and without the least idea that it would be used to override local agreements between eni ployers and employed. The federation policy is dictated to a large extent by Yorkshire and South Wales, which, with their rich seams, can dispense with the spread-over, and the delegates from these areas; —possibly with the tacit approval of the coal owners there—are seeking to exploit their economic advantage by forcing Scotland into a position which makes competition unequal. Thus Scottish mine owners and miners to the number of nearly 100.000 are now working in breach of the law, and either it or the policy of the federation will have to be changed. The prospects of our coal trade, poor enough as they are, ought not to be jeopardised by stoppage or threat ■of stoppage; The wages of the men are so low that they cannot be expected to accept a reduction if that can be avoided by the common-sense agreement which is due to continue till the end of . June. The fact that during March the new ships launched on the Clyde had an aggregate of little over GOOD tons is an eloquent reminder of the extent to which the home industrial demand for coal has diminished.

NATIONAL LIBRARY. The National Library Trustees have so far made no attempt to conciliate public opposition to their scheme for the annexation of the Sheriff Court buildings as an extension of the library premises. The architects and the librarians, through their respective societies, have urged the consideration of an alternative plan, which would remove the library to the ground in the High street on which the central police office now stands. By 43 votes to 17 the Town Council of Edinburgh has declared opposition to the trustees; the Merchant Company has unanimously expressed a similar view; and various other local bodies are equally dissatisfied. The Government protest that it has no power to interfere. But Parliament has, as the trustees will discover when thy seek legislative approval for their ideas in the teeth of so much criticism. I believe it is still possible that the Prime Minister, who is a trustee himself and the close personal friend of Sir Alexander Grant, will use his good offices during the Easter recess to secure a friendly reconsideration of the whole matter as an alternative to a Parliamentary tussle, not unlikely to end in defeat for the trustees. WOOLGROWERS’ SUCCESS. If the other branches of agriculture showed the same good sense as the Scottish woolgrowers we should have less cause of complaint and less need for such measures as the Agricultural Marketing Bill, which is now struggling through committee in the House of Com mens. During the whole of 1930 the growers had to face a fluctuating decline of prices, which at the end of the year had fallen to little more than half what they were at the beginning. But they recognised that the situation could best be met by combination. During the year the amount of wool consigned for sale through the association increased by nearly 30 per cent., the membership by 12 per cent., and the share capital by 10 per cent., and about 83 per cent, of the wool consigned was sold—a highly satisfactory record. The association is gaining the confidence of its customers by the better grading and sorting which it secures, and is thus in a good position to benefit when the market improves. TEACHERS’ SALARIES. As was to be expected, the effort of the Glasgow Education Authority to effect economy by a “cut ” in the salaries of its teachers has attracted attention elsewhere. All the principal authorities were represented at a conference held this week, when a committee of 13 members was appointed to consider the whole question, especially in relation to the proposed revision of the Burnham scale in England in 1932. It was agreed, how ever, that no change should be made for the present.- in the existing national minimum for first appointments. GRETNA GREEN “MARRIAGES.” Lord Pitman used in the Court of Session bench some strong language which, it is hoped, will stimulate the Scottish Secretary to set up at once the proposed inquiry into the state of our marriage laws. Their present elasticity has its dangers as well as its convenience. The case' which his" Lordship had' to decide was an application by a young lady who sought the annulment of a ceremony in which she took part at Gretna Green as a means of inducing her parents to consent to her marriage. His

Lordship, in giving decree, expressed the hope that it would be made illegal for these self-appointed “ priests ” to perform such ceremonies, or at all events to call them to account for- taking payment for what professed to be certificates of marriage, which were in fact of no value. It should be clearly understood that our Scottish marriage by, consent is open only to those who have lived in the country for three weeks immediately before, and that it may then be performed as well at John O’Groats as at Gretna Green. UNEMPLOYMENT TRAINING. While this week’s decline in the total number of unemployed is satisfactory as far as it goes, it should not dull the public conscience as to the magnitude of the problem which has still to be solved. Mr Matthew A. Maynard, the Director of Public Assistance in Gias gow, gave some grave but helpful evi dence this week before the Royal Com mission on Unemployment. Contrary to the opinion generally current, he declared that, with few exceptions, ablebodied men prefer to work for wages rather than accept relief, although the scale of the latter is almost as high He think the most serious part of the problem concerns the adolescents who have never had any training in regular employment and are approaching man hood without a knowledge of the dignity of work, the desire to be inde pendent of charity and the joy which the spending of earned money gives. Even when trade revival comes they will have little prospect of work, since employers will prefer either older men who are trained or juveniles who are capable of being easily trained. Mr Maynard urges that training centres for these adolescents should be set up regardless of the cost. ■ A GAELIC ANNIVERSARY. The Gaelic Society of Inverness celebrated this week the sixtieth anniversary of its foundation. Sir Murdoch Macdonald, M.P., the chief of the society, proposed the toast of its prosperity in a rather gloomy speech, suggesting that when the centenary is reached the number of persons speaking Gaelic will be small. He took the view that the one agency which has the power to keep the language alive is the Church, and that it could do so by insisting that all its incumbents in the Highlands should be masters of the language. In point of fact, there are a number of charges to which only Gaelic speaking ministers can be legally appointed. But I have known cases in which that requirement was flagrantly evaded—one candidate was alleged to have learned a Gaelic sermon and repeated it like a parrot—and the Assembly has often to deal with applications from parishes to be removed from the list of Gaelic-speaking charges on the plea that the language is little used, and that the choice of a minister is thus needlessly restricted. LOCHIEL SILVER WEDDING.

This week Lochiel and Lady Hermione Cameron .(a sister of the Duke of Montrose) attained their silver wedding, and the anniversary is being appropriately celebrated. Donald Walter Cameron is the twenty-fifth holder of a courtesy title which has a far greater value in the eyes of Highlanders than any which the King could bestow. Except for his, military service—he was wounded in the South African War and commanded a service battalion of the Cameron Highlanders in the European War—Lochiel has spent his life among his own people. The fifteenth Lochiel was a zealous supporter .of Queen Mary; the seventeenth, who lived to be 90, fought for the royalists at Killiecrankie; the eighteenth ommanded the Camerons at Sheriffmuir; the nineteenth entertained Prince Charlie at Achnacarry, and fought beside him at Culloden, where he was wounded and had to seek refuge in France. The estates were restored to hir grandson under the amnesty of 1754. The present Lochiel’s father was Lord Lieutenant of Invernesshire and M.P. for the county, and the present chief has . worthily maintained the family traditions of public service, military and civic. “ SOCCER ” INTERNATIONAL. Like their Rugby compatriots on the previous Saturday the Association football team had a glorious victory over England, all the more gratifying since it was more unexpected. Nearly 130,000 spectators, including the Prime Minister. were at Hampden Park, Glasgow, to see the Scotsmen score a two goals Victory. The visitors had youth on their side, but their opponents’ greater experience proved of more value. The win was all the more welcome in view of the refusal of the English League clubs to release those of their players who were wanted to play for their native country, an ungracious attitude which was keenly resented. But all is well that ends well. Scotsmen may claim to have taught England the “ Soccer ” game, and it is pleasant to find that they have not wholly lost their old ascendancy.