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Electric Scotland News
Scottish Chapbook Site Launch - March 26th
We are excited to announce the launch of the Scottish Chapbook Digital Humanities site! This collaborative project between the University of Guelph Library and Centre for Scottish Studies will provide unprecedented free online access to a hidden collection of over 600 chapbooks housed in Archival & Special Collections, as well as essays and exhibits to interpret and contextualize them.
We hope that you can join us for this event on March 26th to learn more about these fascinating publications of 18th and 19th century Scotland. Don't miss the chance to win a high quality facsimile of a Scottish chapbook!
Please RSVP to mamcafee@uoguelph.ca
Melissa McAfee | Special Collections Librarian
Archival & Special Collections University of Guelph Library
Guelph Ontario N1G 2W1
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Clan Davidson has a new Chief. Alister “Jock” Davidson passed away in Auckland NZ on 26 December 2014. His eldest son, Grant Guthrie Davidson, 3rd of Davidston, is now the current chief. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
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Scotland's 'space whisky' will return to Earth next month
A vial of malt whisky from Scotland’s Ardbeg Distillery was launched to the International Space Station in October 2011 along with some particles of charred oak. A team from US-based space research organisation NanoRacks said it was an experiment to see how the two interacted in almost zero gravity conditions.
The whisky has been orbiting the Earth’s atmosphere for 1,045 days so far, and is expected to land in Kazakhstan on 12 September. According to the BBC, it was launched by a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, and an identical bottle of whisky has been kept at the distillery as a control.
Once the space whisky returns, it will be compared with the Earth whisky to see what changes have occurred.
Ardbeg's director of distilling and whisky creation, Bill Lumsden, told the BBC:
"This is one small step for man but one giant leap for whisky. The team hopes to uncover how flavours develop in different gravitational conditions - findings which could revolutionise the whisky-making process. We hope to shine new light on the effect of gravity on the maturation process but who knows where it will lead us? It could be to infinity and beyond."
Electric Canadian
Grand Priory of Canada
Added the March 2015 newsletter which you can view at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/Reli...tteMar2015.pdf
Waging Peace: Canada in Afghanistan
Canada's Only Independently funded and filmed documentary on our mission in Afghanistan. You can view this at :http://www.electriccanadian.com/forces/afghanistan.htm
Canada and the Korea War
After the Second World War, Canada rapidly demobilized. When the Korean War broke out, Canada needed several months to bring its military forces up to strength, and eventually formed part of British Commonwealth Forces Korea. Canadian land forces thus missed most of the early back-and-forth campaigns because they did not arrive until 1951, when the attrition phase of the war had largely started. Canadian troops fought as part of the 1st Commonwealth Division, and distinguished themselves at the Battle of Kapyong and in other land engagements. HMCS Haida and other ships of the Royal Canadian Navy were in active service in the Korean War. Although the Royal Canadian Air force did not have a combat role in Korea, twenty-two RCAF fighter pilots flew on exchange duty with the USAF in Korea. The RCAF was also involved with the transportation of personnel and supplies in support of the Korean War.
You can learn more and watch a video series at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/forces/korean.htm
The 20 Economic Sectors in Canada
This is more a technical page but am hoping to use it as a base for further information on Canada's Economic sectors.
You can view this page at http://www.electriccanadian.com/transport/sectors.htm
Electric Scotland
George Douglas, Eighth Duke of Argyll K.G., K.T. (1823 - 1900)
Autobiography and Memoirs edited by the Dowager Duchess of Argyll with Portraits and Illustrations in two volumes.
We've now completed volume 1 and moved onto volume 2.
You can read this book as I get it up at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../argyllndx.htm
Memoir of the Rev. Wm. C. Burns, M.A.
We're now completed this book with the chapters on his time in China.
You can read this book at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...urns/index.htm
Poetry by John Henderson
John has sent in a new poem, The Bad Half-Crown at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/doggerel569.htm
"Select Writings of Robert Chamber's Popular Rhymes of Scotland" (1847). I'm starting to add this book to his page and have now added the first six sections.
You can read this towards the foot of the page at
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ers_robert.htm
The Social Unrest, It's Cause & Solution
By J. Ramsay MacDonald, M.P.
Here is his introduction...
IN THE AUTUMN OF 1910 THERE Commenced a series of strikes which were so widespread and stirred the minds of the working classes so deeply that people began to talk of a general labour unrest. Real terror crept into the hearts of large sections of the public and loud clamour for displays of police and military force was made; the deep gulf of opposition between class and class was revealed in all its menace and repulsiveness; the antagonistic feeling of the well-to-do classes was openly displayed in the leading newspapers both by bitterly unfair comment and by misleading news; on several occasions, particularly during the short railway strike, we were on the brink of civil war; the ordinary work of Parliament was suspended again and again for the purpose of considering the industrial strife that was raging outside; legislation embodying new principles was passed hastily.
The signal for action was given in September, 1910, when the boilermakers and shipbuilders were locked out on account of a series of small strikes which had taken place owing to disputes about piece rates; next month the cotton operatives left work; in November a section of the South Wales miners struck on their own initiative, and this had a very disturbing effect upon organised labour all over the country; Northumberland and Durham were agitated by a readjustment of shifts and were blaming governments, employers, and their own leaders impartially. In 1910 more people were on strike than there had been since the miners’ dispute of 1893, and the aggregate duration of the strikes was three times the average of the previous nine years. 1911 began with the printers’ strike in London, and the first three months of the year were unsettled by the prolongation of these disputes ; the spring and summer were marked by numerous minor strikes in widely separated districts and in various trades; in June the first transport strikes began and affairs entered a critical stage; the disaffection widened during July and August; in August the railway strike was declared; during the early winter months numerous local strikes broke out, and it began to be evident that a serious stoppage of work in the coal trade was imminent; in March 1912 the miners came out; in May the second transport strike in London took place. By then the unrest had exhausted itself for the time being.
Nor must we forget that the unrest was world-wide. The number of workpeople affected by strikes in Germany in 1910 was three timesgreaterthanin 1909, whilst the steadily increasing cost of living brought victory after victory to the Social Democrats at byelections. Riots broke out in Berlin. In 1910 France was disturbed by great railway strikes which, in the early winter, led to M. Briand’s general mobilisation order; and 1911 was little less disturbed than 1910, with strikes amongst marines, postmen, textile workers, taxi-cab drivers, and so on. Ministry after ministry fell; Syndicalism reached the acme of its power; dear food caused rioting, as in St Quentin. During these years Austria too was seething with discontent both political and social, and Vienna contributed its portion to the records of rioting which was taking place on the Continent. Maritime strikes occurred in Holland and Belgium. In purely political matters the same unsettlement was seen. The United States was swinging away from its old allegiance to the Republican Party; Portugal and China became republics; Spain was shaken throughout its borders, at one moment by religious strife, at the next by labour agitation. In our own Dominions, Australia was ruffled by bitter labour troubles and elected a Labour Government, and South Africa, too, was turning back towards racial strife. A breath of revolutionary life seemed to be passing over the world, and the established order in every land had to grapple with a restiveness which threatened its overthrow or kicked against its weight.
During these months of unsettlement the expression “labour unrest” was on everybody’s lips. What was its significance? What were its causes? That I propose to discuss in this book, because, though the unrest seems now to have passed away like an earthquake shock, I believe that the evils from which it originated are still active in industrial society, that the volcanic forces are still very near the surface, and that, should circumstances arise, they will burst out into fury almost without warning.
I shall attempt to prove that the causes were moral and economic—moral, because workmen when treated as mere items in production must feel that their human rights are violated and must show resentment, and because wealth is more provocative in its display now than it has ever been before, and at the same time is less honourably won; economic, because changes in the markets of the world and in the relative strength of Capital and Labour have been tending to reduce working-class standards of living since the opening of this century. A mere condemnation of agitators, of Trade Unions, of strikes, in connection with these troubles is, therefore, not only a sign of ignorance, but is futile. It is Mrs Partington bemoaning the failure of her broom by reflections upon the devilish nature of the sea. Having examined the causes of these disturbances, I shall conclude by indicating the trend of opinion and of industrial and political change which, if followed out persistently and courageously, will substitute a human social order for an economic one, when there will be peace.
You can download the book from the foot of his page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/loss...mes_ramsay.htm
A visit to Ailsa Craig in 1851
By the Rev. D. Landsborough DD
Added this extract from a book we found and have added it the foot of our page on Ailsa Craig at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ue/page476.htm
Parish of Wemyss in the Olden Days
Added this book to the foot of the page on Wemyss in our Gazetteer at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ol6page478.htm
Vindication of the Clanronald of Glengarry
With remarks as to the Descent of the Family who style themselves "Of Clanronald," &c. Added to the foot of the page at http://www.electricscotland.com/webc...ld/ranald.html
Professor William McIntosh
A Great Scottish Naturalist which we've added to our Significant Scots.
You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...sh_william.htm
The Life and Adventures of Brigadier-General MacIver
A Soldier of Fortune.
ANY sunny afternoon, on Fifth Avenue, or at night in the table d'hote restaurants of University Place, you may meet the soldier of fortune who of all his brothers in arms now living is the most remarkable. You may have noticed him; a stiffly erect, distinguished-looking man, with gray hair, an imperial of the fashion of Louis Napoleon, fierce blue eyes, and across his forehead a sabre cut.
This is Henry Ronald Douglas Maclver, for some time in India an ensign in the Sepoy mutiny; in Italy, lieutenant under Garibaldi; in Spain, captain under Don Carlos; in our Civil War, major in the Confederate army; in Mexico, lieutenant-colonel under the Emperor Maximilian; colonel under Napoleon III, inspector of cavalry for the Khedive of Egypt, and chief of cavalry and general of brigade of the army of King Milan of Servia. These are only a few of his military titles. In 1884 was published a book giving the story of his life up to that year. It was called “Under Fourteen Flags.” If to-day General MacIver were to reprint the book, it would be called “Under Eighteen Flags.”
You can read this account of him and also download a book about him at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...eg/maciver.htm
Newtyle
Added a chapter about this town to our Gazetteer page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ol5page114.htm
Clan Henderson
Got in copies of their newsletters for Winter 2014 and Spring 2015 which are a good read and you can get to these at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...rson/index.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Got in the April 2015 Part 2.issue which you can download at: http://www.electricscotland.com/bnft
THE STORY
Chronicles of the Cape Fear River 1660 - 1916
By James Sprunt
I am providing the very interesting Preface from this book which shows how through adversity this Scots family overcame tremendous difficulties and in the end prospered and provided great employment and income to the Cape Fear community. Here is the Preface...
This mammoth volume on Cape Fear in North Carolina is of more value to the local historian than to the general reader. It is an exhaustive account from the foundation of the colony to the State in recent times. To us the most interesting chapter is one by David Macrae, dealing with a visit to the Highland settlers in the 'Scotch County,' North Carolina having been a place of Highland emigration after Glencoe and the '45. Flora Macdonald joined this group in 1775 and was received with great honour and Highland music at Wilmington. We get pleasant glimpses of MacRaes and of the Highland Jacobite settlers who became British loyalists in America. [This taken from the Scottish Historical Review]
The present publication is the fruit of Mr. James Sprunt's desire to collate information of general interest concerning the Cape Fear River, because he has an abiding affection for the noble stream with which he is so familiar and is animated by a purpose to preserve in convenient form some account of local incidents that are worthy of being remembered.
In the years just before the war, when I first began to know the active men of Wilmington, none stood higher in public esteem than Mr. Alexander Sprunt. He was a thorough man of business, whose intelligence and sterling worth commanded admiration, while his brother, Rev. James M. Sprunt, who was teaching the Grove Academy in Duplin, added to the credit of the name. These two brothers had come to the Cape Fear some ten or fifteen years earlier and had won what is most to be valued in life—the good opinion of those who knew them. The passage of time has yearly added to the reputation of the name, until now it stands unexcelled in the business world.
The father of these brothers, Laurence Sprunt, a farmer near the famous town of Perth, in 1812 married Christiana McDonald, daughter of a Highland family, whose brother, John McDonald, was a prosperous planter in Jamaica, and whose cousins, the Menzies, in Scotland, were prominent and wealthy. After his marriage Laurence Sprunt occupied a small farm known as Viewfield, near Perth, and there were born his children, Alexander, James Menzies, and Isabella, all of whom were educated in Edinburgh.
After graduating, Alexander became a partner in the firm of Reed, Irving & Co., of London and Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and as junior partner had personal charge of the business at Trinidad, and in the conduct of his business often made trips up the Orinoco River, Venezuela. For a brief while he returned to Scotland and married there Jeanie Dalziel, a lady of rare personal and intellectual gifts, whose life was consecrated in its beautiful Christian devotion. In the biography of another it is incidentally mentioned that "in 1841 Alexander Sprunt was a ruling elder of the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad, a merchant of high standing, a Queen's Commissioner, or Magistrate." That he had already attained an enviable position and enjoyed a good name is easily apparent. But through the unfortunate consequences following the emancipation of British slaves, Mr. Sprunt was deprived of his accumulations, and after some ineffectual efforts in Scotland to repair his broken fortune, he removed to Wilmington, whither his brother, Rev. Doctor James Menzies Sprunt, subsequently a chaplain in the Confederate Army, had preceded him. An expert accountant, he soon found employment in the Commercial Bank, and later with T. C. & B. G. Worth. On the breaking out of the war he sailed in the Edwin with a cargo to Barbadoes, and loaded a return cargo of coffee, sugar, and molasses, but when almost in sight of Cape Fear, the Edwin was taken by a Federal cruiser and Mr. Sprunt was imprisoned at Baltimore until Lord Lyons, the British Minister, secured his release. It was, however, six months before he could succeed in crossing the Potomac and rejoining his family in Wilmington.
During those years his son, James Sprunt, after studying at various preparatory schools, one year in Mr. Muncie's school in Glasgow, one year under his uncle at Kenansville, four years at Jewett's Academy, one year at Colonel Radcliffe's Military Academy, and one year at Mr. Mengert's school, had made excellent progress; but while in his fourteenth year, under the pressure of circumstances, he was put to work with Worth & Daniel. This did not arrest his education, however, for he attended night school under Professor Tallichet in French and English literature, and, as he had a desire to serve the State at sea, he studied navigation under Captain Levy, a former United States naval officer. But disappointed in securing the appointment he coveted, eventually he sailed as a passenger on a blockade runner to Bermuda, with the promise of Captain Burroughs to give him a position on the North Heath, a vessel then building on the Clyde. When the North Heath arrived at Bermuda, Captain Burroughs appointed him purser of that vessel; but after sailing they encountered a terriffic storm, escaping shipwreck only by splendid seamanship and the most heroic exertions; and they had to put into Bermuda for repairs. There Mr. Sprunt was long ill with fever, and the North Heath sailed without him; but after a little while Capt. J. N. Maffitt appointed him purser of the steamer Lilian and on the Lilian he passed through all the dangerous and exciting experiences of a daring blockade runner. On the third outward voyage the Lilian was chased, bombarded for eight hours, disabled, and captured; and Mr. Sprunt, sharing the fate of his associates, became a prisoner of war. Subsequently he escaped, but met shipwreck on Green Turtle Cay, and it was eight months before he reached home, he having in the meantime served as purser of the Confederate steamer Susan Bierne of which Eugene Maffitt was chief officer; and he continued on this blockade runner until Fort Fisher fell.
On his third inward trip he had imported ten barrels of sugar, which his father sold, investing the proceeds in 24 bales of cotton. Sherman's raiders burnt twelve of these bales, but with great difficulty the others were saved, and after peace they were sold at 48 cents a pound. With the proceeds the firm of Alexander Sprunt & Son was founded in 1865-66, and although like others it has suffered the vicissitudes of changing conditions, it has successfully weathered business storms, repaired disasters, and surmounted most discouraging difficulties. Always adhering to the principles of its wise and righteous founder, who passed away thirty years ago, it has, under the masterful direction of Mr. James Sprunt and his brother, Mr. William H. Sprunt, prospered, continually increasing in strength and reputation until it has attained a unique position in the business world.
Upon the death of his father, who had represented the British Government in North Carolina for about twenty years, Mr. James Sprunt was, without solicitation on his part, appointed British Vice Consul, and from this appointment, May G, 1884, to tbe present time he has held that honorable post. During these thirty years he has been twice thanked by the British Government—once by the British Admiralty for his correction of its important aids to navigation, and again by Lord Salisbury, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for his official report on the Cuba man-of-war incident
In 1907 the German Emperor appointed Mr. Sprunt Imperial German Consul for North Carolina and sent him his autograph commission, a very high compliment, which was not solicited by him nor by his friends. Mr. Sprunt acted in that capacity for five years, during which he was twice complimented by the Imperial Chancellor Von Bulow for his official reports, and when he resigned in consequence of impaired health, Emperor William very graciously decorated him with the Order of the .Royal Crown, which is only given for valor in battle and for distinguished services to the State.
During the years covering Mr. Sprunt's activities, Wilmington has made most gratifying progress. The facilities of commerce have been multiplied; the trucking industries have been largely developed; the jobbing business has attained remarkable proportions; the bank deposits have tremendously increased; and, with the removal of obstacles, the enterprise and capabilities of the Wilmington merchants have achieved splendid results. Indeed there has been progress all along the line, resulting in a general diffusion of prosperity.
But no other factor leading to these notable results has been so effective as the business inaugurated by the firm of Alexander Sprunt & Son.
The combined production of cotton in North Carolina and in South Carolina in a good season is approximately two and a half million bales, of which the local mills take by far the greater part. Of the residue, the principal export house in Wilmington, Alexander Sprunt & Son, buys from the producers directly through their local agents at a hundred and fifteen interior stations about half a million bales. These large exports, of the value of thirty million dollars, pay tribute to Wilmington to the extent of over a million dollars annually in railroad freight, in handling expenses, trucking, compressing, and storing; and besides, from fifty to a hundred thousand dollars are left by the trans-Atlantic steamers in the port of Wilmington for port charges and expenses. Indeed, the eight hundred employees of this company, white and black, contribute much of the money in circulation in Wilmington that supports the retail trade.
Nearly thirty years ago the present senior partner in this house foresaw that the sources of cotton supply and demand would ultimately be brought into closer relations; and he made a tour of seventeen foreign countries in which American cotton was used, and established direct business relations between the foreign consumers and the Wilmington firm. It was the pioneer movement, and the working details were difficult. Indeed, some of the obstacles seemed almost insurmountable. The depth of water in the Cape Fear and on the bar was not sufficient to float safely the most desirable class of vessels for the export trade, and shipowners were slow to trust their vessels upon a tortuous stream in shallow water with only three feet rise of tide. Moreover, the capital of the firm was limited, and their business was conducted strictly on the conservative principles laid down by the founder of the firm which still bears his name; but in the end caution and perseverance established confidence and brought success. It is a remarkable fact that from the beginning of the firm in 1865-66 up to the present time, although hundreds of millions of dollars have passed through the main office in Wilmington and their branches in Boston and Houston and Liverpool, Bremen and Havre, not on any occasion has their paper ever been dishonored.
As circumstances permitted, the requisite accessories were installed. The Champion cotton compress was put in operation by the firm, and the Wilmington Compress and Warehouse is chiefly owned and operated by them. The plant is among the best and most complete in the South, representing a large outlay in capital, and it is so conveniently arranged as to afford the most improved facilities for the loading and unloading of five large steamships simultaneously.
It is noteworthy that the partners in the Boston office, the Houston office, and in the Bremen and Havre firms were all trained from boyhood in the Wilmington office; Mr. William H. Sprunt, now the most active partner, having been born in Wilmington. It has been a Wilmington business, first and last, fortunate in its operations and beneficent in its results.
All through life Mr. Sprunt has had close association with the Cape Fear River and the bark bearing his hopes and fortunes has had its home on the bosom of that historic stream. Not only his business but the pleasures and happy incidents of his daily life have been so blended with its waters that he cherishes a warm affection for the river itself. Thus he has been minded to preserve its traditions and its tales—the preparation being indeed a labor of love, undertaken in a spirit of grateful return for the many blessings he has enjoyed both at his home in the city and at his home at Orton, which alike are redolent with delightful reminiscence.
S. A. Ashe.
You can download the book at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...a/capefear.htm
Insider's Tips Video to Wilmington, NC can be viewed at
And that's it for this week and hope you all enjoy your weekend.
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
Scottish Chapbook Site Launch - March 26th
We are excited to announce the launch of the Scottish Chapbook Digital Humanities site! This collaborative project between the University of Guelph Library and Centre for Scottish Studies will provide unprecedented free online access to a hidden collection of over 600 chapbooks housed in Archival & Special Collections, as well as essays and exhibits to interpret and contextualize them.
We hope that you can join us for this event on March 26th to learn more about these fascinating publications of 18th and 19th century Scotland. Don't miss the chance to win a high quality facsimile of a Scottish chapbook!
Please RSVP to mamcafee@uoguelph.ca
Melissa McAfee | Special Collections Librarian
Archival & Special Collections University of Guelph Library
Guelph Ontario N1G 2W1
-----
Clan Davidson has a new Chief. Alister “Jock” Davidson passed away in Auckland NZ on 26 December 2014. His eldest son, Grant Guthrie Davidson, 3rd of Davidston, is now the current chief. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
-----
Scotland's 'space whisky' will return to Earth next month
A vial of malt whisky from Scotland’s Ardbeg Distillery was launched to the International Space Station in October 2011 along with some particles of charred oak. A team from US-based space research organisation NanoRacks said it was an experiment to see how the two interacted in almost zero gravity conditions.
The whisky has been orbiting the Earth’s atmosphere for 1,045 days so far, and is expected to land in Kazakhstan on 12 September. According to the BBC, it was launched by a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, and an identical bottle of whisky has been kept at the distillery as a control.
Once the space whisky returns, it will be compared with the Earth whisky to see what changes have occurred.
Ardbeg's director of distilling and whisky creation, Bill Lumsden, told the BBC:
"This is one small step for man but one giant leap for whisky. The team hopes to uncover how flavours develop in different gravitational conditions - findings which could revolutionise the whisky-making process. We hope to shine new light on the effect of gravity on the maturation process but who knows where it will lead us? It could be to infinity and beyond."
Electric Canadian
Grand Priory of Canada
Added the March 2015 newsletter which you can view at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/Reli...tteMar2015.pdf
Waging Peace: Canada in Afghanistan
Canada's Only Independently funded and filmed documentary on our mission in Afghanistan. You can view this at :http://www.electriccanadian.com/forces/afghanistan.htm
Canada and the Korea War
After the Second World War, Canada rapidly demobilized. When the Korean War broke out, Canada needed several months to bring its military forces up to strength, and eventually formed part of British Commonwealth Forces Korea. Canadian land forces thus missed most of the early back-and-forth campaigns because they did not arrive until 1951, when the attrition phase of the war had largely started. Canadian troops fought as part of the 1st Commonwealth Division, and distinguished themselves at the Battle of Kapyong and in other land engagements. HMCS Haida and other ships of the Royal Canadian Navy were in active service in the Korean War. Although the Royal Canadian Air force did not have a combat role in Korea, twenty-two RCAF fighter pilots flew on exchange duty with the USAF in Korea. The RCAF was also involved with the transportation of personnel and supplies in support of the Korean War.
You can learn more and watch a video series at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/forces/korean.htm
The 20 Economic Sectors in Canada
This is more a technical page but am hoping to use it as a base for further information on Canada's Economic sectors.
You can view this page at http://www.electriccanadian.com/transport/sectors.htm
Electric Scotland
George Douglas, Eighth Duke of Argyll K.G., K.T. (1823 - 1900)
Autobiography and Memoirs edited by the Dowager Duchess of Argyll with Portraits and Illustrations in two volumes.
We've now completed volume 1 and moved onto volume 2.
You can read this book as I get it up at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../argyllndx.htm
Memoir of the Rev. Wm. C. Burns, M.A.
We're now completed this book with the chapters on his time in China.
You can read this book at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...urns/index.htm
Poetry by John Henderson
John has sent in a new poem, The Bad Half-Crown at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/doggerel569.htm
"Select Writings of Robert Chamber's Popular Rhymes of Scotland" (1847). I'm starting to add this book to his page and have now added the first six sections.
You can read this towards the foot of the page at
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ers_robert.htm
The Social Unrest, It's Cause & Solution
By J. Ramsay MacDonald, M.P.
Here is his introduction...
IN THE AUTUMN OF 1910 THERE Commenced a series of strikes which were so widespread and stirred the minds of the working classes so deeply that people began to talk of a general labour unrest. Real terror crept into the hearts of large sections of the public and loud clamour for displays of police and military force was made; the deep gulf of opposition between class and class was revealed in all its menace and repulsiveness; the antagonistic feeling of the well-to-do classes was openly displayed in the leading newspapers both by bitterly unfair comment and by misleading news; on several occasions, particularly during the short railway strike, we were on the brink of civil war; the ordinary work of Parliament was suspended again and again for the purpose of considering the industrial strife that was raging outside; legislation embodying new principles was passed hastily.
The signal for action was given in September, 1910, when the boilermakers and shipbuilders were locked out on account of a series of small strikes which had taken place owing to disputes about piece rates; next month the cotton operatives left work; in November a section of the South Wales miners struck on their own initiative, and this had a very disturbing effect upon organised labour all over the country; Northumberland and Durham were agitated by a readjustment of shifts and were blaming governments, employers, and their own leaders impartially. In 1910 more people were on strike than there had been since the miners’ dispute of 1893, and the aggregate duration of the strikes was three times the average of the previous nine years. 1911 began with the printers’ strike in London, and the first three months of the year were unsettled by the prolongation of these disputes ; the spring and summer were marked by numerous minor strikes in widely separated districts and in various trades; in June the first transport strikes began and affairs entered a critical stage; the disaffection widened during July and August; in August the railway strike was declared; during the early winter months numerous local strikes broke out, and it began to be evident that a serious stoppage of work in the coal trade was imminent; in March 1912 the miners came out; in May the second transport strike in London took place. By then the unrest had exhausted itself for the time being.
Nor must we forget that the unrest was world-wide. The number of workpeople affected by strikes in Germany in 1910 was three timesgreaterthanin 1909, whilst the steadily increasing cost of living brought victory after victory to the Social Democrats at byelections. Riots broke out in Berlin. In 1910 France was disturbed by great railway strikes which, in the early winter, led to M. Briand’s general mobilisation order; and 1911 was little less disturbed than 1910, with strikes amongst marines, postmen, textile workers, taxi-cab drivers, and so on. Ministry after ministry fell; Syndicalism reached the acme of its power; dear food caused rioting, as in St Quentin. During these years Austria too was seething with discontent both political and social, and Vienna contributed its portion to the records of rioting which was taking place on the Continent. Maritime strikes occurred in Holland and Belgium. In purely political matters the same unsettlement was seen. The United States was swinging away from its old allegiance to the Republican Party; Portugal and China became republics; Spain was shaken throughout its borders, at one moment by religious strife, at the next by labour agitation. In our own Dominions, Australia was ruffled by bitter labour troubles and elected a Labour Government, and South Africa, too, was turning back towards racial strife. A breath of revolutionary life seemed to be passing over the world, and the established order in every land had to grapple with a restiveness which threatened its overthrow or kicked against its weight.
During these months of unsettlement the expression “labour unrest” was on everybody’s lips. What was its significance? What were its causes? That I propose to discuss in this book, because, though the unrest seems now to have passed away like an earthquake shock, I believe that the evils from which it originated are still active in industrial society, that the volcanic forces are still very near the surface, and that, should circumstances arise, they will burst out into fury almost without warning.
I shall attempt to prove that the causes were moral and economic—moral, because workmen when treated as mere items in production must feel that their human rights are violated and must show resentment, and because wealth is more provocative in its display now than it has ever been before, and at the same time is less honourably won; economic, because changes in the markets of the world and in the relative strength of Capital and Labour have been tending to reduce working-class standards of living since the opening of this century. A mere condemnation of agitators, of Trade Unions, of strikes, in connection with these troubles is, therefore, not only a sign of ignorance, but is futile. It is Mrs Partington bemoaning the failure of her broom by reflections upon the devilish nature of the sea. Having examined the causes of these disturbances, I shall conclude by indicating the trend of opinion and of industrial and political change which, if followed out persistently and courageously, will substitute a human social order for an economic one, when there will be peace.
You can download the book from the foot of his page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/loss...mes_ramsay.htm
A visit to Ailsa Craig in 1851
By the Rev. D. Landsborough DD
Added this extract from a book we found and have added it the foot of our page on Ailsa Craig at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ue/page476.htm
Parish of Wemyss in the Olden Days
Added this book to the foot of the page on Wemyss in our Gazetteer at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ol6page478.htm
Vindication of the Clanronald of Glengarry
With remarks as to the Descent of the Family who style themselves "Of Clanronald," &c. Added to the foot of the page at http://www.electricscotland.com/webc...ld/ranald.html
Professor William McIntosh
A Great Scottish Naturalist which we've added to our Significant Scots.
You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...sh_william.htm
The Life and Adventures of Brigadier-General MacIver
A Soldier of Fortune.
ANY sunny afternoon, on Fifth Avenue, or at night in the table d'hote restaurants of University Place, you may meet the soldier of fortune who of all his brothers in arms now living is the most remarkable. You may have noticed him; a stiffly erect, distinguished-looking man, with gray hair, an imperial of the fashion of Louis Napoleon, fierce blue eyes, and across his forehead a sabre cut.
This is Henry Ronald Douglas Maclver, for some time in India an ensign in the Sepoy mutiny; in Italy, lieutenant under Garibaldi; in Spain, captain under Don Carlos; in our Civil War, major in the Confederate army; in Mexico, lieutenant-colonel under the Emperor Maximilian; colonel under Napoleon III, inspector of cavalry for the Khedive of Egypt, and chief of cavalry and general of brigade of the army of King Milan of Servia. These are only a few of his military titles. In 1884 was published a book giving the story of his life up to that year. It was called “Under Fourteen Flags.” If to-day General MacIver were to reprint the book, it would be called “Under Eighteen Flags.”
You can read this account of him and also download a book about him at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...eg/maciver.htm
Newtyle
Added a chapter about this town to our Gazetteer page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ol5page114.htm
Clan Henderson
Got in copies of their newsletters for Winter 2014 and Spring 2015 which are a good read and you can get to these at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...rson/index.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Got in the April 2015 Part 2.issue which you can download at: http://www.electricscotland.com/bnft
THE STORY
Chronicles of the Cape Fear River 1660 - 1916
By James Sprunt
I am providing the very interesting Preface from this book which shows how through adversity this Scots family overcame tremendous difficulties and in the end prospered and provided great employment and income to the Cape Fear community. Here is the Preface...
This mammoth volume on Cape Fear in North Carolina is of more value to the local historian than to the general reader. It is an exhaustive account from the foundation of the colony to the State in recent times. To us the most interesting chapter is one by David Macrae, dealing with a visit to the Highland settlers in the 'Scotch County,' North Carolina having been a place of Highland emigration after Glencoe and the '45. Flora Macdonald joined this group in 1775 and was received with great honour and Highland music at Wilmington. We get pleasant glimpses of MacRaes and of the Highland Jacobite settlers who became British loyalists in America. [This taken from the Scottish Historical Review]
Preface
There are what are called labors of love—when men turn from their work in the business world and at great pains seek to accomplish something for the benefit and advantage of others.The present publication is the fruit of Mr. James Sprunt's desire to collate information of general interest concerning the Cape Fear River, because he has an abiding affection for the noble stream with which he is so familiar and is animated by a purpose to preserve in convenient form some account of local incidents that are worthy of being remembered.
In the years just before the war, when I first began to know the active men of Wilmington, none stood higher in public esteem than Mr. Alexander Sprunt. He was a thorough man of business, whose intelligence and sterling worth commanded admiration, while his brother, Rev. James M. Sprunt, who was teaching the Grove Academy in Duplin, added to the credit of the name. These two brothers had come to the Cape Fear some ten or fifteen years earlier and had won what is most to be valued in life—the good opinion of those who knew them. The passage of time has yearly added to the reputation of the name, until now it stands unexcelled in the business world.
The father of these brothers, Laurence Sprunt, a farmer near the famous town of Perth, in 1812 married Christiana McDonald, daughter of a Highland family, whose brother, John McDonald, was a prosperous planter in Jamaica, and whose cousins, the Menzies, in Scotland, were prominent and wealthy. After his marriage Laurence Sprunt occupied a small farm known as Viewfield, near Perth, and there were born his children, Alexander, James Menzies, and Isabella, all of whom were educated in Edinburgh.
After graduating, Alexander became a partner in the firm of Reed, Irving & Co., of London and Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and as junior partner had personal charge of the business at Trinidad, and in the conduct of his business often made trips up the Orinoco River, Venezuela. For a brief while he returned to Scotland and married there Jeanie Dalziel, a lady of rare personal and intellectual gifts, whose life was consecrated in its beautiful Christian devotion. In the biography of another it is incidentally mentioned that "in 1841 Alexander Sprunt was a ruling elder of the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad, a merchant of high standing, a Queen's Commissioner, or Magistrate." That he had already attained an enviable position and enjoyed a good name is easily apparent. But through the unfortunate consequences following the emancipation of British slaves, Mr. Sprunt was deprived of his accumulations, and after some ineffectual efforts in Scotland to repair his broken fortune, he removed to Wilmington, whither his brother, Rev. Doctor James Menzies Sprunt, subsequently a chaplain in the Confederate Army, had preceded him. An expert accountant, he soon found employment in the Commercial Bank, and later with T. C. & B. G. Worth. On the breaking out of the war he sailed in the Edwin with a cargo to Barbadoes, and loaded a return cargo of coffee, sugar, and molasses, but when almost in sight of Cape Fear, the Edwin was taken by a Federal cruiser and Mr. Sprunt was imprisoned at Baltimore until Lord Lyons, the British Minister, secured his release. It was, however, six months before he could succeed in crossing the Potomac and rejoining his family in Wilmington.
During those years his son, James Sprunt, after studying at various preparatory schools, one year in Mr. Muncie's school in Glasgow, one year under his uncle at Kenansville, four years at Jewett's Academy, one year at Colonel Radcliffe's Military Academy, and one year at Mr. Mengert's school, had made excellent progress; but while in his fourteenth year, under the pressure of circumstances, he was put to work with Worth & Daniel. This did not arrest his education, however, for he attended night school under Professor Tallichet in French and English literature, and, as he had a desire to serve the State at sea, he studied navigation under Captain Levy, a former United States naval officer. But disappointed in securing the appointment he coveted, eventually he sailed as a passenger on a blockade runner to Bermuda, with the promise of Captain Burroughs to give him a position on the North Heath, a vessel then building on the Clyde. When the North Heath arrived at Bermuda, Captain Burroughs appointed him purser of that vessel; but after sailing they encountered a terriffic storm, escaping shipwreck only by splendid seamanship and the most heroic exertions; and they had to put into Bermuda for repairs. There Mr. Sprunt was long ill with fever, and the North Heath sailed without him; but after a little while Capt. J. N. Maffitt appointed him purser of the steamer Lilian and on the Lilian he passed through all the dangerous and exciting experiences of a daring blockade runner. On the third outward voyage the Lilian was chased, bombarded for eight hours, disabled, and captured; and Mr. Sprunt, sharing the fate of his associates, became a prisoner of war. Subsequently he escaped, but met shipwreck on Green Turtle Cay, and it was eight months before he reached home, he having in the meantime served as purser of the Confederate steamer Susan Bierne of which Eugene Maffitt was chief officer; and he continued on this blockade runner until Fort Fisher fell.
On his third inward trip he had imported ten barrels of sugar, which his father sold, investing the proceeds in 24 bales of cotton. Sherman's raiders burnt twelve of these bales, but with great difficulty the others were saved, and after peace they were sold at 48 cents a pound. With the proceeds the firm of Alexander Sprunt & Son was founded in 1865-66, and although like others it has suffered the vicissitudes of changing conditions, it has successfully weathered business storms, repaired disasters, and surmounted most discouraging difficulties. Always adhering to the principles of its wise and righteous founder, who passed away thirty years ago, it has, under the masterful direction of Mr. James Sprunt and his brother, Mr. William H. Sprunt, prospered, continually increasing in strength and reputation until it has attained a unique position in the business world.
Upon the death of his father, who had represented the British Government in North Carolina for about twenty years, Mr. James Sprunt was, without solicitation on his part, appointed British Vice Consul, and from this appointment, May G, 1884, to tbe present time he has held that honorable post. During these thirty years he has been twice thanked by the British Government—once by the British Admiralty for his correction of its important aids to navigation, and again by Lord Salisbury, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for his official report on the Cuba man-of-war incident
In 1907 the German Emperor appointed Mr. Sprunt Imperial German Consul for North Carolina and sent him his autograph commission, a very high compliment, which was not solicited by him nor by his friends. Mr. Sprunt acted in that capacity for five years, during which he was twice complimented by the Imperial Chancellor Von Bulow for his official reports, and when he resigned in consequence of impaired health, Emperor William very graciously decorated him with the Order of the .Royal Crown, which is only given for valor in battle and for distinguished services to the State.
During the years covering Mr. Sprunt's activities, Wilmington has made most gratifying progress. The facilities of commerce have been multiplied; the trucking industries have been largely developed; the jobbing business has attained remarkable proportions; the bank deposits have tremendously increased; and, with the removal of obstacles, the enterprise and capabilities of the Wilmington merchants have achieved splendid results. Indeed there has been progress all along the line, resulting in a general diffusion of prosperity.
But no other factor leading to these notable results has been so effective as the business inaugurated by the firm of Alexander Sprunt & Son.
The combined production of cotton in North Carolina and in South Carolina in a good season is approximately two and a half million bales, of which the local mills take by far the greater part. Of the residue, the principal export house in Wilmington, Alexander Sprunt & Son, buys from the producers directly through their local agents at a hundred and fifteen interior stations about half a million bales. These large exports, of the value of thirty million dollars, pay tribute to Wilmington to the extent of over a million dollars annually in railroad freight, in handling expenses, trucking, compressing, and storing; and besides, from fifty to a hundred thousand dollars are left by the trans-Atlantic steamers in the port of Wilmington for port charges and expenses. Indeed, the eight hundred employees of this company, white and black, contribute much of the money in circulation in Wilmington that supports the retail trade.
Nearly thirty years ago the present senior partner in this house foresaw that the sources of cotton supply and demand would ultimately be brought into closer relations; and he made a tour of seventeen foreign countries in which American cotton was used, and established direct business relations between the foreign consumers and the Wilmington firm. It was the pioneer movement, and the working details were difficult. Indeed, some of the obstacles seemed almost insurmountable. The depth of water in the Cape Fear and on the bar was not sufficient to float safely the most desirable class of vessels for the export trade, and shipowners were slow to trust their vessels upon a tortuous stream in shallow water with only three feet rise of tide. Moreover, the capital of the firm was limited, and their business was conducted strictly on the conservative principles laid down by the founder of the firm which still bears his name; but in the end caution and perseverance established confidence and brought success. It is a remarkable fact that from the beginning of the firm in 1865-66 up to the present time, although hundreds of millions of dollars have passed through the main office in Wilmington and their branches in Boston and Houston and Liverpool, Bremen and Havre, not on any occasion has their paper ever been dishonored.
As circumstances permitted, the requisite accessories were installed. The Champion cotton compress was put in operation by the firm, and the Wilmington Compress and Warehouse is chiefly owned and operated by them. The plant is among the best and most complete in the South, representing a large outlay in capital, and it is so conveniently arranged as to afford the most improved facilities for the loading and unloading of five large steamships simultaneously.
It is noteworthy that the partners in the Boston office, the Houston office, and in the Bremen and Havre firms were all trained from boyhood in the Wilmington office; Mr. William H. Sprunt, now the most active partner, having been born in Wilmington. It has been a Wilmington business, first and last, fortunate in its operations and beneficent in its results.
All through life Mr. Sprunt has had close association with the Cape Fear River and the bark bearing his hopes and fortunes has had its home on the bosom of that historic stream. Not only his business but the pleasures and happy incidents of his daily life have been so blended with its waters that he cherishes a warm affection for the river itself. Thus he has been minded to preserve its traditions and its tales—the preparation being indeed a labor of love, undertaken in a spirit of grateful return for the many blessings he has enjoyed both at his home in the city and at his home at Orton, which alike are redolent with delightful reminiscence.
S. A. Ashe.
You can download the book at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...a/capefear.htm
Insider's Tips Video to Wilmington, NC can be viewed at
And that's it for this week and hope you all enjoy your weekend.
Alastair