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For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
I spent time in Toronto this Easter and had a great time. Weather was outstanding and am always amazed at how the grand kids have grown. One is of to spend 4 months in the Yukon and hopefully he'll send us some pictures from his time there.
Another is training to be a chef and he made all 36 Easter eggs for the families Easter egg hunt. As usual a son-in-law catered the Easter lunch where we had roast lamb and roast beef as well as smoked salmon, shrimp and lots of other delicious food.
Nola is of now on her annual Scottish Castles Tour which this time also takes in England. And so a great time was had by all.
SNP Videos
I posted up a couple more videos on YouTube and the latest one is to suggest that you don't vote SNP in the upcoming 8th June 2017 election which you can view at:http://www.electricscotland.org/show...7-UK-Elections
900 years into the future
Elda noted my mistake in the date of the last newsletter when she posted...
I see you've transported us 900 years into the future Alastair LOL!
And all this ended up with a post on a confused family tree video which you might enjoy by watching it on the previous newsletter thread <grin>
History
As I reported in my last newsletter it would seem most people in Scotland have little knowledge of Scotland's history so am looking at perhaps doing a series of wee stories to help build your knowledge. I thought I'd start by telling you how England and Scotland joined their Parliaments.
Also... please fell free to ask me to cover any topics you are interested in and will do my best to meet your requests.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in newspapers such as the Guardian, Scotsman, Courier, etc. you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish.
Highland Chocolatier Iain Burnett creates egg-stra special treat for distillery
Grandtully businessman Iain Burnett has revealed that he was asked to make a giant Easter egg out of a rare chocolate for a distillery near Glasgow.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...at-distillery/
Dundee hockey club named best in Europe by continent’s sport body
The European Hockey Federation (EHF) picked Grove Menzieshill HC for the Small Club of the Year prize, commending its youth ambassador programme and community approach.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...ts-sport-body/
GERS and fake news, inadequate facts
Without doubt, the information that is given in GERS is not good news
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2017/04/gers-a...dequate-facts/
Richard Murphy: The Outlier
Well, I appear to have caused quite a stir by understanding and defending the historical economic data compiled and published by the Scottish Government. Who would have thought that doing such a thing would be so controversial?
Read more at:
http://chokkablog.blogspot.ca/2017/0...y-outlier.html
Leaving the EU’s customs union could make us the world leader in effective trade
As with most of the claims developed by Continuity Remainers and delivered by the broadcast media led by the BBC, this apocalyptic prediction is complete nonsense and demonstrates that they have little knowledge of how customs procedures actually work.
Read more at:
http://brexitcentral.com/leaving-eus...fective-trade/
Hunting for elephants
For all the accusations that the SNP is but a party of grievances, the reality is that grievance has benefitted the Conservative party above all others
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2017/04/hunting-for-elephants/
Proxy vote for #indyref2
Not too long ago the SNP campaigned under the pretence that a majority of Scottish seats at Westminster would be justification enough to declare a Unilateral Declaration of Independence for Scotland.
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2017/04/ge2017...-for-indyref2/
Dollar Academy
Rectors Newsletters
Read them at:
http://www.dollaracademy.org.uk/news...ors-newsletter
Why Ireland should take the opportunity to follow the UK out of the EU
Although the Republic’s trade patterns have diversified since 1973, the English-speaking markets of the UK, North America and elsewhere are still more important for it than those of the EU without the UK
Read more at:
http://brexitcentral.com/ireland-tak...-follow-uk-eu/
US is ready to forge a new bilateral trade deal with UK as soon as possible
Paul Ryan, the US House speaker, has said America was ready to forge a new bilateral trade deal with the UK as soon as possible.
Read more at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...al-trade-deal/
UK sales support 530,000 Scottish jobs
The Fraser of Allander Institute study estimated that about 530,000 jobs were directly or indirectly related to sales from Scotland to the rest of the UK.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...itics-39654235
Scottish farming leaders hold talks at Westminster
All parties will find their records on delivering for Scottish agriculture under scrutiny
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/business/com...ster-1-4423910
Electric Canadian
Chronicles of Canada
Added Volume 27: The Struggle for Political Freedom: A Chronicle of the Union of 1841
I might add that I've found text copies of these volumes so have added a link to them on the page. I also found a page where you can get audio copies so have placed a link to these as well.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...cles/index.htm
D. C. Beard
Author of many books on bush craft for the Boy Scouts of America. I thought I'd bring you a few of them as having found them I enjoyed them and so hope you do as well.
Added another book, "For Playground Field & Forrest: The Outdoor Handy Book" which you can read at :http://www.electriccanadian.com/pioneering/beard/
The Women's Canadian Historical Society
Sketch of the Life of Mrs. W. Forsyth-Grant and Letters from W. Jarvis, Secretary for Upper Canada and Mrs. Jarvis to the Rev. Samuel Peters, D.D., between the years 1792 and 1813 from copies made by the late Mrs. Chamberlin, and with Prefatory Note by Prof. A. H. Young, Trinity College, Toronto. This is from Transaction 23 and I will have a few more of these to add at a later date.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...historical.htm
Conrad Black
I've always had a lot of time for Conrad Black and so as he writes from Canada on a number of issues of interest from around the world I'm intending to include links to his writings for you to view. This week we have
Trump's Syria Strike and the Washington Spring
http://www.conradmblack.com/1284/tru...hington-spring
It takes strength, not typical Canadian amiability, to confer international influence
http://www.conradmblack.com/1285/str...bility-confers
Electric Scotland
The Forfar Directory and Year Book
A most interesting publication with lots of wee stories and articles. I have now added the 1901 edition which you can read at :http://www.electricscotland.com/history/forfar/direct/
Here are a few wee stories from this issue...
His Name had Travelled
The late Lord Playfair, who, in size, was far from being an imposing man, used to tell with great relish of an amusing experience he once encountered in Canada.
Strolling with semi-scientific aim among some phosphate diggings, he came across a Scotch quarryman, with whom he fell into interesting talk. The quarryman proved to be quite capable of discussing abstruse subjects intelligently, and while talking he mentioned incidentally that Dr. Lyon Playfair said so-and-so. Lord Playfair was Dr. Lyon Playfair in those days. He revealed his identity, and expressed astonishment that he should be of repute in this comparatively remote part of the world.
"Man," was the answer, "yer name's travelled further than ever yer wee legs '11 carry ye."
The Maidens' Petition
On March 1st, 1733, a petition was presented to Governor Johnson, of South Carolina, signed by sixteen maidens of Charleston, entreating his Excellency's interference to prevent widows from re-marrying until the spinsters had got husbands.
The petition urged: "The great disadvantage it is to us maids is, that the widows by their forward carriage do snap up the young men, and have the vanity to think their merits beyond ours, which is a great imposition upon us who ought to have the preference."
Staffa
The name of this remarkable island means "the Isle of Columns," which it truly is. One of its objects of interest is Fingal's Cave, shown in our engraving, but it has other caves well worthy of notice — the Clamshell Cave, the Boat Cave, and the Cormorants' or Mackinnon's Cave. These columnar caves vary from eighteen to fifty feet in height, and the depth of dark water within them is from thirty-six to fifty-four feet. Fingal's Cave gets its name from Ossian's "King of Selma." The total length of this cave inwards is two hundred and twenty-seven feet. This stupendous basaltic grotto remained, singularly enough, unknown to the outer world until it was visited in 1772 by Sir Joseph Banks. Amongst the sights of Staffa shown to visitors is the Corner Stone, the only square stone on the island. From this stone a very fine view is got of the Bending Pillars, seemingly bent out hy the weight of the mass above them. Another sight is Fingal's Wishing Chair, about which tradition says that one has only to sit on it and wish three separate wishes and they are all sure to be granted. This Chair stands on what is known as the Causeway, from which one sees a most wonderful collection of pillars and stones of every conceivable shape, position, angle, and size, all seemingly built or fitted into each other.
When Dessert-spoons Came In
In the earlier part of this century the dessertspoon was not known in Scotland. The two houses in which it was first introduced were Hamilton and Dalkeith, Before that there was no spoon known between the tablespoon and the teaspoon. Not long after its introduction a rough country squire, dining for the first time at Hamilton Palace, had been served at dessert with a sweet dish containing cream or jelly, and with it the servant handed him a dessertspoon. The laird turned it round and round in his great fist, and said to the servant, "What do you gie me this for, ye great fule? Do ye think ma mooth has got any smaller since A lappit up my soup?"
Memoir of John Major of Haddington
Doctor of Theology in the University of Paris; Afterwards Regent in the Universities of Glasgow and Saint Andrews and Provost of the College of St. Salvator 1469/70 - 1550. A Study in Scottish History and Education, By Æ. J. G. Mackay (1892)
We already have an entry for him in our Famous Scots section but found this much larger account of him which I've added to the foot of his page at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../mair_john.htm
Pen Pictures of British Battles
Painted by Author and Artist with lots of articles which you can view at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...enpictures.pdf
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Added section 2 of this publication for May 2017 which you can read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Lectures on Foreign Churches
Delivered in Edinburgh and Glasgow, May 1845
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/bibl...gnchurches.pdf
Princess Kaiulani
I thought I'd add a couple of history books of Hawaii and the Sandwich Islands to her page to provide a backdrop to her life which I've added links to at the foot of her page at: http://www.electricscotland.com/history/women/wh36.htm
The Story
This weeks story comes from the book: "An Outline of the Relations between England and Scotland (500-1707)". Chapter XI - The Union of the Parliaments 1689 - 1707.
As I explained last week I noted that history is a very minor part of Scottish education and so I thought it might be worth while to explain how we became Great Britain and so I hope you find this of interest.
In the reign of Charles II the Scots, who felt keenly the loss of the freedom of trade which they had enjoyed under Cromwell, had themselves broached the question of union, and William had brought it forward at the beginning of his reign. It was, however, reserved for his successor to see it carried. In March, 1702, the king died. The death of "William II", as his title ran in the kingdom of Scotland, was received with a feeling amounting almost to satisfaction. The first English Parliament of Queen Anne agreed to the appointment of commissioners to discuss terms of union, and the Estates of Scotland chose representatives to meet them. But the English refused to give freedom of trade, and so the negotiations broke down. In reply, the Scottish Parliament removed the restrictions on the import of wines from France, with which country England was now at war. In the summer of 1703 the Scots passed an Act of Security, which invested the Parliament with the power of the crown in case of the queen's dying without heirs, and entrusted to it the choice of a Protestant sovereign "from the royal line". It refused to such king or queen, if also sovereign of England, the power of declaring war or making peace without the consent of Parliament, and it enacted that the union of the crowns should determine after the queen's death unless Scotland was admitted to equal trade and navigation privileges with England. Further, the act provided for the compulsory training of every Scotsman to bear arms, in order that the country might, if necessary, defend its independence by the sword. The queen's consent to the Act of Security was refused, and the bitterness of the national feeling was accentuated by the suspicion of a Jacobite plot. Parliament had been adjourned on 16th September, 1703. When it met in 1704 it again passed the Act of Security, and an important section began to argue that the royal assent was merely a usual form, and not an indispensable authentication of an act. For some time, it seemed as if the two countries were on the brink of war. But, as the union of the crowns had been rendered possible by the self-restraint of a nation who could accept their hereditary enemy as their hereditary sovereign, so now Queen Anne's advisers resolved, with patient wisdom, to secure, at all hazards, the union of the kingdoms.
It was not an easy task, even in England, for there could be no union without complete freedom of trade, and many Englishmen were most unwilling to yield on this point. In Scotland the difficulties to be overcome were much greater. The whole nation, irrespective of politics and religion, felt bitterly the indignity of surrendering the independent existence for which Scotland had fought for four hundred years. It could not but be difficult to reconcile an ancient and high-spirited people to incorporation with a larger and more powerful neighbour, and the whole population mourned the approaching loss of their Parliament and their autonomy. Almost every section had special reasons for opposing the measure. For the Jacobites an Act of Union meant that Scotland was irretrievably committed to the Hanoverian succession, and whatever force the Jacobites might be able to raise after the queen's death must take action in the shape of a rebellion against the _de facto_ government. It deprived them of all hope of seizing the reins of power, and of using the machinery of government in Scotland for the good of their cause--a "coup d'etat" of which the Act of Security gave considerable chance. On this very account the triumphant Presbyterians were anxious to carry the union scheme, and the correspondence of the Electress Sophia proves that the negotiations for union were looked upon at Hanover as solely an important factor in the succession controversy. But the recently re-established Presbyterian Church of Scotland regarded with great anxiety a union with an Episcopalian country, and hesitated to place their dearly won freedom at the mercy of a Parliament the large majority of whom were Episcopalians. The more extreme Presbyterians, and especially the Cameronians of the west, were bitterly opposed to the project. They protested against becoming subject to a Parliament in whose deliberations the English bishops had an important voice, and against accepting a king who had been educated as a Lutheran, and they clamoured for covenanted uniformity and a covenanted monarch.
By a curious irony of fate, the Scottish Episcopalians were forced by their Jacobite leanings to act with the extreme Presbyterians, and to oppose the scheme of amalgamation with an Episcopalian country. The legal interest was strongly against a proposal that might reduce the importance of Scots law and of Scottish lawyers, while the populace of Edinburgh were furious at the suggestion of a union, whose result must be to remove at once one of the glories of their city and a valuable source of income. There was still another body of opponents. The reign of William had been remarkable for the rise of political parties. The two main factions were known as Williamites and Cavaliers, and in addition to these there had grown up a Patriot or Country party. It was brought into existence by the enthusiasm of Fletcher of Saltoun, and it was based upon an antiquarian revival which may be compared with the mediaeval attempts to revive the Republic of Rome. The aim of the patriots was to maintain the independence of Scotland, and they attempted to show that the Scottish crown had never been under feudal obligations to England, and that the Scottish Parliament had always possessed sovereign rights, and could govern independently of the will of the monarch. They were neither Jacobites nor Hanoverians; but they held that if the foreign domination, of which they had complained under William, were to continue, it mattered little whether it emanated from St. Germains or from the Court of St. James's, and they had combined with the Jacobites to pass the Act of Security.
Such was the complicated situation with which the English Government had to deal. Their first step was to advise Queen Anne to assent to the Actof Security, and so to conserve the dignity and "amour propre" of the Scottish Parliament. Commissioners were then appointed to negotiate for a union. No attempt was made to conciliate the Jacobites, for no attempt could have met with any kind of success. Nor did the commissioners make any effort to satisfy the more extreme Presbyterians, who sullenly refused to acknowledge the union when it became an accomplished fact, and who remained to hamper the Government when the Jacobite troubles commenced. An assurance that there would be no interference with the Church of Scotland as by law established, and a guarantee that the universities would be maintained in their "status quo", satisfied the moderate Presbyterians, and removed their scruples. Unlike James VI and Cromwell, the advisers of Queen Anne declared their intention of preserving the independent Scots law and the independent Scottish courts of justice, and these guarantees weakened the arguments of the Patriot party. But above all the English proposals won the support of the ever-increasing commercial interest in Scotland by conceding freedom of trade in a complete form.
They agreed that "all parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain be under the same regulations, prohibitions, and restrictions, and liable to equal impositions and duties for export and import". The adjustment of financial obligations was admitted to involve some injustice to Scotland, and an "equivalent" was allowed, to compensate for the responsibility now accruing to Scotland in connection with the English National Debt. It remained to adjust the representation of Scotland in the united Parliament. It was at first proposed to allow only thirty-eight members, but the number was finally raised to forty-five. Thirty of these represented the shires. Each shire was to elect one representative, except the three groups of Bute and Caithness, Clackmannan and Kinross, and Nairn and Cromarty. In each group the election was made alternately by the two counties. Thus Bute, Clackmannan, and Nairn each sent a member in 1708, and Caithness, Kinross, and Cromarty in 1710. The device is sufficiently unusual to deserve mention. The burghs were divided into fifteen groups, each of which was given one member. In this form, after considerable difficulty, the act was carried both in Scotland and in England. It was a union much less extensive than that which had been planned by James VI or that which had been in actual force under Cromwell. The existence of a separate Church, governed differently from the English Establishment, and the maintenance of a separate legal code and a separate judicature have helped to preserve some of the national characteristics of the Scots. Not for many years did the union become popular in Scotland, and not for many years did the two nations become really united. It might, in fact, be said that the force of steam has accomplished what law has failed to do, and that the real incorporation of Scotland with England dates from the introduction of railways.
And that's it for this week and I hope you all have a good weekend.
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
I spent time in Toronto this Easter and had a great time. Weather was outstanding and am always amazed at how the grand kids have grown. One is of to spend 4 months in the Yukon and hopefully he'll send us some pictures from his time there.
Another is training to be a chef and he made all 36 Easter eggs for the families Easter egg hunt. As usual a son-in-law catered the Easter lunch where we had roast lamb and roast beef as well as smoked salmon, shrimp and lots of other delicious food.
Nola is of now on her annual Scottish Castles Tour which this time also takes in England. And so a great time was had by all.
SNP Videos
I posted up a couple more videos on YouTube and the latest one is to suggest that you don't vote SNP in the upcoming 8th June 2017 election which you can view at:http://www.electricscotland.org/show...7-UK-Elections
900 years into the future
Elda noted my mistake in the date of the last newsletter when she posted...
I see you've transported us 900 years into the future Alastair LOL!
And all this ended up with a post on a confused family tree video which you might enjoy by watching it on the previous newsletter thread <grin>
History
As I reported in my last newsletter it would seem most people in Scotland have little knowledge of Scotland's history so am looking at perhaps doing a series of wee stories to help build your knowledge. I thought I'd start by telling you how England and Scotland joined their Parliaments.
Also... please fell free to ask me to cover any topics you are interested in and will do my best to meet your requests.
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in newspapers such as the Guardian, Scotsman, Courier, etc. you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish.
Highland Chocolatier Iain Burnett creates egg-stra special treat for distillery
Grandtully businessman Iain Burnett has revealed that he was asked to make a giant Easter egg out of a rare chocolate for a distillery near Glasgow.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...at-distillery/
Dundee hockey club named best in Europe by continent’s sport body
The European Hockey Federation (EHF) picked Grove Menzieshill HC for the Small Club of the Year prize, commending its youth ambassador programme and community approach.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...ts-sport-body/
GERS and fake news, inadequate facts
Without doubt, the information that is given in GERS is not good news
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2017/04/gers-a...dequate-facts/
Richard Murphy: The Outlier
Well, I appear to have caused quite a stir by understanding and defending the historical economic data compiled and published by the Scottish Government. Who would have thought that doing such a thing would be so controversial?
Read more at:
http://chokkablog.blogspot.ca/2017/0...y-outlier.html
Leaving the EU’s customs union could make us the world leader in effective trade
As with most of the claims developed by Continuity Remainers and delivered by the broadcast media led by the BBC, this apocalyptic prediction is complete nonsense and demonstrates that they have little knowledge of how customs procedures actually work.
Read more at:
http://brexitcentral.com/leaving-eus...fective-trade/
Hunting for elephants
For all the accusations that the SNP is but a party of grievances, the reality is that grievance has benefitted the Conservative party above all others
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2017/04/hunting-for-elephants/
Proxy vote for #indyref2
Not too long ago the SNP campaigned under the pretence that a majority of Scottish seats at Westminster would be justification enough to declare a Unilateral Declaration of Independence for Scotland.
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2017/04/ge2017...-for-indyref2/
Dollar Academy
Rectors Newsletters
Read them at:
http://www.dollaracademy.org.uk/news...ors-newsletter
Why Ireland should take the opportunity to follow the UK out of the EU
Although the Republic’s trade patterns have diversified since 1973, the English-speaking markets of the UK, North America and elsewhere are still more important for it than those of the EU without the UK
Read more at:
http://brexitcentral.com/ireland-tak...-follow-uk-eu/
US is ready to forge a new bilateral trade deal with UK as soon as possible
Paul Ryan, the US House speaker, has said America was ready to forge a new bilateral trade deal with the UK as soon as possible.
Read more at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...al-trade-deal/
UK sales support 530,000 Scottish jobs
The Fraser of Allander Institute study estimated that about 530,000 jobs were directly or indirectly related to sales from Scotland to the rest of the UK.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...itics-39654235
Scottish farming leaders hold talks at Westminster
All parties will find their records on delivering for Scottish agriculture under scrutiny
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/business/com...ster-1-4423910
Electric Canadian
Chronicles of Canada
Added Volume 27: The Struggle for Political Freedom: A Chronicle of the Union of 1841
I might add that I've found text copies of these volumes so have added a link to them on the page. I also found a page where you can get audio copies so have placed a link to these as well.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...cles/index.htm
D. C. Beard
Author of many books on bush craft for the Boy Scouts of America. I thought I'd bring you a few of them as having found them I enjoyed them and so hope you do as well.
Added another book, "For Playground Field & Forrest: The Outdoor Handy Book" which you can read at :http://www.electriccanadian.com/pioneering/beard/
The Women's Canadian Historical Society
Sketch of the Life of Mrs. W. Forsyth-Grant and Letters from W. Jarvis, Secretary for Upper Canada and Mrs. Jarvis to the Rev. Samuel Peters, D.D., between the years 1792 and 1813 from copies made by the late Mrs. Chamberlin, and with Prefatory Note by Prof. A. H. Young, Trinity College, Toronto. This is from Transaction 23 and I will have a few more of these to add at a later date.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...historical.htm
Conrad Black
I've always had a lot of time for Conrad Black and so as he writes from Canada on a number of issues of interest from around the world I'm intending to include links to his writings for you to view. This week we have
Trump's Syria Strike and the Washington Spring
http://www.conradmblack.com/1284/tru...hington-spring
It takes strength, not typical Canadian amiability, to confer international influence
http://www.conradmblack.com/1285/str...bility-confers
Electric Scotland
The Forfar Directory and Year Book
A most interesting publication with lots of wee stories and articles. I have now added the 1901 edition which you can read at :http://www.electricscotland.com/history/forfar/direct/
Here are a few wee stories from this issue...
His Name had Travelled
The late Lord Playfair, who, in size, was far from being an imposing man, used to tell with great relish of an amusing experience he once encountered in Canada.
Strolling with semi-scientific aim among some phosphate diggings, he came across a Scotch quarryman, with whom he fell into interesting talk. The quarryman proved to be quite capable of discussing abstruse subjects intelligently, and while talking he mentioned incidentally that Dr. Lyon Playfair said so-and-so. Lord Playfair was Dr. Lyon Playfair in those days. He revealed his identity, and expressed astonishment that he should be of repute in this comparatively remote part of the world.
"Man," was the answer, "yer name's travelled further than ever yer wee legs '11 carry ye."
The Maidens' Petition
On March 1st, 1733, a petition was presented to Governor Johnson, of South Carolina, signed by sixteen maidens of Charleston, entreating his Excellency's interference to prevent widows from re-marrying until the spinsters had got husbands.
The petition urged: "The great disadvantage it is to us maids is, that the widows by their forward carriage do snap up the young men, and have the vanity to think their merits beyond ours, which is a great imposition upon us who ought to have the preference."
Staffa
The name of this remarkable island means "the Isle of Columns," which it truly is. One of its objects of interest is Fingal's Cave, shown in our engraving, but it has other caves well worthy of notice — the Clamshell Cave, the Boat Cave, and the Cormorants' or Mackinnon's Cave. These columnar caves vary from eighteen to fifty feet in height, and the depth of dark water within them is from thirty-six to fifty-four feet. Fingal's Cave gets its name from Ossian's "King of Selma." The total length of this cave inwards is two hundred and twenty-seven feet. This stupendous basaltic grotto remained, singularly enough, unknown to the outer world until it was visited in 1772 by Sir Joseph Banks. Amongst the sights of Staffa shown to visitors is the Corner Stone, the only square stone on the island. From this stone a very fine view is got of the Bending Pillars, seemingly bent out hy the weight of the mass above them. Another sight is Fingal's Wishing Chair, about which tradition says that one has only to sit on it and wish three separate wishes and they are all sure to be granted. This Chair stands on what is known as the Causeway, from which one sees a most wonderful collection of pillars and stones of every conceivable shape, position, angle, and size, all seemingly built or fitted into each other.
When Dessert-spoons Came In
In the earlier part of this century the dessertspoon was not known in Scotland. The two houses in which it was first introduced were Hamilton and Dalkeith, Before that there was no spoon known between the tablespoon and the teaspoon. Not long after its introduction a rough country squire, dining for the first time at Hamilton Palace, had been served at dessert with a sweet dish containing cream or jelly, and with it the servant handed him a dessertspoon. The laird turned it round and round in his great fist, and said to the servant, "What do you gie me this for, ye great fule? Do ye think ma mooth has got any smaller since A lappit up my soup?"
Memoir of John Major of Haddington
Doctor of Theology in the University of Paris; Afterwards Regent in the Universities of Glasgow and Saint Andrews and Provost of the College of St. Salvator 1469/70 - 1550. A Study in Scottish History and Education, By Æ. J. G. Mackay (1892)
We already have an entry for him in our Famous Scots section but found this much larger account of him which I've added to the foot of his page at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../mair_john.htm
Pen Pictures of British Battles
Painted by Author and Artist with lots of articles which you can view at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...enpictures.pdf
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Added section 2 of this publication for May 2017 which you can read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Lectures on Foreign Churches
Delivered in Edinburgh and Glasgow, May 1845
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/bibl...gnchurches.pdf
Princess Kaiulani
I thought I'd add a couple of history books of Hawaii and the Sandwich Islands to her page to provide a backdrop to her life which I've added links to at the foot of her page at: http://www.electricscotland.com/history/women/wh36.htm
The Story
This weeks story comes from the book: "An Outline of the Relations between England and Scotland (500-1707)". Chapter XI - The Union of the Parliaments 1689 - 1707.
As I explained last week I noted that history is a very minor part of Scottish education and so I thought it might be worth while to explain how we became Great Britain and so I hope you find this of interest.
In the reign of Charles II the Scots, who felt keenly the loss of the freedom of trade which they had enjoyed under Cromwell, had themselves broached the question of union, and William had brought it forward at the beginning of his reign. It was, however, reserved for his successor to see it carried. In March, 1702, the king died. The death of "William II", as his title ran in the kingdom of Scotland, was received with a feeling amounting almost to satisfaction. The first English Parliament of Queen Anne agreed to the appointment of commissioners to discuss terms of union, and the Estates of Scotland chose representatives to meet them. But the English refused to give freedom of trade, and so the negotiations broke down. In reply, the Scottish Parliament removed the restrictions on the import of wines from France, with which country England was now at war. In the summer of 1703 the Scots passed an Act of Security, which invested the Parliament with the power of the crown in case of the queen's dying without heirs, and entrusted to it the choice of a Protestant sovereign "from the royal line". It refused to such king or queen, if also sovereign of England, the power of declaring war or making peace without the consent of Parliament, and it enacted that the union of the crowns should determine after the queen's death unless Scotland was admitted to equal trade and navigation privileges with England. Further, the act provided for the compulsory training of every Scotsman to bear arms, in order that the country might, if necessary, defend its independence by the sword. The queen's consent to the Act of Security was refused, and the bitterness of the national feeling was accentuated by the suspicion of a Jacobite plot. Parliament had been adjourned on 16th September, 1703. When it met in 1704 it again passed the Act of Security, and an important section began to argue that the royal assent was merely a usual form, and not an indispensable authentication of an act. For some time, it seemed as if the two countries were on the brink of war. But, as the union of the crowns had been rendered possible by the self-restraint of a nation who could accept their hereditary enemy as their hereditary sovereign, so now Queen Anne's advisers resolved, with patient wisdom, to secure, at all hazards, the union of the kingdoms.
It was not an easy task, even in England, for there could be no union without complete freedom of trade, and many Englishmen were most unwilling to yield on this point. In Scotland the difficulties to be overcome were much greater. The whole nation, irrespective of politics and religion, felt bitterly the indignity of surrendering the independent existence for which Scotland had fought for four hundred years. It could not but be difficult to reconcile an ancient and high-spirited people to incorporation with a larger and more powerful neighbour, and the whole population mourned the approaching loss of their Parliament and their autonomy. Almost every section had special reasons for opposing the measure. For the Jacobites an Act of Union meant that Scotland was irretrievably committed to the Hanoverian succession, and whatever force the Jacobites might be able to raise after the queen's death must take action in the shape of a rebellion against the _de facto_ government. It deprived them of all hope of seizing the reins of power, and of using the machinery of government in Scotland for the good of their cause--a "coup d'etat" of which the Act of Security gave considerable chance. On this very account the triumphant Presbyterians were anxious to carry the union scheme, and the correspondence of the Electress Sophia proves that the negotiations for union were looked upon at Hanover as solely an important factor in the succession controversy. But the recently re-established Presbyterian Church of Scotland regarded with great anxiety a union with an Episcopalian country, and hesitated to place their dearly won freedom at the mercy of a Parliament the large majority of whom were Episcopalians. The more extreme Presbyterians, and especially the Cameronians of the west, were bitterly opposed to the project. They protested against becoming subject to a Parliament in whose deliberations the English bishops had an important voice, and against accepting a king who had been educated as a Lutheran, and they clamoured for covenanted uniformity and a covenanted monarch.
By a curious irony of fate, the Scottish Episcopalians were forced by their Jacobite leanings to act with the extreme Presbyterians, and to oppose the scheme of amalgamation with an Episcopalian country. The legal interest was strongly against a proposal that might reduce the importance of Scots law and of Scottish lawyers, while the populace of Edinburgh were furious at the suggestion of a union, whose result must be to remove at once one of the glories of their city and a valuable source of income. There was still another body of opponents. The reign of William had been remarkable for the rise of political parties. The two main factions were known as Williamites and Cavaliers, and in addition to these there had grown up a Patriot or Country party. It was brought into existence by the enthusiasm of Fletcher of Saltoun, and it was based upon an antiquarian revival which may be compared with the mediaeval attempts to revive the Republic of Rome. The aim of the patriots was to maintain the independence of Scotland, and they attempted to show that the Scottish crown had never been under feudal obligations to England, and that the Scottish Parliament had always possessed sovereign rights, and could govern independently of the will of the monarch. They were neither Jacobites nor Hanoverians; but they held that if the foreign domination, of which they had complained under William, were to continue, it mattered little whether it emanated from St. Germains or from the Court of St. James's, and they had combined with the Jacobites to pass the Act of Security.
Such was the complicated situation with which the English Government had to deal. Their first step was to advise Queen Anne to assent to the Actof Security, and so to conserve the dignity and "amour propre" of the Scottish Parliament. Commissioners were then appointed to negotiate for a union. No attempt was made to conciliate the Jacobites, for no attempt could have met with any kind of success. Nor did the commissioners make any effort to satisfy the more extreme Presbyterians, who sullenly refused to acknowledge the union when it became an accomplished fact, and who remained to hamper the Government when the Jacobite troubles commenced. An assurance that there would be no interference with the Church of Scotland as by law established, and a guarantee that the universities would be maintained in their "status quo", satisfied the moderate Presbyterians, and removed their scruples. Unlike James VI and Cromwell, the advisers of Queen Anne declared their intention of preserving the independent Scots law and the independent Scottish courts of justice, and these guarantees weakened the arguments of the Patriot party. But above all the English proposals won the support of the ever-increasing commercial interest in Scotland by conceding freedom of trade in a complete form.
They agreed that "all parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain be under the same regulations, prohibitions, and restrictions, and liable to equal impositions and duties for export and import". The adjustment of financial obligations was admitted to involve some injustice to Scotland, and an "equivalent" was allowed, to compensate for the responsibility now accruing to Scotland in connection with the English National Debt. It remained to adjust the representation of Scotland in the united Parliament. It was at first proposed to allow only thirty-eight members, but the number was finally raised to forty-five. Thirty of these represented the shires. Each shire was to elect one representative, except the three groups of Bute and Caithness, Clackmannan and Kinross, and Nairn and Cromarty. In each group the election was made alternately by the two counties. Thus Bute, Clackmannan, and Nairn each sent a member in 1708, and Caithness, Kinross, and Cromarty in 1710. The device is sufficiently unusual to deserve mention. The burghs were divided into fifteen groups, each of which was given one member. In this form, after considerable difficulty, the act was carried both in Scotland and in England. It was a union much less extensive than that which had been planned by James VI or that which had been in actual force under Cromwell. The existence of a separate Church, governed differently from the English Establishment, and the maintenance of a separate legal code and a separate judicature have helped to preserve some of the national characteristics of the Scots. Not for many years did the union become popular in Scotland, and not for many years did the two nations become really united. It might, in fact, be said that the force of steam has accomplished what law has failed to do, and that the real incorporation of Scotland with England dates from the introduction of railways.
And that's it for this week and I hope you all have a good weekend.
Alastair