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For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
Well we're no further forward on Brexit after all the shenanigans this week in Westminster. I still say the best deal we could have done would have been a Canada style deal but it seems our MP's really don't understand the options. And a no deal was way behind in the voting but is still my preferred option. Ken Clark's motion to have a Common Market 2.0 was the most popular choice.
-------
Good to see Donald Trump has come out of the Muller enquiry with no collusion findings but now we may see a legal case being made to prosecute the Democrats. See Conrad Black's take on this under the Electric Canadian section.
-------
Next week we'll be heading into Tartan Week in the USA and Canada which usually is centered around New York. Tartan Day is the 6th of April and was intended to be a celebration of Scottish immigrants and their contribution to their new home but Scotland has really hijacked this for their own ends. Scotland really does very little for the Scots Diaspora. Have to say also that it gets very little coverage on the media and I have yet to see any decent videos on the event so perhaps that's part of the problem? Scotland actually hates the word FREE unless it's them receiving something for free. The thought of them actually giving something for free by way of promotion is not thought by them to be a worth while exercise.
I suggested that Scotland should hire a husband and wife team to run around the USA in a pickup and trailer. One of these really luxury combinations. The trailer could be decorated in Scottish themed finery and thus they could drive each week to a Highland Games or Scottish Festival. They could organise it so that they appear at the site of the Highland Games on the Thursday where they could meet the local economic and tourism people of the area to promote Scotland and Scottish firms. The trailer would make excellent accommodation for the staff while providing ample space for one to one chats at the various Highland Games or Scottish Festivals. With an awning there would be plenty of space to make available brochures promoting Scottish tourism and business.
I've often been told that there is no actual Scottish representation at the vast majority of these events and this would be a great way of doing something about this.
I also suggested that Scotland purchased the Family Tree Newspaper and made it a publication to promote Scottish Tourism and Business to the world. At the time the Family Tree Newspaper reached around 500,000 subscribers. Beth Gay was willing to continue to be the editor for the newspaper but although this was a great way to promote Scotland it didn't happen and is why Beth's Newsfangled Family Tree came into being as an online publication as it is today.
In my view just these two ideas alone would have made billions for Scotland but like a lot of other ideas the Scottish Government and Enterprise didn't want to know. We really need to get new thinking into Scotland and our political class.
-------
You can view a video introduction to this newsletter at:
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.
Scientists reveal ancient social networks using AI and X-rays
Using X-rays to read historical documents has opened big doors for historians
Read more at:
https://www.wired.com/story/scientis...ai-and-x-rays/
New conversation about Scottish Higher Education
A report out this week from the European Universities Association gives Scotland new reason to look and learn.
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2019/03/new-co...t-scottish-he/
Kenneth Roy Memorial Service
Kenneth Roy was a journalist for half a century. In the kind of career which is now rare, he began on titles like the Falkirk Mail and Greenock Telegraph, graduated to the (Glasgow) Herald, presented on BBC Scotland, and wrote for Scotland on Sunday, and the Observer. He then started his own online publication, The Scottish Review.
View this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/show...morial-Service
E-Passport Gates For CANZUK Countries Confirmed For June 2019
The UK government has confirmed that as of June 2019, millions of passengers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand will be eligible to use the new e-Passport gates at British airports in an effort to promote closer cooperation between the CANZUK countries.
The Chancellor also announced that to coincide with the e-Passport gates expansion, the government will begin to abolish landing cards for non-EEA travellers in June, meaning citizens of Canada, Australia and New Zealand will be exempt from the landing card requirement.
Read more at:
https://www.canzukinternational.com/...epassport.html
Can't get the staff
Scenic Highlands at eye of Scotland's Brexit storm. They simply can't get the staff.
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-br...-idUKKCN1R31NZ
Deliver a real Brexit or there will be a political reckoning
OUR POLITICIANS through their deceit, self-aggrandisement, short termism and ignorance have brought disgrace on this nation.
Read more at:
http://www.thinkscotland.org/thinkbu...ead_full=13883
Remembering the Scottish architect who created the Capitol building in Washington D.C.
Historians and academics from the US and Scotland were among key speakers at an event commemorating the achievements of William Thornton.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/rememb...-d-c-1-4894666
Republican delight, Democrat dismay as Mueller details released
Mueller found no evidence the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-us...KCN1R601J?il=0
China widens ban on Canadian canola imports to second firm, Viterra
China expanded its ban on Canadian canola seed imports on Tuesday to include shipments from Viterra Inc, the latest development in a wider trade dispute between the two countries. I'm told exports to China exceed $4 billion so this is a serious blow to Canadian exports.
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ch...KCN1R713B?il=0
US employers, Indian employees everybody wants a piece of Canada
The Canadian dream is quickly replacing the American one. This article examines the ease of immigration to Canada as opposed to the USA.
Read more at:
https://qz.com/india/1579747/as-trum...move-to-canada
The disconnect between Parliament and the people is exacerbated by BBC pro-Remain bias
The British public are increasingly fed up with a news agenda that is saturated with pro-EU bias. And why those being interviewed by them don't mention their anti-brexit credentials Seems a simple but effective thing to do by holding them to account but for some reason this isn't used by them and I do wonder why not?
Read more at:
https://brexitcentral.com/the-discon...o-remain-bias/
How Scotland could be 4.5bn a year richer - Wayne Powell
If Scotland’s rural economy was more like Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and New Zealand, it could be £4.5 billion a year better off. Setting up the country’s first dedicated rural university would help make that vision of the future a reality, writes Professor Wayne Powell.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinio...well-1-4896268
No majority for any of Brexit options
The failure to identify a clear way forward led to angry exchanges in the Commons with critics of the process saying it had been an abject failure.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47728333
Maps show land confiscated from Old Fox
Maps made to help the government control the confiscated estate of a notorious Jacobite have been made available to the public online. The Clan Fraser has allowed them to use their historic maps which show great detail and many forgotten names of places.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...lands-47721307
Keep No Deal in play, but a Canada-style trade deal with the EU remains the best option
As we approach either 12th April or 22nd May 2019, it is worth recalling the chain of events which has led to where we are now.
Read more at:
https://brexitcentral.com/keep-no-de...e-best-option/
Nicola Sturgeon interferes with Holyrood ministers’ jobs, claims SNP MSP
The MSP for Airdrie and Shotts said Ms Sturgeon’s creation of a policy unit headed by civil servants rather than politicians was a big mistake
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politi...-msp-1-4895151
Electric Canadian
Canadian Archive Reports
Added the 1901 report.
You can read this at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/mak...er_douglas.htm
The Canadian Horticulturist
Volume 19 (1896) can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...culturirst.htm
Canadian Home Journal
Found another magazine and have added it to our Magazine page with links to other editions on the Internet Archive.
You can read this towards the foot of the page at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/magazines/index.htm
Across an Ocean and Time
The World as Seen by Harry Nash by John C. Nash (2014) which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/makers/ocean.htm
The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War
After the conquest of Canada by Francis Parkman (sixth edition) (1870) in two volumes which can be read at:https://www.electriccanadian.com/history/pontiac.htm
Petroleum in Canada
By Victor Ross (1917) (pdf) which can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...umincanada.pdf
The Pioneers a tale of the Western Wilderness
By Alexander MacKenzie (1875) (pdf) which can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/pio...g/pioneers.pdf
Pioneers in Canada
By Sir Harry Johnston, G.C.M.G., K.C.B. (1912) (pdf) which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/pio...rsincanada.pdf
Discovering the Cost of Living in Chatham Kent
Along with a wee history of the area and you can read this at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/his...stofliving.htm
Fort Chipewyan
Two books on the area which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/his...tChipewyan.htm
Conrad Black
Brexit's a mess, and here's what's coming next
http://www.conradmblack.com/1462/bre...at-coming-next
Unsurprisingly, Mueller Comes Up Empty
http://www.conradmblack.com/1463/uns...comes-up-empty
Electric Scotland
The Scottish Review
Added Volume 30 - July October 1897 for you to read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/review/index.htm
Historical Guide Brechin and Neighbourhood
By Walter Coutts (1889) (pdf) which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...idebrechin.pdf
Epitaphs & Inscriptions from Burial Grounds & Old Buildings
In the North-East of Scotland with Historical, Biographical, Genealogical, and Antiquarian Notes also an Appendix of Illustrative Papers by Andrew Jervst FSA Scot in two volumes (1875). Also added to the page another book by him Memorials of Angus and the Mearns.
You can read these volumes at: https://www.electricscotland.com/boo.../epitaphs1.htm
Folk-Lore Journal
Added Volume 2 (1884) which you can read at:
https://www.electricscotland.com/his...ejournal02.pdf
David Rorie
Doctor, Poet and Folk-Lorist added to our Significant Scots page along with links to three of his books and you can get to this at:https://electricscotland.com/history...orie_david.htm
Clan Lachlan Association of Canada
Got in their Spring 2019 newsletter which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...hlan/index.htm
The Crimean Commission and the Chelsea Board
A Review of the proceedings and report of the board by Colonel Tulloch, Late Commissioner in the Crimea (1857) (pdf) which you can read at: https://electricscotland.com/history...commission.pdf
MacBeth
By William Shakespeare (pdf) which you can read at: https://www.electricscotland.com/web...m/macbeth.html
The Shipbuilders of Aberdeen
Got in another book in this series, John Smith & Co. which you can read under the Books section of the page at:https://electricscotland.com/history...ipbuilding.htm
The History of Dunbar
From the earliest records to the present time by James Miller (1859) (pdf) which you can read at:
https://www.electricscotland.com/his...ol2page402.htm
The Story
Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue, and Arms delivered in the University of Glasgow by Adam Smith, Reported by a Student in 1763, and Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by Edwin Cannan. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press. 1896.
This volume is of much more than antiquarian value. It contains notes taken down by a student of a course of lectures on Jurisprudence delivered by Adam Smith during his tenure of office as Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University, and, as far as can be ascertained, the substance of the work on the History of Law and Government which he is known to have been engaged upon when discharging his duties at the Board of Customs after he had resigned his Professorship and returned from his somewhat lengthy stay in France, the manuscript of which is believed to have been destroyed at his own request immediately before his death. At the same time it effectively disposes of the charge which has often been brought against him of having plagiarised the ideas set forth in the Wealth of Nations from Turgot. The MS. used does not contain the notes actually taken down, but a transcript of them. The transcriber was evidently not the reporter. It is doubtful even whether he was a student. At times he appears not to have understood his ‘copy' and gives other signs that he was not the author of the notes. Who he was or who the student of 1763 was there is no means of telling. The MS. was discovered by Mr. 0. C. Maconochie in Meadowbank House in 1878. It has apparently been in the possession of his family for some time, but he is unable to trace it to any one of its members. His own opinion seems to be that it was acquired by purchase. From the evidence afforded by these notes the lectures were delivered between 1761 and 1764, or to in Mr. Cannan’s words 'either in the portion of the academical session of 1763-4 which preceded Adam Smith’s departure, or in the session 1762-3, almost certain that they were not delivered before 1761-2, and absolutely certain that they wore not delivered before 1760-1.’ The notes of these lectures contained in the present volume appear to have been taken down with the greatest care and accuracy. On this point Mr. Cannan, who has carefully compared them with the text of the Wealth of Nations, observes—‘Doubts may well be felt as to whether it is right to publish a report of lectures which has been made by a University student. A lecturer generally finds t hat his apparently most incorruptible ideas have considerably deteriorated when they have passed through the minds and note-books of his pupils.’
In the present case we know that the disciple was both faithful and intelligent. We have most unusual means for judging of the accuracy of his work, and we find that it stands the severest tests in a manner which might be envied by a modern reporter with the advantage of shorthand. It is unnecessary to give examples here. A reader who will take the trouble to look out a few of the hundred references to the Wealth of Nations, and of the four hundred other references given in the notes, may easily satisfy himself on the point.’ The fact is that we have here in this volume of notes the ideas which Smith afterwards worked up into his great work, and which, as remarked above, he has often been charged with plagiarising from Turgot; but when it is remembered that Turgot’s 'Reflections' was not published till 1766, and that these lectures were delivered not later than 1763 the question of plagiarism is set at rest. There are materials in the lectures for the explanation of other points in connection with Smith and his works, but for these we must refer the reader to the lectures themselves as prepared by Mr. Cannan, who, we hardly need say, has discharged his duties as Editor with skill and fulness of knowledge. Not the least excellent piece of work he has done is the list of similar and parallel passages in the Wealth of Nations.
Note: You can read this book at the foot of our page at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...smith_adam.htm
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
Well we're no further forward on Brexit after all the shenanigans this week in Westminster. I still say the best deal we could have done would have been a Canada style deal but it seems our MP's really don't understand the options. And a no deal was way behind in the voting but is still my preferred option. Ken Clark's motion to have a Common Market 2.0 was the most popular choice.
-------
Good to see Donald Trump has come out of the Muller enquiry with no collusion findings but now we may see a legal case being made to prosecute the Democrats. See Conrad Black's take on this under the Electric Canadian section.
-------
Next week we'll be heading into Tartan Week in the USA and Canada which usually is centered around New York. Tartan Day is the 6th of April and was intended to be a celebration of Scottish immigrants and their contribution to their new home but Scotland has really hijacked this for their own ends. Scotland really does very little for the Scots Diaspora. Have to say also that it gets very little coverage on the media and I have yet to see any decent videos on the event so perhaps that's part of the problem? Scotland actually hates the word FREE unless it's them receiving something for free. The thought of them actually giving something for free by way of promotion is not thought by them to be a worth while exercise.
I suggested that Scotland should hire a husband and wife team to run around the USA in a pickup and trailer. One of these really luxury combinations. The trailer could be decorated in Scottish themed finery and thus they could drive each week to a Highland Games or Scottish Festival. They could organise it so that they appear at the site of the Highland Games on the Thursday where they could meet the local economic and tourism people of the area to promote Scotland and Scottish firms. The trailer would make excellent accommodation for the staff while providing ample space for one to one chats at the various Highland Games or Scottish Festivals. With an awning there would be plenty of space to make available brochures promoting Scottish tourism and business.
I've often been told that there is no actual Scottish representation at the vast majority of these events and this would be a great way of doing something about this.
I also suggested that Scotland purchased the Family Tree Newspaper and made it a publication to promote Scottish Tourism and Business to the world. At the time the Family Tree Newspaper reached around 500,000 subscribers. Beth Gay was willing to continue to be the editor for the newspaper but although this was a great way to promote Scotland it didn't happen and is why Beth's Newsfangled Family Tree came into being as an online publication as it is today.
In my view just these two ideas alone would have made billions for Scotland but like a lot of other ideas the Scottish Government and Enterprise didn't want to know. We really need to get new thinking into Scotland and our political class.
-------
You can view a video introduction to this newsletter at:
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.
Scientists reveal ancient social networks using AI and X-rays
Using X-rays to read historical documents has opened big doors for historians
Read more at:
https://www.wired.com/story/scientis...ai-and-x-rays/
New conversation about Scottish Higher Education
A report out this week from the European Universities Association gives Scotland new reason to look and learn.
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2019/03/new-co...t-scottish-he/
Kenneth Roy Memorial Service
Kenneth Roy was a journalist for half a century. In the kind of career which is now rare, he began on titles like the Falkirk Mail and Greenock Telegraph, graduated to the (Glasgow) Herald, presented on BBC Scotland, and wrote for Scotland on Sunday, and the Observer. He then started his own online publication, The Scottish Review.
View this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/show...morial-Service
E-Passport Gates For CANZUK Countries Confirmed For June 2019
The UK government has confirmed that as of June 2019, millions of passengers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand will be eligible to use the new e-Passport gates at British airports in an effort to promote closer cooperation between the CANZUK countries.
The Chancellor also announced that to coincide with the e-Passport gates expansion, the government will begin to abolish landing cards for non-EEA travellers in June, meaning citizens of Canada, Australia and New Zealand will be exempt from the landing card requirement.
Read more at:
https://www.canzukinternational.com/...epassport.html
Can't get the staff
Scenic Highlands at eye of Scotland's Brexit storm. They simply can't get the staff.
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-br...-idUKKCN1R31NZ
Deliver a real Brexit or there will be a political reckoning
OUR POLITICIANS through their deceit, self-aggrandisement, short termism and ignorance have brought disgrace on this nation.
Read more at:
http://www.thinkscotland.org/thinkbu...ead_full=13883
Remembering the Scottish architect who created the Capitol building in Washington D.C.
Historians and academics from the US and Scotland were among key speakers at an event commemorating the achievements of William Thornton.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/rememb...-d-c-1-4894666
Republican delight, Democrat dismay as Mueller details released
Mueller found no evidence the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-us...KCN1R601J?il=0
China widens ban on Canadian canola imports to second firm, Viterra
China expanded its ban on Canadian canola seed imports on Tuesday to include shipments from Viterra Inc, the latest development in a wider trade dispute between the two countries. I'm told exports to China exceed $4 billion so this is a serious blow to Canadian exports.
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ch...KCN1R713B?il=0
US employers, Indian employees everybody wants a piece of Canada
The Canadian dream is quickly replacing the American one. This article examines the ease of immigration to Canada as opposed to the USA.
Read more at:
https://qz.com/india/1579747/as-trum...move-to-canada
The disconnect between Parliament and the people is exacerbated by BBC pro-Remain bias
The British public are increasingly fed up with a news agenda that is saturated with pro-EU bias. And why those being interviewed by them don't mention their anti-brexit credentials Seems a simple but effective thing to do by holding them to account but for some reason this isn't used by them and I do wonder why not?
Read more at:
https://brexitcentral.com/the-discon...o-remain-bias/
How Scotland could be 4.5bn a year richer - Wayne Powell
If Scotland’s rural economy was more like Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and New Zealand, it could be £4.5 billion a year better off. Setting up the country’s first dedicated rural university would help make that vision of the future a reality, writes Professor Wayne Powell.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinio...well-1-4896268
No majority for any of Brexit options
The failure to identify a clear way forward led to angry exchanges in the Commons with critics of the process saying it had been an abject failure.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47728333
Maps show land confiscated from Old Fox
Maps made to help the government control the confiscated estate of a notorious Jacobite have been made available to the public online. The Clan Fraser has allowed them to use their historic maps which show great detail and many forgotten names of places.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...lands-47721307
Keep No Deal in play, but a Canada-style trade deal with the EU remains the best option
As we approach either 12th April or 22nd May 2019, it is worth recalling the chain of events which has led to where we are now.
Read more at:
https://brexitcentral.com/keep-no-de...e-best-option/
Nicola Sturgeon interferes with Holyrood ministers’ jobs, claims SNP MSP
The MSP for Airdrie and Shotts said Ms Sturgeon’s creation of a policy unit headed by civil servants rather than politicians was a big mistake
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politi...-msp-1-4895151
Electric Canadian
Canadian Archive Reports
Added the 1901 report.
You can read this at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/mak...er_douglas.htm
The Canadian Horticulturist
Volume 19 (1896) can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...culturirst.htm
Canadian Home Journal
Found another magazine and have added it to our Magazine page with links to other editions on the Internet Archive.
You can read this towards the foot of the page at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/magazines/index.htm
Across an Ocean and Time
The World as Seen by Harry Nash by John C. Nash (2014) which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/makers/ocean.htm
The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War
After the conquest of Canada by Francis Parkman (sixth edition) (1870) in two volumes which can be read at:https://www.electriccanadian.com/history/pontiac.htm
Petroleum in Canada
By Victor Ross (1917) (pdf) which can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...umincanada.pdf
The Pioneers a tale of the Western Wilderness
By Alexander MacKenzie (1875) (pdf) which can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/pio...g/pioneers.pdf
Pioneers in Canada
By Sir Harry Johnston, G.C.M.G., K.C.B. (1912) (pdf) which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/pio...rsincanada.pdf
Discovering the Cost of Living in Chatham Kent
Along with a wee history of the area and you can read this at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/his...stofliving.htm
Fort Chipewyan
Two books on the area which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/his...tChipewyan.htm
Conrad Black
Brexit's a mess, and here's what's coming next
http://www.conradmblack.com/1462/bre...at-coming-next
Unsurprisingly, Mueller Comes Up Empty
http://www.conradmblack.com/1463/uns...comes-up-empty
Electric Scotland
The Scottish Review
Added Volume 30 - July October 1897 for you to read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history/review/index.htm
Historical Guide Brechin and Neighbourhood
By Walter Coutts (1889) (pdf) which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...idebrechin.pdf
Epitaphs & Inscriptions from Burial Grounds & Old Buildings
In the North-East of Scotland with Historical, Biographical, Genealogical, and Antiquarian Notes also an Appendix of Illustrative Papers by Andrew Jervst FSA Scot in two volumes (1875). Also added to the page another book by him Memorials of Angus and the Mearns.
You can read these volumes at: https://www.electricscotland.com/boo.../epitaphs1.htm
Folk-Lore Journal
Added Volume 2 (1884) which you can read at:
https://www.electricscotland.com/his...ejournal02.pdf
David Rorie
Doctor, Poet and Folk-Lorist added to our Significant Scots page along with links to three of his books and you can get to this at:https://electricscotland.com/history...orie_david.htm
Clan Lachlan Association of Canada
Got in their Spring 2019 newsletter which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...hlan/index.htm
The Crimean Commission and the Chelsea Board
A Review of the proceedings and report of the board by Colonel Tulloch, Late Commissioner in the Crimea (1857) (pdf) which you can read at: https://electricscotland.com/history...commission.pdf
MacBeth
By William Shakespeare (pdf) which you can read at: https://www.electricscotland.com/web...m/macbeth.html
The Shipbuilders of Aberdeen
Got in another book in this series, John Smith & Co. which you can read under the Books section of the page at:https://electricscotland.com/history...ipbuilding.htm
The History of Dunbar
From the earliest records to the present time by James Miller (1859) (pdf) which you can read at:
https://www.electricscotland.com/his...ol2page402.htm
The Story
Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue, and Arms delivered in the University of Glasgow by Adam Smith, Reported by a Student in 1763, and Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by Edwin Cannan. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press. 1896.
This volume is of much more than antiquarian value. It contains notes taken down by a student of a course of lectures on Jurisprudence delivered by Adam Smith during his tenure of office as Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University, and, as far as can be ascertained, the substance of the work on the History of Law and Government which he is known to have been engaged upon when discharging his duties at the Board of Customs after he had resigned his Professorship and returned from his somewhat lengthy stay in France, the manuscript of which is believed to have been destroyed at his own request immediately before his death. At the same time it effectively disposes of the charge which has often been brought against him of having plagiarised the ideas set forth in the Wealth of Nations from Turgot. The MS. used does not contain the notes actually taken down, but a transcript of them. The transcriber was evidently not the reporter. It is doubtful even whether he was a student. At times he appears not to have understood his ‘copy' and gives other signs that he was not the author of the notes. Who he was or who the student of 1763 was there is no means of telling. The MS. was discovered by Mr. 0. C. Maconochie in Meadowbank House in 1878. It has apparently been in the possession of his family for some time, but he is unable to trace it to any one of its members. His own opinion seems to be that it was acquired by purchase. From the evidence afforded by these notes the lectures were delivered between 1761 and 1764, or to in Mr. Cannan’s words 'either in the portion of the academical session of 1763-4 which preceded Adam Smith’s departure, or in the session 1762-3, almost certain that they were not delivered before 1761-2, and absolutely certain that they wore not delivered before 1760-1.’ The notes of these lectures contained in the present volume appear to have been taken down with the greatest care and accuracy. On this point Mr. Cannan, who has carefully compared them with the text of the Wealth of Nations, observes—‘Doubts may well be felt as to whether it is right to publish a report of lectures which has been made by a University student. A lecturer generally finds t hat his apparently most incorruptible ideas have considerably deteriorated when they have passed through the minds and note-books of his pupils.’
In the present case we know that the disciple was both faithful and intelligent. We have most unusual means for judging of the accuracy of his work, and we find that it stands the severest tests in a manner which might be envied by a modern reporter with the advantage of shorthand. It is unnecessary to give examples here. A reader who will take the trouble to look out a few of the hundred references to the Wealth of Nations, and of the four hundred other references given in the notes, may easily satisfy himself on the point.’ The fact is that we have here in this volume of notes the ideas which Smith afterwards worked up into his great work, and which, as remarked above, he has often been charged with plagiarising from Turgot; but when it is remembered that Turgot’s 'Reflections' was not published till 1766, and that these lectures were delivered not later than 1763 the question of plagiarism is set at rest. There are materials in the lectures for the explanation of other points in connection with Smith and his works, but for these we must refer the reader to the lectures themselves as prepared by Mr. Cannan, who, we hardly need say, has discharged his duties as Editor with skill and fulness of knowledge. Not the least excellent piece of work he has done is the list of similar and parallel passages in the Wealth of Nations.
Note: You can read this book at the foot of our page at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...smith_adam.htm
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair