An Comunn Gàidhealach Publications > Sruth > Volume 1 > No. 5, 1 June 1967

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SCOTLAND’S BI-LINGUAL NEWSPAPER
NEWSPAPER OF CURRENT EVENTS IN THE HIGHLANDS,
THE ISLANDS, AND IN SCOTLAND
published by
AN COMUNN GAIDHEALACH — The Highland Association
DI-ARDAOIN 1 AN OG-MHIOS, 1967
THURSDAY 1 JUNE, 1967
-\. Jir* 1967
6d
Director’s Speech To
‘Assembly’ Audience
Speaking of the new Scotland
at the Home Board of the General
Assembly, Mr D. J. Mackay, Di¬
rector of An Comunn Gaid-
healach, in his opening remarks
said that anyone speaking or ask¬
ing questions about Hignland de¬
velopment at the moment was in
danger of being accused of being
critical of the Highlands and Is¬
lands Development Board. He em¬
phasised that he himself fully
supported the Board and was in
favour of the Invergordon Project
provided that equivalent develop¬
ments were seen in all areas of
the Highlands. Emphasising the
danger of national priorities tak¬
ing precedence in local develop¬
ments he said that the attitude
adopted by E.F.T.A. and Com¬
mon Market countries in the un¬
derdeveloped areas was that
national objectives should not pre¬
judice the existing individual
character of the region in which
the problems lie.
So far little had been heard of
integrated developmnt in rural
areas of the Highlands. He sug¬
gested that the local population,
who carry the strains of change
and the penalties when creating
the infra-structure meant the di¬
version of funds earmarked for
local housing and new school
buildings to a new development
as had happened at the Pulp-mill
project in Fort William, should
be engaged in the evolution and
administration of qualities for de¬
velopment if the objective of gov¬
ernment intervention was con¬
structive Sure and not temporary
relief. Social patterns should
evolve and not be imposed.
On general developments he
said the Government’s reaction to
the Highland Transport Board’s
report was awaited with interest
because the measure of accept¬
ance would be a measure of their
belief in the future of the High¬
lands. There were no special al¬
lowances for attracting new in¬
dustry to the Highlands. They had
to compete on th.e same terms as
other development areas. Unem¬
ployment in the seven crofting
counties in April was 8.4 per cent.
— in Stornoway it was 26.7 per
cent., with 1,400 unemployed. In
other under-developed areas in
E.F.T.A. countries generally there
were special tax concessions, de¬
preciation rates, share capital taken
by local authorities and by the
state and in one case exemption
from tax for five to ten years. Mr
Mackay suggested special tax em-
emption for firms who transferred
th£ir research and development to
the Highland area in an initial
phase of far-reaching proposals.
By any standards land was un¬
der-utilised in the Highlands.
Land is a tremendous holding
fj-cc and deterrent to migration
and possibly more important than
industrialised development in re¬
taining the character of the area.
The Common Market countries
were spending large sums of
money on co-ordinating develop¬
ment in agriculture, forestry and
tourism. Only li per cent, of the
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land area in the Highlands was
available for recreational use in
1963. Only one-third of the agri¬
cultural land was used for croft¬
ing and about 14 per cent, be¬
tween crops, grass and forestry.
Hotels and boarding houses achie¬
ved a 40-45 per cent, utilisation
over the whole year.
A long period of low incomes
and under-development tended to
make people slow to take the ini¬
tiative to help themselves. But the
growth of an area was collective
work and plans should comprise
a synthesis of sociological, techni¬
cal and economic planning. There
was a possibility that preoccupa¬
tion with change could overlook
the dynamic element in the status
quo.
“ T nt Knockers *
He recommended that all
people should be concerned about
the basic values of the country in
this age of “ the knocker,” — the
irpd'ttQjaal .iLpelogisf}, wfee aban¬
doned their heritage and alienated
themselves from their own com-
muities These were subversive and
tended to add little to the com¬
mon voice.
People in the Highlands and
in Scotland should be allowed to
be proud to have contributed
greatly to the past, to Europe’s
religious and educational system,
proud to have contributed to the
world, proud to have their own
individual Church, legal system
and language. If people believe in
the future of the Highlands and
Islands they must believe in the
resilience of the people who have
retained so much of what was ori¬
ginally Scottish and make sure
that the area developments are
consistent with the desires of the
peope who live there.
Highland Evening
at Prestonpans
Hamifton House, Prestonpans,
was restored for the National
Trust for Scotland by the late
Robert Hurd between 1938 and
1940. It is early seventeenth cen¬
tury and undoubtedly housed sol¬
diers at the time of the battle of
Prestonpans — an appropriate set¬
ting for a Highland ceilidh-con-
cert to be given on Friday 30th
June by Joan MacKenzie. Alas-
dair Gillies and others in aid of
the fund to establish an annual
prize in memory of the architect.
Lt.-Col. and Mrs I. B. Came¬
ron Taylor, through whose kind¬
ness the house is available, will
receive the visitors and conduct
them round the house and garden.
Refreshments will be served and
tickets, which cost a guinea, are
available from Mr Archie Mac-
Pherson. M.A., LL.B., Hon. Sec¬
retary of Edinburgh Branch of
An Comunn Gaidhealach. the
Saltire Society, Gladstone’s Land.
483 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh 1
(Tel. Cal. 7780). or from the
National Trust for Scotland, 5
Charlotte Square, Edinburgh 2.
Buth A’ Chomuinn Ann An
Glaschu (Le Cairistiona Dick)
Tha Meur a’ Chomuinn Ghaid-
healaich ann an Glaschu a'
deanamh oidhirp air £14,000 a
chruinneachadh airson cuideach-
aidh le obair a’ Chomuinn mu’ n
tig am a’ Mhoid Naiseanta am
bliadhna agus tha iad a’ deanamh
sb ann an iomadach doigh. Bhea-
chdaich Mairearad Ghrannd (bean
Phomhnuill air cho math is a
rinn muinntir a’ Chomiir’- pl¬
an Inbhir-Nis leis a bhuth bh’ aca
airson Moid na bliadhna an
uiridh agus chan fhac’ i da4
na b’ fhearr na ’n t-aon rud
fheuchainn ann an Glaschu.
Fhuair i buth bheag sgalach anns
na Cowcaddens agus sgur is ghlan
is pheant i fhein 's a luchd-cuid-
eachaidh i gus nach creid-eadh tu
gur e ’n t-aon aite bh'ann. Chuir
iad an t-ainm gu briagha ann an
sgriobhadh Ceilteach os a cionn
agus as a sin thainig an t-ainm a
tha na daoine ma’n cuairt a' gab-
hail oirre—“ The Chinese Shop.”
Nuair a dh’ fbosgail iad a
bhuth an toiseach bha Mairearad
agus Ola NicDhonnachaidh (bean
Chaluim) a’ cheud latha a’ ruith
air aodach agus a' bruidhinn
eadarra fhein a’ cuir pris ai> a
mharsantachd nuair a thainig
guth beag o'n taobh eile dhe’ n
chuntair a’ faigh-neachd, “ An
ann a’ cluichd aig butha tha
sibhse ? ”
Ged a thug so gaire orra b’
fheudar aideachadh nach ann a’
cluichd a bha iad idir ach ga
rireabh. Agus a leigeil fhaicinn
cho durachdach is a chaidh iad
mu’ n obair tha iad mar tha, air
mile not a chuir dha’ n bhanc
bho’ n latha dh’ fhoighneachd am
fear beag a cheist air an och-
rlam*1 lath?> deug de January am
Bliadhna. ’S mor am beum a their
sin fhein as a £14,000.
Tha cairdean is luchd-eolais
toirt a stigh moran dhe’ n stuth
thatar a reic anns a bhuth; bithidh
aon bhana-charaid a’ toirt a stigh
fiach da not de fhsblct a h uile
seachduinn agn« feadhainn eile a’
tighinn gu cunbhalach le sgonaic-
hean is jc. aran ni,ijs P;ie
agus le silidh is marmalade. Bit-
b'dh Mairearad Ghrannd fhein a’
deanamh fuine phancakes a h-
uile maduinn a bheir i leatha.
Tha ruith mhor air a’ bheicei-
reachd a th’ air a deanamh aig
an tigh agus tha aon bhoirionnach
a tha fuireach mu choinneamh na
butha a tha Van coimhead o’ n
uinneag aice fhein a’ feithheamh
gus a fosgail a’ bhuth agus tha i
sin a nuas na 'eum a dh’ fhaighinn,
bor’r.'-h r»o dha bbios aire le te-
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