Tweet
For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
I have continued work on The Commonwealth and in fact worked all weekend on it and into this week and all pages are now complete.
The basis for each page is about the same in that I have used The Commonwealth site to take key facts and the history of each country. I have then placed a link to the country page on The Commonwealth site so you can get further information on Society, Economy, Constitution & politics, History and Travel.
I have then looked for any antiquarian or out of copyright books or articles and where found have placed links to them for you to read. I have then looked for videos on YouTube and the first are to any historical information and the second set are to tourism related content.
I have also placed a link on each page to the Countries portal where one had been found and also to a business page for each country that tells you about the goods and services they both export and import.
So all this took a lot of time but I feel important as us Brits, Aussies, Canadians and New Zealanders are all part of the Commonwealth so we really should know more about the some 53 countries included in it.
And as I was working through all those countries I even started to wonder if the USA should consider joining The Commonwealth as well. This would make us the dominant trading block in the world and we all mostly speak English and have similar laws. India is the largest country in The Commonwealth and is scheduled on its own to be the second largest trading country after China by 2050 with the USA in third place.
You can get to these pages at: http://www.electricscotland.com/inde...mmonwealth.htm towards the foot of the page.
Here is the video introduction to this newsletter...
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.
Glasgow to global: meet Kevin Sneader
The Canadian-born Scot is the new global managing partner of McKinsey, the bluest of blue chip management consultancies. He faces re-election by senior partners every three years.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...iness-43279596
How some Scottish golf clubs are bucking membership trend
The decline in golf club membership in Scotland over the past ten years paints a bleak picture, but it is certainly not all doom and gloom for the sport in its birthplace.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/golf/...rend-1-4699173
The End of Little Germany?
Germany has long enjoyed the luxury of pretending to be something it is not: a small country.
Read more at:
https://www.project-syndicate.org/co...-besch-2018-03
Deep concerns about impact of salmon farms
The report considers a range of problems facing the aquaculture sector, including pests and diseases, use of chemicals and medicines, waste, fish deaths, escapes and predator control.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/report...ming-1-4700651
Sierra Leone is deeply grateful for the aid, Britain – but now let’s trade
The people of Sierra Leone will stand together with the British people as they embark on their own journey into the future.
Read more at:
http://brexitcentral.com/sierra-leon...ow-lets-trade/
The Gaelic speaking slaves of 18th Century America
It was jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie who inspired research into the Gaelic speaking black slaves of 18th Century America who spoke in the tongue of their Highland masters.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/the-ga...rica-1-4700854
Vertical farming: sustainable future made in Scotland?
In my job I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the challenges connected with how to build a sustainable future.
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2018/03/vertic...made-scotland/
Our post-Brexit trade policy must put power in the hands of consumers
Those currently arguing to stay in the EU’s Customs Union are campaigning against the interests of British consumers.
Read more at:
http://brexitcentral.com/post-brexit...nds-consumers/
Italy's radical new leaders denounce EU Brexit strategy as foolish dogma
IN A MAJOR blow to the EU, Italy’s right-wing political parties have demanded a change in negotiation strategy with the UK over Brexit, it has been revealed.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...ague-eu-brexit
James Dyson on reinventing the vacuum cleaner again
Sir James Dyson wants you to throw away your vacuum cleaner - if it’s got a cord, that is.
Read more at:
https://inews.co.uk/news/technology/...one-new-again/
U.K., Saudi Arabia Target 65 Billion Pounds of Mutual Investment
Memorandums of Understanding for 14 trade deals are due to be signed during the visit, but British officials don’t expect a decision on who will host the initial public offering of state oil company Aramco.
Read more at:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ual-investment
The surprising thing that can happen when taxes go up
Wealthy people tend take steps to avoid paying higher rates of tax like emigrating, writes Bill Jamieson.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinio...o-up-1-4702128
Electric Canadian
Transactions of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers
I discovered a lot of volumes of these transaction which are very detailed and note that they are very popular downloads so assume civil engineers are enjoying the details given in these transactions.
I've added the 1927 volume and will add others each week. You can view these at
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...rial/index.htm
Some of the topics discussed include Early History and Development of the Nickel Industry, Concrete Construction, Flanges and Fittings, Forests of Quebec, Hydro-Electric Power Development, Obituaries, Manufacture of Sulphite Pulp, Mining Industry of Northern Ontario, Problem of the Young Engineer, Rainfall and Run-off, Spray Water Power Project in Alberta, Wood Consuming Industries of Canada, etc.
Pillars of Empire
Studies & Impressions by W. L. & J. E. Courtney (1918) (pdf). The book starts with looking at Canadians, LORD DORCHESTER, LORD DURHAM, SIR JOHN MACDONALD, LORD STRATHCONA, SIR WILFRID LAURIER and SIR ROBERT BORDEN.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...rsofempire.pdf
The Progress and Opportunities of Regina
Issued by the Greater Regina Club on the occasion of the visit of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association to Regina, Saskatchewan, September 15, 1910. (pdf)
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...wan/regina.pdf
The Old Judge
Or, Life in a Colony by the Author of "Sam Slick, the Clockmaker" in two volumes (1849)
The following sketches of “Life in a Colony” were drawn from nature, after a residence of half a century among the people, whose habits, manners, and social condition, they are intended to delineate. I have adopted the form of a tour, and the character of a stranger, for the double purpose of avoiding the prolixity of a journal, by the omission of tedious details, and the egotism of an author, by making others speak for themselves in their own way. The utmost care has been taken to exclude any thing that could by any possibility be supposed to have a personal reference, or be the subject of annoyance. The “dramatis personae” of this work are, therefore, ideal representatives of their several classes, having all the characteristics and peculiarities of their own set, but no actual existence. Should they be found to resemble particular individuals, I can assure the reader that it is accidental, and not intentional; and I trust it will be considered, as it really is, the unavoidable result of an attempt to delineate the features of a people among whom there is such a strong family likeness.
In my previous works, I have been fortunate enough to have avoided censure on this score, and I have been most anxious to render the present book as unobjectionable as its predecessors. Political sketches I have abstained from altogether; provincial and local affairs are too insignificant to interest the general reader, and the policy of the Colonial Office is foreign to my subject. The absurd importance attached in this country to trifles, the grandiloquent language of rural politicians, the flimsy veil of patriotism, under which selfishness strives to hide the deformity of its visage, and the attempt to adopt the machinery of a large empire to tlie government of a small colony, present many objects for ridicule or satire; but they could not be approached without the suspicion of personality, and the direct imputation of prejudice. As I consider, however, that the work would be incomplete without giving some idea of the form of government under which the inhabitants of the lower colonies live, I have prepared a very brief outline of it, without any comment. Those persons who take no interest in such matters, can pass it over, and leave it for others who may prefer information to amusement.
I have also avoided, as far as practicable, topics common to other countries, and endeavoured to select scenes and characters peculiar to the colony, and not to be found in books. Some similarity there must necessarily be between all branches of the Anglo-Saxon family, speaking the same language, and living under modifications of the same form of government; but still, there are shades of difference which, though not strongly remarked, are plainly discernible to a practised eye.
Colonists differ again in like manner from each other, according to the situation of their respective country; some being merely agricultural, others commercial, and many partaking of the character of both. A picture of any one North American Province, therefore, will not, in all respects, be a true representation of another. The Nova Scotian, who is more particularly the subject of this work, is often found superintending the cultivation of a farm, and building a vessel at the same time; and is not only able to catch and cure a cargo of fish, but to find his way with it to the West Indies or the Mediterranean; he is a man of all work, but expert in none—knows a little of many things, but nothing well. He is irregular in his pursuits, “all things by turns, and nothing long,” and vain of his ability or information, but is a hardy, frank, good-natured, hospitable, manly fellow, and withal quite as good-looking as his air gives you to understand he thinks himself to be. Such is the gentleman known throughout America as Mr. Blue Nose, a sobriquet acquired from a superior potato of that name, of the good qualities of which he is never tired of talking, being anxious, like most men of small property, to exhibit to the best advantage the little he had.
Although this term is applicable to all natives, it is more particularly so to that portion of the population descended from emigrants from the New England States, either previously to, or immediately after, the American Revolution. The accent of the Blue Nose is provincial, inclining more to Yankee than to English, his utterance rapid, and his conversation liberally garnished with American phraseology, and much enlivened with dry humour. From the diversity of trades of which he knows something, and the variety of occupations in which he has been at one time or another engaged, he uses indiscriminately the technical terms of all, in a manner that would often puzzle a stranger to pronounce whether he was a landsman or sailor, a farmer, mechanic, lumberer, or fisherman. These characteristics are more or less common to the people of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, and the scene of these sketches might perhaps to a very great extent be laid, with equal propriety, in those places as in Nova Scotia. But to Upper and Lower Canada they are not so applicable.
The town of Illinoo, so often mentioned in this work, is a fictitious place. I have selected it in preference to a real one, to prevent the possible application of my remarks to any of the inhabitants, in accordance with the earnest desire I have already expressed to avoid giving offence to any one. Some of these sketches have already appeared in “Fraser's Magazine" for the year 1847. These have been revised, and their order somewhat transposed, so as to make them blend harmoniously with the additional numbers contained in these volumes. Having made these explanations, I now submit the work to the public.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...a/oldjudge.htm
Conrad Black
Canadians crave an identity, not this fluffy nonsense from Trudeau
http://www.conradmblack.com/1375/can...ot-this-fluffy
Electric Scotland
Berwick
Added a couple of history videos to our Berwick Upon Tweed page. You can see these at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...wick/index.htm
Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom
By John Rhys, Fellow of Jesus College, and Late Fellow of Merton College; Professor of Celtic in the University of Oxford, Second Edition (1892) (pdf)
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/bibl...Heathendom.pdf
Northern Scotland
The Journal of the Centre for Scottish Studies, University of Aberdeen edited by David Stevenson (1990) (pdf0
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...Scotland10.pdf
Clan Buchanan Society International
Got in the Clan Buchanan Banner Newsletter for April 2018 which you can read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...anan/index.htm
Commonwealth Education Pack
Prepared for the Commonwealth meeting in London in 2018 (pdf)
This is actually for schools but adults can learn a lot from reading it. You can download this from
http://www.electricscotland.com/inde...chers-Pack.pdf
Operations of War
Explained and Illustrated by Edward Bruce Hanley (1866) (pdf). Added a link to this book from his page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...reg/hamley.htm
Quartermaster Supply
Added Volume 3: Outfitting the Soldier at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...stersupply.htm
Shetland and the Shetlanders
By Catherine Sinclair (1840). Added a link to this book at the foot of the page. Also updated the videos as several are no longer available.
You can view the new video I added and this book at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/shetland/
The Story
Our post-Brexit trade policy must put power in the hands of consumers
Written by Ranil Jayawardena MP who has been Conservative MP for North East Hampshire since 2015 and is a member of the International Trade Select Committee.
Those currently arguing to stay in the EU’s Customs Union are campaigning against the interests of British consumers. Who are they? They are the elites — those who seldom venture outside of London — who have no idea what life is like on the ground. What are they really doing? They are arguing against cutting prices — arguing against cutting the cost of living — for hard-working people up and down the land.
We’re at the start of a journey. We’re at the beginning of many blossoming new friendships. Leaving the European Union offers us an unprecedented opportunity to create a greater Britain for the next generation. But, without putting the British consumer at the heart of our efforts — whether in Parliament or in the negotiations — we will be no better off than if we had resigned ourselves to being an outpost of the Brussels bureaucracy forever.
For the first time in four decades — certainly for the first time in my whole lifetime — we will have the ability to seek our own trade deals with our friends around the world, creating a peaceful and prosperous future for our peoples. I’m in politics for the next generation; if we want our children to have better lives tomorrow than we have today, we must solidify our commitment to continued economic growth. The consumer is critical to our success; we must put the consumer at the heart of all we do.
As I wrote in a recent article for PoliticsHome: “Protectionism doesn’t work. It stalls innovation, stifles enterprise and harms consumers”. Contrary to what the naysayers and doom-mongers might have some people believe, the prospect of free trade presents positive and exciting opportunities for trade liberalisation and, consequently, the lives of the British people.
For example, after we leave the EU we can position ourselves as a beacon of free trade — a force for good in the world — and we can use global free trade to create a stronger and more sustainable agricultural sector here in Britain; without the ever higher subsidy payments to landowners and higher food prices that protectionism brings. This is a vision that can truly improve the lives of both taxpayers and consumers here in Britain — as we put people first, their families first and our quality of life first.
One debate inevitably about to reignite is a re-run of the 1999 ‘Beef War’, when Britain opposed the EU’s ban on hormone-treated beef — standing alongside the United States, which regularly opposes EU bans, against what is often nothing short of protectionism. We know the EU’s quality regulations are not always necessarily based on sound science — rather they are often based upon the principle of nanny-state precaution above all else. When I visited the US recently, I ate beef and chicken there — as did Labour and SNP politicians who visited with me. If you were to believe all you hear from those in the House of Commons, you would have thought we would have all keeled over by now. Two words: fake news!
The consumer-focused principles behind this example should ring true today as we form our future global trade policy. Why shouldn’t consumers — armed with the right information about where products are from and how they have been produced — be trusted to make their own decisions about what is right for themselves and their families?
Let’s treat the British people as they are — grown-ups! Let’s give them the choice between cheaper consumables and commodities — and more premium products. Let’s help them by cutting the cost of living, rather than backing an EU system that keeps prices high.
According to a 2016 study by the eminently reputable London School of Economics (an accolade I am sure I would bestow, regardless of it being my alma mater!), non-EEA free trade agreements already save UK consumers around £5.3 billion every year. Far from being a great achievement to cling to, this is merely a good starting point from which we must build our trade negotiations, given we still don’t have free trade agreements with some of the biggest global economies, such as the USA, China, Japan or India.
Further, the study found that current free trade agreements not only led to a price fall of consumables by one-fifth, but the quality of imported products improved markedly also. These are the real world successes of free trade — cited by an institution that continues to speak against Brexit — that we must replicate if we truly want to improve the lives of hardworking British consumers up and down the land. It is they we must stand up for — the forgotten people — in these politically correct, liberal metropolitan times.
Those of us who are free traders must be honest: trade is a two-way street. Just as we should pursue more competition here in Britain — delivering good quality products for consumers at competitive prices — we need to secure export markets that will pay us a competitive price for top quality products, from which we can buy those goods that come from overseas. That is where we can exploit Ricardo’s seminal theory of comparative advantage; producing the goods and services that Britain is globally renowned for at a relatively lower cost. Financial services are a perfect example of an area in which comparative advantage will benefit us — and others — greatly; increasing output, incomes and living standards, plus allowing others access to a wide range of products and deep capital markets to the benefit of their own economy.
Another example, take businesses such as Childs Farm in my constituency which is already the UK’s second biggest — and fastest-growing — producer of baby and child toiletry products, having only been founded in 2010. Despite Childs Farm’s success here in Britain, however, they only began exporting internationally in 2015, meaning exports make up only a small percentage of their business — a statistic in which Childs Farm is not a lone case, with fewer than 15 per cent of SMEs in Britain actually exporting abroad. Since the vote to leave the EU, Childs Farm has already seen an exponential rise in international interest; their products are now available in over 20 countries worldwide — with this number set to double in 2018. Aiding other SMEs to follow their successes must be a key focus to make Brexit the success we know it can be: to see the job creation and economic growth across the whole country that people voted for.
I opened this article with reference to the unprecedented opportunities that leaving the European Union offers — but we must not make the mistake of waiting for our new role in the world to come to us, like a lady waiting to be asked to dance. We must, instead, be bold, brave and pro-active. We must seize the opportunities awaiting us. It is our obligation — not just for us as politicians delivering on the will of the people, but for us as a society delivering for the next generation — to embrace ever freer trade so that we can deliver on the promise that Brexit offers. We must liberalise in a way we have not seen since 1846 and the repeal of the Corn Laws. That was a critical moment for the Conservative Party. This is another.
In 2016, 170 years later, the British people voted for change and prosperity. I am determined to make sure they get it. The British consumer — not vested interests — deserves to be put first.
And that's it for this week and hope you have a great weekend.
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
I have continued work on The Commonwealth and in fact worked all weekend on it and into this week and all pages are now complete.
The basis for each page is about the same in that I have used The Commonwealth site to take key facts and the history of each country. I have then placed a link to the country page on The Commonwealth site so you can get further information on Society, Economy, Constitution & politics, History and Travel.
I have then looked for any antiquarian or out of copyright books or articles and where found have placed links to them for you to read. I have then looked for videos on YouTube and the first are to any historical information and the second set are to tourism related content.
I have also placed a link on each page to the Countries portal where one had been found and also to a business page for each country that tells you about the goods and services they both export and import.
So all this took a lot of time but I feel important as us Brits, Aussies, Canadians and New Zealanders are all part of the Commonwealth so we really should know more about the some 53 countries included in it.
And as I was working through all those countries I even started to wonder if the USA should consider joining The Commonwealth as well. This would make us the dominant trading block in the world and we all mostly speak English and have similar laws. India is the largest country in The Commonwealth and is scheduled on its own to be the second largest trading country after China by 2050 with the USA in third place.
You can get to these pages at: http://www.electricscotland.com/inde...mmonwealth.htm towards the foot of the page.
Here is the video introduction to this newsletter...
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.
Glasgow to global: meet Kevin Sneader
The Canadian-born Scot is the new global managing partner of McKinsey, the bluest of blue chip management consultancies. He faces re-election by senior partners every three years.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...iness-43279596
How some Scottish golf clubs are bucking membership trend
The decline in golf club membership in Scotland over the past ten years paints a bleak picture, but it is certainly not all doom and gloom for the sport in its birthplace.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/golf/...rend-1-4699173
The End of Little Germany?
Germany has long enjoyed the luxury of pretending to be something it is not: a small country.
Read more at:
https://www.project-syndicate.org/co...-besch-2018-03
Deep concerns about impact of salmon farms
The report considers a range of problems facing the aquaculture sector, including pests and diseases, use of chemicals and medicines, waste, fish deaths, escapes and predator control.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/report...ming-1-4700651
Sierra Leone is deeply grateful for the aid, Britain – but now let’s trade
The people of Sierra Leone will stand together with the British people as they embark on their own journey into the future.
Read more at:
http://brexitcentral.com/sierra-leon...ow-lets-trade/
The Gaelic speaking slaves of 18th Century America
It was jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie who inspired research into the Gaelic speaking black slaves of 18th Century America who spoke in the tongue of their Highland masters.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/the-ga...rica-1-4700854
Vertical farming: sustainable future made in Scotland?
In my job I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the challenges connected with how to build a sustainable future.
Read more at:
http://sceptical.scot/2018/03/vertic...made-scotland/
Our post-Brexit trade policy must put power in the hands of consumers
Those currently arguing to stay in the EU’s Customs Union are campaigning against the interests of British consumers.
Read more at:
http://brexitcentral.com/post-brexit...nds-consumers/
Italy's radical new leaders denounce EU Brexit strategy as foolish dogma
IN A MAJOR blow to the EU, Italy’s right-wing political parties have demanded a change in negotiation strategy with the UK over Brexit, it has been revealed.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...ague-eu-brexit
James Dyson on reinventing the vacuum cleaner again
Sir James Dyson wants you to throw away your vacuum cleaner - if it’s got a cord, that is.
Read more at:
https://inews.co.uk/news/technology/...one-new-again/
U.K., Saudi Arabia Target 65 Billion Pounds of Mutual Investment
Memorandums of Understanding for 14 trade deals are due to be signed during the visit, but British officials don’t expect a decision on who will host the initial public offering of state oil company Aramco.
Read more at:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ual-investment
The surprising thing that can happen when taxes go up
Wealthy people tend take steps to avoid paying higher rates of tax like emigrating, writes Bill Jamieson.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinio...o-up-1-4702128
Electric Canadian
Transactions of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers
I discovered a lot of volumes of these transaction which are very detailed and note that they are very popular downloads so assume civil engineers are enjoying the details given in these transactions.
I've added the 1927 volume and will add others each week. You can view these at
http://www.electriccanadian.com/tran...rial/index.htm
Some of the topics discussed include Early History and Development of the Nickel Industry, Concrete Construction, Flanges and Fittings, Forests of Quebec, Hydro-Electric Power Development, Obituaries, Manufacture of Sulphite Pulp, Mining Industry of Northern Ontario, Problem of the Young Engineer, Rainfall and Run-off, Spray Water Power Project in Alberta, Wood Consuming Industries of Canada, etc.
Pillars of Empire
Studies & Impressions by W. L. & J. E. Courtney (1918) (pdf). The book starts with looking at Canadians, LORD DORCHESTER, LORD DURHAM, SIR JOHN MACDONALD, LORD STRATHCONA, SIR WILFRID LAURIER and SIR ROBERT BORDEN.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...rsofempire.pdf
The Progress and Opportunities of Regina
Issued by the Greater Regina Club on the occasion of the visit of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association to Regina, Saskatchewan, September 15, 1910. (pdf)
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...wan/regina.pdf
The Old Judge
Or, Life in a Colony by the Author of "Sam Slick, the Clockmaker" in two volumes (1849)
The following sketches of “Life in a Colony” were drawn from nature, after a residence of half a century among the people, whose habits, manners, and social condition, they are intended to delineate. I have adopted the form of a tour, and the character of a stranger, for the double purpose of avoiding the prolixity of a journal, by the omission of tedious details, and the egotism of an author, by making others speak for themselves in their own way. The utmost care has been taken to exclude any thing that could by any possibility be supposed to have a personal reference, or be the subject of annoyance. The “dramatis personae” of this work are, therefore, ideal representatives of their several classes, having all the characteristics and peculiarities of their own set, but no actual existence. Should they be found to resemble particular individuals, I can assure the reader that it is accidental, and not intentional; and I trust it will be considered, as it really is, the unavoidable result of an attempt to delineate the features of a people among whom there is such a strong family likeness.
In my previous works, I have been fortunate enough to have avoided censure on this score, and I have been most anxious to render the present book as unobjectionable as its predecessors. Political sketches I have abstained from altogether; provincial and local affairs are too insignificant to interest the general reader, and the policy of the Colonial Office is foreign to my subject. The absurd importance attached in this country to trifles, the grandiloquent language of rural politicians, the flimsy veil of patriotism, under which selfishness strives to hide the deformity of its visage, and the attempt to adopt the machinery of a large empire to tlie government of a small colony, present many objects for ridicule or satire; but they could not be approached without the suspicion of personality, and the direct imputation of prejudice. As I consider, however, that the work would be incomplete without giving some idea of the form of government under which the inhabitants of the lower colonies live, I have prepared a very brief outline of it, without any comment. Those persons who take no interest in such matters, can pass it over, and leave it for others who may prefer information to amusement.
I have also avoided, as far as practicable, topics common to other countries, and endeavoured to select scenes and characters peculiar to the colony, and not to be found in books. Some similarity there must necessarily be between all branches of the Anglo-Saxon family, speaking the same language, and living under modifications of the same form of government; but still, there are shades of difference which, though not strongly remarked, are plainly discernible to a practised eye.
Facies non omnibus una nec tamen diversa.
This distinctive character is produced by the necessities and condition of a new country, by the nature of the climate, the want of an Established Church, hereditary rank, entailment of estates, and the subdivision of labour, on the one hand, and the absence of nationality, independence, and Republican institutions, on the other.Colonists differ again in like manner from each other, according to the situation of their respective country; some being merely agricultural, others commercial, and many partaking of the character of both. A picture of any one North American Province, therefore, will not, in all respects, be a true representation of another. The Nova Scotian, who is more particularly the subject of this work, is often found superintending the cultivation of a farm, and building a vessel at the same time; and is not only able to catch and cure a cargo of fish, but to find his way with it to the West Indies or the Mediterranean; he is a man of all work, but expert in none—knows a little of many things, but nothing well. He is irregular in his pursuits, “all things by turns, and nothing long,” and vain of his ability or information, but is a hardy, frank, good-natured, hospitable, manly fellow, and withal quite as good-looking as his air gives you to understand he thinks himself to be. Such is the gentleman known throughout America as Mr. Blue Nose, a sobriquet acquired from a superior potato of that name, of the good qualities of which he is never tired of talking, being anxious, like most men of small property, to exhibit to the best advantage the little he had.
Although this term is applicable to all natives, it is more particularly so to that portion of the population descended from emigrants from the New England States, either previously to, or immediately after, the American Revolution. The accent of the Blue Nose is provincial, inclining more to Yankee than to English, his utterance rapid, and his conversation liberally garnished with American phraseology, and much enlivened with dry humour. From the diversity of trades of which he knows something, and the variety of occupations in which he has been at one time or another engaged, he uses indiscriminately the technical terms of all, in a manner that would often puzzle a stranger to pronounce whether he was a landsman or sailor, a farmer, mechanic, lumberer, or fisherman. These characteristics are more or less common to the people of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, and the scene of these sketches might perhaps to a very great extent be laid, with equal propriety, in those places as in Nova Scotia. But to Upper and Lower Canada they are not so applicable.
The town of Illinoo, so often mentioned in this work, is a fictitious place. I have selected it in preference to a real one, to prevent the possible application of my remarks to any of the inhabitants, in accordance with the earnest desire I have already expressed to avoid giving offence to any one. Some of these sketches have already appeared in “Fraser's Magazine" for the year 1847. These have been revised, and their order somewhat transposed, so as to make them blend harmoniously with the additional numbers contained in these volumes. Having made these explanations, I now submit the work to the public.
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...a/oldjudge.htm
Conrad Black
Canadians crave an identity, not this fluffy nonsense from Trudeau
http://www.conradmblack.com/1375/can...ot-this-fluffy
Electric Scotland
Berwick
Added a couple of history videos to our Berwick Upon Tweed page. You can see these at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...wick/index.htm
Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom
By John Rhys, Fellow of Jesus College, and Late Fellow of Merton College; Professor of Celtic in the University of Oxford, Second Edition (1892) (pdf)
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/bibl...Heathendom.pdf
Northern Scotland
The Journal of the Centre for Scottish Studies, University of Aberdeen edited by David Stevenson (1990) (pdf0
You can read this at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...Scotland10.pdf
Clan Buchanan Society International
Got in the Clan Buchanan Banner Newsletter for April 2018 which you can read at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...anan/index.htm
Commonwealth Education Pack
Prepared for the Commonwealth meeting in London in 2018 (pdf)
This is actually for schools but adults can learn a lot from reading it. You can download this from
http://www.electricscotland.com/inde...chers-Pack.pdf
Operations of War
Explained and Illustrated by Edward Bruce Hanley (1866) (pdf). Added a link to this book from his page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...reg/hamley.htm
Quartermaster Supply
Added Volume 3: Outfitting the Soldier at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...stersupply.htm
Shetland and the Shetlanders
By Catherine Sinclair (1840). Added a link to this book at the foot of the page. Also updated the videos as several are no longer available.
You can view the new video I added and this book at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/shetland/
The Story
Our post-Brexit trade policy must put power in the hands of consumers
Written by Ranil Jayawardena MP who has been Conservative MP for North East Hampshire since 2015 and is a member of the International Trade Select Committee.
Those currently arguing to stay in the EU’s Customs Union are campaigning against the interests of British consumers. Who are they? They are the elites — those who seldom venture outside of London — who have no idea what life is like on the ground. What are they really doing? They are arguing against cutting prices — arguing against cutting the cost of living — for hard-working people up and down the land.
We’re at the start of a journey. We’re at the beginning of many blossoming new friendships. Leaving the European Union offers us an unprecedented opportunity to create a greater Britain for the next generation. But, without putting the British consumer at the heart of our efforts — whether in Parliament or in the negotiations — we will be no better off than if we had resigned ourselves to being an outpost of the Brussels bureaucracy forever.
For the first time in four decades — certainly for the first time in my whole lifetime — we will have the ability to seek our own trade deals with our friends around the world, creating a peaceful and prosperous future for our peoples. I’m in politics for the next generation; if we want our children to have better lives tomorrow than we have today, we must solidify our commitment to continued economic growth. The consumer is critical to our success; we must put the consumer at the heart of all we do.
As I wrote in a recent article for PoliticsHome: “Protectionism doesn’t work. It stalls innovation, stifles enterprise and harms consumers”. Contrary to what the naysayers and doom-mongers might have some people believe, the prospect of free trade presents positive and exciting opportunities for trade liberalisation and, consequently, the lives of the British people.
For example, after we leave the EU we can position ourselves as a beacon of free trade — a force for good in the world — and we can use global free trade to create a stronger and more sustainable agricultural sector here in Britain; without the ever higher subsidy payments to landowners and higher food prices that protectionism brings. This is a vision that can truly improve the lives of both taxpayers and consumers here in Britain — as we put people first, their families first and our quality of life first.
One debate inevitably about to reignite is a re-run of the 1999 ‘Beef War’, when Britain opposed the EU’s ban on hormone-treated beef — standing alongside the United States, which regularly opposes EU bans, against what is often nothing short of protectionism. We know the EU’s quality regulations are not always necessarily based on sound science — rather they are often based upon the principle of nanny-state precaution above all else. When I visited the US recently, I ate beef and chicken there — as did Labour and SNP politicians who visited with me. If you were to believe all you hear from those in the House of Commons, you would have thought we would have all keeled over by now. Two words: fake news!
The consumer-focused principles behind this example should ring true today as we form our future global trade policy. Why shouldn’t consumers — armed with the right information about where products are from and how they have been produced — be trusted to make their own decisions about what is right for themselves and their families?
Let’s treat the British people as they are — grown-ups! Let’s give them the choice between cheaper consumables and commodities — and more premium products. Let’s help them by cutting the cost of living, rather than backing an EU system that keeps prices high.
According to a 2016 study by the eminently reputable London School of Economics (an accolade I am sure I would bestow, regardless of it being my alma mater!), non-EEA free trade agreements already save UK consumers around £5.3 billion every year. Far from being a great achievement to cling to, this is merely a good starting point from which we must build our trade negotiations, given we still don’t have free trade agreements with some of the biggest global economies, such as the USA, China, Japan or India.
Further, the study found that current free trade agreements not only led to a price fall of consumables by one-fifth, but the quality of imported products improved markedly also. These are the real world successes of free trade — cited by an institution that continues to speak against Brexit — that we must replicate if we truly want to improve the lives of hardworking British consumers up and down the land. It is they we must stand up for — the forgotten people — in these politically correct, liberal metropolitan times.
Those of us who are free traders must be honest: trade is a two-way street. Just as we should pursue more competition here in Britain — delivering good quality products for consumers at competitive prices — we need to secure export markets that will pay us a competitive price for top quality products, from which we can buy those goods that come from overseas. That is where we can exploit Ricardo’s seminal theory of comparative advantage; producing the goods and services that Britain is globally renowned for at a relatively lower cost. Financial services are a perfect example of an area in which comparative advantage will benefit us — and others — greatly; increasing output, incomes and living standards, plus allowing others access to a wide range of products and deep capital markets to the benefit of their own economy.
Another example, take businesses such as Childs Farm in my constituency which is already the UK’s second biggest — and fastest-growing — producer of baby and child toiletry products, having only been founded in 2010. Despite Childs Farm’s success here in Britain, however, they only began exporting internationally in 2015, meaning exports make up only a small percentage of their business — a statistic in which Childs Farm is not a lone case, with fewer than 15 per cent of SMEs in Britain actually exporting abroad. Since the vote to leave the EU, Childs Farm has already seen an exponential rise in international interest; their products are now available in over 20 countries worldwide — with this number set to double in 2018. Aiding other SMEs to follow their successes must be a key focus to make Brexit the success we know it can be: to see the job creation and economic growth across the whole country that people voted for.
I opened this article with reference to the unprecedented opportunities that leaving the European Union offers — but we must not make the mistake of waiting for our new role in the world to come to us, like a lady waiting to be asked to dance. We must, instead, be bold, brave and pro-active. We must seize the opportunities awaiting us. It is our obligation — not just for us as politicians delivering on the will of the people, but for us as a society delivering for the next generation — to embrace ever freer trade so that we can deliver on the promise that Brexit offers. We must liberalise in a way we have not seen since 1846 and the repeal of the Corn Laws. That was a critical moment for the Conservative Party. This is another.
In 2016, 170 years later, the British people voted for change and prosperity. I am determined to make sure they get it. The British consumer — not vested interests — deserves to be put first.
And that's it for this week and hope you have a great weekend.
Alastair