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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1980-12-17, Page 6•'"r'7•1 JOCELYN SHRIER Publisher SHARON J. DIM • Editor ANTHONY N. JOHNSTONE - Advertising find. Peaeral Manager PAT LIVINGSTON - Office Manager MERLE ELLIOTT • Typesetter JOAN HELM - Cemposition Business and Editorial Office Telephone S28..7822 Mailing: Address P.O. Box 400; Lueknow, NQG 21-10 Second Class Mail Registratien Number '•0847; Subscription rate, ppr year Itt advance Senior Citizen rate, $11.30 per year In advance U.S.A. and Foreign1 S23.00 per year in advanoe and.Fereign,S21.011 per year.lin advance. Unease on the farm They're edgy, out there on the far*, worried about escalating, land: costs and suspicions that'. it, has something to do with heavy investment by foreign buyers. The more vocal among them bemoan farms falling idle and suggest Ontario farmers are on the verge of losing their birthright to foreigners in search of a safe investment, Hard faCitS, however, are- difficult to establish. The Ontario government believes less than one per cent of -the provinee's agricultural property has fallen into the h"ands of overseas investors. But that hasn't diminished the uneasiness among long-time farmers. The fact is that no one knows precisely how much land is being bought and sold, hOw much is being .used or abused. Although the Ontario government last June pasOd an act requiring registration of non-resident interests in farmland, the act has yet to, be proclaimed. No inventory, therefore, is' available on which to reach , conclusions on current fears.' Vigorous application of the non-resident registration act is a vital first step. Under the act; non-resident owners of 10 or more hectares (25 acres) will be required to file a report with a provincial director of registration, Who. can then accurately determine what percentage of Ontario farmland is under foreign control. Unlike other provinces, such as Quebec, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, where legislation demands formal approval to alter the use of productive farmland, Ontario has been slow to act. Again, however, it is difficult to determine whether alarm is warranted because no inventory exists. So long as the—government --delays-proclamation -of the non-resident registration act, specolation will prevail. —Leamington Post. Letter to the editor Ackert served well To the Editor: I was shocked to read the letter to the editor written by Mrs. Donelda McClure of Chesley and published in your - paper on. November 26th. Mrs. McClure, as you may or may not know; regularly attends the Board of Educa- tion meetings and supplies her own version of the pro- ceedings to several of the news media. I have had the privilege of serving on the Bruce County Board of Education with Lloyd Ackert during his entire term of office. I say, without hesitation, that no Trustee has served the cause of educationin Bruce County better than Lloyd. 1 Write Got a beef? a letter Ito the editor Aldsha Moffat t Kinloss Towilsb1p, obviously enjoyed` her talk with Santa on Saturday afteinoon. Area children visited with Santa when he came to Lueknow on Saturday after- noon. Santa's, visit was sponsored by the Lucknow Kinsmen trees By Don Campbell In t e. eat of-a-JUly-afternoon, groups of immigrants werefertied'frour theMavis to:the dockside at Halifax. The stevedores and dock workers who bustled around the ships made joking, remarks about the shabby newcomers, whistting rudely and making crude invitations, to the young women and girls, FlOra Fraser received,- more than her share of the attentipn, much, to the embarrassment and anger of Neil MacCrimmon, who carried her belongings as well as his own, At one point, being confronted by a persistent heckler, he lowered the luggage to the ground. Facing the offender, he slowly rolled up his sleeves and thrust his square jaw forward. "Would ye care' to feel my reply to ye filthy tongue, or maybe ye mouth is bigger than ye heart?" Flora Fraser pulled at Neil's arm but the restrain was unnecessary. One look. at 1 the aggressive scowl upon Neil's face was' enough to send the abuser about his business. MacCriminon picked up their few belongings and they, made their way along the quay. Threading through barrels, boxeS and bales of cargo, they passed merchant ships and naval vessels tied up to bollards, then out into the town beyond. Halifax, even in the year T841 Was an old port of the new world:There were fine stone buildings standing out like sentinels of power, amongst the lesser important wooden structures. The street near the dock was a hive of commercial activity. Warehouks, officers and merch- ant's shops were clustered together and joined at their frontage by a wooden sidewalk. The rough street echoed to the sound of horseshoes striking on stone, the jin&e of harness and the clatter of wheels riding over the cobbles. People of all descriptions thronged the thoroughfare. Men in fine clothes and ladies in, long gowns carrying . parasols, mingled with,fish hawkers, old women selling flowers and ragged barefoot children. Seagulls wheeled and screamed between the 'buildings, strutted amongst the litter of the Street or perched upon the eaves, ready to ' pounce down upon anything which resembled food. The immigrants found Halifax unbearably _hot and bppressive on that late July.. day. The atmosphere was filled with the aroma of a host of mysterious cargos but predominating was the smell of sewage, horse manure and fish. • Flora walked slowly. Weak from several days of being and the Luclutow Business'ASsociation provided free skating, fora area yOungsters at the Lucknoy arena; [Photo by Pat Livingstonl.. confined to bed; and still feeling the pain from a cracked rib,, she paused from time to time to catch her breath. rteil-1,1UCT—unmoif- was„ struck the precarious situation he and Flora now faced. They were walking into the town of Halifax, exiles in a strange land, with no idea of their ultimate destination,-. whereto find Work 'or where fact, they could spend their first night in Canada. It was whilsthe pondered on his future, that:A faMiliar face' suddenly appeared amongst die crowds in the streeti.lt. was Duncan MacLeod' and he cattle towards them, took Flora's arm and looked anxiously into her face. "I've been seeking you," he said in aeoncerned voice. "Are you alright Mrs. Fraser? You mustna tax ye set; Cdme with! I've found a place you can stay 'for a 'few days.' MacLeod had come to Halifax to. take over the dutiei of • minisTer of St. James Church, and this is where he led them. On reaching the building they went down some stone steps into the basement. It was cool and musty, charged with an odour peculiar to such places. There were a few old chairs, benches and a. rough table. Pr* the windows at ground level on the with side,' the sun penetrated the gloom. It revealed particles Of dust whieh moved slowly in the shafts of light. There were other-immigrants liere who had recently disembarked from the Mavis, and the high pitched voices of children echoed across the' emptineas. MacCrimmon saw many people he knew. The old fiddler was there and the fisherman who had once 'sailed out of Aberdeen. There were women, and of course children. In all, some twenty five,lost sheep with their shepherd, the Reverend • Duncan MacLeod. He coughed to draw their , attention. "We seem to be the only ones who have chosen to stay together," he said, "The others, 'no doubt, have gone beyond the town and into the countryside. Under the• circumstances; I consider that they have made a: wise choice. We will pray for them and ask the Lord to keep them safe until we meet again," He swept his eyes ,across the pitiful little group, who looked to him for leadership, and he smiled with satisfaction. , "Come then, let us be of good cheer, for we are more than friends in need. We are one people of the same blood, bound together by our• native tongue and' our Highland tradition, We shall bring the spirit of Skye to. this land they call Canada!" ' I will not deal with his accomplishments here; they 'are well known to those in the Bruce who are interested in, and regularly follow the course of education in the County. His efforts, and his accomplishments speak • for themselves. Likewise, I will not com- ment on the efforts of. Mrs. McClure. Her letter portray's a good deal about As author, and the thoughtful reader will draw his or her conclu- sions. Yours sincerely, George C. Loucks, representing Chesley, Paisley and Elderslie on the Bruce County Board of Education.