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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1981-09-09, Page 6Page 6—Lucknow 'Sentinel, . Wedneitiky, September 9, 198 . ThI "Tie kpuy Town" 111,. Established 1873 5lliARON J. DIETZ • editor ANTHONY N, JOHHNSTONE • Advertising and General Manager PAT LIVINGSTON • Ochre Manager MERLE ELLIOTT - Typosetter JOAN HELM Compolaltion Business and editorial Office Telephone 528.2822 Mailing Address PA .Box 400, Lucknow, NOG 2110 Second Class Mail Registration Number 41447 Subscription roti, $13,50 per year hi d ubi. i Senior Citizen rote, $11.50 per year In admitt ir.S.A. Ind Foreign, $23.00 per year in misuse Sr. Cit. 11,S.A. sed Foreign, .$21.00 per year in advisee BipacI of trust :You' think Prime Minister Trudeau would catch fin, 4He's been at this business of being :° Prime Minister forquite some time now but he will. ;"never realize that the Canadian electorate doesn't like his arrogant ways: The major agreement signed last week. w,ith Alberta's premier. Peter Lougheed is "the. second major flip-flop in policy Trudeau has dared play on the Canadian people. In 1974 he promised faithfully if he and his Liberals were returned to power they would not impose wage and price controls as the Conservatives advocated in their campaign A year and a half after their election win, Trudeau found it necessary to impose wage and price controls. But the Canadian people have not forgotten this major reversal in policy and that is why with the release of the details of the energy agreement, the Canadian public has the right to feelthey have been stabbed in the back again. During the eiection campaign in 1980,. Trudeau said there was no reason to bring Canadian oil prices to world level, It would create undue hardship for the Canadian people and. he was dedicated to pursuing an agreement ..with Alberta which would be fair for, all Canadians. This .week's energy agreement, while it brings to an end one of the most devisive disagreements in Canadian history, will raise the price of oil to a level which is higher than that proposed by the Clark government in their ill-fated budget. And it was Trudeau and his Liberal members of parliament.. who objected to that energy proposal, which brought about the defeat of.. the Clark government and . the election campaign in which Trudeau made his promise to keep energy'.prices down. Perhaps the Canadian people can be duped once and the credibility of a leader andbthe party he represents will not suffer. But can .a government betray a people twice in this manner without people losing faith in that political party? Perhaps Trudeau and his party have : forgotten the flip-flop in policy in 1974 but the Canadian people have not. Nor will they forget the reversal of policy on the energy issue or the damage their stand did to .the relationship between 'Canadians and Alberta, only to have the government" capitulate in the end. The voters in the recent by-elections in Toronto and Quebec did not approve of Trudeau's arrogant manner in dealingwith the economic situation in this country this summer. .They showed their disapproval at the polls. It could well be that the Canadian electorate will show their disapproval for the Liberal government's breach of trust on the energy issue when they go to the polls next in a federal election. Maybe the liberals haven't caught on but the Canadian people have. Time for change The number of young people who die violent deaths on Ontario's highways has increased alarmingly. Just a week ago four Seaforth area teenagers lost their lives in traffic accidents in on weekend and this brought the total of young people to die this way to 10 this year. It isn't just the Seaforth community which loses its young people so tragically. Lucknow has had its share of tragic deaths in, the past and there wil be such deaths in the future: Many of these traffic deaths are alcohol related which is yet another reason to look at our society's use of alcohol, Our young people complain there is little to do but drive around and because,of the example set by society, drinking and 'driving is acceptable. Even if the teenager is involved in a team sport or another club activity, every" achievement such as a championship win must be celebrated with an ample amount of booze. The use of alcohol in conjunction with social functions has ically along with the deaths on our hncreased dramatlighwiys. Perhaps it is time to consider changes. Public concern for drinking teenager persuaded the province to raise the legal age to 19. Perhaps the legal driving age should be raised as well. European teenagers do not drive until they are 18, but they do not complain of any •disadvantage. European youths, who visited Canada recently. with a Lions exchange, commented they still go places as much as their Canadian counterparts. They take a bus or someone drives them. It is possible that raising the driving age to 18 could eliminate some "of the tra ..ed , and hopefully g Y teenage drivers would acquire responsibility with age. This however, is unlikely if our society continues to•abuse alcohol as it does now. Many of our highway accidents do not involve drinking teenagers but rather drinking adults. Alcohol has become synonymous with the "good life" and until society moves to a use of alcohol in moderation in appropriate ways, the highway carnage will continue. redtrees by don Campbell. Chippy Chisholm looked forward 'to the day when Hamish Murdoch would journey to Toronto to claim his bride. It was true of course, thatthe old sailmaker wanted to see his friend joined in matrimony to Katie Mac- Queen, but his real reason for wanting to go to .'Toronto was sothat he may finda ship which would take him back to Scotland. The longwinter had only increased that burning desire to'see. again the purple hills, hear the call of sheep in the glens and smell the peat smoke from. thefires in the bothies. Chippy, in spite of his realization that Canada was a land. of hope and promise, just longed to\''gae. hame". Hamish Murdoch wouldnot be favoured by the masterful .music of Neil MacCrimmon at his wedding.The ewes were lambing and the piper's duty was, in the barn' and not in the merriment of the ,wedding celebration. "Ye'1l manage just fine wi'out me," he told Hamish. "Mind . ye; I'll be. weitin'. 'free ye tae come back to the cabin and I'll. gi ye a blew as ye carry ye bride across the threshold." Flora MacCrimmon too was o be denied the pleasureof seeing Hamish wed. It was April and she was very heavy with child. The long rough journey down Yonge Street would not be helpful to her condition and the babe she was carrying this time, she intended to keep. She visited Hamish in the cabin just prior to his departure and cast a disapproving eye around the intended home of the future Mrs Murdoch. . "Will ye just look at the place? she chided 'Hamish. "It looks like it wintered a couple b' pigs' rather than two grown men. It is just as well 1 am staying here. Young MacCrimtnon: and me will hae our work tae do whilst ye're awa," She patted her belly lovingly. "There, there, but we'll tak care of it,won'twe laddie?" When at last the joyful . day of departure arrived, Hamish Murdoch borrowed WilliaBlake's team and wagon and took with him also a fine suit which had :belonged. to Blake and had only been gatheringdust in recent. years. Hamish odid not relish the thought of dressing like a gentleman for even one day. The coat with the beaver collar would be grand the white frilled shirt that. Flora had ironed so. carefully was splendidly appropriate for the occasion. It was not the drain pipe trousers which would make him feel embaassed, not the polished boots, he was sure would squeak. with every step. it was that ridiculous stove pipe hat which Blake insisted he wear. "Och well, a man does not marry every day of his life," Hamish said as. if to make excuses for the attire he would be obliged wto wear. Blake was invited to the wedding but gracefully declined.' A stranger to the customs of the Highlanders would stick out like a sore thumb. Besides, why travela whole day to drink whisky? He had -plenty : right there, at Blake's Folly! ' There had been a lot of preparation for the wedding in Toronto, The neck to find befitting clothes for Kate MacQueen had not been overlooked. A few days before the great day, a dress was delivered to the humble home of Kate by a messenger from a fine shop on York Street. Although she orie foot in the furrow enquired, she . was not told who had paid for her wedding gown. tater she learned that a young doctor hadbeen seen . going into the York Street shop. A man called Doctor Cameron. The children of Kate MacQueen were also fitted out for the occasion; a new suit for Edward and a. prettydress for his sister, Anne. These too,, donated by a person or' persons unknown. On the day of the wedding, Charlie Grant brought. around , a horse and carriage to Kate's house. The black- smith looked cleaner than anybody had ever seen him before as he sat proudly on the dri'ver's seat and beamed at the passers-by. He waited outside until Katie was ready, the horse jingling the bells he had added to the harness for the occasion. So it seemed that it was a happy day 'for. everybody. All except one. Young Edward MacQueen dressed slowly and reluctanctly. From time to time he glanced athis mother as she fussed with her wedding gown. It may have been a joyful occasion for her, but the lad felt nothing but loathing" for the event which would changethe course of his life. When at last it was time to go, Katie called to her son. "Come awa dward, 'tis time tae gae.'' The boy did not move. He sat sullenly at the table, resentful and obstinate. "Edward, I'll no tell ye again. Come awa law and be happy. Ye have a brow man free .a father this day." The boy broke into tears and sobbed bitterly. "1 no hae a father an' 1'11 never hoe a father. My father is dead!" by bob trotter Interesting to see Gene Whelan flailing away at his own party. When Pierre Trudeau said, he was going to step down as leader of the Liberal Party two years ago, Gene, the affable fanner from Amherstburg, was one of the first Members of cabinet to throw his 10 -gallon hat into the chute. It is unfair to bring up the old joke about Whelan but I liked it then and .I still get a chuckle out of it because of the agminister's shattered syntax. When he said he would seek the leadership, one disgruntled reporter from La Belle Province suggested we could, if be.won the leadership, have a prime minister unable to speak either one of the country's official languages. It was soon after his announcement that observers of the agricultural scene noticed a marked difference in Whelan's clout within the federal cabinet. Somehow or other, his per- sonality er-sonal ty was muffled almost immed- iately, Trudeau has been accused many times of stifling cabinet leader- ship except for a few of his favourites. It is intersting to note that few brilliant young Anglophones have been given the high-profile cabinet posts. Pierre saves those for his Fran- cophone friends. If that sounds as though I'tn against the idea of the lederal cabinet being top-heavy with Quebecers, so be it. Whether Eugene Whelan would get the support to become party leader when Trudeau steps down is ques- tionable, He is certainly making noises in the boondocks, even as far away as the Pacific Exhibition in Vancouver, about as far away,from Parliament Hill as he can get. His speech contained some vague hints about new programs for 'econom- ic problems when the house resumes and when a budget is tabled in October. His statement that Canadi-, ans are fed up with the way the Liberal government has handled the economy is a hint that is now making some tentative bids for the ' leadership,. These trial balloons are part -and -par- cel of politics these days. "The message (from the two recent byelections in Canada, both lost by the Liberals) is loud and clear," he said. "There was a form of disgust that they (voters) expressed." It does not, of course, take a genius tofigure out that a great many Canadians are fed up. But then, Eugene is nota genius and would, be the first to admit it. He has a certain amount of credibility in this country and still can pull a respectable rural vote all across Canada. His homespun humour, his dry wit,. his method of poking ,fun at himself and even his ability to speak extent-, poraneously have endeared him to a lot . of people outside the farming community. I have heard speak a number of times and he has never failed to wander a little from his prepared text to give the press a meaty quote or two. He has called himself one of the ugliest men "in the world which is refreshing coming from a politician. Too/many of them become. pompous, fatuous asses when they get to Ottawa. He had better do something and be quick about it if he is going to get the farm vote, though. The federal Department of Consumer and Corpor- ate Affairs has statistics to prove that farm. bankruptcies in ' the livestock industry are now 60 per cent higher than last year with 58 hog and beef fanners declaring bankruptcy in Ont- ario up to July 31. Total. bankruptcies for farms in Ont- ario were 96 at the end of July compared with 70 a year ago, Across Canada, farm bankruptcies are up more than 30 per cent from a year ago. This foolishness cannot continue and Eugene Whelan is one of only a handful of men in this country who might be able to do something about it. If he waits too long - until a budget is brought down he may be saddled with the same old maxims. "Too little and too late". That ain't no way to become prune mertister! r