The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-03-21
"SCOTLANO
FOREVER"
Mr.. Gavin Spence Talks
About the Americans
and the Scotch.

Gavin Spence, the Scottish tenor, who
is to appear with Miss Flora F. DON
aIdson. the cantatrfce of the same ma
tionality. at the Opera House this
evening, gave an interesting talk
at his rooms in the Hawaiian Hotel to
an Advertiser reporter yesterday after
noon.
Asked about the present tour of Miss
Donaldson and himself, Mr.. spence said
he had been absent from Scotland now
six years. They were going around the
world. From here they should go to
New Zealand, thence to the Common
wealth of Australia, to the Straits Set
Elements. to Ceylon and India, and
home by way of Brindisi. Since cross
ing the Atlantic it had been an almost
unbroken series of engagements. Fol-
lowing the winter season last year, witt
a rest of perhaps thirty days, they had
given a long series of entertainments
at Chautauqua.
Mr.. Spence graphically described the
various dTIiStIC anu c4uSeltlOiAcbA e1OSANA
ties of the famed Chautauqua institu-
ton For their part, the Scottish en-
tertafners made from two to four ap-
pearances, or from four to twelve pro-
grams, in a week there.
ct is stated in your paper that we
were the first professional interpreters
of Scottish song to appear south of
Mason and Dixon's line. The same is
true of Mexico. A concert given by
us in the City of Mexico was the swell
est affair, on the audience side, we have
ever met. 1t was given under the aus
pices of the ST. Andrews Society of
Mexico. The American and English
colonies turned out in force and every
body came in evening dress. Never
have 1 seen more splendid equipages
and brilliant women assembled.
81 have made a special study of the
Americans. their traits and their likes
and dislikes for entertainments, and
have aimed in all our work to give
them educational entertainments, be-
cause there is a great deal of erroneous
opinion about the relations ex-
isting between Scotland and England.
The general opinion is that England is
the dominating power there, and that
neither Scotland, Ireland nor Wales has
anything to do with affairs.
''Yet the two chief dignitaries of the
established Church of England-the
of Canterbury and the
Archbishop of York-are Scotchmen.
The Prime Minister, Mr. Balfour, and
the leader of the House of Commons,
Mr. be1l-Bannerman. also are
Scotch. In fact for a great many
years, since the time of Gladstone, the
Scotch have been dominant in running
the affairs of Great Britain
A remark was made by the reporter
about the row the Scottish people kick
ed up over the kings assumption of the
title of Edward VII. Mr.. Spence re-
Joined:
king James was the first king that
was ever crowned. The others were
only princes when crowned. James
was king of Scotland before he was
crowned in England.
People have crude ideas of the Scot
fish dialect as if a language by itself,
whereas the purest English that is
spoken is in Inverness. Dictionaries
in America and England have words
transferred bodily from the Scotch dia-
lect.
1.-The Americans appreciate our music
better than the Scottish themselves,
taking them as a whole" Mr.. Spence
said in reply to a query. "It is a
novelty with the Americans. At least
80 per cent of our business in the Uni
ted States is done with exclusively
American societies.
I'm my preludes take up the part
the Scotch have had in developing the
United States. There is a bond of
sympathy between Americans and the
Scotch.