The Aberystwith Observer

THE MEAT WARRANTY QUESTION. MEETING OF FARMERS AT OSWESTRY. A LOCAL ASSOCIATION FORMED. There WM a crowded att-endance at a meeting of farmers and others interested in the breed- ing and feeding of stock at the Wynnstay we." Hotel. Oswestry, on Wednesday afternoon, to consider the resolution parsed by the National Federation of Meat Trades Association. that on and after November 2nd, 1908, all animals bought by any member of the above association, either by private or public sale, for the food of man, shall be guaranteed by the farmer, auc- tioneer, or vendor, to be free from any infec- tious or contagious disease. Such warranty fchall remain in force for a period of 10 days after doliverv." The meeting was convened by Messrs Whitfield and Rogers and Messrs- Hall, Wateridge, and Owen, two firms of auctioneers who do a large trade in the Oswestry Smith- field. Mr W. Clive Bridgeman, M.P. for the division, presided, and was supported by Lord •Harlech, Major Lovett, Messrs A. E. Payne J. Scott- Bickertoti, J. Richards, Llynclys, E. Green, The Moors W. Whitfield (of Messrs Whitfield and Rogers), and F. A. Phillips (of Messrs Hall, Wateridge and Owen).—Mr Whit- field read letters regretting inability to attend the meeting, from Messrs David Davies, M.P.. J. Marshall Dugdale, Thomas (Wynnstay), T. M. w [111 Wainwright (Whittington). J. Darlington. Black Park, and T. Ward Green, The Wood. Mr Dugdale. in his letter said if the resolution of the National Federation of Meat Traders' As- ttociation was carried out, it would cause ser- ious inconvenience to the farmers. He was unable, at present, to see how a carcase could be identified ten days after the beast left. the farmer's premiss. It seemed to him that uu- der the guttle of safeguarding the public, an at- tempt was being made to introduce the meth- ods of the American Reef Trnst into England (hear, hear). It was high time that farmers organised and made their power felt. They had kept in the back-ground far too long (ap- plause). The Chairman then called upon Mr Scott Bickerton, who proposed that a Farmer's As- sociation be formed for the mutual protection of farmers and stock breeders in that district, and that its title be the "Oswestry and District Farmers' Association," the qualification for membership being a maximum subscription of £ 1 Is. and a minimum of 2s 6d. Mr Bickerton said he was very glad to see their member, Mr Bridgeman, taking an interest in this question. He was sure the lion member could not do bet- ter than look after the material interests of ag- riculturists, and lie hoped he would do in Par- liament as he wa.,4 doing there that day (ap- pLause). Proposing the resolution, Mr Bicker- ton said the mandate from the butchers was nothing else but the old Irish method of boy- cotting and he did not think they ought to be attacked in this way. It. seemed to him that the matter of the warranty was not one of very great importance. At Newport, Mon., Mr Richard Stratton said that the mere fact of paying 6d per bullock, and Is per cow covered the whole of any possible loss, and settled the question between butcher and farmer. In fact, he looked upon the butchers' resolution as be- ing much cry about very little wool. The farm- ers ought not to submit to it, and the only way of fighting the question was to form an ssocia- tion of farmers to counteract tb ) i iflt' nce of the association of butchers. 1 hir Butchers' Association did not cover the whole < the meat distributors in this country; indeed only one out of every four butchers was a member of the association. If they wanted proper examina- tion of animals, there ought to be public ab- battoirs, and the Sanitary Inspectors in confer- ence at Liverpool recently, had very wisely passed a resolution in favour of the abolition of private slaughter houses (hear, hear). If they formod an association and pressed this matter forward in Parliament they would catch the butchers on the flank (laughter and hear, hear). Mr Frank, of Pentreperfa, seconded the reso- lution, which, on being put to the meeting, was carried unanimously.—Mr Phillips proposed that Mr W. W. Tin nes wood be the secretary of the association. Mr Tinneswood, he said, took great, interest in the question, and would make a very worthy and energetic secretary.—Mr J. Vaughan seconded, and the motion was unani- mously carried.—On the motion of Mr J. Rich- ards, Morton, seconded by Mr Mottram, Ebnal, Mr Wm. Whitfield was elected treasurer of the association. — Mr Whitfield announced that about 100 gentlemen had promised to act on the general committee, and it was decided that these should form the committee with power to add to their nnmber. The Chairman said the formation of an as- sociation was the most useful thing to do, and he only hoped that it would be the beginning of combined action in the matter of agriculture on many other subjects, besides the one under con- sideration (hear, hear). He thought everybody must be aware how very badly organised agri- culture was, and it had declined as an industry mainly, he thought, because agriculturists had not been able to combine and organise as they ought to have done, and as other industries found themselves able to do (hear, hear). Go- ing on to refer to the action of the butchers in regard to the warranty question, Mr Bridge- man said it should not be forgotten that the suggestion which was put forward by the butch- ers was made to them in Court when they had a trial action on the subject. He was not on<6 of those who blamed the butchers in the leaet for trying to avoid a burden which they thought was unfair to them, and which he also thought should be borne by others than the butchers. As to tboi. methods of procedure, he h&d uoth- 1 ing to say, and he did not think it was wise to discuss them, but it was only fair to them to say that he thought they were perfectly justified in trying to avoid having this burden put on their shoulders (hear, hear). But having said that, he thought the farmers were still more justified in trying to prevent the burden being put on their shoulders (hear. hear). In the first place everyone he had talked to seemed to agree that what the butchers proposed was quite unworkable. Where additional precau- tions were being imposed for the benefit of the public, the public who wanted these things wished to have their milk or meat or whatever it was, as pure as possible. And very properly. But ae these extra burdens were being imposed for the benefit of the public, it seemed to him quite incontestable that the public should pay for the advantage which they undoubtedly got iffik having better and more wholesome meat to eat. So he thought they must take the view that those who wished to introduce these regu- lations should be the people to bear the expense (applause). There were two ways of doing this —either by making them pay more for their meat. which he did not think would be very popular—(laughter)—or by making them pay for these regulations out of the taxation, that was to say, that the Government should find some portion, at any rate, of the compensation re- quired when animals were pronounced as un- I sound (applause). IHe could not help thinking that the course suggested at their meetings was the right and proper one. and that was that they should do what they could to approach the Government with a view to persuading them that it was the duty of the public to pay the cost of compensation, or at any rate three- fourths of it. If that was the right course, then what they had to do was to set about that course with the best possible chance of success. Now in going into the question, were they likely to be more successful in approaching the Govern- ment if they quarrelled, at the very outset, with the butchers, or were they more likely to get what they wanted if they got the butchers to join with them in approaching the Government so as to bring pressure from both Rides? To him it was obvious that the more public and the more industries they could bring together to bear upon the Government, the more likely they would be successful (hear, hear). And at this stage of the proceedings, to cut off all com- munication with the butchers would seem to be one of the most foolish courses they could pur- sue. But they or farmers did not undertake to give this guarantee (applause). Let that be perfectly clear (renewed applause). Ii that was recognised, let them do what they could now not to cut off communication with the batchers, but to get them, if they would, to join them in approaching the Government (hear, hear). If the butchers would not do this. then it would be time to consider what they would do next. The mere people they could bring and the more pressure they would bring on the Government, th-e better. Another thing which required very careful consideration, was the question of for- eign competition. They did not know how far t foreign meat producers were behind this pro- posal of the Butchers' Federation (hear, hear) —and any alienation of the butchers might drive them further into the hands of these pro- ducers than they were now. They had to be very careful about. that, and he expected that the question of foreign m^at had really more to do with the difficulty they were in now than anything else. But they should be quite clear as to what they were going to ask the butchers for. He did no think there was any danger, as Mr Bickerton had hinted, that they would take this mandate lying down, and let the butchers give them a rolling in the dirt (hear, hear). Then they should make it perfectly clear that they were prepared to co-operate with the Government in every fair means of stamping out disease. That, of course, was the most important question in the eyes of the Govern- ment. and he thought it wae quite possible that if the Government decided to give the money for the compensation, they would enforce still more strictly the regulations on the subject of disease. They ought to welcome any fair meth- od of stamping out disease, and not put them- selves in the position that they did not care whether disease existed or not (applause). The Chairman then called upon Mr John Richards, of Llynclys, to propose the following resolution on the fmbject: That this meet- ing of the Oswestry and District Farmers' As- sociation (considering their position in respect to the purchase of store stock without warranty) are agreed that they cannot undertake to war- rant their cattle as required by the Meat Trad- es Federation that we are strongly of opinion that all fat stock bone-fide bought by butchers for human consumption and which may then or afterwards be condemned by Government In- spectors. as unfit for the food of man should be compensated for np to three-quarters of its value, such compensation to be paid by Gov- ernment and that we recommend all farmers to combine with the Meat Trades Federation in approaching the Government for the purpose of securing legislation for the mutual protec- tion of stock breeders, stock feeders, and butch- ers, and hope that the Meat Trades Federation will see the wisdom of withdrawing their reso- lution intended to take effect on November 2nd, in order to facilitate this joint action being taken. That this meeting appoints seven dele- gates to meet the Farmers' Executive Commit- 100 at Wellington on the 30th inst., who will then appoint delegates to confer with the Meat Trades Federation." Mr Richards said he quite agreed with the Chairman that they ought not to go in any way antagonistic to the butchers in the first in- stance. There should be no ill-feeling in the matter but they should ask the butchers to co- operate with them in trying to get that com- pensation from the Government which they con- sidered was their due. As farmers. they in the past had demanded that their feeding stuffs and manure should be delivered with a guaran- tee, and he quite agreed that butchers should have some c-ompensation or guarantee for what they purchased. But they as farmers were not prepared that this guarantee should be made by them. They had to buy their store cattle with- out any warranty whatever; in fact it was very hard on whom to put the responsibility. A large nnmber of old crocks died on farms, but farmers were never asked for compensation for them (hear, hear). Mr E. Green, who seconded the resolution, said he felt the question very strongly, but be was decidedly with the Chairman that they should not make the butchers their enemies. If the farmers and butchers combined together, as he felt, c-ertain they would, if the matter was put in the right light to them, they would force the hands of the Government. If crocks were condemned in the interests of the public he did not see why the public should not be called upon to pay. The farmers contributed their fair share to the Imperial Exchequer, and if the regulations were carried out in the in- terests of the public, the public should pay. They as farmers were determined not to give any guarantee at all in any shape or form. It would be absolutely impossible to do so (ap- plause). Messrs A. E. Payne and R. Brown, Ruyton. supported the resolution, which waa carried un- animously. The following were appointed dele- gates to the conference:—Messrs E. Green, J. S. Bickerton, J. Richards (Llynclys). J. B. Mclean, A. E. Payne, J. Darlington, W. Whit- field, and J. Richards (Morton). A cordial vote of thanks was passed to Mr Bridgeman for presiding, on the motion of Lord iHarlech, seconded by Mr Hughes, Penybont,

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FARM NOTES. [BY AN OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTOR.] We cannot write so cheerfully about our farm ing matters as we could a month ago. Things do not look so bright on the farm—the month of September (our harvest month) has disappoint- ed us. We have had all the troubles of a wet harvest to oontend with, accompanied by the usual loss. The month proved to be quite an unpleasant contrast to the corresponding month of last year, in which we managed to secure nearly all our grain and a lot of hay in excel- lent condition. Last year the month of Sep- tember was the only bright bit in a black year. This year it has proved a dark spot in a fairly bright season. We must hope for a change for the better next month. There have been occa- sional fine days when we managed by extra ex- ertion to secure most of the grain in fairly good condition. Where the fields were sheltered by trees, hedges, or woods from the action of the wind, there has been some damage caused te the grain —the continued wet with the high temperature causing the grain to sprout; but where the fields were open and exposed to the wind there has not been much harm done, beyond a little dis- colouring on the outside of the sheaves. The use of the modern machinery saves us now from much of the loss and worry we had to bear in years gone by when we had a wet harvest. We can now manage our harvest with our usual Irtaff of men, and if it comes a few wet days in the harvest there is always some other work that we can go on with. Before the introduc- tion of the reaping machinery we had to en- gage a number of extra men and women for the harvest. These had to be paid and fed whether they could work at harvest work or not. A spell of wet weather in the time of harvest in those days was worse than inconvenient. The thrashing machine has been at work a little, where the grain was secured in dry con- dition. Barley is yielding well as far as we have been able to ascertain but the quality, colour, and condition vary greatly according to the circumstances of harvesting. As quality affects the price of barley more than that of tlie other cereals, we may expect, to hear of varying .1 A great breadth of th. barley crop was late in being sown owing to the wet state of the land in spring. It is consequently late in harvesting, and will not be ready for thrashing for some time yet. Most of this late barley is a very bulky crop, and likely to yield well. Oats are not bulky, and they have gone into very little room in the stackyard. Thrashing proves so far that they are likely to yield better than the bulk of straw would lead us to expect. There appears to be a considerable surplus of old oats still in the hands of the farmers. As the new crop is likely to be deficient, old oats may improve in value. The displacing of horses by electric trams, motor cars, and bicycles af- fects the market price of oats more than that of any other cereal—oats being par excellence the food for horses. Still, so long as maize continues so high in price, we cannot expect oats to become very lew. There has not been much wheat thrashed yet, but the quality and yield are all that can be expected. As soon as one crop has been secured we must begin to prepare for the next.. The harvest has been tedious and troublesome, and is not yet finished. The land is also in a very wet condi- tion. Still, we must push forward and take fime by the forelock, and get out field work for- ward before the dayw get very short. Stubbles that have been cleared should now be ploughed. If there is any scuteh or other weeds in the ground, the autumn is a good time to get it cleared out. t, Farmyard manure may also be carted on to the stubbles and ploughed in. On some land the most valuable constituents of the dung may get washed down into the subsoil by the winter rains and taken beyond the reach of tho next crop. To prevent this loss, we'find it the best plan t-o plough the freshly-manured stubble verv lightly, merely to cover the manure in. Then in January or February plough it deeply, after which the Massy Harris cultivator will be the best implement to work it up for green crops. The two ploughings mix the soil and manure together, and gives the surface soil an oppor- tunity of absorbing the soluble constituents of the manure from being washed into the sub- soil. Where the land is sloping and steep it is much better to have the manure ploughed in. If the land is level it may be applied in the rows at seeding time-tbi-i latter plan is prefer- able for the mangel crop—which crop likes to have fui early taste of the manure and is not likely to get too much of it. The showery weather of September has great- ly improved the growing crops of mangolds and turnips, and has caused quite an unusual flush of grass on the pastures. So we are hav- ing some compensation for the loss in the corn- fields. The prospect of plenty of keep for stock during the autumn and winter is bright at present, and helps to keep up the value of our cattle. Sheep have dropped in value even more than we anticipated, how much lower they would have dropped if keep had been scarce it is diffi- cult to guess, but several causes have con- tributed to the decreased value of sheep. For some yearo they have been very dear, much above their normal value, now weare experienc- ing the re-action. The number of sheep hM iucreasi&cS considerably during the yeaj. The price of wool has decreased greatly,, the price of lamb considerably, and tlie price of mutton slightly, besides which a late and tedious har- of lamb considerably, and the price of mutton slightly, besides which a late and tedious har- vest has always a depressing effect on our autumn sheep fairs. Those that sold early made the best prices, and lots from well-known &ound hills have not been thrown away. There has been a steady demand for the best sorts, but there are still large numbers of middling and inferior lots on the market. Fortunately there is prospect of plenty of keep. On the other hand, a wet, mild autumn conduces greatly to the propagation and development of fluke (or liver rot) and we must exercise great care to keep the sheep on dry, sound pastures. Only last spring some of our neighbours lost many sheep by that deadly disease. There is a brisk demand for cows in milk; that is usually the case at this season. The demand however, seems to be accentuated by the establishment of creameries on the borders of the county. If there could be a still further development of that industry further into the county, it would help some of our farmers greatly. Many of us are handicapped by dis- tance from market, so that we cannot make the most of our fresh butter. The old system of tubbing" it is quite out of date, and on some farms the dairy accommodation is very inadequate. So that on most farms we are compelled to depend on the rearing of young cat- tle for making the rent, the milk. &c. being looked on as a bye-product. We find for this purpose that the Hereford breed of cattle are tTie most suitable. They stand the climate better than the Shertliorn, they are kept at lecs expense, and are more readily saleable in our fairs. Nothing is more easily turned into money than a good lot of Hereford bullocks or heifers. On the other hand if we had the chance of a ready market for our milk at a fair price, we might consider it best to breed Shorthorns or Shorthorn Crosses, they being generally better milk producers, only 'in that case we could not realise so much per head of our young bullocks, the bullocks so reared being generally of a leggy, light fleshed des- cription, which do not find favour with the graziers. Our show season is now over for this year, and looking back upon it. we may congratulate ourselves that we still hold our own in our dis- tinctive breeds. The shire horses of the county still keep up their high character, and the horse which the A.^oc;: v 5<t hired is likely to still further improve the class. The breed- ing of good shim, ii more likely to pay than that of any other description of horse. It is a tenant farmer's work. The wealthy landown- ers may buy them and show them and make a hobby (jf them, but it is the tenant farmer who must produce them-if it has io be done pro- fitably. There is a slight spurt in the breed- ing of hunters, brought about by the enthusi- astic encouragement of our County Member. This is a branch that, the wealthy may engage in—as a rent-paying business, it is of too specu- lative a character. Hackney and pony breed- ing has got a set back at present-, the demand for them has fallen off through the competition of other modes of being carried about. Still it pave to breed the best sorts—with action and quality. There is no pay in breeding in- ferior cobs or ponies. There is still a fair de- maud for pit ponies, but at much lower prices than was prevalent some years ago. The re- j cent high prices of sheep was contributing to the displacement of ponies on some of our hills. Probably now that 6heep are coming down in value, ponies may regain popularity. In the cattle classes ,the Shorthorn appears still to be looked on as the breed of the wealthy. The ten ant ly to tiie Li*roiora and to tie iluu-k (with the slight exception of tho milk producer, and in our slK>-wT:»rds the Hereford h-a-s eertainly scored both in nmrbers and nnpearance. We cannot t;ontrratul:>to our^«]-es on any advance in this department, for the eatiio classes at our shows to-day do not bear favourable compari- son with those at our county sh«w 30 rears ago. In the sheep classes, our own county breed is gradually displacing the Shropshire. At none of the shows in the county hae the Shrop- shire made a creditable display, whilst the turn- out of the Kerry Hill and the Welsh has been all that could be desired, showing a gradual and careful improvement in both breeds. As regards pigs the less said about them the better; they are in disgrace at present, and in- stead^ of being tlie "gentleman that pays the rent," they are unable to pay for their meat and drink. Certainly the restrictions on their movements aggravate matters, and unfortun- ately these aggravating restrictions do not seem to help us to get rid of the swine fever.

A 0 1 1 I I I KILLS A If 3p. If

MARKETS. WELSHPOOL CORN, Monday.- -Quotations: Wheat, 15s 6d to 16s Od per 240 lbs oats, 12a ad to 14s 6d per 225 Ibs beans, 14a 6d to 15B 6d per 2254bs. WXLBHROOL GKNBBAL., Monday.— Batter, whole. sale, lid to Is Od retail, Is Od to la 2d per lb hen egere, wholesale, 10 to 11; retail, 9 to 0 r duck eggs, lOtoOforle; chickens, 3s 3d to 5s Od hens, 28 6d to 38 Od ducklings, 4a Od to 5s Od per aonpl< apples, 5s to 7s per strike; damsons 48 6d to 5s 6d per strike blackberries, Id per lb. LLANIDLOKS, Saturday.—Butter, Is to It* 2d per lb; hen eggs, 10 to 11 for Is; Chickens, 38 6d to 4s 9d; hens, 2s 6d to 3s Od; ducklings, 4& Od to 5s Od per couple. MONTGOMRRT, Thursday.—Batter, Is Od to Is Id per lb hen eggs, 10 to 11 for Is chickens, 3s 6d to 4s 9d; hens, 2s 6d to 3a Od; ducklings, 4s Od to 5s Od per couple. NEWTOWN, Tnesday.—Batter, wholesale, Ild to Is retail, Is Od to Is Id per lb; hen eggs, whole- sale, 0 toll; retail, 0 to 10; du-jkeggw, 0 to 10 for la chickens, 3s Od to 58 Od hens, 2a 6d to 3s Od; ducklings, 4s Od to 5s Od per conple; apples, 5s to 7s per strike damsons, 48 6d to 58 6d per strike; blackberries, Id pet lb. OSWESTRY WEEKLY CATTLE FAIR, Wednesday.- There was a good supply of all kinds of stock, and trade on the whole firm. Messrs YVhitfield and Sons sold 241 cattle and calves, and 1,292 sheep and pigs. Messrs Wm. Hall, Wateridge and Owen, Messrs Whitfield and Rogers, Mr T.Whitfield, Junr. and Mr Morris Smith had their usual sales. Quotations Beef, 7d to 73rd veal, 7 £ d to 81d mutton, 8d to 8Jd lamb, 8d to 8^tdperlb; pork pigs, 9" Od tc 9s 6d bacon pigs, 8s Od to 8s 6d per score. OSWKSTRY CORN MARKET, Wednesday.— The following were the quotations:- White wheat (old) 5s 3d to 5s 5d new, 48 8d to 5s Od red (old), 5s 3d to 5s 5d new, 5s 8d to 5s Od per 751bs; oats (new) lis Od to 12a Od (old) 12" 6d to 13s Od per2001bs; malting barley, 19a 6d to 20s Od; grinding barley, 15s 6d to 16s Od per 2801bs. OSWBSTBY GBNBRAL MARKET, Wednesday.— Quotations :—Butter, Os lid tofls Od per lb eggs, 9 to 10 for la: fowls, 4s Od to 5s Od ducks, 5s Od r.o 6s Oel; rabbits, Is 8d to 2s Od per couple; radishes, Id to Od per bunch cauliflowers, 2J to 4d each bananas, Id a piece celery, 2d per stick; tomatoes, 3d to 5d shallots, lid per lb; cucumbers, 3d to 5d each turnips and carrots, 1 Jd per bunch pears, 2d to 3d per lb apples, Is 6d to 38 6d per hundred potatoes. 24lbs for la plums, Id to 2d per quart; peas, 8d per kernel; kidney beans, 2d winberries, 6d per lb. damsona, 3d to 4d; blackberries, 2d per quart; filberts, 6d per lb. SHRKWSBCRY CORN, Saturday.—Wheat, 15s 0(4 10 15s 6d per 2251bs oats, 14s Od to 14s 6d per 2251bs beans, 15s 3d to 15s 6d per 2401bs. SHREWSBURY GENERAL MARKKT, Saturday.— Quotations:—Fresh butter, 03 Od to Is 3d per lb; hen eggs, 0 to 10; duck eggs,.7 for Is; pigeons, Is Od to la 3d fowls (dressed), 5a 6d to 6s Od ducks (dressed), 68 Od to 6s 6d; rabbits, Is 6d to Is 9d per couple; potatoes, 61bs for 3d. SHREWSBURY CATTLE, Tuesday.—Usual supplies of fat stock, but small supply of store cattle, which had a poor demand. Good show of store sheep and lamb, which met a fair trade. Quoations :—Beef, 6d to 6Jd; bulls and cows, 5^1 to 6d calves, 4 Od to 8d wethers, 8d to 9 £ d ewes, 7,d to 8d !amb, 8d to 8id per Ib; pork pigs, 9s 6d to 10a Od bacons, 9a Od to 9a 6d per score. Numbers-Cattle, 438; calves. 93 sheep and lambs, 3,514 fat pigs, 273 store pigs 269. ELLBSMBRK GENERAL, Tuesday.—Qiotations :— Eggs, 9 o 10 for Is; butter, Os lid to Is Id por I b; chickens, 3s Od to 4s 6d; hens, 2s 6d to 3-6d ducks, 4s 0 to 5s 6d per conple damsons, 5s to 68 per 901bs 5 apples, 4a to 6a per 901bs. WHITCHURCH, Friday.-Wheat, 14s Od to 15a 6d per 2281bs barley, Os Od to Os Od per 28010s oats, 118 Od to 15a per 203lbs eggs, 9 to 10 for la butter, 18 Id to la Zj per lb fowls, 4s 6d to 58 Od ducks, 6s 6d to 7s Od; rabbits, Is 61 to Is 8d per couple potatoes, 201 bs for lOd beef, 7d to 9d mutton, 8d to 9d; veal, 7d to 9d pork, 6^d to 7d lamb, 9d per lb; apples, Id to 2d per lb. LIVKRPOOL CORN, Tuesday.—Wheat, quiet trade, about Friday's prices. 1 Manitoba, old, 8a 9d 2 Rnd Winter, new, 7s 9d. Maize, very quiet, and prices barely steady-American Mixed, 7a 4td to 7s 5d; Plate, 6s Od to 6a 2Ad. Beans, Saidi, 33s 9d to 34a 3d. Oats, old white, 2a 2d to 2s 3d new, 2s 8d to 2s 9d. Flour, unchanged. BIRMINGHAM CATTLE, Tuesday.-Very few beasts offering. and business dull. Quotations:—Best Here. fords, 61d shorthorns, 6d to 61d bulls and cows, 4d to 4id; oalves, 7d to 7 £ d wether sheep, 7 £ d 10 8d ewes and rams, Sid to 61J. lambs, 71d to 8d per lb bacon pigs, 9a 10J to 10s Od porkets, 0 8 Od to 10s Od sows, Os Od to 7s 6J per score. LIVERPOOL CATTLE Monday. — At market:— Cattle, 1,276 sheep, 10,463. Quotations :-Beef. 41ti to 6id; muttOD,5J}d to 71d; lamb, 6M to 71d per lb. LONDON HAY AND STRAW, Tuesday.—Pricea :— Best olover, 80a Od to 87a Od inferior do., 70a Od to 768 Od; specially picked hay, 80s Od good d< 65a Od to 758 Od inferior do., 55s Od to 63a Od mixtnre and sainfoin, 70s Od to 80s Od straw, 24a iq. 30s per load. "Iut BETTER, Tuesday.—Firsts, 103a; seoonds, 102 thirds, 98a; fourths, -a. Mild cured Superfine,105s; fine mild, 102s; choicest boxes, 105a. F¡ewh butter, 109a. Moderate supply; lively de- mand; nuchanged prioos.

POOR LAW CONFERENCE AND THE PENSIONS ACT. SOME POINTED CRITICISMS. At the Poor Law Conference at Bangor this week, Mr Joseph Brown, president of the Poor Law Uirious' Association for England and Wales, read a paper on "Old Age Pensions and the Poor Law." He said it, was quite certain that neither school of politics could claim th-e,, whole credit or escape the whole of the blamt^ attaching to this question. Considering the es- sential character of the Old Age Pension* Act, Mr Brown held that it was a purely altruistic. measure. But the Act did not inaugurate a new philanthropy; it simply changed the form a.nd the method of conveying the hielp which the State had all along been accustomed to pro- vide. He resented the idea that there wa* some taint of degradation attaching to the old form of poor relief that did not attach to the j new. Of what practical use would a pension of 5s a week be to a bed-ridden paralytic who was without relatives or friends? The Act did not attempt to solve the problem of poverty, much less of sickness and pain; It only pro- fessed to deal with a favoured few amongst, earth's stricken people. Not evereyone even of 70 years of age could claim the assistance of the Act. The restrictions were many anfiClI.e. It was a great relief to the members of the. deputation sent by the Poor Law Unions As- sociations to have the assurance 9f the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer that the disqualifica- tion attaching to the receipt of poor relief would not endure beyond the end of the year 1910. and it was possible that an even earlier termin- ation of such disqualification might yet be fi-xed. Further, the measure was but palliative and partial. Poissioly agricultural labourers, whose wages in their prime were some shillings less than a pound a week, whilst their families were large but small," would find a pension of o* a week a very appreciable allowance, espec- ially when a man and his wife received it. But in the case of a city worker this allowance tefl. much to be desired. An apparent partiality was found in the provision with regard to the personal income of those who applied for a pen- sion. A man might have an income of 10s a week and yet be entitled to a pension, yet the needy one, however great his need and how- ver good his past record, could only have 5e a. week. Mr Brown went on to deal with the pro- vision that the Act was to be administered by committees of existing councils, the indoor re- lief being controlled by county councils. Such a step he thought must be disastrous alike to the Council, the public, and the poor. Too often, now, the claim to public office was based on anything but the public good, but if com- mittees of these local authorities were to be the almoners of public doles we could not fail to see the public interests neglected, whilst corrup- tion would naturally have a aew stronghold and an extra impetus. In nothing was the wiedom of the framers of the Act. of 1834 more con- spicuous perhaps than in the creation of the union area which formed a strong safeguard of public funds and placed a mighty embargo alike upon extravagance, injustice, partiality and corruption. It was worth remembering that places noted for corruption were those places in which those safeguards had been con- spieuous fey their absence. He submitted tha-t those who strove to preserve Poor Law unions intact would be found to have served the poor themseelves. the ratepayers, and the country at large (applause). Mr Bireham, ex-Poor Law inspector for Wales, opened a discussion on the paper. He held that any old-age pension scheme that des- troyed the guardians as suc-h was a mistake, and he was rn favour of their continuance. He failed to 600 the difference between an old-age pensioner and an old-age pauper (hear. hear) He himself was an example of old age-not 'withourt a pension (laughter). He thought cheap sops ought not to be thrown for the sake of cheap sentiment (hear. hear). He could Dot understand why. with all their experience of Poor Law administration, guardians should be put aside and the funds placed in the hands of strange authorities to administer without the advantage of their experience and advice, and he could .not help thinking that when the different committees of councils got to work they would wish for the help from the guar- dians. He could not see any stigma in people getting relief from the rates except the stigma arising from the fact that they received relief from the rates.,That was the real stigma, and it was the same whether the relief came in the rorm of old-age pensions or otherwise (hea.r. hear). Mrs Casson (Portmadoc), thought County Councils were not the people to administer the. Pensions Act. and could not imagine why the exciseman had to be brought in. Mr Petrie thought County Councils had plenty to do alreafly without having the ad- mimstration of this Act put upon them. The Rev W. Morgan said the present hill would only touch the fringe of poverty Mr Hugh Thomas thought that the' pensiou- ei-s should be put on a contribotorv ba«is. iv. vRlciftrds (-Carnarvon), contended that though contributory pensions in the abstract seemed the proper thing they would be impossible in practice.

MISSING PRIZES STRANGELY RESTORED. Mr E. W. Parry, an ex-champion athlete, who is well known in Montgomeryshire, has had re- turned to him his gold watch and a gold medal which dwappeard from his locker in the South- West Manchester Golf Clubhouse in the earlv part of June. The watch was won by him as first prize at the Salford Harriers' Sports over r? yeartoA§°' 1and the medal was presented to him in 1898 when he became fifty miles champ- ion of the National Cyclists Union, Manchester centre Late on Thursday night a man handed OTer the watch aoo medal bearing inscriptions which left no doubt as to whose propertv thev wjere. The welcome stranger informed Mr 1 arry that in cleaning out one of the sewer grids in the Old Trafford district, he had come across these articles embedded in the mud.

PMSONAL. A Lord Herbert Vaae-Tempeafc left London for Argyllshire on WedosaAity iifgltt, CAMBRIAN RAILWAYS.—Approximate return of inno for the week ending Sept. 20th, 1908. Miles open, 280. Passengers, parcels, horses carriages, dogs and mails. £ 4,320 merchandise minerals, and live stock, £ 2,912 total for the week r 1 no from commenoement of half-year £ 100,904 Actual traffio receipts for the correspond- ing week of last vear: Miles open, 280. Passengers, £ 7 977' t f''if4'4*0!? merchandis°. minerals, &o.) £ 2,872 total for the week £ 7,277 aKJ?regate from commencement of half year, £ 101,339. Decrease tor the week, passengers, parcels, &o., £ 85- increase, merchandise, minerals, &o., £ 40 • total' decrease for the week, 945 aggregate increase passengers parcels Ac., £ 395 aggregate deerease merchandise, minerals, &c., £830; aggregate de. crease from commencement of half-year, £ 435.|

llEEiPBll E c tggBBt TO MOTHERIL MRS. WIN SLOWS Soothing Syrup FOR CHILDREN rCETHIRt Has been ntted orer SO yeans by millieud of tnothm their children while teething with jwrfeet t<nc«t.M MonraMhe ehild, aoMc»»tke*UB«tftllayflall FAM,0<Mt Wtmrn OMM, H4 is the bwt mmft Sw BIABHOU. 81M by ail OMalata at tAi m taCtfe