Merthyr Times and Dowlais Times and Aberdare Echo

NOTES AND COMMENTS. 1 0 nr*K are no new developments in the water 'nI>aign to clnoniele this week. The companies ^Sl-sist in adhering to the new scale, and they 5^' no sign of wavering. Public opinion, on the ,er hand, has shown itself to be emphatically ^°stile to the 20th Clause. By this meetings have ceetJ held in all parts of tiie parish, and resolutions .^denining the Clause have been passed with ^Solute unanimity. At Troedyrhiw the two P^ies met face to face, and the whole question ,ls thrashed out as in a court of law. The result that a strong resolution was earned to the that the only honourable course open to the lree Plymouth Ward members was to place their esignation in the handa of the electors. At no L'eeting, from Dowlais to Treharris, has a single I all(1 been held up in favour of the new charges. 11 the minds of the general public there is only one ^pinion about the 20th Clause. With marvellous complete unanimity the clause is regarded by e people as unjust and tyrannical. The proposed aijgeg arc no(. just,ifiecl by circumstances, nor nctioned by economic science. They fly in the thCC ^he spirit of modern democracy, inasmuch as ey shift the burden from the strong and place it on the weak. ff the companies persist in the th'lr8e *'lc^ ',avc taken up they must know that are doing so in the teeth of the unanimous k nd emphatic opposition of the public. They must now that they are doing what the whole parish re gor(Is as thoroughly wicked and unjust. They but be aware that if their partisans resigned tU r sea^s> alul place'l themselves in the hands ef e electors, not a single one of them would be turned. The whole lot of them would not have tile ghost of a chance of triumphing at the poll. It Is f°r them to consider whether they are morally Justified in riding roughshod over the people, and Utterly disregarding the wishes and the opinions y the whole parish. They should pause and ponsider well before pushing their financial Interests to such a length. They have the people ^gainst them they have justice against them ley have political economy against them. They ilre simply fighting for their own pockets, but they ^'aV pay too dearly for their bargain. They cannot tt'ainple justice under foot without, sooner or *ter, having to pay the penalty for their conduct. But we hope they may be beaten yet in the fouse of Commons. It is there the battle has j now to be fought. The parish has spoken, and it our business now as ratepayers to see to it that the ccho of that voice is heard distinctly in St. Stephen's. All the glorious meetings that have been held, and all the strong resolutions that have neen passed, will he in vain unless steps are taken to have the case fully laid before the Commons.

ARTRVIS WARP was once told he was not a hiinuin being, only a myth. We doubt very much whethcr the Aberystwyth Conference (or perhaps ought to say Convention'") is not one of the Hivths of the future, if so paradoxical an expression is permissible. Will it ever take place ? Who will be there, and what will they do ? The Federa- tions will have nothing to do with any amalgama- tion scheme, and how are you to amalgamate if one of the parties will not consentBarkis may he ever so willin' but if Peggotty isn't, no bargain ran be struck. In the current issue of } omit/ IValcx, Mr. Llewelyn Williams, the literary prophet and journalistic logroller of the League, tells us a heart rending talc of woe. But a month ago he talked airily and triumphantly of the League capturing the Federations. Now his soul is full of sorrow at the attitude taken up by Mr. D. A. Thomas, and he has evidently ceased tu hope even for amalgamation." The League has captured, not the Federations, but Nirvanah, and has apparently drifted into the silent domain of Nothingness. A correspondent this week tells Mrs. Joe Hammersmith that of the much-boomed League there only remains now Mr. BeriahGwynfe Evans, who flits about his unhappy country hither and thither like the voice of the desolate Banshee. He is like the wind of heaven we know not whence he cometh, nor whither he goeth but the sound thereof makes the welkin tremble. A national convention at Aberystwyth is scarcely necessary to amalgamate Mr. Evans, great and mighty as he is, with the Liberal Feder- ations. It goes to one's heart to write in this strain of a movement which originated from such lofty and praiseworthy aspirations. But a'cause, however excellent intrinsically, can end in nothing save disaster if propagated by inadequate and un- wise methods. The Aberystwyth Convention should be abandoned. Nothing is to be gained from exposing the weak side of our organisations to the enemy. We all approve of Cyinru Fydd ideas, but it should be borne in mind that the most effective way to carry them into the arena of active politics is to strengthen the hands, each one of us in his own district, of the Liberal' Federations. There is abundant scope for the most ardent of Leaguers in this direction to exer- cise their patriotic enthusiasm. The Federations need all the fresh blood which the country can pour into their veins.

THE debate in the House of Commons on Friday night anent the question of Home Rule all ronnd" was rather a dull and academic affair. Mr. Lloyd George voiced the opinion of Wales in a lucid and masterly speech. But there was an air of unreality about the whoJf '"isiness. It was a dchating-sõci"lI' ugliout, and no- body pays uuicti to ii. mit the time will soon come wnen t;" will have to be faced in real earnest. Vv i..v ales, for instance, not allowed to manage h own domestic affairs ? These weeks South W Lea people have to go to London in troops to discuss questions which affect no other part of the country. Why are these things not permitted to be settled in, Cardiff or Pontypridd ? Or take the Merthyr Water Bill. Here is a matter which, according to Lord Motley, the Chairman of the Lords' Committees, should be decided in Merthyr itself. It concerns no one but the people of Merthyr parish. If we do not know what we want, how are a number of peers, who are strangers to our locality and who deliberate in London, to decide for us ? Justice cannot be done under such circumstances, and it is not to be won- dered at that these half-dozen peers have made a fine mess of our water business. The absurdity of the whole thing is only too painfully clear. What is the remedy ? Let each nationality conduct its own local affairs in its own way, in accordance with its own desires and requirements due regard being had, of course, to the interests of the empire as a whole. The House of Commons is unable to cope with the work it has to do. It has fallen dreadfully into arrears. The country is ripe for many measures of reform, and is waiting patiently while our august senators are talking away like a pack of schoolboys. The more the work in the House of Commons the more the talk. Year after year it deteriorates in busi- ness capacity, and becomes more and more of a talking-shop. That, the country should stand all this humbug is one of the enigmas of the nineteenth century. The effect on the progress of thought is disastrous. In Wales we have settled the Dis- establishment question long, long ago. And yet, until the Imperial Talking-shop puts the measure on the statute-book, we cannot seriously consider any other questions. The result is a state of political stagnation which is exceedingly unplea- sant, and which gives rise to many evils. Parlia- ment does not keep abreast of the progress and the demands of the country it is now discussing problems which engaged the thought of the public five, ten, or twenty years back. An end must be put to all this Parlia- mentary talking. Some second Cromwell must arise and send the idle talkers about their business. A great deal of fuss is made in London over the appointment of a new Speaker. We would respectfully suggest the selection of the biggest bore in the House, say "Silonio"' or Tommy Bowles. Tiiat would shut at least one garrulous mouth. And when the Speaker" is appointed, a very appropriate matter to engage the attention of the Talking-shop would be the disestablishment of three or four hundred of the most incorrigible speakers."

SPAliKS FROM THE ANVIL. BY JOE HAMMERSMITH. Breakfast time, Tuesday morning. Mrs. H. and self sitting comfort.ibly one on each side of the tire, calmly discussing the water question. Mrs. H. was saying how she would have liked to hear Dan holding forth in the witness box in the Lords' Committee, and how ghid she'd he if she could have just a few minutes' talk with tho,e noble lords herself, when there callie a sharp rat-tat at the door. Postman. Letter for Mrs. H. Heads as follows Dear Airs. Hammersmith.— You are the subject of a very interesting rumour in my part of the country these days. I have not yet the honour of your acquaintance, madam, but as an old friend of your husband I shall take the liberty, when the proper time arrives, of sending my congratulations both to yon and to him. Meanwhile, let me ask you what you think of the Cymru Fydcl business. You have earned a reputation as a woman of strong intellect and unusual discern- ment, and your opinIOns are always listened to with the greatest respect by the public. Pray let us have some light and leading on this perplexing question. As you are aware, the movement was started in the summer ot last year with beating of drumsand blowing of trumpets. First, there was a conference at Chester, another at Neath, and another at Llandrindod, fol- lowed by committee-l and public meetings all over Wales, and roodness knows how many hole-and- corner meetings. We were going to have a grand national organisation, which would settle all our troubles off-hand, and forthwith bring about the millenium. But what has it all come to Y So far as 1 can ascertain there is no Cymru Fydd at all except B'jriah Gwynfe Evans, and nobody appears to know where he is. We hear mysterious announcements about a convent-ion to come off at Aberystwyth, but we have heard these things so often that we have ceased to attach any importance to them. A noor man came up to me the other day and offered me what he called a new nursery song. I took the song and gave him a penny. I found it highly interesting and edifying, and as you are destined soon to become a mother I send you a copy. With compliments to yourself and good old Joe.—Yours, TAMHOUIUNE. Who killed Cymru Fydd ? I, says Carnarvon Boroughs, I added to my sorrows By killing Cymru Fydd. Who found the lifeless corpse ? J, snys bold Llewelyn, When liding through Cwm Ceiyn, 'Twas I that found the corpse. Who will dig the grave ? I, says William .(ones, I'm fond of picking bones, So I will dig the grave. Who'll be undertaker? 1. says Herbert Lewis Soft and low my voice is, Just suits an undertaker. Who will toll the bell ? I, says Periwinkle, And I'll make a jolly tinkle When 1 do toll the bell. Who'll read the burial sci-ijce., 1, says Osborne Morgan, Though I'll have no church jargon, I'll read the burial service. Who will pay the fees? T, says Alt the funny, I'm always flush of money, And I will find the fees. Who'll dance 011 his grave ? r. said D.A.T. My Federation and me, \Ve'l! dance on his grave. Who'll write his epitaph ? T, said Maenhir bold Make his grave deep and cold I'll write his epitaph. \Vho'J) mourn for Cymru Fydd I, sav-s poor Beriah, I'm a regular Jeremiah, So I'll mourn for Cymru Fydd. CVJIRO Pnnu). We thought the song so good that we actually fiang it. Mrs. H. has a fine soprano voice, with an exquisite touch of tremolo; my rumbling basso pro- fundo would remind you of the trombone in a German band. It is like the rushing of many waters. The song went off admirably, and would no doubt have been encored had there been an audience to applaud. PerhajJS I should explain that the "Herbert Lewis" who volunteers, in the fourth verse, to be the under- taker is not Mr. Herbert C. Lewis, the Tory candi- date for Merthyr Boroughs, but Mr. J. Herbert Lewis, the M.P. for Flint Boroughs. How do I feel about the water question ? I feel as if I wanted to die of disgust. I feel as if 1 was lieing flayed alive by Bashi-Bazouks. I feel as if I had been turned inside out, and put on the hedge to dry. How did Prometheus feel when he was chained to the rock, and the vultures pecked away at his liver day after day ? It is an awful thing to see the weak deliberately humbugged and oppressed by the strong. In all the course of my earthly existence I do not remember a more glaring example of might trampling over right. The Water Bill is a thoroughly iniquitous measure, and it has been carried through in a shameful manner. It has been smuggled through the Council, and forced through the House of Lords. The new Scale of Charges is utterly unjust. The companies, under the old Scale, were not paying too much, but too little. Those who under- stand these things say they are not assessed to much more than one-half of the just amount. They are allowed to do pretty much what they like on the assessment committee. In fact, they themselves, together with a few servile and sycophantic camp- followers, are the bulk practically of that committee. Mr. Morgan, who presided over Mr. Bailey's meet- at Troedyrhiw on Friday night, said that his idea was that the water rents should be done away with, or merged in the General District Rate. That is my idea, too. Probably it is not Mr. Bailey's, and lie can hardly feel very grateful to his elniirman for enunciating, at his own meeting, such a terrible heresy. To increase the burden uf the individual consumer is a wrong- and in injustice. Water is a commodity required for the community as a whole, and let the community as a whole defray the expendi- ture. I hope there will be a big fight over the question in the House of Commons. It is all very well holding meetings and delivering speeches here. But the companies have really taken the matter from Merthyr, and changed the battle-field to London. They knew they had no chance here. It is in St. Stephen's we must fight now. Three members are immediately interested, namely Mr. D. A. Thomas, Mr. Pritchard Morgan, and Mr. Alfred Thomas. These three should coach all their Welsh colleagues in the subject, and then the Cymric squadron should recruit active supporters from the English, Scotch, and Irish ranks. If this horror of a 20th Clause cannot be expunged, then the whole Bill should be wrecked, be the con- sequences what they may. Meanwhile let the electors of Merthyr Parish lay this stern lesson well to heart. The direct repre- sentation of property on public boards is not right in theory, or recognised by our laws. Members of administrative bodiet are supposed to represent people, not things. For my own part, however, I am prepared to grant the advisability, as a practical course, of permitting the companies to be represented by their own men. They have a big stake in the parish, and it is only right their voice should lie heard. No one wants to do an injustice to the companies. As regards the company men we know precisely where we stand. We know what to expect from them. We know what they will do. People are not angry with these gentlemen. But as regards some of the other councillors they feel they have been diddled. They have had from them what they had not bargained for. Fancy a candidate coming out as "the friend of the working man," and then, at the very tirst opportunity, siding with tifose who would rob the working man Now, the lesson is this the toilers of the Merthyr Valley should not be deceived. Don't forget these things when the next election comes round. Impress the incidents of the past month deeply on your memories, and when next you go to the ballot-booth you'll know what to do. Heaven help the poor Merthyr colliei- At the very time when his water chargesareircreasedthe Sliding -scale reduces his miserable wage. Poor fellow I question very much whether his life is worth living. By ctay he toils andmoils in deep holes in theground, in peril of his life every moment. Whenhecomes home at night lie finds himself (especially in Dowlais and Merthyr) in a wretched hovel, cold. cheerless, comfortless. It is a life full of toil and privation, devoid of comfort and enjoyment. From his labo.ir others reap a golden harvest of wealth. His gloomy existence means luxury toothers. Castles and palaces and parks are built out of his very bones. He is the victim, poor chap, of a system based on selfishness and cruelty. Is he better off than the negro slaves ot the Southern States ? Is his lot to be envied by the miserable devils who are thrown under the wheels of the Juggernaut? He is ground down to abject poverty, and the iron heel of capital is on his neck. I.e us hope there is a God in heaven Who, in His own good time, will avenge his wrongs. The moral sense lies dormant, it is to be feared, in the constitution of some Established clerics. Petitions against Disestablishment are being taken round these days, and very doubtful tactics are resorted to to securesignatures. In one parish a wealthy landlord, instigated probably by the parson, sent his good lady to canvass his tenants, w ho were nearly all Liberals and Nonconformists. What exquisite cruelty that was I And how strong the temptation for the tenants was: And how strong the temptation for the tenants to swerve from the path of duty A tenant will do almost anything to keep ou good terms with his land- lord. T1 at means a great deal to him. Sometimes it means home or no home, and it always means improve- ments or no improvements. A landlord who makes use of his position to induce his tenant to abandon his principles is a brute and a coward, and if the Estab- lishment cannot be maintained without the aid of such tactics r.s these, then I say it is an institution founded oninjustice and supported by tyranny and deceit. Another case hascome to my knowledge. A North Wales clergyman who holds a high position in the educational world asked his two servant-maids to sign the petition. They were Nonconformists and said they could nctconscientiously oppose Dfsefitablish- ment. By fair words he tried to c lax them to append their .signatures. From coaxing he took to threatening, and finally told them they would be dismissed from his service if they did not sIgn. One of the girls gave way, and signed. She cried bittedy as she told me of it afterwards. The other girl was made of sterner stuff, and persisted to the end in her refusal. I wish that was all the story. But there is. one thing more to be added. The cowardly cleric took the pen and wrote down the gill's name with his own dirty hand. It, is all very well telling the Nonconformists of Wales to treat the Church with generosity. But when we remember such things as these it is scarcely possible to keep the iron from entering into our soul. If we steel our hearts against the clergy, and refuse them that leniency which they would get if they acted honourably, it would not be a thing to be wondered at. The Church in the past allowed Wales to drift into moral and intellectual paganism, and perhaps we cannot as yet look for a high state of morality in her ministers. They are now, at any rate, doing their best to undermine our integrity and to lead us astray from the path of truth and rectitude. Sacerdotalism is the deadly enemy of morality. It may satisfy our morbid craving for the lesthet-ic and devotional, but it kills our moral sense. The more we see of the world and of men, the deeper, firmer, stronger must needs gTOIV the conviction in us that priestism is one of the devil's most effective weapons. P.S. Trouble on this hearth these days, Mr. Editor. Mrs. H. taken bad in a very queer and unexpected manner. Distinct symptoms of that yieculiar mental affliction known as Liberal Unionism. According to Oscar Wilde, a Liberal Unionist is a man (or a woman) without any political principles at all. Why this malady should break out in Mrs. H. at the present time, I cannot imasrine. I tell her I'd rather see her blossoming into a New Woman. Intend sending her to Pontsticill for change of air.

TREIIARRLS HAULIERS. The hauliers at Treharris appear to have some grievance, as they have held several meetings at the Public Hall during the last few days. It seems that there is some friction between the management and a few of the hauliers. It appears that one or two of the last-named have been discharged, and the re- mainder refuse to work unless thev are reinstated. The colliery was idle on Tuesday, as only a couple of hauliers presented themselve- for work, and they, later on, returned home. Work was resumed yesterday (Wednesday) at the colliery, the hauliers having decided to continue work until some time next week, when Mr. Morgan Thomas, the Rocking-stone chairman, will attend to address them and give advice as to their future action. __n -u-

PARRY AND HOCKE, LIMITED. In consequence of the death of the late Mr. Parry, the old-established South Wales manufacturing firm of Parry and Roeke, Swani-lea, haH heen registered as a limited company, to continue the business which has been so successfully carried on by them for over a quarter of a century as fellmongers, woolstaplers, and Welsh woollen manufacturers, with a capital of £50,000, divided into 10,000 shares of L5 each. The first seven subscribers are :—Frederick Rocke, Swan- sea, fellmonger and woollen manufacturer Charles Rocke, Bermondsey, London, leather factor; George Rocke, Bermondsey, London, leather factor Samuel Pryce Parry, Oswestry, solicitor; Joseph Gough, leather and bark merchant, Oswestry William McHole, cattle salesman, Swansea; Thomas B. Brown, cattle dealer and butcher, Swansea. There will be no alteration in the management or conduct of the business. Mr. Alderman Rocke will have the management as lie has in the past, and Mr. Thomas Eynon will fill the position of secretary. The capital is being subscribed privately, [3016

"THE CHIEFTAIN AT CARDIFF THEATRE ROYAL. "The Chieftain" was enthusiastically received at the Theatre Royal on Monday evening. Time seems to have only mellowed and sweetened and perfected the works of the brilliant composer, Sir Arthur Sullivan. The score of "The Chieftain" absolutely bristles with those exquisite and incomparable snatches of beautifully-orchestrated melodies which abound in all of Sullivan's later works. In the "Hussar" drinking song, as well as in "From Rock to Rock," "Dance the Bolero," Tra-la-la," "Two Happy Uods," "Awake, then, awake," the French duet, I and many other numbers and dances, the composer's charaoteristicand delightful tunefulness is amply illus- trated. The plot is both romantic and amusing. The dialogue is witty, a id the lyrics are, for thegreater part, of really genuine merit. The company appearing in The Chieftain is identical with that which pre- sented Utopia" in Cardiff on its recent visit. Mr. Enes Blackmore, a Cardiff gentleman, is the "Count Vasquez," and uses his tenor creditably in the many fine songs allocated to that part. The characters are all creditably filled, and the scenery and dresses are superbly picturesque. Captain Billy," an amusing operetta, precedes "The Chieftain" each evening, and is splendidly played. A matinee of "The Chieftain" will be given on Saturday.

A ¡( BUNCH OF YIOIJETS" AT THE GRAND THEATRE, CARDIFF. Sidney Grundy's famous play, "A Bunchof Violets," is presented this week at the Grand Theatre, Cardiff, in completely artistic fashion. To affirm that no stage piece ha." been produced in South Wales with greater finish and efficiency for a long time past, is to indulge in not a particle of exaggeration and to say that no play has been seen in Cardiff possessing more thr'lling interest is also to speak well within the mark. Grundy's dramatic works are pre-eminently human. A Bunch of Violets" in many respects, is the best thing Mr. Grundy has done. The part played by the simple flower after which the drama is so prettily and appropriately named, i!s"at once poetic and in the highest degree artistic. It is responsible for really fine situations, and for pour- trayals of such exquisite pathos as has been seldom surpassed. The general construction of the play is unexceptionable. Its action is easy and natural, and as one thrilling scene succeeds another, until the genuinely powerful denouement is reached, the audience is held literally spellbound. A man with a past is the central figure of the play and such is the skill which has been displayed by the author that, though this man has wrought irreparable mischief in his day, the sympathies of the spectator are almost unconsciously evoked in his behalf ere the curtain falls. The play is mounted in good style, the drawing room scene, sumptuously furnished by Me-srs. Trapuell and Gane, Cardiff, being especially effective. A Bunch of Violets" should undoubtedly be patronised by visitors to Cardiff.

A ]>KM<uiTH'i. Fi.Avet K. Cracroffs Arcea--Nut Tooth Paste. This ficticious Aromatic JJciitrifrice makes the Ktiamcl of the Teeth white, sound, and polished l:kc ivory It is exceedingly fragrant. (Jracroft's rMte is now sold in 6d Tots,

BY THE WAY. It is a grand thiug to have x string of capital letters after your name. A writer in Wnlrs contents himself with this modest galaxy:" B.A., B.Sc., A.U.C.W., F.C.8." There is a lady in Livel-pool who has "F.R.H.S." after her name, and who writes prodigiously long articles for Wa!e*. Meta Williams" is this fair and eradile lady's name, and she knows pretty well everything atiout the Mabinogron. ung Troedyrhiw know how to sing. After the extraordinary Water Bill meeting on Friday night they serenaded Mr. Arthur Daniel, and their music was really a treat. The Merthyr councillors declared it to be nil' urpassable. There was a choral competition on Monday bet ween choirs from places beginning in H, to wit Builth, Blaina, Beaufort, and Brynmawr. The affair came off at a place which also began in B, namely Bryn- mawr. Henceforth let the poet's lines read How do the little singing B's, Improve each shining hour! Apropos of the Inany disputes that tore asunder the Aged Poor Commissioners, the We»tmin*ter Gazette says:—"Is it wonderful tha.t the Privce of Wales found it necessary to take refuge in a declaration of neutrality, and that Lord Aberdare, whose ill-fate it was to preside over such a disputatious set of col- leagues, was worried literally to death. Good old Watson He knows a trick or two. Last week he presided at a smoking concert in Mei thyr, and his remaiks were so flowery and full of politics that he declared to a friend afterwards that Mr. Herbert" was becoming more popular every day. 'Twill all end in smoke Mr. Dan Davies, in the course of his adjudicating at Brynmawr Eisteddfod, on Monday, said that he had derived much assistance in his task from Mr. 1). C. Williams, Merthyr, whom he described as one of their brightest and mast promising musicians. The, remarks were received with applause. The Wtstcm Mail says that Liberalism is the party of selfishness. That is the leason, no doubt, why so many landlords, established paisons, brewers, capital- ists, and other human parasites who live by picking the pockets and the brains of their fellow-men, are to be found in our ranks. Will the Mail kindly deal with this aspect of the case ? A hearty salute was given to the Great and Only Evan iaso week by an Irishman of his acquaintance. Mr. Loose," said he, it's mesilf that's delightid wid vez. Faix, an' ye're an oldherman now, aren't ye;" And the Great and Only answered, "Shure, Mike, an' 1 am. I'm an old her man by seven days since 1 saw ye last." And then they washed down the joke with a little poteen. An unconscionably poor article is that it, Wofcis on Eben Fard. The writer gives an English rendering of some lines from JKlien's ode on the resurrection. The poet's grave ought to be closely watched, for if he sees this translation he will resurrect himself, and make tracks for that translator. To mi.-s the chair at Rhuddlan Eisteddfod was nothing compared to this terrible infliction. A corresjxmdent says that Mr. Alfred Davies, of Hampstead, is an Aberdare man. We have dropped a tear over the woes of Carmarthen, and a note to the fatuous correspondent warning him, if he values his life, not to go near the county'town of Shir Gar. Seven towns competed for the honour of being the birthplace of Homer. Is Mr. Alfred Davies destined to be the subject of a similar competition ? The Craftsman for April—the organ of South Wales Freemasons—is brimful of interesting masonic news. The articles, of which the best is The consecration of a Parsec Priest and My Grand Lodge certifi- cate," are well written, and cannot fail to entertain those interested in masonic: work, whilst the illustra- tions, and there are many of them, form one of the features of the journal. There are four articles of considerable interest and ability in the second number of the Lienor, Mr. O. M. j Edwards' new quarterly. They deal respectively with the foundations of society, Egyptian antiquities (profusely illustrated), Owen Gruffydd, of Llanystum- dwy, Luther, and our heroic song". A poem by the I late David Charles, of Carmarthen, is aNo given, the subject being the sea. This is really a good number, and the magazine ought to become very popular. An Aberystwyth College Song has been written. An Aberystwyth College Song has been written. The chorus is as follows ¡ "What may your mot: 0 be, 0 college by the sea?" "Nid byd byd heb wybodaeth,"—answer we, Rage, ye gales ye surges seethe Aberystwyth .fu a fydd. Maenhir could easily beat that if somebody wroto the Welsh lines for him. College poetry is veritable abomination of desolation. There is a quarrel said Mr. Arthur Daniel at the Troedyrhiw meeting on Friday night. No, there is no quarrel," interrupted Mr. Bailey. Well,"anuably rejoined Mr. Daniel, "I shall call it a dispute." Again Mr. Bailey demurred. Whut do you call it, then," queried Mr. Damel, in his politest tones. 1 call it a difference of (Opinion," said the Plymouth manager. The (hand Old Man couldn't bea^khat. The Great and Only Evan finds his hair turning grey 011 account of his attempts to solve a post-card mystery. The other day he received a card dated the 18th of March, informing him that a meeting of the District Council would be held on the 16th of that month. As if that were not curious enough in itself, the post-card was actually delivered on the 13th—five days before it was written. An empty ink bottle to the first man, woman, boy, or girl who solves the mystery. Mr. Allen U pward's next novel, to appear in a few days, will be dedicated to Judge Gwilym Williams. It denls with matters of high diplomacy between Russia and Bulgaria, and may cause trouble in official quarters. The volume will certainly be put on the Russian Index Expurgatorius. A bride's mad- ness," the story which formed the Christmas number of Pearson's Weekly, cannot be republished in book form for three years: but Mr. Upward will probably be able to get this period shortened, and the story may appear about a year hence. In a report of a Church Defence meeting, published in a Tredegar parish magazine, it is said that Mr. Chidsey, "although a Nonconformist, is honest enough to support church people in their effort to defend the rights and properties of the church at the present crisis." The inference is that those who are not like Mr. Chidsey are dishonest! Honesty, for- sooth Where is the honesty in sending 70 con- stables, armed with batons, to extract tithes out of poor Nonconformist farmers so that the sleek and fat- eyed dignitaries of the church may be kept in luxury,, Honesty, indeed At Saturday's meeting of the Guardians the Clerk read a letter from the Local Government Board having reference to the question of a superannuation allowance being granted to Mrs. Sarah Williams, who had been obliged by illness to give up her duties as one of the head nurses at the workhouse. The Clerk, in asking the Board in London for their sanction to the allowance, pointed out that Mrs. Williams had been in the poor law service for 45 years, and that she would be 60 years old in July next but the Local Government Board, in their reply, called attention to the fact that when Mrs. Williams was appointed as nurse 10 years ago she gave her age as 40. Even the lady guardians felt obliged to join in the laugh. Witle-, has been in for some g:>od things lately. But perhaps the finest plum of all is the announce- ment recently made that the Pope is going to make us a" Vicariate-A postolic." Rome evidently believes in Wales a nation," and sets its seal of infallibility on our separate nationality. After this no Tories will rage, nor Establishers imagine a vain thing. If we are not a nation we are at least a Vicariate- Apostolic," whatever that may mean. We hope it's something good. But be it what it may. we are out of it. Glamorganshire is not a part of the Yicariate- Apostolic." We are not allowed to cross the Jordan and to enter the Promised Land; we must stay behind with the Saxon Philistines. We should be up in arms against this unpatriotic exclusion. We want to be with Wales with regard to Vicariate- Apostolio and everything else. Are we to have a Vicariate-Apostolic of our own? The more the merrier. At 12 o'clock on Sunday last a new code of signal. ling came into force on the Great Western line. Instead of communications being sent from one signal-box to the other only once, they have now to be related back by the receiving box to the sending box, in order to make sure that the communication is understood. This new system has been adopted with a view to increased security of railway traffic, and it will probably soon be put in force on lines other than the Great Western. Some of the less frequent signals are, we understand, not repeated under the new rules. A railway correspondent writes :-The new rules are said to have been drawn up by the Railway Clear- ing House," and that being the case every railway in the United Kingdom will have the same bell-code and regulations. The chief characteristic is that every bell- code will now have to be acknowledged, which will greatly increase the duties of the signalmen. A signal-box will now be easily distinguished by the ig incessant ringing emanating from 't. The object is greatei safety, but the position of a signalman is not now one to be coveted.

BORWICK'S BAKING POWDER. Rest Baking BORWICK'S BAKING POWDER. loworr in n.t. BORWICK'S BAKING POWDER.. 'n,orH LORWICK'S BAKING POWDER. I."reho'en"?T' BORWICK'S BAKING POWDER. {l0u; Alux

PLAIN POLITICS. [BY MAENHJK.] [Note —" Masnhlr" alone is responsible for what appears in this column. -Ed. J. The war of the water rate in Merthyr reminds me very much of the war of the pier head toll in Cardiff, the only difference being that the latter war began and ended in a single battle, like Sadowa in 1866. As in Merthyr. our elected representatives had given us away, and with their usual mixture of servility and sheer imbecility had allowed the omnivorous Marquis of Bute the light to charge us 2d. a head every time we went down the channel. It was estimated that the total amount at stake wae something like £ 5,000 a year. As in your case, moreover, the Bill impoaing this disgrac-eful tax was practically through the House of Lords before the public learned what was being done. However, we got up a town's meeting, and carried unanimously a resolution condemning the Corpora- tion, and calling upon the borough member to oppose the socond reading of the Bill in the House of Commons. The moment Sir Edward need signified his intention to fulfil this instruction of his constitu- ents, Sir William Lewis threw up the sjionge, and the obnoxious clause went overboard. Merthyr has two members, and it will be strange if they cannot do for their constituency what the member for Cardiff did so easily for his. Of course I dlt not mean for one moment to compare the Merthyr District Council with our Corporation. So deadly an insult has not been deserved, though I cannot but think they have made a serious mistake. They seem to.bave looked at this important question through the eyes of the property owner. But they are not there to represent property, but persons, and from the point of view of the people, their action cannot be defended for a moment. A remarkable incident in connection with the strife has been the Action of the teetotal paify. If any one remarks 011 this that the teetotal party have taken no action, I reply, like Mr. Sherlock Holmes on a similar occasion, "That is the remarkable incident. Unfortunately, it is getting more and more evident every day that the straiter sect of teetotalers are a persecuting party, pure and simple. They have no alternative pohcy, no counter attractions to offer; they rely no longer on moral suasion, but wholly on legal coercion they stand aloof, as a party, from almost every movement in the direction of progress and enlightenment, and the doubtful support which they give to the Liberal Party is conditioned on their being allowed to dictate its policy, and make it as narrow-minded as they are themselves. This will seem to many to be very plain speaking in fact, to such a pitch has the intolerant arrogance of some of the high priests of teetotalism been carried that I quite expect to be cursed with bell, book and candle for daring to criticise them at all. ivit when I see seat after seat being lost to tie Liberal party owing to its ))eing identified with the teetotallers, and when on the top of this we have the insolent announcement that they intend to turn out the Liberal member for Kennington because he is not of their faith, the time has come for one who is both a Liberal and a teetotaler—but a Liberal first-to make his protest. If these teetotalers acted up to their principles they would make a little sacrifice in order to promote the cause they profess to have at heart. They would start reading-rooms, if necessary, by private subscrip- tion, they would band themselves together to pio- mote free IHnaries, they would erect coffee taveins, not the dismal caverns in which a decoction of: tewed dust and tea leaves is vended to the unfortunate way- farer, but cosy clubs, in which the young working man might pass the evening over his pipe and hi'3 game of billiards or dominoes, with the refreshment of a really good cup of tea or coffee. Two or three such establishments in a town would do more for tem- perance than a hundred prosecutions of shebeens. Yet in Cardiff at this moment the teetotal leaders are about to expend thousands on a huge hall which will he used once a week, no doubt tor temijerance meetings, to which no one but teetotalers will come, and very few of them while they will not lift a finger to provide tempei-ance clubs as an offset to the Con- servative drinking clubs which have smashed the Liberal party in the town. The South Iffilt, buil/i A'etcx has alw ays been one of the strongest adherents of the teui))er!ince move- ment. Yet even that paper has at last had to draw the line, and has been in consequence hectored by the fanatics. For my part I feel the time has come for thmoe who bencve in freedom to put down their foot. The smash-up or the Piogressiv es in London ha.s been mainly dne to the way in which they allowed them- selves to be dragged at the heels of a petty clique ot purity-mongers, and there is no doubt that the wide and fast-growing unpopularity of the Liberal party in our large towns is the result of the way in which it has been made a tool of by the.se modern Puritans, who retain nothing of the Puritan spirit except its hatred of seeing others happy. Local Option is a democratic measure, and one which deserves and would receive the hearty support of the vast majority, if it were proposed on sane and equitable lines. But that is just what the fanatics will not have. Unless they can ruin the publican at the same time as they save the sinner, temperance legislation has no charm for them. The spring of their actions is not philanthropy, it is alcophobia. Their state of mind presents "a form of mental disease, calling for the attention of the physician. In many eases it is actually the result of past excessive indulgence in drink. This indulgence has softened the brain, and hence the reaction against drink assumes the character of mania. The class of persons I am describing are! teetotaler-i first and everything else afterwards, They honour a teetotal Torquemada more than a drinking Martin Luther. They would blasphemer against Christ if they had not deluded themuelves into the incredible folly of believing that the wine of the Last Supper was "non-intoxicant. And it is these people, who almost need to be placed under restraint themselves, who are allowed to go piling up coercive legislation against, not drunkards, but every man who is not a teetotaler like themselves. I have been a teetotaler all my life, and the very taste of alcohol is so nauseous to me that I cannot even sip a glass of i-laret unless it is plentifully diluted with lemonade. The Welsh Sunday Closing Act therefore does not affect me, and any number of amendments increasing its severity would make equally little difference to me. But I confess I am not prepared to support such a measure as that recently brought forward, which seems to me to breathe the worst spirit of Sabbatarian and teetotal bigotry. It is a pity that its promoters do not show their hand plainly, and introduce a Bill making it a punishable offence ever to drink a glass of beer, and imposing imprisonment without the option of a fine on every person who fails to attend a place of wor- ship twice every Sunday. Something too much of this, as the man says in the play. I fear I have allowed my pen to be carried away, but when I see the rising tide of Toryism threatening to overwhelm England, and Meadily lapping over into Wales, I feel that the time has come to found the alarm. Even the Town Ward of Merthyr could tell its tales, and there is no doubt that the County Council elections all round have marked a distinct wave of Tory reaction. I attribute this partly to the working man's resentment at the dictation of the New Puritans. If I am wrong, I shall be glad to hear it. While hailing the great triumph of Mr. Thomas Williams, the Grand Old Man of Wales, over the too- aspiring member for the Plymouth Arms, I cannot help remarking on the extraordinary fickleness of the electorate in the Merthyr district. One moment thev seem to throw over an old servant for no assignable cause, the next they raise him to the head of the poll. I suppose if Mr. Thomas Thomas fought the Cyfarthfa Ward again to-morrow he would carry it by a thumping majority. It is the same in Aberdare. Mr. David Morgan receives a mere handful of votes when he stands for the District Council, but scores a triumph over the County Council and the School Board while on the other hand Mr. Thomas Thomas, the popular guardian," is suddenly ousted by the brilliant young solicitor, Mr. J. W. Evans, in a campaign of some 48 hours. Really if this sort of thing applies to the Parliamentary election, I shall expect to see both the sitting members thrown out, and the poll headed by Messrs. Alfied Davies (of Hampstead) and

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THE MERTHYR WATER BILL. Our remarks on the Water Bill hl."t week have com- mended themselves to the reading public generally, and the views we endeavoured to set forth have found favour in the sight of the people. We said that the economic aspect of the question had not been treated in an adequate manner on the plat-fcrm. That is not quite correct. We now understand that two speakers at least, if not more, had already applied the same reasoning to the question. These gentlemen are Mr. Arthur Daniel, of Troedyrhiw, and Mi-. David Evans, auctioneer, of Merthyr, both of them advanced and enlightened students of political economy. The gas argument has been fairly riddled. The gas has been exploded, and the retort completelv demolished. It is not likely we shall hear much more of that of logic. The difference betv» een gas and water is apparent to all. Gas is a luxury, to U« paid for by individual consumers. We can use it or not, just as the whim takes us. It makes no differ- cnce to anybody else whether we use it or not. Water is a necessity for all, and it is important to everylxxlv that everybody else should have a plentiful supply of it. That John Jones shocild have plenty of water is as important a matter to his neighbour Morgan Jenkins as it is to John Jones himself. John Jones may light his house with caudles, paraffin lamps, gas, or electricity that does not concern Jen:)- the least. Not so with water. This is quite clear. But what is the ii.f■ u-nce dedncible from that factWater is a tiling fur the whole community, like roads or education. Th'-re- fore the expense of providing water should be borne in the same way as the expense of providing roads or education, not by individual consumers, but by the community as a whole. In other words not by W ater Rents, but by the General District Rate. That undoubtedly is the logical conclusion we are forced to arrive at. However, that is an extreme )>osition to take up. As far as we know, it has been taken up by only one speaker, to wit, the chairman of Mr. Bailey's meeting at Troedyrhiw on Friday night. Mr. Morgan's declaration of policy was hailed with deafening cheers by the meeting, while Mr. Bailey and Mr. Joseph Owen stood absolutely dumb. They had evidently not talked the matter over with their chairman before- hand, else he would not have preached what was to them such heterodox doctrine. Mr. Morgan followed his own intuition, and being a diligent student of political economy he arrived unerringly at the real truth. Still that position, however logical, is au extreme one, and the popular party do not go quite that length at present. They admit that a portion of the expen- diture should be met by the individual consumers, but they argue strongly that a considerable share of it should lw defrayed from the District Rate. They are satisfied with the present state of tilings, and maintain that the policy of the companies, the policy of saddling the whole liability on the individual con- sumers, is wrong and reactionaiy. It is clear that logic is on the side of the householders, while the companies are .simply defending their own pockets. Had their attempt to relieve themselves of £ 2,000 a year, putting it on the shoulders of the householders, been sanctioned by reason, the latter could only grin and heal it. But it is not so. The companies are trying to rid themselves of a charge which justly falls to their lot t-s owners of property, and the opposition of the householders has the approval of justice. Everything in connection with this matter seems to ha\e gone wrong. We have done those tilings we ought not to have done, and It ft undone those things we ought to have done, and there is no health in us." From the very beginning up to the present moment everything has been topsy-turvy. l'he whole proceedings are shrouded in mystery. To begin with. who instructed the Parliamentary agents to draw out and insert the 20th Clause in the Bill? Nobodv knows, unless, indeed, the theory advanced bv Alderman Evan Lewis be correct. The Alderman says he has got hold of a document which shows that the Clause was drafted or agreed upon by a number (f company managers iu Sir W. T. Lewis' London office. One thing only is clear that the Claus? wa.s not formulated by the old Local Board. It been alleged that the Clause was never dis- cussed by the Board. This is an error. It was dis- cussed at a meeting held specially for that purpose on Saturday, the 8th Decernber, 1394. Major B.-ll was in the chair, and the following councillors were present: —Thomas Williams, K. ]'. Piddle, II. W. Lewis, 1). James, T. H. Bailey, Evan Jones, J. Harpur, V. A. Wills, H. Lewis" Thomas Williams (Gellifaelog), W. Lewis, and T. Pritchard. The only opposition to the Clause came from t e late Mr. Henry Lewis, who contended that the proposed charges on cottages were excessive. After some dis- cussion, the chairman asked the clerk whether the figures could be modified in the Ho;i°e, and the reply was that they could, by consent of the Board. Then die chairman rvced the Board whether they agreed to adopt the new scale, and the Board leplied in the affirmative. The Clause was thus passed, it being understood apparently that a modification was (Kissible later on, should it be deemed ad -isable Judging from the report, we should say that the only memlier of the Board who understood the matter clearly, at any rate outside the company men, was Mr. Henry Lewis. At that meeting Mr. Wills asked a remarkable question. He wanted to know whether one of the companies could enforce the maximum scale. The clerk said they could not without getting a manda- mus, and they had no ground for asking for it. The Cyfarthfa Company has now succeeded in inserting a Clause making the maximum charges eonipulsoiy as long as there is a deficit in the water accounts. But if the Local Board did discuss the Clause, the District Council have not been given an opportunity to do so. They have repeatedly asked for a special meeting to go through the Bill clause bv clause, but their request was not granted. Here, then, is a Bill involving an expenditure of J3120,000 sent up to London without adequate discussion by the local authority. In London the position was a peculiar one. On the one hand there are the chairman of the Council, the Parliamentary agents, and counsel, and two members of the Council on the other. The former are fi^htin0" for the 20th Clause and the latter oppose it. 5ne o7 the latter, Mr. Dan Thomas, goes into the witness box, and he is severely heckled by the counsel, nga^ed by the Council of which he is a member. It is" easy to criticise the action of the committee. But really the parties appearing hefore them cannot but have confused whatever ideas they may have had on the matter. Lord Morley, the chairman of the House of Lords' Committees, has acted in a way which cannot be readily understood. At one time we fin 1 him saving that the charges in the new scale were excessive • that opinion m the Council was divided on the matter that the whole question was one that should be thrashed out and decided in the countf- and that therefo'-e, he would take the Bill out of the list and postpone it till after Easter. That was what he told Mi. Dan Thomas and Mr. W. Lewis. Soon after he was got at by somebody else, and prevailed uoon to restore the Bill to its former place in the list, with the consequence that it came before the committee last Tuesday week, no time being thus given to the Merthyr people to discuss the matter and settle if for themselves. Lord Morley's forte is evidently not consistency. The committee did not do what they ought to have done, and did what nobody wanted them to de. They reduced the charges on houses above £10, thus affording relief, to the extent of a!x>ut £ 700 to the I>eople who are best able to bear tiie burden. This means another sum to be added to the District Rate I which has to be paid by all. Things have gone wrong at every turn. Perhaps the worst thing of all is the Crawshay Clause. As the Bill stood previously the Council could have put in force whatever charges they pleased. All the Bill said was that they must not go Ijeyond the new Scale. But now those maximum charges must be put in force as long as there is a deficit." This means always, as we pointed out last week, because even the new charges do not bring in sufficient funds to cover the whole of the expenditure. The Troedyrhiw meeting on Friday night was one of the most extraordinary meetings ever held. It is not often that so many people have been packed into the same amount of cubic space. But though densely packed the audience retained their good Immour to the end. Air. Bailey remained quite self-possessed to the finish. He was as cool as a cucumber through- out. His speech was a weak one, but much stronger than that of Mr. Joseph Owen. Mr. H. W. Lewis was not present to give an account of his stewardship. Mr. baileys excuse for him was that he had to attend a meeting of the farms' Management Committee, but Mr. Lewis, of Treharris, had also attended that committee, which was held in the afternoon at Aberdare. One Lewis was able to be present at I roedyrhiw, the other was not. Mr. Bailey was very diplomatic in some parts of his speech, He said that the reduction in the charges on houses above £ 10 followed the evidence Hven'liv Mr. Dan Thomas before the Committee, the insinua- tion Ijetng that Mr. Thomas had fought the battle of that class of property in which he Was pjrsonallv interested. It would be just as logical to say that the reduction was the .esult of the evidence of Mi. Deacou, the expert engineer. Wh.it Mr I hoinas advo;at'd, as everybody knows, was tl • abolition of the whole Clause. Mr. Bailey also tried to make capital out of the fact that Mr. Thomas and Mr. Lewis were assisted by the solicitor of the Licensed Victuallers' Society. The dodge, however, did not answer, He made a savage onslaught on Mr. W. Lewis for refusing to give, evidence. Lator on Mr. Lewis explained that he adopted this course on the advice qf Mr. J. W. Lewis and Mr. Dan Thomas. The chief reason withal they had no counsel to take then pp.it and it requires a very stiong witness indeed to stand t.,e ero^hre of two or three opposing cou.i.-el. I ud r tiie circiunstances Mr. Levv.s d.,1 vve l to be content with simply .stating that he endorsed th* evidence giveu by Mr. Dan Thomas. f Mr. Bailev fell into a nice littletran laid for him bv On the Abercanaid Bridge t here arc to be seen the remains of a School Board election (toster, and the words for Joseph Owen, the working man's friend," are still legible. Somebody ought to demolish that j poster. It is no longer in date. Mr. Bailey inferred to the consolidation of loans question. By this means the Council would effect a considerable saving every year. Quite so but ie that any reason why an injustice should lie inflicted on the householders in regard to the water charges ? Mr. David Davies and Mr. W. Lewis made excellent speeches, carrying the meeting with them to a man. The Plymouth members, notably Mr. Joseph Owen, got a roasting which they will never forget. Mr. David Evans also put in several very useful and telling interruptions. Mr. Arthur Daniel was in great form. He was the interruptor-in-chief, as well as deputy-chairman. Had it not been for the assis- tance he gave in the latter capacity the meeting would not have been as orderly as it was. The final upshot of this evei -memorable meeting was that a strong resolution was passed calling on the three Plymouth Ward representatives to resign their seats on the Council. Not a single hand was raised in opposition to this ^weeping resolution. If there were any supporters of Mr. Bailey and Mr Owen at the meeting they acted on the principle that discretion was the better part of valour, and re- mained silent to the end. The chairman was evi- dently not of their number, for he advocated a course more extreme and thorough-going than that favoured even by any of the popular agitators themselves. This must have come as a final knockdown blow to the conveners of the meeting. It was the unkindest cut of all." The meeting enjoyed it immensely. The Dowiais meeting on Tuesday night was a big success. Fears had been entertained that a certain amount of opposition would be shown to the popular party, and|a strong company of speakers was whipped up for the occasion. In addition to the Mertnrr stalwarts there were Mr. Lewis from Treharris, Mr. Roberts from Merthyr Vale, and Mr. Daniel from Troedyrhiw. Everything passed off without the slightest hitch or interruption. The speeches were exceptionally good, calm, fair, solid, and business-like. Not a single hand was raised up against the resolution carried. Dowlais, then, has gone solid against its own representatives in the District Council. Jealousy of Merthyr has for once been buried in a deep, deep grave, from whence may it not re-appear this side of the crack of doom It was felt that Dowlais was the stronghold of the masters. It is always profoundly loyal to the company, of which it is so very proud, and not without good and ample cause for that matter. But with regard to the water question Dowlais joins hands with the rest of the parish, and has given forth no uncertain sound in favour of equity and fairplay. The whole parish has now spoken, and we know the drift of the overwhelming mass of public opinion all through the valley from Dowlais Top to Treharris. Outside their own circle the masters have absolutely no support. It would be impossible to concel e of greater or more complete unanimity of opinion with regard to any public question. It is said by the masters that the old scale of charges was too low, and that the new compares favourably with the scales enforced in other towns. Le t us see. The minimum charge of 8s. 8d. mav lie called moderate. Mr. W. R. Harris says in his report that, out of 140 towns, the minimun charge of 100 is 8s. 8d. W hen we come to houses of a higher rental, however, we find that the new charge" are greatly above the average. The following table shows precisely where we stand as regards houses rented at £5 and JE:7 10s. Ratable value £5 f7 10s. 6. d. 5. d. Bridgend 8 8 10 0 Cardiff 6 0 9 0 Tredegar 8 8 10 6 Neath 6 0 9 0 Barry 8 8 12 9 Mountain Ash 9 0 10 0 Pontypridd 10 0 12 0 Aberdare 6 0 9 0 I'sk 8 8 13 0 Garw 9 9 9 9 Swansea 7 2 11 0 Merthyr 13 0 17 4 Not much light was thrown on the matter at Wed- l.evlaj's meeting tf the Council. There w; s a long conversation aliout paying the Parliamentary agents^ bill, but the subject was deferred for a week. Next Wednesday's s|>ecial meetiug will probably he a stormy one. Mr. Bailey seems to think that Mr. Tlion as Williami' vie ury at Penydarren on Monday was a declaration in favour of the 20th Clause. Anything ore absurd could not be imagined. It appears that the Bill will come hefore the House of Commons shortly after Easter.

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