The Cardiff Times

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, DEATHS Notices oj Births, Marriages, and Deaths, are charged at the rate of Is for tht first Twenty Words, and 6dJor every additional Ten Words, and must be PREPAID. In all cases the notice must be authenticated by the name and addrexs of the writer. At BIRTHS. AINSWORTH—January 12, at Bath, the wife of Air W. J. Ainsworth, of a. daughter. 67418 WILSON.—On the 17th instant, the wife of Mr Thomas Wilson, Heathfield House, Penarth, of a son. JONES.—Jan. 18th, at Lyncombe Villa, Cowbridge- ro td, Cardiff, Mrs J. P. Jones, of a daughter. WILLIAMSON.—Jan. 18, at 32, Regent-street, Gloucester, Mrs Charles Robert Williamson, of a. daughter. WEST.—January 18th, at 70, Cowbridge-road, Canton, the wife of Captain W. II. West, of a daughter. GREY.—January 18th, at 95, Cowbridge-road, Canton, the wife of William Grey, of a son. MARRIAGES. HUNTER—LEWIS.—Jan. 17th (by special licence), at St. Mark's, by the Rev. T. L. Lister, George Hunter, son of Capt. Thomas Clunie, Miramichi, Port Glasgow. Scotland, to Lizzio Gertrude, third daughter of Mr William Lewis, Dos Cottages, Newport, Mon. 8704 MATHESON—SUTHERLAND.—Jan. 21st, 1884, at the Presbyterian Church, Swansea, by the Rev. John More, Cheltenham, John Matheson, agent to Messrs Blackie and Son, to Catherine Sutherland, both of Sutherlandshire. 8775 HrGHES—WILLIAMS.—Jan. 22, Rev. J. R. Hughes (Methodist), Talybont, Brecon, to Miss Annie Wil. liams, daughter of Mr Daniel Williams, Mountain Ash, by Revs. J. Pugli and T. C. Phillips. 8815 DEATHS. STOKES.—January 12. suddenly on a voyage from Cape- town to Southampton, George Stokes, Chief Engineer s.s. Moor, son of the late William Stokes, 26, Adam-street, Cardiff, Contrator, Great Western Railway Company, aged 44 years. 8705 BARNETT.—On the 15th iust., at 10, Coburn-street, Cardiff, 'Ihomas Bishop Barnett, third son of the late John Barnett, of Stogursey, aged 30. 8766 THOMAS.—Mr Samuel Thomas, at Plassey-street, Pen- arth, aged 65, at midnight, on Saturday, January 19th, 1884 for 22 years connected with the Missions to Seamen Society, at Penarth and Portishead. 8744 RADFORD.—January IP, Ethel Beatrice, aged 10 weeks, beloved daughter of John and Harriett Radford, of the Cambrian Coffee Tavern, Bute-road, Cardiff deeply regretted. 8767 WILLIAMS.—On January 21st, at No. 5, Salisbury-road, Thomas Archibald, toe only beloved son of Thomas and Charlotte Willia'us, aged 14 months. 8770

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1884. LOCAL. EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY. ACCORDING to the verdict of a county court jury at Narberth, what is and what is not an employers' liability under the new act is not very clearly defined, and the result of actions brought under the Employers' Liability Act depends very much on the glorious uncertainty of the law and juries' v-erdicts. A man named LLEWELLYN was employed with ether men in sinking a pit, when, on account of the sides not being timbered or "shored," the earth gave way, LLEWELLYN was buried beneath the fall, and was killed. His wife brought an action in the county court to recover compensation from the employer for the loss of her husband, her claim being fixed at the modest sum of JS150. It was admitted that the slip was the cause of the poor man's death, and that the pit was not shored in any way; but it was contended that there was contribu- tory negligence on the part of the deceased man. The jury, however, returned the fol- lowing verdict, which reads very much like two negatives making up a positive:- (1) That there was no defect in the condi- tion of the works of the defendant; (2) that there was no neglect on the part of JOHN HARRIS, who had the superintendence of the works and (3) that there was no con- tributory neglect on the part of the deceased man." According to this veraict the em- ployers were rignt in not having timbered the sides of the pit, whereas the neglect to do so clearly caused the accident, unless there was contributory negligence on the deceased's part, but the jury state that this was not the case. THE BISHOP OF LLANDAFF AND CONFIRMATION. THE new Bishop of LLANDAn is certainly stirring ap the clergy to good works with very earnest efforts. On every available occasion he does not forget to tell his hearers that what the Established Church wants is plenty of churches and good, ener- tic men to fill them. His determination to only have Welshmen to preach to the Welsh people has by this time become thoroughly well-known and appreciated. The newest departure which he has taken is to hold confirmation services annually in the most populous places in the diocese instead of triennially, which was the custom of the late Bishop OLLIVANT, thus stimulating the clergy in earnestly endeavouring to increase the number of candidates for presentation and of converts to the Church of England. In the circular just issued by the Bishop some admirable practical instructions are given to the clergy, and he concludes by expressing the satisfaction and thankfulness with which he observed the devout behaviour of the candidates at every centre affording the best proofs of the increased care and pains bestowed upon their preparation. One item of the circular, however, seems to smack somewhat of the Ritualistic leanings with which the Bishop is credited. We refer to the white veil or cap which the female candidates are to wear. We had thought that this sort of sumptuary law had long ago been abolished. "LARGE BODIES MOVE SLOWLY." THE removal of the immense boiler from the Neath Abbey Ironworks to the Marquis of Bun's colliery, at Rhymney, seems likely to be attended with as many difficulties as the removal of the monster bell, Great PAUL," from Loughborough to London, or of JUMBO from the Zoo to New York. The journey was commenced on Friday in last week, and we have not yet heard that the Bute Col- lieries, at Rhymney, have been reached. The boiler weighs 22 tons, and it took 21 horses to drag it on the strong low-wheeled car- riage from the ironworks to Neath Railway Station, en route. We hope, however, that it will be put in its place, and have steam up without any serious accident happening, and that it will long work satisfactorily, and never burst. ATTACK ON SALVATIONISTS. THE attack by some young people belonging to certain denominations on a young re- cruit in the Salvation Army, on Saturday night at Treharris, was anything but Christianlike and commendable. According to the report furnished us by our local correspondent, a "recruit" was holding forth in an open air parade," and he sesmed to have given offence to some of the listeners who belonged to a certain place of worship by stating that he had belonged to the same religious sect, but that until he belonged to the army he was "without light." The proceedings were thereupon rudely inter- rupted, and but for the timely interference of the police, it is believed that words would have come to blows. Such a display of sectarian feeling is very much to be con- demned. If the Salvationists are doing a good work, why interfere with them ? If the young recruit referred to had felt more real pious influences since joining the ranks of the army," it should be more a matter of congratulation to his neighbours than otherwise, for according to the evangelical doctrines which prevail in the district, there is but one fold and one shepherd, and therefore, there should be great rejoicings at the thorough return of one lost sheep. The modern bishop of an ancient and established church, surrounded by learned men. as dean and chapter, present a tremendous contrast to the male and female "captains" and "lieuten- ants of the Salvation Army. The spacious and small chapels, with starred windows and handsome and commodious interiors, would be strangely at variance with the bareness of the halls or sheds where the gospel is newly preached to the masses; and so would the pealing organ, trained choir, and classical music differ greatly from songs poured forth with much fervour and little art. But both profess to fight the world, the flesh, and the devil-in different ways no doubt-and they essentially constitute one army. There should for these very best of reasons be more general sympathy felt for the efforts of the Salvationists in their endeavours to reclaim the most depraved and the most profligate. SALES OF DIAMONDS. THERE is a wonderful amount of philoso- phy to be got out of a meditation on an auctioneer's hammer," says CHARLES LAMB, and so it is that every class of property, from a dead horse to a Church living, is, in turn, "passed under the hammer" of the auctioneer. But the sale of a benefice by public auction is more common than a public auction in the pro" —«y3 most valued nf all Dr" *nces of the ~cious stones—dia- monds. But within the last few days a quantity of these highly prized emblems of innocence have been sold by auction at Cardiff and Swansea. Most of our readers will no doubt wonder with our- selves how these gems have become so plen- tiful "all of a sudden." The jewellers' shops dazzlte with the crystal carbons, all, of course, of the "first water," and the trade having become so ^well stocked, the surplus seems to be offered for sale by public competition. It might be imagined that a second King ARTHUR had found another nest of brilliants in the Glen of Lyonesse of which TENNYSON sings, or that another huge Pitt and Koh-i-noor diamond had been found and split up into many small pieces. Certain it is, however, that owing to numerous recent "nnda," principally at the Cape, diamonds are much more plentiful in the market, and that the old rule of finding the value by doubling the weight in carats and multiplying its square by £2 would hardly apply. Recent interesting corres- pondence in the Standard has shown that there area great quantity of spurious stones sold annually. A pure diamond will shed a ray of light in a dark place, will cut glass freely, and will, in the day time, slied a single spark of great brilliancy, which is un- mistakable when compared with the most ^highly-polished spurious stone. These are said to be the best off-hand tests. IMPROVEMENT CLASSES FOR YOUNG MEN. WE have on various occasions referred to the great and manifold advantages which young men may obtain by becoming mem- bers of improvement classes. A class formed at Whitchurch a few months back has re- cently been brought under our notice. We are informed that nearly all the talented young men of the neighbourhood have be- come members, and the spirit thrown into the different debates makes the weekly meetings very edify- ing and instructive. Several questions have been under consideration, and the manner in which they have been treated points to the fact that a great deal of labour has been spent in looking up all the informa- tion possible relating to them. But this habit of research thus formed is not by any means the only good one created. The dis- cussion that ensues upon the reading of papers improves the speaking powers of the members. For these reasons we thoroughly recommend the establishment of improve- ment classes in every town—aye, every village that can produce a score of young men anxious for self-culture.

FOREIGN. ) INDIAN WHEAT. IT appears that we are indebted to India for about one-third of our foreign supply of wheat at the present moment. This is about the best news we have received respecting the wheat supply for some time. A few years ago we could only look to America and Russia to supplement our scanty growth at home. We now have one of our colonies, and that the most important one, sending large quantities of wheat to feed our home population, and it is stated that it can be placed in the English market at 55 per cent. per quarter. It does not pay our farmers to grow wheat under 50s per quarter, so that it will be seen that there is little encourage- ment for them to lay down a greater breadth of wheat. The greater number of foreign countries to which we can look for success in order to feed an ever-growing population, the better will it be for the prospects of the people of this country. Farmers will thus be driven to look more and more to the cultivation of our meat supply, which seems destined to maintain its high price. We ought, however, to take some steps in order to devote our millions of acres now given over to sportsmen to more useful purposes. LONGEVITY IN FRANCE. IT is difficult to convince people who have made up their minds that no one ever lived over 100 years that such is not the case. There are many people who are little Popes in their own estimation, and claim infalli- bility not only in faith and morale, but in everything. A lady, named JEANNE LOUISE PIDAULT, has just died in the department of the Nievre, in France, at the age of 118 years. The Mayor of ENGILBERT, where she lived, testifies to the fact that she was born on April 21, 1766, and her youngest son is now living at that place, aged 95, so that she was 23 years of age when he was born. A lady who has a son naerly as old as Sir MOSES MONTEFIORE cannot be said to have made a mistake in her age. She had the full use of her facul- ties to the last, and it was only during the last year of her life that she was unable to get about her daily duties. The records we have of persons attaining great ages are received with incredulity by some, but now that registers are kept, we shall be able to verify statements by an appeal to documents which cannot be ignored, unless it be averred that the books have been tampered with, which will be the last but unavailing argu- ment. POVERTY AND WAR. WHILE the French Government is wasting millions of francs in stupid expeditions in various parts of the world, we are •" there are no less _n nnn that <• man 150,000 men in Pans v\v or work. A statesman once said that it took very little wisdom to govern a nation. We do not subscribe to that axiom. If he had said that some nations are governed with little wisdom, we could agree with him. France has produced GUIZOT, THIERS, and GAMBETTA in the present century, but at this moment there appears to be no great men in that coilntry, or if there are, they do not rise to the surface. The most capable man in France, M. DE FREY- CINET, has propounded a plan by which all the railways in France are to become united, and if the Government were to carry out his plan, it would relieve her of much anxiety about the unemployed classes. It is always dangerous to a state to have masses of unemployed men gathering in the streets of a great city, while they see millions of money wasted in buccaneering expeditions abroad. The people are taxed up to the hilt, and yet the rulers are seeking military "glory'' in Tonquin and Madagascar. What a Republic

GENERAL GORDON'S MISSION. AT every meeting of the members of the British Cabinet the public are treated by those who profess to know with a recapitu- lation of the subjects which have formed the staple of discussion, and the sentiments of her MAJESTY'S Government respecting them. These are, however, nothing better than shrewd guesses in all discussions within the charmed circle of the Cabinet those who take part in them are not likely to make disclosures for the mere sake of setting political gossip afloat. They are infinitely more likely to keep the QUEEN'S counsel and their own," and so when we are told that this question was dealt with, and that one gave rise to an animated conversation, we must take the revelations with a formidable pinch of salt. At the present conjuncture of events, the pro- babilities are that Ministers at their meeting on Tuesday had something to say about the county franchise and the re-distribution of seats The day for the opening of the next session of the present Parliament draws on apace, and as soon as the formal business has been transacted, and the usual prelimi- nary skirmishes gone through, there is every reason to believe Mr GLADSTONE and his colleagues will proceed to grapple in a com- prehensive way with the great problems which it has been senri-officialiy promised should be brought prominently forward for the deliberation and approval of the House of Commons. It is more than probable, too, that the most startling piece of news of the last few days—the sudden despatch of General GORDON to the Soudan —received the consideration ita importance deserved from those who are responsible for his mission. There is no doubt the task which General GORDON has to perform is surrounded by difficulties, but the Govern- ment have deemed it right that something should be done to retain the Soudan for the Egyptians, or at least to put forth a hand to save, if it be possible, the beleaguered gar- risons which are threatened by the fanatical followers of the MAHDI, or False Prophet. They could not have selected a better man for carrying out their behests than the experienced soldier who is now on his way to the scene of action. He has had con- siderable experience—there is scarcely a man in the army who has had so much—in Asiatic diplomacy, and he is not unac- quainted with the fickleness of Egyptian statecraft. He has, too, had many opportu- nities of measuring the extent of the trea- chery of tribes similar to those over whom the'False Prophet exercises authority. They are a set of vagabonds, whose delight is knavery of every description, and they have no sort of conception of the sacredness of life. One shudders to think what may be the fate of the unfortunate garrisons, scat- tered here and there in a vast oasis, cut off from all communication with their friends, and with, we may be sure, a very limited stock or wator and provisions, if these hordes of savages swoop down upon them and let loose their passions of blood-thirstiness which they are accustomed to do whenever and wherever an opportunity offers. We must, however, hope for the best. The Egyptian Government have an able general in BAKER Pasha, and when" Chinese" GORDON joins him—the journey, alas is long, and the situation imminent—a plan may be devised to thwart the designs of the MAHDI, and bring peace, if only of a temporary character, to a much harrassed part of the world. It is asserted by those who profess that their information is authentic, that General GoRooy will go straight to Suakim, passing thither by the Suez Canal. At Suez it is said he will talk over matters with Sir EVELYN BARING, the diplomatist, with whom he will come to an understanding as to the co-operation of the English authorities in Egypt, so far as that may be necessary. Hew-ill insist upon being b considered as the representative, not of Egypt, but of England. On reaching Suakim ha will, according to the authority we have mentioned, at once bring into play his knowledge of local characteristics and his personal influence with the chiefs. Mo ess A, the chief of the- Hadendowar tribe, whose headquarters are at Filik, some 200 miles to the south of Suakim, is under great personal obligation to General GORDON, who, when formerly in the Soudan, saved two of MOUSSA'S sons from the death to which they had been condemned "by the Egyptian authorities for taking "part in a raid upon another tribe." This chief is to be used by the General as an escort to Khartoum, and here there will bo assembled the heads of the neighbouring tribes, to whom it will be an- nounced that the General has come on the part of the English Government to re- store to them their liberty, and to remove the swarms of unpaid soldiers and adven- turers who have been the curse of the country. This is, no doubt, a very pretty programme on paper, but it remains to be seen whether it can be successfully carried out. The obstacles in the way of achieving a peaceful solution of the problem are im- mense, even supposing General GORDON'S long journey is unbroken by disaster. It is only the expert who has had actual experience in travelling in these parts who can appreciate to their fullest extent the physical hardships to be endured and the deceit and treachery and lust for blood and treasure which have to be encountered before the desired haven is reached. If it is given to any man to succeed, General GORDON, with his great knowledge of Asiatic character and diplomacy, and his indomitable perseverance and pluck, will not fail. He has the good wishes of his countrymen at his back, but should he not prosper, we shall never need the assurance that whatever he did was the best that possibly could be done under the circumstances.

THE FRANCHISE QUESTION. THE time for the grand contest of political parties on the franchise question is rapidly approaching, and the mutual challenge has been distinctly uttered. It may be noticed that few of the Conservative writers and speakers now profess any dislike, in the ab- stract, to the extension of the household suffrage to the counties. Some of them de- clare that they were always in favour of this principle, and profess to rely upon the Conservative sympathies of the rural popula- tion. But Lord SALISBURY observes, what is certainly the fact in some parts of England, that the population outside the cities and boroughs have got considerably mixed. He is afraid lest the docility and submissiveness of agricultural labourers should be spoilt by electoral association with the mining popula- tion as in Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, and with other working-class people re- sembling those of the great towns. This is ■ why Lord SALISBURY insists upon a scheme ] of drawing new boundaries for the local con- stituencies to be created before he will allow the enfranchisement of householders in the counties. As one of the terri- £ torial aristocracy, this noble landlord is of the j ancient Tory opinion that there is an eternal y and essential difference between urban and s rural interests. His aim is to show "that it is not true that the interests of the people J of the towns and of the country are neces- ( sarily coincident." Now we say that it is true and we mean to prove our sincerity, ] as Liberals, by obtaining for all country people the same political power, in just proportion to their numbers, that is enjoyed by people in cities and borough towns. It is here that we and the Liberal party, and Mr GLADSTONE above all, who is thoroughly inspired with this sense of the political har- mony of legitimate social interests through- out the community, find ourselves at issue with the Tories. We find in Lord SALISBURY a clever, but prejudiced and somewhat arrogant, mind, bred in deceptive notions of hereditary superiority, one apparently incapable of comprehending the real unity of social life in the nation. Any intelligent and obser- vant person, who has watched the course of improvement around him during the past thirty or forty years, knows England better than Lord SALISBURY does. His lordship is resolved, as we learn from the Quarterly Review," as well as from his own speeches and those of his trenchman, Sir RICHARD CROSS, to defeat the Ministerial Reform Bill. The Tories will fight against it in the House of Commons, with a view to its being thrown out by the House of Lords. Their grounds of objection will be threefold first, in the absence of security for preserving the ex- clusively rural character of the county constituencies, which would be sought in a Conservative scheme of redistribution of electoral boundaries secondly, the diffi- culties which may be raised concerning the freehold and other property qualifications for county voters and thirdly, the danger of admitting large numbers of new electors in Ireland. n The Liberal party will have to meet all these objections in debate, and it is well that the arguments in reply should be fully considered beforehand. They have received more attention of late, in conse- quence of Lord HARTINGXON s speech at Manchester in November, which was ap- parently designed to invite a painstaking study of the points in question, so that the advocates of reform should be pre- pared to reply to its assailants. Lord HARTINGTON is never likely to be unprepared with sound reasons for a policy which he has deliberately espoused but he may have rendered better service to the Liberal party by setting reformers to think out these reasons for themselves, than if he had at once supplied the answer to every problem. The fruit of this intel- lectual process is now being gathered in the more practical and effectual discussion of the various matters of detail, which must, indeed, be left implicitly to the deliberations of the Cabinet, but which are certain to afford scope to the Tory Opposition. In the meantime we would earnestly exhort our friends of the Liberal party to avoid peremptory and dogmatic conclusions upon many subordinate questions rating to the complex fabric of our representative "system. They may feel assured that with Mr GLAD- STONE at the head of colleagues, among whom are several of the most ardent and consistent champions of the true democratic principle, whatever incidental anomalies may awhile remain will not be such as to impair its working. There are points which admit of some difference of opinion among Liberals and parliamentary reformers, and those who find that the Ministerial legislation of the coming session does not comprise every par- ticular amendment which they hold desir- able, may remember that "Rome was not built in a day." It is essential that, by »?*HWnrnri> n i■ wnnr^. whatever rules and methods, we should get a House of Commons so elected as to be a trustworthy, compe- tent, and willing agent of the resolves of popular opinion. The Tories wish to prevent this as long as they can, because popular opinion is receptive of Liberal ideas. Their present course is not openly and directly to withstand reform of Parliament, but to conjure up the phantom of hostility between the urban and the rural populations, or the bugbear of an Irish majority hostile to England, evoked by j household county suffrage. These alarming J suggestions are the arguments by which Lord SALISBURY will try to induce the Upper j House to throw out the Bill, after causing it to be worried for months by his adherents in i. the Lower House, with all conceivable ob- jj jections, both as to its details and to the jj postponement of its necessary sequel, a mea- i sure of redistribution of seats. The battle will soon commence, and we put confidence t in our Ministerial leaders, and not less in other leading statesmen, of whom Mr t BRIGHT is foremost, powerfully aiding the Liberal Government in this cause. All that the occasion demands is the harmonious and t zealous co-operation of Liberals, in the House and in the country, setting aside j their speculative views upon other questions j: to carry this of the enfranchisement of county householders as the foundation of a i. reformed electoral system. The Liberal 1 party is deeply pledged to this undertaking. ;1 It can fail only by disunion, which we no 6 longer dread, or by some gross indiscretion with regard to separatist views of Ireland, c which would cause British feeling to revolt | against the extension of the political liberties in that part of the United Kingdom. We are < earnestly desirous, and we are now unani- mously agreed, to bestow upon Ireland an equal proportionate share of constitutional privi- W lege and power, which we trust will never bo | abused. A separate parliamentary constitu- ft tion will never be conceded. Let that dream be repudiated and dispersed, so that i the true idea of the National unity may be fc: realised, and then it will be impossible to r hinder the complete development of Liberal ia principles throughout the kingdom in all the institutions and affairs of public life. e h

TALK OF THE WEEK. J !1. [By GOHEBYDD. I al The talk is that there have been great climatic changes in the short space of one week. For three days this week we have had a successive gfale cf wind and rain, which made street-locomotion very 41 unpleasant, and gave rise, I make no doubt, to ? much inconvenience and not a little profanity- bl As I write we are in the midst of a spring day, i e crisp and bright as air and sunshine can make it. b; Before the advent of the rude wind which camo PI swooping upon us, fresh from the angry Atlantic, we had a succession of several weeks of preter- naturally mild weather, which appears to hava cheated animate and inanimate nature. If you pass tw a grove of trees, you shall now hear the feathered i songsters carolling their blithe music out of very f» gladness of heart that the spring-time and mating- ;1 time have come round again with all their plea- sures and promises. Look at the fields and the « gardens, and do you not see vegetables budding '°, abnormally, and setting forth a growing capacity which is more suggestive of March than of Janu- ary ? This is not only the ca-e here, but it is Ijje, more especially so in the neighbourhood of Wat- (t ] ford, where I am told that in the garden of Mr C. 'y A. Harley the strawberries are not only .in bloom but the fruit is forming, and ripe gooseberries have been plucked in the same locality during the present month. In gardens in this neigh- Bit bourhood, as elsewhere, flowers have begun 03 to bloom, and I hear of the monthly rose, the polyanthus, the violet, the primrose, snow* m' drop, daisy, wallflower, valerian, and the yellotf on jessamine exhibiting their petals to astonished lov mankind. It is to ba hoped no long and killinff 1l'\J frost will come with its keen sickle and throw our ne spring into the summer. We had bitter take & as it is, abnormal though it he. I L The talk is that the town of Cardiff is much io* debted to the boisterous wind with which it ha3 ÐgE been visited during the last few days, if it is only for drying the roads and footwalks, so that they nS( ire now navigable without getting up to the knees c in sludge of a hasty-pudding consistency. 1 do aot think I ever saw so much mud in a simile -y, area as I saw on Sunday and Monday in Cardiff- I 3oing out of tû;nl into tho country ;.1. ponfra3* Ow ,vas extraordinary. Thej don't employ steal11' äi" ■oilers in the country. I take it as a per" it sonal compliment—pardon my excessive modesty-^ ld ,hat at the meeting of the Health Committee this cj ,veek the question of the improvement of the streets was considered at great length," and th& :1' t was ultimately decided that the serious atten" ;tl:: ;ion of the Public Works Committee be called to îI tl ihe deplorable condition of the roads, and thft' I they be asked to take into consideration the neces" hts sary means for providing a harder surface either by using a harder materia!, by the use of a smaller :ct" proportion of gravel, or by the modified use of r it the steam-roller." I have been pegging away (\t ttb this subject any time this two years, and I glad there is a little bit of blue sky. visible in these directions. As to the harder materials, may 1 permitted to ask if there is any softness about fliutstones,until they arepulverisedby t- piece of machinery ? Ps The talk is that Cardiff is not only growing iA stature but in beauty. Under these circumstance* it is a thousand pities to see its fair surface ge,: marred by material or moral mud. I have ha' 4 u my fling at the material; let me add one word to the moral. I have been requested „ by a correspondent to call attention Z to Lei the congregation of lewd women between the Iru approaches to the Great Western Rail' Ift way Station and St. Mary-street. My correS' pondent declares that he has to leave thÐ | pavement when coming off a journey to save hio* tel'; self from being accosted and solicited by l\' 1 shoals of unfortunate creatures. There are in»ny A who can corroborate this assertion. This fearfu traffic is a great eyesore in one of the most It6' I quented parts of central Cardiff. I really don't kuov' how we are to grapple with this ever-increasing evil. I could not advocate a hunting-down crt>' sade against the poor creatures, but we certainly must, for the sake of the rising generation, and f- for the sake of those who visit us from a distance kg. remove them, if possible, from our priacip*1 thoroughfares. The talk is that evil is wrought from want o* thought as well as from want of heait. This is' I believe, the case with the shoals of workio £ i; men who, returning to their homes hIm work iØ the evening between six and seven o'clock, II themselves, four and five abreast, ov ,r the foot' f walk to the exclusion of other pedest.ians. I don Sjj always care about taking the road—for obviou3 tej- reasons at this time of year, and when there i9 ( much moisture knocking about -and to stee* œ¡. between these sturdy sons of toi], with thei' If, bags upon their stalwart shoulders, 1' I, a feat of some difficulty. I dare sfL1 Uf. the practice of monopolising the pavement i'* this way is bred of mere thoughtlessnes?, but cannot make the same excuse for those who improper language when you happen to knoc" against them in the endeavour to get by. The talk is that the Cardiff Corporation Bi^ has passed the gauntlet of its initial stages jr^ being reported as having complied with standing jit orders. Some merriment, I remember, w*9 ii created at the recent town", meeting when tb' mention was made of the clause which has for if 4 object the prevention of smoking on the fo0^j tin boards of tramcars and omnibuses. One wouW have thought those who have the management < and regulation of this vehicular traffic could haV0 M put down the practice without appealing to Parliament, but they have not done pie; so, and hence the necessity for Parliamentary powers. It is as much a nuisance to inside paS' jJ-.V sengers to smoke on the footboard as it would ry to smoke in the interior of the vehicle, for smoke reaches them in just the same proportion* | j, I think it a shame and a scandal that the direC' ^1, tors of cars and 'busses have permitted nuisance as long as they have. I know they tell you that directions have been given to j^ conductors upon this subject, but 1 retort—wltf clr have they not seen that the conductors did the^^v duty? I think the corporation, while it \Vaø 35.. about it, might have inserted a special clause ita t1 t1 its bill making clean hands and faces and it thing like decent apparel a sine qua non in boys who act as conductors upon some of « local omnibuses.. £ The talk is that the trade of Swansea, accord' tej ingtothe statements made at the annual dinned of the Chamber of Commerce, is looking The Mayor said, and it is quite true, I believe, or" that the local trade was most promising, whil" the affairs of the harbour were most satisfactory' most progressive, and in such a condition as t, great hopes for the future of Swansea. Good; ltlt The chairman of the chamber was very confiden tt that the deepening of the channel would have very favourable effect upon the development the port. Good again! But why do not tb authorities put their hearts into the work, their shoulders to the wheel ? Here is a wb;oh it !).•»'; t1' Ir*; nc ir.r r" •I I

GENERAL. ADVERTISING. IT is reported that Professor HOLLOWAY once offered CHARLES DICKENS £1,000 for a "puff" in one of his books, which the author of the "PIckwick Papers" very pro- perly declined. Sir JOHN BENNETT gave B500 for the back page of the catalogue of the exhibition of 1851, and did not regret it, while £500 was reported to have been given by a patent medicine vendor to Colonel BURNABY for a puff" in his "Ride to Khiva." Many large businesses have been made by advertising, but there is considerable skill required in knowing how, when, and where to advertise. Some years ago a company advertised a certain chocolate in the Times, the length of the advertisement being one column and a half, and 700 fresh orders were the result of that advertisement. Many thousands of pounds are thrown a way in advertising through want of adequate knowledge. Sir JOHN BENNETT on one occasion reduced his ex- penditure in advertising from jS10,000 a year to JB8,000, but he found that his returns fell off, and he againjjadverted to the former larger sum. PETROLEUM REFUSE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR COAL. WHEN we are making calculations on the duration of our coal 0 fields, we are apt to leave out of account the probability that some new substance may at some time or another come into the market, if not to sup- plant, at any rate to supplement our coal supply. Such a substance is reported to be found in petroleum refuse. The calorific value of this commodity is reported to be about four times that of an ecyual weight ¡ of coal. A writer in the St. James's Gazette states that it is being used on steamers trading in the Caspian Sea, and that efforts are being made to send it at an equally cheap rate into the Black Sea. From this place it will probably reach the Mediter- ranean, and thus materially atTcct the coal trade in that quarter. This may be a mere brutum fulmen, but it is as well to look the fact in the face, if it be a fact. The cheap- ness of the commodity, and the freight, will be two factors in its favour, if there are no other obstacles in the way. THE CITY GUILDS. THE income of the various guilds of the City of London amounts to no less than B750,000 per annum. Of this sum about £200,000 is devoted to charity under the administration of the Charity Commissioners. We believe Lord BROUGHAM was instrumental in ferret- ing out some of the money which had been left for charity, and had either been devoted to eating and guzzling, or had been allowed to accumulate without being put to any use- ful purpose whatever At the present moment, although it is admitted that £75,000 per annum is devoted to dinners, at least £40,000 more is allowed to be expended on committee fees and dinners. The amount of feeding indulged in by these companies has become a byword. It is surmised that if the value of the city guild funds were assessed by an independent valuer, they would amount to perhaps two millions per annum The income of the Fishmongers' Company is j350,000 per annum, but not one in ten of the 430 liverymen is in any way connected with the fish trade, any more tha.n the members of the Freemasons are connected in the most remote manner with the mason's art. These guilds had a useful ob- ject in their day, as a means for strengthen- ing the various trades against those who would injure their craft, but at the present time they are out of date and purposeless.