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NEW SHORT STORIES. n_- The Cost of a Kiss, j An Episode in the Life of Ambep Pasha. By JUSTIN HUNTLY McCARTIiY. Author of C¡ A RAINY ROMANCE/' &C., &C. wind was skimming sharply along the tiLSPk°ros> ripping tiie water into strong waves. °e sky was as dark and as cold as the sky or ■kpftdon winter, but the air was clearer :uid ^'derin that Constantinople Deceir.ber than it jf'ten 13 in Loudon. The steamer for Scutari had left its landing-stage by tha bridge, and was ^raing its way across the grey wiste, its lights i'^ainiug very brightly in the chilled air. Amber Pasha walked up and down the deck *ith Ctbrie-I "Oldt(tre. Both were well protected I .jp^inst the keen wind by furred coats both wore -Ie red fez, which signified that they hold service ?!der the Turk. Amber Pr.sha, as all the world ig the most remarkable of all the many jt^aarkable Europeans who have entered the rakish service. Gabriel Oidacre was his private and intimate friend. All around them lights were beginning to shine Dllt like stars, for it was drawing to the dusk, and ~°nstantinople looked like a fairy city in the Waning day. The great domea and minarets of fyat; marvellous Eastern dream in Europe grew "lacker against the darkening sky. A tine cies- flt of silver inood, as keenly curved as the Wimitar of some old-time Spldnn of Stamboul, J^hied to cut its way into the heavens. Amber *i8ha looked up at it, and quoted the lines from •Joiar Khr.yyatn, which Edward Fitzgerald has wade familiar to England and the English race. Yon rising moon tliat looks for us again, gow oft hereafter shall she wax ami wane, Bow oft hereafter rising look for vis Through this same garden and for one in vain." Gabriel sighed as the Pasha finished the quota- lon, and the Pasha, hearing him sigh, shook the melancholy from his own voice. *<l?e0r old Omar," he said. How much the owes to him. How much we owe to the who found him out for us. It i3 always a onder to me that the greatest of Persian poets, greatest of Pagan poets, should have been, as revealed to the English race by an elderly 'Pietry gentleman, who was a vegetarian and a /*ter-drinker, who had never seen the false dawn Eastern sky." •y Perhaps that "was the reason he understood jjoi *o well," said Gabriel. Are not the singers ? *ine and women often the most abstemious, most austere citizens ? Athenoeus assures us 'nO,t Anocreon never touched the grape he sang »and I remember reading in one of Tour- jP^eiiieff's novels about a Russian Bacchic poet no was, in fact, the most rigid of abstainers *o». wine." .Well, I shall nover believe that of Omar," J «jr Amber Pasha. "Omar, I am sure, was far honest a man to say or sing what he did not »'i- He has been my excellent friend for many J0ng year, and I should be sorry to esteem him '^ypociite. You know I was one of the first to ^JfRt the gospel according to "Fitzgerald." Were you ?" said Gabriel. I thought that too long ago." Ainber Pasha laughed. You always will persist in looking upon me Solden youth, Gabriel." *ou always seem like a young man. It is ir owl, fault," replied Gabriel. 1, &vt>n tho youngest of us has been roungei)" said the Pasha, but I cer- j "ily was litt-le more than a boy when •p first made Omar's acquaintance. It was Richard Burton who iirst told me of it, who gave a copy of that then neglected, now rarely tj first edition. It was Otnar and Richard *Wton between them who first turned my "rights to the East. What a queer game of P~ftI'oes life is. If I had not chanced to sit next -a great traveller at a dinner tablo some thirty ago yoa- and I would not be steaming now Awards Souta-n together." n&j&ftbriri's eyes were fixed upon the fading city. moisture in his eyes may have been caused py the keen, cold air, or was it unconquerable jf41* at the thought of a green place in distant 'ngland, and of a girl whose eyes seemed to "Hie with all tho glory of the heaven and the rth. He was silent for a little while, and -jjber Pasha kept silence too. f,^ently Gabriel spoke. Yes," be said, "life is a queer game. By the t ay> you have not told me why we ate steaming ^ards Scutari." frue," said Amber. I said I had some- v nS to show you at Scutari: something to tell Bkr!* 0n way. What I want to tell yon is a one of the many stories of my life a story nioh I should like you to hear, and which I eJ'6ve that you will hear with sympathy." (labriet sighed. He felt sure that he knew very Wall what was the Pasha's purpose in telling him wile of his youth. He guessed that his friend Wished to teach him that the sorrow of love which ad wounded his heart so deeply was known too his friend. That he, tco. had received a wound lQ the fight, and had arisen again and gone his like a man. Gabriel was doiug his best to a man, but he had not the strong soul of r^nber, and for a moment the tears came into his again and blotted out the lines and lights of /^beautiful city, and in their place he saw again '«* his mental eye that quiet English garden and •Oat comely English girl. > Resolutely he fixed his eyes again upon the ^tastic Turkish town, resolutely he fixed his "ention upon the words that Amber Pasha was Joking, and while he listened he strove hard to from his mind all importunate memories «I the nains of the girl he had loved and lost. Yes," said Amber Pasha, it is a great years ago, and I was young then, very Wing indeod-at least I know now that I was J*? young indeed, though at the time I did not .fjttik #o, for I was nearly thirty years of age, and myself the most venerable of men. ^'Sttiillab, what a raw lad I was for iny years. I 4d been nowhere, had seen nothing." f Gabriel glanced inquiringly into the Pasha's aae. I thought you began life very early." Oh yes I did," answered Amber, and I bad aud done the usual things that a young f^glishman of good family and fair means sees does. I had seen most of Europe, had seen 2T°wic», but this was my first crossing the freehold of the East. I was going at last to ijOfcatantinople. The first time I ever saw Constantinople I saw it under somewhat Peculiar conditions. I had long been jJ^Uning of that earliest glimpse of Stain* 7°ul which was to reward my hopes and atisfy my expectations. I was up betimes on *>e morning when we steamed into the Dardan- 'eis; through the faint mist of raw morning I the distant coast of Asia Minor, and saw, fondly fancied that I saw, dimly dark against #ky, the Mound of Achilles. From the Greeks 2* the early age my thoughts turned to the jJ*6«ks of that later age, the Greeks of that ifyzantium I was now ar.d at last approaching. *y*antium of the Varangians, the Micklegarth, ?* the Men of the North. Soon I should behold ItR domes of delicate curve, its crescents and its ^Hnarets, the white waIlri of its mosques, and the «'«en quiet of its gardens rising like a dream of Arabian Nights out of the enchanted waters. Alas for dear anticipation. That mist of the morning deepened, darkened, curtained close Vessel, muffled the shores in an impenetrable **ey, swallowed upsea and land and sky. We sailed p to the Rea gates, to the quays of Constantinople J? fog that for consistency and opacity rivalled most strenuous efforts of brumous London far **y. Perhaps at moments, and only for r^toents, the veil would lift here and there a I?tt?ed edge and show a surface of lapping water, of a white building ghostly in the *l°w, the crest of a stately minaret, a green jv^m of waving foliage. Only for moments; the mist would descend and deepen again, reenlng Constantinople as jealonsly from the of her Fraukish lover as ever folded thick- J^ses of gauze concealed a harem lady from the l^lous glances of the Giaour. Constantinople, jSf that I could see of it, might be exactly or Staten Island, or Calais; might beautiful than Naples, or more common- Gravesend for anything that I could «fty to the contrary. In the mantle of this j-^king fog, our steamer came to her halt, lay jJJP^Rside the dock. Fezzed officials began to hliT* unexpectedly over the ship's side, leaping yelt a°ks-in-the-B°x out of the almost palpable Ye)l()%vness we had arrived at our journey's end, "till Constantinople was us strange to us as if M back again in England. r There were some paople on board with whom friends. I was alone, and I have been of the gregarious kind, and I can say -'h Gosthe, that I have never met a really dull fon8 jn" wherever I have been I have always companions, and often found friends." .Gabriel's fancy floated swiftly back over seas o 'he day when he sat and looked at the little I, churchward, when he saw the face and tiin voice of Amber Pasha for the firat tha*' 'n oonaequence of his mind listening to jj. w°rds that voice spoke then in his ear was jj/Jttonti^ to the words the voice was speaking Wa*' Jt was some seconds before ho again gj?3. Comprehensive of what Amber Pasha was ying. Ho was speaking of his companions on ffd the ship. was a very pretty girl; one of the ftva! creatures that I think I have j p' seen. I had never seen a prettier then #ofI*Ve never Been prettier since. It was n |u • *nd tender kind of beauty, if indeed word beauty does not convey something stronger impression than belonged by to her delicate colouring and youthful w^J'neas. Her hair was very fair, quite comme as de Uposet sings of the girl in hilf SQVi. > '• -• 7:1: and her eyes were very blue, and her lips were warmly red. There, I describe her she was prfe-lty, exquisitely pretty, with apathetic, caress- jl1 weaknuy-f of dweeanour which war, very capti- vating. Af-sos I wonder if we ever know what lnippiiHws really is to Thero are fso many kinds of iiappiness," said Gabriel, gravely. The negro, with ltyeUow IŒrdllfÍ tWisted round his woolly head, chappy in the sunlight singing his wild songs. But if I were tj spsnd all my ubst,auce in canary- coloured silk it would afford me very little delight." As he spoke he pointed to where, in the front of the boat, not very far from where they were, a great negro stood, the most picturesqus of the many picturesque figures that thronged the humbler portion of the steamer. He was as black as ebony, and above the living bronze of his face he had wound a great yellow turban. He was talking. eagerly to an immobile Turk, and his whole bearing was animated by a sense of the pleasure cf being alive, a pleasure that ws heightened for the I' moment by the handful of apples of which he was the possessor, and into one of which his largo white teeth made great munching bites at intervals. Amber Pasba laughed as he followed the direc- tions of Gabriel's gesture. He looks like a Darfur man he is probably very happy with his yellow lurbau and his yellow appl?;. Well, I was happy in those days of my youtli; happy to get to Stamboul; happy in the companions of my journey. Trevannion was going out on a special mission to the sublime Porte. He was a widower, and his daughter Rose was bis constant companion. Trevannion and I had a vast number of common friends, and when we cama to Constantinople in the fog we seemed as if we—he, she, and I—had been friends for ages. Through the fog we left the ship: through the fog we struggled with excltedcustom houseofficials in crimson fezzes; through the fog we followed our gallant dragoman to a carriage soon we were whirling through the fog along some of the very worst streets in the world, or at least in my experience, for Jaffa was then unknown to m. As wo left the water the fog dwindled and dwindled and at last vanished, so that by the time our driver drew bridle at the door of Missiri's, Constantinople had ceased to be a. city of shadows, a cloud-cuckoo town of vapours, fantastically vague, and had taken its place in our understandings with the sohd cities* of the earth, and somethiug at least of the interior of the great Asiatic capital of Europe was familiar to our wondering eyes. But for the exterior, for that view of the city of the Sultans, rising from thq Bospborus with all its mosques and minarets, its crescents and domes, and cypress groves and gardens, I had perforce to waic until I was say- ing my first farewells to the most enchanting, perplexing capital in the world. Perhaps, after all, there was something more really appropriate about such an entry into Constantinople. The city is so completely a place by itself, so characteristic of another civilisation and another that there was something so whimsically fitting in the almost magical way in which one sailed out of Europe info mist, and when the mist had lifted found oneself actually in Con- stantinople. It was not unreasonable, after all, that one should arrive as in a dream in the city of dreams. During those early days in Constantinople I was thrown a good Cleal into the society of the Trevann ous. The Euglish colony was not quite so large then perhaps as it is now the Tr«van- nions and I had the same friends amongst the diplomatic people, and tho fact of our having come to Constantinople together gave our acquain- tance a pleasing air of old and long relations we had formed since our arrival. It came gradually to be understood that the Trevannions and I were inseparable. Although I was so young in those daya I suppose I ought to have known better. I believe that I was rather good-looking then, and that I was an amusing companion for a young and rather shy girl. It did not occur to me that I could by any posaiblity be a dangerous com- panion. She was very sweet and very pretty, but I was not in the least in love with her, and our friendship never resembled a. commonplace familiar flirtation in the slightest degree. It was no part of my plan of hfe to marry young. I was ambitious, inde- pendent like Othello, I did not wish to change my free unhoused condition for the sea's worth. My dream was travel, and travel of the kind I had dreamed of was not wisely possible for a married man. And as I said, I was not in the least in love with Miss Trevannion, although I knew her for what she was, a sweet and loveable English girl. But I was only in love with the East. "One day a number of us went for an expedi- tion outside the walls of Constantinople. We were quite a large party, men from the Embassy, recently arrived travellers, official residents, a very bright, joyous body of men and women. Vie had luncheon at the country house of a Turkish gentleman of great wealth, who held high olKce under the Sultan, and whoso house, or rather palace, was one of the wonders and delights of the Constantinople of that day. In a place that was worthy of Sinbad at his zenith, our host en. tertained us with a splendour that was worthy of the great wanderer in his glory, As usual. Rose Trevannion and I ware thrown together, and wa fouml much pleasure inadmiring all tluvt our hoiuVhouse and gardeos had to otter for our*dmrratidn. I was^ an ardeftt Admirer of Eastern art and architeckitw; I knew1 a little about.it, and thought I lmtjw a great deal. Women have a great respect for any learning that is or seems to ba beyond their ken, and I think Miss Trevannion lookeduponme as a very learned person indeed. As a matter of fact, I suppose I was rather priggish, but I was not a dull prig I believe, and I did nob bore my companion. Vv e were all to ride home in the cool of the evening, and our way lay for some while through the park of onr Turkish host. It was a very large park mdeed. It has long since disappeared civilisation moves onward even in Stamboul, and land is valuable, and the place has years ago been cut up, and manufactories stand on what was then an Oriental earthly Paradise. One great beauty of the place was a winding grove ofcypresses that stretched for nearly three miles, serpentina in and out of the glowing gardens that composed the park. Through this cypress grove our cavalcade had to take its way. "With much laughter the major part of onr company pushed on ahead. Some were racing ouo another, some simply galloping for the pleasure of the swift; motion. Miss Trevannion was a rather nervous horsewoman, and did not care to speed with the others, and I was not at all eager to leave her side. So it happened that we fell be hind and lost sight of our more adventurous com- panions, whose voices soon died away in the dis- tance. We rode quietly along, delighted with the beauty of the scene, and tilking the kind of sentimentalism tbat a. young man and a young woman are only too likely tojj talk under such conditions. Through the stately ranks of the cyi>esses the rays of the evening sun barred our path with alternating gold and sable. The sky was very blue above our heads; the air was exquisitely warm and perfumed with the heavy fragrance of the roses for which the Pasha was famous. The gardens, whenever we saw them through gap3 in the trees, gleamed with the colour of parterres of gorgeous flowers, and birds sang in the boscagos. It was an enchanting even. ing, full of subtle appeal to all the senses. Then it happened. Our horses were very close together. We were going very slowlv. We were quite alone. I had said something. I know not what, and she had looked up at me smiling. She was so pretty, and so young, and she seemed so pleased to listen to me, and I suppose between the ehartns of her beauty and the flattery of her admiration I lost my foolish head. I only know that. without thinking what I was doing, I slipped my arm round her waist, and, stooping down, kissed her on the mouth. The moment I had done it I seemed to come to myself, and to see the folly, the unworthy folly of what I had done. I waited for and expected an angry reproof. But, to my surprise, no reproof came. Rose let her pretty head fall upon my shoulder—remember we were going at a walking pace—and looked up into my face with eyes ot simple, honest love. Her sweet face was slightly flushed, and her eyes were bright. Her warm lips parted, the lips I had just kissed. My dear,' she murmured, you have made me very happy.' And then she lowered her eyes, and the blush on her face grew deeper, but she made no effort to escape from my encircling arm. "In n moment I understood the situation. The girl was very simple. She thought that the man who kissed her as I had kissed her must needs be in love with her she thought that the man who was in love with her must needs want to marry her. I had not thought of this when I stooped to my careless caress. I had kissed so many women who took kisses lightly and gave them lightly, with a laugh, that it never occurrad to me how differently Rose might take Had I thought at all, and I had acted wholly, thought- lessly, I should have imagined that she would be offended, and that it would cost me some pains to obtain her pardon for my impertinence. But that she would take my deed as she did take it would, in all honesty, never have occurred to me." Amber Pasha paused and stood, silent, for a little while, fixing his gaze upon the approaching Scutari shore. Gabriel respected hia silenoe for a while; then, as the Pasha showed no signs of speaking, he ventured to disturb his silence. Well," he asked, what happened then ?' The Pasha still gazed at the shore. "The only thing that could happen," he said. The only possible course for me as a decent fellow was to accept the situation, and to fall in with the girl's belief. Many a man would have been only too happy to be in my place. Honestly, I was not happy. I did not want to marry I was not in love with Rose Trevannion. But she thought I was, and my act had helped to make her think so, and that was enough for me. I kissed her again, and when we regained our party we were affianced lovers. Of course, my first duty was to speak to Tre. vannion. I felt miserable, guilty, a very scoundrel as I told him that I loved his daughter, as I asked him for her band. For it wasn't true. Much as I liked the girl, I did not Jove her in tho least, and I had no desire whatever to make her my wife. But the girl, by pome unhappy chance, had fallen in love with me I had foolishly and un- willingly given her tha conviction that I loved her and wished her to share my life. I had blundered badly; that was no reason why I should blunder brutually in telling the poor girl the truth, possibly breaking her heart, and certainly giving a cruel to her delicate, shrinking nature and to her gentle pride. The only possible course left to me as a gentleman, as a man with any decent feeling was to make her life as happy as anything that I could do would make it. To do Trevannion justioo, he was not greatly rejoiced at my proposal. He had hoped for greater things for his beautiful daughter and an alliance with a baronet's younger son, who was in some degree what the Elizabethans would have called a gentleman adventurer, was not the reaHsationof his dream. I told him of my position, of my modest means. He listened gravely, and, as I C91s1 see, regretfully. He told me frapkly that I did not come up to his ideal of Rose's husband either in rank or fortune, but he added that he loved his daughter too dearly to be other than guided by her wishey. What those wishes were Trevannion was not long left in doubt of. I never knew, of coura", what happened in the interview between father and daughter, but when it was ended Trevannion came to me and shook me gravely by the hand, ¡ and told me that there was nothing left for him but to give his consent to the marriage. And when I saw Rose, and saw how happy she looked, and with what timid joy she greeted me, I could have killed myself by some cruel death for my ghastly inability to feel for her what she so simply let me know she felt for me. "The pangs of misprized love are cruel, God knows; they scar like glowing irons the leave that ineffaceable braud upon heart and brain. I have felt those pangs, and know their pain." For a moment Amber Pasha, lifting his hand, let it rest gently upon Gabriel's shoulder with a sympathetic pressure which the young man understood and was grateful for. Then Amber went on again. "But I can scarcely imagine a sharper soirow, j a keener pain, than I endured then, in those hours which ought to have been so happy. It was no fault of mine. Love cannot be com- manded, and I could not with the best will in the world cheat myseif for a single hour into the belief that I loved Rose Trevannion to be my wife. Thank heaven, she never guessed at my despair. It was impossible not to be fond of her, she was so sweet, so gentle, so beautiful, and the affection that fondness and that pity inspired she took without a doubt for the devotion of passion. I declare to you, my dear Gabriel, that I have known few sufferings more intense—and I have suffered M much as most men of my age—as the suffering' which, having to play such a part as I was playing, brings with it. There are plenty of men who, had they been in my place, would have thought themselves very little to be pitied, would rather have thought themselves much to be envied. For the girl was good, the girl was beautiful, the girl was wealthy, and many a man, and many a good man, too, would think himself very for- tunate to inspire affection in such a girl, and would trouble his head very little about the precise state of his own emotions towards her. But I could not ease my mind, I could not per- suade myself that what did not exist did exist, and tortured myself daily with my remorse for what I had done, and my anger for what I could not do. And all the while my poor littla sweet- heart was perfectly happy, and I was envied by every unmarried man in the English colony. We were to be married in a mouth. I had, got an appointment under the Sultau, partly through Mr Trevannion's interest, for of one thing I was resolved, that I would not be a dependent upon my wife's fortune. And so the days went by, days that I look back upon now with an invincible sadness, with an exquisite pity, beautiful, unhappy, despairing days that gave my life its first and most enduring sorrow. It all ended very sadly, It ended within a very few weeks of thp first time I ever saw her. She was verv delicate, and Oriental towns are not the best "abiding places for delicate women. One day sno was very well, and bright and happy. The next day. she was struck with fever. In a week she wa¥ dead," Amber Pasha stopped speaking. Gabriel glanced shyly at him, saw that his hands gripped the rail of the vessel very hard. There was silence for a few seconds, and then Amber began again, with a voice that was not as firm as it was wont to be. Thank God, that to the last, as long as she retained consciousness she was happy, confident in me. She did not dream of her dan-er; she never knew it. Oh, if I could only have bought her back to life with any sacrifice that I could make, how gladly X would have done it. I would have devoted my life to her; I would have been friend, husband. loverall. You cannot dream how black my in- gratitude seemed, how hideous my selfishness how mean my ambitions by that death-bod. There, I have told you what I have never told to anyone else. It was long enough before I came to my- self, and could face the world with courage, and bear to think of myself with detestation. I have loved and been loved since, of course. I was but a boy then. I am no longer young now. But that, I think, is the reason why! heve never married." The steamer had arrived at Scutari. In silence Amber Pasha and Gabriel went on shore, and in silence they walked till they came to the cemetery where so many English sleep. Amber led the way through a succession of paths in that City of Sleep. Suddenly he came to a pause before a simple square sarcophagus. On the stone was cut the words, "To the memory of Rose Trevannion," followed by the dates of her birth and of her death, dates too sadly close together After this followed a couple of lines in Turkish character. Gabriel bent over the stone and strove to decipher theeallill of the inscription. But he could not, and turning, he looked enquiringly at Amber. The Pasha understood his glance. "Those are lines," he said, "from a Turkish poet, a poet named Muaeddes. of whom I was fond in those days, when I was reading him for the first tin e "And their meaning?" asked Gabriel. "My Turkish is not good enough to help me." They mean, Amber answered, something like this:— Though I'm far now from the shadow of thy love, 0 Cypress, straight Still my prayers I may offer for thy happiness of state. "Those lines seemld to me then very fitting to our case. They still seem to me very beautiful." "They are very beautiful." said Gabriel. "They are very sad," "Life can be very sad," said Amber. 41 You know something of that, my dear Gabriel. Now you know that I, too, have drunk deep sorrow." Moved by an uncontrollable impulse, Gabriel stretched out his hand to Amber. Amber took it, and the men exchanged a Loyal pressure by the grave of the English girl. Then they walked slowly back to the landing- stage together. 1 [THE END.] NEXT WEEK- í A DYNAMITE OUTRAGE, :{ BY FRED. BOYLE. > "¡
THE OEVELOPMENT OF THE ,C:;v....…
THE OEVELOPMENT OF THE ,C:;v. MUMBLES. It has long been agreed that all that fras heeded to make the Mumbles a popular place of resort tor visitors to the seaside was the provision of the necessary facilities for obtaining access to the delightful series of bays of which the Mumbles side of Swansea Bay forms the commencement, and the Worms Head not nearly the end. Now the provision of these facilities is already in pro- gress, thanks to the enterprise and energy of Sir John Jones Jenkins, Mr Richardson Francis, and others who, having the control of the Mumbles Railway, have already extended the line right into the Mumbles, and are about to go the neces- sary one step further by placing at the eventual terminus a pier and landing stage. Until recently the line of railway ended at the commencement of the Mumbles village, but now the line has been carried on to a point a mile further on, and right oppesite the headquarters of the Bristol Channel Yacht Club. Here the terminus will not remain, but before another summer the line will be extended to the lifeboat- house. It is from this point that the pier, for the construction of which powers were obtained two or, three years ago, will run out some 2,000 feet into deep water. This pier will be of much the same character as those at the most go-ahead watering-places, but it will have the additional advantage of the most complete accommodation for the debarkation and embarkation of pas- sengers from or into, as the case may be, the various -,passenger steamers which visit the port. This will be a boon that must be greatly appreciated. The inhabi- tants of Bristol, Newport, Cardiff, Ilfraeombe, and other places are most anxious to be taken on excursions to the Mumbles, but the drawback so far is the difficulty in landing at all states of the tide. The pier once made—and its commencement is not far distant-tide will in no way effect landing, never mind what time the steamer may arrive or depart. A provision of this kind once made, and the other facilities for visitors now in progress completed, there is no reason why Gowerland may not become as popular a pleasure resort as any m the kingdom. But there are far greater possibilities in store. The pier once made, why should not it be made the means of making the Mumbles a place where steamers may be bunkered at all states of tidp ? And why should not there be such accommoda- tion provided that passengers and mails may be shipped on board Atlantic steamers? The Mumbles might thus easily be made a last place of call on the voyage to America. As we have said, the possibilities of developing this idea of a deep water pier are suoh as to render possible a grand future for the district, a future which no combination of people is more able to realise than Sir John Jenkins, Mr Richardson 1( rancjis. and those associated with them.
COLLISION IN THE BRISTOL OHANNEL.
COLLISION IN THE BRISTOL OHANNEL. The Crew Landed at Ilfraeombe. In the Bristol Channel during Friday evening, the schooner Ann, owned by Mr John Tamlaiu, of Appledoro, was run into and sunk by the steamer Ratho. of Liverpool. The schooner sank immediately, but the crew were rescued by the steamer, t.nd subsequently lauded at Ilfraeombe. The Ann was on a voyage from Newport to Appledore, and the Ratho proceeded for Cardiff. v -U'- 'I A Napeieon of Literature." t They mall was as thin as a rail and had the cadaverous look of a poet out of a job. At least that's the way he appeared to the editor as that gentleman raised his eyes from his work to see what it was shuffling across the floor toward his desk. Good morning," said the visitor. Good morning," responded the editor. You are the editor," said the visitor iaquir- ingIy, half in doubt. "Yes. I know you are. I I can always tell an editor by his intellectual ex- pression. I have here, sir, an article for the press." Prose or poetry?" queried the .editor, not regarding the flattery. Both, sir; a combination effort, I may say." Ah, you must be a genins ?" sir," aud the visitor plumed himself, I am considered by my friends a, Napoleon of literature, sir." The editor didn't like that a little bit. "Um," lie said, looking him over. "Um, I didn't know you were a Napoleon, but I knew you were a bony part of literature. Anybody could see that with half an eye." Crushed. Mr Jones went home late the other night and found Mrs Jones sitting up for him with an ex- pression of countenance that instantly rendered him as sober as a. judge when holding court. "Met Thimpthon and went with him to thee a boxing^match—you—you—you don't care, do you, "No. indeed," answered Mrs Jones amiably. I really didn't expect you home so early. I thought you had gone to the cau—what is it, Jepthar' Caucus, Maria ? I'm going to be elected to fill that vacancy in the city council, and don't you forget it." No, dear, I won't. I didn't forget it to-night when a young man from the newspaper called to interview me about you." W-w-wbat did you tell him, Maria ?" "Nothing bad, Jeptha. Don't you worry, dear. You see he didn't want to know much about you now. Ie was ycur past he was looking into." I haven't done anything to be ashamed of. I suppose you told him that I was a lawyer when you married me and stood high in the esteem of my fellow citizens, etc." No, that wasn't what he wanted. He asked me if I had any pictures of you taken in youth and early manhood and at later lntervala-" So I gave him the pne you had taken for me when we were first engaged-that old daguerreo- type, you know." Great heavens! The one where Illy hair comes down over my coat collar and covers my ears and I am bearded like a pirate 1" Yes, that's the very one." "Maria, you never gave him that Blabsided, knockkueed caricature of me, did you ?" Yea, I did, Jeptha. I'm sure it iooked just like you when it was taken. And there was an «n^ycPe you wben y<?« organized the B. M. C.S. That was a sweet picture, because you looked so good." "Looked so green, I should say," snorted Jones. Maria, you have ruined every political chance I ever had. In that picture I look like a brass monkey. Thank goodness, there are no more portraits of me." "Yes, there was one more. The crayoo picture you gave me for a birthday present last year." That measly thin^T I look like a murderer in that, Maria, ana you know it." Yes, I always thought so. You said you had it painted because the artisu was a poor girl who had a family to support. They will have you at three age, Jeptha, and you can send the papers home to Jasper County and show how you've got famous at last. It't all the style to be triplicates now." Maria," gasped^or Jones, you've sold me to the Philistines. I can never hold up my head again, never I hope my fate will be a warning to all men not to have their pictures taken at any age. I'm crushed, Maria, crushed And he knew by the twinkle in Maria's eye that she had done the cruel deed in a cold-blooded spirit of domestic revenge Beating the Road Agents." There were four of us to go by the stage, and we informed the driver before starting that we should not resist in case of a hold-up. He said he thought it the best plan and that he would give us due notice, and away we went. We had been on the road less than an hour wben the vehicle came to a sudden stop, and the driver called out to us Pile out, gents, an hold np your hands We tumbled out, right dressed and elevated our hands, and a road agent stepped out of the bushes a hundred feet away and advanced upon ust. There wax a puzzled look on hie face as he came up and surveyed us.No one looked at him, but aHeyes, stared into vacancy. What in blazes does this mean anyhow ?" he finally yelled as he looked at the driver. All gentlemen—all used to being held up. All want to make it as easy as possible for you," re- plied the driver. They do, eh ? Durn dead broke crowd of course. Pile in thar and git along with you I hain't no time to waste on a lot o' beggars!" We re-entered the stage without a word and the horses started off at a gallop. We had gone eight miles when there was a stop and the driver said "Pile out, gents. Montana Jack is waitin for you We sprang out and formed in line as before, and a man sitting on a log 50 feet away advanoed with a gun in either hand. He was also puzzled and surprised, fcighfr tiands were up and eight eyes looked into the bi»hes opposite. What you got here, Reube?" he asked after a long look at us. "Four real gents, who knows how hard it is fur you to make a livin and is willin' to be robbed," answered the driver. Got any treasure box up thar "Not this trip." Any express in the boot ?" "Not a pound." ,r "Then you fourMMned skunks who is so mighty willm to berobbed to help me along git into the coach and dust put o' this We got in and pursued our journey and nothing further occurred until within a mile of where we were to get dinner. Then we got word for the third tinte. and were in line when two men came up. They looked from us to the driver and then at each other, and there was a sort of painful silence in that neighbourhood. Jim, did you ever see the likes of it t" asked one of the robbers in tones of dlsgt. I never did Tbe Qllrnd kyotes jest ache to be robbed 'Cause they bam t got a blamed nickel to he robbed of! "Four genuine gents, who feels for you and don't wan't to make any trouble." said the driver. dead broke gamblers who orter be shot nir taxin up our valuable time Pile in thar! Git into the wagon and dust alone You, thar, driver I i.f you ever bring another such a lot of passenger*i aiong here, we'll tie you to the seat and build a fire under the whole out- fit We had passed the danger limit. One ef the men got out pencil and paper and set down the sums, and \we found, that the four of us b brought throuKb 81.100. .t: ,.i, An Engineer of Nerve. In the smoking-car, along with a half a dozen others of us, was an engineer who was going down to Peoria, and after a time the judge started to draw him out by saying:— I presume you have had your share of close shaves, along with other engineers?" I have, sir," was the reply. Been in many smash-ups 2" "A dozen, I guess." "Any particular adventure that might be called wonderful ?" Why, yes; I did have one," replied the man after relighting his old cigar stump. I didn't think tt any great shave myself, but the boys thought it something extra. Let us hear about it," said the judge, as he passed him a Havana. Well, one day about three years ago I was coming West with the lightning express, and was running to make up lost time. Down here about twenty miles two roads cross, as you will see, and there are a lot of switches and side tracks. I had just whistled for the crossing, and put on the brakes, when the coupling between the tender and baggage oar broke." I see, I see," murmured the judge. At the same moment something went wrong with old No. 40, and I could not abut off steam. She sprang away like a flash, and as she struck the crossing she left the track and entered a meadow filled with stumps." Good heavens She kept a straight .course for about forty rods, smashing the stumps every seoond, and then leaped a ditchs struck the rails of the D. and R. Road, and after a wobble or two settled down and ran for two miles." "Amazing 1 Amazing!" "Then, at a crossing, she left the metale, entered a cornfield, and bearing to the right, ploughed her way across the country until she came to her own road again. She had a long jump to make over a marsh, but she made it struck the rails, and then away she went." "You—don't—say so I was now behind my train, and after 9 run of two miles, I got control of the engine, ran up and coupled to the palace-car, and went into Ashton pushing the train ahead of me." "Great Scott! And was no one hurt ?" "Not a soul, and noll-a thing broken. The superintendent played a mean trick on me though." "How?" Why the fanner who owned tho meadow paid the company 18dols for the stumps I had knocked out for him, while the cornfield man charged Sdols. for damages. The superintendent pocketed the rest of the money.' The scoundrel! And bow much are you paid a month ?" Ninety dollars." That's for running on the road J Yes." j And nothing for lying 1" ? "Not a red." That's an outrage. The superintendent ie an old friend of mine, and I'll see that you get the on the stumpage and a salary of 200 (jots. as long as you live. It is such men as you who mftke #!• Jj
-----------Y GOLOFN GYMREIG.…
Y GOLOFN GYMREIG. Dymunir i'n gohebwyr Cvmrelg lYieifjoeu oheb. iaethau, llyfrau i'w hadolvffu, "ieJ y canlyn ItefyddMoraamvg, Moraanw7 HoWer Llantwit- street, Cewdifr:
--YR HELGEIDWAD.
YR HELGEIDWAD. A1 forau garnrau drwy go'd,—ua ydy w R helgeid wad vsgafndro'd; Drwy'r giyn mae'n adar elyn od, j £ riynj £ n*>au y cwningod. Mynydd Cynflag. OTNFFIGWTSON.
„ FY MAM.
„ FY MAM. Uahoftw, fitw, facb,—a chryno yw, Ni cheir neb o'i thwtiach N1 fu un fenyw fwynach Yn y byd, na. fy màtnbaoo Hen wraig bylaw, loew; lawen,—wlr dda, Ddifyr, ddoeth, a thrylen, A dinam, yw fymam wen, Un fad fel JCfa Eden. Bircrgrove. COBIAWTN,
----..-..;. : .Y GWANWyN.
Y GWANWyN. Gwan wyn sydd yn y gweunyod,—a gwena Y Gwanwyn meusydd; Ac oen gwyn blodu blydd Sy n fewenu* swya ei gynydd. frifysgol Bangor. J.:J&NKINS (GwHi).
--......,..' :telyneg.
telyneg. Fy anwyl wlad mae'th fron yn fri" „ A!!1 gewri gwiw, rhagorol; Fel eos yn y noson ddu, '-r-„ Y mae dy ganu'n gwynol; Ar lan afonydd Babel brudd ;):' Dy ruddfan sydd yn reddfoL t, Paham na oliaem, O! delyn gain, fa»n i'n swyno? /Xv co^ ,n hannibyniaeth fcd» '■&;h Dy ganiad drodd yn gwyno. i,l'c OS taro etor cywair lion, \(, Yn lie alawon wylo, Fy anwyl wlad! v ddurios sydd Yn Nghymru Ifydd i foddi; Mae r nos yn ffoi, a sudda'r ser I r boreu ter sy'n tori: t 0, cwyd dy lygad fry i'r nen, Ac omd heulwen weli ? Prifysgol Bangor. J. JuNKINS (GwiJi).
, ."CAN I'R GLQWR.
CAN I'R GLQWR. —v Un o feibion diwyd llafur ? Yw y glowr dewfe*pybyr; Disgynwaa 1 grotfibil da'ear, I berygfon nwyoo anwtir. <Y:" Glo o hyd yw ei fryd, 0 hyd yw>i fryd f t Gweithio'n galed a diarbed, vjis? Br m wyn rhoddl glo i'r byd. oleuni gwan ei lasern, r V Ac er gwaethaf nwvau oetbern, > Ymysgaroedd y ddkearen Ddarnia r glowr yn y taken," M Glo y hyd, &cu Pan y cofir ei berygloh, A phwysigrwydd ei ofalotJ, -v;' Cynog fechan, mewn oyrohariaeto, iMae yo gael am ei wåØànaetb. Glo o hyd, &c. Boddlon ydyw ef, er liyny, v 1 r holl waith, er mwyn ei deuln Hat a Hauaf, hwyr a boreii, ;r Ceidw 1 wraig blant rhag eisieu "t. Glo o hyd, &C. ,.jf Heria'r dw'r, y t&n, a'r nwyon, <■ -t- Er cynawni ei orchwylion; Ao mae ffrwyth ei lafur beunydd Yn cynhesu ein haelwydydd. 'i £ & Glo q hyd, &c. Chwys y glowr du, dewrgalon, Sydd yn nofio'r llongau mswrio*; A'i lafurus anadh'adau /') Sydd yn gyru y peirknau. Glo 0 by-d, &:0. tA Glo y glowr ddyga'r gwledydi # V I agosrwydd at eu "gilydd, I faanacnu, mewn gwareiddiad, Ac i feithrin cydymdeimlad. >-Glo y hyd, &c. Mae ei fywyd yn agored, I frawychus. ingol dyoghed f Weitbiau syrth y nenfwd arno, Gan ei gladdu'n fyw ódano. Gloo hyd, &c. Weitbiau tyr y dw'r i'r lofa, Ac & gloa ddor dihangfa; Brydiau ereill mae y danchwn J Yuo'n taenu galan antra. I GIo o hyd, &c. Boed i'r glowr yn y lofa Gofio Duw yr hwn pia; Ac wrth dori dyfnderoedd, < Dori'i enw'n Nghraig yr Oesoedd. h Glo 0 byd, &o. Treforris. J. PHILLIPS (Trefoil}).
X GORNAUT TY.
X GORNAUT TY. 'ifcoo&i afon fechan ger y bwth Y jtrigwn pan yn blentyn, Bob dydd a nos yn chwareu erwth Pan tiMr'r mor yn cychwyn; Awn glan pan wrth fy hunt I awn ei hacen fywiog, N* Acymhyfrydwn gwel'd fy llun Yn nyfroedd iaoli, grisialog, Fel alltud oeddwn heb un c&r • T N a cbyfaill i ymgomio, r,; Ond dwyfol agwedd natur w&r, A swn y nant yft ffrydio; Y coed a'r Hysieu, Hon eu Hiw, O'i deutu'n dwr ysblenydd, £ A chor y goedwig, fel yn fyw, Ymbyncient ar ei glenydd. Nes oedd y nos yn nesu, £ y Ac yn yr hwyr ei ohwmni gawn, A'm 8PO wnai 1 gysgu; Ond dystaw lais 0'( dyfroodd puv Ddaeth ataf i' rhybaddio, Gau ddweyd na fchawu arosfa hir Mwy ar ei glan breswylio. Gwnes sylwi arhi'n,teithio'n >• Heb aros am fynydyn, A naturioldeb yn lQMn, > Wrth frysio tea F tprfyn; Ei gyrfa oedd yn hynod gatn. Gwnai gwrdd a rhwystran lawet' Ond drostynt oil fe roddodd lam, Ac ymal th aeth heb bryder. „ ,1 Y wars a ddysgais ganddi yw '■AT 'Mod inau n gyflyin deithio,, •" > Heb aros dim, felpoug heb lyW; Yn mlaen trwyr byd dan frwydro; 'Run modd a'r afon, ar y dde, Ac weitbiau ar Yl: aswy. •Rwy'n gwyro; ond rhaid n:yn'd i dre Trivy ganol pob rnyterthwy. Talgarreg. J |T HOMKRYDP.
,BUDDUG. ;
BUDDUG. CAN MB ittOHABt THOMAS. (Buddugol ar destyn y gadair Yo Eisteddfod Dowlais. 1891.—Rhan IY.) Arweinia Buddug ei chadrodau gwrol, Heb ofni artau Rhufam fawr ormesol; Yn mlaenaf yn y rhengafl ntpe n anturio, I wyneb llym y gelynlda 61 herlO. 0 bobcyfeiriad di^gyP fplanag, Yu flin dymestloedd fel_ar songlau'r ddiuaa; Yn feiddgar, nwydwyllt, y Brythoniaid dewrioo Sy'n tori i'r bedd y nuta^d ddinasyddion j Ymruthrant, trechant. brwyarant mewn cadernid, Fel y gall dewrion ymladd dro$eu rhyddid. Dan lid y Un, yn bentwr^o drueni, Heolydd yr hell ddinas drwyddi, F¡ monwent oer yn cftd?K ei xnarwolion, Mae'r fangre oil; ni welu- end adfeiliou Drwv ffyrau'r f^n a f^ y^\ Kwisgo laawr^dd# Ac yn anwvlo'n hyfryd e» thangnefedd. Y fflamiau drwy y roarwol le wna Josgi, Fel pe am gynorthwyo Rwyr lceni; Y nSw colofnau mwg yn ^Tsio i fyny, Fel mwg o'i phoenedigaetr1 yn dyrchafu; Drwy'r fangre, fel ar wyoeb tnst marwolaeth, Mae enw Buddug efo buddugohaeth. • Swn arfanBuddug hwnt i Ynys Mona. I wydd Paulinas ddewr mewn brys adeithia; Yn sjvn y newydd hono, mewn dialedd, Paulinus sydd yn gadael Mon J, orwedd )' Fel yn ei gwaed 1 gyd. MAe e n eyfeirio 1. At tUriogaethau Buddug unwaith eto. Hwylusa 'mlaen ei gamrau mewn cynddrvredd, Ond hanes am gelanedd ar planedd Wna'i gwrdd orwy r daith, fel stonnydd ar yr Ond^ef^yn ngrym digUonedd>byw, a deithia; Hyd angan du mae'n pendorfynu taro Y dorf a fathrodd fn gorseddfainc Nero. Mae Buddug yo anadlu felinewo eeibiant, A'i byddra gyda hi yn llawn gogoniaat; Hwy adolygant fawredd y gorphenol, A gwelant eilwaith 1 wyddiant y dyfodol; O'u gwydd mae dychryn yn gw^sgaru allan, Fel y pelydrau'n dianc ffwrdd o r huan. Paulinus sydd a'i fron, er ei wrhydri, Yn fra.w i gyd rhag Banon ddewr Icenx. Ar wastadeddau Essex yn gwersyllu Mae y Rbufeiniaid trefnus,_yn darparu 1 dderbyn nwyd y gelyn. Wrth eu cefnau Mae llais y mor yn siarart rn y tonau; Cyfoda'r bryniau ar y aeln aswy, Fel i'w hamdditfyn rbag y. Mn rytefthwy Oedd ar eu gwaethaf; teittna y Cadlywydd Y n ol a blaen mewn brys drwy I rengau oelfydd. Mae Buddug hithau acw yn darpam I frwydr fythgofiadwy. O! am dynu Y lien i lawr dros wyneb y gyflafan Ac, na thynai'r noa dros wyneb hug Ei haden ddu, er Y golI, I ddangos gwedd dialedd it thrust Mae Buddug hardd yn drwy ei rhengap Tra'i chwifiol wallt yn disgyii yn rhaiadrau Dros ei hysgwyddau,—cadwen euraidd loew A hongia'n dywysogaidd with ei gwddw', Yn ymyl ei genethod yn ei cherbyd, Cyfoda hi ei llaw a 1 lief, a sieryd,— Hoff wyr fy ngwlad! cynefln y'ch a brwydro Dan faner dynes 1 Wele. r gelyn et0 0 flaen ein gwyneb: dtos eirn-hyddid safwn I Hyd wynebangau du y11 4f Croesawaf angau'o siriol eyjji gv^iaf roddi 1 fyny byth hoc ryddid gwlarl Iceoi J Paban) rhaid gwyro pen »allu Rl»ifai^, Am jrodio'n rhyddion yn eni gwlad ein hunain? Y bedd fydd rhan pob uta o m blaen ddyrchafa Ei arf i frwydr! Ar hyny y cydfloeddia Y lluoedd dewr nes oedd y swn yn tori O'r brynian fry i gefn y weiigi— U Byw byth f'o Buddug ac yn imoi ruthro >r Mae'r miloedd beiddgar ar y gelyn yno..i.? Yr anferth luoedd yno ynt yn meirw -f{4; Yn ngwaed eo gilydd ar y caclfaes hwnw. Arwres ddewr J PAD oedd ei gwrol rengau Yn syrthio'ri fiioedd. dewis a wnaetli nithau Fyn'd gyda hwy i deithio ffordd y "glyn," Ttft'n caled frwydro^em^Mrliyddid gwyn. s. ,t
CARDIFF AND THE ROYAL¡ WEDDING.I
CARDIFF AND THE ROYAL ¡ WEDDING. I An ordinary meeting of the Cardiff County Council was held on Monday, presided ever by the Mayor (Councillor Vaughan). Councillor F. L, Short complained that the minute referring to the recent addi- tion of JB650 to the mayor's salary was not an accurate record of the rewlution which was moved by Alderman Thomas Rees, seconded by Councillor Johnson, and carried. While the minute simply indicated that the addition to the salary was by way of remuneration for the current year," the resolu- tion of Alderman Rees distinctly stated that it was for the purpose of celebrating the Royal marriage. With the omission of all reference to the Royal marriage celebration, be failed to See how the necessity arose for passing the subsequent resolution, appomting a coir.mittee to carry out the foregoing resolution." There was something very strange about the whole matter. He had occasion on Saturday, July 1st, to wait upon the town clerk for permission to take extracts from the proceedings of the last meeting of the council, but was informed that that was impossible, because the official records were in the hands of the printer. Was it advisable that official docu- ments should be parted with in that way ? As to the alteration of the terms of Alderman Rees's resolution, somebody was responsible for it. Alderman Rises I know nothing at all about) the matter. (Hear, hear.) At the suggestion of the Mayor, Councillor SliORT submitted a motion, the EFFECT of which was that the confirmation of the minutes be deferred until an opportunity had been given to members of the council to examine the whole of the books and papers bearing upon this subject, as required by standing order No. 10, and that the town clerk be asked to place the same on the table for examination at the close of the meeting. Councillor THOMAS seconded, and reserved anything he had to say until the mayor had decided whether the motion was in order or not. The MAYOR ruled the motion to be in order. The TOWN CLERK said it was true Mr Councillor Short called at his office on Saturday, the 1st inst., about 1.10 p.m., and wanted to see the minutes of the last council meeting. He (Mr Wheatlev) fully explained to him that the pro- ceedings were at the printer's, and that the office was then closed, and promised to get the same by Monday morning. Mr Short did not appear to be familiar with the course of procedure regarding the printing of the minutes, and he informed him thereon. On Monday afternoon Councillor Short came again, and he obtained the proceedings." He told Councillor Short that he would be glad to get him a copy of anything he wished to have, he having remarked to some members that the town clerk was not treating him with the consideration he ought to have. He might here say that Mr Short received from him every courtesy and attention, and In his search for information he was treated with candour. Regarding the minutes in question, he (the town-olerk) put the motion to the meeting that the JB650 be added to the mayor's salary, and the usual course was adopted. The draft record of the minutes was submitted to him for approval. The resolution differed from the notice of motion, and it was advisedly drawn as it now stood. Frequently resolutions had to be drawn somewhat differently from the exact words used by mem- bers, otherwise the council would often be in difficulty. It was his duty to keep the council right, and in this case be hacf endeavoured to discharge that obligation. Of course, it was for the council to adopt the resolution in this form or otherwise, but he could not advise any other form of words, and could not accept the^responsibility of any alteration. Councillor SHORT said the town clerk had told them that he had altered the resolution so as to make it legal. If the resolution was unsafe, how was it that on occasions of the visits of the Duke of Clarence and the Lord Mayor a similar resolution was passed without alteration ? He was not satisfied with the town clerk's explanation. The MAYOR said every, member knew how it was intended to spend the money. There was not much in the point raised.. Councillor THOMAS thought there was more in the point raised than some people seemed to think. He asked why, seeinp that the notice of motion by Alderman Rees appeared on the agenda paper several days before the council meeting, the wording of it was not altered by the town clerk ? He maintained that no one had any business to alter resolutions passed by the council. If the motion of Aidernian R was not in proper form, its informality should have been pointed out during the discussion. Councillor JENKINS asked the town clerk whether, in his opinion, the resolution submitted by Aid. T. Rees, and passed at the last meeting, was illegal ? The Town CLEBK I don't think it was illegal. I don't think there was the slightest mystery as to the object for which the resolution was passed. (Hear, hear.) Alderman REES suggested that the difficulty could be got over by substituting his original wording for that of the minute. Alderman CREY failed to see why that should be done. There was no mystery as to the way the money was o be spent. Councillor GERHOLD felt quite satisfied with the explanation of the town clerk, and proposed the adoption of the minutes. The ajnendmeo* of. Councillor j Short was re- jected by 15 votes to 7. Councillor THOMAS The question now before you is whether the minutes are a correct record of the last meeting of the council. I submit that they are not a correct record. The MAYOR Do you move anything ? Councillor THOMAS That is my protest. Then Councillor JENKINS proposed that the minute in question bo altered by the substitution of words so as to speci- fically indicate therein that the pur- pose for which the addition was made to the mayor's salary was for celebration of the Royal marriage. Councillor E. THoMAs seconded. Councillor ANDREWS said the 19 gentlemen who voted for the resolution, at the last meeting should take the responsibility of their act, and he for one should be glad to see the motion of Alder- man Rees appear on the minutes in its original form. (Hear, hear.) Councillor BRAIN remarked that he was quite willing to take his share of responsibility. Councillor T. MOREL: As one who was not present, I am quite willing to stand by the 19. (Hear, hear.) 5 Councillor THOMAS Are to understand that this council is prepared at any time to have its resolutions deliberately altered ? This is a matter ten times more important than quibbling about spending the ratepayers' money upon Royal marriage celebrations. (Hear, hear.) Councillor F. J. BKAVAN, as the mover of the amendment at the last meeting, deprecated tbe re-opening of this question. Councillor B. JOHN thought they ought to rise above the level of revenge. Councillor SHORT emphatically denied that he was actuated by feelings of reveuge. The plain question at issue was whether this was a correct minute or not. Councillor JOHN looked upon the policy of a portion of the minority on that occasion as a policy of revenge. Alderman CAREY, as one of the majority of 19, was willing to assist the mover of the proposition to fix the legal responsibility. (Hear, hear.) If the minority found any difficulty in going on with legal proceedings under the present wording of the minute, let it be altered. (Hear, hear.) Alderman T. REES was inclined to think that in his zeal the town clerk had done wrong. The resolution as he (the alderman) submitted it to the council should have appeared in the minutes. The MAYOR pointed out that the motion of Alderman Rees as it appeared on the agenda was not carried; that the alderman accepted sugges- tlons. Alderman CAREY said he for one objected to Sunday-school children being exclusively selected for entertainment. Alderman REES That was not part of my reso- lution. Alderman CAnEY You accepted it, • Mr Alderman. You must have done so or I would not have voted for it. The MAYOR Did your resolution include tee medals ? Alderman REES No, nothing at all. The MAYOR Then you agreed that an amount should be added to the mayor's salary, and that a committee should be formed to assist the mayor as to the best way of Spending the money. Councillor JENKINS asked for the names to be taken down, and made some remark about dis- honesty, which was not Audible to the reporters. Alderman CAREY protested against Councillor Jenkins's insinuations. Councillor, JENKINS (warmly): Then you should face your resolution squarely. Councillor MORGAN MORGAN Name, name Councillor JKNKINS Name yourself. Alderman CAREY: I hope' that Councillor Jenkins will withdraw the expression he has used or is he willing that his colleagues on this corporation should be accused before the town of dishonesty ? I leave the sentiment to rest in his own breast. Councillor F. J. BEAVAN I would like to ask the town clerk in which form he put the resolu- tion to the council at its last meeting. The TOWN CLERK: I put the amendment in the words—" that J3650 be added to the mayor's salary." I did not put the other words. Councillor THOMAS Did you do that, Mr Town Clerk, with the consent "of the mover and seconder of the resolution, as it appeared on the agenda t The TOWN CLERK: I do not know that I did. Councillor JENKINS It was for and against the amendment, and that waR all. The vote upon Councillor Jenkins's amendment was then taken, and resulted as follows :—- 1 FOR. —Alderman Remand Councillors W. Lewis, E. Thomas, Jenkins, Munn, Oomley, Crossinan, John, and Short—9. AGAINST—The Mayor, Alderman Lewie, Alderman Jacobs, Alderman Carey, AJderman Fulton, and Councillors Ramedale, Morel, Shackell, F. J. Beavan, Tucker, 0ory, N, Rees. Andrews* Evans, A. Lewis, Hughes, Morgan, vGerhold, Johnston, and Waring—-30. NEUTRAL.—Alderman Dd. Jones, Alderthan Sanders—2. The amendment was thus rejected, and diJ" minutes were confirmed.
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COPYHOLDERS & THEIR GRIEVANCES.'
COPYHOLDERS & THEIR GRIEVANCES. THE SWANSEA FORESHORE. Attitude of the Duke of Beaufort. The Welsh Land Commission sat again on Saturday in London, to receive evidence mure particularly with reference to Glamorganshire. In the absence of Lord Carrington tho chair was occupied by Lord Kenyon, all the other com- missioners being also present. It was understood that the question of the Duke of Beaufort's action with respect to th3 Swansea foreshore would be inquired into on Saturday, and consequently there was a large attendance of witnesses from that borough. Among those present were Mr R. D. Burnie, M.P., Alderman Chapman (Mayor of Swansea), Alderman Tutton, Mr John Thomas (the town clerk), the borough engineer of Swansea, Mr Glynne Price, Mr Bayliss, Mr E. Vincent Evaua, Mr W. Cadwalader Davies, and others. EVIDENCE AS TO COPYHOLD. rr John Hughs, of 97, Mark-lane, E.C., ten- dered evidence respecting the co uncertain amount and oppressive character of the fines demanded for admittance as tenant on the rolls of the manors of Wentsland and Bryngwyn, near Pontypool." The witness said he was the owner of a small mineral property of 49 acres, under the will of his late mother, and had applied as far back as May, 1887, to be admitted as customary heir. He had not been admitted, because the steward, Mr C. J. Parkes, demanded a fine equal to two years' full rent, namely, JB500. The property was leased to the Ebbw Vale, and was called Pistill Gwyn, m the Cwmnant Ddu Valley, near Abersychan. He had refused to pay such an unreasonable sum as j6500 on the ground that his late mother, Mrs Anno Hughes, according to the official copy of her admittance, dated April 10th, 1839. paid no one herself, and he claimed to be admitted on the same terms. His mother derived the property as Qustomary heir under the will of her father, Daniel Williams, of Penlasgan, in the parish of Trevethin, near Pontyi>ool. By Sir John Llewelyn: He admitted that the only way the commission could assist him would be by giving publicity to his case. The law at present gave too much power to the steward. The Chairman announced that instructions would be given the secretary to communicate with Mr Parkes in the matter.
THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT AND THE…
THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT AND THE SWANSEA PORT. EVIDENCE BY MR Eo SIDNBY HARTLAXD. Mr Edwin Sidney Hartland, district registrar of the High Court, Gloucester, and practising as a solicitor at Swansea from 1871 to 1890, was then called and examined by the ohairman in regard to the Duke of Beaufort's estates in the county of Glamorgan. He said the duke claimed the bed of the river Tawe for two miles beyond the point at which it was or had been during hietorioal times tidal. The duke prohibited mining beneath the bed. or the throwing of a bridge from bank to bank altogether, or except upon payment ot rent or wayleaves. ARRITRABY ACTION. At Landore. which he believed was within the limit, the duke some years ago absolutely pro- hibited the Tyrglandwr Colliery Company from mining beneath the bed of the river. No reason whatever was assigned for the refusal. The company were about to take some coal from, he thought, Mr C. H. Smith, who was a tenant of Lord Jersey, but the prohibition of Mr Baker, the duke's steward, prevented them. The result of this arbitrary action was that they were obliged to close their works, and a large number of colliers were thrown out of employment. Their pit was within two hundred yards of the river, and they would have had to go under the river to get at the coal. They had to close the works in oousequence. At a later day some other persons bad obtained leave, he understood, on paying wayleave of 2d per ton for going under the river bed. Further up the Swansea Valley, at Morriston and other places, the d»ke also tried to prevent the Swansea Vale Railway from crossing the river, but the company went on, and witness was informed that the duke did not take any further steps. That was above the tideway. The Ynyspenllwch Tin- plate Company some years ago took a lease of the right to cross the river by a bridge, and the bridge existed now. The lease bad, be believed, expired. The tertM were £10, sleeping rent and a farthing a ton wayleave to merge in the sleeping ent. The lease had expired, but the rent was still claimed and paid by the successor in title to the company. The Graigola Colliery Company had recently taken a lease at £5 per annum of a similar right to cross the river by a bridge, but without any wayleave. There was only a stipu- lation not to take across goods belonging to any- one else. These two bridcres were far above the tidal part of the river, and the duke, as be was informed, was not a riparian proprietor. The Chairman :.H»s tiie duke's right ever been challenged? Have legal proceedings ever been taken ?—I dop't know. I believe not, TaR FLUKE AS^ tax MA>LOR. Witness (continuing) said the duke was the lord of the manor-of Trewyddfa, and he let the waste of the manor for buildings. Messrs Calland were copyhold tenants of the manor, and their estate was now pretty well covered with buildings; at all events it consisted • almost entirely of building land. Some time ago they were mortgaging the property. The mortgagees took counsel s opinion on the title, and his advice was that they required a licence to lease. Counsel was of opinion that forfeiture had probably been committed by leasing without a licence. In applying to the Duke of Beaufort they were compelled to pay a fine of JB500 and costs. A. COMPLAINT ABOUT BUITDING LEASES. Witness also bad some complaint to make about the duke's building leases as regarded cottages. These leases cost five guineas each. He thought the charge was excessive. It was higher than the charge which was usual for leases and counter- part m other estates, One of the tertns of tbe lease was that no assignment or underlease was to be effected without a licence. That licence was to be endorsed upon the lease and signed by the duke himself. That necessitated sending the lease up to London, and frequently detention there for some time. Witness had known thein to be detained for many months. It was not com- manly the practice to send away the title deeds to have licences endorsed. For each licence the duke's solicitor charged two guineas. The aliena- tion fine was a recent introduction within the last 20 years. The fine was 5s each for assign- ments. That was in addition to the charge for the licence. A CASE OF GREAT HARDSHIP. The Chairman You have some particulars to give about a case m 1879 1- Yes, m 1879 there was a case in which a license was absolutely refused. There was a lease taken of part of Trewyddfa in 1872 by Win. Williams <md John Brittons. The land waspractically valueless forany other purpose than building, and the rent they bad topay for it per acre was five guineas. In 1875 or 1879 that arranged to grant an underlease of a portion of the ground for the purpose of the erection of cottages, and they applied to Mr Baker, the duke's solicitor, for a license, which he refused. He told them that if they wanted to underlease the property they must surrender the whole lease to the duke, and the duke would himself grant the underlease. Of course he would get a profit. I understand that after considerable negotiations and intercession by Mr John Glossop, a considerable tenant of the duke's, they were obliged to come to these terms. The original lease was surrendered and a fresh lease was granted to the under lessee and a fresh lease to each of .the two original tenantE, and there was an additional rent imposed. ORIGIN OF THE RIGHTS. By Mr Brynmor Jones He had no special knowledge as to the origiq of the Duke of Beaufort IS rights, though he understood they were of very ancient date, going back to the reigu of King John. It was the case that the Duke of Beaufort claimed regal rights above the point at which the river Tawe ceased to be tidal. The river ceased to be tidal above Morris ton, I That was at the weir, which was the lowest one in the river. The weir was about three miles from the mouth of the river. For instanee, the duke had threatened to stop the crossing by the railway above the tidal portion of the river, and that, too, although he was not the riparian owner. So far AS he was aware, the Duke of Beaufort was not the landlord of the manor abutting on the banks of the river. HOW SWANSEA IS HAMPERED. Mr Brynmor Jones You have practised in Swansea as a solicitor for a good many years, and I should like to know your opinion as to the effect of the existence of seigniorial rights on the progress of thn community ? Witness There are constant disputes about the foreshore and the rights claimed there by the Duke of Beaufort, and there has been a good deal of unpleasantness in consequence. The tendency of these claims must be contrary to the public interests, but I don't know that I can go so far as to say that there is any material injury. So far as the interference with the river is concerned, that is most undesirable, for the action of the duke imposes a burden on the industries of the district which they oertainly ought not to be called upon to bear. Do you thipk it is expedient in the interests of the community to give snch powers to any one man '—Very inexpedient I should say. You think it will not work well?—Certainly, it not. The duke is a powerful uian, with con- siderable resources, as compared with anybody whose interests come in conflict with him, and naturally they are loath to fall foul of him. With reference to this manor of Trewyddfa, are courts held ?—-I think courts are held, but I don't know. In the building leases to which you refer, what is the form of the covenant generally inserted by the duke's solicitor f Does it provide for any absolute discretion on the part of the duke, or does it say that the duke shall not refuse, except upon reasonable causes ?—It vests absolute power in the duke. In reply to a question which Lord Kenyon Asked on behalf of Mr Vincent, witness said he understood—though he might be wrong—that the duke had recently agreed with a Mr Richards to permit him to mine under the river for the pur- pose of obtaining a road to the oopl op the other side. By Mr Seebohm The tidal part of the River Tnwe and the navigable portion ware practically identical. The Chairman said the agent and steward of the Duke of Beaufort, he understood, were pre- sent, and perhaps after the interval for luncheon they would be prepared with evidence with regard to the statements made by Mr Hartland.
THE DUKE'S STEWARD.
THE DUKE'S STEWARD. Mr T. C. Baylies, steward to the Duke of Beau. fort, Mid: T, Better referred to hy Qarttand t occurred in the lifetime of my late partner, Mr j Biker, and I am not prepared at present to go into the full details, but I think very likely there are some iegal points at issue with regard to the defeasance; whether the defeasance should not I be executed by the new assignees or lessees whether, in order to make the assignee iminedi- diately liable to the duke, a. new lease should not be executed. The Chairman You prefer to give evidence at soim future date. Mr Bayliss: Yes. I am not prepared to go into it now. It came upon me by surprise.
THE SWANSEA FORESHORE. < IMPORTANT…
THE SWANSEA FORESHORE. < IMPORTANT STATEMENTS BY THE MAYOR. Alderman H. A. Chapman, Mayor of Swansea, was then called and examined by the Chairman in regard to the action and the rights of the Duke of Beaufort on the foreshore of Swansea Bay. The land, he said, formed part of the foreshore, and had since been reclaimed by natural and artificial means. The Chairman: Have not legal proceedings be^n taken with regard to this foreshore?—Yes. in 1848. The Duke of Beaufort against the ¡ corporation. And the result of that case ?—The Duke won as I against the corporation. The Chairman We do not wish to put our- selves in any way against any decision of a court I of law. We could hardly enter into anything thafc has already been decided by a court of law. We can only accept your evidence and put it on record. We cannot enter into the legal question. We can simply take the facts you wish to give in your evidenoe,to ehow whether or not that legal decision affects the town of Swansea harmfully. Witness That is so. The members of the commission then retired to consider whether the evidence should be received. On returning, the Chairman said We wish it clearly to be understood that in receiving evi- dence of the grievances of the borough of Swan- sea we must not be understood to impugn 'the authority of deoided cases. But, on the other hand, we are not so much concerned with what is the law as with what ought to be the law. There- fore we shall be very glad to hear your evidence. Mr Chapman said he would like to say that when he was before the commission in Swansea one of the parties desired to give evidence with regard to the foreshore and the bed of tbp river, and also of any-rights to the Plasmarl. Witness understood from the commissioners that that por- tionoftheirevidence would be received inSwansea. Therefore they were not prepared to give evi- dence with regard to the rights in Plasmarl and the duke's action there to-day. He understood that the comnrssion would sit again in Swansea. The Chairman Very possibly. THE CORPORATION AND THE BURROWS. The witness then resumed his statement, in the course of which he said that in 1726 a private Act of Parliament was passed for the purpose of allot- ting between the Duke of Beaufort and the Cor- poration of Swansea two pieces of land called tha Town Hill and*the Burrows all Swansea. The duke was to have 150 acres of the Town Hill and the corporation about the same extent of the Burrows, from Vivian's stream to the pier, imme- diately abutting on the foreshore. One clause of that Act expressly declared the land called the Burrows vested in the corporation, free from all manner of rights, interest, &c., on the part of the duke, his heirs, or assigns under that Act, the duke to have 1.50 acres of the Town Hill and the corporation the land abutting on the foreshore, the land creatod naturally by the recession of the sea and the foreshore, and now the duke had got the lot. (Laughter.) DUKE VERSUS CORPORATION. In reply to Lord Kenyon, the witness said that because the corporation had reclaimed the foreshore and the land made by natural means, the duke brought an action against the corporation, which was decided adverse to the latter. The duke claimed the whole of the foreshore of Swansea Bay in other words, the seashore between high and low water mark and his predecessors had received, and he was still receiving, money in respect of clay, sea- weed, and sand that may from time to time be removed. The duke claimed that property as his absolute freehold, and had in recent years dis- posed of a portion to a Mr John Dickson, for which he was paid £25,000. By the construction of the Stiransea Pier a considerable quantity of land has been reclaimed from the sea, and that land was claimed by the duke. The corporation resisted the duke's claim on the ground that the land belonged to them as owners of the adjacent soil, and this resulted in the action for trespass brought by the duke against the corporation in ,1å46 or thereabouts, when it was decided that the land having been reclaimed from the sea by arti- ficial means and not by a natural aocretion, belonged to the Duke of Beaufort. APPEAL FOR PARLIAMENTARY INTERFERENCE. By that decision the duke became possessed of property whioh would prevent the burgesses of the borough gaining access to the foreshore at certain points without committing a trespass. The duke's right to the foreshore (witness sub- mitted) ought to be investigated by Parliament and properly defined, for it was wrong in prin- ciple and contrary to public policy that any individual should, either by reason of a grant of the Crown any other man Her, become possessed of any part of the foreshore which. according to the natural order of things, ought to. t> £ f £ >en. to free and uninterrupted use by the public. Swansea Harbour Trustees had paid the duke large sums of money for land between high and low water mark. In 1840 they paid £1,500 for the duke's rights to a ferry across the river Tawe, tbe pur- chase so including part of the foreshore. In 1869 £500 was paid the duke for the land which became the site of tbe western pier; and in 1879 the harbour trust paid £17,500 to the duke for the foreshore, known as Fabian's Bay, and the adjoining property, for the construction of the Prince of Wales Dock. Land reclaimed from the sea was sold by the duke to the trust for the South Dock, the consideration being a reservation to the duke of wharfage 1,300 feet long by 120 feet wide. In 1885 negotiations were opened for the acquisition by the trustees of all the duke's lights in the bed of the Swansea river from the weir at MorristoM to the extreme end of the Swansea pier, the duke asking £25,000 for his rights, as lord of the soigniory of Gower and Kilvey. Thosu negotiations fell through, certain members of the trust declining to recognise the rigtits of the duke to dispose of the property in question. THR DEVELOPMENT Of THE HARBOUR Had been seriously interfered with by the exercise of the duke's alleged rights. In 1883 the Globe Dry Dock Company entered in to arrangements with the trust to rent certain wharfage at £ lper foot for a gridiron for shipbuilding, but the negotiations fell through owing to the prohibitive terms de- manded by the duke. For like reasons in 1882 the application of Messrs Richardson Bros. to rent land on the east side also failed. The duke claimed the bed of tbe Swansea river as his abso- lute freehold, and its a result, it was impossible to either deepen the river or to do anything to im- prove the navigation of the Tawe without first obtaining the concurrence of the duke and com- pensating him for any imaginary injury that might be occasioned him. Swansea Corporation bad been prevented laying any sewers discharging into the Tawe without compensating the duke. The duke's rights in respect to Swansea river should be investigated and decided, and in con- clusion the mayor submitted that it was equally improper and unbecoming the 19th century that rights such as those claimed by the should any logger remain unchallenged. ANCIENT SEIGNIORT RIGHTS. To Mr Brynmor Jones: The duke appeared to claim the rights cf individual ownership. The Town Clerk (in reply to Mr Brynmor Jones) said the only reason he could suggest why the corporation did not appeal to the Exchequer Division was one of expense. The action coat them £",000 as it was. The Mayor at this point put in photographs showing how the splendid bathing grounds of the Swansea Bay were being ruined by the tipping operations permitted by the duke. In further examination by Mr Brynmor Jones, it appeared that the claim made by the duke was bed on a grant made as far back as the time of King John, of the lord seigniory rights of Gower. The Mayor further stated that the duke charged tolls all round—to the corporation for laying their sewers, and the baths for wayleaving for water-pipes. His (witness's) impression was that these powers were conferred upon tbe duke not for his own individual benefit, but to hold them for the benefit of all. A ONE-SIDED ARRANGEMENT. Mr Brynmor Jones Now. your complaint, I understand, is that the duke exercises these rights not as the sovereign exercises similar rights tor the benefit of the people, but as a private owner exercising private rights ?—Yes. If there was any adequate compensation given to the public there would not be so much to com- plain of, but the duke has all and gi\ es the public nothing for it. Mr Brynmor Jones expressed the opinion that the decision of the judges in the action referred to was conclusive on this point.—Witness I sin- cerely hope not. WHY NOT ABOLISH fcOEDS OF THE MANOR ? Mr Seebohm The Duke of Beaufort claims not only to be lord of the manor at Swansea, but also to have these greater seignior rights but. I suppose, as Mr Brynmor Jones said, wa must take that ease as settled that, under the one or the other, he has these rights. Then one naturally ftsks tbe question^ Do you consider that he is exercising these rights differently to what an ordlbary lord of tbe manor would be entitled to exercise his rights ?—I don't know how lords'of the manor do, but if they do as tho Duke of Beaufort has done, then the sooner they are done away with the better. Mr Seebohm It does not follow that if the Duke of Beaufort had these rights from the Crown that he can exercise any greater rights than the Crown can exercise. Supposing it was quite clear that the foreshore of the town of Scarborough belonged to the Crown, it would be thought monstrous for the Crown to exercise such rights as the Duke of Beaufort baa exercised at Swansea.—That is what we feel. Mr Seebohm There is this view that may bo perfectly fair to put before the commission, I think, that if these rights are exercised as rights transferred from the Crown to the individual, the individual ought to use them with the same care for the public good in the same way as the does. In either case you say the Duke of Beau- fort is exercising these nghts to the detriment of the growth of the town of Swansea* there onght to be some way in which fc, of the many this question could be i, That is the impression that we have at Swans^n. Mr Grove: You say that the duke deals with this property as if it were absolutely freehold ?— Yes. t You spoke about tipping offensive matter on the foreshore at the present time. Could not the port sanitary authority prevent that?—Well, I don't say it 18 prejudicial to hsaith, but one does not care to see town refuse and building refuse deposited in the tide at oqe's favourite bathing Lsto* v-- • THE LAND RECLAIMED FROM THE SEA. By Sir John Llewelyn; Witness said that besides selling this land that had been reclaimed from the sea io Mr Dickson. the duke had also sold the land to the harbour trust. The land that had spoken of was the portion that was allotted to Swansea by the Act of 1862. Hir John Llowelyn The effect of this reclama- tion from the sea would be to cut off tho access of the public from the borough to the sea ? Witness: Yes, from the borough to the sea. Do you consider that to be very ddrimentalto the interests of the public ?—Very much so. Is that encroachment, as you call it, crtn-, tinuing ?—It is being done at the present day, f and at the present hour carts are going there tipping. ;< you contend that it is illegal ?<—I contend-' that it ought to be. Have any other steps been taken since 1848 to test its legality ?—We did attempt to stop Mt Dickson, who had bought some of this lanu from the duke, from selling sand. Do you consider the matter an urfront one^-rf Certainly. Tho Chairman said the commission wished tif> • consult over tlw mayor's evidence, and the &< jouruinent for iuacheon would now be taken. On resuming after luncheon, The Chairman said they were very mnoh > obliged to the mayor for his evidence it d, baen very interesting. Mr Chapman then put in plans showing the accretion by the action of the sea mid by itrtifioi^t means. In answer to a commissioner, he said though they had been somewhat afraid of tb6 duke in the past, and although he was a very great man, the corporation had grown, and they were not afraid so much. Professor liiiys: You were afraid of expense —Witness That was a verygoodxcu. Witness added that if he were asked as to the question of compensation he could give expression to an opinion. He should certainly not ouject ta compensation, so far as the duke s rights were concerned, but that compensation should be based not on the prospective value, but on the pMt value of the land. Mr R. D. Burnie, M.P., Alderman Tuttes* and the Town Clerk of Swansea gave evidtitM supporting that of the Mayor of Swansea.
EVIDENCE OF THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT'S…
EVIDENCE OF THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT'S AGENT. Mr Glynne Price, agent to the Duke at Beaufort, was the next witness. In regard Mr Hartland's evidence, it was, be said, practi- cally correct to say that the Duke of Beaufort did exercise acts of ownership over the bed of the river beyond the point to which the tide caine. Mr Hartland ha.d referred to a supposed arrange ment between certain colliery proprietors auo the duke for working the mineral uuder th. bec of the river. That arrangement was not carried out, the negotiations falling through. ^Ls to the instance of persons being prevented from crossiuf. under the bed of the river, that circumstance, L it ever occurred, must have occurred before bit (witness's) time. It was a fact that licences ano assignments were made, and a charge of 5s made for them, in addition to the fee of £221 for th* solicitors, but a large number of leases now did not contain the clause making euch a liceuofc^ necessary. It was only in some cases that it wat inserted now. He read a statement supplied by the solicitor of the estate of the work dono by the solicitor for the land, and of fee ohargee by him. Lord Kenyon Is it a fact that the dnke sign; these licences himself?—Yes; he signs then, personally. Are you prepared to give rebutting evidence now with regard to the foreshore ?—I should lib to make one explanation, but will reserve othet points. I have not come here to prove onr titl", to the foreshore. With reference to the tipping spoken of by the mayor, I should like to explain how that arose. A good deal of material was being tipped five or six years ago on the beach close to the edge of the line now belongingto the London and North.Western Company. This ad last became a nuisance, as it obstructed the way to the fever hospital belonging to the corporation. It seemed impossible to stop the tipping, and it was very evident that the pttblTo of Swansea felt the want of some such place in which to tip rubbish. He (witness? therefore arranged to put a man there to level the tip, and instructed him to reject any rubbish which might be offensive or injurious to health. The tipping ground has been very largely availed of, and the 2d per ton charged for tipping just covered the expense of levelling the tip so N that it might not obstruct the view or pasaags over it. When it was stated that the tip would interfere with the sea breezes getting to the hospital, he kept it at the side and the front open. The place was not by any means a popular seaside promenade. The temporary fever hospital- was in the immediate neighbourhood, and lately the corporation wanted to erect the permanent hospital there. The duke made a small charge tor bathing, but there was not so much bathing now since tbe fever hospital had been ptaoecl there. EXTENT Of THE DUKE S ESTATE. The witness, who elected to reserve his reply OS other pomts raised by the Swansea deputation, then proceeded to give evidence on the general question. He said that he had been agent for the Duke of Beaufort's Glamorganshire "property since 1883, when he succeeded his father in tbe agency. The seigniories of Gower and Kilvey covered 182 i square miles, and included 116,000 acres. The duke's estate had a very large area—about 13,000 acres— of waste land. There had been some small enclosures of common, but he believed the unen- closed land was very useful. Sheep farming had declined during recent years, owing to large foreign importations of wool and mutton. The remedy he would suggest was some form ol protection. Language, religion, or politics did not affect tenants ou that estate. He never inquired as to those partiol1. iars. His chief care was as to tlM financial standing and general character ol applicants for farms. Applicants were g«nemlly known to him. There was not a great demand for leases. When changes took plaoe they were not the result of the terms of tenancy, or tb* action of the duke. REXTS ON THE ESTATE. There were no oppressive clauses in the agree- ments. Rents bad remained very much the sama for the last 50 years. The landlord did not exact other services beyond the payment of the rent. He regarded the rents as fair and reuoq- able on au average of good and bad years, and payment was made two months after tbe rent WM due. There were some arrears at present. Ho regarded the preferential claim tor rent M beneficial to tenautg. CULTIVATION OF THE LAND. The size of the farms was about 80 ACres. there had not been much consolidation of small farms with large ones. There was a scarcity of labourers on tho estates owing to the proximity of ■ collieries and works, where the wages higher. The wages on the estates averaged between 18s and j31 near the towns, and 158 ill the country. Wages had inereased. Land not going out of cultivation. It was quitt passible that arrangements might be m'aat between the landlord and tenant for compels** tion for improvements. It was open to the land* lord and tenants to make such an arrangement* The custom of the country was that the outgoing tenant should sell by auction all that he had to sell —stock, crop, and implement*. Tlw incoming tenant usually bought the manure »p £ anything else at the sale that he thought would bt useful to him. He also paid for certain tillagee and for manure and lime applied in the last yepr* There were no restrictions on the tenants in the agreements or in the custom of the country, except that they should farm properly. Fruifc and poultry were not attended to as much as they might be, but witness could not express opinion as to agricultural education in th* neighbourhood. There were many complaiQtf about the railway ratui. Small freeboldeN wttft decreasing in number. The Chairman What are the relation* between landlord and tenants ?—They are very friendly all round the neighbourhood. Speaking personally, I am on very friendly terms with all the tenants. By Mr Seebohm Most of the tenants on Duke of Beaufort's property held a yearly oetr9- pation. This year-to-year system of tenancy 0* the duke's estates dated back a long way, and he did not think there were ever at any time many agricultural leases to? lives granted. In answer to Mr Richard Jones, witness the rents had not Mli| very much on the dqur. property for tad last 50 years. The rente doriaf that period must have been fixed on a fair basife or there would have been complaints. The -pricps of meat and wheat b.a4 kept np fairly well during recent years, though the profits on sheep farming were not so great now as formerly. He thought the re-adjustment1 of the rents from time to time was a m atter for landlord and tenant to settle between them- selves. They had not a great number of EnglmU men on the duke's Glamorganshire estates. He thought the Welsh fanners lived quite as hMtt as the English ones. The Welsh agriculturist were a very thrif ty nnd industrious race. By Mr Brynmor Jones He was the agent f. the Duke of Beaufort's Glamorganshire estate, and his duties •-•ncluded the making of arrangt ments about the fores ore The; eigniory of>. Uower comprised the seigniory of Kilvey. ThaWi were no copyholders in tbe true sens of itl term in the seigniory of Kilvey. There was nt court of seigniory held as distinguished from tftc. court of the manor. The commission then adjourned. The commission will not again meet bel. first week in September, when, in all probability, the sittings will be held in North Wales.
MR EDWARD JOHN AND MR EDWDt…
MR EDWARD JOHN AND MR EDWDt CORBKTT"S EVIDENCE. TO THE EDlTCH. SIR,—Will you kindly givf. publicity to thik letter in reply to Mr Edwin Corbett's tvidenoi before the Welsh Land Commission yes., t I intend at once communicating ivjtli the 00Ià. missioners and informing tbem I have- strongest evidence possible to substantiate M}« statements before them at Cowbridge and also, several othec similar cases of the cruel oontiscfr tion of the enclosures and houses of squatters others. If the commissioners will not again hear mh then I will through the Press explain matters. The fiict of the landlords' evidence having I. taken in London has certainly proved what i have previously stated, that it is unfair that thv farmers cannot cross-examine landlords by queii tions, owing to their inability to go to London. • intention has been throughout, that all xrS j should be examined together for MOP w..4ty.—I IO, &c., EDWARD JOHN. Cowbridge, July 8th.
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