The Weekly News and Visitors' Chronicle for Colwyn Bay Colwyn Llandrillo Conway Deganwy and Neighbourhood

Christian Socialism. REMARKABLE LLANRWST ADDRESS. ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY CRITICISED. RELIGIOUS SERVICES WHICH ARE MERE ENTERTAINMENTS." INST-RANCE POLICY." ,SPIRITUAL k, S,o-rnethin,a Iiike a sensotioi has been c;reateid at Lian?rw,a by a vigo3:io,uis and outsp?oke,n a,d?- dress: deliiverled by Mir. J. D. Jones, before the Mutual Improvement Association in that town, in initiating what proved to be a decidedly warm debate upon the subject of Christian Socialism. In view oif the great public interest now being taken in various, .aspects of the Socialistic move mien-t we have obtained per/mission to publish the -address, which is- calculated to produce a lively newspaper controversy. Mr. J. D. Jones slaid:- The subje,c?L ',or discussion to-night, you w?ll 1, n!o,4e, is -iot Cihr'l,si6a,nity, neither ifs it Soc,ialisTn but at the same time it -consists of both. For no Socialism can be true Socialism without be- ing Christian,, and no Christianity can be pure Christianity without being Socialistic. The truest way to Jesus the Saviour is through Christ the So,cialist. One ofrten hears. it said, "Why do you attach the epithet 'Christian' to Socialism at all? Why call it Christian Socialism? You never say Christian Liberalism, or Christian Conservaitiv- ism, and Socialism, like these, is but a mere system of political government." To say that is to confess: ignorance of the very biasiis of Christianity and of all knowledge of its Founder. There was no Socialism in the highest sense of the word until Christ came. Liberalism and Conservatism have existed since the world has existed, but Socialism originated with Christ. Have you ever sat down to consider what was the position of the political world, what was the state of (international affairs when Christ came on earth? At that time the Jews wierte an, op- pressed, over-burdened nation. They were the victims of the tyrannical Romans, to whom they owed allegiance and paid taxes, homage and services. They expected, therefore, a Messiah who would free them from this- bondage by a victorious war; that they then would be, the conquering nation, and they secretly looked for- ward to the day when they could repay with a vengeance the oppression of the Romans. Then Jesus Clame. Oh, how different: a workingmaillJ of hunmMe parentage preaching the Kingdom -off God or a Universal Brotherhood under the Uni. versal Fatherhood. He formed the Labour party of the time, con- st ng of THE FISHERMEN OF GALILEE, and such like, and taught them that all existed for e-ach, and each for all. His religion Was a -religion for the whole life. He taught that re- ligion did not consist in blind adherence to theoretical dogmas, -and that it was a concern olf daily life. He taught that His religion "was not a- religion for getting men imto Heaven, but for getting Heaven into men." I have very often heard it said, and still more frequently read it, "If your Socialism, is really Christian, how do you account for the fact that it is Atheists, Agnostics, and such like mien, that are its prime movers and leading sup- porters?" There are, I readily admit, diffi- cultieis to contend with here, -but I should like to urge this:: that the fact that some of the most ardent supporters of Socialilsm.such as Blatchford—'are anti-Christian in name, is no conclusive proof that Socialism itself is anti- Christian. If the truth of orthodox Christianity itself were to be gauged by the actions- and doings- of -some of its lea-ding' adherents, I feel sure that one would feel it more Christian not to be a Christian. Blattchford is a Christian, in every- thing but name most other Christians are such in name- and nothing else. The only difference between the Socialism of Blatchford and of Ch-rist is this:- 1. Blatchford tries to make a w-orld of heaven. 2. Christ tries- to. make a heaven of the world. B llaJtchÍiord 's Sociallilsm is Christiainiit-y without, his knowing it. Christ's Socialism is Christi- anity because- He k-n-ows it and wants it to be -so. This leads us. to consider Christian- Social- ism in two lights — 1. Christian Socialism and this world. 2. Christian Socialism and the niext world. First-Ch.ri,stian Socialism and this world If you survey the horizon of present-day Christianity, what is the outstanding feature? It is this: That the Christianity of Christendom is not the Christianity of Christ. The Church to a great extent has lost her aillchor, and she has drifted with the tide of "the world, the flesh, and the deivil" into the, sea of aggrandise- ment, selfishness, and corruption. If Christ came to earth to-day are there not many chapels ,amid churches in the kingdom upon the portals of which He would write in letters of burning fire: "Ye hypocrites, you draw nigh unto- me with your mouth and honour me with your lips, but your heart is far from me"? The ,church that revels in the magnificence of its buildings and rejoices, in the regal splendour of its services, services which have really de- generated into miere entertainments. whilst thou- sands- of people are; living in abocies not fit for pigs, is a Church, however Christian alt miay term itself intheory, that is worse than devilish in practice. The bishop or minister that draws a -salary of hundreds or thousands a year whilst some of his fellow-inhabitants in that very town are starving from the want of the necessities of life, however Christian he may think himself in name, As actually a faithful servant of Beelzebub. A week last Sunday I saw a procession of the unemployed in Hyde Park. There they were, some 10,000 tO, 12,000 men and women, whose only demand was > THE RIGHT TO WORK. They -aire- a miserable mass of hungry, starving people, whose -only vice was not that the-y would not work, but that they could not get ilt. Within a stone's throw, viewing them from the front window of his palatial residence, was the mitlliona;ire, surrounded by wealth, luxury, and easie. Is that Christianity? Look at London, k of its v.ice?, it,s ve?rty, its t,hin po wanit, it s hungry, its starving, its prostitutes, its- crime— are those the products of twenty centuries of Christianity? Verily, the greatest Itir-agedy on the stage of life to-day is modern Christianity, and its principal characters are the so-called miiiniisteirs of the Gospel. The greatest need of the day is, "Back to Christ." Whilst the re- ligiontnats are breaking each other's dogmatic necks, over some form or other of belief which has no. practical bearing on life -at all, let us clear the way in the lives of our fellow men for the: Gospel of Christ to have fair play to impress them with its holy succour, help, and charm. The greatest vices of our time are wrong even when considered from an economic point of view. The: unemployed, the homeless, and the criminals are- a stumbling block to our material (progress, but they are: more intensely wrong be- cause they are a sin against God, and a church, however fine may be its confessions oif faith, howeve-r attractive a preacher may its minister be, a churlClh which sails steadily talong the sea of existence indifferent 'and callous towards- the human wrecks cast up by the waves of life along its shores, is a church whose Christianity is a mockery of .and atrave-stry upon the true Gospel of Christ. What is the great cry of the educationists: to- day? "You cannot teach CHILDREN WITH EMPTY STOMACHS." H,o,w, therefore, cian you expect a man to beilieve in a Go-d of Love, a man who has received from his fellow-men nothing but cruelty and appre- hension? I grant that many people bring the wretohednes's upon themselves by their own evil habits. I grant that there are thousands of lazy who will never do a stroke of .work if there is a, chance of their remaining idle. But after taking acicount o-f all these, there is still an outer icircle of honest people, of people who are a-nxiousi to work and are willing to. do their part in the workshops of the world, but can find nothing to do. Are we to be told that Christi- anity is only to be concerned with a man's -moral and spirajtiual welfare, and that the social -conditions of -the -masses is outside its scope? I-s Christianity a mere soul-saving apparatus, a mere: spiritual insurance policy to indemnify a man, from- the hell and torment to come? Has it nothing to- dio -with the hell and torment of to-day ? Christianity i-s- for the saving of men's souls, we must all .admit. That it does refer to. a future -state of existence cannot be denied. But hell and heavein are here now, and the Social- ism of Christ is the dsitroyer of the one and the foundation of the oitlher. Christianity looks up- on every man as a brother to be he-lped and c-ared for. I-t ignores .social superiority, eq uahity ■and inferiority. I-n its- light all men are equal. The only aristocracy that Christianity va-lues is THE ARISTOCRACY OF MORAL WORTH. The present 'state of social affairs, the vast wealth of the few and the poverty of the many, ,the luxuries of so-called Society, and the starva- tlion of the outcasts, the excused immorality of the Upper Ten and the severely punliSlherd sin of the people—.is un-Socialistic because it is un- christian. Let the Church awake to its original mission, leit. it at all costs become loyal to its Founder, for by surveying -the trend of modern affairs one is driven to the inevitable conclusion that the day is fast approaching, yea, it is at our very doorsteps, when the olJly Person to be wor- shipped will be. the Christ of Socialism, and' the only creed to be believed in will be the Socialism of Christ.

The Spread of Socialism. To THE EDITOR OF THE Weekly News. Sir,—Mr. Downs- deserves the thanks of all good, Socialists in North Wales, for his lu-cid article on Socialism. I hope it miay indiuice people to study the subject; for ii t criticism is what we all desire. Many people think that .Socialism is an attempt to upset violently an ordered and settled state of society; whereas: it is really the present state of things. that is unirc,asion,able and chaotic. For we have for thle moist part a people desperately fighting for thoise things that do not bring happi- ness when obtained and for lack of which the lasers perish. Socialism seeks to, restore order by applying the rulie "Each for all and ailil for each," din place of jthe individualistic Every m'aJI1 for himiaefllf, and the devil take- the hind- most."—Yours, &e., J. HARVEY. G-arr-eg Lwyd, Holyhead, December glth, 1907. To THE EDITOR OF THE Weekly News. S,ir,-Asi ,a ,small but growing body of Social- ists, whose convict-ions have recently bound us ,7:;?rzith,E?r in a loical Fello-,vship, -,ve thank you to- for giving splaJce to the expository articles, by Mr. E. Downs in your last two issues. It is to be hoped that 'a vigorous discussion will be per- mitted in. your columns, and you will, we are sure, afford the strenuous anti-Socialists who aJbond in the district every opportunity to ex- press their views. We Socialists do not shrink from criticism of the faith that is in usin fact, we invite it. The two greateslt. obstacles- to the progress of our prinicilpleis are Indifference and its off-spring, ignorance, and these -do not exist only in the rianks of ithe least educated, ith-sy are: rife in all grades of society. Therefore, the main task at presenit before the earnest Socialist is the rousing of the apathetic, anldtihe dispelling of the misapprehension's which bar the way to his reforming zeal. In this work we Socialists have hoped to re- ceive considerable help from the threatened campaign -against us in the capitalist press, on Conservative platforms, and from the proposed distribution, or rather -deluge, of -anti-Socialist tracts an-d literature from orator-accompanied -cailav.ants. But in this we fieiar we are to be dis- appointed. There seemed a promise of a gen- eral advance of the capitalist forces inrto the arena; the war-trumpet was loudly sounded and the skirmishers were equipped with their deadly leaflets and griamaphonies. But a lohanige of tactics appears- -to have been made the war- trumpet has been quiety slipped back inito its case and the skirmishers are kept skulking in their tents. Why? Because the party leaders have willed lit so. And why? Because the party leaders shirk the fight, having no great faith in the "settled convictions" of their own rank anid file And again why? Because over all the length and breadth of the land there- is looming the shadow of a -great doubt! Doubt as to the justice of a -social and eco- nomic -system which permits ^'650,000,000 (six hundred and fifty minions) of the total national income (or albouit one third) to -be absorbed by a proportionately ismiall, number of persons who take no part or lot in the earning thereof; and which keeps upwards of 12,000,000 (twelve imil. lions) of the population chronically upon the very verge of starvation,. Doubt -as ito the wisdom of a -system which fosters, and often compels, the employment in arduous physical labour and in unhealthy sweat- ing dens, of women at dangerous periods of their lives, and children at tender ages, to the de. generation and degradation of the future race. Doubt as to the humanity of a system which condemns a million of worn-out workers at the end -of life to the stigma and hardships of pauperism, and hundreds of thousands of our sisters to the awful fate of the streets. Doubt as to the efficiency of a system which permiitis the will of a comparatively few in- di vidualsso to prevail that vast tracts of fertile land throughout the 'country are deiiberaifiely left untilled and unsown, whilst thousands upon thousands of able-bodied men stand idle for lack of opportunity to utilise the land in pro- duction of the food which they and their wives and children sore-ly need. Doubt as to .the -morality of a system estab- i,ished-to quote John Ruskin-in systematic disobedience to the first principles of the pro- fessed .religion! Doubt as to the desire -and laJhiHity of 'the cap- italist parties" leaders to remedy the glaring evils which CITy aloud for immediate redress. It is these and many similar doubts which are compelling the attention of the struggling .masses—and not- Ithe masses only, but the more reflective and less selfish of the classes—to- the doctrines of Socialism -and any reader of this journal has not up to now taken thought upon these matters, let him forthwith begin, to ponder. For doubt begets enquiry, and from enquiry pro- ceeds knowledge—which surely is a better oom- pan-ion than ignorance in the "search for Truth. We would suggest to your readers a perusal of the follow-ing bo.okis: -Carlyle's "Sarltor Re- sar.tus," Ruskin's "Unto this last," Kirkup'-s "HilstÜiry of -Socialism—-and an Inquiry into Socialism,"—-all by non-Socialists; and these works by Socialists; Blatchford's, "Britain for the British," Keir Hardie's "From Serfdom to Socialism. Suther's "Mind your own business," Haw's "Britain's Homes," Mar- garet McMillan's "Labour and Childhood," and the Rev. Paul Bull's penny pamphlet, "What is Socialism? A study of these books will prove to' any per. son of average intelligence that the trend of Socialism 's not towards anarchy, and robber y? an,d disruption, and destruction, as we are so often assured but towards social security from aboliation and exploitation, and towards a scientific organisation of the nation's energies and resources in the interests, and for the benefit of the wh-cle -community, and for the preserva. tion to all persons of those things which they hold most sacred and most dear.—We are, &c.. THE LLANRWST SOCIALIST FELLOWSHIP.

Death of Mr. W. A. Dew, Bangor. PASSING OF A NOTABLE PERSONALITY. Throughout North Wales sincere grief has been created by the news that one of the pro- lui,ne-11it figures in professional circles and one of the best-known- citizens of Bangor has passed away, on Friday, in the person of Mr. W. A. Dew. Mr. Dew was 'the son of Mr. William and Mrs. Dew, of Bryn Bras Casrtil-e, near Llanibexis, and was born, on February 25th, 1851. He wias educated in early life at the famous old school of I.Ian,figal, Anglesey, under Dr. Meymouth, and finished his education at the Liverpool Col. lege under Dr. Howson. On leaving college he was: articled to Messrs. Mills and Fletchers, sur- veyors. and estate agents, Birkenhead. In 1873 he. was: taken, into partnership by his father, and when his father died, in 1885, he carried on the extensive business which has been built up, extending it in every direction until it became the largest business of its kind in North. Wales. Mr. Dew became a Fellow of the Auctioneers' Institute of the United Kingdom in 1887, and three years later became a member of the- Insti- tute Council and president of the institute. He was allsio a Fellow of the Surveyors' Institute. IMir. Dew was for many years the secretary and one of the leading spirits of the North Wales Black Cattle Societv and editor of itis Herd Book. Mr. Dew's services as valuer in connection with landed property were in almost continuous request, and it was almost invariably the case that all the great and notable property salels in North and Mid Wales were entrusted to hiim. Am,on,?sit,th?esi?- may be re-c,allf,d the great ?NI-adT".?-n iions sale in South C'arn,arvon,shi?re b?, inisitru'ot'. from the l-ate Sir T. D. Love Jones Parry, Bart., ,the still greater and more important sa-le of General Owen. Williams's Craig-y-Don estate, -the Gwydir estate sale, and probably the greatest of them all, the historic Anglesey Castle sale-, which occupied months: of his time, and which brought him into notice throughout the United Kingdom. In is young days Mr. Dew was an active mem. ber of the committee which carried out the negotiations1 for the incorporation, of Bartgor, and afterwards was elected a member of the first County Council. He subsequently retired, but in 1892, while still outside the Council, was unan?lmous,ly elected MaNoT. Mr. Dew wa-s a Churchm?a,n, an unicompromi?sing ?C'ointseTwia)tive, and a member of the Royal Leek Lodge of Fr-eemasonis. Personally, Mr. Dew was a genial, outspoken, and hospitable man. During the last few months Mr. Dew has, been engaged in large and important land 'sales, and was thus engaged only last Tuesday, fait Bryncelyn Du, in Anglesey. On his. way home he complained of illness in the oar, in which he was. accompanied by his two son's. On his return home he was attended to by Dr. Lloyd, but on Wednesday became WOrse, .and Dr. Elliott, of Chester, was called in to consultation but, ,as already istate-d, death oc- curred on Frilay morning from heart failure. He leaves a widow, three daughters (Mrs. Ken- nedy, Mrs. Williiamis-Meyrick, an-d Mrs. Arthur Lloyd Griffith), and two sons- (Messrs. W. C. P. an-d Nüel Dew), -to whom a large measure of sympathy is extended in their bereavement. THE FUNERAL. The remains of the late Mr. W. A. Dew were interred on Monday morning at Glan ad da Cemetery, Bangor. Though the funeral was of a private character, many friends walked be- hind 'the hearse from Wellfield to the cemteitterv, attended .tihe service, and also the final obse- quies at the graveside. The ceremony was con- ducted by Archdeacon Morgan and the Dean of Bangor. The late My. Dew'\s friends who at- tended were Colonel Sir Thomas Marshall, Mr. Eric Piatt, Mr. John Pritchard, Captain Stewart, Dr. Gray Edwards, Dr. Price, Dr. J. Roberts (Menai Bridge), Mr. H. C. Vinicient, Mr. H. Lloyd Carter, Mr. Frank Bellfe, Mr. W. Pugh. Mr. B. Rowlands, Mr. S. LeÍJs, and Mr. J. Smith. Behind them in the first carri- age Were Messrs. W. C. P. Dew and Noel Dew vsons'), and Mr. S. R. Dew (brother). In the carriages behind were 'Messrs. Williams'Meyritek, Arthur Lloyd Griffith, -and Kennedy (sons-in- law) Messrs. F. A. Dew and J. Fo-ulkeis, Bod- ryn (cousins), and Mr. D. Williams, manager; and the, chief clerks and surveyoTls from the firm's various offices at Bangor, Carnarvon,, Llan- dudno, &c. The last two carriages were filled wilt4 wreaths, which, also covered the coffin and the roof of the hearse. Mr. Assheton Smith sent his carriage. The general good feeling of the inhabitants of Bangor was shown by the clos- ing of every shop in High-street, and also the remainder of the route to the cemetery, and thie drawing of the blinds of the private houses. Numbers- of people lined the streets. Few people entered the cemetery, rspeeti-nig the wish of the family for privacy. Among thte wreaths was one from the Auctioneers' Institute of the United Kingdom, of which Mr. Dew was an ex- President.

The King of Bardsey Island. FORGETS WHAT IS DUE TO HIS ROYAL DIGNITY. "I am in the responsible pcrsitioil of prosecut- ing, on behalf of the Crown, a King who has come within the jurisdiction of the Pwllheli Bench," said Mr. William George. His Majesty, whose family name is John Wil- liams, appears to hold regal, if somewhat un- steady, sway over Bardsey Island, for he was summoned for having been drunk on the licensed premises of the New Wellington Inn, Pwllheli. Defendant, added Mr. George, was known as the King of Bardsey Island, and he was sorry to say that whenever his Majesty crossed to the main-land he forgot what was due to his kingly dignity and made himself rather a nuisance. The repentant monarch was fined is. and costs. Jc-ihn Thomas, licensee of the New Wei lingto-n, w,as fined Z.2 for permitting the drunk- enness.

Coast Protection in North Wales. The London and North-Western Railway Com- pany are again taking steps to protect their main line from Chester to Holyhead between Foryd Station and Abergele. They have now placed on the grounds hundreds of bundles of faggots, which which will be sunk in the sand for the purpose of collecting gravel and shingle. It is calculated that upwards .of £ 30,000 has already been spent on these defensive works. To-day breakers are to be seen where twenty years ago there were flourishing cornfields.