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[No title]

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LOCAL CHARTSFLLNG TRANSACTIONS.

A CORRECTION.

----__n_-A WELSH POST OFFICE…

WHAT WELSHMEN THINK.

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[No title]

--LATEðT MARKETS.I ..

SOUTH WALES TIDE TABLE

CARDIFF EXCHANGE.

WRECKS AND CASUALTIES.

SWANSEA BAY SIGNAL STATION.

LIZARD SIGNAL STATION.

[No title]

KEMPTON PARK JUBILEE MEETING.

NEWMARKET TRAINING NOTES.

LONDON BETTING.

[No title]

CRICKET.

FOOT RACING. j

OUT-DOOR PASTIMES.

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OUT-DOOR PASTIMES. [BY AN OLD STAGER.] Through the kindness of a gentleman who was present, I am enabled to lay before my readers the following account of the proceedings at the meeting of repre- sentatives of the four Rugby Unions, held at the Grand Hotel, Liverpool, on Wednesday last. The representatives who attended were:- England, Mr Rowland Hill; Scotland, Messrs Grant Asher, Brown, and Patterson Ireland, Messrs McAllister and Warren; Wales, Messrs H. S. Lyne, W. D. Phillips, and R. Mullock. Mr McAllister was voted to the chair, and the minutes of the last meeting having been read and confirmed, Mr Rowland Hill informed those present that he attended merely to answer any questions that they might desire to put respecting the resolutions passed at the last meeting of the English Union. Of these resolutions it will be remembered the principal one was that empowering the Scotch, Irish, and Welsh unions to send two representatives each to meetings of the English Union committee at which the proposed alterations of rules; affecting the game might bediscussed, the English 11 nion propos- ing this scheme in lieu of the establishment of an international board. Mr Hill was now adked how many his committee numbered, and on his replying over twenty, ic was pointed out to him that were the scheme of the English Union adopted, the other unions could be outvoted by England on questions on which they (the other unions) were unanimously agreed. Mr Hill then stated he had no power to take part in the discus- sion on the other business before the conference, and left the room, Subsequently it was decided by the meeting that the laws under which next season's inter- national matches should be played were to be those of 1885 (the same, in fact, as last year's matches were played under), and in accepting the challenges of England it was to be distinctly pointed out that the various unions would decline to play under any other laws. The dates of the various international matches were then arranged, and Mr Gardner, hou. sec. of the Scottish Union, was appointed secretary of the International Conference Board. Thi3, put briefly, comprises all that was done. It will be noticed that in agreeing to play only under the laws of 1885, the "Celtic" unions-if I may call them so—ignore thescoring rules adopted last season by the English Union, a step it was thought well to take in order to maintain and establish the right of the conference to an equal voice with England in the formation and altera- tion of rules governing international matches. The effect will be that England must now make the first move. If her representatives wish to continue the international contests, they will have to abandon, so far as these matches are concerned, the rule by which three tries are made to equal a goal. Should they decline to do so, then they will be left out in the cold—neither Scotland, Ireland, nor Wales will play them. On the other band, should they agree to play on the stipulated condi- tions, then will the other unions have gained much of what they are contending for. Which of these two courses the English Union may adopt remains to be seen. That they will not readily give way may be taken for granted, but in any event it behoves the other unions, now they have taken up a certain well defined position, to stand firm. The Scotchmen, I hear, are very resolute in the matter, and from what I know of them, I fancy the Welshmen will prove not one whit less obdurate. Nothing to my mind could bemorepreposterous than the claim setup byEng- land to practically govern the other unions. Her representatives base their claim to predominance on the fact that the member of clubs affiliated to their union largely outnumber those of the other three countries combined. But how on earth does this affect international matches? As was pointed out to Mr Rowland Hill at the con- ference, the international board does not seek to interfere with English clubs, or with the rules governing matches between English teams. All they desire is to share equally in the drawing up of rules under which the international matches are played. Into these matches the question of disparity of numbers cannot enter. Each country is represented by a team of fifteen meu and no more, and therefore each country should have an equal right to say under what laws those men shall play. The suggestion that the international rules would, in time, become the laws of the game generally is beside the mark. But supposing they did, would it, after all, be so bad a thing? As the idea appears to prevail in certain unin- formed quarters that the Cardiff Gymnasium scheme is in a state of collapse, I may as well state that the prospect-; of the whole undertaking were never rosier than at the present. Although making no noi«a or parade, the promoters, and notably the energetic hon. sec. of the movement, Mr E. Mitchelmore, have been bard at work, and before very long I hope to be in a position to announce that their labours have been crowned with success. The principal, and indaed, the only obstacle in the way has been the securing of a site. This difficulty has not yet been surmounted, but I am glad to be able to state that it is not un- likely to be removed ere long. Failing to secure a suitable piece of ground elsewhere, the com- mittee recently again approached Mr J. S. Corbett, and at that gentleman's request the joint architects, Messrs Mitchelmore and J. P. Jones, are now engaged in drawing up plans for a building to be erected on a piece of the Cardiff Arms Park lying between the quoit ground and the circus. These plans Mr Corbett has kindly undertaken to lay before Lord Bute on the occasion of the latter's next visit to Cardiff, probably during the jubilee week, when it is hoped his lordship may be induced to reconsider his former decision not to grant a site on the park for the purpose. Before leaving the subject of the gymnasium, I should mention that, after paying ail incidental expenses, the Cardiff Histrionic Club, who some weeks back gave a performance at the Theatre Royal in aid of the funds of the proposed institu- tion, will have a nice surplus to hand over. At a committee meeting of the Cardiff Cricket Club, held at the Queen's Hotel on Friday night, arrangements were made for duly bringing before the public the prize drawing scheme by which it is hoped to clear off the heavy financial deficit under which the club is labouring. I am indebted to Mr A. Russell Thomas, hon. sec. of the Neath Lawn Tennis Club, for some particulars of that institution, which appears to be in a highly flourishing condition. From a membership of 20 a couple of years ago, the club has increased its numbers to 85, and a large acces- sion of new members is confidently expected. The president is the Hon. H. C. Bruce, and the vice-presidents, among whom I notice the of the Mayor of Neath, Lord Dynevor, Sir Hussey Vivian, M.P., and Mr Howel Gwyn, number no fewer than 28, all being gentlemen of position and influence. The season commenced on Saturday, the 30th ult., with a tournament, still in progress, the prizes being two ladies' racquets, presented by Messrs Howel Cuthbertson and E. Edgar Morgan, and a couple of gentle- men's racquets given by Messrs Edwin C. Curtis and Hugh G. P. Price. When I state that the subscriptions are so moderate that ladies may join on payment of 5s, and gentlemen for 7s 6d, it will be admitted that the club ought to boast even a much larger membership than it possesses. Enclosed in Mr Russell-Thomas's letter was a member's card, duly inscribed An Old Stager." I must thank him for the card, which is really one of the most tastefully got-up things of the kind I have ever seen, and can only regret that the long distance dividing Neath from Cardiff renders it well-nigh impossible for me to make use of it. None the less I am obliged to Mr Thomas, and shall be glad to hear from him again. It will be gathered from what I s;\id last week that I did not expect the Cardiff Harlequins' sports—for reasons I enumerated at the time—to "draw" very largely, but I must confess to a feeling of surprise when, on entering the ground on Saturday a few minutes after the time at which the sports were advertised to commence, I looked around in search of the spectators. Spec- tators God bless you, the bonii fide gate-paying spectators could almost have been counted on one's fitigers. Later on the attendance increased a bit, but at no time was there any tiling like a crowd, and I very much fear a heavy financial loss will have been incurred by the promoters. Despite the discouraging attendance, or rather want ef attendance, the Harlequins, I must place it on record, came up smiling, and went resolutely through their programme. The arrangements were excellent, and there was an utter absence of that dis- regard of punctuality which is so often noticeable at similar meetings. There was a little delay at the start-indeed, had there not been, the initial heats of the 120 yards club handicap would have been decided in the presence of the judges, com- mittee, and competitors alone—but afterwards good time was kept, and the whole of the events were disposed of at an earlier hour even than that fixed. The sport, I must admit, was better than I had expected it would be, but that is not saying much. Indeed, the struggles for supremacy would have had to be vastly keener than they were to render one oblivious of the cold wind which swept across the ground, and to disperse the melancholy-in. duced by the desolate and deserted appearance of the spaces allotted to spectators—which seemed to have marked everyone for its own. The pro- ceedings, in short, were flat, stale, and almost funereal in character, and I venture to think we were all precious plad when they were over. I know I was. I am unfeignedly sorry for the Hailequins, They have always shownso much pluck,even in the face of regular Itnuck-down blows, that they deserved better luck. If, however, they take to heart the lesson inculcated by Saturday's fiasco, there will be no cause for regret. Let them make up their minds, when next they hold a meeting, that it shall be a meeting worthy in every way of public support, and they will more than recoup them- selves for Saturday's losses, If they cannot sea their way to doing this, whether from want of funds or from any other cause, then they would be well advised were they to give up the idea of holding meetings at all. The public in tho matter of athletics is exacting. It will haven good tiling, and is willing to pay for it. Offer anything inferior and you may just as well shut up shop at once. It was with great regret that I fonnd mysolf— owing to my doctor's orders—debarred from attending the annual dinner of the Cardiff Foot- ball Club on Friday. The post-prandial :pro- ceedings were, I am told, aud I can well believe it, thoroughly enjoyable. Would I bad been there to take part in them Reading the report of the after-dinner speeches next morning, I was especially glad to notice Mr W. H. Treatt's con- ciliatory references to the Swansea dispute* Tk),gt I by the arrival of next season all soreness between the two clubs will be laid aside, buried, or for- gotten is much to be hoped for. I have always refrained from taking sides in this unfortunate quarrel, believing it to be a case of "least sail, soonest mended," and I think it would tend to heal all differences if the parties more closely con- cerned would resolve to take the same view of the matter. Mr Treatt, I am told, has received a letter from the Moseley Club, expressing surprise at Cardiff's refusing to play them next year. Verily, the "cheek of some people is amazing. A highly successful meeting of the members of the St. Paul's (Cardiff) Cricket Club was held on Saturday evening, when the following officers were elected:—Captain, Mr W. D. Evans; vice- captain, Mr J. Mahoney; secretary, Mr C. J. Osborn, 15, Morgan-street, Cardiff; committee, Messrs Collier, Keleher, Kenelic, and Coles. Tho ciuo nave, as usual, secured a pltcn in the Uardin: Arms Park, and the arrangements uptothe present point to a very satisfactory "Jubilee" season. Secretaries of clubs with open dates will oblige by communicating at once with Mr Osborn, who will be most happy to arrange matches. A cyclist writes to me as follows a cyclist I have travelled a good many miles over roads in various parts of England and Wales, but I am bound to say that the main roads of Cardiff are without exception the worst I have gone over. Take St. Mary-street or the Cowbridge-road or Queen-street, and the roads on both sides of the tramway are either most dangerously holey" or are covered with huge cinders, over which it is impossible to ride. Why a town of tho impor- tance of Cardiff should be handed bodily over to tho Tramway Company so far as its roads are concerned is one of those things which I, like Dundreary, can't understand. I know from painful experience that uo sooner does a tramway company obtain power to lay a line than a pre- viously excellent road is upset, and,what is worse, is never restored to anything like its pristine glory. Another matter in this connection I wish to draw attention to has reference to the street gratings to be met with in various parts of the borough. They might just as easily have been fixed in the contrary direction, and then the danger of a wheel of a machine getting through would have been almost minimised, but as they are now some of them are veritable death traps. A programme has reached me of an athletic meeting to be held by the Carmarthen Athletic, Cycling, and Aquatic Club, on Whit-Monday. The programme is a lengthy one, comprising in all 14 events, and is made up as follows:—Tricycle handicap from Guildhall-square around Picton's monument (twice), about 2 miles, open to tan- dems, sociables, and singles. (This race starts at eleven a.m., about two hours prior to the opening of the meeting): 352 yards open handicap for brjys under 16; 120 yards open handicap one mile bicycle handicap (club); high jump 440 yards open handicap two miles open bicycle handicap 220 yards open hurdle handicap; one mile bicycle handicap for riders of Rudge's machines purchased from Mr J. H. Spurry one mile open handicap three mile open handicap 440 yards obstacle race donkey race; and "tilting the bucket." Entry forms may be obtained of the hon. sec., Mr G. J. Hodges, 23, Frances-terrace, Carmarthen. During the afternoon the town band will perform a selection of music on the ground. The gentleman who asks me to publish the above in the course of his letter I am also requested to thank you most heartily for the support which you have hitherto given us with your pen, and to express a hope that you will continue to, do so. We have no hesitation in saying that your notice of the last sports went a long way towards making the same a success." Ever since reading the concluding paragraph of this flattering epistle, I have been doing my level best to blush. On Wednesday, the 18th inst., the Cardiff Harlequins hold their annual dinner at the Queen's Hotel. The story I told last week about the northern club and the Cardiff football player was, in the main, substantiaUy accurate.

B1LIIAUDS.

---------------A NEWPORT SCANDAL.

-----------AN YNYSIIIR TRAGEDY.

--__--___._----__-----STOWAWAYS…

---------NEW LOCAL COMPANIES.

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THE TIN-PLATE TRADE.

MEETING OF TIN-PLATE DELEGATES…

THE RHONDDA COAL TRADE.

MIDLAND IRON TRADE.

THE TITHE AUDIT AT PENYBONT.…

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------WELSH SOCIETY.

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ALICE IN WONDERLAND^ AT CARDIFF.'

----+--_.--.._-------A STEAMER…

THE ATTEMPTED SUICID^ AT SWANSEA.

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