Towyn-on-Sea and Merioneth County Times

TOWYN AND PENNAL SCHOOL BOARD. The monthly meeting of the Boatd was beld on Tuesday afternoon at the Litera-y Institute Abe'- dovey, under the presidency of the Rev EobtJone3 There were also present Mr E Rowlands (Pennal) vics-chairman, the Rev R Davies, Messrs H Evans WmJoaes, P H Hughes, clerk, Ernest Iliebards, assistint clerk, and John Owen, school attendance officer. ATTENDANCES AT SCHOOL. The School Attendance Officer reported that the attendances at the schools for the firnt week a (er the Christmas holidays wove as follows — On books. Av'ge. Perc'tge Bryncrug Board 127 100 78 Peanal Board 117 101 864 Aberdovey Board — 105 70 Aberdovey National. 70 52 76 Towyn National 70 52 76 J ne returns ot the Towyn Board Schools wer* not complete for the week. They were, however" satisfactory. Proceedings were ordered to be in. stituted unless the attendances in certain cases improved, and in another case a girl of school age was ordered to be sent to school. PROPOSED SCHOOL FOR PANTPERTHOG. The Clerk read a communication from Mr J M Jones Cilfylchau, Ceinws, in which be stated that he had been instructed at a committee meeting of ratepayers of the Esgaergeiliog district to write that the Board could not cor it upon the attend- ance of children from Esgaergeiliog at the proposed school at Pantperthog, He wished it also to be known to the Bo:r-tl, and to all other Boards, that the statement which had appeared in the papers that 25 children from Esgaergeiliog would attend the school was absolutely misleading.-J n reply to Mr Henry Evans, Mr E Rowlands stated that the writei of that letter lived outside the Board's district.-The Chairman Then we should not put too much weight upon what he says.-Mr Rowlands No; it was only reported to the Board that t'1e committee had been told that possibly 25 children from Esgaergeiliog would attend- chat they would be in the district of the school. PENNAL SCHOOL. The committee entrusted to appoinl an assistant teacher fur Pennal School, reported that they had appoj¡¡ied Miss Mary Davies, the present pupil r- iu 1, salary of £ '€, to be increased io £ 41 after she had passed her examination. — t twiog to a tfciiineai objection t-c this arrangement it was resolved to continue Mis3 Davies's services as a pupil teacher until April, but to increase her salary. THE BY-LAWS. The draft by-laws wc ,-e ordered to be printed.— Mr Edward Rowlands said he had seen in a London daily newspaper that no School Board had yet applied for sanction for new by-laws. Their Board was tnerefore the first in the country to adopt them.-The Rev R Davies We ought to be proud of such a distinction (laughter). TOWYN INFANTS' SCHOOL. I< was decided to spend a sum of £ 4 10s on a belfry for the new Infants' School. APPLICATIONS FOR INCREASE OF SALARIES. The a pplications of Miss Jones, assistant mistress at the Towyn Board School, and Miss M T Pugh, Aberdovey Board School, for increase in their salaries were further considered, The Clerk submitted a list of the amounts paid by some of the other School Boards in the county, only one of which paid a higher sum than zC40, viz., Llanfi- hangel School Board, which paid X45 to an assist- ant mistress at tl.e Abergynolwyn Board School.— The Rev R Davies proposed that they adhere to their present scale, and that Lhe applications be not granted.- Mr E Rowlands seconded. Mr W Jones observed that it should be made known to the applicants that the salary paid by the Board compared favourably with that paid by other Boards. TflO NEW ROAD AT BRYNCRUG. It was reported that the Urban Council objected to defraying more than the cost of a fence towards the now wall which it was proposed to build for the purpose of enclosing the playground attached to Bryncrug School. The Clerk was therefore instructed to negotiate a loan fov the purpose. REPORTS. Mr W Roberts, headmaster, Bryncrug School, re- ported that, Mr and Mrs Orford had given a treat jto the school children and a lantern entertainment in the evening.-On the motion of Mr W Jones, second- ed by Mr Henry Evans, a vote of thanks waspass ed to Mr and Mrs Orford.—Mr E Jones, Pennal School, reported that Mrs Steele, Talgarth Hall, had given a t'eat and presents to the children who attended his school, and a similar vote of thanks was passed to her for her continued liberality. He (Mr Jones) wished to know if he could insist upon the teachers attending school about a quarter of an hour before opening hours with the view of having everything in order and ready for work.-Rev R Davies thought that a most practical suggestion, and he believed the headmaster could insist upon it.—Dealing with the attendance of teachers at school at the prooer time, the Rev R Daviel said he had heard com- plaints at Towj'n.—Mr E Rowlands proposed that the headmaster be written to for a report.—The Chairman Are they to report upon themselve3 as well P-Mr E Rowlands: Oh! yes (laughter).— Passed.-The Rev R Davies thought the local man- agers could attend to those matters. They could see that the school opened at the proper time besides occpsionalty attending the school and sign- ing the registers.-It was decided to communicate with the local managers of all the schools. ABEROOVEY BOARD SCHOOL. Mr Festin Williams reported that the pupils of his school had given a very successful concert, when prizes to the value of over £ 6 were awarded. He had to report, that the Penny Bank was not so successful as it used to be owing to the withdrawal of the shilling bonus which the Board used to sub- scribe.-The Clerk erplained that the Auditor refused to sanction the payment of the bonus, which had since been stopped. —It was resoH-rd to ask the other headmasters for a report on the working of the Penny Bank. TOWYN SCHOOL MANAGERS' REPORT. The managers met on Monday evening, when there were present: Messrs Meyrick Roberts (pre- siding), J Gwilym Evans, Hemy Evans, J M Jamei, Meyrick Jones, T W Stealey, Dr Row- lands, Thomas Roberts, Hugh Thomas, Rev R Wil- liams, and Rev R R Williams, M.A. The com- mittee considered the attendance returns satis- factory. The committee ordered the expendi- ture of a sum of £ 1 lus on books, &c. The letter of the headmistress containing her reply to the opinion expressed at a recent meeting of the managers respecting the proportion of children above the ordinary age in her department was rend and discuE3ed. While it was felt that the letter was open to criticism with regard to it3 statements and especially it3 tone, it was finally resolved not to move iorther in the matter until it should be seen whether the headmistress would be able to realise the hope expressed in her letter of promot- ing 30 scholars from her department to the standards at the expiration of the present schcol year.—The Beard decided to urge the local man- agers to be most careful when ordering books as all orders of that nature had to be recommended by the Financa Committee. The managers were em- powered to spend a sum not exceeding £ 2 on urgent works.

VOLUNTEER SMOKING CONCERT. The third annual smoking concerb was given by the "F" Company 5th V.B. South Wales Borderers on Friday evening, and as usual attracted a large number of the townspeople, amongst whom were Colonel Atkins, Messrs D Giilart, J Chidlaw Roberts, J Maetblon James, J Lloyd Hughes H H Shuker, H F Carpenter, J D Latimm" Henry Evans, G Pienne, Owen Jones, W Abbott, John Jones (ex-postmaster), R Bowen, Dr Ashton, Capt. Preston, J R Vaughan, John Davies, J Gwilym Evans, W Thomas, Samuel Edmunds, Price Thomas, B J Richards, A Jackson, W Davies J Lloyd, F T Tookey, J Perry, W K"-kby,E Davies Hughes, T G Roberts, Wynue Edward*, G Axe, J Lioyd (Talyllyn),j Rees .(ones, RJone Ac The room was gaily decorated with Union Jacks, &c., but what attracteu most people's attention was the stage which had been prepared for the occasion, and which is now the property of the local Com- pany of Volnntcor- Mous G Pienne, a clever artist now staying in the district, has kindly painted views of the Bird Rock and other local scenery. In the absence of Captain Wadsworth, who is now in command of the Company, owing to the absence of Captain E W Kirkby, the chair was occupied by Mr W Rowlands, Beacon View, who did all he could to make the evening a thoroughly enjoyable one, a task in which be. eminently succeeded. The Volunteers, who wore walking-out uniform were present, in large numbers. The programme opened with a march Under the British Flag," by the Company Band under the conductorship of Mr Griffith Jones song "Y Banerwr," well rendered by Pte Townley Jones; recitation, The Revenge," Mr G Pienne, for which he was loudly cheered song, Our Flag," in true patriotic style by Mr Ernest Richards (Llew Dyfi) dance, "Joe, Dei, and Biaiv," this was a surprise provided by Pt's D Williams and Joseph A Davies in the shape of a dancing do]). The item took exceedingly well. The Chairman gave a rendering 's of one of his favourite songs" Dear old pal," which took as well as at any previous gathering; Master J Owen Jones, Bryngwyn, rendered Jack Tar" in a rich baritone voice, and his father, Mr Owen Jones sang The Old Brigade to the satisfaction of all present and in his own inimitable style. Mons. Pienne followed with a comic song English as she is spoken," and to respond to a vociferous encore, this time giving He had not been used to luxuries." The first part of the programme was concluded with selections on the gramphone by Pte D A Edwards, Tredegar Arm- DISTRIBUTION (F PRIZES. Prizes were then awarded to the successful com- petitors in competitions held during the year by the Chairman, assisted by Colour-Sergt J C Ed. wards and Sergeant-Instructor Lichfield.—Colour- Sergt Edwards said that in the experimental attack practice on Salisbury Plain the 5th Batt. S.W.B. had done the best average out of a large number of battalions. The local company had been handi- capped very much during the year owing to having no officers attached to them, so that the credit for the conspicuous success they had achieved during the year was to be attributed to the excellent instruction they had received from Sergt-Instructor Lichfield. In the Battalion Rifle Competition about 20 members of the Company had taken part and four prizes were won as follows :-2nd, Col-Ser<t J C Edwards, £ 1 10s and silver medal 8th, Lance- Cpl R Owen 13th, Cpl R J P Daniel; 16th, Pte R 0 Jone. 18th, Laiiee-Cpl H Jones. In the match open to Sergt Instructors, the local Instructor (Sergeant Lichfield) had won the third prize, IO3. The drill and firing- pr;e3 were awarded as follows:— Pie F C Axe, 10.n 2, Clr-Sergt J C Edwards, IO3 3, P;,e »V P Jones 4, Sergt R Owen; 5, Sergt O WHugh?3; 6, Lance-Sertg II M Roberts; 7, Corpl R J P Daniel; 8, Sergt L M Jones 9 Pte D T Williams; 10, Pte W L Hughes; 11, Corpl R L Jones 12, Pre Humphrey Evans 10, Pte W Jones 14, Pte Jonaa Williams. The Commanding Offiar's prize of 10s for the best shot in the company was awarded to Pte F C Axe, he having beaten b;s superior (Col-Sergeant Edwards), who got second with the smallest possible margin. The third pri-e went ío LJ"ce Sergeant H M Roberts. Best shot for recruito, Private Thomas. Colour Sergeant Edwards explained that there was in connection with the Company a section cup which was won last year by section 4 (Sergeant Daniel). The merits of the various sections having been carefully considered, the cup together with a prize of £1 was awarded to section 1 (Corpl Idwal Daniel). The result was received with much applause. With regard to the regimental cup (presented by the inhabital1 3 of Tow yn t a the 5th Batt S.W b.) the F (Towyn) Company had won it twic3 in succossion and the conditions attached to it were that it should be won three times in suc- cession. They hoped at the next camp to find a home for it at Towyn, from where it had started (applause). It would be impossible for them to leave that room without recollecting that there was one face absent that night who was with them 12 months ago, he referred to their captain (Captain E W Kirkby). He had most gallantly volunteered to go ;o the front to fight the battles of his Queen and country. Unfortunately he bad been wounded and when Colour Sergeant Edwards last heard irom him he had been lying on his back from 4th August. He was not yet convalescent nor likely to be for some time. Lieutenant H Kirkby had now became a member of the regular army, and he was sure they all rejoiced at his promotion, and there was not a man in the company who was not convinced that he thoroughly deserved the promotion and wished him success in the future. As regards the four young men who bad volunteered he did not know what to say. They all appreciated the sentiment which prompted them to go to the front and rejoiced that they had done so well (applause). The health of the FOUR GALLANT VOLUNTEERS was then drunk amid the greatest enthusiasm. It was also unanimously decided to send a vote of condolence from that meeting to Captain Kirtfby, wishing him a speedy recovery. The audience then joined in hearty rendering of "For he's a jolly good fellow." In conclusion, Col.-Sergeant Edwards thanked the tradespeople of Towyn for the liberal manner they had contributed prizes towards their shooting competition (applause). The second part of the programme was then taken, as follows Selection, Lea Martyrs," the Band song, Nancy Bell," Mr John Jones;' song Red, white, and blue," Mr John Davies; eupho- nium solo, Pte J F Edwards pennillion singing, Master J 0 Jones (encored) comic song, The shop walker," Mons. Pienne (encored) song "True till death," Mr Owen Jones; comic song, Capt Preston. The Chairman, at this stage, on behalf of the number of friends presented Mons Pienne with a pipe in case as a slight acknowledg- ment of his services to the town and to F" Company. Mons Pienne, in acknowledging, thanked all for then kindness. If he remained in Towyn he hoped to do more than he had yet done. That gift was quite unexpected, and he appreciated it all the more in consequence. He concluded by singing another comic song, wKch was much enjoyed

ADDBBSSES. SAMUEL EDMUNDS, MANCHESTER HOUSE, TOWYN, Has jast returned from London with the LATEST FASHIONS IN Mantles, Jackets, Millinery, &c. Boys' Men's and Ready-made Clothing, &c., in atest Styles. AN EARLY INSPECTION INVITED.

There are several matters of more than average importance in counection with the war this week. The Government have decided to call for five thousand additional yeomea as a reinforcement t3 the Imperial Yeomanry units now in the fieIn. This force is not in any way to supersede the South African (Consbbulary, fo, which rf creating will still go on. The replacement of Voluntee s who have seen twelve months' service, which is alu, to bke place, is a step that will meet with general approval. These are defensive mea^a-v? called for by the guerrilla warfare whicu -q be-og ca'ried on by the Boers with such grim deLerniina- tion and, by De Wet, with such sbamelen ci roeiiy, *#* Pi rhaps we ought not to be su'pm"d at Me Krllger's reported approval of this savaj,e< v7, hnt even his most determined opponents v/e>e inclined to think better of the man whose mission in Europe is professedly tbatof peace. Itis highly satisfactory to note that the campaign of jour Jalis¿;c calumny, both in South Africa and at home, is be,a,g dealt with as it deserves. Sir Alfred Milner, it is true, decline? io have anything to say to his t- adore., s- but at the Cape the editor of the noto-ious Ows Lead stards committed for trial oa a charge of high treason, and on this s'de of the water a Looc'on daily has turned upon the leading pto-Boer O"g3n with a flat denial. The Chinese question hai at length taken a definite step forward. The Jo;nt Note of tbe Poweia LFH been signed and any idea of oppcj't-'oa ha-i been abandoned. It Is to be hoped that tb;s r^por:, may prove worthy of acceptation ia the EIHOpeatl sense, and that it has not been pot for- ward with that mental reservation EO gereraby irking in the Celestial mind. The unity of the Powei s may brirg matters to a sacce;sful issue j speedily, but China is a land of surprises. # The Judge3 have chosen the circuits for the Summer Ass:zes. Mr Justice Grantham will take the North Wales circuit, and Mr Justice Channell that Of South Wales. ### The Towyn and Aberdovey Urban Council had to consider the question of the Abevdovey Common on Friday last, and it should be the earnest wish of aV that an amicable settlement, satisfactory to both side3, may be arrived at. At no time shored greater cave, iact, and sound common-seese be exercised than at present, when a settiement is possible and when one thoughtless woid may bring Matters to an abrupt close. The Common Defence Committee are now vested with a great deal of responsibility, and it re3(.1 with them either Lo do great service for the town or possibly I o retard its progress. It may be taken for gran ed, we believe, that the Commoners have cerlain eights which are on the way to being ac. :ded to by Mr Andrews without recourse to Jaw, but it should also be borne in mind that Mr Andrews ha3 certain rjghts, whatever they are, which a recou ps io Jaw Would also most probably make clear iu Irs ('Fe. It would probably cost a Jarge sum to make the-. Respective rights clear, a poiat which could be as tasily settled and much more amicably, without ""Y appreciable expenditure. *#* It is therefore, ID be hoped that the Comnois Defence Committee will not refuse to enter iuto communication with Mr Andrews through the th'ba^i Council. They will lose nothing by negoti. a.ting with him — they are invited to formulate their ferms for the consideration of Mr Andrews, and they would be wen-advised iu doing So, Even after all negotiations bad failed they w0"Jld find themselves in the same position ag rega-ds the law as they are in now. in addition t') stating their te ms, Jet them r lk Mr Andrews what he propose3 to do and whether he is going to acknowledge tbe Commoners; whether the carrying out of his scheme would benefit the own; and after obtaining replie3 io these questions let them consider whether the interests of the own could not be served by working in co-opera- tlOn, Perhaps it i9 too much to expect A Andrews to present his rights in the Common io the townspeople as a New Century's gift, as was suggested at the Council meeting, although it would not cause surprise if he were to sell his lights to the town on the same terms as he obtained them. These things should be well- considered now that Mr Andrews has adopted a conciliatoiy attitude, and we hope that the Council will likewise be equally conciliatory. # Wo donoi recommend the Commo^ecs o ecc, a3 though they had no rights at all, but as pa' '-3 who bavea.greatde.il to k.jy respecting the Common. At a t:me wheu the Council are goipg to expend some hundreds of pounds to develop prcpeiiv in the vicinity of the Common it would 1 e v t>! to bear in mind that any building operations would tend to relieve the great burden which the rate- payers have now to bear. Whatever steps the Common Defence Committer now take should be well-weighed and the probable effect on the town as a whole taken into consideration. The Smoking Concert at the A moury on Friday evening was a great success in every way. Daring the lat, week fourteen recruits have joined tie Company, some of them be:ng valuable acquisi. ions. The j eporl of the annual mreUrg in cootjectioQ wil), the Aberdovey Literary Institute, shows what a it '■idler t irstitution it is, and how fortunate the Al^rdovey people are in having it. During the vi'v ".1 kss than 1,612 books were is-aed fjom the '.ibiarj in increase of 279 over tbe preceding year. 1 Ins institution is maintained by voJuniary sub- ic->, 'io. 9. and during the Just few years it has up ore than maintained its own, the adverse balance dtcreasi Qg every year, so that by now the'nil hardly any left. The fact thab it has continr<-rl ID flourish shows what co-operation when p'operlv dir. cted can do. People of all shades of op'uCj support the institute, and tbece is hardly any time of day when it is vacant.