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Social Problems.
Social Problems. THE TAXATION OF LAND VALUES. by Joseph Hyder, General Secretary to the Land Nationalisation Society. ARTICLE XXII. "We have just been driving along your magni- ficent Embankment, but at whose expense was the ^^t, permanent, and staple improvement made? 0f being made, as it should have been, Alainly at the expense of the permanent propriet- a.ry interests, it was charged, every shilling of it, "Pon the occupants, either upon the wages of the labouring man in fuel necessary for his family, Or Upon the trade and industry and enterprise ""hiell belong of necessity to a vast metropolis like this."—ijr Gladstone at the Memorial Hall. Lon- don, on July 29th, 1887. Ice land around these populous centres is rated tlot in regard to its prosepective value, which as yolit all know, is derived entireiy from the prox- ^ty of places where enterprise and activity are, "'hile the owners of the surrounding land were asleep in their beds—adding every day every hour tQ its value."—Mr John Morley at Forfar on Monday, October 4th, 1897. survey of the land question would be com- which did not take account of the move- ment for the taxation of land values. It is a Movement which has attained considerable strength of recent years, and is destined to make its mark the Statute Book. It includes men of very j 'gent views. The principle of taxing land has supporters in the ranks of both the great pkti" in the State. Practically every Liberal is fitted to it. Even some Conservatives be- eve in it. It is endorsed by the Socialists. A little time ago an important conference was held ttPon it in Bradford, and it was reported that ever 200 assessing bodies in England and Scot- lod had passed resolutions in its favour. More ^tly gti]i the Battersea vestry convened a con- nce of the rating authorities in London, when 1t 1tas supported by an overwhelming majority of the delegates present. At the last municipal elec- 11 ()f the London County Council every Progres- lVe candidate was pledged to it. And it was one of the items of the Newcastle Programme. The Unfair Exemption of Landlords 001 their rightful share of taxation is a grievance kjtich the majn body of the taxpayers have long uncomplainingly. But at length their ailence 18 being displaced by the unmistakable grumbling agitation which usually precede important ges. Xor can this be wondered at. For the (*T1 of taxation tends every year to become ea\>ier. And fast though the wealth-producing of the country increases, yet the national arid tlie national rates increase faster still. every heading the cost of governemnt goes and bounds, and no one can sav where So 18 ^°Ss^e t° effectively reduce- it. There are IQany measures of public improvement "which avr»ijt accomplishment that we must be prepared for further increase in public expenditure rather than any decrease. Tharefore the only way of lightening the burden of taxation is to find a tie\\> source of revenue. Such a new source of lies at hand in the shape of the value of lalld which has hitherto contributed far less than any personalty to the cost of government. The following table will show at a glance how enor- mously the demands upon the public exchequer have grown within the past thirty years: LooaJ Taxation. 1867. 1892. and Walea £ 23,967,000 £ 47,439,559 Gotland 2,550,000 6,306,492 Ireland 2.740,000 3,651,686 Total je29,257,000 £[;7,897,737 I Imperial Taxation. i 1874. 1884. 1895. ) £74,921.837. £ 88,043,110. E101,974,000 I I In these days of severe business competition this lncr°asing load of taxation is a serious matter to k'gB numbers of people. Thirteen years ago a rating authority, the Vestry of St. Pancraa, Sent a. petition to Parliament on this matter. They showed that they represented a population, of 2^0,000 and a rateable value of £1,513,910. They ^niplained that they experienced a. greater diffi- culty from year to year in raising rates from per- SOns of limited means owing to the increasing pub- lie expenditure of Metropolitan authorities. Dur-* ing the last half-year they had had to summon 5,895 persons before the magistrates for the non- payment of rates. They showed that the rates at present fall most heavily upon the retail trading M'd working classes, and those who benefit most largely by the increased value of land in large towns are exempt from contributions towards local taxation, notwithstanding the fact that such tax- ation is largely expended in increasing the value of the 4nd, especially where streets and other pub- lic improvements have been made at the cost of lhe ratepayers. They concluded their petition with the prayer that the owners of land mgiht be rated. In the same year (1885) the Royal Com- mission on the Housing of the Poor recommended a similar reform. They called attention to the fact that at present land available for building in the neighbourhood of our populous centres, though its capital value is very great, is probably pro- ducing a small yearly return until itr is let for building. The owners of this land are rated, not in relation to the real value but to the actual an- nual income. They can thus afford to keep their land out of the market, and to part with only small quantities, so as to raise the price beyond the natural monopoly price which the land would command by its natural advantages of position. Meantime the general expenses of the town on improvements is increasing the value of their pro- perty. If this land were rated at say, 4 per cent. on its selling value, the owners would have a more direct incentive to part with it to those who are desirous of building, and a twofold advantage would result to the community. First, all the valuable property would contribute to the rates, and thus the burden on the occupiers would be diminished by the increase in the rateable property. Secondly, the owners of the building land would be forced to offer their land for sale, and thus their competition with one another would bring down the price of building lan,d and so diminish the tax in the shape of ground rent, or price paid for land, which, is now levied on urban enterprise by the adjacent landowners; a tax, be it remember- ed, which is no recompense for any industry or expenditure on their part, but is the natural re- sult of the industry and activity of the towns- people themselves. Having regard to all these considerations, the Royal Commissioners therefore urged that "these matters should be included in legislation when the law of rating comes to be dealt with by Parliament." Yet, simple and just though that reform is, it has hitherto been with- held. The,efforts of the landlord legislation of the past are thus perpetuated through the supineness of landed taxpayers, who, like the camel, kneel down while they are being loaded. And meantime the day of "the last straw" most unaccountably tarries. The Case for London. Take the case for London. Before the Town Holdings Committee evidence was given by the late William Saunders to the effect that the total value of property for rating purposes througout the Metropolitan area was as follows — Capital value of London land, jB418,000,000 Capital value of London buildings, J3212,000,000 The owners of the JM18,000,000 for land yap no rates, and the only taxation to which they are sub- jected is the income tax and a nominal land tax, the total of both being less than half a million a year. Houses are charged with rates which aver- age (say) 5s 6d in the L, not only upon the annual value of the buildings, but also upon the annual value of the land. In addition to the rates they pay house duty and income tax. In 1863 London paid the rate collector £ 2,719,272. In 1890 this had increased to £ 7,244,067. And this amount is much greater now. So the London case stands thus: Land worth JB418,000,000 pays J3500,000 in ratea. Buildings worth £212,000,000 pay £9,000,000 in rates. Of course what applies to London applies to every other town. The figures will be smaller in other cases, but the inequality and the injustice will be about the same. And as if the urban ratepayer did not have enough to complain of already, he has been lately saddled by the iniquit- ous Agricultural Rating Relief Act of the present Government, with the weight of paying an ex- tra j32,000,000 a year ostensibly fo rthe relief of agricultural tenants, but in reality for the benefit of agricultural landlords. Thus were the landlords revenged for Sir William Harcourt's increase in the estate duties, and the urban voters rewarded for their loyalty to their masters at the 1895 elec- tion. Verily a setting back of the clock. There remains, however, consolation in the knowledge that it is only for a time, if the people can by any chance be made alive to their own interests. Chn the Landlords Shift the Tax? It is necessary here to refer to an important question, about which a curious controversy has raged, "Can the landlord shift a tax on land values back upon the tenant?" If he can, then wherein will the tenant be benefited by the pro- posed change? Adam Smith, Ricardo, Mill, Rog- ers, and in fact all the economists,' agree that a tax on rent stops where it falls. Says John Stuart Mill: "A tax on rent falls wholly on the landlord. There are no means by which he can shift the burden upon anyone else." This argu- ment always pre-supposes that other things remain unchanged. It is quite true that, generally speak- ing, a landlord gets as much for his land as he possibly can. He could not get more for it mere- ly because his household expenses had increased. Whether or not he can shift the tax will be de- termined solely by the way in which it is to be spent. If it be thrown into the sea, or spent on war, or employed for some new purpose, then the landlord cannot recoup himself. But if lie be em- ployed to get a corresponding remission of taxes which the occupier now pays, then the landlord will be able to sweep into his pocket as increased rent a part at least of the whole benefit which the tenant would otherwise wholly receive in reduced taxation. All authorities are agreed that land- lords gain in higher rent what the tenants ought to gain in lower taxation..It remains to be seen how far this tendency will be counterbalanced by the taxation of land values. Henry George in "Progress and Poverty," Book VI, chapter i, says: "A reduction in the amount taken from the aggregate produce of a community I by taxation would simply be equivalent to an increase in the power of net production. It would, in effect, add to the productive power of labour, just as do the increasing density of population and improvement in the arts. And as the advantage in the one case goes, and must go, to the owners of land in j increased rent, so would the advantage in the I other." At any rate, the experiment must be tried, as it would be a. valuable means of cutting down monopoly rents which now obtain because if land being withheld by rich sportsmen or specula- tors. And further, a tax upon land values is the ideal means of raising revenue for new public ex- penditure, thus at least preventing any further taxation of tenants. As a fiscal reform, therefore, I support it. But, both for its inefficiency as well as for its inequity, I am entirely opposed to the policy known as "taxing landlords out."
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FOOTBALL RECORDS FOR 1897-8.…
FOOTBALL RECORDS FOR 1897-8. MOUNTAIN ASH. It may be said that the past season was about the most complex one in the history of the Moun- tain Ash club, from the fact of two distinct series of play in the first and second halfs, and the old adage that "nothing succeeds like suceess," has been amply demonstrated hince the tidei has turned in favour of the only Rugby team in the Aberdare Valley. At the commencement of the season it was confidently anticipated that .there would be a lot of new blood to draw from for the front line, but the two practice matches did not reveal the talent which was deemed quite good enough to fill the few vacancies in the team. Bill Jones, who, without a doubt, is the finest association player full back in Wales, was given a trial as centre threequarter in place of Ned Jenkins, who had returned to Llanelly, but he was dropped after a few matches. On October 4th, the first of the Glamorgan League matches was played with Tre- orky. The Mount, men carried their unbroken record three weeks later, when Treherbert had to be faced without the services of W. Phillips, the half-back, who had migrated to Pontypridd. Hav- ing lost that match by 11 points to nothing, they suffered another defeat a week later by Pontypridd. The need of such men as Bradford, Hoskins, and Tanner was now very conclusive. A victory over Cinderford gave them some encouragement, but following this came three successive defeats, which nearly brought the whole show down. Players became disheartened, and still the committee went on experimenting-necessarily, in some cases. The continued changes caused no end of disorganisation, but, thanks to a combined effort by Mr Shipton (the secretary), Mr Ben Tiley, and a few others, one supreme attempt was made to get a good team to face Llwynpia away. That they succeeded no one will gainsay, for the match was only lost by the narrow margin of a penalty goal to nothing, much to the disappointment and surprise of the Llwynpia supporters. The goal kicked by Foster was certainly a deserving one, but on the day's form Mountain Ash had the better of the argument. Ferndale failed to get up a team on Christmas Day, and the Mount men were in consequence much out of form for the Leicester and North- ampton tour. In the first engagement they were beaten by nine points, and the following day by 19 points. Thus, the initial half of the season concluded with the team very low down, both in the League and club engagements, having played twenty games, won 10, lost nine, and one drawn, the aggregate points being 150 for and 119 against. They started the year with a 24 point victory over Bridgend, and continued with varying success up to February 5, when the return engagement with Llwynpia was due on the Mountain Ash ground. This provided a couple of pleasant sur- prises. The first and foremost—and one which was much appreciated by all persons-Iord, and Lady Aberdare were present, and watched the game with keen interest from a special enclosure in front of the press box. His lordship has been to the ground upon several occasions since, and the example which he set is bearing fruit in a creditable manner. The second surprise was that Llwynpia got beaten by sixteen points to eleven. The game was a distinctly hard fought one, Ben Tiley, the old war horse, putting in some brilliant play and tackling. The visitors leading at half- time by a goal and a try to a try, started another point, but thereafter no chance was given them to maintain their lead, for the fine play of Plumps and Llew -Deere, whose consistent play throughout the season must impartially have warranted recog- nition. Plymouth and Pontypridd fell under the excellent play of Millar and his men, but the visit to Aberavon cost a defeat of two tries, fol- lowed by another loss to Neath by a goal-kick only, Griffiths scoring the unconverted try for the Mount, right in the call of time. Winning I then at various points the team completed a re- I markable season. The discovery of Parry (Mer- thyr Vale) is likely to be a useful one. D. H. 1 Edmunds has the making of a good custodian, but for the dangerous habit of playing too long with the ball. Mat Price, Newport, rendered his old' club invaluable assistance during many games in I the season. Had the club settled down in the earlier part of the season to the same extent they have since Christmas the contest for the League I cup would have been considerably more exciting than it has been. Just before the end of the season Llew Deere went to Plymouth, and Millar (the captain) left for Devonport. The committee are to be complimented upon the financial position of the club, and, although at one period of the season it was rumoured that the new pits at Cwm. cynon would run through a great portion of the grounds, this has now been got over. It is, per- haps, proma-tore to think of the next season's pros- pects, but there is every indication to prove that Mountain Ash will play an important part in South Wales football. I Date Opponents. 1897 Result Where played Score Score for agst. o. T. P. o. T. P. Sept 11—Car.St.Paul'* W H 1 5 10 .1 0 4 „ 18-Nlpt Harriers W H 8 4 27 0 1 8 25-pontyclun W H 2 3 19 0 0 0 Oot. 2-Treorky W A 14 17 0 1 a „ 4 N'p't District D H *1 1 7 .1 1 7 9—Penygraig W H 02 6.1 04 16-Bridgend W A 01 3..000 „ 23—Treherbert L A 00 0.. 12 11 „ 30—Pontypridd L A 00 0 .,§2 1 11 Nov. 6—Devon. Albion L A 02 6 .1314 „ 13-Penygraig L A 01 3..019 ,,20-Aberavon L H 00 0.. 0 1 3 „ 27- Pontypridd W H 01 S.. 0 0 3 Dec. 4-Abercarn W A *11 7..000 „ 6 —Glam.Police W H 24 22 0 0 0 „ 11—Llwynypia L H 00 0.. *1 3 14 „ 18-Barry W A 02 6..000 „ 27 -Leicester L A 10 5.3 0 14 „ 28-Northampton L A 00 0 2 3 19 1898 Jan. I-Bridgend W H 15 20..013 ,,3-Mae.teg W H 1 6 23 .1 0 4 „ 8-UaneHy L A 00 0 1417 „ 15-Barry W A 12 11 0 1 3 II 22 -Pontymoile L A 00 0.013 „ 29-Neath L H01 3..105 Feb. 5-Llwynypia W H 2 2 16 1211 ,,7-Plymonth W H 23 16 000 „ 12-Pontypndd W A 2 1 13 0 1 3 „ 19—Aberavon L A 00 0..026 „ 26- Neath L A 01 S.. 1 0 5 Mar. 5-Treherbert W H f2 1 12 000 „ 12—Pontypridd W H 11 8.. 0 1 S „ 19—Plymouth L A 1 2 11 4 0 20 „ 2(f—Treorky W H 1 4 17 0 1 3 April 2- Pontymoile W H 24 22 0 1 3 ,,9-Cinderford L A 02 6.. 1 1 8 One dropped goal. § One penalty goal. t One field goal. Matches played, 36; won, 20, lost, 15; drawn, 1. Try-getters:—L. Deere, 19; Millar, 13; Phil- lips, 10; Griffiths, 9; Muxworthy, 5; J. Deere, 5; Hillman, 4; Tiley, 4; W. Jones, 3; Inns, 3; Parry, 3; Perrott, 3; Linton, 1; F. Jones, 1; Simmonds, 1; Harris, 1; Watkins, 1; J. Davies, 1; A. C. Davies, 1; Sage, 1; and Osborne, 1. Phillips converted 14 tries. Millar converted 5 triea. W. Jones converted 1 try and dropped 2 goals. rr-ii t n .L_ nuiman converted: tries. Tiley converted 2 tries. Harris dropped a goal from a mark. Andrews converted 1 try. Total scoring, 91 tries; 25 converted, 2 dropped goals, and 1 field goal.
EASTER VESTRIES. \-
EASTER VESTRIES. CAERPHILLY. The vestry was held on Thursday evening at St. Martin's Church, the Rev Daniel Lewis, R.D., the rector, presiding. The ^churchwarden (Mr Edwin Corbett) read a summary of the accounts for the year, showing a slight increase in the offertories. Mr Hicks and Mr Percy Powell were appointed auditors. The churchwarden (Mr Cor- bett) was re-elected, and the following gentlemen were elected sidesmen: For Caerphilly Church- Dr Maurice Evans, Dr Mackenzie, Messrs J. Powell Bayley, Savours, Hallett, Jones, Hicks, Davies, Downing, Shute, Ware, Lloyd, Evans, Page, and Beddoe; for Pwllpant Church—Messrs John Stu- art Corbett W. Corbett, Coxon, Bramble, Watts, Jones, Luff, Holbook, and Thomas.
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• In all Diseases, consult the eminent Specialist Dr Bridgwater, M.D., U.S.A., 18, Custom House Street, Cardiff, 11 to 4, and 7 to 9. [ Dr Bridgwater, M.D., U.S.A., 18, Custom House Street. Cardiff. Specialist in Chronic Nervous Diseases, Dyspepsia, and Fits.
------FOOTBALL. -
FOOTBALL. TltEORKY v. LLWYNPLV. This "friendly" match was played at Treorkr on Thursday last before a big crowd. The home- sters were strongly represented, and the visitors had a fair team. Mr T. Williams, Pontypridd offi. ciated as referee. Tom Lewis started operations for the homesters against the gradient. The visit- ors soon made up the attack and made a combined assault on the home goal, but were repulsed by D. C. Davies. Thomas, and M. L. James. Ihe home forwards then got away, and by means of a fine movement initiated by Jack Thomas, J. Evers, J. Thomas, and Alby play waged for awhile near the Llwynpia line, where some sharp tackling was p noticebale, Jones. Hellings. and Phillips., being prominent. The visitors again returned to the attack, and some fine passing was seen, Abe Lewis the last to receive, being magnificently collared by Lewis Lewis. Scrimmaging of a keen order follow- ed, and the home. half-backs, Jack Lewis and Tom Jones, exhibiting much cleverness in sending the ball out, with the result that the home three- quarters were as often on the move as their re- doubtable opponents. lestyn Thomas and Andrew Powell were next seen going away with a dribble and Ben. Phillips nearly scored, but M. L. James and Thomas tackled well. Back to the Llwynpia quarter interesting play again was seen, and the ball was continually sent out among the home backs, and Tom Jones, W. Thomas, and J. Lewis had hard lines in not crossing. Lemon time was now announced with no tangible score obtained by either side. Half-time score Treorky. 2 minors. Llwynpia, 1 minor. Hadridge restarted for Llwynpia, Jack Thomas replying with interest. Play immediately settled down near the Llwynpia 25, where the homesters at once started passing, but some fumbling lost ground, and, and James had to save. Davies and Lewis by a clever movement got to the line, where a keen fight waged, but ultimately Hellings relier- ed with a high kick. From the next scrimmage Llwynpia forwards came away with a magnificent burst, and rushed over, but M. L. James managed to kick out of bounds. The homesters were en- gaged on the defensive for a period after, the visiting backs being busily supplied from the front contingent, but the tackling was effective, and a combined rush by the home forwards neu- tralised matters, and left play near half-way, where some pretty play was witnessed on both sides, the game improving in interest. The home half-backs again demonstrated their superiority, and sent the ball out with unusual smartness to the left wing, but Lewis failed to take. D. C. Davies obtaining from a scramble put in a smart drop-kick and nearly landed a goal, only a minor z resulting, which was followed by two more. Hit- chings again raised the siege, but J. E. Jones punted to the centre, where a free was given to the homesters, and Alby Thomas, going away at top speed, upset Hellings, and all but scored. From the next scrummage the Treorky forwards wheeiled away, and in a trice Teddy Jones scored for Treorky amidst tremendous cheering, T. Jones failing to negotiate. With the reverse Llwynpia pia soon bucked up, but had hardly time to reach the half-way line before the whistle sounded, leaving Treorky the victors after a hard and interesting struggle. Treorky: 1 try, 4 minors. Llwynpia, 2 minors. NEATH v. PONTYPRIDD. The return and last match of the season between Neath and Pontypridd was played in fine spring- like weather on the ground of the latter in the presence of a good crowd. When the teams met a few weeks since at Neath the homesters won by 14 points to 9, Pontypridd on that occasion being poorly represented. Neath won the toss and elected to play from the Treforest end. Reynolds kicked off, and Rees failing to return made matters look momentarily ugly for the homesters. Roberts, however, brought relief with a brilliant dribble to midfield, and just as the same player was getting up to the ball Joe Davies put in a saving kick to touch. The home forwards after the throw-out forced matters and dribbled across, a minor being conceded not an in- stant too soon. Another resulted almost immed- iately after from a kick by J. E. Jones. The t Neath men were pressed for a time, but just as they were breaking away Roberts kicked effectively to touch. The packs now had a hard tussle near the visitors' quarter-flag, and C. Powell made a good effort to get away. Several exchanges, and a fine kick by Joe Davies resulted in play being taken back to the Neath 25, owing to Roberts be in gcollared by a forward who was offside. The game was finely contested, each side playing with any amount of dash. The homesters made strenuous efforts to break through but failed, the defence being superb. It looked once, however, as if the homesters would score, after a creditable bout of passing, and when Roberts, a moment later, was seen dashing down the street in a clever zig-zag fashion it was felt that a try was inevitable. Joe Davies managed, however, to pull him down, and after a sharp struggle the Neathites cleared their line. T. Davies figuring promiently in a dribble. The next incident of note was a fine burst by C. Powell whicA changed the venue almost for the first time to home quar- ters. The visiting halves initiated what proved an ineffective display of passing by the quartette, Jack Davies being given a wild pass when going at top speed. This lost some ground, but it was soon regained by a fine kick of Joe Davies's. The visit- ing backs were soon set going, but the tackling was too keen to become dangerous. It was then the turn of the home forwards to shine, but a forward throw spoilt the effort, and 0. Harris was conspicuous in a rush back to home quarters, where C. Powell again got off in rare style, being pulled" off by Jones a few inches off th eline. The homesters were for a time penned. Loose play in the centre ended in Jones failing to return a. k:ck. Walt Davies and himself did their best to stave off imminent disaster, and had not Handford, who 1 u i had got up the line, knocked on just before Har- ris picked up and crossed, the latter would have secured a try. Neath were still pressing when half-time was called. Half-ti mescore Pontypridd, 2 minors Neath, nil. Whitehead restarted, and following the return Roberts found touch by the Neath quarter flag. The visitors infusing redoubled energy into their play, got to the home lines and assumed aggressive tactics. Jack Davies once got clear away, and had he passed the leather to W. Jones instead of selfishly hugging it a try would have been inevit- ably scored. Iestm Thomas brought relief after the first serum and kicked to midfield. where Walt Thomas collared Jack Davies before the latter could get away. Offside tactics caused play to be sent bac kto home quarters, where the visiting halves invariably got the ball from the scrums and threw it out. much to the bewilderment of the homesters. Powell and Handford were in fine ag- a IV gressive form, and the game assumed a lively character in the home quarters, where Pontypridd pri were playing against the sun. A change was brought about by the home forwards, who rushed the game and collared Joe Davies in his own 25. The Neath forwards carried the next serum in rare style, and sent the leather to midfield, where J. E. Jones found touch. The visitors' forwards again showed their superiority and trav- elled close to the line, where a stiff contest was witnessed. The visitors were slowly driven back, and the home halves eventually changed the venue to midfield. Here C. Powell got off very trickily, and looked dangerous until Roberts brought him down by the quarter flag. This was followed by a forward rush and a fine individual effort by Roberts, who dribbled with rare judgment to the home 25. where he kicked into Joe Daviea's hands. The full back returned with interest to J. E. Jones, whose smartness in getting out of the hands of several opponents elicited much cheering. The same player again shone with a well-judged I kick, and P.C. Rees came prominent in the next rush to the Neath quarters. I Final score Pontypridd, 2 minors; Neath. nil. The game. which was keenly contested, was very interesting and well worth witnessing. Both sides pressed very frequently. Neath more than once had hard lines in not scoring. The draw fairly represents the respective merits of the sides, although Neath certainly held a slight advantage. The halves were particularly smart, and repeatedly put the back line in motion, but the defence of the homesters proved too strong for Neath. Harries and Roberts for Pontypridd, of the backs, did creditably, but Jack Davies was too closely watch- ed by Walter Davies to become dangerous. Both full backs were in rare fettle, and while Joe Daview played up to his high reputation, J. E. Jonee suffered very little in comparison. The game was played in beautiful weather, and was one of the best seen on the ground during this season.
THE "LABOUR GAZETTE." -
THE "LABOUR GAZETTE." The "Labour Gazette" for April contains an article on "Coal Mining in 1897," based on an advance proof supplied by the Home Office. It appears from this that in 1897 the output from mines under the Coal Mines Regulation Act was 202,119,196 tons of coal, and 13.025,829 tons of other minerals, chiefly fireclay, ironstone, and oil shale. These figures, when compared to tnise of the previous year, showed an increase of 26,767,245 tons of coal, and a decrease of 126,088 tons of other minerals. This is the first time on record in which the production of coal has reached so high a total as 200,000,000 tons in one year. The number of persons employed in or about the mines covered by the Act is returned as 695,213, of Which 558,305 were underground workers and 136.908 on the surface. For 1896 the number below ground was given as 557,026 and above ground as 135,658. In 1897 the coal raised extended that of 1896 by 3.5 per cent., while the numbers employed had increased by less than one-half per cent. As com- pared with 1887, however, the numbers employed have increased faster than the production. The district which has made the greatest pro- portionate advance, both in output and numbers employed during the last ten years in South Wales and Monmouthshire, the coal raised having in- creased faster than the production.
AFTER AN ATTACK. -
AFTER AN ATTACK. By eommon consent patients everywhere admit tha, they feel more depressed and miserable after au attack of Influenza than while under its in. fluence, and more than they feel after an attack of aiv' other illness. There is a want of "Go," a lack of cheerfulness, depression of sprits, fee ing of misery and helplessness, and such despondency as ft be almost unbearable, the slightest exert on is fatiguing, what was considered a pleasure is a toil, the appetite had entirely gone, and to sum up "Life is a burden" to those who have not hither to experieneed for one day in their lives such feel- ings of misery and helplessness. The best way to banish these miserable feelings is to take nourish- ing food, and moderate exercie. to avoid solitude, and mix in cheerful company, and to take Gwil- ym Evans' Quinine Bitters. We can strongly and confidently recommend this preparation, as it has treated severe cases of influenza, extreme Weakness and Langour, with greater success than any other known remedy. A few doses taken in tim* will drive away the sense of extreme help- lessness and fee1 ing of misery pnd weakness which afflicts patients after a severe attack. Gwilym Kvais' Quinine Bitters is sold ia bottles, 2s 9d and 4i 6a each. Beware of Imitations. See the name 'Gwilym Evans" on Label, Stamp, and Bottle. Sole proprietors: Quinine Bitters Manufacturing Company, Limited, Llanelly, South Wales.