The Montgomeryshire Express and Radnor Times

j$irif)s, Carriages, IJeatfys. I DEATHS. POWICLL.-Docember 19th, Pryce Powell, late of Dolfor Lock, Newtown, aged 82 years.

NEWTOWN MONUMENTAL WORKS ——- GEO. H. BUTT & Co., MONUMENTAL SCULPTORS. AU kinds of Marble, Granite, Slate, and Stone Work executed in best style at moderate prioea. INSCRIPTIONS CUT AND MEMORIALS RENOVATED. A Choioe Selection of Wreaths in stock.

I AN EPISTOLARY DUEL r BETWEEN SIR J. D. REES AND MR. HEMMERDE. ECHOES OF NEWTOWN AND WELSH- POOL MEETINGS. Sir J. D. Rees, writing to 'The Times,' says: Mr Lloyd George is reported to have said at Machynlleth that "at the last election he went through Montgomerysire to say a word in support of the Liberal candidate, i- u Rees, who got a majority of 14 which was as much as he deserved." I was and am unaware that Mr Lloyd George I made any tour through Montgomeryshire on my account, and I am very certain that he was not asked by myself or by any one on my behalf, with my consent or know- ledge, to be at such pains. His arrival was announced to speak at what was described as a joint meeting in support of the can- didates for the county and boroughs," and ll1S, ^mmon knowledge in the constituency that this announcement embarrassed me I exceedingly, and that I was with great diffi- I culty persuaded, at the urgent instance of ieaderS' to aM>ear "P™ his platform. I had no communication of any excent1 r6gard to his except to place upon the desk from which he spoke a little note presenting my com- pliments, and begging that he would be so good u as to unsay what he could of his Limehouse speech, to which moderate men, objection. l0°ked for SUpp0tt' took T wLW ^e°rge in 1906> at which time anrl of his manners and his methods, did not assist me in any way, and I regarded, and still regard, his arrival in 1910, when my majority fell to one-sixth of its former figure, as intended to help my very powerful, and may I add, very estimable, colleague, Mr David Davies, who was then for the first time opposed in the county, and in the band of whose as- siduous adulators Mr Lloyd George beats j the big drum. Since I have become acquainted with the gift for fine invective which distinguishes I the Chancellor of the Exchequer to a de- I gree hardly inferior to that possessed by the late Mr Jack Spraggon, I have, so far from desiring his support, regarded his presence among the Liberals as enough to drive moderate men out of the party, and it is a source of satisfaction to me that I am in no way politically connected with him in this election, in which the real issue, Home Rule (in order to obtain which our existing Constitution is to be destroyed), is sedulously suppressed in Montgomeryshire as it is elsewhere, in- order that an unwary, weary, and uninstructed electorate may be rushed into an irreparable and disastrous action. MR. HEMMERDE'S REPLY. This letter is answered by Mr E. G. Hemmerde, K.C., in Saturday's 'Times,' as follows:— The political methods of Sir J. D. Rees are fortunately rather uncommon in this country. As one who knows something about them, I should like to say a word in answer to his attack on Mr Lloyd George. T1 e insinuates that the presence of M;r Lloyd George on his platform at the last election was a source of embarrassment to him, and that he would have much Pre- ferred to fight his own battle in his own way. I gather, too, that his chief ground of complaint against Mr Lloyd George is the latter's advocacy of land reform, and that he objects not only to tha methods of that advocacy, but to the principles which it defends. n It happens that Mr Lloyd George was compelled by other engagements to make only a brief speech at Newtown on the oc- casion in question. On this account I journeyed from my own constituency at the express request of Sir J. D. Rees to speak aner Mr Lloyd George had left. I not only spoke, but, at the request of bir J p. Rees and his agent, I devoted al- TniLr* W? a,l0ng sPe«* t0 an ex- amination of the land clauses of the Budget I am not generally regarded as a very mild supporter; of the taxation of land values, Sill Partl™larly gratified when, after rrwCfciHg a speech of unqualified support of r?%P?T £ le'J was' 80 far f™m being re? pudiated by Sir J. D. Rees, begged by him &.J3T fnd address a special meeting at Welshpool upon the same subiect. T 1- _"J T n T> a experience in 1905. Sir «nJair- S i lnvited me to assist him by speaking at Montgomery and Welshpool, and he asked me to speak mainly upon Chinese labour, a subject upon which he • ,ea me speak, and upon which he had heard me speak, and upon which he Sig. aSS"rCd mc 116 ♦ha+C°M?life^ Wjth his recluest > he told me friends were delighted with mv visit an tned t0 arran?e for another Imagine my surprise when, after Sir J. p. Kees got into the House in 1906, I found 38 ?ni? iust man who had never weapon 38 an electioneering The fact of the matter is that Sir J. D. Kee» has never scrupled to use the aid of the advanced wing of our party when it hi-' book and then to don^ them to the so-called moderates when he has wished to conciliate the latter. I congratulate the Tory party upon their great capture. Sir J. D. Rees will have no difficulty in applying his own peculiar methods when he offer, up his late Free Trade principles upon the altar of Tariff Reform. The elasticity of his political prin- ciples, which left him almost isolated upon ie Liberal ride of the House, should stand him in good stead among his new friends. SIR JOHN'S LAST SHOT. Sir J. D. Rees continues the correspond- ence:- Mr Hemmerde, fresh from his own de- feat at Portsmouth, appears to be con- vinced that he, who spoke at the election of 1906, and he and Mr Lloyd George, who spoke in 1910, dragged my all unworthy self by the heels into Parliament. Mr Hem- merde's speeches have not. so far as I know, been published in book form, at least, I have never seen a copy, and I am afraid I have no knowledge of his particular brand of politics but while I can and do thank him kindly for anything he said and did, I am content to appeal to the logic of facts Sir Pryce and Colonel Pryce-Jones,, father and son, held the Montgomery Bor- oughs for the Conservative for over twenty years. I took them away in 1906' without, any help from Mr Lloyd George or any Socialist, Radical, or revolutionary lumin- [try, and held them with a reduced majority in 1910, notwithstanding a speech by Mr George on behalf of Mr David Davies, and. I must suppose, accepting as I readily do, and with thanks, his statement to that effect, of myself. Upon my resignation, the seat has at once reverted to the Union- ists, though Mr Lloyd George delivered characteristic ovations in at least two of the six towns, though other Ministers and Radical members took part in the fray, and though the most powerful Liberal in Wales put his bottom dollar-quite the right coin, by the way, at the moment-on the third Radical candidate, who has unsuccessfully endeavoured to do that which I, as a mod- erate Liberal, twice accomplished. The fact is, the electors of the Montgomery Boroughs are remarkably shrewd men. They can spot, at sikht a demagogue, an agitator, or a pro- fessional politician, and will have none of the breed.

Rev. J. Hugh Edwards, M.P. WHAT HANOVER CHAPEL THINKS OF HIS TRIUMPH. The South London Press says:— The congregation of Hanover Chapel, Peckham, is again agitated. As we have already announced, the Rev J. Hugh /Edwards has been elected Member of Par- liament for Mid-Glamorgan. It will be no breach of confidence for us to state that before entertaining any definite id3a of standing for a constituency Mr Edwards consulted certain leaders in his church, who not only approved, but pro- mised support. Indeed, one member, Mr Buckland, the secretary, actually wrote him a letter strongly commending his candida- ture, and this was circulated in Mid-Glamor- gan for electoral purposes. The electon of Mr Edwards as M.P. has, however, caused considerable perturbation among a section of the congregation, and this, in the present transitory state of the historic Hanover Chapel, is distinctly to be deplored. Mr Edwards, who, as the bosom friend of Mr Lloyd George, must be reckoned with, has expressed his desire to remain as pastor, at any rate until a new chapel has been erected, and the congregation, which will meet early in the year to consider the situa- tion, will be well advised if they ask Mr Edwards to continue his ministrations with them.

Pauperism in North Wales. DECREASE IN NUMBER-INCREASE IN COST. The annual return of Mr H. R. Williams, the Local Government Board Poor Law Inspector for Wales, for this year has just been issued, and shows that while there is a decrease in the number of both in-door and out-door paupers, there is an increase in the cost of maintenance. The population is given according to the last census in the six North Wales counties at 487,055. The total number of paupers receiving relief in March last was 15,025, as compared with a total number of 15,921 on the same date in 1906, being a decrease of 896. The cost of maintenance was £ 121,897, an increase of zE7,029 upon that of 1906. The percentage of pauperism on the population this year is py.en at 3*^ and the cost per head of popu- lation for maintenance was 5s. Forden Un;on, in Montgomeryshire, stands first on the list as having the lowest percentage of pauperism to the population, namely, 2.0. Conway, Crughywel, Hawarden, and Llan- fyllin stand bracketed fifth with a percent- age of 2.4, and Anglesey is last but one with a percentage of 4.2. The total. number of paupers in the whole of Wales and Mon- mouth is given at 60,917, as against 59,987 tor the year 1906, an increase of 930. The cost of maintenance in 1910 was Z474,939, whilst te cost in 1906 was less by 954,728.

The County's Contribution to the Potteries Railway. At the County Council, on Monday, Mr E. H. Roberts proposed that the Council advance the sum of Z800 to the Shrop- shire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway by way of loan to be secured by the issue of prior charges and debenture stock, at 4! per cent. interest, and repayable in forty similar proposal to advance £ l,j00, Mr Roberts reminded the Council, was made by Lord Powis some months ago, but it was rejected, mainly because it was not then proposed to re-open the Criggion branch of the line. It was now proposed to do that, and it would prove of great benefit to the county. The line would soon be fit for traffic, and would be a great boon to the farmers, and they hoped it would encourage them to come to markets in Montgomeryshire instead of going to. Shrewsbury. Mr A. Vaughan seconded the motion, and said the re-opening of the line would save the County Council a great deal in the haulage of stone and in road mainten- ance. Mr Perrott supported the motion, and said the line would benefit the northern portion of the county, as it would connect with the Llanfyllin and Tanat Valley lines. A great deal of stone was brought down from Llangynog and Nantmawr, and the line would facilitate its transit to the Mid- lands, as arrangements were being made for mineral traffic to go straight through to Shrewsbury general station. Mr John Rees said he did not agree that the line would benefit the northern portion of the county There was only a short dis- tance of the line in the county, and pas- sengers would not be taken to Shrewsbury general station. They advanced money to other lines that did not pay. He proposed as an amendment that they advance E5006 only. Mr E. Parry seconded the amendment. On a division the motion was carried. Printed and published by WILLIAM PVOX PHILLIPS andOxunx Monro* Proxm (trading as PHILLIPS & SON), at thai* Qgc.. 81. Priftto. iiArSu