Pioneer

Letters from Norway. I By the REV. J. DAVIES. Rector of I Vaynor. If. I July 3, 1914. We have seen the Midnight Sun! Under the most perfect and ideal con- ditions. we witnessed this sublime na- tural sight, which I, personally, had wished to see for many years. We were in the Vaags Fjord, somewhere among the Lafoden Islands, in latitude 68—51. north, longitude 16-4, slowly steaming over a glassy sea, illuminated with the rosy hues that can only be seen to perfection in the .1"ar North. The sun was shining with dazzling splendour casting its bright shadow on the calm waters, without. a. cloud to hide its brilliancy, though there were several small ones around it, only add- ing beauty to the glorious view. All assembled on the fore part of the ship, where we were photographed in two groups at half-past eleven. Then we patiently but excitedly waited for the grand spectacle. At midnight a shot was fired; then" eidlt. bells" WILS rung out. Snap! snap! snap! went the Kodaks all round, and we all burst out singing the Doxology. led by my friend, a Rector from Norfolk, to give vent to our pent-up thankful feelings. The captain, who had been very anxious that we should see the wonderful sight as perfectly as possible, said that on no cruise had they been favoured with a better view. The air was balmy, the sea. was (-aim, and the light so clear and wonderful, that we stayed on deck a long time after the sun had disap- peared the difficulty was to make up our minds to leave the scene and retire to our berths. To descend from the sublime to the ridiculous, invited by two Australian gentlemen, a couple of friends went with them to the smoke room of the "Arcadian," and celebrated the occa- sion with a whiff of something stronger than sea breeze so it was nearly 1 o'clock ere they retired! On Sunday evening, July 5, we reach- ed the great climax of our expedition- the North Cape, with its mighty cliff to climb-our" ultima thule." or the extreme end of our voyage: the end of the world, as it were, because higher up towards the North Pole it is all frozen sea—the land of icebergs! We landed about 10 in the evening, and commenced the climb, which is of a highly dangerous character, ropes be- ing fixed in many parts of it to take hold of. The cliff rises direct from the sea. and in many parts is quite perpendicular. The height is 968 ft. We had landed—about 300 of us in all —in steam launches from the ship; and in due course we struggled up the steep ascent, being representatives of Nor- way, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England. Scotland. Wales; also Austra- lia. the United States, South Africa, etc-. We reached the top of the cliff by about 11.30. The summit is crown- ed by a granite obelisk, erected in com- memoration of its ascent by King Os- ca.r II. in 1873. Away in front of us lay the Arctic Ocean, and the view from the top edge of all exten d s to- wards the North. The Midnight Sun was seen by us about 12 o'clock, though we had seen it twice before. The descent was painfully steep, and more trying than the ascent, but we reached the steamer by 1 o'clock Sunday night —when it was not dark, but as light as day! We had had the satisfaction of feeling that our expedition had been a great success. It is undoubtedly one of the spots which impress themselves on the memory and become the happi- est experiences of life. I hope I may not be thought ntin when I say that the few brief particu- lars of my most interesting tour al- ready published in the PIONEEJR are only just a few drops in the sea of my lab- ours in gathering information as I travelled along, and picking brains. However, later on. when I shall have had the pleasure and privilege of tell- ing my own dear parishioners at Vay- nor and Cefn the storv of my pilgrim- age this time again. I shall be only too pleased to send a few further letters for kind insertion, giving detailed ac- counts of what I saw and learnt at the Cape. and a number of other places of extre interest, I close this with the following simple rhyme: To the Xorth Cape we came, That sight of wondrous fame; Mighty cliff that rears its head! Hut. oh 'Tis pretty hard to tread; But nothing daunted by its height. We scaled the cliff with all our might. 'Mid cloud and fog, up, -til), we went. Until our strength was well-nigh spent. But ample was our great reward, For there the sun was seen sea-ward. It was the Avitehing hour of nignt. But all around was spread with light." (To HE CONTINUED)

Local Registration Fees. MOST LUCRATIVE." I Alluding to three separate items, am- ounting to £ '91 12s. 7d., in the accounts for the payment of registration fees, Mr. T. T. Jenkins asked the Clerk for an explanation at the meeting of the Merthyr Board of Guardians on Satur- day. Coun. Chas. Fenwick presiding. Mr. F. T. James (Clerk) said that the registrars made their declarations, and five per cent. was paid on them by the Board. He was not quite sure whether there was a statutory right alloAving the emoluments to be laid on the ta- ble. The registrars had to make the declarations, for which the Board paid these fees. Mr. S. Davies insisted that the am- ounts of the emoluments should be laid on the table. He thought that. every- thing considered, the salaries were the most lucrative under the Board. The Cleric promised to endeavour to get the quarter's figures by the next meeting.

Family Life at Merthyr. I CHILDREN IN THE WORKHOUSE. FATHER SENT TO PRISON. I Cornelius Coffey, Merthyr, Avas sum- moned at the Merthyr Police Court, on Tuesday, to show cause why lie ShIld not be sent to prison for not obeying an order of the Court in respect of the payment of a sum of £14 2s.. ar- rears for the maintenance of his wife and children at the Merthyr Union. Mr. Ll. Richards (warrant officer) said that defendant's weekly earnings 't vera,-ed tl. 9s. He was working for the Corporation on the piping at Tor- pantau. The children were still in the Workhouse. In reply to Mr. R. A. Griffith (Depu- ty-Stipendiary), Chief Constable Wilson said that defendant was capable of earning good money, but was often un- der t,he influence of drink when he should have been working. Defendant was sent to prison for one month.

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Sanatorium Visitors. "AN INSULT TO MEMBERS." I Councillor Charles Fenwick presided at the u-sti-ti fortnightly meeting of the Merthyr Board of Guardians on Satur- day last. Hudlng to a recent resolution of the Board. Mr. Harry Evans inquired if the matter of allowing the public to visit the Pontsarn Sanatorium on cer- tain half-days in August, had been considered, according to a resolution previously passed at the Board meet- ing. The Chairman explained that the mretter had not been discussed at the Sanatorium Committee, as it was not on the agenda. Mr. Harry Evans I think it is an insult to members that this matter was not brought forward at the last meet- ing of the Sanatorium Committee. It was the Clerk's duty to have seen that it was Tbrought forward at the meeting, as we resolved at the Board meeting. Mr. F. T. James (Clerk): I take all the responsibility, but I hope that Mr. Evans does not mean that it was pur- posely left. out. Mr. T. T. Jenkins: It is very unfor- tunate. This Board decided on the principle of allowing the general public to be admitted to the Sanatorium on specified half-days. Now the Sana- torium Committees does not meet for three or four Aveeks, and the summer weather will possibly have gone. Her. LI. M. Williams (Rector of Dow] a is) But we can have a special meeting. It Avas decided that the matter he considered at a special meeting, and a report brought forward. Trade Union Rate. I The following letter was read from the Aberdare Electrical Co., ivlit) are carrying out tlw electrical installation at the Aberdare Training Sc!hools We beg to inform you that all our men employed on this job are receiving the Trade Union rate of the district. No doubt members of the Guardians have been misinformed."

ABOVE MARKET VALUE. I Lady Customer (pleasantly): "I hear you are getting married to-day, Mr. Ribbs? Mr. Ribbs, the local butcher (doubt- fully) Well. I dunno so much about congratulations, mum. It's costing me a pretty penny, I can tell you. Mrs. Ribbs as is to be. what with her trousseau, you know, an' the furnish- ing. an' the licence, an' the parson's fees, an' then I 'ave to give 'er and 'er sister a. piece of jewellers each, and wot with one thing an' another she's a woman, as you know, mum, thirteen stun odd, an' I reckon she'll cost me best part o' 2/11 a pound before I get her 'ome

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Life and Progress in New Zealand. By JAMES VAUGHAN, Merthyr. I IV. I New Zealand is absolutely democ.ra- tic, no matter what party may happen to be in power. Blessed with the price- less gift of freedom and the free condi- tions in and under which the people live out there, they are masters of their own destiny. And although iso- lated in the South Pacific, they have tendered the world's advance by once and for evel: sweeping away the oppres- sive thraldom of class distinction and class legislation. The people of New Zealand have made up their minds that neither a landed aristocracy nor a House of Lords shall ever rule in that country. Liberty. I All the advanced legislation which has been passed by the New Zealand Parliament has emanated from the spirit of liberty; and wherever there is liberty, there is also prosperity, for liberty is an essential condition for progressiA-e mankind. She is to the social system what the sun is to the so- lar system the supporter of all growth and the supplier of all motion. It was some of the liberty-loving sons and daughters of England, Ireland and Scotland who were instrumental in es- tablishing free institutions and respon- sible goAernment in New Zealand. Dri- ven away from the land of their birth by adverse circumstances and often by oppressive laws, they found an equality of opportunity in their new environ- men under the Southern Cross, where no landlords could rob them of the fruits of their labour, and where they did not have to cringe or crawl to anyone for the privilege of earning an honest livelihood, because they were able to avail themselves of the sponta- neoug offerings of Nature and had the absolute control of the raw material and all the passive factors of produc- tion, without which labour could nei- ther produce nor exist. A Poor Man's Country." I New Zealand is essentially a poor man's country, or to put it in this way anyone going out there with capital in i(r h interest woti l (.l tho hope of getting high interest would find that lie would be sorely disappoint- ed. Capitol is always good in itself, but as it is the product of labour, it cannot, therefore, be invested to ad- vantage without the employment of la- bour; and in any country where the people have not lost their natural l ights, labour is as good as capital. One may go out to New Zealand in the hope of getting high interest through the unearned increment, but no land can be purchased for such a purpose ex- cept from private individuals. The rights of property and individual rights are protected by law. and the State cannot interfere with the right of pri- vate contract. provided it involves no wrong to others. Anyone may sell his property to whomsever he likes. but if any private property in land is held for speculative purposes, the owner of that property must pay rates and taxes to such an extent that unless he is backed up by some hanking ring or combine, he "must either improve and profitably work that property, or give it up altogether, for the State has its functions, and no one can evade them except by leaving tbe country. Sleepers and Fence Posts. I Except in the cities and large towns in New ZeaJand, labour is not necessa- rily dependent on capital for employ- ment. If the labourer has health and strength. and is not afraid to rough it, he can always find remunerative em- ployment and still be his own master, provided he goes to the country. Fencing materials, railway sleepers, and shingles for the roofing of dwelling- houses are in great demand. I have known men who were earning t3 a week making sleepers andfenoo posts. Thü sleepers must be made of sound "totara" or puriri" timber, and this i,s how they are made in the bush. The trees are felled wfith a cross-cut saw, and then cross-cut into 7ft. lengths, and if the logs are over 5ft. in diame- ter, an auger-hole is bored right into ter, hf?rt of the timber. The log is then burst into halves, with a charge of blasting powder. The timber is next split into flitches with a iiiawl and iron wedges, and the squaring is then done with the broad-axe. A sleeper must not be less than 7ft. long, Sin. wide, and 5in. thick. If the sloopers are ta- ken from a State forest, the royalty is 4d. per sleeper, and the price wliich the Government pays for railway sleep- e,r,g is 3/6 each, or i.17 10s. per 100. Bush-Whacking. I Anyone haA-ing no money to get tools and provisions and other things neces- sary to start work of this kind can get three months' credit from any store-keeper in the district, and if he pays his store hills promptly, he can get unlimited credit after lie is known to be an honest man. It would be hard to give anything like a correct ide-a of the time it takes one man to make 100 sleepers, as some timber is a bit hard to split up. But taking the good with the bad, the average is ab- out four every day. Fence posts are uually 6ft. 6in. in length, and may be split into any shape, and if the tree is down and cross-cut anv one can split about 100 in a day. The price is 18/- per 100 at the stump, or 40/- if de- livered to the buyer. Anyone in- tending to start bush-whacking on his own hook would require for a start a tent and one pair of blankets, lOOlbs. of flour and 06Iks. of sugar, a camp oyen, in which he can bake his bread and cook his meat and a billy-can to make his tea in. He will also require a cross-cut saw and one set of iron or steel wedges, and a maw], a. broad-axe, a.n auger, and some blasting powder and fuse. The cost of these things from an up-country store in New Zea- land is about t6 iOs. There are many ways that a working- man can earn a good living in the country without being subordinate to anyone. Indeed, I have known school- masters and postmasters in New Zea- land, who were in receipt of good sala- ries, give up their situations for the sake of the free and semi-wild life in the bush. They had to live rough and work hard at the start. But af- ter a little time. they were able to take things easy and live comfortably. The chances of success are greatly in fav- our of those that are not afraid to turn to anything," but in every sphere of ex- istence, and under everv circumstances, there are ups and downs successes and failures, and matters of accident inci- dental to the vicissitudes of life.

SWINDLED HIMSELF. Old Mac was a miser. liring in a miserable garret and existing almost entirely on porridge. This he allowed to get sour so that he might not eat too much of it at once. One day, on examining his larder, he found the porridge to be so mouldy and unappetising that even he turned away from it in disgust. Taking a bottle of whisky from his cupboard he poured out a glassful, saying: If you eat the porridge you shall have this." Then, after gulping the porridge down to the last spoonful, he rose quietly and poured the whisky back quietl bo?tte. Ha, ha he chuckled, as he placed it carefully back in the cupboard; "I did you there! and smiling gleefully, he shook his hand at the locked door.

Merthyr Council and Direct Labour. SOME HARD FACTS. In view of the growing demand in the borough for the scavenging and other works to be done by direct labour, and the opposition of the reactionary element on the Council, the following testimony by Mr. Andrew Fisher, Pre- mier of Australia, is interesting. Mr. Fisher ennumerates the advantages of direct labour, as foll-ows (1) Direct labour saves in cost of construction by doing the work direct -n-i-thout the intervention of the middle-man thus saving the use of his capital, his time, and his profit. (2) It haves waste or loss on plant beyond mere wear and tear. (3) It sa.ves in cost of management. aud supervision. (4) It saves in cost of pre pa ration of contract specifications, plans, drawings, etc. (5) It save." extras and concessions invariably to be allowed under contract system. (6) It ensures work of a desired or known quality without slumming or concealment of defects. The toIloAving is a comparison or the cost per mile of railway construction by contract and direct labour respectively Contract. Charlton-Wycheproof £.3,229- Niiiiiii othalia. 3,694 Horsham-Dimboola 3,114 Horsham-Noradjuha 4.014 Direct Labour. Wyeheproof-Sea Lake £1,459-" Nathalia-Picola 1.904 Dimboola-Jeparit 1.532 Natimuk-Goroke 2,065 in New South Wales direct labour was instituted in the postal service in 1895. Telephone tunnelling contracted for in 1887-1895 cost f,3 9s. 2d. per foot. Similar tunneling done by day bour in 1895-1897 cost £2 9s. 7d. per foot, a saving of 33 per cent. The railways in New South Wales, made under contract between 1897 and 1913 cost £4 19s. 8d. per foot. In the same period the railways in that State constructed by day labour cost £ 3,222 per mile, a saving of 23 per cent. The figures available for Quensland show that between 1881 and 1893 rail- way a were constructed under contract at a cost of £ 4,796 per mile, whereaa from 1900 to 1911 when those made were by direct labour, the cost was | £ 2,983 per mile, a saving of 37 per i P.,  r, cent. But, further than that, in [ Queensland the maintenance for direct, labour lines was only half that for con- tract lines. In 1910, at Ballarat. telephone con- duits were constructed by direct labour for I:S(X) less than lowest private ten- der.—Arbitration Court evidence, March. 1914. In 1913, ior New South Wales public school buildings, direct labour tenders, in all cases were lower than those of private contractors. Direct labour se- cured the contracts, and completed the works within its own nriee — a thing that contractors seldom did. For in- stance, between 1882 and 1892 ten- ders were accepted for £ 1,293,825. Those contractors made additional claims amounting to 4:416,594, in re- spect of which arbitrators awarded t.lwmtlll,91a. In addition the de- partment had to meet jE30,000 expenses in contesting the claims.

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