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ALfj RIGHTS RESERVED.1 -TM-FLAMBARDSI…
ALfj RIGHTS RESERVED. 1 -TM- FLAMBARDSI MYSTERY. BY SIR WM. MAGNAY, Bart. Author of The Heiress of the Season," The Red Chancellor," The Master Spirit,- etc. I CHAPTER XXII. Jurby's Expedient. U Luckily for you-for you might easily, as well as your friend, Mr. Crofton, have been at this moment awaiting a coroner's inquest—I happened late yesterday after- noon to be keeping observation on Morn- ingford-place and its inmates. I had got all the eviJence I wanted against them'l but it was desirable that we should, if possible, take no decisive step down here until Richards—or, as he has called him- self, Fitz-Kichard—had been run down and arrested in London. I had an idea that you, Mr. Gelston, were still on the premises, and there were in my mind strong reasons for suspecting that foul play might be resorted to. As a matter of fact, though it was. perhaps, not likely to occur to you, Jurby had cau-se to be- lieve you were in a position to give some very damning evidence against him." I?" Gelston exclaimed in surprise. Then in a-f1ash of enlightenment he added. "He was never the man I saw through the wi n d ow at Flambards?" "We won't be too sure about that," Holt replied with an enigmatical smile. Anyhow, Jurby seem-s to have held serious doubts on the subject, which ac- counts for the attention he has paid you latelr. He is no fool, and he has taken care to keep you within striking distance. Well, to return to what happened last evening. I had a chillir post of observa- tion among the bushes commanding the front of the house, but presently my patience was rewarded when the front door opened and Jurby appeared, half dragging, half carrying you out of the house. I must tell you, what Mr. Crofton will have already discovered, that Jurby is not by twenty years as old he has all along down here r>refended to be. With a little powder worked into his hair and a light framework or some such contrivance under his big-cnl clothes, he has presented the appearance of a. pleasant, easy-going, middle aged man. He is really not more than i'ortv. muscular and active; his rather full face lends itself to the decep- tion he has been practising. One does not easily suspect a man of that habit of body to a calling where physical activity is i-eqaisito- It was consequently no difficult matter for Jurby to convey your dead weight out into the garden and to a spot some fifty yards from the door. where he laid you on the ground and went back in the direc- tion of the stables. Naturally my first thought was that you were a dead man. and that Jurby was now going to depose of your body in some way, possibly by burying in the gar- den. Not a pleasant idea to contemplate, even on this fine morning; still, knowing my man. it was by no means far-fetched. To my great relief, however-for if. atl rather anticipated, the worst had happened, I should never have forgiven myself for not warning you—when, taking advantage of Jurby's departure, I crept nti to where you lay, and felt your pulse, I found that you had been drugged. I was then faced by the critical prob- lem as to what line of action I should take, since it wkg quite obvious Jurby would be returning to finish his foul work. Should I get you away from the place, or should I wait and see what the man's devilish game was? I am nfraid that pro- fessional instinct: prompted me to choose the less obvious and more hazardous course. Anyhow, while I was still debat- ing, the sound of wneels and a horse's booft coming softly over the grass de- cided the question for me. I retreated into covert as the vehicle, a low dog-cart, was pulled up beside you. Jurbv, who was driving, got down, and, opening the back of the cart, lifted you into the space underneath the seat, pulled up the tail-board to prevent your falling out, got up again, and drove slowly off. "Luckily it was a dark night. I slipped out from my hiding-place, ran after the cart, and as it passed out of the gate I bent down, and, darting forward, placed myself close to the tail-board, which, so long as I kept in a stooping position, hid me from the driver. Holding on to the cart, I ran along with it, the wheels and the horse's hoofs drowning the sound of my feet. I am a pretty good runner-it is necessary to be so in my line of business—and Jurby drove at a moderate pace, so that there was no difficulty in mv keeping up with him. and I must say that my curiosity as to what was going to happen invested my run with peculiar zest. Jurby took the read towards the rail- way station, a course which rather sur- prised and puziled me until he turned off to the ri»ht down a lane which runs paral- lel with tho line, and in about three fur- longs crosses it by an accommodation bridge. "I now began to have an inkling of the fellow's purpose. He drove on down the rough lane till the point was reached, where it turns to the left towards the railway line and ascends the slope to the bridge. Here gave signs of being a bout to pull np. and I therefore took an oppor- tunity of slipping from behind the cart into the covert of the thick straggling hedge. In accordance with my expecta- tion. the cart stopped a few yards farther on, and I crouching in the ditch over- grown with rank herbage, watched the proceedings, ready at any moment to interfere. "Jurby got down, lowered the tail- board, and drew you out of the cart. T could hear fhe thud ;1<1 your feet struck .the ground. Then. taking you under the arms, he becran to drag you towards the line. T let him get a little vrny. and then crawled stealthily after him. There is a fairly stiff fence to Turmount, and bv the time he had lifted you ov»t this I was close upon hlm. Onoe over that his work "F easier, though fiendish enough. He had only to drag you down the rather steep embankment, and so on to the l ire." Good heavens! What a villain:" T cried, and Gelston's face looked ghast]r as he began to realise what he had escaped. Jurby's idea." Rolt continued, "was now plain enough He was. of course, going to place you in your insensible con- dition across the rails, where you would He till a fri;n came along, and—well, there is no need to go into that. And on the rails, in the shadow of the bridge, he did leave you, with your neck in the most favourable position for decapitation. And all the while I wss crouching ajenong the bushes on the ombankment. straining my pars for the sign of an approaching train, For I realised that .Turhv w0uld be shrewd enough to f-ime the deed so as to minimise the chance's of your being found and rescued from that deadly position." "Yon did no* see your way to tackle j Jurby then :?nd there?" T suggested. Oh, Bolt answered. "It would' have been easy enougn, Tor I was armed. But there wetre disadvantages attaching to such a move. For one thing, it would have upset the plans I had laid for the capture of the gang later on that even- ing. I particularly did llift wish to strike a note of alarm. And, you know, these detective coups depend for their success very largely on what one may call etage- managemeut. No; I was ready to rash forward at the first sign that delay was unsafe, but much preferred—you must forgive me, Mr. Gel.s.ton-bringing off the rescue more artistically. And this I was happily able to,do. Having placed you on the line to his satisfaction, Jurby hurried back up the embankment, and in another half minute I heard him drive away. Then it was easy for me to make a dash for you, pull you away into safety, hurry off for as- sistance to the station, where I had several men posted on the look-out, and as quickly as possible get you conveyed here, where the police doctor saw you, and found that, beyond the hocusing, you had suffered no particular harm." So much for the story as it concerns Mr. Gelston. We now come to the second murderous attempt and narrow escape— yours, Mr. Crofton. Of that you know more than I; and so if you will give me an account of what happened to you at Morningford-place, I will just jot it down, and you can, if necessary, amplify it hereafter." I accordingly told my story, of which Rolt took copious notes. Yes," he commented gravely, when I had concluded my statement, that was a precious narrow squeak; you'll never be nearer death than that to come through to safety again," Ah," he added, reflectively, I didn't guess the risk I was letting you in for, or I'd have tackled Mr. Jurby earlier. Lucky we came up here when we did. You see, it was this way. When we got Mr. Gelst-on safely back here I naturally asked first thing for you, Mr. Crofton, and when I heard you had been out, and returned to inquire for your friend and then gone out again, it was to my mind obvious that you had gone to Morningford-place. The fact that it was, in the circum- stances, a particularly risky thing for you to, do at once occurred to me. I had just had tangible evidence of the unscru- pulous character of at least one of the gang, and I saw that if you were not to come to grief the sooner I hurried up to the Jurbys the better. It was opportune that, just as I was starting, news was brought to me that Richards, or Fitz- Richard. had been arrested in London. I fancy the gang down here had got wind of that some hours earlier, and for that reason determined on immediate flight. That, however, is by the way. With Richards arrested there was no longer reason for delay in making sure of his working confederates down here. I accordingly took a sergeant and three men and hastened with them up to Morning- ford-place. Arrived there I posted my men in ambush about the door, and was about to ring for admittance when the re- port of a firearm came from the dining- room. With your possible fate in my mind, I resolved to rush the place even at the risk of the wanted man slipping away af the back. If was as well we did so. I collected my men, who were close at hand; we went softly to the French windows of the dining-room, where I listened for a moment, and hearing a suspicious noise within, gave the word to force in the window. The men put their shoulders to it, burst it in with the shut- ters, and in a very few moments we were in the room, to find you lying insensible on the hearthrug and your three assail- ants making a desperate rush for the door. Unfortunately for them, however. they seemed to have locked it when they got yon into the room, and the delay caused by producing the key just gave us ¡ time enough to collar them. Yes," Rolt concluded, as he rose with a gesture of relief, "it had been a near thing for you, Mr. Crofton, and you may believe I was never so relieved in my life as when I found you were not, as I had feared, a dead man. That's the story, so far as it goes, and I am now due to attend its continuation at the police-court, where the men are to be brought up at noon. Will you come with me, Mr. Crofton? It is just possible we may want your evidence to-day." We were putting on our overcoats pre- paratory to starting when Wallace Rixon came in. The excitement in his manner seemed, I thought, rather tempered for the moment by surprise at finding Rolt with us. Good morning, Mr. Rixon," was the detective's genial greeting. You have heard the news?" "That Jurby has been arrested?" Rixon breathlessly. Is it for my uncle's murder?" "Jurby has not been arrested on that charge. Mr. Nixon," Rolt corrected with a smile. We have scarcely enough evidence to go on there. He and three confederates will be charged with com- mitting certain robberies in the neigh- bourhood. That's as far as we can go at present." Rixon's face seemed to fall at the an- nouncement. "Oh," he said, with a dis- comfited smile, "I made sure you had got hold of the perpetrator of the Flam- bards crime." We may have." Rolt repHed quietly. I won't say we haven't. It's a ques- tion of evidence. And. in the meantime we have these men on another job for which we have plenty." "I see." Rixon seemed to be trying hard to mask his disappointment. "Well, that is something. But surely," he pro- ceeded to argue, "if this man is known to be a criminal, that must go a long way to bring the crime at Flambards home to "It would,' Rolt agreed suavely, "in most men's minds. But as a matter of law we have no completf" chain of evi- dence against him on the lesser, but still serious, charse. There is nothing to pre- vent his still being indicted on the capital charge should evidence enough for a con- viction be forthcoming against him." Quite so; I see," Rixon replied. "I am ont y anxious to have the man who killed my uncle disco vered and the mystery cleared up. As matters stand it is an unpleasant state of things for Miss Archer and myself." Naturally," Rolt assented, moving to- wards the door. "But the case has all along presented difficulties which would hardly have occurred to you. Are you coming to the court-house?" I must go and tell my oousan the real state of the case, Rixon answered. She thinks Jurby is to be charged with my uncle's death. I'll come on later. He left us at the hotel door and we walked on to the court-house. At the entrance, Rolt wrote something in his pocket-book, tore out the leaf, and gave it to a police-sergeant on duty. Then we passed in to see the expansive Jurby. now strangely shrunken, with the smart little Errington on one side, and on the other the fiery but now much damped down De la Cour, all standing very crest-fallen in the dock. (To be Continued.)
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CQALTRJMMERS'DISPUTE
CQALTRJMMERS'DISPUTE MUTUAL SETTLEMENT EFFECTED. TEXT OF THE AGREEMENT The meeting of the Central Trimming Board which was held at the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, and resumed again on Thursday morning, in connection with the Swansea coal trim- mers' dispute, resulted in a mutual agree- ment being effected in the afternoon. The proceedings, which were private, were pre- sided over by Mr. Thomas Evans, the gentlemen representing the employers and workmen's interests were similar to those present on the previous day. TERMS OF SETTLEMENT. The text of the agreement which was signed .by the respective parties is as fol- lows:— It is understood that the agreement of August 5th is to apply to the steamers so in defined. The six points in dispute are to be con- sidered by the Swansea Trimming Board, and if it is proved that prior to the war they have been in practice at Swansea, they are to be considered as embodied in the present tariff. Failing a settlement, it is understood that the decision shall be left in the hands of the panel to-day ap- pointed by the Central Trimming Board, viz.: Mr. Thomas Evans (Cardiff), Mr. Daniel Radcliffe, and Mr. T. J. CJat- worthy, whose decision shall be accepted by both parties as final. a The steamers in dispute up to Friday, the 11th of August, are to pay the amounts in dispute to Mr. Thomas Evans, of Car- ditf, together with any further amounts in dispute pending a settlement by the Swan- sea Trimming Board or the Central Board panel. When such settlement is known the amounts so desposited shall be distri- buted forthwith. The men's representatives will recom- mend that work shall now be resumed at the earliest possible moment."
NO STAIN -ON -CHARACTER.__I
NO STAIN ON CHARACTER. I In the House of Commons on Thursday, Mr. Thomas askixl the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he have inquires made into the cir- cumstances surrounding the arrest on 4th December last of Gas Linesman H. Da vies, Port Talbot. on a charge of break- ing and entering Abr-ravon Station Book- ing Office, of which he was subsequently found innocent and acquitted, another person confessing to being the guilty one; and, in view of the experience Davies had to undergo and the financial los's suffered, whether be would consider if compensa- tion could be granted in this case, and an assurance be given that Davies' character was not stained by the proceed- ings. in Mr. Herbert Samuel: It is not possible to give compensation to persons tried and acquitted of criminal charges. In this case I am glad to find from the report made by the police that Mr. Davies was not even tried on the charge, and was only in custody for two hours before be- ing released on bail. The man su bse- quently convicted of the offence was arrested on the same day, and as soon as the circumstances had been inquired into the charge against Davies was entirely withdrawn, aud no stain rests upon his character.
¡ABERAVON1 HOUSE RAIDED. I
ABERAVON1 HOUSE RAIDED. I Young Man Smartly Fined for I Theft. At Aberavon Police Court on Thursday, Win. Ivor Phillips, Llewelyn-street, Aber- avon, was charged with breaking and en tering the dwelling-house of Mrs. Eliza- beth Gribben, 8, St. Mary's-place, Aber- avon. between July 29th and August 12th. Supt. Ben Evans said that Mrs. Gribben had gone away for a holiday, leaving Treasury notes, silver and valuables to the vadue of £ 20 10s The houste was left secure when the lady left. When she re- turned on August 12th, she found that the valuables were missing. Information was laid with the police, and the money and valuables were traced to prisoner. Mr. Lewis M. Thomas defended, and elicited that the accused was a friend of the son of Mrs. Gribben. Margaret Eliz. Brokensha, 4, High- street, Aberavon, said she kept the key of the house to get letters to forward to her mother-in-law. When she went in on Aug. 8th she found that the back door was unbolted. A SWANSEA WITNESS. Mr. Abraham Lyons, 25, High-street, Swansea, said the prisoner came to his shop to ask him if he would buy a gold chain. Witness gave him 35s for the chain and accused said he was soon going to the Army and he wanted a good time before doing so. Prisoner signed a declaration in the name of Wm. James, Aberdare. P.S. Swaflield said he arrested accused. Later witness went to prisoner's house and recovered the stolen articles. Altogether there was < £ 3 10s. missing. When wit- ness changed him, accused said, "I got in through the back door on the Tuesday after they went away. The door was not properly fastened." The Bench found that there was insuffi- cient evidence to convict on the charge of breaking and entering, and reduced the charge to one of larceny. Prisoner pleaded guilty to larceny and was fined £10.
BOGUS BEREAVEMENTS. I
BOGUS BEREAVEMENTS. At the Guildhall on Thiirsday, before Mr. Alderman Domoney, Alfred James Chapman, 54, warehouseman, of Glen- wood-road, Westclin-on-Sea. was brought up for sentence, having pleaded guilty to obtaining advances from his employers, Messrs. Loeber (.Limited), of Milton-street, E.C., to the extent of S62 by falsely repre- senting that he had suffered a series of domestic bereavements. Detective Bradshaw said that, as the result of his inquiries, he found that the prisoner had previously obtained advances amounting to a large total from other employers by similar false pretences. In one case he said his wife was dying of cancer. In the present case, Messrs. Loeher felt so sorrv for the prisoner that when he told them his wife had died they presented him with a handsome wreath to place on her gravV. He took the flowers home after he had pulled the wreath to pieces, and told his wife that there had been a dinner at the firm and that the flower? were some of the table decorations. Mr. Alderman Domoney sentenced the prisoner to three months' imprisonment with hard labour. The Prisoner: In the second divisioup The 4 Idersot^n: Certainly not. I
MUNITIONS TRIBUNAL.
MUNITIONS TRIBUNAL. Alleged Illness as Excuse for Absenteeism. SOUTH WEST WALES. The South West Wales Munition Court met at the Labour Exchange, Swansea on Thursday, Mr. J. Vaughan Edwards in the chair, with Mr. J. W. Thorpe as rlerk of thp court. INDISPOSITION AND ABSENTEEISM A tirst hand spelterman at a. local con- trolled establishment pl-eaded guilty to a bsenting himself on July 15th and the fortnight following. Defendant said that he sent a message by a workmate. During the fortnight he said that he was so ill with pains in the back that he was in his doubles. He had no medical certificate to support this state- ment. The employer's representative said that when defendant attended he was a good workman, but was a bad timekeeper. He was fined .£2. Another workman at a local controlled establishment was charged with absent- ing himself from work without leave on July 18th, 23rd, 26th, 30th, and on August 2nd and 3rd. Defendant said he suffered from a skin disease which incapacitated him on the dates mentioned. Nil doctor's certificate v. as produced. A like complaint was made against a workman at the same establishment. Defendant, pleading guilty, .said that he was going home from work when he fell on the road and cut his eye open. His period of absence was not continuous, he being at work several days at irregular interva l s. The Chairman said that they were first offences, so fthat the court would deal leniently with defendants, who were ac- cordingly fined 30s. each, to be deducted from their wages.
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LEGS FOR THE LIMBLESS
LEGS FOR THE LIMBLESS SCIENCE MAIMS, AND SCIENCE MAKES GOH) A representative of the Press Associa- tion writes: Of the many thousands of institutions which the war has brought into being, it is doubtful wlT-ether any iul- fils a more useful purpose than the Roe- hampton Hospital. Wounded, whose legs and arms have been shattered by shot and shell, so that amputation has been made necessary, are there made new men. They enter on crutches, or are wheeled in on perambulators. In a few weeks or months a miracle has been performed. They rise and walk on artificial limbs, are able onco more to take their place in the battle of life, and to pureu-e avocations in competi- tion with their more fortunate brethren who have never smelt the powder of the battlefield- The fame of Boehampton, as everybody knows, has spread far and wide. In the early part of this week, I had the great privilege of seeing for myself the sort of work which a devoted band of skilled men and women there are doing for the alleviation of these victims of German kultur." The visit was a revelation. The strides which have been made in this branch of surgical, science, and are still being made, are nothing short of marvellous. Young fellows, who not long ago were collected from the trenches or from No Man's Land in a state of indescribable mutila- tion, apparently beyond the power of resuscitation, pass through the hands of the wizards of lioehampoon House. They emerge to all outward appearance as though nothing had ever ailed them, fit and ready for toil. and, indeed, skilled in industries of which before they were entirely ignorant. NATURE RIVALLED. The doctor and matron and their assist- ants gave me the opportunity of witness- ing how all this had been brought about. A score of men who had recently been fitted with artificial limbs were paraded in a large and airy room. They were walking around j ust like ordinary mortals. bome of them limped slightly. Others gave no indication of any physical dis- ability. But every one Was minus one or both legs, or without arms. So wonder- fully had skill been brought into opera- tion that if you hadn't known you would never have suspected that anything was wrong with them. The men whose legs had been amputated below the knee are regarded as quite simple" cases." Their stumps are fitted into the artificial limbs with extra- ordinary celerity, and in few hours suffice to make their capacity for locomotion equal almost to that of persons who have the natural use of their extremities. With the men who have suffered the loss of their limbs from the thigh, the difficulty of fixing them up is obviously greater. But it has been overcome. As the result of the advance of science the stiff leg has been made a thing of the past. By means of elastic contrivances j the patient is himsslf able to so manipu- late the artificial limb that joints at the hip and knee work freely as in an ordinary human deg. He can sit down, rise, and move with comparative ease. But siill more wonderful is what has been accom- plished in regard to the cripple, FOllle of the lower parts of whose body have had to be removed owing to the shocking nature of his injuries. In one instance, the mechanism involved in fixing the right leg was carried above the buttock to the shoulder, so that, practically the whole of the .side of the individual was not flesh and blood but a complex system of wood, held together by straps, nictal and cords. DUMMY HANDS THAT GRIP. So cleverly was the contrivance devised that the patient was able to stand up and sit down at will, and to walk around without any apparent discomfort. Despite his sufferings of the past, this man had a bright and ruddy complexion, and was in a mood almost of gaiety. In conversation with me he said he felt little or- no inconvenience, and in the cheery spirit which has marked our Tommies in their sore6t trials, he said. It might have been worse." The dummy arms are not less marvel- lous than the artificial legs. A formid- able obstacle which has exercised the ingenuity of the provider of arms has been how, when they were fixed, they could be made useful to the wearer. The question of making easily-worked elbows and shoulders had been surmounted in the early stages. Now, as is shown at Hoeha.mpton, a further improvement, and one which is of far-reaching importance, has been effected. Artificial hands have hitherto not worked with the freedom which was desired, but the latest device is a kind of claw which is made to grip obj ects with the firmness of the hand, and which for certain lands of work may be used with great facility. The men, equipped with these artificial means, appeared, not unnaturally, anxious to let the onlooker see how they worked. They marched round the hall with the steadiness nearly of men on military parade, and -were profuse in their gratitude to those who had thus en- abled them to once more lead lives akin to those of the ordinary citizen. In the grounds of the hospital a man who had one leg affix-pel at the thigh, sprinted at racing speed, whilst another, who was wearing a limb from below the knee, leapt into the saddle of a bicycle, rode the machine skilfully, and alighted with the utmost ease. BACK TO THE WORKSHOPS. Another remarkable feature of the Roe- hampton institution, and one which is supplementary to the provision of the artificial limbs, is that of^placing men in suitable situations after* they have been discharged. Altogether, up to date, 2,854 cases have passed through the hospital. No fewer than 675 have received instruc- tion in the employment bureau, and nearly a thousand have left the hospital capable of "carrying on" in the trades in which they were engaged before going to the front. How-many and vari- ous are the occupations which the men are capable of is shown. by those who after treatment, have already been placed." They have gone out, and are now engaged in architecture, art and de- sign, bakery, bootmaking, brushmaking, carpentry and cabinet making, chemistry, cinema operating, clerical work, con'ec- t^onery, draughtsmanship, engineering diamond polishing, hairdressing. light leather work. motor mechanism an I driving, metal turning and fitting, \,y making, telegraphy, silver anu metal mounting, and photography. Num'rn? other occupations are 0p"n to them, but these sufficiently demonstrate the utility of such men in quite a number of useful trades of the country. A large number of workshops have been established in connection with the hospital, and in these a small army of men are being drilled in different kinds of labour which will so well serve them in after life. Among the processes in which, the patients are being instructed are ladies' leather bag making, and other light leather work, elec- tricity, in its elementary principles, and motor repairing. Strange though it may -seem, a very large and most efficient body of chauffeurs have been turned out, all wi'th artificial legs, and some fifty of them are now in regular employment. Carpentry and cabinet work is engaging the attention of other men, and the speci- ITr-ns of artistic caiviug whic.h were dis- played proved beyond an manner of doubt the efficiency which had been acquired in that delicate kiud of industry. Basket and flower making was another aspect of work for which some of the men" had evweed quite a geus, whilst iron welding was taught to those who showed any m- eliiKitio'i towards the rougher kind of labour. In the different shops the men were devoting themselves with the utmost diligence to their tasks, and e-aoh one was profiting by the knowledge which was so freely and willingly imparted. The significant tiring about all this was that many had never before had the chance of learning- a skilled trade, and, despite their physical disability, they will be able to | earn in the future much higher wages than they had ever been able to get in the past. HELPED TO INDEPENDENCE. It speaks volumes for the admirable way in which the hospital is conducted that although the number of inmates is approximately 500, only a couple were on the sick list. The arrivals and departures each week average about 80, and btit few of those, who are literally put upon their legs," ever have to seek long to get em- ployment. The head of the employment bureau notifies the discharge of patients to the chief employers in the localities to which they are sent. He appeals to those people to do the best they can for tho men. and the appeal is seldom made in vain. High as is the reputation of Roehamp- ton for a class of endeavour which in its j way is unique, it needs a personal visit thoroughly to impress one with the fruit- fulne;;s of aU that is being done. It would be well within bounds to say that the beneficent results will be widespread. Hundreds of men who otherwise would have been left more or less without meana of a decent livelihood have already been put on the highway to comparative pros- perity, and many more hundreds, it is to be feared, will have to Dass through the gates of Roehampton to be similarly re- lieved. But the enthusiastic and earnest men and women at this institution have at least the satisfaction of seeing the al- most immediate outcome of their deeds of mercy and succour. Their patients are always grateful, a.nd the knowledge of the usefulness of their service, seen every day and every hour, spurs on all at the hos-» t pital to even more useful endeavour.
iNEA'TH HERO.
NEA'TH HERO. Pte. Dick Hughes Receives the D.C.M. I Stirring Civic Welcome. On Thursday, the Mayor and Corpora* tion of Neath officially honoured ita soldier-hero. Pte. Dick Hughes, D.C.M., k D. C ,k f., of the Somersetshire Light Infantry. The weather upset the original arrangements to have the event on the Gnoll Athletic Grounds, and tea was partaken of at the Drill Hall. where over 100 wounded sol- diers and men on furlough were enter- tained. Mr. Kuiching's orchestral hand supplied the music, and the tables were presided over hy the wives of the Town C'onnc; Uors. Subsequently a eoncert, arranged by the Belgian Artistes' Committee, was held in the Gwyn Hall, at which the following artistes appeared before a. large and ap- preciatve audience; l-ime. Boin Kuff6rath jj Clli3t). Mme. Juliette An tram (mez.zo- Ifoprano). M. Jules Colbert (baritone), M. Gustave Walther (violinist), and M. Paul Kochs (accompanist). THE HERO DECORATED. I During tue interval the ex-May or (Cotm- cillor Matthew Arnoldi, amid a scene of great enthusiasm, decorated Pte. Dick Hughes with the D.C.M., which had been ent to him from the. War Office for pub- lie presentation. Before doing so. the ex- Mayor said that Neath people were ex- ceedingly proud of their soldier-hero. In the audience was a comrade from the Somersetshire "Regiment who witnessed the deed which won Pte. Unp-hps the eted distinction, and in soldier-like language he iold him the deed which gained Pte. Hughe? the D.C.M. was worthy of the Vic- toria, Cross. (Cheers.) As a matter of fact, Pte. Hughes had been twice recom- mended for the D.C.M., and he hoped to he able to get the War Office to give him the bar. (Renewed cheers.) It was a gal- lant act which met with recognition. A German sniper was giving trouble, and an officer called for vol unteers to locate him. Pte. Hughes was one of four who jumped out of the trenches in search of the Hun sniper. ,Ti- i b r(- comrades were ishot in the attempt, but Pte. Hughes pueoeeded in locating the sniper and bringing him back to the trenches a prisoner of war. (Lond cheers.) And after that, he crossed the battlefield a second time in the face of shot and shell, and succeeded in bring- ing in safely one of his wounded com- rades. (Renewed cheers.) I ONLY DID MY DUTY." I In a quiet conversation with Pte. Hughes that afternoon, he said with be- coming modesty, It only did my duty. and that is what every British soldier at-- tempts to do. If a German bullet prevents it, that's had lnck." (Cheers). Continu- ing, the ex-Mayor said that the towns- people of Neath wanted to join in the recognition, and he was going to call upon Mrs. T. J. Williams, the esteemed wife of the Member of Parliament for the Swansea District, to present Pte. Hughos with a purse of gold. This had been sub- scribed for and initiated by Councillor J. Morris, and Mr. W. J. Steer, and he was glad to tell them that j/te. "Hughes was patriotic in everything that he did, for lie was going to invest the gold in War Loan. (Cheers). Mrs. T. J. Williams, amid a further scene of enthusiasm, presented Pte. Hughes with the purse of gold, remarking, a I feel it a great honour to present you on behalf of vour many Neath friends with this small token of esteem for the noble and honourable work you have already accomplished for your King and country. I heartily congratulate you." (Cheers.) Pte. Dick Hughes, who wa.s n-,ceived with musical honours, briefly returned thanks. The ex-Mayor also presented wrist watches, on behnlf of the Neath active service presentation fund, to Pte. Willie Smith, Rap. W. Lloyd, Pte. W. J. Smith, First-Class Smoker J. Bounds, and Ilance- Corpl. Wosencroft.
OPIUM RAID.11
OPIUM RAID. 11 Forty Cardiff police constables, nndet | the direction of Chief Constable Williams, on Thursday evening raided a number of houses where Chinese live. It was sus- pecteri that illicit in(iulErt, fp in opium was being carried on, and the surmise proved correct- The police took possession of nearly C200 worth of drugs, and thej arrested no fewer than seventeen men.
FAMOUS OARSMAN KILLED.I
FAMOUS OARSMAN KILLED. I I Rome. Thursday.—News comes from Como that Li^ir Singaglia. the winner of the Diamond Sculls in 1914-, has been I killed in action. Lieutenant Sinigaglia was in the Grena- diers. He was a member of the Lario Rowing Club, and besides the Diamonds i he won the Coupe dee. Nations on the Seine. He won several double sculling championships with Signor Brunialti. of Rome, who has also been killed in action.
-I THE HEAVYWEIGHT RIDER.…
THE HEAVYWEIGHT RIDER. A heavyweight rider naturally tries a bicycle, but it seems to make no matter to the Raleigh. Mr. J. H. Adsetts, of the Angel Hotel at J3olsover, though he scales over 15i stones, has been riding a Raleigh for the last sixteen years, even for hunting, and has never had a break- down of any kind. The scientific con- struction of the all-steel bicyebj gives it, of course, a frame of exceptional strength. iTinted and Published for the Swansea Press, Limited, by ARTHUR PARNELL HIGH AM, at header Buildings. Swansea. •