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CARDIFF A PENARTH 'BUSES I

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DEATH OF ALDERMAN PRIDE,I…

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DEATH OF ALDERMAN PRIDE, OF CARDIFF. IT is with great regret that we have to record the death of Mr. Alderman Pride, of Cardiff, which melanoholy event occurred at his residenoe in Charles-street on Thursday afternoon. T he de- ceased gentleman, who was in his Gith year, had been for some months in failing health, and went to London to consult Dr. GTomhow, the week before Christmas. The opinion of that eminent practitioner was the re- verse of favourable. Since Mr. Pride's return from town he has been confined almost entirely TP his house, and it was obvious to his friends that the malady from which he suffered was making progress in spito of all that medical aid could auggest. At times his sufferings were con- siderable, but they were endured with great patience and serenity until the end. The late alderman too long occupied JA conspicuous figure in Cardiff for us to allow him to depart from amongst us with a merely passing notice. Born and reared in the parish of Caldi- cott, Monmouthshire, where his father was a substantial freeholder, he early left the parental roof, and allied himself with his uncle, who was engaged at Cardiff in the carrying trade to and from Bristol. The Cardiff, however, of five and forty years ago was not the magnificent array of houses and streets, squares and crescents, charohesand public buildings, of the prosentday, nor were its inhabitants the multitudinous popu- lation which it now contains. The difference be- tween the trade of which it could thon alone boast, and that mighty and widely diffused commeroe which now connects it with almost every portion of the habitable globe, is not more remarkable than the ohange which it has undergone with reference to its physical development. The present generation will learn with surprise that at the time to which we have referred salmon were taken in the river Taff, which then Bowed in its original channel at the immediate back of the present townhsl4 and that the site where the slaughter-house now stands was the quay of Cardiff, knows as the Golate Quay, where the principal BhippiDg business of the port was conducted. There it was that the late alderman oom. menced business, and to it he devoted tbti. resolute energy, combined with methodical' habit and precision, and accompanied by undo- viating integrity, which has diatinguiahed him throughout life. Under his management the busi- ness prospered, and in about 20 yean Mr. Pride was able to retire from it, having iwlissrt a com- petency, which was inoreaMd by Ilia aooeesion to his father's eetate in Monmoathahire. But tbornrk tU deceased gentleman retired from the aottn pursuits of trade when comparatively young, it was no part of his intention to drag out an existenoe of inglorious lethargy and sloth. He determined, therefore, to give to the public the benefit of those bound and energetic qualities whioh had so signally contributed to his own suc- cess. In the year 1846 he became a memberoftllc corporation, and so oontinned till his lamented de. oease, with the exception of an interval extending from November, 1852, to January, 1855, the ciprice of the electoral body having excluded for a term of two yeara the most laborious and faithful aer- vant whom prabably the town has ever known. In the year 1869 Mr. Pride was raised to the aldermanic rank, and is the year 1&64-65 he filled the ofiioe of chief magistrate with eminent success, and greatly to the advantage and satis- faction of the public. Of his services as a mem- ber of the town council it is impossible to speak in terms of too great eulogy. Possessing no dis- tinguished gift as a speaker, it was le44 at the council board than in the committees that his assistance was most felt and appreciated. In these he exerted great influence, and to them he brought an much "eal and in. terest as if the affairs discussed and con. sidered there had been his private concerns. He checked every account, considered every csti. mate, and examined minutely every item of expenditure which came before him. A more vigilant guardian of the public purse never existed. As a guardian of the poor he was most exemplary in the discharge of his duties. Keen to detect imposition, he was, nevertheless, kindly appreciative of cases of real dietrens, whilst his habits of investigation and principles of economy exerted a most beneficial influence ou the board, and tended materially to reduce expenditure. He was also a member of the assessment com- mittee and a commissioner of income tax, two effices which we class together bccause they alike involve a semi-judicial character. To his duties in these offices Mr. Pride gave his most laborious and conscientious attention. In them he resolved never to know friend or foe; to per. -it no sinister infiuenoe to warp his judgment; and to be guided in his decisions by the merits of each particular case and the common principles of justice, to the exclusion of every other con. sideration. His aversion to anything bordering on fraud was unmistakable, but a certain rigidity of manner in investigating cases, even in which he conoeded the relief required, some- what detracted from the gratitude which these unthankful services fairly merited. The time and trouble, however, which he devoted to duties so unpopular in their character were extraordinary; his zeal and industry were not less so ;and it may truly be said that if he had been compensated fcr his unpaid services to the public several hundreds a year would have been cheaply expended. Mr. Pride was appointed by the Lord Chancellor to a seat on the magisterial bench in the year 1859, and, as might have been expected, he has discharged the duties of a juatice of the peace with discretion and assiduity, and, with the ex. ception of the stipendiary, he has probably ad- judicated on more caseB than any one of his colleagues. He was an original shareholder in, and promoter of, the Cardiff Gas Company, and one of its most energetic directors. Hia assistance, and the benefit accruing from his experience and local know- ledge, will be much missed at the board, At the savings' bank, of which he was for 22 years a director, his absence will be greatly felt. There he was most regular in his attendance, and from his knowledge of accounts the services he rendered were anything but nominal. Attached as he was to the principles of the Church of ED gland, he nevertheless regarded his NonccJD formist co-religionists in no untriendly spirit, and he frequently contributed to their funds. It is almost unnecessary to add that he was a thorough Conservative, and that on all occasions he warmly espoused those sound Consti- tutional principle a-lot3 g ignored, but now recognised to which he waa attached, alike by tradition and by conscientious conviction. His fellow-townsmen, without distinction of party, will deeply deplore the loss of so meri- torious and good a man—one who, by his great and many services, had earned so strong and en. during a claim to public regard, one of whom it may with truth be said, as of Fabricius, that it would be more difficult to turn the IUln from his course than him from the path of virtue." His memory will be warmly cherished by all who knew him, and we cannot better ooncludo this notice of a worthy citizen than by expressing a hops that the admirable example of one of Cardiff's best sons may stimulate others to walk in his foot- steps, thereby conferring benefits on their fellow- townsmen, and laying the sure foundation of the reward due to public services and private worth.

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