The London Welshman

Cyfeirierpob Gohebiaeth a fwriedir ?n colofnau, "The Editor" pob Hysbysiad, The Adver- tising Managera phob Archeb, The Manager," a'r oil Vr Szvyddfa, 45, 46, 47, St. Manin's Lane, W. C. Bydd yn hyfrydwch gan y Golygvdd dderbyn gohebiaethau ac erthyglau i'w hystyried, ond nis gellir ymrwymo i ddychwelyd vsgrifau gwrthod- edig. The Editor invites correspondence. All letters must be signed with the full name of the writer. and the address must also be given, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.

DEATH OF MR. STEPHEN EVANS. We regret to have to announce the death of Mr. Stephen Evans, J.P., one of the best known and most popular of London Welshmen, which took place on Tuesday at his London residence,, 6, Wickham Gardens, Brockley. He had attained the great age of 87, and until the very end retained almost all his mental faculties, unimpaired. Owing to partial blindness and failure of the lower limbs, he was unable to move about freely, but his interest in public affairs never flagged. Mr. Evans, who was a native of Cardiganshire; came to the Metropolis at an early age, and entered upon a successful commercial career. He established and main- tained for many years a prosperous business as a warehouseman in Old Change. An ardent Eisteddfodwr, he gave every support to the national institution throughout his whole life- Of Welsh music he was a devoted admirer, and Welsh artists and Welsh composers found in him a constant and a generous friend. In connection with the various Welsh denominations in London he rendered inestimable service, and by all London Welshmen he was held in the greatest respect and veneration as a generous-hearted man and a true patriot.

Notes of the Week. The Peace Conference.- The conference between the representatives of Russia and Japan continues its deliberations, and the prospect of an understanding is much brighter to-day than it was a week ago. Out of twelve demands put forth by Japan eight have been acceded to by Russia. Those eight refer to the following points 1. Korea's future state. 2. ~) Evacuation of Manchuria by Russia, its 3. > restoration to China, and arrangements 4. J for its future government. 5. Surrender of Port Arthur, Dalny, and Liao-tung Peninsula, and the Blonde and Elliott Islands. j> Disposal of the Manchurian Railway. 8. Fishery rights on the Russian coast from Vladivostock northwards. The remaining four demands, concerning which no agreement has yet been come to, are 1. Cession of the island of Sakhalien. 2. Indemnity, or reimbursement of war expenses. 3. Surrender of the interned warships. 4. Limitation of Russia's navy in the Far East. These four demands are much more impor- tant than the other eight, and the plenipoten- tiaries will have much more difficulty in coming to an agreement concerning them, especially the first two. The third and fourth ought to be settled, and no doubt they will be if an under- standing is arrived at about Sakhalien and the indemnity. The latest reports are to the effect that Japan may modify its demands on these two points somewhat. So far Japan has obtained its own way on everything whether it is pre- pared to yield on things that touch Russia in the tenderest spot remains to be seen. Tokio is much more hopeful than St. Petersburgh that the negotiations will have a happy result. This is only natural. The conqueror is always more optimistic than the conquered. We shall know what the final issue is to be in a few days; in the meantime we can only hope for the best. The Decline in the Birth=Rate.—According to the returns of the Registrar-General there has been a very serious decline in the birth-rate during the second quarter of the present year. It is the lowest which has been recorded for that period of the year since official statistics have been compiled. The births registered numbered 236,767, and were in the proportion of 27.8 per 1,000 of the population. The mean in the ten preceding second quarters was 29.4 per 1,000. These striking statistics have caused very considerable commotion in various circles, and several leading men have expressed them- selves very freely as to the cause and means of remedying what threatens to become a national calamity. We admit that it is a very delicate question, most difficult to discuss satisfactorily in the public press but undoubtedly it deserves serious and careful consideration from an eco- nomic as well as from a moral and religious standpoint. The Bishop of Ripon is very out- spoken. To a representative of the Daily Chronicle he said that it is quite easy to fix the cause. It is to be found in these most injurious notions :— i. The "no family "and the "limited family" creed. 2. The thriftless wife. 3. The increase of the physical infirmities of women. And he went on to denounce the three in the strongest terms. "Take the first," he said. People begin their married lives with this creed before them. It is nothing less than a social sin. Women know too much. The free- dom we have given them they were not ready for. Man's chivalry to woman has been abused. If the remedy were left in my hands I should advocate divorce the moment the doctrine of the limited family was seriously considered either by the wife or the husband. You suggest that where the income is limited two children would be a satisfactory contribu- tion to the birth-rate. I say that two children are not sufficient; four should be the minimum. Where there are none the State should have the right to know the reason why. Do you know that in our colonies there are places for a hundred million wives ? It was not the British bayonet that built up this Empire; it was the virile families of our forefathers, and we must go back to their standard. The third cause-the physical infirmities of women—is on the increase. In one Crown Colony that I know of one-third of the English women are childless. Here again I can only indicate the cause, but how many people realise the injurious effects of horse back riding, cycling, and hockey? Take hockey. You are produc- ing a woman all shoulders, with no powers of maternity." We are inclined to agree with Dr. Boyd Carpenter. The love of ease and the love of pleasure, much of it sinful pleasure, we are afraid, have made a large number of English- men and Englishwomen quite careless about the sacred responsibilities of life. A certain school of economists, as well as all the leading Socialists of recent years, have done all in their power to kindle that love. And if what the Bishop says about the injurious effects of the habits of the women of the present day is correct, we shall have to reconsider the question of the education of women. The End of the Cotton Crisis.-Lancashire is to be heartily congratulated upon the satisfactory settlement of the dispute between the cotton masters and the cotton operatives, to which we recently referred. The men demanded an increase of five per cent. in their wages, and four-fifths of the masters declared flatly against it. A conference was called in Manchester, which lasted for several days, and late on Thursday evening it was announced that a compromise was arrived at, under which the operatives will receive five per cent. bonus for twelve weeks from the 1st of September. At the end of that period the wages will return to their present level, and no application for an advance will be made during a further three months. The operatives have also agreed to hold a further conference, in order to attempt to set up some permanent machinery of con- ciliation. If more of this spirit of give and take governed in trade circles the better it would be for all.