The London Welshman

Notes from South Wales. (From our Special Correspondent.) The Agony Column. Rose.—Same old trysting place to-morrow, Saturday, 7 o'clock.—Bert." So ran a notice in the Agony column of a recent issue of a South Wales evening newspaper. Who said that romance is dead ? No Money! We have heard a great deal lately as to the scarcity of money and the poverty of the working classes. The total receipts at the Wales v. New Zealand and Cardiff v. New Zealand foot- ball matches were close upon £4,5°0! It is evident from these figures that money is not so scarce as is imagined. A Mild Christmas. I have never known such a mild Christmas as the recent one. On Christmas Day, I happened to be in Llanbadarn, North Cardigan- shire, and saw roses and laburnams in bloom. The sky was blue, the fields beautifully green, and the sun shone brilliantly. It was more like a day in April than Christmas Day. A Delusion. Mr. James Wignall, of Swansea, who visited the International Congress in the United States, in his capacity as Labour delegate, stated in a lecture at Barry Dock, the other evening, that it was a great delusion to think that under the system of Protection, universal prosperity pre- vailed in America. Largest Chain Cable. To Wales belongs the honour of manufac- turing the biggest chain cable ever made for the use of a ship. The cable in question, which is being manufactured at the Pontypridd Chain Works, is destined for one of the new Cunard turbine liners. It has links 22 inches in length, made of iron, 3-f inches in diameter at the 'I smallest part. Each link weighs r60 lbs. South Wales and London. The railway facilities between London and South Wales are being continually improved. I notice that the Great Western Railway recently announced a new passenger train from London to South Wales on Saturday nights, leaving Pad- dington at midnight. This ought to prove a very great boon to a large section of the public. Extensive Handshaking. A curious storyette is going the rounds in reference to the reception held at Cardiff Castle a few months ago by the Marchioness of Bute. Between 2,000 and 3,000 people accepted in- vitations to the same, and the Marchioness personally received each guest. But, when nearing the two-thousandth handshake, the

WELSH COUNTY EXHIBITIONS. The Exhibitions awarded by the various County Authorities in Wales during last year have been as follows In Anglesey five exhibitions of the total annual value of £60. In Brecon one exhibition of the annual value of £25, together with tuition fees. In Cardigan three exhibitions of the total annual value of £45. In Carmarthen two exhibitions of the total annual value of £5°' In Carnarvon five exhibitions of the total annual value of £ ioo. In Denbigh five exhibitions of the total annual value of £ 130. In Flint four exhibitions of the total annual value of £125. In Glamorgan six exhibitions of the total annual value of £ r 80, together with college fees to an amount not exceeding those charged at the University College, Cardiff. In Merioneth two exhibitions of the total annual value of £20, In Monmouth four exhibitions, two of the annual value of ^20 each and tuition fees, and two of the annual value of £30 each without tuition fees. One bursary of the value of ^20 was also awarded. In Montgomery two exhibitions of the total annual value of £3°. In Pembroke four exhibitions of the total annual value of £80. In Radnor two exhibitions of the total annual value of £3°' In Cardiff two exhibitions of the total annual value of Z40. In Newport one exhibition of the annua value of ^25.

DR. TIMOTHY RICHARD. In "Who's Who" for 1906 some very interesting details are to be found concerning Dr. Timothy Richard, of Shanghai, Missionary and Mandarin, General Secretary of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge among the Chinese, also called the Christian Literature Society for China, now on a visit to England. He was born in Carmarthen- shire, 1845. Parents, farmers. In 1878 married Miss Mary Martin, Edinburgh, who died 1903. Educated at Swansea Normal College and Haverfordwest Baptist College, Pembrokeshire. Career.-( r) Missionary in China under Baptist Missionary Society (2) Public Almoner in the greatest famine in history; (3) Lecturer to Mandarins; (4) Adviser of the Governor of Shansi; (5) Editor of daily, weekly, and monthly organs; (6) Publisher, with his colleagues, of 250 books; (7) Reformer, invited to beD one of the Emperor's advisers (8) Arbitrator, chosen by the Chinese Plenipotentiaries to settle affairs after the Boxer massacres; (9) Educator founded the Modern Imperial University in Shansi; (10) Mandarin, appointed religious adviser to the Chinese Government, and given the rank of Mandarin of the first grade. Dr Richard has published scores of books and pamphlets on the forces which make for the rise and progress of nations, all but one in the Chinese language.

physical strain proved too much, and the Marchioness was obliged to welcome the remainder without shaking hands. Welsh Girl's Memorial. It is satisfactory to note that the movement for erecting a memorial to Mary Jones, the Welsh girl who walked from Llanfihangel to Bala, when sixteen years of age, to procure a Bible from the Rev. Thomas Charles, is being brought to a head, and ere long the memorial will be erected at Llanfihangel in the centre of the ruins of the house in which Mary Jones lived whilst a child. Electioneering. The election enthusiasm is rising, and we are on the eve of keen fighting. Although well aware that they stand no chance in such con- stituencies as Carmarthen Boroughs, Brecon- shire, East Monmouth, South Carnarvon, Carnarvon Boroughs, &c., the Conservatives are, nevertheless, forcing a fight. Indeed, it is very likely that there will also be Conservative strap- hangers in even such intensely Radical districts as Cardiganshire, Rhondda, and Merioneth- shire. Llandrindod Wells. It is asserted that the new water lately dis- covered at Llandrindod Wells places the famous Welsh Spa" on a level with the best Con- tinental spas. It appears that Mr. Heighway, of the Rock Pump Rooms, sunk a new saline well, and the water on analysis was found to contain sulphate of soda, an aperient which will act on the liver. It is worth adding that this property of soda exists in the springs of Marienbad, which the King visits. A Pretty Story. Victory for Wales over New Zealand meant much for many, but to no one did it mean more than to a little London lad-a London Welsh boy-who depended upon the victory result as the realisation of the promise of a lifetime. Please read the wire and see To Dr. Williams, Queen's or Royal Hotel, Cardiff. Well done, daddie. Can I have my rocking-horse now ? —LLEWELLYN. Needless to say he has had it." Thus wrote Mr. D. H. Bowen, a well-known South Wales athletic writer, in the Cardiff Evening Express. Conservative Straphangers. Mr. Llewellyn Williams's recent public observation that he would probably be opposed at the coming election by some Conservative straphanger has proved a correct surmise, for the Hon. Vere Ponsonby has been dumped into the Carmarthen Boroughs to oppose Mr. Williams. The Hon. Vere Ponsonby is a per- fect stranger in the district, has absolutely no interest in Wales, does not understand the National aspirations of the Principality, and the only recommendation he possesses is that of cash. It is ridiculous to think that this type of man is a fit and proper person to represent a Welsh constituency like Carmarthen Boroughs in the House of Commons. In fact, his candidature partakes of an insult to the electors of Carmarthen Boroughs. Mr. Llewellyn Williams is a native of Carmarthen- shire, and a Welsh patriot; the Hon. Vere Ponsonby is an Irishman, and—a straphanger I have sufficient faith in the common sense of the electors of the Carmarthen Boroughs to predict a brilliant victory for Mr. Llewellyn Williams and the rout of the Hon. Straphanger. The Real Issues. It is evident that the great bulk of the electors are awake this time, and are not going to be hoodwinked by the Conservative leaders, as was the case at the last general election. The electors were then told that the war in South Africa was, alone, the issue at stake, but after being elected to power, Mr. Balfour, the man without a conscience," and his Government, rushed through a so-called "Education" Act, whose sole object was to aim a blow at Non conformist principles, and make the power of the priest more secure. Not only that, but this despicable Tory Government got up a Coercion Act solely directed at the Welsh Nonconformists, who had objected to the reactionary priests' Bill. No true Welshman could possibly vote for any man who supports the views of the wretched Government that lately went out of office. And as to so-called "Unionism," let not the fact be forgotten that the Unionism of to-day is Protection, the dear loaf, the industrial trust, the lobbyist at Westminster, corruption of political institutions, the piling up of great fortunes by the manipulators of tariffs, and the general fleecing of British consumers.