Evening Express

METEOROLOGICAL NOTES. SOUTH WALES TIDE TABLE. i S g f m O O 5 2 £ 2 2 « 2 i f. at ■4 j C3 SO I Fridav 7 20 6 17 7 11 6 29 Anril '6 1 Eyening 7 33 6 35 7 29 — 6 47 (.Height 35 9 32 1 36 3 24 11 Satur- (Morn'ng 7 £ 5 6 5^ 7 46 17 4 dav J E veniug 8 l-Z 7 10 8 4 — | 7 21 April 7 (Height 36 11 32 11 37 5 25 10 Sunda v f^orni'g j 8 29 7 27 8 2t 7 39 Anril 81 EveamS 8 4o M> 8 37 — 7 55 (.Height [37 2 133 1 37 8 25 11 Mondav (Morui'? 9 3 8 1 8 55 8 13 Amil ^Eveni's 9 20 8 18 9 12 — 8 29 p (Height 3d 3 32 4 36 9 25 0 Tnpsdv r'MorM'g 9 39 9 32 T8~51 Anril 10^ Evenng 9 58 8 59 9 53 — J 9 10 P (.Height [34 7 31 0 35 1 23 6 VV'endes /Morni'g 1C 18 9 21 10 15 9 31 da* -5 Evenng 10 39 9 44 10 38 | — 9 54 April 11 (Height 32 2 29 2 32 8| 21 6 Thurs- (Morning 11 2 1C 8 :l 2 10 27 day, ■> Evening 11 29 10 37 II 31 — 10 4J April 12 (Height 29 27 1 29 10 19 0 Koath Basin fEast Dock Sill J Alexandra Dock SDock Sill

I BAROMETRICAL INDICATIONS. Appended is a chart of the barometrical readings for the 48 hours ended Thursdav midnight, as regis- tered at the Western Mail Office, Cardiff. Ths instrument is 33ft. above sea level. WEDNESDAY. THUBSVAY. 1 ".m. Noon. ilidn't. I a.m. Noon. Midn't •4! Hi •2 i—_ •3j ^9 — 29-5!

WEATHER FORECAST. YESTERDIT'S FORECAST. I YKSTKBDAT'S WFATHER. 'ri St Easterly & north-easterly South easterly breezes, breezes, moderate j fair; light; fair. dry. I The forecast of the weather throughout the Westof Kneland and South Wslet: for to-dav (Friday) is as follows:—Easterly breezes, fresheniny; cold in early morning, warm later; fine, dry, bid not settled.

TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL T MPIBATCBE. „ DJLTB. -,V RAINFALL. Mai. Mm. Meau. 1- Saturday 51 64 4! 52vi 0 00 Sunday 1 63 40 51"5 0"00 Monday 2 64 40 52'0 O'OO Tuesday 3 65 44 545 O'OO Weduesday 4 56 44 500 0 00 Thursday 5 66 45 55'5 0-00 Friday 6 66 40 530 0-00 Th e Tempera ture represents extreme readings of the thermometer for 24 hours ended 9 a.m., taken in the shade at Cwrt-y-Vil, Penarth. The Rainfall registered at Cwrt-y-Vil, Penaith, for the 24 hours ended 9 a.m.

HUNTING APPOINTMENTS. FOXHOUNDS. CARMARTHKNSHIRE.—Tuesday, April 10, Llanboidy -10.30. To finish the season. pKMBitoiC'SHiKf:.— Friday, April 6. Tree wo—11.30. TivysiitE.—Thursday, April 5, Blan-Gilfach, Hen- feddau (if rain)—10.45 Thursday, April 12, Crym- mveh (bye-day)—11.

LLANDAFF CATHEDRAL SERVICES Friday, April 6.-Five p.m. Rogers in D anthem, Hear my prayer (Winter). Saturday, April 7.—Fire p.m. Stainer in A anthem, We will rejoice (Croft).

NOTE S. By "OBSERVER." CARDIFF, FRIDAY MOKNING. When I announced tc my colleagues my in- tention of visiting the passionary ship, tho in- telligence had a. damping elfwit upon them all. The Acting- Editor smiled a compassionate smile, as much as to say, "He"" got 'em again." The reporters glowered at me with ineffable disgust, and 0110 of them vouchsafed the as- surance that he had seen the bally thing1 for himself, and no powers, terrestrial or subter- ranean, would take him down there again. He ex- pected (he explained) that there'd hate been a drop of whisky on board, or, to say the least, that cake and wine would have lietai handed round; but, Ugh !-aud he left in high dud- geon for across the road. But the most hor- rified of all was the Poet, who exclaimed, "What, go to see a missionary ship when them are ott and lie jerked a trembling finger in the direction of Ely Races. Now, to tell you the honest truth, reader, it was Mrs. Observer, and not I, who was filled with an ardent desire to inspect that missionary ship. It was in vain I pleaded with her that a missionary ship was, after all, very much like any other ship: but, with the usual feminine curiosity, she "wanted to see the wheels go round," so I bid farewell to my colleagues, gave the sig- nal to the better half and the olive branches, and left. Now, it so happened that I arrived at the missionary ship, yclept the John Williams (after a noble man who did what so very few orthodox people would now a-days, laid down his life for the faith that wtM in him to add another name to the hallowed bead-roll of D artyrs), just as a. fine, healthy "scurshon from Merrfhyrr look you woss come in." That was the end of the enjoyment, I surmised, and I was right. It is always to me a. sad and painful thing to lie mixed up in an excur- sion, but when that excursion is from the hills, and when, further, it comprises a Sunday 8ehool or two, the thing becomes positively awful to contemplate. Well, we (Mrs. "0" & I, U know) fell into the melancholy pro- cession, and narrowly escaping death under the wheels of a Taff Vale Juggernaut we found ourselves in a seething throng opposite the John Williaans. There was an outline of a ship to be seen, swarmed over with "iiooman beam," to such an extent as to render the actual structure itself almost in- visible. In short, she was Merthyr all over. Merthyr rode triumphantly on the bow, sprit, hung over the side, paced the decks clambered up the companies or whatever they call 'em, climbed up the rigging, held en by the anchor, balanced on the mizzen- top, and tumbled into the smoke-stack. It was a sight for men and angels. The ship was literally packed, yet up the steep plank from shore poured crowds upon crowds, whilst the shore was lined with other thou- sands patiently awaiting their stem. Now, I had had some little experience of a ship on view before in the case of the Sunbeam. It was stuffy enough on board then, though there was no Sunday School in the business and no vestige of Merthyr. I was contemplating the prospect with something of uneasiness, when somebody tapped me on the shoulder, and who should I see on turning round but our late acting editor, now at the head of Merthyr journalism, with a mountain glow on his countenance and a twinkle in his eye which reminded one with vivid force of olden times Result—a long and pleasant chat, and a comparing of notes all round that more than made up for the humbug of boarding the missionary ship. Shall I des- cribe the latter ? Not much especially with the eternal Gwynne-Vaughan business literally swamping the paper There was, in fact, nothing on th9 ship that was not to be found on vessels in general, so far as I could see. There were the usual queer nooks and corners appa- rently arranged with the express purpose of inducing the unwary 'longshore man to ^■m}?i9_. Uvwi\aad, break his stack. Tiiero were steps of undescendable steepness, and cabins of overwhelming stuffiness-for were they not chockfull of Merthyr ? There was the cookhouse, and the engine-room, the smoke-stack, the wheel, and no doubt the main brace. the binnacle, the larboard watch, the minute gun, and all the other parts that one hears of at concerts where they sing songs of a nautical character. I don't know much about ships myself, but have sufficient knowledge to be vastly amused at some of the Merthyrian com- ments. Thus: Hoi, Shoni, where you going now ?" 0, I'm off to the pointed end, look you This kind of thing lent a piquancy to the Merthyr excursion that was after all very charming at the same time if I am bound on sight-seeing again and see a Sunday School from the hills loom- ing in the distance, well I shall skip, and that without any preliminary hesitation to which all my colleagues, severally, well and truly, desire they and each of them to add a fervent Ditto. Scotsmen are from childhood taught to look upon the road south as one they will some day have to journey, and when they grow up they put the lesson to practice, and hear of it often after they've got into England, too! But 'tis seldom any Northerner returns to his native land to carry on his labours. One of the exceptions is just leaving our office, going away up north, to Aberdeen, to edit and manage an important daily paper there, whose history runs back almost to the time of the '45. Mr. James McKay has not lived very long in South Wales, but he has been among us long enough to make a host of friends, and to delight thousands outside his personal sphere by the strength, breadth, and beauty of his literary work. He will be missed, and will carry with him to the granite city the hearty good wishes of all who have come in contact with him in gal- lant little Avales., '> The busy journalist lives necessarily more and more in the present. But Mr. McKay has found time to make a close and intelli- gent study of the past, and in Lancashire, where for years he lived and laboured, he gave to the world delightful and informing historic and topographical studies, the result of close and intelligent personal acquaintance with the district. A passionate lover of nature, and of all that is tinged with romance and antiquity, he loves nothing more than a long ramble into far-away nooks, where it is not too much to say that local residents themselves are scarcely ever ;een. I will venture to say that our friend :akes away with him a more vivid and more iceurate impression of the environs of Car- lift' than 999 persons out of every 1,000 of >tU' population. A man with sympathies so broad, and knowledge so diverse, may be said to be at ( lome anywhere; nevertheless, when Mr. j IfcKay once more "sets foot upon his native t leath" he will, I doubt not, feel that perfect ] larmony with his surroundings which < ivery loyal heart experiences in the land J if its nativity, for is it not most true that ] Man through all ages of revolving time, 1 Unchanging- man. in every varying eliine, 1 Deems his own land of every land the pride, Belov'd by Heaven o'er all the world beside; c His home the spot of earth supremely blest, A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest. 5 i This drop of blessed rain is welcome. We va-nt more of it. The farmers, I hear, are i aving but then the farmers are always aving. It is impossible to produce a ueteerological condition that will content a > armer. At all events, Heaven has essayed I he task and lamentably failed. ——— t Commercial circles have received two 1 t evere shocks during the past few days, first ? n the untimely death of Mr. Daff Davies ,nd afterwards in the sad and un- t imely end of Mr. Ensor-both well-known £ ,nd esteemed in the community, both genia], pen hearted men, greatly beloved j < 'y all with whom they came in contact. J From some figures in one of the reviews it is interesting to note the wages of the iron- workers, &c., of Walep in the United States is compared with other nationalities:— Number of Average Income. Workers. Nationality. Dollars. Ill Welsh 614 62 Scotch 572 276 German 569 38G Irish 551 238 English 534 1,294 American 520 24 French 463

I -ES I I j No. 631,735 11 111111111 I

CAPTAIN MISSING. He had Received Bad News from Home Just Before. One of our representatives called at the office ?f Messrs. Christie and Co., Cardiff, the awners of the Sapphire, and saw a member of the firm with reference to the strange disap- pearance of Captain Summers. The firir. had received notification that Captain Summers was missing from the. vessel, and the message stated that there wa.i nothing to show how the i-aptaiu liad left the ship. He was seen" in a half- dressed condition at two o'clock on Tuesday morning by the watchman, aud it :s thought he then went to his cabin. At any rate, all his clothes were found.lying oit his bunk :n a manner which would indicate that he had un- dressed ready for bed. Captain Summers lias been with M««srs. Christie for about eleven years. He bore an exemplary character as a careful navigator and a, temperate man. All his accounts, &c., are correct and up to date, and the owners surmis9 that he must have fallen overlward, perhaps whilst walking in his sleep. No one heard a cry or splash during the night, and, as the ship was lying out in the roads, it i.. ha.rdly probable that. Captain Summe-s went ashore The missing in ia was n resident of Southsf a. lie is unmarried. The clay before his disappearance he received rather bad news from his home- news to the effect that his brother had been removed to a lunatic ysjlum.

BARRY DOCK SCHEME. The Engineering Staff and the Final Preliminaries. The engineering staff of the Barry Dock and Railways Company are about completing the final preliminaries for the commencement of the new dock works at Barry. The entrance to the new dock, it is understood, will not be at the point originally decided upon, but near the No. 1 Jetty on the western-hide, and the sub-tenancy of the land in this locality will be given up to the company in the course of a few days. A meeting of the Barry directors will be held probably to-day (Friday) at Barry Dock, and the question of inviting tenders for the fir-it section of the new works will, it is stated, be determined.

Heavy Sentence. At the Old Bailey on Thursday Eustca-lins Pandeli Ralli, 36, stockbroker, who was con- victed at last sessions of forging and uttering a deed of indemnity for X3,500, was brought up for aente^is, aam t-oe xtecorder, who said he could not regard the case other than as a. very serious one, sentenced the prisoner to eight Bttn&bA' ueptiseDNsaat with hard labour

:1 The Need of Pontypridd. I DAI PONTYPBIDD Jawch, man, I have been growin' fast enough, and now I was want a corporation.

CHURCH SCHOOLS. Unreasonable Demands of the Educa- tion Department. The following letter from the Rev. H. Addams-Williams, rector of Llangibby, Mon., adduces facts which largely confirm the state- ments made by our correspondent who, in the Western Mail" of last Thursday, described the manner in which the Education Department just now harrass the managers of National Schools. The rev. gentleman writes — 1 may premise by saving that there are two schools—one at Llangibby itself, and one at the outlying hamlet of Coedvpaen, and that these two schools serve to educate the children of the parishes of Llangibby, Tredunnock, Llan- degveth, and Llanddewi, with a few from Llaubadock and Panteg. The total area is about 8,035 ax-res; the population is about 876, and the ratable value about £ 7,643. The schools are supported by the Government grants, voluntary subscriptions, and a volun- tary rate of Id. :n the S. They are managed by a committee of fourteen: eight from Llan- gibby, four from Tredunnock, and two (not yet elected) from Llanddewi and Llandegveth, who have just joined the union. At present there are nine Churchmen and three Nonconformists 3n the committee. The country is purely agri- cultural, and, therefore, the committee think it only right to be economical. Still, I think tou will gather that we do not hesitate to spend ivhen necessary. First, as to Llangibby School. In 1889 we ivere asked to put up a cloak-room, and did so :>efore the present building rules, dated the 1st jf January, 1890, were issued. On the 10th of May, 1890, the inspector reported, "The re- noval of the children's hats and garments from :he schoolroom into a new shed is a great im- Drovement; the healthiness of the low school- looni would be further improved by a Boyle's jr some other good ventilator on the roof." STow, there were three bedrooms over the dlOOI, and the committee proposed in July, 1891, to remove the middle one and to put in t Boyle's ventilator, to winch the department •eplied: "My lords will not raise any objec- :ion to the present proposal if the managers let-ire to proceed with it; but it must be dis- tinctly understood that it may become neces- sary for the department to require further alte- •ations." The proposed alterations were car- ned out as above. On the 23rdjof May. 1893, we were informed 'My lords have now received from her Majesty s nspeetor a. special report" (not shown to us) 'on the premises in accordance with Circular >21, and they learn that, in his opinion, it is leeessary either that entirely new schools should be provided, or that the existing pre- nises should be brought into accordance with he requirements of the present building rules. Ie points out that there is no playground, and hat the premises are, in their general plan, nconvenient and unsuitable. In particular, lie rooms are poorly lighted, warmed, and lentilated they are not uniformly of suffic ent leight; there is no proper cloak-room; nd he office accommodation is insuffi- }iellt." But in the inspector's report, dated 25th of May, 1893, he says :—" This is a nice '.ouutry senoot" Mrs. Roberts, of Belmont, vas there last week, and remarked what a nice •omfortable, and convenient school it was. Hie under-lining is my own, not the in- spector's. I may also say that a high autho- rity has remarked:—"1 cannot understand »vbat her Majesty's inspector was about when le sent in this report. I find nothing to com- ilaiu of, except the lighting." And tins was Lt 5.30 p.m. in the autUlnn, when heavy ram slouds were coming up. We have never had short-sightedness or any other eye disease among my of the scholars since the school was built, ior has any been heard of after they left the ichool. So there could not be much real fault o bc found with the lighting. The committee jtfpred to enlarge the fireplace, to re-place the I panes of the windows with largo panes, md to add extra offices. But our suggestions vere not accepted, and we have decided, under jompulsion, to build a. new school, which is juite, unnecessary, and a useless burden in hard imes. Next, as to Coedypaen School. In the 'eport of the 2nd of May, 1891, her Majesty's nspector remarks:—"A lobby for hats and garments is badly needed. The late chairman nformed the committee that her Majesty's in- spector had suggested that they should put up me like the one at Llajigibby. They did so, md understood that he approved of it, though 10 mention was made in the report of 1892. In the report of 1893 her Majesty's inspector jays:—"Maps and pictures to brighten the vails and some new desks are uteded. The vails should be oleaned and the school properly ventilated. A suitable cloak-room should be provided, or the grant may be endangered." ro that I answered that the present cloak-room iad been suggested by her Majesty's inspector n 1891, erected and approved in 1892, and hat. therefore, no further cloak-room accommo- lation was necessary. On the 14th of August., 1893, the Department replied: — "The present shed used for hats and •iloaks can only be regarded as a temporary ex- pedient until proper permanent, accommodation s provided. In the report on the premise* nade by her Majesty's inspector on the occasion If his inspection visit in April last, my Lords Slid several points which, by inadvertence, were iverlooked when the report was under conside- ration. In particular, proper furniture, appa- ratus, and a new set of desks are wanted, and :he offices require to be entirely re-built. The .varming and ventilation also require immediate mprovement." 1 replied on the 28th of November:—"As to :he cloak-room, the committee cannot Muchr- dand why a structure suggested, recommended, md approved within the last three years should -o soon be condemned. If they had been told two years ago that it would be only a temporary expedient they would not have ivasted their money in putting it up, but would liave provided a. different one. As they were isked to put up the present shed (as it is called), tnrI havt1 done so. and as it suits the purpose sxcellently, the committee ask for at least some talid reason why it should be condemned <o soon. As to the furniture, the inspector's annual report makes no men- tion of the subject, except the desks. He required some new desks, and not a new set; some are now provided. As to apparatus, the inspector's report makes no mention of this either. He alludes to ornaments—maps and pictures to brighten the walls-wliich have bean oiijt.iuecS. Neither the inspector nor anyone else has complained to us of the wanning. The inspector has condemned the ventilation as antiquated, and not as unsatis- factory. He did not test it experimentally or complain of heat or stuffiness in the school- room, though the day was warm and the school unusually full of children. Though the offices are not mentioned in the inspector's report, steps have already been taken to increase and improve the accommodation." My lords replied on January 25, 1894: — "They will not press for further improvement* in the wanning or in the furniture, but they hope to receive within ten days an assurance that adequate measures will at once be taken to imjirove the ventilation and to prepare plans for office accommodation. They must repeat that the present cloakroom can only be regarded as temporary, and that accordingly plans for proper accommodation in this respect should be forwarded for approval." I replied on January 31:—"The committee have' asked for reasons why the present cloak- room is condemned, but none have been vouch- safed. They are quite in the dark as to what sort of structure, alteration, or improvement your lordships require. Moreover, seeing that they were asked to put up the present cloak- room in its present form in 1891, they would respectfully inquire whether any guarantee can be given that no fresh outlay will be demanded in 1896. They would also submit that, as the Education Department requested the committee to put up the present building in its present shape only three years ago, the department should make a special grant of the cost of the old building, leos the usual depreciation of 5 per, cent, ms fwun, il the qpnuuittee under- take to erect a. new one. They regret that the ventilation was not referred to some third party to test, and were astounded at being asked to put up at Cuedypaen the same system as they have at Llangibby, seeing the latter was condemned by the inspector, accord- ing to your letter of May 23, 1893." An architect was taken by me to the school, and lie found the exhaust partially filled up with birds' nests, which have since been removed. However, under these unfavourable circumstances, it showed a draught of 130ft. per minute, which was quite sufficient, in his opinion. Mast of the things demanded are absolutely and entirely unnecessary; to carry them out would be a gross waste of public money. Neither our school committee nor the department have any right to squander other people's money in the way proposed. I think that there must be rather more "inadvertence" in the department than that admitted in their letter of August 14, 1893, and that the sooner Mr. Acland retires from a position he is too incompetent justly to fill the better it will be for the country.

AN UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. Quoting the Wrong Biography in the Birmingham Sensation." Our attention has been drawn by Mr. E. Talbot Palmer, solicitor, Gosport, on behalf of the Rev. Maurice Jones, of Gospcrt, to the account we gave in our issue of the 2nd inst. of what was then said to be a stabbing case, but which has since been shown to have been an unfortunate mishap to the Rev. Maurice Jones, of Solihull. The report went on to state that this Mr. Jones was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, graduated B.A. in 1886, and so on, until he got his Solihull appointment. This report and biographical sketch we took from the paper published in the locality where the case occurred; but uow it would appear this biography did not describe the career of the wounded clergyman of Solihull, but of the Rev. Maurice Jones, of Gosport. We understand that, from the publication of this wrong biography in the "Western Mail" and other papers, Mr. Jones, of Gosport, has suffered a great deal of annoyance. We must assure Mr. Jones that in quoting the account of thai painful incident at Solihull we had no idea that we were associating with the affair the name of one who had nothing to do with it. It was only natural to conclude that the local paper which first published the account of the occurrence, and which printed, with such apparent authority, a brief sketch of what purported to be the career of the central figure in the occurrence, had obtained the information from a trustworthy source. Though we were led into the unfortunate blunder innocently enough, we assure Mr. Jones, of Gosport, of our sympathy in the unfor- tunate position in which we so unwittingly placed him, and apologise to him very sincerely for all the trouble and annoyance he has been caused thereby.

ELECTION NEWS. Result of the Polling in the Mid-Lanark Division. Polling took place in Mid-Lanark on Thurs- day to fill the vacancy in the Parliamentary representation of that constituency, caused by the retirement of Mr. Philipps. The poll was declared just before midnight, as follows :— Mr. J. GI-. Caldwell (G.) 3,965 Colonel Stuart (C.) 3.635 Mr. Smellie (Labour) 1,221 Gladstonian majority 330 PREVIOUS ELECTIONS. 1885. 1888. S. Mason (G) 2,875 J. W. Philipps (G). 3,847 W. R. BousfieM (C) 2,579 Bousfleld (C) 2,917 W. R. Bousfield (C) 2,579 Bousfleld (C) 2,917 J. C. Forest (L) 1,913 Hardie (Labour). 617 Majoritv 290 I Majority 930 1886. 1892. S. Mason (G) 3,779 Philipps (G) 4,611 S. Harvey (L U) 2,909 Col. Stuart (C) 3,489 Majority 870 Majority 1,122

mmmmmmmmammmmtam—ummmmnmBt WIFE DESERTION. Grave Charge Against an Insurance Agent at Porth. At Cymmer Police-court on Thursday (before Mr. Ignatius Williams, stipendiary, and Dr. Parry) Alfred Davies, an insurance agent, was proved guilty of cruelty to and desertion of his wife, Rachel Davies, by whom he had had two children. The evidence revealed gross cruelty, and the Bench ordered Davies to pay 10s. a. week towards the maintenance of Mrs. Davies, and granted a separation order.

MERTHYR BOROUGHS. The Unionist Candidate at a Hirwain Smoker. On Wednesday evening a smoking concert was held at the Patriot Inn, Hirwain, under the auspices of the Conservative Association, when between 200 and 300 persons, chiefly colliers, attended to hear addresses by Mr. Herbert Lewis and Mr. Littlejohns, of Ferndale. Mr. Aubrey occupied the chair, and the meeting proved to be one of the most enthusiastic that had ever been held in the borough of Merthyr Tydfil.

Charge Against a Machine Agent. At the Shire-hall, Haverfordwest, on Thurs- day, before the mayor and other magistrates, James Edwardes, employed as agent by Messrs. Singer, sewing' machine manufacturers, was charged on remand with embezzling various sunjs of money, the property of his employers. The accused was committed for trial to the Pembrokeshire Midsummer Assizes. Mr. Colin Rees Davies appeared for the defence.

The Complications at Llantarnam. A modus vivendi out of the difficulties at Llantarnam in the election of people's warden has been arrived at by an arrangement between the parties, whereby Councillor John Parry withdraws and Mr. Henry Cromwell is elected warden. The party led by Mr. G. H. Gwynne state that they nominated Mr. Parry as a protest against the irregularities in the past distribu- tion of charity at Llautarna-m, but absolve Mr. Henry Cromwell from personal blame.

District News. I CARDIFF. NEWESV Styles in Ladies' and Children's Millinery, Sun Bonnets, and Hats; also choice assort- ment of pelisses and cost me", overalls in walking materials, ladies' blouses, skirts, ties, collars, cuffs, gloves, aprons and pinafores, underlinen, corsets, skirts, &c., &c. Good variety and m derate prices. An inspection invited.—Mrs. Williams, 25. Royal Arcade, Cardiff. o3334 THE TABERNACLE, THE HAYES.—Preaching- Services will be held during the renovation of chapel iu the Colonial Hall, commencing next Suadaj. c3639s7 1".1

Of Wales and Welshmen —;— I A COLUMN OF INTERESTING GOSSIP. Paragraphs of Persons and Places and Interesting Facts Gathered in- Old Gwalia. A man on our staff has a dog named John J \;1](;8, A man on the staff of the other papei =< a dog mined Sanders. The Lord Bishop of Bangor has been stayiuf at Brecon for a couple of days. He war present at the meeting of governors of Christ College (his old school) on Tuesday. Three men are willing to oome down from Whitchurch to swear they have heard the cuckoo this week. One of the men is a police- man. and he is willing to do the swearing before the chief-constable. Dust Hew into the eyes of a passenger on the Barry Railway a day or two ago, when a young lady, an ambulance student, appealed to to render "first aid." The young lady called for a fire-shovel, and the train rocked with laughter. Mr. D. A. Thomas has forfeited the votes of all the grocers in Merthyr. He has given notice of a Bill to abolish grocers' licences. With a majority of 9,000 he can afford to be independent, perhaps, but the grocers say that a good lump of that 9.000 are friends of theirs. So familiar had tho phrase "Gone to the races, sir," become to the porter at the Queen's Hotel at Cardiff this week that when an inquiry was yesterday made for Mr. Edward Ensor, he said "Gone to th. races, sir." And all the time the unfortu- nate gentleman was hanging to a. bedpost up- stairs. Those who have read the fascinating book on Dr. Paton's work in the South Sea lslauas will be glad to know they may have a chance of seeing and hearing the great missionary himself in Cardiff next Tuesday week. Dr. Paton ranks with Livingstone, Williams, and Moffatt in the features and success of his work. You can't go out this way, sir," said a policeman to a Cardiff gentleman who was leaving the Ely Raoeg through the wrong gate. "God save the Queen!" said the gentleman j "why weren't you at the other gate to st«^» me coming in ? You would have saved me a bit then." And, pulling out his empty pockets, he turned back and went out the other way. An angry man entered a post-office this side of Mountain Ash and said to the postmaster, "Why didn't you send the telegram I sent to my wife?" The postmaster looked up some paper and replied, "There was a telegram delivered to your wife on the date and from the place you say." Angry man: "YeB; but not the one I wrote. It was written by you. Don't you do that again. She thought I was dead Some of our district correspondents have too much humour. One of them yesterday sent in some petty sessions cases. In the first a num- ber of men were fined for doing something or other without a liœuce. Then somebody eke was summoned by the same constable, but the case was dismissed. The bench perhaps thought," suggests our correspondent, "that once was quite enough to accept the constable'* testimony in the same sitting." In our reference to the death of Mr. Daniel Whitehouse, J.P., there was one misprint. It was stated that in his early days Mr. White- house went into the iron trade of South Staf- fordshire, where he worked at the lathes, whereas it should have been the "Leys Iron- works, Stourbridge." Mr. Whitehouse, al- though a self-made man, came of good family, received a good middle-class education, and was never a working man in the sense the parar graph implied. An enterprising down-line chemist shows in his window some specimens of the products of the seed he sells. Recently a neighbouring colliery struck a new vein of coal, and for mere curiosity tho chemist placed two pieces in the window. Now, the chemist supplies the colliery with a certain commodity, and the two pieces of cool are absurdly near a I uotice announcing, "Grown by the Colliery Company from seeds supplied by X. Y., chemist." There will be a heavy run on those seeds when this becomes known. Mr. I). J. Davies, of Llanelly, has painted a half-length portrait, life-size, of Mr. Lewis Morris. The poet is depicted standing in his Ðwn library at Pen- bryn, with his right hand leaning on a Look and his left hand on his side. The artist has caught Mr. Morris's expression exactly, and those who know the poet will endorse the general opinion that the result is a speaking likeness. The portrait has been sent to the Academy. Mr. Davies is a native of Llandilo, and has studied liis art in Antwerp and Paris. Many old Parliamentary friends will hear with regret of the serious illness of Mr. Richard Davies, the Lord-lieutenant of Anglesey. Although now so closely connected by associa- tion with the landed and aristocratic classes, Mr. Davies was at one time (says the "Morning Leader") actively representative of the commer- cial instincts of Wales. He was a busy ship- owner in his day, and still owns large interests in shipping. JSIT. Davies first sat for Anglesey in 1868, and he held the seat against all comera until 1886, when he retired. The most memo- rable incident in connection with his various candidatures was the attempt to take his life in 1885. A new face in the lobby of the House of Com- niona list night was that of Mr. R. T. Reed, wao has undertaken the task of providing illus- trations for Puncli's Essence of Parlia- ment," in succession to Mr. Harry Furniss. Mr. Reed's methods (says the Star ") are torae- what different to tlio;;e of his predecessor, but he goes about his work in. a business-lik# way, and he evidently intends to spare no effort to justify his appointment. Mr. Furniss used to make his sketches on little cards cut so aa to fit in the hollow of his hand, his favourite modus operandi being to engage a member ia conversation while he was indicating by a few pencilled lines some characteristic attitude of pORe a few yards distant. Mr. Reed makew no concealment of his nuwsion, and his note- book is perhaps better calculated to preserve his impressions than isolated scraps of card- board. Mr. Joseph Bennett has a pleasant memory of his visit to Cardiff last week. Writing to the "Daily Telegrapli" he says: —"The true pros- perity of music in these islands being, to a great extent, dependent upon the efficiency and increase of orchestral societies, I was glad to be- come acquainted on Wednesday last with the oldest and most flourishing of the three or four such institutions seated at Cardiff. The Cardiff Orchestral Society, which contains the professional and amateur talent of the Welsh capital, proved itself a. very efficient body of performers; its execution of Beethoven s Second Symphony, th^, overture to "A Mid- summer Night's OrIDnt," and other works, though not free from defects, reaching a high figure of merit. A notable feature was the ability of the 'wind.' At the annual dinner of the society on the following evening solos upon the clarinet, cornet, bassoon, and trom- bone were remarkable for the skill displayed. In point of fact, this orchestra., well equipped as to strings, is exceptionally strong in the depart- ment where most others are weak. How great the resultant advantage no musical reader needs to be told." A curious and interesting fact about Hi* "Celtie fringes" is given by the Registrar- General in his statistics for 1893. It is this, that in the Celtic portions of the United King- dom the proportion of the female births 19 much higher than it is in the non-Celtic por- tions The highest projyirtions are found in Cumberland, Cornwall, and North Wales, while South Wales is only a little way down in the list, and has a proportion considerably above the average for the whole country. The pro- portion of female births is much higher both m Ireland and Scotland than in England. What the true explanation of these coincidences may be. the "Westminster Gazette" cannot say, for the laws which govern sex have not as yet been revealed. Is it that the Celt be- longs essentially to the female, rather than to the male, type? But, in any case, Lord Salis- bury will read the Registrar-General's report with consternation. For, as the female is a hardier and longer-lived animal than the male, and as among the Celts the rate of female births is especially high, the Celtic fringes are clearly destined to grow more and more." But woman ia Conservative. The consternation should be Lord Roseb^ry's, not Lord Salisbury'