The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

MR D. A. THOMAS ON DIVIDED WALES. Speaking on Monday at the annual meeting of the Aberdare Liberal Club, Mr D. A. Thomas, MP., president of the South Wales Liberal Federation, stated that he had been asked to say a few words in reference to the occurrences at the annual meeting of the Federation at Newport, and would gladly take that opportunity of doing so. He would endeavour to discuss the position temperately and without bias. He did not think he was entitled to regard his re-election to the presidential chair by a unanimous vote as indicating more than a general approval of the policy he had pursued, but he hoped he might look upon it as an expression of attachment and friendliness on rhe part of those who might differ from himself. (Hear, hear.) The scenes that occurred at Newport must have grieved all true Liberals, and if the schism iu their ranks were allowed to continue the structure which Henry Richard, Dillwyn, and other great Welshmen had laboured patiently for so many years to build up would be demolished, and Wales would once more be handed over to the tender mercies of the reactionary party. Was it this they desired ? No but it was to thill they were drift- ing. (Hear, hear.) It was the duty of all Liberals to understand the question at issue and then throw the weight of their influence on the side of unity. Important principles underlay the oontioversy. He believed they were at one in desiring a united Wales and in having such an organisation as would npon matters affectiDg Wales as a whole enable them to foeu. the opinion of the Principality by means of one national council. But they differed as to the b st means of securing these ends. There were two ways of securing Liberal unity—one was by adopting a conciliatory give-and-take policy, and uniting all Liberals residing iu Wales, whatever their nationality, upon reforms desired by all in common the other was that of driving out all who differed from them-a policy of extermination in short, as that adopted by the Sultan towards the Armenians in order to secure a united Mahomme- dau Turkey. Such a course would secure unity of a kind that is to say, among as many as were left. (Laughter.) He himself favoured the former policy. He was a Welshman, and his sympathies were Welsh but he would be no party to any course which would alienate men of other nationali- ties who had made Wales their home, who had done so much by their energy and enterprise to make Wales what she was to-day, and who were as much entitled as Welshmen themselves to take part in deciding Welsh Liberal policy. (Hear, hear.) He claimed to be a Welsh Nationalist, but he clearly foresaw that division in the ranks of Welsh Liberals would ultimately resulc in giving the Tories a preponderance cf Welsh scats, fnd no Welsh nationalist could seriously argue that nationalist aspirations were likely to be advanced by such a consummation. The policy of t,he South Wales Federation had been to carry English and Scotch Liberals along with them, and he most willingly bore testimony to thvir readiness to act in concert with Welshmen in promoting purely Welsh reforms. But it wafj a significant fact-and he wished his North Wales friends to note it-that of the six seats lost in South Wales at the last election five were those in which English speaking Liberals preponderated. How far this was due to the schism that occurred in their ranks prior to the general election he left it to them to judge. It had been said that the land of Wales belonged by right to the people of Welsh birth. Well, if that liue of argument was to he put sued he desired as a descendant of the Ancient Britons to put in a claim for the soil of England. (Laughter). But be feart-d it was not a question of practical politics. Given equal educa- tional facilities, he believed Welshmen were in- ttllectually quite able to compete up^n equal terms with men of other nationalities, aud he resented this cry of Wales for the Welsh speaking" as in- vol, i. g ati acknovvlt dgment of inferiority which e he emphatically denied. It appeared t) him to he an ii suit to Wales. A certain type of patriot devoted much impr fitable r.search to nosing out insults to Wales; he tU! mitt d this fresh insult to their con- sideration as far le.-s imaginary than many of those aireidy in their ld. (Laughier), It was not by making Wales ridiculous in the eyes of other nationalities that the interests of Wales would be advanced aud her influence extended, and that m'ln was tne truer friend ot his c >untry who protested against such a course, and endeavoured to raise her in the estimation of the sister mtions. (Hear, hear). When he heard any of his countrymen dec;aim at the iniquity of the Englishmen who bad exploited Wales, he could not help asking himself who nasthetrue-r friend of Walt-s and who h;d r, ndered the greater service to Wales-tlie English- man who, having setled down in Wales, had dtvoted his energies to the development of the conn ry in which he had made his home or the Welshman who used his c^pi al and his energies towa, ds the development of Patagonia and other foreign lands? Th y were all for a united Wales, but the w-y to secure this was by bringing English- men, Scotchmen, and Irishmen along with them, n t by at acking Ih-m and alienating their sympathies, not hy arousing r.,cial an llloslties. He had been asked wilt ther the speech of Mr Bird at Newp"rt was to be takm as setting out the policy of tne Federation, The Fed, ratii,n was not a one man organisation and he (the >p-aker) h:id no authority tj decide i's policy in fact, as they knew, he w;is only wait ng audi the Federation had selected auothe. presided' b fore iesigning his posi ion. He would not desert or embarrass his finnds by resigning so long as t.he he struggle continued, atid he gathered from the utt^ranc^ s of hisNoith Wales tiiei ds lubequent to rhe New- port meeting that M ey intended fighting it out to the bitter end. Very good or p 1 h p:, he "huulcl say very btli- (ii,-ar. h aj)—out he had n doubt hat coniaion scu*« would p'ev; il. The position of president was one involving tr e ex- p. iiditure cf much tune and trouble, and he felr. he could occupy his time more u-efuliy to the Liberal cause, and certainly more ag eeably to iiim-elf in other di!.cti< na Iran by allowing turns If to be made t.se common target (f ttiote who desire 1 the over hrow of the Federati••»<. No man on ti e executive had shown ynater sympathy with Wtlsh associations, rr more con i erat ,.u or klllel h senti- ment t ian had Mr Rob Bird; and ii Mr Bird, 111 his speech at Newpoit. intended to convey, as he be- lieved he did, th;<t the po icy of Libo <ls in Wales was not to be dominated by the id as of any clique, < r to be ui> tated by any faction, he could (,nly say tiiafc he (Mr Tho.nas) entaely greed with him. The policy of Wales must b deter- mintd by t e se tied ju gmeut of the di u-cciacy of Wales as a whole, and n t by auy facJon, huther Welsh or English. He was for hf tne rule for Walefi, but, Di-estahlishnn-nt must occupy thp first pJac; in their p.ograuim-. But he q ;< sti ced whether the intolerance exhibited at the Newport meeting wad euleu ate 1 to make many con ert to Welsh Hme Rule atro: g tho.,c who n..w wavered He Wi s for s-parate le^itlaM .11 to meet th, sp' cia' needs of Wales vvher. vcr it c uhi b-j sho>\ u to b. required. The less t',ey said about be W, Ish Parliamentary p.rty perhaps the better. For the firs;, eighty or nine ye-ira of its existence it, hid glown iu 'nfi»;eiiCe aud strength, and had done effective work but during the last couple of y,ats it was not a thing of which Welshmen could feel proud. The s ed oj (in-cold which had done jo much to paralyse Liberal effort in Walts h^d een sown in th," Welsh Parliamentary party, nnd bv the same reckless hand. He was for a united lirli; mentary party preparrd in ciiiergeneit s to take Independent action in the int rests of Wales. He thought in the matter of independence that he might claim ou rior,, than one occasion to have acted fully up to the spit it of his convictions. (Hear, hear.) But he was opposed to the idea ,har the Welsh party shtuld act entirely outside and independently of the Liberal party, or that it should be entirely dissociated from it. He was not prepared to s; e the Welsh party moulded l n precisely the lints of the Irish party. A comhina tion of what he might call toe Scotch and Iwh Parliamentary policy would give the best; results for Walea. They might usefully take many leaves out of the Irish hook, but it w.s possible t) follow the Irish example to.") closely, and, indeed, that example had been already too close'y followed in what had occurred at Ncwp rt. Tnere were some Liberals who even yet professed not to know who were the aggressors in this controversy, but the question was a very simple one. The S, uth Wales Liberal Federation had been engaged for many years in the work of such an organisation in South Walei3, They had attacked nobody, and only wished to be allowed to go on peacefully with their wo: k, whe i suddenly they were attacked by Mr Gee and his friends in Notiii Wales, and told that they must stand and deliver. They did not claim to be perfect by aoy means, but still the result of the 1892 election before the rupture began was eminently satisfactory in South Wales -only one seai out of twenty-two going to the enemy. This WIXS mainly, he fully recognised, due to the excellent work done by th: constituency associations, but slo long as these were efficient tne Federation was satisfied. Tney did not interfere unless invited to do so. Could anyone doub;, then, who were the aggressors, or who raised the con- troversy ? Suppose a body of workmen were en- gaged in a work that they were instructed to do, and they were suddenly called upon by a number of interlopers who have failed at everything they have undertaken to cease work, on the grcuud that they were not carrying on the work as the inter- lopeis desired, and a row ensm d, would there be any difficulty in attaching blame ? The pfforts emanating in the first instance from North Wales to overthrow the Suuth Wales Federation had been very pei sistent, Indeed, he might say that, with the exception of a short period when a vacancy occurred in the registrarship of the Cardiff University College, they had been continu- ous for nearly eighteen months. Is was worthy of note that the attacks commenced at a time when the Federation was more than usually active, and was engaged over the Parish Councils election and in a special Ditiestablishment campaign. This was briefly the history of the matter. First, the Cymru Fydd League, which had just previously been formed distinctly for the purpose of supplemen- ting, not supplanting," the thea existing North and South Wales Liberal Federations, the ex- cellence of whose work was very fully recognised and acknowledged, and at the inauguration of which a number of ardent Cymru Fyddites, in- cluding Messrs Beriah Evans, Gee, Lloyd George, and himself, delivered orations, was converted into an instrument not for supplementing, but for under- mining, the Federations. Then followed quickly an organisation largely on paper, formed to absorb the Cymru Fydd League and Federations. The North Wales Federation was terrorised into an un- timely suicide, much to the regret of a large number of, and if he might say so without offence, the majority of the more thoughtful Liberals in North Wales. Meetings were held subsequently at Aber- ystwyth, at which, he was informed, the Merioneth Liberal Association was the only one properly re- presented-by the way, the Merioneth Association, he might observe in passing, had since seceded from the Welsh National Federation—and at one of these meetings Mr Gee pronounced sentence of death upon the South Wales organisation. Indeed, Mr Gee went further, and with a sweep of the arm declared the- organisation out of existence, and said that from the moment of his declaration it must be regarded as having ceased to exist. (Hear, hear, and laughter). However, the knowledge possessed by the autocrat of Denbigh pertaining to political life in South Wales has always been elementary, and in the light of subsequent events it was clear that what Mr Gee mistook for death can have been nothing more than suspended animation. However, much mischief was being worked and no effort was lost to promote disaffection and disunion in the ranks oi South Wales Liberals. The East Car- marthenshire Association, under the guic ance of the Rev Towyn Jones, seceded from the Federation and so in the interest of peace, and &t the sug- gestion of the South Wales Daily News proprietors, a small conference was convened at Llandrindod with a view of trying to arrive at a. modus vivendi on the eve of the general election. Certain general lines of a settlement were agreed to, and a small sub-committee was appointed to draft a scheme. The sub committee met at Shrewsbury and agreed to a scheme,leaving open only the two minor points of whether the Secretary of the National Council should be honorary or paid, and whether the four provincial organizations should be called "Districts" or "Federations." Frankly, he did not think much of the scheme as ilrafted, and that view was shared by others; but they were deter- mined to abide loyally by the arrangement come to provisionally by their representatives at Shrews- bury, and the executive of the South Wales Liberal Federation adopted it, adopting also the opinion of their representatives on the two points of detail. The seven representatives of the National Federa- tion, including Messrs Gee, Lloyd George, and Beriah Evans, subsequently accepted the scheme, he believed, without material alteration. He called them representatives of the National Federation, though he had failed to as- certain their precise representative authority, or in what way, and by whom, they had been appointed. (Hear, hear.) The Shrews- bury scheme provided for four provincial organi- sations with one National Council, consisting of the four provincial executives. To this Messrs Lloyd George and Beriah Evans had agreed a few weeks ago, and he had thought' the matter practically settled. Yet at Newport he found these two gentlemen endeavouring to upset the arrange- ment they had come to only a short time previously. He woutd any nothing of the good taste and discretion of these North Wales gentlemen iu trying to force themselves upon the South Wales Federation meeting-discretion was not their strong point—(laughter and cheers)—but his hearers would understand the difficulty of any working arrangement with men who, after agree- ing to a scheme one day tried break through it a few weeks afterwards, and wanted to put the whole matter back into the melting pot. It had been suggested that another general meeting should be held. To that he would say, Carry out your agreement honourably first, and then we may talk to you about another meeting." It might suit the purpose of those whose sole object appeared to sow aicord and damage the Liberal par y to have an opportunity of creating another bear garden, but he himself would not countenance such a s ep, and for himself he would take part in no convention at Swansea or anywhere else by whomsoever called until he saw si,me disposition on the part of their opponents to adhere to what he might call their treatly obligation. (Hear, hear). Hi- hearers most hear in mind that there was a National Council under their present constitution, hiid the Noith Wales Federation noc become de- funct, and that to the National Council under the Shrewsbury scheme the constituents would elect di, ect, for the three representatives on the pro- vincial executives would also be the three repre- sentatives on the National Council. Werethepro- vmcial organisations done away with, it would mean that the National Council would have to do the whole work of oiganisation. Now he asked them to consider seriously whether they thought a council meeting convened frequently could pretend to be representative of the whole of Wales? Complaint had been made on the pccasion of the Newport me. ting that New- port was too far away to expec delegates to attend from Pembrokeshire and C-trdigiz)siiire. This objection was aken by the Nortti Wales friends. Bu if tt,at was so, was it likely that Pembroke and CardIgan delegates would attend frequently in Noith Wales? (Hear, hear.) He migns say that during tiie right years Monmouthshire had formed nart "f the Federation this was the first time the iiinnal m-eting had been held there, and as far as he was cotioerned, when the plaje of meeting caire before the executive he had refrained from voting. Well, no v suppose a national council meeting were held a' C rnarvon, the second or third perriaps held in Nor h Wales within six months, how many Sout'l Wales delegates would be prepired to spend "hfi t i-n(.- and expense involved in a three days' a: s&ncf from their ordinary occupations by •tt'.ei ding at Carnarvon? Very few indeed, he ventured to say. The reoult would he that tne National Council would get into the h of a small clique of wire-pullers within a very few months, the v. hole organisation wou'd be brought i to deserved coritemp:, and the d. cisions 0: the National Counc>! would have no kind d authority. They in th" Sotrh, at ali e, eiits w<-re determined that Liberal Wales should not l ave her policy dictated hy a clique, but that it should he determined by -he d m crscy and he U'imtai-- ed t at they were not only the truer Li'^er:ils, » ut the truer Nationalists dso. It. had bcen said that tne officials of th", Fed elation had picked th° N-wport 111 et'ng. This was a baseleps c- arge. Str nuou- efforts or w ich he h >d known heat toing on for some little t'nie I)efo. e to p ck the m eti- g They knew in re of hose efforts at Catnano-i, Wicoce ll ordets prec eded, than he was in a position to know. Considerable l'ght had been thrown on the Carnarv n tacic" by vcc.'nt- letters in the P'e! Biit such tr.et cs could not ba uccesful L the Jr.ng ran, howev r muuh m'schief clil',C r a time. "ss aii ill ist ation f t'oe accuracy of the sta'ements made by the orth friction, it h-d bLeD asserted t't ih" meeting ha i b n picked by Cardiff ad Mertliyr ('(■legates. A a matter of fact, these Iislrets, ■hough tn'i'leJ to 100 rrp e*e tafives, had ot tent a dozen between them. He had inquired f the Secretary (Mr Morgan Thomas) -inee the Newport meeting whom the tickets had been sent t", end he had b en assured that the secretaries or reprcs-n ative agents in c-very division hrd besn written to a-king how many Ti-kds within the limit al.owed by the rubs would be required. There w- s no hw that he knew to comp-1 delegates such as those of Pembroke-hire and Cardiganshire to atcnd if they did not wish ta. Ea: t Carmar- thenshire had formally seceded from, the Federa- tion, and could not expect to be represented or take part in the deliberations of an organisation from which r.hey had of their own free will dissociated 'hem elvex, while the Secretary of the West Mon- mouth Association had writen saying t :ey had not appointed delegates, and required no tickets.

SOUTH WALES LIBERAL FEDERATION. The annual meeting of the South Wales Liberal Federation was held at Newport on Thursday, Mr A. Spicer, M.P., the member for the constituency, presiding. The attendance of del-gates was lirge, some 200 being present, inc'uUng Mr D. A. Thomas, M.P., Mr W. Abraham, M.P., Mr Lloyd- George, M.P., a large number of local Liberals, and a fair representation from the eastern portion of Soutn Wales. It became apparent at ;h., outset of the proceedings that the chief interest of the mee ing would centre around the question of organisation, and more pa,ticuiarly he future relations of the South Wales Liberal Federation to the Welsh National Federation and policy. The Chairman, in his openiog address, referred to the relations of this country with foreign n'tious, and amidst applause paid a high tribute t,) the prompt and decisive action of Mr Chamberlain in the Transvaal complication.—On the motion for adopting the report, Alderman Freeman, of Swansea, called attention to the fact that delegates' tickets had been refused by the officials of the Federation to two important constituency associations in South Wales- those of East Carmarthen and West Monmouthshire,- the latter being represented in the He use of Commons by Sir William Harc urfc.—Mr D. A. Thomas, as the president of the Federation, explained that East Cartítrthen had severed its connection with the South Wales Federation, while the West Monmouth Executive had ietused permission to the secretary of the Federation to hold organisation meetings in the constituency until the present dispute was settled. —Alderman Freeman questioned the accuracy of the statement so far as East Carmarthen was con- cerned, and the Secretary, on being appealed to, could not produce any resolution received from East Carmarthen to the effect that they had seveied their connection. After a prolonged and heated discussion, a resolution was pissed affirming the right of the two disfranchised constituencies to representation at the Council of the Federation. —Another acrimonious discussion arose on the question of the appointment of officers for the year. -Mr Brace (miners' agent), Newport, said he did not consider it necessary to appoint officers for an oigauization which they now proposed to merge in another body—(cheers)—and proposed that they ahould defer the question until after the national convention, to which both sides were pledged, had met.-Councillor Raffan, of North Monmouth, se- conded.—Ultimately the retiring officers were all re-elected on the understanding that they would cease to act when a national convention decided to merge the present Federation in the proposed new national organisation. The whole time of the morning Convention was consumed in discussing these two questions only. Mr Spicer again presided over the afternoon Con- ference, when Mr Brown, of Newport, proposed the adoption of the Shrewsbury scheme as amended by the South Wales Executive. Mr Beriah Evans, on rising to make a personal ex- planation in reference to the Shrewsbury scheme, was challenged as to his [right to be present, but stated he had been elected a delegate by three Liberal Associations in South Wales. The first trial of strength occurred on the amendment pro- posed by the South Wales Executive that the secretary to the new organisation should be an honorary and not a paid official. Mr Lloyd-George, who had been elected a delegate by four separate Liberal Associations, and who was received with applause, opposed the amendment, as tending to make the new organisation ineffective. They did not want a paper organisation or a sham national council, but a body which would enable them to do good and effective service to the party, give form and vigour to Welsh ideas, and secure unity and continuity of policy in the Principality. The amendment to make the post an honorary one was lost, as were also a number of others, including one which proposed to omit the political clauses from the schema. A considerable number of delegates left the room at this stage to catch their return trains. Mr Elvet Lewis, on behalf of the Llanelly Liberal Association, moved the excision from the scheme of the clauses providing for the establishment of four provincial federations. They were there to unite Wales into one homogeneous whole, and not to cut it up into four rival provincial sections. A delegate from the Rhondda said that Association had elected fifty delegates and instructed them to vote solid for the amendment now proposed. Mr Bird, of Cardiff, in rising to oppose the amendment, said that South Wales, Cardiff, Newport, and Swansea, for instance, contained a large English element, which was not going to be dominated by the Welsh ideas suggested by Mr Lloyd-George. This expression was greeted with loud cries of dis- sent, and a scene of indescribable confusion ensued, the speaker being prevented from proceeding for several minutes. Mr Lloyd-George, on rising to support the amendment, was obstructed in like manner, and the Chairman put the question to the meeting whether Mr Lloyd-George should be heard on this question, and declared that the majority had voted against permitting the member for the Carnarvon Boroughs to speak. The announce- ment of this decision brought about another dis- creditable scene, and the amendment, on being put to the meeting, was declared lost, The Nation- alists at this point practically withdrew from further participation in the proceedings, partly as a protest against the "gagging" of Mr Lloyd- George, as they described it. Some further amendments to the scheme were formally put, but no attempt was made to press them, and the various sections were rapidly disposed of. At the conclusion, the Rev T. G. James moved that as a final court of appeal to decide questions of diner- ence between the two federations a national con- vention should be summoned. This was opposed by Mr Brown, who contended that another meet- ing of the South Wales Federation should be held to receive and further consider the decision of the Welsh National Federation. The proposal to hold a national conference was defeated, and after passing some formal resolutions on disestablish- me ut and the Armenian question the meetiug terminated. At the close of the proceedings of the South W des Liberal Federation an impromptu gathering of the Nationalist delegates who still remained wab. hastily convened, some sixty or eighty beiup present. Alderman Freeman presided. Mr Lloyd- George proposed that a representative convention of South Wales Liberals be held at Swaus-a early in March to consider the whole question He pro- tested against the constitution of the Federation meeting that day. The three western counties had been disenfranchised. West Monmouth, which was suspected of Nationalist leanings, had been also disfranchised, and the meeting had been packed by delegates drawn from Newp rt and the lcioity far in excess of their proper reorf senta ion. He emphatically denounced the assumption of Mr Bird that Wales must not be dominated bv Welsh ideas; he was quite content that England should be dominated by English ideas, Scotland by Scottish, Ireland by Irish, and surely Wales t>houi<i be dominated by Welsh ideas. (Lou i applause). Several speakers followed, and the resolution was unanimously adopted with great eutnusi-;sm. A further resolution was adopted appointing Swanse.) as the place of meeting, and ten or tw elve organising secretaries were appointed to assist the secretary of the National Federation in organising the South Wales constituencies for the purpose of appointing delegates to the convention. The following resolu- tion as then adoptd That this meeting of duly authorised delegates of the annual mee ing of the South Wales Liberal Federation expresses its strong resentment at the discourteous nnd irregula action of the annual meeting of the Federation held to-day in refusing to hear Mr Lloyd-George on a question of vital imporiauce to the We;sh nation."

Notes of local football, cricket, and other matches will be inserted in this column, and should be sent to the Editor as soon after they come off as possible.

LONDON AND PROVINCIAL B^NK, LIMITED. Sir Joseph Savory, Bart., M.P., who presided at the a::nu!tl meeting of this ba¡,k on Monday, said that the capital of the Company was now no less th^n £ 1,200,000, £ 600,000 being pai l up Toe creation of new shares had been very beneficial to the l a ik. The res-rve fund was to b- increased by £ 3.000, which would raise it to £ 810 000 The c;'St' mer's balances stood at £ 7.600 000, and th- customers themselves had conoid rablv increased in number. The net profit on the half-year's work- ing was £ 56,193, or f800 more t .an thar on the working or the corresponding half-year of 1S95. Their investments were of too very hish: st charae'er, and were worth f 550,000 m,!e th&i-, key btoOj ar in the books of the hank. The cash and investments taken together amounted t, neariv £ 4,000,000, equal in book value to neary 51 per cent d the bank's entire liability to customers, or on their actual value to nearly 58 per cent, ot that liability. Addiiional freehold -it-s 'or the extension of premises and for tli- creation 0' new agends had been purchased, so hit the p enrses ace. iiilt was iuer^ed by £ 7,000. The ac ua: build .ng ex-fcei,si, n of promises had been paid out of revenue. The bank had now 105 branches —47 in London—and 37 agenci-s. The nte--e.-t paid during the half-year amounted to E39,0-10- gxaefcly the same as in the comspou ling period of list ytar. The company had cu-ner uj branches in the erslern counties, where the depression of agriculture had been most severely felt, and in Wale?, where the colliery districts had been in a far f:< m flourishing condition, an i had.. herefore, hid serious difficulties to coti-eii,i with. The e was (-v, ry reason to hope that by the lowering of roilivay rates the condition of agriculture won d be improved, and the prospects of the future were brighter. The gross profits for t;:e half-year amounted to C179,878, out of which there remained a balance of £ 73,000 Out of this a dividend at the rate of 17 per cent. would be paid. Tile bank did not lower it3 dividend; it w..s-tcure to-day, and would be maintained in the fa ure. A sub- scription of £ 2,503 was aLo givert t, the offijer: pension and gratuity fund, and £ 18,000 was carrie 1 forward.

THE TENANCY OF ST. WINEFRLDKS I WELL. At a fpecial meeting of the Holywell Dis riot Council last week the Clerk (Mr R. Thomas) read the fo.lowing letter which he had received from the Rev Fa:her Beauclerk As the season of 1896 is rapidly approaching, and in view of the difficulties with regard to the tenure of land ad- jacent to the Well which seem la ely to have arisen. I think it well to propose a compromise to the Council. They. I am sure, trust ftel as anxious a myself, in the interest of the town and of the pilgrim world, that the uneasiness as to the tenaney of the Well, which is daily spreading wider in Catholic circles, should be diss pat-d as soon as possible and confidEnce restored. Tnerefore I beg to submit to their decision the following proposal —That I be allowed to hold the Wei! during the ensuing year on the same terms as it was held in 1895. I need not r-mind you that no tim is to be lost, in view of the faice and exiirgei-ated state- ments of tlis situation that have gained credit abroad. The sooner an agreement is come to and the fact published the better for all of U. "vIr Lambert sriid there could be no doubt that the offer was a reasonable one, and the Council would beg dng against the interests of the 'own if they did not accept it He proposed, therefore, that the Well be let to Father Beauclerk for the ensuing year at ;CIOO., -Air Joseph Jones seconded.—In re- ply to a question, the Clerk said the Council could not grant a lease of the Well.Dr Jotes: Sup- posing a lease had been granted, as first asked The Chairman We did not know then what we know now. We did not know that we had not got it otirselve^.—Dr Jones We were in a fool's paradise, then.—After some further <uscu«si Dr Jones proposed that the Well be let to Father Beauclerk at Z125, which would be meeting him halfway.—Mr Lambert thereupon withdrew hia propositien, and seconded that of Dr Jone-9, which was put to the meeting, and carried unanimously.

MACHYNLLETH. PREACHING.—On Monday and Tuesday evening the Rev J. Roberts, Corris, preacned at the Maen- gwyn Chapel. Mr Roberts will continue the services during the week. LECTURE.—On Wednesday evening at the English Presbyterian Chapel, the Rev Barrow Wiiliams, Llandudno, delivered an instructive lecture on amusements. Mr W. M. Jones presided, and the attendance was very satisfactory. MrJ. Rowlands proposed a vote of thanks to the lettuier and chairman, which was seconded by Mr E. LI. Evans. TREAT TO THK WORKHOUSE INMATE.S. -OLi Fri- d last, Mrs Ffoulkes Jones, Upper House, enter- tained the workhouse inmates at tea. The tables were presided over by Mrs Ffoulkes Jones, Miss Ffoulkes Jones, Mrs Rowlands, Mrs Wm. Jones, Mrs Lloyd, with the assistance of other ladies. The tea was much appreciated by the inmates a-lio, at the conclusion, accorded a very hearty vote of thanks to the donor. In the evening Mi-s lf(,ulkes Jones gave the inmates a m,,ig,c lintertainment. The views represented the table of an org 4n gr i nder named Trephy and a young lid named Crisue, who sought their living by means of the organ. Miss Jones lucidly explained the scenes and added to the enjoyment of the proceedings. A recitatihn by the Matron and a vote of thanks terminated a pleasant evening. BOARD OF GUARDIANS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28TH.—Present Mr John Rees, Ynys, chair- man, presiding; Mr Ellis Hughes, Cemmes, vice-chairman Mrs Lloyd, Machynileth Messrs Edward Hughes, Llanwrin E. M. Jones, Llan- brynmair; John Owen, Towyn; David Evans (co-opted); William Parry, Pennal David Lewis, and N. B. Owen, Uwchygarreg; John Jones, Scuborycoed; Edward Pritchard, lisy- garreg; William Jones, Aberdovey; John Davies, Darowen; Mr David Evans, clerk,and Mr D. Morgan, assistant clerk. Statistics.-Out-relief administered during the past fronight. Machynlleth district perMr,John Jones, f21 13s Od to 95 paupers Pennal District per Mr W Jones, 937 6s 6d to 105 paupers; Darowen district per Mr Daniel Howell, £42 10s 6d to 150 paupers. Number in the house, 40; last year, corresponding period, 36. Vagrants relieved, during the past fortnight, 51 a decrease of 7 as compared with the corresponding period of last year. Tea and Cake, d-c., Im- the Inmit-. -The Master (Mr John Jones) reported that on Friday Mrs Ffoulkes Jones and Miss Sarah Jones. Rock View, gave a tea, cake, &c., to the inmates. There were also present Mrs Ffoulkes Jones, Miss Nellie Jones, Mrs Lloyd (Cambrian House), Miss P. Jones, Mrs Rowlands, Mrs Williams (Barmouth). Miss Catherine t Pugh. After tea a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the ladies, and responded to by Mrs Ffoulkes Jones and others. In the evening a magic lantern entertainment was given by Miss Nellie Jones, the subject being ••Christies old organ." Mr Richard Owen, Nawlyn, occupied the chair and Mr Hughes, chemist, manipulated the lantern. The Rev T. Griffiths delivered an address, and the me-ting was closed a vote of thanks being passed to Miss Jones and otners fur their kindness Mrs Jones, Cambrian House, presented m -ney to the iomates, and the children with sweets, 'ovs &c. Mrs Williams. Post Office, sent oranges and illustrated papers were sent by MIS N. B. Owen and Mr Sackville Phelps.-On the proposition of Mr Edward Hughes, seconded by Mr Dd. Ev. ns, a hearty vcte of thanks was accorded those mentioned for their kindness. Retirement of Guardians.—In reply to the Clerk V letter a communication was read from the Merioneth County Council stating that they had decided that the Guardians should retire in April, 1898. In reply to a question, the Clerk said t'e had received no reply from Montgomery and Car- digan County Councils. Additional Train.-A letter wAs read from the Secretary to the Cambrian Railways Company ac- knowledging the receipt of the Board's letter with regard to the deficient train service to Machynlleth, and stating the matter was receiving their atten- tion. More Guatdians.—The necessity of having an | additional district councillor for the parish of L'an- wrin was brought forward by Mr Edward Hughes, and it was Agreed that the County Council should be commuricated with requesting them to give the Board an opportunity of expressing their views in tr :s matter.—The Clerk read the following letter from Mr Harrison, clerk to the Montgomeryshire County Council: •' With reference to the applica- tion made by the Penegoes parish to have two dis net, councillor, will you be go d -nongh to send me the names of the present councillors for the district with their ioode of retirem at to submit to the Committee on Monday next "—Tne Clerk stated that he had forwarded the information asked for. Bathroom Provision.— With regard to the pro- visi >n of a ba h'0_.m, tramp war s, and f ther pro- posed al er tions at the n u«., Mr Hipkiss, the architect, .attended and submitted the plans, which he explained vo the Boai-d.-Tiie Clerk siid that the alterations descri'-ed by the iirehitect did not aris; out of he Local Government Board's letter w:t'i the exception of the bathroom, but from the discission winch took plate at the iast meeting and the sug^e-tions by Mr Bircham.—Subse- quently, Mr Hipkiss said the tramp ward was a larger matter than ",h.t he had interpreted from rhe CI rk' letter. Me Bircham at tne last meeting was very emphatic about, this work. and would not listen to the simple plan of wards he ha-i prepared, but insisted on elaborate wards.— Mr Edward Hughes proposed that the matter be ref-rred to the Committee to consider and report.—The Clerk said the previous Com- mittee was composed of Messrs, the Chairman, John Davies, David Lewis, H. L. Smith, Wm Parry, Wm. J-mes, aad John Rowlinds.-As Mr Smith ha lefr the district Mr E. M. Jones was substituted and Mr David Evans was added to the Committee. —It was decided also that t';e Committee should meet in a fortnight. Su -i-cliarge.-X sum of 10s having not been vouched tor to the Auditor when he audi ed the accounts of Mr Daniel Howell, relieving officer for the parish of Darowen, he surcharged the officer with the sum. Mr Huwell immediately after the audit obtained the voucher and fte now asked the Gua dians to support him in his application to the Local Government Board to refund the ainouut.- It \vaj agreed to do so. RURAC DISTRICT COUNCIU-A meeting of the Council wax hell after the Guardians, Mr Edward Hughee ill the chair. The Bridge over thp Dovey.—A communication was re.d fiom 'he County Surveyor (Mr H.itchin- s It,) enclosing plaus, specifications, a^d sections of the prop sed bridge over the Dovey near Llinwrin. He estimated toe cost of the bridge ani road ex- clusive of the land, legal expeuses. cte., at £ 800.— The Cietk i-tated that Is. per yard was required for the land.—Toe Chairman sugges ed Iha", t;;<i Cierk write to Mr D. JOIKS, the hudowner, asking him for lower terms than that widen had been offered. The County Surveyor h: d va ued the land anr1 there iN as a great discrepancy between tha tittt Dri" 1-S.1 #, 1 Uaak ri.iCe a-ixtu w. a _e at winca ig hau valued.—Mr Ellis Hughes agreed, and the Chair- man's ingestion v.as adopted; 11 aillan and Penddol JVctter Supply. Reporting on this subject, the Surveyor stated that the Penddol inhabitants obt-iiii-d their water for drinking pu.-p--ses from a spring at the back of Winllan c Stages. There was a go oct flow there at all time?, out the only draw aek was that it sp ang between two filthy prices and a surface dra\T r.in under the sp iut from which the water w..s drawn. It was the in ent-on of the Parish Couecil to have the water conveyed in pip to a pot between the two hamlets. The owner of the Winllan prop-rty refused to allow the water to be inte f-red with and ro have a supply at Penddol from any other i-ource would be expensive. He recommended the Council to ask Mrs Seymour Davi s, tne owoor of W inilan to improve the snvoaneings of the source fr-on which P nddol and Wiidhn ob ained their water supply.—In reply to the Chairman, the Surveyor stated that the spout from which water was d-awa wi h'on land belonging to Mrs Seymour Davies.—Tne Chairman suggested that a copy of tiis report be sent to Mrs Seymour Dav;; s. -On the proposition of Mr b. M. Joii, s t'e sugg. stion was adapted with a rcque-t that Mrs Davies imp ove the surroundings ef the source or all: w t :e water to be conveyed to a more sui-abl- pbee -The matter was farther anjourn d awaiting Mrs Davits' obs-rvatl ns in the matter Repair of Ro ids.— Iu accordance with notice given, Mr E. M. Jones mned that the Council re- pair certain road- iu -he p rish of Llanbryn nair. Mr Divid Lewis said there were rovis in his parish which badly required repairing. —Mr N B Owen said that eve al lett-rs had been receiv, d from. various Parish Councils in regard to roids in their parishes ad theref r he pr pos d that the whole qui stion of roads be, taken -at the next mee! ir)g. Mr J"hn Joees sonde t ttie pr p(.si ion.-Mr E. M. Jones objected to the qu-stion bei ig deferred any longer. He d- si, ed to brirg befo.e the Council ih qiv.-s ion of n-pairing four roads in his parish, T'he vvhole was not moie than two miles in length and they sorely needed repair. Tne firm rs had agreed to assist the Councii in the matter of the cartage of n-aterial for the roads, one of which passed through be parish and the others lead t9 farms. The roads he referred to were the ones from the nmn read pass ng Brynanty and Caemadog to Gellidywydd trcm Peny wloh to Esgirllyfiran and Cwmca'ch from Ty Pellaf to Mwyars and iyoycoed, and from Pandy to Caeaiigl~isi.ia He would not ask the Coun it that day to repair the roaff; but he proposed that the Surveyor be re- quested to visit the roads and submit au estimate of the cost of repairing them and that he should also see the fartneis and ascertain what amount of carting they were prepared to do if the work was carried out.—Mr D. Evans seconded the proooMtion. —The Clerk said the question for he Council was, who was to repair the r >ads ? If the roads ended at the farm to which they led the landlords were responsible for the repair, but if the roads passed through to other parishes the Council was respon- sible. He understood there was only one road in Llanbrynmair of the htpr kind.—The Chairman said that Mr Eliis Hughes had a complaint to make about the roads in his parish and he should be heard; but Mr N. B. Owen again pressed his proposi- tion that the wiiole question be dealt with at tha next Council, ani this was ultimately agreed to.

FOOTBALL. • MEDAL COMPETITION. U.C.W. RESERVE v. TOWN RESERVE. The third fixture in connection with the medal competition was played 00 Saturday in rainy weather. Much to tne surprise of the spectators the game went, in favour of the College Reserve who played an exc llent game, ultimately winning by three g >ah to two. At the conclusion of the game a protest was lodged by the Town Reserve on the ground that tivo or three of the men who had played were members of the first team, and con- sequently were not eligible to play. The appeal was considered at a committee meeting on Monday evening, when explanations were given, and the protest was dismissed. BALA THURSDAYS v. CORWEN WEDNES- DAYS. The return match between these teams was played at Bala in boisterous weather. The Thursdays had to take the field without some of their best m-n. The visitors started the game with the wind against them, and made a rush for the home goal, which was checked by T. J. Roberts. The home forwards made for their oppo- nents' goal, but were met by a Stirling defence. After some give and take play the visiting forwards showed a hit of their smartness by making raids. for the home goal, but tney were. cleverly repulsed by the home d- fence. Although aided by the strong wind the home forwards could not score, but- they were continually II) the precincts of their opponen, s' goal. Th ir effort^ were at last crowned with success, Dakm making a very fine shot which gave his side the first goal of the match. After this the visiting forwards tried their utmost to gain ground, but the home h df-backs kept them at bay, and it was very seldom they m ssed the half-way line. Up to now the home forwards had played a very good game, but wh n they got in front of goal they compl- t/ ly lost, their heads, and several chances were lost. When the teams crossed over it was thoug it Cor wen would play mnch better with the aid of the wind, but instead they played a much inferior game in the sec nd hlf, and it was only the grand game played by their two backs tclat awed them fr m a sev re drubbing. The home team, although p aying again-it the wind, again showed their superiority, and added another goal, and the game ended in alvictoryforthe Thursdays by two goals to nil. As to the players, the home team did not play up to their usual form. Humphreys in goal did all that was required of him, which was very li'tle, only handling the ball on three or four occasions. The two backs were safe, but had no opportunity to show their defensive powers. The half-back line played a grand game throughout and completely broke up the combination of the visiting forwards. As to the forwards they played a very good game in the open, but when it came to siiooting to goal they were out of it. As to the Corwen team they did not come up to expectations, and only turned up with eight men, but they secured the services of three excellent men as sub- stitutes—two being from the 1st XI. of Bala Town Team—who played a good game for them. The goalkeeper played a good game on the whole. The two backs played a grand game and are deserving of prairse. U.C.W. v. ABERYSTWYTH. The secon' fixture between these teams was played on Wedn .da.y. Aberystwyth were weakly represented and .u Jered defeat by a goal, the result being.— Abervstwyth 3. U.C.W 4. U.C.W 4.