The Cambrian

Ihe Cambrian. FRIDAY, MARCR 18, 1904. NOTES ON MEN & THINGS The Guardians' election} at Morriston is going to be a ladies' touirney. The male can- didates are the best of friends, but The American "Drych" announces that a Pittsburg (Pennsylvania) firm supples Pen- clawdd cockles to order. Laver bread is not mentioned. Surely thiis is an omission. Judging by the progress already made, Messrs. Dick, Kerr And Co. are unlikely to fail in their promise to have the Bryn-road tud Ox ford-street section of the new 11 am wave ready before the week in May, when the Bath and West of England Show will be held a,t Swansea. There is no luck of candidates for places upon the Swansea District Council, and con- tests are assured in all but two localities. The keen desire to serve the public as mani- fested bv the number of rival aspirants in the field is in striking contrast to the general in- difference in tlie town. Speaking of the street architecture of Swan- sea, Mr. J. Littlejo £ wk» observed that no one would so far insult this place as to say there was any pre-conceived idea about it! Why the Guildhall was placed where it is he couldn't think, except that the designers wanted it to be as near tfce hooters as pos- sible At Morriston, personal feeling, having its origin in the last municipal election, is directly responsible for the opposition offered to the three retiring Guardians, whilst in the Ffynone Ward one person's desire to be a Guardian is accountable for the necessity im- {xvsed upon the retiring Guardians tu fight for their seats. As anticipated in our last i-sue, the oon- tested elections in connection with the Swan- sea. Board of Guardians have, in tlie borough, been whittled down to nearly the smallest possible proportions. In eight wards the can- didates composed' almost in evi ry instance of old Guardians, have been returned un- opposed, and in the two remaining wards there are but eight candidates for six seats. Mr. John Williams, the candidate of the Miner's Federation for the Gower Division, continues to receive testimony to the deep- rooted and widespread antagonism developed against hs candidature, even a linking the working classes*. The latest demonstration of hostility was provided by the Morriston Trades Council, which has not hesitated to condemn, in the plainest terms, the procedure adopted in putting forward the Mineis' agent. The chief feature that best illustrates the popularity of the Bancroft testimonial is that not one sum ha.s been received under five shillings, although originally started as a shilling fund. Sir John Llewelyn, by the w ay, has been giving members of the Swan- sea team the run of hi* grounds in a rabbit- shooting afternoon one wonders whether the sensitive "cün.scienŒ" of the Welsh Union can interpret t hi" is a nefarious attempt at athletic "bribery and corruption"? Swansea Corporation will presently have to face the obligation of taking the necessary steps for extending the borough boundar es. Unless this be effected we shall have part of the new do k constructed chiefly upon the credrit of the municipalit- actually outside the borough. And it is a chronic anomaly that the roads between Morriston and the Swan- sea docks are torn up chiefly by heavy traffic from works which contribute nothing to their up-keep. Mumbles, too, which benefits di- rectly and indirectly by every step taken by Swansea to attract visitors, should, as a matter of equity, be embraced in the bor- otigh. When Sir George Newnes wants to get quite away from the maddening crowd he re- tires to his beautiful place on the hill at Lynton, by the sea, and communes with Nature—and the few residents. So secure is he from invasion (says the Bristol "Tiimis and Mirror") that on one memorable occasion, when a ship-load of journalists started from Caidiff to enjoy his hospitality, they never got within -s-nie!!ing distance of the recherche luncheon he had p repp.red. They wlie obliged to tako refuge at Wtston-sup<-r-Ma,e from the elements, and Sir Gkorge went out into the. highways and hedges of Lynton. and compelled his neighbours to come in a,d dis- pose :>f ihe mea! so lavishly, but vuiniy pre- pared for the Cardiff party. Anthracite's merits are Kslr,, TigviiruDiv advertised in London just at present by hints, which should surely "touch the spot," that j by its employment- exclusively a.-) a ooinbus- tible, the ever-dreaded "London particulra." can be avoided. The one awkward point, however, is the probable um-uitability of the great majority of the .stores in the Metropolis for the burning of antnracite; while another prejudice that would be a. series.. hindranoe, lies in the fact that it does not present that clieerful red and yellow blize and glow which every householder loves to s-ac in his grate London, with a six million population, is moreover a place that will require "convert- ing" on an extensive scafe, a,nd the mission of the Anthracite Combine M one of very considerable dimensions. Laws exist that are designed to mitigate the .smoko nuisance, but they are- apparently seldom enforced. The "old crocks" have bean carried cmce too otten to tlie well, with the inevitable result of a debacle. For the result of Satur- day's downfall, the \\VL«h Union has nobody to thank Lut its-elf, for choosing a teum, origin- ally iTjediocr-p, and which \:ijv degenerated to the rank of a second claias isntsrnational o.g.mi&at.on through the numerous defections, paa-ticularly in the forwards, where the ab- .'enca of Josepli and Hodges, and the -tub- ■-thution of Priteliard for D. H. Da vies ren- dered the front rank a collection of mediocrities. Contrbuting cir- cumstances were the presence of Mr. Crawford Findlay 4, from the itand- po,nt of moral effect, a sixt-exth Irish player, ir, zi a general te-ndency to th.nk tkat "any team was good enough for Ire'and. If the \V» JiSh I nion s day of d!,st? >Iuuon arrives bs- for next season, few people will particularly deplore its end; it alens is responsible for the fiasco of a saii&sxi brimful of surprises. After all Scotland s utter breakdown before Wales was as remarkable a.s the reveree Ire- land inflicted upon the team that in theory, and judging by paper form, should I Lave baaten :t by forty oo- foi-ty-nve p -ints to nil. The Welsh football team thiis season was I brilliant in attack, but exceptionally feeble in defence. This was indicated at Leicester and proved at Belfast. And the weakness was particularly noticeable at full back. The Mayor expressed a sentiment which has been very generally endorsed in the town, when he said he hoped that politics would not be introduced into the business of the Harbour Trust. The point of the observation lies in the fact that of late the spirit of party- politics has more than once obtruded itself into the discussions. A deputation representing the Swansea branch of the Incorporated Law Society, which waited upon a Corporation committee on Monday, produced such an impression in regard to the licensing arrangements at the Swansea, Court that the desire was expressed for a repetition of the statements before the Council, when reporters would be present to make known the same to the public. Sir John Llewelyn, however strongly liis sympathies may run with the Bancroft testi- monial, had really no option but to formally withdraw his contribution of twenty guineas. For after all he is the president of the Welsh Union, and obedience is an obligation that lies- heavier upon the general than the private soldier. Still, we ha' our dootti as to whether his heart was in the Letter announcing the decision to withhold the donation. On board the White Star ship s.s. Medic, which left Liverpool for Cape Tow n and Syd- ney last January, and during ber voyage there were several concerts on deck, at which Mr. Dam Griffiths, of Caerau, near Maesteg, who emigrated to South Afrdoa to fill a position on a colliery near Johammosburg, sang splendidly. By general opinion 11m was eon si tiered t-he best sliigar on the ship. Floreat ge.liant little Wales! There are people who are gratified to hear that a,n enterprising syndicate"- is piospeering for coal under Swansea Bay there are others wliwse perspective perhaps is more extensive who apprehend possible d,isugL-I"IQ conse- ¡ quences from the aforementioned enterprise. Should the veins be proved and worked and headings be cut under the town, what in the prospect of recovering compen^at"111 in the case of subsidences? And has the Haeboin- Trust acquired, with the sitets of the doeks, old a.nd new, the right to the minerals under- neath? Uuless it he.s, we may in a future, not necessarily remote, h:I,e the case of the Cockett Tunnel reproduced, wit.h but slight variations. Bancroft's testimonial fond "Hjve.s alosig with depressing slownesf.. is not that quantity of spontaniety one would expect, taking into account the long and Valuable services rendered by W. J. Bancroft to Welsh football generally, and Swansea football in particular. A few years ago there seemed no limit to his popularity in the town. Of the thousands, then prepared to sh*'1^ themselves I hoarse when he did some exceptionally smart thing on the football field, it would anoear that only a miserably poor proportion are now disposed to let their admiration erys- talise in hard cash. Truly the adoration of the crowd is an evanescent quality hardly worth a thought. The subscribers do not run into tens; th^ former enthusiastic ad- mirers were to be co-unted by the thousand. Swansea magistrates are probably uncon- scious of it, on the principle that the persons chiefly concerned are the last to hear t ne news, but there is tlie fact nevertheless that a dissatisfaction confined to no class, but affecting all classes in common, :iS felt with with the administration of justice in the borough. A great impetus has heen given to the sentiment favourable t.o the appoint- ment of a stipendiary magistrate, and action may be expected shortly. It is an open secret that the chief impediment to this ne- "ce>sa.ry cliange for the batter is the desire of the Liberals to defer the appointment until it can be made by a Libenal Home Secre- tary. Thus the party virus invides all branches of local self-government and poiMn", even the sources of justice. Mr. Crawford Finlay has probably hud more to do with the international football championship than any dozen of playeig en- gaged. At Leicester his peculiar views of refereeing saved England from defeat, and at Belfast it put Wales out. of the running, It is a coincidence worthy of a ;lssing reference tluat. in each instance a try, a.ppa':3ntly fair to even the opposing players. waS fallowed in the last few minutes, when it would have involved a victory to Wales'. lhat this Scotch sportsman was allowed to deride the fate of the Welsh team in two out of the three matches played, is due to the flabbinesg and feebleness of the Welah Union Committee. All the strength of the latter is dissipated in dealing out drastic penalties to second and third-rate teams and their players, against whom a complaint may be laid by a Welsh Union committeeman, in his capacity <(s re_ feree. feree. The effu-rt to effect economies in the ar- rangement.s for carrying out the legal work of public bodies at Swansea is unlikely to succeed. Onoe vested interests are threat- ened and obstacles to reform spring up on every hand. The Swansea, branch of the In- corporated Law Society was apparently pre- pared to co-operate, but only to the point where economy began. It objects, for a dozen good reasons to tho mixing of a private practice with the public duties of the Magis- trat,e'.s Clerk, but would veto any further drlegation of legal work to the Tbwn Clerk's Department. The upshot of it all is fikely to be the continuance of things a* they pre. The magistrates have signified their contempt for public .opinion and tlie Corporation by instructing their Clerk's firm to act in t-he, licensing appeals, whilst the Council and the Swansea solicitors are formulating their ob- jections to the arrangement. The question raised at the meeting of the General Purposes Committee of the Swansea Corporation as to whether the structures (>f the Bath and \Vest of England Show tre bcin raised under "fair" labour conditions is not so easily a rs we red as may have been sup- posed'. On the one side the n.'ser' ion is made that trades union wages and conditions are not granted, and that the l-esponsible manager refused a deputation that desired to lay the views of organised labour befoiv him. On the other hand, the statements are put for- ward with at least equal eiiipnasis tiiat the work is of the inferior kind, which no car- penter would care to do; that the men em- ployed have a special aptitude for it, because year out year in they are engaged for the same job and draw wage-, satisfactory to them. The man in th- street, who is neither a Trades Union f-t at ali co-ts. nor a.n anti- Trades Unionist, will probably be d option that t.he Corporation cannot honourably evade its financial obligation- to th*- show, whether or not this ondition.v (;i' hhr.U' in the pr.-par • tion for the event s:<ti-fy t.-h.- Trades C< unci). At the same time a Trades Ui".i"ii boycott of rhi) shew would ir-t ir-ike for its financial siirce..s, a ^o::r.;<lc:ti':n v/hkv may have weight with the Show Coonuittee. Bets were offered in the House of Com- mons that Mr. Lloyd-George could not get through his speech on education witholl', gibing at Mr. Chamberlain. There were a few takers and they lost. The importation of iron-ore into Swansea has been dropping portentously. And not without reason. Titousands of tons of Ger- man and American steel bars cannot be brought into the port and distributed amongst t 'nplate works without evidence of a "slump" disclosing itself in the local demand for iron ore. Medical organisations have pronounced against the names of specialists, summoned for particular cases, being announced in the newspapers, as a violation of the rule pro- hibiting the advertising by members of the profession. Nevertheless, we venture to state that the operation performed' upon Mr. Wm, Williams, Maesygwernen, was carried out by Sir F. Treves and tlie anaesthetist, who acted in that capacity for His Majesty the King a couple of years ago. The dreaded asylums question, with its expenditure of a. hundred and fifty thousand I pounds, is steadily drawing nearer to Swan- sea. Cardiff, at the end of March, will have to remove, bl the teiiiis of the .arbitrator's ¡ award, her 400 borough inmates at the Brid- gend Asylum—by no means all the lunatics she possesses, as half as many again are scattered over the country in various horrors and institutions. Brighton will board out 100 males and 110 females at its asylum, Havward's Heath, in the centre of Sussex, A considerable number will be disposed of at other places, Brecon, Bristol, Chichester, etc. Genius, and especially of the musical type, is credited as a rule with an airy indifference to the cares of the cheque book that would do credit to a Harold Skimpok-a. character of Dickens, in whom some people piotessed to recognise a resemblance to Walter Savage Landor, the eulogist of Swansea- Bay, b" the way. Madame Patti is. however, clearly of a different bent of mind to poor Dr. Parry, whose shortcomings- in this respect are nQ- torious. Her American tour has resulted in a heavy loss—but solely to her management, the Diva herself being considerably the richer on the whole, tlianks to her careful pievision and safeguards. Madame Patti may be con- gratulated unreservedly upon. the possession of a business talent that is as acute it is rare among the member of the artistic pro- fession which she adorns. Sir George Newoes' son, Mr. Frank Newnes, who intends toO stand for a Notting- hamshire division, has just gone through a novel debate upon the Education Acts merits upon the same platform as his prospective opponent, Sir Froderick Milnev, M.P. This peculiar method o; poliyoaJ controversy had its strangeness enhanced by the ÍJet. that Sir Frederick is Mnfortunately deftf, and had to read summaries of Mr. Frank Ne>vr,es's argu- ments, specialty written for him by shortliand writer, befire be-,iz ab' + to reply. With Mr. Lloyd George and a perfervid' clerical dig- nitary as antagonists, one coul dwell imagine that th:6 method of f > to la-oe debate would be highly entertaining-though, perhaps, a severe strain upon their tempens-and would certainly not, make at all a bad test of how much a speaker really knows ot the points and arguments under discussion-—-and how much he has been compelled to "lead up." When the export (w-xtl tax was first adopted, the Government was doubtless influenced by the Cobdenite dogma, that "the consumer pays." Hence the desire to raise revenue by means of an impost which would increase the fuel cost to foreign manufa.ctur.t.s, and to that extent handicap them in their competi- tion with the British. But the fiscal dogma, considered to be as infallible n.s ever, whore corn is concerned, and Mr. Chainberlrain the statesman to be combatted, is seeuiingly, de- spite its economic infallibility, inapplicable to coal. The Frenchman; for example, gets hit- coal as cheat lv as ever for German compe- tition compels the British COld shipper to pay the tax out of freights, hence the demand that if a coal duty be required for revenue it should be levied on the entire coal output, whether used for home consumption or ex- ported abroad. There are fiscal reformers, capable of putting two and two together, who anticipate the same result, if instead of coal shippers we have American wheat exporters. > The annals of modern industrial life are. filled with instances of heroism and hardihood' as thrilling and inspiring as any furnished by the more exciting na,n.tives of war, and an incident at the Mannesman Works last Fridiy I proved no unworthy addition to, the most meritorious of their number- A fitter s right hand became entangled in the machinery, and was wrenched off; neverthele'-ts he pluckily held on and pievented his :JÍO'<iy from be- coming enmeshed in the mechanism, but his arm unfortunately was dragged in right up to the shoulder, and torn off at. the soc- ket. Yet, despite the appalling ^hock and pain of such a dreadful injury he calmly des- cended the ladder upon which he was stand- ing, walked over a hundred yards without assistance, to an office to, have his injuries bound up; and subsequently walked to the I cab which conveyed him to the Hospital. Such an instance of hardihood and heroism would be difficult to excel, and the hapless fitter's courage, cannot but compel wonder at the endurance of which the human frame and mind are capable under the severest of phy- I sicalstrain. It recalls an incident of the kite war. At Spion Kop a man had his left arm amputated at the shoulder by a shell splinter. He was seen by a war correspondent calmly wulking down the road across the h'.ll-sid'e, his jacket, sopping with blood, wrapped around the. stump, and holding the amputated arm in his right hand The result of the Ireland v. Wai s football match was a severe disappointment to Welsh footballers. It was a reasonable presumption that a team that had collopsed in the conte-t with the Scotch, stood no chance whatever against the easy victws of the latter. The disappointment was mixed with another feel- ing, arising from tlie conviction that the Welsh Union Committee had badly muddled its business. One Swansea, player—Dan Ree.s —had been treated with such scant resp ct that one could understand his indisposition to make any sacrifice in order to t,ravel to Ire- land as reserve to Nicholls, Who, ought never to have been picked, for the simple ieaison that he never was fit, to play. Twice the Committ-ce paid the empty conip'iinent to the Cardiffian, once when it was cert:) n that he could not play, and the second time, when he should not have been allowed to play if will- ing. Irew, again, h:ts been treated by the same body with consistent discourtesy. In (, 111 the result the Welsh team entered upon a stiff struggle, composed in the main of partially recovered "crocks"; of reserves who ought not to have been placed in that position, and players indisposed to take any risks of injury. And finally, a referee was allowed to act. who had already forfeited the? confidence of players, committee and' public. Is it conscience or what—makes the Welsh Union such a coward in its relations wita the Scotch Ln:on ;1(1 Scotch officials? The only comment Mr. Justice Walton passed on the Swansea criminal libel1 case was that it was petfuldar." A Russian priest has predicted the Russo- Japanese wa.r will last 25 year! Almost as long at; the Swansea Castle-street widening business. -+-- In his lecture at Swansea Public Library, Mr. Littlejohns emphasised the primitive truth that df you keep all the best of your art exhibits in a long dark passage and (10D't turn on the electric light, their educational value is restricted. How's this for velocity? In July, 1887. MV. John Hagedoom, Loughor, wrote a letter to his father, who was then at Bilbao, in Spain, which he did not receive but the letter has just been returned to him through the dead-letter office after a lapse of 17 years. The Mayor of Swansea is a funeral re- former. Alluding to the fact that the Hearts of Oak Benefit Society gives JE20 at the death of a member, he observed at the Metropo!e dinner on Thursday evening, "I intend to leave tho most particular insbrnc- ions that at my death no sum anything like fihn11 1)6 P"ld for putting me away." One of the chief defects ,,t the Swansea tree Library has been, the absence hitherto of any catalogue of non-fictional worEs deal- ing with books of a general character, but in a couple of months this ærious omission will be made good by the puplication of a list, which is now well advanced in preparation' and should be highly appreciated. It W;,j'; full t,ime indeed for the compilation of such a catalogue. TJie decline of the white-winged sailing is faithfully portrayed in the pro^e columns of i„e Swansea Harbour Trust re- Yin/I rln 602 steamers of a tonnage Mosflii 6a,'OOOOTl"^ the P,,t; in 3 st T.Ma th6 ""J t-. 13«' '» ">e h'"1 diminished to » l~k in the .heM lnernd Wvit' ta 1864 in ]qm n *a Ug v&^els in the port- to 4,370. i€ Sa° and •stfv,m }lM] sunk a a I Lov,ers of the old Welsh heaà-ge,n,r-t.he find t;hellllSelve6 at home in the centre of the world's to- The K(w" Wy o, ha,, „f „llidl ™ \wlUld make t-ii-e fortunes of a com-c oper., but the flower-pot variety, which is now seen I chiefly a.W! at Welsh fancy dress balls, is their favourite. Perhaps this mav inspire the con temporary that a year ago, when Ser- via was the scene of a. regicide unprecedented m history for savagery, traced a resemblance bet-ween the Servian and the Welsh farmer, to esta blish a connection between the latter and the Korean, who is personally and na- tionally one of the most debased races on earth. Irishmen are proverbially agin the poweiv, that be; but a revolt in Swansea from the rish 1 arty s views upon the Education Act is hardly probable upon the part oof the lojal -lilesians. The Irish members in Monday Bight s voting, swelled the Government ma- jority to 120, though Mr. Lloyd George adop- ed much tl,e tactics as one or two of them are so proficient in, of threatening re- volution, civil war and horrors untold. Swan- sea Unionists can enter upon the fight for the borough seat with a confident heart. The Irishmen are unlikely to break awav from the strong alliance, as long as the Education qu-s- t, on is a live topic of debate; if only for the reason that it is a. moot question 'amongst a,cut.e 'oh-.erv.er whetw the Irishman is from the Vatican or "the Custle." Ihe Church may well congratulate itself «I>™ he brilliant success of one of it ZI unmistakablv nmtn„. „ rew philantlirophy-the ClT praC'tioHl Homes I'- C lUrch Army of the' work '-k€t( h the outlines appears il a m>rkin& these Homes chief point T C",umn- and one of the is their p S 1'^ rend&rs t,iem attractive the nati °!"f ,te freedoTn anything in their ° e taint of pauperism. Like eir prototype, of the Rowton Homes, th,-v in one branch of their workings, how- ,')n a<hnn!abfe blend of co-mmerciarsm 'listianity. They may fittingly be de- ri as the halt-way house, tlllollgh which j' 'ne who paiss, can descend to the lowest ev.iJ Gf —fhe casual ward o'r prison—un- e>'s through inherent worthlessness or vice. Photographs of the "East Port," or more properlv the "North Port" at Port Arthur, show a curious and impressive resemblance to the neighbourhood of the East Dock, at Swansea, Apart- from the general shape of of the_harbour which is almost a duplies,te of the Prince of Wales dock,the "Golden Hill" towers over it in just. the same position as does lvilvey Hill over the Swansea harbour- age; and to complete the resemblance, there is a small round tower upon the crest'of the "Golden Hill"_pa,rt of the foxtificatdons- which is the parallel to the ruined tower on the top of Kilvey. If the coal-tips are miss- ing, there is abundance of coal stacked upon the quayside in their stead, and long rows of sheds, dbubles of those containing tinplates at the East Dock, help to complete a similar- ity that has struck several Swansea people on viewing the photograplis. There was on Monday another of those cases that crop up with annoying frequency, of the type that usually lead to a request for ^explanations' from tlie authorities of the Swansea Hospital. An old woman, whilst lighting her pipe, managed to set her clothes on fire; medical attendance was summoned, and she was then conveyed first to the Hospi- tal, and thence removed to the Work-house Innrmaiy—aJf this hustling about from pillar to post, despite the fact tluat the injuries were not of a very serious character, being inflicted however upon an old lady of seventy-five and in considerable pain. There is this to bo said in excuse, that the nature of the burns was not serious; but one cannot never- theless but daptore the system that makes such rasults possible in the case of a woman and a septuagenarian, whose extreme old age and sex should -ensure a greater measuie of consideration than the victim received. There was expressed in all quartets wide- spread sympathy with and approval of Miss Dillwyn's act'.on in withdrawing from the Convalescent Home Fund', through the re- fusal to her of the privilege of four in-door tickets and a life piesidency, to which the donor of L200 to the Hospital would be en- titled to under its rules. The refusal was on, the grounds that her contributions had been given indirectly, to the Cottage. Hon.es; a.nd thus the movement, through a stupidly rigid and tactless adherence to a rule interp.eted as if it were made of cast iron has cost the movement the services of a. lady to who^e energy in the cause of humanitaiLa.nism the Home itself is an enduring monument. Red- tape'.sm is never so irritating as when mani- fested in connection with a charitable in t tut-ion, and in this case its exorcise lias been j aggravated by the vict m beirg a ladv, to whom the Hospital air inestimable debt, A hospital is not quit- the- type' of ir&t'tutio-n whose rules are toO be interpreted wit'h the unde v'Hting strictness of the prison. Mr. David Harries has been a member of the Llansamlet Higher Parish Council for seven years (writes a correspondent), and during the whole of this period he has at- tended every one of the meetings Is this a record ? In the opinion of some people there is a somewhat striking resemblance in features be- tween Mr. Justice Walton and the Lord Bishop of St. David's. There lis certainly the same open eye and rotundity of face and also the same genial smile. But of the two the Welsh bishop has the darker complexion. Rev. James Owen told his Swansea congre- gation recently a story of a woman who had been reading "Bunyan's Pilgrim's Pro- gress, with explanatory notes." When asked how she got on with it, the woman replied, "Õh, pretty well; I understand Bunyan's words now, and I liope by and bye to under- stand the "Notes." Witnesses in local police courts are fre- quently observed to kiss their thumbs in- stead of the book. But it may be pointed out that no one need kiss the book who does not so desire. In 1888 an Act was passed giving to every witness who desires to exer- cise it the right to be sworn in the fashion prevalent in Scotland. An energetic local opponent of the coal tax, who has been interviewing M.P.'s in London lately, was recently stopped by o.te cf the policemen on duty at St. Stephen's. The latter had already taken the reformer's name in several times, and on this occasion he said, "Excuse me, si.r, what are you sel- ling?"' To the answer he received history deponeth not. Mr. James Wignall told the Cwmbwrla workmen at the Metropole that he knew nothing of the "town and trade of Swan- sea," but he was able to say that the old town had seen its ups and downs, its fluctua- tions, its times of depression and prosper- ity. Swansea was, indeed, a town when Cardiff was a mud-bank, and when many other larger towns to-day were scarcely known. And so he went on. Who will now say the toast was not well entrusted? 11 Councillor T. Merrells was much tickled with the west countrymen's laugh in the in- tel view which one of our representatives had in reference to the conditions of work on the Bath and West Show buildings in Vietorui Park, Swansea. Mr. Merrells says the laugh of the west countrymen reminds him of the tale of the west country man who came here to work, and also wrote home to his parents telling them how well he was doing, getting £ 1 a week and saving 10s., and adding that if it was not for his huge stomach he would save the other 10s. Mr. Tom James, who has just been giver, the control of the Main Collieries, Neath, is barely 40 years of age., and is probably one of the youngest men managing a concern of its magnitude in South Wales. Mr. James has had a successful career. He holds no fewer than 26 certificates in relation to min- ing and geology, the principal among them being:—Honours in mining, honours in geo- logy and mining, raising and preparation of ores, honours in slate and stone quarrying, ordinary grade in mine surveying ffrom the City and Guilds Institute, London), and other awards equally meritorious. He is married, and has two boys. A good joke which has not yet appeared r'n print was perpetrated at Llanelly. Mr. Lloyd-George was down to speak at an educa- tional meeting there, the Rev. Dr. Morgan (Lleurwg) pressing. The hon. member was belated and there was manifest impatience. Mr. Lloyd-George arrived and pushing hris way through the crowd stood bareheaded before "Lleurwg." who, eyeing him to the ices, remarked in Welsh "WeH, well. I thought Lloyd-George was i man of great stature." The member heard the observa- tion, and mounting the platform introduced himself as follows: "I perceive," said he "thatt you in South Wales measure a man from his neck downward we, in North Wales, measure him from the neck upward." Mr. Justice Walton, though otherwise satisfied with the calender before him at the Glamorgan Assizes, has been saying things, unkind things about our morals, which should, however, awake responsive echoes in the bosom of Judge Uwilym WilTLams at least. He says there is more crime in Gla- morganshire—three times as much—>as in the five other Welsh counties lie has vi.s;terl put together, "l is a great pity he did not reflect before venturing this lop-sided criticism, upon the infinite difference between.' a densely populated county of coal dust and furnaces, with a community embracing most civilised nationalities under the sun, and the sparsely- peopled and agricultural districts contiguous to it. As well condemn London for con- laning a. larger share of criminal's than is possessed in proportion by Greenland. .a. Wel.-ih anthracite coal is London's salva- tiOln. The "Westminster Gaxefte" says that the prospect held out by the anthracite com b;ne "seems almost too good to fce true; for, so we are told, all London is to be sup- pled, within the next few yea-rs, with this smokeless fuel at irresistible prices, and the days of fog-rule are to be nothing more tinan an unhappy memory. What misery we might nave been spared if the authorities had for bidden the use of bituminous coil in London, as in Now York, Berlin, and Paris.' Oui ornlv consolation—and a poor, negative kird of solace it is--is that we are no worse suf- ferers than our ancestors have been for cen- turies. In the winter of 1683-4 Evelyn was writing in his diary: 'London was so filled with the faliginoas s,to.me of the sea-coale, that hardly could orho see crosse the streetes' a-nd this filling the lnngs with its grosse par- ticles exceedingly obstructed the breast, so as one could h-urdlv breathe.' The relations existing between the chair- man of the Swansea Telephone Committee and tlie manager of the Munio'pal Excahnge, as further disclosed at a meeting held Tues- day, left no loophole for doubt "that for rhe time at least harmony could not, reasonably be expected to prevail. Efforts to effect a reconciliation, or at. ke.,st a. truce, proved un- availing and eventually an arrangement was made whereby the chairman and vice-clcir- man exchanged places temporarily, in the hope that a way might bo found out of the difficulty. I p to six or seven weeks ago chairman and manager were on the best of terms, and co-operated effectively and plea- santly in promoting the success of the under- taking. Th.-n a depute over a c!erk d is I missed by the latter produced a ruptive, and smoe then matters have been moving from bad to W01"e. Comp'nints freely made en the one Bide or the other, when examined, have been found more or le** trivial in cliaractcr— tho onlv importance attaching to them beinc the evidence they afford of acrimonious feci' ing. It wus palpable that such conditions- did not make for the public interests a.t- a critical stage in the career of the municipal undertaking, and hence a resolution which aimed at. averting the consequence, of the friction without disperring with tho equally appreciated services of the two disputants. The Mayor at the annual meeting of the of the Swansea Harbour Trust, went as far as he could—etiquette being centred-m expressing his confidence that His Majesty the King would pay a. vitiit, to Swansea tltin spring or summer. He is likely to be justified in the event. By the vote given on Wednesday the mv jurity in control of the Swalls.e.a Council in- dicated its intention to persevere with tl. Ei"°7~the Iaw,eis-s policy—of evadirv ti»> Education Act. Whilst asking the Ednltioa Department to defer the "appointed ckly" until the 1st July, nothing is to be done in the wav of preparing a scheme even for that. date, As chairman of the Finance Committee, -N-fr. RichQrd Martin has done well in calling attention to the enormous obligations which LoVTT^i,1-curred by the co-netrtic- fo" I i# ,Cla? Waterworks. An outlay ialf a million pounds sterling means aw a, preaabk addition to ti.e standing charges of the Corporation, and should induce the ou lva ion of a keen economical spirit amongst the members of the various spending bodies of the town. An appreciable improvement may be ex- pected in the condition of the principal streets of the town, when the new tramway* have been completed. The Tramway Com- pany, as the lessee of the latter have agree& that in Oxford, Temple, and Wind-streef wood-paving, sliall b eused on the tracks, and t ie Streets Committee has decided tluat the des shall be likewise dealt with. This im- provement cannot be effected without ex- pense, but we believe tklt public opinion is favoiu.ible to it-in other words that tlie rate- payers are prepared to shoulder the tinaiicid consequences of a necessary change. There was a lively exchange between Coua- Jlor I'utton and the Hon. Odo Vivian rf ednesday s meeting of the Swansea Council, t originated in a statement made by tfer that ,as member 0f the deputation which waited upon the B KU,] of Trade, Mr. utton had described the hsh ng intensts ii the Bav as of SRiall account. Mr. TuttOR ni t^ri r\^ ivian of ni;,king mistatemenfs, he hi I"' ? !aVing •i(l what he liad sai.F d .said—that compared with the heaJFtlk of a hundred thousand people it few ovster* counted as little. By way of retort Mr utton accused members of the Vivian family of unduly influencing the Board of Trade people. While it lasted, this part of thø. discussion was hot and lively. Swansea people a*- eagerly anticipates the official announcement that his Majesty- King Edward will visit Swansea. When Kin* Edward was Prince of Wales, and when visit ing Swansea w;th the Princess in 1881 aj* amusing incident occurred whidh even trow is sometimes talked of by those present on t!i» occasion. The then Princess was proeeedW to name Alexandra-road, and the Mayor tached t0 lieT a tassc# at- tached to a rope which ran from a- flag fori** on a flagstaff. The Princess wouldITS W pulled not wisely, but loo „.el|> „ tassel broke off in he. hand. With a bregfifc laugh she 'banded the broken tassel to ih* Mayor, who then handed her lloyul Bich ness the rope. Another pull was success!* A hlllec, ul) banJKr> bedng re.'easetL floateJ » •*» wi.h 3^ new road upon it.