The Cambrian

CWhe Cambrian. FRIDAY. FEBRUARY ZL. 1907. NOTES ON MEN & THINGS During his 37 years' pastorate, Rev. Jas. Owen has only been absent from church through illness on one Sunday. "Politicians are likie Providence; they help those who help themselves," remarks a circular of the National Amalgamated Shop Assistants' Union. X Carmarthen man boasts that last week "00 "picked 133 blooms of sweet-scented violets in ten minutes from a hedgerow in the county." Why is he not put in irons? Mr. S. T. Evans, M.P., is getting on in -the political world. The "Pall Mall Gaz- ette," in its. political gossip, terms him. familiarly. Mr. Sa-m Evaniit." This is fame, indeed The. tall hats onoe common in Wales—the beaver of the eighteenth and early nine- teenth centuries—were taxed, and their dis- continuance was chiefly due to the' impest thus laid upon them. I A pair of copper boots is certainly a novelty. Such a pair has, one hears, just been made—simply as a curiosity, of course ■—at Vivian's works for Mrs. Odo Vivian. Ihe boots are of correct size, and constitute a wonderfully artistic 1 piece of workmanship. A fiwcy voffittg Swaasoa Y&Hey orator kutefryr created an impa-ession upon his listeners by A fiwcy voffittg Swaasoa Vattey orator kutefryr created an impa-ession upon his listeners by the. foi ■lowing extract of his speeoh "I fr&ve read Shakespeare; I ha?ve read ByronI have read Wordsworth, and, ladies and gentAemein, I have "red hatT.' The ap- plarase was Hot ".1. There has been much talk lately about French and Germans buying up Welsh Col- lieries, and as a consequence Mr. John Wil- liams, the Gower Labour member, dur- ing his recent illness, conceroed himself largely with studying the French and Ger- man langTiages. MTO. Trotter told a good story at Port Tennanfc Charrch foundation stone-laying about a school which used'to be held in the miins of an old mansion in the early days. She quaintly remarked that when H.M. In- spector came, "he used to examine tihoe child- Ten, a.nd not the building." It is certain that the sympathetic treat- ment by the Llaneliy oench of Mr. George Blake's rase met universal approval at Llan- elly. For Mr. Blake has experienced more sorrow than falls to the average man, and to one so sensitive the after consequences of a rash act committed when well-nigh dis of a rash act committee^ whea well-nigh dis tranght must have been inconceivably pain- ful ODE TO THE SUN. Bright orb, who o'er this wicked world Regularly each succeeding1 day. Thy beneficial rays unfurled Shines ont in splendour, aye for aye: Thou ahinest ever; but sometimes we see thee not. FWheT' and screened by clouds. p?u^ i v"11"1 misty shrouds. Snffk'ip-nt nnit »PS'i?n^ heaped in crowds, us I wot thy beams from M. ROWED. Rev. James Owen, Mormfc Piaat chavei, Swansea, sa.ys that, although, he 'will relin- quish his pastorate during this year, it m.ust not. be taken to mean that an immediate re- sigcatioTi is intended. It. will be probably found that the reason why Mr. Owen pro- poees to remain on a little longer is a desire to ccffldcct 1,000 baptismal umrtensdons. Up to the present he has officiated on 946 occa- sions. One of the most interesting of the Congo tend curiosities shown by Mr. George Cook at Mount Pleasant social meeting was a nt gourd holding virulent poison. It belonged to a native witch doctor. Sometimes par- ents imagined their child was bewitched. In su-ah a ease the wifcoh doctor was always fetched., and if he decided that the child was bewitehed, he would dip a dart into tihris gourd and kill tfee child. Many lives (said Mr. Cook) are sacrificed on the Congo in this way. At one tune or another almost all the "stars" in the theatrical world appeared jat the old Theatre Royal, Swansea. Amongst them was Charles Matthews, the celebrated comedian, of whom it was said; A man 450 various that lie seemed to be Not One, but all mankind's epitome. Here, likewise, appeared for several reasons ••glorious" John Reeve, who had made his narae at the A del phi Theatre, and whose wife and infant daughter are interred in St. Mary's Churchyard, Swansea. A lady, who has been touring lately with I a conoert-p arty in Waks, introduced in one town an aria. The local manager made a. point afterwards of congratulating the artist on the success she had achieved with her scmgs. "They went down splendidly," he said, all except the last, which was not liked. quite so moch because of the wa.y yon pronounced some of the Welsh words." ^23* haggeaed to be tbaliadiaQ, SKgjfa In St. David's Caifeech-al Chnrchyaad there is a tombstone in a. state ol good pre- servation. which bears the date of 1100 Mr. Ben Tillett, during the 20 odd years he has been in front of the Labour move- ment, has covered on an average between 30,000 and 40,000 miles each year. The father of Mrs. Lewis, an old lady who lives at Xewton Xottage, was on board the Victory when Xelson was killed, and she ofter beard the story from his lips. In connection with the marriage last week of the Hon. Eleanor Hicks Beach, a daugh- ter of Viscount Aldwyn, it may be men- tioned that another daughter sat as the model for Britannia on the coinage when it was remodelled some years ago. ♦ • ♦ After the discussion about over-worked hospital nurses was over at Swansea Hospi- tal Board meeting., the Chairman said it was a pity that there were no suffragettes in the town to agitate on behalf of the nuiBee. The appointment of accountant to the Swansea Harbour Trust, which is to be made on Thursday next, is resotvirrg itself into a contest between the "native-born" and the "foreigner." At least t3aa»t is how one Trustee describes it, and the odds are on the "native." Mr- Askwith, who has been selected to arbitrate in the music hall dispute, says that "While in Wales on a tmpiate dis- pute I nearly got mobbed, not on account of my award, but because I ventured to go to a dance. The Welsh revival was then on, and dancing was looked on as one of the seven sins." Her^ comes Swansea's, critics to peaceater, With gibes that must rankle and feicester, As they meet the All Whites, Tifl the cream of debghts.. 0iDa "3fow» what Stbout l/ftioGSWt •. Pray caU me not now a niolPic68tcr» I don't seek to poee as a jeioeeter. But hope they will learn, And to good purpose turn, The lesson rubbed in up at Leicester! < t M:, In one of many charmingly-told anec- dotes Rev. Howard May, at College-street Chapel, Swansea, relating a. story concerned with an invitation to supper, credited his host with being straight enough not to beep hidden away in the cupboard a glass of stout he was accustomed to take with his meal. There being a light ripple of laugh- ter at this, Mr. May mmchiewusly added, "Ah, I see some of you are accustomed to put something out of sight when your minis- ter comes to supper." Mr. Ben Tillett has outlived the virulent opposition that, in earlier days, used to be his ordinary fare, and everybody hopes that his forthcoming rest in Australia will again restore him to the robust health which it i6 too painfully clear he has at present quite lost. Still, spite of evident weakness, the addrees he gave at the "Star" on Sunday afternoon will, in all probability, leave a more permanent impression than the ex- aggerated attacks on the- powers that be we had grown accustomed to from Ben when in full vigour. The dignity of Labour has rarely been depicted with such rmagin- ative fervour and success as it was in his opening passage. Chivalry is one of the many good traits of the navvy class. And Miss Barrett, the I lady who personally conducts a navvies' institute on the Strand, Swansea, appears to be doing an immense amount of good. In conversationVith a Port Tenxuant navvy on Sunday, our representative learned that all navries are welcome at the Strand, and that there is nothing to pay. Services, after the Church of England form, are conducted in the chapel (which seats 2':O), by Miss Ba.rrett, who also gives the ad- dress. "She's an independent lady, and gives away a lot more than she gets," was the navvy's comment. That's Christian- ity. And if anybody says anything against Miss Barrett, I'm the first man to take off my coat and let him try and see what he can do with me I" OUR MATRIMONIAL COUNTY. (Glamorgan boasts the highest marriage rate of any county in the kingdom.) Ye spinsters all and bachelors Who longing are to marry. Take illY advice now in a trice. Do not delay or tarry Dan Cupid s<ion will skip your way. E 90 though you be a Gorgon. And deftly get you in hig net When dwelling in Glamorgan! Statistics 'bow where'er you go (Nor does the fact demean us). Above, below, ground there's no Such saerifioe to Venus. No "Matrimonial Times" you need. Or any such like organ. The very air does everywhere Breatho courtship in Glamorgan! Y. There is quite a poetic finish about the appointment of Mr. Wm. Phillips to be postmaster of Llaneliy. As a boy he began his professional career in the latter town— of which he is a native—qualified as one of the mcst competent and courteous of the telegraph clerks for promotion as the postmaster of a place in North Wales. Then he came South again to Aberdare, was moved to more important Merthyr, and after this cycle of appointments in the Principality lands back to the starting point, to be the chief of an office which during his pilgrimage has gained greatly in importance. And throughout the years and in all the places Mr. Phillips has retained unimpaired his old distinction of making a pleasure of duty. and disarming criticism by his eagerness to be courteous and oblig- ing. An old but always entertaiotiing stoTy was attain trotted out at the Teift-on Richards presentation of an unpopular pastor who resigned. His resignation was "accepted with regret." and a testimonial was got up. A to the presentation, one deacon after acn- C'tber got up and spoke feelingly of the gneait exjod the pastor had done, and what a loss his departure would' be to the church. The minister, who. up till them, thought ttraig* were the other way, was so overcome by their affecting, if affected, speeches, that when his time for "feelingly acknowledg- ing" arrived, he got up and observed he had no idea what a nsumber of friends he had, and how much they were aitachsed to him. After hearing those speeches, he had come to the conclusion he couldn't leave I them but would withdraw his resignation! But in. the case of the Rev. Teifion Richards there was no suspicion of anything of this kind. The regret was sincere. The appointment of Mr. D. R. Edmunds as president of the Llaneliy Liberal Asso- ciation—and in point of activity no one has stronger claims to a place in the front- must set the Liberals of the old school think- iuu. For the position has been held by such men as Mr. Joseph Maybery, the late Mr. William Rosser and Mr. Jas. Buckley. Mr. Henry WiUrns, as a veteran, might have been offered promotion from the treasurerehip, held by him for decades. But "the yonng men are knocking at the doors," and the oldrfasJhicaied Lib- I The mention of the late Mrs. Wafcney, a near relative of Admiral Raby, just de- ceased, reminds a correspondent that t.hat lady wielded a very facile pen. When she lrved at Ll-anelly in the farlv Victorian days it was a very small fw>d a ■ Try gos- sipy place. Miss Raby, as she 1 was, contrived somehow or other to gti herself into the black-Vol's of &<?ase locaj scandal- mongers. !• c.ii' she totrk a terrible re- mongers. F c.ii' she totrk a terrible re- venge by pn, ;^hing a small novel in which many of the local families were mercilessly satirised. Copies of the book are very iare to-day, and all the parties tconcerned, itl- cluding the writer of the novel, are at peace in the grave. THE THREE TALL STACKS. Llaneliy i* delighted That a change will not be made, 9,.sever her connection ith the good old copper trade. It ia a hundred years and more Since first the Nevills' came. And 011 the little Western town Bn-rtowed their honoured name; And t'V8r since, though many a new Concern has come to stay, llaneliy loves her copperwcrks, Nor wishes them away. The three tall stacks that dominate The town from shore and sea. Are just. as much a landmark As the spires of Coventry. 0, sad. indeed. would be the day- The nightmare of a dream— When smoke no longer from those stacks Should rise in constant stream. o far a.head that day of gloom- May old Llaneliy thrive, With all her staunch traditions A? a Welsh industrial hive. And far ahead the moment. For the honour of the town, When the hum of trade is silent. And the three tall stacks come down. M. » ♦» A member of a well-known local fa>miH' died last week in Mr. Chas. E. Strick, eon of the late coroner for the district. The de- ceased' gentleman, who at death was 57 years old, had spent a busv and varied life. At one time he was on the stage and be- came a member of the famous Savage Club. His membership of the latter, however, ap- pears to have lapsed since his name -'oos not appear in the register for some years past. A quaint feature connected with f be funeral arrangements was that the plain oak coffin had for name-plate simply a crown piece upon which had been inscribed the name and age of the deceased. Two incidents which stand in grimly ironical contrast were reported to Pontar- dawe Council at its last meeting. One member drew attention to two houses in the district that were unfit for habitation. One of them housed a family of eleven, with a- rotten thatched roof; and the other build- ing lacked even a rotten roof, having none at all, and walls rapidly decaying. On the other hand a smallpox hospital at Gwy- rhyd was becoming dilapidated about the doors and windows through non-ocpupation, and the consequent absence of a care taker and it was, decided to offer the building free as a residence to any eligible tenant. It is grimly amusing to read of large families be-1 ing housed in quarters that would qualify admirably as a forcing bed of infectious disease; whilst the well-built and sanitary building that would accommodate them should disease develop is deteriorating from lack of occupants! It requires some courage to continue the Swansea Horse Show in the face of the per- sistent misfortunes which seem to dog the heels of the venture. In 1904 the show was fairly drowned out by the torrential down- fall of ralh on the second day, and the tie- suit was of course a substantial deficit in the accounts. In 1905 there was no show I in consequence", but the subsequent year local gentlemen who love the horse had another attempt at wooing success, and al- though again somewhat unfortunate in the weather, came very near bringing the two ends to mee&. With an expenditure of £ 465, the deficit was only £ 9 7s., and this ends to meet. With an expenditure of JC465, the deficit was only £9 7s., a.nd this was covered by the Corporation guarantee up to JB50, if the finances required assistance. At a meeting of the committee, held on Tuesday last, it was decided to hold another show this year, but. for one day only. -+-+- The Swansea football team lost its record of invincib 'ity last Saturday at Leicester, the score, largely swelled by penalty points, being delusively heavy against the All Whites. The latter have this season been a solid rather than brilliant team but still have done far better than was to be appre- hended from an organisation that had been so badly deranged. The Leicester men had concentrated their energy for some time in preparation for the match; for the Swansea team it was but one axtirre out of many, and tibe superior preparation and intensity of purpose were bound to tell. The diffi- culty in football, as in many other more serious things, is not in the bringing off of a sensational feat, but m continual effort of an exceptional standard; and nobody need trouble over the idea. that the English teams which pe^orm such feats against Welsh or- ganisations f.re, taken on an average equal. Welsh teams touring beyond their own hor- der are recognised as adveisaries for whom a degree of earnestness is thus imparted into their reception, which English clubs are mcapibie of maintaining over an entire season- From time to time we have announce- ments to the effect that some marvellous curer for diseases like consumption or can- cer has been discovered by a simple work- man or peasant. Public faith in such cures is so easily built up that hundreds of poor people rush to take a.dvanta.geof the alleged remedies, and seemingly wonderful cures ore effected by reason of the mental readiness to believe in what is expected and hoped >r. These alleged remedies halve their season, and tben cease to be. But meanwhile con- siderable mischief 'is caused to the credu- lous victims of these diseases whose hopes are excited, and whose resources aœ> drained I in making the most of what seems their op- portunity. At the present time West Wales is greatly agitated over the alleged discovery by a Cardiganshire farmer of a herb that is an effectual cure for canoer. It is safe to say that this is of the ordinary type of such much-vaunted remedies. When a. cure for canoer is eventually discovered it will be as the result of much patient research oy scientific men. It is gravely to be de- plored that in cases of this kind there should not be some means by which the alleged remedy could be analysed and its real pro. perties disclosed to the public. The intention credited to the Mumbles District Council, of applying money to the improvement of the district around Brace- let Bay has been interpreted as if the Council meant to interfere with the natural beauties of the place, which owe the greater part of their dum to their m^sredness and wildness. The Councillors surely have no idea of doing that. What little money they are likely to have available for the purpose can be advantageously utilised in clearing away the evidences of disorder and neglect so apt to shock the eye of the visi- The disastrous accident at Trimasaran Colliery is one of those regularly recurr- ing events which enforce the lesson of the extreme care which should be taken at col- lieries to prevent the loss of life and limb. In this instance it would appear that the men killed and injured were in the danger- ous position in which the journey of trams found them contrary to the regulations, and to that extent contributed to their own undoing. Again and again we have in connection with colliery accidents this fea- ture of a wanton disregard by men of rules devised for their safety. On Thursday the annual nominations of candidates for the two appointments as pub- lic auditors were made. In recent years a.n effort has been made to secure some public benefit for the expenditure of over £100 a year upon this work to that ex- tent the auditors deserve every credit. But the truth, is, however, that except as a means of enlightening theptiblic and in as- sisting to form opinion the reports of the auditors have no practical value. And this is not because of any deficiency on tiie part of the auditors, but because of the limitations placed upon their authority. Until they are authorised to disallow items of expenditure, and surcharge those respon- sible for them, the Council can, as hitherto, a.bso 1 ute 'y ignore statements and recom- mendations made by the public auditors. The visit paid by some of the directors and the chief officials of the G.W. to Port Talbot on Tuesday has set people speculat- ing once more as to the possible fusion of the two railways. In well-informed circles the belief obtains credence that last year the Port Talbot Co., was prepared to sell docks and railway to the G.W., but that negotiations fell through because the G.W. is indisposed to add to its dock property in Wales. « Dr. Williams, the Education Superinten- dent for the Swansea. Corporal on, makes a significant observation in reporting upon the means available to meet the cost of spending £4,000 upon enlarging the Inter- mediate School for girls; vig.: "Altogether the pospects of the. royalty to be derived from the Aber Estate m the immediate fu- ture are most favourable, and, I am inform- ed. has been estimated by experts in these matters at a figure that would make the sum of £1 ,290reçeived from the estate this year appear most insignificant." Thiie is practically an official confirmation of a statement recently made by the "Daily Post" that in consequence of the develop- ments in working the Aber Estate minerals the revenue derived' therefrom is expected shortly to reach between JE:9,000 and JBK),000 a year. _+-:+: Swansea, footban team lost its clean record on Saturday, and should be all the better for it. The fear of incurring a efeat has not tended to improve the plav for a month or two past. It is somewhat to be deplored, however, tihat the first team to inflict a de- feat was not a Welsh, but aij. English one, viz.. Leicester, who, playing with great spirit on their own ground, defeated the visitors by twelve points,, to three. This re- sult, it need hardly be eaid, provided a startling surprise to Welsh footballers; for after the fine display given against New- port the prervious week, the general impTes. sion was' that the record-'holders would not be again severely tried until Cardiff was en- countered on the 29th March. That the reverse was not permitted to demoralise t'he team may 1* gathered' from the fact that on Monday Nort^iainipcfoji, V'Mr-h is no't much, ireferdor to Leicester, was met and defeated in the most decisive f^Mon. What nearly proved to be a serious dis- aster occurred at the Court Herbert pit, Neath, Thursday week, when twenty men were rendered unconscious through coming in contact with a patch of "black damp" in the workings. There was no lack of re- scuers to hurry to the spot, a.nd extricate the first victims of the foul air, who would otherwise have perished, but ^several of the former were in their turn overpowered, in- cluding Dr. D. L. Jones, of Skewen, and the consequences would have been disast- rous had the foul air been denser. In that event it would have been possible to prove the value of the respiratory apparatus which first commanded public attention at the time of the Courrieres disaster last year, which would have enabled the rescue party to have worked with perfect safety instead of, as was the case of Court Herbert, them- selves falling victims to the poisonous air. The men affected give curious and interest- ing accounts of their experiences. One said that the men "began to fall down one after the other in an astonishing maoiner. They just seemed to collapse anid'eome down like so many ninepins." Then the eye-witness quoted himself began to feel suddenly weak, his heart began thumping, brain whirring, and legs appearing to become paralysed. The black damp encountered on this occa- sion was but diluted afters-damp, which is even more terribly effective in its operation, men coming in contact with it falling, as if shot, to the ground, dead. Licensing magistrates in Wales, who are more or less under the influence of the Temperance Party, continue to systematic- ally reduce the number of licensed houses. As a result the structurally defective and poorer kind of public house is disappearing, but the added value thereby given to the licensed houses tha.t survive, is inducing owners to spend money freely in bricks and mortar for the purposes of enlarging and improving the same. Probably but for the limit placed upon the funds awtilable for compensation—funds derived by levy- ing a special tax upon licensed houses-the rate at which this process of dimunitkm is being carried out would be substantially I accelerated, since no regard for the in- terests of either the brewer, publican, and rarely even of the' general public would restrain extreme teetotallers from reducing licenses in wholesale fashion. It is some- r what curious, and indeed suggestive, that concurrently with the weeding out of al- leged superfluous houses, there is no abate- ment, but on the contrary an increase in the quantity of intoxicants consumed. One might reasonably expect this. feature to arrest the attention of the Temperance Party, because whatever significance it pos- sesses, points to the absolute ineffectiveness of the policy of extirpation in encouraging public sobriety a.nd lessening drunkenness. Yet it is being almost nightly proclaimed from Temperance platforms that the sole end and purpose of the propaganda is to reduce the evils of drunkenness and bring about more general abstinence from intoxi- cants. For decades the Temperance Party has been agitating for one measure a.fter another of a repressive character, without producing any effect upon the bajjtts of tbe people. The comparative failure is doubt- less attributable to the weaJcness in their propaganda that it is chiefly destructive in its end's, and makes no serious effort to re- place with something better the public houses which teetotallers so "unsparingly condemn. It was deduced from the fact that the irregularities- on the surface of the Swansea Burrows are to be removed, and tbe whole area levelled, that this meant the satis- factory conclusion of the negotiations ^be- tween Lord Jersey and Messrs. Cammell Laird and Co., especially when conjoined with the known intent on of the Harbour Trust to proceed with the construction of an extension to the King's Dock for the use exclusively of Messrs. Cammell Laird and Co. The deduction, however, was al- together wrong- No definite agreement has been arrived at between his Lordship and the company, and the levelling of the Burrows is simply preparatory work under- taken by the Jersey instate, so as to be ready for any works that may require a site there. With this Messrs. C. L. and Co. naturally have nothing whatever ';00 do; until the lease is actually signed they have no authority or interest in the project- ed site. As for the extension contem- plated by the HarbouT Trust, its execution depends entirely upon the final decision of Messrs. Cammell Laird and Co. to establish branch works at Swansea. So tifat as evi- dence bearing upon t.he course of the nego- tiations this information was of no value whatever- A practical test made with the Tefuse barged out to sea. at Swansea has proved beyond question orr doubt that a. proportion of the refuse finds its way to the Aberavon beach. Sealed packages were mixed TIP in a cargo of Tefuse, and these were thrown up on the beach, and were there seen by Mr. Ball, the borough surveyor, and Cous. Merrills, the chairman of the Streets Com- mittee- In view of this, it now becomes imperative that greater care shouid be ex- ercised in removing floating material from the refuse, or some plan adopted, such as going further out to sea., to prevent any part of it being brought back by the tidal waters. t V> It is now believed tnat the members of the Swansea Waters and Sewers Commit- tee are seriously considering the possibility of co-operating with other samitary authori- ties in the neighbourhood in a. comprehen- sive sewerage scheme, with an outfall be- yond the Mumbles Head. This is suggest- ed as an alternative to the pier head scheme recomaneaided by Mr. Chactterton, which could be carried out, 'he estimates, at a cost of £160,000. It is by no means clear what the Mumbles Head scheme would be free from the objections urged to the Bryn- mill scheme, and the ratepayers have rea- son to hope that before embarking upon iit, or spending money upon what may prove a futile effort, the members of the Coun- cil will renew their investigation into the merits of a smaller scheme advocated b.v Coun. Odo Vivian, which, in the opinion of the borough engineer, will achieve the main purpose in view at an expense of not more than £22,000; The appointment of a Welsh Department of Education as an adjunct of the Educa- tion Department, and the appointment to it of Mr. A. T. Da vies as secretary, and Mr. 0. Jr. Ed-wards, M.A., as Chief Inspector, realises in part, at least, hopes long enter- tained Ly Welsh educationists. Mr. Davies in an interview with a. Press representative, expressed the hope that all contentions would oeasa in Wales, so as to enable the country to enjoy in their fullness the bene- fits of a inefficient and sympathetic control of education. If Mr .Davi-es induces his political. frffinàs to-act. upon." the ad vice, he by implication gives, then the innovation is certain to justify itself, and Wales ma.y look forward towards working out its own salvation as an educational area. On the other hand, if the new department is per- verted into a mere instrument for further penalising the voluntary schools, we may take it for granted that the department will not survive the next change of Gov- ernment- All genuine lovers of education will wish that this peril in its path wilj be avoided. f ..t' Considerable dissatisfaction is felt in the town with the methods adopted by the Corporation in collecting the rates. These methods are both loose and excessively rigid; that is to say, they are loose m the sense that the demand notes are served weeks after the making of the rate; and rigid in the summary application for sum- monses at a later stage. There is not in the public mind a clear idea as to when the rates ought to be paid, and the result is that some wait until they are actua-lly threatened with a summons before paying, and that others disregarding warnings, per- mit the summonses to be actually issued thus incurring humiliation and expense. We believe flIc,t the Finance Committee could devise a few simple instructions which would contribute towards a efficient collec- tion of the rates, and at the same time minimise- the consequences of delay to rate- payers, who, through oversight, or other cause: are tempted to exceed the period of indulgence A de=il may be said in favour of an arrangement whereby pay- ment within a fixed oim-/ would secure a smaH. abatement as discount. 1 Mil". A. R. Bennett-, who acted as consult- ing engineer for the Corporation when the Municipal Telephone system was establish- ed., continues to protest against the contem- plated sale of the property to the National Telephioine Company. Iv cann.>t be said, however, that his letters to the press are 'likely to prevent the negotiations being car. Tied through, and the most that NIl be ex- pected: of them is that they will furnish ani munition for those members 1)t the Council already predisposed objeot. to the sale of the system. Incidentally, Mr. Bennett ap- plies severe lan'^rua.sre to certain actions of the Telephone Committee. The value of his adverse comment, however, is diminished by the belief that he is not, a friendly critic of a. body whi h. refusedi to avail itselif of his services because he a«ked for £350 for giving evidence in favour of the application to the Local Government Board to sanction the loan of £ 7,000—which he was asked to do — andi for supervising the expenditure of the same person,nVI y, or by provy which the committee did not require to be done. In the meanwhile negotiations are proceeding smn-ot'hiy. On Tuesday a special meeting of t'he Sub-Telephone Committee had under consideration the draft offer to sell, which the town clerk bad prepared, together with the detailed statement of account of the ex- penditure and1 receipts in connection with the system from the very start up to the. present time, upon which the borough ac- countant's staff had been busily engaged' for some time past. In the diraft offer the terms as suggested1 by tlie Nationa Tele- phone Company are embodied together with certain proposals, chiefly of secondary im- portance, introduced by the sub-committee. After forwarding these to Mr. Gaines, the general maiTiager of the National, it will be for the latter to die-cade whether the tennis aire acceptable. Having regard to the fact that m the main they have been suggested- by the company, it appears, tolerably cer- tain that a settlemen will be .effected, When the wages paid to railwaymen are brought to the attention of the public there is usually a chorus of sympathy with the employees of our great railway corporations. Although much of the labour needs little skill, and would not consequently command a higher price, in any market, the rates of pay are nevertheless, sufficient only to main- tain married employees in the lower grades in the most exiguous of circumstances, whiLst their labour exposes them to great temptation, and is frequently hazardous in the extreme to life and limb. These are facts not to be contested, but it is not so easy to see where the remedy, intrinsically most highly desirable, is to be obtained. At the half-yearly meeting of the Great Western Railway in London last week, the chairman, Mr. Alfred Baldwin, threw a. little illumination upon the question that was needed in defence of the reputation of railway companies in the eyes of the public. He explained that the company had 70.000 employees; that an advance of one shilling a week to each would mean JS182,000 a year to be deducted from the ba.lance available for dividend and that as it requires over £3.34,000 a year to compose one per cent. of the cbvidend on Great Western Railway stock, such an increase in wages would mean the loss of a per cent, dividend annually. An increase of wages, to appreciably ameli- orate the position of the lowest paid classes of employees, would have to be from four to five shillings a. week; so it can be easily deduced that, even after striking off the large percentage of the 70,000 employees who would not require such increase, and allowing for the intermediate grades who would hold it a grievance had they no com- pensating increase also, the above-mentioned problem remains extremely difficult of solu- tion, with. companies paying such compara- tively low dividends even at periods of high prosperity. --1

SWANSEA MUNICIPAL TELE- PHONES. No information has been officially given respecting the negotiations for the contem- plated sale of the Swansea Municipal Tele- phone System. Nevertheless the public will be safe in assuming that the Telephones Committee has failed to come to terms with the Postmaster-General, as the best offer ob- tainable from the latter, if accepted, would aommtit the Corporation to an immediate loss of some thousands of pounds. Also that the negotiations with tihe National Telepho.ne Company have reached a stage which renders a settlement virtually certain, unless the feeling being worked up against the sale of the property attains such strength that a majority may be found in the Council pre- pared: to reject, all offers in order to persevere with the system as an independent concern. When a Corporation deputation first saw Mr. Graces to discuss the proposed sale, it was gathered that the company, if a pur- chaser, would be prepared to repay the capital cost (less amount paid imo sinking fond out of revenue), leave whatever profits that had been made with the Corporation, and undertake to contimue the Municipal Telephones at the present rates for the next two years. But in the written communica- tion subsequently received, these terms were varied by the intimation that t'he company would expect to receive the profits, so that the most that could be hoped for by the Corporation would be the return of the bare money spent on the system. This intro- duced a serious difficulty, as influential mem- bers of the committee were determined to offer a strenuous opposition, -to a sale upon terms which-- left' the town with nothing in consideration of the goodwill of a property yielding a substantia! annual profit. It dis- appeared, however-, when the Mayor and Town Clerk again eaw Mr. Gaines, when a basis of agreement was laid down which pro- mised a speedy agroemen1.. The arrange- ment was then made that the Town Clerk shou'ld be asfced to embody the terms as verbtaRy adopted at the consultation in a formal offer ui writing to be given the com- pany for the sale of the Municipal system. This letter, together with a financial state- ment bringing the accounts of the system up to the 31st, December last, provided mat- ter for a discussion which, on Tuesday last, occupied, the sab-committee for a couple of hours. At the meeting of the Council the following day, efforts made to obtain in- formation regarding these dealings yielded little, for the replies consisted either of eva- sions or diplomatic denials of press state- ments, which later will be found, to have been absolutely correct. The ambassador has been described as a man who goes abroad to lie for his country; public men, when pressed to give information which they con- sider it their duty to withhold, have fre-' queratiy to assume this function of the am- bassador without the letter's skill in parry- ing embarassang questions. Meanwhi'e some evidence is being offered that the opposition to the sale of the property, promoted chiefly by Mr. A. R. Bejmiet-t, the late consulting engineer, is acquiring force. Mr. Bennett declares that the £2,000 profit which might be made by the sale of the Municipal sys- tem to tbe National will probably cost the telephone users £14,000. We very much douibt it-, bot even if the estimate were cor- rect, it wodld still be the duty of the Cor- poration to set the interests of the whole Community above those of a comparatively small section, however influential. «

SWANSEA LADY'S WILL. LATE MRS. BRADER, BRYN-ROAD. Mrs. Fanny Brader, of No. 57, Bryn- road, Swansea, who died on January 15th, wife of Mr. John Brader, music seller and pianoforte dealer, left estate of gross value J61,875 8s. 2d., with net personalty JB1,114 13s. 5d. Probate of her will, dated tbe 28th of August, 1901, has been granted to her sons, Mr. John Barwell Brader, of 4, QaJvert- terrace, Swansea, and Mr. Charles Scott Brader, of Bryn-road, Swansea, music sell- ers and pianoforte dealers, her daughter, Miss Margaret Alice Brader, and her hus- band. The testatrix bequeathed £10 each to her sons, who will be otherwise provided for, and she left the residue of her estate, sub- ject to the bequest of her stocks and shares, to her said daughter in trust for her hus- band for life, with remainder, subject to interest. #

BATH AND WEST AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES SOCIETY. This old-established Society will this year hold its annual exhibition at. Newport (\Jon.) from June 5 to 10 inclusive. The mowy prizes for stock, produce, etc., amount to over JB3,400, in addition to challenge cups, meda's a-nd plate. There will be a- large dis- play of implements, machinery, art-ma-mi- facturas, ami articles ,of general utility, nature-study and forestry exhibitions, hovti- cn'lituTTil aotd poultry shows, and jumping, driving, butter-ma,king, milking, shoeing, timbering and splicing, and ambulance com- pet;troill\5. There will be other special attractions, iirahiding musical perfon-nadMos by the Grenadier Guards Band. ÐnÜy- fccrms, regulations, etc.. can be obtained of the Secreftary (Mr. Thos. F. Plowman, Bath), to whom application should be made at once. Further particulars will be found in out adveaibiaemBBitf oohBums. I

CLAIM AGAINST LORD SWANSEA. VALE OF NEATH LEASE. APPEAL COURT ACTION. London, Wednesday.—Williams v. Baron Swansea.—To-day, in the Court of Appeal, befo-re the plaster of the Rolls and Lords Justices Cozens Hardy and Fletcher Moul- ton, this case came on for hearing on the application of defendant for judgment or a new trial of the action, which was heard before Mr. Justice Jelf and a special jury, at the Swansea Assizes. The plaintiff was Mr. Arthur Thomas Williams, a. solicitor, residing at Baglan House, Briton Ferry, and the defendant, Lord Swansea, of Single- ton Swansea. It appeared that the plaintiff acted as agent for a number of large landowners in the district, and he also went in for farm- ing and shooting. By an agreement in writing, dater June 21. 1900, made between the defendant, by his agent (Mr. E. Upton Strick), and the plaintiff, the defendant agreed to let to the plaintiff the tenement or farm knows as Llettyrafel, situate in the Vale of Neath, and a dwelling house and outbuildings, known as Llettyrafel Lodge, together with certain shooting and fishing rights, from June 13th, 1900, to March 25th, 1901. It was a term of the agreement that the defendant should maintain the dwelling house and outbuildings in a tenantable order. Plaintiff continued to hold the premises after March 25th, 1901, as he alleged under the terms of the old agreement, subject to his giving up possession whenever required so to do. Subsequently the plaintiff re- ceived notice to quit, and he brought this action to recover JB54 12s. 9d., for alleged breach of agreement on the part of the de- fendant to maintain the dwelling house and outbuildings in tenantable order. Plaintiff also claimed the sum of J3259 6s. 3d., as out-going tenant, as monies payable to him by the defendant as landlord for work done, and materials, seeds, manures, crops; tillage, and other things provided, and monies expended by the plaintiff in culti- vating, improving, and repairing the pre- mises during his tenancy. Plaintiff based this latter claim on a custom of the dis- trict, and which he alleged was applicable to his terms of tenancy. At the trial the jury found that there was a custom for the out-going tenant to be paid for all classes of items claimed, except corn grown and consumed on the holding, and also that such custom applied to the ten- ancy in question. Judgment was entered upon the plaintiff for (1) damages for breach of covenant to repair the premises; and (2) the amount due from the defendant to the plaintiff under the custom, and it was directed that the matter be referred to a referee to ascertain the amount re- coverable. Against this decision the de- fendant now appeared. Mr. Abel Thomas, K.C., for the appel- lant, said that with regard to the claim for breach of covenant, there was no appeal, because there was no doubt that the build- ings were not put into repair as was agreed under the tenancy. The important ques- tion on the appeal turned upon the alleged. custom. The first point was whether the custom of the Valley was proved at all; and, secondly, if it was proved whether it I was applicable under the circumstances of this, tenancy, which, as the defendant al- leged, was a tenancy from day to day or at will. The further question was whether Mr. Justice Jelf did not wrongly direct the jury in saying and telling them that the tenancy which was existing when the plain- tiff received notice was a holding-over of, the tenatrcy und«?r the agreement. 1 Lord Justice Moulton: You say that it was not a holding-over? Mr. Abel Thomas: Yes. We say that it was a new tenancy on new terms, a.nd that the law with regard to holding-over would not apply. Counsel went on to explain that Lord Swansea. was negotiating with a Mr Llewelyn for the sale of the farm to the latter, and prior to the tenancy under the written agreement expiring, Mr. Strick (defendant's agent) wrote to the plaintiff explaining that in the circumstances his instructions were not to let the farm for any lengthy period, and that anv agreement which was made would have to'be made so that the Agricultural Holdings' would not apply As a matter of fact, said coun- sel, tnat Act only applied to a vear to year tenancy, and therefore the intention of'Mr. btnek clearly was to protect Lord Swansea against any claim such as that made in this case, because, as he was letting the property, he would obtain no benefit from anything put into the ground, or improve- ments made. Plaintiff wrote that he would keep on the tenancy at £50 per annum, and would give up possession whenever required to do so, and added that he thought this would meet the difficulty. Counsel sub- mitted that in these circumstances, even if there was such a custom as that found by the jury, it could not apply to this ten- ancy. Lord Justice Moulton said it was clear that there was no holding-over, because there was a new term in the letters which did not appear in the original agreement, namely, the provision as to the Agricultural Holdings' Act. Mr. S. T. Evans. K.C. (for the respond- ent) We dealt with it upon the footing of its being a tenancy at will at the trial. I do not suggest that it is anything else. Addressing the court in support of the Assizes verdict and judgment, Mr. Evans pointed out that at the trial the defendant called only four witnesses, none of whom had any real local knowledge, whereas the plaintiff's witnesses were familiar with the custom of the district. He submitted in the first place that the custom was applicable to a tenancy at will, and, sec- ondly, that there was evidence sufficient to enable the jury to come to the verdict they did. namely, that there was such a custom applicable to such a tenancy. He contended that the custom proved a.t the trial was this, that in all agricultural tenancies in the Vale of Neath, exhausted improvements were by custom to be paid for by the land- lord to the out-going tenant. Mr. Justice Moulton: There is overwhelm- ing evidence that this is not an agricultural tenancj", as recognised "in the Vale of Neath, because such a tenancy must be for six months at least. Mr. Evans said the jury were not asked and had not found what an agricultural tenancy was. He contended this was an agricultural tenancy, because the plaintiff was bound to farm the land according to the roles of good husbandry in the district, and it was the custom or local law that the landlord could not put into his pocket the benefit of that which the tenant was bound to do. The Master of the Bolls in giving judg- ment. said that the trial evidence was giver, with a view to showing there was a custom of -he «x>untry relating to agricul- tural tenancies and it wa.s assumed rather than proved that given that custom as ex- isting, it- covered this particular tenancy. There was a controversy at the trial as to whether the custom existed at all, but as- suming that it did exist he did not think that it had any application to a tenancy which was of so exceptional a character as the cne- in question. There was evidence on which the jury were entitled to find that th? custom did exist, but when that evidence was sifted it was obvious that the custom did not appiy 10 such a tenancy as this, which was merely a tenancy for a short period, and terminable at will. He thought that the plaintiff had failed to establish any claim under the custom and the ver- dict of the jury on that point must. there- fore, be set aside. The Lords Justices concurred and the ap- peal was accordingly allowed with costs. It was ordered that the claim and a coun- ter-claim by Baron Swansea for rent alleged to be due. should proceed before the Be-, ieree on the otter hea^ds* I

•; — NIATH NOTES. ^Bonifaces Run the Gauntlet. County Justices Busy During the Week. The whoje local atmosphere has been per. vaded this week by the -fames" of spirits T'u the aroma of a variety of X's. r, The whole of the county area, comprisng bnton Ferry, Skewen. the Vale of Neath, the ^.V'ais Valley, and the wilds of Seven casters and Unllwyn, has been disturbed, in some places violently. So much hangs on the renewal of a. Ii. cense. Licensees who have been legally good have been conscience smitten. Those who have been legally, bad have been existing trough a. horrid nightmare; while the brewers and others interested nave been in- tensely worried. Really one felt sorry to see them ail— to note the forced air 01 cheerfulness which some of them struggled to "wenr," to plain- ly seo the dejected looks of others, or to watch the swaggering, de- portment of others still—those who felt sure there was no hope. Really the only pleasant looking persons associated with the three days event were the solicitors, the architects, and the jus- tices. The last mentioned seemed to revet in their brief authority. So for a time it Wlll be. Iu passing one might note with exceed- ing pleasure the fact that two or three of the .r,'?L unpaid made a ''welcome'' re- appearance after twelve months' absence. But., niter all, the co-xnty jnstices were not the terrible auto.ra-tc which the tremb- ling intere.sted parties had imagined Mr .Edward Davies v as the chairman, but inasmuch as he is in ill-health, practic- ally all the talking was done by Mr. Lyons Evan-Thomas. And he talked with know- ledge and acted with scrupulous fairness. Other centres are unlucky in not possessing a gent'lem vr." of the intellectual calibre and the business capacity possessed by Mr. Lyons Evan-Thomas. He allowed no nar- 1. row issues to weigh with him, and held the scales of justice with a jrst hand. So tin,the fears that were orignally en- tertained, and the fateful illusions which had produced a temporary mental upset, were. after aU baseless. The county licensing justices quite realis- ed the difficulty of their position They knew, as most of us living in the district do also, that there are a great many houses which are unfit for public resort. But they used their power with clemency, and he'd be -1 bold man, and perhaps a lying one, who would say that they had shown t>ny favour whatever. The N^vith district is essentiaiiv a tied area. The statistics submitted by Sirpt. Menhennick, who was absolutely fair. throughout, conclusive! proved this. And the tied house system has its evils, we all know tha.t. But these evils are reduced to the minimum in the Neath area, and for the simple rea.son that Mr Ik-van, who owns nearly all, sells liquid commodities which will compare favourably with any in the country. Further, he has invariably tried to get the best tenants, a.nd insicted on the strict observance of the law His interests are great. The bench knew it, but they did not spare him on that account, as the recoru of the sessions will con- clusively show. They treated him just as they would have treated the man who owned a. single house. Mr. David appeared for him in all too, objections, and Mr. David was a success- ful representative, anxious to meet the wishes of the bench, but at the same time inexorable when the interests of his client seemed to be unjustly Imperilled. Altogether it was an uneventful sessions. A mass of work was got through, but there was little humour. The Temperance Party was missing True, Mr. Richard Watkins did put in an appearance on Tuesday morning. But some" how nobody seemed to know him, except Supt. Menhennick. And he soon left. By the times these notes appear in print the net results will probably be known- Undoubtedly a. considerable number will be" referred for compensation. But when will the compensation be paid? For until it is, on will go the license. I' mtold on good authority that there are several licenses in the county referred two years ago which are still existent, and bringing in a splendid return to the in- terested parties. So that those gentlemen whose license have been referred in the Neath "ounty area needn't worry for a while. They can keep on smiiing-^and drawing beer, etc. By George, these licensing sessions are good things for the la-wyers though, and good for i he architects and valuers, too. I'm cold that one gentleman prepared no less than 00 plans. And it's not a matter of 80 pence "is" six and eightpence- Well, I suppose it's all good for trade. Wish some of these things which are gcod for trade would come our way. Somehow or other they don't. Well, anyhow, we havc something to be thankful for. We arc not licensed victual- lers. Unfortunately the report that the South Wales Electrical Power Distribution Com- pany was about to undergo reconstruction has proved to be untrue. And the Neath Rural District Council will >e in a prettv pickle after the cxpnation of the month of April, for then the supply of electric power will cease in accordance with the notice giyen by the company a couple of months ago. What then will happen? The Council will have for some considerable time to revert to the use of gas for the supply of which they are dependant upon the Neath Corporation. No less a sum than £ 20,000 has been spent on laying the cables, erecting lamps, etc. That sum will be wasted un- less the Council go to a further expense of something like £7.000 for the establish- ment of a. power station of their own. The position :s a. very serious one, and it seems likely that the long-suffering ratepayer will have another millstone tied to his neck. The effect of the probable failure of the local electric lighting undertaking on tbe March e'ections will be most marked. --+- We are going to have some hot fights in March over the County Council and the Dis- trict Council and Guardians' elections. In Coedfranc the, rivals are already arraying their forces in connection with the Dis- trict Council, and a.t least one surprise may be expected. In Neath (South Ward) Aid. W. B. Trick is not to be allowed an unopposed return to the County Council, for a distant relative, Mr. W ■ H. Hunkin, will oontest his return. All over the Union we hear of likely contests, and the fight on March 2t5h will probably be the hottest on record.. OBSERVER.

SWANSEA AND DISTRICT COAL- OWNERS. ANNUAL MEETING: N^W CHAIR- MAN. TOO annual meeting of the Swansea Dis- trict Board of the £ outh Wales Coal Owners' Association was held at Hotei Metropoie, Swansea, on Tuesday. M-r. E. R. Fisher, of Gellyoeidxim Collier- ies, was appointed chairman in the place of Mr. Evan Williams (Liang e>nneoh). Mr. Thomas Gray (Part Talbot) vice-chairman.

SWANSEA MAN UNDER SUSPICION. WAS THE BRASS HONESTLY ACQUIRED? At Swansea on Tuesday, Charles Cross and John Smith, labourers, Upper Strand, were charged with having a quantity of brass in their possession supposed to have been sbolen. P.C. Williams said art, mid-day on Monday he saw defendants crossing the ferry at Up- per Bank with a bag. Asked wcat they bad, Cross replied, "Only a bit of iron. Half a cwt. of brass was found in the bag. When charged at the station defendants said they had the iron from an old works at Foxhole. On the application of the police the ease was adjourned till Moods;*