The South Wales Daily Post

1 THE "POST" DiAHY. i W:r. h.MPI itK; Tw,) Fe¡":L>i. evii'7 evening, \1, ."k, I > r £ ^w.! a. Bizrtsr iil I'arnxrr: hrii-! -uii C. )i- | i -liai C.'luicl;, ()ct<»i«r 'v., J, Sj.~it Alb-rt liaii ta ai.I of l'ftviili CU'jri'H U::>iiJiy iuii ^iA'i t> ii — C'i'tici l u.• A.Me: i iiali by li. a«. j o. j

The Swansea School Board has an admirable method of covering up its defects. Nearly everything is done in committee; it requires more courage than the average member possesses to challenge the recommendations of a committee, and this has brought into exis- tence a state of things in which the members are enabled to act without thought of or con- sideration for the opinion of the ratepayers. One of the consequences is thai the public I interests are almost invariably subordinated to personal and sectarian considerations. We are assured for example that the chief merit 4ja an assistant from outside the district appointed to a position under the board, in preference to the many local teachers with better claims to it, is that he is expected to make a good choir leader in one of the chapels. A candidate without denominational backing has not the slightest chance of having his qualifications properly considered. In one recent instance a Swan sea boy coming from one of the best of the training colleges with a first-class certifi- cate was rejected for another placed in ths third division. The explanation of this neglect I of merit was that the more competent candi- date had received his trailing at a Swansea voluntary schooL ) Apart from the injustice of shutting out candidates whose fathers have been for years II contributors to the Swansea School Board and other rates emphasis cannot be too strongly laid upon the mischief thus wrought to elementary education, and the injury indirectly inflicted upon the ratepayers who arc entitled to have the best, teaching talent available for the I salaries paid. That the children attending the schools suffer by reason of this favouritism is beyond question, unless it be conceded that whether a teacher be good, bad, or indifferent makes no appreciable difference to the tanght.. Members of the board when hard pressed for justification of the policy which is manifestly I hurtful to the cause of education appear to con- ¡ sider the matter closed in their fa.vour I when they point to the results as indicated by I the departmental reports. But the fact is the I value of the latter can easily be magnified, i especially when the schools are regarded not merely as grant-earning machines but as places I I where cliildren are receiving an education which must largely determine their success or j failure in life. If it be a point of absolute in- i diffexence whether a teacher be good or other I wise; if the important point be whether ne attends this or that chapel or stands well with this or that member, the sooner the better the positions are thrown open to candidates posses- sing the necessary denominational degree who I are prepared to come at the cheapest rate.

THE DYNAMITE CONSPIRACY. « MORE EVIDENCE AGAINST BELL 11 The Press Associations Glasgow correspon- dent states that the evidence to be given against Edward Bell, the alleged dynamitard, at Bow-street on Friday will be very exten- sive. Important fresh fads wiU be disclosed by Superintendent Orr as to Bell's movements whilo in Glasgow, and by the Metropolitan police, who have actively prosecuted their in- quiries since the last hearing. ¡ J

-'U_n. i WRECKED IN THE CHANNEL. During Tuesday night's gale the Brazilian vessel Gojara. from Barry to Para with ecal. went ashore near Hartland Point, in the Bris- tol Channel. The captain and crew of the Gojara were saved by Captain Morgan, a Car- diff pilot, and taken to lifraeombe.

ATHLETIC NOTES. FOOTBALL. I Playing on their own ground Cardiff de- feated the Devonshire Albions by five tries to one Oil Wednesday. The Blue and Blacks iike the All Whites crossed the Devoniort ( hije live Bancroft, however, increased Swansea s score by a dropped goal, and the Albions notched a try against Cardiff, which they failed to do against Swansea, conse- quently the difference in the Cardiff and Swan- sea sewing was equal to a dropped goal and Ii a fry in tne All Whites' favour. Cardiff, in addition, had the advantage of playing on their own ground, which Swansea. aid not, I: and the Albions were a weaker team -than the h<p. that played at Devonpoit on baturda-. Vhat's the deduction? Let us wait for the r»t encounter wi.th Cardiff. Play up Swan- l't encounter W i,th Cardiff. Play up Swan- "0a. A friend of mine, who was at Plymouth la.i..1 week, addressed himself thuslv to the writer "Devonport Albion meun to beat Swansea, rest as>sm-ed upon that. They intend to come off best. no matter how it is lo be done, so YOlt can reckon on a defeat tor your men." This reads funny in the light of the calamity which • betel the Aibions on Saturday. Oh what a surprise. There will be a big train-load of Aber-.von- ites down for next Saturday's match. Excite- ment runs high amon'/ local enthusiasts. Four or five seasons ago Swansea, Llanellv. New- pnrt. and Cardiff, were the Oidy Welsh teams who could be relied upon for good-class sport; now Aberavon swells the number, .nd has vir- tually taken the position Neat Si appear to be losing. The committee who selected the teams for the trial match at Mountain Ash met at Car- diJJ-why Cardiff, is a mystery—and neglected to include either George Davies or Messer in the Whites and Stripes. It is no doubt wise to a certain degree to patronise the junior teams, but this omission wants some explain- ing away. However, these trial mutches sel- oom prove of much use as criterious of form. and the final selection will, I hope, include Davies' name, a.s Willie Richards will, I am afraid, be unable to play against Yorkshire. A correspondent writes:—The bird of free- dom no longer shrieks with mad delight, but wings its homeward way to other climes. -The dove of peace which sat and winked a wicked knowing wink has flown, to never more return. The atmosphere of salubrious Plasmarl is charged with ominous rumours, and the sha- dow of a coming storm casts gloom over the Munnesmann Association Football Club. In this happy condition we will leave the club, and await further developments. The advancement which foctbcll in the Rhondda has made during the past couple of seasons is astounding. The following results of games in which Rhondda ciubs took pait on Saturday last will show how strong those clubs are likely to be this season:—Llwynpia beat Penarth by 2 goals, 2 tries to one goal; Penygraig beat Cliiton by 3 goals to nil Pan- } typnud beat Llandaff by "tries to nil; and Tre- herbert beat Ferndale, another Rbondda team, by 5 goals, 2 tries, to 1 dropped goal. Of course, the most extraordinary, and also the most surprising of these victories was that gcuued by Llwynpia over Penarth. The Sea- siaers are by no means weak this season, as was proved by their victory over Bristol a fortnight ago, who in turn ga,-e such a troun- cing to Blackheath on Saturday. Therefore, the one and only conclusion to be arrived at is that Llwynpia are particularly strong. The Neath team for Saturday's match against Llanelly A will be as follows Back, Lewis Jones; threequarter backs, J. F.vr..is. O. Moxley, G. Brooks, and T. J. Youatt; half-backs, Vv. J. Dsvies (captain) and J. Hop- kius forwards, J. Thomas, K. Davies, D. J. Jones, A. Davies, W. Arnold, E. Arnold, C. Abbott C. Smart, and E. Phillips. A meeting of shop assistants was held on I Tuesday night at the Eagle Coffee Tavern, I Port Talbot, for the purpose of forming a. Thursday football team. Air. W, Rees (Messrs. Stead and Simpson) occupied the chair. ['he officials elected were as follow :—Captain, Mr. Evans (Messrs. Stead and Simpson); secretary, Mr. A. Woodward (Messrs. Cash and Co.); treasurer, Mr. H. Llewelyn (Messrs. T. Nicho- las). The secretary will be pleased to arrange matches, home and away, with auy Thursday matches, home and away, with any Thursday team. Hafod Y ilia v. St. John's played a match on Saturday, the former winning by a goal to three minors, the result of a try made by B. Burns. Ihe game was close and interesting and during the first half a free fight took place between the forwards as a result of certain rough play which had been indulged in. Burns' try was a pretty one. He obtained a pass from I Allen near the centre and darted in with a fine try. Poole converted. My readers will be glad to hear that the My readers will be glad to hear that the injuries to the Plymouth players have by no means been serious, as have' been supposed! Both men are out aud about. Don't let any- one run away with the idea, that the All I Whites played a rough game. As a matter of fact, at least six or seven of the Welshmen still bear evidences of the bumping t/f^v them- selves experienced. Considering the "fastness of the game it was played in the best possible I spirit. I A new phase of the commercialisation of Rugby football in the North has appeared: — A St, Helen's correspondent reports that some excite nent prevails among he supporters of the «•' l eu s ootball Club by rumours of dis- affection and a strike of several leading players, ihe whole of the eight forwards declineu to play on Satuidav in the Northern Union league match against Oldham. unless broken time I allowances were substantially increased. A meeting ■•i the disaffected members was held to promote a peaceful settlement, but this was only partially successful, as three pio- rmnent forwards refuse.! to play, and substi- tutes had to be found. Neath shop assistants football team held a meeting at Matthew s Coffee Tavern on Thurs- day, wlic-n the following officers were electcd: Captain, J. Davies; vice-captain, D Williams; secretary, L. Jones, 27, Wind-sheet, Neath, I who will be pleased to anange fixtures tor Thursdays. The secretary of the Red Rovers Football Ch;h wilt bv gla-! to anaiwe c;atch-.s with junior teams, ages 10 to 12. Secretary (D. J. Perry), London-terrace, Peutregaseg. near Swansea.

CYCLING. It is witn a deal of diffidence that I advocate the construction of a cycling track in Swansea by the time tne next cycling season comes round. Of c-urse, there are tracks innumerable that are splendid paying concerns, but then, agam, there are others upon which there is uo I hope of making any proct. Still, in the three other principal towns in South Wales tracks have been built, aud it does not say much for sport in Swansea that we should be behind towns of half the size, like Newport and Llanelly. In Cardiff, of course, they hAY" two I tra ks—the Harlequins and the Exhibition, but 1 believe I am right in saying that the profit being made on the former is iufin tesi'cal, while o,. the latter I understand there has been while 0.. the latter I understand there has been something like a ioss of £2)0 during the past season. However, that does not prove that f a tra-k were constructed at Swansea it woi 1 i be a failure, and I hope the thing Wl-, be m re than mooted by the time next April comes round.

CRICKET. There is something peculiarly incongruous in the idea of cricket on skates, yet matches have been played on the ice on various occa- sions. In January, 1880. two well-matched teams Swansea and Cadozton—each com- posed of noted cricketers, mounted on skates, played on a puud near Neath. Good scores were made, and the players bore their many mishaps with a good grace. Cadoxton won by 361 runs, against Swansea's 126. Of course the score did not prove that oadoxtou men were bitter cricketers, but that they were better skaters.

1 THE POST BA Several of the committee of the Salisbury Club have been called to the bar. Local go-betweens for the Northern Union ire not confined to Cardiff. We have some u»aier home. There is a man living at tne top of Monat- t'leasaiit who always engages a cab to take him home. 1", net that err.city to horses? The dead man Hill, was a hard worker for Sir John. Llewelyn at tlic last gontrv election. Aitiiwards he hat his windows ?iii<ish id. The men who walked round the tia-k with Buckler, the pedestrian, at Swansea, have not yet been financially satisded. One of them declares that next time he travels for a penny a mile be will go by Parliamentary tra.in: Pressmen, whose duty hus brought them into frequent contact with members of the Hill bmily, speak highly of the courtesy and kindness shown them by the latter. A candidate for the Llanelly relieving officer- stup. in his application, said than "like Nelson, of old, he had but one arm." But, unuKe Nelson, he did not gain a victory on this occa- sion. In other wor-u-. another man got the job. Whilst the Swansea. Watch Committee were busy iutei viewing candidates for the force, a. press man went out for a smoke. When he returned he was mistaken by some of the mem- bers for an applicant. Not under them, though. Jesse Hill was a bit of a wag in his way. "I'll toss you for a shave," was a favourite challenge thrown to him. His reply almost invariably was. "Not me: I can go for another week without one. At least three of the houses in Carmarthen-road were his pro- perty. It !•> amusing, after the appointment of a. constable, to see the haste in which the mem- bers of the Watcii Committee nominated others for future vacancies. They were all good men, and the fiist name called stood the first chauce of becoming a "blue bottle." The Swansea constables who went to Aberystwitn have been allowed 4s. each for expenses. "It cost me more than that," said one. "The beds in the tents were so full uf earwigs, which had nippers as big as a den- tist's instruments, tha.t I cltared out ior other accomruodai ion." A young girl who met a possible mistress at a Swansea registry office was dubious about tll", situation. She asked the lady "How many are there in family?" and on being told "Five." immediately exclaimed, "What. five; my stars, your place won't suit me. Not for Joe. Ta, ta." And out she walked. Mr. Skidmore blew hot and cold at the Watch Committee. He was strong on coer- cion when the football team was talked of, but he turned round when it was argued that Inspector Kieft was accused of coercing Con- stable Cross. And he didn't blush either. A most distressing feat'irc of the Jesse Hill murder is the terrible blow to his aged father, who is over 80 years of age. and who is in a very feeble state, both mentally and physically- He hits lived to see four cf his cliildren taken away under the most tragic circumstances, but when he learned that murder had crossed the threshold of his home for the last time the old men wept like a child. Miss Mary Thomas, the Morriston young lady who won the first prize in the contralto solo competition at the Cardiff Exhibition Eisteddfod, is not only the possessor of an ex- ceptionally sweet and rich voice, but is one of the most capable violinists in the districti. She has won just as many prizes by the mani- pulation of the bow as by her singing, and her "utuie in the musical world is full of promise. Is there any proposition to the amendment of the resolution now before the proposition, demanded a ate payer at the meeting on Fri. day, concerning the Mumbles Railway, in the tone of a maa who meant. to get at the bottom of the affair. Then he stopped to gain bieath, the meeting exploded, and the questioner sat down to think whether there was any other matter that was not as clear as it should be. According to the Rev. T. R. Wade, the North of India missionary, who spoke at the C.M.S. meeting at the Albert-hail on Mon- day evening, lying is pemussible in the .M.a- hommedaji religion under certain conditions- A Mahomraeaan may lie (1) to save his own life; (2) to save the life of a fellow believer; (3) to deceive an enemy or an unbeliever; and (4) to please or deceive a woman. We would venture to assert that in this latter respect the Protestants would take some beating. A speaker at the meeting concerning the Mumbles Railway, the other evening, blacae the old members of the Local Board for the present state of confusion, whereupon another ratepayer jumped to his feet, and, full righteous indignation at such a charge,shoute "We have no right to reproach our unbonJ forefathers with having conducted the work ° the parish any worse than the present coun cillors have done in the future 1" With great solemnity Councillor Llewellyn. Davies approached the reporters at the W a Committee and told them he was in favour åe all the committeee meetings being open. nt said it was through him that the Assessin^ h u" Committee was now open, and he t 0 61'S' publicity was the best thing in the ratepay he interests. 'It is not an election douge, fbB wound up, "but done in the interests to t;eÍI ratepayers, who ought to know what representatives are doing." Jesse Hill, the vi-tim of the Cwmb^ murder, may have been a man 01 to and in some respects unlovely ways, his aged father he was an affectiQH-* faithful son, ever ready to ministei jjy needs. To his two little nieces he was 4 tender and loving. In view of the a^j f0 his money reverts in the absence o. a the the father, it is interesting to kn^r\ cCased authority of a neighbour, that t e little always spoke of leaving it to these tWO girls. —————" T A certain member cf the St. JOlin;; ecentlJ lance Association residing at bwansea rendered first aid to a man who )<iC j^keO his leg. He carefully bandaged the je;igUI-e. limb, and viewed his work "wR11 P aa<j The j: it Lent was earned to the hosp«^t fie the young man asked the doctor tin? thought of his bandaging.' 'Oh, ie^oa r0ur medical man, 1 complement yoJ treated work. But, my dear fellow,, you ne the wrong leg. The young man fUtine. will give other members a chance ..s tfc* f°r A Swansea gentleman Sc..yorks'"1'6., "Post Bag" as a bit of prime to fal There wur once a mouse at 0n mtiv a cask o' beer. A cat a co0iestc' look-art fur a dinner see t'mouse, sap 1 f tub', ride. "Sitha. Mis. 0> th* drowning thing, "if tha 11 £ <•* jj 0' heer' tha can a' me. I can't abide the s Well, cat's agreeable, but t m ii)kill h out she runs to her 'oil, and sits whiskers an' nibblin er Ix^lS" iiii^ t cat, "fair dues, fair dues! lh'* ks -p. *">' tha." "Aw." *>ays t mouse. when they're i' liquor."

TiilRSl.M OCTOiSMR 8, 133d. | ..i.' _.1\ A .I. NOTI5S& COMMENTS! The weath&r is working up the avaragfis t" some purpose, Up to the second week hi September we had to congratulate ourselves | upon a spring and summer pheaomenally fine j and to deplore a drought prolonged to an ex- ceptional degree. Since then, however, the sunshine haa paid but brief, fugitive visits, the rain has been almost continuously descend- ing. and one violent storm has quickly sue. ceeded another. By the time the year runs out the average rainfall for 1896 shows every sign of reaching the noritial point, und as for gales, we appear destined to be subjected to them with unusual frequency. Nature seems bent upon respecting the law of averages.

I Swansea, if it is to occ ipy the position in I the industrial world to which it aspires and ¡ ou^Lt to attain, should bestir itself tv induce I capitalists to establish within easy reach of I the port works of a varied character. It seems I clear that apart altogether from the chronic I •disturbances in the tin-plate trade the latter ¡ I is unlikely for years to recover the position I once occupied by it. Sooner or later the in- dustry must become concentrated on the sea- I board, much to the advantage of Swansea. Llanellv, Neath, and Port Talbot, but the ,II process of transplantation will take time and moanwmle the depression of this specialtsed trade will -naturally affect districts hitherto largelv dependent upon it. Our co?.l trade, m so lar as the town is con- .-f-rned, must needs grow considerably to pro- luce a material effect. iSight should not be .est of the fa-;t that the money earned and spent loi-allv in connection with coal is almost entirely that only gained by the mere handling < f the black diamond in course of shipment. supplemented by the relatively small amount I received as dock and harbour dues. Our opper works are important factor in local piosperity, but so far as can be judged copper production is not ?o rapidly-growing an indus- I try as to justify hizh expectations as to its influence on the immediate future of Swansea. ] j Thus from no1, one of the three staple rid us- J tries of t-ne town and neighbourhood can we j hope to receive the impetus essential tv the I .tdvancenient and growth of Swansea., but rathor from the introduction of new industries I seating a. demand for labour and adding to he spending power of the population. In j aother column we give statistics, obtained t Lmj] the Harbour Trust, showing Uie mar- i vfiUn. growth oi our vh'-a! 'vaat- due almost I csiur.v the ci-taoiishmeE*. of the sonnd busi- { t'- Weaver and Co. It will be £ t.iu. in tne cours.? of a jew years our ut import:; have .ncrea?-- J from a fcT. hun- I i-ns ;!0i- annum •:> .n; aggregate t .ii Li.i6 v.a rd,h i.- ..uii short of r t C •- it I;, S;'j i'j. ic -Old, full of f". ilL f iure. since that hich M-.isrs. ana Co. have a- hit-ved in onj direction ¡1>t be imnosiibie to equaily ent,ip.is- investors operating in other due^t-ions. Itier^ is every proljalii'iity of a ('('ll">\c¡able j proportion of the galvanised sheet trade uf ihe Midlands being brought to thin district-, j Iron and tin-plate works are in sever al c;«-ses i.ng adapted for the business, and in iew oi the steady demand from Africa. South America, and Asia for the galvanised sheet, it 1 is reasonable to conclude that rhe enierjtrise of the adaptors »rill be duly rewarded. We want more initiative on similar lines. Why s!io!ild not our copper works un iertake th'-t work of producing iinished-articles, instead uf conHning themselves to the production of the metal from wbh'h the articles are elsewhere ? Why should not a cycle works be. v st:>.bushed in a neighbourhood where iron and ■aeel are made, and where a Mannesman Tube Works cm sr.pply the most important parts of a cycle. The skilled labour necessary is ■lot obtainable as yet, but surely we can get II here as easily as Germany, which is now importing it from England, it is by courage -.vi-J ar-tmvy on these lines that Swansea can 'yj tue the prosperous town it ought and !Llt, lJE\

< CARMARTHENSHIRE MAIN ROADa A DISPUTE WITH LLANELLY. A meeting of the Carmarthenshire Main Roads Committee was held at Carmarthen on W ednesday. Mr. W. N. Jones, Tirydail, pre- siding.—Mr. Daniel Phillips, surveyor, re- ported that no steps had been taken by the Burry Port and Gweiidraeth Valley Railway i Company to prevent their coal trucks from j "running wild" and across the main roads on the Trimsaran Level Crossing. No notice Had I. been taken of the council's IetteL-It was decided to inform the railway company that unless the necessary work was done within a month the council would report the matter to the Board of Trade.—Mr. Daniel Phiilips re- ( ported that he had. in company with the borough surveyor, checked the measurements |J of the roads in the borough of Llanellv sub- j sided by tno county council, and found them to ] be two miles, seven furlongs, nineteen yards in length, being i4 yards less than the measure- ments given by Mr. ilutchins, the arbitrator, I After a heated discussion, it was resolved that the two surveyors be directed to sign a joint document certifying the coirect measure- ment, and that no further part of the subsidy 1 be paid to Llanelly until this had been done.

I, THE LITTLE HAMPTON TRAGEDY. MRS. LAPRAIK SHIELDS HER 11 tl USB AND. Mrs. Lapraik, in intervals of consciousness, has made the following statement to the nmos, ing sister:—"We had been to Devonshire. e have one child between tiiirteen and four- teen. My age is 40. I know all about what has happened, but I am not going to tell any- body. We didn't quarrel. 1 think he has passed away." Mrs. Lapraik ha'tJ told a.n I infirmary nurse that her name is Rosa, and that she had been married fourteen years. The nurse asked, "Do yon know what has hap- pened?" and she replied "Yes; he is shooting me. He has been ill a long time." Mrs. Lapraik. from wnose neck two bullets have been extracted, states that hor home is at 18, Dagmer-road, Camberwell, and that they have lived at Plymouth. It is believed she has a I bullet in the right eye and another in the palate.

RAILWAY SERVANTS' CONGRESS. The Railway Servants' Congress was re- surned on Wednesday at Vork. Mr. W. Hud- son, the chairman, introduced the question of his election, and the action of the North Fas tern Company in declining to allow him leave to attend the meetings in future.—Mr. Mac- laren, —verpool, said the North Eastern Com- pany were stepping outside the bounds of free- dom altogether by telling the men they must I not be branch secretaries.—Appeals were after- wards considered.

AN M.P. IN PERIL. Mr. Doxford, M.P., was being driven in a ¡ hansom to the railway station at Sunderland I on Wednesday when the axle tree broke, and the body of the vehicle fell to the ground. rhe horse took fright, and, struggling to get I away, kicked in the front of the cart. Mr. Dozford, though in imnuneufc danger,managed to gbt clear of the wreckage without any injury beyond a shaking, and was able to leave for London by the train by which he had a j'ranged to travel.

AN ITALIAN TOWN DECEIVED. An amusing story comes from Italy. Accor- ding to the "Sftcolo" of Milan, "Lord Cecil (sic), a son of Lord Salisbury, is a great apiculturist, and having heard of the existence in Italy of a famous queen bee, he wished to buy it. For this purpose he wrote to a well- known firm of bee cultivators at Como through their agent in London. In due time a telegram their agent in London. In due time a telegram from London reached Hatfield announcing "that the Queen would arrive at three o'clock. Wheretipou. according to the "Secolo," this interesting fact becoming known in the place, tiie inhabitant turned out to greet "her Ma- !,jesty. bands playinu and fags flying. Ima- gine their disappointed amazement when they beheld the queen in her hive handed out of the luggage-'•"an! We fear this story belongs to the beu trovato rather than to the vero.