Weekly Mail

"WEEKLY MAIL" PRIZE SONG COMPETITIONw ALL BIGHTS RESERVED. IN THE GLOW OF THE DAWNING DAY." I BAR CARiOtiLJEi, i J Words by A. J. PERMAN. Music composed by GEORGE S. EVANS.

CONVENTION OF IRISH LAND- OWNERS. The Irish Landowners' Convention met in Dublin on Wednesday, under the presidency of the Duke of Abercorn, who said the landlords' duties were to make the Local Government Act a benefit and a success. Landowners would not be. satisfted until the recommendations of the Fry Commission were obtained. The Govern- ment proposals in reference to these recommen- dations were very good in themselves, but they only touched the fringe of the question. Resolutions were adopted urging upon the Government the necessity of immediately giving the principal recommendations in the Fry commission report a fair trial, calling for compensation for losses sustained under the Irish Land Acts. asking for the reduction and Ultimate extinction of the tithe rent charge and demanding an amendment of the law of procedure under the Irish Land Purchase Acts. Lord Londonderry, Lord Inchiquin, Lord Clonbrock. Lord Farnham, and others addressed the meeting.

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COTTAGE HOMES FOB THE POOR, BILL BEAD A SECOND TIME IN THil COMMONS. In the Home of Commons on Wednesday, Mr. J. HUTTON (13., Richmond), m moving the second reading of the Cottage Homes Bill, said the object was to provide cottage homes for the deserving poor. There were no less than 400,000 persons over 60 years of age who were in receipt of parochial relief. The Bill pro- vided that the council of any borough, district, or parish may, with the consent of the county councils, purchase suitable sites of land or houses for the purpose of cottages for the deserving poor of the districts in their old age. It would take the care of these old people out k,)f the hands of the boards of guardians, and place it with the parish councils. The county councils would also have power for the better working of the Bill to amalgamate the smaller parishes into one body, and would have the determining power as to the number and size of the cot- tages to be erected in any district. It was difficult to arrive at the cost, but it was pro- posed to apportion the expense in the following manner:—The county councils were to provide by county rates three-fourths of the ocst, and the Government were to be asked to contribute to the extent of the remaining fourth. It was estimated that the cost would amount to X20 per head per year, out of which the State would provide E5. This would compare very favourably with the cost of the woa-lihouse system—and, indeed, in Liverpool, where a similar scheme was already in use, it was found to be only 18. per week per head in excess of the workhouse charges. It was not pro- posed to extend the Bill to Scotland, Ireland, or the administrative county of London. Mr. J. PAULTON (R., Bishop Auckland) seconded. Mr. STANLEY LEIGHTON (U., Oswestry) I thought it would be exceedingly difficult to keep the cottages uader proper control. The Bill was a new Poor-law Act which proposed to create workhouses in every parish. Mr BIRRELL (R., Fife) thought this a very important question, and gave it his hearty support. The point the Housa. had to face was whether they were willing that the last years of the honest and deserving poor should be made a3 happy and comfortable as possible, or whether it was right that they should eat the bread of bitterness and drink the water of humiliation. Mr. LAMBERT (R.. South Molton) thought the Bill would prod the Government to do some- thing to redeem the promises which they were so very prodigal in making before the last election. Mr. TALBOT (V., Oxford University) took exception to the measure, because it was very difficult to tell who were the deserving poor. Commander BETHELL (V., York. E.R.) sup- ported the Bill. Hs had complete faith in the ability of the councils to descriminato between the deserving and the undeserving poor. Mr. SO AMES (R., South Norfolk) supported the Bill, because the question was of great impor- tance to the agricultural labouring classes. Mr. W. JOHNSTONE (U., Belfast) expressed hearty concurrence with the principle of the Bill. and hoped it would be extended to Ire- land. Mr. GODDARD (R., Ipswich) thought the Bill was very necessary in view of the tendency that prevailed now among employers only to engage young men. Mr. CONINGSBY DISRAELI (U.. Altrincham) opposed the Bill because it was the crudest and most amateur effort ever put before the House. If old-age pensions were to come, this Bill would make future reforms ludicrous. Mr. HOBHOUSE (U., East Somerset) objected I because the scheme only dealt with one phase of a very important question. Mr. RECKITT (R., Brigg) hoped the second reading would be agreed to, and then the defects could be remedied in Committee. Mr. CHAPLIN (President of the Local Govern- ment Board) was in hearty sympathy with the object of the Bill, as he was sure that every humane and kind-hearted man was. It was natural that they should desire to provide fo* the deserving aged poor. It was only when they came to the machinery necessary that they found there was a great disagree- ment of opinion. The measure now suggested embodied the very obnoxious principle that one authority should provide four-fifths of the funds whictrfj mother authority was to spend, with little oro inducement to economy of administration. The objections to such a proposal were so obvious that he need not dwell on them. But. apart from that, he did not think it was quite certain that the county councils would under the circumstances be willing to supply the funds. Moreover, the Bill contained no provision dealing with the administration of the proposed cottage homes. It was suggested that each should accommo- date ten inmates with two attendants. But homes containing that number of persons would, in effect. be small workhouses, and what, he asked. would be the position of the attendants ? If they were to occupy the position of master or matron, in what respect would the homes differ from workhouses? While if they were to be in effect servants, who was to control the establishments? (Hear. hear.) He also believed that the deserving poor would infinitely prefer that such relief as was granted to them should be forthcoming in another form-that of more general and more adequate out-relief. (Hear, hear.) He feared that the more the matter was examined the more it would be seen how impossible it was to give effect to the lion, member's desire through the medium of parish councils. It might be asked why the Govern- ment themselves had done nothing themselves in this direction. But they had done some- thing. They had improved Poor-law adminis- tration by urging the boards of guardians to do something in the nature of drawing dis- tinctions between the deserving and undeserv- ing poor. It was pointed out that the deserv- ing poor who were forced to enter the work. houses should be separated as far as possible from those who were not entitled to the same classification, that they should have better opportunities of seeing their friends, and that separate cubicles should be provided for their sleeping accommodation. Then there was the question of nursing and attendance. They prohibited attendance by a pauper receiving relief, and insisted on the employment of trained nurses night and day. He was glad to say that the Local Government Board orders had been universally acted upon. (Cheers.) This, after all, was but one branch of the greater question of old-age pensions, which wag now attracting so much attention. He gathered that there was a great desire to affirm the principle of the Bill, which made a distinc- tion between the treatment of the deserving and undeserving poor. That being so, and subject to the condition that the Bill, if it went further, should go to a Select Committee, he would offer no opposition to the second reading. Sir Walter Foster, Captain Challoner, Colonel Welby. and Colonel Kenyon Slaney all approved the principle of the Bill, but criti- cised the details. Sir JOHN LENG (R, Dundee) believed the better plan was to place the deserving poor in almshouses rather than in barracks Sir F. POWELL and several Metropolitan members also spoke, and the Bill was read a aec'ond time, and, on the motion of Sir J. HUTTON, referred to a Select Committee.

_< ERYSIPELAS AT CARDIFF, INFIRMARY, TEN PATIENTS AFFECTED.ONE CASE ENDS FATALLY. Statements that erysipelas had broken out at the Cardiff Infirmary being current, a repre- sentative of the "Western Mail" on Wednesday night made inquiry of Dr. Walford, the medical officer of health for Cardiff, who stated that an outbreak of the disease was reported to him about a month ago, and he thought the cases numbered about four. The patients were isolated, and the wards disinfected. He (Dr. Walford) thought that the disease was now well in hand. Subsequently our representative saw Dr. Pratt. house surgeon at the infirmary, who stated that the hospital was "infected," i.e., that erysipelas had occurred there, and that about ten patients out of the 150 in the house were affected. They were all isolated and disinfected, and there were now no cases of the kind in the infirmary. We learn that at least one case ended fatally.

"WEEKLY MAIL" PRIIZE' SONG COMPETITION. ADJUDICATION BY "ZETTJS." There were twenty-one manuscripts sent in for this competition, the result of which is now given. The words set were those for which Mr. A. J. Perman won the medal in our Verse Competition a few weeks ago. Considering that a really good song is, perhaps, one of the most difficult things to compose, and that a "Barcarolle" has a more or less fixed form to be adhered to, the quality of the work is, in the main, good, and quite half-a-dozen are, without hesitation, worth publishing, if their com- posers so cared. The Silver Medal is awarded to Mr. GEORGE S. EVANS, Potterne, Devizes, Wilts., for the setting given herewith. The Bronze Medal goes to Mr. F. R. BLACKMORE, 31, Kensington-crescent, Swansea.

GLOVE FIGHT STOPPED. On Wednesday night Bobby Dobbs, of America, and Pat Macdonald, of Glasgow, were I matched to fight twenty rounds at Glasgow for L250 and the lOst. 41b. championship of the world. Two thousand persons attended. When the first round was half-way through the police stepped over the ropes and arrested both men. Great excitement ensued. In the course of the fight the American first knocked Macdonald to the ground and again clean over the ropes. Macdonald became irritated and rushed at Dobbs, and with a terrible swinging blow knocked him to the ground. The police then interfered.

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CARDIFF! TRAMWAYS, THE COMPANY, THEIR SERVANTS AND THE COMMITTEE. There is more trouble in store for the Cardiff Tramways Company.—Mr. F. Fox, at tke cabs committee meeting on Thursday morning, said that at a previous meeting the company obtained a licence to run 'buses to the Ely Racecourse. The weather on the first day of the races was wet, and the company did not run ths 'buses.—The Chairman (Mr. C. E. Waring) said that the committee had no power to force the company to run 'buses.—Mr. Fox said that he should remember the case if he were present at a future meeting when the company applied for a licence. Summary Dismissals. At a subsequent stage of the proceedings a complaint was made that one of the drivers Had been dismissed summarily because he did not stop when the bell of his car was rung, although he had stopped twice within 100 yards. Mr. Good said that this was a kind of case of whic hthey had a great many repetitions. The company, in the course of a few months, had a large number of changes amongst their men. For his own part. unless some satis- factory explanation could be given by the company, he should not vote in favour of granting any more licences until the man in question had been re-instated. The committee had a duty to perform. They were called upon to safeguard the public interests. In doing that they had to see that the men thev lioensed were fit and proper persons for the posts that they were to occupy. When they took a lot of trouble to see that the men licensed were men of good character and capable of the work, it was a reflection upon them if the company was to be allowed to dismiss the men at a moment's notice. Mr. J. Jenkins said that the company's action in resorting to instant dismissals tended to demoralise the men. He knew of another case in which a man who had been employed by the company for seven years was dismissed. It was significant that the man had just arrived at the period of service when he would be entitled to an increase in his wages. Mr. Fox thought that most employers tried to kesp their men as long as possible, but the tramways company seemed to adopt an entirely different policy. Why they had so many changes amongst their men was open to very serious conjecture. The committee had to con- sider the interests of the town, and it was a mistake to be continually licensing inex- perienced men, and always having new men brought into the town. The company was doing much to draw men from agricultural and other outside districts into the town, and thus depressing the labour market. He should be in favour of refusing to grant any more licences until a satisfactory explanation were given. Alderman Cory: Hear, hear, I quite agree with you. Mr. Lewis Morgan said that they had been told that the town men unemployed did not apply to the company when there were vacancies. Mr. Chappell replied that if the men were sure of proper and safe employment they would apply. but service under the tramway company was so uncertain that they would not apply. Mr. Lewis Morgan added that he was in sym- pathy with much that had been said, but he doubted whether the committee could do any- thing. The town-clerk had advised them that they had no power to refuse licences. Mr. Fox said that he could not believe that a committee that had power to grant licences had not power to refuse as well. He should like to give notice of motion that no licence should be granted unless the man to whom it was granted had been living in the town for three years. They had had a case that morn- ing in which the applicant had been in the town only two months. Mr. Good asked whether the committee could have produced before them the law upon which the town-clerk based his opinion. He should like that produced, because the town-clerk was wrong so often. Mr. Hallett: I don't think Mr. Good should be allowed to talk like that when the town- clerk is not present to defend himself. Mr. Fox: Oh, for the days of municipalisa- tion! Mr. Lewis Morgan: Will it be any better then? Mr. Fox: Yeq. Mr. Lewis Morgan: We should be the em- ployers then. Mr. Chappell: Look at other employers! Look at Mr. Solomon Andrews. He knows the value of keeping his men as long as possible, and *-T7~ yjr some of his men have been with eighteen years. The matter then dropped. Some Suggestions. Mr. Jenkins drew attention to the « Grangetown, and gave notice of unless the tramways company recojP^Pj bye-laws and drove their 'buses in f with them, the committee should r grant all special permits. w lfy Mr. Lewis Morgan said that he and. t j constable had considered the LlaO g j service, and recommended that the ro jj committee should be asked to co'L0itf i! question of moving the terminus bottom of High-street to somewhere monument. cHjl The Head-constable said that the could be effected very easily, and j a great improvement in every way..jpiJ The matter was referred to the sub-co^pjfl Mr. Lewis Morgan also expressed the .y that it was time to again ask for stages on the Cardiff and Llandaff x This also was referred to the sub-coH^ J

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