Weekly Mail

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PERSONAL PARS. PEOPLE IN THE PUBLIC EYE. Lord Raglan seems to be making up for lost time in the Isle of Man, of which he is Gover- nor. He is staying at Highcliffe, Douglas, till Government House is properly furnished for him; and in honour of the King's birthday he has entertained at dinner the members of the Legislative Council and the principal Manx Government officials. The Sheffield Telegraph tells a good story from India. An American globe-trotter, dining^ with a gentleman in Calcutta, was asked if Americans -were interested in India,. The American assured him that such wae the case, and said, One day I met a lady I knew in the cars and I handed her a news- paper in which was a paragraph headed 'India and Lord She settled down to read it with close attention. I remarked to her. You seem interested in that item about India.' she said, I am. When that young man came out here and married Mary Leiter, I always said she would make something of him—and she has.' Major Seely wears the D.S.O., and served with the Imperial Yeomanry In South Africa. He was sent to his place in the House of Commons while fighting the Boers' six thousand miles away-a tribute not to his courage only but to his personal popularity in the Isle of Wight. He found the Boers such fine fellows that he wrote a letter home to the Times to say so. He is not the only Seely in the House. His brother, Mr. Charles Hilton Seely, sits for Lincoln, and the two are almost certain to be found in the same lobby. The member for Lincoln was repeatedly in the Opposition Lobby over the Education Bill, and the family is marked for its fearless independence. Sir Charles Seely, the head of the family, sa.t in the House through three Parliaments for Nottingham, where his philanthropy and his ceaseless activity in local affairs have won for him the esteem of all parties. Sir Charles now divides his time between Notting- ham and the Isle of Wight. He has himself an interest in the Army, having been for eighteen years colonel of the Robin Hood Rifle Volunteers. His youngest son Major Seely is married to a niece of Lord Erne, once a Lord of the Treasury and a Conservative whip. He is the best of good fellows, and goes out as readily in the Isle of Wight lifeboat as to the battlefield. By swimming to a sinking ship with a line Major Seely once saved nine lives, and such deeds have made the islanders proud of their young soldier-M.P. Mr. William Cadge, the well-known Norwich surgeon and philanthropist, whose death has been recorded, came of a Norfolk yeoman family, and went to University College Hos- pital when Robert Liston was at the height of his career as an operating surgeon. He became Liston's private assistant, and during this period was present at the first operation performed while the patient was under the influence of ether. The scene on the 21st of December, 1846, was most dramatic. The operation was performed with great rapidity, and when the arteries had been tied and all signs of the procedure cleared away those present waited with the utmost anxiety for tlie patient to show that he was not dead. Presently be awoke to con- sciousness, and the surgeons asked him if he were now ready to undergo the operation. He reproached them bitterly for trifling with his feelings, thinking he had been deceived; but when they removed the covering, and showed him the stump where his leg had been, he burst into tears, and, Mr. Cadge said, I thought Liston would do the same." Mr. Cadge was celebrated in the profession as a lithotritist, and his patients were drawn from all parts of the kingdom and from abroad. He devoted himself to the study of stone and kindred painful afflictions, and surgeons crowded his operating room to see him at work. He was among that body of notabilities who have been able to read their own obituaries in the "Times." This flattering notice he read with considerable satisfaction, but, as he said himself, his satis- faction changed to annoyance when wreaths began to arrive from his admirers. Some years ago, the Birmingham Post" says, one who was anxious to make a feature of ecclesiastical autographs penned a politely- worded request to Cardinal Yaughan and the Archbishop of York, but unluckily placed the letters in the wrong envelopes. By return of post came the following terse note from the Roman Catholic dignitaryYou ask for the signature of the Archbishop of York, which I cannot give. Apply direct.—Herbert Cardinal Vaughan." The applicant imme- diately wrote to his Eminence apologising for the mistake, and thanking him for realising what was desired by sending his autograph. In this connection there is a letter from Mr. Justice Grantham, which is interesting just now. His lordship, in this communication, explaining the object of his own autograph book, wrote:—"For the purpose of bridging over the gulf that sometimes exists between the Bench and the Bar, I always invite some of Le Bar to lunch or dine every day on circuit, and those lunching or dining are asked to sign my circuit book as a record of their thus honouring me at my table." The New York Bookman" has a clever sketch of Mr. Labouchere. After alluding to the latter's stay at Homburg on his way from Paris to St. Petersburg, which distance he proposed to accomplish on foot, as he had received no money for travelling expenses, the writer adds: Still another story that he is fond of telling, and which is certainly characteristic of his sang froid, if nothing else, runs that, while he was attached to the British Embassy at Washington, an Englishman strode into the office in all his glory and demanded to see his country's representative. Labouchere ex- plained that he was out. and offered hia ser- vices in lieu. The visitor was indignant. He would have nothing to do with any under- strapper. The word hurt Labouchere, who politely invited him to take a chair and wait. The man waited and waited till over an hour had gone by. Then he inquired when Lord Lyons, the Ambassador, would be in. 1 really don't know," said Labouchere. He went to Europe this morning, and may not be back for three months!" Rich (continues tho Bookman writer), he despises the wealthy, clever without judg- ment. unsentimental yet wrong-headedly emotional, thoroughly in earnest, yet always regarded as a trifler. He used to give out that he had really no time to get married, and yet he espoused Miss Henrietta Hodeon, an actress of some note in her day, and he has managed a theatre, from which he gained a good many amusing experiences without any monetary profit. He has played many parts, but has never achieved success in any particular one. The Manchester Guardian" tells a curious story of Sir Robert Stanford, grand- father of the witness who was a conspicuous figure in the ragging" scandal. Sir Robert, after serving with the 89th and 27th Regiments, retired from the Army in 1839, and, settling at the Cape, became one of the most prosperous men in the colony. It was ten years later that the home authorities proposed to convert the Cape Colony into a penal settlement, and the colonists, band- ing themselves together, adopted a policy of starvation against the soldiers, sailors, and civil servants as long as the convict ship remained off the coast. Capt. Stanford refused to join in this cam- paign, and placed his resources at the dis. posal of the Government. The result was that after the withdrawal of the convict ship the treatment measured out to Capt. Stanford by the colonists ended in his ruin. He came to England and was knighted, re- ceiving also in 1851 a Treasury order fn1' £5,000. The test of his life he spent in almost vain efforts to recover some more adequate compensation, and achieved a small pension, which, however, he did not live for many years to enjoy. Two of his sons emigrated to South Africa, and of one of these Mr. H. F. sanford is the son. It, a singular fact, writes a Society Unit" &-p>" that there are at the same "pne but two sets of Vivian twins. i V° anfi Miss Dorothy Vivian-the w 8t Tv v19 Doris—are daughters of the late Lord \1 an(j gibers to the present peer. They a v both Maids of Honour to Queen Alexandre, nd both in high favour with their Royal ^fYress. She has arranged that, in honour of thV_ twindomi they sha]1 always be in waiting a e same time, and specially desires that should dress exactly alike. Miss Doris by the way began her services at Courts^ a former,! reign; she was Maid of Hononrsi iate'| Queen Victoria. These young both charmingly pretty, but. oddly en h, j() I not resemble one another with the lut exactness that is usually the case with illS Miss Violet Vivian is the taller of the "Q and danced in the "Goddesses' Quadrille at Mrs. Adair's recent fancy-dress bail. The other pair of "Vivian twins" are the daughters of the late Lord Swansea, and half-sisters to the present peer. They are Miss Alberta and Miss Alexandra Vivian, j namesakes and godchildren of King Edward I. and Queen Alexandra. They are bright girls, fond of danctng. boating, and bicycling, and manage to enjoy life in a, very Satisfactory fashion.

OUR FISCAL POLICY MR. CHAMBERLAIN UNFOLD- ING HIS SCHEME. Mr. Chamberlain w/fe on Friday entertained at luncheon at the Constitutional Club, and was presented by the Prime Minister (Mr. Balfour), on behalf of the members of the club, with an address in acknowledgment of his services to the nation at home and abroad, the address being enclosed in a casket of appropriate design. The Marquess of Hert- ford (the chairman of the club) presided, and there was a numerous company. The loyal toasts having been duly honoured, Mr. Edward Gonlding, M.P., vice-chairman of the club, proposed His Majesty's Govern- ment." THE PREMIER'S SPEECH. The Prime Minister, in responding, claimed that the Unionist Government and Unionist Party, during their long term of offiice, had not been unmindful of the interests of their countrymen. They had especially assembled now for congratulation on that portion of their common work entrusted to the Colonial Secretary. Mr. Chamberlain had presented us with a new ideai and novel conception of what a Colonial Secre- tary might be. Since their address was agreed to peace had been concluded, and the Colonial Secretary had made his tour in South Africa. Since that memorable visit. events had occurred not originally in their contemplation. It might well be that there were gentlemen present who were not in ab- solute harmony with all since said. (Cries of No, no.") It would be perfect folly on the part of the Unionists to make particular opinions upon economic subjects a test of party loyalty. (Hear, hear.) Differences of opinion on that subject were perfectly con- sistent with loyalty to Conservative prin- ciples. The questions recently raised were not new questions. He certainly thought the economic position of our country required more careful examination. He wanted to see Free Trade encouraged by discouraging tariff wars, but at present we had no means of negotiation. It was all very well to keep up our balloon by throwing out sand bags— (laughter)—but when we had no more sand bags we must re-consider our position. (Laughter and hear, hear.") If the Colonies desired to give us preferential treatment should we permit foreign intervention in what we regarded as our domestic concerns. The Government did not make the Colonies separate political entities, for they were still integral parts of the British Empire. (Cheers.) We muat insist that they should be ao regarded by other nations. The present contro- versy waa not as to whether the food of the people should be taxed, but whether evils existed which should be remedied. We wanted freedom of negotiation for the purpose of the further promotion of freedom of trade and impartial unity. (Cheers.) Mr. Balfour con- cluded by proposing Mr. Chamberlain's health, and presenting to him the address. MR. CHAMBERLAIN'S SPEECH. Mr. Chamberlain on rising to reply was received with loud and prolonged cheers, the singing of "For he's a jolly good fellow," and the waving of handkerchiefs. He said: I am deeply sensible and moved by the signal and exceptional honour which this great club has paid to me this afternoon. I know of nothing in all our political annals more remarkable than this Unionist alliance, than the circum- stance which brought it forth and the cir- cumstances which have continued it during so many years. (Hear, hear.) When it came about we had been engaged in hot party con- flict. Suddenly we found ourselves over- shadowed by a great national danger-(hear. hear)—which caused us to put aside all minor considerations and to unite in opposition to a common danger. (Cheers.) I would remind you that we were brought together by our opposition to Home Rule— (hear, hear)—the most disastrous proposal that has ever been made—(hear, hear)—to the British Parliament-a proposal which if it had been accepted by the predominant partner in the United Kingdom would have certainly relegated us to the position of a fifth-rate Power. (Cheers.) But during the past eight years we have been engaged in prosecuting a work which, I think, is even more important, and which certainly is more difficult. We have been seeking to bind together, to BUILD UP AN EMPIRE in which the glorious traditions of our British history shall be merged and continued. (Cheers.) I say that that is a more dimcult task. The task of construction is harder than the task of destruction. (Hear, hear.) A thousand years scarce serve to form a State, An bour may bring it to the dust. But we have done something. We havs brought this question into the arena of prac- tical politics. (Hear, hear.) Have we not some reason to be proud that the Colonies, of whom we were told only a few years ago that they would not move a, man nor spend a penny in any cause in which their own selfish interests were not directly concerned, have sprung to our assistance in our time of difficulty and dis- tress—(cheers)—have poured out th4 blood of their sons like water, and have contributed, not, indeed, perhaps, entirely in proportion to their means, but have, at any rate, con- tributed largely from their comparatively scanty resources for a cause which is not their own in any special sense, but is the oauae of the Empire at large? Then, my lords and gentlemen, does it not follow that we who are the older country, we who have gone through the parochial stage, and who have risen to a higher conception of national and Imperial duties—that we should lead the way that we should do our part and draw them on by our example. At the last conference of Colonial Premiers, they suggested that our object might be approached most profitably by meana of commercial union through PREFERENTIAL TARIFFS. (Loud cheers.) It is under these circumstances that I have asked my party and the nation at large to discuss our fiscal policy. I am told that if we give a preferential trade to our Colonies we may miss a trade with three hundred millions of foreigners and only gain a trade with ten millions of our fellow-subjects. Then I would ask, in the first place, is it a fact that the exports of our manufactured goods to our own Colonies already exceed the total exports of our manufactured goods to the protected States in Europe and the United States? (Cheers.) In the second place, is it a fact that our exports to those protected countries are continually and of recent years rapidly decreasing in quantity and deteriorat- ing in their profitable character? (Cheers.) In view of these questions, I ask may it not be possible that it would be better for us to cultivate trade with ten millions of our kins- men who take from us at the present time £10 per head than to lose that opportunity for the sake of attempting to conciliate three hundred millions of foreigners who take from us only a few shillings per head ? (Cheers.) Then there is a second branch of inquiry. It is sometimes described as a policy of retalia- tion, but I prefer the language of the Prime Minister, and I say that it is rightly described as a policy of negotiation. We want SOMETHING TO BARGAIN WITH. I have had a long experience in politics and I have had a long experience in business, and at no time during my career either as a business man or a politician was I ever able to make a satisfactory bargain unless I had tical politics. (Hear, hear.) We have effaced something to give. (Loud cheers.) I want, therefore, that this Government shall be placed in a position to negotiate with foreign oountries, to see whether we cannot break down that wall of hostile tariffs upon which, under existing circumstances, we have been unable to make the slightest impression, and I will go further and say that if we failed in our negotiations, at least we should retain for our own country a vast production, a vast opportunity for employment which is now lost, which is driving our people into foreign lands, (Cheers.) Then I am told that the policy of Free Trade, or, as I should certainly prefer to call it, the existing policy of free imports—(hear, hear)—is necessary to our prosperity, whether as a nation or as indi- viduals. Again, I ask is that true? (" No, no.") We are not to take those dogmas as if they were Divinely inspired. (Laughter.) We are not to assume that political economy said its last word sixty years ago. Are we to admit that of all the sciences that we know of political economy is the only one which must never be reviewed? (Laughter.) When I am told that our prosperity is bound up with free imports, I ask, in the first place, WHAT IS OUR PROSPERITY? Is it a fact, as we are told on the high authority of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman —(laughter)—that twelve millions of our people are always on the verge of starvation— that more than a fourth of the whole popula- tion are always on the verge of starvation? Is that a proof of the blessings of Free Trade? Is it true that many once profitable indus- tries have disappeared, that the whole of the capital invested in them has been lost, and that the workpeople employed in them have either gone to Sir Henry Campbell-Banner-1 man's twelve millions or else have been forced to emigrate where they are now find- ing employment in competition with com- rades whom they have left at home? I ask, in the third place, is it or is it not a fact that our greatest and oldest industries—I would especially name the iron trade and the textile industries—are threatened as they never have been before, and they might at any JJtoment be overwhelmed by the great impor- tation of goods manufactured abroad, sold here below cost—the product, mind you, of protected States? (Cheers.) Then I come to the CRITICAL POINT. I am told "it is a main feature [ of your plan to increase the c03t: at the poor man's food." Is it true? (A Voice: "No, no.") If it were it would be1 serious. I am not going to enter upon an economical discussion. I leave that to the experts, especially to the modern school of political economy, who do not invariably accept the positions which were laid down with so much confidence by the economists of an older school. I leave It to them whether a tax upon any article of con- sumption will in the long run inevitably be paid by the consumer or whether it may not possibly be paid in part or in whole by the producer of the article. But I put that aside. I say, as I have said before, I am willing to assume for the sake of argument, although I do not believe it myself, that the whole cost of the tax will fall upon the consumer. But even then, suppose that the tax upon corn increases THE PRICE OF BREAD, does that necessarily increase the cost of living? Man does not live by bread alone." (Laughter.) If the increased cost of bread has made a. proportionate decrease on some other articles, either of consumption or that are necessary to the comfort of life, then in that case, -although the price of a particular article may be raised, the cost of living will not be increased in the slightest degree. I Well. you know that I have suggested, and it is my own suggestion—nobody else is answer- able for it—that, inasmuch as any alteration of our fiscal system must largely increase the sums received in the shape of indirect taxa- tion, a portion of these sums, at a.ny rate, should be applied in order to provide OLD-AGE PENSIONS for the poor. (Hear, hear.) There- upon I am told that this is a most immoral proposition—that it is a discreditable attempt, to bribe the working classes of this country. That criticism is hasty, and it is harsh. Those who make it have altogether forgotten my past in this matter. I entered upon an investigation of the subject many years ago. It is always near my heart. I believe that such a system would be of immense advantage to the people. I have earnestly desired to make it successful, and up to the present time I have failed, because it wu impossible to see any source from which the money which would be requisite could fairly and justly come. Waa it not natural when in connec- tion with this new subject I thought that it was probable that large sums might be at the disposal of any future Chancellor of the Exchequer, that I should put in a. word for my favourite hobby, if you like to call it so, and that I should ask the working classes—for it is to them that I look for the answer—to consider whether it would not be better for them to ta.ke the money which is theirs in the shape of a deferred payment, and a provision for old age, rather than in the shape of an immediate advantage. That is all that I have done, but it has no part what- ever in the question of a reform in our fiscal policy. That is a matter which will come later when we have got the money. Then will be the time to say what we ehall do with it, and if the working classes refuse to take my advice, if they prefer this immediate advan- tage, why, it stands to reason that if, for instance they are called upon to pay 3d a week additional in the cost of their bread they may be entirely relieved by a reduction to a similar amount in the coet of their tea or their sugar, or even of their liquor. (Cheers.) If what is taken out of one pocket can be put into the Other, there is no working man in the kingdom, no man, how- ever poor, who need fear under the system that I propose that, without his good will, the cost of living will be increased by a single farthing. (Hear, hear.)

DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. IMPORTANT STATEMENT BY LORD LANSDOWNE. In the House of Lords on Monday, The Earl Iff PORTSMOUTH called attention to statements made by the Prime Minister and the Colonial Secretary, and asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when the Government intended to lay before Par- liament their proposals to induce Germany to modify her tariff regulations with the Dominion of Canada. The Marquess of LANSDOWNE, in the course of his reply, said:—The noble earl referred to the speech delivered in this House by my noble friend Lord Camperdown and to my own remarks on the same subject. If the noble earl ha-d had an opportunity of hearing what I said in following Lord Camperdown in the second debate on this subject he would have noticed that, while agreeing generally with the tenour of Lord Camperdown's remarks, I expressly desired to guard myself from being supposed to concur in what he said in the direction of imputing hostility to the German Government in its action in its dispute with the Canadian Government. We think the time has come when the ques- tion should be re-opened. We do not desire for a. moment to be dogmatic about it. We do consider that the time has come when we should endeavour to find some means of ascertaining whether or not it is possible to establish a CLOSER FISCAL AMITY with the Colonies—whether it is or is not possible to find some means of protecting them if they are subject to ill-treatment in consequence of preferential treatment granted to ourselves, and, finally, whether it is not possible to find some manner of protecting British industries against that kind of un- fair and inequitable competition of which I spoke a moment ago. With regard to the German case I will only say that I adhere to the view I expressed the other evening. namely, that the position between Germany and Canada with which we were threatened is not one which his Majesty's Government could regard otherwise than as a serious posi- tion. It was not merely that we found that Canada was liable to be made to suffer in consequence of the preferential treatment which the Canadian Government had accorded to us, but that it was actually adumbrated in an official document Which your lordships will have an opportunity of reading, and, if other Colonies acted in the same manner as Canada, tne result might be that we, the Mother Country, would find ourselves deprived of the most favoured nation treatment that we regarded and still regard as an urgent matter. I do not use the word urgent" so much in point of time, because I have no reason to think that these things are likely to be done in the near future, but urgent in regard to the great importance of the issues which are raised. I think I understood the noble lord to say that the preference which Canada had given to this country had been of little or no value. The information in my possession is to the effect that if that preference did not lead to very large or rapid increase in the trade between this country and the Dominion it had, at all events, the effect of arresting a very percep- tible downward movement which was in pro- gress at the time. Besides that, there is this to be borne in mind—that the main increase of CANADIAN EXPORTS has been in raw materials or semi-manufac- tured articles of a kind in which we could not hope to compete, so that the extent to which the preference applies to articles in which we can hope to compete has been pro- ductive, I believe, of solid advantage to the commerce of this country. Then I desire to say a word with regard to a statement of Lord Harris, who asked whether it was possible for us to give Parliament any information which would enable your lordships to judge of the effect produced pn prices, and particu- larly on the prices of food-stuffs, by the great fall in the cost of over-sea freights. Although it would not be difficult to supply figures to show what the movement of freights has been, I do not see how we can supply infor- mation which would enabtle my noble lord to disentangle the et of that cause from the effects » other causes which have operated in j direction. It is clear that the good fv; • has been due to the development v grain- producing areas, and to e v as the invention of labour-saving There is also the question of lan ind as the noble lord knows, that 't has the movement for the cheapi com- modities from the American been more due than to the cheapeni.' irge for the carriage of grain and oi vm- moditiea. I believe I am right.. > 'at the cost of moving a ton of gr in the United States is something 1 a cent, and one can well under6tanr f\ prices of that kind must bring c. at the place of delivery. The nobl. k ■■ perfectly accurate when he said thi had fallen. There is a Board of Tra which gives the figures iip to 1895. ant I a from it that the freight per cwt. fi ■ Nork to the United Kingdom, which in 1874, is now about 3s. No doubt th lord might claim that that fall is to extent answerable for the great fncre; the amount of food grains imported intt country, which, I believe, rose from 10 lions of cwte. in 1865 to something over n' millions of cwts. in 1901. We shall lay pat carrying the discussion up to the present da but it must not be expected that the pape will contain the proposals for inducing Gp mftny, by negotiation or otherwise, to moiiifj her tariff negotiations. Thoee proposals arc of a kind which can only be taken into con- sirleration and determined after that full con- eideration which the Government had said they thought indispensable. (Ministerial cheers.) SPEECH BY LORD ROSEBERY- Lord ROSEBERY: I am one of tbol"1 who think inquiry is now necessary; but I did uot ) think it was necessary until the qiicsti.w I was raised in an authoritative form by the Colonial Secretary, and until it became a frequent and public subject of debate. Whstt is the inquiry going to be? Is it t" a public inquiry, for the purpose of ascertain- ing the facts and communicating them as promptly aS possible to the public, or is it a mechanism for keeping the Cabinet I together? I am etrongly of opinion that it answers to the second of theee descriptions. I (Opposition cheers and laughter.) I hear a laugh. I am not in the least surprised, because the position is grotesque. It is by far the most important inquiry which has ever been proposed in the country in my life- time. and, if it is to be conducted at all, I say it is inevitable that it shall not be a. hole-and-corner inquiry, but an inquiry to which the nation shall be a party. (Hear, hear.) I appeal, then, to the Government that they should take the country into their confidence in this matter. The Earl of SELBORNE said there were many people on both sides in politics who were desirous of having the questions which were asked and answered sixty years ago asked and answered again. Lord Rosebery himself was in exactly that position, for he defied anyone reading Lord Rosebery's speech closely to ascertain what Lord Rosebery's opinion really was. (Cheers and laughter.) Lord Rosebery ha-d never dealt with the most important side of the question. While this country had prospered under a Free Trade policy Other countries had prospered no less greatly under a totally different policy. This question of reciprocity with the Colonies was one of principle which could not be dealt with by Royal Commission or by that House. It must be an inquest by the nation. (Loud and prolonged cheers.) It was a question in which all the nation, all its people, and all its press must take part. (Hear, hear.) Viscount GOSHEN said if the inquiry that was to take place was an inquest of the nation they would fur- ther want to know what were the questions which were to be submitted to the inquest of the nation. There was the ques- tion of old-age pensions. Was that to be sub- mitted to the inquest of the nation? The Marquess of RIPON thought the position of Lord Rosebery had been singularly mis- represented. The Duke of DEVONSHIRE said the inquiry must be made by members of the Government for themselves. The noble viscount wanted to know whether the question of old-age pensions oould be included. How could it be excluded? No doubt, in certain contingencies, if effect was given to the views put forward there might be a considerable revenue raised which might be devoted to the purpose of old-age pensions. He had read the speeches of Mr. Balfour and Mr. Chamberlain with very great care, and he did not find very much in them of which he oould complain. The speeches did not necessarily cover the whole ground, but he ocmld not conceive two speeches more calculated to add to the public knowledge of the nature of the inquiry.

SPEECH BY SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT. Sir W. Harcourt, M.P., on Saturday evening at Malwood, his seat in the New Forest, addressed a large gathering in connection with the Dorset Liberal Associations and Clubs and the Liberal Associations and Clubs of Christchuroh. The right hon. gentleman said that there had been a kite flown at Birming- ham which had fluttered the dovecotes, but there were some kinds of kites, especially financial kites, which had the habit of coming down head foremost. (Laughter.) They heard of a plan and of a scheme, but it was a plan without an outline. As it was launched it was a plan of preferential duties which were to consolidate the Empire, but what the preferen- tial duties were to be they were not told, except one thing-and that the most important of all, the only fact in the whole of the case that they were able to lay hold of. The basis of the whole plan was the taxation of the food of the people. He had heard what Mr. Chamberlain had said about the plan. He (Mr. Chamberlain) wanted to consolidate the Empire, he wanted to purchase by preferential duties the loyalty of the British Colonies. He (the speaker) thought that they already had the LOYALTY OF THE COLONIES. (Hear, hear.) They had been loyal, thox had rendered them great service, and if Mr. Chamberlain thought that he was the only one man in the United Kingdom who had done service to or understood the British Colonies, then all he (Sir William) could say was that he was very much mistaken. (Laughter and cheers.) What had caused the contentment and loyalty of British Colonies was the gift of self-government, which was made to them by the Liberal party. It was that to which the British Colonies adhered more strongly than anything else. They had given them the power of managing their own affairs as they in England managed their affairs, and it was upon that that they had secured the loyalty and contentment of the Colonies. (Cheers.) The whole object of the plan of Mr. Chamberlain was to make things dearer. Why was there to be a tax put upon corn as a preferential duty? In order that the corn in the Colonies which were to supply thexa was to be dearer. The corn which was sent to them from America was to be dearer, and the corn grown in England was to be dearer. There was no other object in jt, and to pretend, therefore, that it was not a, burden upon the people was a mere impos- ture. (Hear, hear.) The people, the unin- telligent British nation, were told that so long as they made things dearer they would make wages higher. Was that their expe- rience? (Voicee: "No.") The suggestion that if they made things dearer they would MAKE WAGES HIGHER was one of the greatest delusions in the world. Age had its drawbacks and disadvantages, but if it had any advantage at all it was the advantage of experience. He had lived in his youth in the days of Protection, and he knew what was the condition of the people of this country. He was in Lancashire at the time when there were mobs of starving people roaming about the country, and he remem- bered when people were shot down in the streets in consequence of the disturbances. He remembered also that the great reproach upon the English nation was the wages of the Dorsetshire labourer. He had seen the great and rapid, the happy progress, the country had made under the system of Free Trade. He had been connected with the finances of this country—(cheers)—and he had seen year by year what was the condition of the country. The resources of the country were so great that they had been able to meet the terrible expenditure of the war through which they had gone. No other country's finances would have been equal to such an occasion, and a call at such a moment. (Ap- plause.) Let them not believe the statement that the system was a false one which had produced such a result, and given to the nation such resources. There were living at the present moment four people who had been or were Chancellors of the Exchequer, and they all testified against Mr. Chamberlain's proposals. Thefe was no man who had had anything to do with the finances of this country who would not condemn from his experience THE WILD-CAT PROJECT of Mr. Chamberlain. (Loud cheers.) The object of the scheme was to throw the burden of taxation upon the humbler class, the con- sumers, by taxing every article of consump- tion, so that those least able to bear it should have most put upon them, and those who were able to bear it should be relieved of their proper share of taxation. It would always be, even if he was the last man to have taken a share in the reform, a satisfac- tion to him to think that he had laid at least one brick in the edifice, and he did not envy Mr. Chamberlain if he should be the man who would pull down upon the heads of the people that temple of reform and of prosperity which had brought so much con- tentment to the people. (Applause.) The Con- servative people had thought, he supposed, that they could bamboozle them with talk about old-age pensions. (Laughter.) They had Mr. Chamberlain on old-age pensions for he did not know how long, and nothing had ever come of it—(laughter)—and he noticed that when Mr. Chamberlain's name was men- tioned in connection with old-age pensions everybody laughed—and they would continue to laugh. (Renewed laughter.)

I COLLIER'S SAD PLIGHT. BECOMES INSANE AFTER AN ASSAULT. Serious consequences, have attended a neighbours' quarrel at Cross Keys on the 11th inst. The facts were revealed at Newport County Police-court on Saturday, when James Endicott and Emily Endicott, his wife, were charged with assaulting Joseph Everett, a •oilier Mrs. Everett said that sioce the quarrel hei* isband had been very ill, and was unable appear r. D. T. Richards stated that complainant an epileptic, and as a result of some. » that had recently happened he had 1e insane, and would have to be removed asylum. Chairman: Suppose this man were to Shards: The man is now maniacal, mania before. No doubt, the assault or to this present position. trate: If there was an assault. irds: But there are signs of an i (Mr. Llewellin): Is there any Everett coming here to tell his I irdfi T think he ever will. b: Where are the marks? ards: On his head and neck. >>rtiineH on his scalp and his throat. h decided to adjourn the case for further inquiry. Mrs. Endicott ty to the assault.

cd Quinine Bitten purifiM the blood, gives t, 'itj'iity to parts of the body, strengthens [3 of syitem, and give* healthy actios e orga.is and to the liver. Sold everywhere 9d. and 411. 6d. caclw 4W7

LAUGH & GROW FAT HUMOUROUS PARS FROM EVERYWHERE. BOBBIE'S QUESTION. "Bobbie, did you know I was going to marry your sister?" "Oh, yes. When did you find it out?" WISE FOR HIS YEARS. The Mother: Bobbie, didn't your conscience tell you that you had done wrong? Bobbie: Yes'm; but I don't believe every- thing I hear. HOW THESE WOMEN LOVE EACH OTHER. Pearl: Did you hear about the awful fright George got on his wedding day? Maude: Yes, I was there; I saw her. MUST BE POPULAR. Wigg: I hear Guzsler is being treated for the liquor habit. Wagg Yes; he's treated whenever he meets anybody with the price. NOTHING CERTAIN. We are never sure of anything in this world." No. Even the Arctic explorers may some day quit and go to work for a living." REAL TROUBLE. Caller: Why didn't you print my contribu- tion on the VeneBuelan trouble? Was it too long? Editor: No; the length was satisfactory, but it wasn't broad enough. LITERALLY EXACT. The Politican: Now, don't quote me as saying anything. The Reporter: Oh, no! III simply publish what you said. A FRANK ASSURANCE. The Star: Didn't you think I was really ill? The Sonbrette: Why, of course! I never suspected ypu of acting! IN KENTUCKY. The Colonel consults his wife about every- thing." So I believe. Alius tells her who he's goin' to shoot and what for." WHY NOT? Mesmerist's Wife: Carlos! Mesmerist: Well, dear? Mesmerist's Wife: I wish you would come here and tell baby he is asleep. AMEN! AMEN! The day isn't far distant when the man in the flying maohine will look down upon the antomobilist," said the prophetic soul. "And let us hope. too," replied the weary pedestrian, that he'll fall down on him." HE HAD THE GOODS. Ernie: Why did she refuse him ? I thought she said he was a man of sterling qualities. Helen: Yes; but she found a man with sterling silver. BOTH WENT BACK. Briggs: Bilkins didn't get along with that rich girl he married, did he? Gribbs: No. She went back to her family, and he went back to his creditors. COULDN'T DO BETTER. Carr: What do you think of this Mad Mullah. anyhow? Wfcirrington: The real things I've named my new aoto after him! EXPLAINED. HIe (with spectacles): Jessica said that rfhe was never merry when she heard eweet music. She (without spectacles): I suppose she wasn't used to sitting in a box at the opera. A PUZZLE, INDEED. "This," declared the eminent orator, is the very key to the whole question." But," interrupted a small man in a rear seat, where is the keyhole? HE'LL GET SQUARE. First Plumber: Well, my doctor just tele- phoned me that something was wrong. Second Plumber: He has been calling on you regularly, hasn't heP First Plumber: Yes, but now I'm going to returA his visits. THE PROFESSOR. Astigmatism," explained the doctor, is an abnormal condition of the eyes, in which they appear to have different planes of vision, and you can see bettfer with one than with the other." "I see," observed the professor; "one pupil is more apt than the other." TBAGIC. "Why are you weeping, Agnes?" her mother asked. I was thinking," the child replied, of the millions of poor little microbes in that oyster I swallowed last night. How lonesom* they must be to be parted for ever from their little brother* and sisters in the ones you and papa ate!" PLAIN JANE. Jane has a nice disposition." She gets that from her father." "What does she get from her mother." She gets her looks from her mother." Well, a girl with those looks would require a nice disposition to make herself endurable to herself." RIGHT AFTER ALL. Thunny: Well, there's one meal I never eat for dinner or supper. Newitt: Ha! ha! You've got that twisted. You should say there's one thing" you never eat for dinner or supper, and when the fellow asks you what you say breakfast. Thunny: Same thing. The answer is oat- meal.

THE TEACHING OF WELSH. SUBJECT MADE COMPULSORY AT CARNARVON. The question of the teaching of Welsh in the Carnarvon Intermediate School came up for further discussion at a meeting of the governors on Saturday, Mr. J. Issard Davies presiding.—The Rev. J. E. Hughes, M.A., pro- posed that the Welsh language and literature be taught in the school. There was no neces- sity for dropping Welsh in favour of French, for four languages were taught generally throughout the country.—Mr. W. G. Thomas, the mayor of Carnarvon, seconded.—The Chairman said he would be sorry if the impression went out that they were against teaching Welsh. Welsh had been taught when asked for. Was it now to be made com- pulsory? If not, the present agitation was nothing but a sham.—Etgotually, the reeolu- tion was carried unanimously.

LATE DR. JOSEPH PARRY. PROPOSAL TO PURCHASE HIS WORKS. At a. meeting of the forthcoming conference of the Welsh Congregational Union, to be held at Dowlais on July 7 and succeeding days, a resolution will be submitted urging the desirability of the denomination securing the copyright- of all the lnusioal compositions by the late Dr. Joseph Parry. Hie compositions include tunes, chants and anthems, which would be serviceable to Bands of Hope. The amount it is proposed to pay for the copyright is not mentioned in the resolution at present, but it will be considered by the conference. The committee responsible for the Of Oanied- ydd" will be requested to conduct the nego- tiations in connection with the purchase and the publication of the doctor's works.

WOMEN WHO "NAG." A phyeician recently expressed his belief that nine times out of ten when a woman I nags she is tired. Tired, mark you, not because of too much work, but too little strength. The physical and mental tirej" which is born of indigestion. That makes women shrews, men angry brutes. Indiges- tion means starvation and starving folk are seldom pleasant company. The cure is food, eaten with a relish and digested as a perfect mill grinds grain. Mother Seigel's Syrup restores appetite and makee food nourish you. It clears the head, strengthens the limbs, evens the temper, cures indigestion, restores good health, all by virtue of its power to heal and strengthen the digestive system. Thus it helps you keep the peace." w235

l MUNICIPAL OOAIJ. Not content with housing people, with supply- ing electric light, milk for children, workshops, a billiard-room and gymnasium, libraries, baths, wash-houses, and cemeteries, the Battersea Borough Council desires to retail coal. The council recently elected working- men's dwellings on the Latchmere Estatè, and supplies the tenants with electric light and ¡ water. Now a proposal has been made to sell them coal, and the solicitor to the council t ie considering the law on the subject.

MINOR MATTERS. POLICE-COURT AND OTHER PICKINGS. At Swansea on Monday M. Griffin, 58, Tra- falgar-terrace, was fined 15s. each in respect of three women she had employed after hour*. Five lads were summoned at Merthyr Police-court on Monday for playing football in Station-road, Dowlais, and were each fined 2s. 6d. and costs. William Williams and William Jones were each fined 40s. and costs at Merthyr Police- court on Monday for disorderly conduct by fighting with each other at Treharris. The Rev. T. Jesse Jones, rector of Gelligaer. on Saturday appealed to the Merthyr Union Assessment Committee against the rating of the tithe-rent charges of the parish, which were reduced from £306 10s. net to £æo. At a meeting of the Pembrokeshire County Governing Body at Haverfordwest, Miss A. U. Crynant Griffiths, senior assistant-mistress at the Bangor County School for Girls, was ap- pointed headmistress of Tasker's High School. Haverfordwest. When blowing a small tin whistle on Friday evening, Lucy Mogford (9), High-street, Pontypool, the whistle stuck in her throat and has not yet been removed. Dr. Mason was called in and an operation may be necessary. A seat has been vacant for some time on the Llandovery Town Council, and great difficulty has been experienced in finding a candidate. Mr. S. H. Price, jeweller, has now been nominated, and there will, therefore, be no contest. Dennis Bannon was summoned at Merthyr Police-court on Monday for assaulting his mother, Bridget Harrington. by striking her twice in the breast at Dowlais. The defendant did not appear, and in his absence he was fined 40s. and costs. At Merthyr on Monday Kate Sullivan was charged with obtaining intoxicating drink at the Adam and Eve Inn, Merthyr, whilst on the black list, and she was also charged with sleeping out at the Ynysfach Coke Ovens. She was fined 20s. and costs for the first offence, and sent to' gaol for fourteen days for the second. David Jones was fined AOtt. and costs at Merthyr Police-court on Monday for going updn the Ocean Company's colliery premises whilst under the influence of drink on the 19th inst., and a fine of lOa. and costs was imposed upon John Smith for placing an iron plate in the pit sump, and so causing damage to the cage. Jeremiah .Harrington was at Merthyr Police-court on Monday sent to prison for six weeks for non-payment of arrears, amounting to £16, due under an order direct- ing him to contribute towards the main- tenance of his wife and family, who had become chargeable to the common fund of the Merthyr Union. At Aberdare Bankruptcy-court on Monday William John, haulier, Gadlys, Aberdare, appeared for his adjourned examination. He returned his liabilities at £53, and his assets at £ 10—cash deposited with his solicitor for the purpose of filing the petition. He attri- buted his insolvency to ill-health, slackness of work, and pressure on the part of creditors. The examination was concluded. The members of the Swansea Harbour Trust, including the chairman (his worship the mayor) and 24 members, have left Swansea for a. tour of inspection of Continental ports. The trustees will visit the Hook of Holland, Bremen, Rotterdam, and Hamburg, and will be away till next Saturday. The tour is in connection with the proposed ne" dock at Swansea. The unveiling of a memorial window to Trooper G. Davies by Colonel Wyndham-Quin, M.P., will take place at Rumney Parish Church on Friday next at three p.m. Trooper Davies, who wae the IOn of Mr. John Davies, of Rumney, waa a member of the Glamorgan Imperial Yeomanry, and was killed in South Africa, he being 1M the time under this command of General Bundle. The Merthyr and Dowlais Philharmonic Society (conducted by Mr. Harry Brans. F.R.C.O.), which is now preparing for the chief choral contest at the forthcoming National Eisteddfod, Llanelly, ga-ve a successful re- hearsal concert of the choral work, "St. Paul" (Part 1), in the Oddfellows'-hall. Miss Bronwen Powell and Mr. Tom Phillips conrtibuted solos to the programme with ex cellent effect. A meeting of the central committee repre- senting the teachers engaged in the schools to be controlled by the Glamorgan County Council was held at Neath.—On the motion of Mr. W. B. Davies, Gendros. seconded by Mr. W. Pennant, Pontyeymmer, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:—That this meeting strongly condemns the unpro- fessional conduct of certain teachers in can- vassing for appointment as county council inspectors before sooh appointments are advertised." At Barry Fotice-oottrt on Monday (before Kr. David Davies and Mr. J. A, Maeaton) Ellen James, Charles-place, Barry, was summoned by William Kent, for hairing a. ieroetoas dog in her possession not under proper control. Mr. F. P. JbnesUoyd, sotiaitor, appeared for the compiaiaMBtt, whose uine^ear-oM daughter. Jenny Ssnt, said tint on the 17th inst. a. dog bit her whilst she was playing in the street. Mrs. Hedtai was oaUed to that this dog belonged to the defendant, and the Bench made aa order to ban tbe asimal pat under proper control. At the meeting of the PorthCMH Council on Monday evening, OcrunelUor J. lIHaI, J.P. (Nottage), presiding, & letter was read from Lieutenant J. C. Davies (of the Glamorgan Royal Artillery Volunteers), stating that the 1st Glamorgan Artillery Volunteers Battalion would encamp at Newton, on the two fields near the church, from about July It until August 8. He was directed by Colonel Williams to ask the council whether they could lay on water, and the cost per day of supplying 390 men. It was decided to refer the matter to the water committee. A largely-attended competitive concert was held on Monday night at the Corartitutiottal- hall, Aberdare, under the auspices of the Aber- dare Harmonic Choir. The results were as follows: —Soprano Bolo, prise divided between Miss Annie Gibbon, Pontypridd, and "Jjlinos Gwalia," Mountain Ash; bass or baritone solo, winner, "Llew Orci"; tenor solo, winner, Mr. Todd Jones, Treorky; pianoforte solo, first prize, Miss Rachel Evans, Aberaman; second prise, Miss Agnes Davies, Aberdare; open champion solo (prize and medal), Mr. Todd Jones; recitation (first prise), Mills B. M. Richards, Aberdare; second prise. Miss Maggie Richards, Aberdare; choral competi- tion, the Mountain Ash Mixed Choir, under the conductorship of Miss Morris. At an occasional police-court held at Pont- "ypridd on Monday an elderly man named Charles Morrell, described as a tailor, of Cardiff, was charged with stealing a purse from the pocket of an unknown woman at Pontypridd Railway Station (Taff Vale Railway) on Saturday night. It appeari that when she was stepping into the 8.17 train for Abercynon she felt a hand in her pocket, and, missing her purse, she gave the alarm. Two men. who were near. promptly took hold of the defen- dant, who waa handed over to the police. The purse was dropped on the footboard and given back to the woman. The defendant was remanded until Wednesday, and the police will be glad to at once hear from the owner of the purse, who left by the train without giving her name and address. Before Mr. Charles Williams and Colonel Woods at Llandaff Police-oourt on Monday Jowarth Jones, Merchant-street, Pontlot- tyn. was summoned for obtaining refresh- ments by falsely representing himself to be a bona-fide traveller at the Cross Inn, Maindy. Police-constable Bolton deposed that at 3.45 p.m. on the 21st inst. he visited the Cross Inn, Maindy, occupied by Abraham Griffiths. He saw the defendant partaking of refresh- ments, and when asked where he had slept the previous night he replied the Westgate Hotel, Cathedral-road, Cardiff, which was half a mile short of the required distance. Defendant entered in the book at the Cross Inn his oorrect name and address. Defendant, who now stated that he slept at 313, Railway- street, Splott, on the night in Question, was fined ZOs., including costs, or seven days in default. Miss Griffiths, of Upper Bangor; Vies J. A. Anderson, of Swansea, and Miss M. T. Bell, of London, the two latter graduates, were the candidates for final selection as head- mistress of Tasker's hool, Haverfordwest, at a meeting of the Pembrokeshire County Governing Body on Friday.—Mr. T. L. James urged that the appointment of a teacher who was not a graduate would result injuriously to the school.—Mr. Sketch thought there Wa" a personal movement against one of the can- didates.—It wae moved and seconded that Miss Griffiths be appointed, but Mr. W. 8. De Winton said that if the members present had realised as strongly as he had that Haver- fordwest's ancient school and that Pembroke* shire should be kept in the van of education. instead of letting it be dragged in the dirt, they would give a very different tote.—'Th* resolution, however, was carried. At Brecon Borough Polioe-court A. J. Cattell, veterinary surgeon, ,,1J,8 summoned, under the Contagious Diieasc* (Animals) Act, for granting a certificate the removal of ewifle from Breconshire to Glamorganshire without authority, and a.1S() with demanding fees for two such certificates without authority. Mr. W. B. Davies (Neatb) appeared to prosecute, and said that the Glamorgan County Council had prohibited the removal of pigs into Glamorganshire without a certificate signed by their inspectors. r. Cattell, apparently acting under a misaPPre" henaion, had. however, granted certificates for the removal of pigs from Brecon to Defendant said he was under the impression that he had the same power to grant certin- cates for Glamorganshire 308 for Monmontb shire, and this view had been confirmed w member of the executive committee of M' Breconshire County Council. He was fined the oosts-£3 17s. 6d.