The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

ABERYSTWYTH AFFAIRS. WE have been asked more than once why we do not deal more completely with the affairs of Aberystwyth, seeing that there are all sorts of muddlt;ment .^oing- on. There are two reasons. First, the ratepayers themselves are indifferent, and it Is not for us to fight continually a hopeless battle against conditions which seem to satisfy the ratepayers. Second, legal action has been taken in one department, and it is not for us to try the case in these col- umns, or to make revelations which are kept from the ratepayers, or to impute blame where there may not be responsi- bility. We once more urge the rate- payers of the town to read carefully the report of Tuesday's proceedings and to aek themselves whether the action and inaction of the Council are what ought to oe. 'J he Rheidol bridge suggestion seems to be another example of the way thin js are done without anybody know- ing what course has been adopted. Captain DOUGHTON opposedl the recom- mendation that an estimate of the cost of erecting a bridge should be pre- pared, but the recommendation was passed. It seems to us that a foot- bridge over the river will be more djangeroiis for chil'dren than the present thoroughfares, but that is a detail. The inaction of the Council in refer- ence to the town collection in aid of the KING EDWARD Memorial Fund came up. We will not say more than that this neglect is discreditable to the town, but where the fault lies we do not know. Nothing was said on Tuesday about the work which the SURVEYOR is ex- pected to do in connection with the new houses in Trefechan, work which the SURVEYOR plainly told) the Council months ago he was not able to do owing to other work that was before him. This non-recognition of the SURVEYOR'S plain statement will mean trouble later on for which the Town Council will be solely responsible. Nothing was said about the Railway Station improve- ments, which it is hoped may be begun some time before the end of the present century. In the meantime, something else might be done which is quite necessary. North-road was incidentally mentioned, in connection with the Rheidol footbridge, but nothing was said about the condition of North-road, and nothing so far has. been done. There are to be some measurements. It is believec1, however, that if the residents go on paying rates something may be cione in a few years! The dilapidated Cemetery fences were ignored, as it is evidently not considered to be wise to take any action until the ruin is more complete, when the repairs will, of course, be much more costly. We have read the report of the pro- ceedings at the Council meeting on Tuesday, and our impression is that there never was a time when it was more necessary for the ratepayers to take drastic action. There is a silence, an inaction, and what seems to us an ignoring of undesirable conditions that makes it impossible to believe that there is nothing to hide. The letter, for instance, that was held over at the previous meeting was not read on Tues- day, and no steps seem to have been taken to let the ratepayers know whether or not further discoveries have been made. The ratepayers will have to bear the burden of the present system, and it is high time that some- thing should be done in many direc- tions to bring about reform. Now is the great opportunity of the local Chamber of Trade, seeing that there is a prospect of much higher rates. We do not want to take the alarmist's atti- tude, but the municipal outlook is not by any means bright, and it is abso- lutely necessary that the members of the Council and the ratepayers generally should realise that the Finance Com- mittee and other Council Committees have been worse than useless, as for years they have allowed ruinous con- ditions, which are still being continued, and have insisted, when criticised, that there was nothing to hide. Is not something being hidden now? There is one important point which we want to make, namely, that quite apart from defalcations there has been, and still is, negligence which ought to have been put an end to without any delay. Is there to be no reform in the munici- pal system until pending proceedings are brought to a close in reference to matters with which we are not now dealing? The ratepayers are reaIlv responsible, and the question is, when will they take action? The probabili- ties are, we think, that as little as pos- sible will be done, and that little will be postponed as long- as possible.

THE WELSH NATIONAL LIBRARY. THE Welsh National Library is a local as well as a national possession for every town, village, and rural district in the Principality. If this fact could be realised by every individual there would be no insuperable difficulty in obtaining by the end of March the required in order to secure from the State an additional £5°,000. The work now being done is stupendous, and the devotion mani- fested by Sir JOHN WILLIAMS, Mr. BALANCER, and others, says a great deal lor Welsh nationalism in one of its most practical forms. We wish that this devotion could be publicly recog- nised, for we do not believe, as our readers know, in post-mortem recog- nition. What the devoted workers for the National Library want is not per- sonal praise, but substantial help in the work they are engaged in. The Report of the Library Council, just issued, on the progress of the Library from October loth, 1910, to October 10th, 1913, is itself a wonder- ful production, and shows in numerous ways not only how much has been accomplished, but what still remains to be done, both in building and in pre- serving national records which in the future will be at the service of the whole people without their being forced to visit the Library itself. What we are now anxious to do is to induce every pubhc body in Wales to realise that the National Library is their own posses- sion—locally their own—and that by raising ^15,000 in two months an addi- tional ^,50,000 will be secured from the State. Will this sum be secured? It would be a great help to the Library Council if each town in Wales would form a National Library Com- mittee and send delegates to visit the Library ancl report on what has been done in building on the large and splen- did site presented by the late Lord REXDEL, and what has been acquired in the way of literary treasures which are of inconceivable value to the whole Principality. There have been many remarkable instances of generosity towards the great scheme. One of. them, men- tioned in the recently-issued Council's Report, was a gift of ^000 by an anonymous donor, through Mr. LLOYD GEORGE. What has been done before may be done again, and it is to be hoped that the Library authorities will be able in April to inform the State authorities that the conditions imposed have been met, which will place an additional to the credit of the National Library. Will Wales do whatever is possible to obtain this We think it will, even at great sacrifice. The danger is apathy, indifference, lack of interest. His Majesty the KING said in his reply to an address on the occasion of his laying the foundation stone of the Library on the 15th of July, 1911 "The "building of which I am to lay the first "stone to-day will provide a worthy "home for the books, manuscripts, "pictures, and works of art of all kincs "which are now housed temporarily in "the University or have been promised "by generous benefactors. When these "great collections are gathered together "under one stately roof they will con- stitute a library which will achieve the "aim of its originators in that it will "not only represent the language, liter-; "ature, and art of Wales, but will re- i "fleet every phase of the national life "and industries. I am confident that "the Governors and Courieil of the "Library realise the greatness of their I "trust, and will be faithful custodians I "of the treasures committed to their ."keeping." The foregoing, quotation from his MAJESTY'S reply sets forth perfectly, not only what was then looked forward to, but what has already been accomplished to an extent that in 1911 was. scarcely deemed to be possible by those who looked upon the early promoters of the scheme as enthusiastic dreamers. In two years and a half, not only has much work been done, but greater possibili- ties have been revealed than even the most enthusiastic dreamers then dreamt of. We are glad the KING took part in the ceremony. If each community could be taught to realise that the National Library is theirs—really theirs—then the required ^I5>co° would be forthcoming, although the time is short and the amount needed is large. It would be a great pity if the inability to raise ^15,000 should mean the loss of We think the required sum will be obtained, but if it is to be obtained there must be combined effort which in itself will be worth far more than even the ^"50,000. The grand lesson that the National Library scheme is teaching the people of Wales Is that if Welsh nationalism is to be a reality and not a sort of vision then sacrifices are necessary and combined action is essential. There are vast literary treasures, not only in Wales, but in many other countries, which will ultimately find their way to the National Library, and nobody knows the day when some wealthy person may help to bridge the gulf that now seems too wide for pos- sible effort. The surest way to secure the financial help that is needed is for the people all over Wales to make determined efforts that will compel even the most doubtful lookers-on to realise that the National Library of Wales is national, not only nominally, but by bemg recognised from end to end of the Principality. We believe that much that the people of Wales most care for may be won by the success of the National Library. The study of the Welsh language will be made possible at the National Library for linguists from every part of the world, and whatever may be its future fate as a means of popular communication it will certainly be pre- served as one of the most perfect means of human expression. Wrhat we want at the present time is that the people who generally leave public work to other people should bestir themselves and see that the required within the next two months is obtained, so that the work of construction and development may go on without hind- rance. Our point, and we cannot make too much of it, is that the Welsh National Library is not solely a matter for Aber- ystwyth, or for its unwearied! and un- selfish promoters, but for every in- dividual in Wales who has any regard whatever for his native land. know, alas, how often it happens that when great causes are lost those who are negligent blame somebody else. Wre make this appeal on behalf of the rank and file of the people of Wales- who are having- done for them a great national work. Every pound contributed will mean an addition of three or four pounds to the funds, and there need be no shadow of doubt that the best use that is possible will be made of the funds that are provided. The University College of Wales has rendered great service to the National Library, and Mr. J. H. DAVIES, the registrar, himself an expert, is one of those who has done whatever it was possible for him to do to contribute to- wards the marked success of the scheme in relation to the Welsh language. Will the people help ? We think they will.

UTTERANCES ABOUT RELIGION. WE have recently called attention to irequent references now made in news- papers to religion. This altered atti- tude on the part of the press, and of the public, is destined, in our opinion, to have great and important permanent effects upon the future spiritual life of the people and upon the differences which break up professors of the Christian religion into more or less opposing and conflicting sects, to say nothing about what are called false re- ligions in different parts of the world, whose adherents it is sought to convert to Christianity. Home Rule in Ireland and Disestab- lishment of the Church of England in Wales are moving bishops and arch- Bishops as nothmg else ever moved them, not even the misery of Ireland, y the'pr ofes icift (f •' faise lengtons In many countries of the world. What we now want to do is not to make out a case for this, that, or the other re- ligious point of view, but to show how religious influences are working by means of newspapers among the masses of the people who are not identified with any sect and who hold no distinct views of origins, existences, and destinies. Last July the Representative Church Council passed the following- reso- lution "That there is in principle no "inconsistency between a national r< recognition of religion and the "spiritual independence of the Church, "and that this Council requests the Archbishops of Canterbury and York "to consider the advisability of appoint- ing a committee to inquire what "changes are advisable in order to "secure in the relations of the Church "and State a fuller expression of the "spiritual independence of the Church "as well as of the national recognition "of religion." After prolonged con- sideration and correspondence, the Archbishops have nominated a com- mittee to consider the subject. The more carefully our readers consider the foregoing resolution the more import- ant and far-reaching they will see that it is. We will not go into the subject of "national recognition of religion" and "the spiritual independence of the "Church." What interests us is not so much what is being done, but that there is interest, widespread and deep- down, among the masses of the people in religious questions, and that this in- terest is finding expression in the news- papers of the country. The Church of England, we think, is going to be dis- established, and when that is done there will be a good deal to say about national recognition of religion which, we presume, will mean the Christian religion. At present the Church of England is controlled) by Parliament, which is composed of all sorts of relig- ionists and non-religionists. The Bishop of MANCHESTER has been speaking about what he calls the Rome- ward drift of a very large number of clergy and laity in the Church of England. He has written to the papers to say that did not mean that there was disloyalty, for if