The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

It is satisfactory to observet.iiatCncciet.ii Council has reconsidered their previous retro- grade attitude towards the provision of houses for the working classes. The records of the rcotincil itself proves that Criecieth, in common with other coast towns, stands in urgent need of such houses to replace many of the hovels ."h:(,)1 ;0 now occupied by human beings. Dr .jyd Owen's protest against the Council's ..range action has been justified by results. ? Llanelly seems to have int on a novel idea for cultivation of a. better spirit in business. .parting on the hypothesis that at present the "siiics,- man exists merely to make money- ich is often attributed to America—Llaneily t-c¡ adopted an American antidote known as the arv System and has formed a club to put J 'Deration. A rotary club, it is stated, .s an ?c; ..ion of business and professional men wh ) once a week to exchange ideas and to wa".lvate the spirit of service to each dbe. to -customers and business friends and to the immunity. Why should wooing men let'L .o'-t, of the club—and women? Huve they no tel; s of service to the community of which they -"T.Uiemajority? Members1JiI; of tl:e Llanell: b is confined to "leading men" and that "at. ns to be the ny in an otherwise amehorative ointment. Advertisements in thi. issue call on the people to do their utmost to invest in war '.bonds and war savings certihcates. This cati is urgent; it is imperative anditmus'-hc answered promptly. Money is the great vital necessity to the carrving on of the war. \\ith- out money at this juncture the sacrifice of the men on land and sea is crippled and almost -brought to nought. Money is still bemg hoarded, and whilst it is hoarded its purchas- .ng power is declining and the hoarders are .eating no interest on it. Great as the e?orb -? been in West Wales, it can be grealei ? ?uge ? the sum is which has bcenj ved anrf invested, the amount is only frac? nal compared with what can be done Let .rvone make war bond week a great national ecess. There is no better investment, no reri 11 vestment, and no investment of a more l.triuti,' character. ? ?--

-I&berystwyth Rural Council GIRLS AND ISA:\ITARY FARMS. Aberv.twyth Rural Coline I met on Monday, Mr R LI. Lewis presiding. M?srs. David Lewi? Daniel Jenkins and David James. Penrhyncoch. were appointed tJ repre'Sent tlie Counc.l at a joint conference of Urb.n and Rurat Councils and the Coun? Council to consider the provision? houses ??.'?ns?r (Mr. J.mes Hughes) was ? strncted to carry out repairs to the water at He also reported on a case of scarlet fever at a c0t+:age at the orig;n of iv-ilic-li was ('! liielilt 1-0 trace. The ?e d?phtlieria reported at B'-y"?-??' h?l proved fataL Every P???.-V''??' Mr M H Evans, LlawrewmbMh, Eleich? wrote caUmg' attention to the de?c?ve ? dangerous state of a footbridge c?ssng t T°—The complaint w?s referred <-o Tt-j .m,viia(-Ii and Elerch Parish Councils. A r E J. Williams .reported oi-i ciucstioll I rpferreèl\ to h=m and Mr. Dav.d James at the previous ,1?- -.?. w.. Wilha?iis decked that the Council wa. responsible ? one b?dcc onh—Pontyrhendre. The oth.is should be referred to th? various pai-h coun- ?'Mr. David Evans. Druid Tnn. Gogman. wrote compl?ningofthebad.ta'?of'he ro.dlead_ ?t.D?wen.-The Surveyor (Mr. David Davi..) ad.n'ttedthc complain' bll said nietalhng was practically unproc\lrable. Form- <;rlv they were allowed ston? from a di.uscd mino, hut now they were unab'e to get stone from 'hat source.—The Surveyor and the Clerl-I {Mr. Iiugh Hugh&s) were deputed to inquire. Mr. R. J. Rhvs. divisional food controller. agan wrote inquiring wh'it step? had been taken to give effect tn his previous advice to ve-form the composition of the local Food Oommittee with a view to lessening the num- ber of food producers and add ng consumers.— Mr. J. G. Stephens said several persons at Talvhont wellC ready to accept membership when they heard that payment was attached to (.he position. (Laughter.) Farmers seemed -to be the only people ready to attend public bodies where money was not paid for attending. (Laughter.)—It, was decided to suggest to the Committee that .t would be expedient for two -members to resign in order to crea'-? vacancies for a representat on of consumers. Mr. Evan Evans, c'erk to the County Coun- cil, called attention to the need of thorough <]isin''< ct'on of farm houses and other dwelli'ngs where had been bv deaths in view of the difficulty experienced in in- due ng female farm workers ti enter service 'a.t such farms. Several applications for girls had been received from such houses. The said. the was invariably carried ou! A occurred on a letter from Mr. 'Vincent EV<1l1i' on behalf of the Monmouthshire &nd So'ltli Wales Pitwood Association, witli referenced timber liaulage along tlie roads. '—Mr. LewJS, LIanHar, sa d the quest'on was an important one and the Council should 'a.rrive a.t some d?s'-inct policy without delay.— The C'erk explained the legal posit'on, aft?r which the Council nominut"d the following members to form a Committee with the Sur- veyos. Clerk, a,nd representatives of the Companies hauiing t'mber on the various roads —Messrs. David Janie?. Pmi!;vncr;clr. J. E. 'Willinms, Cynnullmawr; R. L. Thoma.s, J. Griniths, J. PoweII, D. W. Lewi< Llanilar: David Lewis. clia''rman of the Council' and David Edwards. Doifor. On the proposition of Mr. David James it was decided to apph-to the Roa.d Board for permission to order 750 tons of metaILng alIo- <-a.t,ed to the CounciL—Mr. James said even that quantity would be utter]y Inadequate. Tn fact, <J)a.t. quantity was not tdo much for the requirements of the 'oad a'one.

BOW STREET- Mi,g Benjamin lia-s collected in Bow Street a.nd Tj?andre .E2 5s.. wh'ch has been sent to the Sa\oy Af?sociation for prisoners of war in Ger- tpanv. tpanv.

NEW QUAY. Lie'jt.-Commander Henry T. Davies. Rose ViJj., Pto. Rd. Hughes, Wern, and Signaler Ewart James, Lewis-terrace, were home this week.

I FREE CHURCHCONFERENCE. Aberystwyth's Big United Gatherings. "THE CALL OF THE TIMEB TO THE CHURCHES." Bi-Centenary of Williams Pantyceiyn. I Evening Meeting's Telli-vig Speeches. ALerystwyth)ast week was honoured with a visit. the Executive of the National Free' Church Council of Wales. The meetings corn menced on Tuesday with an evening meeting to celebrate the bi-centenary of Williams, Pa ntycelyn. and was followed by a Wednesday afternoon conference and a public meeting in the evening. There was a numbe'-of leading Welshmen among the speakers and the meeti ngs did much to stir up a desire for unity and concerted action in West Wales. Appropriately the initial meeting of the AVeisli Free Church Councils was arranged as a commemoration meeting of the nation's sweetest and most evangelical hynmo]ugjst, Williams PantyceJyn, whose name is a liotise- hold word on every Welsh hearth and whose hymns are the medium of spiritual expression wherever Welshmen foregather. Meetings with the object of commemorating his work and deepening spiritual innuence are beino- held in practicaHy a!! districts of North aad South Wales. The Rev. J. Lewis WiHiams. M.A., chairman of Free Church Counci], presided )n the al)scnce through indisposition of Sir JohnW.iihamsv.hj was announced to take the chair. A special collection of Wiihams's hymns were selected for the meetings. Mr. diaries (Clements, A.R.C.O-, accompanied, and Mr. John Benjamin conducted the singing. Pro- fessor Oliver Stephens, Carmarthen Training praye(l. The Chairman regret'.ed the absence of Sir John Wiiha-ms, who was deeply interested in the subject, of that meeting, being a, native of the same county as the great hymnologist and reared in a home pretty similar to Pantvcelyn. He was also a keen student of Wifliams's hterary treasures. The Rev J. Morgan Jones, C.M., Cardiff, re- marked '_bat Welsh hymnology was deeply in- debted to Carmarthenshire, especiaHy to that district where the Tov-y runs into'the sen. That district produced Wifi'ams, Morgan Rhys, David Jones. Caio: Thomas Lewis, TnlyIIychau: t)te two Charfes. and also Thomas Charies of Ba)a, who was born and reared in the vicinity. Little was known of the early history of WiHiamsP.'ntyceh-n, beyond the fact i)K:t he wasthesonot'arespectahicmanwhowasn deacon with the Congregatfonalists. It is pro- sumcd that he had a religious upbringing, but by 1¡is OWl! exnc,'ieners, a.s J'eLlfyrl in' I))]) its, he gr'w up indifferent toj spiritual influences and entered a schoo] at Hnn])wyd, eatabhshed by a ripe scholar named F.amue) Jones with the intention of becoming a doctor. The master of the schoo) at [,llal. was a man ?Griffiths. At ttr'period HoweD Harris was setting the county on fire with his perfervid! preaching. 'Vil1ia¡ns. n youn,S" Jnan returning home for the ho1irlays, heard him at 1'algarth Church f,oreli pi-ea(-h' ig great poNA-ei-. wis the i)'o'it)l-in yoting life. FnHn tl];1' dav ilf' was inspil'f'rl ii h a nobler mission thnn- ("cn ',he )],;I('lil'f' of Sl1r- gery. in his has repeatedly -iveii graphic portraits of Harris's intense, powers as a prf'3c]¡Cl' in rousing most indin'erent to the dread realities of spiritua) for a time was in despair. regarding his own condition; but found the hght in another of Harris's sermons. Hence- jforth he refers to the latter as his spiritual! 'fi'.ther. He rr'h'nqui?hed'-he idea of medicine nnd left the Congieorntionahsts. loinins' the Methodists, who at that time were aitaclie(I to the Cll1JI'f'h ,md beparne a cut" at l.lan- wrtvd. He was, however, summoned to the Bishop's Court to nnswer a formidable list of complaints, ranging from abreviating the Corn- men Prayer, services, hpptising infants with.out makin? the si?n of the cros- to preaching in unconsccr.'tedbuihHngsando'tsidehisc'wn' ?parish. It wns incorrect to state that hew-as? driven out (;f the Church. H'-tef'.i'vohin-' tarilv with his friends. Howell Harris and, Dllj('1 Rnw];!nrJ", :1nd was l)rf'"pl1t. ;,t, tl1e firs I ;1s<;()..i'lt iOIl mf'('tin,r where it was derided to leav the f;shb1¡shmcIJt. He aftcr- wal'ds adpd in with Daniel all :U" ¡'n']; it i;; ¡, ]¡i" litr'ny ;111(1 h:l,lic work that he name. At 't!in: tim" t]; 'lJJJf2:<; of JllP S(l!ld{¡ar' jacked t'1tl' and 'J'eology. Some of them were ¿j,'Úll'{lJ.. (,),\1']" l1nl)(,t'oJlling, samples of '.Yhiehth-speaker ",iv(,. Wdhnms immediately, fO:1Jlfl ¡'.is in fl1ms)1ing the Ciiiii-ell 'with its spiritual* food :i song. Hia! output was iarge, numbering over 8.000: hvmns. inpnv of thcr.t of supreme ;J.. 7, 1, 4 ,dVIV0 5nnn 1;11(>'< ('cJ¡, ,1(' as a I:trge put ('finished prow works. In 17.n lie Married ?.M'-s Mary Francis who wasa?ne.' jnH)'-ician:)ndsinicT'idassi?'.?dhiu)consid-, written to Mr! V'ini')n)3n)cnt'onr;d'he had for a space' of fifty years t ,I! )-fween forf.v and fift, rii)es weekly t, spread the Gospel of Christ, p,¡(]¡,'l:c;¡ll¡' ,1(1,1; '-h]t h" was llnW '-no to waik four St.-I;S unassisted. lie did not, JilC,.t with much persecution as the mob and the cfergy were far more afraid of a poet! ti?uiti'ey were afraid of the de.vi). Heh-d' a keen sen?" of humour which shows itself in some of his but bis main out, put was intlmc]. spirit'lar. ITe gpirittiall,;e(I the coimnon experiences of dai)y life in cadences which wi]! !ive as long as the !an-! guage is spoken by his countrymen. The out-' jiBes of h:f,,1'l' l!Í1n, ('0 Ylore(l with mist, evoked y Dawelf'enaidodrych draw, etc., and his journey along a precipitous road re-' suited in i mi w'nldecl, I Jsfy]]awmaedyfnde"mawr. -(livcr,,io,i o .1 f 'lie roid a (laii gerous point evoked Fforrld newydd wnae(I gan Grist J heibio tiffei-n (Irist. him to glorify the grace of God an(i to )mmi)i- atethenesh. He was buried atUanfair-ar-y-t bryn, in his seventy-fourth year, having done more to enrich the reUgious life of the nation than any other man who ever lived. Hisiast poem was an elegy on his life-long fnend, Rowlands, who died shortiy before him. The Rev. Tecwyn Evans (W.), Birkenhead, said he attended as a North Walian to do homage to a South Wa!ian who had done so much for his country's spiritua]hfe. North Wales a]so had its great Iiymn composers— Ann GrifTttb. Robert ;)b Gwiiyn Ddu. Dewi Masyptw-m; E?ward? Jone:), Maesglasau: Michael Roberts, and others bu: he was quite ready to concede t'iLt was the king of all, liowevei- goood the others were. That genius, Kilsby Jones, used to doff his hat reverentiaHy when passing tiie Nillage, '.hat hl1(l WDIiams's sacted dust. Every Welshman cap- thanked God for his rare gift and prayed for such men to again appear. \Vil!iams v.'as such men to again appear. \Vil!iams was great as a preacher, great as divine, and grea,t as a literary man. a master of smooth, nexible, forcible, pure Welsli with which he clotli(,,] liis iioble tliotiglits. He (the speaker) I' would not presume to judge his poetry, tlioit-ii he admired its grandeur and sublimity: but I Mr. Gwynn Jones, one of the greatest authorities of the present, age, declared Wil- liams fn be the greatest We)sh poet. There was no manner of doubt but that WHIiams's t contrihuLions hacl lwcn one, of the most agencies to keep the Welsh language alive and it would continue to do so for generations. He believed strongty that for the highest devel- opment of Welshmen's spiritual life it was essential to keep the language of Williams alive. ¡ l The Welshman eou)d not worship as effectively in any other language. One thing he deeply i regretted, and tha: was the various denom- inations that had not seen fit to include more of Wiiliams's masterpieces in their col- lections. The book that contained the largest number of Williams's Iiymns was incompetrably the best. He felt wrath with the men W110 had set tliemselves to improve, to revise, to alter and bowdlerise the beautiful hymns of Williams. Someofthedenomin<ioii-! liad ) much to answer for in that respect. He would gladly take their products to the cemetery and felt disposed to leave those guilty of the crime there aiso. (Laugh"). In 1811 John } Williams, the son, protested strongly against the actions of those and and lie (the heartily associ a tcd him- self with that protest. It was wicked. hymns appear in tlieii, piii-ity and grace as written by iiitlior. could not be improved on. They were perenially up to dat.e with the freshness of spiritual was a great thinker, as his poetry slioa-ed. He also had a finn grasp of the fundamcntal facts of religion. He was appalled by the enormity of sin. His gospel was greater the 1imi ta tirms of sects and wider than the creeds of the churches. He san" llis own spiritual into his hymns. That was the reason for their sus- tnining power for generations of pilgrims ever since. He went through the furnace of con- 'viction. His religion did not descend uponhim ]ik- a shower. Neither was i'-an elaborate system adopted from books: but an inward of soul. He foJlowed the he gave Morgan Rhys not to attempt a hymn unless under the influence of high spiritual experience. His creed was the result of a ordeal of the soul. He in 'hymns the spiritual relief in tlie expression ilie had a distinct mission. HoweII Harris and Daniel Rowlands awoke men from spiritual torpor. It v\asWi)uams'stask.to nourish the saints w'thtliestau'of life; to lead them to behold the vistasoftheSpirit. Th.omasCharle'; said that Williams's hymns had revurutionised the religion of the ni'tion. Thai was true. A large of his hymns the instrinsic evi! of sin-a view that we in the presen t sm llg con yen tiona] age tended to lose sigiii, of. likened them to dragons,serpent-s,wi]d beasts,scorpions, adders. etc. in our innocence had at a point. wl:er;) we thought such ideas'jut of date. But are of the horrible war on the Continent? Did they not hear the n)¡l1' ,'1 '.h" wild the Llss of the ser- ipent.s. the f)re of the dragons? Was it not i hec? use sin was sin and their veneer of civil- isation hu'- skin Williams had a better appi-eciatioii of its llature and than we have. Another great point that Wiliiams em- phasised was that Christ was the very centre of his faith and e'-einity its ultimate end. He did not shudder at the prospect. He loved it and rejoiced at the prospect of its enjoyment because lie had set himself to triunipl-i over Ithe forces of darkness and death through a living indissoluble union with'Christ. Iritis last to Mr. Charles, written a few days before his death, enipli-isiseci the fllct, that the existence of the Crucified Christ was to hilll the very core and bed rock of his faitli. Calvary was to him the great material reality on which he built his whole edihce of faith. Mr of hymns by Williams, expressing the aspects of the matter were most effective and claImed the rapt attention of the large congregation. The Rev. ChariesDavies(B.), Cardiff, said he was proud also to attend as a Carmarthen- shire mall to his Janrel to the iiietiioi-v of that great good man. It was important that they should Jearn to appreciate the incompar- them bv His baptism of fire in the great revival was the force "'1at made \Yilli;u!}s what lie to be for the naion. That for('c was yet in action. Mlglit God grant that the period whcn the nation became too and super- Dci.d, too material and obtuse to spiritual? things to appreciate the genls of Williams would never occur. He ,oit)et'i-nes at such a prospe't. There was enough spiritual sustenance in Wiiliams's hymns '.o enrich thf life of the nation for generations. In hvmns and works they led the faltering Ou'istian to the gates of heaven itself, and even bevond. T,0t us pray that their feet might not be too fast in the clay of the world to follow the light. He fervent'y i.he 1 t,hat all peoples could read and appreciate Wil- ?]iams's))y!uns. The stamp of the great re- Hgious revival was upon them indelibly. Titey would come into greater vogue yet when a powerful revival arrived. And it would como. The reign of the devil was not to continue for 'v' I)e (lefeateci i,v the forces of darkness. It could not be Eo. God would secure tlie victory in his own good time. Williams in his hymns united the earth to the heavens above and brought the light of eternity to shine on the dark hillsides of Wal&s. The nation would have been paralysed under the powerful presentment of the judg- ment and punishment for sin as preached by HoweU Harr;f;, Ro\vlLn(isi and) Whiteneld, were it not for \Villiams' presentment of Cal- vary as a hf-aling force. He brought balm for their wounds. The incense of his poetry sur- vives. The next revival would produce its poets also; but they would ))avc to be very great ones to cloud the glory of Williams. Their neighbours over the border were begin- ningtoseeltvlusligl)'. "O'er the Gloomy Hills of Darkness" and "Guide Me 0 Thou Great Jehova))" in its English dress were nne. How much uner were tlicy in the Iiomely dress that Williams gave them. Let them all pray that God in His Mercy would vouchsafe to their men conS0c,'a ,d. ¡:rifte<1., anrl devoted like Williams to nouri-h'heir spiritual life. The meeting was brought to a close by singing Gwaed Dy Groes sy'n codi fyny 'R eiddil yn goncwerwr ma.wr." to the tune "Bryn Calfaria," which was re- peated times. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. A meeting of the Execut've Committee was he!d on Wednesday morning under the presi- dency of Sir Beddoe Rees. A resolution was passed on disastablishment recording the Councn's unalterable adherence to all the clauses of the Welsh Church Act as placed on the statute bbok, and express ng profound disapproval of the steps taken to bring about by means of conferences modinca- tions of the disendowmeut clauses. The Council's reply to the resolution of th<- Ca!v nistic Methodists who want to summon a conference to consider the quest,on of universal peace was to reanirnt the Council's resolution wh'ch while expressing an intense desire that peace may be re-established among the nations and earnestly appeal ng to the Government, to take advantage of the earliest suitable oppor- tunity for negociating a settlement at the same time urg&s that. that should be done in harmony with the original purposes for wh:ch Great Britain entered the war, securing justice and freedom for France and other ormrcssed nations, and resulting in a just and equ?tab!e settlement, accompanied by such effective guarantees in the direction of President Wi]- .son's note as w.U render such an outbreak of war hereafter for ever improbabte. The Coun- cil aiso decided to undertake in conjunction with any rengious bodies or associat:ons to summon when the opportunity arises and in anticipation of the close of the war a confer- ence o.f the different sections of the Christian Church. Reports were presented on the churches and .after-war conditions; on Sunday Schools and 'young people's work, on the organisation of m:'ssions; and on Free Church unity. A resolution was passed protesting against the of the House of to disenfranchise conscientious objectors. It was also resOived that puohc memorials to ou)- sold.ers and sai.ors should not take a.n\ forlll asociating them v. iil deno- and that adequate means are forthcoming the Council recommended that a building should be erected .n each locality eclucatioiial, or religious in terdenomina tional purposes. The Exccut ve by resolution rejoiced to leaD from the report of the Commissioners on in- dustrial unrest that no opposition to til: restriction upon the sale of liquors hn.s been found in Wales', ..nd was proud of the decoration of the Premier that he has no doubt that prohibition can be carried in \ales. In view of those facts. the Executive urged that the voice of the nat on should bs heard and that prohibiÙon during the waf and the period of demobilisa.tion should be secured for the Princ palitv. THE CONFERENCE. On a Duh1ic conference fives of free churches and free church councils on the subject, "Thee Free Church Council: It- work, its difficulties. and its Sir Beddoe Rcoes, Cardiff, president of the Free Church Council of Wales, presidel1. Mr. Edwin Jones introduced -he deputat on from Aberystwyth Free Church Counc1 wh.. were invite>I to the platform. Professor Levi, -ii also we'coming the Council to Aberystwyth, referred to his previous goinq with Sir Beddos Reeg to Mr. Law to who.n they gave a shock on suggesting a Free Church Council for Wales. Proceeding, Pref4 szor Levi sa d the members of the Council were meeting at a place where the old Parliament was held and wliei-e the next wotil(I held. (Laughter.) The Council was plantin? the seed of what would ultimately be the Church of Christ. The Cba rman expressed the Council's deep appreciation of the kind welcome to Aberyst- wyth. They knew thev were cominl, to the home of Nonconformity. Their mission was to have a National Council that would Interpret the aspirations of \Velh Nonconformists. He believed they had now such a Council and depended on the members how the mstitut on would develop. The Rev. J. Lewis Williams. M.A., B.Sc.. chairman of the local Free Church Council, gave a formal welcome to the National Free Church Council, which was formed to enable them tD come to an unrlerstandng with each other. Locally the Free Church Council was a ve body. Their Council, although not in the fuh glare of publicity, did good work for temper- ance, Sunday Schools, and similar objects. They had their differences on questions, bu. they were nevertheless united on all mutua) points- He welcomed the National Council and the Chah'ma.n as the representatives of Non conformist principles. The Rev. J. J. Roberts, M.A., Cardin, sec- retary of the Free Church Counei). thanked the Aherystwyth friends for the warmth of th welcome. The nature of their welcome was enough to induce tHem to return to Aberyst- wyth as soon as possible. The Chairman, commencing the conference, laid-No one now questions the wisdom of he formation of the Natonal Council. In thc- twelve months of its existence it has more thpri iustined itself. It is becoming a powerful organisation and 's destined to play a big part. in the life of Wales. It has a large pro- gramme, but possibly the greatest service can rendei- a t the momen t Ís to form a con- necting nnk between the great denominations in Wales, provide a common platform, and bo the mouthpiece of organized religion in the Princ paltty, as far as the Free Churches are concerned. (Hear, hear.) It is not our wish or intention to interfere with strictly denomi- national matters, but rather to join the deno minations together on all t'hose questions whic concern all the churches and not any one in particular. (Hoar, hear.) Then another object we had in forming this Nat onal Council was to assist the JargOe number of local free church councils which already existed in Wales and also to start new councils in those d s- tricts where nothing of the kind had been formed. We desire that this National Council shall become a powerful benencient tree with roots deep in our national life and with branches in every town and viliage. Now is the time to perfect our organizat on. Soon we mu-!t face the problems of reconstruction, which wi]I follow the end of the war—problems that. will need the best statemanships and ablest leaderships we possess. In the solution of the.se problems this Council will be of the greatest service tt" the Free Churches, but only if it is assured of the hein and enthusiasm of all who take an interest in the social and spir.tuai life of Wales. (Cheers.) The R?v. J. J. Roberts, M.A., announced that; Mr. Wm. George, who had been announced to address the conference on "The Work in its Social Aspects" had been unable to attend. The work that they undertook was a me. necessary one. There were many asnects. There were old questions to be tackled, the chief of winch was the drink trafli, leading the forces of reaction. That was an old question, but had its new aspects and conditions. The Com- mittee meant ib do something practical t.:)' cope with t'.is great evil. There was another burning question in South Wales which did not trouble them in the north to such an extent, and that was the terrible increase in crime per- petrated by children. The Committee had presented an elaborate report on the lament- able question, and they hoped to rouse the country to the gravity of the evi!. There was also the question of Sunday trading. Thev had attacked the evil of the' opening of public houses in Wales successfully, but that many of those shops open on the Lord's Day were as morals as any public house. The Committee hoped to glean some light on how to deal with this question and to diffuse the light to all parts of the country. Another terrible problem was what was to be done for the boys on their return home. What measures were to be tken to attract them back to the churches? Those were some of the questions that the Committee trying to solve. Professor MiaII Edwards, Brecon, speaking on behaif of the Free Church p.nd Evangelical Committee, sa'd it worked m four directions, all purely re! gious. The nrst object of the Committee was missions at home and abroad. The Committee desired all churches and chapels to be true to the missions. Another depart- meut of the Committee's activities was t) inculcate Free Church principles which might be summed up in the term spiritual freedom. A still further object was the welfare of the Sunday School, a matter of great importance. The future of tile free churches was in the balance and the Key of the position was the Sunday School. The history of the Sunday School in Wales wag a romance. 1. was stili do ng fine work but they were not as good aa their fathers unless they were better. He feared there were signs of deterioration in the Sunday School. Its adult membership was decreasing, The rift between the Sunday School and the Church was widening and that was not so much due to want of organisation as to religi- ous indifference. Possibly they might be too conservative in adhering too strictly to old forms. The Free Church Council was anxious to get at the root of that deterioration and to. give a lead to the country in that important matter. The only permanent remedy, lie felt, was a spiritual awakening. Better rooms and better books were wanted. In his opinion to get a good room in which to hold the Sunday School was more important than to get an organ for the chape). (Hear, hear.) A great problem to be solved was the supply of teachers and in that connection he appealed to all ministers to train teachers for the work and to have a deeper appreciation of the value of the Sunday School in Wales. A st. further object of the Committee waa to secure the bpst meang of uniting aH the denominations of Wates in common work for Hie spiritual up- hftngofthenat'cn. The Rev. David Davies, Penarth. took as his subject "Whpt do we stand for increasingly a.s free churches." Their chief aim was unity —not un ty in uniformity but unity in diver- sity. The denominations were different—not more different than they could help—but the\ aimed at the unity of all being members of one body in Christ. They extended charity bo all who differed from them in the aims of the Ftee Church Council. They also stood for in- dependence. They did' not believe in interference by the State in spiritua.! matters and were willing to pay the price of inde- pendence. They wanted no privilege from the The '-hree plankg of Protestantism were —that the authority of every church wa,6 con- fined to the' communion of that particular church that the Scr.ptures in all matters of Cr22G and practice were the ultimate and unquest oned authority, and that nothing should interfere w th the liberty of conscience. Ths- wa.s the posit'en of the free churches to-day., They c.a)med net on'y independence from the State but from hierarchal rule. Theyddnoi acknowledge the authority of the Pope ol Rome, the Archbishop of Canterbury, or even the B shop of gt. David's. (Laughter. They did not acknowiedge the authority of King- or Parliament or cf one denomination ovc,- another. They claimed freedom for ever'. man. guided by the Scriptures, to follow wh?t was in h s own l)'ea:. The free churches stcod for the Disest.iblishment Act as it stood on th statute book. fHear. hear.) Those who had scnt'ou*: feelers to the contrary found no, response among the true Nonconformists c'f Wales. They could not allow the question t i be reopened: but if it was reopened they were prepared to nght the battle of re)igious equalty over again. There had been more conoe,-sion- in the Act than they liked, but they accepted those concessions for the sake of peac". The question was not a question ?f a-rount: but a church that is endowed by the State must be controlled by the State. Therefore, if they had disestabiishment thev must have disendowment. They had no bitter- ness toward the Church and when it was freed from the Stiit, they wouid welcome i,i mem- bers as free churchmen. He believed when the Church was free it would make magnificent. bounds to success ?nd that their work as free churchmen would be harder in consequence cf greater compettion. Mr. J. Hugh Edwards. M.P., in an eloquent speech, said that Nonconformi'sts had a positive as we!I as a negative s.de to their posit.0n. \Vhi!e on the one hand they dissented from ll1 theory that the Ct.ate had the right tb estab lish i'ehgon they, on the other hand, assented to certain great truths. The meaning of th- Dtse-stabiiBhment Act wag to be found in the fact that at last the preferential treatment of one of the relig ous bodies of Wai&s at the hands of theSt.tewasatanend. Hence- forth there would be in Wales neither Con- t'o;'mistnorNonconfo;m.st. All churches wou)(i be free. Synchronising with that better and fairer state of lit ngs would be the still greater and more momentous opportunity which had begun under the shock of the world-wide war. Upon 'he' free churches of Wales would devoive the ta.k and lespousibihty of build.ng up a new Wales s&aied and consecrated by the supreme sacrifice of heigallantsons. For the nrst time hundreds and thousands of men had learnt that sacrince was better than enjoyment and to die in a just cause was better than to live for pleasure. Reconstruction on an econo- nuc basis would never suffice to regenerate a country and the quality that social reformers clamoured for was not a natural effect but a religious value. Yn the past, he feared, the, Nonconformists of WaJes were apt to regard their churches as ends in themselves, rather thanasmennstoanend. He strongly urged ¡ that the churches in Wales were responsible for the state of things in the communit'es in which they were placed, such as slums and in- sanitary dwehings; and that it behoved themj to iind a propel! ng force for the removal of such things in the great teachings upon which free churehes had been founded. The Rev. J. I.ew;s Williams said the Free Churches should make its position clear on their act on of the House of Commons towards the conscientious objectors and their disfranch- isement. (Cheers.) The Council had a duty towards the honest conscientious obiector in Aberystwyth and elsewhere—(cheers)—and should safeguard their interest against being overridden. He had been asked by the Rev. David Dave? to say a word on the spiritual aspect of the social question. He had done his share for the Disestab]ishment Bill. bui that was now secured. He thought manv of th? voiinver men were heartily sick of the strife <tnd clamour pnd wished for more emnhasiy to be laid on the spiritual and higher aims of the (\mneil and less on the things that d)v;ded and estranged. He appealed" to them to lead the way to more fraternisation with <hf Church of England. Thev had io bear in mmd that their fathers left the Church, not because of its State connexion, but because of )t= low sptritual condition, and it was only aft?r go ng out that the revivalists understood that the latter was to some extent ?-he cause for the former. ,?s R?'- David Davies ?Penarth? sa;d Mr ?i!I'ams took it for granted that the battle hadb.jenwon. that they could lav down their arms. and shake hands. That was not so. The H)i) for ?e DisestaLlishment and D:sendow- ment of the Church was massed, but itsopera- ?.on was s?pended and in the meantime the Bishop of St. David's was workin? for its des<ruct)on or for whittling it,° provisions down. When ihe Act was safe on the Statute I Book and_n operaton there would come a time for Mr. Williams's wishes 4'0 be realised ?] c ? appreciated as much as anyone. ?he Rev. R. Roberts (W.), Towvn felt dis- ap!),,int.:?d to find so much of the' T,,i,eceed.ii,,s taken up with English sneakers which were'' not understood by many of .he delegates from Mer?netu. He hoped the Council were not md?erent ? the e?orts of the b?hoDs to capture weak-kneed Xonconform..t ministers aWl office bearers to sign forms in favour of whttimg down the Disestab?hment andDis. w" r?? ;?? ? ??- -h attempt weieno<being made. The Rev J. j. Roberts said the Executive that mormng dealt fully w,th the matter an? re' derated the unalterable position of the Free LiturcttCounc!! on the matter. CCheers) The resolut.on was almost unanimous. The Rev R. Roherts-" Almost unanimous ?- Does that mean that there are traitors in the c?mp= In t.iat case they ought to he expelled. ) The President-One vot-e onh- was against j(Chpers). ? ,The Re?. R. Roberts-Then thai means that their place is outside. (Cheer<? M?T.H. Edwards. Abervstwyth. thought the free churches of Wa]es shouM kcr-D their powder dry in view of eventuahties with regard to disestabhshment: but at the same time to jopen their arms to give the Church a heartv welcome inb the of fr'e churchmen.. The Chairman said he would he c,]ad to welcome the Church as a ?pirituat a?encv and locked forward to the time when °the'free Lurches of 'YaJ'? \(;1;;1] inAlufle the Church in WaJes. Thp conference concluded wil,ii the sinking of the Doxologv. EVENING MEETING. The conchtding meeLing of the series was liol(i nt the Tnbernacle nn Wednesday evening- and was very wetl attended. Not on!v the delegates but a very large number of the o\\nspeop!e were present and proceedings were lnprk-,] wit1, fervou!- Hnd enthusiasm. The sub- ject chosen for discussion was The Call of the Times to T.he Free Churches of Wa]&s," and the speakers announced were, besides the President, Sir Beddoe Rees. who was in the chair; the Rev. Gwilvm Davies. M.A Ab&r- gavenny; the Rev. 0. L. Roberts. Liverpool: and the Rev. J. H. Williams, Portmadoc. The last-named spoke in Welsh, and the Chairman and the Rev. GwHym Davies in English. Mr. J.C.McLcan.F.R.C.O., was at the organ. PRESIDENT S ADDRESS. ? At the even ng meeting the President said— "The iast meeting of a very interesting and valuable conference. The National Council has received new inspiration and will iong remem- ber the k.ndne&s and enthusiasm of the friends inAberystwyth. The subject set. for this meeting is "The Call of Wales to the Free Churches." Each speaker wiH, I expect, have heard a different voice, but to my mind the thing most to be desired at present is unity. Denominationalism ha.s its advantages. ha& served a very useful purpose, but it does no*, make for unity. It emphasises the points that dvide. ItLsiierethat the National Free Church Council can be of most service. If the Free Churches are to exert the innuence th&v shouid we mu.st speak with one voice. Thus united they should do two things. Firstly. give a clearer witness of the spiritual mission of the church and put the emphasises upon dynamics and not statistics. The church was never intended to be a chjb for the amusement of the religious, but a society of men and women, charged and surcharged with divine energy, those who have sworn allegiance to a common Lord and who will do battle for Him at ai] t)mes. Secondh-, it should seek to create an atmosphere in Wales that will he]p to solve the pressing problems of intemperance. poverty, bad housing and other social evils. It i<L no'the bu-iness of the churches-o ? allied to any political party, but rather ? cre&K that public opinion th?t win c.mp<.? every poi.ncai party to find some solmion these CN-ils. Even this war w:1- qome will then b" a tunity In the meantinL le Us our ranks, let us answer the call for unity." The Rev. J. L. Wilhamg referring :'0 the honour conf(i-ei -zi the President. sad it might lie regal ùed as an hunour '0 the Churches of \Vaies. The Rev. J. H. Williams (PorT.madoc.i speak- ing in Welsh, said that whilst he felt that ili-, subject was Iiappiiy chosen he felt that onh in regard to the singular for the only real was fur greater wa3 little open scepticism in the co;ntry. but there was a great deal of fait.h which lie questioned as being the rea] living eon- quering faith. They could not become members of the Christian Science faith or followers of the spiritualistic school without a faith and the only church wh.ch he thought should live was the Church that could meet the highest spiritual instincts of the people. He alleged that the churches had not filled the void as they should and, proceeding, he urged thai. if it was going to fill the void it must stai-i afresh and bear a more living witness for truth. Whilst they believed that Germany was more to blam than for The war that was not sufnc'ent to go before God. Th-y must humble themselves before God oblivious of ail other thing's and must have a more fervent belief. "Our theories are right," h? said, but these theories must be repro- duced in practice." Was the Church pro- duc'.ng saints-that was the question which ,cl faced them now. They could do t.his only l.v a clear understanding of the gospel and whilst they believed it as an ideal they must translate their ideals into action. Now when the gospel became a force in their lives they rejected it. He referred them to the prayer of 'Wilnams Pantycelyn. who prayed for force to conquer Irs own sins. If they had the real dynamic of sr-'ritual force they would become more inde- pendent of political act on and thev must be- ware Jest '.hey become slaves of the Stnt° I themselves. The State did not like a Free Church as was evidenced bv the action of the House of Lords in regard to the Scottish Church." "The State understands a Church that pays the rates, but not a Church of fer- vent prayers" he added, and pointed out that the duty of the Church was to guide the State and not to come under its ip.auencp. Some of the mf?ans employed bv the churches to pav debts—fancy bazaars and so on we-e unworthy. Thev were ail ri?ht for fancy religion. "Were the Church m'ore spiritual it would be easier to get money bv proper means and the payment for pews is onl'v a sign of lack of spirituality in our religion j he proceeded, and condemned the method of electing church members as being- "of the world, referring to the way in° which the ? Quakers elected their leaders. Were they more ?spiritual they would be more united. Refer- ring to the war, he asserted that had there been one strong vigorous church in Europe in '1914.tliew.ir would nev&r have broken out. Each connexion, he thought, had its own par- I ticular work, but there was a danger in putting too much emphasis on mere names when the one church should be The Church of Christ." Unity should be based on spiritual life, not on ordinances, because the Gospel was for tlie whole world and the church to be eSec- tive must be a missionary church. He was of opinion that there was a danger of social questions pushing the spiritual into the back- ground and said that the best man to tackle these things was the most spiritual man. Speaking of profiteering, he said it was a lamentable fact that many professing Christ- ians had never understood the basic principles of Christianity. They must see after the war that no one man had a pension of thousands of pounds whilst others went to the workhouse. The Wesleyans had 30.000.000 members through- out the world, for Wesley had seized his oppor- tunity and become a missionary. It was time enough to talk of the expense of missions when they spent as much as they did in pleasure. Critics of Christ had no' right to a place in tlie Church. The duty of the Christian was to ''obey orders" and the orders was to take the Gospel to the whole world. The missionary was the pioneer. In conclusion the speaker said "The teachings of Christ a.rc the only essential law, and Christ is the only King who can restore order out of the pre- vailing chaos (Applause). The Rev. Gwilym Davies. in the course of a speech which was very well received, opened bv remarking that he proposed to dwell on their failures, but no one knew more of the great work winch had been done and was being done in the towns and villages. He alleged that in a bad world such as the world to-day the Church was too feeble, and this was due to the fact that she had neglected the one main business for which slie was constituted. Her mission 'as to give life and more abundant life to the young people, and yet were they not in danger of fearing danger and failing to take the in- itiative. Too often they looked for leadership rattier than giving it. The churches had not created men of vision and daring, grace. grit. and gumption. What could they give to Wales to-day ? The most splendid gift would be a thousand men of tlie type of Tom EIhs. Send thirty to Parliament and keep the others at home pnl Wales would become a model countryside. Small towns would be centres of sweetness and life and the big cities admirably governed with a message to all the cities of the empire. He had for years been keeping n record of the doings of public bodies and with b.n few exceptions, there was an absence of vision. In short, crisp sentences Mr. Davies showed how Wales was behind the leading towns of England. Scotland, and Ireland, and remarked that before any medical board, the standard of ntness being vision and initiative, the local bodies of Wales would pa,ss C3. The Saviour taught twelve men to do a great work and if the churches of Wales only trained a few such men Wales might have been turned upside down. The lack of specialists on social subjects throughout Wales wa" appalling. Touching on juvenile crime, he eaid that this had 1i para- mount effect on the future ye* how many mf'n had even taken the trouble to study the sub- iect. The WIntley report and such ''human documents" had been passed over in the Welsh press with a scant notice which the famine in paper didn't justify. The reason was that they had not trained the men who could dis- cern the signs of the times. Where Jay the remedv? One remedy was an active "real— Hve Free Church Council. He described in detai' the ''Evesham Experiment." which he said was having a profound effect on the public life of.he town. Every F.C.C. could adopt similar methods. That was the way to mouiD public opinion and to mould men. They must multiply one hundred fold the number of men and women who were prepared to serve the church bo the death. How could they do this? They could grow them by means of the Graded Church. They were now trving this method at Abergavenny. In careful detail he described how a class åf ten lads were a demo- cracy of their own, h.Qw they were being trained ta be useful citizens and were one one joining tIieCImrcli. Thee5ectontl)e Church was, he said, striking, for there had TIAV0r been such large congregations nor gi-eatei- life. "There is no way,"he added with a smile, "which is more sure tokill the tmntster

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!———————————————————— Butter Supply. LORD RHODDA AD INCREASE. Lord Rhondda. as food controller, repiying to Mr.T.J.WiU.ams. M.P. for Swansea District, regarding the shortage lD ne supply z:f writes:—"Steps have been taken to increase the quant ty available by purchasing the ex- portable surplus in Australia, New Zealand and Argent na. These purchases are beginning to arrive, and with the stocks in hand w-ih be dis tr.buted to retailers by the Ministry during the next )nomh in proportion to the:r purchases during 1916, but both the public and trades- men must acept the fact that. for some con- siderable time, at any rate, the supply of butter will be largely below that consumed in pre-war years. Margarine affords a satisfactory substitute, and the quantity produced of that commodity is steadily increasing. The supply of butter and margarine combined is but littie less than in former Years. and b. of next year will be practically the same. The supply of margarine is now double that of butter."

r (Continued from previou column.) than a Graded Church, for it keeps the min- ister perpetually on the stretch.' They must guard against two the first was forgetting their old institutions—their prayer meetngs: and the second was that the Church must provide the driving force. "Let us." lie concluded, "retain our spiritual appeal. and our splrltual life, hut let us the driving force to cleanse our civic and com- munal life, and to make this little country of ours what It was by God tb be-the Canaan of the Empire: the Galilee of the nations of the earth." (Applause.) The R-et. 0. L. Roberts (Liverpool.' com- mented on the apparent contradict.on between the two speeches, but pointed out that it was only apparent for a religion which did not. find eXjJression in works was not spiritual. He urged that the Free Churches had been any- thing but a. failure. The new problems of the war were yet to be solved, but the Churches had the resources. Touching on the prevalent attitude of criticism. lie said that each church member seemed to think they had a divine cail to criticise the preacher, but what if the minister criticized the building or the shoe- maker's boot making or the grocer's tea. I,Laughter.) They criticized the army, the navy, the generals, even Lord Rhondda and, of course, the Prime Minister. This criticism was largely due to the freedom of the indi- vidual in the Free Churches. Despite all he ventured to say in the face of the world that the finest institution the world had even seen was the Christian Church. It was in the 3Ssuran;e of a living Christ that the Church could face its dimculties. and to meet every requirement. It was impossible to read the history of Wales for the last three centuries without seeing the effect of Nonconformity— it was a continuous history of progress, in every aspect of flIe life tof the people. In that 300 years God had given Wales some of the finest men to lead it out of Egyptian dark- ness. It was due to the influence of the Welsh Free Churches that Welsh public l.fe had been purified, and it was the Churches that brought education to the masses through the day and Sunday Schools, and founded the Colleges by educating public opinion. He welt remembered the Rev. T, Chas. Edwards and his brother Llewellyn going on tramp through Anglesey collect ng funds to found the college at Aberystwyth. and the students would do we!! to remember the early struggles of their fathers. They wished their Premier God speed" but he would net have been the man he was without the work of the humble old preacher, R*chard L!oyd. They must re&Iiae their dependence in God and their dependence on ea<-h other, and they must possess great courage to tackle the problems which must be faced on demobilization. Were the lads to I come back and nnd a loss of the faith in the Christ in who&e name they went out?' No, a thousand times no. (Applause.) Miss Hilda Gr.fnths. of the Students Christ- ion Union, asked for sympathy and assistance of the Council for the Union. She described the founding of the movement and said that there were Christian Unions in 160 oo¡lege in the Kingdom as well as sixty-two branchee in theological colleges. She emphasised the need of the work of the Union in dealing with those who were preparing to teach and also with those who took science. There wen peculiar dimculties in this and the work was being systematically done by lecturers ajid literature. She appealed to her audience to help the students, to give their contribution to the life of the Church. (Applause.j The Chairman said thai Miss Griffiths might be assured of the fullest assistance from the Welsh Free Church CouncU. The meeting closed with the Benediction.

We Buy Your Waste Paper Any quant ty is acceptable; cart' loads or pounds, and we will pay at the best market price of 3s. for every 112 Ibs. "ardboard boxes, old catalogues, paper of all sorts is acceptable. —— And We Pay Cash. PLEASE ERNOL my name in the LEAGUE OF NATIONAL SAFETY t realize that economy in the use of all Food and the ?_ checking of all waste helps my Country to ??*?\ complete Victory, and promise to do all in my power to assist this Campaign for Nationa! Safety. FOOD CONOMY NAME ?' ? (Mr.. Mrs.. or Mis., ADDRESS ———————————————————————————————————————————— ?/} COINT————————————————————————————————————— ? ????A ¡ NO MEMBERSHIP FEES Anyon" 0\ er SIxteen year, of may )0111. 1/0 $f6 Sign and Post this Coupon to "Cambrian l News. Aberystwyth. CerMicate of Membership together with badge w\U be sent free in due course.