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BRITISH SUCCESS IN CHMJ.
BRITISH SUCCESS IN CHMJ. £3,000,000 Railway Centraet. Santiago de Chile, Wednesday.—The Presi- dent has signed a decree granting the repre- sentatives of a number of British banks the contract for the construction of the Northern section of the Longitudinal Railway, valued at £ 3,060,000, and cancelling a similar contract signed in favour of Mr WiHiams, alias Silverberg.- Reuter.
TRAIN UNDER ARREST.
TRAIN UNDER ARREST. Sensational Discovery at Saterna. Naples, Wednesday.—On the arrival this morning of a train from Salerno the police boarded the coaches and placed all on board under temporary arrest while a thorough search was made. It was ascertained that all the luggage and goods on the train had been tampered with, and that a considerable amount had been stolen. As a result 3f the discoveries made the driver, stoker, guards, and other officials have all been detained in custody.- Central News.
. WELSH COUNTRY IHOM ES.
WELSH COUNTRY HOM ES. XXVII.-Ctytha Park. FAMOUS SPORTSMAN'S ESTATE THE MANSION AND THE CASTLE. ¡, A Day With Mr Reginald Herbert The genius of the family of Herbert has manifested itself over a period of many gener- ations in a variety of ways. Art, politics, diplomacy, war, have all been spheres in which the name has earned well-deserved fame, and to these must be added the field of sport, in which another member of the family has during the past half century earned many laurels. Hlme of a Tint Old Sportsman." Clytha Park is the home of that fine old sportsman—Mr Reginald Herbert. Thirty or forty years ago his name was one to conjure with in the sporting world. He and his brother, Major Tip Herbert, were, at the time, by general consent, the two finest polo players in Great Britain, while Mr Reggie Herbert THE PRESENT MAN8KJ&. (Photo. Dunning, Uc&.) was, in the great days of the Marquis of Hast- ings and his famous Piccadilly Rangers," one of the half-a-dozen finest game-shots and trap- shots that the country could produce. Was there a race meeting at Brecon or Mon- mouth, or at Abergavenny, or anywhere in Sooth Wales or the West of England, you would always see Mr Herbert's racing colours in the van. Very often he wore them himself, for in those days there was no pluckier or harder rider in all Gwent. Many are the neck and neck races he has ridden in the long ago against the late Col. Fred Morgan, of Ruperra, another dashing horseman ia his day. These twain were always the keenest of competitors, and always the best of friends. Mr Reginald Herbert put the crown on his career as a sportsman when, in 1886, he took over the mastership of the Monmouthshire Hounds, whifi&hai'eUJtned until his retirement "THE CASTLE" AS SEEN FROM THE PRESENT HOUSE. (Photo. Shackleton, Abergavenny.) I in 1903. To-day Mr Herbert takes his pleasures less rigorously than of yore, but he is still a sportsman to the finger tips, and, as he says, as fit as a. fi(ldle." The Old House. Clytha Park occupies a beautiful position on -the eastern slope of the Usk Valley, about six miles south-east of Abergavenny. The Park, which is about 150 acres in extent, abuts for the space of nearly half-a-mile on the Aber- gavenny and Monmouth highway, and the .southernmost end of the Park is intersected by this road, which, at this point, passes through a-cutting over which a bridge connects the two portions of the Park. The estate was formerly owned by the Lee family, but it eventually came into the posses- gion, about the middle of the 18th century, of I THE OLD HOUSE IN 1793. Mr William Jones, the fourth son of Mr John Jonas of Lianarth. This William Jones married Elizabeth, the sole surviving child of Sir William Morgan, of Tredegar. They lived in the old house, which occupied a position a few hundred yards to the south-west of the present mansion, and of this house, which was pulled down some 80 years ago, we reproduce a sketch, the original of which is in the possession of Mr Herbert. Why the Castls was Built. When Mr William Jones, in 1787, lost his wife, he adopted a somewhat unusnal method of commemorating her many virtues, for he erected, in the year 1790, a huge battlemented edifice in a striking position, on an eminence some half-a-mile away from his house, which commanded a fine view of it. This castle,which still stands, and a picture of which we repro- duce, is to be regarded, therefore, as Williams, the old historian of Monmouthshire, describes it, as a monument of domestic affection." Mr Reginald Herbert, who has a fine sense of humour, as those who have read his racy vol- ume, When Diamonds were Trumps," will know, related on the occasion of our recent visit that the building of this castle caused no small stir at the time. The fact that the builder was a Catholic resulted in amazing stories getting into circulation, and one of these was to the effect that Mr Jones was building a huge fortified castle in Monmouthshire for the ex- press purpose of assisting the landing of the French The inscription on the castle, which speaks for itself, is as follows This building was erected in the year 1790, by William Jones of Clytha House, Esq., Fourth Son of John Jones, of Llanarth Court, Monmouthshire, Esq., and Husband to Elizabeth, the last surviving child of Sir William Morgan of Tredegar, K.B., and Grand-daughter of the most noble William, Second Duke of Devonshire. It was undertaken for the purpose of relieving a mind sincerely afflicted, by the loss of an excellent wife Whose remains were deposited in Llanarth Churchyard, A.D. 1787, and to the memory of whose virtues This tablet is dedicated. In the chancel of the church at Llanarth there is a further tribute to this lady's most extensive genius," and the composer adds, To enumerate her virtues were impossible. She was, in short, Purity and Innocence itself, for if ever these virtues were personified they were in her." William Jones died without issue in 1805, leaving th4 estate to Mr William Herbert, his nephew, the third son of Mr John Jones of Llanarth, and the father of the present owner. The Present Mansion. The present mansion was built by Mr William Herbert aboiit eighty years ago. It is a beautifully proportioned and well-arranged bouse, and is pure Grecian in .style, the leading architectural feature of the exterior being the striking portico which extends the full height of the building. The inassive triangular pedi- ment is supported on four huge Ionic cobamns. This is the main front, and faces south-west. On the north-western-side the line of the build- ing is broken by a semi-circular bay adorned with Doric columns. The boose is nowhere more than two storeys in height, but covers a large area of ground, extending in somewhat irregular formation at the nortH-eastern end, where are the bachelor apartments, and be- yond these are various domestic offices. The planning of the main portion of the mansion is excellent, in the centre is the grea-t staircase, lit from above by a spacious lantern roof rn those days the staircase was often a highly im- portant feature in the construction oountry house, and Clytha affords a nofcaWe example of the space sometimes devoted to it. It is of great width and very finely OTopor- tioned, while the light ironwork balustrading aud tiun n*hogany_h-dtR*l lends an appew f ance of grace and beauty. From the hroad gallery above, Grecian pillars exteud to the roof. A Fine RaMnttur and His Tastes. With the genial owner as your guide the interest of the house may be enjoyed to the full, and if so be it that you are yourself a sportsman, no happier fate can befall you, for Mr Reginald Herbert has had many uniqoe experiences, and he possesses uncommon gifts as a raconteur. To his sense of humour we have already referred, and to this characteristic must be added a natural aptitude for racy description, a bluff and breezy manner, and a particularly extensive and picturesque vocabu- lary. His sporting tastes dominate the whole house. Sportihg prints meet the eye on every hand, the masks of foxes tell of many a hard run to hounds, while paintings of dogs feeteay another of Mr Herbert's delights, an interest which Mrs Herbert shares with her husband-to thefutl. i The Entrance Hall and Library. The entrance hall is circular, the handsomely moulded roof being supported by eight pillars. A door on the left band leads to the library, which occupies the western corner of tjbe house. The wall space above the big mahogany bookshelves is covered with pictures, the subjects of which present some striking contraats. Many are of a religious character, either an Old Testament scene, or it may be some mild-eyed Madonna who gazes down upon you. Near by is the painting of an interior, with card sharpers engaged in fleecing some rural greenhorn, or a group of sportsmen at a race meeting. Mr Herbert accounts forthe apparent inconsistency by explaining that though he has inherited his father's love of art the late Mr Herbert bad a liking for religious pictures which his successor has not inherited, adding with a smile, it wouldn't do, you know, for every generation to think alike." An Extraordinary Picture. The dining-room, which opens on the right hand from the entrance hall, is a fine apart- ment with a striking feature at the end oppo- site the door, almost the whole of the wall space being taken up an enormous and very re. I markable painting representing The Deluge. It is the work of Francis Danby, A.R.A., a noted landscape painter of the first half of the last century, who executed it in accordance [' with the instruction of Mr Reginald Herbert's father. It is a very striking picture, quite reminiscent of Gustave Dore-a scene of devas- tation by storm and flood, in which terror- stricken mortals are struggling together and seeking protection from the raging waters which threaten to engulf them. The scene is on the sea coast, and to obtain ideas for his pic- ture, the artist is said to have visited the coast near St. Malo. Danby was famous for using large quantities of bismuth in his paints, and this results, after many years, in a good deal of cracking. The work in question needs very careful restoration. The Deluge formerly occupied a position on the walls of the stair- case, but Mr Reginald Herbert removed it to its present position at the end of the llining- room, and filled up the margin between the edges of the pictures and the side walls. and celling with some exquisite Jacobean r>k panelling, which he brought from P?rrh;. another old home of th family near .sion- mouth. The panels are very small and are I noteworthy for their very beautiful moulding. Between the windows hangs a large painting I of Mr and Mrs William Jones, which repre- sents the builder of the castle and his wife as a very handsome couple. The erstwhile Miss Morgan is attired in a flowing gown of pink, and a parrot is perched upon her hand. An Experiment with Zebras. At etth- r end of the mahogany cheffonier at the opposite end of the room to Danby's great picture, are two zebra's heads. One of these is of an animal which was kept for many years at Clytha, and fairly tamed, so that it was possible to drive it about the Park. It proved, however, a creature of moods and apt to have fits of obstinacy. Mr Herbert was desirous of getting another zebra with the object of breeding them, and some time ago purchased another at a high price. Unluckily, however, on the railway journey between Liverpool and Abergavenmy, it dislocated its neck, and though it did actually reach Clytha alive, it only lingered for a few days. The space on the cheffohier between the zebra heads is occupied by a cast of the mag- nificent silver fox, a photograph of which we reproduce, which was presented to Mr Reginald Herbert in 1903, on the occasion of his retire- meat from the mastership of the Monmouih- j shire Hounds. The silver fox, which weighs over 700 ounces, is a magnificent piece of work, and was green him by the farmers and ortber friends residing within the limit of the Hunt, in testi- Taany of their" esteem and affection." The portraits on the wall of the dining-room include those of the late Mr and Mrs Herbert of Clytha, r the father and mother of the present owner. The Breeding of Great Danes. Both Mr and Mrs Reginald Herbert have a .•very real affection for the canine race, and Thawe, in years past, been famous for the cele- hraeted Great Danes which have been bred at Ctytba. In days when it was the fashion to exhibit these^dogs with cropped ears, the Clytha Danes captured valuable prizes in all parts of Great Britain. In many parts of the mansion to-day are to be seen paintings by George Earl of some of their most famous dogs. One of the best known was Leal, which was virtually the founder of the Great Danes at Clvtha. These dogs were of enormous size, some of them weigh- ing as much as thirteen stone. The bitch Ven- detta was very 'noted in her day, and for some time Mr Herbert won with her every possible prize. Some of thesepaintmgs of dogs, are by Mrs Herbert herself, who, in addition to her love of anmals, brings to bear on them a striking natural talent as an artist. There are many of her paintings hanging on the walls of Clytha, and they all betray the artistic touch, and have both strength and fidelity. Though Mrs Herbert does not paint so much as formerly she still takes a keen interest in it, and a visit to her studio, which is a-spacious room, with a north light, on the first floor, provided ample rproof of her industry. On one of the easels was an unfinished but realistic sketch of Mr Reginald Herbert seated on a favourite old grey hunter. The Beautiful Miss Powells. At the foot of the stately staircase in the centre of the inner hall is a very fine piece of statuary the work of Kessels, a Belgian sculptor, which was exhibited by Mr Herbert's father at the Oveat Exhibition in 1851. The late Mr William Herbert had, at the time, a house and a gallery in Rutland Gate, filled with a wonderful col- lection of pictures, and the piece of sculpture in question represents a man rescuing his wife and child from the The Flood, and was for a long time at Rutland Gate, before being taken to Clytha. On the great wall facing you as you ascend the staircase hang what may be termed the Devonshire Pictures, these being portraits of members of that' distinguished family which came to the Herberts through the erstwhile Miss Morgan of Tredegar, and they include the second Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Of much more local interest, however, are the oil paintings of the beautiful Miss "Powells of Perthir, and their mother. The latter portraits themselves, do not possees any great artistic merit, but they represent a 'family who are ancesters of the Herberts, and all of whom had far more than their share of good looks. These pictures were discovered in the neighbourhood of Clytha by Mr Reginald Herbert—were rescued in fact from a lumber -and have been cleaned and restored. Monmouthshi-re M.F.H. One could write much more concerning the interests of Clytha if space permitted. The -.smoking-room is a typical sportsman's apart- ment. Paintings of fine-old dags aresandwitieed, between hunting sketches and fox masks and' brushes. Mr Herbert's face lights np with delight ~as tbe-proudly points toa picture of his famou&old" borse Stockiager," painted by Henry Hall. All that wae a grand old horse," he ex- .claims, and I won seven out of eight-suc- .cessive races on him." In the corridor not far >awaey, hangs a picture of Comberton," riddfn by Mr Herbert in racing colours, another famous steeplechase horse with which its owner useed to sweep the boards iv. his palmy days. An engraving of Major Stretton hanging on the wall of the smoking-room, causes Mr Her- bert to become reminiscent again. "That," says he, is a man who was for five and thirty years master of the Monmouthshire Hounds. He took them over when old Squire Lewis of Llantillio gave them up about 1834. After Major > Stretton had had 'em for 35 years Captain Ha&- | bury Williams took them, and was master for 1:9 or 20 years, and I succeeded him, and had them for 17 yens, so that we three between us accounted for some 71 years, a very remarkable, record." Before our departure. Mr Herbert showed us, among many interesting things, the original water colour painting of the old house at, Clytha, published in Williams' History of Monmouthshire, and a photograph of which,, sketch we reproduce. 1 Outside the mansion are a number of small cannon. These Mr Herbert believes to have been made at the Pontvpool Iron Works many years ago. They were presented to the builder of Clytha Castle towards the end of the 18th century, and as the present owner says, no doubt to assist in the landing of the French Enough has been said to indicate that Mr Reginald Herbert's stately and hospitable home reflects in many ways the tastes and hobbies of its genial owner, who is at heart as keen a sportsman as he was when he guided Stock- inger" and Comberton to victory in the days of long ago. He is. as he quaintly re- marked. ready to take the job on again if given the chance 1" Next Week—OOLDBROOK PARK.
[No title]
Jas. Finn, labourer, was fined 25s (or a month) at Abergavenny for using bad lan- guage in Tudor-street.
PASSIONATE LOVER.I
PASSIONATE LOVER. BY HEAVENS MAY I PERISH REMARKABLE LETTERS. Remarkable letters were read in a breach of promise case heard in the London Sheriffs' Court on Wednesday. Miss May Smith, a com- mercial traveller in the wholesale millinery trade in an Aldergate firm, brought an action for breach of promise agaisnt Percy Maltby Shelley, also a commercial traveller, represent- ing a firm of wholesale type founders at South- wark. She lives at Harrington-road, Leyton- stone, where the defendant also used to live. Mr S. P. G. Merlin (for the plaintiff) said that Shelley earned JE320 a year. He was 43 and she was 30 years old. They had known c each other 12 years. They were chums, be- longing to the same cycling club, going fof runs together and moving in the same social circles. The defendant had been ftng^ged to another lady, a Miss V. This en- gagement being broken off in 1905 or ï9Of¡, he commenced paying attention to \>iss Smith and proposed marriage in August, 1908. She accepted him. In March, 1909, there were signs of cooling affec- tion, and the engagement was broken off on the ground that he still loved his formerfiancee, Miss V. Yet, in April and May, he was carrying on with another girl, Miss Sc-ne, whom he got engaged to and married very shortly after. Counsel read three letters written by the de- fendant to the plaintiff. In September, 1908, after a holiday, he wrote from Scarborough hotel. Dearest Giriie.— .n pleased to have your letters while away. It takes the loneliness away and bring? Tie quite close to you. I know now the dear mater has gone there is someone who rarec., and though not exactly in the same way, yet it sends a thrill through me. Re your query, dearest, have no mas- givinj on my behaif. Let me quote you the words of a song. — By heavenc. ;nay I perish If ever I plant in that bosom a thorn We have been < hums for a very long time we will be souiothiny more from henceforth. I never take a step like this without much thought. How mach have I nnsspd ? What pain I might have spared others besides myself had I not been so Mind, but There is a destiny which shapes our ends. rough hew them as we may." Don't think for on* moment that you are the peg on which I want,to navjg the threads of my affections. You know as' much about me as anyone. You know all about my first engagement.— I am, yoora with fondest love, Percy. Letter on Leve and' Marriage. Counsel said that after breaking off the en- gagement the defendant wrote to her — Dear May, — As n. doubt you have observed, I ha\'e been very unhappy of late. What is grieving me also is that I am making unhappy. I feel tbe position is untenable and cannot, be endured by either of us for iof ic". You know the cause as well as I do,aaid until that is Removed I feel I shall be no I to any girl. I am not going to excuse myself, but what I thought vqz; dead turned out to be only dormant. If we got. married that would be a terrible thing for both of us. I should want to marry for happiness, not to be unhappy and make you also unhappy. Without love marriage is a hollow mockery. We had both better be unhappy for a few weeks now than for 20 years after we are married. I am sacrificng everything by taking-this course. I know the best and truest girl in the world, but the other course would turn out worse for both of us. The letter was signed Your unhappy Percy," and a fortnight later it was followed by the following: Calderon-road, Leytonstone. Dear May,—I am terribly grieved to hear you are so unwell. Moreover, I fell I am the cause of it. I could not go on, and by my very indifference force you to brfcak the en- gagement. I am not in love with you. I did not feel like getting married a little bit. It was madness to get engaged to one girl whilst being in love with another. I am paying for it doubty. I caonot bear to see yougriewe-so or to be-naade ill an my account.—lam, your Percy. Counsel said that a few weeks after writing about his affections tor Miss V. being dormant, he was going out with his present wife. time the GNat Healer." Mias Smith, aa attractive TronMrn, stylishly dressed, corroboratd her counsel's statement. In cross-examination she admitted writing after the breaking of the engagement, hoping that time, the great healer, will put things straight. I trust in the future we shall be just as good pals as we used to be. It seems to be a big trouble now, but presently we shall laugh over it." She also wrote making an appointment, and saying, I have no,inten- (tion of being nasty." She hoped that he would renew the engagement. Asked why she had not taken the action before, Miss Smith said, I am only a girl and I had not the pluck." She had it in her mind all the time. Mr WiBis said he would not put the defen- dant in the box. He urged that it was a case for small damages. The plaintiff had good looks, and in the future could go out into the -world and, he hoped, find a better husband than the defendant would have made. (Laugh- Tter.) After evidence had been called with regard to the financial position of tbe parties, the jury retired for half an hour. They assessed the damages at £125 and costs.
GLUCK-'S ORPHEUS." i-
GLUCK-'S ORPHEUS." i- Additional interest attaches to the perform- ance of Gluck's Orpbeus," which Miss Marie Bremais giving just now at theSavoyTheatre, tor it is one of the first attempts under mcraern ..conditions to carry oat Gluck's principle that in opera" the music should be subsidiary to the words, to which it gives force and expres- sion." Miss Marie Brema, whose performance I Miss Marie Brema. sot Orpheus is celebrated throughout the world, resumes this most famous of roles, and brrngs to bear upon it all the dramatic intelligence and emotional power for wiach she has long 'been renowned. An interesting point of the first performance was that it was the occasion, of the debut of Miss Viola Tree as Eurydice-on the operatic stage.
...VETERAN PAINTER.
VETERAN PAINTER. It was only a month ago that the late Sir William Orchardson spent his 75th birthday working hard on one of his Academy pictures, and they will have a melancholy interest when the exhibition opens. Sir William came to London when he was 28, and at once began to exhibit at the Ro-5 al Academy, of which insti- tution he became an associate in 1868, and a, full member nine years later. Among Orchard- aon's chief subjects was Napoleon on board the BeHerophon," which was bought by the I Sir W. Q. Orchardson, R.A. Chantrey Bequest, and placed in the Tate Gallery. His most famous portrait group was that of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII.. the Prince of Wales, and Prince Edward—four generations of our Royal Family—which was exhibited at the Roval Academy in 1900. The picture was executed with considerable diffi- culty, for the artist could not get his models to sit often enough. The late Queen herself would only sit once.
WELSH GLEANINGS,
WELSH GLEANINGS, News and Views in Lighter Vein. According to a White Paper issued last night there are in Cardiff 336 postmen. The dragon tatooed on the Prince of Wales's arm is not the monster pictured on the Welsh national flag, but the dragon which St George slew. ° Methods adopted at Barry to preserve infant life have been so effective that last year's deaths ot children under- one vear number only 89, while m 1889, with one-third the present. population, there were ¡G8 The collier boy is a happy individual. When in the mine he sings to his heart's content. In ona of tne pits in the Pontypridd district where a crowd of lads arc employed there is a concert when they congregate at the pit bottom awaiting their turn to be wound to the surface. On Saturday we announced that the cuckoo had been heard in Caerau woods. Many have [Tang0"1 tbe cucko° since Dafydd ap GwUyrn. Dydd da fo i'r gog serchog-lef, Aderyn wyt o dir nef. Yn dwyn newyddion yn deg, A nodau hai iawn adeg, Hoff gennyf dy gan iandeg. day there was an interesting grottfk Wor tif It consisted of no r?Irv,r^kfn f £ ur K'tired superintendents of the Glamorgan Constabulary—Mr James Thomas formerly of Neath, now of the MIIInbIes. wW; was Deputy C h»ef Constable when he retired Mr i J. Jennm^s, Mr John Davis and Mr Menhinick. The three last-named i.U*esu»e £ mtendents at Bridgend, a.nd they ba8e not; co £ t. town oi leISUre have come. Iea**ng. Carmarthenshire Station the other day, a bamster-afc-law observed thL^W> oS16 Put at the Carman thenshire Quarter Sessions w«as, '• Whv hadn't hH the ber^tof said>he barn^r. there unoccupied, a.Ðd might the fruits of a brief." <. ^?5mcajfr Edward Thomas, J.P.. writes CTOiarda. C ,i^ivllf«ed to speak at tbe Ai r^ U paDU S?rdiff on Wednesday night, Pr,Cet hadnofc t^CTisung. When at IVew York m the fall of Lmetu !s tested Welshman, and ho £ jL™e ,that. aJI h"3 compositions were of a fugItIve chara.cter, but that he intended pub- lishing a selection maes o iaw.' Stacemy return home he has passed away, and I fear the promise I mentioned is imfntfllM. Perhaps the American Press will publish aa mquiry, or reproduce this paragraph." Defynnog in the current Cymru," da* scribes the W ejsh Summer School of 1909,whicfe wasl ^vvans<*a. A great day was tb& visit to Penllergaar, Sir John Llewelyn's pretty mansion. The students were led throogh thf paradise of foliage and flowers by the vteteaiK' Sir John himseii, and Defynnog was reminder ot Ben Bowen's words to Glyn y Mel99: Often I hear that in days of yore, Eden was lost to the world evermore; Eden was lost ? What an empty t-p-k' 1 Eden is still at Glyn y MeL" The Tyst protests against what it de- scribes as the musical skirmishes grtfng 00 m connection with the Eisteddfod, and against those Eisteddfodau that are held specially to benefit this, that, and the other thing, also, the entrance fees, which some committees demand, as if, when sending in a contributicav a man sent pouttry or dogs to an animal exhibition. These innovations, the Tyst It remarks, are Saxon-born indeed, the English, flavour of the old institution is so strange that the patriotic and literary Welsh look suspi- ciously on the modern Eisteddfod. Nothing perturbs the equanimity of Mt; Leonard Llewelyn, the general manager of the Cambrian Combine. He successfully contested a seat on the Rhondda Council in the recent. election, but when one of the ballot boxes wag opened it was thought that his opponent would, secure a majority. This fact was conveyed to Mr Llewelyn, and his philosophic retort was "Well, I can console myself. The children-, are with me, and I will have to train them up, and perhaps they will return tne as then champion in my old age." Rev. J. D. Jones celebrated his ministerial majority yesterday. In his church magazine he enters into some interesting personal remin- iscences of his two pastorates at Lincoln and Bournemouth. He spent nine years at Lincoln and the remaining twelve at the pulpit he has made famous. Twenty-one years !"he says. Twenty- one busy and strenuous but eminently happy years I have often said that when a Congre- gational minister is really happy with his people, there is no lot more enviable than his. That enviable lot has been mine throughout my ministry." The revision of the Prayer Book is a Vnn-nina. quest ion in ecclesiastical spheres. The TAaWlnjft Diocesan Magazine is strongly opposed to it. and says—taking Cardiff as an evajtrplA— the Book is not (used as it should be. The writer asks some pointed questions :—" Do we dare to obey the rubric with regard to those who have laid violent hands upon themselves, in the burial service, «kfd thus make the voice of the Church heard in protest against mi awful and growing sin—the sin of self-murder ? Do we use an unexpurgated Prayer Book in bbe marriage service, and thus protest against tbe race-suicide which prevails in the artificial 1"8- striction of families ? The effort to raise a suitable memoetal aft Liverpool to the late Sir Alfred Jones is likely soon to take practical shape. The movement is one in which naturally the Liverpool Cham- • her of Commerce is interesting itself very earnestly. To make doubly sure of the of the memorial movement, the Chamber is circularising its members and others in the city. and at the meeting of those interested next month the offieials will "probably be iq, a position to submit a lengthy list of jwnwi— of subscriptions. Thus a well-known miller in a London CiC8& temporary on Saturday :—" The Weiah coal-* miners and miners in the North of are more particular about flour and bread than the fashionable, wealthy, and cultured people of the West End of London. They httvt> learned that the finest flour makes the beat bread—the bread which will nourish them mrrt and give them the strength they need for their heavy work. Poor bread they will have none of. They cannot do their work on it. When we go to them with flour, they ask. Have you anything better ?' They dozrt trouble about the price. It is quality they demand." For some reason or other that I cannot ex- plain (says Sir Charles Santley) as < young man I took a very great otojeo tion to my name of 8amtley. I always knew that my family was of Welsh extraction, and I went to all sorts of pains to trace the history of my race, and got it, in true sequence, back for about 500 years. I then found that the- family name had originally been Sontley that it became Sauntley and that eventually tb8 u was dropped. I also discovered that I wtui descended from a thirteenth-century Bad Tudor Trevor, and that an ancestor .of mine was, in 1630, rector of Wrexham, near winch place is a district to-day called Sontley. Th It has been definitely arranged to unveil the memorial to the famous Morusiaid Mon at Pen- rboslligwy on September 7th next. Lady Boston will perform the ceremony, and Lord Boston, who has consented to preside, has written the committee desiring that the speeches should, as far as possible, be in Welsh. Those invited to be present include Mr Ellis Griffith, M.P., Mrs Rees, Ty Catch Mr Wil- liam Jones, M.P., Professor J. Morris Jones, Mr Pritchard, of Llwydiart; Mr J. Willia.ms,.of Bryn; Mr O. M. Edwards (chief inspector), Professor Anwyl, and Mr J. H. Davies. Whilst constituting a new population each year, the insect in habitants of the Carmarthen- shire sandhills, according to Mr E. A. Butler, the well-known naturalist, were the descen- dants of preceding populations, whose pedigree stretched back for thousands of generations, the ancestors of the present insects being a fauna which came into occupation probably at the close of the last glacial period. On these sandhills they were left largely undisturbed, and were able to multiply without let or hin- drance, hence several species which were rare elsewhere were here found in considerable numbers, and he had discovered a couple which had not previously been observed in Britain. One of them, named after its dis- coverer, was new to scicltce altogether. Deheuwr, in informing the readers of th*. Spectator that of the 30 Liberal M.P.'j; for Wales elected in 1906—the word Liberal" is somewhat unnecessary—17 have been well rewarded, is somewhat too modest. He does not mention Mr llemmerde, Who is Recorder of Liverpool, nor the recordership of Merthyf conferred upon Sir Brvnmor Jones. Then again, there is Mr William Jones's new posi- tion, and the lord lieutenancy given Sit Osmond Williams. With such unsolicited Saxon testimony to Welsh merit," DeheuwL "rites. is it surprising that we consider our- l selves the most remarkable people in the world ?" Not in the least the grievance is that Welsh M.P.'s get recognised, and not th& cause they are sent to Parliament to advocate
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WORKMEN'S TOPICS. I
WORKMEN'S TOPICS. THE WELSH COAL TAX. By MA BON, M.P. "^he Welsh coal trade should have now for ^J^10 years that freedom from great disputes ^pich is so essential to it if there is to be the °»th in output which it needs to meet the « ^r £ ing demand. Each of the settlements on ,,on of the old Sliding-Scale, which lasted a about a quarter of a century in this coal- 0| ^"Was followed by an advance in the amount c°ai produced^ and each new agreement cr&aCl Conciliation Board has seen an in- Cf' output, and whilst the prices of coal le<l very much the tendency has on the whole oH Upwards. The price of steam coals fell a. during 1908, rose in the first half of 1909, thi S '*ttle niore than maintained that rise 8ta ^?ar' anc^ that, was to be expected notwith- the uncertainty of the trade of late. *a)C '!owirig prices may show the variation of QUes in the market of best steam coals at ^•roiff in _\prj] 0f t he three years named :— April, 19C8 10s 3d per ton April, 1903 15s Od per ton rpApril, 1910 16s 6d per ton iote I remember rightly, brought the value below that in the middle ^?rlres* but there was a partial recovery *,0en it became doubtful whether a settlement thf^p- arrived at after the introduction of tio Hours Act, which came into opera- Pa? a*' beginning of last July. As the com- ftb ^°u a'K)Ve shows, the price now is not only hi&k 6 w**at't was a year ago, but it is also <3ef.| .er. than two years ago, when prices were ^fajming. The irregular nature of the market *fcnTards' we^ 3,8 ^e uocerta'n values, are ftio • Uown '• but that uncertainty is now re- ?ed. Under the last new agreement it is to the an^' 'Q believed strongly, that Production will now soon be normal. Still, are influences that are expected Coai<f?ect the coal market in this Wa] The shipments from South of late have been somewhat a, „and without a doubt there has been p^^t deal too much reduction in the out- ijjCr aQd it is now only natural to expect an JWu3,8^11" output from nearly-all the collieries. 'fcUst and employees will and topefk 'n their first interest amicably work U0PrJ ,r an(l Ket the deduction back to its ajjj 4' condition. That at least will be done, ar? a Htt le more, very likely, when the new be Rements have been completed. It must Hler*^mitted notwithstanding past disag e s and dispositions as well to carry out tne ernent by the end of June last that several to e^nployers laid out much capital in order *Hcr ^em t° maintain, to some extent, the in their productions. There will be also BYqJ' c°mpetitions to be met very shortly. °^er coalfields great attempts have been in e to compete with South Wales coal G ^tem-anean and other ets to which it is bo largely sent, Uo^ without some success in the » Oiattf1 small coal, wherein the ^ered F °T7i and quantity has to be consi- t^e evidently for a few months back °f small and the dirt it contains have had .ted against the sale of Welsh small, and n°k been for the fact that the Welsh ■jpe » ISi1so mucb stronger than the German ° 5* have lost a great deal more orders °f onoi^l Te- There remains still the question *8 x Jty in favour of Welsh large coal, and ?rices f coa' sellers will not force the Have nnH,' an unreasonable amount they ^kere *ear from foreign competition. °f coal i«j ft*. fear, though, that thie price coal is greatly agected by the result of *ntK ».„Th# Eight Hours Act personally, I have no sym- fv,ratever- I am still of the opinion that Act ■new' arr*ngwnents to work undct the operation the amount of coal pro- Wv per man will be folly equal to what it before the Act came into force. Steps, I Jw'leve, have already been taken to see what done with the view of altering the new Cq seas to enable the Saturday shift to be .,p r'lenced earlier -and a full shift be worked. ^al uth Wales miners' leaders and the South mine owners are pledged to joint Poogj? to try and bring this about as soon as ka^j le- These parties will, by their represen- Vtg' meet the Government authorities very Sti]i^ Pose w way IS *x>° c'ear f°r their pur- S0q(. notwithstanding the fact that the ^a'es miners' leaders are honourably Coj5ttr. to do their best to fulfil their part of the neither this nor any other Govern- Nli ^ould undertake to introduce into Ui\v ment any such alteration of the 3'eoej. ^piess such a movement had first *• tacit consent of the Miners' Hot gf on Great Britain, and they would Mt th a S^ost of a chance of success with- "aiH^.act've support of their members in Par- W Still that in all probability wpuld ijot ma.in difficulty in the way, seeing that t'ecort. rat'on in its last conference so strongly ^ec^nded the South Wales workmen to P)fo^ the new agreement, which has in it a Wa fT°. for iotnl action on behalf of the par- 't to bring about the desired amend- N otwithstanding the refusal of the same ce to pledge itself in favour of altering v daoger is that once the matter is the barriers to revision are PUw 0^er districts maj; want to introduce e ina ents, or--as in the case of Cleve- *{ipl^ant to make a similar amendment t anI °tiier day of the week The sup- ederation, and the Government aa ae secured to the one but I am posi- • be in the other. aU^ ^tand that this matter re South Wales in hand, and that the parties may TsJ^ted to meet the President of the Board It j 88 well as the Home Secretary. 18 a matter of surprise to me to find so gentlemen, especially in South Wales, so ar<iently to the idea that the one way of dealing with the Mines Eight >v, is by retracing our steps with regjard they still call the ill-considered j/vOri, which has been imposed upon the ?'QlnS industry of the country having at *ligjj ePoated that the country is drifting pretty fcfry ,'Qto ruin as the result of the unneces- ^bou;n^erference with the freedom of adult adfi Another Welshman the other day, jessing a meeting of commercial men, JT'tb indignation what sense or reason ere be to commend the interference of ^^j^ion to regulate the hours of labour no one disputed that eight r ^re long enough for all men, for ordin- Purposes, to work underground, but W jt the mystery to him was why J^f5essary to have done by association **ich could have been easily arranged employers and the workmen them- these speakers, though hailing from parts of the country, thoroughly that the passing of the Mines Bight JJHiq Act could only be described as a evil, and that the one and only was li to have the Act repealed. would be well if some of these colliery 1 I were to deaist from creating falae < I the minds of commercial men, that eIPect measures of relief from the Mmes Bight Hours Act repealed, they never will. 4-ct e it possible, is it desirable to have the ^pealed ? As to the humanitarian the question,' is it true bo**0*' Wales that the only object at g^j^ttom of this piece of legislation was to NwT^ly ra.ise the price of coal ? The °f serious question, I admit, has 'e8s than a scandal and a slaiider iv Ki 'nter,tions of honest men whose hearts S^«d WuV°r man7 years at the sight of so- ^%ir -.Philanthropists, some of them pocketing "gotten gains at the expense of com- to youths froip 13 to 16 years of k eVei,renaa^n underground, for four days out w°rked, on an average of 11 'n ra;iI1y cases even more than ftpcv, e' the Mines Eight Hours Act harder on the South Wales colliery than all others in the United Kingdom, 1 \Jy'' exception of one corner of Lancashire, lijbcto ? Hear what one of the constant con- ifcfc rs to the •' Colliery Gruardian says i^Po!'tionate burden which the wHl^ ttoui-s Act imposes upon South av CO;ili>wners is not generally known. ?P<5ra(.jei'aSe time underground previous to the 1*1 hon'11 11 ti>e Act was between nine and j_ lrs as contrasted with at least one hour s othcr coalfields." In Durham the i^uid workers were actually less than j?Uth ^'Vlrs down, whilst in one part of the Y: ales coalfield they were down over h? Gs' and I will go further and say that h ^thsv wh°'e of South Wales and Mon- (ia_/lre they were down over ten hours ia •" if, it is now necessary for many of J^ep "P collieries in this coalfield to have, in o^dino- °l them to secure eight hours' ■ Pfir day, allotted to them by the I » ^ifcion'T'i. inspectors an hour and a half h^°nt b^a rae> wha,fc must'have been the time Hr^s Wo,A'nen and boys underground when the 1 h ^winding ten hours a day in the past ? I rt^P'e OVer eleven hours a day that these I ? \Ct ? ornpelled to be undergroimd I ^din-r" even now with an eight hours | & day a large number of them are down over nine hours a day. Then if eight hours are long enough to work underground for ordinary purposes, what has the Welsh owner to complain of with regard to the present Act, that allows him to keep his employees underground on a daily average nine hours ? Really it is high time for reason and common sense-to say nothing of humanitarian ism- to have some sway in this matter. Indeed it was worth passing this Act if it were but to get from the men, who themselves and their an- cestors had been getting from their adult and boy labour for over thirty years, to say the least, a ten hour day underground. Some of the men who are now alive more than once turned a deaf ear when the requests were made to have the hours worked in our Welsh mines reduced. The Mines Eight Hours Act will never be re- pealed. The idea may as well be given up. It may have to he slightly altered here and there where smooth working caJIs for attention but for the purpose of again lengthening the present hours—never So let us all agree to facilitate its proper working with the view of restoring the amount, as well as the cost, of production to their normal positions.
Amusing Breach Action.
Amusing Breach Action. CHAPEL CARETAKER'S ROMANCE.' Interesting evidence was given before Mr Under-Sheriff Burchell at the London Sheriff's Court on Wednesday in the course of hearing of a breach of promise case remitted from the High Couris for the assessment of damages. The plaintiff was If* Session, a boarding -house keeper, of Fulham, and the de- fendant a chapel caretaker, named Haythorne, of Fernshaw-road, Fulham, who also acts as park-keeper at Avondale Park, Nottfcng Dale. Mr Watts (for the plaintiff) said that the defendant had been married before. It was not a very happy marriage, and aiter the death of his wife he asked Miss Hession to marry him. They were old friends. Having proposed marriage on November 13th of last year, they were only engaged till about Christmas, when he sent her a. present. Then he suddenly stopped writing. The facts were that he tried to get all the money he could from her, and she did lend him L7 or Eg. Worse still, he tried by every means in his power to seduce the lady. She-refused* and as he could not get move.money from her he had done with her. Miss Hession gave evidence in support of counsel's statement, and letters were read, in one of which the defendant referred to the in- quest on his first wife, saying the coroner had not then sent the certificate of death. The defendant signed himself, "Your ever true and loving intended," and referred to her as my own sweet little darling." He said he could with carefulness pay all, even her, back by February, but going through the first two months would be very hard. Then he wrote My own sweet little darling Annie. Just a few lines from my weak penmanship to thank you for your great fortitude with which you so nobly held against my human weakness last evening. Mr Watts Throughput the engagement was he continually asking you not to tell anyone, even your dearest friends, about the engage- ment ?—Yes.. On December 22nd counsel said be wrote to my own sweet queen," and referred to the fact that she had her virtue in her own safe keeping. No other woman he knew would have been able to resist him in the way she had done. He concluded, Believe me my uncrowned queen, yours loving king, longing patiently to crown and instalT you on my highest throne. I am as ever as I can be yours and yours for ever, James Haythorne." On December 26th, said witness, the de- fendant came to see him and accused her of being jealous of her friend. Eventually he pro- mised to come on Sunday and take her to church. He never came. She had suffered in health and business as a result. Defendant's Pica. The Defendant: I am a park-keeper coming in contact with various ladies, and I have suffered 23 years from the jealousy of my wife. She would run up to me when I was speaking to women and want to know what I was talk- ing about. I thought Annie Hession would be different from my wife, but I fonnd she was just the same. Within a fortnight I found she had the same abilities aa my. wife- bad. (Laughter.) The plaintiff admitted in answer to defendant that she told him herself that he had better- break it off. The defendant came to her and., and asked for ZIO. He began to cry and said he had a bad mother. (Laughter.) If she married him it would be the best day's work she ever did. He told her his mother would not allow him to btry an engagement ring. She never had one herself. (Laughter.) His mother was not a good housekeeper and was getting old. He urged her to hurry up her affairs and. marry him. Giving evidence, Haythorne said that he, honestly meant to marry, till he found,out, about the jealousy. The jury, after retiring, assessed damages at £ 20 aod»oosts.
War Drums Beating.
War Drums Beating. BRITISH RULE SPURNED, Indian Tribes and a Deity. Calcutta, Wednesday.—Trouble is feared among the aboriginals in Chotal Nagpur, who, acting on the instigation of a man claiming to be the incarnation of a Deity, refuse to recog- nise British rule. The centre of the disturbance is close to Ranchi, where the war drums have been beaten on the hill tops. So-far no active hostility has been committed. The military and police are watching the gaNMfing.— Reuter.
A MASTER OF COFYRMMT.
A MASTER OF COFYRMMT. Mr T. E. Serutton, K.C., who has been pro-j moted to the Bench in the place of Mr Justice Sutton, appeared as counsel in most of the copyright cases which came before the-courts, and he was frequentivicormil bythe Society of Authors and by publishing firms apon ques- i —————————— ———— I Mr E. E.Seruttnn. K.c. tions relating to infringement of copyright. He took an active part in the varioas Copyright Commissions, and was largely responsible for the reforms in copyright law which have been made from time to time. In the Cosset of, Appeal, when Mr Serutton rose to open.-a copy- right case, the judge would smile aod ask. Which branch is it this time, Mr Serutton ?" International, my Lord," replied the-counsel, as he proceeded to unfold the perplexities of a case depending upon the articles of the Berne Convention. On other occasions it might be "Performing Rights," or "Artistic copy- right," for with all branches of the compli- cated law of copyright, Mr Scrutton is eqtsally familiar.