The Cardiff Times

THE TWO THOUSAND I EJECTED MINISTERS. By the Rev. Kiisby Jones. MORE QUERIES. Iu last week's Sketch we explained the ^ai-act'ei" and requirements of the Act of ftiformity," and reproduced tli<} objections t against it, as implied in certain (]Ueties addressed by a learned noncon- f.Ol'lilist minister to the Bishop and Arch- ^uacon of Llandaff, who, as an inducement o conform, offered liini a living. As it is ° special importance in these days lat modem Dissenters should know le Nonconformist catechism by heart and | -0 perfection, we furnish our readers with a Jpy of additional queries to the same parties j by the same gentleman —Queries about j ^eiemonias imposed. 1. Whether by the ^•niprehensive obligation of the Second ommandment, as also by the severe interdictions of adding, altering, or dimin- ishing in the matter of God's worship .expositive of the said Commandment), instituted trades of man's invention in Divine worship be not prohibited, leaving t? man oniy the due regulation of natural ■ "'I'cumstances relating to decency or order, "hich are common both to civil and religious Performances, and attend their nature as l are actions, and not as they are religious 1 *ctk>ns t J 2. Whether ceremonies ordained by man 1 ° tea^h, by a special signification put upon them, become not purely religious, and being i Annexed as necessary conditions to God's I Worship, because not part of that worship f mean not of moral worship—but of 'istituted ceremonial or accidental worship, us that tabernacle, temple, altar, feasts, Priests, and vestments under the law, were part of the Levitical service I 3. Seeing the edification of the body of Christ is professedly the end endeavoured after by these impositions (for to this must order, decency, and uniformity be sub- ordinated), whether it be derogatory to the wisdom, care, and faithful- ness of our blessed Saviour, the great King °f his church, that any means should be used with religious observance for that end, for ^hich himself, in his perfect love left us, hath made sufficient provision ? And whether the lamentable consequences of those attempts, which even wise men have *nade in several agea of the Church, 0 .() compass that end by means ':If their own institution, do not ^peak the want of aptness and efficacy 111 those expedients to attain their ends ? 30d giveth a promise and a blessing to his O"n institutions; we can neither to ours. 4. Whether, after submission to the prac- tice of the present ceremonies, a man may Conscientiously scruple the use of any other Ceremonies of the Church of Rome (if re- luired), seeing the same general ground and Jnd is acknowledged to all; and that many of hem seem less offensive, because not sogrossly abused, as some of ours already complied with? QUERIES ABOUT Kfl-ORDINATION. 1. Whether a man ha.ving, through Divine indulgence, some comfortable testi- mony upon his heart, and some seals of his fission upon the hearts of others, that he tIS & true, though the meanest, minister of Christ, a right to do anything that may in- terpretatively amount to the denial of his ministry ? 2. Whether it consists with the honour of Christ, and the dignity of His ordin- ances, and with charity to the souls men, that a minister, satisfied about, his inward and outward call, should purchase his liberty to exercise his ministry at one time, by invalidating, as much as in him lieth, his ministerial administrations at another time; and conse- quently by ensnaring the consciences of men, concerned in those administrations ? 3. Whether it be not a novel practice, tending to the dishonour of the gospel, and the ministry of it in general, to renounce an ordination accounted Valid and lawful, by the practice of most, and I suppose, in the judgment of all Protestant churches, particularly the Church of England, attested by Archbishop Bancroft, at the instalment of a Scotch bishop, ordained minister tmly by the Presbytery 1 QUERIES ABOUT SCANDiL. 1. Whether the negative precepts ail semper, which do prohibit scandal, the heinous descriptions of the nature of it amounting to soul murder, the dread- ful woe denounced against him that offendeth but one, and that a little one too" together with the exemplary care and tenderness of the apostle in the case, ought not to make every sincere Christian Ye?y cautious and circumspect on this point ? 2. Whether the injunction of the magistrate can secure the conscience from guilt in a practice that is known antecedently will prove scandalous, and inductive of sin to many, ex eonditione opens ? 3. Whether the contempt of the ministry a.nd ministers of the gospel, the scorn cast upon their persons, office, and function, the irreligious libertinism, and atheism that is seen in this sinful generation hath not its rise, at least some improvement, from this root of scandal-ministerial scandal—yoa, in this very kind also, now inquired into. 4. Seeing the least evil of sin is not know- ivigly to be done to avoid the greatest evil of suffering, or to compass the greatest good thereby, whether a minister forcing himself against his light, in all or any of these or the like particulars God may not justly blast his endeavours and follow him with terrors of conscience to his grave ? As by obvious instances, within late experience, it is almost demonstrably apparent. As a matter of ecclesiastical decency, a -ame attempt was made to answer these searching queries, but they were of no avail, f(\r the offered living was declined, und the querist lived and died without touching the unclean thing. What a suggestive contrast is presented etw&en the scholarly, religious, unworldly querist and the well-fed sleek Llandaff ecclesiastics The Christian scholar believed llv God without a living; his tempters, Pleasuring other people's corn by their own bushel, believed in God rather than the devil, because they were handsomely paid for it. The querist could not live by bread alone,' and the Church officials could not keep their rijith aiive 0n anything less substantial than glebe lands, tithes, and sundry other loaves ;l1Ù:1 fishes, with well-furnished houses in I which to enjoy these creature comforts. It Was all very well for a tent-maker like the Apostle Paul to talk about using his hands to millister to his own necessities and those of others,and to live by faith, but the eccle- siastics would as soon think of making pancakes out of moonshino as to convert Ciiaeen realities into satisfied the demands of the leech-like trio—the stomach' back, and pocket. Moreover, was not (iiis "Act of Unifor- I, mity the law of the land, and was it not the bounden duty of every man, woman, and child to obey it ? Unquestionably, if any law dealt exclusively with things purely worldly, but even then obedience to it might worldly, but even then obedience to it might I lawfully be simultaneous with the most diligent and systematic use of all constitu- tional means for repealing it. But if Ciesar attempted to help himself to the things which are God's, then the older and greater King must be obeyed, without fearing the wrath of the unprincipled usurper. The unconscious revelations which men make of themselves constitute credible and reliable evidence of the real state of the hidden inner man, of which we have an instructive instance in the conduct of the Querist and the Llandaff clerics. The former looked at the proposal made to him from the standpoint of conscience-the latter from that of bread and cheese. Verily," there is nothing hid that shall not be revealed." A sketch of the Querist will appear next week.

WORKMEN'S TOPICS. BY W.Abraham, M.P., Mabon. THE WORKING OF THE NEW MlNES ACT. In regard to prosecutions under the new Mines Act the words, not committed personally by such owner, ageut, manager, or under manager" in clause 65, and which were dealt with in my last letter are new. Although these words shelter the persons named from being prosecuted except for their own personal acts, and by the consent of the Home Secretary, yet for personal neglect they can be prosacuted, no doubt, by a common informer, and without the aid or consent of either an inspector or Home Secretary. The fact that the four persons named are singled out for this special protection makes it plain that the same privileges does not extend to the under officials. So that, after all, the positions of some of the men affected have been somewhat equalised under the new Act. No prosecution can be instituted against a coroner for any offence under this Act, except with the consent in writing of the Home Secretary. And in a. case where the owner, agent, or manager" has taken proceedings against workmen, or any person employed in or about a raiue, the employer must, within 21 days after the hearing of the case, report the result thereof to the inspector. (Section 667.) NOT ELIGIBLE TO SIT IN COLLIERY CASES. The following persons are ineligible to act as a court or member of a. court of summary jurisdic- tion in respect of any offence under this act:—The owner, agent, or manasrer, a miner or a miners' agent, or the father, son, or brother, or father-in- law of such owner, agent, or manager, or miners' agent, or any person who'is a director of a company being the owner of a mine. (Section 569). A FITTING WAT OF USING FINES. When a. line is imposed for neglecting to send notice of any explosion or any accident, or for any offence against the act which occa- sioned loss of life or personal injury, the Home Secretary may direct the fine to be paid to, or distributed amongst the persons injured, and amongst the relatives of any person whose death may have been occasioned by the explosion, accident, or offence. The Home Secretary is not compelled to do this, bnt HA OAA do so if he thmks .fit, provided that the injured "parsons did not occasion or contribute to occa- sion the explosion or accident," And the fact that the fine has been so allotted will not in any way affect any legal proceedings relative to or con- sequent on the explosion or accident. All other fines recovered in England and Scotland will be paid into the receipt of her Majesty's Exchequer, and with be carried to the Consolidated Fund. The Home Secretary must be applied to when any dispute arises as to whether a mine is regulated by this act or by the Metalliferous Mines Act. And any order of or exemption granted by him under this act may be made, and from time to time revoked or altered by him, eithor condition- ally or subject to such conditions as he may see fit, and must be signed by him or by the Under- Secretary of State, or the Assistant-Secretary (section72). SERVICE OF NOTICES. All notices under the act, "unless expressly required to be in print," may be either in writing or print, "including lithograph." They may be either delivered personally or served if sent by post, by a prepaid letter, as before (sec. 173). Sections 74 provides that section 38 of the Public Health Act, 1875 (which relates to privy accom- modation for any house used as a factory or building in which both sexes are employed) shall apply to the portions of a mine which are above ground, and in which girls and women are em- ployed, in like manner as if it were therein re-enacted, with the substitution of those portions of the mine for the house in the said section mentioned., It is evident from the above that the discussion upon the desirability of abolishing female labour about mines did some good after all. And this small mercy is the result. This provision will give the benefit of dual inspec- torship-that under the Factory Acts as well as that under the Mines Act. It is to be hopsd that this proviso of section 74 has already been attended to. IF not, inspectors should look to it. The existing INSPECTORS AND EXAMINATION BOARDS are to continue to act in the same manner, and generally in the same position as if appointed under the new Act (Sec. 78). Section 79 provides that all "orders" and existing certificates and registers continue to be in force as if made under the new Act. All certificates of competency or of service in force immediately before the commence- ment of this present year are to be deemed first class certificates under the new Act, and the register of holders of certificates and other registers under former Acts are to deemed registers or part of registers in pursuance of this Act (Sec. 79). But under the new Act all certificates of servico that are granted will only have the same effect as a second-class certificate of competency. EAST GLAMORGAN AND THE NEW RULES. As already mentioned, the special rules in force on the commencement of this Act are to be continued until special rules are established under this Act. A number of questions have been as-Iced with respect to the proceedings between the representatives of em- ployers and workmen as to who are compiling the the new code of special rules for the East Glamor- gaushire district. These questions I cannot answer in detail; but generally speaking the representatives have met some three times. On the whole, they have been able to agree very well. Still there are a few important rules that they have not been able to agree upon. Yet there is a possibility that they will agree to them in a modified fonn before the parties meet the in- spector. If not, the points at issue will have to be leferred to, and settled by, arbitration. A CURIOUS QUESTION. One inquirer is anxious to know if it has been agreed to change the period of notice to be given-on leaving employment or being discharged, he being of opinion that four weeks was tp be substituted for a calendar month. This question, coming from a leader among his fellow- workmen, surprises me A little. I thought that by this time it was generally known that special rules have nothing whatever to do with a mat- ter of contract, lhe notice to terminate contracts —FEE it one, two, four weeks, or a calendar month —is purely a matter of contract. Consequently. it does not come within the sphere of the special rule, and cannot be touched by the committee now engaged on these rules. THE CHECKWEIGHEB. In answer to queries from Cwmdows, Mon., allow me to say that the meaning of the words in Clause 13, section 4, on the ground that the cuecUweigher has impeded or interrupted the working of the mine, or interfering with the workmen, or with the management," &c., is-tbat the checkweighar, during working hours, is not to do anything that will for the time being stop or impede the working of the colliery, by sending information to the men that would lead then- to leave their work before the day ic over. During working hours he is limited to Lm own work cf. I taking correct account of the weights, or deter- I mining correctly the deduction, as the case may be." ILLEGALLY, within working hours, he Can done more than this. But the moment the work is over and the men are out, he can then give the work- man all information upon all matters within the scope cf his duties anything within his duties that has been wrongly dealt with he can inform the men of. Hn is not prevented from so doing to the individual workman even when the pit IS working, provided at all times that in doing so he does not impede the working of.the mine. The removal of a checkweigher from one place does not disqualify him from acting at another, if he is selected by the workinsn. Wherever-he may act the same rules affect his action. He is not in any way prevented from acting as secretary for the workmen's committee, or in any other capacity once he is outside the premises of the colliery. When away from the mine he is a free agent. The memo- randum to the bill when before the House of Commons tonched upon the checkweigher strategy. Words are introduced which strictly confine him, when at the mine, to the discharge of his duties and, on the other hand, he is not to be liable to removal for anything done elsewhere than at the mine." MANAGERS AND SPKCFAL BULKS. Clause 52 "pecially refers to the first opening of mines. The next clause provides that every mine must be under the control of a certificated manager, and daily personal supervision must be exercised either by the manager or by an under- manager, so that a* manager under ordinary circumstances cannot absent himself for a single day without, the mine being in charge of an uuder- manager. Such will be the effect of daily personal supervision upon the 'management henceforth. Clause 52 does not imply that the workmen are to arrange and discuss the framing of special rules. It provides that, when framed by the management, they are to be put up for the information of the persons employed in the mine." And the workmen can send to the inspector any objections that they may have to the proposed rules on the ground of anything con- tained therein or omitted therefrom. It is a privilege allowed by the employers to the work- men that both PARTIES are now discussing the special rules for East Glamorganshire. The right to do this was fought for in the House of Com- mons, but the opposition being too strong, that, like some other good points, was lost. ELECTION OF A CHitCKWEIGHER. In answer to the friends from Aberlleeg-U No." Where a checkweigher has already been appointed by ballot it will not necessitate his being re- appointed by ballot in order to give him the rights under the present checkweigher clauses. On the other hand, it will necessiate every checkweigher WHO has not already been selected Iby ballot, to be so selected before he can claim his rights under clause 14 of the present Act. QUESTIONS OV THE WORDING OF TH1- A CT I now close my observations on til, now Mines' Act, except to answer any further quioctiolis that may be put to me.

WELSH MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. By Dr. Joseph Parry, Principal of the Musical College of Wales, Swansea. THE SOCIETY OF WELSH MUSICIANS. Preparations are being made for the second meeting for the purpose of forming a society of Welsh musicians. The meeting is to be held on Friday evening next, February 10th, at Ebenezer Schoolroom, High-street, Swansea, when it is hoped, and fully expected, that a large number of our musical fraternity will be present to offer suggestions as to the very best and safest course to pursue. Many able and enthusiastic letters have been already received from Welsh musicians at a distance, and these will be read. I cordially invite other friends who cannot favour us with their presence to help us with sug. gestions by sending letters to the secretary (pro tem.). Mr Rees Jones, Baddler, Landore. I am delighted to find from the many letters which I have received and the conversations I have had with musical friends, that there is a unanimous desire to estaolish a society which may become a power forgood in tbecause of Welsh music. WORTHY IS THIC LAMB AGAIN. When will our Welsh choirs and our leaders be wise enough to put a stop to this folly of WASTING their time in rehearsing the same old piece for a local eisteddfod. OUR art and our national progress are sacrificed to the mercenary allurements of eisteddfod committees. How much tongar will our choirs and their leaders be afraid of taking new choruses, thus encouraging those committees who desire to improve matters by selecting new choral music. The entire remedy is in the hands of choral conductors, and I trust the time is near at hand when they will apply it.

THE HONEST FARMER, THE LOAD OF HAY, AND THE TELEGRAPH WIRE. I. I HONEST i;idu\try unconscious. of impending danger. I II. I When honest industry runs against monopoly i gets left every time.

CURRENT ADVICE.—"Don't many a woman who knows more than you," is A good piece of current advice. It may be matched with one for the girls: "Don't marrj a. man wbo knows lesd than you." Hello Jack Understand that you are going to Paris. When do you start!" "Changed my mind, Bob just thi" moment read in the paper that Paris is not more than half as wicked as it was ten years ago.' Think I'll spend the winter in Chicago,"

WELSH GLEANINGS. I (By Lloffwr.) Etery Welshman will be pleased to hear that poor Ceiriog's widow has been placed on the Civil List for a pension of B50 a year, in consideration of her late husband's eminent literary services to Wales. Unfortunately literature is only seldom acknowledged in this way, and Welsh recipients of favours from the national purse are extremely rare. No one will grudge Ceiriog's widow this well deserved recognition of the bard's works. That the Welsh people have an ardent longing for improved facilities of education is being proved on every hand. It came out at the recent educational conference at Shrewsbury that peasant youths were in the habit of walking 8 or 10 miles over rough country roads, to attend even- ing classes in connection with University Exten- sion lectures, returning home the same night after the close of the lecture. I iind that the farmers of Anglesey have shown a marked appreciation of the value of the Agricultural Chemistry Extension Classes. Over 70 farmers in that island have attended them. In connection with these I am especially pleased to note that the results of the experiments conducted at the classes have now been published in Welsh, and that as a result the studies and experiments are still being continued by the farmers themselves. I have more than* once referred to the Rev H. Elwyn Thomas, the popular minister of Arundel- square Congregational Chapel. Last week's Sunday Words contains an interesting sketch of him and his work. My readers will remember him as having been intimately connected with South Wales, so that the following extracts from the article referred to will be welcome. ♦ The Rev H. Elwyn Thomas, like many of the Nonconformist ministers of London in the present day, is a Welshman, and is a native of I^landebie- Carmarthenshire. Until he came to London he was a Wesley an minister. Having received his education at Richmond College, he entered the ministry in the South Wales district. Although the youngest minister in the district, and, with two exceptions in the whole connexion, he at once became popular, both as a preacher and a lecturer. In less than five years he bad visited almost every town in the principality, either as a preacher, on the occasion of anniversary services, or as a lecturer. He also did much work as a revivalist. <- Like most Welshmen, he owes much to the Eisteddfod, and frequently won prizes in its meetings for essays and poetry, His first prize was for an essay on Self-government,' when he was in his thirteenth year. In addition to many Welsh sermons and essays, he has also published a volumn of religious fiction under the title Excelsior." Still cherishing a profound love for Methodism, he speaks in glowing terms of that Church, and frankly acknowledges that he owes it a debt of gratitude he can never repay. • Mr Thomas is a very poetical preacher. The secret of his success lies in his great command of LANGUAGE, his descriptive power, hig-fine Vojce, and almost boundless enthusiasm. It is said that there are only a few men in Wales who can ao the "Welsh Hwyl" so well. In his lecture on Wales and Welshmen," which he delivered to a crowded audience in his own lecture-hall the other day, he gave a specimen of the hwyl" in a manner which drew tears to the eyes of hundreds who did not understand a word of what he said We are glad to see that he has been asked to deliver this lecture at several places in London during the coming months. If Mr Thomas's health is spared, we have great hopes that he will accomplish a great work for his Master in London. When he accepted the pastorate of Arundel- square Church some 18 months ago, the church was in a low condition, and the congregation very much reduced, though anyone entering the chapel on a Sunday evening at present, and seeing it so well filled, would find it difficult to believe. At the commencement of the present pastorate the chapel sadly needed renovation and repairs a long period having elapsed since anything had been done to it, it had a most unattractive ap- pearance. He took the work in hand energetically, and soon the edifice without and within presented a great change for the better. The membership increased vastly, while other parts of his pastors charge were not neglected. ♦ The Sunday-school has over one thousand names on its book", and the average attendance is 850. The cause of temperance is advocated by a well-conducted Band of Hope and the Arundel Tntal Abstinence Society. The Christian Workers' Association does a good work in visiting those who are not identified with any place of worship, and inviting: them to the services of the church. The seats are thrown open on every second Sunday evening in the month, when the public are invited to a people's service; on these occasions the church is full of strangers. A Maternal Society is presided over by Mrs Thomas. There are also a huge number of other societies in vigorous condition and doing excellent work. Among them may be mentioned The Arundel Evan- gelistic Choir, which gives services of song on the second Monday in the month; the Young People's Guild; the Christian Band the Young Women's Benevolent Society the Young People's Dorcas Society; the Men's Bible Class, and the Savings Bank. # # That is only a single instance of the kind of record Welshmen who occupy English pulpits are able to show. » Yet another Welsh Sudents' Society. I am told that a society of Welshmen, to consist mainly, of students at the different colleges, has been formed at Glasgow. The honorary president is Dr Edward Jones, J.P., Dolgelley; Mr E. Ben Evans (Emlyn Furdd) has been elected chairman on the committee, which includes Messrs T. J. Davies, W. H. Williams, J., R. Jones, John Divies, Hugh Jones, and H. E. H. Lewis Mr J. Anwyl Jones acts as lion, secretary, and Mr James Lloyd as the hon. treasurer.. At the first meeting of the society, held nt the Cockburn Temperance Hotel, Bath-street, an able paper was read by Mr James Lloyd on The Future of the Welsh Language." ♦ The late conference on Welsh education at Shrewsbury was not regarded with favour by a certain class in Wales. I am glad to see, however, that it is already bearing fruit. It is stated that the Principal and Fellows of Jesus College have unanimously agreed to accede to the'request of the conference with respect to the abolition of the age limited for the Welsh scholarships, and that an altered form of statute has been sent up to the Privy Council for sanction. Welsh industries are to the front. What with the removal of the Dowlais Works to Cardiff, the opening, of direct transatlantic communication from Swansea, the important improvements at Holyhead, and the gold mines at Dolgelly, the golden age seems to have dawned for Wales. Now I learn that an important discovery of coal has just been made at the Mount Pleasant Colliery, Buckley, of which Messrs J. B. Gregory and Co. are the owners. The colliery is a new one, oper- ations having been commenced only a short time ago. A shaft, 230 yards deep, has been sunk, and it is expected in a short time about 500 men will be employed at the colliery. To celebrate the success of the undertaking, the proprietors gave a dinner at Buckley to all the workmen employed at the colliery. Mr J. B. Gregory presided, and was supported by the loed clergy and other gen- tlemen, the company numbering about 200, *» ;0- ♦ By the way, who would recognize in the Saxonized "Buckley" the old Welsh name Bwlch-y.clai ?" My old friend, Mr Elvet Lewis, now of Hull, whose name is familiar in the Eng- lish world of literature, when he had the pastorate of the church at Buckley, always headed his letters to me "Bwlch y "doi." Cannot more of these old Welsh names be unearthed from the English rust which covers them ? The Law Jaurncd says;—"Mr G. Osborne Morgau, in the Contemporary Review, is uujust to Welshmen as lawyers. He aws that it is an unpleasant admission to mate that there is no Welshman on the bench of the Supreme Court. He may comfort himself in regard to this acci- dent, as Welshmen have a peculiar turn for the practice of law, and supply probably a larger number of the general body of lawyers, in pro. portion of their numbers and opportunities, than any other part of Great Britain. Welshmen are not only litigious in themselves, but apt agents uf litigation for others. In the early part of the seventeenth centuiy there W^ a considerable influx of Welshmen into England who became practitioners and judges in the Chester Palatine Courts and elsewhere in England, Walcot, Vaughan, Price, two Joneses, two Powyses, and three Trevors, were judges of superior courts in Englaud about that period. At other times among Welsh judges there was the learned Glynne, a Perryn, an Owen, a Phillips, a Richards, David, John and Vaughan Williams, and Chief Justice Ksnyon to set off against Chief Justice Jeffreys. Mr Osborne Morgan seems to have forgotten that in recent times there was a Lord Chancellor called Bethell, and a Lord Justice called James." • The Lord Bishop of St. Asaph is anxious to pose as the champion of the rights of Welsh- speaking parishes. In a letter recently written by him, he says I would pbint out that there are portions of the county of Safop now included in the diocese of St. Asaph ife which there is a considerable population which ?caa be ministered to only in the Welsh LANGUAGE and to transfer that district to an English bistjop, unacquainted with the language and habitai of thought of the people, would be to revive a 'system which bad well-nigh destroyed the Churclrin Wales. On the same grounds, I would stronfcly deprecate any scheme providing for the union of the county of Montgomery with that of Salop to form a new diocese, seeing that beyond the valley of the Severn the services of the Cliurcb, if conducted in Euglish, would be unintelligible to a large proportion of the inhabitants. The above remarks apply still more strongly to the county of Mon- mouth, in the western mining district of which there is an enormous Welsh-speaking population," Again be says Should there be any funds available for Church purposes other than the increase of the episcopate, I would take the opportunity of stating my belief that the ctying want of my own diocese, and doubt not of the other Welsh dioceses, is the erection of mission chapels in our large parishes, and of churches in our towns chiefly to meet the bilingual difficulty for it must be remembered that in many of our parishes we require double the noinber of services that would be necessary in English parishes of the same population. I do not adtocate the sub- division of parishes, but a large addition to the staff of curates." If it is BYIPEANS of these mission chapels he intends providing for the wants of Welsh parishioners, he-is very greatly mistaken. It strikes me that when the Welsh people once earnestly takes in hand the question of their connection with the so-called Natidhal Church," apart that is from the question of dis- establishment, they will begin to ask themselves on what ground of reason or justice are the parish churches to be handed over to the English or foreign element, while the native-born parishioners have to be content with a "misøion chapal" or sitqilar accommodation the clergy FROM charity provide FOR them.

t" BREEDING PRIZE POULTRY. It will be found that in a decided preponder- ance of cases the cockerels of a brood chiefly resemble the father, while the pullets take after" the mother. Again there will be exceptions, but, this will be the general rule. Cocks and hens in their second season wiH always breed well together, and the chickens usually fladge more kindly than the produce ot either older or younger birds. The OFFSPRING of cockerels and pullets mated together are worst in this particular, and in the large breeds are also more subject to leg- weakness. A cockerel mated with adult hens is preferred by most amateurs, and usually produces very vigorous and large chickens, but if only two or three hens be put with him there is almost sure to be a prepondence of cockerels. An adult cock mated with pullets is also a good arrangement. A valnable hen may be kept, and her eggs set as long as she lays; but except in rare cases, a cock is of little or no use after be is three years old, unless for exhibition, for which purpose we have known birds preserved for seven years and even more. in some cases, as we have hinted, productive power may be maintained beyond three years; and so long as a breeding bird of proved value shows in. disputable liveliness and vigour it would be a pity to discard him. Old cocks may be fertile in April, which utterly fail in earlier breedinEr. We have hinted in the last paragraph that the breeder has some control over the sexes of his produce, and we may repeat here more definitely that the following have long been verified by general experience as ordinary rules, though numerous exceptions occur :-l. If a vigorous cockerel be mated with not more than three adult liens, the cocks almost always largely predominate in at least the early broods later this -becomes uncertain. 2. If an adult cock be mated with not more than three pullets the result is very uncertain, the one sex being as Jikeiy to occur as the other, but usually there is a decided predominance on one side rather than equality. 3. If an adult cock be mated with f2ve or more pullets, the pullets are generally in excess and what cockerels there are will be most numerous in the earlier eggs. 4. Young birds or adult birds mated together are very uncertain but the fewer hens and the more vigorous the stock, the greater is the proportion of cockerels, which are always more numerous in the earlier eggs cf a reason than the later. It is also a curious tact that chickens hatched late in the season are often perceptibly more short legged than the earlier birds we have often remarked this in our own yard, and it has nlso been observed by others. From these facts, while nothing like certainty can be obtained, it is manifest that the breeder possesses considerable power of obtaining such results AS are desired.—-From The Illustrated Book of Poultry for February.

THOSE TERRIBLE GREAT VASES- VOICE FROM THE DJCPRFFT "Excuse me, Miss Jones, but while I was looking at your bric-a-brac the chair slipped and I can'tg;E £ out!

Father (trying to read thijtigper). What was that awful racket in tHflV fcall just now?" Mother; One of the CFLA^EN fell down the stairs." Father (irasciblykWell, you tell those children that if they caamot fall down-stairs quietly they won't be allowa^&O'fali down them at all." UI LV: I don't see bow there evet'^Mtne to be so many words in the world EXCI^JME^I a girl who was studyinjf her spelling LESSOIAUAT IL^'Why, sis," cried her brother, "they catne TBDRCS^B people quarrel- ling. Then, you kuow, word brings on another." IRO:; French Woman (at Long Branch): 0 we hat sooch a fino time bathing in the otcean. M'sieur Brown, he gif me—vat you calls 'em-a. gosling." American Woman: A gosling! Why, a gosling is a little duck." Z it is vat he gif me-a. leetle duck,"

PETTICOAT GOVERNMENT. She—'I'll let yer see whether yar a-goin' to be brought 'ome drunk every blessed Saturday night as is. I'll not let yer out on Sunday—that's what I'll do He—Tha'sh all right; we'i':ha.tle prayerab at home for the pubs are shut".

HELPING HIM UP. ATTENDANT (with a quiet wink and a noisy whisper to little Deering who has met tall Miss Gorton): I'll lend yez the loan of this packing ■rass to stand on fer sixpence, sir

People are asking why Jay'Gould did not visit Ireland. The reason is that Gould is a bear and just now the Irishmen make so many "balls be c MLD&'t STAND it.

.V'< ■" Samuel's Sentiments. 0- Samuel on Snow and Snowbailers. I believe that there is some dispute, sir, as to who wrote the besotted aad maudlin poem, "Beautiful snow." Perhaps, sir, it is as well for the author that his identity is not clearly established, for I know certain people who would even cross the broad seas to have a word with him, and to point out his errors to him with a pair of clump soled boots and a bludgeon." Beautifut snow, indeed ISN'T it beautiful when it has been on the ground for a day or two, and has had time to get nicely mingled with soot, and has been partially thawed, and then froze again ? Of course it is and then it is a case of sing heigh-ho! for the broken leg, and ho for the fractured arm. Beautiful snow; why, the very way in which it comes down is sneaking and deceptive. It pretends to descend in nice, soft, innoeent- looking flakes, and a lot of easily-deluded people say, Ui), how nice and seasonable it does look But walk out in it, and you'll find that you progress even worse than if you had spent the whole evening at the Bell and Bullfinch jost round the corner, on one of their most convivial nights. And the nasty, furtive way in which it falls breeds cowardice, allied with mischief, amongst our juveniles. What do those juveniles do? Why, they begin by snowballing each other, till they find there is an element of danger in the process, and sometimes bleed stains the snow as the result of a gory nose. But these juveniles are not to be done out of their snowballing for all that, so they court chilblains by making snow- balls, which might in many cases, be much more appropriately called ice-balls; and with a large stock of ammunition of this sort they hide round dark corners, and throw their missiles at everyone they think is too infirm, too timid, or too dignified to rout them out of their ambush. If they see a nice young man with a pretty, white shirt front on, going to a party, they aim full at the said white front in order that they may besmear and spoil it, and that young man's pleasure is most effectually spoilt for the remainder of the evening. And if that young man pursues the gang and captures one of its members, and attempts to administer condign punishment, the usual sympa- tbetic bystander puts in an appearance, and excites the eui-ceptibtlitifs of the crowd which is sure to congregate on such occasions, by referring to the really aggrieved party—the youug man—as a brute to meddle with a bit of a lad. And these same fiend-like boys like to make a mark of a decrepit old gentleman, who has to take every step with a nice delibera- tion and care they yell with delight when his hat lies among-st the beautifnl suow, Jauii they set up a howl of triumph when they see the said beautiful snow trickling down what they are pleased to call his "neck hole." A perfect, godsend to them is a man cpou crutches, and the advent of a stout OLD lady with a basket is provocative oi the utmost enthusiasm aaiWBgst them especially ifshould fall and T«|GL the contents of her SUKET ALONG the road. ATTD, sir,—FCBERA ÏOi A considerable spice of malice about these urchins, too. They have a habit of, quite accidentally, of course, including stones in the centre of their nowballss, and if you chance to get one of these latter full in your jaw, a perfect handful of teeth is the inevitable result. THE KKW HAT. Beautiful snow, indeed! What do you think about beautiful snow. I want to know, when you are walking along the cause- way with a new silk hat on your head, and when suddenly down comes that fearful,avaiacche from some shop roof right on top of your chapeau ? And what did your servants think about it when Master Tommy tried the scientific experiment of ascertain- ing whether snowballs would Hoelt iu the drawing-room fire ? And what do you think of beautiful snow on a morning when the boots YOU put on are both camp and hard, and turned up at the toes, and are as dull as OH, THAT NEW HAT. your own spirits. Snow is NOTHING but an Q! mitigated nuisance, and if it is of no good to ray- on9 save the malicious boys, and the mendacious artistes of illustrated papers, who, with such a stock in trade as A bit of snow, some mistletoe and holly, and a dog and a child, can always con- trive in the hot summer months to draw up a very delusive but remarkable representation of Christ- mas. If you are a person who cherishes C. regard for his fellow creatures, you, seeing a long, steep, and most dangerous THIS IS A SNOW MAN. slide at your very door, quite naturally sprinkle salt or ashes or sand on the icy declivity, and what is the result? Why, that the slide-demons throw snowballs through your windows, that they ring your front door bell frequently and then decamp, knowing jer- fectly well that you are sure to fall if you PURINE them. And they IiUOW. ball your servant-gir) whenever she emerges, afcrti most probably they go and fashion a show image supposed to re- present yourself, and I uavmg inoeued this U.d Ururrmy, or someUnat; equally flattering, they stick it up out on the bit of waste ground opposite, so that you can see it. I The very way in which the snow gradually dis- appears is ungracious, and thoroughly in keeping with its sneaking disposition. As it cannot be allowed to stop at what it is-snow-it turns to ice, and then to slush and puddle, in which form it vents its malice by giving one rheumatism and catarrh (as a consequence of damp feet) and by consistently spoiling one's nether garments. SAMUEL: His SENTIMENTS.

CLUMSY PEOPLE. T bate clumsy people. Yes-I won't soften it down to please anybody. I hate 'em. Wbat right have people to be so clumsy-to be all legs and anus ? Never to stir without knocking over, 5>R knocking up, or knocking down something I What rigbt have they, whose touch is always certain destruction, and who know it, to be for Mer nosering and pawing delicate ornaments and pcetty little fragile parlour fancies? Why must they ALWAYS select the only table in the room that has flowers upon it. to kick the water over upoc your carpet ? Why do they invariably ei-) down on babies and bonnets in preference to sofae and •hairs destitute of such pleasing incumbrances S WHY do they stumble over your toes when they rise? and drop everything into your lap wber they attempt to pass yau? I JAU'T tell why T body has to eudure all this. Why should one polish and beautify and adorn that such may recklessly mar ? Is this Great Unspanked to be allowed to stumble through creation doing all sorts of disagreeable things under cover of, ttf bis way ?" Nonsense Let him learn a bettec way, or stay away till he has.

She stoops to conquer—the washerwoman.

ELECTllIC YEAST All BAKERS and CEQCERS who require GOODY E AST Should apply to THE LONDON AND WEST OF ENGLAND YEAST COMPANY, BRIDGE-STREET, CARDIFF, OR 1, OLD DOCK-STREET, NEWPORT. CHTEF OFFICES 53. BETHNAL GREEN-ROAD, LONDON, E. A D 31, STAPLE rON ROAD, BRISTOL. See Testimonials from DrD^VIES, late Medical Officer of Health for Bristol. 13210

MEMORIES OF THE 1 PAST: Being the Random Recollections of a South Wales Journalist, BY J. C. MANNING (CARL MORGANWG), Author of Frozen Hearts," Paul Tracey's Legacy," &c. CHAPTER III. AT ABERDARE AND MERTRYR. Aberdare and Merthyr, I suppose, would con- sider themselves to have been at their best in the good old days when the Fothergills reached their zenith at Abernant, and the Crawshays their perihelion at Cyfarthfa, long before the great strike bred unhappy differences and broke up long- standing associations. I love to dwell upon South Wales as I first found it-11o grand emporium of busy and profitable enterprise, where men were happy in their earnings, and masters open-handed in their liberality—both contented because they were doing well, and both working hand-in-hand, because instinct told them that unity and concord between capital and labour were the best possible safe-guards of true and substantial prosperity. A PLYMOUTH MANAGER. The first acquaintance I made at Aberdare was Mr Arthur J. Morris, who was then employed in the cashier's office under the Fothergills, at the Llwydcoed Ironworks, Mr Adams being the cashier at the time. The particular occasion, I think, was the hanging of a peal of bells at St. Elvan's Church—or was it the opening of an organ there ? I really forget, but I know it was some- thing in the musical way, and that I met Mr Morris there for the first time, which started an acquaintance that ripened into the firmest friend- ship, and only ended with his death. I shall never forget the joy that beamed in every lineament oí his handsome and expressive countenance, on one occasion I was at Aberdare, when he told me he had reason to believe he should be appointed manager of the Plymouth Ironworks at Merthyr, of which the Fothertrills, I believe, were the prin- cipal proprietors. As a matter of local history, he re- ceived the appointment, and lam quite sure thefirm never had A more faithful and devoted servant. I once paid him a visit while he was manager at Plymouth, and among other objects of interest I saw hanging up in the sitting-room at his resi- dence a framed testimonial, which the work people at Llwydcoed and Abernant presented to him on his departure from that side of the mountain. In the centre of the frame hung a silk purse, which had once held—I think it was a hundred pounds —that formed part of the votive offering. It was, of course, empty. I suppose you have cracked the nut and taken out the kernel," said I, touch- ing the bottom of the purse with my hand. Ah," he replied, I have, my friend; and I fouud it very sweet—not so much for the money as for the respect it evinced on the part of those who gave it to me." And then he added a para- phrase of the well-known lines— You may take—you may squander— The coin if you will; But the love of the giver Clings round the purse still. And reaching up his lips towards the frame as it hung against the wall, he kissed it fervently, and assured me with tearful eyes it was one of the most precious mementoes he possessed of a truly happy past. 'ROBERT THE JOKIST. There are peveral other ramiliar faces I remember nt Aberdare in those far-off days. Mr Robert Jenkins, and that of his elder brother, also employed at Abernant, were among them. Robert formed quite a central figure among the wits of the period, and I can safely say of him AS Hamlet sai l of YORICK—Tnarrferrhappier man, I uever spent an hour's talk withal. He bad always a quaint story to ten, was full of quip3 and quid- dities, and woe betide the unhappy competitor who came under the lash of bis biting and tantalising sarcasm. It was a weapon he wielded to perfection. His brother, too, was tarred with the same witty brush—quick in repartee that was always smart and often brilliant—and full to ovei flowing of personal anecdote that set the table in a roar, and added to the enjoyment of all who came within the radius of its sunny influence THE BLACK LION AND THE BOOT. The two great centres of attraction in those days, and I suppose they are now, were the Black Lion and the Bush. Was it the Bush? No I think it must have been the Boot. I know the landlord's name was Dyke, and that his brother held a prominent position in the medical profession at Merthyr. Mr Arthur Jones was then the ruling spirit at the Black Lion, and some of the most pleasing recollections of my earlier life in South Wales are centred in the men I have met at one time or another within the hospitable walls cf these well known hostelries, CANON JENKINS. An important central figure in ecclesiastical circles at Aberdare was the Rev. Canon Jenkins, vicar of the parish. The canon, of whose humanitarian excellencies I always entertained the most profound admiration, was far more effective as a philanthropist than as an ecclesiastic. His unselfishness was unbounded, and to live for others appeared to be the story of his daily lite. I never knew anyone so completely ignore himself in order to benefit those around him, and the poor in particular; and if any mem- ber of the clergy ever lived in the hearts of the more humble of his parishioners, Canon Jenkins was the man. 1 IF the great heart of Life doth in unison beat With Eternity's throb through Infinity's space, Then our thoughts of his goodness, with gratitude sweet, Will vibrate in his bosom, though lost be his face. "His life was lone martyrdom noble the part Of self-abnegation he played for the poor, W hose gratefulness fixes his name on each heart Where, as crystallized love, it will ever endured" THE FAMOUS RECTOB OF MEBTHTR. A more robust counterpart of the Rev. Canon Jeukins in the arena of parochial work was to be found on the other side of the mountain. This was the Rev. John Griffith, rector of Merthyr. His was the grand, militant figure that always seemed to me to be chafing at the accumulation of human misery around him, and was constantly girding up his loins and going forth to do battle in the cause he loved so passionately and so well. I once sketched the broad outlines of his pulpit oratory in pjn and ink, on the occasion of a famous sermon I heard him preach in his own Church of St. David's. I have been told," he afterwards wrote to n.e, in a letter bearing date the 6th of December, 1872, that you are my photographer. I am truly obliged to you for the glowing colours you have arrayed me in far too rich and shining for me even to look upon but as portrait painters are allowed a freedom of hand which is not given to others, I mast take it in that way. I am thankful you did not give my sermon, too. You will understand why when I tell you an anecdote. My old friend, Parry, of Liywel, the gteat Welsh preacher, had a capital sermon on Habakkuk's words, "0 Lord, revive Thy work." Now, "Brutus" had heard him preach it at various places so often that at last he was able, though no shorthand writer, to take it all down, and to my friend Parry's horror he printed it in the Haul. Next time be saw "Brutus" be said to him, in Welsh of course, "Brutus, Brutus! you have done for me now —you have taken away the best plough I have in the furrow And that is what I should have had to say to you now if you had printed my sermon. You would have taken away the best plough I have in the furrow," A week later the Rector of Merthyr was announced to preach at Sketty Church, near Swansea. He then wrote to me—" I hope you will not be at Sketty in the morning, as I propose preaching the same sermon there as you thought so favourably of. Indeed, that is an inducement in itself to my doing so. Besides, I have already told you it is the best plough I have in the furrow. If I see you in church I shall feel something like what Chalmers felt when he saw before bim a well- known face, listening to the sermon—he knew it was for the tenth time—he was then delivering." This "best plough" which the Rector of Merthyr had in the furrow was, indeed, a thrilling specimen of pulpit oratoiy, and would bear listening to, not only ten times, but ten times ten. When I first beard it I was wonderfully impressed with it, and the effect it had on my mind as a piece of picturesque, vigorous, and pathetic elocution, remains there to this day, and is not likely to be easily effaced. easily effaced. THE GREAT STRIKE OF '74. The great strike of 1874, which South Wales will never forget, brought, a crowd of press-men to Merthyr, and I was one of them. Those were stirring times. The little lady who presided over the telegraph wires at the post-office, under the auspices of my old friend Mr Wiikins, the postmaster, must have had all her work cut out during those troublous days and nights, aud it is a mystery to me how ever she managed to get through the vast flood of copy with which she was incessantly deluged, and how she succeeded in sur- viving that deluge, which threatened to overwhelm her. There was Mr 0;K I ;y of the Titties, and Mr McKenzte ot the Standard, and Mr Green- wood, the "amateur casual" of the Daily Tele- graph, and Mr Senior of the Daily News, and Mr Johnson of the Illustrated London News, and Mr Chantrey Corbold of the Graphic, and a host of lesser lights in the journalistic world, local and otherwise, my eld friend Presswell being promi- nent among them, ever on the alert, and happy as a lark. We made our headquarters the Castle Hotel, where we succeeded in running the head waiter, Mr Fry, nearly off his legs, and almost broke the heart of the pretty barmaid. Mr Chantrey Corbold, by the way, was a little smitten with that same barmaid, and he laboured under the disadvantage of knowing that his passion was not reciprocated. His wag- gish confreres from London led him a pretty dance over his blighted affections, but I dare say long before this be has managed to forget it all. He was just at that impressionable age at the time of the strike when sympathetic souls, such as his, are likely to be led captive, and the journalistic friends by whom he was surrounded were for the most part just the kind of companions who could be trusted to make much of it. The most loving messages-all fictitious, of course-were concocted and conveyed to him as coming from the little divinity in the bar. On these he acted, with obvious results. It all served to enliven dull evenings, and nobody was any the worse for it as far as I can remember. MIMICRY BY THE AMATKUB CASUAL." Whatever talent Mr Greenwood possessed as a writer, and his work testifies to his being no ordmary hand in this respect, he would certainly have made his mark on the stage as a comedian if he bad taken to it as a pro fession. He was essentially a comic actor. On one occasion he visited the theatre at Merthyr, where a company of the true Vincent Crummles type were tearing passion to tatters, and holding a very curious mirror up to nature, in which Nature would have found it difficult to recognise herself. That night Greenwood was in his glory, for sifter he came home he repeated the perform- ance for our benefit, and sent us all to bed with ribs aching from convulsive laughter. No page of Dickens conveys more vividly to the minciiieyethe humorous eccentricities of the stage than did the piece ot really clever mimicry to which I refer. MR O'NEILL'S PARTY. On another occasion he distinguished himself in the mock tragic line. It was at a crisis in the history of the strike. Two prominent men were expected from the North, and it was said they were invested with power to speak decisive words that might probably bring the struggle to a close. I forget their names, but I think one of them was Cady. Their advent was consequently looked forward to in press Quarters with intense interest. On that particular night, Mr O'Neill, now editor of the South Wala Echo, who had resided at Merthyr, but was then representing a Manchester paper, and formed one of the crowd at the Castle Hotel, bad invited us all to a sort of smoking concert in his private room. The representative of each paper was anxious to know of the arrival of the two harbingers of good news from the North, and what they intended to propose, which rather interfered with the musica: arrangements, for one or other of the expectant journalists was continually eliding out of the room to make enquiries and returning with the infor- mation that the heralds of peace bad not yet arrived. Everyone believed ia his heart that the men had really arrived, and that the Abatement as to their not haying done so was a sort of pious fraud which is rather apt to gain currency among journalists whose dream of life is to be the possessor of exclusive information. The result was a constant popping in an out of O'Neill's room by restless chroniclers, each suspicious of the other, and each determined to assure himself whether the northern friends had or had not arrived. This damaged TLK interests of the party as a musical gathering, butl the ball was kept rolling till midnight, when authoritative news came that the heralds of peace had missed the train and were not in Merthyr. JOURNALISTIC SMARTNESS. It was quite true they bad missed a train, but they had come on by a later, and I found them at the Bush Hotel by a mere accident, as I went to take a last look round between twelve and one o'clock, before turning in for the night. I caught Mr Cady-if Cady was his name—just lighting his bedroom candle to go to bed. He gave me all the information I required-tfie priceless news that had almost been the ruta -of- O'Neill's party, and kept the journalistic crowd 10 a state of feverish excitement all the evening—and the precious treasure was promptly wired to the paper I represented, which was lucky enough to be the only journal next morning, that published the precise information, some of them stating authori- [ tatively that the heralds of peace had not yet arrived. The journalistic fat was in the fire at once, and there was a row., REVENGE Its SWEET." I was sitting in the cuffee-room alone next morping, having my breakfast, when the door was stealthily opened, end Greenwood's comical face was squeezed through the aperture, his eyes rotting round with mock ferocity as though hun- gering and thirsting for revenge. Then the door slowly opened a little wider, and in true stage murder style, Greenwood crept with cat-like tread into the room, keeping his. glaring and revengeful eyes fixed upon me with an expression intensely comical. It wanted but the slow music to make a Macbeth scene of it. Creeping slowly up to the table, he made a show of clutching at a carving- knife that lay there, which he appeared to grasp firmly in his right band. Then, springing with a bound towards where I sat,.HE went through the pantomime of plunging the knffe into my back between the shoulders. Die, traitor he exclaimed with a hissing sort of whisper, and then, with a ringing Hah hah hah that reverbe- rated through the room,hefrantically declared that "Revenge is sweet and staggering with the orthodox stage-glide across the apartment, beating the air wildly with his outstretched arms, he fell as though utterly exhausted and conscience- stricken into the easy -chair that stood by the fire-place. "Did you call, sir?" said the head waiter, Fry, bustling into the room with a somewhat alarmed look. I could make no reply for laughing Greenwood was snoring, apparently asleep in the easy chair, and the waiter left the room evidently impressed with the idea that I had risen in a jocular mood, and was bent on having a joke at his expense before I started on the, regular journalistic BUSMESS PF the day. ( To be contijzztod. J

-————— TJ?ST OF GENTILITY IN NEW YQSIt, —Servant Madame, there is A woman NT the door who wantR to speak to you." Lady *• Is she a society lady?'' She doesn't wear any tornure." "Then let her wn-it until I am ready to see her." HE WANTED A Lo.m.-Little Joe Clarke was taken sick for the first time, and the doctor, with much ceremony made him swallow a powder. Papa," said J.oe, a minute later; "aint it tide I was taking the shot, now ?'

Musical and Eisteddfod Notes. I By Maelgwyn. On the whole, that was a capital address which Mr J. C. Parkinson delivered AT the meeting of the London Cymmrodorion Society on Monday night, But I do not think it serves any good purpose to recall and dwell upon the unkind and silly criticisms which the Times and other leading organs of English opinion were wont to pass upon the eisteddfod in times gone by. These times are gone, never to be recalled. The most learned of the English people are almost as ardent admirers of the eisteddfod as the Welsh people themselves. No warmer admirer of our ancient and honoured institution lives to-day than Mr M. Arnold, who is at the very head of English litterateurs. Mr Joseph Bennett, too, one of the foremost musical critics in the country, has lived to regret the cruel strictures which he passed upon Welsh amateur choral societies at the Cardiff Eisteddfod, as the extracts from an adjudication deihered by him, which were quoted by my friend Lloffwr last week, show. I am happy to think that some of us protested against the unmerited severity of Mr Bennett's criticism at the time, and, notwithstanding his position, we did not scruple to declare that Mr Bennett having had little or no previous experience of Wales and Welsumen was not at the time a competent man to pass an opinion upon things Cymric. Since theu Mr Bennett, like many other educated Englishman, has had further opportunities of forming an opinion of us and our doings, and that opinion has been a favourable one in every case. So it is with the masses of the English people. When we have held an eisteddfod outside Offa's Dyke, and have treated the psople as we would like them to treat us, they have supported the eisteddfod in a handsome manner. They have enjoyed themselves as heartily as we ourselves have done. It would be idle for us to expect an Englishman to appear interested whilst twelve or fifteen bards are delivering themselves of euglyniou, but once set on foot a competition, say in music, and an Englishman is as interested as atiy of us. I never yet met an Englishman who did not enjoy a pennillion singing contest, a big choral competition, or any other musical struggle as thoroughly as I did myself. Therefore it is ridiculous to suppose that the English nation as a nation is antagonistic to the eisteddfod. Such being the case, we ought to let the past be buried. If any unjust attacks are made upon the eisteddfod, we are very well able to repel such attacks without calling up the ghosts of our fathers and our fathers' detractors to take part in the battle. Mr Parkinson was very severe on the newspaper correspondents. A good deal of his hard bitting was no doubt, deserved, but much of it was cer- tainly not deserved. The best friends of the eisteddfod in the press are not those who commend everybody and everything connected with it- such friends are false friends in the broadest sense of the word. Neither is ridicule an altogether unworthy weapon to use now and again. When we see an eisteddfod committee offering a big prize for the best "elegy on the late Mr John tomith, of the Pump," what can we do but cast ridicule upon the people who thus bring the eisteddfod on a par with the village blacksmith"* shop or bakehouse. Fur the last two or turee years the National Eisteddfod has beou managed by bodies of particularly unbusinesslike men, and it would scarcely be fair to regard as Philistines the Dress writers who have taken those people to task. The eisteddfod in France ? Yes, strange though it may appear, an eisteddfod will be held in France during the International Exhibition in Paris. At present very tew details have been settled, but a prize will be given for the best libretto of a cantata, another for the music of the same, and a third for the best march suitable for military bands. There witt also be a iargMMMQ— BET TRF other competitions in singing, 8OLO instru- mental playing, and other branches of music. Of course the affair will not be called an eisteddfod, but it wiii be au eisteddfod all the same. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." It will be interesting to know how the French people Will carry through the project of holding an eisteddfod in the gay capital. Let us hope they will do it successfully—with honour to themselves and to the old institution which they are serving and endeavouring t J imitate. A grand concert given by the University College of Wales Musical Society was held on Tuesday evening at the Queen's Hotel Aalsembiy Rooms, Aberystwith. As the programme was a very interesting one, and contained several items with which the majority of Welsh concert goers are not over familiar, I make no apology for giving it in its entirety. Here it is:—No. I-part song, "Gipsy Life" (Schumann), College Musical Society, couducted by Mr David Jenkins; 2- piano solo, "Valse in D flat" (Schulhoff), Pro- fessor E. H. Culley, M.A., Sc. David's College, Lampeter; 3-song-, "Alone on the Raft "(Paul Rodney), Miss E. Jenkins 4—part Rong, "Three I ishers (Macfarren), the choir 5—fluie and piano duet, larghetto and rondo, from a sonata by Eben- ezer Prout, RIV J. Brougii and Professor Culley SONG, Up with the Lack" (R. S. Hughes), Mr D. Jenkins, Mus. Bac. 7-piano duet, Taran- tella (J. HAr), Professor Culley and Mr J. H. Farmer, M.A.; 8—part song, "The Watchword" (Pinsuti), the choir 9-duet, flute and piano, "Nocturne in F" (Behr), Messrs Brough and Culley 10-ciiorus, "Kyrie Eieison- (Mozart),the choir 11—song, "Pack clouds away" (Macfarren), Miss Price 12 — piano solo, Cradle Song" (Henselt), Professor Culiey; 13 duet, "Sweeter than the new blown rose" (Handel), Miss Price and Miss Eunice Williams 14 — flute solo, Valse Briilante (Pratten), the Rev. J. Brough, M.A. 15.—Anthem, By Babylon's waters (Gounod), the choir 16-God Save the Queen. This, it will be admitted on all hands, was a capital programme for a miscellaneous concert. Preparations for the Bridgend Eisteddfod are going on apace, and in a few weeks I should be in a position to lay some definite details before my readers. The musical adjudicators will be Mr Joseph Proucman and Mr David Jenkins—the same gentleman who performed a similar duty last June. From Mr Frederick Pitman, 20, Pater- noster-row, E.C., comes thiee waltzes, namely, Star of Love," Magda- leine," and Elfin Tales." It would be difficult to say which is the best of the three. They are all decidedly good, and without possessing any very distinctive feature. For melody, pure and flowing, the first and second can be recommended, whilst the third is a good example of what is known as the crisp style (2s each). ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.—T. R.— £ RF- shazzar is by Handel, and is a capital work, Certainly, if you want something good, take it up. Maestoso (Hirwain).—The SUBJECT has not been forgotten.