The Cardiff Times

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR COLLIERS. (By Ceitious.) A case of considerable interest to the miners employed throughout South Wales was heard iU Ystrad police-court an Monday. A collier who had been employed in the Gelli Colliery, the property of Messrs Cory Brothers, C-irdifi, was summoned by the company for leaving his work without giving the usual month's notice, whereby, it was stated, the latter had sustained great loss, but they simply claimed a nominal compensation of 21, The case is really of so £ ix..t importance that the stipendiary, who gave decision for the company! should know exactly the grie- vances of colliers in cases of the kind. The defendant, named Thomas Davios, had worked several months in the mine, and had earned very good was;es there until his wOlking place or stall became very unsatisfactory, or the coal bad and stiff. There were in that puticular district a number oi sther working places in a gemewbat similar condition, and their occupants also left the colliery without giving uotico hut they were not pro: eeuted. It was stated by Mr W. Charles Matthews, who appsared for the company, that the case was a test one, so it is not improbable we shall hear more of this matter. The defendant, when he perceived the co.ii difficult to work and bad, applied to the management for a reasonable allowance, and they conceded twopence per ton increase in the price. He contended that that would not compensate him adequately for working m "ocii a place, and consequently left the colliery. Those employed in the adjacent stalls left, too, for they considered that the concession made by the management was too little. The offiiials at the colliery offico refused to pay the defendant the I wages due to him, and referred him to the manager, who told him that, uuless ho would resume operations at the colliary or work out a month's notice, proceedings would bo instituted against him for a violation of the colliery rale?. This induced the workman to return to his stall but during the three turns ho was in there ho did This induced the workman to return to his stall but during the three turns he was in there he did not cut quite two tons of coal. THE COLLIKK'S EXPLANATION. I had a chat with the workman upon the sub- ject, and he informed ire that he could have hewn more than two tons of coal in that stall if he had trifd but he explained that he had no heart to work thero. There was not a slip to be sepn in the various working places which the colliers had quitted, and the coal cam;: off in thin scales or wafers. The allowance which the m^nagemcn1: had conceded was not half ,?nor.gii to enable the miners there to earn a decent livelihood, accord- ing to the defendant's statement, Mr W. Charles Matthew?, representing the company, stated that the management invariably experienced a I difficulty in getting miners to accept stalls which bad been abandoned by workmen in consequence of a dispute between them and tho officifdr". If I Rfr Matthews were acquainted with underground affairs, he wouid not have made that statement, seriously. Colliers know too well, and they have experienced it too often, that fellow-workmen have actually entered their working-places before the former have had time to pick up or collect their tools on the occasions of disputes between them and the Kianagernent. Now the reason why the management of Golli Colliery could not get men to work it, tho stalls which had been abandoned by the miners, is because there were better working places elsewhere, and not owing to the dispute. The def&udant had to pay the costs of the case, and a compensation of jBl. which the manager described as iioiniixal, ior not working in a place without a fair remunera- tion. The increase conceeded by tho manage- ment was obviously too little, else why should the miners in different stalls in that district leave the colliery almost ¡¡:mI1H:lI1POllHly. A POINT FOR THE I.KARNIil) STIPENDIARY. I daresay the learned stipendiary read the report of the case recently hoard at Brid- gend police court, when a miner sued the company or the proprietors of the Ffaldau Colliery for wages alieged to he for work done. Tho management-refused to pay the plaintiff's claim because he had left the col- liery without giving the usual month's notice. Practically, the principal features of this case and that tried at Ystrad policc-court on Monday are romewhat identical, and an worth while men- tioning here. The plaintiff had driven a hard heading to its boundary, or to a part wior. it was unnecessary to proceed further with ir. The management subsequently offered the woiktnan another heading or wurkirg place apparently similar, but the miner at once perceived that it was inferior, and that he could not possibly earu the wages ho had hitherto done i" the previous place. lie therefore declined to resume operations, and left tho colliery. The bench held that tho plaintiff was legally justified in reiusing to accept the new heading, and tll"y therefore gave decision for the amount Ite clailneci. Now, practically, what is the difference between these two cases a miner applying for work to the manager of a colliery. lIe is COIl- ducted into a atail which lie examines and finds good. He takes it without any promise of allow" auce, because the working-place is iu splendid condition and the coal quite satisfactory. That is the reason he agrees to work there. In a few mouths hence the coal gets stiff .and brittle, or scaly or bad, and ho then applies to the management for an increase The officials admit that the state of the place has changed since the workman agreed to work in it and consequently offer a lprt.am compensation which the miner refuses. Now I contend that the position of affairs between the workman and the management IS precisely the same as that before the man commenced hewing a psund of coal or before he established himself in the tall. Therefore I seriously maintain that tho workman who was ordered to pay a coniuensation of £1 to the proprietors of the Gelli Colliery for leaving work without uotice, was l-gally and rurally justified III quitting the place with-i;: uutics,

MENTAL SUBTLETY. On the steamer in mid-ocean. First Old Chappie Goiug across r' Second O. C. Yes. You?

The yrais».o! womei;, poured into the earn of other women, ia sjnt usually gratefully receivod.

FACTS FOR FARMERS. I BY A PRACTICAL AGRICULTURIST. Agricultural Labourers. There is in the the rural districts especially during I the busy timoof haymaking,considerable complaint I about the scarcity of agricultural labourers. Owing to the unfavourable weather which has prevailed, the lowland bay harvest is somewhat later than usual, and consequently both bill and lowland farmsrs are this year at this work at the same timp. While this causes extra demand for labourers the supply is very limited. At hiring time farmers are at their wits ends to secure the necessary complement of farm boys for the coming year, and in mauy cases new, these when secured are a nondescript lot, and not worth their keep, let alone the monetary part of the bargain. When any push occurs in the work on the farm such as at the present, or at corn harvest, helpers are wanted, but those are conspicuous only 'I by their absence from the rural districts. When we look at the question in all its bearings thisi is not to be wondered at, in fact, it would create some surprise if it were otherwise. Under the present inducement, only a few farm boys after entering the blissful state of matrimony, are able to secure constant work on the laud where they had as single men boon regularly employed. If they have by rigid economy stoied a little money, enough to enablo tfoem to stock and cultivate a small holding of a few acres, as their fathers and grandfathers were wout to do, they will find that this door is effectually closed against thorn, nearly all these cottage holdings having been ono by one iucorperated in the large farm. If then, he is de- barred from gbttirig his living from off tho laud, either by service, cr by a holding of hia own, there is no course open to ium except to seek employ- ment in the mines, the coalfield, or the railway, which he soon secures at a remunerative rate. But this system grievoasly depopulates our rural districts. It is a matter that will sericualy affect farmers in the future if nothing is done to remedy this state of things. Before long at the presont rate we shail have the land to cultivate but no men to work it. A great deal of this is ùue to our churlishness "nd greed for land we are unwilling to spare even a mite of our farms, but instead we add every acre we can to what we already hold, although in most cases there was too much cf it already for its proper cultivation with the capital at tile disposal of the hnuer and the number of hands he employs to cultivate it. Smaii Holdings. The select committed on small holdings which had been appointed 1888 and re-appointed 1800, in their report which was issued last mouth which beard on tl1is matter says ;— 1. That the extension of a system of small holdings is a matter of national importance, both in the interests of the ruraL population and also as adding to the security of property generally. 2. Ttiai, tho intervention of the Legislature is called for by the special circumstances of the case, and is justified by considerations affecting the weli-beiug of the whole community. 3. That there has beeu until quite recently a considerable diminution both in t-icali agricultural ownerships and tenancies. 4. That tbis diminutiun has beeu due ;— (a) In the case of small tenancies, chiifly to economic causes, and especially to tile policy of consolidating farrrs, which prevailed largely till within the last few years, but has now practically ceased. (lJ) In tbe case of email ownerships, partly to economic causes, and especially to the low return for capital afforded by investment in land, and partly to the indirect cff iots of legislation, more eopecially of tho laws of settiement, and enlai, and the In VI and practice with regard to enclosures. 5. That no special facilities are afforded by existing legislation for the creation of small holdings, 6. That it ia desirable that any system of small holdings should be graduated upwards from simpie allotments or cottage gardens to farms ot EO acres, or £50 in auuual value. 7. That in order to meet the case of ordinary labourers, and to provide a ladder by which they may gradually raise themselves to the position of small owners,they recommend in conjunction with facilities for purchase the local authorities should liavs power to let land ill small holdings uob exceeding 10 acres. 8. T:lat a system of ownership, however quali- ■ tied, iu tha case of small holdings is preferable to any eystam of tenancy, except in the case of very ismall holdings. 9. That it is desirable to confer upon local aut horities power to purchase land for the purpose of creating small cultivating ownerships, and to borrow the money from the Public Wciks Loan C >:r.misaioii. 10. That land in sufficient quantities for the purpose can be obtained by voluntary agreement and that it is not necessary at preseut to resort, to compulsory powers. 11. That it is essential that the purchasers of siuall holdings should provide in cash a proportion ui the purchase-money, not less than oue-lifth or one-fourth of tl1fj whole, 12. That the balance of the purchase money, after payment of the proportion required iu cash, should be leut by the local authority, at a rate of interelit JO arranged as to allow úf its pericdic reduction untii it is reduced to a small proportion of the original charge, when it would remain as a perpetual feu or quit-rent of small amount. 15. That where small holdings are created by the local authority, sub-letting and sub-iivision of the holding should be prohioited. I 14. That the local authority should have power at any time to resume possession of the land for public purposes or for building land, on payment of full compensation, based on its value as an agricultural occupation. 15. That any legislation on this subject should apply'to the whole of Great Britain. 16. Tuat in the first instance the advance of public money to local authorities^or the purpose of creating small holdings should not exceed a lotalsum "i JB5,000,000, "nd that no local authority should be authorised to pledge the local ratus for any sum which should involve an annual charge ill thy shape of interest and sinking fuud excoed- 1d in the pound on tho ratable value of the district cif such local nutnont.y. Value of Agricultural imports. For tho six months up to June 50: ii, we have imported 241.94-3 oxen and bulls; calves to the number of 37,471 corn to the value of £ 24,14-1,030 against £23,524,260 iu the corresponding p^ned of 18S9 of dead meat wo have imported the value of £10,414,442, an increase of nearly a lidllion aifd a-haii on the same period of last :1'; hutter to the value of £5;501,795, agaiiut £ 5,135,92G in 1889; margarine, £1,567,729, :1, deerea-e of £300.000, from the same period last year ci,0se, £1,499,813, last year £ 1,304,240 eggs £1,73ü,806, against 1:1,542,115 last year. The Weather and the Crops. The Mark lane Express of Monday says Tho agr. cultural outlook has become less favourable, and tho season is very backward in respect to the ripening of graiu. With regard to trade, tli3 price of English whoat may be quoted Is higher on the week, and tho sales have never become very restricted. At Derby, on Friday, millers would have readily bought all the wheat ai; market if previous lull prices had satisfied holders, as the latter were firmly held for Is advance. At Lincoto, the same day, there was a similar improvement, and trade was fairly good at the rise. London is quite in accord with the country markets in asking good prices for the small re- serves of last year's homo crop. Foreigu whoat and flour have been rather brisk, and a rise of b per quarter on Californian h"" been quoted, as well as 6,1 per quarter advauce on all sorts. The spring corll trade has been firm for barley, and occasionally 3d dearer. Oats, too, have baou a slightly better trade. Maize was dearer on Wednesday at Glasgow, and ou Thursday at Bristol and Manchester whilst the Irish and Liverpool markets oil Iriday also favoured bolders.

-+. WOMAN'S INFLUENCE ON STRIKES, It is not generally known that women played a very important part in preventing the threatened police strike. The wives of the married men wko paraded on the memorable Monday night at Bow- street had brought all possible influence to bear- on their husbands to induce then: not to strike indeed, several of these sensible women wore to be seen standing at the doer of the police station, determined to keep a watchful eye on the conduct of those to whom they have to look for their support. Out of tl\e disgraceful specimens of the force who thought to turn a pillaging mob loose on the London strsets there wera on!v two married men.

WELSH GLEANINGS. I By Lloffwr. I The current number of Y Traelhodydd has I reached me and affords very interesting reading. This, the oldest of the Welsh quarterlies, does not appear to deteriorate with age. The present number will compare favourably with previous issues of this old established favourite, and with the best of the productions of the Welsh press of the day. In giving the TraeCnodydd the praise which is undoubtedly due to it, I am not to be considered as endorsing the views of the various contributors to its pages There is much, for instance, in the article on Welsh Morality, to which I would be inclined to take exception, and I by no means endorse all the views of Professor Morris Jones on I Welsh Orthography. Notwithstanding this, I readily admit that both articles deserve careful consideration. Certainly no less deserving of attention are Mr W. J. Parry 's contribution on Trades Unions, that of Mr T. Clement Thomas on Welsh in Elementary Schools, that of the Rev Joseph Roberts on Recent Discoveries in Electricity, and the other .articles which go to make up an exceUcntnumber. Imay on some other occa- sion refer more at length to some of these. One of the most remarkable developments of Welsh Nationalism is the adhesion which the advanced section is securing from the more enthusiastic members of the Conserva- tive party. In the current issue of Cymru Fycld, Mr J. Arthur Price comes out as an advocate of Welsh Nationalism He says "It may seem strange to your readers that I, a Churchman, and un many points a Tory, should be eager tt. enter the lists in defence of those whom official Welsh Liberalism considers too advanced. I need scarcely therefore observe that there is very much in the tactics and in the aim;, of the Welsh Nationalists of which I strongly disapprove, but this doer, noi, blind me to the real noble- ness or idea that underlies their action. They desire that Wales should be recognised as an organic part of the Empire, and that it should be free to live its own life. Their opponents' view is that Wales should be recognised as a nation just so far and only so far as suits the interest of the English Liberal party. Now, as I have already said, a nationality may exist without independent political institutions but in a country like Wales, which'certainly does require impor- tant reforms, such reforms ;ne not likely to give satisfaction unless they really have obtained the popuiar sanction of the people wham they will affect. The Guardian laid it down a week or two ago that the union of the British dominions necessarily carried with it the right of each nation in the United Kingdom to manage its own local affairs as it thought fit, so long as i'nparia! unity was not threatened, or any law of morality outraged. To me it is impossible to conceive how either of these orueml teste would be violated by the establishment of a Welsh National Council (former on the model of one of tho states of the American Union), either at Carnarvon, Aberystwyth, or Cardiff, it is all very well for you to urge that the time has not come to press this reform. You shudder at the idea of the possible secession of a handful of old- fashioned Liberals. May it not be that some of the young Tory party may join you ? At least the movement will do this—it will lift Welsh politics above the sectarian level; it will remove or diminish the present religious jealousies, and it will give the nation a nobler cause to fight for than it has ever possessed before, at least in modern times and, if successful it will enable Wales to work our its own reforms in its own way. In advocating a Welsh Council I am not un- aware of the difficulties in the way. To II r Gladstone's Home Rule Bill, and the policy therein expressed, I am utterly opposed, because I consider them utterly inconsistent with Imperial Unity. But I also feel that at no distant date Parliament, if it is to con- tinue Imperial, must admit colonial repre- sentatives but the presence of colonial representatives must involve the delegation of local business, and the only practical question that can arise is-shall that busi- ness go to local or national councils ? For many reasons I prefer the latter, and historical analogy ought to make a Torv think twice before ho condemns it. Had Wales possessed a national council during the last century, the Anglicising of the Church and the consequent disestablishment movement could never have taken place. Brittany (French Wales) enjoyed self- government during the whole of the ancien regime, and when Paris proclaimed the Republic in V9,3 the peasants of Brittany unsheathed their swords for tho "son of St. Louis." "1'S- All Welshmen will be glad of the grant of £ 100 just made to poor Hobyn Ddu, Friends both rich and poor have rallied round the old man in his dire extremity. The following letter which I have received is a sample ot how the appeal made on his behalf has affected Welshmen from home: lb. Low.ies-erruev, Kuigiis-soridge, WAV., ) July 14 tii, 1890. Dear Sir,—In reply to your appeal on mhaif of Itobiu Driu Etyri, I have collected amongst my friends 20 which I forward herewith, and a note for enclosure, which I trust you will lot him have iu due course, and oblige yours respect- fully, DAVID D. EVANS. A correspondent from the Rbondda sends me the following communication The Rev W. Morris's proposition that the time-table in each department of the various schools under the supervision of the Ystrad School Board should be revised in order to provide moral training for the children is an important innovation. But when we talk upon the subject of moral training for children in the Rhondda Valleys, we should consider seriously indeed the condition of the variously populous localities from an educa- tional point of view. Generally speaking, parents of children are anxiously looking forward to the time when they will be able to procure certificates for their children to allow them to g < to work. Look at the hundreds of little boys who tramp to their work in the different collieries in the early morning, and in the evening as well. What becomes of them after they have finished their day's toil ? This is an important question. It is only when Studt establishes his "little 'asses'" and other nierry-go- rounds in the district that the question arises as to how to provide some at- tractions for the young residents. If a theatre visits the various locali- ties that is denounced in unmeasured terms. The majority of the ready-rooms in the valleys are really insignificant, and in one populous locality a small section of a coffee tavern, in which are distributed a few monthlies, weeklies, and dailies, serves as a library for a large populace. In the same locality there are nine commodious hotels, each of which is evidently doing a roaring trade. If some showmen with their shows paid frequent visits to the different neigh- bourhoods in the Rhondda. Valleys, they would probably have the effect of arousing some of the influential inhabitants to adopt some means of supplying the people with rational recreation. Necessity, being the mother of invention, would then cause the production, counter attractions"

ALL tX-MAYQRS tO BE HONORARY rnE £ MEN. At a fieetmg of the Cardiff Cjuniy Council en Mondav, Mr VAUGHAN referre 1 to a paragraph in tbe property aud markets <:Ol11mi,tttw to the, f1fIdCt:- That in order to mark its high appreciation of h" interest taken by tire ch:dllJ:<m (Mr Alderman JlavM Kdgar Jones, III 1).. J.l\) in ,h" maintenance 01* the various markets of th" town, and his devotion to public l>u-iness, lie he cordially invited to perform ilia ceremony o; '.a>itig the founda- tion or memorial stone of tli; new Mar>- street 1\1:trket; ami lu;ther, this conimitiee oecnis tIlls a fitting opportunity to express its sense of the ability anil zeal, as well as the courtesy aori cor.siueratioii, with whieh fur a period of seven years he has presided over their deliberations. He thongtit, wtien he read that, that it was a shame almost they should distribute the highest honour they could to outside man, no matter how deserving of them. He ready thought that they should include in the distribution ot their highest honours men who had giveu their time and services for tho benefit of their town, but their distinguishing mailt -f their high appreciation 01 Alderman 1). E. Joues's .ervieeh was that they were going to allow hirn to lay the memorial stone. He considered n, would be much better to mark their appreciation of such services by making honorary treemer ot the borough ex-mayor* wiio had filled rlio fir .e with credit to themselves aud the town, aud Wlid had devoted their time to the interests ot the town. He did not isee why the Imnorarv free- man's roll should only contain two or three names. Thispariitonoftha report was then put and carried.

Samuel's Sentiments. SAMUEL ON LIFE. -k uf)ut I of Thus wrote tho author of •'Lotiiair," and ii-< sup plemenfod tue >;tii>«rweut. hy a turtber opinioi that for of.- in general theie is hut on* decreo, Youth is a blunder, mantiood a str negle, old t regret." The truth of the latter st-.emeui is toe painfully proved every day :,s j:p Tience and tb» newspapers testify with a regret>ab-« regularity. Now, sir, let us take a hriel .survey of t!i« various kinds of life to Oe m»l; with j>i; .i.-tund us and draw, if wo can, a companion as to the diff.rent_Wi.ys in .hico people 1 Ir at and the problem "Is life worth living; To" ws" wdio said that it depended on the liver'"Spoke more wisely than a' first; appears, f„r taking .'•is remark trnin tiie medical punt of view it is nil acknowledged fact !to a non with 1 liver is itiwavs likely to t-aka a broad view of lif. Bjt ,„uUJUSt T us commence ar tne top of the tree and take a cursory view of hieo life with its thousand aud one responsibilities and pleasures. For t/¡" m; •* part the ways <n lug-it ide lie alClll b primrose paths, an I the more sedate ropresonla- ti*esofit are fully oc- cupied in follwwmg up tile regulation diver- sions of society. Ball, receptions, concert*, At-iiomes, race an 1 like, ali have a tan- share of attention pall. I, them, and when the slights aud foliies of thn season aro at all end 1 bc-re are tb" country houses to be visited, and tiie matches tit be made by tho fair lad es v.'hw desire to annex a lor-! and master wi! ii posilion and cash. And thereby hangs a tale that has fmiuentiy to be told HIGH LIFK. in the ranks of polite society. tile lIfe of the "hupper suckles"' at;&tn< ad of the rosiest, but, when <119 eur.ains are drawn aside the picture may contain flaws not thought of by the envwus one* whose lot :n life n»t-n t-i »t 01 some hnibler n>h^r«. I.CW r.ltfE. LRdy Clare Vers do Ver9 knows, full ott«n, that the family debts and ustates virtually and actually hauc upon her lily-whitesh alders, fond that unless she makes a good match at an early date the old ancestral hails of Oer fathers ,11 have tQ ¡o:o under the auctioneers hammer. A nd R" whilst whirling round ill the mazy waltz site in com- pelled to 1I0 so with a strict ttfitn business, and an el giole partner for life, clit,it)i ititi-t, lie iu tho length of his rent roil. And till", perchance, in the face of her heart and her Jo"e h- ng piveri tc. ono whose only fault is that he j, poor, Such is life, and methinks it .8 but sin«d wonder 'hat, tho daughters Dt society, who are much bought and FOM aa the slaves ,-tf old, figure so fr <$u?atly in the annals ot th* Divorce Court. F,itb»»-* and brothers who in life at the expense of wives and si«;.ars, have much to answer for in this direction. It. is a decree of life that, although you may marry a woman to a man for y1 isition, anT surround her with every luxury, you csnnot prevent her fall- ing head and ears 111 iove the ifrst time .'Ie luol,, what people li"her Those people who imagine society lifo «; £ the lotns-eate'- maker a great ncufcak\ Life >11 the world of wealth is one round of hard w<<rk, for all the pleasure is not obtained without labour, and leaders of the best society got through i'.s much .?tual work ir. a day as would i-tacrft'er tbe genus British v.irkm.in. So fast is tho paca St times that some one i;, continually falling out of tne ranks, never to return. Here is i\>- actus' illustration. Some time ago ;h« following (I omii, the names) appeared iu a London paper :— Died by his own ham1 e< Hotel, St J.-x-hjas, Lieoteuatt— 01 tne Gu n 's, aired 21 Prior to faking his final trip m Old Cnaron's boat the lad wrote a letter t 1 n friend, HI which the following passage occurred '• I r.m tired ot tho world. an t! things do not coma otf it«>i enough to make life worth being, I am off I have been writing standing up aboii., an hon-. So good bye, old boy. Only 0nr.-and-twouty 1 and yet he had seen 10 much life that he got tired of and 113ft. tho ranks by the aid of a pistol-shot, searing the heart, oi liia mother end bringing disgrace upon tin f;.¡¡aJ.. He lost at baccarat or nap, The siakes, though small, ;;<)u\ev» !.a,t o ?ger, He writes. l'rn otf, good-bye. d i ch ,0. Miakcs hands with Death, and pnils the trigger. And the curtain f.«IU on .>:to niuru v,ci;i ot fi>1* life. Aow let us turn, if not exactly from Beigra via to the Sevt.ii Dials, still a step 1 o w e r down social bdckr. and see how middle c.'ass takes life. My experience is that it t.akefc- TI STAFF C* life pretty much as it; comes, with a <l*v|i of grumbling here end there. II is tho especial the middle-class nLn to gruaiiih-, ,:1', he agrees with the writer 'il0 enid — And isn't- your li,-c ('xtr.¡,'1y fat. >\ h a; you've nothing a' all to g'-embie at. There is iiio.im.m" jjui-iicularly exco.itig ;b id the midd'e-class r-xirtenoe, a.id 'lie g. ner,<i uot-ion of feeing life prevalent in its circles o. going Up ft j.-ondon, going I a rac • Iio.e'tllg « r occasionully goiii^, to the C mnner.' n a ei,n «p excursion, Lifo in tl- s arcana y serious thing. It has int.ch of tho noi:sent»>« 1 frivolity ke.-a-ked out of it l,y ,;e regular.ry i-i ihe proceedings of those who live aud iubour in middle-class domains. Thoy view life f.o'ii a commercial and domestic standpoint, at!:1 nen.oui go out of tbe beaten track for any length of time. Wiien they do g> 0 tray it is nsn lly because t-ii :i.p-¡,land" ..t life have exceeded the supply, and the stray sheep is a bad-y- paid official, or a man with a desire 10 outshine his neighbours in the matter "f inn. And iower down st:d ? Ah, ti!<j'o1 the rub. Lifo at the io-j.u ..j ladder is a terrible J- If ■ and tiie truth lof the .=!sc-b;»'f the wort > Know MICROSCOPIC 1.1 Pi:. /lot how 4 (IU Other li-ui 1'ves," IS I lUiiVdly demonstrated Lite is 110 pleasaie to the d -n:z ns of our slums "1 alleys, .)■• j 11 r,. wonder is Lila t th^ra are not more suicide.* '11 tue d. main-) ef povcriv ilia 1 there are. R ,i)0. ly oft.tjfl is. ihe of tins pha-0 ci li.e, fm, I nwcver h ri al may desire 10 throug 1 life fairly, !:•> rnu^t perforce iive, Mid th • 1. an ( x- veti -a of siunvtom is it" oo'idnci v.- 'he st r.c-test moral*. Mr Sims, of Hdx IhcPocr Live lame, has pictured life as it is in this portion of th" world with graphic reality, and those familiar with his pic- tures must know what, a dieadful draggir;g-« n life is to tho- o whose lot is c..st Ul the r-glou ot the rung of ti.e ladder. Lif,, is so ever contain distinct step, vip its ladder, ,fi i it th, :se wu > ;•■> lot is in tbc pleas inter i,Lt.I,f-1. cm e"o ta' oir way to help those u;, struggle, they will reap a rnwa. her" an i here- after. Post! 1:1 and money 10 dtt) lno i vable, the abseo 'i, ot th III turn it into a 11.1; 11" earth. Ye. a little Christian r'larity and h\,n", kindness may help the halting on thoir weary way, and raise 1.110 dropping Miirits «-> that he readies tit.. end of ins joiun. y ;ac; and quiet. SAMUEL, 11 ia SKNUMUMS

MHS STAULHY AND the. PHONOGRAPH. The marriage of Mr Stanley to M s D..rVfey- Tenuant took place en .Saturday in We-ontiii .<<■ Abbey in presence of a large .and tlifinuri.ti'it CJMipuny. At the clo&a of the cer-.m .uy guests were received in the garden of R'Cnrrioij i terrace, but, owing tc the state, < hi. ueaJlii Mr Stanley was uot able to be pr'-s.-nf. His bride, peaking int;- a ptionograp.), s.iut :—" Irs utur j t lies before ir.i—» .treat unexpired com-try—htv; With Mr Stanley HC-ir me I so dl ,e tor ward an J not be afraid.—POKOTHT i'KXKANT. Miss Dorothy T^nnant s Ne.w G.u.rrv pic'.uie "Street Arabs at I lay, i-unu re;„jy pir oeas H directly her engagement was animunc. d. VV -rb perspicacity worthy of aerial explorer, s.v.r/rf »he had, the "hiy fast ore, doubled the W. at winch it was quoted in the caiaio^ue.

Tailor Married or unmairiedl Cm.omer Married..PailoV (to cutter) l p a i t eor coaled in iiniug of vert. (Juntotufeir c Ko Wood that ? Tailor (explaining)? To hid v.y ,ui chaog., you kuow, nigiit. I ut martial jsy^elf.

PULLER BIRTILL AND COMPANY, CARRIAGE BUILDERS. CUSTOM HOUSE-STREET, CARDIFF INVITE INSPECTION OF THEIR LARGE AND VARIED COLLECTION OF CARRIAGES, LIGHT, STYLISH, AND DURABLE. A. large number of good Second-hand Carriages I > Always on "^pection made and Estimates given for Repairs free. CARRIAGES SOLD ON COMMISSION* OR 14034 TAKEN IN EXCHANGE. TELEGRAMS: "CARRIAGES, CARDIFF."409B

1 FtTRNTSIT THROUGHOUT rRtwn.i "A. "-J 11' _L'" 1 l.j v^TZMAIVjV&CO. I. 67, 69, 71, 73, 7o, 77, & 7J, HAMPSTEAD-K O A D, L >i XT OX (Near Tottenham Caui-t,-iMa,i). BEDROOM BURNISHED COMPhKTiS for >;a i* Illustration aud Particiiiftrs The WALT!) AM* A Mi BEDROOM SLITB, £ o l'jj Full Particulars Post BEDROOM FURNISHED COM PLliTE f", £3 l&j fed. Illustration "nd Fall Particulars Po>t i- re.. The I.YN I OX DRAWING.!{(KHI SUI'lK (Settee and I Easy Chairs) for £ 'j 1>; 6d. ORDERS P:< POsf KlvCKlVii PHO.viPT AXC C VR! KC1. ATTENi'iON. e ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE POST FJ-.JVtC 0-

BY MABON, M.P. THE LAW OF MASTERS AMD SERVANTS. The Master and Employer. As a general rule every person who is of full age and of sound mind is capable of becoming a master or mistress, or in general terms an employer or labour. Still there is, I think, one exception. The married women, legally speaking, cannot be so m this Bense. A married woman is incapable of Entering into a contract of hiring with servant, except with respect to her separate estate. The wife, although it IS she that as a matter of fact enters into the contract with the servant, is not the person responsible to that servant, but the husband. In these cases, she is considered to be the agent acting for the husband only Unless, as I have said, it be made with special reference to her own and separate estate. Still, although the wife has of her- self no power to enter in.these contracts, ahe may make her husband liable on con- tracts entered into by her upon all things that are considered to be i he usual duties of a wife. A servant may also be engaged by an agent—indeed, it is the rule in the employment of workman and labourers— and if the agent have authority to make BUch an engagement, it will be perfectly binding upon the employer, and he cannot Repudiate the contract or get rid of the Servant, except by giving him the ordinary Notice on the stipulated date. DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS. The first duty of an employer towards his eTOploye is to receive him into his service. This he is bound to do unless, since the em- ploying has taken place, he has discovered 80mething that would be a sufficient reason for discharging the servant, if the servant had been guilty of the same thing while in his employment. But aa a rule actions should be brought against the employer directly he announces his intention not to Accept the service of the man. If prompt Action is not taken in these matters, and the toan happens to become incapable of per- forming his part of the contract before the day for so doing arrives, the employer will he at liberty to use such circumstance to the contract, and could not after- wards be sued for the same. It is another duty of the employer to retain the servant his employ during the whole time he has Agreed to do so, or while he has employment to give, unless he becomes dissatisfied with the work he does. This is one characteristic of employment which now passes away to a Rreat extent. A few years ago it would be £ ;fficult to inflict upon a workman a more hitter insult than to turn him out of em- ployment without stating the reasons why. ^mployers in former days, as a rule, felt themselves morally, if not legalty, bound to |lve the reasons why they discharged people trorn their employ. Now the employers claim this as a right, and when they do they gIve ample proof that the employment is toot of such a friendly character as it was of yore. To use the right to turn people out of employment without assigning a Reason is wicked, though to have the right to turn off people for incompetency and bad workmanship may be necessary useful. If an employer does t'-irns off a workmen before the end of the eriu agreed upon, or not in the way agreed upon, the servants' remedy will be by an &(;ti0n for damages for breach of the contract hiring. I shall have something more to later on about this action for wrongful dismissal. THE QUESTION OF WAGES. However, the principal duty the masters Bond employers owe to their servants and Workmen is to pay them the wages agreed Upon—and, fortunately, this is a duty that Can be enforced. But to make this clear and safe, the employer should be made to ^;ree to pay the man a stipulated sum, In addition to the fact that in the absence au agreement to pay wages, it will be 'tacult to compel him to pay any Avages, matter will be so much in the hands of employer himself that he can always efuse by proving that he has paid the customary wages. If the amount of wages to be paid to a Workmen is to be ascertained by a certificate £ iven by a third person, the servant will 111 such cases not be able to sue the faster for his wages until sucli cer- Jiicate has been given. For instance, "the manager of a colliery or an ^Herman on the measuring day threatens -°t to put down the usual amounts for this, that, aud the other things by ^nich the miner contemplates that his ages, on the pay-day, will not be sufficient remunerate him for the work he has j^'Ue, he has no right to stop work, much ÐsS to sue his employer for his wages, lInhl he hasten that the amount is in- efficient on his pay-ticket. Evon if that pay-ticket be wrongfully withheld, the work- ''Ul1 right of action, I am afraid, i "°uld not be against the employer, but a~ainst the person withholding the certiii- £ ate, but the workman may claim damages *°m the person that withheld his ticket. uf-, on the other hand, it is not quite clear ^ruen a workman can demand sucu a ticket lIilcler extraordinary circumstances. Under r'l'dinary circumstances the ticket can, as a j"1-, be demanded at the ordinary and cus- '-mary times, and it would be a breach of c°ntract to withhold it from him on that tension.

THE WELSH LANGUAGE. IP ITS RETENTION DESIRABLE ? By the Rev. J, A. Jenkins, B-A., Cardiff. In these days, when the revival of Welch nationalism is manifesting itself in various directions, increased interest attaches to all matters bearing upon the national character. The question is often asked,aiike by friends and foes—Is the retention or disuse of the Welsh language, as a living speech, best calculated to promote the highest and truest ¡ interests of the Welsh people ? It is manifest that anyone totally ignorant of the history and antiquity of the Welsh language would be incapable of giving an intelligent answer to the above question. The antiquity and history of the language may not bo strong reasons for its continued existence, but they must be taken into account if we arc anxieus to consider the question with some amount of intelligence. THE ANTIQUITY OF TH g LANGUAOK. The antiquity of the Welsh language is beyond question. In days gone by, the I belief was entertained by manv that it was the mother of languages. The" Chief Bard, Taliesin, refers to the antiquity of the Cyinry, which involves thfct of their language, in the words :— 1 A numerous race, and fierce eiteemed, First coIoLi'z :d the Britain, chitf of isles, Men of Asi*. from Mis land of £ }nfis. However mythical may be some of the traditions concerning the antiquity or the language, it is an undoubted £ act that the difficulty is to determine howl far back it can be traced. The myths gathered around it by their very existence pfove its an- tiquity. The science of philology has proved to us that the Celtic language is a member of the Indo-European or Aryan family of I languages. The Welsh language is a branch of the Celtic, Prcfeasor Rhys, in his book on "Welsh Philology,1' infowns us that "the Celtic languages still spoken are Welsh, Breton; and Gaelic in [Ireland, the Highlands of Scotland, and ithe Isle of Man among the dead ones are Pld Cornish, Pictish. and Gaulish." Professpr Sullivan, in his article on Celtic Literature," in the Encyclopaedia Britannica," says :—"It is probable that the Welsh dialect originated i in the 5th and 6th centuriesf when the conquests of the Saxons begajn to isolate Wales from the other Wejsh-speaking people." ? ° I TIn; IHSTOltY OF THE LANCCAGE, The history of the Welsh language is as interesting as its antiquity. 'It is as full of vicissitudes as that of the people them- selves. One thing is certain, that for more than a thousand years it has continued almost the same. It has always been the object nearest to the heart of the Wehh people, .in spite of all their misfortunes as a nation, the words of Taliesin have always been verified, Their speech they will keep Several determined attempts were made in ancient times to crush this lan- guage out of existence, but all in vain. When the Romans conquered the Britons they had recourse to every means for the purpose of thrfcsting tiie Latin language upon the people, but their own historian Tacitus ( A gi'ic jhe, chap. 21) has to record their failure — Britauuii linguam Romauum abnueb vnt." The Britons were refusing the language of tlve Romans.'1 Henry V., King of England, was vain enough to imagine that he could succeed where the Romans had failed. lIe attempted to destroy the production and distribution of all Welsh literature throughout the prin- cipality by forbidding, on the pain of death, the sale of parolinwsnfc,-paper,-nk.. jlut ho also failed. The people immediately began to resort to the Ooelhren y Beirdd to carve their words on the bark of the trees. In spite of its vicissitudes and chaimno- fortunea, the Welsh language has retained its purity and force. As far as its force is concerned it has been equal to all demands made upon it hitherto for the production of abstract and scientific terms. In its purity it has much excelled the English language. Max Muller says, in his Llistu- v of Language," the language of Alfred "13 so different from the English of the present. day that we have to study it in the same manner as we study Greek 'and Latin, whereas the Welsh of to-day is not much different from that written a thousand years ago. The laws of Hywel DJa (liywel the Good) were written "arly in the 10th century, and even to-day they can be read and understood in a great measure by any intcliigent Welshman. During recent years the growth of the English language in Wares in power and. influence has militated against llie continued axistence of the Welsh language, but it still I retains its ancient vitatity. It is mere widely spoken to-day than ever before, and is as deeply imbedded in the hearts of the Welsh people as ever previously in its history. But the question which we ha"e to discuss is as to whether the retention or the disuse of the Welsh language as a living speech is best calculated to promote the highest and trust interests of the Welsh people. The conclusion at which I have arrived in the following paper is this:—"That the retention of the Welsh language is best for the Welsh people, but combined with a thorough knowledge of English." The highest and truest interests of the Welsh people can be classified as follows (1) Maral and Spiritual. 'I (2) Educational and Intellectual. (6) Commercial. I (4) Political and National. (1) Moral and Spiritual Interests. There are some who take up the position that the Welsh people, by the disuse of their own language, would gain some moral ad- vantage from being brought into the closest possible relationship with the English people. It cannot be denied that as a nation we are weak in many respects. Like all other nations we are but human. Our special weakness consists in our want of persistency and force. Menri Martin in his "Historic de France," says, "the Celt is always ready to react against the despotism nf facts." Matthew Arnold says in his book on the study of Celtic Literature, "Balance, measure, and patience, are just what the Celt has never had. If his rebellion against fact has thus lamed the Celt even in spiritual work, how much more must it have lamed him in the world of business and polities. And as in material civilisation he has been ineffectual, so has the Celt been in- effectual in politics. Ossian sa^s -They went forth the war, but they always fell. The fact that we have not yet attained the highest possible success in many departments of life is due to these moral detects in our national character. In music, though the words are true—"MGr o gan yw Cymro i gyd"—Wales is a sea of song, we have little to leave to the gener- ations to come. In poetry, tbough every hamlet III Gwyllt Walia can boasL of its nanvebard, we have not gained the highest pinnacle of success, which, as far as pure poetic genius is concerned, some of our nation ought to have attained. III political war- fare we have not held our own a3 we mio-ht have done because of this same want of per- sistency, In commerce we are much be- hind hand in the race from want of enter- prise, due te the absence of our natioual character of these qualities of persistency aud force. How can we become possessed of these qualities ? It is admitted by all that persistency and a kind of stolid weight, which will not be moved by anything, and yet makes its own way iu spite of ob- stacles, are characterics of the English people. It ig clear, therefore, that the more the Welsh people are brought into contact with the English people tne better the opportunity given to them to become possessed of these qualities, and the greater the probability that such will be the case. The Welsh language is the chief barrier between the two peoples. Do away with this language," they say, "and then the Welsh people will "dd to their many good qualities that of persistence, which alone will serve to give fair play to their many virtues, gracts, and excellencies." I But this quality of persistence can he communicated to us without the loss of our own language. Whatever moral or other advantage can be obtained by the Welsh people from the English, nation, by the a is- use of their <m?n language, will come to them by thorough Knowledge of English combined with the retention of their own language. (To be continued.)

WELSH NOTES. SIR CEO. ELLIOT ASKS TOit HELP. TUB hon. member for the Monnn.ntli boroughs has thrown himself into the breac h. Tho" breach is comprehended in an un- easy feeling that several adverse tnnuences a, o depriving Newport of its staple trade of coal exports. Sir George in effect says, You help me to complete the docks, and you shall see what l'n do. I want to be remembered in your districi, and it will! probably be my last effort to be so remem- bered." There is a touch of pathos in the incident. The man who really did aid Newport up 10 a higher level iit dock aflaiis, at a time when those anairs were at a disastrous ebb, comes back to his "Jd love, after much devious wandering, after breaking many plighted promise?, and invites the community to believe in him and to t',l aii:7 his ability to aid it, and to invest their money in a huge undertaking which has been hanging lire so long ai to become a bye word and the subject of ridicule. Kvery true Newport ou tail desire3 to see the pro- Of gross of the place everyone of the moneyed uen would cheerfully invest capital in any '.rell conceived undertaking likely t-> pro- mote the well-being of the district where his j lot is cast; if tha mercantile classes eonki only be convinced by any means tha;. Sir George Elliot is really and ,sincerely in j earnest, and able to aid then), they would not be inclined to .vitiiholu any practical) sympathy in their power to give. The answer is entirelyonefor the community, i tt may be that it will be delayed until the- next election. If they trust Sir George he will get a majority of votes if otherwise, the answer muse be und-T-teod as final and irrevocable. in that ea>e tiie dock extension may be hung up for another half-dozen yea is. After all, this would not be such a ericus matter. | The provision of decent wharf accommeda- t-ion is one of tlio great needs of the port. Another is that no plea for the docks or j dock extension shall interfere with the much-needed development of the river, such as the improvement of its approach, the j deepening and straightening of the channel, the amelioration of the serious bends and the utter demolition of sandy j foreshores and accumulation1, which ^lave come to be called islands. For the fuiurc J there must always demote depth of water in the river than there is on the dock sills, THE KUONODA WATEH SUPPLY, ]> JAMES, medical officer to the ,Ysir:.cl • Sanitary Board, submitted a report, c aiiain- ing particulars of a most startling character, to the bssrd, in reference to the condition of the water supplied to the residents of that populous district by the Ys:rad Water- works Company. It appeared the medical officer paid a special visit to the :PUl;, al HIaoirhondda, win re a stream running j down the mountain side flows into the j company's intake, and ihnce into the j various pipes leading into the work- men's cottages throughout the upper part of the valley. He instantly perceived a condition of things that aroused his indie- nation, and thoroughly corroborated the allegations which lie had previously heard about the water whieh the waterworks company supplied to the thousands of peo- pie In the different localities. In a portion of the stream, just above the iii-ititili of the p:pes belonging to the company, some sheep were being washed by a farmer residing iu the immediate vicinity, and all about the; place aud in the water was refuse or hits <-f dirty wool aud dung and filth of othe-de- scriptions. Upon further examining the premises, he discovered that tiie sewage of adjacent collier}" levels a'.sw flowed, or entered into the stream, the water of which, as I have just stated, ran right into the waterworks company's intake. The medical officer characterised the state of things as disgraceful, and said most em- phatically that 110 filter could render it innocuous or harmless. be boiled by people before drinking it. Aboui fifty workmen and a numb-T of horse. worked in the neighbouring levei, s<> on- can imagine 111 what condition ihe stream a' that spot must be. AX A KG u:,i io: x is f-AVOI'i: OF POLLUTION. A T the inquiry which was held some time ago ac Poi'tli into the cause of the pollution of the river in the Rhondda, an important witness staled that sewage war-, absolutely necessary for the sustenance oi fish, and consequently it would be inad- visable to adopt means to prevent tin1 flow of such refuse into the various streams and tributaries in the valley. For ihe past few | years complaints have from time to time been made, and meetings held in various localities, in consequence <>f the condition of the water aud a number of hermetically sealed and labelled bottles containing xooiogtcalcoilectiom have be-oi suhmitte 1 to the magistrate s in order to show what had been supplied to th" inhabitants. The medical officer observed that the water which the residents used in that valley,or the upper portion of the valley, is not filiered at all, hence the cause of the occasional acce-.s of insects, and the; principal part of the refuse, into the various taps. refuse, iut;) the various taps.

A REMARKABLE COURTSHIP. Mayne Reid ivss 3J years of age when, visiting at tho h'i'ise ot a Mrs Hyde—•<. '.i> sceudnni' of t he f.-uneu-i En! of Clarendon—he met a gill of 13, and, ae he afterwards said, fell in love at in s" sight. The child ot course took 110 notice of him. but helant her his romanco, "Tile Scalp Hunters,r: as effective a manner of c"!1rt.wg iu this nine tecntfa century as ever was O'.hclie's in an earlier one. Two yours afterward' however, the young lady was at a public meeting ill a provincial town, and Captain Mayne Jleid was speaking on behr.il of the Polish refugees. "An electric thrill fiteni»" to pass through me a.i lie entered Iho. room," ,-lie afterwards said, and when the meeting wa over she went up to shake hands with him. I leave London by the i.ext train, he aaid hur- riedly. "Ssnd mo your addres* Speech seemed to have left me," says Mrs Raid but ir, flashed upon 111a that I was in iguorauco ot his, smd managed to stamruer out, I do not kr.ov where." He instantly handed mo his card and was gone. A formal little note f olowod Dear Captaiu Raio,—As you asked mo last night to send you my address, I <io so." By return of post cacao the answer "Only say that you love me and I will ne with you ut, once aud then the reply," I think I do hive you," Needless to say that there is nothing as <»ood as this in the lover'* novels.

HEALTH RESORTS. First Doctor Bu^5* ? Second Doctor Yes, almost workad to death, So am I. It will be two months before the people returning from tbeir health-Retting trips will quit sending for the doctors." That'a-a fact. If it wasn't for these health resorta we wcyld have to cu out t)f business."

Notes on the Bridgend Eisteddvod. BY MAELGWYN. The Bridgend Eisteddvod Committee and the clerk of tho weather evidently understand each other, as on previous occasions the weather was gloriously fine tor some hours before the eistedd- vod commenced. Tne slight shower that fell in the early hours of the morning only served to lay the dust, and though it served somewhat to m-dce ;he show of gay decorations less imposing than it was last year, nobody seemed to be one bit the worse. But about noon, and after several thousands of excursionists bad arrived, there came a change, and such a change A change that wiil certainly make tuo Br; igf-ad E.steddvod ( f 1690 memorable in tue minde l'f all wh,) were present. Lastyear the weather was splendidly fine ;uid the number of persons who passed tiie tui 11- htiles between 10 and 12 o'clock was very lar°- But a strong minority of them did not then enr. the marquee at all they iolied rbont tin o i during tue time tne competitions 111 which t.u v were not interested took place; they lounged at tho refreshment stalls, or basked in tho sunshade under the treas. They dni the same this year but not for long.' Jupiter Piuvim thistinis as- serted his superiority, and the pleasure seeker-; | tushod to the r.iaiquee, ja-t to pes cut of the Tho result was that the place was packed from an early hour. In le.ef, with tiie exemp- tion of tho P.itti dry at Brecon, I don't think I ever retnt-ntber an e.steddvod pavdion crowded so densely ijo early ,n l.ha d-iv .r w.ts thai at. Bridgend this year. lU'PORTINO DSUKR KIITiCULTIKS. A/hon the rum caniti down 10 torrent-, mo vakea the reporters' tables, the representative* ot 'e murth estc-te beat a retreat, and sought shelter ju-a in front of the front soats. But as the lt-v Uiirnof' Jones said, newspaper men are wouder- • ul follow?," and notwithstanding the frowns of Dame Fortune they got on fairly weiJ. One or two of their number managed to write, whilst one 'f two others were sent, Oil the warpath to iuqum: the numbers of the various choirs, the conductors, & Then when about six o'clock tho crowd broke down the wooden barrier, and took possession ot what had been the second table, the men placed heir paper on the backs of those in front ot them ami wrote away jnst as if everything W.1" g <i:-g forward in the pleasautest manner. How uianv of those who read the uewsp iper reports in < papers next morning knew under v.-t-at extraor- dinary circumstances tlis?o ren-nds bad bu n j produced. THK PKELIlir.N'.UlY COMPI'TITIOXS. Tho preliminary co:ts>.)--jtiti"iis—musical r.ni elocutionary—were ali pronounced succcsse- The s-'ifrng, 0:1 the whole, was of a vety high '.['•'••illy, the male voices being especially good, ihe contralto solo competition was a ino>! decided advance upon that of hist year ;he ladies made a far better eLow, and this w.e, ali tiie more enconra^ing s«s tha test pie.'e was to most of thom quite new. Tiie boy, naturaliv enough, had little or u > chance against- the sweet voiccs ui th., fair sex. III the tenor sol.» cuntei- II too, there were several spiondid singers, and it is tc be regretted that they did not at least appear 011 the eisteddvod platform. But ntiquestionably rhir.gs were best as tbc-y were, 'or bad four m.tead of two been selected to appear before the audieuce, | and the same principle been applied to the other t solo competition*, we should probably have be-n at Bridgend nut.il daylight appeared on Tuesday. Gl'UNCS AS A CONDUCTOn. Tne Rev L, Garuos Jones is at h-.rme when acting conductor at a great- eisteddvod Fleet. • ng. I had not Been him since tLe great festival at Pontypooi, bnt the lapse ut three years had ill 110 way blunted his wir, nor interfered with his marvellous resources. JIll; anecdotes we: as bright ag ever, and ")'11» of his sayings ludicrously iunny. Just alter tile rain bad cuceected in iiiluig tha great ataiquse, !"cores, if not I.ur1:.Jr.d, of the audience staod up in fheir places and were assailed by those in the roar w ilh sluaitr. -f •'S:t down, "Oat of the light, £ 0. Games tried two or three tames to induce the people te sii •town, but he did not succeed very well. At last, 1 assuming ins most authoritative tone, he declared, "IE Yvu dou'c Rit uown at onca I'd call out your names so that the whole audience shai'i know who VOl: are." This was a terrible threat considering that Gum03 probably kn'tw no more •>' the names of the endieiice than a man in Africa. Immediately afterwards carue the stem command, John Jones, sit down at onc, and a minute or two later, iu, a sharp, but persuasive tone, Now Wdha-i., now Wiiii.-Ui-, down, (heroes a good fellow." Of course, the 1 -u hence laughed heartily at these commands, /1 and Lians although tbe weather continued wet, the utmost good humour prevailed. Once only did the genial conductor appear to be angry, and so I successfully was the part played that those opposed to him collapsed at one?. It was during the great choral competition, Tiie Ihr.vlais Harmonic Society had just ascendod tie: platform, and Gurr.os, doubtless wishing to hasten matter?, and prnbabiy pityiuc the sony I plight of the haif-drcwued singers, busied bini- t-elf in placing the sopranos and altos in th«5ir proper places. A few disagreeable fellows bawled out: "(J,:e conductor is eneugh fe-that chsir." Games turned a frowning Ctturitenar-C upon tho disturb'-rs, and said, "Moid your own business, w ill you 1 am here to do certain wcik, and I am not going to be interfered with.1' Tin; disturbers wore silenced, and Gumos received a hearty cheer, Te.ero was one thhig which pieti- 'i him (ha told n:e), in connection with the Dowlais una Llaueilv choirs. He liked both eiioirs very lUuch, and had listened wIth great delight to their performances at i'ol,lrl)O(,j, and oUicr places. Ho found now tilal :i anyone attempted to disparage cither choir the members uf the otoer were lip 111 arms at ouce In defenoo of their rivals. lie was pry glad to see that things wero in thIs condition, and he wrmld like to see all the other choirs acting in the s.ttn.; w.ty, to winch sentiments I say Amen. THE MALE VOICE COllPKTlTION". Tile uaclo voice choral con;petition was nno d the grandest contests 1 have over heard. People have continually told us that though our South Wales sopranas and altos are superior to tho?o in the North, when male voices are concerned we must yield the palm. After ihe contest at Ihi,Jr:. end this argumeut must fall ti) the ground, for 111 three or tom: of the choirs there wefe a purity, 11 clearness, and a general beauty about the voices which was simply delightful tu listen to. The Pontycymuier Choir unquestionably deserved the first prize, and the Treoiky Ciioir the second. The latter, it appeared to me, suffered somewhat from the harstiuoss of one voice—omerwho the rendering was excellent, and thete was a dramatic IUlK about it. which could not fail to impress the adjudicators as well as the audience. The Rhondda Gleo Society wasatfo au excellent choir, but it would have gained considerably by the eviction of a few voices. The dramatic clement was very strong in this choir. Toe Cyvarthva (Mertbyr) Choir,winch was only recently formed, sang with conspicuous refinement, but unfortu- nately the rendering was altogether too tamo for such a piece as the Martyrs of the Arena." Of the eleven choirs that sang coly one, or al- most two, gave a rendering which ceuld be described as bad, two or three were fairly good, Lut as fcfc the rest—well, I have heard may suc- cessful choirs singing worse than any of them, To be beaten in such a contest was certainly no disgrace. III giving his adjudication Mr John North said he had never heard the Martyrs of I the Arena" sung better than it had been by the Pontycymuier Choir, aud few people wdllwJd a different opinion. It was a noble performance, if evar there was one, and that of the l'csnrky Choi" was only a trifie less perfect, fcuuth Wales ought, to be highly proud of such choirs and thoir talented conductors, Messrs E. Richards and William Thomas. Tiia award was very popularly received on all hands, most, if not all, of the unsuccessful choir? cheerfully admitting their defeat. THE CHIEF CrfOHAL OJMPKTMiON. The decision m cha ohicf cb-.tal competition can be summed up in one word, "Justice." The Dowlais Choral Society, which had, in the lottery for positions, beon place1 first on the programme, occupied the platform for some little time before the brass bond competition commenced. It is the rule at every eisteddvod for the chdrs to told themselves in readiness to compete in their due orier. A a t ue Choral Society had ascended the platform, the second choir—tho Dowlais Har- monic bociety—held itself in readiness, and was kept cut: inj tic merciless downpour for something like two hours—from the time tho first choir entered the marquee until it left it. Of course nobsdy can b° blamed for this uubappy state of aJthollgh it would ua ve been wiser t-3 have drawn off the choir to some place (1 i shelter rather than keep it in the rain for so long. Some IT/enters of the Choral Society declare that they wi.u'd ba^n ¡Jleferreti to be ill tile rain ra'her lh:11) IU the pavilion, which they say was heated to tueh an extent that it, interfered with their singing. Ye:, 1 think, every other choir that sang would have been only too glad to exchange places with them. A word or two about the competition itself. The Choral Society sang first, and at one dis- played splendid voices—a great advance upon its appearance at Brecon. That, however, is all that fin be said, for the performance was not a good one. T!»e Harmonic Society followed, and I must, say I was sadly disappointed at the singing. It is not, right- to be too severe upon a choir that has .spent two hours in the never-caasing downpour of rain, but at the same time it mu-t be admitted that the performance hardly came up to tin; ex- pectations of those who remember what the cheer did at Pontypooi, Abergavenny, and Brecon, 'there was a painful Jack of steadiuess about tbe female voices, an 1 for once tiJ8 altos railed to shine. The splendid training of the choir as- serted itself in every bar, and notwithstanding the indiffereuca of some adjudicators to the chief characteristics of tll" choir, it was pieasing to find that t he8c c:ractenst;c3 Lad not been aban- doned, But the physical powers of the choir feih-.cl, the h-.ng exposure to the stoim prod-ice unsteadiness, and only a moderately good j;- -r- formance was tiie result.. Yet. uod«r the con- ditions under which the choir sang are considered is wonderful Inw thf-y get. Jl1 H) well. The Parish-hail (Liaaelly) Ci -er came third. Its chief feature was the ex- i quisiteiy beautiful voices of tho sopr.ui'-s— voices of whicil any choir in the world might well i e proud. The psrh.-rmuuco was a good •»»«, but it lacked energy, and we s ton tame. A Wee-i, choir without the hwyl is like the play ot Harr.lct with the priucipal character omitted. Tne Portu and Cymmer Choir came next, arid when they left the platform the result of the competition could not reasonably be in doulK. There was an ext in- ordinary improvement upon the Brecon pet- forrrauce, and the voices seemed much superior. The choir sang with clock-like steadiness, and though the choruses had not been "painted" as much as by the Dowlais Choir, the enunciation was better. The last choir that sang—Cape! A Is, Llonelly—gave an indifferent tendering of the I iwo test pieces, but this was not to bo wondered at. It was almost dark wheu they commenced, tin; it was no dcubt with difficulty that the con- ductor's baton was seen. Such bei* the case, it I is useless to enlarge upon the faults of the choir. The voices were very good, and had fortune been :1 little more kind the performance would unques- ronabiy have beon hotter. Tie competdion lasted for just two hours, nd everybody present must have beon glad when it was over. Tiie de- cision was a foregone conclusion, unless the adju- dicators held opinions of the most, erratic nature. aTAIW.NG THli BAllD IN DARKNESS. What took place immediately tLe gioat choral competition ended, aud before the adjudication was delivered, would have tilled tbe druidic heart of Morion with horror had he been present. Gurnos said tkere was one competition undis- posed of still, namely, that on the chair otic. Dyved wa'- heard to say that be had received two od»s, the best (If which wi s that signed hy soma name that could not be made out by the re- porters. Anyhow, that somebody turned out to Lie the Ii"v Aaron Morgan, Maesteg, and as he moved through the dense crowd towards the platform, in ore than sn 2 person struck a match in order if possible to ascertain his identity. The successful competitor was duly installed in the chair, and in the thick gloom two figures could b. indistinctly seen standing, oue nr; eecb side of the chair. A oes heddwch?!' sheutsd Gurnos. "OJf," roared a section oi the audience, the greater number, of course, having 110 idea ot what v.as going 011 in tho platform. "No, no," said <lurna; 'that won't do a', all: say Heddwcli. Ileddweh," roared the! audience. By this time those in the centre and back of the maique* having heard the shut were now prrpund to <1.} their diuy as ioyal supporters of the bards of the Ida of Britain. "A oes hoddwen ?" asked Gurnos again, and the answer swelie.i up from thousands of voices, Heddwcb." A third time the question was asked, and answered iu the .-1110 stentorian and decisive manner, and iho R^v Aaron Morgan was installed into the- order of bards of the isle of Britain, not yn ngwyr.eb haul, Uygad goJeutii," hut in almost t,d;sl tia: uesR. No euglynion of welcome sounded in the ers of the victorious bard, and no stirring poetic tribute was paid to Lis genius. The whole -diing was over in a nvvv'-t. <-r two, and t!ie audjûnca again thought (IÎ the front choral com- petition. ALLS WELL THAT KN'DS WKIJ,. "Are you ready with the adjudication, Mr I Thomas? shouted Gurnos. No," shojted Mr | Thomas, in a loudsr voice, get the audience to sing one verse of Hon Wiad whilst we nre getting ready." Gurnos was taken dI hi", guard at this. Tiie ide.i of ten or twelve thousand people, most of whom were standing ankle deep in mud, singing a song about the rivers and mountains and brooks of Wales being dear to them at that time of night was resiiy asking too much, and now that the thing; is over probably nobody enjoys the j 'ke so much as Mr Thomas himself. No 'Hen Wiad forme to-night, anyhow," growled a voicd almost close to my ear, and I suppose the w8.rity shared his sentim?nts, for uo attempt was made to wak 11 a patriotic spirit at that hour of the night. Iu a minute or two the adjudication was givsi,, shouts of •• Porth and Dowlais were heard for a moment, and thou ensued such a stampede as will never be forgotten. The trains had been anuouncedto leave Bridguid at a qunttcr tn nine o'clock, but it wan now after niue, and, idie (hough it seemei t" hope, the crowd tore away to the station at a terrific rare. Who shall fay with what joy the multitude beheld the trains waiting for them? Fur once It is fair to suppose that they blessed, instead of blaming, tue railway companies. Toe rp.iti continued to pour down in the same pitiless way, and hungry—for the refreshments at tLe eisteddvod had been ex- hausted many long hours before—tired, and wet through, t he hapless crowd took possession of tho empty railway carriages, ere 1"ng the engine whistle sounded, and the excursionists wae borne away t",wf.rd8" Home, nweef, home," and the Bridgend Eisteddvod of 1390 had become a thing- of the past.

A PURSE SWALLOWED BY A COW. On Sunday, 2t di ult., a lady from Liverpool, staying at Longtowti, Cumberland, iosther parse amongst some grass at the roadside. A search was made, but without avail. A few days ago a cow was killed in the neighbourhood, and in her stomach was found the lost pur3e with its con- tents, gold, silver, copper, stamps, «ud leturn railway ticker, all intact. TiW cow was driven ov<>r tho road the day the purse was lost, and bad swallowed it whole.