The Cardiff Times

44kI- ) i .11 A a 11, 1 I 2 ft TRY IT.

WpRKMEN'S TOPICS. (By MABON, M.P.) MINERS' INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS. SOME SPECIAL FEATURES. The workers are making strenuous efforts and are struggling for political progress in every field in which it is possible. Their five mining districts were in this sense thoroughly united. At the last election the miners had increased their votes by 40,000, and had returned five toenabers of Parliament. In Germnay they are .-■ toaking giant strides in the direction of'inter National unity, and are doubtless rejoicing to See the solidarity attained in Great Britain and France. There had not been much headway in this direction lately, and in Prussia, tvhere their chief mining centres are, they have not Succeeded in returning a single representative to the Diet. But their candidate at the last election, so they allege, received ten times the number of votes recorded at any previous elec- tion. The reason for this, given by themselves, is that they are not yet enjoying the right to "^ote by ballot,and in view of this fact I must admit that the result is encouraging. Workmen are not thoroughly free agents where they have to vote publicly. The Prussian Diet is alleged to be more reactionary than the Gov- ernment itself, but has doubtless in the case of mining increased the stringency of legislation, and has gone in the direction of the Safety of mines beyond the Government's Proposals. Notwithstanding the want of suc- cess among the miners' direct representatives members of the Social Democratic party have been elected to the Diet, and they, though not miners, are expected to see to it that the workmen generally are protected. Internationalism has become the only hope of the working classes. All their meet- tags in Austria are more or less international. for they have ill that Empire no less than Seven nationalities, and of all these men and boys were working in the mines. Great changes have taken place there since Herr Singer attended for the first time the Miners' Inter- national Congress held in London in 1892. l-abom* organisation in Austria scarcely ex- isted then, and the funds to pay Singer's ex- penses had to be raised secretly. Then there ^ere no fixed hours of labour per day exist- ing. But now, and for the last five years, they have had a nine hours law from bank to bank regulating an their mines. And they had eight K I .a hour men representing the Socialist Labour Party in Parliament. A Side Light on Tariff Reform One of the German delegates, speaking at the r-o-ngress. declared that the matter of affil- '3,ting their miners xsrganisation was to them fine of life and death really, for without such Unity there was no hope for them to co-oper- ,at", in direct.ions other than on the wage and hours question. The body of workmen that ralled themselves Christian" Miners, and which hitherto had been the main obstacle in that direction, had been taught a most salutary lesson. They had at the last election, under the influence )01 their employers and their jpriests, openly voted for those members of ^Parliament who favoured the new tariff. But "they were now declaring that they had done because they had been deliberately deceived by their employers, who had at great pains to themselves at the time actually persuaded them that the new tariff would be the means of securing to them a better wage and stead. lo'5rtnSnt. But they had been °reiy disappointed t,v the results, and m «"ons«quenoe of the deception that body of men « recoiisidering the question of alfil- atmg with other miners' organisations, and through the national join in the international. The same delegate, deliberating on the value of a minimum wage, again reverted to the new tariff, and declared that the benefits the miners of Germany ought to have received from the advances in wages they had had during the last three years, and which had been of real bene- fit to the same class of workmen in other Euro- pean countries, had been more than swallowed up by the increased taxes on the ftlod of the people. Notwithstanding the im- mense profits the employers had been making, per reports in the German financial papers, during the same period, the position of the trJ.!lle workers of that country was really worse How than before the advances were granted. Their food stuffs were not only higher in price, hut also were poorer in quality. And with dire submission he began to warn the workers of °thP{' countries against being misled by twi false promises of the Tariff Reformers, Who were proposing t. place extra taxes ou the food of\ the people. In Germany they needed a minimum standard wage, and it should fie specified also to be a living wage, °r wages so regulated that when the price of food enhanced it also should be guaranteed to ad vance at least in proportion with the prices of the food of the people. Otherwise, it would be possible,and not at all improbable as things ■foro going on, for the German miners and other workmen to find themselves in such a position that notwithsanding however pros- perous the coal trade and the coalowners of the country may be, they, if the Government continued their tariff policy and the manipu- lation of the taxes, would find themselves be- coming poorer and poorer, while the capitalist; aDd monopolists were all the time growing richer. The Regulation of the Production of Coal ■Was another import ant matter upon which one of the German representatives forced the con- ference into a serious discussion. M. C'ordier, one of the French representatives, introduced a proposal that when a general strike is proceeding in any country the Miners' Federations in the neighbouring countries should limit their production by fixed Abstentions from work. He said that the surplus stock of unsold coal in France at one period amounted to 2,000,000 tons, and this en- abled the employers to reduce wages, and if a strike against the proposed reduction had then been declared it would simply have enabled the employers to get rid of their surplus stocks without fur- ther expense to themselves. They argued that therefore it was essential that the miners them- delves should discover some means of systema- tising the output, especially when a strike is in progress. M. Calaivert, M.P., Belgium, agreed With the proposer that the output of coal had greatly augmented in recent years. That had been so in Germany to the extent of 86 million tons, and in Belgium from 20 to 28 million tons. or an increase in Germany of about CO pc-r cent., and in Belgium to a much greater degree, yet in both it corresponded very much with the increase, of the population in those countries. He also was of opinion that till pro- duction was controlled employers would be roasters of the situation. He. also recognised that sirikes had very little chance of success where there existed" large accumulations of coa.l. A desultory, aimless discussion fol- lowed, -which showed clearly that most of the foreig-ndclegatcs were like men roaming aimlessly in a foreign land. The matter was taken up by Heir Hue (Germany), who called (Iii ileri, Tallin,the Austrian president, to draw attention to the time wasted by the discussion. Mo3t of those who discussed it were discussing the folly of declaring strikes when coal was plentiful and well-stocked, but the question of controlling the output of coal involved a much greater dimension. It was simply the fringe of the great question of controlling the output of coal. In fact it was totally useless for France and Belgium, which but very seldom could produce-more coal than they themselves con- sumed. itiiey were not in a position to affect the matter one way or another. He wanted to know what the British miners had to say, and would do, in the matter. He wanted, without "Parting more time, to have a definite declaration from them, and their silence led hira to believe that the best thing to do ■W ould be to relegate the question to the con- sideration of the International Committee,and <vv con!inning to discuss the aimless plnus-opiniated proposition they might do far more evil than good. He recognised that when th" British section would speak on the f'i.'ttrr they would treat from a different k! 'm■ :point than merely to stop producing in N I'sivour of promoting a sympathetic-strike. Thus spoke the far-seeing German miners' general secretary, who is aisonnM.P.reprc- fonfing them in the German Reichstag. Talk- ing the matter over with him afterwards, he Sf,omed to be quite cognisant of the fact that France and Belgium wpuld have very little to 'use and all to gain from the effect of this pro- position, and that it would affect England ftnd Germany-England more than Germany— u and South Wales more than either, ana very considerably so. France and Belgium have no coal to export that would affect even the Ger- man" market to any considerable extent. Nor could it ever affect the British coal market's interest anywhere. He was also quite prepared to hear my retaliating proposition, that be- foi e the British miners could be expected to agree to such an extreme and one-sided pro- position they would have a right to be pro- tected from the onslaught upon their almost exclusive markets on occasions such as when the Germans sent their coal to the Mediter- ranean markets during the time the coal-tax hampered the progress of the British trade, indeed, could not help appreciating the fair- ness of these remarks, for no one nation can ever be expected to give all and to receive nothing, such as would be the case with the British, should the foregoing propositions ever be enforced, which will be impossible for a very long time. In the end the natter was relegated to the International Committee,with instructions that all the information pos- sible as to how the result of the proposition, if ever acted upon, would affect the different nationalities concerned in the international combination,and in the meantime that no one of the nations affected should enter on any strike of any great dimensions before coming to an understanding with the International Committee. It becomes obvious to all keen observers that this international movement is working strongly for industrial peace, and ultimately will successfully bring it about.

Cold-Blooded Crimes. BOASTFULFRENCH MURDERERS Paris, Tuesday—A court of justice has seldom listened to a more cold -blooded recital than. that of the perpetrators of the atrocious triple murder at Violainps, Pas de Calais, in January, 1906. The notorious gang of Hazebrouck, comprising 27 persons (14 men and 13 women), are now undergoing trial at St. Omer, being charged with 118 crimes, many accompanied by violence and murder. The three leading members of this organised band, Abel Pollet, his brother Auguste Pollet, and Canut Vromant, yesterday told the Judge in boastful language how they did to death an aged couple named Lecoq, 80 and 79 years of age respectively} and their daughter, aged 55, who were living together in the centre of the village of Violaines. The self-confessed mur- derers, appeared to vie with each other in glorying in their remorseless brutality. They described how they broke into the house to- ward midnight, Abel, the chief of the gang, armed with a poker and Vromant with a heavy iron stove lid. Lecoq's daughter gave the alarm, but on getting out of bed she was felled with a poker by Abel, and at the same moment the candle carried by the robbers was accidentally extinguished. Madame Lecoq, roused by the noise, made a rush towards the window. A scene of confusion ensued. In the darkness the murderers slipped in the blood of their first victim, but succeeded in stopping the unfor- tunate woman before she reached the window, Vromant felling her with a. blow of the stove lid. Vromant dealt the prostrate old woman several more blows and then went to the adjoining room, where he found Auguste Pollet standing over the half-murdered octo- genarian. Strike cried Auguste, he has got about enough, but finish him off and Vromant added, I gave him a tremen- dous blow with the stove lid." Abel, too, answering the judge's questions, far from denying, was only anxious to magnify his own share in the crime. It appeared, before finally killing the old man, they forced him to tell where his savings were concealed. In the place indi- cated they found £320 in notes and gold, several valuable antique coins aDd a quantity of jewellery. Abel, the ringleader, gave JE120 to his accomplices and kept the remainder.— Reuter.

WATER NOT DEEP ENOUGH. Lovers' Frustrated Attempt. A pathetic story of two lovers, who, agreeing to d ie, tied themselves together and threw them selves into the water, comes on Tuesday from the East End ofjLondon. The strange feature of the drama is that the idea of suicide waa first suggested merely. in the course of a friendly conversation, and was promptly acted upon. Failing in their attempt to drown themselves the two lovers thought the best thing they could do, under the circumstances, was to give themselves up to the police. Accordingly, to- day they were brought up at the Stratford Police Court. Their names were given as Alfred Qark and Violet Meinecke, the girl, in par- ticular, being notable for her good looks. Both looked extremely young. Inspector Ellis said that at midnight he was at Barking Police Station when the prisoners entered, and Clark said, 'vWe have tried to drown ourselves, but the water was not deep enough." Meinecke said, Yes, we agreed to die together." Both were wet and in a very collapsed con- dition. Clark, when charged, said :— I have been keeping company with Violet Meinecke for about a month. I went to see her on Sunday and stayed all night with her and her mother. We walked about looking for rooms, and about nine o'clock we were on the banks of the river Lea. Violet suggested jumping in, and I said You'll not jump in without me." We came to Barking, and she again suggested suicide, and I said, We'll go in together." I had a leather bootlace in my left pocket which I tied round my left leg and her right leg, and we jumped into the backwaters of the Roding. The lace broke, and as there was not suffi- cient water to drown ourselves we got out and came to the Police Station. The girl told the same story. The Bench remanded the prisoners to be medically exam. ined..

PINNED BENEATH FALL. The Merthyr Colliery Fatality. The death of James Wheelan at the No. 1 South Pit ot the Plymouth Collieries was the subject of an inquest held by Mr R. J. Rhys at the Tiger Hotel, Merthyr, on Tuesday. Mr F. N. Gray was present from the Home Office, and Mr John Davies (chairman of the District) for the South Wales Miners' Federation. The evidence showed that deceased was standing a prop under a collar in Austin Lloyd's heading, because a squeeze had come. Lloyd was standing near, handing Wheelan a wedge, when there was a fall. Wheelan was buried, and while the rescuers were endeavour- ing to get him out there was another fall. It was thought that the second fall proved fatal. The heading was being driven in the red coal workings (where the seam was only 18 inches thick) off the 9ft. seam, and a bottom of bastard fireclay had to be cut for a depth of Eyft. 6in. Mr Thomas, manager of the colliery, an-, swering Mr Gray, said that a fracture was now to be seen in the fireclay. He was satisfied with the timbering. A post that came down with the first fall saved Wheelan and enabled him to carry on a conversation with his res- cuers, but the second fall came against him and gradually squeezed him until he died. A verdict of Accidental death was re- turned, the Coroner remarking that it was very hard luck that deceased could not have been got out after the first fall.

LIVE" P RAW N SIN, STOMACH. Port Dinorwic Story Boiled Down. Mr E. Kay Robinson, in The Country- side," writing on the sensational story recently published to the effect that Mrs Roberts, wife of a quarryman farmer, had suffered two years of torture from pains in the stomach dis- covered to be due to horrid unknown live creatures," says :—In spite of all the various names and details given, I should not have thought the story worth a moment's thought, if several readers had not sent cuttings of the papers to ine for opinion. So I made inquiries of Dr. Gray Edwards, of Bangor, and am in- debted to his courtesy for the following :— The so-called creatures were Norwe- gian prawns, which are cooked, packed in tins, and shipped from Norway to Hull in large quantities in this neighbourhood. The woman tried to swallow one whole, and the consequence made a good yam for the papers. I will only add one word. I should like to know who is responsible for the distinct false- hood that the creatures, which had been dead and cooked for weeks, were live creatures," and that they did not live long after being ejected ? Mrs Roberts may have fancied all her ridiculous symptoms, but who stated that the cooked prawn was alive ? It is falsehood of this kind which does the real mischief.

TRAIN THIEF CAUGHT. Paris, Tuesday.—A noted train thief was caught last night in the act of snatching a pocket-book from the breast pocket of a French gentleman whom he jostled in, the cor- ridor of the Boulogne-Paris express. He was taken before the Police Commissary on the arrival of the train in Paris, and was imme- diately recognised as Joseph Teschner, an Austrian subject, and a member of a band of train-robbers known as the Aristos. He passed under the name of Baron De Vanhoi, and j worked trains with a pseudo baroness of the same title. Confounded at finding his identity completely established, Teschner made a confession, avowing the authorship of a burgla.ry at Rheims in 1898, which yielded a haul of £ 6,400.—Reuter.

A letter has been issued by the Natiqnal Telephone Company to their snbscribera^at Swansea stating that they will not after March 31st, 1909, continue the present rate of sub- scriptions for the telephone system acquired by them from the Swansea Corporation. The company will thenceforward supply service at rates which have been agreed, upon with the PoafrOffice, <

I I BESIEGED. YE GALLANT KNIGHT, SIR MAN DE MAN, LORD OP THE CASTLE (loquitur): Lost! Lost!! I

Echo of By-Election. MR CHURCHILL & HIS BOER PAROLE During the by-election in North-West Manchester the Manchester Courier" in- serted a letter from a correspondent in which r it was suggested that when Mr Winston Churchill escaped from Pretoria he broke the parole which he had giveu to the Boers. On Tuesday the Manchester Courier apolo- gised for inserting the words, declaring they are untrue and without foundation, and agreeing to pay Mr Churchill £300. This sum the right hon. gentleman will divide among charities. The Courier explains that the letter was given inadvertently and without malice, and adds that nothing was further from their in- tention than to cast any reflection on the personal character and honour of Mr Churchill, since their whole concern was with his political I record. Mr Churchill has distributed the £ 300 to Manchester charities as follows :—The Jewish Hospital. £100; the Charter-street Ragged School, E100 the Clinical Hospital, £ 50 and the St. Vincent De Paul Society, £50.1

A JOURNALIST AMBASSADOR. Mr Whitelaw Reid, American Ambassador to Great Britain, whose daughter was married on Tuesday to Mr John Ward, brother of Lord Dudley, is one of the many statesmen who have graduated in the career of journalism. Mr Reid became the proprietor and editor of the New York Tribune in 1872, on the death of Mr Horace Greeley. He made the "Tribune the leading, exponent of p,h lican principles and policy. In 1897 Mr Reid „,„ --1. Mr Whitelaw Reid. I was named a special envoy to England to re- present the President at the Diamond Jubilee; in 1898 he was one of the Commissioners who negotiated the Treaty of Peace with Spain; in 1902 he was Special Envoy to England to represent the President at the coronation of King Edward.

FIRE AT MANCHESTER. Succeeds Serious Explosion. Considerable alarm was caused on Tuesday afternoon by the report of a terrific explosion at some oil tanks. Several cottages near by caught fire immediately afterwards, and it was at first feared that there must have been loss of life. The brigade were unable to get at the seat of the outbreak for some time, but after considerable difficulty the men got the upper hand of the flames. House and business pro- perty within an area of some 200 yards of the tanks were extensively damaged. Fortunately, however, there was no loss of life, though several persons were injured. A large quantity of chemicals were stored in a corrugated iron shed on a plot1 of land in Dawson-street. It is supposed that the heat of the sun on the roof set fire to some resin and potash and caused the explosion, the noise of which was heard all over the city. Every window within a radius of several hundred ytrds was smashed, and much damage done to property. The storehouse itself and an adjoin- ing bakehouse were completely destroyed, and a printing works and dwelling-houses in the vicinity set on fire. Before the outbreaks were subdued a cargo of cotton in a barge on the Bridgwater Canal also took fire, but here too the efforts of the brigade proved successful. Some signals and telegraph wires on the Cheshire Lines Railway were torn down by the explosion, and part of a train caught fire, but the flames were quickly extinguished.

DEATH OF "LITTLE TOMMY." Father Driven Crazy. At Fulham on Tuesdav Mr Luxmoore Drew held an inquest concerning the death of Frederick Landridge, aged 54, a general labourer, of Aspenlee-road, Fulham, who com- mitted suicide on Saturday. Evidence was given that fonr years ago de- ceased lost a little son, and since theti he had been very much depressed. He was strange in his manner; and soon after the child's death he threatened to commit suicide. Often in the evening he would call his wife into the garden and, pointing to the stars, say, That is little Tommy." He went into the Fulham Infirmary, suffering from pains in his head, and was dis- charged some weeks' ago. Since then he had had some difficulty in getting work, and, though he eventually obtained a small con- tract job he had to give it up because he could not get sufficient money to pay his workmen. Last Friday nignt he bit his wife on the shoulder like a dog. He left the house on Saturday morning seeming somewhat de- pressed, and was found shortly afterwards hanging dead in a shed. Saturday was the anniversary of his wedding day. The jury returned a verditt of Suicide during temporary insanity."

ADMISSION TO CANADA-£60. A Renter's telegram; from Ottawa states that the Chinese Immigration Bill passed the House of Commons onTuesday. It provides that Chinese may only be admitted to Canada as students who kave been students in China, and who come to Canada to continue their education. All such students will have to pay a head tax of jE60 upon entering the country, but this money will be refunded after the student has completed a year's study in Canada,

Society Wedding. I TWELVE ROYALTIES PRESENT. Gifts Valued at Over £ 50,000. Wearing white satin, veiled with old ros point lace which her grandmother wore 50 years ago at her own nuptials with Mr <Darius Ogel en Mi) Is, Miss Jean Reid daughter of the United States Ambassador and Mrs Whitelaw Reid, was married on Tuesday in the Chapel Royal to the Hon. John Ward, M.V.O., the King's Equerry, and brother of the Earl of Dudley. The King and Queen, with Princess Victoria of Wales-, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and eight or nine other members of the Royal Familv attended the marriage. The Queeii wore a gown of ivory Pompadour silk, spangled and trimmed with gold. Princess Victoria W-as in pale blue. The Duehc33 of Connaught wore dove.-grey over white, and Princess Patricia blue over white, whilst Princess Alexaa|iei" was dressed in white. | The interior of thfc little church was beau | tifylly decorated with, white flowers.' Mr f Whitelaw Reid gaywhis daughter away, and Colonel Holford, osj^ of the King's Equerries, acted as best man. At the conclusion of the ceremony the bridal party and all the members of the Royal party retired to the armoury room in St. James's Palace, where the register was signed. Subsequently there was a great reception at Dorchestfer House, which their Majestiea and other Royal guests attended, and where the various Valuable presents given to the bride and bridegroom were displayed. Such a large attendftnq^ of Royalties has never before been, seen ait a wedding outside of Royal circles. The DustStStod-^Duchess of Cop- naught, Prince Arthur and\ Princess Patric ia. The Prince33 Royal and the Duke of Fife, Prince and Princess Alexanedr of Teck, and the Grand Duke Michael and Countess Torby alhvitnessed the wedding. The Chapel Royal only accommodates 150 people, so that outside of the Royal guests only the Ambassadors and their wives and the im- mediate relatives of the bride and bridegroom were present at the ceremony. The King and Queen have sent Miss Reid and her fiancee separate gifts, and the Royal donors have further enhanced their offerings by autograph messages of good wishes. From the King there is a half-hoop diamond bracelet, in the centre of which is a large cats- eye surrounded with fine diamonds, and in his own hand the King has written the following message :— To Miss Reid on the occasion of her mar- riage, with my best wishes for her happiness, from Edward R. The Queen's gift is identical with the King's, with the exception of the Cobochan ruby, which is the central stone, and her Majesty has written a card :— With every good wish from Alexandra. Presents to the value of over jE50,000 have been made to the bride. A tiara of immense proportions, representing three diamond suns overlying each other and centred by a diamond weighing 2b carats, is the gift of Mrs Whitelaw Reid. A superb necklace of Indian emeralds and sapphires came from Mr Pierpont Morgan. The names of donors of wedding gifts represent some of the wealthiest people in the New World. The Vanderbilts, Goulds, Astors, Mills, Iselins, and Carncgies have contributed priceless gifts. President Roosevelt has sent a copy of the first, book published in New York, including the first plan of the city. The book is in Dutch. It is a mark of great honour to receive per- mission from the King to be wedded in the Chapel Royal, which is one of the peculiar and extra parochial places of worship in the realm, and notoften isthelit-tleedificeused for the celebration of the nuptials of a subject. Queen Victoria and Princess Albert were mar- ried in the Chapel Royal, St. James's, and their daughter, the Princess Royal, was wed- ded there to the Crown Prince of Prussia;, after- wards the Emperor Frederick. The present Prince and Princess of WaJes were also married within the. small precincts. In former reigns PrinceOeorge of Denmark and the Princess Anne (afterwards Queen), Frederick Prince of Wales and the daughter of the Duke of Coburg, and George IV. and Queen Caroline were united there. Of recent years several infants of aristocratic lineage have been baptised in the Chapel Royal.

John Lewis, employed by a provision mer- chant at Usk, died at the Newport and County Hospital on Tuesday night of injuries received on Saturday, when the horse he was driving collided with a wall, and he was thrown out, breaking his arm, cutting his ear, and injuring his back.. I

Canadian Holocaust. 1,000 PEOPLE HOMELESS.. Montreal.Tuesday.—The fire at Three Rivers destroyed 300 buildings. One thousand people are homeless. The loss is estimated at 1,000,000 dollars. Five banks and 11 hotels were burned down, in addition to the historic parish church, the foundation of which dated back to 1664. Of the Whole town only a fringe of the poorer class of houses remains, and these would have been swept away but for the assistance to the fire department of neighbouring towns and the Militia encamped in the vicinity. A gale was blowing during the conflagration.- Reuter. Montreal, Tuesday.-A contractor named Ranol Methevier has died of injuries sustained in the fire.' The loss is now placed at two million dollars, of which six hundred thousand are covered by insurance. The Federal Govern- ment has requisitioned tents to shelter the homeless, and the Quebec Government will grant pecuniary aid to the stricken city— Reuter.

I OUR WORKINGMAN MINISTER. Mr John Burns, who is reported to be pro gressing favourably from the strain he received while rendering personal assistance in a street accident in London recently, is 50 years of age. He was born at Vauxhall, and is of Scotch descent on both sides. While still of tender years he served as a factory boy and as a buttons," but at 13 he was apprenticed to a millwright er.r ;pea?. After serving his time he had an inter n e-perience as foreman en- gineer on tie J,'t, Coast of Africa, when, amongst other thitigs, he saved a man from I Mr John Burns. I I drowning at the risk of his own life, and found a copy of The Wealth of Nations." He spent his savings in a visit of inspection to France. Germany, and Austria, and returning to Battersea got locked up for speaking on Clapham Common. It was Trafalgar-square, however, which brought him definitely before the public as the representative of the new Labour movement ;\ie spent three months in Holloway as a participator in the famous riot. He became a representative of Battersea on the first London County Council, and entered Parliament in 1892. He is a non-smoker, tee- totaler, cricketer, and boxer, and talks very straightly to his fellows on the sub ects of drink and gambling, and his opponents find a good deal to like in him. He became President of the Local Government Bqard on Sir Henry CampbeU-Bannerman assuming the Premier- ship.

AERONAUT "MOBBED." Rome, Tuesday.-M. Delagrange to-day encircled the Piazza Darine in his aeroplane ten times. The machine touched ground dur- ing the third lap, and consequently a flight of only 14-27 kilometres (8'8 miles) was officially recorded. The crowd of spectators who wit- nessed the performance mobbed the aeronaut in their enthusiasm and carried him I shoulder high.-Reuter. l t: Hang-it all. My.fault too," (Cartoon by Shadden Jones, Porth.)

Old Cook's Death, DOCTOR'S WIFE CHARGED. A shocking story was told at the West Lon- don Police Court on Tuesday, when Mrs Blackburn, the wife of a doctor, of 14, Nevern- place, Kensington, was charged with the man- slaughter of Mrs Livingstone, aged 80, who was formerly in her service as cook. Counsel stated that Mrs Blackburn carried on a boarding establishment, and Mrs Living- stone had been in her service for about three years. The evidence showed that the old woman was never allowed to go to bed, but sat day and night in a chair in the kitchen that no attempt was made to wash her and that, so far from medical aid being summoned, Mrs Blackburn on one occasion refused to allow a doctor whom another servant in the house had fetched, to attend to the poor old woman. The law on the point was quite clear, con- tinued counsel. If a mistress had in her house a servant or any person dependent on her who I fell into bodily infirmity, so that she could not help herself or leave the house, a duty was 1 cast on the mistress to provide food and I medical attention. It would appear that? February 28th was the last day on which the deceased was able to move about, and that from that date to the day of her death on May 7th she sat in a chair day and night. On one occasion the old woman asked to be allowed to lie down on a bed, and the defen- dant replied, No, if you lie down we shall never be able to get you up again." Within the last few days of the old woman's life the defendant seemed to have appreciated the seriousness of things,.as she gave her some milk and eggs. Then, after the death, a re- markable change took place in Mrs Black- burn's attitude. The old servant, who, in her lifetime had been denied the comfort of a bed, was placed on a bed in clean clothes. The change, of course, added counsel, was due to the fact that it would never do for a doctor, who would be called in to give a certificate of death, to see the filthy condition of the kitchen and of the old woman. Ada Mantle, a fellow servant, stated that at first Mrs Livingstone used to sleep on the kit. chen floor—on some carpets with a rug over her. Towards the end she was moved from an upright chair into a chair-bed, but the defen- dant would not allow her to lie down in it, but fixed it up as an armchair. The case was adjourned.

MR ASQUITH AND SUFFRAGISTS "Coercive" Campaign Ahead. Miss Christabel Pankhurst has received the following communication from the Prime Minister in reply to a letter conveying to him the resolution passed in Hyde Park on Sunday, and asking that a statement of the Government's intentions in regard to Women's Suffrage might be made :— 10, Downing-street, Whitehall, S.W., June 22nd, 1908. Dear Madam—The Prime Minister desires me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday, and of the resolution adopted at the demonstration in Hyde Park, and to inform you in reply that he has nothing to add to the statement made to a deputation of members of Parliament on May 20th, a report of which appeared in the Times" of the following day. —I am, yours faithfully lsigned ) Vaughan Nash. Miss Pankhurst, writing with reference to the Premier's letter, says :—" This reply shows that the Government intends to ignore the mandate which was delivered to them by the great Hyde Park demonstration. It is thus quite evident that agitation by way of public meetings will have no effect in inducing the Government to grant votes to women, and that • in order to secure that reform militant methods must once more be resorted to. The Women's Social and Political Union are now considering what action to take in order to bring the necessary pressure t o bear upon the Government. A convention of women, at which a'plan of compaign will be submitted, has been called for three o'clock next Tuesday afternoon in the Caxton Hall."

SUFFRAGETTE DEMAND. OLD BAILEY JUROR AS CHAMPION. There was a remarkable incident at the Old Bailey on Tuesday. As the jury were being sworn, the second juror, \o whom the oath was about to be administered, a young, thoughtful-looking man, suddenly exclaimed, I have a very great and strong object-ion to trying a woman," fixing his glance on a well-dressed girl in the dock, who was concerned in a diamond ring transaction. The juror continued in bold and almost defiant tones I am a free man, and willing to do my duty to my country, but until the ladies have a- voice in making the laws "—a burst of laughter here interrupted the speech— with which they are compelled to comply, I have a strong objection to trying them." The Recorded smilingly excused the juror. The incident is regarded as a great feather in the cap of the Suffragettes.

THE GLADIATOR. The salvage operations on H.M.S. Gladiator, stranded off the Isle of Wight, have so far advanced that in about a fortnight a great effort will be made to bring the ship upright and refloat ^ier. She has been dismantled %o the furthest possible extent, and the salvage men are now endeavouring to render her watertight, after which the water inside the vessel will be pumped out. On Tuesday two huge steel camels or cylinders, 100 feet long and 10 feet in diameter, which had been specially constructed in Portsmouth Dockyard, reached Yarmouth. They will. be filled with water and sunk—one under the bows and the other under the Gladiator's quarter—and then pumped out. They have a lifting capacity of over 100 tons each, and in this way material assistance will be rendered in the work of raising the ship. Steam capstans are being constructed on shore to haul the vessel further in after she has been raised. She will then be patched up sufficiently to allow of her being towed to Portsmouth.

SLEEPING SICKNESS. Reuter's Agency learns that a fresh Commis- sionis being organised to proceed to EasCMTica to study sleeping sickness, its object being to continue the work carried on from 1902 until it was temporarily suspended in 1905 owing to the death in England of Lieutenant, Tulloch, who contracted sleeping sickness during his researches in Uganda some time ago. The work of research will include the study of the natural history of the fly, and also of Dr. Koch's theory that crocodiles provide foodstuffs. for the glossina palpalis. The Commission -will also investigate the question of the lower animals harbouring the parasites and the exact method by which the fly trans- fers the parasite. The Commisison will leave England on September 25th.

AMERICAN "NEWS." The Lusitania arrived at Liverpool shortly before 5 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon. The voyage from Sandy Hook to Daunts Rock occupied five days three hours and 21 minutes, the average speed being 23'77 knots. The officials deny that any detention of the vessel took place after leaving New York owing "to the progress of mimic warfare between bat- teries in New York Bay. Although firing was heard the Lusitania was nut inconvenienced, and the first intimation the passengers had of the alleged delay and damage to crockery was on receiving the English newspapers at Queenstown.

BRITISHER KIDNAPPED. ;¡- Tangier, Tuesday—Mr Clark Kennedy, an Englishman, has been seized by the Hauz tribe outside Tetuan.. His captors demand a ran- som for his release.—Reuter. Tangier. Tuesday.-l-The Goof villagers, who captured the Englishman, Mr Clark Kennedy, at Ham, immediately instructed him to write a letter to the British Vice-Consul at Tetuan stating the conditions of his release. These are stated to be, firstly, the setting at liberty of the Coof tribesmen at present im. prisoned at Fez and, secondly, the payment of a large sum of money to the tribe. It now appears that the Moorish servant who was accompanying Mr Clark Kennedy was stabbed to death.—Central News.

INSURED CHILDREN. At Nelson (Lanes) on Tuesday the magis- trates committed for trial Hartley and Mar^" garet Grabbott, husband and wife, on a charge of neglecting four children. The prosecution alleged that since December last three of the prisoners'seven children had died, the death in one instance being as near manslaughter as possible. After the death of the first child prisoners insured the other children, and death claims had been paid on two. Prisoners lived in a house which the relieving officer declared was infested with rats, and four children were found in a terrible condition.

There has been missing from his home, 36, Swan-street, Swansea', since Saturday, a youth aged 18, named Robert Owen. His disappear' ance is causing great anxiety to his parents.

WELSH GLEANINGS. News and Views in Lighter Vein. Mr David Lloyd J ones, son of the late Rev. D. Lloyd Jones, M.A. Llandinam, has taken ■ his -A. degree at Cambridge University. T ^le visiters at present staying at Llanbedrog are General Sir John Gatacre and Mr Stuart Cameron, Governor of Demerara. Merioneth, chiefly, will be the field of labour of Dr. Prys Williams, of Liverpool, who has recently been appointed inspector of schools m W ales. Dr. Williams is i native of Fou^ crosses. m.a° is always echoing the false- hood that the CeA has no art ought to see the j^c.eIn y Published Celtic Iluminative Art theGospei Books of Durrow, Lindisfarne, and & ells, by the Rev. Stanford F. H. Robinson, M.A. (University Press, Dublin). Ramblers through the beautiful lanes of Glamorganshire at this titnp of the year note with regret the disappearance of the work of the hociger and ditcher. Wire fencing is an abomin:1tion to the eye. Cannot the clod and twig artist be enticed back to his cabling ? The old discussion as to whether the cuckoo destroys (eats) the eggs of other birds and lays her eggs in the place of the stolen ones is being dealt with by naturalists in the current scien- tific papers. The cuckoo is a constant visitor to Glamorganshire. Cannot some rural observer give first-hand information upon this interesting point! «ayriti^U? Y Gorlan for June- the editor W e heard lately that the Chancellor of the Exchequer told a Weish minister that very Probably, if he had been brought up with the Methodists, his T)Iace would have been in the pulpit. He, we think, is Ministers* John Bright of all the The moderator of the Calvinistic Metfcodisfc General Assembly was closely associated with Cardiff in his earlier days. The Rev. Wm i^ans, M.A., commenced preaching in the town in 1858. His father, the late Mr David Evans, was an office bearer at the church at -Loudoun-square for many years, and was Known to his contemporaries as Dafvdd Evans Tonyrefail Villa." He was an "en- Liberal, and a prominent member of the Cardiff Liberal Association. ,r ,T' Jor)es< an eminent Welsh litterateur and chaired bard, has won one of the scholarships of the Irish School of Learn- ing, under the auspices of which a summer iSi t Du¥m- An excellent Cf tic srhQl Mr Gwynn JOIles's translations ? poetry into B«ton and Breton poetry into Welsh, has been a feature of several of the vernacular periodicals. Welsh readers may now expect from him similar translations from the vernacular poetry of the Emerald Isle. Mr Thomas Jones (formerly postmaster of Pontypool) who this week enters upon the postmastership of Hereford, left North Shields last wees htden with gifts from the postal staff and the inhabitants. A zealous Baptist, Mr Jones appears to have rendered yeoman service to the church in that town and to the North Shields Sunday School Union, and for three and a half years he was superintendent of the Central Hall Branch Sunday School, in Stephenson-street. At one of the farewell meetings it was announced that during his residence in North Shields, Mr Jones "had never missed a single school or chapel service on Sunday." Twynog," the well-known bard, is, we regret to learn, still unable through illness to foUow his usual commercial pursuits. For over 30 years he has been entertaining a wide constituency with great interest, humour, and edification by his contributions to both the England Welsh Press. By way of showing appreciation of his services to literary, social and religious movements, a movement has been initiated at Rhymney to present him- with a testimonial. The Morynouthshire Presbytery at Newport, last week resolved to recommend the movement to the support of the churches. u The late Mr R. H. Wood, F.S.A.. F.R.G.S. of Sidmouth, had intimate associations with Wales, and was often seen at his Merioneth. shire house, Pantglas, Trawsfynydd. As owner of the prehistoric encampment. Tre'eira, on theEia hills in Carnarvonshire, and also of the land of Bwlch Tyddiad, in Ardu- dwy, where stand the famous Roman steps, he was an important member of the Cambrian Archaeological Association, the proceedings of which he followed with close and sympa- thetic interest for many years. He was the president- of the association in 1903, on the occasion of the visit to Portmadoc and the neighbourhood, whejl he entertained the members at Harlech Castle. Mr Wood was a very wealthy man, and left an estate of the gross value of £676,000. agitating for close upon twenty years' the^ elsh members of the Tonic Sol-fa College have persuaded the council of that institution to appoint a committee to look into the needs of Wales in connection with the tonic sol-fa system. The committee is to consist of four representatives from the Principality, four from England, and one from Scotland. The Welshmen selected are the Rev. E. Cynffi* Davies. M.A., Mcnai Bridge; Mr D. Prvse Jones, Newborough, Anglesey: Mr M. O. Jones, Treherbert; and Mr D. W. Lewis, Bryn- amman. Among the questions to be con- siderd are the appointment of Welsh examinera for monoglot candidates from Wales for the higher certificates the publication of \V elsh books lor the examinations of the col. lege up to the A.C.examinatlons the appoint- ment of Welsh musicians in their turn to be on the usual list of teachers of the College in London during the summer season. Vive France Bepred Breiz M. le Marquis de J'Estourbillon, President of the Lnioii Regionalisfce Bretonne, has been presented with the- freedom of the citv of Rennes, the metropolis of Briitanv and the scene of the historic Dreyfus trial. In a speech., delivered on the occasion the Marquis vigor. ously claimed that Bretons are good French- men whilst remaining faithful to their fafcher- land. Our French neighbours have no better soldiers or sailors than their Breton subjects and it pleasant to notice that the French Gov. ernment is treating them in a more liberal spirit than was the case in the past The Marquis is a frequent visitor toWeleh national gatherings, and when he comes he generally handles the Breton half of the divided sword. Rhys Lewis in Londen. Rhys Lewis/' one of the series of Celtir plays to be presented at the London Court Theatre next month, has been adapted from the standard work. uf fiction in thl'1 \V dsll lunguage. Daniel Owen, the author was a tailor by trade, though he left this occupation for a short space and SDent some time at the Bala Theological College. But eventuallv he returned to the tailoring and it was in the in" tervaJs of business (like the author of John Inglesant") that he wrote those vivid sketches of life and chaTactertbat have given him a high place in Welsh literature This fIrst of novels, which, like the play, is entitled Rhys LeWis," is not remarkable for plot so much as for its wonderful description of types of Welsh character. Though Daniel Owen s fame rests principally on his first novel he ■wrote others that have enriched modern Welsh literature, and have served to hrA.,1- down the Welsh Nonconformist prejudice against hction, which was strong until the day of Daniel Owen. The Rev. R. R. Roberts. B.A., Cardiff. In Y Brython for this week a writer says • The Rev. R. R. Roberts, B.A., Cardiff, vmi the Davies 'lecturer at the General Assembly, Liverpool. Many there were who set their faces to look as if they understood t}je lecture but I would take my oath that they were as far from comprehending it as a chimpanzee would be when listening to a reading of th« Gododin the reason why many of na stamped feet and clapped hands over a chance remark and argument, was that the row of graduated and ungraduated theologians nea» the set fawr started the clapping." Merthyr is Improving! A correspondent writes -—" Merthyr is im- proving r do not mean in architecture, but in a social and moral sense. Years ago I remember a case where there was some degreo of excitement in the district on a report that a. man was killed. A couple of men went to tli& spot, but a remark was made that it was only an Irishman,' and no further interest was taken in the matter. But the years, and pulpit., and newspaper advocacy have brought about great changes. On Friday there was an acci. dent in one of the Plymouth pits. It was, again, only an Irishman, one Whelan, but the excitement was great, the streets were crowded, expressions of sympathy were numerous, and when the poor fellow's remains were taken to his home the sorrow everywhere shown wai very touching."

At Exeter Sessions on Monday Henry Square (51), solicitor, of Paignton, pleaded guilty to several charges of fraudulently converting moneys to his own use to the amoikit of several thousand pounds. He was sentenced to si* years' penal servitude.