South Wales Daily News

SOUTH WALES TIDE TABLE. CARDIFF. NEWPORT. SWANSEA. HAY. Morn Even Hght Morn Even Hght Morn (Even jHght 21 Fridav 7 28 7 48 27 8| 7 36 7 5126 5, 6 34 6 40!~20 6 22 Saturday^ 7 68 8 17 26 11 8 6 8 25 26 0; 7 5 7 24,20 9 23 Sunday 8 36 8 52 26 1 8 44 9 0 25 0 7 43 8 0|19 7 24 Monday 9 9 9 25 25 S 0 17 9 33 24 0 8 17 8 3018 11 26 Tuesday 9 45 10 6 24 5| 9 5310 13 2S 18 57 8 2118 8 26 Wednesday 10 ?510 45 23 610 33 10 53 22 1 9 43 JO 6 17 6 27 Thursday. 11 7jll 34 22 911 1511 42 21 210 3010 5716 10 28 Friday. 0 821 Ql ■. 0 ll| 20 3 II 2211 5016 3

BROKEN PROMISES. THE members of the House of Commons must have been vastly amused on Monday night when the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER asked' them not to be led into a Social Science discussion at the invitation of Mr FAWCETT. The Ministerial caution implies that Parliament ought to be some- thing more than a debating club, and that it should, if it fulfils its legitimate functions, carry out some practical and beneficial legislation. And an idea seems to prevail amongst the members of the Government that this object is literally accom- plished. They apparently forget the valuable nights which have been wasted upon trifles and personal questions which could not possibly lead to any result except that of obstructing the busi- ness of the country. But the House cannot possi- bly forget these things, and therefore the entreaties which were made to them to come to business at once must have aroused the suspicion that some- thing -more than a desire to save time was in- volved. Indeed, the character of the Radical member for Hackney was a guarantee that the time spent in listening to his speech would not be wasted, and that he would be sure to give his hearers as much solid argument as they would be likely to digest in one night. The fact is, that the Government begin to feel afraid of the gather- ing clouds which hang over them, and they dreaded the addition which was likely to be made by the leader of the Radical party. A Session wasted in personalities and measures in which politics are made subservient to Social Science, in themselves make rather a heavy bill of indictment; and when to these are added broken pledges of the most aggravated character, Ministers may well be excused if they feel semewhat nervous. The speech delivered by Mr FAWCETT is one of the few practical and statesmanlike utterances which have been made in this dull and commonplace period which has gone by since the doors of West- minster were opened last February. It has em- bodied in a telling form the bitter feeling of dis- appointment which everywhere prevails at the puerility and want of faith which is being shown by Mr DISRAELI and his Ministers. It reveals in all their deformity the pretensions of the Tory party, and it shows in a strong light the unblushing way in which they have cast overboard these who helped them into office. The Tories are great adepts in the art of professing friendship. They are the friends of everybody by turns, and it is astonishing how cordial they become to any class of the community from whom they require assis- tance. Friendship has been described by one of the poets as a. mysterious element of the soul." The friendship of Tory Statesmen is almost unsearchable in its mystery, but in the end one generally finds that they are their own friends, and no one's else. They have secured possession of office by the aid of all classes of the community, yet the principal Bills which they have passed are for the benefit of the publicans, the army officers, the parsons, and the landlords. All other classes of their supporters they have cast aside as they would throw away an old glove. Amongst those who are most aggrieved in this respect are the income-tax payers, the farmers, and those who have the privilege of bearing local burdens. But iA the two Jaat-named classes we find the most flagrant instances of broken pledges. The measure which was intended to give compen- sation for unexhausted improvements to agricul- tural tenants is a mockery, and still retains in the hands of the landlord the power of which the tenant most complains. The relief which it is pretended has been given to local taxpayers is illusory, because it is effected by the simple process of lessening the calls upon the ratepayers' right-hand pocket by increasing the calls upon the pocket on the left. And this brings us to the sub- ject which excites general indignation throughout the country—the subject of Local Taxation. If there was a question upon which the Government were pledged it was upon this. They were pledged upon it up t9 the eyes. While they were in op- position they had declared that Local Taxation was the great question of the day, and that they alone were the parties who could deal with it. When the appeal was made to the country, Mr DISRAELI told the Buckinghamshire electors, in a speech at Aylesbury, that the reform of Local Taxation must be undertaken at once, and that if he were placed in power he would do local taxpayers justice. Since that time two Sessions have come and almost gone, yet Local Taxation still has to be re- formed, and the Ministry have not even proposed to reform it. There is growing, too, a suspicion that they are not able to do the work- that, in fact, they are not big enough for the place." Every act of theirs lends a colour to this belief. At first the excuse was that they had no time to bring in a comprehensive measure, and hence a lump Bum of money was given to local ratepayers out of the National Exchequer. That was in the first Conservative Session. Then in the second Session, the excuse was that the debt was too large to be dealt with at once, and that although nothing was said about it in the QUEEN'S Speech, there were Bills to be brought in which would indirectly affect the whole of the question at issue. On Monday night one of these Bills was introduced, and again it was found that the country had been sold, and that the Bill had not the remotest connection with Local Taxa- tion. Hence Mr FAWCETT moved that the Bill could not be regarded as meeting the necessities of the time or the expectations which had been raised by the Government, and that the House was o opinion that the further delay of legislation with respect to Local Taxation and Local Government was calculated to impede the social and economic progress of the country. Mr FAWCETT proved his case completely. He showed that the Ministry had shamefully neglected to fulfill its promises, and that the Bill before the House would have no influence in reforming Local Laxation and Local Government. These facts were not denied, except by Ministers themselves. Their own supporters did not attempt a denial, and the utmost that could be said was that an effort had been made to redress the grievances under which local taxpayers laboured. This is in effect an admission that Mr DISRAELI and his lieutenants have failed to grapple with the immense mass of details which meet the legislator who attempts to classify and re-arrange the system by which local areas are governed. But it is claimed, that if the present Government has not reformed, it has at least relieved the pressure of local taxes? Upon this point Mr FAWCETT dealt a crushing blow. He showed conclusively that the local taxpayer is relieved by the taxation of the working classes. The owners of broad acres, the men with rent rolls varying from 2 10,000 to £50,000 and £80,000 per anuum, com- plain of the grievous burdens which are laid upon their land, and forthwith a sum of money is granted to them out of the National Exchequer, such Exchequer being replenished for the most part by taxes levied on the food and the neces- saries of the million. If the upper classes contri- buted to the Consolidated Fund as largely as the working-man does, there would be no injus- tice done in giving a grant out of th. fund towards the relief of local taxes but the fact is, that the articles consumed by the rich are more lightly taxed than those which are con- sumed by the poor, so that it is unfair that the taxes paid by the poor man should be taken to relieve the burdens which have always been borne by the landowners. A more complete example of Ministerial incempetence and Tory selfishness is not to be found than that which is presented in the futile attempts which have been made to deal with the tangled skein of Local Taxation. It is becoming more than ever plain that the Tories are not good men of business. They can make fine speeches and coin pretty phrases, but they cannot grasp and marshal in orderly array the details which lie in the path of practical legislation.

THE TURNPIKE TRUSTS. The House of Commons'Committee on Turnpike Trusts report a considerable number for continuance tor various periods in this year s Act, subject to certain directions as to the rate of interest. The Committee express their decided opinion that the necessity for legislation for the management of highways is increasing. The subject has been admitted by successive Governments to be of press- ing importance, affecting both the public oonvenienee and the value of property. The Committee observed that their recommendations have not unfrequently been in- fluenced by the expectation that such a measure would have been officially taken in hand before this time and could they have foreseen that the fulfilment of their hopes would have been so long deferred, they would probably have hesitated to fix so early a term for the determination of trusts, the abolition of I which throws the maintenance of the roads on single pa- rishes not substantially benefitted by those roads. l|j° condition of many roads formerly maintained out or z has deteriorated, and the Committee desire topo that the longer the promised measure a J. greater will be the difficulty in giving duejeffectto its provisions, for it is evident that wheja ar^ iture « lowed to fall out of repair a much be*^ efficient required to restore it than to maintain^ 11)e ex. state by a judicious outlay in the opinion penence of the Committee conn, jggg^z^ « The cir- they expressed in their reporx brought before your cumstances of the several ^at it was impossible to Committee varied so mnc In some districts the turn- apply any one rule thoroughfare between two pike roads, formI,°S t as8umed the character of a populous towns, aim d out cf the foj> street, large sums bei sQch caBeR) an(1 wbereg ing< and watering intervened, the Committee had no recommending that the trust should be dis- difficulty in recoup ^eate, ca,es of prospective hardship continued. before the Committee than wham 4-v. ofi parishes came be^ beavy mineral ^jngwhewi £ e between°large towns, or tojwid from railway stations, fnr a considerable distance through aericultnral Eh J and, whatever may be the provision ofa^eS measured the £ o«ntry, it seems to the Committee that some special provision will have to be made to meet these cases The Committee add that they are still of ^opinion that the compulsory formation of a highway distinct will not alone suffice. It is clear that in some casea a larger area of management is required and in many instances the local authorities should have power to I meet exceptional cases by exceptional measures."

EMIGRATION OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. About three hundred agricultural labourfrv, with their families, have left Boston for New Zealanu, under the auspices of the Labour League.

MURDER OF AN INFAJfT. A Verdict of wilful murder was returned by a coroner's jury at Crewe, yesterday, against Charles Dentith, for the murder of an infant named Halfpenny, by stabbing it on the head.

THE LOCAL EMIGRATION TRADE. Bristol, to which port belonged the honour of having solved the problem of ocean steam navigation, is now making strenuous efforts to regain her share of the Atlantic steam trade, which younger and more spirited rivals had taken from her. Tha Great Western Steam- ship Line of Steamers between Bristol and New York, started about four years since, have been very success- ful, and this week a new steamer has been added to the fleet. She is called the Somerset, is 2,000 tons burthen, and has a length over all of 292 feet. She has been built with extraordinary strength, and is classed 100 A at Lon- don Lloyd's, and 20 years A 1 at Liverpool Lloyd's. She ws built at South Stockton by Messrs Richardson, Duck, and Co., and her engines are by Blair and Co. (Limited). The Somerset has accommodation for about 450 passengers of all classes, and the fittings of her saloon are of the most luxurious character. She is commanded by Captain Western, who has had considerable experience in the Atlantic trade. The Cornwall, another of this line, arrived at Bristol ton Thursday, with a fi 11 cargo and 27 passengers, among whom was the new American Consul for that port.

THE NEW GRAYING DOCK AT CARDIFF. A few days ago we noticed the opening of the new graving dock which has been constructed at Cardiff by the Marquis of Bute, in connection with the new Roath Basin. It is one of the largest graving docks in the. country, and the following details may be of interest to traders Length from the caisson to the top of the dock 616 feet effective keel length, 580 feet width of entrance,. 60 feet. The walls are formed of Radyr, Forest of Dean and Pwllypant stone, the floor of the dock being limestone. The width of floor level is 55 feet. The coping level of graving dock is 4 feet higher than the ordinary coping level. The depth from coping to graving dock floor is 29 feet, the floor level being 2 feet 6 inches below the sill. The water over the sill at ordinary spring tides, will be 22 ft. 8 in., the height at ordinary neap tides 32 ft. 8k in. The gate is closed by an iron caisson, built by Messrs Gunn and Co., Cardiff. A capstan, placed at the entrance to the dock, and worked by hydraulic power, is used for with- drawing or removing the caisson, and towing ships in or out of dock. The sill of the graving dock is 1 ft. above the sill of the Roath Basin. The dock is emptied by pumping the water through a culvert, 5 ft. in diameter, into the East Dock. The water so pumped out at ordi- nary spring tides amounts to six millions of gallons, and at ordinary neap tides to about three and a quarter millions of gallons. The pumps for emptying the dock have been constructed by Messrs Moreland and Sons, of London. They consist of two centrifugal pumps, 9 ft. in diameter, and four 30 in. pumps. Each of these pumps has a separate engine, so that in case of an accident to one, the dock can be emptied by the others. The caisson contains a steam engine to pump the water out when it is required to open the dock.

ROTARY PUDDLING. We. think that everything tends to shew that the puddling process of the future will be carried out in rotary furnace capable of dealing with large charges, and worked 10 connexion with plant capable of dealing easily with the enormous puddled balls thus produced, these balls being subsequently cut into pieces of convenient size and dealt with by existing machinery; and we be- lieve that the time has arrived when our ironmasters should, as a body, consider this subject more earnestly than they hitherto h ave done. The process of mechanical puddling is essentially one requiring to be developed by experimental inquiry. To be commercially successful, machineryf for puddling mechanically must not only be capable o turning out a product at least equal to that obtainable by ordinary hand work, but it must also be enduring and be capable of being worked without nursing" and without giving trouble from frequent breakdowns. It is this quality of endurance under the rough usage experienced in iron- works which has proved so difficult to obtain in puddling machinery, and it is a quality the possession or non-pos- session of which, in many instances, can only be deter- mined by actual practice. When the Danks furnace was first introduced into this country, it was in many quarters assumed—somewhat too hastily-that it was practically perfect, and the earlier experiences of Mr Menelaus, Tooth, and others in the same field, were temporarily forgotten. Practical trials, however, on a commercial scale, developed more or less serious difficulties in the working and maintenance of the furnace, and from that time to the present constant efforts have been made to effect improvements. The present state of the matter as far as the Danks furnace is concerned, is fairly set forth in the letter from Mr Jones, of the Erimus Works, incorporated in the inaugural address of Mr Menelaus to the Iron and Steel Insti- tute. According to Mr Jones, the difficulty of the lining bas been entirely overcome and fettling can be procured suitable to any district," while he also speaks in hopeful terms of the means adopted to reduce the tendency to mechanical failures. As we pointed out a fortnight ago, the leading improvement introduced in the modified Danks furnaces at the Erimus Works—namely, the water jacket arrangement—is one of the chief features in the Crampton furnace. As regards speed of working, there is probably nothing to choose between the two systems so long as both fur- naces are in equally good condition but in regular work the amount of the output from any given furnace is of course largely dependent upon the ease of maintenance of that furnace. As to what would be the relative endurance of two furnaces, each constructed on Mr Crampton's plan with water- jacket arrangements, but one worked on the Danks system and the other with dust fuel, there are no data for actually determining but there are certainly no rea ons for believing that the results would be in favour of the former. With reference to this point we may remark that in the Crampton furnace the 5in. cock revolving with-the casing and through which the water-supply enters the latter, is not liable to derangement, and has stood the test of long practical working, while this can scarcely be expected to be the case with the Danks fur- nace, as to effectively supply water to the latter invele-es the use of what may be regarded as a revolving cock 7ft. in diameter, the wearing surfaces of which have thus a comparatively high speed. As regards quality of pro- duct, the difference, if any, may fairly be expected to be in favour of the Crampton furnace, on account of the high and uniform temperature which can be maintained and the regularity of the working-both matters which prac- tice has shown to be of a vast Jrak™f» there, fore, even the view of the question most favourable for the Danks system, we see no reasons why that system of working^hould, as regards quality or quantity of pro- ducts show any advantage over that of Mr Crampton. If now we consider the matter further, and examine the other qualifications which go to make up a successful rotary puddling furaac^we find that Mr Crampton's system psssesses most important advantages. Thus, in the first place, the use of the dust fuel as carried out by Mr Crampton gives a. of controlling the action of the furnace which is utterly unattainable so long as ordi- nary Area are used, be have frequently spok.n upon this point, experience at Woolwich only serves to confinn all we have said. By shifting the handles regnlating the supplies of air and fuel, the temperature can be altered, or the flame made oxidizing or non-ox □ without a particle of coal getting mto the iron while by simply leaving the handles alone, y g en condition can be maintained for 'y P1 absolutely without trouble. The ease and completeness with which the combustion of dust fuel can be controlled is, in fact, so striking that we are in- clIned to think that it can only be thoroughly appreciated by those who have examined it in operation, and who are, at the same time conversant with the difficulties of aSlnK ordinary fires. One result of the perfection of the combustion obtained with the dust fuel is the rapi- dity with which the furnace can be heated, the Woolwich furnace, when cold, having been repeatedly raised to a working heat in three-quarters of an hour, with an expen- diture of 3! cwt. to 4 cwt. of fuel. Another advantage of the Crampton system of working is that it does away with the construction and mainte- nance of all brick-built furnaces, and leaves the revolving furnace itself quite free at oneTend, the products of com- bustion returning through the same opening through which the jets of dust fuel are injected, and the furnace forming within itself a gas producing, gas consuming, and puddling chamber. We may remark, by-the-bye. that during his earlier trials Mr Crampton employed two chambers, but the alteration of the furnace so as to have one chamber only was found to save at least one-third of the fuel. -Et#ginee)-irg.

DB. DE JONGH'S LIGHT-BROWN COD LIVER OIL.— paiatahleness and the facility ^th,^hjuV r.Aa l*9" tinctive characteristics of Dr;^Lv ^.•. „5r- Granville, F.R.S.,author of "The Spas of Germany, writes; "Dr. de Jongh's Light-Brown Cod Liver Oil does not cause the nausea and indigestion too often consequent on the administration of the Pale Oils. Being, moreover, much more palatable, Dr. Granville's patients have themselves expressed a preference for Dr. de Jongh's Light-Brown Cod Liver Oil. Sold only in capsuled Imperial Half-pints.2a. 6d., Pints. 4s. »d.. Quarts, f.8., by all Chemist*, 8olf Cansijfuees, v»., 77, Strand, 1$