The North Wales Express

AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. [BY "A SON OF THE SOIL!"] Of the settled population of this country, the agricultural labourers are, in every respect, the lowest. Gipsies, tramps, paupers, and criminals, may be even lower in the scale of existence. But of all who have fixed dwellings, of all who live by work the labrwrs are at the very bottom of the ladder. Let us admit that they are not without good points. They are honest, sincere, single-minded, without malice, not given to excessive gossiping, careful of speech, gentle in manner; above all they work hard, living an industrious and laborious life. But the other side of the picture is terribly dark. Let us try to pourtray an ordinary agricultural labourer. Born in poverty, bred in a house which knows but little refinement, he has to earn his own living at a very early age. Schooling he has had, but only in snatches. He may have been somehow pushed through the standards, and taught a little grammar and arithmetic; but his mind has never been awakened, he has not been taught to think for himself, his intellect is absolutely devoid of ideas. He grows up an ignorant and utterly thoughtless lad. His education having thus been a sheer farce, the man is almost incredibly ignorant. The average labourer might just as well have never been taught to read, write, or cast accounts; for these accomplishments are of no use whatever to him. He never handles a book or a pen. There are some sciences he might well dabble in, such as botany or geology. Even their names are unknown to him. With politics, again, he ought to be tolerably familiar; he has a vote, and is supposed, therefore, to be able to form an opinion on the great questions of the day. But the labourers who, in politics, can go further than a vague, materialistic notion as to the difference between a Tory and a Liberal are painfully scarce. How can it be otherwise 1 Hodge never reads the newspapers. In Wales, the land of Sunday Schools, everyone is suppos- ed to be a theologian. And probably Welshmen know more about the Bible than any other people. But even in this department of learning the agricultural labourer is nowhere. He knows little about theology, and cares less. Then again, take music, quarrymen and miners can sing like angels, and have a fair knowledge of the science of music; their choral singing is renowned all the world over. But the labourers cannot sing any more than the horses they work with, or the cattle they feed. Just think of artisans, of town labourers, of quarrymen, of miners, of sailors! Why, compared with Hodge, they are very paragons of learning — Newtons, and Tyndalls, and Gladstones. There may be ignorance which is not blame- able. And it may be said that ignorance is, after all, only a matter of degree. But that ignorance which is profoundly apathetic, which sturdily holds its own against the encroachment of knowledge, which is imbued, as it were, with an element of persistent self- assertion, such ignorance is surely a thing both to be pitied and to be blamed. The agricultural labourer is not only ignorant; he resents every attempt at enlightening him as a personal insult. He does not make the faintest endeavour at improving his mind. What renders his case so desperate is his invulnerable apathy. It is impossible to get him to take an interest in anything beyond his immediate material surroundings. His view of life includes only fcod and clothes, horses and fairs, and agricultural shows. Talk to him about anything'else, and he will not only have nothing to say, he will not listen. Hodge is surely a strange being. He has a soul to be saved, a mind to be cultivated, like the rest of us. To Hodge himself it is as if he had not. Look inro his hard, vacant face, and you won't see a sign of intellect listen to his heavy footsteps-they do not bespeak the least elasticity or lightness of heart. Watch his absent, meaningless stare in chapel — no intelligence there. When others unite in holy song, Hodge's ponderous lips are firmly closed. He is a dull, unspeakably stupid creature. To a superncial.observer, Hodge is an inscrut- ablejanomaly. Living in our very midst, shoulder to shoulder with some of the most comfortable and intelligent people, how is it that he is so far behind in general culture ? Living in the land of churches and chapels and Sunday Schools, how is it that he is so indifferent to the highest problems of life ? Tramps, gipsies, criminals, and loafers are separated by a wide gulf from the respectable portion of the community. But the agricultural labourer is respectable enough, in all conscience. In simplicity and purity of living, he might serve as a model to a good many of his superiors. It is his impenetrable dulness, his apathy, his contented ignorance that render him an object alike of wonder and commiseration. The explanation is not far to seek. A mystery though he is, the agricultural labourer would be a greater mystery if he were anything different. Consider the cruelty, the merciless harshness of his life. He works from five to seven—fourteen hours a day, eighty four hours a week. And his work is hard work, dull, miserable drudgery. Is it reasonable to expect a man who has toiled and moiled for fourteen long, weary hours to have any energy left wherewith to cultivate his mind ? And if he is unmarried, where can he retire to read or study ? The dark, cold, comfortless loft, where he sleeps, is sarely not very inviting. Knowledge, as we boast, is nowadays cheap. But it is not cheap enough for the agricultural labourer. A man whose weekly wages amount to only from seven to ten shillings cannot spend much on books or newspapers. He has a family to keep, too often a large family. How he manages to make both ends meet is almost r beyond comprehension. It is a miserable thing to think of. Accounts run up at the small village shops, then county court proceedings Hodge's life is one unceasing struggle against debt and starvation, and he is ever on the verge of being overwhelmed. Bitterness without in- termission, without a moment's breathing-space. He cannot think of culture. He has no money to buy books, no time to read them. His brain does not get fair play it is weighed down, as it were, by the body. Inaction has enervated it, robbed it of vigour and agility. Hodge is all body and no brain, almost as much of an agricultural machine as a human being. This is not the result of any inherent inferiority, but of continual hard work. Find out the most highly developed gentleman, the most refined and intellectual, and set him to do Hodge's work -he would soon be another Hodge. The body requires exercise, or it degenerates at the ex- pense of the brain. But from too much hard work, the brain is enfeebled at the expense of the body. Hence the apathy, the mental sluggishness referred to above. And this apathy is the source of Hodge's contentment. For Hodge is wonderfully quiet and satisfied with his lot. It is not very easy to convince him that he is worked too hard, that he gets only starvation wages, that he is badly fed, badly taught, badly housed, a miserable, neglected wretch altogether He takes matters as they are, and thinks they can never be altered. It tcok a long time to rouse the London" dockers;" it will take a much longer time to rouse Hodge. This profound apathy, however, ought to be overcome somehow. Better education, more thorough and more extensive, will open the labourer's eyes. Once set him thinking, then war will soon be declared. A labourers' strike, if efficiently organised, would do wonder3, for farming work must be done in a definite time; the crops will not wait. Sooner than see their productions perish, farmers would certainly give /■»!-» zar» UTO rrac UI5LJ.vl. TT UJóV¡"'¡. T The farmers, it should be borne in mind, cannot be justly blamed for the wretched con- dition of the labourers. For farmers must live and pay their way. And with the rent, taxes, and tithes, one does not see very well how they can afford to grant better terms to their men. The guilty parties are the landlords. Heaven only knows how much misery and suffering, how much harshness and cankering anxiety, are inflicted upon the country by landlordism. Here's a numerous class of honest men, the agricultural labourers, worked as hard as ever slaves were, kept in profound ignorance, forced down to the brink of starvation, simply that a few individuals may indulge in luxury and expensive sin. What, in a few words, do the labourers want? Shorter hours, higher wages, better food, better education. These secured, the rest would come before long. How are the .labourers to be roused to a sense of the hardships and injustice they so quietly endure ? That is a big question and cannot be answered here. Some time or other, however, it will have to be answered. The labourer's condition is a dark blot on our civilisation, and the sooner it is wiped away the better for us all.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. THE CARNARVONSHIRE CONSERVATIVES have latterly been in a great mood of expectation. A rumour got abroad that Mr Swetenham's valuable political services to his party were to be at last acknowledged, and that they were to be rewarded with the offer of one of the county court judgships which have fallen into the patronage of the Lord Chancellor during the last fortnight. The word went round the boroughs to be ready for a contest, but it would seem that Mr Swetenham and his supporters are doomed to disappointment, and that the member for the borough is likely to be for some time at liberty to c3ntinue his peripatetic pilgrimage to Primrose League demonstrations, and to hold forth in those hole and corner gather- ings to which he, reluctant to face a public meet- ing of the constituency, is compelled to resort. Many Conservatives freely express their regret that Mr Swetenham's legal ability has not been recognised by the leaders of the party, and that he was not chosen as the successor of a former member of the Chester and North Wales circuit —Judge MacIntyre-as there is no gainsaying the fact that as a politician he had been a miserable failure. Speculation was materially rife as to who the Conservatives would select as their can. didate. Colonel Platt and Mr Ellis Nanney, as defeated candidates for the county, have the priority of claim. Where, by the way, is the Con- servative candidate who was announced a year ago with such a flourish of trumpets as certain to win for the party the Northern Division of the county ? Since his selection the Hon. Edward Douglas Pennant has been taking matters ex- tremely easy, and is doing little or nothing to make the acquaintance of those whose votes he is one day to seek. It might have been expected that bis name would have been included amongst the list of speakers at the Primrose League Demonstration which was lateiy held at Glodd- aeth, and that if only out of compliment to such a staunch upholder of Conservatism as Lady Augusta Mostyn nctoriously is, he would have honoured the gathering with his presence. But one looks in vain for the mention of his name except in the very responsible position of a patron. As he will^probably pose as the friend of the farmers he might have turned to advantage the recent show of the Anglesey and Carnarvonshire Agricul- tural Society, from a principal function of which, present as well as prospective members of Parlia- ment, were noticeable by their absence. THE ANGLESEY CONSERVATIVES are very sore over the fearful beatening they have suffered in the recent revision of the list of voters. Returns of the result, by whichever side published, are not always to be relied upon, as many a Parliamentary candidate and electioneering agent in Anglesey and Carnarvonshire has found out to his cost when they came to be tested at the ballot box. But, even allowing a liberal margin for the gain claimed by the Liberals, there is no doubt that a substantial majority was obtained, thanks to the thorough way in which Mr Jenkins did his work before and at the revision ccurts, and to the assis- tance which was rendered to him by voluntary agents. The Conservative agent did his best, but be was overweighted and the organisation which was understood to havebeen thoroughly renovated stands in greater need than ever of being made more workable. The Unionist candidate who is to oppose Mr T. P. Lewis has not yet made his appearance in public and the result of the revision will not encourage any gentleman who may be hesitating about occupying the doubtful com- pliment of being chosen to champion what is obviously a lost and an unpopular cause. MUNICIPAL MATTERS, owing to the approach of the first of November, claim priority and abscrb greater attention than do Parliamentary details and the doings of the representatives. In Bangor the feeling is not so acute, political or personal, as it was when last an appeal was made to the constituency, and the elections bid fair to be con- ducted with a freedom of the bitter spirit which formerly constituted such an unpleasant element in the scramble for municipal honours. In two of the wards-the East and South-the partie are fairly face, to face and are fighting single banded. In the East, or Hirael Ward, Mr George James, the Conservative can- didate, who is making a second attempt to enter the council, had the advantage of a long start over Mr Robert Hughes, who is his opponent* The latter, however, is rapidly gaining ground: he knows the Ward well; is identified with its principal industry-tbe shipping interest-and it will come as a surprise upon thd Liberals if the vote on November the First is not cast as it was at the contest of the County Council and that their candidate again heads the poll. The manner in which the retiring member hastened to sever his connection with his old constituency in order to try his chances in another part of the town does not inspire the Conservatives with hopes of retain- ing the seat. On the contrary it is damaging their chances in two Wards, as many Conservatives in Hirael resent the desertion of Dr Grey Edwards as a slight upon his former constituents, whilst in the South Ward the question is being asked why he did not elect to remain amongst his old sup porters if they had any confidence in him, and that his transferring his candidature to another Ward demonstrates that he dreads another appeal to those whom he now represents on the Council. IN TWO OF THE OTHER BANGOR WARDS the Liberals are at a disadvantage in not being ready with a second candidate. Mr John Price has issued his address seeking re-election for Upper Bangor, and it was expected that Mr T. C. Lewis, who so narrowly escaped being returned last year, would run with him and capture the seat now held by Mr Richard Rowlands, who seeks to be once more returned in the Conservative interest> But Mr T. C. Lewis is chary about going through the worry of another contest and is not wishful to be placed in nomination. The Liberals must be prepared with a second candidate, as if Mr John Price has no colleague his return may be en- dangered-a circumstance which would overjoy his political opponents who put forward such strenuous but fruitless efforts to disqualify him through the agency of the revising barrister's court. Mr Rowlands tis the only Conservative candidate before the constituency, but it is an open secret that should the nomination be confined to one Liberal candidate the Conservatives are prepared at the last moment to nominate a col- league with Mr Rowlands, and that a quiet can- vas is going on with such an object in view. It is most essential for many reasons that this dodge should be anticipated and that there should be a second and a strong Liberal candidate in the field without delay. In the remaining .Ward, which includes the greater portion of High-street and the populous suburb of Glanadda, the two Conservative candidates have already worked the chief part of the ground. Here also a second candidate is needed to safeguard the Liberal interests. Mr Samuel Evans, who has sat for this constituency since the incorporation of the borough, and who has done his party, especially in the Council Chamber, splendid service, is at present what has been aptly described as an unknown quantity." It has not been definitely ascertained whether he still finally abides by his determination to give up municipal work for the present. The success of the Conservative candi- date for the County Council will give that encouragement to the Conservatives which the defeat of the Tory nominee affords the Liberals of Hirael; and Mr Richard Daviee and whoever may be chosen to run with him will have to work hard to keep one seat for the party. In the remaining Ward the Liberals during late contests have been able ..to hold their own, and many iwho have hitherto .voted Conservative are withholding] their support from Dr Grey Edwards on the grounds that he ought to have stopped with bis old constituency at Hirael and that his desertion of them savours of ingratitude and is an expression of want of confidence in them. However, as Mr Hugh Hughes got into the council without being put to the trouble of an election, he must not com- plain now that he has to fight for the retention of his seat. BUT CANNOT A. CONTEST BE AVOIDED ? Thanks to the tact of the mayor: thel political partisan- ship and personal feeling once so paramount in the council have been banished from its delibera- tions, which are now conducted decorously and in a business-like manner. The once familiar "heading to the newspaper reports-" Another scene"-no longer appears," and, but for an occasional tiff between Councillors W. A. Dew and William Jones, the reading of the proceedings is dull matter. The majority of the sensible rate- payers of Bangor abhor a municipal election and now that the council has applied itself to the duties for which its members were elected-the improvement of the city, the maintenance of its sanitary efficiency, and the checking of needless expenditure—the antipathy toanytcontest is more marked than ever. A compromise could be easily and satisfactorily arranged, seeing that as regards the retiring candidates there is an equality res' pecting politics-three being Liberals and an equal number Conservatives. Let Mr John Price and Mr Rowlands keep to the Upper Bangor Ward; if Mr Harris is determined upon retiring let his substitute be one of the two Conservative candi- dates now in the field, and if Mr S. Evans con- tinnes in his present state of mind let Mr Richard Davies step into the breach. With reference to the other Wards the solution of the difficulty is easy. Mr George James has no chance at Hirael -that is universally conceded, eo let Dr Grey Edwards revert to his present constituency, and leave Mr Hugh Hughes in possession of the South Ward. Touching the Liberal candidate for Hirael, his loyalty to the party may be safely relied upon. and his acquiescence in the compromise is sure The like arrangement could extend to the election of aldermen-the re-appointment of Aldermen Platt and Richards, both Conservatives, and a Liberal to replace Alderman T. Lewis, should his state of health necessitate a continued absence from the meetings, which all parties regret. Over- tures for an amicable arrangement on these lines have, we understand, been held on behalf of the Liberals, who have nothing to gain by their acceptance, but who wish that the strife of a con- test and the temporary disorganisation of the work of the council and its committees should be pre- vented. The terms are perfectly fair and honour- able, neither party can claim an advantage. The great bulk of the ratepayers, there is not the slightest doubt, will favour their acceptance. If rejected, the responsibility will rest with the Con- servatives. JUDGE HORATIO LLOYD had another prolonged sitting at Bangor on Monday, and contrived to clear off most of the causes which have been cum- bering the list for the last two courts. Their clearance, however, occupied so long that none of what may be termed the original business of the court was touched, the time being taken up chiefly by the delivery of judgments, in one of which there was a long wrangle between counsel and court and baskruptcy motions. A jury cause which was entered for hearing three courts ago stands listed for the next sitting-a month hence. The judge although he arrived late, made compensation by sitting late and he cannot be held responsible for Monday's block in the court, which was attribut- able in a great degree to the loquacity of the two learned counsel who were engaged in several of the cases, and one of whom sorely taxed the patience of his tlonour by the pertinacity with which be stuck to his point, and the volubility with which he advancedhislarguments. The judge plainly hinted more than once that he had had quite enough of it," and the vast majority of those who were compelltd to spend the afternoon in a crowded court doubtless fully shared his Honour's opinion, and endorsed his remarks. At one time, as now at Carnarvon, the appearance of a counsel in the county court was a novelty, but latterly it seems to be almost a general rule. At Bangor, on Monday, counsel were engaged on both sides in a cause where the amount in dispute was a trifle over five pounds. Are the solicitors of the dis- trict so retrograding in ability as to render neces- sary the engagement of "counsel, whieh means additional costs for their clients ? THE SELECTION OF LLANGEFNI as the town for holding the meetings of the Anglesey County Council has evidently stimulated the ambition of its inhabitants, who are desirous of being emanci- pated from the control of the sanitary authority of the Llanerchymedd Union, anjd want to be en- trusted with their own government. And their laudable ambition is almost sure to be gratified, as at a public meeting which was convened to dis- cuss the proposal only four objectors were to be found. A local board of health will find plenty of scope at Llangefni, for it is a question whether there is in any town of similar size in Anglesey or Carnarvonshire such wretched public lighting or such miserable thoroughfares. The main street on a wet day is akin to a river of mud, and Dr Grey Edwards, who, at Wednesday's meeting of 1 the Bangor City Council, was unsparing in his criticisms as to the indifferent condition of the streets of the university city, would be perplexed to find adjectives adequate to express his dis- approval of the state of things which exists at Llangefni. As to its system of drainage, it is well to be silent. Menai Bridge has much improved in public appearance since it was placed under the care of a local board of health, and ap a natural sequence the town benefits by the number of addi- tional visitors who spend the summer there. There are at present only two towns in Anglesey where local boards exists—Holyhead and Menai Bridge, and but a solitary borough boasting a mayor and corporation—Beaumaris. Llangefni has a mayor, so-called by courtesy, and he might not object to be the first chairman of the new authority, which, it is to be hoped in the interests of the town, will be called into existence without any great delay.

J0ral nub gistriff A CARNARVON CONUNDRUM.—How does Kelly cuts your hair ? As you like it."—Shakespeare' Mr Justice Hawkins will take the North and South Wales circuit at the next assizes, to be held next month. WHY DRINX INFERIOR TEA, when Bnkett S sell a splendid tea of Samson-like strength for two shillings a pound. Sample and compare it for your self. ADV. PROPERTY SALE AT CARNARVON.-On Saturday by Mr J. G. Jones, at the Castle Hotel, Dolfred- ydd, a small farm, sold for J6300, and a freehold house, Nn 55, Pool street, at £ 2o5. Messrs Hugh Jones & Co., were the vendors' solicitors. A PEER AND HIS BANGOR SADDLER.— \t the Bangor County Court on Monday, before his Honour Judge Horatio Lloyd, Lord Charles Innes Ker was sued by William Morgan, tanner, Carnarvon, assignee of the debts of J. Pugh, saddler, Bangor, for JBll 15s, the price of twelve ruggs supplied in 1888. Mr R. A. Griffith was for the plaintiff, for whom judgment was giving for the amount claimed. DEATH OF MRS ELLEN OLDHAM—Many of our Bangor readers will hear with regret of the death of Mrs Ellen Oldham, of the Blue Lamp Hotel, Cotton-street, Ashton-under-Lyne. Mrs Oldham was the second daughter of the late Mr Samuel Lovatt, of the Penrhyn Castle Inn, Bangor, and a favourite with all who had the pleasure of her acquaintance. She died on the 5th inst. in child- birth. It is unnecessary to add that Mrs Oldham's demise is deeply regretted by all her relations. EISTEDDFOD AT BETHESDA.—The annual E;s- teddfod of the Congregationalists of Bethesda was, as was mentioned in our issue for last week, held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings last, and turned out a gre&t success. The presidents were the Rev D. Adams, B.A.; Mr D. Lloyd George, and Mr George Brymer; and the con- ductors, Df Williams and Mr W. J. Parry. Mr J. W. Parry, Coetmor Hall, efficiently discharged the duties of secretary, Mr Alfied Armer being the treasurer. ACTION AGAINST A BANGOR SHIP INSURANCE COMPANY.-The Bangor Mutual Ship Insurance Company, Limited, were, at the Bangor County Court on Monday, gtpd by Messrs Rees Jones, Son, and Co., shipbuilders, Portdinorwic, for £5 12s 6d for work done to the schooner Climax. The schooner, which was insured in the society, was damaged by striking on a rock in the Swillies on December 26th, 1887, and was abandoned as a total loss, but the surveyor of the society, after surveying the vessel, certified that it was not a total loss. The case was proceeding when the court rose. Mr; Bryn Roberts (instructed by Messrs Jones, Roberts and Jones) ,was for the plaintiffs, and Mr Douglas (instructed by Mr R. H. Pritchard) for the defendant society. .L SI?R^WLNIA11 H^RC0LIRT'S VISIT TO CARNARVON Carnarvon before the 17th inst., the proposal that a banquet should be held the previous evening has been TWYTH. Mr A. H. Lute, a student of this college, gained last ^week tbe! highest scholarship offered at Guys Hospital, London, value £ 125 a year, tenable for three years. y t^7l00r^ ClDB- We are giad to find that Lord Pemliyn has once more consented to become the presidant of the above excellent club and that Mr W. Price Smith will act as secretary for another year. The club held the first practice of the season on Saturday. BANGOR AND THE NORTH WALES LIBERAL FEDERATioN.-Ata meeting of the Liberals rf Bangor held on Tuesday evening, the following gentlemen were appointed delegates to the North Wales Liberal Federation meeting to be held at Carnarvon on Thursday next:-Messra Morgan Richards, Edward Jones, Bryntneiric-: • John Price, William Jones, Robert Hughes, W Huw Rowland, Thomas Edwards, J. T. Jones, Thomas Owen, and Richard Kenvston. EXCISE PROSECUTIONS AT CARNARVON.—At the Carnarvon County Magistrates Court on Saturday, before Mr J. Mer.zies. Mr D. P. Williams, and Dr Evan Roberts, John Roberts, Tyucha'rffordd, Lfanberis, was summoned for keeping a dog without a licence. His defence was that as a farmer he was exempted and, although he had not made an application for exemption this year, he bad not paid a licence for seven or eight years. Mr Wilson, the excise officer, who conducted the prosecution, said that there was only one cow on the defendant's land when it was visitei a short time a go, and the defendant could not claim to be a farmer on that ground. A fine of 5s and costs was inflicted. He was also summoned, on two charges, for keeping carriages without a licence, and was fined 10s and costs in each case.—W. Roberts, Penvgolwg, Llanddeiniolen, was summoned for keeping carriages for the conveyance of passengers with- out being properly licenced. He was fined 20s and costs. THE SPECTRAL OPERA COMPANY AT CARNAR- VON.—On Monday night, at the Guild Hall, the clever Spectral Opera Company initiated their week's performances in the above town, the piece chosen for the occasion being Dickens's well-known "Christmas Carol." There was a fair audience, who, judging from the frequency of their plaudits, seemed to thoroughly enjoy the representation of that which has been described as "the finest ser- mon on charity." The acting throughout was of a high merit, and to Mr fBraide was accorded a warm applause for the manner in which he ac- quitted himself as a comedian. On Tuesday, the piece on the boards wrs "The Flying Dutchman," which was acted in a most commendable fashion, the audience frequen Iy applauding the histrionic powers displayed by each member of the com- pany. The ever-popular East Lynne" was played on Wednesday night before a large and appreciative audience, the company doing ample justice to the piece, which is always a favourite with Carnarvon people. On Thursday night :'The Mruntain Sylph'' was played, and on Friday (to- night) "Faust and Marguerita" will be presented, Mr Rosini concluding his week's engagements on Saturday night with the "Corsican Brothers." It is to be hoped that this company will pay another visit to Carnarvon during the forthcoming season. BANGOR AND BEAUMARIS UNION.—At Friday's fortnightly meeting, Mr Hugh Thomas (chairman) presiding, a letter was read from the secretary of the London and North-western Railway Company, I declining to accede to the request that permission should be given for a box to be placed at the rail- way station for the reception of newspapers and pamphlets for the use of the inmates of the work- house.-A return was received from the Local Government Board declaring the rateable value of the administrative parishes of Carnarvonshire comprised within the union to be £104,790. and of the Anglesey parishes £ 63,475 —The chairman said that the scheme had been received for the separation of the Anglesey parishes of the union and their attachment to the Anglesey parishes of the Carnarvon Union, same to constitute a distinct organisation.—In answer to Mr Clegg, the chair- man said that the Local Government Board said nothing as to the pecaniary arrangements nor when the new scheme was to come into opera- tion. The combination would be unfair to the Anglesey parishes in the Bangot and Beaumaris Union, as the cost of administration in other parishes were much higber.-The master (Mr Austin Jones) reported that there were 77 inmates in the workhouse, being an increase of four on the corresponding period last year, and that twenty- eight vagrants were admitted during the fortnight. Tbejournal contained an entry by Mr R. R. Rath bone, a member of the visiting committee, testifying to the clean condition of the workhouse. -An invitation from Mr John Roberts, Blaen- ycae, to entertain the workhouse children at tea was accepted. THE LITIGATION BETWEEN RELATIVES—His Honour Judge Lloyd, at the Bangor County Court on Monday, delivered judgment in the action heard at that court on severs 1 occasions in which Margaret Jones, Hen Barr, Aber, sued Elizabeth Williams, Dolwyddelen, for the recovery of £110, of which £10 was in re§pect of a legacy, there being'a counter claim for a legacy of £ 50 put in. The parties are relatedjto each other and it may be remembered that the action, which arose out of av; interpleader issue, involved the ownership ot certain goods at Tynlon farm, Aber. His Honour, in reviewing the evidence adduced in the case, said that the dispute rose more or less from family matters. It appeared that so far back as 1835 there lived on Tynlon farm two brothers, Hugh and W. Williams,and a sister named Mary Williams, Hugh Williams being considered the owner of the place until his death. From January, 1886, until his death in 1888, W. Williams was the tenant, but upon what terms it was a question which required to be explained. Befo:e his death his niece Margaret Jones bad come to live to him; and in his will, he left a legacy of JE50 to his nephew, Hugh Williams, the husband of the present defendant. Shortly afterwaids came this action by Margaret Jones, preceded, however, by an interpleader. He must come to the conclusion that at thp time of the interpleader the stock on the farm belonged to H. Williams, and he did not think there was any agreement to give it up to W Williams. The plaintiff's claim would be allowed less £ 4o, the £10 legacy, of course being subject to assets. Af to the counter claim he found for El zibeth Williams for JE20 10s, exclusive of £ 73 17s 6d recovered in the interpleader issue Mr J. Bryn Roberts, M P. (instructed by Mr R. Gray) appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Malcolm Douglas (instructed by Mr W. Huw Rowland for the defendant. THE WIFE OF A BANGOR BANKRUPT CALLED BFFORE THE COURT.-At the Bangor Bankruptcy Court on Monday before his Honour Judge Lloyd, the official receiver (Mr Ll. H. Jones) applied, in the bankrnptcy of Griffith Jones. coal merchant, Bangor, for an ordpr directirg his wife, Elizabeth Jones, to deliver up to him, as trustee of the estate, an indenture of mortcairo made in 1884 between her and the bankrupt. The official receiver explained that Elizabeth Jones was the daughter of Robert Thomas, who di,Il in July, 1868, having made his will a year prev'o"s under which the widnw was made sole ex«cutrV all the property afterwards going to her daughter' Elizabeth Jones, and her son, Robert Thomas The bankrupt married in 1870. The ground noon which he made the present application w&s tht the wife,who married the bankrupt two montli.^ Ir.iore the passing of the Married Woman's Prope, ty Act bad had no settlement of the property made upon her, and therefore the money was her husband's and would, as such, pass to his (the ouiciai receiver's) hand.—Mr R. A. Griffith opposed the application and in so doing said that it v> not exactly true that Elizabeth Jones sure,-ded to this money under the will of her father, iler father died in 1868, giving a life interest in his estate to bis wife, and the remainder to his sou ?.nd daughter but long before her father's death. Vfr3. Jones bad commenced to deposit money h the t Bangor Building Society, and continued to •]- so j afterwards. On this ground he contended th Vc the money was her own personal propei ty, and that I the husband had nothing to do with it in any way [ — Judgment was deferred.

require, it appears to us that they should (come "What may) stoutly and entirely decline to pay farthing in the way of tithes; and until ey take this strong ground to stand upon— J^til they fight the battle on principle and not 0 Irom expediency, as their fathers fought against phurch rates, ultimate and permanent success is ^possible. The question is very important to farming community and every farmer should calmly ask himself, "Shall I pay tithes, and thereby violate the dictates of my con-.eience, which tells me that I should not pay them, or, on the other hand, shall I decline to P^y them in obedience to the honest promptings °t my heart and judgment, and thereby run the risk of losing my farm, the home of my wife and children?" As a matter of religion and social jjjorality the latter course should be adopted. ian is in duty bound—there is no middle couise—to obey the dictates of his conscience. 9 man can permanently violate his sense of phat is rjght and wrong with impunity. 0 uQishment follows —m»st follow. ^Ve trust at the congress at Carnarvon will raise the tit^^d of the objection to the payment of thes in "Wales. If this is not done nonpay- I ei*t will hardly be justifiable. Of course, artners are perfectly within their rights—legal moral—when they tell the parson that him the tithe-rent charges, ^ch in almost every case are excessive in hard I- and that, if he wants them, he must them the best he can. Once the artuers will object paying tithes on the moral th conscientious ground we have named, all i .e oiad ravings and anathemas of arch bishops lshops and deans, such as were'indulged in at ardiff iast week, will fall perfectly flat upon c°untry.