The North Wales Express

Danger of a Strike. CONDITIONS AT BRYNAMMAN. BTJ"llamman--and' the surrounding dis- trict, including Tirvdail and Amm.anford- has ldBly been stirred by the -summonses issued against more t.han s::x hundred col- lie,rf. Paragraphs touching the matter have been frequent in the newspapers of I a t (,, Mid thus n. part of tho country which in spioe of its collieries rmcl tlnplato works received hut lit tle attention at the hands of the p ess has come to loom big even in Lon- Iiior.( ail-c,q. The information that an an'ti- er.ble .settlement had at length bec-n arrived at between emplover and wa-, re- ceiv >d throughout West Wale* with much relief. Visions of a strike at thLs period of the year, with coal at famine price, caused uneasÍn:> It wa-s while gleaning details for an article on the outlook that a reporter of the "Brecon and Radnor Ex- press'" rati across a story which has evoked explosions of astonishment on the part of thoso who have heard it. In Wind street, CATHERINE FLETCHER. (From a pLcto by J. T. Williams, Ammanford.) Ammanford, and within easy walking ais- t-l tile of the scene of this labour dispute, re- st le:, with his wife and group of pretty in- fce ligent children, Mr John Flotcher—a man ir the prime of life, the conductor of a flc urishing hoot warehouse. An unpleasant gloom had been cast over this home by the a'.f iir referred to, which concerned Catherine. Jane, an attractive looking little lass of twelve summer;, who had been a ouiotT of- much anxiety to her parents. £ bt was from her birth a weak and puny chLd, giving at frequent intervals indica- tioni that she was a victim to that distres- sing nervous disorder known as St. Vitus' danee." said Mr Fletcher, "and as time went on the symptoms became more fre- quent until twelve months or so ago, she became so shaky that she could hold nothing in her hands without dropping it. When she tried to put food in her mouth she dropped most of it. At this period she was under medical treatment and took medi- cine. We called in two doctois in ill, but their skill seemed to be of no avail. She did not benetit. Her appetite W-Is very fcor" • • *r At this stage of the interview Mrs Fletcher interposed w1 i h the remark that her daughter was by far in the worst con- dition. in the last fortnight or so of her last attack. She then shook very badly. Cotn-tinuing his narrative Mr Fletcher said "I had read in the newspapers ac- counts of Dr Will i.a.m q' pink pills for pale people, and about this time my sister-in- law, Miss Nelly Powell, of Pontardulais, advised lis to try a box for our little apri." "Well," queried the reporter, "did you act on her advice?" Mr Fletcher replied, "You may he sure we did. for she was in that state we would try anything before giving up." "What was the result ?" proceeded the in- terviewer. Mr Fletcher's answer was conclusive, "Wait a few minutes and you shall judge for yourself. I expect her every minute from school to dinner." Soon afterwards the child put in an ap- pearance, the very picture of health, and giving no indication whatever of having at any time been in any way afflicted. The seeker ilftur news questioned her, and elicited that .she felt quite well, at- tended school, and was in the Fifth Stand- ard. In the course of further remarks Mr Fletcher said that there was a marked im- provement in the child after -lie had orfiv taken two or three of Dr Williams' pink pills for palo people, and one box com- pletely cured her. "She has not had a I 'elapse since," he added, "but if she •ih.ould I I would at once sent for another box." There are now no signs of shaking, twitch- ing nervousness or other symptoms of the distressing complaint. Asked if anyone could corroborate his statement, Mr Fletcher said, "Mrs and Mr David Thomas, rollerman at the tinplate works, residing in this street, can." Accompanied by the subject of the narra- tive who showed him the bou-,c, the news- paper man called at the address (riven, and in reply to queries addressed in Welsh, was informed that the child was in precisely the condition stated previous to taking the pills. Asked if be had1 any objection to the facts being published, Mr Fletcher replied, 'None whatever. I a.m only too pleased to give them in the hope that somebody else b() might be a sufferer seeing them might Rive the pilln a trial, and you may add that anybody anxious to hear further from MO on this ;ubi(,t will be able. to do so on drop- ping a line." —i oo

A SOUTH WALES INCIDENT.- A re- markable caso was brought to tlsg notice of this paper and investigated, in which a cure was effected by Dr Williams' pink pills for pale people in a striking way. The result of tk", investigation is given, In. another column of this issue. There is evidence on all -sides that this medicine is held in the highest esteem through the country. Dr Williams' pink pills have cured paralysis, locomotor ataxy, rheumatism, and sciatica; also all diseases arising from impoverish- ment of the blood, scrofula, rickets, and chronic erysipelas, consumption, of the bowels and 'lungs, anaemia, pale and sallow complexion, general muscular weakness, loss of appetit palpitations, paH1 m tha lwk, nervous h-eadache, and .neuralgia., early decay, all forms of female tve;; ay esses, and hysteria. These pills are a tome, nor, a purcative. They are genuine only wi I tli# full name, Dr Williams' pink pdls tor r,al people, and are sold by s, aild by Dr Williams' Medicine Company, fd. Hoi born-viaduct, London. KC:, at. 2* « l a box, or six boxes for 13s 9d. PU1'1t pIlls W'l loose or froA glass jars are vot Dr Wil- lianis, pink pills; acept them only Jt1 the pink closed wrapper as above described- i 9

Snatched from Death!. A WEAVER'S FOUR 'fEARS' MAHTYODOM. len Doctors failed to Cure her. AIL HOPE HER GRAVE CLOTHES PREPARED. Siecms for Biliousness h RESTORED HER TO PERFECT HEALTH. Wherever there is a reading public, and wherever men and women suffer from ini ) tali ailments, the following details tlioj- 1 be zead with great care. They are details of Ind. an extraordinary nature that, were they advanced without corroboration or proof, every reason- 'I able being would be entitled to doubt them. Placed before the public in the way they now are, however, their very extreme character be- comes si source of strrr.gth; for'not only will corroboration — signed by respectable trades- people — be found below, t but also a sworn statement, signed by the patient herself before a Commissioner for Oaths. These proofs of the truth of every statement made below are here given; and, in addition, every inquiry .nto the case is courted. It is, without doubt, one of the marvels of a marvellous age. 'Pyl MISS BROOK (From a photo by Moorhouse, Mirfield). the subject of it is Miss Annio Brook, of Eastwood's Buildings, Dark-lane, Mirfield. In the presence of her mother and several wit- nesses also detailed the following circumstances, —"I am a weaver, but four years ago I began to be ill, and had to leave my work. At first I suffered from neuralgia. My head was so bad that for days and days I was racked with pain. One side of my face was particularly bad, and I had five teeth drawn without get- ting any relief. I could not take food, partly because I had no appetite and partly because if I did, I had indigestion so baa that the pain in my chest and between my shoulders was agonising. I also suffered from anaemia, and dropsy. Well! a doctor was oalled in, and to our surprise he told us that my chief trouble was heart disease! Nobody in our family had been so afflicted before, and we could not un-. derstand it. One thing, however, was quite clear that I continued to get worse. My cheeks and eyes becams puffed up with the dropsy, and my legs were swollen to nearly twice their usual size. I could not keep still, but was continually twitching and shaking. At several parts of my body I could put my finger on the skin and move the water about which was underneath. Notwithstanding the doctor's treatment I got worse; so we asked another to ettend me. He also treated me for heart. disease, but with no more success, and in the end gave place to a third. In all, I have been attended by ten different doctors, and none of them could do me åny good. For nine long months I was in such a condition that I could not walk upstairs, and a bed had to be made for me in the kitchen. Yet I could nor sleep. Never did I get a wink of sleep until about four o'clock in the morning, acd then it was of such a fitful nature that it afforded me little real rest. And all the time I was getting weaker and weaker. I had so little strength that I could hardly stand on my foot, and was so dizzy when I trieti to walk that I had to sup- port myself by catching hold of the furniture. Seeing that the local doctors did me no good I went to the Dewsbury Infirmary. For nine weeks I was in that institution, and for a long time after that I was an out-patient. Then I went to Bridlington, and was there three weeks in the hope that change of ai- would be bene- ficial. Yet the result was no more satisfactory I got no better, and gave up all hope." Here Mrs. Brook interposed, and said: None of us thought she would ever get bet- ter again. The doctors told us she might go off at any minute; and it seemed so likelv' that, unknown to her, I actually prepared her grave clothes. For months and months I thought each night she would be dead before the morning. Every few minutes during the r.ight I would touch her to see if she wis still living, and time acd again when she has felt, a, little cold I have sprung out of bed thinking that at last she had gone. It was a fearful time, I can tell you." CotinouilJ E, Miss Brook said that. she was in this sad state when a neighbour advised her mother to try what Bile Beans would do. She gave her one as an experiment, and it seemed to do her a little good. After that a box was purchased, and Miss Brook began to take them regularly. The effect of them upon her was detailed by Mrs. Brook, who said" Their first effect was to cause diarrbcra. Now Annie had been subject to constipation for a long time. and this effect, in her weak state, ieerred. to me very dangerous. Still, she said she felt no worse. For my own part I said to myself, These Beans will kiil our Annie.' Yet she west on taking them, "and seemed no worse. Fight days after she had begun to take them .e said to me, Mother, the pain in my head Has gone, too.' I said to her, Yes and some- thing else has gone too.' Sure enough, al- though 6he had not noticed it herself, her limbs were no longer swollen to the size they had been, and her eyes had lost their puffy appear- ance. The dropsy had gone. Our amazement! was great, you may be sure, and I quieklv I changed my ideas as to what the Beans were going to do for her. From that day her im- provement was rapid. You may guess what the Beans did for her when you hear that after she had only taken a few boxes she was so re- covered as to be able to go and nurse her brother a wife. Anaemia, dizziness, pain in her head, indigestion, and all her old troubles dis- appeared as if charmed away, and she is now cured. She has taken in all five boxeb of the Beans, and they have really saved her from tne grave." k- l 1' 7 Ye5," said Miss Brook, again taking trp the narrative. "I feel quite well and strong again, and ready for work, but as I have not been to the loom for four years I acj, begin1 ning to think I shaH have to learn again. I can now get about as well as even, and several times recently I have walked to Dewsbury. a distance of three milos. Many people who have met me have acma.Hy stood and stared, and have then asked me, What! Is it Annie Brook? They Have not been able to believe their own eyes, and when T consider the vast change which hae occurred in me I am not surprised." Such is this wonderful story another proof of the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. So grateful was Miss Brook for her cure that, to unarm suspicion from sceptical persons. she voluntarily made the following declaration before a Commissioner for Oaths: — MISS BROOK'S SWORN STATEMENT. "I. Anni.c Brook, of Dark-Jane. Tdir- Heid, iii the county of York, weaver, do tolemnly declare a* follows: Tour ycarg ago I began to suffer from neuralgia. I had five teeth drawn. I was attended by a doctor, hut got worse. I sufferea trom heart disease, ana mta, indigestion, dropsy, and dizziness. ¡V Q Jess than ten doctors in all attended me, but I got no better. I was an in-patient at Dewsbury Infirmary for nine weeks, and an out- patient for a long timr, 1 was at Brid- Itngion for three weeks, hut got no bene- fit. I was mad with pain and could not get relief. I could not go upstairs for nine months and had to sleep on a sofa. My mother gave me up and prepared my grave clothts. For four yetyra my mother had not a whole night's sleep with me. She used to fed at me every few minutes to see if I wtre dead. for the doctors said I might go off at any mi nute. I began to take Cftarles Verde s fiile Bean" fo" Biliousness. Eight days after I began I was able to sleep. After taking five bores I was quite cured again. Nothing but Bile Beans cured again. Nothing bttt Bile Beans cured me. Av-d I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true, and 'by Tirtue of the Statutory Declarations Acts 1jJ,ij. Declared by the said Annie Brook* at Mirtidd, in the county cf York, this Thirty first Day of August, 1900, before me, I "A Commissioner for Oathsj READ THIS CORROBORATION. The following corroboration by local people? „ends additional weight to the above fact*. The hrst two signatures are those of well-know» inopkeopers in the district: — 7?-» J^0Vl~ known Annie Brook tor 10 year9„ Vtle Bean* hive cured her when l«id given her 1lp altogether. We all thought she was on tie verge of the grave." » (Signed) %yLnLa/ £ 6.:0fZ; 4ed, -I have known Annie Brook for 15 veart Beanl her to take Bile won 'her J'™ been at their effect JeaJr < ? U0W qv'U v'cl1' and I in til case." wonderf«l (Signed) 1 11 L- r I Sacirvilla-strect. Rarensthorpe. I have known Annie Brook for IS veart. how ll] *he ha* befn, and I believed that s .e would never get better. Bile Bean* have done for her what I never iclieved pes- MOiC. r f Si" 7i edJ C- I i Bile Beans are obtainable of ail Chemists, or Post Free (if this paper ig mentioned) from r HE BILE BEAN MANUFACTURING CO 119 & 120, London Wall, London. E.C^OBM- ce:pt of price Is 1d and 2s 9d (large box containing three times small size). A FREE SAMPLE Box of Bile Beans which brought Miss Brook back to life FREE SAMPLE mdtt book on Liver and Digestive Ailments will be forwarded -rivE/iii oAMrJLii- f you send your Name and Address, an.d a penny stamp (to COUPON. over postage), along with accompanying Coupon, to THE — BILE BEAN MANUFAOTUKINU OO.'S Central Distribut- Observer and Express." iiig Depot, Greek Street, LEEDS. jan. 3,^3, 1902. L) E" 1L'O'D' K_ ilioifsivess SIANS

PenrhynSendraeth Board of Guardians. The fortnightly meeting of the above Board held last week, Mr Owen Jones in the chair. TYPICAL CASES. Mr C. Roberts mid the Chsirirmn referred EL tyP1?11 of out-relief. Mr Ro- s refened to a man whose mother received outre] ief. The man .spent a (fed of is ime m public-houses, and was capable ot earning good wages. A rteP.dy voung X he compelled to contribute to- rn. w « 's Ktotlu r, but thie fellow rl? ,sirnply because lie was a, drunkard. k n e > '}a,n^an knew workman who had ^<lly in in red his foot. When the man felt could return to work he went to the I tarry, but ultimately he was compelled to work because of pain in his foot. ■" f lan aske<; the Board to grant re- to a man of this sort, and the Board did V iCCENATTON. » An apphcati Jj1 was received from another ord. a^».in(, for support to an anneal that r,"s 'x>. be aiade to the Local Gfovernmont ,nr in fn rour of reducing the present fees }iifTfuC'nr ",OD' — Tb' Chairman remarked i the syhtect had increased the fees wiree t>:a..s what they used to be.—Mrs Oasson nT|d Mr Robert Jones, Llan, second- they support the appeal. and it was passe d. MR J. T. JONES SPEAKS. At the request of the Chairman Mr J • Jon,.s (chairman of the Pwllheli Board of guardians) delivered a short, speech. He said -wt h.i wa« very glad that the Government- in "r'polBt'e<1 ^IKB Evans, Sr. Asaph, to be in of boar."led-out children. Miss vort8 vW'aS m ,wery wa^ suitable to do the 'pit 1*, 'a'Ving shown great ability, and having lu^.f, interest in the boarding-out 'reat Chairman also expressed his kr*L T'l"t T afc the appointment of Miss t Pns, who had read some of the bcst papers t foor-Lav fereuc".

r LIBERAIJ POLITICS IN 1901. BY AUGUSTINE BIIlttELL, KC. As usual, I first turn to the Statute Book, for unless tlM politics of the past are enshrined in Acts they are not worth talking, still leas writing, about. One crreat change here awaits us. Queen Victoria's name has disappeared from the back of. the volumo of the Statutes of the Realm. Sixty-three volumes, all substantial, though varying in their degrees of obesity, contain the legislative enact- ments of the Parliaments of our late Sovereign. The Acts of the Queen are indeed a huge contribution to the body of our laws, and express better than anything else the enormous complications of modern life in its mechanical, industrial, and social aspects. 1 and 2 \ictoiia grew into (i8 and 64 Victoria, and then—farewell Queen. The year 1P01 bears on its front another image and superscription—Edward VII. It is a great change, but it has not affected the Statutes themselves; they are no bettor drafted than they were before. Were Mr. Balfour a man of business instead of a n gativo philosopher, he would be more concerned with the scandal of such a performance as the Workmen's Compensation Act than with the prevention of obstruction. The fewer such ill-drawn Acts of Parliament are passed tho better for the credit of the House of Commons. All measures should be referred to a com- mittee of lawyers and grammarians, so as to i>e made reasonably intelligible, before the King's consent places them in the Statute Book, to be the mockery of judges, the ruin of suitors, and the despair of text-writers. A reform so rational is not likely to receive much support. If it be asked, Why do not the lawyers in the House of Lords improve the shining hour by making the work of the Lower House at least prima facie intelligible the answer must be, Lord Salisbury dominate that Assembly, and shares his nephew's contempt for Acts of Parliament. No opportunity is ever afforded the educated members of the House of Lords to lick a Bill into shape. In the early part of the session, as Lord Macnagliten put it not long ago at a City dinner, "we have nothing to do and plenty of time to do it in: at the end of the session we have a (Treat deal to do and no time to do it in." The retirement of Lord Salisbury is reported to be imminent"; it can hardly fail to be beneficial to the business of the country. TR B LIBERAl. RHOOBD. However. King Edward has now -coii pleted his first volume. Is there any Liberalism in it? It would be odd if there were. It is only too true to say that in 1901 the Liberal party has achieved NOTHING. The year found us at war and leaves us at war. It found us spending a million and a-half pounds sterling a-week in attempting to hold two countries we have annexed by proclamation, and it leaves us spending a like sum in the like attempt. The talk about the war has now got into its third year: From the King to the crossing- sweeper, from the retired soldiers in the Service Clubs to the poorest returned Yeoman kept out of his pay. nothing el e of public interest is talked about but the war. So long as this topic engrosses attention, and whilst this weekly expendi- ture drains finance, it would be absurd to expect legislative activity. What the country wants is to hear that the war is ) over. One outside question has, indeed, flickered uneasily at intervals—the educa- tion question. The drowsy Duke who is President of the Council would have us believe that ho has been working so hard finding out the differences between primary and secondary education—a task, be it observed, as difficult as making head or tail of Sir John Gorst—that he has had no time to follow the history of the war; and there are those who believe that he and his "familiar" havo actually drafted a measure which is to be considered next session. This may be so; but, at all events, in 1901 nothing was done. The clergy—that valiant crew-tell us that this time the Government is in earnest, and will use the ful] strength of a "loyal majority for the purpose, not merely of introducing, but seeing through all its stages a great, though, of course, suspiciously brief, measure which will entrust the cause of national education to committees, with co- opted members of county and borough councils, and will frankly adopt rate-aid to Clerical Schools and sectarian religions education as the tinal solution of the question. This trilling measure, which Mr. Balfour will doubtless introduce as uneontro.versial and a trenchant reform of Parliamentary procedure, will, with an agreeable and popular Budget, a little friendly talk about the war and the War Office, a few Supplemental Estimates, and a suggestion of Redistribution of Scats, 1.9 occupy the greater part of the session but first and foremost will come education. Such is the prognostication of the clergy, who, though supernaturally endowed, are not in a position to guess what the mood and temper may be of that" joyal majority which, in January next, will take its seat behind a discredited and unpopular Ministry. The future will unfold itself, and if it disregards clerical prognostications it will not be for the fir ft time. THE PARTY POSITION. During 1901 the Liberal party, next to I the war, has bsen the great topic of con- versation. In the country, despite heated discussions and a good deal of exasperated feeling, the party has rarely failed to poll almost its full strength. Liberals have been critical and discontented, but have done their duty. The dissatisfied are many, but the deserters have been few. In the House of Commons tb,- weakness has been more manifest. A "pirit of pedantry and a love for nice points of difference have been plainly exhibited. Nobody can tell you p, tt xh I wherein Lord Eosebnry and Lord Spencer (1, i-c e r about Imperialism, or in what respects Mr. Morley and Mr. Asquith fail to be at one about the obligations of Empire. Yet differences. incapable of definition, are thought sufficiently vital to justify the establishment of separate and unfriendly organisations in orcior to accen- tuate and perpetuate them. I daresay an immediate profpect of office would annihi- late these illviMjry differences, which at any moment of friendly chat can be minimised out of existence: but in the mv.;nlime they make the Parliamentary party ridiculous, and a party that is ridiculous in the House of Commons is never likely to have any very immediate prospect of oilice. A.. out two tilings the country has Ile -I;i--i-,il to be sure. The jfii'x't is the mad- d'ninj- inefficiency and seif-complacency ^of the (ung's Ministers; and the second is the non-existence of a team of competent men belonging to an organised and united Op- position to take their places. Until the whole party works together the country is hardly likely to change its mind on the second of these things, feverishly anxious though it be to express its opinion ga the first. r There must, however, have been some Liberal politics in 1901. I think there were such politics; and that they may be described as a long, painful, and wholly unsuccessful effort to restore peace to South Africa. A true Liberal dislikes the state of war. is uneasy during martial law. and takes no pleasure in bloodshed. However much ho may believe in the goodness of his cause and-the cleanness of his hands, he seeks peace, and if not fully satisfied that peace is possible, he is uncomfortable. Not so tho Tory, who j is apt to think that war is a good thing j every now and again that to repeal the Decalogue once or twice in a century improves the breed; that war welds all classes together, and clears the air; and he finds in the" rea1 ities" of the battle- field an agreeable alternative to the follies of Newmarket Heath and perpetual polo matches. But history tells us that though Tories go into wars with light hearts, they are ready enough to come cut of them after they have had a bellyful of fighting. The most disgraceful peace in English history is tlJdt of Utrecht, and Tories made it. THK DESIRE FOR PEACE. At the present moment there are no Jingoes. The oracles of the music-hall are dumb. Nobody cheers the Colonial Secre- tary, and the great name of Roberts is received in silence. All want peace, if it can be got. There are only two ways by which it can be got: (a) by negotiations resulting in a settlement; (b) by a vigorous and successful prosecution of the war. These are not mutually destructive methods. Both can bo pursued with vigour by men who have made up their own minds. Were Lord Kitchencr Autocrat, he could, and probably would, pursue both methods at one and the same time. Lord Salisbury pursues neither. He burkes negotiations, allows Mr. Chamberlain to snub Lord Kitchener, and yet is the feeblest War Minister of modern times. It is said that to permit negotiations would wound the pride of Mr. Chamberlain and Lord Milner. Does the country prefer an income-tax of at lea6t Is. 6d. in the JE, its food taxed, its trade injured, its social progress impeded, its best blood spilt, to wounding the pride of two men P This can hardly be. Hitherto all the efforts made by Liberals to secure peace have failed. Disputes as to the origin of the war have largely con- tributed to the total impotence of the Liberal party during the last two years. It has counted for nothing, though polling nearly half the electorate. The disputes as to the conduct of the war in the ranks of the Liberal party are all traceable to differences of opinion as to its origin. Two recent events are at least steps in the direction of peooe--the Derby meeting and the Chesterfield speech. If Lord Rosebery really means to be henceforth an active politician, and to take his proper place in the arena of strife, the fact that lie does not think with the Derby delegates I that it is desirable to recall Lord Milner or to despatch a Special Ccmmisbioner need not keep peace-loving men apart; for, as he pointed out with unanswerable force, t e only way to secure the recall of Lord Milner is to cet rid of the Ministry, and that is a feat which is as yet beyond the power even of an united Liberal party. Lord Rosebery's speech breathed a spirit of humanity and sound .sense which has been conspicuously absent from the speeches of some of his supporters. Lord Rosebery recognises the difficulties of the situation, and does not repeat the optimistic phrases of Lord Milner's public utterances. He looks into his own heart, which tells him that it will be hard to build a Temple cf Peace on smoking hecatombs of slaughtered babes. He agreed to the second resolution passed at Derby relating to the Concentra- tion Camps, and, though properly firm as a rock as to annexation, he spoke wiser words about amnesty and civil rights and the folly of unconditional surrender than have as yet fallgn from the lips of the politicians who flocked to Chesterfield to get their "marching orders." I confess I see no reason why Lord Rosebery should not lead a united party; for as for his Imperialism, where is the man who would not willingly subscribe to that creed as declared and expounded at Chesterfield ? Perhaps before six months- are over an attempt to secure peace may have been successfully made. If peace cannot be made, and the war drags on a couple more I years, Mr. Middleton and his wire-pullers I will need to beware of their own Jingoes. A BARREN YEAR. The first volume of King Edward's laws contains nothing of much note. The fourth Act of the new reign settled the new Civil List. Time was when such a settlement was a risky thing, a mighty delicate and dangerous matter, imperilling even the Protestant succession. We are wiser to-day, and recognise with a deep sense of gratitude tho stability and economy of the Throne. The cheap and vulgar Republicanism which flourished at one time in Birmingham and other places has largely disappeared. Presidents have lost their chance. Even Sir Thomas Lipton would hardly do at Windsor. The new Civil List I was settled in a few minutes. FRRSH TAXES. The Finance Act of 1901 is full of policy, if not of politics, and stinks of I South Africa. The tax on tea was I renewed, and a tax on sugar imposed. This last tax will probably be doubled next year. No man over forty is ever likely again to sweeten untaxed tea with untaxed sugar. How far off and ironical seems the cry of "A free breakfast table"! The question no longer is, as in Gladstone's time, "What taxes shall be taken off p,, but, "What taxes shall be put on ? This is unavoidable if our present rate of expenditure, quite apart from the war, is I to be accepted as normal. How are we to raise an annual income of £ 120,000 000 with.out new taxes ? What remains to be taxed ? Drink, so the Chancellor says bears as much as it can stand. Land, so we are assured in a mighty chorus of ruined landlords, needs doles, not taxes. Food only is left. Bread must be invoked to support the burdens of Empire. Let us olant the Imperial Standard on the loaf of I :.he cottager The coal tax was inevitable, despite its inequality and, therefore, unfairness. I Ihe Chancellor must have his money. It is idle to complain, unless you suggest iither that the money is not really wanted or that it can be better raised elsewhere. If it was not coal, what was it to be ? The income-tax was raised to Js. 2d. in the C-aii enormous tax, pressing almost ravagely on most deserving people. The pinch of it is already serious: if it is increased it will become terrible. Yet increased it probably will have to be. Here again the Chancellor's excuse is his neces- sity. How else is he to get his millions ? Tell him, and ho wili thank you from the bottom of his heart. The sums raised for the service of the country for 1901, as grimly recorded in various Acts of list session, beggar the imagination. Hundreds of millions It is indeed, a bumper year! Was there ever such a mistaken estimate of the cost of a war made before i Ten millions was to pay for what two hundred millions will not "see through." DOLES AND SOPS AND DECEPTIONS. I Edward VII., chapter 13, is an inno- cent-looking little chit of an Act, with but three short clauses. Yet it is a thiug of gopie sienificancei for it renews those doles and •sops of which we used to hear so much before the Boers drove everything except their mobility and our stupidity out of our heads. It will, I hope, be admitted that doles are not Liberal politics, but Tory corruption. They are to be kept alive until 1906. The sovereigns of the taxpayer and ratepayer still chink in the pockets of the landlords. A more romantic Statute is the one whereby the King was authorised by a trusting Commons to assume what titles he chose. It was a wide discretion, and wisely .ins it be^n exercised. It would have been terrible had the Throne been vulgarised. As it is. the Roval title is now both melodious and significant. I cculd wish K:iig Edward no longer dub hod himself Defender of the Faith, for w .o he t* be rudely asked what particular faith he defended, and where niid hew and through what Ministers 11(\ did it, even his reao} wit would be at fault to find an effective reply. 'I he Appropriation Act of 1001 contains a grant of £ 10:( 00 to Lord Roberts "h recognition of his emir.cervices during the war in South Africa." The word during is significant. Tine was when the war was over. So loner ago as September 2Hth, 1900, a General Election being imminent, Lor.; Roberts was fortunately able to telegraph to the Lord Mayor the welcome tiding that the. City Imperial Battalion and Mounted Infantry would reach London before November Gth, and the Battery too. if possible—though, added his lordship, "I fø::¡,r I ennnot return so soon." "What was the comment of the Tvfnes in its issue of September 27th ? "THB WAR IS AT AN ESN, as is intimated in the t. iegram of Lord Robert; to the Lord Mayor." On that footing the General Election was allowed to proceed. SOCIAL LEGISLATION. The only Statutes that savour of our social state are a Consolidating Factory and Workshop Act, a necessarily lengthy measure of one hundred and sixty clauses, and an Act to prf vent the sale of intoxicating liquors to children. This latter Act, probably worthless in itself, illustrates very well the attitude of Tory Governments to the liquor trllde. They do not mind insulting it, though they will do nothing effectually to control it. For a child under fourteen years of age to enter a public-house to buy liquor, "except in corked and sealed vessels in quantities not less than a nint," is contamination so great as to justify the imposition upon the publican of a fine not exceeding 40t:. for the iirst offence, and not- exceeding k5 for any subsequent offence. What sort of place must a public-house be if.3 little boy of ten may not run thero to fetch a jug of beer for his father's dinner ? And if a boy of ten will be contaminated, why allow girls of fifteen to he exposed to the vulgar jesting and rude handling of the pothouse ? EARL GKEV'S SCHEME. The fact, of course, is the Government is frightened of tho trade, and will never tackle it. so it is left to the Bishops and a handful of philanthropist? villi busirr s instincts to throttle the brewers by com- petition. It is a fine expeiiment: and, though it is not likely to decrease the drinking habits of the community, it nrv perhaps impoverish the brewers, who iuw are also the pothouse keepers. I say perhaps, because there is much wisdom in Sir Edward Fry's reminder that if the Bishops' drink-shops succeed, tho brewers will put their spare capital into the under- taking, and thus make money both ways. The success of the little "public" on the Hill of Beath in my old constituency of West Fife has turned tho unaccustomed heads of sone total abstainers, who seem to see El Dorado placed r.t their disposal if only they themselves go into the business of vendors of i rink. It would be rash to argue from a placi so peculiarly situated as the Hni 'of Beath that success must crown similar efforts in othar placos, nor have I heard anyone say that the Hill of Beath never sees a drunken man stagger along its electric-lighted pathway. But by all means let the experiment be tried, and such sham legislation as 1 Edward VII., chapter Zt cease to insult our intelligence. AUGUSTINE BIRRELL. (}-

¡ THE GUARKY DISPUTE A PLEDGE TO CONTINUE THE STRUGGLE. Numerically and in some other respects the weekly mass mooting of the men who still remain out of the Peiirhyn quarry was last Saturday night the most important that has. takpll place for several months. This was mainly because of the presence of several hundred men who had'returned home from South Wale," and elsewhere for tho Christmas holidays. The meeting, '.vhich was preceded by a procession, took place at the Market Hall, which was crowded. Mr Henry Jc-n.es (chairman of the Cti-rmlttp-e) presided, being supported bv among ethers, Mr Joiw Davies, miners i jivg&nt, of Dori-tais. I In opening the proceedings the Chairman observed that he strings which controlled the bon in his hinds for ¡,!any months, end lie should be only too ill ad to be allowed to lIft. the curtain. How- ever, the Committee were working assidu- ously but quietly, and the men wowld have no can.-e to he r shamed of them (appiause). Mr D. R. Daniel (organiser of the North Wales. Union) laid stress on the chairman's declaration -„hnt tho whole responsibility rcited upon the workmen and not on the Committee. Chairman, before calling upon the miners' representative, pointed out that the period for vhich the Committee had. been elected to take charge of the men's interests had expired, rendering it neces- sarv to re-appoint tbo Committee or to make other arrangements. A man in the audience thereupon moved that the men should again entrust their interests to the same Committee. This was promptly seconded by several, and carried amidst cheers. Subsequently the meeting was invited to express its opinion on the two resolutions passed in mass meetings held on Easter Monday and Whit "Monday this year, pledg- ing the men to -land together until victory wa.« secured. The" terms of the second re- solution, as lead by the Secretary (Mr Grif- fith Edwards), were as follow:—"In. face cf Mr Young's notice—(loud booing and laughter)-inviting some of us to resume work on the llthinst-ant. while refusing to recognise any of our grievances, parti- cularly the right of combination—which is conceded alike by the law of the land and the best employers of labour,—we resolve that we can do nothing better than con- tinue the struggle until an honourable set- tlement is arrived at." A speaker in the audience moved that the resolution be adhered tü, even though tha struggle might extend for three years more (loud cheers). ThÜ1 was likewise seconded. by several persons. The Chairman suggested that no period should be an(I with the adoption of that suggestion the motion was unani- mously carried. Mr John Davies (miners' agent), who was cordially received, declared the Penrhvn struggle to be one for independence. Lord Penrhvn was a? indebted to his workmen as the workmen were to his Lordship. As an individual Lord Penrhvn was more power- ful than any individual among uemen, but with a well-organised ccmbination Hmong; them the men's position would become in- vulnerable. He understood that his Lord- ship refused to receive representatives of the men except in his own way, which im- plied that his Lordship's case was so weak tl'at he could not allow it to be discussed except under conditions which would enable him to get the men's representatives under his paws. This, ho maintained, contrasted strangely with the attitude of colliery owners towards their employees. Only the other day he, in his capacity of miners' agent, appeared at Birmingham before the directors of a company which employed 20,000 men, nr. ougli an outsider, he was afforded every facility possible for dis cussing the men's case (applause). There wa" nothing more natural than that work- men should combine to protect their own interests, for trade unions could not, en- force that which was unjust and unreason- able. At the present day trade unions were denounced as agencies which en- croached upon freedom. But he krew of ni freedom in this country except the free- dom enjoyed by the strong to oppress the weak. He believed that every labour dis- pute was capable of an amicable settlement, but not until compulsory arbitration was established and the laws of the bind were framed by men directly representing the working classes (applause). Lord Pcnrhyn WR" no worse than many another employer except that he lived in more convenient sur- roundings for displaying his spirit. He complimented the men upcn the orderly charaeter of the demonstration which had taken plac--> that day. and strongly advised them to abstain from e\;e.ry kind of lawless- ness. He did not envy the men who had gone back to the quarry, for no sooner were they cut of Lord Perrhvn's hands than they were in the hands of che police, who escorted them home (laughter). They were traitors, and as such ought to be absolutely ignored by all other men (applause). FURTHER. PROSECUTIONS. A further batch of prosecutions in con- nection with the Penrhyn Quarry troubles will be heard before the Bangor magistrates at their next sitting, summonses against., ten persons alleged to be implicated in more or less serious breaches of the. peace having been issued. About 1000 late Pen- rhyn employees returned to Bethesda last week for their Christmas holiday. These for the greater part held tickets available for return within 14 days. Some have already returned, but the bulk will re- main on until the end of this and the be- ginning of next week. The police authori- ties complain of the action of the Beth- esda District Council. That body, acting as the highway authority, had a quantity of. fresh metalling put on the road's just before Christmas, and before the advent of a large number of late employees at the quarry. The county steam roller was not available at the time, and had any dis- turbance taken place the crowd on each side in any such disturbance would have had an abundant supply of dangerous mis- siles ready to their hand. The use of the Bangor steam roller was obtained to work on the metalling along Bethesda High street. Fortunately so far the holi- days have passed without serious disturb- ances. Many and various are the indirect effects of the Penrhyn Quarry trouble in the locality. Two remarkable illustra- tions of how it affects friendly societies have just been afforded. On Saturday last the annual meeting of the local lodge o% Oddfellows was held at Bethesda. A number of the men now employed at the quarries had absented themselves from the meeting, and were fined 2s 6d eacb for ab- senting themselves without sufficient rea- son. The b-aik of those attending the meet- ing were men still on strike. On Monday evening the Gelli Sick: Benefit Club held its annua, meeting. Certain officials of the elubither working at the quarry or suspected of sympathising with those now. forking were, as the result of the voting f°r office, displaced by others.