The Aberdare Leader

An Important Matter! The Workhouse Master entered the room at this stage and said that Mr. T. J. Owen, of the Aberdare In- dustrial School, had telephoned to him to say that he was in receipt of a telegram from a Southport Institute, the authorities of which wanted the consent of the Guardians to cut the hair of an Aberaman girl who had been sent there. Mr. J. Prowle said the child had been boarded out. Mrs. Williams: Do they want to shave her head? Mrs. Jenkins Ko, simply cut her hair. (Laughter.) Permission was granted.

rhe Wesleyan Heresy Hunt. Strong Strictures by Local Minister. The pastor, Rev. E. T. Evans, oc- cupied the pulpit of Highland Place Church, Aberdare, on Sunday, and in the evening based his sermon on Rev. 14, 6, "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach, unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people." The form in which an idea was ex- pressed frequently provoked a warmer discussion than the idea it- self, he said. We often agreed about principles and quarrefled about their definition. Yet forms were but shadows of the real substance. It was stupid to exalt systems and forms to a posi- tion of finality and to wrangle about them. Continuing, the preacher said :— A very recent illustration of the attempt to t give to passing forms a lasting reality for all time is afforded by the attempted heresy hunt of the Rev. George Jackson by the Wes- leyan Conference; or more truthful- ly by a section of the conference. Now what was the terrible crime that Mr. Jackson had been guilty of, and against whom so many bit- ter things have been said both in press and pulpit? Had he attempt- ed to lower moral standards, or to degrade the eternal verities of truth, righteousness and love ? Had he said a word in disparagement of God or the soul? Not a word. All that he was guilty of ,was the heinous offence of maintaining that the creation stories of the first two chapters of Genesis were not history but legend; a truth to-day known to every intelligent schoolboy, but which certain Wesleyan ministers seem to be unaware of. The his- toricity of the creation stories was only a passing phase of thought, which had to make way for a better interpretation as our intelligence grew concerning the world, man, and God. To adhere blindly and regard- less of consequences to old thought- forms, just because they are old, to the exclusion of better ones, is the worst kind of infidelity, for it denies the existence of the central principle of progress, underlying the whole history of man and things. And one cannot help but rejoice that the sane common sense of the vast majority of the Wesleyan Conference decided to retain the services of Mr. Jackson in spite of the shrieks of a few bigot- ed obscurantists, who, obsessed by their own self-importance, imagine that they have a divine right to fix the beliefs of thousands of their fellow-men. It is not a bit of good endeavouring to maintain the status quo in any department. We are liv- ing in a growing world, and the un- tiring, ever coming principle of life, will make short work of our cosy little systems, and organisations, in order to reach out to higher and nobler ones. Even the best organis- ations that we have to-day will pass away, like those which have gone be- fore. They are but the fleeting forms in which great thoughts are temporarily embodied. Continuing, Mr. Evans referred to the International Congress held at Pa^js. He said:— A very god index of the trend of modern religion is afforded by the International Congress of Liberal Christians which only finished its de- liberations last Monday at Paris. There we saw men belonging to al- most every religion in the world, meeting together upon common ground in order to assist each other in their quest after truth and the larger life. There they are, Jews, Mahomedans, Hindus, Buddists, Christians, and so on, meeting to- gether without any sense of incon- gruity or discomfort, exchanging ex- periences and thoughts, and dipping their souls in the refreshing waters of the life universal. Of course to the hide-bound sectarian in his little Bethel all this is incomprehensible; he looks on aghast at what he con- siders to be the elimination of cer- tain well-defined land-marks; the lowering of moral standards, and the thinning and even to him the mater- ialising of spiritual experience. But the over-powering, unifying life, that attracted together so many different nationalities and religions at Paris, will sweep around and into our little Bethels and Moriahs, and will sweep away their petty orthodoxies and bigotries and prejudices, and it will bear them on and up, in spite of the shrieks and protestations of parsons, and ministers and deacons, until they, too, stall taste the universal water of life. and find it good and in vigovating.

Crawford: "Are those dollar watches any good?" Crabshaw: "They're all right except when you're broke."

Old Aberdare. Some Recollections of 70 Years Ago by Mr. John Morgan, Cwmbach. ARTICLE IV. We have traversed the district from Aberdare to Mountain Ash, and now we will return for a moment to Trecynon, or Heolyfelin as it was exclusively called in those old days. This portion of the district is much more ancient than the lower end of the district, and the employees in the iron ore works were housed chiefly in Heolyfelin, Abernant, Llwydcoed, and Hirwain. Mill St., said Mr. Morgan, was not composed of as many houses in those days as now, though there were a good few there. There were also houses in Mount Pleasant Street, Ebenezer Street, and Harriet Street, and a few along the .Tramroad. The house which is now known as Cwnrig Cot- tage, occupied until a few years ago by the late Mr. Wm. Thomas (chem- ist), was once the Rose and Crown public-house, where the renowned choir conductor, Caradog, first saw the light. Public-houses, by the way, were very plentiful up at Tre- cynon in those days. One of the old- est was the Blue Bell. There was a New Inn in Mount Pleasant Street, and the Mount Pleasant Hotel had also been built in those days; as was also the Plymouth Arms, the Full Moon, Royal Exchange, and other public-houses, which have long passed away. He remembered the Cross Inn being erected. The Stag, which later came into prominence through Eisteddfodau y Carw Coch, was converted into a public-house from two cottages in 1854 by the Carw himself, father of our esteemed townsman Mr. L. N. Williams, J.P. Those were the "good old days" when it was unnecessary to beg he- fore a Bench of Magistrates f.-r a public-house licence. There was then no need to fix a iiiciiop,)Iy value, etc., etc. All that was neces- sary was to ask a magistrate for a licence, just as one would ask in these days for vaccination exemp- tion certificate. Aberdare was in the happy (!) position in those days to be without a single lawyer, where- as now we have 20 odd. The local J.P. was Mr. George Rowland Mor- gan. who lived in Gadlys House, now occupied by Mr. Evan Williams, headmaster of the Higher Standard School. The Stipendiary Magistrate was Mr. Henry Austin Bruce, after- wards first Lord Aberdare. After the Boot Hotel was built, the Police Court was held there. The residents were protected by two officers only, whereas we have now a staff of Superintendent, Inspector, and about 50 subordinate officers. Mr. Morgan remarked that he remember- ed the district being looked after by one sergeant and one constable. The sergeant was a Mr. Sadler, who was promoted to a superintendentship at Bridgend. Mr. Morgan could not recall how the office of High Constable ship came into being. But he distinctly remembers a Mr. Rees Williams, Cefnpennar, occupying the post somewhere in the 60's. Mr. Wil- liams evidently was not very proud of his position, and he offered the honour to anyone who cared to take it for 2s. 6d., and there was no one who wanted it. Since then, how- ever, there has grown a dignity round the ancient office, and the per- son holding it always performs a great deal of useful public service to the town and community. Local Industries. The inhabitants of this district back 70 years ago were employed in iron ore works, and the Abernant Ironworks gave employment to a large number of mefa. The chief owner was Mr. Rowland Fothergill, uncle of Mr. Richard Fothergill who became M.P. for these Boroughs. In 1837 were sunk some collieries in Cwmbach, subsequently owned by Mr. James Lewis, Plasdraw, and where Mr. Morgan himself was em- ployed for many years, as was stated in a previous article. Other collier- ies sunk in quick succession were Pwll Level yr Afon (Abernant), and Level y Cwm. n. doming to some oi the collieries that flourish at the present day, Mr. Morgan imparted interesting in- formation concerning many of them. The Bwllfa Colliery was sunk, he said, by a man named Ebenezer Lewis. He and Mr. Samuel Thomas. Ysguborwen (father of Mr D. A. Thomas) fell out in those days over some industrial matters. A Mr Brogden, from Tondu, controlled it for a time, but there was no flour- ishing outlook. Nantmelyn was sunk by Mordecai Jones, and this was another failure, and the pur- chase of these two collieries by the present Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare Co., and the huge success of the ven- ture, under the able guidance of Ald. Rees Llewelyn, J.P., is of too recent a date to need commenting on. Fothergill owned pits at Abernant at one time. There were three Crawshays who were interested in iron in the early days—Wm. Craw- shay, the iron king; Francis Craw- shav, who owned works at Hirwain. and Robert Crawshay, who owned Cyfarthfa Works. William was largely interested in works at the a, el Forest of Dean. Pwll Morris, Cwmaman, was sunk by a Mr. Morrison, hence the name the colliery is known by; Fforch- aman is called Pwll Brown because the first owner was a Mr Jas. Brown, of Newport. Mon. It was a Mr. Shepherd, of Abercynon, who sank Shepherd's Pit. The Gadlys and Graig Collieries were owned by the same people-Thomas and William Wayne- The late David Davies, Blaengwawr, sank the Blaengwawr and Abercwmboi Pits. Vety Shen- kin was started by a Wm. Thomas Wainwyllt by an uncle to Lady Lewis; Ynyscynon by Dd. Williams (Alaw Goch). There were many other small collieries and levels in various places in the district. Before coming to the P.D. Collier- ies, I want to say a word concerning the Breweries of those days. Mr. Morgan remembers a Brewery where bhe Cynon Tinplate Works are at present situated. It was owned by Capt. Roberts' grandfather, but it never proved a success. As a matter of fact a good many people who liked beer were their own brewers in those days. There was also a brewery at the back of the New Inn, High Street, Aberdare. This de- veloped into the Rock Brewery, and was owned many years ago by John Lindsay.

Romance of the P.D. Thos. Powell and His Three Sons. Mr. John Morgan had an interest- ing story to tell of the Powell family, who gave their name to the Powell Duffryn Coal Co., Ltd., who control a large number of collieries in South Wales at the present day. It is as romantic as the story of the first David Davies, Llandinam, the founder of the Ocean Coal Co., Ltd. Thomas Powell came to this valley from Newport, Mon., and the first pit sunk by him was the Old Duffryn, Cwm,bach, and is still to be seen and is now used as an up-cast for Aber- aman and Lletty Shenkin Collieries. Aberaman Colliery soon followed, being opened somewhere between 1840 and 1845. Thomas Powell had three sons and several daughters, and the firm became known after a time as Thos. Powell and Sons. When the senior partner passed away the three sons controlled the undertaking, the eldest son, Tom Powell, being head manager. The names of the other two were Henry and Walter. Tom was as industri- ous and enterprising as his father, and was a worker through and through. He continued to reside at Newport, but he used to say to those who wished to make appointments with him during the week: "I start from Newport on Monday morning. and I call at Cardiff; God only knows where you'll find me after- wards till I'm back at Newport on Saturday night." And so it happened week after week. He would be busily engaged planning and developing his collier- ies, and going round the workings re- gularly to confer with his staff. Mr Morgan describes Tom, the eldest .son of the founder of the P.D., as a fine, go-a-head, energetic person. He heard him remark on one occasion: "I do as much work as twelve of these blapk-coated gentlemen you see knocking about the colliery tops here." When the P.D. Co. was formed, there was some dispute between them and the Powell boys, and liti- Sation ensued. Sir George Elliott ecame head of the P.D. concern, but the works made no progress under him. As a matter of fact, Tom Powell was, to quote his own words, worth a dozen of the sort of Sir George Elliott. Sir George was succeeded by a Mr. Gilroy, and again the P.D. did not flourish. At this time Mr. E. M. Hann was at New Tredegar, and he came to Aberaman. He, really, is the controlling genius .behind the almost unprecedented success of this colliery undertaking. His was the master hand that de- veloped the few P.D. Collieries into the tremendous concern which the P.D. Colliery Co. is to-day. What became of the three sons of Thomas Powell? Their death was as ro- mantic as their life. The youngest son, Walter, ascended in a balloon one day, and was never heard of afterwards. Tom, the eldest, with his wife and child, went to Abyssin- ia, and was reported to have been killed by a native. Harry, when he heard of this, also emigrated to Abyssinia to avenge his brother's death. News was received back in this country that Harry found Tom's coat on one of the natives, and that he (Harry) shot him dead. Eliot and. Elliott. Mr. L. N. Williams, J.P., Aber dare, relates an amusing incident which occurred at Aberdare about 15 years ago. The Rev. E. Ceredig Jones, of Bradford, was billed to de- liver a lecture on "George Eliot" at an Aberdare Church. Several mem- bers of the P.D. staff, including numerous clerks, came up to hear, as they thought, something about one of the predecessors of Mr. E. M. Hann. Judge their surprise and dis- appointment during the evening when they learnt that the subject of the lecture was the author of "Adam Bede," and not "Sir George Elliott. Next Week: First Election of Aberdare Local Board of Health, and an interesting controversy that fol- lowed.

Attempted Suicide at Tyntetown. Some sensation was caused at Tyntetown on Thursday night by the attempted suicide of a woman named Annie Meredith, Haswell Street. That same morning she made an un- successful effort at Abercynon Police Court to obtain a separation order from her husband. This evidently worried her, and towards the even- ing she was found in three feet of water in the river trying to drown herself. A crowd looked on passive- ly at her for a time, until a man named Jas. Cox, Milbourne Street, fetched her out. She was after- wards taken away by P.C.'s David Thomas and Rossiter. Next day she was charged at Merthyr Police Court with attempted suicide. On her brother-in-law promising to look after her, the case was adjourned for 2 months.

The Welshman's Favourite. j MABON Sauce i As good aa its Name. j DON'T FAIL TO GET IT. ] M'MU/IUTVRRRS—RI.ANCH'S, St. P«ter St., Cudiff. J JAf H.THOMAS, 0 U ¿ilia> 't\ _'M.. TELEPHONE N? 22 ABERAMAW. ..ø. -A- Keenest Cut Tailoring in Wales, j From 29/6 1 WE PRODUCE ON THE PREMISES THE BEST AND THE CHEAPEST. ø- Our British Blue Serge Suits (Sole Agents) at 42/- & 45/- ARE ABSOLUTELY THE FINEST CLOTH ON THE MARKET AT THE PRICE. WE SPECIALISE IN SERGE. Test Our Assertion and" Wel" Toe the Line." u,- Welsh, Scotch and Irish Tweed Mourning Orders Suits at Remarkably Low Prices. Promptly Attended to. J. LB WIS, Cash Tailor, 29 Lewis St., Aberaman, & Marvel St., Aberdare. Give ycur Children a Musicai Education and buy your Piano or Organ at VICTOR FREEO'S. Our Prices for Musical Instruments are 25 per cent. below any other dealar in Wale.El Special Advantages which you do NOT get elsewhere' 6 Months' Lessons (any Teacher) FREE. A Handsome Music Stool It i 5/- Tutor tt j A Set of Insulators „ 12 Months' Tuning It j 10 Years' Warranty is also given with each Instrument. Any make of Instrument supplied for Cash, or Easy Terms to suit you. Over a dozen Instruments always in stock. Catalogues Free. OUR ONLY ADDRESS:— Musical Warehouse, 4 Oxford Street,, MOUNTAIN ASH. PLEASE NOTICE! Apply to J. A. Bosher ELECTRICAL ENGINEER AND CONTRACTOR, 24 CANON STREET, ABERDARE (opposite Theatre), for your Electrical Installations in Shop, House or Works. 0 ALL WORK DONE IN FIRST-CLASS STYLE AND MATERIAL. AT MODER- ATE PRICES; "LBO GTJ \RANTEED FOR TWELVE MONTHS. SPECIFICATIONS AND ESTIMATES FREE. Please ring up 87, Aberdare, and get Prompt Attention. j For P ime Ox Beef, Wether Mutton, Lamb, Veal anov palry-Fed Pork go to J. Vincent, 22 CANON STREET ABERDARE, j (Late 16, Whitcombe St.) { No Foreign Meat kept. Specialities s Pressed Beef IOx Tongue, Brawn, Sausage IBlack Pudding and Polonies; • WHY GO OUT OF THE DISTRICT TO BUY FURNITURE When you can get all you require at Prices to suit all P Cljea jest for Oast) and most convenient for qiret XXTE have the Largest and Finest Stock in the Valley to f select from'. Send for our Illustrated Catalogue, or, better still, give us a call and we will only be too pleased to show you round. TERMS AS FOLLOWS: iC8 worth of Goods Is. 6d. weekly. C12 » 2s NO DEPOSIT £20" 3s. „ REQUIRED. £ 30 „ „ 4s. 6cJ. „ icso „ 6 s. We employ no Canvassers, so by dealing with us you save Agents' Costs, &c. CATALOGUES FREE. PIANOS, lOs. DOWN aii-d 70s. MONfH Entirely under Repairs neatly executed New Management. on the premises. T A V 8 Commercial W-Tl 1 W vU., St,Aberdare. Labour Nawa Mid Notaa. Bead II Tar.an y C.th..r." Ntiw. anà artj. JI"8 of special interest to miners. Qurrent Topioa diaousaed. Latest Newi given. Price One Penny.—19 Cardiff Street, Aberdare.

SPECIAL PURCHASE. lOOCases Pine Apple Chunks THIS WEEK'S PRICES:- 3id., 4 £ d., 7 £ d. 2 2 2 If Pegler's Stores, ABERDARE.

Herthyr Board of Guardians. On Saturday, Mr. John Lloyd in the chair. The other members pres- ent were: Mrs. A. N. Jenkins, Mrs.' Williams. Mrs. Lydia Price, Miss Hettie Jones, Mrs. Hannah E. Wills, Mrs. M. A. Edmunds, Rev. A. E. Sutherland, Wm. Thomas, D. L. Jones, Messrs. John Prowle. Meth Davies, Evan Davies, Wm. Parker, John Davies, C. Fenwick, Dd. Jones (Dowlais), Henry Owen, Samuel Thomas. Wm. Jones, Samuel Mor- San, David Evans, T. B. Greatorex, oseph Price, Roger Vaugh^n, with Mr. F. T. James (clerk) and Mr. Jones (assistant clerk).

The Clerk's Increase. The Fiuance Committee reported as follows :The Committee con- sidered the application of the Clerk for an increase of salary and in view of the increased amount of work de- volving upon the Clerk and the pros- pective development of Poor Law Administration in the Union, recom- mend that his salary be raised from 2220 to 2500 per annum, thus enab- ling the Clerk to secure the services of a first assistant and three others in order to enable him to deal with, the work of the Board, and that all legal charges be included in the aforesaid remuneration with the ex- ception of High Court, Quarter Sessions, and Parliamentary costs." Mr. Meth Davies remarkeijdthat an increase of 2280 a year at one jump seemed very big. He would prefer the Board to appoint the assistants direct, and pay the clerk a less salary. When Mr. James retired he would get superannuation on 2500 whereas the clerks under his control would get no superannuation at all. The Clerk replied that he had no wish to pay superannuation on more than £20. I Mr. Meth Davies said he was op- posed to the principle now proposed by the Board. Let the appoint- ment of junior clerk be in the hands of the members. The Clerk asked if he should re- tire so that members could discuss his salary more freely. Mr. Prowle said there was no need for that. He would say what he had to say in the presence of Mr. James. Mr. Prowle said that Mr James would have to pay superannuation on the £ 500, if the proposal were passed. Personally he did not think the Local Government Board would sanction the new arrangement. He agreed that it was wrong in princi- ple for the assistant clerks to be without superannuation. He knew of one instance where a clerk after serving his master for 20 years had to seek a workhouse ward before he died, simply because he was not en- titled to superannuation. The clerks who were under Mr. James would get nothing, and they had nothing to look forward to. On that account he based a claim for a more up-to-date system. He was convinced that the L.G.B. would not pass the proposal now advanced by the Finance Committee. They had declined to do so in the case of Pontypridd. It was full time that some other system were devised. They had got Mr. James, and the Board did not want to lose him, but something should be done in the in- terest of the assistant clerks. Mr. H. Owen said he was partly in agreement with Mr. Davies and Mr. Prowler but when they considered the thousands of workmen who were not entitled to superannuation, they need not worry because two or three more under the Board were in the same boat. As to the salary of the Clerk, he (Mr. Owen) main- tained that he was not yet getting the minimum wage. He was very much underpaid. He had to employ four clerks, and what the Finance Committee had done was in the in- terest of the ratepayers. If the pro- posal submitted by the Finance Com-, mittee would be ratified, Mr. James, he was sure, would treat his clerks well. He hoped the Board would pass the motion unanimously. The Chairman pointed out that the Finance Committee had entered i very fully into the merits of the case. It had been conclusively proved that for the last two or three years Mr. James had been doing the work of the Board for nothing- In fact he was out of pocket. Mr. Meth Davies still protested against what he called "this sub-con- tracting." Mr. C, Fenwick said that in com- mittee he had moved an amendment of t400. But now he was quite in agreement with the motion. Mr. Yaughan declared that it was much better for the assistant clerks to be responsible to Mr. James than to the Board. Mr. Wm. Jones seconded Mr. Meth Davies that the assistant clerks be employed direct and that Mr. James' salary be revised accordingly. This was the system in the Aberdare In dustrial School. Mr. D. Jones, Chairman of the Finance Committee, said that the system advocated by Mr. Meth Davies would mean dual control, They would be undermining the posi- tion of the clerk by appointing men to do his work. Mr. Prowle That is false reason- ing, and there is no logic at all in it. The Board divided, when 5 only voted for Mr. Meth Davies' motion, and the remainder for the adoption of the Finance Committee's report. Mr. Meth Davies demanded the names, because they heard a great deal about extravagance at election times. Chairman: I object to the word extravagance. Mr. J. Prowle: We are going in for economy with a vengeance. If another system would be adopted it might cost 91,000 a year. Clerk: Probably Esoo. Those who voted for Mr. Meth Davies' motion were Miss Hettie Jones, Messrs. Sam Thomas, Meth Davies, J. Prowle, and Wm. Jones. Mr. James returned thanks to the Board, and added that he had been their clerk for a quarter of a century, and an assistant clerk prior to that. He had endeavoured to carry out his duties efficiently and hoped to do likewise in the future.

Still Owing. Replying to Mr. David Jones, chairman of the Finance Committee, the Clerk said there was now a credit balance at the bank of £ 6,741. How- ever, Aberdare still owed zC4,000 and Gelligaer zC8,030 on the second call. Mr. Meth Davies, commenting on the fact that Merthyr had paid all their dues, said it proved that they had got the money, only they were not willing to part with it.

Llwydcoed Cottage Homes. The Matron reported that three cases of Measles had occurred in the Homes, and that they had trans- ferred the three cases to one of the I disused dormitories in the school, and suggested that someone be ob- tained to act as temporary mother in Mrs. Morris's place at Llwydcoed No. 2 Home, and that Mrs. Morris be transferred to the school to nurse the measles cases. The committee recommended that the suggestion of the Matron be adopted, and that Miss Richards, Industrial Farm, be appointed to take Mrs. Morris's place. I

Poor Law Establishment Committee. The Chairman moved "That tke Board appoint four representatives on the Glamorganshire Joint Poor Law Establishment Committee in ac- cordance with the provisions of the order for the care and education of epileptic and feeble-minded per- sons." The four appointed were Miss Jones, Mr. Sam Thomas, Mr. J. Prowle, and Mr. Vaughan.

AN IMPORTANT POINT. to those who suffer from Indigestion, Headaches and Liver Complaints is that any remedy to be effective should, when taken, be easily and quickly absorbed bv the juices of the Stomach. The marked superiority of KERNE'S VEGETABLE PillS. in this way has been proved. They are practically tasteless, are very small, and yot so readily dissolve that their cur i-tive effects are quickly expoi-io,iced- j clearing the Head, braortp..Nerves, I and removing all exce-ss L lie,. i'ry them. You cannot do hl-tl Sold by all Chemists '0 i ^ores in rid. and W 13id. boxes, with (locutions i low to restore fiea, ]

Abercynonites Wed in South Africa. The "East Rand Express" con- tains the following marriage an- nouncement. Both bride and bride- groom are from Abercynon:- "A very pretty wedding was solem- nised at the Baptist Church, Boks- burg. last Saturday morning, when Mr. Evan Games, shift boss, of Modder B Gold Mine, was married to Miss Mabel May Jenkins, of Aber- cynon. South Wales. The duties of best man were carried out by Mr. D. W. Morgan, pastor of the Baptist Union Church, Springs. The brides- maids were Mesdames Thomas and Richards, of East Rand and -Springs respectively. The bride was given away by Mr. E. Thomas. East Rand. The Rev. E. R. Davies, Boksburg. officiated, while Miss M, Davies presided at the organ. The ceremony was conducted with •due solemnity considering the great excitement prevailing in Boksburg and on the Rand gener- ally, owing to the strike. The honeymoon had to be postponed ow- ing to the fact that all trains were cancelled."