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-1- '■ > The New Year is a time when people consider how bi fools they have been during the past twelvemonth and how wise they are going to be henceforward. Be not deceived. You will be quite as foolish to the end of the chapter. # >t. This is a season when people buy presents which they cannot afford, and receive presents which they don't want, to gratify people whom they don't care about. Some of the North Wales papers have been poking fun at our late Vicar, now Bishop of St. Asaph. The Carnarvon Herald says Next 11 a Donnvbruok Fair commend us to ft St. Asaph Diocenm shindy for liveliness and stir. Madeira Hill, Wrexham, should henceforth bs renamed Majub Hill according to some witty clerics, but who is the Boer and who the Briton need not be determined with too great precision. One enthusiastic cleric, who unfortunateiy kept away from the meeting, wrote a beautiful letter all about a • bastwn onen wyllt.' What a pity he (lId not attend the shindy, b-Astwu and all! Ib would have keen quite a treat to have seen a fencing bout between hi, hOí) anù cleric, the former using his crozier and the latter his bastwn.' ill. Now there are least two mistakes in this paragraph. The word used by the clergy- man for the weapon with which he intended to adminish his ecclesiastical superior was "pastwn," which Spurrell defides "as along 0 pole, a staff." Again, the Bishop of St. Asaph has no crozier. The North Wales journalist is thinking of Bishop Mostvn, his neighbour, or of some of those Armeniar bishops of whom we have heard so mucl" lately. The crozier is unknown in the Church of England since the Reformation. The episcopal insignia of Anglican Bishops consist of black gaiters; and a dress hat rigged like a Dutch schooner. < I sincerely trust that anything I said last week as to the illegality of raffling has not been understood to be an incitement to the police to make a raid on the Christmas Tree. Heaven forfend I merely wish to indicate for the benefit of my Church friends a danger to which they are exposed. If they got into trouble, and I had not warned them, I might feel the gnawing of a tender conscience. If, however, they now get into the clutches of Sergt. Harries although I shall regret the incident—I cannot but feel satisfied that I have done all in my power to avert such a calamity. if. So it has been solemnly decided in public meeting that the parish of St. Peter's Without" is to be annexed to the Borough of Carmarthen and not a voice was raised in protest against our forward policy." The inhabitants 0 of our frontier are not only willing they are even anxious to be gathered within our confines. It is seldom that annexation is so peacefully carried out. < It is satisfactory to note that the Christmas card nuisance is on its last legs. It is growing small by degrees and beautifully less and as things are going, five years will 0 r3 1 see the end of the craze which once induced people to buy job-lots of cards and to post them to everybody with whom they had even a nodding acquaintance. Folks are getting wiser. ★ Why arc the midnight minstrels so much in evidence at the present time called "waits"? It is because they have to wsit 3 precious long time before they get anything r for their labours ? « 3 I have nothing personally against the "waits" c —many of whom I know personally to be highly estimable members of society. But in their official capacity I have a good deal to say L against them. In a climate like ours, it is 0 the perfection of nonsense to go about at midnight in the depth of winter pesterin" folks with music with which they don't want b to be bothered. This somewhat ancient a institution adds nothing to the proper observance of Christmas. The glory of God and the goodwill towards men would be much better promoted by the serenaders and the serenaded sleeping peacefully in their beds. < e Supt. Smith has said that there is only one registered lodging-house in Carmarthen, and that there ought to be more." He is quite right. At present the law with regard to common lodging-houses—or the administra- I tion of it-is farcical. Anybody who accommodates a lodger for a night or two is a lodging-house keeper but any attempt to so construe the law would cause consternation amongst a good many householders at fair- time. What about those, too, who let lodgings, say, to a theatrical company, which is here only for one night ? It is only after those who accommodate tramps that the law looks too closely. Happy fraternity which is the object of so much legal solicitude A standing mystery in connection with Carmarthen is, Where docs the population of the new houses come from?" The population of Carmarthen to-day does not exceed-if it is not actually less than—the figure at which it stood forty years ago. Yet whole streets have sprung up into existence since then, and are still springing up. And yet an empty house in Carmarthen is a phenomenon More houses filled, and yet the same number of people! Here is a question to discuss during the present dull season. .1:, -A The School Board nominations have taken place without a contest being "rendered necessary. People say "that it is just as well to avoid raising any ill-feeling." I am not so very sure of that. It all depends on what the ill-feeling is about. The Apostle Paul raised a good deal of ill-feeling by preaching Christ crucified, and he would not undertake to keep quiet in order to avoid any risk of a breach of the peace, or to molify the prejudices of the Jews. Let us do and say what we honestly believe to be right; and if other people work themselves into an apoplexy over it, we are not responsible. # In-feeling" is, to a great extent, a double- edged argument. All the ill-feeling in Turkey would be saved if the Armenians would only renounce Christ for Islam. If the Turks had common sense, on the other hand, they would allow the Armenians pro- tection and liberty of opinion, as long as they refrained from throwing bombs around, or from little acts of disorder of a similar kind. If I met a footpad who wanted my watch, I daresay I should save a lot of ill-feeling by quietly handing over the timepiece. But I should risk the ill-feeling all the same. There are faint hearts who would make any concession to the enemy to save ill-feeling. This, however, is sheer cowardice. Carmarthen Radicalism would be all the better for a good stiff contest. We have become too rusty, too indolent, too sleepy, and too much inclined to take things for granted. We are too much inclined to lie on )ur backs, and to think of the great deeds done by the Lberal giants of Carmarthen long ago. We need to be forced to realise that the duty of a Liberal consists in a little more than walking to the Guildhall on the day of a Parliamentary election, and record- ing his vote for the Radical candidate. We have many hard workers, indeed, who are infusing life into the dry bones. But the bones are very, very dry. As Liberals, we are too much inclined to think that the Association should do every- thing for us; and yet we too frequently do nothing for the Association. The Association is just as we make it. It is not a Deus ex machina which will turn up at the proper machina which will turn up at the proper time to put everything right. It is merely an instrument through which Liberals can voice their sentiments. When the hammer does not pulverise the stone, don't blame the hammer. Blame the hand which wields it. The possibility of having during the race week a ball for the county folks is being discussed, but the initial difficulty which confronts one is, lvlio are the county folks?" The time was when—at a ball in Carmarthen- a rope separated that portion of the room devoted to the county folks from that which was open to the mere trades- people." But agricultural depression has-- amongst its other achievements—changed all that. So many of the mere tradespeople are buying up the land of the county, that things are somewhat changed. Nowadays the county folks are a mixed lot. Forty years ago a man who made money in commerce and bought a small estate would not be regarded as the social I equal of the real gentry." But it is the former class which now rules the county roost, as almost the majority of the places of the old families have fallen into the hands of strangers. And they are not despised either. Peoolc think quite as much nowadays of a man who was able to make money for him- self as of him Nvho. silliply spends what his father left him. r f inis has been a most aengnuui week, emarked a cynic on Wednesday morning, f We've had four Sundays straight after one mother and you've only got to go to church )n two of them." St. Peter's Christmas Tree will be opened )y the Bishop of St. David's at half past two "Clock on Thursday next. The new School Board is a very young lody. Mr James John is die senior member and he has only been connected with it for some three years and two months. #- Tested by their professions the new School Board yields as follows :—Three ministers, and one each of tutors, grocers, solicitors, and painters. Punctuality is more practised by the elders than by the juniors in Carmarthen. A prize is available in a certain Sunday School of about 250 members for everyone who does not miss more that a single attendance. Yet only two members have qualified for the prize. One is 60 years of age and the other about 95 It is to be observed that six dozen of pop as well as a cask of beer was sent to the Workhouse on Christmas Day. Can it be that there are teetotallers in the Union" ? W One of the country Guardians told the relieving officers on Friday that if they hac any conscience they would come to the meeting and ask to have their salaries reduced by ten per cent. Relieving officers are not quite so scrupulous, however, as country folks are. We all know very well that if we go to the market on Saturday and offer 2s 6d for a fowl, the seller will refuse the offer and assure us that 2s is as much as the bird is worth The conduct of the members of one of the junior football teams from Llanelly which visited the town on Boxing Day will not by any means raise them in the estimation of a certain landlady and honest people generally, Taking advantage of the absence of the landlady and the waiters from the bar—who were arranging the tables for a dinner in thoni ^art ^ie hostelry—they helped Ihemscte t0 umber of bottiesyof w? cons,,ft °,n bei,,S detected. « I took fent, "ley in the meantime I simsl,S ,h J" tl,eir P°ckets and store I I,S'T °" e floor' Such is the heaid on good authority. The as:Tt reL°i m°st rePrehensible, j eflects upon Llanelly people generally to\vn nU W? °f ST fre'lue"tly visit the c \vn A few weeks board and lodgings at Hei Majesty s expense in the Castle on the I hill uould do these young men a vast ?7KU? 0f rd', Local will hence- foi-th do well to keep an eye on the bottles when Llanelly boys are about! ALETHEIA.

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LLANGATHEN.

LLANEGWAD.

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