The Principality

TO J. II. VIVIAN, ESQ., M.P., F.R.S. MY DEAR Mn. VIVIAN,—I have just read with some sur- prise a letter addressed to you in reference to this Institution, by my old neighbour, the Rev. D. Davies. I say, with some surprise, because, besides attending at the first conference at Llandovery in 1845, Mr. Davies has done nothing at all with u,5 or for us in this work nay, though pressingly invited by Mr. Rees of Llanelly to attend and assist at our public meeting held at Swansea in September the same year, he did not come to our help. I certainly doubt the good taste of his iirterfering with us now at all-and still more so, of the kind of interfer- ence he has thought proper to adopt. Had he not addressed you directly, I should not have troubled you at this time; but having been the first to apply to you for aid to our Normal School I think it a duty imperative on me to prove to you that in all the proceedings of our committee, you, and subscribers similarly situated, have been treated honourably and candidly; and that the projected clause in the trust deed to which Mr. Davies refers is the natural result and sequel of our whole course—is, indeed, what we are shut up to alike by respect to ourselves and honesty to the public. It was soon observed after the union formed at Llandovery that the question of Government aid, as far as the Normal School was concerned, was virtually settled; for that union rendered the acceptance of such assistance impossible while it continued, forasmuch as it included several parties whose well- known convictions made it impossible for them to maintain any alliance with State education. At the first public meeting we held in your town-hall the Voluntary Principle was unmistakeably declared as that upon which we were determined to proceed as also at the second held at the-town-hall at Newport; at the third, held in the Wesleyan chapel at Carmarthen; at the fourth, held; in the Baptist chapel at Cardigan; and at the fifth, held in the town- hall at Haverfordwest. You will, therefore, have the good- ness to observe, that, in all our appeals to the public, we have always avowed it as our clear purpose to sustain, this establish- ment o n the Voluntary Principle alone.. Let us also inquire into the acti:m of the South Wales Edu- cation Society, and the Normal School Committee. At the first meeting of the Society held at Brecon, in June, 1.846, the consideration of the subject was postponed to the folio ving year. In September, 1847, the annual meeting was held in the same town, and a resolution adopting the Voluntary Principle was carried without a division! Mr. Davies says "that this resolution was passed by less than one-third of the then sub- scribers to the College (without the consent, and it is said, in opposition to the wishes, of the other two-thirds). I To Mr. Davies it is enough to say, that if all the subscribers had been present, he would not have been there. To you, I beg to say, that this was the annual public meeting of the So- ciety, convened by the general secretaries, by public advertise- ment and that the acts of this meeting were, to all intents and purposes, the acts of the society. This brings us down to the conference held at Llandovery, early in the present year. Certain gehtlernen from Swansea attended with a memorial iilimorous-y signed, earnestly requesting us to bring the College there, promising at the same 9 z! 11 time all the aid in their power to provide for its reception, as- well as for its support afterwards. That memorial determined the conference; but even then, and declaredly to prevent mis- apprehension, a resolution re-adopting the Voluntary Principle was moved, seconded, and unanimously passed. This detail of particulars justify me in urging upon your notice the-fact, that every donation we have received from yourself, and Mr. Cham- bers, and others in y Ur pos tion, has been given with your full knowledge of this cir,umstaivce? namely, that our Normal School is to be supported entirely on the Voluntary Principle. Had your munificent gifts been offered on the condition of leaving this "an open question," the committee must have as respectfully, as they would have decidedly, declined them. The College is not coming to Swansea with "finality" inscribed on its front in any other sense of the word, than that of conviction of the truth, excellent e, and efficiency of the great principle on which its foundations rest. As to "infalli- bility," it can only apply to these proceedings, ànd to this decision, as denoting a calm and settled purpose to carry out honest convictiolls,in the spirit of those convictions gratefully accepting aid from those that offer it; and cordially wishing such as do not agree with us, and who work in the great cause on other principles, every success that one Christian- ihan can desire another,< Ih this course, I trustitltheDiYiné benignity, and the Divine benediction, that heacctorth wef-shitl!Mail not." But on theYoluntary Principle, Mr. Davies believes, and preaches, that this College cannot be supported. It is &baut the easiest of all tasks to persuade men that they cannot afforn. to do this and that. Our late excellent friend, John Grove, Esq., once culled me to himin Wind-street, some fifteen years ago, and said—you remember the mode of his address on such occasions—" Mr. S I am in great difficulty, and brought into it by your Voluntary Principle. I am answerable for the stipend of the English lecturer at St. John's church. A certain number of gentlemen have promised me annual sums, but I cannot for the life of me get many of them to pay. How do you Dissenters manage itr" The reply was at hand-" Mr. Grove, our people co: tribute regularly, and as a matter of course, towards the support of the ministry, so that it is with them a custom and a habit. They are used to support us, and they do it ungrudgingly." Now, my dear Mr. Vivian, please to look around you, on the number of places of worship and Sunday schools, built, and cheerfully and proudly supported,; by the Welsh people. Every stranger wonders at. their amn.- ber, and it Is not an unfrequcnt ov have they., been built, and howare they kept open?". The answer is, the people ill obedience to strong religious convictions fi.rst_.of all built them with only such extraneous aids as lipcrlJriçnds voluntarily afforded; and thy support them in the same man- ner. Applying this to the case before us, I, for my part, would never tell ,wh people, that they cannot educate their own chil- dren, and cannot support the Normal schopi! I would be the apostle of another and sublimer,doctriMe, and would say, You have only to will it, and you can do iU Yon have filled your country with houses of prayer add the good day schools'and get good teachers. Tae moment you believe you have the means, you have .th nv" Knowing the Welsh people almost as well as any man. of my zi.c I ayuw IIY fp-i belief that the support of our Normal College by the people, with only such aid as is voluntarily rendered by such generous friends as yourself, is what we have a perfect moral right to expect, and is our most solemn duty to determine to effect. Sir Sidney Smith said the word "impossible" was not in his vo- cabulary. With a kindred intrepidity, but in an infinitely higher service, let us believe that nothing is impossible which we have not with all our might and means attempted to do. Hitherto I have offered a defence of our proceedings from the history of our case, and the prospect before us; but I have a still more cogent vindication. Our Normal College is a religious institution. The moment I became a party to its receiving State assistance, I would cease my Nonconformity, No future can therefore affect the question in our minds, and to leave it open is as useless as it is superfluous. To us it is a matt'r of most solemn conviction that with the human conscience the civil power has nothing to do. This we must, under the con- stant pressure of an immitigable sense of duty, apply not only to the house of prayer, but to the education of our children, and, as far as we are concerned, of their teachers as well; in short, to every agency that involves the use of the religious element, and tells upon the formation of the religious charac- e s ter. This principle is, to us, dear as the life of our souls, and commanding as the voice of God We hoLl it in no subser- viency to the cause of this or that project; we can forget or sc abandon it in no enterprise involving religious influence we can consent to no tampering with expediency we can come down to no parley with political parties; to no waiting the event of political combinations but must always and every- where abide by it in our treatment of our brother, and in ex- pression of our spirit's most reverential subjection to the Most High. I trust I have satisfied you -that our committee have done, and intend to do, in this matter only that which they owe them- selves, their country, and the cause of free education and that the insertion of a clause in the Trust deed exclusively adopting the Voluntary Principle, is not only what they may, but is what thev are bound to propose at the meeting to be held at Carmar- then next month. I have the honour to remain, my dear Mr. Vivian, your faithful and obedient friend anilservunfc, 29th Aug. 1818. D. RHTS SrEPiiBx.

THE ASPECT OF THE TIMES. In my last paper I ventured to assert that the existence of so many societies proves that a vast amount of int dligence is abroad; in corroboration of this I need only state that a short time ago when a prize was offered for the best Essay on the Sabbath, which was confined to the lowest class, namely, working-men, upwards of 850 compositions were received. Such a pleasing fact cannot but command our admiration each of the fore-mentioned writers must be useful members of society, and would no doubt both on the score of intelligence and morality be an honour to almost any asso- ciation of men. It would be interesting- to know by whom they were taught, but without any prejudice I think it highly probable that it was not by those who arrogate to themselves the exclusive right to teach others. The same will hold good with regard to the next, that is to say, the middle class, still more intelligent. If so much knowledge is lodged in. these two numerous divisions, together with a fair sprinkling of liberals from the highest class, and if the proportion between the aristo- cracy and all below them be as 1 to 1,000, it is self-evident that the great substance of knowledge is in the safe keeping of the majority, the greater part of which reckon among those who eat their bread by the sweat of their brow. The old sentiment of the Grecians does not apply to our country now. Their Hermes, the personification of science, a head- fip-ure, of course without hands, signified that in order to excel in scientific pursuits manual labour must be abstained from. These vast masses of- intelligences, have a mind of their own, one has individualism, each is an arche, for idea of efoan&tBii Is absurd: such doctrine was èd and acted upon in the feudal times, when the commonherd of mankind were the mere serfs of the soil, for instance, the true" Scotch Cattle" of old Caledonia. The terms public and universal are synonymous; if the generality possess the right, sort of information, then public opinion is based upon the eternal principle of truth. Much error and corruption still exist in this country, but their essence and worst forms of development a,re ampng that class who ought by position to be the proper guides of others; then what is evil must be associated with the respectable minority whose views in contradistinction from those of the many fall under the head, Private opinion. Suspicion always broods over the latter; hence the pressure from without, manifested in the endless ramifications of clubs, societies, leagues, monster-meetings, &c. The strongholds of oligarchy are besieged, the citadel falls-the light of day reveals the chambers of imagery. Divine and, vested rights are extinguished in the gloom of an infernal conclave, and can hardly bear the dim and dis- astrous lustre of the star-chamber From the first struggle between truth and error, the hidden things of dishonesty have been ever and anon brought to light. What was done in secret has been pro- claimed upon the house-tops. Implicit faith is indeed requisite to believe what our Commons say with regard to reform. It does seem to me the very acme of Empiricism for one little man to stand upon the vantage-ground of the premiership and there con- tradict the infallible oracle of the people, as though his high station added a cubit to his stature or possessed the magic power oF making black white or a lie true. The premier's serves only to make him the more ridiculous -better hide his diminished head—for "Pigmies are pigmies still though placed on alps." One might suppose from what issues from certain quarters that the" m'llenium has dawned—that the golden age has actually begun." The phrase "to leave things as they are" supposes a state of perfection. Lord John, on his tour of Political Somnam- bulism, utters this sentence in his sleep; how he must have been surprised the other day when he opened his eyes in the ballot-box—what a simpleton he looked when made to learn the doctrine of "finality" in such a place, and afterwards when he was Punched for his pains! I will venture to point out the absurdity of one man set- ting himself up against a mighty and intelligent nation. I will dare avow, however st u-tling it may appear, that he who suspended the Habeas Corpus act in Ireland, in connexion with other despotic measures which have been rapidly adopted, unaccompanied with beneficial measures (not to say anything about the shameful delay of every reform measure), will in the end if allowed to go on much longer hasten the downfall of this empire more effectually than all the club s of Ireland and the Chartists of England' put to- gether. Pity it is, that a good cause should be spoiled by a Wrong advocacy, and that 'a. piece of tyranny should have the credit of applying a remedy! but the remedy will prove worse than the, disease. It is as with everything bungling Z, only for the present," not for the future; the wound is healed slightly—covered over, instead of extirpating the evil and thus effect a Radical cure Maugre all the terri- ble thioes of the nations—the summary punishment of despots—the overthrow of thrones— "—.—- whilst, the groaus of Em pires heave but as some passing waves, our liberal premier sticks to old abuses, adds to the weight of the tottering fabric, which must ultimately come down. The Brunswick theatre fell because its iron-roof was too heavy for the walls-upon the golden head of the political body he heaps more of the yellow metal, as if ignorant of its specific grav-ity-weakeiis the lower extremity—the bust of iron and clay on which it stands—pilfers the true pillars of the State-takes away one piece after another-meH,s the iron and the clay in the sweat of labour—and thus by a fatal alchymy turns everything into gold. The result is obvious, but hot more s;6 than the folly of the philosopher when a ruined nation will exclaim above the desolation of the na- tional edifice, Here lies the house that Jack built J.

TOSUBSCRIBEP,,S. TBUMSflf Su-nsD;tJ.PTIOc; :-20s, per annum, or 5s, per quarter; payable in advance. Post Office Orders should be made payable to DA VIJ) EVANS, PrompaHty Office, Cardiff.

TO CORRESPONDENTS. J. T.The notice which appeared was in type before the rr iu arrival of yours, and was preferred oa account of Mistakes often occur in propsr names without any ill design on the part of the editor. We thank you that you allow us tho privilege of chan giag." As all rejected communications are destroyed, they cannot be returned, and such has been the fate of your note. J. Devonald."—Your case seems a hard one, but we fear that you are liable. We will make further inquiries. J. D."—Too late for this week. Pro et Con."—We think the Reverend Daniel Davies is suffi- ciently answered by Mr. Stephen. We would not overpower him. Your composition would be improved if you dealt less in thunder and tarnation fine." Dinasydd Biblaidd."—Quite rigbt. It is our invariable rule not to insert any communication without possessing in confidence the real name of the writer.

..r, .Lb- '>A — WEEKLY summary. THE proceedings of Parliament in the course of last week have not been unimportant. A very excellent debate took place on the Regium Donum qu stion. The defence of Lord John was miserably lame, and he. has consented not to move the grant next session, if Dissenters will raise an equal sum. We think the proposal unfair and specious. It is quite possible the Independents and Baptists would do so, but it will be no easy task to persuade the Presbyterians [Unitarians], to follow their example, and thus the effort would be rendered useless. We believe the two aforesaid denominations could safely afford the experiment, for we feel assured that of the present recipients; of the grant very many would never discover themselves by, applying for its substitute. Among the names of the members who voted against the grant, we are happy to find that of John. Evans, Esq., the enlightened and popular member for IIaver- fordwest, Mr. Evans deserves well of his countrymen for the liberal and consistent votes he has given throughout the Ses- sion. The debate was altogether such as could not fail to in- struct the I-louse of Commons in the nature of Dissenting principles. The Bill for opening diplomatic relations with Rome, which had been postponed from the beginning of the Session that there might be no members to oppose it, has now passed the house. Another step has been thus taken towards the endowment of the Romish prieschood. Lord John Russell is going to visit Ireland, probably with the view of paving the way for the introduction of a measure to that effect next Ses- sion. If so, we shall have to thank our Wesleyan brethren and our Government-aid men for such a piece of legislation. All parties will ultimately find that they have paid too much for their whistle. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has pro- duced his statements of TVays and Means, from which we find that his means differ to the amount of three millions sterling from his ways. The right hon. gentleman and his Whig col- leagues have so managed the affairs of the country as to live above their income. To get out of their present difficulty they propose to add two millions sterling to our permanent debt, or, in other words to increase our annual burden by Seventy Thousand pounds The trials of the Irish State prisoners have not been yet fixed, Some of the papers rumour that an amnesty will be granted on condition that the captured leaders will promise to sin no more. At present, however, the failure of the crops seems to puzzle our rulers more than the management of the State prisoners. In spite of all hopes there is every reason to believe that both. in this country and in Ireland the loss will be most severely felt. The French National Assembly has, after a very lengthened debate, permitted the prosecution of Caussidiere and Louis Blanc, for being concerned in the tumult of May 15. Neither of them., has been arrested. Caussidiere, it is said, is still in Paris j but. Louis Blanc reached London on Wednesday morning. Louis Blanc is a person of greater eminence than those gentlemen in VVales who proclaim that it is the inalienable right of the poos;, man to have his physical and moral wants supplied by the State; but in his effort to apply the delusive doctrine he has utterly failed, and has almost ruined au empire in the attempt. Let his- fate serve as a warning to those inclined to tread in his path. Nearer home. the f'es'raction of the Ocean Monarch by fire is an event of great calamity. The loss of life has been very exten- sive, not less, fcr cer.ainty, that 160 persons.

CIRCULATION OF THE PRINCIPALITY. WE trust the following address from the pen of our re- spected friend Mr. Price, will be read not only by the class, for which it is intended, but by ethers as well. The PRIN- CIPALITY, is now on the eve of completing the first year ofitil, existence, and though its success has been highly gratifying, yet much remains, to be done before it reaches that position ia which \ye aspire to place it. We trust that out- friend*, will not forget the necessity of pre-payments and early re-, mittanees. These are essential conditions in order to enable us to prosecute our work with vigour and success. We feel assured that if our subscribers knew of the public and pri- vate influence exerted against us, and the sacrifices which we have to make week after week on account of the purity of our advertising sheet, they would not be long in giving us a circulation which would render failure an impossi- bility. If they value our principles, let them consider the position of those who risk all in their defence and promul- gation. Our demand is very moderate. What friend of the paper and its principles will not enable us to commence ano-. ther year with at least one additional subscriber? We know of some friends who are subscribers, but are unable to under- stand more of its contents, than, the motto. Would that all were actuated by similar zeal and attachment to great prin- ciples TO THE WORKING CLASSES., MY FELLOW-WORKMEN,—I have known the pleasure and th. toil of your life, having worked hard amongst you in fhé mining district of Monmouthshire, from the time I was eight years of age till I was eight and twenty. I know your cus- toms I am well acquainted with your movements, and my sympathies blend with your welfare. I can enter into the feel- ings of a very little plough-boy, and I know the hardships of a miner. Allow me, then, fellow-workmen, to address you on the great importance of acquiring right views on political subjects. I believe that thinking men will admit that opinions ascend, from the working classes up to,the lords of the soil; but that fashions descend from the gentleman down to the labouring man. The masses of this kingdom are npt merely the produc- ers of its wealth, but they are also the exhaustless source o £ thought and improvements. How important, then, it is to give propor instructions and right views to the thinking portion of soeietv. We will allow gentlemen to teach us how to clothe, our persons, for they are gopd judges of what cut the coat should be, and of what shape the hat, &c.; but we must still remember th,at useful thoughts ascend from the artisan to the capitalist, and from the capitalist up to the, senator. The. masses are the schoolmasters of both Houses of Parliament. The working classes must be the reformers of the law; the' pressure must come from the people, according to general Par- liamentary parlance. Lord John Russell himself has taught, the doctrine. The people then should by a.l possible means be taught to think for themselves, and taught to think rightly. This is of the utmost moment. Impressed with these thought*, I cannot help rejoicing by witnessing the large and increasing circulation of the PIUNCIPALITV amongst us in Wales. You have been traduced and libelled of late by paid spies. Your mothers, your wives, your sisters, and your daughters have been blackened by the ruthless hands of strangers. But in. stead of sinking like cowards under the foul charges of men, who are as ignorant of your language, your customs, and man- ners, as they are of the language and habits of those who dwell, in the moon; you have nobly risen above the accusations, and you now stand forth, challenging comparison with any people in the same circuanstancea in life. For the sake of your advancement in political and all gene- ral knowledge, permit me to call your attention to the follow.- ing subject. It is known at present to thousands in Wales that the PRINCIPALITY—a paper started by individual and very disinterested efforts, and edited by abife hands—is a true ex- pounder of our principles as, Dissenters, and a very stanch ani uncompromising advocate of religious and political liberty. The PRINCIPALITY is most assuredly opposed in all things to physicalrfoxce movements, believing that no good end is gained but by moral means. Working people of Wales, it would do you good to avail yourselves now of the opportunity to posses,a a paper that you could call, Ein papyr iii ein hunain," Con sider, then, for what small amount of money you could become acquainted with a summary of general news J jthe political and religious movements of the day and these at the present time are not few nor far between. You should not live wit ho utn knowledge of these things. In the'Pitii-zCIPXLrrY. VOA-L will iti" find the state of-different markets in several parts of the \yorld, the prices of provisions, metals, &c., &c., things to which yot), ought not to remain strangers. You should by all mcaii-s., make yourselves acquainted with home and foreign news and the more you know of these things, the stronger you will hil4. the inclination to sing,— Britain, with all thy faults, I love thee still

proving his lawful ..claim.by au. extempore englyn, accord- ino- to ancient usage, because the.quasi-official was alias ig- norant of the "custom", the englyn, and his own language. It is true that .there have been at times too many crach-. feirdd at the Eisteddfod, and some of them candidates; that should not be allowed to militate against those who possess merit. When a quack is discovered-, .let the real Simon Pure reap the benefit. Calednyn, who-is a general re- former, has been so in partical.a ivi the Abergavenny Eisteddfod, as the appointed pij„e of Welsh poetry, by put- tir,, down, all pretenders to n f i r >, and rewarding those only who were really deserving; and now that many of our voun" bards have been sent back to view themselves in his bardio mirror, and that the attendance of the sons of song is less numerous and more select, I hope that this paper will ant as a remembrancer upon the patriots of our land, and that our native poets, the conservators of the Welsli lan- o-na^e, will not be forgotten at the ensuing Listeddlod. lane was^when the bards were always entertained gratis at all the festivities on such occasions, and on the last day, by waiting upon the secretary, they were paid the various sums allowed towards defraying their travelling expenses. This was the case at the grcat Eisteddfod held at Carmar- then in the year 1819, an account of which now lies before me from which I am happy to copy the following, viz Mr. Edward Williams and Mr. Robert Davies had each five guineas towards defraying their expenses, and Lewis Ro- be-Is (EJS Twrog), singer with the harp, ditto. Loan ap Hywel, Gwilym Morganwg, Sion Cain Jones, and 1 nomas Williams (Eos y Mvnydd), bards, who attended the Eis- teddfod, and whose compositions possessed merit, two craineas each." m AUGUST 29, 1848. SION Cirv\AivAE TEG.