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The Weekly News and Visitors' Chronicle for Colwyn Bay Colwyn Llandrillo Conway Deganwy and Neighbourhood

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CONWAY.

THE NEW POLICE-SUPERINTENDENTINCONWAY.

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THE NEW POLICE-SUPERINTENDENTINCONWAY. —Superintendent Rowland arrived at Conway Police-Station on Monday, when he took over the charge of the Conway Division. He is succeeded in the Pwllheli Inspectorate from which he has just been promoted, by Sergeant Thomas Jones (of Bethesda), who in turn is replaced by Sergeant Thomas Owen, of Bangor. P.C. Thomas Jones, of Criccieth, having withdrawn on reconsideration his acceptance of the Bangor sergeantcy, that position has been accepted by P.C. Evans, of Trefriw, whither P.C. Owen is moved from Portdinorwic. AN ATTEMPTED SUICIDE AT LLANRWST WORK- HOUSE.—Atthe Llatn wst Police Court on Tuesday, Feb. 25th, David Roberts, Brickfield Cottages, Llandudno Junction, was charged before Dr Jones and Mr Isgoed Jones, with attempting to commit suicide at the Llanrwst Workhouse on the night of the 5th inst.—The Bench bound the p. isoner over to be of good behaviour, and released him. A ROYAL CAMBRIAN ACADEMICIAN ELECTED P.R.A.—In succession to Lord Leighton, R.W.S., H. R.C.A., Sir John Everett Millais, R.A.. who is also an Honorary Royal Cambrian Academician, was elected, on February 20th, at Burlington House, London, President of the Royal Academy, the election being practically unanimous, Sir John Millais's own vote being the only one cast for any other artist. Intimation of the election of Sir John Millais as President of the Royal Academy has duly been forwarded to the Queen. This is done through the Keeper of the Privy Purse, that being the long-standing custom. It is no doubt explaiiied by the fact that the interest of George III. in the formation of the Academy was in the first place a personal one. Sir John Millais will be received by the Queen within the nex week or two, when Her Majesty will confer the badge of office upon him. This is a fine gold medal (supported by a chain hung round the neck) which George III. presented to the Aca- demy. Sir John Millais is the eighth President of the Royal Academy since its formation, his prede- cessors and their periods of office being as follow: —Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1768-1792 Benjamin West, 1792-1820 Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1820- 1830 Sir Martin Archer Lee, 1830-1850 Sir Charles Eastlake, 1850-1865; Sir Francis Grant, 1866-1878; and Lord Laighton, 1878-1896, THE VENERABLE GWALCHMAI.The follow- ing interesting item concerning the venerable Gwalchmai," who in his younger days was Pastor of the Conway and Henryd Welsh Congre- gatioiial Churches, appeared in The Manchester Guardian dated February 26th, 1896 Yester- day (writes a correspoiiv'o.u) Megan Gvvalcii- mai," Miss M. A. Parry, ;he daughter of the venerable Welsh Bard Gwalchmai" (the Rev R. Parry, Llandudno), received an old MS., found at Llanerchymedd, containing interesting information in reference "J the family of the Bard. It appears that Gvvak imi d is a year older than he thought he was, having been born 0.1 the 19th of January, 1803. He is therefore 93 years of age. On his father's side he is a direct decendant from Gweirydd Ap Rhys Goch, and on his mother's side from Hwfa Ap Cynddelw, two of the founders of the Fifteen Tribes of Givyliedd." ST JOHN'S ENGLISH WESLEYAN CHURCH, CON- WAY.—The series of Special Services that have recently been conducted in the above-named place-of-worship, by the Missioner and friends from Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, have been of the most encouraging character. Good congre- gations gathered night after night, and great power rested upon the people, a number being deeply impressed. The Church is baptised with the spirit of earnestness and a greater desire to do something to reach those outside. The prospects of the work already begun, are of a hopeful character,—arrangements are being made for con- tinuing evangelistic effort week by week, and it is hoped that greater things than those already seen, will be brought about. SEION CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL.- The annual tea-party and concert was held on Wednesday afternoon and evening, February 26th. Tea was served at the Schoolroom in the afternoon, under the superintendence of the ladies of the Sunday School. In the evening, the con- cert, held at the Market Hall, was presided over by Councillor J. Williams (Superintendent of the School), the Conductor being the Rev T. D. Jones (Pastor). The following programme was gone through :—Sacred part-song, Seion Male Voice Party address, the Chairman pianoforte solo, Miss Sally Edwards; song, Gwlad y Canu," Blodwen-y-Ddôl; recitation, "Bugail Aberdyfi," Deiniol Fychan part-song, •< Ar- glwydd pawb yw ef," Juvenile Choir; song, Cadlef Morganwg," Trebor Glan Eigia trio, (encored), Bwthyn clyd a i;-I^n," Messrs J. Roberts, E. Griffiths and J. Griffiths recitation, Geneth Amddifad," Miss M. E. Williams sacred part-song, Male Voice Party; recitation, Die Ifaii y Ddôl," Deiniol Fychan humorous song (encored), "Myfi yw'r unig ddyn," Mr J. Roberts song, I am a merry Zingari," Blodwen-y-Dd,31 pianoforte solo, Miss Pollie Jones sacred pai t-song, Male Voice Party; duett (encored). "Glan gerilaw," Owain Rhun and Trebor-glan-Eigia recitation, The Burial of Moses," Miss M. E. Jones part-song, Ar lan y mor," Mr J. Roberts's ilai-ty instrumental trio (pianoforte and two violins). Professor W. Davies, Mr J. P. Griiffth, and Master Arthur Haydn Griffith penillion-singing (encored), Serch Hudol," Trebor-glan-Eigia; recitation, "Y dyn meddw," Deiniol Fychan, and in response to a vociferous encore, "Catrin Mary Jane;" song, The Holy City,' Blodwen-y-Ddôl; dialogue, "Ymgom y felin," Messrs Parry and Evans; song," Merch y Cadben," Owain Rhun recitation, Ystori Gyffredin," Deiniol Fychan. After the usual vote of thanks, a very enjoyable evening closed with the singing, by the Juvenile Choir, of God be with you till we meet again."—Owing to the indisposition of Miss Rowland (" Llinos Meirion "), her place was kindly taken by her sister (" Blodwen-y-Ddol," R.A.M.) who is well- known and always appreciated at Conway. We hope soon to have an opportunity of hearing Llinos Meirion also, who has hitherto (we believe) not appeared before a Conway audience. The accompanists were the Misses Dollie Jones and Sally Edwards. LLANDUDNO JUNCTION RAILWAY MISSION BAND OF HOPE.—The children in connexion with the above, had a treat on Wednesday evening, Feb- ruary 19th, when Mr J. S. Owen (of Carnarvon and Bethesda), brought his magic-lantern, with a view to amusing the juveniles. The room was crowded with children, and it was gratifying to see some of the parents had also come to see the views of North Wales, Russia, America, and other parts of the world. Afterwards The Drunkard's Progress was shown, and The Curfew Bell," Polly Nevitt reciting the appropri- ate poetry in splendid style. The lantern exhibi- tion closed with a series of comic pictures, which the children enjoyed very much. Mr Wynne proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Owen and his friends, for coming from such a distance to give a treat to the children and it was seconded by Mr Ted Jones, and a good hearty cheer was given by the children, who behaved throughout in a very creditable manner. After Mr Owen had responded, the meeting closed with the sing- ing of God be with us till we meet again." A NEW CHOIRMASTER AT THE TABERNACL CHAPEL.—Consequent upon the resignation by Mr T. W. Hughes (through indifferent health) of the Choirmastership of the Tabernacl Welsh Wesleyan Chapel, Mr John Jones (Gyffin) has been elected to the vacant position. CONWAY SCHOOL BOARD.—There was no quorum at the meeting called for February 26th, the only members attending being the Mayor and the Rev Owen Evans. The meeting held last month was the first for many months, and now the Board has apparently commenced another long vacation. ST. JOHN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION. — A LADIES' CLASS AT CONWAY.—We are requested to publish the fact that a Ladies' Class for Conway, is being formed in connexion with the St. John Ambulance Association, and that any ladies wishing to join the Class should at once send in their names to Mrs G. Swintord Wood (Bodlondeb), Mrs Porter (Llys Llewelyn), or to the Hon. Sec. pro tern. (Mr J. W. Post, Conway), and attend an inaugural meeting to be held in the Guild Hall next Monday afternoon, March 2nd, at half-past five. THE RAILWAY MISSION. The anniversay meeting of the Llandudno Junction Branch of the Railway Mission was held, on Friday evening, February 21st, at the Girls' National School-room at Conway. At half-past six, more than one hundred railwaymen and their wives sat down to an excellent repast, provided, as usual, by the generosity of Mrs Dawson and Miss Dawson, of Tower View, Llandudno. The tables were very prettily decorated with palms, arum lilies, etc., and were well-laden with choice comestibles (admirably catered by Mrs Jones, Aberconwy Temperance Hotel), and with these and the smiling faces that sat down thereat, and the beaming faces of the lady friends who were acting as waitresses, the room altogether pre- sented an animated appearance. The ladies of the Mission Band present, in addition to Miss Dawson, were the Misses Appleyard, Arnold, Baker, M. Elliott, Raymond, and Taylor. When everybody had done justice to the good things provided, two or three Welsh hymns were sung— Bydd myrdd o ryfeddoàau" and 0 fryniau Caersalem," etc., to the old Welsh tunes with which they are so closely wedded, and Mr John Wynne, of Bronavon, took the chair, being sup- ported by Miss Dawson, the Lady Superintendent of the Mission Mr Cynwal Jones, the local Secretary the Rev J. Raymond, Llandudno; the Rev O. Evans, Conway the Rev Thomas Lloyd, Colwyn Bay and the Rev J. P. Lewis, Vicar of Conway. Mr John Evans, stationmaster of Deganwy, moved a vote of thanks to Mrs and Miss Dawson, for the tea, and to the afore-men- tioned gentlemen, for their kindness in coming that evening to address the meeting, and this was carried with acclamation. Prayer was then offered by the Rev J. Raymond. The Vicar of Conway spoke very encouragingly of the work carried-on by the Mission, and he was only too glad to support Miss Dawson in her endeavours for the spiritual amelioration of the railway men. He had pleasure in introducing to the meeting Mr Fox (the Engineer of the Snowdon Railway), who would be pleased to give a few words of address. Mr Fox kindly came forward, and expressing his pleasure at being amongst such a number of railway men, gave a brief history of the first line of railway in the Kingdom, the Grand Junction line from Birmingham, with which his hither (also an Engineer) was closely connected. A railway- man's life was a monotonous life, but he (Mr Fox) was glad that all along the railways they now had Mission Rooms, and he was very glad to find one down at Llandudno Junction, and it was very good of the kind ladies to take such deep interest in the railwaymen. When Mr Lewis mentioned that Miss Dawson had a gathering of railwaymen at Conway, he was very anxious to come and see them. Well, a railwayman's life was not a very pleasant one, and, were someone perchance to ask him (Mr Fox) whether he liked the life, he would certainly say No it was a very dangerous life, but he never went out without asking God for blessing upon his work and to care for him all through the busy day, and he hoped there was not one in the room that did not do the same,—the only true happiness was to work for God. Other speeches followed, the Revs O. Evans and T. Lloyd taking for their res- pective subjects the words Bod yn dda, a gwneyd yn dda and Hebrews vii. 27. Mr Ted Jones also gave a song. OLDEN CONWAY HOUSES. Amongst the Liverpool Mercury's "Special Welsh Notes" 011 February 22nd, appeared the following:—"The ancient premises at Conway, known as the Palace of Archbishop Williams, where the Rev. Dr. John Williams, Archbishop of York, resided, are to be sold. Plas Mawr, an interesting relic of the Tudor period, was rescued in 1886 by the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, and kept from further decay and it is to be hoped that the Archbishop's Palace will also come into hands that will preserve it from destruction." The Globe, on February 19th. in its turnover article entitled "Characteristic Houses," pleas- antly refers to the vicissitudinous history of Plas Mawr, Conway Human beings are not the only possessors of marked personal character- istics buildings, especially houses, may bear the like distinctive traits. A resident does not always succeed in impressing his own individual- ity upon the abode which he occupies. There are mauy instances of ancient mansions, like some of the houses in the old portions of Edin- burgh, or the well-known Plas Mawr of Conway (now rehabilitated from its degraded condition), which, even when converted into residences for the lowest classes of the community, yet retain traces of their former rank, like monarchs become beggars and still have a grand air," never possessed by abodes erected expressly to house the persons whom the stately old mansions are now reduced to shelter." MISS (OR MRS) JULIA C. R. DORR IN WALES. In the leading columns of The Liverpool Courier of February 24th, is a lengthy notice of, as our contemporary says. some sketches of English travel by Miss (or Mrs) Julia C. R. Dorr, recently published by Messrs Macmilan & Co. The title— The Flower of England's Face,'—is siupid enough, but the book is by no means uninterest- ing." From the Courier notice we now proceed to quote the paragraph dealing with the authoress s impressions of Wales in general, and Conway in particular Unfortunately originality in one respect was not seconded by the same quality in others. Miss Dorr was true to the tradition as to what to see, and her mind was so full of Sir Walter Scott that one might suspect her of hailing from that New Orleans region so domina- ted by the spirit of the Wizard of the North that it impelled Mark Twain to execration. Even Shakespere seems relegated to a second place in her affections. Her interest in English scenery is almost entirely literary. In Wales, for example, her business is with the castles—not the mountains and glens. These often ugly decayed teeth in the skull of a dead tnecliwvalisiii provoke her to transports of admiration—even to poetry. Given an ancient building, ruinous or otherwise- the former preferred—she luxuriates in the creations of a romantic imagination, and is happy in the society of persons reconstructed by fancy from the pag-s of history or historical fiction. Carnarvon Castle offends her because it is in too good a state of repair to let imagination act freely; better far the ruinate pile at Conway, and for the same reason Kenilworth is vastly to be preferred to Warwick Castle. At Plas Mawr, in Conway. she is not at all interested in what she calls the Royal Cambrian Society of Art." It takes Queen Elizabeth and Leicester (two of her pri-iie favourites) to make the fine old building attractiv e. Her art perceptions, however, are evidently not developed, for at the I Ctstle' Hotel the remark- able decorative panels by the late J. D. Watson, which adorn the coffee-room, only provoke her to say, apropos of someone else who disliked them- Why need we have given the things so much attention ? It is well to know when to shut one's eyes." It is a deliciously quaint touch where she at last discovers some art worth notice—two or three sketches by an American artist Obviously the book—which we have not seen- contains, with insufficient (if any) correction, the authoress's memorable contribution" A Week in Wales," which appeared in the Atlantic Monthly of September, 1888. The occasion of the week in Wales, seems to have been an endeavour to evade tiie least picturesque and most ear-splitting of the Jubilee celebrations, the time of the visit being the week of the Queen's Jubilee (1887). In the article are some peculiar mistakes of an unaccountable nature (e.g., Gwrych Castle belongs to the Marquis of Mostyn."). It may not be amiss, perchance, if we quote from the At/antic the passage relating to the Castle Hotel and its pictures Conway is headquarters for the Royal Cambrian Society of Art. We wonder if that fact, or its having a landlady of artistic proclivities, accounted for the pictures, mostly oil-paintings, which covered the walls of our inn. The coffee-room and halls were lined with them, and the chambers held the overflow. In our hostess's private parlor, Kensington em- broidery, old China, painted door-panels, painted milking-stools, etc., had a strangely familiar air, showing that Wales, like America, is in the march of progress. If we could only have tound a decora- ted rolling pin, we should have been happy. But in a conspicuous place hung two or three sketches of American scenery by Thomas Moran, sent to our hostess, as she was proud to say, by the artist himself, who had been for weeks a guest of the house." Again, further on, the descriptions of the river-steamer, Plas Mawr, a sticet-singer, and Conway Castle, are all fine. From the paragraph about Plas Mawr, a short extract must content us:—"Its chief claim to distinction lies in the fact that its owner had the honor of entertaining Queen Elizabeth for some days. The old house is just as it was then, save for the ravages of time, which are many. But the great courts, the floors, the woodwork of paneled oak, now black as ebony, the window-sashes, the small diamond shaped panes of greenish glass, the fire-places, and the stairways remain unaltered, for the most pari fit the great banqueting hall-people seem never to have eaten, but always to have banqueted in those days—are the identical tables and chairs of massive oak used by the royal party." VALE OF CONWAY FISHERY BOARD. On Thursday, February 13th, a special meeting' of the Board was held at Llanrwst, the Chairman (Mr John Blackwall, J.P.) presiding. There were also present Messrs O. Isgoed Jones, J. Evans Jones, Robert Jones, and John Jones, and the Rev J. Spinther James, with the Clerk (Mr Allard). 'Hie Board of Trade wrote with reference to the proposed alteration in the scale of licenses. Tli- Board poi ited out that there were several circumstances which militated against the pro- posed scale. Wiili regard to the fixed engines, the action taken did not correspond with the notice given, and there appeared to have been several irregularities in the proceedings con- nected with th proposals. The Board also pointed out the great inconvenience resulting from changes of the nature proposed. In 1891 the question was brought up in consequence of an enlargement of the area of the district, and it was resolved to mako no alteration. But in 1884 the subject was again considered, and cer- tain changes were made, and it was now sought to make further alterations: The Board of Trade suggest that the deterioration of the salmon fishery in the Conway appears to dale irom the dale vv the fishery season was extended and .s the reduction of the license duties led to an increase in net fishing, it would not be desirable to take such a step unless it were aC-:0.panied by the passing of a bye-law lor the restoration of the statutory annual close season. Mr R. Jones (Conway) strongly protested against the letter of the Board above in reiusing to allow the licenses to he reduced from £5 Lo C4- The Conway he considered the most expensive river in the Kingdom. Mr Isgoed Jones considered the letter a most serious one. Tnpy must look at the matter in a broader light than a personal one. He advocated reducing the licenses to .£-1-, and now came a letter putting them in a deeper hole than ever. The Chairman said that he strongly opposed the extension of the season. He compared the low fish he caught now up the river as compared with years ago. Mr Isgoed Jones Perhaps the fish are getting wise now. [Laughter]. The Chairman The real reason is, as in all the other rivers in the Kingdom, the over-netting in the estuaries of the river. If the rod-fishermen paid Li for a license and the netters £tS. the rod-license would be dear as compared with the other. It was resolved, on the motion of the Rev J. Spinther James, seconded by Mr Isgoed Jones, not to persist in the application to the Board of Trade, to reduce the licenses from L.5 to L4, and not to curtail the fishing season. On the motion of the Chairman, a draft resolu- tion was approved, sub-dividing the Western Sea Fisheries District into North and South. The Rev J. Spinther James gave notice to move that the meetings of the Board be held alternately at Conway and Llanrwst.

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COLWYN BAY.