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.. PONTYPRIDD DISTRICT COUNCIL.…

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OVERSEERS AND COUNCIL.

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PONTYPRIDD POLICE-COURT -

, Presentation to Dr. Roberts,…

------------Distressing Death…

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Letters to the Editor.

CWMPARK EISTEDDFOD.

♦ "ENGLISH" IN EISTEDDFODU.…

. Working Men's Crubs.

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Working Men's Crubs. To the Editor. Sir,—My attention has recently been drawn t. the raid made some time ago by the police on the Tylorstown Workmen's Club and Insti- tute, and the result of that raid ought to make ail the members of similar clubs unite for the purpose of mutual defence, 10 check the ar- bitrary exercise of the power possessed by the police, and to appeal to higher courts when tlii magistrates support the police in their un- warrantable interference with the rights of workmen. The club referred to provided ex- cellent literature, harmless enjoyment, and reasonable recreation for those who wished to joi i it. It was registered under the Friendly Societies Act, and ita accounts were ao&ited bv one of the best known public auditors in South Wales. There being no public library or reading-room in the locality, a large numbers of persons gladly availed themselves of the well-stocked library and reading-room of this useful and generous institution, which, it may be mentioned, gave away last year upwards of forty guineas towards Cardiff Infirmary, Porth Hospital, Porthcawl Rest, and similar organi- sations. Even since the unfortunate raid, and notwithstanding the great cost entailed there- by, the club has bem able to send further donations of five guineas to each of the above- mentioned institutions, as well as a contribu- tion to the Society for the Prevention of Cru- elty to Children. No one has a higher regard than I have for the admirable police force of this country-a body of men who are the envy of Continental countries. let, as a lawyer of several years' standing, I am reluctantly com pelled to admit that sometimes they break the very laws they ought to enforce, and interfere with the very nghts they ought to safe-guard. The magistrates who convicted in this case are gentlemen of the highest standing, and are probably members of clubs themselves- but as men of the worla Iley know perfectly well that n) club or any other human institution is at. ways carried on with mathematical precision anJ unerring accuracy. Some of the rules of tho best clubs in the land are violated or i ncred every year, gimply because imperfect humanity cannot frame perfect rules suitable for unforeseen contingencies. How, then, can either the police or the magistrates expect to find that perfection in a body of uneducated working men, which is missing in those aristo- cratic clubs, which are never raided by the police? I have yet to learn that either a might irregularity in the method of electing a committee, or an error in the accounts, has the magic effect of turning a workmen's institute into a shebeen or an unlicensed drinking shop. Neither do I know of any law wtich inflicts a peralty upon a registered Friendly Society for inadvertent non-observance of rules. In con- clusion. I strongly urge all genuine clubs either to combine or to lay aside a part of their pro- fils, for purposes of self-defence.—I am, etc., BARRISTER-AT-LAW.

Parish Council of Llantwit…

I. Funeral of Mr Evaq John,…

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