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" PENNY WISE."

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PENNY WISE." By a majority of one the County Education Authority, at its recent meeting, negatived the proposal made by Mr. W. L. Williams (Fish- guard) to appoint a clerk of works to superin- tend the erection of various schools at present in course of construction. The debate which preceded this remarkable decision was so replete with misstatements and false logic as to tempt one seriously to discount the value of our vaunted democratic system of govern- ment. Wisdom may repose in the midst of a multitude of counsellors, but too frequently its modesty prevents it from unduly obtruding itself upon the public gaze. The Committee appears to be labouring under a grave delu- sion as to the nature of the duties of a clerk of works. Briefly, it may be said that lie acts as the architect's deputy, and scrutinises the quality of the materials used and the work- manship executed, being invested with author- ity to condemn and reject anything which fails to comply with the specifications. To imagine that the architect can efficiently dis- charge these duties in person in various parts of the county is, to display an amount of ignorance scarcely creditable to a public man. Periodical inspection of the progress of the 1 works is worse than useless, for it engenders a false sense of security. Better, far, to trust implicitly to the honour of the contractor than to indulge in such a mockery of super- vision. Everyone possessing the most casual knowlege of the building trade is aware that one day's work is frequently hidden from view by the next, and that no supervision can be efficient which is not both constant and sys- tematic. It is true that, as stated, payment cannot be made to the contractor without the production of a certificate as to the architect's satisfaction, but how is that gentleman to satisfy himself as to the quality of foundations which are buried beneath the earth, of walls which have been plastered,of woodwork which has been painted ? The list might be extend- ed indefinitely, but sufficient has been said to indicate the farcical nature of any certificate grated under such conditions. One is tempted to wonder whether the eight members of the Committee who voted against the proposal would allow buildings of their own to be erected without any supervision of the work being made ? We question it. From the Fishguardian point of view the question wears yet another unsatisfactory aspect. Every hour which the architect devotes to the duties which ought to be discharged by a clerk of works adds to the delay in the completion of the plans for the much-needed new school in the town, and at the same time complicates the financial impasse with the Board of Edu- cation. The subject will doubtless be re- opened at the September meeting of the Com- mittee, but meanwhile the work is progress- ing. In the public interest it is sincerely to be trusted that this penny wise" policy may not prove ultimately to have been a pound foolish one. PROGRESS! THE equible standard of excellence maintained by the entries at the annual show promoted by the North Pembrokeshire Farmers' Club, affords ground for a considerable degree of satisfaction in an age when the meat market is being steadily undermined by cheap foreign imports, not merely of frozen carcases from the Antipodes, but of living beasts from Argentina and elsewhere. It may be accepted as indicative of the fact that, whatever may be the case in the areas which have been adversely affected by the foreign lairages at Birkenhead and other cattle ports, the Southwalian farmer is capable of maintaining —possibly of exceeding—the high standard of excellence which prevailed when Britain's resources sufficed for her needs. Greatly-as we desire to see Fishguard and Goodwick elevated collectively to the status of a pros- perous port and high-class watering-place, we sincerely trust that the day is far distant when such developments will undermine the agricultural and cattle-breeding industries of population in the triune towns -iu merely by the depopulation of their rural environs, Pembrokeshire, as a whole, would be the poorer rather than the richer! Equally gratifying, from the promoter's point of view is the financial success which attended the venture. Sordid considerations intrude in every walk of life, and the waning of public interest in cattle breeding would inevitably sound the death-knell of all such functions, whose object it is to encourage the industry. Hence, it must afford the keenest satisfaction to Mr. V. J. G. Johns, who has thrown himself so assiduously into the onrous work of organisation, to realise that, but for the threatening climatic conditions early on Friday morning, the receipts would, in all probability, have exceeded all previous records. NEW INDUSTRY AT LETTERSTON. IN an age when so exalted a potentate as the Kaiser regards the role of a commercial tra- veler as compatible with the Imperial dignity no excuse need be offered for devoting editor- ial space to the latest venture of Mr. Thomas Williams, of the Pendre Cycle Works, Letter- ston. Encouraged by the success which has attended his recently-erected corn crushing- mills, he is now launching forth in a new direction, and Letterston will shortlv be en- dowed with a butter and cream manufactory. The situation of the town, in the heart of a wide agricultural area, practically assures the success of the project, which is the more wel- come by reason of the fact that hitherto the nearest factory has been the at St. Clears, and therefore out of the reach of the farmers of the northern end of the county. The British nations are slowly awakening to the fact that only by systematic organisation and centralisation can they hope to compete, in the matter of dairy produce, with their more methodical Continental neighbours. It is, as yet, pre- mature to anticipate that our Government will do for us what that of Denmark has done for the peninsular kingdom: meanwhile how- ever, much may be achieved by private enter- prise, and Pembrokeshire is the richer com- mercially for the possession of so far-seeing a resident as Mr. Williams. That his venture may be crowned with success, and that lie may thus be led to still further efforts to stimulate local prosperity, will be the earnest desire, of all who have at heart the welfare of the county. HONOUR THE FLAG! THE effective nature of the stage decorations at the Temperance Hall, Fishguard, on the occasion of Friday night's concert, reflected the highest credit upon Mr. Antony, who although unavoidably absent, was, we under- stand, responsible. Our purpose is not, how- ever, so much to praise" Antony" (pace, Shakespeare)—nor, for the matter of that, to bury him—as to point a moral which should appeal to every Celt, from Amlwch to Barry Island. The decorative scheme embraced flags of many and varied portions of the Empire, likewise banners whose design must have been conceived during a heraldic nightmare, yet nowhere was apparent the standard of the Principality. Welshmen are proud of their ancient lineage, of their native tongue, of their national institutions despite long residence across the border, they hardly ever become Anglicised; yet their historic flag is seldom to be seen, unless figuring in a motley assemblage displayed to garnish an English holiday. At a moment when the capital of the Empire has just dedicated an annual festival in honour of the flag which poetic license alleges to have "braved a thousand years the battle and the breeze," it behoves Welshmen to rescue from oblivion the leonine quartette which symbolises their individuality as an integral, yet distinct, portion of the Empire. We do not advocate the local suppression of the historic Union Jack, whose glorious traditions and senti- mental significance endear it to every son of Britain. Far from it But we do plead for a resuscitation of the ancient banner of Cymry. ESPERANTO. IT wonld be matter for profound regret, were public opinion misled by the editorial article upon Esperanto which appeared in Monday's issue of the South Wales Daily News." That the author thereof had make no effort to render himself conversant with his subject must have been patent to all who have per- used the most elementary treatise on the in- vention of Dr. Zamenhof, whom Cambridge University is this week welcoming with open arms. Esperanto does not aspire, nor ever has aspired, to supplant the living tongues of the earth. It is essentially an auxiliary I language, and, as such, is capable of confer- ring incalculable benefits upon humanity. Bi-lingual Welshmen should be amongst the I first to appreciate a project which would facilitate a free interchange of ideas with every foreigner encountered, be his nationality what it may. Were the ideals of the Polish doctor achieved, every human being would learn Esperanto precisely as the Welshman learns English. His native tougue would remain the medium of his thoughts, his social life, his worship but la lingvo inter- nacia would enable him to travel the world o'er, speaking a tongue familiar to him since infancy and readily intelligible to all with whom he came into contact. But, it may be urged, an artificial language must necessarily be characterised by a paucity of words and an absence of idiom which would preclude it from ever taking rank above a jargon, such as Judish. Even so, its value would be im- measurable, but in point of fact, Esperanto offers to those thoroughly conversant with its constitution a more extensive vacabulary, and a less tautological phraseology than does any living language. Considerations of space preclude us from substantiating this assertion in detail, but its accuracy will be apparent tn anyone who will devote an hour to the study of the subject, as expounded in the official text books of the movement.

Religious Progress at Goodwick

Goodwiok's Growth.

Results of County Schools'…

SOLVA.

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