Rhondda Leader Maesteg Garw and Ogmore Telegraph

Rhondda District Council. Annual Meeting Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Canon Lewis' Suggestion. The Clydach Vale Disaster The annual meeting of the Rhondda District Council was held at the Council Chamber, Pentre, on Friday last. There were present Councillors Ben Davies (vice- chairman), Thos. Griffiths, Canon Lewis, Danl. Evans, Griffith Evans, W. T. Jones, D. C. Evans, Walter Williams, J. D. Williams, W. T. Davies, Lewis Hopkins, .W. H. Morgan, Dd, Williams, Ed. Jones, W. P. Thomas, Dr. A. G. Tribe, David Smith, William Thomas and James James, together with the Deputy-Clerk (Mr, T. G. Jones), and the Deputy-Medical Officer (Dr. J. Lambie). Councillor Thos. Griffiths, M.E., was appointed chairman pro tem. in the absence of Councillor Thos. Thomas, J.P., and the Deputy Clerk, in the absence of the Clerk (who was engaged in connec- tion with the Tramways Extension Bill in London), presented the report of the Returning Offioer, NEW CHAIRMAN. The Chairman, in proposing Councillor < Ben Davies, the vice-chairman, to be chairman for the ensuing year, said he was very glad to have the privilege; and opportunity of making this proposition. lVIr. Davies was a collier like himself- (hear, hear)—and he was very glad to make the proposition on behalf of a fellow-collier. At the same time, he would respectfully call their attention to one matter. He did not like to see colliers monopolising the presidency of the Council, or, indeed, monopolising any- thing else. believed in equity and the distribution of honour (laughter and applause). Councillor Dd. Smith said that although he could not do so with the eloquence of the Chairman—(laughter)—he had great pleasure in seconding the proposition. He "felt, perfectly certain that under Mr. Davies' presidency the work of the Coun- cil would be carried on efficiently and with -1, C, credit to himself and the Council, Councillor W. T. Jones supported the motion. and expressed a hope that Mr. Davies would have a very useful year of office. The motion was tarried unanimously. The new Chairman, on taking the chair, returned thanks for the honour bestowed upon him, and expressed a hope w that the Council would never regret his appointment. He was an old collier, as Mr. Griffiths had remarked, and he and Mr] Griffiths had worked together at the; Coedcae house coal. He would endeavour to do his work conscientiously and faith- fully. COULD NOT TRUST HIMSELF. RETIRING CHAIRMAN RETURNS THANKS. The following letter from the retiring Chairman, Councillor Thos. Thomas, Ystrad, was read — Y strad-Rhondcb, April 22nd,' 1910. To the Rhondda Urban District Council. Gentlemen,—Permit me, at the close of my year of office as Chairman of this important Council, to thank you one and all most sincerely for the assist- ance which you have given me loyally and liberally in the discharge of the duties of this responsible position. I gratefully acknowledge my indebted- ness to you, my colleagues, to our learned Clerk, and to all the officials. lit, reviewing the work of the year, I am almost convinced that my term of office has been one of, if not the most important, since the formation of the Council. We have been interested in lSeveral extensive and expensive schemes, which claimed and received much time and attention. Among the various undertakings that demanded a good deal of labour and sacrifice were the Gla- morgan Water Bill, the forming of the Pontypridd and Rhondda Joint Water Board and the purchase of the Ponty- pridd Waterworks, together with the Council's Bill for extending the tram- ways, preventing the pollution and flooding of rivers, and other important matters now pending, for the welfare of the district and its people generally. Amongst the events which caused me, personally, much pleasure .and some anxiety were the opening of the late Judge'Gwilym Williams Memorial Hall at Trealaw and the visit of H.R.H. Princess Louise, also the reception given to the Baptist Union at Tre- orchy and its illustrious president, the Chancellor of the Exchequer the taking over, on behalf of the Council, of the Archibald Hood memorial fountain. Pandv Square, as well as the welcome extended to the East Wales Federation of Free Churches at Tonypandy. Again, I was privileged on your behalf to greet General Booth, and to welcome the Welsh Language Society into our area. The routine duties of office, of course, fell to my -lot and I endeavoured to discharge them to the best of my ability. The year, unfortunately, has not been without its bitter experiences. I may be allowed to refer to the loss sustained by the Council through the death of Councillor Thomas Davies, Windsor (one of the old Gloran 'families, who have identified themselves with the progress .and development of the district), and who was an old and faithful member of the Council. Nor will the Clydach Yale disaster, with all the suffering and sorrow it involved, 'be easily forgotten happily, these te.r- rible disasters are very rare, and I earnestly hope that the history of the Rhondda will not record another such calamity. As far as Council business is concerned it has been very pleasant indeed, especially during the first half of the year. You will, no doubt, agree with me that it was a very difficult task to fill satisfactorily public duties while my wife was lying seriously ill at home, and when I was about to be relieved from the cares of office, death bereaved me of my helpmate. Allow me to thank you for your vote of con- dolence, and I appreciated very much your kind and helpful expressions of sympathy. Although eager to attend to-day, I could not trust my feelings, and I hope you will exouse my absence. I also wish my successor all the sweetness and pleasantness: of my period of office, with- out any of its bitterness and disappoint- ments, and in handing over to him the burdens and honours of chairmanship, I hope that I have justified the confi- dence you reposed in me, and that my endeavours have not been unworthy of the tradition of the .previous able Chairmen, and I trust that I have main- tained the dignity of the Council in my humble effort to represent the Council on all occasions. Again thanking you for all forbear- ance and sympathy.Believe me, yours very faithfully. v THOS. THOMAS. The Chairman We are all aware that Mr. Thomas gave an enormous amount of time during the last twelve months to public affairs as a Guardian and the Chairman of this Council; and I move that a vote of thanks be accorded him for the manner in which he carried out his duties Councillor Thos. Griffiths seconded, and remarked that as the oldest member of the Council, lie had had the privilege of sitting under all the chairmen from the inception of the Council down to the pre- sent time, and he could honestly say that he could not recollect a chairman more conscientious in the discharge of .his duties than Mr. Thos. Thomas, The motion was carried, THE NEW VICE-CHAIRMAN, The Chairman proposed Councillor D. C. Evans as Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year. Councillor J. D. Williams seconded, and said that Mr. Evans was an old member of the Council, and according to the system they had adopted--that the Chair should go by way of seniority—lie was fully qualified for the position of Vice- Chairman, and he had every hope that Mr. Evans would fill his office in a way which would give entire satisfaction to the Council. The motion was carried. Councillor Evans returned thanks, and said that he trusted he would be able to fulfil the duties of the post to which they had appointed him.. r Councillor Ed. Jones then introduced Mr James James, the new member for Ward 4, vice Mr. W. D. Wight. The Chairman extended, a warm wel- come to Mr. James, and expressed a hope that he would prove a very valuable member. The appointment of Committees was then proceeded with, and with very few- exceptions, all the Committees were re- elected. THE CLYDACH VALE DISASTER. PROGRESS OF WORK AT THE LEVEL The following letter from Mr. H. T. Wales, engineer, who has been instructed to make a survey of the Blaenclydach Level, on behalf of the Council, was read: BLAENCLYDACH LEVEL. Dear Sirs,—I visited the Level on the 16th inst. with Mr. Forster Brown and Mr. W, J. Jones, Council Surveyor. Mr. Forster Brown brought a plan showing the workings in the No. 2 seam, and after examining this, we inspected the work now being carried out in the Level. The clearing operations are making steady progress, and two shifts of work- men are employed. The cross-heading referred to in my letter of the 12th inst. has not yet been reached, but there cannot be much more ground to clear to reach it. Water is now issuing freely from the face, and the Quantity, I was informed, corresponds with the. flow which was usually met with whilst the Level was in operation. This water is clearly under no head or pressure. I afterwards examined the mouth of the Bwllfa lower level, near Ystrad, as the workings from that level are con- nected with the workings of the Blaen- clydach Lwel. As to the risk of any further out- burst occurring, it is not possible to speak with absolute certainty until the Level has been cleared to the end of the falls which broke down from the surface,* and this further work should, I think, be completed, within the next week or ten days. I flave arranged to be informed immediately this has been done, so that I may at once make a further inspection. I may now say, however, that all the indications show that any further out- burst is very improbable; and, if one should occur, it would be on a very small scale, and could not give rise to any danger to life or property. The Detraty Clerk Jnformed the Council that Councillor R. S. Griffiths and Mr. W. P. Nicholas, both of whom were in London in connection with the Tramways Extension Bill, were of opinion that it would be advisable to open the schools on the following Monday. Councillor W. T. Davies moved that the schools be reopened as suggested. SAFETY OF SCHOOL CHILDREN, Councillor Wm. Tlyjmas said there was a feeling in the district that there, was one fall again to be reached, and until this was cleared, he feared the public would not rest satisfied as to safety of the level. He suggested that this fall be first cleared before the schools be opened. Councillor J. D. Williams said it was a. great loss that the children were un- able to attend school, but inasmuch as there was an element of danger still existing, he was strongly of the opinion that they should not reopen the schools r ntil this fall had been reached and cleared, so that there could be no- possible clanger to the children at the school. Councillor Thos. Griffiths said he heartily endorsed the remarks made by Councillors Thomas and Williams, inasmuch as it only required a week or ten days to clear the fall in question. Thev would be making another inspection of the level shortly, and he himself intended to make an inspection as soon as the fall was cleared. He believed it was his duty as a. representative of the public to see that everything possible was being done to restore safety, and that an accident of this kind should not recur. He there- fore, was of opinion that it would be prudent to delay opening the schools until the fall had been cleared and the workings inspected, and moved a motion accordingly. This was seconded and agreed to. t TO ASK GOD'S BLESSING." ¡ CANON LEWIS" SUGGESTION. Canon Lewis suggested to the Chair- man that be should invite the Council to attend a. place of worship in the town where the Council held its meetings to ask God's blessing on its deliberations. The Council last year, added the rev. p- gentleman, had made a departure in recognising various religious bodies who held their meetings in the district. There was a movement on foot to obtain a Charter for the Rhondda, and if. the movement were successful, part of the Mayor's duty would be to attend a place of worship. along with the Council. He was convinced that the custom, if estab- lished, would do an enormous amount of good. and lie appealed strongly for its establishment. The Chairman thanked the Venerable Canon for the suggestion, and promised to give it his earnest consideration. THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE. DR. THOMAS AGAIN ELECTED CHAIRMAN. The Council then resolved itself into the Education Committee, the Chairman presiding in the, absence of Dr. Thomas. The latter was again re-elected Chair- man for the ensuing year, and the various Sub-Committees, with the excep- tion of some necessary alterations, were re-elected.