The North Wales Weekly News

St. Asaph Board of Guardians. THE ABERGELE DISTRICT RELIEVING OFFICERSHIP. TRIBUTES TO THE LATE MRS. WILLIAMS. Mr Edwin Morgan presided over the fort- nightly meeting of the Board, held on Friday. Mr T. Frimston occupied the vioe-chair, and the following members were present: Mrs De Ranee, Mrs Howell Gee, Mrs Maxy Jones, Miss Owen Jones, Canon C. F. Roberts, Messrs Tibos. Evanis, Robert Lloyd, John Jones (Waen), J. Ellis Jones, William Morris, J. D. Jones, Wil- liam Jones, Robert Jones (Prestatyn), W. C'onwy-Bell, Hugh Edwards, John Pierce, Edward Williams, John Roberts. Isaac Batho, j. Roberts-Jones, Joihin Lothian, W. S. Roberts, T. Francis Jones, J. R. Elilis, Robert Jones (Den- bigh) the Clerk (Mr Charles Grimsley), the Master (Mr Robert Jones), and the other officials. THE MASTER'S REPORT. The Master reported that the number of in- mates in the House that day was 166, as com- pared with 166 in the corresponding period. 01 last year. The number of vagrants relieved was 179, as compared with 162 in the corresponding period of last year. The Master stated that there were sixty child- ren present in the House. He requested to know whether the usual treat on Christmas Day would be granted the inmates. It was decided that the usual treat be given.. THE LATE ABERGELE RELIEVING OFFICER. 'Canon Roberts referred to the sad and sudden death of Mrs Williams, the lady relieving officer for the Abergele district. Mrs Williams did her diuty by the Board and. the paupers, sometimes under great difficulties. She suffered more than people would think, and he proposed that it be recorded on the minutes of the Board their sense of the loss of so faithful an official. The Vice-Chairman said he was sure they all felt the loss of Mrs Williams, who was always a mosit affable and agreeable official, and did her dutv in the best way possible. (Hear, hear.) The Chairman wished to. be associated with the remarks made. He had a very good experi- ence of the abilities of Mrs Williams. He re- membered her husband's appointment, and when his health broke down the duties fell on Mrs Williams, and they all knew of the faithful way in which she carried out the duties of that office. He remembered that when Mrs Williams was permanently appointed, the wisdom of ap- ipointing_ a lady relieving officer was questioned at the time, when there were onily one or two lady relieving officers in the whole kingdom. He did not think that whoever had then been ap- pointed in her place, man or woman, could have carried out the duties of the office more con- scientiously. (Hear, hear.) When he saw the announcement -of her deaJth in the papers he was much shocked. She was not of robust health, and she was ill from time to time; but he did not think the end was so near. She was an efficient and faithful servant, and he was of opinion that she had gone to her grave with Hl clear conscience that she had endeavoured to do her duty. (Hear, hear.) The proposal was carried by all the member- standing. TEMPORARY RFJJEVING OFFICER. After some discusion, it was decided to ap- point Mr Charles Jones, of Abergele, as reliev- ing officer for a period of one month. The Clerk stated that when he was informed of the death of Mrs Williams he telephoned to the Abergele police to visit the house of Mrs Williams, as she had' some monies of the Union. He (the Clerk) had found out that Mrs Williams had paid at Abergele and Llanddulas on Satur- day, and that she was busy with her work until fight o'clock on Saturday night. She was not seen since, and the police found her dead in bed on Monday. The Clerk explained the steps he had taken for the temporary fulfilment of Mrs Williams' office. The Board then discussed the question of the terms of advertising for a successor. It was re- solved that the age of the candidates must be between thirty and forty-five years, and that no canvassing the Guardians was to be permissible. JUVENILE CRIMINALS. The Clerk reported the receipt of a letter from the Clerk of the Peace for Flintshire, on behali of the Flintshire Police Committee, enquiring whether the Guardianis were willing to> provide accommodation in the Workhouse for the deten- tion of young persons proceeded against under the Children's Act? The Chairman said they had already discussed tn'at matter in connection wit.li a similar letter from the Denbighshire Police Committee, and he took it that their answer to the Flintshire Committee would be the same as that given to the Denbighshire Committee, namely, that thev had no room for such persons. They might if they thought fit, refer the matter to. the Visiting Committee. Mr Batho moved that the Board adhere to the decision they arrived at when considering the Denbighshire Committee's recommendation. lr William Jones seconded the motion, and it wias agreed to. — THE COOK. IrtJ was decided that the services of the cook be retained for another month.

St. Asaph (Flint) Rural District Council. THE QUESTION OF MELIDEN DRAINAGE. THE DIFFICULTIES WITH AN ISOLA- TION HOSPITAL. Mr Edward Williams presided over the month- ly meeting of this Council on Friday. The fol- lowing members were present: Miss Owen Jones, Messrs William Morris, John Lothian, W. Conwy-Bell, Edwin Morgan, W. S. Roberts, R. E. Griffiths, and Francis Jones; with the Clerk (Mr Charles Grimsley), the Medical Offi- cer (Dr. J. Lloyd Roberts), the Highway Sui- veyor (Mr John Lloyd), and the Sanitary In- spector (Mr E. O. Evans). THE QUESTION OF DRAINAGE AT MELIDEN. The Chairman proposed that the Council take into consideration the question of a sewerage scheme for Dyserth. The matter has been be- fore the Council for months, and no definite steps have been taken, the matter being fre- quently adjourned. A letter was read by the Clerk from Mrs Walkden in reference to the drainage of her houses at Meliden, and enquiring whether the Council was prepared to receive her representa- tive on the matter. The representative, Mr Hopwood, appeared before the Council, and was questioned by the Chairman and Mr Conwy-Bell as to what Mrs Walkden was prepared to do. to help the Coun- cil in the matter if a drainage system was drawn up, and the representative made certain conditions, but could not bind himself to any of them at that moment. The Surveyor stated that he had written to the County Surveyor toi ask him whether he would meet him on the school premises to in- spect the sanitary arrangements there, and he had replied that he would do so at an early date. At the request of Mr George Williams, the Councillor for the parish, the Surveyor met him in the village on the 15th mst. to make an inspection of the district for the purpose of 1 t- commending another scheme of drainage for Mrs Walkden's property. After making a care- ful inspection, they thought that in the absence of a sewerage system for the whole village, the most practical method of draining the property was by laying a sewer down the lane under the railwav bridge, crossing the waste land on to the main load by Mount Pleasant, then along the main road and connect with the existing sewerage svstem near the Wesleyan chapel. He estimated the cost of a 9-inch sewer roughly at £ 120, and a 6-inch sewer at [100. A letter was also read from the Local Govern- ment Board enclosing a copy of a letter ad- dressed to them by Mrs Limouzin with refer- ence to the drainage of the village of Meliden, and requesting to be furnished with the observa- tion of the Council thereon. The following petition was also, read by the Cieik To the members) of the St. Asaph, Rural District Council. Gentlemen,—We, the undersigned property owners and ratepayers of Dyserth, respectfully submit for your consideration the urgenrt need of a system of drainage for Dyserth, and the imperative necessity for immediate action in securing the same. While recognising the cost which such an oaitlay will entail, the advan- tages, both present and in the near future, will fully compensate for the expenditure of such an undertxking. While makinlg the locality more sanitary for the present inhabitants, a good drainage scheme will also be an impetus in the rapid development in the building of a number of improved class of houses, which is much in demand at present. Twenty-six signatures were attached to the petition. Mr Conwy-Bell 'Proposed That this Coun- cil meet the Meliden Parish Council, and re- quest Mr PicJrerilng and Mr Andrews, the repre- sentative of the Railway Company, to. generally discuss the whole question of the drainage of Meliden." Miss Owen Jones -seconded, and it was car- ried. A long discussion ensued and it was decided that a meeting be arranged in due course by the parties mentioned in the resolution, with a view of coming to some understanding regarding the drainage of Meliden. Mr Conwy-Bell remarked that those people who built at those places knew of the risks, they ran, and when they were in trouble they ap- pealed to the Council for help. THE ISOLATION HOSPITAL QUESTION. The Council considered the Joint Hospital Committee's report as to the provision of an isolation hospital, also a letter from the Den- bighshire Infirmary Committee drawing atten- tion to the need of an. infectious hospital in the district, and a further letter from the Local Government Board enquiring the present posi- tion of the proposed scheme for the provision of a hospital. During a discusion which followed it trans- pired that Presbatyn was not inclined to join in the matter, and it was decided to move without Abergele. Mr Conwy-Bell said they were beset with difficulties. The larger the scheme which was required, the more land was required. If they departed from the original scheme so as to em- brace Prestatyn and Abergele, they would need more land than was originally intended. There was a general feeling to have as few hospitals as possible. If the four places intended to be embraced were considered, they would need more land than they had, and in consequence they had been unable to do business. He was informed by the Surveyor that a hospital with twelve beds might do but they would have to get the sanction of the Local Government Board. Each meeting they had had, new obstac.es seemed to arise, and they were as far off as ev.er in going forward with the scheme. Mr Edwin Morgan supported Mr Bell in his views, and stated that they had discussed the question^ for_ years, andjiow other questions of

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Llanrwst Workhouse Matron's Salary. SERVICE REPLY TO THE VICAR OF DOLWYDDELEN. At a recent meeting of the Llanrwst Board of Guardians an application was made by the matron of the workhouse for an increase of salary. There was a sharp difference of opinion among the members, and this week we quote following article, which appeared in the Poor among the members, and this week we quote the and Officers' Salaries: An Old Fiction. — An old fiction,'frequently killed but regularly resurrected again to do service, that about three- fourths of the poor rate are swallowed un in the payment of officers' salaries, has caused a sharp difference of opinion in the Boardroom of the Llanrwst Guardians. At a recent meeting of the Board an application for an increase of salary from the matron was under discussions During the discussion the Rev. J. Ll. Richards, a Guardian, is credited with having given sup- port to the view that three-fourths of the poor rate go in the shape of remuneration to the officials. As his statement had been reported in some of the big dailies of the country, as well as in the local Press, the Rev. Henry Jones, n. other member of the Llanrwst Board, at the Board's last meeting, stated that he had gone into the matter and found that the salaries of the officers of the Union amounted to ;6649 per annum, towards which the Guardians received I-A-14, leaving ^205 to be paid out of the rates, which was only equal to d. in the pound out ot the rate of II Yzd. On this statement the Rev. J. LI. Richards said: It is very unfair to produce these figures when I made no- allusion to this Union." Thereupon the Chairman ob- served No Guardian should make any as- sertion unless he is prepared to prove it." The Rev. J. Ll. Richards then said "I refuse to accept your ruling that my statement was un- fair or incorrect. It is very unfair for you to say such a thing from the chair." The Chair- man then let it be known that he would have fair play while he was m the chair, and the incident terminated. It is difficult to conceive rnpon what ground the Rev. J. Ll. Richards had to. cOirlpain of unfairness m this matter. His statement of figures, which Mr. Jones proved to be incorrect when locally applied, was made on the consideration of an application, of a local officer, and the legitimate deduction from that statement could only be that gd. of every is. obtained from rates by the Llanrwst Board of Guardians went in the payment of the salaries of their officers. For the Rev. J. Ll. Richards now to say that his statement dealt with the whole of England and Wales does not help him at all, because it is a statement that is as in- correct nationally as it is locally. There is no desire to be severe with the rev. gentleman, as no doubt he had read the statement or had heard it somewhere, and accepted it believing it to be ttue. The statement, however, is so palpably absurd on the face of it that it is surprising that in taking it up the rev. gentleman did not act upon (the apostolic injunction to. prove all things." During the year 1905-6 in England and Wales ^58,200,000 were raised by local author- ities in the way of rates. Of that sum £ '27,100,000 was raised as poor rate," but of this little more than one-third (^9,500,000) was required for Poor-Law expenditure. It is true that the amounts the Guardians receive from rates do not meet the whole of their expenditure —roughly speaking it meets about two-thirds of the expenditure, the other third being met by Government grants and subventions, and by re- paid relief, £ c. When the expenditure of the Boards of Guardians for the whole country is taken, lit is found that about 2j4d. in every shilling of the total expenditure goes for officers. Of this 2%d. the institutional officers take about i->.td., the remaining three-farthings represent- ing Clerk's department and outdoor relief staff, including district medical officers. These figures not only destroy the statement, made by the Rev. J. Ll. Richards, but when dissected there is very little left as salaries of strictly ad- ministrative officers. In other words, the bulk of Union officers' salaries r-epiesent actual relief to the chargeable poor, as a large proportion of institutional salaries are for services of medical officers and nurses, or what, in private life, is just the family doctor's bill. Again, institu- tional salaries include for (I) cooks, bakers, sean 1 stresses, tailors; and (2) carpenters, plumbers, and property repairers. These salar- ies in every family have got to be met under the kead of food, clothing, and house rent re- spectively. If we take the charge for outdoor officers, here again a very goodly proportion goes for medical services—i.e., the family doc- tor's bill. The Rev. Henry Jones, following this line of analysis, could have provided a still more effective reply to his reverend colleague than he was content to make.

Justice to Animals. HOW R.S.P.C.A. WORK IS DEVELOPING. THE CRUSADE AGAINST CRUELTY IN NORTH WALES. Mr. Rendell, in the splendid address which he delivered, last Wednesday, at the annual meeting of the Colwyn Bay auxiliary of the R.S.P.C.A., said be had been much struck with the Gorsedd Prayer, which said: Grant, 0 God, Thy Protection, And in Protection, Strength, And in Strength, Understanding; And in Understandint-, Knowledge; And in Knowledge, the Knowledge of Justice And in the Knowledge of Justice. the Love of it And in that Love, the Love of all Existences And in the Love of Existences, the Love of God; God, and all goodness. This comprehensive prayer was probably pre- pared years ago. Owing to its comprehensive- ness let them hope it would be handed down to posterity through generations to come. They should not plead for kindness—kindness was the wrong word—but justice. One of the oldest of the Greek Mythical Kings was said to have inscribed on the walls of his temple these three maxims Gods to be rvenetated parents to be honoured, and animals not to be hurt." Nearly 2,000 years ago, Plutarch declared Jus- tice and beneficence should be extended to creatures of every species. A good n an will take care of his horse and dogs, not only when they are young, but when they are old and past service." A popular writer once said There is something wanting in that man's religion whose dog and cat are not benefitted by it." The late Sir Arthur Helps said The progress of civilisation in the world must be gauged by the increase of humanity and the decrease of cruelty." Let them there- fore gauge this progress by a very brief history of the R.S P.C.A. The speaker ennumerated early cases of cruelty which could not be punished through not having the necessary Parliamentary powers. Forty years ago there was but one Act of Par- liament, and .now there were a score of Acts and a Society with 620 branches and 170 in- spectors. This was brought about by the pro- gress of civilisation, education, and the Society. Education was, however, incomplete without the formation of character. It was not enough to teach the three R's to make children smart and clever. It was of vital importance to form and develop character. Character was greater and higher than money, intellect, or love; because it determined the use and direction of all three of these. It was the character of the rich man which determined whether he should be a benefactor or a curse to society. rt was character which determined whether the learned man should use his know- ledge as a destructive or as a construc- tive force in society. It was character which determined whether love should be a passion working havoc in human life, or a grace beauti- fying and ennobling life. Character was the determining force behind money, intellect, love, and so it was; the greatest force in human life. Yet it was the one thing frequently neglected in the education of the rising generation. An M.P. recently .stated Most of our criminals are made in childhood." It has also been said Sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny." The formation, of character, then, could only be neglected at the expense of the individual, and to the detriment of our position as the most civilised nation in the world. Sir Frederick Bridge recently said:- There's so much bad in the best of us, And there's so much good in the worst of us, That it hardly behoves any of us, To talk about the rest of us, Our object must be to take out the bad in the best of us, And increase the good in the worst of us. Let them endeavour to make it well known that there were lesosn. in hedgerows, tongues in trees, books, in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything." He saw the following lines a short time ago — So many shrines, so many creeds, So many paths that wind and wind; Whilst just the art of being kind. Is what this world so sadly needs. The Society's! platform was a very broad one, It included ,theologianls of all creeds and poli- ticians of all parties. This year 300,000 essays were written by London scholars upon the pro- per treatment of animals. He quoted the opin- ions of her late Majesty Queen Victoria and His Majesty the King upon the work of the Socreity, At first there was only one inspector for the whole of North Wales; but owing to the growth of progress and kind local support the parent Society was enabled to send a second inspector, and later a summer season inspector to Rhyl. Now, owing to the generous munificence of a lady near Rhyl, who had given a donation of £ 2,000, a third inspector was permanently sta- tioned at Rhyl. This was a growth to be proud of. He asked them to give additional sympathy and support their excellent Hon.Secretary, Miss Southall, and the local Committee. If they be- lieved in their cause, let them ta;ke hold of it with both hands and compel success. Their cause was just and noble, and was carried out in the most practical way possible, esntirelv1 as a crusade against cruelty to fellow creatures who were unable to plead for themselves (Applause.)

Mr. Owen M. Edwards. THE SOUL OF WELSH LITERATURE." A well-merited tribute was paid, at the Cal- vinistic Methodist Sassiwn held at Llan- idloes, to the splendid services of Mr O. M. Ed- wards tin the cause of Welsh literature and patriotism. The Rev. John Williams, Brynsiencvn, called special attention to the invaluable services ren- dered to Welsh literature by Mr. O. M. Edwards, chief inspector of schools for Wales. In the midst of important and multifarious duties Mr. Edwards had found time to publish a series of valuable books dealing with Welsh subjects, with very little prospect of being re- couped for the expense. Yet, so far as he knew, Mr. Edwards's services had never been publicly recognised. (Hear, hear.) He had hoped that the Uni/ersity of Wales would have found suf- ficient merit in Mr. Edwards's services to acknowledge them in some form. (Applause.) They had done so in other directions, but the man of all others who had done the most for Wales had not been so recognised. He moved that the Association -should now do so. (Hear hear.) The Rev. Evan Jones seconded. In his opinion Mr. O. M. Edwards was the soul of Welsh literature—(applause),—and long might he live to serve his country. As for the University of Wales,—well, that institution was born blind-- (laughtet ),and so far no one seemed to have applied clay and spittle to remove the blind- ness. (Hear, bear, and laughter.) There was no need of an aeroplane to take this institution out of sight. (Laughter.) The motion was carried unanimously.

.a-.ca A Welsh Housing Association. At a meeting held at the House of Commons on. Wednesday last it was resolved to form a Welsh Housing Association having as its gen- eral object the securing of better housing accom- modation for the working classes in the Princi- pality. Mr Ellis Griffith, M.P., presided, and among those present and supporting the move- ment were the Bishop of St. Asaph, the Bishop of Bangor, Mr Idris, M.P., and; Mr W. Jones, M.P. Mr Hancock, formerly Organising Secre- tary of the First Garden City, was appointeu Organising Secretary of the new Association.

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difficulty arose, which they had not contem- plated. He was given to understand that day that in the event of having a larger hospital than was originally intended, they must have more land. They would probably have to obtain two more acres of land, at £240 probably, per acre. They had paid £240 for one acre and if they had to pay the same rate for the other two acres, it would be a tremendous amount for them to pay. They were, unfortunately, now in a greater difficulty than they were before. Also, if the scheme of having eight beds was carried out, he understood that only one kind of disease could be treated at the time. If a case of dip- theria or typhoid was taken in, they would have seven beds empty if another disease was desired to be treated. He could hardly, in the face of such a state of things, see the Great use of a hospital1 at all. It seemed a childish idea, and given a hospital, they would be practically in the same position as they were that day. He agreed with Mr Bell that their difficulties to- day were greater than they were ever before. Miss Owen Jones suggested that they take no notice of Prestatyn and Abergele. Dr. J. Lloyd Roberts said that in the instance of Prestatyn they were not likely to want such a thing, as they were against the idea of join- ing, and were in favour of having a hospital of their own. The Chairman said they were not anxious for the co-operation of the Prestatyn and Abergele people. Dr. Roberts stated that if Abergele joined, there would be more delay. Miss Owen Jones: Something ought to. be done. The public will think we are very back- ward. The matter was then deferred.