Llandudno Advertiser and List of Visitors

THE COUNCIL AND THE GREAT ORME TRAMWAY. Now that the Great Orme Company have declined, the offer made by Llan- 10 dudno Council for the tramway to the, summit of the Orme, something may be said of what the Council have allowed to slip through their fingers. In justice to the Company the price off'ered and refused can not be given, but it may be stated that it, was considerably below what the direc- tors thought was its fair market value, and also below that which the special committee which considered the matter recommended. The line, which roughly speaking, is a mile and a quarter in length, was con- structed and provided wilth the necessary rolling stock at a cost of P,21,523, 15s. 9d., of which sum nearly a fifth was absorbed in law, parliamentary, legal and engineer- ing expenses, leaving the nett cost, at ZD t) aproximately £ 17,000. Unfortunately for the Company the capital was not fully subscribed, and the providing of money to pay off bonds, etc. has crippled the undertaking throughout its career. That the facilities the tramway afforded to visitors of getting to the summit of the Orme were appreciated will be readily conceded when it is stated that in 1907, 79,879 persons were, carried, producing a revenue' of nearly £ 2200, which sum was sufficient to show a working profit of over £ 580. The weather during the latter part of 1908 was most unfavourable, and although in June and July the receipts exceeded those of the preceding year, "he following months of August and Septem- ber were so unfavourable as to more than wipe off the increase, the working profit for the year was nearly £ 90 less. When it is stated that the town might have acquired the undertaking for a sum which would allow of their borrowing the money at a possible cost to the town of less than a half-penny on the rates intel- ligent ratepayers wil want to* know the rea- son why the opportunty was lost. As stated, the possible cost is half-penny in the pound, but it is more than likely it would cost the ratepayers nothing. If the company were able to make such a profit crippled and tied as they were on every side it is only reasonahle, to anticipate that the Council, with every facility for advertising and booming the concern, would increase the working profit to such a figure as to allow a surplus for the relief of the rates. In any case, after 25 years, when the borrowed capital would have been re-paid the town would be in possession of a most valuable asset. I w The short-sighted policy of those mem- bers of the Council who are responsible for this blunder is to be deplored, and it is to be hoped the ratepayers will have an opportunity of judging for themselves before the election comes as to the merits of the contention of the special committee that, the Great Orme Tramway could have been developed into. a profitable under- taking. The committee spent a great deal of time in order to obtain a, thorough grasp of the undertaking and its pos- sibilities. The example of Colwyn Bay who acquired the Pwllycrochan Woods might be cited to those retrogressive members who threw away this opportunity, as one to be followed in the true interests of the town they have been elected to govern.

POPULAR, WHIST DRIVEL—The second poular whist drive at the Dorothy Gaf81 took place on Wednesday evening last, when there was a good attendance. Mr A. D. Morrieson acted as M.G. The ) following were the winners:—'Ladies: 1, i Mrs Roberts, Idwal Villa (185) 2, Mrs ) Swann (182); 3, Miss Lily Davies (129). Gentlemen: 1, Miss Duthie (201); 2., Mr R. LI. D'avies., Bodhyfryd Road (184^); 3, Miss May Lewis (12.7). Mr J. F. 2 Roberts (Balmoral) handed the prizes to the winners. The, catering of Mr Payne gave every satisfaction.

LLANDUDNO MAY-DAY FESTIVAL. A most, promising start was made on Thursday evening in making' preparations for the celebrating of May-Day 1909 in a manner worthy of the town. The chair at the outset was occupied Mr C. J. Dawes, last year's chairman of the general committee. On the motion of Mr Green- field, seconded by Mr Helstrip, it. was d agreed to hold the Festival, and Tuesday, May 4th, decided upon as the day most suitable, the fact that Oolwyn Bay had fixed Wednesday and Rhyl Thursday on which to hold their festival influencing the decision. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The Right Hon. Lord Mostyn having been elected president, Mr Alec Taylor proposed that last year's vice-chairman, Mr T. J. Jones, be chairman of the General Committee. This was seconded all round the room, and carried, Mr Jones accepting the position and taking the chair amidst loud applause. Mr Alec Taylor, was elected vice-chair- man, and Mr Bowdage, honorary treasurer. Mr Royle proposed that, Mr Squirrell be re-elected secretary on the same terms as previous years, and in seconding Mr C. A. Hutton said no better man could be had for the post. People simply "had to give him a subscription to get rid of him," as one' subscriber had said.—(Laughter.) The motion was carried with applause, and Indoor, Outdoor and Finance and Advertising Committees appointed. REPRESENTATION ON THE; T.I.A. A letter was read from Mr A. J. Old- man, secretary of the Town Improvement Association, conveying the resolution pass- ed at the general meeting of the sub- scribers, asking the May-Day Committee to appoint a representative to serve on the Executive Committee of the T'.I.A. Mr Hutton proposed and Mr Royle seconded a resolution accepting the. in- vitation. Mir Alec Taylor proposed that no repre- sentative be appointed. He knew no rea- son why the May-Day Committee should abandon their neutral position. He, saw no advantage to be gained by appointing a representative, but- thought it would on the, contrary somewhat tie their hands as to the disposal of any surplus. Mr A. Hill seconded the amendment. Mr Royle said that her did not see that sending a representative would result as Mr Taylor feared. In his opinion it would be discourteous to refuse the in- vitation. Mr Hutton pointed out that, for the past six years the L,.A.D.8. had been repre- sented on the Committee of the T.I.A. without their hands being in any way tied. The representative appointed would be able to convey to the T.I.A. the man- ner in which it was thought the money they contributed should be spent. The, Chairman said he felt that, the in- vitation should be accepted, and was sup- ported by Mr Bowdage, Mr Lidbe.t.ter and others, it bqing pointed out during the discussion that the invitation was in acknowledgment of what the May-Day Committee had done in the past, and not for what was to be expected in the future. Mr Taylor thereupon withdrew his amendment, and the invitation was accept- ed unanimously. On the motion of Mr B'owdage, Mr Taylor was then unanimously appointed to represent the Committee, and accepted the position. THE DISPOSAL OF THE SURPLUS. It was decided that, any surplus from the festival be devoted to advertising the town in such a, manner as the com- mittee think fit, and that the money this year be deposited at Lloyd's Bank. The amount in hand was stated to be £ 7 16s. PROPOSED CEREMONY IN THE HAPPY VALLEY. After some discussion as to the cere- mony in the Pavilion, Councillor T. Smith suggested that an additional func- tion should be arranged to take place in the Happy Valley during June. The Crowning of a Rose Queen would be a gieat attraction, and would, he thought, bring many visitors to the town. The idea was warmly welcomed, but no .decision could of course be come to. The Chairman, however, said it would be borne in mind when the Committees were at work, and that later on Mr Smith could bring it forward at, the General Committee again. Mr Morrieson suggested that battle of flowers might also be arranged, but it was thought the it was too big a task to be undertaken this year, and dates having been fixed for the committee meetings the I proceedings closed.

-—*—— ANGLESEY MAGISTRATES. SCARCITY AT HOLYHEAD. Strong remarks were made at the Holy- head Urban Council on Wednesday by the Chairman (Mr Slater) and other speakers complaining of the dearth of justices at Holyhead. The. Chairman said that there were, practically only two justices in a town of 10,000 inhabitants, and the coming chairman of the Council would have his sympathy, for he would be knocked up at all hours of the night to sign certificates, etc., besides having many other duties to perform. They should as a, Council express a hope, that the de- mocracy would be studied when new magistrates were appointed. Mr Lansbury said that the Council eighteen months ago passed a resolution petitioning the Lord Lieutenant to make Mr W. D. Jones a permanent magistrate, and they should follow this with another appeal. The Olerk thought it would have more weight if the County Council passed a resolution. Mr W. D. Jones said they would do I this, but it was not the custom to appoint justices on the permanent list unless they had completed their temporary term.

LLANDUDNO AS IT WAS. A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE: HISTORY OF LLANDUDNO. (By Mr. John Roberts, Bryn Celyn). Since I wrote my last notes I was fortunate enough to find a record of the mentioned visit to Llys H'elig, written by the late Rev. Owen Jones. It being in- teresting regarding this matter, and there- fore it, is inserted here, and is as follows "On the 18th of August, 1864, about one o'clock in the afternoon, they started on their voyage. The boatman had some knowledge of the position, and the com- pany had with them a copy of Llewelyn Ddu's maps, on which was noted the exact spot on which Heligfs Mansion formerly stood. They arrived opposate Trwyn yr Wylfa, Dwygyfylchi, by about 3 o'clock, after rowing for about four miles round the Orme from Llandudno, and to within about two. miles of the shore at Dwygyfylchi; after some waiting and carefully taking bearings from all directions, the tide being aft its very lowest ebb by this, signs soon appeared, and the sea,weeds which had grown on the walls were visible. Now every one of the party took a sketch of the walls, in order to have them compared after landing. Mr Hall provided a tape measure, and found that the. face-wall (or front wall) measured about 100 yards, and the other corners were of comparative sizes, the whole indicating a round tower as part of the mansion, the court, the garden, all of which were pictured. Some, of the stones taken from the walls are at Bryn Llewelyn* Llandudno, this moment. Thus the history which was previously known in myth and tradition now became an established fact." "Mr Hall was requested by the Liver- pool Geological Society to read a, paper on this most important discovery, at one, of their public meetings; he acceded to' their wishes on December 13th, 1864." The rocking stone, or Clryd Tudno can be seen on Pen-y-ddinas, which is situated on the high eminence opposite Plas Tudno (on the right going up Tygwyn Road). It is a, Druidical Logan stone, and supposed to have been used by the Priests to impose on their votaries, and to mystify their own practices. It is most likely that a similar stone was situated on the side of the Orme opposite St. George's Church, hence the name Owlach-Ooel- lech, sign-stone, but this has either been destroyed or lost, a-s it cannot now be traced. There is another very interesting relic of passed agies on the Great Orme-, "The Cromlech." It is situated a little to the right of thei first, station of the Orme tram in 4 field called Maes-y-facrell, and consists of four, upright unhewn slabs sur- mounted with another flat stone. The meaning of Cromlech is prolbably Crwm- lech, bowing-stone. Many of the same kind are found in the British Isles, Jersey and Normandy, and in all countries where the religion of the Druids was practised. The name of this cell is Laet-y-filiant, (the stone of the female greyhound." This appellation was given in allusion to the British Ceres or Ceridwen, who was symbolifiecl by a female greyhound. Antiquarians consider them designed for idolatrous sacrifices. Others think that the Priests entered the cell of the Crom- lech to watch the appearance of the new moon-,as some of them were moon wor- shippersvyhile others surmise they were the burial places of notable persons. Late- ly Lord Mostyn has generously caused the Cromlech to be put in proper order, and it can now be easily visiited and exam- ined, a, path having been constructed with this object in view. A copper is charged for admission to the spot, and an excellent view of the Cromlech with a most interesting foot-note by Mr G. A,. Humphreys is presented to every visitor. We have heard it stated many times that the staple industry of Llandudno be- fore it became a health resort, was that if a fishing village. This is incorrect. The chief industrial occupation of the in- habitants was copper mining. There are three copper mines on the Great Orme, viz., the Old Mine, the New Mine, and the Tygwyn Mine. When the mines were in their best day, their respective captains were Gapt. Davy, Mr Thos. Jones, Frondeg, and Mr George Brookes, Victoria. Thousands of tons of valuable copper ore has been shipped from the Llandudno beach, and also on the West Shore. It was sent, to the copper smelting works of Amlwch, Anglesey, and at times as far as Swansea. ¡ *Bryn Llewelyn was the residence of the Iaitet Riev. R. Parry, "Gwalohmai," in Tiudno Street, Llandudno, and the boat- man referred too in the, foregoing record was the late Mr E. Roberts, then of the Albert Hotel, Madoc Street, and also his son, Edward, who were both well-known in Llandudno. (T!o be Continued). J

LLANDUDNO NURSING ASSOCIA- TION THANKS L.A.D.S. To the Editor The Committee of the Llandudno Nurs- ing Association desire through your paper to again thank the members of the L.A.D.S. for their very handsome and generous gift of -230 towards the funds of the Association. Yours truly, BLANCHE MATHER, Hon. Treasurer and Secretary.

1'1 At a crowded French theatre a woman fell from the gallery into the pit. When asked if she were injured, she replied: "I should think I was; I have lost the best ¡ seat in the middle of thefront row."

RHYL TRAMWAY SCHEME. I OOUNIOILt8 OPPOSITION. At the adjournment of the Light Rail- way Commissioners' inquiry at Rhyl last month the chairman, Mr G athornerHardy, stated that an opportunity would be given to the Rhyl Council to consult the rate- payers if they thought fit on the scheme, for an electric light railway from the Foryd along the Rhyl sea front and along the sandhills to Prestatyn. It was ex- plained that the Commissioners could not compel the Council to take a vote of the ratepayers, and that. they felt a difficulty in approving the order in the face of the opposition of the Council. The Special Light Railway Committee of the Council, on considering the matter, recommended that the suggestion of a poll, which came from the promoters of thei scheme, should not be adopted, for the reason that the Commissioners had heard the case for the promoters and had stopped the case for the Council after hearing the clerk's statmerutl. This recom- mendation was laid before the Council at the meeting on Mionday, Mr G. A. Taverner presiding. Mr H. A. Tilby having moved the adoption of the report, Mr LI Evans pro- posed that a poll of the ratepayers be taken forthwith. He felt quite sure that the Oouncfiil in their opposition to the scheme were, not, fulfilling the wishes of the public.-(Applause in the, crowded public seats of the Council Chamber.) Mr A. L. Clews, seconding, said that they had practically been invited to do this by the Oommissioners. He quite entered into the feelings of the Golf Club, and he would be sorry to see any insuper- able difficulty in the way of the club, but he understood that the owner of a por- tion of the ground, who was a strong sup- porter of the scheme, had given them notice to relinquish their tenancy. He had not the slightest doubt that the pro- moters would be, prepared to, meet the Golf Club, either by providing other ac- commodation or by compensation in money. MR. TiILBY AND THE; PETITION. Mr H. A. Tilby, s,peaking, against the amendment, said that an attempt had been made to, get, at public, opinion by the promoters. A petition had been sent all over the town by paid canvassers, so that it was reasonable to expect that. the job had been weill; done. They were told, as a matter of fact, in the. inquiry that three responsible gentlemen, three property owners in the town, had undertaken to; conduct the canvass. They were three very estimable gentlemen and friends of his, but to say they were property owners was to tell a third of the truth.—(Laughter.) The petition when handed in contained 111 sheets, and it was said to, be a great factor in the promoters' case. The promoters said that on the sea-front 65 owners had signed it, but by the wildest stretch of imagination he could only convince, him- self that 22 property owners on the front had signed, unless his friend Councillor J. W. Jones was counted, and he had signed the petition seventeen times (laughter),—or unless another gentleman was counted who had signed ten times, and one who had signed seventeen times, and another who had signed so many times that the job was too big to count.— (Laughter.) He was told that 114 own- ers in tlhe town had supported the peti- tions, ibut he only found the names of 62, and four of them had signed more than once. Again, 925 householders and ratepayers were said to be on the list, but he only discovered 518, of whom 38 or 40 had signed more than once, and some several times. Amongst those who had signed were outsiders as well as in- siders, gjirls and boys, although they were told that only persons over 21 years of age had signed. Some people had taken the petition as an amusing thing. Twice a gentleman had signed; as 0if Bodfor Park, a place not known of in Rhyl, and another gentleman had signed twice, first as of the place he belonged tio, in which case did not, sign correctly, and in the other case he signed as the owner of one square vard of land in Vale View.—(Laughter.) The whole thing was taken as a, joke. The promoters had ha,d their opportunity of putting before the Commissioners signa- tures which woullld be. fairly representa- tive of the town, and that wa,s the use they had made, of it. Mr Tilby opposed the scheme on financial grounds, because it would be a detriment to the golf course and to important private schools, and be- cause it would spoil the greatest attrac- tion of the town—the sea front. ,Mr, J. W. Jones, who followed, strong- ly advocated the tramway scheme, con- tending that lit. was very desirable as part of the. equipment, of a seaside resort. He, admitted that probably he did sign il e petition seventeen itimes-,(Iaughter),-but he did so in a perfectly bonarfide manner on behalf of the property and other in- terests which he was asked to, represent.- (Hear, hear.) j THEI AMENDMENT DEFEATED. After a protracted discussion, the amendment was defeated by nine votes to six, two members being neutral. A second amendment was moved by Mr Buckley Jones, to refer the question to a meeting of the Council in Committee, in order to meet Mr Sellon again to try to come come to terms, the basis of the negotiations to' be laid down in writrlng beforehand. He said he felt that the benefit of a tramway depended entirely upon the details and route. Dr. Hughes Jones seconded this, and it was lost by nine votes to eight. The Committee's recommendatfion was then approved by nine votes to eight.

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