The Tenby Observer Weekly List of Visitors and Directory

LIST OF VISITORS. Arnoux, Mr F., Stoke-on-Trent 5 Quarry cottages Bedingfeld, Mf.jor and Mrs, Woking 9 Queen's parade Barclay, Mi"8. Llanelly Hereford house B ill, Mr and Mrs F. H., Bonoath 8 Norton Bangay, Lieutenant F. D. Marlborough house Colemin. Miss, Coleford, Gloa. 5 St Julian terrace BhdoD, Mrs Da»hwood, Ealing 2 ot Catherine's terrace Davies, Miss, Coleford, Glos. 5 St Julian terrace Davis, the Rev. Lewis and Mrs, IV.lgarth 7 Esplanade Foley, Mrs, London Worcester house Hawksley. Mrs & family, Portsmouth.. 2 Esplanade Holder, Captain and Mrs Newport house Holder, Miss and Miss M. Newport house Hill, Mr and Mrs H. Gathorne, Burton Court, London Granston house Hambly, Mr and Mrs. Westbury on-Trytn 2 Somerset houses Heneker, Colonel and Mrs, The Curragh, Ireland Broughton villa Heneker, Masters David and Paddy and nurse, The Curragh, Ireland Broughton villa Kenworthy, Mr and family, Cheltenham 34 Victoria street Kerswells, Mrs and Miss, London Yelverton cottage Leach, Major Burleigh, and Mrs, London 3 Croft terrace Lloyd, Miss Conway, Chelsea 2 St Catherine's terrace Lloyd Philipps' Mrs children and nurse, Dale Clarence house Lawrence, Rev. R. G., Llanarthney 1 Gunfort Philpot, Mrs, Cardiff 1 Avondale villas Perks, Mr & Mrs George, Norwich Clareston house Massy, Mr and Mrs Arthur, Cuffern 20 Norton Pidducke, the Misses, Aberystwyth 2 St Catherine's terrace Russell, Major, Pembroke-Dock Mountgarrie, Penally Symonds, Mrs. Ross 7 Esplanade Symondi, Miss, Ross 7 Esplanade Woosnam, Mrs and Miss, Bletchley St. Bride's, Esplanade Wade, Lieut.-Colonel, R.E., Pembroke-Dock 6 Norton

NOTICE! £ 25 REWARD is very often given for INFORMATION, but if you require information in regard to the choosing of XMAS PRESENTS, W. A. WOOD will be only too pleased to give it free. A large stuck of smart and up-to-date Goods in stock including Ties, Fancy Waistcoats, Gloves, Handkerchiefs, Mufflers, Motor Scarves. W. A. WOOD, "MY HATTER," FIVE ARCHES, TENBY.

Birtfjs, Jftarrtageg, anti UJrntb5. BIRTH. CLARKE.—On December 3rd, at Manorbier, the wife of Frederick Jefferson Clarke, of Living- stone, North West Rhodesia, of a daughter.

THE TENBY BOROUGH TREASUREU'SHIP. & WE offer our congratulations to Lloyds Bauk upon their diplomacy in retiring from what they must have felt to be the undignified and untenable position of bankers to the Tenby Corporation. Mr Edward T. Boyce, an official of the Bank, and formerly iu charge of the Tenby branch, held the position of Borough Treasurer to the Corporation, although his absence from the town rendered it impossible for him to per- form any practical services; yet in spite of this obvious disability he was paid by the Corporation the large sum of £200 per annum. For what? This is the question which the ratepayers have echoed and re-echoed for the last tw.o or three years, and up to the pre- sent there is still no official explanation furthcoming. In the Council and out of it information on this score has been sought but in vain; it has been refused point blank when a member of the Council, greatly daring, asked the late Mayor why the Borough Treasurer received a salary of Y,200 a year. The criticism and protest which such a state of things evoked from the rate- payers could not but have been dis- tasteful to a great commercial institu- tion like Lloyds Bank, and they have certainly consulted their dignity by withdrawing from the position they have so uncomfortably occupied, and which, by the way, they could not, under the existing conditions, have continued much longer. They have severed their business connection with the Tenby Corporation none too soon, for at the very next open meeting of the Council the whole question of this payment would have been raised upon a motion, which Councillor Morrison was on the point of sending in to the Town Clerk when Mr Boyce's resigna- tion arrived to alter the situation. This time the matter would have a chance of being seconded, and consequently discussed, and possibly the public might have been given some explana- tion. We are glad, however, the neces- sity for this step no longer exists. Mr Boyce's resignation automatically ex- tinguishes the JE200 a year payment, and it may be taken for granted that the successor who gets the Corporation account will certainly not be placed upon a similar footing. Rather, we presume, will the Borough Treasurer- ship revert back to the old arrange- ment under which the manager of the local branch of the bank keeping the account received twenty pounds per annum for his services. As regards interest on overdrafts, there will have to be none. The law has plainly said that this is illegal. Mr Egerton Allen fought this out once and for all, and whichever bank takes over the Cor- poration account will do so with the full knowledge of this decision. In other words it means that there must be no overdraft, at least no overdraft carrying interest. This is a point upon which there must be no doubt, and in order to keep within bounds it will be the duty of the Corporation for the future to arrange its expenditure in proportion to its income. A check must be put to waste and extrava- gance; and with the large amount which is drawn annually in rates fn.m the public, augmented by the hand- some sum which the Corporation estate brings in, there should be no difficulty whatever in not only paying way, but having something over in the way of a surplus for a rainy day. We have i- said that it has been impossible to obtain information from the Corpora- tion as to the reason why the Borough Treasurer was paid the large salary of £200 per annum, but the public, in the absence of official explanations, have been able to form conclusions of their own. In the first place there was the sum of £ôOO which certain members of the Corporation guaranteed Lloyds Bank at a critical juncture in the financial affairs of the town, and there can be no doubt that this inflated salary has gone towards discharging this. We do not take any great excep- tion to this, but when the Council per- sisted, under the cloak of a salary which was never, by any possible imagination, earned, in providing the Bank with a certain sum of money yearly to permit of their charging inte- j rest on overdrafts, wo thought it high time to protest, and with us in this matter we had a large body of public opinion. The result of the last Muni- cipal Election afforded strong proof of this. And further, wo believe at least a portion of certain law costs have been paid in the action which resulted in the verdict of the Courts condemning as illegal the charging interest on over- draft. No protest was too strong against such a procedure, and we have right through pursued a consistent, opposition to this policy. And here we may venture to point out that the Corporation's attitude in the matter of lawsuits fought with the ratepayers' money, and without authority from the Council as such, has been brought home to us in a very practical manner in the celebrated case of the Tenby Corporation v. Mason. The proprietor of this paper, in consequence of the improper action of the Council was mulcted in heavy costs. The Old Majority in the Corporation fought him with public money, paid no costs out of their own pocket, but managed to saddle him with a big bill. We trust, however, that the possibility of such a thing happening again is now removed once and for all, and that wo are on the uve of a now order of things municipally. The result of the last election has undoubtedly had a salu- tary effect on the Council wire-pullers, and we look forward to still further improvements as time goes on. Things are certainly more satisfactory than they were, and wro trust better days are in store for Tenby.

THE GENERAL ELECTION. A AT the time of writing (Wednesday) the General Election is about half-way through, and the result up to date is that what is comprehensively called "The People's Party" (i.e. Liberals, Labour, and Nationalists) as diametri- cally opposed to the Peers' Party (i.e. Unionists) leads by a majority of six, the figures being 152 and 146 respec- tively. In the two days polling the Peers have won twelve seats and the People thirteen, thus scoring to the latter a nett gain of one, aud increasing the prospective majority of the Asquith Government to 126 instead of 124, at which figure it stood at the dissolution. Seeing that the Unionists in order to secure a bare working majority re- quired to not only retain all the seats won in January, but to capture sixty- three in addition, it is obvious that their chances of being returned to power are very small indeed; in fact, it is, unless a tremendous and unexpec- I ted upheaval of public opinion occurs in their favour, an absolute impossi- bility. On the present basis of 'results the Liberal Government, with, of course, the assistance of its allies, the Labour members and the Nationalists, will return to power. From the polling so far it is clear that opinion in the country as to the claims of the respec- tive parties is pretty evenly divided, but Radical Wales and Scotland have yet to contribute their quota, and on balance this is bound to turn the scales greatly in favour of the People's Party. Fought on a stale register, the number of electors going to the poll has not in the majority of contests been up to the figures of last January, and this fact somewhat takes away from any value which might otherwise attach to a comparision of party strength. The issue of the present election has been narrowed down to one single plank— the House of Lords. Tariff Reform for the time being takes a back seat; the last two elections have shown that it is not altogether a safe ticket with which to go to the people as a whole. As long as the cry is raised that Tariff Reform means taxing the people's food it is hardly likely to be accepted by the masses, who in this country are the wage earners. It is undoubtedly this fear which has given the greatest strength to the defence of the Free Traders, and it is an element which will prove a serious stumbling block to the accomplishment of the Protectionists' policy. Once more Mr John Redmond is going to dominate British politics, at least, present appearances point very strongly to this probability, and in the next Parliament it will be interesting to watch what will happen to the Home Rule for Ireland propaganda. As at present constituted the Lords will never pass such a measure, and unless there is in the background a promise from the Crown of guarantees" for the making of. a sufficient number of Peers to swamp the existing Tory majority in the Upper House, it is im- possible to conceive how the Veto Bill is to be made law, and the obstacle of the Lords to Home Rule and other innovations effectually removed. View- ing the whole matter, therefore, from the old point of view, an unreformed and Tory House of Peers, one can only arrive at the conclusion that even if the Liberal Government went back with a two or three hundred majority they would be unable to make any ¡ further advance with Home Rule, or any other measure distasteful to the Lords, than they have already done. Possibly what will happen in the absence of guarantees" will be the pressing of Mr Redmond on Mr Asquith of the necessity of at once obtaining them from the King, failing which the Irish Nationalist leader will use his power to defeat the Liberal Ministry, and once more force a General Election on the country. The present position stands unique in the annals of British politics, and no man can divine where it will all end. For the same Govern- ment to be returned by the electorate thrice in succession will establish a record in this country, and the possi- bility of such an event has already raised the question as to Mr Balfour's position as leader of the Conservative Party. Will he still retain the leadership or resign? In Mr Asquith's historic phrase, we must wait and see."

November's sunshine at Tenby shows a-record of 77 hours. Tenby Corporation workmen's wages last week amounted to £31 2s. 3d., and the carting bills to £1 11s. lOd. Last week the tolls received from the Tenby Market amounted to £5 13s. and the receipts from the Royal Victoria Pier aud Castle Hill lavatories to 4s. lOd. Sir George Armstrong, Bart, R.N., who was Unionist candidate for the Pembroke Boroughs last January, is one of the candidates at Southampton, which polls to-day (Thursday). General Pole-Carew, who in 1906 contested the Pembroke Boroughs against Sir Owen Philipps, is again the Unionist candidate for the Bodmin Division of Cornwall. Since his advent in the constituency, Major Guest has been staying at Lydstep, the Pem- brokeshire residence of Lord and Lady St. Davids. Mr E. Conway Lloyd, of Tenby, has been nominated as the Unionist candidate for Brecon- shire, in which constituency polling takes place I to-day (Thursday). The BELGRAVE HOTEL, Esplanade, Tenby, is now replete with every convenience and accom- modation for visitors. Tariff upon application Manageress. —- Mr J. A. Richards, 10, Park Road, Tenby, local agent for the Smith Premier Typewriter Company, makes a speciality of high-class duplicating of all kinds. Tenby County School prize-distribution will take place ou Friday, December 16th, at three o'clock, Miss Milward having promised to present same. A movement to raise a fund for the purchase of a wedding present from the parish to the Rector of Tenby on his approaching marriage, is on foot. Messrs. Macfarlane, Lang & Co., Ltd., have been appointed, by Royal Warrant, biscuit manufacturers to His Majesty King George V. The firm had also the honour of holding similar appointments to both King Edward and to Queen Victoria. Captain D. Hughes Morgan, Mayor of Tenby, was asked to contest Carmarthen Borough in the Conservative cause at the present election, but owing to shortness of time did not see his way to accept, though it is possible he may be a candidate at a future election. The annual sale of work on behalf of the Tenby Presbyterian Church will be held in the Public Hall next Wednesday afternoon, admis- sion threepence. There will be stalls of useful and fancy articles, refreshments, competitions, etc. The Mayor of Tenby (Captain D. Hughes Morgan), has generously given a stake of j540 (to be called the Coronation Plate) at the forth- coming Tenby Races. Other donors of plates are Mr Clement J. Williams and Mr David Harrison (£25 each). Sir Owen Philipps, K.C.M.G., has consented to take the chair at the Festival Dinner of the Poplar Hospital on the 14th December. The Port of London Authority, of which Sir Owen is vice-chairman, employ 15,000 men who largely make use of the Poplar Hospital, which is close to the Docks. Mr John Berkin, of The National School House, Barn Street, Haverfordwest, formerly of Craiglands, Shipley, Yorkshire, formerly for 18 years stationmaster at Shipley, who died on the 14th October last, aged about 60 years, left estate of the gross value of £633 14s. with net personalty j3615 15s., and probate of his will has been granted to his widow. +++ Under the orders of the Local Government Board the Aberystwyth Guardians are having the Workhouse painted and repaired. It was stated at Tuesday's meeting that the lowest tender was £ 215.—Mr Richards This is rather an expensive shanty.—The Clerk It has not been done for 20 years.—The tender was ac- cepted. A sale of work, in aid of the Children's Union Branch of the Waifs and Strays Society, will be held in the Public Hall, Tenby, to- morrow (Friday), and will be opened by the Mayoress (Mrs Hughes Morgan) at 2.30 p.m. and remain open till 7; re-opening from 8 to 10. During the evening a musical entertain- ment, conducted by Mr Richard Williams, L.R.A.M., will be given. The Secretary (Mr J. S. Brown) of the Tenby Golf Club has arranged for an entertainment at the Royal Gate House Assembly Rooms on the evening of Tuesday, December 27th, the pro- ceeds of which will be devoted to the fund now being raised for the purpose of bringing to Tenby next August those firs-tclass players, James Braid and Harry Vardon, who will play a series of exhibition games. Further par- ticulars will be given in our next issue. After hastening 6000 miles Captain the Hon. Frederick E. Guest (brother of Major the Hon. Henry O. Guest, the Pembroke Boroughs Liberal candidate) landed at Plymouth nn Friday, and immediately left for East Dorset, which he won at the last general election, only to be unseated on a petition. Captain Guest was hunting in the heart of the Rocky Moun- tains when the news of the impending dissolu- tion reached him. He immediately hurried to the nearest railway station, which was a hundred miles distant, crossed the American continent, and took the first steamer home in order to arrive in time to contest the constituency. The Great Western Railway Company an- nounce that arrangements have been mado for the collection and prompt delivery of Christmas parcels in all the principal towns on their system. They state that charges for conveyance for short distances are lower than those by parcel post. During the busy Christ- mas season it is important that all parcels should be fully and legibly addressed, and the address cards firmly attached. As an extra precaution a duplicate label should be enclosed with each packet, so that the name of the consignee may be ascertained in the event of the outside label becoming detached or defaced.

MR WALTER ROCH AND THE COUNTY. 11'- Having already been twice returned in the Liberal interest for Pembrokeshire, on the first occasion at a bye-election rendered necessary by the elevation of Mr Winford Philipps to the Peerage, and at the General Election in January of the present year, Mr Walter F. Roch, is again contesting the seat. Although to a cer- tain extent an invalid, having quite recently undergone an operation, he is conducting his candidature with great vigour, speaking at packed meetings nightly, and being everywhere received with the warmest enthusiasm. When he spoke at Tenby, on behalf of Major Guest, last week, Mr Roch seemed far from well, but in spite of this evident disability he made an excellent speech, full of fight and vim, and characterized by that quiet yet subtle humour which makes one him an attractive speaker. One of his chief weapons as an effective platform orator is the gift he possesses to effectively "turn off" interruptions. On the occasion of the Tenby meeting somebody at the rear of the Hall interposed a remark, somewhat irrelevant in its relation to Imperial politics, about "Good old Kirkland" (Mr Lort Phillips's Grand National winner). Mr Roch smiled genially, and for the next quarter-of-an-hour subjected his friend at the rear to a roasting," much to the amusement of the crowded audience, who thoroughly enjoyed the speaker's sporting hits. Iu July, 1908, Mr Roch, who had previously attracted a good deal of notice by his speeches on the political platform, fought his first parlia- mentary battle at the polls, when he engaged Mr Lort Williams, a London barrister, with Pembrokeshire antecedents, in a contest for the capture of the County seat. This was Mr Lort Williams's second essay to get possession of the same seat, and on this occasion he was almost as soundly beaten as when he fought against Mr Wynford Philipps, (now Lord St. °David's) Mr Roch, for the first time of asking, was returned by the magnificent majority of 2172, thus trenchantly disposing of the bombastic statement of a Cardiff Tory organ that Pem- brokeshire Liberalism was decadent, and that Mr Lort Williams was sure of the seat. But if Mr Roch did brilliantly in July, 1908, he did infinitely better, in January, 1910, when, with Mr Marlay Samson, another barrister, and a far stronger and more popular candidate than Mr Lort Williams, he was returned by the very fine majority of 2884, thus increasing his previous effort by over 700 votes. In the face of such a verdict from the electors of the County of Pem- broke, one would naturally suppose the citadel impregnable against all Conservative assaults, but the local Unionist Party are evidently of a different opinion, and are once more gamely fighting what must surely in the face of existing facts be a forlorn hope. Mr Marlay Samson, one of the most popular and vigorous Tory candidates who have ever laid seige to the seat, is once more opposing Mr Roch. Mr Samson makes an excellent candidate, but his abilities are wasted here. He has no earthly chance of wresting the seat from Mr Roch, whose popu- larity among all classes throughout the county is really remarkable and the general impression seems to be that he ought to have been nominated for the Pembroke Boroughs. As a platform speaker Mr Samson has a telling manner; he is clever at marshalling his facts trenchant in distructive criticism, but he lacks the "easy flow" and the sparkling humour of his youthful opponent. During the present campaign both candidates for the County have had most enthusiastic receptions; both have expounded their views to cheering audiences, and judging by external appearances it would seem as if each had an equal chance of being elected. But there is a feasible explanation for all this. Mr Samson's pluck and grit in again contesting the seat against such formidable odds have everywhere evoked admiration, and though people are not prepared to go so far as to change their political convictions in proof of their admiration, they are at least generous enough to show it by the display they make at the various meetings Mr Samson addresses. Whilst Liberals, equally with Conservatives admire his pluck, they are not prepared to go all the way and vote for him to-morrow. Mr Roch claims their allegiance, and that he will retain the seat by a very substantial majority is a foregone conclusion. The votes will be counted at the Shire Hall, Haverfordwest, on Saturday morning, and the result declared about dinner-time.

TENBY COTTAGE HOSPITAL. The following subscriptions and donations are acknowledged with tbanks: Mrs Eager JEQ 5 0 The workmen of Bonville's Court Col- liery (per Mr Jno. Evans) 5 10 4 G* E MAINLAND, Hon. Sec. and Treasurer

TEA TIME IN THE VILLAGE" is the title of Horniman's Almanac for 1911. A Fancy Tin of Horniman's Tea with one of these Calen- dars forms a most seasonable Christmas Present or welcome New Year's Gift, and cannot fail to be appreciated by lovers of the cup that cheers. Purchasers of Horniman's Pure Tea are sure that they get" FULL WEIGHT WITHOUT THE WRAPPER." Ask your grocer for it. Sold in TENBy-Davies, Baker and Grocer, Frog Street. TENBy-Evans, Grocer, St. George's Street. MILFORD HAVEN—Meyler, Chemist. NARBERTH—Morgan, Chemist. SAUNDERsFooT-Griffiths, Chemist. WIIITLAND-Caleb Rees, Grocer, Whitland House (Wholesale Agent WUITLAND-Roblin, Grocer

TENBY STREETS. ..I.Y During last Friday night's meeting of the Tenby Corporation Finance Committee the question of the cost of breaking stones and the repair of the streets was raised by Coun- cillor William Davies, an informal discussion taking place. It was admitted by most of those present that the roads within the borough were not as satisfactory as they might be, though the cause of this was said in a great measure to be due to the softness of the stone used in their repair. Unsatisfactory as the streets were, however, it was remarked that the present Borough Surveyor (Mr Bertie Morley) pro- vided the town with much better streets than some of his predecessors did. With regard to the COflt of producing the stone from the Cor- poration quarry, it was thought that this could be done much cheaper by contract than was the case at present whilst in the matter of re- pairing the streets various suggestions were made. The discussion, however, wa,s purely informal, and no resolution of any kind was registered; in fact, any recommedation from the Finance Committee on such a subject would hardly have been in order, the Sanitary being the responsible committee in this respect During the discussion it was incidentallv men- tioned that the use of a steam roller on the Tenby streets was not altogether satisfactory. it was also suggested that the Borough Sur- veyor might work out exactly what it cost to produce the stones from the quarry.