South Wales Daily News

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES. DEATHS* I BIRTH. RUDDocIL-On December 21st, at 25, Caroline-slreet, Cardiff, the wife of J. H. Ruddock, of a son. 973 DEATHS. PHILLIP-At Woodland Cottage. Gwaeloyartb, on Saturday night, 19th inst., Morgan Phillips, in his 72nd year. Funeral, Wednesday, at 2 o'clock, for Pentyreb. 901. THOJIAS.—Oil the 20th December, at Gilfach, St. Fagan's, Mary, widow of late Evan Thomas, Butcher, aged 79. Funeral at Sc. Fagan's Church, at 2.30 Christmas Day. Friends please accept this intima- tion. 909 MORGAN.—December 20tli, in his 72iul year, John Morgan, Gwalia-terrace, Pencoed, late Tynewydd Baiden. Funeral one o'clock on Wednesday, at Pencoed. Friends please ae(-,ept this the oniy intimation. 9.57 PIIILLIPs.-On Sunday, at his residence, Ty Gwyn House, Dr Phillips, Wliitland, aged 45 years. Public funeral Thursday, 2 o'clock. Interment, with family, Independent Oliapol, Whitland. Friends please accept this intimation. POWELL.—On the 13th December, at 12, Worcester- street East, Brynmawr, .Tolin Powell, Calvinistic Methodist minister, aged 79. Public funeral 215 prompt Wednesday. 918 -.a;

NOTICE. The SOUTH lVALBS DAILY NEWS (;1ll N(yr BE P CIB- TISHED on FRIDA Y NEXT (CHRISTMAS DA Y). r-t8W'

LORD HAR'iTNGTON—DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE. THE death of the Duke of DEVONSHIRE, which we announce to-day, is an event which can hardly be described as unex- pected. For somo time past the head of the great House of CAVENDISH has been in fierce conflict with a foe which always comes off victor sooner or later. The matter for surprise is, not that the Duke of DEVON- SHIRE has at length succumbed, but that he, with a constitution already enfeebled, managed to prolong the struggle for so many days. It is a fact full of suggestiveness that the public interest centres not so much on the imme- diate results of the death of one of the first noblemen in the land, but on the secondary effects of his son's elevation to the peerage. The Duke of DEVONSHIRE, with all his princely estates and vast wealth, has for years past, so far as influencing the fortunes of the Empire or the course of public events is concerned, been practically of little or no account. Few incidents indeed bring out into bolder relief the difference between the old and the new regime than the striking contrast afforded by the influence respec- tively of this father and son on public affairs. The peer, with all the leverage of wealth and titles, was not to be compared with the commoner who now succeeis him. And Lord HARTINGTON did not wield influence because he was the heir-apparent to the Dukedom of Devonshire, but simply because he was Lord HAKTINGTON. It is Lord HARTINGTON, the Member of the House of Commons, and not Lord HAUTING- TON, the heir to the Duke of DEVONSHIRE, who has occupied public attention in years gone by. And now that he is no longer a member of Parliament, but a Peer of the Realm, people are beginning to enquire what effect, the change may be expected to have upon the man, upon theparty to which he belongs, and upon the course of public affairs. Entirely apart from the feelings of the son at the loss of the father, we hardly think Lord HARTINGTON can contemplate with satisfaction, or indeed with anything but regret, the change now effected in his life. The new title and the vast riches to which he succeeds will be a poor recompense for what he must lose by inheriting them. As Lord HARTINGTON he has been one of the most important factors in the making of modern history. As Duke of DEVONSHIRE he must sink into a position little better than that which his father occupied. As Duke of DlcvoN-smulg he cannot hope to do what he could as Lord HARTINGTON. The Duke of WELLINGTON made history on the field of battle, but not in the House of Lords, and the same, though perjiaps not to so great a degree, may be said of the member for Rossendale and the Head of the House of CAVENDISH. In the House of Commons he was at his best. There the exigencies of party warfare acted as a tonic, counteracting the baneful influences of a naturally lethargic disposition in the Upper Chamber this incitement to exertion will be almost entirely wanting. The at- mosphere of the two Chambers is esaentially different; in the one there is the breath of lite, vivifying and invigorating, bringing out all that is best in the man in the other, if he does not actually inhale death, he exhibits life and vigour not because but in spite of the air he breathes. Mr DISRAELI was a far greater man than Lord BEACONSFIELD, and it may safely be assumed that the change which proved so inimical to that great man's political influence will hardly favour the political development of the new Duke of DEVON- SHIRE. He will, of course, remain true to his party. As a Unionist he leaves the House of Commons, and as a Unionist he will remain in the House of Lords—but with this difference, that the process of absorp- tion into the Conservative party pure and simple will probably be more rapid. Judging by public utterances, lie will regard it as his bounden duty, in the House of Lords, to nullify the wishes of the people as expressed by their representatives in the House of Commons. It will be, lie says, the duty of the House of Lords to throw out any Irish Home Rule Bill which the Commons may send up. Here then, if anywhere, we may expect the new Duke of DEVONSHIRE to show fight. But even here he will compare unfavourably with what he would have been had he remained in the Commons. In the one lie was the recognised leader of a party, which, when all is said, has in- fluenced the course of events. But the very fact that lie will find in the House of Lords a larger proportion of men holding his own political views will, after all, only tend to lessen the value of his sup- port. The transference of his influence from one side to the other in the House of Commons was enough to determine the fate of a Ministry. To all intents and purposes it was as much by the will of Lord HARTINGTON as it was by the pleasure of the QUEEN that Lord SALISBURY was made- and now remains—Premier. The Duke of DEVONSHIRE, however, will wield no such enormous influence. The transference of his vote will only serve to increase or diminish the majority by one. His succe&s in the House of Com- mons has been won in spite of his natural disinclination to exert himself the House of Lords will foster that very disinclination which the House of Commons overcame. He will find in his new sphere but little of the inducement to show fight which favoured him in the Lower Chamber. Had he re- mained true to Mr GLADSTONE things would have been different. Ho would then have been compelled to fight for the existence of his party, and the very necessity for fighting would have kept him in fighting z, form. The fates, which have been so unkind to Lord HARTINGTON as to put an end to his political influence, have in the same way and to precisely the same extent favoured the party from which he dissociated himself six years ago. The death of the Duke of DEVONSHIRE has helped the cause of Home Rule, not so much because the Duke him- self was of much account as a supporter or an opponent to the Liberal party, but because, in order to wear the coronet, an experienced warrior possessing weight and influence is with- drawn from among the leaders of the fight. The Duke of DEVONSHIRE, if ever the Con- servatives come back to power during his lifetime, may find a place of more or less dignity in the Cabinet, but the Duke of DEVONSHIRE will never occupy such a position in the eyes of the country or wield half such an influence on its fortunes as that to which Lord HARTINGTON has been accustomed.

THE SLIDING-SCALE COMMITTEE. THE report published concerning yesterday's meeting of the Sliding-Scalo Committee in- cludes a statement that to-day's proceedings may result in something definite being announced, and that to this end the sitting will be prolonged if needful. is cheering intelligence, and the more so because it is quite unexpected. There has been on both sides a degree of reticence almost complete, but it is reticence which in the peculiar circumstances of the case cannot be regarded as otherwise than com- mendable. Both parties are engaged in negotiations of a particularly delicate and difficult nature. Although the men's representatives have, by a special report which they issued to their constituents yesterday afternoon, so far enlightened the workmen as to make it clear that something very much more than the small coal question has been in dispute, they, nevertheless, continue to refrain from publishing what the additional ques- tions are. We gather from the general tendency of affairs that the negotia- tion is progressing satisfactorily. All sorts of rumours have been current, but in view of appeals made for secrecy it is not desirable to publish unauthorised and pro- bably incorrect statements. It is evident that upon a falling market, the coalowners will endeavour to secure the very best possible terms and, on the other hand, it is equally plain that the workmen's nominees feel themselves bound to secure for their supporters the utmost advantage possible. If an arrangement is arrived at to-day, or even by the end of the year, great credit will be due to the negotiators, for there has been serious danger of dis- agreement. Should this danger unfortun- ately develop into a crisis, there will remain only one course to pursue, namely, reference of the crucial points to arbitration. The district cannot afford to risk the conse- quences of disagreement, and the two parties, failing agreement, arc bound, in the inter- ests of the great communities dependent upon the mining industry, to carry their differences to an impartial umpire. Fortu- nately, however, there is no present evidence of any such necessity.

CARDIFF COUNCIL AND THE NEW DOCK. AT a meeting of the Parliamentary Com- mittee of the Cardiff County Council, held yesterday, the powers proposed to be sought by the Bute Docks Company in the ensuing Session of Parliament were dis- cussed. Thereupon a resolution was passed to refer certain proposals in the Bill, having reference to sewerage and water mains, to the Public Works and Water Works Com- mittees. There, we presume the business. so far as the Parliamentary Committee is concerned, would have terminated had not the MAYOR been a little sharper than some of the members present. We should have thought that such an important work as a new dock for Cardiff would have suggested to a Committee with the interests of the port and the borough at heart something beyond sewerage and water-pipes. No such work as that which is implied in the name, dock," can possibly be undertaken and carried out without affecting the interests of Cardiff in every direction and in the most important respects. Apart altogether from the question put by the MAYOR IS to the intention of the BUTE authorities, there are other questions bearing upon the trade and commerce of the town on which the Council ought, as the representatives of the rate- payers, to be thoroughly informed and satisfied. There is a strong desire on the part of many to improve and extend facilities for a large and healthy import trade, and the MAYOR very properly gave expression to that desire. It was both reasonable and natural that he should ask how far the proposals of the Bute Docks Company would pave the way towards ac- complishing that object. We are, there- fore, rather surprised that a practical and sagacious member of the committee like Mr Alderman JACOBS should have asked if it was any part of the duty of the committee to go into that subject. The BUTE people, argued the worthy alderman, were going to spend the money, not the Corporation. This is an argument which we should hardly have expected from so astute a man. It has never before been maintained that those who have money to spend on great under- takings may spend it as they please. No company would be allowed to build a tiny cottage without submitting plans of some sort to the Corporation. No millionaire would be allowed to erect a huilding for the most benevolent of public purposes wherever he might choose and without the sanction of the authorities. We do not wish to revive the old discussions between BUTE agents and Cardiff interests. These are all, we hope, things of the past, of the buried past, and no one can wish to disturb the grave in which they lie. At the same time the Corporation must never forget that it is their bounden duty to attend to everything bearing upon the interests of the whole com- munity, and to show their determination to neglect nothing affecting the rights of the people in matters of trade and commerce. If facilities for an improved import trade are to be provided, why leave it all to chance ? Why not have reliable information upon the subject ? The Marquis of BUTE knows now, whatever he may have known before,, that between him and Cardiff there is not only no antagonism whatever, but a most cordial mutual under- standing in which each party desires the welfare of both. If Cardiff cannot provide accommodation for an import trade, in what direction are its men of business to look for the necessary facilities ? We hope that the Corporation will look this matter fully and fairly in the face and get a reply. But this is not the only question at issue. There is the question of foreshore affecting public rights. Former Corporatons erred so grievously in matters of this description that it might well become a public question how far it would be desirable to erect a monument in commemoration of their transactions, bearing an inscription to show how much they lost to Cardiff by what they did and by what they did not. We are not quite sure of the propriety of burying all the memory of the evil past. Were evildoers to know that their deeds would be as faithfully recorded as those of the men who render great public service, they would probably think twice before running the risk of having their transactions held up for ever to public reprobation. By all means should the Cardiff County Council make it clearly understood that whatever bears upon the interests of those whom they represent shall be as carefully inquired into and safe- guarded as if the members of the Councii were looking after their own personal affairs.

LIVERPOOL Conservatives have been guilty of a deed of shame which will inevitably bring its own punishment. At yesterday's meeting of the Town Council a resolution was moved proposing to confer the freedom of the City upon Mr GLADSTONE. There was no political feeling what- ever evidenced by the mover or seconder of the resolution, who olaced the motion on the broad grounl that Mr GLADSTONE, as perhaps the most eminent man who claimed Liverpool as his birthplace, had a right to this honour. But Liverpool Conservatives cannot rise above the level of party prejudices, and a proposal to do honour to Mr GLADSTONE was not one which commended itself to them. Even so they did not possess sufficient courage to vote against the motion, but contented themselves with the coward's resource of neutralil y. A sufficient number of them ostentatiously left tho room to make further progress with the motion impossible by reducing the number remain- ing below the statutory number required for Carrying such a resolution. We only hope that the people of Liverpool will follow the example of Cardiff, and show their sense of the unworthy and disgraceful tacties of the Tory party by throwing them out of the Town Councii. It was a similar occasion in the history of Cardiff which marked the turnin" point in the balance of parties. Previous t that time the Conservatives were in the majirity—ever since they have been in a hopeless minority. If Liverpool burgesses have any sense of honour they will follow the example thus set.

ONCE more has a member of the Conser- vative Ministry shown that second. thoughts ,tre best, and that discretion is the better par of valour. The appointment of Mr CECIL BERESFORD to a County-court Judge- ship in Mid-Wales raised a storm of indig- nation from one end of the Principality to the other. All sorts and conditions of men, from Mr GLADSTONE downward, united in condemning the appointment as a piece of Tory jobbery. Mr THOMAS ELLIS and other Welsh members made ib sufficiently clear that the matter would be made the subject of inquiry in the House of Commons. In taking this stand they wore perfectly justified, for the journals of the House of Commons contain a minute to the effect that. no such appoint- ment shall he made in Welsh Wales without regarding a knowledge of the Welsh language as a special qualification for the office. Now, Lord HALSBUUY ignored this minute, and in appointing Lord SALISBURY'S godson overlooked the fact that Mr BERESFORO did not possess what the House of Commons had declared to be a qualification. Though no public sign was given-that the LORD CHAN- CELLOR. was affected by the storm of popular indignation, it was an open secret that the approaching opening of the Parlia- mentary session was not regarded with satisfaction by those who had hoped to ap- pease W elsh feeling and satisfy Welsh senti- ment. Whether the pressure came from within or without matters little. The LORD CHAN- CELLOR has not felt himself equal to meeting the attack of the Welsh members in the House of Commons, and has beaten a hasty retreat. Mr CECIL BERFSFOUD is removed to an English circuit, and Mr T. W. LEWIS, Stipendiary of Cardiff, and brother to Sir WILLIAM THOMAS LEWIS, has been given the appointment, which, by the way, is worth £1,500 a year.

AMER a long and singularly chequered life, poor MADDISON MORTON has left the scene of his earthly labours. His work had long been accomplished, and his closing years were spent in the loveless, if com- fortable, seclusion of the Charterhouse. The old man must oft have reflected in his declining years over the strange vicissitudes of human life. A. generation and a couple of generations ago no name was more familiar in the playhouses than that of the genial author of Box and Cox. His popularity was not transient or fleeting. As a writer of light pieces for the stage, notably of farces and comediettas, he occu- pied a foremost place. His humour, be it said to his credit, was never vulgar or coarse, and it was always fresh and .spark- ling. MORTON was a most prolific writer, and all that he wrote bore the impress of a bright, witty, and ingenious mind. The cleverness of the dialogue and the humour I of the situations were such that each lightest effort of his contained within it the elements of atl assured success. It used to be said that a farce of MADDISON MORTON'S would draw as many people to a theatre as a high-class melodrama. Since those days a new generation of playgoers has grown up, to whom the farce has become less and less attractive and against the caprice of | public taste the most clever writers can only strive in vain. It is much to bo regretted, in fact, it is almost a public reproach, that a man like MORTON, on whom" Nature had lavished so many of her gifts, should have v his eventide of life saddeuedby chill penury- ,r: There was little of merriment or o? iiumcuv || in the last fifteen years of a life the <xreater j portion of which was spent in malcinu' olher « people happy and merry, and in supplying 1 them with that best of medicines-aiighter. ] How true it is that" full many a chord attuned to mirth is born in mclancholv."

THE East Tj.sk Railway continues to be the sport of rumour. On Saturday it was ] gravely asserted that one of the magnates of the Great Western Railway was due at Newport on Monday, with the object in view of cutting the first sod of the railway | which is dear to the hearts of J*iewporters 1 as assisting in the development of the east I side of the Lsk. Monday came, with its 1 bright fine weather, just the thing for a I brief outdoor ceremony, but the local rail- t way officials shook their heads had received 1 no notification had no saloon carriages 3 ordered to convey any distinguished people i to the Great Western Wharf," near which ifc | was said the first sod was to be identified by keen-eyed people. In despair, the amiable j secretary to the Chamber of Commerce sent telegram to Mr LAMBERT, which must have caused that functionary to rub his eyes. Was rumour correct ? Mr LAMBERT replied that he had no knowledge of the ceremony being fixed for yesterday. j There the matter stands. The knowing j ones who started the story told it I circumstantially. They must have thought that the Great Western need a little prompting. As a matter of fact, the com- pany need a great deal of prompting in « everything which concerns their monopoly j in South Wales. Take one example. The Monmouthshire section is said to earn 26 • psr cent., and the shareholders get six per j cent. If the Railway Commissioners wrere j moved to action, they would doubtless say that the charge for mineral carriage to New- J port should, in face of this fact, be very sensibly reduced.

SOUTH WALm NOTES. I LEY COSMOS.] WELSH FOOTBALL. WE are true followers of Aristippus here in Cardiff. We like pleasure even in our pleasures. A football match is not the height of our desires we must see the Cardiff team win if we are to enjoy our- selves. How we shouted on Saturday after- noon, and played "each furious antic!" One goal came so quickly after another that the roar was almost continuous. The cheers lasted from one score to the next. It was a merry time, and suitable to the season. If the team could not gallop to the finish, it had its opponent settled during the first half of the journey, and though the latter struggled .9 on gamely eiiqugli, it could never make up the lost ground. Swansea is coming gently down, or else Llanelly is gradually ascend- ing. We sadly need a little variety in our football fiddle. Three strings are not enough to produce an elaborate piece. The changes which can be rung on Newport, Swansea, and Cardiff are too few to be a full measure of delight. If Llanelly and Penarth can be tightened up to concert pitch, the instru- ment will be fit to play both treble and bass instead of being limited to a few notes, as it is now. With four or five teams ready to do battle with England, a wider selection of foreign foes should be forthcoming. 'J. METEOROLOGY AND MATRIMONY. 1 GALE v. Gale is rather an appropriate trial, considering the late meteorological dis- turbances. In the household of the Gales there was a storm, as might be expected, if there is anything in a name and the storm, like other storms, has ended in a wreck. In the Divorce Court on Saturday the Gales (one lives at Merthyr) came to an end. There is still a Gale left, though. But after the storm comes a calm, though the bill of costs may arouse another gale. IMITATING- WHILE ABUSING HIS MASTER. A liKALLY humourous article in last week's > SpeaheT-because the huuiour is so totally unconscious-is that entitled A Literary Causerie." It is a criticism in the first ulace upon Sterlie's Sent-iiiental Journey," but, j like all modern criticisms, there is little or ] nothing alJbut the book, the whole of ] the two columns being occupied with an ] abuse of Thackeray. This is amusing in ] itself, but by no means the whole of the j amusement. The author has evidently been j studying Thackeray until he has absorbed ] some of his characteristics. Like an old ] servant who has been long in the family, he i imitates as far as lies in his power the j air and actions of his master. He wears '1 his clothes to correspond as nearly as pos- i sible to the pattern which he unknowingly has set himself, and in the servants' hall he speaks disrespectfully of the faster whose diction, grimaces, quips, pranks, and senti- ment he in vain tries to assume. Thackeray of late has been blessed with too many friends. The time is now coming apparently when the pendulum will swing the other way. Thackeray's great forte was laughing through his tears. Never was there such a man to weep. He was always slobbering over somebody, always applying his hand- kerchief to his eyes. Hot water was laid 1 on at every floor in his composition. AVlien he was not turning on the taps he was engaged in the most grotesque con- i tortious with his tongue in his cheek. j The veriest trifle makes him cry, but even j in his lamentations he takes care to say smart things. Poor drunken Steele tumbles down. Thackeray is all sorrow. He helps him up, brushes the dirt off his coat, and then goes home to make fun out of the incident, relating it in a very droll manner to an accompaniment of sobs. THACKERAY'S "ENGLHH HUMOURISTS." THACKERAY'S presentment of the" English Humourists is a very fair portrait. He wisely does not attempt to place before us his views of their works, but restricts him- self mainly to their every-day life. We trip back with him into the last century, and pay a visit to the great authors. We have the entree of their houses, search the innermost recesses of their hearts, and mix with them in ordi- nary society. We rise in the morning with that impetuous Dean, we sip his chocolate with him in bed, and write a letter to Stella. We are carried off in a sedan chair to the Lord Treasurer's levee, and we struggle through a mass of sycophants and place- hunters, here promising some poor fellow a pension, there cringing to somebody who can advance our interests, anon saying cutting things—things which brand like a red hot iron—to these who arc powerless to hurt us. Come, let us be off to dine with Vanessa, where we keep our best periwig and gown. Congreve is almost too great a gentleman for us. He lives and moves among Dukes and Duchesses. Moreover, he does not wish to be considered an author; that is beneath him. Do you think," said Voltaire, that I would have come to see you if you had only been a private gentleman ?" We will leave Con- greave to attend to his gouty toes. Addi- son is too straight-laced for us. Even in his shabby lodgings and coat he preserves a distant air. He is no better when he be- comes a Secretary of State and marries ft Countess. He gets drunk on port wine without any hilarity. He is no companion for us. But let us stop to crack a bottle with Dick Steele. We probably shall have to pay for it, though he be so generous in offering it. But all the better. We shall not have it on our consciences that we helped to starve his wife at home. — AT HOME WITH THEM. His laced suit looks very tarnished, and you may be sure that it still figures in some tailor's bill for a large sum. But you and I have had enough of these ghosts. We can- not play cards with them, and they seldom do anything else. Besides, my dear, if you are a Sue lady how can you dino on such fare as this at three o'clock in the after- noon ? The first course consists of a sirloin of beef, fish, a shoulder of veal, and a tongue almond pudding fritters which a colonel of the Guards helps with his fingera is the next course. Then succeeds chickens, black pudding, and soup after this, hot venison pasty, hare, rabbit, pigeons, par- tridges, goose, and ham. This is the provi- sion for eight people. Those appetites went with the eighteenth century. Then, dear lady, you would have to imbibe vast quanti- tics of beer and claret, and joke with the footman. This is how Congreve, Addison, and Dick Steele's set lived. At three