South Wales Daily News

BIRTHS, MARiUACES. DEATHS BIRTH. DAVID,—Morlais House, Hampton-place, Merthvr, March 6th, wife of Mr T. David, headmaster, Ab-er- canaid Board Schools, of a daughter. £ 2 DEATHS. HOPKIX.—On March 7th. at6,Kichards^treet, Cathays, Cardiff, Edward Hopkin. uged 74 years. Funeral on Hatnrday at o'dock. Friends please accept this in- timation. No wreaths, by special request. 931 DAVIES.-On March 6th, Mrs S. Davies (widow of the late Rev..T. Davies), 17. Commercial-street, Aber- dare, aged 77 years. Public funeral on Thursday ".t 3 p.m. 7066 NEWMAA".—On the 6th, at 53, Marl borough-terrace, Blackweir, ex-Sergeant Newman. Funeral 3 o'clock Thursday. Friends please accept this ouly in- timation. £ K3

FALSE ISSUES. lUEN who are conscious that they have a good case and who understand their ques- tion would hardly seek to becloud it by offering false pleas and raising irrelevant and damaging issues. Nevertheless, this is the line of defence which the apologists for the English State Church in Wales are energetically pursuing both in the London and in the Provincial Press. They are recklessly forcing into prominence the con- trast between the history and usefulness of the State Church in Wales and the history and usefulness of Welsh Nonconformity. This isa hazardous, ind ee d a perilous, line of defence for the Welsh Church and its clergy, and we have persistently abstained from discussing this aspect of the question in any of our former articles. If, however, this invidious phase of the matter be forced upon us by the crass folly of the Church Defence party, we shall not shrink from grappling with the question in all its bearings, however unfra- grant and unpleasing it may be; and it is not the South 'Wales Daily N'ws which will "then" first cry hold, enough The ques- tion, however, of the continuance of the State Church can be conclusively debated apart from its most unsavoury and unlovely history in the Principality, and State Church defenders had better in this matter, follow the sagacious counsel of the old saw," and let sleeping dogs lie." The benefit or the mischiefs of a I State system of ecclesiasticism can be dis- cussed apart from the character or the use- fulness of the religious sect whose ministers are the State functionaries. The State system of religion is not a leligious system! at all it is simply legislation on ecclesias- tical matters." The befogged mental con- dition of certain State Church advocates in discussing the question must surely be a matter of surprise and pain to Churchmen who have knowledge of the differentia of the question, and who can appreciate the argument for and against a State system of ecclesiasticism. A long manifesto in the Times, nearly a column in extent, signed by the Duke of WESTMIN- STER and ten other Peers and eight Com- moners, contends that as the dioceses within the limits of Wales and Monmouthshire are integral parts of the Province of Canterbury, and subject to the metropolitan jurisdiction of the Archbishop of CANTERBURY, and are represented by the bishops and other digni- taries and elected clergy in the Convocation of that province, therefore the bishops and clergy of the four Welsh Dioceses cannot be disestablished and disendowed by an Act of the Legislature. Why not ? The Duke of WESTMINSTER and his fellow signatories offer no argument what- ever in support of their assertion. The four Welsh dioceses will remain as much an in- tegral part of the Province of Canterbury after Disestablishment and Disendowment as they are now and the bishops and other dignitaries and elected clergy of the Epis- copal Church in Wales may attend Convoca- tion as now if it so pleases them. The act of Disestablishment and Disendowmenc will not affect their episcopal arrangements one whit. For, as Mr ASQUITH said in introducing the Suspensory Bill, The only change the Bill would make would be that the Bishops and Deans would be no longer appointed by the PRIME MINISTER, and national property, instead of being appro- priated to a small minority, would be devoted to Welsh national purposes." It would have been some evidence of wisdom if the Duke of WESTMINSTER and his friends had clearly gripped the real question at issue before heedlessly rushing into print to discuss what they do not clearly appre- hend. But other long letters on this question additional to the manifesto issued by the Duke of WESTMINSTER and his friends are published in yesterday's Times. One of these letters, also about a column in length, appears above the signature "GREY," and the letter possesses all the marked characteristics of Earl GREY'S peculiar style and methods of reasoning. He lays it down as a self-evident axiom that the nation—not Churchmen only, but the nation at large—is deeply interested in causing a knowledge of religion, and of their responsibility to their Maker, to be diffused among our countrymen as widely as possible, while no means have yet been suggested by which this inestimable benefit could be secured for our population with- out the aid of our Church Establishment." This is a circumbendibus method of reason- ing, in which the logic is as involved as the style. The nation at large in one section of the paragraph is identically the same personality as our countrymen and our population in other sections and, there- fore, the argument is that it is the duty of the nation at large to cause a knowledge of religion and of their responsibility to their MAKER to be diffused amongst the nation at large. But the strangest letter of all is that of Mr H. ROKERY PRICE, who writes to give some information that may be useful to Mr STUART HENDEL" and other ignorant and malevolent people and with gracious courtesy and good taste Mr ROKEBY PRICE insolently tells Mr RENDEL that all his statements are false." Mr ROKEBY PRICE bases his defence of the j State Church in the Principality upon the historical argument, and contends that the Welsh Church is a natural production of Welsh soil, and that it had its Bishops long before AUGUSTINE came to this country." But as AUGUSTINE was the first Bishop and Archbishop of Canterbury, how comes it to pass that the four Welsh Dioceses have become subject to the Archiepiscopal 8ee of Canterbury ? To redeem them from that subjection would be to restore them to their pristine freedom and to leave them as they originally were, "a natural production of Welsh soil." A constitutional defect in the mental vision of these Welsh Church defenders seems to be the inability to discriminate between the Episcopal Church in Walss and State ecclesiasticism. It is not of the essence of the question that the Protestant Episcopal Church should be the State Church. It has not always been so but Episcopal Establishmentarians fail to realise this, and argue as if Epis- copacy and State Churchism were identical and convertible terms. As a specimen of bemuddled reasoning and ridiculous mis-statements of fact Mr Royiory PRICE'S educational table must carry off the palm. Having stated that the Episcopal Church in Wales had increased largely in the number of its fabrics and its clergy since 1831, Mr ROKEBY PRICE writes: As a further statement of what the Church is doing the fol- lowing table affords a comparison between the educational work of Church and other schools in 1888." The table shows that whilst the Church schools in Wales had accommo- dation for 32,261 children, with 18,573 in average attendance, the Board Schools in Wales had only accommodation for 16,663 children, with. 9,981 in average attendance and the Roman Catholic Schools in Wales had accommodation for 2,070 children, with 1,059 in average attendance. Why, this is worse than Midsummer madness. What wool gathering expedition was Mr ROKEBY PRICE'S wits engaged in when he penned such wretched nonsense and of what could the Times editor be dreaming when he published such rubbish in tabular form ? Why, the Board Schools in Car- diff alone almost equal in average attendance the attendance which Mr HOKEBY PRICE has given for all Wales. The Cardiff Board Schools have accommodation, according to the last Educational Report, for 11,586 children, and an average attend- ance of 9,626, only 355 less than Mr ROKEBY PRICE has given for the whole of Wales; whilst the Catholic Schools in Cardiff had accommodation for 2,748 chil- eh-en, with an average attendance of 1,625, being 678 school seats more and 566 more children in average attendance in the Cardiff Catholic Schools alone than Mr ROKEBY PRICE has given for the whole of the Principality, This is a sample of the argumentative methods of many of the dis- putants who take upon themselves the defence of the State Church in Wales

COUNCILLOR EVAN LEWIS does well, in his letter printed elsewhere, to endeavour to fix public attention upon the water supply of the Rhondda. The condition of that populous valley in regard to this prime essential of health is notorious and the position of affairs, from a sanitary point of view, is in no degree altered by the judg- ment in the action lately decided. The Medical Officer opens his task—an enor- mously difficult one in this sadly-defective county of Glamorgan-with a direct impeach- ment of the water supply-" unsafe, and should not be used for domestic purposes." This should be enough for the county authority. They cannot go behind a dis- tinct and definite declaration of their own official, and they will fail in the discharge of their highest duty if they do not take action to preserve the Rhondda from the danger that is threatening. No means can be adopted," the Medical Officer adds, to prevent pollution so long as the levels are worked." Whatever happens, Dr WILLIAMS is clear he has done his duty in reporting the defect, and it is for the Council to do theirs. With cholera in sight, and with small-pox cases all over the county, such sanitary deficiencies as those of the Rhondda ought not to be allowed to exist a day longer than inevitable. It will be very difficult to improve the water supply, no doubt very costly, too but there is no reason for not attempting improvement. What are the County Council going to do upon the Medical Officer's report ? I THE appointment of only one Labour correspondent for South Wales ("South Wales" includes Monmouth) is a fresh illustration of the inaccurate idea which in Government circles seems to be entertained concerning this district. We find evidence of the same misconception in fe dilatoriness of the Post Office when called upon to furnish postal facilities in the regulation of Cardiff by the Customs authorities to a position below Bristol, and in several other incidents of current experience. The Labour Department may render much good service to the cause of the wage-earners and in choosing Mr T. DAVIES as correspondent for this district a good selection has been made by the heads of the new office. But there should be more appointments certainly one for the colliers separately, even if the tin-platers also were not favoured with a special selec- tion. The circumstances of the South Wales coal-fields and its methods of work- ing are peculiar, and conclusions drawrt from the surroundnigs of English coal-fields might be erroneous if practically applied here. The Departn-ients want rousing up to consciousness of what is the real in- dustrial -and commercial position of this part of the country, for scarcely any other district has such large and important bodies of wage-earners in two or three special branches of employment.

VERY quickly the moral of Grimsby election has been deduced for the edifica- tion of caucus chiefs. The Wcslmiuster Gazette last evening—and there are few, if any, better exponents of the science of political meteorology—asserted that the loss of Grimsby was due to an attempt to "rush" the election with a candidate sent down from London. We have received confirmation of the truth of this view, Mr WILSON, M.P., who was in Cardiff last evening, talked over the Grimsby defeat with one of our representatives, and ex- pressed himself strongly upon the impolicy of having had [the election so quickly decided. The Liberals, he said, had to contend against a strong local man and their champion, Mr BROADHUHST, had not time to become acquainted with the voters, or the voters with him, personally. The organisation was bad and the canvassing was practically nil. Mr WILSON scouted the idea that there was any division in the Labour ranks. The lesson of Grimsby is one that should not be forgotten, for the defeat was most serious, not to be accounted for in the ordinary way and it shows that, however apparently effective the" Hun- dreds may be, there is fundamental weakness somewhere, these bodies not being properly representative of local feel- ing. How to make them properly repre- sentative is a problem awaiting solution.

MR AND MRS GLADSTONE. Mr Gladstone reached Victoria station from Brighton at 11.5 on Wednesday. The Premier looked well, as also did Mra Gladstone. Mr Armit. stead reported-both to be in excellent health- and to have derived great benefit from their visit. Mr and Mrs Gladstone left in au open carriage for Downing-street, cheered by the assembled crowd.

THE RADNORSHIRE MAGISTRACY. A list of fourteen gentlemen, Liberals and Conservatives, residing in the county of Radnor, and qualified to act as magistrates, wa? sent to the Lord-Lieutenant (Lord Onnathwaite) about two months ago, and as no satisfactory reply has been received, the Liberal Association intend placing the matter in the hands of Mr Frank Edwards, M.P., with a view to a representation being made to the Lord Chancellor. At the present time there arc only three Liberal magis- trates in the whole county.

THE BARCELONA TRAGEDY. With reference to the case of Samuel Willie, now in custody at Barcelona for shooting Senor Bofill, Sir Edward Reed, M.P., has received a letter from the L, irl of Rosebery, Foreign Secre- tary, to the effect that her Majesty's Consul at Barcelona has been instructed to render such assistance in the case as he can properly afford.

ABSCONDING CARDIFF DIRECTORS. ARRESTS AT NEW YORK. Messrs Wvndhaui and T. W. Lewis, the directors of the Cardiff Match Company, against whom warrants have been issued by the '1' Cardiff magistrates for misappropriation of the moneys of the company, have heen arreted on landing at New York from the steamship Servia. They were detained by the Now York police pending the receipt from the British Home Office of formal proof of the authenticity of the warrant. The prisoners will then be over to thecustody of the English police. MrMackenzie, the Cardiff Chief Constable is awaiting instruc- tions from the Home Office, who may decide to send officers from Scotland-yard to bring the prisoners to England. It is not «jq>ected,however, that this step will be taken, it being more pro- bable tlmt a couple of Cardiff detectives will be sent toNew Yorkforthepurpose,asthiswcu!dsave the formalities of the prisoners being transferred from the headquarters officials to tho Cardiff police. The whole of the expenses in connection with the arrest will be borne by the directors, on whose behalf Mr A. F. Hill applied for the war- rant*. _—.——

BREACH OF PROMISE. £ 1,000 DAMAGES AWARDED. At Manchester Assizes, on Wednesday, a jury awarded Miss Theresa Osingley, a lady of 22. £ 1,000 damages against Mr Wm. Barnes, son of a rich iron merchant at Maryport, for breach of promise of marriage. The parties met at a lawn tennis match, and were soon on affectionate terms. Numerous affectionate letters wore ex- Chang*- 1,ut ultimately defendant accused plaintiff oi lavishing kisses on others and of obtaining the promise of marriage by fraud. He further suggested that her stepfather and mother were not married. Cross-examined, defendant admitted that he was not a legitimate son.

ROBBERIES FROM^OODS TRAINS. FOUR MEN ARRESTED. In consequence of the constant complaints of robberies from goods trains on tmr Somerset and Dorset Railway, police officers on Tuesday visited houses at Tiverton in the occupation of drivers in the company's service, and found there stolen property, value 2300, for the removal of which a large furniture van was required. The pro- perty included cloth, blankets, provisions, spirits, etc. Four men, Williams, Manners, Burston, and Daunton were apprehended, and further arrests are expected. The robberies extend over two years.

THE BLACK COUNTRY TRAGEDY. DISPOSAL OF THE BODY. LATEST REVELATIONS. The püJjce are still actively engaged in investi- gating the circumstances attending the alleged murder mystery at West Brmnwich, but it is almost certain that the case will not be proceeded with to-day (Thursday), to which day the prisoners Spencer and Ciafisey were remanded. On Tuesday inorninar Police-constable Ward, as- sisted by twoother men, commenced diggingirt the garden at the rear of No. 5 Dudley-road, West Bromwich, where the Clanseys lived up to November 23, 1836, but which is now occupied by a baker. They had not been at work long before a number of bones had been turned up. Tiie-e will be submitted to Mr Herbert Morley, the Medical Officer of Health, and if it should be proved that some of them are human, it will support the theory as to the way in which the body was disponed of. This seems to be that the body was cut to pieces in the cellar, and burnt upon the kitchen fire, chemicals being used to prevent the neighbours from per- ceiving any smell which might arise from it. Among the statements which are being made in connection with the conduct of the case-is one which declares that the police have evidence as to the death of Eliza Ann Evans, and it is said that a witness has been found at Dudley who saw the victim of the outrage die in the house, No. 57, Dudley-road, West Bromwich. It will also be proved that Evaua died from the effects of the illegal operation already referred to, It is further stated that the witness in question sat up with the deceased for two nights prior to her death, and only left her when this took place. The police suggest that Spencer sent the deceased to Clansey's house for the proposed operation; and furtherstatethat they have traced the victim qs far as 11 o'clock on the night of the 3rd April, 18S5. when she alighted from a tram oar at Carter's Green, which is only a short distance from the house where she is said to have died. She has not been seen since. A painful feature of the affair is the suddenness with which the unexpected revelations have come upon the mother and sister of Evans, who still reside in Victoria street, West Bromwich. 1 Not having the remotest idea that she had been the victim of any foul play, and confidently looking forward to the time when she would return to relieve their uneasiness, the intelligence of the police investiga- tions plunged them into the greatest trouble and distress. The family knew Spencer well enough, who, it is stated, courted the young woman for at lease two years, and frequently visited Evans's house, being accepted by the household as Eliza Ann's lover. At the time n' Evans disappeared two of her sisters went to Spencer, who was then keeping a shop III High- street, West Bromwich, and made enquiries con- cerning her; but it is said that he porfessed to them th -Lt he did not know where she was. What- ever took place between Spencer, the Clanseys, and Elza Evans was altogether unknown to the family of the missing girl. It is stated that nine months have elapsed since P.C. Ward obtained the first clue, but it was so slight, and the circumstances were so compli- cated, that he could not make any official report until the 18tb of last month, when he slipplied to Chief-superintendent Whitehurrt all the facts ho had collected. Clansey has been living at Old Hill for a time since her husband went to Amerca in 1236, and also at Dudley.

CONFERENCE OF THE TORY PARTY. PRIVATE MEETING AT THE CARLTON CLUB. LORD SALISBURY ON PARTY DISCIPLINE. THE GOVERNMENT MEASURES TO BE STRENUOUSLY OPPOSED. SPEECHES BY MR BALFOUR AND LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL. [PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.] LONDON, Wednesday Evening. Those present at the meeting1 of Conservative members of the House of Commons to-day ex- press themselves much satisfied with its whole tone, aud describe the proceedings as entirely harmonious. Like previous gatherings of the same kind it was held in the largest room of the Carlton Club. Although noon was the time fixed for the business to begin, some members had arrived as earlv as 11 o'clock, less perhaps from any anxiety about securing good places in the hall than from a desire to chat leisurely over the political situation, In some respects the interest excited among them was less keen than has hitherto been the case on similar occasions, as no crisis had sud- denly arisen, nor was there doubt in any quarter as to the line of policy to be followed by the party in the early future. On the other hand it was felt by many to be desir- able that the reins of party discipline should be somewhat tightened, and a general understanding arrived at in view of the fact that recent divisions in the House of Commons have iven the Government a good deal more than their normal majority. In this connection some soreness was expressed in certain quarters that when Mr Balfour, as leader of the Opposition on Monday night, accepted Sir Wm. Harcourt's assurances with regard to the suspension of the twelve o'clock rule, a prejudicial division should nevertheless have been forced by some of the younger members on the Conservative benchs. The Idea that particular reference might be made by the leaders to these points led to a larger attendance than might otherwise have been expected. Mr Akers-Douglas. the Chief Conservative Whip, arrived in the club at half-past 11 o'clock, but shortly left for Carlton- gardens, whence he returned with Mr Balfour half an hour later. Mr Goschen arrived a fttw minutes before 12 o'clock, and had a reception of rather special cordiality, as this was the first Con- servative party meeting he bad attended since he became a member of the club. Lord Randolph Churchill arrived a few minutes past 12 o'clock, and, like many of the other leading members, he came on foot. Most of the less promi- nent members came in carriages or cabs, and the busy traffic of these vehicles arriving and departing attracted a considerable crowd of spectators in Pall Mall in front of the club. Prince Henry of Battenberg was among the passers-by, and for a moment or two while in conversation wish a friend his Royal Highness watched the scene with obvious interest. Amoug the members present at the meeting were Sir H. H. Howorth, Sir John Gorst, the Marquis of Granbv, Sir F. Seager Hunt, Sir Wrn. Marriott, Sir Edward Harland, the Marquis of Carmarthen, Lord Chelsea, Sir Algernon Borthwick, Sir Wm, IJart-Dyke, Lord George Hamilton, Sir F. S. Powell, Lord Arthur Hiil, SIr Geo. Baden Powell, Sir Seymour King, 1 lr W. H. Houldsworth, Viscount Bury, Sir F. D'X*iu-Hartland, Baron Ii. De Worms, Sir F. Milner, Lord Hamilton, Sir H. Fletcher, Sir Stafford Ivorthcote, General Goldsworthy, Commander Bethel), Captain NayJor Leyland, Dr Rente,ul, Colonel Bridgman, Colonel Sandys, Captain Grice Hutchinson, and Messrs iioulnois, Smith Wright, H. F. Jeffreys, Philip Muntz, Humphrey bturt, Hanbury, Henniker Heaton, F. W. Isaacson, Wilson, oble, Shaw Stewart, H. S. Foster, W. W. B. Beach, Goodsou, Agg- Gardner, Baird, Lees Knowles, Johnson (Kally- lcilbeg), J. S. Gil lint, Cohen, Henry Maf-hews. J. W. Lowther, J. Lowther, G. Woltf, E. Beckett, Bigwood, H. VY. Foster. Theobald, E. Stanley, W. Elliot, Penrose Fitzgerald, E. Stanhope, Macartuey, Whitmore, H. Chaplin, Stephens, Rankin, G. Curzon, R. G. Webster, Sidebottom, and J. Penn. At the outset all those present were pledged to treat the proceedings as strictly contidential. All were earnestly urged to respect this privacy, and in view of their undertaking on this point mem- bers were naturally reticent, declining, as a rule, to give any information subsequently to the representatives of the Press concerning what had occurred. In order, however, to prevent erroneous reports going forth, several of the members in- dicated briefly the general purportofthe business. The Marquis of Salisbury presided, and was loudly cheered on rising to open th proceedings. His mtroductory speech did not occupy much more than five minutes, but io said to have beel) so useful and interesting from a party point of view that not a few of those present afterwards expressed their regret that it was not reported. It is understood that his lordship strongly urged the necessity of the continuous attendance of Conservative members in the House of Com- mons, and that they should loyally support their leaders in strenuous opposition not only to the I Home Rule Bill, but also to the other highly contentious measures introduced by the Govern- ment. He expressed his hope that the full strength of the party would be forthcoming m support of the motion which Sir Michael Hicks- Beach is to move for the rejection of the second reading of the Home Rule Bill, and that in the agitation throughout the country the Unionists generally would emphasise their sense of the extreme gravity of the issue. Mr Balfour, who was also received: with cheer?, afterwards spoke to a similar effect, and according to some of his hearers, the right hon. gentleman led off with a gentle hint to those Con- servatives who were supposed to have shown themselves somewhat wanting in loyal support to him as leader of the Opposition. Sir W- Hart Dyke advised that the younger members of the party should hesitate about forcing party divisions without due consideration, as the result of the, unless properly organised and sanctioned by the leaders of the party, was apt to create a damaging impression. Colonel Saunderson expressed satisfaction with the strong uncompromising tone of Lord Salisbury's opening- speech and his own full confidence in 1;h.) leaders of the party in both houses. A Scotch member said he would have been glad if arrangements have been made for more assistance from tho leaders for the campaign in Scotland. In reply to him, it was pointed out that tin' Duke of Devonshire and Lord Randolph Churchill had both undertaken to address meetings in Scotland. Amongst the other speakers were Mr Kenyon I and Sir Ktmber but the minor speeches are described as having dealt only with points of detail not affecting1 the general policy of the party. By general consent one of the principal features of tho met-ting was the appt-arance of Lord Randolph Churchill. His lordship had taken a back seat, but this did not deter his friends from calling him tu the front. Towards the end of the proceedings there were loud cries for Ac first there was no response, but the call was repeated, and then Lord Randolph cameforward. He said he had not intended to speak, but in deference to the deciire of those present, for whose kindness he was grateful, he took the oppor- tunity of expressing his desire to promote, as far as he could, vigorous opposition to the jiernicious legislation proposed by the Government. His lordship added that his best effort in that direction would always be at the disposal of his friend aud political chief, Mr Balfour, This avowal, which gave general satisfaction, was received with loud and prolonged cheering. Two or three members afterwards remarked that his lordship's profession of devotion and support did not extend to Lord Salisbury, but others explain that there was no caB to go beyond the party leadership in the House of which Lord Randolph Ïs a member. In thr. course of th proceedings a brief reference was made to the result of the Grimsby election as highly cn. couraging and satisfactory. The meeting did not last more than an hour, concluding at one o'clock. A few minutes the members left in batches, Mr Balfour, Mr Gosoheu, Lord Geo. Hamilton,and other members of the late Cabinet left together in a group. Lord Salisbury remained some time at the club in con- versation with several friends, but left at 20 minutes before two o'clock. In the meantime many of the members had gone to the House Qf Commons. Whilst the meeting was in progress the Conservative benches were practically empty, their only occupants during the speech—in which Mr Holland moved the secend reading of his Bill for the exemption of movable machinery from rating—being Mr Gerald Balfour (a supporter of the Bill), Sir Richard Paget (who leads the oppo- sition to it in the agricultural interest), and Mr Whiteley, the recently-elected member for Stock- port.

CRIME IN COUNTY CLARE. CHIEF JUSTICE O'BRIEN CONTRA- DICTED. At a. largely attended meeting of the Funis (co. Clare) Board of Guardians on Wednesday a resolution was passed protesting against Mr :r ustici" O'Brien'8 recent animadversions upon the jurors of Clare as unwarranted, uncalled for. and unfounded, and declaring that the juries at Clare Assizes exeicised with firmness, impartiality, and a "true deliverance," the right to which on many occasions was very necessary of interposing be- tween the Crown and the subject.

THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1893. TORY DEMORALISATION. NOT Obstruction, but something near akin to it, differing in name but not in fact, was the counsel given to the Tory gathering at the Carlton Club yesterday by Lord SALIS- BURY. The meeting was strictly private, and no official report, cooked for the pur- pose of circulation, has been given to the outside world. There has been sufficient leakage, however, to satisfy all who can read between the lines that the meet- ing was not altogether harmonious. There were evidently many discordant notes to disturb the quiet of this happy family. Sir WILLIAM HART DYKE, one of the old gang," as Lord RANDOLPH CHURCHILL, when his tongue is unbridled, irreverently styles them, thought it needful to lecture the young bloods of Toryism on their presump- tion in supposing that they could go alone They were forbidden henceforth to challenge party divisions without due consideration. The remonstrance was much needed, for there has been within the last ten days or a fortnight an insurrectionary move- ment on the part of the younger class of Tories against Mr BALFOUR'S leader- ship. There can be no doubt whatever that as a leader of Opposition Mr BALFOUR has proved a failure. He is destitute of resource, and knows no manner of lighting but the tomahawk and the scalping knife. That mode of political warfare might be successful enough when he has big battalions behind him to carry measures by the force of a numerical majority, but it is worse than useless, for it ensures defeat, to a leader of Opposition who has only a minority of votes at his back. Lord SALISBURY cautioned those rebellious Tories who forced divisions contrary to Mr BALFOUR'S wish to be good boys for the future and obey his nephew implicitly, and Lord RANDOLPH CHURCHILL, dropping a few crocodile tears, promised that he would. But will he ? That remains to be seen. The member for South Paddington has been hitherto a political HARRY O the Wynd, always fighting for his own hand. Lord SALISBURY'S protest that in urging his followers to prevent the passing of the Home Rule Bill by every means within their power, he was not counselling obstruction was a very conclusive 7 proof that he was counselling obstruction. He who excuses himself accuses. People might call it obstruction, he said, but such it would not be. It would be only opposi- tion carried to the extreinest lengths to which it was possible to carry it. Tweedledum differs from Tweedledee in nothing save the name. Opposition carried to its utmost length is but an altris fot obstruction. But the Tories themselves when in office made a whip for their own back when they brought the Closure into existence to suppress Liberal opposition. They carried fifteen clauses of the Irish Coercion Act by applying it without per- mitting the slightest discussion on any of the clauses. The engineer will surely have no right to complain when he finds himself hoist with his own petard. |

SOMETHING more than passing interest attaches to the federation of miners' and sailors' organisations. Although the Sailors' Union is now weak, and although the Miners' Federation has no great scheme on hand at the moment, there is, in the unity just effected, the latent possibility of tremen- dous industrial disturbance and we have to bear in mind that it was the oflicials of this organisation of colliers which lately proposed a whole month's stoppage of the pits, so that the price of coal might be kept up. South Wales, we have been glad to remember, has kept outside the range of organisation; but by the action of the seamen—hereafter, when the seamen regain a position approxi- mate to that of three years ago—South Wales industry might be thrown into great disorder, if not paralysed completely, by a boycott arranged in support of the English miners' strike or stoppage. The interview reported i, in another column sets out In the plainest terms the object of the seamen's leaders in seeking alliance with the miners.

THE QUEEN. The Queen, accompanied by the Empress Frederick and Princess Beatrice, left Windsor on Wednesday £ by special train for Buckingham Palace. The Queen, on arriving at Paddington, was driven in an open carriage drawn by four horses to Buckingham Palace. Fine weather pre- vailed, and the Royal party were loudly cheered all along the route by the crowds which gathered on the footways,

MAGISTERIAL WORK IN THE RHONDDA. NEW OCCASIONAL COURTS. At Pontypridd police-court on Wednesday, the Stipendiary (Mr Ignatius Williams) referred to the fact that applications had been made for the appointment of places at Pern dale and Tony- pandy for the holding of occasional courts. On the motion of Dr Parry, J.P., seconded by Mr E. Thomas, J.P., it was resolved that the pohce- etations at Tonypandy and Ferndale be used for petty sessional purposes.

LONDON LETTE R. [FROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT. J [SPECIALLY WIRED, j LONDON, Wednesday Night. THE LADIES' GALLERY. In one part of the House of Commons there was this afternoon conspicuous failure to sympathise with the monopolising discus. sion on the Bill for placing the rating of machinery on an intelligible, uniform, and equitable footing. The grievances of manu- facturers in respect to the rating of their machinery and the alarms of agriculturists lest this should throw greater burdens upon them aroused no response in the hearts of the fair occupants of the Ladies' Gallery. Let the galled manufacturer wince, their withers (begging Mrs Grundy's pardon) are unwrung, for how can valuations and assess- ments, which do much to harass and restrict our industries, or which handicap the trade of one part of the country against that of another, compare in importance with the aspiration of women to cast their votes in the baiiot-box for the candidate of their choice ? Frivolous man may object that the latter is sentimental and bearable, the former practical and crusty, but we all know how the selfishness of the male section of mankind compels them to stick at nothing which upholds their artificial rule. There was therefore a good deal of (figurative) beating against the bars of the ladies' cage this afternoon as speaker after speaker wearisomely discussed this prosaic rating problem; and as every additional speech made more remote the chances of reaching the second item on the orders—Women's Parliamentary Franchise Bill—for once it was possible to see a reason for the strong lattice work that protects the House from its fair visitors. One trembles to think what might have happened if those who sat thirsting" for the vindication of women's rights could have got at the long-winded rating disputants to shake them into quicker speech or to scratch them into silence. How- ever, they couldn't, and so prosy members addressed not the House, but their consti- tuents and their chambers of commerce throughout the live-long afternoon. THE KATING OF MACHINERY. The lea(ic. i showed a fine impartiality, and private members had certainly no cause to complain of front bench men monopolis- ing the speechmaking. At one time Mr James Lowther enjoyed without rival the entire length of the seat reserved for the leaders of the Opposition, while Mr Fowler alone adorned the Treasury bench, his loneliness being relieved by occasional visits from Sir John Hibbert, Mr John Morley, or other stray colleagues. The provisions of the Bill are simple, and are well knywn. Machines are not fixed, or only so fixed that they can be re- moved without removing any part of the hereditament, and are excluded from the estimates of the ratable value of pre- mises with a proviso that the gross annual value shall be estimated at not less than the sum at which the hereditament might reasonably be expected to let for the pur- pose for which it is used, on a tenancy void of the machines and tools which it might be reasonably expected would be supplied by the tenant. Mr Fowler extended to the Bill a benevolent but unofficial approval, and on a division, which took place at a quarter-past five, the official whips not acting, the second readi ng wa carried by substantial majority of 153. WOMEN'S FRANCHISE. I The Women's Franchise Bill consists of only two clauses, the essential one of which makes six lines, and is naked in its sim- plicity. It simply provides that in all Acts relating to the qualification or registration of voters, wherever the words occur re- ferring to the masculine gender, these shall be interpreted to include women. It was within five minutes of the expiring of the allotted time when Mr Charles McLaren formally moved its second reading, where- upon Sir Henry James moved the adjourn- ment of the debate. This was at once carried. THE CONSERVATIVE CONCLAVE. A quite impressive reticence has been observed by Conservatives as to what took place when they were summoned before their leader to be lectured on the negli- gence of their attendance to their Parlia- mentary duties, and the urgent need for obedience to party discipline. But in spite of the fact that all present were sworn to the profoundest secrecy, it is pretty well known what took place, though probably the admonitions hava been toned down in process of repetition. There is some approach to humour in the fashion in which the sins of men like Mr Bartley and even more venerable Parlia- mentarians were visited on the heads of the younger members when the latter were admonished not to challenge divisions without due consideration. Lord Randolph Churchill's reception was warm enough to bo a significant hint to Lord Salisbury and nephew, and they were doubtless duly grateful for his protestations of strict loyalty to the leaders of his party. A "TRADE" MEETING. The licensed victuallers and restaurant keepers of the City of London do-not seem inclined to agitate themselves greatly about the Lycal Veto Bill. At least, the meeting called1 for this afternoon at the Cannon- street Hotel presented a very different appearance from the Alhambra the other day. The half-filled room listened with due awe to the predictions of ruin that were fulminated from the platform, and passed the usual resolutions of protest. Surely, however, if the orators on these occasions have a good case it is a pity to weaken it by invoking such arguments as that the Bill will affect injuriously persons outside the trade," as, for instance, those widows and orphans for whom trustees invest money. If the interests of widows and orphans, of women and children are to decide the regulation of the drink traffic, it is not difficult to see that the answer will hardly be one acceptable to the publicans. SUNDAY OPENING OF MUSEUMS. Another meeting held to-day in the City, and more numerously attended than tho other, was one convened at the Mansion House by the Lord Mayor in favour of the Sunday opening of Museums and Picture Galleries. It had been rumoured that the Lord's Day Observance Society intended to put in an appearance in opposition, in which case there would have been ruct ions, but wiser counsels prevailed, and those who wish to confer on Londoners the privileges conferred on the inhabitants of great provincial cities had matters all their own way- The Lord Mayor was careful to explain that he made a great distinction between the objects of the meeting and the introduction of what he called "The unwholesome Continental Sunday," an innovation utterly repugnant to his views and wishes. WATER COLOURS. The 75th annual exhibition of pictures at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Piccadilly, will open to the public on Saturday next. To-day the Press only have an opportunity of seeing the 700 pictures which adorn the walls of the three fine galleries at Piccadilly. Speaking generally, it is a good exhibition, and will bear favourable comparison with many years that have preceded. The effect produced by an in- spection of the works is pleasant rather than exciting, and a water-colour exhibition is just a little tame after the sensation of the Grafton Gallery. In the English school of water-colour painters there is now, it must be admitted, no particular advance perceptible. The exhibition can best be described as an average one. It contains little that falls beiow the artistic mid-line, while there are some works, like. "After Rain," by Anderson Hague, almost startling as illustrations of the powerful uses to which water colours can be put. The great landscape of the exhibition is by Mr Bernard Evans, R.I., "The Valley of the Wbarfe," and, though somewhat over- laboured, ife is a magnificent and powerful representation of English woodlands and heaving moors in the mellow autumn-time. It has for a companion a fine drawing of Durham, closely corresponding in tone, by Mr Harry Hine, R.I. Mr Evans, one may remark, has recently been busy on the English abbeys. Mr Hine seems to be occupying himself with the cathedrals. He has also a very richly painted and glowing picture of Gloucester Cathedral. The exhibition is particularly rich in quiet, freshly-coloured, breezy bits of English land- scape. Mr Yeens King, who seems able to do anything he likes with water colours, sends some bright, vigorous, sketchy and powerful worlr. full of beauty of country villages and fields. One of the strongest and most exquisite things in the exhibition is Mr Dudley Hardy's "Snake Charmers." Mr Hamilton Macullum, R.I., is amongst those exhibitors who most thoroughly sus- tain already established reputations. The whole of his work is charming in colour, at once strong and soft in handling, and full of atmosphere. Mr Macullum sends two charming little groups of kittens, merely sketched in, but with such perfection as no other artist in this department could. Among figure subjects one of the most powerful is "A Forlorn Hope," a group of mounted Cavaliers defending two or three horsemen who are leading a wandering prince from the field. The sea is well represented, but is not very power- ful except in one or two instances, There is the real glow of the gloaming as well as an uncommon mastership of the craft of water-colour painting in a bit of a Warwickshire village at eventide (562). Among other exhibitors that should be honourably mentioned are Mr Gordon Brown, Mr A. W. Weeden, Mr Wemperis, Mr Aumonier, and Mr Cattieri. The whole exhibition shows that water-colour painters are holding their own. A LIBERAL CLERGYMAN. The rather scanty—but, I think, increas- ing—ranks of Liberal clergymen in the Metropolis has received an accession in the person of the Rev Morris Joseph Fuller, the new vicar of St. Mark's, Marylebone. Mr Fuller, who with the consent of the patron of the living (Canon Leigh), has effected an exchange with Mr Bellews to his own pecuniary detriment, is also a strong sup- porter of the Temperance movement, and in favour of the opening of museums on Sun- day. He is a scholar of some repute, and a preacher of marked originality, who is likely to make his influence felt in north- west London. THE QUEEN IN LONDON. The Queen determined to-day to show herself as much as possible, for besides her cirive in semi-state from Paddington to Buckingham Palace, along which 9 1 route she was loudly cheered, in the afternoon she drove through the crowded thoroughfares in and around Charing Cross, Piccadilly, and Regent-street. The only fault to find with this arrange- ment is that her Majesty's passage disorganises for a time all ordinary traffic, for the police seem to think it necessary to keep a clear way five minutes before the Queen's arrival in any street. Her Majesty's reception was everywhere hearty, and people were glad to see the Queen looking so well and coming more into touch with her subjects. Her Majesty has made a special arrangement not to return to Windsor until Saturday next, so that she will practically spend four days in London, an unusual event. The people will be able to see her every day, as she is to drive out each morning and afternoon. To-morrow there is to be a very big Drawing Room held in State, fnd if the weather continues fine it will be a very brilliant spectacle.

THE SANDGATE DISASTER. A MANSION HOUSE FUND OPENED. The Press Association Folkestone corres- pondent telegraphs :-The high wind which pre- vailed on Tuesday night, together with the further settling down of land in the area afFected by the subsidence, has considerably intensified the damage already reported. Spring1 House is settling down fast, and it is feared it will fall in withm a few hours. It is being sup- ported only by the adjoining building, Spring Cottage. Increased damage in the grounds of Encombe is also evident, the fissures in the earth being much larger. The relief fund has now reached £ 2,000. The feeling in Sandgate and neighbourhood is very strong as to the reply of Mr Mundella in the Hause of Commons ou Tuesday evening, and hope is euiertained that if no relief may be ex- pected from the Government, the Lord Mayor will be prevailed upon to open a fund for the relief of sufferers by the disaster. Sir Edward Watkin has taken up the matter in this direction. The Local Government Bo,tl'd;IuEpectl!Il"sopiniolls are generally viewed with favour, but as the fact that the subsidence is primarily attributed to the blowing1 up of the Ben venue and Calypso was not sufficiently emphasised, arrange- ments are being made to accentuate this point bv holding a public meeting, at which Sir Edward Watkin and Mr Akers Douglas are expected to speak. Whole families have emigrated from the town, and many tradesmen will have to lament the loss of their customers as well as their houses. A baker named Ludlow estimates his loss at £ 1,100, and a tailor named Foster at £700, Furniture was being removed on Wednesday from temporary stores to new abodes acquired by sufferers. At a meeting, held at Folkestone Town-hall, it was unanimously decided to open a local relief fund. The Sandgate Local Board has appointed Mr Andrew Bromley, architect, to examine the houses affected and report whether they shall be demolished or re- paired. In response to an appeal from the Town Clerk of Folkestone, the Lord Mayor of London wrote on Wednesday that it would afford him great pleasure to do all he could to relieve the distress occasioned by the disaster at Sandgate, both by contributing himself and by receiving donations at the Mansion House.

LIBELLING A NEWSPAPER. DAMAGES £ 1,000. In the Queen's Bench on Wednesday-before the Lord Chief Justice—the jury found for the plaintiffs in the case of Alabaster and others v. The Medical Battery Company, Oxford-street, and awarded £ 1,000 damages. Plaintiffs are tho proprietors of the fjlecirical Review, who sued te defendants for libel, they having sent out circulars to newsvendors stating that the plaintiffs were publishing malicious libels upon defendants in respect to their electric belts, etc.

PUGILISM IN AMERICA. NEW YORK, Tuesday.—Austin Gibbons and Mike Daly fought this evening at the Crescent City AthleticClnb forapurseof 3,500dols. Daly was knocked out in the thirty-first round.—Renter.

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GAS EXPLOSION AT A CLUB. Great damage was done to the Eccleshall Conservative Club, Sheffield, on Wednesday evening, by an explosion of gas. The building was to have been opened the same evening, and the workmen had just left when the explosion occurred- One man was injured by the falling glass, and another was lifted bodily up by the forc of the explosion. The club IS owned y a limited company, and the buildings are extensive, costing several thousand pounds. The estimated damage is £500.

HARRIS, Merthvr, is noted all over Wales for Oil Portraits and Photographs 1043 SMOKE Lambert & Butler's British Oak "Shag in packets. To be obtaiDeù oî aJJ tJ}baœo d'r.IUocer"

NEWS IN BRIEF. The late Mr D. Wilson, of Hull,. has left a for. tune of about £ 260,000. There are nearly 300 candidates for the librarian- ship of the London Library, a post which is worth 2400 a year. The Estimates just issued show that the amount of wages paid at the Birmingham factory will be reduced from £60,000 to £35,000, or nearly one- half while that at Enfield is to be lessened by only a quarter. Professor John Rhys, of Oxford University, is to give a lecture in Cardiff, on Tuesday night next, on "The Ancestry of the Welsh People." The address will embody the results cf certain new researches on the part of the learned pro- fessor into the origin of the Welsh nation. Lord Jersey's last act before leaving Sydney was to send a cask of Australian butter to Calcutta as a present to Lord Lansdowne. It is hoped at Sydney that a trade in butter may be opened up with India, where the English resi- dents at present depend upon tinned butter. The Duchy of Cornwall accounts for 1E92 wore issued last week. They show that the income amounted to £ 101,358 for the year, which included a balance of £6,343, which had been carried forward from 1891. The Prince of Wales received L60,093, and a balance of £7,937 has been carried over. The English edition of Heine's "Letters will be out next week. These letters were addressed chiefly to his mother and sister, and show alto- gether an exceedingly pleasant side of Heine's character. The volume, which will be published by Mr Heinemann, will contain portraits of Heine and of hie mother and wife. A grant of JB200 has been made frem the Royal Bounty Fund, upon the recommendation of Mr Gladstone, to the Civil Service Benevolent Fund, established for tLe assistance of widows and orphans cf deceased Civil Servants left in necessitous circumstances. It is understood that this is the first Civil Service Institution which has received a grant from such a source. The cruise of the Princess of Wales and, her children will terminate at Athens, where they are to stay for several weeks. It is very probable that the Princess of Wales will remain abroad for a much longer period than was at first arranged, and she may very likely go to Gmunden, on a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland, when she leaves Greece, and thence to Denmark. The Standard says :-The Liberals generally attribute the loss of the seat at Grimsby to the effect of the introduction ot the Local Veto Bill. There is a strong feeling in Ministerial quarters that the Bill has damaged the cause of the Government. Apart from the thorough-going Temperance men, very little interest is evinced in the measure on the Liberal benches, and it is extremely doubtful whether the Government can count on the united support of their followers in pressing it. forward. The Lords of the Treasury have ordered that from to-day all importation- of confectionery in the composition of which spirit has been used shall be subject to a duty of one halfpenny per pound, in addition to any duty which such con- fectionery, as chocclate, etc., may already be chargeable, while importations of confectionery containing an appreciable amount of spirit, such as Easter eggs, etc., are to be specially reported to the Board of Customs, and duty charged on the actual amount of spirit discovered. The new pits at Blaengwynfy are still idle, but the management are boring some distance lower down on the mountain side, and are con- fident that good seams of coal are to be found. It is stated that the strata where the pits are sunk are disturbed, which accounts for the absence of tli- seams in the immediate vicinity of the shafts. If good semg of coal be found beneath where the boring operations are proceeding, the new pits will be sunk lower if necessary, and levels driven through the faults. An American writer characterises the post of President of the United States as an unhealthy one, worse than needlemaking. As compared with English Sovereigns American Presidents are startingly short-lived. Their duties are of a very exhausting character, and the atmosphere of publicity and accessibility in which they live is not conducive to repose of mind or body, even when it might otherwise be possible. English politicians, too, compare very favourably in the matter of longevity with those of the great Con- tinent. The lamentable disaster at Sandgate bas inter- fered with an historic landmark. In the affected area there was a house which marked the spot where John B. Gougb, the fa.moup temperance prator, was born. It was very close to the I keaoii, and at biffh tide almost touched the water. Some years ago a slab was put up on the wall, with a simple inscription, intimating that G-ough was born on that spot. The original cottage was pulled down some years ago. Gough, though he made his home m America, never forgot his birthplace, and when he fulfilled en. gagements in this country he always tried to run down to the Kentish coast. Seyyid Ali Ben Said, the Sultan of Zanzibar, whose death has just been announced, has only occupied his throne a little more than two years. He became Sultan almost at the same time as the Island of Zanzibar was converted into a British Protectorate. Zanzibar was formerly under Portuguese influence, but afterwards it came- under the ruie of the Imaum of Muscat. Nearly fo. ty years ago Seyyid, a son of the Imaum, established himself as an independent monarch in Zanzibar, and three of his brothers have ruled there since his death. The new Sultan is a son of a fourth brother, who never came to the throne. England is, of course, the real master of Zanzibar. Alexandre Dumas has written the preface to a catalogue of 1,200 works by Meissonier, which are new being exhibited in Paris. This preface is almost a review of the life of the great painter. M. Dumas begins by recalling that the father of Meissonier was a tradesman who did what he could to prevent his son becoming an artist. Go, my boy I don't wish you to die of hunger. One can live on 10 sous a day. I will give you 15 francs a month, and we'll soon see it you are a born painter rts you say you are." Such was the parental dismissal. His mother, however, who was fond of painting, encouraged him in his efforts, and finally, after a long strtigglq, success arrived. Tuesday was the seventy-fifth birthday of that Ilccomplised man of science, Sir Frederick Joseph Bramwell. Sir Frederick is a man of splendid presence, snow-white hair, a peculiarly brillian- eye, and an expression of countenance which is simply seraphic. He has a genius for mechaaict. When ha was only nine years old he roughly modelled the steam engines and winding machinery he had seen in use in the con- struction of the St. Katherine's Dock. He has paid much attention to the subject of artillery and of boiler construction. In 1888 he was President of the British Association. Singularly enough, his tastes are as strongly musical as mechanical. He is one of the best-dressed men in London. The Hon. Duncan Gillies, who is coming to London to fill the post of Agent-General for the Colony of Victoria, is a typical specimen of the Scotchman who succeeds in the colonies. He landed in Melbourne in his twentieth year. He was one of the first of the adventurous young men to arrive on the famous Eallarat gold- fields, sixty miles from Melbourne, a-id there he laid the foundation of his fortune. He worked as an ordinary red-shirted gold digger, but he alao soon stepped to the front as a spokesman ot his brother diggers. He achieved so much local celebrity as a speaker at monster cpen-air meet- ings that, when the battle was won and the diggers were authorised to return members to the Victorian Parliament.it was only natural that he should be one of the first of their chosen M-P.'s. FROM THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE. Picked up behind the trout Opposition Bench. ARTHUR OR RANDOLPH ? How happy could we be with either If each had the other's good traits. Old Song altered. Our gentle Arthur's as good as gold, But he's often weak when he should be bold. He's certainly clever at epigrams, But the brass-bound box he rarely slams. He's cultured, of course, and is most discreet, But ho can't inflaine us to fever heat, Too finikin far is the way he treads. His cynical sneers are over our heads, And he's hardly the leader good sport to show, With a Yolleks Hark Forward!" and 11 Taliv-lio In short, if our party you take en masse, I We find our Arthur is too high-class And we want a leader with much more dash, To pommel, and pound, and slog, and slash Now, reckless Randolph has lots of pluck, And it's splendid sport when he runs amuck, Unless—and alack too often it happens thus- He sets to running amuck Imongst us Yes, Randy can rouse our shouts and cheers With his swinging blows and impromptu jeers J But wo never are sure, till his speech he ends, That he won't turn round and smash up hit friends. It is glorious fun when he leads our van, And goes slap-dash for the Grand Old Man; But it isn't so nice when, as moods may find him, He goes for us who are sitting behind him And devotes himself, with a gusto hearty, To pulverising his own doomed party; No wonder, then, we're in doubt, indeed, As to which of the two shall our forces leadf For Arthur, though safe, is distinctly pliable, And Randolph, though dashing, is unreliable-- So nothing we fear, can for us be done, Till we, somehow, combine the two in one! —Truth.