The Pontypridd Chronicle and Workman's News

SKITS AND SKETCHES. BT OUR ROVING ARTIST. The effect of the gale of last week was felt very much in the Bristol channel, and great damage was done to shipping, as could be seen by the number of vessels that

were compelled to put in at Cardiff and Penarth Roads in a disabled condition the following two or three days. At Clydach. an old man, 84 years of age, was fatally injured by the fulling of a tree, he died the same night. Considerable damage was done in our own vicinity too, principally to roofs and chimneys. The roof of the vestry of the Welsh Baptist Chapel at Trebarris was partly blown off. The roof of a smithy be- longing to Mr George Gale, Rhondda Road, was blown clean off. A corrospondent in Britannia sent me the following for publi- cation :—" During the late sale, at Britan- nia, the stack of the principal bakehouse in the village was blown to the ground, an occurrence which caused a great delay in the baking of the neighbourhood, and was beneficial to the bakers of Pontypridd." ♦ The great question among colliers for the last week or so is the prohibition of the use of gunpowder in collieries, except under particular restrictions. This is meant to avoid explosions and accidents which some mine inspectors would attribute to the use of powder or other explosives underground I observe that both employors and employed feel this restriction an unnecessary burden. According to the opinion of practical men, the cause of accidents cannot be attributed very often to the use of powder. Inspector Evans says :—" Much has been said of late respecting the use of powder where safety lamps are used. Where safety lamps are used as an extra precaution, and not as an absolute necessity, it appears to me to be a great hardship to prohibit its use, and es- pecially in this district some of the extensive mines could not be worked with the pros- pect of a commercial success." It is stated by experienced men that a number of places will have to be abandoned, as the coal can- not be cut in them without such exra ex- pense that would make it above the market price; The cost of production in many cases would be more than doubled. The accidents caused by shots not takir g effect may often be attributed to neglect on the part of the workmen in many instances. Mabon, the Rhonddia Colliers' agent, in an article on the subject, says:—" It will be admitted that some accidents have happened with respect to blown-out shots, such as took place in the LJwynpia Steam-coal colliery this year, which is still a mystery In my own experience, and the experience of men who have worked underground for 40 years, nine-tenths of the biowu-oat shots are caused by putting too small a charge oi powder in the hole. If so, care and com- petency are all that is necessary to diminish the majority of the accidents that are caused by them." The best cartridges and fuse should always be used, and every shot should be fired under the inspection of an intelligent, careful and competent mau. then, no doubt, the majority of these minor accidents could be avoided. V 41: On Sunday last, at Birmingham, a very enlightened place one could think, an affair took place that would disgrace any heathen country. As the Salvation Army were going through the streets in procession they were attacked by a mob, who tore their banner. In the evening of the same day they disturbed their meeting in the skating rink, by throwing stones aud rotten eggs at them, and forced the army to beat a retreat through the back entrance. Many of the congregation fainted, and the mob took possession of the hall and broke every window there. How such a disgrace- ful affair could take place in Birmingham i cannot imagine, where there are 7uv policemen.

THE CWMPARK HAULIERS. INJURIES TO HORSES. AT the Pentre police-court, on Monday, (before Mr G. Williams, stipendiary). David Williams, haulier, was summoned by his employers, the Ocean Colliery Company, for neglecting his horse, by which the animai received injuries. Mr W. Simons appeared for tue prosecution, and Mr Walter H. Morgan, for the defence. Mr Daniel Eynon, certificated manager of Cwm- park Colliery, said that on the 23rd of August, defendant had charge of a horse. Defendant was working night the previous night. Witness saw the horse on the morning of ttie 23rd of August, it was scratched on both sides. He spoke to de:enuant about it, and asked how the horse h d been injured. Defendant said he did not know. Witness then told him he should have to fine him for neglect of duty. Witness saw him afterwaids aud ASKED him how the horse had got to the stable itself. Defendant siid that the horso had forced himse f loose and went before him and that he was waiting for William 'lhomas to bring his horse to work the half turn in the morning- W itness told him it was his duty to mind his own horse, and to leave everybody else's horse alone. The fine which the cowpany had inflicted was afterwards returned. The Stipendiary This brings the case more in my opinion against the defendant, if be had to wait tor the other horse, the more careful he should be to catch hold of his own horse. John Jones, rider, said that he saw the defendant on the last journey of the plane incline, he rode in the empty tram. Witness told defendant not to put the fault on him if there should be a row. lJefendant rode to the next station. He left the horse on the road. The Stipendtayr You see Mr Simons, it is an absurdity the tram was empty, if it was full he could not ride in it. Mr Simons 1 have rode in them many times myself when full. (Laughter.) Lying on the coal. The Stipendiary The rule is that no person shall ride in a full tram, nor shall they ride on the hooks between any full tram. Mr W.enkins, managing agent of Cwmpark colliery, (and general manager of the Ocean colliery), said that he had no business to ride upon an empty tram. Defendant was fined £1 and costs. James Hughes was similarly charged. The same legal gentlemen appeared. The Stipendiary remarked that this case was not quite as neglectful as the other, and fined him 10s and costs. The Stipendiary remarked in strong terms, that he will in future waste no time in delivering his judgement, but merely give the verdict as short as he can, that the more he spoke to them, the less attention they paid to him, and he would hence- forth show no leniency whatever, for all his sym- pathy is gone, and he is now tired of speaking to them. He further sdd that he had been in that office now for many years, and that such cases were continuously brought before him. The Great Eastern steamship was offered for sale

at Lloyd's, on Wednesday. The first bid was £ 2T>,000, and four other bids brought the amount offered to £ 30,000, when the whip was withdrawn.

THE SANITARY BOARD. We have received a letter from W. Thomas, Wood-road, Treforest, in which he complains of the conduct of the U: ban Sanitary Board in not always enforcing their bye-laws when houses are being built. We don't know whether this is the case. One paragraph runs thus: Such was the case a few days ago, when a building was going on in a new street at Pontypridd. It was noticed to be brought out beyond the given line. The Board met and looked at its code of bye-laws, and finding they had one to prevent a thing of this kind they shook their heads, and said that they did not like to interfere, as the person was an old tradesman, and that adjoining is owned by a young man who is a comparative stranger, we don't know much about him. He has lodged an objection, but what of that ? Never mind."—It is needless to insert all the letter, as its pith can be seen in the enclosed paragraph.

THE FOURTH STANDARD QUESTION. Mr. EPITOR—Sir, will you kindly allow me a small space in your popular paper to make a few remarks on what I may c 11 The Standard Four Pnzzle." Ever since the passing of the Sunday Closing Act it appears there is a rage among m 'ny classes of peop,e for obtaining counsel's opinion upon every trivial matter, and among others as reported in a daily contemporary it seems that the meaning of "has reached" is so puzzling to some people, not, to the poor collier only wh > has very little leisure, time to search for information on educational matters, and therefore pardonable in him, but even to school board members, and rev. gentlemen who have hours at their disposal every day for six days in the week te enquire into such subjects. Had the Rev. Nir Protheroe but taken ten minutes' trouble to search the Appendix of the New Code, and the last page of the Child's Book (I must give him the credit of knowing the bye- laws of the Board of which he is a member) he would have had a solution to the puzzling words has reached or, had he asked any certificated teacher his opinion on the matter he might have spared wasting the Board's time. I was very glad to see Mr R. H. Jones's letter on the age ques. tion," and wished that Mr Jones had also given his opinion on the meaning of the above words. Mr Evans wittily showed the fallacy of the rev. gentleman's opinion when he drew his attention to the fact that stepping into a train is not the destination of a journey This illustration holds good. We cannot say that we have reached our destination till we are at the end of the journey, not while we are on the j 'nrney. The rev. gentle- man knows very well that he was not a priest till he bad passed the examination for priest's orders, and not while he was "preparing," and neither was the writer a schoolmaster until he had passed the final examination. No child can be employed under 14 years of age. uniess,he holds a certificate of proficiency, "or" previous attendance, and the standard of proficiency for 1881 and after is the fourth, except in districts with bye-laws, as in the parish of Llanwonno, where the standard of proficiency is the fifth. Now, the certificate is a certificate of proficiency, and in what standard is a boy "proficient" who has just "entered" the fourth ? According to the rev. gentleman's opinion, he is proficient in the fourth, then of course he can commence the fifth standard at once. What absurdity Again, the inspector, says the Act of 1876, after" any visit paid with notice, i.e., the annual examination (for he does not give notice when he pays a 11 visit of surprise") to a certified efficient school will grant such cert ficates as may be required for children who have reached the standard prescribed by the Act of 1876, Bye-law of the District or any Act for regulating the education of children, Yon see, sir, the certificate is given after I the exami- nition. Now when a boy has passod the third standard in the,annual examination can I give him a certificate that he is proficient in the fourth standard as the Act requires ? Certainly not. The certificate therefore cannot be granted until after the annual examination in the fourth stan. dard. Yet, further a pasS means success in the three R's should the boy fail in one, for instance, Arithmetic, he cannot demand a certificate, but the schoolmaster is bound to advance him a stan- dard so a boy may be in the fourth or even fifth and sixth standard and yet in the eye of the law he is not proficient in the third, simply for the reason that he failed in one subject in each standard Simply entering- the fourth cannot demand a certificate of proficiency as proficiency means passing the three R's (see appendix to New Code.) Discussions similar, to the one reported in your impression of last Saturday do a great deal*of harm to education and damage the reputation of the board, simply because they betray ignorance of the very elements of the laws which regulate the education qf the country. School Board members ought to be an authority on the Education Acts and everyone who intends to be a member of a I. School Board ought first to master the New Code and the Education Acts. v > Yours, Ac. < ■ CLEAR. [The remarks of our correspondent tend to mislead the reader He says that in the pafish of Llanwonno a child und r 14 would be liable to the Bye-laws of the School Board. This is not correct, The Bye-laws refer to children under 13 years of age. Those who have reached 13 years of age are beyond the power of Bye-laws. A certificate of proficiency in the 'fourth standard alone can be claimed before they can be employed.—Eo. P. (?.]

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THE ROYAL VISIT TO SWANSEA. The chief topic of the day is the Royal visit to WaL s, and that, like everything else, has come and gone. The Prince has at last condescended to visit that country from which-he has borrowed his jiame. A Royal visit is a rare occurrence, to Wales at all events. Several years ago preparations were made by the late Lord Bute to entertain Her Majesty and Prince Albert at Cardiff Castle, but the journey, somehow or other, was abandoned. The arrangements made by the Great Western Railway Company were for a special train, con- sisting of royal saloon carriage two saloon car- riages, two first-class carriages, with vans at either extremity, the saloon carriages to contain the Royal party, the first-class carriages the suite of the Prince and Princess, to leave Paddingtoi- Station at 11.10 a.m. The train was placed under the charge of Mr Grierson, general manager, and Mr Burlington, of the Great Western Railway. The Royal party arrived at Paddington Station at 11 a.m., and immediately entered the royal saloon carriage which was built especially fur the visit of the Prince and Princess to Wales. It is divided into two compartments, in one of which rode the' Prince and Princess, Earl of Northbrook, and Lady Emma Baring, his daughter. In the other com- partment were some of the suite of the Prince and Princess. The engine, which was one of the fastest on the line, bore the Prince of Wales's plume on the funnel, and the royal arms on the side. Their Royal Highnesses were also accompanied from London by the Earl and Countess of Spencer, General Sir Dighton Probyn, K.C.S.I., and Colonel Clarke, equerry to the Prince of Wales. The Countess of 11acclesfield joined the Royal party at Swindon. Everywhere along the line from Swindon to Swansea, where a view of the train could be obtained was lined with spectators anxious to obtain a glimpse of the Royal party. I he train made a short stay at Chepstow station, for the purpose of taking in a supply of water. There were about 2,000 people on the platform. The Princess very graciously accepted a bouquet of flowers from the hands of Miss Cypher, of Chelten- ham. The next stay was at Cardiff station, and this was occasioned through the heating of the axle of one of the wheels. All along the Great Western line the place was crowded with people, and the cheers that were given were proof of loyal hearts. The Prince and Princess repeatedly bowerf in respo' se to the continued cheers of the spectators. When the train was leaving the station a salute of 21 guns was given the Royal party. The train next stopped at Pyle, from which the Royal party was conveyed in carriages to Margam Abbey, Mr Talbot, M.P.'s residence, where they partook of a sumptuous luncheon. A visit was paid to the orangery, and here the Princess planted a young fruit tree as a momento of her visit to the Principality. The party then returned to the train amidst loud cheering and firing of cannon, and arrived at Singleton at 6 45 p m., where they were received by Mr H. H. Vivian, M.P. THE PROCESSION. On Tuesday morning the weather was exceed- ingly fine, and everything as favourable as could be wished. A few minutes before 12 o'clock the Prince and Princess entered th ir carriage. 'ihere was au escort of the 5th Dragoons under the command of Lieut. Shaw, drawn up in front of the mansion. Several other carriages were there When the party drove off a royal salute was tired. All along the line of route to tue Guild-hall was decorated aud several arches were erected across the road, and crowds of people lined thb streets. The reception pavilion was at the top of Walter's-road, it was a grand structure, open at each end, and on -each side were raised tiers of seats. In this pavilion were the leading representative men of South Wales. Here the mayor, Mr Jno. Jones Jenkins, called upon the town clerk to read the address of the corporation, which he did with a distinct voice, and to which the Prince replied with a written address. The party then re-entered the carriage and the procession was formed. The 5th Dragoon Guards, mounted police, and voluuteers from the counties of Glamorgan, Carmarthen, Pembroke, and Brecon, lined the route, and along Walter's-road, (among whom we noticed Mr. Superintendent Matthews, Pontypridd, with 45 picked officers from his district, we also noticed among the scarlet coats the Ponty- pridd oontingent of volunteers, under the command of Capt. H. Ll. Grover, Clydach Court), which was crowded from the pavilion to the new street with an enthusiastic assemblage of people, many of whom had patiently stood for hours in a rather dusty road in order to secure a si^ht of the Royal party. When the procession was passing the choral society 8 stand, the choir struck up "Welcome, Prince! Old Cambria, gieeting." A little further on, the Prince was presented by Sir George Elliot with a Masonic address. His Royal Highness then shook hands with t. e presenters of the address, and recognising among the crowd on the stand Capt. Welsh, of Windsor Park, summoned that gentleman to the carriage side and warmly greeted him. The Royal carriage being brought a little farther on the way to where a mast with a furled flag was erected, the t'rincess was asked to graciously name the new street. Ihis Her Royal Highness did by pulling a rope, and the loosened standard fell on the revealing name, in white letters on a crimson ground, "Alexandra-road." After the naming of the street the Royal party drove on, and shortly th. thoroughfare, which had hitherto beeb kept perfectly clear within the barriers, became crammed with a moving mass of human beings, all surging towards the point of 1 mbarkatiou, the members of friendly societies and the general crowd being all mixed in a common medley. Here the party entered Mr Talbot's yacht, and proceeded to perform the ceremony of opening the new dock. OPENING CEREMONY. Owing to the late arrival of the boat, the formal ceremonies had to be hurried through, and the Harbour Trust address was simply exhibited to the Prince's view, and taken as read, to which he made no response. The Prince and Princess of Wales then walked up a platform which was covered with red cloth, accompanied by Mr Yeo, chairman of the Harbour Trust, and were conducted through the new dock. The way was lined by the Naval Volunteer Corps. Upon returning to the platform the Princess was presented with a case containing an elegant pair of scissors, with which she cut a ribbon, to which was attached a bottle of champagne, which was in consequence smashed in the new dock. Her Royal Highness then formally christened the new dock "The Prince of Wales Dock." The presentation from the Harbour Trust con- sisted of a chatelaine, having attached to it a pair of gold scissors, enabling the Princess to cut the silken chord which held the bottle of champagne used in the ceremony. The body of the chate'ain^ is of a rich renaissance style, with a gold and jewelled coronet at its summit, the two sides bearing escutcheons, one having on it the arms of the Piincess herst If, the other the bearings of the Harbour Trust, both in enamel. Various nautical and national emblems occupy the field of the chatelaine in the centre a tridant is held by a cab e, which also holds the gold scissors, which take the centre place of the ornament, and from which they can easily oe disengaged. The scroll which surrounds them developes in the centre of each oval of the scissors into a Tudor rose, set with gems-the outer red rose being fine rubies, the inner white rose set with diamonds. Several art cles depend from the chatelaine—one is a TAAG- sive gold anchor, opposite which is a gold scent bottle, the most elaborate of a 1. The top coronet form opens with a bayonet joint, and then comes a band of large and fine turquoises. Below is an en- circling band of large diamonds, and between these borders the initial of the Princess is seen, also set with diamonds. On the reverse side of this is a very pretty device-the letter A entwined with rose, leek, and th stle. A third pendant from the chatelaine is a ight buoy of new patent con- struction, which answers as a depository for smill things.. A fourth is a ship's compass inside a steering wheel border, at the back of which is a bloodstone signet—the letter A, adorned with raven's wings and surmounted by the coronet. The Prince of Wales next moved a small lever by which the sluices were op ned. and a Small quantity of water entered the new Prince of Wales Dock. Another presentation was 'hen made to His Hoyal Highness, consisting of a drinking horn, alao from the Swansea Harbour Trnit. The party then left the new dock for the building in which the luncheon was to be partaken of. THE SINGING OF THE TWO THOUSAND. Great preparation had been going on at the Choral Society's stand. On this stage was a choir of 2,000 voices, some of them dressed in Welsh costume. While the royal party was at the dock the choir, to while away the time and keep order, sang "Let the hills resound," accompanied by the Gyfarthfa band. By and bye the straius of the band before the royal party could be heard, and as soon as the Dragoon Guards entered the arch, the choir under the leadership of Dr. Parry struck up, Hail, Prince of Wales." As soon as the voices ceased singing, there went up cheer after cheer such as never were heard in Swansea before The Prince then directed that two young ladies in Welsh costume—with the tali, tapering beaver hat, similar to those that the women of Llamwnda wore when they frightened the French away from Pembrokeshire—should be brought around to speak with the Princess, and Miss Jane Jeffreys and Miss Sarah Hughes, both of Cwmbwrla, were presented to Her Royal Hignaess. After a few wordf the young ladies hailed them with the following words: —" Hir oes i Dywysog a Thyvysoges Cymru," (Long life to the Prince and Princess of Wales.) The cheering after this was tremendous. After luncheon the Royal party visited the Hospital on their return journev, and showed mnch sympathy wi h the patients who were there. A grand ball was given in the night by the Mayor and Mayoress, at which was a large and distinguished company.