The Merthyr Express

DRILL HALL, MERTHYR TYDFIL. SATURDAY, APRIL 9th, 1910, f National League of Young Liberals-Merthyr Branch GREAT PUBLIC MEETING To Inaugurate the above Branch. SRSAKZRS- E. G. HEMMERDE, Esq., K.C., M.P. EDGAR JONES, Esq., M.P. CHAIR WILL BE TAKEN AT 7.30 P.M. SILVER COLLECTION. GWENT CHAIR EISTEDDFOD (12th Annual) RHYMBJKY, MON0 WHIT-TUESDAY, MAY 17th, 1910. OHIEF CHORAL—(a) Britons, Alert!" (Elgar) <?tnn (b) "Sylvia" (J. H. Roberts) &IUU SECOND CHORAL-" The Lord is my Shepherd (H. Evans) B20 MALE VOICES-" Peace, be Still" (D. Jenkins) 225 LADIES' CHOIRc. Gentle Spring" (Holbroke) jE:15 JUVENILE CHOIRS—"Who is Sylvia?" (D. T. Evans) £ 10 BOYS' CHOIRS-" Whisperir.g Wind" (Labbett) js5 AWDL Y GADAIR—"Y Duffryn" £ 5 a Chadair Gwent PRIF DRAETHA WD-" Diathebion Cyuiru Eu Swyn a'u Dylanwad" £ 3 3s. BRASS BANDS (Class B)-" Robin Head" (Macfarren).n £18 Solos, Two Guineas each. Recitations, Ambulance, &c. Progummes-Twopence each. I. W. EDWARDS, Secretary, The Terrace, Rhymney. HAESTEG AND DISTRICT COOTAGE HOSPITAL EISTEDDFOD. GRAND CHAIR E!STEDDFOD Maeste-1, Tuesday, August 2nd, 1910. AGGREGATE PBIZES— £ 200. Mjudieators—Music Dr. S. Coleridge Taylor, London Preliminary W. Thomas, Esq., Tieorchy; Brass Bands: Tom Morgan, Esq., London; Literature: Gwili Ambulance 'Dr. D. J. Thomas, Nantynioel. CHIKF CHORAL—" Hark the deep tremendous Voioer fKaydn), 1st prize', £ 70; 2nd *20. SHOO.KDCiior.AL-"Tne Lord is my Shepherd" (S. Davie", G. &L., Maesteg), Prize £ 20. IIAI,M V(IlCg-" Spartan Heroes" (Dan Protheroe), Utprize, £ 20; 2nd £ 5. JUVKNILK CHoin-" Over the field, M Clover (Adam Geibel), 1st prize. £ 6 2nd B2. BRASS BANDS (2nd Class)—"Memories of the Past" (W. Kramers) {« price £ 10 2nd £ 5 3rd £ 2. Action Song for children, prize £ 2 2nd £ 1. Solos H g»s. each. Pryddest ?ris., & handsome Chair. AluJui-lanoe Competition, £ 4. Together with substantial prizes for other musical com- petitions, Essay, Kecitnlions, Englyri, &c. Full particu- lars, see programmes, 2d., from the Secretary, J. P. Jani-eti, 15. Bryiamawr-plaee, Maesteg, Glam. MERTHYR TOWN MISSION HALL (Shiloh), CHURCH STREET. NEXT SUNDAY, GO-SPEL ADDRESSES by Rev. H. O. HUGHES, Missioner. SOLOIST MISS PICKFORD. SP-lectioris by Mission Orchestral Band. PARK BAPTIST CHURCH, THE WALK, MERTHYR. POACHER NEXT SUNDAY: Rev. J. Lloyd Williams, Pastor. 6 o'clock. HOPE CHURCH, Merthyr Tydfil RELIGION AND THE FAMILY. Sixth Address of the Series BY THE REV. J- MORGAN JONES, M.A., ON SUNDAY EVENING NEXT, APRIL 10 1910. SERVICE TO COMMENCE AT 6 P.M. ALL ARE CORDIALLY WELCOMED. MAY 9th, 910. BARGOED & DISTRICT 5th ANNUAL MAY-DAY SHOW AND PARADE T. li JLACE AT B A R GO E D Classes, Local and Open, Cash Prizes. Fire Brigades Tournament. Ambulance Competitions. "Inhering; Competitions. Fancy, Novel and Comic Classes SPECIAL CLASS FOR BOY SCOUTS. Ij^^edulea and Entry Forms may be obtained tora D. G. STAPLETON, Sec., or ALF. THOMAS, Assist. Sec., BARGOED. GELLIGAER HUNT POINT-TO. POINT STEEPLECHASES. These RACES will take place near BLACKWOOD, on Tuesday, April 12, 1910 VALUABLE SILVER CUPS Will be ofiered as Prizes. ^Iiiasion to Course Free. <heon and Refreshment at moderate charger. WELSH ROMANCE— "TRAGEDY IN GELLI WOOD." a translation of the noted book l.lfruddiaeth yn Nghoed y Gelli," by Craigfryn Hughes. 6 a'-l EooksellerB, or by post, 7 id. from D. DAVIES. Bookseller, Ferndale. Venetian Blind Works THOMAS BROS., 11 & 12, Tudor Lane, CARDIFF. N-at. Tel. 2058. PRICE LIST FREB. THE BOAT INN, BOUGH ROOD, LLYSWEN, S.O. On the banks of the Wye. FISHING. GOOD ACCOMMODATION. proprietor E. LEWIS. COLDENRET-URNS' g KEGtSTEHED Facsimile oj One-Ounce Packet. Arctser's Golden Returns The Perfection of Pipe Tubacoo. BWKKT, IMP PHACKAKT. THEATRE ROYAL AND OPERA HOUSE, MERTHYR TFDFIL. Lee-THE SOUTH WALES ENTERTAINMENTS Co. MONDAY. APRIL 11th, 1910 For Six Nights* FRED GRANVILLE'S Productions Ltd., No. 1 Company, in the Unique Domestic Drama- The Better Land By D. M. C. GRANVILLE. DOORS OPEN, 7.15. COMMENCE 7.45. Circle, 2.s. Stalls, Is. 6d. Pit, la. Gallery, 6d. Merthyr Tydfil and South Wales Permanent Building Society. Incorporated under the "Building Societies Acts." IMMEDIATE ADVANCES ON PROPERTY in South Wales and adjoining Counties. EASY REPAYMENTS. F AIR CONDITIONS. Investment Shares, Interest 3 and 4 per cent. Prospectus on application to the Secretary- JAMES LEVER, POST OFFICE CHAMBERS, MBBTHYB TrDFIL. HIGHFIELD SCHOOL, 9, NINIAN ROAD, ROATH PARK. CARDIFF. THE PRINCIPAL, MISS CARYL, HAS VACANCIES FOR A FEW BOARDERS IN HER OWN HOME. NEXT TERM COMMENCES APRIL 25TH. HIGHEST REFERENCES. MODERATE FEES. PROSPECTUS SENT ON APPLICATION ARITHMETIC. Expert Courses for:— 1.-PRE.LIM. CERTIFICATE. Are you afraid of Part I ? < 2.—OXFORD LOCALS. 3.-The CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION. By an EXPERIENCED TEACHER. Drop a post card giving particulars- "DERWEN DEG," Ton Pentre, nr. Pontypridd. The South Wales High School for Girls. I Summerfield Hall Maesycwmmer I A Thorough High-Class Education at Moderate Fees. Preparation for* Cambridge, Local and Royal Academy Examinations. Tennis and Hockey. SUMMER TERM will Commence TUESDAY, MAY 3rd., 1910. Boarders return May 2nd. Prospectus on application.

The Merthyr Athletic and Association Club. We congratulate the Merthyr soccer club on the success of their Easter matches with Notts Forest, Middlesboro, and Paulton Rovers, and the record crowds who watched these games shew unmistakably that the Soccer code has caught on, and, the continued support of the public is now assured. The majority of the directors are among the lessees of the Penydarren Park, havingsethe ground for 21 years, and as the completion of the ground with good stand accommodation is so essential, we understand that arrangements are being considered for the formation of a Limited Liability Company, which would have control of both undertakings. There are numbers of townspeople who would support such a scheme, and from enquiries we have made we find that a meeting is to be held on Tuesday next to complete all the necessary arrangements, and the chairman of directors of the Company, Mr* W. B. Harris, and the secretary, Mr. W. T. Jones, will be pleased to supply any desired information. We cannot help thinking that in the near future we shall regularly see crowds of 7,000 to 10,000 people in Penydarren Park, and the townspeople will readily understand what a great thing this will be for the trade of Merthyr and district. Soccerites will be pleased to hear that Bristol Rovers are playing .on the Park on Saturday next, and the club; hopes before the end of the season to play one or two more First League teams. We wish the Merthyr Athletic and Soccer Club every success, and we sincerely hope they will get the support they deserve.

I Lord Aberdare has been elected unopposed I to the scat on the Glamorgan County Council, vacant by the elevation of Councillor Win. JoneF, I Mountain Ash, to the aldoruiazk bench.

"Merthyr Express" Diary. All fixtures advertised in the" Expreu." will be included in the diary free of charge. Saturday, APRIL 9. Young Liberals' League—Drill Hall, Merthyr Sunday, APRIL 10. "Religion and the Family" — Church, Merthyr. Monday, APRIL 11. Theatre Royal, Merthyr- "The Better Land." Palaoe, Ebbw Vale—Grand Variety Company. Olympia Skating Rink, Merthyr—Daily. Central Skating Rink, Wellington-street—Daily. Rink Pavilion, Blackwood (daily). Tuesday, APRIL 12. Gellygaer Hunt Point-to-Point Steeplechases. Thursday, APRIL 14, Fancy Dress Carnival, Olympia Rink, Mertlbyr. Thursday, APRIL 28. Carnival "&t Blaclrtfood Rink Pivilipn; also Monday, MAY 9. Bargoed May Day Snow Whit-Tueaday, MAY 17. Gwent Chair Eisteddfod, Rhymney. Eisteddfod, Cwmaman, Aberdare. Tuesday, AUGUST 2, Eisteddfod at Maesteg.

THE VETO RESOLUTIONS. THE Government are proceeding with great decision in the passage of the Veto resolutions through the House of Commons. The first division on the motion to go into committee was carried On Monday night by 357 votes against 251—giving a majority of 106, one large enough and decisive enough. The first reso- lution, enforcing exclusive authority in all matters of finance, was carried under time limit for debate, on Thursday night, and the other two, relating to the limitation of veto on general legislation and the duration of future Parliaments to five years, will be carried before midnight next Thursday. The resolutions will then be sent up to the House of Lords. Mean- while, a Bill founded upon them is nearly completed and will, in due course, be introduced into the House of Commons, but its course in that House will depend entirely upon the reception which the resolutions receive at the hands of the Lords. The Prime Minister has made it perfectly clear that no time will be wasted in ploughing the sands by weary, interminable marches through the lobbies to pass an Act doomed beforehand to slaughter by the Lords. Lord Hugh Cecil protests against forcing a revolution in an undignified manner," and Sir Wm. Robson pertinently retorted that Liberals have to meet Lansdowne House revolutions in rougher fashion with some regard for the long contemned dignity of the House of Commons. Before the Veto Bill is brought into the Houfe of Commons the Budget for; 1909-1910 will be introduced and foroed through under guillotine process, so that, whatever becomes of the Veto resolutions in the House of Lords, they will be called upon to place the Budget on the statute book within the next five weeks. NOBODY anticipates that the. Veto resolutions will experience any other fate than that of severe denunciation and contemptuous rejection in the House of Lords, but it is not so certain that the immediate result will be a dissolution of Parliament. There is a feeling of profound uncertainty amongst all parties as to what is going to happen. Everyone is anxious to get an inkling of ministerial intentions, and the Prime Minister has been plied with questions in all shapes and forms, with a view to drawing from him some statement indicative of the turn events are likely to take but Mr. Asquith has dealt with them as he would with hecklers on the platform in his own constituency, and declined to give them so much as half a hint I upon which to hang other strings of questions. He has simply told them to waifc and see" what will happen. The Ministerial Parties have full confidence in the Premier's strength of purpose and his astuteness in the adoption of the most effective means to secure his object. The Opposition are also realising quite as much as their opponents that Mr. Asquith is in deadly earnest in this controversy, and has.the loyal support of a unanimous Government. The solidarity between the Government and their supporters will carry due weight in higher quarters when the supreme hour arrives. « WILL Mr. Asquith demand guarantees from the King without recourse to another General Election ? An opinion is gaining strength that he will. The Home Secretary, in his powerful speech last week, closed with a few sentences to which much significance has been attached. He said the speeches of the Peers and their friends who made a pretence of advocating reform of the House of Lords, all pointed in one direction—to a strengthening of the House of Lords at the expense of the House of Commons and the Crown. They wished to deprive the House of Conyaons of its most important constitutional powers, and the Crown of its prerogative in the creation of peers and the dissolution of Parliament. The time had come for the Crown and the Commons to unite in the maintenance of their respective rights against such pretentions. Mr. Churchill's state. ments have caused intense perturbation amongst the Opposition. Mr- Asquith was asked what meaning he gave to the language used, and whether he repudiated the same. He replied that everyone was able to place what meaning he liked upon the words, and he, Mr. Asquith, did not repudiate them. Further pressed for an explanation of their portent, he simply answered, Wait and see." Sir Edward Carson angrily protested that the House was being humbugged," that the Prime Minister had something in his mind." I have," was the laconic interruption of Mr. Asquith. MEMBEPVS are now comparing the situation with that which preceded the passing of the Reform Act of 1832. The parallel is so close that it is suggested that there may be found a solution without the necessity of a General Election. It all depends upon the advice which Mr. Asquith may tender to the King in a particular con- juncture of circumstances, and the view that the King may take of it. It is undeniable that the whole question of Veto—its absolute abolition as regards the finances of the nation, and its limitation aS regards general legislation —was before the country and expressly voted upon in January last. There was no authority demanded from the electors for the abolition of the House of Lords or for its reformation, but there was a clear, definite, distinct demand for authority to restore to the House of Commons, the right unconstitutionally usurped by the Lords—i^ sole unfettered control of the taxation and spending powers of the Govern- ment, and to make its voice ultimately supreme in legislation which created differences between the two Houses that could not be settled by compromise. What need, therefore, exists for another appeal to the country upon this question before dealing with it ? Whether the Govern. ment have taken this view of the matter, and have in reserve resources upon which they can fall back with complete, confidence that they will be available at the Efojper time4 wejio npt^ -4__ '1- know, but there appears to be a strong opinion amongst members of all parties that they have. Mr. Asquith, like the cool and astute politician that he is, keeps his own counsel and bids us all to be patient, to wait and see what is going to happen. Meanwhile, parties are putting their trust in good intentions and keeping their powder dry. It has dawned upon the Unionist mind that if a General Election takes place they stand to win not a single seat from the Irish or Labour Parties, and the possibility of winning sixty seats from the Liberals alone, without the loss of one now held by themselves, is out of the question. They cannot, therefore, get a majority without the Irish, and the price of that majority would be Home Rule. Would they pay it Here again we must wait and see." The day ;s.:amping homogeneous majorities" appears to '1\ave passed away. MID-GLAMORGAN ELECTIQ^_ THE Mid-GJamorgan election rcaultea]|§Ki a Liberal victory, with a majority of over$",700 votes over Mr..Hartshorn, the Labour and Socialist candidate. The contest attracted an unusual amount of interest from the. circum- stance that the Labour Party had ear-marked" the constituency, and the Chief Whip of the Liberal Party appeared to have accepted that as a sign that Liberals must not contest the claim. No outside candidate could be got to accept nomination, and it was in open resent- ment at the action of the Chief Whip that a resident Liberal at length agreed to stand. It is probable that the Liberals would have accepted a Labour candidate had they been invited to a conference where they could have had some share in the-selection. They are not >! opposed to Labour representation, but from their point of view a Socialist represents some- thing more than the interests and opinions of working men-principles to which Liberals are strongly opposed. They know that where a Socialist secures election through Liberal and Labour votes it is Socialism which is glorified thereby, and not the others, and for that reason, amongst others, the Mid-Glamorgan Liberals refused to have Mr. Vernon Hartshorn, the Socialist, thrust upon the constituency in the name of Labour. If numbers justify anything they were amply justified in ignoring the Chief Whip and fighting for their own hand. Though he was supported by large numbers of electors who are Liberal-Labour men simply on the platform of Labour, Mr. Hartshorn, when the election was over, claimed every wote that he received as a vote for Socialism. It is not improbable that had the Liberals allowed him to have an unopposed return he would have claimed the whole constituency as Socialist, or boasted that Liberalism, at all events, was too weak to dare a fair and square fight for the seat. Very likely the moral consequences of this contest may be felt in other constituencies, but whatever the consequences may be Liberals will be shirking their duty if they do not insist upon a hearing in the choice of thoir represen- tatives in Parliament. THE COAL TRADE SETTLEMENT. THE colliery workmen have balloted upon the momentous question of accepting or rejecting the terms of the employers, as recommended to them by the conference of the National Federa- tion of Great Britain, and by a decisive aggre- gate majority accepted them. In the interval between that conferenfte last week and the date of i the ballot an important conference of delegates was held at Cardiff, on Saturday, at which the action of the executive committee of the Welsh Federation was severely criticised, and even a motion demanding their resignation proposed: but when the vote was put to the meeting it received scant support, and was rejected by an overwhelming majority. District meetings have been held throughout the district, at which there has been a great conflict of opinion; but as regards numbers, with the exception of portions of the Aberdare Valley and the Aber- tillery district, the feeling was shown to be generally in favour of the acceptance of the new terms. From the speeches of members of the executive who attended the London conference there can be little doubt that the South Wales representatives went up prepared to vote for a rejection of the employers' pro- 1 posals as inadequate. and unsatisfactory, and to demand the application of the 20th rule; but they found the whole body of their English and Scottish colleagues against them. They regarded the concessions as settling the main contentions for which the whole Federation might be prepared to fight, leaving only purely local differences which would not justify the tremendous engine of a national stoppage being brought into use. There has been an angry expression of dissaftsfaction at this decision, amongst sections of the colliers, but an overwhelming majority have accepted the opinion of their leaders that the terms are the best obtain- able in the circumstances, and that a sectional struggle against conditions which commend themselves to the larger association as fair and just would be a most disastrous proceeding, bound to end in defeat and ultimate submission to harder terms. The peace of the entire coal- field is now assured for five years--a period long enough to secure the stability of the trade so necessary to the production of the most satisfactory results to both employers and workmen. At the same time. the workmen have shown a loyalty to their representatives who have had to conduct the arduous negotia- tions on their behalf which will strengthen their hands in the future, and give confidence to the employers that when terms have been agreed to by the workmen's executive they will be confirmed and adhered to. It is a great triumph of prudence and common sense. !l

t GOSSIP. Who shall say that people used to live longer centuries ago than they do in our own time ? This week the death is recorded of a woman at the aged of 110 years, at Carrickmore, in Ireland—one Peggy McGurk, who was. born in the year 1800, married when she was 22, and became a widow three months afterwards. At Leicester, on Monday, another centenarian died—Catherine Langham Pratt, at the aged of 103. On the same day Mrs. Hamilton; of Kirkcudbright, Scotland, attained her 106th .,birthday. She is the widow of the Rev. George Hamilton, who died in 1836. These cases are examples of the extraordinary prolongation of human life by what some would call humdrum habits which subject the system to no strain. The Rev. Thomas Law, secretary of the National Free Church Council, was found down- ed in the sea at Brighton, on Sunday. There was no evidence to show how he got into the sea, but some facts were disclosed which seemed to point to the suggestion that the reverend gentleman was suffering from some mental aberration. » » • The freaks of the Suffragettes have been rare occurrences since the last General Election, but one of them, on Saturday, got into a ventilating shaft connected with the House of Commons and remained there all that night, and the next day, until about 7 o'clock, when the watchman noticed that someone had been using the cup at a drinking fountain in the corridor, from which there is an opening door into the shaft. He found this door unfastened, and. on opening it found the young woman inside, covered with dust and grimo, but apparently none the worse for her voluntary seclusion. She had taken with her a stock of bananas, and the fountain supplied water. Question: Has she by an action of this kind proved her fitness for the franchise ? 0. After sixteen days of freedom from rain there was a break in the weather on Monday I night, when rain fell for a short time, and was much appreciated by farmers and gardeners, « iX' *>• The Cyfarthfa and Merthyr Municipal Band lias been granted .the use of Park. by the Corporation, for a fete to be held on the 30th June next. It is hoped'to ma'ke this an fcnnmL.alfjmrrftncn in nrdftr .fan, anri jaise. sufficient funds to make the band self-supporting. f At a public meeting, held at the Town Hall, on Friday last, the following officers and committee were elected: — Chairman. Councillor Dan Thomas; treasurer, Alderman D. W. Jones committee, Aldewnan J. Harpur, Messrs. Duncan MacDonald, W. H. Baker, Eugene B. Nash, Bert Dunstan, W. Batty and J. T. Owen, with power to add to their number. The secretary is Mr. A. T. Smith. 4; Castle-street, Merthyr. For the financial year ended on March 31st there was a decrease in the income of the Stat(I of £ 19,881,839, as compared with 1909, and an actual deficit of £ 31,143.544 compared with the Chancellor's estimate of the income. This is the effect of the rejection of the Budget by the r Lords. The total income for the year war £131,696,456, as against £151,.578,295 in the [previous year, while Mr. Lloyd George's estimate [(revisedtn October last year) was £ 162,^40.000. The ^lief^ofcS'has been SP^ncoifie tax; which for the last few months has practically not been collected at all. Compared with the previous year the decrease under theboad of Property and Incpme Tax is £ Sjj|635.000. "Elsewhere Mary Davies describes a visit to the Olympia Skating Rink. It is reported that the Cambrian Combine propose to acquire the Dinas Main Colliery, Gilfach Goch, which was owned by the late Mr. Christmas Evans, Merthyr. The Dinas Main adjoins the other mineral area of the Cambrian Combine. About a thousand men are now employed, and the output is about nine hundred tons per day. The pit has a mineral area of between 1,200 and 1,400 acres. It is stated that if the colliery is acquired by the Cambrian Combine it will be developed so as to increase the output and give employment to an additional number of men. A petition containing over 14,000 signatures has been forwarrM to the Prime Minister by the National Committee to Promote the Break- up of the Poor Law. The petition urged upon the Government (a) Not to set up any new Poor-law or general public assistance authority or committee under any name whatsoever; (b) To establish a national authority to grapple with the causes of unemployment, ana to provide for all sections of the able-bodied un- employed (c) To break up the Poor Law and start preventive measures against the several causes of destitution by transferring the care of the children, the sick, the mentally defective, and the aged to the several committees of the county and borough councils already dealing with education, public health, asylums, and r old age pensions respectively." Mr. Asquith has given an assurance, on his own behalf and on behalf of his colleagues, that the represen- tations contained in the memorial shall receive tho serious consideration oi the Government. Mr. T. E. Williams, a native of Merthyr, is the pioneer of a new religious movement in Streator, Illinois. He is promoting a Civic Church, which will take cognisance of the religious and municipal needs of the citizens. It is said the church is in a flourishing condition. A Berlin doctor make3 some novel statements ¡ with regard to the physical training of children. Strength and good physique, as well as suppleness .I of limb and grace of body, are to be secured by early gymnastic training. This is not to be done in schools, or under the care of gymnastic instructors. A child of two is laid on a table preferably in a garden, and there father or mother will carefully raise him as a preliminary to teaching him how to raise himself from a recumbent position into one that, with practice, provides exercise of a most healthy kind for small limbs. Tiny girls are shown bending in an attitude that, once acquired, will always provide graceful movement. Poised on his father's hand, a small boy will raise one limb after another, balancing himself with periect skill, and in this way he will attain to a fearless- ness that will come in very satisfactorily in future life. I One of the services which the late Dr. Dawson Bums rendered to the temperance movement was his annual letter to The Times giving his estimate, year by year, of the national drink bill. This year Mr. George Wilson, secretary of the United Kingdom Alliance, has followed his example. Mr. Wilson's analysis of the figures shows that during 1909 the total expen- diture of the United Kingdom on alcoholic liquors was £ 155,162,485, as compared with E161,060,482 in 1908, a decrease of £ 5,897,977. On spirits the decrease was E4,8001,000, with a reduction in consumption of 7,022,775 gallons on beer it was £ 1.186,000, with a reduction in consumption of 645,396 barrels. On wines on the other hand, there wis an increase of £ 93,WO, which accounted- for 103,744 gallons. If there had been no increase in prices the reduction on the total expenditure would have been £ 11,147,997. Last year the average expenditure per head was f3 8s. ll £ d., as compared with £3,125. 31d. in the previous year; and the expenditure per family of flye persons, M7 4s. 9$d., as against £18 Is. 61d. No doubt is entertained down here as to the prominence and eminence of Welshmen (writes a Welshman in the" Spectator "). Of the thirty Liberal Members of Parliament elected in 1906, seventeen have been rewarded either with titles or with public offices carrying high salaries. As only thirteen remain, we have every hope of seeing the good work carried to an immediate and successful issue. Discussing the recent contest in the Mid- Glamorgan Division, the London correspondent of the Manchester Guardian says Some people arp inclined to make little of the Mid- Glamorgan affair and to put the trouble down to merely personal considerations AS regards the Labour candidate. But obviously the trouble has been growing ever since the South Wales miners joined the Labour Representation Committee and the Labour members there signed the constitution. The objection to that is no light one. Soon after the election a member for one of the northern Welsh, constituencies which has always returned a Liberal member told me that the deepest trait of his constituents was conservatism, and I had the paradox repeated, to me to-night by the member for a South Wales constituency. It seems to be this conservative quality of Welsh Liberalism that is moving strongly behind the present difficulty, and the Labour party authorities do not appear to recognise it." t.>* The Newport Education Committee, on Tuesday, discussed the question of allowing teachers to be absent from school to attend to other public duties. One of the teachers had applied for leave to be absent once a month from 3 p.m., in the event of his candidature for the Board of Guardians being successful. Eventually it was decided not to saant leave of absence. » It has often been urged that the cost of erecting schools in the Merthyr district is excessive when compared with some other towns. Reference was made to the matter on Tuesday at a meeting of the Sites and Buildings Com- mittee. Councillor W. Lewis (Treharris), who presided, reported that he and certain officials had visited new schools in the County of Gla- morgan, and he suggested that some of the arrangements adopted by the county might with advantage be copied by Merthyr. He pointed out that Merthyr's education rate was higher than that of the county, andlalso said that some of the schools in the borough would not compare favourably with those of the county. Is this a fair comparison ? The area of the county is much larger than that of Merthyr, and the assessable value is, of course, much higher; and if a comparison is to be made it is not quite fair to take the old schools of Merthyr and the new schools of the county. At the same time, if any ideas can be obtained from the county, or anywhere else, whereby the cost of schools in the borough can be re- duced, the Committee, like sensible business men, will adopt them. Nineteen tenders have been received by the Merthyr Corporation for the erection of a ferro-concrete bridge over the river Taff, at Aberfan They varied greatly in amount, the highest being £ 7,900 and the lowest £ 1,945. « The Master of the Rolls and Lord- Justices Farwell and Buckley commenced the hearing in the Court of Appaal, on Tuesday, of two appeals of the Board of Education frojm a decision of the Divisional Court composed of the Lord Chief Justice and Justices Darling and A. T. Lawrence in the case of Rex v. the Board of Education exparte the managers of the Oxford-street School, Swansea. The suit raised the question of the right of the local authority to pay a lower rate of salary to teachers in the Oxford-street, Swansea (Church of England) School than was paid in the provided schools, the local authority having taken over the schools. w "I At tile mee:a«a ci- tlu Merthyr Board of Ci-irdiavis, on >«;. ;<>■■ ■ very aearfcy vote of tswiks va* .cwCicu tne retiring chairman, Mr. Daviil Hopkins, for his services in the chair. Mr. Hopkins has been a very useful member jgf the Be^ far a uumber of aad Ui«, f decision not to seek re-election was regretted by his colleagues. Our Tredegar representative writes :—" Mr. Edgar Jones, M.P., one of Merthyr's paid his first visit to Tredegar last Sunday, and he must have been gratified at his reception. To address two crowded meetings of the cream of the youth of the town is something any man nii -ht be proud of. Mr. Jones created a very fine impression, and he will always be a popular personality as far as Tredegar is concerned. Hi: style of speaking, his eloquence, and the masterly way in which he treated his subjects bound him firmly to his audiences. The chair- man of one of the meetings very happily said that Mr. Lloyd George was the leader of North Wales and Mr. Edgar Jones the leader of South vVales. Thore is a Conccns-is of opinion that Jones has a great political future before 11im," Little interest w&s'eHrk:6d -%hc -^wrtiiy- Union, in the triennial election of Guardians, —hicli took place on Monday. Between twenty and thirty members were returned unopposed, and where contests did take place ratepayers appeared to -be very apathetic. A few old members will be missed when the new Board asseml les, none more than Mr. John Rogers, whose defeat in the parish of Vaynor caused not a little surprise. Mr. Rogers was one of the most valuable members of the Board, and of the Assessment Committer,*arid his defeat is to be regretted. In Park Ward, Merthyr, Mr. John Mann failed to eecurc election, mainly through the apathy of the ratepayers who would not trouble to vote. though he h"d very strong claims, and he would have been a valuable member from many points of view. ♦ < The first Quarter Sessions for the County Borough of Merthyr will be held on Wednesday next, and the inauguration of this, the latest feature of self-government for the borough, wiil, without doubt, excite a great amount of public interest. Mr. T. Owen, of Gwaelodygarth, Merthyr, h s just won over £4,000 in a Hungarian lottery. The quarter ticket which he bought, and which entitled him to participate in the lottery, cost £ 1 13s. 9d. The attention of the police is especially required at frequent and unexpected tknes in the evening in Glebelr.nd-street, where the boys who are engaged in the sale of the evening papers congregate in crowds and pass the time while waiting for the papers in all manner of horse- play, ,to the annoyance of pedestrians and r eriousk of shop windows. They plav foot- ball, hockey, and other rough-and-tumble games, and crash against shop windows as if there were no risk to themselves or to the windows in such acts. In kicking their manufactured rubbish balls they knock up stones and send them flying in all directions. During the last three or four years from this cause the large plate-glass windows of the Express" office have been smashed three times. On the first occasion the culprit was prosecuted as a warning j but twice the windows have been smashed since then, and nothing but effective police super- vision will stop the dangerous nuisance. ¡ POLONIUS. .I

RELIGION AND SOCIALISM. TWO EXTREMES. SOCIALISM AND INDIVIDUALISM. Continuing his discourses on Religion and, Socialism," at Hope Chapel, Merthyr, the Rev. J. M. Jones, on Sunday night, preached on Religion and Personality," Taking his text from Matthew xviii., 10, he said :— A common source of misunderstanding and dispute upon our subject is the lack of a fixed terminology. Without taking into account the man in the street," to whom Socialism suggests the pooling" of all property and then its distribution in equal shares among all members of the community—a meaning which no intelligent person has ever entertained— how seldom it is that any two persons who discuss Socialism mean exactly the same thing by the word or that either of the two maintains. the same meaning throughout the conversation. The result is not only misunderstanding and J futile wrangling, but also a sense of irritation that easily grows into temper, and amiable persons will think and say horrid things of each other. Every observant person in this audience has noticed that I haye been guilty of this lack of definiteness and consistency in these addresses; and that greater men than we—specialists, and men who write great bopks qn the subject are frequently inconsistent with each other, and not seldom even with themselves. This evening, however, I suggest that weshoald try to mend our ways; not that we should endeavour to fix the meaning of these terms for everybody and for all time, but that we should contract with each other to mean the same tilings by them in this address. And first of all, let us agree upon a definition of Socialism. Socialism is the philosophical theory of society which is based upon the principle of the rights of the community, and not the rights of the individual. The opposite of Socialism is Individualism, which is the philosophical theory of society the fundamental principle of which is the. rights of the individual, and not the rights of the com- munity. Now, when we contemplate these two opposite theories, it is improbable that any- one in this audience really entertains either of them; it is somewhere W between these two extremes that we find ourselves; for we, like the great majority of men that have every livd or shall live, are not philosophers but men. RELIGION OPPOSED TO BOTH THEORIES. It is also clear that Religion is equally opposed to each of those theories religion is no less incompatible witb the Socialism that drowns the individual than it is with the Individualism that ignores the community. It is somewhere between those two extremes that Religion, too, finds itself. And, if you will pardon me for relating my experience, I have often wondered that men, thoughtful and .great men should ever have found it possible to propound such theories. That has often been the impression left upon my mind after reading the turgid arguments of men like Marx and Adler on the one hand, and the intolerable sensibleness of some apostles of the Manchester School on the other. Surely, I have said, of making many such books there is no end, and much reading of them is a weariness of the flesh. Not being a philosopher myself, but only a simple reader of .history, I am always inclined to regard Socialism and Individualism rather as tendencies than as theories. I look upon modern Socialism as a reaction or revolt against the monstrous Indi- vidualism that preceded it. And, as the school- children are taught to say, action and reaction are equal and opposite." A time will come when the pendulum will begin to swing back again in the direction of Individualism. But I believe the reaction will not be equal. There are forces operating upon the social conscience that must moderate these revulsions. But I am treading on the verge of forbidden ground, and I must close this introductory part of my address by simply stating that with Socialism as a philo- sophical theory, with its idealistic or materialistic philosophy, that denies personality, I have nothing to do. Indeed, there is little need of dealing with it; its foundations have already been shattered, and the whole fabric will fall to pieces of its own accord. But the Socialistic tendency or movement is another thing. This is not hostile to Religion. You may fear it and hate it; but who among you can read history without realising that it was an inevitable evolution ? Is it not, therefore, the Will of God ? You may hate the French Revolution but I do not think you can read the story of it without acknowledging that there were Religious elements in it; you Will, at least, confess it was & revolt against an irreligious and ungodly and inhuman individualism. And the whole movement that has grown out of it—you may condemn it, and call it irreligious and atheistic, it is that in a large measure, it may become that more and more, but the fault will be OUTS, because we have failed to leaven it with the spirit of the Christian Religion. This is our business, and the Gospel of Jesus shows us how we must set about it. IMPORTANCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL. Now, we shall all agree that Christianity first appears in a conspicuously individualistic form- I read somewhere, quite recently It was Jesus Who discovered the individual." That; of" course, is an exaggeration, as everybody knows1 who has studied the Old Testament. That the j religion of Israel in its early stages was strongly Socialistic—although never entirely so—no one will deny. But from the eighty century down- wards, and especially since the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the importance of the individual, the conceptions of individual responsibility, of character, of ethical personality become ever more and more prominent. And this indivi- dualistic character of the later books of the Old Testament belongs also to the religious thought of the time of our Lord. At the same time there is some excuse for the exaggerated statement that discovered the individual because no one else has, in such a measure and with such era^liaeii maiataiue d the absolute audj indefeasible value of the individual human soul. Instead of wearying you with a multitude of references, let me quote only one of His sayings —Matt, xviii.—" How think ye ? If any man have a hundred sheep and one of these be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the rpountains and seek that which goeth astray ? And it so be that he find it, verilj-, I say unto you, he rejoiceth over if more than over the ninety and nine which have not gone astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in Heaven, that one of these little ones should perish." Again, without multiplying quotations, the whole tenour of His teachings ajid the whole method of His work are simply an explication of that parable. His great- endeavour is to find thf individual, to save the individual, to restore the individual to the Fellowship of God. Or, to use ethical instead of religious words, the social problem to the mind of Jesus is that of vpro3to€5ng: a good man, a virtuous character, a morat personality. Indeed, so deep is His sense of the value of the individual that He has only words of terrible threatening against all who do not share this attitude Whose shall cause one of these little ones which believe on Me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea." Compare the terrible saving in Matt, v., 21, in which Jesus denounces dispar- agement. of a brother mtn a.s the most deadly sin. Indeed, the infinite worth of the individual lies at the very foundatii/n of His teaching, and, therefore, any theory that neglects the individual or in which the individual is lost in the mass, or that in any degree hinders the development of personality, stand.s"in absolute, irreconcilable contradiction to the teaching of Jesus. SOCIALISM AND SELFISHNESS. Some of you may be inclined to say that at last. I have utterly domed the assumption thaI. underlies these addresses—that Religion and Socialism are reconcilable. But it is not so. as you will acknowledge when we have scrutinisoa the Christian coneeptionof personality. It may appear paradoxical, but lt is true, that although Christianity is in cortflici with the philosophical theory which has bee. already defined, true Christian Individualism is quite compatible with trua Socialism. Fbr the ethical personality —the good man, the child of God whom Jesus came to create—is just the man in whose character the anti-sociaJ prnciple, i.e., selfishness, has been overcome by the social principle, i.e., love. Let me amplify and emphasise this statement. You see that I am translating the great words of Religion into the common terma of discussion upon this subject. From thia point of view sin is selfishness, and selfishness is the anti-social principle. It is the principle of that philosophical Individualism already defined, yes, and of much that professes to deny that theory. One of the most anti-social things I know is the Socialism that is very often preiiched in this neighbourhood. Indeed, 1 venture to go further: Modern Socialism in a large measure, a product of the individualis- tic spirit; it is largely self-interest in the disguise of social interest. And let me remind you that class-interest is only one degree removed from self-interest. A Trade Unionist who is only careful about the interest- of his own Union is only just a little lass selfish than the man who is only careful aboet his own interest. I talked with sach a trade Unionist, not long since, who avowed his utter unconcern about the effect of the action of his Union upon members of other Unions. The only conclusion I could draw was that that man was as selfish, as anti social, as the woirst capitalist who has ever ground the faces of the poor in this neighbour- hood. It is an easy matter for us to call our- selves Socialists or Individualists, so long aa we do not analyse our consciousness, and are content to live in intellectual confusion. But, as intelligent men we must get out of this confusion and coBie face to face with the root principles of those theories to which we commit ourselves. These have been stated already: The great fundamental antitheses are Selfishness and Love. CHRIST'S WORK UPON THE INDIVIDUAL. Our Lord's work upon the individual was to deliver him from selfishness and to train him in love to save him from himself and to equip him for the service of God and humanity. III other words, to convert the Individual into a Personality. For the individual is not, as such, a personality he is only capable of personality. The man who merely obeys his instincts and adapts himself to his circumstances-thia machine, or machine-made man of materialistic Socialism—is not a personality. He only begina to be a personality when he begins to judge and to choose, and to act independently of his mere animal- promptings and the instigations of hia environment. He becomes a personality when he becomes conscious of freedom to act and of responsibility for his actions, and that he it. not the slave or the blind instrument of liis inward passions or of outward regulations. In other words, the individual developes personality as conscience and free-will develope in his character. This was our Lord's work upon the individual. And how did He perform it ? Fin; by restoring to the indiv idual his self-respect j by convincing him that an infinite worth and dignity belonged to him as a child of God. Then, by kindling within him a tremendous ambition, the ambition to advance in God. likeness. There is a word towards the end of the 5th chapter of Mathew, which may be taken as indicating the motive of all the great ethical demands of that chapter: That Y6 may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven." There are many religious people who would raise no strong objection to thia statement of the work of Jesus, but who would interpret it is a very subjective way. They would fit it in the conventional phrase personal religion," something like the "private affair, I of which the Social Democrats peak. Such mea betray how superficially they have read the Gospels, and how completely they have missed the meaning of Jesus. The personality whic is created by the motive which I have stated^ is essentially social; it can only live and gro.. in the social relations of life. For the concept tioc of the Fatherhood of God implies that of th. brotherhood of all men. Even the sinner Ut a prtxiigal eon of God, a.nd therefore an erring brother. ( And the love of the Father involve* the love of the brethren. Indeed, the formes is impossible without the latter. You remembejf the remorseless reasoning of the Apostle John ? If a main say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he-, is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love GocI whom he hdth not seen." It is the same logia which we fii*i in the Sermon on the Mount and the Parables^T And the ambition of God-likenes* —it must have a sphere in which it can realise itself, and tbère is no sphere save that of social relations. Fcfc what M God ? Jesus would have bestowed His benediction upon that saying of His beloved disciple God is Love." And Jesus Himself feas said Whosoever hath seen me hath seen Father." God-likeness, th is to be like Jseos, Who gave Himself in th6 service of humanity. Have you never pondered that wonderful iword, already partly quoted. That ye may be the sons of your Fathe. which is in Heat-en for He maketh His su to rise on the evifand on the good. and sendetir rain on the just &$d the unjust ? ), ¡ COMPLEX TENDENCIES. L r hare reached the limit of the time allotted to me without getting beyond the threshold of my subject. I must close this address with a few words on an aspect of the question which is often discussed. There are many perso who are neither Socialists nor Individualists, but simply practical men, who recognised the truth and the error in those great complex tendencies that underlie these theories. They ask, what is the proper balance of self-develop" men and self-sacrifice ? The difficulty, I think, is not a real one. This at any rate, I caq confidently say: If you study the Christian ideal of personality this balance difficulty will speedily vanish you will feel that there is no danger in emphasising both those aspects. In fact, the more you emphasise the one the more you will be compelled to emphasise the other. For example, Jesus has placed no limit to social service, either in His words or in His example. He gave Himself, body -and soul, all that He had, all that He could, and in the end He gave His life in the service of man. Aftd His commandment was: Love one another, even as I have loved you." That is, the samt unlimited service He prescribes for all Hia followers. We must say, then, that all we are and have and-can .be and do, must be USED foi the benefit of our fellow man. But, in thus emphasising the duty of service and self-sacrifice, is it not clear that even thereby we emphasise ,the duty of self-development ? For the servica Vhich we owe to the community is the best, ths $chest, tl\e most effective of which we are capable. Self-sacrifice What does it mean I R £ feoeans that you shall have a self to sacrifice, a self worth sacrificing, a self the sacrifice of which will benefit sooiety in the highest degree. Thus, to emphasise self-sacrifice is to emphasiss self-develohment in equal measure. And the result is exactly parallel if we begin by empha- sising self-development according to the teaching of Jesus. My brethren, does is not appear to you that the key of this tremendous problem of human life is, after all, in the hand of Jesus At any rate, I will throw out a challenge to you. Buy a penny Gospel of Mathew, and study it with an alert understanding ond an open heartg and see if it be not so. y