The Aberystwyth Times Cardiganshire Chronicle and Merionethshire News

ABERYSTWYTH. MARKET, MONDAY.-The market here last Monday was very veil attended and the following prices were realized —Wheat from 6s. to 6s. 9d. barley, 3s. 6d. to 5s. oats, 2s. 6d. to 3s. 9d. per bushel; beef, 6d. to 8Jd. mutton, 6Jd. to 8d.; pork, d. to 8d. per lb. Eggs 8 for 6d. Wool, lid. per lb. ARRIVAL OF VISITORS.-We are happy to learn that several families have already arrived here notwithstanding the cold weather. As the sunny spring days and pleasant weather are now anticipated, we may find the town filling with visitor earlier this year than usual, to which our numerous lodginghouse keepers would have no objection. -Communicated. BOARD OF GUARDIANS (Monday).—Present: William Jones, Esq. (chairman), Messrs P. Williams, John Jones, John Watkins, Joel Morgan, Morgan Richards, Richard Jones, David J. Davies, Ebenezer Hughes, David Stephens, Robert Roberts, John Jones, J. R. Richards; Hugh Hughes, clerk; Drs James and Roberts were also in attendance. The number at present in the house was reported to be 54. There was no business of public in- terest. OUR MISSING V.ESSIZLS. -Great anxiety was felt by the inhabitants of this town for some time respecting the safety and whereabouts of a few vessels belonging to this port. The suspense of mind was somewhat lessened, when the good news arrived announcing the safety of the Dreadnought and all the crew; but another vessel, the New Diligence, Captain Lewis Davies, has not as yet been Is heard of. As the master and all the crew belong to this place, the missing vessel forms the general topic of conversation. SUDDEN DEATH. —It is our painful duty to record the very sudden death of Mr John Hughes, of Queen-street, who had been for a great number of yeaes ostler at the Gogerddan Arms Hotel. His death took place on Tues- day morning, under the following circumstances. Deceased had occasion to attend rather early at the stables on Tuesday morning, to get the horses fed and to be in readi- ness for some commercial gentlemen, and, while in the yard pursuing his work, he fell down in a fit, and was dis- covered by the boots in that state. The boots lost no time in summoning the head ostler and some of the deceased's relatives to the spot. The poor man was im- mediately conveyed home, where he expired, after having spoken a few words, between ten and eleven o'clock that morning. The deceased had been failing in health for some time, and was under medical treatment at the time of his death. PETTY SESSIONS, WEDNESDAY.—Before the Mayor and John Davies, Esq. Non-payment of Poor Rates.—Mr Richard Samuel, the collector of poor rates, summoned the following persons for refusing to pay the rates :—John Davies, Prospect- street, Richard flushes, Globe Inn, Market-street, Henry Michael, Portland-lane, Wm. Jones and David Jones, Portland-lane, J. M. Davies, Antaron Cottage, Thomas Williams, Bridge-street, David Clayton, Rheidol-place, William Evans, Vulcan-place, Owen Edwards, Thomas Morgans, Thomas Davies, and Thomas Jones, all of Skinner-street, and Joseph Price, of Eagle-court. All the defendants were ordered to pay. Mary James, of Prospect-street, Chas. Lewis, High-street, Mary James, Skinner-street, and John Owens, of Little Darkgate- street, were also summoned, but their cases were ordered to stand over at present, so that they might have an op. I portunity of appealing to the vestry to have the rates remitted. ( Assault and Battery. William Evans, son of Mr Evans, auctioneer in this town, was summoned by John Jones, carman, of North-parade, for assaulting him.— John Jones, the complainant, said that last Wednesday night, when he was closing up his yard, the defendant came into the yard and began to make use of it for a pur- Eose which he did not approve. The complainant told im to go further on, and upon that was struck by the de- fendant on the head, and felled to the ground. The defend- ant went out to the street and challenged complainant to come out to fight.-Mary Jones, a servant at Mr Julian's, grocer, gave corroborative evidence.—The defendant was fiaed 10s., and 8s. 6d., costs. A Publican Fined for Keeping a Disorderly House.- Benjamin Jones, the landlord of the Cambrian Inn, North Parade, was summoned for this offence. -P.C. Evan Jones said that last Saturday night, about ten o'clock, he was standing by the Cambrian Inn, kept by the defendant, when he heard a great noise in the house there was sing- ing, cursing, and swearing. He then saw a woman struck by a man, and she fell to the ground. He went into the house and found that this man had been drinking there. He afterwards turned in about eleven o'clock, and saw several of the men with drink before them, and in a state of drunkenness.—Sergeant Evans said that he also went to the Cambrian Inn about half-past eleven o'clock on Saturday night, when he saw several men in the house highly inebriated and very noisy.—The defendant denied that the people in the house were either drunk or noisy, and called James Bubb, who said, in corroboration of the defendant's statement, that he lodged at the Cambrian Inn, and was there on Saturday night when the constable came into the house. The people who were in the house at the time were not drunk. Some of the people came in there from the King's Head public house, where a raffle had taken place.—The defendant was fined 10s., including costs. Another Chimney on Fire.-Zophar Humphreys, the landlord of the Heart of Oak public house was summoned for permitting his chimney to take fire. -P.C. James said that on Friday afternoon last he saw defendant's chimney on fire. He went into the house and found that it was quite an accident.—The defendant explained to the Bench how the chimney had taken fire, and contended that it was an inevitable accident, and called his servant girl to cor- roborate his statement.—The defendant, however, was fined 2s. 6d., including costs. COMMISSIONERS' MEETING, TUESDAY.—Present: The Mayor (Mr John Matthews), Mr Charles Hackney, Mr J. H. Jones, Mr J. Williams, Mr E. Ellis, Mr T. Jones, Dr C. R. Williams, Mr John Jones (Great Dark- gate-street), Mr John Davies, Mr Richard Delahoyde, Mr John Hughes, Captain C. Bassett Lewis, Mr T. Williams, Mr E. W. Jones, Mr David Roberts, Mr J. Davies (harbour master), Mr J. J. Atwood, Mr Hugh Hughes, Mr J. P. Jones, Mr Philip Williams, Mr J. Watkin, Mr R. Samuel, Mr Morris Jones; MrW. T. Thomas, clerk; Mr David Lloyd, assistant clerk. This was a special meeting for the purpose of taking into consideration the report of the committee appointed to enquire into the best mode of providing the town of Aberystwyth with a good supply of water, during the ensuing summer, to discuss the question of providing and laying down new waterpipes; and to make enquiries with regard to the progress of the by-laws, and adopt such measures in relation thereto as the Commissioners at such meeting considered necessary." THE ROOM OF THE HALLKEEPER. The MAYOR called attention to the room occupied by the halllseeper, which was in a most disgraceful state. He wished to know who was responsible for the necessary repairs, the Commissioners or the Town Council. Mr THOMAS JONES called attention to the general con- dition of the flues on the Town Hall, and suggested that they should be raised, in order to obviate the evil com- plained of. The CLERK said that the room was barely habitable; there was no room like it in the town. He did not know that the Commissioners had anything to do with the im- provements or the general condition of the building. Mr THOMAS JONES thought that the Town Council or the County Magistrates were responsible. The MAYOR suggested that the matter should be left in the hands of the Town Hall Committee, and this was agreed to. THE SUPPLY OF WATER. Mr THOMAS JONES, in the absence of Mr Pell, as know- ing most of the part which the committee had taken as to the means of obtaining a temporary supply of water for the town, said that Mr Julian could not leave the house, Mr Benjamin Hughes had not attended the committee, the Mayor was from home, and the matter was con- sequently left chiefly in the hands of Mr Pell and himself. In company with Jesse Morgan they went to the Foundry and tasted the water. They found from the report of Mr Drury that the result of boring that well was most satis- factory. They went a distance of 27 or 28 feet below the surface, passing through several strata of soil and peat until they got to the clean gravel, and then the water beat them, and rose to within 9 feet of the surface. As to machinery, Mr Ellis had the different parts of an engine, 8 or 9 horse power, which he would put up, and perhaps attend to for a guaranteed time at a lower price than they had yet heard of. They thought that the best plan was to sink a well just outside Mr Edward Jones's field on the Corporation land, where there was, doubtless, abundance of water. Mr Jesse Morgan recommended them to go to Plascrflg, but this was overruled on account of the cost of pipes and other expenses, which would be much heavier than in the site they had selected. The Committee had been waiting the arrival of the report of Mr Arnold Taylor before they presented the result of their enquiries to the Board. He thought it was a great pity that the Board had not purchased the borers which had been offered to them. Mr J. J. ATWOOD-NVbat about the chalybeate water? Mr THOS. JONES said that they had crossed the chaly- beate water, and found it perfectly clean and distinct. From the current of the stream, the chalybeate water could easily be kept distinct by puddling, and he thought there was no danger of its penetrating. In that cutting they had tapped, within a few feet of the surface, a beautiful, clear stream. The CLERK said that as the cost would come out of the rates, it was necessary that the cost of a temporary scheme should be as low as possible. Mr THOS. JONES said this scheme was the lowest in cost that they could meet with. He suggested that the Board should purchase the borers belonging to Mr Paul. They were appliances that the Board of Commissioners ought to possess. The CLERK suggested that the borers should be borrowed from Mr Paul, in order that their working might be as- certained before purchase. Mr THOS. JONES said that it would be desirable first to bore for the water before they incurred the cost of ma- chinery. Mr ATWOOD asked whether the trial made at the Foundry was not sufficient; without incurring expense in further experiments. He thought that such water might be found anywhere in the Flats. Mr THOS. JONES said the probable cost would be only £18 or £20, and it was necessary that they should have the borers first. They were necessary adjuncts to the town, just as a fire-escape should be. They had no fire-escape in Aberystwyth, and if loss of life should occur from the want of a fire-escape, someone would be blamed. Dr C. R. WILLIAMS thought the water should first be analyzed. Mr THOMAS JONES was sure that water at that depth must be good. Mr ATWOOD-Will this carry us over three or four years? Mr THOMAS. JONES-I should think so. Mr Ellis has an engine of nearly ten-horse power, and that is the cheapest we can think of. By buying the engine cheaply from him, we can perhaps also obtain his superintendence, and he is one of the best hydraulic engineers, in a simple way, that I know of. Capt. BASSETT LEWIS thought that Mr Jones's inform- ation was very acceptable, and suggested that his remarks should be drawn up to form the basis of a contract for carrying out the propositions made by him in such re- marks. Mr THOMAS JONES recommended that the water should he pumped to the nearest main, near Shiloh chapel, so as not to interfere with Mr Ellis, who pumps by contract. Mr ATWOOD urged the purchase of a borer, so as to establish the fact that water was there. Captain BASSETT LEWIS—Have we not got a water company. The CLERK—Yes, a reservoir company; but I would advise that you have a special committee for this business. Mr JESSE MORGAN thought that Plascrug would be the safest place, and he would prefer going there for water, only the expense would be greater. The CLERK—Would the expense of boring at Plascrug be greater than where Mr Thos. Jones names ? Mr JESSE MORGAN-No. The CLERK—Then why not make the experiment in both places ? Mr JESSE MORGAN said that if they went to Plascrug they would have to ask permission from Colonel Powell, while the site suggested by Mr Thomas Jones was corpor- ation land. The cost of boring would not be more than 30s. if there was no rock to get through. Mr J. J. ATWOOD moved that the borers be purchased from Mr Paul, and that the necessary experiments be made under the superintendence of the Reservoir Com- mittee. Mr PHILIP WILLIAMS seconded the motion. Dr C. RICE WILLIAMS hoped that after the experiment was made they would have a written, not a verbal, report by the Committee. Mr EDWARD ELLIS asked whether it would not be desirable to ascertain whether a borer could not be had at a cheaper rater than from Capt. PauL Mr ATWOOD said that no price was named. Mr Thomas was to negotiate for its purchase, and if an extravagant price was asked then they could go to another market. The borers were of no use to Mr Paul, were quite new, and doubtless might be purchased at a very low figure. The motion was then put and carried unanimously. Capt. BASSETT LEWIS asked Mr Thomas whether it would be regular to communicate with Mr Arnold Taylor to hurry his report, so as to see whether this scheme might not be embodied with their future permanent scheme. Mr THOMAS said that there could be no harm in press- ing him for the report, under the circumstances. The gentleman was not disposed to be critical, and was easily accessible. Captain BASSSTT LEWIS looked upon the matter as highly important, and proposed that Mr Thomas com- municate with Mr Arnold Taylor as requested. Dr C. RICE WILLIAMS seconded the motion, which was carried. THE WATER PIPES. The CLERK said that the next matter was as to the sup ply of water pipes. The only difficulty was the payment. It was getting late in the season, and they might be patched to last over another year. To relay the pipes would cost several hundreds of pounds. Mr J. J. ATWOOD complained that there was no system [ in laying down the pipes. There were large pipes and small pipes in the same streets, and they tried to fill the large pipes with the small ones. If they had the system of their water supply on paper it would look most ridiculous. .The CLERK said that they had no money to pay for pipes, and thought that the Btreets should not be broken up at this time of the year, and these, he urged, were two reasons why the matter should be deferred. MrJEssE MORGAN said that the main pipes were very bad, they had been down thirty-three years, and now required looking after. The demand for water was in- creasing annually, and it was most necessary that they should have the requisite appliances in good order. In answer to Capt. Bassett Lewis, Mr Jesse Morgan said that the fire hose was kept in the yard of the Commis sioners. Mr EDWD. ELLIS thought it necessary that the public should know where the hose was kept in case of fire. Mr ATWOOD suggested that it should be kept at the Eolice station. In case of fire the police could attach the ose, while the water was being turned on. Mr DAVID WILLIAMS thought that if they wanted the hose kept in order, they should allow it to remain in the custody of Mr Jesse Morgan. Mr JESSE MORGAN said that there were a great many streets without hydrants. Capt. BASSETT LEWIS said that in case of fire not one half of the people would know where to go for assistance. It was part of the duty of the Board to look into the question. There was no fire engine in the town, and as the houses were built, if a fire broke out, much damage must occur. He proposed to bring forward the subject at the next Board. The question of procuring further water pipes was, by mutual consent, deferred for the present. THE BY-LAWS. The CLERK said that he expected to have the by-laws down, confirmed, in two days or so. The next meeting will be the monthly meeting held on April 5th. THE EDUCATION BILL.-TOWN'S MEETING. A town's meeting, convened for the purpose of taking into consideration the subject of education, and particu- larly the bearing of Mr Forster's Bill upon the educational requirements of Aberystwyth, was held at the County Hall on Tuesday evening. His worship the mayor, John Matthews, Esq., presided, and the attendance, which was not large, included the Rev. A. Griffith, LL.B., the Rev. Griffith Davies (C.M.), the Rev. D. Thomas (B.M.), Mr W. H. Rowse, Mr Richard Roberts (ex-mayor), Mr David Jenkin Davies, the Rev. John Saunders (I.M.), the Rev. Edward Williams (B.M.), Mr Philip Williams, Mr David Williams, the Rev. E. Richards (Wesleyan), Dr Morris Jones, &c. In opening the proceedings, the MAYOR said that the meeting had been convened in compliance with a numer- ously signed requisition. Many gentlemen would speak upon the several resolutions to be proposed, and he had no intention of inflicting upon the meeting any preliminary speech, but without preface would call upon the Rev. David Thomas to move the first resolution. The Rev. D. THOMAS said that the resolution he had to propose was-" That whilst this meeting is grateful for the action which the Government has taken in bringing a Bill before the country, with a view to secure the primary education of every child, many of the provisions of which we approve, it is nevertheless of opinion that there ought to be some provisions therein for the speedy amalgama- tion of denominational schools into one national system, so that there shall be but one class of elementary schools throughout the land, which must be purely unsectarian in their instruction and management." The question which they had that evening been called together to discuss was now agitating the country, and was a question of the greatest importance, and called for most earnest, careful, and impartial consideration. He was glad to see that the dark night of apathy had now passed away, that the day of care- lessness on this matter was now no more, and that a spirit of enquiry was awakening amongst the people; and he had no doubt that in the course of a few years we should have a sound national system of education which would be a boon to the country, and would usher in a period of peace, contentment, and happiness, which this country had never before enjoyed. In years gone by the educa- tion of the poor man's child was looked upon as unneces- sary, if not mischievous but now a marvelous change had taken place, the rights of our common humanity were becoming recognized, and the nation now felt that it was a duty to help the education of the masses of our country- men. (Applause.) It would be a great gratification to the majority of the people of this country, and especially to the Principality of Wales, if the present Government would, by wise concessions, finally solve the great problem of National Education. The nation laboured under great obligations to Mr Forster for having taken up the subject with such promptitude, and for having framed a measure which he had hoped would be favourable to the opinions of the people. They all recognized his courage, his purity of intention, his vast experience, and great patriotism, and, in his opinion, there was no man better qualified to deal with and settle this all-important question, than Mr Forster. (Applause.) Still Mr Forster had no idea that public feeling was rising strongly against denominational education, so strongly that no Government could stifle such feeling, and if they attempted to do so, he greatly feared that any Government, however strong, must perish in the attempt. He did not anticipate that any such catastrophe would take place, for they knew the men now at the helm of Government to be reasonable men, who were ready and willing to listen and defer to the voice of public remonstrance, and it was clear from the reception which had been accorded to the Birmingham League and to the Welsh Deputation, as well as from the latest utter- ances of Mr Gladstone, that the voice of public opinion would be listened to by the Government. It must be ad- mitted that there were sad blemishes in the Bill, which must be rubbed out before the measure could be made acceptable to the country. (Applause.) Nothing but a purely unsectarian scheme of education would satisfy the country. (Applause.) He had no wish to speak of the Bill as being radically bad, nothing was gained by'taking extreme opinions upon any point, and for two principles embodied in the Bill they ought to be thankful. The Bill endeavoured to create schools where none existed, and by compulsion tens of thousands of children would be brought under instruction, instead of swelling the number of the profligate and the profane who run loose about our streets. The State now recognized its duty to educate the children of the country, and this was one great point gained. Much had been said about the parsimony of the amount allowed in grants to our elementary schools, and respect- ing the cost which would be entailed in carrying out a system of national education, but let them look at the large sums annually spent to keep up the workhouses, the prisons, and the army and navy estimates, and if they spent a million or two on the education of the poor, it would lessen considerably the burdens of taxation now pressing upon the public, and would do away with much of that vast amount of crime which was rampant in our midst, and which filled our gaols and workhouses. (Ap- plause.) The great blot upon the Bill was the manner in which it endeavoured to meet the religious difficulty, by giving a new lease of life to the old denominational sys- tem, and if this Bill was unaltered, then the denomina- tional schools in the country would be doubled. (Hear, hear.) Now could not these schools be amalgamated into one grand national system of education? (Hear, hear.) They owed much to the denominational system, and they should feel thankful for what it had done; but, after all, it had been weighed in the balance, and found wanting. (Hear, hear.) It had not been able to cope effectually with all the misery and crime by which it was surrounded; it had simply touched the skirts of the evil, the heart it had never reached, and this must be done before England could rise to a higher social station than she now enjoyed. The denominational system had been asked for in Ireland, and what did that mean but giving over the country into the hands of the Roman Catholic priests, and rather than support this, he would see the denominational system plucked up by the roots. (Hear, hear.) If a denomina- tional system of education were permitted in England, how could they refuse it to Ireland ? They could not heal a nation's wounds by refusing to give to Ireland what they were ready to concede to England. (Hear, hear.) Another potent fact which called for a national system of education was the vast amount of ignorance that existed in this country, which was a blot upon our national escutcheon that should at once be wiped off. At the present time there were no less than one-third of the men and women of England who were unable to write their own names. Was not this a startling fact ? (Hear, hear.) He contended that there ought to be no direct religious teaching in any school supported by Government, and anything less than this would never satisfy the noncon- formists of this country. (Applause.) By the term unsectarian' he did not mean the exclusion of the Bible from the day schools, or that the teacher should not be permitted to encourage what was right in his children, and condemn that which was wrong, but he meant that there should be no meddling with religious formularies and dogmas. He believed that a child must have a religious as well as a secular education, that his intellectual faculties must have education as well as his religious powers, but the two must be kept totally distinct in the day schools. (Hear, hear.) If they left the religious part of the ques- tion to religious parents, to the ministers of religion, and to the teaehing of Sunday schools, then the work would be done effectually and well. (Applause.) The Rev. EDWARD WILLIAMS, who spoke in Welsh, seconded the resolution. He said he was glad to see that increased facilities were to be afforded to children. It was a great blessing to have a system of national education, and although the Bill of Mr Forster did not wholly please the nonconformists, still it was a step in the right direction. He strongly urged the system of un- sectarian education, as the only system which could give satisfaction to the nonconformists of the country generally. (Applause.) The motion was carried unanimously. The Rev. JOHN SAUNDERS proposed "That the school boards be elected immediately in every school district, that they be elected by the ratepayers and by ballot, and that the exercise of compulsory powers be not left to their option. The provisions of the Bill were being closely criticised and canvassed throughout the country, and pub- lic opinion was being strongly agitated to pronounce upon the merits and demerits of Mr Forster's measure. It was not pleasant to be called grumblers, or to be charged with being obstructive to the passing of the measure, but if, in their opinion certain of its clauses were wrong, then they had a right to speak out, and to offer their opinion upon these defects in the Bill. Certain of the clauses were, to his mind, quite as objectionable as were the Council of Education grants for elementary schools, as helping those who were well able to help them- selves. Local rates would come in to do away with voluntary subscriptions, and this made the Bill very objectionable. He wished to have a national Bill, to let the Bible have its free course, but he strongly objected to dogmatic teaching in the schools. To the establishment of the school boards he had no objection, but he objected to the mode in which they were to be elected. The rate- payers would have to furnish the greater portion of the amount which supported the school, and surely it was fair that the ratepayers should enjoy the privilege of nominating a board which was to manage a rate collected from the ratepayers, and that the matter should not be left in the discretion of town councils and vestries. (Hear, hear.) In the election of these boards, if the provisions of the Bill were not altered, there must of necessity be danger of collision with party and denomina- tion, jealousies and ill feeling would spring up, and the working of the school would be affected seriously. Then again the conduct of the schools in adjoining parishes or towns would never be upon a uniform system, for it would be found that where there was a predominant denomination, the conduct of the school in that special district would cer- tainly be touched with those sentiments and opinions which were affected by that denomination. It was most unfortunate that these differences of opinion should exist upon the merits of a scheme for national education, but it was only mere justice that the nonconformists should claim and enjoy equal privileges with the other loyal subjects of her Majesty. (Applause.) Mr DAVID JENKINS seconded the resolution in Welsh, explaining the remarks made by the previous speaker, and expressing his full concurrence with them. The motion was carried nem. di3. The Rev. GRIFFITH DAVIES then moved That it is the opinion of this meeting that in dealing with education, the State should be careful not to go beyond its own sphere of action, but should allow the religious training of the young to be cared for, under God, by the Christian Church. According to this resolution the Bible may be freely used in the schools, except for the purpose of im- parting direct religious instruction." In moving the resolution, the speaker, who addressed the audience in Welsh, held that the power of electing the school boards should be vested in the ratepayers, and that it should not be delegated to corporate bodies or vestries. If this clause of the Bill became law, the ratepayers would be invited, at their annual council elections, to Support Jones and the 39 Articles!" or be called upon to Vote for Smith and no Creed!" ("Hear, hear," and laughter.) The Rev. A. GRIFFITH, in seconding the resolution, explained that it had been drawn up owing to a misunder- standing which had arisen from the adoption of a resolu- tion at the recent Educational Conference held at Aber- ystwyth, which, in a certain degree, stultified a motion that had been previously agreed upon. The resolution agreed to at the conference related to the reading of the Bible in the schools, but it was so illogical to many persons, and even ungrammatical, that some strange re- marks had been made upon the passing of such a resolution. It was necessary that the use of the Bible in the day schools should be limited in one respect, viz., that it should not be used for the purpose of giving direct religious teaching. Under the Act the class of schools in the future would be Government schools, supported, not by voluntary contributions, but by the taxes of the whole community; all would have to pay their quota, and the children would be sent to the schools, not at the will of their parents, but because they were sent there by the law. Thus the class of schools would be greatly altered from those already in existence, and, under totally dif- ferent circumstances from the present, they must have a different method of teaching in these new schools. Al- though it might be proper to give the ordinary rudiments of education, still he thought that it would be highly wrong to impart direct religious instruction in these schools. (Hear, hear.) The State, he contended, had no right to go beyond its own legitimate sphere of action in this question. The State had often interfered with reli- gion, but always to its own great detriment and danger. The State was simply the expression of the general religious and moral feeling of the country, and for the State to turn round to control or attempt to prevent the action of all free, religious spirit, was not only a great mis- take but a crime. (Hear, hear.) The time was fast ap- proaching when they would think that for the State to attempt to control religion was as wrong as for a child to disobey its parent—nay further, for the creature to dis- obey his Creator. It was said, let everything be judged by its fruits, and so let them look back through the long vista of years, and see what the inter- ference of the State with religion had pro- duced. They were now meeting in a room which was used as a court of justice, and he only wished that he could put one or two of his old father's friends in the wit- ness box, just to tell them the miseries which resulted from State interference with religion. He should like them to hear what Griffith Jones, the founder of the sys- tem of circulating schools, had to say upon State interfer- ence, whilst John Wesley could tell them of his experience, how he was driven about from parish to parish unable to find a pulpit in which to preach, until he was driven out to preach in the lanes and byways, and to take tbe world for his parish. He should like to put into the witness box that good old man, Howel Harris, whom the minister of Machynlleth went out to meet with an angry mob, who stoned the old man, and left him for dead upon the road- side. All these would testify to the miseries of State interference with religion, and prove that the State ought to exercise very great care that it did not go beyond its own sphere of action; that it left the religious part of the question to those who were well able and willing to cope with it. (Applause.) He saw by the newspapers that a petition had been sent up from Aberystwyth in favour of sectarian education, and he should be very glad to be in- formed by whom that petition had been forwarded. Certainly not by the people of Aberystwyth. (Hear, hear.) The present meeting was a meeting of the townspeople of Aberystwyth, and the expression of opinion which went forth from that meeting would be accepted as representing the opinion of the town. (Applause.) The Rev. E. RICHARDS then moved, and it was seconded by Dr MORRIS JONES, "That a petition signed by the chairman of this public meeting, containing the views expressed by the foregoing resolutions, be sent forthwith to Sir Thomas D. Lloyd, Bart., M.P., for presentation in the House of Commons." The motion having been carried, the MAYOR said that the Welsh deputation had been most courteously received by Mr Gladstone, Mr Forster, and Earl de Grey, who had asked several questions. In the late discussion several members said that Government had not determined to pass all clauses of the Bill without alteration, that the Bill was open to improvement, and Mr Gladstone said that the conscience clause might be altered. (Hear, hear.) It was now a very invidious clause. A person would be very reluctant to send a written request to the school board, that his child should not receive religious education in the day school. He would not like, if he were a tradesman, to run the risk of offending the squire or parson of the parish. A child of Baptist parents, for instance, would be obliged to learn and repeat decided falsehoods in the church catechism. Could that child, who had never been bap- tized, truthfully reply to the question, Who gave you that name?" in the formula prescribed by the church catechism? (Hear, hear.) Is was clear that the Govern- ment was not wedded to its Bill, and a petition from Aberystwyth would do much good in enabling the Govern- ment to learn what were the real sentiments of the-denomi- national bodies upon this question. (Hear, hear.) The Rev. A. GRIFFITH then moved That a meeting be called at an early date to consider the desirability of forming an Aberystwyth branch of the Welsh Educa- tional Alliance." Mr W. H. ROWSE seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. The Rev. D. THOMAS proposed a vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding. The motion was seconded by Mr RICHARD ROBERTS, and carried with acclamation. The MAYOR, in acknowledging the vote of thanks, said that he did not know that he had ever attended a public meeting the sentiments of which were so thoroughly in unison with his own feelings. Although Mr Gladstone was at the head of the strongest Government that this country had perhaps ever seen, he did not think that that Government, knowing the feelings of this country, would attempt to pass the Bill as it now stood. (Hear, hear.) The proceedings, which passed off very quietly, ter- minated shortly before ten o'clock.