The Montgomery County Times and Shropshire and Mid-Wales Advertiser

CRICKET FIXTURES. (All matches played on the ground of the first-named Club.) JULY. ll-Ruabon v. Oswestry High School II-Ellesmere v. Overton 11—Shrewsbury Schools x. Oswestry 11—Wem v. Ellesmere College 11—Oswestry 2nd v. Gobowen 11—Montgomery v. Welshpool 18-Elles,ne.re College v. Oswestry 18-El les mere v. Hanmer 18—Tedsmore v. Oswestry High School 20—Montgomery v. Meole Brace 20-0swef;try High School-Past v. Present 24-Llanidloes, v. Montgomery 25-0swestry v. Xantwich. -+-

FOOTBALL. 11 BY VETERAN."] Welshpool people will be delighted to learn that owing to the energy and enthusiasm of Mr T J. Bratton. ably backed up by one or two good friends on the Committee, the Welshpool club has gained an entrance into ths Welsh League. Good matches are certain to be witnessed on the ground this next season, and subscribers should be prepared to in- crease their subscriptions which are ridiculously low at present.

• COUNTY CRICKET. The Oxford eleven gained a brilliant victory over Cambridge at Lord's on Saturday. The Light Blues in their second innings scored 212, thus leav- ing their rivals 330 to get to win. After a begin- ning which seemed to foreshadow a bad defeat, G. O. Smith, C. C. Pilkingtou, H. D. G. Leveson- Gower, and G. R. Bardswell played a splendid game, Smith contributing 132, and in the end Oxford won by four wickets. At Old Trafford the North of Englaud" were beaten by the Australians by 42 runs, and Yorkshire defeated Derbyshire by nine wickets. High scoring was again the rule in the cricket field on Monday. Lancashire, batting against the Notts bowling at Trent Bridge, remained at the wickets the whole day. and when stumps were drawn had scored 340 for nine wickets (Baker 84 and Ward 83). Derbyshire, playing against Leices- tershire at Leicester, made 389 runs for six wickets, Bagshaw contributing 121. Kent in similar fashion scored 398 runs for nine wickets, off the Sussex bowlers at Hastings, Marchant's total being 128 and Alec Heame's 92. At Leeds Warwickshire were dismissed for 167, and Yorkshire, with six wickets in hand, are now only 46 behind. The Australians disposed of Hampshire for 134, and put together 231 for three wickets, Iredale being the chief scorer with 106. The match between Gentle- men and Players at the Oval was deprived of much of its interest by the unrepresentative character of the teams. The Players scored 248, and the Gen- tlemen, with five wickets down, were 100 behind at drawing of stumps. Rain interfered very greatly with the cricket at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. The Lancashire innings finished for 347 runs. and No,.ts had lost one wicket for 54 when play had to be stopped. At Leeds Yorkshire defeated Warwickshire by an innings and 14 runs. At the Oval the Gentlemen, having been set by the players 137 to make to win, have scored 39 for two wickets. Derbyshire were all out at Leicester for 436, and the home team had lost four wickets for the small total of 30 run when rain stopped further play. Sussex have four wickets down in the second innings, and want 98 to avoid a single-innings defeat. The Australians defeated Hampshire by an innnings and 125 runs. Within two mir.utes off time on Wednesday even- ing, the second innings of the Notts team Trent Bridge came to an end, and Lancashire ran out winners by an innings and 63 runs. The match between Leicestershire and Derbyshire ended in a draw. Leicestershire, with two wickets down in their second innings, required 122 runs to avoid being beaten in a single innings. The Gentlemen defeated the Players, after an exciting game, by one wicket. Kent gained their first victory in the county competition this season, defeating Sussex by an innings and sixteen runs. The Australians met the Players of England at Ley ton on Thursday. Going in first, the Colonials batted all day, and had lost only four wickets for 325 runs when play ceased. Iredale was not out 154. At Huddersfield Notts were got out for 226, and Yorkshire with seven wickets to go down are now 189 behind. Surrey disposed of Sussex for 116, and" then collapsed in an extraordinary fashion before the bowling of Hartley, the young Oxonian taking six wickets for Sl, and the innings terminating for 94. Sussex in their second innings had scored 53 runs without loss. Gloucestershire put together 178 against Warwickshire, who made a bad start by losing two wickets for three runs. Somersetshire batted all day against the Hampshire bowling, find had put together 417 runs for seven wickets when play ceased, Lionel Palairet being not out with 251.

HOW WILL THE AGRICULTURAL RATING BILL AFFECT THE RATING OF HOUSES ? There is a great deal of misconception with regard to the actual effect of the Agricultural Land Rating Bill. The allegations of the Opposition have been studiously directed to creating the idea that there must necessarily be an increase of the rates upon houses and buildings directly the Bill becomes law. This is not so. The ratepayer, qua ratepayer, will pay no more. Half of the rates now levied upon agricultural land will be in future paid our of the Imperial Exchequer. If, when the deficiency has been so redressed, there is in the future any rise in the local rates, then, and not till then, will any additional sum have to be levied upon the ratepayers. This would have been the case, Bill or no Bill. had the rates risen. The Bill itself brings about no rise in the rates, but offers inducements to economy. If there is any rise in the rates land as well as houses will have to con- tribute to the increased rate, though not in the same proportion. If the rates do not rise, and there is no reason why they should, no ratepayer wii) pay any more than he does now. The money paid for the relief of agricultural land will come out of the surplus. The general taxpayer will not necessarily pay any more than he does now. What he has lost is relief from taxation, in which he might or might not have participated.

Sir John Pender died on Tuesday at his house in Kent.

CYCLING. f B Y "PUMP HABDEB." ] A biker asked a farmer, Has a hidy wheeled this way And the farmer told the biker, It's mighty hard to say, From the costumes they are wearing, From the mountains to the sea, If the biker isashe one, Or the biker is a he." I have received a number of letters from would- be lady cyclists asking me for the name of the gallant young gentleman referred to in these notes a week ago. They have been forwarded to the proper quarter, but I may be excused for remind- ing my fair correspondents that he has not yet got rid of the blisters, which, he now tries to make me believe, were brought about by woiv ing too hard in his papa's garden. Xevertheless he is still pre- pared to teach u real lydies of all ages the art of cycling. Ionly hope they won't work him too hard. In the course of my wanderings I often come across some views of an interesting character, but the sight I witnessed the other evening was more instructivethau otherwise, and it forcibly remin- ded me of the words-" When the cat's away, the mice will play," for I then noticed a cyclist with his machine moored near a wall at a place where it appears whispering lovers meet, and I only regret that my presence caused the young lady to blush so. I know she would have run away had it been possible, but it was otherwise. Further on I met a near friend of the young lady, and I thiuk it would only have been charitable on the part of the young "farmer" I espied a little further on, to have offered his services. She was learning to ride. I congratulate G. L. Tilsley of Xewtown, on his success at the Liverpool meeting on Saturday, when he succeeded in wiuning first prize of the value of ten giiineas in the three miles open handicap, agains a large number of well-known cracks. The last issue of Wheeling contains the following We cannot deprecate too strongly the ap- parently growing custom of riding with the hands off the handles. It is not clever, it is not graceful, it is bad form, arid this way accidents lie." I have more than once given expression to this opinion, and also had occasion to refer to one case in partieulai. It again falls to my lot to allude to it, for tjie reason that the smart. young man has met a croyjper in consequence of this gallery play. It'is fortunate for him that he was not knocked abolh so much as the machine; other- wise I am afraid face would have presented a by no means pretty picture. Xevertheless his hands now suffer from the gravel rash." This will be sufficient readers will readily understand the amount of datnage sustained to the machine. We have often had our attention called to the fact that cycling is a boon to the city man who delights in the of botany or natural history. My enthusiasm over the former science is hardly strong endugh to impel me to dismount whenever 1 see a hedge or ditch in which one might find some interesting specimlns of flora. I love the country in a general sense. The green fields, the umbrage- ous trees, and the country lanes have a charm for me, but I do not care for much research for curiosi- ties either in the botanical or the animal world. Yet unconsciously the cyclist gets to learn a great deal more of the country, the productions of the land in many parts, than he ever thought he would know before he took to the wheel. Some oi his knowledge probably comes to him in an undesir- able fashion. Lt is ùelightfu] to lie on the grass far away from house or building of any kind, and smoke the pipe of peace, but unless one is a per- severing student of animalcula there is no special advantage to be derived from the knowledge that something of peculiarly strange construction is crawling up your arm or down your neck, or that a novel little insect fceeps endeavouring to make an uncomfortably close examination of your optic. I am reminded of these things by an incident which occurred to tf>e one day last week. A friend and myself cycled into the country, talking of hill climbing, speed poWers, gears, lever chains, handle bars, pedals, bearj,Ogs--everything, in fact, con- nected with a bicycle, and at last it seemed almost time to change the subject. Accordingly I ven- tured to ask whether he had ever come across any- thing in the way of a novelty in the animal world during his rather IODS and varied wheeling exper- ience. He was a very matter-of-fact young man, not without a sense of humour. Yes," he replied, one thing has struck me very forcibly in connec- tion with the animal world. Only terriers 'go' for the cyclist. pass a colMC'at the rate of 20 miles an hour, and he simply looks at you as much as to say he would not be working like yon are when he can lie downan sleep all day, and bigger dogs, such as retrievers and St. Bernards' ignore the rider altogether. But you always have to be on your guard for terrIers, and of these the fox-terrier is the worst. SOtne of them take no notice one day but on another occasion they come to the conclusion that it is their duty to go for your legs. Other dogs will tolerate you if you do not happen to be travelling fast, but the moment you exceed a certain rate their ire is raised. Some of them are most persistent when they mean business, and stick to you for a longtime- others give up the struggle the moment they see your foot come off a pedal. Tho bull-terrier_ sometitnes takes it into their head to go for a cyclist, and the best thing to do is to scorch for a time. The dog soon gives up pursuit, for they are never very speedy over a distance of ground." fox-terriers are the worst to deal with, and it i? generally advisable to ride slowly and speak in a coaxing way t") them. They are more likely to leavo you alone than if you attempt to kick them besides, there is a danger of over-balancing in trying to punish a dog with the foot. Wanderer" writes as follows:—"Finding myself in Shrewsbury the other day I determined upon a bit of exploration 111 the valley of the Upper Severn, and so, crossing the W elsh Bridge, I set off on the road the iirst two miles of which most tour- ing cyclists know, because it is the trunk road to Holvhead. But when I reached the first important branching of the ways I bore to the left for Welsh- pool, and began the climb which must here be en- countered. Presently, lying off to the left, fronting a short length of loop lane which for a moment leaves the road on that side, is the cosily situated inn at the sign of the Bill, and further on, towards the fifth mile, is the plce. known as Pavement Gate. A little further still is the junction called Cross Gates, and hers I kept to the left, again. At the sixth mile there was a on the left of the church at Cardeston, with the odd little octagonal tower, clad, about half-way up, in clinging ivy. Then came Rowton Castle a building the bulk of which is of modern date, well buried in the woods to the right" Rooks were clamouring in their upper branches, and a cuckoo, somewhere far away in their depths, was shouting lustily. c. Beyond this point the road lises again, and there are good views ahead and to the right. Mountains with sugar-loaf tops bein to J™ up against the sky-line, and one feels that one is leaving the broad Shropshire valley for rugged Wales, where the Severn in its infancy is cradled. After the wind- mill at the top of the hill there is a nice descent, and I sped easily down it, just making passing note that the Half-way House is for a wonder, correctly named so far as its geogra phlal position between Shrewsbury and Welshpool IS concerned. After skirting Wattlesjporough Heath, and before reach- ing the tenth milestone, the right-haud way should be taken, where the road divides, the other leads to Winnington, spelt Vennmgton on the Ord- nance sheets. My way 'ay through Wollaston, be- yond which is a dangerous descent called Garreg Hill- the first bit of Montgomeryshire. It is marked by a danger board so admirably placed that I must compliment those who erected it. With a good brake this decline can be ridden with security, while the eye may sweep over the precipitous slopes of the valley, uow grandly, bare, now richly clothed with wood. Making the intersection of the Cam- brian Railway by a level crossing, and immediately afterwards bridging the Severn, a turn to the left gives access to Welshpool, at the centre of which, just by the Cross, stands the Royal Oak, the well- appointed quarters of the Cyclists louring Club. One wishing to follow the course of the river further must leave Welshpool by the road exactly opposite the one he entered by. It soon crosses the Shropshire Union Canal, by the s:de of which lie great numbers of gigantic tree trunks, which look as if they had lain there undisturbed for many years. When in the neighbourhood of Berriew, and approaching beautiful Glan Severn, the tourist will cross the Hhiw, a right-bank tributary which conies babbling down over stones of many colours. Near Garthmill, and just before coming to Abemvale, the Severn must be crossed by a substantial bridge, as if II ontgomery were the bourne, although that town will be left some dis- tance to the eastward by a turn to the right, which enables the road thenceforward to keep company with the river. And 90, winding pleasantly with the road, the wheelman reaches Newtown, a clean and pleasant place, with broad streets, and old inns and houses, and all sorts of fine walks and climbs in its neighbourhood. Some time A will tell of a run with Xewtown as its base, but for the present I will leave the reader in the comfortable parlour of the Elephant and Castle or the Unicorn." Saddles should be chosen with a view to the roads over which they are going to be used. On such surfaces as that of the Xewtown road almost any- one can use a light, spriugless saddle with comfort; but for riding on roads that vary in surface and goodness a full roadster saddle will more than repay its extra weight. I have often noticed elderly or delicate riders using springless saddles, and suffering considerable discomfort from them, and have found on inquiry that they had bought a light machine to make the work easy, and this was the saddle that was on it." Of course, the racing type of saddle had been fitted to it to cut down weight, and the seller of the machine did not think it worth the trouble of inporming his elderly customer that springless saddles were only meant for fast riding, and were a distinct disadvantage for everything else. When a coil cr corkscrew spring breaks in a saddle it can he made quite comfortable to ride home on by simply insertiug a common beer-bottle cork into the broken coil. This tip is well known to old riders, and in the solid tyre days, when saddles were constantly breaking, many people always carried a cork in the tool bag. The accident is not so common nowadays as to make this necessary, however, especially in a land where beer bottle corks are as plenty as autumn leaves in V allom bra sa. It cannot b" too often repeated that a distinct loss of power is caused by placing the handles in the absurdly high position which is fashionable at present among a certain s"t, and which makes the rider look exceedingly like a dog set up to beg. With the arms bent up at the elbows steering is bound to be unsteady except at a slow pace, and it is. moreover, impossible to surmount hills easily, since the rider cannot get a good pull at the handles. It is curious, but a fact nevertheless, that a ride at a very slow pace is trying and fatiguing to a cyclist who is accustomed to go fast. A friend of Üle, who used to he well known as a fast rider, and is still by no means a crawler, lately went for a thirty-mile run with two or three lady novices, and came back fairly tired out. ] should not like to say how many hours the ride had occupied, and this, with the constant back-pedalling down hills, walking up them, and almost balancing on the level, had tired him a good deal more than a fast fifty would have done. There is reason in all things, and I am inclined to think that until a rider can keep up an average of at least seven miles an hour he or she had better not try longer runs than fifteen or twenty miles. That valuable chestnut What to drink when cycling has once more lifted up its head in the press. I cannot understand why people are in- capable of applying ordinary common sense to the matter. Every athlete knows, and is ready to ten his non-athletic friends, that the best thing to drink during athletic exercise is—nothing. Oatmeal water, cold tea. and other thirst-quenchers (?) may be indulged in if the cyclist likes but the penalty for this want of early self-restraint is the in- capability of riding without drink of some sort or other ever after. A little resolution at the beginning one's cycling career is all that is required. "Do not drink" while riding, in spite of the thirst and the latter win very soon disappear altogether. The writer has followed out this plan personally, and never suffers from thirst, even in the hottest weather. Xenr to check the gear of a [new machine as soon as you get it home mistakes in this par- ticular are extremely common. I recently looked oyer a machine that had been bought for a delicate girl; she found it very heavy uphill, though the gear was supposed to be only 56. On checking it I found it to be 62. It is astonishing that manu- facturers are not more careful about this matter, since nineteen out of twenty cyclists would never find out what was wrong, and would only conclude that the machine itself was no good. A big effort is being made at the present time to sell American machines in England. It is claimed that these are lighter than those manufactured in England, but it must be remembered that wood rims are generally used by the manufacturers across the herrintr pond," and also that gear cases are not fitted except to special order. Wood rims are also used by English makers, bnt not to the extent that steel ones are, and, for my own part, I should be loth to buy a machine with wood rims so long as I could get a IWestwood or a Jointless. The American machines are doubtless good ones, but I have a great deal more faith in the home article, and I cannot understand an Englishman buying an American bicycle when he can get one equally good if not better of home manufacture, and without paying any more for it. No one can wish for any- thing better than an English bicycle, provided the make is a good one, and surely a novice is not to be deceived in this respect now that the names of the best firms are almost household words. Oae or two of the cyclists' papers assure us that Royalty and nobility are taking to the Simpson chain, and although they do not say so in plain words, the inference is that the lever chain must therefore be a good one. It is perfectly ridiculous for technical papers to print such balderdash as this, because anyone with an atom of reason will readily see that ladies and gentlemen who are only just learning how to ride know nothing about bicycles or lever chains, and the opinion of a Prince or Princess on the Simpson lever is not worth tuppence." The trade papers of course could not exist without advertisements, but it is hard lines on the general public, who go to those journals for information to find that the reason for a nice little paragraph concerning such and such a tyre or bicycle is influenced by a big advertisement to be found on another page. Most of the writers in the cycling press think there is nothing in the Simpson chain, and though they may have said this in print they have never shown any anxiety to re- peat thf. statement, inasmuch as the Simpson people are big advertisers. And;while condemning the chain, would it not be more honest if such paragraphs as the Princess So-and-So using the Simpson chain were never inserted ? They are apt to convey a wrong impression. The ordinary reader, who knows nothing of the inner workings, is led to believe that the Simpson chain must be a real good thine: for notability to take to it, whereas nothing is easier than for a firm to make a present of a eyele fitted with the chain to some Royal personage, and then to send out a paragraph calling attention to the fact that this Royal personage has adopted the lever-chain. I do not for a moment say that the Sampson people would do this, and I only gue t 11s instance of how paragraphs concern- irf the adoption by Royalty of this or that idea might be o » amer], and how worthless moat of them are in sbowmn the value of anything in the market. Communications for this column should bo addressed to 1 ump Harder," County Times Office Welshpool, not. ,:<ter than Thursday in each week, to ensure publication in the" current issue. Secretaires 11 c n is will oblige hy sending their fixture hsrs as soon as possible.

SIAlvL AND UPPER MEKONG. There has jus; been published by the India Office a very important despatch from the Governor- General of India (appointed by the Gladstone- Rosebery Governments) and the Council of India on "Lord Salisbury s agreement with France in relation to Siam and the Upper Mekong No more eloquent tribute cou d be given to Lord Salisbury's action in this difficult question, nor could there'be a more complete refutation to the accusation that Lord Salisbury had given up to France territorv which the Rauic-a! Government- were determined never to eeùe. ThG following are extracts from the despatch "Vve concur with her Majesty's Government HI tmnkmg that the port of Ke;;a-- cheng, east of the Mekong, has no great importance in itself. Mong Using is off all main trade routes and none of the country has any real present or prospective value. Accordingly our right to it has been asserted principally with a view to the equit- able settlement of other claims in the same neighbourhood. We were prepared to cede this district to Siam in 1893, and to include it in a buffer state in 1894, and though we were reluctantly compelWl to occupy it in 1895 we have all along- recognised that this small excrescence on the other side of the Mekoug could be of no advantage or profit, to us." Lord Salisbury has pointed, out in the despatch "whICh we have already referred, that the most- important provision of the agreement is that which secures the stability of 'Siamese dominion in t Lu valley of the Menam. The interests, commercial and political, terved by this provision, extend over many parts of British Empire, and are not those of India alone. We, therefore, abstain from expressing any opinion upon this wider aspect of the arrangement, and confine our- selves to saying that, as regards our political rela- tions on the eastern frontier of Burma, important advantages are secured by the removal of any uncertainty as to the future of Siam, and that India cannot fail to share in the benefits resulting- to the commerce and industry of the world from the development of the resources of the Menam Valley." ——

In the Grand Challenge Cup boat race at Hen- ley 011 Tuesday the Leander crew easily beat the crew representing ale Lniversity, U.S.A. Two of phe Yale crew had to be lifted from the boat at the end of the race, and one of them fainted.

CHESS. All communications for this department should be addressed to the Chess Editor, who will be glad to hear from Secretaries of Chess Clubs as to tournaments, matches, & All letters to reach this office by Wednesday morning. Local intelligence will be given the preference to other news. Solution to Problem Xo. 32 B-QB7. Correctly solved by F. Carter, S. Jones, W. A. Doody and T. Morris. This simple and to our minds, not very excellent problem seems to have given some of our readers much more trouble than we anticipated. In reply to the solution from E. H. H." B- KKt3, and the solution M. W." B-B4, if Black plays H,-lt2 there is no mate, for if White discovers by moving his Bishop at R7, Black interposes his Rook, or if White plays K --B2 dis ch, Black plays R x R. PROBLEM No. 33.-Solutioiis invited By E. PKADIGNATJ, Montpoul. (From La Strategic.) BLACK 5 Pieces. WHITE- 5 Pieces. White to play aud"mate in two:moves. Positions :—White K at KB 8, Q at QR 5, B at Q 6, Kt at QB 4, P at KB 4. Black: K at ^B 3, B at QBsq, Kt at Q 6, Ps at Q 2, and QKt 2. Mr F. StarLin Pilleau is to be credited with having invented in his Dynamic Chess Xotation (Horace Cox) the uest, code that has yet been devised for telegraphic purposes. Any chess move can be registered by the use of two letters, one of which indicates the piece that moves, and the other the move itself, and thus the new notation has an advantage over aipothers. The principle on which the system is based is captivating in its ingenuity, the idea being, instead of particularising the square to which a piece moves, to describe the direction that is taken and the extent of the movement. V The pieces and pawns on either side are each designated by one of the letters of the alphabet, commencing with A for the Queen's Rook, and ending with P for the King's Rook's Pawn, thus E is the King and the same principle that governs his movements is applied to all the other pieces: When the King or E is placed away from all sides of the board he has eight moves at his com- mand. These are indicated by the first eigiit letters of the alphabet, commencing with the square nearest to the player, and then going round by tho Queen's side of the board." The moves of the Rook are calculated first aloDg its file, com- mencing with the square nearest the player, and then along its row commencing with the Queen's side. There is a complication with regard to the diagonal moves of the Queen and Bishops, for it is necessary to distinguish between the directions of the diagonals, and in order to do this the diagonal from KRsq to QR8 and its parallels is indicated by the move letter being placed first and the piece letter last. V* The study of the system'will afford much enter- tainment, and doubtless many will avail them- selves of it as a convenient chess shorthand. But the author's ambition that the dynamic code should supplant the ordinary process and come into general use for recording and publishing games is hardly likely to be realised. For .telegraphic and cable matches the new system is sure to be adopted, and is recommended by the British Chess Club. In order to illustrate the system, we publish a short game printed in the ordinary and "dymanic' styles. GAME Xo. 49. GAME No. 49. Mr. Donisthorpe. Mr; M. Dynamie. 1 P-K4 1 B—QKt3 1 MDJB 2 P-Q4 2B Kt2 2 LDSC 3 B—Q3 3 P—KB4 3 rFND 4 P x P 4 B x P 4 MCCY 5 Q-HS ch 5 P-Kt3 5 DVOB 6 P x P 6 Kt-KB3 6 MCGD 7 P x P dis clr 7 Kt xiQ 7 MCGF 8 B—Kt6 mate 8 FW The number of entries] for the Nuremburg Tournament, which begins on July 19th, is so large that about half the candidates are doomed to dis- appointment. Much as this is to be regretted, it is obvious that an entry of more than twenty com- petitors would render the tournament too lengthy and unwieldy to be feasible; whereas with a score of players, each completing one game a day, the contest can be comfortably finished within three weeks. Thus, as was the case at Hastings, several well-qualified experts are certain to be crowded out, and in view of the present plethora of first- class players it is not easy to see how a system can arise by which they will have the opportunity that is due to them of making their way to the front. A select„committee will meet on Wednesday to make up the final list of competitors, which will no doubt, be published shortly afterwards. It is regarded as highly improbable that Dr. Tarrasch will abstain from placing, notwith- standing the statements that have been made to that effect, and there can be little doubt that, with a few exceptions, the entries will very closely resemble those at Hastings. The American con- tingent will be further strengthened by the pre- sence of howalter, who has proved himself to be in very good form just now, and is expected in London, accompanied by Pillsbury, within the next few days en route for the scene of the encounter. Probaoly two or three of the English representa- tives who competed last year will be absent on this occasion, and their places will be taken by some of the rising young Continental players, who are certain to dispute the supremacy of 'Laskar, Steinitz, Pillsbury, I arrasch, and Tchigorin with vigour aud determination if not With ultimate success. ft ,¡, The Brooklyn Chess Club has arranged matches bv cable for next season with Paris, Berlin, and Vienna, Not content with this, the president of the Brooklyn Club has lately addressed a letter to the president of. the St. Petersburg Chess Club, pro- posing a match by cable between St. Petersburg and Brookivn. with six or eight.plovers a-side. -if- AXSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. The Chess Editor will be pleased to answer correspondents in this column if their questions are received at the COLWTY TIMES Office not later than Wednesday. »

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF NORTH WALES. The College authorities have just received from the Education Department an intimation that the application made tor an extension of the day training department has been granted. The College is now entitled to received in all 100 Queen's scholars, i.e., 50 men and 50 women. The Education Depart- ment have also sanctioned the arrangement made by the College with the Blaenau Eestiniog School Hoard, whereby a part of school practice of the students in the day training department is to be taken at Blaenau Eestiniog. Mr. H. W. C. Davis, B.A. ,Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford, has been appointed by the Senate temporary lecturer in history for the session 1896-7, during hichprincipal Reichel, who is professor of the subject, will be fully engaged as l'ice Chancellor of the University of Wales. Mr Davis won the Brackenbury History Scholarship at Balliol College, Oxford, in 1891, took a first class in classical honour moderations in 1893, and a first class in literaj humaniores in 1895. In this year he was also awarded the Jenkyns Scholar- ship at Balliol College, and subsequently was elected to a modern history fellowship at All Souls College. Mr Davis is a native of Monmouthshire. -+-

Mr. Edward Davies, J.P., Llanainam, has sent a cheque for £1000 to the T'revecca College Fund. The bill for legalising marriage with a deceased wife's sister came before a very fully attended Grand Committee of the Lords on Tuesday, and after various amendments had been made it was reported back to the House for third reading.

9 CO EKES PON DEN CE. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR- — • for thig To Correspondents. — Commumca and. column should be addressed^ 10 tie gr 0rdy must be written upon one .sine of tie p They should in all cases be acc°nlPa^' ariiyfof name and address of the sender, not ne. ■puoLication but as a guarantee oj goo T INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION WELSHPOOL. To the Editor of the County Times AND poST. Sir,—In a recent number of your that temporary, attention wa? drawn to t ie unless subscriptions towards the Ne^\ *^1 mediate School buildings be obtained by the c-> .1(1 C1' rO 25th, the amount due for such building o.eIieral County Governing Body-will lapse to nurrent fund. This is similarly true of Welshpoo • rP. reports convince us that there is a ^,artiv to specting the schools here. This is B^u' ignorance concerning the Welsh Interme< 1 yg}jjre cation Act of 1889. aud or the Montgoni^ S"heme in particular, and partly conditions under which secondary ct uc £ ortoer, carried on in England. With regard to ie^ tj|0gt' the Act evidently contemplates only helpinn who help themselves. As the schools not °nJ a local rate of id. in the but a 1 rea»ur^ equal to the amount so raised—it was t'jOU"oUUt of any district would gladly raise a. certain arn jarY money for a sui'.able building, in which s^ecjeDtly education, so amply endowed, could be e carried on. Considering the inestimab e jfc tages which accrue to a district under t »s 0ple cannot be supposed for a moment that the. P pltSS of Welshpool will let the golden opportunrtr If of subscribing adequately to the new schoo^^ the money cannot be raised, it can only b letter crass ignorance, which it is the object of tai to remove. With regard to the second poia secondary schools in England-nearly all our I::> &e" public schools-Eton, Harrow, Shrewsbury^ are charitable foundations; the building an were paid for out of private, in some by public, monies. fn our town, in rapldl) gbeen ing towns, excellent secondary schools ^aVgeCOnd- built entirely by private munificence. The s Oo ary schools in England have no local ra > Government grant; all that has been dOf tbe been through the energy and generosity I' case, people who benefited by them. Takeanothe our viz., that of the' Higher University EducatIon tbOSe Colleges, both for men and women, not on J -jge, of the older Universities, Oxford and ^.aII1^yale0> but those of the newest University, viz., It is have been built largely by private donations- n Hsll a truism that anyone who goes through an E 1Iot public school course and the University doe u1l' pay the full cost of his education. In fortunately, either we were too poor, or we I in grasp the necessity for endowing educate y is either case the fact remains that the princip9, curiously destitute of educational endowing > the inevitable result that secondary educati0^ seriously suffered. A good education is exp If the parents pay little for it in these Schools it is because the State by the Wels" e mediate Educatii n Act has acknowledged t that the people cannot afford the full cost. t øJI this splendid Act, this provision for endowm6 to be null and void because the people of We J10 are so blind to its advantages that they WI raise a paltry £ 1,000?—I am, &c., July, 1896. A Native of WELSIlPOO THE LIGHT RAILWAY TO LLANFAl ——— To the Editor of the County Times aNP <($ Sir,—Kindly allow me a small space in. valuable journal, in reply to the swaggefl^jjo^ marks of A Burgess" in your last issue. leS me to remind A Burgess" that Llanfair fol t It uot mean to consult him from where to t1 0 railway here. If for the reasons I gaVe lø former issue of your paper the Llanfairites ? the Meifod route, why should he rave and C itber a vain idea"? I can assure him we tle f mean "to ruin" nor "strangle" the tr hIs Welshpool. The ruin and strangling is tpiØ heated imagination. Why can't he trea. d t10t question iu a cool and charitable manner &tifeg & accuse us of unworthy motives ? Let us a? differ if needs be and discuss the matte^^#- friendly spirit. Xo good can come of hlC 'A As to the route through the Meifod Yalle)r) MPT Burgess and your reader*wait, the rriil1*" impending survey. In a few weeks botli from Welshpool and Four Crosses will be ggei*0 before the public, which will doubtless r your editorial remarks and be ventilated columns.—lam, »tc., .John Lloyd -—— ft PASSAGE OF THE ROYAL TRAIN XEWTOWN. Po& To the Editor of the County Timks and Pt&cS Sir,—As the erracious message from the of Wales to the disappointed spectators at town station has not yet, I think, appeared ;qne>! columns, I shall be much obliged by the i°s of the enclosed letter "purporting" to como Sir Francis Knollys, K.C.M.G., C.B. Your obedient servant, Edward Carlton Club, Pall Mall, S. W.1 Illy 8, 1896. Marlborough House, Pall Mall, S.Tv\> ,,96. 30 oj D*5ah Major Pryck-Joxes, — The Walts has just heard that, through, he is Pelj.0 some accident, the special train fa^0l^er slowly through Newtown station the ot as had been arranged, His Royal Highness be' sorry that this should have happened, you will ha ve the kindness to assure the inh of Xewtown how much he regrets the nii= Believe me, yours truly, ^g. Fraxcis KS<^ .———

THE ROYAL VISIT. ——— ved *1 The following is a copy of a letter re.ce^a,t^ the Lord Lieutenant of the County 0 Williams-Wynn) from Sir Francis Kn° behalf of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales: y., Marlborough House, Pall Mall, S. -iog6- 28th June- Dear Sir Watkin Wynn,— I am desif6 g go'' Prince of Wales to request you to have \VJ ness to inform Capt Williams-Wynu, oflSc0 J liams-Yaughan, and the ncn-cotnmissione^^ gfl^ and men who composed the Escort on the. pressed 26th inst, how very favourably he was lnce with their smart and soldierlike appeaiv grcø.tlt with their steadiness. His Royal HighueSSted to appreciated the loyal feeling which pv.ota^bioQ- f men to respond so readily to your m undertake Escort duty ou this occasion. Believe me, 1, Dear Sir Watkin Yours truly, oTli/i'?' (Signed) Francis

THE BIRKBECK BANK- The 45th annual meeting of the Birkl.Jef!iCgS e. ing Society was held on Thursday at t aud 30, Southampton Buildings. l„\ rece%t» Tho report adopted stated that the t0eaChe<J ^<1 from all sources during the year had 1 large sum of £ 14,563.877. The depos1 gOff&i se to £ 12.815,129, and 1 he subscriptions to ioCr^. and, after allowing for withdrawals, a V A is shewn over the preceding year o bringing up the total liabilities on subscr j deposits to £8,075,088. The amount 1\ IJ1evt 91J111 ing the year in the purchase of Govervl the 'I1f! other stocks has been £2,097,717, a -^cla 0{ standing to the credit of those fun 5 £607,844 cash at Bankers, now reaches of £61'etg £7,834,860, which amount is exclusive tot;ll ig balance due on mortgages mak:ng 11 £8,445,546. The balauco in excess oi £370,458. y

GREAT WOLLASTOI^ The School.—The following eveuing school held during the past 1" :Dlr 13 pig been received by the managers • in imports a considerable amount of etl sg,tif evening school work, and with ^er attfi'Q „ results. His class is small and t # gli9> et> varied, but qyery pupil Kets a. pepaf e^1 individual attention." 'I'he Educatio^ fof has again awarded the higher S subject. v (e- ———. -+- ——— Thurs^i^ 011 'f b J1 t¡¡lø.tl f

The London City Corporation ?n0 solved to present an address ° jncess enclosed in a gold casket, to the r Wales on her marriage.