Welsh Gazette and West Wales Advertiser

AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL EDUCATION. THE traditions of popular education are undergoing a gradual but a sure--and, we hope, a safe-revolution. Last Friday, the Duke of DEVONSHIRE and Sir JOHN GORST received a deputation from the Agricultural Education Committee, who. urged that the control of agricultural and rural education should be transferred from the Board of Agriculture to the new Board of Education. It was urged that the particular curriculum which was advantageous for London or Manchester children was not exactly the type of education it was desirable to give the children of the rural districts. The deputa- tion desired the concentration of educational work in the hands of one single department, and that freedom should be given to, differentiate between the town and country in elementary and secondary schools. The- Duke of DEVONSHIRE; said that the giving of a more practical and useful character to the elementary education imparted in rural schools was an object which had his entire sympathy and that: of every member of'the present Government, It was a matter in which it was not desirable,, even if it were possible, that it should be attempted to introduce any great or revolutionary change. The Depart- ment were mostranrious to go hand in hand with the Committee represented by the deputation, and to. gradually and cautiously but, he hoped,.eiffciently introduce i-efarpas and changes. Sir JOHN. GORST also remarked that what was waited in rural schools was to teach the children to observe the objects by which they were surrounded, to draw out all their powers of. observation and research by teaching them what to look ror, and thus to produeethat power of mind which it was qhe real objee.tof education to call forth. We are, at last, being forced to realise that a colourless uniformity has been too much the aim and the result of our educational methods. RUSKIN advocated for over half a century the wisdom and need of adapting the educa- tion given to the varying circumstances of the children to be educated, and it was gratifying to learn—on the morrow of that great man's funeral-that the Department are now engaged in an endeavour to draw up some scheme for this purpose. We cannot refrain from quoting at length the invaluable summary of the principles of education given in the concluding volume of Fors Clavigera" a summary that cannot have too much attention now that reforms are in the air. "I start," says Ruskin, with the general principle that every school is to be fitted for the children in its neighbourhood who are likely to grow up and live in its neighbourhood. The idea of a general education which is to fit every- body to be Emperor of Russia, and provoke a boy, whatever he is, to want to be something better, and wherever he was born, to think it a disgrace to die, is the most entirely and directly diabolical of all the countless stupidities into which the British nation has been of late betrayed by its avarice and irreligion. There are, indeed, certain elements of education which are alike necessary to the inhabitants of every spot of earth. Cleanliness, obedience, the first laws of music, mechanics, and geometry, the primary facts of geography and astronomy, and the outlines of history, should evidently be taught alike to poor and rich, to sailor and shepherd, to labourer and shop-boy. But for the rest, the efficiency of any school will be found to increase exactly in the ratio of its direct adaptation to the circumstances of the children it receives; and the quantity of knowledge to be attained in a given time being equal, its value will depend on the possibilities of its instant application. You need not teach botany to the sons of fishermen, architecture to shepherds, or painting to colliers still less the elegances of grammar to children, who throughout the probable course of their total lives will have, or ought to have, little to say, and nothing to write."

LLANYBYTHER WATER SUPPLY. IT is to be hoped that the agitation in favour of a better water supply for Llanybyther will not be in vain. The movement so far has the symptoms of being fitful and f evei-isb, and is characterised by a lamentable lack of harmony and determination on the part of the inhabitants. Llanybyther is rapidly increasing in size, and has long ago attained dimensions that demand a more modern method of water supply than that which served it while it was a mere village with one-half the present number of houses. No one can deny that a better supply-in quality and quantity—is urgently wanted but, unfortunately, when- ever steps are taken to consider the matter the question of ways and means constantly creates an endless division of opinion, and the movement is throttled in its infancy. If the Parish Council, assisted by a few of the leading ratepayers, were to take the matter up in a public-spirited manner they would, we believe, soon win the-confidence of the inhabitants and bring the-matter to a successful issue. The present sources of supply are far from being satisfactory in many respects, and they are very inconvenient and well-nigh inaccessible to an increasing number of the inhabitants. The difficulty and trouble of getting at the present supply is a heavy rate on a large proportion of the, community, and even as a matter of convenience, leaving aside weightier con- siderations, an improved supply would certainly fully justify a judicious outlay. The recent public meeting was a failure, for some reasons or other; it did not improve public opinion to say nothing of the water supply. Dr. THOMAS, the medical officer, has done his share, and more, to enlighten public opinion-a preliminary work indis- pensable to any reform. If a few of the leading men of the place, like Mr. JAMES, B&ilibedw; Mr. EVANS, Llysfaen House; Mr. THOMAS DAVIES, chemist; and Mr. WILLIAMS, Dolgader, were to take the matter up in earnest, and invite the ca-operation of their fellow-ratepayers, there is no reason why an ample and wholesome supply of pure water could not be secured at no distant i date.

THE JUDGE AND THE DEAN. WAS it not Mr. GLADSTONE who said he found ample justification for the existence of our State Church in the fact that it had given us-and Christendom at large-the famous Analogy of BUTLER ? That masterly and learned defence of the Christian Faith in aa age that was submerged in cold and arrogant materialism was more than a recompense for the doles and tithes "paid by « the Stata, to the Church for many a genera- tion. The Church of England—to its honour be it said-has seldom failed to pro- duce a.great man in a great crisis. And to-day.^ when the country is overwhelmed with materialism of a different type to that which sapped the life and vigour o £ the nation in the eighteenth century, the See of Durham has once more had the honour of sheltering the- honest ecclesiastic who has uttered a prophetic note of warning, and has made a courageous effort to, arrest the degrading military spirit of the age. The other Sunday Dean KITCHEN preached in Durham Cathedral what he himself modestly ¡ calls a (t simple" sermon on the words If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirsts, give him to drink, for in so doing thou shali heap coals of e on his head." He referred to the present; Transvaal crisis, and said these were days in which men did not hesitate to say that England practically abandoned Christianity. They who did not despair of the faith of the land, little as it might come up to the height of Christ's Gospel must look with anxious care to the signs of the times and ask themselves what was amiss and why. How, then, did they stand towards their enemies-alas that we should have them at all!—but as they were there, how did they treat them ? What was their temper ? His opinion was that the combatants had begun with a deep mi-iappi e- hension of the character and aims of the other, and had listened to those who for interested motives had steadily misled them. They were to pay the heavy penalty of a struggle which, end as it might, must embarrass them in many ways, subject them to the gravest risks, and throw back the progress of good government among them. But how did they feel towards the apostolic principle of his text-the plain duty, love your enemies ? Were the precepts of the ideal Church never intended, like the Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount, to be applied more closely than was con- venient ? They must remember that there was no rule of the Gospel which was more emphatic, more frequently stated, more nobly acted on than this. But what, then, did they find around them? With what spirit did they send out their fighting men—the drunken revels which form the music hall ideals of good fellowship; the excitement of the gin palace and the London streets; as if the bottle was the best prelude for the battle the cries to the poor lads to avenge this or that; the greedy newspapers spreading unfounded slanders against their opponents; the insistence by which prejudice and angry ignorance had pervaded them that the enemy was but a horde of savages, who would run away at once. The whole temper of the times was so utterly anti-Christian that it appalled him when from the quietude of his home he looked out on it all and noted the intolerance with which men hated opinions opposed to the momentary enthusiasm. They knew that these noisy people, who let no voice but theirs be heard on the platform, in the pul- pit, and in, newspapers, and who would never themselves undergo the pain of it, were far from being the sane mind of their English people. But one could wish that they dis- played more of that kind prudence and respect for a brave adversary, who after all, would raise this conflict more to the conflict of a gentleman's strife, and make it honour- able, if it could never make it a Christians' quarrel. Chucking at them, their neigh- bours said of them that they had entered on it with the spirit of savages, because they had so often Jhad to put down savage tribes and had lost all sense of fairness and chivalry, They, at any rate, who professed j a kind of Christianity should remember that Christian missions to Africa had always been honourably distinguished by standing be- tween the natives and the aggressions of Europeanswhether these bad been Boers or gold-grabbers, or vendors or gin or rum. This had been a generous reading of Christian principles of love and brotherhood. Could they bring these principles to bear on their little adversary to-day, who, like David, was fighting manfully with his sling and stone against Goliath bewildered in his bigness ? It Was about 330 years since, said the DEAN, that such another war broke out. The greatest sea power in the world, the only real Colonial Empire in the world, the land whose soldiers were far above all in repute for hardness and bravery, the land of an inexhaustible supply of wealth, whose trade truly followed its flag: this power set itself to trample down one of the Free small State of Europe. The Church blessed the effort. The little, State was independent, heretical-an offence in the eyes of the Imperialism of the age. They thought little of such a small. country. They were the haughty over-lords over it. Those were the unfortunate beggars whose resistance could not stand more than a few months before the strongest power in Europe who had the men, had the guns, and had the money too! They treated their ragged enemies with contempt, their free life should go, the Imperial, power must prevail, and the Church again control the erring people with the grim control of fire and sword. Was it necessary to. carry on the parallel ? The lesson was there writ large for their learning. In concluding, the DEAN said there was no nobleness, save that of purity and love: no gospel save that which preached forgiveness no.joy like that of joining hands in peace. The sermon has attracted considerable attention and the strictures passed upon it by Mr. JUSTICE GRAHNTAM has helped to make ,it still more widely known. Presiding at the- opening of the Winter Assizes at. Lancaster, His Lordship said he was justified in saying, that he was proud to see the spirit of patriotism that had fired the hearts of the nation, and how the young men had been volunteering in thousands directly they thought their country was in dan- ger. In the face of those facts a clergyman and a high dignitary-the Dean of Durham— had chosen to slander the nation and to throw foul aspersions on the men who in the true spirit of Christianity were leaving fathers, mothers, wives and children and home comforts at their country's call-all ready to shed their blood, and if needs be their lives, on behalf of their country. Having quoted a passage from the sermon the Judge said it was not for him to criticise the views or conduct of a clergyman who not only used his pulpit to force his con- gregation to listen to views which he knew were hateful to them, but give fresh vigour to the enemy. But as the men were leaving this country, some never to return, it was the duty of their countrymen to protect their character from such aspersions. There might have been cases of drunkenness, through friends having forced drink upon the men, but compared with the hundreds and thousands of all ranks and employments such instances were rare. As the men were going out to fight the battles of their country it seemed to him to be the duty of some- one to say how untrue the charges were. In reply to these strictures the Dean of Durham addressed the following letter to Justice Grantham—"Dear Mr. Justice Grantham,—I am sending you a true copy of my simple sermon, which you have not seen, yet have publicly condemned. I thought the Bench never gave judgment before it knew the facts, yet you have in court censured me ,on mere newspaner reports. Englishmen have still a right to their honest convictions, and, if they believe in them, to express their belief in words. I But you, I fear, have joined the conspiracy of silence to close independent mouths. It will be a very bad day for England did the judical bench stoop to follow your unhappy example, did the ermine descend so low as to play to the gallery in days of political or national trouble.—I am, yours sincerely, G. W. KITCHEN." England was never in greater need of more men of the stamp of the Dean of DURHAM; and it may yet remain for "sweet reasonableness" rather than the force of arms, to restore the prestige of our country.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. England I the time is come when thou should'st wean Thy heart from its emasculating food The truth should now be better understood Old things have been unsettled; we have seen Fair seed-time, better harvest might have been But for thy trespasses.— WORDSWORTH In another part of the paper will be found an interesting letter from the Aus- tralian gold mines on Welshmen as Colonists, and the ineed-for technical education. Three and a half millions of Indians are already in receipt of relief in .the famine- stricken districts of India, and as many millions of pounds sterling will be required it these tellow-subjects of ours are to be kept alive till March. As yet not one penny has been publicly raised in their be- half in this country. Nor is this the worst. The Secretary for India has actually refused to inaugurate a fund to relieve this appalling distress—a distress which covers an area more than twice as large as that affected in 1497. To appeal to the charity of the Empire Lord George Hamilton has told us would be inexpedient." The whole public mind," he thinks, is entidy absorbed in the war in South Africa." The Times has a juster sense of what is due to our- selves and to our subjects than has the India Office. The failure to raise a fund to meet this famine would strike a blow at our prestige, not only in Europe, but in India itself, not less fatal— though its effects might be less immediate and sensational— than a dozen reverses in Natal. TO THE .DEAN OF DURHAM. I honour the man who is willing to sink Hsl? his present rcpuie far the freedom to think; And when he has thought, be his cause strong or weak Will sink t'other half for the freedom to speak; Not caring what vengfiswv-e :V,. i store, Be that mob the upper ten thousand or lower. —LOWELL. Sine where we print r,11 rt of a Government Inquiry at Barmouth relative to the completion of the waterworks scheme of that town. Railwaymen and others will read with interest thr speech by Mr. Vaughan Davies, M.P., on the growth and progress of rail !0', ways, which we print in another column. Mr. Daniel Watkins, solicitor, Lampeter, has been appointed Registration Agent for the Conservative Party in the County of Cardigan in succession to Mr. E..H. Davies, of Rhiwlas, retired. One of the chief officials of the Carmar- then Asylum, stated recently that more work and improvements were carried out at that important institution during Mr. C. M. Williams' chairmanship of the Joint Counties' Committee than in any other year. The London Correspondent of the "Man- chester Guardian says:—There is a rumour, or something more, of differences between Lord Rosebery and the official leaders o Liberalism in Scotland. The trouble has arisen apparently out of an incident which occurred during Sir H. Campbell-Banner- man's visit to Aberdeen. A good deal of interest has been excited by the statement made at Bryant and May's annual meeting to the effect that a patent for producing "strike anywhere" matches without the use of the deadly white phosphorous has been secured. The an- nouncement is welcome, and it ought to simplify the situation on the new special r ules for match factories which come in next month. The archbishops and bishops issued on Wednesday night" a call to united prayer," and suggesting that the first Sunday in each month of the year and the Monday following should be set apart for the purpose. Among the subjects suggested is the present war, and it is added that during such a year of self-communing and prayer controversial questions should be as far as possible kept in the background, and that all warfare in bitter words should be put away. Sir C. Dilke spoke upon the war at a meeting in the Rhondda Valley last week, and strongly criticised the Government for the reverses and the heavy loss of life which had occured. H& described the neglect of obvious preparations which had characterised the war as a military and national crime. Great Britain spent more upon land forces than any other empire in the world, and when we were confronted with a serious war our military preparations utterly broke down. A Conference of Women Liberals in the North of England was held last week at Liverpool to pass a resolution in regard to the war. It was a widely representative meeting, and the resolution adopted deplored the incompetent diplomacy" which had brought about the war, and urged the Government to make clear to the Boers as soon as possible the terms which would be accepted by this country. These terms, it was added, should be such as will leave intact the internal independence of the two Republics. ——— — At a meeting of the Executive Council of the County Councils Association held last week in London, a discussion took place, in which it was urged that pressure should be brought to bear upon the War Office to give further assistance and encouragement to the volunteer movement as a means of avoiding conscription. It was decided that common action should be taken in the forthcoming session of Parliament to secure an amend- ment of the Borough Funds Act. It was also agreed that local authorities ought to be enabled to obtain powers and privileges, more freely than at present. The Board of Trade has declined to make a grant in aid of the construction at Pwllheli of a harbour of refuge for the n shipping of Cardigan Bay. Mr. Lloyd- ZD y George, M.P., in communicating this decision to Mr. E. R. Davies, the town clerk, suggests that perhaps it was unreasonable that the Government, while it is. expending over a hundred millions in enhancing the value of' the gold mines of Johannesburg, should at, the same time spend X5,000 for the protec- tion of the lives of Welsh and English., fishermen in Cardigan Bay." The dispute between four of the Welsh railway companies and their servants is approaching a crisis. The companies are, represented to have determined to resist the, men's demands at all costs. On the other hand, the Secretary of the Amalgamated Society states that a very large number of notices have been received from the men. and that they are nearly unanimously" prepared to leave work, if necessary, to secure the terms they ask. At a mass meeting of the men in Cardiff on Sunday it was determined to hand in notices to cease work at the end of a fortnight, and in the meantime to again endeavour to induce the directors to meet a deputation. A conference was held in London on Friday, supported by the Women s Local Government Society, to consider the position of women in the administration of secondary education. Lady Aberdeen presided, and in her opening speech she urged that the country suffered by the absence of women from local governing and educational bodies in many ways, and notably by diminishing the number of efficient public servants. Resolutions were adopted expressing the opinion that the presence of women on the Consultative Committee to be appointed under the Board of Education Act is necessary to enable the Committee to duly perform the duties assigned to it, and that in future legislation for the establishment or recognition of local authorities for secondary education provision should be made to ensure the presence of women upon such authorities. Mr. Lloyd-George, M.P., responding to toast of the Liberal party at the annual runner ot tne vjxrord laimerston Ulub on Saturday, spoke on the war and criticised Lord Rosebery's recent speech. There was, he remarked, never a more inopportune moment than the present for Liberals to go about preaching Disraelian Imperialism The country was suffering from the effects of Imperialism, and the greatest service the L'iboral party could render it was to inculcate the sound, healthy ideas of Fox, Cobden, Bright, and Gladstone. In enumerating the losses which the war had brought on the country Lord Rosebery failed to mention the loss of that which was very precious to every true lover of Britain- namely, the distinction of being the hope and shield of 'the weak and oppressed in all lands, which was always the brightest gem in Britain's glory. No Liberal. L least t s would have bar tered that for all t¿ 1ld of the Rand.