Welsh Gazette and West Wales Advertiser

WALES AND THE EDUCATION ACT. REPORTS 4rom all parts of Wales reveal a remarkable and regrettable state of con- fusion into which the administration of educational affairs has been thrown by the controversy over the Education Act. Sir WILLIAM ANSON'S threats only serve to strike the roots of indignation deeper and deeper into the hearts of the people. The feeling of repugnance is growing apace, and the conflict is now passing from the popular into the legal stage. The result of the recent county council elections is a stub- born fact which will have to be faced. The one issue before the electors was the Edu- cation Act, and the entire nation has risen and proclaimed its condemnation of the measure in a way that has astonished every- one. What is the obvious purpose of elections? Is it not to ascertain the state of public opinion, so that Parliament may be guided in its legislation by definite knowledge of the needs and opinions of the country ? Legislation and public opinion should move in unison but in this case they have been deliberately set to move in contrary directions. A collision is, therefore, inevitable, and for that untoward result the Legislature is certainly as much responsible as public opinion. No Government can enforce upon a nation an Act against which that nation has unitedly protested, as being opposed to its interests and convictions, without openly violating and repudiating the principle of representative government. It is said that whatever the qualities of the measure it is now an Act of Parliament, and should be equitably administered. To refuse to administer an Act of Parliament is illegal, unconstitutional. Now this would, no doubt, be a valid objection on the part of men who allowed the spirit of the Constitution to govern all their doings, and loyally applied the principle to themselves as well as to others. But in this case the critics of the Welsh policy pick out one resolution of the Welsh councils as uncon- stitutional and shut their eyes to all that has been done on the other side. If this question, however, is to be decided by the constitutional principle, then obviously that principle should be applied all round-to the authors of the Act as well as to the administrators of it. Was the Act itself passed on constitutional lines? The Govern- ment were elected to settle the war, and the country gave them a majority for that pur- pose, but they have used it for purposes about which nothing was said at the general election. They have passed an Act which not only was not demanded by the people, but which is in many respects in violent conflict with the opinions and wishes of the people. Is that constitutional? In Wales they are using this majority, without the smallest warrant from the country at large, to enforce upon the people legislation utterly opposed to the people's wishes and convictions. Is that constitutional? If it is, one must conclude for the future that the end of statesmanship is not to meet the desires of the electors, but to violate them not to promote content and loyalty, but to excite protest and revolt. The Welsh county councils at last know what to expect. The Carmarthenshire pro- cess is to be applied to all the councils which have begun to administer the Act, and have laid themselves open to the charge of refus- ing to maintain and keep efficient" the Voluntary schools within their area. They are first of all to be threatened with an "inquiry." Then, we presume, a mandamus will follow, a "remedy" which Sir WILLIAM ANSON thinks" may prove more effective than is generally supposed." The inquiry is to be held at Carmarthen to-day and the first of the North Wales counties to be pro- ceeded against will be Merionethshire. The Merionethshire Council is already within sight of the inquiry stage in fact, the Council, at its meeting on Thursday, practi- cally invited the Board of Education to hold an inquiry without delay. It went even, further, and reaffirmed without a single dis- sentient voice the resolution passed last year not to levy a rate for Voluntary school purposes under the conditions imposed by the Act. Members recognized the letter from the Board of Education as a pre- liminary to the application for a mandamus, and Nonconformist ministers on the Merioneth County Council declare that they are ready to undergo imprisonment rather than yield.

Coercion in Wales. We think that the Irish Nationalists treated the other great branch of the Celtic family, the Welsh Nationalists, rather shabb- ily by supporting the Government on Monday in their opposition to Mr. Lloyd George's motion calling attention to the administra- tion of the Education Act in Wales. Cer- tainly Mr. Redmond and his followers atoned for their conduct on the following day by defeating the Government on the Irish leader's motion for the deduction of the Education Vote for Ireland. But theffi ought to have supported Mr. Lloyd George on Monday, because there was something more than a question of denominational edu- cation involved in his amendment. We can quite understand that unsectarian Bible teaching is quite as repulsive to the Roman Catholics as the teaching of Roman Catholic dogmas is to Nonconformists, and we have all along urged that the logical solution of the religious difficulty in the State schools is for the State to have nothing whatever to do with religious instruction in any form. The real issue raised by Mr. Lloyd George's amendment, however, was the right of the public to control public institutions. Gal- lant little Wales is being true to its best traditions in fighting for the maintenance of that principle. The Welsh County Coun,- cils, it is evident, intend to refuse to admin- ister the new Education Act until it is so amended as to give the public, and not the parsons, control of education, and to throw open the teaching profession. It is intoler- able that the Welsh, of whom the vast major- ity are Nonconformists, should be com- pelled to submit their children to be trained by Church teachers, and to have their schools placed under the administration of Church managers. The attitude of the Welsh County I Councils in resisting this injustice should have appealed to the sympathies of the Irish members, who understand what coercion means. If there is any sincerity in Sir Wil- liam Anson's reply to Mr. Lloyd George, it is evident that the Government intend to try their hand at coercing Wales into obedience to their ridiculous behests. Let the Gov- ernment make the attempt, and they will find that the Welshmen will be able to give them quite as much trouble as the Irishmen do. Sir William Anson was very free with his threats. Let the Welsh County Councils, he said in effect, go with their refusal to administer the Act. We will then try what a "mandamus" will do. He thought it was quite reasonable to anticipate that the remedy of a mandamus" might be more effective than Mr. Lloyd George supposed. If it were not, then the Government would have to ask for further powers." The Tories, whose favou"rite weapons of administration are coercion and violence, cheered this, just as they have invariably cheered successive Governments in introducing coercive Acts for Ireland. We wish them joy for their ex- periment. The Welsh are a nation quite as pure-blooded Celts as the Irish, quite as de- termined in their resistance to oppression, and in the past even more successful than their neighbours across the Irish Channel in defeating English tyranny. They have pre- served their language, and many of their ancient customs, and though they have not got rid of the English Church in the Prin- cipality as the Irish have got rid of the Eng- lish Church in Ireland, yet the glaring abuses once-so common in connection with appoint- ment to Welsh bishoprics have been aban- doned. The threatjs of coercion by our Government of' weaklings and cowards, if carried into effect, will merely result sooner or later in the establishment of Home Rule for Wales. Force has been no remedy for discontent in Ireland, where Home Rule is now inevitable, and force will be no remedy for discontent in Wales. The Welsh will be backed by the whole body of English and Scottish Nonconformists in their struggle against priesfcraft and unconstitutional pro- cedure, and the Government will have a fine time of it unless they follow their usual tactics of climbing down, a feat at which they are experts of the first water. —A.E.F. in Reynold's Newspaper.

'NOTES AND COMMENTS. The Liberals elected to the Welsh County Councils are almost exactly four to one of the Conservatives. -11- A full report of the first meeting of the sixth Cardiganshire County Council is given in this issue. -{{- Thirty members were appointed to consti- tute the new County Education Committee. The appointment of the remaining ten "se- lected members, which may be co-opted from either within or without the Council, was deferred to the next meeting. -{{- The Council also decided to defer the ques- tion of granting a sum of zC25,000, by way of loan or -as part of share capital, to the pro- moters of the scheme to construct a railway from Lampeter to Aberayron. The Cheshire Chamber of Agriculture on Monday adopted a resolution to the effect that the liability of a farmer under the Food and Drugs Act should cease upon his milk passing out of his control or the control of his servants. The new chairman of the Cardiganshire County Council is Mr. Thomas Evans, Cefn- cwrt, Llangranog, and the new chairman of the Carmarthenshire County Council is Mr. John Lewis, Meiros Hall, Drefach, Llan- dyssul. We do not know whether Montgomeryshire follows the example of Lancashire or the County Palatine that of Powysland. In any case, the fact remains that both have re- elected their County Council chairman for the sixth time—that is, without a break from the formation of those bodies sixteen years ago. ———— A correspondent who has been attending Mr. Frank Lloyd's sales at Wrexham states that a drop of £5 to £10 has taken place re- cently in the price of cobs and horses respec- tively, and that the decline was attributed at the sale to the increasing use of automobiles. Mr. J. D. Rees, the Liberal candidate for Montgomery Boroughs, is rapidly ingratiat- ing himself into the favour of the electors, and his supporters are sanguine that he will make a good fight, and at the present rate of progress will assuredly overthrow the sitting member. -1/- The sum paid into the Exchequer last week was no less than zC5,090,000, the largest weekly total received for some time past, and assuming this satisfactory rate were main- tained up to the end of the financial year, which closes on the 31 inst. the national in- come would fall only L70,000 short of the late Chancellor's estimate of £ 144,270,000. Poultry in this district are being deci- mated by a disease, the nature of which does not seem to be understood so well as it should be, considering the length of time it has been prevalent. During the past few years several thousand birds have fallen victims to its ravages; and it is estimated that the losses suffered by peasants and farmers throughout Cardiganshire would make a very large sum, in the aggregate. At one farm in the upper reaches of the Ystwyth, the last of a large number of fowls was killed by this fell disease on} Saturday last. Could not some of the numerous committees of the County Council do something to help the people in this matter? The Montgomery Boroughs should demand an explanation from Colonel Pryce-Jones for his absence from an important division on the Land Values Bill in the House of Commons the other week. Mr. Humphreys- Owen, who represents the county, took part in the division, and voted for Mr. Trevelyan's measure. This Bill is of vital importance to urban districts such as Machynlleth, New- town, and the other boroughs represented by Colonel Pryce-Jones, and it is incredible that the gallant member should have allowed party prejudice to prevent him from giving all the support he could to a measure, the direct and only object of which is to ease and equalise the heavy burdens the very rate- payers whom he represents have to bear. Colonel Pryce-Jones may rest assured that this will tell heavily against him when the day of reckoning comes. The Bill, which is a very short one, and quite simple, is really the result of action taken by a large number of municipalities. Over 200 local authorit- ies, representing some twelve million people, have given it their heartiest approval. Many Conservative members Jiave been forced, by the logic of facts, to admit the justice of placing some share of the local rating burden upon land. The Bill provides that all valua- tion lists on which local rates are based shall contain a separate assessment of the land values of rateable premises. The land value is to be taken to be an amount equal to three per cent. on the selling value of the land as distinct from the building.1 Unoccupied premises are to be subject to rating, but only on the land value. Where vacant land is being held back to ripen for building purposes it will not escape by reason of having no rated premises upon it, or by containing but a few poor buildings. It will be taxed on its land value like adjoining plots covered with houses. Once the Bill becomes law future leases must provide that the occupier shall be entitled to deduct from his rent the amount of the land tax. Existing contracts between landlord and tenant are not to be interfered with. A report which reaches us from creditable authority states that Mr. J. C. Harford will again contest Cardiganshire on behalf of the Unionists at the next General Election. Mr. Harford may have satisfactory reasons for challenging the whole moral of the maxim that "discretion is better than valour," but we do not think that the county is going to jilt its sitting member at the present juncture. -lI- The Rev. R. J. Campbell, of the City Temple, was among the passive resisters who appeared before the magistrates at Enfield on Monday, and a distress warrant was issued in the usual course. Mr. Campbell, speaking for himself and others, said they had a con- scientious objection to paying for the main- tenance of a form of religious instruction in which they disbelieved, and against some features of which their very existence as Nonconformists was a standing protest. -11- For the first time in the history of the Board the electors of Lampeter will be given an opportunity next Saturday to record their votes in favour of a lady candidate for a seat among the Guardians of the Poor. We hope they will do so in numbers strong enough to return Miss Cicely Price to fill one of the three vacant seats. Miss Price has, for some time past, taken a very practical inter- est in the life of the poor at Lampeter, and she would, undoubtedly, if elected, be an acquisition to the Board in many directions. Wonders never cease. An Aberystwyth newspaper amazed its readers last Thursday evening by the startling announcement that a WETHER belonging to Mr. David Phillips, had given birth to four lambs, and a second to three lambs Well. well, what next Poor St. Winifred and her miracle-working Holy well must take a back seat after this. How the sheepbreeders of Cardiganshire must envy Mr. David Phillips if his "wethers" drop lambs at this rate -11- In. the House of Commons on Monday Sir H CampbeU-Bannerman moved a vote of censure on the Government for advising the Crown not to disallow the ordinance for the introduction of Chinese labour into the Trans- vaal. A feature of the subsequent debate was the discourteous treatment accorded Major Seely (Unionist), who opposed the Government's policy, and whom the Minis- terialists attempted to shout down. The honourable member announced that he was about to resign his seat, and he has since done so. When the division was taken the motion was defeated by a majority of 57-242 members voting for it and 299 against. -lI- The protracted effort to secure a supply c" pure water for Tregaron is gradually comi to a head. The friends of progress at ti a place are having a hard and tough fight, aad we must confess that we can discover no sane reason for the persistent opposition to the present scheme. It is a matter for deep re- gret that old prejudices should be fanned into the white-heat of passion whenever op- portunity offers. The water supply question is once more being made the main issue of a local election. If those who are against the present/ scheme were equally vigorous in furthering an alternate plan there would be much less room for criticism. We can only hope that the result of Saturday's election will not be such as to drive to despair those who have diligently sought to remedy a very grave defect.' -ff- The Bishop of Hereford, in the House of Lords on Monday, contended there was a great deal of insincerity in the claim that Oriental labour was a necessity to the pros- perity of the Transvaal. When the British flag was hoisted there it was said that pros- perity would come by leaps and bounds. The mine owners first of all reduced the wages of the Kaffirs, although they knew full well that that in itself would tend to cause a shortage of labour. Now we were threatened with a recrudescence of slavery. The mineowners had pressed for this impor- tation of Chinese, but the mineowners did not represent the people of the Transvaal any more than the brewers and publicans in this country represented the people of Eng- land. The opinion of the true Africanders was directly against! tho ordinance. Lord Milner was disqualified for his high office, inasmuch as his temper constantly obscured his judgment, and his language was constant- ly running away with him. This was shown by his despatches. Men of that temper, de- clared the Bishop, and with that kind of rasping journalistic pen were not the sort of men to conduct delicate negotiations. Tho Bishop's speech made the peers wince, and there were violent protests. ———— At the Annual Assembly of the North Wales English Congregational Union, Mr. Charles Dodd, headmaster of the Wrexham Board School, moved a resolution to the effect that the assembly viewed with alarm the growing habit of smoking among boys and youths, and suggested that the churches within the union should adopt some means —such as the formation of a branch of the International Anti-cigarette League, or some other organisation-in connection with the respective Sunday schools and Bands of Hope to cope with the evil; also that the assembly desired to enlist the co-operation of manu- facturers and salesmen of tobacco by asking them to discourage its sale, especially in the form of cheap cigarettes, to boys and youths under the age of 21. The resolution was adopted. One lawman, however, said he thought they could not hope to succeed in the object of the resolution so long as the minis- ters and laymen of the churches could scarce- ly find time to discharge their duties at the conferences owing to their intense desire to go outside for a smoke," -f{- Mr. Vaughan Davies, who is suffering from an attack of influenza, attended the House of Commons on Monday to take part in the division on the vote of censure. Mr. Davies hopes to be sufficiently recovered by Friday next to move the second reading of his Pri- vate Legislation Procedure (Wales) Bill. The hon. member has hitherto been exceed- inly fortunate in his opportunities. Secur- ing only the nineteenth place in the ballot, he was able to find a second position avail- able on the 25th of March for the considera- tion of the Welsh Procedure Bill.. By a lucky chfl nee-the withdrawal of a bill of Sir Edward Strachey's—the first place became vacant, and the, Welsh bill has now a free afternoon open for its discussibn. It is in- tended to improve and extend the procedure for obtaining Parliamentary powers by way of provisional orders in matters relating to Wales. Presented by Mr. Vaughan Davies, it will be seconded by Mr. Brynmor Jones, the chairman under the Scotch Procedure Act, which does for Scotland what is now demanded for Wales. The bill is also back- ed by Mr. Herbert Roberts, Mr. Osmond Williams, Sir Alfred Thomas, and Mr. George Kenyon. In its main lines the Welsh Proce- dure Bill follows the Scotch Act, but Part III. introduces a new provision by the estab- lishment of a joint counties board, repre- senting county and county borough councils in Wales. This board is to replace the Com- missioners otherwise appointed under the bill, in conformity with the Scotch Act, for the purpose of inquiry as to the propriety of issuing and making provisional orders in matters relating to Wales. Coracle fishing has, according to the bailiff's report submitted at a meeting of the Tivy Conservators last week, opened well at Cil- gerran and Cenarth. At Shrewsbury on Thursday the first cases of passive resistance were heard by the borough magistrates. The defendants in- cluded Mr. Henry Done, who left his place on the bench to answer his summons, and they were courteously allowed to state their objections, although the Mayor announced that a majority of the magistrates declined to accede to a request to make one warrant cover all the cases, to reduce the owto-a concession which has been granted by the Bridgnorth and other magistrates. Before the decision of the Shrewsbury Bench was given Mr. John Barker read a protest, signed by four of the sitting justices, expressing their conscientious objection to several pa- visions in the Act, and their repugnance 'at having to administer it. After the rising of the Court a pubic meeting was held in the Square, and a vigorous protest made against the Act, the Bench being thanked for their patient and courteous conduct. -11-. Mr. John Redmond, M.P., declared in a speech in Manchester on Sunday that the next general election would be decided by bodies of men 1-n Great Britain who would vote on the question of Home Rule for Ireland, and on that question only. The ridiculous attempt to evade Home Rule by calling it an academic and not an urgent or a practical question would not, said he, be tolerated by the Irish party. No Liberal, Government founded on the predominant < partner theory could be supported by them, nor could they ask Irish electors in Great Britain to support any Liberal candidate who shuffles and palters with this question." Nor would any Government which assailed the Catholic schools of Great Britain receive support, Mr. Redmond said, from the Irish party. Their policy was to hold the balance of power between the two great English parties. The first business was to strike down the present Government, and then to see that no Government took office who would not grant to Ireland the right to legislate for I herself on purely Irish affairs.

MACHYNLLETII RURAL DISTRICT COUNCIL. The annual report of Dr. Matthews, medi- cal officer of health, was presented to the meeting of the Machynlleth Rural District Council on Wednesday in last week. From the report it appeared that there have been 99 deaths and 134 births in the whole of the district compared with 89 deaths and 113 births in 1903. These were shared as follows: Darowen 57 deaths, 65 births; Machynlleth 29 and 40; Pennal 13 and 19. In the last ten years there had been a de- crease in the population of 568. The number of deaths were more than in previous years but a far greater number died at ages over 65. The largest number of deaths took place in the months of January and June and the death rate was heaviest in Darowen during the summer months. Ten children under one year died in Darowen, five in Machynlleth none in Pennal. The death rate did not ap- pear to have been influenced very much by climatic conditions and a pleasing feature of the report was the few deaths from phthisis. BOARD OF GUARDIANS. A meeting of the Board of Guardians was held on Wednesday in last week, when there were present Mr. E. M. Jones (chairman), Mrs. Thomas, Messrs. W. Jones, D. Evans E. Hughes, D. Gillart, M. E. Francis, Ellis Hughes, Lewis Lewis, Edward Jones, R. Morgan, J. T. Parry, Rufus Owen, J. H. Evans, D. Davies, R. Hughes, and Ed. Lewis; with Mr.tDavid Evans (clerk), and Mr. D. Morgan (deputy clerk). The Master reported that there were 31 paupers in the house as compared with 33 during the same period 01 UJU;j. Uuring the past two weeks 154 vagrants were relieved, compared with 150 in 1903. The Master suggested that the Guardians should procure a quantity of oakum for the vagrants to pick. It was stated that a com- mittee had the question under consideration, and the alterations which it was proposed to carry out at the house would greatly assist the Master in dealing with the vagrants. Letters were read from the Towyn and Machynlleth Nursing Associations in which they thanked the Board for the contribu- tions, but Machynlleth Association com- plained that the subscription of £2 2s. was very small as compa ed with the donations of other Boards. The Local Government Board wrote assenting to the alteration of the registration district and the re-appoint- ment of Dr. Edwards and Dr. Matthews. The Board appointed Mr. Rhys Lewis col- lector of poor rates at a salary of E25 per annum, and offered the names of three ladies as sureties which the Board readily accepted. The Board accepted the tender of Mr. J. O. Williams, contractor, Machynlleth, for the proposed alterations at the House. ANNUAL SHOW COMMITTEE. A general meeting of subscribers to the Machynlleth show was held in the Vane Hall Machynlleth, on Wednesday afternoon in last week when there were present Messrs. Edward Hughes (presiding), J. Carruthers, Ellis Hughes, D. E. R. Griffith, L and P. Bank John Jones, M. E. Francis, D. Lewis, J. G. Jenkins, N. and P. Bank, and Mr. John Lewis, secretary. In a letter to the chairman of the meeting expressing regret for being unable to attend, Mr. Rd. Gillart said that he hoped that the meeting would decide to liolu the show this year, as he felt sure that with the hearty co-operation of all it would prove a success. He had not consulted the Marchioness (D) of Londonderry nor Lord Henry Vane-Tempest in the matter, but he felt sure from the inter- est. they had hitherto taken in the Society that both her ladyship and Lord Henry would wish for a continuation of the show. They had always been in favour of local shows which they considered did much good in the locality. The sub-committee, consisting of the fol- lowing members: Messrs. E. Hughes, R. Gillart, M. E. Francis, M. Ryder, and J. G. Jenkins met, and went into the affairs of the show having regard more especially to the financial sidei. They recommended that an appeal be sent to each parish within the rad- ius of the show asking them if they were pre- pared to support the show by suoscribing to its funds, otherwise there was a danger of it lapsing. The Committee recommended that the following classes be struck out of the schedule:—Class 2, stallion for agricultural purposes; 3, roadster or cob stallion for harness or saddle; 16, horse shoeing competi- tion; 37, Hereford heifer under two years old; 88 and 89 (roots) and classes 4 and 5 to be amalgamated. By this means it wos hoped to effect a reduction in the prize money about E20. In other directions the com- mittee pointed out that a saving could be effected and finally commended that a show should be held.—A discussion followed as to whether they should hold a show or not and the chairman pointed out that it was ex- pected by the people of the district that a show would be held. They were unfortunate :in having a wet day but there was a great deal of interest taken in the show.—It was pointed out that the Committee threw out the suggestion that they should do away with the Horticultural section and whilst adopting the report of the committee the meeting left this matter open.—It was de- cided, on the motion of Mr .John Jones, seconded by Mr. M. E. Francis, to hold another show, the date to be fixed later.—On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr. Jenkins, Lord Henry Vane-Tempest was ap- pointed president and Mr. Richard Gillart chairman of the Working Committee.

TO ADJUDICATORS ON NEEDLEWORK. (To the Editor of the Welsh Gazette.") Sir,—It was my good fortune to be some time ago at a meeting held at the Wesleyan Chapel, Aberdovey, where several competitions took place and prizes awarded. Amongst others was a competition for button-hole making. I noticed that several of the competitors were condemned for making one end of the button- hole by overcasting," instead of using the button-hole stitch all round. I was rather surprised to hear this, because I know that all books on needlework recommend this method and insist on it, especially in fine work. The Government Inspector also would not pass any buttonhole not made -in this way, that is, by overcasting at one end. I do not know who the adjudicators were, but I hope these few lines will come under their notice. Yours, etc., Aberdovey. DRESS-MAKER.