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KUiPSST! WHITE TO-DAY J —a postcard will do —sad 9 n-|f;V^ tnstlnm H. SAMUEL Will send you his ■ „i £ f^jfflllL large and beautifully illustrated ■ FREE S v ^t^SAVIH6SEGUIDE I /> .■. ■ift'f,?' >v Thousands have saved pounds through ■ bi J/ A* tnis famous book, the wealth of bargains ■ t jj it contains beinj offered at ■ /#• G RE HCttuMa FROM THE USUAL | hs.mil F F. I S. F,X"1 3, 00 G- <"••? > ■'X"5S' i i- Vi « '• ■» ■■-> *» ;• T i /¥ «?*]! Iff iii II ,'iU fc/" hi w. ""S^V. A ii "ACME" i|| < tri uii. £ oorti- n of th'r. sto k to jm SILVER LEVER k Igftl is pur; hi' crs Duit/NG -HE NjSX'>/# OC f f /«\ aSl! 7 •? 'XWEJn'A'Y-QKE DAYS. fc,5j/" i | //M/ |\ BE IN TIME TO SECURE Kev,Jor L., s C, X [■■■fe^il jjj. SAS^IlEL m ac u> ■» *■ •• lous accuracy FREE. 200 NIARKET ST., MANCHESTER. SILVER ALBER7 CAMBRIAN RAILWAYS. GRAND FOOTBALL MATCH. WELSH SENIOR CUP, Chester v. Aberystwyth—($th Round), AT ABERYSTWYTH, Saturday, Feb. 13th, KICK-OFF 3 P.M. CHEAP HALF-DAY TICKETS TO ABERYSTWYTH FROM NEWTOWN, j LLANIDLOES, ETC. FOOTBALL—INTERNATIONAL TRIAL. MATCH AT WREXHAM, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15th. ON THE ABOVE DATE CHEAP EXCURSION TICKETS TO WREXHAM. DRURY LANE THEATRE, GRtlND PANTOMIME, "DICK WHITTINGTON." CAGE BIRD SHOW, AT CRYSTAL PALACE, FEBRUARY 5th to 9th. TRITFT'S DOG SHOW ROYAL AGRICULTURAL HALL, FEBRUARY ^lOth to 12th. SHIRE HORSE SHOW, ROYAL AGRICULTURAL HALL, FEBRUARY 23rd to 26th. MAMMOTH FUN CITY, OLYMPIA. SATURDAY. February 6th-for Three, Four or Eight Days. WEDNESDAY, February lOth-for Two' Four or Six Days. TUESDAY, February 23rd-for Two, Five or Eight Days. WEDNESDAY, February 24th-for Two, Four or Seven Days. EXCURSION TICKETS WILL BE ISSUED TO LONDON (Euston), BY EXPRESS SERVICE. PASSENGER TRAIN AliTERATIONsr FEBRUARY. » The 3.55 p.m. Train FROM ABERYSTWYTH will be retimed from Caersws to Osweatry, nd tiie 8-10 p m train WELSHPOOL TO OSWESTRY will be retimed throughout as. under :— ¡J Alteration of 3-55 from Aberystwyth. Alteration of 8-lOp.m. from. Welshpool. 1 p.m. p.m., —w i Caersws °eP- Moat Lano J » Newtown « « /> 1 • —' Abermule R q Montgomery • » Borden >• jj Welshpool J „ iButoington » 7 22 Pool Quay Mon. Arddleen » 7 32 JFour Crosses o a a 7 37 Oanymynech arr. 6 4b 7 42 deP- 6/8 7 45 £ ant » A 7 4,8 Llynclys aw. 6 53 x- 7 50 deP- J 8 0 Oswestry — ■ arr 7 The S 55 p.m, Train from Aberystwyth will form a connection at Oswf!stry wfth the 7 20 p.m. ain thence to Whitchurch, Crewe, Liverpool, Stockport, Warrington, Wigan, to the Guard at Welshpool, and to pick up for stations beyond Oswestry. LIST OF LODGINGS. WDTTION OF THE LIST OF HOTELS AND INNS. A NEW AND REyi»ED ELQDGINGS IN THE DISTRICT SERVED BY THE FARMHOUSES AND COUNTRY L ISSTJED FOR THE COMING SEASON. A CAMBRIAN WiIIjL BE CHARGED FOR THE INSERTION OF ANY FEE OF 0NE SHILLIN „ es and Addre»»es of Farmers, Hotel Proprietors and Lodging JJAME AND f A?commodation to Offer should be sent to any of the Company's Station j House Keepers, havmg Aicc aC00mpanied by a remittance not lat«i than March 1st next. -r-eJ CHEAP EXCURSIONS TO LIVERPOOL & MANCHESTER. PANTOMIMES Prince's Theatre, Manchester The, DolUr Princ«f.» Theatre Royal, Manchester Goody lwo Shoes. Gaiety Theatre, Manchester ^:lice Wonderland. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool Humpty Dumpty. j; Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool Jack and Bean Stalk. ,.r: Football Match at Liverpool. ENGLISH CUP-2ND ROUND. LIVERPOOL v. NORWICH CITY February 6th. Football Match at Manchester. ENGLISH CUP-2ND ROUND. MANCHESTER UNITED ». EVERTON Februray 6th CHEAP BOOKINGS TO LIVERPOOL and MANCHESTER EVERT MONDAY. THTJRSI^iY, AND SATURDAY; AND TO BIRMINGHAM mnTTDQnAY AND SATURDAY, Until Further Notice. RJ V EJ-LL I ^——-—-——I__ RJ V EJ-LL I ^——-—-——I__ TOURIST Week E„d and /ourteen Days^Tickets ARE ISSUED TO THE "^L THE YEAR ROUND. »T>r, at <?n ISSUED TO LIVERPOOL, MANCHESTER, WEEK END TICKETS ARE ALSO^^ • J Stations, or from the Offices of the Company Fall particulars can be obtained at une c g DENNISSi General Manager. Oswestrv. January. 1909. A-^URe'Tnd"'pER\IANENT CURE fori Broken-Winded HorseB. An Invaluable Remedy, made up from a never-failing recipe.- Apply to I Carrier," Express Office, Newtown. CLARKE'S B 41 PILLS are warranted to cure C in either sex, all acquired or constitutions Broken-Winded HorseB. An Invaluable Remedy, made up from a never-failing recipe. Apply t° M Carrier," • Express Office, Newtown. CLARKE'S B 41 PILLS are warranted to cure in either sex, all acquired or constitutions Digchar^ee from the Urinary Organs, Gravti •nd Pains in the back. Free from Mercury. Established upwards of 30 years. In boxes 4E. 611, each of all Chemists and Patent MedicinE Vendors throughout the World, or sent for sixt) Sunups by the makers, The Lincoln and Midland -Cr,untieF Drug Company Lincoln MONEY. Dear Sir or Madam,— Are you requiring a prompt and private Cash Advance? If so, you cannot do better than write for my terms, free of charge. I lend Xio and upwards at lowest interest and repay- Dear Sir or Madam,— Are you requiring a prompt and private Cash Advance? If so, you cannot do better than write for my terms, free of charge. I lend £ 10 and upwards at lowest interest and repay- ments, upon Note of Hand, or upon Policies, Deeds', &c. You can rely upon straight dealings and strict privacy.—Write at once (in strict and strict privacy.—Write at once (in strict confidence) to F. W. HUGHES, 63, Kingswood Road, Moselry, Birmingham. (000)
INational Provincial Bank…
National Provincial Bank of England, Ltd. The annual general meeting of the bank was held on Thursday at 112. Bishopsgate-street, E C. Mr Maurice O. Fitzgerald, who presided, said that the salient feature of the year 1908 had been the rapid and continued fall in the value of money. It was almost difficult to realise to-day that on January 1st, 1908, they were just emerging from a severe banking panic in the United States, and that the bank rate then stood at 7 per cent. The rate was reduced on January 2nd to 6 per cent., and so rapid was the change in the monetary con- ditions that reduction followed reduction, until on May 28th the rate was reduced to 2 £ per cent., and remained at that figure until the end of ihe year. The effect of this heavy fall was that for the year 1908 the average bank rate was only X3 Os 3d against X4 18s 5d in 1907; the average discount rate for three months' bills X2 5s lOd, against X4 8s lid; brokers' call money Jil lis 3id, against X3 6s 2ld; and short loans to stock- brokers X3 Os 7id against X4 17s 6i. With such comparative rates the sbareholders would readily understand how slender had been the margin of profit left to bankers, especially to banks such as theirs, which had a large proportion of deposits in the country, where the deposit rate of interest does not vary, as in London, with the bank rate. The year 1908 had, therefore, been a lean one for bankers, and he trusted, under these adverse cir- cumstances, the shareholders would consider the results attained not unsatisfactory. With regai d to the future, the prospects were perhaps even more perplexing than usual. Clouds still hung over the political horizon abroad, and there was the ceitainty of large increased taxation for unproductive purposes in all the great countries, and the uncertainty as to the shoulders on which these new taxes would fall. On the other hand, there was choltp money; there were no seriou- labour troubles at the momer.t in this country, and there was a general sentiment of hopefulness. So far the business of the bank-bowed little, if any, indication of trade revival, and it might well be that until the Budget proposals were disclosed new enterprises and now expenditures would be kept within as narrow limits as possible. At the same time it must be borne in mind that addi- tional taxation, even to the extent of ten million pounds or fifteen million pounds a year, if on sound economic lines, would not materially check the industrial development of a country which was computed to save three hundred millons to four hundred millions a year. The farming inter- est, with which so many of the branches of the bank were intimately associated, bad, on the whole, btien doing fairly well. After dealing with the accounts, he said that the bank was never in a better position to take advantage of the trade revival when it came, to assist its customers, and to earn profits for the shareholders. Mr G. F. Malcolmson seconded the motion for the adoption of the report, which was carried unanimously.
Many Unsuspected Casesj in…
Many Unsuspected Cases in Newtown. Nothing is more to be feared than kidney complaint, because it is often unsuspected until it has spread dangerous disease throughout the body. There are many unsuspected cases here here in Newtown, and if you have any such unmistakable symptom of kidney complaint as pain in the loins and back, urinary disorders, gravel, dropsical swellings, rheumatic pains, and constant weariness, you should profit by this Montgomery's man's experience :— Mr T. Vaughan, Tailor, Plough Bank, Mont- gomery, is well known and highly respected He says :—" I have great faith in Doan's backache kidney pills, because some time ago I was suffering severely with pains in my back and loins. Hearing a friend recommend Doan's backache kidney pills, I decided to try the medicine, and did so with the best result. The pains speedily disappeared, and I have never been troubled with them since. Doan's pills will have my hearty recommendation. (Signed), T E. Vaughan. Doan's backache kidney pills are two shillings and ninspence per box, or six boxes for thirteen shillings and ninepence. Of all chemists and stores, or post free direct from the Foster- McClellatn Co., 8, Wells-street. Oxford-street, London, W. Be sure you get the same kind of pills as Mr Vaughan had.
Another Bye-Election.
Another Bye-Election. The elevation to the House of Lords of the Right Hon. John Sinclair, Secretary for Scotland, creates a vacancy in the representation of Forfar- shire. It is understood that the new Peer will retain his Cabinet rank, and that the Lord Advocate will undertake the conduct of Scotch business in the Commons. Mr Sinclair was returned by a majority of 3,519 at the last election, though previously since 1892 the Liberal majorities were only a matter of hundreds. "Prior to 1886 Mr James Barclay, a well-known agriculturist, held Forfarshire for Liberalism for many years with majorities second only to those which Mr Gladstone obtained in Midlothian. lfor some time the Conservatives have been reorganising their forces in the county, and their candidate, Mr R. L. Blackburn, an Edinburgh advocate (brother-in-law of Lord Strathmore), hai been much in evidence in the constituency. He is neither a strong personality nor an impres- sive speaker. Tue Liberals have been taken unprepared, but this fact notwith3tanding they should easily hold the seat, though a largely reduced majority is certain.
Another Vacancy at Forden.
Another Vacancy at Forden. The Forden Board of Guardians received last week a letter from Mr William Davies, resigning the post of lunatics' attendant to which he was appointed recently. The Clerk (Mr C. S. Pryce) also reported an application for the post from Mr Morgan Rees, who was appointed labour-master when Mr Davies was promoted to the other office. It was decided to advertise the vacancy in the Express.'
-MACHYNLLETEI. I
-MACHYNLLETEI. SOOTHING THE DIFFICULTIES.— Mr Edward Hughes, of Penegoes. presided over a lartre gathering of supporters of the Machynlleth Show at the Vane Hall on Wednesday Mr Parsons, the secretary, reported that the receipts totailed .£307 17s 3d, while the expenditure totalled ;6268 18s Id, which included X156 17s 6d in prize money. The net balance in hand was .£39 5s lOd, and the accounts had been audited by Mr Leighton. In reply to Mr J. Joces the Secretary said that all the collecting books had not been returned. Mr J. Jones said further that his object was not to scrutinize but to criticise He wanted everything straightforward. As the books had not been returjed how could they be found correct? He had collected over £ 22, and it was unpleasant to hear the remarks made by some people. Mr Richard Gillart said that the accounts were in accordance with the rules, and if Mr Jones had anything to complain of that should be made known. On the motion of Mr Matson, seconded by Mr R. Giilart, the report was ad, pted with congratulations to the committee. The Chairman said that after the split which had occurred they were all anxious for a re-union, and Mr Gillart was very pleased to hear the Chair- man's remarks, unity was strength. Lord Her- bert was anxious that peace should be restored, and took a great interest in it. Mr Matson said that they had had enough friction, but thank God they had come through and they were on the winning side (laughter). The meeting was adjourned until February 10th.
LLANIDLOES, !
LLANIDLOES, THE Bethel-street C.M. congregation have given a call to the Rev J. Robert Evans, Birming- ham, who, should he accept it, will assume the pastorate in May.
LLANWNOG. I
LLANWNOG. I THE Llanwnog farmers made a grand mark for tht-mselvps at the attCtion held in the Ancient City on Friday week. The prices realised for their store bullocks have really staggered the whole agriculturill fraternity.
[No title]
Help the weak if you are strong, Rpspect the old if you au young, Own your faults when you are wrong, And when you're angry hold your tongue. Pay your debts before you bet, Back not a bill for rich or poor, And when a cough or chill you get, Take Woeds' Great Peppermint Cure.
IWFEERE WILL THE MONEY | COME…
WFEERE WILL THE MONEY COME FROM? Borough Member's Political Outlook The" Science" of Free Trade. Candid Confession of Views. An All-Embracing Speech. Mr J. D. Rees, M.P., spent three evenings in Welshpool last week. On Friday night he presided over a Gilchrist lecture, and later went to the yearly official supper of the Welshpool railwaymen, whom he warned against the "pernicious non- sense" of Socialism; on Thursday night he took the chair at a tem- perance meeting, and afterwards attended the Yeomanry Ball; on Wednesday night, in the vestry of New-street Congregational Schoolroom, he met a band of Welshpool Liberal workers. This political engagement was of a free- and-easy nature, and within a period of tliirty-five minutes the Liberal Member for Montgomery Boroughs, in a characteristic- ally interesting manner, touched upon a large number of questions, as will be seen from the following list of subjectsThe length of the last Parliamentary Session; Bakers' Eight H&irs' Bill; Disestablish ment prospects; Dissolution prospects; Free Trade; Small Holdings Act; Educa- tion; Foreign Affairs; the Sugar Conven- tion; Miners' "Eight" Hours' Act; Pro- bation of Offenders Act and the Prevention of Crimes Act; Children's Act; Women Labour's League at Portsmouth; Sale of Poisons Act; Licensing Bill; the House of Lords; Old Age Pensions; the Army, the late Welshpool Militia, and the Navy; Finance; India; the Post Office Service; Afforestation; Government contracts for Wales; the marking of foreign meat; Welshpool's prospects as a cavalry depot and manufacturing town. Mr D. J. Jones presided over the meet- ing, and opened the proceedings by eulogis- ing Mr Rees. There are some men (he re- marked) the more we see of them, the less we like and respect them. But the very opposite has been the case with our Bor- ough Member. The more we see of him, the better we like and respect and admire him. In fact, we are constantly discovering that he really possesses abilities and quali- ties that we hardly thought he possessed. When he came to this constituency, even the most ardent supporter of Mr Rees would have not ventured to predict that he would by Parliamentary duties, by ques- tions, and speeches have made the great Parliamentary reputation that he has done. Although we always believed that Mr Rees was a. gentleman of great intelligence, the publication of his book on "The Real India" has revealed to us that he possesses intellectual and literary gifts far beyond that of the average M.P. In my opinion and I think in the opinion of everyone we meet now- EVEN IF YOU TAKE THE WORKINGMEN, you find, when they speak of Mr Rees, tl;&t "he is a very good fellow" (laughter and hear, hear). I think I may say that the Borough Member has never stood higher in the estimation, not only of his political friends, but of his political opponents, tl >«n he does at the present moment. Mr Rees, who was applauded on r*. i.ig to speak, said he comes up ^'o We^bpool whenever he can, but it is ip.it that last year the House was bitting ttn i;;oi.:h- of the year. He could n.'t :xa.,tly exp :.in why attendance at the Hone d Co:nmon^ is so trying as it is, but it is an engrossing occupation. The fact .s that a man who attends to his business iu tlxe House of Commons has got his luil yeur •? work cut out for him when there is an autumn tes- sion, and at the end of it he is reaily aT cut knocked up, and certain melius are so knocked up that they c;in t go on. i or some reason it is a wearing .rn I tiring life. When Parliament sits is the time for the Montgomery Boroughs to l e heard in the councils of the nations, i.)(I if he was try- ing to get down to the boroughs, it in- variably happened that the day he was away something of ilie grr.it3-st importance turned up, and he (Might to bo theie. That might seem a very odd thing to say, but Mr Rees assured his listeners there were a great many things turning up which needed attention. One of his constituents had given him a job that kept him in the House night after night; he had to be there at eleven o'clock to see that the Bakers' Eight Hours' Bill did not slip through unnoticed. He also tried to be in the House at question time, because there wprp a ere a t, 0" MANY MISCHIEVOUS PEOPLE IN PARLIAMENT, who did a great deal of harm. He had blocked the Bakers' Eight Hours' Bill right through,—(laughter)—and it was not the only one etther—there were a great many Bills he had blocked. About the prospects of Disestablishment, the Chairman knew just as much as he (Mr Rees) did. That morning he met a well-known and distin- guished journalist belonging to the ex- treme Radical persuasion, and said to him, "I'm going down to Wales." He said, "What are you going to say about Dises- tablishment?" He said, "I don't know." No more do T,(Iaughter)-said the journalist. "It's going to be in the King's Speech, I hear, but I don't know how any progress can be made with it." Mr Rees presumed the fact is pretty well estab- lished now that in order to get Disestab- lishment it will have to be a plank in the platform at an election-it seemed to be J .1'- J.. i understood that it is a matter tnao cannot be carried through under existing condi- tions. He supposed that it is a very diffi- cult matter for any Government, whatever its majority, to force through a very im- portant and far-reaching measure, unless it passes it at once in the heyday and flush of success after the general election. The prospect of Disestablishment was a matter which those who were present at the Cabinet Council might know a great deal about, but he knew just as much about it as the gen- tlemen who were present at this meeting. As to dissolution, again, Mr Rees said he knew nothing, out ne COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT THE LIBERALS, having been returned wtih the biggest majority ever known, are ever likely to dis- solve until they had lived for five years, and done all they could (applause). Under any circumstances he should regard any contrary policy ati extremely unfortunate, and likely to blunt the fiery edge of Liberal ardour all over the country. Would not any Liberal say, "What is the use of hav- ing the Government in office, with a large majority, if they go out at once? Even since he had come back from IrJia, he had been struck by the habit in tJ- LS country of attaching disproportionate importance to legislation. We might think by hearing people talk and by reading speecnes mat legislation is the art of government, whereas legislation is a small matter as compared with administration. What we want is to have the country well administered, to have the existing laws well and fairly adminis- tered, and do what we can, of course, to introduce others where they are wanted and necessary. And he was not afraid to say that another thing the Government ought to do is to look after its supporters. Tö say, "We cannot pass a certain Act; therefore we are going to throw up the sponge," would, he confessed, have been to him most discouraging, and would, if he were fighting as a Liberal, produce upon him a most painful impression. Although he knew nothing about the prospects of dissolu- tion, he was a privileged person, and must express his opinion that the Government would MAKE A TERRIBLE ERROR if they stay in one day less than four or five years (applause). During the last Ses- sion, continued Mr Rees, he was repre- sented in four divisions out of five-he either voted or paired with an active mem- ber of the other side, and if any of those now listening to him tried to do the same, he thought they would find it pretty hard work,(Iaughter)-and would be rather glad of a rest. At the election he very often ad- dressed his constituents upon Free Trade, but he did not think he knew all about Free Trade or Protection then; in fact, he was quite sure he did not, although he had travelled about the world. He went to Germany last year to see for himself. He did not pretend to have learnt everything that was to be learnt in Germany, but he certainly carried away the impression that we were mistaken in thinking that the Germans suffer so much from Protection as we have been told. He did not think that the workingmen in Germany are very much worse off than they are here, and he could not say honestly that comparing the two countries they could find those conclusive arguments in favour of Free Trade which some people, on the strength of pamphlets and essays, are assuming to be proved. On the other hand, suppose that the temper of the country changed, that the people of England, seeing that all our trade was terribly diminished, and things looked bad, were to say, "Now, we will make an experiment in the opposite direction," they came at once, it seemed to Mr Rees, to this great difficulty. Sup- pose they put a tax upon manufactures from abroad, so as to give an advantage to manufacturers in this country, he saw NO OBJECTION TO THAT IN PRINCIPLE at all. "I do not believe in a science of Free Trade or a science of Protection. What you have got to do is to do what suits each country best." But they would come up against this great difficulty that different taxes to suit most manufacturing towns would not suit Welshpool at all. But they could not do anything for the pro- tection and advantage of one industry with- out also doing something for the greatest of all, which is agriculture. That was his great difficulty, nor had he seen it cleared by any of the many people with whom he had often discussed the question. He did not profess in the least to think that one is a perfect science and that the other is all bad, or that all the right is on the one side and all the wrong on the other. They were told there is a great movement against our present system, but he confessed he has not seen yet any way of getting over this great difficulty. But, of course, it was the case that when trade is bad, when unemploy- ment increases, there is no doubt it is human nature, as so constituted, that all those affected will be inclined to say, "We don't seem to be doing so well as we were. Why should we not try something else?" It might be this is affecting bye-elections; it might be it will affect them more. But, as far as he was concerned, being no bigot in the matter, having an open mind upon, it, he did not see yet how they could help manufacturers by a tariff without doing something also for agriculture. The answer that was made is, "Oh! But agriculture' would benefit with the improved state of the country." So, of course, it would bene- fit, but that is a very summary answer to a man who saw somebody else get a tax put on for his benefit. We did not yet know if there were any taxes put on foreign manufactures what effect that would have on the country. The matter about Free Trade, Protection, and Tariffs was REALLY IN AN EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION. We knew what had been the effect some generations ago, but the whole world changes rapidly. Mr Rees recommended everybody to keep an open mind, not to think that one system came down from heaven and the other from (laughter)- but to look around all sides and judge for themselves, as he was trying to do. This arose out of the fact that he went to Ger- many and tried to find out things for him- self. The Chancellor of the Exchequer lately did the same (laughter). While men- tioning agriculture, Mr Rees referred to the Small Holdings Act. "I see," said he, "that a very small amount has been ap- plied for in this county, but that is quite natural, because practically all the holdings in this county are small holdings, and I don't look to Montgomeryshire myself for any example of the effects of the Small Holdings Act. All the farms here are small. But I did see with great satisfaction that that the committee of the County Council which deals with this matter is under the chairmanship of Mr Arthur Wynne. I think it is a very good thing when a gentleman like Mr Arthur Wynne ,himself a landlord here and a member of the family of the greatest landlord in Wales, takes up the presi- dency of this particular business of the County Council, and endeavours as far as he can to carry out the policy of the Government in this respect. It is a good sign, and shows in this county of Mont- gomery that all creeds and classes try to work together for the good of the county." Coming to education, Mr Rees observed that of the £ 100,000 allocated by the Gov- ernment for Council schools, a large amount was EXPENDED IN WALES, which he thought is a good sign. The Gov- ernment also had been at much_ pains to improve the condition of the training col- leges, and to see that access to them does not depend upon any religious tests, which was a fair and proper proposal. Then an extra Z250,000 had been given for secondary education, which is also a satisfactory prow cedure. A Welsh Department had been provided by the Board of Education, which he thought will meet with general approval in Wales, though he heard some complaints, about overlapping of jurisdictions, which happened generally in such cases. Then we came to Mr Runciman's Bill, which failed. Well, Mr Rees thought the way the Government set to work to prepare the House and the public for that Act was very wise and judicious. The circumstances were such that nothing would be got through except as a matter of compromise, and the Free Churches came forward in a very handsome spirit of compromise. They consented to many things that they did not at all like in the attempt to meet the Church. The Church, on the other hana, insisted upon grants so large that, had they been assented to, which he thought the Government could not have, the majority of the Government's supporters would not have tollowed them. The Church called for such large grants that the immediate result would have been that the majority of the urban schools would have contracted out. For a reason, which Mr Rees himself did not altogether follow, a very great ob- jection was taken to contracting out. The objection that he would take was the finan- cial objection, not the principle of contract- ing out. They should do as they liked with their own schools, so long as they did not interfere with other people. But Mr Rees emphasised THE FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY, because one large demand after another had been met by the Government, so that our present financial position, combined with falling trade, seems to him exceedingly un- satisfactory, and he looked forward with some apprehension to the taxation which the situation might call for. however might be, he did not think that his opinion on the matter matters very much. He did not know when the Government are going to introduce another Education Bill, but the the administration of this Depar m being very satisfactorily carried spirit that informs the Government was such that its supporters fore, if they did not pass an Education Bill, we were not to suppose thateverj failed and that the whole thing is going to the bad. There again they came bump up against the principle which astonished him, and to which he could not m the slightest degrree subscribe that the Government w&s failing if it is not continually passing Acts The Government that administered wel was succeeding, and it should go on admin istering (applause). Then what questioi was of more importance to the country than that there should be peace at home and peace abroad, and that we should be on good terms with our neighbours all the world over. Mr Rees declared that this is a far greater matter than any he had al- ready mentioned. Had not Sir Edward Grey been a WISE, SAGACIOUS, TEMPERATE, and moderate Foreign Minister? The Angle- Russian Agreement had been entered into, which he supported in the House of Com- mons, having lived in Russian and in In- dia, and in Persia, which it chiefly con-. eerns. None of them knew that affairs would happen in Persia of such a character that, had it not been for this agreement, the peace would* long since have broken in Persia, and perhaps we might have been at war with Russia. At any rate, relations would have been strained that instead of be- ing able to discuss internal affairs in a quiet manner, we might have had our atten- tion distracted by foreign politics and the possibility of war with some of our neigh- bours. Of course, it was the Foreign Office that had to negotiate the renewal of the Sugar Convention. He did not for one moment say that was an object-lesson in Free Trade. It was not, of course. But we could not have these cast-iron scientific systems. What this country had got to do was in each particular case to do what is good for the people of this country or the best that can be done for the people of this country under the existing circumstances, and that he thought the Government did in regard to the Sugar Convention. With regard to the Colonial Office, Mr Rees said he had been much interested while reading a pamphlet, which the Government had is- sued, to see that among the things they took credit for in Colonial politics were two railways, one of which was being advanced in India and one which had been created in Africa, and of one of which he is a direc- tor and of the other he is vice-chairman (laughter). That- was an accidental coinci- dence that amused him very much, and "now," he thought, "I'll have something to tell my friends at Welshpool, and they will see I am TAKING PART IN THE AFFAIRS OF EMPIRE (laughter and smiles). Next we came to the Home Office, and its Eight Hours' Bill for Miners, or as he should prefer no.v to call it, "85 Hours Bill." He thought the Loch;' amendment to the Bill was ery good- it it a good thing, bring it in at once. As to the half-hour, his listeners, Mr Rees sug- gested, might judge better than he could whether that half-hour for the windings was or was not wisely included. He really did not pretend to know, but he knew, if the Eight Hours' Bill was a good thing, h was better to have it now than five yea:re later. But to be frank he did not vote for the Bill at any stage, neither did Mr David Davies. He (Mr Rees) did not pretend to know everything in the world, in England, or in Wales. If he could see as far as what is good for the constituency that he repre- sented, he was satisfied, and he did not in- tend to try to go further. As far as he could make out, his constituents were not particularly anxious to see the price of coal put up—it is very cold weather now, and he did not want the price up himself (laugh- ter). He did not support it, neither did he oppose it. Mr Davies and he did not take any part in it. As to the Workmen's Com- pensation Act, his listeners knew all about that. There had been passed the Probation of Offenders Bill and the Prevention of Crimes Bill. He was not one of those sen- timentalists who do not want to see crimin- als punished, and who seemed to him to think much about letting off criminals than about LOOKING AFTER INNOCENT PEOPLE. Still he thought it a good thing to provide that in case of young children there should be some means of letting them off without punishment when of tender years or possi- bly even when above sixteen, and looking after them, and giving them something like a reformatory course rather than put them to herd with older and perhaps more hard- ened criminals. Therefore, he thought both these measures were good measures. But Mr Rees thought the Children's Bill went a great deal too far. He did not believe in fining a poor woman because her poor child fell into the fire. The poor woman would regret it more than any magistrate who tried her. and in telling people that they are to get nurses and fireguards and any- thing else he thought the Bill went too far. Still it contained many most excellent pro- visions, and upon the whole they might agree with it. It also provided to deal with juvenile smoking, which Mr Rees thought was a very bad practice, but he was not quite sure that the law wrould be able very successfully to deal with it. Of course, while these things were being done, we must be very careful, said Mr Rees, how far we go into these things. Only the pre- ivious day in Portsmouth there was actu- ally a meeting at which a body of people passed a resolution that IN FUTURE THE STATE —some vague body called the State, which was supposed to have access to some gold mne somewhere—(laughter and smiles)- "whereas we know it has no gold mine but our pockets," commented Mr Rees; "we are the State!" But these people actually proposed that the State should maintain women fof-he thought-three months be- fore they had children and a year after- wards,—(laughter)—so that every safeguard, which is now, every encouragement which is now, to be decent, honest, honourable men should be taken away, and every en- couragment given to those that behaved badly. We lived in times when all this sen- timentality and altruistic proposals had to be very carefully looked at, for there are people who go about saying that there is some vague sort of a thing called the State that can do anything—that a man may be relieved of the care of his children, and the schooling of his children, he may be re- lieved of the feeding of his children, and apparently he may put his wife on the rates when she is going to have a baby. "We are the State!" repeated Mr Rees, "and we know nothing will be left in our pockets to feed ourselves and our own chil- dren. We must see with regard to this class of legislation that sentiment and THOUGHT FOR OTHER PEOPLE does not run away entirely with our ele- mentary common-sense." Then they had a Bill passed on Poisons and Pharmacy. He was very careful to look after that matter on behalf of some of our friends, and to see that ironmongers, who sold sheep-dip and weed poison, were not prevented from ex- ercising that privilege in future, and it had ben saved to them, and he thought would give satisfaction. Then they had the Li- censing Bill What should he tell them about the Licensing Bill? (laughter). Every- body knew everything about it (more laughter). Mr Rees' opinion was that what we ought to do is not to attempt heroic measures. They must do a little bit. No man in his life could do more than a little bit. No Government could do more than a little bit. If we attempted to do that little bit, we might do it, but if we attempted too much we should not succeed, and then we should do nothing. Mr Rees said he must confess he thought the spirit in which a good many of the supporters of the Bill dealt with it in the House of Commons was such as to arouse public antagonism against it, and that is what happened. "And the House of Lord," continued Mr Rees, "you are not to suppose, gentlemen—I am sure you don't suppose—that the House of Lords is an ASSEMBLY OF CARELESS, UNEDU- CATED PEOPLE without knowledge of the public opinions of this country. Nothing could be further from the fact. They watch carefully public opinion, and it is my firm belief that you will not find them imperilling their own position—(smiles)—by rejecting Bills m the teeth of public opinion." In Wales we deeply regretted the loss of this Bill. Whether the same was the case in England Mr Rees said he did not know. Evidently the Lords thought it was not so. But, as a temperance reformer, and he hoped he was a true one, he had always held that we should go furtiiest by going little by little, line upon line, verse upon verse, as they said in the Bible. If, instead of going up one rung of the ladder at once they tried to go up the whole ladder at once, they would not get up it, and they might fall off it (laughter). As regarded Old Age Pensions, Mr Kees said he proposes when the House meets to put a question concerning one matter, because he had been told that one man of 70, who had CSOO in the bank, was given a pension out of the rates. Yet that man could have bought an annuity of many times his pension. Mr Rees added that he did not suppose any of them, willing and anxious that the indigent poor should have pensions, think it fair that pensions should be paid out of their own pockets, when the PENSIONER COULD AFFORD TO KEEP HIMSELF in comfort by buying an annuity. At this stage Mr D. J. Jones put in a re- mark: Lloyd George denied that in his speech to-day, I think. Mr Rees: Did he deny that?—Yes. "Notwithstanding," said the indefatiga- ble Borough Member, "I will get it denied from the Treasury Bench. I am pretty sure that if that particular case has not happened, something like it has happened. At any rate, if it has not happened, we shall get a denial. If it has happened, we shall get it corrected (laughter). So with your leave I will ask it." Regarding the Army, continued Mr Rees, they knew what had happened, and he regretted extremely that Army Reform had lost us the Militia. For himself he could not see why arrange- ments could not have been made to retain a good regiment, and he believed there is wi muc^ red-tape about that sort of thing, what better regiment had the country? Had not this toVn been proud of its mili- tary record-(hear, hear)—and had not Welshpool men and men from the sur- rounding district distinguished themselves in the defence of their country and in de- feating their enemies? It was a sad loss to lose the militia, and HE HAD TOLD MR. HALDANE that many times. Mr Rees suggested that the least the War Department ought to do is to strain a point, and give Welshpool something else. He knew the Mayor (Dr Thomas) was doing his best to bring that about. Regarding the Navy, Mr Rees said we shall have to build more ships, and we shall not be able to give pensions to people who can afford to keep themselves; we shall want to build ships to keep peace, be- cause, said Mr Rees, it is nothing but those. great battleships that keep the peace for us. We cannot keep all the best things in the world unless we are so strong that every other people are afraid to attack us. We have heard a great deal of nonsense on this subject, and since people have talked about the reign of peace and the absence of armaments, we have seen one great Power swoop down upon another, and take in a couple of provinces, and nobodv will stand up to protect the nation that lost them, and just as soon as we have a weak navy people will swoop down and-take our provinces, and without them will go our trade. Mr Rees expressed the hope that the very first of all the reforms which the Government will fulfil will be to keep our navy up to concert pitch, and none of us, said he, will be able to sleep in our beds until they have done it. He believed they will. The promises of the Prime Minister on this subject were most satisfactory, most unambiguous, of the clearerf character, and Mr Rees believed we shall see these assur- ances amply carried out, and his promises redeemed when the Budget comes before us. "But HOW IT IS ALL GOING TO BE DONE. • e and where the money is going to come from, at this moment, Mr Chairman, I don't know (laughter). But I do think I have a sort of general notion that we are paying enough in taxes now in one way or another, and when I see it proposed that everybody may live on the rates who wants to, and everyone who wants work should claim it on the rates. I do feel-we must feel-that the right pocket is the taxes and the left pocket the rates for everyone. We are the State, and we must consider well who are to pay. We must not get into the habit of thinking that the State has any other reserve fund. There are our right and left pockets. The State has nothing else. There is nothing else, and we must not forget it." Passing on to India. Mr Rees said he was very glad they had been able to reduce the salt tax. He hoped none of his listeners would believe in all that nonsense which is talked, he said, by certain people who have been disappointed in their own business in India, and have not been promoted, and by other people- the upper classes in India, the higher classes, the aristocracy, the Brahmins, who want to grind down other people under their heels, the ordinary people, and to es- tablish a supremacy for which all of us again are to pay, because IF WE WERE TO LEAVE INDIA, none of these fine gentlemen who come over here to talk about their grievances would be able to stand for a day—they would be cleared off in a moment. Mr Rees also re- fererd to the Hobhouse Report on the con- ditions of service in the Post Office, which, he said, did not meet with universal ap- proval. E680,000 would be paid in extra wages at the Post Office. He had already mentioned a good many millions of extra, and it was all to come out of this (right trousers pocket) and out of that (the left). Therefore the Post Office ought to be care- ful-he hoped they are, and he believed they are, but the public is going to pay it. We had taken a penny off tea, we had in- creased the sinking fund, we had increased the death duties until it had about touched top, ana we had reduced the income tax- he did not expect to see the last repeated when the Budget comes out, but we had done it once, and had reduced the sugar duties. Mr Rees, referring to the report of the Royal Commission on Afforestation, suggested that they might do something here on the Crown lands in Wales in the way of afforestation by giving satisfactory and remunerative employment to some peo- ple out of employment-he hoped there are not many out of employment in Welshpool. •li v ra^er doubted whether the thing will be able to be carried out on the scale suggested in the report. But in a small way he hoped and believed that SOME START MIGHT BE MADE, and also in Montgomeryshire. He had re- peatedly tried to get some of the Govern- ment contracts for Wales (applause). He had also tried to get foreign meat mailed, which it ought to be (hear, hear). It was monstrous that in butchers' shops such meat should be treated as home-killed meat, and probably paid for as such. He did not regard this marking as an object-lesson in the perfect science of Free Trade—he did not believe in that science—we are to do the best for this island and its inhabitants. In conclusion, Mr Rees hoped that before long the authorities would make Welshpool a cavalry depot-he did not know of a bet- ter place in Wales-it is in the very middle of the central county in Wales, and is best served by railways of any place about. As to getting a few of the foreign manufactur- ers who had British patents to come and start factories in Welshpool, Mr Rees said he hoped we shall be able to get over any difficulties. There must be difficulties, which must be got over, but he was not going to get himself into trouble bv ex- pressing an opinion, which might be differ- ent to that of the City Fathers (laughter). After the speech half-an-hour was devoted to questioning the Borough Member. The queries dealt with the further reduction of the tea tax. land reform, and the desira- bility of meeting the increasing demands on the Exchequer by increasing the income tax on large, unearned incomes. Mr Rees replied, and a vote of thanks, passed on the motion of Mr Richard Powell, seconded by Mr David Lloyd, J.P., ended the interesting and enlightening proceedings.