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READY FOR THE . CHALLENGE.
READY FOR THE CHALLENGE. WHILE our land-owning County Member busies himself with the conception and realisation of philanthropic projects, to which he liberally subscribes of his wealth and personal interest, ducal and lordly territorialists are wholly consumed with a screaming wrath against the Budget. How impressive the contrast! On the one hand we witness a man possessed of an exalted sense of duty to his fellows, and rejoicing in the opportunities which fortune has dowered him with, to assist in their spirit- ual, intellectual, and social uplifting on the other we see naught but a discreditable display of selfish instincts. Indeed, our political history contains nothing more discreditable than the sordid, mercenary attitude of nobility towards a Budget which is conceived of a just incidence of taxation and of social amelioration. Readers are familiar with the case of the Duke of Buccleuch, who, harried by the spectre of the workhouse, cannot afford even a sov- ereign to a football club in a county some- thing like a third of which belongs to him, and where the tenantry on his lands are just now proposing to present him and the Duchess with a piece of gold plate on the occasion of their golden wedding. The dire poverty of this distressed Duke is represented by seven palatial palaces, 460,000 acres of land, and membership with seven of the most select clubs in the king- dom. The value of his inheritance is un- told. Not long ago his territory was re- duced by 105 acres, for which the Town Council of Edinburgh were obliged to pay him no less than E124,000. That area had previously been assessed at £ 5 10s an acre, so that the price paid was equivalent to 214 years' purchase. This is the sort of tribute tax which industry has been paying to idleness, and now that high- placed idleness, luxuriating in riches massed from industrial expansion and con- sequent communal necessity,, is called upon to yield up a fraction of its unearned wealth for the country's good, we are told that the nation is corrupt with a vicious Socialism, and that Mr Lloyd George is a H spoliator" and a "thief." In the words of John Stuart Mill, it has been the privi- lege of landowners to grow rich in their sleep, without working, risking, or econo- mising," and yet they refuse to pay their due share of the cost of maintaining that fabric of society from which all their riches flow. Landowners like Mr Sydney Heap cannot, or, perhaps, will not, appreciate the justice of exclusively taxing land incre- ment, while'the sheep farmer who enjoys the higher prices of market scarcity is exempted from the view of unearned in- crement. Mr Balfour himself has sub- scribed to the ridiculous notion that every other rt of property and every sort of service which has derived its value from the growth of communities is equally liable to be regarded and taxed as un- earned increment. We are invited to tax the tradesman who has prospered by reason of the industrial progress around him. But that tradesman has prospered by reason of his enterprise and ability, in face of competition. Very different is it with the owners of land, because the quan- tity of land is unalterably fixed. Take the case of the establishment of large industrial works in a given neighbourhood. The owner of the adjacent land possesses an unchallengeable monopoly, and can demand his own price. He does nothing to assist in the rising of the community his part is simply to sit tight until he gets his price, and that price is a tax upon capital and labour. There may be cheap land available a few miles distant, but it can- not be carted into the place. This is the kind of .unearned increment of which Mr Lloyd George propqses to take 10 per cent. for the State--for the benefit of the people who create it. Could any increment be more justly taxed ? The country has an- swered the question in no uncertain fashion, and if ducal and lordly drones are determined to fight the issue, with the workers we shall joyfully prospect an era of revolutionary "Socialism constitutional in its operations and splendidly ameliora- tive in its accomplishments. So long," said Henry George, as all the unearned wealth which modern progress brings goes to build up great fortunes, to increase luxury, and make sharper the contrast • between the House of Have and the House of Want, progress is not real and cannot be permanent." Truth was never more impressively expressed. Strong in its faith of an intelligent democracy, the Govern- ment awaits the Lords' challenge with su- preme confidence. The rallying call to the people was heard in Mr Asquith's mag- nificent peroration at Birmingham on Fri- day evening:— H Amendment by the House of Lords is out of the question. Rejection by the House of Lords is equally out of the question. It would mean, as Mr Balfour says, to repeat his own language, the bringing by the action of the House of Lords the whole of the executive machin- ery of the country to a standstill, it means, in a word" financial and admin- istrative chaos-a chaos how profound, how far-reaching, how fraught with in- justice to individuals and danger to the State, it is no part of my business to- night-I trust it may be no part of my business hereafter-to demonstrate and make plain. There stands the matter. Is this issue going to be raised ? If it is, it carries with it in its train consequences which it would be a bold man to forecast or foresee. That way revolution lies, and if it is going to be seriously threatened, involving, as I venture to predict it will, issues far wider, far deeper than the mere right of the House of Lords to medila with finance, I say for you and for me, say for the Liberal party that we repre- sent, that we are not only ready bt anxious, that we are not only anxious but eager, to take up the challenge." POWYSLAND'S PRECIOUS RABBITS. Who said Welshpool was declining in the public eye ? The fact is that during the week it has engaged the pens of some of the most important scribes attached to the daily press, and local tradesmen may well shake their feathers and chuckle over the prospect which such a far-reaching adver- tisement inevitably creates. The visits of royalty are things which the burghers are socially proud of, but these are evanescent the fruits of this universal advertisement are enduring. Praise we the magisterial mind that rises superior in magnetic at- traction to glimpses of Princes. Nor must we forget the remarkable character of the lower social strata in Pool, whose audacious disturbance of squirearchal rabbit warrens or nocturnal raiding of the lordly pheasant roost provides this Poolonian Bench with opportunities for a periodical, demonstration of the majesty of the Game Laws. A brutal husband may discharge the penalties of his brutality by a few weeks oakum picking, but he who snares a bunny upon the sacred acres of the squire, must languish in dur- ance vile for as many months. That is the law, and its magisterial interpretation is nowhere more loyal than at Welshpool. A CONTRAST. For annexing a dozen of Col. Twyford's rabbits two denizens of those sunless'alleys, which, together with halls and other man- sions, form Llanerchydol Ward, have been respectively ordered to hard labour for eight and nine months, the latter punish- ment being the maximum penalty. A few days later there appeared before the same Bench, but a different set of magistrates, an individual who by false pretences swindled local business men, and even duped the legal fraternity, in a manner which is fully described elsewhere in to-day's Ex- press.' Six months" is the maximum correction of this kind of misdemeanour, but the Bench decreed that the majesty of the law would be satisfied with this delin- quent's removal from society for six weeks. What though he defrauded tradesmen of money and goods to the extent of fifty shil- lings Five shillings worth of rabbits is an infinitely more heinous misappropriation in the eyes of magisterial Pool. And so it is that the country's press blazons forth the majestic fact. A sample of its opinion is well worth reading on another page. THE SMALL HOLDINGS COMMITTEE. It transpires that of the 238 applicants for small holdings in Montgomeryshire, little more than thirty have found them through the agency of the County Council. The aggregate area wanted extended to 4,294 areas only 583 acres have been ac- quired, and 151 suitable applicants remain unsatisfied. Such are the accomplishments of the Small Holdings Committee, which has a landowner for its chairman, and embraces land agents in its membership. The committee, in its latest report to the Council, regrets slowness of progress," but calls upon the special officer to bear witness that they have not been wanting in their endeavours to carry out the ob- jects of the Act." Turning to that officer's report, we find that the explanation of this slow progress is "considerable difficulty in obtaining suitable land at such a price that it will pay to divide and build upon." That explanation appears somewhat pecu- liar in the light of the statement which immediately follows, that in order to carry out the spirit of the Act, a large number of small holdings have been pri- vately arranged" on estates, which the special officer proceeds to enumerate. Evi- dently, what landowners contrive to do privately" is impossible of accomplish- ment openly by the County Council. The public want to know the precise na- ture of the difficulties alluded to. At pres- ent they are not given to know anything, and can, therefore, form no other opinion than that contained in the words of the Chairman himself-" judged by results, the committee have not been a very fruit- ful tree." WELSHPOOL SANITATION. It is interesting to remark that chief of the opponents of the Henfaes sanitation scheme were immensely enthusiastic in their efforts to organise a civic reception to the Prince of Wales, who is coming to Powis Castle in November. The story of their strivings is picturesquely told by our Welshpool correspondent in another col- umn, but it occurs to us to say that if these gentlemen were as ardently concerned for sanitary reform, they would render much more useful service to the com- munity. On the face of it there seems to have been some attempt to burke the Hen- faes scheme, which the worthy Mayor is labouring to have carried out. His Worship, in a plain-worded protest at Thursday's meeting of the Council, did not disguise his knowledge of the dead set made in cer- tain quarters against the scheme, and we trust that the Vicar, who owns the land, will make consideration of the particular difficulties that have beset its supporters, and grant an extension of the purchase period. Dr Grimaldi Davis knows as well as anybody the source and the inspiration of that opposition which caused the de- lay, and, apart from his personal interest in the matter, we feel sure he values the privilege of being able to assist the town to the possession of an efficient system of sanitation. COUNTY NURSING ASSOCIATION. In a fitting altruistic atmosphere, the County Nursing Association, which we re- ferred to last week, has been established, thanks to the superlative goodness of Mr David Davies and all the other estimable members of the Plas Dinam family. Among the many excellent speeches delivered at its inception on Tuesday, that of Dr Hum- phreys' is of outstanding interest for the striking truths with which it illustrates the urgent need for the provision of viljage nurses. The County Medical Officer of Health brought to bear upon a sympathetic audience of ladies and gentlemen an in- timate personal knowledge of social life in the poorer ranks of rural society, and par- ticularly emphasised the special point which we made in our last issue with re- gard to the vital importance of lessening infantile mortality. Dr Humphreys states that during the last three months 38 chil- dren under two years of age died in Mont- gomeryshire, and that nine out of every ten of these succumbed to preventable di- sease caused by wrong feeding and im- proper handling. This is a reproach upon us, and one we must strive to remove. The wastage of infant life loudly calls for attention. The children are the raw ma- terial of our future citizens, and the mother- hood must be educated in all that apper- tains to its greatest duty. That is the primary function of the County Nursing Association, and we feel sure that the prac- tical sympathy of all classes will be abund- antly bestowed upon its benevolent operations. MACHYNLLETH GUARDIANS' PROTEST. The Machynlleth 'Board of Guardians have thought fit to protest against the amount of County Council expenditure, and especially attack the cost of educa- tional administration. All of us are for re- trenchment in these days of abnormal rates and taxes but the Machynlleth Board, in order to be both fair and effective, should formulate specific charges of excessive or needless outlays. It is not enough to make a general protest. Anybody could do that. This protest comes from Machynlleth with very questionable grace. Captain Mytton, with a sense of responsibility which subor- dinates any desire to make party capital out of such a charge, assures the objectors that the Council is doing its best to keep down the rates consistent with the Board of Education's requirements respecting the erection of new schools, and he also invites them to reflect that they were the most urgent advocates of school buildings at Llanwrin. Other equally telling reminders issued from Mr Richard Jones, who re- called the special benefits conferred upon Machynlleth district by the re-opening of the Mawddwy Railway, towards which the Council subscribed E4,000, and also by the construction of the Walton and Rhiew- saeson bridges. Colonel Pryce-Jones, alone of the Tories, attempted to magnify the protest. The silence of his party furnished, perhaps, the severest rebuff to an ill- drawn charge. A VAIN IMAGINATION. There is a spirit abroad in our borough (writes a Welshpool correspondent) that we should make the market tolls heavy enough to keep out vendors of goods from neighbouring towns. I think it would be more advantageous if a heavy tariff were imposed upon the incoming of goods which our local gentry purchase from the London Army and Navy Stores. These are the people who most prominently advocate Protection, yet mock their fiscal gospel by placing their patronage past the door of the tradesmen who pay the rates." If the ideal town is that which lives within itself what is the use of our spending millions in mak- ing roads, in building railways, and in con- structing all manner of conveyances ? In- stead of our blessing the inventors of "cheap and ready transit, we should be cursing them as the most malignant enemies of the human race. If the tariff reform theory be sound, that a man should only buy goods where he lives,'we should tear up our rail- ways, wall in our towns, and place custom officers at the gates to stop all trade from the outside. Commerce-that is, exchange of goods-is presumed to give us our wealth, but that is all a hallucination if Protection be true economically. But we know it is not true, As a matter of fact, it is a patent economic fallacy. Therefore, town trades with town, and country, with country, and the less we are hampered by tariffs the more business we do. All this brings us down to the foundational fact that all trade is barter, and that 'money is simply a medium of exchange. To imagine that we become rich by keeping out goods, whether from a neighbouring town or a neighbouring country, is to imagine something vain and crudely absurd. The Protectionist gentry of Welshpool will have none of that doctrine in personal practice.
Welshpool's New Officer.
Welshpool's New Officer. SIX SHILLINGS A WEEK, BUT NO SINECURE. For the post of caretaker to the Puzzle- square and Brook-street recreation grounds, at a salary of 6s a week, the Welshpool Borough Council invited application "in own handwriting!" There were no fewer than eight applicants, and the Lands Com- mittee asked the following four to attend before the Borough Council last Thursday:- Thomas Perkins, 18, Gungrog-lane John Vaughan, Red Bank Cottage W. M. Thomas, 6, Raven-street; and William Evans, 27, Mill-place. Perkins did not ap- pear, and so there were three. When Vaughan heard the duties defined -which included opening and closing the grounds morning and night (different times for different seasons), keeping the grounds clean, cutting the grass, trimming the hedges, keeping down the weeds, preserving order, and enforcing the regulations-he said it was not worth his while to accept the post at 6s a week, and withdrew his application. The Mayor (Dr Thomas) raised a laugh when he said it was not expected that a man should put in his whole time at the work. The Council, by six votes, appointed W. M. Morris (48) to the post, after carefully inquiring if he was prepared to undertake all the duties named. Evans, an old-age pensioner, received four votes.
,Overworked Surveyor. I
Overworked Surveyor. "ROUSED" UP BY A WELSHPOOL COUNCILLOR. The question of repairing three rural roads was considered by the Welshpool Borough Council last Thursdav unon a TI>- port from the Highways Committee. p0mu- Highways Committee. This Highways Committee reported that instructions had been given for the road over the Rhallt to be put in repair at a cost of £16, and recommended that the Council thank Mr J. Brandon Smith (past whose residence the road goes) for his gen- erosity in offering to pay one-half of the cost. A letter had been received from Mr W. C. Peppe asking for permission to divert the road leading to4 Trelydan at the en- trance to Brynfa, and it was referred to Councillors Bond, Evans, and Hiles to in- spect the site, with power to give the per- mission if thought proper. A letter had been received from Mr For- rester Addie asking the Council to repair the road leading past Cletterwood Farm, but the Council decided to reply that as far as they could ascertain the road was not a public thoroughfare. Councillor Bond asked why the Surveyor had not proceeded to repair the Rhallt-road. This. was another matter which would hang fire unless their Surveyor was roused up." The Surveyor (Mr George Snook) replied that they had had so much work on hand he could not deal with it, and he did not want to employ strange men, or he would have to be with them himself to superin- tend, or be blamed afterwards. The Surveyor was instructed to do the work as soon as possible.
MONTGOMERYSHIRE SMALL HOLDINGS.
MONTGOMERYSHIRE SMALL HOLDINGS. A Huge Demand. Many Claims Unsatisfied. The following report was submitted at the meeting of the Montgomery County Council on Friday by the Small Holdings Committee:— Your committee regret the slowness of their progress, but they submit that the accompanying report of their special officer proves that they have not been wanting in their endeavours to carry out the objects of the Act. The committee trust that they may profit by the suggestions given to them personally by Mr John Owen (the assistant S.H. Commissioner) at their meeting on September 6th. They had proposed to proceed at once with the scheme relating to Pendref, Caer- sws, but unexpected delay has arisen owing tc the recent discoveries on the farm. It is hoped that the due preservation of these may be secured without material alteration of the scheme, and your committee trust that it ) ) ay soon be possible to invite ap- plications for the proposed holdings. With regard to Rhosydd, Llanerfyl, which it has been agreed to purchase, the main points of the scheme have been set- tled, and your committee believe that it will shortly be completed. They are also obtaining professional valuation of a pro- perty near Llanwyddelan, by which they hope that it may be possible to satisfy some of the applicants in that district. Other properties are under considera- tion, and have in some cases already been inspected. The drafting of the form of agreement with tenants has proved a mat- ter of some difficulty, and is still under discussion." SPECIAL OFFICER'S REPORT. Since the passing of the Small Holdings Act, 1908, 238 applications have been' re- ceived for small holdings in this county. the total number of acres applied for being 4,249J, divided as followsFive acres and 2 under, 51 10 acres and under, 52 20 acres and under, 47 30 acres and under, 24 40 acres and under, 26 50 acres and under, 23. Out of this total, 13 have with- drawn their applications, five have been satisfied independently, 24 deferred owing to holding land already, 10 the committee recommend that no action be taken, one returned as unsuitable, and one has died recently 25 have been granted holdings by the various landlords the total number of acres let being no less than 583J. There remain 151 persons returned as suitable out of this' number 18 or 20 will be supplied with holdings through the various schemes now under consideration by the Small Hold- ings Committee. A very large proportion of the applicants require land in the imme- diate district where they reside, and many are under the impression that they can de- mand any particular field they desire. This is quite an erroneous idea, and cer- tainly contrary to the spirit of the Act. The committee are doing all in their power to satisfy the applicants, but con- siderable difficulty is experienced in obtain- ing suitable land at such a price that will pay to divide and build thereon. I may state that more than 50 per cent. of the farms in the county are small holdings. In order to carry out the spirit of the Act, a large number of small holdings have been arranged privately upon the following es- tates, in addition to the 25 already men- tioned Gregynog estate, landlord, Lord Joicey C. E. Evans, Bettws, 3i acres Edward Woosnam, 10 acres Rev D. B. Edmunds, 21 acres. Powis Castle estate, landlord, Lord Powis: D. Davies, Cwm- 4 bychan, 16-L acres Ward, Pool Quay, 2 acre Thomas, Lords' Buildings, 1421 acres Pugh, Buttington, 3i acres and Jamesford, which up to the end of last year was let as one farm, is now divided into three holding.:5, viz., 2912 1 acres, 26-21 acres, and 2061 acres. Lake Vyrniew estate, land- lord, Liverpool Corporation: Elizabeth Ricketts, 14A. acres Benjamin Jones, 61 acres Mrs Williams, 4! acres. Plas Dinam estate, landlord, Mr David Davies M.P.: Rev D. Pearce, Sarn, 3 acres Bd: Beamand, 3 acres Richard Williams. 3 acres James Williams, 5 acres James Davies, 5 acres. Glansevern estate, land- lord, Mr A. E. Humphreys-Owen: Capel Farm, 26 acres; Dyffryn Villa, 61 acres Maeshafren, 21 acres; Pen-y-groes, 3! acres; Waterloo, 3| acres. Garth estate, landlord, Captain Mytton: T. Owen, Moelygarth, 7i acres William Davies, Moelygarth,' 8i acres J. Sumrnerfield, Moelygarth, 42 acres Emma Blayney, TwlI, 2! acres A. Harding, Gaerfawr, 41f acres A. Davies, Vine Cottage, 20 acres Gittins, Brook House, 12 acres. Goedymaen estate, land- lord, Mr A. W. Williams-Wynn one hold- ing, 42 acres. Afellington estate, landlord, Mr R. Heap: Lack Farm, 38 acres; Brick- yard Farm, 43 acres Raven Cottacrp 1 acres Dog and Duck, 47 acres. Thf Bank II arm has also been divided into four hold- ings. On behalf of the Small Holdings Committee, I should like to especially thank those landlords and estate agents who have so readily and promptly afforded me the information to draw up this report, and thus enabled the Small Holdings Com- mittee to prove that they have made con- siderable progress since the Act came into operation." APPLAUSE FROM THE COLONEL. Colonel E. Pryce-Jones said that he rose with great pleasure to express his satisfac- tion with the splendid way in which the Small Holdings Committee had steered through a difficult task. There had been a good deal of hostile criticism regarding the small holdings, but Mr Wynn and the committee had, he believed, performed a great service to the county in getting the lands according to the provisions made un- der the Act of Parliament. There was the impression that landlords were adverse to small holdings, but the work that the com- mittee had accomplished had proved that that was not the case in Montgomeryshire. If one read Mr Wilson-Jones's report it would be seen that a very large proportion of the applicants require land in the im- mediate district where they reside. Many, too, were under the impression that they could demand any particular field they de- sired. As Mr Wilson-Jones pointed out that was quite erroneous. He wished to say that the members of the committee had acted wisely. If they had gone head- strong into the work, they would have launched the County Council into considera- ble expense, and into a system which would have been detrimental to the rates of the county, and which would have been disap- pointing to the ratepayers and especially to the tenant farmers. Personally, he felt indebted to Mr Wynn and the committee for the work they had performed. Mr Wilson-Jones drew attention to the fact that there was considerable difficulty ex- perienced in obtaining suitable land at a price that it would pay to divide and build upon. In regard to that, it was the opinion of the County Council that there had been a difficulty in obtaining land in the past. He thought that that was because the land- lords in Wales have not acted as they ought to have done with the land in their possession. After referring to remarks in a contemporary regarding small holdings Colonel Pryce-Jones said he would like to refer to the small holdings that had been given by Lord Joicey, three Lord Powis seven Lake Vyrneiw estate, three Mr David Davies, five Mr Humphreys-Owen five Mr W. Wynn, one Mr Heap, four; Bank Farm, four. Mr Hurlbutt said he would like to ask one or two questions about the report. The first was regarding the services of a professional valuer for certain land. Mr Wynn replied that-the meaning of a professional valuer was one who made a valuation who was not a member of the County Council or their agent. Further, he said that as the matter had been alluded to, he ought to explain that there was some difficulty regarding this certain pro- perty. The committee first had to decide as to whether they should consider it for purchase, as it was land owned by the agent (Mr P. Wilson-Jones). The commit- tee decided that they should consider it just like that of any other person's pro- perty. There was the difficulty in that par- ticular case, then, as to whether their special officer should act as advisor. They decided that he could not act in respect of his own land, and that was the reason why the committee went outside for a pro- fessional man to make a valuation of that property. The special officer, he added, was not in the room when that land was considered. Mr Hurlbutt: I think I was quite within my right in asking that question. Do I understand that the special officer was out of the room because we are discusing his property ? Mr Wynn: I said we excluded the special officer while we discussed his land. Mr Hurlbutt: Is there any reason for the special officer to be out of the room now ? That is my point. Mr Richard Jones: I think that is one of his duties. He should attend the meet- ings of the committee. Mr Hurlbutt brought up the question as to the form of agreement and the terms upon which small holdings are taken. Mr Wynn replied that he was afraid that that matter was not yet settled. The fact was that the forms of agreement were rather bulky. That was for the reason of securing the Council against every contingency that may arise. He was afraid it would frighten the small holder. It was about as big as a small holding (laughter). Mr Hurlbutt said he thoroughly endorsed all that had been said by Colonel Pryce- Jones, and explained that he noticed the things that he had mentioned, and thought it would be well to bring them forward. NOT A FRUITFUL TREE. Mr Wynn, on behalf of the Committee, thanked the Council for the appreciation that had been shown to the Committee. He wished, however, that the Board of Agricul- ture regarded the work they had performed with the same appreciation. They were, unfortunately, inclined to judge by results, and when judged by results he admitted the Committee had not been a very fruitful tree. The Committee had several properties under consideration, and they might alarm the County Council in time (laughter). Mr Wynn added that he would like to know the full extent of the powers of the Small Holdings Committee: He knew they had all power with the exception of levying rates and borrowing money. If the Committee wanted to make purchases, he wished to know if they would be at liberty to do so without bringing the matter before the Council. Captain Mytton We know that with certain cases we must act as one. When property is sold by auction you must be careful to make the purchase on the con- dition of the County Council's approval. In other cases you enter into agreement of purchase subject to the sanction of the County Council. Mr Wynn Thank you, sir. That's what I want to know. Mr C. J. Newell said that the Committee had gone to a certain extent of trouble and secured a considerable number of small holdings in Caersws and from various land- lords. He thought that the Committee had justified their existence by carrying out the work of providing small holdings. He urged, however, that small holdings should be in the vicinity of and convenient for markets. In Newtown there were no small holdings within six miles. He thought that the Committee should get places as near as possible to markets, where small holders would find a market for their produce. He went on to say that he was at one place where there were five small holdings to one farm, and that the land there was not cultivated. The land, however, should pro- duce a fairly large amount of stuff. He thought it was very important that the work of obtaining small holdings should go on. The Committee had a great deal yet to do. Lord Powis questioned Mr Newell's state- ment that there were no small holdings within six miles of Newtown, and added that he thought Mr Newell could not have visited the holdings in the neighbourhood. The report was adopted without further comment.
Farmers' Inconvenience. --
Farmers' Inconvenience. PETITIONS FOR "SHEEP DIP" LICENSES Farmers and flock-masters living in the rural districts of the enrnty it appears are put to considerable inconvenience when they urgently require sheep dip and are unable to obtain it from shops near their locality owing to the operation of the Poisons and Pharmacy Act. A petition from the Llangadfan Parish Council for facilities to be sanctioned by the means of granting a license for the sale of sheep dip at a shop in the parish, was submitted at the meeting of the Montgomery County Council on Friday last. Applications were also made from twelve persons for licenses permitting them to sell sheep dip. The Clerk stated that at the last meeting of the Council it was decided not to grant licenses under the Poisons and Pharmacy Act unless it was shown to the Council that there was a difficulty in a district in obtaining the dip in that there was not a chemist in vhe neighbourhood. Mr Richard Jones I think this matter should be referred to a committee. I move that the matter be referred back to a committee. Colonel Pryce-Jones I second that. Lord Powis said it would cause considerable difficulty in the Llangadfan district if the request were not granted. Mr David Hamer said it would place a much- needed convenience within the reach of farmers if the license was granted. The action taken by the County Council in deciding not to grant the licenses was directly opposed to a section of the Poisons and Pharmacy Act. He believed that considerable dissatisfaction was caused amongst farmers by the action of the Council. After 1st November in that district nearly 60,000 sheep would have to be dipped, anJ farmers would have to go to Oswestry for the "dip" if the license was not sanctioned. The Chairman said that the matter was not all on one side. There was from Newtown an appli- cation from Messrs Turner Bros. The Clerk said that Messrs Turner Bros. stated that there were no chemists in the neigh- bourhood. He added that the words no chemist" were underlined (laughter). It was agreed to refer the mattar to committea.
In Gay Paris. -
In Gay Paris. MONTGOMERY REPRESENTATIVE AT A I CONGRESS. An International Congress on hygiene will be held in Paris next August, and on Tuesday last, at the meeting of the County Education Committee, Col. Pryce-Jones proposed and Mr Richard Lloyd seconded, that the Chairman (Mr Richard Jones) represent the Authority at the course of lectures. There were many smiles when Col. Pryce-Jones whispered mysteriously something about the French ladies. In the accompanying circular it was stated that the whole of the care of the children had now become one of the vital factors in national prosperity and that "English schools are gener- ally behind those of many foreign countries in this respect. This will not be Mr Richard Jones's first visit to France.
. Frank Lloyd's Horse Sales.
Frank Lloyd's Horse Sales. Our readers- are reminded that entries for Mes&rs Frank Lloyd & Sons' great autumn sales of 1,000 horses in the North Wales Repository, Wrexham, finally close this Monday nigot'b post. Eighty guineas are offered in prizes by the Auctioneers, and^the sales extend over four days, viz., September 28th, 29th, 30th, and October 1st! the first two days being set apart for harness horses, hunters, pedigree hackneys, show horses, cobs and ponies, while on the last two days, waggon, lurry, vanners shires, foals and young horses will be sold. Entries should be made direct to the Auctioneers, Wrexham.
HARD-WORKED COUNTY ISURVEYOR.
HARD-WORKED COUNTY SURVEYOR. County Work Dovetailed With That of the Education Committee. An Assistant Suggested. An insight into the state of affairs in the County Surveyor's department, caused by an inadequate staff to cope with the work, was given at the meeting of the Montgomery County Council on Fiiday^last. The report of the Main Roads Committee was under discussion when the matter of the filling up of the vacancies caused by the removal of John Watkin as foreman at Penstrowed Quarrv. and of John Davies, road inspector, in order to facilitate the work of the County Surveyor. Mr Hugh Lewis said the matter had been under discussion for nearly twelve months and he did not think it necessary to delay it any further. It occurred to him that the opinion of the Council was divided. He thought that something was to be said in favour of having someone to assist the Surveyor, a man who could not only superintend the roads, but could help Mr Hutchins with the plans. He knew much of Mr Hutchins' time was taken up with work in connection with the Education Committee, with the result that the work of the County Council wa brought much in arrears. It would be much better if there could be a man to assist the Surveyor in carrying out the work in regard to Penstrowed Quarry. This work was not properly supervised. All knew that there was a good deal of human nature about men and that unless thy were supervised they would not work He therefore proposed that the Council fill the vacancies. OFFICIAL MULTIPLICATION. Mr Forrester Addieg said tha" it was extremely unfortunate that Mr Hugh Lewis was not present at the last meeting of the Committee. At that meeting the members had clearly made up their minds that the matter should be thoroughly gone into. Further, he thought there was a strong feeling against the multiplication of officials. The Council had just heard an appeal from a Board of Guardians about the rising in the expense and the rising of the rates in the county. He did not think it would be improper to let the matter rest for awhile and for a report to brought up at the next meeting of the County Council, He pro- posed that the recommendation of the Main Roads Committee be adhered to. Mr Edward Jones felt bound to support Mr Forrester Addie and urged that the present arrangements should continue until the tenure of the present Council is ended. Wh..n a new Council comes into existence no doubt a new scheme would be devised which would work better than that at present. Colonel Pryce-Jones pointed out that the mem- ber of the Council for Machynlleth was not pre- sent that day. He was keenly interested in th* question, and he (Col. Prycr-Jones) fvlt sure that had he known that the Vice-Ch»irman was going to propose the resolution he would huve made it his business to attend that meeting. He could not help thinking that Mr Hugh Lewis was making a great mistake in takiog up that position. Mr Richard Jones wished to say in reply to Mr Forrester Addie and Colonel Pryce-Jones that if the amendment was carried it would not prevent the County Council raising the question of separ- ating the school work of the Surveyor from his work as County Purveyor. Colonel Pryce-Jones: I rise to a point of order —a point of order. I don't think it is a proper amendment at all. No amendment should be allowed at a meeting like this. =Mr Forrester Addie: I don't know if I am allowed to point out-- Mr Richard Jones: I cannot see that it will hinder the question of the County Surveyor. Th, school work cannot be interfered with at all. The question is as to whether we get two assistant surveyors 01 whether we get two assistant foremen. TWO INSPECTORS' POSITION. Mr Edward Powell remarked that some were rather puzzled as to what the Council were g6ing to do. It was enthely essential that the question was wholly gone into by the committee, and that %■ report be presented at the next Council meeting. Mr David Hamer: May I ask what will be the position of the two inspectors ? Will they be iu the position of inspectors or as surveyors ? Mr Richard Jones: That is for the committee to decide. Mr Hugh Lewis said he did not propose that the Council should up-set" the assistants. He thought Mr Addie misunderstood him. Mr Forrester Addie: I think not. Mr Hugh Lewis: Mr Addie seems to be in favour ot it. Mr Richard Lloyd said that the matter was thoroughly thrashed out at the meeting of the Main Roads' Committee which is a strong Commit- tee, and the recommendation was carried by a large majority. There was school work and the County Council work dove-tailed into one another. The question should be thoroughly gone into, with the object of seeing what improvement could be made. Mr Hutchins, as surveyor, had three or four under him to see that the work is carried out. and yet Mr Hutchins had to superviee the roads. COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION ADOPTED. Mr Hugh Lewis stated that the reason he moved the resolution was in order that the question should be cleared. His proposal was to have assistant surveyors. The proposition would not interfere with the question of the schools. He therefore proposed that the Council advertise to fill the vacancies. This was seconded by Mr C. W. Humphreys. Lord Powis said it seemed to him that Mr Hugh Lewis's resolution was out of order as notice had not been given. Mr Richard Jones: It is not proposed to make the appointments to-day, but to tike steps to do so. The Chairman was of opinion that it would be very bad policy on the part of the Council to fall in with Mr Hugh Lewis's proposal. He thought it would be in the best interests of the Council if the matter were referred back. The matter was put to the vote and the amend- ment was lost and so the recommendation of the Main Roads Committee that the matter JDO referred to a committee consisting of the Chair- man and Vice-Chairman of the County Council, the Chairman of this Committee, Messrs Richard Jones. Richard Lloyd, W. F. Addie, Richard Rees, C. W. Humphreys, Edward Powell, D. Hamer, E. Pugh, J. Lomax, E. A. Roberts, John Jones, and A. E. O. Humphreys-Owen, to consider the whole question and report to the next meeting, was adopted.
Teacher's Responsibilily.
Teacher's Responsibilily. An important matter was discussed at the meeting of the County Education Authority on Tuesday last, which had bearing upon the responsibility of school teachers. It resulted upon a report of the Executive Committee, at whose meeting a letter was submitted from Mr E. Wood, of Llanidloes, asking for payment by the Com- mittee, of a doctor's bill amounting to 83 6d for attendance upon his little girl for a cut on her head caused by her falling over an old bench in the Gland wr School playground. The Executive Committee resolved that in view of the regulations imposing upon the head teacher the responsibility for the school premises, the claim bo declined and that Mr Wood be so informed. Mr J. E. Lane Griffiths: Upon the child's entrance in school is the headmaster responsible for it ? The Chairman I think ve should hold them responsible if they keep the desks in such a posi- tion that the children are able to get hurt. Mr Lane-Griffiths If it is a case of negligence no doubt we should, but you are making the responsibility rather wide and it will make things rather uncomfortable for the teachers. The Chairman: Yes, and it makes it very un- comfortable for the Education Committee. The resolution was adoped.
? ♦ " Question I"
? ♦ Question I" If the work of the Guardians was transferred to the County Councils, it would be done by a better class of men both socially and educationally!" The Rev D. E. Rowlands, M.A. (Oxon), vicar of Middletown, and a member of the Forden Board of Guardians, expressed this view last week at the annual Poor Law Confer- ence last week in Wrexham. It evoked a cry of "Question!"
. SEEN AND HEARD.
SEEN AND HEARD. Nothing extenmate, Bor aot down aught in mftliee. SZAKBSPXABC, Day after day one reads of motor smashes with an uneasiness that is increased by the knowledge that these fearsome vehicles of the highway are continually increasing. The old-time unconcern with which we perambulated the country roads was rudely disturbed by the advent of the cycle now it has gone since the death- dealing motor may suddenly swing round a blind corner and toss us like an angry bull. What strikes me as uncanny about many of these road-hogs is the fact that they appear to have lost the sense of self- preservation. A reckless disregard for dan- ger appears to have been born in the ex- hilaration of flight through space, and at- tendant good fortune has given license to a species of dare-devilism which only dis- aster can effectively chasten, if they are lucky to survive it. The other afternoon I stood by an acute corner towards which the roadway on either side dips sharply, in order to watch its negotiation by a swiftly approaching motor. The vehicle came on at anything between 15 and 20 miles an hour, and al- most simultaneously I happily heard the whir of another car speeding up in the opposite direction. Realising that a col- lision was inevitable unless both slackened speed, I waved to the one and then to the other. The rasping noise of brakes an- nounced an acknowledgment of the signals, and when both succeeded in drawing up, hardly four feet of daylight lay between. "Rather a near thing!" exclaimed the driver of the smaller motor. Jolly nasty corner! replied the other, as he struggled to release the tightened hand-brake, and with a concerted Thank you" to myself, they bowled away in a fashion that indi- cated little sense of fright. Demon pace was carved in their very looks, and death rode with them. Jimmy is a dealer in divers merchandise, bulking most largely of rags and skins, and if his faithful moke could articulate, it would declare, We two are driving a. great business in the wreckage of human habiliments." One day, not long since, Jimmy, in the pursuit of his ragged way, struck a farmyard on the Scafel slope, and there perchance learnt of a bullock sick unto death. Hopeless of its recovery, the farmer had determined upon its slaughter, and the Newtown merchantman's opportune appearance upon the scene dated the hour of execution. Could Jimmy shoot the beast ? Well a' what thee think ? Fetch a gun, and I'll quick bowl 'im over." Instantly the farmer's breech-loader, used for thinning the rabbit crop and scaring the rooks, was requisitioned, and charged perhaps with No. 6 shot the bullock was then rounded up, and Jimmy, at seven paces distance-a secure retreat from a big fall in meat—shouldered the musket, took steady aim at the white forehead, dretv the trigger, and the bullock was grassed. Visibly proud of his unerring markman- ship, Jimmy, together with the satisfied farmer, repaired to the, house to sharpen his knife, with which to operate upon the carcase and remove the skin, which, no doubt, he had hopes of annexing cheaply. But during this quest they were astonished by Jimmy's boy, who rushed in to say that the bullock had risen, and was now standing by the gate. No fear," exclaimed Jimmy, it's only another bullock broke into the field." But there, sure enough, they beheld the beast, gazing with his great bovine eyes over the stile, as if wishful of a closer interview with the man who had peppered him. Jimmy's feelings have not been described, but he eventually allayed them by means of a hatchet. And now the moke goes gaily along, proud of another progressive triumph for the partnership. There is a calm grandeur in the land- scape just at present. Autumn involves much dismantling and wearing down in the process of nature's economy. A frosty-like atmosphere, the yellowing elms, the redden- ing beeches, the turn of the leaf generally, with here and there a pronounced splash of autumnal tint on a throne of robust green- ery, intimates the goeth of the summer. Meteorological vagaries there have been abundant, but on the whole the summer was not unkind, nor unfruitful in results. A bountiful harvest on farm and in garden can be placed to its credit, and yet it may be given us to enjoy a lengthened lease of fine weather ere "chill November's surly blast makes fields and forest bare." Soon we shall be again in the thick of the harvest festivals in Church and Chapel. Although regarded as a modern innovation, this festival is really a revival of an old custom which the children of Israel ob- served. With the Pagan nations of the same period, the end of the harvest was celebrated by special feasts and sacrifices to the particular deity credited with the power of increasing or ruining their fruits and crops. The modern Church festival can only be reckoned as an advance upon these as a recognition of the Giver of the harvest. The harvest festival is often celebrated in strange places and under strange conditions, as, for instance, in the chapels of our con- vict prisons, and different decorations are remarked in different places. In fishing villages the harvest of the sea mingles with that of the land. Wonderful effects are at times obtained by the draping of the nets, black and white, from windows and gal- leries. Model boats, and sometimes full sized ones are prominently displayed, to- gether with other implements required for the ingathering of the sea harvest. Inland one sees only flowers, fruit, vegetables, and corn but whatever the character of the display, our harvest gladness is sufficiently expressed. The bachelor Chairman of the County Education Authority goes as Montgomery- shire's representative to the International Hygiene Conference at Paris, and Colonel Pryce-Jones, on whose proposition he un- dertakes the mission, whispers suggestively of the charming madamoiselles whom he will inevitably encounter in the sunny city on the Seine. Can this be a conspiracy of the Colonel's to matrimonially lasso Pendinas, who has ever appeared as adam- ant to feminine charms ? Time will tell. LUKE SHARPE.