The Welsh Coast Pioneer and Review for North Cambria

POOR LAW BEFOBM. PUBLIC MEETING AT OLD COLWYN. CONWAY GUARIL,kNS eo!APLIMENTED. miss S?,nck-,r, of C',oiNvyn Bav, ad at tai-o En-lis?i C-on- dre.-Peed a tublic incleti.iig Chuioh. oicl colwl7ii ?n Frdod.,ay -?n the "Pi?, -?st tuti<)n, n Ctltion of L e dead:,n,, at, sorie lengti tile Pr<)r??s 'Of tLe ZDr law Cc -?i.C cliair Nvas ccetipiecl by Dr. Butterworth W??3, of- eol?vvn Llay, w'ho -izrked, at the et, ?ily anv<yn, would deny that ou tat h-a-, amendrncnt .yf aw Poor 1,,iw was nece-s- 5Ti?O na?ti?c,n lad for a lmg t ne ackn<)w- l?-<i,,ed h?r msi)-on,?biity for the care o?f ?he lots fortunat,c nierilbcrs of thi-, cor,,Tiitalitv, but the rn-o*t c-ane-f-,Jiv deN-isc,,rl ??c-lienics and b( c,a.nie =tiq4 -tc-*i and ?n t,he cours rc of time, .-?.1afor soni-a t.?me -I)mt t4.z? h&ii been an OUtk?r,y for i,n alt6rat:lon in Poor 'la?A, 4)N,?-inL, to t-h4-, (;Iba.Iglrlg circ-tin-?stailece. Some tie ;e ill C?olwvn Bay -'be Ne,-tr;g -rD?e con?'.Tg- to li, va6 a Poor l?aw W'hil-e act,i,n?_ in tihat c!apacit-v, if a iii-an came t<) h-"zn wit'? ,-i f,-oni t --r(iian- .9-dffering ?,: ? c C;4-1 or dis?ea-ed fin,l an<i. if h,.3 in-l?r?ed Li-at finger -off wil??out any b,,ti,.or, b,,3 wo,.Lld -,?t a fc?e. If, o-n the ot,her liarxi, he tool< ctircd -Vhc fin, infinic trc-able. and g,?l- 1,o would That wm an ,xarnpdo sh,owin" t.?,3 f;l?lity 4if flio sv-,t*-hi which li<ti p2rs*.st,c-l n for E-o 1<)rv. T'he part c,. tki!e been pm.bleni whic,h 'h? I-,nl)resEed it.,3elf nicest-ly -upoit 'ui r to d4-al wi 'h<)se per i-,ergona.ily NN,as liu,, th t h oon s-,vho -v;e,e not qu,.te tInAer -ordi- n-ary e..rc-umstances. rcople oculd get al-oak all b-,it. i-i tl-,e ca?se eS uncniploynient or sic!cne,,3s tli-?c-y -w?,,re --t on?c?,- in diffioii;Tie, I-A,?gia-! lat<)-i ??3s and .va- oontenil),?at?ed to d" w-'th the b,,it in h;s 'c?pinicn it -ivas -e to dr-,iw 'a l?:ine iDetw4-t-n t?1-3 .?n and tlooe who were ne?arly t;ir<)ugli si-okmem P?tEVF,'?\TIO'?N OF DESTITUTION. Mi8S MIIK',I'(Ki SI)f-rLI-er 1-'o -,w-a4 acoard-cl a ?,,eart-v r<Kcpllc,,n, expiW.ji??ihat lic?t subjoe't w3-% th4, "PreventiDn of L)o-,tit,utiQojb, -,v:hi-oh? poi .0ta?r- bemuse a?-a w'shej to in?ak- I*rfept;y. "It li-ad rai,-)od tli?:4*' -t' -1 ,?hy ?Licii as w aii,e di<l not g' ve her 'Lcc-tiim a'm--oil,,er titl-,?, -n&xnc- ly, t;he -'Re,o-m of the Po?.,r Which it was argued could easily be understood, wnereas no- body knew what wae meant by. the prevention of destitution. That, however, was the vary reason why she was going to talk about it, as it was the g'reotest indiotmc<iit against the present Hjstc-m that they did not try to prevent destitu- tion (hear, Hear). It was not a part of the ofii- eial programme? WeLl, so much the worse for the pmgranyne thefn., for trie prevention of desti- tutKsn was aiready le--i-.imatoe iiulooal aim- P4u-Q,&),-an-d ;'f" it o(nL,-d lk- pr,-veTitcd, then i? tap su,ht t-o be (hear, hear). 'I he second reason wby she had cshosen that title was because die wished to fix attention on something much wider iKa.n the Poor I>aw, for destitution, unfoi-tunate- ly, covered a wider field than Poor Daw Adirii.11- vstration. When the eighteen meanbers of the Royal Commission were appointed six years ago, they 'had been told timt, it was to be an enquiry not merely into the working of the POOT liaw, but into the" relief of distress generally by •whatever aigency that wns acihieved (hear, hear). They would see, therefore, how wide a field the researches oovened. a.nd all readers of the weighty report on the work knew what an immense number of questions were dealt with there. It was a perfect mine of information for \ija student oil the social life of the time, and' tJte problems they had to face. The third reason why she had selected that title was a very simple on namely, that the Reform -of the Poor Law was not her subject. The four commissioners Vho had eigned the m nority report had decided that for ono- it was too late to mend, and they proposed that tho Poor Law should be ended, and a new machine instituted to do the work. The reasons given for that decision were that their plan was a preventive one. It was a war upon destitution, and it would have to be carried out by an authority which proceeded upon the assumption that prevention was better than cure (hear, hear). l'here were publrio authorities ■which answered to that description, but the Poor Law Authority was not one of them—it could not be in the nature ol things—and it had not of ou-t 't;ile preveut?ve prin- eans ,,ven bad it wi,7,h-ed to d-o?so. Tlw work of the Poor Law Authority was to relieve desti- tution. It d d not even essay to cure it, much less to prevent its occurrence, but that latter, and nothing less, was what was n-ow proposed (hear. hear). PREVENTION WAS THE GREAT WATCH, WORD of ali social reform at the present day. What was that great National Crusade which Wales was to take up as a National Memorial to King" Edward VII. but a scheme to prevent consump- tion, a disease which was responsible for one- eeventh of the whole mass of paiuperism. It was certainly proposed to deal with existing cases in properly^-equipped sanatoria, but the real inten- tion was to make war on consumption by means of better sanitary arrangements, the spread oi jjrtvper information, and teaching on the subject, m order to get at all the causes of consumption' and check it at the outoet (hear, hear). Wales, by the way, was the blackcst spot on the tuber- culosis map, as it had a larger share of con- sssnp-bion than either Em gland, Scotland, or Ire- land, and its rural districts were much worse than its towns. How did preomt PD-or Law Hiethcds help to cure the disease ? Not at all. !I'he Poor Law c,-oul-d onlv gi ,lvc medical rel'ef to t,,rnan w'hon h*, bee-tirie aboolut,-L',y de?sfitute, an,(i that t'me it was lroi?-ably too late. And not cn.,Iv the man w-,Li p-a-t 1,.elp, but his family w,i eJe? iq--ctod. Onet'IT:Td of all the deaths by consumption oecjurred in Poor Law Institutions, and yet Poor Law doctors said that they never met a case when it was in a curable stage. Destitution, was not the same as poverty, which, after all, they could scarcely hope to get rid of entirely, but destitution, the absence of the bare necessaries of life, they believed was a thing •whicth could be st.amped out (hear, hear). They tearnt from the official figures that two million persons got Poor Law relief every year, because they were destitute, and about JSl5,000,000 were spent per annum in England and Wales alone in that way. But tihat did not suffice. Witness the urgent problem of unemployment in recent years, which, since 1905, had led to the promo- tion of distress committees, the setting up of re- Kerf works, ete.. the Poor Law Authorties saying frankly that it was beyond their power to deal with it. There were also the 100,000 starving children who were fed by the Education Autho- rities in the public elementary schools. The Commissioners, in their investigations, had fotmd a great deal of overlapping, confusion, and ■waste of workers, energy, and funds. The result of th» Cotnmsaion was ifoe issuing of the minority and majority reports. The point on whidh all the Commissioner6 had agreed was that the present POOR LAW SYSTEM MUST GO, being cut of date and unsuitable to deal with the problems tihat confronted it. It must go with its central institution, is general mixed workhouse, its Board of Guardians, its relieving" officers, and something quite different must tatoe 'Its AU agreed that the old pn'n6ple of .i.- e det-cremoe was in-vkqt,-ite to oop-o with ,h,04)1 att, of rb, time. 'I'iey a,repA that more .rit,on muet be given to attackl-ng causof,,s of de>stii»i; on, with a view to preventing rather t'han relieving it temporarily. It was important to note the absolutely unanimous condemnation of the general mixed workhouse by the Com- missioners, who had condemned it for the same reasons as the men who had thrown up the last Poor Law report of 1834, namely, its degrading effect upon character (hear, hear). Life in the workhouse, said one of the investigators, did not hudd up character, but it broke down what little independience or alertness of mind that was left. It was too bad fed- the good and too good for the bad. The worst people might not mind it, but to the working and reputable poor, it was humilaiiiiop unspeakable. Individual work- houses had done a good deal ■ by classification to avoid t'hat undesirable mixing, and in respect to that she would kke to congratulate their own CONWAY BOARD OF GUARDIANS on the degree in which they had m.anaged to separate the different classes,* but that Board in- cluded eig-ht women members, so they could ex- pect something ep2cial in the way of sound advice (laughter and cheers). Still, they fourbi at Conway, as in so many other workhouaea foeble-niinded women in charge of babies, but with the bcst will in the world, the Workhouse Authorises and Guardians could not do what they might consider beet; they had to work the, old machine in the best way they could, and make the best of a bad job. They must not let the individual cases hllind them to the general subjaot. and the unanimous \erdict against the mixed workhouse, they must remember, had been given by nion who had seen the work- hcwiGes all over the country (hear, near). The Commissioners, however, differed as to the new machinery which was to take the place of the Old. It -could not bo too of ten insisted that tho minority had no quarrel whatever with the Guardians, wiho«K> faithful services they were tiha first to acknowledge, but their contention was that the Guaj-dians had to administer an unsuit- able law (heiar, hearv. The minority disagreed with any plan Iviiidh would heap the destitute t?-- f Ih.y ,,i to riLT? r t the?y W-anted was to give tb<,m appr4c-,I)xiate treatment, what-ever their social rondio on. The able-bodied poor imist be sharply differentiated from the non-able bodied^ the children, the sick, and the aged. Having made that distinction, they oame to the conclusion that the latter might qute well be dealt with by the Government j machinery already existing. THE PROBLEM OF THE ABLE-BODIED was different, and needed a different solution. U, noynplarnent and vagrancy were not local but national matters; and muet be doak with natio- nally. They would also ihave to bo dealt with by ww. methods and new machinery. With re- gard to the. non-able bodied, He miinority had decided that they ought to be transferred over to the existing committees of the County and Borough Councils, and entrusting t'heni with the duty of p,-ovent"i of d 'tut*on b in- it3 -Y stom Tul Causes. 1ZLoh o?niinitt?,o v?o6ki irt&ko uoe of Voluntary aigenci<-s, uch as Mikl.-ens Care Committees, Sick Visitors, Philanthropic Institutions, etc., but always under the super- vision of a responsible public authority. Mrs Webb had said that there were live roads which fed down into the morass of destitution, namely, neglected infancy, preventable sickness, feoblo old age, and unemployment. With regard to the first, 40 babies were born daily in workhouses, and nothing was 'done to foster the mothers. Nobodly could defend. the workhouse -as a good nuraesry for babies, nor yet as a help- ful influence for mothers, who, if tdieir stay in the house was of any length, were entirely cut off from their children, who were often looked after by the feeble-minded pampers. The rate of infant mortality was. very high in the country, but it wa. two or three t; ??s as bad, in prol,-or- tion an-toD:gk3?t t-di, w-orkl??uoo babie& Out f every 1000 babks born in the c,).uTArv, 25 d!'cd -Li?ii a Nv-e,k, or 1M w*,61tin th-6 fir?t yc-ar, but it;i w in Poor Law IrL,;t.itut.-ans, 40 to 45 died witbidn a week, and nearly 400 by the end of the fir-st year. Scotland1 was even worse than England and Wales in tha/t respect. Referring to the caaes of children of school age, Miss Spencer pointed out t!ha.t there were Lt present three different local authorities, all using State money, who were dealing with those s, namely, the local Education Authority, who were not only giving instruction., but food to t'arving children in many places, medical inspection, and some medical aid. There were also the Poor Law Guard ians, responsible to. the Local Government Board, and there was the system of Industrial and Reformatory Schooltt managed by voluntary committees or by County or Borough Councils. Those schools were supported partly by the State, partly by local rates, partly by voluntary co, 1 -itr'but??)ais, and paxtjy by the i.arentei til-em- -84"lves. They w,,?,re ountmuod by tbe I-lome Office, acting through the police and thei magis- trates, and there were 30,000 children in thoea sdhcols. But such was tho cveirlapping and dujjiicatii^g of services that a case had been known in which a mother had been receiving outdoor relief for some dhildlren, had another in a Poor Law School, aaxl another in an Industrial School under Police Authority and the Horns Office, whilst at the same time the very children for whom she was receiving outdoor relief wero being fed by the Education Authorities in the ordinary elementary schools as necessitous chil- dren. Was it not common sense that one autho- rity should take over the whole of those oases of children of school age ? (hear, hear). The autho- rity best fitted to undcrta-ke The responsibility was the Education Authority. How did the Poor Law deal with the aged poor ? There were 140,000 of them in the mixed workhouses, whilst some were LEFT TO STARVE MISERABLY. In the workhouses tihe. respectable poor suffered the humiliation of being herded with the worth- less and dissolute. The policy of the Poor La.w with regard to the feeble-minded was also wrong. They should1 be removed from the workhouses and placed under the care of a spe- cial committee. The persons who were in the mixed workhoairos through neglected sickness should also be removed and placed under the cai-c of the specialists of the Health Authority. Nobody who knew any tiling about the work of the 3713 district medial offioer3 or pariah doc- tors in the Poor La.w Unions of England and Wales oould think that the system was a satis- factory one, either to the overworked and often underpaid doctors themselves—whose salaries underpaid dootors t:he.mselves-whœe sa.J:a.I":e.e 1'Wl¡ged from £10 per a.nnum to £400, being usuallv £100 per aiD:num with special for operat'iooft--Or to tfue poor patieDts. What the minority recommended was that there should be one ample medical service unconnected with the Poor Law to deal with all the sickness, infirmity, and infancy, for whioh any puhlic provision was to bo made. Having dealt at rcme length with the work at present being done by Publio Health Authorities, the speaker went on to say that tha question might arise as to wftnat would become of those who were in receipt of Poor Law relief already. Thedr number, it was hoped, would be decreased considerably and relief would only be given on the condition that it was properly used, whereas in the cas?s of poor widows, etc., it would be adequate for maintenance and the pro- per upbringing" of children. The minority also proposed! to pursue the policy of boarding out dhildren with their own mothers, which would be their natural place. It was loped that the new system would ensure efficiency and true economy for their present system was neither ah6tp nor efficient. In conclusicn, Miss Spenoer dealt with the un- employment problem. The Rev. W. E. Jones (Penllyn) remarked that the Poor Law system as it was at present was certainly inadaquate, and he thought the vagrants who travelled about from one work- house to the other ought to be dealt with. INFORMATION SOUGHT. The Rev. Slas Jones said ho bad heard that the sum of £ 20,000,000 was given in the country towards the poor every yea.r, and that out of that only £ 10,000,000 went to the poor, the rest going to officials. He had also heard that out of every sovereign given towards the poor in that country, 17s 6d went to officials, and 2s 6d to the poor. He also understood t'h:t a Poor Kaw officer got ten per cent, on h's collections, apart from salary. Could Miss Spenoer tell him whether those figures were correct, or not? MLss Spencer: I should like to know from what authority you got your figures. Mr Jones: I cannot jive that. Mias Spencer, in reply, s.a;j she did not think the proportion going to the officials was any- thing- like what Mr Jones had said. A hearty vote of thanka to the speaker and the Chairman ooncluded the proceedings,

THE CASE FOR THE GUARDIANS. SALARIES IN THE CONWAY UNION. With the object of clearing up one or two points of local interest sug^i^ted by speakers at the above meeting a "Pioneer" rcprosentair five interview Mr J. W. Pest (Lteputy Clerk to the Conway Board of G uard:ati,-). "As regards the Conway Union, sa.d Mr Post," they are fully alive to tine poor-law defi- ciencies, which is proved by them having under consideration at the preeen.t. moment, a report dealing with the administration of out.door re- lief gtenerali\. They aro confiidoring the prob- lem from aul points of view, and are making up t,o-dat,e rov -me nts. I'?ie r:?port at prc,,gont "'np' under c<)n."derat:lon by the Guardiars embrae-es the following questions (l)The granting of out- in door relief whioh is inadequate because it is not sufficient to meet th3 actual necessities of the case. (2) The giving of indiscriminate or or unconditional out-door relief; (3), the lack of uniformity in the principles on which out-door relief is administered. (4), Relief Committees; (5), relieving officers; (6), case papar system; (7), ,ions; (8), non-reisl d,tit oa,.v ri'ay -es; door medical relief; 10), oo-oporaton between diaritl and the r.<)or law. Wit? to the firr,'?," Mr Pc,,st pro- (?e, cd. ",the Boami of G-aardians of t,his Union d have adopted the principle some considerable time, now, of giving' adequate r?!. of in deserving cases, wthilst with regard to the second, our Relief Committee never give indiscriminate re- lief under any circumstances. They consider all tlheir cases on their merits. The Board have tlie matter referred to in number 3 under considera- tiOill at the present time, and there is no doubt tlhat if there is any improvement, required, it will be mad". The Relief Committee of the Conway Union are practically agreed upon the adbption of the case paper svstom, and the aboli- tion of the pay stations, which they think would tend towards the bettering and the uplifting of the recipients. In tlh-o matter referred to in ClauBO No. 8, the non-neri'dent cas", are in cases belonging to this union resident in othor unions. We have reason to believe that our cases are being well-attended to by the offioers oi other unions, in the same way as oases belonging to other unions are attended to by our own officers. "With regard to No. 9, this union never hesi- tates lx> give out-door medical relief, in necessi- tous oases, and they have supplied nurses from nursing homes where needed. There is no rea- son to believe that there wiU be any other course adopted in the future. I -h;,g U --?,nc 1.013 "In (referc e to tdie a,-?t point, t n* is quite disposed to work with any duly con- stituted c'harity organisation, and would be glad of their help to prevent over-lapping and indiscriminate charity or poor relief. Theee are the points which the Guardians have alxeiZv und,-r cousideretion, xnd they axe 4mntilllua!4y making iml)r<)vemez+,s, whii,,t a,t the swne 4Lim-o they k,&epi.n.- a ver.-y wakeful eye on the interests of those who provide the money. They are alive to the re- quirements of tihe present age, and are doing their beet to carry out a good many of the principles advoeatrd in either the majority or the minority reports." Asked as to the suggestion niade at the meeting to the effect that out of every X whicji was paid towards poor-law administra- tion, only 2s 6d went to the poor, 178 Gd going to the officials, Mr Post said that was an absurd statement. "The Conway Union," he went an to say, "have taken the trouble to prepare a statement showing how one sovereign contributed towards the poor-law had been spent, before and aft-er deducting repayments contributed by the Imperial Ex- chequer, through the County Council, towards the salaries of officials, and in respect of the maintenance of lunatics. From this it will be seen that 2d ;is the amount charged to the Ta,t.epay-ers out of everv X, for tli.,? sal,ar,cs )f offic,,rs, -nd not 17s '? th, M as sag,ested meeting." The table referred to is for the year ended Lady-Day, 1910, and is as follows: — Before. After. e. d. s. d. In-maintenanoe 0 8} 0 9 Out>rciief, including non- resident relief) 2 8 2 9 Lunatics 0 81 0 5} Salaries, remuneration, and superannuation (including rations) 0 7! 0 2 RegristrNation 0 01 0 01 Vaocinaftion 0 Ik 6 I4 Repairs to, and other ex- penses of the Workhouse 0 01 0 1 Assessment expenses 0 4 0 4J Instalment of loans and inte- rest 0 2 0 2 14 5 '0 t rate 13 11 p T.Yii o i o :3-1 Other expenses, including paupers in hospitals and schools, rents, rates, taxes, and insurance, establish- ment, subscriptions to hos- pitate, and. nusoetiaoeous 0 41 0 41 >61 Q 0.£1 0 0 When asked if lie thought any advantage woiuld be gained by the abolition of the poor- law system and the Board of Guardians, Mr Post replied "No for the reason that many of the recommendations of one or the other of the two reports arc- already, thirough the instrumentality of the President of the Local Government Board, being acted upon, and any other reforms could be better oarried out by existing authorities (the Boards of Guard- ians), 011 cheaper lines, and equally efficiently, by a body which is directly responsible to the people, and duly elected by them." Questio-ned with rcspect to the problem of the Workhouses, Mr Post said: "I do think that the classification at some—not all, but a good many—Workhouses, could be improved upon, and there ds no difficulty in carrying out thiis improvement with the existing machinery, it has already been carried out in this Union to a large extent by the sepa- rating of the chikkvn from the Workhouee altogether, and establishing them in Cottage Homes, whore they receive home training and all the other advantages of children who are under tlie. caxe of r parents. policy is radually carried out throughout the country, and this Union have aZso made pro- vision for the separation of the classes in the Workhouse, which will tend to make happier the declining days of those who have to seek aseiiwt'ance through no fault of their own, by keeping them away from that class which might be termed 'undesirables.'

AGRICULTURAL ORGANIS- ATION SOCIETY. MOVEMENT EMTHUS iASTECALUY SUPPOR- TED 3ft FLINTSHIRE. A public meeting was hell at the Ralli Kali, Newmarket, on Tuct-xluy evening, under the aiaspioea of the A.O.S., Mr Conwy Bell, C.C., presiding. Mr Walter Williamq, the Welsh organiser of the A.O.S., addressed tlie meeting and explained i-h-l- objoita of the Society. Mr E. Davies Jones, lianrwst, followed,, and gave his experience 813 a member of the A.O.S., ni the Vale of Conway and of the great advan- tages derived from tlie Society, lis ia.:d stress on the fact that t.he Board of Agriculture had rvreognked tlie Association as the only means of fostering cooperat.on amongst agriculturists and t-e-d -t ti?iat t? lie Boa.rl of A.griouJt-aro an.d,' .??uhad,' no?tl?*lat,d M.?sr.?; T. p?,t?,d leL3 E. G. Cheny, of tihe Small Holdings Commission, C. Roden Buxton, M.P., Mrs Wiiken, represent- ing the Central Small Holdings Society; J. C. Gray and' D. Molnnes, as representing the Co- operative Union, Ltd., to represent the Board of Agriculture on the Committee 01 Management of the A.O.S. This fact in itself was sufficient to establish tho Society as the recognised Co-opera- tive Society amongst agriculturists. lie further explained tihat he was tihe secretary, pro. torn., for the North Wales Agricultural Organisation Society Committee and that the committee was engta-ged! ;;n prejuaring a deputation to lay before Lord; Cammgton the wants and requirements! of the agriculturists of North Wales. A Ktiong local committee was formed, the mat- ter being evidently tak-eii up with keen interest. DYSERTII. Mr Smethwiok presided at a meeting held at the, National School on Wednesday evening. Mr E. Davies Jones was only speaker at this meeting,, owing to the absence of Mr Walter Williams through indisposition. The objects of tho Society were clearly la.id before the meet- ing by Mr Jones and at the end of h s address he invited questions which were satisfactorily answered. A strong local committee was formed TRELOGAN. A meeting held1 at tihe Ccsaneil School, Trelo- ga.n, on 11hursday evening, attracted a crowded' attendance, very keen interest being evinced locally in the movement-. The Hev. W. Pierce presided5. At the termination of an address by Mr E. Davies Jones,, an influential local com- mittee wae formed to work in conjunction with, the Central Committee. I/ettcvrs were read from Sir Pyers Mostlyn, Mr J. Herbert Lewis, M.P., and Mr II. D. McLaren, expoassing regret at their inability to attend the meeting' and heartily supporting the A.O.S. niovenient in the district. Cordial thanks to Mr E. Davies Jones for his able addresses terminated tihe meeting.

STRONG RUABON PROOF. ZAM-BUK RESCUES CHILD FROM ITCHING SCALP SORES. A "Llangollen Advertiser" representative writes a graphic account of an interview he has had with Mrs T. Roberts, a collier's wrifo, who lives with her husband and child at 4, Chapel- strcet, Ponkey, Ruabon. "1 first noticed some red spots on Annie's head about eighteen months ago," began Mrs Roberts. "Beyond rubbing a little home-made ointment on her head I didn't trouble much about the outbreak, but the spots kept getting bigger, and others broke out as well. Annie was so restless and uneasy about the sores, which she kept scratching, that I saw a doctor. He said Annie had ringworm, and he warned me that I should have a lot of trouble with her head. And my word, I did have some trouble. I can assure you First the inflamed skin broke, and after discharg- ing matter a scurfy crust formed. "Gradually Annie's lovely hair, our great pride, fell out, killed by the ringworm, and great bald patches showed on her head. It was impossible for her to go out anywhera, with her head al- most bald and the scalp covered with over-in- creasing- fores. Annie was indeed a pitiable ob- ject. and begged us to get something to cure hor of the intense itching, which spoilt many a night's sleep for all of us. "A neighbour kept advising us to try Zam- Buk, and at last, seeing no hope for the child by containuing with doctor's ointments, I got some Zam-Buk. I fHt it was like snatching at by continuing with doctor's ointment made me desperate. I soon found, however, that Zam- Buk was a balm of remarkable. soothing and cur- ing pcnvers. "Annie was soon free from pain and irritation, and as I kept on using Zam-Buk the horrid ring- worms were gradually killed and fell away. The inflammation was drawn from the raw places, 1 and Annie's hair began to grow again. She is J now quite free from disease, sleeps well, and is back again at school, quite cured and happy. We shall never forget that wo owe Annie's spien- did cure entirely to Zam-Buk." ;• I 1 '« i -1 v i

ALLEGED RIVER POLLU- TION AT LLANMST. CASE IN THE CHANCERY DIVISION. lSGOED iONES v. URBAN DISTRICT. JUDGMENT RESERVED. (From Our London Correspondent). Considerable: local interest has been evinced in the Vale of Conway in the action brought by Mr Isgoed Jones against tlie Llanrwst Urban District Council. The hearing of the oaso in the Chancery Division before Mr Ju-stic-, Parker, has lasted nine days, the proceedings on Thursday, November 3rd, and continuing the next day, v.n«n• tiiere was an adjournment until the following Wednesday. Since then the hearing of the action went on continuously. ihe p.-amtill, as owner 01 property on the river < on way, sought to restrain the defend- ants committing an alleged nuisance by dis- charging crude sewage into the river. Mr Mark Romer, K.C., and Mr Hewitt ap- peared for the plaintiff, and Mr Macmorran, K.C., and Mr Tomlin for the defendants. Yesterday week (the ninth day of hearing) this action was concluded before Mr Justice Parker in the Chancery Division. SUMMING UP THE CASE. Mr Macmorran, in summing up the plain- tiff's case, said that be found it very difficult to deal with the evidence because the w.it- obviously seen the rivei- under sllcb tobaily different conditions. As everyone knew you could .see a river yourself under different conditions. lie thought that it would be almost impossible to come to a con- clusion one way or the other upon the evi- dence. TTL8 conflict of evidence in this case was very serious. To take an oexampl.e. ap- parently on September 13th last the river was seen by two persons, one of whom was Dr. Loocch, and if his evidence was accepted it was strong evidence that pollution did exist ther. But from the beginning of Sep- tember for some time afterwards there was no rain. The river, therefore, as seen by Dr. Loooeh, was in an exceptional condition, and witnesses who saw the river on September 13th had said that there was no nuisance. Then there was the evidence of Mr Malek, who had said that for a space of some 51 feet down the bank or rather the shingle ,7,a8 Covered ivi?,th filth. That ww -utt,rl t y impossible, if, as he sadd, he was there on the morning on which the tide ea-me up. All the witnesses for-tlie defence had said tha,t there was nothing of the kind there. It was extremely difficult to deal with a con- flict of evidence of that kind. He hesitated to say that the witnesses on one side or the which was untrue, but it was very difficult to say that the witnesses in one side or the other were not mistaken. Upon that point he desired to call attention to the fact that the witnesses for the defence were all people from the locality. They were persons who were in the habit of seeing the river. He would not say day by day, but frequently. It followed that if there was a serious tangible nuisance, such as was alleged in this case, it was impossible for these gentlemen to have been there from d'ay to day, and not to have seen it. His submission was that they must have seen and known if there was a tangible nuisance at all. It was a rapid stream, and therefore if there was a deposit on one day it might be gone the next. The deposit, if there was depusit at all, could only be when the river was low, because if it was in flood it would be running from bank to bank. There could, therefore, be no deposit at a time when the river was sufficiently high to be running from bank to bank. Mr Justice Parker said that he thought that if there had been this rise in the river any accu- mulations in a stone bank would have been car- ried away. Mr Macmorran said his contention was that if the nuisance existed at all it must be a very serious one, but it was impossible from the evi denee that it could exist. His Lordship said he was of opinion that there: could not be any very serious nuisance, but the rights of a reparian owner were quite distinct from th" rights of persona! user. Mr Macmorran said that his submission was that a nuisance could not possibly exist at a time of flood, and it was for his lordship to say whe- ther there was any serious nuisance at all. He wifj not going to say that at a sewage outfall there was no smell, but he did submit that here, if there was any smell at all it could not be detected more than two feet away. Then there were a number of other matters that were of some weight in dealing with the question generally. He was not going to lay over much stress upon the fact that the plaintiff was him- self a member of the local Council at the time when the sewers were constructed, and had some hand in how these sewers should discharge, but he did lay stress upon the fact that the plaintiff had resided there for a number of years without any complaint. The plaintiff thought that the 1871 Be wor was on his land, and that no compen- sation was being paid him for it. He thought that the Council ought to pay for it, and it was not until a'ftcr a long correspondence with his solicitors as to payment, that some time in Feb- ruary last the solicitors wrote for the first time suggesting that there was a nuisance. The very Ic-tter that stated for the first time that a nui- sance existed stated that proceedings must be taken at once. It was an extraordinary thing that the plaintiff should have been in the occu- pation of this house for all these years, apart from his previous knowledge as a member of the local authority, and that he only raised this question of nuisance in February of this year, and under the circumstances that ho had men- tioned. He did not rely particularly upon whe- ther the river was tidal or not, but ho desired to point out that the discharge into a tidal river was quite a different thing from a discharge into the upper reaches. This discharge had been made openly and with the sanction of the sani- tary authorities. If anything, this was a public nuisance, and an action could not be brought for a public nui- sance from a private individual, becauep i.n respect of a publio nuisance certain notices under the Publio Health Act had to be given. The oase for the plaintiff had been presented in three ways. As reparian owner he had a to the bed of the stream that passed his premises a,n,l t'? q of this on to 1-?:s land '43 sei?idin was a trespass. Secondly, that the deposit on his land was a nuisance; and thirdly, there was a general nuisance by the turning of the eewage into the stream. With regard to the first point, counsel admitted that a reparian owner was entitled to the uninterrupted flow or the water that passed his land, but that was a natural r.ght, and not an easement, and he submitted that tile plaintiff, merely because he was the owner of this field, could not bring his action for infringement of the right. Counsel was not aware of any case in which tho owner as d.s- tinguished from the person in possess.on or occu- pation has maintained an acton for infringement of those natural righis. So much for the ties- pass, and as regards the.nuisance he submitted that the plaint.if was not entitled to bring his action. Having dealt at considerable length vitii the authorities dealing with the subject, counsel submtted that upon the evidence no serious nuisance had been proved, t'liafc there was nothing' in the nature of trespass, and in any event the plaintiff was not in a position to maintain his action for either trespass or nuisance. Air Tomlin followed on the same side. Mr Romer, replying on the whole case, dealt exhaustively with the evidence, and submitted that after hearing the plaintiff's witnesso3, and the steps t hcy had taien to get at the facts which they dispersed to it was Imi)-o( -ible to come to any other conclusion than that a state of things existed that amounted to a very ser- ious nuisance. With regard to the law of tho oase. counsel contended that the plaintiff was entitled to sue even though he was. not in actual possession of the land adjoining the river, because the injury was of a permanent ature. The evidence was that if had been going on for 19 years, and the defendants were proposing to continue it. He defied the other side to pro- duce any single case which shewed that a pri- vate individual could not get an injunction in a respect of a nuisance where ;the Attorney Gm- clr.al could. No on-? had even no,,v r,.o*l o(-tild not ta I;ha,t the Cou the ?vhk)le of1 their sewage beyond the plaintiff's land, and he would then take his chance of it bing- brought up asijiri, to discharge this sewage into -w,tdca,ly a stamnant 1-,ooi, r.) tl-iat NvJLat vas I)r, it was carried on to the plaintiff's land must bo a nuisance, and a nuisance in the popular sense of the woixi which the plaintiff -was en- titled to restrain. Mr Hewitt also addressed t.!>e court for the plaintiff. a.nd at the conclusion of the argu- meIll3 his Lordship reserved judgment.

MAYOR'S DAY AT CONWAY. THE COUNCIL AT DIVINE SERVICE. PROBABLE ROYAL VISIT. The Mayor's Day was celebrated at Conway yesterday (Wednesday), when the newly-elected Mayor of the borough, Mr Henry Jones, Degan- wy, attended Divine service at the Carmel Welsh C.M. Chapel, Conway. The procession, as usual, commenccd at the Guild Hall, and not- withstanding the heavy downpour of rain, a largo crowd put in an appearance. The local police force, under the command of Deputy Chief Con- stable Rees and Sergt. Evans, headed the pro- cession. Next followed the Conway Borough Hand (conducted by Bandmaster J. Williams), the Fire Brigade (under Chief Officer F. A. Dela- motte and Lieut. Owen Williams), and the local' corps of Territorials. Then camc the new Mayor, in his official robes of office, ac- companied by the ex-Mayor (Mr John Williams), Aldermen Dr. Morgan, A. Netherwood, Edward Roberts, Councillors Dr. Carter, J. H. Conway Jones, J W. Hughes, and John Jones. A large muster of the general public followed, including the followingRevs. O. Selwyn Jones, Deganw v (CM.), T. Gwynedd Roberts, Conway (C.M.); William Jones, Conway (C.M.); Henry Jones, Pensarn, Llandudno Junction (C.M.); Luther Thomas, Conway (Welsh Congregationalist); Wm. Edwards, Conway (Welsh Baptist), W. Mellor Conway (English Wesleyan) B. Menai Francis (Welsh Congregationalist); J. 0. Jones, Gyffin. The Rev. William Jones presided at the chapel, there being a crowded congregation. The hymns sung were "Before Jehovah's awful throne" and "God moves in a mysterious way," and "Duw buost in' yn Arglwydd Da" and "Wele'r dydd yn gwawrio draw." The Rev. William Edwards read a portion of Scripture in Welsh from tho 8th chapter of Hezekiah, and an English prayer was offered by the Rev. William Mellor. The Rev. O. SeJwyn Jones, Deganwv, preached an eloquent sermon, partly i-ii English and partly in the vernacular, taking as his text "The Kingdom 0; God is within \ou." He pointed out that it was the fact that the Kingdom of God was amongst them, that accounted for the love of liberty which characterised the British ration generally. They enjoyed more civil and religious liberties than perhaps any other nation on the face of the oarth. Their colleges and schools bore witness to this. The crusade which -rrdbl(, 1 wa. bei rlg fougiit aga:nst the t(? d'st?, e of consumption was another proof of the love of freedom which the nation possessed, and every- thing which tended towards the redeeming of the people physically or morally, was a direct proof that the Kingdom of God was amongst them. Gentlemen of the Council," concluded the speaker, turning to the Mayor, aldermen and councillors, "I wil' sum up my message to you in these words: Have faith in God, love to humanity, devotion to duty, and persisting in this straight, road, you may on good ground, expect the most bounteous and rich blessing of heaven to rest upon your efforts." A prayer for the recovery of one of the coun- cillors, at present seriously ill (Councillor A. J. Oldman, Deganwy), was offered. THE MAYOR'S TEA. After the service the majority resorted to the schoolroom adjoining, where, according to cus- tom, they were entertained to tea by the Mayor* An excellent repast had been catered for by Mr Fred Jones (the Grosvenor Restaurant). The Mayor moved the loyal toast, and in a few appropriate words referred to the love which they bore their Sovereign, King George. Alderman Dr. M. J. Morgan moved the toa-t of the Mayor amd Corporation of the Borough oif Conway." He remarked at the outlet it-hat they were all exoredinglv grateful to the M.a.yor for his hospitality. The Cor- poration had had many "hits" from time to time from various parts of the borough, but they .appeared to be none the worse for it (hear, hear). They a.M tried to do their duty to the best of their abiiffty (hear, hear). The foTttuoomin# year was a. very important one, amd ihe Tvas g&ad tha.t they had a genial and generous Mayor in Councillor Henry Jones to uphold tbe dignity of tbe borough (chews). rr,J" h .J lurci °PÜu to g><t t!w'KwO' to come to Con. way a.gain. His l\fajŒty ;aG gOÍilg to C'a LIla'von, .8 hey kH;w', n On the OC'C(lsiaa of th Kll'n.gs ,POOV:lOUiS oYl.'O'lt h (the .SP'2,a..kert) h:d Lvd tJ1ehOJloU'i' Œ ('oor,t¡.ng lItö Royal HlghJ1¡('ss, th<1 th\'ill Duke 00£ York. on',r t'h-e CO:1 \y.ay Ca.s'tk. IL. .f.aj.cs:ty h.ad sa.id a.t tJIS tlmc tl1at h.e would be plas('d to visit the æ-Ki'0nt b{)¡'Qugh a.P'a.in wh0n (\, f.avomrb.w.e opportu'!1.it,Y ()o('Cl1-r]'Cd. a.nd 1';0 they h1d f;r"i1&S<J1tl to hope t11a.t hoe wou.ld not. b;) ;o.np- in fulfil1:i.ng his promise (cheors). Mr J, P. Griffiths supported the teast. He said that on Saturday he understood lie would, be elected a. mr.mber of the Corporation, and a., t nough ho. would be one of tihe vouai^^t mr.mb-.rs of that bo<7y. one of th<Ke "who &beu:d bo seen and ciot heard—(la.ughter; he hoped in his case to be both seen and heard (hear, hear). He would do everything in hi-s power to further the interests of" the borough and he trusted that the ensuing 3 ear wou-d be a successful one (cheers). He trusted that the message which they had re- ceived from the Mavoir's .chaplain (Rev O Selwyn .Tones), that afternoon, would prove a gr dance to the Council during the coming yoair 'F;h,3 May' dc-,l I-T-- -lh-nk-ed t-h,c,-n a?d fl)" t?10 d-i?ll'?;s* he ,I.n.d his wif.-i hpd aaid ex- pr!2c,c?d his g,,i tit ui-- to 'or e',ecti i,- ?- him to fil?l tuli.e. 1) osllio;2 to ii,iliijl h-c ]],A llevc (he-,tr, Duji-Ln- th-e L ?? -id -kcl t" -er I li? s,?, A (I -I o?-il tL, ? lincil Tw.an t.aa-t 11.?- COUM ard h-; li?,,d gt-,ezt c,o,art-eis?y- at th-o hqnd. c,,f h-ili bott; out6ide t?h,,? C'ou,r,,c-il ?'h".T, 'fhe Mayor' C!hciT)l ',it, ( Rev. 0. Sc?wym Jones), .responded on behnlf of the Mayoress. He font confident that p.11-e would assist the Mayor in every way possible during his term of office (hear, hear). Proceeding, the eipe-akea referred to the fact that the Mayoa w^ a Sunday School teacher, and had been a Sunday .School scholar throughout his life He (the speaker) had known Mr Henry Jones for fourteen yea-IB, and hi thought that the rewa,rd, which had now been given him, was what he deserved for his services to tho borough (cheers). Dr. Carter, Deganwy, also spoke, and in ro- ferring ,0 the serious illness of Councilhir A, J. Oidman, Deganwy, -wished him a speedy re- covery. A vote of sympathy with Councillor Oldman was unanimously carried. The Borough Surveyor (Mr P. A. DeJa- moitte) announced that 'the collection at the chapel service had amounted to t4 6s, whiei was to be devoted to the Conway and ÜtisbricC Nursing Fund. The proceedings terminated with li-he eai thusiatfrtio singing of "For he's a jolly e<xW fellow."

IMPUDENT THIEF AT RHYL. MAXIMUM PENALTY FOR AN OLD OFFENDER. On Monday, at a special Poilioe Couirt, at Rllyl, before Mr W. Elwy Williams (presid- ing), Thomas Jackson, described as a. rag and boiua gatherer, oi' no fixed abode, was brought up in custody, charged with stealing a quan- tity of lead piping and brass fittings, valued at X2 2s, from unoccupied houses in Vale- road, between the 14th and 15th inst. The prisoner had been arrested in Rhuddlan, by P.C. Gomer Jones, and had been handed over to the Rhyl poilioe. The defendant pleaded "Guilty." P.S. iDemsey stated that in company with P.C. Oddheld he mode inquiries concerning the removal of lead piping and fittings. He that the (Led'eaidant had s.o.'d piping to a Local marine store dealer. I)cdendamt was arrested at about 7 p.m., on Saturday, but when charged luo denied having committed the thedt, addling that lie knew nothing about tho ma,liter. Subsequently, at the Polioe Elf at Rhyl, he was shown pieces of brass, and he tdicn remarked: "I admit it now." The robbery had taken place from unoccupied houses, bu.t witness could not æy how the defendant got inside the houses. He had, however, found the back door of one house open. Mr John Hughes, Vale-road, said he had just bought the houses, and when he last saw them the piping was ail right. Insipcetxxr Pearson informed the Ber.eh that the 'defendant had been up mine times. He had had one month for assa,ultin.g a female at Conway; he has also been imprisoned for stealing a barometer at CoJwyn Bay, and not lon.? agx3 he was 6?Alt t.o I)ri.?-o-n for t-lte-i,],ng a 26 rlc,,zr ig a, F,tnt o lioiivy, a4 g liby-l. Addressing the defendant, Mr Elwy Wil- liams .remarked that the iiene.li knew tlie man had been before the mogdstra.tee on nine occa- sions,' a;nd perhaps if the truth were known lie had been in court 29 times. They feist very sorry they could not punish him" more severely, seeing- that he was evidently a pro- fessional thi.il and tramp. The defendant would go to gaol for six months wi'th hard labour. Defendant; Thanh you, vour worships.

MOTOR SPEED LIMIT AT COLWYN BAY AND CONWAY FORTHCOMING INQUIRY. Obier-tioris haniilg bem made, tx) L?e applioo,- ,ti,on b-.y 1)?e,nb"gh CQuntY Cjunell for it, guJa- ti<)-n to b-o ma?to in Pu"u?L"C%?, of sub-,)Octl(m 1 1<)t,)r Uar A--t, 1903, .o as 9 f the ?N '9, slyed jililit of ten miles per li(jur on t'o lm'pcb rict 0' C-,Ol- ct--rt-ain road's ??thin taw iii,baii diet ,vv_3,n Bay an(l, C-oiwyn, the L<)ca,l Governnicjit 6'Loffbdl(>n Board amncoun?x?d in Fri?,lay nimht's I Gazette" that, all inquiry into tlie matter will be Jiekl at the County Building's, Oolwyu Bay, on a,t,d,y, tb, 3ri De?,cMbeT W-Xt, l'i mx M,axy,?ell, I)axTist*r) o?l?- of the Bo&T<rs t,ors. A simil iry wiH be be?ld on F-rict'Y, thO aT i NCLU leinan at 2nd D'em -zairto gent b,er next, by t?? I into an by t,he Guild li?UL (;My"yl liar C&- ou.rbty ()ouvcil f4,?r C