The Welsh Coast Pioneer and Review for North Cambria

MONTGOMERY BOROUGHS. Sir J. D. Roes's decision not again to contest Montgomery Boroughs haves the Liberals with- out a cand date, and the Unionists regard the chances of their candidate, Colonel Pryce Jones, as favourable.

Tho Eiffel TL'wer in Paris is being used as a station for the daily transmission cf the e-oaot time to oeeiuiTgoing vessels by wireless teJe- ^japhy.

CENTRAL WELSH BOARD. RESENTING BOARD OF EDUCATION'S CRITICISM. LORD SHEFFIELD'S OPINION. The half-yearly meeting of the Central Welsh Board was held on Friday at Shrewsbury. So much concern has been evoked among Welsh educationalists by the report presented to Parlia- ly 18tli by 'Llic P,,oar(i of E?.cati,)n inent o-i Ju! that great importance was attached to the Cen- tral Board's rejoinder, and there was accordingly an unusually large attendance of the members, 53 being present out of the total of 80. Professor Anwyl (Aberystwyth) presided, and was supported by the two vice-chairmen (Lord Sheffield and the Rev Dr Aaron Davies). MR OWEN M. EDWARDS' POSITION. Mr O. M. Edwards., the Chief Inspector of the Welsh Department of the Board of Education, ith ciio, of his c(,,Ilea ,ti-aa pre-s?!nt wi 1 qiie3i and whf,-i Agendum 5" was announced by the Chairman, "To receive and consider the report of the Board of Education (1909) under the Welsh Intermediate 1889," the Chief Inspector rose and said that during the discussion to ensue points might arise relating to thj Board of Education which the representative! of the Board of Education could not agree with, and they would be in the position of having to sit silently and feel it then- duty to make no kind of protest. Therefore their silence might be misconstrued. Tho meeting was being held in the presence of the Press, and as the policy and actions of the Board of Education might be under consideration, he thought that the best thing, though his colleague and himself had a perfect right to be present, and to speak, would be to retire voluntarily until after the dis- cussion. The Chairman said that he thought what Mr Edwards suggested would be a good way of arranging tne discussion. The Chief Inspector and the other represen- tttivm cf the Welsh Department then left the hall. EXECUTIVE COM iA4T TE, E'S DRAFT REPLY The Chairman laid before the Board the reply of the Board of Education report which the Executive Committee had drafted, and to which certain ameniments had been made at a private meeting of the Central Board, convened by Lord Sheffield, which was held at Shrewsbury on Thursday night. The reply opened with an expression of the surprise with which the Central Board received the report. Anxious about the work done in the Welsh county schools under their supervision, the Central Board would welcome all helpful critic- ism-, from the Board of Education, but this re- port contained what; appeared to be grave mis- statements and serious allegations. It must therefore be examined in detail in order to vin- dicate the work done for secondary education in the WeLsh county schools; to reassure the people of Wales, who:c money was being spent on these schools, and whosa children were being educated in them, and to prevent the friends of education in the United Kingdom generally 'from supposing that serious allegations made by a responsible de- partment of State were presumably true and justified by the evidence alleged. The oommittee proceeded to review the report at, length, sealing with and claiming to refute all the assertions now made familiar by repeated allusions to them in public and reported in Û13 Press. They pointed out that the unfavourable criticisms appeared to rest almost exclusively on the evidence furnished by reports issued by the Central Welsh Board—the very body which was so severely criticised; that the report advised the Central Board to rely less upon examinations and more upon inspection, thus completely ignoring the full and complete scheme of inspection, which, organised by the Central Board, together with the oral and practical examinations, constituted one of the chief features of the Welsh inter- mediate system. The Welsh schools, said the Executive Committee, were not in fact all formed on one model, but in so far as there was uniformity it was based in the main on the re- gulations of the Board of Education itself. Referring to the allegation that the "unsym- pathetic teaching during the first year of a secondary school course effectually stopped the development of interest and reasoning -power" in the cliddren, the Executive stited that ti-?o .;vs? tt-i-i comi-noilly 3'71 W-(tl(?s was the 11 r W] ?P-C?ali, y ? --t s stem, un(le ?ieli c;crv s-abj?,et was taught in every form by teachers who had a special knowledge of it, so thet the best teach- ing was at the disposal of every pupil in the sehool. The reply closed with the following paragraph "Enough has been said to show the inaccuracy and unfairness of the report under consideration. The Central Welsh Board hope that the Board of Education will cancel those portions of their report which have now been shown to be without justification and without "foundation." LORD SHEFFIELD'S VIEW. Lord Sheffield moved that the reply drafted by the Executive be approved and addressed to the Board of Education. He did not think the reply used stronger language than the situation re- q u I,- c--I. a-znm-,ners varie(i in qualtiv and were not perfect, but the Central Board accepted frankly all the observations of their examiners, whether in the nature of strictures or in the nature of inyrendat' "T 1,? 0 y ere p(,rfect,ly co 'Onr w '11*ng to abidz- by tribit-tal w' I tl),?I f..o which the Board of Education had appealed, but what they said was that, taking the examiners' reports as a whole, they did not justify the animadversions which the Board of Education had made (ap- plause). A mixture of commendation and cen- Suro would be found in the examiners' reports for any year, but the schools had made extra.- ordinary progress in 21 years, through excep- tional difficulties. Having got over the struggle of the earlier years, they were now anxious to make their work still more thorough, and to have the help and stimulation of the Board of Education in any fair criticism. But the critic- ism in the | port now before the meeting did not give them that juet treatment to which hey were entitled (applause). For his part he was comparatively indifferent whether the Board of Education would abate a little of the pride and self-sufficiency of the Government Department and would frankly acknowledge the mistake they had made, because the Central Board could ap- perd to a higher tribunal—to the enlightened pinio,i of (,o*mpet(-nt t?o judg?-. 11- (lid not think that the ittass of people of Englar,-d had t*rtic--just now, at any rate-to coiis;der so 0 'a niatter as the iqterest,3 of the sec'ondary small schools in Wales, but there was, of course, an important public in England—represented by the teaching profession and the educational journals, —and to that they would appeal. Having read the report of the Board of Education, he hoped they would read the reply and do the Welsh schools justice (applause) The Welsh people would stand by their schools. Of course there were improvements to be made in them. Two of the blots upon them were due to want of adequate means of maintenance of the secondary schools themselves and of the primary schools ,?,,hence the?r pupj-, the ina' A In in -ere derived. In the meantime the Central Board would emphati- cally repel the charges made against them, and would deny their truth and the fairness with which they were put forward (applause). They were determined, whether the Board of Educa- tion replied or not, that the matter should not be dropped (applause). Principal Griffith, cf Cardiff, seconded the a' motion, suggesting that they should be careful not to give the impression that they were over- sensitive to criticism. On the contrary, it was not the criticism that they resented, but the un- f,t,'r basis cn which it was sm'd to be reared. T?ie examinem' rop,.)?ts this year were just as f??-voui-abl a-S tb, -)Fe ?'or 1908. Why, then, slioiil(I they be suddenly told they were a wooden-headed and unintelligent generation? Something must have happened to produce such an effect. No- thing had happened in relation to the Central Board or the schools except that if anything they were making improvements in their education (applause). The Rev. Dr. Aaron Dalies supported the motion. DEFENDING THE REPORT. Mr J. H. Davie*, the Registrar of the Uni- versity College, Aberystwyth, said that he felt the system upon which the Executive Committea of the Central Board was elected was such as to give the power of the Board into the hands of a few of the o!d members, so that for many years the meetings of the Board had become a regular farce t"Oli" and laughter). They lusted two or three hour. steam was let off, certain points were raised, and the members heard nothing more about them. He objected to the a.t, "3 wer Nvii:eh lt-d been c,'?rawn up '?)cca-,ise it bii(I been drawn up in a hurry, by people who feit very strongly on the question. It was hysterical, in his opinion—(laughter),—and it was undigni- fied from beginning to end. It was not the kind cf defence the Central Welsh Board should make. There were statements in the rejoinder which nvght themselves be criticised. There was a statement, for instance, that 20 years ago the scholarships of the University Colleges were largely gained by pupils from the schools of Eng- land, bill of late they were practically all takea by pupil; from the Welsh county schools. The reason was that in the last 20 yeurs a large num- ber of universities had been founded in England, so that inr-tead of coming to Wales to receive their higher education the English people ob- tained it at home. Probably Aberystwyth gofc as many students from England as any college in Wales, and a higher percentage of them took scholarships than of the candidates from the county schools. The statement in the reply, therefore, was a. kind cf false conclusion. He did not think that the answer as a whole would hold water, and he moved that after the discus- sion it be referred to a special committee, who should be asked to bring it up at a special meet- ing in January to be passed. Professor Chattaway seconded the amendment. llc, -,aid tlio r?-port w,i only received by the a few liout-s be?'cre tlik? itif,)rrrial jy,et- '11,(? on Tfiuxsday, -nd had n?ot 1),c?eri ti-tue corLi:?1'er i,, in detail. It Ec-n-wd to liav(-? beeii hastily drawn up, and some of the paragraphs seemed meaningless. It seemed ratiter more In like an election address than a temperate, con- sidered reply of the charges brought by the Government Department (laughter). The report was the report of the department with which tho schools would have to work in harmony if the beet interests of education in Wales were to be served, and he hoped no statements would go out r,h:cli were capable of being criticised in the way that they had heard the proposer of the amend- ment criticise them. Ail the references to his own subject (science) ho would like to see de- leted. Where the were 80 per cent, of passes, and practically the who!e school was examined, the standard of passing must be ridiculously low. Reference was made to the inspection of d-e. Board of Education, which was alleged to be of a perfunctory character. If that was true it dis- closed a scandalous state of neglect, and demanded a Government inquiry. It was not met at all by quibbling about details and little phrases in the examiners' reports. He would likj to bava ii-e roply considered by the Central Board as ;6 whole. The Board took too little part in the work. There were direction3 in which very strained relat.i ms existed, and he thought an intimate acquaintance with tho Board's examin- in work would show that the Executive Com- mittee had for years been taking away from Llia examiners themselves practically all their proper functions. What wa.s wanted was an independent investigation by the members of the Board. Mr Tom John contended that th.e two gen- fecu-e-n who had been defending the Boajxl of Education report had exhibited a tremendous barrenness of ivcource (laughter). Really, only hysterical people eoud uee the expres- sions which they had used. This was a. ques- tion of the degradation of the Central Welsh B-oard. He would like to eee tlte Welsh De- partment vanish, and the Central WeJsh Board remain (laughter). Mir J. E. I?owell (Wrexham) offered his own case as dlliproof of the allegation too Executive of the Centra! Board r!dd not change, for he was ex-member of it. As to the educational zeal and efficiency of the Board and of the Welsh County Governing Bodies, he instanced the fact it was from one of the counties, supported by the Board, that the Board of Education li-,id obtained the scheme now gene telly recommended for the education and training of student teachers. PRINCIPAL ROBERTS. Principal lteberte, of Aberystwyth, said he was anxious that r-othing should be done by the to p-ivdue-e ait impression üt th? Boaid of Education that they were not very anxious to consider any question that bad in view the progress of education in the schools. They y;'C<lI'db" willing to recogniee that tho suggestions made were baaed UjXIll a very deep sense of responsibility, on the part of these who made them, eerd were probably tl-w result of a. very great deal of -thoughi and. consideration. They represented, too, as re- garded some subjects, the highest posaihV competency, toO form opinions as to what was ,i mpti.-itin tf,o- the education of the country. Principal Roberts went on to consider the references to the teaching of history, geo- graphy, and Latin, showing that opportuni- ties were offered for teachers to study new methods, etc., at, foe instance, the sumnwr school at Abeaystwyth. The VveJ-sh schools were grappling success fully with the work of teaching Latin. Mr Rhys Evans, Portmadoo, showed bev* tl,.g --ad B<),- -n iiifluv.,it:,zid in ?it.! i;rd ha,,i t -e proving the teaching, or rather making the teaching more effective, in Latin and other subjects. Principal Eebb, of Lampeter, as one who had dore a. great deal of examination work, con,i .q that the c.,Iia-.ge w.Ls the Beard of Education -had unfairly picked out things that were to the desadvantage of th.e schools. Mr W. G. Dodd, Llangollen, pointed out that at all the meetings of the Central Board Executive the representatives of the Board of Education were present and took part u the discussions, so that they took their share of the responsibility of tlie resolutions passed. Throughout W-ales the impression was that tho attack was upon the Central Welsh Board, and people were looking to the Cen- tral Board to make its defence. Thea-e had been no gratification expressed with the re- port except in one quaxt2-r-,a quarter which did not join in set-ting up the Welsh system, and which had lost no opportunity since of attacking it. Only in the last few days a Welsh bishop had been speaking with appro- bation of the Board of Education report. Lord Sheffield, replying upon the discussion, said ho gathered that Dr. Chattaway himself regarded the Board of Education report as a ill unfair one. Professor Chattaway said that was so. The amendment was dkfe-ated by 35 votes td five. REVIEW OF CLAUSES. Professor Brymor Jocee, Aberystwyth, sug- gested en anrondmemt of a claiLse to show- that further modifications of the -agricultural course were contemplated. This was accepted by Lord Sheffield and carried. Mr Ccttrruan Rogers remarked that people were perplexed by the conflicting directions of the Central Welsh Board and the Board of Education; they objected to the teaching of Welsh in a district in whs eh Welsh v -a.s not the prevailing language; and they wanted a syllabus of subjects w inch would hial.p the sons of farmers to qualify for the work which they would have -to do. It was decided to consider the report pago by page, and to deal with amendments sub- mitted as they were thus reached. An amend- ment proposed by Mr J. H. Davies was defeated. He wished to omit statistics as to the schools in which Greek and German arc taught, holding that they would produce a wrong impression. Professor Chattaway projio^ed the omission of a clause dealing with the teaching cf chemistry, and incidentally expressed regret that any remarks of his should be interpreted to imply agreement with the report of the Board of Education. The report was very unfair and ought to be ansnvexcd. All he wished to siecuTe was an adequate and digni- fied answer. Principal Griffith, while agreeing with Pro- testor Ciiattaway in deprecating any remark which would suggest approval of tho ex- aminer's remark with reference to the da.b- bling of young children with the subjects of radium and the atmospheric gasses, said the reply merely showed that the Board of Educa- tion's statement was unjustified. Professor Chattaway withdrew his amend- ment, but another which he proposed waa accepted. Mrs Coltman Rogers contended that the allegation as to a wooden and unintelligent type of mind" could not be refuted so long as the present system of cram existed. New only did the children work extremely hard

Mr. T. CHIIDLEY, Begs to announce the OPENING 1 othis Newly-constructed STUDIO I 0 which has been specially built to meet all requirements for the production of the HIGHEST CLASS OF PHOTOGRAPHY. No. 2, STATION ROAD, COLWYN BAY. 44 ZH Welsh Coast pioneer." LARGEST CIRCULATION ON THE COAST. THE. SALE OF THE Welsh Coast Pioneer Amounts to an average which, if tesied, 'li sL I ow an w Excess of Several Thousand Copies Weekly over any other Penny Paper. Brunch Offices LLANDUDNO MOSTYN STREET LLAN R WST \V AT L1 IN G STK EKT RHYL KIN MEL STREET ABERGELE CAXi'ON HOUSE LONDON REPRESENTATIVE: MR J. E. TRIGU, 47, FLEET-STREET.

UNIONISTS AND THE CONSTITU- TION. It is quoi.t poaible that- the Government may within very few weeks be made "to eirc tibe hot haste with which they Vivo rushed the country nt o ye t another G e-ne r ai Ext- taon, to the detriiccat of the Christmas trade, on a ft ale register and only eleven months after their return to power at tll,- head of their msuty-hcswkd Hydra of a "majority. But it is. certainly not for Unionists, now to do anything but rejoice r.t the chance of taking up the glove so orouslv thrown down to them. They will on the contrary welcome the c(ppoitumty of doing stee-nuous battle once again for the úol.d Constitution and for the Ua-Uxj end Unity of the Empire. Now we may be sure tie Government mcr.3 t,o trv to iiiako the of th.? L-f It W. _C.7n.e on?V th, fiC_Ilt. ?l l? LIP_ l'of4i? t! be yet another danoa for the country to the *1 familiar tune of "Down with the Lords," with variations. The var,at,;ens*are supplied by both sides. The Liberals lor their part would -,h the "power of Absolute Veto while leaving the Lords in their old xmi-e* forin<d state they wou'd deprive them of I tix.it pteee as an effective integral part of the <flfcst.rltu.tion of t>his cotm-try in whooe his- tory, even frc-ni the time ol Magna Carta, they have played no mean or tin wo?thy part. They propose thai any measure failing twice to get the approval of tho Lords shall at the third attempt bcooaie law in spite of ^he opp3C-:t;oa of the Lord. and without further appeal to the people. Unionist. however. are prepared to meet the Government with a great constructive policy or reform end not in any mere spirit of negation. Thoir leaders have r.dmnit&rd, verha'Jy, and by the feet of taking a share in the abortive Conference, that the House of Lords -as at prcorat constituted docs stand in reed of reform, and that some reawneble methoi miu-t be found of dealing with the I situation which arises in ease of a deadlock between the two Rouses. For each difficulty a remedy is suggested as lias, been made clear by Mr Balfour in his great speech at Notting- ham and by the utterances of Lord La ns- dowre in the debate in the House of Lords i-tseJf. It is the business of UaSon-ists t-o make themselves familiar with this great alternative policy And to realise that they may row make reform of the constitution a leading plank in their own policy, alongside of theii-r constructive Imperial policy of Tariff Reform. First cs to the ?ceond Chamber; it is Te- cognised that the present size of the House of Lords is excessive, being as it is now very nearly, if not quite, the largest seeemd cham- ber in the world, and Yi-e first step towards reduction is taken with the recognition d the principle of Lord Rosebery's resolution, tha,t ri-?-- i :,lit F-lia7l a m?ii to ?it in t-be Houee. 'l¡he next thing to do is to provide for tho preservation of the best elements. For this end a. certain number would lie elected by the present peers to represent their own body, according to the method long familiar in tho care of the representative peeTs for Scotland and I ret and. Another element- would consist of pecs qualified by »ffioeG held, by wide Parliamentary or official experience, or by eminenca in the arts or scicnoes; these two bodies would together comprise not raoT than half the House which would be completed by the appointment or choice oi' members from outside the Peerage to represent the outside world. Next some method has to be found of dealing with dead- locks. It is suggested for this purpose that resort might well be* had to the practice of conferences, or joint-ittings, already familiar in other constitutions, such as those of our great Dominion Colonies. The reduction by about one-half of the present numbers of the House of Lords would greatly simplify the holding of such joint settings and further even if they were to be taken part in by all the members, the House of Commons 'would now be in a considerable majority. Even in too past much has been accomplished by sittings of committees representative of both Houses and the so far as it is one, would be quite in keeping with the traditions of eons-titutioaa.1 development which have always been our safest guides in making advances on the past. Finally, the Unionist leaders have decided in favour of the resort to a Referendum, a highly demo- cratic instrument, in the case of all measures involving great changes, especially affecting the constitution, on which the two Houses were unable to agree. We have sketched the Unionist ccnstruotdvo policy in out- line. It is the business of all to make them- selves thoroughly familiar with those prin- ciples and with the fact that the U-nion;st Party stands net for a mere negative, but for a, positive though truly Conservative ad- vance in constitutional practice. With this and Tariff Reform kept clearly before the electorate, the issue of the election now upon us need never be in doubt.

GREATER LLANDUDNO. For several years the fates have not been irery kind to Penrhynside. Expensive public works, including sewerage, road improve- meait, and water supply schemes, have had to be undertaken with the result that the parochial rates have become a heavy burden upon the little community. Unfortunately tq. w'ter supply scheme became latterly quite inadequate to meet the needs of the parishioners, and to effectually remedy L-, -at t-liev inus, ren?ew t-6? ro-q wic0P", Wat4- B4).;Lrd'.s o-, procui,e a!i c,d d-i On a,, f-?,om tb?e L',mdudno Coi;li- t):" t I s rv 1", h-, b,iii- I impossible owing to the expense, the parish has for some time been supp'iod with much if not alJ oüf its water by Llandrdno., but, as the Cowl yd Water Board insists Dpoll its txihnical right of charging for what it not supply, it means that the parishioners have to pay t'vice over for the lOam." tilling. Not unnaturally they resent this, and they are row sacking a way out of their difficulties I by throwing la thei r lot with their wealthy and more fortunate neiigh.boure in the Llan- dudno urban district. To Llandudno and its bo-dcr parish the proposed change wor.'d 00 o (JlAibt mutually advantageous. To the parishioners it v.oi'.ld mean a oocisid-rable reduction in the ratec and the enjoyment of many amenities of modern vebain. diistriot I govemmeiit, which they woutd pni'ha.ps never experience wliife associated with a. lees eeitrr- pvi&ing rn-ral district authority. The electnc cars have done much to bring tho two places into closer touch with each other during the last two years, and helped to remove one c» the main objecticna to an ama?gamat:<an, t,he ?-*tue;t,:<l of ,v th.? town o-f To Llandudno the clxaiige would mean a, material enhancement in rateable value, and an ap- to tie population of the district—a fact which will appeal forcibly to that growing section of the townspeople w.ho are anticipating hopefully the day when the famous iii^ort attains the difeuincrt/ioi ú>i a cha-rtcr of inecrporation. Tihe fact that the existing- debt of the parish is practically equivalent to its rateable value prompted a commert at the Llandudno Council meeting on Friday, but when the Chairman (Mr E. E. Rone) reminded his colleagues that theor own urban district was ia practically the seme plight if the 'matter were to be regarded from the ste.ndf.ornt of more figu.es. no fu.:t>her criticism was offered. P«irhyn«d<3 is now, of course, urder the jurkdjctcon of tho Conway Rural Distnict Council, and, not- withstanding certain observations made to the contrary at Conway a few weeks ago, it is profcab'e that thai bedy would stoutly resist the suggested rearrangement.

Less Drunkenness; Mora Vagrancy. Much interesting matter is published in the current itsue of the annual Blue Book on the prisons of Bag!sad and Wales, and in one or two directions the Prison Commissioners afford gratifying evidence of ail!-round im- provement. There was a neVL decrease c.f 4:940 prisoners reeccved into the pii^ons during the year, compared with the previous year, but the most striking figures pcrihapr; .0 ,ard 10 liig-"IAT-ay offe-nxs nu4,l i.? i?ii3G.3 in r-c?? L drunkenness. With regard to the latter the Commissioners report a decrease of 5852 eases, whilst there also 1072 fewer high- way offences, but both these figures ere to some extent discounted by an increase in the nuzruber of vagrancy. In 1904 we were to'd that "offences of the vagrancy c'asti axe growing rcpidjy." Referring to the recent establishment of the Borstal system of deal- ing with gin's the Comraissioners rŒ¡t that young female prisoners, the mart pathetic raid most difficult of a.'l eases with which we deal," are now segregated from the general body of offenders and form a section by themselves en which is eoneen- t-rated all the cffoit of reclamation which 'iluna-nitv c.an tiu-g-?.;k. A i-,tmi--I-al),Ie -t 3 I .,I. is furnished showing the decliuiaig numb-er of young persons convicted between the ages of 1G and 21 yeans, laet year's figures being no less t-han 8000 bolow those iccorded in 1ES4. Tho Commissioneirs attribute' the s»ca?-s3 of the Borstal system to the keen irterovt manifested in the work by ;1,111 classes of prison officials and to the great pains taken in reference to it by magistrates a&d persons connected with various Local aid societies. r:.

Poor Law Administration. Without necessarily asserting to aJ-1 may he said on such occasions, meetings like that held at Old Colwyn on Friday evening to consider the question of reforming the Poor Law muct ba beneficial if it wcce cnlj* to quicken public interest in a matter which so largely affects ratepayers generally, whose pocket-3 are more or less lightened each year by the demands of the poor rates. There are few things upon which the ma1!1 in the street is so unenlightened as the object of thcGe rates. He has some dim notion that moat of the money goes to relieve the distress of persons Jess fortunate than himself, cbl, comforted by philanthropic sentiments, he worries little over the detail. How many ratepayers in the Conway Union, for instance, know that 14s .3d out of every sovereign col- leotcd in poor rate goes towards County Council administration in Carnarvonshire a.nd Denbighshire. At the Old Colwyn meeting one speaker asked whether it was a fact that out of every sovereign collected towards the poor 28 Od was spent on the paupers, and the remaining 17s 6d on officials. It is, of course generally acknowledged that the ex pense on Poor La.w Administration enormous, but such a question rather implies a want of knowledge, which un fortunnte- Iv to pr?-vail' 3.1]V in re? i vkry to thirf matter. Hence the utility of -at, ting these for t-he benefit of the public.

PERSONAL. The Duke of Westminsior is expected home frcm South Africa early in Jaauwry. 3>

Kceheririe Duche:8 cf Westminster cntor- tained on Frktay the mwnnber> of the Cheshire H nrx.

Mr J. R. Davies, Ceris, Bangor has given £é0{) towards the Anglesey County Memorial to ,1"" late King Edwajid. — <?> ■■

Mr Thcanas J. Bennett, who will stand as Unionist candidate for the Brigg Division of Lincolnshire, in opposition to Sir A. Gelder, the sitting member, is at present in India.

Mr P. Pennant-Pennat.e, of Namlys, Bod-fari, FIAntehire, magistrate ard deputy-lieutenant for t:n,, c?a?int- ?v cf haz lefg esrtafe valu,d at £ 32,760. :f

Minna Lady Ansglerey has taken a lionise in Charles-street, Berkeley-square, and will in future live a ocrtain part of the year in Lon- don. Hitherto she has lived in Paris. ■

Lady Naylor-Leyland ha-i roturned to Nant- clwyd Hall from Lcndcn. Rejoicings extend- ing over several days will take place at Nant- ciwyd next year in celebration of the coming of ago of Sir Albeit Naylor-Leyland. —-

The engaigement is announced of. Lady Lettioe Cholmorjdeiey, only daughier cf tho Marquis of C'hclmondeley, to Mr Prvce Harrison, son of lute Colonel R. J. Harrison, of Caerhowe), Montgome rysh ire. i. i .I. ■ — | '■ i«

The Berlin conespondent of the "Daily MniJ" says that the "Lokalanzieger" learns that while no csjential change has taken place in the con- dition of Prince-s Pices (daughter of Colonel Cornwahis-West, and sisbor of tho Duchess of Westminster), and while her symptoms show "no immediate danger of a. crisis," her. oan only be described as "extremely grave." Her friends fay that it may be fully a month before her recovery can now be expected, but that danger is thought to be past. The Princess was reoently examined by a London specialist, Dr. Gibson.

UNIONIST TASK. TO GIVE PAtTY A MAJORITY. 63 GAINS NECESSARY. Tho "Times" published an article by a Correspondeiit on the prctopeetii oi the various political parties. He joints out that un order to be returned to office- the Unionists mrast Vim at iea:r 63 ¿.at,.3; and tiiat to euaurc a working' mi-ijor t-y of 4u oxer all parties tlney must gain é sea is. l'he Government at present are able to bo-aet of a majority of 124 ir: the Itoufi/o o:f Cotmrsonis, tavs majority being compcuxl mainiiy of Irian Nationalists ar.d j^afcour o-embers, since too Libeiiilo only outmirnber the Union- ists by two. In English ceJiot.tnencics the Lbç- ra.1., axe actually in a minority oi 13, and their majortj-, therefore, is aicncst entirely a Scott sh, Wel&a. and I.-isit majori.y. The more the pre- sent majority of 124 13 reouioe-d, the gi'oatcr tho Unionist rcin.evctuent; if, en tne other hand, the majority be incress-jd to any considerable cx- tent;. the gieater the j usiification of the Liberals ki icrc ii.g an election at t;.e present jancUi.re. Th.3 present state oi parties in the Houso oi C-onl1rIK,r.B -s as — Liberals 275 LaL-eurs main be-s 40 Nationalists 72 ln^ep-iade-nt) Natien-al.sta 10-397 Unionists 2is Minetorial majority 124- In ttns tabje Mr Shaekieton is still reckoned as a member of the Laboatr jia-ity, «dthcjgn his ojet at Clitiicroe was vacated a 10W days ago on his sppouikr..?Tit as Sea.or Labour Adviser to tihe jtiome Office. stTon.gth of parti.es is aimest exactly t ie samo as it was when Parlia- ment met- ten months ago, the ony difference being that one of the Ir.i-.ii scats which was for- merly clasee^i ca Indej^nde-nt Nation-al.s& is now kri C. Al.r O'Suilxvan, was returned in East Kerry with a majority of* 489 over the orthocox j\at ona-ist oanciLdiite, wiiiS unseated on pct.tKMi last June, and, ior .reqeens which nave never tcea publicly explained, no writ has since beoai moved! in Parl a.nenc. Mr O'Suilivan, however, denied, soon after h s election, that, he was all opponent of Mr Redmond. He wa<j thereto re a ^Nationalist when he W.-L; urtseatcd, arid for present purposes East Kerry may be considered a National «t seat, and it is included "31 the 397 seats now held by the Minister a. iste. A CLEAN SHEET IN BY-ELECTIONS. There baxot been 21 bj--elections since the last General Election, and in every instance either tL. sitting member has been ic-elected (for in seven cai=>3ti tkio ,vacancies cwoucred through ap- pointments toO office under ihe Crown), or tee lormer n>?anber has been replaced by- a candi- date of the same poLticeJ co'oar. During tee ParHajirent 01 190b-_19i0 the M>oistocnalis;s had loot j2 seats to tibc Unionists at by-eleotione, and at the suceeed.ng- General Lketion they lost 105 scats. In ordor to obtain a bare majority at titis ekxreon the Unicm-ists must win at least 63 seats. This would convert the present. Lbrd majority cf 124 into a Unionist majority of two. in orcor to eecuro a satisfactory working majority ovt- all partes—say a majority of 40—the Unionists must gajn ö2 seats. At the last Gene- ral E'-xtion, aiter ore of the most stubborn eonteets n recent fanes, 105 scats uera won, on 'h,r all' t -o frori LIL,,3-:t'a and L It re;mains to to", seen whether t110 Opposition will be able., with.n a period: of k*>s than 12 mejpfciis, to add! 80 or even 50 more to the 106 then obtained. Hacre were 22 rents which were won by Libe- ral or Labour c&ndidbiies trotu tho Unionists a year ago. Some of theee, l.ke Blaekburn, Dar- iifigtCTi, the Darwon division, and Wigan, had long been regarded as Unionist strongholds. T'hen there lezuft li,?iii a d-z,?i ?c-ate x%" li 'uQ may be eapturod in London, such a Ilaggerston, Hootton, \v &\t St. Pancras, Kennington, andl at least one of tho divisions of Islington. l'he re L,-o also abcut 30 Libera) seats wheh the L'nion-.sts failed to "tin last year by very smoil niinoritietj. Among these are the Torquay Divi- son (11), Montgomery Boroughs (13) --now aban- doned: by Sir J. D. Rees—the Eskdaks Division (34), S-t. Andrews (38), the Bodmin D-. vision (50), Siaiford (85), and the High Peak Division- (lOb), There are two classes of constituencies, on the other hand, in which the Liberals and their fr-ends tho Labemr lrty may reasonably hope to improve their position. In t!he iirst oat^gory are tome oi the county soa-te and a few bor- ougha which were lost, somewhat unexpectedly, ]>:M'iiar^, at the h",t eieciicai. eeats ./n the oaoosnd category which the Ministerialists may hope to capture, proceeds the "Times. arc thoss in which they were de- feated) through the intc-rvcnticai of labour can- d-dates, rez.tii.iti ig< in three coraerodr con teste. At tihe last eketien there were 78 Labour candi- dates. In the coining election they arc not likely to number more than 65, and they may poisihly be only .15 or 50. .It is probable that, as time gees on, the elec- tion will resolve itself largely into a struggle for the seats which were lost and wore in Janu- ary hst, and for tieee. in which the majorities on either 6:00 were small. —

MR LLOYD GEORGE AND THE PRESENT CRISIS. "OUT WITH THE HOL'SE OF LORDS." For the second time in eighteen months Mr Lloyd George visited the East End of London on Monday night, and delivered an addrefs at Mile End, which may be said to open the Radical campaign against the House of Lords. After an allusion to the Limehouse speech, Mr Lloyd George gave his own peculiar account of how the prcsent crisis arose. The Lords de- manded that great wealth should bo spared taxa- tion, and that. the burden should be put on the bread tint! moat of the perspJe. The Government's answer was "No," and the Lords then said, "Out with the Budget." We come now, declared the ( tutor, to :.sk the people to say, "Out with the House Jf Lords." From this strange travesty the Chancellor pass- ed an equally astonishing version of the Lords' scheme cf refoim, and bid his hearers not trust to these "vague, misty, and obscure proposals." Then ridicule and abuse were heaped on the Peers. He compared the two Houses to an old horse tram and an electric car running on the same track. His method would be to tu>-n the poor horse out to grass and convert the tram into a cucumber frame. Finally came a pathetic antithesis, in which the "grey homes of Ihe people" were set up against the "palaces of the mighty," and the Radicals cf Mile Er.d cheered to the echo.

THE POLITICAL TWINS. It is, perhaps, worth ncting that while Mr Asquith, surrounded by the majority of his Cabinet^ was opening" the party's campaign, Mr Lloyd George and Mr Winston Churchill were motoring to the Chancellor's Brighton home. We must wait for some yc-ars until somebody dies, and somebody else writes his biography, to know the inner history of the present Cabinet. Some of it, however (sayl a London Correspondent), can be guessed — —

THE CHURCHES. CHURCH TEMPERANCE WORK IN ST. ASA I'hi DIOCESE. The annual meetings in connection with the St. Asaph Diocesan Branch of the Church of Eng- land Temperance Society were held at Wrexham on Tuesday. After a short intercessory service at St. Mark's Church, a conference of delegates was held at the Church Houso, Canon D. Davies presiding over a very large attendance. Two papers were read, on "Temperance Work in Towns," by the Rev. T. J. Davies, curate of Denbigh, and on "Temperance Work in Country Districts" by the Rev. Elliott Simpson, reetor of Overton. Ia the evening a public meeting was held, under the chairmanship of the Dean of St. Asaph, when the principal speakers were the Rev. John Wakeford (Liverpool) and cx-Aldcrman Harry Phillips (London).

Mr Justice EldQll Ban-kes will be the guest of the evening at the annual dinner cf the Hon ourabie Society of Cymmrodoricn at the White- hail Rooms on Monday, December 12th. Mr Arthur Acte.-n, of Wrexham, is to deliver an ad- dresj on the first night of tho winter session of the society.

Mr Lloyd Morgan, K.C., M.P., haj been ap- pointed judge of the county courts circuit 31, in plaoe of his Honour Jud<ge Bishop, resigned.

PREPARING FOR THE ELECTION. CARNARVON BOROUGHS. CONSERVATIVE CAMD2DATE FORTHCOMING. It is understood a car did ate -ic forthcoming who will contest the Carnarvon Boroughs in the Conservative intrreet. lie wLlil be intro: dueed at a. meeting of the Boroughs Executive Committee of the Cernarvecshke Con- stitutional AfififtCfiati'-Oin, "which is to be held <e« 1. L Saturday for the final adoption of a candi- date.

KIORTH CARNARVONSHIRE. LIBERAL CANDIDATE ADOPTED. A meeting of the Executive Committee of the North Carnarvonshire Liberal Association was held at the Liberal Ciub, Llandudno, on Wed- nesday afternoon, when Mr R. G. Roberts, Llan- bens, one of the vico-preadcnts, presided over a good attendance of members. ')n W' A reso-lut' 16 prcp,s,d t!ia-ikilig I'vir Wj!- A liam Jones, the present member for the division. iol? I.: Parl'ain-int .1.rd 's ?ArvicTs in I oi Liberalism generally that Mr Jones be again adopted as tho Liberal candidate for An/on in the forthcoming election, and that the mooting pledged itself to secure his return with a triumph- ant majority. The resolution was proposed by Mr Henry Wcodal], president of the Llandudno Liberal As- sociation, seconded by Mr J. ¥. Roberts, Llan- b; ris, and supported by several members. It was put, to (he meeting and carried unanimously. The remainder of th" business was of a formal character. At the close of the meeting the members were entertained to tea in the Baptist Chap: schoolroom.

DENBIGH BOROUGHS. IION. ORMSBY GORE OPENS HIS CAMPAIGN. The Hon. W. Ormsby Core, the Unionist can- didate for the Denbigh Boroughs, will address a public meeting in tho Drill Hall, Wrexham, this evening. There will be another meeting in the Drill Hall on Mondav next, when the speakers will include the Bishop of St. Asaph and Lord Hugh Cecil. THE LIBERAL CANDIDATE. At a joint meeting at Wrexham of the Liberal councils of Wrexham, Ruthin, Denbigh, and Holt, Mr G. Caradoc Roes, barrister, of Liverpool, was selected as Liberal candid;-tc to oppose the lion. W. Ormsby Gore, the present member 'or the. Denbigh Boroughs, at the forthcoming election. Mr Reos opened hi; campaign at Wrexham on Tuesday night.

EAST DENBIGHSHIRE. MR HEMMERDE S DEPARTURE. At a Liberal meeting at Wrexham on Monday night, Mr Heminerde, K.C.. said he had received a call which took him away from East Denbigh- shire, for he had tha.t .moment placed his resigna- tion in the hands of the Executive Committee of that division, end on Tuesday he would go to seek unwillingly, but at th2 wishes of his general, the task of endeavouring to turn the arch-scare- monger, Lord Charles Beresford out of Ports- mouth. CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE ADOPTED. Mr Alfred Hood, 'Rossett, was adopted Conser- vative candidate for East Denbigh at Wrexham on Wednesday afternoon.

MERIONETHSHIRE. OPPOSITION TO MR HAYDN JONES. It is stated on good authority that Mr Haydn- Jones, the Liberal member for Merionethshire, will be opposed by Mr Robert Anwyl, J.P., Uugwy, A b:-rd,:wey. Mr Anwyl is a popular land- owner in the county, and a barrister by profes- sion, but does not practise. He is a member of the County Council.

XMAS PURCHASES. DON' SEND OUT OF TOWN FOR YOUR GOODS IN ANY CASE, AND ]X)'T BUY YOUR XMAS. PUR- CHASES AT ALL UNTIL AFTER SEE- ING THE XMAS. ADVERTISEMENTS, WHICH APPEAR IN THE "WELSH COAST PIONEER," THIS WEEK AND THROUGHOUT THE MONTH.

DUKE OF WESTMINSTER AND DENBIGHSHIRE. SPORTING RIGHTS ACQUIRED. Great irtenest has been' created in L'anigoUen diériot by the announcement that the Duke of Westminister, who is relincfuihin-g his interest in his Flintshire estate at Hoikyn, has aoq-uircd vzast o,ex j'll -i re. T?o Llaiiaxi,.ion crtat,2, 4o f?itnou:s I-n?,r tL tower residence, is tho property ot the Diuke's father-in-law (Colonel Ccrnwa-iiis Wejt), and this W2s reooartly saibmit-ted by auction at Llan- gollen, but withdrawn aiter the bidding bad reached 948-000. Extensive alterations and improvements are being made in the covers, which, when com- -t-k-a it crie cf fin,-St will ni, properties the Duke poesesees in this part of the country.

NEW CHURCH INSTITUTE FOR LLANFAIRFECHAN COL. PLATT'S HANDSOME DONATION. A movement is on foot to erect a Church In- stitute at Llanfairfechan at a cost of £1500. Much enthusiasm has been shown by the Churchpeople vi the parish, and though tho movement has been in existence only a short time a large sum has been promised towards the erec- tion of the hail, including S500 promised by Col. Piatt, C.B. Mrs North has also given the site, which is near Plas F.m, and Mr Herbert North, architect, is giving his services, and it is ex- pected that his plans will be shortly laid before the local Urban District Council.

ROYAL ARCH MASONRY IN NORTH WALES. On Wednesday afternoon, at the Masonic IIaH, Bangor, M.E. Cop. Owen Edward Thomas was installed M.E.Z. of the Royai Arch Chapter Star of G wynedd (384), Bangor, and appointed and installed hie officers as follows: -11., E. Camp. Samuel Evans; J., E. OonJp. W. Lovati; E., C-omp. W. Richards; Sc.N., Comp. Tho- mas Henry Morgan; Tp-xieurer, E. Compo G. F. Ainger Wd&iams, P.Z.; Princ. Saj., Oomp. John Herbert Jones; 1st Asst. Saj., Comp. Jchn Edwards; 2nd1 Asst. Saj., Comp. W. Raw- eun. Evans; Dir. cf Ceneis, E. Comip. O. R. Hughes; S. Stwd., Comp. Samuel L. Norbury; Janitor, Cernp. Saml. T. Harris; Charity Re. preeeintative, E. Comp. O. -R. Hughes, P.Z., P. Piov. G.Sc.N.

WELSH CHURCH COM- MISSION. REPORT AVAILABLE NEXT WEEK. In tho House of Commons on Tuesday, Mr Churchill told the Hon. W. Ormsby Gore that he understood the report of the Welsh Church Comrniision would be available at the end of next week. ..4

AfUSICAL NOTES, By Peter Edwards, Mus. Bac. (Pedr A law) WELSH ARTISTES IN OPERA. Probably, the mcst prominent Welsh singer in c^pera at present is Mr Lewys James—one of the leading members of the Moody-Manners' Opera Cer.npany. This yuuri-, man is equally good as actor and singer, and! he is a favourite with the public v\lienev?r ho appears. The great bari- tone who preceded hm was, cf course, Mr Kj rfimoon Didv.cs-a man of gecat accomplish- ments. At present, I.evvys Jacnoe, as a Welsh operatic artist, would- seem to bo in need ef soanoono to help him to dofend tie musical honour of gal- lant little Wees. Hew scon ether names arc to be added) to the scroll of operat-io fame we do J1.t know, but there ere one or two students at our Ixmdcci Academics who give decided pro- mise of g-oed things in the yeam to' cocne. One resist not forget, liowevcr, the fact that to shine in a college performance ¿ce-) not t,'q.at -tli-- t3L-igc.r ee?.el an or.<-r-at?ic -,Lrt.:Ot. A?o, il?k-o 1,,ave L)?,-zi riia? -iy stude-ilt,3 Av?lio Iiavc la-u-1--d. for their work in college operatic wak, yet, after co.n- plett'ing ihesr 6tad.es they never got beyond tho oratorio. When Nature gave them a We'r.h nationality it gave thorn the gift of song* in a supreme degree, yet vliey have not reached the standard of the world's great artistes. Is; it not beccuso either from lack of means or of anibi- tion to oxccl? ldill the great artistes will tell you that the ''p~e-i>aration'' must be tlhor- ceitgh, ooth musically aPA, otherwise—and it is in that "otherwise" we fear the Welsh artist just fails to reach the heights in the m'uuical world. Osie rejoccs to read1 of the reieiit suoceas of Weih students at the Royal College of Musio performance c'f &:h'Umanai's Opera. "Ganoveva." )re of o,,tr 1-c-o,?li*rt- cr-,t? r, wr'tes:T,iurs o' ar th -N-Ir 'Da icl Ell ?i h,av? an ?ai -"I to an3-,th? <),I tfho rai-t o? Gojo, tha-n whom a more colcarkxo yillain can -rarely lave figured cn the stage, and; it is greatly to his oic-det that he m.:Ó31 so rouc-h of the pa.rt as ihe did1. In his sorce with Gcsnoveva in tlie seeemd act he tised his pleasant voice with parti- cularly gcejd c-ifl'e^'t. Mr Gregory Eva.ns, as Dra.go, also did excelZeni work, while the fflnalleir parts were well filled by Messrs Claud Mackneos, Percy Tiioinas, and David Pugh." Then folJows tiiis s'cod advice: "We would rcmindi all these young sngers, however, that the importance of a diction cannot b? over-estimated, for only cm the rarest of occa- sions wca it r-essibiie to follow the vvortte tlhat they wcrei singing One woinld' be ineiined1 to say that without a clear diction no singing or acting should be cal'lbd good. What :s the use of it all unleeu it ba understcod ? We are jjeaoad to note ths- success of M,r David Ellis, the sweet tenor from Wrexham dis- trict. He is a National Eisteddfod winner and a g.-eat concert favourite. Tenors are not over- p'entifal, and we hope tliere may b3 an operatic career for our pronnis ng Wehiih tenors! '2 J. AMBROSE LLOYD. Referring to ths appeal made in this column same months ago for sufcosriptienj. a. memorial to him, a creular letter was recently issued, a.nd we appeal for a good response there- to. S-.mns, however small, wiiJ be gratefedly re- ceived by 1v.3 Mr John Jones, "Glas Alaw„" West Parade, IthyI; and a. list of the subscribers will bs. dfuly pub.ishcd. It is desired to do something to keep ii). Rhyl, tho jiionory of one of sweetest Weteh composers «f the past. Shall the scheme fail for want of financial surrioat'! # MR WADSWORTH'S CHOIR. This Juvenile Choir of National Eisteddfod fame, will gl:VO a concert in (lie Town Hall, Rhyl. early next month, when each member of l the' choir will receive a to commemorate the viotory at Colwyn Bay in September. A MUSICAL FESTIVAL. The* Presidlenf? of our Eisteddfod made a srug- gestiom the other day, no,.Ti-cly: that it woukl b& deii.-able to hold festivals similar to that of Harlech. That festival choir is an amalgama- tion of sever ai tiho-rs. Such choirs, in prepar- ing for tho festival receive much benefit: they db the woœk becrwxso it is for a definite purpoise- one that knows no pecuniary gain. Our country choirs, we think, iaok sufiioient encour- agein.ent to Icujh new" music, and, especially, oZ a kvger dimension titan the cl or-Lir. or 'ti kwnc*c a leurtib.-er; -v.-o t,ii-tk i, at,i t such a feci, vai' would be. an. cducatiou to our choral CQndrl.ûoors. It ie" of ccw.-e, pre- sumrd that the oondfuetor-in-chief wc-uld a 'h c lnld(3".in. c!j'L hi,,?h -Aai4cL'ng, %nd o, -ic, -c?,idu-c- tors we have already a few in Wales. There -ir, no doubt but that the cn-iud of the local choir mine tcomuoh in tho direction of Ic-oal Eistedd- fod: c ocampetitions, iand it would not be far vv-ong to state that very little progress is notice- able in their achievements, from year to year. It Ï.3 to In hoped this suggestion may come under tho notice of some of our mc,-o ener^otio musician^ and that some such scheme may be carried into eft oat. A WELSH SUBJECT. Mr Joseph Holbrooke has w.ritten a pçem for pianoforte andi orchestra entitled1 "The Song of Gw-yn a.p Ilrald." The verses, which are the basis of the work, are written by Lord Howard die Walden, and d-eai witlil at WTeleh legend with the feJlc'uiri.g for a. motto: "She was the most sple.n^d maiden, in the three island:* of the mighty and the three islee adjacent, and for her Gwythyr, the son of Greidawl, and Gwyn, the, eon of Thudd, fight every first of May until the Day of Doom." Tib's is not the first work written by M., Hol- brooke on a Welsh subject. MUSICAL CONGRESS. Last year the International Musical Congress was held in Vienna, that great centre of musical activity. Next year it w,.Il be held! in London during May and June. The Hudldmsfiekl Choral Society hzs been invited to provide the only choral concert to be given in connection wit.11 the Û<IT1g'rem. Tho Society will be repre- sented by 300 otf its singers. They will sing Bach's "Sing ye to tho lord, Gibbon's "Ilosan- '11;1, to the Som of David," W'esiey's "In Exiter Israel," and selections of old English Madrigals. TVis wiil be the foufth congress of the Inter- national Musical Sooiety. The first was held in Leipzig in 1904, the second in Basle in 1206, and the third in Vienna last year. w it A HOLYHEAD FESTIVAL. In connection, with the Good Templars of th-is town a musical festival was held on Tuesdlay. The good pniz-s offered for singing the last National Eisteddfod solos dio-w forth some ex- colleijt singers. Wo shall have some details about the singing next week.