Llais Llafur

PONTARDAWE GUARDIANS j I The Pontardawe Guardians met on Thursday, Mr. H. J. Powell, J.P., pre- siding.  THE LLOYD LAND SALE. The Clerk (Mr. Wyndham LeWIS) re- ported that he had attended the Lloyd land sale at Swansea the previous week. The saes were mostly on 26, 28 or 29 years purchase and under the circumstan- ces. he made no bid for the land on which their offices were situated. The matter was referred to the Finance Committee. GOOD NEWS. i The Clerk read the Poor Law exp-endi- ture estimate for the next half year hich amounted to £ 18,394 as against Bl9,729 for the corresponding period of last ye.ar. i This would effect a saving of about .1,400, which was equal to a saving of 2id. in the £ for the half year. There was a reduction of about £(000 in the county rate for the whole of the Union. j The estimate was adopted. N.S.P.C.C. It was decided to send the usual con- tribution of £ 2 2s. to the NaVonal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Child- rell. MILITARY SERVICE ACT. Mr. K. A. Jones (Olydach) moved the extension of the Military Service Act and that representations be made to that ef- fect to the Government. In moving the resolution Mr. Jorics said he was glad that the Government were doing something in the matter at last as the result of the protests made by the att-ested married men. Many married men had attested because they had been told by the posters that they could not appeal if they did not attest. As a matter of fact those who had not attested were better off than the attested, because they had two months longer before joining the colours. In his oninion there should be equality of sacri- fice. Mr. Lewis Thomas thought this was a question for the Council and not for the Guardians. The Rev. E-an Davies thought that employers of labour were greatly to blame in 'regard to the matter. He knew of many who had been taken into the col- lieries to take the place of men who had joined the colours. In that way they would be taking the bread and cheese from the mouths of the boys when they returned. He did not think that employ- ers were playing the game as it should be played, especially in employing so many "job dealers." Mr. Henry Thomas wa? of the opinion that the complaint of Mr. Davies could be applied to many other local trades. Mr. Alex. Evans said the resolution should be brought before the Council. It was decided that the resolution should be brought before the Council. It was decided that the resolution should be moved, at the Council meeting in a month hence. ————

KILLED HER UNBORN CHILD. A An extraordinary incident is repoa-ted from St. Paul, Minnesota, America. A Miss Mary Curran, who was preg- nant with twins, shot herself in the body and killed one of the unborn children. By means of a skilful operation the other child and the mother herself were saved, and the mother is now on the road to recovery. She will be charged with the murder of her unborn babe. —————

Raw onions are now being served to the troops in France. The worst snowstorm of the season was experienced in Glasgow during the week- end. It is not intended that the extra Bank Holiday, on Saturday, April 22, shall be kept as a. general holiday. It is expected that the Crown Prince of Serbia will arrive in London during the week. A deficiency of £ 1,252,955 on the tele- graph revenue for the yearr ending March 1915, and £ 111,018 on the telephonea, is recorded officially. j While the furniture of a Colchester shepherd was being moved by van a iofa on which his wife was seated fell into the road and the woman was killed. Lieut.-Col. Professor Kenwood, member of the Army Medical Advisory Board, estimates the hospital accommodation for British wounded at over 100,000 beds. Lord Rhondda, was 60 years of age on j Sunday. j Being unable to obtain necessary supplies of sugar the Birmingham Grocers Association are asking the Government to restrain the use of sugar in high-class chocolate and other luxuries. Any postal packet addressed to Ire- land which is observed to contain or which is suspected to contain arms will be stopped and handed over to the competent military autho ity in iro- land for disposal.

CLYDE STRIKERS. RINGLEADERS DEPORTED. In the House of Commons on Tuesday Dr. Addison (Parliamentary Secretary Munitions Department), replying to Mr. McCallum Scott, made a statement re- garding the gravity of the crisis which has arisen on the Clyde. He stated that in the course of the past week a number of strikes had been organised in some of the most important munition works in the Clyde district, and energetic attempts to extend them were being made at this moment. At different times strikes had been brought about, sometimes on most trivial grounds, by a self-appointed body known as Clyd Workers Committee. This committee had repudiated any connection with, or allegiance to, establish Trado Unions, and decided about a fortnight ago to embark on a policy of holding up the prixiuction of the most important munitions of war in the Clyde district, with the object of compelling the Govern- ment to repeal the Military Service Act a.nd Munitions of War Act and to with- draw all limitations upon the increase of wages and all forms of Government con- 4,-? HOW THE TROUBLE BEGAN. The present series of the strikes com- menced on the 1;7th March, when one of the chief members of this committee was refused permission by the management te investigate, 'during working hours what was being done with unskilled labour. The an in question and his associates de- clined, in breach of their own agreement to place the matter before the Clyde Commission and succeeded in bringing about a thousand men out from the muni- tion works. From that tma a series of strikes ap- pear to have proceeded upon a systematic and sinister plan. The method adopted had been to bring out on strike workmen engage.d upan the production of a particu- lar gun and and gun mountings for which most urgent demands were being received. The committee had succeeded in bring, ing out a number of men from five dif- ferent important works engaged upon the manufacture of portions of these guns. The Executive Committee of the Am- algamated Society of En gin eers, on the matter being reported to them by their local officers, immediately issued a state- ment repudiating the strike, forbidding payment of striek e pay, and calling upon the men to return to work. (Cheers.) MR. LLOYD GEOPGE ORDERS ARREST OF RINGLF.Am^ These efforts were unfortunately unsuc- cessful, and on Friday last it was clear a situation had arisen which called for imm-ediate action by the Minister of Munitions. His right hon. -friend had re- quested the miitary authorities to remove, under the Defence of the Realm Regula- tions, six of the xingleader&(cheers)- who were found to be contemplating a further extension of their operations. The movement now in progress had no connection with any industrial grievance, but had plainly been deliberately organ- ised to hold up certain important muni- tions of war of which the Army in the field had the most urgent need. The Government were confident they could rely on the support of Parliament and the nation if it became necessary to put in force the full powers vested in the Executive under the Defence of th. Realm Act in order to safeguard and maintain a full, unobstructed production of every kind of war material the country needed for the successful prosecution of the war. (Loud cheers.)

22 MEN FINED li EACH. KIDNAPPED LEADERS. GOVERNMENT REFUSAL TO RE- LEASE THEM. The special correspondent of the "Daily Mail" gives the following particulars of the deportation of the strikers :— At three o'clock on Saturday morning they were visited by the guard, hauled out of bed, and informed that they would be immediately deported from the Clyde area. They were quite genrouely treated they were told that they would have to go and work in districts unburdened by their sinister influence. Their fares were paid and they were given too shillings each to carry them on. Three were sent to the Edinburgh muni- tions area and the others to Hawick and Aberdeen. Their deportation means that they must report themselves twice a day to the military authorities and that they must on no pretence whatever move out- side an area of five miles from the centre of their work. From the general tone of things on the Clyde and from what I have gathered in inquiries, I think the trouble will not spread. Some of the strikers, as the re- sult of the unexpected action of the Government in deporting their leaders, have gone back and others are wavering. The whole trouble began over quite a small thing. There exists in the Clyde factories a very important person from the men's point of view known as the Shops Ste- ward Convener, who has been allowed certain privileges of enteiring all depart- ments and noting how the work is given out, what various munition workers earn, how the tasks are portioned, and so on. It seems to be his trouble. At least so the employers declare. The range of his operations has lately been curtailed and free access to all d: partments in certain cases disallowed. His view is that he enters the shops for the purpose of bringing disputes to a. settle- ment. In the factory, which is the centre of the trouble, the Steward Convener's freedom has has been cancelled. Upon this a protest was lodged, and that altogether unofficial and somewhat mysterious body known a sthe Clyde Workers' Committee fought an interview with the manage- ment. The management was obdurate. The Shops' Steward Convener resigned, and in sympathy with him a number of meB struck work. This was on the 17th of this month, and since the strike has spread to other shops in the Clyde are-a where sub-contracting is carried out. The strike began without the knowledge of the Amalgamated Socie- ty of Engineers.

STRIKERS THREAT. NO RETURN UNTIL LEADERS ARE RELEASED. The trial of 22 Clyde munition work, ers, mostly engineers, concerned in the strikes referred to in Parliament on Tuesdav night, took place at Glasgow on Wednesday. Mr Mitchell, who appeared for the defence, contended that this was not a strike within the terms of the Muni- tion Act. The whole atmosphere of the case had completely changed on ac- count of the men's leaders having been suddenly kidnapped from their homee. So far as he could gather, the temper of the men was that so long as their chosen representatives were kept hid- den away there was not much chance of their resuming work. This statement was greeted with a.p- plause from some 300 men who crowded the court. M 'rn o Muv *l uu T Mr Mitchell, continuing, said that when these men came out at first they might have represented 3.000: to- morrow they might represent 30.000. At the suggestion of the sheriff the strikers conferred on the question of returning to work. When the «ourt resumed Mr Mitchell intimated that the conference had been abortive so far a,s a resumption of work was con- cerned. The feeling was that the original cause of the strike had nothing to do with the present con- tinued spread of the stoppage of work That was caused entirefv b", the in- ternment of certain leaders. The men thought that the release of the leaders should he a cotidition precedent to any resumption of work. If the prosecu- tion would give that undertaking he believed that would be the first thing to end the whole trouble. Mr McFarlaue. the prosecutor, said he had no authority to interfere with the action of the Government. He could not throw out anv hope of the mei being released. One of the witnesses was Admiral Adair, Superintendent of Ordnance, who spoke about the extreme import- ance of the men' work to the nation and to Allies. Thev were engaged on weapons, the non-production of which might prejudice the country's safety. The non-produdion of other weapons was actuallv seriously prejudicing the conduct of the war. The men were finm R5 each.

6,000,000 ROOTS. I EFFECT OF RUSSIAN ORDER QN RECRUITING. I The military representative at North- ampton askekd whether anything was known as to an order for boots for the Rusiam Army. Mr. A. E. Tebbutet, the Vice-President of the Northampton Manufacturers' Asso- ciation, said an order for 3,000,000 pairs of boots for the Russian Army was to be placed immediately for early delivery. A -representative of the British Government returned to England from Russia on Mon- day and tenders were to be asked for at once. A large proportion of the order was expected at Northampton, and it did not seem possible that another man could be taken from the boot industry until the order was completed. The British Govern- ment would not allow the new order to interfere with the output of boots for the British Army, for which large orders were now being executed. j

WOMAN'S PROGRESS. j ? Mrs. Fawcett speaking at Caxton Hall, said she had first been rendered unhappy by her honest belief that the war would put a Btop-at least temporarily—to the movement for the advance of the status of women. She thanked heaven she was wrong. The enthusiasm and the splendid quality of the work women of all classes had shown themselves able to do had re- sulted in an advance of the women's movement more rapid than any in its historv. After the war women would no longer find the doors of the professions barred against them. Lord Cowdray said that if the country would use both men and women in the way best suited to them they would be exercising a national economy.

I USE OF SUGAR IN CHOCOLATE. j The Birmingham Grocers Association have passed a resolution calling attention to the serious position of the trade in being unable to obtain the necessary sup- plies of sugar, and asking the Govern- ment to restrain the use of sugar in high- clase chocolates and other luxuries.

§ ? tt? ?N* 'V T?T *ST 1f ) TM ? V V? V? '? ?* all- MV <I MILLINERY. .z. ——— —;— —: f Charming Display oj = NEW MILLINtRY = <♦ at v ? —  liJoW.EVANS I J W EVANS f  s !$ e?rjf.? ?y???. $ ?*  I « | They are of extreme smartness, rep- resenting all the most becoming and 8 i tasternl models according to the 1 t t l if c;r 1" .) 5 late-it decrees of Fashion. SEE WINDOWS. § .+. f. 1 J' 1- J' Q ;■ — = I 40, 41, CASTLE ST., SWANSEA ?

BELGIANS ON MUNITIONS I °BELGUN'S ON MUNITIONS I SKILLED ARMY MEN TO MAKE I SHELLS IN THIS COUNTRY. In the House of Commons on Wed- nesday, Dr. Addison (Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Muni- tions), replying to Mr MacCallum Scott (it., Giasgow), said it was not a fact that unskilled soldiers were being with drawn from the Belgian Army to make munitnons in this country. Owing to. the shortage of labour in this country the Belgian Government offered to supply sufficient Belgian labour to equ.ip our entire munitions facwry. Ths labour was being chiefly re- cruited from wounded Belgian soldiers who had been discharged from the Army as unfit for military service, but who could be employed on munition munition work, for which they were being trained. The Belgian military authorities were taking steps similar to those which had been taken by our own IVar Office. Already a certain number of highly skilled men were being withdrawn from the colours, and some of them would be employed in a munition fac- tory. The rates of pay to all Belgian workmen so employed woujd be those curpent in the district for the work.

WORK FOR THE CONSCIENTIOUS. j The Government have appointed a Committee to which a tribunal may refer for advice as to what service of national importance a. conscientious ob- jector should undertake, and for such other information as the tribunal may require. The Committee is constituted as follows:—. Mr T. H. W. P-elhara, C.B. (chair- man). Mr Charles Fenwick, M.P. Mr T. Edmund Harvey, M.P. Mr Graham S Spicer. The Committee will work in close touch with the Board of Trade, and will compile a list of occupations which are to be regarded aB of national im- portance.

Captain Hayes, Liverpool's foremost <1JpLoü,ln Tn d HI master maxi*?,er, died on Tuesday. He mas er 1. hi ma de 122 voyages, navigating his ships e b 2-1 2 million miles. "I revoke all former wills (I never made one)," says Dr. Thomas Dun- can. of Fintona, County Tyrone, wh ose will has just been proved. N The Rev. E. Chester, a retired Wes- leyan minister, died suddenv while reading a newspaper in Bromley (Kent) Public Library. Germany is prohibiting the importa- tion of articles of luxury into the, Fatherland, such as fruits, champagne machinery, including typewriters and eewing machines. In view of the need for economy, the services of an official guide at the Vic- toria and Albert Museum will not be available after March 31, but vol un- tarlv help has been offered, and the public tours will be continued. ———— ————

It was resolved at a meeting of the Cardiff Master Bakers' and Millers' Asso- ciation, to reduce the price of bread by one half-penny per quartern loaf, and the price of flour by 2d. per score. This will make the price of best quality bread 8!d and 9d. per quartern loaf. The reduction in the prices of both bread and flour will take effect as from Monday next.

tCSOME" BLIZZIRD. No doubt Tuesday's blizzard was of a respectable character as "blizzards go in this oountrv, but we are in that respect a long way behind the United States. la February 1884 a tornado swept over an area including the vicinity of Chicago, which took a toll of 800 lives and left 2,500 persons injured. Ten thousand build- ings were destroyed, from 10,000 to 15.000 people were rendered homeless, and a great quantity of live-stock peri&hed. The average velocity of these storms, which are of a. whirling nature, varies from 70 to 800 miles an hour where the pressure is greatest. Even as far as our own country is con- cerned the gale of Tuesday and its de- strHctive results were insignificant com- pared with those of the Great Storm of 1703. It was perhaps the most terrible that ever raged in England, and wrought equal devastation on land and sea. In London alone the loss sustained was cal- culated at two millions sterling, a much greater sum then than now. The number of persons drowned in the flooded Severn and Thames and in ships blown from their anchorages was put at over 8,000. Twelve British men-of-war with 1,800 men were swept away and lost sight of their own shore. It was in this storm that the Ed- dystone lighthouse was destroyed, and with it the ingenious designer, Winstan- ley, w hose faith in his work led to the sacrifice of his life.

£100 MILK FINE. For selling milk adulterated by 14 per cent. of water Alfred Ta-vior, against whom there were previous oonvictions, was fined J3100 at Pontypridd.

R.A.M.C. TURN TO SHEEP RESCUB. A rescue party, consisting of sixty men of the Welsh R.A.M.C. unit at Llandrindod Wells, were engaged aU Wednesday digging sheep cut of the snow drifts. On the golf links the drifts were so deep that it was often necessary to tunnel under them. Fifteen sheep and twenty lambs had been found by nightfall. all alive ex- cept one sheep. Several other deep drifts then remained unexplored, BDO n.d.DY more s.heep and lambs are miss- ing.

A party of 40 Serbian non-ooanmfc- sioEbed officers visited the House df Parliament on Wednesda.y. Alfred Taylor was fined RIDO at Pontypridd for selling milk adultera- ted by 14 per cent, water. Mr Edward Bannister, J.P., Grino- bv's senior magistrate and foremost citizen, has died aged 94. Liverpool City Council is to coaler the Freedom of the City on Mr Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia. Nurses connected with the East Jxm~ don Nursing Society paid 87,00ft visits to sick persons in their own hoOJGe last year. Mistaking a bottle of formalin for gin, Arthur Charles Mott, employed Ja the Customs department at Victoria Dock, drank of its contenjta and died" in hospital. Rev. W. Mottram, secretary of the Temperance Committee of the Congre- gational Union, was entertained to luncheon on Wednesday in celebration of his 80th birthday.

W. A. WILLIAMS, Phrea-gist. can be cooemlted daily at the Victoria Arcade (near the Market), Swansea