Llais Llafur

POIITARDAwk ALL)WEft CLEANINGS.  Sincere sympathy :8 Mb with Mr. and Mrs. Bert HO\H.ll, Quarr road, in the double bereavement!they have sus- b',n(,d. On Saturday night last, little U"i?'e HoweH, their th rehear old ?t'n. M?s?ed awa y, whust on Monday, Jackie, who was 11 months old a?so di?d. Both chorea suffered I ?,tom pneumonia, and a sa.d feature of the ■ease is that Winnie, the only remain- ing seriously ill with the same complaint. The funeral took place on Thursday, both the little ones being buried in tho same coffin. The interment took place at St. Peter's Churchyard, the Rev. Joel J. Davies, vicar, assisted by the Rev. IV. G. j iI t. The arvnual meeting «f Church rjeopio for the election of members of ille Parochial Churc-h C»u«oii, and for receiving the church accounts for the past year, is to be held at dt. Peter's .schoolroom on Tuesday even- ing at 7.30, when it is hoped a large .■lumber of Church people will he pre- William Davies and Co. 's, Punt.ar- ■•.tawe, Sale now oil. A presentation nseeting- was held at St. Peter's Schoolroom on Thursday even-Tig last, whemi presentations were miade to C'orpl. Emlvn Morgan, 7th S.W. B., vrid Gunner W. B. Broug- ham, R.F.A., the Rev. W. G Jehkyns making the presentations on behalf cf the local Welfare Association- The Vicajr ably presided, and an excellent programme, arranged by Mr Robert Madge was given. Mr Emlyn Wil- liams was the accompanist. Oil ievenino, a i oii On Mjbnday evening a presentation meeting was held at the Schoolroom, tho Rev. Joelj* J. Dayies presiding, when presentations were made to Pte. H J Morgan, 14th Welsh, and Gunner J. Laming, R,.G.A.; by Mr Daniel flees and the <')iairma.n respectively on behalf of ,tbe Association. An inter- esting programme was opened by a pianoforote .f.o19 by Miss Jennet Mor- gain, followed 11y -,olos by Miss 01 won lvlorgin, Messrs?. Jack Thomas, Lucas Morgan, Emty-n Williams, Will Harris- <m. anif Master J. Bowen. Recita- tions were given by Misses Bennett, and Ethel Bibbs. Messrs. Hv. Jenkins and Hy. Irons were the accompanists. This week for Bargains nt William Davies and Co. 's, Pontardawe. We amulad to note that Gunner W. T. Lloyd, who received the Mili- tary Medal a short while ago for gallantry in action, and who lias since been in hospital after havimg been won Tided, i4 now borne on leave at Pleasant View. Pte. Phillip Edwards, of 9, George street, who has been so seripualv ill nines Christmas, ii now well on the way to recovery. On Saturday evening last, a. party of the local platxtwi of the G.V.R., < visited the Varteg range under Capt. F. R. Phillips and Sec.-Lieut. J. Morris Jooes, when Part II. of the -musketry firing was gone through. Despite the extremely inclement weather, the score was good, and the men are to be congratulated on having braved the weather. During the week additional uniforms have been received at Pontardawe, and it is juried to fit out tho whole compan" y in i a short time. On Tuesday last, the funeral of Mr iywLsOwen, 31, Thomas-street, took place at St. Peter's Churchyard, when there were evidences of much sympathy and regret. Mr Bowmen, who was 84 years of age, had carried cm his em- ployment at a local works to within a. few years of his death, amd was one of the eldest iu!mbitant:s of Pontardawe. Defeased paswed away on Friday of last week. The service at the funeral was ta k en by the Vicar, and the Rev. J. Williams. On Monday last the funeral of the iiifant son of Mr and Mrs. 'W. A. Madge, 16 Breoon-road, took place at St. Peter's Churchyard, when the Vicar and the Rev. J. AViUiaxns con- ducted the service. Much sympathy is felt with Mr and Mrs. Madge in their bereavement, and in the serious illness of their three other cMI di-tm. I This week for Bargains at William Davies and Co.'s, Pontardawe. Owing to the bricklayers' strike throughout South Wales," the brick- layers employed at Messrs. Gilberts-on have also oeiased working. The result has been thait the whole of the steel works has had to suspend working, on account of there being no -masons 00 attend the furnaces. On Thursday and Saturday of this, week, two exoell/Mit performances of the opera, are given by the Pontardawe Operatic Society. ;md-T the able (orsductorship of Mr D. The party is assisted by eminent artistes and a full orchestra., and is ex- pected to be of a vory high order. A full report of the concert will be given in our next issue. Great Overcoa-t Sale at William Davies and Co.'s, Pontardawe. Mr J. R. Williams, builder, has re- covered sufficiently frc-.n the effects of his reoent aocident, by which he suffered a broken :K>kk\ to walk out of doors with the aid of a stick. Mr. Williams, who, is Company Sergt.- Major to F Cotaipany of the G.V.R., has the best wi<dies of his many fniends for full and speedy recovery. We regret, however, to note tha¡t' his wife, Mrs. J. R. "VS illiams, is still very ill, having been confined to bed for six weeks. Mrs. Williams, who is very active in pubtic life, also has the best wishes of many friends. The death took place at Alltwen on Tuesday, of Ray, the year old cia fighter of A.B. Llewelyn Jones of the Royal Naval Division, and Mrs. Jones. The funeral takes place on Saturday. Gentlemen only. Seamam Jones is at a fading hos- pital suffering from frost bite. He is the son of Mr J. H. Jones, Laurel cottage, drum-major to the 3rd Batt. G. V.R. Ho has been with the colours for esght months, and has also been wounded on a previous occasion. Great Overooat Sale. at William Davies and Co.'s, Pontardawe. The deatji toa! plajee an Tuesday, of the infant child of Mr F. Showrinkg, manger to the Tawe Valley Gas Co., and Mrs. Shewrrng, Ynisn-t-otidwy. The furKTn.1 takes plaoe at Waivester. The funeral of Mr James Seddon, TJ plain ds, Pontardawe, superintendent of the Pontardawe Basic Slag Works toolk placo a,t All Saints' Church on Saturday. There was a large number present, including officials and staff of Messrs. Gilbertson iAid Co. membora cf the Horse and Fk>'weT Show Com- mittee; members of the local Allot- ment Society, and members of the Pontardawe FootbaJl Committee. De- ceased's fondness for flowers was shown by the large' number of tribute* which rested on tlie ooffin and had to be carried. The service at the church Was of a úhoral eharacier. The Rev. W. G. Jonkinvs had charge of the ser- vice, whilst Air Hy. Jenkins played the "Dead March" on the organ. In order to meet the c-nvenience of Swansea. Valley people a. mart was optoned at Pontardawe on Mioandav, "al;d efforts will be mviir to continue it fortntightly. Unfortniiately, there werde only t/liree bulloQks to be dis- posed of. They were weighed and al- located to the local butchers. A cow and calf which were put under the hammer were gold for £26 10s. Mr J: E. Williams, Ystradgynlais, was the aiicxtioneer. William Davies and Co.'a Sale, at Pontardawe, now on. An inquest was held at Ymsmeudwy on Wednesday, touching the death of Frederick Garjji Shewring, the onlf child of Mr and Mrs. Frederick Shew- ritng, dianaget of the Tawe Valley Gas Co. Deoea.sedwas 21 months old, and had beeax unwell for a few days. Dr. Rees attributed death to oonvulsions due to teething. -Verdict accordingly. The jtury passed a vote of sympathy with Mr and Mrs. Shewring in their loss. On Wednesday evening Private Rd. Morgan, of Hendregradog farm, Cily- bebyll, Pontardawe, returned home from one of the Birmingham hospitals. He was attached to the S.W.B., and was taken ill whilst serving iln the trenches about 12 months ago. He was accompanied an the journey from Birmingham by a Sergeant and Corpl. and was met at Pontardawe by Dr. W. O. Evans. He was conveyed to his home by motor car. This week for Bargains at William Davids and Co.)'. Pontardawe. The pupils of Alltwen School have made an excellent response to the ap- peal of Sir Arthur Peartzon who s en- deavouring to establish a fund cf 9250,000 to enable the children of soldiers and sailors blinded in the war to receive a weekly inooane of 5s. per child until the age of 16. On the initiative of the headmaster, envelopes for the collection were distributed affiOngst the sCholars before the Xmas vacation, with the result that a sum of 0 £13 13a. 8d. was realised towards this most deserving cause. A cheque for this -amoiiui).t has been forwarded to Sir Arthur Pearson, who in a letter of acknowledgement warmly commends the enthusiasm and sympathy shown by the scholars. Correction.— The whist drive and conceit in honour of Sargt. Bennett, one of the wounded sokliers at the In- firmary, St. John's Auxiliar- Hspital, was given by Sister Power at the In- firmary, and not at the Glanrhyd Hospital as stated in our last issue. William Davies and Co.'s Sale, at PQntardawe now on.

FROM THE AMMAN VALLEY The .Ammanford Food Control Com- mittee met the local grocers on Sun- dny afternoon with a view to devising a more equitable scheme. There were lively scenes outside a multiple shop when Mr. T. D. Williams (chairman of tlie Trades and Labour Council) in- tervened and personally undertook the distribution of half. cwt. of mar- garine—the entire stock. So great was the crush that a window was cracked. Pontardulais Dramatic Society, un- der the direction of Mr. D. Matthews, ga.ve three performances of "Change" At the Palace Theatre, Ammanford, over the week-end, and drew large audiences. Exciting experiences have fallen to the lot of Master Jaok Parry, of the Telegraph Hotel, Ammanford, a young sailor in the mercantile marine, who is at present 011 a visit home. He has been twice torpedoed, and his ship was in Halifax when the terrible explosion occurred there, wiping out a part of the city. At a meeting of the Executive Coun- oil of the Soutli Wales Miners Federa- tion held at Cardiff, it was resolved in the matter relating to the dispute at Tirydail Colliery respecting work- men who refuse to join the Federation to lay the matter before Sir George Askwith. Some women who had been in Llan- dilo market were returning home to the Amman Valley, when an interest- ing talk took place between them. "Now for another fight," said one. Wo must have more foo' d." "I have been on the trot since yesterday morning trying to get meat, butter, and lard," said another." "If women have to go to France," declared another—"we now know how to fight; we now know II how to stand at ease (for hours in the queues); how to advance and how to take part in a big push."

W. A. WILLIAMS, Phrenologist, I can be consulted daily at the Victoria I Arcade (near the Market), Swansea.

PERFORMANCE OF BLODWEN AT G.C.G. The Tabe/nnacie Congregational Church (Cw-mgorse) Choir gave three excellent renderings «f Dr. Parry's celebrated opera "Blodn-en" at the Public Hall, Gw^itaeaegurwen, on Thursday, Friday Red Saturday of Thur,?da-v, Fnc?a.)- ,D d SatLii- d -?ty of "lilodwen" is justly conskleuied by all Welshmen as by fa-r the fines t opera in the language. It throbs throughout with the very soul of Wales. In this admirable work, the feelings, the hpes, tho aspirations, the Ujgedy or Wekli nationality seenxs to find an eloquent expreasion. In the arrogant attack by the soldiers of King Henry upon "Gtell Maelor" we can picture the English attitude towards Welsh national independence. But a king's pageantry is only a passing show. The; king dies, as all kings must, too prisoners ar-e set free, and a, brighter dawn "breaks. We see and hear all this in the final scene of "Blodwen," when the gates of old Chesterga were flying open, and Sir Howell D-du is a free man once more. To do full justice to this opera re- quires three very essential t ino, a strong well-trained chorus a carefully selected caste of aatistea and a. satis- factory staging. These three conditions were fully satisfied in last week's performances at G.C.G. The choir waa made up of well-disciplined and well-cultivated voices, by far the meet of them from the Tabernacle Church itself, and the choruses and part songs were render- ed in good style, well-sung and very dramatic. Perhaps the choicest ren- derings were the male voice piece and the final chorus, which, b-- the way, is one of the most difficult choruses extant. As to the dramatic personae, nothing short of the highest praise is due to each and every one of them. Mr. David Harry, R.A.M., of Llan- elly, took the part of Sir Hywel Ddu, andl his rendering on this occasion was superb. With him was Miss Rosie Davies, Cwmgorse, playing the title-role of Blodwen. Miss .Rosie Davies has appeared in many operas before, but it is only fair to her to say that she never really "found her- self" as she did in Blodwen. Her singing was of a very high order, and the modest, winsome maimer in which she acted her tender part was very beautiful. Mr Owen Morgan (Chrmgoree), was entrusted with the part of Arthur of Berwyn. Mr Morgan has already won for himself many laurels at the local and provincial eiiteddfodau, but ft this is his debut on the operatic sta.go, as we believe it is, his success is more than assured. He is a good reliable singer, with a complete mastery of a very sweet voice. The part of Ellen, whom Arthur marries just before the battle, was taken by Miss SaJ Jones (Cwmgorse), and very effi-cientl- did she sing and play her part. Mrs. D. Rees played Lady Maelor, and being an old stage hand and a very success ful one, it is quite enough to say that she came up to every expectations and acquitted herself worthily of her past. appearairices: The Messengers were Messrs. S. Rogers, and Mr, F.ran Howell (Cwmgorse) both doing t,h.l¡ work very efficiently. Mr, Howell also played the part of Rhys Gwyn. and if any th ing was more succes.sful as Modold prison-wor jifather than as messenger. "Iolo" was taken bv Mr W. Leonard (Cwmgorse), as con- spicuous a success as anyth::ng in the t-lic) YAM Tanyrallt's rendering of the "monk" was a very rÜ'11 and effective piece of work. The "Tom Morgan" orchestra from Brynamman played the overtures and the accompaniment with its usual mh ),,C%Qqqbl qWq TiL h efficiency, and MT D. J. Evans, C.R.A.M. (Cwmgorse), presided at the piano. The staging was arranged and superintended by Mr R-eos Evans, C.M. (Cwmgorse), and his services contributed very muoh to the success of the performances. Mr Evans has already achieved an eventful success in the production of "Aeres Maesy- felin," whose author and producer ho is. Lastly, a distinct place of honour has to be found for the very able conductor. Mr W. J. Jones, for upon him fell the whole responsibility from Ilim fell illd w h o l -o r-e, the very first practice last summer to tho final fall of the curtain on Satur- day. Mr Jones' talents can be summed up in oce vi-Grd-thoron-crb- ness. His name in the role of conduc- ted- 1S a guarantee of excellence. The most eloquent testimony to Iiis abili- ties is the distinguished success of this opera. Tliifi district will look forward rraore oonfidpn tl v than ever to his next undertaking. Mention must also be made of the secretary whose silent and unseen energies have been abundantly demon- strated on this as on former occas- ions. In the long j^t of names of those connected with the qoncerta, eve.. of the T aharnacle Chutroh, there is no ono more respected and honoured than that of Mr Tom Rees Jones, the willing and hard working s'.x»retaay of so ma-ny of its achieve- ments.

I CHURCH-MOTORING FINE. For using petrol to motor two miles lor using petrol to motor two miles to church Mr. Robert N??ton J?k- son, J.P., aged 75, was, at Grai0 o-i fined1 11 ( M on. )

MR THOS. THOMAS. GWMTWfiCH DEATH OF WELL-KOWN LOCAL TRADESMAN. it is witn regret tha.t we report the death of Mr. Thos. Thomas, grocer, Maerdy House, Lower Cwmtwrchr which took place after a brief illness at his home on Thursday morning. Deoeased was 60 years of age, and was the only sou of the late Mr. Griffith Thomas, manager of the Maerdy Pits, Rhondda Fach. Mr. Thomas had come in his younger days to Ystalyfera, where he acted as "tailt to Mr. Evan Lewis ("Lewis Shop y Cadno"), manager of the Y stalyfera Co-opera- tive Stores. Mr. Lewie was then transferred to the Cwmtwrch Co- operative Society, taking Mr. Thomas with him a.s assistant. In a short time the Cwmtwrch shop closed down, and Messrs. Lewis and Thomas entered in- to partnership, opening a grocery and provision merchants' stores. About thirty years ago Mr. Thomas assumed ownership of the business. By his genial, kindly nature and integrity he soon established for himself a firm position as a tradesman, and this was strengthened a8 the years passed. In- deed, it may be said that he won a rare place, not only in the esteem of the public, but also in the affection of those with whom he came into con- tact. And perhaps nothing illustrates this warmth of feeling, nor his own unostentatious and democratic nature so much as tho familiar way in which all and sundry referred to him, namely "Tom Shop." A stranger might ask more than once for Mr. Thomas Thomas, grocer," but never more than once throughout the wide countryside for "Tom Shop." In comparatively recent years the deceased gentleman became actively associated with the industrial develop- ment of the district, and was one of the promoters of the old Varteg Col- liery Co., and also of the old Gil wen Colliery Co. He was one of the most warm-hearted of men, and every good cause received his hearty support. He was a deacon and treasurer at Beulah Baptist Chapel, where his loss will be keenly fel-t, and was one of the moat active promoters of the Baptist cauee at Glanrhyd. His father was a staunch Methodist, but Mr. Thomas, having gone to his mother's denomina- tion, was equally as conscientious a Baptist. His family had originally hailed from Pontrhydyfen. Mr. Thomas was a gentleman well versed in Biblical history and had also travelled extensively in Europe and the Holy Land. He leaves a widow, five daughters and one son to mount their loss. A pathetic oxcumstano»-. is the fact that the deceased's only son, Pte. Herbert Lewis Thomas, of the Royal Artillery, is now in France. The funeral takes place on Mond-iv after- noun, who the remains will be in- terred at Beulah Cemetery.

CWMTWRCH The drama "Gruffydd Llwyd," which is to be performed at the Cen- tral Hall, Ystalyfera, on Saturday evening next, in aid of Lower Cwm- twrch S. and S. Fund. promises to be- a great success. Miss Ellen Moses, the popular local vocalist, v/ill sing during the evening "Our lads in khaki." Miss Moses has scored great hits with songs of this kind at local concerts lately. Gunner Morgan P. Morgan, son of Mr. and Mrs. D. Morgan, Cwmllyn- fell, is home on draft leave, after which he will be leaving for one of the battle fronts. Prior to joining up he was a bank clerk at- Aberdare. A conference under the auspioes of the Fellowship of Reconciliation was held at Beulah Chapel, Cwmtwrch, on Wednesday, the Rev. Wyra Lewis, Rhos, presiding. The chief speakenr were the Revs. E. K. Jones, Brymbo; D. J. Walker, Manchester; W. J. Rhys, Alltwen; Llew. Bowyer, Allt- wen; W. T. Hughes, Cwmtwrch and W. D. Roderick, Rhiwfawr. Resolu- tions were passed that the time had arrived when the war should be brought to an end, that the people and representatives of the churches in all countries should meet to discuss the matter, and protesting against the tyranny over conscience and the limi- tations of liberty of speech and the Press. The Rev. Llew. Bowyer said he was glad that Mr. Lloyd George had left out the words "knock out blow" and "victory" from his recent speech. At a meeting of the- Cwmtwroh Free Church Council held at Beulah Vestry on Tuesday evening, the question of food distribution came up for discus- sion, and the following resolutions were passed:—(1) That we call the attention of the Food Controller to the inadequate distribution of food sup- plies in the district, and are convinced tha.t the proposed scheme of rationing would be the most effective remedy; (2) That we call the attention of the Ystradgynlaia Local Food Control Committee to the inadequate distri- bution of food in the district, and to the too frequent infringement of the control prices. Also we are of the opinion that no scheme can be success- ful unless the executive officer be en- tirely independent of all official and legislative bodies. The following re- solution was also forwarded to the Breoonshire and Ystradgynlais Educa- tion Committees :—That this council beg to ask the education authorities to investigate and see that children attending our schools are properly nourished.