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Political Notes t By F. W. Jowett, M.P. I UNFAIR CRITICISM. For the fifth time since the wai began tlie f Government has been driven to increase the scale of separation allowances. On each occa- sion new complications have been introduced into the scale the object being to limit the iiiiiii- ber of cases to which the increases apply. For instance, the increase recently announced gives nothing to wives who have no children unless they are unable to work or are unaccustomed to work If a. childless wife is unable or unaccus- tomed to work she will have to apply to the local war pensions committee and an additional sum of 6/6 per week will be granted by that committee. This is a most unfair way of treat- ing the matter because it is evidently intended to exclude wives who worked before marriage unless they can establish a claim on the ground of ill-health. On the other hand wives who have never worked except in their homes on domestic duties will rocoive the additional 6/6. If the proposal is allowed to stand in its present torm the maiority of work-ins-class wires who have no children will not benefit by the increase. Women voters of the working-class should re- member this when they give their first vote at the coming election. STINCY AND MEAN. -p1 Equallv stingy and mean is toe gillverilulull, » concession to the parents of soldiers who prior to enlistment were apprentices or in receipt of progressive wages. in order to give their sons an opportunity of earning their living in some skilled occupation the parents in question de- prived themselves of the largpr earnings their sons might have brought into S*eir homes. The result has been that when t'neir MMis were called up tor military service they were unable to prove they had suffered financial loss through their sons joining the army. They were therefore penalised hv reason of the fact that Lliev bad done their best for their sons' welfare. For more than thr-t'f' years the Government had been pressed to remove this injustice. WhHi in J U-> last, a small concession was made to check the "Towin"- agitation on the subject. The conces- sion made last, was hedged round with con- ditions which deliberately excluded most of the parents who were entitled to receive it. A fixed sum of .) a week was granted, but it could only be claimed for soldiers over "2) and under 2') years of age. All that the Govern- ment has now done is to extend the age period diii-iii_(,, wbi(-h ttic a week may be claimed. « PUNISHINC THE PARENTS. I The special apprentices separation allowance of .V- can now bo claimed for unmarried sailors, soldiers and airmen who were apprentices, scholars in Secondary schools, or, were in re- ceipt of progressive wages wheu they joitied up, providing they have attained the age of IS yt*ars and were not under 16 on the date of o ])(,(In iiia d ?-, their enlistment. No alteration has lveen made with regard to pre-war apprentices, etc., who have been killed, so far as pellsion rights are concerned. Only parents (of pre-war appren- tices) who have been in re<-e\pt of special hard- ship allowances, granted by local war pensions committees, are eligible for pensions. THE NEW SCALE. I For the convenience of readers who are con- cerned in this matter I wdl tu s<ae of separation allowances which came into op. ia tion on the first of this present month of Oeto- ber, and: the scale that is to come into opera- tioll on January 1st, 1919. The scaje that came into force for the Army and the Air Porce on October 1st is as child. 22' wife and two children, 29' wife and three children, 32 6: wife and four chil- dren, 35 6; 3 additional for each child after the fourth under I I years of age. The October 1st. provision for motherless children (now in force) is 10 a week for any child living singly in a home. For two or more children living to- gether in one home, 1" f"r the first and 7 eaoh for others. THE JANUARY SCALE. The new sole. to commence ()ii -lailu-ii-v 1st next, is as follows: Wife 12 (;, with additiollal allowance if unable or unaccustomed to work; wife and one child, 23' wife and two children. three children. 36'6; wife and four children, 40/6; 4/- additional for each child after the fourth under 14 years of age. The new rate of allowance for motherless chil- dren, which is to take effect on January 1st next, is 11/- a week for any child living singly in a. home. Where two or more motherless chil- dren are living in- the same home 11'- will be paid for the first chitd and S a week for each other child where two or more children of the same family live together. THE SAILORS' SCALE. For .sailors dependents the new scale which is to come into force on January 1st next will he as follows; Wife U/ with 6 6 additional al- lowance if she is unable or unaccustomed to work; wif." and one child, 20/6; wife and two children, 28' wife and three children, 33/6; wife and four children, 36/6; 4 additional al- lowance per child under 14 years of age. The new rate for motherless children, commencing January 1st next, will be, for children of sailors, 11, per week if there is only one child and 8 j for each otliet- child where two or more children of the same family live together. A USEFUL REPRINT. The Government- seem to have anticipated that the new scale would not satisfy public ex- pectation for the announcement is accompanied by an intimation that local war pension com- mittees and the civil liabilities committee have power to in(- rei sk? the 'niis an- ?iioIlji(,(,tii(?iit is in the following terms which it is desirable to quote as recorded in the omcia) report because neither the local war pen- sions committee nor the civi! liabilities commit- tee have been acting in accordance with the re- gulations and it will, therefore, be useful to keep the exact terms for reference and for use if committees continue to withhold grants. The following extract has been taken from the Official Report of Parliamentary Debates:— I Other Allowances Payable by Local War Pen- sions Committees and the Civil Liabilities Cormrilttee. [u addition to the 6 6 mentioned above pay- able to the childless wife, it should be noted that further grants are payable in all eitses by local war pensions committees and the Mili- tary Service (Civil Liabilities) Committee, which may be summarised as under; (a) An allowance up to 12 a week towards rent, insurance premiums, hire-purchase payments, mortgage interest, if she can show t hn t her present income is less than her income before her husband's enlistment, after taking into consideration the saving in expenditure resulting from his absence. (b) Grants up to 10 ji- week during serious illness. (e) Grants from the Military Service (Civil Liabilities) Committee, if the total of her rent, insurance premiums, etc., exceed 12/- a week. (d) There are also allowances for school chil- dren over fourteen, and for ^vrposes, and emergency grants for maternity cases and for funerals, which are payable under <?'rtain circumstances by local war pensions committees. in calculating the anowanee payaMe under (a), the income taken into consideration is the income of the household as it was or would have been in January. 191^, but for the hus- band's enlistment. A SORDID PLEA. I It is Iwi ng freely stated in Parliamentary circles that Mr. Lloyd George lias argued with the Tories in favour of an early election on the ground that a new Parliament would save money pensions. The view he is said to have expressed is that if the election is deferred irresistable pressure will he put on mcmfiers for consider- able increases in the scale of pensions which they will be unable to resist if the General Election is before and not behind them. If the election ta kes place before the- pensions question is dealt with the Treasury will escape with a scheme costing but if pensions are dealt with before the election the scheme will cost £ loll,000.000 a year. Mr. Lloyd George is alleged to have given this estimate as an argu- ment in tavour of an early election. sic M CONTEMPT? It is now some weeks since President Wilson intimat-m in one of his public speeches that he expected the lenders of the Governments with which America is associated to answer him I fl< i s:i frankly arid say whether they agreed with him in regard to the terms of peace he had stated. In answer to a question in the House of Corn- mons. Mr. Bonar Law said last week that the Allit'd Governments had not considered Presi- dent W ilson's peace terms at all. BRITAIN v. GERMANY. I Germany has taken a step in the development of parliamentary Government which the govern- ing classes of this country have always resisted and will never take unless they are compelled to do so. (Questions of peace and war are to be decided in future by the Reichstag and not by the German Government. Scornful allusions have appeared in the British press concerning every extension of power conceded to the Ger- man Reichstag. On the other hand there is re- si stence in this country to every attempt to ex- tend the power of the House1 of Commons over the executive. (Questioned in the Houst. the other day concerning the intentions of the Gov- ernment in regard to Colonial preference Mr. Hew ins. for the Government, declared empha- tically that it was perfectly competent for the British Government to ( anything it liked. It had absolute competence in the matter. Some awkward precedents are being made as a result of this war—awkward, that is. from the pm It t or view of the governing classes. They I cannot I contined to Germany in the long run. t A NEEDED PROTEST. I The New Republic," an American weekly w hich is understood to be closely in touch with President- Wilson, has entered a protest against the publication of what purports to be documen- tary evidence the object of which is to make it appear that the Bolshevists are in the pay of Germany. The same publications have appeared in the British press and it is well to note that they are almost certaiuly based on forgeries.

I Labour and The Peace. I ARTHUR HENDERSON DECLARES FOR II UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER I UNCONDITI URRENDER" I AS A PRELUDE TO LIBERALISATION OF GERMANY. Speaking on Saturday at a capnfer- ence of the North Eastern Federation of the Labour Party Mr. Arthur Henderson, M.P., em- phasis.ed the need of an intelligent conviction of a politically conscious democracy as the basic foundation upon which alone a Labour Party could be builded to play its proper important role in the political arena of the State. Mr. Henderson did not conceal the fact that such a task was one of tremendous magnitude, but it was one that must be intelligently and courage- ously handled if the Party wns to justify its claim to be the Party of the People. Democracy had got to come out of its mere negative posi- tion of critically opposing the present system, and had to present a constructive alternative to that present system, and in this task the party would be aided by the steadily deepening con- viction born of the world war that a fundamen- tal reconstruction of society was absolutely es- sential. MENACING POSITION IN IRELAND. I Referring to Ireland, lie described the position as grave and menacing. They had heard from Ireland this woak that the policy with regard to Home Rule. and especially conscription, was heading straight for a dangerous and possibly disastrous explosion. Ireland was now a vir- tually occupied country, and Labour demanded the adoption of such a conciliatory policy as would result in its liberation. Labour demanded as the first- step, especially in view of the im- proved military position, that the Government should declare that no attempt should be made to impose conscription. It would be opposed with a strength and bitterness possibly unpar- alleled in the long history of the country. Was it too much to hope that the Government would reconsider its position, and take immediate steps to confer upon Ireland that to which she was entitled—namely. the right of self-government ? If the Government could not do this. would they undertake, publicly to offer to leave the entire settlement of the question to the coming Peace Conference LABOUR BEHIND WILSON. J When Labour defined its own war aims, many months ago, they made it clear that they stood for a real world-peace. In the situation created by the German peace offer Labour had ranged itself solidly behind President Wilson. They had not hesitated to support him in the steps he had taken in the Jast few days to develop the diplomatic possibilities involved in Ger- many's request for an armistice and the opening of peace negotiations. They should, he hoped, continue to support him. because they believed that President Wilson was asking for a peace they had themselves been asking for, and be- cause they knew that the peace programme he i had formulated embodied the war aims of organ- ised labour. A PEACE OF IMPARTIAL JUSTICE. I He knew he was speaking in a moment of crisis and of great tension of feeling. They did not know what- an hour might bring forth, though lie confidently affirmed that the policy of which he had spoken was about to be tri- umphantly vindicated in a peace of justice and reconciliation. They said to the peoples of the Central Powers that the peace the British de- mocracy sought was one of impartial justice, not a vindictive peace. They did not desire the de- struction of the German people. They sought only the destruction of that arbitrary power which, in their judgment, planned the war. per- fecttHl the war, and prosecuted the war with ruthless fury. Before peace could finally be made that power, in their judgment, must capi- tulate unconditionally. In this last stage of the struggle it i»ecainc increasingly clear that un- conditional surrender on the part of the rulers of Germany was necessary in order that the vital interests of the German people themselves could be safeguarded. CENSURINC THE CENSOR. in a reference that was loudly cheered, Air. Henderson condemned the attempts that were being made both nationally and locally to dis- credit national and local leaders of the Labour Movement. In that district they had been hav- j ng a little of what he had been having for SOlliO time; and his friends, John Hill, and Straker, were being violently attacked on the ground of their opinions. Mr. Henderson said the violence of these attack s was a measure of the strength of their movement. If their op- ponents could ignore them they wxwld do so; as they could not be ignored thev sought to dis- credit them; and in order to discredit them they must misrepresent them. It. these efforts thev had what Labour had iiot-clit- advantage of a syndicated press. Mr. Egerton Wake dealt with the re-organisa- tion of the Party, and urged the delegates to set to work at once to build up in every corner of their constituencies a strong Labour organi- sation, concentrating their efforts upon the de- velopment of War Committees, and aiming at the ideal which they sought to achieve indus- trially, of a political shop steward in every street. CANDIDATES' AGENTS CONFERENCE. Earlier in the day Mr. Henderson and Mr. ake held a. conference with the Labour candi- dates and agents in the constituencies covered by the North-Eastern Federation, and a very in- teresting and valuable discussion arose after their speeches. It was suggested that steps should be taken to organise an agents' confer- ence to deal specifically with the problems that confronted the agents in their electoral work. Mr. Henderson said that he had this question under consideration, and that if a national con- ference of. the kind could not lie arranged, efforts would be made to organise a series*of dis- trict- conferences with the agents.

I i A Co=operative Water Supply. I Merthyr Trades Council's Suggestion to Newport. Joint Meetings of Executives Suggested and Policy Defined. The question of the water-supply scheme to which Merthyr is committed, and which on the revised estimates of a total cost of roughly three-quarters of a million will mean the death of all hopes of a progressive municipal housing, health or other programme, and which under the new developments looks like landing New- port—Merthvr's largest potential customer—in the same hopeless position if the Newport separ- ate water scheme promotes overrule the oom- monsense of the workers of that town, was the main subject of discussion at Thursday night's meeting of the Merthyr Trades and Labour Council, over which Mr. Hugh Williams (Tre- harris) presided. The question had been introduced at the pre- vious meeting by Councillor Wilson (Treliarris), who, in presenting the report of Labour's acti- vities on the Town Council, incidentally men- tioned a visit he had paid. to Newport- on this question of the water supply, and gave expres- sion to opinions, facts and figures that startled the delegates so much that they instructed the Executive to prepare a scheme for submission to the Council. As a result of this decision a joint meeting of the Executive of the Council and the Labour Group on the Corporation met recently and after a thorough discussion, in which it ap- peared that one or two Labour members were in favour of the present scheme which will give Merthyr a monopoly of the supply which gathers in the watershed of the upper and ,it was decided that the most important step to be taken was to stay the course of events in Newport—in which twon matters had progressed s4) far that the prospect was of an imminent statutory meeting of townsfolk to preceed the grafting of the necessary Bill to go before Parliament—and consequently it was de- cided to appeal to the Newport Trades Council to reserve their judgment until a joint meeting of the two executives and Labour groups could have been held at an agreed place to get at grips with a solution mutually beneficial. It was further recommended that the Trades Council of M erthyr should sug^c.vt a Joint Water Board as the fairest solution. The letter to the Secre- tary of the Newport Trades Council was an- nounced to have had the result of holding up the Statutory meeting, but the Newport execu- tive did not meet until last Monday night, so at the time of the Council meeting in Merthyr the joint conference of the two parties and their Labour representatives had not been arranged. BASIS OF DISCUSSION. I I These facts were the basis of the discussion on Thursday, if discussion it could be called, for there was no two opinions about the desirability of a co-operative scheme for the construction of the reservoirs, and the common ownership of the resultant water supply. One delegate pointed out that heavy as Mer- thyr was committed under its present rates of 13/10 in the t, that commitment was as nothing to the burden if the present scheme was pressed forward. The continuance of the policy at pre- sent. pursued by the Corporation in respect to the water-supply would later the whole face of social progress here. With it hanging around our necks there would be no more parks—no housing scheme, no proper streets unless we had customers for the water. And even if Merthyr had customers it would be necessary to alter the Act of Parliament in existence which limited the price to 3d. or 3ld. per one thousand gallons and to raise the price to from 6d. to 7d. per thousand gallons. The question the Executive had had to face was whether it would be better to look for customers for about 14.000,000 gal- lons per day. or to ask other -communities to come in with Merthyr pay a proportion of the money already expended, share the cost of com- pleting the scheme, and form a Joint Water Board. The idea of a Joint Water Board was no new one for it was one that had been pro- posed, when the scheme was first brought for- ward. by the Gelligaer authorities. COUNCILLOR FRANCIS ON THE ISSUE. I Councillor Francis, who was the principal speaker, in the absence of Councillor Wilson, described the problem as an intricate one. In common with other I.L.P.'ers he had taken a keen interest in this scheme since its inception, and had been -one of a number who opposed the scheme at a meeting held in the Town Hall. He had had an objection to this scheme for a good many years; and he objected because he was as firmly opposed to the principle of a municipal monopoly as he was to a privat-P capitalistic monopoly. (Hear, hear.) The trouble that Mer- thyr had had, would be Newports' trouble also if that town undertook a water scheme of its own, and that trouble- arose from the vagueness that always hung around these schemes which, when once launched. none could say where they would end. For instance, the first estimated cost of the waterworks was .£430,000.' hut now it was admitted that the probable cost of com- pletion would be £ 650,000. The difficulty was that when these schemes were mooted an esti- mate had to lie prepared as to the probable cost of the land, and the specu lator—whose friends often sat on the authorities—discovered the pipe lines, bought patches of land and erected houses, and instead of buying land as wild moun- tain land, its value was increased manyfold and it had to be purchased at the greatly enhanced price. TERMINOLOCICAL INEXACTITUDES. • Alderman Parry, the chairman of the New- port Waterworks Committee, came in for some sharp criticism at Councillor Francis' hands for his statement that Merthyr was seeking an Act of Parliament to rid itself of honourable ob- liations" in the matter of supplying water at 31-d. per one thousand gallons. What was really true was that the pri ce named was fixed before the war. and war had so altered prices that Mer- thyr had approached Pontypridd, with whom they had entered into an undertaking to supply so many millions of gallons a day at this price, with the request that they would favourably consider the matter when Merthyr went to Par- liament to get a Bill to improve the price. And Pontypridd had promised to consider the matter. Again Alderman Parry had declared that Mer- thyr would have a supply only of 16,000,000 gallons a day, but. the very report of the en- gineers that Alderman Parry was quoting pointed out that if the barrier was raised so many feet—which was the intention—the supply, would be 21, million gallons instead of 16. Alderman Parry had tried to argue that Mer- thvr oould not afford to sell the water, but the eminent engineers were positive that Merthyr was quite safe in offering to supply Newport's requirements. The proposed Newport reservoir would entail a pipe line 32 miles long, whereas if the supply was taken from the Merthyr source the Line would only be 1.5 miles long—a very considerable consideration. Moreover, their pipe-line would come along vallies in which there was no population to supply, whereas the Merthyr supply would provide for several vil- lages speciiied in the Engineers' report. The scheme, as it st-ood provided for Rhymney and Aber 4,000,000 gallons a day; Pontypridd 3,000,000, Aberdare 100,000; Nelson and Caer- philly 100,000, and Merthyr 5,000.000 gallons a day, leaving a surplusage of 4,000.000 a day on the lesser scheme of 16.67,5.000 gallons, but by the raising of the embankment the supply would be 23,000.000 ga llons a day, leaving a surplus of something like 11,000,000 gallons a day for dis- posal. That was the position which it was de- sirable that the Newport people should consider. Merthyr had gone into this gigantic undertak- ing. and could not get out of it. At present it was costing a 3d. rate to pay the interest on the 1 af Feehan reservoir. Some of this money had been invested in ) per cent, war loan stock; and other money had been borrowed at 5J per cent., which the financiers of the Council called making money. CO-PARTNERY THE SOLUTION. Personally he regarded a real co-partnery scheme as the best in dealing with this question of water supply. He did not want to limit that co-pa rtnery to Merthyr and Newport alone if Pontypridd and other authorities were prepared to come along and make a real co-operative effort of it. Indeed he considered that the next step should be to find out how many bodies would go into the scheme, which, if accepted, would mean the saving of great amounts to everyone concerned. If the Trades Council was in favour of the co-operative scheme it would be the duty of the Labour Group to put a reso- lution in the Council to that effect. If the scheme continued a private scheme of the Merthyr Corporation then then it would mean that the Merthyr people would have to be prepa-red to fact an increase of rates ranging up to 2/6 in the £ for the benefit of posterity, and at the expense of urgent social reforms. And that was what would happen equally in Newport, and the Merthyr workers should con- sult with the Newport workers, pointing out that they as workers had everything to gain from coming in with Merthyr on a co-operative basis. If the Merthyr workers wanted better communal conditions during the next ten or twenty years it could only be done by getting rid of the tremendous weight that pressed on them in this water scheme, and if Newport came in and helped share the burden it would be equally beneficial to them. LAND COSTS. Another delegate said that the amount pro- vided in the Bill for- buying land was £ 50,000, but already the actual cost had been £ 100,000. The other sidt." wa-s all out for Merthyr monopolisation of this supply and selling to cus- tomers. and if the Labour Party was going in for the demand for a Joint Board then the La- bour Group must have the full and active back- ing of the Party in the town. (Hear, hear.) Councillor D. Davies was quite satisfied that the correct policy to adopt was that of the Joint Board. Mr. J. Williams moved that we ask the La- bour Group on the Borough Council to force the issue of a Water Board to be co-operative owned and controlled by as many authorities as pos- sible." Except for the bad fuel, of war break- i ng out the new water works scheme would have paid. but under the new ronditions it was going to be a drag not only upon the present but also upon future generations. To be called to spend three quarters of a million on the ratable value of Merthyr would bo a very great burden, in- deed he doubted whether Merthyr could carry that burden. lender the circumstances and looking at the position from a mere parochial standpoint there -was nothing to do but to try and help our ow n people and at the same time assist the Newport, and any other people who would join, from incurring impossible burdens. But quite apart from the financial aspect—look- ing at the problem from the standpoint, of ethics and social moralitv-the Joint Board was the real, just and Democratic way. (Hear, hear.) Mr. J. Adkins (seconding) :Llso emphasised the fact that the real point of consideration so far as the workers was concerned was not one of profiteering at each others' expense, but one of common ownership and mutual aid through co- optTation. Mr. W. J. Davies asked whether it wa.s in- tended to offer Pontypridd a chance to come in, to which an affirmttive answer was returned by the Chairman. The motion was then put and carried, and the holding of a joint meeting of the Merthyr and Newport Trades Council Executives and Labour Groups on the two town councils sanctioned.