Monmouth Guardian and Bargoed and Caerphilly Observer

BANDITS HOLD UP A THAIN. GUARD THRUST INTO TRUNK, A telegram from Little Rock, Arkansas, reports a daring robbery on the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railway, which, however, had an element of humour unusual in Western "hold-ups." Two armed bandits boarded a passenger train on Friday morning just outside the Little Rock, and forcing their way into the express car, proceeded to loot the safe. They met with no resistance, but before beginning on the safe they burst open a' large trunk and bundled the luckless express messenger inside, in case he should get up to foolishness and 'start something. The messenger having been disposed of to their satisfaction, the robbers turned their attention to the safe. but they only succeeded in obtaining about P.60 when they were dis- turbed-by the arrival of another train. The bandits took to their heels and made good their escape.

SCOTCH SETTLER'S LUCK. COOK IN A MINING CAMP COMES INTO £ 100,000. The Edmonton, Alberta, newspapers report that Mr. Jack Hamber, who until a few days ago was acting as a cook in the Pocohontas district west of Edmonton, at a salary of £ 14 a month, has been notified by a firm of lawyers, says a Winnipeg correspondent, that he is heir to a fortune amounting to over LIOO,000 left him by a long-forgotten relative, who died recently in Glasgow. Mr. Hamber, who emigrated from Scotland some years ago, is now in Edmonton arranging with the lawyers for his return to Scotland to claim his inheritance. He declares that he is engaged to a girl in Scotland, and that as soon as they are married they will return to Alberta, where he will continue mining, but in the role of mine owner.

GERMANY'S FIVE RICHEST FOLKS, KAISER TO PAY £ 206,000 TAX. Interesting figures are published ia Berlin regarding the amount which the five richest persons will pay as their share of the special war tax on wealth for military inerfase6 sanc- tioned last summer. Those five persons con- tribute £ 1,100,000 bet ween them, and £ 440,000 is the share of Frau Berta lirtipp von Bahlen and Halbach, the Dnlbj Chronicle says. Prince Guido Henekel von Donnersmarck pays £ 210,000. A third on the list ie the Kaiser, who will pay £ 205.000. The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Sirelitz's shore is 9170,000, and that of the Prince von Thurn and Taxis is 975,000.

MYSTERIOUS STREAM. VILLAGE ROAD BECOMES A RIVER. The Nailbourne intermittent stream. which usually flows once in three years, has again made its appearance in the Alkhalll Valley, and the high road through the parish is now a running river with water deep enough to float a boat. The stream flows down the road until it joins the River Dour, and even- tually empties into Dover Harbour. The water makes its appearance in the middle of a field without any sign of a head or spring.

MANSION BURNT DOWN. SUFFRAGIST OUTRAGE IN IRELAND. The fine old mansion known as Orlands, about two miles from Carrickfergns, Co. Antrim, was burnt to the ground early on Thursday morning. A quantity of Suffragist literature and the imprints of women's boots were found about the premises. Postcards addressed to Sir Edward Carson, declaring he had betrayed the women's cause, were found in the grounds.

WOMAN WITH A CHOPPER. SMASHED MUSEUM ULASS CASES. The woman who was arrested at the British Museum on Thursday for smashing with a chopper eight glass wall cases containing Oriental pottery, and who gave the name Of "Mary Stewart," has been identified as Catherine Wilson, otherwise Clara Lambert. Catherine Wilson was the name given by the woman who, on the night of March 16th, attempted to enter the House of Commona dressed as a man with a riding-whip in her sleeve, for the purpose of thrashing Mr. As- quith. For being found in an enclosed area for a supposed unlaw fill ppviv. she was sen- tenced to six weeks' hard labour, but after hunger-striking was released under the Cut and Mouse Act. She is now wanted for fail- ing to surrender at the expiry of her licence.

DEATH OF LADY ELIZABETH CUST FATAL SEIZURE ON WAY TO CHURCH. In tragic circumstances the death took place on Friday of Lady Elizabeth Cust, of St. George's-square, widow of the late Sir Reginald Cust. Despite her age—she was b, her eighty-fourth year—she was wonderfully active. She left her house on Friday for church, but had not walked far when she was suddenly seized with illness. A taxieab was hailed and she was driven home, where she succumbed before medical aid could be pro- cured.

DASHED OVER A WEIR. BOAT BUILDER FOUND DROWNED. Mr. Culmer Whit-e, a boat builder of Twickenham, has been found drowned in the Thames off Eel Pie Island. He was lying partlv in a boat that had been smashed ani partly in the water. A portion of the boat was found near Teddington Weir, over a mile further up the stream, and this suggests that Mr. White had met his death by being carried over the weir. Mr. White, who was seventy- one years of age, is said to have been some- what eccentric in his manner of late. He had beon in the habit of boating at midnight and in the early hours. It is thought that in the darkness he was carried over the weir by the swollen and fast-running stream.

EASTEll CONFERENCES. SUFFRAGETTES AND LAHOlTlt 13ARTY. Hie eoming-of-aye conference of the In- dependent Labour Parsy was opened at Brad- ford on Saturday, with a meeting 111 St. George's Mali. Mr. J. Keir Hurdle, M.P.. presided, and was supported by several othei Labour .VLIVs. Militant Suffragettes created many disturbances, Mr. Keir Hardie especi- ally being much interrupted The Suffragettes were in strong force again at a meeting on Still(i,ii- ill the same hall. Considerable tumult reigned throughout, the proceedings, and the speakers could do 110 more than make occasional sentences, or portions of sen- tences, heard. Mr. Ramsay MacDonald had a particularly warm time, and lie and some of the reporters were struck by bags of flour. NO MONEY FOR ELECTION PURPOSES. At Monday's sitting it was reported that the party funds were in a critical position, and that they had not a penny in hand for the turning General Election. The National Ad- ministrative Council recommended that a shilling levy be made on (vcry member for Parliamentary purposes, and the chairman said that the party had not the power to make a compulsory levy, but the Council hoped that the officials would do all in their power to raise the money. I.L.P AND CABINET RULE The conference on Tuesday adopted by 233 votes to 78 the Bradford policy which in previous years had been rejected. The reso- lution declares "Cabinet rule to be inimi- cal to the good government of the country, and, with a view to the ultimate breaking up of this system, asks the Parliamentary Labour Party to take no account of such considerations as the maintenance of a par- ticular Ministry, but to vote otil i- in accord- ance with the principles for which the party stands. SHOP ASSISTANTS' UNION. At the annual conference of the Shop As- sistants' Union at Leicester, Mr. S. J. Hunt, of Worcester, in his address dealt with ques- tions of the living-in system, minimum wage, and radius agreements. The conference passed resolutions favouring the abolition of the living-in system, condemning radius agreements, and favouring an amendment of the Shops Act to limit hours to sixty a week. The question of Parliamentary representation was raised on a resolution which, after discus- sion, was adopted, that the rules of the union be altered for the furtherance of political ob- jects. After considerable discussion a resolu- tion in favour of universal adult suffrage was adopted in preference to its original form asking for votes for women. TEACHERS IN CONFERENCE. At the conference on Monday at Lowestoft of the National Union of Teachers, the Presi- dent (Mr. W. B. Steer, of Derb\) advocated various measures to raise the status of the profession, and strongly urged, as a particu- larly desirable reform from the, teachers' standpoint, that the pathway to the higher educational posts should be through tlie school alone. On Tuesday the salaries scales suggested by the Executive Committee were discussed. Amendments claiming equal pay for men and women teachers were defeated, and the dis- cussion was adjourned. A conference of members and officials of local education au- thorities discussed desirable amendments of the 1902 Education Act. The annual Conference of the National Association of Manual Training Teachers was opened at the Leeds Training College on Mon- day. Councillor W. Boyle inaugurated sn exhibition of specimens of handwork, and at the later educational session Mr. W. P. Welpton, master of methorl at the Leeds Uni- versity, and Mr. H. Moss (London) con- tributed papers. THE GOOD TEMPLARS. The Grand Ledge of England and United Services Tnl -rnational Oi(h r of Good Tem- plars, at its forty-fifth annual Conference at Birmingham, was chiefly occupied in express- ing appreciation of the services of the Grand Chief Templar, Mr. Joseph Mnlins, who. after occupying that position from the foundation of the Order i.n England, retires this week. At the meeting on Tuesday light of the Grand Lodge. Mr. J. W. Hopkins, of Glou- cester, was elected as Grand Chief Templu in succession to Alderman Joseph Malins.

EXPRESS DISASTER. COLLISION WITH GOODS ENGINE. TWO DEAD; TWELVE HURT. The holiday season has not passed entirely without a serious railway accident. On Tues- day the express from Edinburgh to Aberdeen collided with a goods engine at Burntisland Station, 011 the Fife coast. The engine, one third-class earri.age, and four luggage vans of the express left the metals and toppled over on the golf links. Driver Dickson and fireman Macdonald, both belonging to Aberdeen, were killed, and twelve passengers injured. The remainder of the passengers proceeded on their journey by a fresh train. The injured passengers, who were oonveyed to Edinburgh Infirmary, belong mostly to Dundee. The express which left Edinburgh (North British station) at 3.55 had just passed through Burntisland Station on the Fireshire side of the Firth of Forth when the accident occurred. It appears that the goods engine was being shunted to make way for the ex- press and had almost cleared the points when the. engine Of the express struck it with terri- fic force. The engine of the passenger train, which had been travelling at a speed of about sixty miles an hour, left the rails and was thrown broadside on to the Burntisland golf links, dragging two carriages along with it. The driver and the fireman were killed on the spot, and their bodies buried beneath the wreckage. THE INJURED. The following is a list of the injured: David Sclioffield, twenty-one, hairdireseer, Dundee; William Mudie. twenty seven, butcher, Dundee; James Lat.to, twenty-three, quartermaster, Broughty Ferry; Robert ■ Nicolfl, twenty-five, Broughty Ferry (one leg had to be amputated, and the other was frac- tured); Philip Glancey, wine merchant, Dundee; W. W, all ace. forty-two., barman, Dundee; James Andrews, twenty, Dundee; James Gatherer, Dundee; Miss Smith, nine- teen, Edinburgh; Alfred Wilson. Aberdeen; Thomas Stevenson, member o.f the Royal Fly- ing Corps at Mon.trose; Charles Mackenzie, Broughby Ferry. The first four named were detained At the Infirmary.

ARRESTS AT STAGE DOOR Three men—Henry Kent, forty-two, of Pad- dington; George May, twenty-seven: address refused and Albert Edward Chapman, twenty six, of Linil)pth-were remanded at Westminster on Monday on a charge of breaking into the Victoria Palace of Varieties on Su day night. One of the men is over six feet tall, and of powerful physique. Bail was refused. Detective Sergeant Henry said that May walked to the stage door and tried to open it with a key. On May, it was stated, wi re found an electric torch, t\vo sticks of ex- plosive, and detonators and fuses.

VALUABLE LAND RECLAIMED. While considerable portions of the East Tloast have suffered from erosion, many teres If Jand are being reclaimed from the waters ,f the Wash estuary. An area comprising ■Tine 600 acres has lately been enclosed, and low work has begun which has for its ulti- mate object the winnin g of a wide stretch of 0,000 acres from the sea. In order to accom- plish this operation a sea bank is to be built th-e "nrfolk coast, beginning at the mouth )f the River Ouse not far from King's Lynn, 1nd extending northwards to the village of Snettisham. During the past fifty years oyer 3,088 acres have been reclaimed. it.

"CANCER HOUSES." THEORY OF INKECTJOJ* The question as to whether a person can be- come infected with cancer through living in a house in which a cancer victim has lived is the subject of an article in the Timp*. References to "cancer houses" abound in medical literature, but. on the other hand, many medical m'n reject the theory on the ground that coincidellces of themselves prove nothing. In a French viflage of 400 iniiiliitiiit-i, says the writer, eleven deaths, according to Dr. Armando, occurred in seven years, all being located in the same block of houses. Three years later tlu-re were seventeen cancer patients in these houses. In another house in a different locality five deaths occurred from cancer in one house over a period of thirty years. All these patients belonged to different families. A list of 1,002 houses in Paris in which persons had died of malignant disease was drawn up, and a watch instituted. Already in twelve of them two successive oases of cancer have been noted. Another remarkable series of cases occurred in a short street not one-twelfth of a mile long in a small town. The houses in this street were entirely residential. In fifteei-i years (1893-1008) there died of malignant (fisease in this district nineteen persons and a dog. Several of the houses ac- connted for more than one case each. Instances of the same kind can be multi- plied almost indefinitely. There is, for ex- ample, a vicarage in the north of England with an evil reputation as a "cancer house," two successive incumbents having died there of malignant disease. In a large Itouse in Somerset, where a man died of cancer many years ago, his wife, his wife's second husband, a member of his family by his first wife, and a housekeeper have since fallen victims to the disease. In another house in Scotland the cancer history is known to extend back through three generations.

MR. FENNER CHARGED. STOCKBROKER AT POLICE-COURT. Mr. Charles Edwin Fenner, the London stockbroker whose name has been mentioned in connection with Lord Murray's invest- ments and share transactions, was brought up at the London Mansion H ouse Police-court on. Monday, before Alderman Sir George Wood- man. on charges under the Larceny Act. Mr. Fenner's age was given as fifty, and the charges concerned the alleged fraudulent con- version of certain share certificates. Mr. William Lewis, one of ihe Treasury solicitors, appeared on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions. and Mr. J. D. Lang- ton represented the defendant. Mr. Lewis intimated that he proposed only to offer evidence of arrest and ask for a remand. Detective Inspector Smith stated that on Saturday evening he saw Fenner at Boulogne Prison, and said to him, I am a City of London police-officer. You are handed to me by the French authorities upon charges with to warrants issued by the Mansion House Police-court by the Lord Mayor for offetK. } against the Larceny Act of 1901. I will read one or the whole of them if you wish." The defendant replied, "I have read them all. You can read them to me later." The witness conveyed the accused to Lon- don, and on the journey read the warrants to him. Mr. Fenner made no reply. The war- rants were based on the evidence of six in- formants. The Alderman granted a remand until Wednesday.

LITTLE HERO OF THE BUSH EFFORT TO SAVE DYING MOTHER. Dead Man's Waterhole, <n the Pilliga Scrub, in the north-west, of New South Wales, was the scene of an heroic exploit by a boy of ten. Mrs. Bacc-om, the wife of a settler who was absent from home, suddenly collapsed. Her eldest son, William Henry, aged ten, eays the Daily Mail correspondent, tried to reswre her, but in vain, lie placed a pillow under his mother's head, a blanket over her body, and wet rags on her head. After that he put his baby sister and his little brother- the only other occupants of the place—in a box with wooden wheels and provisioned it with two loaves of bread, some eggs, and water, and set out through the bush for Eda Vale Station, twelve miles away. There he arrived in an exhausted condition, the latter part of the journey having boon done in moonlight. A party immediately went to Dead Man's Waterhole, but the boy's mother was dead when they got there.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN AND MARRIAGE m SCIENTIFIC WOMAN'S VIJÐW. Dr. Marie C. Stopes, the well-known scien- tist, has a remarkable letter in the Times on compelling professional women to give up their profession on maii'iage. Tliere are, she says, three inevitable i\ suits: (1) It prevents admiiable women of a cer- tain t3-pe of cliaracter tain type of character rom marrying at all; (2) It deprives the community of the work and the experience of another type of woman, who does not feel able to sacrifice her private life to her c-aree"; (3) It leads other women, of more perfect balance, who demand the right to be both normal women as well a.s intelligences, to (a) wilfully and disho::e ilyconcealing the fact from their employers; or (b) living ill union with a man without the legai tit of marriage. "r"II. nJ As to the last alternative ijr. otopes says: "My own experience of three years of mar- riage, in which T have discovered the innumer- able coercions, restrictions, legal injustices, and encroachments on her liberty imposed on a married woman by the community or flec- tions of it, has brought me to the point of being ready to condone in any of my educated women friends a life lived (if in serious and binding union) with a man to whom she is not legally married. Three years ago such a course would have filled me with horror." Only by treating married women properly —i.e., by leaving them the freedom of choice allowed to all other individuals, adds the writer, can innumerable unexpected evils be avoided.

COLLAPSE OF A SCAFFOLD. SEVERAL MEN INJURED. Nine workmen were injured and man others had narrow escapes owing to the col- lapse of scaffolding on Saturday morning at a picture palace in building at Clapham. One of them-John Naylor, of Earlsfield-was de- tained at St. Thomas's Hospital suffering from an ugly cut on the face. The men were decorating the hall from a platform forty feet above the floor when the accident happened. Three of the injured were treated at Boling- broke Hospital, but were pot d#t»iue4.

TOPICS OF THE HOUR Work has been begun on the new wireless station of the Government at Leafield, in Ox- fordshire. The foundations for the steel masts and the permanent buildings of the station are already well advanced. There are to be twelve masts 300ft. high, and the "aim" of the installation will be south- easterly. Its immediate objective is to be Cairo, but it is quite likely that its power will give it, at any rate in the night-time, a much greater range. The spot chosen for the station is very quiet and remote. It lies fairly high, just above the 500ft. line, and looks over a wide expanse of country to the Berkshire Downs. It is on Crown land, being situated in what was once Wychwood Forest. Though the Commissioner of Police has for- bidden policemen to form a trade union, it ip clear from information received, writes a .London correspondent, that the efforts to form a powerful national union of police officers are still in progress, though in a sur- reptitious manner. The union is at present being managed by an executive, which pro- mises to resign when the union is power- ful enough to elect a committee of policemen who will be able to act without fear of dis- missal on account of their trade unionism. Meanwhile, to entice policemen to join the union, the organisers guarantee to keep all names strictly secret. Instead of using their names members will be given numbers, so that they can communicate with the secretary if they want to. Meetings are still being held in different parts of London, and another Trafalgar-square meeting has been called for Sunday, the 19th. A recent statement of Mr. Samuel, the ex- Postmaster General, that the effect of equal pay for men and women in Canada was that women were not employed led to much dis- cussion. St. Martin's-I(, (fraud thinks that the following true story, while it bears out Mr. Samuel's testimony as to the small num- ber of women in employment, suggests a dif- ferent moral: In Western Canada a certain factory was started, and the need of the hour was skilled operatives to work it. Forty skilled female operatives were therefore en- gaged in Lancashire for this purpose. But only twelve arrived. The other twenty-eight had become engaged or married en route! Here its an unrecorded tragedy, says the World. The scene is Victoria. A distin- guished foreigner arrives bound for the Far East; his luggage has come, but not his valets. The train is about to start and the men still missing. The train is delayed for a couple of minutes; still they do not arrive. As it steams out the two missing men, who know no English, walk on to the platform, having lost their way. This is where the sorrow began. They held the keys of every box, dressing-case, and travelling trunk of the distinguished foreigner, and there was no way of catching him up be- fore he embarked on his steamer for the Far East. The valets must follow a week later, but the distinguished foreigner will have to break open every box and trunk he has for the inspection of the Customs authorities. Moral: Never travel without your keys. By the time we are recovering from our Easter holiday exertions Russians will be get- ting ready for theirs, says the Pall Mall Gazette. The Russian Easter falls this year on next Sunday; and in Russia Easter is something like a holiday. Work oeases the Thursday before Easter Day, and one long general holiday lasts over Easter until the fol- lowing Saturday week. This nine-day holiday is no sooner over, and work resumed, before a series of other Bank Holidays begins. These include the Czarina's Name Day, the Czar's birthday, the Festival of St. Nicholas, the anniversary of the Czar's Coronation, and Ascension Day, which latter, falling on May 15th, brings hope to the workers a.nd welcome rest from the holiday surfeit. Church festi- vals and "Name Days" of members of the Imperial family are all over the Russian calendar, and all mean general eeasation from work, something like one every week occur- ring beb een the end of July and the begin- ning of December, when an uninterrupted spell of three weeks' work prepares the people foT a five-day holiday burst at Christmas. A party of American tourists in a motor- car pas-ed through Blairgowrie, in Perth- shire, a few days ago, meaning to cross the Grampians by the highest road in Great Britain. They came back a few hours after- wards to make inquiries about the other roads. The highest road had led them into snow five feet deep. So far. New York has been the only Ameri- can State to despatch its criminals by means of the electric chair employed on Monday for the ex. ntion of the gunmen quartet. Most of the States employ the gallows, but in one two of the Western States criminals are slu i. The authorities of Nevada employ both the bullet and the cord, and give criminals the choice. In Europe the guillotine is the mode of execution most generally em- ployed. Austria. Holland, and Portugal are the only other countries besides Great Britain where criminals are hanged. In Oldenburg they are shot, in Brunswick they are be- headed, and in Spain they are garroted. Under the items of local news in a Kentish paper, says the Mark Lane Express, we are struck with the large number of village spar- row clubs winding up their season of activity, giving records of the kills, and in most cases tiiiishing up with a dinner and the distribution of prizes. Though these institutions are called sparrow clubs, most of them live for the purpose of waging war against other in- jurious birds as well, and moles, rats, and in some cases even queen wasps. Some well-meaning persons deplore the activities of the sparrow clubs in reducing the feathered population, but we may leave the Kentish farmer and fruitgrower to know his business, and in other places where sparrows and rats are a nuisance, and we hear of people talking about applying to the Develop- ment Commissioners for grants to pay for keeping the pests within reasonable limits. respectfully suggest that they should follow the example of Kent. co-operate in the matter, and establish organised clubs on Kentish lines for the extermination of vermin that is injurious to agriculture. It is rather a fashion just now to name books after gems. We have had a story called The White Sapphire," and another .story called The Red Emerald." No doubt some- body else will be writing of The Blue Ruby or The Red Garnet," or even of Old French Paste." There is no reason why a jeweller's catalogue should not supply many titles for many novels, but somehow there is a lack of originality in such ways, says the Book Monthly. It is better, after all, to depend on the Scriptures, which have still mau)" beautiful and illuminating phrases that can be used for modern books.

 A WONDERFUL SALE OF Furniture, Pianos, Carpets, &c. In preparation for the Annual Stock-taking at close of Financial Year (March 31st), by which date the Vast Stocks must be very considerably reduced, the whole of the Goods at their numerous Branches are now being offered at a Reduction of fully Twenty-Five per cent. under usual prices by BEVAN & COMPANY LZ1\4ZTED, REGISTERED AS "THE CARDIFF FURNISHERS." 9mmende Sfafe 8mmende Ifafe Jmmende 60alFe furniture f Pianofortes I -6arpetd, etc. *+++++++++++++++++++$$ w The Special Attention of Easter Wedding QCouples Is particularly direoted to this exoellent opportunity of obtaining the Reliable Goods of this well-known Firm at Unheard of Prices. Illustrated Catalogues gratis and Post Free. Delivery Free by Road or Rail 200 Miles from any Branch. r 1 I I l 10 1 J 1 l' II Wales' Largest Furnishers, Piano and Organ Merchants, Near Empire, and 97, St. Mary Street, CARDIFF. AT .SO Pontypool, Newport, Pontypridd, Swansea, and Llanelly.

THEFTS ON CHANNEL BOATS, In consequence of numerous complaints a special detective watched the landing of pas- sengers from the afternoon boat at Calais on Wednesday, and arrested a man who states that he is a Russian subject. He was caught red-handed stealing a pocket-book from one of the passengers. When searched he possessed a large number of banknotes, most of which are thought to have been stolen from croes- Cli-aiinel passengers. The prisoner, according to a Boulogne correspondent, is believed toO be the head of an international gallg vhoe# activities bave been OIl the iccneage of w..

A CANADIAN CRIME. BODY FOUND BY BLOODHOUNDS. There in Intense excitement in Vancouver, lays the Toronto correspondent of the Timet, over the murder of Mrs. Charles Millard, wife of the chief ticket agent of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Only after bloodhounds had been put on the trail was the body discovered. It had been hacked to pieces and burnt in a furnaoe. Charred human hones and rings were found when the detectives searched the ashes. From the bloodstains in the dining-room the dogs led the police down the stairway to the basement, where the remain* were dis- covered. A seventeen-year-old Chinese servaint, is de- tained, but will make no statement except that burglars must have committed the murder.