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The visit to Swansea of one of the medical officers to the Doard of Education, Dr. Eichholz, draws attention to the rapid ex- pansion of the functions of the Education Committee, which have been increased by the feeding of more or less necessitous chil- dren-in itself a question of poverty, and therefore falling more naturally into the ephere of the Guardians—and medical at- tendance, which, originally starting with a simple experimental examination of the children, now involves their medical treat- ment to an increasing degree and the provi- sion of -separate schools for ailing ajtd afflicted children. To some extent a Gov- ernment contribution to the cost of these measures is forthcoming or promised; but, their .scope is being constantly extended, and clinics for babies are now being dis- cussed. The parents of the bulk of the children attending the schools are being re- lieved in turn of one liability after another; the education, feeding a.nd medical treat- ment of their children are being taken out of their hands and charged upon those who consider that the two last matters are still the province of the parents, the first and the greatest of their social obligations, and that they are the most natural, effective, and fit persons to discharge such duties. For A minority, however, their parental responsibilities are about to end with the bringing of children into the world. A parasitic type ot this kind is a social cancer that should be exceed, lest it poison and debilitate the body. but the remedial mea- sures that are being applied to cure it have the dual effect of sustaining it and encourag- ing its growth. The rearing of a healthy ( childhood is a subject of prir/ie importance to the nation—it is in the long run the greatest of its current problems—but due regard must be paid to its practicability and to the defects that acomnanv the putting of this policy into force. Chief amongst thoe defects is the creation of this parasitic clsss, who are being eased of every natural obliga- tion, and whose increase is facilitated by the temptations held out to people of soft moral fibre and celf-indulgent inclinations to cast their duties upon the Education Com- mittee. just as tLc abatement of the former deadlintss of public sanitary conditions keeps alive a host of sickly people who would a few generations ago have been killed off. The financial argument is the chief one J? that matters. The de irability of the obli- \tJW¡. 1!"d.>-4") Üdit?"fr;t!_l int? th? ? o_ld 9t.cIiIM1?rJi:iJJ.1;lÚtth jMM??U tramed in miird as can be brought about-is Y"?t cont''sted< The question is to what ex- tent the 'community can afford it. There are two standards apparently for public and private life. In the latter, too, there Are ttiany things that are sought for and desir- able many, toe. which are needed; but the deterrent is debt. A community cannot con- tinually violate the rule that enjoins prud- ence cind forethought without coming to grief; but public life its marked by an ir- responsibility on the pnrt of many of its participants that is largely to be ascribed to others paying for the tune for which they  call. j Air. Austen ChamberJain commenced his at- tack upon the new Budget by an allusion to thp fact, that of the twenty-seven million pounds raised last year by the new taxes imposed under tfoe "Great Budget" of 1909- 10 the land duties that were the most con- tentious feature, and that were acclaimed as a master-stroke of financial originality, pro- vided no more than £ 386,COO. The cost of the land valuation to the country alone, ex- cluding the expense and worry to private in- dividuals, amounts now to three million pounds. Mr. Chamberlain proceeded to point ont that the Treasury disregarded its role as the guardian of the public purse and '*ecame the most extravagant of the spend- ii, departments; thlat it ignored the rule th; is universal in private and commercial lire of asking whether the nation could afford this outlay that it was draining every re- source that had been considered as a reserve for a national emergency; that it imposed war taxation in time of peace; that it was rendering the most numerous class of the electorate financially irresponsible in regard to the policies that it anthorised, The death duties, he pointed out, were breaking up the ?Idsoc.ialUfe of the country the 1te3t finan- CIal propoaa? .?matted that relief to the rates upon agricultural land wa? not a aole to landlords," as for years Radicals had been insisting that it was, and a new v na- tion by a Central Government Department would supersede the local Assessment Com- mittees, that did their work better and cheaper—from 6 per cent. per annum is the case of the Valuation Department, as againsffc I 6d. per annum in the cause of one London borough that-he cited. The Majority report of the Committee of Local Taxation, which pronounced against any scheme ot which the rating of site vaiues formed part, was thrown aside; and the grants to local authorities, so far from being 9d. in the L, according to the ClianeeiloT s estimate, might be "9d. for nothing." For new burdens were being imposed all round, and new relations established, and at every stage in them "the local authoriti es are to count for less and the Central Government Department which never worke for nomyformore." The central local au- thorities would get larger sums, but they would only get them on condition of spend- ing more. All taxes had been raised to what Would have been thought a war figure in time of peace; this was done in a, time of great prosperity; every penny of their yield was "nt, their whole future increases mort- gaged, and future Chancellors would have to pour out money to make these schemes Nvork and repair the defects and anomalies that their working disclosed. Mr. Chamberlain's speech was recognised to be a damaging one; and it contained no point that could not be substantiated. When expenditure upon the prime essential of na- tional defence is mooted-the thing that is to enable us to live our own life in our own 'JI;ay, be we a rich nation or a poor one, sick or wel1-the Liberal cry is invariably that expenditure spells bankruptcy and ruin < It is not dried up. When money streams away from the Treasury to meet miscalcula- t?os of & hundred perj?nt. in the cost of íS'C1 It 1  ?form there is no such outcry. Yet the increase of cutlav in one direction is antherous ad  I!mrely it it'; $() in dangerous a?d injurious aurely it is so in anc her. The argument is that aociE! re- f"rm promotes p?.bUc health, and that There to it, return for the money in that direction. Z"T*ndit?'T'e on armaments promote D a- t?iaJ f?fety a.nd maintains a doz^n indus- tries. The net practical yield of both ar- j maments and social reform comes to much the same; yet the Liberals are horror struck at the cost of one and delighted at the cost of the other. Meanwhile tneir whole policy of finance, spendthrift and unconsidering, is based upon a principle that makes directly j for recklessness and more extravagance, as it is being defrayed by the very few and not by the many as if the financial influence of casting oppressive burdens upon the rich, who are not numerous, is as insignificant as their proportion to the total of the popula- tion. The less money they have to spend, the less, of course, they have to invest, or the greater the inducement to them to raise the charge for putting their money into fruc- tifying enterprises. Relief to the rates" nood not signify reduction; if the latter is pramdyed as a result of such proposals as those to pay half the cost of feeding school children or of the police, as an offset, to that there is the iikela- hood of fresh sources of locat expenditure being ta.pped, for the new Budget contains a number of projects, to be partially de- frayed by the public health grant, the amount of which is to observe a certain ratio to the locally-raised expenditure upon the purpose specified. The greater the out- lay, the greater the subsidy this appears to be the intention of this especial grant, but the assertion made on behalf of the Government that a "a relief of ninepence is likely to ensue seems, on the feœ of it, entirely deceptive. There is, however, to be as a complement to those subsidies a greater measure of con- trol from London; and a greater diminu- tion of the local self-governing power of municipalities. This foreshadows a sweep- ing chang! in the administration, and even in the political life of the nation. It has beon observed very justly "In the swiftly- moving changes of modern politics, there is nothing more remarkable than the erncr- gence of new principles of taxation; the subsidence of the Gladstonian theory that a baJanoe must be preserved between direct and indirect taxation the abandonment by the Liberal party of the doctrine of re- trenchment and economy, and the conver- sion of thtat party, under the influence of Mr. Lloyd George, into a party of taltle Socialists, borrowing its principles of taxa- tion and bureaucratic methods of adminis- tration from the Kingdom of Prussia, whose economic and social life was fashioned anew by Bismarck a generation ago. This pre- sent Budget reprents a further step in the Germanasation of our national finance." It might be added, that the Liberals are out- Prussianising the Prussians for the Gorman municipality has at least the widest powers of local self-government and is, in the case of the Hameatic towns, virtually a self- con-taine.d and self-administrative State in miniature. Liberal government is rapidly bringing the electorate nearer to the time when it will have to choose between resign- ing its, power of control—so deeply cut into to-div-i,n,d surrendering itself to an army of officials, or shake off the fetters that are fastened upon its limbs, a:nd banish the ad visers who counsel it to sell its birthright to order its own, life as it please^ for an entirely rfl-coo&edi -mpee of postage. It has been predicted more than once that when, if ever, the armed truce existing be- tween France and Germany ends in war, this will be bronchi a bout bv an incident apparently trivial in character and at an unexpected moment. The truth is, the state of almost continuous tension in the relations of the two countries places peace in constant jeopardy. A false step on either side is capable of inducing' the most tragic consequences, and but for the re- straint imposed by the need of consulting actual or prospective allies and the conse- quent implied security againatt hasty action the nervous strain would become so great as to precipitate the catastrophe, the possi- bility of which haunts the greater part of the civilised world.. the eivilised wor,d. Reasoned-out actions of policy how- ever purely impulsive they may appear, like the Kaiser's visit to Tangier, and his declaration that no impediment, would be allowed to interfere with Germany's right to treat with the Moroccan Sultan is an independent sovereign, or, later, the dis- patch of the German cruiser to Agadir, are more hkely in the end io yield to diplo- matic treatment than incidents with an ap- peal to racial sentiment. More especially where the French people are concerned, whose strong innate idealism, as history abundantly proves, renders them reckless of consequences once their sympathies are en- listed or pride wounded. A few days ago men whose business it is to watch events and foresee contingencies having international importance, were con- cerned principally with the symptoms indi- cative of the final break-up of the fine con-1 stitution which has enabled Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, to survive by tens of years all the monarchs in the world once contemporary with him. When a man, however exceptionally endowed in a physical sense, has passed his eightieth year, the tenure of life remaining to him must necessarily be short, and, rightly or wrongly, it has been assumed that the with- drawal by death of the tacLful rather than strong personality responsible for holding togetner the loosely-welded Empire of the Hapsbuigs will synchronise with a stormy and critical period in European politics. For, apart from unavoidable complications expected to arise from the removal of a steadying hand directed by a' mind which, has learned and sutiered much, the pre- ordained successor has not hitherto been distinguished by qualities inspiring confi- aenoe. But the Austrian Emperor has seemingly again fought. back the enemy- whose ultimate victory is ci-,i,tain-diftus-ing thereby a general sense of relief. Only, however, to see a peril to peace presenting itself in another direction. News has reached France faom Alsace-Lorraine I calculated to wound all Frenchmen to the qaick. The new Governor of the Provinoes which were French until 1871 is causing notices to be served upon individual French- men that th., permJUI" allowing them to reside in Alsace or German Lorraine which require renewal annually,will not be ren-ewed. or, in other words, that their expulsion has been decided upon. French subjects have in the immediate past been systematically discouraged in various ways from settling in the provinces, and during j the last year or two men of Alsatian or Lorrainer descant, who have served in the French Army, have been refused permits." The step now contemplated, however, goes much further. At a time of peace it en- forces a right usually reserved for a state ot war. The effect in France, predisposed bo j be morbidly tender in respect of the alienated provinoes, is naturally, threat. A demand for reprisals is lieing made, which ma p, in the course of days, gather suoh force that no Government will be, able to disregard it. Once com- mitted to such a measure. whether directe-d &zain-t t.he Germans in Paris, who number over 100 000, or the German popula- tion in areas of the frontier facing Germany, | France will find herself on a elippery slope leading to art abyss. By the treaty of Versailles, which ended the Franco-German war, the inhabitants of Alsace and the portion of Lorraine forcibly acquired by Germany as the fruits of vic- tory (together with an indemnity of >J<*J,OCO,(i(X)) were given a period of five years to decide whether they accepted Ger- man naturalisation or preferred to remain French. In the latter event they were com- pelled to move into France. An exodus on a large scale eris-ued in consequence. Even amongst the overwhelming majority who re- mained, reluctant to abandon homes and businesses and sever family and other &.11- sociations, French sympathies predominated. It is a reflection upon German statesman- ship that after nearly half a century's free scope for winning over to the Fatherland a people of Teutonic origin, there has been no marked change in Alsatian mentiment. It would now appear that, conscious of failure to conciliate, the German Govern- ment has decided to employ the d racoon ing methods alreadv tried with depressing results in Prussian Poland. For it is incon- ceivable that the new Governor is moving without the express sa-nction of the Kaiser and his advisers. The latter may believe that the Tiacification of the provinces is impeded bv the presence of French subjects, but the exclusion of the latter through an act tech- nically within the rights of the Imperial Government represents an extreme stPp hardlv ever taken by one civilised country against the subjects of another civilised country. In its incidence it must inflict in- jury and suffering upon the. 15.000 to 16.000 French people who have made their homes and built up businesses in Alsace or Ger- main Lorraine. It is tantamount to the en- forcement of war conditions against a sec- tion of the inhabitants forty-four years after war has ceased. Whatever justification might be urged for so severe a measure, as an act of domestic policy it is, nevertheless, unquestionably provocative, considered from the standpoint of France, where the conviction is strong and universal that, following upon the check suffered by Germany over Morocco, there have been sustained efforts in the latter coun- try to inflame public feeling by attacks upon French measures of defence at home, French foreign policy, the means alleged to be employed in recruiting German subjects for the French Foreign Legion in Algeria, and the treatment of such recruits. In other words, the intelligence of the German pur- pose to discriminate in cruel fashion against. French residents of Alsaoe and Lorraine reaches France at a time when the public minds is empoisoned against the authorities at Berlin, and when France, as a national entity, is more confident of power to resist an enemy from across the Rhine than ever be- fore since the debacle of the seventies. 8he has faith, not only in the trustworthiness, of alliances and understandings, but also in the strength of her own right arm. Herein lies the danger to peace. Should the ugly development synchronise ".ith a turn for the worse in the condition of a] ài4 of < formidable character is bound tcrresult. For it must not be forgotten that in consenting to be a party to the Treaty of Algecirag, and later in coming to terms with France— whereby the latter conceded compensations in Africa to her rival-Germany merely re- coiled from the consequences invited by her own challenge, and made the best of the bar- gain when worsted diplomatically. When tho test was applied the friends of France— influenced ag nations usually are by an intel- hgent selfishness-were found staunch and true, and the shaking effect produced upon German banks and industries by the with- drawal of French gold revealed a weakness \n the Teutonic armour for which no ade- quate allowance had been made. But the surrender of German aspiration in Morocco was an expedient rendered neces- sary by force of circumstances. It was never meant to be permanent or to exclude the hope of revival under more favourable conditions. The Congo is atar off, and of doubtful value Morocco is the nearest ter- ritory to Eivrope not definitely pegged out" for any particular country, and its possibilities are enormous, once effectively policed and railwayed, so that the natural resources, mineral and agricultural, may be developed in safety. German traders were beginning to t.alte a firm grip of the. North Africa that was neither British nor French, Idltil the Tanker visit of the Kaiser prema- turely precipitated evente and forced a settlement of doubtful matters under oondi- ti&ns unfavourable to Germany. j It would be doing a rank injustice to the persistence and purpose of German policy to imagine its resignation in perpetuity to an arrangement by which Britain in Egypt, Spain in the Riff Country, France in Algeria and Morocco, and Italy in the I Tripolitane, share North Africa to the entire exclusion of the Empire under the most pressing economic necessity to secure over- sea markets for the products of an industrial population increasing at an enormous rate. It is our misfortune that, regardless of the existence or non-existence of treaties, or the assumed limitations of friendly under- standings, we are deeply involved in any Franco-German quarrel that leads to blows. To stand aside wo'dd be a cowardly proceed- ing which would involve inevitably a ter- rible punishment later on. For a defeated FraJice would expose us unarmed and naked to the attack of the conqueror. There can be no vestige of reasonable doubt regarding that. France is steadily fastening her hold on the greater part of Morocco Spain, with hardly kss determination, is doing likewise with her share of the inheritance a-s a.PI)<)t' .tinned at Algeciras. The guns of the sol- diers drawn from the garrisons of Southern Spain are hardly ever silent in the region of CY-utvi and Tetuan facing the Rock of Gibraltar, where the Riffs, the most primi- tively savage of Northern Africans, are stubbornly contesting every furlong of ground. Further western, and almost within hearing of Tangier, the French Army of occupation 1b patiently engaged in over- coming the resistance of the rebellious tribes indisposed to accept the peace arranged with -the Sultan. For us there it, no more than a melancholy satisfaction to he derived from the know- ledge that of all European races the Moors prefer the British, and that the g;čtdU311 elimination of the latter to make room ior French and Spanish is sorrowfully deplored. But we have made our bargain definitely; bartering all rights in Morocco for a free hand in Egypt, so that no more on the point can profitably be said. In a sentimental sense there is occasion for regret in the sur- render of Tangier—once a British posses- sion, part of the marriage dowry of Charles II.'s Qu"en—and of equal opportunities for British enterprise in a land destined to be- come prolific in its yield; but, after all, we cannot expect to have our own way every- where, a-nd Egypt was worth the winning after the sacrifices there made. And there is the "Rock"—to the ancients one of the pillars of Hercules, the limit to the then known world-the key to the Medi- terranean, over which more than half our food supplies pass; the strategical doorway not only to the principal water passages of Europe. but also tO the Suez Canal, the shortest avenue to t East. Here, with a vigilance that is remixed neither day nor raght, Britain, symbolised by the flag flaunting in the breeze over the topmost height, sits astride thf seat of power. The guns, dimly seen on platforms blasted level from protruding ridges, or embowered and concealed in the boscage, command the ¡ Strait*. No fleet could force a passage in the day-time except at. a heavy price, and iJ. the night, the searchlights, in couples, play- ing incessantly on the dancing waters, bring into dazzling cot^spiouousness every craft, Whether peaceful merchant or lowering ship of war. This maritime fortress, provided by Nature and equipped by man—over £50,000,000 has been xpent by this country on the iortificaliong-7. ilk a dominating factor in any European war. involving Great Brit- ain. It bars the way to a junction of the fleets of the Triple Alliance, and is a. place of refuge and ippaip to British warships stricken in a naval fight- Its strategical value is beyond measure. In the waters that la'V- it nearly all the 1 O uenmng the worid's great naval actions .*iflu«Rcing the world's history have been fought. The "tideless sea" bore the craft w&jch, interlocked, de- tea mined in turn the fate of Phoenicia, Greece, Carthage, and Rome, and almost within reach of gunshot of the Rock the battles of Trafalgar and Cape St. Vincent were contested. To the travellers, con- templating from the deck of a P. and O. steamer, the affrighted shores," which in 1805 resounded with the roar of the muzzle-loaded guns of the "Victory" and her supporters, are peaceful as they are barren, revealed in the dazzling sunlight. But campaigns, whether on see or land, have their favoured cockpits—because of strate- gical reasons—and it is certain that if ever Triplioe" and "EnteníOe" oome to close grips these waters, famous for classical bat- tles, will again pyrvide the shifting stage for moving and ontical scenes, with the Rock" overlooking all as a mute but elo- quent and effective advocate for one side or Another.

Mr. Steel-Maitland,. the Chief Whin and I the director of the organisation of the Union- ist party, had every reason to be pleased with his visit to Neath. He saw and heard J' convincing evidence that the increasing at- j tention given to Waleq at headquarters is not only thoroughly appreciated by the stal- warts of the cause, but if also productive of a general quickening amongst the forces of Welsh Unionism. With leaders so open- handed &nd enthusiastic as Mr. Moore-Gwyn: and Mr. Theodore Gi-bbins, and a capable organiser in Mr. I. B. Rowlands, the ar- rangements could hardly fail to produce a good impression. The principal officers and workers in Mid-Glamorgan and adjoining constituencies were invited to meet the dis- tinguished visitor at ?i dinner given in the lecture hall of tib Conservative Club, > whfrre.awt>»inbeT of incisive addresses were given dealing- prnjwvil^ witlj WMt ;VIA,y be deemed the doinestic affairs of the party. Afterwards came a public meeting at the Gwyn Hall, crowded from floor to ceiling with just that sprinkling of an opposition required to enliven the proceedings and give the ready speakerusistance by interpola- tions to drive points home. Mr. Moore- Gwyn, the very embodiment of good nature, whose geniality and kind disposition lender him one of the best assets of the Unionist parly in South Wales, presided. A resolu- tion affirming confidence in the Unionist lea- ders, and endorsing their policy in regard to the Irish Home Rule Bill and the Welsh Disestablishment Bill was moved by Lord Dynevor in a speech compact with telling points, and seconded by Mr. Theodore Gib- bins, who was particularly happy in show- ing how Trades Unionists supporting the Government policy were betraying the prin- ciples which they professed to uphold. Mr. Stee1 Maitland spoke for an hour, traversing with power and effect the whole programme of the Coalition policy. The in-1 •terruptions, which he invited by his interro- gative method of argument, were turned to good purpose; in fact, the best "hits" of the evening were scored by means of ready retorts to interpolated cries. His summing up of the case for the Ulster Protestants, who, he reminded the dissentients, were mainly Nonconformists like themselves, in dread of a rule that would be equally ob- jectionable to Welshmen, reduced to silence even the most clamant of the hecklers. In point of race, sentiment, religion, tradition I —all the attributes of a distinct people— the Ulstermen were entitled to claim con- I tinued association with the peoples of Eng- land, Scotland, and Wales, and security from passing under the control of the Na- tionalists of the South-West, with whom they had nothing in common. The Colonial example, he argued with conviction, testified, evervwhere against the Honk Rule Bill, since the latter was di- rectly contrary to the grouping together of provinces which was the distinguishing feature of the policy pursued in Canada,, Australasia, and South Africa. Liberalism, which used to pride itself upon the support yielded to small nationalities, as in the cafe. of Greece, Italy, Poland, the Transvasl. and the Balkan Principalities, was falsifying its pretensions in ignoring the right of Ulster to determine its own fate politically. When the time came for clinching 'the culminating argument prepared for so logically, even the opposition forebore to interrupt and im- ported no sound of discord into the ringing applause which greeted the speaker, indicat- ing how effective bad been his reasoning, and when the resolution was put to the meeting only between forty and fifty hands went up against, suggesting that the volume of sound raised by the opposition was altogether out of proportion to the numerical strength of those responsible for it. Mr. Villiers Meager, who proposed a N-ote of thanks to Mr. Steel-Mai tland and Lord Dynevor, was *'on the inark tl!a-oughout, and has rarely, if ever,, been more effective tha.t Unionist veteran, Mr. H. P. Charles, who seconded, hit out in John Bull fashion, scoring heavily with the challenge, If the Government believed, as the dissentient* present professed to believe, that the majority of,the electors were of their way of thinking, why the ieal- to test public opinion either by means of a General Elec- tion or Refei-e-zidxilzi." A few words from Mr. A. F. Eden, and Mr. W. M. Roberts, Briton Ferry, followed by the singing of the National Anthem, brought to a close a nutt- ing oi a character quite inconceivable even 1 a few years ago at Neath. Truly the tide of Unionism is rising in Wales. Swansea harbour whether for April or the first four of 1914, do not providki cheerful reading. The best that can be said for them is that thuy are quite as good as those for Cardiff and Port Talbot, and only a shade worse than Newport's. In a, word, the decline has been general in the Bristol Channel ports. For Swansea special circumstances mly be pleaded. A succesNon of mild winters on the Continent has starved the demand for (x)al nthracit-e especially. And by way of comfort there is the opinion of good judges that an improvement has set in which is likely to be sustained. Also the demand for patmt, fuel is on the up- grade. So that altogether the aggregate for Swansea during 1914 is not expected to t'all appreciably below that for 1913. But the most sanguine are not bold enough to predict an actual increase. Tinplate trade shipments are perplexing, They show sub- stantial increases compared with those during the corresponding period of last year, despite the stoppage of mills on a, consider- able scale and the accumulation of heavy stocks in the warehouses. Hopeful, not- withstanding figures calculated to depress." is a tolerably accurate diagnosis of the spirit prevailing just, now in local commercial circles.

The Toronto correspondent of "The Times" draws attention to a serious if in- tangible Imperial 'question which vitally concerns the future of the Emoire. He points out that we can no longer with solid reason in fact "regard Canada as bound by historic tradition, by long association, by common interest and common sentiment to the Mother Country." Theite ruled, he re- marks, when the population was to a dom- inant extent English and French Canadian in its composition, hut through the enor- mous inflow of immigrants new conditions appear and new problems demand considera- tion." He questions whether the new and alien elements that have been introduced into Canada so recently as since the South African war can be moulded into a common devotion to the Empire, and whether they will never be attracted by the vision of an independent Canadian Republic. An an- alysis of the last census follows and the figures are instructive. Recently it was pointed out that in New York State and city the Anglo-Saxon American element and language stand for one-fifth of the polyglot peoples in that district and city. Much the same mixing and adulteration of the British stock is occurring in Canada. Of a. population of 7,206,600 people, there are 1.820,000 English, 1,050,000 Irish and 997,000 Scotch. The French Canadians numbered 2,050,000 and were thus individu- ally the strongest of the many people that make up Canada. There were 393,000 Ger- mans; 129,000 Auatro-Hungarians 55,000 Dutch 45,000 Italians 75,000 Jews; 76,000 Russians and Poles; 107,000 Scandinavians and lesser numbers of Belgians, Bulgarians, Roumanians, Swiss, Greeks, Hindus—some 39,000 Asiatics in all--ancl last, but not ieast, mainly in Saskatchewan and Alberta, we have between "00,000 and 500,000 people who have come over from thi United States, chiefly perhaps of foreign origin, who, with the bulk of immigrants from Europe, moat profoundly affect conditions in Western Canada. They have no natural loyalty to Great Britain, no enthusiasm for the British Empire, no inherited conception of British ideals. Even now the French and foreign elements nearly balance the population Of British origin* ] alistS and, dmroted Canadians, but they are not generally favourable to closer political co-operation with the Mother County. Dur- ing the war in South Africa the attitude of the French Canadians closely resembled that- of the Irish Nationalists." Other dangerous factors named are the Americanisation of Canadian games, and the enoimons circulation of American news- papers, magazines and periodicals in Canada. These naturally give little space to British news; and such intelligence as concerns affairs of the Mother Country is usually varped and biassed, a caricature of tho facts, ooloured to suit the Anglophobia still widespread—even rampant in some circles— in the States. Then in addition there are the affiliation of Canadian labour organisa- tions to the American bodies, the influx of American citizens, skilled workmen, and a fairly general affinity to American institu. tions, customs, movements and outlook. The correspondent continues Canada and the United States have common tradi- tions and common institutions, a common language and a common faith. They are I se parated for hundreds of miles by an in, visible boundary. Into the Dominion pour I multitudes who will quickly develop a Canadian patriotism. What attitude will they take towards Great Britain and the Empire 1- What will be the ultimate effect of Lloyd George teaching on Democrats in Canada ? At the moment it is not whole- some. It may become dangerously divisive and destructive. One catches a new note now and again. As yet we are all passive Imperialists. But there are elements in Canada to which an appeal against Im- perialism can be made, and who know no Mother Country.' The mass of active and aggressive Imperialists in Canada sympathise j with Ulster. It :-q they who have kept tlhip, flag flying' in North America. Will they 6, as active if Ulster is forced under a Dublin Parliament by Imperial Ministers!" In Imperial matters this country is fatally liable to be swayed by sentiment; and such sentiments as we are most familiar. with, expressed in glowing periods in after- dinner oratory, take little heed of the facts assembled above. If allusion is made at all to the highly composite nature of the popu- lation of the New Canadi-where, as in America-, there are large distriet.s wher", English is not understood of the people-it., is to dismiss the implied peril as illtision- ary. The "Anglo Saxon" legend hal1 grip- ped the imagination of. people upon this side of the Atlantic; but it is a matter of historical fact that it has counted for little in Anglo-American relation. w bien were at their worst when the Anglo-Saxon stock in the United States was purest, and which have to a certain extent modified for the better with the vast, silent changes that have transformed the American people into an amalgam of the chief peoples and races <;>1 Europs. In Canada a similar procei-t: of amaigama- tion is at wfcrk; and as a new national sen- timent grows up in the rllien immigrants it is apt to be fervently "Canadian." "Canad- ian" does not necc-saarilv imply "British: it present there is no Canadian co-npeiatiori with Britain in such problems as those, of Imperial defence. And it may well lie a task of great difficulty in the future to create the sentiment desiring and authoris- ing that co-operation., It is entirely an open question whether. Canada is to remain nominally within the Empire or drift away from it, whatever we may do to I'stablid! a bond stronger than that existing to-day. i The time may not be remote when the peo- plo of these islands, who would have grave and weighty responsibilities even were there no Dominion.-?, niav have to consider to what extent it is desirable they should vv taken t.heiv resources by building up nation* tÜat: no part nor 1nt in their fcurdiris and dangers.

A Swansea Socialist eayr the. railway- men's damand* will keep on increasing Until the State takes them over. But wo.n't. they increase still snort ^Jhen ?

Is it to be straw hats or what? Oirv rates are coming down. So are onr harbour returns. It's bad luck to trip over a psnviuent bucket on Monday. '-< -< >- If water ip costing Swansea a 10id. rate what would whisky run to? Ski-cycling at Mount PleasMit iM proving I a harvest to the bootmaker*. The Marconi and land-tax officials allu- sions made the hits at Neath last night.  -< t  < ?<  -<  -<  SwaifseA millers are "grinding away for an advance. They do not expect a stone. "There's One who locks after our Church beyond all your politicians." -( Alderman Cfcarlee at Neath.) Was it force of habit that caused the man to leave his two youngsters on the steps out- side the Free Library while he went inside I for a book? A municipal reception, followed by a dance, is to figure in the progTÆtmme" for the Bath and West of England Show at the end of May. 4> t>-4. Mr. J. Williams, M.P., is a stickler for his daily walking exercise. Nothing is allowed to interfere with this. Model father as he is he walks for hours. A prick in the. thumb from a thorn, that set up blood poisoning, left a Carmarthen- shire fauiilv of a widow and nano children destitute of the breadwinner. One of the inspectors at the meeting of tihe Swansea Group of School Miaaiagera on Monday addressed the chairman and the members a* Your worships." -<<>-<!>-< ? < Amongst those present at St. Mary's Par- ish Churoh on Sunday was a g-eaitlematt from the West Indies. The Church, it is plead- ing to note, is thriving out there. +- A Swansea man oornplains cf a local f laundry being too attentive in the marking 01 his oollars. The latent, representation ia remint of mil way ijnes. < Ub*iral gfntle here to- of f. Ulster Volunteers are your brothers in religion?" —(Mr. Villiers Meager at Neath.)' » "I have been asked What yould yon put the average wage of a clergyman in Wales? I should put it at half the amount that the Liberal members of Parliament, voted to themselves as a salary. "—(Lord Dynevor at Neath.) People in Neath and District who are politicians, and people who are not. find themselves in complete agreement regarding the verdict that Mr. Moore-Gwyn is "one I of the best." The editor of the "Western Mail" was amongst the visitors to the Neath political demonstration on Monday evening. If he I had only dyed his hair he would probably have been refused admission on the score of extreme juvenility. The adagio from the Sonata Pathetique (on the organ) followed the "Mulligan Mus- keteers" at the Gwyn Hall, Neath, last night. It was a musical mixture reminis- cent of roast beef and strawberry jam— sounding indigestible. Captain Henneage has not missed a single engagement devolving upon him as chair- man of the Swansea Conservative Associa- tion. He was with the Swansea contingent that greeted the Chief Party Whip at Neath on Monday evening. Mr. J. Williams, M.P.. has been ap- pointed on Standing Committee "B" of the House of Cominonc in the room of the late Mr. Harvey (Chesterfield). This wil! neces- sitate Mr. Williams' attendanpe from 11 a.m. three or four days a week. An artist who was staying in Mumbles! recently sent a boy to aol, his father. a picturesque old fisherman, if he would sit for him. The lad returned few minutes later to say that his father stated hs was a fisherman, not a bl?sstd old hen." < t "JI. The Unionist Whip gave every encourage- ment, to the Liberals present at the Neath meeting. They were so helpful in driving j points home. And, besides, only amongst the unconverted can a harvest b, reaped. Preaching to the converted is equivalent to pushing against an open door. The Swansea hairdressers a-re in for earlier hours of closing, and regular patron, en leading the notice, commented harshly on it. But the barber pleaded, We want fresh air, sir." "Bv jove, that r^miiwls me "et. nw have a bottle of that stuff you recommend, for 1. too, i-iiiiit. some fresh hair. < t ..>-t- A West Croas gentleman, who prides him- self on hi" garden, arrived heint- the other day to find his little baby daughter seated on. the path by a much-prized rose tree, tlxo buds of which sh e. was plucking and biting in two. On seeing her father the tiny tot gleefully exclaimed. Nuts, daddy Paddy pick,id her np, and said never a word. When the excitement had passed away he comniunt'd with himself thus To have the hat blown off one's head is a clit-erflil experience, aud after a stern c h a* to ar- rive ju«it in time to ,eee it disappear under the w heels of a passing ooal-cart' is not pro- vocative. of joyous mirth. But it is after- wards, when l'suk boys jeer at one as being a "no hat crank, that one. -e6" I'd." c:> f This ir real musical enthusiasm for you! At half-past nino on Su'iday morning two! dripping wayfarers' knocked at the door ei a Carmarthenshire yjja. inr. requesting J broa?f?b- P;ol -t,ire4 fami8hed, they had been tY'?'n?iu? t?" lonely country 1"oadl'l 'I ir. torre'mt of rah), since haU-pd8t four. The night 'K-loro they h.,d HLt.?:ded -m eisteddfod in the country Li"nn., and had apparently (-spent the night. in a barn. At half-past nine they had stilj good four | walk ic iron*- ()t.IfII, j" sopping i tain, 'to Cwmgom». We read of The Lightning Train." Striking! ?-  <  -< t -<t  Appropriate for a Swansea tailor to be "Snipper. The sun-biinds were down on Saturday morning—for the rain. Local bookiea are suffering from the monetary assaults of puuters. Good old Fiw Trade. Fifty tinplate mills are idle. :t Swansea building trades just now are full of Oliver Twists. Everybody's wanting more. .4$ The western miners had another demoa- st ration last Saturday—the workings of a new safety lamp. It waa bound to come. A boy has bee* seen roller-skating on the new roads neal the Swansea Guildhall. The Swa.n; new trainer-manager is Mr. John William Bartlett. We can sec thii merging into "Our John Willie." A Pontardawe gentleman hae what he con- siders an excellent recipe for growing sweet peas, vie., boiling the seeds for two hours. The Swansea Tramways Band, thanks to good conductorship and an encouraging management, is going to make a name fo. itself. The members of the Llanguicke Parish Council are arranging for a motor trip to Carmarthen. Of course, they pay fot" it themselves. YCI..T9" A miniature steam roller is at work on the construction of new road surfaces at- Swansea. The wheels are no bigger tbaa those of a garden roller. In honouring a Swansea man by re-elect- ing him as their president the Licensed Vic- tuallers' Association decide to be 'T»rr'd'M again with the same brush." To judge by the opening matches, the bowlers oi South Wales clubs are not going to improve thefir averages on the occasion of meeting the Swansea batsmen. The sight in the main streets of Swansea on Sunday night of a gar.g of youths, from sixteen to eighteen years of lg-, making "sport" of a poor imbecile croatnre provided food for retlection. The amilec of the umbrella dealers iust now are positively maddening to the straw hat vendors. The latter are still stick ng to their gang, ai-.d their window displays remind OB tiat summer is well, com>n«:, Aakftd if Irt- intended to be pfftSect St. a ?Womef)'? SAiii i-age at. ?ea? tt? oti^r evemng, .tnbIi ft &- .??-? ¥';)I.I", I-'t:r" arf t understand." Quite aln<hi, wasn't it-? The Roman spectacle Sim, tSpartacus." which wi^s at Sw*m>ea three weeks ago, if being boomed this week at Cardiff. Ahw* tewe generally gets there first, and the locsf picture-halls this wevk have the same at- tractions that are being "featured" in the big London cinemas. -< 4>0 The meetings of the Lumguicke Parish Council, Swansea Valley, are always con- ducted in Welsh, i -,id when the presence of a "Post" representative was observed at Saturday night's meeting, the question was asked, Is he a Welshman? "—The Clerk: Yes.—And everything went on swimmingly. After a miserable morning the ,.uu viinie out late on Sunday afternoon. It had to, to make anything of a chow with the Swan. sea Tramways Band donning their new uni- forms for the first time. The Mumbles Pier audience hardly knew which to enthuse over the most, the rig-out" or the won- derfully improved playing of the band. Mr. Rex Whittington, ot Neath, has com- posed a waitz entitled "Rays of Dawn," which is published by Messrs. Swan and Co., of Great Marlborough street, London. It is a sprightly and tuneful composition, and should win considerable popularity. Mr. Whittington is engaged upon a number of other works, and the character' of "Rays of Dawn" premises well for their saocess. It is an omen of ,the increased interest taken in Wal es at Unionist headquarters that Mr. Steel Maitland, the very capable Chief Whip, speaks at Neath this evening, and is to remain—not inactive we may be sure—over Wednesday. Party leaders are evidently taking a new measure of the Prin- cipality, judging by the calibre of the epcakers who have been coming hare m re- cent months. Can anyone explain the almost complete absence of whistling by boya in Swansea? Is it that the modern boy is more "growu up" than previous generations, or that in this part of the country a boy is mere of a vocalist than a eifReur'; Perhaps the "hus- tle and bustle" oi the age has even per- meated the ranks of the juveniles, or tbey realise the utter imporsibility of competition with the present street noises—the boots, whistles, howls, squeaks, groans, grunts, not to mention the concertina-like orchestration attached to HGme motor-cars. However, the fact remaint1 that the happy, irresponsible whistling boy has gone. 00 Miss Margaret Ashton, who is to speaik at the Cnitaaripn Church, Swansea, on Monday, ie a'sister of Lord Ashton, a sister-in-law of Lord Bryce. late British Ambassador at Washington, and niece of that great and good U ni taria n philanthropist, the late William Rathbcne, M. P., of Liverpool, at whoa-; initiative and under wh ose jjuidaac* the Queen Victoria District Nursing was started. Miss Ashton is 17-erself a ketin social worker, and a m-ember of the Man- chester City Council. Sh* has done pioneer work in establishing lodging-houses for working women in that city, and now that. they ;.re managed by the municipality, the City Council lve called them "The Ash- ton Houses." after her name. < < Fond mother enters Sketty car, carrying hev restless, squalling progeuy, and after seat- ing herself opposite an elaborately adorned icnut," proceed s without any eppearanoe of embarrassment to attempt pacification of har offspring by the admimstratitm of the hcteal panacea of all infantile ills, from tt bottle. Afetr repeated attempts to apply this remedy for the subjugation of the rebel." the poor mother, at last exasper* *ited, shook up h-r infant,, and seemed to completely overawe the iiuTn4n atom by threatening to rand over the whole goodwill and fixtures ot the bottle to the gentlt- opposite. The mere contemplation of such w h;:ppeuing caused the young baut to berrt a hastj and undignified re-