South Wales Weekly Post

T. WELSH MINERS EXECUTIVE. ITS RECORD IN THE WAR. LONDON NEWSPAPER'S SCATH- ING INDICTMENT. A correspondent of the Morning Post writes :-In the recent W ages Agreement strike the Government—and Mr. Lloyd George mote actively than any other mem- ber of it-o-ave the South VVallea miners practically all that they demanded. It has now got its rewara. The boast OF .NII*. iu- atone that we a.re the most free country under Heaven is quite a delicious piece of irony. In tho South Wales coalfield iu- dustrial freedom does not exist. The tyramiy of the Federation makes it almost impossible for any miner to obtain a liveli- hood except under the condition of mem- bership of that body, and of servile acqui- escence in its decisions, how over ra.8ih or "wrong they may be. But the chief com- ment I wish to make on these speeches and writings on the threats of a strike which they bait very thiniy veil is that which will be conveyed by a bald record of the principal executive acte of the South Wales Miners' Federation since the beg.imung of the war. In many senses the rank and file of the workmen have been patriotic m the highest degree. They have enlisted in their tens of thousa.nds. I do not believe any other industry has contributed a larger per- centage of its eligible men to the Army, and the service which the miners have rendered at the front lias maintained the highest traditions of the old Welsh regiments. But I am concerned with the acts of the leaders m their organised collective capacity, and not with thoee of the majority of the work- men. and this has been their record. A Bad Start. -1 I Vil XJ.UJJIX9D LSI,, LIley reuiseu W \;1.HU- ply with a request of the Admiralty agents at Cardiff to recommend the miners to cut their holidays short and resume work on the Tuesday after the August Moraiay Bank Holiday. The needs of the Navy were urgent and imperative, and when Mr. Wiiwrt-on Churchill, then First Lord, heard of this decision, he immediately wired a direct appeal to them to reconsider it. They did reconsider it on the morning of Rank Holiday, but only to reaffirm it and to ad- vise the men to rema.in idle till the follow- ing Thursday. Breaking the Truce. i JI A. week later, however, they showed, a slight- spark of loyalty—but at the price of extra wages—by agreeing to recommend the men to work an extra hour per day and to the observance of a truce over labour dis- putes, and for three months operations in the coalfield were Il.g peaceable as they were in the other big industries in which a truce had been iecla,red between Capital and Labour. In December, however, the first step was taken in a, movement which not only de- stroyed the truce but also led eventually to the strike of last July, for in December, 1914, the Executive Council of the South Wales Miners' Federation by resolution called upon the Executive Committee of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain to take into consideration the question of general wage -igreement". In the national interest the railway workers and the transport workers had agreed to defer their pre-war programmes till peace had been re-esta.b- lished. That was the only loyal course for the miners to have followed, but they took the other course, and on April 1 they handed in the three months' notice which on June 3C terminated the old Wages Agreement. In March last the war-bonus wages boom was on. During that dispute South Wales was the chief driving force in. the struggle for a uniform national advance against the employers' offer to deal with the demand locally. In the end the Government found local sectional treatment to be the only prac- tical method of settlmg the amount of the war bonus but the Executive Council of the South Wales Miners' Federation went so far in their opposition to that plan as to carry to national conference a resolution in favour of a national strike and the immediate service of a 14 days' notice to that end. A Pladge, Again, w hen m June the crisis over the new W age Agreement became acute, the coal- owners placed themselves in the hands of the Government, believing that, that methcd would he the HIt likely to preserve peace, but the Executive Council of the South Wales Federation deliberately refused to allow the control of their case to pass out of their hands and unceremoniously rejected a scheme for a temporary settlement euggested by a Department of the State. In the House of Commons on Julv 1 Mr. Steph en Walsh. speaking on behalf of the Executive Council of the Miners' Fede- rahm, pledCTed the miners oi the country to a solemn obligation not to allow anv strike to talce place in any of the coalfields of the country. The miners were excluded from the Munitions Bill on the strength of that pledge, and the bargain r-described by Mr. Walsh as a bargain with the nation and j its Government. n- That Was Dishonoured. That solemn pledge, however, the leaders of the South Wales miners repudiated; on June 30 they refused to accept the Govern- ment terms of settlement except as a basis of negotiation; on July 15 they rejected more favourable but still unsatisfactory terms and entered on the strike which lasted till July 22; in August they threatened an- other strike on the bonus turn question; &nd ended the dispute with such a.n interpre- tation of one of its clauses as to make the position of Lord St. Aldwyn as Independent a,, I t h leave him Chairman impossible and thus leave him with no alternative but to resign a seat which he had held since 1904. These are the antecedents of the executive body of a Trade Union which now, without i knowing the facts. and in the presumption of a superior knowledge as to what are the needs cf the State than that possessed by the Government, is fomenting trouble in the coal-mining industry over the question of military sev; It will be seen that it has exalted its own interests above those of the country at almost every turn, and that its whole policy has been a persistent menace to that unity which is so essential to the suc- cessful prosecution of the war.

POPULAR YOUNG LADY. I Large Attendance at Mumbles Funeral. The funeral took plaoe at Oystermouth Cemetery on Monday of Miss Lettie Tucker, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. H. Tucker, Woodville-roa.d. Mumbles. Miss Tucker, who was in her nineteenth year, was of a parti- cularly bright and amiable disposition, and her early death will be very keenly felt by a. large circle of fnends. and acquaintanoee. Especially will she be missed at the Mumbles Baptist Church, where she was a valued Sun- day school teacher and a hard worker. Pre- vious to the interment a special service, which was very largely attended, was held in the Mumblee Baptist Church. Deceased's -1 i-U < t\ labourite hymns were sung, amu uo: oe&<i Illwrch in Saul" was played by Mr. W. Broadhurst. The Rev. Lister Gaunt officiated, and also oomdifoted the last sad rites at the cemetery. The principal mourners were Mr. and Mrs. P. S Tucker (father and mother), )tiaa MH? tlda. Tucker (Mater), Privates La nrie and Archie Tucker (brothers', Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Smith, Rev. W. Leyshon, Mr. Bert Wchards (deceased's fiance), Mrs, and Miss Nelly Andrews, Mr. Chris. Davies (uncle). Mr. apd Mrs. Roa«h. amd Mrs. E. Tucker. Floral tributes were received from "Mam and Dad." "Laurip, Archie and Hilda," Grandpa and Grandma Katie and Evan," Our Sunday School, Capt. ana Mrs. Bugt and Family, "Three SC{)uts," Auntie Nell and Uncle George," Uncle Ted," "Floss lkkd Myrtle," Uncle Chris. and Auntie May," Mise Nellie Andrews, The Postmaster and Staff • at Swansea General Post Office," Mrs. Sherlock, Mrs. C. Htandish. Poily and Lily Tucker, Mrs. and Miss Pinch, Mrs. Roderick aDd Tony, Mrs. Wood, Bert," Miss Doris Way. Mrs. Delve, Miss Maslen and her Sun- day School Class," Mab and Bee Cooke and Little Donnie," «• Doris May, Nellie and Trevor jarnes," Miss Florrie Thomar, Miss Violet Booth, Mrs. Davey and Fa.rr, (Bournemouth Yille), Gert, Mab, and Vic Maslen, Unele Jiro and Auntie Mag," Dulcie and Gordon," Mr. James Harries and Family. Mrs. Hewitt ..nd Mrs. Beynon, Miss Annie Evans (Sketty). Irene and mSl<e Arthurs, Cousins Ethel and Ona," Mrs. E. Tucker and Miss Cicely Deare. There was a. very large attendance at the cemetery, and a special vehicle was required to convey the flowers sent. i

SWANSEA ELECTRICITY WORK. CHANGES AT THE CENTRAL AND UPLANDS STATIONS. At, Thursday's meeting of the Swansea j Electnic Lighting Committee, Alderman Devonald in the chair, the Electrical En- gineer (Mr. J. W. Burr) reported that s ince i,h(A last report 27 new applications for supply had been received. Since the last meeting, Messrs. Young and leldham had joined his Majesty's forces, whilst Mr. A. H. R. Tregaskes had given up his pupilage and left the works. In view of this he (the Engineer) had been obliged to reorganise the staff. The Committee adopted a recommenda- tion of the Engineer to &ell the engines and dynamos at the works known as Nos. 1 and 2 sets, and to take one of the rotaries from the Uplands sub-station to the works, and that the feeder pillars at the Hospital, and Kiing Edward's-road be connected by means of a feeder. The Uplands sub- station could then be shut down and the pressure at Uplands maintained from the works. The cost of the alteration would be about P-IM, and the removal of the engines would leave sufficient space for the installa- tion of a 3,000 kiJowat turbine. The Engineer said that the change would be of benefit to the staff, who were now working very long hours. It was further reported by the engineer that great difficulty had been experienced in obtaining fittings and apparatus for the showrooms in Wind-street on account of all the electrical firms being engaged on muni- tion work. However, he was of opinion that sufficient ma.te.-ial would be obtained justify the opening of the showrooms on or after the 24th inst. It was agreed to have a public opening. I

A GENERAL ELECTION? SWEEPING MANDATE EXPECTED. The political correspondent of the "Daily Mail" says :-The situation is again re- garded in political circles as very seirious, and the decision of the Trades Union Con- gress ha.s again made a general election very probable. Most members of Parliament on Thursday night expressed themselves averse from an election, and it is a cilrious commentary on the Laboni- decision that all of them think tiiere is a vast majority in favour of com- pulsion. It is thought that the Govern- ment may take advantage of this knowledge > to obtain the sweeping mandate of the country and so dispose of the criticism to which' it is now being subjected. The Government will have to face the position j quickly, but no Cabinet has yet been sum- moned. There are known to be some members of the Government who already believe that a general election is not only inevitable W- j al so tbe best solution of the present diffi- culties.

I WITNESS ABSENT. INQUEST ON GOWER LIFE- BOATMAN. I JERSEY MARINE PROCEED- INGS ADJOURNED. Mr. Lewis M. Thoma.s held an inquest at the Poli,F, Station, Jersey Marine, on JTues- day afternoon, oonceiming the death of Geo. Harry (45), one of the throe Port Eymon life- boatmen drowned in the recent disaster. The other two bodies have not yet been recovered. Mr. F. Le Boulanger, secretary of the Life- boat Institution, and Lieut.-Commander P. Maclean, R.N.R., district inspector of life- boats, were present. The opening was delayed by the absence of George Eynon, who war, to have given evi- dence of identification. It was stated that there was no Gower 'bus running that after- noon. Other witnesses summoned were Maud Amos, who found the body; P.O. James Lloyd, who removed it, and Dr. Samuel, Skewen, as showing the cause of death. Mr. Edwin John was the foreman. William Harry (brother), Bridge House, near Ammanford, a labourer at Pantyffyn- non Colliery, "aid he was the only brother he had leit. He had not seen him for four vears. He had seen blood coming out of his ears. He knew the body was that of his bro- ther, as he (deceased) had marks on three fingers caused some years ago. Deceased had four children—two boys and two girls. He had buried one. Re was a farm labourer. Maud Amos (15\. Ashgrove House, Jersey Marine, said she found the body between the Jersey Beach and Baldwin's on Wednesday morning. Witness was picking sticks on the beach when she saw the body at v.50, lying on its back. She reported the matter to P.O. Lloyd. Mr. Boulanger: Did he have a lifebelt on? Witness: Yes, sir. P.O. Lloyd, stationed at Jersey Marine, spoke to receiving information from the last witness at 8 a.m. that a body was lying on the "beach. Witness described the position of the body, which was about 200 yards east of Baldwin's Tinworks. Deceased was lying on his back, and had a yellow oilskin coat with Lifeboa.t" inscribed on each shoulder. There was a brown lifebelt around the body underneath the coat. George Eynon identi- field the body the tame afternoon as being that, of his brother-in-law. A pipe, tobacco pouch, knife and handkerchief was on the body. Dr. D. Samuel, Skewen, said there were no marks of violence on the body with the ex- ception of a cut on the ieft ear and a few abrasions on the left side of the face. The Coroner: What was the cause of death? Witntss: Clearly drowning. He wAs a strongly built man?—Aes, a. very well-buiit man. Just the sort of man for the work he did?- xew. eb. Important Witness Absent. At this stage enqutrxM were mads respect- ing George Eynon, t.he police at N,tb%l Port Eynon being communicated with. The Coroner said probably he was ill, and he could not see how they could proceed fur- ther without him. A mesnage was received from Port Eynon. stating Ahat Eynon bad misunderstood the place ai d waa at home. Arrangements for the burial have beeu made bj Mr. F. Le Boulanger. The body was arranged to be conveyed from Jersey Marine to Port fyloli on Friday for interment at, the latter place, Mr. D. G. Phillips having the ar- rangements in hand.

A DIFFERENCE WORTH SAVING, Mr H. W. Forster, Financial Secretary to the WaiT Office, in a non-oral answer to a question by Mr. (lough. M-Py as to the relative cost of married and smgle soldiers, says that an approximate esti- mate of the average cost of separation allowances for the dependants of 1,000 marned men is JE870 a week, and for the dependants of 1,000 single men is 2267 a week. Asked if it vMts possible to grant weekly allowances to the bona<-fide depen- (Iants of unmarried men on the same as those paid to married men, Mr. Forst,e,r says that he could hold out no hope of any alteration in the allowances to -^oefdants.

I ALL IN KHAKI BY NOW. DEBATE ON COMPULSION BILL. A fine robust speech from Mr. Duke started the debate in the Commons on Thursday (sa.ys the "Da.ily Mail" Parlia- mentary correspondent). He pharply chal- lenged those who had a.rgued that this Com- pujsion Bil- would split the unity of the country. "These ?ho ?re not wi?i WI are agaiinst. us." lie exclaimed. "Those who are not going to help the Government are going to help the enemy." Tho Ko-Compulsionists protested, but Mr. Duko pursued them relentlessly. "Then what a.re they going to do?" he demanded, and was only m&t with cries of "Old Bai- ley." Sir John Simon's figures were exam- ined keenly, and Mr. Duke rebuked bis old colleague at the Bar for "making a showy argument founded upon the use of isolated figures" and ignoring the effect of the figures as a whole. But the handling Sir John received im. this speech was mild in contract with the rrcea sure meted out to I -,in Lv his late Cabinet confrere, Mr. Herbert, Samuel. "My right hon friend s figures do not bear a. moment's consideration,' said Mr. Samuel, who is an acknowledged master of statistics. The bluntness of the remark Ather startled the House, and Sir John was hurriedly fetched in for his statistical funeral. Mr. Samuel Steadily and remorselessly I battered down Sir John's harriers ofreruge. No one was able afterwards to set Humpty Dumpty on the wall again, though Mr. Leif tried hi hardest, in the succeeding speech Even Mr, J, M. Robert.san. the cold, precise logiciaji. daserted him. He admired some of his arguments, but showed them to bp far from flawless, and supported the Bill. Mr. Percy Alden prophesied strikes and an inconclusive peace if the Bill parsed, bas- ing his opinions on the attitude of the work- ing classes, which he lamented that he could not. explain. A refreshing enti&te to these dolours W1U5! ftu'nixh?d by Colonel John Ward. H? used to be known as The Navv!es' M.P," Now he is their coloeiel. and a fine figure of I a soldier he made. Members flocked in to hear him. They stood three deep b?hmd the bar. He sha-tter?d the claim or the pre sent Trade Um,on Congj?ess to speak for organised 1,%bour, showing that a third to a haJf of the members of trade unions were in the trenches. In words of reaJ eloquence he reminded ns of the advantages we enjoyed from the "magnificent fact" of our island- isolation and claimed that this diid not lessen our responsibility towards those on the Con- tinent less fortunately situated in the fight for liberty. On the House of Commons lay the responsibility for bringing into line those whom he did not hesitate to describe as "sihirkers," and said he gave no mere grudg- ing support to the Bill. The speech was a tour de force and was loudly cheered. Mr. George Greenwood spoke steadily against the Bill, but declined to take the responsibility of voting against it. The view of Mr. Chancellor, a fellow-Liberal, was that the Bill would not hasten the end of the war. Then Mr. Hemmerde, one of the advanced young Liberal K.C. 's, surprised everybody Demanding conscription of the married I a.s well as the single. The voluntary sys- tem, he submitted, had yielded all the "real volunteers," and we had now no right to exploit the patriotism of those who could only come a.t groat personal sacrifice while j leavin g untouched those who chose to stay behina. I Colonel Ward's fine speech was later backed up by one of great fervour from i Mr. George Barnes, Labour member for I Glasgow, the new Privy Councillor. He l had come back from France the same morning only after a month's visit and [ his earnest declaration respecting the single men, We want tltese men," and his stories of his experiences made a great impression. The Prime Minister applauded him. I Mr. Balfour gave the positive assur- ance that there were no divisions of opinion in the Cabinet as to the absolute necessity of this Bill to the proper carry- ing on of the war. And why should the House trouble about the single men who had got no excuse, the only class affected by the Bill? There was no real division of opinion throughout the country. The division was then taken. The FiKu-es. For the Bill 403 Against 105 m ajorit-for 298

GIFT FROM THE STATES. FIFTY DOLLARS FOR WOUNDED SOLDIERS. KINDLY THOUGHT OF NEW JERSEY FOLK. The Mayor of Swansea has received the following letter from Mr. Joseph P. Barlow, the Secretary of the British Isles Relief gocuet-N, of Trenton, N.J., U.S.A., enclosing a subscription of £10 83. for tobacco, cigarettes, a.nd other comforts for the sick and wounded soldiers at Swansea. The Mayor has acknowledged, with many thanks, tins most generous and thoughtfvlil gi-f t — THE BRITISH ISLES RELIEF SOCIETY OF TRENTON, N.J. Treat-on, N. J December 24th, 1915. To the Mayor of Swansea, South Wales. Honourable Sir,—Enclosed please find cheque Ten pounds eight shillings, .equiva- lent of$50, payable to your order. This is a gift from the British Tales Relief of Trenton. N.J., U.S.A., sent for the purpose of purchasing tobacoo, cigarettes, and other comforts for the sick and wounded soldiers from the battle front who are confined in vour c it-Y hospital. We have s beady sent a. considerable sum of money to the Prince of W' ales' Fund now our society wish to do something for the gallant fellows who a.re sick and wounded, so we decided to send ?50 each to ten different hospitals in the Rrit'sh hIes. On mv request your hospital was named as one, arid not knowing the name of your hospital and the party in charge, and knowing that you could be closely associated with it, I made the cheque payable to your order (on behalf of the SoHefcy r have also mailed a cheque to the MayoT of Cardiff for tl-le same cause). We sincerely hope that our small o-ift will help to cheer the good fellows who have fought as bravely for the love and honour of their King and country, and that this terrible war wul soon beaded with victorv for Great Britain and her Allies, for w rsailise that they are fighting not, only for their own country but also the civilised world. Kindly have the proper authorities to acknowledge receipt of gift. Respectfully yours. JOSEPH P. BARLOW..Secretary. P.S.—Sorry. Mr. Mayor, that I have not the pleasure of knowing vour name, or even the name of your hOBpital I know you will excuse mf1 on that, account, and trust you will see that our wishes are carried out, Jos. P. Barlow.

STATIONERY COSTS YOU MORE. Most articles of stationery have increased in price sin-e the war. The dearth of amline dyes, according to a prominent manufacturer, means ihat. penny copying ink pencils will cost 4d., the w holesale] prices having quadrupled, while the 2d. pencil will oost 5d. or 6d. Blue and red pencils have doubled in price. HaJfpenny cedars are abnost unobtainable, Wh1, penny cedar pencils a.re 25 per c?nt. dearer. The small bottle of ink at piesenl g?d for a pe.nnv will ?on probably C05t lid. The ¡ Jap?n?&f RTe producing ?x?Lfent sub&titutM i for German stationery materials, and in sDitr, of the high freight to this country: pri'-es compare favourably with those Lobtaline-d by the Oevman manufacturers. (

I PREFERENCE FOR i Å LLIES, I FREE TRADE SHIBBOLETH VANISHES. ",I -? 11 u r 1 Lil Wlll LX: me atuwiae locally orman u. factarers, merchants, and shippers with re- gard to trade after the war? With a view of obtaining representative opinion on this much discarded and h-i?My c<?mpiex problem a representative of the ?'Da?iy Pcst'? in?rviewed Mr. T. P. Cook, President at the Swansea Chamber of Com- E aroe, on Wednesday. In --It probability," said Mr. Cook, "we shall depart from the old party shibboleth, I but to what extent, until the Government proposals are put before the community, it is imp.os&bl to for?ca?t. That aLMethiag will ha.v? to be dcn-3 is evident, and all parties eeem agreed tna.t preferential treatment should accorded to our Allies on the one hand, and that restrictive conditions should I be imposed upon enemy oountries on the other. Where We were Misled. "Evidence seems to be accumulating that Germany for years, by what was sup- posed to be nothin.g more nor less than peace- ful commerodal enterprise, was all the time penet.ratin.g the eommercial. life of- the nations, acquiring valuable sources of sup- port with a view, as is now realised, of a much more commercial expansion, namely world-wide domination. "The Association of Chamber's of Com- merce meet in London on February 29th for the express purpose of formulating a. series Of recommendations t-o the Oorernment, with a view of curtailing German and Austrian activity in neratral inaikets in the future. Some of these proposals have been circulated amongst Chambers. Many of them are such as r.an be accepted without hesitation. Others are so drastic as to give rise to great. differences of opinion, and are unlikely to my mind to be carried into effect. It is a welcome sign, however, that the Government itself realises the importance of the position, and hae*already ha.d experts working upon this complex question for some time past, notwithstanding the preoccupa tion of everyone concerned with the prose- cut-ion of the war. The intention is, after the meeting in London in February, to &eek an interview with the Premier and lay the proposals which wåU be agreed t> after decision before him. Voles of the Chambers of Commerce. Oil- thing is certain that the eonsidered opinion of Chambers of Commerce through- out the Kingdom will be utilised by the Government to a very large extent, and it 18, therefore, very desirable that every Cham- her should carefully exajrnu" aU these pro- posals in order that the. recognised organ of expression for f-ornmercial views, namely, the Association of Chambers of Commerce, may fully represent the careful considera- tion of tnose most closely affected through- out the country. The Swansea Chamber Pf Commerce will appoint representatives to this special meeting in February. The Swansea Cham- ber, at its next Council meeting, will con- sider the question of trade, and, if thought fit, wall forward any suggestion or represen- tation which they may come to, in order to .y ? if? to, in or d er to have some discussion at the special meeting of the Association of Chambers in London.'

————————— I I. UNTI__1917." 1 I KITCHENER'S REPORTED I PREDICTION. Lord Kitchener, on the occasion of his re- cent visit to Athens, repeated his prediction that the war will last for three years, accord- ing to a statement made for publication by M. Baluhchics, the Serbian Minister to Greece (says the Swiss correspondent of the Standard.") Lord Kitchener declared, says the Serbian diplomatist, that the preparations of the Allies will continue until the end of the second year of war, that is, until Aug-net, 1916, and that the third year of war, until the autumn of 1917, will be devoted to crush- ing the Germans and the Powers connected with them. M. Baluhchics added: "Perfect unity exists between the Allies regarding the Balkan cam- paign, which will not be abandoned; Lord Kitohener gave the most definite assurances on this point. England and France will give us all th?t we need in the way of guns and ammunition and other equipment. M, army, still a quarter of a million strong (50,000 by other accounts), will reform in the mountains, against which a German or Aus- trian or Bulgarian o.Tensive, if attempted, will break. Our Allies will continue their ,a at S-alor-ika for an concentration of troeps at Salonika for an advance from that direction. In a short time the Serbian army will move forward from its Albanian bases to co-operate in the liberation of Serbia:- I am an optimist. Our enemies cannot fight in all the theatres of war and still dominate the Balkans; their fantastic schsine for the conque-t of Egypt is likely to vanish into thin R. Th9 Russian M i-Illons Again. Lord Kitchener talked to me of the Kus- sian army. In the tprimg Russia, will have under arms no fewer than seven million men. Wait two or three more months and you will see. The Serbian army has lost all its field artillery, but its mountain artillery is intact, and nothing will be wanting in the way of equipment when the moment cornea to drive cur enemies out of Serbia. The Serbian nation is heroic and patient. Of all our enemies the Bulgarians are the most barbarous; they hare committed hor- rible and indescribable atrocities in occupy- ing Serbian territory

THE REAL HONOURS. THE PARTY TINSEL AND THE SOLDIER'S REWARD. I a.m very glad to see that some of my friends who have been waiting out in the cold a long time—more or less since 1905— ha.ve at last obtained suitable recognition of their great services—whether to themselves j or their patrons; but I mmt sa.y th.at the grapes never lookad to me so sour as on this occasion, says a writt- a in "Tmth" on the New Year honours. There has been appearing daily for a long time past a very different kind of "Roll of Honour"—one that rath. takes the shine ,vt of stars and garters. Some five hundred thousand of our countrymen have died or bled for us; three million more are offering to share their fata. What sort of decorations has the Fountain of Honour in store for them ? A l'üngh cross on a grave beside a foreign battlefield, a wooden leg or a pair of crutches to stump about on for life. The rntn who has served his ;>a,rty with his vote or his purse, the man who has elbowed his way to the top of the professional tree, the physician who has had the hick to doctor a great man, even the musician who has successfully conducted an opera, what are they worth in the world to-day? To see them sucking the rare and refresh ing fruit for which they have striven, or paid, or in- trigued, isn't :t enough to make one's fstomach aohe ?

WEEK'S WAGES. 1 Claim at Llaadilo County Court. i At l/iandi'o County Court, on Thursday, I before Judge Lloyd Morgan, William Coles sued Rees Davies, butcher, .Ammanford, for one week's wages and for wrongful dis- missal. The plaintiff sa:d he was engaged to • manage defendant's shop at Ammanford. On the 7th October defendaiit, asked him co! clean trb>e, and because witness declined tOj do so defendant told him to look for an- I other situation. Defendant offered to pay! him the week's wages in cheque less 4s.J which he charged witness for four nights 1 lodgngp. but wit,neF declined ? a?ppt. the! <.heqa?. know¡n he had p]enty of cash. Defendant paid he had engaged plaintiff jJ 'h '1' ? an a'! r?und man. When p18,mt1u came to him he ?a? p?'inUe?. Wi.tD?s ?h?rged plaintiff with taking money out of the till ?thout his consent, hut admitted in cross.¡ examination he had never brought a charge against him. His Honour What was your reason for dismissing him?—He refused in do what I asked h IM. His Honour gave judgment for th;> rial-i- ti<? for the one week s wages due. the 4s.

IN THE WEE SMALL I HOURS..j A CUP OF TEA FCil T CM MY. With a roar and a hiss of stream and a grinding, of the brakes, the train pulls up at the platform, at dead of mg-ht. A .>old.ier huddled uij in a cornea- of a compartmesiti' stirs, yawns, sketches himself, and reluct- antly descends cn the windy platform. He is cold, jaded, cx?.%iped with many hours' travelling. His vitality is at its lowest ebb. He is half asleieip, hungry, and there is nothing for him but. boors of tedious wait- ing in the raw, bitter cold of midnight, or the small hours. To such a man the iight, th.e warmth, and the comfort of the Y. M.C.A. buffet—located at Swansea off the arrival platform at, Hitgh-sti^et—-is a God- fJffild. It is a little haven from the dark- ness, the chill, and the lonely desolation of a. God-forsaken British railway et-a.tion at two o'clock in true morning. In it there Mazes n ruddv. crackling tire. The warm buff walls, the burnished copper urn with I the damp tea cloths steaming on it. and the blue gas flare beneath it, the rows of burnished crockery, the glass dishes of meat pies and f.mdiwicha- the jars of lfowers, the soft stell comfort, compan- ionship, ease-, and refreshment, A cup of fresh tea (aind the tea a.t the buffet is as good 3.s any man needs to drink) a-nd a. solid stomach^-staying pandwich. a sm<~>k £ and a chat mean the world of difference. There is the physical relaxation a-nd revival; and there is the that warms the heart, that there ere people who care and think for him, and speed him on his way- "Ves. tihie hnffpft a firw-lftptritr? Cuests at all Hour- Its gaa-rison (on the night in particular of which the writer tells) comprised three V.T.C. men, in grey-green and scarlet bras- sard. anxious to see service if it be but domestic ttorvice and to join in a fight, if it be but a tea-fight. In their little oasi of amber light and warmth they awaited tlieir guests. These dribbled in a.t all hours. A navy man journeying from the Orkneys clos- fessed that he had bad, nothing to eat since leaving Newcastle doubtless he could have got it had he known the ropes, but men have sometimes too little time to inquire. Another visitor Hew in at midnight from a west oountrv port; a.nd went back again four hours later, having in the meantime kissed bi? people g<tod bye in a SWaŒl suburb. A Redate old campaigner well on the road to sixty years of age brought in a of a g e bi-c-tight iu a harem of women and children along with him to see hifh off.. He was an hour and a half too previous, for his train was late; but he accented it with composure. The Officer. An officer, limping on one foot, provided a strangely interesting study. With grave courtesy he declined all offers of service, save a seat by the fire. Cigarettes were, preferred. Keep them for the men they need them," he replied. (Oiie imagines that this was a man who would be followed into the tightest of corners.) He was communi- cative, and began to talk and as one lis- tened to his voice, the dull, fiat tone. spirit- IlesA, except for an occasional petulance, one realised the strain of war on a man of edu-. cation and refinement ac a volume of writ-1 ing could not have explained it. He seemed spiritually wearied, listless, dejected. Strik- ing the fire with his cane. he insisted, again and again, that there was no romance in the war at all it was the same dull job day after day. week after week, month after month. He relapsed into silence and gaz<ed | moodily into the fire. It was a silence one did not care to break in upon. Presently he limped out, ard with him went a breath from the battlefield. Before our eyes we had seen something of the reaction of months of tension, anxiety, vigilance, sleeplessness, responsibility, hourly presence with death. He had told us how he was wounded he said little; a brief allusion, musingly, a. fleeting glance into a dant yast of pain and, stress. The Tommy. -I Hours latex a party of soldiers twenty- four hours from the trenches clattered in, burdened with their packs, one with a goat- skin like Robinson Crusoe, another in a buff jerkin that might have been taken off a bowman of Grecy. their boots and puttees white with mud, their khaki fakled tc a dingy dun colour, and their clothes and kit stained, creased and crumpled. Over the steaming tea they chattered freely over their experiences. They were a world of a contrast to the officer, keen, animated, in- terested in their in ierchange of experiences, Yet, one would have said, they had been but iittile moved by that through which they had passed. What had for the moment darkened the officer's soul had passed quite above them. But they were men of coarser fibre, more robust, less intellectual. And one would have sworn, too, that in a dis- r.n.wa.on of tnA trifles that interest their class "&1'6' —football, for example—there wo-Id have been the note of a deep and zealous contro- versy that was never heard in their chatter about their part in the most awful war in liumac history. Much of whit they said was made up of the commonplaces with which we are all familiar—they inked of "pip squeaks" and "whizz bangs," one man praised the Saxons, another told how tho Prussian Guard dogged the Canadians, 'another asked about chums of his who were said to have gone up to a German trench and opened an informal, pre-Christmas truce. Cheery, imperturbable, obviou&ly completely unaffected by thair trials, they illustrated the virile strength and solidity of the rank and file. The night had drawn to a close by the time of their coming the chill blue light of dawn shone in at the window, the horizon lightened and warmed to orange and day came suddenly, with its crud.6 raw early sun. light. Out into the street* they clattered— grey, burdened figures, strange in their fur and leather jackets, their weather dulled equipment, their stubby rifle*. They left behind them a memory of rude health, cheeri- ness, a stolidity, calmness, and even good temper that were proof against the terrors and trials of war. "The nation with the best nerves will win," say the Germans. In the buffet that i night one saw much that would have made the enemy grave and thoughtful.

LION CHARGES A TRENCH. NEW SORT OF AFRICAN WARFARE. Reuters Agency has received from Central Africa an account of a Unrilling incident that occur red in November, when a number of lions visited the treaiiohes at a British j"t on the German East Afric.a frontier. Oil November 1 lions appeared on the scene, and with great darjr.g, got into kraal containing a number of animals for food for the 'garrison which was very near to one of the British pickets, and killed 40 sheep and goats. Next evening a gun was set, and at 7 o'clock th- lions again a,p- peared. The b-l want, off and a fuii-gmwn cUib was found dead, but there was no sign of any more animals. Aigain the gun was charged, although it was not thought that the lions would venture to return the same meht. LIONELS BEATS A RITTRKAT. On the following night, a trap having been out and ^iveivd ui, a number of officer, wauched in the trenches. Three quarter. of an Jioeir later a shot rang out. but as nothing happened the party remained on the watch until aft&T midnight. Next morning a fine big iiouess was found n?t 50 yards away- It seems that one of the officers in the trenches had thought, he sa^\ h lion and fired, whereupon the animal sprang for- wo-i-d and lai-idoci on ton of tho trenoli itself. Luckily, this was strong, and ss nothing more was heard it wae believed that, in the darkness, the animal had r-nafie ,fF. =-r-- I

ABERAVON SUNDAY TRADING. -J. ino i-veravon magistrates on Thtirsday re-heard the summonses against four voun men for adding ai? abetting in ?mdav trad? h?. Tb? oases were heard a week a^o be- fo)'? four m&?i?at(. b t t,]',O to a gree. After a long Hearing the Bench fined tbe lad,. 2.0;, 6d. <v*.<-h. J

I ISUVLA BAY FAILURE. I "INERTIA" WHICH LOST THE CHANCE. I Sir Ian Hamilton's long awaited dispatch I on the Suvia Bay ventm'e in GalUpob La?t I August was issued. J t :s one 0{ the most m.rka ble doeumen sver p'-n!?d by ,i ?ritiBh commander, for it tells of an adventure that will form a fruit- till topi-c of controversy in the future, uses iangnage of superlati ve-, pi aise for the gloii- ous vaiour and devotion of soldiers who not I' many months ago were pursuing the ordinary vocations of peace, and places the blame for the failure in unequivocal Language upon Lieut.-General the Hon. Sir F. Stopford. It was General ctopford who v.-as in com- maud of the feth Corps at Suvia Bav. Speak- ing of what happened there on the event- luJ August 7 and 8, Sir Ian Hamilton scarcely makes any attempt to conceal his deep pa-in astonishment. The landing at night WM- snccessfully effected. The Turks had been taken wholly by surprise. But no one seemed, he says, to be present in the important hours of dawn to take. a hand two brigades, the 32nd and 34th. and launch them in a cohesive attack. General Hamilton compla.ins bitterly that he has failed in his endeavours to get "some live human, detail" about the ?'ht!ng. I -e ? .71iii ?bil d,3t,&, ,Iabfut t-l-,e j'igbt?ng. Serious lack of water, despite th.? tiiahor?f preparations, added concider?b?y to the exhaustion of the men. General 8tpfl)rd urged his Divisional Com- manders to push on, but they replied that the men were toe much done up. Sir Ian Hamilton, however, points out that it. was overlooked that the Turks were also thoroughly exna.upted, and disorganised in addition. General Stopford had informed his officers that he did not wish them to make frontal attaci.cs, and Sir li-n remarks 1 trenchantlv Within the terms of this-instruction1 lies the root of our failure to make use of the priceless daylight hours of August 8. Driving power was required. The prse fatai error was inertia, and inertia prevailed. So serious a view of the situation did General Hamilton take when he received his reports that he left his headquarters a.t Irnbros. went. to Suvia, and took matters in hand himself. It was too la1.A. The Turks, suspooling what, had happened, took fullest advantage of the delay by bringing up rein- forcements and rallying, and when our attack was launched it was impossible for it to sue- ceed. The senior commanders at Suvia, Sir Ian declares, liad no personal experience of trench warfare and the method of the Turks. Strong personal leadership had not been promptly enougn appiiea. Yet success had se-et-ned aJmost in sight at one period. As was already known, some of our troops gained the heights of Chunuk Bair and looked down upon the N arrows and upon the Asiatic shore of the Dardanelles. They were the 8th Lancashire? and Gurkhas who thus viewed the promised land, but they were forced backward. Their tail ure to maintain the success they had achieved was due to a few minutes' un fortunate delay on the part of General Baldwin who. in the dark, had encountered exceptional difficulties, and had lost his way. Some extraordinary thiags happened in the series cf great battle.. A number of fine fellows recruited on the King's Sandringham Estate Charged into a dense wood, and not a single man returned. At one place the Wiltshire were "almost annihilated," everywhere the men fought themselves to a standstill, and Generals fought in the ranks side by aide with their men, who threw down their sciei-itific weawns aaid seized the Turks by the throat. General Hamilton is moved to enthusiasm by thp bravery of mi4 trucps--hc-. does not forget to praise the Turks too for tieir Ln- domitable spirit and courage—and he says extraordinary things of the New Army, who acquitted themselves like veteran cam- paigners even when they were left entirely without officers. It is impossible to read the dispatch with- nut, a. t.hrill The deeds of our soldiers, among whom the Anz.ics—superman they are termed—again proved themselves worthy to be classed with the finest fighters that ever lived; and Germany will fool green with envv at the amazing completeness of the pra- liminaxt plans which worked so successfully j that for three days an army was landed and concealed under the very eyes of the enemv. But the dispatch ends sadly. Serious &icfc | ness broke out. General Hamilton asked fo. 60,000 reinforcements, but was told he cot! ld not have them in such terms that it was im possible to insist in his demand. He did the best he could in a second attack, but had to contend against s h eer bad luck in weatiler and the improved moral of the Turks. His I Yeomen behaved superbly in this attack, proving the worth of the New Army again. Then an Oct. 11 he was astonished to re- ceive a cable asking him for an estimate of the losses tha.t would be entailed in evacua- ting the peninsula. He replied that such a project was unthinkable. On the 16th he was recalled, and his parting words to the gallant troops he commanded a.i e such as will make all Englishmen thrill with pride lor their achievements, their spirit, their cheer- fulness, and their faith. I "ROOT OF THE FAILURE.' THE FATAL SHORTAGE OF WATER. The part of the dispatch dealing wiih the "root of the blame" is as follows:— The weather was very hot, and the new troops suffered mucil tiom want of water. The Corps Commander reports that there was no time to develop the resources. Partly this seenis to have been owing to the enemy 's ftre; partly to a want of that nous which stands by as seoond nature to the old campaigner; partly it was inevit- able. Anyway, for as long as such a st.1.te of things lasted, the troops became depen- dent OIL the lighters and upon the water brought to the beaches in tins. Cndoubtediy the distribution of this water to the advancing troops was a matter of great difficulty. Judging merely by re- sults, I 1 egret to say that the measures actually taken proved to be inadequate, and that suffering and disorganisation ensued. The disemoaikation of artillery horses was 1 therefore at once, and rightly, postponed Ly the C01 ps-C-onimandei, in order that mules micrht be landed I-U To carry uo water. And now General ;>topford, recollecting t.he vast issues which hung upon his cess in forestalling the enemy, urged his Diviz,;mal Commanders to lyLiFli on. Other- wise, as he saw, a.U the advantages of the burn-rise landing must be nullified. But the Divisional Commanders b&Jievd themselves, it seems, to be uiiable to move. Their men, they said, were exhausted by their efforts of the night of the 6th-7th and by the action of the 7th. The wamt of water had told on the new troops. The distribu- tion from the beaches had not worked smoothly. In ?ome ca.sM the ho? h?d been pierced by individuals wishing to nil their own bottles in others il;, zht, d grounded | so far from the btkarb that men swam out to fill batches of water-bottles. All this ha.d added to the disorgiuiisation inevitable after a night landing, followed | by tights here and there with an enemy j scattered over a country tc us unknown. I These pleas far delay were perfectly well founded. But it seems to have bean over- looked that, the half-defeated Turks in front of Ut; were equally exhausted and digorgaai- ised, and that aID advance was the simplest and swiftest method of Solving the water trouble and every other sort of trouble: Be this as it may. the objections overbore the Corps Commander's resolution. He had now got ashore three batteries (two of them mountain batteries, and the great guns of the ships were ready to speak at his re- quest. But it was lack of artillery support which finally decided him to acquiesce in a policy of going low which, by the time it reached the troops, became translated into a period "f inaction.

STOP PRESS. S The Divisional Generals were, in fact, ii3, formed thGt. in view of the inadeqtjate arW I ery support," "General SV:Pf at&li not wish them to make fronlej attaadkia on ent.renche,d rositinru., but desired them, so far as was possible, to try and turn amy treaic-.es which were met with. Within tisft terms of instruction lie. The root of our failure mr-° of the priceless cLylight hour* he 8th of AUf-rust. Normally, it may bp correct to say that in modern warfare infantry cannot be expadted to advance -ivithout prepatraiticiin. But in a landing on a hostile shore the order h3_" to be mv-Tif-ed, The infantry1 must ad* vaneo and seize a Fuita. hi, ion to oovete thr landing ami to provide artillery posU t.io^s fr.v the main thrust. i no vtuy existence of the force, its water supply, its fa.dlitW.s for munitions and dup- plies. its power to reinforce, abso- lutely depend on the infantry being b1 in- stantly to make good sufficient ground with- out the a-id of the ajtilWy other than can supplied tor the purp ose by floating halt- ten os. WELSH WHO TOOK PART. PiONEER BATTALION WHICH LOST HEAYILY. lb-1 Ppi W fish (I'ioiieers) Battihon belong- ing to the 13th Division—which took part in tne chargc on Sari Bahr—raised as the final -i battalion of the Welsh Regiment, L,L hf.:v?v. Thp batUd'?). was H:crulted &t -"? '? ?? .??) ?. 191?. .o\¡"T'i!i\"¡h' ¡l:'ik ul I,c umts lornang the 53rd Welsh Territorial Division —in pence times known as the Welsh Terri- torial Div]sl<m—was landed, in command of -Vii»jor- Genera l the Hon. J. A. Lindlay, suc- cessor to M.4'cr-Cencnil Sir Franjir Lloyd. 111e r\ 1 i n i f v 1 n< •! -4"o..J.'L "4" 444.&&A.. •Ut Yw.tJi Field Ambulance, from Mon- mouthshire. 2nd W eish t ield Ambulance, from Cardiff. crd tlsh !• _oiu Ambulance, iroin Swan- 4dl elsh, from West Wales. 5ih cuh. iiora Pontypridd. W el-h Cvii;tv Clearing Station (Royal Army Medical Corps) from Cardiff. Divisional lloyai Lngmeers, from West y tho u Company, irom Cardiff. The 4t.L iouth w ale« Borderers was the first seiv:cr b^it*ton idi-ed in that famous regimen i. I 5!R F. IV. STCPFORD. Lie lit en n,r, t-Genrrru 'he Iloll. Sir F. W. Sto&rrcrcJ, who held the first con-aaand at Em-1:i, Fay, is the son of the fourth Sari of Courtown. He entered the Army (Grena- dier Guarfi-.) in 187. and served in Egypt, Soudan, Ashpit;, in South Afi-ica, where he was military ^seretary to Sir Redven Builer.

GERM AM CREDIT. ITS VALUE IN AMERICA. REMARKABLE SLUMP TAKES PLACE. NEW YORK, Thursday. The German mark has row reached its lowtst point in the history of the American it is cji.ou in New York at 4 marks—74g cents. Simultaneously, the value of the sterling: exchar.re has risen to 4.75i, the highest point reacned since September. The decline in the value of marks and kronen (Austrian) lias been accompanied by a still more sensational depreciation in the amount realisable her,- for German and Austrian bonds. The thousand mark Five per Cent. German bonds, which were originally worth 237 dollars 50 cents, are now quoted at 198, while German Fours are listed at 180. The havoc wrought in the Teutonic ei- change is still greater in the case oi the bonds of the Dual Monarchy. In view of the rela, tively small amounts purchased by the Teutonic allies from this country, the differ- ence in their banking position here com- pared with that of Great Britain ie the sub- ject of much sig-nificant discussion. The corresfiondent adds that if Germany has imported through Scandinavia, in the ten months ended October, American goods to the value of 27 million sterling, in the same months American imports from Germany amounted to £ 2,557,500. The tremendous losses in the exchange value of the mark have. therefore, been suffered in the effort to finance an adverse trade balance of sligh.lv less than £ 25.000,000.—(" Times." i THE REASON. Keuters correspondent says: Experts attri- bute the decline in the German exchange to the isolation of Germany, which has praoti- cally ceased altogether to xpo-t. its products to America. RUMOURS OF ROW." | SWANSEA MAN'S DEATH II SWANSEA MAN'S DEATH INQUIRED INTO. Tut Deputy Swansea Borough Coroner (Mr. Glyn Morris) conducted an inquiry at the Coroner's Court. Police-buildings, Swansea, on Thursday afternoon, into the death of David Henry (MI. of 69, Terrace-road. Evi- dence of identification was given by the widow, Mrs. Beatrice Henry, who 8a -J de- ceased had enjoyed very good health up to last Wednesday. Deceased never complained to her that he had been in any row, nor had bhe heard he had be-i in any. Dr. Urban Marks said deceased died from double pneumonia. There were no marks of violence on the body. Mrs. Elizabeth King, 65, Terrace-road, and Stephen James Croot, 69, Terrace-road, black- smith. living in the same house as deceased, also gave evidence, the lattL, er saying that deceased had not been out anywhere from the time he was. taken ill until he died, so he could not have been in any row. Coroner, in summing up, said there had been some suggestion that deceased had been in a row, and deceased had made a state- ment himself to the effect that he had been in a row and had been in.iured, hrt there was no evidence to a),ow that he had been in one, and they f'/ui. not attach any credenoe to hii. ftatement as he was de- lirious at the time he ma-de it. Verdict in accordance with the medical

NOW CONTROLLED BY GOVERNMENT In the course of the relating 01 details with respect to the proposals of The United Tube Corporation at Newport on Thursday, Mr. Dunn, on behalf of the Manne.smann Tube Co. and the United Tube Corporation, reported to the Newport Corporation Com- mittee that the United Tube Corporation was entirely British. was controlled by Messrs. Boldwins, Ltd., and vva-F formed to oarry out part. of the original schcme of the Marmes- mann Co., and that the latter company was at present controlled by the Government, and were employing only British labour.