The Cambria Daily Leader

THE REAL HOUSING PROB LEM Wlien people talk of the BJousing Problem, they generally have in mind an idea that, firstly, the wei-st conse- quence of the evil is overcrov/ding, and that, the remedy is to build more koiises. In truth the remedy is o uly one of many, for—as we knQwfiull well in u l l well ]it Swansea toay-th prcJblem affects every class of society. It bits the resident who has to put" up with the slum, and it squeezes tllJ3 middle-class man in town and suburl), The slum- dweller suffers cruelly iii health the suburban dweller suffers- in pocket, also cruelly. If we were asked to name the greatest grievance hornn in Swansea at present, we should without hesitation state that it was the *:xtortionate rent charged. Blessed is he who owns his house, even though li-a; joy be mitigated by an increasing ratei and a growing assessment. He is better off than the rent-paver, who in lSH4 has ^o pay 12s. and 13s., and sometimes 14s. a week for houses which mx,,re let, not eight years before, for 7s,. to 9s. a week. The completion of the Corporation scheme at Town Jtifill may ease the strain upon' the mxldss tenant. We write "may," as the need of houses is monthly irtcreaa;ing, awl ive hundred new dwellings u/wn the kill, finished, say, in 1916, mbe insuflteient to stop the famine. Pint, assuming that they will, we are still left with a housing problem-and lihe most urgent housing problem. Wh.,#,t are we to do with the present slum-dweller, the man who pays 3s. for two dilapidated rooms at the most 4s. 6d. When the house" in which he lives is condenmed and de- molished, what are we to do with him- where is he to go? Not to Town Hill, for the ren feaLs there wilt not suit the pockets of the casual worker and the dock laborrrer. There axe old ladies I Jiving in I^ovols in the Morriston dis- trict, TSaey pay a shOIing or two a week for the privilege of occupying them. "Where are they to find shelter when the edict of the Health Commit- tee goes out? This is, the problem dealt with in the report prepared by the Chairman of the Liverpool Corporation Housing Com- mittee, and presented to the conference at Llanelly yesterday. Colonel Kyffin- Taylor, M.P., says bluntJy that "speak- ing broadly the people who all over the country have been tunhoused by the operation of housing serines have not been re-housed except in Liverpool. 8avf as to ten or perhaps fifteen per cent. (at the outside) have been "moved on," with disastrous results." From this statement he moves on to another. He declares,, just as definitely that" these-people CatLTVOt be rehoused in a sanitary house at an economic rent for they cannot pay one, a.nd if they are not housed by the local authority they will not be housed at all other than in i,odging-boufws, sublet or farmed-out houses, and the Yearkholise.11 This is plain speaking. Similar things have been said by housing eerperis at Swan- sea, but of course without the force which practical expert ence gives to the! Liverpool view. How then docs Colonel Kyffin-Taylor propose to deal with the position ? He says to perplexeil muni-1 eipalities: Follow Lm$rjxx>l. He states that, in 1896, after an unhappy experi- ence with earlier schf-raes, the Corpora- tion decided to go forlwtud with housing schemes restricting the use of the; dwellings to person s,aottiallv turned out of insanitary housfcS. "It was this! policy which united everybody in Liver- pool. It is a policy the whole tendency of which is to prevent creation of other slums, and it in no wny competed with private enterprise wbjch cannot house people who cannot 1?4.V more than a rent j of from 3s. to 4s. per week, and it satis- fied the public -conscience especially those people who thought that the oceu- pants of the demolished property who were turned out oE their nomas in the interests of the whd&e community and who were very poar, should as fa.r as possible be rehoused by the community j in new houses close Jbo their work, their j shops, places of worship and schools, ) amongst their old ftiends. and in the! neighbourhood in w-fkieb they were born and earned their living, and most im- portant of all, at re,rets approximating to "the rents formerly paid by them when occupying insanitary property. To nut it in a nutshell, Liverpool realised that it was a question tii poverty, and that the best solhtion of the problem was to buiM for the id bntical people turned out on the spot wlre they were turned out and at rents which they could pay." Now this is a g proposition to lav before Swansea. I* involves great cost. But is there an -1-11 nqtive P Or are we going to let the drl slum be demolished, and the new slum, created? Unless we can make provision for the dispossessed tenant of the racl wtty house, at a rental within his. m-ls he will migrate to another part, acd sub-letting, with all the evil it entat. will turn this part into another slum. The process is in j operation hi Swun^ea to-da.y. There are already slums west of the Albert Hall. The Chairman cA11 he Liverpool Commit- tee says that special policy of hous- ing is costing thfi city a lld. rate, but as we spend 'Ci*g 0,000 on hospitals, and £ 129.000 a year on cleansing, we do not think that £ "3 £ fr<XJ0 a year is ton much to spend in savnug human life." Opinion in Swansea sc,(Mls to have set dead against such a view. We might, then, begin to consid er what we IShn 11 do with the sitim-dwell tyr. for whom the housing question was first mooted.

ART A ND SUNDAY. I It is not cai-ion the fi-n d itself in the (loliipa-,iy of the Vicar of Swansea, buti yes^^day this joiti-nal and Mr. llice ^vore expressing a com- mon opening on L fonday afternoons of the art gallerie; "What is going to fctop other pliceirt nillg op<^ned-—the Free JI Library, or /3|ythiu £ cite in tho town?" asked the Vicar. Why should yon ■stop at one thing?" Why indeed? We shall be told, no doubt, that logic governs no .situation, and that, we can leave the library out of the question. But why should these municipal benefits, if they are to be given Swan- sea, .stop at art? It is presumed that such institutions have a good effect (otherwise there would be no justifica- tion for their existence), and that this corresponds with the number patronis- ing them," says a contemporary. "Con- sequently if it should be found that Sunday opening 'is- generally appre- ciated, there would be a difficulty in making out a case for Sunday closing." Apply that test also .1A> the Public Library. It. has a good effect. It would have a large degree of Sunday patronage, especially if it were sup- plied with the Sunday journals. In a limited tsen.se, Sunday opening would be appreda ted. Apply the test to the band performances in the parks. These too, have a good effect. Sunday con- certs would undoubtedly be largely patronised. They would, by a section, be greatly appreciated. As the Vicar a.sks: "Why should yen stop at one thing?" Why arc not those who throw over the Sabbatarian position courageous enough to go the whole hog? \Vc would suggest to Col. Morgan, for instance, that the Royal'Institution., in which he is so much interested, might invite people to see its treasures on Sunday afternoons. Why not, if the Corporation galleries are to be opened? We believe the committee has under- estimated the sentiment of Swansea upon this matter, and that, there will be a growing volume of protest, before the April meeting of the Council has to decide the issue.

HOUSE AND LOBB Y. A Day of Ferment. (SPECIAL TO THE "LEADER.") Tension in the Hionse last evening was very severe. The new phase of the Irish crisis was a tri.a1 to mem bers of every section of the House, and whilst Ministerialists looked forward to the promised publication of papers as being likely to clear the air somewhat, there was an uneasy feeling that the Tories emeamt mischief. As for the Opposition, some of the swashbuckler scction went about, with a sinister Jeer in the eye, and plainly indicated their desire to force a crisis. But calmer minds regarded the situation from a different standpoint, realising that ftverv stick prepared by the Tories now will be used on their own backs once they step across the floor of the House. Mr. JohP. Ward's outspoken home truths hit hard all round, and made a deciper impression upon the House a-s a whole than all else that happened during the day. Mr. Ward Himself. As a matter of avoirdupois, Mr. Ward is not quite the biggest rimi in the House. He ■ would be weighed down, probably, by either of the Brothers Wason. But when it came to a trial of strength the ex-Artilleryman would prove a match for either of the present members of the Hoiise of Com- mons. "John" throws himself about the Lobby and other precincts of the Hoiise with an easy-going grace all his own, and he wears a white fdt hat that would be a broad-brimmed Trilby if he knocked the top in a bit, with all the grace and charm of a modern knut." As a politician, he never exercises much in the way of finesse, but ho can see through most problems as clearly as one here and there, whilst his honesty is betokened by the fea.r- lessness- with which he expresses his opinions in public and* in private. There have been occasions when he has given the Liberal Whips timely prodding-s as to the course they ought to take to meet Tory dodges. Al- though regarded as a Midlander, he is a native of Wiltshire, and has most of the excellent qualities that go to make up a thorough-going Wessexer. Welsh Affairs. I Amongst the Welsh members there was some anticipation of to-day's meet- ing, at which Land and Housing will be considered. The report pre-sented by the special committee appointed by the Welsh Parliamentary Party for the purpose is likely to be carried and its recommendations sent on to the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer, for iriclusion in his general land -scheme. The Welsh Home Rule Bill is undergoing revision. With regard to the Disestablishment Bill, nothing fresh is to be aid. Every- thing will depend upon the general course of events. There is a probability that the Tories will ask for one or two more days for the purpose of discussing such affairs as Ulster and the Army, and this may cause a postponement- of the Disestablishment debate. But the party is fairly confident, even if thero is another fulfilment of Lord Rosebery's famous phrase. ■ > ■

SDH DAY AT THE ART GALLERIES. (To t)ie Editor.) Sir,—Since 1877—perhaps prior to that but records are not available at present—the local Sunday School Union has been active on the question of Sunday trading a-n<l la- F,our. To come to more lecent times, there is inserted in the niinuto book cf the Union, a cutting from your r*apt>r dated May 20th, 1909, which reports the speech of our then president (Rev. S. Louis Warite) at the meeting of the Tjown Council, which decided, in t-pit-e of many influential deputations' words, to abandon proBecutious for Sunday trad- i'?S' In'th? workers at the Sunday Schools were encouraged la.tely by tho fact that this question is being again investi- gated by the authorities with a view, apparently, to making a. fresh move in the direction of suppressing unnecessary- opening of shops. As hon. general sec. of a Union, which numbers over 12,000 teachers and scholars, I feel it is but voicing the only opinion of all workers amongst these, to state that the action of the Art and Crafts Subcommittee as reporkx.1 in ymrs of to-day's date has been noted Mrfth dismay. There is r;0 timo now-and probably your space is too valuable—to permit of an examination, of the arguments brought forward by the "openers" or the making 'Of the many serious points whicli S.S. workers generally can raioBe against- their decision. Your admirable article has touched on some, and an op- portunity should bo afforcted to those, who see in this move an even more dis- astrous possibility than has followed the reactionary move of 1909 referred to above, to state their ease. I write now simply *to state that the Council of the Union will consider this question at its -next meeting, April 6th, and should such be necessary or of use, the officers, I feel sure, will be prepared to act at an earlier date.— Yours, etc., John moncius.

Who are to Rule ?l j —.— Tories Last Sinister Assault on Democracy. People or Army Officers? Oiffcers," said inti- John Ward, in Parliament last night, "are not alone t in baying consciences. Soldiers have consciences, and poor men have honour as well as rich men. Do you agree that a private soldier may dis- obey orders ?" Mr. Amery pleaded civil war. You can't pick and choose," was the rejoinder. "We trade unionists will now consider setting up our mili- tary organisation, and we have two millions of men. The Dublin Fusi- liers were Catholics. They disliked the Boer War. But they did their duty. Why? Because those brave lads were soldiers, not officers. And do you want to break down their dis- cipline 2" THERE can be 11(1 minimising the .gravity of the situation. English liberty is threatened. As the "Daily News and Leader" rightly says to-day. "There is a general conviction that during the last few da.y.s free government in these islands has been struck the gravest -blow which has been Launched against it for centuries." Issues of the Criris. What are the issues of the crisis? Ulster is in the background, but Ulster is comparatively unimj>ortant in view of the possibilities that now threaten. "The Daily Chronicle" says to-day that we have never had such an attack by officeri upon civil government and liberty since we became a free nation. They^fead somothing like it in France at the time of the Dreyfus case. The "Chronidc" recommends Unionist con- temporaries to search their files -and see the horrified comments which they passod on it. Let them notice also how the "Post," the ultra-militarist German organ, comments upon us. For German idc^s of .soldiership and subordination," says the "Post" roundly, (tthe court-martialling of the recalcitrant officer^ would be a self- evident consequence of their action." Who Shall Govern? Is the Army or the people to govern ? The question has to be settled now. For, as the Daily News and Leader points out, a military oligarchy and Parlia- ment cannot live together. Mr. Beck said that many Liberal members would resign their seats to- morrow rather than sit in that House and be dictated to by Army officers. There is not a Liberal member worth his salt who would consent to be a mask for military tyranny, and there is not a Liberal throughout the country who would not sacrifice hii all to preserve the freedom which has been bought at such bitter cost. The devotion and the determination of the democracy know no limits in the defence of liberty. They ask nothing except light and leading, and they fear no power, be it monarch, oligarchy, or military junta. Make the Truth PSain. "But this magnificent treasure of heroic spirit can be drawn upon only if the truth is made plain, and the English people are giveji to see clearly tho issue. Reticence, suppression, the globing ovor of stem realities they 1 understand as little as they desire them. To absolute confidence they will respond with absolute devotion, and when a challenge is fixing down they want nothing better than that it should lie fought out to the end. If, therefore, the Government- can- not reassure the nation to the nation's satisfaction, then let the Government summon the nation to its aid against the last and most sinister a.ssault on free government. There is no other alternative allowed by prudence or duty. In Defence of Anarchy. The" TImes" this morning offers the most curious defence of anarchy any journal has ever penned. There are many laws which are so generally disobeyed that no attempt is made to enforoo them," it says. "They are called a dead letter' and are most numerous in. the most democratic coun- tries, such as the United States and France. There are many other laws which are very little enforced. "It is a great mistake to pass laws which people will not obey. It brings all law into contempt, and, if legis- lators were prevented from passing such a measure by the announcement that it would be ignored, they would be saved from ignominious blunders and public morality would be strengthened." A .fine defence for burglars and all those who think that laws for peace and order are unnecessary! An Issue we will Fight. If the Opposition are detormined on that conflict (says the "Westminster Gazette ") they will not find any flinch- ing on the part of the Government or its supporters. It is an issue on which, whatever the consequences, battle could not be declined. "Mr. Law may consider that Ulster presents a supreme and unique case of conscience but the private soldier may consider that a strike riot by men sup- "posing themselves to be suffering from j intolerahie wrongs is an equally urgent case for him. And if the doctrine is to apply to the Ulster case and the strike case, why not to foreign wars ? If an officer or a private considers a war to he wrong, 80S many thought the Boer war, how can we refuse him the liberty of de- clining to serve if the appeal is to be to his conscience? On these principles no Government will ever bp able to rely on any Army for any purpose. But, as Mr. Mac- Donald reminded the House, the work- ing-class know that the Unionist Party would never for a moment allow this doctrine to be applied in their favour. They judge, fnd judge rightly, that the doctrine is for Ulster, and Ulster alone, and they see in it an attempt to defeat Parlinment and bring a particular Government to a standstill by a military strike against, it."

11 TO BE DEPORTED. i With previous convictions against her at Swansea, Anna Berry Les-sier (or liassal) was charged at Cardiff yaster- day afternoon with unlawfully im- portuning passengers in a main thoroughfare at Cardiff. Inspector Price applied for her de- portation, saying that she was a native of New York. Defendant admitted that was and the Benkh sent heir to prison for fourteen days, and ordered her deportation.

I FORMERLY ON LLANDJLO I COUNCIL. The death has taken place at Morley (Yorkshire) of Mr..David Stephens, formerly in business at Llandilo for about a quarter of a century. He was l' for about nineteen years a member of i the Llandilo Urban District Council.

Devon Romance. — By Rev. F. Sparrow < A Y! thou art fair, Devonia, pa? ?? ing f?u'! ana of all England's comities th&re is none fairer. To a West Countree man the name calls up memories of soft breezes, tower- ing cliffs, rose covered cottages, steep granite toa-s, heather covered hills, clear mountain streams running in music to the sea and broad green meadows. "Gemm'd with pale daisy stars, and gold cups sheen, Sweet scented violets of beauty rare Wii-bh hyacinths entwined with daf- fodils." Such is the charm of its varied scenery. Such lias it been in the past, and the ages only render it more beautiful. Devon in History. For the romance of Devon we must get back to history and allow actual facts and tradition to fill in the colours of the picture, and make the people of the past live over again their life, and re-act their doughty deeds. It is a far cry back to the glacial age, but it was 1Il the post-glacial age that man first appeared in Devon. How they came and how long they remained is not known, but here they were and here they lived; then the end came, and in the great flood the land sank and all life perished. After this emerged a new land of forests, streajns and rivers, and Devon was re-populated by men from other regions which had escaped de- struction. The first to come was a race of dwarfs, pigmies—traditions of which satill exifit- in the legends of the piskios. Then followed the Celts, armed with bronze swords, who waged war with tho lyernians; race followed race, each yielding in turn to others of a, higher social organisation. When the Romans Came. At the time of the Roman invasion the only town of any importance was. Isca—now Exeter—and the only Roman road mentioned in Devon is the one leading from London to Honiton. Most probably the Romans made use of the old British trackways. One of these passed from Exeter on to Dart-moor, crossing river and stream by eyclopean bridges like the one at Postbridge; from Thene to Tavistock and over the Tamar by a ford, and across the hills of Cornwall to Mounts Bay. This was known as the Great Central Trackway. After ruling for three centuries Im- perial Rome had spent its force, and then the Saxons swooped down on Sussex and wero not long before they made descents on Devon. The Norse- men and Vikings had a liking for good things; they sailed their fleet of ships up the Exe and thundered at the city of Exeter, spreading dismay and terror, death and flames. It was the Norman conquest that decided the tutura of the English race. In that struggle the Normans won, but Exeter and the Men of Devon" were the most determined in resistance to the rule of William. For eighteen days' the ever faithful city held out, and only yielded when its walls fell down undermined. To maintain his hold on the county and keep these registers in order, William had ca-stles built at Exeter, Okehampton, Lydford and Barnstaple. Weird stories are told of the castles. The Legend of Okehampton. The legend of Okehampton is, per- haps, the- i"t hue-vs;. Ti:^ story goes that Lady Uo\vo<i or i1 iLziord, Tavi- stock, who is said to have murdered her three husbands, starts every night at twelve o'<i'X'k from Fitzford gate- way in a coaf'h made of bones and drawn by six headless horses and driven by headless coachmeii. In front runs a coa.I black hound with one eye in the centre of his forehead. The spectral coach goes from Tavistock to Oke- hampton, where the hound plucks a blade of grass from the castle mound then the cortege returns and the grass is laid on the threshold of Fitzford ate. This is Lady Howard's penanoe. and it will last until every blade of grass in Okehampton castle has been plucked. The Rivers. What of the rivers of Devon! What i-oinanco is theirs! Are they not among the most beautiful in the country? The scenery through which they flow is equal to anything on the Continent. Most of them have their rise in the desolate hills of Dartmoor or Exmoor. Daitmoor is the mother of rivers, and here begin the Teign and Dart, the Tavy and Tamar, the Torridge and Taw. For the first few miles they pass through open country in which they out deep gorges, making some of thefinost scenery in the county. The Dart still retains its reverence of Celtic days. Moormen never speak of the Dart." but always "Dart." "D.art cmne down last night is the way he de- scribes a flood. The "cry of Dart" i,3 ominous, and if its murmuring is loud it is a sure sign of coming evil. Its waters are said to become tinged with blue when about to claim its victim. The local rhyme runs: River of Dart, oh, river of Dart, Every year thou claimest a heart." Dart. Readers of Eden Phillpotts will ro- member how skilfully he weaves this legend into one of hi's stories. But suppose we trace the course of the Dart. Fifteen miles through forest, and then to Wistman's Wood. At Dartmeet the east and west Dart mingle and How on to Holne, the birth-place of Charles Kingsley. Then to Buckfast Abbey and the old-fashioned town of Totnes. Following it along, we come to Green- wav woods, where lived Sir Walter Raleigh of tobacco fame. In the woods his servant found him smoking, and thinking he was on fire threw over him a tankard of ale. Here lived Hum- phrey and Gilbert, namel dear to a Devonian. A little belo\t is Dart- mouth shut in by lofty hills; one of the little ports that built up England's naval fame and played so great a part in Elizabeth's days. And Dartmoor. Dartmoor itself is full of romance. The hand of civilization has not touched it and we have it in all its rugged strength ahd weird beauty. Its people still watch the piskies dancing in the moonlight, and believe that "wish hounds" breatho flame, and wander over the dusky wastes of heather and granite tors. Cranme.re pool lies in the most desolate. part of the moor. It has an evil reputa- tion as a penal settlement for refractory spirits who are still expiating their misdoings. An old farmer was said to be so troublesome that it took five parsons to lay him to rest. At last by their incantations he was changed into a colt, and a servant boy 1\ a8 directed to take him to Cranmere pool. On arriving lie was to take off the hwtcr and return instantly without looking around. Curiosity proving to* powerful, he turned his head to set what was going on, when he behela the colt plunge into the lake in the form of a ball of dire. Not before, however, he had bidden farewell in a striking way by kicking the lad, and knocking out one of ijfi «>ye% — J