The Cambria Daily Leader

AMONG THE REFUGEES- A note in the "Welsh Outlook calls the attention of the Principality to the fact that Wales has proved a of refuge to many distinguished Belgians. Emile Yerhaeren, ttic national poet, has found a homo from home at Cardiff. Verhaeren, so a critic tells us, holds a similar place in French poetry If that which Walt Whitman occupies in Eng- lish poetry. He has written poems which rank among the finest creations <■: £ the French language. The majority of these poems (according to his biographer) are! lowly, oven commonplace, in theme and simple in structure; they seem designed to appeal to those whom they celebrate. For Verhaeren truly loves the life of the numble; he shares their sorrows aR well as their labours. For this reason, he is the only modern poet of the French tongue who is really popular wih his compatriots. His poems are frequently j read to. vast, assemblies of workmen in. Belgium and France. Glorious as he i-< to-day he lores to go among the peasants of ihis country, to sit with them at the run-table, to hear them talk about, the weather, the harvest, the thousand little carea that make up their univel's. Though he belongs by birth to the middle i class, his sympathy for the lowest .in the social scale enables him to transform the trivial details of their lives into poems of extraordinary beauty and tenderness. Than at Barry is Emilo Cla.us, Bel- giumJs best known painter; and Aberystwyth. M. Minne, one of its great! sculptors, several of ^hose works adorn the galleries of the enemy at Weimer, Munich. and elsewhere. We agree with our con- temporary that their coming into Wales creates an opportunity for us. As tho (Jutlook declares, th-e study of pointing and sculpture is in a deplorably back I ward condition here. Shall we take full and immediate advantage o the un- ( expected presence in our feiidst of a brilliant group of painters and critics- take counsel with them; give them facili- i ties to exorcise their genious; give our young art students the chance of seeing them at work ? What will the three col-! leges do P and the Art Academies ? and the Art Schools ? The opportunity is unique, but we may be too parochial to seize it.— In this connection, we are glad of an op- portunity of obeying a Mayoral request to call attention to next Monday's concert at Swansea. We pride ourselves locally upon. our musical cultn-re, and we are fond of saying that at Swansea we have got out of tho old Welsh ruts. This is a elionce, not only to assist the Belgian Refugee Fund, but of hearing brilliant Belgian artistes—whose names are house-' hold words on the ContiiM'nt- under extra- ordinary sympathetic conditions. We de- plore the circumstances which have given us the opportunity of hearing these eminent singers; but if we are real in our protestations about the musical culture of Swansea, we will seize this opportunity, and fill the Albert Hall from ground floor to top gallery. There ought not to be an empty seat in the hall.

THE LAST LAP. A lffctle over three hundred. men are required to complete the Swansea baittalion, and the Mayor has issued another strong appeal to the young men of the town and district to uphold the honour and dignity of their neighbour- hood by coming forward to complete the units." Throughout the land there is a steady advance in the recruiting figures. The numbers enrolled increase daily with the realisation of the fact that the Ger- raan ia only to be' broken by the young manhood of our land getting at once. under arms. There are signi that Swan- sea" is awakening to the gravity of the situation. But the process must be quickened. It has to be driven home into the consciousness of yonng nwn that del <\v is dangerous. The extreme Treed of Britain now, when her armies are heroically with landing tho Kaiser's shocks in B?ium. ?nd Er?TM'e, is mm. Every day that p.MSfs with the Swan- ?,lea lia'Ualion- in.coleto ia a. d?n lost. 1 v\e must remember that just as the strength of a chain is determined by its weakest link, so the preparedness of the Battalion is conditioned by the state of its last recruits. Its possible usefulness to the country is only appreciable when it is in training as a whole. We art con- j j rinced that, in a few weeks' time, when the men who have joined arc in barracks, and uniform, and we see them marching in our neighbourhood, tho enthusiasm will 'gOW to fever pitch. The day âter the long route march of the 6th Welsh was the best recruiting day the Battalion has had. But it is a far nner thing to j enlist now, before the excitement has grown; a far nobler thing to join because tho young man recognises how essential his service is to his country than to go to the recruiting office later on in a whirl of emotion. At the present rate of progression, we will be into December before the units are complete. ÅnrJ this will never do. The young nicui who hold back now, with no reasons that will satisiy their conscience why they are not answering the call, are untrue not only to their best selves, but faithless to thooo wonderful soldiers of ours who are bearing the brunt of battle like heroes. Is their call for help to be made in vain P

THE SESSiOKa I WELSH 1EMAHUAMENT. I RECORD OF ATTENDANCES AHfi SPEECHES. I According to the Special War Edition of the "Parliamentary Ga.zette" '<114 divisions tooic place during- the laet Parliamentary I Session. I The Welsh members voted as fol10W3:- Mr. T'owyn jones, 214; Mr. WiKkun Jones, 210; Mr. Sydney Robinson, 198; Bight Hon. J. Herbert Lewis, 176; .M.r. Edgar Jcn&o, 176; Mr. Walter F. Koch, 175; Right Hon. R MaKenna, 171; Mr. John Hinds, 169; lug hi Hon. lvllia Jonea Griffith, 158; Mr. J. Hugh iklwardi;, 143; X r. Haydn Jones, 139; Mr, T. II, Parry, 1J6; Sir J. Herbert Roberts. 1.34; ;h" Alfred Mond, 133; Mr..B. 'j. John, 129; Mr. John Williams, 129; Mr. Keir Hardie, 123; Mr. Lewis liaalaw, 126; Mr. Ellis Daviea, 122; üol. Pryco Jones, 121; Hon. Ormsby Ware, 114; Right Hon. D. Lioyd Ueorue, 110; Sir Ivor Herbert. 107; Lord Onchton Stuart, 107; Sir D. Brynmor Joneii, 104; Mr. William Brace. 92; Mr. David Davies, 91; Mr. Llewelyn Williams, 86; Sir Frank Edwards, 85; 'Major Henry Guest, 82, Mr. Clement Edwards, 63; Mi*. Vanghan Daviee, 65; Mr. Thomas Richards, 24; Right Hon. William Abraham, 12. Six ineiribors of the House ot Commons voted in every division, Tiz. John Cullinan, South Tipperary; Timothy I Davioo, South Lincolnshire; Towyn Jones. }t. Carmarthen; M. Molioy, C-ariow; Patrick O'Brien, Kilkenny; J. P. Boiand, bouth Kerry. The 163 members whoso names apperr in the "Hononrs List" of the Division Lobby lwcordtil are made up of 79 English, 54 Irieh, 21 Scotch, and 9 Weieh rcprefienta- Oral answers were given to 1,467 Questions by H. H. Asquith; 955 questions by R. McK'inua; 911 quest,Ona by Wedgwood Benn; 698 questions by A. Birrell; 497 quee- tiolHl by D. Lloyd George; 469 questions by C. E. Hobhonee. Written answers were given to 468 ques- tions by A. Birrell; 240 quee-tious by D. Boyd George; 218 questions by Herbert Samuel; 1:01 questions by R. McKenna; 180 (melons by E. S. MonWvgn; 179 Questions- t by Wedgwood Bonn. Five hundred and giivtjr-six oral qneetions were asked by Fred EaU; 402 oral questions weje a«iC(Hl by Sir J. D. Bees; 395 oral questions were asked by Charles Bathurst; 343 oral questions were asked by Joseph King; 307 oral questions were adkocl by J. 1:1. Hogge; 230 oral questions were aeked by L. Worthington Of the columns of the Official Report for the Session, 370 wero spoken by D. Lloyd George; 253 were apokftn by Sir Frederick Utan'ouiT; 227 were spoken by Herbert rkimuel; 218 wero cpoken by Bonar Law; 181 were spoken by H. H. Asquith; 181 were spoken by Sir John Simon. Beoides the Chanoellor of the exchequer, other Welsh merobere have contributed to the Officfal Report as follows:— R. McKenna, 131 columns; Ellis J. Griffith, 52 columns; Llewelyn Williams, 48 columns; Sir Alfred Mond, 35 columns: Edga.r Jonae, 31 columns; Hugh 33dwarde, 25 columns; Sir D. Brynmor Jones, 25 columm; J. Her- bert Ijewis, 22 columns; Keir Hardie, 20 columns; William Brace, 18 oolumna.; Ellis W. Da-vies, 18 columns; Sir Ivor Herbert, 16 oolnmnfi.

¡' A CREAT ViOLINIST. I I I I MISS MIE NALRS VISIT TO SWANSEA I A magnificent reception was accorded Mario Hall at the Albert Hall, Swansea, on Thursday evening, not only in the dimensions of the audience, but in the re- markablo demonstration of enthusiasm with which they greeted the efforts of the world-renowned virtuoso. To dwell on the prodigious talent of Marie Hall, who is without doubt the greatest lrnng Englist violinist, is but to try to paint ,the lily, her fame is known in every corner of the world, for she has been a big globe-trotter since she leapt from the obscurity of the street musician to hoid the exalted position of England's first violinist. Pagannini is acknow ledged to be the only possible prototype of such talent. The large audience at the Albert Hall was held under a spell while this slim, pallid, waxen figured and graceful creature played upon her much-travelled violin with such magic effect..Her first number was the elaborate Concerto in D Major by Tschaikowsky, which, seeing that it lasted fully fifteen minutes, must have entailed considerable physical strain, one would think. But Miss Hall, with closed eyos, Ups firmly set, and an almost super- natural expression, went through the elaborate score as though it were a delightful dream, and with as ipuch ease. There wai a tumultuous outburst of I applause at the close of the number, and Miss Hall had to concede an encore, as she did also on her two subsequent appearances. One piece which especially pkasad her auditors, by reason of its lively measure and rich chords, was Yota Argonese," or the national dance of Aragon. Miss Hall should have pleasant recollections of her reception in Swan- sea. Two other artiste assistM her at the I¡ concert. Miss Dorothy Treseder gave evidence of talent of the highest order in a selection of pianoforte solos from Liszt, Mosztowski, and Chopin, and was re- called on both her appearances. Mr. Ernest Bertram has a fine baritone voice of great power and rahge, and he was heard in a number of very acceptable songs, of which a The Vulcan's Song," by Gounod, was perhaps the best. Miss Treseder also supplied accompaniments, tl"8 grand piano being supplied by Messrs. Thompson and Shackell. A portion of the receipts at the concert will be given to the Frinco of Wales's Fund.

Major C. H. Simpson, who had been Master of Ceremonies at Bath, -died Liverpoo] cotton futures market was ro-onened YestexdAYA 1 n

I AN OLD FRENCH WOMAN AND HER CHIGKEHS. The old woman was busy feeding her chickens as wo rode up. You must coiAe, vite, Tante," says the yfficer in charge of the roundi-ng-up party. We will give you a lift." But I cannot leave my pullets," says the did country woman, aghast. They will starve." You mu-tt come, Tante," repeats the officer, inUexiblv. I am sorry for you, nta mere, but this bitter time we must make sacrifices. Get your clothes, old lady. We cannot wait now." "But my pullets!" wails tho old woman, again. They will starve if I am not here to feed them." Come, come, old lady," say3 the officer, and signs to his sergeant. Dis- mount, Tc-fn, and help her to pack." But til3 old woman backs up against the coop, ?nd fiddles a moment behind her with her left hand. Abruptly she luis T h (,, (1 ,3or open; and the, door open; and Kith a movement wonderfully quick for so old a body, she steps inside, among her beloved poultry, and slams-to the wire covered door. There is a tumultuous flapping and fluttering of bewildered poultry, and the air inside the coop is full for some moments of dust and feathers. Then the chars subsides, and the woman looks out defiantly from her refuge within the coop. The officer looks at me and laughs gently, yet with a queer little look of un- expected understanding in hi.s eyes. Monsieur," he whispers, the poor old body! It breaks their hearts. But how many hearts are bracking these day?. I have seen them thus many times ¡ these last days." Then he <hsmo?)nts and s'o? forward himself tc- the coop. He does his beet to ?er?iad? the old woman to listen to reason and come out; but she is too old I and too frightened and too rooted to year- long customs and habits. "No, no! I will not come. My pul- lets they will starve, she says, reiter- ating ei.dlessly. But the Germans, will ROOM, ma mere," he says patiently. They will kill your pullets and eat'them." Never!" screams the old woman. The situation has become impossible. The old woman is insensible to reason, toially unable to, i'ace and comprehend, this t-udden new necessity which war has brought across her quiet life. Picture the scene as I see it in that moment, standing, pitiful and silent— helpless, as all the world is in this moment, to help the old body. She stands in there. backed rigidly against the far side of the coop, with the chickens crowding away into the corners, chuckling uneasily. Outside, the officer stanus silen t; for he has ceased to ex- postulate. The sergeant, a big, black- bearded man, is weeping quite frankly, and I see that several of the other men are in tears. It is au extraordinary moment; but I a.m getting used here to seeing these Frenchmen show emotion, like a woman, one hour, and fy;ht like t incarnate spirit of War tho next. r comprehend their tears; though I arn very far from tears myself—only full of a great pity for tho old woman. Thus this moment of drama round an old hen-coop; and then, (suddenly, action —showing, the iron underneath the sur- face in these nacn who do not mind cry- ing. The officer turns quietly and savs three brief words to tht sergeant. The ser- geant and two of the men step forward, and round the front and sides of tho conp. Thore is a sudden crashing of W()odw{)rk I and the coop is torn apart. Then—an old woman screarning wildly, insanely: and a vast fluttering and clucking of outraged chickenhood! Thoy lift tho old woman, fighting and kicking, out of tho ruins of the coop; and the soldiers catch the chickens as they come soaring and, clucking out in all directions. The sergeant and his helper take the old woman into her little house, and there, I presume, help her to pack; for a few minutes later she comes out, very white-faced and rigid, carrying a email bird-cage and a clock, while the sergeant carries a bundle oil his broad back, tied up in a bed-quilt. The old woman is not allowed to pass near the coop; but is taken to the rear, and put aboard a light wagon, along with a number pi other unfortiinates. The serge-ant comes back, and 'the oiffcer whispers something to him, and I notice that he passes him a couple of twenty- franc pieces. The big sergeant mutters something, nodding towards the disrupted coop; and, after a moment, the officer nods. H Very well, Jean." he S&ys. "Just one; but no more. We can't cart all the live-stock on the country-side!" From the coop I hear sounds that tell me unmistakably that chickens are being converted into poultry; and I glance for explanation to the officer. If we leave them," he tells me, "they will only be destroyed. They will he bet- ter in our own camp pot to-night." Just that, he tells mc. Not a whisper about the fact that out of his own pocket he has serft forty francs to the old woman to recompense her for the poultry which she. was bound to lose. Five minutes later we were ready to move on, and I went to the rear to see one of the loaded wagons start off south ward. In the tail-end of it the old woman sat upon her big bundle, done up in tho old bed-quilt..In one hand was her bird- cage. The. other was gripped on (I doubt not) the lieutenant's two gold pieces, in her lap reposed snugly two things—her clock and one of her liens, which I guessed the hig black-bearded sergeant had begged for her. The wagon went away to the southward, and we moved forward on our errand of mercy and pain; for we had to see that all the country for a certain area was empty of non-combantants. I it. Twelve hours later gloat flames were rising up in our rear. The hen-cpop and the little farm wero going up to heaven in smoke, along with many another, ou the borders of the great forest of Compiegne. -William Hope Hodgson, in the Westmilister Gazette."

"HOLIDAY HAUNTS" GUIDE. The Great Western Railway Company announce that their annual publication, « Holiday Uaunbs," is now in course of preparation for the 1915 season. There is no doubt as to the excellence of this guide from the standpoint of the hotel pro- prietors and boarding-Tiotise keepers^ as it enjoys an immense circulation amongst the holiday-making public. Full parti- culars respecting the insertion of an- nouncements can be obtained at the stations and offices, or will be forwarded PQst free upon receipt of a postcard by Mr. Chas. Addington, Superintendent of the Line, Paddington Station, London, W.

I According to the new valuation lists, the value of property in the City is £ 6,918,000 gross and £ 5^798,000 rateable. Hooked in the presence of numerous spectators, a monster conger-eel weigti- i« £ 421b. has been taken on rod and line at Hastings Pier by Mr. W. Bradley. An addition to the hotel white U 1ist is tlv Hot.4 Metropole. Swansea, which r^jjorts having ?o Get man or Au?ri?T). pn'?r???d-of otherwle, now m it? em- nlaJ{

CAMBRIA DAILY LEADER' AND THE WAR: I I it I I I L DiRECTORSUND STAFF HELPING. r SCHEME TO PROVIDE FOR MEN AT THE FRONT- I 'lie cutbrc-,ak of t",Io wa thos4 Since the outbreak of tho war thos< connected with the "Cambria Daily Leader" have done their best to assist in the general movements that are being carried 011. Up to the present nine members of the staff have joined. tho colours. On their behalf the directors are setting aside a sum equal to hulf the wages of the nine men. The objects of the fund aro to pro- vide assistance to dependents and partial dependents, and to make advances to the men when they want anything not in7 cl uded in the War Office provisions, but ?- chiefly- to have a fund for the nien to fall back upon when the war is over, and when they will find the usefulness of a sum to meet the expenses of recuperat- ing and replenishing their wardrobes, etc. The tund is provided entirely by the pro- prietors, but its administration will be in the hands of a committee of the staff,, whose duty will be to consider all emer- gency and see to the distribution of such grants as they may decide to make. Mem bers of the -staff who have joined the colours will be re-engaged if they are able to resume their duties within six months after the declaration of peace. With re- gard to the balance of tho staff, full wages are being paid, and no reduction made in cases where short-time service only is required. What the Staff is Doing. All the members of the "Cambria Daily Leader" staff who have a Trades' Union to join are "Society" men. This includes those in the editorial department. As ench, they are meeting all the extra war levies asked for through. their Societies. But in addi- tion to those payments (which make a very creditable total each week), they are contributing to the Mayor of Swansea's branch or the Prince of Wales Relief Fund. Their payments to that fund up- to-date are about t16. When the action of the "C.I).L." staff became known to the hon. secretaries of the fund (Lieut.-Col. Sir Frederick Ponsonby, K.C.V.O., C.B., Mr. C. Arthur Pearson, and Mr. Hedley Le Bas), the latter wrote:— "It is a great pleasure to me to see you are having a collection among the staff for the Relief Fund. I should* like you to take the -opportunity of congratulating the staff on my behalf for their generosity. As I am in the middle of this fund, I can realise what a wise step has been taken in building up a large central amount, for the distribution of relief will be much fairer than it could possibly have been under any other circumstances." .————— THE CONSCRIPTION HUMOURS. "SiLEHT PRESSURE UPON ELIGIBLE MEH." Tho following appears in the Man. Chester Guardian" from its London cor- respondent. The rumours about conscription grow every day more circumstantial, and there is no doubt that the falling off in recruit- ing at home which has accompanied 9ur a tion which a far-seeing War Office has to consider. From all that I can leara, however, the compulsory principle has not been seri- ously entertained by the Government, al- though very strong pressure has been brought to bear upon it for that end. What is proposed is something in the way of an intormediate stage, and the bringing to bear of a silent pressure upon eligible men. At the instance of a semi-official associ- ation forms have been printed and will be circulated of a Voluntary census paper, which will bo' sent to dll householders with the object of finding out the exact number of army eligibles. No householder is required to fill up i these forms, but the volume of the re- turn will doubtless be taken as evidence by tho association which is organising the matter of the ripeness of the country for the institution of some form of com- pulsory service. The request for the information ia signed by leaders of both parties.

LOCAL enD TEMPlARY. I Good Templary is showing splendid im- provement and making headjWay.-On Monday last, the members of Libanus Lodge, Morriston, met together to bid farewell to two of its members, Bro. Morgan and Bro. Jenkins, who belong to the R.F.A. The District Chief Templar presided, and a really fine meeting was held. Again on Tuesday evening in the new Eagged School the members of the Sailors' Home Lodge held a re-union of old members, about thirty members de- tiding to rejoin. The District Chief Tem- plar again presided. The following artistes took part:—Miss N. Prosser and Misso L. Edwards, Mr. E. S. Evans and Mr. P. Brailey, Miss L. Ahearn, Miss A. Colo, and Miss Lily Mitchell. The meet- ing was addressed by Bro. J. H. Jenkins, G.E.S. A Lodge was quite recently re- started at Clydach, and there are excel- lent prospects for a Lodge at Sketty.

A retired Army sergeant named ICyle, aged 86, has just walked alone from Arlesey, Bedfordshire, to London, a dis- tance of 35 miles, to offer his services, ag an old non-com. to Lord Kitchener. He hopes to be allowed to aasist ia drilling recruits.

I  -.————————L- ?i j r I Household Expenses are o'increased owing to the War, and care is necessary to obtain the greatest food value for the money expended. keoma I has temporarily advanced in 1 price one halfpenny per I packet, but the weight is the I same, and the admittedly i superior quality is maintained & as before. Cakeoma. is now more tlwn ever | the cheapest as well as the best for I all Cakes and Puddings. From all | Grocers and Stores 4d. per packet. 1 LATHAM & CO. LTD.. f I v LIVERPOOL. »-* „„