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The announcement by the German Em- pe? to his troops that the peace ov,? rturel ?7 the Central Powers has failedthat ?e war "n?t continue would appear to ?mose of the idea that h? been vaguely SSng ?ape that Austria Hungary seeks to break awav from the Central Powers and obtain a separate peace, The overture was made collectively by the Central Powers, and rejected by the Entente collectively. it is Possible that Austria Hungary inspired it originally: for it is comprehensible that the new Emperor desires to put himself in good countenance with his motley peoples by bringing about a peace concluded with- out much regard to the terms, ana ridding them of an incubus of which they are weary unto death. That he can disentangle hmi; eelf from the toils is, however, unlikely, ana « separate peace, as a matter of fact, would involve chaotic military and political conse- quences. There are various indications of political unrest in the Dual Monarchy, chiefly in the direction of the reassertion oi the Austrian element almost snuffed out by the German and Magyar domination, but Us purport is for the: moment uncertain. The dismissal of two officials, Forgach and Maechio, who were concerned some yetiiTs ago in the fctfoiHcation of forged evi. dence against prominent southern S lavonic inar^onages. seems to fit in better with the report that the An&tvo-Hunganan Govern- ment- is negotiating with a Montenegrin prince for the establishment of a southern Slavonic State, than with the theory that it is a rebuff to Pan-Germanism It would obviously placate public sentiment in this zone of the Dual Monarchy. There is a great deal in the pohtioal meUi^g-pot m Eastern Europe at present, and both 11uma- nia ais well as conquered Serbia and the ad- ijacerat Slavonic lands are nul, unlikely to be affected by drastic changes on the lines of those beiug effected 111 ex- Russianf Poland. A statement issued by Renter's Agency from authoritative sources, after painting a lurid picture of the situation ot Ger- many in respect of food, warns us, however, j that she is not yet in a state of exhaustion, and there are no signs of revolution. Austria-Hungary is unquestionably much worse off, but a "revolution" is unlikely there, for the simple reason that there is hardly anybody capable of putting up a re- volution. There are left only women, child- ren, and the dregs of the men. The troops tre in the bonds of a stern disciple, they axe, in the case of the Austria-Hun- garians, too composite in nature to render easy any co-operation in action of the nature in- dicated, and the Government can continue make them tight. But they cannot make fisrht well; and the immense surrenders -iril iu Eastern Gahda. in June and Julv'of last year sit.er iiidex to the nature that the deterioration in Austro- Hunagrian moral is likely to assume than a serious internal rising. There is visible in this country a danger- ous tendency to gamble on the expectation that in the summer a short, sharp fight will see the end of things that a collapse of the enemy is approaching. It is dangerous, be- cause if the scarcity of food presses sharply in this country and the war continues to rage with little modification in the situation, there may be a sharp revulsion. Starting this year as early as we please, with abundant resources and a finished technique, we have every nrospect of drastic changes in the West in a situation that has remained, territorially. practically unaltered since Sep- tember. 1914, and that neeas. drastic changes to make it reallv satisfactory to the Allies. That is a,11 that, we have the right to expect, and it is sufficient to look forward to. The German occupation of the Danube grain port of Braila and the rapid closing in upon Foscani. one of the centres of the Russian line of resistance upon the course of the Sereth, remind the public that the wider emphasis placed upon the local, tran- sient, and occasional successes of our Ally in his rear-guard act'ons, han been permitted .to obscure the essential factthat the mili- tary situation in the Rumanian iheat'-e con- tinues to be dominated by the enemy. An important result can. however, be cKi' >ed by the Russians, that theyfSave secured time for the demolition of the grain stored at Braila. But the role of an army as a corps of incendiaries ruining a country it is impo- tent to defend, is only one, and not neces- sarily the most important, of its activities. The object of the Russians is to preserve their position on the Sereth the base for a counter-offensive into Rumania to pre- vent the enernv from exploiting in the com- ing year the "resource* <H tne no wheat- crrowing plains, end from gathering the crop 111 the ground which even the Russians could not de&troy. If the Sereth is lost, not only will the German campaign be rounded off with the acquisition of a defensible nili- tary frontier, but it will render a counter- attack by the Russia)is and a reorganised Rumanian Anny i-ery fiflicult. Incidentally, the Danube will be firman from source to sea—another.politico i phenomenon for the Allies and Europe to reckon' with. At present the rrospecL; nore that the Germans -will achieve their aim, »nd clear the Sereth, and the greater part of Rumamn. Mean- while Rumania has proved for Russia like the motor-car of Messrs rot/ash and Perl- rnmtte, iiot an asset but a liability. or_

It is fpiriv obvious that the present situa- l tion demands of all the Allies, both at home ,and in the held. clear thinking and prompt I and resohite action. At the front we are confi, dent that there will be no lack of either, and that- the enemy will continue to be harried and pounded with all the per- sistence and co-operation that the season permits, until the opportunity arrives for another combined general offellsi-ve in all the theatres of tne fighting. As to the posi- ) tion at home- wp a'T3 n°t so fully reassured, j a diplomat t?e German may be a As a diplomat tue German may be a clumsy blunderer, whose unavailing efforts j' • to interpret the mind 01 other nations not liti-der his immediate vassalage tend to pro- ■* oke quite excusable laughter and eon- tempt. But as an organiser he Is inde- fatigable, relentless, not to be denied. He sets to work to repair his blunders as soon b« they are perceived. The most formidable obstacles do not deter him. If genius is truly an infinite capacity for takiing pains," he has most certainly that quality j -,is an organiser; and he diffei., from others of its possessors in that if. after ex- pending an infinity of labour upon one en- terprise, he finds 'it utterly fruitless in the End. he wastes no time upon lamentations over his latest failure but turns instantly to the development of an alternative plan- Nrith unabated energy. This obstinate persistence is li1 element 1,)1 the German character which, thanks to J- (he ludicrous results ;hat so often follow from it, is apt to be. under-rated in this counts and that is. perhaps, natural. We know something of ourselves of dour and dogged tenacity. But our persistence is rather of the irrevocable type, which holds on, heedless of alternatives, to one settled course, and, in defiance of all ths probabilities, somehow wrests success out of the jaws of failure. It is not in our national character to emulate or understand the facility with which the Itun, bound neither by honour nor by scruple, arid with, a single eye to the main chance for himself, turns from one course or attitude to another in his efforts to attain his selfish purpose. All the world over at the present time the elaborate German machinery for the fabrication or influencing of opinion is being operated -it the maximum pressure to procure a premature peace, or at least to produce an "a,tmosphere" propitious for its conclusion. As the Allied Note stated, it is a mere war manoeuvre." Germany, we fully believe, desires peace—of a sort. But it is not peace of a soit which the Allies, or any of them, can accept or even Nor does she desire it for any f. the reasonjs to Which she luas officially given publicity. Generosity and humanity do not come into the affair at all. We have seen Germany posturing in many ridiculously inappro- priate roles. But the role of magnanimous conq ueror and earnest missioner of peace and goodwill is the most ridiculous of all. She will never speak of peace while war can bring her any further gains. The peace which Germany wants is a German peace." She know that her scheme of world-conquest has for the moment missed fire-that it can- not possibly be attained in the present war and a.ga.inst the present combinations of civilised nations. But she hopes that, through war-weariness or individual folly or mutual mistrust, the Allies may be. in- duced to stay their hands while their task is yet incomplete, and while the means and chance are still left open to Germany for achieving in the future the ends which all the elaborate preparations of half-a-century have failed to win for her in two-and-a-half years of war. That Germany is herself war-weary, and that she is suffering privation and dis- tress at home, as well as moral and material deterioration at the fighting fronts, we may legitimately assume. But that is not her leason for "offering" so-called "peace" nor will it be her reason yet awhile for approach- ing her adversaries with terms. The main object of her "peace" pourparle.s--and we shall all do well to keep it very prominently in view-is to test at once the individua.1 resolution and the collective coherence of her opponents. She has sought to discover how far the Allies, or any of them, may be suffering from the strain of the struggle; with what feelings aJl or any of them are inclined to contemplate its conclusion; in fact, what terms it would be necessary for her to offer to produce the hoped-for partial breach or general debacle. She has had her answer—from ten nations which spoke with the voice of one. And, j with her characteristic persistence, she is preparing and will propound another plan— still, be it remembered, not so much with the object of securing a cessation from whose postponement she is suffering severely and will suffer progressively in the future, as with the hope of disorganising or under- mining or even delaying the effective and co-operative retribution which her opponents have prepared for her in the coming cam- paign. It behoves us all in these times to keep in mind an equally clear view of the character of the enemy with whom we have to deal and of the great issues for which we took up our arms. If we do so, without pausing to dally in debate upon a fraudulent j and fictitious "peace," we shall not fail- as Germany is longing and striving to make ns. fail--—to pursue with every thought of our mrnds; and every breath of our bodies that ( goal of final victory of which nothing now but our own weakness or folly can rob us.

As an upshot of the Rome Conference, j the Allies have sent to A thens their third Note since December 14th. without taking into account the correspondence of the previous twelve months. As an example of futility and indecision, the AUie?' deal- ings with the pro-Germans at Athens could not be excelled by Mr. Woodrow Wilson. A vea-t- ago the Greek Army was a potential danger to the Allied force based on Salonika, and a yeiir later, after all the nct-iv ity of t]-ie it is a g?eater dan?r than ever, the Ring's heart aving hardened and the -Uied Army having ad- vaneed in circumstances of so'.ae peril. W hat is at the bottom of this prosrastina- tion, the puiblic have given up attempts to conjecture but in this country we do look to Mr. Lloyd George and to Lord Mllliiei., to cut clear away from past, traditions of vacil- lation and bring matters to a head one way or another. Happily this last Note promises to be final. It is worth recalling that the British Cabinet participated in the Salonika ex- pedition against its own judgment. The statement is definitely made that its objec- lives were overruled only after a visit of Joffre to London. A distinguished French- i man. writing in "The New Europe" for December 7th. said It is no longer a, secret that if the Entente to-day has an army in the Balkans, it is due to the initiative and insistence of France. Britain followed her, not without some hesitation, after the sacrifices and disappointments caused by the ill-starred experiment of Gallipoli." The future of this expedition seems to be a legitimate subject for reconsideration, partic- ularly after the ifasco in Rumania. German correspondents at. Sofia tell us that the Bul- garians are disinclined to participate much further in the operations against Russia and Rumania now that the Dobrudja has been cleared to the Danube. That may be merely bluff intended to mislead the Allies, but granting its correctness, gel,frail has cer- tainly now to face at least the prospect of the entire dead weight of the Bulgarian army reinforcing the opposition in front of him. His chances of success are correspond- ingly reduced. The Allies have never hesi- tated in the past to cast prestige to the wind and evacuate and retreat ad libitum. Whether Macedonia is to be abandoned a.nd a garrison left at S I and the surplus f,rc,o p sl,ii,p?-d h er theatre, isa troops shipped off to ome otber theatre, is a matter for the French and British military commands to settle between them, but it "Hist be mentioned as a possibilitv of the future. The most optimistic of us hardly consider the expedition a prosperous one so I far. or its prospects bright. The defeat of Rumania entails- far-reaching consequenoes, and the latter have all been to the detri- ment of San-ail. It is, after all. to the West, to the keystone of the arch of the Central Powers, that we look this year for victory; there are few signs or probabilities of it in the Near East.

———— The ellemy's cff ensive in Rumania con- tinues upon a scale imperfectly appre- ciated so far. It is one of the major opera- tions of the war, and it has to be proved whether it will not shape the course of hos- I' tilities in the Eastern front in the coming year. It is calculated that. wW, with 25 to 26 Gerrrwi and Austro-Hungarian divi- sions, eight Bulgarian divisions (each equal to a.n army corps of 25,000 to 30,000 mea), and six Turkish divisions, with cavalry and non-combatants, 600,000 men are engaged with probably inferior Russian and Ruma- nian forces. The Austrian and German contingents are equal in numbers, and Ger- many has actually (werthrown Rumania with the employment of lees than six per cent. of her to?al number o.f divisions—-an in?igninoaitit fraction, supplemented by other workers for the King of Prussia." Probably in numbers as well as in equip- ment the en amy en joys a considerable supe- riority, particularly as the larger part d what rmains of the Rumanian Army has been withdrawn to reorganise. The enemy enjoys other advantages, which account for his steady progress to the river Sereth, the last natural barrier but one between him and the plain which stretches eastwards to Odessa. The Russian calcula- tions certainly never contemplated. the Rumanian collapse. When Rumania took the field on August 27th the mass of the Russian armies in Galicia was engaged in an effort to continue the big drive of Brussiloff in the early summer against the new line taken up by the Germans who came to the rescue of their shattered allies. The effort failed and the enemy, collecting from one front and another an army sufficient to over- power the Rumanian resistance, threatened to turn the Russian left flank and annul all the gains made. The Russians did all that they could by direct and indirect action. But whereas the Germans had their forces upon the spot, -and were advancing vie- j toriouslv, the Russian alternative offen- sives in Galicia .ind Moldavia failed, and the Russians could not transfer sufficient forces to the Rumanian zore. be cause nf the miserable railway communications (blocked also by the exodus from Bukharest) in time to save Bukharest, the Dobrudja; or Braila. The Russian troops which actually arrived, after making their way into a country where the Rumanian civil population was fighting its way to get out, could only share the Rumanian defeats and retreats. But they certainly won invaluable time which de- stroyed some of the benefits, of the highest importance, which the enemy expected to derive from his conquests—the stored-up grain and oil. The Russians are plainly not yet on the spot in adequate strength, though their retreat yields few prisoners to the enemy and is evidently being conducted' slowly and in good order. But the readjust- J ment of the line takes time. and the effect upon the Russian plans and dispositions is probably revolutionary. Already we have in thiq remote southern zone of Russia gene-1 rals whose armies were last autumn massed on a relatively short front- in Galicia, and that have now to be extended over several; hundred miles of new front. This thinning i out of the line naturally modifies extensively Russian plans for the spring. To a certain extent the enemy has thus seized the initia-; tive and dictated the field of operations. It is certainly an to his good that Rumania should be employed by him as a lightning conductor to draw oft. tite electricity that might otherwise be discharged against the Austro-Hungarian front in llunglVry. ————— -0

The British Army far surpasses all the other combataaits put together in the num- ber and success of its trench raids, in which small parties of men steal across at night to the enemy's lines, to a sector isolated by an artillery barrage, kill or capture the occu- pants and blow up the defences. During the battle of the Sonune nearly four hundred of these) enterprises were made on other parts of the line, and several thousand casualties inflicted on the enemy at small cost to ourselves. A daylight raid on a front of more than a mile near Arras had, however, a touch of farce about it. After a bombardment which reached the enemy's third line, our raiders entered the trenches to find them absolutely deserted, save for a very few dead. The enemy apparently! withdrew all his men, and permitted us to shell a.nd enter deserted lines. Our blow was consequently struck in the air. It will be interesting to see whether these baffling tactics will be repeated on a grand scale when the great artillery bombardment of the next offensive starts in earnest.

It if upon the children of to-day that the fufture of the country depends, and, if we are to maintiain our leading position among great commercial nations, that future will haive to be a much more strenuous time than we have been ayocustomed to in the past. The war threatens to leave us not only with a national debt of L5;OGO,000,000, but with a large part of our mercantile marine destroyed. There will be much lee- way to make good, and it is only by in- cfeasing our productive power that it can be accomplished. It is therefore very neces- .qaxy that the children of to-day should be better equipped than those of the past, and should have the very best traiiiing that it is possible to give them. In the near future our school system will have to ,be reformed, and important develop- ments are looked for in view of the ap- pointment of Mr. A. A. L. Fisher as Minis- ter. lii the struggle that is coming a better educated nation will be of vital oon- sequence to us, and in educational circles opinion is growing in favour of (1) raising the school-age, (2) compulsory alttendance at secondary schools, and (3) facilities for a larger proportion to enjoy the advantages of a secondary and university education. Lord Haldane. discussing this subject at Perth the other day, urged that employers of children above the age of 14 should be compelled to send them to trade continua- tion schools until they were 18, when they would be examined for a journeyman's cer- tificate, and, if they continued for three years longer, for a master's certificate. The first step, however, to extend national scientific physical activity is to give more attention to handicraft work in the school curriculum. We must face the problem of the education of the young if we are to build up commercial prosperity on the new, and more difficult conditions that will prevail after the war. Happily a good deal more than is generally known is being done in capturing Germarh, trade. In town after town we find new in- dustries have been introduced, and. pro- ducts which previously were made almost entirely in Germany are being turned out in large quantities. Developments have taken place in regard to dyes and colours, the pro- duction of optioal glasses, non-inflammable celluloid, various kinds of tools, and other goods. An instance is furnished by the wall- paper industry. Foreseeing a f illing off in the demand for its ordinary wares it turned its attention to the manufacture of imita- tion leather, and embossed papers used for binding and covering purposes in the fancy goods trade. This stuff used to come en- tirely from Germany aind Austria, but the wallpaper industry has both captured the trade and is thriving upon it. At last manu- facturers are thoroughly awake, and they have passed the significance of modern ma- chinery, standardisation, specialisation and a big output. Never again must Germany be allowed to secure a monopoly of "key" in- dustries, or owt us from our own markets, and that is the motto we should put up over all our ^tihnols and workshops.

A little slip at the" Appeals Tribunal at Swansea "Rome service abroad." ..e. Most of Swansea's patriotic war savings aftv in 5 and 6 per cent. Exchequer Bonds. Seasoned khaki-warrior in High-street, Swansea, to equally seasoned beggar, "Na poo 10 » c ♦ ♦ » Swansea Harbour Trust clock was a few minutefc out on Monday. Tides were un- affected. "Water Swine" read the announcement before the film was shown on the cinema. When the film itself appeared, the audience was deeply disappointed—instead of Ger- man seamen, it dealt with an interesting species of animal. < £ i < £ *3* One Swansea docksman to another "Say, Bill, that must be a big company coming to Swansea that Norge.' They've got more boats than any I know, as I have tried to reckon them and had to give up." At a time when the potato is very much in evidence, it is curious to recall that the German town of Offenburg, in the Black Forest, a statue to Sir Francis Drake as the introducer of the potato into Europe. "A submarine ca,n see the smoke of a steamer a long way off," remarked an Irish captain at Swansea. "But I am up to the blackguards; I always whitewash my coal before starting he added with a twinkle. Those who have taken plots at Port Talbot for food cultivation are going "right on" with their work. The tilling of the plots has already commenced, and on Monday several of the "plotters" were seen hard at work. A novel pair of leggings were seen worn by a passenger in a. train between Ntxith i and Port Talbot on Monday. The riiaii in' question had tied hrown paper around his legs. Not a bad idea, eitiifr, these expen I' sive days. The Government s'^new War Loan will, it is M.id, oner attractive faculties to every class, and will moio\effactively appeal in a way that no previous" loan has done. Ways and means are btiug offered for everyone to subscribe. It v>j} be Lhe big financial j "push. M 1 Two public oiooks are being installed at I Messrs. Letricheux ,u«i liavid's new premises at Adelaide-street corner They wih be a great coiiv*xi.aec, tne coiuci I is a, growingly busy one. To see the new clock on 'Change Buildings (when it is going) it will be necessary to stand well up in the South Dock. Elders and youngsters were enjoying themselves with charades at a Brynmiii re- sidence. When the elders' turn came they entered the room carrying impromptu doiis, and presently undertook the role of bearers, with ladies in distress bringing up the rear. The children were nonplussed, but shrieked wnen told the ciiura-de Wds iiony Dyes. Margam Council recently debarred the use of their baths (boarded over for the win- ter, of course) for dancing. On Monday an effort was made to1 upset this decision, be- cause some of the young men of the dis- trict went to Neath and elsewhere for dancing classes. Young men are needed for something more important than dancing just now, if it's only to make the Germans dance. V "Two Pound's a Week" writes: Are the profit-mongers killing the goose that Jays the golden egg? I know that most working men, like myself, can't save much; but most of us make it a point of saving- a little each week. My wife out of that sum manages to save 2s. per week for clothes, and gene-raly contrives on the New Year to spend the Z5. So utterly disgusted was she at the enormous price of things that she, returned home and decided to patch up the wardrobe and go without the new this year. A giant among men (says the Western Mail "), the late Mr. Samuel Frank Thomp- son,, of Swansea, one of the founders of the firm of Thompson and Shackell. looked even bigger than his actual size by reason of the effect of his Dundreary whiskers, which seemed to emphasise both his height and breadtih. Alr. Thompson was one of the fortunate people who commenced life at the time South Wales began to grow. The metamorphosis of the coal districts was con- temporaneous with his own output of energy, and Mr. Thompson made himself while working in the army of business men who made South Wales. In fact, if the life history of Mr. Thompson could be written, it would be practically that of South Wales from Carmarthen to Newport. < +- The champion liar of the Amman Valley11 used to live at Tairgwaith, a little hamlet near Brynamman. During the morning spell" at one of the Gwauncaegurwen Col- lieries (writes a correspondent) the topic the other day was the wonderful wor k of our aerial forces in France. It is quite true, I am sure," broke in the champion, after listening to the recital of a certain deed of our airmen, "for I saw something like that many years ago when I was making exsperi- ments." Then, whilst the ooiliers listened with much interest to what they knew was coming, the champion learnedly explained that the gwlith v boreu" (morning dew) wa? absolutely the most mysterious thing known to scientists. He had filled, he said, a blown-out egg shell with dew collected II during the night, and had placed it on a certain part of his garden where it would be struck by the very firs>t rays of the sun as the day dawned. As soon as the sun rose," he continued, "the light struck the ,egg, and the dew which I had imprisoned caused it to roll and roll to and fro until I began to fe.ir it would fall from tli-r tree. But in a little bit, as the sun gradually grew stronger and stronger, the egg ruse right up and began to sail towards the sky I watched it as it kept rising and rising, making straight for the sun, until at last I completely lost sight of it." At this dra- matic climax the champion turned round to observe the effect ,on the colliers. Well. well, well!" someone exclaime.d in awe- stricken tone, and what do you think be- came of the egg shell?" "Oh," exclaimed the champion. "maR e'n myn'd o hyd v (" It is still going! '*) The roar that followed nearl-v caused a teAl of the roof. ? ?the B* in Af?er the Big Pugh in the Somme offen- sive comes the "Big Touch" in the new War Loan. A defendant in a oase at Swansea Muni- tions Tribunal on Saturday said his former occupation was that of a (professional golfer. Bedsteads which used to be bought whole- sale by Swansea buyers for 18s. 9d. each atre now costing £2 0s. 6d. from the manu- facturers. The Volunteer candidate for N.C.O. honours at Swansea, who courteously re- quested the platoon to "form fours— please didn't get his stripe. >- Don't forget tha.t the outstanding events of this week are the Victory War Loan and the Daily Post whist-drive for the benefit of the War Prisoners' Fund. EucalyptUÆi'" (Swansea) wants to know of us whether" all those Swansea people who possess ooughs assemble in the news- room and reference department of the Free Library on Saturday afternoons?" We pau.-e for a reply. A private in the Welsh Fusiliers who had been a prisoner in Germany for six months, declared on his arrival home, a few days ago. that he and his fellow-pfisoners would have starved to death had it not been for the parcels sent out from home. "Daily Post" readers, please note. Writes Fossil (Swansea.) :—Looking over some photographs of old Swansea, I find that nature does not change with Ill.. for in the foreground of a photo of bygone days a Clearance sale figures promi- nently, yet masculine, fashions vary, for do you ever see a "ehceseoutter" cap these days? When you read that in peace times we spend annually in alcoholic refreshments £ 185,000,0€0. and in tobacco another £ 40,000,000. remember also we provided French's "contemptible little army," and that the White Ensign of the British Fleet flies free in this the third year of the war.— ("Pro Patria. You can say what you like about the Army," remarked a Morriston dame, "but it has made men of my two boys, anyway. They are now as smart as they can be. No wonder the country is short of potatoes if all the soldiers eat like them. Why, a bag of spuds goes nowhere, and as for the war bread, it disappears like magic." In these days, when Swansea pubLc clocks have a manner of going awry, it i? interest- ing to note that, the two most reliable time- pieces are those of St. Mary's Church and the Central Police Station. Each is a gift from a townsman, and that of St. Mary's Church was presented to the town of his birth by the father of Mr. Ernest E. Mor- gan, borough architect, who designed the Central Police Station Buildings. He is at present serving with the Colours in Egypt. A number of coasting skippers were dis- cussing the merits oi their little vessels near Wind-street Bridge, Swansea. "Let my craft have the flying jib, full mainsail and gaff .topsail and there is not a schooner in the three channels that will cross my bows." thus proud-ly remarked a man from Cornish waters. "Well," answered an Irish smpper. I don't want to boast but my little packet can do her ten knots on a bowline any day of the week except Good Friday! I wouldn't have missed my night at the Swansea Soldiers' Buffet for worlds. I had the chance of a lifetime in studying the char- acter of our Tommies. Gheertul is not the name for it. They know no fs-ar or hardship and only laugh at their past terrible ex- periences. They sing and some even dance. They all believe that the war will be over this year, but are quite prepared to go on fighting for years." Thus said a man in the grey-green uniform to the writer. Paraphrasing the famous utteraale-e of St. Paul, a dweller in Sketty in these stirring times might with justice proudly boa,-t,: I am a resident of no mean suburb," for before the "fetching period it contributed 400 young men to the fighting ranks, and many of them have won distinction on the field by their bravery. The latest to be awarded the Military Cross is Captain Henry Charles Hamilton Eden, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Eden, Glynderwen, Lower Sketty, who is at present doing Major's duties, as he is com- manding a howitzer battery in France. Churchwardens' Presentments of old-time make quaint reading. Thus in 1705 the good people of Lh'nedy, in Carmarthenshire, had a lot of trouble with their rector, and also with their clerk. The rector was con- stantly absent, so much so that the parish- ioners had sometimes to do the burying of their dead themselves. As for the clerk, he Allowed idle persons" to toU the bell in- stead of doing it himself orderly and regu- larly," and on one particular occasion he suffered one Morgan William, an idle man, to toll the bell, so that the same broke to pieoes, to the great damage ofthe parisn- loners. <;> ■?>«> <lX>-<$» On Saturday afternoon allotment holders on the Park Hill Estate at Sketty were busily engaged pegging out their plots, pre- viously decided by lot, and turning the turf. The next morning visitors flocked4 to the locale, and had a colonial been amongst them, he might at first have wondered, see- ing the posts, whether a party had been prospecting for gold, but would soon have been disabused when he overheard the learned discuasions of gardening, sympathies with those whose perch of ground included a clump of trees, whose roots were said to ex- t-end over the same area as the height, and preclude a crop of potatoes, etc. We read (writes "Cyciiste") in the columns of a, London daily recently a letter condemning in very strong terms the laxity in discipline among the troops in the Metro- polis. Nothing strikes one as more childjsh than to hear people of this kind perpetually drivelling on a subject they know nothing I about; suffice it that our troops, in every theatre of war, have proved themselves superior to their enemies, and that's the first consideration after all. It is the perfect spirit of camaraderie existing bet ween ofla- cers and men that carries us through to victory, and iron discipline would only serve to make men, particularly Kitchener's men. bad soldiers instead of the fine warriors they are. ^)- '-ft- The sergeant was in a bad temper, conse-! quently the rnrit under instruction were having a hot time of ;L The squad had to i(, ,c,,tta i 'ii,i "'bout turn so many times in a few seconds tha.t it was no wonder the recruits got dizzy. a.nd one of them finished up by turning about the wrong way. The ser- geant, striding up to him, roared, Where the dickens do you reckon yourself to be, eh? On parade or what?" "Well, ser- I geant," replied the other, meekly, I began to think I was at a fancy (trs ball dressed up a<s a blooming leg o' mutton and twisting i-ound and round on a meat-jack. "—(Mr. Charles Da vies at Swansea Strand Mission). "Swansea inquests" are becoming a synonym for perpetual motion." One on Monday lasted seven and a quarter hours: Swansea Volunteers m-' to have their own allotments at Singleton. Every man in charge of a potato trench is expected to only stand easy when his hoe is completed. < t -< 0 A Neath lady has started a new idea. For her "at-home" day she issued a notice to her guests to bring their own sugar. From Quay-parade I see there s a complaint about the waste of water in Swansea." Oh, is tliwe? Well thoy carn't blame me for that any'owl" Sprats wr-re plentiful in Swansea on Fri- day. £ atl..x broi.; ht a few pounds only to find f.h..t his good wife, when she returned home from the bargain sales, had done likewise. It has been recalled by his death that the late Mr. Herbert Taylor was the re- feree in the memorable football match at Llaneily when the Wallabies first bit the dust of defeat on Welsh soil. Who was the Swansea boy who locked his father in the bath-room because he refused to give him money to go to the pictures? And what did father do after he pushed six- pence under the door to the youngest son to let him out? It is stated by a Dutch correspondent that every time British is mentioned in con- versation sailors at Kiel spat on the ground as a sign of contempt. In the British Navy every time German" is mentioned m conversation our tars vomit. 1 Wreckage from the barque Tridonia, lying in two off Oxwich, continues to be Wasned up around the immediate coast. Salvors notify the Customs' Authorities. Upon proof of ownership being established owners have to pay expenses, and the salvors are rewarded. The latter's share comes to about half the value. > x <;p. in openillgthe forty-ninth annual Christ- mas tree in connection with the Parish of St. Peter's at Carmarthen on Thursday, Mr. W. Y. Nevili, Llaneily. High Sheriff of the County, announced that since the Ghristimis tree was started, forty-nine years ago, a sum of had been realised by it for various parochial objects. Private C. E. Ashbury. of Swansea, sends home a concert programme from Some- where near the Somme." It is headed, "Keep Smiling: Our Motto." A. menu is also included; Roast beef, roast pork, apple sauce, vegetables, cabbage, potatoes, sweets, stewed prunes, cream, Xmas pud- ding and also a wine list. Then comes the sorrowful—"Perhaps! The Alliee are still free; they are still unbroken; they have still great resources; They mean to finish this- business once and for all, and to the United States the- only turn to offer up the short prayer of the American hunter confronted by a grizzly "Well, help m^, don't help the b'ar. Morning Post.") Out of the 20P allotments into which Hill House estate held, Sketty, has been mea- sured, 39 were taken on Friday evening, a.nd on Saturday nfternoon a small army of diggers commenced operations. There is an extra inducement held out to the men of Sketty Volunteer Co. who were promised by Captain C. E. Poole, their commander, that an evening spent on the allotment woul d count as a drill. The South West Wales Munitions Tri- bunal, held at Swansea on Thursday, was kept waiting nearly an hour owing to the non-arrival of the representative of a con- trolled factory, but through no fault of his own. The explanation he had to offer was that the motor-car which had to* convey him to the railway station refused to "start up." A second, one which was pro- cured did likewise; and in trying a, third car, this one also refused to budge an inch. Some" cars! On Monday morning next there will be a total eclipse of the moon. At ten minutes to 6 the moon's disc will enter the shadow thrown by the earth at a point on the upper left-hand edge. The obscured portion will increase until at 7 o'clock the whole of the moon will be eclipsed, and as this will be only an hour before sunrise, and the sky will be comparatively bright, the aspect may be peculiar and interesting. The moon will set in total eclipse at ten minutes past 8, about five minutes after the sun has risen. An honesty test in America which gave selected people of various professions the op- portunity of returning or keeping a small sum of money showed that, in the case of men, 31 out of 50 returned the money. Among the more honest classes were lawyers, rich men, newspaper men (good!) and actors. Among the; less honest were aldermen, sue- cessful business men, publicans and doctors. Successful business women, on the other hUild, returned the money in every case but in every other category except teachers (the next most honest class) two women kept the money for every three who returned it. Pickings from Punch." A Field Officer writes: Yesterday I was saluted by an Australian priva.te. It was a great day for me.• < Another Impending Apology.—" Grizzlv Rears at the Zoo. Lieut.-General Sir W. R. Robertson, Chief of' the Imperial General Staff, was unanimousl y elected an hon. mem- ber of the Zoological Society of London at the December general meeting. "—("The Times") By a Ministerial decree, chickens can be raised in the courtyards of houses in Rome." -(" Daily Express. ") And we are now C, fidently expecting some "Lays of Modern Rome. An Unfortunate J Lixtapo,,iticii. Dr. —— has resumed practice. and undertakers. ''—(''West Australian.) A Loudon correspondent writes.—Many | a lovely singer ha-s migrated from the land of song to the Metropolis, but none more 1 delightfully dainty and winsome than Miss i Morfydd Ow?n, who hails from old Gla- j morgan. Her '.oice-a o)rano of wide? range and in&rite sweetness—is not re- maA?ble for great po? er, but Miss Owen is young and the strength of her voice has been wisely husbanded fcr tuture develop- ment. Volume of sound is easily obtained correct, production and cleaj enunciation, in which she excels, are the imperative essentials oi a successful vocalist. Miss Owen took her degree of Bachelor of Music in 1912. She also won the Goring Thomas Scholarship at the Royal Aademy of i Music, where she has been studving for the pa?t four years. The technical knowledge thu obtained wiii be of immense and two- fold use to her, being that as a soi?-c?m- poser she evinces phenomenal promise, Already the British Society of Composers and two or three of the leading Lonàon publishers are keen on bringing out several of her songs at an early date, a fact which speaks volumes for their merit, particularly at this slack time. Naturally. Miss Owen ha»s a great a in being able to j exploit her own songs, while the unstinted 'praise of the London Pvess of her dual gift-* h»* been unanimous and helpful. All that matters. Good morning When did you hear from your boy; How is he? •>-<?> "If you are not back before the train leaves, you will be late," was the reply a local porter gaive to a mail who had asfced whether he had time to have a pint. The chairman at Swansea Police Court oa Tuesday complimented P.S. Danaher (Har- hour Police) on the way he carried out his duties at the docks. -Sergt. Danaher proved no I,sf> than tive cases that morning in court. There are Ighteenmjlllons pounds invested in the British cinema industry; a thousand and fifty millions people see tHe films every year and between 80.900. and 100,000 people make their -living frci,. it. T^re? and a half thousand million feet of films are shown evcry year. <i> -<■ >■<■ The nearest approach to a food, riot, &t S^ wansea so far was that of a recent evening when a number of Swansea suburban garden ffotters," engaged in earnest con- versation on a west-bound car, were inter- rupted by a mild-mannered man, who in- qmred: "lou will excuse me, gentlemen, but what is an allotment?" "Wind Jammer" (Swansea) writes:—"I have iieard of the old Cape Horn skippej who gave his German carpenter and his Dutch cook bad discharge notes WAUS8 the former couldn't make shavings and tha latter boil not water without burning it j but the Irish skipper who white-washed the coal so as not to make smoke taikes tit pan-fry 1" Good Whenever Councillor Molyneux opens his month he savs something" (writes "Top o' th' Town"), "tor instance, what could be more in the spirit of the times than hiA address to the boys of the Baptist Well Boys' and Girls' Club. Said he. 'Glow up I British boys, and stick to' spurt and play the game,' and he further backed tip bit aàvjc, wit.h the promise of two new air gulls. » 0 ♦ ♦ ♦ A "Daily Mail" specia! correspondent writes :—" fhe board," Lo«d D'Abernoa said -,o me to-day, tries to steer an even course between extremists on both sides. Up to 1915 there had bn ho real progress in the cause temperance for 300 years, chieflv because of the violence of teetotaJ advocates, who were. as culpable as the most selfish brewers." Food for reflectior, here.   -<  -? > <   The Swansea Librarisbn (Mr. S. E. | Thompson) has prepalre.d an interesting report on the number of books issued froir the Public Library during the last thre4 months. The most popular reading seems to be prose fiction, the number issued fic)ni the Lending Department amounting to 12,945. It is surprising to find what a large numb-w of books from the juvenile section were lent out, no less than 10,110 lemg issued during October, November, \and December. -< s -4" Some instruct ors often took the heart out It i)c! g tiiniiia of their pu,oils at the very beginning by the. way ttajr spokp and i t t iled off their know- ieaga a;qd iciir àMt.J,tL< v*heir a qa&ticn win asked. It was not so at the Miners'' Rescue Station everything, wap explained in the most simple manner, and everyone was given a.n equal chance. and all his team were sorry when their training terminated. The know- ledge of rescue work they had gai-ned was of the greatest- value to them.—(Mr. Harris, leader of the team, on ^presenting the super- intendent with a gord-piquntta fountain pen.) "I have here," remarked the auctioneer, "a unique pepper-castor of local interest, most beautifuliy decorated in quaint Chinese character on the. left stands a pagoda with beautiful palm tre-es on either side; then we have an ancient tomb, probably the last resting place of a two-tailed Mandarin, sur- rounded by a brilliant cluster of trees. Then we have the celestial palace, the former home of the two-tailed Mandarin. In close proximity is. to be seen the secret river of tlood and life. The castor is of the best tin, made in Morriston; hence the local interest. What oiier: One penny? Thanks; an- other 100 per cent. profit: it cost me a ha'- penny Swansea Coiiege. Un (.v.ragwyu c mm, waeit o«»ce the trefoil grew, A stately building greets the admiring view. Fasnion <1 in architecture's' skilled designs. It stan(is ;).:t e,litice or graceful lines. It is the college soon to biossom torth A univerfity ot peerless worth. And grand the view that from its front is seen Famed Swansea Bay, the Channel, Devon green; Beneath it, nestling- from the northern biast, Snug, Sketty lies, her days of lang'our past. While to the west is seen fair Gowerland. Gorgeous, in evenings glow, a vision grand, Such is bhe site. by Nature richly blest, Of Swansea College, Cambria's future best. Dunvant- C. S. J. "'v & $II 'S1 Does it ever occur to the single young "umbrella" slacker the humiliation he brings upon his parents. his father has to face other fathers with their boys on leave from the forces striding at their side, and if it pleases the God of Battles to call their sons West" they can v their heads proudly. And his mother! She must en- duro. meeting hungering for news of sens they may never more caress. And should he fall: Thoy make no murmur. Other mothers' boys have made the "great, sacrifice and so has my boy. England is' not going to forget these things, and t-he boys whom God spares from this national or- deal will ask questions and demand an an. (-,? c,, ,tl ??v1 *li i-?! -1 e?-t,,(-is arild demand an an. Capt. F. C. Selous, the famous big game hunter, who has been killed in action in German East Africa, at the age of 66 years, gave a couple of his fascinating lectures at Swansea a few years ago. Of the hair- breadth escapes lie had during his chase of big game a hundred instances migLt be quoted. But. the deep scar in the middle of his right check which he bore to the end of his life was caused by an accident such/as modern hunters could not experi- ence. He had in his early days a 4-bore elephant riile--a terrific weapon at., both ends, even when properly charged—and at a desperate crisis this gun was given to him by his native servant doubly charged. He discharged it, wa.s blown head-over heels for yards, and escaped with a life- long scar. a jelly maimed shoulder, and a terrific shock that a moment later ho had to master to save his life for a second time. The stirring hues contributed to this column by Capt. Alf. Thomas, Chief Con- stable. recall to An Old Swansea Bov" the long association of the Swansea Constabu- lary with the arts. H^ writes Years ago Chief Inspector Flynn penned neat verse, and where he alive tc;-day could write a revue, for he possessed a pretty wit. When in Swansea. Mr. Phil Clay also, who later re- ceived advancement as Chief Const-able of Nottingham, from whence Swansea's present chief carries official recollections, was an aC- complished instrumentalist and a musician of distinction, and from its inception the Swan- sea Police Band has carried on a tradition of merit of a high order, end"to-day offers com- parison with the best musical organisation's 0. the Pvincviahiy. and j" an accepted asset to the musically' artistic Jute of &wansoa."