South Wales Weekly Post

1 FOR ALL CLASSES OF I ( PRINTING 1 ? '?? €? 1?? ?? I ? ?TMOOS?ATEPR?OE3 ? §? VVfijrii C? g,?LL AT THE OFFICES M || OF THE 1| Ur?ph WALES I DALY POST 1 1>, v !'i I WHERE SAMPLES CA.? BE INSFE'?TID f| | A?U LOWEST QrOTATKj?s OETADTSD. ||| 11 .I IJ L. \qjL- J .i..¿.J. L.. t()'IDf¡W

Tho?Hmc?b?liM'' ? 'iefined by Mr. Beach Thomas ? coving ?he ? Arra? C?bra?i, St. Quentin, and L«. Fwe P0.i- tdons, as ? had conjectured, and this loca- tion gives added interest to the struggle now proceeding in front of the latter towns. The bulk of the enemy is reported to have been already ensconced in the line, 9, ,t net- • work, a gridiron, a labyrinth of concreted trenches, connected by covered ways and protected by seven or eight lines of barbed wire." In front of it also, acting as a Fort ? moat, is the shell-ruined and mined belt of old battleground, which the enemy ? c laboured wiif, aJl his art,ilee and mdul5try to render an impassable quagmne to  Allied heavy artillery and muni ^c1^' But the .??rm of f6llginee?? pion4e,???r5 ancl la?m. battalion men, w? axe   aI- :æady bridging this morass, thou_g? h ?e ?uiedad or two ago the long aJJd laborious task th?t h? to be achiev ed by an army which i? deployed before a de- ?nsiv?'p?itTon which it is eought to attack. At the momenT ??h the he.vicY fighting fa? upon the French, who   Jr?y in close cQntad with the ??tl? ??—'? ?t ?, naw enemv hne. The   i-elle -h pu,rsillt ?idity and v?ur of the French pu? ?est?n e.So? to come tre?n.g upon t? heS of the enemy into "'A fresh p08itions. and it i,?? cert-au?v d.iaMncerti?g ? tM lwaS tter But the b?rier of heavy dey tensi.e ?k?n th<. Mr, th* in?ntry protected m ? k Wimt wb'ch the Md S™ it! p.w? £ »,»?& .cm of mcut «i« S^»»« a.nd a r?bit warren uf ho? and .Ucta>  •which to she Her in thEir rear a idi fee to fall back upon whi<-h ain?t ?<-? ? aUv compels a d?y to bnug ? e_ .tram and the b..MPMn? r?iat the heavy a-"tiU?-v S'?ch pL?It'ons as the enemy h? thrown up can ?.Jy be ru?d if ? armyy ?U?? back upon th? is m a denioralijed ?d?n, ?.d.n f?ht. ??'.??   ? c?e with the enemy, who in .?"y c^«* W for ??ral day. never b?n » <I.? contact with the oncoming Allies.

hi a recent day Sir Douglas Haig had to report- that we had lost seven aeroplanes, whilst \v. on the other band only brought down two. The French destroyed five, but the enemy claimed to have destroyed eleven Allied aeroplanes, which, bearing in mind the admitted British loss, is net improbable. The .ijroportioii of enemy and AHied aero- planes lost in the recent fighting suggests that the dummy's winter work is bearing fruit, aud that. as Mr. Macpherson told Parliament a week or two ago, we possess a superiority but, not a supremacy. The aerial struggle has shown constant oscillations. The Ger- ma-ng enjoyed at the outset a brief supremacy which was totally unexpected and due to a better organisation and more forethought. A series of ups and down ensued, in which the enemy, constantly outclassed, equally constantly put in t.he air machines of extra- ordinary eiigine-povver and flying capacity. There is no doubt at all as to the excep- i'tioiuil excellence «u the <3enoa.n aeropiane the -?v-,r the auto- engines, and just before the war the auto- mobile world was discussing the C,e n triumph at inteinationol races in the States over French motor-cars. The same type of engine gave the enemy an initial advantage in the a-ir, and as far as his engines are, con- cerned he had never any cause of complaint as to the source of his reverses. But the in- dividual element told heavily, and though, the crack German flyers are as good as the best, tho bulk of German, airmen have in the main proved decidedly below the, standard obtaining in the Allied ranks. Particularly has this been so in the case of the offensive enterprises of her aeroplanes against railways, stores, oaanps and troops on the wiarch, or in action.

The probabilities of a Germ an-American war are growing rapidly, but there is not much to i>s said for the manner in-which the Americans are se.ttina about prepara- tions. There is nmch talk, agitation and sug- gestion, but little that is practicaJ, and American preparations suffer from the men- tality of Mr. Wilson, who does not specialise tnuch in clear cut decisions. "All sorts of schemes tor lending financial, industrial, military and naval support to the Allies are dc-uy put forward (says'a correspondent), but in Washington there is no sign of any adequate scheme of action. The fcaw and the War. pa.rtment have been working under orders to take no steps that might seem provoca- tive." Another correspondent of discern- ment points out that as there does not exist and definite programme of action, the preparations undertaken without any particular objective in view are unlikely to i be effective. 5 m America needs to draw up a programme embracing the use to which her Navy and nwrcantife marine would be put, the Army that she would raise and how she would emulov ?. ?"d certain IÚmPle financial ques-¡; tions. With ?he prevalent policy of drift, nothing can be doe, howevr, beyond a vague tinkering, and examination of the material thfl-t is available. Air. Wilson, as a 7 War President, would be an interesting V study; Lincoln himself, at the outset, blun- 1 badly in the early years of the Qivil War, in the military duties which he had to discharge, and Mr. Wilson does not promise, to put it mildly, to do better.

'I The Berliner exists at present upon a weekly ration of three pounds of potatoes, four pounds of turnip or cabbage, half a pound of meat, a third of a pound of sugar, less than half a pound of flour, rather lc.s.s than a pound of fatty substances like butter, n.ut oil, and bouillon extract, four ounces of marmalade. and "ess than four ounces of fish. Civilians in Britain who feel unplea- santly empty upon a ration of four pounds of bread, two and a half pounds of meat, and three-quarters of a pound of sugar, should contemplate this list and remember that the German has to work a.t least, equally as hard, and u pon a much less solid a-nd satis- fying diaL It indicates how easily we could put up w;l?l, a d'aoomfort still far removed from the German standard of pri- vation, and it. should be recollected also that the Germiui has for many long months subsisted upon short commons, and that we have until recently denied ourselves nothing. Yet correspondents like Mr. Swope, of the "New Work World," who have lived long in Berlin, and are acute and impartial ob- servers, warn us that the Germans can carry on, that- they are rot starving, that the spirit of ike people .generally, amongst women as much as amongst men, is tough, Jogge-d and unbroken, and- that peace will liavu to be enforced after some cataclysm on the battlefield, of the impossibility of I which under modern conditions the enemy has convinced himself. i The Berlin and the British dietaries should bo remembered by way of comment, upon the blockade debate in Parliament. There were two exponents of the Government's policy in that debate. One was Lord Puobert Cecil, the Blockade Minister, and the other Sir Ed ward Carson, the First Lord of the Ad- miralty, who speaks after consultation with jelhcoe and Beatfcy. Lord Robert has been the target of bitter attacks; Sir Edward Carson is in a different category, as on all hands it is recognised that lie is a most tnorougii-going and uncompromising wager of the war, a man who throws away the scab- bard -w reu he unsheathes the sword. And what does the erstwhile Ulster leader think of the British blockade efficacy? He at any rate is not s aspect of kid glove methods. "t He ridiculed the v iew pub forward in certain I notable organs or manufacturers of opinion that an "unseen hand" thwarted and re- strained the hand of the Navy, which was 0presentcd as chafing under the restrictions imposed by this mysterious influence. Sir Edward thought that all that was either I | practicable or desirable was to minimise the influx of iood or food-stuffs in the raw (like fertilisers) into Germany from the adjacent j i-neutrals and that this was being Aone. On t-cli,ilf of the Admiralty, he disclaimed the i idea that that department, should have su- preme control of the blockade. It is here that the value of the principle of co-ordination comes in. Neutrals evince widely diiIereut phases of opinion at various i stages during the war. We have to consider, not only the indirect military effect of a stringent blockade of Germany, but also the j diplomatic reaction upon countries which.: arc powerful, jealous of their rights (as in ihe case of the States) and have been inclined, to be very critical of the measures adopted by Britain. The Foreign Office has to diag- nose foreign opinion, and cut its coat accord- ing to the cloth, conveying instructions to the Navy in accordance with the diplomatic situation. Otherwise we should have been freely embroiled, or have run the danger of being embroiled, awd there would then have been a loud outcry as to the necessity of the Navy working in some co-ordination • iwith the Foreign Office, and comment of a familiar typo about the right hand of the Government not knowing what its left hand was doing. At the commencement of the war there is no doubt, however, there was great and culpable s'lackuesr.. Perhaps it originated' in a lack of imagination (a.s in grasping the significance of the continuation of the cotton imports into Germany); tne j faults of policy were in any case quite irre- spective of a judicious rega.rd for neutral j interests and .susceptibilities. The block- acle also lias its limitations imposed by tne great agricultural development of Ger- many and Austria-Hun.'g'ary (th.e latter be fore the war a considerable w heat-export- intf country), by the tracts of agricultural land seized and immediately destroyed by the enemy, and by the willingness M the populace of enemy countries to undergo what are, by comparison with ours, most severe (Privations without any visible abatement; of their activity, either in fighting or m munition making. No doubt, the enemy :5 o-u,tpu;t. -n war material, wcwer for worker, is interior to ours, a6 the result of the Jiack of condition induced bv the under-feeding of men employed in exhausting work. But in effect the enemys output oi war muni- tions ¡fuow no peroepbible diminution that can be attributed to hunger weakness. Lord Charles Beresford, who expressed complot,e confidence in the present Board of Admiralty, made one valuable contribution to the discussion. He declared the losses in ".hipping (of a.ll n.¡}¡ti(JO.öiiti.) amounted in Febriiary to 281 vessels with a tonnage ot 505,000. and in March which is ne-ady com- plete, to 255 vessels with a tonnage d over 420,000 tons. This immense wastage in the two monthe indic-atee that the virulence ot the submarine campaign is little it at all diminished, and that it • continues to be a mo&t serious, and potentially most dangerous factor in our ca-lcnlationvs. On other ooca vionc, it has been detailed to what extent the proposals cf the Goveriimerit will economise tonnage and stave off effects of whose possibility many Gel-mans are themselves soeiptioal; but in the face. ofthlS I material loss of transport there is only one thin. for the people and the Government to do whether volun?ijy or by such com- pul?n as can be app'?d, to save every Irair. 01 food. We do not at aJl be?ieve.1 I that the Germans will succeed, where we have so far failed, in. reducing us to ability through hunger to prolonge the bat we, shall save ourselves all the I more privation by .t once 'acmg the hMd facts. Lord Robert Cecil might have made more use thai he did of the argument of the geo- graphical proximity of Denmark, Sweden, and Holland to Germany, of their previous tJl()!\t intimate tyade connections, of the: leverage which the Germans cbtained by i vetoing the supplies of certain essentia! ex- ports to there neutrals eave for equivalent quantities of foid-stuffs, ;uid of the powerful but intangible pressure which German ter- rorism and a sense of helplessness against a ruthless neighbour exercised upon these small countries, notably in the case of Hol- land and Denmark. In any case, tho quan- tity of food-stuffs which the Germans could- obtain from these countries is very Blight when distributed amongst the mass of the German population; and latterly the Ger- mans are not getting as much as they have been formerly accustomed. Holland used to send us, hall her agricultural produce; iu 1915. said Lord Robert, we got practically, nobnan but now, when the German need is sorer than ever, we have since got nearly I to our pre-war position. But we will never stop the supply of much food to a people just across an imaginary boundary line, and jrho offer any price for tem^tbg dainties. Hie German Chancellor s most rwemi,. "peace" speech was particularly directed to the United States and Russia. Hit> "overtures" to Russia—-if it be J1.t too: late to use that term in such a connection] —have dksolved tire outside world in laugh- j ter, and we thank that even the tously magniloquent Chancellor liimseit cannot have been altogether unconscious of their humorous aspect. It is notorious that, ever since the days of Frederick the Great, the Prussian militarists have! dr-ea;doo tho might of Russia. and, since tKey could by no means win the Russian people to their will, ha we sought to luidermine the power of the Eastern Golovssus from within. Ho-nev- comibed and paralysed far years past by the secret -workings of an army of German Sp"?S, Russia has at last risen up to cast- forth the intnidfirs. This is the moment, cQiosee by Von Bethmamn-Hollweg for a ludicrous attempt to deny and repudiat-o the subterranean intrigues to w'lik'b. be and his predeoassors, have devoted years of persistent but, as it- tu.ÍTi.s o:nt, unavailing labour. The Chancellor now solemnly asserts that it is a mere "legendary report" that the German Government "assisted" the auto- cratic reactionary policy of Russia against all movements towards liberty. VNobody, he declares, "can tell what course things will take, but our attitude towards Russian events is clearly outlined. We shall con- tinue to follow the principle of never medd- ling with the internal problems of other countries." There is not a country in the world, neutral or belligerent, which has not encountered, since this war began, the most unpleasant revelations of the surreptitious work which the Germans had carried on I within its own borders in preparation for the struggle. Germany's subterranean in- trigues were world-wide, and there was not a nation on earth that wholly escaped them. I' Russia has for years past been probably the worst sufferer of all. And now the German Chancellor has the effrontery to declare: "As to the manner in which the Russian nation wishes to reconstruct its internal afiaixs, that is purely the business of the Russians themselves, and, we shall not meddle with it." It is as fine an example as could be desired of giving away that which you do not pos- sess. If the itussiaji revolution means one thing more than aaiother, it is the resolute determination of the people, under their own regime, to be quit for ever of "German per- meation," and to clear the Kaiser's spies out of the administration of the Russian Empire. The Russian nation will, no doubt, be quietly amused to hear from Bethmann- Holiweg that Germany recqgnisea that this reconstruction is. "the business of the Rus- sians the«aselves." But whether Germany reoognkes it or not, bar army of spies and agents have received their "conge" just the same. Ae for the Chancellor's renewed attempts to beguile those idiotic Yankees" we do not Mniagine that, so far as genuine America is concerned, either the circumstances or the hour are very propitious to his aims.. The diplomatic- world is stiil ringing with tire stern 'rsprcbaiton-■ aoamysd. to tire German Government in a document such as Las s'el dona been addressed by' one first-class Power to aaiother, namely, the American Note de- clining Germany's overtures for the re-es- tablishment of the American-German Treaty of 1769, on the main ground that the un- dertakings of the German Government are not worth the paper on whidh they are writ- ten. The German Chancellor's references to the submarine policy, which is the cii. ef point, of dispute between his own and the I American Government, were quite beside the point: which is that the United States fbtly declined to make any conditions whatsoever as to the abandonment of that policy. Germany sought a. quid (pro quo" for a promise-u-id a German promise at t.fit-O," the return to civilised methods of sea. war- fare. But President Wilson mads it abso- lutely dear from the first that his demand, was for unconditional abandonment of methods which in the view of America, were illegal, inhuman and indefensible. In th- present state of American opinion the Chan- cellor's wilful evasion of that perfectly plain issue is not likely to do anything but still further outrage American sensibilities and still further enlist public- sympathy with the. President. UnieM thp. idiotic Yankees get what their President has firmly de- manded, they win be found fighting Eide by ?ide with Bri?i?Nn's "contemptible little Army."

A Serbian professor gives an American correspoiatient some- appalling details olf the havoc which war and its plagues • has wrought in Serbia, lie puts the number of Serbian soldiers who fell in battle alone SB 61,215 up to the early sum- mer of 1916. The total casualties are enormously out of proportion to the number of Serbian combatant's; and they have been occasioned, in respect of the^immense mortality rate, by the absence of a properly-porportioned and skilled medical service, and the primitive condi- tions which have prevailed on that account, together with the ignorance of the people, for the gigantic loss of a million dead from disease and famine, which is computed to be Ithe. total loss of the Serbian population— twenty per cent, of the entire population. The typhus epidemic swept away 300,000 victims: aj?d the peopte, originally of a fiile, hardy physique—their rough life killed off the weaklings.-debilita.t-e.d by long-con- tainuted privation and hunger, a.re falling an easy prey to tuberculosis. In Belgium and the invaded regions of France and Russia there is niuch the same story to tell of a civilian population whose physique has been permanently injured by insufficient feeding, with the consequent virulent spread of disease. It ilS- some grinl consolation for the Franch at least (of whom only a portion I are victi nv, of malnutrition ) to know that J 65 million Germans are being just as hard l hit. The. scourges that the Germans hit. Ti i scoLirges brought to other and innocent people are recoiling upon their own heads; a.nd they are paying, in the slow suffering of pro- tracted hunger, a just punishment for the evil they have wrought upon others. In some respects Bulgiaria has suffered worse than Serbia, as the latter ie a primitive country, where the material that is de- stroyed can easily be replaced; but in regard to the havoc amongst the people, tb& Serbians plb.a,ly are the mot miser- able in the world. Annexation may provide some recompense for the immense loss of people; it is only by such a method that the Serbians can recoup their tragic losses. The world ci infinite horror and suffering which has made up this war is not and wiH never be grasped by u?; for human misery is individual and not cumulative. But we see reason to doubt whether the earth was ever more ellueu, su fferiii than it has been sines Auigiuet, 1914.

There m nluch consolation in the elasticity which our revenue continues to display. We drew income in the last week at the rate of twenty-three and a half millions, and the total revenue up to the end of March was nearly fifty-four millions in excess of est*- mate, and another week's inoome (say, 24 millions) to be added. The expenditure in the same period was over 100 millions below the estimate, ot the calculations have d cto il.. ltl! worked out satisfactorily in error in both directions. It transpires that the Navy cost us in 1915-16 no less than 140 millions upon i new construction, armament and the. upkeep j. lof naval bases ar i dockyards. We have in this total a glimp. > into the tremendous t?vitv which I?s?een prenHing, though tJieM is complete i?norp"? ?i the extent to 'yhic the Navy ? been augmented in the more important Čl.es for the decisive sea battles—line of t ^ttleships and destroyers. It is well known, however, that the auxil- iaries arc to be ootjmted by the thousand. ]

irfUftfm- i  The number of prisoners of war taken by us and by our enemies wa? furnished for the I Arst 'time comprehensively to Parliament this week. We hold, it appes". the not unimposing total v? bfe.397 Germans, 16 Aue- triaJis, 76.) B .ga, iaii, ir'nd 15,512 Turks whilst the Germa is hold 32,000 British prisoners of war i' Germany, and our other enemies 8AOJ. Ti ere are British interned as prisoners of w: r in Norway, Denmark, Holland, Spaiii, Switzerland. Germany, Austria-Hungary, I'.ulgaria and Turkey. The balance is pretty substantially in ouv fav- our, but. not by any means as vet, ovenvhehn- ingly so. It is only since the Bomme that the respective totals begaii to tip heavily in our favour, but we are commencing heavily to isake uw arrears. We could find good oc- cupation at present for many more prisoners of war than we possess or have set to wcuk. V ■

'1 ""1 fth de 1 The whole .nation will approve of the de- cision Parliament to constitute an en ■ tirelv E £ ^ectorat-e which will reflect the nation as it has organised itself for the war, and in which'every class of-war worker will be iuoitided, with no respect to sex. The magnificent work which women have done i,endert-ki their claim to the suffrage in- contestable; they have d-on". in -their own .sphere, notably, and set a shining example to many of their men co-workers. It was a task of urgent neoeasity to finish with the stale and exhausted peace register, and to introduce into it the new elements in the national life which have arisen since the war broke out. And that will be secured by the decision of Parliament. Mr. Asquith put the caee for the suffrage for women unanswerably: "How could we have carried on the war without them? Short of actually bearing arms in the field, there is hardly a service in which they hav not proved as active and as efficient as men. And the widespread and fundamen- tal change which the revolution in the work of the nation will effect renders jit indisput- able that women should any longer be de- i prtved of the ability to influence the de- cieions of Parliament. As they have shared the heat and burden of the day in the meet critical hours in the life of the nation, so: are they justly entitled to play their part i in framing the detfsions of the future III a • nation which will f e reconstructed upon a new basis, which will rest. upon a far greater and more widespread activity by women. "Women's wors," said the Premier, "lias been a vital crrArii ut;on to caxrymg on the war. They have shown a devotion, a zeal and a courage wUirH are bey^id, chailorge. VvLsjji tha-vusl 2c.ra.-c- -CfUifS, we liad difficulty getting some of tue liip-n to work after that in munition factories at night, we never had any difi, cully, with women. Mr. Walter Long, fornasrly an earaeet &sbi-sul&'a.g!St, al?o announced his conver- ?o.n, lika Mr. Asocsith, He confessed that Ako????i-, hc ..fC?eeed that i ,l argumentis on wlÚfh I formerly ieli, d. Wit.:out t.heir hei'?isn and self-denisJ, 6k?l? ;1J1d physiøal rel1gil 3!nd (,ld;!ra:1fce, Ù, ¡ S i couuti-/ c???ld never have fixed her p'; sant crisis." The Kr<2n.ge question was the jlÜy reê11y. conteatccw element- in. dilute, The concession -of the frenchi^ to such fighter?, and war workers of all grades as do not already j^ossess it was not a. matter on which any argument was possible <1;t all. The one matter that wr.a left unto-iiched .a.s the future oo-'ttion of the class whioh LAve rendered itself notorious for iis pwblic refusal to share the national h;Trd-r«i. conscientious objector wiM oontinue to enjoy "verv orlvi'ege is accorded to those who have pa-id with sweat or blood for the ?lvat'on of th.? co?nt?'?n ?e '??p?-' ens?s wbich ha3 e-er mehaced its existence. jj The Bill which the Government will now introduce to glVp effect to the vote of the Hvuse provides for all polls upon the day (abolish- ivvg th& familiar lead that the Lancashire. constituencies were srppesei to give to the remainder of the country), a redistribution of seats which will remedy many anomalies, and votes for women who possess, or whose husbands possess, the six months' oocupa- tion which is to give a vote, and who have reached a certain age--30 or upwards. The main changes made are, however, in the di- rection of female suffrage and the extension of the franchise to the very great bulk of men. It was indispensable that the elec- torate should receive this influx of new blood and should be brought up to date. We do not yet know what action will be taken by the Government in respeot to the future of the life of the present Parliament: but it would not be inadvisable to haqe a new one, armed with a definite mandate upon: certain questions. It would, however, be difficult to thrash out, at the moment any Government policy in respect to the rela- tions of Labour and Capital to the State. Labour itself does not know what its future policy is to be. And millions of workers j are preoccupied with fighting. —

We have, receivd from Egypt u?ws htve  frciil Ep- .pt lie?ks which is thrice welcome, because it indicates a great and comprehensive plan of cam- paign against Turkey. Woe have done brIl- liantly in Mesopet?! -•ud we promise to be on the eve of events in Palestine which will once yet again rectify the war map, a-nd diminish the gloating self-satisfaction of the enemy. A British division, covering the railway that is beinp 'teadih 1 -Jst for- ward across the 8m-al desert, v..uuallv to link up with the system in Palestine, has routed on the t;1,1 the 53rd Turkish Division—the number is proof of the enor- mous armv that the Turks have pu€ into the iptlicting very heavy losses upon the 29.000 of the enemy wího were in action, and taking 900 prisoners with the Turkish divisional general and. sHff. we, have re-scbed wit.bmnve miles of Ga-z,3.. We stand therefore in ancient Palestine, on ground made sacred from the earliest days of Israel, and within the gates of the Holy Land. We have won a a.ttle on the fT,?, associated with Samaon and Joshua, and are within fifty-five miles of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We have the right to ex- pect that, with the careful and methodical design which the building of the railway— a sign of the permanence of our invasion— indicates we shall ere long have added I Jerusalem to Bagdad, and done again the work of the old Crusaders. It is a source of especial local gratification to read the tri- bute paid to, amongst others, the Welsh battalions in action, and their old comrades cf Suvla Bay, the Hereford*, and we have an added thrill of local pride to recollect- tha.t so many of our own people will be associated with events that will be written indelibly in the most ilaecinating stories of the ESWM*

The knowing ones hurry through certain Swansea thoroughfares. The rooks have X t-- I Cardiff lieer prices remain a.- heretofore. I Particulars of trains to Tafkuds may be l procured at High-street Station. The presence of Stir James Hills-J ohnes, V-E., at the drumhead service at Victoria Park on Sunday was. deeply appreciated throughout Swansea. The lady clerks at a Swansea bu&mess es- tablishment on a re-cent morning were es- Ii pecially busy. Examining and selecting dress patterns. í A discourse on National Service was de- livered at St. Thomas' Church, Ferryside, on the apt text, "Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile go with him twain." ~-$x3><>Xy All thoughts went out to Commandant Maggs on Sunday, for ill-health prevented him being present at Victoria Park. A speedy recovery to the old veteran. The observations of those Swansea house- holders who loyally swept their fronts clear of the snow on Hondoy morning and then saw another fall come down on top of it- urall J "1'. Some Welsh soldiers at the front, finding "Gott mit uns" scrawled on a wall of a farm evacuated by Germans, are reported to have written underneath, "We've got mittens, too. Conspicuous in the Palm Sunday "turn- out" at Victoria Park was a white-haired veteran of the old original 3rd Glamorgan Vol unt"rs--resplendent in brilliant scarlet tunic and medals. < £ —■ £ »•<»>"< £ ♦ » A well-dressed Grammar School boy who persisted in bombard ng a gentleman and ins wife in .Lansel-stNet, Swansea, with snow ha Co, deserved the iesson he received at tlie hands or a pacisc-r-by. "C.D.F." (Sv.;aneea) sends the following poetLcal extract: M.aai it nearer ■ God s heart in a garden than anywhere else Oil f)artl1. He thinks it apropos of the couitxov&i sy. Some I.L.P men literally equirmed on j Sunday when they saw a Swsus".a i uniformed vohmt*«r a b> home with his oiuiUreii. iAe Lv, boy aoOttt, attire and the lassie wos a girl g"lde. Of the who p-ir..4f>d on Sunday last and dismissed ivbout on-t ..("dock, some were due to work on munitions at two o'clock. This the spirit that is causing the Runs to make a voltmtary retirement" in the, West, also other happenings. In Alexandra-road, Swansea-, on Saturday afternoon last (writes "Old Fogey") a re- spectably-clad boy of, say, nine years of age, asked me the time of day. I pointed to the clock of the Central Police Station, but it had no meaning to him, for he could not road the time. With whom lay trie fault? Frankly, I give it up. Tom Williams, tha verrsatile Swan, Rugby footballer, his done some notable i things in his time, but none more character- istic than last Saturday, when one of his "oleveiiiih-hour" efforts-for the United Ser- vices was responsible for the breaking of utit I A.S.C. team's record, he bccning a try in the: last minute of the game. This is the opening verse of a poem by Mr. Lle v eiyn Wiiiiaros, K.C., M.P., in the Deyrnaa ":— "Mae terfyn i fawredd cenhcdlo&dd" A Hwyddiant an to gar y Sais, j Daw dydd pan na chwyfia ei faneT Ar diroedd enillodd cirwy ciraia: Daw adeg pan na lyud gwiad Prydain Ond ynyfi ynghanol y iii,- Ond crys gogOiiAnt lien Gymru, Gwlad dir-ON, gwlad lonydd, gwLd crefydd; yw hi! < $ 0 + The late c death at Brynanunan was recorded on Saturday, proved himself almost without a I peer in his own particular sphere. His euglyni-c-n and peniilion were pregnant with the highest of ideas, aiie, his eisteddfodic victories were innumer-1 able. When about 37 or 38 years of age uie wa.? 76 when he died) he migrated t? Pnn. ?ylvania and there acquired a oofmpet?nc? which enabled him to devote the remainder of his life to all that was characteristic iu Welsh poetry and literature. He was th-o bosom friend of another famous Welshman Watevn Wyn." It was wonderful to play with. Siv Edwaxd Elgar," said Miss Tessie Thortitis, the Neath violinist, in an. interview aft-e- her striIcing debut at Queen's Hall.Ho j was so kind and encouraging, and I think he and Brahms are my favourite oomposer. No; I was not a bit nervous on Tuesday night, though it wa-s my debut. I simply loved it, and wished it could go on for ever. I am to play again on Monday night; TschAikovsky a?d Brahms this time. ?ftel.; that I don't know what I am going to do., but I'm studying and working all the time. Next to my violin I like reading and lan- guages, and, really, I would like to study singing. I don't know thait r would ever be a singer, but I'd love to try. I can't ima-gine anything in the world ro-placing my violin or any interest being greater thart ) my muisic," and Miss Thomas smiled affec- tionately at her first love, her violin, which reposed in its caae on her lap. A Message frim the Trencher To a¡rm6, ye laggarde! Mark the flame That glowed within the men who came From desk and ship, from bench and plough, To play their part in Fi'^dom's name. To a-rn1s! To work! the need is great, The foe is hamm'rhig at the gate If thrugh he hurls his mighty host j Oinoe imore you'J1 hear tlie. ery-" Too late." To a.rn18! Too long on beds of down Youlye slept secure, while from your town Have gone the gallant lads who sought No other gain than Honour's crown. To In miles of miry trench, Where sweep the rains that swiftly drench, Your best and dearest stem the tide Think! They, too felt the home-land wrendh. To arms! To work! Think oi Idle nUhi, More precious far thaii sickled grain. So full of life; they died, for you; To-arms! or they'll! have died in vain. .l^n.the Ifrflyihefr wt t A portion of a new burja-l ground an a I West Wales village ia> t-o l)(' cultivated. { A1'the swedes b«ittg unloaded for fear I of a potato "du:mp" F.h?rHy? Oc<? nl"¥.f"r' I bn??s ?? His&a ?uf.sr ia these t-ueer iicit. In-ths-loiow (Swansea) wxiteo: "Keep YOUT eye on tlie pot<tt-> stocks next we,ek. We promise,. if we can rind t-heim. i At Aberdare experiments made with a, icamnr»mal kitchen have resulted in an ex- < cedlent hot dinner at 5.5d. per head. j .t<- No Stmday work on plots No work of <'BY kind; I But the Hun goes on hia murderous way, Must we be still and blind. Swanse;, "S.J.I)." .1 The Swansea- Labour Aseooiatioa's pro- posal for opening schools half-an-hour later m the mornings comes a week before the starting of this year's summer-time. Some- thing must go. When tenders for coffins for the work- house .were being considered at Pontardawe Guardians on Thursday, the Rev. Evan Da-vies said it was more expensive to die I than live nowadays. ¡ <xjx$x><5x> I Carmarthen claims with justice to have r been the home of Welsh literature in South Wales. Une printer alone-John Ross- issued over 300 books and pamphlets be- tween 1765 and 1807. Uanelly has be-en. described as the most Baptist place in t-he world." Swansea. com- ing next. Luckily for both (æ.y the irreverent "Western Mail") the local rtiin- fail is exceptionally copious. ) The Welsh team to meet the Australians at Swansea will be stronger than that pub- lished, and will include a ooupie,of "dark horeee amongst the backs, who are prime favourites with South Wales crowds. Wales will have some team to oppose the Aus- tralians. The 'a. (writes "M. Swansea) "has brought about many changes!. With a cer- tain class a couple of years ago it was, infra dig' to dig. The. itoue class now consider it their duty, to be infra dig' (iu for a dig). General Sir James Hill-Johnes, V.C., a distinguished patron of the Swansea Naval Brigade, compjimem-ed the Commodore, Lieutenant John Hodgens, on the striking appearance of the boys at the drum-head service la&t Sunday. -< < > The suggestion of lihe Controller of Mines that no coal contracts should cover a longer period than three months was not fhougiit unreasonable at Swansea Chamber of Com- jueroe meeting on Friday, and they declined to jollo I r lead de precatuig the Order. C h ambtr s lead i^i ♦ "Travelier*' (Swansea) "I see that you I "Tra-vaILer'' (S'an&c&) "I sae tb? y'o? Wie? hdJ ? ?he pi'tj?ubtton of tiie sale of vodka m liussia a.? An .vuiipie. Do t.bey know what Hussians drink ?"—Probably our ccri'fe-ap'OiiKieiit for a reply. There is a remunerative fruit garden on tiie spacious fiat roots of tne 'lowy Works at L iimaiuiiea. The fruit t-xees are plansed | in tubs, aud last year a line crop of apples wub gathered. year Mr. Harris, the proprietor, is going to put down kames and uoxes tor fciiC growuig of oUier nisei oi garden J,)LV.:LU{:('. .Douai, a Freucli u> ,vu at present in the hands ot iUlle Oerman*, oontams a &uk»us xvonian GathoJtc hVlk: St. Gregory. One of the foainuers was a Welshman, John Roberts, a HaLve of TrawsiynydcL RcOtrta i>ecame its test prior ui memory is suii revered in Jbrench Roman OaUiolic communities. S Rev. J. Blacitbourne, C.M.G., Assistant I Ohapiain-Generai to the W estcrn Command, who speaks on ¡, a.tlonal Service at tne dium-Lead service to-morrow ^unday), at Swansea, has a veiy d^s.Viiiguasiie(_i career vvicii tufa colours, aud his address should be wed worth listening to. III the evening noe speaks at Christ, CUurcii.. During next. week trokets for the mcrnstcr carnival for the Mayor's Fund willue sold to tor twopence, and each tucket ?ui eHtÜl{) the mo?o?r tn one free ride on ? roundauouts. Aduha will be charged r 'e..tc ?djuiaeion, out m their c?e tbaæ 1? to be no free ride. End?s aj? WJ ei atti-actions are being arranged. Given fine weather, to-morrow's drum- head service at Swaaisea should be a very impressive affair. The initial ceremony, howev-fff, was only participated in by a mere handful ot people. Command-ant Maggs, the originator, however, stuck to his guns and made it the imposing pubiic function it has become in recent years. There was a sa-le at the Swansea Docks on Friday at which red herrings, fish balls (in tins), and scent figured. The herrings were sold as a promiscuous box-full (about 50), and realised 2s. the Norwegian fish balls brought in 20s. for a case of fifty and the (after the "young bloods" had been invited to bid) 5s. for two small bottles. "Soldier's Father" (Swansea) writes a long letter, in the course of which he refers to a .Skewen resolution denouncing Sunday work on allotments. He asks whether those responsible for the resolution cook their Sunday dinners on the previous day or do they desecrate the fcabbath by cooking them on that day. Personally, we should rather like a straignt answer! Several ^ocal lexers of repute have offered their services at the Swansea Carnival already, but more are needed, and all boxers who can assist should write at onoe to Mr. L. Hayward, Daily Post," Swansea, so that the various bouts can be fixed up early. It is' proposed to run several shows on Easter Monday, as well as shows on tlie Tuesday I and Wednesday following. I Earnest" (Swansea) writes:— I am quite in sympathy with the proposal to cur- tail hours of performances in pi {ices of amusement. There are many young women in this town, as in other places, who seem to have plenty of time to spend at picture- houses, but w ho look at the appeals for Na- tional Service Volunteers with uninterested apathy, as though such a call was not for them. Many of them, too, are strapping enough to be doing household work at home and thus releasing domestic servants for the I land." < -< -< -< Little Miss Mary Robinson, aged 12, of 12, Edge ware-road, Swansea, wrote the Mayor of .Swansea and said: "I am send- ing you my doll's house for my brother Har;y Is sa"-e who was killed in France. The doll's house duly ai-rivod and was offered for sale at the Albert Hall whist drive and was sold 43 times., eventually- realising a total of JB26 5s. for the Swansaa boys. This is the right spirit, both on the part of little Miss Robinson and the pubiic, < who evidently appreciated tlief'pathos of the little one's gift. 'i Food for iieilectioii—and anticipation. is said there wiii be of potatoesAiWXi- month. <&- Swansea 'special's" are braiding a meeting to diseira dorúestic m:tterõ thie iFrida.)1 evening. > Both a husband and wife in a, case at Swansea Police Covt on Thursday wert unable to read the oath. -&-<*> Beer at some places (not Sweasea) y going to be ome shilling a 'pint. Shades of ¡¡.he old pre-war fourpenny 1 -<?-?-< t -<$>  > 0 What i the use of a pair of military haij brushes as a whist drive prize to a gentle* man. who has no hair to part? Swansea tobacconists, at a meeting this week, subscribed J62 towards the Red Cross appeal for local beds. Not to be snuffed at. « £ xS>-<S>»$. Paper saving! Why not dispense witt the blank stamped edge paper which one gete at the orl offices, and which no one wants? "With 'best' at 8d. a pint ootne Monday, who says Swansea- is not a 'controller port', ?" he asked furiously. And none cou1.J deny him. W e are in for a famine in grewj-stuffs. How about a overhauling of the wild growtht of Gower, in charge of competent experts is that line? Whatever differences there may be on tho traming of the Franchise Bill, ""ritisn public opinion is emphatic in that the con- scientious objector is not to have a vote. Lance-Corporal Tom Williams. Artists' Rifles (Swansea and Wales), will be one of the forwards in the United Services team to mee; the unbeaten Army Service Corps at Blackheath on Saturday next. Extract from list of wedding presents, August, 1917 -"Bridegroom to bride, pound of sugar and pound of potatoes bride to bridegroom, bottle of beer There were numerous other costly presents." <?-<tx?-<?< $  The Liquor Control Board is meeting m Somtli Wales just now, but (writes Moderatus ") bv the look of it there will very soon be no liquor to,control. And yet, as Ernest Shand say-s, we are all liorn • thirsty—from the start it was suction." There is a saying that the poor ha-vs many strange bed-fellows. Well, the war has brought about some curious associations too, wha-t, with authority to hold cinema Bhow6 on the Sabbath and the House of Commons converted to "Votes fcr women." < The Swansea, United Breweries, Ltd., in their balance sheet shows the following nn- i dei- "Depreciation":—"On machinery, utensils, casks, jars', horses, drays, traps, etc., £ il,000 reserve for depreciation of freehold and leasehold rroperties, £ 3,29d 10s. At ifve'o'clock on Monday UlofIriilg Ilira- combe could be very plainly seeu a the Charnn-el from Swansea, end all the leading landmarks could be easily distin- guished through a telescope. The Nash Point, too, stood ou t' ci c ar-cut and well defined. > :>.> Amongst those present at the dinner at which the treasurer (the Attorney-General) and the Masters of the Bench entertained General Smuts at Gray's Inn Hail, on Wednesday night last, was Master, Lieuten- ant-Colonel Ivor Bowen, K. C., Recorder of Swansea. < t x xX> 0 t ?- A nongst the many vague rumours floating about Swansea last week was one that a German submarine had chased the Mumblee train from Blackpill to West Cross, but had been outdistanced and beaten. Mr. DdL James, however, maintains a resolute re- ticence on the subject. The chief speaker at a Swaaisea meeting on Thursday evening was late in arriving. Those present passed the time of ,waiting away by singing hymns, and just as they were singing the last line of the third hymn, which concluded with the words, Behold, I come," in walked the speaker. o A Tpilitafy motor-car from Gwanncaegur- wen on Thursday emerged, in a sense, from the cold north to the aunnv soùth-olimati- cally speaking. The sun waa shining bril., liantly in Swansea, but the hood of the calf when it arrived was well sprinkled WÎItIl snow. It had been snowing up Ammaar Valley way. On taking his seat at the Swansea Tribu- na.l the Chairman (Alderman Daniel Joneef congratulated Ca-ptain Harold WiMiajna on his appdintment as senior military represen. tative for the district. Major Harries, wbø has done such splendid work in the Swanaes area, will, however, continue to act for the Swansea Court. One of the patients at Mumbles Red Gross Hospital is 65 years of age, and is affection* ately own amongst his comrades aq "Daddy. He is a. very' enthusiastic gaps deiier, and has gone to considerable trouble in laying down two fine flower beds at tlitf entrance to the fQspitaJ. What an exampt-4 for some of the slackers! $.$ee* Swansea boys are everywhere. Swansea boys were Buz-v-ivoiv of the Asturias and the Tyndareus apd in an olScial photo- graph of a recaptured French village a former Swansea boy, Mr. Trevor Benson, now serving with the Australians, who waa home here a fortnight ago, is easily recog- rased outside a destroyed church in con- quered territory. < & -< >- "><2> Nothing new under the sun (writes "An Old Swansea Boy "). for the County Council girl's reply concerning Uncle Sam recalls an old Swansea character, Dan by name (not 'a,n the Duck') who very rude children would follow at a discreet distance chanting- "'Dan. Dan, the dirty old man, Washed his face in the frying-pan. Combed hie hair with tb^ leg of a chair: Dan, Dav the dirty old "n. Lord and Lady Jersey have just com- pleted one of their rare visits to Briton Ferry, and it has been productive of much interest, both to the visitors and, their ten. antry. His lordship especially paid a great deal of attention to the progress of th. allotments which he has granted, and urged upon the cultivators the immense import" ance. of their work. His lordship also avq a handsome donation to the'flower shot* committee, to be utilised as a prize for a collection of vegetables. We teachers have been 'uplifted high toO" day." was the initial sentence from A speaker when proposing a vote of tbaarkt to Mr. L. J. Roberts. H.M. Inspector cA Schools. Swansea, at the first meeting of th. newly-formed Association of Mid-Glamor" gan Head Teachers. It was a notable meet- ing. There was hardly a. maai present under 45, and nearly every one of them had one. two, or three sons fighting, including also among the others H.M. Inspector. Mr. L. J- Roberts is an old le<'t?"?y, ?nd he knew h? audience.

? ,'s bitter" for a man in the position! '?,/? ? ??-.nh ?..m.u ?  tbe 1? Iti;; 1Jjtter for !1 man in hí:' püét.ion! llrificefrom mothers-thai of their sons | ?o.hardY pa?d fro? cMdh?od .mdj h?dl -1.pon ^threshold o te || But M. Painlev?. the Irench Minii*to. -or War. has bad to urge upon ?the ?F.: enc? Chamber the nccesity of ca!hug to col- ()llrS the ."men" of e.ght?n-if the pabho ?uM ouly .? any large body of th? e ? ",?pi" in England as in ?rancf, ?, would j maketheir he?s ache to ?e the tenibly ¡ childish apppar?cf of ao i?a?y, their oh- || tioS ?Sm-ity. their ??ht phy?que, m j ? Tn?v c?e.. so little ?.pabl?f be?ng the ?:? c'k. p-.?h?. a?d an?. and trappings! .? [If. ];t?rviiy BW'irv'i Mildiei. J Piliile-ve, ow, ev ex, neces- sifv in words that are m themselves Vfresh ordeal to a. country tried like thau of France. "We arc- entering upra the- dc.- ci-sive phase 01 the war," he told t'v,- (_,I Arn- her, "but decisive is not synonymous with thovt ■ Successful as may he the hegin- •' mn- of the spring campaign, it woulci he puerile to regard the German retirement Ku abandontnent." Germany,, he points ( Ollt, by all her expedients "has been.able to seiid to the battlefield all sons, capable of bearing aims. In spite of the suRermgs and the despair other people, she has suc- ceeded in keeping her is numerous and as solidly equipped as ever." Yet the tilled resources are so great, lie declared, "th'at we should succeed-on condition that w a"c under no delusion as to the effort to he put forth, and that we meet German sava-ery with unshakable French energy." It Was a wise, grave, brave speech, worthy of the indomitable courage of the great na- 1 tioii t-o whose representatives they were ad- dressed..