Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder

A Political Double Shuffle. When Lord Crewe iiitrodticed the Home Rule Bill Arnending Bill in the House a Lords on Tuesday, he was fol- lowed by Lord Lansdowne, wlno gave another example of the art of double vhuffle for which too precent Oppo$i fcioii in politiics has become so well known. It will be l-emenabered that during the last t-vi-o or three years the controversy on Htome Role has boe-n signalised by a strenuous oppf^ition in which Mr. Bonar liuw, Sir E. Caftan, and Mi\ F. T. Hrtirrii have bnon coiir-qidcutvos. Com- plaint aiter oojQg>iiunt haa boon miilue against the Government for introducing and carrying the HOOte Rok* Bill, iu hpite of the fact that in doing so the (loveriinierkt ha-s only ea-rried out its pledges and the mandate that it has received from the electorate at three .-HKfxj-sive getK.ral elections. At the same time, it has m-sver been pos»ibie V> pin the Tosies down to any one instance in which tbo Bill ou;;ln. to be atnonicted. They have been, invited in i tne House of Cojp.mons to put forward rn-cI,bk su.gg0.1ion.«;, and they have becdi asked to tak pu rt: in private ^in- ferences with a view to a sottlciuent of the controversy. Ul that tJie Govern- ment has dwe has been spurned. Only in one particular has Sur Edward Car«rwi made a request. That has been in the form of a declanalsmi that Ulster wanted to he gwerned not by a Home Rule Parliament, but by the Imperial j Parliament as at piescnt. Mr. Asquitit has met this with a oha-llengo to accept the only posnibtG legislative interpreta- tion of such a demand. He has put forward a Bill which distinctly leaves Lister free to say, hy means of the ballot box, whether she will be one/ with the rest of Ireland or whether she will ren>.ain under the Imperial. Parliament and soma, her members to Westminster. This offer, if the Anxmding Bill is. carried, will remain in operation for six years laid be subject to revision by the Imperial Parliament. This, howe\-er, doess imit sati.;Jy the C)^>peaition. Lord Lartsdowne, who followed the Loader of the c. turned his back upon all that he and the other Tory leaders have been -uuying, and at ortcc tlecilined 1A) sfcwsept the Bill a* a settlement. It tJ;,U,s iMHyune-s moro than tier cAot- that the Tories are nOot opposed Ibuno Rule as yjeth—-in fact, they promised to give tt some years ago. What they :i<rc aftoi- is to wreck democratic govermimiifc and coure once more a T<ary awoendancy. The couirse of tilie Govern tnent is quite clear. They have gone 4Ls far as any party could be expected to v.ilh reason, and if their o-lier is rcjeioted tile re&pansi- bility rmist Remain wit!i'the O'ppo«-a.tiori. Meariwlwle, the Government )vill go forward with its policy, and if accessary pa^ the Home Rule Bill by the opeiutieji of the Parliament Act.

THE AMENDING BILL. I Text of the New Home Rule Measure. I I Jirie text ot tlie Uovarnment ot ire- land Amendment Bill was issued on Wednesday morning. The measure, which consists of nine ciauses, provides that ii within three months after the passing of the Amending Bill a petition is presented to the Lord-Lieutenant from any Ul- titer County, demanding a poll on the qi*ostJon ot temporary exclusion, he shall cauie a poil to be taken of the .Pa.rti-iiii.enuti-,v electors in the county, the question to be tubnutted in the iollowing form; Are you in favour of the exclusion of from tho operation 01 the Government of Ireland Act, 1914, a period of six years ? Are you against the exclusion of from the operation of the Government of Ireland Act, 1914, for a period o* tix 'yc.a.r A poll under this- section' shall be taken by ballot in the same manner as at a Parliamentary election, and His Majesty may makè rules adapting the election laws for the purpose of the poll. Where a Parliamentary con- stituency is divided into Parliamentary divisi<Mi& the poll is to be taken for the county zi-s a whole, and not separately for each division. An elector shall not vote more than once, although registered in more than one division. Thin solution applies to the Parliamentary boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry as if they were sepa- rate counties, and the Parliamentary borough of Newry is included in the P&rliamehtary County of Down. The measure further provides that if th j poll shows a. majority for exclusion, the Act shall not. apply to that county until the expiration of six years from the first meeting of the Irish Parlia- mont. The executive power of the King re- garding the administration of the civil government in the excluded area shall, during the period of exclusion be exer- cised on His Majesty's behalf by the Lord-Lieutenant. Members shall not bo elected to the Irir-Ji House of. Commons for con- stituencies forming part of the exeloded area, and the number of members of that House shall be reduced accord- inglv. Every Parliamentary constituency forming part of the excluded area e>haii continue to 1)i, a Parliamentary constituency returning a member to. serve in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The schedule is to be read ats if, in case the County of Londonderry becomes, and Borough of Londonderry does not become, part of the excluded area, the Borough of Londonderry were in- cluded in the County of Donegal; and if the County of lionegal .becomes part of the excluded area, such other county as His Majesty may order in Council direct. In case the Borough of Londonderry becomes, and the County of London- derry does no t become part of tbje ex- cluded area, tho schedule is" to read ts if the County of Londonderry without the Borough were a separate consti- tuency returning one member. Other clauses of the Bill deal with Finance, judicial arrangements, and general alterations in'tho construction of the Government of Ireland Act, con- sequent upon the Amending Bill as out- lined in the Lords on Tuesday night.

I HISSING GIRLS. j I Splendid Work by the Police. I The florae Secretary, replying to a question by Lord Wo liner in the House of Commons on Monday, said that last year girls UJldür id, and i,U17 women were reported to. the Metro- politan Police a.s missing. Many of these reports came nom homes in tho country, the information being circu- lated in London. All the 1,033 girls were traced, and also 2,942 of the women. As regarded the 75 cases not found, debt, family quarrels, uncomfortable situations, and similar reasons played an important part in the disappear- ances. The number of cases in which tho disappearance was believed to be connected with irregular relations with men was aboulf ten. In only one case was there the slightest suspicion that the woman had been decoyed. The police made the closest inquiry, but wore not able to find proof -of th' suspic ion

Twenty-five rcpresentatives of every warship in Ports mouth Harbour at- teaded the. funeral at Haslar, Hamp- j shire, 051 Friday, of Commander Rico, who wsts DPOM-nod in a naval waterplaBe accident off CuL-iot on June 1. j

RAILWAYS AND THEIR RATES. I SIR ALFRED MO ISO REVIEWS THE WHOLOSnON. At tho annual general meeting of the; Mansion House Association on Railway and C&n.a?Tt-afH.r; h(Jd nt tlw West- minster Palacc Htd, the Right Hon. IAlfred M?id, B?rL, M,l., 1 I Ll- dent ol the At,?xq' .0.) w?s in the chair. There wasva. Jarge attendance, including Mr. Ba-;il E. Peto, M.P., vice- president of the Association, Mr. C. T. Needham, M.P.. andTepresentatives of Municipal ;-nd Local Authorities, Chambers of Commerce and Agricul- ture, a.ud other members of the Associa- tion from Birmmgliam, Brighton, Bristol, Grimsby, Halifax, Hereford, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Not- tingham, Sheffield, Swansea. Worcester, York and other industrial centres. After tiie ordinary business of the meeting had been transacted, Sir Alfred Mond a.ud Mr. BasH. Peto vvero unanimously rt-elceted president and vice-president respectively of the As- sociation. The President. In moving the adoption of the annual I report, Sir Alfred Mond Raid: The year 1013 hae been at very diffi- cult one for the Association. We had to deal during the year with the Rail- way;, Bill and the Railways No. 2 Bill. -WH also had a difficult question in the increaso of railway rates to consider. I thiIJ.k' memters of the Association have every reason to eongrLulate themselves on the success which they achieved re- garding that Bill. Although, of course, we would much rather not have had t'ie, Bill introduced, and although I am still of opinion that it was really a very I unfair thing as far as traders were con- cerned and a But which has now led to a great deal of expensive litigation on hehali of traders in order to enable them to nrotect their rights; neverthe- less undoubtedly we did succeed in making that Bill a great deal less dangerous to traders ihan it was when originally introduced. Litiaati^n pending. In view, however, of the fact that a great deal of litigation is pending before the Court of the Railway aud Canal Commissioners jipon the question as to whether or not the increased cost of traffic justifies the autoniatic increase in rates which has been made by tho railway companies, perhaps it would not bo advisable to &ay very much on this subject until some of these csuses are decided, but there undoubtedly are eome factors which ought to be. and I hope will be taken into coiisideration in deal- ing with this question. Among those factors is this; that undoubtedly tbe railway companies have succeeded, and quite legiti- mately succoeded, in hugely in- creasing the amount of tonnage car- ried "compared to the labour employed over what existed in former years; and therefore the increase in wages to their employes docs not necessarily carry with it all increase in tho cost of hand- line traffic. _L_ interesting rigures. I I have been furnished ..with some rather interesting figures upon this subject. When you find that an en- giiie-,cl 'ver bo-dav (-rig-ag(xi in miaeral traffic is taking four times as much in the way of tonnage in one trip as ho did some 20 years ago, and when his wages certainly have not increased to the exto-att of 'fo,,ir times what he was the- have in- creased relatively little—you will see how justified wo have. always been in our contention that the increase of wages which the railway companies gave to their servants, is noi; necessarily a charge which can fairly be shifted on to the traders without consideration of other facwrs. I have been illformed, I do not know with hWN much truth, that automatic increases in the railway .ser- vants' wages which would have taken nlace irrespective of the railway 6trilie in 1911, or the Railway (No. 2) Bill, are now being utilised by the railway companies to justify the increases in their rates. If this is so, I can only say that it i-. a very grosslv unfair pro- ,??,ding? and one of which I hope moro notice will be taken. A Scheme. I I should also like to mention that we have had a large number of private bills to consider, and then, of course, there is the question of demurrage; which question has also occupiod the executlve oifielil-, of your Association. Then, a Royal Commission on railways has been appointed, which wo have to watcJi very carefully3 and [ have under- taken, after n great deal of consulta- tion with the Executive Committee, as to the line which wo are to adopt, to give evidence on behalf or the Association at an early date; and I mav say that I have endeavoured to outline a schcme which, while iu- creasing the control over tho railway companies for the benefit of trado-s endeavours to avoid the necessity of eithsr State control or State finance. Nationalisation. I I I gathered from the meeting lieia when this question was being fully con- sidered that members ot this Associa- tion were not enthusiastic upon the subject of tho nationalisation of rail- ways, aaid I do not know exactly who aie the advocates of the nationalisation of our railways, 1be<auiI see tl<at al- though the railway sei-vants, at the Con- gross of their Union which was held at Swansea? H.a?c Utis qucstd?n ?i?-t oi their programme; nevertheless they appear to be more doubtful about the ndvaJlks H'?t the ?orkm?n wo?d derive from this proceeding than tlioy used to bo, and. I ii-m not very stir- prised at their arriving at such a con- clusion- But I think, and your Execu- tive Committee, who have very fully considered the various points at dilf'H'- out times, agre>e, it ought to be possible to obtain gi-cateT control over railway oomnanios without in uny way inter- fering with their financial arrange- ments. I have no doubt that some of you will read my evidence bpforo the Royal Commijasion Oil Railways when it is published, and we may be able more fully to discuss this matter at a.nother meeting. Consolidation. I should like to past* (in now to an important question, which, is the ad- visability of amending and consolida- ting the provisions of the various Rail- way and ConaJ Traffic Acts. You will remember that this question came into existence under the following circum- stances: The Railway Bill which Mas introduced by the Right Honourable Sidney Buxton, M.P., when he was President of tho Board of Trade, was known as tho Railways Bill, and in- cluded a. great many provisions which we have already pressed for on be-half of traders. It also included a considor- 'able number to which we have objected j on behalf of traders but what un- fcrtunataly happened was tho difficulty, a difficulty which we always encounter, and I think very unfairly, that bo- oa-u.se we did not accept the Bill as it stood, thp original Bill WAS withdrawn a.nd the one-clause Bill-the Bill which we now know as the Railways (No. 2) Bill, was introduced;—the clause dealing merely with the Bill is now passed into law. It does not seem very likely at present tliat the Board of Trade, although they pro- mised to do su, have any intention of going on with their original Railways Bill, Somoof 11s who devoted so much time during tho lait- two years, in en- i denvauring to formulate traders' grjvan('e, came to the conclusion that' 't mi?ht b? ? very useful thing for this A?oc-iation to drah a Bill (.oA,ci,'ng the various points which we would like, to -set-, and introduce it into the House Commons next session which would enable us, instead of en- deavouring to obtain amendments to a Government Bill. to state our own cane from our own point of view. J believe that a Bill of this kind, pro- duced aa a private member's Bill, ii-atild rccelvf, a large amount of sup- port from all parts of the House of Commons, because it would not be a Party Bill, but one which would re oeive support from traders Ul ail parts of the HciVrtO. We might also at the same time take the opportunity of consolidating the different Acts which ,vr+ 0-ni- <)  ttio ?r? ajroady )n existcuce. One of the great difficulties, that traders who wish to deal with railway traffic have to face, is that they have constantly to refer to a very large number of different Acts of Parliament passed at various times, some of which* are very difficult to procure aud sometimefe out of print. A consolidation Bill of this kind, if it could be pa&sed, would be. 1. think, a great advantage by enabling traders to have the relevant legislation- codified in one Bill. L! meetings Of Trailers. '0 bir A tired Mond aim) ?d, in reply to a question a?ked by a nfcmGer presenL. as to the advisability of convening meetings of traders in. some- of tho most important towns and trading centres of the United Kingdom: "I consider it a very excellent sues- tion, and one which the committee might usefii'ly adopt in the course of the autumn." Mr. Peto, M.P., also the meeting, and was followeci by Mr. Whitley Thomson (president of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce), Mr. Warburton (Trafford Park Traders' As- isix-iation), Mr. Barra-tt (Messrs. Thos. Bradford and ( p.), Mr. Small (Notting- ham Corporation), Mr. Klynn (Messrs. Frank "Finn and Sons), and other mem- bers present. At the conclusion of tho meeting a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the President and Vice-President, and tho Parliamentary and Extcuti. I Com- mitteos of the Asswiation for their llll- remitting labours during the past and present year in furthering the interests off its mmbcr, particular^- with refer- ence to the opposition to the Railway and Canal Traffic Act, 1913.

THE COAL TRADE. Serious Strike at Llangennech Pits. 1 About eOU men are attested bv tlio strike which broke out on Tuesdav at the pits owned by Alessrr- Thomas Williams and Sons, Ltd., of Llangen- nech. The pits, which art, four in number, are the Grovesend, Brynllivv, < Brick- works, and Morlais. Th3 dispute has been going on for about 18 months, and there are two causes of alleged grievance. The first is that through coal is supplied to the men for house coal, whereas a.t tho (surrounding pits .screened eoalt is sup- plied, and the lll/CU >sta.te that the charges made are very much higher than the charges made to the men at the surrounding pits. The men at Messrs. Williams' pits are asking to he put on the same basis as tiio men who work at the surrounding pits. 04A 3eaiTt b(-ii l Then a five-foot seam has been found it the Bnm-Lliw pit. and in rospect to this the men are asking for tho am-, price list a.s is paid at the Mountain Colliery, and the Garngoch pits at Gor- seinon, but, although negotiations have been going on for some timÁ;) between the masters and the men, no settlement has been arrived Lt. It is stated hat the owners want to make a price-list of their own, and this is not regarded by the men as satisfac- tory. This strike is practically the only one that has ben sanctioned by the execu- tive of the Federation of Great Britain in the Western district. Mr. John Williams, M.P., who a d- dressed the men on Tuesday, reviewed tho history of the dispute and told the men that they had. the authority, for coming out, of the executive of the F -:III authority which was sel- dom given. They had the whole Federa- tiou behind them, and strike loay would be granted them according to scale. Dealing with the dispute, he said they certainly should be put on the sa-me bais as the men who worked in the surrounding "districts- Mr. W illiams, in the latter part of his peech, dealt with the political situation, and said that if the Liberal GoArernment were superseded, Liberal Bills would be nullified by Tory Bills If they had no Labour candidates in their constituency, he hoped they would give their support to the Liberal candi- dates.

FUSION POLICY. I i South Wales Locomotive Men I Decline invitation. The future policy of locomotive men, particularly in relation to the N.L.R. was enunciated at a well-attended open meeting for lenginoinien, firemen and cleaners held iiL connection with the W est \VaIo.s branches of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers, Fire- men and Cleaners, at thf Elysium, Swansea, 011 Sunday afternoon. Mr. Leyshon Williams, answering m- vitations made during tlie -0 ference that the society should amal^ga- muto with tl*a Is. \j .ii.. said the low riven of the country recognised, not tha ¡ advantages, but the groat disadvantages that would accrue \ndcr a fusion policy. (4piiau.se.) They had never shut the door of federation, and he extended the federation greeting again, in tin- hope that that principle would be accepted. Cumbersome Machinery. Mr. W. Yv'orkman moved a resolution that the meeting emphatically pro- tested against the proposed composite j Boards, which it regarded a.s -a de-1 liberate attempt to shackle ,the loco ( men with cumbersome and dilatory j machinery. It affirmed, its absolute j bolief in a separate Board with .separate recognition, and full autonomy for each section, and would iduse to accept -an agreement which did not include an eight hour with every safe- guard iu mileage clauses. Ho remarked that the congratula- tions to the N. U .R. were no less sin- cere because they came from the loco men. He regretted the feelings which had rcently sptang up, and feared that. if they were accentuated there would be a wicier breach; he wanted a closer bond between the societios. 1r. I Dan Evans (Pontypridd) second big. regretted the spirit 1111"i fested between the societies in 1911 did 1101, last long. If evorybody were .:i earnest they could get the eight hour. day to-morrow. 1 Some Disorder. i Mr. Russell, from the audience, wished to move an amendment, but wa;, amid some disorder, ruled out by the chairman, and told to resume his seat. Mi\ Ivor Gregory (organising secre- tary) affirmed that the sociotv was not standing for isolation, but for healthy I individuality, and contended (instancing the case of the miners) that in the de- velopment of that policy federation had (Continued at bottom of next column.)

I HOUSE _NLO-BBY, ^1 i THE FINANCE BILL. I AN IMPORTANT DIVISION, I (SPECUT. TO THg "HL\Ln."J 9 This week has been conspicuous fot _< three events of some importance. Tho first is that the Government has agreed to a division o tho Finance-Bill, tho "? second is fthat the Home Rule- Dill [ Amending Bill was read for the first time in tho House of Lords on Tuesday, the third i.s'that Lord St. Aldwyn pr>o- posf>d the appointment of a Select-Com- mittee to inquire w hether there wa." an increasing Nonconformist objection in Wales to the Discndowmeiit of the (Church of England. With regard to the last-named, it is announced that tho Government would agree to the < Committee. The Finance Bill Division. > 1 On four days of the week the Finance Bill came under discussion, and tlie division was ta-k-en Oil Thursday night, with the following result:— tor the Government 303 Against 2.) Majority a8 ""1, 1 r- it T -1 or T'IIE uovemiiUMiU majority must not be taken too seriously, although the Tories will, no douht, make the most of it. A glance at the figures will s how that over 100 members took no part in the division. Some of this was due to the pairs, and some to the absence of Labour members, who were in a rather awkward position. A Technical Question. Although the Opposition arp making as much fliss as they can about it, there is really nothing serious in the proposed Budget alterations. What has hap- pened is thajt objection has been taken. fcnat some parts of the Finance BIl] ought to bo taken as a separato pro- position, and tho Speaker upl??d this. The position is that a Finance Bill has The I)ositlon is ui'i?at a ?l?inajif-,e Bdl has career, For one thing, thu Kousis of Lords cannot amend it. It .is natural, therefore, that a-li things. included in the Bill should be scrutinised as closely as possible, and also natural that the Opposition—whichever side is in power —should do all they can to let tlrj Government have as little liberty as possible. In this case, the Govern- ment has acquiesced in the Speaker's ruling, so that the parts of the Bill re- ferred to will be taken out and made into a fresh and separate Bill. The effect of this re-arrangement, as it comes so late in the session will be to post;x>ne certain of tho Biidgot pro- posal, until next year. These pro- posals affect. the grants that were to be made to local authorities, and as a compensation to the taxpayer there ii to be an abatement in the income tax. Mr. Lloyd George Turns the Tables. Wednesday was another of Mr. Lloyd George's days in the House of Com- mons. 1 he Finance Bill was tinder dis- cussion again, aiid be had to explain the Government policy with regard to recent rulings by the Speaker. The amount and tho character of the Opposi- tion was peculiar, and the Chancellor 01 the Exchequer no doubt, had to deal with a rather difficult situation. Matters were* not improved by tlie evident de- sire of ♦he Tories to harrnss the i-iglil, lion, contlemiin when he raw to make his reply. BI1; lr> v,r. c«•i-* equal to them. They ■: • of strik- ing him just .where he is always moKt powerful. In addition to this, ho seemed to be in good form apart from all other considerations. The oonsequ- once was that the more they interrupted him the worse it was for them and the better for him. To all their taunts he had replies, so that he tui-xied,tdic tables completely upon them. Lords and Legislation. Interest has been, -centred Ion the House of Lords this week. Even now, uftur all that has happened, no one poems to know what the Opposition there Is rtuLlty going to do. Ihe whole posi- tion of the Tories is chaotic. Onn moment they are goiug to do one thing, and th next day some other plan is trotted out. The only thing clear about thoir policy is that they are playing with the legislature for the purpose of delay- in g public lusi nesss, in the hope that some accident will happen to wreck i the Home Rule, the Dtstablihm{'nt, and the Plural Voting Bills. At th- ) same time, as a natural sequence, tha effecit of their labours is another at- tempt to frustrate democratic govern- I ment. They are now likelv to take the second reading of the Rome Rule Amending Bill next Wednesday. Ihe second reading debate on the Welsh Church Diaestablisinent Bill is not. fixed yet, and the Lords seem to be in no hurry to tackle it. There is little probability, hqwever, that the Govern- ment will allow Lord St. Aldwyn's motion for a committee of inquiry to interfere with the course of the Welsb Bill. Railway Rates. The Mansion House Association on railway and canal traffic (of which Sir Alfred Mond is president, and which in- cluded a large number of members of Parliament of each party), is con- sidering a Bill to deal with railway rates. The chief provision of the Biil will be to consolidate and amend exist- ¡ ing Acts ruling railway and canal traffic. The Association has, in the past, taken up the case of the traders so far as railway legislation is con- cerned, and keep a watchful eye upon railway rates where they become anom- alous. One of the most energetic mem- bers of the Association is Mr. Petq, Unionist M.P. for a Wiltshire division. Home Rule Proposals. The growth of the Federal idea amongst members of Parliament ii rather remarkable. The Welsh mem- hers are now completing their con* idei-atiou of a Bill for Wales iii t. ness for iurtliei, (Ii-scukssion in the House of Common's. The Scottish members are feeling fairly comfortable with their Bill, although, of course, it has no chance of becoming law for a few sessions to come. All uch pro- positions take time to .arrive at maturity. Meanwhile, members of various sections of the House of Commons are pressing forward the de- sirability of giving full effect to what i is called the Federal idea. Wefsh Byo-Election Prophesied. There are ruruoilrs ,that a Welsh member is to be appointed to the head !of an important department in one of the Government offices. So far, the i suggestion is put forward as something I" in the air," but more may be hoard of it before many weeks are over.

always been successful. Tlie As<sociated Society was prepared to grip the hand of the N.U.R., provided it was by the means of federation, and to work with it and- hell) it at all times. The disseu- I tion had at all times come from tho other side. Mr. YVixon (Cardiff) presented Mr. Geo. J'ames, of Llane 11 v, the driver who lest h!S post in the stn!? there, with a grant of £ 25 made by the annual con- ?i?r<*aca.