Llangollen Advertiser Denbighshire Merionethshire and North Wales Journal

The Berwyns had their first winter coat of snow last week, but it melted under the warm sun of the week-end. A Cardiff message states that a group of Welsh musicians and composers, dissatisfied with the present tendency of the National Eisteddfod, have decided to challenge its supremacy by launching a, new annual musical festival which will be inaugurated at Mountain Ash next Whit-Monday. At a meeting on Monday of representatives of all the Labour organisations in the Wrex- ham Parliaruentary Mr. Hugh Hughes, financial, secretary of the North Wales Miners' Association, was unanimously adopted as Labour cadidat" at the next general electionion to oppose Sir Richard J. iHomas, the present Coalition candidates,

TIPYN 0 BOB PBTH." I (TO DO saol KBCM&A&U.X sHABt ikis OPINION IS RAPRUS= BZ VtSrTBUftS IN IXIU6 COLUMN .J I "Alfred the Great." I The intelligent-I think it is fair to use the adjective in this connection—anticipation of events that, this week, appears to inspire the statement that the Bishop of bt. Asaph will be the first Archbishop OJ: Wales has aroused a good deal of attention at Llangollen. Here the people take a very real interest in all that concerns the distinguished prelate who, it was at one time suggested, might be trans- lated to Chester upoii the retirement of Dr. Jayne. Happily Wales was not to suffer this loss and, the long and strenuous service wlaeii Dr. Edwards lias rendered to the \< elsh Church may find fitting acknowledgment in the advancement rumour suggests although it must be remembered that, so iar, it is only a rumour, however much oi intelligence may attach to the anticipation. There are few residents of Llangollen to-day who can reeol- lect the boyhood days of the future bishop spent, largely, by the banks of the Dee; out incidents are treasured in the memories of some, of the early associations of one. who was destined to become an outstanding figure in the Welsh Church militant, borne years ago, the writer had conversations with the late Mr. Godfrey Alien, whose father wel- comed George Borrow at the Ponsonby almost next door to the Vicarage. on the Ruabon Road, where Alfred Edwards spent his childhood. Alfred, as he remembered him then, was always the leader in their games; but a leader who stood somewhat aloof from the rest of us." They called him Alfred the Great," those young Llangollen hopefuls' who, it should be added, also in- cluded in their ranks a "William the Con- queror." The Alfred of those days had a keen sense of rights attaching to Church temporal- ities; and though the sportive boys "like troutlets in a pool might make a playground in the road outside and, at times even invade the "Ponsonby" grounds, the line was severely drawn at the Vicarage gate, the enclosure beyond which, with its fine ecclesi- astical flavour, was vigorously protected by the ukase of "Alfred the Great." Early im- pressions made upon the boyhood of his day and generation and boys are wonderfully good judges of character, after all—appear to have been that young Edwards was a born leader, at any rate they always deferred to his wishes and obeyed his commands. How wonderfully events have justified the opinions of boyhood of Llangollen He was ever a fighter and "the one fight more he may fight as Archbishop of Wales should not be the least memorale of his many struggles on be- half of his beloved Church. Llangollen Associations. It was in the summer of 1854 that George Borrow visited Llangollen and, at that time, Alfred Edwards, who was born in 1848, would be a child; but, 'a striking picture is given by Borrow, of the Vicar, his father, and the table at which the author was hospitably re- Igaled; and at which the future bishop doubt- less had a place. He says: On the table was a mighty pitcher full of foaming ale. There" said my host as he poured me out a glass, there is a glass of cwrw which Evan Evans himself might have drunk. From which it i would appear that, in the Vicarage at Llan- gollen, no pussy-foot propensities prevail- ed strong temperance advocate as Bishop Edwards has always been. But, it is inter- esting to note, that the cleric selected by rumour to be the future head of the vv elsi-i Church, spent his early days within a lew doors of the house where George Borrow dis- covered and protected the Church of England cat—a pussy-foot of another type—from non- conformist persecution. The story of that unfortunate feline's experiences are too familiar to call for repetition in full. How it i was harried from pillar to post by the Non- 1 conformists of Llangollen, until eight of its nine lives must have been spent ere Borrow rescued the ninth; his description of the in- cident concluding by stating I gave it some- thing which cured it of its eruption and, through good treatment, it soon lost its other ailments and began to look sleek and bonny." What Borrow did for the Church of England cat at Llangollen, there are some would have us understand, his lordship of St. Asaph has done for the Church in Wales; cured it of many of its evils, though from what one' hears, on all hands, as to the inadequacy of clerical stipends, sleek and bonny can hardly be accepted as an accurate description of its present condition. However, recent years have made it abllndantlyolear, that the by no means amicable relations that, in the past, existe d between Welsh Churchmen and Nonconformists at Llangollen have, with the mellowing influences of time, and larger oppor- tunities of intercourse presented, gradually. improved; until it is fair to say that nowhere would elevation of Bishop Edwards to the Archbishopric of Wales be received with greater favour than by his many friends at" Llangollen, whose forbears, in Borrow's day, displayed their anti-clerical antipathies by making miserable the existence even of the Church of England Cat! HWFA GLYN. I I

The Late Mr, Robert Evans, Llangollen.. I On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Robert Evans, Oakaeno, Llangollen, died at his residence in Oak-street, at the ape of 68. Mr. Evans, who, had been m failing' health for several years, wo* a native of Llandegla, but spent a considerable portion of his younger days in the United States. Upon returning to England, he resid- ed for some time at Oswestry, where member/3 of his family A-ere borii and was employed on the building extension work at the Grammar School. From Oswestry he removed co Llan- gollen upwards of t-vyenty years ago, and estab- lished himself in bueiness as a ioiner and wheel- wright, his enterprise subsequently developing: into the well-known hardware stores in °*- street. Mr. Evans was a prominent member of the local, Conservative party and Rehoboth C M. Chanel. To his widow and three sons who sur- vive him widespread sympathy is extended. His pons are Mr. W. T. Ev^ns (Liverpcol), Mr. J. D. Evans (L1anolIen). and Mr. Bert Evans (Bolton).

Among those invested with the Military Cross at the Investiture at St. James's Palace on Wednesday was Lieut. Basil E. Sheldon, K. S.L.I., Ol1 of Mr. Sheldon, Upton Magna: He was formerly employed at Lloyds Bank, Shrewsbury.

FERNHILL ESTATE. I A VERY SUCCESSFUL SALE. I £26,250 FOR 500 ACRES. I Messrs. Frank Lloyd and Sons, the well-known auctioneers of Wrexham and eleswhere, conduc- ted a sale of nearly 500 acres of the outlymg I of the Fernhill estate, Gobowen and WhittmgtoN, by order of Capt. LcSvett, at the Victoria Kooips, Oswestry, on Wednesday after- noon. Messrs. Long-ueville and Co., Oswestry were the solicitors. A large company was present and for most of the Jots bidding was exceedingly keen,as much as E300 an acre being offered for cottage holdings. The whole sum realised was £26,250, which worked out at about £ 51 an acre and only one lot remained unsold, the four Tympath cottages being withdrawn from sale at £490.. Mr. Frank Lloyd, who conducted the sale, re- marked that the maiority of the lots were not required by the tenants- He did not like selling farmer s homesteads, but on this occasion very few tenants wanted a bargain,, so the company could bid freely with the knowledge they were competing with the tenant. He might say that for a very long time he had been looking for- ward with coiifidp-jic,3 to the future of agriculture. Some people always had a 'dark light" in their l ar k l i h t" in t l-ic. .tr mind. and could not see the sunshine. He would sta,nd or fall by his opinion, and his opinion was that neither in his lifetime or that of his audience would farms be cheaper than they were to-day. They would be dearer and not cheaper. When farmers had bought their farms, he advised them to put their backs into their work and make up their minds to work and not ramble about the country. There was as much security in agri- culture as in any business he knew of. He gave a word of advice to young men who wanted to make money to make it before they were 40; It was too late to make mony. after, because the ambition of life had then gone. The first lot to come under the hammer was Little Fernhill dairy and stock farm of 196 acres, which started at £ 7,000 and rose to £10,000, at which figure it was bought by Mr. R. Hughes, The Forge Farm, Chirk. In addition 1;,0 the purchase price the buyer had to pay £ 150 for the timber. Mr. Hughes was also given the option, of which he made use, of buying a pasture field of lOijr acres,on the Whittington—Gobowen road, and two. enclosures of accommodation land, 12 £ acres on Gobowen-St. Martins road, at the same price per acre as he bought Little Fernhill farm, paying -0545 for the former and L643 for the latter land. Henlle residential farm of. 128, acres was knocked down to the tenants, Messrs. C. and G. Davies, at their own, bid of £ 5,500. I There was very keen bidding for the Lower Henlle farm of 44i acres, which was put into the sale at Ll.bOO, and Mr. J. Gibbs, Wigginton, St. Martins, was declared the purchaser at £ 3,075. An enclosure of 18 acres of aecommodition land with good frontage to the Hindford-St. Martins road, started at ;6600, and was knocked down at £ 700 to Mr. J. Evans, Hal ton. ihe Yew Tree cottage holding of less than an acre, near Gobowen, which was put into the bidding at JB250, was bought by Mr. R. Hughes, the pur- chaser of Little Fernhill farm, for E300, and Rhosygadfa cottage holding of lk acres, wai bought by Messrs.* C. and G. Davies, for L205, the first bid being jEZOO. Messrs. Davies also bought IO3 acres of accommodation land, of which they were the tenants, at 9450, rising from an opening bid of t400. An attractive accommoda- tion field of 15 £ acres, on the Gobowen- Whittingon main road, was put into the bidding at £ 700 and reached £800, at which figure it was bought by the occupier, Mr. Joseph Morgan, of Great Fernhill. An ,enclosure of, 81 acres of accommoda-tion land, close to Gobowen station, found a bidder at £ 500, and after keen competi- tion it went to Mr. C. Charles, Gobowen, for £ 610. Rapid bidding took place for 14',1: acres of accommodation pasture land, near Gobowen, in the occupation of Mr. J. Morris; the first. offer was £ 700, which rose to £ 1,400, and was bought at that figure by Mr. W. Foster, Criftins. Mr. Parry. St, Martins, paid L500 for 11 acres of accommodation land on the Gobowen-St. Martins road, the initial bid for which was £ 400: and Mr. Edwards gave L600, for 161 acres of accom- modation land near Ebnal, the opening bid being, £ 500. The last property to be sold was 10i acres of accommodation land, adjoining the railway main line,, together with a small plantation of nearly a quarter of an acre. Bidding began at £600 and rose to E770, at which prioe the property was purchased by Mr. J. Davies, Gobowen. The only unsold lot was a, block of four cottages and gardens, known as the. Tympath cottages. The opening bid was 2400, and at E490 the property was withdrawn from sale. LLANGOLLEN SMITHFIELD. At the tilird stor e sheep sale, held in con- junction with the usual sale of fat, dairy & store cat- tle on October 14, conducted by Messrs. Jones and &n, there was a record entry of s'tock of a',l classes. Over 2,000 store sheep, 650 fat sheep and lambs, and 48 fat cattle were penned, with the usual supply of fat and ;):Ig, znd calves. There was a very large num- ber of buyers present, and the trade on the whole was better that the previous sale. Calving cows made. up i to t44 and cows in milk up to £ 46; store bullocks il8 12s. 6d.; store heifers klO 10s.; and the. west pen of store pigs £3. The high- est pen ol store ewes made 60s, and was sold by Mr. Williams, Wern TJcha. O ther prices were Jones, Cefn Ueha, 66s. and 52s.; Davies, Pengwern Hall, 52s. and 51s. 6d.; Jones, Voel, 51s.; Robert&, Wernddu, 41s. 6d.; Thomas, Carrcg, 40s.; Broadfoot, Llandyn, 43s. 6d.; L. J. Williams, 42s.; W. R. Ellis, Glyn, 42s.; Evans, Corwen, 853. Sa., Morris, Rliewl, 35s.; Morris, Bone Nantyr, 35s.; Young, Giyndvfrdwy, 34s.; Davies, Pvhos, j 34s. 6d., etc., etc. Rams were making up to t5 10s.

OVERTON CRICKET CLUB. Matches played 27, won 13, lost 14. Battiiig, averages: R. M. Swainson, total runs 429, innings 23, not out 3, highest score 87*, average 21.4; J. B. Walmsley, 149, 7, 0, 35, 21.2s; Harry Evans, 341, 19, 0, 50, 17.8; E. R. Jackson, 268, 23, 1, 46, 12.1; J. E. Williams, 180, 24, 2, 27, 8.1; J. Haynes, 65, 11, 1, 81,, 6.5; Dr. Moreton, 10>1, 19, 2, 30, 5.9; R. B. Allen, i 82, 16, 2, 22*, 5.8; W. Lightfoot, 46, 8, 0, 25, 5.7; A. Swainson, 116, 23, 0, 25. 5.2; C. E. Hassall, 51, 13, 8, 20*, 5.1; J. HasalJ,78, 20, 0, 16, 3.9 A. Roberts, 31, 11, 2, 15, 3.4; S. Lewis, 10, 5, &, 8*, S.3; L. Lewis, 11, 7, 3, 6, 2.7; F. Williams, 28, 21, 4, 6, 1.6; Walsham Hughes, 5, 4, 1, 4, 1.6. "Signifies not out. Bowling averages: J. Hassall, overs 30, maidens 4, runs 104, wickets 15, average 6.9; F. Williams, 128, 19, 414, 59, 7.0; A. Swainson, 24, 2, 66, 9, 7.3; W. Light- foot. 21, 4, 69, 9, i.4; J. Haynes, 36, 4, 133, 15, 8.8; H Evans, 133. 14, 475. 4-0, 11.8: R. M. Bwaimon, 79, 7, 247, 19, 13.0,; J. E. Williams, 22, 2, 86, 5, 17.2.

Labour Magistrates for Shropshire ( The Lord Chancellor has, on the re coin- menda'tion of the Lord-Lieutenant of Shroi>- 'shire, the Earl of Powis, appointed the fol- lowing members of the Labour Party to the Commission of the Peace for the county Councillor W. H. Holloway 6f Percyville,'j Port Hill Gardens, Shrewsbury, joiner and! builder, and Mr. Thomas Morris, of St. 1 Martins Moors, Oswestry, coal miner. Mr, Holloway is a well-known amateur swet-pea grower, and Mr. Morris was the Labour can- didate at the last general election in the Oswestry division against Mr. W. C. Bridge- [man, M.P.,

The Government and Agriculture.! FARM WORKERS' HOURS. J What the State is prepared to do to en- courage home food production' was outlined | by the Prime Minister at a conference in London representing all sections of the agri- cultural community. The days of cheap grain from abroad, he says, were gone for ever. We must, therefore, fend for ourselves. This country could produce £ 150,000,000 worth of food which was at present imported. With the rape of exchange at its present level the saving thus achieved would be incalcul- able. -It would put a new shine on the Mce of the sovereign." The guarantees to the farmer and the landowner who broke up his land must continue without doubt-for how long depended on the findings of the Com- mission now sitting. Farmers, it was pro- posed, would be secured in their tenancies unless their land was to be sold for public purposes, or it could be proved that they were bad cultivators. For there was no room for the" slacker." Where notice to quit was given in order to raise rent the tenancy would not be affected, and the new rent would be fixed either by agreement or arbitration. The Government were also prepared to consider giving greater compensation to evicted tenants. Finally, the people must be brought back to the land, and the country changed from a place of picturesque desolation to a garden ringing with cheerful and contented life." He appealed to the agricultural labourer, for whom he fought before the laboui^ers' present friends were heard of, not to press for further reductions in hours in view of the vital im- portance of increased production. The question of the inclusion of the agri- cultural labourer in the 48-Hour Bill was one of the main causes of a critical discussion re- garding the continuance of the machinery of the National Industrial Council which has taken place between the trade union leaders and the Minister of Labour. A protest against such inclusion has been passed by the Central and Associated Chambers of Agricul- ture. j

Oswestry Races. I Oswestry races, as they used to be in ¡ 1888," were on Saturday afternoon held on ) the old racecourse, Maesbury-road, by kind' permission of Mr. G. Holland. The cardj consisting of six events, was arranged by Mr. C. W. Lloyd,' and. though starters were few in number some good sport was provided for a fair crowd. The officials included Messrs. Evan Vaughan, R. Waring, C. H. Cooke, N. P. Drake, A. Roberts, F. Roberts, J. H. Levis,S. Morris, A. Vaughan, E. T. Fox and J. P. Rowlands. Mr. Mason was clerk of the scales, and W. Lloyd and C.S.M. Walker were the starters. The races i-esulted as fol- lows :— • ¡ Five furlongs, open. Five starters—1, Mr. Shack's Jellied Ells; 2, Mr. Morris's Cordlte i 3, Mr. T. Surman's Little Bill. One mile, open. Three starters—1, Mr. Vaughan's Jack; 2, Mr. Simmonds's For- ward; 3, Mr. B. Sadie's Steeple Jack. Seven furlongs, open. Three starters—1, Mr. wMorris'sCordite; 2, Mr. T. Shurman's Little Bill. Oswestry Derby, two miles. Four starters 1, Mr. Vaughan's Jack; 2, Mr. Shack's Jellied Ells; 3, Mr. Simmonds's Forward.! This race was disputed. I Pony race, open, one mile. Two starters-I 1, Mr. Simmonds's Maggie; 2, Mr. Jones's Little Tim. Trotting race. Four starters—1, Mr. R. Davies's Jane; 2, Mr. R. Davies's Beryl.

.——— 4* Montgomeryshire Farmers' Union A meeting of the Montgomeryshire Branch of the National Farmers' Union was held at Welsh- pool, on Monday, Mr. T. Williams, Gaer, presid- ing. TOO MANY OFFICIALS. The Llanidloes Branch forwarded a resolution declaring that they considered the employment of so many officials connected with the farming industry in the county as totally 'unnecessary to the welfare of agriculture, i besides being ruth- less extravagance and a waste of public money. They urged that these officials be dispensed with without delay.—It was agreed to forward the Llanidloes resolution to the N,F.U. Executive, asking- them to take action. TENANTS AND FARMS. Meifod Branch forwarded a- resolution protest- ing against the way farms were being sold with- out sitting tenants being given an opportunity of purchasing their farms before being offered by auction.—Mr. John Jones said such a resolu. tion should not have come from Meifod, where the largest landowners had sold their farms to the tenante.-The Secretary: The pity is that though Mr. Williams Wynn has sold his own estate to the tenants he has twice given his cast- ing vote for the Small Holdings Committee to buy estates without the tenants having the option to buy first.-The Secretary said the Llan- idloes Branch sent a resolution similar to the Meifod resolution respect ins the sale of Sir Watkan Williams Wynn's estate sale, in which 20 of their members wert effected.—Mr. D. M. Jones said that in the case of Sir Watkin's estate sale the tenants were to be informed of the re- serve price of their farms on the morning of the sale.—Mr. D. L. Bebb said that in nine sales out of ten they did not disclose the reserve to the tenant at all. but made them bidblindfold. It was eventually agree to write to the two owners. VARIA. A letter was read from the Live Stock Com- missioner for 'North Wales asking the branch to nominate three Ministry graders for the county. --lu was agreed to nominate Mr. R. B. S. Hamer, Brynllys, Llanidloes. for markets at Llanidloes, Machynlleth and district; Mr. W. E. Jones, Landinier, for Welshpool Montgomery and Llanfalr; and Mr. John Llowarch, Llansant- ffraid. for Llanfyljin and Four Orossee. A resolution from Notts N.F.U., urging the abolition of summer time, was warmly supported. The Chairman reported on a meeting of the Welsh Advisory Committee at Chester, held to prepare evidence for the Royal Commission on Agriculture and the Costings Committee. Valu- able information on costing on farms at Llanid- loes and Welshpool had been got together by Mr. D. W. Jones, Roefach. Llandinam, and Mr. MacQuepn,- Welshpool, while a general statement on agricultural conditions in North Wales had been drawn up by Mr. Lloyd Williams of, Den- bigh, the secretary of the Advisory Committee, to place before the Commission, and a Welsh speaker had been appointed for propaganda work in North Wales.

BOHDEH NEWSIN BHIFE Denbighshire Denbighshire County Eisteddfod Assooia, tion, of which Mr. Pencerdd Williams, Llan- gollen, has been elected chairman, have ac- cepted the invitation of liiiosilanerchxugog to hold the eisteddfod there next Whit-Monday and Tuesday. The awards at the Connah's Quay meeting, on Saturday, included soprano soio, Elizabeth Hannaby, i'en ire Broughtoa; tenor solo and challenge soio, Watkin Dodd, Ruabon. Mr. Ll. Kenriek, coroner, held two inquests at Wrexham yesterday. In the case of Tlws. Roberts (60), Broughton Buildings, who i l-d after returning home from the Wrexham Coal Wharf, on Monday, heart failure consequent upon gastric disturbances was decided to be the cause of death. Edith May Edwards, liawarden Road, Hope, fell down stairs after her clothes had caught fire on Oct. 14, &1 died at the Infirmary. Verdict, Accidental death." Last week an interesting presentation, which took the form of a divan easy chair handsome- ly upholstered in tapestry, a framed photo- graph of the staff and a number of books, was made by the teachers and scholars of the Victoria Boys' School, Wrexham, to Hr. Chas. Dodd, F.,G.S., the retiring headmaster. A number of speeches were made eulogizimg the great services which Mr. Dodd has rend- ered to education in the borough; and, in acknowledging the gifts and kind words Ith which they were accompanied, Mr. Dodd -id he had been-teaching for about 52 years and something like 4,000 boys had passed through his hands. Merionethshire. Reporting to the Merionethshire Insurance Committee, Dr. Williams, the county tuber- culosis officer, said that a small cottage ia the county was occupied by twelve pefsoas, and there were only two bedrooms. Three of the occupants shewed signs of tuberculosis and were removed to a sanatorium. Dr. jaurh Jones described the housing conditions in ihe rural portions of the country as impossible. The death occurred suddenly on Siunday of Mr. L. J. Davies, of Llanuwchliyn. Hr. Davies had taken a leading part in the public, political, and religious life of Merionethshire. He was a member of the Merioneth Ccunty Council for many years, and was elected chair- man in March last. He was also a member of the County Education Committee and the Bala County and Council Schools Managers, and for several years he had been a member of the Bala District Rural Council and the Bala Guardians. As a Congregationalist he took a leading part in the connexional affairs of the Welsh Union. Montgomeryshire. There was no civil or criminal business Mw Montgomeryshire Quarter Sessions at Welsh- pool, on Thursday, and the court was not held. Capt. Wynn Jones presided over a meeting at the Institute, Llantair, on Friday .evening, and explained the county recreation scheme, a thoroughly representative committee being formed to bring the district into line. At Liaufecham, on Saturday, polling took place for the election of a countycoullcior 111 room of Mr. Perrott (deceased). At 8 p.m. Mr. Martin Woosnam declared the re- sult as follows: Dr. William Henry Lewis, 316; Mr. Arthur Edmund Sandbach, 155. Mr. R. A. Jones, who has fcaen a member of Llanfyllin Board of Guardians for fifteen years and chairman for the last five years, on Thursday resigned his seat owing to having entered into a contract with the board to instal electric light in the workhouse. Vacancies have also been caused on the board by the deaths of Messrs. J. Lodwick and J. Hughes, who have each sat for over twenty years. J Shropshire. Each soldier from Middleton-in-Chirbury has been presented with a silver-mounted walking stick, suitably inscribed and sub- scribed for by the parishioners. An apple tree in full bloom may be seen ia a garden belonging to Mr. P. St. Jones, the Camp, Maesbury. The blossoms are strik- ingly healthy in appearance and, from the tree, this season, has been gathered a good crop of apples. 11 Flintshire. Not a single deati.i was registered in the borough of Flint last month. Bro. Joseph Lloyd, solicitor, Rhyl and St, Asaph, has been installed W.M. of the Caradoc Lodge (1674) of Craft Masons, Rhyl, for the ensuing year.