Llangollen Advertiser Denbighshire Merionethshire and North Wales Journal

"rjpjEW 0 B08 PETfl." [WE DO NOT NECESSARILY IDENTIFY OURSELVES WITH THE OPINIONS OF OUR CORRESPONDENT | COMING events are supposed to CA^T their shadows before and it is, therefore, fair to assume that the application made to the Council -by the Constitutional Committee for permission to place a Budget League Van in the Smithfield for five shillings instead of the regulation half- -sovereign—which, by the way, was granted—is an indication of the fact, that there is shortly to be an outpouring of fiscal oratory in our midst There has, dating the past month or so, been a good deal of public speaking upon parliamentary prospects and surely it is high time that the silence was broken at Llangollen. Mr. Hemmerde is not to have a walk-over in East Denbighshire as the Welsh Unionists have decided that Mr. David Khys-who will be remembered as accompanying Mr. Sam Thomp son to Llangollen and who has been at the call of the party for some months—has now, it is understood, been definitely selected to contest the representation. Mr. Rhys is a Welshman and a Nonconformist who has been bitten severely by the Tariff Reform microbe. In times gone by he was an ardent Disestablisher. It will be interesting to know what place he will give to Welsh Disestablishment in his election address. A correspondent sends me a story—which, by the way, I think 1 have read elsewhere in another form — but which is worth printing. Here it is: The pretty little village of Carrog, in Merionethshire, on the banks of the Dee, is becolllilg quite popular as a holiday resort, firs: on account of the excellent fishing, and next by reason of the magnificent scenery around. The scholars of a school in the village were recently set to write an essay on the Dee. This is what one wrote: I The river Dee at Carrog provides splendid sport for fishermen and ample accom- modation for visitors. A record price for a lamb was made at the Bazaar held in the Pavilion last week. Mr. Knight Parry generously gave the animal to lVlrs. Jones, Waverley," and, judiciously dis- posed of, it realised nearly £8 in a raffle. There were, I understand, some who objected to this method of wind raising "-gave the raffle the 11 cold shoulder so to speak, on the grounds that it encouraged gambling—but surely if there is anything suggestive of Arcadian simplicity and rural innocence it is the gambolling of a lamb. A correspondent writes regarding the Bazaar lamb: "There was, unquestionably, an element of appropriateness in the pretty little animal, which was gaily bedecked with ribbons, and whose 'fleece was black as ink,' being won by a young 3ady named Martha. You see, according to the most reliable records: Mary had her little Jamb quite a long time ago and its I fleece was white as snow.' H The Drunkard's Train," as the very con- venient means of transit from Chester that was timed to arr ve at Llangollen at 6 35 on Sunday evenings was christened by local Temperance llefornaers, has been discontinued, and a train arriving here at 4 35, but proceeding no further, has been substituted. This is one of the effects -of the Budget; business and pleasure" are at ;a discount at Llangollen on Sanday nights. Mr. John Williams, of Corwen, writes to point out one or two small errors in the report of his remarks regarding the Garth Water Supply that is just now perplexing Rural District Coun- cillors. He states that- G-ronwcn Gate is nearer three-quarters of a mile than half-a-uiile from Pen bed w that Brynmorfydd is 900 feet above the sea that the illustration he made use of was the conveyance of water from Giynoeiriog to Llangollen and not vice versa; and, lastly, that -what the Council have proved is that Groawen Well is a public well and not a private one as previously contended. Interested parties should read these remarks as a corrigenda to your report; especially as I am assured that, despite the quantity of water at Gronwen, this burning question is not to be readily extinguished and there is no intention to leave the well alone. Aviation week at Blackpool is likely to be an event of outstanding importance and, ac- cording to refreshment caterers, who are usually good judges, it will attract more people to the busy Lancashire holiday resort than have ever been there before. What more natural, there- fore, than that the high-flyers of Llangollen should desire an opportunity of visiting the scene iof the contests upon easy terms. It was only siecessary for a few enterprising spirits to men- tion this fact to Mr. William Evans to ensure things being set going. He assures me all arrangements have been completed and the «rowds at Blackpool, on Tuesday, will be aug- mented by fully fifty day-trippers from Llan- gollen, to witness the flight of the Autumn-it cannot be the flight of Summer because Summer Jfeas not arrived this year. On Saturday evening a genial company assembled with mingled feelings" at the Lion House," Wrexham, the doors of which had been opened for the last time upon licensed premises in the morning. The army of friends that Mr. '"Sam" Johnson has made in Wrexham "lined "liP" before the curtain was rung down to slow anusic, to wish the popular host au revoir but not good bye," for the abounding hospitality that was dispensed at the Lion House" for so many years will continue to be extended at Llangollen, where Mr. Johnson now presides over the des- tinies of the Royal." Wrexham's loss is Llan- gollen's gain, and admirers of the historic bridge may rely upon its never collapsing so long as stalwarts from the Lager beer town support jit at either end. The ratepayers of Llandudno were startled on Saturday when they read in the Llandudno Adver- tiser an article dealing with the alleged loss of aiearly £1.500 through the incorrect reading of a water meter. It appears that when Messrs. Ind, Coope and Co., opened their ice factory and titling stores in Craigydon about six years ago a specially large new meter was installed to register the quantity of water used. This meter should have been read in tens of thousands in- stead of in single thousands like the ordinary aaeters. I note that Deputy C.C. Jones continues to enforce the Act that requires that all carriages rased by farmers and others, otherwise than in the (exercise of their calling, shall be licemed, and quite right too. A conviction has been obtained &X Huabon Petty Sessions in a case in which the defendant contended that he did not use the trap for hire and had not earntd a copper with it -but, although he stated he did not take in visitors and did not convey visitors from his brother's to the station, the Magistrates appear to have had their" doot8 "and imposed a fine. JReading this case reminds me of a similar one leard recently at Llangollen regarding which a Seed deal of silly, sentimental, twaddle was •written. In that case the offeuce was a second icae, the defendant should, therefore, have been aware what he was doing and if, knowing the risk" he took when butting his head against the stone wall of the Law, he got badly hurt in the process, he has only himself to blame. I notice that, at Dolgelley, a farmer has been fined by the Magistrates for having signed a false declaration under the Dogs' Exemption Act, and this is an offence which, I understand, is becoming very common, so corn,non, in fact, as to render the effective application of the Act all but au impossibility. l'ne defendant pleaded that he did not understand the Order—bat his method of procedure appearei rather to con- trovert this contention—and the Chairman of the Magistrates, ia stating the penalty, added that defendant had committed a serious offence, and he hoped his punishment would be a warning to farmers generally, it should be borne in mind that the seriousness of signing a false declaration is just as great at Llangollen as at Dolgelley; and that in case of offenders being detected the punishment may be just as severe. Verb sat. There was a piratical descent from Llangollen upon Warrington on Wednesday afternoon. I do not suggest that anything desperate was attempted -the occasion was a voyage" by members of thp. ln«al Amatonr Onarafcie. Soniafv t,n tII4 1.<1. cashire town, where Gilbert and Sullivan's opera, The Pirates of Penzmce," is being performed, in order to pick up points to assist themm the perfor- mance that is to be given at Llaugolleu, ia the Spriog, where e'tch ot taose who mide the jour- ney will be required to walk the plank in the Pavilion. No better method could be selected for obtaining "wrinkled" as to "how it shouid be done than to go and see the opera per- formed by a first-rate company and I trust the local" raiders have brought back with them a rich booty in the form of valuable inspiration. Two young Welshmen who, within the past few months, crossed the Atlantic on matrimonial pilgrimages and showed their good sense and good taste by selecting their brides at Llangollen, are now returning in "double harness" to the Western Hemisphere. But, although both the gentlemen came to the Old Country single and re-cross the Atlantic as married men, in one sense at anyrate it is not their intention to settle in the" United States," although in another sense I trust they may flourish therein exceed ingly. Mr. J. Francis Hughes who, after some years in a leading Castle-street establishment, joined the staff of Mr. li. J. Jones, of Honda, is returning to the land of his adoption with his bride, well-known in Llangollen scholastic circles as Miss Mary Jones, Tegfan; and Mr. Evan Edward Davies, who also won his spurs in Castle-street, and who was married a fortnight ago to Miss Annie Williams, has decided to re- main under the Union Jack and sing Rule Britannia," and is en route to Edmonton, Alberta, in the Canadian ISorth-Weat, where he is already regarded as a leading citizen. To the happy quartette I wish bon voyage and a bright future! I am i) formed that a new move is to be made by the Llangolien Electric Lighting Company which is sure to be welcomed by householders. My informant says that with a desire to bring matters more completely up-to-date than they are at present, the Company are prepared to in- stal on the consumers' premises six, eight or ten lamps on the free wiring scheme. Under this scheme the installation costs nothing and the electricity consumed will be measured by the Company in slot meters, in the ordinary way. or, as an alternative, the consumer may have a fixed charge of ten shillings per lamp per annum on the understanding that they are only kept burn- ing for the usual hours, and that Llaugollenites persist in their customary retiring habits. I am informed that the work of repairing the Chainbridge, at Berwyn, is being proceeded with with as much expedition as the circumstances permit. This is good news for visitors to the locality and all whose accustomed to the ready means of crossing the river at a most desirable point. For a good many months the bridge had been in a deplorable state of disrepair; and there was considerable significance in the warning to parties using the delnpidated structure that they did so at their own risk. However, no accident happened, the bridge supplying a further illustra- tion of the truth that "creaking gates hang long," and now we are justified in writing "All's well that ends well." Considerable interest was taken in an appeal made on Tuesday against a Magisterial con- viction recorded against a motorist who, having ensconced himself on a stretch of road near a police trap, when a car bearing the Automobile Club's crest appeared showed a red badge, with the result that the speed of the car was reduced within the legal limit. As many cars were exceeding the limit before the warning signal was displayed the motorist was charged with obstructing the police in the execution of their duty, and fined Y.5 and 8s. 6d. costs. The grounds of the appeal were that the police were not obstructed but the Court of Appeal decided in favour of the Magisterial decision. A correspondent forwards an extract from an address delivered by Archdeacon Wynne Jones at the meeting of the St. Asaph Branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society, the other night. Therein the venerable gentleman deals with the difficulty of raising money for Christian work and says: "If there is one man for whom I have a strong contempt it is the man who begins to retrench on his charities. If we have to retrench is it not better that we should suffer and not God ? We hear of people talking about reducing their subsciptions because they will have to pay heavier taxes. I do not think this is the kind of economy that will bring peace at the end." Certainly it is not the kind of economy that will bring "pieces." Some people are born great, others have great- ness thrust upon them, and some attain greatness o wing to puff paragraphs in the press. To this latter number belongs Miss Margaret Davies, who is popularly supposed to have thrown the gingerbread which injured the late Mr. Glad- stone's eye on the occasion of one of his visits to Chester many years ago, and who died in the Middlesbrough Asylum last month. Mr. Glad- stone was driving with Mr. James Tomkinson, M.P., at the time, and the gingerbread is still preserved at Willington Hall. This may be truthfully described as gingerbread reputation. The theological atmosphere of Vron appears to be becoming somewhat sultry judging by corres- pondence that is appearing in your columns. Residents" and Non-Residents," and people with curious Latin titles are digging out chunks from Biblical quarries and hurling them at each other in fine and frenzied fury. The spark was applied to the inflammable material by an itinerant preacher from Cefn who, emulating Jonah of old, descended 011 Vron, warned the people to flee from the wrath to come, and appears to have offended some by his sulphurous imagery. May I suggest that aa Cefn has sent fire to Vron it should also send water to Garth as a kind of remedial measure, and thus, so to speck, mantain the mental equilibrium of the locality. Local authorities may, of course, contend that the Garth Pump can do all the water spouting" necessary and that, therefore, the efforts of Cefn evangelists may be confined to spouting fire. Precisely so-bag what of Gron wen well ? It is with very sincere regret that I hear of the continued serious illness of the Rev. Moses Roberts, the able and popular minister of Castle- street Baptist Chapel. As a preacher Mr. Roberts has long been regarded as occupying a place in the very front rank, and his prolonged indisposition is, in the very nature of things, a matter of grave concern to those who take a real interest in all that concerns the spiritual welfare of the people. I am sure I voice the sentiments of the community as a whole in expressing deep sympathy with Mr. Roberts in his present indisposition and sa hope that he may, at no distant date, be moving in his accustomed health in the sphere of beneficent usefulness which he is so eminently qualified to adorn. IhvFA GLYN. PROPERTY SALE AT LLANGOLLEN. BRISK COMPETITION. There was a large gathering at the R )yal Hotel, on Tuesday afternoon, when Messrs. Jones and Son submitted for public auction several valuable residential properties at Llangollen. These included four desirable semi-detached free- hold Villas called Idria House and Woodcroft, and Gianynys and Glanffrwd, situate on Abbey-road, in one of the most attractive portions of the town. The bidding commenced ao £ 1,000—the four houses being submitted en bloc-and proceeded by bids of £25 aoud Y,50 to £ 1.900 at which sum the Auctioneers declared the saie to be an op-n one, the property being knocked down to M.. Richard Roberts, quarry manager, Glyndyfrdwy, at the sum mentioned. Mr. E. Foulkes-Jones was the Solicitor to the Vendor. MINERS' RELIEF GRANTS, A TEST CASE AT WREXHAM. An important question affecting miners in the North Wales coalfield was the subject of an arbi- tration under the FriendiySootetttS Act, 1896, held at Wrexiiam, on Thursday. The arbitrators, who were chosen by agreement, were Mr. Simon Jones (chairman), Mr. H. Croom Johnson and Mr. Arthur E. Evans. Mr. Artemus Jones appeared for the applicant, ZAchaLiah Griffiths and Mr. J. Hopley Pierce for the respondents, the North Wales Pemaneot Relief Society. Griffiths met with an accideut while working as a collier, and received compensation from his employers. The accident resulted in the loss of one arm. Later, the award was reviewed, and the man was given employment as a messenger at the same colliery. In December his services were dispensed with, and subsequently his compensation was redeemed by a lump sum. lu the meantime he had bean paying contributions to the Permanent Relief Society, and had drawn 5s. per week. At the beginning of the year the Society declined to pay him any more money on the ground that he had resumed work within the meaning of the rules of the Society, and thereby debarred himself from receiving any further benefits from the Society. The point the arbitrators httd to decide was the construction of this rule. The contention of the applicant was that the words resuming work" meant resuming the work at which he had been employment before the accident. The arbitrators decided that the rule did not tpply to such a case, and made the order that the applicant sheuld receive the allowance of 5s. per week from the funds of the Society. MARKED HALF-CROWNS. CHARGE OF THEFT AGAINST A RHYL POSTMAN. A Rbyl postman named Thomas Corbett, living at 50, Ffynongroew Road, was brought up in cus- tody on Wednesday, on a charge of having stolen a postal packet containing two half-crowns and twelve penny stamps, the property of the Post- master General. Mr. A Mathiesou, who appeared to prosecute, said that Corbett occupied a position of trust, The packet he was charged with stealing was a test paoket which had been prepared by Mr. Austen, who was making investigations at Rhyl. The small box in which were the coins and stamps them- selves, were all marked. The packet was addressed to a person in London, and posted in the letter box at Rnyl on Saturday afternoon about 4 30. The letter box was cleared immediately afterwarns, and the packet was subsequently placed among ths letters with which the prisoner had to deal later in the evening. Afterwards the packet was miss- ed, and search was made for it. As a result an interview took place between Mr. Austen and the prisioner, in the presence of Detective Courcouf. Mr. Austen described the packet, told Corbett it was missing, and asked him for an explanation. The prisoner replied that he knew nothing about it. Subsequently asked to turn out his pockets, he preduced one of the two half-crowns and eleven postage stamps. The mark on these was shown to him, and he was given into custody. As he was about to be taken to the police station a rather strange thing happened. He put his hand to his throat, and, when asked what was the matter, admitted that he had got the other half- crown there. After some coughing he ejected the second half-crown and a penny. The only sugges- tion which could be made as to the penny was that the prisoner had put it in his mouth believing that it was one of the two half-crowns. He then admitted that he had had the packet and had thrown away the box. H. E. Austen, clerk in the secretary's office, London, attached to the investigation department, said that he had been sent down to inquire into recent losses of packets containing coin passing through the Rhyl office. The packet which he made up and marked in the presence of the detec- tive who accompanied him contained a small matchbox, and was addressed to Mrs. Simmonds, 48, Barford-street, London, W.C." The stamps were marked in invisible ink, which became visible on treatment. When he had produced the first half-crown from his pocket the prisoner was asked where he had got it, and replied, With my wages to-day." He stated that he had bought the stamps at the counter. The witness spoke to the prisoner on other matters, and then gave him into custody. Detective P. W. Courcouf stated that Corbett said, "I admit I had the packet. I put the coins in my mouth before I met my wife. I tried to swallow them when you took me to the offiee." Asked what was his reason for placing the coins in his mouth he said, "I did not wish my wife to know I had them." Evidenee was also given by Mr. J. D, Asher, the acting overseer of the Rhyl Post-office, and Ser- geant Dampsey. The accassed was committed for trial at the Ruthin Assizes, which begin on Saturday.