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A I iDY, who subscribes herself A Mother," has sent us for insertion a bitter complaint "concerning some verses which appeared in one of your contemporaries." Our correspondent does not seem to be aware that we never take notice of what appears in these contemporaries, or condescend to imitate their tactics. Besides, it would not serve the interests of morality to advertise bits of blackguardism which otherwise will He half hidden in an obscure corner. If such things continue, however, and the dissemination of filth seems to be taking the form of a trade, we shall, of course, feel it our duty to denounce the shameful thing. I EXTRA rates and taxes are the order of the day. The Government is going to make us all pay our share of the War expenses, and the Carmarthen Town Council, which has no war to pay for, aspires to imitate the example of its betters by heaping burdens on the free and independent'' burghers whom it is supposed to represent. As if the present increase was not enough, we are threatened with one still larger within the next couple of years. This mode of proceeding will come to a sudden stop one of these days. More than twelve months ago we warned our Town Councillors that it was time to "slow down for a time, but they seem to plunge on head foremost like the wild horse of the desert. 'there is no attempt at economy in any of the hundred and one little things that consume the public funds. Three or four men will spend a month building a bit of wall which might be done by contract in a week; and still no one heeds. This kind of thing is bound to end in a way neither pleasant to the Council nor advantageous to the town, for we shall by-and-by have a Town Council of the old type, determined to stand in the way of every improvement. The work of the Chamber of Commerce costs us nothing, and is often highly beneficial to the town. The work of the Town Council, which imposes so heavy a burden on us all, very frequently benefits only a few, or nobody whatever. UNUSUAL pressure of other matters prevented us last week from calling attention to some remarks on commercial education made by Mr Gwilym Evans, J.P., in a recent interview with the representative of a Cardiff daily paper. After stating that America will in future be our chief competitor in trade, and discussing various points in relation to our competition with other countries, Mr Evans made the following observations, which cannot fail to remind many readers of statements contained in an article we published a few weeks ago on commercial education. He said: "Up to the present we have been per- fectly satisfied with our insular position. We have followed our trades and manufactures, and brought up our young people to the same business in the same old way. After travelling over practically the whole of Europe, however, I can't help thinking that our commercial training is sadly deficient on the modern language side. Throughout Germany there are hundreds of youths who are prepared to come over to Eng- land—volunteers, they are called-and to give their services, in business houses gratis for periods varying between six months and two years. After that they either become well-paid men in this country, or go back to their native land with the inestimable advantage of having learned the conduct of an English business house from the inside. How many of our young people, I wonder, are fitted by our educational system to do this ? While I am on this language question letme give you an experience which befel me at Hamburg. While there I was taken over the Exchange, and was introduced to a dozen or more of the leading business men of the place. With hardly one exception all of them were perfectly conversant with English, and they spoke to me in that language with the greatest fluency, and they spoke French like natives." There is hardly a man in all this district who has travelled more on the Continent than Mr Evans, and at the same time kept matters affecting home and foreign trade under closer observation. The result of his experience, as will be seen, is that English boys, owing to the defects of our educational system, or systems, have no chance against the youths of Germany and France, and while the latter easily acquire as much English as they need, our English lads do not acquire the French and German tongues in a practical way. The moral is plain, but to repeat it here would be like writing our late article over again. SOME leading agricultural authorities have recently been discussing the question of stock insurance. In France and on various parts of the Continent, it is a common practice for small farmers and freeholders to have most of their stock insured. In this country, such insurance is largely confined to stallions, bulls, and other valuable animals owned by gentry, wealthy men, clubs and so forth. Farmers, properly so- called, have not, up to the present, done much in this way, unless we reckon the cow and pig clubs existing in some parts of England where small holdings are numerous. In countries like Ireland and in some parts of France where the farms are small and the stock of each owner few, the loss of one or two animals may be almost ruinous, and under such circumstances, insurance of stock becomes a very necessary and commonsense precaution. At the premiums now available, however, it is always a question whether it is worth while insuring against the risk of losing a few beasts from a large herd. A writer in the Standard, who has touched upon this subject, says: "The objection to insurance being undertaken by large societies, operating over a great area of country, is that they cannot exercise efficient supervision over the animals insured, the consequence being care- lessness, serious losses, and, consequently, heightened premiums. On the other hand, small Mutual Insurance Societies, acting in contracted areas, are liable to wide fluctuations in their annual outgoings, and their members to corres- ponding lfuctuations in payments. To obviate 1 this objection, and at the same time to avoid the disadvantages of large Insurance Societies, the small mutual Insurance Associations of ] certain Continental countries, in recent years, i have federated for the purpose of re-insurance with the central Federation. By this means, 1 the advantages of spreading risks over a wide ( area, and so equalising them, and local super- vision over small areas are combined. Apart ] from the benefit of safety, it is stated that one effect of the spread of insurance is the keeping II by small occupiers of animals of better quality than they could afford to keep when they had to take the risk of losses." Until British societies inaugurate something like the Continental system, we shall probably have little insurance by farmers in Welsh districts; but the subject is nevertheless one well worth discussion, and if some of our friends would study it thoroughly, the Chamber of Agriculture at Carmarthen, or the Farmers' Club at Pembroke, would doubtless be glad to have the researches of such a student embodied in a good paper. THE Carmarthen Chamber of Commerce has done the right thing, as we expected it would. By its resolution of Monday night Carmarthen will henceforth become a local centre for those examinations in commercial subjects which enable successful competitors, boys and girls, to obtain the certificates, senior or junior, of the London Chamber of Commerce. The London Chamber has a committee which endeavours to jind, and generally succeeds in finding, situations I for those who hold these certificates, and already three hundred London firms have agreed to give preference to candidates thus equipped. Parents who have children at school and think of starting any of them in the office work of commercial houses should take notice of these facts, and make their wishes known to the school teachers. Nothing can be done without the co-operation of the teaehcis, especially those of intermediate schools; and the Carmarthen Chamber has very properly sent to teachers of every grade in the three counties circulars explaining the subject, and inviting co-operation. There is no need to say more on this subject until we shall have ascertained something of the results likely to flow from the action already taken but it may be worth while to take some notice of a leaflet, recently issued, which shows the importance of the work done for commercial education by the London Chamber. It has, in the first place, given expression to the wants of the commercial interest in this country, and Its action has called forth the public approval of men like the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord Rcay. It has emphasised the demands of commerce, and has urged on educational .authorities and workers the necessity of a revised curriculum, not without good practical results already. It has been largely instrumental in bringing about the establishment of evening continua- tion and commercial schools. It has helped to obtain, in the re-organisation of London University, a faculty of commerce with a university status, such as formerly was conceded only to professions. It has placed within reach I of all the opportunity of obtaining credentials of commercial proficiency, thus filling up a sad blank in the educational system of this country. By its Kmployment Department it has supplied commercial houses with competent employes suited to their various demands. All this, how- ever, is of less interest to many people than the question of what success is likely to attend the movement in our own district. Our Chamber has gone the right way to work, for its first object must be to interest teachers and parents in the scheme. Something more, however, remains to be done, and that will be a most difficult business. It is to educate local merchants in some of the things which would be for their own advantage. It is the fashion to cry down farmers, and lament that they are so far behind the age; but it is very doubtful, when we estimate their opportunities and the intelligence of those they have to meet in competition, whether they are so stupid and unprogressive as the majority of our merchants and dealers in small country towns. For one thing, the latter need to be convinced that, caeteris paribus, they would gain more by employing properly-educated boys—even at a somewhat higher salary-than boys who have not been through a suitable course of commercial training. But who can persuade our local business men of the truth of this ele- mentary axiom ? Even the London Chamber finds such a work slow in the great Metropolis of the Empire, and we can only ask the Carmarthen I Chamber to go on slowly, and see what time and persuasion will accomplish.

ITRELECH-AR-BETTWS.-I

PEMBROKESHIRE.

I MAENCLOCHOG.

I 'NARBERTH.,

RED ROSES.I

CART-HORSE BREEDING IN CARMARTHEN…

ACCIDENT TO THE MANAGER OF…

CARMARTHEN RURAL DISTRICT…

--.-A WELSH CLERGYMAN V. "…

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HUNTING APPOINTMENTS.

Family Notices

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CARMARTHEN TOWN NOTES. I

CARMARTHENSHIRE. I