South Wales Daily News

RECEPTION OF THE NEWS IN SOUTH WALES. PROFOUND SENSATION IN THE DISTRICT. ABERDARE.' News of Lord Aberdare's death was received with deep regret at Aberdare, where the news was entirely unexpected until the receipt of the special Echo. His lordship having for over 10 years acted as stipendiary magistrate for the Merthyr district, and for nearly 20 years repre- sented theMerthyrBoroughsinParliament, he was well known and literally revered by all the older inhabitants of the town. He bad ever since been intimately connected with Aberdare, and had taken a great interest in every public movement in the town. When the project of having an intermediate school in the town was first mooted he attended a meeting of its sup- porters, and delivered an encouraging address. He also subscribed £250 to the building fund, and appropnately enough, as an ardent educa- tionist, his last public appearance in the town of Aberdare was on August 10th, 1893, when he laid tho memorial stone of the intermediate school, and delivered an address reviewing at great length the history of the movement for advanced education in Wales. The only other public occasion upon which he has spoken in the upper part of the parish of Aberdare was when he opened the new public hall and library at Cwmaman, which had been subscribed for by the colliery workmen of the village, and subsequently (about 12 months ago) at the same building, on the occasion of the presentation of ambulance certificates to a women's ambulance class at Cwmaman by Lady Aberdare. His lordship on that occasion delivered a lengthy address on the value of ambulance instruction in collieries, and urged the advisability of having trained nurses con- nected with all colliery districts. ABERAMAN. The news of Lord Aberdare's death reached Aberaman while the Congregational Churches of the lower portion of the Aberdare Valleys I were holding a rehearsal for the singing festival at Baron-hall, under the presidency of the Rev. H. P. Jenkins, Saron, Aberaman. Hywel Cynon, the conductor, proposed a vote of condolence with his lordship's family, which was seconded by Mr J. Bevan (secretary of the Aberdare Choral Union), supported by Mr J. Rees (Tyrbeol) and the Rsv. H. P. Jenkins, and carried in solemn silence unanimously.—The same evening, at the annual dinner of the Aber- dare Valley Butchers' Association, Mr J. H. James, secretary of the association, moved a similar resolution, which was passed in like manner. The news has cast a complete gloom over the district. MERTHYR AND MOUNTAIN ASH. The news that Lord Aberdare was sinking was received at Merthyr and Mountain Ash with the deepesb concern. At Mountain Ash, where his lordship was a candidate for election to-day upon the Llanwonno School Board, it was generally asked, What will Mountain Ash be without him?" His lordship and his family had endeared themselves to the whole community. CARDIFF, Although the several editions of the South Wales Echo had somewhat prepared the public mind for the worst, it is no exaggeration to stato that the intimation that the sorrowful end had come was received with genuine and widespread regret in Cardiff. To Lord Aberdare Cardiff owed in a great measure the fact of the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire finding its location in the Welsh commercial Metropolis; and in connection with tha work of the development of that great institution, Lord Aberdare frequently came to Cardiff to attend meetings of the collego council and governors. His commanding figure was familiar to tbe vast number of the inhabi- tants, and no local public function having for iis object the intellectual and material advance- ment of the people was complete without his lordship's presence. The publication of the news of his death produced the keenest ioteeaelMlod. sorrow throughout the borough. PONTYPRIDD. Nowhere wa3 the sad announcementreceived with more poignant regret than in the town of Pontypridd, and when the news was read in the later editions of the Echo, it spread rapidly throughout the district, creating on all hands sincere and profound sorrow. His lordship's connection with Pontypridd was but slight, and about eight years have elapsed since his laab public visit to the town, when he performed the opening ceremony of the new board schools on the Graig. With the recent re-adjustrnenk of local areas, Duffryn, his lordship's residence at Mountain Ash, became included within the boundaries of Pontypridd Union, and, in time, this would doubtless have led to a closer intimacy between the town and the distinguished peer. Indeed, the connection was already being formed for the December elections, the Hon. PamelaBrucs was elected unopposed to a seat on the Ponty- pridd Board of Guardians, while a very few weeks ago his lordship graciously accepted a seat on the Llanwonno School Board, which then included a portion of Pontypridd, and had its central offices in the town. The meeting of the board following his election was attended by his lordship, who was then elected to the chair and presided on the historical occasion when the educational government of the town ceased to be vested with the Llanwonno Board and was about being transferred to a body representing the new Pontypridd parish area. The completion of the intermediate school, now in course of erection at Pontypridd, was eagerly looked forward to chidly for the reason that it I was anticipated that his lordship would accept the invitation of the committee to inaugurate the new institution. It is a melan- choly fact that his lordship's decease should have taken place on the very day of the Llanwonno School Board election, at which he himself was a candidate. Locally, it is felt that in the death of Lord Aber- dare Wales has lost a true friend whom it could ill spare, and one of its foremost citizens; and that the cause of Welsh education, more especially, has been deprived of its warmest and ablest supporter. The death of Lord Aberdare was publicly announced at a meeting held in the evening iu the GraigSchools in support of the candidature of Mr W. Spickett for a seat on the Glamorgan County Council, and was referred to in feeling terms by several of the speakers. A vote, expressing deep sense of the lo3s sustained and of sincere sympathy with Lady Aberdare and the fawiis.'waajMMed iaorofcMjad eiltuoe- J AGED POOR COMMISSION. The Royal Commission on Aged Poor was to; meet to-day to consider the report of its chairman (Lord Aberdare), but it is understood the meeting will be postponed as a mark of respeot to the deceased peer.

DEATH OF A CANDIDATE FOR MERIONETH. MR HENRY OWEN FOUND DEAD IN BED. Mr Henry Owen, who contested Merionethshire in the Unionist interest against Mr T. Eo Ellis, chief Liberal whip, at the last general election, was tound dead in bed at Dolford on Monday morning. Deceased was in his usual health on Sunday. Mr Owen was a tenant farmer, a Non- conformist, and an ardent Welsh Nationalist. He was a county magistrate for Merionethshire. An inquest will be held.

DEATH OF AN ABERCARN COLLIERY MANAGER. Mr Jamea Tamblyn, the general manager of the Celynen Collieries, Abercarn, died ab his residence Tycelyn, New- bridge, on Monday morning from bronchitis and pneumonia. His illness only lasted a week. The deceased, who was formerly manager of North's Collieries and chairman of the Maesteg Local Board, took charge of the Celynen Collieries as recently as December last, and during this time had become very popular in the district. Sympathy is widely ex- pressed for the bereaved widow.

TRAGIC DEATH OF A PONTY- PRIDD MINISTER, The news reached Pontypridd on Sunday that the Rev. Samuel Wesley Lawfcon, Wesleyan Methodist minister, had been found dead the previous day in bis study at B!andford, Hants The rev. gentleman had for three years been in charge of the Pontypridd Circuit, and left that town only in September last. Mr Lawton was advanced in years, having been 33 years in the ministry. He leaves a widow, one daughter, and three sons, with whom much sympathy is felt by their old friends in Pontypridd,

ST. DAVID'S DAY IN EDI M BURGH. Edinburgh University Welsh students will do honour to their patron saint at a banquet to be held in the Windsor Hotel next Friday evening, The guests of the evening will ba Lieutenant- General Rowlands, V.C., C.B., commander of the Scottish District; Professor Fraser, the distinguished dean of the Faculty of Medicine Professor Rutherford, the brilliant physiologist; and Drs. James and Smart, of the extra-mural school of medicine. A highly interesting musical programme is being Arranged, and a chorus of male voices win during the evening render a selection of Welsh airs. Principal Williams, of the new Veterinary College, will preside. It is hoped that old friends and kindred gatherings will, as on former occasions, wire greetings.

THE TIN-PLATE TRADE. ATTEMPT TO "BULL" THE MARKET. It ÙI semi-officially announced that the meeting of masters and men held at Swansea on Saturday to consider the question of restricting the make and booming prices, agreed that a third of the mills should be closed and the price of plates raised to a basis of lis a box. The gathering of masters caunol, however, be regarded as fully representative, and it is, moreover, not expected the suggestion will be generally acted on by makers or become operative, for a very strong section of makers is of opinion that the raising of prices it a most certain way of encouraging American competition, while a reduction to 9s a box would be an equally effective way of dis- couraging it. They argue that this reduction could be done, and a large proportion of the trade permanently kept in this country by men and masters arriving at an agreement of mutual concession, the one in wages and the other in profit.

NORTHERN COLLIERIES FLOODED. NARROW ESCAPE OF MINERS. Lord Londondeny's extensive New Seaham collieries were stopped on Monday owing to a feeder of water bursting into the upcast shaft and affecting the ventilation. None of the men have been allowed to tro into th" mine, and, in consequence, about 2,000 hands are idle. A telegram from A irdrie states that a coalpit at Glanboig is flooded by the Gartsherrie burn having subsided, and flowed into it with a great rush. The miners had a narrow escapp, and lost all their tools. The burn was in flood at the time, and there are now 30 feet of watsr in the shaft.

CARDIFF DEMOCRATIC UNION. A well-attended meeting of the Cardiff Demo- cratic Union was held at the rooms of the associa- tion on Monday night, among those present being Messrs W. Johnston (vice-chairman), H. J. Russell, Alfred Williams, A. Forsdike, Owon Lewis, E. Gronow, W. N. Gronow, D. H. Evans, W. Rees Edwards, F. W. James, S. Edwards, W. Samuel, R. Youngford, &c. The present position in reference to the selection of a Liberal candidate was discussed, and Mr Councillor Ramsdale was strongly condemned by the chairman and others for his unprovoked attack on the pnnoiples of the association and the members generally. Resolu- tions were passed in reference to Poor Law administration and the work of the guardians, and condemning the prisciple of co-opting the members in the executive of the Liberal Thousand. A letter was read from the Home Secretary in reply. to a. resolution of the associa- tion on the allocation of tithes. A vote of con- dolence was passed with Lady Aberdare and other relatives upon the decease of the lamented Lord Aberdare.

SUNDAY TRADING AT NEATH, POLICE-COURT PROCEEDINGS. At the Neath Borough Police-court on Monday —before Messrs J. Fear Davies, T. Teague, and D. T. Sims—Frank Phillips, tobacconist, near the Great Western Railway Station, Neath, was summoned for carrying on his business on Sun- day, February 3rd. This was a test afrse, and the court was well filled with interested persons. After hearing evidence, the bench retirod, and after delibsratien the Chairman a-nnounced that they had observed that th was of late a considerable increase in the amount of Sunday trading in the borough. They finsd defendant 5s and costs, and allowed an advocate's fee.

CARDIFF AND SOUTH WALES CANINE SOCIETY, The fanciers of Cardiff and district are showing a great interest in the formation of this society, if w, are to judge by tbe attendance at Monday night's meeting held at ths Metropole Hotel, Cardiff, Fifteen new members were elected, bringing the total membership up to the present to about 50 members. Draft rules were submitted and finally adopted. Amongst these, one rule in particular will recommend itself to all right-thinking people, insomuch as it will debar from competition for club prizes all cropped dogs born after January 1st, 1895, other than Irish terriers, which shall date for dogs born after December 31st, 1889.

1 THE THIBD VOLUME is a firgt-class sensa- tional story, wholesome, thrilling, and full of move- ment, byFe^us^Huin e, JSo> w agp«ffing ia the Gt

THE FAILURE OF NEGOTIATIONS. LAST WEEK'S IMPASSE. OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE. SERIOUS SITUATION IMPENDING. One of our correspondents writes that during the short space of time which has elapsed since the failure of the negotiations at the joint com- mittee, he has been enabled to glean from the best authority some details and particulars of the discussion at the sliding-scale committee on Saturday which, in face of the very serious aspect of affairs, should, he considers, be made public. He understands that Mr David Morgan, the vice-chairman at Saturday's meeting, on behalf of the men claimed that they are entitled to an advance of 12% per cent, on the standard for every advance of one shilling on the sailing price of coal, basing this demand on the allegation that4 the wages paid and the cost of working coal being less than was paid therefor in this district thirty years ago, when coal sold at as low a price as 7s 6d to 8 f.o.b. at Cardiff. They further claimed that the cost of coal-getting now is less tha.u the cost of the period referred to, while the coal, according to the last audit, was sold at 10s per ton or something over. They further allege that the cost of smking and open- ing out collieries new with the improved appliances and machinery is less than the cost of similar work 30 years ago. This and other arguments they take as a con- clusive proof that their demand of 10 per cent. per shilling is a fair and reasonable one. The owners' side, on the other hand, maintain that the labour cost of getting the coal has in- creased from 50 to 100 per cent. above what the labour cost was 30 years ago, by various conces- sions, allowances, and considerations from time to time made to the workmen, and in proof of this Mr David Morgan was then, aa he has on previous occasions, offered colliery cost sheets and pay- books of 30 years ago, and subsequently colliery cost sheets and pay-books of the present day, whereby he could see for himself that his opinion of the cost of coal-getting was wrong, and that the statement of the owners was correct and can ba verified—one being an opinton and the other experience, as proved by assorted accounts. This invitation he again during the negotiations of the past few weeks steadfastly declined to avail himself of, in the same manner as he has declined them on previous occasions. Again, the owners' side stated that the cost of sinking and opening out collieries in the present day far exceeds that of the coat of doing similar work 20 and 30 years ago, and to substantiate their contention Mr Morgan was again offered to have access to colliery pay-books and accounts, which would show that 15, 20, and 30 years ago the labour cost of smking pits to the steam coal measures was less than half of what it cost now, and that by examination of such books and accounts he would see for himself that pits which could then be sunk at JB9 to JB11 per yard now cost £19 to £20 per yard, and even more. In addition to this, as compared with 30 years ago, the pits are far deeper, and on account of their depth, &c., have to be made long, having now to be walled from top to bottom, and on account of the increased ventilation necessary through their greater depth on account of the machinery having to be larger and more power- ful, and of better type, for the further safety of the workmen, the cost, in addition to the labour cost of sinking, is not only not less than it was, but is infinitely increased in every direction. He was further seriously assured by some of the largest coalowners iu South Wales, who were then present, and who objected to his most in- correct deductions that when the coal was sold at any price between what it now realises and his (Mr Morgan's) standard selling price of 8s a ton, SERIOUS LOSS BID OCCUR on the working of every solitary ton of output, and that only when ooal could be sold for 10s and upwards f.o.b. that the majority of the collieries of South Wales could hope to make any money, and it was only when coal realised a higher figure that they could hope to recoup themselves for the looses made when ooal was sold as it was now in many cases at less than 10s pr ton. Mr Morgan claimed to have special means of information, and to thoroughly understand as to the cost of sinking, winning coal, and the cost of working it, and of the financial working of coihery properties, and he claimed that his opmion on such matters was more reliable than the experience based on actual results. The books and the audited accounts of the coal owners gave one instance or illustration of the manner in which lIch accounts were mislead- ing to the public, the instance being that whew a colbery was about being worked it was estimated that the cost would be, say £300,000, and a company formed with that capital. During operations it would be found that the work could be done, say for £150,000, and when the annual division of the profits took place, the company would pay a dividend of, say 5 per cent., or any other amount on, not only the £150,000 actually spent, but on the whole of the capital of the com- pany, the £300,000, and this after deducting and putting by all interest on the money that had been expended The owners' side endeavoured to show him the fallacy of his opinion, and offered to produce balance-sheets of collieries in support of their assertion, but nothing would convince him but that he was right. It was also pointed out to bun that at the expiration of the lease of a colliery, which generally ran from 30 to 60 years, the company would have to get back the moneys invested as well as a fair interest on tho capital, as at the expiration of the leajse or the exhaustion of the ooul the property became valueless. Mr Morgan further alleged that the owners had purposely and wilfully brought about the present existing depression by filling and crowding the depots abroad with enormous stocks of coal in order to be prepared to tight the men during the present negotiations for the revision of the scale. It was pointed out to him by the owners thau the coalowners of this district had nothing whatever to do with the depots. That coal was sold to merchants who earned on those depots independent of the co-owner?, and that the coal- owners had done ail they could in their own interests as well as in the interest of the workmen to sell as much of the produce of their collieries as they could and at the best prices they could possibfv obtain and to keep the collieries regu- larly at work. Articles q-ioted from the Board of Trade Labour QasetU and other papers with which employers had nothing whatever to do, wherein it was skated that the collieries of South Wales had been keph going better and had more regular work than those of any other colliery district in the United Kingdom. Even in the Labour Gazette for the last month the South Waies coalfield was the only one in whioh the colliers nad worked uver fivo days a week. It was further shown by otficial docu- ments and otherwise that less Welsh coal had been received at the depots during the past year than had been received for any year for seme bime past, this being accounted for by eastward-going steamers, which formerly coaled at these depots for their return voyages, whereas now they coaled at the ports of their destination with other coals, such as .American, Chinese, and Japanese coals for their homeward journeys, to the great detriment of the coal trade of this district. It was further pointed out that some of the European countries, such as France, who LARGELY 80BSIDISKD MAIL STEAMBRS to the East, were continuing those subsidies at the close of the present contracts on the express' condition that they should use French coal nlone, instead of as hitherto bning bunkered with Welsh coal, this again being very detrimental to the steam coal trade of South Wales. Atlantic liners, too, were alsoj using* Pocahontas and other Amoriczn coals for their homeward journey, instead of Welsh coal as in the past. Government returns were produced by the owners, notably a return asked foe by Mr Curt, M.P., which showed that in 1883 the output per man employed at the English collieries was 347 tuns per annum, whereas in 1893 the output per man had been reduced to 256 tons, whereas during the past few years the output of coal in the United States per man had increased from 421 in 1888 to 448 in 1893. This clearly showed that the labour of the English and Welsh colliers had considerably decreased, while that of the Ameri- can collier had largely increased, and was now v*ry far above that of the English and Welsh collier. The owners' side maintained that the workmen's side (under the leadership of Mr David Morgan) had formulated their demands on entirely false and unreliable opinions, while the owners on tbe other side based their resistance to these demands on the ground of their experience and the bard facts brought forward by them by means of Government and other returns, and the actual working of the colliers. They farther contended that, during the existenoe of the 7lh scale,ifrom 1882 to 1888, they were enabled to out new and importanb markers for their coal, and give remuneration and steady employ- ment to their men whereas SINOE THE ADVENT OF THB 83 SOALE they had beéJU unable to compete with other colliery districts in this country and abroad, resulting, as shown by Government and other returns, in a diminution of the sale. The owners further intimated that thoy had hitherto borne the burden of the 8% per cant, per shilling rather than disturb theirpaaceful relations with the men, and rather than risk the breaking up of the Sliding-scale agreement which for the past 20 years had been such a boon and ble-rsing not only to the colliery workmen and colliery- owners of South Wales, but to al". the inhabitants of South Wales in general. Bi now that the men had thought proper to makt. such unreasonable demands, they felt in duty bou id to ask that the old scale of 7/4 should be reverted to, this being, in their opinion, a much ,more reason- able and equitable scale than the existing one. It was also pointed out, while discussing the cost of pronation, that tbe risk of tbe workmvn. bad been reduced to one-third of what it was by legislation, which cost the employers quite Is 6d per ton. In fact, whde the scale of 1875 was) being arranged the men's representatives them- selves admitted that the Mines Regulation Act bad increased the cost of production 9d per ton, while the employers contended it was quite Is "per ton. Since then two other Acts had been passed, which again increased the cost, the cost in this respect alone being calculated by the owners as quite Is 6d per ton above what it was 25 or 30 years ago. The employers having declined the demauds of the men in toto, the conference, as already reported, broke up without any arrangements being made tor the continuance of the nego- tiations.

THE SLIDING-SCALE NEGOTIATIONS' MEETING LOF COALOWNERS. On Monday a meeting of the Coalowners Association of South Wales and Monmouthshire was held in the Engineers' Institute, Cardiff, to consider and, if desirable, confirm the action of their representatives on the Sliding-scale Joint Committee at the joint meeting on Saturday. It may be remembered that at the meeting on Saturday the workmen's representatives asked an increase in the percentage from 8% per Is to 10 per cent. per 1, but that the employers' representatives declined and argued that instead of a. rise they should revert to the terms of the scale in force from 1882 to 1889, namely, 7% per cent. The result was the suspension of negotiations. Tho meeting on Monday was held in private, no newspaper reporters being admitted, but the following official report was supplied to us by Mr W. Gascoyne Dalzisl, secretary :— A meeting of the Monmouthshire aud South Wales Coalowners' Association was held at Cardiff to-day. There was a large and representative attendance of the 70 companies of associated owners. Sir William Thomas Lewis was in the clmir. The object of the meeting was to consider the pre- sent position of the negotiations which have taken plac • between the employers' represent3tives 011 the sJiding-;c1\.le committee and the workmen's representa- tires on tho subject of the workmen's notice to termin- ate the sliding-scale arrangement (the principle of which has been in force for nearly 20 years after a strike of 22 weeks), and the workmen's demands for a revÏs10n of the terms, which involved, amongst other- a substantial increase in the wages, together with a guarantee of a minimum wage. Sir William Lewis, tbe chairman of the joint com- mittee, preiiented a report of the negotiations with the workmen's representatives, and stated that so far no settlement had been arrived at.. The association unanimously approved and confirmed the action of their representatives in resisting the attempt by the workmen to impose further onerous obligations on the employers, and having regard to the. very high cost of producing South Wales coal under the terms of the agreement now subsisting it was felt that it was not only impossible for the owners to entertain the demands for improved wages, etc., but that the preent state of trade necessitated the employers ra quiring the wm-kmen to revert to the sliding-scale basis of 1882 to 1889, viz., 7Vs per cent. per shilling, whereby the workmen enjoyed regular work and good wages.

TROUBLE AT SOUTH PLYMOUTH COLLIERIES. SEVERAL HUNDRED COLLIERS IDLE. A number of hauliers employed in one of the districts of the South Plymouth Pit, Merthyr, having on Monday remained away from work in consequence, it was alleged, of the scarcity of horse feed, several hundred colliers are rendered idle. »—

CAMBRIAN MINERS' ASSOCIA- TION. MONTHLY DELEGATE MEETING AT TON. On Monday the monthly meeting of delegates in connection with the Cambrian Association of Miners was held at the Windsor Castle Hotel, Ton, unJer the presidency of Mr Peter Gardner, Merthyr Vale. The vice-chair was occupied by Mr Wm. Williams, Ynyshir, and the attendance included Mr W. Evans (agent) and a large number of delegates. Mabon, M.P., was unable to attend owing to illness. ACCESSION OF STRENGTH. The workmen of the Gelii Colliery of the Messrs Cory Brothers applied to be re-admitted into the district. The Gelli workmen number about 600. THE TLWYNYPIA DISPUTE. Mr W. EVANS reported that the unfortunate and prolonged strike at Llwynypia had termi- nated, the men having returned to work on the terms ofiered them by the management. About 30 of the men, however, had so far failed to find employment. FINANCIAL. A balance-sheet was presented for the half-year ending December. 1894-, showing for that period receipts from collieries in contributions of the sum of £1,613, while the payments amounted to £2,483 Is 2d, including a sum cf £1,000 voted ih aid of the Wattstown st-rikers. The value of the funds in July, 1894, was £2,838 33 7d, while on January 1st, 1895, the total value of the funds was returned at £2,031135 lid, of which remained on deposit at the London and Pro- vincial Bank, and £831 13 lid were in the hands of the treasurers.It was resolved that copies of the balance-sheet bo printed for distri- bution.

ALLEGED FORGERY BY A CARDIFF MASON. SOME EXTENSIVE OPERATIONS. EFFECTS OF DRINK AND BAD COMPANY Mr T. W. Lewis (stipendiary) and Alderman Thomas Rees, sitting in the Cardiff Police-court on Monday, had before them a case in which a mason named Charles Biggs (41) was charged with seme extensive frauds. The several charges were of forging an order pur- porting to be from Thomas Timothy to Arthur Sessions, and obtaining thereby 50 slates on November 13th last; of obtaining by a similar prOS3 100 slates from Messrs Davies and Co., of Wharf, Cardiff, on November 9th, using the name of Mr Rees, of 53, Stacey- road as well as of obtaining 50 more slates from the eame firm on November 12th. There were further charges against Biggs that, being the bailee of two hand trucks belonging to Joseph Glover and Robert Denning, he converted them to his own use and that he also converted to his own use a ladder, the property of Wm. Duns- combe, of which he was bailee. William Watkins, the yard foreman of Messrs Sessions and Co., said that the prisoner came with an order from Timothy for 50 slates, and on receiving the goods he signed for them, whilst Thomas Timothy, of the Masons' Arms, deposed that the prisoner had no authority from him to ob- tain the slates. In the case of the slates received from Messrs Davies and Sons, the evidence was of a like character. The yard foreman proved deliver- ing the goods to prisoner, and Mr Rees said he had given Biggs no authority to procure them. To Detective Davey, who had the case in hand, prisoner practically admitted the offences, but said be should have been able to pay for the goods bad not the frost come on. Prisoner, who said bad company and drink were the causes of his position, was committed to take his trial at the nexb assizes, which will be held at Swansea in August. He was allowed bail.

THE FATALITY TO A SWANSEA RATE-COLLECTOR. The adjourned inquiry before a coroner's jury into the circumstances attending the death of Mr Fred Watkins, the senior rate-collector of the borough, who, through slipping :during the recent frost, sustained concussion of the brain, was resumed at the Tenby Hotel on Monday.— Dr. Knight and Dr. Hopkins now gave evidence bearing out their previous declarations that death was the result of a fall, while in a report jointly drawn up by the doctors named and Dr. Elsworth, there was a footnote not signed by all the doctors to the effect that the post-mortem showed nothing to support or refute the theory that deceased might have fallen in a faint or apoplectic fit. Dr. Knight, indeed, said it was impossible for him to have fallen in an apoplectic fit. A verdict in accordance with the-medical testimony was returned. --=-.

A TINWORKS MANAGER AND HIS DOCTOR. COUNTY-COURT PROCEEDINGS. At the Llanelly County-court on Monday, before his Honour Judge Bishop, a case was heard in which Hr. Jones, Loughor, sued Mr David Grtmthp, manager of tho Gwendraoth Tin plalb Works, Kidwelly, for the sum of about I £40 for medical attendance. Mr Jones Powell appaared for the defendant.—Plaintiff deposed that defendant was in receipt of a salary of £250 per annum, and was well able to pay.—His j Honour made an order for the immediate pay- ment of the full amount claimed into court, with costs. I

Colonel Sir Nigel Kingscote, Senior Commis- sioner ot Woods and Forests, is about to retire on superannuation. on superannuation. The importation of Russian oil into Ceylon in 1893 was 160,430 gallons. None wae imported from the United States. I CABDIFF PURE ICK AND COLD STORAGE COM PANY (LIMITED).—COLD STORAGE for all norts of Provisions, Game, Fruit, drc., at I/OSVKfl RATES THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN GREAT BRITAIN, ICE Supplied in any quantity, from 561b and upwards- at Low Prices.—SPECIALLY IMPORTANT to BUTCHERS and MEAT S VLESMEN Order all your Frozen Met out of Shipments which have come direct to Cardiff by Refrigerating Steamers. You will thus be sure of meat in FAR BETTER. CONDITION and MUCH QUICKER DELIVERY than from Lon- don or Liverpool. -Write for Price Lists of Meat to Mr II WOODLEY, Agent for Plato and other Companies, COLD STORES, CARDIFF also lo MESSRS SAN- SIN ENA and CO., Cold Stores, CAItDIFF.-Write for Prices of Ice and Rates for Cold Storage to Neale and West, Managers, IXOIVgrauo-lea Corn pany, Cardiff Ulm I

GLAMORGAN POLICE GRIEVANCES. STARTLING REVELATIONS. ALMOST CRIMINAL ABUSES IN THE FOHOE. REMOVAL OF INSPECTOR JONES FROM PORTH. SUPPORTING THE CHIEF CONSTABLE. At Monday's meeting of the joint standing committee of the Glamorgan County Council, held under the presidency of his .Honour Judge Williams, the Chief Constable's report was sub- mitted. It stated, inter alia :— The arrangements adopted by the committee for the revision and control of the police allowances have now been in operation for a sufficient time to allow their effect to be ascertained. In the result it will be sufficient for the future if j6500 is paid quarterly to the contingent account instead of £1,000 as hitherto. In carry- ing out the reforms I found that I did not receive in one of the divisions, where the allowances had been the highest in the county, the support and assistance that was readily accorded in all the other divisions, and the books had to be ordered to headquarters to be checked. Examination showed that they had been so laxly kept as to be useless for an effective check or as evidence, and and I consequently deemed it necessary to make several removals of the officers who had been in charge. The results have fully established the necessity of the changes." AN INQUIRY SUGGESTED. Councillor SMITH DAVIES, of Pontypridd, said ha did not wish to say that the chief constable had not acted quite correctly, but after what bad been said publicly with reference to these removals he thought the committee should institute an inquiry into the wholo proceedings. He moved a resolution accordingly. The CHAIRMAN said that a similar motion had been made at that committee before, and they had arrived all a conclusion which he thought would have determined its future actions. Ib appeared that whenever the chief constable chose, in the exercise of his duty, to remove a constable or anyone in a higher position to some other district, his conduct was animadverted upon, and there were requests that it might be inquired iuto. It was a question for the committee to consider whether they would stultify the position of their chief constable by inquiring into the motives whereby he was led to make certain changes. It was perfectly competent for the committee to order an inquiry. THE CASE OF INSPKCTOB JONES. They had the power, and on some occasions it was very proper that inquiries should be made but the question was whether, in this instance, it would be advisable to do so. He would ask Mr Davies and those who had been making remarks out of doors whether they had consulted these men affected by the paragraphs in question, and if not, in whose interest were the remarks being made? He (the chairman) might mention a name; it had been mentioned outside. They could take the case of Inspeotor Jones, of Porth, who had been removed a.nd reduced in rank by the chief constable. Had Inspector Jones ever asked anyone for an inquiry ? Surely if an injustice had been committed ib had been committed upon Inspector Jones and the other officers to whom reference was made in the paragraphs. Had either of them entrusted any member of the com- mittee to bring the matter forward ? If not ib would suggest itself to men of the world that the less said the better. The chief constable exercised the discretion placed in him, and if he committed any act which was arbitrary or unjust the first person to complain, he presumed, would be the person affected by such conduct. TENDING TO DEGENKKATK EFFICIENCY. Councillor SMITH DAVIES I have not been asked to bring this matter forward, but one of the constables has said to me that he is prepared to meet an inquiry. The CHAIRMAN: That is a very different thing, Mr Davies. I suggest to you that a man who considers that he has been badly treated would not he satisfied by saying he was prepared to meet an inquiry, but he would ask for an inquiry. Councillor SMITH DAVIES He complains of the treatment he has had, and says he is prepared to triest the fullest inquiry. You ask in whose interest is this motion made. I say ib is in the interest of the force generally as well as in the interests of the public. I do not wish for a moment to say that the chief constable does not consider the interests of the force; bub these things are continually occurring, and they have a tendency to degenerate the efficiency of the force, because there is an impression that the whole of the conduct of the force is in the hands of one man, and that one man may—I don't say it is so—have favourites in the force. That is what is said outside, and in order that these things should be quashed for once, I say this ought to be inquired into. Probably the chief constable will come out of the ordeal much better than he is now in the estimation of the public. JUDGE WITXIAMS'S INVESTIGATIONS. The CHAIRMAN To pass such a resolution will have this effect that whenever a constable thinks himself aggrieved he will come before this com- mittee and ask for an inquiry. It appears to me that if a constable considers he has a grievance he ought to ask some member of this committee to see the chief constable and get hold of the facts on both sides. Now, as some paople in responsible positions have accepted what the outside public say without taking the trouble to ask the chief constable for an explanation, and when I saw what had been said m the Rhondda by certain magistrates, and particularly by the stipendiary magistrate, animadverting upon the conduct of the chief constable, I felt it my duty to ask the chief constable as to the facts, and I discovered this state of things. I satisfied myself with correct- ness that abuses have crept in in certain districts which amount almost to criminality. I will givw you seme idea, and it is only fair that I should do so, as to the nature of these abuses. For instance, moneys paid for special services. These sums should have gone mto the pockets of the persons performing the service. The money did not reach those persons, and is was not discovered to have been paid until certain al terations. and changes were made, and then it was discovered acci- dentally, and the person who received the money was asked. to account for it. Now, do you think the chief constable would have been wise to advertise this conduct to the whole world ? Would it nob be better for him to punish the persons himself in his own way rather than have an inquiry, which possibly might result in the mn being dismissed from the force altogether ? Take another case. A police constable appearing before the mxgisfcrates charged a man with damaging his uniform. The consbitble gave it as his opinion that it would necessitate a payment of 12s 9d—the cost of a new tunic—to repair the loss. He would be obliged to get a, new tunic. It turns out after the magistrates have fined the man a.nd ordered him to pfy the damage, that the constable repaired hispid tunic at the cost of 2s and pocketed 10s SkI. TnMe are things tho chief constable knows all about. Is it necessary to make them public 1 Don't you think it will have a serious effect upon the force generally, having these things published broadcast in the county? Wasn't it better that the chief constable should punish these people ? If there was such a. case of gross wrong done a man like Sergt. Lewis should come before tho committee and say, Now I want you to do me justice. I have been grossly wronged." Then this committee could take it upon itself to make an inquiry. I have made inquiries myself, and have come to the conclusion that the chief constable has acted wisely and leniently with the people affected. Councillor SMITE DAVIES If you say yon have made inquiries into all these removals, of course, if yon have satisfied yourself I will accept it. Councillor JoTKAMsaid he had made inquiries, and thought that the chief constable was quite justified in what he had done. Councilor SMITH DAVIES pointed ont that Inspector Jones was noc the man who had spoken to him about the matter, nor was ho authorised by any constable to demand an inquiry. He was glad he had brought the matter forward, and that the chief constable's action had met wIth approval. Councillor DAVID DAVIES, Merthyr, said he had spoken to one or two con- stables about the matter, and the infor- mation he had quite confirmed what the chairman had stated. He thought they ought to be pleased with what the chief constable had done. The motion was then withdrawn. Subse- quently, however, Colonel TUKBERVILL said he thought the committee were entitled to a fuller and oleurer report than they had in the m&tter. The chief constable's report merely told them that there had been certain irregularities in the returns, and that he had not received proper support from certain officers. had now heard from the chairman that one officer had b?sn witnin 1m ace of commlttmg:\ criminal offence. Hn did not think they even guessed that from the report whioh the constable mada, and he wished to request that in future they should be more fully and correctly informed of such cases.

UR DE JONGH'S LIGHT-BROWN COD IJIVER OIL. —"BY FAR THIS MOST KFFICACIOUS RESTORATIVE.-J)r Whiianore, Meuical Officer of Health, St. Marylebone, writes 'ii I were asked for an explanation of the marked success which for so many years has attended the administration of Dr de Jongh's Light-Brown Cod Liver Oil, I should say that it is owing to its ex- traordinary medicinal, dietetic, and regiminal proper- ties, and which are fo.ind to exist in no other medicine' that I am acquainted with in such unuovni combina- tion." Sold only in capsuled imperial half-pints, 2s M pints, 4s 9d quarts, tiS, by all chemists. Mole con- signees, Ansar, Harford, and Co., Limited, 210 High fctolbora, London, 102.">

THE LIBERATOR CRASH PROSECUTION OF DIRECTORS DIRECTOR DIBLBY TURNS UP The hearing of the charges of conspiracy and fraud against five directors of the Balfour Group of Companies, Messrs Wright, Theobald, Brock, Cold wells, M.P.. and Dibley, was resumed on Monday at the Guildhall before Alderman Davies. Mr Dibley was present for the first time. He were a thick overcoat, the collar of which he kept turned up. He appeared somewhat weak, but otherwise in good health. He wore a warm travelling rug over his knees. Prior to the arrival of the Alderman several of the defendants spent some little time in consultation with their respective counsel, Mr Wright (on behalf of Major Wright) applied to be allowed to postpone his cross-examination of Mr Wheeler, the official receiver and liquidator. He said that since the last adjournment he had gone through the evidence, and ib seemed to him that there was only one case here divided under three heads. In the Lands Allotment his client:was charged as:an ac- cessory in certain transactions, while under another head, the House and Lands, he was charged as a principal, and until he knew what the Crown's case was he could nob cross examine Mr Wheeler. — The Alderman Of course it is not for me to say whether this case will go for trial or not, but it would be better if you could adapb your cross, examination to meet the convenienca of witnesses.—After some discussion Mr Matthews agreed to recall Mr Wheeler later on.— HEARD NONE OF THE EVIDENCE. The Alderman here called attention to the presence of Mr Dibley, and observed that ha had not heard any of the evidence. It was agreed not to waste time by reading over the depositions, but to hand them to Mr Dibley's counsel, so that Mr Dibley might peruse them at his leisure.—Mi Woodfall (Mr Dibley's counsel), while assenting this course, at the same time objected ta the tabulated statement showing the different valuations of the company's properties appearing inthedepositions. He said It was not evidence.—Mi Avory (for the Crown) said a note might be taken of the objection. He contended that it was evidence. Mr Driver had proved every figure. A note of the objection was taken. MR WHEKLEB AGAIN IN THE BOX. Mr Wheeler then again went into the witness* box, aud was cross-examined by Mr Moore (fol Mr Brock). Witness's attention was called to the Sheffield property sale. He admitted that the situation of a public park in the midst of an estate would enhance the valuo of the property, and an expert mightdiffermaterially as to ItS value. Coming to the sale of the property in May, 1894, in the course of the liquidation, witness deaied that it was a forced sale. CONFLICTING VALUATIONS. It was a sale by auction properly advertised. The Alderman As far as this sale goes I lootf upon it as an item favourable to the defendants They purchased this particular estate for and as sold it realised some thing like £65,000 That was the value put upon it by Driver, 8i that I do not see that in this transaction theri was anything very unreasonable. — Mi Woodfall (for Mr Dibley): You wiE find it realised close on £ 70,000. Witness's attention was next called to Messti Driver and Bird's valuation. Cross-examined, hi said he bad ascertained that it was obtained fot the purpose of issuing debentures, which purpos( was abandoned.—Mr Moore Mr Brock hat throughout denied, has he not, that he ever sa Driver's report ?—Mr Matthews objected to th< question, and it was disallowed.—Mr Moore Tht fact that Driver's valuation came out very mucf lower than those of Bird and Newman, mad( subsequently, has been used by the prosecution at evidence of want of bona-fides. I want to shot that Brock has throughout denied knowledge f the figures arrived at by Driver.—The Aldermaq I have to draw my own inference about that. further cross examined by Mr Moorf witness admitted that since these pre ceediugs Mr Brock had rendered hit every assistance in his power, and ha( shown every willingness to answer questions ELEVEN OR FOURTEEN COMPANIES IN THE GROUJ Cross-examined by Mr Atherley Jones (for Mi Theobald), witness said that he conducted thi examination of the directors in the liquidatioi proceedings. At the conclusion of the publn examination the depositions were sent to th( Board of Trade.—It was upon your sworn infos mation and complaint that these proceeding! were instituted ?—It was upon my sworn infoS mation and complaint that these proceeding! were instituted ?—It was upon my sworn infoa mation, I having digested the evidence, that j¡ summonses were issued in connection with th< Lands Allotment. The information was drafted i, few days before the issue of the summonses. JFurther cross-examined, witness said his report ie the Lands Allotment case would be the first atei towards bringing a summary of the evidence obtained at the public examination before the Board of Trade and the Treasury.—The Aider* man: I suppose you have to make such a report in the ordinary course of your duty 1—Yes.—The Alderman: Ib does not always follow fthali criminal proceedings will be taken ?-Mr JoneJtl No.—Witness was next asked if the companies within the Balfour Group numbered 14. Hereplied that he could only make 11 over the period, ia respect of which these proceedings were taken," Theobald was a director of the Lands Allotment and the Liberator. His connection with the Liberator terminated cn November 1st, 1887. He had previously beeu connected with the London and General Bank. That termmated in December, 1886. Ho was connected with the House and Lands Investment Trust as auditor, but his connection as auditor terminnaed in January^ 1883. THEOBALD'S EMOLUMENT. In respect of the Lands Allotment Company, Theobald's total emolument from the time 01 his belonging to it to the time of his leaving it was He did not suggest that Theobald derived any other emolument from the Landa Allotment Company over the period of hie connection with it beyond the £4,134 already deposed to. His attention was next called to the tabulated statement STiving the different valuations of the estates. With the exception of the Sheffield, Hull, and Romford estates, witness did not find any marked discrepancy between Driver and Bird's joint valuation and the valuation on the balance sheet. The facts known to the Lauds Allotment Com- panv prior to the making up of the balauce sheel of 1887 would justify the company in assuming that a sale to the Sheffield Corporation at the same price would take place.—Assuming, said counsel, that the other lots of this Sheffield estate were sold at a fair representative value. would the valuation of £114-,235 be excessive?-* Witness replied that the question was a difficult one to answer. He had not seen the estate at alL —The Alderman hero closely examined the map of the estate.which was explained by the witness. —The Alderman then observed It seems to me if these plots of land—these 5% acres sold at £1,900 an acre—were sold at a faif price, the other part is of equal value.—Me Atherley Jones That is exactly the point of my question, and I am obliged to you for the obsElr.. vation. THE SHEFFIELD ESTATE. The Alderman I do not say that the value 00 the whole estate is anything like that. There it a good deal that cannot be worth that. Mj experience is that these 5% acres were not typical ot the whole lot, but the land adjoining the 5 would be of about equal value.—Witness con. tended that there were 128 lots of thia Sheffield property, averaging from 628 yards to 2,000 yards 36 were unsold out of 128. Hit solo experience in hnd companies was that of an official receiver. He was not prepared to say that if the estate had been held indefinitely and sold in small parcels it might not have fetched more than it realised. Assuming an estate was non- productive, he thought it would nob be improper to add interest under certain circumstances. For instance, there might be local reasons. He did not doubt that it was the practice of all land companies to make such tions. He did not consider that 3 per cent. interas( in value was an excessive amount. After the hearing of further evidence the was adjourned until Thursday. .r:r"1I

HOUSE OF LORDS.—MONDAY. The Lord Chancellor took his seat on the woot, sack at a quarter-past four o'clock. WILD BIRDS PROTECTION ACT. On the motion of the Karl of JERSEY, a Bill amend the Wild Birds Protection Act was read't first time. The House adjourned at five minutes to o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—MONDAY. The Speaker took the chair at three o'clock. CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND LOCAl BILLS. Sir ALBERT ROLLIT moved a new Standing Order providing that where a chamber of com* merce or shipping sufficiently representing thfl trade or commerce of a district to which any Bit! related petitioned against the Bill the referees should, if they thougnt fit, permit the petitioners to be heard. .Sir JOHN LENG seconded. Mr HANBUKY moved an amendment to tbi* giving chambers of agriculture a similar looiti standi- Sjr F. S. PowjCM. seconded the amendment. Mr Mis Li, os (chairman of committees) approved of the motion as amended, and the motion as al?nuK'e^TTV,ai a new Standing Order. ihe Weish Disestablishment Bill was the* jntroducedj as given in full in another column. ftt¡,I¡¡LL

CHUJD MURDER AT RICHMOND. A MARRIED WOMAN'S CONFESSION. Amy Gregory (23), married, was charged at Richmond on Monday with the murder of hot ("initio child, aged 6 weeks. A. constable found tiie body of a female child Jying in the Deer Park, Richmond, with a handkerchief tieit tightly around the neck. Prisoner, when arrested last night, admitted the charge. Prisoner, who was in a hysterical condition, was remanded. _4I-

"THE THIRD VOLUME is a first-class SSENSA% lioual scory, wholesome, thrilling, and full of ment, by Fergus Hume. Now aupearipg in the C#TWr Times and South Wales Weeklv A vuv.

He expressed his adherence to th a principle that "waKes depend not upon price tad profits, but tpon the relation between the demand and eupply of labour," adding—" Suppose half the mines in South Wales were to be drowned with water. The price of coal would rise, the value of labour would fall." He was of opinion that—with tbeenQrmcms increase ef capital, which must find employment, with the facilities for transport from one district to another; with the steady flow of emigration, keeping down the supply of labour, whichever seeks the best fifld for employment—with all these concurrent circumstances, the tendency of wages must be to rise. Time," he said, "'is on the side of the working classes. There may be occasional depressions, aggravated infinitely by the want of a proper understanding between toasters and men, but in the long run the advan- tage of this the only sound and true rule of demand and supply must be on tbe workmen's aide. And they are no true friends of hIS, but his enemies and deceivers, who, more or less Unconsciously, teach h:rr> otherwise." AS HOME SECRETARY. As Secretary in the Gladstone Govern- ment of 1868, Mr Bruce was ono of the Cabinet pictures." so happily drawn by A Templar" in his well-known volume. Among the five Secre- taries of State (says A Tem plar") the Secretary of State for tha Home Department ig, iu two par- ticulars, especially noteworthy. He is so because he. in the first place, cakes precedence of the other four, by reason, of course, of his having to do. as his very title indicates, with the internal government of the realm and, in the next place, because he appears to be somehow, and that by reason, as we are here left to presume, of his very office, the one alone among all those five great officials who is. seemingly by a sort of inevitable necessity, so exceedingly exasperating. Whatever he may do is at once pronounced, by a great variety of persons, precisely the very he ought not to have done. Possessing as he does the awful prerogative of interposition between a criminal condemned to death and bis doom upon the gallows, it is all one, so far as his exercise of the prerogative is concerned, whether he decides in any particular case upon interposing or upon not interposing. Whichever course he may pursue is pronounced at once to be the very one ha ought on no account to have followed. Illustrating anew very apčiy this really painful peculiarity of his office, the recently appointed Home Secretary in Mr Gladstone's Government has scarcely had his nomination announced, when, at once, down upon his devobed head descends the contents, as it were. of a small shower bath of condemnations. An alternative is thrust upon him in regard to a convict of the name of Bisgrove —an alternative as to whether be shall be hanged or reprieved. The Minister makes his decision, and it is immediately pronounced the very worst he could possibly have arrived at. Again—in a matter, strictly speaking, more personal to him- øeli-tbe Secretary of State for the Home Department having been thrown over at the late general election by his former constituency of Merthyr Tydfil, is found to be without any seat :at all in the House of Commons, when, upon the shango of Government, he is nominated to that office by his political chief. The circumstance cf his being without a seat in Parliament is forthwith regarded as a direct charge against Mr Bruce, almost amounting to a charge of administrative incompetence. Nevertheless, no sooner is there the first glimmering of a hope that he may be leturned for a seat somewhere in the far North of the United Kingdom, namely, as the representa- tive of Renfrewshire, than the accusation assumes an entirely new form—he is going a-begging in forma pauptris for a constituency The meaning of all this being simply, of course, that the ex- M.P. for Merthyr Tydfil is now Home Secretary. That elevated position he has not by any means obtained, it should be said, however, per saltum. He has served his political and administrative apprenticeship. He was first nominated to office by Viscount Palmerston. This was in the November of 1862—ten years after his first entrance into the House of Commons—when be was appointed by that keen and sagacious judge of men and of their suitability for office Under- Secretary of the very department at the head of which he has now been placed by the new First Lord of the Treasury. As Under-Secretary for the Home Department Mr Bruce continued to take part in Lord Palmers ton's last Administra- tion for upwards of a year—namely, until the April of 1364—when he was appointed Vice- President of the Education Board of the Privy Council on the retirement from that office, as before mentioned, of the right hon. gentleman now her Majesty's Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Bruce was himself at that period— namely, on his nomination to his new office as Vice-President—then, in April, 1864, sworn in for the first time as a Privy Councillor. Daring upwards of two years—that is until the August of 1866 — he discharged the duties devolving upon that virtual Minister of Education for England, the Vice-President of the Educational Board. He then, together with the rest of his colleagues, withdrew to the retnrement of the Opposition on the induction to power of Lord Derby's last Government. Between the November of 1865 and the August of 1866, the right hon. gentleman laboured assiduously, moreover, it should be here remarked, as one of the Church Estates' Com- missioners. Throughout his Parliamentary career, Mr Bruce has been, perseveringly and consistently, a Liberal politician. Upon only one subject of especial importance has he had occasion to revise his originally expressed opinions. It is one, however, in regard to which many, we rejoice to believe now most firmly, will speedily find it advisable to follow the very course just recently pursued, frankly and manfully, and without a morrent'sfurther hesitation, by her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Home De- partment. Hitherto Mr Bruce has avowed him- self to be, distinctly and resolutely, an opponent of the Ballot. He now confesses himself to be a convert to that great measure and this, not in a half-hearted way, but boldly and confidently. Recognising at last the imperative necessity is for the adoption of the Ballot, moro particu- larly now that the electoral franchise has been placed upon the widened basis of household suffrage, the Secretary shrinks not from at once boldly and honestly avowing himself to be a convert to the cause of those who have long before him believed in its efficacy. LORD ABERD.ARE AND HIS HOME. On a commanding knoll in the valley of the Cynon (says the London Ech8 in a recent biography), looking down on the town of Mountain Ash, stands a spacious, but 10 no win pretentious, mansion, a sufficiency of ground aronnd it for lawns and gardens, here and there some clumps of the graceful tise which has christened the locality and behind and before tower mighty hills which leave little room for river and railway and road at bheir base. On either side rise-nob ancestral oaks or stately groves—only the tall stacks of colliery engines which are ever winding coal from seme of the deepest pits in the basin. Up the valley or down, one sees more signs of colliery operations, while all the livelong day there are the thunderous noises of the coal shot into the waggons, the shriek of railway engines, and all the sights and soands of grimy life. Mountain Ash may once have justified its sylvan suggastiveness, and in the summer-time it is seen that man's handiwork in the vale has not entirely destroyed the leafy beauty of the bills, but it is now as unlovely as most Welsh mining villages, and would be as little worthy of notice if the house upon the knoll were not The Duffryn, and The Duffryn did not mark the birthplace as well as form the summer homa of Lord Aberdare. The valley must have been as pic- turesque as any in South Wales in Waterloo year, when the young Bruce first saw the light, and be could tell how, even m his early manhood, the slopes of Cefnpennar remained wooded to their crest, melodious with birds, and there were trout to be tickled in the bright river, now represented, except in times of spats, by a stony tract, which only needs a steam reiler to convert it into a cartway. The smokeless coal which has made the district famous has caused this trans- formation but this same steam coal has played no unimportant part in Lord Aberdare's fortunes, and that with the old associations of the place endeared The DuSryu to him despite its changed surroundings. Before it was rebuilt by the late nobleman, and when it was the residence of the late Mr John Bruce Bruce, So. Nicholas was very unlike the Duffryn of the present day. No railway then connected the rich mineral fields around with the port of Cardiff. There was the canal, upon whose .grimy bosom lumbering barges carried their I freights but that flowed along the other side of Cefnpennar, There was a coach ruuningr to Cardiff, but that, too, ran through the Merthyr Valley, and left the Vale of the Cynon to its own resources. It is true its wants were not many. Here and there a mountain farm were not many. Here and thera a mountain farm or a shepherd's cot alone broke the monotony of the great extent of moorland. Forests clothed the steep hillside on each side uf the narrow valley, and grew down to the boundary wall of Duffryn. The Aberdare strain coal was without fame, and the huge beds which now afford occu- pation to a hundred thousand people, and have given rise to countless collieries, and caused the earth, to be honeycombed and the mountain sides to -be pierced, were untapped* aave bv the e. perimentalist in the upper part of Aberdare. It was here, in his ancient house, surrounded by wild scenery, which has been robbed of most ef its charms by invading commerce, that Mr John Bruce Bruce lived tbe life of a country gentl&man and dispensed his hospitality. That hospitality is historical. Bishop OJpltone, the predecessor of Dr. Oilivant in the See of Llandaff, has put it on record. Writmgon October27,1834, from Llan- sanfraed, to tbe Rev. J. M. Traherne, of Coed- rigian, the bishop says :—" In the course of my circuit we met with warm-hearted hospitality everywhere, but nowhere, I think, was the domestic scena more interesting than at Duffryn, Aberdare. I shall set down the three entire days spent there as among the happiest of my life. It realised my ideal picture of a Highland chief among his vassals, all looking up to him with affection and veneration. Mr Bruce's fine intelligent countenance, his clear, loud, cheerful voice, h 13 animated eye, his activity of mind and body. seemed to form him for ruling vlcntes per populos. Every countenance that met him beamed with pleasure. The wild mountain scenery gave a charm to the kind hospitality and hearty good humour which pervaded the whole family. A more interesting and affscbionate one I have never seen, and am not likely again to see." The late Marquis of Bute was a regular visitor to Duffryn. OF SCOTTISH DESCENT. There came into Glamorganshire, in 1747, a Wiiliam Bruce, of an old Scotch family. He bought property at Lianblethian, and the estate of Duffryn, in what was then the wild mountain parish of Aberdare. He married Jane, daughter of Mr Gabriel Lewis, of Llanisheu, by whom he had issue Margaret, who became the wife of John Knight, father of William Bruce Knight, who assumed the patronymic of Pryce many years afterwards. William I5ruc9, of Duffryn, died, and was succeeded by his son, the Rev. Thomas Bruce, rector of St. Nicholas, who, in his turn, died in 1790, and bequeathed his property to his nephew, Mr John Knight, on condition of ,hia taking the surname of Bruce. Five other children were born to Mr and Mrs Knight—two sons and three daughters. One was the Very Rev. William Bruce Kn;ght, first Dean of Llandaff, who died in 1845, and the other the Right Hon. Sir James Knight Bruce, Lord Justice of Appeal, who died in 1366. LORD ABERDARE'S FATHER. Mr John Bruce Pryce, the father of Lord Aberdare, was the first stipendiary justice for Merthyr Tydfil, being appointed in 1829. The Act, we learn from the "History of Merthyr," cost B15 13 4d, and fixed the salary at JE600 a year, which was raised by a rate levied upon the blast furnaces of the parish, at the rate of £3 8,; 2%d each furnace. As a stipendiary magistrate, Mr Bruce displayed that sound judgment, great grasp of mind, and natural shrewdness which characterised ail his actions. He presided over the Merthyr bench during troublous times. The demand for iron was small, the price low, and great distress prevailed among the working classes. The discontent with the existing order of things which prevailed in all the large centres of industry had found its way into the Welsh valleys, and excited the miners and pitmen of Merthyr. Chartism was the political creed of the people, and the cry for reform, which resulted in the measure of 1832, was taken up vigorously here. Political and social disaffection, hard laws, and hard lines, together produced the Merthyr Riots of 1831. In these Mr Bruce showed a spirit equal to that of the authors of the uprising. He, with Mr Hill and Mr Crawshay, headed the entry of the military in the saddest days of that unhappy year, and was in the fore. front as a mediator, though unsuccessfully, in the memorable affray in front of the Castle Hotel. That the people ultimately returned to their homes and peace was restored, is, in a large measure, due to the forbearance with which he treated the any multitude, and the calmness which never deserted him in the worst crises of that threatening period. At the general election of 1837, upon the accession to the throne of Queen Victoria, Mr Bruce contested the borough of Merthyr against Mr—afterwards Sir—John Guest, the previous member, but was defeated, the numbers being—for Mr Guest, 309 and for Mr Bruce, 135. In the same year, 1837, he resigned the stipendiary magistracy, upon the death of his cousin, the Hon. Mrs Booth Grey, to whose estates at St. Nicholas, Mountain Ash, and elsewhere, he succeeded. These estates had been in the possession of the FRYCES, A CABMA11THENSHIBE FAMILT. Upon the death of the last of the male line direct the property was inherited by the Honourable Mrs Booth Grey, whose husband was a brother of Lord Stamford, from whom they were to descend to collateral branches, Mr Bruce being one, and, we understand, the last named in the will. Death removed on by one the earlier names, and Mr Bruce inherited this large and valuable estate. He then assumed the name of Pryce, by Royal warrant. Mr Bruce Pryce's accession to these estates was followed by a large increase of value in his Aberdare pro- perty. Knowledge and enterprise had opened up in the Aberdare district a, large and lucrative trade in the upper four feet and where the town of Aberdare now stands there was growing up another gigantic arm of industry. The DISCOVERT OF COAL AT DUFFRYN occurred a few years after Mr Wayne's successful adventure, and rapidly transformed the appear- ance of the lower part of the valley. Mr To Powell, of the Gaer, was, if we recollect rightly, the first to work the Duffryn minerals. Others succeeded him, then came the firm of Nixon, Taylor. and Cory. As more shafts wtre sank, the oolliery hamlet of scattered houses grew in a long and prosperous village, and as time went on the village became a town, and there grew up beneath the walls of Duffryn, where a few short years before there had been scarce a sign of civilisation, the thriving district of Mountain Ash. The hillside was disforested for pitwood, the picturesque cwms. were intruded upon by glaring brick airshafts, gaunt, black timbers rose over the yawning pit-mouth on the verdant hill- side and by the side of the pleasant Cynon. The scenery lost its wildness but the estate increased a hundred-fold in value, and rich royalties came rolling into the coffers of the fortunate owner of the land. While this had been going on, Mr Bruce Pryce was not leading an idle life. He did not quit the bench at Merthyr to live in luxurions ease. He was active at quarter sessions, active on the bench at St. Nicholas, active in parish matters, active on his estate—in fact, active in everything and always. No man had more nervous power, more strength of will, more inherent vitality. In politics Lord Aberdare's father was early in life a Tory of the oJd school, and it was with the very fullest profession of old Tory faith that he contested Mertbyr. But he was too broad-minded to remain of that belief. He advanced in his ideas with the age, and became atlaat a believer in the advantages of Free Trade, in which matter his conversion is believed to be due to the arguments of his son, the then member for Merthyr. LORD ABERDARE'S BROTHERS AND SISTERS. Mr Bruce Pryce's first wife died in 1843. By that marriage Mr Bruce Pryce had eleven children, of whom eight survived him. His eldest son, John Wyndham Bruce, who married Miss Cameron, daughter of Mr Cameron, Danygraig, died in 1868, leaving a son. His other sons were Henry Austin Bruce, then Secretary of State for the Home Department, and M.P. for Renfrewshire William, late Rector of St. Nicholas and Canon of Llandaff; Robert, colonel of the 2nd Queen's Royal, and afterwards inspecting officer of reserve forces for the Western district; and Lewis Knight, a magistrate of this county. Four daughters were married:—Margaret, to the late Mr Charles Thomas Allevne, of Clifton; Blanche, to the Right Rev. Dr. Campbell, at one timo curate of St. John's, Cardiff, afterwards rector of Merthyr, Archdeacon of Llandaff, and Bishop of Bangor; Sarah, to Mr Robert Oliver Jones, of Fonmon Castle; and Isabel, to the Rev. Roper Trevcr Tyler, of Llantrichyd. Of these only Mrs Ca.mpbell survives. Mr Bruce Pryce married again in 1844, Miss Alicia Bushby, by whom he bad no issue. PERSONAL AND LITERARY. His iordship was a wideiy-read man, and was tho author of several literary works, including a life of W. F. P. Napier (his father-in-law), published in two volumes in 1864, an introduc- tion to a new edition of the early adventures in Persia of Sir Austin H. Layard, who was a relative of Lady Charlotte Guest an Address on National Education, delivered to the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, published in 1266 and a Speech on the second reading of the Education of the Poor Bill published in 1867. He was very closely associated with the Dowlais Works, and was one ot the trustees. He was also a valued friend of Lady Charlotte Guest, afterwards Lady Charlotte Schreiber, tha translator of the "Mabmogion." Amongst his many othar accomplishments he pos- sessedagood knowledgeof Ssho Welsh language, and several of his translations from that tongue have been published, the latest instance being an article in one of the numbers of "Wales" in the year 1894. He was full of anecdote and good talk, somewhat fond of quoting Latin, and had usually a great deal to ten aboub the leading men of tbe past 40 years. He relaxed absolutely after J.dmntc* and bia ccnYtnsation^nrM^et^w* amusing. It is said he had almost a passion for the Cardiff College, and, as matter of fact, when- ever he was at Duffryn, and could by any means travel, he attended the meetings at the college in all weathers. His last attendance was at meet- ings of the council and court at Cardiff on the 13th instant. On tha following day he preceeded to London, and as the weather was then bitterly cold, it is supposed that his health was then adversely aff^ctsd to a considerable extent. FORECASTING THE EDUCATION ACT. I A speech delivered by Lord Aberdare in 1866, as president of the section devoted to education of the Social Science Congress (in which he advocated the nscessity of supplementing the voluntary schools by schools supported by local rates), led to his being asked to preside at one of the sittings of an Educational Conference held at Manchester the same year, at which the outlines of an Educational Bd], which was almost; identical in principle with Mr Forster's Act of 1870, were settlsd. This Bill was introduced by him to the House of Commons in an able speech in 1867, but although warmly supported by Mr Forster and other promoters of education in the H use, it a measure of such magnitude that the country had to wait for the advent of Mr Gladstone's Government before it became law. AN AMUSING REMINISCENCE. Early in h13 history, finding the disirIct rapidly growing, and without educational advantages, he and the then vicar of Aberdare were instrumental in opening the first pubhc school in the parish, viz., that at Cwmbach. As illustrating the dearth of educational facilities in the parish, his lordship a few years ago gave a very interesting reminiscence of a visit paid by him to a dame'a school kept at Aberdare by an old servant of the family. Taken there by an uncle, that gentleman addressed the old lady with the words, Well, Mrs Richards, I eea j you are teaching the vouag idea how to shoot." But he was m^t by a horrified look and an indiguauc reply, No, indeed, sir, I don't allow any shooting here !"—a reply which, his lordship remaiked. with a merry twinkle of his eye, was probably far truer than she intended it to be. Shortly afterwards he was instrumental in having the excellent Duffryn Schools, Mountain Ash, erected, giving the ground free, and con- tributing largely to the expense of erecting the same. Fur many years he was a large subscriber to the funds of the schoo!, and since they were placød under the management of the joint boards of Aberdare and Llanwuuuo, he had ever been the chairman of the board of management, and tuok a very keen interest in them. GENEROSITY TO ABERDARE. OU9 of his lordship's most recent aolis was his generosity in connection with the Inter- mediate Schools for A5!irda,re, when he gave a donation of £250 to the building fund. In addition to this, in order to enable the committee to secure a convenient site for the !!chool, he offerw thm another plo" of land JU exchange, at a cost of about £350.