Llangollen Advertiser Denbighshire Merionethshire and North Wales Journal

CLE ANINGS. 1 HIGHER WAGES AND SHORTER I HOURS. The Farmer and Stockbreeder is concerned regarding the movement for higher wages all, shorter hours, and, at the close oi an editorial of. the suble", says it is of the greatest- unport- ance to the country that agrieuitura* labour should be Weil paid, and that the skilled men should be retained on the land. At the same Lime it ja not right- tJ fopse a policy upon ioxwui* without adequate guarantees. This problem may well exercise the best brains in agriculture; and we urge thlllt. the Royal Agricultural Society should closely scrutine this qu,rioa and 'eii- deavour as far as possible to protect the farm- ex's interest. We clearly foresee under the > sent irregular system of mopping. that all man- iner of difficulties will arise in attempting to assess the increased cost oi production due to the riae in wages, say on the price of wheat, and is becomes a yet more difficult 'problem "when the dependance of one crop upon another i in the rotation ha-s necessarily to be considered. W3 suggest thai thõ Royal Agricultural Society atprr-ni a special committee to consider tins j matter. ¡ A "CLODHOPPER'S" REIWT -oiL.. The other day (says the Mark Lane kx- pfeiH ") we came across one of those iio-uaitue instances of modesty and bravery wfich the ■war has made so numerous, that they (10 nil'" attract the notice they deserve. The ad was back at the remote village that he had rever le*- until he joined the Army. He called to set the farmer for whom he had worked eii.ce he itrffc school, but his name h&d appeareu in I papers, for ho had won the D.C.M. ISa-air- j ally, his old employer, who hopes to have the I hd back when the war is over, wanted to icnow all aboiL.D i- but the soldier was more anxious to tallc about the farm and what had happened on it since he went away. At. lat m simple words the lad described the bombing party that went out, the few, including himseif, who re- turned, the officer lair. badly wounded near the enemy trenches, Ajvi hi.s own journey over No Man's Land after dark to bring- him in. After four hours and hairbreadth escapes ne succf eri- ( ed. and tho exhausted soldier and wounded officer fell over the parapet of the tretsc-iies to- wether. This brcive act was rewarded by the D.C.M.. but the lad didn't seem to think there was anything wonderful about it. He^ was ,foud of his officer, who had been good to him; that war, 3011; and thought he should like to save him. Yet before the war this hero was what the world j has called a young clodhopper. THE "BRAIjICATION OF YELLOW RATTLE. This weed u often vwy prevalent m poor hay- tieidis, and in the aggregate undoubtedly causes very serious loss, is not only ii 'It a worthless plant, lising up plant food which should be available for better plants, but it also inter teres with the development of those other piants by partly living on their roots. As it is ai., a-iimial plint, each year's crop is produced from seed shed on the ground in the previous y.ar, so that where feait is practicable,, mowing an infested field before any seeds have noened would practically eradiate the weed 1n one year. Fields mown every year in the first week in July are rarely much infaated. Where this is not practicable, a method by which either the seedis or the young plaints ere destroyed would be effective. The seeds themselves apparently can act be destroyed without injuring other p-lants, buJt if a good dressing of common agricultural aalfc be applied just at the time when the seeds are germinating The number of plants produced may be reduced very materially. At the sug- gtionof the Board of Agriculture, an experi- menn; was carried out in 1917 on a poor day soil near Holyhead. Six cwt. of tsait per acre was applied on April 25th, reduced the number of' plants from 110 to 18 per square foot, but 3 cwt. alPlPlied at the same time only reduced them to 40. On May 3th, other parte of the t&nie field were treated in the sarnie way, but 6 mvt. applied ait •that time only reduced the number of Yellow Rafale plants from 110 per square foot to 44, while 3 cwt. per acre only ) reduced them to 70. The wood was not om. pletely Eradicated even in the best case; but at tho same time as the Yellow Rattle was being reduced, the grasses espaciaftly became more luxuriant. It must be borne in mmd that the æstri1; in which this experiment was carried out is eamiparaitively early, so that in late districts a. Hatter daite. tharn Apra 25th would probably have been more effective. Seasons also diflfer, so that •«. hard and fast rule is impossible. The im- portant point is, to apply the salt when the. seeds are just bursting. Therlle fl-ait and almost circular seeds, axe easily found and identified ion a lia aT infested field, so that the correct time can foe ajjwea&aiiied by occasional ex-ajnination.

Flouted the Plough Order. CORWEN FARMER HEAVILY FINED. At the Corwen Petty Sessions, on Friday, be- fore Mr. H. E. Walker (chairman) a;nd Mr. D. Da-viee, Robert Roberts of Trefnant, near Den- bigh, a weld-known cattle dealer, waa charged "with that, baying been serve-clby the Meri- onethahire Agricuit-ural Executive Committee j wiDn notice dated the Zbsi and 25th .February, 1918, under reizulation 2 of the Defence of the Rmlm-Raxulatiorrs requiring ham to oul- ti-varlo the land referred to in the said notices at Rbagafct in the parish of Corweit in accord- *nce with the requiremente therein prescribed, i»a# negligenitly or wiifullv failed to comply with "thj said requirements." Sir. Janes (DolgeMey) «wti«=<ioi4sed and Mr. Evana (Denbigh) defended. Bir. Jonas briefly opened the case and said the chflJige was really a serious one. Here was a man in defendant's position apparently indiffer- ent to the welfare of the community in these anxious tames. The commit-tee had no alterna- Itwebut to institute proceedings.—Mr. A. A. ioneta. exeoutive officer of the committee, gave I evidence, and detailed sut length whrn. had taken place beStween the oonunittee and defendant. He J was required to plough 36 acres—not an ex- Evans cross exan liirtid, but nothinK material wag elici-ted.NLir. Hu-i-h JxMtas, a travelling official of t'he committee, I said he knew the land very well, and no attempt liad heenmadewoomply with the Order.-Alr. IBrarus put dclendant in the box. and in his evi- dence 'he' explained that the nctice ha-ci been Served upon, him comparatively recently. The i:md waanot fit for ploughing, but he was pre- pared to do his beat.—Cross-examined: He had fiever offered to relinquish the land so th-at otxiera oould plough it.—Mr. Evans having ad- Id,d th. I=t' b. i.r dreaaad the Bench, the justices considered the r-laarxe Prwed. and fined defendant JD10 with f,4 4,s. special ewts.

I Mr. Walter Wilson the popular First ¡.up q of the Cbeshire Hunt, has resigned in order j to bacorns Huntsman to the Quora Hunt. I

OFFICIAL RETURNS OF MARKET PRICES. The official returcs < t market prices for the wees j ending April 24 compiled from the reports received | uwrn the -Haar.' o'i' Agr.cuiaiv.fi muritet reporters tfivt tiic fo!io-«-u!g toiomation i Fat Stock.—Supplies of cattle show an improve- ment, but at the same time it may be noted that at several places wttera an increase is shown a large Dumber of the cattle bad already been graded at other markets and wert: only b:i)¡lgbt in for allocation. The chief increase was at -jeweast .te-ou-Tyne, where flearly 1,400 were shown, against about l.OCO the previous week, wliilt at London, Wakefield, Run. Carlisle, Exeter, Ipswich, Derby, King's Lynn, Leeds, Wolverhampton, Nottingham and Wellington (Salop) there were from 30 to 90 more beasts on otter than last week. The total supply at all markets is this week 5,567 against 4.528 last week, or an increase of 1,039. At several places the quality of the cattle is reported as having shown an inprovement and it is proable that thl best ted beasts are now being marketed. Supplies of sheep continue to improve and numbers this week show a further increase; at Wakefield there was a large show of nearly 5,000, or about 1,700 more than the previous week, while at Newcastle-on-Tyne, Lincoln, Leicester and Eull there werj also substantial increases of 600 to 900. but against this Penrith shows a drop of 900, York, 350. and Norw;ch, Carlisle, Leeds and Bristol about 300 in each case. The total supply this week is 27039, against 24.95 last week, or an increase on the week of 2,044. A good number of clipped sheep are now being shown at several places, the pelts' of these being valued at 3s. 6d. to 5s 9d. each, or id. to Id. per lb. of the carcase weight, while woolled skins are worth from 2d. to 2åd; per lb. of the carcase weight The oiily markets where pigs are oeing shown in any appreciable numbers are Birmingham, Manchester, and Ipswich, but supplies at these places are hardly as good as the previous week, whila ths total number at all markets is about 300 less than last week. Store Cattle.-The wintry .weather In the early part of the week checked the trade for store cattle to some extent, this being especially so in the case of the younger stock; at Northampton and Leicester, trade is described as slovl, although at the lower level of erices purchasers were found for most of the stock on oiler At the Shrewsbury special sale held on the 19th inst. prices ranged up to nearly 100s. per live cwt., but generally speaking the cattle were 2s. to 5s. per cwt. cheaper than the previous week. The best quality dairy cows maintain their price, but In- ferior sorts are, if anything, rather cheaper; there is, however, an Improved demand for nice heifers with a good show of milk. Rearing calves of the best quality are keenly competed for. as much as £ 9 being paid at Gloucester for a nice quality roan calf. Sows and pigs continue to realise high prices, many making from £25 to 9&5, and up to £64 10s. in one case. Oswestry (Apsil 24th).—Similar supply of cattle i to last week, quality being slightly better. and about 17 of the beasts made 76s. per live owt. Fat sheep sold at the fixed rate, skins making Ss. 6d. to lis id each. Pigs sold at the maximum price. Wellington (Salop) (April 22nd).-Hegvy supply of ?55 against 176 last week, and 111 the week before; out of the total number, 248 were placed in the 1st grade, a large number receiving the extra Is. per cwt. Sheep were a similar show to the prev- ious week many lots being of top quality; all sold at the fixed price. Shrewsbury (April 1,gth).-Aziattter large supply of cattle at this special sale, 1,32$being on offer; buyers attended in small numbers and trade ruled slow throughout, 110" doubt being affected by the recent cold weather and the shortage of grass. Dealers, i however, could not take much lees money, and prices ranged up to 99s per live cwt.. which was paid for a very nice bunch of, 22 Shorthorn heifers of 5 cwts., while another good lot -weighing 5R ewts. realised fHa., and other lots 83s. to Pis., per live cwt. A bunch of 28 well bred Hereford yearling steers of 5 cwts made 868.. and a very good lot of Here- fords of 7i ewts 84a., a few other lots realising 76s. to Six., per live cwt A bunch of 10 strong Shorthorn and Ayrshire cross bullocks weighing 71 cwts. realised 91s. 6d.. a bunch of very good big Shorthorns of 111 cwts. 78B.Cd., some young Shorthorns of Bi cwts. 72s., and some older and stronger beasts about 77s., per live cwt. Two lots of Angus .TOSS bullocks made 8Ss., and two bunches of young Hereford barren cows Sis. and 83., per live cwt. On the average best graz'ng cattle made from Ms. to 94s., bullocks in i forward condition for yard finishing not being in much request. Other cattle sold from 72s. per live cwt. upwards, but a clearance was not nearly effected. (April 23rd.)—-Better trade for best quality dairy cows, j??-. s f?r which ranged u!> f ?l for a c?w an I <>f, but aged and rougH cows were not in much fcqucst: Store pigs included several sows with pigs: prices for these ranged up to ,t)56 10s., while several made from £ 34 to 938. Best quality rearing calves in request. I Crauin and ;Meal.-Loyidoii.-Wheat.-Engl Iish firm at the full price of 77s. 8d. per 004 lbs. (74s. per 4.80 lbs.) delivered. The wet wheather has caused some damp grain to be on offer at 74s. per 400 lbs. (71s. 6d. per- 4:80 tbs.), st brisk demand exists for: Argentine wheat at 82s. 6,1. to SSs. per 496 lbs. (77s. 3d. to 80s. 3d. per 480 lbs). American at 78s. to 81s. per 1406 lbs. (75a. M. to 78a. -6d. per 480 lbe.), and fiae hard red Canadian at 80s. 9d. to 82s. fid. per 496 tbs. (78s. 3d. to 79s. 9d. per 48.0 lbs.). The top price of I 84s Sd. per 436 lbs. (Sis. fid. per 480 lbs.), is realised for Australian. Barley.—English at 68s. 9d. per 448 lbs. (57s. per 400 lbs.) delivered and CaliforniaD at i.928. per 44'8 Ibs. (82@. 3d. per 400 Lbs.) have sold readily, but the latter is no longer in supply. The marl,et is very bare of by-produets, and £ 17 per ton is paid for tine barley d?t. Oats.-English for feed  at 48s. 3d. per $36 l. -(44s. 9d. per 31? :bs.) delivered have had a quick sale. All imported oats are in e*naU eomp?sa: 64s. per 320 lbs. (02s 6d. per 312 Ibs.) is paid for Canadian, and 628- per 8;0 )bs. (60s. 6d. j per 812 lbs.) for American. Maize.-Asomewhut im- ) proved supply is offered, especially of American at I 80s. 6d. to 82s. per 480 lbs. The demand for maize j j semolina at XN per toa is small, but make feed j &V,, to £ 23 is In good request. Pulse.—Beans make .40s. per cwt. for finest English, and 37s. 9d. to 88s. for Chinese. Split beans at 162s. 6d. per 480 lbs. ha\;e buyers. Peas make. 162s. 6d. for dun. 170e. for maples, and 190s. for very common blue, all per 504 lbs. Some Calcutta split peas command IBSs. per ii04 lbs., and some pea mea! has changed hands at 4,27 per t-on. Milling offals and meal.rhe demqnd generally, is good; 'bran and the coarser middlings at 2C0s. per ton. rice bran at Ws., and fish meal at 420s. sell readily Ths high priced sorts f( meal, etc., in- clude fine oatmeal at 84s., maize- our at c,s a P,,l maize meal at 62s. to ess.. all per 280-Ih. sack, Oil- cake.-A somewhat brisker market is reported, prices ru'?ing behiK ?906 per ton for cottonseed cake, and 880s. førUne-d cake. Oi:c&ke meal,' sold on the ?it- cake and not on the ordinary meal market, has real'sed 375s. per ton fop soya bean meal, 270s. for palm kernel meal, 340s. for good compound cake meal, and 895s. for decorticated cottonseed meal. There is a good demand for seed oils and oilseeds at the control prices. Brewery and distillery products. I —A good sale Is reported of kiln dust at 22ft!, malt culms at 265s., dried ale grains at 285s. and dried distillery gains ECt Ws. 5s. per top. MiNc.Undon (Paddiugton).—Supplies are rather short and the demand has been better. (Liverpool Street).—Supplies shorter, ow'ng to the cold weather, consequently less has been :sold on the platforms. Birmingham.—Supplies are about equal to the demand. > :Manchetter.nly AsmaU amount has been jW4L I ?!:t?p!:e$ bVÐr:v scarce all the wee?

1 BACON AND JAM I The Ministry of Food uuHftmces that owing | to the deldy in the receipt of applications at the j Ministry of Food, it will not be possible to bring t'h« new scheme oj bacon distribution fully inM efi.ee; on the dus" dare. Ample .?n'?rl:es have been and are being issued to the trade, and im- 1 porters and wholesalers can i" the mSanwhue distribute freely within their area in accorn.'anco I with the demand s upon them, even though they are not supported by the pre-scribed forms. Re- tailers, however, must not sell to consumers ex- cept on the production of meat caxdis (includ- ing supplementary and emergency cards) and I the detaching of coupons. I It is also anncmiiced that owing to the increas- ed duty on sugar ths maximum price of jam end marmalade, both wh-Jesale and retail, as set out I in the Jam (Prices) Order, 1918, will be ad- vanosd at the rate of Id. for each pound of jam ji or marmalade. This increase is now in opera- tion, and will remain in farce until further noftdce. BUTTFR RATION, i 1 nere appears to be a great deal of confusion in the public mind concerning the butter ration resralatioais which are now in force in this district. Some people seem to ima,gine that > if they buy butter not from ordinary commercial -traders but from friends and relatives who hap- pen to be farmers inat thev can obtain this out-' side their ration. This is certainly nOt the case, I end as the public notice in our columns last* week pointed out the ration is restrM'?d to ,Il persons at the rate of 4oas. per head per week -wboreve,r it may be obtained. We are informed by the Food Oortroller that any pel,son either selling or buying butter or margarine contrary to this re^ulaiticn will make him or herself Liable to prosecution. SHREWSBURY'S MEAT SHORTAGE, The Executive Officer reported on the first two weeks of the Government Meait Raifciommg Scheme. Th« quantity of meaifc in the town was not sufficient to meet all coupons. This was because the Minister of Food insist; upon a pro- portion of the supplies beinsr in frozen meat. The local butchers protest against frozen meat being sent from London and Birmingham :o Shrewsbury, which is the centre of a producing area, and has never been a frozen meat eating- t-own. whilst live meat is sent from the town to London and 'Birmingham which aTe a-cc-ustomeo to eat frozen meat. I B \CTON GLUT AT WELSHPOOL. At the WeMrpooil Food Coniferol Committee, on Friday, the Mayor presiding, it was reported that a few people in the town had spent all their four weekly coupons on butchers' meat. instead of three on butchers' meat and one on bacon or any other meat than butchers'. The extra. coupons for heavy workers were also only for bacon or other meaffc than butchers'.—T.Xr. J. j Prvce J ones said there vraa a tremendous glut of bacon in the town, and he thought that if they did not dispose of it. regardless of coupons much would in a very short time get tainted. -It was decided that Jsf a had bacon likely to turn they should apply to the cam- mittee for instructions for its sale.

I Rooks and Rats. I i OSWESTRY AUTHORITY'S -1 I GRIEVANCE. I .I;r..A. E. Payne presided at a well-attended meeting of the IM?tTiot War Agricultural Com- m\¡tee. on Wednesday, when a complaint Wav made that no atten?ic?n had been paid to a re-so. lxiition passed by the comjmM-?e urging that Staps should be taken to dh'oy the pla.gue of rats in the di?rt?t.—The Acting .Secretary (Mr. Gordon BaLlev) 'ljd Y%-aiiiti,-n had ben endorsed by the Co-unty Executive Commititee and forA-ara ed to the Food Production Depart- ment, who had apparently taken no action.—-The Ohairtnan said compilaimis hod aI«o been re- ceived of deh1.J;Ctiom to oropa by rooks in the Kjnnerl <j?tr'?.—Mr. W?h'ew Knd the' dHfi- ouity arrose in the limited supply of cartridge* | farmers were now allowed to u»e. They used 'tey use d all the ammunition for killing rabbits for food, Keew»r* on estate would destroy the roofcs if they could gat the amimanition.— The Ohaiwnan said the War Agricultural Com- rcittee could do nolthin-g in that respect. He I should like to know what steps could be tiaiken to stir up the Food Production Department in ] London.—Jt was agreed to request- the county I executive to press the Food, Production Depart- ment for an answer to the resolution.

I Farm Workers' Wages. I WELSH LABOURERS' DEMANDS. I Mr. J. R. Chambers, secretary of the National j FtaneiV Union of Wales, has -received a com- Tnunication from Mr. D. Rees, ongtasreisin^ eeore- tarv for Wales for t"e N«ftion«l Agrionjfcural Labourers' and Rural Work^n*' Union, demand- "rug the following increases in agriculfcu-ral ) lab cmrers' wwgœ :-£1 per Tvepk incr?age over t rh e Tninknoth wage for every able-bodied man over 18 years of age; 10s. per week increase for j every labourer under 18 years of age, the aid- I vances to be dated from April 1. Other demands-are for a working week of 54 ] March to the i I firat Sunday in IN ovember, .and of 48 h-mrs a ) week from the first Monday in November to the I first Sunday :11 Mwch. As to overtime, a cISim is made for the first two 'hours to be paid for at rhe rate of tame and a claa,rrer, and for ad- fHtionml houT$ ':o bo paid for afc the fate of time and a hallif withi Sunday pay at. double rates. A deputation from the Union will wan- upon i«_ ae Cenwal Council of the National Farmers' C?ioo of W41es to try to &rrange an agreement.

i Merioneth and Montgomery I Wages Committee, The first meetiMg of the Merioneth and Mont- gomery District Waiges 'Committee appointed by the Agricultural Wages Board under the Co:rn Production Act-. 1917. was held ait, Mmeh- yt'Heiijh on April 23rd. The- Chairman (Mr. f Richard Jones) presided, and there- was a full atteendmnee of ml-mbuils After foii-nal bu-siziem, a sub-committee was appointed to invel-tigate the acibuel oundiiitions air present existing in the ■ district, and the cotisidvration the aotu?a minimum wage to ? recommended was post- pQDed. It -,rAs, however, agreed that, when fixed, t'he ra.te shall be made operative from the date off the May hiring.

It was stated at Whitchurch Tribunal, fJn: Thursday, that property was going to rack and ruin because there is no labour to be had for doing repa.irs.J

The Man-Power Act. Instructions are being issued to recruiting officials that tile necessary number of men of the new age are to be recruited m such a way as to avoid unnecessary disturbance in essemia in-- dastries, provided an adequate now of recruits can be obtained from among the younger men now exempted or protected from military ser- vice. The cancellation of exemptions in age groups m given industries or occupations by Proola.ma,tion or Order is not inrte-nded to pre- clude the recruiting of men above those ages in the industries or occupations affected, where the tribunals consider thait they should be made available for military service. and the extent "c0 which such ir.en are made available will pro- portionately reduce the call that has to be ma.de upon the older men, who are now for the fir-t time brought under the Military Service Acts. It is not proposed at present to call up for ser- vice, or even for medical examination, men of the new military a.ge who are registered as en- gaged in agriculture. Government constnic'tional work, mines, monitions, railways and transport. For the time being no niaii of the new military a,ge.Arill be oalle-don if he is in jprade 1 and 2. Me^will have notice of call for medk-ai examin,a.tio,-i first. It-is proposed to poet older men for combatant service at home or auxiliary service Bit home or abroad, and those who have the necessary qualifications will have the usual opportunities of becoming officers. The regu- lations do not apply to medical practitiomene. Men of 43 and 44 are to be called up for medical examination forthwith, by individual notice, an-i after that will be called up for milit- ary service as required. With regard to men between 19 and 23, in Grades 1 and 2. who are entitled to appeal in or rmeefcion with the withdrawal of their exemp- tions under the recent proclamation, Mr. Hayes Fisher, President of the Local Government Board, states that it is imperative that any ap- nnde u-ider the- -Drcclaitnallim. shall be d« iH witlh immediatdy. He urges that tribunals shall arrantge to decide any such applications withrn 14 days of their receipt. In the case of agricul'tui-iil workers application may be made only in respect of a man who es- tablishes to the satisfaction of the CoMiity Agri- ctdtiiral Execi-itive Commiiitfiee that he is a highly skiiRed agricultural worker, whole time em- ployed an a farm in fa"rD1 work, and is irreplace- aible and to t'hecult.ivaltion of the farm. Such an appHcatioii will not. be valid uriless ac- ccmpanierl by a certificaite from the agricultural committee. Mr. Fisher sugr-gesta that aa regairds I the agricultural case^ the tribune sho-uM go through the caaes with ;+.?e National Rervice 1?- presentative and the agricultural representative. In some cases exemption may be given with I the concurrence of 'the National Service repre- sentative, without a hearing, but no application can be refused without & hearing. Aj>plicstion» of agricultural workers must be delivered not later than May 15, and will be determined by the appeal tribunal of the area in which the man in employed. I Replying to Mr. Ellis. Davfes rL-Eifion) in ¡ the House of Commons, Inst week, Mr. MaD- pherson (Under Secretary for .Var) said he regretted that he could not. give an assurance that all Welsh-speaking Welshmen called up under the new Act, that is, those between 41 and 51, would be trained together by Welsh- speaking instructors, but every corsideration which the circumstances allowed would be given to national sentiment. In many cases the men would go into technical and other units not territorialised. I Speeding up the Tribunals. Intending applicants t.o local and VTRal tri ibuP'?la should note the new rojruhrtaorw, issued by the Local Government Board, which came into fo;rce yeavenday (Thursday). Their object Is TO speed up the work of dealing with ca'ses, j and among the new instructions are the follow- i iix-K Dec J.iO:¡¡,s of. the court to be delivered omllv at the hearing, which has not been done in some local T,ribunials. Notice of appeal to be delivered not later than the second day after that 06 which the case is decided or (in he Ofaft of appeal tribunals) leave to appeal is granted, application for auei-i leave to be made at the hearing. Exemptions must not be to. more than six months, unless the >'ational SeTvioe- rcprs- eentative oaaca of certificata# on the ground of ill-health or infirmity or 00ft- sfit.iitio'us objection. Tribunals are to grawt reliei from, liiability to serve in Liv)e Volunteer if they -arc sa'tislied that it im uuro«M- a1 le 'bo reciuire the man to undertake that aba- wation on acoount of his occupation and other causes. This, is a particularly sensible regula- tion, because while perhaps in the maj.oir»t.y of cases joming the V.T.C. is a good pxepajaaftaot for the army later on. it is. nevertheless, obvi- ousiv absurd that certain men who are granted exemption from milSba.ry service on 1he eoecifio iground that they are a] ready fully oooupied with, work of national importance abouHd be" kept from that work by having to atitend volunteer drill. Prob«!bly the new regulation which will arouM mtM-t criticism is that which forbids applicants to employ solicitors or barristers to State their case before the tribunals. As it forms paxfc of the Local Government Board's ptam far seourinjf speedlier deckLom, lit- may be regarded by the legal profession as a rather cruel reflootion on their aptitude to prolong the hearing of eases in which they are engaged But to the ma- jority of those who come before the tribunals it will not make any very material difference. Applicants who have any power of expressing themselves intelligibly have been well content to state their own case. and we do not think they have suffered any disadvamtajge from such a course. The tribunals, on the whole, have ai- vviiys shown a. rcaidy disposition to give those who appear before them every fair play, end thev are now instructed to see to it tha.t all relevant f are placed before thesm, and where they, believe a man cannot do himslf jusitlee they can allow him to be represented by. a rektivid or s&int; oifchev* professional person. Ijawyeri daim, and we think iugtifiably, thiat their nmfct snce in general tends to save the time crf the ordinary courts; but tribunals, of course, pre concerned 10311 with forensic owti.neut;6,than nbi-zi facte, and, if these can be stated succinctly by the appellants themselves or by some unprofesHkaial friend, that is all that is necessary.