Llais Llafur

"We have had good resslts + from advertising in Labour Voice "-Swansea Trades- ♦ .an. Name on Apilication. ♦ ? man. Name on ap'?icatien.   Do you want?ood results ? —— If so, Advertise in "LLAIS LLAFUR."

LABOUR COUNCIL REQUEST IGNORED. I EDUCATION COMMITTEE REFUSE INFORMATION. At Friday's meeting of the Cardiff Education Committee, Councillor H. M. Thompson presiding, Councillor W. R. Williams called attention to a para- graph in a report of the Building and Sites Committee, in which it was stated that the Director of Education had been instructed to inform the secretary of the Cardiff Trades and Labour Council that the Committee had no reasons to offer for refusing to grant information asked for in a prev- ious letter. Councillor Williams moved that the paragraph be referred back, because he considered that the Trades and Labour Council or any other representative public body,, was entitled to reasonable courtesy. Councillor Taylor: Perhaps Coun- cillor Williams will tell us why the Committee refused the information. He is a member of the committee. Councilor Williams: In my opinion the committee have no reason for re- fusing the information. Councillor Stanfield said he repudia- ted the right of any individual or body to ask him for reasons why he ,bad voted in the way lie did on anv subject. The committee had decided that they had no reasons to offer for refusing the information asked for by the gentleman in question, and he hoped the members would have suffic- ient backbone not to yield to such a request. The motion to refer the paragraph back was defeated bv; seven votes to three. o. three.

Kilian Colliery Manager Fined. Edward Evans, Walter Read, Swansea, manager of the Killan Collieries, Dun- vant, was summoned before the county magistrates at Swansea on Wednesday for an alleged contravention of the Coal Mines Act, 1911, in that he failed to keep in the office of the mine an accurate plan of the workings of the mine pre- pared by or tinder the supervision of a surveyor possessing the prescribed quali- fication. Mr. Edward Powell, who pro- secuted, said the Home Office became aware of the fact that the surveys of the colliery were being made by a gentleman in the course of his application for a cer- tificate. The case was dismissed on pay- ment of costs.

Hereford boot and shoe retailers, re- pairers, and leather-sellers have decided to establish a branch of the National Federation of Boot Trades Association in the city and a number of members have already been made.

LADY AS I.L.P. LEADER I Federation President in Monmouth. I MISS MINNIE PALLISTER INTER- VIEWED. To Miss Minnie Pallister, daughter of the Hev. W. Pallister, a Wesleyan mini- ster stationed at Brynmawr, belongs the distinction of being the first lady in Wales to be elected President of a Federation of the I.L.P. Educated at a high school in Grimsby and at the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, she has made a special study of social and economic questions and personally investigated the living conditions of the people. An effective platform speaker, she has teen actively identified for some time with the I.L.P., and her election as Pre- sident of the Monmouthshire Federation is in recognition of her services. Miss Pallister has no sympathy with the attitude adopted by some Labourists towards the Churches. "In many districts the vpung people would have no oportunities for social re- creation, but for the much-abused Churches," she said to press representa- tive. "It would be well for the Lab- our Party, especially in Wales, to re- member this. The Welshman, by temperament and inclination, is a natural chapd-gc?r. In many mininA vilbges the little Bethels have their guilds, choirs, and so on, and it is not uncommon to find miners who attend their church almost I every night in the week. j THE CHURCHES. I "The Churches, have a- strong hold upon tho people of Wales, notwithstanding other influences, and no good is done to the cause of Labour by a wholesale con- demnation of organised Christianity. Labour would do well to ally itself with the religious life and aspirations of Wales. It is a poor policy to depreciate the work of former times, and the little chapels on the hills and in the valleys of Wales, although they may not have preached a very broad gospel, have done much to prepare a nation of sober, moral workers for tho new responsibilities and outlook into which they are coming." Miss Pallistc-r sai-d that on every hand the call was heard for improved housing conditions, and that it was a matter for j surprise and regret that the local a-utho- rities as a whole had not shown a more courageous and progressive policy. In t' some districts, it was true, a genuine at- tempt had been made to remedy griev- ances which pressed hardly upon mail, women, and children, but what was needed was a comprehensive and uniform housing policy in the mining districts. Until this problem of housing was solved it was almost impossible for thou?-anV of people in South Wales to live the. lives they aspired to, and for that reason Miss Pallister would like to &°ei the Churches, lalour, and other organisations unite in a, great housing reform campaign. AN URGENT NEED. Then, again, went on Miss Pallister, j there was urgent need for more public J buildings for educational and 3emi-educa. tional purposes, especially in centres like I Brynmawr, so that the young people j might havo oportunities for social, in- tellectual, and physical recreation. She recognised the difficulty of providing j these things under the existing rating system. A comparatively poor district could not help itself like a more wealthy centre, although the needs of the people were practically the same. The adoption of the Labour Party's programme would sweep away many anomalies, and indus- trial districts would not be neglected as in the past. The Labour movement was advancing, and she had confidence that the goal aimed for would be reached, but the Labour Party would well to ally it- self with the religious life and aspirations of the nation. ————— —————

Colliery Enginemen's Ballot. » ANOTHER ABORTIVE RESULT. I The quarterly meeting of the Mon- mouthshire and South Wales Association of Colliery Enginemen, Stokers and Craftesmen was held at the Y.M.C.A. Lecture Hall, Cardiff, on Saturday, Mr. T. Warburton, Pontypridd.* presiding. The executive officers, Mr. W. H. Hop- kins (general secretary), Mr. W. Woos- iizim and M. W. Davies, were also pre- sent, together with 51 delegates, repre- seriting 6,422 members. The auditors submitted their report, which was con- sidered satisfactory. i BALLOT RESULT. The result of the third ballot re the merging of the Association in the South Wales Miners' Federation was submitted. but the requisite three-fourths majority wae not obtained. f It should be stated that the number j voting for amalgamation was only 130 less than the, three-fourths required, but a j complication had arisen with the Regis- trar of Friendly Societies, who would not allow the rule to be change^ to a two- thirds majority. After a lengthy discussion upon this y) tit, it was Tooolved that a special con- ferenee be held in a month to oonsider tJIC matter from two painto.

do ) CLYDACH NON-UNIONIST TROUBLE. t I After having given the management 14 I days' notice, which expired on Tuesday, ( the nies employed at the Graigola- v Jlerthyr Collieries, Clvdach, at out 500 i hi numb er, ceased work on Wedn?sdev ] morn in? ?.?d camB out on strike in pro? Swrl engt the employment of non- U*i osxaia.

Support for Mr. Onions. i FIXE SPIRIT IN EAST GLAMORGAN. A demonstration was held at Trafalgar Square, Bargoed, on Saturday evening, under the auspices of the Bargoed and District Trades and Labour Council. Councillor Morgan Jones presided, and supporting him were Mr. Alfred Onions, prospective Labour candidate for East Glamorgan; Mr. *Va!tt. Lewis, miners' agent for the Rh ffiney Valley Council- lor Edmund J<.)I. general secretary for the Bargoed lodges of the Federation, and others. Mr. Walter Lewis moved a resolution supporting the candidature of Mr.. Onions. If the workers Lad been alert to their own interests, he believed that at present they would have been owning 80 per cent. of the houses in the Rhymney Valley, from New Tredegar to Hengoed. Councillor Edmund Jones seconded the resolution. Mr. Alfred Onions said tte combination of the miners, railwaymen and transport workers was not being called into exist- ence to bring about industrial war, but rather to avert it, and. to enable the workers to get more of the profits of their industry than in the past. He was their industry than in the past. He v is sure that tha labour movement would be strong and enthusiastic enough to return him as Iheir member. It was not his own persona l ends he was seeking; in fact, he did not seek to become their candidate at all. The invitation, came without his asking for it. Referring to the Scottish coal crisis i.. Onions pointed out. that the miners of ^jreat Britain made a pledge at the Scarborough conference last year to support the Scottish miners if an attempt were made to reduce the. mini- mum wage below 7s. per day. It had recently been reported at.. Southport that the Scottish coalowners were demanding a reduction of Is. per day. This, how- ever, would be resisted, and-, if the owners persisted in their demand, the coalfield would be asked to ballot as to whether they would declare a, national stoppage. In view of next year's crisis, they did not want that at present, but. if it were forced upon them, he hoped the South Wales miners would support their comrades.

Preaching to the Preachers. I LABOUR LEADER ON MINIMUM FOR A.INIsrEwoRkmEN. There was a 1 ivoly discussion at a meeting of the Carnarvon Board of Guar- dians, when Mr. David Thomas, a Labour member, did some straight. talking to preacher members of that body 011 a question relating to the minimum wage. Speaking against a proposal to pay 15s. a week and food and lodgings to an en- gineer who would have care of the boilers, laundry machinery, and electrical plant, Mr. Thomas said that the wage was not enough for a skilled workman. The Guardians ought to pay the standard wy ge. Later, when it was proposed to increase the wage of the master by £ 10 and the matron by £ 5, Mr. David Thomas said that the Guardians seemed very anxious to Taise the salaries of officials, but when a workman applied for an increase his application was continually deferred. He moved that no increase Le granted the master and matron until the Board had inquired into conditions of work of other employees, some of whom received only 15s. a week. The Rev. H. W. Jone? I cannot under- stand this bother about 15s. a week. Mr. D. Thomas Ministers are now ?N fr. D. T h omas agitating for a, living wage. Why didn't they do it when they first took up their appointments if they thought they were not getting enough? I protest against the way things have been done here to-day. It is disgraceful and irregular. (l/oud cries of "Chair, chair"). The Bev. Ishmael Evans objected to the term "disgraceful."

Wages of Welsh Ministers. I DISGRACEFUL, SWEATING, STARVING PITTANCES." Giving evi dence before the Select Com- mitt-ee of the House of Lords on the Dis- endowment of the Welsh Church, the Rev. M011 Evans, Congregational minis- ter Newport, spoke of the small salaries paid to ministers, and the disgraceful, immoral, sweating, starving pittances paid. The gloom in the homes and fami- lies of ministers baffled description. The hells on earth were too horrible for words. Questioned as to the retention of grave- yards, he thought where clergymen un- dertake to look after them properly the Church should retain possession of them. By Lord Sheffield He could not say exactly how many Congregational Churches and ministers there were in the arpa, in South Wales from which the pro- l tests came. His church was small and his people were wage-earners. Witness said he did not want to convey the impression that the churches neglected the poor. But the poor felt if they could not contribute they had better stay avray from thü" who could contri- bute. He would consider a minist-erwho got £ 100 a year or so better paid tlian the average. The Chairman Would a minister be allowed to do anything else- ? no"- They might do something in the way of collecting insurance, but the congregations might- not like it.

 0 ?-—'  Th.? opposition to the L<? Govern- ment. Board Provisional Order forming the Amman Valley J<? S,??AeTt? Dis'- jtrtct h?{, ?? witht'.rawn. The corfirm- > Ing Ed! will ia dr? ccnrfo come before r tho Lords CommiHef en U noppoøed Measures.

NOTES and COMMENTS. There apnearod to he a. pood deal of the "superior person" tone about a speech delivered by, Miss Dillwyn, of Swansea, at a garden party in con- nection with the Neath. Bryncoch, Pontardawe, and Skewen Nursing As- sociations. Referring; presumably to local instances of babies being fed on bacon, fat. "the same as the canaries," she asked. "Why not feed them on canary seed?" This appears to have been a somewhat clumsy attempt at being funny. When she remarked that nursing was done by "dirty sluts who were self-assertive and ignorant." she was merely offensive. With all her drawbacks, the Welsh midwife is in- finitely preferable to the arrogant and "self-assertive" trained nurse. And I the people of this district are perfectly well able to look after themselves with- out the amateurish advice of eccentric women of the wealthy classes. More- over, the spectacle of Miss Dillwyn holding forth on the question of the proper feeding of babies, is enough to provoke a good, broad grin! "Forward." the Glasgow "Llais Llafur," points out that a Scottish daily announced that a company pre- sided over bv Sir Henry Robertson had caused, because of heavy losses, the closing down of the Brymbo Pits, near Wrexham, throwing 200 men idle. On the same day the "Shooting Times" announced that shooting and fishing properties valued at over P,8,000 had been acquired by Sir Henry Robertson. We don't know what Sir Henry Robertson's family mottoe may, be, but he might consider, "Partridges be- fore 'Putters' Some of the English miners' leaders have a lot to learn in the way of class loyalty. Mr Barnet Kenon, M.P., the Derbyshire miners' leader, spoke at a Liberal Garden Party at Chester- field on Saturday with Mr Houfton and Sir Ai,tliiii, Mat-kiiain. M.P.. the Liberal coalowners. Of Mr Houfton, who is to oppose, as Lii>era! candidate, the nominee of the Derbyshire miners at the next election in N.E. Derby- shire, Mr Kenyon sai d, "I do not know a better employer in the coun- try." Doubtless this will he used by the Liberals as a testimonial for their coalowner candidate, and to the detri- ment of the miners' candidate. Led by Mr Frank Hall, one section of the Derbyshire miners is engaged in build- ing up political power for the working classes, and led by Mr Barnet Kenyon another section is en staged in strengthening the political power of the Liberal coalowners. This won't do. Mr Chesterton's buoyan+ declara- tion that the "reeling Engli-h drunk- ard made the rolling Eng'ish road," Hon. Society of Cymmrodorion used to sing 1.:tQ years ago. Doweh, yfweh. Gymrodoi 011. At ieclivd ein brawd rh-idlon. A ddaeth i'n mysg mewn dys?.- a dawn Yn llawcn iavrn ei galon. Deweh, llenwch bnwb yn I'Swreon, Ac yfed pawb yn gyfton Na adawll ddiferyn ar ein Dragwvddol ddoniol ddynion. This is quite in the most spirited (no pun) vein of "the Ciie^teiton-Iieiloc grou p. Those of our pastors who, though converted to the notion of a. minimum wage for themselves, have grave doubts about the necessity of giving a, living wage to the workers, should read an article in the current "Contempor- ary Review." by Professor Vernon Bartlett. of Mansfield College, Oxford. He declares that the living wage (as a measure of justice, not charity) should be the first moral charge on profits. "It is," he says, "for em- ployers as good citizens, as humanitar- ians, as Christians in particular, to prove whether they realise the meaning of their own professions, and will obey it." The Rev. Ba-scom Anthony, a. pre- siding elder of the Methodist Churcli in Southern Georgia tells of story of a negro oastor down his- way who failed to give satisfaction to his flock. A committee from the congregation waited on him to request his resigna- tion. "Look here!" demanded the preacher. "Whut's de trouble wid iii.ill P, DOTl?t I argufy?" "You she does. eldah," a<.rrr-od tide spokesman. "Don't I 'sputify con- cern in' de Scriptures?" "You tmttinly does." admitted the other. "Den wiiut's wrong?" "Well, edah." ot'itod the he-ad of tlie committee, "hit's, way: You argufies and you wptifkvi, but you don't show wherein." Mr E. M. Hann, c'klirm:m of th South Wales Coalowners' Association, > has been giving his views on the Act for securing the safer working of j the mines. He said: We liai-e now had twelve months' experience of the new Mines Act, an Act which tranajresses over and -evoi, again some of the best principles of English law, which does all it can to degrade colliery officials, treats us as criminals who must prove our' innocence, an Act full -of able, ill-digested provisions which its authors can net tell us how t'i} carrv out, and wliic-ll is a disgrace > to the Statute "Book of the «mir>trr. We tl?nk thab tbe disgrace ig n? with ¡ "tho Statute book, but with Mr Hml St?i-tiit(? but ,itli ?*I i- I-laii-?i rhodomontade- The Act was designed to increase the safety of the men work- ing in the mines, and it has effected a great deal of its purpose. It is churlish to complain that it gives a little trouble to officials, and robs the shareholders of a little of the money that the miners earn for them. Three old Welsh songs, the words of which were obtained from inmates of the Holywell Workhouse, have been preserved by Miss J. Herbert Lewis, They are:—"Y Bach gen Main" ("The Slender Boy"): Lliw Gwyn Rhosyn yr Haf" ("White Rose of the Summer") and "Cyfri'r Geifr" ("Counting the Goats"), a Flintshire variant. John Blunt writes I have little love for boxing, and less for prize-fights, but I think the ministers who are in full cry about the boxing boom should show a sense of proportion. That saintly capital- ]?t, Sir Robert Perks, has been denounc- Ist, boxing contests, but I believe that the ordinary capitalist does more social harm in one day than all the big boxing contests since the days of the Flaming Tinman. In a sermon on Sunday one minister said You may call me narrow, straight- laced, a kill-joy, or a namby-pamby, but I protest in the name of God that there is nothing really manly in endeav- ouring for money to knock you- ther senseless. It is beastly and devil- ish. One agrees about the lack of manliness in the endeavour to "knock your brother senseless." But the London builders are at present trying to starve their employ- ees, and no ministerial voices are raised in protest. Apparently the lock-out is a very small sin, but the knock-out is the last word in iniquity. For news of Swansea. one must turn to the London newspapers. The "Stan- dard" concludes an article on "Swansea Old and New" with A word as to the origin of the name "Mumbles" given to the rocks. The old Welsh spoke of them as "Y Mynydd Moel." Norman invaders reduced it to "Mumoels," Cromwell's soldiers to "Momuals," and the hundred. year-ago holiday folk to "Mumbles.' That's what one of the Swansea auctioneers told me. Some Valley people who know Swansea would warn the journalist concerned that when in Swansea it is advisable to fight shy of auctioneers and cavemen. The same newspaper says, "If one only pecs Swansea and its. environs one can even forgive Lloyd George for being a Welshman." One mifjht appreciate t?s remark better it were ?explained whether the. environs referred to are on the Gower side or the Landore side. Dr. V yrnwy Morgan has the follow- ing criticism of Welsh Nonconformity in his book, The Philosophy of Welsh History" Welsh Nonconformity does still in- fluence the small capitalist; but its power over the proletariat is per- cepti bh* less than it was. Noncon- formity does not minister—it does not profess to minister—to the entire community: its genius is unsuited to the very poor. For the unfortunate and the outcast it has no con- cern what-ever Present-day Nonconformity has no scruples about using them for political donioristra, tioven when other buildings axe available--or of parting with them, or of transferring them wholly to secular occupations. He puts in some extravagant claims for the Anglican Church which tend to lessen the force of his criticism of the Nonconformists. Mr. G. R. Mair is connected with the Manchester Guardian," which is in many respects the b-&t, in this country. Mrs. Mair many Welsh drama enthusiasts will be inter- ested to learn, was Miss Moira O'Niell, the distinguished actress of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and the fiancee of the playwright J. M. Synge. When Mr. Hilaire Belloc's, "The Four Men," just appeared, it was re- viewed at some length in tho "Lln.v- It is now obtainable at ono shilling (Nelson), and a better book fcr holiday reading no one could obtain. It i- of the pure Bellocian vintage, ro rio following snatch shows: The Southern Hills and the fic r.h Sea, They blow such gladnes-3 irtq- n:o. That when I get to Burton Son And smell the smell of the Homo Lands, My heart is all renewed and With the Southern Sea und the South Hills. In the introduction to wo r* 's I chapters Mr. Belloc makes the ten kettle appear a thing of glorious ohirim; romance. Mr. Belloc rw not a.n oqval in his power of irradiating tho eo.:n :nonp!ia«e.

— I 'BI:H without i -_u I I iA ftrinwfcy gesntleman has fc&k-as out a j j patent for -extracting the alcohol f. t. beer, 8$ as to produce a trmpeir.ncs I drink. The excise authorities having > i aofcified him that the working of pRtawt woul d be 'm t)f the j excise la-w and regulations, Mr. A news Williams liu taken the matt; up vl\b- ? the Tr?Miory. Tbe patent, h? M'.?. ?? bFon ?ommorc)n.Hv proved, "?(? h" *-?? the C-ert?c.:)t/if they ?1-. t, :(■•».•».-p- a.c* t; to mtrnch?e te?NiotK? ??:.ft -?'? permit 4 ih'-e- I*, isrg #pcrniiq».

BUILDING TRADES CRISIS. Employers Declare tor National Stoppage. I ULTIMATUM TO THE UNION. When the delegates of the branches of the National Federation of Building Trades Employers of Great Britain and Ireland met at Cardiff on Wednesday morning they received with "prolonged cheering" the result of the ballot of the, members, and unanimously adopted the recommendation of the executive council to declare a k>ck-oilt of builders' opera- tlves throughout the country if the Lon- don branches of the men's Unions do not come to a settlement wit,h the mast-eaw HI or before August 15th. The matter was taken in private but before the Press repreoontatives retired, aowever, the Secretary read the report a*- follows :— The executive council adopted the re- port of the administrative committee on the result of the ballot for a lock-out, which was 7,319 votes for and 1,739 against. (Cheers). It despatched the- following ultimatum to the executives of the general Unions or trades. which are still obdurate :— Dear Sir.—I am instructed) to give you notice that unless the present dispute in London is brought to all end so far as your society is concerned on or leforek August 15th next this Federation will is- sue instructions for an immediate lock- out of the members of your society. Whilst this Federation regrets that any such course is necessary, I am de- sired to point out that this action has* become imperative in consequence of all reasonable suggestion for a settlement put forward by the accredited representa- tives of the employers and operatives hav- ing been rejected by the London opera- tives, although accepted by the London employers. This Federation has alv.avs mognised and appreciated the general, loval observance of agreements by your society throughout the provinces, but it is ob- vious that if a section of your society in London can successfully break agreement* that have been entered into, after all formal requirements on either sid'> have been compiled with and can receive the support of the provinces, then no agree- ments throughout the country will any longer be a safeguard to the trade. Yours faithfully, A. G. WHITE (Secretary). i UNIONS CONCERNED. The Secretary added that the last para- rraph of the ultimatum had teen omitted. from the communication sent to the four societies that had no rules previous to the dispute. The names of the men's societies concerned were the National As- sociation of Operative Plasterers, the Operative Bricklayers' Society (London. Order), the Amalgamated, Society of Car- penters and Joiners, the General Union.. of Carpenters and Joiners, the UnitiecL Operative Plumbers' Association, the London Plumbers Society, the National Union of Operative Heating and Domestic- Engineers, the United Builders' La- bourers Union, the National Union of Workers and General Labourers, the Navvies, Builders' Labourers, and Gen- eral Labourers' Union, the United Order of General Labourers of London, and tlie National Amalgamated Society of Opor- ative House and Ship Painters and De- corators. The executi ve council further resolwd that it be called together again on August 18th to receive the report, and that, meanwhile, the administrative com- mittee be empowered to deal with any matter that may ari se under this issue. The four nions refer18d to are the last four in the above list. After the private discussion it was an. nounc M to the Press that the report and recommendation of the executive council had been unanimously adopted.

£ 500,000 FOR HOLIDAYS I INDUSTRIAL TOWNS DESERTED IN THE NORTH. 11-hat might be called the organised holiday-making of the industrial Ncrth is in full swing just now. Lanes workers have a genius for co-operation, and in the way they make holiday this is one of its happiest instances. "Wakes' Week—usually the period is rather longer than a week—se«s a re- markable exodus from town to sea. Mills close down, shops shut, and not more than a quarter or a third of the inhabi- tants stay in the quiet towns, the absence of the customary sounds of whirling machinery and clattering is almost startling. In some tov ns even religious services are few^r for want of congregations. l the holiday fen^o l uge 1<,1J.m3 JV accnmuhit d for th" "vakc- Ov«r hn lt'-n-m'liion pour ,1s will have been di Lnned by the "lnbs .«»1 rr»i!agencies this year. Blackpool 1ID:r Douglas retain their li^ld w i •<* jIW ell the northerners' affections.

1-mw ADJUDICATOR NATION AS EISTEDDFOD. A meeting of the musical coramiit arf the National Eisteddfod to he r",1d nt Bangor on Tuesday appointed Dr. D. Vaughan in nlsee of the Int si' FLorrv FlvfUV.. the r V'l in sr.; oej-vjon ?hst W.* hee-i ore-, or the 1 n- 1'1'{: rf ,11

Le'c'eter Sdn«at:o:i CerorriU<o ha-T» «♦- 'LoeC,<t['T :!£d"Q,j:o" C,'T,l¡y.jk, 1'T II+- VI ;T' ;t, fn:{ '¡: d.,

4 FROM ALL QUARTERS. Notes and News of the Week. We are officially informed that the Lord "Chancellor, with a view to obtaining the benefit of criticism and advice on invest- ments made by the Public Trustee, has constituted an Advisory Committee for the purpose. This Committee, while not relieving the Public Trustee of his respon- sibility in the choice of investments, will from time to time examine and criticise those which he has made. Two women who unsuccessfully at- tempted to enter Buckingham Palace gates in order to present a petition to the King on Friday morning were charged at Bow Street Police Court in the after- noon with obstructing the police. They gave names of Lady Barclay, of Nevern Square, S.W., and Miss Edith Fitz- gerald, of George Street. Sir Arthur Nicolson, the present head .of the Foreign Office, is, it is stated, to .succeed Sir Francis Bertie at the Paris Embassy. Sir Arthur was formerly Bri- tish representative at St. Petersburg, and it is believed that he will be succeeded in Paris in due course by Lord Hardinge. The Panama Canal will be opened to the world's commerce for vessels not re- quiring over 30ft. of water, on August 15th. There will be no formalities, and the first vessel to go through will prob- ably he the department's steamer Cristo- bel. The official opening of the canal takes place next March. Mr. Runciman, in moving the second reading of the Housing Bill, said the measure by no means covered the whole subject of housing, and was strictly lim. ited in its extent. There would be fur- ther proposals with regard to Urban Housing, which would be brought for- ward by the President of the Local Gov- ernment Board on a future occasion. The late Mr. Harry Evans, of Liver- pool, whose death at the age of 41 is re- corded, was one of the most gifted musi- cians Wales has ever produced, and his untimely death is to be attributed to his ceaseless efforts to raise the standard of Welsh music. The well-known musical comedy actross, Miss Gabrielle Hay, has obtained a divorce from her husband, Mr. Eric Ray- Dlond Loder, in Mr. Justice Bargrave Deane's Court has, on the ground of his adultery and failure to obey an order for restitution of conjugal rights. The three clerks of the Welsh Educa- tion Board, whose total defalcations amounted to £ 1,974, were sentenced by Mr. Justice Atkins at Swansea Assizes. They were William Griffiths (33), Charles William Seymourt (43), and David Wil- liams (49). The judge said there was an admitted lack of the necessary supervision. Grif- fiths received 12 months', Seymour eight months', and Williams four months', all in the second division. The Rev. Dr. J. H. Jowett, of New York, has had a breakdown in health and was compelled to cancel his engagement to preach at the Metropolitan Tabernable -oil Sunday. Mr. Charles H. Stevens, proprietor of "Stevens's Consumption Cure," bar. lost his action for libel against the British Medical Association. When the case was first heard the jury disagreed, and in the King's Bench Division the re- trial resulted in judgment for the defend- ants, with the costs of both cases. The plaintiM all- <j->d that the defendants, in a b- ok called "Secret Remedies," had used words which implied that he was a (iiiick and a swindler, while the defence was the statements were true and wci-o fmr com- ment. At a meeting of the Labour Party on Friday Air llamsev MacDonald pre- sented Mr G. H. Roberts, M.P., with an illuminated address in recognition of his services as Chief Whip to the Party from 1908 to 1914. The LäOt1J" Party received on Friday The Labour Party receive d on Friday from. Mr. Keir Hardie, the Kippan legacy of £ 4,725. It will be remembered that the two women lett a large sum to be divided between Mr. Hardie and Mr. John Redmond, M.P., for the Labour and Irish Parties respectively. South Wales readers will be interested in the report that Mr. August Thyssen, the millionaire German ironmaster, coal- owner e te., has secured a large site for a shipyard and dock at Vlaardmgen, 011 the new waterway between the Hook of Holland as the Vulcan Coal Company, which is owner by Air. Thys&en, has a large branch at Cardiff and does an ex- pensive business in Welsh coal. Mr Gi" Slorsv 23), clerk in the waterwork s office at Ashton-under-Lyne, was deluged with congratulations on Sat- urday on receiving intimation of a legacy of nea" rly Lio,opo under tito will of a friend 'Th* SíÆ of a schoolmaster, Mr. Storev lives in Cottar Hou?e, Romney Street, and is the voun.?t of a family of four He declines to state under xihoso will ho benefits, but it is under- stood the benefactor is a yourio,, Derbv- shire man who recently died from con- BUJiiption. Th" received Marconi, the world-famed investor of wireless tele- gr,,?,T?)bv o?her great devices, at Buok- iIl,hm Fahcr.' on Friday, and conferred upon him the honour of Honorary ?irhthc<x'' d ?'e Grand Cr<? <? the X-Til TaTOOT?lil, Who is V; Am('ricn. is now re?de? m Eng- land. A Pnrlia?i&"??v con-?pondemt ta.æ thft Mr W?toi? ehurehm is about ?o th,t tlie Cabinet be»w» of (hr. Te;1gn óI' IJ I 11 ??reeSnce? .s T 01 oti??'- -"?-- f i,ence T'lP;n ??ng nn <? the 'rhiq ?will t, the Uj)ion;t Prty of column

(Continued from preceding tolnna). they now officially exist. Mr. Churchill it is stated, is to be joined by Mr. F. E. Smith, and the intention is believed to be the creation of a new political organ- isation and party. The nainee. "Na- tional," "Democratic'' and "National Democratic" Party have been suggested for adoption by the new coalition. "Any boy w ho, after leaving school," said Lord Rofeebery in his prize-day speech at Epsom College on Saturday, "found he had taken from it no serious result of his studies, would discover hib had made a mighty bad bargain with time, and would have cause for remorse and disgust for the rest of his life." The. scheme provides, in effect, that a new undertaking- should be established which should gradually cen- tralise the production and unify the dis- tribution of electricity in Great London, and ultimately absorb all the existing undertakings in the area. Seventy-one putters, employed at Hazlerigg Colliery created some disturb- ance in Newcastle Police Court on Satur- day when charged with breach of con- tract by leaving work without notice. During the time the magistrates were con- sidering their decision defendants sang rag-time songs, and when ordered to pay damages they declared they would not pay "a blessed halfpenny," and would lay the pit idle next week. A message from China. on Saturday states :— Lord French, representing Messrs. Pauling and Co., railway con- tractors, to-day signed the final contract to finance and construct a railway from a point opposite Sha.si, in the Yangtze Val- ley, to Shiungyi-fu. in Kwei-Chou. with a. branch line from Cheng-te-fu to Changsha, the capital of Hunan. The "Common Cause." the organ of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, in commenting on the Labour Party's resolution on the Buckingham Palace conference, eays "The adherence to constitutional methods of agitation on the part of the offisial Labour Pnrtv on many occasions whew they havcsSfuffered intense provo«atio» dors them credit, and we trust tlmto no consideration of "up- posed expediency will tempt them from 'their -honotirzil)] e position." Afc -Consfcadtj proposing the. 4 his gue'!t at a banqwet to the Tsar on the battleship France. M. Poincro aid that in the honours which had atcorded him FrfMic# would see a fre-Ii guarantee of the the Trr.r had al- ways chown towards France, and a splen- cm-nÎ,\b,JT1 of the al- jÓwe whnsh united ftufleia T'rafece.