Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

8 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

COWBRIDGE AND ABERTHAW RAILWAY.

FKEEMASONARY AT CADOXTON.

BARRY DOCK ? STARR-BOWKETT…

[No title]

YOUNG WALES SOCIETY.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

YOUNG WALES SOCIETY. IMPORTANT DISCUSSION. A special meeting of the Young Wales Society was held at the Court road Methodist Schoolroom on Tuesday night, when there were present, Mr. W. Llewellyn Williams, B.A. (in the chair), Dr. O'Donnell, the Revs. W. Williams and Morris Isaac, and Messrs. Benjamin Lewis, D. Edwards, H. J. Owen, A. Found, S. Jones, D. Bowen, T. Thomas, &c. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The President read a letter which he had received from Mr. T. E. Ellis. M.P., in answer to an invitation to come to Barry to address the Society :— Hotel Scholastica, Achensec, Tyrol, Sept. 26. 1892. Dear Mr. Yvilliams,—Many thanks for your kind invitation- I should very much like to come to Barry, but I do not know how much I shall have to be in London. I shall make a serious effort to arrange a date early in December.—I am seeing this lovely land in perfect weather. One's nationalism is fired by its heroic struggle in 1809 under Andreas Hofer. Cofion carediccaf, THOMAS E. ELLIS. The Tyrol is thoroughly loyal to Austria because it has its own Parliament, its own flag, and full scope ..L- LUltS UWU llctUiMllctl J.U.V. —(Hear, hear.) PUBLIC BUSINESS. Mr. D. Edwards moved, That in the opinion of this meeting the Local Board is ji ustifiel in acquir- ing the undertaking- of the Gas and Water Com- pany." The district had been too long trampled under the iron heel of the Gas and Water Com- pany. The Local Board had done good work in the past, and could well manage the company's busi- ness. The great profit which was now enjoyed by the company would then go to the pockets of the ratepayers. (Hear. hear.) At present they had to pay 4s. 2d. or 4s. 3d. gas rate at Barry as against 2s. Sd. in Cardiff, though coal was not much dearer here than in Cardiff. (Hear, hear.) The tendency of the present time was to break the monopoly enjoyed by private companies, and soon the posses- sion of such necessaries as gas and water by such companies would be a thing of the past. The water was bad. and would not improve until the supplying of it had been placed in the hands of the representatives of the people. (Cheers.) Not till then would they see the silvery streams of the Brecon mountains down at Barry. (Laughter.) It was true they heard of rows now and then at the Local Board, but it had not been necessary as yet to start a relief fund for the orphans and widows. (Laughter.) Of course all the members of the Board were not of equal merit or capacity. Some of them were like the large lamps which had been put up in front of the public- houses of the district, while others were more like the small lamps which had been placed in front of the places of worship. (Loud laughter.) But he thought they were quite capable of managing the Gas and Water Company's undertaking. (Ap- plause.) The Rev. Morris Isaac said that the proposer complained of the quality of the water, yet advised the Board to try it. The Local Board would be inaugurating a new era by doing so. Soon they would see members of the Local Board driving about the district in carts shouting out "milk, milk." (Laughter.) The Board would soon be selling tea and running potatoe stores, L (Laughter.) The acquisition of gas and water by the Board would be a strong temptation to thE i members. He did not wish to cast any aspersiou k on the present Board, but it, would be possible foi a dishonest Board to shake some hundreds oj pounds into other sleeves. (Laughter and cheers." I The Board had already as much work on theii hands as it could well transact. Nor would th( business be so efficiently or cheaply managed by E public body as by a private company, and he wai of opinion that the drainage system would hav< been carried out in as efficient and far cheapei way by private venture than it had been by th< t Board. (Hear, hear.) It would also be unfair t( the ratepayer3 of to-day to be taxed for the sake s of the future. Each ratepayer would be, as i were, acquiring shares in the undertaking by pay ing an extra rate to pay off the borrowed capital i. It a ratepayer, after doing this for some years, lef t the district, who would recompense him for thi 3 loss he had sustained: (Hear, hear.) In a f.3\1 years also gas would be superseded by electricity and the money spent in buying the gaswork would be wasted. (Applause.) 1 After a few words from the President in suppor, of the resolution, Mr. H. J. Owen said that it was most unfai: that the Local Board should swoop down like ai eagle, and compel tradesmen to sell an under taking they had with the greatest difficult; acquired. (Hear, hear.) The Board would go or acquiring other industries, and would put up ai tobacco and cigar sellers as they did in France r and in a short time there would be no individua or private enterpise left. (Hear, hear.) This wai State socialism, and if they were Socialists, anc not Radicals, they would support the resolution (Laughter.) The postal system had been held u] as an instance of the advantages to be derived b] J- the acquisition by the State of a large undertak ing. But the penny post would have been ai accomplished fact a hundred years sooner had no the State stepped in and interfered with privat enterprise. (Hear, hear.) Every private compan; was serving its own best interests by providing wel for the community f and he was of opinion tha e what was best for the individual was best for th cr community. If everyone minded his own busines ° TT71 rl nrr» /vn vnrv /Tin n c/h + pr Am UJUC YV UJ.1U YJvu.L\A. 0.f,4 J V. applause.) I Mr. Benjamin Lewis said that some oredit wa I due to the company for supplying the district wit' water at a time when the district would not other I wise have been served; but it should be re membered that it was for its own benefit that thi was done. The water supply ajfc present was bac and there would be no chance of starting an manufacturies in the district as long as the wate J was what it was. (Hear, hear.) If the distric 3 thought the present members on the Board ir 3 capable, it could put on men with brains equal t t that of directors of gas and water companie: f (Laughter.) It should bo iremembered too tha r directors got salaries varying from £100 to £ 50( [ while the members of the Local Board got no pa and kept themselves. (Laughter.) The Boar •_ wa3 prepared to deal fairly and equitably with th j company, and had no intention to swoop dow 1 like an eagle on it. The members of the Boar y, had no personal advantage to look to from th I acquisition, for they would only be adding t their labours without demanding a bigger wag Q (Laughter.) They were only doing what the „■ thought best for the health, happiness an a prosperity of the people of the district. (Applause i. Dr. O'Donnell said that the potatoe store argi 0 ment was a fallacy, for though you could put 1] 1 as many stores as you liked, you could not comp 5. people to buy at any one place, while the Gas ar a Water Company could compel the people to bi •) with them or not at all. (Hear, hear.) The cor r pany had once offered to sell the undertaking to tl p Board, but the Board ha.d then refused, as the r. was a litigation pending between the company ai a its engineer, which eventually cost £1,200, and b. the company at the time was practically without e scheme. (Hear, hear.) It had been said th private enterprise was better than public manag x ment. But were they satisfied with thing3 as thi were? ("No.") The rates were high and t! If water bad still the company proposed to increa I- their borrowing powers, and continue to supp t the district with the present quality of water, ai {' further increase the rates. Few doubted that ele le tricity would be the light of the future, but g u could still be utilised for heating and cooking pu poses. (Hear, hear.) The capital of the compai was, in round figures, £ 80.000, and the divide) paid was 5 per cent. That showed a profit £4,000 a year. The rateable value of the distri 3 was £96,000. The Board could borrow at ii-} p 0 cent., and, in the case of reproductive works, cou .1 spread the re-payment over a number of years, t 7 average being from 50 to 60 years. So l; additional penny or twopence in the rate wou enable the Board to re-pay the borrowed capifc [ (Hear, hear.) Parliament had invariably allow of late years local authorities to acquire gas a il water, and in every case. except two, this had pa h and paid well. If the Waterworks at Cardiff h i, been in the old hands, they would not have had t supply they had lately had. (Applause.) s- Mr. A. Found said that he was in favour, if s. were possible, of divorcing the gas and water, b he was afraid it was difficult, if not impossill He thought it highly desirable that the public body should have the water under its control. He thought it also unfair that a man should have to pay water rate according to his assessment, and not according to the quantity used. He did not see why a private company should got the benefit of this but if the Local Board acquired the under- taking, the profit would go to the public at large. (Hear, hear.) After brief replies by the Rev. M. Isaac and Mr. Edwards, the resolution was put to the vote, and carried by 16 to 8. Next Tuesday a Welsh debate will be held on the subject A ddylai Cymry dwy- ieithog deithio, ysgrifenu, a masnachu fel Cymry unieithog."

Advertising

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

Advertising