The South Wales Star

LOCAL NOTES. —' THE DISMISSAL OF MR. HARRY DAVIES. We are glad to hear that there is every like- hood that Mr. Harry Davies, who has lately bten dismissed the employ of the Barry Rail- way Company, will obtain the £50 which the A.S.R.S. votes to every member who has been dismissed for his action on public platforms. The correspondence which we published last week between the General Manager and the local secretary of the society was not of such a character as to disarm sus- picion. Mr. Richard Evans refused to receive a deputation from the men, and contented him- self with a general statement that he could not overlook Davies's negligence. This is the very point on which the public wish to receive de- finite information. Mr. Davies has publicly challenged the officials of the Barry Company to prove that he has ever been guilty of negli- gence. The one case of negligence, of which Tie has been accused, he ascribes to the fault of another, and he has distinctly stated that the only reason for his dismissal is his advanced views on politics and Trades' Unionism. The public have no wish or right to interfere be- tween the company and its employes, but they have a right to insist that no servant of the -company should be dismissed fcr using the rights of citizenship. Mr. Evans has wilfully shut the public out of his confidence, and he has no right to complain if, in public opinion, judgment will go by default. We trust that Mr. Davies's fellow-Unionists will act in such a manner that no servant of the company will be dismissed again on such a frivolous pretext. THE LAST OF THE FLUSHING QUESTION. Messrs. D. Gibbon and Edward Phillips con- tinue to keep up an ineffective and ill-advised opposition to the action of the Local Board with regard to the flushing sytem. It is hard to understand why these gentlemen have such an aversion to grammar and decency. One is prepared for a great deal from men who, in order to save the pockets of a few property,, owners, are prepared to sacrifice the health of a great and growing town, but we confess that even from them we were not prepared for the following sentence, The Board stultifying itself is, to say the least, a very unscrupulous expression when you remember our rule of erring in life, unwillingly, of course." The obscurest passage in Browning or -the chorus of a Greek play is but child's play to this.

THE COMING SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION. THE TEACHING OF WELSH. [BY OXONIAN]. We have all laughed at the account of the Vicar of Wakefield's son emigrating to Holland in order to teach the Dutch English, and only recollecting after landing that in order to teach the Dutch English, it was necessary that they should first teach him Dutch. Yet this is exactly what educa- tionalists and politicians have for the last century and more been trying to do in Wales and even yet the efforts of intelligent and trained Welsh- men to bring about a more reasonable state of things are being scoffed at or ignored. It is true that lately Welsh has been included as a specific subject in our education code, but either through the apathy of our School Boards, or the hostility of parents and teachers, or the in- difference of inspectors of Schools, Welsh ha.s been taken up as a specific subject only by a few schools. It is encouraging to find that this apathy is now being gradually shaken off, and that the prejudices against the teaching of Welsh are beginning to disappear like mist at the rising of the sun. At Llanarth. in Welsh Cardiganshire at Ruabon, in North Wales. and at Gelligaer, on the confines of Gwent and Morganwg, Welsh has been taught for years with success. During the last year the Llandyfodwg School Board have determined to introduce Welsh teaching the Eglwysilan School Board just de- cided, after a plebiscite, to do the same and all friends of education hope that during the coming year the progressive Board of Barry will include it among the subjects taught in its schools. THE WELSH LANGUAGE. The movement for utilising the Welsh language has met with fierce criticism. It has been said that its object is simply to perpetuate the Welsh lan- guage by artificial means. These critics point out the great hindrance to national progress the the existence of Welsh has been how it is has con- fined Welshmen to Wales, and how severely it has handicapped them in the race of life. This is all very true, and if it can be shown that the con- tinued existence of Welsh will hinder the Welsh- man's progress, no intelligent or patriotic Welsh- man will allow himself to be blinded by a vapid sentimental love of Welsh. But Welshmen con- tend that their language has been a hindrance to them in the past because it has not been properly utilised and they further assert that if the lan- guage is prcperly utilised, so far will it be from being a hindrance that it will prove to be the greatest educational blessing for the country. WELSH CHILDREN IN TOWNS. Others go so far as to concede that to utilise Welsh in our country schools for acquiring know ledge of English may be advantageous; but, they say, Welsh children, once they come to live in towns, easily acquire a knowledge of Eng- lish.. Is it, therefore, worth while to put these children to the drudgery of learning grammatrical or literary Welsh I will,give the opinion of others on this matter. This is what Lord Bute said at the Cardiff Eisteddfod. •' For a man to speak Welsh and willingly not to be able to read and write it is to confess "himself a boor." This is the opinion of Dean Vaughan, an old head- master of one of the greatest English public schools, and one of the foremost scholars and educationalists of the day, The one hope for Wales of to-day, her one hope of learning, or of influence, or of usefulness, is that at least she be bilingual. No nation ought to part willingly with her distinctive speech. She ought to cling to it with all fondness. The only limit to this tenacity should be that which common sense and self- interest conspire to impose upon it. If the language isolates her from all nations, if it risks her cosmopolitan character, as the disciple of the wise and the instruotness of the ignorant, then and then only, should she accept the omen and make the very best of the inevitable. But what then ? Is she to fling away the speech which was her di fferentia among the nations ? Only treachery and cowardice would counsel it. She has a patriotic and religious duty still towards the tongue in which she was born. She has to see that it be articulately and grammatically formed and shaped in all its particulars, so that it shall be no patois of chance and trick, but a language worthy of the respect of other languages, worthy to become the study of the learned and the training speech of the young." DANGER OF TRANSITION. No period in a nation's history can be more serious than the period of transition from one language to another. Mr. Owen Edwards, Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, in a recent number of Cymru, gives a. very striking instance of this danger. He describes how he was struck with this idea when looking over the books at Smith's book- stalls at Llanidloes. The books read by Welshmen, who have abandoned Welsh without acquiring a proper knowledge of English, never reach a stan- dard higher than the yellow-back novel. Professor Lloyd, of Bangor, a double first-class man of Oxford, says that English literature was no literature to Welshmen who had grown up to mature years_Without a knowledge of the Eng- lish language, fie did not understand the associa- tions—the subtle associations of worJs but he could read his Ceiriog or Edward Rhisiart or Elis Wyn with pleasure and advantage. I will content myself with only one more opinion-that of Principal Edwards. Iat3 of Aberystwith, and now of Bala. "It appears to me," he said in 1889 "a real danger to the intellectual and moral life of the Welsh people, this transition from Welsh to English. To permit the people of Wales to lose their knowledge of literary Welsh, the language of the Welsh Bible, so that they understand no other Welsh than the mongrel patois of the streets, is to abandon deliberately the creative influences of the past, to break for ever with the enobling examples of our great men, to. throw away the heritage of many centuries, in order to start afresh forsooth from the low intellectual and moral condition of savage tribe3. Let English eome into Wales and take possession, if it can. But let the intellectual and moral life of the future be the natural development of the past." THE VALUE OF WELRH- As Mr. Higman, of the Holton Schools, said to a Star reporter last week, the question of teaching- Welsh will soon resolve itself into a question of vaUe. At present Welsh is placed on the same level as French and Latin. The natural question will arise—and it was asked by one of the inspec- tors who visited the Holton Schools last week- why Welsh should, in a semi-English town, be taught in preference to French or Latin. Unless we are prepared with a good answer, it will be useless to agitate further in the matter. Compe- tition in these latter days is too keen to waste the best years of our children's lives on valueless study. What will the value of a knowledge of Welsh be to a boy who lives among Englishmen? In the first place it will make him bilingual, and as Dean Vaughan has said, the one hope of Wales is that at east she be bilingual. In the second place, he will have learnt a language which in the mental train- ing it affords comes very near to Greek or Latin. Speaking of this, Lord Aberdare said that a thorough and grammatical instruction in Welsh it better than the loose education that most of us have received in English. English has this fatal defect, from an educational point of view-that it is a congeries of vague idioms and superfine dis- tinctions. while a Celtic language can be learned with almost as good a mental result as Greek or Latin." In this month's Cymru, Mr. Owen Edwards says The Eisteddfod shows that there are great hopes of the Welsh people and it shows that theirs is as yet a wild genius, untutored and impatient. The fault lies with its. educational eystem. The education which the Government gave to Welsh Wales was worse than no education. There is genius in the children of Wales but the aim that is given them is not to train the mind, but to learn English and make parrots of them. The day has dawned when the Welshman will get a better school education than be has had. He has had an education whose sole aim was to kill his language. He will get an education that will broaden his sympathy and govern his genius. and that will bring from his soul and hand' thought and work that will abide for ever.' Father Hayde, of Cardiff, recently spoke as fol- lows in a public meeting. Respecting the Welsh language he might say that he had never studied a language in which he had felt more interest, more pleasure, and more mental training. The idioms and the structure of the language were so different from those of other languages that by comparing them the student acquired strength of mind, and that was the great end of education." WELSH V. LATIN AND FRENCH. But the great practical reason why Welsh should be preferred to Latin or French is that it can be more intelligently taught and more thoroughly learnt in our schools. It would be far easier, of course, to find teachers in Wales who have a thorough mastery of Welsh than teachers who even a slight colloquial knowledge of French. It is obvious, also, that the easiest way to teach a language is by translation and conversation. A teacher would, therefore, begin teaching Welsh in the lowest standards by using bilingual reading books, and by the time the child left school he would have gained such a complete mastery of the idiom and construction of Welsh as h6 could not gain of French out of France. Many of us have to confess, that after many year's instruction in the French language, our French is still something like that of Chaucer's Priorsesse, And Frensch sche spak ful faire and fetysly, After the scote of Stratford atte Bowe, For French of Parys was to hire unknowe." If French were taught, it could only be taught in the upper standards, and the children would pick up but a smattering of it, which as a mental train- ing would be of little value. If Welsh were taught, it could be thoroughly and systematically taught, and by teachers who would have an intimate knowledge of it. i IS THERE TIME TO TEACH WELSH? Another question that must be answered is, whether our already heavily burdened teachers can afford the time to teach an additional subject. Our time," they say is already fully occupied, and it is with the greatest difficulty that we can prepare the children for the examination." But no additional time is required. One of the extra subjects taught in all our schools is English The children are also expected to answer questions in Geography and History. Why not then get bilingual reading-books? I am glad to see that Mr. Owen Edwards is preparing for the press reading books on Welsh history, and that the Utilisation Society is about publishing- a set of historical readers. In this way. Welsh will be utilised to teach the children English and History. The testimony of Mr. J. E. Rees, of the Barry Schools on this point is very valuable, as given in the Star last week. After pointing out that, by teaching his boys Welsh, he was not only improv- ing their spelling, their knowledge of idiomatic English, and their English and Welsh vocabulary, he added, By teaching Welsh, I found I was teach- ing them English, and English in a superior way." WHAT ABOUT THE ENGLISH CHILDREN ? Another objection that has been made is that, while the Welsh children will be doing their Welsh lesson, the English children will be either left to their own devices, or an extra teacher will be required. Nothing of tlie kind. By the use of bilingual reading books this difficulty will be easily overcome, and if the English boy does not wish to learn Welsh, he can be put to read only English, while the Welsh boy will be put to read both English and Welsh. There is no earthly reason, however—except prejudice—why the English boy should not learn Welsh as well. In Anglicised districts of Wales. English children have been put to learn Welsh with great success. As I have said, it is in only few districts that Welsh teaching has been attempted, but it curious that, for the most part, those districts are Anglicised. The Denbigh District Inspector says :—" Welsh seems to be the popular specific subject in my district In one school an English girl beat her Welsh fel- lows in this subject." I will give also the result of the first examination in Welsh at the Gelligaer Board Schools. Eighty-two per cent. of the chil- dren passed, gaining thereby a sum of £ 21 to the school fund, in additional grants. In one instance 62 per cent. of the children examined spoke Eng- lish habitually at home, and yet 92 per cent of these English-speaking children passed successfully in Welsh. One purely English child-a girl—was reported as having attained the third highest place in percentage of marks for Welsh exercises. It is difficult to estimate the porportion of Welsh to English children in our Board Schools at Barry. Out of the 2,600 names on the registers, over 800 are Welsh, but there are, of course, many names which are generally supposed to be Welsh whose bearers can only speak English. On the other hand, we find many English names borne by men who can speak Welsh perfectly. In this district for instance, I know men bearing the names of Grey, Kelly, Tibbott. Brock. Burbidge, Spickett, Cummings, and Delahoye who are thorough Welshmen in tongue. It may, there- fore, be said that the population in our schools of children, whose parents can speek Welsh, is some- thing like 1 to 3. This tallies remarkably with the result ofithe religious census which was published last spring in the Star. The proportion of Welsh to English worshippers in the district was found to be I to 3-47. H.M.I. EDWARDS OPINION. In an appendix to the Government Blue Book of 1883, Mr. W. Edwards, Her Majesty's Inspector for the Merthyr District, gives the following among other reasons for the introduction of Welsh :—(i.) Welsh is the constant home-language of a very large proportion of the inhabitants of Wales, besides beir g the language of many newspapers and periodicals, (ii.) Many children who pass through the elementary schools will in after life fill positions in which a good grammatical know- ledge of Welsh is extremely desirable, if not abso- lutely indispensable. (iii.) That bilingual instruction is always useful in improving the faculties of thought and expression. By its means also, the acquisition of a third language is rendered easier, (iv.) Translations will be required not only from English into Welsh, but also from Welsh into English. Translation is at once an aid and an exercise in composition, (v.) In Scotland, in Ireland, and in various Continental countries the necessity of bilingual instruction is conceded, and the advantages which accrue from it.V; in Switzerland, are acknowledged to be considerable. (vi.) The machinery for teaching Welsh already exists, although a little preparation may be re- quired. If Welsh teaching is required in schools conducted by Englishmen, it will be easy to pro- vide the special instruction without unsettling the staff. THE LATE MR. DAN ISAAC DAVIES. I feel that to omit the name of Daa Isaac Davies. whose premature death was one of the most serious blows that Welsh education has ever re- ceived, would be unjust to a great man's memory. Mr. Davies was the first to draw attention to this question, and his admirable letters on the gubject to the Wratrrn Mail did more than any other thing to mature public opinion. In the Welsh Educa- tion Blue Book of 1886-7, he said one strong- reason for teaching Welsh is that the de: mand for bilingual officials is increasing in all parts of Wales, and especially in the populous mining districts of East Glamorganshire." RESULTS OF TEACHING WELSH. The TLM. Inspectors' reports of schools where Welsh has been taught fully bear out the conten- tion of the Welsh utilisation society that (1) an additional grant of 4s. per pass can be earned. (2) The other subjects taught do not suffer. (3) The English of Welsh children is improved, while English children learn an additional language: and the children thus learn two languages well, in- stead of learning one badly. (4) The improved general efficiency of the school results in higher grants for other subjects. (5) Parents and children are brought to take a more lively and 11 y intelligent interest in school work. THE EXPERIENCE OF GELLIGAER. The Gelligaer Board Schools were the first to teacl^ Welsh, even before any text-books had been published. I, therefore, wrote to Mr. D. Jones, the headmaster, who has most kindly sent me the following replies to my questions: (I) Welsh teaching purifies the Welsh of the Welsh-speaking children. A boy who once would translate Art thou coming" into li Oty ti dod," now trans- lates it into A ydwyt yn dyfod." (2) This, year I have 17 in the first-class taking Welsh. Eight or nine of these talked and knew nothing but English. Now they know Welsh. (3) English children pass as well as Welsh children, while the exercise of translation from one language to the other trains them as much as learning French or Latin. (4) As to the proportion of Welsh children required to make Welsh teach- ing advantageous, Mr. Jones says that very few are necessary. He begins by talking Welsh to the children. In fact, it is a Welsh lesson, with a little English now and then. (5) Asked if any alterations were required in the Code, Mr. Jones thinks that the requirements in Stage 1 are, if anything, a little too much. The Code should, therefore, be revised and made a little easier. THE EXPERIENCE OF RCABOX. I wrote also to the headmaster of Acrefair Schools, Ruabon, from whom I have received the following reply "Dear Sir,—You rightly assume that Ruabon is the centre of a semi-Anglicised district. The Ruabon School Board adopted the specific subject Welsh four years ago; it has been taught in the schools with varying success. I have taught it in my own school twice, and suc- ceeded in obtaining 100 per cent. in passes on both occasions. Some of the other schools were not so successful, because the head teachers in many instances were English, who had to entrust the work to inexperienced young teachers. In reply to your questions, I beg to state :-(i.) That "he teaching of Welsh' has made the Welsh boys better thinkers, improved them in English grammar, and enlarged their capacity of express- ing themselves, (ii.) The proportion of English to Welsh-speaking children would be as 1 to 3 in some schools, and half-and-half in other schools. (iii.) English children in each instance have been taught Welsh' in my school, with the success already mentioned, and were found to be as ready with their answers viva roe? as the Welsh boys. (iv.) A proportion of 2 to 1, or in case many of the Eng- lish-speaking boys were of Welsh descent, I believe it could be very well done with a proportion of 3 to 2. (v.) To omit the periphrastic conjugation of verbs in the 1st stage. I trust the above information will be of some use. Our examination is taking place these very days, consequently my remarks are limited.-I am dear sir, yours obediently, WILLIAM PARRY." MR. J. E. SOUTHALL. Mr. J. E. Southall, of Newport, is an English- man who has learnt Welsh, and has grasped the real meaning and force of the contention that Welsh should be taught in our elementary schools. He has recently published a book, called Wales and her language," which is in great part devoted 9 11 to this question; and to which I here wish gladly to acknowledge my indebtedness. Mr. Southall has this week written to me as fol- lows We cannot do justice to this vexed question without recognising that there are three distinct aspects of it, or rather that there are in Wales three sets of districts, each requiring different treatment to the other in order to produce the maximum of educational result which each each is capable of. We have :— (i.) Districts where Welsh is almost exclusively the home and the thinking language of the children, (ii.) Districts where English is largely the thinking language, but where parents are frequently Welsh-speaking, and where through the medium of preaching, or in other ways, the great majority of children are con- stantly brought in contact with Welsh as the lan- guage of the country, (iii.) Districts where no Welsh is spoken, or used in the pulpit, or by the hearth. Now, as I have occasion to point out in 1. Wales and her Language," the call for Welsh pro- ceeds more from schools in districts of the second class than from any other, and Barry is no excep- tion to the rule. If Welsh is taught at Barry as a specific subject, there would be doubtless some educational advantage accruing, and it would be much more practicable than the attempt to teach Latin or French, but whatever advantages there were would be greatly intensified by the use of bilingual reading books in the lower standards, and. if the scholars were not too much Anglicized, by by re-translation from one language to another as suggested by the headmaster of Barry School. Bilingual reading books, it seems to me, could be used whether half the scholars are ignorant of Welsh or not, because an English boy need only be asked to read an English portion, while a Welsh boy would have the chance of being taught how to enunciate his own tongue properly—a help to elocution generally which would be serviceable to him in any case. Another advantage of such books is that no other subject need be put aside for them -I write subject to correction from authority. We must bear in mind that a large proportion of the scholars over such districts as Barry will probably continue to belong to the wage-earning classes, and that the instruction in Welsh will probably be the only systematic linguistic training by the comparison of two languages that they will get in their lives. I think, then, that it should be looked upon as a matter ol more importance and real utility, even supposing their reading is subse- quently confined pretty mucn to English literature, than is generally supposed. Others may by this means have the offer of bilingual appointments which for years to come will be held in South Wales, while it cannot fail to facilitate the ac- quirement of other tongues. Hughes and Son, Wrexham, have recently published a Welsh reading book for schools with English notes, and the Society for the Utilisation of the Welsh Language are. I believe, about publishing a set of historical readers. Should it prove, however, that the Barry Board is hampered on account of the want of suit- able text books I should be glad to hear, as ,1 believe it quite possible, with the assistance of an experienced master, to issue one or more in a com- paratively short space of time. JOHN SOUTHALL. Newport, Mon., 8th inst. MEETING OF THE YOUNG WALES SOCIETY. Next Tuesday night at 7.30 the Young Wales Society will hold a public debate at the Newland- street Methodist Schoolroom. Barry Dock, when the subject for debate will be the Utilisation of the Welsh language in elementary schools. The Rev. Christmas Lewis, of Barry, will move in the affirmative.

ROUND THE TOWNS. fBY MR. GAD-ABOUT.] The Quoit Dinner on Wednesday night was a first-rate affair. & Mr. Newman, jeweller, will shortly open new premises at Barry Dock. ♦ The Public Library in Holton-road will probably be opened at the end of next week. # Mr. W. M. Douglas was the Cardiff umpire at the Cardiff v. Newport match on Saturday. Mr. B. G. Davies never misses a meeting of the Burial Board. He is an example to many of our public men. At the Qoit Club dinner on Wednesday night the Chair man gravely announsed that the "next song would be a duet Mr. William Thomas de Barri is said to be con- templating changing his name to Mr. William de Vere Thomas de Barri. The Public Libraries Committee received valu- able instruction on Wednesday night in the mysteries of printing. Barry already has its Saturday pops. When will Mr. Lewis Lewis re-commence his pops. at the Market-hall, Cadoxton. I wish to congratulate Mr. Bonn, of the Engineer's office, in obtaining an excellent ap- pointment in Lanarkshire. The proceedings at the Wenvoe Ploughing Match were of a most enjoyable nature. The dinner was a very good one. In the Welsh Church at Barry, which was founded by St. Cadoc, there is not a single clergy- man that can preach in Welsh. # The newly-appointed inspector at Penarth. Inspector Rutter. conducted the business at the Penarth Police Court on Monday. I am glad to hear that Mr. Greenwood, of the Local Board Office got through the stiff examina- tion he has lately been sitting for. Mr. Ephraim Harris was present at the Penarth Police Court on Monday, and, with accustomed liberality, paid a fine of 5s. for a man. Dr. Gore was fairly in it as a disciple of Albert Chevalier at the church concert. His departure from Cadoxton leaves us all inconsolable. A gentleman purchased a tart made at the Holton Schools recently. It was rendered uneat- able by the large quantity of salt it contained. A certain local minister was seen in a' well- known spirit vaults in Cardiff on Monday morning, with a glass of something strong before him. A Star man who called at a certain house to obtain some particulars about a sudden death that had occurred was taken for the deputy-coroner. Two members of the Public Libraries' Committee were overheard at the meeting privately discussing the merits of Uam Var and Glen Alva whiskey. The Rev. J. Stowell, M.A., will preach on Sun- day morning at the Barry Congregational Church, and the subject of his address will be the Bradford meetings. » The complimentary dinner to Mr. W. M. Douglas will take place on Thursday night next at the Witchill Hotel. Tickets may be had at the Star' office for 2s. 6d. Mr. Helm, at the Church Defence meeting, was as bi .;ter against Ireland as he was against Dis- establishment. And yet he railed against politi- cal dissenters. One of the old women present on Monday after- noon, who posed as a warm defender of the Established Church, may at times be seen issuing from the Witchill. II: II: The number of medical men is constantly on the increase at Barry, while the number of inhabitants is. at present, on the decrease. Is this an instance of cause and effect ? Are the bank clerks at one of the local banks badly paid ? It seems rather suspicious, as they have recently started as insurance agents—much to the annoyance of their acquaintances. ♦ The Rev. Christmas Lewis, who will open the debate at the Young Wales Society on Tuesday night. had the reputation of being the best debater at Cardiff University College in his time. It was remarked of a very weak-voiced singer at the church concert on Wednesday evening that he didn't wish to be heard. Another said he had done so much talk lately that he had lost his voice. » The Rev. C. A. Wells on Monday night traced English Christianity, through Aidan, Columba, and Finian to Cadoc, the patron saint of Cadoxton. And still Barry says Cadoxton isn't aristocratic. Not a word of Welsh was spoken at the meeting on Monday night to defend the Welsh Church. Mr. Wells made an attempt, and called Dyved Die fed." What will Dyfed Lewis say to this ? ♦ I am glad to be in a position to announce that the man, who in a fit of temporary insanity, tried on Monday night to make a nautical pun about Helm and Lee is slowly recovering. The Rev. C. A. Wells on Monday night said that in the reign of Elizabeth no able and honest man could be found to accept the bishopric of Llandaff, because the revenue was so small. What a confes- sion Mr. Edward Phillips does not find the time so depressing as many would be led to think by his public utterances as a member of deputations. He is still busy at iL building and opening shops at Barry Dock. ♦ Mr. Ephraim Harris informs me that he intends to be returned as a member of the Penarth School Board. His University education and good busi- ness qualities will make him a great Acquisition to the School Board. » The milk of human kindness seems to be plenti- ful at Penarth Police Court. There is one gentle- man paying fines, and a solicitor defended a prisoner, not for pecuniary recompense, but for the sake of a relative of the prisoner. Mrs. Christmas Lewis, of Barry, is the daughter of the late Mr. David Evans, J.P., Bodringallt. and is the sister of the well-known and popular football player. Rosser Evans. A sister of Mrs. Lewis has taken her B.A. at London University. <* I hear there is quite a plethora of candidates for the coming School Board Election. Among the new candidates there will be three doctors, two ministers, a member of the Local Board. and a gentleman connected with the Dry Dock. There was a banjo player at the Thompson-street concert on Wednesday evening who was so far from pleasing his audience with the air he played that they were delighted if, by any accident, they could catch even a sound of the instrument. Three things a Welshman loves to see, said an old proverb—the face of the girl he loves, a fellow- countryman, and a halter round an Englishman's neck. That was at the time when John Bull thought that Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a. thief." A local doctor has evidently taken my remarks to heart with regard to the bacheloriness of our professional men. At any rate, he was seen on Saturday at Cardiff walking by the side of a young lady, with a look of proud possession that was eloquent of much. Thompson-street was in a state of excitement on Tuesday night on the occasion of a birthday party which was kept up to the early hours of the morn- ing, much to the annoyance of the neighbours. We hear a wedding will be the outcome of the affair-nothing worse. cl Mr. W. Llewellyn, collector of the Gas and Water Company, has recently settled down at Barry Dock. Mr. Llewellyn is a first-rate pianist, a.nd was for several years organist at a Cardiff' Church. He will no doubt identify himself now with the musical societies of the neighbourhood. ♦$ The Young Wales Society will hold a very im- portant meeting on Tuesday night. The subject for discussion will be the Utilisation of the Welsh language. The meeting will be held at the Welsh Methodist Schoolroom, Newland-street, Barrv Dock, and will commence punctually at 7.30. Mr. Bowen Rowlands, the editor of the defunct II elxh llerit'w, writes a slashing account of that ill-starred magazine in the Western Mail, and 1. slates some professional Welsh patriots. After Mr. Wilson (the Star) and Mr. Lascelles Carr, he says he is most indebted to Messrs. W. T. Stead D. Davies (lVr.st.-rn Mail), E. R. Russell, and Llewellyn Williams. Mr. "Wales Day by Day' has been making merry over the fact that his" Chief" has now taken over Lletherilestrv, in Carmarthenshire, while the editor of the Sta r refuses to be com- forted, for he knows not what sad fate has befallen a relative of his that once lived there. An Irish- man on the staff suggests that the Tory cuckoo has evicted him with a battering ram. I am asked to state that there is no Perfect Thrift Building Society in existence atBirry. The three local directors. Messrs. J. Rets, W. Copp, and Llewellyn Williams, finding that it was impossible for them to give the necessary time to the >ocie5y, at once tendered their resignation. It would hive been far more honourable if the directors of the Star-Bowkett had acted in the same wav.

BARRY RAILWAY.-TRAFFIC RECEIPTS. "Week ending 17th October, 1892 £ 5,160. Accountant's Office, Barry Dock, 19th October. 1892.

SUDDEN DEATH AT BARRY DOCK. On Wednesday night last a very sudden death occurred at Evans-street, Barry Dock. A man .named Charles Henry Arnold, aged about 3.8, mason, in the employ of Mr. Williams, the Victoria Hotel, went home to his lodgings at Evans-street, where he lodged with a Mrs. Harvey. He went to his bedroom in his usual state ef health. His land- lady's two sons shared his bedroom, and they went upstairs at the same time. Before he had time to undress he fell down on the floor in a fit. Charles Harvey thought that he had fainted, picked him up, with the assistance of his brother, and laid him on the bed, unloosing his shirt-collar, &c., and having fetched some water, bathed his temples, and poured a drop down his throat. Harvey then called his mother, who sent for Mr. Williams, who on his arrival sent for a doctor and the police. Dr. Livingstone was soon in attendance, and pronounced life to be extinct. The relatives of the deceased -who reside at Lannceston, Cornwall have been com- municated with, and it is probable an inquest will be held today (Friday).

Births, Carriages, Deaths. "¡. BIRTHS. NICHOLAS.—On thetSth inst., at Penarth, the wife o William Edgar Nicholls, of a son. ALLEX.-On the 14th inst., the wife of Thomas Allen, Bunch of Grapes Inn, Chainworks, Pontypridd, of a son. MARRIAGE. JACKSON—ALLEN.—On the 14th inst., at All Saints' Church, Llanellv, by the Rev. Samuel Davies, Mr. Alfred Jackson, solicitor, Cardiff and Barry, only son of Mr. John Atkinson Jackson, Whitehaven, to Kate Ashton, second daughter of the late Mr. Frederick Charles Allen, Maidstone. DEATHS. JONES.—On the 12th 'inst., at 15, Richard-street, Merthvrdovan, Annie, daughter of Edward Jones, aged 17 months. READ.—On the the 11th inst., at 122, High-street. Merthvrdovan, Vera, daughter of Charles Read, aged 17 months. DAVIES.—On the 14th inst., at Castleland-street, Cadoxton, Thomas Davies, aged 82 years. PERRY.-On the 15th inst., at 40, Princes-street, Merthyrdovan, William, son of Frank Perry, aged 10 months. WESTOX.—On the 13th inst., at 2, Holton-road,"Cadox- ton, Cyril, son of A. A. Weston, aged 14 days. MORGAN.—On the 15th inst., at Daisy Cottage, Cadox- ton, George, son of John Morgan, aged 3 days. JOHN.—On the 15th inst., at Pendoylan, Charlotte John, aged 77 years. READ -On the 16th inst., at 9, Richard-street, Mer- thyrdovan, Mabel Constance, daughter of William Read, aged 6 years. GRIFFITHS.-On the 17th inst., at Pendoylan, Susan Griffiths, aged 72 years.

VOLUNTEER INTELLIGENCE. 11TH COMPANY. 2\D GLAMORGAN ARTIL- LERY VOLUNTEERS. COMPANY ORDERS.—Barry Dock, 21st Oct., 1892. Drills for the week commencing 24th Oct., 1892:— Gun drill every evening for competing detach- ments, except Saturday. Hours of Drills, 7.30 to 8.30 p.m. The competition for the 64-pounder Standing Gun Drill will probably take place next Saturday. By Order, (Signed) J. JUST. HANDCOCK. Capt., Commanding 11th Company, 2nd G.A.V., Barry Dock.

TRADES COUNCIL COLLECTION FOR COTTAGE HOSPITAL AND NURSING ASSOCIATION. £ s. d. Amount previously acknowledged. 60 16 11 II. Parker 0 0 6 Thomas Riches and Co.'s Trimmers, per J. Linton 1 0 0 Barry Loco. Fitters, per W. Jones 0 3 0 Barry Loco. Labourers, Der F. Chi vers 0 6 0 Low Level Traffic, per J. Thomas 0 2 (; J. Jackson's Donation 5 0 0 Cory Bros.' Trimmers, per S. Milson 2 8 0 Total to date £ 69 lo 11 Dear Sir,-The Council are very desirous that the collecting books still out may be returned as soon as possible in order that a balance sheet may be prepared and the amount collected handed over to the treasurer of these very deserving institutions. -Yours sincerely, J. REES. Iddesleigh-street. Cadoxton. Editor South H a1as Star.

BARRY DOCK WEEKLY TIDE TABLE. Morn. After. h.m. h.m. ft. ilL Oct. 21 Friday 7 19 7 34 39 1 „ 22 Saturday 7 48, 8 2 39 r „ 23 Sunday. 8 16 8 30 39 1 „ 24 Monday 8 45 8 58 37 Iff „ 25 Tuesday. 9 12 8 25 36 2 „ 26 Wednesday. 9 40 9 56 34 3 „ 27 Thursday. 10 14 34 10 32 3

THE LLANHARRAN HOUNrS WILL MEE r Thursday, Oct. 27th, 1832, at Llanharran At 10.30 a.m. Ancient Benefit Friendly Society, Registered Pur. uant to Act of Parliament, 38 and c9 Vict. c. 60, 1375. A PUBLIC MEETING Will be hell at the CADOXTON ROYAL LODGE, ROYAL HOTEL, CADOXTON, I On THURSDAY, October 27th, at 7 p.m. MR. G. O. REED, GRAND MASTER, will preside. All Working Men are earnestly invited to join the above Lodge. ENTRANCE FEE, Is. 6d. After passing the Doctor and paying first fort- nights' Contributions are entitled to Full Sick Pay Immediately 12s PER WEEK. [478 EDUCATIONAL. I 1TLANDOVERY COLLEGE. W AHDEX: REV. OWEN EVANS, M.A. There aie 11 Masters on the staff, all Graduates of Oxford and Cambridge 142 boarders in 6 boarding house (fees for board. 40 guineas a year): £ 750 a year in School Scholarships; leaving Exhibitions for Ox- ford; Classical and Modern Sides; Shorthand, Draw ing, Laboratory, Music, Dancing, Gymnasium, Fives Courts, Drill. Sanatorium. Distinctions for last year (Sept. 1891-Sept. 1892) include two Open Scholarships (Classics and Mathe- imatics) X80 each, Oxford 22 Higher Certificates with (bracketed in seventh place of all Public Schools ex- amined). and Twelve Distinctions (bracketed in second place in English and in fourth place in Mathematics in the entire list) from the Oxford and Cambridge Board; five passes in London Matriculation. ° Present Term began Saturday. 17th instant For particulars, apply to the Warden, College, Llandovery [435 rpHE COURT SCHOOL FOR GIRLS CADOXTON. PRINCIPAL MISS SMALL. Assisted by Trained and Certificated English and Foreign Governesses, and visiting Professors. Prospectus on application to the Principal. Private Lessons given in Drawing, Painting, Music, Singing. French, and German. Pupils prepared for the Local Examinations. A Class for Little Boys, f 428 1

their country, and who spent themselves un- grudingly in her cause. All four were great preachers, but, possibly, Dr. Saunders was the most polished orator of them all. We have heard him holding a vast congregation en- tranced for over an hour-and that after another preacher had preceded him-while dis- coursing on a subject that would have been but dry metaphysics if handled by another. In- deed, we question whether Wales has ever produced a preacher whose oratorical gifts were so great as those of Er. Saunders. Though all Wales will feel Dr. Saunders'loss, his own Metho- dist connexion will feel itmost. It has lately lost three of its greatest sons: and there are now left, of the older generation, only the Rev. Edward Mat- hews in South Wales, and Dr. T. C. Edwards in NorthWales. But Dr. Saunders was perhaps bet- ter known to other denominations than either Dr. Owen Thomas or Mr. D. C. Davies. Dr. Saunders was emphatically a political dis- senter, and the fact that such ;an earnest Christian saw nothing incompatible with his religion in his politics, is the best possible proof that political dissent does not mean a Non- conformity without a mission or without a living faith. The last time we saw Dr. Saunders ttlive was at a meeting called at Cardiff last Christmas to discuss Mr. Alfred Thomas' Welsh Home Rule Bill. He was in entire sympathy with the Young Wales movement, because he was acquainted with its cause and its aspirations. By the death of Dr. Saunders, Wales has lost a noble man, an honest poli- tician, and a sincere Christian.