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rJ THE BARNLAKE RIGHT-OF-WAY!

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rJ THE BARNLAKE RIGHT-OF-WAY! Last week a very able lecture was delivered by the Rev. J. Johns, Baptist Minister, Sardis, at the Con- gregational Chapel, Rhosmarket. The building was well filled, and the lecture was listened to with marked attention by an appreciative audience. The subject of the lecture was — "Poor Richard's Almanac," and Mr Johns handled it in a skilful and experienced manner. His touches cf humour and pathos were pourtrayed with marked precision of judgment, while his clear and well-modified voice enabled all inside the building to hear without a strain. The proceeds of the lecture were devoted to the funds necessary for the defence of the Barniake Right-of-Way case. Mr James Phillips, of Honey- borough House, who has shown such a patriotic and unselfish interest in this affair from the commence- ment, occupied the chair, and on rising to introduce the lecturer, was received with hearty and enthiisiastic cheering. The substance of Mr lhillips's opening remarks are as follows:— i t^e are mek here this evening," said the chairman, to look a big difficulty in the face, and it is of no use flinching now. All we have to do, and all we can do, is to persevere for a public good, and we look to the public to help on the good work. I don't suppose there is one person in this reom who has not heard of the Barn- !tI..KQ Hight-of-way. More than that, our struggle with the G.W.R. Co. is reported in the leading newspapers of the day, and is now being carried all over the world. The Times, Daily Neios, Daily Chronicle—all London papers-and the Manchester Guardian have noticed our case, and I hold extracts from them in my hand, some of which I will read to you. 7\ must tell you that the National Footpath Preserva- tion Society has taken charge of our case, but we have to find the money, and this is our great difficulty. The yearly general meeting of the Path- Way Society was held in London on the 9th of January, Lord Ribbesdale occupying the chair. On the report being read, the Barniake case was spoken of as being the chief case the Society had taken in hand. The report is as follows:—" The chief case In the past year was the action of the G.W.R. Co. against some parties claiming a right-of-way over the lines of that Company at Neyland. The trial came on at the Haverfordwest Assizes last July, when the Company lost their case. Mr Justice Manisty said in court if the Railway Company had spent the money they had expended in litigation in constructing a bridge they would have been in clover, the money spent in litigation would have Provided a bridge suitable for all concerned. Chairman said that while in the best sense of the word the footpath was a good public servant, he Possessed the faculty—which he believed was held to 0'0 a virtue in a good private servant-that is, 'He keeps himself to himself.' Very little was known about him, for, avoiding alike the notoriety of the high road and the business of the street, he lived a,jd moved and had his being in a tortuous seclusion which made him difficult to find and easy to lose. It Was difficut to overrate the importance of footpaths for the mass of the population. What the Society desired and intended was to preserve such foot and brille paths as the pnblic had a right to. Those were ancient rights, and were not theirs to give away or to allow to pass from them through neglect. £ Preseilt generation are custodians ot the ancient nghts preserved to them by the past generation and are trusteees for generations to come." It is absurd to think that the working man should have to walk four or five miles round to get at a ferry within one mile from his home by the old footpath, and just because a rich railway company chooses to obstruct the way by force, as the G.W.R. Co. is trying to do at Neyland, your help as well as your sympathy is needed in defending this public roadway. Don't let it be said by the rising and future generations that we in 1890 allowed the inheritance of our forefathers to pass from our possession without making an effort to defend and preserve it in as free and open a state as we received it. I have often wondered as to the eause of all this fuss by the railway company. What have the people of Burton, Langum, and Neyland done to cause all this irritatton P Surely there must be a reason somewhere, or the Company would not single out individuals as they have done. I will give you a few instances by way of illustration. Twenty-fotir summonses were taken out against William Mathias, of Oxland, for crossing the rails over the old roadway which had existed for hundreds of years, for all we know to the contrary. Well, Mathias was fined Is and ordered to pay 12s costs on each of the 24 convictions, the whole amounting to £ 15 12s. Mathias is a dairyman, and used to take milk to Neyland to sell. He can't do so now, being under an injunction. Here is another case—Alfred Cole, a tailor's apprentice. Eighteen summonses were taken out against him for crossing the rails on his way to his master's shop, where he was learning his trade. He, also, was fined Is and 12s costs on each case, amounting in all to JE11 14s. Several other cases of similar nature were disposed of on the same day. The Defence Committee, through their attorney, applied for a case, and entered an appeal in the Court of Queen's Bench, with the result that all the above decisions were quashed. After this the railway company began again, and prosecuted six individuals for crossing the railway. One is a boy of 16-Ben Harries—who worked a ferry-boat on the Barnlake Pill to help support his mother and old grandmother. This case was decided at the Haver- fordwest Assizes last July against the railway com- pany but the railway company have appealed, and the case is not yet disposed of. I have now given you an outline of the persecution which the G.W.R. Company, without just cause or provocation, have thought proper to inflict upon men and boys who are in search of an honest livelihood, and whose only offence was using the road which handed down II to them by their forefathers, and is now crossed by the Great Western Railway." On Saturday evening, Mr Johns again lectured at the Schoolroom, in the village of Langum. The audience was not so large as was anticipated. The subject of Mr Johns's second lecture was—" Maxims for the people," and it proved to be highly instructive as well as amusing. Mr Johns is a book- worm of very industrious habits, and we, therefore, were not at all surprised to find that the quality as well as the variety of his "Maxims" displayed a profound knowledge of and acquaintance with ancient and modern literature. We are pleased to find that although the audience was not very large, Mr Johns' lecture has had the effect of stirring up the good people of Langum to united action in the defence of their ancient Right-of-Way. The defence fund is being taken up by an efficient committee of ladies and gentlemen in the locality, who will, no doubt, succeed in augmenting the funds to a considerable extent. We omitted to state Mr Phillips presided at Langum also, and made a similar statement at the opening to that delivered at Rhosmarket. W e should be pleased to see a similar movement set on foot at Haverfordwest, where we believe there is deep j rooted sympathy with the movement. j

MILFORD HAVEN.!

SAINT DAVID'S. »,

- PEMBROKESHIRE PLOUGHING…

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