The London Welshman

Home News. CARDIGAN. At the monthly meeting of the Aberayron Rural District Council, held on Wednesday, it was resolved to vote £ 5,000 for the promotion of the construction of the proposed railway from Lampeter to Aberayron and New Quay. The Aberystwyth police on Saturday night arrested George Turner, single, a labouring man standing 6ft., on a charge of breaking into and stealing two watches from Cliff House on Saturday afternoon. He was brought before the Bench and remanded. It is also stated that from statements which he is alleged to have voluntarily made to the police he will be further charged with stealing ^18 from Waunfawr Farm in September, £IO from Ropehouse Fach in March, a silver watch and 6s. 6d. from Gilfach Farm in June, £7 from the Factory, Llanbadarn, in June, and £ 15 from Gwarblin in June. These robberies have baffled the police, who have had gipsies arrested on sus- picion. Prisoner always dressed well, attended Sunday services with regularity, and was a constant spectator at the weekly petty sessions in the Town Hall. Ti-ree watches are said to have been found in his possession. Turner hails from Cheshire. CARMARTHEN. At Saturday's meeting of the Llandilo Board of Guardians it was reported that 157 vagrants had sought the shelter of the workhouse during the past fortnight, compared with 84 for the corre- sponding fortnight last year. CARNARVON. Llandudno has been a favourite British resort among Americans for many years past, and most of our American visitors pay at least a brief call there, while a considerable proportion of them make a long stay. Just now the number of parties of Americans at Llandudno is unusually large, and the United States flag is frequently to be seen flying in their honour upon the principal hotels. The Carnarvonshire coroner will probably be called upon this week to hold an inquest touching a large number of gold and silver coins found last Thursday by workmen engaged in demolishing old houses in the Tanrallt improvement area at Car- narvon. These houses were occupied by the poorest class of the inhabitants. Among the coins, most of which have been impounded and deposited in a bank, are gold sovereigns of the reign of George IV., but the majority belong to the Victorian era. The little hoard, representing about £ 70 in value, was discovered in a tin placed in a wall and covered over with many layers of wall- paper. There was a large attendance at the Pwllheli Town Hall on Wednesday afternoon to witness a pre^en ation to Mr. Richard Roberts, of Hope House, Pwllheli, on his retirement trom the agency of the Bodvean and Glynlliton Estates after a ser- vice of 28 years. About 430 persons—the majority being trie tenantry—subscribed to the presentation, £ 68 bting subscribed by the Carnarvon district and ^166 by the Pwllheli district. The testimonial consisted ot an illuminated address, a silver salver with inscription, a silver tea and conee tervke, a gold sovereign purse with a cheque for ^125 en- closed, and a gold pen and pencil, together with a gold bracelet with pearl and turquoise settings for Mrs. Roberts. The Mayor of Pwllheli presided, and read a telegram conveying warmest congratu- lations from the Hun. F. G. Wynn, the owner of the two estates. DENBIGH. Mr. W. Hayden, second engineer of the Birken- head fire brigade, has been appointed fireman engineer of the Wrexham borough nre brigade. There were large crowds at Ruabon on Monday and the Parish Church was crowded, when a marble memorial tablet was unveiled by Colonel Sir Watkin W. Wynn to the memory 0: members of the Montgomeryshire Imperial Yeomanry who died whilst serving in South Africa. The Yeomanry, local Volunteers, and the Ruabon band were present. The service was most impressive. Some excitement was caused in the streets of Llangollen, which were crowded with trippers, by a collision between the town band and the procession of revivalists, headed by the Rev. R. B. Jones, of Borth, who has just concluded a successful three days' mission at Llangollen. Under Bandmaster Henry, late of the R.W.F., the band, twenty strong, was performing in the square facing Parade Street and the Royal Hotel. They were not playing at the time the procession appeared on the scene, but immediately the revivalists halted struck up a lively march. The Rev. D. Williams and Mr. George Saint (revivalist leaders) approached the band- master and besought him to stop for a few minutes. This, however, he declined to do, and for a time the two parties endeavoured to gain the ascendancy, the brass band eventually triumphing over the singers. At the subsequent service in the Baptist Chapel, the Rev. R. B. Jones, in the course of an impassioned address, said that after the display they had just witnessed he was convinced that the devil was terror-stricken in Llangollen he was on his last legs. FLINT. At a meeting of the Holywell Rural District Council, it was reported that six cases of typhoid fever had occurred at the village of Gwaenysgor- midway between Holywell and Rhyl. The cases were all in a small cottage, which only had two rooms, and the inspector reported that all precau tions were being taken. The Medical Officer (Dr. J. Williams) reported that he had taken a sample of the water from the well which supplied the village, and had sent it for analysis. If the water was condemned the village would be entirely with- out water. The various motor-'bus services instituted in Flintshire by the London and North-Western Rail- way Company were put into operation on Wednes- day. The principal service is from Holywell Station along the bottom road, parallel with the Chester and Holyhead line, through Bagillt, Flint, and Connah's Quay, and thence up to Northop and Mold, a complete run of about ten miles. There is also a service from Holywell Station to the town, a distance of a mile and a half; and arrangements are being made to run a steam motor service along the existing mineral line from Prestatyn to Dyserth, for which the line is being adapted. GLAMORGAN. The heavy rain which fell at Swansea on Friday and Saturday resulted in flooding in the lowlying districts of the Sandfields-Argyle Street, Welling- ton Street, and William Street suffering especially. It is a gratifying thing that a book which will, doubtless, rank as. the leading standard work on old silver has been written by a Cardiff author and printed by a Cardiff firm. This is the book entitled English Goldsmiths and Their Marks," by Mr. C. J. Jackson, F.S.A., barrister-at-law. The work forms a history of the goldsmiths and plateworkers of England, Scotland, and Ireland it contains over 11,000 marks re-produced in facsimile from authentic examples of plate and tables of date- letters, and other hall-marks employed in the assay offices of the United Kingdom. Representing the labours of seventeen years, the book is a remark- able record of industry, knowledge, and skill it has been beautifully printed by the Western Mail Limited, and will be published by Macmillan. When the library of the late Mr. Dreffet Francis, of Swansea, was sold, one ot the items was a large trunk containing the letters and correspondence of Ann of Swansea," and one of the conditions of sale was that the purchaser should publish the documents when properly arranged and edited. This was a work Mr. Dreffet Francis had hoped to have personally undertaken. Ann of Swansea bequeathed this trunk of papers to a Swansea doctor named Cohen, and from him they passed into the hands of Mr. Francis. The purchaser, a Bath literary gentleman, is now finishing his work, and- the life story of this remarkable woman will shortly be issued. As a certain mystery surrounded the lady all through her lite, the curtain will now be raised, and many matters of interest cleared up. A largely attended mass meeting of the Cardiff, Penarth, and Barry Coaltrimmers' Union was held at the Cory Hall, Cardiff, on Saturday afternoon, to consider the question of the proposed new trim- ming tariff. Councillor John Chappell presided, and he was accompanied on the platform by the sub-committee consisting of Messrs. S. Fisher, J. T. Clatworthy, John Thomas, Chas. Howells, U. B. Clark, and John Howells. After a long dis- cussion a resolution was passed that every possible effort be made to settle the present dispute by negotiation before any idea of stopping work be entertained. Power was given to the sub-committee to carry on the negotiations with the shippers and shipowners from week to week. The >ub-com- mittee, however, was not given absolute power to finally settle anything without first of all submitting the term, t a mass mecti g of trimmers convened for that purpose. Some large blocks of wood are waiting for use at the Cynon Colliery, Cymmer, Port 1 albot, and a peculiarity has been observed in regard to one of them. L was noticed that this block contained a number of cut holes as perfect as those produced by an augur. Out of these holes there come periodically a kind of fly over an inch and a half in length, and of a horned, vicious aspect. Curiosity led the management to have the block sawn through, when it was found that each hole led to the centre of the trunk, where nests of small white grub were found, and from which the fly developed. The wood is of Irish importation and is of an extremely hard nature, and it is extraordinary that these little creatures could have bored themselves through so perfectly to the outer world. The seat of this strange creation seems to be the centre sap of the tree. Mr. Percy Jacob, the manager, has kept portions of the wood, and also several specimens of the fly in its different stages of evolution. The trade at Barry during the past half-year has not been satisfactory. In the first six months of last year trade was exceedingly brisk owing to the quantity of coal sent in German and English ships to the Far East, both on Russian and Japanese account, but recent events have reduced these ship- ments considerably. During the half-year ended June, 1904, the total shipments exceeded 5,000,000 tons, but in the second half this great increase was not maintained, and the early part of the present year witnessed a still further decline. The exports last year reached 4,779,959 tons, and the imports 228,859 tons. In exports the increase represented 321,225 tons compared with the half-year ended June, 1903, and in imports 34,003 tons. The figures for the first half of 1905 will not be officially announced for a few days, but the decrease in trade will represent fully 500,000 tons, and the shipments will approximately be about 4,000,000 tons. The import trade has recently received an impetus by the arrival of several cargoes of grain for the new Atlantic Flour Mills, and the returns for the half- year, although comparing favourably with the corresponding period of last year, will show a sub- stantial advance at the end of December. MONMOUTH. At four o'clock on Saturday morning the first G,W.R. motor-car from Abergavenny to Brecon left the G.W.R. station with the mails from New- port. The start, owing to the late arrival of the train, was a little delayed, but the arrival at Brecon was punctual at 5.50. During the day twelve journeys were made, and the service was well patronised. The cars are 20 h.p., large and power- fully constructed, each capable of accommodating 22 persons. Shortly after I [ o'clock on Thursday night a young woman, apparently between 25 and 30 years of age, was seen to mount the parapet of the New- port Bridge and jump into the ri\er. There were very few people about at the time, but those who saw her disappear say that she wore a sailor hat, and appeared to be respectably dressed. Dragging operations were at once started, but no trace of the body has been found, nor have the police any clue as to the identity of the woman. PEMBROKE. The following local successes at the Royal Show are reported :—Welsh bull, calved in 1901, 1902 or 1903—1st prize £15, Lloffwr, the property of J. Scourfield, Blaenwernddu, Whitland; do. do., calved in 1904, 1st prize, Derw Boy, the property of Mr. J. Owen, Llwynderw, Whitland. Welsh heifer, calved in 1903 or 1904, 2nd prize, Mr. James W. Griffiths, Penally Court, near Tenby do. do., 3rd prize, Mr. R. Thomas, Whitland.