The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard

MYNYDDOG AND IOAN PEDR. THE proposal to establish a MYNYDDOG Musical Scholarship in memory of the well-known Welshman whose premature death has excited keen regret throughout the Principality will be generally approved. The sug- gestion was embodied in a formal resolution at the influential meeting at Cemmaes Road Eisteddfod, yesterday, and it is to be hoped the subscribers will be sufficiently liberal to make the scholarship a worthy tribute to the departed, and to enable the committee also to place a bust of MYSYDDOG in the College at Aberystwyth. MYNYDDOG, by his vivacity, his pleasant humour, and his musical talent, has con- tributed many pleasant hours to the lives of thou- sands of his countrymen, and they will be wanting in gratitude if they withhold their hands when the present appeal comes before them. We refrain, however, from saying a word more by way of inciting liberality, for none but the most ungrudging contributions for a memorial to a man like MVXYDDOG would be either appropriate or acceptable. It is a touching incident in MYNYDDOG'S career that he left a sum of money to pay for his own gravestone, in order that his friends might be saved from providing it. The act was characteristic of the man, and it is a pleasure to think that the form of the public memorial will be in harmony with his life. and what we are justified in saying would have been his wishes if he could have foreseen that, though he prevented his friends from erecting a tombstone, they would persist in showing their affection for his memory in other ways. We re-publish to-day from Y Cymmrodor a tribute to another Welshman, the late Mr. PETER of Bala. Mr. PETER was a man of quite a different intellectual stamp from MYNYDDOG, but not unlike him in simplicity and kindliness of nature; and they were both alike in this, that they rose to distinction among their countrymen, in spite of early disad- vantages, by their own industry and force of character. Mr. PETER'S fame rests on a broader basis than MYNYDBOG'S, for his scholarship and research promised to bring him into relations with that wide circle of students in which the barriers of nationality are unknown. Pro- fessor RHYS tells the story of his life, briefly indeed, but graphically, and fully enough to make us appreciate the great loss which was sustained in his early death.

ABERYSTWYTH PUBLIC BATHS. The number of shares already taken up in the Baths Company are more than sufficient to justify the promoters in proceeding with the work During the past few weeks it was announced that several gentlemellhad withdrawn their promised support becatise the meetings to float the scheme had not been sufficiently open and that the di- rectors were not chosen with discrimination. The directors have not yet been elected, and there- fore that objection falls to the ground. The his- tory of the Company is quickly told. Mr. JOHN JIMES and Mr. PETER JONES called upon the leading inhabitants of the town, and asked them to take shares in 1iL Baths Company. Those who promised were invited by circular to a meeting held at the Town Hall. That meeting was ad- journed, and for the adjourned meeting no notice was issued. This is the ouly possible ground on which dissatisfaction could be based, and it is gratifying to know that the extra shares taken more than cover any withdrawals. There is every reason tc* believe that the Company will pay good dividends. The land has been obtained at a moderate rent; the expenses have been kept down very low; it is not intended to expend much money in mere show and there can be no doubt there is great need for sea water swimming baths. It often happens for weeks together that the sea is too rough for bathers who are not strong swimmers, and besides there are thousands of visitors, too timid to venture into the sea, who would avail themselves of sea water swimming baths. Those who have not yet taken shares,and can afford to do so, ought to lose no time in send- ing in applications. These baths will contribute materially to the prosperity of the town, and ought to be supported apart from the question of dividends, It is astonishing the town has reached its present degree of importance without erecting public Turkish, swimming, and other baths.

HOW THE POOR ARE PUNISHED. AT a meeting of the Aberystwyth Town Council on the 5th of September, last year, the SURVEYOR reported as follows:—"A dwelling house which has recently been built by Mr. DAVID JONES, at Trefechan, does not meet with the requirements of the by-laws now in force within the borough, the principal defects being in the height of the room and in deficiency of ventilation." There was a conversation after the reading of this re- port, in the course of which the SURVEYOR stated that the owner of the building complained of had told him that it was only to be used as work-1 shops. It also transpired that notice had been given to the owner whilst the building was in course of erection. Ultimately it was resolved That the portion of the Town Surveyor's report referring to the encroachment approaching the harbour property, by the erection of pigsties and allowing manure heaps thereon, and also to the house recently erected by DAVID JANES, at Tre- fechan, be referred to the Public Works Com- mittee." Nearly a year has passed since this entry was made upon the minutes of the Council's proceedings, and yet nothing whatever has been done by the committee to prevent the condemned building, now occupied as a dwelling house, from being used for human habitation. As was pointed out by one of the members of the Council on the 5th of September last, there are plenty of other houses in the town quite as bad as the one in Trefechan. With one or two exceptions, for which the Town Council is responsible, those cottages were built at a time when sanitary laws were not as well understood as they are now and when, therefore, the responsibility was not nearly so great or so clearly defined. Diseases which in former times were looked at as special dispensations of Providence are now known to be the direct results of dirt and darkness, and are to be got rid of by light, air, and cleanliness. Dis- ease is governed by laws, whose existence was not even suspected when the close courts and miserable tenements of Aber- ystwyth and the neighbourhood were erected one or two hundred years ago. It is surely not unreasonable to expect the urban and rural sanitary authorities of to-day to act more intelligently in the erection of cottages than the men of two hundred years ago would have acted. The sixteen gentlemen elected to watch over the interests of Aberystwyth have not dis- charged themselves from all obligation and re- sponsibility when they have carried resolutions in the fortnightly meetings of the Council, and read their speeches in the local papers. The work of managing a town of seven or eight thousand in- habitants, it will be readily admitted, is one of great moral responsibility. Upon the way in which that work is performed, in great measure, depends the religious as well as the social and intellectual life of the people. It may seem to some members of the Town Council of little con- sequence whether a few houses, more or less unfit for human habitation, are put up now and then by raen greedy for money, but it should be remembered that altogether the town of Aberystwyth is composed of only about thirteen hundred houses. Every dark, damp, ill ventilated, and badly drained new house is a fresh centre of evil influence whose by no means insignificant bad effects will continue for at least three or four generations. Health and life are among the least saerifices that will be made by the foredoomed owners of these dens. Little girls will grow up ignorant of chastity, and men will b brutal and unclean. It is not a light thing that the Town Council of Aberystwyth, after having recognised their responsibility, should allow a condemned house to be used for habitation. Especially is this to be regretted when it is remembered that within the precincts of the borough there are scores of old houses which ought to be condemned, but which it is not likely will be interfered with as long as new ones equally bad are allowed to be built. Who is to blame for the Public Works Committee's neglect is a question of secondary importance, but still one that in the interests of the public ought to be answered categorically. The object of referring work to committees is to facilitate its performance, and not to get it hidden from sight. Whether the Convener of the Com- mittee or the Corporation officials are to blame is a matter that may be settled among them, but no general plea of assiduity on the part of the Committee can be deerncu a sufficient answer in a case of this importance. The condition of Peri- parke, if every other part of the town was fault- less, is sufficient reason for urging the Urban Sanitary Authority to put aside the sloth that has so long characterized their action in reference to the sanitary condition of the district under their control. Houses that do not comply with the by-laws ought to be condemned without regard to their owners, who have no right to make money out of the necessitiel of the poor. The regula tions as to light, drainage, ventilation, and space are simple enough, and can be easily enforced, if the Council will only undertake the work they promised to perform when they sought election. The work of inspecting and removing nuisances is shamefully neglected at Aberystwyth. The SURVEYOR, who is supposed to do this work, is fully employed in other ways, but when he does report nuisances, as in the case of the house at Trefechan and the Pcnparke huts and pigsties, his report is referred to the Public Works Com- mittee, and heard of no more. The reluctance on the part of the Town Council to interfere with the owners of the worst class of cottage property in the town is not difficult to understand. Popularity must be sacrificed, and money may ba lost. Now it is a very unpalatable task to lose I money in doing that which can only result in un- popularity, and consequent loss of influence but until the Town Council and other bodies in the district learn to do light without regard to popularity, there will be much in the transaction of public business to give rise to a sense of humiliation and sadness in the hearts of thought- fal men. The path of duty is plain, but it will not be pleasanter walking than such paths usually are. Town Councils cannot make things pleasant all round, and discharge faithfully the obligations they owe to the ratepayers as their representa- tives.

LOCAL AND DISTRICT NOTES. Tregaron Parish Church has been rebuilt. The parish is not a rich one, and the Vicar, the Rev. O. DAVIE*, will need all the help hie friends can give him to meet the great outlay he is now incurring. There can be no question that the work he has undertaken needed to be done, and it is to be hoped ladies in all parts of the district will begin to prepare for the bazaar, which, it will be seen from an advertisement in another column, is to be held in the summer of next year. At Aberystwyth the work of painting the tree guards is now in progress. This is how things are made pleasant for visitors. The seats and railings on the Marine Parade have just been finished. ■» The death rate in Dolgelley Union for the past quarter was at the rate of more than 25 per 1,000 of the popula- tion. This is a matter that needs attention. 1 Some time ago the guards were taken from the trees in North Parade. Since that time the trunks of the trees have been greatly injured. Horses and cows eat all the leaves they can reach. The trees at Aberystwyth will have to be protected with guards. At Machynlleth the guards do not injure the trees, which, by the vsv, are growing rapidly. A week or two ago it was announced that the steamer H. E. Taylor was going to take passengers to Bardsey Island. The desire to obtain tickets was so very ?reat that it is clear if the steamer were surveyed and sanc- tioned for passenger traffic, not only could the share- holders' dividends be increased,. but visitors might be pro- vided with a popular form of amusement. It is remark- able that with a-steamer well qualified for the work steps have not been taken by the directors to supply what is un doubtedly a great need. It is not unlikely that the share- holders will shortly try to induce the directors to have the vessel surveyed, so that at least once or twice a week it may be used as a pleasure boat. At Iregaron, on Tuesday, a fine of R4 10s. was in- flicted on JOHN RICHARDS, Pontrhvdfendigaid, for hav- ing assaulted a police officer. The defendant also threat- ened to swear the officer was drunk unless he forgave the assault. OJ Already the committee of the Ardudwy Choral Union &re preparing for the next festival. The recent gathering, it is pleasing to kIlOW, was a financial success. Tramp accommodation at the Aberystwyth Workhouse is deficient. A little hard work firmly administered, as suggested by one of the Guardians, would probably so reduce the number of tramps that additional accommoda- tion would not be wanted.. + Two entertainments in one week do not often fall to the lot of workhouse children. To day the children at the Aberystwyth Workhouse, with their schoolfellows at the Board School, will partake of tea at the Temperance Hall. Thursday they spent at Abermaide, in response to an in- vitation given by Mrs. LEWIS PUGH PUGH. The thought- ful kindness of an act of this kind will live for many a year in the memory of the poor children whose only asylum now is the parish workhouse. It is sad to think that these little ones are much better off than thousands whose parents are in receipt of out-relief. It is hard to say how much of the patience with which grinding poverty is borne in this country is due to acts of gentle consideration to- wards the poor from those on whom fortune has smiled. At the adjourned inquest held on Wednesday at Dolgelley, concerning the death of SARAH HUGHES, whose mutilated remains were found in the river Arran on the morning of the 16th of July, the Jury returned a verdict of "wilful murder" against CADWALADB JONES, who had been committed for trial by the magistrates on the capital charge. No very important additional evidence was given at the inquest. The Jury asked the Coroner to exnlain the difference between murder and manslaughter, and srme of them appeared to be of opinion that the prisoner had received provocation from the deceased, although there was nothing in the evidence to warrant such a con- clusion. On Wednesday and Thursday the quarterly meetings of the South Wales Calvinistic Methodist Association were held at Llangeitho. There was a large attendance of ministers and people. A successful eisteddfod was held at Cemmaes Road on Thursday, the meetings having been under the presidency of Mr. C. W. W. WvxN, M.P., Sir THOMAS FROST, and Mr. DAVID HOWELL, Machynlleth. Sir WATKIN W. WYNN was present and addressed the meeting. The chair prize was taken by Mr. DAVID ADAMS. Talybont. a student at the University College of Wales.

The late Mr. Ward Hunt was buried at Horn burg on Tuesday, July 31. Colonel Corbett, who for nine years has represented the southern division of Shropshire, has announced his inten- tention of resigning his seat. The election for Grimsby has resulted in a Liberal gain, counting two votes upon a division, although there were two Liberal candidates. Mr. Watkin (Liberal) polled 1,099 votes, as compared with 1,315 recorded for Major Seddon (Conservative), and 97 for Mr. Philip Sayle (Liberal). The Viceroy of India has sent word that in the North West Provinces and Oude the drought continues, and causes anxiety and rise of prices, but there is still time for an average harvest. In Bombay, the absence of rain in Gujerat causes anxiety, and the rainfall on the western coast is at present very small for the season. The Nizam's territory, has been much distressed owing to there being no rain for one month, but two inches have just fallen. In Madras there were 913,000 persons on the works, and 731,000 charitably relieved. In Mysore. 48,000 on the works, and 138,000 charitably relieved. In Bombay, 256,000 "on the works, ,and 149,000 charitably relieved. At the Wesleyan Conference, which is now being held at Bristol, a suggestion was made that the doctrine of eternal punishment and of conditional immortality should be considered open questions, when Dr. Osborn protested against any such proposal being entertained. Their formu- laries and documents admitted of no doubt upon the point. A girl fourteen years of age has been sentenced to twelve years penal servitude for wounding M:ir-aret Wender, her mistress, with intent to kill her, -at Yoxford. Mrs. Wender is a widow, seventy-eight years (of age, of independent means. In April last, while she was in bed, the prisoner suddenly, and without any apparent reason, attacked her with a hearth-brush, beating her about the head and face, and injured her in a terrible manner with a billhook, stopping her mouth with an; apron when she attempted to give an alarm. The girl then ransacked the house, took all the money, plate, and other valuables, and went to the nearest railway station with the intention of going to Ipswich. Mrs. Wender in the meantime managed to give an alarm, and the prisoner was apprehended at the railway station with the stolen property in her possession.

LOCAL AND DISTRICT. "V_V'v-v-v ,-y,' MERIONETHSHIRE RAINFALL.—The rain gauge taken every 24 hours in the gardens at Peniarth for the month ending July 31st, 1877. The total amount of rain that fell. 9 inches 0 parts. The largest quantity fell on the IGth, 2 inches 39 parts.—J. G., Gardener. THE SUMMER SEASON AND SEASIDE.—The Cambrian Railways Company have again made provision for cheap excursions to Aberystwyth, Borth, Aberdovey, Towyn, &c. The excursion tickets for these places, issued on Saturdays, will be available for return up to the following Monday evening. On Monday, August 6 (Bank Holiday), there will be an excursion to Borth and Aberystwyth from stations on the Cambrian, main line, and from Llanfvllin, and the stations on the Llanfyllin Branch at the Waal reduced fares. REVISING BARRISTERS FOR CHESHIRE AND NORTH WALES —The following have been appointed revising barristers for Cheshire and North Wales :—West Cheshire, Chester, and Birkenhead, Mr. E. J. Dunn East Cheshire and the boroughs of Staleybridge, Macclesfield, and Stockport, Mr. W. Trevor Parkins Flintshire and Flint Boroughs and Mid Cheshire, Mr. W. Langford Ffoulkes; Denbigh- shire and Denbigh Boroughs, Mr. A. Coxon: Anglesey and Boroughs and Carnarvonshire and Boroughs, Mr. J. Ignatius Williams Montgomeryshire and Boroughs and Merionethshire, Mr. T. Jones. LIFEBOAT SERVICES. The journal of the National Lifeboat Institution, just received, records that at the general meeting of the institution, held on the 3rd May, it was reported that a legacy of £2,000 had been bequeathed to the institution by the late Mr. H. Davies Griffiths; of Caerhun. A sum of money was voted to pay the expenses of the lifeboat at Cardigan and other places, in rendering services by which four li ves were saved from the Cardigan shoreboat, two from the smack ''Elizabeth." of Cardigan, aud five from the schooner Isabella." of Portmadoc. Sums were also voted to pay the expenses of the lifeboats at Porthdinllaen and Barmouth for services rendered. Voted the thanks of the Institution, inscribed on vellum, to Mr. Shadrach Richards, farmer. residing near the Cardigan Lifeboat Station, in acknow- ledgment of his continued valuable co-operatiol) in forminc one of the crew of the Cardigan Lifeboat.

♦ — CAMBRIAN ARCH.EOLOGICAI. ASSOCIATION.—The annual gathering of this learned body takes place next week at Carnarvon. Admiral Lord Clarence Paget succeeds Mr. E. A. Freeman as president, and the Congress will be opened on Monday evening by the usual inaugural meet- ing. There will be other meetings for the reading of papers on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, and excur- 0 sions daily during the week to different parts of the neighbourhood including I re'r Ceiri. Llannor (to the in scribed stones), Llangybi (church), Avon Wen Pen-y- Ga.er, Dinas Dinorben, Gadlys (circular cannO, Dinas Dinorwic, Roman Road, Lianberis. Dolbadarn Castle, &c. Carnarvon (' astle will also receive due attention. The closing meeting will on be held Friday evening. THROAT IRRI J riox.—The throat and windpipe are especially liaole to lnrumiiruition, causing soreness and dryness, tickling and nntatien, inducing cough and affecting the voice. For these symptoms use glycerine iu the form oi'jii.inbes. Glycerine in these agreeable confections, being in proximity -Ui the glands at the moment they are excited by the act of sucking, becomes actively healing. Sold only in 6d. and Is, boxes tby post for 14 STAMPS), labelled JAMES Eprs A Co., Homoeopathic Chemists 48, Threadneedle-street, and 170, Piccadilly, London. Sold in Wrexham by Ir. Rowlands, Chemist, High Street.