The Cambrian

FRANCE AND THE EGYPTIAN QUESTION. RUMOURED REJECTION OF THE ENGLISH PROPOSALS. PARIS, Wednesday.—It is stated that the reply, of France to the English proposals regarding Egypt, which was communicated Tuesday by M. Duclerc to the Council of Ministers, is in the nature of a refusal. PARIS, Wednesday.—The RSpublique Francaise has an alarmingly pessimist article this morning on the Egyptian question, in which it says that the English proposals offer no basis for an understanding, and it is therefore feared that negotiations are on the eve ot being broken off. •

THE BRISTOL CHANNEL PORTS. SWANSEA. Mr. Clark Russell, novelist and journalist, has made a special journey into South Wales for the purpose ot preparing a series of articles on the principal ports for the Daily Telegraph. Cardiff and Newport having been previously dealt with, Swansea was described in Wednesday's edition of that paper. We reprint the article in extenso, but, inasmuch as some of the writers statements need correction, or at least explanation, we preface it with the letter from Mr. Robert Capper, our harbour superintendent, which appeared in yester- day's Telegraph. We shall take another opportunity of pointing out the other mis-representations and false conclusions or the Special Correspondent" who presumes, upon so very superficial an acquaintance with the district, to pronounce decisively upon local questions which he does not fully understand. Mr. Capper writes to the Editor of "the most widely circulated journal.—"In your otherwise cleverly-written article upon Swansea in this day a (Wednesday) Daily Telegraph, I feel I was wrongly understood when asked what I thought of the Marquis of Bute's intentions to raise the Cardiff shipping rates when his new docks are constructed. In promoting and fostering the trade of Swansea Harbour under the guidance and direction of the trustees during the past five years and upwards I have not yet tried to advance Swansea interests by disparaging the advantages of competing ports in the Bristol Channel by word or deed, Swansea having a geographical position which cannot be excelled or taken away. Quite the con- trary, it has been our ambition to assimilate the South Wales ports, Cardiff being cheaper in some respects than Swansea, or the other way about in other charges on shipping. I have, however, found in practice that all harbours and docks that possess the power of raising their rates can not only build cheaply, but work much more econominally than those levying and tolls up to their parliamentary maximum without a margin in the parliamentary schedule. An assimila- tion of tolls is most difficult, and, as things are, it will be some years before the Marquis of Bute can enforce the power of Parliament last session gave him, and much may happen before that time arrives. Thus far our efforts at an assimilation are only partially suo- cessful. I venture to trespass on your) valuable space, as the freighters of Cardiff propose building docks to defeat the new toll of Id. per ton on coal levyable some years hence, which, if direct knowledge of the past is any guide, the freighters will not do in this generation. This is such a heated question, I am sure, Sir, you will readily and promptly make my meaning clear." The article itself is as follows:— "The traveller journeying westwards from Cardiff finds his faith in the stories of the beauty of Swansea Bay severely tested as he alights at Landore to change carriages. Gateshead-on-Tyne is a truly rural-looking spot compared to Landore, the eastern suburb of Swansea. All the local works appear to be fixed in this place, and immensely tall chimneys all day long, and all night too, for anything I know, are filling the air with the white and black vapours of spelter, tin- plate, copper-smelting, patent fuel, and other works and factories. The scene is an extraordinarily busy one, and should impress an intelligent foreigner with an exalted notion of the wealth of Albion. The tower- ing Welsh hills loom grandly upon the haze of slowly blowing smoke, and all between are rows of chimneys with flames breaking from their orifices, piles of the manufactures of this part of Wales, small mountains of iron-hard pitch, scores of structures ringing with the sound of the full-handed labour of men and machines within, and many locomotives dragging long lines of cars and trucks filled with coal over the metal ways which thread the hollows among the mountains in all directions. But grimy and gloomy as Landore is, Swan- sea has beauties which are not to be eclipsed by it, even when the wind blows the smoke of that formidable congregation of chimneys over the bay. I climbed as ¡ high as the hill called Mount-pleasant to Terrace-road there-and surveyed as fine a picture of sea and land as ever the eye rested on. I was told I ought to have gone higher; but I was high enough to see the town and the bay. The sea was a most delicate blue, changing to a pale yellow as it drew shorewards to the shallow water. Large ships anchored in the roads, waiting for the tide to serve, looked no bigger than buoys. In the east, barely visible upon the horizon, was Nash Point, marking, as I take it, the confines of the great bay in that direction and on my right was the Mumbles Head, two lumps of rocks united to the main- land, which came round with a magnificent sweep past the little village of that name. On my left the town was obscured by smoke, but immediately beneath me every- thing was as clear as a painting in bright colours; the roofs of the houses, the larger buildings, the open- ings among them, the docks, the piers stretching into the yellow water, the crowds of shipping against the quays, all taking very sharp, clear outlines from the silver light of the November sun, which stood in a sky of the same delicate blue as the far-off sea. As I stood looking and listening to the humming of the wind that blew with an edge of frost in it at that height, I could hear the faint tinkling of a piano organ far away down, sounds of hammering, the clanking of iron, the rum- bling of carriages. Against the heavens Kilvey Hill stood up, a noble and commanding eminence of brown and green. Just now the tints on these Welsh hills give a wonderful beauty and majesty to their massive conformations. A little way along the road I had halted upon was the workhouse. I stood looking at it for some minutes lost in amazement. Think of a workhouse like a gentleman's country seat, flowers in the windows and a profusion of evergreens enriching the garden and entrances Is it as pleasant a place inside as it looks without? If so poverty can have no horrors in Swansea. In such a house as this there should be no burgoo for the plump inmates, but rather sirloins of beef, legs and shoulders of the Welsh sheep, turkeys, and a plentiful dessert. Such a workhouse should induce meditation in any man who has beheld the grimness of our metropolitan and other unions. No doubt there are parochial authorities who ■"•ould think this pleasant asylum for the miserably poor a dreadful example of human weakness, and denounce Swansea as threatening to undermine the British Consti- tution by lodging her paupers in a structure more com- fortable to the eye than the gaols in Pentonville and Newgate. But up to this time of writing I have not heard that Bumble has conveyed his views to the town, and until he succeeds in convincing her that she is wrong I hope Swansea will continue planting flowers and shrubs about her workhouse and making it the pretty retreat I found it. There can be no doubt that many of the picturesque points of Swansea were lopped off when the South Dock was constructed. The magnificent bay deserved terraces, gardens, and esplanades; instead of which we find timberyards, wharves, and railways. The town lies behind all these rough commercial details, and if you want to take the air on the pier, which is a very long and handsome wooden structure, you have to elbow your way past gridirons, dry docks, engine- houses, locomotives, over a network of railways, and stretches of mud ankle deep. One wonders that the local authorities' of that day did not contrive to re- concile the necessity of dock extension with the preser- vation of the town as a charming marine resort. It is intelligible, therefore, that the beauty of the place should owe much of its enchantment to distance and whoever wishes to carry away a pleasant memory of Swansea must keep clear of the piers and foreshore, and climb the hills at the back, where he can look down as on a picture, and find the harsh prosaic details of the place softened into quaintness.and tender- ness by remoteness, and by the perspective of the noble expanse of water which runs up like the side of a mountain to the far-off heaven of the horizon. But in speaking of Swansea, as of the other Bristol Channel ports, one must not think of the beautiful, but of the useful with a capital U. Nobody talks of sea views and mountains here, but of how many ships were cleared last week, and what the export and import returns were, and the like. I never met any commu- nity of people who have a larger faith in their town than the inhabitants of Swansea. Cardiff, they feel, commands a certain amount of respect; but Newport they shrug their shoulders at, Bristol they consider as good as dead, and Milford they heartily despise. I suppose this is the right kind of spirit to animate a town. Self-assertion is sure to find believers, and in sober truth there is much, very much, in the Swan- sea Docks and the business done there to justify the self-complacency that characterises the people's conversation about their port. Every provin- cial town has its great man, and here it is Sir Hussey Vivian, as at Cardiff it is Lord Bute and Lord Windsor, and at Newport Lord Tredegar and Sir George Elliot. Sir Hussey shone pre-eminently when the Prince and Princess of Wales visited Swansea to open the new dock four or five months ago, and his demeanour on that great occasion was such as to render his name celebrated throughout South Wales as a master in the art of ceremonies and resources. But Royalty knows little of the throes which the loyal undergo in their resolution to prove their inalienable attachment. So entirely was the mind of Swansea absorbed by its new dock, that it quite forgot the imperial question of eating and drinking. Everything, as Swansea confidently believed, was ready for the reception of royalty, when, at the last moment, Sir Hussey Vivian asked the simple question, "What about the breakfast, and where is it to be held ?'' This inquiry fell like a thunderbolt, and put everybody at his wit's end. But Swansea was not to be beaten. A superhuman effort was made, and lo at the eleventh hour, behold a goodly iron house, capable of holding 1,000 persons, erected and handsomely furnished and decorated. The building still remains, and though no doubt it will be put to a use very different from that of the reception of royalty, it will always, whilst it stands, be a memorial to that energetic spirit which Swansea vows shall one day leave Cardiff and the adjacent ports miles in her wake. Little of interest is to be seen in the place, besides the various works and factories. The soul of the town is in her docks, and thither I repaired, accompanied by the energetic Superintendent, Mr. Capper. There are four docks the North Dock, which is a portion of the Bfcver Tawe, the South Dock with which is connected a half-tide dock, the Beaufort Dock of one acre, and the Prince of Wales Dock. The North Dock has an area of ten acres, the South Dock and Half-tide Basin seven- teen acres, and the Prince of Wales Dock twenty-three acres. This last is a very fine dock, furnished with powerful hydraulic appliances for discharging and loading vessels; but though the North and South Docks were well filled with shipping, I own I did not seem to find in the scene as I surveyed it from the line of railway abreast of the coaldrops the same busy pic- ture that had excited my wonder at Cardiff and New- port. To a great extent, no doubt, this is owing to the small stocking of coal and the fewness of the sidings as compared with the other places. At Cardiff the eye wanders over immense surfaces of coal-piled trucks, and the canvas is filled out by a vast accumulation of the various products of the Principality, together with a mass of imports. But for all that, these Swansea docks are a great sight. The locomotive I was perched on was very often run at a fast rate nevertheless, it took us a long time to circumnavigate the docks, and even when that job was over there was a great deal to see in the shape of engine-sheds, electric light apparatuses, hydraulic machines, cranes, locks and sills, coal-hoists, and other such matters. "Do you find the vessels which use this part increasing in size ?'' 1 asked, noticing as I spoke that many of the craft in the North Dock were comparatively small. Yes," was the answer, year by year. I may say this with special reference to steamers. In 1877 they numbered 1,274, with a registered tonnage of 309,286, whilst in 1881 they had risen to l,578,with a registered tonnage of 423,987." What has been the effect of the docks on the growth of the town?" I may fairly say that Swansea has risen with a rapidity unexampled by any other town in Wales. Let me give you some figures. The harbour trustees possess 194 acres of frehold land, of which 56 £ acres are wet dock accommodation, the Beaufort Dock of one acre, and 15 acres of tidal accommodation. They have also 21 miles of railway, and they have the control of eight swing bridges and sixteen lock gates. The trust is administered solely for the benefit of the town. The trustees are not a corporation, working for profit. In 1851, previous to the completion of any dock, the revenue was £ 8,035; for the financial year ending June 30th last it was £77,614; and the surplus over working expenses and interest between those dates has reached to £ 125,759." What are your last returns of imports and exports ?" The imports for the ten months ending Oct. 31, 1882, are 558,652, the exports 1,386,620, making a total of 1,945,272." What progress has the Prince of Wales Dock made?" "It has been opened," answered the superintendent, four months. In the first month, namely, July, the increase on the whole business of the docks was 15 per cent. above that of the corres- ponding month of the previous year. In August the increase was 20 per cent.; in September, 30 per oent.; October, 40 per cent. Let me add this In 1878 the number of steamers of 750 tons and upwards was 19 in 1879 the number was 42; in 1880 it was 68 in 1881, 61; and for the ten months of 1882 it is 161. The result is, our total imports and exports in ten months of this year equal those of the twelve months of last year." "So then, apparently, you have nothing to complain of." "You can judge from what I tell you. Business was greatly accelerated in 1878, when the rates were diminished —in some cases to the extent of 30 per cent. The rates had been increased two years previously, with the consequenee of an immediate decline in revenue. In 1877 the gross revenue was £54,329; in 1881, £77,614; and now it is at the rate of JE85,000, and growing every day." What do you think," said I, of Lord Bute's intention to raise the Cardiff rates when his new dock is constructed?" I hope he will," said he, with a laugh. "What in round numbers is the tonnage frequenting your port?" "100,000 a month. Five years ago it was 50,000 tons a month. We may not look so busy as they are at Cardiff, but let me tell you that there is no harbour in the kingdom where so much work is done on the same quay space as we get through. The increase in the number of vessels in 1881, as com- pared with 1851, before any dock was made, is 32'46 per cent. and in the tonnage 211.03 per cent. The growth in the steam trade is worth noticing. In 1871, 749 steamers visited the port, their net registered ton. nage amounting to 151,123. In 1881 the number had risen to 1,573 and 423,987 tons." Your principal export is, of course, coal ?" Yes. The railway carriage is the same to Swansea as to Cardiff. Last year the export was larger than it had every been before. The trade in patent fuel, also, was nearly double what it had been two years previously. When the dues had been reduced, the average increase in the tonnage was 10 000 tons a month, as compared with the year but one before, and 15,000 tons a month, as compared with the year immediately preceding. The rates levied on ship* ping are the same as they were twenty-five years ago— i.e., an average of 6d. per net ton register all round. In Liverpool, during the same period, the rates have increased to lid. I read your article on Bristol, and should like to point out one of the anomalies of the harbour and docks there. The harbour authorities of Bristol are only able to levy a toll upon the ship one way—that is, upon her entering. Therefore, vessels going across from Cardiff to Bristol pay very little, no matter where their destination may be; whilst at Cardiff, Newport, and Swansea toll is calculated both ways, inwards and outwards, though only a single toll is levied—that being the greatest. I could easily understand the tolls depending upon the length of the time passed—the longer the voyage, the longer the vessel being occupied in fitting out and making use of the dock. In these days there is no distinction of that kind, though still the toll on vessels going to any port in the Medi- terranean is less than that on vessels going out of Europe. In other words, a vessel pays more going to New York, which is a short voyage, than she would if she was bound to Alexandria. Another source of perplexity to such corporate bodies as those at Bristol is the difference in the tonnage of steamers. In 1865 a registered tonnrge ship carried out of Swansea 1'41 tons of cargo, in 1871 1'54, in 1880 1*63, and in 1881 1'70." You have, I should judge, many industries in this neighbourhood." Let me see—within a radius of fifteen miles we have no less than fifty tin-plate works, which turn out about five millions of boxes of tin-plates in a year, and within forty-two miles we have eighty-eight iron and steel works, twenty copper works, six spelter works, and several miscellaneous works." How are you served by the railways ?.' "We have the Great Western, the North-Western, and the Midland, besides our own low-level railways." "I see you have a dredger at work in your entrance- channel." Yes. We lifted very nearly half a million tons of stuff last year in dredging down to 42ft. We have a range of tide spings of 27ft. and 20ft. at neap, so that our dredging must end in making Swansea independent of the tides. Spring tides in Swansea Bay are 27ft the same depth as at Newport but the water deepens as it approaches the Severn, Cardiff, having 35ft. and Chepstow 40ft. This great tidal wave has no more time to get to Cardiff than to Swansea, and consequently at high water a degree of dis- patch not necessary at Swansea, is required at Cardiff." As we conversed a gun was fired off. "What is that ?'' said 1. "It means one o'clock, he answered, "and is fired to enable captains to compare their chronometers. The gun belongs to the trustees, and is exploded by electricity. The time is wired to the post-office from Greenwich, and the post-office dis- charges the gun automatically. There is only one other such timepiece in the kingdom, and it is at Deal. A curious thing once happened One Saturday—which is a general half-holiday in South Wales-a thunder- storm came along, and exploded the gun half an hour before time, whereupon all the people of Swansea stopped their work, and went home to dinner." One more question I will ask you: What is the largest number of vessels ever assembled in your docks ?'' He referred to a note-book, and after a little answered, "In one day, i.e., Oct. 25th, 1882, we had 174 vessels in two docks, not counting the shipping in the river." I did not ask the superintendent how it was that Cardiff and Newport had managed to make such extra- ordinary strides, seeing the very great merits claimed for Swansea by those whose interests lie there. Ques- tions of this kind would scarcely have been fair. But though the superintendent's hopes might here and there colour his assurances, his figures were downright and not to be doubted, and for that reason I have given them at some length. In one respect, however, not only Swansea, but Newport and Cardiff also, is sig- nally lacking in enterprise. I am bound to declare, after some days of considerable suffering, that the hotels in those towns would do no honour to the meanest village in England. In other directions one sees movement, as for instance, at Swansea, where an effort is being made to afford accommoda- tion to manufacturers by storing their accumulated stocks of tin plates and granting warrants for them to serve as negotiable securities for all connected with the trade. This is very well; but another kind of accommodation is also needed. I want to be able to go to a hotel in the towns I have named, where the smoking-room is not flung open to the stidets for all who lounge there to enter, and where the entrance is not a public-house presided over by young ladies too deeply interested in the conversation of the innumerable Guppies who hang about it to give to the hotel cus- tomers the attention they pay quite heavily enough to merit. There is, some chance of this travellers' griev- ance finding redress at Swansea, where, it is rumoured, the Duke of Beaufort has consented to lease the old castle to a company who propose to make a hotel of it. But nothing is settled, and possibly the antiquarian may yet prevail and save an historic ruin from the desecration of waiters and the gay spirits who crowd the commercial room. In concluding this account of the Bristol Channel ports I should like to refer to the proposed University College for South Wales and Monmouthshire. The people of Swansea want the College in their town, and the people of Cardiff want it in theirs. A short time ago influential deputations from the rivaljtowns waited upon Mr. Mundella, and the speeches on that occasion fill no less than seven long columns of small print. The vice-president of the Council on Education assured his hearers that he was greatly embarrassed by the argu- ments held, and mildly deprecated the responsibility urged upon him of having to choose between Swansea and Cardiff. "I had hoped," he told the Swansea deputation, "having obtained for the two districts of of North and South Wales the sum of JE4,000 a year, that I had done and this department had done all that was necessary in this case." The right hon. gentleman said that he thought it was a question for Swansea and Cardiff to settle between them and so no doubt it is, though I fear that South Wales will have to wait a long time for its University if it is not to be built until the two ports agree as to which of them shall be the site for it. Among the advocates of the Swansea site were the Earl of Jersey, Sir Hussey Vivian, M.P., Mr. Dillwyn, M.P., Mr. Powell, M.P., Mr. Abernethy, C.E., the Rev. Dr. Walters, and others. The claims of Cardiff were represented by Lord Tredegar, the Dean of Llandaff, Mr. Henry Richard, M.P., members of various denominations, aldermen, magistrates, bankers, chair- men of school and local boards, &c. The torrents of argument on the one hand and Mr. Mundella's state of dubiety on the other, recall the famous fable of Pilpay, quoted by Macaulay in his onslaught on Robert Montgomery, in which we behold the mind of the pious Brahmin waving to and fro, like one swing- ing in the air at a holy festival. Swansea had the first innings, and her contentions were that she ought to be the site of the proposed University for the follow- ing reasons: First, several thousands of pounds had been promised, and the town had voted a large piece of ground worth £20,000. Next the industries of Swansea exceeded those of any other place in the world then, the health of the place favourably com- pared with that of any other portion of the country; then it was the most central place, and provided with all the industries required. No less, it was declared, than one hundred bodies had petitioned for Swansea, whose distinctive merits, numbering six items, were detailed by Sir Hussey Vivian as consisting of "1, healthfulness; 2, accessibility to the country at large 3, its being the centre of the population; 4, its import- ance as the southern capital; 5, its being able to afford special opportunities in the application of science and art in manufacture; and 6, no town nor locality in South Wales being comparable to it-" Even this was not thought decisive;enough for other speakers dwelt eloquently on its scenery and the magnificence of its bay. Cardiff, on the other hand, had nothing to say about her beauty. She was content to stick tenaciously to figures. The wonderfully rapid growth of the town was illustrated, and numerous comparisons were made between Cardiff and Swansea, to the dis- advantage of Swansea. Mr. Lewis Williams dealt with it, on the whole, as a question of coal, by explaining how in this export Cardiff shipped eight times more than her rival. It was shown that more than one-third of the population of Wales and Mon- mouthshire was within a radius of twenty-five miles of Cardiff, and that there was a perfect network of rail- ways connecting immense populations within a twenty- five mile radius. It was instanced, in proof of the sincerity of Cardiff in the matter of this university, that when, twenty years ago, the subject was started, Cardiff subscribed £4,000, whereas Swansea raised only £167; that the population of the town increased at the rate of 4,000 a year, and it was asked (by the Right Rev. Bishop He lley) how would it be if in a few years hence Cardiff stood with a population of 150,000 whilst the college was at Swansea?" How the question will be decided it is impossible to say but I should suppose no impartial man could visit the two towns and take mental stock of their future possi- bilities without holding that if South Wales is to have a college Cardiff is the place for it. Swansea may achieve wonders by and bye the figures I have quote abundantly denote her growth and prospects; but at present Cardiff ia immeasurably ahead. Nothing but a short-sighted policy can check her wonderful progress, and the construction of a new dock of a water area of thirty-five acres will surely not fail to raise her to such a height of prosperity as must make the establishment of the College in any other place a serious blunder. There is another element in the future of this town to be considered until lately Lord Bute was unable to offer long leases to persons anxious to establish factories, &c., in the town. This was fatal, and capitalists held off; but his lordship is now in a position to grant the leases required, the result of which, when the fact is known, is sure to be a large importation of industries into Cardiff. It is certainly not easy to agree with the speakers who advocated Swansea on the ground of its scenery. If a condition of this kind is to enter into the establish- ment of the college, why choose Swansea or Cardiff ? Why not carry the scheme inland, among shades which will in time become learned, and among mountains which some Welsh Gray of the future may apostrophise in a new ode ? But the truth is, the proposed college would owe as little to hills as to docks. What the South Wales people want, I take it, is a seat of learning es- tablished in some great and thriving centre of industry; a university which will give lustre to the prosperous and growing town that promises ever-increasing dignity and importance to the whole principality as an illus- tration of the wealth and spirit of the Welsh people. Mr. Lewis Williams is right when he makes it a question of coal; for the whole matter lies in the respective commercial greatness of the rival towns, and in their capacity of furnishing a worthy framework to the institution which is to confer the blessing of education on many a generation of the loyal and large-hearted people of South Wales.

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions and sentiments expressed by our Correspondents. j

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CAMBRIAN." SIR,—Will you give me a small space in your paper to plead the cause of the College for South Wales. The time is drawing near when the decision will be arrived at, as to its local habitation—Cardiff or Swansea. Un- doubtedly Swansea has the stronger claims It is indeed the place if it is to be a College for South Wales. Upon the question of site we are all agreed. But the College Building will cost about £ 15,000, and further sums will be needed for scholarship, &c. At present. however, that amount ia not forthcoming from our town. I am persuaded if such a sum could be raised i in our district, and its neighbouring towns, the College would be ours. I am fully convinced that the whole question of decision now hangs upon monetary con- siderations. I cannot believe that Swansea can be so blind to its welfare as to tie up its purse strings just now. If so, then it will be "a penny wise and pound foolish." If this College is lost to us, Swansea truly is to be blamed. As yet, however, I cannot think of such a calamity. Some generous gentlemen have made noble promises, and I believe pothers would do likewise, if they realised the great benefits such an institution would bring to the town. Allow me to tabulate them. (a) It would secure considerable commercial advan- tage. The College is to be non-residential. We might fairly calculate upon its having in a short time 200 students with a large staff of professors. Such an addition to our population would circulate among us from £10,000 to £15,000 annually. For every pound a. tradesman promises now, he will receive two pounds in return in a few years. (b) The social benefit will be still greater. Dean Vaughan, in speaking of the site controversy, very pertinently said The question of debate between Cardiff and Swansea is, which shall be the Corinth and which shall be the Athens ?'' Which shall be the place of mere business and which shall be the classic town of South Wales—which shall be the Port of mere pleasure, sensuality, and corruption, and which shall be the seat Z leaw\n?.' rult-?.re' art *nd beauty ? The sons of our best Welsh families, and a numerous staff of large hearted professors will gather around our College and so give a lift to our social life and intercourse. Old things will pass away, and all things become new. (c) The intellectual advantage will be incalculable. There are now good schools in Swansea, and very likely such will still be needed. But the contemplated College will supply a higher want, and give a higher mental stimulus. It will bring with it a new invigorat- ing, intellectual atmosphere. I have spent some time under the shadow of some of our English and Scotch Colleges, and for the time I have smelt education in the air. The learned tutors will give us the benefit of their learning in lectures, &c. Our sons will receive from them a first class training to equip them for life. Many young men, hard at work in the day time, will attend classes in the evenings. The Divinity students of Brecon, Carmarthen, and Haverfordwest can como here for their classical and mathematical training, and then enter upon their theological education at the denomi- national colleges. Much has been said of the various metal works in Swansea, and the advantage such works will give our youths for technical education. Such education is not to be despised. But it is not the highest. The Welsh mind is capable of science, but it is also capable of literature, philosophy and poetry. Lewis Morris is typical. It is true we have only one Lewis Morris, but if one young man had a good classical training in fifteen or twenty years we might have many such gifted devoted solely to poetry and philosophy for their own sake, and the culture and enjoyment they bring. In the face of all these advantages it is imposible for us to let the opportunity slip. I most earnestly plead with all to record at once their generous promises. Thanking you, sir, for the valuable space you have accorded me for my plea.—I am, yours, &c. D. BLOOMFIELD JAMES. (Other Letters to the Editor will be found in Seventh Page.)

SWANSEA. COUNTY COURT. [Before B. T. Williams, Es i, Q.C.] The court for the month of December commenced at the Guildhall, Swansea, on Monday, and continued during the week. There were 10 adjourned actions; 309 fresh actions and 40 judgment summons. The business was lighter than usual.. Monday was devoted to the hearing of undefended plaints before the Regis- trar, Tuesday to the disposal of small disputed cases. On Wednesday, His Honour was engaged for some time in hearing applications, appeals, and other representa- tions to amend, &c. RETAINING A WATCH.—Percy John Ogle, Ynisced wyn, v. R. W. Cousens and Bjisil Cousens, Swansea. Mr. Lawrence (Smith and Lawrence), appeared for the plaintiff. The action was brought for the return of a gold watch left some time ago with the defendant for repair, or its value, J610 10s. Evidence was given of the detention, and also of the vulue of the watch. The defence was that, as far as Btsil Cousens was concerned, he was not the son who was one of the firm trading as Cousens and Son." At the time the watch was left for repair, he was not a partner but simply employed by his father. His brother, who was in the concern at the time, had gone away. Under these circumstances, he denied his liability. In cross-examination, Bisil Cousens admitted that he was the proprietor of the business now, and that the father was his servant. Mr. L wrence characterised the transaction as a most dis- honest one, and as to Bisil Cousen's version as to the uusimss and partnership, he looked on it as mere •huffling and subterfuge. His Honour considered that, although the case was suspicious, he did not think that Basil Cousens was liable from the evidence which he heard, but he would give judgment and costs for the plaintiff as regarded R. W. Cousens, the father. PARTNERSHIP DISPUTE. R. T. LEYSON v. JENKIN JONES.—In this case, the pirties are highly respectable solicitors, residing in this town, and were in partnership until the end of last year. The action was brought by Mr. Leyson, who claimed jE50, viz., for amount received by Mr. Jenkin Jones for the use of, and agreed to be paid to, the said Mr. R. T. Leyson, being half the amount payable to the Clerk to Commissioners of Tuxes for Llangafelach division for the year ending April, 1882, JE13 13s. 6d.—to amount received by Jenkin Jones of Mr. E. G. Jellicoe to the use of tiie said Mr. R. T. Leyson, £2 19s. 6d. to damages for breach by the said Mr. Jenkin Jones of the award of Mr. Bowen. Q C., in the matter of Leyson and Jones," in requiring all letters through post to "Leyson and Jones to be returned to ,the senders, (the plaintiff abandoned any excess over jEoO), j233 7s., making a total < f £50. The defendant counter claimed £2 8s. 6d., a debt due by the partnership and paid by him after the dissolution, and the sum of £21 11?. 6d. oa account of agent's charges. Mr. Plews (Simons and Plews) was for the plaintiff, and Mr. Abel Thomas, barrister, instructed by Mr. Glascodine, was for defendant. The case was a very complicated one, involving several accounts and matters which, it was contended, had already been disposed of by Mr. Bowen, Q.C., who acted as arbitrator between the parties after the dispute. Mr. Plews opened the case at some length, after con- siderable effort had been made to agree upon a settle- ment but to no effect. He said the action was brought to recover £50, which was made up of three different items as given above, viz., £13 13s. 6d., since reduced to JEt2 10i., £2193. 61., and £33 7s. for damages caused by the withholding of the letters by order of the defendant. The case was one which he had hoped would have been amicably settled, but he regretted to find that they bad failed to agree and therefore it was with much reluct- ance he found himself iu a case in which two of his pro- fessional brethren were so much at issue. As far as his client, however, was concerned, he had endeavoured to avoid these proceedings, until compelled to do so by the conduct of the defendant. After detailing the facts in extmso, and the result of the arbitration, Mr. Plews called witnesses. The first called was Mr. Leyson, who stated I am a solicitor practising in this town. Until November 26, 1881, I was in partner- ship with the defendant. He was admitted as an attor- ney in Debember, 1879. He was articled to me be- fore his admission. In November last, the defendant intimated to me that he wished to dissolve the partner- ship, and an agreement was made and signed. At that time the defendant held the appointment of magis- trates' clerk for Gower, Pontardawe, and Swansea borough and Swansea hundred. I held the appointment of clerk to the Commissioners of Taxes for Llangafelach. The arrangement between us was, that the defendant was to keep his appointments, and I gave him a letter by which he also obtained the appointment I held at Llangafelach. It was arranged that the debts due to and from the concern should be paid by me. The Llangafelach appointment was not submitted to the arbitrator. The amount of poundage received by defendant wasJE36 6s. The amount for which he brought an order to me was JE11 5s., making £47 lis. 91. Half of that was claimed by me, but Ionly received £1153. 9d. There was a balance then of JE12 10s Id., instead or j213 10s. As to the amount from Mr. Jellicoe that was admitted to have been paid, and the half of it, amounting-to £2 19s. 6d, has been received by defendant. With reference to the third item, he believed the letter of Mr. Jones to the Post Master stopping the letters, was dated before February 16th, 1882. I did not see the letter itself. I first heard of it from the Postal Authori- ties, and sent down to the defendant about it. I after- wards wrote a letter on the subject to Mr. Glascodine who acted for Mr. Jones, the defendant. The purport of it was to remonstrate against the detention of the letters. I had spoken to Mr. Glascodine before I received the letter. He said that it had not been sent by his advice. I asked him to retract. I saw defendant on the 16th and I said to him that letter will do you no harm, but it will injure me very much. He said that he would see to it, bat it was not retracted to this day. Defeddant had separate note paper for his appointments. This question was not brought before the Arbitrator, and I said it was a breach of our arrangements. I seek to recover damages for the non-withdrawal of that letter. No doubt that the business of solicitor is carried on fey correspondence. I have suffered inconvenience and loss by the non- delivery of the letters tt9 me. I had a cheque sent me, but it was returned through the dead office. There were letters also received about returns to the Inland Revenue. Witness referred to other inconveniences he was put to by the non-delivery of the letters. In cross-examination by Mr. Abel Thomas, Mr. Leyson denied that he was asked to sign an order for Mr. Jones to have his proportion of salary. The sum referred to is jE12 10 Id. He never heard till that day there was a sum of £2 Os. Od. waiting for him with the Commissioners as his share. He knew the order for the form of stationery was signed by one of the clerks, named Evan Phillips, but he did not know they were ordered before the dis- solution of partnership. I asked te see the orders but was refused. I never refa-ed to give up any papers, books, or letters required. The letters retained and re- ferred to are not the only ones for which he claimed damages. He did not send circulars to their clients an- nouncing the dissolution. The notice appeared ad nauseam in the newspapers. It had not come within his knowledge that any letters were addressed to Mr. Jones. It was agreed that the debts due to the firm were about J6400. The debts due from the firm were £280. He had not reoeived B700 debts due to the firm since the dissolution. He had not received JS600. What had been received had been fairly earned by himself. He never kept the cash accounts. He got the award on the 23rd March. He had not had the award when de- fendant and himself settled accounts. Mr. Richards, clerk to the plaintiff, proved that he went to see defendant, and produced to him a cross authority to the Inland Revenue to pay defendant half of the poundage payment to the clerk of the commis- sioners. This was about the early part of October. Mr. Jones informed me that it was then too late for such an arrangement, as the matter had been dealt with by the Tax Commissioners. He was to receive three-fourths and Mr. Leyson one-fourth. Mr. R. C. Jones, surveyor's clerk, Swansea, examined I remember defendant calling at the office about the incidental expenses. I was handed a pencil memorandum. I was to give it to the Surveyor, and he to send it to the Board. I was to see Mr. Leyson, and I gave him the paper in pencil and the two incidental expenses account. I gave them to him and he said he would send to the Surveyor agreeing one way or the other. It has been arranged between the late and present clerk that each should be signed and the account divided." He did not send up, although he said he would do so that night. Cross-examined I did swear at Mr. Leyson's clerk, and I was told not to come there again. I was reported to Mr. Jewett, the Surveyor. The Judge What right had you to do so as an Inland Revenue Officer ?—To this Witness made no answer. He never said that it had been agreed between Mr. Jones and himself, but he could not say if he said anything to Mr. Jones. No money passes through the Surveyor's office. The pay office is separate and distinct. 1 can't say if the account is signed by two commissioners. This was all withdrawn and a new account sent in. The account was not withdrawn before I went to Mr. Leyson. I cannot recollect the date I went to him. My office has nothing to do with the receipts or payments. Mr. Abel Thomas then addressed the Court for the de- fendant, applying himself principally to the third item of JE33 7s., for breach of the award, by the detention of the letters by the act of the defendant. He maintained that the defendant was not only justified in doing so, but that it was settled by the award of Mr. Bowen, Q.C. When two gentlemen dissolved partnership, one gentle- man had DO more right to open the letters than the other. His Honour: There seems to have been no arrange- ment made on the subject. Such being the case, who bad the right to open the letters ? Mr. Thomas Either of them, Mr. Jones, had an equal right to them as Mr. Leyson. There was no obligation except by special agreement. Mr. Thomas then argued at some length that as the letters had been sent back to the senders, that they were the proper parties to open them, and that the plaintiff could not possibly suffer by the act of the defendant in causing the non- delivery of the letters. He also maintained that there was not a scrap of evidence produced to show that the plaintiff had sustained any damages by the non-delivery of the letters, and that, therefore, his client was clearly entitled to the judgment of His Honour. The court then adjourned to Thursday morning. The defendant, Mr. Jenkin Jones was put in the box this morning, and was examined for some time. He admitted the fact of writing to the Post Master requesting the non-delivery of any letters to Leyson and Jones." He further stated that he kept the cash books. He estimated the sums due to the firm at £400. Mr. Leyson took them at £330. There was no offer made to me to take the debts. I agreed to Mr. Leyson taking the debts. I would not have to do with the debts. I did not think I should have had them if I asked for them. The list furnished me of the debts did not contain the amount of Pond's debt. I don't know where the original list ts, I wish I krow where it was. I remember coming from Cardiff with Mr. Leyson. I swear that I positively refused to withdraw the letter I wrote to the Postmaster. Although asked by Mr. Leyson, the Arbitrator made no order specifically as to that letter. I refused to go again before the Arbitrator on the subject. I did not apportion the amount given to Air. Leyson by the Commissioners. It was appor- tioned in London. All the appeals were heard before the 26tn November. The assessments have not been copied. Mr. Ponil, printer, was then called, who proved re- ceiving the order for forms from the clerk of the firm, and being paid for them by the defendant. As it was mug sterial forms, Mr. Leyson said that the defendant was the party to pay for them. Mr. Phillips proved 'he delivery of the order for the forms printed for the firm. Mr. Abel Thomas having minutely summed up the evidence, His Honour then, without calling on Mr. Plews to reply, said that, after considering all the evidence, he had come to the conclusion that, wit,h rt-spect to the first item of defendant's counter claim, ramely, Mr. Pond's bill of £2 18s. 6d. the defendant had shown his right to it as a set off. With regard to the second counter claim item, dated March 1st, amounting to j621 6s. 9.1., charged against the plaintiff, under a mistake of fact, be disallowed. The difficulty of the whole case arose from the third item in the plaintiff's demand. In his opinion, the defendant had exceeded his powers according t.) the words of the award relating to what was called current business." It was clear that business could not be carried out if business-letters were stopped. His Honour ruled that defendant had no right to stop the correspondence after the dissolution, for the effect of it was to interfere seriously with the Current; Business," which Mr. Leyson had a right to carry on under the award for a reasonable time. As far as he could see, Mr. Jones, the defendant, had not given any notice on the subject. to Mr. Leyson, and the result was inevitably to hamper the conduct of the busi- ness. He must say that he could not see any justifica- tion for that, and looked oa it as a hiuh-hHnded act and not fair dealing towards the plaintiff. That being so, his opinion was that the defendant had not carried out the intention of the award. He felt that it was very difficult to estimato the damages that had arisen from non-delivery of the letters. There was no specific damages laid down still his duty was to estimate what would be fair and equitable. On the whole, he had arrived at the conclusion that the justice of the case would be met by awarding £.5 as dam <g s. Judgment was then given to the plaintiff for £16 16s. 6d., with cos's on the higher scale, no costs to defendant on the counter claim being allowed. Loss OF A TRUCK OF COKE BARS.—This action was brought by Messrs. C. E. and H. M. Peel. iron mer- chants, Swansea, against the PontarluUis Tin Plate Company, for the recovery of £41 16s. LOd., the value of 6 tons odd in weight of coke bars consigned from Pencla wdd over the London & North Western line to Pentardulais. The evidence of the Great Western Company not being satisfactory in proof of delivery, application was made to the Judge to join the London and North-Western Railway Company as co-defendants with the Pontardu- lais Company. This was acceded to, and the action was now tried. Mr. D. Lewis, barrister, instructed by Mr. G. J. L. Morgan, appeared for the plaintiffs; the Pontardulais Company were represented by Mr. Abel Thomas instructed by Mr. Aeron Thomas; and Mr. Gtlascodine was for the London and North-Western Railway Company.—The case lasted several hours, but possessed little public interest.—The facts of tho case are—that the plaintiff's entered into a contract with the Penclawdd Company on the 21st January, 1882, to purchase 250 tons of coke bars. Having done so, notice was given to the Penclawdd Company, to consign to the order of the Messrs. Peel the goods at Pontardu- lais. This was done, with the exception of a truck, con- taining the quantity of six tons two cwt. two qrs. in weight. It was proved that the London and North- Western Company acknowledged the receipt of the goods, but the residue was never delivered. and where it went to could not be ascertained. His Honour gave judgment for the plaintiff, as against the London and North- Western Company with costs on the higher scale. ♦

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. OUR LOCAL TRADE, MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCE. There is but little to report regarding the trade of the past week. With arrivals of tonnage, less than one-half the average quantity. Shipments of coals, foreign, have been small, and amount to no more than 11,200 tons. Patent fuel, however, still keeps up to a respectable figure, 5,980 tons having been loaded during the week. The weather has been for many weeks most disastrous to shipping, and large numbers of sailing craft are wind-bound at the various ports, and others undergoing repairs, having been compelled to put back for that purpose. The imports include 1,530 tons pig iron; 456 tons burnt ore; 517 tons pitch: and 216 tons copper ore. Coastwise and foreign: From France 140 tons pitwood and 86 tons lead ore; Bilbao, 2,709 tons iron ore; Lisbon, 272 tons superphosphate of lime; Seville, 345 tons copper ore; Tucacas, 437 tons copper ore; and Coosaw, 410 tons phosphate rock. The patent fuel exports were for the following ports France, 1,950 tons; Bona, 490 tons; Valencia, 500 tons Leghorn, 960 tons Alexandria, 1,180 tons, and Messina, 900 tons. Current freights are unaltered since last report, and for sometime past have been very firm. Prices of metals-Chili bars, JE65 10s. on spot; tin steady, JE95 10s. cash; lead (Spanish) JE13 15s.; spelter unchanged Scotch pig iron 49s. cash. Market strong. Arrivals 28 steamers, 6,874 tons register; 51 sail, 6,856 tons register; total, 79 vessels, 13,730 tons register. LIST OF STEAMER FREIGHTS.—COASTING AND FRENCH. Belfast, 5/3 Boulogne, 7/ Brest, 7/- Caen, 8/9; Charente, 8 francs Dartmouth, 5/- Dieppe, 6/9, 1,000 tons Fecamp, 8/ 400 tons Granville, 7/9 Havre, 7/ Honfleur, 8/ La Rochelle, 7 francs; London, 5/ Newry, 6/3; Plymouth, 5/ Portrush, 6/6; Rouen, 7/9, 1000 tons St. Nazaire, 7 francs St. Malo, 7/ 400 tons; Trouville, 7/ 300 tons; Ulverston, 4/6 Warren Point, 5/6 Erith, 6/ FOREIGN. COAL.—Alexandria, 12/6 Ancona, 12/6; Antwerp, 6/ Alicante, 12/6 Barcelona, 16/ Bari, 12/ 1000 tons Barletta 12/ Bayonne, 10 francs, 400 tons Bilboa, 6/6 Brindisi, 10/6 Bordeaux, n francs, 1000 tons Cadiz, 10/6 Cailoforte, 13/6 Catania, 12/ Carthagena, 11/6, 1000 tons; Cette, 16i francs, 1000 tons Christiansund, 8/ up to 1000 tons Constanti- nople, 10/6, 1,200 tons Copenhagen, 7/6, 1000 tons Cronstadt, 8/ 1,000 tons Danube, 13/6 Figueira, 15/ Flensburg, 7/ 700 tons; Genoa, 11/9 1200 tons Gibral- Flensburg, 7/ 700 tons; Genoa, 11/9 1200 tons Gibral- tar, 9/3,2000 tons Gijon, 12/ 500 tons Hamburg, 7/6 Huelva, 8/ Kalamaki, 11/6; Kiel,7/ 1500 tons Leg- horn, 12/- Lisbon, 9/ Malaga, 12/6 Malta, 9/9; 1000 tons; Marseilles, 13! francs Messina, 12/- Nantes, 8 francs Naples, 11/- Odessa, 10/3 Oporto, 11/- Oran, 14 francs, 1000 tons Poti, 12/6, Port Said, 13/- Rochefort, 8 £ francs Sables D'Alonue, 7! francs; Santander, 7/6; Savona, 11/9; Seville, 10/6; Smyrna 12/ 1200 tons; Stockholm, 8/ Stettin, 7/ Sulina, 10/6 Syra, 10/3 Swinemunde, 7/ Taranto, 14/6, 1700 tons Tarragona, 14/ Venice, 14/6 Vigo, 10/3; Villanueva, 15/ 700 tons; Piraeus, 10/ Ferrol, 9/- Vianna, 10/- FUEL.—Algiers, 14^francs; Alexandria, 13/9 Alicante, 12/ Ancona, 13/9; A.rzew, 14.^ francs, 1500 tons Barce- lona 16/6,1000 tons Bona 14/-1500 tons Bordeaux 7 £ f. Civita Vecchia, 12/6 Cronstadt, 8/6 Genoa, 13/ Mar- seilles, Hi francs; Mazzeron, 13/6; Messina, 12/6; I Odessa, 12/ Oran, 13 francs; Palermo, 12/6; Phil- lipeville, 14 francs; Piraeus, 12/6; Savona, 13/ Suez, 14/ Tarragona, 14/6; Taranto, 12/6; Tunis, 13/- or offar; Valencia, 11/6, 800 tons Venice, 14/6; Vigo, 816 Leghorn, 12/6, any size. BEYOND EUROPE. SAILERS.—Algoa Bay, 26/6 Bahia, 21/ Bombay, 20/ Buenos Ayres, 24/6 Callao, 25/ Cape Town, 22/ Cape de Verds, 11/- Madeira, 12/ Montevideo, 21/ Santos, 24/ Singapore, 19/ St. Francois, 16/ St. Thomas, 11/ Valparaiso, 22/ Montreal, 9/. Teneriffe, 12/6. SCRAP IRON.—Baltimore, Boston, and New York, offers wanted. HOMEWARDS. From Chili, Copper to Swansea, 30/ Nitrate to United Kingdom, 41/3 Benisaf to Cardiff, Newport, or Swansea, 8/6; Bilbao to Swansea, 8/9, 1000 tons, forward boat; Bordeaux to Swansea, pitwood, 6/3; La Calle, 10/6, 1000 to 1500 tons ready; Pomaron, 10/- Girgenti 14/6 to 15/ Seville, 11/ 600 tons; Tucacas, copper ore, 22/ Bull River to Swansea, 26/ Ergasteria, 14/ Villagarcia to Swansea, pitwood, 8/6.

A private letter from Valparaiso says that the great comet was visible there through a smoked glass after sun- rise, and that ac night it was as bright as the moon. In October the planet Venus was also visible in the day-time close to the sun. The Era says that Dublin playgoers do not seem to have been effected by the operation of the Curfew clause," and the various places of amusement seen, by the great business they have been doing, to have rather benefited than suffered by its operation. Mr. George Chetwynd, C.B., Receiver and Accountant- General Post-office, died on Sunday morning, at his residence at Blackheath, aged 58. For the eighth time, Edward Cberrill Edwards, a sweet-seller, of Tunbridge Wells, on Monday paid a fine of 14s., including costs, for keeping open his shop on Sunday. A grocer in a small way of business, named Jesse Barrett, has been fined 20s. and costs by the Sitting- bourne Magistrates for selling a substance as butter that was wholly fictitious. Four men were severely burnt by an explosion of chemicals which occurred on Monday morning at a grease-extracting works at Grove Mills, Keighley. A large shed and a number of machines were completely wrecked. A fearful storm raged over Moray Firth during the whole of Monday night. The Yarmouth herring boat, Alexander and Helen, went ashore at Macduff Harbour, and became a total wreck. Her crew were saved with difficulty by the Macduff fishermen. The Scarborough Corporation contemplate continuing the foreshore road round the foot of the Castle hill along the North Sands. The services of Sir John Coode have been secured. Plans and specifications are to be prepared without delay. The officers in the employ of the Hove Improvement Commissioners, Brighton, took possession of the new Town Hall on Monday. Fifty thousand pounds has been expended on the building, which is to be opened with considerable ceremony next week. Mr. Mundella, in acknowledging some resolutions passed by the North Wales English Congregational Union, says :—" I shall endeavour, during the Session of 1883, to pass a measure which will make better provision for intermediate education in Wales.

LATEST NEWS. MONEY MARKET, THURSDAY.—The directors of the Bank of England met to-day, but made no altera- tion in the rate of discount. DISASTROUS BOILER EXPLOSION.—New York, Dec. 7.—A despatch from New Orleans reports a boiler explosion on board the steamer "Morning Star," causing the death of seventeen persons. DESTRUCTION OF A MANSION BY FIRE.—Stanford Court, Worcestershire, the seat of Sir Francis Win- nington, was destroyed by fire on Tuesday night, together with most of its valuable contents, consisting of plate, pictures, manuscripts, &c. DEATH OFM. LOUIS BLANC.—PARIS, WEDNESDAY. —M. Louis Blanc, the well-known Republican leader, died this morning at Cannes, aged 69, after a short illness. He was essentially a moralist and a philo- sopher, and the organization of labour which he preached was based on the idea of substituting co-operation for competition—of persuading men to labour for the com- munity instead of for themselves, or for themselves not as units but as parts of the great whole. DEATH OF MR. ANTHONY TROLLOPE. Mr. Anthony Trollope died on Wednesday evening at his residence, Welbeck-street, London. The relapse which took place on Thursday evening destroyed the little hope which remained that he could recover from the attack with which he was suddenly seized some weeks since. He had but partially recovered the power of speech since his seizure, and for the last two or three days had been in an unconscious state, from which he never rallied. A large number of friends have called to express sympathy with the family and the Times says that by the death of Anthony Trollope multitudes of English-speaking people will feel that they have lost a friend. SEVERE SNOWSTORMS IN NORTH _WALES.— A Train Lost in the Snow.—There were serious inter- ruptions in the railway traffic throughout North Wales on Wednesday night through the tremendous drifts of snow which blocked up the lines. A train upon the Festiniog Narrow Gauge Railway is supposed to have been completely buried, as no trace whatever has been seen of the train since leaving Festiniog for Bala. A snow plough has proceeded from Bala on Thursday morning in serch of the missing train, but at the time of telegraphing no tidings of the train have been gained. Gangs of men are employed upon the line, the snow having drifted in great mounds. In the Vale of Llangollen many of the thoroughfares are entirely snowed up, the hedgerows being buried and vehicular traffic suspended. Several persons are reported to^ae missing, and one woman is said to have perished in the snow. «.

CHRISTMAS CHARITY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE CAMBRIAN." I SIR, -Will you kindly give me a few lines to plead at this season for the many poor, who naturally look 10 me for assistance at this time. Our poor are amongst the most needy in the town. Many, during this bittel j weather, are miserably clad and barefooted; their | homes too are without the smallest comforts, and to help them to get a few coals, or an additional blanket will be the truest charity. Through your columns, » therefore, I venture to recommend their case to your I many charitable readers. Any donations in money or clothing will be gratefully received and acknowledged by your obedient servant, A. P. CANON WILSON. n St. David's, Swansea, Dec. 7th, 1882. if

As showing the extreme mildness of the weather, it may be stated that primroses were gathered on Monday at Abingdon. A gentleman named Vaughan was on Monday com- mitted for trial ) y the Wem magistrates on a charge of perjury. The perjury is alleged to have been committed in connection with the hearing of a case in which the Rev. J. A. Benson, vicar of Toppington, was charged with shooting a peasant.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING. I TO THE EDITOR OF "THE CAS1BRIAN." SIR,—My attention has been called to the report iu your paper of the Special Meeting of the Swansea Town Council, held on the 30th October last, to con- sider the question of adopting the Electric Light ia Swansea. At that meeting I am reported as having made certain disparaging statements as to the honesty of the Swansea Gas Company in charging the public higher price for the gas supplied than its market value. I now desire publicly to withdraw any such state' ments, as I never had any intention of imputing dis- honesty to the Gas Company nor any person connected therewith. As Chairman of the Works Committee to whom the Borough Analyst has reported weekly, 1 ought to have stated that the actual illuminating power supplied by the Gas Company was 3J candles above the minimum standard mentioned in the Company's Act of Parliament. Their Act names 11 candles, whereas the Gas Company's average supply has been 14 £ candles. I shall feel obliged by you inserting this in your next issue, as I have no desire that any statements of mine shall be otherwise than correct.—I am, &c., Brynhyfrid, THOS. FREEMAN. 11 1st December, 1882.

THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE FOR SOUTH WALES AND MONMOUTHSHIRE. TO THE EDITOR OF "THE CAMBRIAN." I SIB,—Those of your readers who have not read the able letters of "Briton," which appeared in the Western Mail on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th of this month, should do so without delay, as they contain many telling argu- ments in favour of Swansea and the superior advantages Swansea offers. The writer appears to me to have gone more fully into the matter than any other. But my object in addressing you is not to go over this ground again, but to draw the attention of the ex- ecutive committee and the public to a means by which a large sum might be collected from the working classes of the neighbourhood without pressing unduly hard upon them. My suggestion is—that the people in the various works and factories should be asked to con- tribute so much in the £ on one week's earning, say 2s., but this sum need not be collected in one week, but could be extended to twelve if necessary, so that they could scarcely feel it. I feel sure, and I speak after a long experience of the working people of this neighbourhood, that they would readily respond to the appeal with very great pleasure and pride, knowing that by the large contribution they had materially aided in locating the College in Swansea, for it appears the only drawback is a sufficient gurantee fund. I hear the matter is not yet settled, and probably will not be until Swansea has had an opportunity of showing what she can offer. I understand the plan suggested by the executive committee is a house to house canvass more particularly in the West Ward, and which I have no doubt, will be liberally responded to. If the suggestion I offer is carried out, and the various works at a distance could be induced to co- operate, we should raise such a sum as would place the University College for South Wales and Monmouthshire in the most central and pleasant position, viz., Swansea.—I am, Sir, your obedient servant, JABEZ THOMAS.

BIRTHS, MARRIAGEST^ND DEATHS. tI(Ii All announcements of Births, Marriages, and Deaths are now charged for as follows:— Births and Marriages, Is. 6d. each; Deaths, Is. The announcement must be prepaid by Post- Office Order or Postage Stamps, and must, in every case, be authenticated by the signature and address of the sender. BIRTHS On Dec. 4th, at De-la-Beche House, Sketty, the wife of Ronald E. Bill, of a daughter. On the 29th ult., at Maitland Cottage, Humbles, the wife 0i Mr. A. E. Peerman, of a daughter, prematurely. On the 6th inst., at 98, Church-street, Birkenhead, the wife of Robert C. Hulgin, ef a son. MARRIAGE. Nov. 30th, at St. Mark's, South Norwood, London, by the Rev. J. Langdon, William Ernest Rosewarne, of Penmare, Hayle, Cornwall, to Charlotte Elizabeth, only daughter of the late Mr. George Hooper, of Prince Edward Island. DEATHS. On the 29th ult., at Tirydail, John Brodie. aged 72 years. On the 3rd inst., aged 41 years, Mr. David Hopkins, landlord of the Mexico Fountain, Landore, Swansea. He was highly respected by all who knew him, and his loss will be much felt by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. His remains were interred at the Cocket Church Burial Ground yesterday (Thursday). On the 28th ult., at Market-street, Morriston, after a iong illness, in the 62nd year of her age, Mary, the only daughter of the late Mr. David Harry, Ivy Bush. On the 1st inst., at Neath-road, Hafod, Swansea, after a short but severe illness, Emily, the dearly beloved wife of William Nicholas, formerly of St. Agnes, Cornwall, aged 76 years. Her remains were interred in the Sketty Chapel Burial Ground on Wednesday, December 6th. Printed by Steam Power, and Published oy BoWEL WALTERS WILLIAMS k Co., at the CAMBRIAN OFFICE, No. 58, Wind street, Swansea, in the County/of Glamonsm." FRIDAY, DECSXBER 8,1882,