The Cambrian

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. ANNUAL MEETING YESTERDAY. The one hundred and twenty-eighth half- yearly meeting of the proprietors of the Great Western Railway was held at Paddington, on Thursday afternoon. It the unavoidable and deeply regretted absence, through illhealth, of Earl Cawdor, Walter Robinson, Esq., Deputy-chairman, presided, and explained the balance sheet with only a couple of dissen- tients, who mildly protested against the emallness of the dividend. The report was adopted as read, and all the resolutions carried unanimously. Nothing was mentioned about the Cockett Tunnel, but several sympathetic and deserving references were made to Earl Cawdor's absence, as showing the friendly nature of the proceedings. The chief grumbler moved the vote of thanks to the chairman and directors in a most flattering little speech, and no other proposition was so heartily ap- plauded. Sir John Llewelyn was present, looking as well as ever. The report of the directors stated that the balance available for dividend among the proprietors of ordinary stock after the pay- ment of the dividends on the guaranteed and preference stocks and other fixed charges is £538,301 6s. 5d. This balance will admit of a dividend on the ordinary stock at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum, leaving a sum of JE22,935 4s. lOd. to be carried forward, as against £24,440 8s. 4d. carried forward in the corresponding half-year. Pursuant to notice which has been given to that effect, Resolu- tions will be submitted to the proprietors to sanction the creation and issue of the capital authorised to be created and issued by the Company under the provisions of The Great Western Railway Act, 1899," The Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Har- bours Act 1899," and The Great Western and Great Central Railway Companies Act, 1899," and the exercise of the borrowing powers and the creation and issue of debenture stock by such Acts respectively conferred upon them also to authorise the Company to subscribe towards the Undertaking of the Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company under the before-mentioned Act of that Com- pany The General Powers Bill of the Company, which it will be remembered authorises among other things the construc- tion of a Railway from Cheltenham to Honey- bourne, thus opening up a shorter and improved route between Birmingham and South Wales and the West of England, has received the Royal Assent in substantially the JlalDe form as when submitted to the propri- etors in February last. The Bill vesting in the Company the undertaking of the North Pem- brokeshire and Fishguard Railway Company and for the abandonment of certain of that Company's authorised Railways has received the Royal Assent. The extension of the Railway from Letterston to Goodwick, near Pishguard, a distance of about six miles, was opened for traffic on the 1st ultimo. The Directors have to record with deep regret the death during the past half-year, of their old and valued colleague, Mr, Richard Michell, who was the senior member of the Board and had for upwards of 36 years rendered valuable assistance in their deliberations. Mr. Albert Brassey, M.P., has been appointed to fill the vacancy.

MESSRS. WEAVER AND CO., LTD. A PROSPEROUS AND GROWING INDUSTRY. WHAT IT MEANS TO SWANSEA. INTERVIEW WITH MR. W. WEAVER. Nothing succeeds like success. The great business of Messrs. Weaver and Company is successful beyond the most sanguine expectations of the promoters. At the annual meeting on Friday-a report of which appears in another column-the chairman, Mr. Joseph Hall, J.P., was able to announce a dividend of 10 per cent. for the year. Furthermore, he indicated the important alterations and additions which had, and were being, effected, and to what extent they would enable the Com- pany to cope with the steadily increasing business. All this is very gratifying. It affords us further evidence, if any were wanting, of the vitality and stability of Swansea. Messrs. Weaver and Co. play an important part in the commercial prosperity and development of this district. Their turnover is between £ 400,000 and X500,000 a year, and they pay the Harbour Trustees X4,000 a year in dues. The man of business knows what this means, and to what extent it affects the prosperity of the town and district. This great firm have materially increased the imports and exports of Swansea. Vessels come here now that never entered the bay before the establish ment of these mills, and they not only bring large cargoes of wheat, grain and maize, but they take away cargoes of coal, etc., equally as large. Messrs. Weaver and Co- deserve to succeed. The mills are among the best in the United Kingdom; serious difficulties and opposition had to be con- tended with at the outset large sums of money have been spent in making the whole of the, premises up-to-date. The directors are well-known local gentlemen; it is a local company, with business connections thioughout the whole of Wales and the West of England, and it deserves the best and most loyal support. A representative of The Cambrian met Mr. W. Weaver, the managing director, just outside his charming residence, Rosehill, Mumbles, on Wednesday evening, and the conversation naturally turned to the mills, &c. Y es, our premises are growing," replied Mr. Weaver. "They are thoroughly up-to-date—in faot, they are replete with all the most modern scientific appliances. And yet they are not too large for our steadily growing business. Indeed, at the present rate of progress we shall find it necessary to carry out further extensions and alterations. The premises consist of, in the flour mill dep6t, eight large blocks, all communicating, which stand on three sides of our private dock. Two of these warehouses are used for the storage of wheat, the wheat-cleaning plant, a 25-sack per hour flouring plant now running, and a ten- sack plant in course of erection. The mills are equipped with Grinnell sprinklers, and other fire extinguishing appliances, and are lighted throughout by electric light. And how are these large premises divided- what are their particular functions." Four buildings are taken up with the storage of flour and offal, from which material is loaded direct into ships, which lie alongside, for the coasting trade; also direct into trucks OIl oar private sidings." What is the length of the covered way for carts." H It is 100 yards long, and eight wagons can be loaded simultaneously. An importaut fact-it is certainly a very great convenience-is that the wheat stores abut on to a berth in the main dock, where vessels of any draught can lie alongside, and discharged directly into these stores by a discharging plant composed of elevators, bands, &c. You are probably aware of the new arrangement referred to by Mr. Joseph Hall, at the meeting on Friday. It is of great im- portance and will, I am sure, have most beneficial effects." Swansea people cannot, of course, help noticing your provendor mill." "I dare say net," replied Mr. Weaver. We claim-and our claim is not disputed-that it is one of the finest and most modern in the country. It is substantial, scientifically equipped, and thoroughly fire-proof." And the grist mill-what about that P" Well, it is fitted with machinery for grinding, crushing, and mixing upwards of 10,003 sacks of corn and meal per week. Alongside is the fine grain silo I have referred to, and which will have a storage capacity of 30,000 quarters." You are fortunate in possessing such extensive private sidings." Yes. They are of vital importance, and tend to demonstrate the advantages of our position. I may mention that the machinery of the provender mill and silo house will be driven by three gas engines, of the combined force of 300 indicated h.p. There is also another engine of about 80 h.p. in the flour mill depart- ment. We make our own gas to drive these several gas engines." I understand, Mr. Weaver, you were the firs t miller to win the National Association's Gold Medal? Mr. Weaver admitted that such was the case, and in reply to questions concerning the future of Messrs. Weaver he said "Now, what can I say ? If the past few years are any criterion, then I think the shareholders may look to the future with every confidence. The/ industry has firmly established itself; it is branching out in all direc. tions; .our turnover is increasing, and— ask the Harbour Trustees to what extent we assist them. Our future is assured, and I am confident that Messrs. Weaver and Co. will play a still greater part in the commercial prosperity of the town and port of Swansea. Our mills are of the best, and we are extremely cautious that everything we sell and buy is also of the best. And therein, no doubt, is to be found the sec' et of our success. The directors are capable, shrewd, and enterprising men of business, and Mr. Jos. Hall, the chairman, does not think any detail too small to receive his valuable attention. Mr. Macdonnell is a valued and experienced man—in fact we have an excellent staff, and that, as you must be aware, means much in a large business like ours." A few minutes afterwards Mr. Weaver and his two daughters, sans stockings-saits everything, apparently, except sand shoes, hats, and macintoshes, were seen hurrying from Rosehill down to the beach. There they threw aside hats, shoes, and macintoshes, and appeared in bathing costumes. Thus almost every day, in the morn- ing or evening, Mr. Weaver and his daughters enjoy themselves in the briny, all three being pood swimmers. We may say that both the flour mill plants, the wheat cleaning department, etc., at Messrs. Weaver and Company's are the work of Messrs. Simon, Ltd., Manchester; the provender mill was erected by Mr. Mouchel on the Hennebique system of ferro-concrete; the electric lighting plant by Messrs. Morris, Jones and Co., Worcestsr the grinding machinery by Messrs. Gardner and Son, Gloucester, and Mr. Richard Sizer, of Hull, is erecting the compound cake plant. Messrs. Paisley and Welch provide the producing plants by which Mess Weaver make th ir own gas.

WEAVER AND CO., LIMITED ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TEN PER CENT. DIVIDEND AGAIN DECLARED. The annual general meeting of the share- holders of Weaver and Company, Limited, was held at the Flour Mills, Swansea, on Friday, at noon, when there were present the directors Messrs. Joseph Hall (chairman), Llewellyn Davies, Rees Harries, James Jones, J.P., David Richards, J. Aeron Thomas, William Weaver (managing director), the manager and secretary (Mr. Hy. Macdonnell), and the following shareholders Messrs. Thomas Harris (Ystrad), H. Thomas, James Walker, Jenkins (Beaufort Arms), Dr. T. D. Griffiths, Thomas Evans (Brynamman), R. Edwards (Merthyr), Lloyd, Philip Hawes, W. Sims (Llansamlet). James Jones, David Hughes, A. H. Peacock, R. W. Vergette, E. Drury, George Straker Richardson, Rees Lewis, Henry Harris, Daniels (Manselton), Daniel James, R. W. Morgan, L. R. Lewis, George Burgess, George Symons, Evan Jenkins (Glanrhyd), David Jenkins, David Evans (Llangennech Park), Thomas H. Hos- good, John Morgan, (Treboeth), Jeffrey Llew- ellyn (Sketty), Thomas Jeremiah, David Williams, E.G. F. Sweet, Roger Thomas,— Jenkins (Carlton Terrace), H. Bevan, J. K. Morris, J. H. Nott, Thomas (Llanmorlais), W. B. Jones, C. J. Rowe, William Evans, and the Rev. John Matthews. REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS. The result of the year's trading had been satisfactory, considering the adverse circum- stances which affected the corn and milling trade during the year. The profit, after making provision for bad and doubtful debts and for depreciation, is X7,640 17s. 8d., which, with the balance of Xll,376 15s. 10d., from the previous year, makes a total of X19,017 13s.6d.,out of which interim dividends amount- ing to £ 2,829 16s. 7d. have been paid. The directors recommend that a dividend at the rate of six per cent. per annum be paid to the preference shareholders for the six months ending June 30th, 1899 (making ten per cent. for the year), amounting altogether to z66,691 12s. 10d., leaving a balance of R9,496 4s. Id. to be carried forward. The provendor mill erected on the Victoria Wharf was completed in October last, and fully answers the expect- ations of the directors. The erection of the silo granery is proceeding satisfactorily, and it is believed will be ready for occupation before the end of the year. The retiring directors are Messrs. J. Aeron Thomas and Rees Harries who, being eligible, offer them- selves for re-election. The auditors, Messrs. Tribe, Clarke, Cawker and Company, also offer themselves for re-election. The Chairman in proposing "that the re- port of the directors and the statement of accounts annexed thereto be and the same are hereby adopted," said the profit made during the past year, although not as large as for the year ending June, 1898, cannot be considered as very disappointing when we take into account the disastrous effect of the coal strike which lasted until September, 1898, but the effects of the strike extended to many months after. Then there were the war scares caused by the Fashoda incident, which were responsible for considerable fluctuations in the price of wheat. It would perhaps be in- vidious to draw comparisons between the financial results of our mill and those of other milling companies during the year. Were we to do so the comparison would not reflect discredit upon Weaver and Co. It will, I think, be interesting to the shareholders if I give them some particulars of the progress of the company since last year, and this I will do as briefly as possible. The new provender mill was completed and commenced running on the 7th of November last, and has fully answered the expectations of your directors. The machinery is of the very newest and best description. The quantity of corn milled, although much laiger than heretofore.is barely sufficient to supply our customers, and this shows that your board were acting wisely when they decided to erect the new mill. The silo granary is fast approaching completion, and is hoped that it will (with the necessary machinery and grain elevator) be ready for use about the end of the year. It will have a storage capacity of 30,000 quarters. Both these buildings are fireproof, and are built by the ferro-cement process—Hennebique and Le Brun's Patent. When the silo granary is used we shall have our grain supplies close to the provender mill. and there is no doubt this will be a great saving as well as much more convenient and more expeditious than having to convey grain from the East Docks to the mills. A new flour manufacturing plant, with all the latest improvements, with a capacity of ten sacks of flour per hour, is being erected, and will be ready for use in about a month's time; and your directors trust that customers will not then have any cause to complain of the want of prompt deliveries at all times. Your Board are making a new entrance to their Beaufort Dock, and placing the same on the south side, which will effect a saving in the cost of taking small vessels into dock when large vessels are lying alongside our wharf in the North Dock. The cost at present of shifting large vessels in order to enable small craft to enter the Dock through the present opening is considerable. An electric motor and band-conveyor have been placed on the wharf for discharging grain from the ship's side in the North Dock into barges in the Beaufort Dock, and this effects a saving both of time and labour. Your Board decided after careful consideration to erect a cake mill, for the manufacture of compound feeding cake. This will have a capacity when in full work of about 70 tons of cake per week. We believe that Swansea, from its central position, is admirably adapted for the distribution of this article. From enquiries made amongst our customers, we have every reason to believe that the demand will be equal to the capacity of the mill. The mill is being fixed in the basement of the provender mill, where there is space, so that no outlay on building has been necessary. It has been the practice of this Company to pay an interim dividend on both preference and ordinary shares immediately after the end of the first half-year (Dec. 31), but your Board have come to the conclusion that it is better to defer payment of an interim dividend until your auditors have completed the audit for the half-year, and this may entail a delay of a couple of weeks. 1 cannot conclude my remarks without alluding to the high opinion the Board have of the business qualifications of the managing director, Mr. Waver, and they believe that to him is due a large share of the credit for the continued success of the company; and I also desire to say that their general manager, Mr. Macdonnell. their corn manager, Mr. Martin Luther Jones, and the staff generally have worked well in the in- terests of the Company. Mr. Rees Harries seconded the resolution nrotjosed bv the Chairman, and it was carried unanimously. Mr. J. Aeron Thomas proposed, and Mr. Llewelyn Davies seconded:—" That a dividend at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum be paid to the preference shareholders, and at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum to the ordinary shareholders, less the amount paid on account of dividend in December last," which was carried unanimously. Mr. David Owen proposed, and Mr. David Evans seconded :—" That the remuneration of the Directors for the current year be the same as last year, namely, at the rate of R600 per annum, to be increased R50 for every 1 per cent. dividend declared on the ordinary shares over and above 6 per cent., and not exceeding 10 per cent." Mr. Joseph Hall proposed, and Mr. James Jones seconded That Messrs. J. Aeron Thomas and Rees Harries be and are hereby re-elected as directors of the company." The resolution was carried without dissent. Dr. T. D. Griffiths proposed, aud Mr. Roger Thomas seconded" That Messrs. Tribe, Clarke, Cawker and Co. be and are hereby elected auditors of the company at a fee of 100 guineas." Carried. Proposed by Mr. Joseph Hall, and seconded by Mr. David Richards,—" That the thanks of the meeting be tendered to the general manager (Mr Henry Macdonnell), the corn manager (Mr. M. L. Jones), and to the staff generally, for the careful and good work they have done in the interests of the company during the last year." This was also carried unanimously. On the proposition of Dr. Griffiths, seconded by Mr. James Walker, the best thanks of the meeting were given to the chairman and the board of directors for their services during the past year.. The proceedings then terminated.

I THE SWANSEA INTER- MEDIATE GOVERNORS AND THE ARCHITECT. I MR. H. W. WILLS CLAIMS ON ACCOUNT OF THE ABANDONED SCHEME. IMPORTANT ACTION AT THE ASSIZES. f At the Glamorganshire Assizes at Swansea on Monday, Mr. Justice Kennedy and a special jury commenced the hearing of the action in which Mr. H. W. Wills, architect, sued the Mayor of Swansea (Mr. Richard Martin) and others, repre- senting the Swansea Technical and Intermediate Education Committee, for professional services rendered.. Mr. Abel Thomas, Q.C., M.P., and Mr. Villiers Meager (instructed by Messrs. Collins and Woods) appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. B. Francis Williams, Q.C.. and Mr. S. T. Evans, M.P. (instructed by the Town Clerk of Swansea, Mr. John Thomas) represented the Technical Education Committee. Plaintiff s statement of claim set out that he was employed between July, 1896, and June, 1898, to prepare plans, &c., in connection with the proposed new schools, and for such work charged, in accordance with the usual scale amongst architects, zC692 4s. 4d., in the event of the remuneration I being found to have been fixed between the parties 5 per cent. commission and 1 per cent. on the bills of quantities, or 9551 12s. Id., should it appear that the agreement was 4 per cent. and 1 per cent. commission respectively. The sum of X250 had been paid before action was commenced, and the balance now sued for was E442 2s. 4d. or JE301 12s. Id., according to the finding of the jury as to the exact agreement come to in regard to the commission. The defence raised the in- teresting point as to how far an architect can claim for professional services in the case of a scheme abandoned after tne acceptance of tenders, the reply to the claim stating that plaintiff by the terms come to with the committee was not entitled to any commission or remuneration except upon the money expended on the buildings when erected if and so far as such buildings were sanctioned by the Charity Commission and the Local Government Board respectively. As to the commission due for erecting the latrines, the lowest tender finally accepted was X298 7s. 5d., in respect of which sum alone plaintiff was en- titled to his remuneration. In the alternative it was. contended that the amounts claimed by plaintiff were not fair and reasonable, and were excessive, in any event plaintiff was not entitled to claim any commission whatever on the sums ot £ 810 or £ 492 (representing the first tender sent in for the erection of the latrines) or of 415,546 (the amount of the tender accepted for the pro- posed new school, which work was abandoned because the line of buildings could not be advanced further than the frontages of the exist- ing houses in Gore-terrace. Whilst the jury were being empanelled, Mr. Abel Thomas rose and said The plaintiff's case, if he is successful, will entail to a certain extent higher rates in Swansea and-- Mr. Francis Williams laughed and said, Oh." Mr. Abel Thomas: I do not know what my friend is troubling about, but I do know this matter has already created some kind of excite- ment in the town, and I would suggest under these circumstances, for the sake of the jury as well as for my own client, that it is desirable to have, as far as possible, the case tried by an out- side jury. r Mr. Francis Williams: On behalf of the defen- I dants, I am prepared to try the issue by any jury. The Judge The whole object of trials must be impartiality, hence it is worth while to have a jury away from the district. The jury were then empanelled. In opening for the plaintiff, Mr Abel Thomas described the position of the parties and the Acts under which the defendants were appointed. In 1896, he went on the Governing Body came to the conclusion that there should be new buildings for the purpose of carrying on the technical and in- termediate education. He should say that the Intermediate Education Committee owned, amongst other things, all the property belonging to the old Grammar School in Swansea, and a great deal of other property as well. In July, 1896, as he had said, new buildings were decided upon, and the site was to be that adjoining the Grammar School, just above Gore-terrace. A block plan was prepared by the borough surveyor for the puipose of getting the architects to sug- gest schemes for the proposed schools. He did not know what architects competed, but Mr. Wills was, on the 27th July, 1896, appointed the architect for the scheme, and one would have thought that when a man bad done work for an Education Committee, the committee, like any- body else, would have thought that he was en- titled to be paid for it. But there was a defence set up that Mr Wills bad been negligent in the way he had carried on matters, and, therefore, he was entitled to nothing at all. And until the 21st of July-five days before the commission day of this Assizes-the plaintiff believed that one of the defences to the action was that he had been grossly negligent, and that, therefore, he was en- titled to recover no money at all. But on July 21st the Town Clerk, who was the clerk to the education bodies and the solicitor in the pre- sent action, must have begun to consider his po- sition, and, he supposed, must have thought that if there was any negligence or carelessness at all in the matter, the only person who was guilty of it was he (the Town Clerk) himself, and not Mr. Wills, and, therefore, plaintiff had notice that there was an unconditional withdrawal of the charge of negligence, though, probably, it was now known pretty well throughout Swansea. Mr. Francis Williams (interposing): There is no claim for damages for libel. Mr. Abel Thornis (continuing) said he did not wonder at the withdrawal, because the person who had been guilty of the negligence which had entailed a very great loss to the ratepayers was not Mr. Wills, but the adviser of the Corpora- tion. That being so, the issue to a large extent was now as to what Mr. Wills was entitled to be paid for the work he did One knew that professional as well as business men had certain rates at which they expected t. be paid for their work, and, therefore, upon Mr. Wills s appoint- ment, he expected to be paid the ordinary fees of an architect for work of this kind and on July 29th, 1896, it was submitted, and a minute was passed to this effect:—" Mr. Wills submitted that the usual terms in connection with works of the proposed description were 5 per cent. on the amount of money expended, and that instead of the architect having his own quantities, a London quantity surveyor should be employed for this purpose, whose charge would be 1J per cent., and it is recommended that Mr. Wills's proposal be accepted." Plaintiff thereupon commenced his work, and continued doing it until September 14th following, when another minute was passed to the effectThat minute 130, headed' Techni- cal Buildings and Lavatories,' be varied, and that the architect, Mr. Wills, be paid a commission of 4 per cent. on the amount of money expended, and that 1 per cent. in addition be allowed for taking out quantities." That was not the scale at which architects were usually paid, but Mr. Wills, after some demur, agreed to it, though, if the scheme had been carried out, it would have been hard upon him not to be paid the proper scale. As a fact, the scheme was not carried out, and this was where the negligence came in. His Lordship observed that the main issue was as to the terms of the employment, and then as to what was a reasonable amount to be paid the plaintiff. Plaintiff, called, bore out the opening state- ment, stating that when he first submitted his schemes he pointed out that he understood there was a legal d'fficulty about Gore-terrace. He de- nied that there was any complaint from the Charity Commissioners with regard to his plans, and, coming to the discovery by the town clerk ot the covenants in the deeds referring to the buildings in Gore-terrace, said that at that inter- view the town clerk informed him that it would mean the abandonment of the scheme entirely or for a leri gthened period, and suggested it would be better to keep the matter quiet. In cross-examination, plaintiff admitted that, uninvited, except at the suggestion of one of the governors, he first made a report to the commit- r tee on the question of new schools, and, after some pressing, accepted it that in this respect he had bad an unfair advantage over the other com- petitors who sent in designs. He would not, in further cross-examination, admit, however, that the amended plans were necessitated because of his estimates as to the cost of the buildings, but said that, in regard to the larger scheme, the Charity Commissioners ordered it to be divided, as they objected that money intended for inter- mediate education should be devoted for the pur- poses of technical instruction. The hearing was adjourned till Tuesday. TUESDAY'S PROCEEDINGS. On resuming on Tuesday, Mr. Christopher James, formerly a member of the technical in- struction committee, was called, and he spoke to the decision of the committee to erect new latrines at the present boys' school, and the subsequent modification of the plans, rendered necessary through the various ideas and wishes of the com- ittee. inittee ByMr. B. Francis Williams The committee were a little surprised at the first tender amoun ing to S810. Mr. Edwin Si ward, an architect of 25 years experience, of Cardiff, deposed to the scale of charges in vogue with the profession, and paid be had examined the drawings, &c., done by the plaintiff, and found them very ably done-better than most architects outside Loudon would have done them. Mr. A. B. Lanchester and Mr. Pickwell, archi- tects, gave similar evidence. THE CASE FOR THE GOVERNING BODY. Mr. B. F. Williams, Q.C., in opening the case for the defendants, said his learned friend had opened his case by making imputations against the Town Clerk which had nothing at all to do with the case, for which there was no foundation, and which he (Mr, Williams) did not intend +4 pursue as it was entirely irrelevant to the case. The Governing Body had to erect schools such as would meet the sanction of the Charity Commis- sioners, both as regards suitability and finances. Having set out the Governors' view of the dispute, Mr. Williams referred to the architects' scale. l'he late Lord Chief Justice said, in regard to this scale If it became a question of what was reasonable, and that was for the jury to consider, and thep would judge as to the various items of the claim. It was said that the Institute of Architects had settled certain charges, and percentages were charged on the estimated amount of expenditure. But a commission upon expenditure incurred was open to the gravest possible objection. A gentleman wished to build a house and was willing to pay X50,000 upon it and asked an architect to prepare plans for such an expenditure. His ai ciiitect prepared plans for a house which would costE150,000, and said, Well, you may or may not build it, but you must pay me, whether you do so or not, commis- sion upon E150,000 for the Institute of British Architects so.' He confessed his legal soul fired at it, and ne hoped that ne British jury would ever yield to it." They would not get an architect in the whole of England to say that the scale was not right, and thereiore the jury was the proper tribunal to say what was reasonably cue, looking at all the circumstances in the case. When they remembered t)at the Governing Body asked for plans for £ 8,000, that Mr. Wills estimated for X10,000, and that the tender was £15,000, it was clear that the alteration necessitated in the plans was necessitated by the extravagant view which Mr. Wills himself took of the money that ought to be expended. Mr. Wills had told Dr. Turpin, the Principal, that he intended to make them (the Governing Body) spend zEI8,000 to £ 20,000. Before Mr. Wills had been invited to compete for the buildings he had been writing to the Governiug Body to suggest what were eligible sites for the erection of the building. Only ten days were allowed after the issue ot the circular before plans were to be sent in, and he (Counsel) would suggest that if that was a fair time to allow then tne preparation of the plans could not be such a very heavy matter. He had already been paid X250, and he would ask them to bay he had been paid as much as he was reasonably entitled to. EVIDENCE BY THE MAYOR. Mr. Richard Martin, the mayor of Swansea, and Chairman of the Intermediate and Technical Governing Body, was then called, and was exa- mined by Mr. S. T. Evans. Counsel: What was the first estimate in figures for putting before the Governing Body with regard to the cost of the proposed building ? — £ i0,6G0. That is the laiger sum named in the report of Mr. Wills for the 25th July ?—That is so. He also mentions an alternative sum of £ 8,000? —He does. Upon that, was a circular letter written and the sum mentioned was £ 8,000?—Yes. Until trie receipt of the tender, a little later on, had the Governing Body in contemplation to ex- pend a larger sum than £ 10,600 ?—lhere is no record ot it. I have no recollection. Ultimately, tenders were opened on the 8th of February, 1897. Was Mr. Wills there?—Yes. What happened at that meeting ?-The tenders were found to exceed any amount that had ever been thought of by the committee. They, there- fore determined immediately to seal the tenders, and to consider the financial situation. To proceed wiih such a large expenditure under the Technical Instruction Act would be disastrous. They were limited to a peuny rate and a portion of the license duties. It; was considered that the scheme must be reduced. The means of reducing it were discus-el with Mr. Wills. The suggested reuuction was the elimination of a portion of the building, and the apportioning of the two remaining parts, one definitely for intermediate purposes and the other for technical purposes. That was the only way that the finances would admit of the scheme being considered, ualess the Charity Commis- sioners could be induced to accept the scheme as an addition to the Intermediate School, receiving a rental of LSOO from the Technical Committee for the use of the buildings for technical purposes. His Lordship I understand that you resolved that that was the best course ?—That it was the only course to preserve the scheme if it was to be adopted in its complete form. Counsel: Was anything done by Mr. Wills while the watter was being considered by the (Jharity Commissioners, with reference to the suggested alterations P-I do not know but at the next meeting of the Committee, when this matter was considered, he brought modified plans. By that time he knew the Charity Commissioners had declined to assent to the complete scheme. The modified plans were brought before you on the 24th of March ?-Yes. Are you aware of any instruction given to Mr. Wills to prepare these modified plans between the meeting of the 5th February and the submit- ting of the plans so modified on the 24th March ? —I know of none. Further examined, Mr. Wills was present at the meeting on June 15th, and a resolution was passed that the quantity surveyor be requested to draw out the quantities of the omitted position of the building, that these quantities be submitted to the tenderers asking for a modified tender on the lesser .quantities. That was the suggestion of Mr. Wills himself. Counsel: Then a right of way question arose and the scheme has not been carried out ?—The right of way did not stop it. It was the restriction ef the frontage line. Has the restriction of 4 per cent. on the amount to be expended ever varied ?-No. With reference to the latrines, Mr. Wills was communicated with with reference to the alter- ations necessary to be provided at the Grammar School, did he give you the estimate of the cost ? —Rather the suggestion came from him. The estima-e of the cost was C400. Was that the only estimate before the Govern- ing body until you received the first tenders ?— It was the only estimate, and the tenders amounted to more than twice that amount. We felt that we had no authority to accept any of them, because the sum was so much in excess of the amount which the committee thought. The plans were altered, and on the second plans the tenders were JE492. They were again altered, and, finally, the work was carried out according to tender at £ 298 7s. 5d. It is the fact, is it not, that S298 7s. 5d., the cost of the original latrines, is included in the #12,900, the contract price of the building ?—It is. Had the question of title or line of building anything to do with the refusal of the Charity Commmission to sanction the first scheme ?—No- thing whatever. By Mr. Abel Thomas Have you said that the J12,900 scheme was not carried through for any other reason than that you had no right to place the buildings in that position ?—It was entirely not carried out because of the restriction as to the frontage line. You said Gore-terrace had nothing to do with the right of way ?-The right of way had nothing to do with the new building. Did the plans ehow that the front entrance was facing Gore-terrace?—I believe they did. Do you mean to say that it did not matter a bit whether you bad a right of way or not ?—I do not say that. Could the first scheme be carried out without having a riglit-of-wny ?-Yes. You thought it might at one time, because you made a hole in the wall ?-It was made to get the right-of-way. j And an injunction was applied for and you were restrained?—Yes.. And you did not get that right?—That did not affect the building. Before the tenders were applied for, did Mr. Wilis and the Borough Surveyor test the founda- tions ?—I believe they did. I knew the foundations were tested. Did Mr. Wills te'l you that very great ad- ditional expense would be put on because of the foundations ?—I have no recollection. Will you say, Mr. Martin, that Mr. Wills did not tell you and the sub-committee, before the plans were prepared, that in consequence of the foundations, the amount would be very much increased?—I won't say he did not say so. Di 1 he not say it would be increased by con- siderably more than £ 20,000? —I have no recollec- tion of it. But you won't say he did not?—No. Counsel (reading the minutes of the governing body): Eleven tenders were received for the erection of the new technical buildings, and were opened by the chairman and afterwards ordered to be sealed. The financial position was fully discussed, and it was eventually resolved that the buildings be erected by the Committee." That is, you adopted the 1;15,000 scheme?—We were bound to adopt it if we submitted it to the Charity Commissioners. We adopted it con- ditionally. Mr. Abel Thomas (reading): And it was eventually resolved that the buildings be erected by the Intermediate and Technical Committee, and that the Technical Instruction Committee pay a rental of JE500 per annum for the ii-e of the building." Is there nothing conditional in that?—The whole of it is conditional, It is conditional in your mind and not in your resolution ?-On the financial question. Counsel (reading): "It was further resolved that the plans and estimates for zE15,600 be sub- mitted to the Charity Commissioners for their approval?"—Witness: That is so. If they had been adopted, I suppose you would have had no objection to paying Mr. Wills?- If the Charity Commissioners allowed us to adopt them under the intermediate scheme, certainly not. Did you know from the beginning that this building was under one roof, that the two schemes were connected under the same roof. Was that obvious even to the meanest capacity ? —Yes, certainly. And the Governing Body knew, and had accepted these, before the tenders were received, as their scheme ? —Certainly. Why is not Mr. Wills paid then ?-Because it exceeded, when the tenders came in, any amount that the governors considered. Is that the sole ground ?-That is the ground. Did you know that your clerk sent up this scheme te'the Charity Commissioners including in it a payment to Mr. Wills of 5 per cent, and 1| per cent, for quantities "I did not know of those particulars. If you had information would you have objected to your clerk doing it. He did it on the 12th of February and the meeting was on the 8th. Had he your athority to do so r—I do not think the question was discussed at any meeting. The Judge Was that an act without author- ity? I think we are entitled to an explicit answer. Was the Town Clerk exceeding his authority in including a payment at the rate of 5 per cent, to Mr. Wills, and 1 £ per cent, for quantities ?— 2 He was doing what the Governors knew nothing of. Counsel Do you know that you applied for borrowing powers for X18,000 odd?—I know it was for £ 18,000. Do you know it had been made up to that amount by including 5 per cent. for the architect and li for the quantity surveyor ?-I do not. Did you ever make enquiries how it was made up ?—No. Ju-t think, Mr. Martin. Had your clerk authority to name any amount he pleased ? There I are only four sums let me read them 915,635 a 5 per cent. and li per cent. commission on the work, £ 985 clerk of works, £ 200 contingencies, £ 680— £ 17,500.—I have already told you I know nothing, of these figures. Would you have objected to them ?-I should certainly have asked for explanation why the 5 per cent. and li per cent. were in. The Judge Then in your view the Town Clerk did what he ought not to have done ?—Without an explanation I should have objected to the amounts. Mr. Thomas: Did the clerk overstep his authority. Yes or no, Mr. Martin, for once ?— No, no; you must not put it in that way. The question of authority was never raised. You were asked by the Charity Commissioners whether you could not do the work for less money. Did you reply unanimously that it was impossible to do justice for less ?—That is so. Is it not a fact that as far as the committee is concerned, and Swansea, you would have been glad to get the first scheme through ?—Certainly, the difficulty we have found was with our finances. From the beginning to the end you have not found fault with a single thing done by Mr. Wills ?—Except that he gave us a scheme beyond our means, and beyond anything he led us to ex- pect. Mr, Martin was then cross-examined with re- ference to the latrines. He said the other mem- ber of the committee besides Mr. Christopher James and himself was Mr. David Harris, who was not in the country at the moment. They all agreed that there should be an underground pas- sage, but not that it should be lined with white tiles. He (witness) did not see the plans before the tenders was obtained. Dr. Turpin was next called. He spoke of a conversation he had with Mr. Wills on the ques- tion of the new buildings. Mr. Wills said that in other towns of the same size the Technical Committees had spent £17,000, and he mentioned one at Sunderland, for which he was competing. He said that if the governors at Swansea meant to do the thing properly, they ought to spend about the same amount here. Mr. Abel Thomas (laughing) I don't ask you anything, Dr. Turpin. This concluded the case for the defence, and the counsel addressed the jury. Mr. B. F. Williams, for the defence, said the scheme was modified on the financial ground when the Charity Commissioners said they could net possibly lend that amount, and it was unfair for Mr. Wills to ask to be paid for those two plans when, in point of fact, the necessity for altering the first scheme at all was that the plans and specifications he had prepared were far in excess of what the Governors told him they were going to spend. Mr. Abel Thomas commented upon the absence of Mr. David Harris, who, if he could have substantiated Mr. Martin's statement with regard to the latrines, would have been called. It was the committee's own fault that the estimate was larger than they required, they themselves order- ing all kinds of things to appear on the plans. He was ashamed of the Corporation when Dr. Turpin was putin the box. Mr Wills had denied that he had told Dr. Turpin he would make them spend £ 17,000 or £ 18,000, and what after all had Dr. Turpin said ? His Lordship, in summing up, said the jury should look at the case on it merits, and discuss any question of feeling. At the same time, one could not be surprised at what the learned counsel for the plaintiff had said as to the conduct of the case, because it was calculated to do Ia man harm when it was said in court that he had said he would make the Governing Body pay this and that. One could not help regretting that such questions were put. Sometimes those who were conducting a case could not foresee what the real evidence they would be able to produce was, but public bodies should be careful about that kind of instruction. In the same way the jury might dismiss from their minds altogether the absolutely baseless suggestion of negligence which was made at one part of the pleadings. The architect had no more to do with the mistake that was apparently made than the lawyers would have had to with the way in which Mr. Wills proposed to build a house. However, that oVin-rffe was very frankly withdrawn before the case came into court. The sole question for the jury was what the plaintiff was entitled to fcr doing work the value of which had not been impeached by the defence, but, on the contrary, had been amply attested to by the evidence. It was not a question of attacking the scale of charges, the main question was what was Mr. Wills entitled to for what was believed to be new work involved by the separation of the scheme. He did not for a moment believe there would have been any difficulty of disproving that it was new work. That had not been done. He also entirely concurred with the ruling of the late Lord Chief Justice that the jury were not bound to the scales of charges of any profession at all, but, at the same time, if they found that the persons knowing the scale did not make a bargain, then prima facie their contract was made upon that basis. But in this case they need not trouble themselves about the scale, as un- doubtedly plaintiff agreed to the four per cent. and the one per cent., though, having regard to Mr. Wills' attitude, it might be for the jury to say upon what basis the new work should be paid. As to the defence that the plaintiff's estimates were high, it seemed hard that he should be attacked for that because the governing body had it within their option to say" If you cannot do the work for less than £15,000, pood morning." It was absolutely optional with them when they opened those tenders to say: We will pay you for the work done. It is not work which we can accept and we will go to someone else." Instead of that. they pas-ed a resolution saying that the plans should go to the Charity Commissioners for their approval. No doubt the scheme could not be carried out without the approval of the Commissioners, but what blame is there to the architect which the Governing Body do not fully The jury, without hesitation, found for the plaintiff for £ 301 12s. in addition to the R250 paid into court. agreeing that the claim was substantially right. Judgment was entered accordingly in favour of plaintiff, with costs.

WEST GOWER FLOWER SHOW. A full report of this annnal show, which wa held at Penrice Castle yesterday, will appear in our next issue.

SWANSEA CHARITY CARNIVAL. — A well attended meeting of the Ladies' Committee in connection with this event was held on Friday, under the presidency of the ex-Mayoress (Mrs. Aeron Thomas). In the course of a few remarks Mrs. Thomas referred to the absence through the illness of a near relative, of Mrs. Ebenezer Davies, who had la-t year, she said, done so much good for charities, and who had been especially responsible for the formation of a Ladies' Committee in previous years. The follow- ing ladies were elected as an executive com- mittee to make all necessary arrangements Mrs. Martin (Mayoress), Mr*. H. Wilson Paton, Mrs. Meredith Thomas, Miss Elford, Mrs. Sandry, Mrs. Slater, Miss Flower. Miss Mary Powell, Misa Irene Isaac, Miss Fitt, Miss Rees, Miss Trickey. Miss Rowlands, Miss Lizzie Davies (Bryngelly), Miss Morgan (Cefncrfelach), Mrs. J. M. Saunders, Mrs. Dr. Cameron, Mrs. TJ" Boulanger, Mrs. Jonathan Jones, Miss Watkins (Ashleigh), Miss Macdonald, Miss Maud Rees, Mrs. Johnstone. Mrs. Morgan Davies, Mrs. Lallie Davies, Miss Dixon (Hendrfolian), and Mrs. Augustus Lewis. Mrs. K. Freeman and Miss Wills were appointed hon. secretaries, and a list of names was taken of ladies willing to collect with boxes and preside at the flower stalls on the 6th and 7th prox. For the purpose of avoiding over-lapping it was decided, as formerly, to appoint a number of ladies to superintend the band of collectors for each ward. the following names being suggested for the purpose Ffyncne Ward, Mrs. Paton; St. Helen's, Miss Elford; St. Thomas, Mrs. Nancarrow; Victiria, Mrs. Sandry St. John's, Mrs. Lewis Alexandra, Mrs. Fitt; Castle, Mrs. Morgan Davies; Lan- dore and a part of Morriston, Miss Lizzie Davies.

DEATH OF MR. JOHN HENRY ROWLAND, J.P. With regret unfeigned we have to announce this week the death of Mr. John Henry Rowland, which took place on Tuesday morning, at his residence, Ffrwd Vale, Neath. The deceased gentleman had suffered a long illness from the effects of a chill which he had experienced a few years ago. His robust constitution availed him much, but at length it gave way, and on Monday he had a seizure which Dr. Llewellyn Davies, his medical attendant, pronounced most alarming, and that he was already in the throes of death. The result soon justified Dr. Davies's opinion, and in the course of a hours the patient peacefully passed away, having attained the patriarchal age of 80 years. The news of his demise soon spread, and we need hardly say, evoked the deepest sorrow and regret amongst all classes, for by his death Neath loses a staunch friend, a most familiar and genial face, whilst Swansea will mis. an influential neighbour, and the County of Glamorgan one of its oldest and most upright justices of the peace. Mr. John Henry Rowland was born at Neath, in ]819. He was the son of the late Mr. John Rowland, who resided at Glyn Clydach, and was well known as one of the promoters, in conjunc- tion with the late Mr. Wm. Stroud, of the Glamorganshire Bank, the Neath branch cf which he managed for many years. Having given his son, John Henry, a liberal education, the latter applied himself to the study of the law, and in due course became a partner in the firm of Rowland, Hacon, and Rowland, of London. During his sojourn in the Metropolis he married, the lady being Miss Jevons, who, after- wards, while paying a visit to her parental home at Glynleiros, near Neath, contracted an illness which ended in her death. Mr. Rowland, several years after, married a second time, the lady being the daughter of the late Mr. Christopher James, of Swansea, father of the late Lord Justice James, one of the Lords of the Appeal Court. On the retirement of his father from the management of the Glamorganshire Bank, at Neath, Mr. J. H. Rowland relinquished the law, and devoted attention to local and com- mercial business. In the course of time he became a member of the Corporation, and Mayor in the years 1856-57, 1871-72, 1879-80, 1880-81, and 1886-87, and was the senior alderman of the Town Council. He was a member of the Board of Guardians, and, after the death of Mr. Howel Gwyn, he lonog ccupied the chair. He was also chairman of the Neath Water Company up to the time of the transfer of that undertaking to the Corporation, and chairman of the Neath Harbour Commissioners. During his commissionership, he took a deep interest: in the matter of converting the river Nedd into a floating harbour. A large sum was expended on the work, but the whole scheme, unfortunately, proved a sad fiasco, and, I it is said, was the greatest disappointment he ever experienced. In 1889-90, Mr. Rowland filled the office of High Sheriff of his county with much dignity. Mr. R. P. Morgan, solicitor, acted as his deputy, and his friend, the late Archdeacon of Landaff, was the chaplain. The principal incident in his shrievalty was the first election of the Glamorgan County Council, which was carried out with great success, and afterwards Mr. Rowland himself became an active member, and Alderman of the County Council. He took a deep interest in the cause of education at Neath, and for many years he was the main supporter of the Britieh Schools until their acquisition by the Neath School Board. During the volunteer movement, Mr. Rowland strongly smpported the cause, and for some years, as captain, he commanded a very smart corps, which proved a credit to the town. In addition to other offices, he was, as stated above, chair- man of the Neath Water Company, and continued in office until the Company parted with the works and assigned them to the Corporation. In religious belief, Mr. Rowland was an Unitarian, but being no bigot, he often attended the services of the Established Church, as there was a strong friendship existing between him and the popular Rector of Neath. In politics, he was & Liberal Unionist, and was utterly opposed to the question of Home Rule of the Gladstene era. From the multifarious offices which he filled it will be seen he was a busy man, prompt and practical in business, and always was much attached to his native town. The gallant efforts which he and his respected fa.ther made to prevent the railway com- panies to cross the Neath river is a matter of history, and never will be forgotten by his tellow- townsmen. As it has been well said, he led an unostentatious life, his many acts of philanthropy have no public record, for he did good by stealth, and blushed to find it fame." He leaves no family, but an only daughter, to mourn his death. This she feels acutely, and we are sure she will receive the deepest sympathy of all classes in her sad bereavement and lonely sur- roundings. The funeral, which will be public, will take place on Friday (this day), at noon, when the remains will be taken to Cadoxton, and laid beside those of his wife in the family grave. The undertaker is Mr. J. Fear Davies, of Neath. A TRIBUTE AT THE POLICE COURT. Mr. Gibbins, who presided at the Neath Borough Police Court on Tuesday, referred to the death of Mr. Rowland, and said he regretted that the chief magistrate wa" not present. The late gentleman had rendered valuable services in various capacities in the town and county for many years. Five times he had been Mayor of Neath, and in the discharge of his public duties he had shown much ability, tact, and forbearance. His death was a great loss, and Mr. Gibbins desired to express on behalf of his colleagues on the Bench deep sympathy with his family, especially with Miss Rowland. Mr. Rowland's character was one which might be held up as an example for others to follow. In the sphere ef busy life he fouud time to render many and valuable services to the town in which he was located. Mr W. H. David, solicitor, said he deeply regretted the death of Mr. Rowland, as one of the advocates of the town he had had frequently to appear before him during the last 16 years. Mr. Rowland's decisions were always respected, and they were always given with the utmost impartiality, and with ability. Neath had lost by his death a valuable friend, and those who knew the deeeased gentleman as intimately as he did well knew his value as a justice of the peace. Not onlv Neath, but the whole of South Wales would miss him greatly, for his acts of philan- thropy were many, though unostentatious; while in public life his record was pure and uu- Mr. Edward Powell, solicitor, said he wished to express the high esteem and appraciation he had always felt towards Mr. Rowland, and he thought that the legal profession should in par- ticular voice such expression. Although it was not generally known. Mr. Rowland in early life was a member of the legal profession. He was of the firm of Rowland, Hacon, and Rowland. Speaking personally, he (Mr. Powell) entertained deep feelings of respect for Mr. Rowland and his family. He had come frequently into contact with him as chairman and member of various public bodies, particularly as chairman of the Board of Gnardians. He fully endorsed the remarks of Mr. David respecting the deceased gentleman's uprightness, integrity, and ability. A valued correspondent writes:—Ever useful in the district of Neath, the late Mr. Rowland's popularity was attested by the fact that for five years he was elected and re-elected Mayor and Chief Magistrate of the Borough. In the early; days of the service he became an active officer of volunteers. Mr. Rowland wa.s one of the few remaining direct descendants of the ancient Awbrey (Alberic) family temü. W. 1) of Aber- kenfrig, Brecknockshire, m the maternal hne through the Ys^radgynlais branch, Miss Aubrey, j of Swansea Mr W. H..Essery, of Caswell; and Mr. R. Aubrey Essery, of Penmaen, the chair- man of the Gower Board of Guardians, being about the only remaining representatives of that branch. The other branch wasthat of Llantrithyd. Mr. Rowland was the senior county magistrate in the Neath Division, his name having been added to the Commission of the Penlaoe. in 1859, and he filled the office of High Sheriff in 1888. He married first a daughter of the late William Jevons, who died early, and second, Emma, youngest daughter of the late Christopher James, who died in 1890, and now leaves a daughter the only issue of the second marriage.

LOCAL NEWS. ABERAVON AND PORT TALBOT NOTES AND NEWS. BY RAMBLER.] Thank goodness the phenomenal heat of the past week or two has left us and that we can now descend to the English climate which after all said and done is best suited to the work-a-day Englishman. The town was full of visitors on Bank Holiday, and of course the sea beach was thronged chiefly with the hewers of coal from the Rhondda Valley. That little thunderstorm in the afternoon upset a lot of arrangements. It proved an involuntary washing day for the ladies' dresses. Hundreds of visitors were drenched to the skin, exposed as they were to the full force of the storm and without practically any means of protection. It is on such occasions as thunderstorms that the attractions of the beach are found to be so handicapped. It is simply then a barren waste, with hardly a single building to afford shelter. But better times are in store and we hope that at no distant date the fine beach will be replete with the comforts and conveniences of up-to-date watering-places. The annual flower show of the Margam Cottage Gardeners' was held in the beautiful grounds of the Margam Castle on Bank Holiday and as usual was well attended. But one doubts whether the innovation to hold the show on a public holiday is a wise one in point of patronage. There was a splendid lot of exhibits hnd the show must rank in equal merit with its predecessors in this respect. It is quite refreshing to see that the love for the national summer game-cricket-is not quite dead in the town and, thanks to the cricket enthusiasm of Mr. John E. May, a capital day's cricket was arranged with Cowbridge at the latter's splendidly appointed ground. Mr. May got together a fairly representative eleven and the journey up (which was undertaken by brake) proved a delightful outing. The party numbered 20. A most enjoyable game ended in a win for Cowbridge by 30 runs and five wickets to spare, the scores being, Mr. May's team 120, Cowbridge 150 for five wickets. Miss Talbot's public-spirited generosity has once again showed itself in an unmistakeable manner at Port Talbot, whore she has at her own cost carried out a very fine road improvement. The old main road between Port Talbot and Taibaoh has been diverted on to a new road, with a width of 50ft. between the fences. As we have said, it is a splendid improvement, and as the development of the district goes on, which of course is the object in view in making the diver- sion, this main thoroughfare will be a very imposing one. Here is an interesting document which was reoently addressed to a Port Talbot gentleman Corporation of Avon (otherwise Aberavon) DEAR SIR, Your letter was placed before the court last night and I am instructed to say that one more notice is required to terminate your present taking before dealing with a second one. —Yours faithfully, J. C. Jones, Recorder, Church-street." So Aberavon can actually boast of a Recorder and a Court. The only court (outside of Friendly Society's Courts) that we were aware of in the town was the Police Court, but we have been mistaken. There also appears to be running round an offshoot of the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Aberavon'' in the shape of the Corporation of Avon with its seal and official notepaper. There should be no mistake about the good govern- ment of the town with two corporations looking after its interests, but the interest of one appears to be purely of a financial character, not, mind you, to distribute £ s. d. but to rake it in. We should like to be a member of the Corporation. ABERAVON TOWN COUNCIL. HIGHWAY COMMITTEE SIT IN COUNCIL. The usual monthly meeting of the Highway Committee of the Town Council was held at the Council Chamber on Wednesday afternoon when there were present Aid. W. Williams (in the chair), his Worship the Mayor (Councillor H. Wood), Aldermen Smith, Stokes and Walsh, and Councillors John Davies, Rees Thomas, Henry Jones, Moses Thomas, T. A. Burgess, W. Williams, J. H. Williams and F. E. Perry. The Surveyor presented his usual monthly report but there was nothing of general interest arising therefrom. He also presented, in accordance with a resolution, a statement of the cost of scavenging the town, which worked out at C274 17s. lOd. a year. This was deemed a satisfactory outlay and the question of putting out the scavenging by contract was not pursued further. A general discussion took place over the bathing regulations at the beach, some members charac- terising the present arrangements as disgraceful. Men and women bathed in the same locality without let or hindrance, whilst members of the sterner sex who did not bathe simply strolled round to the spot where the ladies came out on the sands and kept the more modest of them in tho water. Then that question of mixed bathing cropped up, and when the discussion showed signs of waning, of course Dr. Williams chimed in with a declaration that the women nersisted in going to the men's bathing quarters- and what could the poor men do ? Eventually the zigzag debate was brought to a close by a resolution to replace the notice boards, which Davy Jones had long since washed away, containing the bye- laws at the beach and a sub-committee was appointed to define the lines of demarcation between the male and female bathing grounds. This out of the way, Councillor Moses Thomas talked about getting an Act of Parliament to control the boatmen who plied for hire off the beach, but when the discussion ascended to such heights as Acts of Parliament this was more than the meeting could stand, and they promptly adjourned it sine die. The committee next came down from Acts of Parliament to consider tenders for hay and corn, and the tender of Mr. J. M. Evans, Aberavon, for best clover hay at 3s. 5d. per ton was accepted. It was decided to grant Mr. Ebley of the Olympic Theatre, Maesteg, a renewal of his theatrical licence if he came on the ground on the 1st September next. Mr. W. Haggar of the Castle Theatre. Treorky, also applied, but Mr. Ebley had the first offer. Mr. Edward Knox (Miss Talbot's agent) politely informed the committee that he was prepared to verify to the full extent any statements which he had made to the President of the Local Govern- ment Board and the committee at once resolved to ask him to do so. This was all the business of interest. [FOR FURTHER DISTRICT NEWS SEE PAGE 8.1

LADIES' WATER POLO. SWANSEA V. PENARTH. The Swansea Ladies' Swimming Club quite retrieved their depest at the hands nf Penarth three or four weeks ago, when on Wednesday afternoon they played the lady representatives of that town at the Swansea Baths. There was a large attendance of ladies, and the greatest interest was evinced in the game. which, from start to finish, was prettily and pluckily played by the ^ladies. The teams faced each other in the water as follows --Penartb.. Miis Smith, goal; Miss Ferris. Miss F. Neale, backs Mi-s F. Court, half-back Miss G. Milburn, Miss M. Lee, Miss C. Court (captiin). forwards. Swansea: Miss Essie Jones, Miss Gladys Wyrill, Miss Francis, forwards Mrs. C. L. Bath (c,iptainl, half-back Miss Eva Chapman, and Mrs. C. E. Eady. backs Miss Thomas, goal. Soon after the start of the game Miss Wyrill, a clever little lady in the water, surprised the snectators by registering two very smart goals for Swansea, and at the close of play Swansea won by six goals to one. The scorers for Swansea were Mi-s Wyrill (four), Miss Francis (one), and Miss Eva Chap- man (one). Mr. Ivor Evans was the referee.

LANWRTYD WELLS.-T-he CAMBRIAN" L may be obtained of Messrs. W. H. SMITH and SON, at the Railway Station. ItemsofNews and Advertisements may be sent direct to the "CAMBRIAN" Offices, Wind-street, Swansea.

THE BRIGHTON.—The usual weekly list of excursions by the popular passenger steamship Brighton will be found in our advertising columns. The Light Wines of Germany, so appreciated in the Summer Season, are in favourwith the Medical Profession. "Zeller," from the Moselle district, is a wine light and palatable, and guaranteed absolutelj pure. At the exceedingly low price of Is. a bottle, it is generally considered to be of wonderful value. It can be obtained of •11W. A A. Gilbey's 3,000 Agents throughout the country.

The result of the action brought by Mr. H. W. Wills, architect, agaiast the Governors of the Intermediate Schools has, it must be confessed, ,caused much uneasiness among those ratepayers -Who take a genuine interest in local education. It has certainly intensified the feeling in favour of a thorongh investigation into the management of or intermediate schools. It it evident-more now than ever-that a mistake has been commit- ted, and that the ratepayers must pay font. Justice Kennedy, in his summing up on Tuesday, went strong against the Governors, and he really left the jury no alternative but to bring in the -verdict they did. Of course, the result has occasioned elation and disappointment. We confess we are disappointed, grievously dis- appointed. We do not feel disposed, however, to agree with all the attacks that have been levelled at the Mayor, Mr. Tutton and the majority of those who have honestly and seriously endeavoured to promote intermediate education in Swansea. Many of these attaoks are spiteful -and quite unjustified. A mistake has been made, it is clear, but upon whose shoulder it should be fastened we must leave to the Charity Commis- Bioners' representative to decide. Thousands of people entered and left Swansea on Bank Holiday. Upwards cf 30,000 travelled ever the Mumbles railway, a similar number patronised the tramways, and our parks and sands were crowded with pleasure seekers all day. The weather was beautifully fine. In some parts of Carmarthenshire, particularly in the xeighbourbood of Llandilo, heavy thunderstorms prevailed. The rain flooded the roads for the time, the peals of thunder were unusually heavy and sharp, and the lightning very vivid. The XJandilo sports were greatly interfered with. Local lovers of football should be more than satisfied with the bill of fare which Mr. Perkins', secretary of the Swansea Club, has provided for the coming winter. It is evident Mr. Perkins has spared no effort to make the list as strong and attractive as possible. With Mr. Bancroft as captain of the first fifteen, and almo&t all last year's players available, the "All Whites" should experience another successful season.