The Cardiff Times

NEW PERSIAN REGENT. Aboul Gassim Khan. Nasir-el-Mulk, who has. been elected by the Mejliss as regent in succes- sion to the late Ali Reza, was educated in Teheran, and graduated at Balliol College, Ox- ford. In 1889 he was made K.C.M.G. while on a visit to this country. In 1897 he was sent-on a special mission tc Europe to announce the accession of Muzzsiier-ed Din Shah, and was created G.C.M G. The new Regent has held several important posts in the Persian Govern-^ Nasir-el-Mulk. I I ment, and has been Governor of Kurdistan. He left Persia in December, lcff7, under British protection. While premier he had been arrested, and his life was considered to be in danger until the British Government intervened. He was again offered the premiership and the portfolio of Foreign Affairs two years later by the National Government, but- be declined office. He was elected Regent by 40 votes, to 29 recorded for the present Pretoier," Musawfr- ol-Mamatik.

GENERAL WOLFE MEMORIAL. Mr F. Derwent Wood, A.R.A., has now com- pleted his clay model of the bronze statue of Wolfe, which is to be erected at Westerham, in > Kent, his birthplace, by the Wolfe Memorial Committee, of which Lord Roberts is chair- man. It will be the first statue of Wolfe in the British Empire. The figure is 7ft. 9in. high, and represents the soldier as he appeared just before he received the fatal bullet in the mo- ment of victory on the Heights of Abraham. The statue, which is fuller of life and daring than is usually the case with such monuments in this country, will stand on a great pedestal of Portland stone and will be erected on the village greeD. It is to be unveiled early in January.

NEW MILITARY AIR CORPS. Major Sir Alexander Bannerman, who has been appointed to organise and command the newly-formed military air corps, has been on the general staff of th6 War Office. He goes to Aldershot this week. Major Bannerman has had experience of modern warfare in the Russo- Japanese war, during which he was present as I Major Sir Alexander Bannerman, Bart. one of the British military attaches. He has also had a good deal of experience in balloon ing, in which he has taken a practical interest for ten years, having made several notable flights in nis own balloon. This experience will be valuable to him in organising the new corps, in which* airmen, mechanics, and experts of various kinds will be embodied.

ATTACK ON BANK MANAGER. Antecedents of Suspects. Paris, Wednesday—The police have ascer- tained that one of the individuals arrested in connection with the robbery perpetrated on a bank messenger in broad daylight on the Boule- vards has been previously arrested for theft at Rotterdam under the name of William Arnheime, of Gal way, Ireland. The other individual arrested, who gives the name of William Marrit, has also already been arrested under various names at New Orleans. Chicago, London, and Brussels Reuter. V

WELSH COUNTRY HOMES. XLIII.-Tretower Court. A MEDIEVAL MANOR HOUSE. Inhabited for 450 Years. ANCIENT HOME OF THE VAUGHANS. Memories of The Silurist." Two long miles above the pretty Breconshire town of Crickhowell the little Rhiangoll stream rattles down a lovely valley from the north- west to join its crystal waters with the River Usk. This valley is known often as Cwmdhu, but this, in summer days at any rate, is a sad misnomer, for it is a wild and glorious vale, and when you see it filled, from Waun Fach to shapely Mynydd Troed, with brilliant sunshine you mark it as one of the fairest spots in all the lovely land of Brycheiniog. In this choice setting nestles Tretower Court, the ancient home of the Vaughans. The county of Brecon possesses many fine old manor i TRETOWER COURT-THE MAIN FRONT FROM THE SOUTH EAST. I houses, but for all round interest few will com- t pare with Tretower. It lies near the mouth of the Rhiangoll Valley and less than half a ,mile from the high way that lends from Abergavenny to Brecon. The whirling motorist passes it on- heeded because its grey walls, corbelled after the mediaeval manner, occupy a site which is, even in these days, a backwater of travel. It is fit, that it should be so, because this old fortified manor housi remains in this twentieth century of ours a relic of unspoiled mediaeval- ism, and as you pass beneath its Gothic gate- hctuse and tread its ancient courtyard you get at once, if you have aught of romance about you, into touch with times when the latest news was of Agincourt and when Harry the Fifth (who was cradled at Monmouth) held sway in Metric England. Concerning the Vaughan Family. The Vaughans were a bra.ve race, sprung, so the old geneaologists say, from that Maenarch Lord of Brecknock, among whose descendants are also numbered the Glamorgan families of Jenkins of Hensol, Price of Penllergaer, and Jones of Fonmon. There were three great lines" of the Vaughans—at Brewardine, Hergest, and Tretower, and their descendants spread into every county in South Wales. They have pro- duced in all ages famous men. A seventeenth century example was Henry Vaughan the Silurist," the sweetest poet South Wales has known these three centuries* and in our own day that noble pillar of Anglicanism the late- Dean Vaughan of Llandaff. When on the field of Agincourt, after Eng- land's victory had been won, Roger Vaughan of Brcdwardine and David Gam of Newton lay a-dying King Henry, in greatful recogni- TRETOWER COURT—THE WEST SIDE FROM THE NORTH-WEST, Showing the original Medieval buildings and Tudor additions on the extreme right. i tion of their dearly-bought valour, knighted them both. Sir Roger, who had married the daughter of David Gam, left behind him a numerous progeny, of whom the thitd son bore his father's name. This Sir Roger Vaughan was the ancestor of the Vaughans of Tretower, and he is generally credited with being the builder of the old manor, though the archi- tecture of the old portion is indicative of nearly a century earlier. The Builder of Tretower. After the death of her husband at Agincourt, the mother of Sir Roger married Sir Rhys Thomas, K.G., whose father had come from that famous old home of the Herberts at Werndu, and the issue of this marriage was William the First Earl of Pembroke. Between Sir Roger of Tretower and his half brother a -strong affec- tion existed, and as the Earl rose in favour of his monarch the latter obtained for him grants of land, 96 that he became a Lord of many acres both in Breconshire and in the county of Glamorgan, his estates in the latter including the land now occupied by the town of Merthyr Tydfil. He was accounted the richest commoner in the county of Brecon, and was a man of great power and influence in biis day. When the wars of the Roses rent the country into opposing camps he allied himself with the Yorkists and fell at the Battle of Banbury in 1469. His eldest son, Sir Thomas Vaughan, who succeeded him at Tretower, was the Vaughan of Shakespeare's Richard III. He was be- headed at Pomfret in 1483, and it was his ghost which appeared to the Crookback upon the eve of Bosworth and uttered the dread imprecation. Think upon Vaughan, and with guilty fear Let fall thy lance de3pair, and die The great-grandson of Sir Thomas was Chris- topher Vaughan, of Tretower, who was Sheriff of Brecknock in 1547, and his son, William Vaughan was sheriff in 1590. From his son William came Thomas Vaughan, of'Newton, who was the grandfather of Henry Vaughan, the poet. Henry Vaughan, Silurist." No reference to the Tretower family would be complete without a reference to Henry Vaughan, Silurist," one of the very few Welsh poets who can rightly claim a place in an an- thology of English verse. He was born in 1622, and published his first poems at the age of 24. For beauty of sentiment Vaughan ranks high in English literature, but his method of expres- sion is strangely unequal in its standard, though it would be doing him an injustice not to say that on a few occasions in his verse ex- treme beauty of thought and diction combine to place him among the immortals. In this con- nection one recalls that glorious opening of his poem, The World I saw eternity the other night, Like a great ring of pure and endless light." and those other great lines concerning his de- parted friends :— They are all gone into the world of light, And I alone sit lingering here, Their very memory is fair and bright, And my sad thoughts doth clear. Dear, beauteous death, the jewel of the just Shining nowhere but in the dark, What mysteries lie beyond thy dust, Could man o'erlook that mark I Aad yet, as angels in some brighter dreams Call to the soul when man doth sleep. So some strange thoughts transcend our wonted themes And into glory peep." With such chaste music ringing in our ears let us pace the narrow, sinuous byway that leadeth from the Abergavenny and Brecon high road to the ancestral dwelling-place of our poet's forbears. Tretower To-day. I Tretower Court lies upon the western side of the lane, its long east front, which is pierced by a trio of gothic archways, abutting, upon the roadway. A line of corbels marks the meeting of the upper and the lower storeys. Below, whitewash covers the early fifteenth-century stonework, but above the cos-bells, where the wall projects several inched, the grey front rises to the stone roof, where, to the front of the main entrance, ivy has fought successfully 1. for the possession of the parapets. You are at once impressed with the fact that here is a building that was erected in a warlike day when defence was a necessity. The broad oak door- way beneath the gatehouse readily respond^ to our touch, and we enter the quadran- gular courtyard. To-day Tretower is thp home of a tenant farmer. The courtyard is redolent of his profession. In one corner is a gabo, one of those long emaciated tw^o- wheeled vehicles, at least one of which forms part of the rolliing, stock of every Breconshire farmer. A straw-heap and one or two milk cans provide further evidence of the tenant's calling. Like Treowen and Llancaiach Fawr, Tretower has fallen from the pride of place which it occupied when the richest commoner in Breconshire trod its courtyard and enter- tained royally in the Banqueting Hall hard by. The fine old gatehouse has recesses oneither side beneath the archway. Viewed from within this gateway forms a very picturesque object with its well-proportioned stone archway, and its rough stone walls flanked by more massive I' masonry at the angles. A crown of ivy on the summit hangs its careless beauty down the west side, half covering the window. An Old World Courtyard. The courtyard is amply fortified on every side. Along the main front to north and south of the gatehouse there is an allure or covered walk on the ion of the wall 'connecting the gatehouse with the. main dwelling. This allure has loop-Holes, and is roofed over, thus afford- ing perfedt shelter to the defender in the event of an attack. The northern side of the court yard is I especially picturesque, for here the walk along the eastern wall is continued in what to-day looks like a sort of colonnade formed by a ■eries of ancient wooden supports, which run in irregular fashion from the summit of the ground floor to the roof. This has been ground floor to the roof. This has been described as an ancient balcony," but a careful examination of it lends colour to the theory that the supports which still stand are the remains of a haJf-timber wall. In this con- nection it may be noted that the wall on the other side of the walk, and dividing it from the main buildings on the northern side, is built on I the half-timber principle, with upright and horizontal beams. The southern side of the courtyard was I formed, as it still is, of a double wall, with an allure in the upper storey connecting with the gatehouse. Au inspection, however, of this south wall from* the outside reveals the fact that at one time or other there were buildings outside this double wall. The outline of the wail of the courtyard, as it was in mediaeval times, is now obscured by the presence of more recent buildings in the south-eastern and Bouth-western corners. I The Great Hall.. The western side of the quadrangle is formed by the principal apartments and it is sad to relate that to-day at Tretower the greater portion of it is utilised as a bam. The great hall, or banquetting hall, as it is called in the case in point, is immediately opposite the gate house. It is filled for more than half its height with hay, which quite precludes the possibility of a photograph giving any idea of its full proportions, but a climb up a ricketty 'ladder, and a subsequent journey across the hay, enabled us to examine at close quarters the old open timber roof, which is undoubtedly coeval with the house. It is one of the finest examples which we have seen in South Wales, and the photograph-which we append will give some idea of its construction. The principals which support the roof at intervals of eight or nine feet are ornamented with quatrefoil and trefoil incisions. An inter- esting decorative effect is created by the curved braces which spring from the princi- pals and lend additional support to the purlius or lateral beams on which the small rafters rest. Its Decorative Features. At the southern extremity of the roof the in- terior of the gable end is of wood, with plaster- filled incisions cut on the lower part to repre- sent four trefoil headed windows, while the triangular space formed by the top of the gable contains a quatrefoil with a trefoil on either side. A moulded cross beam finishes off, this interesting piece of decoration at its lower extremity. This decoration at the south end corresponds almost ex- actly with the design of the rudely fashioned grille, or openwork screen, at the northern end of the Great Hall, which presumably railed off the gallery. The remains of a staircase which evidently led to the gallery may be seen out- side the west wall. The lighting of the Great Hall came from windows*on the eastern side looking out on to the courtyard. The exterior of these windows bear very evident traces of 17th centiiry re- decoration, for they have wooden frames and cornices of a distinctly classical type, which are now fast falling into decay. A Notable Tudor Addition. Tretower Court was the product of many generations. We have referred to work of the late I4th or early 15th centuriep, and also to the external handiwork of two centuries later. The south-western portion, however, represents an intermediary period, and a glance at our* illus- tration of the western side will at, once reveal the work of Tudor builders, with its irregu- larity of outline, quaint gables, and distinctive chimneys. This addition came in days when defence had ceased to be a first necessity. When the need for increased accomodation came it would appear to have been built on at the most convenient corner, in the casual way that Tudor designers so often worked. It added very considerably to the length of the western side of the building, and to-day forms at once a very picturesque feature of Tretower Court, and a most interesting contrast in point of architecture to the original building. Tretower Court is now owned by Lord Glanusk. When we visited it a few weeks ago the tenant, who has been there many years, was preparing to leave, so that the place will soon be vacant. It is in charming country, the glory of romance encompasses it, and, as we have also shown, it possesses many fine archi- tectural features. Why should such a famous old Manor House be allowed to remain a farm ? A tenant with a < aste for ancient things might do much to restore it to its former state. Next Week—Usk Priory.

Dr. Crippen's Defence. PROTRACTED TRIAL EXPECTED. A Press representative was on Wednesday in- formed at the offices of Mr Arthur Newton, the solicitor engaged in the defence of Dr. Crippen and Miss Le Neve, that, notwithstanding the statements that have been made to the con- trary, no counsel has yet been briefed on Dr. Crippen's behalf, when he Stands his trial at the Old Bailey at the forthcoming Sessions for the alleged murder of his wife. Mr Arl-hur Newton is at present engaged in negotiations with several eminent counsel, but it is understood that Mr Marshall Hall, K.C., will not undertake the brief. As already announced, Mr F. E. Smith. K.C., M.P., will lead in the defence of Miss Le Neve, his junior being Mr Barrington Ward. It is expected that the trial will come on for hearing on the 18th inst. and will last for at least a week, in consequence of the large num- ber of witnesses to be called on both sides. It is expected that two new witnesses at least will be called by the Treasury.

Unaccountable Shots. MYSTERIOUS FERNDALE AFFAIR. An extraordinary shooting affair, fortunately not attended with fatal results, occurre I on Wednesday afternoon at Ferndale, an elderly man whose name is given as Fitzgerald, has been arrested in connection with the affair. It appears that two of the young men-Thomas Davies, Tonyrefail; and Dan Jones, Oak-, street, Ferndale, were walking up the main throughfare of Ferndale when Fitzgerald who preceded them by about ten yards sud- denly turned round, and levelled a revolver at them He fired twice in quick successsion. The first shot struck Davies in the chest, and the second grazed Jones's head, and lodged in the fleshy part of the leg of a man named Evan Evans, of Albert-street, Ferndale, who was walking on the opposite side of the street. The two men, Jones and Davies, rushed into a shop near by, and on examination the bullet which struck Davies in the chest was found. His escape seems to have been little short of the miraculous, for the bullet penetrated his clothing, struck against his breast bone, and in some unaccountable way finally lodged itself in the hem of his waistcoat, the end of the bullet being flattened by the impact. Evans was the more seriously injured, the bullet lodging itself in the fleshy part of the leg above the knee. Dr T. W. Parry, who was immediately summoned, probed the wound, but it was some time before the bullet could be extracted. In the meantime Fitzgerald had thrown the weapon to the ground, and making no effort to escape, was arrested by Inspector Thomas, who quickly arrived on the scene. The accused man, who gave his name as James Fitzgerald, is a mason by trade, and has been living in Ferndale for about three months. Prisoner, who quietly submitted to arrest, saying All right," refuses to say any- thing about his antecedents, and nothing can be gathered so far to account for his extra- ordinary frenzy. The affair remains a complete mystery, as no motive can be attributed for the rash act. All the men are said to have been absolute strangers to each other. Davies, a seafaring man, is a native of Llanelly, and had only arrived at Ferndale from Tonyrefail that morning in search of work. He met Jones at Tylorstown, who just previous to the occur- rence was giving him information as to where he would find a gentleman whp would put him in the way of securing employment. Fitzgerald has been in the Army, and has seen service in India.

NEW JUDGE. Mr Montague Lush attains the/judicial bench at the age of 56. two years earlier than his father, the late Sir Robert Lush, a prominent judicial figure half a century ago. Mr Lush, who has long been known as one of the most pertinacious men at the Bar, has had nothing to do with politics. He was called to the Bar in 1879, and enjoyed so large a practice at the junior Bar that he could not afford to take silk until eight years ago, since when he has always Mr Montague Lush, K.C. I been fll the running for a judgeship. He has the reputation of being a very sound lawyer, and is very conversant with commercial law.

EXPLOSION AT TREDEGAR. Several Persons Injured. An extraordinary accident occurred at the Tredegar Territorial drill hall, belonging to the D Co. 3rd Battalion Monmouthshire Regi- ment, about midday on Wednesday. Sergeant-Instructor Phillips, who resfdes on the premises, and Sergeant T. P. Northam went into the cellar, in which the heating apparatus is fixed, for the purpose of cleaning it up. Sergeant Northam struck a matcn and threw it on the floor near the stove. Instantly there was a terrific explosion, and the two men were thrown to the ground, both being severely burned. They were promptly conveyed to the local hospital. Sergeant Northam appears to have fared the worst. His injuries consist of burns about the head and hands ,and he was in a state of collapse. His clothes were also extensively scorched. Instructor Phillips also sustained burns on his face and hands, and his four-year-old SOD, who had followed him into the cellar, was slightly burned on the forehead and one hand. The theory is that a number of empty cart- ridges had inadvertently been placed in the cellar, and were ignited by the match which Sergeant Northam threw on the floor, the cor- dite thread exploding. The damage to the building was slight.

WAR UNDER WATER. The submarine Dl is the first vessel of that type to be fitted with wireless telegraphy ap- paratus. Of course, a system of submarine sig- nalling from ship to shore, and from ship to ship, has been in operation for some time, but communications have not hitherto been made by wireless. The success of the experiments now being made depends on the power of an- The Dl, Fitted with Wireless." other element than air to transmit the Hert- zian waves, and it is believed a system will be found which will meet the necessities of sub- marines in naval warfare. Should such prove to be the case, submarines could then be directed on to the vessels of the enemy, whether they were on the surface of the water or below it.

EXCITING SCENES AT A FIRE. Rescues in Night Attire. Exciting scenes were witnessed at a fire in St. John's-road, Hoxton, early on Wednesday morning. About half-past two a man passing by the premises of a bootmaker named Feld- man smelt the fumes of burning leather and then noticed smoke issuing from the shop. He hammered at the door and then hurried away to give the fire alarm. The noise awoke Mrs Blackaller, who found her bedroom filled with suffocating smoke. She aroused the rest of the family and they went to the staircase only to find escape cut off by flames bursting from the shop. They opened the first floor window and called for help. While ladders were being obtained Mrs Blackaller seized the baby and her little daughter and managed to reach the roof. Here with her baby in her arms and the little girl clinging in terror to her nightdress, she waited until the fire escape dashed up. M was quickly raised, and amid the cheers of a big crowd a fireman ascended and rescued Mrs Blackaller and her children from their perilous positioiy In the meantime Mr Black- aller and his two sons escaped from the house by means of a builder's ladder raised to a win- dow. The fire was extinguished before it had time to spread f-om the shop, which was com- pletely dest;iyyed.

WELSH GLEANINGS. News and Views in Lighter Vein. Major the Hon. C. G. Bryce, Lord Aberdare's youngest son, will soon appear in the role of author. His book Twenty years in the Himalayas" will be published this month by Mr Edward Arnold. The Lord Mayor of Cardiff has confessed that when he sent out a few circulars in May last he little expected they would result in the de- velopment of a big national memorial which would likely last for many generations. The head of the War Office, the Right Hon. R. B. Haldane, K.C.. M.P., will deliver the inaugural address for the session at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. on the 13th of October, and will speak on The Soul of a People." The Rev. Dr. Williams, Landore, editor of Seren Cymru," declares that he has been for almost half a century a minister of the Gospel, and during that long period he docs not recall a period so difficult to do real Christian work as the present. On September 28th someone inquired about the old village stocks used in English and Welsh places. While on my holidays down in Dorset (writes a reader) I saw two stocks, one in the old Shirehall and the other in the museum, amongst many other such curiosities at Dorchester. The Rev. J. H. Ritson, M.A., London, at Neath last week referred to some amusing sign boards in China. A sign board outside a bar- ber's shop read, Chin Chang, head cutter." A photographer displayed his business as Photographers executed here," and an "gg merchant advertised his business as For saht extract of fowls." I have not yet written to congratulate the King on his wisdom in allowing the investiture of the Prince df Wales to be held at Carnarvon. I see that the Swansea Cymmrodorion Society has done so, but then the Cymmrodorion Society has the cheek of a brass elephant."— An Aberystwythian outburst. According to" Gardd y Beirdd," published in 1869, Mr E. Richards (Glan Elai). Cymmer, won a straw chair (cadair wellt) at an Eistedd- fod at Wick. Myfyr Morganwg being the ad- judicator. Can any reader give the date of this Eisteddfod 1 Is there any record of an. other cadair wellt being given as a prize at an Eisteddfod ? There has just passed away at the age of 72 Mrs Gwenllian Arnold, of Swansea, a lady whose quaint Welsh bonnet and flannel pais a bedcwn singled her out for attention. She was the relict of the late Mr Jeremiah Arnold, of Cwmbwrla, where the family has lived for generations. She was one of the few remain- ing who saw the first train steam into Swansea. A teachers' meeting was held recently at Caerphilly, at which were present a large number of ladies, whose ages ranged from 20 to 35 years. At the close a request came from the chair that some of the oldest' ladies present should speak." Not a single lady replied. This plan may be commended where ladies are fond of too much public speaking. Garwite wants to know the publisher of the song entitled The Collier's Wedding. It was composed by some gentleman living near Cardiff, and begins thus :— A collier I be, sir, And so you shall see, sir, If you'll listen to me, sir, You'll laugh I'll be bound. The most miserable days of my life were those after I was appointed ChanceUor of the Exchequer." Mr Lloyd George alluded in these words, of course, to the demise of Mair Eluned, his daughter, which occurred just then. Yet a Cardiff contemporary, in its anxiety to abase the Chancellor, irreverently comments that he has since then made a lot of other people miserable, too. The only reason Willie remained always at the bottom of the class was that he could go no lower. He was a dunce of the deepest dye. Schoolmasters cast up their hands in despair of him. Extra tasks availed little, camnga less. He was unteachable. Oh, Willie, Willie," cried his teacher after ten minutes ineffectual explanation, whatever do you think your head is for ?" Willie thought it was another of those questions and pondered deeply. "Please, Miss," he replied at last, to keep my collar on." In the interesting sotlvenir of the National Federation of Assistant Teachers, edited by Mr D. W. Oates, Newport, the following quota- tion about Monmouthshire is given :— To thee, brave Gwent, praise doth alone belong, Thou ne'er wor'st chains, impatient wert of wrong When Saxons, Danes, and Normans Britain sway'd Thou scorn'st the servile yokeon others laid With courage great, most bravely did'st maintain Thy rights, so long enjoyed; may they remain. At the centenary meeting of the Kestii auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible < Society last week at Neath, the Rev. X. H. Ritson, of London, said he recently discovered the first report of the Neath Auxiliary. It was published 100 years ago, and referred to the work the auxiliary had done in Neath, the report stated that visits had been paid to aD aged couple, over 10 years of age, wfaoireee presented with Welsh Bibles. They hadaot been able to speak Welsh, but imoedia*e|r decided to master the language, andttwda N man succeeded in doing so in 15 iiwnflil^i^iftt his wife succeeded in mastering it m years, being taught by a Welshman t with them. Post Office Sagacity—A letter, posts* «% Blaina, and addressed "To the Coooby «C Monmouth, B Division, Office, Bbbw Vale,* was recently delivered by the postman to J. Ball, inspector of weights and hmmom, Jo* whom the letter was meant. AIm. afffpot was a letter which reached these offices last week addressed wholly in shorthand. Recently a letter bearing the solitary name, "OoImmI Morris," stared at the Cardiff Ptast Office officials in a maze of other ootTeepaodknofe Colonel Morris, Ammanford, got^tright enoogfe next morning. To all West Wateeppopte then is but one Colonel Morris, and a West WeIIIt- man is on the Cardiff staff. But it is JQae robbing a child of his jam to "show up" Post Office sagacity. Talfyrydd says that the fallowing isws km often sung by mothers in lulling their habeato sleep in Monmouthshire, many,.eø.rs ago, aDCI would like to know if the mothers of still observe the same old custom :— Mae genyf iar yn eistedd Ar ben y Scyryd Fawr, Mae'n rhaid cael benthyg ysgol I dynu hon i lawr Mae haner cant o wyau o tani, sicr yw Caf haner cant o sylltau, Os bydd y cywion byw. O cysg, fy mhlentyn glan, ffal di dal. In a colliery village lives an aged coaplf who have always taken a pint of beer each foR their supper when they could afford to do 80. Onj night not very long ago they were persuaded by one of their neighbours to buy a quarter ot a barrel, as they would get the liquor for two- pence per pint, thus saving twopence each night. After tapping the barrel the first night, and when they each had drank their pint, the old man said, cheerily :—" Hey, Jenny, that's champion. We've saved tuppence the first night. What; d'ye say if. we hev another pint apiece, and save the fowerpence ?" The great Dalis, Cwmaman, was laid to rest 25 years ago. His grave lies in probably one of the prettiest cemeteries in Wales. It is half- way up Pen Tyrcant, a peak of the Black Mountains. Below lies the valley of the Amman, its villages growing so rapidly as to make one long straggling town reaching from Pantyffynnon to Brynamman, a distance of about eight mileø. The Hen Bethel Church- yard is hemmed in by trees, and on one side is a thick woodland with pleasant winding paths up the hillside..Even now, at this short dis- tance of time since his death, the inscription ob the divine's tombstone is almost indecipher able. After setting out the details of hif career—he spent 4Z years in Dyffryn Amman the following tribute is added —" He was at accomplished scholar, an able theologian, at eloquent and powerful preacher, and hit ministry was eminently successful." Festival gossip is hardly yet over, and thfc story is a strong favourite in Cardiff :—Ab organist, who on the eve of a festival, was taken suddenly ill, secured a deputy to take his place. The deputy was a gentleman who played a very full organ, playing full chords" where his principal played only single notes* and consequently using a much larger quantity of wind. When about three parts through with the Hallelujah Chorus the wind sud- denly gave out. Going round t<1 the back of the organ to ascertain the reason, the deputy found the blower in the act of putting on his coat preparatory to going home. What du you mean by such behaviour ?" the deputy angrily expostulated. Look here, sir." the blower returned with warmth, If you think I 1 don't know 'o-.v many puffs it takes to blow the 'Ailelujah Chorus you make a big mis- i take." x-

TOBACCO BEST TRY IT.

WORKMEN'S TOPICS. THE OSBORNE JUDGEMENT AGAIN. By MABON, M.P. » Mr Austen Chamberlain has spoken and wa long ago learned to respect the name of j/^mberlain—notwithstanding the political ij^uption and the misrepresentations of the principles that the name has caused. Mr j*?sten Chamberlain has in his last effusion v'u two things that should be registered. He renounced against the reversal of the Osborne figment as something that would be con- to all the doctrines of liberty and freedom ^ich he had been taught." When I read the J?rds that old familiar phrase rushed into my Wonders never cease." Mr Austen jMmberlain of all men in the world ^°uld not talk of liberty and freedom k Birmingham under the Chamberlain regime, much liberty and freedom did his Tariff rm friends and co-workers allow the tlionist Free Traders ? But the most import- part, to my mind, in his second pronounce- is against Trade Unions, and that he did 111 even mention the palliative of pay- of members. His mind on this question ?je must suppose is open and will not be closed until Mr Balfour will hare v Austen Chamberlain hailed the Tariff trip- Jj8 as the apostles who are to save Great Brit- Ik* from the infamy of Free Trade, notwith- Hj ?ding that that infamy at this moment is us a trade boom that has not its j^llel in any other country under the sun. ^"Uring the last seven months our imports 22 millions better than in the correspond- Jj? seven months of 1909, as compared with one t Uion improvement in Germany, and 18 mil- k in the United States of America, while corresponding increase in exports was 30! ft "ions in England, as against 27 millions in bi^any, and three millions only in the United So much then for the infamy of Trade. for the tariff-farippers' apostles, they are Settling the laughing stock of all rational The peoples of the United States, of j^ada, and of Germany have risen up to give "e to them and to repudiate Protection. Austen Chamberlain should have a good to think that there are absurdities that e:n from a Chamberlain and Birmingham will occasional surprise. t Britain Leads the Way. the assertion of the Tariff Reformers were that the decaying industries over which tnourn with such delight in their efforts ^Prove that Germany and the United States taking Great Britain's place in thecommer- struggle they ought to be shown in the {j?*en £ iinentfs returns—but those figures, £ 2* I hare used above, however, tell a very jjjkfrent tale. It is pretty clear that in the exchange of goods and services re- and rendered we are easily in the front our rivals and on either count we are ahead of one of the two nations, Wrfch a greater population than our own ^7*5 are supposed to be threatening our com- ^^ial suppremacy. If, therefore, we apply ^Chamberlain's own test to that of exports figures, they immediately upset the en- Protectionists' position, that tariffs are a ol prosperity. Germany," says the ^tectionist, shows on a smaller total an in- Jj^Re in exports nearly as great as our own y no damping to speak of,' but that can- 7** be due to tariff, or else why is it that the h^tican increase on a larger total than Ger- and with even a higher tariff, cannot a beggarly two millions to compare with Agamy's twenty-four andour own twenty- is happening in Germany and the I States is clearly this :—American ex- Cfe are stationary, because the mantnac- hare not yet exhausted the home xrjket. There they have established a behind a schedule of high import carefully made in their interests, of v they take advantage to the last cent. In 5Jraequence, the cost of living there is rising all reason, and the protests of the frTr^ttners is splitting the great Republican m the struggle to make itself heard. Germany the case is different. The jJJr'JUfacturers there have a large and increas- ijsloreign market, in which,however, as well It JjJhis own, the small manufacturer is finding V <?**e an<^ more difficult to compete with the ^Ptels and syndicates which control the Hj* material upon which he depends. The cry consumer, therefore, in Germany is to the cry of the small manufacturer as Cj • How long would it be in this country both these complaints would follow tj?6 we foolish enough to aad any lmposi- of duties on food or on the raw materials single trade ? Fellow workers, beware 1 f E. 8mith on theOsborne Judgment. Snrith, the brightest hope of the Unionist Tmfita* Mr Austen Chamberlain, is not to proclaim what the Unionist party j{. not do, but he boldly announces what, vjls opinion, they ought to do and must do. credits Mr Asquith, Mr Haldane, and Mr thf^hill with having pronounced against any u^forence with the Osborne judgment, and KlLfc&kes note of the fact that Mr Maddison, (k.'ivian, and atr Hemmerde have all spoken l^ttgly against the principle of using Trade funds to maintain pledge-bound ^J^hers in Parliament. 51. E. Smith states the position, saying in effect the labour party's aim is to P^Pel their political opponents to support in Parliament, that they say in effect Jjt they will not permit men to earn their unless they join a Trade Union, and if join such a Union that they will com- Bfcljftem to finance political doctrinist that they is the way doubtless that a good many W?* politicians are looking on thi3 matter, for there is a great deal to be said. Still, 2?^ the exact truth. No men are forced to it? Trade Unions for political purposes. No simply for trade purposes and wage and .that men are forced to join Unions. But events and circum- Ik^ces connected with trade may ,e so altered that those purposes may ltabetter protected and more successfully de- by leading men connected with those in Parliament. Trade Unionist that ever I knew would -W^l worker to contribute to the main-" ji^Qce of any Labour M.P., as "financing p doctrines they dislike." The*necessity ^ntributing the small sum that goes to the tJ^Htenance of Labour M.P.'s is but a small tl^scting-link in the Labour armour or chain cannot be disconnected without damaging vrhole. VM ,Vcver' to come back to the main subject F. E. Smith says that the Osborne judg- must not be interfered with but common and practical experience combine in W^'ing that working men have a right to be It j^sented in the House of Commons, and that desirable, not in their interest only, lju. in the interests of the country, they should be represen- ts there, not by members pledged as they are told, but by men who, while V]^ning their freedom, can speak for the working class population of the country, ta* Mr F. E. Smith declines to think it is any ,°f the Unionists' poljcy to limit the sub- of workingclass representatives to Vjv ^iberal or Tory parties. And I, for one, V) ^oim the credit of having set himself out o^T^'ously consider how the necessities of the pan be met. Sadly, but decisively, he *° a conclusion which he frankly admits ^J5°es not like. It is to the effect that mem- Hta? of Parliament should be paid by the te» and to make the change a thorough one, accepts the principle that the returning expenses should also be defrayed from funds. Ij) &y should Mr Smith or anyone else have Wr 'e?)ing against the State payment of mem- V'110 cainot quite see or say. Payment ^j .arliamcntary work is a very old principle, bg't dated back to the earliest days of Par- jyt'ntary representation. ^embers are to be paid and are never the- f1"00 the payment must come from This has long been the Liberal view, fty.he Ooborno judgment is apparently en- it not on Liberals only, but. as MrF. E. shows, on Conservatives as well.

A JILTED LOVER. Englishman's Suicide in Paris. ^ris, Wednesday.—A gentleman, believed e of independent means, whose home is in .though lys address is unknown, made ^jhacquaintance of a Paris lady, who, having him, left him. lVen desperates the Englishman went to homo of his faithless love during her swallowed poison, and then hanged u near the window. k m'n8 and finding thQ body the girl went i, hysterics. The remains have been taken morgue.—Beuter.

Toll of the 'Plane. MORANE BROTHERS' DISASTER. Paris, Wednesday.—This morning at 9.45, Leon Morane, accompanied by his brother, ascended in his aeroplane from Issy-les-Moulin- eaux, with the object of attempting to win the Michelin prize for a flight from Paris to Clermont. The machine, however, met with disaster a t Boissy Saint Legere, crashing down with such force that Morane had both legs broken while his brother sustained a fracture of the skull.—Central News. Boissy St. Leger, Wednesday.—The accident to M. Morane and his brother occurred at 10.15 this morning. The monoplane had just crossed the railway near Brevannes, when it fell from a height of 150 feet. The motor and propeller were wrecked,but the framework is practically intact. Morane and his brother were found lying in a fainting condition a few yards from the machine. Their condition rendered it necessary for them to be removed on stretchers. Morane had his right thigh fractured, and a second frarcture above the right ankle. His brother Robert also had one of his legs fractured, and his thigh dislocated. Leo Morane attributes hi3 fall to the breaking 6f the wire controlling the warping of the planes, but M. Bleriot, who is at the bedside of the injured brothers, believed that the steering gear was jammed by a can of petrol carried in reserve shifting its position —Reuter.

Excursion Train Smash. I THIRTY-SEVEN KILLED. Gillespie, Illinois, Wednesday.—Twenty-eight persons were killed and 25 injured by a collision between an excursion train and a local train on the Illinois traction system to-day. The cars, which were running at a high speed, met while rounding a curve. Both were completely demolished. The number of dead is 37. The accident was due to a driver disobeying orders. Mctet of the dead excursionists were journeying to St. Loais to attend a Veiled Prophet's parade.-Reuter.

SAN DIEGO WILL CASE. Judgment for Irish Claimants. A Is ewry message says that Messrs O'Hare and O'Hagan, solicitors, Newry, on Wednesday received a cablegram from their representative in California to the effect that on the 1st inst. judgment was given in the Superior Court at San Diego, California, declaring Elizabeth Megwick and her brother, Michael Megwick, 1 Cloughloge, near Newry. sole heirs to real and personal estate of the value of £50.000 under the will of Edward Megwick, pioneer resident of San Diego,who died there on December 11th, 1907.