The Cardiff Times

ANNUAL MEETINGS AT CARDIFF. The annual "general meetings of the' British Dantal A:sociatiuD'bt'f;ati at Cardiff Old Town Hall on Saturday: The proceed iligs began with a meeting of the. Representative NvliietA afierwads reported to • the annual me'cting' The bbcVrd congratulated the members on the progress'. of -t-5.ij association during the past .TL yezi,r,: (:-total number of members was 1,620, A. tie date of the;last- report, an increase pi 90. The association was now the larffei-v-oiuatai^-aspdeiaticn of-dt-n'ists in the world, tho membership exceeding 63 per rent, of the re¡;¡;'tF ¡<etltia.te in dental surgery, and 32 per cent. OiaHl- registered dent Lis. In conclusion the. report regretted -that hut li-ttie practical remll had been attained in the direc- tion- systematic inspection and treatment of the teeth of children attending public ele- meAEarv schools, though private efforts were being made; notably by Mr Cadbury at Bir- allct Mi* Sedley Taylor at Cambridge. • The report was adopted. Quacks "and Liars. Mr Leonard Matheson, the. retiring presi- deut. in his valedictory address observed that measures were rapidly ripening by means of which it was hoped they might very soon deal effectually. with the quackery now so rampant. By quacks he rueant both those who pretended to a position that was not theirs by right and those who lied to the public and cheated their fellow-practitioners. To disallow title to the unregistered man, but to allow him in spite of this to practise, was such a hollow farce, such a grasping at the shadow and letting go of the substance,, that at all costs tLHy must strive to bring about a better state of things. (Ap- plause.) Relore sitting-down he welcomed the new president,.Mr J. C. Oliver, Cardiff, to the responsibilities and dignity of. the office of president. :lr Oliver: then took the chair amid acclama- tionC Civic Welcome. The Lord Mayor (Councillor W. S. Cross- man, J. F-). who was accompanied by Ihe Deputy-Lord Mayor (Alderman David Jones) and the town clerk, then welcomed the associa- tion te Cardiff, this being the first occasion it had met in the city. He spoke of the care of the teeth of school-children as-a. -matter of parct- mount importance, and hoped the time would soon come when the children attending ele- mentary schools would be periodically examined and their teeth attended to by skilled dentists. (Applause ) Having regard to the nurnueror ycuug men who were disqualified ior the Civil Service and rejected fur service to their country owing to defective teeth, it plainly became a question of national importance. Sooner or later, in the interests of humanity, the (fover-n- ment would have to take the mattepup. He asked the members te excuse him not attend- ing their annual dinner, as Mrs Crossman, who was unwell, had been ordered change of air, and he had determined to go away for Whit- suulide, this being the tirsfc holiday he I.ad tiLen since assuming tho responsible duties of Ins office. lie congratulated Mr Oliver, who was greatly respected in the city, on his elec- tion to the presidency of that association. (Applause.) '21 r J- • Andrews (Belfast) was nominated president-elect, the association having decided to meet next ye.s.r in Belfast, and he returned thanks. MR J. C. OLIVER. I Presidential Address. Mr T. C. Oliver. in his inaugural address, expressed the pleasure the South Wales branch ,fe! "n ~oicc_aing them to Wales. Referring .1.1) UtQ phj«ieal degeneracy of the presen. genec&t-io-n, he said that one evidence of it was the decay oi -teeth in children, it had been ascertained as a-result of extensive observations and statistics, both of that association and of the School Dentists' Society, that only 3 per cent. of the school children in this country possessed sound teeth. In a receut examina- tion of teeth of 54 girls at a school in this neighbourhood, all of whom were boarders, he found that onlv one of these girls had perfectly sound teeth. The. ages of the children were from 11 to 16, and the average number of teeth lost, stopped, or affected by deca7 was eight. Contrast this with arecent discoverv of ancient British human remains, 20 miles from Cardiff, where, out of 30 skulls, only three had teeth which showed any signs of decay. He quoted the following opinion of the medical officer of the London County Council The 6ut-pat;e7it room of every hospital has large numbers of patients suffering from aiuemia and chronic stomach trouble, and a certain number uf patients in adult life who become victims of pulmonary tuberculosis probably reach tills through debility, the result ot chronic gastric disorder resulting from olicetli and continual absorption of putrefying matter. In conclusion the President remarked that the of the great working populatiou respecting j he teel It, their uses, and their effect on health, was remarkable- No wonder theD. that we were fast becoming a nation of dyspeptics and neurotics. Dr. Ken 's suggestion thatgeneral hygiene should bo taught in the schools with a short lesson in dental hygiene wouid soon dissi- pate misconceptions and indifference with prac. tical results following. The issue by that association of a pamphlet on the Care of the T,-etii," was bearing fruit, and its latest de- parture, the institution of a public lecture on the same subject in connection with the annual meetings was also evidence of their desire for the public igood. It was fitting this educa- tional.movement should be inaugurated In the Metropolis of Wales, the land where probably education was more generally advanced than in any pact of the United Kingdom, and In Glamorgan, the most progressive county educa- tionally in the Principality. ?e urged that public authorities should institute systematic examination and. treatment or all children's teeth by qualified dental surgeons. (Appiause.) There were indications that authorities were waking up-to-trie importance of the subject. (Ap The President, having been thanked for his admirable address,, then extended a welcome to disllgu;3hed hrethren" who were present from Germany. Prance, and Western Austra- lia. (AppJae. 5 Other Business. MrU. Dolatrtore (London), who was retiring from the posit.ion of hon. secretary, was pre- sented with a gold wateh and 120 guineas, and blrs Dolamorc wit], a diamond brooch. Mr Norman Bennett { London) was appointed, horf. secretary in tin- ptacc of Mr Dolamore. A resolution was passed that the recent regu- lation of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, requiring not less than two years' instruction ir mechanical dentistry instead of three years as heretofore, was seriously detri- mental to the efficiency of the profession. There was.a spars? attendance -in the after- noon, ;> number of members having gone on •/excursions to Barry Dock, ="pwf,ort. and Caerphilly. After dealing with matters that were (-,f interest only to members of the asso- ciation, papers wern read by Mr G. F. Cole- MatLhews, L.D.S., on The Dcntists Provi- dent .Society by Mr H. T. Dresrhfeld, on "The chemistry of translucent cements and by M" E. R. Tebbitt, L.D.S., on V .Tha impor-tance of good .occlusion."

CARE OF CHILDREN'S TEETH, interesting Discussions. Tfee annual meeting of theBritish Dental Association were continued at the old Town Ha.fi Cardiff, on Monday, Mr J. r. Oliver, Cardiff, the president, being in the chair. A* paperon An Attempt to Solve the Diffi. cultiy«rtf Treatment of the Teeth of Children atteWli he Kettering Elementary Schools wa.t!ead l" ,r. Layt.on. He remarked that of the Council Schools of KetteringS6 f>fer Cent had detective mouths. The Education CAmtoittee had taken the matter-up and PrON-i"ed a room for him and th^SS" working xvith him in the school buildings. The^Jfentists had to fit up this room. The work was divided between four, and the fees sug- gc-siect- -"•frera—extractions Is, With gas 5s fillings, 2s 6d.Dealing with the cause of the deterioration of the teeth of children, he said personally he was inclined to attribute it to a large extent to the adulteration of food. In one Stat3 school the children had excellent teeth, said to be daa-tothe fact that they ate a particular kind of bread. Answering qxtes- iioils. Mr Lavton said tlfele scheme did n-o't afflict the raiesin the least:, tl.Je.charùS"bitl. paid by. parents Asked What happened to the children of parents who we too poor to pay. he '••said he' to- sonTe well-to-do gentlemen in the district, and they hoped when 1 ihe scheme Well launched a fund would be coated by the subscriptions of benevolent people to pay for the poor children. Optional Examination. In a paper, on "The Teeth of Children in Elementary Schools," Mr W. Cass Grayson dealt with the havoc played with school attend- ance by defective teeth- It was no use telling people what.ought to be; done unless they were prepared to tell them how it could be done. I Compulsory examination, and attention of the teeth of school chiJdren by qualified dentists wouid simplify matters, but compulsion was objection-able, fit because what was com- pulsory must be free, secondly b-cause it inter- fered with the liberty of the subject, tie did not think it would be wise to interfere with that freedom in the matter of attention to the teeth, jp" dental examinations we^-e optional ho did not ihink parents would object to them. A suitable elementary book on the care of the toefcii used lex8 bosk in schbols would do more good tha h all the text-books' of physio- logy. In advocating the appointment of den- tal'surgeons :to, fcitond to.th:: teeth of school children, he said one surgeon should not have more than 1,500 children to attend to, and his salary. if he gave up the whole of his time, would have to be at least £ 300 a year. IT one- third of the children in Leeds required dental attention, this would cost the city, on the basis be had indicated, a year in salaries for dentists. If one-third of all the school children in England and Wales were treated, the cost would be £ 400,000 if half of them, £ 600,000 if the whole of them £1,200.000. Was the taxpayer, who already grumbled at the burdens he bad to pay, to bear this ? The rate- payer would of course refuse to agree to it. And as to private charity, it was uncertain and unsatisfactory. He ashed them to consider whether it would not be possible to have A Self-Supporting Provident Scheme. If every child attending the Leeds elementary schools contributed one penny per week, that would produce about £:i.ô,00O a year—a sum which, according to the calculation he had given, would provide dentai attendance for every school child in Leeds. The rate for the whole country worked out about the same. }Ir W. B. Paterson said the figures on which Mr Grayson had based his superstructure could not be insisted upon in this day. it had been suggested to the War Oflice that dental surgeons for the Army should be paid El a day, but-the War Office thought that too much. They were trying to get the work done cheaper by sending Tommy Atkins to private dentists. The result of this so far had worked out in the northern districts of Eng- land at 12a per head. If it was found by working in London and the Ensteen and. Southern districts they could get the work done by private dentists at 12s a head, they would never pay £ 1 a day for the services of a dental surgeon. School Influence. Mr W. H. Dolamore remarked that they all remembered what Mr Balfour said about there being lies, damned lies and statistics. (Laughter.) They were not likely to get the compulsion for many years, and they must be content at present with trying to move the education autho- rities. He believed not only local authorities were in the mood to be moved, but also autho- rities in high places. They heard a. lot of talk about woman suffrage and that sort of thing, but what they wanted was infant suffrage. (Applause.) He did not think there ought to be any financial difficulty. Was not that court in which they sat good enough for any judge in j the land to sit in, and yet Cardiff had such heaps of money that it had built new courts ? It it could do that, it could pay to have its children dentally treated. Men were so selfish that the universe was arranged lor the benefit of grown-ups. For the present they would have to be content with voluntary examina- lions and treatment, very much as was donejin Strasbourg. They must begin slowly to build up the structure that would be of permanent value to the nation. (Applause.) Dr. Fenchel (Hamburg) disagreed with the figures of cost given by Mr Grayson. Tri ttic- Melin Institute, Hamburg, they had treated 3,500 patients in a-year at a cost of £ 300. They performed 833 extractions, 2,312 lilimgs, 369 root fillings, and 1,673 varia. Not one tooth was extracted that could be preserved. The cost of the treatment worked out at 2s per head. He took no pay himself, but- he had two assist- ants at salaries of L!50 a year. Dr. Cunningham said these figures could not be accepted as a., since Dr. bad given his own valuable services for nothing. They couJd not. get efficient- services in this country at the price mentioned by Dr. Fenchel. A Hamburg Experiment. Dr. Fenchel contri buted a paper on the history and work of the Mel in Institute, Hamburg. He spoke of the dilliculty lie had in starting a small clinic to treat the poor people's teeth. Finally he got a benevolent lady to help him and started m a small way in the Red Cross Hospital, opening twice a week for an hour each night. They charged Is for liiiings and Is 6d for extractions, doing this in order not to induce people to have their teeth extracted for the sake of cheapness- These fees were rarely fully paid- The fust year they treated 12,000 people, the second year 12,090, the third year 14,000. The patients paid in the first year Jbl55, in the second year X260, and in the third year 5. The total cost the first year was fS.i.v, the second year £315. the third year £300, there being a. delicit each year of about £ o0. This was made good by the benevolent lady to whom lie had referred. A Iter his clinic had been in existence three years a much bigger one was opened, through the generosity of Mr Melin, the patent food man. He built a largo institute and gave £ 25,000, which ii properly invested ought to have provided dental aid for the people of Hamburg for ever. But the money was scattered about and wasted, and in two years the institute had to close its doors. lie was then asked to take over the manage-, ment, but Mr Meiindid not want to risk another iailure and limited his contribution to £200 a year. If the deficit was greater than that he (Dr. Fenchel) had to make it good himself. and he was not I o have a larger salary than £ 150 a- year. He was obliged to work for pyying patients as well as for the poor. His prices were :—Extractions Is, fillings Is, extractions with anaesthetics Is 6d, gold fillings from 4s. Forty pE-r cent, of those treated made no pay- ment whatever. In the first year to meet the deficit Mr Melin contributed £ 150. and in the second year £ 50. Then he died, and his heirs did not wint to continue the work. Hs had tried in vain to find another protector. In con- clusion he emphasised that the best way to make dentistry popular was to do the best work for the poor. (Applause.) State Dentistry. The subject of the next paper was "Some New Factors in State Dentistry," read by Mr G. Cunningham, M.A., L.D.S., D.M.D., who dealt largely with the method employed in the dental treatment of poor law children, and the re- muneration paid to dentis-Is doing this work. In Cambridge the municipality had appointed a dpubl officer to examine the teeth of all children in the elementary schools at a salary of £ 50 per annum, but they did not make pro- vision for attention after-wards. A private gentleman had, however, offered 10 help in this direction. Some provision of this kind would, he thought, have to be made by Parliament. The remaining papers were of a technical character. In the afternoon a large company in charge of Mr Spiridiou visited the Bute Docks, and a number inspected the City Hall and La.w Courts. In the evening the president and members of the South Wales and Mon- mouthshire branch gave a reception in the Park Hotel, which was well attended. A large number of those present took part in a whist drive, and dancing also was indulged in.

LYBNEY AGRICULTURAL SHOW. Lydney and District Agricultural Show was held in the Park, Redhill, Lydney, kindly lent by the Hon, Mr Charles Bathurst.on Whit Mon- day. Mr James Lander, hon. sec., received 356 entries, as against 385 last year, the reduction being due to there being no entries from the Bathurst family, consequent on the recent death of Mr Bathurst, of Lydney Park, the founder of the club. Some classes were also dropped. Of the JE150 offered in prizes only jS40 was found by the club, theremainder being provided by friends. Colonel Percy Marling, Sedbury Park, Chep- stow, the president this year, was in the chair at the luncheon. Sir Charles Dilke, M.P., proposed Success to the Lydney and Dis- trict Farmers' Club," and spoke of the good work it did and the beneficial results accruing from friendlv rivalries. Ho coupled with- the toast the name of the president, whose family did so much to encourage agriculture in that ] art of the countv. Colonel Percy Marling, in reply, said they bad a balance at the bank of L-350. There were 250 members. A feature of the. proceedings was the pre- sentation to Mr Jas. Lander, the club sec- retary, of a. silver urn in recognition of his work in connection with the club. The pre- sentation was made by the president, and Mrs Gibson. wife of the Bishop of Gloucester, who also was at; the luncheon, gracefully handed Mr Lander the handsome gift. Mr Lander suitably replied.

THE SCENTED CARMAN. A very pleasant aroma that followed Wm. Ludlow, a young Ludlow carrier, caused peeple on his round to look at him with the interest belonging to some new creation, because car- tnendo not usually bathe in attar of roses.When he called at the Bricklayers' Arms Goods Sta- tion he evPtJ presented a strongly perfumed delivery note. A detective sniffed at hrm he was so plainly haunted by the scent, and so anxious to escape it, that thp officer found out his address and called at his house out of pro- fessional curiosity. The bouse was scented also people had already noted the delicious odour that pervaded the place. Event ually the detective entered, to probe the mystery. He discovered proofs that T iiidlow had stolen bottles of scent worth zEl 10s missed from the Bricklayers' Arms Station some days previously. A quantity of missing chiffon was also found there. The carman, thus betrayed, confessed to the theft before Mr Rose at Tower Bridge Police Court on Saturday, and was seat to prison for two months.

Rural Depopulation. —— ITS CAUSES AND LIMITS. (Py T. M.P.) First of ;111. wh.'it are the facts with regard to rural depopulation ? According to official returns the actual number of male persons on- gaged hi agriculture at given periods was as follows 1861. 1881. 1901. 1,296,305 965,217 727,130 As I propose in this article to refer especi- ally to the four Eastern counties, in which f have been during the last 20 years of my life trying to get the people back to the land, T set out for especial^ reference the figures relating to those counties :— TL ljocreaso 1851. 1901. per cent. Lincolnshire 56,185 51,625 8 1 Norfolk 48,872 43,151 11-7 Camo ridges hi re 26,506 ••- 23,248 12" .j Huntingdonshire 8,085 6,862 15T The question we have to ask ourselves is, What are the causes of this shrinkage of agricultural labourers, especially in counties winch possess the finest agricultural lamd in the world ?" The first and foremost causC was the en- closure of common lands and open fields, which has gradually but surely resulted in a landless peasantry, instead of the labouring people having a valuable stake in the soil, our cottage homes have been progressively deprived of the little land that was formerly let with them, and all the cottagers' rights of commonage have been swallowed up in large farms by enclosures. Common Lands Enclosed. It has to be admitted that some system of enclosure of the great open commons and fields was absolutely necessary on account of modem farming. The process of enclosure went on for the best part of a century in order to improve the tillage, but it is the method employed in that enclosure that I call in question. We may have improved the land, but what have we done with the labourer ? Altogether in 80 years no less than seven million acres of common lands aad open fields were enclosed, and actually between the years 1345 and 1867 no less than 484,893 acres of common and waste la nds were thus enclosed, whilst out of that half million acres only 2,119 acres were set apart for the benefit of the labourers Astounding Contrasts. We are all agreed, but perhaps in varying degrees, that to get the people back to the laud with a direct interest in it is the remedy for this depopulation which is now going on to such an alarming extent. For be it observed that whilst our purely agricultural workers ha ve decreased by 50 per cent, in a given period, the I'u"alpoPu hot ion of Germany has gone up I. by two percent., Denmark by 6*8 per cent., whilst France his only decreased 5 per cent. Paucity of Legislation. Now, so far as legislation goes, practically nothing has been done. and, therefore, there is still an open fle!d for the reformer. Since the extension of the franchise to the agri- cultural labourer in 1885, he ha? only had one crumb of comfort in the passing of the Parish Councils Act in 1894. Under that Act I am glad to say some 20,000 acres of land have been secured for allotment cultivation, hut after all. looking at the area of the country, this is but as a drop in the ocean, and the rents of these allotment lands are in many cases most excessive. I pass over the Tory Allotment Acts of 1887 and 1890 and the Small Holdings Act of 1892, because they have admittedly been dismal failures. Something less than 3,000 acres of land have been secured under the Allotment Acts, and about 800 acres of land under the Small Holdings Act. They had no driving force behind them because they were purely volun- tary in their operation. Voluntary Effort. Although little has been done by legislation, that little, together with what has been done by voluntary associations, shows as clearly as anything can do that the solution of the problem lies in giving the agricultural popula- tion who still remain on the soil the oppor- tunity, under fair and equitable conditions, to cultivate the land for their own profit and that of their families, and so once more build up a prosperous and increasing peasantry. After all, the proof of the pudding is m the eating One fact is worth twenty arguments, and there fore I venturc to state my own experience in the small area in which I have attempted with some success to put the various Acts of Parlia- ment. and also voluntary methods into opera- tion. I take the 19 agricultural parishes round Spalding, in Lincolnshire, with an acreage of 143,876. In the year 1337 there were only 100 acres of Charity lands under allotments, and 3D acres let by private owners, and inever7 case the rent was 50 per cent. higher than tnat paid by the neighbouring farmer. As a osult of agitation and hard work, we have to-day some 2.500 acres of land under allotment cultivation, and about 1,000 acres under small holdings. Actual Increase of Population. And now want to point out what has been the effect upon the population in those 19 parishes. In 1881 the population was 38,789, and in 1891 36,507. or a det-rease of 2,282 during that decade. It was; then that we got to work with our land schemes, and in 1901 the popula- tion was 36,392. In other words, we had practically stopped any depopulation during those ten years, and I am looking forward with practical certainty that the next census will show an increase of population in that area. And yet, mark, we have not anything like been supplying the wants and desires of the agri- cultural population for land. There is still a great demand. So much so that a recent advertisement in a local paper brought forth applications for no fewer than an additional 2,800 acres in that one area. Land Hunger. I will give a further illustration from the fens of Cambridgeshire, where, without any external assistance, the Parish Council and the Oddfellows' and Shepherds' Societies be- tween them have secured 164 acres of bncl for allotments, and where others who required small holdings have gone into the open but limited market, and paid double the rentals pertaining on the large farms in the parish. What has been the startling result ? The popu- lation in that one village has increased 210, or 20 per cent., in the last 20 years 30 new cottages have been erected there is practic- ally no pauperism in the parish the local butcher disposes of EO stones of beef every week, besides mutton and pork, whereas a few years ago only four beasts were killed in the parish every year. at Christmas time and the locai baker and offal merchant sold 1,633 sacks of pig food, valued at £ 979 16s. during one year. And if there is a piece of land to-day to let in the parish there will be 20 applicants for it. Men Out-Food In The statistics of emigration show that last year no less than 77,000 people, mostly from the rural districts, left this country, and this emigration goes on whilst we still have mil- lions of acres in this country untitled whilst we are importing 30 millions sterling worth of dairy produce annually, and 17 millions sterling worth of pig products in the shape of hams and bacon, which we could produce in our own country. Experts tells us, indeed we all know, that much of our land that is now under cultivation would produce much more if we practised more intense culture by giving the men who know how to adopt such culture freer access to it. Then we also have to recugnise that in many districts sport is the foremost consideration, and whilst we need nol abolish sport unùer reasonable conditions, we must put the interests of the many before the pleasures ot" the few. The peasantry of England are-still a sturdy, honest race. They breed our best workers, both for town and country, and our best fighting men. They are worth helping at some national sacrifice, because, after all, this Ls a national question. And they are worth helping at some financial sacrifice 'if necessary, although I, for one, would not plead to- charity; but merely that tho feudal fetters which still bind us under our present landed system shall be removed and if only we can carry out the Prime Minister's rcent into legislation, I believe we shall once again see our countryside blossom as the rose. Let us all, without dis- tinction of party, say For Zion's sake we" will not rest, Nor let the sword sleep in our hand, TV? I 'f' h <I"" h,¡iH..1 "rÜ=!PTrI "L' In England's gfeeii and pleasant land."

A LAST REQUEST, Dr. R. L. Guthrie conducted an inquiry at .Hackney on Saturday respecting the. death of Fmily Jane Tubby (19), the daughter of a. labourer, of Holrnbrook street, Homerton. The mother stated that t.he young woman bad been ailing for two years. She had been in the Hack- ney Infirmary for 14 weeks, but as she knew she was approacning her end she begged of witness, to take her home, so that she might die there. Against the doctor's advice, witness yielded to her daughter's entreaty, and on Tues- day last took her home in the Infirmary ambu- lance. The Coroner: Had she any complaint to make about the Infirmary?-Oh. no she spoke most highly of their kindness there. Witness added that her daughter died about 6 o'clock on Wednesday morning. Dr. J W. Oliver, of Hackney Infirmary, stated that death was due to consumption. It was probable that the removal accelerated death, but the poor girl could not have survived long. A verdict of Natural death was returned.

-> FROLICSOME ELEPHANTS. P.aris, Sunday.-Six elephanfs which are per- forming in tree-hauling competitions at the Colonial Exhibition at Nogent were being taken back to their quarters yesterday when, as though by a preconcerted signal, they broke loose from their keepers, swept a way 20 yards of iron railing, and made a dash for liberty in Vincennes Forest. They were caught after an exciting chase, when they had uprooted a good many trees, and were conducted back to their stsbl& Here th,- whole party, in a frolicsome mood, started demolishing the partitions, and in the end it was found necessary to secure tham with chains.

I City Tei-iiple Incidents. "I BEG YOUR PARDON, MR CAMPBELL." The Rev. R. J. Campbell-was twice interrup- ted on Sunday morning during hissermonat the CityTcmple. He had just, begun to preach when a man who hrtd previously walked up the pulpit steps and shaken hands with him stood up near the front of the church. Speaking in a moderate tone, he said I beg your pardon. Mr Camp- bell, but will you preach the Saviour and Him cruvified ?" The man was at once ejected by stewards, and Mr Campbell said, We are accustomed to these eccentric people from time to time." Ho resumed his sermon, but a few minutes later another man rose in the gallery and shouted "?Ill' Campbell, will you preach Christ crucified ?" This man was also ejected. It is very curious this morning," Mr Camp- bell said. We do not usually have two." Man Who V/rote Ichabod." Do you wish to see the man who wrote Ichabod on the City Temple ? He will preach here Sunday next. Who is he ? Come and see." This notice evidently attracted to the London City Mission Hall, Victoria Docks, a. large con grcgation which tsseinbled there last evening. The Rev. B. Bradshaw is the pastor, but he was represented in the pulpit by Mr Henry Parker, a young man ordinarily engaged as a sign let- terer. In his sermon Mr Parker refrained from any mention of the notice or the New Theology. But after the meeting Mr Parker said," It is quite true that I am the man who wrc-te Icha- bod on the City Temp!e. I did it because I felt called upon to do it We all know the words of Dr. Parker, with whom I claim no relationship although the names are similar. He said Should it ever come to pass that the great truths of Christ's death and resurrection be denied by any future occupier of this pulpit should the fact of his gracious Godhead and Divinity be questioned, may the word" Icha- bod" be written over the doors of the City Temple. At 4 o'clock on Thursday morning, April 25th, my brother and I pushed a cart- with two ladders upcn it through the City to the City Temple My brother held the ladder while I wrote 1- C—H in large block-letters, with shading. Then a policeman arrived .and questioned my brother. All he asked was,' What is he writing ?' a~d What does it mean ?' My brother replied, knowing no better, It is an unt.ranslated Latin word.' I do not rear police persecution. I merely obeyed the command of Dr. Parker." Rev. R. J. Campbell and Unitarians. The annual meetings of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association, which are to be held in London from May 21st to 24th, had been looked forward to with considerable ex- pectation, as it had been announced that the Rev. n. J. Campbell would be present at some of the meetings and would deliver addresses on the New Theology." Mr Campbell, however, has now definitely decided that he will not at- tend the gatherings.

PEGGY AND GRANDMOTHER. Amusing Case in Court. Peggy Reuben (17), a well-grown girl of alien parents, living in Kanbury-street, Spitallields, was charged on Saturday with assaulting her grandmother, Annie Neckenmof. The latter sat, in court. till the case was called, a bunched-up figure, with her head swathed in a shawl and only a little of the brown wig which all iU'ssiati women put on af;er their marriage, their heads being then shaved- No matter what their age—and this woman was said to be over 80-the, brown hair remains t !io,, t, conspicuous feature. When the old woman got up to go into the witness-box she bobbed and smiled to the magistrate, and then stooped down to raise her dress from the hem. After being sworn she took up a stick, which looked like a chair leg, and the usher took it from her. The stick was said to be the weapon the prisoner was alleged to have used to cause the wound on the woman's eyebrow. The old woman's story, related through a Yiddish interpreter, mainly consisted of how she bad discovered her grandcbild-thepl."isoner —wearing iier petticoat, o.nd how, because she had tried to take if off, the grandchild had hit her IIa.I1:t dozen times the old woman stooped in the witness-box to p:111 up her dress and show the petticoat which she was wearing. Mr Biron No tell her we can't have her undressing here. 111d woman insisted, causing much amv-semeni fill told to leave the box. The prisoner said (hat. when she was cleaning a room her grandmother suddenly claimed her petticoat and insisted on looking, and then suddenly turned up her things, and then sud- denly stooped and hit her head on a gas stove, and caused her own injury. Mr Biron. And what happened then ? Peggy: Then all of a. sudden a policeman came in and took me to the station. Mr Biron Why should she charge you if you did not beat ler with the stick ? The Prisoner: Oh,'flf¡e is so old she does not know. All of a sudden she will cry out about anything. I am very good to my grandmother. My mother goes out to work, and I work, and we keep her. Mr Biron Well, I am not salviafied. I think you would not, hit an old woman like that, and I dismiss the charge. The prisoner left the dock, and the old woman, risingfrom her seat behind the witness- box, pointed at her, and stooping dc'wn tried again to show the magistrate the petticoat as the cause of all the trouble,

+ AMERICAN GOODS IN CANADA. High Tariff Walls No Barrier. Writing to the Washington Bureau of Manu- factures, Mr J. H. Worman, the United States Consul at Three Rivers, says that on account of the prosperity Canada is enjoying the oppor- tunities for American manufacturers to extend their trade in the Dominion were never so flat- tering. Systematic and well organised immi- gration schemes on the part of the Dominion and the provincial governments and the different railways, notably the Canadian Pacific, as well as some Church organisations and Canadian and English philanthropists, will bring to Canada an unusually large number of immigrants this year, and as most of these are booked as settlers there will be a larger demand for all kinds of supplies, notably agricultural implcmmts and machinery, these immigrants coming as proposed settlers and cultivators of land hitherto unfilled. The prosperity of Cana,da, the inauguration of ways and means to develop, by the building of numerous new railways and arteries, the mineral resources of the Dominion, the succcssful operation of all kinds of mine's, as well as steel works.shipbuild- ing concerns a nd the unusual prosperity of manufacturers generally, is giving an impetus to trade here that must greatly increase the need of imports during 1907. Even in the small towns, wherever they are properly represented, c the American good., have the preference. The high tariff wall proves no barrier to the impor- tation of American goods, and in most lines Americans can still compete successfully first, because of the close proximity and consequent small expenditure for transportation second, because of the promptness with which demands can be met third, because of the large facili- ties for manufacturing, for which their country is notable.

MR STEAD'S AMERICAN VISIT. Germany and Hague Conference. Mr W. T. Stead, who, as already announced, has returned from his seven weeks' peace pil- grimage in tho United States and Canada,, says that his tour was a grcat success for him per- sonally, but the peace conference he attended in the United States did Hot come up to his expectations. "H was," he said, "simply an ordinary peace conference run by the regular professional peace people. It was a very good national conference, but they simply had no sense or idea of the international influ- ence of America in the world. They simply held the conference and approached their own Government, and there finished their activity. I was greatly disappointed. They did not make their conference, as I wanted, a jumping-off point for an appeal to all the Governments of the world for 3, reduction of armaments. I found the people in all the large cities where I addressed meetings very enthusiastic, and I cspecialiy the students at the Universities of Harvard. Yale, Cleveland, and Chicago. I saw President Roosevelt twice, and lie was very interested in the whoie thing. He told me he was very much in support of the British Government in regard to the Hague Conference proposals about the arrest of the increase of armaments, He was entirely with us, although America could not take à. very strong lead because they had so few arma- ments to account for." Mr Stead said he thought everything was very promising for a successful conference, and Although Germany kicks about the limitation of armaments, she always did kick. The great question was whether she would kick and dis. cuss. Now she says she will go. but she won't discuss, but that does not matter, because we know perfectly well what she would have said if she would discuss the matter.

SUICIDE BY DYNAMITE. A terrible tragedy has taken place in a ceme- tery at Grenoble, in France. M. Maxime Rouzier. a landowner, suffered from an in- curable malady He had spent a small fortune on medical advice, and when he realised that there was 110 cure for him he resolved to take hiodife. Entering the cemetery, he placed a dynauite cartridge in his mouth, and striking a match exploded it. The unfortunate man's head Was blown to atoms. Fragments of his skull were found 30 yards away. s

BRITISH DESTROYER AGROUND On the Sands Off Yarmouth. A torpedo destroyer is aground on the Barber Sand six miles to the north of Great Yarmouth. She struck at dead low water on Monday night. Several other destroyers are standing by, and the Yarmouth and ("aister lifeboat as well as some-t-ugs have gone to the spot. The weather is fine with a north-east breeze.

Is I iisa-ti lty 11 Catch i iig 17 ? BRIDGEND WOMAN'S LIGHT- HEADEDNESS. At Bridgend on Saturday Ellen Radbone, a married woman, of Bridgend, wa charged with attempting to commit, suicide by drowning in the mill-stream at Bridgend. Amelia Vaughan, single woman, said that on Monday evening last she saw defendant carrying a baby and going along the Brewerv- road. Witness overheard her mumble that she was going to put an end to herself, so she followed her. Radbone got. through the rail- ings on the roadside and sat down for a couple of seconds. -Then she got up and waded into the mill stream with the baby in her arms. She pulled the shawl off the child and appeared as though she was going to throw the child into the stream, when wtness rushed in and took the child from her and handed it to a woman who was coming up the road. Mrs Radbone then threw herself flat into the water and witness caught hold of her and dragged her out. Mrs Radbone asked her to let her po. Defendant: My foot slipped. My head was a little light. I didn't intend to got into the water. P.C. Pobon said that he arrested UrsRad bone that evening, and chargcd her. She said, I say nothing now." The water at the spot where she went in was about three feet deep. Superintendent John Davics said that the nusDana or me woman was a crippie, wno earned a living with a little hand-organ in the streets. The woman was quiet and respectable. Inspector Benjamin Evans said that on Sun- day last the defendant came to the police sta- tion and told him that there was a woman at her house who had formerly been in an asylum, and was now threatening to cut her throat and drown herseif He went into the house and took this woman to the Workhouse, the defendant accompanying him there He was afterwards told by her tha-t since she had seen this woman and heard her threaten to commit suicide, she (the defendant) had some- thing weighing on her mind which compelled bet' to make this attempt on her life. The husband, who was in court, said he believed his wife had been affected by what the other woman had said. She was a good wife and a sober woman. Radbone was bound over to be of good be- haviour for six months, and the Chairman (Mr William Llewelyn) warned her seriously against attempting to repeat her conduct. The magistrates, in consideration of the poverty of the couple, remitted all the Court costs.

Crash in the Usk River. 0' _.n__n- NORWEGIAN STEAMER SUNK. Crew's Narrow Escape. At a late hour on Sunday night the Nor- wegian ship Ageroen was sunk in the river Usk, Newport, and some of the crew had narrow escapes. The Ageroen (600 tons net register) was built at.Lilysand, Norway, and she left Drontheim, Norway, nine days ago with a cargo of pyrites for Newport. She arrived on Saturday, and was unloading near the Tredegar Wharf, where she was moored. OnSundaynightaftersome of the crew had re- tired, one of the firemen ,who was below, noticed through the porthole;) iiotlier ship coming up the river, and as she appeared to be making for the Ageroen he ran on deck to give the alarm. lie had hardly got on the steps when there was a huge crash into the port side of the ship. It was high water at tbe time and very dark. The No. 1 hatchway was knocked halfway in, the decks were displaced, and stanchions and beams broken. The Ageroen immediately began to fill and the men who were in bed were called up and managed to climb up the wharf in their night- aitire just before she sank, five minutes after the crash. The Ageroen is now being repaired by the Tredegar Dry Dock Company. rt is reported that the ship which crashed into her is the Jersery, owned by Messrs Morel, Cardiff, which left. Bilbao for Newport on the 16th, arriving at the Usk port on Sunday night. The bow of the Jersey is damaged.

THE WIDOW'S HORSE. Dastardly Outrage in Ireland. A dastardly outrage is reported from Abbey- leix, Queen's County, in which neighbourhood here has lately been considerable agitation against grazing letting., made for the accommo- dation of shopkeepers and small householders of the town. A young horse had been horribly mutilated, and left to die in agony. The animal was the property of a poor widow, residing, on a farm forming part of the property of Lord de. Vesci. Her offence, it is alleged. was her refusal,to •surrender her farm lands—which her husband took 25 years ago—at the demand of the agi-1 tators. Another case of intimidation of the holder of a, grazing ranch is reported from Tipperary. Since the last days of April, when a large farm, 12 miles from Roscrea, the property of Mr Luttrell, was cleared of all its stock, the place has been patrolled constantly by a large force of polio*. Notwithstanding this, however, the con- stabulary were again outwitted on Saturday. when a mob assembled and drove off all the horses, cattle and sheep, numbering 400. When the police appeared on the scene they were powerless to cope with the crowd, being com- pletely outnumbered.

A CHIVALROUS PRISONER. DARES MUCH TO RESCUE HIS SWEETHEART. Climbs Over the Roofs. A prisoner awaiting trial in the gaol of Thonon, on Lake Leman, named Poretti, aided by a fellow prisoner called Spaggiari, filed through the bars of a chimney in their cell on Friday morning. Creeping into a main flue, they clambered down and found themselves in a cellar, where they discovered a quantity of rope. Spaggiari was now anxious to climb the prison walls and escape, but Poretti insisted, says the Daily Mail, on attempting a rescue of his sweetheart, whose name is Gentil. The two men climbed the chimney again, crept stealthily over the roof, reached the woman's prison, evaded the warders, effected an entrance, and released Gentil from her cell. After another scramble over the roof all three safely scaled the prison walls and escaped into the neighbouring forest.

A TEA-SHOP DANGER. The" British Medical Journal remarks that one custom followed by many of the tea -shops has already been condemned in their columns, and is so particularly unpleasant as to be worth noting again. This is the practice of placing trays of pastry on small tables, leaving customers to select what they will. Those seated at these tables are often engaged in con- versation, and coughs and sneezes are not un- common hence it needs but little knowledge of bacteriology to recognise that under such cir- cumstances the chance of the pastry becoming infected with disease-bearing germs is not in- considerable. Recent investigations at Lille have indicated reasons for believing that tubercle is perhaps more often contracted by ingestion than by inhalation, and this makes it conceivable that many cases of phthisis of ob- scure causation may really be due to infected cakes sold in tea-shops. For all that science can say io the contrary, the same considera- tions may apply to influenza and common colds and in any case the practice is nasty and should be abandoned.

THE BOYS1 BRIGADE. Lord Methuen's Views. Lord Methuen on Monday afternoon reviewed 1,200 of the Oxford Regiment of the Church Lad's Brigade at, High Wycombe in Daws Hill Park, the seat of Earl Carrington. Speaking at a public luncheon Lord Methuen said he thought people overwhelmed with luxury and love of fame might come forward to help in the voluntary spirit animating the country. He was against compulsory service, but he thought employers who did not do all they could to encourage their employees to join the Militia or Volunteer force were doing their utmost to bring compulsion upon the country. Addressing the tads he exhorted them to deeds of manly Christianity and patriotism:

TU6 TO THE RESCUE. Motor-Boat Mishap at Mumbles. A somewhat, unpleasant accident befel a. party of boat-motorists at Mumbles on Sunday. In the afternoon Mr Coonan, Mr Heron, and another gentleman went for a cruise, and when off Caswell Bay the machinery broke down. There was only one oar on board and as there was a nasty swell on things looked awkward. The craft was about 50 yards from shore, and Mr Coonan swam the distance and telephoned from the Caswell Bay Hotel to the yacht club for assistance. Mr W. Bevan was despatched to the Mumbles Pier Head and got into com- munication with the Swansea tug Cruiser. The motorists. were reached by the tag and safely landed at Mumbles. None of the party was the worse for the adventure.

-r-- DISCOVERED CLOVELLY. The will was proved on Saturday of the late James Clarke Hook, B-A., the landscape and marine painter, the value of the estate being sworn at £ 112,108- Mr Hook, who died on April 14th at the age of 87, had'been an exhibi- tor at the Royal Academy for 60 years, and was for some time known as the Father of the Academy." He discovered and exploited the beauties of Clovelly before Charles Kingsley published Westward Ho 1" He was a grand- son of Dr. Adam Clarke, the famous Biblical commentator.

The Slammed Door. MR CHURCHILL'S SPEECH. ;') Mr Winston Churchill's speech in Scotland on Saturday has aroused a good deal of interest. The T" ibun(, :-The picturesque vigour of Mr Churchill at Edinburgh brings back memories of his father and, in thinking of him as, oratorically, a chip of the old block, association of ideas suggests to us Lord Ran- dolph's famous metaphor concerning the chips of Mr Gladstone's tree-felling. Mr Churchill's development of the banging of the door against Preference Is worthy to rank with that, as an instance of brilliantly- sustained metaphor. Since the phrase was hurled at the Government, it was well worth taking up. The door has indeed been banged, and bolted," by imperative instructions from the British electorate, against Imperial taxation of food," which is what Preference inean, Pg Mr Austin Chamberlain and Mr Cha-plin frankly admit, and as even Mr Balfour and Unionist candidates in doubtful constitu- encies will have to admit likewise. Mr Churchi)! speeches are notable also for several other things that it is well to have said by a member of the Government—tho denunciation of machine-made linotype calumny," the cq,lum, hint ■■ 8.<; to the indiscretion of some of our Colonial guests, and the appeal to Lord Pose- berv to make his choice for or against progress. The Daily Chronicle says :—" There Ls evidence ot a welcome reaction against the methods adopted by Protectionist newspapers of the baser sort in connection with the fm- perial Conference. People of all shades of politics arc becoming impatient of the new doctrine that British policy should be guided not by British interests, but by the pre- possessions and prejudices of Protectionists from the Colonies. After all, the Mother Country counts for something in the Empire: Is it reasonable to ask her to restr ict and hamper ihe free course of her immense trade with the whole world, and to tax the food of her teeming millions, for the sake of a problem- atic increase in her relatively small trade with the self-governing Colonies ? These are the sort of questions that men of all parties in this country are asking themselves when re- proaches about slammed doors are being flung at the Government. If the door has been slammed, it is not against the Colonies, whose interests aae dear to us, whose loyalty we appreciate, and in whose virility we rejoice. It is against a cruel and mischievous policy that would tax the food of our people. Against this, and this only, have the Government banged the door. Not only banged it, as Mr Churchill said in his powerful speech in Edin- burgh, but barred it and bolted it, too. The Right Note." The "DaityNews" says :-Mr Churchill adopted the right note in his speech at Edin- burgh on Saturday. It is necessary that the Government should reply with firmness to the campaign of calumny which has sprung out of the Coloni;;] Conference. The Protectionists have deliberately sought to fling the Empire into the party struggle—to make it, in fact, a counter in the great gamble with the people's food. They have unfortunately found one or two of the visitors willing instruments in their reckless game. Mr Churchill has done wed to denounce this malignant attempt to sow the seeds of Imperial discord, and we hope that some steps will be taken to let the Colonials know the true situation in this country. At nresent the supply of in to soma of the Colonies is as unsatisfactory as the news supply from the Colonies to this country some- times is. The Government not lorg ago had to take the course of sending a report of Mr Churchill's speech to South Africa to get the truth known there. It seems to us highly necessary thatRimilar measures should-be taken in certain cases with the other Colonies to correct the unsatisfactory chavacter of the present news relationships. Reckless Language." The" Times says Mr Churchill has for- gotten for the moment that he is a Minister. Why, otherwise, should he think it necessary to heap these unmeasured diatribes on the mischief-making Press "? The Press, how- ever mischievous. will not find it easy to outdo the vigour of .Mr Churchill's language. It over- reaches itself. It obliges us to ask what sins, after all, have been committed, and why the Government should be so tender about the issue of the conference. That one or two journals have allowed their zeal to outrun their discretion we would not deny. But Mr Churchill will not. induce us to believe that it was these journalistic misdoings which called down all his thunder in Edinburgh. His maanef is far too like the manner of those he censures tor this to be the case. As a repre- sentative of the Colonial Office and an active participant in the conference, he is, nominally at least, associated with the promotion of Imperial unity. But how Imperial unity, or even the most ordinary good feeling, can be promoted by the reckless language he thought fit to use on Saturday, we cannot imagine. Preference, after all, whatever we think of it, is a Colonial policy. It originated- in the. Colonics, and has just boon reaffirmed and de- fended in our midst by Colonial statesmen Yet it is in connection with this policy that Mr Churchill alludes to attempts to exploit the masses and. squeeze some shameful little profit out of the scanty pittance of the weak and poor." He says that the Government will not give one farthing preference on a single peppercorn." He glories in the fact that they have banged the door on Preference, and adds that they have barred and bolted it. This is soothing language to be addressed to the Premiers at the moment when they are leaving our shores. It is needless to say that Mr Churchill's grandiloquent prophecies about the future are worth no more than any other un- supported prophecy, but their worthlessness does not make them less vexatious to our guests. A Colonial Criticism. Sydney. Monday.—Mr Churchill's Edinburgh speech attempting to muzzle the Colonial Premiers because the British Government chose to entertain them is much resented here. The Press says it may help him with a section of his party, but not, with the Colonies, the good opinion of which from the day he took office he has been doing his best to forfeit.— Times," per Press Association.

Medical "Martyrs." BITTER ATTACK ON THE PROFESSION. If half the dreadful things said about doc- tors by John Shaw, M.D., in" Medical Priest- craft a National Danger," published by F. S. Turney, are true, it is a wonder any of us are alive. Never has any profession endured at the hands of one of its rnembers so violent an attack as this. First of all, according to Mr Shaw, the medical profession is rotten to the core. Those at the top, he says, have climbed to their posi- tion by fraud and hyprocrisy the hospitals are mismanaged and used for experimental purposes and. finally, no one in the profession dare say a word in protest, for fear of the con- sequences. Dr. Shaw himself claims to have experi- enced the penalty of exposing abuses. And he has a, very respectable bede-roll of names to add to his own. As he says on page 9 of ilia preface The profession of medicine has had its martyrs. Dr. John Brown, in 1778, was form- ally ostracised in Edinburgh for attacking the indiscriminate use of bloodletting, and in con- sequence of that ostracism was obliged to leave Edinburgh. He died in London, ten years later, in great poverty. The" specialist" appears, according to Dr. Shaw, to be even more of the Mede and Per- sian" type, which changeth not," than the old type of general practitioner. In fact, the general practitioner seems to have come into linewith ni(jdcj-.n ni,,thod,vhile, strange tojsay, the lately-invented "specialist" still lags behind. My own experience of hospital life," adds Dr. Shaw, would lead me to consider that contempt for the general practitioner is an essential part of medical education it is asthe milk on which his almamatertiourisi-ies the budding doctor. I submit with the utmost conviction that this deplorable condition of affairs, both as it endangers the life of patients and the simple decencies of professional life, is the direct out- come of the deliberate effort of the governing oligarchy to create the gulf (between the hospital doctor and the genera.1 practitioner) referred to both by the author whom I have quoted and myself." As will be seen by the excerpts quoted, Dr. Shaw has strong opinions, and does nothesi- tate to express them in language appropriate to their strength. His book will certainly succeed in its main object, which is to provoke the free discussion of the abuses it alleges.

R rI8 -r- STAFFORD SHOOTING MYSTERY Young Lady's Tragic Death. An inquest was held on Monday at Gnosat). near Stafford, as to the death of Mis3 Ha nnah Perkin, aged 19, who was found shot with a- revolver by her side., at her residence, Brook House, on Friday last. Miss Thomasine Perkin, a. sister, said the deceased did not. understand the use of the revolver but occasionally tried to shoot birds. Deceased was in no trouble and was looking forward to coming of age, when she would have shared in her father's estate. A verdict was returned that deceased died from self-inflicted wounds, but there was no evidence to show the state of her mind.

ESCAPE OF SIX CRIMINALS. -Paris.Sullday-Six notorious criminals lIave made a. daring -escape from Toulon Prison. t'sing tho leg ot an iron, bedstead as a lever, they patiently worked a hole in the outer wall of the prison, and, when all was ready for flight, let themselves down from a height of 25 feet into the street by means of their sheets. They have not been caught.

On Monday morning Hilda Marv Jones, aged 4 years and 10 months, foster daughter of Sarah Davies, 28, Singleton-street, Cardiff, died suddenly whilst staying at 51, Phyllis- street, Barry Island. It appears that the child was ill at home, and was ordered away for a r.h.aJ.117

SOUTH WALES COAL TRADE. Development at Bryn; Pit Completed. Messrs. Raldwin' Ltd., have completed sinking at their new pit at Bryn, between Port Talbot and Maes teg. They have sunk to a depth of 413 yards, into the lowest seams. All the seams encountered have proved to be of a most excellent quality and good thickness. Tha work of sinking-was commenced on 1st March last year by Messrs Jenkins Bros., LIantrisa,iit, and has been completed without a single acci- dent. The sinking was from a shint which had been in existence at Bryn for several years. It is anticipated that 1,000 tons or coal per day will be raised from the pit at an early date. A large electric winding plant and a ventilating j an arc beng erected by Messrs Seibv Btggs and Co., Swansea, and Cardiff. The agent of the col- liery is Mr E. G. Llewellyn, resident manager Mr Herbert, Griffiths,and tbcresidentmechanic Mr Daniel Davies, Cwmavon. R !s proposed to sink two further 1 irge shafts in this district if .• the present one turns out. as successful as an- ticipated. Tha colliery close to Bryn Station, on the main line of the Port Talbot Railway, and about five miles distant froaa Port Talbot. Garw Miners and School of Mining.. At the monthly executive meeting of the. Garw district, held on Saturday, .\ir Geo. Thomas, Kentig Hill, presiding, Principal E. If. Griffiths wrote expressing bis regret that at th,r previous meeting the Garw miners had decided to lay on the table the letter from the secretary of the committee which has in hand the question of establishing a Sout-h Wales School of Mining. Prinicpal Uritfiths pointed out that the remark which had been made at the previous meeting that the proposed school would be of no use for the children of miners unless they could use backstairs influence was inaccurate and likely to prejudice the men against the project. The history of the Depart- ment. of Mining established in connection with the University College at Cardiff was in itself sufficient refutation of the statement, for during the past ten years some scores of students had passed through that department, and 90 per cent, of them were the sons of work- ing colliers. The Principal asked the meeting to reconsider the matter, ft was resoived to inform Principal Griffiths that it had not been intended to reject the scheme, but only to await further information, and the executive of the Garw district would be prepared to arrange three meetings, at which members or the com. mittee might explain the scheme. Carnmei!, Laird's Pit. At Clyne Colliery, Swansea, now ovme-:l by Messrs Cammell, Laird, and Co., the present output is about 250 ions per day. rbe firm are preparing to carry two cross-drnts to tho 4ft. seam, hy which they expect shortly to increase the output to 4G0 tons perciay. Anthracite Miners and Non-Unionists. At the Castle Cafe, Swansea, on Saturday the monthly meeting of the Anthracite Miners' Association was presided over bvMr Rees Hopkins, district president. Mr J- D, Morgan aid that notices had beell presented at all the collieries except five. Some of the owners had given a written agreement to co-operate with rhe association with regard to the non-Unionist question. At three collieries the men had not put in notices, relying on the verbal assurance of the owners, and it was for the association to deal with that matter. At the beginning of the month the non-Unionists numbered about 300 and about a third of these had already joined, and he did not think they would have serious trouble except possibly at three collieries. About 8,500 notices had been pre- sented, and there were 1,500 men who had not presented notices employed at the five collieries where the special arrange- ments referred to had been made. The meeting passed a resolution strongly con- demning the miners who at three collieries hd not in accordance with resolution tendered notices, and who had been satisfied with, owners'verbal assurances. It also agreed that unless settlement is effected at Ammanford Colliery the men be allowed to present notices. With regard to road post dispute at Ystradowen Collieries, the agent W:1" instructed to make a special effort to settle. A deputation from Hemsworth Colliery, Yorkshire, seeking financial aid. was received, and the lodges were recommended to support the appeal. The Agent reported that the matter in dis- pute at Gurnos Colliery and referred to arbi- tration had now been finally settled, to the satisfaction of the men. Several other di3. putes were being dealt with. Western Miners' Meeting. The monthly meeting of the Western Miners' Association was held on Saturday at the Cafe Monico, Swansea. Mr W. E. Morgan (agent), dealing wilh the locked lamps question,showed that the miners did not seek an advance of wages because locked lamps were used, but they wanted to ensure that their earningpower should not be reduced, and when locked lamps had to be used it was to be supposed that the men were working in more dangerous condi- tions than prevailed when naked 1 t'ts cottM be used. The custom had been well .itabhshed that more pay should be given whrc locked lamps were used, the difference tfeing between 61 and 10 per cent. It was therefore wrise that they should maintain their custom. The men at Clyne Colliery had given notice, bit he was hopeful that matters would be aàjvsted before the end of the month. The meeting granted permission to the men employed at Llwyn Colliery to tender notices on the question of maintaining custom with re- gard to the use of locked lamps. Mr Morgan made a complaint as to the manner in which he had been received at Moortown Colliery, Skewen, when he went to interview the manage- menb on behalf of the men. The meeting passed a resolution condemning the treatment accorded Mr Morgan. Mr W. Jenkins (agent) mentioned that there was to be show cards in June. Mr W. E. Morgan called attention to the numerous accidents in the mines, and urged every miner to do his part in obseryng rules brought into existence for his protection. Dowlais District. Mr John Williams presided over the monthly general meeting, held on Saturday in the Clarence Hotel, East-street. It was left to the lodges to consider the arplication of the Bedlinog district that 6d per head of the annual Is levy towards the support of the Merthvr General Hospital should in that case be sent to the Cardiff Infirmary, as the majority of the Bedlinog patients are admitted to the last named institution. In accordance with the mandate, it was decided, after hear. ing the secretary (Mr David Thomas) deliver his report on the show card question, that the delegates be authorised to hand in notices on July 1st to terminate contracts if circum- stances warranted such a course being adopted. With regard to entrance fees, it was decided that only in the case of new mcmoers who have not worked at the collieries for six months shall the privilege of extending the payment over a period of five months be allowed. An- plication that, the annual demonstration should be held at Bedlinog was referred to the lodges. It was also recommended to the lodges that JE25 in instalments be forwarded for the reiief of the Hemsworth colliers (Yorkshire) now on strike. An appeal from the Wyndham Colliery, Rhondda Vallev, was left over pending in- quiries. The agent (-Aid. John Davies, re- ported on several compensation cases, and said that Messrs E. Hann, Aberdare ( IT. w. Martin. Cardiff J. Williams (miners' agent), Mertayr, and himself had met at Abeidare con. cerning the dispute at the Eled Seam, Vochrhv Colliery, but no decision had been come to. It was agreed to take no action in the question of the settlement of the Glamorgan County Council offices at Cardiff, against which the Pontypridd Trades and Labour Council sought the co-operation of Dowlais miners' district. Eastern Valleys. Mr W. Hughes, Cwmbran, presided over a meet ing oi the Eastern Valleys District of Miners at the Waveriey Hotel. Pontypool. on J-aturday evening. The agent (Mr James Winstone) stated that he had failed to settle the riders' wages rate at the Tirpentwys an(j British Top Pits, and he was afraid that- the matter would have to be refe: red to the Hauiiers' Joint Committee. It was anticipated thatthearbitration case in connection with the Blaondare Colliery would be satisfactorily determined during the next few weeks. He had failed to settle the application made by the Cwmbran surface hauliers and screen men for an increased rate of wages, and also the price list for the Black Vein at Blaenavon Colliery. In the latter case the difference between the parties was such that he saw no hope of a settlement. It was decided that show cards should take place at all the collieries during the first two weeks in June. East G!amorgan Miners. The monthly meeting of the East Glamorgan District, of Miners was held ai the Clive's Hotel, Caerphillv, on Saturday evening, Mr E. J." Crew. Caerphilly, presiding The agent (Mr H. Jenkins) reported settlement, of the long- standing grievance at Windsor Comerv. Aber- t-ridwr, in connection with the screen*, bnt said that not much had yet been done to settle the question of prices for the Oft. seam there. Terms had been agreed to in connection with the clod question of the 9ft. seam at Llan- bradach Colliery. A price list at the New Energlyn Colliery. Caerphilly, he hoped, would be settled at an early date. Principal E. H. Griffiths, LL.D.. of the South Wales and Monmouthshire University College, Cardiff, addressed the delegates ^re- specting the proposal to establish, a school of mining for the South Wales coalficld. The delegates present expressed themselves as beinff heartily in sympathy with I he movement, and passed a unanimous vote of thanks to tht principal.

AUSTRALIAN CRICKET CRISIS Board of Control Unyielding.- Sydney. Monday.—Noble's attempt to rust the Board of Control has ahena-tell even hi, previous supporters. The boarti is unyielding, and its threat to ask the Marvlebone Club to cancel the arrangements for the visit of the English team is bringing the recalcitrant players into submission,—" Times," per Press Association. The players here declare they did not intend, to delay the application which iri to be tnad* when the Boafrf of in June. The secretary of the board savs that if the applies tion is made it will doubtless Oe considered calmly oh its merits. -iteuter.