The Aberdare Leader

When it is such a simple matter r r to take 30 drops of Mother *B||| Seigel's Syrap after meals. VH Ig^B Thousands testify that it does jB||f remove & prevent indigestion. flpH MOTHER mm Eve WB!!E SIIGEIS SYRjjp

TRUNKS, HANDBAGS, DRESS BASKETS, i GLADSTONE BAG..1 New Stock just received for Holiday Season. See Windows. Pegler's Stores, ABERDARE.

SCHOOL NEEDLEWORK. Sir,—I see from the papers that there has been an exhibition of school needlwork at Cardiff. Would it be possible to get such an exhibi- tion at Aberdare It might arouse greater interest and attention in this subject, which ought to form a very important part in the training of our girls, to fit them for their future duties as wives and mothers. There is such a craze now after ready-made garments. They may appear all right, but from experience I can say there is no wear in them.—Yours, AUNT JANE.

"MEMS FROM THE MOIJNT" AND THE OLD MEN. Sir,—In your last week's issue I note that Messrs. David Lewis and Tom Rosser desire to make known to the people of Mountain Ash that they were not amongst those whom were invited to a meeting to form a "Benefit Show" to the "Old Men," and dissociate themselves from any responsibility. It is perfectly true that neither of these gentlemen were notified by postcard. But this explanation is only an evasion of the truth, as they were well aware of the meeting being held, and were asked personally by the organiser of the said meeting to attend. It would be interesting to know why some leaders of, men are always conspicuous in their absence from all charitable movements and good causes where the uplifting of the down-trodden are at stake, whilst on the other hand they are al- ways in the forefront at all meetings when the £ s. d. is at stake.—Yours, JOHN JEFFRIES. 10 Navigation St., Mountain Ash.

LIBERATING PIGEONS. Dear Sir,—I am willing to liberate any bona fide working man's pigeons during the training free of cost on receipt of postcard. JMr. Mallett, 24 Thomas Street, Mountain Ash, will guarantee that the offer is straightforward from one fancier to another. Now, sir, I have an idea that our sport would be much better if we could only get a good honest feeling amongst all us brother fanciers, so that one would help another in the manner I am asking you to do, for the benefit of working men in Wales. Then we could feel easy when our birds were away, as we could feel sure they would be looked after, and not liberated in any weather, as we have them now. I contend we should have better returns and bet- ter feeling all round. If you can see your way clear to publish this you will have done us fanciers an enormous amount of good.—I am, yours obediently, SAM HARRIS. Roy Villa, St. Michael's Avenue, Yeovil.

ABERCYXON. — URGENT REFORMS NEEDED. ♦ Sir, Allow me through the columns of your valuable paper to call the attention of the Mountain Ash Urban District Council to the condition of the back lanes within the Abercynon Ward, and some of the side streets that are in an unfin- iflhed state, along with the quantity of dust lying about the furniture, windows and walls of the Council Schools in the place. The lanes are in a filthy condition, the dust in the Schools rather thick, and streets like Well St., Ann St., Elizabeth St., New St., South St., Nash St., along I with half Aberdare Road, and the whole of Bradley St., are all in a primitive state, rocky, rutty, and with stones innumerable. The main entrance to the new Council School at Carnetown is a disgrace to any administrative body. Why not at- tend to this now that the contractor is at work in Cardiff Road. The Councillors are to be congratulated on tarring and gravelling certain streets in the district. Why not all ? Urinals in the ward are conspicuous by their absence. In Abercynon we have one, and another on the county road by the "toll-gate." May we hear what the Chamber of Trade, the Free Church Council, the churches, social reformers, and even the Spirit- ists in the locality have to sav about such a deplorable state of affairs in our midst in the twentieth century. "Up Guards," and at these social and insanitary sores, and protect the health of the community.—I am, etc., OBSERVER. Abercynon.

J SPIRITUALISM AND THE BIBLE Sir,—Are there any means where- by man can obtain definite know- ledge as to whether life comes to an end at death or does it survive it? We are told yes, and that the Bible furnishes us with the necessary in- formation. Is that so? Is the Bible definite and clear on the matter, I and is it capable of conveying to man knowMlge on the question? It has been stated in your columns that the Bible is on this problem the "Christian's final authority." This "final authority" has turned out to be on other matters in the past very unreliable. Was that the Bible's fault 1 No, but that of those who as- sumed a certain absurd attitude to- wards it and assigned to it a power it never pretended to possess. If the devil and his friends that some are so fond of dilating on, and seems to know so much of, will but help the Christian out of his "final authori- ty" dream then he will have ren- dered him valuable service. To talk of finalities in an absolute sense in an universe of infinite or endless re- lations signifies an incapacity to view things in their right perspec- tive. The Materialist can make out a case against a future life from the Bible just as the Christian man make one for it. The both are frail ones, and are established on belief and not knowledge. Both have the right t3 the claim of the Bible's "final authority." Thus we see that in reality this "final authority" is two- fold in nature, and are diametrically opposed one to the other. Which of them are we to accept? Diversity of opinion in relation to beliefs on a question is a guarantee that neither has had hold of it in its entirety. Further, the Christian side of this dual nature of "final authority" sub- divides itself indefinitely into debat- able uncertainties. Hence the theo- logical disputations and wranglings there have been down the ages on vital questions affecting the after- death welfare of man. The defend- ers of "final authority" views and concepts cannot determine which, of the conflicting soul-saving and happi- ness-assuring schemes is the right one. Why not settle it by ballot ? Truth has no authority for its being so. It is its own authority. A fact in nature does not rely upon printed matter for its being such a fact. Its reality is not in the least imperilled when the preserved and recorded views of certain men does not support it. Its own actuality is its defence and protection. When we take authority for truth and curl it to one's own pet ideas and notions, to individual predilections and idio- syncracies, then indeed some crude decisions are arrived at. When, however, we allow ourselves to be guided by Dr. Parker's maxim, which i8 a reliable compass, and have Truth for authority, and not authority for truth," we minimise immensely the risks of getting astray in our studies and researches. The man who flies to the Bible for a final pronQuncement on any matter ac- cepts implicitly authority for truth. Herein we have the explanation to the gigantic errors that have been made in the past as associated with the Bible, but which were in reality caused by the misdirected zeal and religious fanaticism of those who adopted a mistaken attitude towards it. The subtle logicians of Abercynon with their extraordinary analytical powers should take steps to think twice before they speak on matters they are not conversant with, other- wise they will find themselves in the same plight as other members of their fraternity did, as alluded to. The Bible opposes Spiritualism, Mr. Evans I ventures to inform us. Very well, and be it noted, this is not the first instance in which the Bible has. or is supposed to have, opposed truth in its most prominent form. But is it the Bible or individual pre- judice and blurred outlooks taking shelter under cover of it that really opposes Spiritualism ? Whether the I Bible opposes it or not is of insignifi- cant import, as the opposition is based entirely on the interpretations and constructions which in character are suppositions and assumptions put on its contents by ministers and theologians, who sometimes are ex- perts in slaughtering and obscuring the ideas and thoughts contained in sentences. What is important and clear is that the Bible testifie in no indefinite manner to the truths of Spiritualism. Two explanations there are to whoever tries to use the Bible as a weapon against Spiritual- ism (1) That he has not read his Bible or (2) that he does not under- stand what Spiritualism means. From Genesis to Revelations there are a multitude of instances where it is recorded that beings from the other life appeared unto and talked with people living on the earth. Practically every phase of phen- omena-not their artificial reproduc- tions in the form of tricks and fraud, Mr. Editor-peculiar to Spiritualism in its modern sense are stated to have been experienced then as in our age. Wherever we have an instance of a being not a resident of earth appearing to one who is, be it an angel or a demon, a saint or a sinner, there we have a manifestation of the operations of natural laws and agen- cies termed Spiritualism, and there also we have in the person experienc- ing such a Spiritualist. It requires but the average intelligence of a school boy of the lower forms to real- ise that the Bible is saturated with instances and happenings possessing the foregoing requirements. The age in which the events recorded in the Bible were experienced had many, many Spiritualists. We have an account of Spiritualism asserting itself in the Garden of Eden. We know the recorded experiences of Moses, Jacob, Ezekiel. Job, etc. We know the visitations that took place of beings from the spirit world prior to and at the birth of Jesus, his con- versation with the spirits of Moses and Elias on the Mount, and of what took place after his death. We know of his appearances minus his physi- cal body, and of the various inci- dents that took place. Paul's Spiritualistic experiences are famil- iar to us also. These are but a few, and there is no necessity of giving chapter and verse, as they are so pronounced in the Bible. There ap- pears to be an honest flavour about these "tricks 1" These "frauds" symholise reality! Many clergymen and ministers who have paid attention to this question have fully realised the identity of Spiritualism's phenomena with" the Bible's. The Rev. H. R. Haweis said: "Take up your Bible and you will find that there is not a single phenomenon which is recorded there which does not occur at seances to- day." Again the Rev. G. H. Hep- worth said: If angels talked with mortals in the days preceding the crucifixion, it is folly to suppose that the curtain dropped and that we have ever since been left without the com- panionship of a cloud of witnesses. We must either throw the Bible overboard as a tissue of imaginary events, or believe, as every gener- ation has believed, that the great falsehood of history is that there is "a bourne from whence no traveller returns." Space forbids quoting others. These men are up to date and efficiently equipped mentally. The Bible cannot be utilised as a criterion to determine the truth or untruth of Spiritualism. If it is not true the Bible would contain no evidence to advance against it as evi- dence cannot be advanced against nothing. If true then Biblical evi- dence for or against it is so in virtue of its truthfulness. We can always oppose truth and try and show that it is not so. We cannot show from the Bible or anywhere 'else that what is not does not take place. Picture to yourself, if there was no moon, a man undertaking to show you by some "final authority" that the moon did not-exist. Think of him thinking of, conceiving and term- ing that which was not the moon. Think now of the Bible opposing the notion of Spiritualism. Now we can- not have a notion of nothing, and the Bible would be unable to oppose nothing, so the conclusion is that this notion must be something and that something is a reality-Spiritu- alism. There is no other conclusion to be arrived at. It would be a cur- ious position for the opposition party to be in the House if that which is opposed did not exist. Had our friends paid a little attention to the psychology of thought before doing their high-speed thinking these blun- ders would have been avoided. The fact of Spiritualistic exper- iences being narrated in the Bible testifies to its being a fact in nature and that man in the past was con- scious of it. The Bible is no authori- ty on Spiritualism, but Spiritualism is on the Bibje. The Bible does not deny but affirms Spiritualism. The incidents recorded in its pages relat- ing to the visitations from the un- seen world are of significance to the Spiritualist as they correspond with his own personal experiences. He., through them, can understand and appreciate those happenings. The Spiritualist also realises that what did occur occurs to-day. and what oc- curs to-day occurred in the past. Spiritualism has played an import- ant part in the production of and underlies the world's Bibles. Thus the Bible is no authority for nor against Spiritualism. A subsidiary and not an authoritative place the Bifcle therefore holds. It is some- times said the Bible contains revela- tions. That is not so. What it re- ally contains is records of revelations —quite another matter. That some try to persuade themselves that they can obtain satisfaction for their in- tellectual and spiritual natures and yearnings from the lifeless records of the revelations and experiences of others is a matter for amazement. Why not seek to have similar exper- iences and thms grow in stature and in wisdom. Viewed in this light the Bible, in the estimation of every clear thinking person, will be ele- vated. It is regrettable that its value and inspiration should be so often abused through taking a wrong view of it.—Yours, etc., G. E. OWEN. Next Week The Scientific aspects of Spiritualism will be considered.

Value in Aberdare. It will be at once recognised that the value of the Aberdare statements which have appeared in the local press for so many weeks in succes- sion, would be greatly enhanced if there were any conclusive evidence as to how they endure the test of time. Fortunately this evidence is forthcoming, confirming after the lapse of years the statement made by a Aberdare woman. On July 14th, 1909, Mrs. E. Wil- liams, of 11 Penybryn Street-near the Intermediate Schools-Gadlys, Aberdare, said I had severe pains in my back and loins for a long time, no doubt as the result of a chill. I was suddenly attacked one night with such a fearful pain in my back that I almost fell, and a chilly feeling came over me, which lasted some time. I applied flannel with turpentine, and also had medical treatment, but with only temporary relief, for short- ly afterwards I had another attack. I failed to get proper rest at night, and had bad headaches, accompan- ied by attacks of dizziness. There were urinary troubles also. But the medicine from which I obtained the greatest benefit was Doan's backache kidney pills. I had read and heard of these, and was led to try them myself. My back be- came stronger, and I felt altogether better in health than I had been for some time. I think highly of the medicine, and can well recommend it for kidney trouble." 4 On March 17th, 1913-nearly four years later-Mrs. Williams said:- Whenever I get backache pains I always take a few of Doan's back- ache kidney pills, and they soon leave me." Price 2/9 a box, 6 boxes 13/9; of all dealers, or from Foster-McClellan Co., 8 Wells St., Oxford St., London, W. Don't ask for backache and kid- ney pills,—ask distinctly for Doan's backache kidney pills, the same as Mrs. Williams had.

Daring Adventuress. Gadlys Incident Recalled. A middle-aged and respectably- dressed woman, named May Duffield, of Llanwern Street, was brought up on remand at Newport on Friday charged with three cases of shop- lifting at Newport. The evidence was that she was in the arcade shop looking at goods (but buying nothing) for an hour. Suspicions were aroused, and on her being searched by Miss Beestou. an assistant, 'she had a bag under her skirt suspended from her waist, in \vhich the stolen goods were found. The police found the other goods at her house after her arrest. Evidence was given that her oper- ations were much the same at the other shops-selecting goods on ap- probation, and asking that they should be sent. In one case she gave a false name and address, and the goods were returned unopened. Detective-inspector Tanner said he found that prisoner had been selling ,a number of silk goods to second- hand dealers. She also obtained goods and money to the value of Xlo from a person on the representation that she was about to obtain £ 100 on an insurance premium on her late husband's life. There was, as a mat- ter of fact, nothing due. In January, 1912 (the detective continued), she was living with her late husband, a man named Carey, near Aberdare. She went into the White Lion Hotel, Gadlys, with a child, and pretended to be taken ill there. The landlady took pity upon her, and gave her tea and some gin. Shortly afterwards a man entered the house who pretended to be a de- tective, and accused the landlady of allowing a child to be on the pre- mises whilst drink was served. After the woman left she and the man were seen together at the railway station. The man called the follow- ing morning, and told the landlady and her daughter that he had found that the woman was the wife of a Wesleyan minister, who would not like her name to he published in the newspapers. He, therefore, would not proceed with the charge if he were given a few pounds. The re- sult was that he was arrested and sent to prison for two months. The woman had been married three times. Her present husband, who said he was a baker, but had been too un- well to work of late, said he met the woman in January last, and married her on March 17. There being no previous convic- tions against her, the Bench fined prisoner 40s. or 28 days' imprison- ment. Her husband paid £1 down, and offered to pay the balance later on.

Merthyr Board of Guardians. The fortnightly meeting of the Merthyr Board of Guardians was held at 'the Workhouse, Merthyr, on Saturday last, Mr. John Lloyd pre- siding. Tickets for Porthcawl. The following were granted tickets for the Porthcawl Rest:— Messrs. John Price, Forge Place, Abernant; John Bowen, Cardiff Road, Aber- aman; and David Rees, Glamorgan Street, Aberaman. Appointments. Miss Blodwen Margaret J ons was appointed to the No. 3 Home, Llwyd- coed, and Miss Elizabeth A. Harris as 'temporary relief mother. Miss Sarah Hopkins was appointed cook-general at the school; Miss Elizabeth Ellen Edwards to -lie sick ward; and Miss Sarah Ann Evans to the sick ward. Stones and Tins. A complaint having been received that stones and tins were being washed down the brook from the Cottage Homes site at Llwydcoed, the matter was referred to the archi- tect (Mr. Roderick) who, in his re- port, stated that whatever stones were washed down were brought down by the floods from above the site, and the tins were those thrown into the brook by tenants. It was decided to send copies of the report to the solicitors lodging the complaint. Auditor and Trade Union Clause. L.C.B. To Be Petitioned. The Clerk read a communication from Mr. M. D. Propert, Local Government Board auditor, sur- charging 25 members a total of ZC51. This was part of a sum of zC283 2s. 2d. paid to Messrs. David Phillips on July 20th, 1912, in respect of a drapery contract. Among the reasons assigned by the auditor was that the Board "neglected to obtain the best value possible for the money expended"; that certain condi- tions were attached to the contract which were ultra vires and not in accordance with the form author- ised"; that "exorbitant and un- necessary prices were paid for the articles supplied" and that "having regard to their form the contracts were not open to all traders of re- pute and respectability in the dis- trict." This last reason, explained the clerk, had reference to the Trade Union clauses, and to the Board's resolution that all persons employed should be paid in coin of the realm and not in kind. On the motion of the Chairman, Mr. John Lloyd, it was decided to petition the Local Government Board.

Rector Upheld. The Rector of Dowlais referred to a reversal of a decision of the Board- ing Out Committee by the Guardians at the last meeting, when a 3s. grant to a child was raised to 5s. He, the Rector, maintained that in altering the Committee's decision the Board were acting ultra vires, Mr. T. T. Jenkins: If this is a statutory committee it was elected under a misunderstanding. The Clerk, being appealed to, sup- ported the Rector's contention, and said the decision of the committee could not be re-otened. It was decided, on the motion of the Rector, that the Board take steps to adopt such regulations as would put the committee upon a pro- per basis. Board v. Welsh Memorial. The Clerk read the correspondence which had passed between the Board and the Welsh National Memorial Association. It was not true, declared the Rec- tor, that they had been advised not to proceed on the contrary they had received every encouragement to .go on from the Local Government Board and its officials, and up to a certain point from the Welsh National Memorial Association as well. Mr. J. Prowle pointed out that the Association were to-day advising Boards of Guardians to build phthisi- cal wards. Mr. T. T. Jenkins said that before the building was started a deputa- tion was sent to the Local Govern- ment Board, and the Guardians were not merely permitted but actually urged to carry out the scheme.

Poor Law Officers' Meeting. The Poor Law Officers' Association of Glamorgan and Monmouth held their' annual meeting at Llantwit Major last Thursday. The Management Committee held its meeting in the open air on the Cross, or the site of the old Cross, where tradition says Saint Paul preached the gospel. And if the erstwhile Pharisee of the Pharisees stood there on such a glorious day as last Thursday he must have been very hwyliog," and the Cymry of the Fro." then were much moved by the burning zeal of the in- comparable eloquence of the Ben- jaminite of the Benjaminites." Perhaps, too, he was hoarse, like the honourable secretary, before he finished his dis- course, and was relieved' of the com- pletion by some converted scribe that followed. In the appointment of cer- tain grade of representatives a very healthy wave of laughter spread when it was announced that what the members understood as Mr Sea Breeze was absent in the sunshine. The merriment was increased when two other absentees that were mentioned were Samson and Heaven (Haven). A member asked did he mean Samson of Heaven, and did he really expect him to leave there, even to come to Llantwit Major on such a lovely day, too? Alas, what associations with the Poor Law! And what a mingling of the present and hereafter the Poor Law officers had at Llantwit Major!

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