The Carmarthen Weekly Reporter

CARMARTHEN UNDER THE I SEARCH-LIGHT. Come, come, and sit yon down you shall not bv.dge You shall not go, till I set you up a glass Where you may see the inmost part of yon." —————— SIIAKE-SPEAIIIC. The Recorder told the jury on Monday that a certain witness is not a man in whose unsupported word I would place implicit confidence." That's about the most artistic way I ever heard of calling a man a liar. The committee of the forthcoming exhi- bition at Carmarthenhas'decided to admit specimens of anything manufactured within the county. It wili be a decided slur on local industry, therefore, if a few well- seasoned topers are notlexhibited. At the unveiling of the memorial tablet to the Rev D. Pugh Evans on Saturday, it was admitted in a qualified way that there really was such a thing as "professionalism" amongst the clergy. It is a good thing that even clerics can see themselves as others sre them. Once this process is recognised it is hard to foresee what miy be the results. If any man thinks that there is 110 pro- fessionalism amongst the clergy, ho will have to shut bis t ves tight against lacts. How often will you lind a cleric with a good private income preferring to work as a curate-for little or no remuneration- amongst the submerged tenth for the sake of his work? Will such a one—when an offer of JE800 a year for doing nothing as a dean, comes along—decline the proposal, and say that he entered the Church to do good and not to accumulate wealth for himself ? I don't say that there are no such clerics. All I say is that I have never seen nor heard of them. A farmer was fined on Saturday because he claimed that he had the right to kill his own game with his own ammunition on his own laud. All this was immaterial-he had not a game licence. You can kill your own turkeys as long as you do not cause a nuisance but if your live stock happens to take the form of a partridge —for instance—you'll have to pay C3 for the privilege. Now people talk about old feudalism, but this is just a remnant of the worst aspect of feudalism. The Normans were so very jealous of their rights as the sole owners of game in this country, that it became a terrible offence for any common Saxon or Welshman to be even in the possession of a hawk. Anyone illegally taking the game of the seigneurs had his eyes put out. Even at the present day the spirit of the dead feudalism overshadows the statute- book. In the old days the law was made by the seigneurs and the bishops and the people who make the laws have now too much respect for antiquity to introduce any of the modern spirit. It has been stated as a "coincidence" that the memorial tablet to the Rev D. Pugh Evans was unveiled on the anni- versary of his death. There is no coincidence whatever about it. It was carefully arranged as a fitting celebration of the anniversary. A case decided at the County Court on Friday is enough to disgust anyone with the administration of the law. A gentleman agrees to take a house, and the landlord carries out certain alterations. Afterwards the person who has taken the house backs out of his agreement; and the landlord cannot recover a penny damages out of the amount he has lost by refusing other tenants because-the agreement was not in writing. According to law certainly, the landlord has no case but if the facts are as reported, the tenant is bound morally to compensate the owner. T It may seem rather antiquated to say so in the year 1898; but there is a moral law which is entirely distinct from the law of England. If I happen to be in financial difficulties, I may obtain a loan from a friend. Seven years afterwards ho may ask me for the money, as he sees I can afford to repay it; but if I plead the Statute of Limitations the law won't award him one farthing of his LIOO-say. I can say Yes I had the money but the claim is statue barred." Nobody can say that my defence is not legal. Bui all the eame, I am a thief, if I don't pay what I honestly owe, whether the law compels me or not. < Another case in which statute law differs from morality is in the case of a discharged bankrupt. The bankrupt pays say 10s in the £ and the court releases him. No blame is attached to him a man may honestly go bankrupt. But-in a few years time, the bankrupt comes into a fortune or is successful and he has plenty of money at his command. There is no court in England can compel him to pay his former creditors the balance which was wiped out by the Bankruptcy discharge. But all the same, he is guilty of a flagrant act of dishonesty if he does not pay what he owes. At present, however, all that commercial honesty requires is, Pay whatever can be recovered by process of law." This is not far removed from the motto, Steal; but don't get caught." The" raiding" by the police having come to an end, the Sunday drinkers may now pursue their wonted paths in peace and quietness. If precedent goes for anything, we shall have no more raids for another nine months or so. When the next promotion takes place in the force, I wonder whether this mark of favour will be conferred upon an officer who has been active in the anti-public house campaign or upon one who has been conspicuous for keeping aloof from such matters as far as possible. This is a free country; and in the meantime everybody can hold whatever opinion he likes on the subject. On Friday night the lamps were fully ablaze in some parts of the town, whilst in the neighourhood of the market the dark- ness was such as could be felt. Was this the result of a perverted desire for economy? Was it the result of the breaking of the lamps by bad boys ? Or was it merely another of these eccentric freaks-like the turning off of the water without notice- which appear to be prompted by no other motive than a fiendish desire to annoy a long-suffering public. It appears that the new lamps which have been placed in the middle of Lammas-street are to be simply ornaments. The one near Temperance Yard has not been lit for some weeks. What is the good of erecting new lamps unless they are to be used ? If ever there was a case which ought to be dismissed, it was that of false pretences against the girl Louisa Evans. There are times when we are all to "rull clown" jurymen but dfttT all jurymen rav ou only proteci ion. The magistrates seem to labour under the deius.on that one witness called by the police is worth four called by the II defence. But jurymen—to their credit be it said—do not suffer from that weakness. The magistrates were unanimously of opinion—so the Chairman said at the time 1 -that the girl ought to be committed. And 1 there were not two disinterested persons who heard all the evidence who concurred with the opinion of the magistrates. Even had not a single person been called to prove that the girl was in Milford at tie time of the offenco, the case set up by the prosecution was so lame, so defective, and so wanting in the essential element. of railway evidence, and the witnesses were so hopelessly at sea in regard to identification that the matter ought never to have gone farther. I am entirely of Mr Wellers' opinion that some i magistrates commit themselves quite as often as they commit anybody else. 1 What on earth can anybody imagino induced the magistrates to commit a defen- dant on such flimsy evidence ? No twelve men-except they were selected from the padded-room—would have found the girl Guilty on the evidence adduced. Magistrates, certainly have no business to commit a prisoner in the expectation that the prosecution will be able to make up a stronger case between the date of committal and the date of the trial. The committal must be upon the evidence given, not in the hope that something may transpire in the meantime. And on the evidence given a more hopelessly rotten case never was sent before a iury. The method of identification adopted in the Carmarthen Borough Police force is such an example of official bungling that it is a wonder many respectable people have not begn sent to prison by means of it. Some girl pretends falsely that she is a servant with a certain lady, and gets goods thereby. When the fraud is dis- covered, the professional instinct of the force searches out the address of a girl-fifty miles off-who was at one time a servant with that lady. Then a witness goes into the house expecting to see her, sees a girl of the required age and height by herself, and—very naturally-concludes that she is the culprit. This is quite natural but nobody who is an expert in identification" ould attach the slightest importance to it. Anybody would in the same way-if he was certain in his own mind that he was going to see her there-similarly identify any girl of medium height and about twenty years of age whom he had only seen for a few minutes. If she had red hair, or a wooden leg, or something very characteristic about her, the case would have been different. How many of us know of cases in private life in which one person is mistaken for another by those who know both only slightly Then the proceeding which followed savoured more of the methods of people making a case than of those who wished to make sure of the identity—which was pretty dubious in the face of the fact that the pale complexion was fresh, and the black hair, fair, and the woman 20 to 24 only a girl of 17. One witness eaw her at the police station—by herself and tho three others came into the police court and saw a young girl of the same appearance and height at the bar, and know that thereby she had been previously identified as the offender. Naturally enough, they identified her but few of us would be out of the hands of the police were such methods generally adopted. And in the faco of such evidence, the magistrates were asked to believe that the defendant had spent 10s or so travelling up from Milford and back—no record of the tickets issued being produced—to get a pound of beefsteak, some fruit; and three odd boots—which were not produced, and never will be produced now. Fancy the whole affair merely as an investment of cash and time And this in spite of the fact that several members of the family, two lodgers, and a neighbouring woman who dropped in," all swore that the girl- whom they knew intimately-had been at home all that day. The result of this piece of wretched bungling is that the police and magistrates have between them put this girl's relatives to some 140 or 950 expense in order to prove that she did not commit a crime in Carmarthen, when she was washing clothes in Milford. It is a great pity somebody cannot be made to stump up this amount so as to make them more careful another time. We must all be very careful but police officials and magistrates—un- fortunately—are authorised to perpetrate any number of mistakes without having to make good the damage in any way. It has been explained to me that every- thing is quite regular in regard to the changes at the Infirmary. I don't doubt it. But it will be better for the officials and the patients if we had a little more light on the Committee. If the Town Council, or the Asylum Committee, appoint an official, we know how it was done, and who are the applicants, and whether there was any cliquery about it. If either of these bodies fall out with their officers--or their officers with them-we know why. But in regard to the Infirmary we know absolutely nothing. When meetings are opon, officials have only to do their duty when meetings are shut, officials may have to put up with the individual idiosyncracies of cantankerous members of the Committee- if there are any such. A portrait of the late Rev D. Pugh Evans has been presented by Mrs Pugh Evans to the Workmen's Social Club. The rev gentleman was the founder of the club, and n always took a deep interest in its welfare. In the first number of Pearson's now publication, The Royal Mat/ar.ine, appears photographs of notable men of the day. Amongst those we see that of tho late Dr John Hughes, Mrs Hughes, and their illustrious son, the Rev Hugh Price Hughes, It is amusing to notice the number of endowments in which money is left for broad for the poor; and £ 1 or £ 2, or 10s t;> the vicar to "preach a sermon." Even the prospect of getting a loaf at tho end for listening does not reconcile some of the I ungodly hearers to the homily. The poor are not edified by the sermon. D yr hen pregeth" is the comment of many an old woman going in to liston to it. < As all the bread is given out on Christmas Day, the Vicar must bo pretty well remunerated for that sermon which would seem to consist- according to the bequests- of several sermons rolled into one. Four or five sermons compressed together mu&t make a sort of theological meat-extract—a pulpit Bovril. To the credit of St. Peter's be it said that the Bishop only spoke what is admitted by outsiders whnn he told the Commissioner that the doles of money were given to members of any denomination when nec> s-itous cases were notified to the distributors of the charity. There may be, of course, other churches in town which also adopt this policy; but I liavo not heard of thew. Morris's Charity—some £ 55 a year—may on regarded as doing little good compared to that which might bo got from such a large z!1 n sum. The E30 given to tho soup-kitchen is probably the best expended but oven soup- kitchen loaves are regularly swopped for half-pints of beer. Soup, too, goes to people who ought to be above taking it. As for each minister dividing doles of 2s or Is Cd amongst his íloek-that does no good to anybody and the money generally goes to that class of mendicants who are able to "pull the sanctimonious mug." It is equally a. debasing of true religion (a remarkably scarce artielo anywhere) for people to listen to a sermon for a loaf, or to hang on to the skirts of a church for the doles. Some people's religion consists in making what they can out of it in some consists in hating others for holding their own beliefs and in a third it consists in joining the Church Parado on Sunday in their best clothes. Some, again, make plenty of show that they may bo seen of men. A few people's religion consists in dealing with their neighbours as they would like the neighbour to deal with them. I once knew one of that latter kind myself. But lie has been dead several years. All Carmarthen's Charities are the work of dead and gone worthies. You never hear of wliatour living Croesuses are doing lor the ( town. Carmarthen never had more rich 1 men than now but some of them would rather get something for themselves at the public expense if they could manage it. Many of them talk a lot about the good of the town but that is all they'll ever do for it. it

GUILDHALL CLOCK (LGQUITOR). Year by year in toilsome duty have my chimes been known to fame, Aud I've echoed out my quarters into space, But "he scenes that meet my op-ticizy often cover me inith shame, So I always keep my hands before my face. For my cen're-pin feels broken, and my cog-whee's lose their teeth, When I muso upon the shams of this old town, And my friend, the three-armed lamp-post, standing meekly underneath, Often sees upon my countenance a frown. And my pendulum gets weary in its never ceasing wag, When I meditate morosely on the fact, That there isn't any reason for St. Peter's Boys to brag, And I'm sure they're never guilty of the act. For incessantly un Sunday in the quiet little streets, GuzI eadly on the beer sold on the siv, And I'd like to tell the bobbies marching up and down their beats, Where the Sabbath boozors get their drink supply. Whilo underneath my notice at the bottom of the Square, In a beautifully warm and sunny spot, A gang of lazy loafers are for ever standing there, And I'd like to drop my weights upon the lot. For the station, and the water, and the fairs held in the streets, Make me strike my hours and quarters with a groan, And my oft-recurring ticking gets erratic in it b< ats, When I ponder on the Hock and Fountain Loan. But the late progressive movements in our Local Council bold, Greatly stimulated the working of my gong, And reforms that have been needed in this Ancient Borough's fold, Have quite latterly assumed dimensions strong. Though this Borough may be ancient and notorious la ine past, You can bet your bottom dollar on the fact, With h ground for recreation, and a water scheme ult )ast, It will challenge any town and not be whacked. The Mayor and Mayoress (Mr and Mrs Brunei White) and Miss White, King-street, attended the Lord Mayor's bull at the Mansion House on Tuesday evening last. The meeting of the Joint Council of the Carmarthen and Llanelly Liberal Associa- tions to consider the resignation of Mr Gwilym Evans will be held at the Assembly- rooms, Carmarthen, on Saturday next (to-morrow). Carmarthen has had a visit from two literary barristers this week—Mr Marchant Williams, the author of Welsh Members of Parliament," and Mr Lleufer Thomas, the secretary of the Welsh Land Commission. Sir Lewis Morris and Lady Morris and family intend shortly removing to Carmar- then, and making their home at the old 0 family mansion at Penbryn. Although comment was made on the -fact that the Infirmary accounts were not sent to the Charity Commissioners, the accounts are regularly and properly kept and the Infirmary authorities had no idea whatever that their institution came within the scope of the Commission. That two heads are better than one is an adage that received apt illustration during the hearing of the sensational false pretences case at the Borough Sessions on Monday. While one of the prisoner's witnesses was being subjected to a cross- examination by counsel that resulted in eliciting practically nothing, Mr D. E. Stephens, the instructing solicitor, leant over and whispered in the ear of his leader a suggestion which gave a new turn to the case, that very nearly resulted in a conviction. One wonders what the result would have been had the positions been reversed, and the horse-hair had adorned Mr Stephens' head ALETHEIA.

Industrial School Children in Carmarthenshire. COMMENTS IN TRUTH. Last week's Truth contains some lengthy remarks on this subject of the dumping of industrial school children in Wales. We append tho following extracts A serious reflection is cast upon the industrial s-chool system by some disclosures which were recent ly made before the Carmar- then County Bench. The Bench aseer- that a oc(tl clergyman acts as agent for the school authorities, but once the situations are found practically nothing is done to keep the youngsters under proper supervision. The C'lrrtinrthen Jlejxyrter asserts, indeed, that hundreds of boys arc being yearly turned out of industrial schools in England and dumped down in the agricul- tural districts ofW alcs under conditions which "approximate to slavery" and favour the manufacture of criminals. The managers of the institutions from which the boys come do not, attempt to look after them beyond sending round an otlicial at rare intervals to make more or less perfunctory enquiries and whether they are well or ill-treated by their employers and fellow-servants is purely ja matter of chance. Nor is it only boys from industrial schools who are thus disposed of. A lady writing from the neighbourhood of Carmarthen tells me that friendless girls are similarly put out in service on Welsh farms, and that, as workhouse visitors, can testify the consequences are frequently even more distressing and deplorable than in the case of boys. A more reprehensibie state of affairs and one more discreditable to the con- ductors of industrial schools it would be impossible to conceive. It means that any good that is done to the children by their training in these institusions is being in many cases undone through the negligence and carelessness, not to say callousness, with which while still mere children they are turned adrift in the world. The scandal will I hope receive the immediate attention of the Home Secretary." No one acquainted with the facts will deny the truth of the remarks in the latter portion of the extracts. The proportion of these girls 1 who "go astray is immensely higher than s amongst the corresponding class of Welsh girls. The fact that some of the girls turn out well is not to be denied but as for the rest—the result follows wnich might be ex- pected when young girls with no home train- ing are placed in strange lonely districts where there are 110 relations—and scarcely any public opinion—to defend them. [We have curtailed the extract from Truth, in so far as it is merely a repetition of the remarks made in a previous article in the Reporter. Truth quotes a portion of the very apropos extract from the Welsh Land Com- missioners' report, which appeared in our previous article.—ED., C. W.R.]

To the Editor of the Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. SIR,-I am very glad to read the interesting letters concerning the treasurer- ship of the Carmarthenshire County Council that appear in your weekly issue3. I am afraid that "Cymro" and "Cynawnder" are both lost to their sense of the duty of the Carmarthenshire County Councillors in their emotional feelings, and should stick to principle, similar to the person who styles himself as a Liberal and a Ratepayer." How many more appointments does Mr Peel Price want ? He has lately been appointed clerk to the Tory justices instead of his late father for tho Petty St ssional divisions of Llansawel, Caio, and Llau- gadock. It is needless to say that no Liberal candidate had a chance of applying. 0' Referring to the appointment of magistrates, I should like to know why men like Mr James Rees, Talgarth; Mr T. Watkins, Llangadock Mr Jones, Troedy- bryn, Mr John Beavan, Llansadwrn aud Mr David Davies, Rhyblid, were left out simply because they hold and stick to the Liberal flag. I trust that when the final selection for the treasurership will take place on the 26th at Llandilo that tho Carmarthenshire County Council will appoint a Liberal," and sroer clear of the old Tory gang. I am, etc., A LLAXDOYEKIAN.

County Treasurership, At Olygydd y Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. SYR,-Gadewch i Gymro 0 waed coeh cyfan ofod fechan o'ch papyr clodwiw i ateb ebychiad y gwr a oilw ei hun yn Cyfiawil- der." Dymuna'r gwr hwn i ni grcdu mai Cymro uniaith ydyw, yn cael ei gymhell yn unig gan ei gariad at gyfiawndev i ddyiod allau i'r maes yn erbyn A Liberal and a Ratepayer." Taeraf yn hyglyw nas gall Cyfiawnder siarad Cymraeg dilediaith. Amlwg oddiwrth ei lythyr mai Sais ydyw yn ceisio cyfieiihu, yn ddigon afrosgo, ei foddyliau gwenwyn- ilyd a Thoriaidd i'r Gymraeg. Beth feddylir am Gymraeg fel hyn "gobeithio ni ystyrir," darllen a ciiryn lawer," y dylanwadir pob gwir Gymro a Rhyddfrydwr ag yr un deimlad a finnau," cynrychioli oi hunan (represent himself), wrth cyfoirio," "achosi cystudd i'r rhai y mae yr amadawedig wedi gadael." "yn llwfr iawn," rhag yr agored ddirmyg," zn "eithriad i reol cyffredinol," "deimlad gelynol," "fely maeyndweydynSaesoneg," ym mlith y mwyafrif buneddigion doeth," "hawl o dyb" (right to their opinion), I anghytuno a tybiau ef," a llu mawr yn rhagor. Ond pwy eisieu pentyru engraipht- iau sydd t uawcld ddigon i'r mwyat cib- ddall ganfod mai nid Cymro yw'r ysgrif- enydd. Dywed nad ydyw yn gallu ysgrifenu Saesneg; druan o hono, oblegid sicr yw nas C, gall ysgrifenu Cymraeg. Z) Ond paham y gwna ymesgus ei fod yn Gymro uniaith ? Yn twig am y cred y gall felly ddylanwadu mwy ar ein eydwladwyr i gynorthwyo ymgeisiaeth Mr Peel Price. Engraipht arall o'r modd y ceisia pleidwyr Mr Price dwyllo'r wlad. Gellid meddwl fod Cyfiawnder," nid yn unig yn Gymro, ond yn Rhyddfrydwr. Mentraf ddweyd, nid yn unig nad ydyw yn Gymro, ond mai Eglwyswr a Thori ydyw. "Yragored ddirmyg," meddai; ie, dyna arddull y Llyfr Gweddi Cyffredin. Ac y mae ei Doriaeth mor amlwg a'i lediaith! Myn hefyd i'ch ddarllenwyr gredu ei fod yn hollol ddiduedd. Eto, dywed am Mr Price mae yn debyg iddo fodyr ymgeisiwr goreu." Sut y gall Cyfiawnder traethu barn, ac yntau hob wybod pwy yw'r ymgeiswyr ereill ? Na, Mr Gol., mae'n hen bryd i'r wlad ddeffro i'r hyn sydd yn myn'd ymlaen o'n hamgylcb. 'Rwy'n diolch i chwi am roddi cyfle i 11 Liberat aii(I Ratepayer" i udganu mewn udgorn i'n rhybuddio o'n perygl. Sir Gaerfyrddin yw'r sir anghydffurfiol henaf. Yma y bu Stephen Hughes yn gweithio, yma y ganwyd Griffith Jones (mab i ddiacon Anibynol), Williams, Pantycelyn a Thomas Charles, o'r Bala. Mae enw'r sir wedi ei gorfio ar lechres hanes Rhyddfryd- iaeth ac Anghydffurfiaeth y wlad. Y mae degau a chanoedd o'i Hermwyr wedidioddef erledigaeth oherwydd eu Hyddlondeb i'w hegwyddorion. O'r diwedd dyma'r werin wedi cael y gallu yn eu dwylaw. Pa ddefnydd wnant o hono ? A yw yn werth i'r gonedl fod wedi tramwyo drwy'r anialwch er cyrhaedd gwlad rydd os mynant, ar oi cyrhaedtl pen draw eu taith, osocl uu o hiliogaeth Pharaoh i lywodraethu arnynt ? Na, na! Gwlad. Rhyddfrydig, gwlad Ymneullduol yw yr hen sir. Boed ein llywodraethwyr. hefyd, yn Rhyddfrydwyr i'r earn, ac yn Ymneillduwyr egwyddorol. Yr eiddoch, &c., RnYDDFKYDWRR AC YLLXEILLDUWR.

Have You Ever Tried. Have you ever tried GWILYM EVANS' QUININE BITTEKS, The Vegetable Tonic, when you feel out of sorts, or depressed in spirits, or when oppressed with languor as a result of over-exertion, worrying cares, anxiety, or excitement? If you have not tried it, you should do so, and give it a fair tria.1, for it is unubie mously acknowledged by all who have used it to is The Best Remedy of the Ase for Indigestion in its different forms, such as SIck Headache, Pains in the Side, GiddineR, Loss of Appetite, also for Nervous nes- and Nervous Disorders, Sleeplessness, Neuralgia, Low Spirits, and all kinds of Weakness. It has proved very beneficial to persons solfering from great Weak- ness, either after an illness, long confinement to ill- ventilated rooms, or any other cause. It strikes at the root of the disease,removincr the (-ausf? of the illness and strengthens those parts of the system which have been weakened by it, and therefore most liable to Golds and others ailments. Gwilym Evans'Quinine Bitters is sold everywhere in Bottles at 2". Jd. and 4s. (id. each, or direct from the Proprietors, carriage free for the above prices. Avoid Imitations. The Sole Proprietors are The Quinine Bitters, Manufacturing Company, Limited, Llanelly, South Wales.

PONTARGOTHI. PREACHING SERVICES were held at Siloam Chapel on Wednesday & Thursday last week, when powerful and impressive sermons were delivered to crowded congregations by the following well-known preachers :—The Rev- Ben Davies, Pantteg, Ystalyfera, and Rev G. Penar Griffiths, Pentre Estyll, Swansea. The meetings were introduced by the Revs Ben Davies, Pantteg Rev Peter Davies, Pantteg Rev T. Thomas (B.), Elim Park and Mr S. 1). Williams, senior student of the Presby- terian College, Carmarthen. Besides the above-mentioned ministers, we noticed present the Rev E. Thomas, vicar of IJan- egwad, and a good number of students from I Carmarthen. Collections were made on Thursday, and a substantial sum was raised. Plenty of food for visitors was prepared at I the adjoining vestry. The Church and Pastor seem to work well together,

Llandilo Water Supply. To the Editor of the Carmarthen Weelly Reporter. SIR,—In your issue of the 14th inst, containing a report of an adjourned meeting ot the Llandilo Urban District Council, it is reported that the Chairman said, "As regards the course wo have taken in this application,-it is only fair and proper. To have acted in the manner that the Vicar of the parislv has acted with the Council (the remainder of the scntonce was not caught by our representative)." This implies remark- able egoism. But has the Chairman and Council forgotten how they acted some months ago in spending a very considerable sum of the ratepayers' money in digging uselessly outside the boundary of the Church ground of Llandyfan, opposite the spring inside in the Baptistry, under the supposed idea that an outflow could be obtained, wheieby they flight act independently of tho Vicar's rights to the same, and in not regarding the nature of their act in their attempt to interfere with the spring? What would the Chairman say of this, if done by another, which was a glaring provocation to the Vicar, and was such a one as moved several interested in Llandyfan to urge him to warn the Chairman and Council of the nature of their act, and of the risk they incurred to dry up the well, by blasting the rock, as well as the danger thereby of diverting the stream into fissures in tho rock, which was partly done, and which cost the Council a considerable sum in their eiforts to dam up the water at the tank, so as to convey a large outflow of water back to the spring, and repair the leakage, the result of the action of the Council; but how did the Vicar act? He did not talk of litigation, nor did he interfere with the action of the Council in their attempts to withdraw the water, if it were possible, from the Baptistry by their quarrying the rock for so many months, notwithstanding the daily evidence of the danger of drying up the spring by their long and deep cuttings nor did he place any obstacles in their way when they approached him, after repeated failures to obtain water elsewhere, and atter casting aside the favourable letter of the Vicar written in reply to their application on September 25th, 1893, and when in September, 1896, a deputation of the Council waited upon him, he at once complied with their request, and agreed to the terms, approved of by the Council, and embodied in the lease, dated November 4th, 1897, and signed by the Vicar and other Church Authorities, and by the Chairman, on behalf of the Council. The provision in the lease as to a supply of water for the inhabitants of Llaodilo and neighbourhood is as follows, "And also shall and will use the water passing through tho said line of pipes for tho inhabitants of the town of Llandilo and the neighbourhood, is being the intention of the parties hereto that the water from the said spring passing through the said line of pipes shall be used C) for a public supply for the inhabitants of the town of Llandiio and neighbourhood "-and the conditions as to the inch pipe are, And also shall and will permit the lesser (the Vicar) and his successors at all times, as he or they may deem fit, and at his own expense, during the said term to connect a one-inch pipe at any point of the system of pipes under the control of the said Council, so as to obtain free of charge a supply of wTater through such one-inch pipe for his and their control in all respects, provided that the said Council shall bo at liberty at any time in case of there being a scarcity of water for domestic purposes to disconnect and discontinue such supply on giving to the said lessor satisfactory proof of such scarcity, the fact of such scarcity to be ascertained in case of dispute by an independent surveyor to be agreed upon by the lesser and Council. Why the Chairman did not refer to the provisions in the lease is a mystery, unless as a solicitor the thought of litigation, for tho moment, was more congenial than the acknowledgement of rights under a lease signed by him as Chairman on behalf of the Council. Truly, the Chairman's conduct is a perplexity, and really one may ask is it usual for Chairmen of Councils to act otherwise than in accordance with terms agreed upon and signed and sealed on behalf of the Local Authority ? If so, then it is not difficult to understand the nature of the courage" accompanying the word litigation uttered by the Chairman of the Llandilo Urban District Council, in relation to the kind of honesty and public justice implied in his applauded statement. As Vicar of the parish, being one of its heaviest ratepayers, I am sorry for the Chairman, under whose sanction, the unfair attempt, and the useless waste of money, has taken place at Llandyfan, and whilst he should be sorry for this, it gives me muth pleasure to be able to say that I have done all in my power to assist the Council to provide a good supply of water for the inhabitants of Llandilo and neighbourhood, when the Council had failed everywhere, and that I am prepared to do what may be expected of me in my position as Vicar, being confidont that I can patiently abide the time again, as I have hitherto done, whilst in the meantime the sayings and doings of the Chairman and Council, at many an adjourned meeting in the future, as in the past, may be extraordinary studies for the ratepayers. I remain, Yours, &c., LEWIS PRICE. The Vicarage, Llandilo, October 17th, 1898.

NANTGAREDIG. THANKSGIVING, MEETINGS were held at the Calvinistic Methodist Chapel last week. The respected pastor, Rev D. Phillips, was unable to be at the meetings owing to illness, but the neighbourhood is glad to understand that he is progressing favourably under the treatment of the clever physician, Dr Morris, M.D., Nantgaredig. 0 CAOBUKY'S COCOA is absolutely pure, and is there fore the best Cocoa. It is a refreshing, stimulating drink, and a nutritions food, containing no foreign substances, such as kolo, malt, hops, &c. The fact can not be too strongly impressed tnar, oocoa muse 0" uu adulterated to ensure its fullest beneficial effects Always insist on having CAOBUKY'S—sold only in Packets and Tins—as other Cocoas are often sub- tituted for sake of extra profit. E L I M PARK. ANNIVERSARY MEETtNc-s were held last week at the above place, when powerful sermons were delivered to large congregations by the Rev Mr Humphreys, Llanelly, and Rev D. Evans, Rbydwilym The meetings were introduced by the RevsT. W. Morgans, Philadelphia (1.); 1). Curwen Davies, Pontar- gothi (1.) R'v G. Herbert, Penygroes and Mr J. Lewis, Llanfynydd. The cause is in a very flourishing condition, under the care of the much-respected pastor, Rev T. Thomas. TO THE DE.VF.—A rich lady having been cured of her Deafness and Noises in the Head by Dr. Nicho!son:s Artificial Ear Drums has sent £ 1,000 to his Institute, so that Deaf persons unable to procure the Ear Drums may do so free. Apply by letter to B. L. Z. Hale, Secretary to tho Institute, 20, Rt Bride-street, London, E.C. IT you require WEDDING CAHDS, call '1: the Reporter" Ofticc. A nice selection to choose from. Cheap prices. -#- CARMARTHEN Printed and Published by the Proprietress, M. LAWHEXCS, at" Tier Oftioef Biue-atreet, FEIDAY, October 21st, 1896.