Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald and North and South Wales Independent

THE PENRHYNI DISPUTE. FURTHER CORltESPODECE. The following leiters have been forwarded for publication — "January 2nd, 1897.—My lord,—I regret, to -see from Mr Young's recent letter to the as well as from your lordship's last communication to me, that you atiac-h impcr- tanee TO the fact that copies of certain letters from the men to the Boardi of Trade have not been furnished to you. I am not aware of any communication from the men the sub- stance of which has not been made knowa to your lordship, but if you desire to have the text of any le tter and will specify which letter vou have in your mind, I will cause a copy to be supplied to you at once. The only portion of the correspondence between yourself and the Board of Trade which was QlOt furnished to the men was a paragraph commenting on the personal characteristics of an indiviaua*. —I have, &c.. COURTKXAY BOYXuhi. The Riilht Hon. Lord Penrhyn." "Tiegotimaji, Malpas, Truro, January 7th, IS97.-ir,-Yonr letter of 2nd inst. has beeci forwarded to mj at above address. Undoubt- edly I do attach importance to the fact that oopies of correspondence between myself and the BGard of Trade have been furnished to the msn. whilst I have nQlt, been 'furnished with a copy of the correspondence between the '"Ikuiid" and the men, and vice versa. With regard to other portions of your letter, I wish to point, out that, as I am unaware aa to what letters you have received from the men, it is naturally impossible for me to know whether you havo furnished me with the sub- stance of their communications or not. In iito manner, not knowing what the contents j are of 'certain letters from the men to The Board of Trade,' it Is quita impracticable for me to .specify (as you suggest) whiioh of the men's letters I 'desire to have the text c,-F It is with regret that I observe you committed to' furnish the men with my letter of December 9th, 1896, in tot); for I consider the omission of the paragraph in question may have proved conducive to wrong impression.—I am, sir, yours faithfully (Signed), PEiXRHYX. Sir C. Bovle, K.C.B., Board of Trade, White- hall." THE APPEAL TO PUBLIC OPKIOX. The Gaze;te" cibservesi: — "The desperate plight; of Lord Penrhyn can best be gauged from the fact that practically all the 'Times' can say in his defence is thai he has not .broken tlhe lanr A lea,ding ar- ticle is devoted to his aatcon to-day, and OIl point after point all that can be said is that he has committed no illegality: 'But, if Lord Penrhyn ia correct in his view, he is strictly observing the 'letter of the law, and nobody has a right to call upon him to do more He is bent. upon fightiuig out his own. quarrel; and asi the law does not expressly prohibit him from doing so—as in- deed it could not possibly do without making ail commercial prosperity hopeless—he takes his stand upon his legal rights and bows, out the Department rather unceremoniously. Lord: Pecirhyn, however, has thought otherwise, and apparently his posi- tion is at least legally justified.'—Of course, no one ever thought any other. But we en- tirely demur to the contention that 'nobody has a right' to call upon Lord Penrhyn to do more than observe 'the letter of the law.' This is no doubt cotreot by the card, but it entirely misses the moral and social responsi- bilities which attach to a targe employer of labour." Mr Sydney Buxton sends the following message to the "Daily. Chronicle" :—I am sending you by post three guineas for the quarrymen, chiefly as a protest against the attitude taken up by the employer in regard to the praiseworthy attempt at conciliation made 'by the Board of Trade under the Con- ciliation Act. Mr Thomas Ellis writes to the ''Daily Chronicle" from Oyii'ia.s, Corwen, reviewing the past relations between the proprietors of the Bethesda Quarries and the Union move- ment, and also of the Dinorwic Quarries, the property of Mr Asslieton-Smith. Mr Ellis staites tiiat in 1865, when the Penrhyn quarry- men firsc took steps to form a Trade Union, Colonel Pennant, father of the present peer, issued a manifesto to all the men declaring that "on the first rumour of such a state. of feeling he would close tho quarry." In 1874, when tine Dinorwic- meui toolk similar steps, Mr Aseheton-Smith gave a fortnight's notice that at the nest 'bargain-letting each quarry- man wouid be asked "Which is your choice your bargain, or the Union ?" The answer of 2200 workmen was "The Union," and they were locked out of the quarry. When the Penrhyn men subscribed to support the Din- orwic men, the late Lord Penrhyn issued a notice that he should "rooislb any such inter- ference with the rights of proprietors of quarries," and would, i.f such support; were continued, immediately close the quarry.t The men decided to stand by the Union, and went out from August 1st to November 9th, when they returned on favourable terms, which were adihered L) until the present Lord Pen- rhyn succeeded to the ownership, with Mr Young aa his chief manager. In 1885 and i 1886 another great fight was waged by the Dinorwic men for the right of combination, a.nd now in 1896-97 the Penrhyn men have to baar the brunt of the fight. Mr Ellis con- cludes :—"I know the three great quarry communities of North Wales—Penrhyn, Din- orwic, and Fesbiniog. They are a credit to Wales and to the whole class of wage-earners, They have but their own houses, schools', and places cf worship. They always respond generously to every appeal for causes that make for litiniiti. good. They love literature, and are accomplished musicians. The Pen- rhyn Quarry community contributed over £1000 towards the University College at Ban- gor. An intermediate and technical school is now being built; in their midst, towards which they have contributed over ;CLOOO. That such a community as this should be scattered and starved unless it bows down to the will of Lord Penrhyn would be a real calamity. The prompt and generous action of the Amalga- mated Society of Engineers is a message d hope." The "Bristol Mercury," in the course of a long article, come to the conclusion that the "pride of '"the Penrhyns will have to be brought low." The "ZTorth British Daily Mail" (Glasgow) observes on Lurd PEurhyu's £amüusphrl'ie aboolb "preeitfclfeint (for oufctside interference with my private affairs :"—These words ar9 worth preservation in a glass case at the Bri- tish Museum. They embody a spirit which is antique even ac the present day; and will be an object of curiosity to future genera- tions." The "Newcastle Daily Leader" observes —"In The case of Lord Penrhyn, public opin- ion and the active siTpport that is being given to the men remain the only effective weapons by which the pretensions of the 0 despotic Welsh, lord can be curbed. It is men such as he who are most Te"p;H<; tor the progress of revolutionary doctrine-. The "Speaker," in a thoughtful rrricle on "The Employer aa Patriarch," observes: — "Lord Penrhyn, we are quite willing to ad- mit, is an excellent peer, in the way open to progressive peers in the immediate, past; a good landlord, a generous benefactor of his district, the able "captain" of the vast in- dustry from which he derives hia wealth, who has brought back business-like management into the concern when has more kindly but less practical father was permitting ruinous- waste. But he has not learn the great lesson of present-dav industrialism. Workmen are neither serfs; nor soldiers, nor members of a patriarchial household, but parties to a bar- gain in which they a.re, as a rule, distinctly at a disadvantage and until the captaincy tjf industry involves military discipline in it, which is not very likely in our time, they have just as much right to outside assistance in making their bargains as a man who is entering a firm as junior partner has the right to have the partnership deed examined by xiis solicitor. It is a hard lesson for em- ployers to 2<?arn, but most of them have learnt it, and the balk of the Conseivative piixiy have learnt it too." The "I"al,, Mall Gazette; says.:—Lord Pen- rhyn must by time have discovered that he has made a mistake in iejecting the oii'er of mediation made by Mr Kiteliie cui behalf of die Beard of Trade in the dispute between his lordship and his quarrymen. Tho force of the example was bound to be felt a long way from its source, and less wise persons than Loid Penrhyn could have prophesied with safety that the result of his aroraary action wotud react upon employers of labour all over the country. That is what is happening. It is most regrectable that prejudices should have been aroused and angry passions excited in a. manner that might easily have been settled by the acceptance 01 the dictates of reason, and Lord Pemhyn's fellow-employ- ers of labour will have the leaa'ti sympathy with him uf any if things are made exceed- ingly unpleasant for iliiui by protectants against his misguided action. At the City Temple, Dr Parker said :—"I know nothing about Lard Penrhyn or his men, but I have one simple rule in regard to all wars, strikes, disputes, and contentions of every kind. My rule ia to support the side that is willing t,) submit the whole case to a competent and impartial arbitration. Lord Penrhynl's cpursa raises the very solemn question whether any one man should have the power of life acid death over some ten or fifteen thousand human beings." The Rev J. Charles Cux, L.L.D., F.S.A., writes :-I ain something of a student of the past, and in common with every decenuly- informed citizen, know that England's present Landowning rights are comparatively modern, and are at the most; of all antiquity of only two eentufies. I happen just now to be en- gaged :n arranging and analysing two great series of Manor Court Rolls extending from tliB fourteenth to the seventeenth century. From these, as from all similar documents, it becomes obvious that the rights of lords of the manor in old England were exceedingly limited, and checked on every side, and were intended to ba exercised as a restraining power for the good of the community, and not for personal aggrandisement. The court baron and court loct were just as ready to fine the lord as any of liis tenamtts for any encroachment, or for the infringement of var- ious common rights. The id12a, of a quarry, a coal ifiine, or a sand pit. being in those days monopolised by the iord. or closed at his own sweet will, would have been considered the rankest treason to the community. Tho Rev Hugh Price Hughes writes:- The House of Lords itself must realise that Lord Penrhvn's conduct is inevitably raising i some very ugly questions of property,xmono- poly, and privilege. AN-elsli and English land- owners can scarcely desire to share the fate of their Irish kinsmen. The word of wisdom ia surely, Do not push your teohnicail, arti- ficial, legal "rights" too far in such days as these. Public opinion has just compelled tho London and Xorth-Western Railway to re- instate men who had been harshly and ar- bitrarily dismissed. Cannot public opinion take Lord Penrhyn similarly in hand ? In I the meantime, it is clearly the duty of all lovers of justice and humanity to support. Lord Penrhyci's victims to the utmost of their ability. Mr Michael Davitt writes to the "Daily Chronicle:"—I enclose a trifle towards the sus.tentation of the brave Welsh quarrymen who are fighiting for the right to combine. It is a contest in which every friend of the principle of Trade Unionism should take part, and for the success of which contest every opponent of the system of land and mineral monopoly ought to help and pray. The following rfe&oluticn was unanimously passed at a meeting at Bala, on Wednesday, of the East Merioneth Presbytery:Tha,t this Monthly Meeting of the Calvinistic Methodists of East Merioneth deeply SVIll- patliises with the PerrlivTi quarrymen" in their struggle for fair conditions of labour, and heartily recommends its members and adherents to contribute generously to their support." ■ APPEAL BY THE FESTINIOG WOMEN'S FEDERATION. The Fesitiniog Women's Federation, which numbers over 1300, held a special meeting at Ebenezer Wesleyan Chapel cn Thursday after- noon, to take into consideration what stCipS they could take to alleviate the distress caused by the deadlock at Bethesda. Mrs Hoskins Cefnvmaes, who presided, said that the suf- fering of many of the wives and children of the locked-out quarrymen was considerably more than was generally known. She was afraid tliat their sisters in Bethesda, many tf them, were trying to "keep up respectabil- ity" with an empty larder. It became a. duty upon those who were under happier conditions to do all in their power to sympathise with and to assist their unfarbunate sisters and their Ittle one. Mrs R. R. Morris prop os edithe following reso-lutkn :—"That thisi meeting of the Ees- tiniog Liberal Women's Federation desires- to r express its condemnation of Lord Penrhyn's action in declining to avail himself of the ad- vantages offered by the Conciliation Act of 1896 to put an end to t-liei painful misunder- standing between him and the quarrymen of Bechesda. In view of the fact; that many of the wives and Cittle ones of the men must of necessity suffer much privation, we hereby pledge ourselves to do our utmost to assist our sisters, and to uphold the men in their sit niggle for liberty." Mrs Morris, in an impassioned address, said that she felt that they were, as a nation, much too servile, Why should one obstinate man cause so much misery and suffering? Personally, she would like to see a little more of the spirit of Owen Giyndwr- shown in cases of this kind. All of them, however, could do something to mini- mise the distress, by collecting subscriptions, and, if need be, by sacrificing some luxury or other. Wordnsympathy was a very cheap article, which anyone might orffer, but their sympathy must be more substantial. Let them combine and( determine that their sis- ters, in -,pite of this lord or that lord, should not find less food! in their cupboards during the coming months. Mrs W. W. Jones, Brynawel, seconded, and the resolution was unanimously adopted. Morgan,^ Canton House, proposed — meeting, while thanking the Board of Trade for the prompt action it has taken I woj-id respectfully ask that authority to leave no stc-neunturned to bring the disagreement to a satisfactory conclusion." -Mr,-j LMo-rcrLn from personal observation and from evidence she had received, said that the prosperous vil- I lage of Bethesda had) since Lord! Penrhvn's decision assumed the appearance of a cemetery rather than a populous district. Bangor, Car- narvon, and the surrounding towns and vil- lages were also affected, though not to so great a degree, and all through the mis- guided action of one fallible, individual. The idea was monstrous that any man, be he who he may, sihould have the power in his hands to cause so much misery and loss. The resolution was seconded by Mrs D. G. W illiams, Bryngwyn, and carried unanimous- ly. The meeting then formed itself into a com- mittee to organise ways and means of carry- ing the resolution into effect. SOUTH WALES HELP. A deputation of Penrhyn quarrymen waited upon the executive of the miners of the Aber- dire and Merthyr district at Merthyr on Sat- urday evening, when the miners resolved to make a donation towaros the funds of the North Wales quarrymen, and to recommend the case for the favourable consideration of other colliery centres. A meeting was held at the schoolroom of Ebenezer Congregational Chapel, Cardiff, on Friday night-, to organise collections for the relief of the Penrhyn quarrymen and their families. Councillor Edward Thomas, J. p" presided, and there was a large and repre- sentative meeting. Two of the four delegates now on a visit to Caxdliff-M,essm D. J. Prichard and J. Hughes—addressed the meet- ing, and made known, tha quarrymen's case. Officers were appointed, and arrangements made to make collections. CONFERENCE OF FESTIXIOG QUABRiYMEN. On Saturday afternoon, a meeting of the representatives of all the quarries of Fes- tiniog was held. Mr Richard Griiiiuhs, who presided, said that subscriptions to the extent of £ 150 had been obtained at the Oakeiey Quarries alone, and that the single men were giving at the rate of 53 a head per month, maay of them laying that they wouid give t.heir last penny rather than let their brave Bethesda friends be trodden under foot. 11- couraging reports were also received from uie other quarries, and it was intimated that, the Women's Federation were organising a tho- rough canvas of the town. THE "PENNANT LLOYD AGREE- MENT." In reference to the allegation, said to have been made by Lord Penrnyn in 1835 to the effect that the..Pennant Lloyd agreement, made in 1374, had brought about a, disas- trous state- of affairs, Mr A. Lloyd writes from Nice a letter dated January 9ih, as follows:—When the Bethesda. quarrymen Ktiruck work in 1874, I was, and had beeta for many years, Lord Penrhyn's chief land agent, having also a certain amount of work to do in connection with the quarry manage- ment. When the strike took place I was asked by the late Lord Penrhyn to meet a committee of the quarrymen with- the Ler., if possible, of bringing about a settlement of the dispute, when I found that tho principal points ui'ged by the quarrymen, then on strike, were the dismissal of the quarry manager and an advance of wages. With regard to the farmer, I distinctly t-oid the men that I could not, and would not, go on with the negotiations until they withdrew this demand. After stveral meetings bet-ween myself and the committee, this demacid was withdrawn, when the question of wages was gone into, and the late Lord Penrhyn made such an increase in the men's pay, which was by no means excessive, which was perfectly fair at the same time, and which the then state of trade- justified:—s-o that my arrange- ment, which has been. so often and unfairly quoted, besides containing many minor de- tails, provided for the retention of the ser- vices of the, qua/ny liianager and a, fair but not excessive wage; and this agreement was signed by the late Lord Penrhyn and the committee onbeha.1f of the quarrymen. Before my agreement was a week old the men went out on strike again, at the time when I was away from home on account of my health, which ;h.a,d completely broken down from anxiety and overwork, and I was quite unable to return to Wales and undertake the arduous duties of a second strike. The late Lord Penrhyn then chose others to take my place, and after many weeks of labour an agreement was come to, by which the manager was dismis.e-d1; and, while my highest standard wage was, I think, 36:; a week, if fairly earned, an enormous increase of pay was at once made, which brought about such a state of things as to cause the present Lord Penrhyn to write as he did in 1885. I think, and hope, therefore, that it will be clearly seen that "the disastrous state of affairs" has come to pass, not because of my agreement, but because it was not adhered to by the late Lord Penrhyn and those in charge of the second strike. The last thing that I should wish to do would be, in writ- ing as I have done,to add to the troubles of either Lord Penrhyn or his men as I have a great) regard for both far rather would I pour oil on the troubled- waters; but I think it but fair t'o myself to justify my action with regard to the part I played in the strike of 1874, and not to aplow another arrangement —with which I had nothing to do, and which I should never have been a party to—to be saddled upon me. THE QUIARiBY COMMITTEE. WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TROUBLES OF 18851 The Penrhyn Quarrymen's Committee have sent a reply to the renewed attack made upon them by tho "Timet*" Welsh Correspondence. After explaining the caus,3 of the delay in the appearance of the reply, they express satisfaction that the "Times" correspondent has already been compelled to modify the position he first took up. Then they proceed He repeats, on what lie admits to be hear- say evidence, charges which we have al- ready .characterised as libellous and groundt- les-s, and which, we are prepared to prove to r be so. Let us deal with two specific ohlar^es 1. The Quarry Commute. These are his own vrords :—■ "In the year 1874, in the time. of the late Lord Penrhyn, the quarrymen succeeded. in obtaining, through a committee, prac- tically the entire control and management of the great quarries." We deny this absolutely. The men neither suctec-ded in obtaining or attempted to obtain "the control and management of the quarries." Under what is known as "The Pennant Lloyd (Arrangement," to which we ■ifoiime. hei refers, the men had, no part whatever in the control or management; they were -simply permitted to bring their grievan-ceti through the committee by repre- sentation under the notice of authorities, and the management had, and exercised under that arrangement precisely the same powers and right to concede or rejeob the men's requests as they had; been wonot to e-icerciso before that time. The following extract from the arrangement shows; this: — "'Lcrd Penrhyn ha,a decided that all cases of dismissal should be referred to Mj Llcyd (the chief agent); but; as regards taking on new hands, Lord Penrhyn con- siders they sihould be engaged by Mr J. Francis (acting1 manager), under tiho supervision of Mr Llf,,Yd. Af-r J. Francis (acting manager) shall have the right of supervision until the cas's has been in- quired inlro by Mr Lloyd, whose decision, eha-ll be final. When a new parbwr is to be taken, into a crew, the existing partners shall submit the name of the proposed new partner to the acting manager; should he refuse to permit thel new partner to bo taken in, the name shall be sub- mitted. ti) -blie chief manager, who shall de- cide upon the matter. Mr Lloyd considers that' the fact that the men theniisdives pro- m:se(¡ to elect a committee, who shall ex- amine each caise of complaint and determine whether it be such as lhOlUldi be brought to liis nobice is so far a guarantee) tihat no trivial matter shall be brought before him." 2. The Financial StTaitg of 1885. We again quote your correspondent's own words —• "This state of things (i.e., the practiical management and control of the quarry by the men through the quarry committee) lasted until 1885. And there need be no hesita- tion in saying tihat under the rule of the committee the men obtained, so long as affairs were regarded from a short-sightedi point of view, great advantages and benefits, tillie, like of which, they wi'H never enjoy again. The owner's interests were hardly so much aa considered in the management of the quarry. No regard was paid to the future prospects of the quarry, good rock was worked extravagantly, rubbish was not cleared away in due proportion, and the wage rate was far higher than in other and competing quarries. From ifhe owner's point; of view, however, the position became serious, and even critical by the year 1885; and the present Lord Penrhyn, then the Hon, G. Douglas Pennant, cajme ini to the assistance of his father, with a firm hand and full authority, at a time "vrhen it became a ques- tion whether the quarry would be kept open at all for many months longer. The new comer went to work in a resolute frame of mild. He abolished1 the quarry committee, he resumed, on the, part of the owner, the complete control cf the management of tie quarry, he reduced the extravagant wages and, in a word. re-organised the whole enter- prise in a business-like spirit" The charges and allegations in the above extract are clear and specfic. Rtduoed to plain English they mean that plain Erw:lh tJH'Y llleall that (a) The men haying obtained ouiittol and I management of the quarry, through a com- mittee, worked it to their own benefit; (b) Li order to obtain "extravagant wages'' tbey worked tho good rook extravagantly; (c) Owing to causes (a.) and (b) owner'3 interests wero so neglected, andj things reached so critical a stage that1 "it became a question whether a quarry could be kepi open for many months longer" and (d) that the quarry was only saved from ruin, and the owner from financial disaster, by the son— tlhe present Lord Penrhyn-^taking the reins from his father's hands and "going to work in a resolute frame of mindv to restore order out cf chaos to reduce the extravagant wasres, &c. It would i.l become us to emulate your' correspondent in lauding tho present owner at the cost, of reflecting on the memory of his father—the laoe Lord Penrhyn. It is a matter of common repute that in 1885, the out-look at the quarry was gloomy. Your correspondent gives some light in the financial difficulties cf the ^proprietary at the time; but it was certainly neither interference of the men with management nor "the extravagant wages" which iihov received which was responsible for this. The truth is that the slate trade in 1885, and for .some years previously, had been in a very de- pressed state. Prices were 1-cw; and even a.t_ those low prices, a market was only ob- tained, with difficulty. The conseouenoe was that by 1885 they accumulated on the banks an -enormous stock of slates, valued at many scares1 of thou'sands; of pounds, on winch the. owner could not realise, though the men had been paid for producing them. That, your readers may see how absolutely innocent the quarry committee was, of hav- ing occasioned this financial difficulty, we give the following extracts from the official price lists of the Penrhyn Quarries far 1876, a year after tiliti lil-iijaiiit Lloyd agreement came into force, and for 1884, a year before Mr Douglas Pennant assumed control. We give the prices per 1000 (1200) of the ten leading sizes, the best slates T)roduced:- Size of 1876. 1884. Slates. s. d. s. d. 24 x 14 327 6 260 0 24 x 12 292 6 215 0 22 x 12 257 6 165 0 22 x 11 230 0 150 0 20x10 197 6 135 0 18 x 10 162 6 107 6 18 x 9 137 6 95 0 16 x 10 137 6 92 6 16 x 8 110 0 72 6 14 x 8 82 6 52 6 Totals 1935 0 1345 0 There was thus a fall in prices of over 30 per from 1876 to 1884. In other words for every £100 which Lord Penrhyn. received for slates actually sold lu 1876 he received leas than ;70. in 1834—and experienced df-ffi-! oulty in finding a market, even at that greatly reduced price. Will any sane person say nha-v the quarry ccJiiiimittee was respon- sible for this fall in prices and accumulation of stock or that it was the present Lord Penrhyn's resolute frame of mind! which brought about that improvement in the markets whereby the whole of the North Wales slate trade subsequently (benefitted. The case needs only ToO be stated to show its absurdity. Your correspondent may be in- terested to know, that notwithstanding the new owner's resolute frame of mind" and the reorganisation of the whole enterprise in a business-like spirit, stock continued to accu- mulate and prices to rulCl equally low and for some years, though. your. correspondent assures thus that "there can be no question that the quarry grew greatly in prosperity." lit is further alleged that "the extravagant wage of the men" were largely responsible for the financial straitisi of the proprietary in. 1885, and Irad the-refore to be rtmorsely cut down to save the enterprise from disaster. This aillegatic-n is equally unjust to the pre- sent Lord Penrhyn and to tlie, quarrymen. Wages had been corning down for some years previous to 1885, and remained at prac- tically the same level from, 1884 to 1890, When the. revival of trade and, improvement in the markets had a. corresponding, though not a proportionate, effect on the wage?.—In 1876, the average wage was 78 6d per day. In 1884, just before tilie present Lord Pen- rhyn assumed supreme control to reduce the extravagant wages "which were ruining the enterprise," the average was 4s 3d per day, in a calling injurious to health and1 dangerous to life and limb. In other words, these quarrymen who thought only of their own interests, wno worked the. quarry extravagant- ly to make high wages for themselves, who never so much as considered the owner's difficulties—these men had consented to a reduction cf over 43 per cent. in their wages during the period when the price of slates had onlv fallen 30 per cent. That for every E-100 the owner received in 1876, he received £70 1l 1884, while for every £ 100 the men received in wages in 1876 they had to bo content with 257 in 1884. Comment is tui- necessary. These are matters cf history, only indirect ly, bearing upon the present dispute; and we would have entered,into them had not your correspondent endeavoured to confuse the actual issue by raising them. We have en- deavoured to prove that we have replies equally conclusive to the old as to the new charges. The point raised by your correspondent in his concluding paragraph involves a number of technica.ities in connection with quarrying which it is obvious he does not himself under- stand. W ithout troubling you by giving them in detail, we will contend' ourselves in saying that we only asked for a minimum wage in cases where the men were forced to take bar- gains on terms which they knew to be un- gains on terms which they knew to be un- remunerative, but which -the bargain-letter refused to Rmend-ond the minimum wage we asked for skilled labour would be about ninepence per day below the average of the quarry, on Lord Penrhyn's own figures, and a shilling per day below the standard wage for which we applied. YvTe do not desire here to go into the mat- ters formally in dispute between the manage- ment and us. We should be glad to be afforded an opportunity to do so before any impartial tribunal. But we should like to place before, your readers the precise sequence of the events so far as we are concerned. They are briefly these I 1. The nearly three thousand men ed at the quarries were divided into 57 "pones," or distrioc,t,3. Ea,chi held its own meeting of the men actually working therein. Each district elected its representa- tive on the General Quarry Committee. This general committee in turn appointed a work- r ing committee and deputation to carry on tho negotiations with Lord Penrhyn. 2. Every ".t-.¿rp taken by the deputation, was reported to tho committee, submitted to the vote of each district, and it was on the votes thus recorded that the deputation acted. Yet, when the deputation first appeared before j Lord Penrhyn, they were charged with mi<s- representation, and were told they would be held personally responsible.^ As a deputation, we remain to-day the official representatives of the quarrymen ae a body. Empowered by them, as before to appear on their behalf before Lord Penrhyn, should that be neces- sary. 3. In our first interview with Lord Pen- rhyn, seeing that hie refused to grant the, men's requests and denied there was a.ny foundation for our grievances, we asked him if he would consent to submit these questions of fact to arbitration. This offer has on sev- eral occasions been repeated, and always refused. 4. At the interview, Lord Penrhyn charged us with deliberate misrepresentation, and gave specific instances. In a few days there- after. wei -placed in his hands written and siened evidenca substantiatin g what we had alleged. This evidence, though it reflected upon the management, was admitted by the officials to be nTactically correct, and Lord Penrhyn admitted he had) been misled. 5. The committee never incited the men to strike. On every occasion they endeavoured to restrain them, lyrtil their own summary suspension removed the only restraint. 6. Immediabelyafter the men, at our urgent solicitation, had formally consented to submit ithe whole of the mattiers in dispute to the Board of Trade and to abide by any award which might be made under the Conciliation Act, the committee and others who had as- sisted them in proving the existence of the substantial grievances were promptly and summarily suspended. Your readers will at once appreciate the importance of this "precise sequence of events." Your correspondent, though assuming to be impartial, really leads us to think that he holds a brief for the owner. And vet. it, is obvious that he has nob carefully studied his brief. His is that it was the declaration of the strike in March which1 caused the suspension of the committee. Un- 1 fortunately for him, Lord Penrhyn lias him- self in his "Reasons" given other grounds for the suspension—grounds which we have previously proved to be without foundation of fat to -support tiliema. Lord Penrhyn, more candid than your correspon- dent, frankly ad.mits in his published "Ret- sons" that the declaration of a strike in March simply served to "precipitate" a, pre- viously intended suspension. His exact words are these :—"The passing of the above-quote- ed resolution (ijhe conditional resolution to strike in March) precipitated the suspension of the members of the Quarry Committee by way of a check to' the misohievious line of action drey had adopted; and as all the men choose to strike when aforesaid suspension was announced, it will be seen that their cessation for work at the quarry is the direct result of tiiin spirit of defiance of my autho- rity by the Quarry Committee." N e have before proved the specific charges brought against us of insubordination, of inciting the men to strike, to be unfounded. If Lord Penrhyn will give specific instances of the Quarry Committee having defied his authority, we shall be equally prepared to answer them. I The reply is datedi Bethesda, January 13th, and is signed by Robert. Davies, on- behalf of the deputation.

RULES THE ROOST. The problems of babyhood surpass the infinite variety of women. Baby is first born, and by the time it has had its first little breath actually forced into its lungs, the trouble begins. We believe that if the precious little things could look ahead and see their first two years of life, most of them would want to back out right at the begin- ning. It is only when baby begins to realise that, after all, he rules the roost, that he decides the thing worth while. But this does not help the mother to solve the problems of this wonderful development. The thing that helps the mother in more ways than any other is Scott's Emulsion. In this preparation she-has that panacea for all I baby ills-cad-liver oil-in a practical form for the sensitive little organism, and you can ask the result of any mother who has tried it. Here it is :— My baby for some time suffered from, constant diarrhoea and consequent wasting. In fact, she was practically at death's door when I happened to hear casually of Scott's Emulsion, and decided to give it a trial. Before the first bottle was exhausted the diarrhoea had completely stopped, and there was a marked improvement generally in the child's health, and after continuing the treat- ment for a few weeks I am happy to say she is completely restored in fact, she seems another child. I may mention that I tried cod-liver oil before, as that is what some people think of under similar circumstances, but it was worse than useless, simply be- cause the child was quite unable to take it. Your preparation she certainly seems to thrive upon, and I shall not fail to recom- mend it whenever an opportunity offers. I am, gentlemen, yours truly (signed) L. Von Kormocay, 31, Sidney-square, Commercial- road, London, E., February 25th, 1896." The reason Scott's Emulsion is so well adapted to babies and children is because it furnishes the food for strength, flesh, vital- ity, and growth in the easiest possible form. When children are teething, or when there is any sign of unhealthy formation of the bones, Scott's Emulsion is invaluable, be- cause of the hypophosphites of lima and soda which it contains. Happy is the baby or the child who has Scott's Emulsion after each meal. Happy is the grand- father or grandmother who takes Scott's Emulsion to make vitality-so necessary for comfort during the last years of life. If you try it you will understand more clearly what we mean. _"Sa.

CON.ATAY BOARD OF GUARDIANS. 'At Friday's; monthly meeting, the Rev W. Yenables Williams ^chairman), iii wishing the members a happy New Year, hoped that the regard; of work to be done in 1897' would be as light and as satisfactory as in the past. The annual reports of Mr Bircham, the in- spector for the Local Government Board, showed that the guardians cf the Conway Union were discharging their duties with due regard both to the interests of the rate- payers and cf those who sought relief (hear, hear).—Miss Ann Jane Evans, Toxteth-park Workhouse, was appointed nurse.—It was ,reported by the clerk (Mr T. E. Parry) that the Local Government Board had directed Mr Biicham to hold an inquiry at Rhyl on the 20th proximo, into the representations of the Denbigh County Council as to the sug- gested ailteraticns of the county boundaries in the parishes of The. Abbey, Llysfaen, Eirias, Maenan, and Hoos.eley.-A letter was read from Mr Hugli Roberts resigning his appointment as assfistanit-Gyeiifsieer 0 of Dol- garrog.—On the motion cf Mr John Davies, it was agreed that at the next meeting there should be submitted a list of persons liable, to contribute to the maintenance of relatives. —Alderman Hugh Hughes (Conway) directed attention to the case of a girl who had been sent from the workhouse to a charitable in- stitution at Carnarvon. She had complained to him that during the period she was at, the institution she had never been allowed a day's holiday, and, further, that her wages during 18 months a a domestic servant were not received by her, but by the managers. He submitted that it was a case -which ought to be inquired into, aaid the CTerk stated that he would communicate with those who were in charge of the institution.—A vote of thanks was accorded the ladies and gentlemen who had contributed towards the Christmas trea-L foT the i-nmites of the workhouse.—The Master (Mr Jones) reported that one of the inmates had been committed to the Carnar- vonshire Assizes on 81 charge of manslaughter, it being alleged that he had kicked another inmate, and so ca-tised, his death.—Mr Caraher (Llandudno) asked whether it was not expedient that the guardians should be represented at the assizes, seeing that the quarrel, or whatever it was, occurred on their premises.—It was felt by the Chairman and others that sudhi procedure would be unneces- sary, the prosecution having been undertaken by the police. The master and other officials would be present to tender any explanation which might be called for.

LINSEED COHPOUSD' for Coughs, Colds, Asthma, and Bronchitis. Of Chemists only. c815rl92w THE iIJATE DR GETHIN DAVIES.— The memorial fund to the late Dr Getliin Da, Vies, principal of the North Wales Welsh Baptist College, has been closed^ the amount, which will be handed over to the widow, being £600. C LINflEED COMPOUND' (Trade Mark) for Coughs el and Colds, 9jd, 13ld.Sold by Chemists only. o815rl92w ESTABLISHED IN 1836. FOR THE PROTECTION OF TRADE 8TUBBS MERCANTILE OFFICE (Stubbs' Ltd.), 42, GRESHAM ST., LONDON, E.C. SUBSCRIBERS, BY OBTAINING TIMELY INFORMATION THROUGH THE STATUS ENQUIRY DEPARTMENT, MAY AVOID MAKING BAD DEBTS EVERY TRAi/LR SHOULD READ STUBBS' WEEKLY G A Z E T T Is With which is issued a Supplement containing LIST OF CREDITORS Undr all the tinpurtaul. failures. THE COMMERCIAL REGISTERS contain more than NINUj MILLION ENTRIES. 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