Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

14 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

----_.----------.--•' Jack…

Recordership of Swansea.

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. LLANDILO.

LLANSADWRN.

Mr. J. Lloyd Morgan, K.C.,…

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

Mr. J. Lloyd Morgan, K.C., M.P., at Kidwelly. A public meeting was held in the Town Hall on Tuesday eveming lasl- to hear an address by the popual member for West Carmarthen- shire, Mr J. Lloyd Morgan. The halil was comfortably filled by an intelligent audience, there being a fair sprinkling of ladies present The hon. member was received with tremendous applause on entering the room, the cheers feeing resumed when he emerged from the ante room on to the platform, aocom pamied Iby the Rev W. C. Jenkins, who presi ded, Councillor W. Wilkins (Mayori, Ald. H. E. Smart, and Mr Evan Griffiths, Chelse'a. The audience included the following proinan ent Liberals: Aldermen J. G. Anthony and John Jones, Mr Daniel Meredith, Councillors D. G. Anthony, George Jones, S. H. Evans, and D. Gower, Messrs R. H. Isaac and Oak- ley Harries. The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, said that they had come together to listen to what their respected Member of Parlia- liament had to say raite,r a somewhat long absence from their midst. They knew that during a great j>a,rt of that time be was atten diing to his duties in the House of Commons making laws which he (the speaker) thought should be obeyed if they were just laws. They were anxious to see better laws made, and especially did they desire to have dealt with, such liquor traffic, Education and Disestablishment (cheers). They in Wales had been, ripe on the last named for over 40 years. He had once visited the House of Commons in the early eighties, and lie well remembered secinig there a number of oldgenrtlemen who were inot always of good behaviour (Daughter). Now, however, the legislative Assembly .was composed of demo crats, they had not had such a democratic House for mainy years. Wales had done its duty nobly in sending a LiiEenal member for each constituency, and Wales was expecting something from them. More would have been accomplished were it not for the House of Lords which kicked out many good bills passed by the Lower House. The Hereditary Chamber must be, dealt with—it must be either mended or eluded (applaase) so that the people, oan have measures they ar thirst- ilJllg for. He (the chairman) was glad to see their member looking so well, in f,act, he looked quite a boy still (applause). He remeim bered him as a boy and he had followed his career with interest. They had another gentleman) from London on the platform—he referred to Mr Evan Griffiths (applause— wihom he called upon to move the first resolu tion. Mr E. Griffiths, who was well received, then moved "That this Meetin.g declares its uinalbated confidence in. the present Govern- ment, the most democratic that has held office-in this country, and pledges itself to support it in its future endeavours to do away with monopoly, inequality, and privileges, and to uplift the con-ditiorn of the people. He thought the resalutiOlll. contained senti ments with which they would all agree. He was proud to be present to welcome Mr Lionel Morgan who, as their representative, had done so much for Liberalism in the House of Commons (applause). A wave of National- ism had be-on passing over Wales duiing recent years, and tha;t Wale6 had realised this, was exemplified by the fact that lier representatives were her own sons. Mr J. Lloyd (Morgan and his fellow members had raised Wales amongst the nations of the United Kingdom. An anomaly had been swept away when the Principality, after lHbH had chosen Nonconformists instead of Church men to represent them in Parliament. He was grateful for what tihe present Govern- ment had dome, not because he was satisfied, but because he knew what difficulties the Liberal party had to face when taking office after such a long period of Tory monopoly. He did not say the Tory administration was altogether bad. It was somewhat like the curate's 'bad egg (laughter). They pelihaps knew the story. The bishop who had invited the Curate to tea expressed his fears that the elg he was supplied with was bad. "No, my lord," was the young cleric's reply "narts of it are quite good" (much laughter). The daffi culty was to distinguish what was good in the acts of the late Government. The present government were striving to fulfil the promises made at the ast General Election. Wales was quite ready for a fuill measure of Education, and in his opinion, the Government would be well advised to take courage in Iboth bands and bring in a bill for secular education. He believed in Bible reading, and he, should like to see the Bible in the schools, but he reallised that the various contending religious bodies would never agree on the question. The bickering of religious controversies would only be put an end to by establishing a system of secular Education (applause). With regard to Tariff Reform( he-believed Free Trade was safe during the continuance in office of the Liberal Party, but the electors must not be deluded into a state of absolute security. He agreed wiith Mr Bonar Law that had times alter people's opinions, and it behoved the Liberals by such meetings as this to instruct the people on the beneficent results of Free Trade. Protection was no guarantee that the prosperity of a country adopting it, was ensured as witness the industrial warfare in. such highly protec- ted countries as America and Germany. Their success as a nation was due to the basic fact of its Free Trade system. He would not stand any Joniger between them and their respected member, but hoped they would pass the resolution with acclamation, and send Mr Lloyd Morgan with a cheerful heart to support in Parliament the measures which were so near to their hearts, (applause). The Mavor briefly seconded in, a Welsh speech. He had come there to listen and not to 'speak, 'but he was proud of the opportun- ity to "ceifnogi" the government. As word- in a: men they owed a debt of gratitude to the Liberal party who had given, them the free- dom they now on joyed (applause). Mr J. 'Lloyd Morgan, who received a warm welcome on risiiig, remarked at the outset that he was pleased to meit a Kidwelly audience once more. He knew that the Liberals of that town were men who could be relied on, and he was well aware of a con- siderable amount of political enthusiasm existing in the locality. This was evidenced by the fact that in spite of the inclemency of the feather, t=JuCh a large number had assembled there that evening. The Chair- man had referred to the long time that had elapsed since he had faced anaudience in that hall. Well, his Parliamentary and his professional duties occupied so much of his time, that he was unable to visit his cont- Sttiltuents as often' as' jie should like. He could not help noticing with deep regret that since the last time lie stood, on. thatplatform, death had removed from their midst his old friend, Aid. DI. Stephens, who was always to the fore on Liberal questions, and who had pre- sided at his .meetings on several occasions. Turning to politics, he said that the Govern^ ment which had been in power two years would enter on its tbill-d Session, and it had amVed at a critical period of its existence. He had full confidence in the, Government, and believed its members were fullly alive to the importance of the situation, and would deal effectively with it. When the Govern- ment last year introduced their House of Lords resolution, they decided on ii fighting policy, and in this he thought they were right. Whatever the consequences, they had now to go on with it. Any indication of weakness would lead to failure, and success depended on their demonstrating to the country that they are in real earnest and meant business. He hoped and believed the Government had a clear, definite course of aftion in mind, that t-h(W would at all costs carry out their intentions with courage and resolution. A policy of drifting was always fatal They had a striking lesson in the fate wlbiich awteited Mir Balfour's Government and its ruin, at the last general election. The Unionist party gave the public the impres- sion that having brought forward a great question, it was afraid to face thle difficulties and fight it out. If the Government have this lesson before them, and having made up their minds as to their policy, he hoped they would not allow themselves to be pushed forward by the extreme section of the parity, nor to he pu led back by its timid members. So long as the House of Lords existed in its present form, there could be no progressive legislation, for, as things* now stood, it mlattered not what the electors decided at the pels. Mr Balfour was still in power. In the two past .Sessions, only so much of the Government programme .as he assented to had become law; so in the comintg Session only the parts of the Education Bill and the Licensing Bill and other measures as he thought were unobjectiontahle, would be a110wle.cliby the. Lords to pass into law. This was a state of things so humHiatijig, that a free people could not tolerate it, and the fight having commenced would have to go on. In the forecast of the King's Speech, it was stated in the press that the Government intended to deal with the question of Univer- sity Education in Ireland. Perhaps the rumour was fake. Whether it was proposed to do anything he did not know, but if they intended to set up a RomanCatholic Univer- sity in Ireland, supported at the public ex- pense, he ventured to utter a word of timely warning. He did not believe they would do anything of the kind. Other Governments had found themselves in difficulties in deal- ing with this question, and if an ,attempt were made to settle the question on sectarian basis the Government, with all its majority, might find themselves in stormy waters. He did*not see why Roman Catholics could not be content with universities like Oxford and Cambridge, and Trinity College, Dublin. It they wanted a university in wmich they could shape the course of studies in harmony with Catholic dogmas they must do it at their own expense. He wished to express his opinions quite clearly on the subject, for with every desire to support the Governme.nt, he could not do so if he came to the conclusion that their legislation was based on unsound prin- ciples. But, as he had already said, he did not believe that any such difficulty would arise, for he felt sure the desire of the Liberal ) party was to put an end to sectariansim in whatever form it existed. Mr Asquith, in introducing his Budget, said he had put aside a sum of 2!- millions in order to begin a system of OldAge Pensions. He did not commit himself or the Government to any particular scheme, and he made it clear that whatever was done in the direction of Old Age Pensions must be done by steps and stages, and that it could not be -achieved at a single blow. All they could therefore hope to do this Session was to Jay the foundations of this reform. He ha<l every sympathy with such a reform, and the cause of the aged poor was dear to his heart. At present, the scheme was only known, to the members of the Government. The question presented many difficulties, for to raiise a large sum of money was a course which could not be lightly undertaken. The national" ependi- ture was now so hg, and the demands made on the ratepayers were so heavy, that no one could lightly contemplate the prospect or undertake the task of raising many millions of money for an object, be it ever so deserv- ing. He had the fullest confidence in Mr Asquith, and be believed his scheme would be a fair one, which would commend itself to the common sense of the nation. The diffi- culty in, solving the question was how are you to get the money. He did not know how this was to be done, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer was a very experienced man, and he would act with wisdom I and judg- ment. A Bill wias introduced last Session by a private member, in favour of giving every- one 'after 65 years a pension of 5s a week. The Bill did not say how the money was to be obtained, and in the absence of such in- fonmationl he voted iagainst the proposal, as it would cost between 20 and 30 millions a year. It did not mean that he was against Old Age Pensions, but he could not support proposals of that k;i,nd-however good t he object—.unless he could see how it was to be carried through. He had heard a Labour member in the House of Commons say that his party would not take a Bill unless it gave old age pensions to everyone. His experi- ence of political life had taught him that it was very unwise to say things of that kind, and more unwise to act on them. In polities the prudent plan; was to take what you could get, and regard it as an. instalment, an,d then press for more afterwards. Speaking I; on the Licensing Question, he advised the Temperance Party to adopt the same course and take all they could get, and not to refuse what was offered because t'hey could nbt get all they asked for. In doing that they did not prejudice their course, for they could go on educating the public. He hoped, how- ever,, the Government Bill would go a Jong way in the direction of reducing the number of public houses in the country, and he be- lieved this would be done by proceeding upon perfectly just lines. Aid. H. E Smart proposed "That this meet i-ug declares its saticfaction with the manner in which our member (the first Nonconform- ist) has represented the constituency, and has full conifide-lice in his unswerving fidelity to Progressive principles." He was always pleased to appear on the platform with Mr Lloyd Morgan, a genUeman whoi, his father (the late Mr Henry Smart) had always im- pressed on him as a boy, was one of the best type of politician (applause). He was a fair- minded man, and not a 'ranter," and as such had commended himself to. his late father. He,agreed with Mr Lloyd Morgan on the subject of Old Age Pensions, and he was pre- pared to trust him to do what was right when this matter was next brought forward in the House of Commons (applause). He had much pleasure in. moving the resolution. Rev W. C. Jenkins seconded in Welsh, and said he did so from his heart. Their member was not a very pushing man; he did not rush into extremes, but always studied the feel- ings and desires of t-he constituents, and acted in Itheirbest and highest interests. The boys of Sir Gar always did well when they tried, and he was glad to think that not only their member was meeting with success, but their friend, Mr Griffiths as well. When their present member would some day be elevated to the House of Lords (laughter), he trusted his successor would follow in his footsteps (applause). Mr Lloyd Morgan, in acknowledging, re- minded his audience that he had sat for West Carmarthenshire for 19 years. He felt he would before long be the "Father" of the House (laughter). It was gratifying to him after such a long period of representation that the friendly relations existing between him and his constituents showed no signs of breaking. If at any time they found he did not go as far as some of them would desire, they would understand it was purely due to the fact .that he could not support measures which did not commend themselves to hils better judgment. His only reward was the thanks of Ibis constituents. This he had hitherto obtained, but when he failed to secure it, he would be prepared to drop his connection with them. He proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the Rev W. C. Jenkins, whom he had known from boyhood as a friend of his late father, and whose friend- ship had been continued to the son. Mr E. Griffiths seconded, and it was carried amidst loud applause. The meet.il11,g then, terminated.

.....--Hnnting Appointments.…

j ST. CLEARS. |

Carmarthen Hunt Steeplechases.

St. Clears Notes.

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Family Notices

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