The Rhos Herald

Chester Historical Pageant Notes INTRODUCTORY. Interesi, has been aroused throughout Britain, sad has extended to America, by the announcement made that an Historical Pageant will be held in tfcsr ancient and renowned city of Chester, Few cities" possess the charm of antiquity and the picturesque associations of Chester. None is better adapted for a Pageant, and few have such a long .,and varied history from which to choose episodes, at once illu- minating and entertaining. LChester traces itø origin back to a very remote period, and it caa been occupied in turn by Romans, Britions, Saxons and Danes. It has links with all the ancients and it is the only city in England that still posseiises its- Walls perfect in their centre circuit. No -wonder enthusiasm is being kindled throughout the kiig" dom in the representation of the city's glorioaa paat. The dates selected for the holding of the Pageant- are July 18th to 23rd, 1910. Until the first-named day we have made arrangements to keep our readers in touch with all the developments of the forth" ,coming Pageant, and articles will be published periodically dealing with the subject from' many points of view. INFLUENTIAL SUPPORT. Success already is assured the Pageant. Soyas patronage has been obtained, and the leading families of Chester, Cheshire, North Wales, and other districts, with the Duke and Duchese of Westminster at their head, have identified and busied themselves with the project. Substantial subscription lists and guarantee t'undp, reaching to several thousand pounds, are increasing daily, and large bands of voluntary woikers are engaged in the multifarious work of preparation. An ex perienced Master has been secured in Mr. George P. Hawtrey, who was associated with the donees* tershire nnd Cardiff Pageants, and capable managers in Messrs. Baring Bros., long familiar with all that make-j for the success of Pageantry. SELECTING THE EPISODES. The chief difficulty which faced the Historical Committee in their choice of episodes for the Pageant was to discriminate between the numerous important incidents crowded into the city'a history. It is necessary to represent those which appeal tc popularity, and yet trace chronologically, and do adequate justice to, the different centuries and their peoples. Not many cities have stood through so many ages and witnessed the stirring events of bye-gone days at Chester. The writers of tfasr episodes could dip into the history of twenty centuries, and in each find something worthy of representation. The warfare of the Britons, thO'. occupation of the Romans, the lives of the moinke and friars, the gallery of Royal visits, sieges and insurrections, all vie with each other in importance, Much trouble and patient work has resulted is the selection of eight episodes in every way attractive I and creditable also to Chester's unique past. THE EPISODES. The episodes will be as follows :— I. Agrioola returns to Deva after defeating tlut Ordovices, A.D. 78. If. King Edgar, on his Imperial progress, with Queen Elfrida, receives the homage of Tributary Princes, A.D. 975. III. Hugh Luptus, with St. Anselm, founds th, Abbey of St. Werbugh, A.D 1093. IV. Archbishup Baldwin preaches the crusade Chester, A.D. 1189. V. Prince Edward, first Royal Earl of Chesterr- and Princess Eleanor visit Cheter, A.D. 125ft, Vi. Richard II. is brought a prisoner to Chtestof by Henry Bilingbroke A.D. 1399 VII. King James II. visits Chester. Introdnciag'- the Midsummer Kevels, A.D. 1617 VIII. Siege of Chester. Visit of King Chirleop A.D. 1645. Grand Tableau and March Past f Thanks to the generosity of his Grace the Duke of Westminster, an ideal site has been secured. If, is situated in the famous Eaton Park, and lieø. alongside one of the main drives to Eaton Hall, within a few minutes' walk of the tram rpnte. Experts consider the position in every way excellent* and as pretty a one as could be found. It has pic- turesque and sylvan surroundings, which will givio tne episodes a splenoid setting. In one directioo stretches undulating country leadir g to the not las" distant Welsh Hills, and in others the beauvifuJ woods of the estate. There will be no fewer than 3,000 performers- many of whom are well known in amateur theatri- cals, and their combined performance promises to eclipse the most sanguine expectations. The banc of the Royal Marines, of some 40 performers, hoo been engaed, and there will be gorgeous costumeo and stately dances. A covered auditorium yiU accommodate 4,OCO spectators. f

t Value of Labour Exchanges iir Denbighshire. At the quarterly meetfng of the Den- bighshire County Council, held at Den- bigh, on Friday, the Unemployed Work- men Act Committee reported on the num- ber of unemployed ip the various districts in the county, the report stating thjar there were 95 unemployed in Wrexham district, principally labourers, cartels,, and colliery labourers, with a few skilled" workmen. The report also stated that the Committee resolved that in the opin* ion of the members, one of the chief causes of unemployment in this county is • the difficulty of obtaining-laflb, and .the" high price at which it is held, which dis- courages fcuilding operations, although there is a great demand for houses. Mr J. Wilcoxon moved the adoption of the report, and remarked that there was 'a<" total of 413 out of employment in the dish trict, with a population of 135,000. He" considered the proportion was very smalJ, and hoped that with the opening of labour exchanges means would be found of fin4-r ing work for those at present unemploy-" ed.

Seven Licences objected to at' Llangollen. At the annual licensing sessions ar Llangollen, the magistrates proposed to' renew the whole of the licences with tne" exception of those of the following housed which would be referred to the adjourned sessions with a view to their being ob- jected to preparatory to being referred for compensation: The Foresters Armsf Llangollen, Butchers Arms, Llangollen* Mill Inn, Trevor, Sun Inn, Glynceiriogv) Hand Hotel, Glynceiriog, Royal Oak, Glynceiriog, and the Butchers Armsi-, Glyuceiriog.

NOTES AND JOTTTNGS. ■v;vJffore Mud. iz*& fcfC Last week*;t*J £ ventured upon a gentle complaint about the mud. In our corres- pondence coump this week we publist.,A ,» letter showing- one way iip fjjtE- streets can "be bettered. Bat io the ir^ean* time the mud.ii still with us. Mud carts Jhaye, durinhe weej$,Jbee.q Irying^.to av i Remove it; roaqmet,, h e'been rakin in heaps btfot-eshop premises and traps a, iband carts hai"esplashed% oyer shop win- cldws and peo'$l £ s clothed* One fine-look- ing mud heap in Market-Street, which the roadmen had scraped ready for cartmg away, was dashed into by a steam engine and flung in patches each side of the road. "Frantic signs were signalled to the driver of the engine to avoid the heaps, but in vain. The mud mounds were spread over half the street, and it was impossible to avoid them. There was not enough stiff- o^ss in the composition ol the mud to stay where it was heaped by the man with the rake. It persisted in going ex- ploring, and in performing contortions on the face of the street. No. Rak- ing. scrapitig.,And carting v. ill not cure Rhos of its myd. The complaint is too, jdetfp-seated for,such superficial treatment. You cannot stroke away a bad complaint., Why, in an hours time, the scraped por- tions of the street are as bad as ever. The mud oozes up out of the very ground. There are, certainly, ways to successfully grapple with the mud question. The Parish Council cannot grapple with it. f" For more than ten years the mud problem has defied the acutest of out Councillors, and the District Council seem to fare no j ¥ t>etter. Why not take the plunge and go in for Urban Powers? We have been shivering on the bank for a long time. A bold decisive step and the deed is done. Anything is indeed better than the tin-pot method of doing things that the confined and limited powers of a Parish Council gjve. A Parish Council is alright for Villages and hamlets ol the Tainant de-| tion, but when a populous place li Rhos, with its twelve thousand popular tion, has to knuckle under to a prejudiced District Council, or to summon twelve able-bodied men to deliberate how best t<?:' repair a broken stile, the whole thing is* nothing less than a farce. Even the', Conncillors themselves feel that it is high- time to end matters and m^re than one itieraber has cteCided to refrain from seek ec i Ií 2XL?b, Sates. ,t :™ The distribution of the half-years rate papers has n a howl of indignation frpm that nlnt respected citizen-the iatepayer. VVhh a worried face he has consulted the rates of other places for the .sake of In the Oaily News Year Bock !>-e tfnrK'ih-it the Tate of the City of London is only 6s 9t. whilstthe rf* t e s of Rhos amounts to 9s 4d. He then consults b.> ratepaper again and jfiods that with^ tbe special sanitary rate, the total rates for the ensuing year will foe somewhere? yrear los. Then does the citizen sit hirnt*e'f down to think. He cannot pace ;t .,teets to think, for he does not care to \1,jiK ankle deep in mud. Besides the m;ud would remind him of a special sanitary r-ite, and who can think Glady whan ->i>ses.sed with such a de- pressing thmtf. To avoid a brain storm then, our c uzen sat down to think. •r^irst of a-H h toyed with the ratepaper, and thought of the many pounds he had paid for the right to live. Then he con- --jured up this- benefits he enjoyed for the money. He paid a poor rate, and gave innumerable coppers to the pooty as well, as contributing to the chapel poor fund, and investigating in draw tickets, raffles, 'effcriiths, organ recitals^ concerts etc. -UnLier the tame mis- sionary cards," and movements" of all kinds, from a testimonial to local celebrity to a subscription to the local Liberal As- -snrlnti^n. 1 he" education rate he passed with an approving nod, Q^if.Uj 0°t so bad The. fighting rat^ tie tolerated. The light wa'f^ntiroi th^ise^t, true, but still there \iraf lk sort 8* r^Uf" for bis ifjoney. Theii h!e canie to ■ the riidst b;iftlig item of all-the special sanitary rate. Here he failed to make headway in ihis diagnosis. To him the word sanitary -had no meaning, and he failed to keep the thought of mud away at this juncture. tAssociation- of ideas kept the words sanitary and mud" together. They Stuck. At last, in despair he thought he "ivouii-i consult a iriend about it. Putting joo his lat he sallied forth. He had, how- ever reckoned without his host. He saw not hisifSend that night, for he got stuck in the rrfbd half way. j.r A Gooi Start, The newly-formed League of Young Liberals have made an excellent start. They lv-ve tackled the question of high rates. That is, they have put their li 'eads together in committee and have come to the conclusion that for the benefits receiv- Apd, the rates are ridiculously high- They i ■« "n; then straightway invited the,. Parish I Council and the Liberal Association to a conclave, where they eould discuss the matter. We "hail !s !y to hear what plans will be tormed by the joint efforts of the three bodies. "They may hit upon a worthy scheme, and possibly have the energy to carry it out. But the phantom of the past is a grim creature, and very hard to shake off. in ft are engulphed many Lost Causes. The Nurse Fund is one, the Osborne Morgan Memorial is another i, and Urban Powers :is,' third. All three could have been carried.to a successful concluston, but for ,in ere the did Rhos failing of drooping interest jbr. as" th^ phrenologist would *sfay*" lack 'of continuity." The Young: Leafpae.can, however, profit by the'failures'of "t to past. Let ft determine that ire- solve ^t^ycarry Mrbugfe^ Jtet them prove that they are able to act as Well as think. If they do this they will accom- plish much. the problem they have taken in hand is one which has hitherto defied solution, rand it will be,aigreat achievement if they bring it to a success- ful issue. x i. ,K Mr Qore's Esplaaatioa, In giving an account of how he won the Denbigh Boroughs, Mr Ormsby:Gore M.P., says that the greatest force hO, had to work against was the personality of Mr Lloyd George. He Cuether added ti,fat--Liberalism in North Wales would be much less strong with the passing of Mr Lloyd George.-—-Whilst the personality of Mr Lloyd George has hadmuchlto do with the quickening and awakening of Liberalism in North Wales, it is far from the truth tb^ Liberalism hereis depend- ent upon Mr Lloyd George. Liberalism in North Wales was strong before Mr Llovd George entered Parliainent, and is likely to be strong when his wonderful personality nojonger inspires the princi- pality. No. A much easier answer can be giyeo to explain how the seat was won for Mr Gore. And the explanation would h rt be c<mipletl Without the inser- tion of the word 44 barrel."

mo$ §AL?.Mr Setk; -Hughes conducted a successful sale at the King's Head, on Tuesday, 1 WEIGHTS AND^ Mr Noah Price attended at. the Public Hall this week for the purpose of inspecting all wefgHing machines and scales. MUSICAL.-At the-ucompetitive meetin g at Ruabon, mfusical |5ri^es were awarded to Mr E. W. Bellis, Mr -J; Hartley Davies, ^and Mr R. I.j c' J3 &tuSicA'L. A male voice party, under ,the iendût;ttVship, of Mr Ciiradog1 Williams :ang at a sacred concert at the Opera fjdiise, f^rexhami on Sunday .evening last. There was a very good attendance. PRESENTATION.—Mr Joseph Ellis, Vic- toria-street was presented on Sunday af- ternoon by the members of bis Sunday, School class at Capel Mawr, with a hand- some bible as a token of the esteem in which he is held by the members of the class on the occasion of his recent mar- riage." WOMEN'S LIBERAL ASSOCIATION. — A meeting of the abeve was held at the Maelor Restaurant on Thursday evening. The following officers were elected:— Acting President, Mrs Thomas, Square ,Treasurer, Mrs R Roberts, Post Office Secrectary, Mrs W R Hughes. A full committee was also elected. An address dealing with the work of the Association IWåS delivered by Mrs W R Hughes. PERFORMANCE OF RHYS LEWIS.—An excellent performance of Daniel Owen's masterpiece Rhys Lewis," was given in the Public Hall, on Wednesday even- ing, by the Cefn Dramatic Society. The proceeds were in aid of Hill Street Chapel, and there was a very good attendance. The cuttiin opened upon the interior of a Welsh homestead, with Mari Lewis med- itating with an open bible before her. Mari was busy lamenting the H strike" and was pouring her tale of woe into the sympathetic ears of Marget Peters. The scenes that followed were well chosen, and depicted all the salient points in the work. The sparkling dialogue was faithfully reproduced, and reflected the I | greatest credit upon the amateur perform- | ers. The part of Wil Bryan was excellent- ly 1 executed, as also were the parts of Tomos Bartley and Mari Lewis. Tom- os surpassed himself in his address to the Bala students, and his cogitations at the cobbler's bench, and his conversation at the tea table delighted the audience. Mr Hughes played the part of Wil Bryan with all the mischief and abandon of that character's irresponsible nature. His ad- vice to Rhys Lewis when WH heard he was going to be a preacher, was one of the most enjoyable bits in the perform- ance. We should have liked to have seen a bit more sparkle and life in Rhys. Surely the book does not warrant such a doleful interpretation ? And Barbara could have given us much more than she did. On the whole, however, the per- formance was a most creditable one, and our Cefn friends ate to be heartily con- gratulated upon the possession of at least three amateur actors of considerabe I dramatic ability. The arrangements were efficiently carried out by a Committee, Mr Ebcrn Pritchard being the energetic sec.

RHOS MUD AND KATES. To the Editor of the Rhos Herald. As citizens, we feel greatly indebted to you Mr Editor iri eailiftg attention week after week through your columns to the dread. -i'L and filthy eof the streets, in Rhos and-Poiikey, and ^jiat supriao:^ me .most is the fact that our Par- ish Council is quite powerless in the matter. I cotisider it a great shame that those in authority should be so lifrporicerned with regard to the itfatter by allowing the principal streets to, be Cpiitinually covered with mud which in some > places is sevêval inches thick. .1 understand that ita the course of one after- noon alone no leas than 17 loads of this "D.C." mud was taken off a portion of Market street and deposited over the Ponkey tip and still in looking at the place, one could hardly detect that any had been taken away at all so thick 1 was the mud in the place. Well now, what is to be done 1 I should suggest in the first place that the Parish Council invite Mr Rees Evans t Surveyor to the District Council to a special j meeting without delay to get his opinion and ? suggestion on the matter. I am sure that Mr Evans who is always very obliging will be only too pleased to come if asked and render all the assistance he can. If however this esteem- ed officer finds that he is powerless to do any- thing more to our streets than he is doing i,e. by the way of having more macadam placed over them or have a smail footpath or parapet formed alongside the principal streets for peo- ple to walk on save trampling in the mud, then the next step the Council should take is to call a public meeting at which a strong protest could be made and sent to the District Council. I know of scores of places with streets as narrow if not narrower than those of Rhos, nicely paved or macadamised and with a splen- did parapet alongside for pedestrians to walk on and then if other places can get these boons' why not Rhos ? Something must be done and that-speedily. I hope that every Candidate for the next Par- ish and District Council will be asked to pledge themselves in favour of Urban Powers, other- wise Rhos will remain always the same while it is governed by an outside authority. Some people, who have not studied the ques- tion in its various aspects say that if we have Urban Powers that the rates will go up. I say it, will be impossible for them to go any higher ,than they are at present. Our present rates are 9/2 in the 2. Taking into consideration what we get the rates of Rhos should not be any more than 7/- to 7/6 in the £ and I do fully believe that if we had Uurban Powers and ruled our own affairs we could soon get them reduced to that figure. Why Mr Editor our rates are higher than in the City of London which are only 6/94. I have already shown in previous letters how our rates stood as compared with places with Urban Powers, such as Buckley &c., and it was proved that our rates were always highet,, that those places, and the reason for that is that we, in Rhos are governed by a Rural District instead of having Urban Powers and thereby govern ourselves. I now propose to show how we stand as com- pared with places a little further away from home than Buckley and where it is a pleasure for any one one to walk along the paved streets, as they are not troubled with mud the same iis we are here, and, indeed, the authorities would not allow it to remain on their streets for even a day. But we are obliged to trudge along e it for at least 6 months, if not throughout 'the whole year. ,;j The rates of the principal London and Sub- urban boroughs, etc., according to the latest statistics, are as follows :-Poplar, 11/8 Tot- tenham, 10/- West Ham, 9/4 Isleworth, /9 Enfield, 8/7; Woolwich, 8/6 Staines, 8/6 Bexley, from 7/7 to 8/7 Ley ton, 8/5 Batter- sea, 8/4; Woodgreen, 8/3 Shoreditch, 8/1; Ilford, 8/- Hackney, 8/ Chiswick, 8/- Nor- wood, 7/- to 7/8 Lewisham, 7/8 Lambeth, 7/3; Holborn, 7/2; Finchley, 17/2; St Pancras 7/1; Barnes, 7/- Chelsea, 7/- Croydon, 7/- St Marylebone, 7/- Sunbury, 7/- Wandsworth 7/- Carshalton, 6/10 Friern Barnet, 16/10 London, (City of) .6/9% Ealing, 6/9 Merton, 6/8; Loughton, 6/8; Kensington, 6/8 Pad- dington, 6/8 Thames Ditton, 6/8 Tedding-, ton, 6/7 North She'0n, 6/7 Deptford, 6/6 ChippingJ Barnet, 6/6; Harrow, 6/6 Wdst- minster, 6/6 Richmond, 6/6 Hampton Couit 6/5 Wallington, 6/4 Elstree, 6/2 Surbiton, 6/2 Uxbridge, 6/2 Bromley, 6/1; Kingston- on-Thames, 6/- Penge, 6/. Bedington. 6/- Sutton, 6/- Beckenham, 5/9 Ashford, (Mid- dlesex), 5/5 Banstead, 6/4 Harrow, Weald, 5/3; Pinner, 5/2. As I pointed out, our rates at Rhos for "irbe past year were 9/4 but if the next half-year rate will be the same as the last, which I under- stand will be, then the rates for the Parish of Rhos will have reached exactly 10/- in the And what do we get in return for them ? I will leave it to your readers to answer the question. Is it not time, therefore, that we should really go in for Urban Powers, so that we may get some improvements for our money ? The races could not possibly be higher than they are n If anything, I think, they could easily then, with care, be reduced to 7/3 or 7/6 in the zE. Yours etc., JOHN EVANS. P.S.-Since writing above I have been offi- cially informed that the rates forthe Cefn Mawr Parish for the present year are only 7/7 in the £ and those of Ruabon 6 4.

JOHNSTOWN. As will be, seen elsewhere, the Rev T Rhoodda Williams, of Brighton, isan- i nounced to lecture and preach on March 8 p PERSONAL.—We regret to hear that Mr Isaac Jenkins was suddenly taken in on Thursday. YOUNG PIEOPLF.'S 'GUILD.-Mr Ernest Jones, Council School, gave an interest- ing lecture on The Rontgen Rays be- fore the members of the above society on Thursday last. The lecture was illustra- I.. y ted by lantern slides, Mr Fred Davies manipulating the lantern. The Rev T A Thomas presided over a large attendance.

FOOTBALL. SOAMES CHARITY CUP. SEMI-FINAL RHOS RANGERS v. WREXHAM The above teams met at Johnstown be- fore a record gate, in the semi-final of the Soames Cup. The Wrexham team being the holders, brought the full team to defend their honoured position. The toss was won by Wrexham who elected to kick down the slope and with a strong wind in tliwr favour. The Rhos forwards were the first to bear pressure, but was cleared by'Rogers. The next few minutes saw Wrexham pressitng hard Hughes clearing E D Roberts ran smartly up on the right wing but shot behind, later on he forced a corner which was nearly converted. Jones and Davies on the left delighted the crowd with their tricky short passing, and completely baffled the half and full back. Pike made a nice run but shot wide. A combined run by the Rangers was effect- ively accomplished Bob Williams netting to the deafening cheers of their support- ers. After the restart Wrexham tried hard to equalise but the defence of Rhos was perfect, Matthews being the pick, his tackling was a treat, and the speedy way he reversed the play gained the applause of all the spectators. A long shot from Morris the Wrexham back aided by the strong wind wasfheaded by Hughes into his own goal. Foth teams played hard to obtain the lead but the interval arrived with both sides on the same footing. After changing ends. Rhos after their hard exertion the first halt felt that their task this half much easier and they soon proved their superioity over their oppo- nents, A run on the right by Roberts was smartly done who centered to Will- y e iams that player safely netting. Pike at the other end headed smartly but Foulkes fisted well out. The Rhos half back line was a treat and played strenuously all through the game. Johnnie Davies got away at a fast space and when he got into a position he shot for goal, Morgan fisted out, with nobody to beat Roberts kicked over, the bar from very close range. R Williams a minute tater shot wide. Rhos up to this stage had the Wrexham team completely bottled up and were continually hovering in their half. Rhos forced two corners and from the second D Davies added the third. Wrexham, now came up and Shepard tested Foulkes with a hot shot but he cleared easily. The Rhos forwar d again got their stride and after clearing all obstacles Williams with one of his "un-stop-able" crashes the fourth goal. Wrexham played hard to bring the lead down but all their attempts were foiled. The Rhos backs were kick- ing and clearing well especially Griffiths, Hughes not being up to his usual form. Wrexham was awarded a penalty Hughes handling. Glyn Jones easily scoring. Rhos from the centre pressed and Johnnie Davies had hard lines in not scoring. Time was nearly up and Rhos were two goals ahead and about a minute to play they relaxed their strenuous play but they learnt a lesson. Chaiton ran up the wing and from his pass Franklin scored. They was only just time. to. place the ball on the centre, when the end was signalled. Rhos well-deserved to win and by more goals that they were accredited for. Wrexham scored their only deserved goal a minute from time, the other two through the neg- lect of their opponents' back. Final. RHOS RANGERS 4 GOALS. WREXHAM 3 GOALS.