The Chester Courant and Advertiser for North Wales

FLINT. CONSERVATIVE CLUB—The annual meet- ing of the Conservative Ciub took place on Mon- day evening, the president, Mr. T. Bate, pre- siding over a large attendance of members. Mr. J. Bibby Denny presented his report as hon. secretary, which siiewed that during the year 52 new members had been enrolled, but several members had been lost through removals from the town and other causes, there being 140 bona- fide members on the books, exclusive of 13 hon. members. The club had continued to be mem- bers of the Flintshire Constitutional Clubs Billiard League, and had secured the Challenge Shield. Several billiard handicaps had been held during the year, which had proved highly interesting. The hon. treasurer, Mr. William Hughes, also submitted his report and statement of accounts, which shewed the club to be on a sound financial footing, notwithstanding the heavy expenditure incurred in renovating the club premises, repairs to billiard tables, etc. Mr. T. Bate was unani- mously re-elected president of the club, the elec- tion of officers following. During the evening an interesting event took place, a presentation being made to the president, Mr. T. Bate, in commemor- ation of his having acted as president of the club for 21 years. The presentation took the form of a magnificent silver salver and illuminated ad- dress, subscribed for by the members, and which was feelingly acknowledged by Mr. Bate.

WREXHAM. TWO LICENCES REFU.ED.-Tlie Mayor (Mr. E. Birkett Evans) presided at the adjjourned brewster sessions for the borough of Wrexham on Monday, when Deputy Chief Constable Jones, on behalf of the Bench, objected TO the renewal of three licences.—The first case was that of the Wme- Vaults, High-street, as to which a number of statutory objections were urged. It was said the licance was not required to meet the wants of the neighbourhood, and the existence of the licence rendered the number of licensed houses in the neighbourhood excessive, that the premises were not structurally adapted, and that the applicant was not a fit and proper person to hold the licence. Mr. Stanley D. Edisbury (who appeared for Mr. L. B. Lilley, the licensee) admitted that his client had been adjudicated bankrupt, bufc urged that under a recent decision there was no groundl for doing away with this licence. It had not only to be proved that there were too many liconoes, but that the one in question was itself superfluous. There was no conviction against the house or the licensee, but the latter had unfortunately become bankrupt through a speculation.—The Bench de- clined to renew the "licence.—Similar grounds were advanced for the opposition to the renewal of the licence of the Crown Inn, Abbot-street, it being further urged that the applicant (William Jones) had been fined for dirunkermess on his own licensed premises.—Mr. Anderson (York) appeared for the tenant and the owners (Messrs. Lassell and Sharman), and after a protracted hearing the re- newal was refused, one of the principal grounds being that the licence was not required to meet the wants of the neighbourhood.—Formal objec- tion had been lodged to the renewal of the licence of the Carnarvon Castle Inn, the licensee having been convicted for permuting the playing of billiards by guests on Sunday, but the Bench granted the renewal in this case.

SUN t'O(, Iii, ,1.O' FIR E OFFICE. Funds in Hand—< £ 2,386,639. For all particulars apply to the following Agents:- CHESTER MESSRS. CHEERS & HOPLEY, 6, Northgate-street. MESSRS. W. DENSON & SON, Northgate. MALPAS ME. THOMA S MULLOCK, Cuddington Heath.

DIARY OF COMING ENGAGEMENTS. Feb. 24, 4-c. My Lady Molly" at Royalty Theatre. j. 24-Wirrat Board of Guardians. 24-Frodsliam Petty Sessions. 24—Whitchurch Cheese Fair >• 24-Lecture on Radium at Music Hall. 25-Chester Cattle Fair. 2.5-Connah's Quay Council. „ 29-Ellesmere Port District Council. 29—Eddisbury Petty Sessions. )) 29-Broxton Adjourned Licensinq Meeting. 29-Mold Petty Sessions. >j 29-Maskelyne and Cooke's at Music Hall.

EDDISBURY PROSPECTS. Saturday's meeting of the Unionist party in Eddisbury sets at rest all doubts on the question of the future representation of that division in Parliament. The gathering, which was fully representative of both the Conservative and the Liberal Unionist wings of the party, passed a resolution unanimously endorsing the action of the special committee in selecting Colonel Cotton-Jodrell as the Unionist candidate when a vacancy arises. Colonel Cotton-Jodrell accepted the offer, and delivered a characteristically straight- forward, practical speech, which places the constituency in possession of his views upon the general political situation. Any elabora- tion of these views was at the present juncture unnecessary, in fact the Colonel's politics must be very well known to the great majority of his future constituents. He has represented the neighbouring division of Wirral for many years, and he has busied himself so actively in the county in the cause of agriculture that he is now personally known to all who take a leading part in the various local agricultural organisations. He is, of course, a strong supporter of the present Government. A pronounced Imperialist, he watched with misgivings the conduct of foreign affairs by the Radical party a score of years ago, and the short-sighted, make-shift nature of that policy has not been such as to inspire confidence. As an Imperialist, and taking a broad view of international politics, he perceives the necessity for putting our Imperial defences by sea and land into a state of thorough efficiency. Upon the con- dition of the land forces he is peculiarly qualified to speak, from his own experience as an old soldier and from the fact that he had already been selected to give evidence upon the point before a Royal Commission. The Unionist electors of Eddisbury may, therefore, rest assured that with regard to Imperial matters and with regard to agri- culture, Colonel Cotton-Jodrell is absolutely sound. His views on the great Fiscal question are also acceptable. He avows himself a follower of the Government in this respect, by advocating the opening of the door for retaliation. Mr. Chamberlain's programme, he holds, is only in process of construction and not yet ready for public digestion, so that he prefers to maintain an open mind upon that phase of the question. He refuses, how- ever, to join hands with those who scoff at the Tariff Commission, which he recognises is composed mainly of a body of trained experts who should present a business-like report. The fact that the trade unions of the country have applied to the Commission for papers to fill up relating to the various industries clearly betokens that the Tariff Commission is an organisation to be regarded seriously and entitled to speak with authority. The Colonel's attitude on the Fiscal question is clear and intelligible. He cordially endorses Mr. Balfour's policy of retaliation, and with regard to the larger, bolder policy of Mr. Chamberlain, he prefers not to commit him- self one way or another, until that policy is more fully unfolded. Above and beyond these questions, however, there always remains the danger of Home Rule, which brought the Unionist party into being, and which has kept them united ever since. Upon that issue Colonel Cotton-Jodrell remains firm as of yore, pledged to maintain at all hazards and against all odds the integrity of the Lmpire. With such a champion who can deny that the prospects of Unionism in the Eddisbury division are of the rosiest 1

-+- RUSSIAN PERFIDY. How many people are there in England to-day who believe in the sincerity of the Czar's notorious Peace Rescript or in his genuine desire for the maintenance of the peace of the world ? If there be any, let them turn to the revelations now made regarding the attitude and action of Russia during the Fashoda affair. It has just leaked out that, during the acutest period of that controversy, Russia, instead of playing the part of peacemaker, deliberately came for- ward and incited France to fight Britain. The Paris Figaro publishes the statement that in the midst of the controversy between France and ourselves, Count Muravieff, then Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, called upon the French President and told him he had been instructed by the Czar to inform him that France must not forget that Russia was an ally and a friend. The Czar wished M. Faure to understand that in his eyes the alliance between France and Russia involved complete solidarity. He came to inform him that if France fought, Russia would fight with her." At the same time the Count advised that France should try to gain time, as, for the moment, Russia could only be of use to her by making a diversion in the direction of India." Mark the significance of the closing observation: But, if it was not possible to gain time, they should count upon their allies, and he repeated if you fight, we will fight also. So much for Russia and the Czar's loud protestations for international peace and amity. The Peace Rescript, as we have always maintained, was a hollow mockery, concocted with the sole intention of deceiving the European Powers, and of giving time for Russia to push on her armaments. The weakly sentimentalists in this country who placed implicit reliance in the Czar's words have now good reason to feel ashamed of their amazing credulity.

+ The search for a Radical candidate for Wirral threatens to become as exciting as the modern craze, the search for hidden treasure. The seat has been proclaimed to be a safe one in the Radical interest, but, judging from the singular aloofness of possible candidates, they evidently think the seat about as safe as the fly thought the parlour of the spider in the ancient parable. Mr. Henry Gladstone is the latest to decline the proffered honour of contesting Wirral.

BIBLE SUNDAY. The arrangements for the observance of Bible Sunday on March 6th-the last day of the Bible Society's century-are now practically complete, and in nothing is the universality of the British and Foreign Bible Society more emphasised than in the remarkable way it has been able to enlist the sympathies of all Protestant churches in the organisation of this world-wide thanksgiving. Their Majesties the King and Queen will be present at Divine service at St. Paul's Cathedral on Bible Sunday, when the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs and the Corporations will attend in State, the Sermon being preached by the Archbishop of Canterbury. There is something peculiarly impressive about the unanimity with which Protestants all over the world have agreed to set apart this day for special thanksgiving. Not only have the churches and chapels in our own land decided to observe Bible Sunday, but throughout the British Colonies there had been an enthusiastic response to the suggestion that they should unite with the Mother Country in this great day's festival. More than this, our missionary .societies all over the world are likewise ^joining in the celebration, while on the Continent of Europe thousands of churches, icpresenting the Lutheran. Waldensian, Moravian and the Reformed Churches have agreed to unite in this observance. Locally the event will be celebrated by the attendance of the Mayor and Corporation of the city at the Cathedral on Sunday, the 6th of March, and considerable interest will no doubt be aroused in the centenary. Some idea of the scope of the Society's work may be gathered from the state- ment that since its inauguration, in 1804, it has issued no fewer than 180 million copies of the Scriptures in 567 different languages and dialects, while to-day it is promoting translations or revisions in over a hundred languages.

-+- The consideration of the members of the Cheshire Hunt for the farmers in the present do- pressing condition of the land through the exces- sive rainfall is happily instanced by the result of a conference held on Saturday. The Committee then took into consideration the suggested cur- tailment of the season, and decided to leave it to the discretion of the masters to niake any arrange- ments they thought desirable. A notice has since been issued by the Secretary of the Hunt Com- mittee, asking those who are not regular sub- scribers to the Hunt to abstain from hunting until 9 1 further notice. It is to be hoped this unfortunate state of affairs will not be indefinitely prolonged.

The Cheshire Liberal Unionist Association, it will be observed, passed a resolution on Saturday piacing the services of their officers at the disposal of all Liberal Unionist candidates and Liberal Unionist associations that are prepared) to support tna Unionist Government without regard to their personal opinions. upon the question of Fiscal reform. This is as it should be, for the loyal co- operation of Liberal Unionists is as necessary to- day for the maintenance of the Union as it was wnen laoiiie Rule was first embraced by the late Mr. Gladstone.

CHESTER CATHEDRAL. ^ICUVIUI: i,T FOR VVLIUCK (JOMM.iI.¡.IJl.Sb FEB. 24. VVKD.NTEIIMV, J-KIWUAKY ICITH (St. AlaUuiaus, A.iL Kmber On,).,) iUuiniii^, a.4 Litany and lluiy ooaniiuinuu. ltj.io; aei vic., ivuomuO; autucm, "GivL car kAl-niesA li.li l1'jiJ communion. Kveainy, 4.1a i i^rucc^siojiai h.llUu. 4^ t.'i vUJC, iiuasell in A ancheai, "11.1e radiant tjioru ^«vuotlwaiu^; ujiuus 416, onl. &.U Special .Service Wiiu aetututt, ja'taoner, trie Kev. 11. J. fc. Wauaius, «,A. IUUK»LI^I, T KBUUAUY IF)Tii.—iloruiii^, 6.0 lioly (Join- uiuiiiuu. lO.io Service, West in vj itabiieiii, v» jiljUravv nou inou ^Auvvood). Eveiling, 4. lu service, Haimis^ei in L) minor aiitlieni, All ye WHO W(;t::p" kliuuituct). ■buii)^ I'iUiicijAiiY 26TUlumber Oay/—-Aiormiig, b.t) iioly Ooiuiiiuinoii followed by AiaunsJ. IU. 1, '.LIlt: Wï.aiJ.)" iijiiiu Evtaiug, 4.15: service, Wesley m I" aucneiii, v Saviour or tlie world" (Uoss). ISATUH.IJ"l', 1' tuKCAKv Ü'ft1 (CLuber Day).—Morning, 8.J Hoiy tuiliiuuiiioii. 10. w: Service, liervey in A It" anuiem, "iencu me" (ttogers). isvtuiug, i.lu service, iraveis in I* antiiein, "Hear, 0 Xiiou oaepheitl" ivvai- liUsie^ Su.Ni>AV, February 28TU (Second Sunday in Lent).— Muiuin-, 6.0: tioly Coibiiiuiiioii. zerviee, Marun ii, ii'; ajilijeiii, Lord lor xny tender lueC(:Jes f<'arralJ) nioiou, liyuni lJl; ivy lie and Uredu (.uierbecKe; preacHer. tile v/iiuuu in ttesidence. Kveiuug, 3.30: Service, ouseivy in IS il., auihem, "Here by Ba by ions wave" kuoullu(l) ii) uiii \11. u oU Processional hymn, iuo; Alagniiicat unu iSunc iyiinictm to Uliuntd; bymns n/1, i preacher the Kev. (i. E. Barber, ALA. Xbe Miserere.

Lord Arthur Grosvenor has left London for Prince s Hotel, Brignton, and is, we are glad to be able to say, almost well again. The -King and Queen have again given their patronage to the St. Patrick's Day liixtiibition ot Irisli industries which is to be held at Grosvenor House by permission of the Duke and Duchess of Westminster on the 17th and 18th of March. A marriage has been arranged between Norman Mead, fourtli son of Mr. Tertius Joynson, J.P., of Great Meois, Cheshire, and Mary, younger daughter of the late Mr. Norris Roberts, of Hendre, Chelten- ham, and Mrs. Roberts, of Kingslee, Farndon, Cheshire. The disposal by private contract of Bawtry Hall and several other properties recently offered at auc- tion brings the total realisation in. connection with the Earl ot Crewe's Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire estates to over £ 100,000. Fryston Hall was witn- drawn at 1:30,000. The Duke of Teck, who is serving with the 1st Life Guards at Windsor, will leave England on March 1 for Vienna, where he will occupy the post of Military Attache for eight months. His residence, the Saxon Tower, Windsor Castle, which was granted to him for his use by Le King while his regiment was quartered in Windsor, will be vacated by the Duchess of Teck and family, and it is ex- pected that it will be occupied by Prince and Princess Alexander of Teck on their return from the Continent. At the annual meetiug of members of the Crewe Mechanical Institute on Monday evening, Mr. George Whale presiding, a portrait in oils of Mr. F. W. Webb, the late chief mechanical engineer of the London and North-Western Railway Company, was unveiled. Mr. K. Macrae asked the Council of the Institute to accept the portrait, to be placed alongside those of Mr. Rilliard Trevethick and Mr. John Ramsbottom, both of whom held the post in their day. The President, on behalf of the Institute, accepted the gift. The portrait was painted by Mr. Hall Neales, of Liverpool. The Secretary of the Chester General Inrfirmary begs to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of a donation of ti from Anon. Tarporley. SHROPSHIRE UNION COMPANY. Mr. R. Brocklebank presided at the half-yearly meeting, held at Euston Station, London, on Fri- day, and' in moving the adoption of the report, observed that the canal earnings for the half-year under review amounted, after the necessary redac- tions for toll, freight, and charges paid to other companies, to £ 108,636, against £106,245 for the corresponding period of 1902; while the railway earnings, namely, the Shropshire Union propor- tion of the earnings of the Shrewsbury and Staf- ford railway for the half-year, amounted to ±^0,000, a precisely similar sum to that for Decem- ber, 1902. The canal and railway charges for the half-year amounted to £ 101,649. Their principal item of canal expenditure had been £ 12,943, upon their grain warehouse at Ellesmere Port. Alter deductions for interest on debentures, dividend on consolidated stock, and the sum of £ 1,155,120 ex- changed for London and North-Western stock with whoin they had agreements, there remained a sum of £ 6.706, which the directors recommended should be appropriated in payment of a dividend of £3 7s. 6d. per cent. per annum. The motion was seconded by Mr. W. E. Dor- rington (deputy chairman), and adopted, and a dividend at the rate mentioned unanimously agreed to. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION LECTURES — On Thursday afternoon, at the Grosvenor Museum, Miss Royden delivered before a numerous audience the third of a course of six lectures under the auspices of the Chester Uni versify Extension Association on the subject of Shakespeare's Women." The lecturer had classified the characters for consideration under tour heads—the passive, the active J the ideal. On Thursday she devoted her discourse to examples of the active character in "Sbko- peares women. The princinal +LV under review were All's Well that n"" a,„l ;■ Hmn for Me„„rc," heroines, Helena and Isabella. The lecturer n?Vl ¥ m Waval of the character ot Helena, Shakespeare had .shewn the possibilitv for a woman, by her strength of character, vet unsuspectingly, to force her love upon a reluctant man. Miss Royden urged that Isabella was a character of extraordinary beautv, notwithstand- ing her asceticism, and the fact that she was per- haps the least known of the poet's heroines Shakespeare had said that asceticism was some- times wise, and the character of Isabella was the one corroboration of that saying furnished in his plays. The lecturer afterwards briefly reviewed the characters of Beatrice, Portia and Rosalind as examples of Shakespeare in a happier mood. BLUE COAT BALL FU.N,D. -Since the previous. list was published, the following donations have been receivedHis Grace the Duke of West- minster, C5; Mrs. Yerburgh, £ 2 2s.; Mr. James. Hobday, £ 2 2s. Mrs. Oxley, £ 1 Is. Mrs. Warmsley. £ 1 Is.; Mrs. Ed. Powell, £ 1 Is.; Mr. V?r,^ran°er' 1— Mrs. Courtenay, 10s. CHESTER PUBLIC LIBRARY.—The follow- ing is tne return of the issue of books for the week ending 20th February, 1904 — Lending depart- ment Religion and philosophy, 2; sociology 0 • arts, sciences, and natural history, 20; history, bi°S™phy> geography, and travels, 34 poetry and the drama, 2; prose fiction, !>(»7; miscellaneous literature, 24; juvenile literature, 219 total, 1,274. Reference department: Religion and philosophy. 21; sociology, 2; arts, sciences, and natural history, 29; history, biography, geography, and travels, 34; poetry and the drama, 8; encyclopajdias, dictionaries, &c 184 miscellaneous literature, 10 total, 288 combined total, 1,5G2; daily average (lending department), 255; daily average (refer- ence department), 58; combined daily average 312. PICTURES BY AN OLD CESTRIAN.- There are now on view at Me.-srs. Phillipson and Golder's a few small pictures by Miss Grace Esery. a former well-known resident of this city. Miss Essery began her art studies under the late Alfred Sumner, and at South Kensington. On leaving Chester she studied at Heatherley's," in London, after which she visited America, where her pictures met with much admiration. Since her return she has been living in the Midlands, where, in Shakespeare's country, subjects suited to her peculiar style abound. Of the pictures at Messrs. Phillipson and Golder's, most of them have recently been exhibited at the Art Gallery, Birmingham, or by invitation at the Corporation Gallery, Manchester. FAMILY PLATE STOLEN.—The removal of Archdeacon W ynne Jones and his family from Llangollen to Oswestry has not taken place with- out incident. A quantity of the family plate wag packed in a huge trunk which was afterwards pro- perly secured. The trunk was taken with the rest of the furniture to Oswestry, and there placed in one cf the rooms in the vicarage, which is at pre- sent undergoing redecoration and repair. The trunk seemed all right one day last week when the workmen left for their dinner. On their return however, it was found that the trunk had been broken open, evidently with a chisel, and that a valuable piece of plate, a massive silver salver, bearing a wedding inscription. had been ab- stracted. It has not yet been recovered. RAILWAY RATES ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE.-In the House of Commons, on Monday, Captain Bagot asked whether any ar- rangements had now been arrived at between the Board of Agriculture and the railway companies whereby consigners of agricultural produce within the United Kingdom, either individually or in combination, might be enabled to secure for them- selves better terms and facilities for the carriage of their goods.—Mr. Aihvyn FolJowes replied that negotiations were still going on. and the Presi- dent of the Board of Agriculture proposed that the correspondence should shortly be presented to both Houses of Parliament. Several companies already offered facilities for the aggregation of consignments of farm produce, whereby lower rates might be obtained by the consignors of the individual lots included, and it was to be hoped that the ventilation of the subject resulting from the friendly discussion between the Board and the companies might lead to an extension of these facilities. CHESTER PAXTON SOCIETY. Tillage versus Grass Orchards was the subject on the syllabus for Saturday, and for which Mr. G. P. Miln was responsible. In his introductory re- marks, lie said that this subject was one to which sufficient attention was not given by many finife growers, and gave as an instance an orchard he had: recently seen planted on an oid pasture wh-ch could! not possibly be a success. Some interesting statis- tics were given from experiments ma.d'e in Cheshire and Ncrth Wales. as well as in Bedfordshire, as to which of the two methods was the better, 'the results being prActually the- same, and all in favour of apple and pear trees being p.anted in tilled ground. Ii was. however, pointed out by Mr. Miln that on deep, loamy soils, orchards of apples and pears might be safely grassed over after the trees had attained the age of say frcm six to eight years. On the other hand, it had been proved that on shallow soils orchards should always be kept under tillage, as on soils of this kind the roots of the grasses seemed to have a deleterious effect on those of the frint trees even at any age. An interesting and profitable discussion followed, and on the proposition of Mr. J. Wynne (Rowton), who presided, seconded by Mr. N. F. Barnes, the lcoturer was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. POLICE CELLS AND BIBLES FOR PRISONERS.-The "Howard" Association. (London) has sent a communication to the Flint- shire Police Committee on ti.e subject of the de- tention of prisoners in police cells. The associa- tion plead that the conditions should be such as to do prisoners as much good and as little harm as possible; that the lighting arrangements should allow read.ng without difficulty and that Bibles and other improving literature should be provided for the use of prisoners. A short discussion en- sued on the subject at the meeting of the Police Committee, the Chief Constable (Major Webber) explaining that sufficient light to read was afforded in the oells. The only really dark-celledl police station was that at St. Asaph. They never placed two prisoners in the same cell-there was no necessity to do TO in Flintshire. The Chief Constable intimated that the British and Foreign Bible Society had kindly forwarded a supply of Bibles sufficient to place one Bible in each police cell in the county. It wa3 decided to write to the "Howard" Association accordingly, and also to the British and Foreign Bible Society, thanking them for the Bibles. NORTH WALES MINERS' ASSOCIATION. —The annual conference of the North Wales Miners' Association was held at Wrexham, on Monday, under the presidkmcy of Mr. John Williams (Ffrwd Lodge). There was a large attendance.—The President, in an interesting ad- dress, stated that there was still a great deal to be done in the interests of the miners, both locally and generally. He concluded his address by de- notin, iig Mr. Chamberlain's Fiscal proposals, the new Education Act. and the introduction of Chinese labour into the Transvial.-T, e Secretary stated that several of the pits had been on short time for many months, cspecia iy ti-ose in the Wrexham district, where men who had families were not earning sufficient wages to provide the necessaries of life. The general treasurer had pa:d in out-of-work allowance B3.942, and the lodge treasurers J6841. making a total of £ 4,783. Notwithstanding all their heavy labilities, the total value of the association wis P,500 more than in 1902. With reference to the 4.000 men and boys in North Wale-, who wore still outside the associa- tion, the secretary-appealed to ti-e lodge com- mittees to take steps to nret theie outsiders to join as early as possible.—The report and statement of accounts were approved of, and a number of minor alterations in the rules were agreed to.- Mr. John Willims was unanimously fe-elected pre- s'dont, of the association Mr. Thoma.s. Hughes (Bersham Lodge), vice-president and, Mr. John. Lloyd (Gatewen Lodge). treasurer. FLINTSHIRE AND EVENING CON- TINUATION SCHOOLS.—At a mating of the governors of the Holvwell Coun- ty School, on Saturday, Dr. J. Williams called attention to the need of evening continua- tion school. He said he was loiitinually brought lr\. boys and girls of about fourteen, who had just left elementary school'. but who were educationally unfit to enter into Jifp They had imbibed a certain amount of mechaircal educa- tion, but they could not apply it to ordinary business of life. There was an educational blank in these lives of these young people between four- teen and seventeen or eighteen "nd he was sure if they could do something to fill it :t would be the means of improving the condition of the young' people of the country.—The Chairman (Mr. Hard- ing Roberts) was sure they were all in agreement with Dr. Williams, but the wl-Ie Question of evening schools had received such a set-back, aq the result of tho Cockerron jud<rmont, t'-at at p^e- sc^, 1n° defimto steps oou'd be taken h, the matter -The Clerk (Alr. F. Llewellyn .Ton- said the only educational authority in tH* dStrict which could deal with the matter wa? th" School Board, with the eor:s?nt of the County Couno'l. K the appointed day came in the courcc of this year the county authority might take f." matter into consideration, with the view establishing classes.—After some further cli*enssi'-n it- was. de- cided to send to the county govTniv.tr body a re- solution expressing th* opinion f-t it was neces- sary such schools should be started i.) district. ROYALTY THEATRE—LCP1 theatregoers have this week an opportunity of iudrmg the merits of Mr. Sidney Jones's iii,isimi nro- duction, "My Lady Molly." This clever and artistic comic opera, as prppnp" by Mr. Arthur Hart and Mr. J. A. E. Maloi.e, npotl(V-l n six nights' engagement at the Royalty Th" nn Monday evening, and its first appearance in f created adistinctly favourable impression, the reception which it was accorded by a large audience serving to emphasize the unanimity" of the pubJio verdict upon the production in London ?"d t'p provinces. The music is of that uniforrrlv ovnrn--in<r charac- ter which has become associated win Mr. Sidney ei, Jones's work. notably in "Tie n.>ha." and San Toy." In My Lady Moil" t .>i composer has achieved another triumph frr rin=icianship, and one feature of the opera which will be duly appreciated is the total absence of vulgarity in all directions, both in music and dHorrue. The librettist (Mr. G. H. Jessop) has an amus- ing and exhilarating- storv bv the eomnlications brought about by Lady Molly m i«<ue>;ading in male attire, and an Irish servan' vhr.se native wit keeps the audience in fits of laughter. To these characters is assigned some ^xcHle.-nt'music which is sure to win pcpuliritv. T'» ^>ntimental numbers^ are highly meritorion-, md ;>dditioiiol interest is lent by some harmonious chomses and pretty incidental music. The fne-, io presented bv a thoroughly able company. *.<-Voh inc-lndeg Miss Gertrude Melville (in tJ. title rr-le). Miss Muriel Chester. Miss Maude Thome NT;,R Lottie Sargent. Mr. Reginald Kenneth. Mr. John Doran, Mr. Frederick Hobbs. and Mr Arfi"].r PoweJl. The picturesque costumes of the earH- C-, c o r a, i, period and the stage appointments pmdune an ex- cellent mounting. A matinea is announced' for Saturday.