The County Echo

Saturday's Declaration. Liberal Celebrations. Torch-Light Procession. The declaration of the Borough poll was a declaration in name only. To all intents and purposes the streets were as empty as on an ordinary Saturday afternoon, and the tele- gram posted in the Echo office windows in High-street and West-street shortly before two o'clock was merely inspected by casual passers-by. Nevertheless, the news spread with phenomenal rapidity, and the figures were speedily known throughout the length and breath of the town, with the result that within an hour a crowd of boys was patroll- ing the streets rearing aloft a banner bearing the extent of the Liberal majority, and attracting attention thereto by the persistent ringing ot a hand-bell. Therea! demonstration, in celebration of the dual victory, took place, however, shortly after eight o'clock at night, when a procession of 36 torch bearers and other enthusiasts, paraded the principal thoroughfares, subse- quently forming a ring in the centre of the Square. A considerable number of extra police had been drafted into the town, as a safeguard against any contingency which might arise. These patrolled. the streets in couples, but, fortunately, no occasion for their intervention arose, the whole of the proceedings being characterised by great restraint. As a matter of fact, many prominent Conservative tradesmen had contributed their quota to- wards the expenses of the demonstration, and this fact naturally tended towards the cultiva- tion of a feeling of good-will. On the Square a large crowd had assem- bled beyond the ring of torches, and, it having been decided to hold a brief meeting, Mr 0 D Jones was, on the motion of Mr D Gwion Thomas, seconded by Mr David John, voted to the "chair." They were, he said, called together that night for a double reason they had won two victories in Pembrokeshire-(hear, hear)-the Boroughs election by 705 majority and the County election by 2,844 (cheers). Mr Roch had well deserved what he had had, and more, and the speaker confessed that he was a bit disappointed that he had not had three thousand majorityr It was not the time, that night, for speaking, but for rejoicing, and he therefore requested that the few friends whom he would call upon would be brief in their remarks. Mr D Gwion Thomas-whom the Chair- man described as the real leader of the work- ingmen of Fishguard-said he was sorry that the condition of his voice would not allow him to address them all he wished that it could reach to the outer extremities of that audience. As the Chairman had said, that ,WS aThle l°r,r^0!Png' not for speech-mak- iL eyu j ad one of the best victories that they had ever had in Pembrokeshire. I hey had had ail the forces of Conservatism, landlordism, and capitalism arrayed against them but, despite that fact, they had won a great fight-(Cheers)-and they had got to thank the people who were electors in the county for it. He simply wanted to thank hem for what they had done, and for what they were doing that night by celebrating 2ln',CST' "? ,houSht "i' werf suflcient of the people there to thank them in a more practical way for it. (Cheers). The Chairman having, amidst cheers, an- nounced a number of Liberal victories, called upon Mr A J Hodges, remarking that he was a gentleman who had worked very hard for the Liberal cause during the last few days. Mr Hodges said he was delighted to be there that night. As they were aware, he was not a public speaker, and never had spoken in public, but he was delighted to be on the side of the peopie against the Peers and also delighted at the splendid victories won in the Boroughs and in the County. He only hoped that the Tories had now had sufficient in Pembrokeshire and would never- .1 contest the seats again. (Cheers). The Chairman next called upon Mr W JY Lewis, the Secretary of the Goodwick Liber- al Association, he, speaking in Welsh, asked to- be pardoned for not saying much, as he pre- I a"d not peaking. He reiter^- ated Mr Hodges hope that the Tories would never contest the seat again. (Cheers). At this stage of the proceedings a bonfire was made of the torches in the centre of the ring, but ultimately they were raised aloft again, and Mr Lewis continued his address. Still speaking in the vernacular, he said they had arrayed against them all the forces of darkness, yet Mr Samson, who was a Pem- brokeshire man, had polled two votes less than Mr Lort Williams had done before. Mr-i Roch had served them well during the last eighteen months, and there was no justifica- tion whatever for the Conservatives having opposed him in the present contest. (Cheers). The Chairman, in bringing the meeting to a close, said they had never been disorderly, and he appealed to them now to conduct themselves in such a way that the police force which had been imported into the town should have nothing to do. (Cheers). He thought that Supt. Brinn was very proud of the way in which they had conducted them- selves that night. (Cheers). The assembly having- sung" For he's a, jolly good fellow," gave three cheers apiece- for each of the new members, for the Irish- men who had supported them, and for the: Rev. J Hughes Parry, Rector of Rudbaxton. The Chairman then wished them all' Good night,' remarking that they had had a jolly good day-the best for many a year past.. (Cheers). The meeting then dispersed, the torches; having previously been converted into a bon- fire.

Record Borough Poll. The poll in the Fishguard Borough Waf S'Ot heavy as, in all probability, to constitute a record. The total electorate numbers 4Z3 of whom 29 were absent from the locality two. were deceased, and one qualification was a duplicate. This left 391 potential voters, of whom no less than 385 exercised the fran- chise, leaving but six persons unaccounted for. The total nnmber of those who polled at Fishguard in the two county booths was 712. o AFTER THE DECLARATION. After the declaration of the poll, at Haver- fordwest, Mr Roch, the new member, was carried around the town by his supporters Speaking from the balcony of the Marin^rc' Hotel, he said that once again he had to thank Pembrokeshire for a vote of confidence- Once again had they defeated Tariff Reform. (Applause). Pembrokeshire believed in the Budget Pembrokeshire understood what tne Budget meant in the years to come. He believed their Conservative friends sometimes. under-estimated the earnestness of Liberalism llT rl116 deep conviction whichi underlay it, and the broad humanity that inspired it. Mr Marlay Samsom was also carried > w his supporters from the Shire-hall to thp Castle Hotel, from the windows of whic? addressed a large crowd. They had, he LiT Pup$.ve?y good fight, anr/ they had done their best. (Cheers). He thought the feeling they all had was one of hope that the time would soon come when they would have a chance of doing it agai n. (Cheers). However, they must not allow themselves tn be discouraged in Pembrokeshir e but must work all the harder, so that n<ext' time they would do much better. (Cheevs). He hoped next time he would be able 10 pull down the majority, if not get rid of it altogether. (Cheers). He did not want them to go home feeling in the least discouraged, but to find out where the weak places were and try to remedy them.

County Council Election- MATHRY DIVISION. We are requested to state that Mr E H Lewis, of Hendre House, Penycwm, will con- test, in the Liberal interests, the seat for the Mathry Division, upon the County Council, which is to be vacated at the forthcoming election by Mr T E Thomas, J.P., Trehale

rTlO LET, with immediate possession, all rf- tbat House Garden, and Premises, situated in Hill Road, Lower Fishguard lately in the occupation of Mrs Thomas who is leaving for the United States.—For further particulars apply to Mr W. Evans, solicitor, Tower Hill, Fishguard

ENTRE SOUS. SUCH of our readers as endeavour to live up to the maxim of Peace at any price," as would sacrifice the bulk of their dubious pre- rogatives in return for a quiet life, will be well advised to extract the utmost amount of satisfaction from the lull which has suc- ceeded the recent storm. For the moment, the wicked politician has ceased, locally^ from troubling, and the weary elector is at rest. The calm is, however, illusive. With- out necessarily accepting the pessimistic pro- gnostications of those who confidently fore- tell another General Election ere the close of the year, we venture to assert that, before many more liners have entered Fishguard Roadstead, the electorate of the Twin Towns and their environs will have had ample reason to discount very largely the vaunted blessings of Democracy, for looming upon the horizon are elections galore-county, urban rural, parochial and poor law THE" Man in the Street" who reads with an I intelligent interest reports of the proceedings of the various educational authorities, throughout the county must be painfully ] struck with the unsatisfactory feature that permanence of staffs appears to be the last thing aimed at by the powers that be. What- ever the cause, it is an indisputable fact that scarcely a month elapses without one or more changes being chronicled in connection with the local schools, whilst even in the filling of vacancies which arise there appears to be no definite policy employed, with the result that it is doubtful if anybody except a headmaster could specify oil-hand the precise strength and qualifications of the staff of any particular school. Were we still in the evolutionary period which followed the passage of the Act of 1902 the situation would be readily com- prehensible, but, after the lapse of seven years' experience, the state of affairs prevail- ing at present strikes the outsider as decided- ly unsatisfactory both to the members of the scholastic profession and to the pupils under their care, for it must be self-evident to all that direct continuity of tuition is one of the primary essentials of efficiency. ONCE again is the North Pembrokeshire Far- mers' Club in a position to report a satis- factory year's working, there being available a credit balance of upwards of fifty pounds over and above the £150. which are always kept upon deposit as a wise preparation for a. rainy day-a contingency which might other. wise prove disastrous to the show. It is gratify ing to observe that, with every increase of prosperity, the club augments its prize- money, whilst the persistent revision to which the classes have been subjected during the past few years has placed them upon a basis calculated to meet with the approval of the most fastidious. Much of this xevision owes its orign to the deep interest in the welfare of the show manifested by the honorary sec- retary (Mr. V. J. G. JOHNS), who annually places before his colleagues a batch of useful suggestions based upon the experience of the past twelve months. That there is a pros- perous future before the organisation none can doubt. Some of the suggestions brought forward at the annual meeting may have been premature, but the mere fact that such issues were raised affords welcome evidence of the progressive thought which is making itself felt in local agricultural circles. APROPOS of the show, we cordially welcome the suggestion—adopted by the Club-to in- clude prizes for donkeys in the schedule, and heartily congratulate Miss CHAMBERS upon her kindly foresight and generosity in con- nection therewith. The ass plays a promin- ent part in the haulage work of the county, and anything which will tend towards im- proving its conditions of labour and of exist- ence should be strongly encouraged. We re- call a well-known seaside resort where the annual presentation of prizes for the best- kept shore donkeys is quite an important social function, whilst it is an admitted fact that the treatment of the animals has under- gone a marked change since the introduction of the system. A THE new Oaths Act to which we referred in- cidentally a week ago is, beyond question, the most ill-advised measure which has passed the Legislature for many a year past. Throughout the length and breadth of the land, in the highest and in the lowest courts of the realm, it has evoked from judges, magistrates, jurors, litigants, witnesses and press, a storm of criticism such as is probably unprecedented in the history of our jurispru- dence. With the fundamental principle of the Act none is inclined to quarrel, but, like many another well-intentioned measure, its potential advantages have been nullified, partially by careless drafting, and partially by careless amendments, whilst the coup de grace to its efficiency has been administered by the crass stupidity of the Home Office, which ought to obtain, at the hands of an elementary schoolboy, a lesson in English composition and the inadmissability of taut- ology. One of the first duties which will fall to the lot of the next Government, how- ever it may be constituted, will be the amend- ment of this enactment so as to enable the words of the oath to be administered in the second person, and the witness to declare I do." It should also be clearly laid down in any future measure that the Act is to be strictly adhered to, and that ungrammatical addenda by the juvenile clerks of the Home Office will not be tolerated. & A Ot ) THE failure of the Lusitania to inaugurate the direct New York-Fishguard service- following, as it does, upon a similar incident in respect to the Umbria "will be more pleasant reading to Liverpolitans and Queen- stonians than to Fishguardians. (Holyhead we eliminate from consideration, for that port has never yet essayed to establish her- self as a winter base for Atlantic liners.) Nevertheless, it is to be feared that even our most jealous rivals will extract but cold com- fort from the fact. Queenstown's day is past, and Liverpool can never again hope to secure the bulk of the passenger traffic, whilst Fish- guard's facilities are improving monthly. Those whom recent events may induce to in- dulge in criticism would do well to bear in mind that the South Walian port is, as yet, in but an embryonic stage, but that her har- bour works are pushing steadily forward to- wards completion, whereas the Mersey Bar still presents a grave hindrance to navigation, and Holyhead's approach is marred by rocks dreaded by every mariner. « » THE tenour of the communication received from the Main Roads Committee of the County Council by the Urban Council ap- pears to indicate that there is more proba- bility of the application in respect to West- street and Windy Hall being acceded to than was surmised from the reported proceedings of that body. We would strongly urge upon the Urban Authority the imperative necessity of impressing upon the County Authority the fact that the thoroughfare in question bears as much traffic as, the whole of the main roads in the north county do iu the aggre- gate, and that to continue to treat it as a secondary road simply because it was so once is as preposterous as it would have been for the Trinity Brethren to have declined to erect a lighthouse on Strumble Head simply because it had never hitherto been required. » » ? AFTER hunting about for a considerable per- iod, the Sanitary Committee has recommen- ded the leasing for the purposes of a store of stables, which its own Surveyor declares to be too small to accommodate the rotary brush This is on a par with the subsequent suggestion that the Council should erect a store upon Penslade at an estimated cost of £ 60, when a private individual had offered to do the work at his own expense, charging £ & a year rental. Theoretically, the former may constitute the soundest finance, but-it means an increase of nearly 2ld on the rates. 2 ? THE decision to appoint a Committee to su- pervise the working of the municipal quarry on Penslade is a wise one, and should tend to obviate in the furure a great deal of the in- dulgence and personalities which have, unfor- tunately, been attributable to this undertak- ing in the past. THE experiment recently carried out in the transport of dead meat direct from Ireland to Smithfield bids fair to add yet another source of revenue to the Fishguard-Rosslare route, thus increasing the number of men em- ployed, and proportionately enhancing the prosperity of the Twin Towns, provided, of course, that it does not react upon the exist- ing cattle traffic.

I Pembrokeshire Polls. -r- Liberals Retain Both Seats. Increase in County Maj ority After a strenuous contest of upward's of a month's duration, broken only by the momen- tary intervention of Yuletide, the Liberal Party has succeeded in retaining both seats in the Parliamentary representation of the Premier County of the Principality. Sir Owen C Philipps, K.C.M.G., the late member for the Pembroke and Haverford- west Boroughs (included amongst which is Fishguard), had an opponent in the per- I son of Sir George Armstrong, whose ardent support of the policy of Lord Charles Beres- ford was expected to exercise considerable influence upon the dockyard vote, which, it was also anticipated, was likely to be swayed to no inconsiderable extent by the volte face executed by Devonport, Portsmouth, Chat- ham, and Woolwich. As a matter of fact, however, it is admitted by both parties that the two Pembrokes were the strongest of the contributory Boroughs in favour of Sir Owen, whose majority was as follows :— I (fSIR OWEN PHILIPPS (L) 3,582 | *SIR OWEN PHILIPPS (L) 3,582 SIR GEORGE ARMSTRONG (C) 2,877 Liberal Majority 7°5 J u In the igoo and the 1895 elections the seat had been held by the Conservatives by major- ities of 12 and 469 respectively. The aggregate poll on this.occasion show- ed an increase of 356 upon the figures in the last contest, and of this augmentation no less than 350 of the votes were recorded for the Conservative candidate. In the County, equally with the Boroughs, the Conservative prospects looked far rosier than upon the last occasion upon which an appeal had been made to the electorate, for in Mr Marlay Samson they had a candidate resident, well-known and popular in the county, and, although they made but little secret of the fact that they scarcely looked for victory, they confidently anticipated being able to reduce the majority to a very con- siderable extent. Actually, however, the reverse was the case, the result being:- wWALTER F. ROCH (L) 6>I35 E. MARLAY SAMSON (C) 3,'291 Liberal Majority 2,844' Thus, Mr Walter F Roch, the late member, was returned.with a majority showing an in- crease of 672 upon the one which had en- abled him first to enter Parliament after the bye-election in 1908. The aggregate poll showed an increase of 668, the whole of which must be credited to Mr Roch, as must also two others lost by his opponent as compared with Mr Lort Williams' poll eighteen months ago. As compared with the last General Election, Mr Roch polled 249 votes more than did Mr J Wynford Philipps (Lord St. David's), but, 1Qasmuch as Mr Samson polled 685 more Votes than did Mr Lort Williams, the Liberal Majority shows a decrease of 436 since Jan- Uetrv 1906. As compared with 1895 and 1898 there are Creases in the majority of 2,260 and of 1100 respecti vely.

♦ POLLING AT FISHGUARD. Declaration Scenes. Torch-Light Procession. To the journalist there is, generally speak- ing, ilfi more prolific source of inspiration than a contested Parliamentary election, and P°?r 1Q(leed is the scribe assessed who i's un- ab e tOprocjuce severai coiumns Qf Semi-hu- mourous matter descriptive of polling and ^atlon incidents. S^ard must, however, be accepted as the exception which is, paradoxically, alleged ^thertlle'for a more tame, unexciting, ana rr°Hi a journalistic point of view—unin- terestlOg ection it has never been the lot of the writer to witness. This is Hje more remarkable in view of the excitement and acute party feeling which had characterise the earlier rounds of the contest, and it can only be assumed that the more demonstrative factors had been exhausted, and the battle left in the hands of zealous but unobtruSjve workers. The towli was well supplied with mural literature, ijany temporary hoardings having been erected for the occasion, and it is in- structive to observe the change which has, of late years, come over thjs form Q £ election- eering. ime was when crudelv-painted placards invited one to vote for Blank and every reform under the sun, or for Dash, the man who haq saved the Empire from perdit- ion, and was willing to do so again. These, however, are now all but relics of the past. To-day each party is armed with coloured cartoons mj*tiy betraying considerable artis- tic merit which are certainly more attractive and quite as Unreliable as their less gaudy predecessors. ° J Polling for the Boroughs took place on Wednesday, the booth being situate in the Town Hall, outside which a small knot of people clustered throughout the day. Others congregated in and near the respective com- mittee-rooms Of the rival candidates, but, for the most part, the chief occupants of the streets were the juvenile section of the com- munity, who took advantage of the school holiday to patrol the thoroughfares sporting the various colo^g & H s r, A f?,W^ Ve^' "b°th equine and petrol- Darf the evidence,' but for the most from h e niarPM [^dependent elector strolled 3" r^.s pla5 b«sines9, recorded his vote, and returned to his commercial cares, the local Borough being so compact that con- veyances were bt seldom required. I he incidents attendant upon the passage through the town of Sir Q and Armstrong were recorded in our last issue- published at noon that day and need not be here recapitulated. The fact that Wednesday is the weekly half-holiday might have enhanced the ani- mation of the COlltest, but, as a matter of fact, the closing of the shops, though it ad- ded to the number of people in the streets, cast a somewhat sombre cloak over the pro- ceedings. Promptly on me Stroke of eight, the doors of the Town Hall \vere closed,, not a single cheer marking the close of a coatest whfch was destined to live jn history The departure Of the ballot-boxes for Haverfordwest, however aroused some little degree of enthusiasm and, as the evening wore on, the crowds 8tew, until, shortly before midnight, when the h^t results of that day's polling in other constitueilces came through, the approach to our head offices in High- street was impassa e to telegraph messengers, who were compelled to proceed via Hamilton street, Parkyshut, and t^e rear entrance. For close upon three hours a constant suc- cession of results was anQounced to the wait- ing crowd, that which aroused the most enthusiasm being ,aturally the local victory of Sir Owen Philipps, wich was declared at 1.20 a.m. Thenceforth bands of the more enthusiastic Liberal partisans praeQ the town singing, cheering, and bell ringing Generally speak- ing, however, the demonstration was as order- ly as any audible expressin can be, and it is gratifying to be able to rrd that no com- plaints of horseplay have been received, al- though some humorist conCeived the brilliant idea of tethering a stray zheep to the call- bell of a local medical gentleman, whose slumbers were disturbed by the futile efforts of the captive to regain its liberty. THE COUNTY CONTEST. Polling for the County took place in the Council Schools, on Friday. Owing to the fact that practically the whole of the elector- ate is non-resident in the town the streets, square, and hostelries naturally presented a scene of greater animation tilall on the Wed- nesday, but, despite the influx of voters, and the accumulation of private, public, and party vehicles, it must be confessed that the town is far more crowded OQ an average market day. A number of voters arrived by the after- noon Boat Express, included amongst these being Mr W H Thomas, of Old l\lq.nor House, Wrington, Bristol; the Rev Henry Miles,' Rector of Llanstinan, and two gentlemen en route to record their votes in the cathedral city of St. David's. Both parties had committee rooms in West- street, and in each a great amount of work was done unobtrusively. The street itself was moderately thronged all day, but the actual close of the poll elicit- ed practically no interest, and, as a result of the declaration not taking place until the following day, the remainder of the evening passed off in an exceptionally quiet manner.