The Carmarthen Journal and South Wales Weekly Advertiser

THAT stalwart Nonconformist, 8m ROBERT PERKS, M.P., in his letter to the Times of the 21st inst., makes some rather damaging comments upon tho status and action of the combative organisation of political Dissenters known as the National Council of tho Evangelical Free Churches." According to SIK ROBERT, who speaks from intimate knowledge, the Free Church Federation has no authority whatever officially, or even indirectly, to represent the Free Churches, and least of all does it represent the Wesleyan Methodist Church." lR ROBERT goes on to say that tbo "priest in politics has never been a popular cry among Methodists, and still less do they appreciate politics in tho pulpit, and ho proceeds to point out the inconsistent action of the leaders of the Free Church Council Federation when the fortunes of their political party-that of tho Radicals-are at stake. They denounce," he says, in Ireland, in France, and even in the English villages, the unwarrantable interference of priests in the secular and political affairs of the people; and yet their ministers claim to shape the policy and issuo to their Churches their marching orders in tho coming electoral struggle. Many of their pulpits are to be converted temporarily into electioneering plat- forms manifestoes are being showered upon their people, as though they were revelations from heaven; and the fiery cross is to be carried through the land by preachers who havo convinced themselves that they are called by God to smite the 'heredi- tary foes of Nonconformity' hip and thigh. All this, of course, is what Churchmen and others havo pointed out over and over again, but it is well to have it confirmed by so leading and unimpeachable ,¡t. Nonconformist as SIR ROBERT PVPKS.

THE Free Church Council Federation, at their meet- ing at tho Queen's Hall, London, last week, had the advantage, if such it can be called, of the support of MR. LLOYI) GEORGE, who spoke in his usual inflated and inaccurate style. The real, if not the ostensible, object of the meeting was to attack the veto of tho Lords, and therefore tho Upper Chamber was sound- ly trounced in tho terms of unmeasured abuse com- mon to demagogues all the worid over. MR. LLOYD GEOME'a allusions to the Education Question were most inaccurate, but tho ignorance or tha partisan- ship of his audience was such that they passed with- out protest. For instance, he, stated that the whole body of tho Roman Catholics in tho House of Commons voted in 1906 for the third reading of MR. BIRRKLL'S Education Bill, whereas the fact was, of course, that MR REDMOND and his Irish colleagues voted with the Unionist, party against the- Bill on that occasion. And MB. REDMOND justified his action in tho following words:—" It is my firm belief," ho said, that this Bill in its present shape will never pass into law, and my colleagues and I to-night by our votes will show that,.so far as one section of the population of this country is concerned, we repudiate it as a settlement of this national education ques- tion, and we re6ent it and condemn it aa an injury."

THE Free Church Council declared that' MR BIR- BELL'a Education Bill represented the united demand of Nonconformity, but Sin ROBERT PERKS in his letter of November 8th, resigning his Parliamentary seat, said: An Education Bill was offered us which we did not ask for and did not want." And in his letter to the Times on December 21st he points out that an Education Bill drawn to satisfy the Roman Catholics would never meet the needs of English Nonconformists. The Labour party would demand secular education, to which the Methodists and many other Nonconformity are opposed. Tho result must mean another educational failure."

NOT the least repellent feature of the speeches and writing of the Free Church Council leaders is their unctuous assumption that they alono are tho posses- sors of all the cardinal virtues, and that all who differ from them are in league with the forces of evil. Thus in the strongly worded political leaflet No. 1, issued by these reverend gentlemen in con- nection with tho ensuing General Election, they in- sist that our Free Church principles are the princi- ples of freedom and righteousness." If to speak the truth only is a test of righteousness tho Free Church Council publications would seem to fall very short of that standard, for in the same leaflet to which wo allude it is asked, What blocks our social pro- press, our Housing Bills, and the like? Again it is the voto of the House of Lords. And thereforo again wo say, It must go!" As the House of Lords occupied itself during the closing days of the last session in passing the Housing Bill of the present Government, the statement in this leaflet is an abso- lute falsehood. It is grievous indeed that a pro- fessedly Christian body should descend to such depths of mendacity and evil speaking as arc to be found in many of the publicatons of tho Free Church Council Federation and in tho addresses of not a few of its leaders. With Sin ROBERT PERKS we de- cline to regard this body as in any way representa- tive of the great bulk of sober and pious Noncon- formity. It stands revealed as nothing but a political caucus, from which sobriety of tone, accuracy of statement, and charity in judgment arc alike lacking. Possessing these characteristics it is fortunate "indeed that MR. BIBRELL failed In his attempt to put the denominational schools under the heel of these Free Church zealots.

NOTES OF THE WEEK A Merry Christmas to all our readers. # » « What has become of Mr. Ure? Is he lying low? » « » Mr. Asquith seems to bo the latest victim of "forcible feeding." He doesn't like the Socialist- Radical alliance,* but he is bound to swallow it. The real cause of Mr. Lloyd George's weeping at. Carnarvon the other day was the thought that his salary of 5,000 a year would soon cease. We should be quite low-spirited ourselves under the circum- stances. # If I thought I could make the foreigner pay the taxes, I should bo delighted to make him do it," said Mr. Lloyd Morgan at a meeting of Liberal delegates from West Carmarthenshire on Saturday. Well, why not try? grow In January, 1813, the Towy was frozen over for three weeks, affording solid support for skaters, and a promenade of .two miles in length for youthful ramblers. At the time of writing history does not look like repeating itself, and the flooded state of the valley rather suggests boating. Some hundred and nine years ago the people of Carmarthen had no pastry included in their Chrimrias fare, a King's proclamation having been read in church prohibiting giving oats to any except work- ing horses, and forbidding the use of pastry on account of the scarcity of corn. A quartern loaf fetched Is. 7ad. ? < Mr. Lloyd Morgan, K.C., the Liberal member for West Carmarthenshire, saya the Budget Bill does not propose to tax agricultural land. If he reads the speech of a colleague on the South Wales Circuit (Lord Tiverton), published in another column, he will see how tho Finance Bill will tax agricultural land. Evidently anothor Bill framed by a lawyer to baffle the laymen, and bring a rich harvest to counsel. • # We fear Mr. Lloyd Goorgo does not read his JOURNAL regularly. Last week we commented on his faulty legal metaphor in alluding to the people as being complainants and jury in the Budget Action." At London last Thursday week ho spoko of the House of Lords as being the jury, and said that if that was so the Radicals challenged the panel. The metaphor is still a bad one, if the country, the whole country is to be a party in the case, how can a small part of it challenge the panel? » The Rev. Gwynfryn Jones, an extreme Radical orator, who delivered a violent tirade last Thursday week against the House of Lords in support of Mr. Llewelyn Williams' candidature (and incidentally in aid of tho funds of Ebenezer Wesleyan Chapel), said that blue blood would not solve an abstruse legal question. They must have brains for that. Cn- fortunately for the rev. orator blue blood and brains go together very often indeed. The blue blood of the House of Lords possesses some of the best brains in the country. # From the CARMARTHEN- JOCILVAL, Dec. 22nd, 1815; "Tho prisoners in Cardigan Gaol return their grate- ful thanks to Mrs. Evans, of Morfa, for a. liberal supply of coals during this inclement season. The debtors and other prisoners in the Gaol of the county of Carmarthen beg to return their grateful thanks to George Moares, Esq., High Sheriff of the said county, for his liberal and seasonable donations of five guineas, to be equally distributed by the gaoler, a side of most excellent beef, a cart load of potatoes, with a quantity of onions." ft Lady Stanley, writing to the "Times" of Monday last, relates an incident in her friendship with the late Mr. John Bright. One da.y she had handed Mr. Bright a cup of tea while they were discussing the House of Lords. "Tell me, Mr. Bright," she said to him, "What do we want with the House of Lords?" The tea was rather hot and Mr. Bright carefully poured it into the saucer. Impetuously, Miss Dorothy Tennant (as she then was) repeated the question, whereupon the great Liberal statesman, smilinp, gently tapped his finger on the saucer, and said, "This is the House of Lords." At. last the tiresome topic of the education of the border children outside the Llanelly Urban area has come to a welcome end, the Carmarthenshire County Council having decided to purchase sites on which to build new schools to educate their own children. Tho final stage having been reache3 at a timo when all good Christians are in a forgiving spirit, let us express the hope that the differences which have arisen will be forgotten, and that both authorities will move forward in concord to do their best for the welfare of the children, and throw use- less recriminations to the winds. Nearly a century ago, at Christmas time, this kind of appeal used to appear in the Press: "We are warm advocates for employing the labouring poor even on works not immediately called for, as it is better to "make sacrifices where there is some return, than where there is none, and habits of industry once abandoned are not easily resumed. Let not the opulent be discouraged by instances of idleness and ingratitude on the part of the object of their bounty, but let them continue to be friends and bene. factors to their suffering fellow creatures, and they will meet with a reward both in this, and in another and a better world." Evidently they had the inevit. able begging petitions going about in those days. < Lord Tiverton is making an excellent impression in the Carmarthen Boroughs, and the more his lord- ship comes in touch with the constituents the better they like him. At Carmarthen last Friday night he had to answer a regular fusillade of questions, and did so unhesitatingly, notwithstanding the late hour. Apart from the smartness of his replies, what his audience mostly enjoyed were the flashes of humour that accompanied them. He was asked, "What was Lord Halsbury's (his father) attitude towards old ago pensions?" Having answered Jht was in favour, he added, "Lord Halsbury's polittaHt career began in 1874, and for. the first, six years he had not the benefit of my advice, and even in later years you may bo surprised to learn, he did not always ask it." Viscount Tiverton was born in 1880. # It is not surprising to find that Mr. Ure has his disciples in Wales, and that the seed he has sown is bearing very ugly bloom. It is with some amount of incredulity, however, that we read the communication sent us by a correspondent to the effect that tue pension fiction was being uttered from the pulpit by a minister of the gospel at Lampeter. If our information is correct, this reverend gentle- man stated from the pulpit that old age pensions would be doomed if tho Conservative Government got. into power. There is no excuse for anyone being' ignorant of the real character of the pension lie. That ministers of the Gospel should use it is unthinkable. The Unionist Government always has been in sym- pathy with old age pensions, and rather than abolish them they would improve them. They could not abolish them if they wished to, any more than they could wipe off the National Debt. Addressing a meeting of Liberal delegates at Car- marthen on Saturday, the Member, for West Car- marthenshire endorsed the view of a local minister, that under a system of Tariff Reform the farming community would be much worse than they are at present, and more so than any other section of the people. Have these gentlemen ever heard of ther great industries which exist in protectionist coun- tries, through the cultivation of sugar beet? Do they know that Wales is well adapted for the growing of sugar beet, and that the manufacture of the root- into sugar would necessitate the building of fac- tories, not in large populous centres, but in the centre of the beet-growing district, as the carriage of tho roots would come to considerably more than the cost of the manufactured article? < it From the figures we recently gave concerning this new industry for Britain, it will be remembered what a great impetus sugar-beet growing will give to. agriculture and the rural population in general, not to mention the supply of machinery. But it cannot bo introduced under Free Trade. The present Government have already nearly crippled a patriotic attempt to establish a sugar factory at Sleaford by repudiating the anti-bounty feeding clause of the, Brussels Sugar Convention and allowing bounty-fed German beet sugar to be dumped into this country. Instead of giving State aid to an industry which might very well bring 900,000 acres of land into a highly profitable state of cultivation, the expenditure of 12,000,000, and the employment of 400,000 workers, tho Radical Party has done its very utmost to prevent it even being experimented with. And yet they talk about, agriculture suffering under Tariff Reform. How would 6s. 3d. to 8s. 2d. per day suit the farm labourers of West Wales. The.very thought seems a fairy tale, yet this is what the "American Sugar In- dustry and Beet Sugar Gazette" has to say after mentioning that the "Payne" Tariff Bill provides for reciprocal free trade with Cuba and the Pliillipines, which provision has caused other countries to look with' jealous eyes upon such favours, and to threaten retaliatory measures. "But sugar is distinctly a labour crop, and as farm labour in U.S.A. costs from 6s. 3d. to 8s. 2d. per day. to take duty off sugar, and put it on tea or coffee, would be to destroy a great home industry and build no'other in its place." Who can deny the wisdom of protected America's policy? Tea and >offee taxation in America as hero may raise revenue and decrease consumption, but if it excluded all tea and coffee it would not add one iota to the volume of employment. Taxation of imported sugar and free production at home effects one of two purposes, or a mixture of both—it raises revenue from all sugar imported, and increases sugar production, and thereby employment by all that the tariff excludes. Where the tariff fails to protect, it yields revenue; where it does protect, it yields work and wages, thus standing to win either way. Here, is something for the Welsh farmer and labourer to think over after his Christmas dinner. Visions of a brighter future would soon appear before him.

ST. PETER'S CHRISTMAS TRDE will bo opened this year by Mrs. Delme Davies-Evans, of Penylan, Golden GrQTe NOTICE TO EXHIBITORS.—Wo would inform our readers interested in poultry and other Christmas- shows that. we accept no responsibility for prrors or alleged errors in reporting prize lists, neither will wo publish any corrections. Our results are always obtained from official sources, and if they are in- correct tho blame must lie with the officials and not with us. DEATH OF P.S. POYXTZ, LI.AXEI.LT.—P.S. Poyntz, who retired on pension a couple of years ago, died on Monday last at Worn-road, Llanelly, after a short illness. Deceased was very well-known in Carmar- then, being the father of Mrs. D. J. Davies. Scott- terrace, Water-street, Carmarthen, to whom we ex- tend our deepest sympathy. FOOTBALL.—The following are the results of the irst. and second-class matches played on Saturday last :-Llallelly 12pts., Llanelly nil; Cardiff 27pts. Lnited Services 5pts.; Newjiort 31)te., Gloucester 3pts.; Neath 31pts., Briton Ferry nil; PeriiLrtli 9pts., Aberavon nil; Maesteg 3pts., Blaenavon 3pt«.; Ply- mouth 14pts., Pill Harriers 11-pts.; Swansea II. nil, Llandilo nil; Penygraig nil, Pontardawe nil; Bridg- end 17pts., Glifachgoch nil; Mumbles nil, Resolven nil; Danygraig 12pts., J3urry Port nil. SomE FINB WORKMANSHIP.—The attention of all those interested in artistio shop-fitting is directed to the new front of Messrs. Oliver's establishment in Lammas-street. This shop has recently been- fitted with new windows, etc, all of which work has been carried out in the most up-to-date and artistio fashion by Mr. Gerard Hallett, of Cardiff. This is. not the first time that Mr. HaUctt has' fitted up shops in Carmarthen, and we also understand that ho is doing a great deal of similar work all over the district. There is no doubt that for this kind of craftsmanship he is unsurpassed in South Wales. SOCIAL GATHEBIXC.—Sociability reigned supreme at tho gathering of the memhers of tho Sunday In- stitute, held in the. English Wesleyan Schoolroom on Wednesday, the 15th inst. There were games of various kinds, and also plenty of scope for profitable conversation, and altogether these weekly socials aro- becoming more and more liko gatherings of they members of one large united family. Next Sunday afternoon Mr. R. J. Jones will give an auUress to the members at the English Wesleyan Chapel at 3.35 sharp. All persons over fourteen are corcTTallv in- vited. ELECTION* OF FISHERMEX'S ItFPltESE-STATIVES.-Tlie coracle and seine net fishermen holding licences under tho Carmarthen llay Fishery Board are en- titled to elect four representative members on the Board of Conservators. Six candidates having heen nominated, an election took place on Fridav last, and the Returning Officer (Mr. Hubert Morgan Griffiths, clerk to tlv, Board) has duly declared the following electedMessrs. L. 7X Thomas, grocer. Priory-street; B. A. Lewis, engineer. Morfa House; Joseph Morgan, superintendent of school attendance officers, Neptune Villa, Ferryside, and John Jones, estate agent, The Plas, Ferryside. DEATH OF MRS. THOMAS THOMAS, WKLLFIELD.-— Mrs. Jfine Thomas, wife of Mr. Thomas Thomas, •T.P., \\oilfield, died at. her residence on Thursday, the 16th inst. The deceased had been in ill-health for a considerable time. She was a lady of a charitable disposition, and general regret ia felt at her death. The funeral took place at the Carmarthen Cemetervon Monday. The Ven. Archdeacon Evans and the Rev. D: T. Alban officiated. The mourners were: Mr. T. Thomas (husband); Mr. John Thomas, town clerk of Swansea (brother-in-law); Dr. Thomas' Swansea and Mr. Charles, the registrar of the Neath County Court.