Welsh Gazette and West Wales Advertiser

THE RATING OF TITHES BILL. THE Government's new Tithes Bill is, in short, nothing, more nor less than a proposal for the further endowment of the Church of England. By doling out public money to a privileged class at the expense of the whole community, it outrages every canon of Liberalism,, which seeks the greatest good of the greatest number.. The Bill has been branded as a proposal as humiliating to the clergy themselves as it is opposed to every principle of true Local Taxation Reform. Like the recent endowment of the Voluntary Schools, the money it gives the clergy is a sheer gift. The whole principle," says the. Manchester Guardian," is that of robbing Peter by small instalments, which he does, not notice, to pay Paul in a lump sum, for which he is grateful and willing to barter ,his political support. Such a principle is the beginning of corruption in our politics in a new form which, it is only too clear, readily admits of gigantic development." In introducing the Bill, MR. LoxG said the Government proposed that owners of tithe rent charge or its equivalent should pay in future half only of the rates, to which they were at present liable. The amount required by the relief to be given under the bilL was X87,000, and that sum the Government proposed to take from the Local Tax- ation Account. The poorer clergy are undoubtedly deserving of some kind of re- lief but it is passing strange that the wealthiest of all religious communions should come upon the public purse for relief. Would not voluntary contribution be a more natural and healthier remedy for clerical poverty? There are many deserving and laborious ministers of religion among the dissenting bodies who, are poor also. They have to depend upon the voluntary offerings of those whom they .serve, or work for the work's sake, and endure poverty as, the, apostles did. The plea, of course, is that the value of tithes has fallen, and that the clergy who depend on that source are poor: but the income of most classes is subject to fluctuations downward from causes beyond their own control. That the income of the clergy has fallen is a poor plea for inviting the rest of the community to pay their legal charges, and the policy of doles must soon reduce itself to an absurdity for when the landlords and the clergy have had their portion, other people, will naturally put in their claims. Like the Agricultural Rating Act, the benefits of the Bill are. not confined to the class in whose interests it is ostensibly promoted; for the rich incumbent and the poor will reap the harvest alike. In fact, the relief it will bring will mean but a nig- gardly pound or two for the most deserving cases, while for the richly beneficed it will mean quite a sheaf of ten-pound notes. The Government may force the Bill through Parliament, but the day will soon come when the defenders of Church and State will be sorry they had anything to do with it.

HOW TO BEAUTIFY OUR SEASIDE RESORTS. IT is almost incredible to what extent the watering-places on our coast could be im- proved by the planting of trees and shrubs in their immediate neighbourhood. Land- scape gardening is a subject which could be taken up with advantage by the local autho- rities. There is not a town or village on the whole coast that could not be improved immensely by the judicious planting of trees and shrubs. There is no reason why most of the bare cliffs and unsightly heaps of debris, which border many a town on the Bay, should not be covered with foliage and blossoms-at this time of the year, at any rate. We notice with genuine delight that the Aberystwyth Town Council is doing much, by degrees, in this direction. The spindle-trees which have been planted in bushes at considerate distances on the mar- gin of the promenade improve the general appearance of the Terrace, and bring a wel- come relief to the eye. One can hardly imagine to what extent the ugly banks of debris which disfigure the slopes of Constitu- tion Hill could be beautified, with but little labour and less cost. There is no lack of acclimatised plants and shrubs. A heap of debris on the banks of the estuary at Bar- mouth has been successfully covered by a growth of Valerian, which is a mass of crimson bloom every summer. There is a species of Berberis that will grow almost anywhere on the rocks of our coast, and the Tamarisk and the Euonymus want but very small pockets of soil to give them fitting lodgment.

A LAND COURT FOR WALES. Last Friday, the House of Lords devoted its time to a lengthy but important dis- cussion on the Welsh Land Question. Lord CARRINGTOX called attention to the subject, and asked whether it was tne intention of the Government to initiate any legislation on the subject, and it was soon made clear that it is quite hopeless to expect any con- sideration for the Welsh land question from Lord SALISBURY and the House of Lords. Neither reason nor eloquence will move My Lords." The EARL of KIMBERLEY said that it was his belief that the Welsh tenants have a grievance, and that the case of Wales consists in this, that the general con- ditions of agricultural tenants in that country differ most materially, and seriously from the conditions of all tenants in England. It was pointed out that those who denied that Wales differed from England were divided into two classes those who had very small powers of observa- tion, and; those who had lived in England and not in Wales. LORD. SALISBURY said that if a compulsory Land Court were erected, all. independent rights of property in land would cease. He said with contempt that the unanimous recommendations of the Land Commission did not seem to him to be matters of great importance. He believed that the essence of the whole matter was a compulsory Land Court, and to a compulsory Land Court he was undoubtedly opposed. LORD CARRINGTON, in concluding an eloquent address, which we print fully in another column, said that public opinion on land questions was ad- vancing by leaps and bounds. Every member of the Opposition Front Bench in the Commons two years ago voted or paired in favour of Mr. VAUGHAN DAVIES' Bill to establish a Land Court, and, what he thought was more important still, the Conservative candidate for East Denbigh- shire at the by-election, having the support of the whole Unionist Party-of every parson and of every squire publicly pledged himself, if returned, to bring in a Bill embodying the unanimous re- commendations of the Welsh Commission. He honestly believed that these recommenda- tions, if carried into law, would do no harm to landlords) whilst they would give security and confidence to hundreds of farmers, whose families had for many hundreds of years been building houses and walls and reclaiming land higher and higher up the mountain side, and whose only prayer and hope was to be allowed to remain in peace in their old homes, in the land of their fathers-the land, they loved so well.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. -♦ While the delegates of the nations are trying to solve the peace problem at the Hague, the House of Commons quietly votes a sum of S4,000,000 for the purposes off war. Polling in East Edinburgh took place last Friday, and resulted in, a brilliant victory for the Liberal party.. The Liberal can- didate secured a majority of 1930. At the general election in 1895, the majority of the late Mr. Wallace*. the Liberal. Member, was 449. The question of Sunday steamor traffic at Tenby was discussed at some length at a meeting of the landing stage committee last: week, the Mayoy presiding,, when it was decided by eight votes to five not to allow steamers to laad passengers at the Royal Victoria Pier en Sundays. Some rather astonishing, as well as in- teresting, facts are to be gleaned from the fortieth annual report of the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women. One of these is that out of six million adult Englishwomen no less than one half are working for their living. Forty years ago the number of female bread-winners was two millions. Next Autumn eighteen scholarships and exhibitions, varying in value up to £50 a year, will be offered for competition at St. David's College, Lampeter. The total annual value of scholarships and exhibitions at present held by the students at that College amount to £557. In addition to this, the W. D. Llewelyn" Memorial Fund gives X100 a year for learning exhibitions to Oxford and Cambridge. Mr. J. Conacher, formerly manager of the Cambrian Railway Company, has severed his connection with the North British Railway Company, whose system he has managed for about six years. It is said his resignation is owing to a new policy introduced by the Directorate. He has a right to one year's salary, X4,000, but he will receive £ 5,000. The tension has had a weakening tendency on the stocks. On Saturday the Prince of Wales laid the foundation stone of the new Post Office Savings Bank buildings at West Kensington, London. The Prince said her Majesty desired him to express the great interest she had always taken in the Post Office Savings Bank, and the gratification with which she had watched its business attain the present proportions. She rejoiced at the stimulus to thrift, commerce, and industry conferred by the Post Office system, which had through- out worked so admirably and reflected the highest credit on those connected with its administration and which, while it brought facilities for economy to every man's door, was based on the firmest security. The Free Church Council, who initiated the opposition to the town council acquiring a Provisional Order to control free speech on the Rhyl Sands, are elated at Mr. Lloyd- George's success in Parliament on Friday night. The members held a meeting on Saturday, and passed a series of resolutions thanking Lord Cranborne for his able advocacy of the rights of free speech, Mr. Lloyd-George for his services in leading the opposition, and also Mr. Asquith, Sir Henry Fowler, and Mr. Courtenay for their support to the motion. A protest was made against the large and useless expenditure of money by the town council in promoting the Order against the wishes of the town. It was stated the ratepayers would have to suffer to the tune of X300 in legal expenses. In view of the Educational Conference at Felinfach next Saturday, we publish in this week's issue two interesting contributions on School Attendance, one in English by a village schoolmaster, and the other in Welsh by a clerk to a rural School Board. In another column Mr. John Davies, of Liverpool, gives a further instalment of'his dily Recollections of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth." Mr. Davies, who is a life governor of the College, took an active interest in the- formation of the institution, and was Honorary Secretary to the movement in Liverpool. In the House of Lords Committee on the London Bill, Lord Dunraven moved the omission of the words added by the-Commons enabling women to be elected- as aldermen or councillors of the new borough councils, in order to insert words enacting speci- fically that no woman should be elected as mayor, alderman, or councillor. Lord Salisbury supported, and the Lord Chan- cellor and the Duke of Devonshire opposed the decision of the Commons,, and after an interesting debate, Lord Dunraven's pro- posal was carried by a majority of 114. At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Liberation Society, it was resolved to follow up the recent deputation to Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman with an appeal to the Society's supporters throughout the country to use their influence to eiisura prominence being given, both at by-elections and in pre- paring for a general election,, to. the question of the disestablishment and disendowment of the Established Church stress being laid upon the change in the situation caused by the anti-Ritualistic movement in that Church. It was also decided to, prepare for a vigorous resistance to the Ministerial measure for giving increased public money to the clergy of the Estabished Church. A correspondent, having ,called the atten- tion of several prominent, public men to the growing evil arising from, the sale of tobacco to children, and pointed, out that the practice, if unchecked, might, "sap the vitality of the nation," has received the following ex- pressions of opinion Lord Salisbury's secretary, writes that in his lordship's judgment, the remedy lies in the hands of the parents rather than of Parliament." Lord Roseberv, through hissecretary, "agrees with you in disapproving of the sale of tobacco. to young children for their own consumption." The Archbishop of Canter- bury's chaplain writes that his Grace very much disapproves of smoking for children." Bedford College has been celebrating its, jubilee. The Duke of Devonshire, who took part in the proceedings, remarked that he was there with a view of showing by his, presence that the Government was neither insensible to the immense progress made during the, past half century in the higher education of. women,,nor indifferent to the importance of the work, either to what had 'been accomplished or to what still remained ;to be done*. It was Bedford College and those who bad succeeded it that had mainly contributed to, if not absolutely created,, the movement which had made provision for. the higher education of women an essential part of all the younger universities and colleges of university rank, and which had succeeded very largely in opening to women the doors, of the older universities. The advantages thus provided had had an immense effect on the education of women generally. Before the Select Committee of t, House. of Commons appointed to inquire. into the efficiency of fire brigades, with special refer- en" to the Fixe Brigades Bill. Ma. Noel T. Kershaw, private secretary to the President, ot the Local Government Board, explained that the Department possessed no powers. which would enable them to enforce the provision in this bill that where a local authority failed to provide an efficient fire- brigade they should be compelled to do so by the central authority. If the bill, became law in its present shape, and the local authority made default in the provision of an efficient fire brigade, the central authority would have to appoint a person to exercise that power. The New Tithes Bill of the Government will give the Church of England another Liberal Endowment. How would Noncon- formist ministers have received such a proposal? Dr. Clifford had no, doubts on the point. It astonishes me," he observed, that the clergy should consent to receive money which will come from the general taxation of the country, although, as they must know, half of the people of the country are not in sympathy with the Anglican Church. In a word," ho added, "the present Government might be called an eleemosynary Government—a Government of doles and subsidies. Lord Salisbury's administration, in fact, is behaving in the fashion of a man who meets a beggar in the street and instead of asking what is the best thing to do to elevate the man's character and promote his future prospects, gives him a shilling to get rid of him." Dr. Macnamara, at a combined meeting of the Derbyshire teachers, held at Matlock, expressed profound regret that Mr. Robson had bought off the opposition of agricultural members with 11 a crude and ill-conceived scheme," and asked why the youngsters in. country districts should be transformed into educational Uitlanders simply to furnish the depressed agriculturist with the cheapest form of child labour. Everything considered, he believed this new-fangled scheme meant probable disorganisation and disaster. The reasons assigned for this opinion were that the village educational authorities were glaringly malfeasant; most were apathetic, many were actively hostile. The Govern- ment itself would have to bring the local authorities to book in a way that would not render the Government very popular with the farmer and the squire. Add to these things the facts that the children lived long distances from school, that winter was a bad time for attendance, the roads being bad and the weather often stormy, and the result would be as stated. Speaking at a garden party at Fulham Palace on Saturday, the Bishop of London said the question was continually being asked whether the Church of England would not be freer if it had no connection with tha State. The nation might have a Church or not, as it liked. The question depended upon considerations of advantages and dis- advantages, but for his part he would rather have the Church disendowed than dis- established. If they were robbed, well and good-it was one of the things they had to face as a possible contingency in all partially civilized societies; hut if they were dis- established they would be cut off for ever from their connection with the State, and he would be sorry to see the State vote itself to be so bad that it could go on better without religion. What, we wonder, does Dr*. Creighton think of the Government's new endowment to the Church? If the Church were disestablished from the State, as it sooner or later will be, it does not follow that religion will disappear from the Statl