Welsh Gazette and West Wales Advertiser

JOHN RUSKIN. WITHIN a few days of each other have passed away two of England's most thought- ful sons of the Victorian era, Dr. JAMES MARTINEAU and Mr. JOHN RUSKIN. The former turned the eye- of his mind chiefly upon the inner world of abstract thought and endeavoured to discover by patient reasoning the underlying principles of things the latter was pre-eminently gifted with the power of observing concrete objects even in their minutest and most elusive characteristics, and of revealing the vastness of the domain of nature which appeals to the sense of sight alone. At first sight, these two men were in complete contrast to one another a closer inspection, however, showed that they had much in common. Dr. MARTINEAU, even in his most abstract reasonings, sought to clothe his thoughts in language that appealed to the imagination, ever reminding the reader of the vivid colouring of the outer world. Mr. RUSKIN on the other hand, even in his most graphic descriptions endeavoured to impress upon the reader some thought that appealed to man's inner spirit. The chief element, however, that was common to these thinkers was the supremacy of the ethical over every other factor in the conduct of life. MARTINEAU in the sphere of conduct emphasised the supreme importance of obey- ing, without the suggestion of a compromise with expediency, the imperative dictates of the individual conscience with its in- tuitive judgments. RUSKIN: laid stress in Art, in Political Economy, in Religion upon the paramount claims upon man of the unsophisticated maxims of simple and transparent goodness. It is a noticeable fact that, in the conduct of life, both ap- peared to the practical man to be unpractical. Neither of these moralists solved the stand- ing problem of the application of moral principles to a life of action. It is not now our purpose to pursue further the history and work of DR. MARTINEAU, but to call attention to some aspects of the life-work of his younger contemporary, JOHN RUSKIN. The story of RUSKIN'S life can only be super- ficially discussed by the present generation the insatiate curiosity of posterity will probably reveal it to the full light of day. His work, however, is his true life-history. His mission was to teach man to see beauty, and to love the beauty that he saw. More- over, he sought to discover the relations of the Art which expressed the Beautiful to the True and the Good. In Art his passion was for accuracy and honesty of workman- ship, and a noble and ingenuous simplicity of conception. Every affectation that savoured of unreality he cordially abhorred. In Architecture, in Painting, and in Sculp- ture the guiding principle of his criticism was the importance of a certain nobility of conception and honesty of execution, which seemed everywhere to characterize the beautiful works of nature. His criticisms upon artistic works are most valuable by their power of opening men's eyes to see for themselves as well as by the stress which they lay on the nobler aspects of Art. RUSKIN S criticisms were, however, not con- fined to the aesthetic aspects of things; he became an impassioned and, at times, violent critic of much of our modern political and social life. The gospel of honesty and sim- plicity which he preached in Art, he preached also in the conduct of life. In many wavs his soul was more in harmony with the apparently simpler conditions of an earlier civilization, and with the great artistic epochs of the past than with our industrial and democratic life of to-day. In rpite of failure at times to realize to the full the greatness of the forces around him, he has taught the world seme abiding lessons, and his life throughout revealed him as a true philanthropist, a genuine lover of mankind. He gave men much, but he gave them no nobler gift than a share in his own consuming ardour for the Good, the True, and the Beautiful.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES. OF late years intelligent readers have increased in number enormously. The ranks of the huge army of readers that are trained from year to year at our Board Schools are now considerably swollen by the large number of readers of a higher order that are turned out by our Intermediate Schools. The marvellous growth and success of the cheap press within recent times affords a faint measure of the vastness of this rapidly increasing army of readers, which waits upon it, as if it were, for its daily bread; and is at the same time a striking testimony to the truth that man does not live by bread alone. Owing to this enormous and continuous increase in the number of intelligent readers, free public libraries have become more than ever a necessity in the life of every community; and we notice with satisfaction that many owns and villages in this district are not only realising the vital importance of these institutions but are also taking active steps to have them established in their midst. The Aberayron Urban District Council have recently adopted the Public Libraries Act, and the movement at that town is in a fair way of success. The Library will be started in a room at the Town Hall, but the promoters should not rest satisfied until they will have secured and furnished a building of their own, freely accessible to the ratepayers, and where the work can be carried on unhampered. Mr. C. M. WILLIAMS (the mayor of Aberystwyth) speaking in support of the application of the Aberayron Urban District Council at the Standing Joint Police Committee said it ought to give them pleasure to do anything to assist public libraries being opened in the county. We may add that Mr. C. M. WILLIAMS' personal assistance, which he is ever ready to give freely and ungrudgingly, would be invaluable in establishing institu- tions of the kind. He has taken an especial interest in the work of public libraries, and no town or village in the county could fail to profit by his useful comparative knowledge and wide experience. Last week we published an encouraging report on the work of the executive committee of the Tregaron Public Library.. The institution at that place has been sadly neglected and its work greatly impaired by apathy and indifference. Tregaron will owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. WATERHOUSE if he will succeed—and we have every reason to believe he will succeed-to awaken the inhabitants to their sense of duty in this matter. Mr. WATERHOUSE is anxious to form a public library worthy of the town, and it is to be hoped that his appeal for support will not be in vain. Tregaron would certainly find a good public library a boon and a blessing to the young men of the town and district. If wisely furnished it would afford them rational and healthy recreation and the means of serious study and self-improvement The Public Libraries Act could be adopted at Tregaron with advantage. Who will move? The present library his an influential committee; it would be no great task for its members to bring this about if they were only to make a combined and determined effort. The Act is adopted in a parish, which is not within an urban district, by a meeting of the county electors convened by the overseers upon the requisition of ten or more voters of the district, and its execution is entrusted to commissioners, consisting of not less than three nor more than nine voters appointed by the vestry. The expenses, which must not exceed in any one year an amount exceeding one penny in the pound, are paid out of a rate raised with and as part of the poor rate. Agricultural land is assessed to the rate at one-third only of the rateable value; and two or more parishes may combine for carrying the Act into execution. Elsewhere we print an interesting account of the work of the Aberdovey Institute, which has been carried on with conspicuous success for many years by voluntary efforts. But few places can hope to succeed in the way Aberdovey has succeeded; but no public-spirited community should rest satisfied until it possesses a like treasure house of- Wit and sense, Virtue and human knowledge, all that might Make this dull world a business of delight."

THE DOVEY, MAWDDACH AND GLASLYN FISHERIES BOARD. CONSIDERABLE interest is manifest in the policy of this Board, which has lately under- taken some far-reaching reforms. The great struggle against the monopoly of the Mach- 09 ynlleth Club has resulted in a victory for the Board's policy of discountenancing net-fish- ing where it interferes with anglers' rights and the just treatment of the upper waters. The Dovey deserves special consideration, being the largest river in the varied and interesting district under the control of this Board, and we trust Mr. Wynne's proposal to extend the season to the end of November will receive due consideration. The Dovey is what is known to fishermen as "a late river," and during this year in particular, salmon have not re-appeared from their sea- going trips till after the first of November; and in consequence the rod fishermen have had no luck at all. It is impossible to ex- plain why this should be, and why some rivers are earlier than others, but we know it is so. Advantage should be taken of the peculiarities of the river to encourage anglers to reside in the district when other parts of the Kingdom have shut them out. for this is 0 a manifest and tangible good to the whole country. It will be noticed that attention was drawn to the pollution by the Dylife mines. This is a very important matter that should be dealt with by the County Councils; for a great deal of mischief may arise in this way from a very small cause. It has been proved by experience that lead mining can be carried on without injury to other rights, and it is the duty of the community to see that all interests are guarded, so that the stronger shall not be allo\ved to encroach on the weaker. The interests of one should be the interests of all. The Dysynni report was of a satisfactory nature, and this river bids fair for the coming season, in fact it is at present the most promising water in the district. Mr. Oakeley has done something for the Dwyryd in past years, and is still a friend of fisherman r' .d will undoubtedly support the Board in it excellent work, though he may consider, that in lateness, the Dwyryd differs from the Dovey, and there- fore demands separate treatment. This is but variety in unity, which should not be overlooked nor withstood in this beautiful tract of country. The Board has a balance' of X I I I to distribute among the six subsidi- ary committees for the Dovey, the Dysynni, the Mawddach, the Artro, the Glaslyn, and the Dwyryd, which is not too much but we trust that, owing to the new and better scale of licences to be put in force this year, the finances will be largely increased. Moreover, the trouj licences should bring in an appreci- able increase of revenue. The various counties of Carnarvon, Merioneth, Mont- gomery, and Cardigan, are slowly learning that their salmon and sea fisheries are a valuable item in their joint assets, and that the development of these properties tends to draw English capital and visitors into the lovely hillsides and sea shores of Wales, where food and health can be thus pleasantly attained, and benefits enjoyed and conferred by both owner and occupier.

THE WAR. Canon HICKS, preaching at Manchester Cathedral last Sunday from the text They that take the sword shall perish with the sword said that just five months ago he ventured from that place to deprecate a war with the South African Republics. He then gave his reasons at length; and were he to repeat them to-day his words would sound like a prophecy. All he said has been amply justified by events. Canon HICKS has the courage of his convictions and he stands by all that lie said last August. He would much rather have been silent now, but he deemed it his duty as a Christian minister, and especially as a priest of the Church of England, to associate himself with that band of noble and not undis- tinguished men, who, drawn together from every political party, from the first and all along have deprecated this needless and fratricidal war. It is true that the Boers took the sword," and it is likely that they will perish by it also. But that statement, though true, is but a half-truth which may be the worse kind of falsehood. The responsibility for a war does not always lie with the party that first draws the sword. When a heated controversy occurs between a great and a small Power who can expect the small Power to wait until a hedge of steel has been closed about them ? He is really responsible for war who makes war inevitable. This a is war, said Canon HICKS, that can bring us no glory, that can hardly bring us any gain. We are spending be- tween two and three millions per week. We have lost altogether over 8,000 men. More than 1,000 have already died. We have withdrawn some 100,000 wage-earners and wealth-produces from peaceful and re- munerative industry. We have paralysed our South African trade. We are incurring for ourselves or for our children, or both, new jjbuidens of debt and taxation, and we need the money badly for every kind of social and moral improvement. We have in the midst of our Empire a mass of misery, vice, and degradation that might well tax the energies of a generation of great statesmen.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. «. A peace is of the nature of a conquest; For there both parties nobly are subdued, Arsid neither party loser. SHAKESPEARE. Mrs. Powell, Nanteos, is taking steps to have some of our wounded soldiers accom- modated at the Aberystwyth Infirmary. Could not Aberdovey Hall be utilized with advantage for the same purpose ? The Hall is situate in a healthy and convenient spot, and it could be fitted up at but little cost for the reception of 'a large number of officers and men. Mr. Herbert Roberts and Mr. Brynmor Jones have convened a meeting of the Welsh Liberal members for Tuesday next for the purpose of electing a sessional chairman and secretaries, and of deciding the order of ballot for Welsh bills and other matters. They appeal to all the members, in view of "the grave position of public affitirs," to arrange to be present. Mr. Saxon (readiiig a newspaper) Well, I declare Mr. Celt: Bad news I s'pose another reverse.—Oh, no. I've only got a local you see. But 'tis amusing.—What on earth can it be then!—My dear fellow. Look! After the grand reduction here is another bait-Welsh at last!—Well, 'pon my and a religious Welsh column, too —a please-em-all round by Shon bob oehr. Won't go down, I s'pose.—Won't catch old birds with chaff, old man. Really it does seem like a bit of white flag business just now. The London correspondent of the Man- chester Guardian" says that Conservatives who cherish the belief that on the re- assembling of Parliament the only demand for cessation of hostilities will come from the Irish benches will find themselves mis- taken. The demand from the more repre- sentative Welsh Liberals will be equally firm. In this connection it is interesting to remark that fr. Bryn Roberts, the repre- sentative of moderate Welsh Liberalism, is quite at one with Mr. Lloyd-George, the champion of the most advanced Welsh Nationalism. Mr. George's eloquence will certainly give no small assistance to the crusade in favour of conciliation and peace. The annual meeting of the Aberystwyth Branch of the Royal Society for the Pre- vention of Cruelty to Animals was held last week. The Secretary's report on the work of the year, which was considered to be very satisfactory, was unanimously adopted. It is well to bear in mind that this noble cause has tound many an ardent advocate before our time. In the early part of the century the Rev. Daniel Evans, of IMaesmynach Lampeter, better known as Daniel Ddu o Geredigion published an ode on creulty to dumb animals. In that ode will be found rendered into Welsh in the form of an englyn Shakespeare's lines, which tells us that The poor beetle, that we tread upon, in corporal sufferance feels a pang as greet 0 b as when a giant dies." "Gwinllan y I c Bardd appeared in 1834, a few years only ¡I before the death of the author of the "Ancient Mariner." .3 It is stated that the influenza epidemic has claimed far more victims in London alone than the war in South Africa. The CoDciliation Movement is reported to be gaining ground daily. It already counts among its members some of the ablest and most influential men in the kingdom. The directors of the Cambrian Railways Company, who recently reintroduced second class fares for through bookings with other railways, have decided to extend this to their local traffic. The alteration will, it is under- stood, come into operation shortly. The Rev. E. Bithell, of Leeswood, a well- known temperance advocate, wrote to the members of the Mold School Board at their meeting last week explaining that his absence was owing to the fact that he had volun- teered. He had gone to East Merioneth to fight the only enemy England need fear- not the Boer, but the beer. The Coventry Board of Guardians have decided to recommend the boarding out of children in private houses within the union,. as opposed to a recommendation of a special committee in favour of scattered homes. The cost of boarding out in private houses is much less than in the scattered homes system, and, in the opinion ot the majority of the. board, preferable on other grounds. Speaking at Chatham on Tuesday, Lord Rosebery said that the task that remained for us after the war was completed was the greatest that ever lay before a nation. We should have to put the Empire on a business footing. We must consider deliberately,, patiently, and scientifically the methods by which we had been accustomed to proceed, and see in what way they had fallen short, and determine to reconsider and revise them. The continuous advances in the price of coal has given rise to a novel movement in Cardiff, where a petition is now being signed by Trades Unionists and others requesting the Mayor to convene an early meeting of ratepayers to consider the present pro- hibitory price of coal, and to discuss the ad- advisability of municipalising a coal mine in the interests of the Corporation and the- ratepayers of Cardiff generally. In our report of the meeting of the Cardi- ganshire Standing Joint Committee held at Lampeter last Thursday will be found an. influentially signed petition from Aberyst- wyth and district calling attention to the practice of selling intoxicating liquors to young children. The petitioners pray the Committee to issue an appeal to the licensed victuallers of the county requesting them to absolutely refuse selling intoxicating liquors. to children under thirteen years of age. Speaking at a Liberal meeting in South Salford, Sir J. T. Brunner, M.P.. discussed the causes which led up to the war, and described the demand for the franchise in Johannesburg as nothing but a farce. He pointed out that there was no public opinion in South Africa to keep arbitrary employ- ers in check, and prophesied that success in the war would lead to a completely developed system of slavery under the British flag from one end of South Africa to another. Our blood and treasure were being poured out in order to compel the blacks, by means of hut taxes and labour taxes to work in the- mines, and all that the capitalists desired to secure by what they called good govern- ment was a plentiful supply of cheap Kaffir labour. A private letter from an officer at th. front, quoted by the Pall Mall Gazette, gives a signal instance of chivalry on the part of a Boer commander. It appears that during the fatal charge at Magersfontein a party of two officers and twelve men rushed, with sublime heroism, up to the muzzles of the rifles in the Boer trenches. So impressed were the Boers by this extraordinary gallantry that, moved by a common impulse, they cast their own weapons aside, and, coming out of their trenches in overwhelming numbers, seized the valorous 14 and dragged them into the works. Then, after causing them to be disarmed, the Boer commander exclaimed, There You are free to go. We will not re-open fire until you are safe within your own lines. One cannot fight against such courage as yours." The people of Barmouth have been specially grieved to hear of the death of Mr. Ruskin, in whom they had a peculiar interest from his connection with the place. Fifteen years ago Mrs. Talbot gave to the Guild of St. George—recently founded by Mr. Ruskin—a number of cottages on the rock, close to her own residence. In August, 1876, Mr. Ruskin spent ten days as Mrs. Talbot's guest, and visited all the cottages—delighting everyone by his charm of manner and consideration for otherr-- both high and low. The St. George's Cottages still belong to the Guild, under Mrs. Talbot's supervision, and Mr. Ruskin's name is known and reverenced by all the inmates. His death is deeply deplored by Mrs. Talbot' as by all his personal friends, and by thousands who found a source of strength in his eloquent writings and knew him by name only. This story was told by its hero at a dinner given at the National Liberal Club to a. volunteer officer who is going to the front. He is an Australian, and he left his home with the express intention of joining a. volunteer regiment for service in South Africa. He had never been in England before, and he had not anticipated the possibility of refusal. After his failure he returned disconsolately to his hotel. There he met two young Welshmen who had come to London for a few days as a preface to proceeding to the Cape. How had they succeeded where he had failed ? Oh," they explained, "we are going out with' the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry." Where is Montgomeryshire ?" he asked. In Wales," was the reply. How do you get to Wales?" The information was at once vouchsafed him. Then," said he, I'm off by the night mail." And he was. And now he is a duly accepted member of the Montgomeryshire Cavalry. The National Liberal diners heartily cheered the gallant Australian. Daily Chronicle. How inconceivable, in the state of our present national wisdom! that we should bring up our peasants to a book exercise Hislead of a bayonet exercise !organise, drill, maintain with pay, and good general- ship, armies of thinkers, instead of armies of sbtbbers; find national amusement in read- ing rooms as well as rifle grounds give prises for a fair shot at a fact, as well as a leaden splash on a target. What an absurd idea it seems, put fairly in words, that the wealth of the capitalists of civilized nations should ever become to support literature instead of war." John Ruskin, who wrote this passage long ago, will be buried to-day; and the din of war, alas makes his idea seem more absurd than, ever-even at the end of the nineteenth century.