Welsh Gazette and West Wales Advertiser

THE GUARDIANS OF THE POOR. COMMUNICAXONS which have reached us from several districts where contests for the election of Guardians are now in progress- seem to show that there is a tendency to deal uncharitably with old members who seek re- election. Advantage is taken to condemn their attitude on certain questions in thee past; and their services are unduly criticised' —merely, it is to bo feared, for electioneer- ing purposes. Attempts to agitate public- feeling against men who have acted conscien- C, tiously and discharged their duties honour- ably is deeply to be-regretted. To squander public monies indiscriminately may be an easy way to popularity but they who give freely and unthinkingly are not the best friends of the poor. They only widen the roads to destruction. The true object of charity should be to make people more and more independent, whereas indiscriminate alms makes people more and more dependent. The Chairman of the Charity Organisation Society said the other day that it was a sad sign that, during the-last few years of great prosperity, the relief lists of the London Unions had increased. This seemed to indicate a weakenings of the self-respect, so honourable to them which induced the po&r to make every effort before sinking to the receipt of rate aid. New Zealand, he added, had rushed into a system of old age pensions and the results, as shown in the reports, were that the expense greatly ex- ceeded the estimate, and that relations and friends no longer felt it a duty to assist, as they had done previously.

MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE THE value of music as a means of education has been emphasised by almost all who have turned their attention to the subject from the time of PLATO to our own. PLATO was no doubt one of the very greatest prophets of the Ideal, and we know that had he established the University shadowed forth in his Republic he would have put music as a very important element in his system of education. MILTON wrote a treatise on this absorbingly interesting subject, and music occupied a very outstanding position in his curriculum. The same thing has been done in our own day. In all the Welsh county schemes, by which the Intermediate Schools of the Principality are regulated, vocal music is set down as a compulsory subject, and instrumental music in most schools is a very prominent feature in the course of study. To fill a nation with the love of music is unmistakably one of the best means of developing its character on its finest side, and it is possible that we shall at no distant date reach the Oxreek philosopher's ideal, and give to music the place to which it may very fairly lay claim. The stress and strain, the irksome and monotonous tasks of life, are so severe that anything that tends to alleviate and mollify them is greatly to be cultivated and en- couraged. The educative influence of the eisteddfodau in this direction cannot be over-estimated for public contests in sing- ing imply considerable preparation and training. The real value of the eisteddfod lies not so much in the fact that it affords an opportunity for the exhibition of talent and the display of skill as in the fact that it affords an excellent stimulus to a process- the process of learning the art of singing. We are led to make these remarks by the fact that a musical treat of no mean order will be offered the public at Aberystwyth this week. We refer, of course, to the annual concert at the College on Friday evening. The Musical Society in connection with that institution deserves well of the public for the rare treats it affords by giving them the very best productions of the great masters but the Society is more especially worthy of encouragement for the excellent service it renders in the work of advancing the art and fostering the love of music in the district. Aberystwyth has for sixty years and more been acquainted with some of the best vocal music of HANDEL, MENDEL- SOHN, MOZART, and HAYDN, and some of the productions of the greatest of modern musicians are not unknown there. Instru- mental music. however, has been at rather a low ebb. But of late Mr J. E. LEAH, the organist of Portland Street Congrega- tional Chapel, has done his share to supply the deficiency. Mr LEAII is now concluding the second session of a series of most admirable organ recitals, at which he has delighted hundreds ti his audiitors by his representation on the organ of trle works of the greatest of Engfish and foreign masters. Mr LEAH has done all this at enormous labour and at very great financial risk. In other municipalities such recitals been largely subsidised by the Corporation and properly so. They have rightly considered that money thus invested makes for the elevation of the people. Should the Town Hall, when enlarged and renovated,, afford suitable room for the installation of an organ, we believe, an instrument would prove a splendid invest- Iment; for it would- not only afford entertainment to thousands of visitors during the season, especially so on rainy II days, but it would also prove a great boon to the town generally in ways that cannot here be explained at length. Mr JACK EDWARDS, too, is a musician to whom we have been too slow to, offer our mead of praise and congratulation. He is to be complimented for the dogged persistency and perseverance with which, weekly and even nightly, he has for years past grained young artisans to play cornets, soprano horns, sax horns, trombones, euphoniums, or whatever instrument is needed for the Band. 'And he h3f had his reward in the thorough ? appreciation with which the crowds of townsmen and visitors have listened to the strains of his band on Marine Terrace in the summer months. Mr EDWARDS has supplied Aberystwyth with music of a pleasing and varied character. It has not always been the ravishing waltz," or the polka, or the schottische, or the everlasting light and airy French overture for he has command over and can draw from a choice and extensive repertoire. It is to be hoped that the efforts of the Band will be worthily encouraged by the Town Authorities.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. Rochester Town Council have- declined to sanction performances by the bands in the recreation ground on Sundays in summer. The Liverpool City Council last week favourably entertained a proposal to de- molish over 8,000 insanitary houses. Re- housing and demolishing; will; cost a million and a half.. The London County Council has for- warded to the London borough councils its resolution against the renewal of the pro- visions of the Agricultural Rates Act, 1896, and invites the co-operation of the councils in opposing the renewal of the Act. Mr C. M. Williams, the ex-mavor of Aberystwyth, has been re-elected an alder- man of the Cardigan County Council at the top of the list, he receiving 40 votes,, out of a possible 42. Attacks froyn ftgpapquarters seem to bear good fruit. ?< At the annual banquet of the Llanelly Chamber of Commerce on Saturday Mr. Ernest Trubshaw made reference to the great American combine in the steel trade, and pleaded for better relationship between employers and workmen, in order the better to combat the threatened competition. Lady Llangattock, as the president of the Monmouthshire Branch of the Welsh indus- tries Association, invites school teachers and others to send samples of children's work and drawings to the exhibition, which will be held in London in June next. The invi- tation should stimulate school work. The new Chairman of the Cardiganshire County Council is Colonel Howell, of Pant- gwyn, and the new Chairman of the Mer- ioneth County Council is the Hon. C. H. Wynn, of Rhug; while Mr A. C. Humphreys- Owen, M.P., has again been re-elected chair- man of the Montgomeryshire County Council. In connection with the discussion to-day on the bill for prohibiting the sale of intoxi. cants to children apparently under sixteen' years of age it may be recalled (says the London Correspondent of the Manchester Guardian) that similar enactments are already in foice in the Isle of Man and manv of the colonies. In the Isle of Man the limit of age is, however, fourteen years. In Cape Colony the limit is fifteen years of age; so also in Natal, The sixteen years limit is adopted in Tasmania, Malta, and Manitobia; while in Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, the North-west Territories, and New Brunswick the sale of intoxicants to minors is forbidden under severe penalties, a minor being a person under twenty-one years of age. This week we give full reports of the statutory meetings of the Cardiganshire, and of the Merionethshire County Councils. At the Merioneth Council an elaborate scheme for the imaintenance of Main Roads by contract was adopted. The merits of this proposal will be dealt with in our next issue. At the Cardiganshire Council, some of the new members ran amuck. But they soon found that their conduct was not in keeping with the gathering, and they had to yield summarily to its superior in- fluence. They are probably by to-day thoroughly ashamed of themselves. Mr J. C. Harford's firm ruling, which did not per- mit tht, compromising of the dignity of the Council in any manner, won him general admiration. In the belief that the British race can only ret-iin its position by maintaining its physique anl1 that men who work in factories should he able to secure recreation without sitting in licensed houses or clubrooms. Ml Geo. Cad bury has opened the way for a novel and promising experiment which will be watched with much interest. At a cost of £ 17' 000 to -('180,000 Mr Cadbury hae conveye d to trustees the balk of what is known a- the Bourneville Estate, near Bir- mingham. Altegether 330 acres have been conveyed, and the object is to secure the erection of sanitary and healthful dwellings for the 1 bouring population without any chance ,)i overcrowding, and with an abun- dance off) csh air and open space assured. When tl" estate is completed it is intended with the :i .lcomp derived from it to purchase similar <- :;>tes. The cultivation of the lftd is to be encouraged, and the open spaces are to be je;ii, -,Iy guarded against encroachment. Already number of cottages have been erected o1; the estate. The Earl of Kimberley's health has con- siderably improved during the past week, and his family are now more hopeful that he will make gradual and steady progress. Mr. Vaughan Davies, M.P., has been nominated by the Committee of Selection in the House of Commons to consider, among other private bills, the Taff Vale Railway I BiH. A revised Supplementary Estimate, which was published as a Parliamentary paper on Saturday morning, states that X5,500 were expended on the funeral of the late Queen. George Henry Parker, who was executed on Tuesday morning for the murder of Mr. Pearson in a London and South-Western Railway train, addressed a letter to his mother, in the course of which he said Drink has been my ruin it is no good to anyone. Everybody can do without it." The Parliamentary opposition of Cclonel Pryce Jones and Mr Osmond Williams, and the strong representations of the County Councils of Merioneth, Cardigan, and Mont- gomery have induced the promoters of the Cambrian Railways Bill to postpone the second reading until the 26th instant, with the view of securing a friendly conference between the directors of the company and the representatives of the special interests which are affected bv the nronosal to r-finlare J _n- r- r- -rn- the present open bridge over the tidal river at Glandovey by a fixed bridge. It is rumoured that the Heralds Office will (if the point is pressed) advise- the King against any recognition of Wales on the Royal Arms. But if the members of that august body had had to listen to Dr. Jenkyn Lewis' grandiloquent speech at the Cardigan County Council last week they would surely give way without a, moment's hesitation. The alleged objection of the Heralds Office to the recognition of Wales is a reduotio ad absurd- urn of Unionist principles. It is, briefh, that Wales is a conquered country, and that it has no right to consider itself as anything but a geographical expression. In view of the constant Unionist chatter of equal rights I for all parts of the Empire, this statement should appear puerile nonsense. It would be the greatest misfortune if nnv n{)lf,;(>" 1 consideration were imported into the natural desire of the Welsh people for equal treat- ment, in a purely sentimental matter, with the other three nationalities of the Empire. Mr John Hawke, hon. secretary of the National Anti-Gambling League, said the propensity for betting was growing. There was reason to believe that = £ 10,000,000 per annum were spent ih this way in the United Kingdom, half of which sum came out of the pockets of the working-classes. The book- makers numbered 20,000, and it was recently given in evidence that over E30,000 a year was taken for entrance to the Newmarket rings. Some bookmakers received X 1,000 in small bets, and jockeys £1,000 for a single race. Some jockey's incomes we equal to the salaries of a Prime Minister or a Judge of the High Court. One bookmaker made XIOO,000 per annum. To betting suicides, embezzlements, and bankruptcies were con- stantly attributable, and there was no. doubt that the number of these was far greater than the public were aware. Betting among women was extendingalarmingly. The speaker showed that the practice was both wrong and foolish, and ought as a trade, to be put down by Parliament, or arreste by laws now in force. A conference on the question of the maxi- mum charges to be allowed in the new pro- visional orders, for electric lighting under- tmmrgs was held last week at the Board of Trade offices, London. Mr R. P. Sellon, chairman of the electrical section of the London Chamber of Commerce, said in many cases people in small districts would be willing to pay a shilling or more per unit in order to have the electric light. The Board of Trade's regulation would render it impos- sible for a corporation or a company to instal the light in a district with a widely scattered population, where it would be so acceptable. He thought in certain cases a high maximum should be allowed. Mr Blaxland (for the London County Council) said the contention of that body was that the average maximum price should not exceed 6d. per unit. For instance, the regulation might allow of 7d. per unit for the first year and 5d. or 4d. in subsequent years, but their desire was to 1 ave an average maximum of 6d. per unit. Sir C. Boyle, in reply, said the Board of Trade were not in the least disposed to take up any step which would discourage the pro- vision of electrical energy. They thought that the normal 8d. per unit was too high. They said that very deliberately, so that their expression of opinion might sink into the minds of those concerned in the promo- tion of provisional orders. In small places it might be left open to the promoters to show reasons why a maximum of 8d. should be kept up. He said distinctly that the onus of providing it lay upon the promoters. As the result Sir C. Boyle announced that the maximum will be 7d. per unit in normal cases, instead of 8d. as hitherto. In large populous places the Board will try to secure a maximum of 6d., but in special cases, where good cause is shown, 8d. may be allowed Preaching at Manchester Cathedral, Canon Hi ks referred to the South African War. The Christian Church, as a rule, he said, had been strangely silent during this hideous In conflict between two European and Christian peoples, or had only spoken to exalt the blessings of war; while a war press batten- ing on the vilest passions of the crowd had done its worst to vilify and malign the character of enemies whose gallantry against overwhelming odds and whose clemency to their captives no soldier at the front had done other than admire. At this moment, they were told, negotiations for peace were in progress. Let them abstain from all unto- ward language. Let them learn some of the chivalry that belonged to the Christian spirit. Hlessed are the peacemakers." During the last two years the Church of Christ had tnisserl a golden opportunity. He believed that British Christianity, if it had been alert, if it bad been active in protesting against war, if it had grasped the facts of the situation and spoken out boldly in the sum- mer of 1899, might not only have made the South African war impossible, and saved humanity incalculable miseries, but also have prevented that degradation of national character, that lowering of moral ideals which was the inevitable result of a great war. He might seem to some to speak in terms of despondency, and, indeed, he had heard of so many who, appalled bj the general slackness of the public conscience, the growth of individual wealth side bv side with hideous squalor, and the materialising of our national hopes and motives, despaired of the future, and forecasted the decline of our greatness. But the recuperative forces in I human nature were as mighty in the moral as in the physical region. The nation that abolished the slave trade and then freed the slave, that initiated factory legislation and prison reform, was capable of anything in y t, the direction of moral and social progress. Only the Church must not tie her conscience down to the positive precepts of the past, At the National Council of E/angelical Free Churches at Cardiff a resolution was adopted in favour of placing education under one local body in arreas of sufficient size. Mr. George White, M.P., in proposing the resolution said that our present system was a laughing-stock to the nations of Europe, and even Sir John Gorst, who had had more to do with it than any living man, ridiculed it. The State Church was a bogey which stepped across the path of education a century ago, and still stood in the way. At what age should a boy or girl be allowed to begin cycling ? The question is allowed to begin cycling ? The question is one often asked. Dr. E B Turner, the great- est medical authority of the day on matters | of the wheel, says that he never advised that any child under six years of age should cycle, and he would preferably fix the age limit at ten years. Cycling is an exercise with many unusual strains, the effect of which Upon a nlinrit frnro/i ni-,iv hp nprm- E- '-U._4 .UUJ I: nently injurious. Above the age of ten Dr. Turner says cycling becomes distinctly bene- ficial, and for all normally constituted child- ren a thing to be recommended. There is one practice, however, against which it is necessary to warn parents in general—that of allowing for growing in buying a bi- cycle for a youngster. It is not at all an uncommon thing to see a boy or girl riding a machine which they can just i-eacii-the I painful side-to-side motion tells the difficulty I they have in keeping their feet in touch with ) the pedals. The parental argument is that the child will grow to the machine in a few months. Undoubtedly but in the mean- time grievous, and perhaps permanent, in- ternal injury is being risked, as any doctor will explain. Earl Grey speaking at Newcastle on Saturday, said there were four factors that would make for the beauty of life in this country. The first was the development of | the idea of power stations in different parts of the country to generate power, that ) would, amongst other things, lessen the j smoke nuisance, giving the towns the advan- tages of the country and the country some of the advantages of the town. The second factor was the application of the prineiplfc of co-partnership. He spoke in this connection against the tendency of labour to limit out- put, which, he said, was fatal to the interests of workers, who should exercise their inventiveness and other talents. The third factor was the municipalisation of public-houses. Twenty millions a year were being made out of the brewing industry, and if they did not do something of a remedial character it would even grow to thirty millions. He had suggested as a means of putting a check to the drink traffic the covering of England with public-houses under a trust company. He would try to make these places museums of art. There was no reason why public-houses should not be centres of refinement. If his idea were carried out these places would be a blessing instead of a curse to the nation. The fourth factor was the beautifying of railway embankments, slag heaps, &c. He would like to see more colour and more beauty to break the monotony of the railway rides. Speaking on Saturday at an Irish gather- ing in Bradford, Mr John Redmond, M.P., claimed that during the past twenty years the Irish Nationalist cause had advanced, and that at the present moment its prospects were bright and hopeful. The great united popular movement which had recently sprung up in Ireland has inaugurated what he was convinced would be the last fight for the possession by the Irish people of the land of their fathers. He was of opinion, however, that this movement would result not simply in rooting the people on the soil, but also in acnieving the blessings of national self- government. He did not deny that this was the ulterior object that the Irish party had in view in advocating land reform. Dealing with the argument that the Irish could not be given 14orne Rule because they were disloyal, Mr Redmond urged that his fellow-country men were only disloyal because they had not got Home Rule. He declared it would be worth all the millions that England could spend and all the labours and the sacrifices which her statesmen could undergo to change an admittedly disloyal and disaffected race into one that would be friendly to this country. When Ireland's rights were conceded to her, then the Irish people would be only too glad to live side by side with England in peace and good fellow- ship. In conclusion he advised Irishmen in Great Britain, not only for the sake of Ireland but also for the sake of Roman Catholic interests, to remain an organised power in this country, absolutely inde- pendent of both the great political parties.

CARDIGAN DISTRICT LETTER. THE" TWEN-CENT." CRUSADE. The visit of the Rev W. Cuff, president of J1 T"I or. "I.' tne English naptisl union, and the Kev W. Morris, president of the Welsh Baptist Union, last week to Bethsaida, St. Dogmell's, in connection with the Twentieth Century Movement for raising a quaiter of n million pounds, was moderately successful, a sum of about X60 being promised. This, of course, falls considerably short of the average in other districts which are pledged to con- tribute towards the X50,000, the amount the Baptists in Wales are striving to obtain, St. Dogmell's is not reckoned a poor district, and the amount will no doubt be largely augmented before the fund is closed. IMPERIAL VERSUS PAROCHIAL MEMORIAL. Respecting the proposed Imperial memor- ial to Her late Majesty, it is very doubtful whether local sentiment could be moved in the mattei, but an effort is to be made under municipal auspices. It would be far more consonant with the necessities, of the town if a local memorial were erected in the form of a Victorian Institute, to, include, say, a drill hall and armoury, with perhaps, accommodation for a town library- and reading room on an entirely new footing.. THE CRIME OF POACHING. A labouring man named John Morgan. Rees, of Pentregwine, Llandugwydd, was. mulcted at the Troedyraur Sessions last; week, in a fine of X20 plus costs and licence,. for fishing without a license, or in the alter- native he was sentenced to two months im, prisonment. There had been five previous convictions against him, and the magistrates had no option under the Fishery Laws, but to inflict this penalty. It is iniquitous, but it is notorious that, after all, the money, if paid, is got out of the river. PREACHING. Two able preachers, the Rev. Charles Davies of Cardiff, and the Rev. J. E. Davies, of Brynamman, occupied the pulpit at Beth- ania on Sunday, and addressed a public meeting at the same place of woiship on Monday evening. The services attracted crowded congregations, and the offertories must have largely benefitted the London Missionary Society, in aid of which they were takeo, TELEPATBU t