The Welsh Coast Pioneer and Review for North Cambria

Musical Notes. (BY "RUFUS.") Mr Ffrangcon Davies will take part in the performance of "The Apos'tles" in the Albert Hail on the 21st of April, under the auspices of the Royal Choral Society. 'Mr Kennerly Rum- ford and Mr Andrew Black will also sing. Mr Ben Davies is in the cast of LeonPs "Ib and Little. Christina," to be played at the Lyric Theatre, Londion. Mr George Grossmithi gives his only recital before his American tour at Sit. James's Hall next. Monday afternoon. The prize of ^3 3s offered for the best me- morial anthem -to the late R. Mills, has been -awarded' to Mr W. O. Jones, Festiniog. Mr Tom Price adjudicated, and 'there were 13 com- petitors. » The Cardiff International Prize of ZI05 was won by the Manchester Orpheus, the winners at the Bangor National Eisteddfod. "Craig yr Oesoedd" is the title of a new sacred song of the composition of Mr J. G. Thomas, organist of Tabernacle C. M. Chapel, Festiniog. Rendered by a thoughtful singer, this song will prove very effective. I '# A prize of Zio xos is offered by the Worship- ful Company of Musicians for the best musical setting of Psalm cxiv-15. MSS. to be sent be- fore 1st February, 1904.

Abergele County School Old Pupils Association. IN July last, at the invitation of the headmaster, Mr J. Williams, M.A., a number of the old pupils of the school met to consider the ad- visability -of fonming an Old Pupils' Association. At that meelcng it was decided that an Old Pupils' Association should be formed. Offi- cers for the year were then elected, and it was decided, that the Association should1 hold an- nually -two are-unions, viz., midsummer and Christinas-. On Boxing Day, December 20th, the first re-union was held. In the afternoon a hockey match was played between miixed teams representing past and present pupils. The weather was beautifully fine, and an exciting game ensued, and ultimately the present pupils proved victorious by two goals to one. Tea was subsequently provided at the school, when- aibout 60 persons .sat down -to, an excellent re- past, provided by the Association. The half-yearly meeting of the Association was then held, Miss Gwen Davies, the president, presiding. 'The minutes of ithe preliminary meetings held in July last were read, and the president and- secretary (Mr T. Milliward) made a few -relm-arks, and urged upon the members present to do- .their utmost to persuade the old pupils, who have not yet done' so, to' become members of the Association before the next re- union, when iifc is hoped a larger number will t present. The secretary reported that invita- tions for. membership had. been ,sent to. all the old pupils, numbering over 150, and 64 'had become members of the Association. A letter was also read from Mr W. J. Evans, secretary of the- grand bazaar to be held in August, asking all the old pupils to render what aid they -could to make the bazaar a success. The Association has decided to take charge ,of a stan to be called the "Old Pupils" Stall, same, to be supplied and ,carried -on exclusively by it. The old pupils present undertook to find a certain .numlber of articles, or o contri- bute a sum of money, to; the stall. An Executive Committee was als-o appointed to take charge of the arrangements on behalf of the Association. The date for holding the midsummer re-union was discussed, and it was decided to hold it on Bank Holiday, August 1st, next, 'the same to take the form of 'a pic-nic. After the business of the Association :was completed, games, etc., were participated in, -and a moSt enjoyable even- ing was spent. At the close, votes of thanks were passed to the ladies who 'had so kindly ,assisted with the arrangements, and !to the accompanist, Mr T. G. Morgan. «

New Rector of Bala. THE Bishop of St. Asaph has appointed the Rev James Davies, M.A., vicar of Penycae, to the vacant rectory of Bala. Mr Davies was formerly a .scholar of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and on leaving, the University in 1885 he became senior Science Master at S. Chad's College, -Denstone. He has served the curacies of Chirk and Denbigh, and since 1897 has been vicar of Penycae. ♦

Penmaenmawr and the late Mr Gladstone. A Suggestion. TUESDAY was the anniversary of Mr Gladstone's birthday, and in this connection a correspondent writes:—" Here in Penmaenmawr we all look upon the Grand Old Man with a reverence which per- haps is unknown even in the vicinity of Hawarden itself. While staying here from time to time he so entirely won our hearts that those of us who had the pleasure of his acquaintance will always cherish his memory as the Irishman cherishes that of Daniel O'Connell. We have erected a monument to his memory and this serves to remind the young of his connec- tion with the village, but could we not, out of sheer love for our popular idol, adopt some such scheme as that which marks Trafalgar Day in London. We cannot hope to attain that level of course, but there are surely friends enough of our grand old statesman who would lend a helping hand in decorating our only public monument on the occasion of its illustrious subject's birthday. Glad- stone surely deserves this." Perhaps our readers will have something further to say on the matter. Our columns are always open to receive short interesting letters on any question of public interest. »

Welsh Voluntary Schools. Carnarvonshire's Objection to the Draft Final Orders. THE Carnarvonshire Education Committee on Monday served the Board of Education with for- mal notice of objection to the draft final orders recently issued by the department constituting foundation managers for a number of voluntary schools in the county. Under these draft final orders the managers must in every instance be members of the Church of England, although in a large number of cases the schools have for many years past been maintained by voluntary rates, and managed by representative committees, the great majority of whose members are Nonconformists. Similar draft orders have been issued in each of the other counties in North Wales, and any objec- tions thereto must be served within six weeks of the date of the draft order, which means that the objections must be sent in in most cases before the middle of January. «

The Presidency of the N.U.T, MR TOM JOHN, Llwynyprid, who has so long repre- sented Wales on the Executive of the National Union of Elementary Teachers, has been nominated for the presidency of that organisation. There are four other gentlemen nominated—two from York- shire and two from London,—but the nominations thusfar are preponderatingly in favour of Mr John, who has been nominated by no fewer than 130 aisociatious throughout England and Wales.

Chester Paraders at New Brighton. THE following prizes were won on Bank Holiday by the famous Kendrick Family at the New Brighton Tower carnival :—Best original or fancy costume (gent), 2nd prize, E. Price, William-street, Chester, Father Christmas best fancy costume (lady), 1st prize, Mrs Price, William-street, Chester. For the best original costume (lady), Miss Dodd, Pepper-street, Chester, took 3rd prize: as Bcile of the Tower."

The Free Library Question. I SIR,-It canncic be possible that the 'ratepayers of Rhyl, who are generally proud of their town, will refuse to accept the, offered gift of ^3,000 ,as an investment for the permanen- benefit of the communillY, Such an opportunity will never occur again. Is it not a .shortsighted; policy to oppose an increase of -a penny in, the £ on the rates when they -can never be raised^ beyond that amount for library purposes? Let us show our respect for the present generation and posterity, and not hesitate from, any personal considerations to. vote in favour of the proposal. The right time has come for enterprise. There has been, and is n!ow, a real want of a free library. The matter has been discussed for years past, and (the .present and coming gen- eration would thank the Council and Tatepayers by whom such a generous offer had been ac- cepted on their behalf. The settlement of this question will havie: an important bearing oirl the future history of Rhyl. If the mistake were made of rejecting' the offer, our lack of the philanthropic spirit would be remembered by those who set a high value, upon such institutions, and we should.' possibly lose ithe .sympathy of the Gilchrist Trust and other friends who have helped, and, would otherwise continue to help our fellow-townspeople towards a more intelligent view of ourselves, other people, and the world around' us. We should first secure the prize, -and. tnus show our almbillion for progress, and afterwards agitate for retrenchment and reform in ouir local administration until the finances are placed on a satisfactory basis, and the rates are appreciably reduced. This maltter rests with the rate-payers.—Yours, etc., J. BATHO. Rhyl. 4

Rhyl Gun Club. Open Sweepstakes. YESTERDAY afternoon, the first open sweepstakes shoot in connection with the Rhyl and District Gun Club took place in capital weather on a field off Grange-road, Rhyl. There was agood attendance of spectators. The shooting was exceedingly keen for the prizes, the marksmen including some of the most prominent shots of Rhyl, and distant places. There were twenty-eight entries for the open sweepstake of £12, and after an excellent contest the stakes were divided between Mr J. H. Smith and Mr E. Hughes, both of Rhyl, who each killed five pigeons. Mr Hall, of Stockport, and Messrs Webb and Bell, of Rhyl, each killed three birds. Another sweepstake, for which there were eleven entrants, resulted in a win for Mr Webb, of Rhyl, whilst a sweepstake, five entries, was won by Mr Bell, of Rhyl, who won on the third bird. Best blue rocks were supplied for the shooting by Mr Russle, of Crowle, Lincolnshire. Mr Groom of Bodelwydden, officiated as referee. In the evening, the members of the club sat down to a dinner supplied by Mr Hopkins, at the headquarters, the Dudley Arms Hotel. The after proceedings were of a most pleasant and convivial character. «

Financial Difficulties of Welsh Voluntary Schools. National Society's Grant of 13,000. THE County Councils of Merionethshire -and Montgomeryshire having refused to make con- tributions from the county rates towards the maintenance of denominational ischools, and no other funds being available for current expenses, the teachers' salaries have- fallen into arrear, involving individual cases of hardship. The. National 'Society, London, a fortnight ago- issued au. appeal to English Churchmen for contributions to tide over the temporary difficulty until the Council's, receive sufficient in- stalments of the- Government grants to 'meet ur- gent requirements. On Tuesday it was stjLtedl at Bangor that Canon Fairchild; -acting for the Voluntary Schools' Association, haid received from the -National Society £3,000 to meet the most pressing needs of the voluntary schools in the two counties. ♦

The" Daily Mail" Fiscal Canvass. ;e i,ooo for the Teachers' Benevolent Fund. THE examination of, and inquiries as to the votes in the Daily Mail" canvass of the United King- dom on the fiscal question concluded last week, and on Saturday they made known the result as follows:— For Retaliation 238,894 For Free Trade 166,686 For Preferential Trade 141,279 The chief prize of Ci,ooo was won bv Mr C. W. Hole, of 53, Chardmore-road, Stoke Newington, who succeeded in collecting the enormous number of 94,039 voting forms. Mr Hole is a member of the executive and member and former chairman of the Central Council of the National Union of Teachers' Bene- volent and Orphan Fund. In the collection of his voting forms he states that he had the assistance of teacher friends throughout the length and breadth of England, and he proposes to present the ,ci,ooo to the Teachers' Benevolent and Orphanage Fund, which, according to the last report, has paid £ 21,468 in annuities, and rendered assistance to 754 orphans, besides granting 105 annuities to masters, mistresses, and widows of masters.

An Apology. WE much regret our inability to successfully cope with the enormous rush and crowd during the Present Giving Days last week. Although after our experience of last year (1902) we considered we were making ample arrange- ments to meet the emergency, we failed to give our friends the attention we should have desired. But when it is borne in mind that close upon 10,000 coupons had to be dealt with, and their equivalent value given in desirable presents in the space of four days in addition to the usual Christ- mas Trade, it is not very surprising that we could not spend as much time as usual in serving our customers, some of whom had acquired more than 200 coupons in the allotted time, and the total value of the presents given was £59 us 4d, nearly Cio in excess of -what we had promised in our circulars. And we here- by tender our apologies for any shortcoming in dealing with the crush on those four memorable days. W. S. Williams, Llanrwst. C31D

RICHARD JONES & CO. LTD. i WILL HOLD THEIR 9 Great Annual Winter Sale v v ——————————————— j First Day, Saturday, Jan. 9,1904 RICHARD JONES & COMPANY, Ltd, General Drapery & House Furnishing Establishments. CHESTER. Established 1882. Telephone No. 40, BUCKLEY7^ | FOR EVERY VARIETY OF Dainty Confectionery, Chocolates & Sweets. SPECIALITIES- 4 HOME-MADE POTTED BEEF, VEAL AND HAM PIES. *i BEST OAKES- j MADERIA, SULTANA, ALMOND, COCOANUT, RICE, MELON, CHERRY, DUNDEE, HONEY, SEED. 5LAB CAKES made from the BEST AND PUREST INGREDIENTS. '.f 6620 WITHINGTON HOUSE, COLWYN BAY. T ZHZODVCj^-IfcT, i Tobacconist and Stationed ABERGELE ROAD, COLWYN BAY, For Pipes, Walking Sticks,Cigars,Cigarette^ BEST ASSORTMENT IN TOWN. First-Class Hair Dressing Rooms. Umbrellas Made, Repaired & Re.covered. TOM HOMAN St. ARCADE, C I B Y TU"'KM HOMAN,(, Close to ,), ABER -riELE RD.,ColwynBoY ublic Ha AND I' 10, QUEEN STREET, RHYL. CHOICE FRESH MEAT DAILY. SUPERIOR WELSH MUTT ON' DAVIES BROTHERS, Purveyors of Meat, WINDSOR HOUSE, ABERGELE ROAD, COLWYN BAV, Telephone 17. Telegrams—Davies Brothers, Colwyn Bay. HOME-CURED HAMS AND BACON. All Orders promptly attended to. COAL! COAL! COAL! Unequalled for Quality & Pricel THE FINEST STAFFS. & LANC. HOUSE COALS AND COBBLES, ALSO GAS COKE, FIREWOOD, &c. TRUCK LOADS AT WHOLESALE PRICES. WHITE FOB PlaIC190 *J| ROWL ND & S]IMPSO WYNNSTAY CHAMBERS, COLWYN BAY. 'Formerly, of J. BROMLEYConfectioner. PENRHYN RD. (Opposite New Post Office), COLWYN BA"1, BEST PLUM CAKE & RICH, SEED CAKE, M~ PER tB, OUR" POTTED BEEF AND PRESSED BEEF Are made from the very Best Quality of Beef, all prepared on the premises. 4 LARGE ASSORTMENT OF SWEETS, CHOCOLATE. f.< 7 From the Best Makers. II COLQUHO UWS Genuine Scotch Tweeds, Yarns and 0 Hosiery. The name of COLQUHOUN has for the past twenty years stood for Hatf1'' is genuine in Scotch Woollen Goods. They are guaranteed to be factured from pure wool only, and go through the various procei< the finished article in the mill, and under MR. COLQTTHOUN'S super?*81 BOX OF SAMPLES POST FREE, # containing a select range of LADIKS' and GENTLEMEN'S TW^ f RUOS, BLANKETS, KNITTING WOOLS, HOSIERY, etc.. style and shades, will be sent on request. cnfliU1 Any length cut at Mill Prices. All Carriages Paid. Write fOr TO WOOL PROWERS. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR WOOL? Do yon make tbe to of it? You can do this by sending it direct to my mills and manufactured into any kind of Woollen Cloth. I have over 400 p^$0$ and pay carriage on all wool sent me. I send patterns post free for P" to select which cloth and pattern they like their wool made into. oret A. COLQUHOUN, LargMt KoSlarf WAUKRIGG MILL, GALASHIELS. JofleS Please send ail Wool and Orders through Local Agent, Mr. Isaac I Bryn Tirion, Llanellan, near Colwyn Bay. 8910 AGENTS WANTED WHERE NOT REPRESENTED. -1 M 1 Printed bv W. H EVANS & SONS LIMITED, at their General Printing Offices. Bank Place, Chester, and Published by Offices, CONWAY ROAD, COLWYN BAY, in the County of Denbigh also Published at to, High Stree',Tj!frEClJf1e 63A Mostyn Street, Llandudno, Clarendon Buildings, PENMAENMAWR, Roberts, Stationery Depot, LLANFAI Pen'dyffryn House, BKTTWS-Y-COED, all in the County of Carnarvon The Library, 7 Station Road, LLANRWST, CAX ABERGELE, Portland Place, DENBIGH, all in the County of Denbigh 7 Bodfor Street, RHYL, Central Buildings, WIS PRESTATYN, all in the Countv of Flint Friday, Jannary 1, 1904. PRESTATYN, all in the Countv of Flint Friday, Jannary 1, 1904.

Fire in a Chicago Theatre. Terrible Scenes. Mad Rush of the Audience to Escape. Two Hundred Deaths. — WHAT is perhaps the most awful catastrophe which has ever occurred in a theatre took place in Chicago last evening. The xroquois Theatre, in which a gorgeous pantomime was in progress, caught fire during the second act. An awful panic ensued. The occupants of the theatre, numbering nearly 1,700, rushed madly for the doors, and, accord- ing to the latest .estimate," 200 lives were lost, while another 300 people were, injured. Ter- rible scenes were witnessed. The theatre- was only opened a month ago, and was one of the most modern playhouses in the United States, and probably in the world, replete with every improvement. Every device of human skill, however, seems to have been powerless to. avert this most terrible calamity. Terrible Death Roll. Chicago, 10 p.m. The itcttai number of victims in the fire at the Iroquois Theatre has not yet been ascer- tained. The police at half-past nine this even- ing announced that 537 bodies had been taken from the ruins.

Sad Railway Accident at Chester. Guard Killed. Passengers Injured. THIS morning a sad1 railway accident, unhap- pily attended with loss of life, occurred almost at the entrance of the General Railway Station at Chester, and close to what is known as No. 4 signal-box. It appears that a G.W.R. engine and brake-van were standing near the box when tth-e 7.50 passeng.er train from Birkenhead came up suddenly, and collided with the stationary engine and van. As the train was about to enter the station, its speed had 'been greatly re- duced, but as it was, the force of the impacit derailed both- engines, and damaged the carri- ages very considerably. A.t the time of the collision, the guard (a young man named1 Co'wa-p) of the van attached to the light engine, was 'standing in the door- way. The poor fellow was thrown headlong on to the rails and, so it is stated, was run over before the authorities knew where he was, dawn just breaking. The engine driver was al'so. seri- ously injured, and several of the passengers sus- tained a few flesh wounds. Some s'uffered from shock. A breakdown gang was immediately on the scene. As two of the principal lines were blocked, all the North Wales, Wrexham, and Birkenhead traffic was considerably delayed. In some instances, trains were tw'o hours late. The reason why the Birkenhead train' was passed into the home section with an engine in the way has not yet been cleared, up, but it is statedl that the signalman, when he. signalled the line clear, thought the lighit engine had gone into the shed. Further itetaits. On enquiry at the Chester Infirmary this morning, a "Pioneer" representative was in- formed that the driver of the Birkenhead train, William Tomlinson, who lives at 13, Caerwys- street, Birkenhead, was detained, but that his injuries were not serious. Joseph Tweedle, of Ilelsby (48), and Arthur Scott, Westminster- road, Chester (47), were treated for cuts on the forehead.

Railway Men on Full Time. IT is understood that the men employed on the London and North-Western improvement schemes, in the Bangor district, who have been working on part time recently, have been put on full time. This news will be heard with much thankfulness by the men and their fami- lies. ——————<.——————