Llais Llafur

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HUGE "COMBINE" IN IRON TRADE To Restrict Output of Gal- vanized Sheets A huge national "combine" in the gal- vanised "Orrugated sheet trade has been organised, and the New Year will witness the inauguration of a new policy. AH the makers in the country have signed the agreement, and the unanimity with wh:ch the scheme has been taken up augurs well fo- the future. The new association will differ from the old one—which came to an end in 1910—in several respects. There will be no official selling price, and each mem- ber will be left to make his own terms with customers; but there will be a strict control of the output. To each firm there will be allotted a certain output, based on their production for the past three yea.rs, and members exceeding the stipulated limit will pay a proportionate contribution to the pool, whilst members whose production is below the average will be recouped from the pool. Tho new arrangement also provides that when they cease to be remunerative by reason of the scarcity of orders or any other cause, the output of the various works shall be reduced until the lost ground has been recovered. The object of the association is to check the competition from which the trade has suffered during the last few years. During the regime of the old association galvanized corrugated sheets reached a maximum of L13 17s. 6d. per ton. Since then they have been as .low as £ 10, but .at the present time they are offered at £ 11 5s., which is 7s.6d. higher than was quoted before the formation of the as- sociation. No figures have been named by the as- sociation at present, but it is considered by some makers that it will be. necessary to fi x a maximum beyond which prices shall not go. The old association was wrecked by want of some such safeguard. Prices were driven up to such a high level that outsiders found it worth while to embark upon the trade and in a com- paratively short time the associated manufacturers saw the trade slipping from them. They were then given a free hand, and prices droped by over £ 2 a ton, and soon afterwards the association came to an end. The aim of the new orgaiiisat-ion will be to keep prices within such a reasonable limit as to avoid a re- petition of the past experience. I f »

Public as Employer I MR PHILIP SNOWDEN ON RIGHTS AND DUTIES In his weekly article in the "Christ- ian Commonwealth'' Mr Philip Snowden, M.P., discusses tho strike of the Leeds Corporation workmen. He points out the special reasons against a strike by employees of public bodies. Such an act must "assume the appearance of a war agaijist the com- munity," and in any case cannot expect to have public sympathy with it. The employees, as voters, have a voice in the election of their municipal masters, an:! if the majority of the men who are J.oct.ed to the council are reactionary or unsympathetic to Labour it must be re- gretfully admitted that they represent electors who are like minded. There is, unfortunately, no appeal beyond the igDorance of an enfranchised democracy. The only thing to be done is to go on with the hard work of trying to change public opinion. On the other hand, 'the citizens have duties as well as the employees," and Mr Snodwen proceeds "The municipal service is not to make profit for private persons, but to supply a public need. Municipal concerns are not, generally speaking, subject to competition; their success is judged rather by the efficiency of the service than by the financial re- sults. In a great many of the depart- ments of municipal service there can be no question of profit or loss. A munici- pality, therefore, can afford to do things which a private em ployer, in severe com- petition with others, might find it diffi- cult er impossible to do. Low wages and bad conditions may be profitable to cer- tain private employers. They can. never be otherwise than disastrous to a com- munity. Finally, Mr Snowden reminds town councillors that they not "bosses," but "just the elected representatives of the citizens," and that "autocratic ways are unseemly and out of place in a public, ^representative, dressed in a little brief authority.

WORKING MEN CHOIRS. SEVEN IN COMPETITION AT EISTEDD- FOD No fewer than seven male voice choirs composed of working men com- peted at Tllivl Eisteddfod, and there was a. splendid contest, which resulted as follows: 1, Ffynongroew (94 marks out of 100) 2. LJanrwst and Trefriw (90); 3, Pwllheli (80); 4, Mold (77); 5, Hawarden Bridge (76) G. Llanfairfach- an (66); and 7, Bagillt (66). The committee gave special prizes to school children for map drawing, and so keen was the competition that the adjudicators gave extra first prizes out I I n ore comj)pti- of their own pockets. In one competi- tion the Christ Church elementary school children carried all before them. Dr. E. Hughes Jones (chairman of the Rhyl Council), in his presidential address, said he would like to see at- tention paid to technical modelling and j drawing.

MINERS WAGES ADVANCED. I LORD ST. ALDWYN'S AWARD IN I SOUTH WALES The wage minima of most grades of South Wales colliery workmen have been increased, and the Minimum Wage Act modified by decisions of Lord St. Aldwyn on the recent applications of the owners' and workmen's representa- tives. The latter regard the conces- sions as satisfactory, and representing a fairly substantial wage advance. The rates fixed are plus 60 per cent. the maximum standard under the exist- ing Conciliatory Board Agreement, and I the percentage promises to remain at that level throughout next year. I WAGE ADVANCES. I The independent chairman has ad- vanced the standard day wage rate of colliers in charge of working places who are not pieceworkers from 4s. 3d. to 4s. 4d. of timbermen and repairers or rippers doing timbering work, not be- ing regular piece-workers, from 4s. 3d. to 4s. 4d. of ostlers, labourers, sub- sidiary haulage men, small pumpmen, shacklers. spragmen, and watermen, from 3s. 2d. to 3s. 4d.; of lamplockers, lamplighters, and oilers, from 3s. to 3s. 2d. and of night hauliers and tram- mers above 18 years of age from 3s. 8d. to 3s. 9d. Boys over 14 and under 14! are to receive Is. 4d. a day and under 15 Is. 6d. Rule Five of the award provides that a workman shall forfeit his right to the minimum in any week if he has not worked at least five-sixths of his pos- sible days unless prevented by accident ,or illness. FULL DETAIL?. I APPLICATIONS BY OWNERS AND I WORKMEN. The new award is the result of recent negotiations, both the owners' and work- men's representatives having given notice of their intentions to apply for a variation of last year's award. The owners, however, only applied for minor alterations, the most important being a reduced scale for boys. In regard to the latter, while not acceding to the scale suggested by the owners, the indepen- dent chairman fixed upon a reduced rate of 13.4d. per day for bovs between four- teen and) fourteen-and-a-half years of age, instead of 1 s.6d. per day for all boys undej- fifteen years of age. The workmen's Teprw?ea)tatives, on the other hand, applied for a number of variations. Two of their proposals were that there should be no differentiation made in the rates payable to colliers and timberaien on day wage and on piecework —that the rate of 4s.7d. per day should apply in both cases. His lodship nega- tived this proposal, but advanced the rate from 4s.3d. to 4s.4d. per day to these day wa.go men. The independent chairman granted the workmen's application to increase the rates of 3s.2d. per day to 3s.4d. per day to all the lower-paid men working under- ground, such as labourers, ostlers, etc., with tho exception of lamplockcrs, lamp- lighters, and oilers, whose wages were advanced from 3s. to 3s.2d. per day in- stead of to 3s.4d. per day as proposed by the workmen's representatives. THE STANDARD RATES. I the following are the stajtdard rates (to which have, of course, to be added the current percentages) fixed for those classes of workmen who were not pre- viously graded WORKMEN OVER 21 YEARS OF I AGE. Stan. Rate of Day Wage s ci. Bottom cutters (cutting hard bottom 4 0 Bottom cutter.5 (cutting soft bottom 3 7 .Assistant bottom cutters. 3 4 Sheaf men, roilarmen, and pulley- men 3 6 Underground banksmen (at vertical shafts)— (a) Leading 3 9 (b) Assistants 3 4 Underground winding enginemen (at vertical ehafts). 3 10 Pipomen 3 4 Rope changers (other than shack- Itrs) 3 9 Slurnmers employed fiandliiig trams through the slums at pit bottom) 3 4 Jh; hi tellers (at top and bottom of inclines) 3 G I Wallers in working face 3 4 J t, was agreed by the board that thc^e Tates should come iiito force as from September 29, 1913. LORD ST. ALDWYN'S AWARDS I Lord St. Alclwyn, after detailing the I revisions proposed by the respective sides, I award", as follows:- CLASS 1. Bv varying the standard rate of day wacro of 4s.3d. fixed as payable to a collkr in charge of a working place who 1 is not a worker at piecework to the standard rate of 4s.4d. Bv varying the standard rate of day wage of 4s.3d. fixed as payable to timber- men and repairers or rippers doing timber ing work, not being regular pieceworkers, to the standard rate of 4s.9d. By varying the standard rate of day wage of 3s.2d. fixed by the said award as pay" able 'to ostlers, labourers, sub- sidiary haulage men, small pumpmen, shacklers, spragmen, and watermen to tho stRidarc rate of 3s. 4 d. By varying the standard rate of day wage of 3s. fixed by the said award as pavablo to lamplockers, lamplighters, and oilers ta the standard rate of 3s.2d. CLASS II. By omitting the words, "boys under 15 years of are, ls.6d." and inserting the words, "Jwys over 14 and under 14J, years of age ls.4d., and under 15, ls.6d." (Continued at bottom of next column.)

PONTYPRIDD PIT FATALITY EARLY MORNING EXPLO- SION. TWO MEN KILLED Two men were killed in an explosion which occurred early on Monday morn- ing at the No. 3 Pit, Great Western Colliery, Hopkinstown, Pontypridd. There were nine men underground at the time, but seven escaped. The vic- tims are Mr. Henry Bowkett, contrac- tor, River-street, Trehafod, and Mr. Evan Jones, timberman, Queen-street, Troforest. Both were married. INVESTIGATION BY OFFICIALS. I It is not definitely known how the explosion originated, but it is believed that a fall released a quantity of gas, which became ignited. The men at work in the pit at once came out and informed the officials. Shortly after one o'clock Mr. Wm. James and other officials went below to make investiga- tions. and they came across Howkett and Jones, both dead. The latter was burned about the body, but Bowkett appeared to have died from the effects of afterdamp. When Mr. James, the manager, and Mr. John Charles, undermanger, re- turned to the surface at 8 o'clock, it was noticed that both were slightly af- fected by tho gas and had to be assist- ed to the colliery office. They soon re- covered, however, and were able to proceed home. Mr. Hugh Bramwell, the company's agent, together with Colonel Pearson, H.M. Inspector of Mines, afterwards made an inspection of the mine pre- paratory to the inquest. Later in the day Mr. Ben Davies, miners' agent, Alderman E. H. Flem- ing, were included in a deputation ap- pointed by the men to examine the workings prior to a resumption of work. Work was suspended for the day at the three pits. MEN RETURN TO WORK. I After making a tour of the work- ings, Mr. Ben Davies and Ald. Flem- ming recommended the men to retire to work. This advice was accepted, and the night shift resumed Monday night, and work is now in full swing as usual. ■» m rn a »|

RAILWAYMEN'S M.P. ADVISED TO REST Mr. J. H. Thomas, M.P., financial secretary of the National Union of Railwavmen, is suffering from an af- fection of the eye. the result of over- strain. He consulted an oculist, who prescribed rest and treatment, but the active temperament of the patient such that he is still carrying on his duties at Unity House, although with the greatest possible difficulty.

SWANSEA SHOP ASSIS- TANTS ANI, LIVING-IN Strike of Assistants at Two Shops About 50 assistants employed at Messrs. Lewis Ijewis and Mc wre. Meyler's shops, of High street, Swansea, have been on strike since Monday Dee. 22nd. The trouble, as s ited in the last issue of "Llais LLafur" is due to the fact that the firms have decl i, 7 *■ recognise the N?l.t i oii,i l A rm-i I g.- L ) .1 National Amalg:t.1 d',u Unim of Shop Assistants, WareVv; .men and Clerks. On December lhn, a request. was for- warded to .\IeSSre,. _oWiS Lewis asking, on behalf of t'ne a.->islants employed by the firm, that representatives of the Un- ion should be allowed an interview in order to discuss The abolition of the living-in system. A reply was forwarded to the local organize' Mr E. G. Hughes, to the effect that the firm were making a certain offer to it-dividual member's of the staff in reference to the matter. This answer was regarded as unsatis- factory, as it did iot secure the total abolition of the livi: g-in system. Certain members of the si lif were called up before the mana,ger and the matter dis- oussed, and subset] i ently the staff met and re-afifrmed th r previous decision, and a resolution w-w- passed by the staff -male, and female—regretting the atti- tude of the firm in aft-,sing to meet a re- presentative of tht-if Union. A further letter v. as sent on the 17th Dec., to which '}. firm did not reply. Practically the satM" procedure was fol- lowed in reference o Messrs. Meyler's. On Friday evøninç tho staff of Messrs. Lewis. Lew is met. w1 a report of the position was given u/ Mr E. G. Hughes, the organizer, and it was then unani- mously decided th-it the firm should be written to and infon led that "having re- fused to receive the Union's representa- tives a.nd to grant their reasonable re- quests, we have decided to withdraw our labour. The fi-m was also notified that unless an an; .-er was received to this communication before 5 p.m. on Saturday, the who of the machinery of the organisation wtu d be put into opera- tion. On Monday after loon both men and women assistants n rched out of the es- tablishments. Th young women left their posts without changing their attire, and people in High Street about 3 p.m. were surprised to a large number of young women ban headed, with their aprons en and t' -j r scissors hanging flown V Ut' i. s: *■ Th* too. wero bareheaded. A iter the women and men had formed a procession an d marched up the street they returned, and shortly after- ards a large van stopped in front of the two shops, and the belongings of the* assistants were re- moved. On the sid." of the van large boards with printed notices were hung, and the public were placed in possession of the facts of the case in tabloid form. The inscriptions on !:he boards read SHOP ASSIST ANTS' STRIKE I UNION RECOGFTTION DEMANDED I • LIVING-IN I DYING OUT. I Aftel. the assist.:1..t had had' tea at the Cartret' restaurant 'which is their head- quarters, they rd, ¡;ed to the front of the shops, and con uenced picketting un- til 4 he two ghor were closed—which they did punctuall Mr G. Maurice -nn, of London, and Miss Tynan, org.;i.izer, of Manchester, arrived in Swansea on Monday evening, J1* 1 assisted in th. work of organisation an? '-nieketting. A wire had been sent from he principal ffice of the Union to Messvl^ Lewis Lev. to the effect that these Y\t.alB wo-. d be ready to wait upon tha '.iu^igem* 't, and this they did. Mr KayVry c n ,nager, received the officials in the. y: rd a.t the back of Messrs. Lev.'r; y./iui), but the manager waa not courieou* nough to invite the representatives inside. When spoken to Mr Kay abc-x)luttlx declined to discuss the matter, but th -y gathered from his statements that he rid no power to make a settlement. On Tuesday eveivug a deputation frcm the Swansea Labo;- Association waited upon Mossrs. Le-vis Lewis' and en- deavoured to per- tde the firm to re- ceive the Union'i representatives, but they were unsucce. ful in their object. Later the deputation waited upon Mr. Mcyler, and iii.it red him to receive Messrs. Hughes anr Hann on behalf of the assistants. The two organizers had a lengthy interview with Mr Meyler. CHRISTMAS TlADE RUINED I Mr Meyler admitted to the organizers that the action >! the assistants had practically ruined his Christmas trade. In view of the ta.t: ments to the contrary mad e in our two Swansea contemporaries tjli,i fact is  thi3 fact is somewhat illuminating. Mr Meyler, after a lengthy conversa- tion, finally stated hat he was not. pre- pared to recognize the Union until all the other drapers Swansea had done I likewise. Then the organizers withdrew. On Chri stmas Eve, the organizers again waited upon Mr Meyler when two I directors of the fi n were present, and received the same i rswer as on the pre- vious day. MESSRS. L- \VIS UNBEND. I In tho meantime '\Iessrs. Lewis Lewis' got into 'cornmuni'Ttion with Alderman Mtorrels of the Doc!rs' Union, and after having had a chat v ith 11 r Men-ells they decided to make arn.ngem.onts to recei ve tho organisers of f! e Union. POLICE AND PKJKETTING I I rem the moment. the strike was de- clared, picketting commenced and pro- ceeded with una lifted vigour and en- thusiasm. Tho pel ice ware almost im- mediately en the sc-ne and acted in the usual manner. Miss Tynan, who has had experience as a. picket in numerous similar disputes, was soon in the black books of the men in blue, nothwithstanding her encyclo- poedic knowledge of the law on the sub- ject of picketting. Whilst offering a handbill to a lady who ar-peared to know nothing of the dispute she remarked "You will not be served by blacklegs, madam, will.you ?" Apparently she was overheard by the proprietor, who ap- proached a constable, and asked him if he had seen any one molesting a. cus- tomer. Tho man in blue admitted that he had, although in reality he had not. Said Mr Meyler You know what to do, constable take her name and ad- dye--a. The Constable Yes, sir. This was aecordingly done, in obed- ience to instructions. Then Ca.pt. Thomas, the newly- appointed chief constable arrived on the scene, and after noting the actions of the pickets who were busily engaged in handing bills to pa&w^by-ac, was being done in o'ther parts of the street by paid employees of several firms-said in so loud a voice, that his words wero overheard by several of the girls en- gaged in this perfectly lawful proceed- ing "Arrest the next person who gives a bill to anyone !"—but the bill distribu- tion went on. Charged with courage :n the presence of his superior officer, a constable pounced upon one of the girls and said— again in a loud voice "If you don't stop that shouting we shall be running you in. The reply of the girl was courteous, but to the point "That will mean a nice rest over the holidays." VISIT OF MR BEN TILLETT. On Saturday morning, Mr Ben Tillett addressed a large crowd in the Albert Minor Hall, and dealt with the dispute. He made some pointed references to the attitude of the police in respect of the girl pickets, and pledged himself that, if any unlawful interference took place or the police commenced any of their "hanky panky" tricks, he would. find it neoessary to instruct members of the Dockers' Union to arm themselves with cudgels as big and as heavy as the police constables' batons and use them-if necessary After 'Ir Hughes and Miss Tynan had dea.It with the matters In dispute, it was evident from the attitude of those pre- sent that the dema-nds of the assistants wero most reasonable. In regard to the refusual of both firms to recognise the Union, the audience showed its indigna- tion in no uncertain way. It does ap- pear remarkable that, in a town like Swansea where trie Trade Union element is so strong, tha.t a firm or firms should have the audacity to openly objed to men and women belonging to a Trade Union,—and tho audienco expressed it- self accordingly. SUPPORT OF LABOUR ASSOCIA- n' TION. ine union representatives attended the fortnightly meeting of the Swansea Lab- our Asociation on Saturday, and a strong resolution was passed at that meeting pledging the members affiliated with the Aas .ciation to support the movement of the assistants in their efforts to obtain justice', up to the hilt. THE LOCAL PRESS The organizers complain that the two local evening papers have not given the assistants fair play.. A statement was made, in the first place, that a conference had been called between the drapers and the representatives of the Union, whicn was utterly false. Other statements, bearing a strong leaning towards the em- ployers' side have o been made. NEED FOR PROPAGANDA. Complaint has been made that the Union has singled out Messrs. Meyler and Lewis for a special attack on the living-in system. This is not so. The reason why these firms were ap- proached was because a, mandate was received to fight the question and bring the whole force of the organisation to bear upon any firm where the employees desire that the living-in system shall be abolished, but no good purpose would be served in demanding recognition from those firms where leas than two-thirds of the assistants* are members of the Union. A short time ago Messrs. David Evane and Co. were sent a similar request as that sent to the two ifrms affected by the present dispute. Messrs. Evans very rightly and very wisely complied with the request of their staff, and received the Union's representatives, and the re- sult was a satisfactory settlement to all parties. IMPORTING STRIKE-BREAKERS Pickets have been stationed at the several town stations to warn all shop- assistants who arrive that there is a dis- pute at present, and, if required, the Union send the arrivals back to their homes. It is very sad to think that most of the assistants at present affected by the dispute belong to places a long distance from Swansea, but it is 6a,tisfactcry to hear that every one of them was found lodgings before 8 p.m. on tlie day that. the strike commenced. They^«U~str«ugth of the Union is being brought to boar on the present dis-put-e, and there will be no settlement other than a full recognition of the Union. Every branch of the Union in Wales and the West of England has been circular- ised informing members of the dispute, and bills have been and are being distri- buted in every draper's shop in each town. warning shop-assistants not. to ac- cept engagements under the firms af- fected. The spirit displayed by the strikers is magnificent, and they are fully confident that victory will crown their efforts to improve their conditions and obtain rc- cognition. LETTER FROM MR J. KEITt HARD IE, M.P. Mr Keir Hardie sent a characteristic letter to Mr Hughes, the oreanizer, which he received oil Aloilo"-Iy. He wrote "I (Continued at bottom of next column-)

J N orthnmberland Iiners I Northumberland Miners I I POLICY OF JOINT ACTION EN- I DORSED. Some important, and maybe far- reaching, decisions have been arrived at by Northumberland miners in their votes on questions remitted to them by recent half-yearly executive council meetings. The most important proposal, from the national point of view, was one request- ing the executive council of the Miners' Federation to convene a. conference re- presenting the National Union of Rail- waymen, the Transport Workers' Union, and other associations, for the purpose of considering an agreement under which, in case members of one association should be on strike or locked out, the members of the other association should "Down tools." The voting was very evenly di- vided upon this, the figures being :— For, 316: Against, 312; majority for, 4 This resolution, when before the coun- cil, was rejected by 34 votes to 23. The motion that the coalowners be asked for an allowance of 3s. weekly for hous,- rent for men living in rented- houses, and that, if the request be de- clined, a ballot be taken as to whether the men shall strike to enforce the claim was carried; by 412 to 216. Another motion to endeavour to secure legislation to prevent the Board of Trade interfering in trade disputes when wages question are involved, unless the Board shall be given power to inspect em- ployers' books was endorsed by 461 votes to 168. A fourth motion, which woul-d involve the abolition of piece-work in all mines, and which advocated the initiation of a national movement with that object was rejected by 348 votes to 284. The members refused to increase their contributions to 9d., 299 voting against and 220 for.

1 I- -W 0 0 I BANKSMEN'S WAGES I The Council of the South Wales Miners' Federation met at Cardiff on Wednesday Mr W. Brace, M.P., presiding. There were also pre&ent Mr James Winstone (vice-chairman), Mr Alfred Onions (treasurer), and Mr Thomas Richards, M.P. (general secretary). A report was received from the Banks- men's Committee of the Conciliation Board relative to their failure to agree on the question of wages, and it was re- solved that a general conference be called to consider the situation as soon as possible after the special meeting of the Conciliation! Board had discussed the matter further. The award of Lord. St. Al-dwyn upon the revision of the rates under the Mini- mum Wage Act was received and the secretary was authorised to print aaid cir- culate the same. It was resolved to send the case of compensation appeal, Holland v. Pat- ridge Jones and Co., to the M.F.G.B. for consideration. The secretary was instructed to inti- mate to the owners' secretary of the Conciliation Board that the workmen's representatives objected to the joint meetings being fixed at any hour earlier than 12 noon.

t STARVING MEN'S CHOICE I Tuesday's New York newspapers con- tain the following paragraph: "Twelve men were arraigned before the Essex Police Court yesterday on a charge of vagrancy. Each man was allowed to choose his own sentence. The choice in each case was three months. Magistrate Herbert said it was the saddest inci- dent he had ever witnessed." What a text for a sermon!

I DULAIS VALLEY CHAT. (By HYmdeithydd. The Salem Baptist Dramatic Society achieved a great success in their per- formance of the drama "Jack Martin" at the Council Schools, and their efforts were greatly enjoyed by large audien- ces. At the concluding performance on Tuesday evening, when Mr. Wm. Lewie, Bryn V ilia, presided, the ren- dering of the drajna was specially ef- fective. The proceeds are expected to total between P,20 and £ 25 in aid of the funds of the Salem Baptist Chapel. Congratulations are tendered to Mr. ajid Mrs. "Tillie Price, of Standart- terrace, Seven Sisters, to whom a baby girl was born on Christmas Eve. It is pleasing to know that both mother and child are progressing satisfactorily. Many readers will no doubt be in- terested to learn of a signal honour paid to a young Seven Sisters resident, Master John Owen Williams, who, as reported in our last issue, recently achieved great success in musical ex- aminations. Master Williams was favoured with an invitation to the baD at Craig-y-Nos Castle, the residence of Baron Cederstrom and Madame Patti, on Wednesday evening, and the invi- tation i, regarded as a tribute to the extraordinary talents of this promis- ing young boy. The agitation at present proceeding in the anthracite collieries in the Valley for a short day Saturday has been interfered with by the Christmas holidays, but nevertheless the matter is not being allowed to drop. It will be remembered that at some of the pits, the men have been answered directly in the negative when the application for this reform has been laid before the management, but the matter will not remain in that position. A further. meeting of the men's representatives is to be held on Wednesday next at Colbren, and I learn on good authori- ty that it is confidently expected that unless an amicable settlement can be arrived at, all the delegates will have a, mandate from the workmen to ten- der notices. That the men feel very strongly indeed, on the matter there can be no doubt. They are determined to have the reform, and it would be wise on the part of the local managers and proprietors to accede to the de- mand rather than that a strike should occur. A correspondent writes:—The own- ers of the Caerdegar estate (Messrs. J. A. and J. R. Morgan) are offering two and a half acres of building kund on their estate, on which can be built thirty houses or thereabouts, to any club, building syndicate, or others in- terested, for a term of nine hundred and ninety nine years for the nominal sum of one shilling per annum pen- house. This land is situated withini five minutes' walk of both the colliery and railway station, and considered to be one of the most healthy spots in the locality. Lessees will all have their own choice regarding design of house and many other privileges. This offer is well worth consideration, in face of the prosperity of the locality, and the promising developments of the sur- rounding districts in the near future. I am glad to be able to announce further musical successes. At the recent examination held at Swansea on December 17, the following pupils of Miss Ceridwen Jones, C.T.V.C.M., ob- tained fav-ourable positions in the paas lists. Master David Thomas, Glanant Villa, Seven Sisters, passed in the in- termediate grade; Masters Urias Evans of Crynant, and Albert Isaacs, Seven Sisters, were successful in the junior grade; and Mr. Lemuel Stephens, Ban- wen, Master Harry Melin, Seven Sis- ters, and Miss Gertrude Jones, Ban- wen, passed in the preliminary grade. The half-yearly Npeetings of the Salem Baptist Chapof; Seven Sisters, are to be held on Sunday next, and also on Monday evening, and the preacher engaged for the occasion is the Rev. J. Lee Davies, Brynamman, a popular minister who is expected to attract large congregations. The employers at the Llwynon Col- liery, near Crynant, nearly 500 in num- ber, were idle on Wednesday for the funeral of the late secretary and carr- ier of the company, Mr. Jenkin Wat- kins, of Neath, who died very sudden- ly last week end. The deceased gentle- man, who is survived by a widow and a family, had many friends in the higher parts of the valley, and his death created a painful surprise in the district. rhe interment was largely attended. The reference made in this column last week to the allegations of the pro- moters of tke new co-operative society in Seven Sisters, against the traders of the village appears to have aroused further interesting discussion. Mr. Rd. Rowden, secretary of the Dulais Valley Ghamber of Trade, has since communi- cated with me denying that the cham- W as a body liave decided to boycott Mr. Rd. Davies for letting the society have land on the Ynysdawly estate. It should, however, be noted that the in- formation given in this oslumn last I ] (,o l unin lut week was stated to be rumour, and net a fact. Under t'-o auspices of the English Baptist ( iiurch a coffee supoor took place on Wednesday (New Year's Eve) and was followed bv a well-attended social. The proceedings were much enjoved. and the profits go to the funds of the ehurck.

(Centiaued Ifom preceding column). CLASS III. By varying the standard rate of day wage of 3s.8d. fixed in the said award as paya-ble to night hauliers above 18 years of age to the standard rate of 3s.9d. By varying the standard rate of day wago of 3s.3d. fixed by the said award as payable to trammers above 18 years of age to the standard rate of 3s.4d. SAFEGUARD TO WORKMEN I The only vtriation in the rules is a clause to be added to Rule 5, which pro- vides a further safeguard to workmen from being disentitled to the minimum wage through being prevented from work- ing through the additional circumstance of a stoppage at, the colliery. The new clause is as follows :— By inserting after the words "working by accident or illness" the following words—"Provided that a workman in a colliery open for work less than six days in any pay shall not forfeit, his right to wages at th minimum rate by absence from the colliery not caused by accident or illness for one day during that pay, if ha was worked on every day during tho previous pay on which the colliery was open for work and he was not pre- ^Art'-d by accident or illness. from work- IMPORTANT ADDITION. I On the representation of the miners' leaders. Lord St. Aldwyn has added the following words to the rule: Provided that a workman in a colliery open for work for less than six days in any pay shall not forfeit his right to wages at tho minimum rate by absence from the colliery not caused by accident or illness for one day during that pay, if he has worked on every day during the previous pay on which the coUiery was open for work, and he was not prevented by accident or illness from working. Several grades of workmen, such bottom cutters, sheafmen, rollermen, Imen, underground banksmen, and winding enginemen, who were not in- cluded in the original award, have now been classified, and the wages rate for pipemen fixed at 3s. 4d. a day. A feature oi Lord St. Aldwvn's de- cision is that most of the lower paid workers will now get avont 5s. 2d. a cla,r, "lid i t was mainly on their behalf that the national coal strike was brought about.

(Continued from preceding column). regret to learn that the firm is still hold- ing out on the two points at issue. In these days of growing enlightenment, it is to me a matter of great surprise that any employer should refuse to officially recognise a Trade Union. "Half a century of actual experience proves conclusively that strikers are fewest in those trades and occupations in which disputes are dealt with by the employers and the Union officials affected —of which the Steel and Tinplate Trades of Swansea and District offer abundant proof "As for living-in, that is a form of paternal serfdom which, is these days, cannot be tolerated and which must be abolished by law if no other means avail. "Trusting to learn of an early triumph and knowing that the Trade Union Movement of the district will give you whole-hearted support so long as the strike lasts. Yours fraternally, J. KEIR HARDIE. I SETTLEMENT AT MESSRS. LEWIS I LEWIS' Un Wednesday we were informed by telegram that t,he disptrte at Messrs. Lewis Lewis had becii settled,—satisfac- torily to all parties, and that there was hope of a speedy settlement at Messrs. Meyler's. Messrs. Lewis Lewis' agreed to recognise the Union, not to victimize any of the strikers, and to pay the rates asked for in the first place by the Un- ion. Assistants who desire to live in may (to so, but no new assistants are to be engaged to live in. Apprentices are un- affected. I CAMPAIGN TO BE CONTINUED. The campaign against living-in is to be continued until Swansea is ridden of this "paternal serfdom," and other drapers will be approached immediately Messrs. Meyiers ca -?1ilat(,. h-,izse?,; a.;?7?od to Hvir? out withc.?t h?vin? b,-??i approached, add others are giving th matter cons: d< ration I I EMPLOYEES ENTERTAINED I "ETL,OYFES. ENTERTAINED kill w ecmesua# evening (New Year Day), Messrs. Lewis Lewis' entertained the whole of the staff, and representaiive& i of the Shop Assistants Union to dinner, an action which will do much to efri».K about a feeling of goodwill between em- ployers and employed.