Llais Llafur

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WELCOME TO THE EXILES. The exiled Labour leaders from South Africa are receiving a cordial welcome from all sections of the working-class movement in this country. This is as it should be, for every person in Great Britain has a measure of responsibili- ty for the infamy perpetrated in South Africa. The astute capitalist press, cwenting danger in the public feeling that will be aroused when the nine exiles are telling the story of Botha's barbarism to the working-class audien- ces of this country, are trying, as to one section, to stir up prejudice against the South African, and as to another, cation to deter the Labour party from engaging in any movement that would seem to censure a "free and indepen- dent self-governing colony." Of the last section is "The Daily Telegraph," which on Tuesday ad- dressed a homily in Telegraphese to Mr Macdonald on the enormity of inter- fering with the act of a duly oonstitut- ed government which he was among the foremost to create. The whole point of the position, is, of course, j that Mr. Macdonald and his colleagues -are objecting to the absence of govern- ment in South Africa, to the abroga- tion of law bv boorish dictators like Smuts, and to the illegal expatriation of men who were humbly trying to sorve their fellow-workers. There is <\on element of farce in the attitude of "The Daily Telegraph," for in an .article preceding the one addressed to the Labour party it clamours loudly for intervention in Mexico. It will be reomembered that a Scotsman, one Ben- ton, rashly ventured into the camp of a rebel general, and abused him to his face, with the result that he lost his life. This, the "Telegraph" considers is good enough ground for the interven- tion of the United States, to whom Mexico is very far from being in a similar relation of dependence as South Africa is to this country. The Labour e,w is that the murder of liberty, of the right of free speech, of public meet- ing, end of the right to the strike, in South Africa., is no less a crime than the murder of Benton in America. As a matter of fact the chief impor- tance of Mexico in the eyes of capital- ist newspapers in this country is the mount of British capital invested in 1t1. The interest of the British workers in South Africa is a human one: it ooncerns the emancipation of many thousands of British subjects and their dependents, and as such it is of ra-st-ly i greater importance than tkat of the Ii ifnanciers in Mexico. The workers of this country will take toward a the South African affair the attitude they deem right and proper, without reference to what the Tory and Liberal newspapers may say. We must use all the political an d industrial powers we possess to right the wrong cf which Botha and the unspeakable Smuts are guilty. One thing we can do is to instruct the Labour party to put up a tremendous fight in the House of j Commons for the exercise of the Im- j perial veto on the Indemnity Bill of the South African Government when it ¡ comes up for ratiRcation. j The nine men must be allowed to return to South Africa and continue their work of organising and educating the South African workers. It is not only the Labour party of the United Kingdom that is demanding that, but the organised workers of Canada and Australia, arc making the same de- j ma.nd. This is an Imperial matter. And it is a home matter. For if there is one thing sure it is that if the work- ers allow the South African crime to pass without effective protest the capitalists will try a similar coup in ? this country. We must strike, and { i strike hard. j It is half the battle to put the fear of the Lord in the hearts of your ene- i mies. I"

MOTOR-BUSES FOR SWANSEA VALLEY WATCH COMMITTEE DISCUSSES VARIED TOPICS. Swansea Watch Committee on Tues- day inspected and sanctioned the use of eighteen new motor omnibuses which are intended to link up the tramway system of the borough with the outlying districts of Y stalyfera, Skewen, Gorseinon Lower, and other places. It is the intention of the proprietors to increase the number, at an early date. THEATRE POSTERS It was reported that the Chief Con- stable having received complaints of theatre posters on the public hoardings, proposed to see such pictures before they were placarded. Mr Powealand objected to the Chief Constable creating himself a censor of those things. The Chief Constable said he was fre- quently blamed for allowing certain posters to be put up. It was arranged that- in future the Chief Constable should call the attention of the committee to amr qfajectionable poster put up on the public 'hoardings. SIDE SHOWS. Tha Mayor called attention to the in- creasing number of side shows, such as midget and fat boys, that were coming into the main streets of the town. The Chief Constable said he visited the sid:, shows, and no objecticn oould taken to them. The only way the promoters could be prooeeded against w,-z if thev j caused an obstruction to th,3 public thoroughfare. The Mayor said he had received com- plaints of obstruction. The Chief Constable Everything shall be done to stop them that can be done, but I am afraid we can do nothing. —————— »♦* ♦

I I AT LAST! I Ystradgynlais Sewerage Scheme I TENDER PROVISIONALLY AC- I CEPTED. A special meeting of the Ystradgynlais Council was held on Thursday, Mr J. W. Morgan presiding, when there were i present Messrs. W. Walters, David i Lewis, D. R. Morgan, J. Ho\ll, Rhys Chapman, Lewis Thomas and S. J. Thomas, together with officials. The meeting was held "in camera." Mr Gerald Swayne, consulting (mgincer to the Council, and Mr A. W. Wincott (contractor), Ystalyfera, were present, and went into the question of the amend ments A.nd omissions in respect of the sewerage scheme, and after agreeing upon the amount to be deduct-Ed from the tender of 234,224 13.s. 5d. the Council diacusaed the matter. The total deductions amounted to £ 2,371 as follow Total omission of the Penvgarof to Gurnos part of the scheme, £ 1,014; deduction in inspect of altera- j tion in the depth of the main sewer, at Lamb and Flag, ;n consequence of part of the sewer being omitted, 21,357; which brought Mr Winoott's tender down to £ 31,852. The other items proposed to ba omittod will be carried out. be- omi Wi'MoWs tender of E31,852 was provisionally accepted as amended, and subject to the a.pproval of the L.G.B. and the ratification of the same at the next meeting of the Council, it will be ac- cepted. The public of Ystradgynlais will be in- terested to know that there will be no further delay, onoe sanction is obtained from the L.G. Board. It is expected that the work will take at last two years to oamplete. Mr D. R. Morgan gave notice of motion that he would raise the question of the Council supporting the Welsh National Library at the next meeting of the I Council.

NOTES and COMMENTS- Stammering is said by Alderman Davies, of Swansea, to be more pre- valent in Wales than elsewhere because young children ?re confused by learn- ing two language 3. That may or may not be true, but the stammerer may draw comfort from the fact that stam- mering is no bar to greatness. The list of stammerers ranges from Demos- thenes and St. Paul to Charles Lamb, Lord Lytton and Neil Lyons. One of the most eloquent of modern Welsh Calvinistic Methodist ministers stam- mers painfully until he gets into his oratorical stride. In this respect a good story is going the rounds. A stronger arriving at Ystradgynlais by a Neath and Brecon Railway train, asked one of two other men in the compartment: "Is this Ys- ys-ys-ystrad-tradgy-n-n-n-Iais ?" The man made no reply, and the stammerer turned to the other passenger and re- peated the question which was an- swered. After the questioner had left the compartment, the obliging passenger turned to the other man and asked "Why did you not answer when he asked you the question?" "Do-do you th-th-th-think 1-1-1 wnjhted a th-th-th-thick ear?" lie re- plied. The Welsh people are the fastest talkers in the United Kingdom, says the "Newcastle Daily Chronicle." But even so their speech is not nearly as difficult to understand as that of the Geordies up North. There is a lazy sub-editor on "The South WaJes Daily News" who will per- sist in using in headlines the horrid abbreviation "Norcon. for Noncon- formist. It is about the last word in journdistic slovenliness. "Gents. under the circs. exam. intro." and other abominations are bad enough in ordinary speech, but when they appear in newspapers which ought to set a high standard in English they are heartrending. In an interesting address at Aber- ystwyth on the plays of Sophocles, Principal Roberts insisted that if the Welsh drama is to be effective it must reflect the national life of Wales. From the Welsh plays produced in the last year or so it would appear that the only dramatic material that the Princi- pality offers is the reflex action on the churches of the strife between capital and labour. Without minimising the interest or the dramatic possibilities of this phase of Welsh life, it would be well to insist that there are many other unworked reefs of dramatic gold. Could we but have a Synge who would go among the Welsh workers, urban and rural, as the Irish play- wright went among the peasants of the Arran Islands, he would find no lack of material for weaving into plays! Synge contemptuously thrust aside the fairies and the leprechauns, and the trans- cendental melancholy moonshine that other Irish writers affected and went straight for the raw realities of life. We'll stretch in Red Dan Sully's ditch, And drink in Tubber fair Or hunt with Red Dan Philly's bitch, The badger and the hare. There are signs in the recent poetry of Mr. T. Gwyn Jones that he has realised the possibilities of working in Welsh along the lines that Mr. John Masefield's later poems have familiar- ised. Masefield and Synge, it is worth noting, were great friends, and lived together in a Bloomsbury boarding- house at one time. Up to the time of going to press Mr. Barnet Kenyon has not seceded from the Liberal party and re-joined the Labour party. But there is no telling what may happen. Here is an example of the ignorance that still lfourishes in dark places: At Festiniog Town Council Coun- cillor Cadwaladr Roberts gave notice of motion in favour of withdrawing from circulation in the public library Renan's "Life of Christ." A book of that nature, he said, tended to un- dermine the work and influence of the ministers of religion in the town. If a book like that was circulated in the public library, what was the good of paying scores of pounds weekly in salaries to ministers ? It was the duty of the Council to see that the tone of all books circulated in the library was healthy. Only a few weeks ago the Nonconform- ist newspapers were making caustic comments on the inclusion of Maeter- linck's b(()k8 in the Index of works that Roman Catholics must not read. Councillor Cadwaladr Roberts is at- tempting to set up an Index of his own. If the work of the ministers is so feeble that it can be undermined by Renan's book it deserves to perish. Welsh Disestablishment lost Mr. Masterman his seat at Bethnal Green. Mr. Maatbrman is a High Church- man himself, and as an old oo-re- ligionist no less than as an old resi- dent. he would have had the support of a certain Church settlement in that drab area of East London in the ordi- nary course of events. But because of Welsh Disestablishment the workers at the settlement, who wield very con- siderable influence because of their good work for the poor, worked against him. There :is no doubt that they turned very muoh 'more than the couple dozen votes that meant defeat. The late Lord WimoornHs political career illustrated how easy it is for a wealthy man, without any essential sacrifice of conviction, to turn Liberal from Conservative, or vice versa. In his early days Lord Wimborne waa a Liberal, then he became a Conserva- tive, and when it was obvious, between 1903 and 1905. that the Tories were in for a long spell in the cold shades of Opposition, Lord Wimborne, and all the family, with a number of thq allied

I A PICTURE PUZZLE. The Committee at a certain colliery in the Swansea Valley are greatly an- noyed at the fact that private business discussed at their meetings becomes known to the officials of the colliery within a few hours, and they are tak- ing steps to discover the traitors. Our cartoonist seeks to illustrate the posi- tion.

GODRE'RGRAIG CONTRAC- TOR ARRESTED. » ALLEGED FALSE PRETENCES. I The arrest on Wednesday morning of MT. Thomas Griffiths, contractor, of Godre'rgraig, caused quite a flutter in the Swansea Valley. He was axrested by Detective Cox, of Coventry, on a warrant, it being alleged that he had obtained a bicycle valued at f7 15s. by false pretences from a Coventry Cycle Co. Acting-Sergt. Jones assisted in the arrest, and Griffiths was taken to Coventry by the mid-day train. I —————— »♦ i

A WALKING WARDROBE. I A very rotund tramp, admitted to the I Casual Ward, Kingston-on-Thames, was I preparing for the usual b&th when the officials found that this bulk was arti- ficial. He was weajine three overcoats, three j?cket?, fivwe ewaxMin UthtL r eovercoats, of p?nts, nine shirts, a cheat-protector, and fifeen neckerchiefs. »»!>»

THE PLAYHOUSE YSTALYFERA NIGHTLY AT 7.45. Special Variety Attraction This Week Don't Fail to See The Dayton Family Marvellous Acrobats, Gymnasts, etc. Drawing Large Crowds Nightly, ALSO FINE PICTURE PROGRAMME A Treat for All. 3 Changes Weekly Children's Matinee every Saturday at 3 p.m. PRICES FLOOR 6d.; BALCONY, 3d. THE COLISEUM YSTALYFERA NIGHTLY AT 7.45. Great Picture Programme Don't Miss It! Captian Kidd A Stirring Picture- Fun of Thrills TWO SCREAM ENS. The Barber's Curl All on Account of Daisy Prices: Circle, 6d.; Stalls, 3d. I. Coutts' Circuit.

I CORRESPONDENCE. TO THE TRADE UNIONISTS OF EAST CARMARTHEN. I To the Editor, "Llais Llafur." In the division on the Labour Party's amendment to the King's Adrees, the Rev. J. Towyn Jones voted with the Government against the amendment, which means that the hon. member ap- proves of bringing out the soldiers (during a strike) under the control of an unsympathetic government influenced mainly by mine-owners, to suppress the workers who are striking for better con- ditions, with no inquiry being made into their actions. I wonder what would the Sout-h Wales trade Unionists say if their leaders were deported as the Ll? nicii Government kid- napped the South African Trade Union leaders? In this case, would Mr Jones desire no inquiry to be made ? If the electors of East Carmarthen allow his action to p'i<<s without a protest, it is quite possible the rev. member will rut in a. similar manner again should a strike occur here. If not, why not? Probably the majority of the electors of East Carmarthen w-e not aware, of how the hon. member voted on this iin portant and far reaching question. Yours, etc R. H. To the Editor, "Llais Llafur." Sir.—In reading the list of Liberals who voted against the Labour Party's amend- ment to the King's Address, two names, those of the Rev. Towyn Jones, M.P., and Mr Sidney Robinson, M.P., appear. At the meeting recently held at Aber- crave both these gentlemen claimed to re- present the workers. Now, I aak the workers who voted for these two gentle- men what they think of their represen- tatives now ? They claimed at Abercrave to be champions of liberty and tlie bitter enemies of tyranny and oppression Do not the workers see that in voting ag3inst Trades Unionism as these gentlemen have done, they are simply upholding the tra- dition of the Liberal Party ? The whole history of Liberalism from the early days of Trade Unionism to the present South African affair has been one c-f oppression and opposition to all claims of the workers. It will always be so The Liberal party is financed by the capitalists and must therefore represent the views of the capitalists. Too Rev. Towyn Jones believes in the brotherhood of man (on Sunday), and on Monday puts his beliefs into practice by voting for the arresting and >deportmg of the work ers' representa- tives. The rev. gentleman grows elo- quent about the tyranny of the Church in Wales, but he givee his whole-hearted support to the tyranny of the capitalist Government of which he is a supporter. I sincerely hope when these gentlemen visit their constituencies the workers will ask them to explain their actions. Perh?os some champion of Liberalism will explain! I remain, yourr tuly, Abercrave. TRADE UNIONIST I

MR. VICTOR GRAYSON'S AFFAIRS I Creditors of Mr. Victor Grayson, ex- M.P. for Colne, Yorks, have accepted a proposal for a composition of 7s. 6d. in tho £ payable by pecembar 27 next. The debtor's statement of affairs showed: Liabilities, £ 496; assets, cash, £1. —————— t f' ——————

At its meeting on Wednesday, the P.r- i lia.mentary Committee of the Trade Union Congr"a decided to hold the next meet- ing of the congrem at Portsmouth instead of Southampton, as it has been found I impossible to find a suitable hall in the latter town.

No experiments will be made by the L.C.C. with the Montessori system of education—a new Italian system which givi-,e schoolchildlxin absolute freedom, even to the extent of choosing their own lesson.

Quarter Bach and Joint Sewerage Scheme. OPPOSITION JUSTIFIED L.G.B. INQUIRY. SEWERAGES AND END THEREOF. The six months' agitation in Quarter Bach respecting the Joint Sewerage Scheme has justified itself. At the Local Government Board enquiry, held at Stepney Hall, Garnant, on Tuesday, Quarter Bach scored heavily and emergent triumphant. All along it had been felt that the patched up basis of apportion- ment, set up by the stronger partners in the scheme, was grossly unjust, and op- pressive to this parish. Appeal after appeal had been made to the Joint Board to modify this basis, but in vain-the parishioners being met each time with the blunt assertion that the terms were just, and that no modification could be made. This is interesting in the light of the eleventh hour oonce&sicjj of last Friday. Even the Llandilo Distriot Council, the Sanitary Authority for Quarter Bach, took the side of the oppressors, and ac- cepted the unjust apportionment, and despite the appeals and opposition from the parish itself, decided to incorporate it on these disadvantageous terms. They even refused to undertake to defend the parish in its opposition to the Scheme at the enquiry. Figures of glaring significance were pre- sen ted, proving the injustice, but were blinked at or ridiculed. The parisl* was thus thrown on its own. resources, and it is fortunate that capable men were at hand to point out the inconsistencies, and plan the campaign. Funds having to be provided for fight- ing the case, a house to house collection was organised, and it is gratfying to know that it met with a hearty response. On Tueeday, therefore, the representa- tives of the Parish went to the enquiry well armed and confident that the L.G.B. Commissioner, Mr Hetherington, would see justice done. The retreat was sounded on Friday, when an eleventh hour repentance clause,. offering to extend the trunk to Cwm- gwaiLh, was to be made to the parish. It was then evident thu-t the Joint Board had perceived the iniquity of its way. Ther move, however, came too late. By Tuesday's decision Quarter Bach has gained enormously, and the few shillings contributed to fight the ba-ttle have secured a gain of some £ 800— £ 1,000! to the parish. The old oppressive basis of apportion- ment has been done away with altogether,, and a new apportionment accepted based on the principle of dividing the aggregate cost of the trunk, between the several parishes according to the population. In this way thci cost per head will be made equal all round, and each parish will be provided with similar trunk facilities. For Quarter Bach, the trunk, which, under the old dispensation was to go no further than Farmer's Bridge, haa been extended to a point 150 yards beyond Amman View, on the Quarter Bach side of the railway line. By another clause if is provided thafc statistics as to population will be taken every year, instead of every five as hither- to. for the purpose of revising cost de- volving on each parish. To have secured this clause only, would have justified the fight. Altogether it may be said that the ccet per hsead in Quarter Bach has been reduced from 21 18s. Od. per head to somewhere about JB1 6s. Od. per head, a gain of 12.. per head. It will thus bo see-n that our advice in a recent issue warning the ratepayers Rot to be penny wise and pound foolish, was to the point. For this saving the rate- pa.yers are indebted to the Cleric of the Parish Council, Mr Idris Williams, who. has been the life and mainspring of the- whole matter. It was he who in the beginning detectod the inconsistencies of the Joint Scheme, and it is he by his accumulation of evi- dence and concentrated effort that has secured us these benefits. To him, therefore, belongs the credit* Despite the formidable forces out to smother it, Mr Williams kept the agitation alive, direct- ed and fed it wit.h facts, ard finally wm- ductcd it to victory. The labour and re- sponsibility involved was tremendors, and to the credit of the Parish Council be it said that tt. r support was answering. Soffiel wek. ago Mr Williams dispatched a protest,-the result of weeks of labour— to the L.G. B., setting forth the disabili- ties entailed on the parish in the Joint Scheme. With this to guide him the L.G.B. Com- missioner was at home in the matter on Tuesday, and stated in the meeting that even previous to ooming he had decided that the trunk must in all equity be ex- tended to beyond Amman View. Thus it will be seen that the case had been more than half won on the facts presented in Mr Williams' protest.

family, the Churchills, turned Liberal. It was a perfect working-out in politics of that interesting maxim, "When father says turn, we all turn." The death of Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson recalls the well-known lines to her written by her husband: Dusky, dusky, vivid, true; With eyes of gold and bramble-dew, Steel-true and blade-straight, The Great Artificer Mate my mate. Honour, anger, valour, fire; A love that life could never tire, Death quench, or evils stir, Gave to her. Teacher, tender comrade, wife; A fellow-farer, true through life, Heart whole, and soul free, The August Father Gave to me. Poutsma, one of the South African exiles, is an old journalist. He was formerly Dutch editor of the "Bloem- fontein Evening Post." When a boat- load of journalists drew up to the Umgeni he recognised some brother- journalists at one time in South Afri- ca. They chatted affably for a time, but one of them persistently veered ■ round to topics that would provide "copy." "Oh, now Jimmy!" said Poutsma, with a deprecating wave of the hand, "don't talk shop." The smart young men on Lord Northcloffe's papers have been trying their hardest to prejudice their feather-headed public against the Labour leaders deported from South Africa. Here are a few of the glitter- ing coins from the Carmelite mint: Umgeniality, The Dear Deported, The Banishees, and Super-Larking. Boy! The Scissors! Here is a clipping from the "Daily Mail" story of Tues- day's events: Gravesend all through seemed to take the great events very calmly, but the subsequent procession to the station would have stirred the heart of a Caesar. It was Mr. Hen- derson's proud and martial bearing that did it. He walked at the head of the exiles like a Roman general bringing gladiators to the Colosseum. It was a great, an imposing sight. A butcher paused in the act of trim- ming a chop; two milliners ran to their shop door to gaze., This is the "Mail's" little way of pre- tending to be amused at something of which it is really much alarmed. The capitalists are very uneasy about the effect the nine are going to make on working-class opinion in this country. —————— » — ————