Llais Llafur

.4 "We have had good remits from advertising In Laboar Voice "-Swansea Trades- man. Name on application. Do yon want good results ? If so, Advertise in U LLAIS LLAFUR."

LABOUR AND THE NATIONAL CRISIS The Supremacy of Democracy MR HARTSHORN ON THE POSITION In the chorus of indignation that has been raised against the action of the Unionist ofifcers who, ¡\'id,.d by the poli- ticians and, it is freely maintained by well-informed persons, by the King, have sought to frustrate the direct wishes, of the people, and have attempted to set up a military despotism, none has joined more heartily than Mr Vernon Harts-horn, who in the. columns of a contemporary has pointed out, the significance of the situation in unmistakable terms. He said "The issue which has been raised, and which the people are bound to deal with sooiii or late, is epoch-making, and is one that is peculiarly important to Lab- our. What has taken place has given the Labour movement a clearer insight thaii ever into the mind of the a.ristoc- racy a.nd their political helots—the Un- ionist members of Parliament. I trust that every intelligent working man is following very closely the speeche-s which, -are being) made by Unionist Peers in the House of Lords, and by leading Union- ists in the. House of Commons. It is a -startling revelation of aristocratic pnvch- ology. Tho. treasonable arguments of these men,, by which they seek to determine the lawfulness or lawfulersness of particu- lar Acts, when considered in the light <of their bias against the Labour move- ment, are. 50 palpably hypocritical as to be absolutely nauseating. With mock Indignation they repudiate the clia; %> that they have endeavoured to seduce the officers of the Aimv from the alleg- ialice they owe to the Government and the country. But the evidence against them is too conclusive. Their efforts, to obscure the plain facts wifl not save them from the wrath of every man who values the political liberty which has been won in this country at the cost of go much zStroggle and sacrifice. The working classes may not have the dialectical skill of theee, aristocrats, and 'politicians, who aro trying to thwart the will of a constitutionally established Government, but their habits of straight, blunt thinking will enable them to pick out the pWin facts, on. which to form a judgment. OFFICERS AND POLITICAL BIAS. Mr Hartshorn is very emphatic in his ■ criticism of the explanation, of the officers that "conscience' was responsible for ftheir action. Exposing their class bias he says :— "All the humbugging talk about "Consciemce," the righis of the aristo- ,cra-tic of Her to refuse) to carry out Government commands which do not square with his "conscience," is nothing 'but a. red-herring. Every man who is ,mt simply a pieco of sout-less mechanism recognises that all men, civilian, officer, or private. soldier, miust retain the right to put his conscience above commands. But in order to judge as to whether a. man is acting from strictly conscientious motives or from political <w class bias, we have to taka note of the circumstances in which the alleged "tcoTMcrantious" action is taken. The crv of "conscience" in this case is meaningless rfor practical ■purposes." THE POSITION OF DEMOCRACY Very clearl y Mr Hartshorn points out how vitally the question, affects Democ- -itacy. "What jixc the circumstances in which the so-called "conscience" 'of the aristo- cratic military officers coanes into opera- tion ? Does it come into operation when it is a question of the welfare and ad- vanoememt of the masses? Does it. oper- ate iii th-. matter of suppressing strike riots Was it in evidence in the Rhondda Valley 7 Was itt in existence at Llanelly ? No. It only seems to cotne to life when the political opinion or class bias of these officers themsel ves are con- cerned. It is, therefore indistinguish- able from class and political bilNii, and the practical question to which the work- ing classes will ultimatly have, to give an answer is this Are aristocratic officers whose peculiar conscience makes it doubt- ful wheriiher they will carry out orders which dlash with their political or class .opinions:, while it never operates fkgaiinet their carrying- out (orders against the masses—«re such men fit and proper per. sons to W placed in command of any army which must be the "bulwark of democratic liberties?" Dealing with Mr Balfoor'r analogy of the .,Civil war, tlhe writer continues :— "There is not the slightest, doubt, that if tho silly talk of the Unionists about .civil war ever developed into acts tho 'whole power of the. Trade Unions, with- out distjnct?n of political or eemimnicI opinion, wO\Jd be thrown into -i?e gcaj? I "in favour of the Government that would ce in such circumstances, standing forth &8 t.he champion of democratic liberty and Parliamentary Government. That would mean the complete paralysis of Whatever f'xrees the Unionist rebels could muster. Th6' supplies of swh forces would be completely cut off. LABOUR POSITION I I -no Miners' Federation ot <.?{. Br? the N,),tional Uni- of Railway_  &nd the Transport Workera Union-   ?eady i* negoM?on for ? U?k. t?? u?ft?rforc?. °*T the ??m of production and 8'Uppli throughout the kmg<J«n, ^though have difference ?hthe S?nment, ?I do not think that there w ^the j^ghtest doubt t? in the P'-?? ? shadowing peril th? Ic'yalco-operation, of these huge organisations ??,T? ?????- hcartedly at the fJe<f'Vice the m?t for t!? purple of ttafe d..m?r.t.? ?p??acv en a IstIn,g  On ih" other h?nd, sup?ie. ?J?? ?' would be cut off, and their t.r?port ,(C;o,ntinned at bottom or next column-)

CO-OP. WORKERS BREAK AWAY Big Upheaval in Sight All Round Everything points to a big struggle between the Co-operative Wholesale Society and the workers in the flour mills belonging to the Society. This strike is of particular interest, for the C. W .S. is largely a working-class organisation, supported almost exclu- sively by workers through the country. Already about 600 men employed all over the country have tendered their notices, or will do so shortly. The em- ployees Hot the mills in Manchester, Old- ham, and Dunston-on-Tyne, have ceased work. And those at the Silvertown Mills in London and Avonmouth Mills have handed in notices. All the workers affected are members of the Amalgamated Union of Co-op ora- tive Employees, which is an industrial organisation, and have nothing to do with the National Union of Millers, which deals only with workers in the general trade. WHAT WORKERS WANT. Six demands were originally made, but three of these have been conceded. The three demand s in dispute are:— (1) An all-round advance of 2s. bd. per week. (2) Time and a quarter for night work (3) The breaking up of the working woek of 53 hours into days, for the reckoning of overtime. The C.W.S. boast that they are the largest flour millers in the United Kingdom, and that last year they sold nearly 2,000,000 sacks of flour. It is also well known that this society pays good dividends to its members, but it is important to recall that these are, apparently, paid partly by proportions of wages withheld from workers in the society. NIGHT AND DAY PICKETS. Meanwhile the men involved in the dispute are pretty active. A meeting was held iori Oldham last Friday at which progress was reported. The Sun Mill in Manchester is being picketed night and day. A Strike Committee has been elected, and the men are taking turns at picket duty. The same thing is taking placer.at the Star Mills, Oldham. The present irit of the men is very grkxl, and they declare that they mean to win. WHAT THE SOCIETY SAYS. The following statement has been issued by the Co-operative Wholesale Society, in Manchester: "It is not denied that C.W.S. mil- lers' wages are already in advance of our competitors. On the basis of the short 53-hooar week, we are paying from 7 to 10 oor cent. in advance of the best wages discoverable elsewhere on full inquiry, without estimating our thrift fund grant, and, having brought all wages up to a minimum of 26s. weekly, we have reached the limit of concession. "A time-tand-a-quarter rate for night shift work does not obtain anywhere for regular night work on a basis of shifts; while the breaking up of the working week woidd, in effect, casualise the labour and make it impossible to keep our mills running in the continu- ous way that modem milling demands. READY TO ARBITRATE. "All along we have been willing to submit our case constitutionally to the Joint Commititee of Trade Unionists' and Co-operative Congresses to arbi- trate in all disputes before a strike or lock-out takes place, but we regret that the Amalgamated Union of Co- operative Employees has precipitated the dispute without reference to the Joint Committee or any variation from their original (demands, and has left us with no option but to make the best possible arrangements for the continued running of our mills."

MABON IN LONDON a Veteran Overcome By The Journey INTERESTING INTERVIEW Maboa is back ii-i London for Parlia- mentary service, but, unfortunately, the journey up on Thursday and the chaaige of air have made him ill again. He is staying at the Westminster Palace Hotel, but, although that is little more than a stone's throw from the legislative cham- ber, where Mabon is so popular a figure, he has not been able to make the journey across. That has been a matter of ex- treme disappointment to his Parliament- ary friends. To Mabon himself it has been a. distressing experience. On Friday afternoon he was decidedly worse. He had failed to sleep during the night, and had experienced severe pa.in. Not until late in the afternoon was he able to leave his bed, and then only for a little while. There were great many callers during the day, but the right hen. gentleman was not able to see any of them. Mrs. Williams, of Treherbert,, his daughter, who had accompanied him on his journey to town, conveyed to him their wishes that he would be well enough to appear at the House on Monday even- ing to participate in the division on the second reading of the Irish Bill. FAR FROM WELL. When Mabon was informed writes a Lon- don correspondent that was I was anxious to see him he sent back a charac- teristic invitation for me to come to his room—"a Welsh journalist must be seen at all costs." Mabon was the picture of health, and I told him so. "Yes, my boy," he replied; "I know I look well, and that's the irony of it, because I am, indeed-, far from well. B-at I was anxious to get back to work, and I am hoping that it will not prove to bo all unwise thing that I have done in coming to London. The journey has ms.de nu very ill, but—well, I shall make a struggle to get better." "Thest. have been stirring times in Parliament, too," the veteran Labour leader added, "and nothing would have satisfied my insti nct more than to have been a participator in the exciting happenings over the way. Alas I have had to content myself with just following the accounts of it in the newspapers, but how I have longed to be there to eee the end of the fight we have been waging for so many years. This afternoon the Whips sent me a telegram to go over to help in the division on the Bill to authorise the enfranchisement of the sites of places of worship held under lease. That is a. subject that I have taken the greatest interest in all my life, and nothing would have given me greater pleasure than to have Leon able to vote for so important a reform and to make that the first Parliamentary duty of the session. Here I am a. prisoner in bed- clothee. How I hit? this life of in- activity And I have had to lead it for eighteen months I remarked to Mabon that there had been great changes in the political out- look since he first entered tho II->Bse of Commons. "1 should just think there have," he said. "Things that looked hard to get years ago are apparently easy to get to- day, but the present must not shut its eyeu to t he great struggle that we had to go through in those old days. A long weary, almost hopeless, struggle it W1k., and it has been a. joy to me to live to soime of the fruits of those hard days." Considerable disappointment was felt in the House of Commons when it became known that Mr Abraham could not put in an appearanoe. Ministers, officials, and poliosmen made anxious inquiries about his condition during the afternoon, and were grieved to hear he was not so well. The disappointment was made more in- tense by reason of the preparations that had been made for the grand old man of the Welsh party. It waa, however, hoped that he would be able to attend the scenes of hia past labours on Monday or Tuesday.

RECOGNITION AT LAST SEVBN RAILWAY AIANAGERS MEET THE UNfONS. Effecta which will readily be recognised will accrue from the reception of the rail- wa.ymen's Trade Unions on Monday by the managers of the great railway com- pai-Lice. nis meeting, the first of its kind, took place in London, when the officials of the National Union of Railway- man and the Associated Society of Loco- motiv-o, Enginemen and Firemen met the following managers of seven of the com- nanies :— Sir Guy Graret (Midland Railway). Mr H. A. Walker (London and South- Western ). Mr F. Potter (Great Western). Sir Sam Fay (Great Central). Sir Robert Turn bull (Lendon and North Western). Mr Jackson (North British). Mr Beesley (Taff Vale). The meeting was of a preliminary character, the managers having written to the Union officials asking them to mee6 them and to place before them details showing the alterations they desrired in the conciliation scheme. The true meaning of recognition is that it will remove the necessity for the pre- sent system of conciliation, which has teen in operation since the strike in.1911. It seems certain that at Least the eection- al Conciliation Boards will be abolished and that the metn'si executive will nego- tiate directly on all matters affecting tho conditions of employment and wages. This will be a much quicker method than the conciliation scheme, which at one period was responsible for delays of months.

200,000 WOMEN VOTERS. MAY EXERCISE THEIR RIGHT IN CHICAGO MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. The eyes of American suffragettes are on Chicago, where over 200.000 women on Tuesday were able to vote at the municipal election of aldermen. This is the largest voting body of women in any city of the United States, and as it will be the first time that this vote will be polled under the new suffrage law. the outcome of the election is very much "in the air." At-the February pri\ "y election the women did not "de in any great strength, but it is oon-.dently predicted that "the mere males" will be heavily outvoted Seven women are among the aldermanic candidates, three being Pro- gressives, three Socialists, and one non- partisan, land for the first time in Chicago's history it is considered likely that the aldermanic hoard will be re- inforced by at least two "alderwomen." -————— 0 000 *——————

I MR. PHILIP SNOWDtN, M.P. HOLIDAY ABROAD IN SEARCH OF HEALTH. In a letter to the Press, Mr Philip Snowden, M.P., states that he has de- cided, for reasons of health, to decline the invitation to be ai candidate for the chair of the Independent Labour Party. "For some time back," he writes, "my health has been poor, and I am ordered to take a fairly long holiday at the earl- iest opportunity. F is my intention, should the political situation permit, to leave England in July, and I shall be out of the country for some months. "The present situation in the Labour Party and I.L.P. means that I should have to oc constantly on the spot, to keep closely in touch with the organisation. "I desire sincerely to thank the branches and individual members of the party who have nominated me for the chair and who urged me to stand, and I regret that it has not been possibly for me to fall in with their desires." — < • >

PARTING OF WAYS IN NORWAY. I GOVERNMENT FORCING GENERAL STRJ JE. Events in Norway have a peculiar in- terest for the workers of this country. for undoubtedly at no distant date the same conditions will prevail in Great Britain. Driven to bay by the growing power of the Socialists, the Radical Party of Norway is risking the gravest industrial and political crisis in the nation's his- tory in attempting the impossible task of crushing the new democracy by main force: The crisis has' been reached by the introduction of a Bill by the Radical Government to punish strikes as indict- able offences. Disputes between capital and labour are to be settled by compul- sory arbitration, with results which, in the present state of society, could not be trusted 88 fair to Labour. The National Executive Council of the Social-Democrati c Party, after much deliberation and a ballot of mem- bers, has decided, in case this Bill becomes law, to proclaim a general strike. A manifesto has been issued call- ing upon all the grades of the workmen in all the industries to prepare for such an emergency and to abide loyally by the decision of the executive. The Government, on the other hand, has determined to carry the Bill through. It will, no doubt, obtain the necessary majority, as the Conservac- tives will be only too willing to support the Radicals in this matter. Only one member of the Government is against this disastrous policy but M. Kastburg is the strong man of the Ministry, and his resignation would mean very likely the collapse of the Ministry. Should, however, the Govern- ment pursue its course in spite of M. Kastberg, a general upheaval will be inevitable. The Conservative Press is taking up a most belligerent attitude.

w ■ ELECTION ISSUES MR KBIR HARDIE ON LABOUR PROGRAMME. Mr Keir Hardie, M.P., vigorously rec- plie s in the "Labour Leader" to the election myths concerning a Liberal-Lab- our Alliance for the next geneml election. "At the beginning of the crisis with the Army," he says, "I felt that if that matter had to be fonght through to an ismia the possibility of some such ar- rangement could not be altogether shut out. It would have been a serious matter had the military forces once more ob- tained supremacy. That danger, however, is past, and we stand where we did. "The Labour Party will, of course, have its own electoral proposals, and these must be brought before the nation in ouch a manner fI.8 to give them pronu- PNlOO in thowe constituencies where there are no Labour candidates. At every electien meeting candidates should be heckled on certain agreed-upon proposals, and a careful record kept of their re- plies. "If, for example, in addition to our own members, a majority could be secured pledged to such proposals as Adult Suffrage, the Nationalisation, of Land, a General Eight-Hour Working Day, a Tliirty-Shilling Minimum Wage, fifui the Right too Work, the effective driving power of the Labour Party in I Parliament would thereby be much in- «reas<Kl."

INIQUITOUS AND TY. RANNOUS LEGISLATION Labour and The Deported Nine Mr. Arthur Henderson, M.P., pre- sided in London on Tuesday at a meet- ing of the joint board of the Parlia- mentary committee of the Trades Union Congress, the General* Federation of Trade Unions, and the Labour party, to discuss what action should be taken by organised Labour in protest against the deportation of the South African Labour leaders. The Chairman said they demanded and unfettered liberty for their comrades to re-enter South Africa. They were going to try to obtain the assistance of the home Government, and it was proposed to send a. deputa- tion to the Premier and the Colonial Secretary. It was also suggested that another deputation should be sent to wait on the Union Government. Mr. J. A. Seddon moved a resolu- tion condemning the hostile attitude of tho Union Government of South Africa towards Trade Unionism, and urging a keen and steady struggle un- til it was possible for the deported leaders to return as froo citizens to South Africa. This was carried. The conference then proceeded to consider a resolution proposed by Mr. J. Ramsay Macdonald, M.P., that a deputation should be appointed to wait upon the Prime Minister and the Colonial Secretary with a view to call- ing upon the Government to counsel the repeal of Clause 4 of the Indemnity Act. He characterised Clause 4 as a "monstrous piece of iniquitous and tyrranous legislation." Mr. Macdonald remarked that the deputation were going to the Prime Minister for one fundamental reason: they did not agree with the -view of self govern- ment which said that once a Dominion obtained the rights of self-government they could tear up the fundamental principles of British citizenship. They insisted that the rights of self-govern- ment should be exercised upon funda- mental liberties and not against them, and that no right of self-government could give any governing authority the right to imprison British citizens with- out trial. (Cheers.) They still held the view that the Mother Country, at any rate, had the right to express its opinion. Mr. Keir Hardie, seconding, said if the nine deportees had been million- aires instead of Labour men, he had no doubt that the home Government would have found reason to interfere. An amendment was moved by Mr. Evans (of the Printers' Warehousemen and Cutters) adding the words "failing satisfaction, the Labour party turn the Government out at the earliest oppor- tunity." Mr. H. M. Hyndman second- ed. During the long discussion which en- sitfed several delegates sharply criticised the attitude adopted by the Labour party in the House of Commons to- wards the Government. In reply, Mr. Macdonald said that any person who knew anything what- ever agout politics and applied the least, common-sense to the situation would vote against the amendment. The criticisms which had been passed upon the Labour party consisted of a bundle of opposites. Instead of trying to unite their ideas into one consistent Parliamentary policy, the critics were at. one moment on one side, and the next on the other side, and at the next they were standing in the middle. The Indemnity Act had received the Royal Assent, and Clause 4 could not be annulled except by another Act passed. not by the British House of Commons, but by the South African Parliament. On a card vote the amendment was defeated by 2,001,000 votes to 193,000. The resolution was then passed with- out opposition. It was further decided to draw up a memorial embodying the views of the Labour movement of Great Britain upon the deportations and Mr. Ramsay Macdonald and Mr. J. A. Seddon were appointed as a deputation to proceed to South Africa for the purpose of personally presenting it to General Botha. HALFPENNY LEVY. The conference recommended a special levy of a halfpenny per mem- ber in order to form a legal and general defence fund. An amendment moved by Mr. Ben Tillett (of the Dock, Wharf and Riverside Workers) that a further conference be held in six weeks' time to consider the desirability of support- ing the mission of the deputation to South Africa "by the use of the strike weapon t8 boycott and refuse to handle or assist Q-.eutli African goods and trade" was defeated.

ANTIS' LATEST. 1 The Anti Socialist Union are now ex- hibiting a poster which is called "The False Light." It shows the devil with I a light leading the working man till he falls over a cliff, and leaves a wife and three children behind. If the Antis I knew anything about working claes con- ditions, they would know that at least j 95 per cent. of the workers are already i over the cliff.

LABOUR MISSION TO SOUTH AFRICA British Workers' Fight for Citizenship Mr Ramsay Macdonald to go Out to Botha Mr. Ramsay Macdonald, M.P.. and Mr. J. A. Seddon are to go to South Africa as representatives of organised labour in Great Britain to present to the Union Government a memorial on the deporta.tion of the South African labour leaders. The memorial will embody the views of the British labour movement on the grave and unwarrantable attack on trade union liberties and personal free- dom in South Africa, and its bearers will urge the withdrawal of such clauses of the Indemnity Act as prevent the return of the deported men to South Africa. 1 This course of action was -decided up- on at a national conference of repre- sentatives of the Parliamentary Com- mittee of the Trade Union Congress, the General Federation of Trade Unions, and the Labour Party, held in the Memorial Hall, London, on Tues- day. EXODUS OF WHITE WORKERS. I Mr. Bain, one of the deported lead- ers, mad-e a statement on behalf of his colleagues. He asserted that British workers were leaving South Africa by the thousand. For the main part their places would be taken by natives, who would work for starvation wages. There was a deliberate policy to reduce the number of white workers and increase the number of black workers. Mr. W. C. Andereon, on whose mo- tion it was decided to send representa- tives out to the Union Government, said there was no question of going cap in hand at all. The position ought to be placed quite frankly and fearless- ly before "those who have done this thing," and they must continue to fight the battle until the full rights of citizenship had been established, never again to be broken down. (Cheers.) —————— <—————-

BETRAYED BY HER FEET. GIRL'S ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE IN THE DISGUISE OF A POLICEMAN. A girl student aged 18 was arrested by the Russian secret police at St. Petersburg on Friday night on a charge of being a revolutionary. She was taken to the police station, and was left alone in a room for some minutes. The hat, overcoat, and sword of a police officer were hanging on the wall. She put them on, and walked boldly out of the room, and her disguise was not detected until she had reached the entrance to the police station. Here her footgear betrayed her. The policeman on duty chanced to notice her feet, at once challenged her, and on his suspicions being verified, she was re-Arrested.

GAGGING THE PRESS IN INDIA STATE METHOD OF CRUSHING NATIVE OPINIONS. HOW WOULD IT WORK IN. BRITAIN? After a short lull Indian officialism has again got busy with the Press Act. The latest case is that of the "Khalisa Akhbar" (Sikh News), of Lyalpur, in the Punjab. This waa a new paper, and the first number has not been issued. It will, therefore, be somewhat difficult to show cause why its promoters should have been called upon to pay 1,000 rupees. The magistrate made this de- mand, and as it could not be complied with, the paper was not allowed to ap- poax. It had b een advertised to come out on March 25 last. What is the Preee in this country doing that it does not effec- tively protest against this unprecedented Act ? The Marquis of Crewe, Secretary of State for India, speaking in the House of Lords on the Uleter question, is re- ported by the "Times" as follows "During the last, fortnight I wished that we had in this country a Press Act to prevent the publishing of nine-tenths of the leading articles, the headlines, and the lettere-a great many of them were so exceedingly stupid- which ha vie appeared in the daily Preset" SURPRISING FIGURES The Honble. Mir Assd Ali, a Muham- madan member of the Imperial Legisla- tive Council, has obtained an official reo- turn according to which 46 native news- papers were suppressed in 1910, the year the Act was passed, 51 in 1911, 34 in 1912 and 77 in 1913. This is not inclading three cases which occurred in Behr.r. robbing that province of practically all its organs of native opinion, and one ease ach in Assam and the North-We?t Frontier Province. It. will be noticed I that the number ef supprions is in- creasing, although the provincial govern- ments, in their reports, unanimously ;:cl- mit that the criticisms of the Press aic ever so much milder. Perhaps if there were a litlie less mildness, there would be a little less suppression.

I BALLOT FOR BATHS Miners' View of Pit-Head Experiment The first ballot on the pit-head baths question in South Wales is being taken in Monmouthöhire while the workmen at Messrs. Glasbrook's Garn Goch pits, near Gorseinon, desire that thirty cubicles should be provided as an ex- periment. The pioneer scheme at the Ocean. Collieries is being pushed forward. Mr. and Mrs. Hartshorn are engaged in propaganda work in the Maesteg dis- trict, and the Women's Labour League is distributing literature throughout the coalfield. The indications are that a general demand for the enforcement of the op- tional clause in the Mines Act will be made within the next six months. MR. DAVIES'S VIEW. The interview in a contemporary last week with Mr. Henry Davies, Director of Mining Instruction, who has given special study to the pit-head baths question, has aroused considerable in- terest and comment among the miners in South Wales, and it has been re- ferred to at many gatherings. The R,-v. James Evans, Secretary of the We h Free Churches Committee, an ex-working miner, said that the point of view and the facts advanced by Mr. Henry Davies deserved the serious consideration of the miners and of all interested in the-welfare of the people engaged in the mining industry. At all the conferences we have re- cently held in connection with our Moral Crusade," proceeded Mr. Evans, "this very desirable reform—the pro- vision of pit-head baths—has been urged upon the attention of the church- es. The miners are often the objects of the cynic's scorn, but as one who has worked as a miner in South Wales and lived among other classes of workers I do not hesitate to say that, take him as a class, there is not a finer specimen of worker in the community, and that not a small factor in his refinement and taste is the daily bath which he is obliged to take. NOT SURPRISING. "It is not surprising that there should be lapses of moral rectitude when we consider the circumstances under which the baths are taken in many homes. This age does not, un- fortunately, lend itself to heroics on mond issues, and it is to be feared that one of the obstacles to the intro- duction of reform is in the fact that the public conscience has become so accustomed to certain scenes in the homes of miners that it is unconscious of their unseemliness and indecencies. "I recently dealt at a public meet- ing with the noted prejudices against innovations and the misconceptions as to method, cost, and convenience of pit-head baths. At the close a pro- minent local miner told me it would be as much as his life was worth to walk from the pit to his home after a warm bath. "And yet this same miner has pro- bably walked home hundreds of times with his shirt soaking with sweat and his clothes wet with grime after work- ing in a hot place. COMFORT IN THE HOME. "Obviously, it would be more hygien- ic, more oomforta.ble, more conducive to domestic oomrort--the welfare of the womenfolk is largely involved in this • question-O go home in clean dry clothes after a warm and then a cold shower bath. "The welfare of the children is also involved, and I am convinced that when pit-head baths are established the South Wales miners will be sur- prised that they tolerated so long the inconvenient tub system, and that they allowed ita drudgery to be imposed up- on their wives and daughters when given an opportunity to remove it." —————. t. I I

I THE NEXT BUDGET IMPERIAL GRANTS IN AID OF RATES. Lord Lueae, speaking at Hitahan, said:- "I am in a position to announce that it is the intention of the Government to make considerable grants out of Imperial taxatioa to assist the ratee in this country, and it will be done in the coming Budget. "The Government recognise that the method by which a farmer is assessed upon practically the whole of his srtock- in-trade is a very unfair one, and they will try as far as possible to alleviate this injustice by making a very con- siderable gmat towards the rates in the country ditstriem."

THE LAST LAP Home Rule Bill Passes Second Reading For the third time within the life of the present Parliament, the Home Rule IJill received a second readimg in the House of Commons this week. The Yet- ing was as follows:— For Second Reading 35i Against 276 Majority 80 The following are the results of pre- vious second reading divisions:— 1886 30 againet 1893 43 for 1912 101 for 1913 98 for

(Continued from preceding column) would be a thing of acorn- These are aspecta of the pwsibleni that the civil war nxarngere may not have thought of, but it might be as well that they should re- flect a little on the powerful influences that can, in the last resort, be thrown into the scale on belialf of Parliament. And when the aristocratic rebellion was crushed, as it completely would be. a position would have been created that would be favourable for carrying into effect some of the proposals of the or- ganised working classes. The Trades Unions would, undoubted- ly, support the Government in the conr nscntion cf the industries of any wealthy Unionist or aristocrat wlto had ventured to support a rebellion against the demo- c-.o.ev and Parliament, and would enthusi- astically co-operate with the Government in working those industries as State con- cerns. How do the aristocrats and their sym- pathisers like the picture? I do not for a moment suppose that if they will re- flect intelligently on the possibilities of the outcome of civil war they will care to foster a movement which will give the industrial masses a "short cat" to a political and industrial roorganiestion of this country. If they are wise they will not make it necessary for the wage earning millions to depart from the peace- ful paths of constitutional reform."  If the?e weighty a.nd convincing ques- ti. ons were but brought to the notice of f hosp ?? are crying loudest for rebell- IOn Against the will of the people, it cannot be doubted that such cries would ql!cldv ce.a -tha.t. of course, Pro- quickly cease,—t hat, is, of course, pro- of nl they were able to grasp the point nf the ars-umMit, of which there is some d-rHiht'