Llais Llafur

■  COMMON SENSE OF THE COMPULSION ISSUE. FUTILITY OF THE WON'T-FIGiiT GANG I A Challenge to Sir Alfred Mond. There are not 651,000 "slackers" in this country, nor anything like that number. An outside estimate of the total of unattested single men avail- able for military service is a quarter of a million. Some anti-conscription- ist writ-era put the total as low as 1.50,000. Probably the actual figure lies between the two computations. Let us assume that the number is 200,000. The problem that the nation, and the Labour movement as an influential part of the nation, has to decide is what to do with these men. We have no hesitation in declaring that they ought to be compelled to serve. It is .a conclusion which is inescapable for the man »vho directs his thinking at the present time to promoting the best interests of the nation. We believe that the bulk of the nation is neither pro-conscriptionist nor anti-conscriptionist in the doctrin- aire sense. They want to win the war, and they want to have full in- formation that will enable them to judge the best and quickest way of winning the war. One thing is per- fectly clear—we need at least another million men in the army. There are 200.000 unattested single men, and a .million attested married men who will prol>ab!y be passed for service. Who are to go first, the single men or the married men P Common sense im- mediately siezes upon the single men, and no distortions of argument by ex- treme anti-conscirptionists who point out the military absurdity of enlisting a single man of forty before a married man of twenty-three alter the funda- mental reasonableness of that view. If we take single men in general, and married men in general, there is not the least doubt that, on every ground, ethical and social, the single man should go first. Not only is this oon- clusion sound rationally, but it is vastly strengthened by Mr Asquith's pledge to the married men that he would not call them up until all but a negligible number of eligible sngle men had entered the ranks. It is not necessary to recapitulate the circumstances under which that pledge was given. We see that some anti-conscriptionists in the Labour movement are trying to repudiate re- sponsibility for it on the ground that it was ultra vires. Probably the Prime Minister ought not to have made it without the sanction of the House of Commons, but the time for the anti- conscriptionists to have protested^ against it was when it was made. The Labour Party has committed i tee If up to the hilt in support of the pledge by retaining its representatives on the joint recruiting committee after the de- claration was made. Thus it is now not only the Premier's pledge, but the Labour Party's pledge, and they have to honour it. The only alternative is to release the married men, and that is impossible. The Labour Party cannot. go back on the Prime Minister's word which it has adopted as its own, and in strict honour they can do nothing but support the compulsion of single men. Quite naturally there is a great deal of suspicious dislike of a compulsory measure, and we can understand the misgivings without in any way sharing them.. Some there are who oppose it bo- cause Lord Northcliffe is a conscrip- tion is t. We have no liking for Lord Northcliffe, and the strongest detesta- tion of his methods and views, but we are not- going to refuse a measure that. is for the good of the nation merely because he happens to be in favour of it. We do not refuse to eat bread-and- butter just because our political op- ponents happen to have a preference for that, article of diet. The compul- sion of single men may be the thin end -of the w- dge of conscription, but whether it is to be driven in an y further will defend not on Lord North, diffe. Lloyd George, and the "Morn- ing Post," but on the position in which the nation iinds itself aa the war pro- ceeds. Nor do. we attach any weight to the dismal croakings of persons who, like Mr Bernard Shaw and Mr Arnold lieu net, believe that if we now have limited conscription temporarily, we shall, after the war, have full oon- scription permanently. A doctor does not hesitate, at a crisis, to administer -opium to a patient leet the patient afterwards become an opium eater. Conscription was introduced during tl1.o American Civil War, and aban- j doned immediately it had served its purpose. The whole temperament and j outlook of the British nation is hostile to conscription in normal times, and short shrift will be given after peace to the people who try to rivet the shackles of militarism on us. We are perfectly content to leave that matter to the good sense of the British de- mocracy. The workers of this country are not dumb, driven cattle, and if they do not want a thing they will not have it. If the Government will niuk- every effort to disarm suspicion; give full and free facilities for decate in the House ot Commons, provide guarantees that mili- tary compulsion will not be used to in- crease industrial oppression, and make it p-rfertiy clear to everybody the mini- mum of national needs in respect to the Army, wo have no tear that the working  ch.?c? wIll :aii to gIve them support. There could be no worse mistake than for people to be misled into believing that the voice of the No-Conscript ion Gang—is the voice of the working claims. That body, which has a membership of about ten thousand, is led by a little knot of University men, journalists, and Quakers, who know as little of the working classes as the workers know of them. For the most part they are persons who regard themselves as too refined to fight. They don't care who deiends their homes as long as the^ftre not ealled on to do disagreeable and dangerous work. Their consciences do not prohibit them from paying taxes to provide other men with rifles and Ammunition to kill the Ger- I mans, but t^ey/tpll not be prevailed upon to do it thenisjlves. "We appeal to our fellow-workers in factory, workshop, and mine to main- tain the righLlvr every man to decide for himself the issue of life and death," say the Won't Fight Gang, in a mani- festo they "frafe' just issued. Let them appeal to colliers and radwaymen for the rIght to skulk ip safety behind the sons j of these nhMi who are in the trenches, and they will get their answer. The I\o- Coiiscriptionists are exactly on all fours with blacklegs who willingly enjoy the ¡ privileges of association without contri- buting their share of the cost of upkeep. "The responsibility is yours," say the Won't Fight Gang, to the working classes, "to maintain inta.c.fthe liherti e.s of the British people." qJ" The answer to this is that miliians of British, workers have leaped forward to prevent the Germans from destroying our liberties, and incidentally from destroying the poltroons who think they have too ¡' much soul to handle a bayonet. The British worker is much too sane and solid to be led by the nose by such cranks as the signatories of this manifesto. These persons—the Won't Fight Gang —who will not have conscription at any price, do not present a serious problem. The I.L.P. is in a somewhat different case, and they have yet to justify their position as the only Socialist parly in Europe which refuses to admit the duty of every man to defend his country. The remainder of the Labour Party are divid- ed into two nearly -equal sections. One fr illkly lines itself up now with vlie Government, and the other, admitting that conscription must and will be im- posed if necessary, is waiting to get a clearer understanding of the situation. Mr. Arthur Henderson and Mr. John Hodge belong to the first section, and "The Labour Voice" is with them. There is one corollary of compulsory service for men in the Army which the Labour Party should insist upon. That is the conscription of wealth. If the young single man is to be compelled to place himself at the disposal of tho nation, we think that the wealthy elder- ly maor should give up his riches. Money is needed as well as men. This is so obviously a matter of equity that we need not labour it. Sir Alfred Mond has been telling working men for a long I time that they ought to agree to con- scription. Now we tell him on behalf of the working men in Jfrin_;y^ £ hbourhood that the capitalists ought to give up the whole of their wealth for the period of the war. If the your.g men of Clydach give themselves to the nation, Sir Alfred Mond cannot, in simple fairness, refrain from handing over the profits from his ?ie profits from h* works, less, 8ay, the few hundreds tha"t will enable him to keep a roof over his head and pay the butcher's and grocer's bill. As this is a topic which is being freely canvassed by working class elec- tors in Swansea and the Swansea Valley, perhaps Sir Alfred Mond will let us have his views about it. Otherwise judg- ment will go against him by default as a capitalist 'slacker.' We shall hear a great deal about conscription of capital before the conscription controversy ends.

OUR LONDON LETTER. I -———— BACKWARD—AND FORWARD. j it is not easy to see what the; Ministry of Munitions had to gain by seizing "Forward." That paper is on the bookstalls on Friday: it was Mon- day before the police made a round of the newsagents and seized the unsold copies. As everybody concerned with weekly newspapers knows, the paper would have sold to the extent of 95 per cent, of its circulation by closing time on Saturday night. I happen to be a regular reader of "Forward." It is a Socialist publication, edited with considerable skill and verve by a young graduate of Glasgow Universi- ty. So far from being as funereal as the "Labour Leader," it is flavoured with dry humour of the Scotch variety, and is very popular with the workers on the Clyde. CLYDE COMPLIMENTS. The report of Mr Lloyd George's dealings with the Clyde munition workers was exceedingly droll. Ob- viously the men were out to take a ris^, out of Mr Henderson and Mr Lloyd George if thev could. By some of the interruptors the former was affably addressed as "Arthur," and the latter as "Davy." At one stage of the proceedings three cheers were given by the audience for Mr Ramsay Macdonald, a demonstration which drew from Mr Lloyd George the re- mark that Mr Macdonald was one of his closest personal friends, and what- ever attitude Mr Macdonald might take to the war, no word of condemna- tion of him should fall from his (Mr Lloyd George's) lips. In the course of his speech the Minister of Munitions, according to the "Forward" report remarked somewhat plaintively that during the Boer War he had made, common cause with the Socialists. In political circles in London the case for "Forward" was strengthened by some words of appreciation of the report which appeared in the "Manchester j Guardian. A FALLEN IDOL. 1 _L.L'Lu.l.- It is curious to notice tne aitibuuo of the London Liberal newspapers to, Mr Lloyd George just now. Mr Massingham's organ, the "Nation," with which Mr Lloyd George was once, I believe, very closely connected, is bitterly hostile to the Minister of Munitions. The "Daily Chronicle" damns him with faint praise. The "Star," the evening edition of the "Daily News," is very waspish in all its references to Mr Lloyd George, and I I to ll s seizes with glete upon anything to his detriment. This week the "Star" re- marked that not all Cabinet Ministers take the Press into their confidence when they deliver ultimatums to the Prime Minister, an overt lunge at the Minister of Munitions, and his reputed henchman in the newspaper world, Lord Northcliffe. THE KAISER CROSS. Lord Northcliffe himself does not often write, but. an obituary notice of Lord Montagu, of Beauliet;, that ap- peared in the "Times," under the signature "X," was probably his work. The obituary notice was pre- mature, of course, for Lord Montague did not perish with the "Persia," and is now safe at Malta. There was one interesting story in the obituary. Some years ago when the Kaiser was in this country, he paid a visit to Lord Montague, who received the Im- perial guest in the ordinary dress he ¡' would have worn had anyone else j called upon him. Apparently the Kaiser thought that Lord Montagu should have worn evening dress or military uniform, and he wrote a letter of complaint to King Edward. There was never much love lost be- tween the two monarchs, and King Edward. took no notice of the snobbish remonstrance—at least it made no difference to his subsequent attitude to Lord Montagu. A MONSTER MAST. Kew Gardens has a new mast, 215ft. long, and weighing 18 tons. Some log! as the Americans would say. It is a Douglas fir grown in British Columbia, and the government of that colony presented it to Kew. The task of shipping the mast was a difficult one, owing to the,fear of it snapping, but it arrived safely in the Thames. Bringing it up the Thames was no easy job in thes- wild weather at the beginning of the week, and for one day it was marooned in Limehouse Reach. Now it is safe at its destination and will shortly be in its place on the grassy mound in the glen. The mast which it is to replace—a pigmy of 159ft.—has been declared unsafe. TALES OF A GRANDFATHER. M. Herve has changed the name of his paper, "La Geurre Sociale" to "La Victoire." The reason for the change is that M. Herve thinks that the dog- ma of the class war is dead as far as internationalism is concerned. He gave his reasons for this belief in an open letter he addressed to M. Longuet, the French Deputy, who is a grandson. of Karl Marx. After detailing a list of his past prophecies respecting the war to M. Longuet, the doughty French philosopher declares that Lon- guet's grandfather's dream of an in- ternational is shattered. After the war there will only be a. federation of national parties. "It is I who tell vou this." whimsically remarks M. Herve. "I, who am not your grand- f ath or. "DERBY" DOCTORS. I The "Derby" doctors have to bear a disappointment, and the way of it is this. For each recruit examined, a doctor receives 29.6d..During the rush in the l?st few days of the attest- ing period there was, as everyone knows, an immense rush, and the doc- tors were kept very busy examining recruits. Now they have sent in their ,bills, and these are for amounts vary- ing up to as much as £ 50 per doctor. But the bills have not been paid. It appears that there is a proviso where- by the payments to doctors for examining recruits must- not exceed two guineas a day. This is sad. 1WHAT THE CONDUCTOR SAID. On an IAC.U. tram car, which was overcrowded, a halt was made at the Elephant and Castle. and immediate- ]y a crowd of would-be pas.sengers. swarmed into the car. The conductor was busy on the upper deck taking fares, when the fact that he was being overcrowded dawned upon him. He j looked down upon the struggling mass below and shouted, 'Ere! Nah then! Steady on a bit, can't yer. I ain't a blarhsted fly-paper."

COMPULSION FOR PERIOD OF WAR. Prime Minister Introduces Bill. (norp SYSTEM RE-OPENED I MR ASQUITH'S SPEECH. I Mr Asquith. in introducing the Military Service Bill, after referring to the figures of Lord Derby's report, said that the results were wonderful and encouraging. They showed the people had their heart in the war, and were prepared to make continuous sacrifices. Speaking for himself, he thought that case had been made out for general compulsion, and he felt that the present Bill could be supported by those against conscription. The present Bill was confined to the redemption of his pledge to Lord Der- by. If the pledge liad not been given there would have been serious danger of the recruiting campaign breaking down. Making the largest possible deduc- tion he could conceive from the 650,000 unattested single men, he was unable to bring that figure down to anything but a considerable figure. APPLICATION OF BILL. The Bill applied to all British male subjects who on August 15, 1915, had attained eighteen, and were under forty-one, who were unmarried or widowers without children dependent on them. and who had no grounds whatever excusing them for enlisting should be deemed to have enlisted. He hoped there would be general agreement in all quarters to the ex- emption of conscientious objectors to combatant service. The Bill would come into operation by proclamation not more than four- teen days after the royal assent, and the appointed day would be twenty- one days after the date on which the [ Act, by proclamation, came into opera tion. Certificates of exemption would be granted by Government Departments to men required by them. The other exemptions mentioned by Mr Asquith included ill-health and physical infirmity, men engaged on work of national importance, and men who had persons dependent upon them. It would be monstrous, Mr Asquith said, to take single men who were the sole supporters of relatives. There would be an appeal tribunal of a representative character, and a further appeal to the central body in Loidon, which dealt with appeals under Lord Derby's scheme. He believed that when the provisions of the Bill were understood it would meet with fairly general consent. APPEAL TO UNATTESTED. He asked the unattested men to come in now as the group system was re-opened. There would no sympathy for those young unmarried men who refuse to join the ranks under conditions now imposed in time of greatest stress in the history of the nation. Mr Asquith resumed his seat at 4.7 p.m. ——— THE SOLDIER'S POINT OF VIEW. Lord Kitchener dealt in the House of Lords with the problem of military service. He spoke as a soldier "with a single eye to the successful conduct of the war." Admitting that the voluntary sys- tem had done wonders, he stated that a change was now necessary. This change only affected one class of citizens—the single men. He did not consider that the change proposed should be regarded in the light of any derogation of the pi-inciplo of voluntary service in this country. It only affected, during the period of the war, oija class of men, amongst whom there, are undoubtedly a certain number who have but a poor idea of their duties as citizens, and require some persuasion greater than appeal to bring them to the colours. While there in the class affected some such shirkers, there no doubt many whose reasons for not joining will be found valid, and he was very far from wishing it to be thought that all those to whom the new proposals will apply can be described by the term he had used for some of them. "Many of these men probably have conflicting calls upon them, and will be only too happy that the Government should resolve the doubts which they have been unable to decide for them- selves.

W. A. WILLIAMS, Phrenologist, -VkS, Plu-eno?lo g ist, can be consulted daily at the Victoria Arcade (near the Market), Swansea.

JTOWEN SPECIAL THIS WEZK. || I SPECiAL THIS WEiK. I 250 Children's Trimmed Hats, Is. lid. 25 Pieces Crash Towelling, 4td. per yard. 300 Cotton Blankets, ls.O^d., Is.61d., la.Hid. The Cash Draper, YSTALYFERA.

VSTALYFERA NOTfS. I The infant department of the Zoar Sunday School had their distribution of Christmas gifts and social on New Year's eve. During the evening solos, recitation, and action songs were given by the children under the direction of the teachers, Mrs. W. E. Davies, Mrs. E. J. Evans, Mrs. (Rev). Wm. Jones and Miss Carrie Cope. The sketch en- titled "Cwacyddiaeth" was also very successfully given by Messrs. Chat- ham, Jack. Ieuan, Elwyn and Haydn Evans. A correspondent writes One wonders if the Tawe Valley Gas Company is act- ing under orders from the War Office in diminishing the illuminating quality and quantity of their gas for private and pub- lic purposes in the district? It is incon- ceivable that there can be anything but a patriotic desire to enforce economy that is responsible for the "dim religious light" that makes groping tradesmen say foa-cible things, and causes private people to hunt up their discarded lamps, and to buy candles. In at least one place worship in Y stalyfera last Sunday, candles had to be used to augment the illumination—and the gas looked wan and feeble in the candle light. It is no un- common thing to see lamps alight in the shops, because it would be difficult to carry on business in the light given by the gas. Of course, if it is a kind of compulsory economy, well and good; we must not grumble, but put up with the inconven- ience, and feel thankful that we have at least one commercial concern in our midst that is determined to make it easy for us to save money and to invest in War Bonds. For of course, the Gas Company will make a handsome reduction in the price' of the stuff that turns the little wheels in the meters, but which alas, does not lighten our darkness. Second-Lieutenant D. Harding Hop- kin, of the 3rd Batt. S. W. B. was home during the week for a few days. Lieut. Hopkin is stationed at Liverpool, and prior to enlistment wa.s employed as a school teacher at Abercrave. He is the son of Mr. Joseph Hopkin, Ynisydarren. Another officer home for a few days is Lieut. D. J. Williams, of the S.W.f? (Breconshires), eldest son of Mr. James Williams, Wern House. Lieut. Williams was also a schoolmaster at the Wern Schools before the war. i At Caersalem Chapel on Wednesday of last week, a very successful Christmas Tree was held in connection with the Band of Hope. The children gave an in- teresting entertainment, over which the T""I. °"1 "1 m1 pastor, "ev. El u. l^ewis, presided. J- ne following took part Recitations, M. Thomas, N. Lewis, G. Dauncey, M. Jones, Jno. Dd. Thomas, Mary E. Evans, Bessie Davies, Maggie Ambrose, Mary Emberton, Mary Edwards, Rhys G. Ed- wards, Vivian Davies, Morfydd Morgan. Dialogues Na.ncy Lewis and Bessie Davies, and Bessie Lewis, Lottie Dauncy and D. G. Lew is. Solos Maggie Am- brose, R. G. Edwards, Eluned Davies, and C. Belton, Nancy Edwards, Ceinwen Davies, Rees Gabe; and a sketch, "Sol- diers of OUT Country," by seven little boys. Following this part of the pro- ceedings, the children were delighted to see Father Christmas" with his bag of good cheer and gifts. He apologised for keeping the children so late without their presents, but mentioned that he had this year spent a good part of his time distri- buting his cheer to the poor Belgian and Servian children Over 120 children re- ceived gifts and it reflects great credit on Mrs. E. D. Lewis, Miss B. Gabe:-11iss S. Edwards, for the splendid way the affair had been arranged. The role of Father Christmas was taken by Mr. Uufus Gabe. We are glad to chronicle the success of Master Glyn E. Williams, the only son of Mr. and Mrs John L. Williams (paint- er), who has received intimation that he ha& passed the Inter Grade of the 11.A.M. ,.C.1I., Local Centre examination held at Swansea in December. Master Williams is a bright youth, and a splen- I did future is predicted for him in the musical world. We are asked to call attention to the lecture to be held next Tuesday evening at Zoar Chapel, under the auspices of the Young People's Society. The subject is "Yr Enwad a'i Arweinwyr o 1880-50," and the lecturer is Prof. M. B. Owen, B.A.,B.D. Through an error the tickets announce the day of the lecture to be Thursday, but as indicated, this is in- correct. The pulpit at the Wern Chapel was occupied last Sunday morning by the Rev. Owen Morris, N. Wales, whose dis- course was much enjoyed. He preached at Pantteg in the evening, while the Rev. Ben Davies officiated at the Wern. We have been informed that Mr. Morris has just been granted six months' leave of absence from his church, that he may go to France for service with the Y.M. C.A. Last Sunday was observed in all the churches and chapels as a day of inter- cession. Special prayers were offered, and appropriate sermons were preached by the various ministers. During this week prayer meetings are being held in all the places of worship each evening, and on Saturday evening a united prayer meeting will be held at Zoar Chapel. We are glad to be able to state this week that Mrs. Evans, the wife of Coun- cillor T. Alexander Evans, is recovering from the serious illness which has pros- trated her for the past few weeks. Her many friends will be pleased to learn that she is now in a fair way to con- valescent. The year 1916 was ushered in in the good old-fashioned way, hooters and syrens vieing with each other as to which could make the most noise. Watch night services were held at St. David's and Holy Trinity Church, and were very well attended. Several young soldier boys have been home on leave during the holidays. Among them being Privates John and Harry Daniels and Gwyn Williams, who received a hearty welcome from their friends. Private Jim Griffiths was also accorded a further leave, his transfer to France having been delayed for a week or tN't. o. Influenza has been busy in Ystalyfera during the past few weeks. Several local tradesmen have been laid up. Mr. J. T. Owen, the genial draper, is only just re- covering from a sever. attack, and Mr. Fredk. Rees is still unable to attend to business. The Ystalyfera. and District Chamber of Trade are making arrangements for the holding of two concerts on Wednesday and Thursday, the 26th and 27th of January, at the Premier Cinema and Playhouse ,respectively. The object is, as we stated in a previous issue, to augment the funds for the reception of local sol- diers and sailors returning from active service. The arrangenuentsa re in the hands of Mr. J. Roberts, insurance super, and further particulars will be published shortly. At the last meeting of the school mana- gers for the district, there were many candidates for the position of cleaner of Pantteg Schools, in place of Mrs. Lewis, deceased. Mrs. J. Rees Lewis, daughter- in-law of the late cleaner received the appointment and has commenced her new duties. We are sorry to learn that the vicerr, the Rev. J. Secundus Jones, has been suddenly called to the bedside of his bro- ther, the vicar of Bortli, who is duftering from a serious illness. We trujt that better news may be heard very shortly. On Thursday the Sunday School child- ren of the English Congregational Church had their annual Christmas Tree and tea party. A band of willing helpers met at the chapel on Wednesday evening to clear the benches and fix the tree, which was soon laden with toys and useful articles to delight the little ones, who gathered together on Thursday. In spite of the in- clement weather a good number attended and a very enjoyable time was spent un- der the leadership of the Rev. R. G. James, who was an indefatigable worker in this sphere of his labours. The Gurnos Young People's Society had a tea and social evening in St. David's Hall on Friday last. An excel- lent miscellaneous programme formed the first part of the entertainment, and solos and recitations were rendered in fine style. Then tea was served, and after that a laughable sketch' entitled "The Bakehouse," was performed by a number of the YOWlg lady members of the Guild, and enjoyed to the full by a crowded audience. Those who took part were the Misses Maggie M. Davies, Bessie Grif- fiths, Maggie Samuel, Margt. A. Morgan, Lizzie Thomas, Kathleen Williams, Mary Davies, and Annie M. Williams. The sec- retary, who also instructed the girls in their parts, was Miss Maggie Thomas, of Swanfield, who is to be highly compli- mented on the result of her efforts. While it seems invidious to mention names, where all did their parts so successfully, we cannot help alluding to Miss Margt. Muriel Davies, who as "Betsy" (thebake- house keeper), was a source of unfailing amusement. Miss Bessie Griffiths, too, as "Mary Ann Howells" (the best bread- maker in the village) display, 1 much I tact as she changed the loaves for the young bride, whose first baking had not proved successful. The whole sketch was so enjoyable that we hope the Gurnos friends will be spurred on to further ef- fort in this direction. PANTTEG, YSTALYFERA. Pantteg Eisteddfod during the holidays proved very successful. The afternoon meeting, which was devoted to children's competitions, was presided over by Mr. John Lewis, Pantteg, and the evenirg meeting by the Rev. Ben Davies (pastor). The adjudicators were, piusic, Mr. Evan Lloyd, Morriaton; literature, Mr. Dav'd Griffiths. Mr. Glyn Williams and Miss Carrie Jones as accompanists, carried out their duties satisfactorily, while Mr Wm.. Brazell proved an energetic secretary. List of awards Afternoon meeting Recitation for children under 10 Elsie Hutchings. Reci- tations for children under 14 Rachel Roberts (Alltwen). Pianofortesolo (under 14) divided between Trevelyan Rees (Ystradgynlais) and Caroline James (Ynis- meudwy). Solo (under 15) May Wil- liams (Pantteg). Solo (under 10) Willie Evans (Godre'rgraig) 2nd prize divided between Tom C. Edmunds and Islwyn Parry. Quartette (under 12) Pedwar o'r Godre. Duett James Llewc-lvn and 1M. Llewelyn. Answering questions Rachel Jenkins Pentalwn). Reading El- I sie Phillips. Evening meeting Open recitation 1, Hannah May Jenkins (God,re'rgraig) 2, "Eithrinferch" (Cwmtwrch); 3, Elizabeth Ann Williams (Godre'rgraig). Contralto solo: Miss Dorothy Llewelyn. Soprano. solo Miss Gwladys Davies. Tenor solo John Morgan. Baritone solo Richard John -N i ?)r 1 Williams. Diiett Jenkir* Rees and John Morgan. Trio Jno. James and Richard Williams, and Miss 1,1. Bevan. Essay D. Lewis. Love-letter divided between E. Idris Morgan and another, who did not.. answer his name. Englyn "Gweledvdd" (Lr. Cwmtwrch). Poem "Llygad y Ffynon" (Mr. Ben Jones, M.A. (Ystal- yfera County School) who was chaired. Chief Choral divided between Pantteg Amateurs and Pantteg Veterans, led re- spectively by Mr. Ivor James (Godre'r- graig), and Mr. Jno. Williams (Wern).

?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?? ? ?: ?: ? ?: ? ?: ? t t i* The Alltwen and Pontardawe t The AHtwen and Pontardawe t Cooperative S?iety. ▲ Co=Operative Siety. ? — ——————————————————— ? +), ? + ? START THE NEW YEAR WELL BY ♦ START THE NEW YEAR WELL BY ? ? — ———————————————————————?. ? JOINING THE LOCAL BATTALION ? ? — ———————————————————————  ♦ (1400 strong) IN THE ARMY OF £T ? ————???????-.?.———?r———?——————.???-??, ? ? <♦ t 3,000,000 CO OPERATORS TO F F FIGHT IN THE WAR AGAINST X • A 1 — ———————————————————— + MONOPOLY'& PROFIT -MONGERING ô ♦ X ■

———— I CWMTWRCH Private Tom O'Connor, near the New Inn, who ha-s been invalided home from France, where he saw a great deal of fighting, and who was presented by the inhabitants of Cwmtwrch prior to leaving for the front, has again been allowed ex- tended leave, and is once again home. His many friends were pleased to see him looking so well. He will remain at home for three weeks, then leaves for the fighting line. The funeral took place on Monday at Beulah Cemetery, of the remains of the late Daniel John Thomas, who met with with a fatal accident at Brynhenllys Col- liery the previous week. A large number of friends and fellow-workmen came to pay their token of respect to one who, was highly respected in the district. The- Rev. W. T. Hughes (Beulah), officiated. A letter has been received this week from Private James Martin, R.A.M.C.7. of Lower Cwmtwrch, stating that he has pleasant sea voyage. He states he is quite well, but complains of the climate being very cold out there. He has met several boys from Wales, and there are many Swansea Valley boys amongst them. Pte. Martin says that the time in the Balkans differs greatly from ours. Instead of 12 figureso n the dock, repre- senting half a day, there they have 24,, representing the whole day Very amus- ing, he says. Pte. Martin thinks "the job out there will end about Christmas, 1916" when he hopes to be in our midst oncer again. Last Sunday was Intercession day in Cwmtwrch, and a large ocngregation^ representing Beulah, Bethania and Bethel assembled in Beulah for common prayer and intercession for their country's cause, and for those who are fighting her battles, by land and sea. The services were very impressive.

  j w Lacij F, Wulj hacy I fli! LO;P-t;0R 'I i Who serves you lif personally and Cuts All Garments liimself Speclialists in MOURNING ORDERS. J 222, High Street I [ SWANSEA II = =:'C:=:3ê=- =:=: