Pioneer

To All Men. We appeal to all men to recognise the great spiritual force of love which is found in all and which makes us all one common brotherhood. In spite of sacrifice and devotion there is dis- satisfaction and unrest in all lands. Consciously or unconsciously men are seeking far a new way of 'life. They cry for a bond which shall unite the world in freedom, righteousness and love; that shall liberate it from its suffering, its hatreds, its disunion. They cry for a religion of life. for an active spirit of peace on earth, of goodwill to men. Through the dark eboud of selfishness and ma- terialism shines the Eternal Light of the Christ in man. It can nevor perish. This Light of Christ in the heart of every man is the ground of our hope, the basis of our faith in the spiritual unity of all races and nations. Be- cause we have Wn blind to this essential fact of life we have failed in social and international relations and are now in confusion.. The pro- found need of our time is to realise the everlast- ing truth of the oammon Fatherhood of God- the Spirit of Love—and the oneness of the human race. j We have used the words of Christ, but we have not acted upon them. We have called our- selves by His name, but we have not lived in His Spirit. Nevertheless the Divine Sted is in all men. As men" realise its presence, and follow the light of Christ in their hearts, they enter upon the right way of life and receive power to overcome evil by good. Thus will be built the City of God. We stretch out our hands in fellowship, sym- pat-hy and love across frontiers, lands and seas. We call upon all men everywhere to unite in the service of healing the broken world, to bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Issued by the Society of Friends in Great Britain). Devonshire House, Bishopsgate, London, E.C.2, December, 1919.

"Like The Known Devil." ST. ASAPH ACAINSTHOME RULE. Domination by South Wales is the chief fear of the St. Asaph Board of Guardians if Home Rule for Wales became an accomplished fact, and on Saturday they decided by a two to one majority to disapprove of the principle. The Board were asked for their views on Home Rule, and Canon Roberts, of Llanddulas, pro- posed that no action be taken. Mr. J. E. Price, of St. Asapli, seconded. Mr. Thomias Evans, of Abergele, who sup- ported, said he saw no alluring prospects for Wales as a whole under Home Rule. North Wales would be practically at oehe mercy of popu- lous and wealthy districts like Glamorganshire. From his experience of government and admin- istration from London, which on the whole de- served their confidence, he would rather put up with the devil he knew than be at the mercy of a devil he did not know." The devolution for which many were so ignorantly clamouring would be more correctly spelled with an R." Mr. J. Ellis Jones, of Denbigh, and Mr. March Jones, of Llansann-am, spoke istrongly in favour of Home Rule. The Chairman (Mr. Benett Jones) said that, Welsh Radical though he was, he could not see his way to join in the demand for self-govern- ment.

A measure giving municipalities power t-oopro- vide medical attendance for members of friendly societies has been accepted by the Victoria Le- gislature, and is regarded as a step towards the nationalisation of medicine in Australia.

County Boroughs Favoured I I IMPORTANT SCHEME FOR GLAMORGAN. OUTLINED BY MARDY JONES. Mr. T. I. Mardy Jones, one of the political organisers of the South Wales .Miners' Federa- tion, is writing a series. of articler, for the Pioneer on his ischeme of Local Government for Glamorgan—at least. those parts of it which are not at present administe-red the Glamor- gan County Council. At a conference of repre- sentative Labour men at Bridgend on Saturday, he roughly outlined 'his scheme for the creation of a seri es of county boroughs, which would ab- sorb all present rural and urban arears and do away with the County Council. At the conclu- sion of the conference, a resolution was passed supporting the principle of the .scheme, and an incorporation committee was appointed to con- fer with committees of adjacent areas for the purpose of arriving at a mutual agreement. DEVELOPMENT V. EXTENSION. Mr. Mardy Jones said that Cardiff, Swansea, and Abaravon were promoting Bills to extend their areas, and in the near future there would be .increasing movements along those limes in face of large anad important industrial develop- ments. But the present system was not just, for those, authorities which were anxious to extend their "boundaries always sought for the richest areas of their neighbours, and those urban and rural ds triccs would all, sooner or later, be faced with a serious position. rileir ratable value would have decreased, and they would be crippled as regards local development. They would cither 'have to accept that position or adopt the proposal for the creation of county boroughs. Seven or eight new boroughs would oome into existence. Glamorgan was the only county in Wales which lent itself to such a scheme. Old boundaries, however, had been made by rivers, whereas to-day they should be by watersheds and mountain tops, so instead of the peculiar divisions of to-day they would have all axeaks in one valley under the same authority. Gilfach to-day was in three different Parlia- mentary divisions and two Poor-law di- visions. There were 38 different local authori- ties in the county this schemp would reduce the number to eleven. OVERLAPPING AND INEFFICIENCY. I To-day there was considerable over-lapping in t'he performance of public administration, and alarming inefficiency resulted. The county council was much too cumbersome to cope with its increasing duties, and they could imagine what would be the position of their poor when the alteration in their Poor-law system as fore- shadowed by the Ministry of Health took place. The new county horoughe, when formed, would undoubtedly consist of men who had devoted many years to Poor-law work and who knew the needs of the poor. Great changes would take pla.(v under the Ministry of Transport. The duties of local authorities would, therefore, be increased enormously. A number of local awth- orities in Glamorgan were already prepared to support incorporation Rhondda, Pontypridd, Aberdare, and Mountain Ash. Cardiff Council were now pi-eparing a Bill on lines 'suggested by the Labour Party for the extension of their boundaries. There were now 38 Labour mem- bers on the county council, and that group was pledged to this incorporation scheme. ACTUARIAL EXPERTS FOR EDUCATION. I In regard to education, the borough councils would be responsible for the continuity of educa- tion of children within their area. This would mean the abolition of the numerous committees which had no power to deal with education. There would probably be .some opposition in re- gard to the financial question, but he suggested that the appointment of actuarial experts to make equitable arrangements would do away with the objection. Mr. Meth Jones (Labour organiser) deakt with tht extension tof areas by Swansea, and other councils, which, Tie said, had deprived adjacent authorities of the control of rich and populous centres. He, also dealt' with the tremendous waste of public money which had resulted from the promotion of Bills in Parliament and the preparation of cases in opposition—conditions which would not exist under the scheme pro- posed.

————————— I Labour and Ex-Service Men The National Executive of the Labour Party has issued a circular to the local organisations, recommending them to co-operate in the fullest possible way with the National Union of Ex- Service Men, and to accept the affiliation of local branches of that Union. After consultation with officials and representatives of the Union, and examination of its aims and objects, the Party Executive states that it has definitely de- cided to recognise the Union as an ally in the work of the Labour Party. The National Union is distinctive as an ex- Service men'jorganistion'' (says the circular) by the fa that it was originated by, and composed lof, members of our own Party, who em- phasised the principle that the general interests of ex-Sea vioe men are identical with those of their fellow workers, and who, therefore, seek to figlit shoulder to shoulder with organised La- bour, both (industrially and politically in our common endeavour to secure a new social order. It is explained that circumstances prevent the National Union arranging nartaonal affiliation with the Labour Party, but tthe Party Executive sought and obtained its "assistance in forming the new advisory committee which will deal with Army, Navy, and Pension problems.

I Housing Problem. I MONMOUTHSHIRE LABOURISTS IN CONFERENCE. Nowhere in South Wales lia* the Housing problem been more keenly discussed than in Newport, where the difficulties are no greater than those experienced in Merthyr and the Glamorgan Valleys. At a conference held at Newport on Saturday of the Labour and Social- ist organisations in the Monmouthshire Valleys a resolution was passed calling upon the Govern- ment to recast the whole of the financial pro- visions so that the National Exchequer should continue to bear any loss upon housing schemes beyond the seven years period. Mr. Charles Edwards, M.P., presiding, said he was in favour of a national loan for housing as there had been ia failure. on the, part of the local authorities to raise loms for the purpose. Mr. William Harris, C.C. (Pontllanfraith), al- luding to the high cost of building, rand criti- cising the (Government proposals to bear deficit on housing schemes until 1927, said that left the solution absolutely in the dark as to how the deficit was to be met after that period. He per- sonally advocated "direct labour" as the best method to get the houses erected. My solution is the Soviet system," ob- ,ov i et system, -o b served Mr. Rees (Newport). Let us take. pos- session of the land which our boys have fought for. Mr. Cox q ciiti(-Ised the "one room downstairs type of cottage it was pro- posed to erect, saying this did not make for the comfort of t'he men, and would drive them into the public-houses, where "they could get a little comfort." (Applause.) Mr. A. T. Cox (Newport) attacked the mayor of Newport for telling people that by demanding a levy on capital they were out for something for nothing." Mr. A. Jenkins 'Abersychan) said they in his district were asking people to pay 10s. per week for a house which cost £ 1,000 to build. GOVERNMENT FACTORIES TO MAKE MATERIAL. Mr. Humphreys (Newport), thought the coun- cil should demand that the whole of the land in the borough should be made over to the borough, antl the whole of the ground rents should be used for practical purposes. Referring to direct la- bour, 'he said the town council met the builders, and in ten minutes any intelligent man could sec what the builders were after. Mr. Heard (Chepstow) moved a resolution calling upon the Government to deal with the high cose of building materials. The Govern- ment, at Chepstow, were building houses, which, in his estimation, were only Trorth 6s. per week, and which cost £1,100 each, and were olrargrng 8s. 6d., which, with Is. for electric light, made 9s. 6d. per week rent. They must get the materials out of the hands of the profiteers. Mr. Clias. Edwards suggested, as an adden- dum, that the conference call upon the Govern- ment to adopt the national factories for the purpose of making building materials, and this was eventually agreed to. Mr. A. T .Cox (Newport) then moved the ad- journment of the conferenoe to oall together the elected Labour members or administrative bodies and representatives of the Building Trades Federa.tion in the country. This was adopted.

Emphatic For Peace. I We do not wish to see the discussion of the Russian problem side-tracked into the barren controversy as to whether it is or is not possible to have diplomatic dealings with the Bolshevik Government (says the 'Saturday Westmin- ster "). The latter is obviously ready for peace, M. Litvinoff is emphatic enough about that. The important tIring is thalt we should secure the realities of peace even kif we leave out the diplo- matic formalities of peace-making. If we raise the blockade and discontinue all forms of inter- I vention, naval, military, and financial, there is every ground for hope that the Russian people will relieve u.s of the necessity of direct nego- tiation with the existing Government at Mos- cow. It is also essential that we should recog- nise rthe independence of the Baltic States, even if Koltchak's refusal to do so makes it necessary for us to reconsider our relations with himself. Ft is frankly absurd for the Allies to constrain the Estbonians into permitting Judeniticli's army to remain in being on their territory when they regard that army as unfriendly, and when it has just been engaged in unsuccessful hostili- ties against a Government with which they are now negotiating.

Vices Of A Controlled Press. Mr. J. A. Spender, in his paper on Brother- hood ancy t-lie Peace" at a City Temple Confer- ence, referred to Bismarck's manipulation of the Press, and said he would gladly see the League of Nations have the power publicly to denounce those who were convicted of bribing or suborning the Press, or of accepting bribes for the promo- tion of international discord. A Government- controlled Press would have all the vices and none of the virtues of the present system, lead to despotism and the foolish production of official moniteurs. An educated public could not be long deceived by a. newspaper and were assisted by variety of opinions and conflicting views. He looked with anxiety at the tendency to combine a large number of newspapers under one control It might lead to dissemina-tio-n of machine-made opinion. He would like to have the law altered to bring home full responsibility to every writer in a newspaper, that he might not take shelter under the publisher and editor.

I Punch's" Parodist. I I A COURSE FOR JOURNALISTS. I Sir Owen Seamen, F.J.I., editor of Punch, in- augurated at the University of London (Univer- sity Building, South Kensington) a diploma course in journalism. Sir Owen chose for his subject The Art of Parody.' Dealing with the subject generally, he said that in its highest development parody sought to reprodu<v the abiding qualities of an author's style of speech and thought. To this end a parodist must be- come deeply imbued with the manner of a writer whom he wished to imitate; he must grow fami- liar with his methods, as a man acquired a familiarity with a foreign tongue or a local dia- lect so as to speak it fluently, or as an artist I learned to depend upon his knowledge of ana- tomy without reference to a particular model. It was certain that whatever be the aim of your parody you mirst maintain in regard to yourself an attitude of detachment. Whether you wrote from your own standpoint or from the stand- point which for your own purposes you assigned to your victim, ithe parody must be allowed to speak for itself you must not introduce explana- tions or call attention to the points you were making. Not every kind of work was a fit sub- ject for parody. Reverence might seem a strange quality to require of a parodist; yet it was an instinct with the best of them. Every true artist recognised the limits imposed by the laws of decency upon his art; and the true paro- dist as much as any. He would not burlesque a sacred poem, or a work of deep and moving sen- timent, though they might seem to offer them- selves an easy prev. But when he said that parody was limited in the choice of its objects by their adaptability to the purposes of ridicule, he was far from implying that it must confine its operations to the exposure of shams and preten- tiousness, of egoisms, affectation, and otherr sym- toms or maladies for which ridicule was the best prescription. And because the general tenor of any written work was noble and lofty it (lid not follow that it might not be a fit subject for parody. It was a question of the spirit in which it was treated. At its gentlest parody need be nothing worse than a pure literary appreciation tempered with genial chaff. It was often the way that humour had of paying homage to serious achievement. It was almost a platitude to say that any parodist worth the name must be equipped with an instinct for appreciating the good not leSis than the bad. In this sense he must inherit a certain community of spirit, however humble, with the best of those to whom he paid the homage of imitation.

Don't Be A BisKop. DEAN DECLARES IT IS A DOC'S LIFE. BUT IT MAY BE A JOKE. In these days when enticing correspondence- school advertisements do thetr best to convince unthinking youth that work is more attractive than pleasure, it is good that there should he an opposition and that. it should be put in emphatic language. Last week we printed the discontent of a Manchester M.P. that would have served to frighten any self-respecting, ambitious boy off Parliament as his workshop, if the disgruntled M.P. had not turned tail by declaring that he was a subtle humorist and not a disciple of Geo. Washington .when he uttered his words of dis- satisfaction. Under such disheartening circum- stances it is with an air of hesitancy that we this week declare, on the authority of the Dean of Gloucester, that the life of a Bishop, which most ecclesiastically inclined youth has hitherto preferred to any honour that ,the worldly world could tempt with, is after all a dog's life." Of course, the Dean may to-morrow declare that his effort was by way of htfing funny, and that the pressmen who reports! him ought to have known so from the circumstances under which it was uttered—at a dinner of the Gloucester Chamber of Commerce. For the moment, however, we are inclined to treat the Dean with due seriousness, notwithstanding the auspicious stage setting for the utterance. It was in agreeing that the Bishop of the Diocese was a hard-working man that Dr. Gee (that is the Dean's style) said: Few peo- ple know-as well as T do how hard a bishop has to work. I may let you into a secret by telling you that I have twice been offered a bishopric, and twice I have refused—it is a. dog's life." There vou have it. It may be a joke that does not touch our sense of funniosity; we arc only doubtful because of the suspicion sown, by the M.P. last week). It is pleasant after that tribute to the kennel life of a bishopric to find the Dean confessing that his own life at Gloucester is a holiday by comparison with what he had to do in the North, but we don't like the suggestion that is conveyed in the statement: A dean's income is supposed to be good, but the cost of getting into the deanery may run over my first two years' in- come. What does it mean?

I Inquest. Mr. Griffith Llewellyn, deputy coroner, held an inquest on Saturday at. the Belle Vue, Mer- thyr, touching the death of John Roach, 6. Tramroadside North, a tipper in the employment of Hill's Plymouth. Evidence showed that de- ceased bad finishedhi-s night's work and expired while waiting in the weighing shed for a train. Dr. Rowland Lee said the deceased's heart was in a very bad state, two of' the three valves being absolutely useless. It was stated that an Army doctor turned him down when he wished to join. Verdict 'of Death from na- tural causes 17 was recorded.