Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
8 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
Our Lost Liberties. I
Our Lost Liberties. HOW THE SAFEGUARDS HAVE II DISAPPEARED. BY B. N. LANGDON DAVIES {feecretary, National Council for Civil Liberties.) I want, if you will allow me, to deal with the subject of our loss of Civil Liberty owing to the revolution through which during the war we have passed. The freedom of which we have been accustomed to pride ourselves was founded on two principles. The first of these was The Control of the Executive by Parliament. The actual Government of this country was conducted by a number of departments such as the War Office, the Home Office, etc., staffed by a number of permanent officials., But in order to ensure that the electors should be able to control these departments, the head of each of them was not a permanent official, but a iiipii-i- her of the party which had a majority in Parlia- ment, that is to say was supported by the ma- jority of the electors. These heads of depart- ments formed the Executive and were also re- sponsible for the introduction of most of the laws which they and their departments had to admin- ister. If the laws introduced or the administra- tion of them was bad, the representatives of the lt lectors could always bring the matter forward in Parliament and, if necessary, secure the re- moval of the offending minister or of the whole. Executive. For these purposes the existence of an Opposition able and willing to take the place of the Executive it criticised was essential. The members of the Opposition were the instruments by which the private citizen could protect him- self against tyranny or incompetence. This sys- tem did not, of course, work to perfection. Only a few of the citizens had votes and could bring influence to bear. But, in general, the Opposi- tion was ready enough to attack the Government if it had a good case, and therefore, even if one bad no vote, it was not hard to get some piece -at bad legislation or administration shown up. The Coalition Killed this Guarantee of Freedom. Directly the Opposition united with the Gov- ernment there was no longer any satisfactory means of showing up bad administration. The 'Coalition Government consisted of heads of de- "Paitnients without any recognised opposition in Parliament to criticise and control them. Liberals, Conservatives, the Labour, and even "the Irish Parties were behind the, Government -and were pledged not to attack or even to criti- cise the actions of ministers. The small group of Socialises and Radicals who assumed the func- tions of an Opposition were branded as pro- Germans and traitors and did not command suffi- cient support in the oountrf to make them able "or willing to take the place of the Government, tf it were defeated. Thus almost absolute power Was thrown into the hands of the Executive. It is true that there has been criticism from -nthei-,s than the little group of which I have spoken. It is true also that criticism in flagrant eases of misgovernment has in some cases re- sulted in improvement. But all the time the power of the Executive has been growing greater, because the criticism has come from detached groups and individuals and not from a respon- sible Opposition. If the Government chose to ignore criticism, Mothing could happen. But even this was not "mough for the autocra tic militarist school. Al- though the Executive could do what it liked, it did show some regard for what the electors wanted and for the shreds of democ racy. Hence .anl the Northcliffe-Lloyd George plot and the setting up of the War Cabinet as the absolute ruler of the British People. The War Cabinet hat; been responsible for many things, but there are two by which especially it has destroyed the liberties of the citizen. These are (1) The al- most limitless extension of the system of making laws by Orders in Council, that is to say by the War Cabinet, alone, instead of by the representa- tives of the electors in Parliament; and (2) the appointment of large nimibers of controllers and officials who are the direct nominees of the War Cabinet which transfers to them in their various spheres its absolute power. Thus the individual "«itizen can to-day no longer control law-making *«r prevent oppressive administration, because his representatives no longer in effect control or criticise the Executive. The second principle by which our liberties1 were constitutionally assured was The Rule of Law. It was all very well to be able to criticise or attack, but these methods were slow and uncer- Irreparable injustice might be done by a Minister of a Government before the slow pro- 'S8 of turning a minority into a majority ?uid t)e accomplished. To meet such cases we ? the principle that everyone, from the Prime M:Inistw to the policeman on his beat, was un- ?t' the same law. We had not, as som? coun- tries have, one law for the man in office and another for the man out of office. Even the King *ould not claim the right to break the law, ""ough we avoided the necessity of prosecuting ,him if he did, by aeclaring that he always acted °?*'?ugh one of his ministers. And the law 'they all had to obey was contained in statutes passed by Parliament and in recorded decisions or the Courts. This guarantee of liberty is now Sparely weakened, and is even, in some cases, destroyed. For example, the most fundamental our personal rights was that we could not be prisoned without trial. By an Order in Coun- "til this, the Habeas Corpus Act, has been de- troYed. The War Cabinet can now seine and i^nprison us at will and we have no right of trial. influenced, moreover, by the general trend to- ftrds the absolute authority of the Executive, t  of our judges have admitted practices, ,?h, while allowing of the rule of lawyers, de- "?y the rule of law. To decide, for example, the Court of Appeal has recently decided, th nat + the Executive may not by law deport an '41'ell to a particular country, but that there is .??_?g illegal in its putting him on a ship bound 't?IÍ xi partlcular country and keeping him there tli i S*"P arrives is a grotesque interpretation ? tt<i??? ? serve the ends of the Executive. Anotn ? example is the admission of the system of the Pr°vocative agent, the spy of the Execu- ??Sgcsts and offers to perpetuate crimes i 11 order to make persons disliked by the Executiv? Committee themselves. An An Olt8tanding example of this system oc- ?curred lill 'the Wheeldon case of which the iaots are well k- ^°Wri- When the accused were tried forconsT)'???- mur d cr the Prime Minister, the ? murder the Prime Minister, the person whn' ? ? ?PP?a-rs, suggested and offered to commit the crllne was a man known as Alex Gor- ?on. This rn w^° turned out to be a police agent was n?' ??? turned out to be a. police ,ag chief witn? P????? ? Court thoughh was to crSs-SaS- ??? so could Rot be subjected condoned by t £ & M.iT?y1.S ?? apparently th, illdges, although in times past the 'Eg. Court have condemned ?uXTh??? even the use of provocative agents who were Pr-ducd a. wit. iW mplS icate Gni mplyed unsuccessfully to '8-?- ? ?'?e at SheSeId, nor ?y reply to Mr. w. ?. AndeSon^chw arges in Parhaent on this su?. ject. Thus by the direct action of the Executive and by the weakness of judges the Rule of Law is rapidly disappearing. The effect of this is that where the individual has been treated un- justly or even illegally by some department of the Government, he no longer feels that he will obtain justice from the Courts and, unless he can bring political influence to bear, he is help- less and has no remedy but revolution. The setting up by the Executive of large numbers of Tribunals often composed haphazard of men who do not understand law and are nevertheless able to dispose of the lives of thou- sands of citizens has also contributed to the breakdown of the Rule of Law. With the best intentions in the world, the ordinary, elderly businessman cannot well grasp the principles of legal evidence, interpret Acts of Parliament, analyse philosophical principles, and cope with lnilitary representatives of the War Office, at a moment's notice. Yet their decisions have to stand and there is no redress to be obtained from judges of greater experience. So far I have dealt only with the two princi- ples laid down in text books on our constitution. But there is a third right by which more and more liberty was coming to be guaranteed. The Right of Industrial Combination. With the addition of the right of using such combina,tion to withhold labour is too product of the industrial revolution and public elementary education. It is only in the last half century that large numbers of people have appreciated that constitutional guarantees of freedom are of little use so long as the mass of the population are economically fettered. Hence step by step these rights have been obtained from Parliament and established by judicial decisions. Hitherto they have been used in their fullest sense almost exclusively for economic purposes and as against the employer. But the formation of the Labour Party and, more recently still, of such great combines as the Triple Alliance have been lend- ing a. political as well as an economic significance to these rights. The introduction of measures such as the Military Service Acts has stimulated this tendency, since the Unions have been recog- nised as instruments for the obtaining of special political privileges for some or all of their offi- cials or members. But this right of industrial combination stands or falls by the right to strike and during the war that right has been gradually destroyed. It has been destroyed partly by the Munitions Act and the Defence of the Realm Act with its consequent Orders in Council, and partly by the capture of the Executives of many of the Unions by the Government. At this mo- ment a strike is in general a criminal act and therefore industrial combination is no longer an effective constitutional protection for the liber- ties of individual workers. With a somewhat wry face our rulers have re- cently been applauding the revolution in Russia. They have themselves been busily occupied in making a revolution in Great Britain, only it has not been in the cause of liberty. That is the irony of the situation; they have been able to claim that this revolution was necessitated in the interests of the liberty of Belgium and, in- deed, of Europe. What we are all of us begin- ning to doubt is whether we have not ourselves been robbed of the very thing for which we went to war. The Czar was called the Liberator by thou- sands in the Balkan States; but his own people knew him better. Perhaps in order to free Europe from a despotic militarism we, too, may have to insist an a larger measure of liberty. If so, we must be clear as to what we have lost, how we have lost it, and what we mean to win.
Social Side of Wakefield.
Social Side of Wakefield. MORE UNDERSTANDING OF THE C.O. We have received an interesting letter ad- dressed from Conscience Hotel, Love Lane, Wakefield—in reality the House of Detention, where 430 C.O.s are lodged and work—from our Comrade David Evans. From the letter we should surmise that the C.O. in Wakefield is as well off as any of his fellow-rebels in the coun- try, and is managing to make an impression at last. on those that are placed in authority over blitt--a, class of official who, at first, seemed to understand the C.O. and his attitude as well as an elementary school child understands the bio- logical beginnings of life. This we infer has been largely due to the Social Committee's activities, for we are told that at last Tuesday's monthly concert in the Prison Chapel the warders, their wives and daughters were genial, and were shown to their places by C.O.s, whilst one of the great successes of the evening as evidenced by a triple encore, was the baritone solos of Mr. John B. Henderson, himself a warder. The, programme was a comprehensive and alluring one, opening with an organ recital by Mr. F. S. Howes, in- eluding solos by Mr. Henderson aforementioned, as the lawyers have it; and tenor songs of great merit by a Mr. ?, who turned out to be the pri- son dispenser, Mr. Haekett, whether a C.O. or not we do not know; violin solos by Mr. J. Lazarus, humourous interludes by Maurice Sour- rah, excellent elocution from Mr. Geo. Dardis, and two heavy items of cAitsanding merit—a Scotch playlet, "Jean," by Dr. Colquhoun, ex- cellently well done by W. Lindsay and Hugh Gavin, two names with a North o' the Tweed accent that should have given the correct lingual atmosphere; and "The Maker of Dreams," a delightful phantasy by Oliphant Dawn, that was admirably handled by James Rigg, W. A. Cooper and Joseph I. Roper. There are many of our South Wales friends there, from whom we should like to hear more frequently.
RHEUMATISM- KIDNEY TROUBLE.
RHEUMATISM- KIDNEY TROUBLE. Rheumatism is due to uric acid crystals in the joints and muscles, the result of excessive uric acid in the system that the kidneys failed to remove as nature intended, and this acid is to a great extent the cause of backache, lum- bago, sciatica,, gout, urinary trouble, stone, gravel and dropsy. The success of Estorai Tablets for the treat- ment of rheumatism and other forms of kidney trouble is due to the fact that they restore the kidney sto healthy action, and thereby remove the cause of the trouble, and have cured num- berless cases after the failure of other remedies, which accounts for them superseding out-of-date medicines that are sold at a price beyond all but the wealthy. Women frequently suffer from ills, aches, and pains under the impression that they are victims of ailments common to their sex, but more often than not it is due to the kidneys, and in such cases Estora Tablets will set them right! The test is at least worth making, as woman's happi- ness and success in life depends on her health. Estorta Tablets fully warrant their description —an honest remedy at an honest price, 1/3 per box of 40 tablets, or six for 6/9. All Chemists sr, postage free, from Estora Co., 132, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C. Bargoed and Aberbargoed Agent-W. PARRY WILLIAMS, M.P.S.
Labour's May Festival.
Labour's May Festival. TRIUMPHANT SUCCESS OF MERTHYR I TRADES COUNCILS' COMPETITIONS. EXTREMELY HIGH MUSICAL MERIT I DISPLAYED. Whatever political body or party one may be- long to one cannot deny the extremely high musical standard that marked the Trades Coun- cil May .Festival at the, Rink last Thursday as distinctive from anything of its kind seen in the town for this long time. Taken generally these festivals, even in the Northern Counties of Eng- land, where they have reashed their zenith, do not produce the very highest class of art; their competitive nature, presumably, militating against this, but it would be unfair to make that statement of last Thursday's festival. There was a distinctive artistry, about the whole pro- gramme, that was almost entirely free from the earmarks and tags that are so necessarily part of, whilst they also mar, these festivals. Per- haps this superior musical effect may be attri- butable to the common-sense of the organisers in weeding down the competitors in each of the eight competitive events to 'three, by a care- fully tested selective competition in the after- noon. Not even the most rapt worshippers in the temples of music can withstand the tedium of these long selective performances. It was sheer wisdom that dictated this policy, and we congratulate the organisers, on sparing us this ordeal. One criticism we heard put, our own opinion as well, in such small space, that we re- produce it as an introduction to further mention of the items; it was: The male voices were a class above, the women; the girls a class alone, the men, and the boys were in a class quite by themselves at the top." All who were present will agree to that classi- fication which does not belittle the efforts of either the ladies or gentlemen, but merely ex- presses the superlative excellencies of the girls and boys, and particularly of the latter. One felt in many of the classes that it was a pity that there were not prizes for all the competi- tors, but especially fn the boys' solo did one feel that a prize and a similar medallion to that given by Mr. J.P. George, the ex-finance secre- tary of the old Trades Council, and won by Mor- ris Morgan, of Aberdare, was not available for R. Evans, Penrhiwceiber, and D. G. Hardman, of Mountain Asll. In a lesser degree the same is true of the girl solos, in which Gwladys Thomas (Merthyr) and Megan sang only just in- ferior to the almost perfect rendering by Doris Davies (Fochriw) which carried off the half- guinea. The bass solo also brought out some very good voices, but there was a general con- census that the adjudication which awarded the prize to Mr .John Williams, of Mountain Ash, was a fair one, and expressed the merits of that able singer's performance. The elocution of "Betty" (Madame Emily Pickford, Penarth) which brought her the prize in that section, provided one of those rare treats that come a,11 too seldom in this most difficult of arts. Her choice from one of the finest passages in the Shakesperian historical tragedies almost entitled her to the prize, but her rendering was most elevating. The passage took on new beauties even to those of us who have read it many times, and that is always a good measure of elocution- ary excellence. Her competitors were fine, too, but Poe's The Raven is one of the most diffi- cult pieces in English literature to recite, and there was a tendency to over theatricalise the gestures that are necessary to give life to the eccentric American geniusj' lines. "Mabel," Madam Sarah Thomas, Penydarren, was easily head of the sopranos, and fully merited her placing, though the piece she tackled was a diffi- cult one, and placed more stress on her top re- gister than is advisable—her hearing her at her very best. The tenors were another good class, in which the winner, Mr. Todd Jones (Treher- bert) was the outstanding figure. Contralto's are always scarce and it is not therefore wonder- ful that this competition was tne weakest in the programme, though here it is that the contraltos suffered from comparison by the excellent voices that we had heard. Had the contraltos been heard before the others, we should have thought them great, and as it was everyone enjoyed the solos, and especially that of Miss Florrie Jones, Penydarren, which carried off the prize. The open championship solo, was, after the boys, the great event of the evening, and Mr. W. E. Llew- ellyn (Maesteg) made a hard fight to take the prize, though he was ousted by Mr. Todd Jones, who also won the tenor solo competition. From a musical standpoint Mr. Llewellyn's conception and interpretation of the competitive piece, were much more artistic than Mr. Todd's, but his il- legitimate use of the tremulo prevented him from carrying off the cup, given by Messrs. John Lewis, and its accompanying two guineas. That is perhaps the one weakness, if it can be so called, of these competitions, that the artistry of the individual performer must ever be subser- vient to fidelity to, score, but a moment's thought shows how very necessary it is to hold rigidly to correctness of interpretation, otherwise the judges would never be able to adjudicate. Here a word of praise is due to the judges who carried out their thankless task to the entire satisfac- tion of the audience. We do not remember a Festival offering so much real merit in which the adjudications have been so universally recog- nised as just and proper. The adjudicators were Music, Mr. D. C. Williams, Merthyr, and Mr. Tom Price, Merthyr; and elocution, the Rev. J. Morgan Jones, M.A., Merthyr. The names of Prof. Richard Howells,, Aoerdare, and Mr. David Williams, Merthyr, are too well known as accom- panists and in musical circles to need anything but our thanks for their services here. Whilst Mr. Enoch Morrell, J.P., was his usual self as conductor and chairman, which means, of course, that he fitted the part like an arm fits the or- ganism of the human body-naturally. e To sum up, the concert was a real musical treat, far in advance of what we had expected from the somewhat scurried manner in which the Council had decided to celebrate May Day after this fashion. As an educational work it did, undoubtedly, do a great deal of good, a good which will be reflected strongly in musical circles in our localities for a long while to come. But its real greatness lies in the fact that it will justify the more ambitious schemes with which it is intended to celebrate Labour's May Day in the years that are still to be born. It justified the belief in the power to materialise those schemes, and justifying has made them certain. No one could 'have put the meaning of May Day to Labour better than did the chairman in his opening speech. There is one word of praise still to be sounded, and that is in praise of Mr. W. Harris, who brought the whole of his huge fund of enthusiasm, as well as his very marked abili- ties as an organiser, to bear on this. To him more than to any other is due the success of Merthyr's first Labour May Festival.
KEIR HARDIE MEMORIAL FUND.…
KEIR HARDIE MEMORIAL FUND. I Collcted by Mr. Idris Davies, Merthyr: Idris Davies, 2s.; Dd. Morgan (Abercanaid), 2s.; E. Fairmer (Abercanaid), Is.; total, 5s.
Advertising
n< =»a»l= inner to 011 IBM 1ft n i sk [ ?""?"? HALOED OVER! D° War- -?TThe Prison Experiences of Mr. J. Scott Duckers, 0= B ,k SoHcitor, of Chancery Lane, under the Military Service |j • 00, by himself. With Foreword by T. EDMUND 2 S Act, written by himself. i/6 net; postage 2d. 0 0  HARVEY, M.P. 1/6 net postage 2d. 2 Of immediate human Interest and Perna-nent document iry value. H c===————. and per_anent document ary val ue I J THE FEET OF THE YOUNG MEN ? :iC War-Novel, bR:ETR2I\or of Two fl[J H Who declined." 2s. net; postage 3d. The scene is laid in a Garri- 2 n son Town somewhere in Britain. The time is the first two Yeoxs of n the war. •< II ====^==_=_. Powerfui S  London: C. W. DANIEL, LIMITED, X S  6raham House, Tudor Street, E.C.4. War-Novel jj oc=:=='O e?. 00 .00 GOOOOc:tOO 80 00 ?.? 1i ?? UMITED. ?????? HEAD OFFICE: 71, LOMBARD ST., E.C. COLONIAL AND FOREIGN DEPARTMENT: 17, CORNHILL, EX. This Bank possesses exceptional facilities for the transfer of moneys to or from France, including payments t against documents, &c., in connection with its French Auxiliary, r LLOYDS BANK (FRANCE) LIMITED, which has Offices at PARIS (3, Place de POpira), Biarritz, Bordeaux, Havre and Nice. r I DOWLAIS CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY, Limited. ) | 16, 17, 18, and 19, Union Street, Dbwlais. • ) DRAPERY DEPT. =  We are now showing a Large Assortment of New Goods for the I J) coming Season:- ,1 I Household Lmen. Blankets. Quilts. Sheets. | s Carpets and Rugs. j j Carpets and Rugs. | MILLINERY DEPT. j 1 Costumes. Jackets. Blouses. Ladies and | | Children's Millinery. I j VALUE AND QUALITY GUARANTEED !F YOU BtY AT • j 16, 17, 18 & 19, Union Street, Dowlais. I  Pantscallogg Dowials. Caeharria, Dowlais. | I I High Street, Ponydarren. 1 I Station Terrae, Sedlinog. $ S IL.t .11 NATIONAL Amalgamated LABOURERS' UNION. Registered Office-I ST. DAVIDS PLACE, RUTLAND STREET, SWANSEA,. The Live Fighting Union for South Wales. We Don't Merely Ust Benefits on Paper-We PAY Them. General Secretary JOHN TWOMEY. Organiser: "BOB" WILLIAMS, 220 Blackfrlars Road, London, S.E. District Secretaries: A. BARTON, 5 Stuart Street, Docks, Cardiff; JOHN O'LEARY, Centory Institute. Winmill Street, Newport, Mon.; Coun. J. POWLESLAND, 10 Picton Place, Swansea ALL CLASSES CATERED FOR-MALE AND FEMALE. Affiliated to the National Transport Workers' Federation, Trade Union Congress, and National Labour Party. Approved under the National Health Insurance Acts.
.Get Your Hand Down. I
Get Your Hand Down. I IT MAY BE YOUR TURN NEXT. I When the eight engineers were arrested, in connection with the recent strike troubles, a few people in London were determined that they should have, as far as possible, a fair trial and be legally represented. To that end they en- gaged solicitors and briefed counsel. Consider- able financial obligations were incurred, and, in addition, the men concerned were put to a great deal of personal expense. It is proposed to raise a fund to meet these liabilities, and Mr. George Lansbury has agreed to become treasurer of the fund. If the monop is to be raised, it will largely be by means of collections in the work- shops. This might be taken in hand by a re- sponsible committee, and probably the shop stewards would be willing te act. All monies should be sent to Mr. George Lansbury, The ■ "Herald I I Office, 21 Tudor Street, London. E.C.4.
Merthyr Recorder.
Merthyr Recorder. MR. MILNER JONES APPOINTED. Mr. Edward WHliam Milner-Jones has been appointed recorder of Merthyr Tydfil in succes- sion ib Mr. Albert Parsons, K.C., who has been appoited a. county-murt judge. apge new recorder was called to the Bar in 1881. He has been recorder of Carmarthen since 1905, is vice-chairman of the Carmarthen Quar- ter Sessions, and acted for some time as Com- missioner under the Military Service (Civil Lia- bilities) Committee, and had his offices at the Principality-buildings, CardiS. He is the son of the late Mr. Edward Jones, of Velindre Lha- I dovery, and one of the most popular Weig? of the South Wales Circuit.