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[No title]
———————— Steady progress is being made in Swansea and West Wales along the higher reachof musical endeavour. It is impossible to es- cape this conduÚon, taking into account the discarding of hackneyed works fromt the programmes of even church and chapel j choirs, and the courage, and devotion with which the best 61 these are cutting into vir- gin sail. And progress is being made manifest in the splendid efforts of organisations like the Swansea Musical Society to familiarise the music-loving public with the best of modern works. So far as Swansea is con- cerned the propaganda maintained by such societies for uplifting the standard cf taste and a ppreciiation is the more praiseworthy because 6adly handicapped by the lack of a concert hall of adequate size, necessitating a scale of charges to cover expenses apt— as on Monday evening—to leave too many vacant seats in front, although the other parts of the building are crowded. Opinions may differ as to the relative excellence cf the. several productions, so valuably educative aa well as delight-yield- ing, but the belief that on the whole the movement is forward and upward is encour- aged by the fact that the general disposi- tion is to acclaim the latest as the best. T-Ia-ppily we are not called upon to insti- tute comparisons between them or even to offer detailed criticism such as may be found in another column, but merely to testify to the conviction that musical endeavour is be- ing directed on the right trail and that the Musical Society, conducted with rare in- epira-tion by Dr. Vaughan Thomas, a fine orchestra of sixty instrumentalists, and ex- ceedingly capable soloists, held the audience enthralled by an enkindling and deeply sympatlietlic interpretation of I Elgar's The Apostles." The en- thusiasm aroused at ("w. broke through all control, wit!, b result that ap- plause was interposed, at the wrong time, interrupting the now of the musical narra- tive and depriving the closing bars of solo or chorus of their effect. "The Apostles," as given on Monday evening, enabled the people privileged for the first time to hear it to understand why Elgar, a native of Hereford, is deemed by competent judges at home and abroad the greatest composer yet produced by these islands, one inevitably destined to be en- roiled amongst the small group. of Immortals whose works "im precious and permanent mooew fcw, thn entife wcoid, and not for a generation or two only. The orchestration of "The Apostles" is even more inspiring then the choral and solo parts, and all is pervaded by a rich, tender melody and the most perfect expression of devotional feeling. The colouring at times is thrilling in its dra- niatic force. The Musical Society is engaged in a nobler mission than the making of awney, but it camnot persist, notwithstand- ing the self-sacrifice of its members, without the support essential to cover the cost of performances meant to be of the highest merit in every respect. For the sake of mu- sical culture at Swansea it is earnestly to be, hoped that Dr. Thomas and his society will persevere, for they are sowing for a bountiful and beneficent harvest. The orchestra, which contributed so much to. the brilliant. achievement, contained a few local instrumentalists of exceptional skiU. If one entirely or even mainly local could be brought together, not only would a desirable impetus be given efforts to strengthen musical Wales where it is weak- est, but the most expensive item on the ex- penditure side would also be substantially reduced. knd there would be the further advantage that a closer touch could be es- tablished between choir and orchestra by means of rehearsals together. If the man- J agers of the Empire ajid the theatres of the f town could be induced to put up with sub- stitutes for their customary instrumentalists; on one evening each year this dream of a competent local orchestra could be easily realised, because tho (nucleus would be fur- nished around which professionals and amateurs could gather. There is a wealth of vocal capacity in the town and district; what is needed fpr its adequate use in the public interest is a local orchestra capable of co-operating on terms of equality with the choirs. Taken up in the right spirit by the right people, every obstacle in the way of a scheme for realising this idea could be sur- mounted and a broad path opened for mu- sical progress at an accelerated pace. -40
[No title]
People who imagine that because galvan- ised sheet producers have been able to agree to a "pooling arrangement-w hereby it is hoped an exoessive output demoralising to the trade may be prevented—tinplate manu- facturers can easily follow suit, fail to appre- ciate the conditions peculiar to tinplate pro- duction, which widely differentiate the latter from the other industry, and create difficulties most difficult to overcome. A "pool" is comparatively easy to arrange when the articles produced by the various firms are practically uniform in character and are governed by a standard gauge. The circumstances are very different where the uniformity embraces only a part of the output, and most of the works specialise in some way or another. If the number of mills were made the basis for the apportion- ment of orders under a pooling scheme, th" obsolete or nearly obsolete mill, so un-I economical in the working as to be practi- cally wo!'thle&, would be placed on an equality with a new mill, with all the latest improvements in driving power, etc., for facilitating a maximum output. On the Pther hand, the average yield per mill over ft given period would not afford a satisfactory lbafis unless the grade of plate worked were taken into account. In 3hort, the situation fcristles with difficulties. In onlv one way can a successful oool- arrangement be devised £ i;d operated, i In view ot the indisputable benefits that would accrue to manufacturers collectively, sa-ch of the Jatter must irust in his fellows and forbear from using the ".pool" merely ior his owi^ advantage. Genuine ive and take is essential to any fair trial of the scheme. Business is bad, and may pre- sently become worse for all concerned a i remedy of the heroic kind is required to stop the rot induced by an excessive and un- 1 controlled output. Only by an all-round loyalty to the spirit, as well as the letter, of an agreement can the gocd hoped for be secured. If individual manufacturers seek to shape the terms of the pool primarily j to advance their own particular interests i rather than those of the trade generally, no agreement can be effected, and the pre- [ 8(-nt. dog-pat-log confusion will continue, j And every one of the manufacturers stands to lose by this. The forty or fifty mills now J at a standstill whilst the stocks are ac- cumulating ifclic-ate the reality of excessive output generally, and unless the principle of the survival of the fittest is to be allowed unrestricted scope, involving grave conse- quences for some works, the manufacturers must agree to some arrangement whereby control can be assumed of the yield per mill.
[No title]
The solution of the housing problem at Swansea is beset with serious difficulties. In fact, these disclose themselveg in increasing numbers as the Council gets into close grips with it. And probably the most perplexing is that presented by tcmants of houses unfit for habitation and the considerable number help- ing to overcrowd by occupying apartments who cannot afford to pay the rent of a de- cent dwelling. There are many scores of people living in cottages unfit for human beings which cannot by any repairs be made satisfactory; theie are hundreds more occupying cottages held under leases with only a few more years tc run, the owners of which will not spend the money upon altera- tions and repairs necessary to render them whoLmuc The Council has power to close the unrepairable, and in default of repairs being made, practically confiscate or raze to Vie ground the repairable. But these powers cannot be strictly en- forced without inflicting hardships upon in- dividuals practically certain to produce an outcry It will be asked What is to be- come of the dishoused? There are men and women who have grown old in ramshackle buildings for which, despite flagrant de- fects and apart from tie question of rent, they have the sentimental preferences at- taching to heme. I fevicted these cannot pay rent for the cheapest of the new Cor- poration cottages even if these were avail- able. Are they to be left on the high road ? And the larger number who constitute the bulk of the population of slumdom—what is to be done with them if all slum property is swept away? Past experience, as Coun. Molyneux (during the illness of Coun. Morris virtual chairman of the Housing Committee) said, indicates that no one in reality is driven to the workhouse or left without- a roof to shelter him or her. In various ways the ejected find shelter some- where—that is unless a very large number are dispossessed at the same time. On the other hand, yielding to consideration for occu- piers of insanitary houses involves the con- tinuance of the latter and the holding back of any comprehensive change for the better. Corporation houses at five, six, seven or more siia.lling.si per week, do not meet the case of the classes which cannot afford to pay more than two or three shillings. On the other hand the Corporation would be applying a remedy worse than the disease in building model cottages and letting them indiscrim- in&tingly to the very poor, and the work- man fully capable of maintaining himself, and family, for less than their letting value, thus subsidising a limited number of people -who need no subsidy—at the expense of thousands poorer than themsel ves. Liver- pool At-c-nis to have discovered the right. line of advance, in distinguishing between ten- ants able and willing to pay the rent—as determined by the capital cost—for Cor- poration houses, and tho class made up of out-door paupersand that 'immedia.tely above not in receipt of poor law relief, who CrUi pay only a small rent. For the former dwellings carrying rents covering all charges and no inquisition as to means. For tho other due recognition of limited resources by the provision of fiats where accommoda- tion, under wholesome conditions, as af- forded for the same rent as was previously paid in slumdom. There might be direct lows, but assuredly much indirect gain from the latter, sinca pestilential areas, always menacing public health, would disappear. The chief and indeed the only SOT ions objection to the flat is due to the prejudice created by the first and least desirable of these structures. Americans attribute the introduction of and persistence with the di- vision of a railway carriage on British rail- ways into detached compartments without any means for jnter-communication-thø cor- ridor carriage in recent years has been rap- idly displacing it—to the unsociability of the English their desire to be isolated from their fellows. And the flat has been op- posed partly if not mainly because the ten- ant could not enjoy the legendary privileges supposed to be conferred by a separate home —"an Englishman's castle." As if people shading the occupation of an over-crowded house, or struggling under the difficulties of slumdum, were better off. The fact is the flat system which enables a family to add elastically to the number ot rooms re- quired, as the needs and the capacity to pay determine, is, in a sanitary and every sense, superior to the arrangement it ought, to supersede. The flat is becoming a factor of increas- ing importance to the housing of all classes, short of the wealthiest, in London it is in general use in all the cities of France, and in Germany is considered the only praçhoal solution of the housing difficulty in populous centres. And there is no country in the world where the influx from rural districts into the town has been on such an over- powering scale as in Germany, and con&e- quently the housing problem more acute in the towns. With that patient research, j cautious application of acquired knowledge, J and the ordered means to a definite end characteristic of our Germanic neighbours, the flat system for rich and poor alike, as the best solution of the housing problem, is generally adopted. In the, same block of buildings at Berlin or Hamburg are housed people w)ho&a incomes range from £ 5.000 to JB50 a, year. For the Germans have purged the system of its worst defects in the prim- itive stage and are making it yield the maximum good. —————— e-
[No title]
In connection with the report on the land problem, recently issued by the Land Conference, the Liberal Press, and Ministerial speakers. have evidently decided that "silence is golden." Except for a short reference 1 to this important document embodying a few brief and indecisive quotations, those who limit their newspaper reading to Ministerial journals have been Jeft. uninformed concerning the views of the greatest and most important association in the country concerned with the valuation, occupation, and cultivation of land, while those who have read the report, or have seen extracts from it in other newspapers, have sought in vain in the columns of the Liberal morning news- papers for any sort of reply to the weighty judgment passed by the organisation which reflects the opinions of the Surveyors' Institution, the Auctioneers' and Estate Agents' Institute, the Central Chamber of Agriculture, the Farmers' Club, the Central Land Association, the Land Agents' Society, the Rating Surveyors' Association, the Central Association of Agricultural and Tenant Right Valuers, and the 1834 Club. The explanation is simple. The favourite Liberal contention that adverse criticism is < due to political spito, cannot be brought against the authors of the report issued by the Land Conference, since it is well-known that this organisation is wholly independent I of politics, and has only as a matter of the rarest exception associated itself with criticism of a matter of current political controversy. Unable to use the favourite excuse to which We have referred, and un- able to reply to this expert indictment of the competency and methods of the Liberal Land Inquiry Committ&&, and of the "land- bursting" proposals of Mr. Lloyd George, the Liberal Press has taken refuge in the tactics of the fabled ostrich which, burying its head in the sands, wa.s able to declare that it could not see anything to disturb it. This was for Liberal journalists "the only way." To comment upon the Land Con- ference Report was to advertise the fact that the duly appointed representatives of all the greatest non-party organisations concerned with land, problems have, on examination, found the Liberal land policy so dangerous to rural interests that they have considered jt, right to publish a warning to those who will be affected by Mr. Lloyd George's new speculation. This attitude the Land Conference has been forced to adopt in order to fulfil its duty of guarding the interests of the whole rural community. The authors of the Con- ference Report point out that the Liberal Land Committee must he regarded "as an unofficial body armed with none of the powers necessary for the conduct of a really searching investigation. No member of the committee claims expert knowledge of rural conditions. Giving every credit for the intention to be unbiased, it is scarcely possible for a committee so financed, selected and composed, to make a wholly unprejudiced and open-minded survey of the problems at issue on which sound legislation can be based." In its "Notes on the Land Problem," this un- biased authority effectively summarises both I the Unionist and the Liberal proposals in the light of present day rural conditions, and gives what is in all essentials judgment in favour of the ownership plan adopted by the Unionist Party. The gist of this judgment is condensed in the definite state- ment that "the superior fairness of what may be called the 'Ownership Plan' and the superior advantages offered to the holder are obvious." The very desirable effects to be expected of that policy are described as follows in the invaluable report issued by the Land Conference, whioh should be in the hands of all who are interested in the welfare of the rural community:—"Such a land policy embraces all classes of the rural commurity. Agricultural labourers, owning their own cottages and gardens, and enjoying rights of pasture common, would have before them new hopes and new interests. Alen who are already more favourably circumstanced would find, as occupying owners of small- holdings, progressive opportunities of ad- vancement. Farmers, secure of their posi- tion, whether as tenants or as owners, would dare to stretch themselves to the fdl .tent. Landowners, regaining confidence in, their investment, would ajyain embark capital in the common venture of farming. The need of agriculture for. more men and more money would be satisfied. The land would yield More produce, and support a larger and more contented population. In this revival, improved methods of rural education, transport, credit, and co-opera- tion—especially that form which takes the shape of farm viMa.ges, and is so ably described by Mr. B-evil Tollemache, in I 'The Occupying Ownership of Land'—would play their part."
[No title]
Whether or not the antagonism between Mr. Lloyd George and Mr. Winston Churchill, long foreseen to be inevitable, is about to reach the point at which even the appearance of unity and the power to co- operate has to be definitely abandoned, is a matter of political interest and aJso of seme nation-il importance. The rupture of the friendships of allied and powerful politicians, to whatsoever cause due, is liable to react upon the State sometimes to the extent of deflecting its general policy amd giving a new direction to its legislation. It is possible that the Chanoellor and the First Lord, in- fluenced by the considerations which in- duce the members of a Ministry to cling together even after irreconcilable differences have disclosed themselves, may for the time compose their quarrel and in i tha fashion familiar in politics affect a cor- diality and an agreement in public the more demonstrative because of the need of cor- recting public impressions due to the leakage of information denoting internal dissensions. But whatever the outcome of the moment in its relations to the individual Ministers concerned, the issue which made the breach will have to be fought out, and whoever may be the leaders on either side the conflict will be earnestly maintained, for in the na- ture of things there can be no compromise between a policy of national suicide and a policy of national safety. In the words of Sir John Fisher, "the British Empire floats on the British Navy," and unless the latter is equal to the discharge of the duties liable at any time to ba imposed upbn it our Imand Story comes to a sudden and squalid end, for "Thy story, thy glory The very fame of thee, It rose hot, it grows not, It comes not save by sea." At the time when the forces are being marshalled for the recurring battle between the rival policies comes most opportunely a little book in the Imperial Library Series, by Mr. Percy Hurd. which should be in the hands of every man and womam who realises that the politics of a country, properly understood, arc concerned with the means by which the latter is governed, and its future to a very large degree determined. Ttiere is no question of higher importance to us than the naval one, and none calling so imperatively for an enlightened public opinion. In "Our Navy," by Mr. Hurd. you have not only the history of British n.aval events and of the various developments in naval power, but also a clear aaid masterly exposition of the principles of naval war- fare, and of the effects which in the past have flowed from success or failure on sea.. The contention of the party with which Mr. Lloyd George has publicly associated himself is that the rivalry in arma- ments is wasteful; that this country should set the example in abating preparations for war; that in this way money will be avail- able for more beneficial purposes and the necessity for levying- fresh taxes be avoided. In reply, it can be urged that the expendi- ture oil army and nvy is wasteful in thz, sense that money paid in in- suring against lire or death is waste- ful, but no well managed company or firm neglects to insure against the one, nor any thoughtful person able to insure considers he can, without injustice to his family, dispense with the other. This country cannot, without grave peril, set an example by impairing the strength of the arm by which it exists. The attempt would be suicidal. As ) -Afr. Prcy II ;n1 points out The conclusion is inevitable that the Ger- man. Navy Acts of 1906 and 1908, and the 't6 and 1908, ?g.n- d th. activity in shipbuilding of Austria and Italy, j were the direct resa ts of the effort of the British Government > set an example in the, limitation of naval :maments. The action of the latter, def< ded on the highest humanitarian groan s, unquestionably led to the belief that ) £ > British people had either lost the dele aination or the power to maintain the old fpremay of the British fleet in the face of the increasing rivalry of other Powers. I..t short, the example of moderation encouraged the very competi- tion it was designed to arrest, and thus in- creased the burden of naval expenditure of all the naval Powers "—including our own, which in 1909 had to be increased in a spirit of panic because of the situation created by the German stealthy advances in construc- tion, which A.«quith confessed had been a great .1T"iae" to the Govern- ment. Mr. Lloyd George,. in his call for an ar- rest in naval preparations, advanced as a reason that cur relations with Germany had greatly improved. As if these could not worsen in a day to the point of imminent war us they did in May, 1911. The material for starting a general blaze lies in abund- ance all over tne -?ear East. The fate of Albania and the Agean Islands, the par-I tition of spheres of influence in Asia Minor —these still .erioueiy preoccupy tbo aiipl-j- pi&tists—and the German coup, by which one of its generals wag to be plaoed in control of the Sultan's troops HI charge of the defences of the Dardanelles might easily have pro- voked reprisals of a dangerous character on c;18 part oi a. Russia less determined to avoid war until her Army has been thoroughly re- organised and a new Navy brought into be- ing. No well-informed man, having regard to the influences visibly and invisibly at work, would giveltmg odds against the out- b,eak of a European war any month this year. With such recent examples of the dra- matic suddenness of international conflict, or its avoidance only at the eleventh hour, as the Russia-Japanese war, the war between Italy and Turkey, between Turkey and the Balkan Allies; arid the Agadir incident, which brought us to the very edge of the precipice—what measure of assurance have we that national defence can be safely ne- glected. There is a fermentation proceeding in Ger- many, the stormy petrel of Europe, which, if not speedily arrested, may tempt its rulers to resort to the old desperate device of dis- ti acting attention frofti internal troubles by means of risky at-ventures abroad. The move at Constantinople, producing compli- cations with Russia, now being laboriously straightened out, indicated readiness to in- cur dangers. The Zabern incident, which brought the, military into conflict with the ci '101 authorities, has had other consequences. In the demonstration given of the power of "•is Armv autocracy to flout the Parliament, the Press and the peopde, the latter were taught their impotence under the existing conditions. In ti s full flush of their vie- tory Prussian generals, at a gathering of the Prussian League, referred to the mem- bers of the Reichstag • a& a mixed horde, and one of tihern, exalting the Prussian in com- parison with the people of other of the fede- rated States, said, iu effect, that the Bavar- ians proved inch cowards in the fighting around Orleans in 1870 that they took to flight, and only recovered themselves when the Prussians cairiti to their rescue. This manifestation of the Pretorian Guard spi'rit of the Prussian Pangermanists has set on edge the teeth of the Bavarians, Wurtem- bargeirs and otlier sections of the German confede.ration., Ministers who are the spokesmen for Sovereigns have joined poli- i-lie l i;daii g thc S'ocial- ticians of every tint, including the Social- ists, in donounci;g Prussian particularist tendencies and arrogance. And even in Prussia only the reactionaries of the extreme Right are not displeased. The significance for us of these domestic dissensions lies in their possible effect upon the foreign policy oi Germany. A Gorman Socialist leader de- clared recently th ;t unless there is a decided move towards th? democratization of the German Governn int within the next three months war is a practically certain alterna- tive. Count Revantlow, the mcst influen- tial publicist in Germany, a few days later, gave point to the prediction by making vio- lent and highly provocative attacks in his paper on Franco and Russia over the Con- stantinopl butiinuss. There are advocates of a slackening in re- spect of naval armaments whose arguments are more insidious. They take the line that the reduced scale which, they favour would still ensure an adequate Navy. In regard to this it is necessary first to appreciate the ask which devolves upon the Navy of an island ki/igdom with an empire like ours. Lord Selborne, an ex-First Lord of the Ad- miralty, in a preface to Mr. Hurd' book, describes and defines the task in these terms Mr. Winston Churchill has divided naval supremacy into two kinds, general and local. The existence of the Empire depends on that ger.eral supremacy. It does not matter where the great battle is fought, whether it be in the Pacific or the Atlantic or the Mediterranean or the Indian Ocean, if the British Fleets win that battle, then every part of the Empire, New Zealand and South Africa, Australia and Canada. India and the United Kingdom are all alike saved to work out their own development in the part- nership of the British Empire, without for- eign interference. Conversely, if the British Fleets be defeated in such an action, wher- ever it. takes place, every part of the Em- pire is laid bare to attack, suffering, and. if the en emy is ca.Da,Mc of such sustained effort, the loss of independence. The local naval supremacy is, however, of secondary importance only to the general. In the weeks and possibly months which may ela.pse before the decisive battle is h *e -w ?,r?. ,Ire ta-ight those parts of the Enjpire which are more remote from the scene of decisive ac- tion must be immuno from molestation and the trade of the Empire must be free to come and go." Tt followr, (he continues) "that for the assertion of the general naval supremacy cfucentr.T.tnd neet? will be required in the fateful .sea?. and that for the protection d? where both of its soil and of its trade the Empire -will need detached sqna?-cns. Applying these principles to Che circum- stances of the present moment I would put the case thus. The inner guard of thr- FT). pire is callerl to the North Sea, the English Channel, Atlantic and the Mediterran- ean. In the other seas ships of war wiil be needed to constitute the outer gcard. The ¡ srrpeme question of the moment is this: Is the naval strength of the Empire niffi- rient for the work of the outer guard ?,n, ()i the inner guard as well? I do not tMnk it I is. The magnitude and nature fhe t::l.-1k ■having b-p?n indicated, what ?bout tl?? moans f?T acratnrolishine it? Th naval cMTesDOTider.' of the Globe presents t?pm in a mitshioll. He writes: "Tt may surprise I the anti-armament party to learn that whereas in 1905 our superiority over Ger- many in completed ships, ranging from battleships to destroyers (omitting all launched over 10 years), stood at 170 per cent. it has now dropped to just over 19 per cent. Of completed ships included in the abovB-TOained category, all launched over ten years, We possessed 250 in 1905, as against 85 owned by Germany; the figures at present are 176 British and 147 German ships. Ten years ago we had 35 completed btaifetieships to Germany's 15; to-day the figures are 24 and 19 respectively; of all armoured ships there ware ten yearns ago 63 British and 21 German, as oompafrad with 44 and 27 respectively at present. In de- stroyers the difference is very marked. Ten years ago we had 125 to Germany's 43, whereas to-day the totals are 111 British and 100 German, wthic.h means that our superiority in this type of vessel has come down to 11 per cent. from 190.7 per cent. in 1905." The Small Navy faction appeal to the eel- fish instincts of the people, encourage the indolence and indifference which, if they prevail, presage the ruin of the British Empire, sundered into many parts, and the loss off national independence. For a vic- torious Germany could dictate terms as Rome did to Carthagle, precluding the possi- bility of the revival of our naval power. German success at sea would render invasion unnecessary, foT the country could be starved into submission in a few Weeks, and once granted free and uninterrupted passage for her sioldiens across the North Sea, armies could he landed in such forces that resistance, whether on the part of a skeleton army of regulars, or half-trained Territorials, would be equivtiient to an invi- | tatior: to a massacre. The belief at the baclk of the mind of the average Briton that in a grave emergency theme would be a nallv en maese to the defence of the country and thiajt we should muddle through is the worst bind of delusion. As in the war of 1870-1, the Germans would refuse to treat as soldiers men not in uniform, shooting ewtry- one captured as an outlaw. For the busi- ness of war must be confined to profes- sionals, and short, shrift is given outsiders suspected of talking a hand vin it. A test is about to be applied to the patriot- 'sm and capacity for self-sacrifice of the people of these Islainds. Cosmopolitans of the type AI Sir John Brunner, not unreason- ably greeted with cries of "Alien" at the City meeting, cannot be expected to share or even to appreciate the feelings of British- ers "racy of the soil," to whom the sacri- fices, the heroism, and the patient labour of a long line of ancestors, have a meaning and value. It is upon the native stock that we must rely in the hour of supreme danger; the cosmopolitans, who can live comfortably in any country, are a source of weakness, not of strength, more especially when, by means of their wealth, they possess influence and power. M. Boutroux, the French philosopher and the latest elected of the "Immortals" of the Academy, in his ad- dress on Thursday when installed used lan- guage addressed to France, but equally applicable to Britain: "It would seem to in- dicate that the old valiant and joyous confi- dence in the future was yielding place to that dumftl ccmfort; and individual independence which was si/btly insinuated by selfishness into souls from which faith had vanished." The triumph of the suicide party would nio-an the triumph of -all the unmanly, indolent and selfish influences connoting incapacity to sustain the traditions by which the Empire has grown and prospered. It would indi- cate unmistakable racial decadence. With the certainty that the evasion of duties and obligrations ultimately yielded not ease and comfort, but intolerable burdens and the humiliations of a people, become a "conscript appendage to a stronger Power." For the price of safety in being strong and prepared—a condition which is the best preservative of peace—is small compared with that exacted by a war invited by a disclosure of weakness. The chances of an armed conflict between this country and Germany diminish or increase in direct ratio with the striking power of the British Navy. Politicians are squabbling over a matter of three or four millions which may make all the difference between peace and war for tIS d'llfing the next decade. What would war against a first-class Power mean for even financially, putting aside the other consequences? Mr. Edgar Crammond, in an address a few days ago to the Alder shot Military Society, helps us to a conclusion. In the war of 1870-1 France lost in killed, wounded, and prisoners 21,500 officers a.nd 702.000 men, and the cost, including the indemnity of fiSOO.OOO.OOD paid to Germany, was £ 544.000.000. Germany's losses were 6,247 officers and 124,400 men. and military expenses amounted tc 4277,500,000. In our South Afrioan war 448,COO men were engaged during the 31 months it lasted our losses in killed and wounded vere 44,700 men, and the direct cost was £ 211.000,000. In the war with Ru?ia. Japan lost 135,000 men, and the direct cost j was £ 205,094.€00. Th? Balkan wars, last-: ing 34 weeks, involved a loss in men of 243.000. and in money of £ 246,000,000. In time of war, Mr. Cvammond estimated that i the disbursement ner day would be for Great Britain £ 800.000. France £ 1.800,000, Russia £ 2.250,000. Germany £ 2,200.000, Austro-Hungary £ 1.000'.000. Italy £ 750.000. Taking our army and navy together, at least £ 100.000,000 would be required for t}1"m during the first two months of a war. The suicidal element is. imported into our policy as a gPft Power with points of contact with j rivals all over the world, and with over 40,000 miles of coast line to protect, when it is purDOsed to saw a million or two by reducing the navy to such a degree as to encourage potential enemies to believe it can tve successfully aasailed, and thereby precipitate war, which in any event is bound to be ruinous.
Culde to the Police Court:…
Culde to the Police Court: Hints for the ¡ Now J.P.1s. Police court magistrates do not possess the power to order the infliction of capital punishment. The Bench disagree is a formula used when the Bench is sick and tired of hearing a long and tedious case, and want tb get home to their families. I reserve my defence means that the prisoner is quite unable to hit upon a suffi- ciently life-like lie. Summary jurisdiction means off-hand proceedings. In affiliation cases the defendant is in- variably the father of the child. Otherwise what business has he got in the police court ? When in doubt, believe the policeman. When prisoners ask for time to pay." remember that the police court is run on a spot cash ba?is—money down. Pawn- tickets not accepted in part paymont. I object on a joint of law is a phrase used by soHcitors who have a hopeless cas, and are trying to dodge out of it on a technicality. On licensing session days, come early to avoid the crush. I Pay a visit to th, police court occasion- ally. Everybody will be glad to see you.
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"Consumptive cow" was an epithet al- leged to have been used during a police court case. It sounds original. One of the most encouraging features of .he Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the fact that at every monthly meeting offers of gift3 come before the committee. U Every time you pass me you blow your nose at me!" said defendant at Swansea Police Court. A variant on the do you bite your thumb at me, eir? of Romeo and Juliet. .41. A long hearing of a case at Swansea Pclice Court has a magical effect on the abusive language, assault, etc., cases at the end of the charge-sheet. They die off like flies in winter! "I found the golden half-sovereign that was to be turned into a white one!"—(A plaintiff in the Swansea gilded sixpence" case.)—This species of conjuring trick sent a ripple of mirth around the court. A correspondent draws our attention to what he els a "Kernut" promenading the Mumbfc^-ioad leading a tiny poodle. As soon as opr correspondent hears of a tiny poodle leading a Kernut" we shall be pleased to hear all about it. The police at Neath have, perforce, to play many parts. On Monday two were placed at the entrance of the Gwyn Hall to prevent local pressmen from entering the "Gilded Chamber" where the members of j the Corporation were discussing affairs con- nected with its "own Gas Works." A fairly good exhibition of side-stepping was witnessed in Oxford-street, near the Empire, on Monday morning, when a man hurrying to his work had to dodge in the middle of the narrow road four tramcars, three cyclists, a horse being led, and a motor 'bus. He got, to the office all light though! «* You know. Tommy," said the fond Swansea mother when she came into the J'oom one Sunday and found tho son and heir of the house playing with his tin soldiers, "I don't approve of you playing witk your soldiers on Sunday." "But, mother," replied the hopeful, "this is the Salvation Army!" "X JtHthat qu?? 'n, either by me or by my lriend th is my friend,- you khow, though you wouldn't thirili it," said Mr. Thompson to a- witness in the "gilded sixpence" case, turning to Mr. Laurence Richards. The court tittered, for there had been one or two little episodes when you wouldn't think it." <?  -<?-<!x $ x  In connection with the efforts of the R.S.P.C.A. to abolish the heavy plumes on horses' heads on the ground of cruelty, a correspondent suggests, after seeing some funeral processions in town, tha.t from a humanitarian point of view the old "bell- topper" in use by "mutes" and cabbies from time immemorial could well be substituted either for new ones or less cumbersome. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star; "Pussy cats!" and "Turtle doves!" quoted Mr. Henry Thompson at Swansea. Police Court, holding up a gaily coloured book Didn't vou have a. large sale at Xmas for these books?" he proceeded, addressing a lady book-seller who was in the box. In 6pite of this persuasive eloquence the lady con- fessed there hadn't been. Only by means of high charges for the beet seats could the Swansea Musical Society hope to make a financial success of Monday's concert. As many of these were unoccupied, it is doubtful if the receipts will he equa] to the expenditure to secure a nrst?chss orchestra (composed of sixty in- strumentalists of reccgni&ed ability), amd vt?alists who between them would leve little change in a hundred pound note. When will Swansea have a hall big enough to enable tip-top concerts to be given at popular prices? Those not in the know fairly gaped at the Swansea Empire oil Monday evening, when the principal comedian in the spark- ling revue, "Step this Way," let go am ejaculation in the vernacular. In the guise of "Mr. W. 1-1. Kuming," it was no other than "Billy" Cummings, of Swansea, who is obviously "getting there" very fast, as w;°s always anticipated of him. Mr. Cum- mings has had, a wealth of varied experi- ence, inoludin.g deputising for the principal comedian at Drury-lane pantomime, and the running of a music-halt in Colorado. The "South Wales Daily News" reports that application has been made to the Pontypridd Justices "for a music license in respect of the building of the Saron Congre- gational Chapel Clydach Vale, which is to be converted into a Cinema Theatre." It was explained that the vestry would still be used for worship. The license was granted. Here is a building for one thousand people with an average attendance of forty (com- ments the 'Briton Ferry Church Magazine") —this is one of the many Dissenting chapels in Wales which are totally unnecessary, and are, as a rul°, .splits from and rivals to some other chapel. 8>-4> Nothing seemed to go right with the Swans on Saturday. They had at least five times as many chances to score as Oswestry, and a draw is an indication that in the same proportion the chances were unproductive of results that count. On at least three occasions the Swan forwards had the op- ponents' goal absolutely at their mercy and foozled the crucial kick. The impres- s-ion yielded the onlooker was that the home I side held the visitors lightly, and when events disillusionised them, lost their heads and muddled things. Let it be freely ad- j mittrd that the North Wales backs were fi nr, in defence, and the outside forwards ditto in attack. <•><><> There can be little question but that the townspeople of Swansea, as apart from the docks, which is a world of its own, held the opinion that, docksmen were rather over- stating their grievance as to the inadequate ■ manner in which the G.W.R. Co. were I meeting the phenomenal progress of the port. But now that the company are begging the question of the elevation of High-street Sta- j tion, they are looking at matters in a erv different light, and comparing the attitude ot Paddington with that of the great bank corporations who have raised stately edifices in the main streets, it makes the policy of the railway company very difficult to under- stand.—(" Prospero.") | An Uplands growser is now complaining of the mildness of the weather. A Swansea humourist who is not ill-in- formed declares that he is burning mid- night oil" in compiling an article entitled, "How magistratse are made and why." Oswestry not only confounded the critics but clean beat those evil disposed persons who make puns; for which relief much thanks. A small Swansea boy, on a visit, being offered some of his cousin's night attire, indignantly refused, saying he preferred to sleep "raw <XXXJXJX> Whenever the Swans don't achieve vic- tory, the question one hears from many Soccer enthusiasts is: "Why is Mayo not included in the team?" TIO Scarlets left Neath on Saturday duly impressed with the height of Neath's new goal-post.s. J. J. Evans' drop goal left the All Blacks likewise impressed. The passing of the wave of cold was pre- dicted in Saturday's "Times." A shifting of the wind to the west or south-west means higher temperatures and rain for us. Draws between Wrexham and Newtown, and Swansea and Oswestry, have upset ex pectations which anticipated a meeting be- tween Swansea and Wrexham to settle the destination of the Welsh Cup now held by the Swans. ♦ » » » » Bailiff 'a welcome appearance" was a somewhat staggering headline, but reading on we learn that Lianelly's injured goalie has happily recovered and taken up his place between the sticks. Oswestry (whose team gave -the Swans a. sturdy fight on Saturday) derives its name from Oswald's Tree: Oswald being a kmg who more or less "flourished" nine or t? centunes ago, and was killed near the place since called by his name. A Swansea Valley man was. going home pli.gih.tly elevated" one Saturday night. Every ten yards or so he bumped into a tree. At last lie laid down at the side of the edge and exclaimed: I am not going to move another inch until this —— pro- cession passes." <  < > < x a >-  < < > The Os/weatry team that did sb well at the Vetch Field on Saturday are all workers, I whose football yields them only a trifling wage, determined by the financial condition of the club. All the more credit, therefore, to them for keeping together and playing so splendid a game. At Owestry the gates for important martchies range from j316 to JB20, and for a Welsh Oup contest is unli&aiy to reach JE25. So that the Swans, far 'Thursday's trip north, will necessarily have only a barren financial harvest. Nevertheless, the Nwi-h- men intimated that they wowd not OCM!?- tain atlv ,Q?er t? Iviv?- the match replayed -at Swa?). j???- ?'-1, the tree sporting spirit. The Swansea child when it is let looge at a tea-fight is a veritable "Buster" Brown. A Swansea magi who helps to organise a treat for poor children still &peaks with awe of the feats of one youngster, aged lmr, who put away eight (8) cups of te& "P-ely by way of lubricating the volume of edibles that it had gorged itself with in the meantime. ♦ ♦ ♦ €> 0 ♦* Rugger and Soccer" s hared in practically equal proportions the gate-money Oil Saturday But not the honours. For the All Whites achieved the outstanding triumph of the season in a 17 points to nil victory over Newport—the memory is taxed for a parallel to so decisive a defeat of the Mustard and Blacking-ai-id the Swans failed to overcome Oswestry as they were confidently expected to. A Neath -eader-wlio bays he is not at all superst-ti,ous-states that when two crows spend the Saturday morning perched on the goal pasts at the GnoII near the Union end Neath always win. When only one takes that position the All Blacks invariably lose. He points out that such was the case on Saturday last and on every occasion this season when the home club has been beaten. We suppose that if there were no crows at all there the result would be a draw I 0<SxSxixi>0 An interesting "landmark" is being re- moved from Taib^h, Port Talbot, through the demolition of the long row of white- washed cottages, known as the Constant," which were situated almost half-way up the side of the Margam mountain. These cot- tages could be seen for many miles at sea, and were often used as a guide for vessels making for Port Talbot. It has been said that, on a clear day and with the aid of good .-glasses, they could be seen from the Devonshire coast. One of the items in the balance-sheet of the Aberavon and Port Talbot Golf Club, submitted to the annual meeting last Friday, was "Dog biscuits and license £ 1 18s. 4d." This tickled one of the members, who wanted to know how big the "bow-wow" was. Al- lowing is. 6d. for the license, that dog must have boon well fed if he had JB1 11s. lOd. worth of biscuits. One member remarked it was no wonder it failed to frighten the bur- glar who broke into the clubhouse a few days ago—it was too fat to bark even. A Trimsaran correspondent writes :-I:n the Post Bag column of a recent issu& reference is made to the Rev. Thomas Clement's stone coffin. I remember my grandmother telling a story about the rev. gentleman going to the limestone quar^ea at Crwbiii, a village near Llangendeirne, to Ordea1 his coffin, and when it was read y h< came to fetch same. The man who made it was a poet to some extent, and when tht coffin was ready the rev. gentleman asked him to "make a little" about the coffin. when instantly the bard said: Cwffin careg Clement vw. Tra paro byd, fe gadwo'i liw Pan elo'r byd i gyd at dan, Fe losg yn wyn fel eira man. # Q Saturday's failure of the Swans to put "paid" to the account of Oswestry in the Welsh Cup competition is the first serious &et-back of the 6earon. It puts the club in a dilemma. If the pick of '8 players are sent to North Wales on Th.. aday, Queen's Park Rangers will have to be encountered ori Saturday by a side that has made a long journey to Oswestry, played against the latter, and returned either late Tb"7S- day night or Friday morning way worn by the trip There are not incompetent judges who believe Thursday's match might be good training for another on Saturday. But there's the railway journey to be taken into account, which no one will stigg-st is a good preparative for a strenuous game. Perhaps after all the seoond string will be requisi- tioned for (hwestry-ínvülving probably, but not certainly, the sacrifice of the Welsh Cup—with an even chance of being ousted a couple of days later from the competition for the English Cup. The directors, by Saturday's disappointing result, have to put on their thinking caps.