South Wales Weekly Post

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.———— I Our local contemporary endeavours to t evade the real point raised by the protest, egainst the appearance in a magazine owned by and presumably therelore under the. con- trol of Sir Alfred Mond, of an article most damaging to the interests of Swansea. To ecrape together other hostile criticism, whether by Bradley or Mr. Ernest Rhys -Carlyle's vitriolic outburst provoked by merely passing through Landore in a train, j and Mr. Edwin Pugh's anticipation of Mr. Edward Thomas attempt at being realistic and smart, have been overlooked—is a futile proceeding because the quotations are be- aide the question. Every community of im- portance has at some time or another had occasion to resent itg lampooning. Usually the lampooners cannot be reached or influ- mced. But why should the Borough Mem- her provide facilities for scattering broad- cast imputations that the Swansea people are in so primitive a stage of civilisation j that they are unconscious of bad smells if they do not relish them, or for stigmatising Swansea aa a sordid hag of a town," with 44 more smells than views, and a slattern compared with Cardiff"? Why should Mr. E. Thomas be allowed tO focus attention exclusively upon the shortcomings of tlw towxi-whicli the authorities, by, means of money obtained from the ratepayers, are trying to make good in a manner not excelled, if even ap- proached, by any other borough in the kingdom—without as much as a word in recognition of the existence of another side cf the picture? It is being contended by apologists for this extremely undesirable advertisement of Swansea that it is really good and true. Their sinecritv can easily be put to the test. If Swansea Village be the work of a lover of Swansea and its pub- lication conducive to the interests of Swan- ,? ,t eiitirely in ?yar sea, why not reproduce it entirely in our local contemporary with a statement that it has appeared in a magazine owned by Sir AHred Mond, M.P.? The statement in the '"Post" that the article appeared under the tlame of Edward Thomas" has been re- eentcd as a slight on THE Edwaird Thomas," who writes countryside sketches. So far from being a slight, there was a com- pliment implied in the refusal to that oi the, hundreds of "Edward Thomas's in Wales he was necessarily the author of a production little calculated to yield credit to any one. So far, no one has attempted to explain t.he ob ject of giving M?d?)' -?.?ucu'?n Article in-the E'aghgh ? ?-   ?'  '■» :—

The coming conference of the National Railwayman's Union at Swansea promises to be the most important Labour congress of the year. and to rank with the Miners"Con- gress held at Swansea, which adopted the policy that brought-about the national stop- page, in point of historic interest. The pub- lic will be interested to see to what extent it is sought to discover and analyse the effects expected to ensue from the men's demands, which, whether they seek to obtain a mini mum of 5s. a day or a guaranteed weekly minimum of 30s., and a reduction of the vrorlpng, hours per week to 48, are of the moat formidable character. One railway journal has calculated that the concession of the programme in respect to hours and increase of pay would leave little more than a nlillion pounds a year to satisfy the de-, mands of the ordinary shareholders of all the companies. Whatever the precise financial effect, it is clear that the programme fore- shadowed is of a most serious nature—far more so' than was ever the case with the miners' minimum wage. Controversial matters apart-though the public is keenly interested in an agitation that affects its railway fares, already amongst the highest in the world, and the cost of transportation of its food and every commodity it uses—the town will be glad to welcome a body that can now claim to be truly representative of the great bulk of a class held worthily in general esteem. The English railwayman, it is the experience of travellers, strikes the happy mean between the free and easy familiarity of the Ameri- can and the occasionally ofifcious and dicta- torial manner of the Continental. His con- scientiousness and vigilance are reflected in an accident rate that is insignificant—-even allowing for the few cases in which recently the origin has been ascribed to individual JJegIigence-and he is helpful and sympath- etic. The defects of the railways are largely inherent in conditions beyond the control of their makers, who were the pioneers of the world, and as such committed errors and made costly discoveries by which others have profited, but whose consequences re- s' Inain with us to-day. The fleets of motor 'buses that have now i been established at Swansea, and the ? spreading of tramway systems, with VV the extension and mutual approach of fast ¡rowing villages and towns, are forces that ? h?ve a vital bearing upon the programme \Y of demands to be made M a result of the '? ??cuasione at the pending Swansea con- ference. They illustrate the drying up of V V the local passenger traffic of the lines and a consequent serious loss of revenue. in one direction it is true—in the case of the motor cars that with the moderately wealthy at one time threatened to do away with the necessity for railways aa far as people so circumstanced were concerned-experience bag told in favour of the companies. For *pth taxation, the increased cost of fuel and Oinlilar conditions, the motor-car tends to compare badly in point of transit in speed, and security with first class railway travelling This small class apart, there is doubt that the capacity of the railways Ie iteet claims involving heavy outlay is lessening every year. "Ocal and State taxation, the •^prvjeiation in the price of fuel, i 1.. losses of traffic as have been alluded th above, a.11 press with increasing weight, and e average ordinary dividend is so moderate to discourage the influx of new capital ^s Quired to pay for expi nsion and improve- ents; such as electrifi ation. Such ques- 0T18 a9^ese will, it it to be trusted, ba ?'?'? '?gMy gone into at ?wanseA. No doubt In th? negotiations between the companies and the representatives of the employes < 6 data will be furnished elucidating tthhe capacity of the railways to improve -ons of service commensurate with their income, the obligation to yield a moderate return to the owners of the lines, 4L",i to keep down goods rates to a point at *?? 'ch they will not handicap British com- ? m?ce in comp.tYon with foxeigner& An unfriendly critic of the Briti;h EmPire', once likened it to a gigantic octopus whosa tentacie8 leached over the whule surface of the globe, each ready to attach its deadly "sucker" to any acceptable piece of terri- tory that might be encountered. The same iigu;e could not inappropriately be applied to illustrate the vulnerability ol the Empire at many points, its sensitiveness to widely separated movements and occurrences, the vaiiety of the difficulties and problems that confront its rulers, whose task, but for a devolution of powers and the service of an J exceptionally able and experienced body of permanent officials, would seem altogether beyond the capacity of the comparatively small men whom the chances cf politics place in the seats of authority. The British Empire, observed a philosophical historian, was created during fits of absent-minded- ness, and sometimes it would appear as if a combination of fortuitous circumstances rather than the wisdom of maai were respon- sioie ror its ° growth and continuance./ At the present time there would be cause for anxiety to the thoughtful and the patri- otic in the reflection that whilst a sort of torpor had ccme upon the people at the heart of the Empire, believed to fashion its policy and select its rulers, and a Government of lawyers is ap- parently preoccupied chiefly with the tortures of its members, collectively and individually, matters demanding the highest statesmanship present themselves for treatment at a dozen different points. In the Near East the resumption of hostilities is an imminent event capable of bringing back the perils of a general conflagration, only narrowly averted last year. Turkey and Greece are drifting steadily towards an- other struggle, which may find the Powers likely to be involved completely re- arranged. On Friday the Greek naval reserves was summoned to the colours. Austria by preventing the parti- tion of Albania between the Balkan States, who began war in alliance and ended it in strife, iorced upon Europe a problem which so far has baffled solution and, amongst other consequences, threatens to place an intolerable strain on the compact j between Austro-Hungary and her ally, 1 Italy. Prince Weid is impotent in the kingdom whose kingship he was invited to accept, and the Powers responsible for the nomination are too jealous of one another to permit any effective aid being given him. ) The wild, lawless tribes of this mountain- land, divided by religious and racial feuds, have taken the bit between their teeth, and are composing their differences in their own traditional fashion. Albania has become a cockpit for fighting out the quarrels which have persisted during centuries, greatly to the advantage of the Turk, whose dominion over the welter of races was thereby facili- tated. Greece, which did not suffer so severely, I is the readiest to take the add again; Bul- :p::ia. broken by two-?ars, requires a ?o? rpM-icd For reoperation Roaj?;3Jiia, ?.nic?' came upon the scene at the death with uxi- inr.paired forces, is a! factor' of almost de- cisive importance. The meeting of King j Charges and tho Czar, in company with their advisers, is a plain indication that Roumania, until the war avowedly wedded to Germany and the Triple Alliance, is being Attracted towards another orbit. For nany years" (observes "A Diplomatist," writing in the National Review ") Rou- mania drew her inspiration from Vienna and Berlin. This has ceased to be true, at least for th.) time being. It is no secret that during the recent crisis she acted not only with the approval, but even at the instiga- tion of Russia and France. Since the con- clusion of peace certain events have occurred which show that these two Powers are leaving no stone unturned to win her tc their fold. What makes temptation harder to resist is that in addition to mercies already received, other and even bigger favours are promised elsewhere. It must not be forgotten that Roumania has irredentist ideals in Transylvania, where millions of her kinsmen are groaning under a foreign (that is to say Austrian) yoke. So long as she owed allegiance in Vienna, these as- pirations were studiously repressed, but now the tempter comes and whisoers of the lands on the other aide of the Carpathians." But Transylvania can only be won by the overthrow of Austria, and that in its turn implies the victory of Russia. And such a victory signifies the definite triumph of the Sclav race, which will then form a vast ocean encompassing Roumania on all sides. This is a heavyprioo to pay for even such an object as the unification of the Roumanian race," and Diplomatist therefore predicts a return after the pressure of temporary events has been relaxed to the old tradi- tional policy. He is sceptical of any endur- ing alliance between Roumania, Greece and Servia, who, for the time, are united in conserving the spoils of war which they have divided. For Servia is Sclavonic, and, whether she likes it or not, her fortunes must follow those of Russia; she must have i sea line, which can only be obtained at the expense of Greece, and when the bitterness engendered during the war between her and I Bulgari. has subsided, thewe two States are bound to draw closer together, Bulgaria I to escape from a dangerous isolation, and Servia to obtain an additional guarantee against the Austrian I peril. There is foreshadowed the formation of two distinct Balkan groups—Roumania and 1 Greece on the one side/ with Bulgaria and Servia on the other—each drawing its in- spiration from a different source, and each pursuing a, different ideal. "And, as the law of attraction holds good in the political as well as the physical world, the Slav group will naturally gravitate towards that Euro- pean constellation with which the fortunes of its race are linked while the non-Slav group, probably reinforced by Turkey, will ibe arraved on the opposite side. In this J latter case, ethnic solidarity will be replaced [by the common dread of Slav submersion, j When the Balkan situation definitely cry- stallises on these lines, a new chapter in the history of the Balkan nations will have j opened. But tJhen, as now, the Balkans will I remain what they have been for many years past-a chess-board on which the Great Powers play their game, using the Balkan peoples as pawns." For as the greater embraces the lesser in- ternational politics in the old world are con- cerned primarily with the two main eombma- tions which absorb for all practical purposes I the minor Powers occupying pdkitions of etrategical importance or incapable of or in- disposed to maintain a real neutrality. A distinct, advantage lies with the Triple Al- liance in that the Governments of the coun- tries onstituting it have no democracy worth counting as such exercisnn any appreciable influence upon their foreign policy. Whereas Great Britain and France, two of the legs supporting the stool of the Triple Entente, are liable to be weakened and even para- siveed at critical stages by vagaries insepar- able from democratic rule. The Irish ques- tion may at any moment so demobilise the attenuated British Army and reduce the ex- ecutive Government to such extremities as virtually to destroy the value of Great Brit- ain as an ally or friend. And France, from which more is expected, is under a system oi government by groups even more subject to spells of demoralisation. At the present moment our neighbour is passing through one of the gravest of crises. In the hurly-burly of a General Election, the effect of which was determined less by national issues than by the personality oi candidates and their association with parti cular "isms," of which a great variety fig- ure in French politics, the distinctive groups have been so reinforced or weakenec. that hardly any possible. combination can give France the strong Government it soreh fleeds. M. Viviani, who tried to bring to" gether a Ministry predominantly Radical, had to acknowledge failure because the Socialist wing, indispensable to him, insisted upon a definite assurance that the law foi three years' military service would be repeal- ed, which assurance the other of the groups rallied by him would not consent to give. The Premiership was hawked about fcr day? before M. Ribot, a veteran of 72 years, un- dertook to and succeeded in forming a Cab- inet. The latter was strong in its personnel, with such statesmen as M. Dclcasse and M. Bourgeois, but at the first trial of strength it was overthrown by aji adverse majority of 44, after a life of barely two days, ana France is left again with chaos in its ex- ecutive at a most critical juncture in the national history. For the national finances, with a deficit of £ 63.000,000, imperatively demand re- adjustment, and from Russia come plain hints that failure to enforce the law of threfe years' military service will compel the Czar and his advisers to reconsider the selection of allies. Obviously, at a time when the Northern Power is making enormous sacri- fices to bring up army and navy to the strength deemed essential to 0 security. France cannot be permitted to lighten her burdens by abandoning the only means by which she can hope to meet Germany on reasonably equal terms. Nor can we afford to be indifferent to a situation that is excit- ) ing widespread anxiety in France. The fall of M. Ribot produces a deadlock of the I most daoigerous character. It means the triumph of the intrigue to drive M. Poincare from the Presidency and, incident- ally. of the influences tending to make chaos of French politics. The fatal weakness in the electoral system of France is that elect- crs think nationally only when they are 'not being asked to vote; when an election con- test is on they think and act sectionally, and, as in the present instance, are amazed and disquieted by the effect of their subor- dination of ntiopal interests to local, per- sonal, and factional ends.. We are not in & position tb reproach thera, being in the same parlous condition i j by reaeo^ of the state of things in Ireland, It is eu^jjgratia Russia confronted with the j tlie 3p^p&4 with, 1 r enfeebled or even disabled Allies that may gravely complicate the situation by losing patience and looking elsewhere for her own safety. For an intelligent selfishness is the keynote of every country's policy. • I Canada, by excluding & cargo of Indian i bjectB of the King—many of them ex- soldiers bearing medals which testify to ser- vice under fire—brought across the Pacific by a rich Hindu bent on testing the legality: lof the exclusion of his countrymen from the Dominion, is bringing to the fore?ont a question that emphasises an irreconcilable ?difference between the Mother Country and its principal offshoots in North America, Australasia, and South Africa. Theoretic- ally a British subject should be in the full enjoyment of equal rights in every part of the extensive territories over which the, Union Jack flies. And the Imperial Gov- ernment cannot sanction any denial of this equality except at the risk of making the fatal admission that British citizenship is a thing the value of which is determined by j colour, domicile and other adventitious cir- cumstances. In India, where there is a fer- ment without precedent, instigated and fos- tered by the thousands of natives who have been helped to acquire an education which unfits them except for all save occupations of which there are not nearly enough to go round. j there are not nearly enough to go round, the reatrictiona imposed upon Asiatic im- migration in the parts of the British Empire which offer the widest scope for the indus- try and patience of the East, serve to feed the fires of disaffection. dOt I And the cleavage between Britain and its over-sea Dominions, each in the enjoyment of self-government, is complete. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada are in substantial agreement in pursuing a policy most embarrassing to the Imperial Government, constrained to keep an anxious and watchful eye on India. The Colonists,, realising that an inrush of the yellow races, with their tireless industry and cheap liv- ing, means economic ruin to the whites, with their higher standard of comfort, raise the flag, "only whites are admitted," to Hands so extensive that the whites occupy ionly narrow fringes. And, meanwhile, tne Far East is congested by myriads of people hungering for the chance py the tilling of the soil to secure a tolerable existence. Hence the "Yellow Peril'' looked at with different eyes from the United Kingdom and the over-sea Dominions. Japan is the destined spear-head of the at- tack on the monopoly claimed of potentially fertile but untitled land nominally in the, possession of the whites. The people of j the United Stales have been provided with their latest sensation in the disclosure that President Wilton's desire to set aside the exemption from tolls of American vessels using the Panama Canal-this wa.s effected bv the American Senate with a majority of 35 on Thursdy-wa.s dictated by the need of securing British aid in preventing Japan from taking advantage of the Mexican situation—presumably to secure a footing on the American Continent. Senator Smith, of Michigan, who, as chairman of the com- mittee which nvestigated the Titanic disaster—and won at least temporary fame by the utter fatuity of his questions-de- clared that as a member of the Foreign Re- lations Committee he had heard the Presi- dent make in confidence the statement that the abandonment of tho exemption of tolls tor American vessels was necessary to secure t}1(J good will of England. i tll(, goodwill of England. < American newspapers support the guile- less Senator Smith by publishing a prob- ably "pilrious cablegram purporting to be from Mr. O'Shaughnessy, American Charge d'Afraires at Mexico City The officers- of a Japanese battleship will reach Mexico City next week, and will be entertained by General Huerta and his Government with extravagant expressions of welcome and friendship- The incident at this time is significant and unfortunate. I think I Me in. tttua cuefully-thno.ad incident the fine ?nd of Sir Runel Garden, the British Am- ja?sador." Hie message, if bogus, lias doubt- ess aerved its purpose in empoisoning the iind? of the American people, whose sens yl brotherhood with the British is not nearly I o intense as suggested at banquets this or I .;he other side of the Atlantic. But even I w a coucoction it testifies to the reality of .he belief that Japan is inevitably marked jut as leader, in the fight focr a place in the jun for the yellow races.

The animal oonfercncl of the National Jnion of Raiiwaymen opened at Swansea Monday after a demonstration at the Empire Theatrr, which incidentally revealed Jivergences of opinions that it is impossible ,0 avoid in so numerous an organisation, vhich are indeed accentuated by its very nagnitude, ai.e, are likely to be still more onspicuous should the projected alliance A-ith tho miners and transport workers be atified. The tone cf the leaders' speeches vvas reassuring. Mr. J. H. Thomas de- clared "Although it has been asserted this Feat combine will be called upon to paralyse ndustry, let tne make it clear that it is no lesire or intention of those responsible for J j he scheme." Mr. Bellamy, the president, ::dly rccbgnised that increasM power brought idditional responsibility on members and jffieers alike; that mere bigness did not justify tyranny. Might was not right, and the use of a large and powerful organisation most be exercised with discrimination and with common sense, The fusion with the transport workers*, lie said, was neither re- volutionary ::or syndicalistic, and it was a force that was not. intended to be used in- discri, minately Osv, frivolously. These sentiments and principles are excel-' lent, and the public will watch with great interest their application in practice. Such combinations possess a power for evil that it is not the custom to dwell upon. Yet an abuse of their gigantic power can inflict a disaster upon the country that in seme ways a foreign enemy could net compass, It could starve millions; it could arrest in- dustry it could plunge half the cation into poverty and debt; it could create the mood from which these could be born a sanguin- ary- civil disorder; it could become a bur- densome tyranny of a nature more far- 1 reaching than apy isolated capitalist could control; for it is the essence of capitalism to seek peace almost at any price—at any I price certainly that it can make others pay i -whilst Union# are at the last resort com- batant organisations. The benents oi com- j bination upon i?6 vast a scale, the banding i together in a common cause of armies of; men who can ia the meure, of things know I little about conditions peculiar to others' em-II ployment, their union to wage ? struggle in which a portion only are dÜectlv concerned and vitally interested—all this is an experi- mant that has yet to be justified by success, j No metaphorical comparison with an army provides a precise analogy. Such experi- ences, as we haNi). had tend, to show that np to a point r.n»fcv la fiw-otieable, but thai h- it such a^-oaieate are apt to lapse1. :tp.ç:cl,a.: W u ¡fiMtJ(lttmn--M :tJ-e1 course of a" iong-dxawn struggle" men will I o less staunch in their adherence to policies and demands to which they had given but a loosely considered assent at the commence- ment. Mr. Bellamy in his address recognised one essential to a national programme— simplicity. The miners in the movement for a minimum wage for abnormal places I oommenced wjth an objective equally clear. I When it came to a, question of the applica- tion of a principle to meet widely differing conditions the national movement promptly became sectional. It was useless to attempt in a national movement a detailed pro- gramme for each gradi;, said Mr. Bel- lamy the programme was simple and com- prehensive—an eight-hour day and an in- I crease of 5s. per week. It remains to be seen whether railwaymen will require a rigid adherence, to the letter of the pro- gramme, or a bargain carried out in its spirit, of securing such amelioration of wages and hours as may be practicable. The cost of the programme-, itself is colossal. It j haa been estimated at more than twenty million pounds a year. It has been calculated that an eight hours' I day would cost nearly 124 millions a year; a five shillings per week increase, £ 7,800,030; and a guaranteed day and a "guaranteed week" a further three mil- lions, or 2Zi million pounds in all. Last year: the principal British and Irish railways paid; 36 million pounds in wages, against 232,800,000 in dividends upon the various j categories of stock. The railway share- holder receives a return that cannot be much reduced without disastrous conse- quences to the railways and to the very great numoor of institutions—many of them associated with the working classes—who have capital invested in railway stock. There remains the alteration of the rates. The opposition of the commercial classes would be bitter and powerful, and the rail- way companies have had great difficulty in obtaining a meagre 4 per cent. to recoup them for concessions already granted, though some of their items of expense have in- creased by half as much, or have even doubled. It is not easy to see where the many millions required are to come from. There is no task more ungrateful and re- I pugnant than pointing out to poorly paid I men of little leisure the grave obstacles that intervene between them and that ameliora- tion of their lot which everybody aesents to in principle. Such an assent is of no con- Eolation or utility to them they want ac- tual concessions. But the obstacles are there and the tesk of surmounting them has to be taken in hand. It is not a task to which a ldyman can bring much knowledge but he can at least grasp certain salient a-iicl es- sential features, and ask how the questions they suggest are to be replied to. In ap- proaching the problem there is to-day, fur- th or more, a decreasing volume of trade.. Nothing nowadays decreases like revenue; or fails to keep p&ce with ever extending and new expenses. Whilst desiring that j the negotiations between the ra;ilwa?=- panies and the Unions may achieve the maximum of benefit for the industrious and conscientious classes for whom the Htter speek, one would wish that the path were more plainly marked and smoother. I ————

It may now be predicted with confidence I that all the difficulties connected with the permanent appointment of Captain Alfred Thomas as Chief Constable of Swansea have been removed, and that there us no danger of the police grant being jeopardiaed by the action that the Watch Committee is prac- tically certain to take at the next meeting. Th3 decided improvement in the physical condition of the Chief Constable, testified ) to by Dr. Bush, of Cardiff, nominated by the Home Office, and Dr. Trevor Evans, the 1 medical officer of the borough police, lea-ves a clear road for the committee, who now realise, when aft the facts arc brotlgbt be- fore them, that if the efficiency of the force be ensured nothing is to be feared 'rom the Home Office. The latter did not know, nor the author og the report reproducea in the I Parliamentary Blue Book, and even some members of the Watch Committee, that Gapt. Thomas immediately aiter his appoint- ment obtained from the then police medi- cal officer-Dr. Howel TliomP-s-a certificate of physical soundness which complied with the conditions of the appointment as set out in the Corporation advertisement.

hi" — The highly critical nature of the relations between Greece and Turkey is due as much to the position of the respective naval forces as to the ill-treatment which has driven n-early a hundred thousand Greeks from Asia Minor and Turkey in Asia in a condi- tion of destitution. The Turks have two Dreadnoughts of the most powerful type completing in England by the autumn they will be incorporated ir the Ottoman Navy. The Greeks, possessing- at the moment a de- cisive naval superiority, will in that even- tuality become totally outclassed as their battleships of corresponding power are still upon the stocks or but recently ordered, and none of the South American Powers are inclined in the present Transatlantic situation to dispose of one or more of their vessels. Now, if ever, is the time for Greece to strike; but how she is to strike, and w here, is obscure. There is no coterminous C iv>ek and Turkish territory, save a few islands; and a blockade of Turkish porta is liable to strong protest from European Powers, who are not inclined in such matters to permit minor Powers too wide a' liberty of action. As to the merits of the quarrel, the ill- treatment of Greeks by Turks, Europe will not be much distressed. The two Balkan wars have proved that the people of the Balkans are, clii,-Ily through their history, upon a. totally different ethical plar.-P to that obtaining in the West, Servia, Belgrave, Greece, Montenegro—their peoples have all alike been oonvicted of inhuman atrocities in the passions bred of war, and have been employed in persecuting each other's sub- jects in the tracts of territory thp.t have been ceded. One good effect of the clear- ance thus effected is th&t in time it leaves the various countries with none other save their own subjects to oppress. The prin- cipal cause of trouble in the Balkans always has been that every people has been able to establish some sort of claim to the posses- sion of a given tract of land. With the re- shuffling of the peoples of the late Turkish territory now in progress, one source cf friction is disappearing.

Should We Craw!? creeping oaoies and young women trained in the debutante slouch come nearer the normal bear ng of the human race than dees the upright attitude," said Professor Channing W. Barrett in a lecture at the Detroit College of Medicine. Mere Man. "Surely a husband is master iu bis owu house," said the Acton magistrate, when fc-n officer of the National Society for, the ■ftsev.enwon ,>¿J,i;I1I -.t;Ùf<j. that II., husband d:d hot appear to' be able to control his wife and cause her to attend to the children properlv. "t tbijm be ia helpless," added the oiffcer. Woman's Record. The following remarkable record wae un- folded.by a. woman to the Liverpool magis- tra.tee ;-Met her present husband in Fe". rusry. Marrièd a month later. Dived t&- gether a week, during whieli time her husband gave her only .eighteen-peuee —which he demanded back. At the end of the week they separated, owing (said the woman) to her husband's cruel conduct. The man was now ordered to contribute 7s. a. week to his wifo. No Laughter, by Order." During the hearing of a charge against an inmate of the Camberwell Workhouse at Lambeth Police Court it was stated by one of the officials that the —- Ivd been guilty of laughing in the dining-hall. The magistrate confessed that he couid not see any harm in a man laughing, but the chief clerk explained thai the workhouse regula- tions required absolute silence to be main- tained during meals. V'" Moral Courage. Accidental death was the verdict at the Aldershot inquest on Lance-Corporal Kelly, of the Munster Fusiliers, who was shot dur- ing field-firing practice. When Private Garvie admitted that during the advance he pressed the trigger of ibis rifle in pullimr back the safety catch, Major Charrier said he had shown great moral courage, as other- wise it would have been difficult to discover the cause of the accident Not on tha Shamrock. I Sir Thomas Lipton, who was represented by his private secretary, was summoned at Southampton for exceeding the speed limit in Portsmouth-road on the 4th inst., and a plea of guilty was entered. Hie secretary stated that Sir Thomas wished to apologise for not being present. On the day in ques- tion he was trying the-new Shamrock, and was sailing so fast in the new boat, where there was no condition of speed nmit, that subsequently when he was in his car he did not realise the pace at which he was tra- velling.—The bench ordered the defendant to pav -1 fine of £ 10 and costs, and directed 'th his 1-;c en_se 4> orsc d that his license should be endorsed. Tactl I The stout lady struggled with difficult V into the railway carriage. "Ah," she gasped, that door might ha* been made by Old Sam.' She paused for breath, j and then (says the Manchester Guardian ") proceeded, to explain herself, j You see, Old Sam was one of them chaps 'oo'd gotten en. Went from a three-an'-six cottage to a big 'ouse. But 'is missis wasn't used to a big 'ouse, and spent all 'er time in kitchen wi' t' ser-! vants. Old Sam didn't like this, but !e never argued wi' wimmen. Now, she was stout, like me. So he takes her away to Blackpool, and while they was away he'd the kitchen door built up narrer, so t' servants could gel in. an out but not t' missis. That did 'er, that did." 'E'd what I call tac' said a man opposite. And all sat lost in ad- miration of the tact fulness of "Old Sam." Tho Sober Cockneys. j 1 } A London Scot recently remarked to a visitor from Glasgow on the absence of drunks in the streets of the Metro- polis. You have been here a month," he said, "vand you have been in almost every part of the City; have you seen drunks on the streets, a nuisance to passengers, or in charge of police, as in Glasgow?" The visitor sadly admitted that he had not; but just then, at the far end of tho Tube carriage, he dis- covered two obviously intoxicated and very noisy .youths, who were making themselves a nuisance all round. There," said tha Glasgow man, "that is as bad as anything you can see in Trongatc on a. Saturday night." His friend (says the "Glasgow News") looked discomfited until, on being helped from the carriage by the conductor, one of the youths remarked: It's aw richt, ma mpn; we're gaun oot onywoy.

I Don't, squeeze me, dear," whispered the I sweet young militant to her lover; I've got a bomb in my blouse" The horses from the Midlands for the Swansea Corporation took kindly to the i local hills. They were novelties. What happened when the "hot gospeller" arrived only to find his favourite "pitch" occupied by an over-zealous "brother"? The eld Swansea iron ship, the Agnes 'I Lilian, which war. sold to Norwegians and renamed the Loffhus, has now been dis- posed of to shipbrea kers. She was built 45 years ago. The ten new Corporation horses are I blacks, whites, and roaos. The last-named colour has the reputation of being particu-; larly hardy, and this is why the majority of railway horses are roans. ..9"< A MornabMt female prisoner was escorted to the lock up on Saturday night to thd I accompaniment of a band of music. She 1 had got in front of the Salvation Army, I which played more or less appropriate j music. < I Mr. GranviUe Barker, the famona a.dOI', I playwright and manager, and the husband of Mias Lilbh McCarthy, made his reputa- tion by his brilliant work in i;?,oqputa many modern plays at the Court, Kin?aw&y, I and Savoy Theatres. One member of our staff declines to in- terest himself in any way in the query put forward by a London contemporary "Does the bellowing of thunder carry further than the roar of cannon?" He is a married man, father of a young, lusty and thriving infant. 00 .410 Mr. J. E. Williams (general secretary of the N|U.R.}, in proposing thanks said thers was a time when as Trades Unionists they had to creep into a town or city. Now, however, he anticipated that when they went to Windsor they would have the King to congratulate them. ..P' < $ —<* The French skipper came ashore from his ship in his slippered feet, which is a way Ftench skippers have. And later returned to his sfcip with his feet, but not hit slip- pers. These he had abandoned, firmly em- bedded in the glutinous surface of one of I Swansea's new roadways. t-<>4' If ia .'omevftai. of a coincidence that the. ,j tit "Bill" Jonee. vho&e active life had been spent, "behind" at the "Star," had received: the last "coll," also made the statement that tlii5 historic playhouse had closed its I doors—temporarily, let us hope. At the Olympia Horse Show, London, last I week, a colt bv "Curable," bred by Mr. J. W. Bishop, Llanelly, and the winner of j many prizes at Carmarthen, was the winner in the heavy-weight officers' charger class, open to the world. The animal is now the property of Lieut. Chappeli, Canterbury, j The distinguished stranger from the vi- cinity of Penrhiwceiber, who was discovere-4; very ill in a Swansea lane the other evening, owned to having had some light refreshment in the shape cf strawberries, faggots and green peas, cockles, and fourpe.nr.y. He will inever come to Swansea any more. Car- diff is mow restful. The magistrates' board at the Swansea Guildhall contains a slip that, unless coc- rectsd, may bs handed down to posterity. Amongst the naw magistrates is Sir. John Rees, the esteemed divisional superinten- dent of the Great Western Ra.ilwav Com- pany, and his private address i3 given aa Glam.mar-cre.soent.As a fact it should be Uplands-crescent.  -<?-<  -< "<  -< Ona really had thought the Swansea kiddies would never be able to see a circus any more by reason of the continual en- croaching on cur open spaces. The visit of I the Royal Italian combination this week, however, gives the youngsters a chance to remind their parents of the fact that "now g their time." Now or never! Descriptions diffes1 in the Neath district. In Neath itself a "good break-out," a "ripping booze," and a "red scoundrel," ere not unknown terms inapplica.dfon to a too free patronage of "John Barleycorn." But Glyn-neath is sesvhetic in its taste and simply picturesque in its description. Ycu were drunk," was £ he somewhat brutal pro- nouncement of Supt. Ben Evans to a witness I in a shebeen case. 0, dear, no," replied t,he witness, "but I her! had a nice little drop. Glamorgan county authorities are in a re- gular muddle over the administration of the Mental Deficiency Act. The Poor Law authorities have moved and have oom- nitted themselves to the Drymma scheme, Neath, but the County Council, which ap- pears to be the controlling body under this model of Radical legislation, having so ienv, mentally deficient outside its own organisa- tion, refuses to budge, and the whole affair, as Dr. Stephens, of Swansea, pointed out at the Neath conference, is a reduetio ad absurdutn." Ten horses arrived from the. Midlands on Saturday for the Swansea Corporation. They are to be utilised by the Health De- partment, and their cost average? between j f;50 aiid P,60 each. On Monday morning they were g?-en a trial round the hiUa )f Swansea. It will be remembered that last year the Health Committee's estimates were exceeded to the extent of £ 1,500—chiefly for the hire of horses for scavenging. The committee ar, not allowing this to be re- peated, hence the purchase-OJ, which were made by Coun. D. Williams and Mr. Glad- stone Davies, who last veek went to CMwe I for the purpose. If the horses do uiot suit they will be returned. Sunday was the first time for the Mumbles Pier management to disappoint their patrons by having to announce that the batncl advertised could not keep ite en- gagement. It was only at 2.30 early on Sun- day morning that Mr. David James re- ceived a message from the concert agents at Gloucester stating that "Jimmy" Glover's j band—after every effort to find the conduc-1 tor had failed—could not be at the Pier on i Sunday. The crowd which had gathered cannot be said, However, to have any great. cause for complaint, for Hanney's band,. which stepped iiito the breach, gave the per- j formance, probably, or their lives. Andj "Jimmy'" won't -be asked to tho Mumbles any more' Thirty diffexent grades of railwaymen an represented at the Swansea conference. The fourteen jurymen at the Killay in- quest on Wednesday honestly earned their shIlllng-at the rate of ld. an hour. With Mr. W alter Whittaker at the helm in the tinplate town, the rivalry. between the Swans and Llanelly will be keener than ever next seascn. Ted Hopkins is the manager of the Welsh Repertoire Company, and to take on the position he forfeited many months' profit- able contracts on the music ball stage. t A boy, according to some people," said one of the speakers at the Oxford-street I mted Methodist meeting on Thursday mght, "is a two-legged earthquake." .4.$ If a man has a sovereign he is nobody, but if he has a million he is invited to take the chair.Rev. J. Luke at Oxford-street Methodist Church on Thursday evening. This morning's breakfast problem:— Would it be possible for a small boy to pass an unoccupied motor car stationary at a street kerb without tooting the motor ham ? «♦♦ »<> The rainfall at Cray between the 14th May and the 2nd June inclusive amounted only to 2.84 inches, of which 1.03 fell on the 9th Juno. At Lliw the fall during the same period was less than two inches. "Just one word more and I have fin- ished," said a minister at Briton Ferry on Sunday evening. That one word lasted seventeen minutes, and instead of one word nearly the entire dictionary was used up. The flourishing condition of the ehebeea business, as exemplified at Swansea and Neath, is food for thought fcr the cold-water enthusiasts who applaud the reduction of public-houses—where at any rate drinking to excess is not encouraged. New Siloh, Land ere, won the chief prize at Pontlliw on Saturday. Mr. T. Ivor Owen, the young conductor, appears to be going in for as many honours in the musical world as hia renowned brother "Dicky" won on the football field. -&. The agents for one cf the big Transatlan- tic shipping firms could not oblige the dis- tinguished visitor from the hills on Thurs- day with a ticket for 'Combe, but they had some for New York. Nothin' doin'. At an rnqueat held at Fforestfach Cll Thursday three parishes were represented. Deceased died in the Penderrv Parish, worked in the Parish of Gowerton, and the inquest was. held at --the Polios-station'at Cockett Parish. « The i?t?ylud? frojii, tiit, at t? Suiieaw «ijv ration raeetiBg ???u??' .i.i?t.t? ,t e? -lu?eting an ekc', trica! air. -¡As lho C'hair;nn t ?r. J. ? Th<Mna? had been divert .t bit 01 ?mger, but he ben! gi"n more in return. Rev. J. G. Mathias. the departing Chap- lain of the U.S.B., a real comrade, At the. smoker", in his honour last evening he inyited all the Brigade to visit him at. Blaenavon. "If you come that way," he said, "and can find a where to get i^rub, I will try to supply the needful." There have been persistent rumours that a Swansea lady who left to be married in Canada. a year ago was aiviopgst the vic- tims of the Empress of Ireland disaster, aod that her husband was saved. Neither was en board of the ill-fated craft or even con- templated the voyage. It is noteworthy as au indication of the fact that the building of cottages at s"n. sea has been brought almost to, a standstill-- whether by dread of Corporation competi* tion or other caufe-that the list of plans approved by th-2 Highways Committee sicca the. May meeting contains only that of ona house in Morriston and a house and shop in Pentrechwyth. Ifc was an inspiring sight to see the Swan. sea Battalion of the Boys* Life Brigade, forming eight companies and 153 in number, at the anniversary services held at Memorial Chapel. Their w bright, eager faces wera very expressive when the Rev. Wm. Owen, of Manchester, took as his text, "And the angel blessed the lads." The sermon was optimistic throughout. Although the actual facts when disclosed were calculated to dissipate the effects of tha misleading article in the London "Express"' regarding tho Anima Company and the Swansea Dockets' Hall, it »s unquestionable, so great is the effect of first impressions, however wrong, that the incident has shaken the position of Alderman Merreils with the local Dockers. ■SMEXS»4XSHS> I The gibbet ting of Swansea as a slumdom, in which the residents either welcome or t are unconscious of offensive smells (so im- I mature is the stage of civilisation reached by them) is declared in a circle uncommonly small to be dictated by affection. Then not rrive as many as possible the pleasure of appreciating the reading of this de!octÜlhle prOB-p.;duro of "Swansea Village" by reproducing it in its entirety? Mrs. Naerup, formerly of Swansea, with her married daughter and the children of the latter, reach Ilfracombe on Saturday afternoon via Bristol from Canada. They left Montreal a day after the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, and in the passage down the river St. Lawrence encountered the Storstadj the bows of which had pierced the | unfortunate liner, and also saw many of the bodies of the victims which were being salved. Naturally this did not nfake for comfort, and so cautious was the captain of their steamer that the latter, delayed by fogs, took twelve days to make the trip. Captain Naerup crossed in the Brighton to meet his family. The Llanelly harbour-master is much in- trested in what he has called the signi- ficance of colour. Spite of dark hair being usual in tropical and sub-tropical countries," lie states, you will find that it is the fau*- baired man who stands summer heat tho better in this counry. Possibly the fact that the heat ccmcs suddenly and is short- lived may be the reason." Another ill- teresting fact about the colour of hair is given, viz. If notice be taken of boys playing horses and drivers, it is tho dark-su- i;aired boy who is almost invariably tha horse, and the lighter-haired the driver. I bt-,ve never seen a red-haired boy anything but driver." It would be interesting." Mr, Rees suggests, to extend the study, cay. to the House of Commons. Possibly, in time we find a more reliable stan- dard than speeches of the value of what is ii.side a head in the colour of its covc-r-iiig- the baid headed having to be treated JS in- teresting and pleasing eniarmas."