The Brecon Radnor Express Carmarthen and Swansea Valley Gazette and Brynmawr District Advertiser

BRECONSHIRE'S PROTEST. Breconshire County Council's protest to the Government regarding the financial provisions of the Naval and Military War Pensions Act appears to be both justifiable and timely. The report of the Council's Special Committee will be read with interest. It contains a piece of information which. to many who have not read the provisions of the Act, will be received with no little surprise, namely, that from those provisions "it is made manifest that the payment of pensions and the allowances for disabled soldiers and sailors and their dependants, and the cost of providing for their general welfare is to be made, to a large extent, dependent on contributions from charitable sources." It should be remembered that the Act of course only relates to the supple- menting of pensions. Those pensions will, we take it, come as now from the War Office, but, in so many cases, augmentation is necessary, and for this purpose the mea- sure was enacted. For the present we understand the Government has voted a million towards this object, but this will surely be only a first instalment. Be that as it may, we quite agree with the opinion of the Committee that those who have so freely and so bravely eiven themselves, and the future of those dependent upon them, to the service of their country, are clearly entitled to claim the fullest assistance from the State. That they should have to depend, to any extent at all, upon charitable gifts, is as Mr. Miller, in his outspoken remarks put it, certainly not in accord with the dignity of a great nation. The work of charitable organisations, excellent as it is at present, ought not to be considered in connection with this matter, and the people will have to see to it through their Parliament- ary representatives, that the Government do vote a wholly adequate sum to meet the necessities that must inevitably arise out of the war. For this reason, we do not feel inclined to give much consideration to the claims of the Welsh National Scheme proposed by General Owen Thomas, and which the Committee went at some length in criticising. We have not the slightest doubt that the scheme originated with the very best motives for safeguarding the interests and welfare of the Welsh Soldiers and Sailors and their dependants during and after the war. But in our opinion those interests cannot be better safeguarded, and I looked after more thoroughly than by local i committees, who must surely know better than a large national body the actual require- ments of their own immediate districts, and how best to administer the grants and benefactions in those districts. The success which has attended the administration of the OM Age Pensions Act, and still more recently, the work of the County War Distress Committee fully supports this view. National administration is all well and good in some things, but in this matter lpeal administration is more likely to make for greater efficiency and give more and complete satisfaction. The constitution of the Local Committee in Breconshire appears to us to be thoroughly representative, and likely to give every confidence. All that is wanted is sufficient money for administration, and this, as we have said, ought to come from the State.

Notes and Notions. Rarely, if ever, has Llandrindod Wells ex- perienced a better Easter season. Large num- bers of visitors arrived, and several of the hotels were quite full-some to overflow. The Radnorshire Education Committee have awarded a framed certificate to Charlotte Evans, Bwlchsarnau School, who had completed eight years perfect attendance. "Very good I" remarked our office boy "but it must have been & bit monotonous. Knighton people learned, with regret, of the death of Second-Lieut. R. A. M. Lutener, who fell in action recently. He was attached to the King's Shropshire Light Infantry, and was the only son of Rev. W. M. Lutener, Oswestry (for- merly vicar of Knighton). x We regret to learn that news has been received in London that Viscount tutnington, only son of the late Earl St. Aldwyn, was killed in action on Sunday. It will be remembered that Lady Quen- ington died in Egypt on March 4th last. Lord Quenington served with the Gloucestershire Yeomanry, with whom he was fighting at the time of his death. 4* On Good Friday, at Ystradgynlais, the Rev. L. Rhystyd Davies (Brynamman) won the chair

Radnorshire Tribunal. Appeals Dismissed. CONSOIEXTTOUS OBJECTOR'S CASE. A meeting of the Radnorshire Appeal Tribunal was held at Llandrindod Wells on Saturday. There were present Sir Powlett C. J. Milbank (chairman), Ald. C. C. Rogers, Mrs C. C. Rogers, Mrs J. L. Allcock, Messrs. W. M. Baylis, H. Duff-Gordon, J. O. Bufton, W. Thomas and James Pryce, with the clerk (Mr H. Vaughan- Vangiian), Major Aubrey Thomas (representing the military, and Mr J. R. Bache, C.C. (the Board of Agriculture). William Oliver Prosser (29), Glasbury, appeal- ed as a tenant farmer, and stated that he con- tributed to the support of his parents. He em- ployed no labour, and his father was 77 years of agi. The farm was 34 acres in extent, and 16 acres were arable. He had a brother 25 years of age. who was a farmer, holding 110 acres. His brother had not been before the Tribunal, as he was starred. His other brother was 45 years of age, and both his brothers were residing within half-a-mile of his farm.—Appeal dismissed. James Price Worthing, Cwmdauddwr, Rhay- ader, was permitted to re-open his case. It was stated that the applicant was the only man on a farm of 886 acres (160 acres being 'enclosed land). The father stated that he would have to give up the farm if his son went. The father said he had three sons on two farms, but none of his sons were in the Army. He would undertake that his son, Charles Robert Worthing, should go on May 31st. On this understanding, the appeal was adjourn- ed. The adjourned case of Wm. Prosser (clogger), 36, Builth Road, was again gone into, and Major Aubrey Thomas stated that, although clogging was a certified trade, he did not consider that the em- ployment was absolutely necessary. Mr CV.lard (the employer) stated that he had a lot of work on at Penoerrig Estate,. Builth Road. He could em- ploy 20, and only bad two men, both of whom were skilled.-Tli,e appeal was dismissed. The adjourned case of Thomas Archer, Tre- monach. Bryngwyn, was now gone into, and the employer, Mrs Dyke, again attended and stated that she could not obtain a man to take the place of Archer. It was not anyone who could manage horses. Archer had been with her three years, and. if released from military service, was willing to stay on. Mrs Rogers offered Mrs Dyke a skilled woman shepherd, but she said she would not trust her sheep to a woman. Mr Bache said this was a very hard case, as there was only one boy left on the farm. The farm was 110 acres, a good proportion of which was arable.—Given one day. which secures the man for two months, but Mrs Dyke was told she must get a man within that period. James Meredith, Hendon, Clyro, waggoner, stated that his farm was 100 acres, 32 acres of which were under plough. He had 7 horses, 22 cattle and 60 sheep. A boy of 15 years was the only workman employed.—Applicant's brother put in a medical certificate, stating that the applicant was suffering from nervous prostration and was unfit for military service.—The appeal was dis- missed. John Henry Meredith, Pengelly, Bryngwyn, was represented by his father (Mr Thomas i Meredith), who said he was in indifferent health. He would be content if his son were given two months.—Appeal dismissed. William Arthur Jones, Chapel House, Bettws, Whitney-on-Wye, stated that lie was the sole sup- port of his mother, who was an invalid. He kept the home together by doing postman's work and looking after a cow and a few sheep.—Mr Bache said the man was unfit for military service, and was likely to be of more expense than service.— Applicant said his father did boot repairing, but was over 70. His mother had an old age pension. His father lived at Clyro. He bad a married sis- t ter living at Rhydspence.—Appeal dismissed. David Davies, Chandos Hotel, Knighton, ap- pealed for the release of Mark Harrison Caswell (25), slaughterman, on the grounds that he was in- dispensable, as he (Mr Davies) was not a practical butcher. In reply to Mrs Rogers, Mr Davies said he bad had this shop for four or five years. Mrs Rogers Was it necessary to have a fourth butcher in Knighton. Mr Davies There had been a shop there be- fore for many years. In reply to Mr C. C. Rogers, Mr Davies stated that he managed the Chandos Temperance Hotel, and was an inspector of nuisances under the Knighton Rural Council. The .latter position was only worth £30. and the temperance hotel was too hig for the town, and he had difficulty in making a living. To Mr Bufton If the man went, he would pro- bably have to close his shop. Mr Baylis Or get another man. Mrs Rogers said the man had a fine physique and would make a good soldier, but Mr Davies said the man had not eaten any meat for months. Mrs Rogers He does not look like it. The appeal was dismissed by a majority. I Conscientious Objector. The chairman said that as regarded the case of Herbert Matthews, of Ffynonau, Colva, who appealed as a conscientious objector, there had been a slight misunderstanding. What they meant was to dismiss the appeal, which meant that the man was to go to non-combatant service. Leave for appeal to the Central Tribunal was refused.

I Children Under 14. CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY MIGHT LEAVE SCHOOL. At the meeting of the School Attendance and Medical Service Sub-Committee of the Radnor- shire Education Committee, held at Llandrindod Wells on Friday, the chairman (Dr. Harding), when dealing with applications for exemption from school by children under 14 years of age, read a circular letter from the Board of Education. This stated that the conditions, which, in the view of the Government, should be satisfied before a Local Education Authority, excused children from attendance at school for the purpose of agricultural employment were :-(1) The employment of child- ren of school age should be regarded as an ex- ceptional measure permitted to meet a special emergency, and should only be allowed where the Authority were satisfied that no other labour was available,and in no case should children be excused attendance at school if older children, who were under no legal obligation to attend school, were available; (2) In considering the available supply of labour the Authority should satisfy themselves that all reasonable efforts had been made to secure adult labour, e.g., by application at the labour exchange and especially by the offer of adequate remuneration (3) Every case should be considered on its merits, and there should be no general relaxation of the bye-laws; (4) The employment should be of a, light character and suitable to the capacity of the child: (5) Permission, if given at all, should be given for a definitely limited period only. Many applications were granted, but the chair- man reminded the committee that by allowing these children to leave school they were losing grants.

The Baptist Churches. RADNOR AND MONTGOMERY ASSOCIATION SPRING MEETINGS AT KNIGHTON. This association held its spring meetings At Knighton on Thursday and Friday, and the gather- ings were most successful from every point of view. The president (Mr P. Pugh, Garth, Pantydwr) occupied the chair at the conference, and was sup- ported by Mr J. Kinsey, treasurer, and Rev. W. Williams, Knighton, secretary, Rev. W. A. Wil- liams, Pontypridd, and others. The ministers and delegates representing the churches were Revs. J. Jones, B.Sc., Llandrindod weUa; W. 1. Presteign; T. Williams, Maesyrheiem; R. A. Howells, Rhayader; O. Thomas, Dola.u, Nantmel; H. T .Pugh, Mochdre, J. L. Thomas, Newchapel; J. J. Young, Llanidloes; A. Leach, Ackhill; W. D. Young, Rock; W. A. Davies, New Wells; J. Ll. John. B.A.. Painscastle; H. I. Jenkins, Gra- vel Messrs. E. Powell and A. Hard wick, Bleddfa; T. Davies and E. Jones. Kerry; E. Kinsey, J. Ed- wards and E. Bufton, Presteign; E. Pugh, A. M. Pugh, T. Roberts and J. George, Knighton; S. P. Davies and W. Williams, Llanidloes; P .Thomas and E .Morgan, Gravel; E. Thomas, Rock; P. Davies, Rhayader; A. Price, Felindre; W. L. Harper. Llandrindod Weils; J. Price, R. Thomas, Mrs B. Williams and Miss Annie Morris, Maesyr- heiem Miss M. J. Evans and Mrs M. I. Nock, Rhydfelen; Mr and Mrs J. Andrew, Mrs J. H. Humphries and Miss A. A. Pugh, Newtown; The Misses A. and M. Meredith, Ackhill. The Conference. The conference was held in the Baptist Church (Norton Street) on Friday morning, Home Mis- sion work occupying the first place on the agenda. Grants were made to the churches at Craven Arms, Welshpool, Mochdre, New Wells and Montgomery. It was decided that A testimonial should be pre- sented to the Rev. T. E. Williams, of Newtown (who has been ill for some months), in recognition of the valuable services rendered by him to the As- sociation. The secretary and treasurer were ap- pointed to draw up a circular, appealing for sub- scriptions toward this object, and it is expected that the testimonial will be ready for presentation at the annual meetings of the Association to be held at C'i!ersN-s on the 14th and 15th of June. HeY. O. Thomas was asked to read a, paper at the conference of the forth-coming annual meeting. The secretary was instructed to ask the church at Dolau. Nantmel, to take the next autumnal meet- ing; the church at Newtown the next spring meet- ing. and the church at Knighton to take the an- MIR. I M< eting of the Association in 1917. The chairman moved that the hearty thanks of the Association be accorded to the pastor and church at Knighton for the very kind and efficient manner in which they had entertained the repre- sentatives, and the Rev. W. Williams suitably re- plied on behalf of the church. Preaching Services. The meetings of the Association commenced on Thursday evening when, at a public service in- troduced by the Rev. J. J. Young, Llanidloes, an eloquent sermon was delivered by the Rev. J. L1. John, B.A., Painscastle. On Friday afternoon Rev. T. I. James (Congre- gationalism, Leintwardine, conducted the former part of the service, and the Rev. W. A. Williams, Pontypridd, preached. At the close of the sermon the preacher made an earnest appeal to his congre- gation on behalf of the Sustentation Scheme of the Baptist Union of Wales, reviewing the achieve- ments of the Baptists and Congregationalists in I England, and the progress of the scheme in Wales, and emphasising the importance of keep- ing the village churches alive and mainta.ining an •efficient ministry. The service in thfc evening was introduced by the Rev. R. A. Howells, Rhayader, and the preacher was the Rev. T. Williams, Maesyrhel'em. Mrs W. Williams, Belmont, and Mrs Dd. Lewis, Norton Street, ably discharged the duties of organist at the services, and the chapel had been tastefully decorated with beautiful flowers by Mrs and the Misses D. and F. Lewis and friends. Mr J. Hey wood provided a splendid luncheon for the ministers and delegates, and between the afternoon and evening services, the Knighton Bap- tist Church provided a free tea in the Town Hall, to which a large number of visitors and others sat down. The tables were under the supervision of the Misses Pugh. Stowq. the Misses Swa-ncott, Farringdon. Miss L. Deakin and Mrs Roberts, Rhos-y-garth, assisted by a number of willing workers. It is just over 30 years, since the annual meet- ings of the Radnor and Montgomery Association were held at Knighton. On that occasion the ser- vices were held on the race-course at the lower end of the town, and the Rev. Charles Spurgeon was among the preachers who delivered their sermons from the grand stand. The older inhabitants of the district remember the gatherings with intense pleasure, and there is a generally expressed hope that arrangements will be made to hold the 1917 annual meeting here.

I CHILDREN'S PAGEANT I 4 AT LLANDRINtKJD WELLS. A PLEASING ENTERTAINMENT. On Monday afternoon and evening a pageant, entitled "Children through the Centuries," was presented at the Grand Pavilion, Liandrindod j Wells, by about 200 performers, drawn from Llandrindod Wells and the surrounding parishes, the profits being in aid of the Church of England Waifs' and Strays' Society, whioh, in addition to its ordinary charge of about 4,000 children, has a.t present about 700 children of soldiers under its care. The pageant was compiled by the Rev. C. V. R. Scott, M.A.. the chief organising secre- tary of the society, and it has been successfully presented under Royal Patronage at the Court Til ea tre, London, and throughout the Provinces. The chief organiser in the present performance was the Rev. D. Maldwyn Daviee, M.A., the clerical secretary for the diocese, and he had the assistance of many enthusiastic supporters of the organisation. Mrs Stead, The Moors, acted as pageant secretary, and the stage-manager was Mr W. R. Vaughan. Music, including Kipling's "Recessional," "Land of Hope and Glory," and many other selections, was provided by the Royal Welsh Choir, conducted by Mr W. Thomas, and an orchestra, which was arranged and conducted by Mr W. H. Dean. Mus. Bac. (Oxon). The following scenes were graphically presented, the dresses, costumes, and general presentation in every case being most beautiful 'and impressive :— Bethlehem and the Manger Throne, arranged by Miss Leigh; St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, restoring three children to life, arranged by Mrs Herbert, Disserth Rectory; St. Gregory, his visit to the s lave market at Rome, V^HEN he spoke of the fair-haired Angle children a-s "Angels, not Angles," arranged by Mrs Roland Pryce, Llanyre Vicarage; the children's crusade, which despict how, in 1212, a boy, called Stephen, started a crusade for children to capture the Holy Sepulchre from the infidels, pursuing his vision, accompanied by a crowd of children, de- spite the protests of parents and of the king, ar- ranged by Mr D. Morris, National .School; the boy bishop, showing the curious and ancient cus- tom ot we election ot the most deserving scholar as boy bishop, and his enthronement, arranged by Mrs Singers-Davies; Old English Fair, with old traditional games, songs and dances, arranged by Miss Partridge'; Old Street Cries, re-calling some of the terrible conditions under which chil- dren were employed in ways which have long since been almost forgotten, larranged by Mrs Singers-Davies and Mrs James Edwards; King Charle.s I. bidding farewell to his children, an eloquent, pathetic and moving tableaux, depicting the passionate farewell and the leading away of the children by the faithful Herbert, arranged by Miss Partridge; the legend of the Little Waif, which proves to be the Christ, child indeed, ar- ranged by Miss Brown, Montpellier Park Ter- race; the Church receiving the children, arranged by Mrs Ackerley; and Children of the Empire, de- picting Brittania, throned by her four home coun- tries, receiving gifts from her various colonies. Tea was provided in an interval, and the claims of the society were set forth by the Rev. D. Mald- wyn Davies in a short speech. The thanks of the promoters to many kind helpers and friends was spoken to by the Rector, special mention being made of the members of the Welsh Unit, who, by permission of Major Bowie, assisted in the choir -I n I in other ways. There were large attendances both afternoon and evening.

7 7 1 NOTES AND NOTIONS—Continued. prize, and, also, the prize and silver medal for the following stanza (Edith Cavell) "Nurse safodd d&n Germaniaid-noddai wyr Rhag cynddaredd bleiddiaid I Saethu hon drwy'i bron, heb raid, Bar oesol warth ar Brwssiaid 1" To what extent Welsh, as a spoken language, varies in different parts of the Principality is well shown by a map of Wales which appears in the current issue of the "Welsh Outlook." As was to be expected, English, as the predominant tongue, has made heavy inroads along Eastern Wales. This is often put down to industrial develop- ment. That this is not entirely the reason is, however, obvious from a study of the map. In Glamorgan, for instance, with its teeming indus- trial population, Welsh still makes a brave fight in various parts, whereas in agricultural counties like Radnor, Brecknock and Pembroke, English speakers are heavily in the majority, as they are in Gower also. The tenacious hold of the old language in districts immediately con- tiguous to a great commercial centre like Car- diff must not be forgotten.