The Cambria Daily Leader

THE "PRIVATE MEMBERS"' II REVOLT. The Swansea Council yesterday, after a long debate, decided to allow the pre- sent system of negotiating for property to remain the recognised procedure of the Corporation. Aid. David DaviÐS16¡ resolution, to the effect that such negotiations, when thoy dealt with Imd and other property over the value of £500, shoigd be entrusted to a stand- ing committee of committee chairmen, \<a« defeated decisively, its strongest opponents being members of the Muni- cipal Reform Party, and the most powerful speech against it being made by Councillor Molyneaix. A subsequent proposal,, made by Ald. Davies, that such negotiations should be in the hands of the General Pur- poses Committee, was defeated even more heavily. There is evidently a re- volt among the rank and file of the Municipal Reform Party, as this and other recent incidents plainly reveal. Councillor Holmes may be psed of "misunderstanding" this or the other thing, but he and a few of his colleagues do not appear to take kindly to ponti- fical correction, or to lecturing. The Municipal Reformers are not, just now, a happy family. The present position, however, is not satisfactory. So much is apparent after the dialogue between Councillor David Matthews and Alderman Men-ells, which quite failed to clear up the posi- tion maintained by the chairman of the Highways Committee. The personal factor, indeed, was too strongly in evi- dence yesterday. Ald. Davies, ex- aggerating the influence of Ald. Mer- rells, and introducing other considera- tions, made the debate turn upon the power of the Highway Committee*?, chairman, and what Ald. Merrells called the soft-soap Log process turned the disoussion to less profitable uses than it might have -had That the Highways Committee is a body under the thumb of its chairman, that the members are dominated by his stronger personality, and are simply nodding mandarins, is a theory instantly to bo discounted when state the composition of the commit- too: The Mayor Cbun. G. Hill Aid. Merrelb „ w. Q. Llovd I (ohajrma.n) H Itacdonnell I Aid. Miles W. L. Morgan Coun. Bassott W. H. Morris Conn. D J. Davies" P. Molyneux (vice). F. J. Pairker Ald. Davies spoke much regardjjjg the desirability of entrusting important negotiation. toy discreet and aide mem- bers. Who is going to decide who axe the models of discretion on the Council, too ablest men araoag the forty ? Pro- bably every member regards himself a* the perfect model; very many must quietly think themselves the inferiors to none in ability on the Council It is this suggestion that we must have a kind of Second Chamber of discreet and able men which has led to tho revolt of those councillors who yesterday spoke of themselves as the private mem- bers. All in the forty are directly responsible to the ratepayers. There can be no deliberately-selected aristo- cracy of municipal talent, and tho natural process must be allowed to work itself out. Forcible personalities will wield their influence on the Council, as they have in the past. When they over-reach themselves and tend to be- coma autocratic in the exercise of their power, when they presume upon their importance and endeavour to domineer by means of patronising and threaten- ing tacties. N emis comes swiftly. There are illustrations of this before the public eye at the present time. The proposition of Alderman Davies would have put the power of regotia- tion into the hands of the following committee of chairmen: Coun. D. Matthews Ald. Dairies (General Purposes). (Markets). Ald. D. Jones Ald. Tutton (Watch). (Estates). Coun. Macdonnell Coun. D. Wiiliams (Finance). (Health). Ald. MerreUs The Mayor (Highways). (Water). Aid, Ben Jones Coun. Sinclair (Stores) (Electric) Coun. Morris Coun. Gwynne (Housing) (Education). Aid. Devonald Coun. Lee (Asylum Visiting) (Parks j Councillor Protheroe {fribrariesfr. It is a good committee, but would its 1 formation lead positively to the end Alderman Davies professes to have in view-would it be a more discreet, a more able committee than the High- ways? It would exclude such practical business men as the reader will discover in the first list given above. Would it lead to the "private member" being better informed? We doubt it. In any case, the "private member" will resent a system under which he will be dependent upon his chairman for his information; he will want to know for himself. The Housing Committee will want land-aloe the negotiations to be entrusted to this composite committee, and is the Housing Committee to re- ceive all its news x-izt, tho report of the chairman ? The Water and Se.wers Committee will want land- is it going to delegate its ..mot important work to another com- mittee not specifically interested? The proposition is hedged around by a dozen perplexities. One word of wisdom, let fall by Coun- cillor Sinclair, was left unheeded in the press of personal considerations. See- ing the prevalence of misunderstand- ings as to the actual position, and the confusion of the members, he suggested that the whole question of committee powers and responsibilities should be considered by a committee of the Counr cil, who should report as to the desir. ability of new procedure. As we have said, it was unheeded. It strikes us as the one really practical proposal of the afternoon. The revision of committees made three years ago has now shown many weak places in actual working. Indeed, the old system was better—the system under which many important property deals were brought first under the notice of the sub-tProperty Commit- tee (which sat in camera), and then came for full consideration before the General Purposes Committee, which was an open committee composed of all the Council members, a week before the monthly meeting of the Council. Under that system the private member" had a chance of knowing the business of the Council, and a direct voice in the de- cision of affairs. We shall have to come back to this .system, or to one like it.

HOUSE AND LOBBY. Welsh Bill Once More Under Fire. (SPECIAL TO THE LEADER.") Within a few days the Welsh Church Disestablishment Bill will be under the fire of another second reading debate. •The Parime Minister's announcement yesterday afternoon that next Monday and Tuesday would be devoted to the Bill was received by the Welsh mem- bers with satisfaction, as they are anxious to know definitely what is to happen with the measure. Rumours a.re current in the Lobby from day to day that certain alterations—it may be concessions—are to be made before the Bill becomes law. With ese rumours is also the statement that some of the Welsh members are becoming wea k- kneed and are willing to agree to better terms being given to the Church. At the same time, the Church leaders amongst the Tory members are prepar- ing for another attempt to wreck the Bill, both in the House of Commons and in the House of Lords. Some Points in the Position. A lot will depend upon what the members do. During last session, and the session before, a large number of English Liberal members wljo are Churchmen, were in favour of de- manding better terms on the question of disendowment, although they were quite sound upon the question of dis- establishment. They were turned at the last minute, however, by the uncom- promising attitude of the Church leaders, who declared for complete oppo- sition to the Bill as a whole. Now, the position has changed again, and the Church leaders are asking for further concessions, in which they may gain the support of the English Liberal-Church- men. It is quite possible that if these concessions are granted the Bill will bo carried without the application of the Parliament Act. At the same time, however, there are indications that the Tories contemplate an adverse policy in the House of Lords, where (so rumour has it) attempts are to be made to de- lay the Bill until after the regulation date—May 11 th. Home Ru.e and Other Business. No date has been fixed for the remain- ing stages of the Home Rule Bill. There are, however, numerous" COllVersa- tions from day to day, the result of which may be found in an arr&ngcme;; t by which the Irish Bill will be passed without compulsion. It is hoped, so one gathers, that the concluding stages of the Welsh Bill will follow in the same w-eek as the Budget, so that it may go to the House of Lords on or about April 27th, and that the Irish Bill will follow close upon its heels. Welsh Records Bill. Mr. Llewelyn Williams has another crop of troubles in connection with his Welsh Records Office Bill, as two English members have entered blocking motions against it. The cause of the trouiile seems to be that some of. the Welsh documents at the Records Office in Chancery Lane contain entries relat- ing to the County of Cheshire, and the people of that county object to any pro- position by which those documents would be removed to (say) Cardiff. The chief difficulty is that the rolls, etc., OKimot be divided. Mr. Williams ha,s given assurances and offered amend- ments providing safeguards, but so far it seems that he ha<s not succeeded in removing the suspcion of difficulty.

The chief sight of Ea-ster in Paris is not either the bells or the banquets, but the Britishers. Where do they come from ? Where do they get their clothes, and do they hurt them much? "Never to the great nevar," as my friend the Vicomte says, "have I seen such Englishmen in England as we are seeing here in Paris this week." No boots were ever quite so yellow as the boots they wear, no pipes ever so obtrusive, and why do they wear izlich very green clothes Even their luggage is green. Green as the young spring lettuce, green as hope or spinach, green—well, no, perhaps not qnite so green as the dear tourists themselves.—John N. Raphael in "The Bystander."

"Freemen of the Borough. .1 I Forgotten Names. IN all the lists of honorary freemen of the Borough of Swansea, the first name recorded is that of William Ewart Gladstone, and in all the. tunotions that have followed the init-ia- hon of that distinguished statesman into the ranks of Swansea burgesses, it has been custom;ary to refer to him as the first; to receive the greatest honour at the disposal of the town. When Mr. Frank Ash Yoo, Mayor in 1887, pre- vented the "freedom" to the Grand Old Man, he stated lfchat "it was the first occasion up(x-i "iVhieh such a pre- sentation had taken place." Technically, one may admit, it is right to regard Gladstone as the first of our honorary freemen. His name leads on th# roll of.frtjfcmen honoured bv the Swansea Corporation, and preserved among the Corpora-tion archives. But W. E Gladstone is not the first gentleman to have been given this evidence of Swansea's regard for great and good men. There were other names placed upon the roil in the days J of the unreformed Corporation, in the pre 1835 period when we were governed by Common Hall and a Port- reeve. John Henry Vivian, father of the first I/ord Swansea, and Lewis Weston Dillwyu, were honorary free- men of the borough. In Elizabethan Days. To-day we do not attach great im- portance to the privilege of being bur- gesses—we have been stripped, indeed. of our privileges, and the doubtful one only remains of being upon the rate- books. But it was a groat thing to be a freeman and a burgess in the old time-s. In the days of Elizabeth, the burgesses exhibited considerable jealousy as to their privileges, for though they admitted two Irishmen to the freedom of the borough in 15S8, they restricted them from exercise of equal rights with the other burgesses. In 1613, a payment of 20s. was de- manded on the admission of an elected burgesses, so as to keep it in the hands of the wealthier people, because" tl10 burgoosese aere fore the moste parte failene frome and unable to searve any offices which aere needful to be borne." The Charters gave the freemen considerable powers, but in the reign of William and (Mary, the Corporation appears to have got into some confusion about their chartered rights, and a subscription was taken by the "Common Attorneys" from e.ach freeman "towards the confirmation of the late new charter (of James II.) or towards the obtaining of a new one." Nothing definite was done, and, says Mr. Gamwell, in hi.s history, "Swansea has ever since been called a Borough by Prescription." Two Freemen of 1834. At the close of the eighteenth century there were many fierce fights in Com- mon Hall regarding the admission of burgesses, one of the factions being led by Mr. Charl es Collins, who has left on record a vivid and amusing account of the struggle of relations of burgesses to secure town privileges. But, appro- priately to to-day's ceremonial, when four distinguished gentlemen, three of them benefactors of Swansea, and one of Wales, are to be made honorary free- men of the borough, one may record the forgotten story of the initiation of two worthy sons of the town into sitnik;' honours. The conteistporfiry chronicles deal very briefly with the incident; if wo were to follow their style to-day, tho event at the Albert Hall would be dis- missed in not more than a quarter of a oolumn of our space 1 At a Hall Day, then, held for the Borough of Swansea on 'Friday, the BtJi day of August, 1834, the following re- solutions were unanimously passed: That the freedom of this borough be presented to our most worthy and excellent Mem* r, J..¡I. Vivian, Esq., as a mark of respect and esteem, and as a smal' but grateful acknowledge- ment of the great and important ser- vices he has rendered this town and neighbourhood upon various occasions. That the freedom bo presented to him in a gild box, value twenty-five guineas, at a Common Hall, specially to be called by the Portreeve for that purpose, and that a Committee con- sisting of the Portreeve, Recorder, J. Grove, Thos. Edw. Thomas, Esrtrs., be appointed to procure the box, and prepare an appropriate in- scription. That the freedom of this borough be presented to Lewis Weston Dillwyn, Esq., M.P., as a mark of the great personal respect in which ho is held by the burgesses at large. The Sumptuous Dinner. The interesting event took place in the September of 1834, at Common Hall—the equivalent of our monthly Council meeting—at which the Portreev e presided, and the twelve (the Alder- men and Burgesses) oonf erred the honour. What they said, we know not; our information is confined to particu- lars concerning the sumptuous din- ner which the Portreeve-elect, Mr. C. R. Jones, subsequently gave at the Assembly Rooms (in Cambrian-place). This was at six o'clock in the evening. Many toasts were given; judging by the long list, the night must have been spent continuously in proposing and honouring them. They included: The King, Queen and Royal Family. Lord Melbourne and His Majesty's Ministers. Lord Auckland and the Navy. Lord Hill and the Army. The Duke of Beaufort. C. R. Jones (three times three). The Members for the County. Mr. Vivian and the Copper Trade. Sir John Morris and the Coal Trade. Here are nine; there were a dozen others. So one leaves the reader to imagine for himself how our municipal fathers got home, the time at which they arrived, and what their good ladies said when they arrived. An Affecting incident. Lord Swansea (then Sir Hussey Vivian) was at the ceremony, performed at the Library, when Gladstone was made the first freeman of the reformed Corpora- tion in 1887. When lie was called upon to speak, he produced from his pocket; the gold box in which the freedom had been presented to John Henry Vivian. "I brought this box with me," he said, to show you how it hae been cherished in my family, and as it will bB. I hope, for ever hereafter, as a most cherished memorial of that great and good lW\TI." Even so we can imagine descendants of those to-day mitia.ted into the/free- dom producing with pride—though not from their poclasts, for the- silver caskets are too big for that!—the boxe.s in which their ancestors received Swansea's most gracious mark of its approval of services done to the State and the com- munity, IL a. W.

News & Views Not Tenefar Enough. Diner: "Look here, waiter! this steak isn't tender enough!" Waiter (on notice): "fender enough' wot d'you want ? d'you expect it to get up an' kiss yer ?JJ_" The Bystander." Why There Was No Cream. Madame: "I am afraid I must cease taking your milk—there's not a drop of cream comee, from it." Laitier: "Ah! You see lady, I filled your jug so full there's no room for the cream 111" —" The Bystander." A Curious Question. "There is nothing the matter with you," persisted the Christian, Scientist, "absolutely nothing. Can- 1 not convince Let IDe ask you a question?" re- plied the sick man. "A tiiousand, if you like." ""Weil, suppose a man has nothing the matter with kirn, and he dies ol it, what didn't ho have the mattetf with him?" Holidays for Animals. "We have aocommodation for 150 boarded-out dogs, and expect it will all be required when the holiday season sets in, says the secretary of the iaekbridge branch of the Bafefcersea Dogs' Home. "During the Easter holidays we have had forty-three imported dogs in the quarantine section, forty ordinary boarders, and twelve cats. We feed the dogs on butchers' meat, soup, and crushed biscuits. N'V aorsellesh is used." The Great Eiffel Tower. The Eiffei Tower has jutit cel e" brated its twenty-tilth birthday. It seams almost as difficult to imagine Paris wihout the graceful structure as London without St. Paul's. From time to time a rumour is set afloat that the tower is showing signs ot instab-lity, that it is leaning to one side or that it is about to collapse. Then M. Elifel, the veteran engineer, who is now oyer eighty, emerges from his retirement and gives an indignani denial to these sinister reporto. iaa Dog and a Golf Match. The story of a dog in a golf match, "vouched tor by two ladies of unim- peachable integrity," is told in "Thd Times." me dog, a stray terrier, carried one of the balls from the edge of the putting-green, and when the astonished player called aloud to him to drop .4 it, the dog did -so-within a foot ot the pin. On the further side of the green he encountered the second ball, carried it back to the hole and actually dropped it in. The owner of the ball thus woy the hole in 1 to 2. How the Dog Was Taught. The owner of the dog, Mme.. Moekei, determined to teach the dog, and it gradually became proficient in arith- metical problems. Then she prooeeded to teach the dog to express itself tÿiptologicaily, and giter Dr. Macken- zie's departure the animal tapped out a letter to him. This is described as an absolutely spontaneous demonstration, the dog iollowing Mme. Moekel's child until she took him into the next room to get the cardboard and the alphabet. Theq Rolf began to tap in the presence a the governess and the other child, using the (H'ileet (;f t-lio district. The Sinfulrcf Snaving. A few weeks ago I expressed a hope that the Bishop of Chelmsford. would shave off his moustache. I am glad to see that his lordship is now clidan- shaven. But you cannot please every- body. Yesterday my attention waa drawn to the titles of two books, botb of which were published in the reign of Queen Victoria. Here they are: "Bsard Shaving and the Common Use of the Razor: An Unnatural, Irrational, Un- manly, Ungodly, and Fatal Fashion among ChrisUtans and Shaving a Breach of the Sabbath and a Hindrance to the Spread of the Gospel." Appar- ently there are some people who think that the mystery of godliness lurks in 'the bristles of the beard.—" Daily Sketch."

SHON DAFYDD. Madog Wyn ar "Areth Lecshwnaidd." Fe wetodd Madog wrthyf iddo gal pleser digymysg wrth ddarllon aret h Enoch Pugh yn y "Leader" yr wythnoa ddiwedda'. "Ond fe weta wrthot ti, Shon," ebo fe: "Ma' gobeth gwan sy-' gan ymgeisydd i fyn'd ar gowncil, nao ar ddim byd arall heddy' os na fydd gento gwpl o ganfaswyr piwr, a chwpj o wifre yn i ddwyio. Pe by-so pobun mor feddylga-r, a (lar. llengar ag Enoc, f.y&e dim ishe'r can- fasio yna; ac insult i ddyn sy'n medru barnu dj-?st?'i hun yw ceisM) ?wthia rhwpeth arno fydd ei farn ?? ? dwybod r"wp: ? N]'d o?s un rh'an o ddeg y h i,i?73,1. i gyfarfodydd gyn« helir gan ymgeiswyr i draethu eu ham ar gwestiynau'r cynghorau; o ganJ;,n- iad rhaid yw canfasio'r bobl, a sou wrthynt am alluoedd a daioni yr ym- geiswyr. Fe dalai y ffordd i'r ethol- wyr i dded i am bail gwrdd gvnholir gal, yr ymgeiswyr. er gwrando eu har- eithiau. Ma' ambeli areth mor wag a Bynwyl" ag YW carreg o farddoniaeth. Dyma iti enghrefit o areth lecsh wn. aidd, tipyn o ddyn gamen-wir yn "gentleman," ddarilenes i mewn prinl yn CKUweudar: Mishdir Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen '-A fi-a fi balch iawn i bod yma i sefyll o blaen chi i gw-eyd—i gweyd y clii dynou neis iawn. A fi we(ii bod yn considro sut i chi byw, a fi gwel'd chi obliged i taly. trethi mowr iawn--rhy mowr iawer. Fel chi. gwpod, ma' ii wedi bod yn stydio arithmetic, euclid, dancing, Ii rench. music a sub- jects felna; a ma' fi wedi qualified i odrych miwn i subjects o trethi. Ma' islio, i chi ga'l dyn educated yn member dros chi. l'i last week yn dino (bwyta cmiaw) gyta Lord Fatgats, a fe gweyd hofvd i fi ma' trethi rhy high. Chf gwel'd bod good authority syt? fi al statement. Os ma' chi returno fi yi member o'r couxicd ma' fi'n myn'd 1 tynu treth lawr lot. Dim i&ho troth c gwbl! We-dyn, fi d'od a motion yii. rnl.¡,'n i stopio'r young ladies ma' I wishgo -o--zLor swelH Chi meddle 'nawr am young man yn prioti un 0'1 swell merched lr- Le ma fo yn IU.vn'd i ga'l plenty of cash i talu dress- makers, milliner, etc? Mal full time rhoi stop a.r present conditions. Wedyn ma' fi'n introducio bill i rei stop ar y beastly weather geson ni yn March, a mishodd erill y fiwyddyn sv' wedi pasio hibo. Fi deyd y gwir i.ehi. pe pasen ni Bill yn i gneyd Iiiln compulsory ar bob ratepayer i usio v "Common Prayer Book" a pob man and woman yn praya God o hono fe. fe gele'n fine weather, and good crops. fi'n gentleman, religious man, and business man, ac oa rebnrnwch fi i'r cowncil, fe gewch dicyi mwy o hearen upon earth" Shon Dafydd. ■. 1 i .0111