Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

12 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

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Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

A SIGNIFICANT BALLOT. SIGNIFICANT of much, aa Carlyle would say, is the result of the ballot for the new Parliamentary Com- mittee of the Trades Congress at Glas- gow- Of 16 members of the old Com- mittee who offered themselves for selec- tion 13 were re-elected, including such opponents of direct action and other ex- tremist ideas as Mr. Will Thorne, Mr. W. J. Davis, Mr. J. Sexton, and Mr. Stuart Bunning. What is still more sig- nificant is the fact that the Miners' Federation, which had two representa- tives on the old C-ommittee, failed to ob- tain a single seat on the new. Mr. Greenall, one of their members on the re- tiring Committee, did not stand for re- election. Mr. A. Onions, his colleague, was nominated, and with him Mr. F. Hall, as substitute for Mr. Greenall, but both Mr. Onions and Mr Hall were among the unsuccessful candidates. Could there be any better commentary on the vote of censure which Mr. Smillie engineered, and on the real feelings of the majority of the Congress on the question of direct action ? As Mr. Clynes argued, Labour has political power enough to capture the political machine if there is unity, but Labour will destroy its hopes of succession to the seat of Government if it makes enemies of all the other classes not in- cluded in Labour. THE FUTURE. MR. LLOYD GEORGE has issued -'JL another "message" to the nation Our distinguished countryman shines as a rhetorician and his latest pronounce- ment is reminiscent of many of his plat- form perorations. The country to-day, however, wants something more than rhetoric, and cannot be saved from dis- aster by words, however eloquent. The one dominant need of the times is strong action by the Prime Minister in the direction of economy and retrenchment. The Government of which he is the head ij responsible for an appalling amount of extravagance. We are spending to- day twice as much as we can hope to pro- duce in revenue. How much longer is this to continue ? The Government are leading the country on the road to dis- aster, and unless Mr. Lloyd George asserts himself, national ruin is inevit- able. The Prime Minister sees visions of a new world and is no doubt sincerely desirous of bringing it about, but before we can launch o:t into any new schemes a more prosaic duty calls for attention. Let us first pay pur way betore calling for the New Jerusalem to be set up. A man threatened with bankruptcy cannot afford to indulge in dreams of a glorious future. The first thing he has to do is to cut dwn his expenses and live within his means. Having done that he will be justified in making a fresh start. We commend this homely illustration to the Prime Minister and his Government. A SEAL OF HONOUR. I THE moving appeal made by the King on behalf of disabled soldiers and sailors will, we feel sure, meet with a generous response from employers of labour all over the country. Putting it bluntly, the appeal ie that employers out of good Iature and love of their country, should tax themselves volun- tarily by employing a percentage of dis- abled men men broken in the war. There is a strong feeling that after this war there must be no human wreckage left to the sport of circumstances. We owe a great deal to thes3 men. and it is unthinkable that they should now be left to drift derelict on their pensions. Our duty to them certainly does not end with a grant of a pension. They have a right to be provided with such work as they are capable of and it is to their own interest as well as the interest of the country that they should get it. The King asks employers to take "all pos- sible steps" to find employment for dis- abled ex-Service men and to give an undertaking that they will employ not Iftflfli than a given percentage of such men. It is estimated that out of the total number of disabled men, something like 100,000 are unprovided for, and the suggestion is that every employer should employ five per cent. of such men. The Government propose to set an example by themselves employing the full five per cent., and it is likely that they will bring forward a resolution making em- pIo) ment of a fair percentage of dis- abled men a condition of receiving Government contracts. With a feeling of goodwill among employers, however, no such resolution will be necessary. I K3SIHC RATES. THE burgesses of Llanelly must pre- T pare lor a Lig increase in the ratœ. This is inevitable in view of the tremend- ous increase in every department of ex- penditure. Taking the Purveyor's de- partment alone, we find that the wage bill is k200 a week more than in pre-war times. Another increase of wages has now been granted which will furtner add to the burden of the ratepayers. Of course, at a time when costs are rising all round, we cannot expect local rates to remain stationary. Municipal employes, like all other workers, have been granted substantial advances of wages and these have to be met out of the rates. THE SHIPPINC BOOM. THE Harbour Trustees were on excel- lent terms witli themselves at their annual meeting on Monday. Beaming faces sat around the table and congratu- lations were exchanged over the improved trade outlook. The import and export returns for August are certainly highly gratifying, and September looks like be- ing an equally satisfactory month. The Trust have, indeed, every reason to re- joice at the present boom in local shipping and we can only hope that it represents the turning of a long and dreary lane of trade depression. The past five years have been a most trying period in the history of the Trust. The war practical- ly closed up all the smaller ports and even Swansea with all its resources, suf- fered severely. The last few months have seen a welcome transformation, and Llan- elly, thanks to its facilities for quick des- patch, is coming into its own again. There are, of course, special reasons for the present revival. Congestion in the larger ports and labour troubles in other 1 parts of the country, have been the means of inducing (or even compelling) owners to send their ships here. We can only hope that having had prompt des- patch, they will continue to do so when shipping generally becomes more normal.

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I Water tor Works

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Municipal Notesi

I It ts Said

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I . C I Proh?ermg Cominmee

! Llanelly Cinensr

IWA.l TIME RESTRICTIONS.

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