County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser Abergavenny and Raglan Herald Usk and Pontypool Messenger and Chepstow Argus

Births, Marriages, & Heaths. m Announcements Of Births, Marriages and Deaths are in- serted at a uniform charge of Is each, unless such words as No cards,' 'No flowers' are added, when the charge will be 2s 6d. All announcements must be authenticated. Postage stamps may be sent in payment. Lists of Wedding Presents are inserted at the rate of Is 6d per inch in depth.

I The Man of the Hour. Lord Milner of St. James's and Cape Town has met with a signal honour at the hand of his Sovereign by his elevation to the peerage at the very time when the Krugerites were alleging that he had been "recalled." The greeting extended to the High Commissioner upon his home-coming n was spontaneous and unrestrained, and the King has performed I AO MORK GRACIOUS ACT, none more acceptable to the nation, than by so speedily recognising the great services which Sir Alfred Milner has rendered to the Empire His Majesty has set the stamp of unqualified and unhesitating approval on that. loyal and Imperial policy of never again which the newly-created n y peer so frankly avowed and so faithfully carried out under the most trying conditions. His quiet courage and untiring exertions during those first weary mouths of the war, when he had to sit tight at Cape Town, with Boer armies ravaging both the Cape and Natal; with the disaffected Dutch Afrikanders rising in rebellion with a ministry in power at Cape Town who sympathised with rebellion and with the knowledge that until more troops arrived I the Imperial power was barely sufficient to hold its own-all these things I COMMAND THE HIGHEST ADMIRATION for the High, Commissioner. It was pait of the Boer design to rush both Cape Colony and Natal, sweeping tl)e British into the sea, and. the Empire is largely indebted to Lord Milner that Earl Roberts had not to commence his campaign by re- conquering Cape Colony. ø

I The Colliery Disaster. It is difficult for those who have not lived in a colliery district to realise the full significance of that terrible cry, An explo- sion in the pit," or the effect which it produces upon those who hear it. Almost certainly the explosion means death, prob- ably many deaths, and the question which is in the minds of all is Who have been killed ? That is a question which men at a distance often ask with little more than a passing regret, but to the people who hasten to the pit's mouth it means very much more. Every man who is below has relatives in that crowd, and in many cases he is the bread winner of the family. The wife knows not whether she is a widow, and her children fatherless, the aged parents are unable to tell whether or not the lads upon whom they depended are among the dead. And, moreover, they will not know for hours, perhaps days, and they must wait wearily ut the mouth of the pit until that happens, which some of them have seen happen before, and the bodies are brought one by one out of the cage. In these and other circumstances a colliery disaster stands alone, as it stands also alone in the heroism of the rescuers. We hear of men winning Victoria Crosses in the war, but when an explosion or fire occurs at a colliery, SCORES OF VICTORIA CROSSES WOULD j BE EARNED I if they were granted to civilians. Every man knows that he himself might have been among those in the pit, and each has among the victims a father, brother, son. or at least a friend or acquaintance. Such being the case, they work as heroes would work for men who would have done the same for them if the positions had been reversed, Nothing short of the absolutely impossible will stop them; they and the survivors (where there are any) of those whom they seek, display all the heroism and patience of those who lead captivity captive. These things happened in the colliery disaster near Caerphilly, and the tidings of them moved the whole nation, from the King, who sent an early message express- ing his sympathy and t. his admiration of the gallant attempt made to save life "—to the humblest of His Majesty's subjects. It was, indeed, a terrible calamity, and the only consolation to be derived from the reports is the somewhat meagre one, pro- ducing but small comfort to the bereaved, that the loss of life is less than it might have been. A few years ago 300 men were suffocated in that district, and had the exp o ion in the Universal Colliery occurred half an hour earlier there would probably have been as many deaths as there were on the former occasion. Even as it turned out it is lamentable that ABOUT EIGHTY MEN I should have lost their lives. The extraor- dinary damage to the workings caused by the explosion left but little hope of their rescue from the first. The night shift, comprising several hundred men, began to leave the pit about 4.30 a.m.. and the last of them had only just come up when the first explosion was heard, a little after 5 o'clock. The noise and vibration awoke the people in the neighbouring cottages; miners heard the unmistakable sounds as they were going to work, and hastened to volunteer their aid. The whole country knows with what courage the work of rescue was carried on, and deplores the fact that it was not more successful.

[We do not necessarily endorse all our correspondent writes.—ED. ki C.O."] PICKINGS. Lady Llangattock, of the Ilendre, Monmouth, has lent a unique collection of Nelson relics to the Naval and Military Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, in recognition of the directors having placed 50,000 season tickets at the dis- posal of the various committees working on be- half of the Naval and Military Charities. CRICKET. On Saturday, Newport III, at Trevethiu, won by two wickets and 22 runs and on Monday they defeated Abergavenny A, by 120 to 97 runs. Ponthir has also won two matches. They beat Caerleon by 138 for 9 wickets to 48 runs, aud St. James's (Cardiff) by 110 to 30 and 60. A peculiar accident is reported to have occurif l to Mr F. A. Phillips, the old Mon- mouthshire cricketer, during the course of the Somersetshire and Middlesex match. He was fielding a ball, when, by some means, he stepped on his hand, and the spikes broke a bone, com- pelling him to leave the field. j What must have been an absolutely unique incident is reported in connection with the match between Newport I If. and Abergavenny A on Monday. A Newport batsman was at the wickets. He missed the hall, which passed under his bat and struck the wickets. The bail on the off stump rose in the air, turned corn pletely round, pitched back, and balanced itself upon the one stump. The other bail had not been removed. The batsman continued his innings. A suap-shot photograph verifies the report. THE ROYAL PUN. A capital story is told in connection with the recent alarming accident to Shamrock II.. which once more illustrates the readiness of the King's wit, and suggests that his Majesty, as a lifelong playgoer, has not sat in vain under such masters of the punster's art as Byron, Gilbert, and Burnand. It appears that on the day following the accident his Majesty was speaking of it at Marlborough House to certain gentlemen who enjoy the honour of his friendship. One of the latter happened to remark upon the fact that the only things that escaped intact from the disaster were the boom and the staysail. Was the boom all right F ".quickly asked the King. So I understand, sir," was the reply. That makes the accident all the more extraordinary," remarked Edward the Seventh, reflectively, "for, if Sir Thomas Lipton's boom has not suffered, how are we to account for the bringing down of his sales ?" SCIENTIFICALLY FED." There is humour, albeit unconscious some- times, about the administration of "Charity Hall." The Chairman of the Keynsham Board of Guardians recently referred to the instruc- tions of the Local Government Medical Officer that broth was to be given to the Workhouse inmates instead of cheese. He had pointed out to the M.O. that the cheese given was good, souud Cheddar, but the reply was that broth was good to aid digestion. Several guardians stated that under the new dietaries order, on certain days four-lifths of a meal were wasted, and had to be thrown into the pigs' tub. A guardian said one inmate had told him be would defy anyone to find an ounce of fat in a 1,000 gallons of broth they were supplied with. Perhaps the consomme is clarified for the benefit of those to whose greasy stomachs grease is repugnant. The Chairman remarked that he thought, in justice to themselves, they 11 ought to explain to the inmates that they were now being scientifically fed. THE WAR. It seems a little out of the common to get a British soldier's ideas of the War in the Trans- vaal out of the columns of a United States paper, but I have before me a copy of the "Oshkosh [Wis.] Times" of May 19th, in which appears a letter written by Sergeant Jenkins, of the 1st Welch, dealing with the work done by his regiment in South Africa. One of Sergeant Jenkins' brothers is con- nected with the "O.T. hence the fact, and another brother is of the Post Office, Llansoy, whence I have received the copy of the O. T." In this column, I have, from time to time, been able to quote some of the writer's letters home, and there is naturally little that is new in his communication to the American Press. Referring to the trying march from Bloemfon- tein to Pretoria, Sergeant Jenkins said rations were sometimes short, and the orders about commandeering were very strict; still a goose or a fowl would find its way into their canteens for supper now and then. Coming across a sergeant in the 24th Regi- ment, he asked him how he was off for food, and he replied, I have just eaten my rations for the day after to-morrow." "'Twas useless to forage in that direction, evidently," he remarks. ill.. He puts down the long continuance of the war to the fact that the Boers won't stop to fight to a finish. All the best men of the Boers—men who stood their ground and fought like men, and who scorned to run away-had either been killed or captured and he believed that not half of those now in the field were true Burghers, but ne'er-do-wells from all parts of the world, who knew that once the war is over they would have to look out for a new home for themselves. L He concludes Other nations, no doubt, had come to the conclusion that the British Army was a thing of the past. Never was there a greater mistake. I am certain that after this war is finished Great Britain will have an army that any nation might be prcud of as regards numbers, materiel, and efficiency." IMPORTED FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. The supplies of fruit and vegetables from abroad continue on such a large scale as to clearly iudicate that the foreign growers are in no way relaxing in their efforts to keep the British markets well supplied with these products. The imports in April we're, as a whole, consider- ably in excess of those of the corresponding mouth of last year. All the vegetables that are separately entered in the official returns were received in larger quantities and the increase in the imports of potatoes and onions is very marked. Tomatoes continue to increase in popularity, as evidenced by the fact that the imports last month were 12,261 cwt. in excess of the quantity imported in April last year. Apples again show a substantial increase, and to those who believe that apple culture iu Great Britain is overdone we commend the fact that, in the first four niotillis of the year. we imported 714,029 cwt., of the value of jfM55,574. Of the 22 cwt. of strawberries that were imported during the four months ended April 30th, 17 cwt. were received in that month, and these, according to the official returns, were worth £ .97, or nearly j66 per cwt., which is not an extravagant price for strawberries thus early in the year, even if not remarkable for high quality.

I CURRENT TOPICS. I SIR ALFRED MILNEIL's ARRIVAL. It was a happy coincidence that the presentation of Colours to the Scots Guards should have taken place 011 Queen Victoria's birthday, aud the admirers of Sir Alfred Milner considered it appropriate that he should have arrived home on the birthday of the late Sovereign, whose con- fidence he enjoyed. The Colonial Office seemed to entertain a pleasant fiction that the High Commissioner had not arrived, until he had been seen by the King, but the crowds that assembled were not slow to recognise Sir Alfred Milner, and both at Southampton and in London he met an enthusiastic welcome. The High Commissioner (old the gentlemen who received him at South- ampton that he had come home for a rest, and not for speech-making, but there have been already some indications that, he will be expected to make a good many speeches before he returns to South Africa. The King having conferred a peerage upon His Excellency, it, is probable that Sir Alfred Milner will take his sent in the House of Lords after the Whitsuntide recess. REGIMENTAL COLOURS. A good deal of the romance which attached to regimental colours has been destroyed by the order that they are no longer to be taken into action. The soundness of that decision is a matter for experts, and the experts are apparently still satisfied that it was a wise one, but in any event one cannot but feel that there is not the sentimental interest about the beautiful new colours which attaches to the ragged remnants, and almost bare poles, which may be seen in many of our Cathedrals and other Churches. One feels," too, that the trooping of the colours is not what it was, but a very special interest attached to that ceremony last week, when the King presented new colour* to the 3rd Scots Guards. The occasion was the more impressive because Queen Victoria had intended to present the colours, and it was in her name that the King confided them to the care of the battalion. At the same time His Majesty took the opportunity of making Graceful reference to the services of the commandant, Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple Hamilton, who lost his left arm in South Africa. I PRETORIA DAY. The opening days of June are associated with many events in our history, including the occupa- tion of Pretoria, which was accomplished ou the 4th of June last year. We little thought when that happened, that the war would still be dragging on a year hence. Ever since the Franco- German War, thirty years ago, it has been suppo-ed that, the days of long drawn-out wars were over. Future campaigns it was thought would be sharp and decisive, like the war of 1870-71, and as they would be, no doubt, in a struggle between any two of the Great Powers. A guerrilla war, carried on with dogged perseverance, i, of course, very different, as unfortunately we have seen in South Africa where the nature and vast extent of the country greatly favour these tactics. A MEMORABLE MONTH. It was on the first days of June that some of our most memorable fights with the Dutch occurred in the old days. On June 2n(1, 1G53, Van Tromp and Blake fought off the North Foreland, when some 17 Dutch vessels were taken or sunk, and the rest took to flight. Twelve years later, on June 3rd, 1665. the Duke of York inflicted a crushing defeat ou Admiral Opdam off Harwich, and ou June 1st to 4th in the following year, there was anot.her great victory over the Dutch. The Glorious First of June when on June 1st, 1794, Lord Howe achieved his memorable victory over the French off Ushant, is still celebrated by British sailors wherever they may be. The news of the battle was received in this country with even greater enthusiasm than was displayed at our popular demonstrations last year, and was celebrated by the ringing of bells, the firing of gun*, and illuminations for several evenings. EGYPT THEN AND NOW. I Arabi Pasha, when lie returns to Egpyt, will find the country in 11 very different condition from that in which he left it, nearly twenty years ago. At that time the Government and finances were in confusion, and the Egyptian Army-to quote the words of Sir Alfred Milner, had hitli-er to displayed "almost unexampled cowardice and incapacity." By the genius of Lord Cromer, the finances have been set in order, the Government has been reformed very thoroughly on Egyptian lines, and the victory of Omdlrman was a witness to the transformation which has taken place in the Army. There are still many people who think that the movement which was headed by Arabi was really a national one, but it is safe to assume that he has had enough of insurrections, and ih any event he would find that the soil of Egypt is no longer favourable.to the growth of rebellion. I MIL. MOKLEY'S SPEECH. Whatever one may think of his views it is impossible to withhold from Mr. Morley the admiration which his speech on the war evoked from both f-ides of the House. It need scarcely be said that it was not the opinions of Mr. 319rley which excited the cheers of Conservatives, but no one could fail to recognise that it was an able speech, by an able man, and, perhaps the hearts of some hon. members warmed towards the speaker, when they remembered that he is not one of those talkers who have caused the congestion of business in the House of Commons. COMPENSATING LICENCE- HOLDERS- j No doubt there are a great many en! husi:ist ic teetotallers, who do not like the idea of com. pensating the licence-holders, but nevertheless it may be doubted whether the good templar I delegate was well advised in protesting against compensation at tlil- cotifereiiec on licenmm reform which was held at Bristol. This questioi* of compensation is tho rock upon which more than one uttempt. at legislation has already split, and* few things are more certain than that the present Government would never accept a Bill which made no provision for the compensation of licence- holders. The position is, therefore, thia-eifhfr the promoters of legislation-must consent to wait until the present. Parliament comes to an end., with no certainty that, the next, may be of a different opinion, or they must consent to com- pensate the traders who lose their licences, not ons account of any offence against the law, hut for the general good of the community. The other delegates seem to have taken this view. I 1101AL AGUICULTUKYL swnv. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Royal Agricultural Society has reached something, like t crisis iii iti )iis!oi-y. There lit-i beeii a loiir on the last three years' working, and there seems to be some evidence that a good many of the members are strongly opposed to the establishment of a permanent »how ground near London. At the same time there is force in :\[1'. rrallbllr"'3 suggestion that the decrease in the receipts are attributable to a great extent to the growth of Agricultural Societies thi-ou-botit, the Kingdom,, and it must not be forgotten that the creation of these smaller societies is largely attributable to the example of the Royal Agricultural, which has, i4 the course of its history, rendered services of inestimable value to that which is still our greatest industry. Everybody who bears these services in mind must, hope very sincerely that the to new departure" may inaugurate a fresh era in prosperity in the Society's work. 1114"J: 1 -<=I: T

I Funeral of Mrs. Clark. The mortal remains of Mrs. Chrk were interred in Usk Churchyard on Saturday afternoon last. The cortege left Woodbank House just after noonr and along the route drawn blinds and closed sbopg testified to the respect of the townspeople and the sympathy felt with Mr J. H. Clark and the family generally. The chief mourners were Mr J. H. Clark and his four daughters—.Mrs Bi<,>gs, Miss Clark, Mrs Merr^tt, and Miss E. Blanche Clark; sons-in-law, Mr J. Biggs and Mr W. Alerrett grandsons, Dc Egerton Biggs (and Mrs Egerton Biggs), Messrs Cecil Biggs, Geoffrey Biggs, R N.. and Henry Clark: niece and nephew, Miss Emmeiine Clark,, and Mr W E. N. Clark, Chepstow. The following tradesmen kindly acted as bearers: Messrs E. W. Waters, G Edmunds, W. Thomas. J. Haggett. L. R. Lucas, J. Pitt, C. N. Doubleday, and J. Hennessey. Amongst those also present were: Messrs J. Maitlaud Watkius, Julian Waugh, G Harrison Jenkins, H. Humphreys, J.P., H. A. Addis, J.P.r Joseph Davies, James D ivies, F. H. Da vies, A. J- Green, J. Charles, J unes Parker. W. B. Gething, A. F. Lucas. J. J. Edwards, A. H. Watkins, S. A. Hiley, E. Rowan, P. J. Roberts, C A. Mortimer.! Richard Morgan, J. H. Salter, H. Meredith, I-I. C. Davies, E. Champion, H. Lake, and H. Wise, Mrs Ann Smith, and Ili-s Fry. The coffin was of oak, with brass furniture, the inscription on the breastplate being "Sophia Clark, "4 Born 20th Nov., 1810: Died 21st May, 1901." This was completely c -vero(i with wreaths, &c. composed of the choicest flowers. At the Church gates the funeral party was met by the Vicar (the Rev. P. L. C. Nash) and sur- pliced choir. The opening sentences of the Burial Service having been read, the Church was entered and the organist (Mr W. R. Martin) impressively played the ''Dead March "in Saul. The Psahn was chanted, and Mr Baines read the Lessoti- Before leaving the Church that beautiful and comforting Easter hymn commencing "On the- Resurrection morning was sung, and at the grave- side the service concluded with the singing of the hymn, Pace, perfect peace." The grave had been beautifully lined witli evergreens and flowers which Mrs Clark herselfi had helped to cultivate with loving hands beforev- she was confined to her room and her bed. Floral tributes were sent by the following :—MF J. H. Clark, Mr. and Mrs. Biggs, Mr. and Alre, Meriett, Miss Clark, tlliss E. B. Clark: Dr. and Mrs. J. J. Egerton Biggs, Messrs. Selwyn and Cecil Biggs; The Grandwns," Mr. J. A. Clark and Family; Miss Clark and Mr. W. E. N. Clark (Chepstow); Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. Rightoil- Trice Lady Barnard; The Nicholl Family (Mrs. Nicholl, Ham); Mr. and Mrs. Digby S. W. Nicholl; Mr. and Mrs. J. Maitland Watkins; Dr. and Mrs. Boulfon Dr. and Mrs. G. Harrison Jenkins; The Misses Merrett; Mr. and Mrs. A. IL Bowen; Mr. and Mrs. S. A. Hiley; Mr. and Mrs. T. Watkius (P.mrypool) Air. and Mrs. A. H. Catkins; All at Ty Mawr (The Misses Watkins) Mr. and Mrs. H. Young and Mr. S. Young ilirs. Oliver Davies and Mrs. John Ault; Mr. and Mrs. Percy Ault; Miss M. Roberts; Mr. and Mrs. R. Rickards Mr. aud Mrs. flitines Misa Cooke and Miss Addams-Williams Mr. and Mrs.Tom Jones; Mrs. -N. Phillips Miss Phillips, Myrtle Villa; Mrs. Alfred Gething Mr. and Mrs. H, Palk Mr. and Mrs. W. Marfell Mr. James Parker aud Sisters; The Misses Evans; The 11 Cotiiity Observer" Staff The Nurse (Mrs. Fry). Mr It. A. Rogers ably carried out the whole of the funeral arrangements. IP.R"lIr¡I.Aí",v")"'=W;UEr 1Iil-L1

Meeting of Archidiaconal Sub-Associations. An important joint meeting of th", Arcbidiaconal lIub-asociation8 of Llandnff and Monmouth will, be hold in Cardiff on June 3d, the Bishop presiding", when the following resolutions will be moved by It prominent Cardiff laym-,tti 1. That the time has come for the establishment of educational authorities which should have control over elementary, secondary, and technical schools in wide local areas. 2. That an equable rate, say 6d. in the £ for elementary education, be levied over the whole country. 3. That the surplus of expenditure in the various elementary i-chools be provided out of the Imperial exchequer.

Lord Tredegar's Practical Advice on Temperance. Lord Tredegar presided, on Wednesday, at the May Festival of the Newport and Band of Hope Union. An entertaining programme was gone through, and his lordship, in his address, said he supposed that there were many in the audience who were, as he was, not a total abstainer, but they were at one in endeavouring to- promote temperance. To those who could not keep temperate without total abstinence they advised total abstinence. For that purpose nothings was more effective than the advocacy of the idea by little children. The only drawback was that children were apt to became so imbred with the one idea that they bored those around them. All people liked to see homes happy, and they could only be made so by temperance. Nothing dis- turbed the general happiness and comfort of the- community 80 much as a persistent drunkard. He hoped that the efforts of the children, in and out of Band of Hope Unions, would so prosper that they might live to see Bank Holidays pass without their coming across a drunken person. As president, bis lordship received over a hundred purses, containing in the aggregate somes r, 1 11 £ (10, collected by children on behalf of the New- port and Monmouthshire County Hospital.