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

THE KINO'S SPEECH. I The Parliamentary Session which closed last week has been conspicuous for speeches of an emphatic and sometimes heated des- cription, and it must have been an agree- able relief, at least to some members, to listen to the reading of such an uncoutro- versial document as the King's Speech. Among the measures which received the Royal Assent are several which must have a somewhat far-reaching effect. There is. for example, the Street Betting Act. which at length puts an end to an anomaly to which so many Judges and Magistrates have drawn attention, and will render pos- sible the imposition of penalties which will be really deterrent. Of the Trade Disputes Act, much will no doubt be heard from various quarters. The Workmen's Com- pensation Act is very comprehensive, and has been made to include clerks, domestic servants, and merchant seamen. The people whom it does not include are those employed otherwise than by manual labour at a remuneration exceeding £ 250 a year, policemen, outworkers, men of the army and navy, and a member of the employer's family, dwelling in the employer's house With these exceptions it includes all per- sons engaged in manual labour, clerical work, or otherwise.

f Cost 1/—Save 10/-B li/AAfl M'lnO Prevent Nerve Jar andff If Ulrli" III 11IIV Fatigue and Double theW Revolving n  t C Creater     Comfort  —   m Smarter App6arana& Ap, EASILY JRIXZD. OIL J ILA J OIL ill stand 12 montlttf^J ordinary wear. every- ^PECIALQUALITt/^ where.

THE DARK SIDE OF WAR. It is perhaps well that almost upon the eve of our celebration of Christmas, there should have been published in this country a translation of a Russian officer's story of the battle of Tau skitna, which he wit- nessed from the Russian flagship. It is a graphic narrative of war with the gilt off, such as ntirred the hearts of British people in Sir W. Howard Russell's description of the misery and suffering which our troops endured in the Crimea. We hear much of the glories of war, but it is not amiss that we should be reminded, as Capt. Semenoff has remiuded us by his record, that there is another side of the question. Nothing can compensate for the loss of life, the per- manent disablement of thousands of men, and the suffering which is occasioned to non-combatants, especially women and chil- dren. These things should be remembered by the public when some incident occurs, like the attack on our fishermen at Dogger Bank, and the old Adam within us clamours for revenge It is quite natural that our people should feel the utmost indignation at such an occurrence, nevertheless we should not forget what a frightful train of evils war brings, aiid the Russian writer's story should help us to realise what we do recognise in the end, that there is a saner way of settling international disputes than is afforded by the arbitrament of the sword.

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EDISON'S NEW ELECTRIC STORAGE. I Amongst the wonders we are promised in the New Year is Mr Edison's new electric storage battery, which, it is asserted, will supersede petrol, and make a runabout car cheaper than paying 'bus and tram fares. Some years ago, Mr Edison began his ex- periments with a view to providing such a battery, and of which we have heard from time to time, but it is said that it is now an accomplished fact, and that the new battery will be placed on the market on a commercial scale in the early spring. It will last many years, travel 100,000 miles, and can be recharged for 2d. or 3d. or less. If these anticipations are realised, the petrol car and motor omnibus will become obsolete, and their departure would be wel- come as at least relieving us of the nuisance of noise and smell, of which there have been such widespread complaints.

SPROUTING SEED POTATOES. I The Irish Board of Agriculture have I issued a leaflet on the subject of the culti- vation of late potatoes, and explain that if the seed potatoes are allowed to sprout before being planted, a better crop will be secured. The potatoes should be stored in boxes without earth, at the end of Decem- ber, and kept indoors until the sproutings are about 2 inches long, when the tubers are planted in the usual manner. The crop will be ready for lifting several weeks before that from the unsprouted seeds, and from various experiments conducted in Ire- land, the difference in the yield is said to be as much as 92 to 22 10s. per acre, in favour of the new method.

PHANTOM SHIPS. Cape Horn in South America and the Cape of Good Hope are both associated with stories of phantom ships, but the ori- ginal Flying Dutchman is the vessel in distress that is seen cruising ia stormy weather ofE the Cape of Good Hope. Ac- cording to tradition, a Dutch Captain, after long beating against head winds, declared that he would beat there until the Day of Judgment, and he was taken at his word. It is an old sailor's yarn, and no doubt had its origin in the fact that at sea a ship be- low the horizon may be sometimes seen as if suspended in the air, a phenomenon due to the unequal refraction of light. At Cape Horn, the mystery, which has been investi- gated by the United States authorities is of quite a different character. There, what appears to be a derelict vessel, with sails set and decks awash, may be seen. The effect is produced by jagged rocks, but it is so real as to have attracted many vessels and their crews to a watery grave.

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THE VALUE OF ANESTHETICS. It is meet that we should not have passed in silence the sixtieth anniversary of the first operation which took place in Britain with the assistance of an anaesthetic. In the year 1800, Humphry Davy, after ex- perimenting upon himself, suggested the use of nitrous oxide gas as a means of preventing pain in surgical operations. In 1844 a dentist in the United States, who seems to have taken the idea from an itiner- ant lecturer on chemistry, began to employ the gas in his practice, and two years later, a Boston surgeon introduced the use of sulphuric ether. The discovery having be- come known in Britain, Mr Robert Liston, who had already attained to some reputa- tion as a skilful surgeon, recognised the importance of the information, and, four days after the news reached England, per- formed an operation at University College Hospital, upon a patient who was under the influence of ether. That was on Dec. 531st, 1846. Liston died in the following year, but Mr Sedgwick, who assisted him on the occasion, lived until a few weeks ago. Sir James Simpson's discovery of chloroform was made in 1847. Sir F. Treves has helped us to realise the incalculable

value of the boon which ether and chloro- form have been to suffering humanity. Speaking of the surgeon's work in the old days, he said:—" Beiore him was a con- scious victim, quivering, terror-stricken, and palsied with expectation. The sole kind- ness of his mission was to be quick In spite of moans for mercy, from gagged lips, the knife had to move on its way steadily."

IMPORTANT TO MOTHERS.—Every Mother i who values the Health and Cleanliness of her Child should use Harrison's I Reliable' Narse,-y Pomade. One application kills all Nits and Vermin, beau- tifies and Strengthens the Hair. In Tins, 4|d. and 9d. Postage Id. Geo. W. Harrison, Chemist, 118, Broad Street, Reading. Agent for Usk:—P. AULT Chemist, Medical Hall.

I TO HONOUR A GREAT ACTOR. I Miss Ellen Terry has so firm a hold upon the admiration and affection of the British public, that there must be a good deal of sympathy for the view which she submitted to the Actors' Association, that the memo- rial of Sir Henry Irving should be some- thing more than a tribute of the dramatic profession. The resolution of the members af the Actors' Association is that a statue should be erected in some public place. There is much to be said in favour of such a scheme, especially when one considers that it is free from the suggestion which is often heard concerning memorials of dis- tinguished people, that the promoters are more concerned to serve some pet enterprise of their own, than to honour ths deceased person. But this proposal is entirely one for an actor's memorial, and Miss Terry, who is supported by many eminent public men, desires that there should be some national monument to the memory of the gre Itest actor of his time. The word mu- seum which she uses in putting forth her scheme, is not inspiring, but it seems to be easily possible to agree upon a project which would commend itself to everybody, and the success of the movement would certainly be facilitated if the actors' scheme could be incorporated with a larger one.

I FRAUDS." I Dr. Creighton regretted that his work as Bishop of London left him no time to read the newspapers There must be many other people in a similar position, if we may judge from the success with which frauds are perpetrated that have been again and again exposed. The confidence trick is still heard of, and even the Spanish treas- ure swindle comes up from time to time, but these ancient devices for victimising the unwary have largely given place to advertisements for partners, or employee* who are required either to invest or deposit money. Notwithstanding many convictions, this seems to be still a lucrative business, even though the fraud is often so patent that it would be discovered with very little

inquiry. The whole stock-in-trade of the advertiser consists in many cases of a large fund of assurance and plausibility. Some- times there is a shallow pretence of carry- ing on a business; more often the letters are addressed to a tobacconist's or to an office which has been rented and sparsely furnished. In a recent case, the accused gave his address as House, and that was a correct address, but he only occupied two rooms at 5s. a week, although he re- presented himself as a wealthy merchant occupying palatial premises. One charac- teristic of these rogues is, that they appear to be entirely without money, the circum- stances of their victims being a matter of indifference to them, and it is strange that they should often escape with sentences so light as to constitute almost an incentive to fraud. •

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I West Riding Judgment. At a meeting of the West Riding Education Committee at Wakefield, on Thursday, it was resolved by sixteen votes to two, ou the formal report of the House of Lords' decision on the West Riding case, that the order of the Board of Education be complied with, and that the arrears of the teachers' salaries in respect of distinctive religious teaching be paid.

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Voting of Monmonthshire Members in the Winter Session. During the winter session there were 185 divisions in the House of Commons, in 168 of them more than 250 members voted, in 49 over 400, and in one 527. MONMOUTHSHIRE. I Lewis Haslam, Monmouth District. 101 Col. John Ivor Caradoc Herbert, South 117 Reginald M'Kenna, North 71 Thomas Richards, West. 117

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THB TSETSE-FLY. I It used to be believed that the tsetse-fly dis- ease, that plague of African travel, was due to a poison natural to the tsetse-fly, as the acrid ac- cretions of anta or hornets are natural to those insects. A group of English bacteriologists have been investigating the disease, and it » now known that the tsetse-fly is the mere bearer of the disease. The fly itself is the prey of & minute organism, and when it sucks the blood of an ox, some of those parasites enter the wound and multiply incredibly in the blood-vessels. Specimens of the blood of affected animals have been shewn under high magnification, and the tiny, eel-like parasites, not larger than blood cor- puscles, are seen in countless numbers. Under another microscope a drop of fresh blood was shewn with the parasites actually alive and wrig- gling in disgusting activity. For comparison, there were shewn, alive and dead, similar para- sites infesting the blood of sewer-rats in. this country. Unfortunately, these parasites do not I appear to affect the health of the rats. —

OPALS AND ILL-LUCK. I Many people regard the opal as an omen of ill-luck, and the following will shew how this superstition resolved itself: Two or three cen- turies ago the stone was very popular in Europe, and the jewellers of Italy were especially cun- ning in its setting. At the height of its popu- larity came the plague, which wrought great havoc in Venice. It was noticed by some observ- ant persons in that city that when a victim was on the point of death his opal, if he wore one, brightened, while after dea.th it became dull. The reason of this was the heightened fever made the stone become hot, and consequently very brilliant, while after death the chill and damp of the body dulled it. It was, however, de- clared by many that it brought death and mis- fortune to their doors, and as this superstition spread the sale of opals decreased, and to this day people believe that the beautiful stone brings ill-luck. •

ANCIENT BANKNOTES. The oldest banknotes in tne woria are tne "flying money," or convenient money, first issued in China in 2697 B.C. One writer tells that the ancient Chinese banknotes were in many respects similar to those of the present day- bearing the name of the bank, the date of issue, the number of the note, the signature of the o- cial who issued it, and its value, in both figure8 and words. On the top of these curious notes was the fol- lowing philosophic injunction: "Produce all you can; spend with economy." The note was prin- ted in blue ink on paper made from the fibre of the mulberry-tree. One of these notes, bearing the date 1399 B.C., is still preserved in the Asiatic Museum at St. Petersburg.

CUTTING CAVES WITH WATER. The effect of the hydraulic motor, which is now used for the purpose of removing masses of earth, well-nigh passes belief. A stream of water issuing from a pipe six inches in diameter, with a fall behind it of 375ft., will carry away a solid rock weighing a ton or more to a distance of 60ft. or 100ft. The velocity of the stream is terrific, and the column of water projected is so eolid that if a crowbar or other heavy object be thrust against it the impinging object will be hurled a considerable distance. By this stteam of water a man would be instantly killed if he came into contact with it, even at a distance of a couple of hundred feet. At 200ft. from the nozzle a six-inch stream, with 375ft. fall, pro- jected momentarily against the trunk of a tree, will in a second denude it of the heaviest bark as cleanly as if it had been cut with an axe. When- ever such a stream is turned against a bank it cuts and burrows it in every direction, hollowing out great caves, and causing tons of earth to melt and fall and be washed away in the sluices. ♦

I How ICEBERGS ARE BORN. The birth of a huge iceberg, a phenomenon that has been seen only once or twice by a Euro- pean, and to a certain extent has remained a matter of theory, was observed by the Danish explorers on the east coast of Greenland some time since. The bergs are formed by breaking off from the end of glaciers extending from the perpetual ice of the unexplored interior to the coast and into the sea. The water buoys up the sea end of the glacier until it breaks by its own r weight with a terrific crash. The commotion of the water, as the iceberg turns over and over in the effort to attain its balance, is felt to a great distance along the coast. The natives regard it as the work of evil spirits, and believe that to look upon the glacier in its throes is death. »

Ttne isiana ol Ruataa nas a population at about 3,000 people, mostly Carib Indiana, and it is doubtful whether there is in all world a more beautiful and prolifio spot. The people are lazy simply because they do not have to work. Coooanuts form their mainstay, and there is nothing easier to grow. To start a grove one merely burns off a piece of land and plants the nuts in rows 20ft. apart. In from four to five years' time the trees are a dozen feet high and are beginning to bear, and after that the planter is fixed for life. He may bid adieu to care. The nuts are never picked, but as they mature they drop off, and this shower of fruit goes on steadily month after month all the year round. Other fruits grow just as easily as the cocoanut. There are plenty of bananas, oranges, mangoes, plums, and pineapples, and they are all delicious. They grow wild, without the slightest cultivation, and all one has to do is to pick them. Vege. tables are equally prolifio. Roses and flowers of almost every imaginable variety run wild from one end of Ruatan to the other. A stranger who oomes to the islands is invariably amazed at the prodigality of Nature and the apathy of the natives—that is, before the lazy feeling gets into his blood. The climate is singularly equable.,

I ■ w I THB AMAZON. The Amazon is in every respect but length tie greatest river in the world. At many points in its lower course so vast is its width that one shore is invisible from the other, the observer seeming to look out into a rolling sea of turbid water. It has over 400 tributaries, great and small, which rise in so many different climates that when one set is at flood height the others are at ebb, and vice versa, so that the bulk of the great river remains unchanged the whole year round. I

I THB LEAD LINING OF TBA CHESTS. One of the many industries in connection witH the tea trade is the collection of the lead with which tea chests are lined. China has been noted for many centuries for the purity of its lead, and this tea chest lead, as it is called, is regarded as the finest in existence. There are many uses for it; it is found very valuable in making the best kinds of solder. Machinery ia not usually employed in the production of this sheet lead, every sheet being generally made by hand in the most primitive fashion. A large brick is provided the size of the sheet of lead to be made, and it is covered with two or three sheets of paper. Or these the molten lead is poured, and another brick is placed on top, which Battens the lead out to the required size and thickness. The sheets are then soldered together to the size of the tea chest, the tea ia packed in, and the top sheet is fashioned in place. The workmen are very expert, and they turn out an immense number of sheets in the course of at day. ♦

I WORLD'S. LARGEST ROOM. I JLne largest room in the world under one root and unbroken by pillars is in St. Petersburg. It is 620ft. long by 150ft. in breadth. By day- light it is used for military displays, and a whole battalion can completely manoeuvre in it. By night 20,000 wax tapers give it a beautiful ap- pearance., The roof is a single arch of iron. t

Kew York Officials Indicted. New York, Friday. The Grand Jury has returned two indictments for forgery against prominent officials of the New York Life Insurance Company. Their names are not disclosed.

Arrested for Murder after Eight Years. The police have arrested in the South of England a man supposed to be McCaffrey wanted for? a murder committed at Clones, Ireland, over eight years ago. McCaffrey and his family attacked and fatally stabbed a neighbour with whom they quarrelled about a piece of land.

Crew of the Japanese Liner I Safe. The Captain of the Japanese Liner, Awa Maru, aground Kedcar, telegraphs that all the crew have been safely landed. f

I Terrible Weather. Terrible weather was experienced in the Irish Channel and along the Welsh coast during the night. Cross-Channel passengers-sullered severely. ——

Lifeboat's Fruitless Search. The Rhoscolyn lifeboat waa searching all night for a steamer The Rhoscolyn lifeboat waa searching all night for a steamer in distress which it is feared has foundered, t

Weather Forecast. Cold, frosty weather predicted. Printed and Published by THE COUNTY OBSBBVW," NEWSPAPER and PRINTING COMPANY, Limited, by JAMBS HBNBY CLARx. at their Offices, Bridge, Street, Usk, in the County of Monmouth, Saturday. December 29th, 1906.

MERRYWEATHER ON WATER SUPPLY AND FIRE PROTECTION of COUNTRY MANSIONS. EXPERTS SENT TO ALL PARTS TO Report on EXISTING Arrangements. WRITE FOR PAMPHLETS: MERRYWEATHER & SONS, 83, LONG ACRE) LONDON, V.&

I VEGETABLE MULES. I Is Is 8 singular fact that it is only during the past century that hybridisation, or cross-breeding of plants, has been praotised. The power to cross-breed is limited by a wise provision of Nature to prevent the generation of monstrosi- ties. A cross-bred plant is a sub-variety raised between two varieties of the same species. Some nearly allied species are capable of fertilising each other, and these are pure hybrids or mules, and, like animals so bred, are incapable of pro- ducing perfect seed. No one has ever succeeded in causing the pear to fertilise the apple, or the gooseberry the currant. Before people were so well informed on these subjects as they now are it was believed that wonders could be brought about by fertilising an orange with a pome- granate or a red rose with a black currant, but these fancies are no longer accepted aa being possible.