The Cambria Daily Leader

Sun Rises 7.43, Sun Sets 4.13. I.igfiting-up Time, 4,48. 11 High Water, 5.4 a.m., 5.24 p.oi King's Dock, 57ft, 4in. a.ni., 37ft. 6in. p.m. To-morrow, 5.43 a.m., 6.4 p.m.

THE OUT-OF-WORK DONATION. There are two line; of criticism j with regard to the discontinuance of the out-of-work donation that will command ^sympathy. The first ts that this iA an inappropriate time to leave unoru ployed men and women in destitution, and the second that it would have been iiioro business-like to have kept on the donations until the. Government scheme of compulsory insurance against unemployment was in oper- ation. Let us inquire into the first objection against the Government decision. Jn West Wales wo do not think it will greatly matter. On all hands we receive reports that work is booming, and that manu- facturers are embarrassed by the extent of orders pouring in on them. There can be but little real unem- ployment in West Wales just now, apart from that incidental to labour! disputes. But is not the whole country, and although the percentage of cut-of-work is very low, it'seems a tactless thing to stop low, it ,,eein- a tacti.(!ss tbino tc) stc)?I) Christmas. There is no disposition, save among the extreme economists who are eager to embrace any and every method of bringing financial! disruption fJpon the country, to de-1 fend the donation as a permanent addition to our industrial system. Mr. Clynes has described the methocr. "of doles as demoralising, and all self-respeeting men will recognise how dangerous to the moral health of the community! would be a system under which men could asseri as a right the privilege of being paid without working. The donation was intro- duced as an emergency measure to tide over the transition period be- tween army and civilian life. It was just to the ex-soldior that the State should be responsible for his maintenance until he had been ub- sorbed in the civil machine again. As a regular part of our industrial life, the dole however was impos- sible; it would have been repudi- ated by the workers more hotly than by the employers. Everybody real- ised that, it would have to be taken off at the earliest possible date; and the only difficulty was upon the question when?" .For ourselves wo would say that, notwithstand- ing the necessity for the mc!;t stringent economy, and the recent vote of the House pledging it 10 support the more drastic exercise of retrenchment by the Government, it would have been well to have kept the donation over December and January. The "second point of criticism is that the lic-niat-on sliould have been kept on until the Government in- surance sekeaae was in the field- Why net have the scheme first, anyway?" asks the 'Daily Herald.' Before the question was. asked. Mr. Bonar Law had attempted to answer it; but apparently the Herald only reads the speeches it likes. of f)i p very greatest eocial reforms which be carried out to have some system of compulsory. insurance gainst unemployment [said Mr. Bonar LawJ. Thsyt was what the fjgvtrm-iat were aiming nt. His right hon. friend (jSi-r H. Home) had been spending much time in trying to prepare that, scheme under whicu the workmen -wouid thera- rvdyes contribute, hut it could not b0 carried out unless with the good will of the great volume of organised labour. They could not carry the universal scheme without (lift co-operation of or- I K?nz?d labour. Wbft did that mean? If I there '"{\1, to be a I'ui? <? getting the lifil-I versal scheni? with the good will of or- !tnis? labour—not only of t-b? I?dcr". but o? the wen behind them—it would tf nn- di?)c?)t to g?t ?hc agl'PNlwnt if tbo?-' with whom th? were negotiating knew that Ow u?fmptoyment do?atii)? ttie!-P; i-.Iiit i, f.h?e ?lid J not. ace?pt everything th?y a???d tboy: would ?< th'? donation without fontr'h?t- ing nnvthing to it. ThQtwcnUn?kett I rerr dKheutt to get the universal scheme j while the donation was going ÚTL Theoretically, an objection easy enough to answer. Wo can im- agine one of the gentlemen who call themselves professional agitators I making great sport out of it; but. we believe quiet, practical men will be impressed by the argument of Mr. Bcnar Law. I We suppose that but for the war —that terrible sword which out adrift, every social hope we had been cherishing tor years—'the con- science and the brain of the coun- try would not have solved the unemployment problem. It is difficult for well-secured people to realise how the ghost of fear haunts the worker from the, day he estab- lishes a home of his own to the hour of death. The intent sympHthy of the Labour members with the unemployed came out both in their anger and thpTP nnninien* [say* a correspondent, in describing the debate in House], There was no mis- j'lking it passion: in*-eeurity it- still the r-prctre that dog* every working-man'fi footf--eps and frightens him when it", i" alone. The I.Tlxmr members' sympathy with 'i. e out-oi-work is intense, «nd the of uneniployment never be j mentioned withrmt the wear) and humili- r.n.-ody rising up vividly before his CVf-r. Why only the Labour members' sympathy' The unemployed has the' sympathy of every person who knows how near the edge cf things the worker has to walk. Dnnation6: doles: Yes. ttieN, litav help. But what we want, and that as speedily as men of good will can manage it, is an insurance scheme—something that will for ever banish the spectre. The Government had a bad House I on the debate, although it carried in the lobbies. It has a chance of showing that deeds ere stronger than words. Let it cut across for- malities, jump over the circumlocu- tion officials, and produce its scheme of compulsory insurance against unemployment. It used to be Merrie England in the great Tudor days when no person need want. It will be a happier Britain to live in when the shadow of un- employment, with its grim fingers stealing towards our wives and children shall have no power to harm or frighten. j

SHAKESPEARE AND THE WELSH. I iI fth«ke»pearo and the Wp?h' by Frederick J. H?rriM; T. Ei6her Unwin, Ise. We Wehb. rue an acquisitive race. Wo claim so many great men as of our hloodl that the disposees-sed English are well war- ranted in a cynical inquiry whether any good thing ever came into existence that was not Welsh. Cromwell we prove by unimpeachable pedigree to have come of our Willia-msos. Cecil we. say is a right- enough Taffy. Few statesmen have escaped. Among the writers, how many of the famous nave we let pass: PONt;, artists, playwrights, we proudly toast the strain of the Celt. And now Shakespeare! In the least-valuable part of this work, by aPontypridd journalist, a chppte.r is de- voted to the c'stiy of Mr. J'ym Veatman, who claims to have discovered a liuk bc- tween the Shakespeare family and the Griffins, or Gryffyns, who were descend- ants of the old Welsh kin5. 'Jlws th? pedigree goes: Jifie ap 1,'lidor, h.'jng I South Wales and Owenlhan bis wire, daughter of Griffith ap Kvmne, King oi North Edward Griihn of Berks well.. Alys, his daughter, married to Iviehard Shakespeare, who had issue John t?hakcsp<vire, who had as sort William Shakespeare. But whether the pedigree is true or not, whether Shabeepeare had an English or Welsh grandmother, is not very material. It is a fascinating picture this, of the boy bhrtke-speare absorbing the foJk .ind fairy lore of the Welsh at the knee of his Welsh grandmother." But is it not enough if we etiok to the facts We know indisputably? Shakfusjjeare mutst havc known the Welsh intimntely, and he uuu-t have Ijeen saturated with WeJsh lore; for his studios of Welshmen are limmed with knowledge and love, and did he not create Puck uut,oJ our pu(ea? Mr. Harriet's work is ii, monument of research and analysis. If we feel that he has admitted too much upon slightest evi- dence, we have to acknowledge that his industry has lpen immense and his patience astonishing. There is nothing left to write upon this .subject: into his, book—written let us say with distinction and craftsmanship—he hns gathered all that can be paid about Shakespeare and the Welsh. The work can stand upon our shelves as the last word. We rrmmber man v Fluollens upon the stage, iiiost of them HO stupid as to make anger at the caricature of Shakespeare*# creation unnecessary; but when last Air. Beftaon's company played at Swansea we had the real Fluellen given us—Fronde's hot-blooded, voluble, argumentative, yet most brave, most loyal an" most honour- able." The artist who played the Welsh warrior must have loved the part, must have realise d that, as Mr. Harries eays, Shakespeare evidently intended him to be a favoufite with his audience—not the clown of so many incomiSetent a<;t<trt On the problem, whether Shakespeare ftver came into Wales, we must leave the re,a,dipe to seek enlightenment from tha bojk itself. Indeed we hõp all Welsiinaea who read tlio Ba.rd will regard it as an indispensable addition to their shelves. S"t is a work of which, in days wlira Tnlh poor Welsh writing is boomed into iF- d^cn-ed notoriety (or shall we say de- servrd we can be very proud as emanat- ing from a Welshman's cen. J. D. W. J I

TOWN TALK. ——— CI Neith Cricket Club offers a live horco for threepence. It's a drawl -:0;- Neath tradesmen have forpicd all asso- ciation, A sort of trades union, l'ii r Kcasou for absence by a local school teacher this week: — Jchn has got the information in his ovcri." ;0;- "Black and Whit H will be a popular blend at St. Helen'* on ha turf lay, We hasten to inform. cur Tsmiicrance readers that it is a football match 1 Nowhero in South Wales is the drama more popular than in Pontardulais, and the three local companies are always an excellent draw wherever they go. .0;- "Bleêd is he that bloweth his own t.runipet could be 61ift abùut the speakers at the Devonian dinner on Thursday when soing 111,1(1 on the beauties of "Glorious Von. -:0:- 1 he Hot. F. Spariow, at the Devoniaa dinner on Thursday, said: I married man a short time ago." Now that's some- what peculiar, because as far 116 we know most men marry women. o: — Swansea leads—as usual—others follow. After the staggering success of the Welsh Draiya Week at the Albert, Hall, a pretty big effort is to be made on similar lines down Tumble way. Well, they have got an excellent example to emulate, anyway. I w — to;— t-o Talking abouc Swansea, grocers, not; every one knows that Sir. A. A. Wftbber, president of the South Wales Grocers' Council, has for over M) yr been organist at Oxford-street tJ-M. Church. And he never ployed better than he at present. a I-- Q There are "iome very fervent speakers on the Neath lioard of Guardians. A Swan- sea mun who r. ad the discussion re the covetotlèllPSS of Abertawe in seeking to annex the pariah of < oo<iffranc thinks a few of them would make ideal members of the Swansea Council. And why not? --2 4N Mr. W. IT. Burridge., president of the Swansea Bakera' Association, is honoyred on Thursday evening at the Devonian Society annual dinner, by beiug made re- sponsible for proposing the Town and Trade of Swansea. Bakers among the Devonshire men, who know Mr. Burridge. expect something big. Hurry them up with the buses," i$ the burden of another letter on the transport f|uestir;n, this time from Pe-ntrechwvfch. The man," the writer continues, wh<> will be the means of providing facilities that will make us independent of the boat at the ITafod will deserve to be canon- ized." A fine chance here for somebody --— Apropos the statement made at a Xeath meeting that a new bait had been found to catch the indust rial as well as agricul- tural part of the Neath area," a. derated but unlucky Swansea angler wishes some- one would provide him with bait which would enable him to catch the elus-ivo whiting. Why not a^k the trawlermen tor a few tips. They can eatch "('oID all right, Urging the necessity of dignifying the grocery trade, Mr. Levi. James, at the Cameron Hotel meeting on Thursdav, ob- served that it was Mr..Tones, the chem- ist." Mr. Williams, the taiior," but al- ways just Levi .Tames, the grocer." A later speaker suggested that this wan really a compliment to the trade, show- ing the intimate relations of the grocer with the public. -;(" The havoc of war was pa in f nil v vtsibl« at Aberavon Roroujfb Court on Thursday. Tlie only three defendants were ex- soldierf. One charged with being drunk was totally incapacitated; another was an- uble to follow his occupation, and received no Government a llowance: and the third, a young boy, was subject to mental aberra- tion as the result of wounds and fthclf« shock. Their cases were sympathetically considered by the magistrates. — :e :— Mr. L. J. "Roberts' lecture on Brlnley Richards reminds Awstin of the open- ing of Alexandra-road by Queen Alexan- dra. Briniey Kichards conducted tlie el10ir that sang Ijet the hills resound." and so pleased was the composer with "Awstin's" description of the scene and the singing that he copied it into 1"h. Mnsicat Critic," of which he was editor. The Cardiff jvaper, which had first pub- lished the report, then quoted it again aS the opinion of th Nli tor of the Musi- cal Crific." They did not know if was their own report. o:- —c o: — The scholars from the "Mumbles who attend Gowerton County School have much cAU,o for comnlaint at the poor ser- vice on the L.N.W.I? They leave the ■ Mumbles at Q in the Tnwrning. and don't; reach home till close on *-ix o'clock in the evAiiirrr—too long hour* by any means when it is remembered that they have bene lessons to do afterwards. They finish school at 3.15, but there is no trnin on the L.N.W.R. from Gowerton until 4.23, hot it is never to time, generally arriving aft.>r five, the scholars having their work cut niit to cntch the 5.10 Mumbles train from Swnnsaft at BlAckpill, Tlie Government iiai got something like 400.000 suits of clothes and about 270,001 overcoats to dispose of Samples are already on view at all the Chamber of Commerce buildings throughout the country, and tenders being invited for the purchase of same in Inrgre quantities. Tin's the small purchaser ouite out of the field, an d provides 11.) opportunity to the man in the street. w11. will. o« have to nay through the nose for his "clobber." while the middleman will be able to net a substantial pront. Some of the members of the Swansea Chamber of Commerce were wondering yesterday whether the place had been transformed into an to old clû'" shop! -:0:- Although Mumbles has benefited largely in regard to lighting arrangements -,tire coming into the borough. there is still cause for much improvement. The, work- men are very thankful that the lights a to in during the night and early morn, *• hich make* their journey to the train* in the early morning much easier than it used to lie. as under the old regime all the lights were put out at midnight. But there are several roads that could do with moro lamps, notably Limekiln-road, Norton, where the pedestrians of a (lrk: evening are floundering in the slush, owinp to the limy nature of the road. Here we hare the two extremes during the year—thick -white dust in cummer, and 61iish in winter. _:0:- WORDS OF WISDOM. I wish I were a lal)ovirer.-Totteiih.am magistrate. I am in favour of the nationalisation of the drink traSc.-Bishop of Peter- borough. A burglar, in making bis inc^uae-tax return, can eltini the U earned income" ratc-Dr. C. J. Stamp. # A donkey knows when it has bad enough, so why don't you?—Mr. Bankes, K.C., to a caster found drunk. From a fina ncier's point of N-iew I would look upon Housing Bonds as being as good to me as tAsk,-A,r. E. Evan. L.C.C.