Barry Dock News

GRAND EISTEDDFOD AND CONCERT AT CADOXTON-BARRY. FULL REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS. ADDRESSES BY THE REV. E. MORRIS, RECTOR OF CADOXTON-BARRY, AND MAJOR-GENERAL LEE. MR. ARTHUR J. WILLIAMS, M.P.. ON THE NATIONAL TASTES OF THE PEOPLE. Cadoxton-Barry was qui rive 011 Monday last, being Bank Holiday, and the weather being fine, although somewhat showery at times, hundreds of strangers found their way into the" great town to be." The principal attraction at Cadoxton-Barry was the grand eisteddfod and concert held for the benefit of the funds of Bryn Seion Welsh Congrega- tional Chapel, of which the Rev. W. Tibbott is the pastor. The arrangements were very successfully carried out, and the com- mittee and officers are to be congratulated for the activity they displayed in connection with the same. The audiences during the day were numerous, that in the afternoon being very large, and it was cheering to notice with what reciprocity of feeling all shades of religionists in the town united together in the effort towards enhancing the success of the proceedings. Amongst those present during the day we noticed Mr Arthur J. Williams, M.P., Major-General Lee, Dinas Powis; the Rev. E. and Mrs. Morris, Cadoxton-Barry Rectory; Mrs Dr Neale, Dr and Mrs Treharne, the Misses Barstow, Rev Gomer Price, Mr E. D. Jones (Barry), Mrs Jenkins (the Old Mill Farm), Miss Davies and the Misses Williams (Royal Hotel), Mr Walter Bukton (nephew of Mr A. J. Williams, M.P.), Dr O'Donnell, Mr Thomas (Cow bridge), Mrs Thomas (the Hayes), Miss Lloyd and Miss Hughes (Sully), Rev J. W. and Mrs Matthews, Mr and Miss Lougher (Cwmkiddy Farm), Mrs Ewbank, Miss Llew- ellyn, Mr Lewis Lewis, &e., tfec. The adjudicators were — Music, Mr Dyfed Lewis, R.A.M., London; poetry and prose, Rev C. T. Thomas, Groeswen (who also was an efficient conductor), Rev J. W. Matthews, Cadoxton-Barry, and Mr E. Thomas (Cochfarf), Cardiff; the craft, Captains E. O. Evans arid I. Thomas, Cadoxton-Barry; bags and stockings, Mrs Morris, the Rectory, and Miss Lottie Barstow, Cadoxton-Barry. Mr R. Phillips was a most defatigable hon. secretary and Messrs E. O. Evans and D. Morgans were the treasurers with the Rev W. Tibbott as chairman of the committee. Mrs Morris, the Rectory, also fulfilled the onorous duties of accompanist with great ability during the day. THE MORNING MEETING. The morning meeting commenced about eleven o'clock, but the audience at this early stage was not numerous, although many hundreds of strangers had reached the town by means of the exceptionally good railway facilities afforded on the Barry line. The marquee stood in a field which kissed the feet of the prominent and beau- tiful Common at Cadoxton-Barry, and the poetic aspect of its surroundings reminded us somewhat forcibly of those lines of Scott:— Where flowed amain A sunje of summer bealtty-dell and era<< Hollow and lake, hillside and piny arcade Seemed touched with genius." The marquee, capable of accommodating about 1,500 persons, was kindly supplied by Mr B. Hoddinott, of the Witchill Hotel. At the lower end of the pavilion was erected a gently raised platform, which was surmounted by decorations of a typical and attractive description. Facing the audience was the evergreen motto" Buccess to the Barry Dock and Railways," underneath being that characteristic motto—so peculiar to Walesand its people "Swyn cenedl yw sain canu (The charm of a nation is its strain of song. Then came an array of investiture bags, of every conceivable variety and hue, and embraced some of extremely exquisite work of art, which came in for a good share of admiration from the audience. The platform was also prettily embellished with flowers, plants, &c. There were likewise mottoes wishing welcome and success to the eisteddfod. The able and courteous conductor (the Rev C. T. Thomas, Groeswen), moved that the Rev E. Morris, rector of Cadoxton-Barry, be voted to preside, which was greeted with applause. I'RK3IDENT:6 HEM AUKS. The Rev E. Morris, having assumed the position of president, delivered his opening address, in the course of which he said he felt himself in an anomalous position in tilling the post of president at an eisteddfod. He had not tried his arm at such a duty before. (Laughter and applause.) At the same time it gave him great pleasure to preside at the eisteddfodic gathering at Cadoxton- Barry that day, as the eisteddfod was the nursery of Welsh talent. (Hear, hear.) Here the varied talent of the Welsh people was discovered, brought out, and educated. (Applause.) He hoped that the eisteddfod would be a great success—that the weather would be propitious, the competitions well contested, and the adjudications unimpeach- able in every respect. (Cheers.) With those few remarks he would declare the eisteddfod opened. (Cheers.) The conductor then proceeded with the pro- gramme. There was no response to the first item, that of bardic addresses, showing that the aw at Cadoxton-Barry is either not an early-rising genius, or is practically a nonentity. For the best rendering of the verses on Y V Fawr," prize 2s 6d, two competitors sent in their names, but a little boy, .James Thomas, of Cadoxton-Barry, only put in an appearance, and the manner in which he acquitted himself was considered well worthy of the prize, which he was accordingly awarded. For the contralto solo, Echo of past days," prize 7s 6d, three completed, but in his adjudica- tion Mr Dyfed Lewis remarked that the articula- tion in each case was indistinct. The best was declared to be Miss Lovedy Edwards, Groeswen. Six compositions were sent in for the best eight verses on The Backslider," and the prize (10s) was awarded to Mr David Price (Ap lonawr), Llansamlct, who did not, however, appear. Reading at first sight--the last few verses of the 3rd chapter of Isaiah. Six competed for the prize of 2s 6d, the best being Mr Daniel Davies, of Groeswen. For the best investiture bag, prize 5s, five were sent in, and Mrs Morris and Miss Barstow de- clared two of that number to be equally worthy of the prize—one being superior to the other as regards design, while the other was a letter display of artistic skill, and bore the inscription Mor o gan yw Cymru gyd (Wales is a sea of song), cleverly embroidered in gold on a difficult ground of crimson velvet. The winners of this prize were announced to be Miss M. Thomas, of Canton, Cardiff, and Miss E. Davies, the former (who only appeared) being invested by Mr R. Phillips, the energetic secretary of the eisteddfod. At this stage of the proceedings the following telegram was read from Cochfarf, one of the adjudicators —" To the Secretary, Eisteddfod Pavilion, Cadoxton-Barry. Cannot come; wife very ill. Substitute declined at the last moment. Bitterly disappointed. COCHKARK." Thii announcement was received with regret. The next competition was that of the bass solo, Glyndwr," prize 7s 6d. Eight competed best, Mr Tom Price, Cardiff, who was accompanied by Mr George Ball, the well-known accompanist of the Cardiff Cymmrodorion Choir. For the best essay on The life of St. Paul," prize 7s 6d two competed, Mr David James, Cardiff, being the winner. The next competition was for children's choirs, not under 30 in number each, that would best render There is light in the Valleyprize 30s. Penarth Juvenile Choir, 36, put in an anpearance under the leadership of Mr John Michael, the execution of which, Mr Dyfed Lewis announced, was quite worthy of the prize, the choir having sang exceedingly well. For the best speech on "The idle thoughts of the age" (Diogi meddyliol yr oes), prize 7s 6d. Three competitors responded to the call of the nom dr plume* sent in, and essayed an address on the subject, but Mr Evan Jones, Hillside Cottage, Cadoxton-Barry, was the only one who gave any- thing like an intelligent treatment thereon, and he was pronounced amply deserving of the award. The next item on the programme was the com- petition, open to choirs not under 40 in number, that would best render "Ar don o flaen gwynt- oedd" (Tossed by the winds and waves). Three choirs entered, viz., Penarth Town Choir, Trelcwis, and Efailisaf, but only the latter two put in an appearance. The first to sing was Efailisaf, con- sisting of 60 voices, conducted by Mr John Lewis. Trelewis Choir, 90 in number, was batoned by Mr Thomas Phillips (Alaw Wyn). Comment on our part upon the singing is needless, for we give the adjudication as follows :—After expressing regret that he was not satisfied with the quality of the competition between the two choirs, and depre- cating the inattention evidently paid by the singers as to the necessity for properly describing the words and entering into the true spirit of the piece, Mr Lewis said the articulation on the whole was not good and when; in the course of render- ing, the storm passages were reached, there was a manifest lack of true spirit. There was also an evident, want of consternation when the circum- cumstances attending the musical passages called for a feeling of alarm. Then, again, at the periods of prayer and escape, there was a defect of true spirit. He considered the prayer passages of the piece as the most pathetic within the whole range of Welsh music. The tenores of the first choir were not so effective or careful as they might have been, and the vivacity and freedom which the piece subsequently afforded were, to some extent", overlooked. The prayer passages were more effectively given than the subsequent parts, for when the period of imminent death came there was not sufficient naturalness shown to convey the sense of awe which the composer intended. Similar remarks applied to the second choir, and the fact aroused in his mind a kind of suspicion that the choirs had been listening to each other rendering the piece. He hoped, however, that that was not the case, for such practices never tended to satisfactory results. The conductor should endeavour to master the several points of the piece, and the choir should strive to follow his directions, and not allow individual feelings to prejudice effective rendering. He declared the. second choir to be the prize-winners, having slightly excelled the first choir. The conductor (Alaw Wyn) was invested by Mrs Tibbot amid applause. The programme of the morning's proceedings terminated with the extempore speech competi- tion, for which fifteen entered, and most of the competitors indulged in the usual affectation towards intellectual distinction. The subject chosen was "Goreu help—ymdrech (The best help-effort). One of the speakers said that, had it not been for effort Barry Dock would never have been made. He also referred in like terms to the phenomenal commercial success of Mr D. Davies, Llandinam (the vice-chairman of the Barry Dock Company). The best attempt was made by Mr Willie Howe, Cadoxton-Barry, who was invested with the prize by Miss Barstow. We should like to remark, however, that we question very much whether impromptu speech competitions have the slightest tendency towards elevating the tone of eisteddfodem, for in most in- stances the remarks of the speakers are absurd and mortifying to a degree. THE AFTERNOON MEETING. The attendance in the afternoon was more num- erous than in the morning, an undoubted attraction being the fact that the hon. member for the division of South Glamorgan would pre- side. IXTCKKSTIML ADDRESS BY MR ARTHUR J. WIL- LIAMS, M.P. In opening the proceedings the hon. gentleman said he was sorry not to have been present at two o'clock, as arranged, but it was not his fault- possibly it was not the fault of anybody, as the train services on bank 'holiday were very trying. At the same time, he must say that the train arrangements between Cardiff and Cadoxton and Barry were very trying indeed—they were severely trying. (He?rvhear.) He was not going to say that they would be improved, but hecertainly hoped that they would be improved ere long. (Applause.) He thought the public of this district had a perfect right to ask for a train right through to Carditr without putting them to the inconvenience and trouble of changing at Cogan. (Hear, hear.) It was the duty of the railway companies to provide for the convenience of the public in this way, and he would suggest that they be urged to make such arrangements as would afford these facilities. (Cheers.) It was not becoming on the part of big corporations like these railway companies to interfere with the comfort and convenience of the public even if they were hostile to each other—as he understood they were. (Cheers.) As president of that eisteddfod, it was not his (the speaker's) duty to make a long speech his business was to show his interest in the proceedings by his presence, and sympathy with the movement. (Hear, hear.) He was glad that Cadoxton had already started one of those great Welsh national meetings. They had nothing, as Welsh people, that they could be more proud of than those excellent gatherings. (Hear, hear.) Before coming to that meeting he had taken up a book which he hoped every Welshman had on his shelf, and that was the Essays and Letters of that great writer, the late Mr Henry Richard. (Hear, hear.) In this work Mr Henry Richard devoted a chapter to the Eisteddfod, and its influence upon the national character of Wales. He came upon the passage which he wanted to see, and he would read it to them :—" The true reason why the Eisteddfodau are held is to be found, partly in the reverence which the people of Wales cherish for old customs, and partly in the genuine delight in such intellectual excitements as are afforded them there, in exercises of oratory, and competi- tion in poetry and music, just as the common people of England take delight in horse-racing." (Applause.) Proceeding he referred to the opinion of the late Bishop of St. David's, Dr. Thirlwall-an English Bishop who came to WTales, and who was entitled to the respect and admira- tion of the people of Wales for having done his best to master the Welsh language, and although he may not, perhaps, have made himself intelli- gent to his hearers occasionally, still it must be said of him that he completely mastered our language. This was what the late Bishop Thirlwall wrote of the people of WTales :—" It is a most remarkable feature in the history of any people, and such as could be said of no other people than the Welsh, that they have centred their national recreation in literature and musical competition." (Great cheering.) The celebrated Matthew Arnold, again, was the author of a book on The Study of Celtic Literature," wherein he bore testimony to the high literary and poetic character and tastes of Welshmen, in connection with Eisteddfodau, thus :—"An Eisteddfod is, no doubt, a kind of Olympic meeting, and that the common people of Wales should care for such a thing shows something Greek in them—something spiritual, something human, something (I am afraid I must add) which, in the English common people, is not to be found." (Cheers.) No, remarked Mr. Williams, it was only to be found in Wales. (Renewed applause.) "Wales, where the past still lives, where every place has its tradition, every name its poetry, and when the people—the genuine people—still know this past, this tradition, this poetry, and live with it, and cling to it." (Hear, hear.) Long may they live with it, and cling to it. (Cheers.) Whatever structural works or other changes might come over their country, he trusted the Welsh people would cling closely to their noble traditions of poetry, and song, and literature. (Applause.) In his chapter on Eiite.ddfodau, Mr Henry Richard described them as, beyond doubt, having exer- cised a great and salutary influence, and some of the results of the Eisteddfod were to be found in Miss Williams' Collection of Old Welsh Melodies, John Thomas' Cantata of Llewelyn (which was originally produced at Swansea Eisteddfod), Schally's Essay on the Influence of Welsh Tradition upon the Literature of Germany, and the famous Literature of the Kymry (written by the late Mr Stephens, of Merthyr, who once occupied a position behind the counter.) "But more valuable still," wrote Mr Richard, are the indirect effects in diffusing a spirit of literary and artistic emulation. Every town and village has its Eisteddfod, where prizes are offered for the best essays and poems, the best singing and musical compositions. I dare say many of the productions offered are crude and valueless enough, but the habit of application and research, and the effort in composition, however bungling and inexpert, are very far from being valueless." (Hear, hear.) Notwithstanding, therefore, the adverse criticism the Eisteddfod received, that sort of meeting did a great deal of good, and he never avoided coming to an Eisteddfod if asked to come. (Cheers.) No matter in however humble a locality the Eisteddfod was held, he considered it was not beneath the dignity and duty of a representative of the people in Parlia- ment to come and give his countenance to those gatherings. (Hear, hear.) He also felt it his duty to express his feelings of pleasure that those meetings should be the result of combined effort to raise their tone and character. It was of little consequence what might have been their condition 30 or 40 years ago, but now they had almost a perfect system of elementary education, and they had just been given an instalment of intermediate education. (Hear, hear.) He hoped this instal- ment was only an augury of what was to follow, and he hoped the promoters of the Eisteddfod would do all they could in the future to make that institution an instrument for further good— that an effort would be made to raise the literary sign of those meetings—and that the people of Wales would strive towards elevating that degree of musical excellence which had already made them the envy of the world. Their efforts in this direction had been very great in the past—and this was evidenced by the way in which many of the people of the Vale of Glamorgan spent that day. He hoped those efforts would be continued, as his heart and soul was in sympathy with those meetings, and he wished the eisteddfod every success. (Great cheering.) The programme was then gone through as follows:— For the best recitation of The Storm," 7s 6d. Seven competed, the best being Mr Thomas Williams, Tylawinder, Castellau. For the soprano solo, "Peidiwch gofyn i mi ganu (Ask me not to sing), six competed, and the winner was Mrs Williams (nee Miss Rachel James), Pontypridd. For the best essay on The pre-eminence of the Bible," four competed, and the Rev. S. G. Bowen, Twynyrodyn, was declared the winner. The next competition was for the best render- ing of Llewelyn's grave (Bedd Llewelyn), prize 7s 6d. Six tenore singers faced the audience, Eos y Llan, Cardiff, being the best. For the best pair of ribbed stockings, 5s. Only one competed, and this pair was a singular one, the stockings not being of the same size, colour, nor pattern, but the lady adjudicators determined to award half the prize, by way of encouragement, to the competitor, who turned out to be an old lady from the Rhondda Valley (Mrs Protheroe, of Porth). In the duett competition, Y ddau wlad- garwr (The two patriots), 10s, four parties com- peted, the best being Messrs Tom Price and T. Jones, Cardiff, who were invested by Mrs Jenkins, of the Old Mill Farm. For the best six verses to the memory of the late Mr D. Protheroe, Treorky, prize 10s, three competed, the Rev D. Onllwyn Brace, Aberdare, being declared victorious. For the best rendering of the trio, "God be merciful (Duw bydd drugarog), 15s, two parties competed, those from Penarth being the winners. There was no competition for the best model of a top-sail schooner. For the best poem, not under 50 lines, on David and his sling," prize 15s, seven competed, the Rev I). Onllwyn Brace, Aberdare, and Mr Daniel Price (Ap lonawr), Llansamlet, being twin victors. On the motion of Mr R. Phillips, seconded by the Rev. C. Tawelfryn Thomas (the conductor), a hearty vote of thanks was passed to the two pre- sidents (Mr Arthur J. Williams, M.P., and the Rev. E. Morris, rector). Mr A. J. Williams, M.P., in reply, said he thanked them heartily for the attentive manner in which he was listened to at the opening of the afternoon's proceedings, and also for the manner in which they had listened to the proceedings throughout. In the course of his previous re- marks he had quoted Matthew Arnold, and their marked attention to the competitions induced him to quote the opinion of that great English- man again. Matthew Arnold (in the work to which he had already referred to) said that the rare sensibility of Welshmen assumed a beautiful and admirable form, and as a race they displayed a musical genius thaÍf was quick to recognise a good sound or fine expression. He (the speaker) would be glad if this eminent feeling could be in- fused into their neighbours, for it was a feeling which would make them a very much finer people than they were at present. (Applause.) They, as Welshmen, could not have too much of it. (Hear, hear.) At the same time they should not overlook the necessity of keeping that rare sensi- tive feeling well under control—they should make it their servant, not their master. (Cheers.) He had great pleasure in expressing the gratification he felt at noticing the exemplary feeling of toleration which prevailed amongst the audience. He noticed on the platform the estimable Rector of the parish as well as several Nonconformist ministers, and the manner in which they united together to promote the success of those proceed- ings afforded him great pleasure indeed. (Hear, hear.) There was no feeling whatever of religious animosity shown, and such a state of things in Cadoxton must be extremely gratifying to them all, and he hoped that feeling would long continue to exist. (Applause.) The Rev. E. Morris also acknowledged the com- pliment paid him. Votes of thanks were then passed, on behalf of the committee, to all who had contributed towards making the eisteddfod so successful. The last piece on the programme was the CHIEF .CHORAL COMPETITION, A prize of £25 being offered for the best render- ing of Mendelssohn's Thanks be to God." Three choirs appeared, namely, Cogan, 88 voices, leader, Mr John Bryant Trelewis, 90, Mr Thomas Phillips and the Cardiff Cymmrodorion Choral Society, 190, Mr J. Williams (Llew Ebbw). The latter choir was accompanied by Mrs Morris, the Rectory. This contest was a most exciting one, and the fact that the Cymmrodorion had un- successfully competed in the same piece at Caer- philly some time ago, only added to the specula- tions indulged in as to the result. The three choirs having sung, Mr Dyfed Lewis delivered a lengthy adjudication, in the course of which he said he congratulated the committee upon the happy selection they had made of a piece for com- petition, for, if sung well, it was a very difficult piece. He had heard it sung very often in England and Wales—recently at the Albert Hall and Crystal Palace—and he would not conceal the fact from them, as Welsh people, that it was extremely well sung, and it was seldom he heard it better sung than at the Crystal Palace. The three choirs whom they had heard that day had sung the piece under a great disadvantage. Other choirs had a better orchestra to back them up, and he felt for the singers that day in this re- spect. There was nothing to keep them in tune, for the piano gave them scarcely any assistance. [Up to this stage Mr Lewis spoke in Welsh, and as he proceeded to point out the merits and demerits of the choirs respectively, there were loud cries of "English," and after a slight pause he consented to deliver his observations in English]. The opening by the basses of the first choir was very good, and the time satisfactory, but as the chorus advanced the voices were not so steady, being inclined to hurry. The subsequent parts, given in order by the sopranos, tenores, and contraltos, were not to his satisfaction, although the soprano voices were good. In page 100 the reading and rendering was fairly good, but the modulation in page 101 was not quite natural on the part of the sopranos, who gradually came out of tune in a very awkward place, and continued so until the end of page 103. As he had said, the choir was under a disadvantage, and the instrument was not in a convenient position for them. Towards the end of the piece, how- ever, the voices seemed to be a little firmer. The second choir opened very well as regards unison, and the basses were superior to those of the first choir in this respect. They also continued well together until they reached the full-forte passages, which, owing to want of attention, were not so well rendered. The reading up to page 100 was fairly well performed, but the intonation was not sufficiently clear. At the top of page 102 the choir was decidedly out of tune, until, in page 103 the sopranos picked up the intonation, with the instrument to their advantage. The defects he had referred to were regrettable, because they damped the performance very much. The third choir was better balanced throughout than the first or second. (Loud applause.) He hoped the audience would not grow excited, but listen to the adjudication patiently and fairly, and he hoped they would benefit by the remarks he made. (Hear, hear.) The third choir sang with much more point, and kept in fugue form, and the awkward chord at the bottom of block 101 was decidedly better than the previous choirs, aud maintained a better evenness of intonation. He admired their point to subdue the earlier passages in order to give strength to the end. The tenores were very effective in some parts, and the conclu- sion was really very fine. He had not the slightest hesitation in saying that the last chofF was the best. (Tremendous applause.) The conductor (Llew Ebbw) having been invested with the prize by Mrs Morris, the Rectory, he was shouldered by a large crowd of enthusiastie admirers, and carried off the field. Thus con- cluded the proceedings connected with the eisteddfod at Cadoxton-Barry on Monday, and we think it can justly be said that entire satisfac- tion was given by the adjudicators in the numerous competitors. THE CONCERT. The concert in the evening was also of a suc- cessful character, the audience being numerous and the programme of a popular description. ADDRESS BY MAJOR-GENERAL LEE. The chair was occupied by Major General Lee, Dinas Powis, who, in opening, was cordially greeted by the audience. He expressed regret at being somewhat late in his arrival. It was a very bad example on the part of an old soldier to be late on parade. (Laughter.) However, he had not the slightest idea when he put in an appear- ance at the eisteddfod in the afternoon that he should be requested to preside at the concert. At the same time he felt he should do all he could to show his sympathy for what he considered to be a most excellent recreation. (Applause.) It was a cheering thing in those days to find that there were people who were willing to spend their holiday in the rational and profitable way in which the people of Cadoxton and district that day had done. (Cheers.) He had thoroughly enjoyed the excellent manner in which the three chief choirs acquitted themselves in the afternoon. Mr Lewis (the adjudicator) had, he thought, a most diffi- cult and invidious task to perform in deciding between them. He could not possibly give satis- faction to all, but he had given satisfaction to at least one-third of the community present, at any rate. (Laughter and applause.) Next year he hoped a larger number of choirs would compete. (Cheers.) He (the gallant chairman) would con- clude his remarks by quoting the words of a celebrated authority, who said that music was one of the noblest pursuits. It thrilled the soul, and haunted the highest affections, and it was worthy of thorough pursuit by all. (Loud applause.) The following was the PROGRAMME then gone through :—Part 1.Pianoforte solo, Mrs Morris; solo, "My Childhood's Dream," Mr M. Prothero; solo, "Barney O'Hea," Miss A. Williams; solo, "Alone on the raft," (encored), Miss sKattie Davies; solo, "Memory of love," (encored), Mr Dyvcd Lewis; solo, "'Twasin the month of May," (encored), Miss Bell Harris; solo, "The Better Land," Miss Bennett; duet, "I know a Bank," Misses M. and A. Williams. Part II.—Solo, "Cariad ferch y Tywysog Llew- elyn," encore, "When other lips," Mr Dyfed Lewis; solo, "The song that reached my heart," Miss M. Williams; solo, "I fyny fo'r nod," Mr M. Prothero; duet, "Hywel a Blodwen," (encored), Mr J. Michael and Miss Bell Harris; solo, "He was despised,"Miss Kattie Davies; solo, "Maid of Athens," Mr J. Michael; solo, "I am a merry Zingara,"Miss Bennett; solo, "Serenade," Mr Dyfed Lewis; finale—"God Save the Queen," On the motion of Mr E. O. Evans, seconded by Mr I. Thomas, a vote of thanks was passed to the Chairman for presiding, and at the suggestion of the latter gentlman similar voves were passed to the accompanist (Mrs Morris), together with the artistes for their services. General Lee, in moving the vote, referred in fitting terms to the conspic- uous gallantry displayed by the local regiment in Egypt a day or two previously.