Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

52 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

The Man About Town.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

The Man About Town. I have heard of an excellent method of celebrating the Record Reign. One Pro- vincial Corporation has decided in secret conclave to mark the auspicious event in a very striking fashion. Elaborate details are being prepared with costly plans and' drawings, and in due time, when the whole grand conception has been completed, the burgesses will be taken into confidence and asked for subscriptions. The grand idea is no other than to equip the Mayor, Aldermen, and Councillors in gorgeous array of cocked hate, gold laced gowns, silk stockings and padded calves, with silver buckled boots. Should the popu- lace subscribe freely to the public fund which will be opened shortly, the Corpora- tion, thus attired in regal display, will hold a pageant all to themselves for the pleasure of her Majesty and in special honour of the Record Reign. A special saloon train will be chartered to convey the gaily bedecked dignitaries to the vicinity of Buckingham Palace, and, accompanied by the strains of the local brass band, specially augmented for this occasion only," they will foot out a little march past," no doubt to rhe wonder of the street gamins and the cabbies. I think I ought to state, in order to prevent misunderstanding, that these comments do not refer to the Cardiff Cor- poration. As a matter of Antiquarian interest, which is the older town, Cardiff or New- port ? Quite apart from any rivalry that exists between the two towns for the honour of possessing within the borough limits the new offices of the University. That rivalry has given rise to my query, but into this consideration no question of offices or of the University shall protrude its head. It is claimed for Newport that "it is amongst the oldest of the Municipalities of the Kingdom. Its first Charter was granted in the reign of Richard the Second, and confirmed by succeeding monarchs down to James the First, under whose Charter it was governed until the passing of the Municipal Reform Act of 1836." Now, that is a fair measure of antiquity, for it takes ua back to the days when Wat Tyler and Jack Straw raised a strike and a procession against the Poll-tax. This ancient strike in the days of 14 Merrie England was so suc- cessful that the King in person met the procession at Mile End, London, and granted their demands, promising to be their leader I He also promised to abolish serfage, give them freedom to trade at fairs and markets, and free pardons for past offences. He kept his word by putting 1,500 to death Those were the days when the Lollards were pro- testing against the abuses of the Church in which the first charter was granted to New- port. That was before the revolt of Wales under Owen Glendower. The mention of the fact of Newport's antiquity as a town gave rise to many warm disputes and discussions yester- day. It was generally accepted that Cardiff was a quite young town, whilst New. port shared the honour of antiquity. Cardiff! Why, Cardiff was a village yesterday, once threatened by Caerphilly, which looked like extinguishing the trade of the village on the Taff side. The idea has become firmly rooted that Cardiff has no more claim to antiquity as an important town than some of the American mushroom cities with which it is frequently compared. Truth I is often stranger than fiction, and I presume that it will appear so again to many supporters of Newport. The first Charter of the ancient town of Newport, as we have already seen, was granted in the Reign of Richard the Second. From very ancient days Cardiff has enjoyed immunities and municipal privileges. The first remain- ing Charter dates back to the reign before that in which Newport received hers. The Charter granted by Hughe le Despenser in the reign of Edward III. (1339) con- firms an earlier one, of which all trace has been lost. The same Despenser granted another Charter to our beloved burgesses of Cardiff," by which they were deolared free from the payment of many obligations. The great loyalty, of the burgesses won from Henry VI. a charter. Under the Stuarts the beloved bur- gesses of Cardiff" fell from grace, but Good Queen Bess confirmed and ratified all previous charters." In more recent times the beloved burgesses allowed all privileges and possessions to slip away from them by ignorance and the neglect of their representatives and guardians. But that is too long a story to-day. Sufficient for the present to know that Cardiff is an older Town than Newport of The Bridgend Poaching case has created an unwonted amount of interest. The climax was reached when after hearing the evidence the Jury could not agree, one man holding out against the other eleven. The anti-climax came quite unexpectedly yester- day morning when the case was retried. Mr S. T. Evans, M.P., prepared a little legal thunder with which to startle the court, but in the end he was the only one who felt the deluge that followed and the cold shower was cold indeed J In his eager- ness to defend the prisoners, Mr S. T Evans missed the logical conclusion of his complaint. He asked that the trial should be postponed until the next Assizes because the South Wales Daily News had published some comment on the case. He was ready with a precedent for postponement, so that the prisoners might have as fair a trial as possible, and handed up the offending newspaper. Was the teport of the case correct and what was the comment 1 Mr Justice Law- rance scanned it closely, smelling a rat." Quoth he The report is correct the words were uttered in Court where is the com- ment ? He was advised that it was at the end. Again he observed, "I said it because I thought it monstrous that one should set himself against eleven." Mr Evans pressed for the adjournment, because injustice might be done if tried that day after the publication of the comment. u Wht, because I shall try the case ?" his Lordship asked, and added that is the logical assumption." Profuse apologies to his Lordship. No such thing was hinted at Mr S. T. Evans wished he hadn't spoken A little sophistry may be indulged in when Counsel are addressing the juries, but there is no room for sophistry on the Judicial Bench the words must he carried direct to their logical meaning. The presiding magistrates at the Penarth Police Court yesterday marked their dis. approval of tradesmen offering temptations to the people to steal by hanging their goods out in an unprotected manner in the street, A Barry mason was sent to gaol for stealing a pair of boots which he lifted off a nail outside the prose- cutor's shop. The prosecutor's costs were disallowed because he had, in the opinion of the Bench, no right to tempt people by placing the boots outside his shop." It is a pity the Magistrates have not power to con. fiscate stolen property which has been temptingly displayed outside business premises. 1

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