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Editorial.I

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

Editorial. I The last hare" which has been start; d by the Opposition in Parliament, whose shifting schemes Tor return to power are painful to observe, is the one for Compulsory Military Service. They did tlieir best to make the InsuranccAct a failure, and have quite as assiduous in their efforts to throw a wet blanket upou the Territorial* movement. We used to glory in tho old song, Britannia, TuleS the waves," but these so-called patriots by their action would mako us believe that the Navy is no longer sufficient to maintain that traditional position, and nothing will do but we must have a universal military service to fight on the shore. They are seemingly, by no means, holding the traditional confidence that the Navy can adequately defend us from the enemy. We still have a preponderant Navy. We must have it, and strange its strength is maintained by the principle of voluntary service. If our Navy was over- whelmed in time of war, our soldiers and all would be brought to quick submission by starvation. The strong Navy secures for us the free passage of food from all parts of the world. Our best speculation is to plank our money on the Navy. If we fail there, we fail absolutely, no mat- how large may be our land forces. For the last hundred years we have obtained the men for the Navy by voluntary enlist- ment. It is our best plan, and wo mean tu continue it, let the scaremongers scare and the croakers crook. It it almost certain now that the plural voter is going. The rejection of the Bill was moved by Mr. F. E. Smith. His arguments were very. to say the least, puerile. He invited the House of Com- mons to say it was not prepared to accept a Bill which professes to remove one only of the anomalies affecting elec- toral laws." We thank him for the ad- mission that the plural voter is an anomaly." It is very unkind of Mr. Smith to say that of a pal who has helped his party in many a tight corner. The question is, that if you cannot remove all the anomalies of our electoral system at once, surely, it is a good thing to remove them by instalments. The case against plural voting is overwhelming. For one thing the Unionists should not be against it they disarmed themselves when, in sotting up County and District Councils in 1888, they enacted that a voter must not vote more, than once in the election of a County or District Council, no mat- ter how many qualifications he might pos- sess. If the plural voter is wrong in principle when applied to our Local Par- liaments, surely it is wrong in the Imperial Parliament. All of us have a life stake in the country, and all should have equal voicing in its management. The Miners' Federation have everj reason to be proud of the success of their May Day campaign for solidarity of Unionism. Every true democrat must support tllls congratulatioln, for it is only right, and truly for the best, that Labour should be solid in order to uphold its industrial rights. The position in the Rhondda stands well to the fore, and it is a pity that in the Rhondda Fach we have lacked the unity of spirit which has realised in the Mid-Rhondda. The great Combine authority in this district have in good spirit helped the Unionism cam- paign, and the fredom throughout the coalfield of disturbances, and the peaceful picketing which has prevailed, indicate that a firmer spirit is now ruling the Federation, and that enlightened convic- tions are healthy, and happily lees boisterous, have come to stay. We have always been strong believers in organised Labour, and un- broken progress can only 00 restarded by turbulence and mistaken ideals of leadership. W e know the position of generalship in every mass movement is very responsible and very delicate to sus- tain. but wo are glad that in this cam- paign it has been not of the forcible as much as the persuasive kind. Its suc- cess, therefore, is well deserved, and will leave a permanency of benefit which bear the best fruit in the future. Democracy in general polity must realise its triumphs, but it must not degenerate into an oligarchic management. It means the mass deciding by individualism in its units, otherwise we will develop a stato of tyrannical sovereignty quite as un- desirable and repulsive as the tyranny associated with the landlord and the plutocrat.

IYnyshir Collier's Thefts.

IThe Missing Pendant.

Singing Festivals.