Welsh Journals

THE WELSH WEEKLY. February 26, 1892. THE RE¥. HUGH PRICE HUGHES AT BANGOR, It has been nsual for some years past for an eminent minister to preach a special sermon to the students at the Bangor Colleges. This year the Eev. Hugh Price Hughes, the well-known London evangelist, preached on Monday evening, February 15, at Horeb Welsh Wesleyan Chapel. The building was crammed with a most attentive and intelligent audience, largely composed of young men. There is no need to describe Mr. Hughes' personal appearance, as most people are quite familiar with his portrait. He is a born speaker, his voice is clear, penetrating, and very pleasant, he speaks and does not shout or intone, and his words come out with decision, and, occasionally, with superfluous emphasis. Mr. Price Hughes is thoroughly business-like in all he does and says, and even some parts of his prayers sound like precise orders given at a whole¬ sale warehouse. The text chosen was Eev. xv. 3 : " And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb." The subject of the Eermon, or rather address—for it was a loose and dis¬ connected harangue—-was patriotism and religion. The discourse was thoroughly interesting, and was listened to from beginning to end with unflagging attention. It bristled with smart sayings, and the preacher alternately provoked the laughter and ap¬ plause of his hearers. We have heard of graceless undergraduates applauding a reference to the students and the professors in an opening prayer, and loudly encoring at the close, but that was not in Wales. This was the first time for us to witness anything like applause in the course of a sermon in a Welsh place of worship. The ancient Greeks frequently applauded the sermons of Chrys- ostom in Constantinople, and they were not irreverent. We suppose that we are gradually approaching their state of superior culture. However, no one seemed to feel that the cheers were out of place, for many of the sayings were so clever, and hit the mark so true, that it would have been a pity not to have given the speaker some token of appreciation.' The applause was loudest when Mr. Hughes congratulated the Welsh people on the Sunday Closing Act, and expressed his own firm resolve to fight the devil, We regretted that the rev. gentleman indulged in so many ad captdndum remarks after the fashion of distinguished visitors to the Eisteddfod, who compliment us on all the virtues we possess and a few that we have not. The first part of the discourse was to a great extent an indictment of the Christian church for what Leigh Hunt and George Elliot calledits " other-worldliness," i.e., an exclusive care for its own salvation, to the neglect of social and political duties. The result of this was that Mazzini, Garibaldi, and Gambetta were more popular heroes with the working men of Europe than Jesus Christ, who was far and away the best Friend the workingman ever had. The preacher then proceeded to point out the contrast between the revo¬ lutionary or socialistic spirit and the Christian. One sought the kingdom without seeking the righteousness of God, while Christians were too apt to seek personal righteousness, and not to take care of the kingdom. The revolutionary triad which is cut on every public building in Paris—liberty, fraternity, equality—-is only the Pauline triad in its social manifestation—' 'righteous¬ ness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." The Socialists looked at one side of the shield and the Christians on the other. They must learn to re¬ concile the opposition. Without patriotism there could be no healthy religious life. Civil and religious liberty went together. It was the duty of Christians to engage in politics ; for we cannot say our prayers aright Unless we See that the right men are elected on the town and county councils and sent up to Parlia¬ ment. The grand aim of the Christian church should be now to capture the Foreign Office, to ensure England's foreign policy being always upright, peace¬ ful, and pure. These and many similar sayings were clinched by several appropriate quotations from Mazzini, Carlyle, and Gladstone; Jesus Christ and His Apostles were not appealed to as authorities, except when none of the others served the purpose. Although Christ is described as the Lamb in his text, the preacher made no reference to the Cross, and the atoning death of the Saviour, though he urged his hearers to follow Christ and to become His disciples. He laid great emphasis on the need of regeneration, and that the soul of all improvement was the improvement of the soul. Wales owed its present greatness to the fact ■that the old preachers had realised the value of the individual soul. This saved our country from the darkness of heathenism. We must not neglect this truth. The story of Mr. Spurgeon's conversion was told with wonderful effect, and then Mr. Hughes gave us an account of his own conversion. Some American whose name he never knew, was preaching in a small chapel in South Wales, and :at the end of his sermon he summed up the whole duty of man in the words, "Submit to Christ," " God is longing to save you," and. said the preacher, "I then accepted « Christ." Such is a brief outline of the.discourse delivered to the students by Mr. Price Hughes. Opinions varied considerably concerning the sermon, but many felt: hat a grand opportunity to speak a word in season had been lost.. Wales is quite awake to its political duties, and earnest words of spiritual admonition to all those young men would have been much more to the purpose, and surely more in keeping with the Gospel of the Cross of Christ than a string of crackling sentences on social and political questions. Auditor. DISESTABLISHMENT IN WALES. THE LEGAL COLUMN. " FULL OF WISE SAWS AND MODERN INSTANCES." In the House of Commons, on Tuesday, Mr. Samuel Smith moved his resolution in favour of Disestablishment of the Church in Wales. Mr. Dillwyn seconded. The Solicitor- General, on behalf of the Government and the Conserva¬ tive party, offered the most uncompromising and strenuous opposition to the motion, which was further opposed by Sir J. Puleston, Colonel West, Mr. Kenyon, and Mr. Balfour, and supported by Mr. Bryce, Mr. Arthur Williams, Mr. Lloyd George, Mr. Osborne Morgan, and Sir W. Harcourt. On a division the motion was negatived by 267 votes to 220—a majority of 47. In last year's division on the Welsh Disestablishment question there was an attendance of 438 members, and the majority against the motion was 32. In last night's divi¬ sion 487 members took part, and the resolution was rejected by a majority of 47. Several Dissentient Liberals were absent, and those in attendance did not act together. Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. T. W. Bussell, and Mr. Powell Williams were amongst those who voted in the minority for the resolution, whilst Sir Henry James, Mr. Parker Smith, Mr. Finlay, Mr. Fraser Mackintosh, and Mr. Cog- hill voted with the Government in the majority. Eighty members paired on the Welsh Disestablishment motion last night, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Childers, Sir Henry Boscoe, Mr. Samuel Smith (who, on account of ill-health, was un¬ able to remain in the House after moving his resolution), and the Hon. C. B. Spencer being amongst those paired against the Government. Although the motion for the Disestablishment was moved by a private member, the Opposition whips, Mr. Arnold Morley and Mr. Marjoribanks, told in its favour, the Government whips mar shalling the forces on the other side. LITERARY NOTES. A life of Mr. Spurgeon is to appear in Welsh, and is published by Mr. Mathias, of Corwen. The follow¬ ing Baptist ministers are contributors to the volume — Dr. E. Eoberts, H. Cernyw Williams, 0. Waldo James, W. G. Owen, P. Williams, and E. K. Jones. The High Constable of. Merthyr is a very versatile man. Few business men in Wales show more public and literary activity than he. Encouraged by the success of his Album Williams, Pantycelyn, he is now editing an Album with biographical notices of all the more eminent Calvinistic Methodist preachers. Like the editor of the Geninen, he has the knack of getting at writers, and so a large number of well- known names have been enlisted in the service. Principal Edwards, for instance, will write the bio¬ graphy of Charles o'r Bala, and the Bev. D. Phillips, Swansea, has already sent in his monograph on John Evans, Llwynffortiwn. Mr. William Morgan has also extracted a promise of help from Mr. 0. M. Edwards, and it is to be hoped that a High Constable will obtain fulfilment where great publishers have failed. In one of the next numbers of Cymru, Mr. Morgan will have an article on " Bees Howell Bees," a well-known character, who acted as " clochydd " at Vaynor about a century ago. At the last meeting of the Dafydd ab Gwilym Society, Oxford, Mr. Edward Anwyl, B.A., of Oriel and Mansfield Colleges, read a paper on Brittany, which he is preparing for the Qymro. The paper was a translation of Emile Souvestre's Les Derniers Bretons, yet, so good was the Welsh idiom of the translation, and so true of Wales were some of the great Frenchman's remarks on Brittany, that it was often difficult to realize that Mr. Anwyl was not reading an original sketch of Welsh peasant life. A grand Eisteddfod is to be held at the South Place Institute, Finsbury, in connection with the Stepney Presbyterian Church, on April 28, 1892. The com¬ petition for both bardic prizes is open to the world. The subjects are :—A Memorial OJe (not under 300 lines) to the late Bev. D. Charles Davies, M.A. (Trevecca), prize, ten guineas ; and Six Stanzas to the "Lord Mayor of London," prize, one guinea. Here's a, fine scope for the Welsh " Awen." Dyfed is the adjudicator, . . . ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. J. J. (Newport).—No, the employer would not be liable. There would be no evidence of negligence in the absence of further acts of omission or commission on the part of the employer, since the employed, knowing the danger and being fully aware of the great risk, voluntarily encountered them. Rhondda.—It depends on the wording of the clause in the chapel trust deed. Could not properly advise without seeing a copy. Ansier.—Your cross-examination need not be con¬ fined to the facts to which you testified in your exami¬ nation-in-chief.. The judge, however, may disallow any questions which may appear to him vexatious and irrevelant. Perplexed (Cardiff). —Certainly not. Sue in the County Court, which in your case would be more ex¬ peditious and less costly. A. M.—Consult a solicitor, and lay the facts unre¬ servedly before him. F. E. T. (Swansea).—Take out letters of administra¬ tion. This you could do yourself. Do not inter¬ meddle with the estate until this is done, or you will make yourself personally liable. W. W. (Aberdare).—Larceny may be defined to be the unlawful taking and carrying away of another person's things personal with intent to deprive the rightful owner of his whole title to the same. Unless the case fall within this definition it would not be larceny. There must be an unlawful taking, coupled with the intention to wholly deprive ; but the onus of proving that this was not so would rest on the person charged. He could, however, be sued for trespass, and also for the user. R. B. (Llanelly).—1. A yearly tenancy. 2. Six months' notice must be given, terminating at Lady Day. Garw.—The lessor's solicitor's scale charges for pre¬ paring, settling, and completing lease and counterpart would be .£10 10s.; the lessee's solicitor's would be half that amount. L. B.—The uncle would be entitled to the whole of the real property, but the personalty would go to the grandfather, and it is to him letters of administration would be granted. Workman (Carmarthen).—A case recently decided just meets your point. There it was laid down that by " way," in section I., sub-section I., of the Act is meant, not a mere right of passage, but a defined path or road. It was contended on behalf of the workman in that case that the whole of a large courtyard intervening between one part of a works and another might be a " way " ; but the Court decided otherwise. You cannot, therefore, recover, as the law is at present interpreted. Curate.—The incumbent, having, at the most, only an estate for life, would be liable for waste, voluntary or permissive. The patron might apply for an in¬ junction to restrain the waste, and it would be granted. He could only recover damages, for waste from the representatives of his predecessor, in case of dilapidations to houses and buildings. Apparitors are officers of the Ecclesiastical Courts appointed to execute the orders and decrees of the Courts. A. (Pontypridd).—The general meeting must be held now within four months of the registration of the Company. If the capital is to be increased, a special resolution to that effect must be passed. The Begistrar issues a certificate of incorporation after examination and approval of the memorandum of association. . Trustee (Pembrey).—You are allowed to invest the moneys in any of the following :—(1) Beal securities in any part of the United Kingdom; (2) Mortgage of freeholds and copyholds in England and Wales; (3) Any security, British, colonial or foreign, the interest upon which is guaranteed by Parliament; (4) Bank of England stock; (5) Bank of Ireland stock ; (6) Consols, and a few others. You must, of course, use your own discretion. Parishioner (Pontypool).—The vestry clerk is chosen by the vestry. It is he who should have tile custody of all papers, books, &c. Anxious.—Do you not think it would be best to settle the matter ? It will save a good deal of un¬ pleasantness, and you may rest assured you will not be the loser in the end if you do so. The offer, too, is a very fair and reasonable one. Never indulge in litigation unnecessarily; it is always more or less a costly luxury. All communications to the " Legal Column " re¬ quiring an answer to be addressed to LEX, Office of the Welsh Weekly, 19, Moira Terrace, Cardiff.