Welsh Journals

The Writing on the Wall? Chinks in the Establishment by JANUS I 'Mutare Vel Timere Sperno' 'I will scorn to change or fear' s (Raglan family motto) MR ANTHONY powell has recently written that the Welsh are less given to self-revelation than the other Celtic races. The explosion over Lord Raglan's article in last October's Wales may be seen as an interest- ing breakthrough by rabid Welshmen on the long, tedious and cruel journey towards realising that there is a point of view on their language and their nation which in no way approximates to their own. Insult was added to the injury (in their eyes) by the fact that Lord Raglan is Lord-Lieutenant of Monmouthshire and President of the Court of Governors of the National Museum of Wales. The counter- attack on Raglan was quickly mounted and launched; it was divided into waves. The first, unorganised, fragmented and often incoherent, was a mass of denials and tu quoques in Press, Parliament and by local authorities. The second, and more serious, arm of the pincers was an organised attempt to force Raglan out of his position of President of the Museum Court. This was an inside job, but all of Raglan's oppo- nents agreed that not only were his comments wrong-but they would do everything they could to deny him the right to make them. The article was published in early October. Plaid Cymru were quick off the mark, and had soon, for once, invoked the help of the Queen. They saw a threat to the constitution in the article: We consider (Raglan's) disloyal actions to be of importance-in the constitutional relations of the Crown and our nation. The word 'disloyal' was not qualified by the Nationalists, but the idea had been planted that it was somehow wrong for Raglan as a Lord- Lieutenant to attack the Welsh language. In Llangefni (the only local