Welsh Journals

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The The National Conference held last Educational month at Llandrindod Wells was Conference an event of first class importance. The decisions of the Conference on the main proposals relating to the formation of a National Council of Education for Wales were adopted with remarkable unanimity, and must, therefore, be accepted as placing beyond all dis- pute the existence of a very large volume of opinion in Wales in favour of placing our system of education under one central authority, and also of confiding the central control of the system to the hands of a representative body of men and women who are fully conversant with the local administration of education and with the peculiar needs and aspirations of Wales. There remains to be considered the difficult question of the scheme of representation to be assigned to the several authorities upon the proposed Council. The Conference relegated this question to an executive committee representative of all the interests concerned, and, although previous ex- perience in Wales has proved that the task of the committee is fraught with elements of combustible material, there is on this occasion a general con- census of expectation that a spirit of accommodation will prevail. Welsh authorities are beginning to realize that much more depends upon the quality than on this quantum of their representation. Never- theless, the problem furnishes a severe test of the capacity of Welshmen to manage their own affairs. We trust Wales will emerge from the test with flynig colours. The Next The remaining stages of the cam- Stage paign will have to be fought out at Westminster. For this contin- gency the conference made its preliminary dispo- sitions by arranging to send an influential deputation to state its case before the Prime Minister and the President of the Board of Education. We shall await the event with great interest. This much at any rate is certain; the conference has been timed to a nicety. An Education Bill is now before the country, and if arrangements can be successfully made during the parliamentary recess for the intro- duction of agreed amendments into the Bill at a later stage, all the difficulties attendant upon the promotion of a special Bill will be avoided. Strategically, therefore, the conference is entitled to be very well content with its achievements up to date. A Missing Notwithstanding all this, we should Note have been better pleased if a more serious attempt had been made at the conference to show how a National Council was likely to lead to substantial improvements in the educational outfit of the Principality. It may be said that the members of the conference were already so convinced upon this aspect of the case that no elaboration of the point was really necessary. But as to this we have some doubts. In any event, it is of fundamental importance that Wales should be fully satisfied, before embarking upon a new depar- ture of this magnitude, that the educational results are likely to justify the proposed step. The nation- alistic and democratic aspects of the proposal were placed well to the fore in the discussions at the conference. One would have thought that these might have been even more appropriately taken for granted. After all, the case for a reconstruction of our educational system, ought to be based solidly upon sound educational foundations. And we respectfully commend this consideration to the deputation to which has been entrusted the presenta- tion of the views of the Welsh people to the powers at Westminster. MORS JANUA VITAE. 0 ye whose hearts are weary, lift your eyes There is a little land, shell-shattered, torn, Her happy homes forsaken, desolate, Her people outraged, and her shrines profaned. Red with the life-blood of her bravest men, And echoing to the tramp of alien feet. And yet, because she did not meekly bow To the fierce tyrant, and because she leapt Deep in the lambent flame of sacrifice To agonies of death, she shall emerge A land of life and love, and fairer far Pure homes shall cluster round those ruined shrines, Strong hearts again shall beat in unison, The wilderness shall blossom as the rose When exiles to the land they love return. 0 ye whose hearts are riven, be comforted And lave your souls within the sacrifice Even so, when Time dissolves these clouds of grief. Then shall the halo of your heroes' love Shine more than crown of glory: it shall live And keep alight the torch of liberty, Within whose beams, fearless, the little feet Of Britons yet unborn shall know the road, The ruddy footpath where their fathers trod, Whose light, please God, undimmed, we'll hand adown. Lester Mills.