Welsh Journals

rapidly disappearing, for the younger generation, in its wisdom or unwisdom, chooses to regard it, at its best, as a picturesque survival and at its worst as an unmitigated nuisance. Similarly, the Sundav School despite laudable efforts in certain directions is languishing. Years ago, it was the pride of Wales. To-day, the attempt towards a concordat for religious teaching in schools, excellent in principle though it may be, is indirectly a confession of the failure of the Sunday School adequately to perform that function. Again the pulpit once commanded tre cream of Welsh talent. To-day it does not. Few also will doubt that Nonconformity (which in earlier days was closely associated with certain phases of the Home Rule movement) has of recent years shrunk in spiritual influence. Another avowed object of the movement was to facilitate legislation for which England was not politically or morally ripe. He would not be a Jeremiah who would point out that the electorate has betrayed no undue hurry or desire to attain those objects. If the last census paper could have asked such a question as "What papers do you generally buy?" the results would have been very interesting and probably conclusive on this point. All these tendencies have been slowly at work for some time. But over and above must be taken into account the decisive influence of the war. Future historians will assuredly mark the immediate post-war period as of vital influence in the history of Wales even more so than in that of England. For the first time on record, the vast majority of the young men of Wales, many of whom had hitherto pursued a secluded life, were cast all over the world. On their return to their homeland, a more detached attitude of mind was manifest. Dear as was Wales now to them still, abstract speculations and formulae about nationalism-one of the Mazzini type so beloved of our fathers interested them as little as the theological contro- versies of the same period. They were more- over, witnessing nationalism in a less amiable light than did their fathers. While the begin- ning of the nineteenth century had seen the Bal- kans under the tyranny of the Turk, more recent years witnessed the same area under another tyranny, that of warring cut-throat nationalities. The presbyter, to many, seemed but the "priest writ large." The Great War, in the meantime, Balkanised Europe. While it was easy to criticise adversely the labours of the Versailles peacemakers, and easier to forget the stupendous difficulties that confronted them, it was still more difficult to avoid observing the ease with which "nations" sprouted forth to meet the exigencies of the moment. In the nineteenth century the cause of nationalism was oftentimes the call for self-sacrifice, but the abuse made in the twentieth To Readers. — We shall be pleased to send a specimen copy of THE WELSH Outlook to friends of readers resident abroad. of the sentiment savoured of Macchiavellian cun- ning and Napoleonic cynicism. Moreover not without effect has been the increased attention given of recent years to the study of the nine- teenth century in Wales. There are some who forget that, important though the past may be, Welsh history does not come to an end in 1282 or 1485. To be precise Wales changed more in the nineteenth century than in any other. The religious and literary aspects of the period have received considerable attention, yet its most im- portant feature, namely, the vast changes wrought in many directions by the so-called Industrial Revolution has hardly been studied or appreciated. While in England this very gradual change shifted the centre of gravity from the South to the North, in Wales it produced a reverse result. That the vast majority of the population of Wales is hud- dled together in the Industrial South is an obvious though oftentimes a neglected fact. The recent realisation of the possibility of being swamped by the South explains the lukewarm- ness, and in some quarters the marked hostility shown in the North towards self-government. It is no mere accident, therefore, that the post- war Home Rule movement assumed a new aspect. The conference at Shrewsbury, for example, was a significant gathering, derided though it was by some. The problems discussed were of a practical character. Many of the delegates were men of experience in public administration. In short, the movement was shedding its negative character. As already indicated, the apathy of the public is unmistakable and is the result of many causes. When it was a case of nothing more than lip ser- vice at election times and a farce of a debate in the House of Commons, the public in part re- garded it as a harmless diversion. Once, how- ever, actual problems are discussed, then a critical spirit is abroad. The public would like to have precise knowledge as to how these changes would react on the efficiency of the country and on such mundane considerations as taxes and rates. One of the facts ascertained, for example, at the Shrewsbury Conference was that Wales was actually receiving more from the Imperial Treasury than it contributed thereto. The electorate recognises that there are many weaknesses in the present arrangements, but apparently it is far too satisfied with existing conditions to face with equaminity such a deficit. Nationalism as a subject of an address appeals to many. But the acid test of Welsh National- ism is the readiness with which the electorate will be prepared to pay, if necessary. The pres- ent generation in Wales, as in other lands, is tinged with a cynical spirit, for the world to-day like a pawnbroker's shop, is full of unredeemed pledges.