Welsh Journals

Laines, Brussels. Book post for abroad is com- paratively cheap if no letter, or anything in the nature of a letter, is enclosed. The name and ad- dress of the sender could be written on the outside of the parcel, which should be labelled "PrinteJ matter only." A long and somewhat varied ex- perience abroad impels me to add that every let er which leaves Wales for Europe should bear a 2^d. stamp and every postcard iid. Full particulars of the Cecil Prize of £ 100, open IN the October Number of the Welsh Outlook there appeared a commendation of the readi- ness with which the President of the Board of Education had granted another Departmental Committee, so soon after the Welsh Language Committee had completed its labours, to explore the condition of education in our rural ar-as. Another Whitehall Department, H.M. Office of Works, to facilitate the carrying out of the provisions of the Ancient Monuments Act of 1913, constituted three Advisory Boards, one for each of the three countries-England, Scotland and Wales. The new body for Wales is styled "The Ancient Monuments Board for Wales." Its Chairman is Sir Vincent Evans. Its ten mem- bers include Sir Alfred T. Davies, Mr Willoughby Gardner, Mr Mortimer Wheeler, and Professor J. E. Lloyd, and its Secretary is Mr W. J. Hemp, Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Wales. This recognition of Wales contrasts vividly with the treatment it is receiving from the Minis- try of Health. That Department is the central authority under the Rating and Valuation Act of 1925, an enactment which is another example of the twentieth century principles of "legislation by regulations" and "administration by Com- mittees." The main idea of the Statute is to secure uniformity in assessment to local rates throughout England and Wales. To that end a Central Valuation Committee has been set up consisting of thirty-two members. Of these, three-fourths were nominated by Associations of Local Authorities, and the remaining eight per- sons were appointed by the Minister of Health himself. The only Welsh representatives nomi- nated by the Associations were three-all from the County of Glamorgan-¾I.t. Col. D. Watts- Morgan, M.P.; Mr. W. G. Miles, J.P., Swan- sea; and Mr. C. W. Melhuish, J.P., Cardiff. The work of valuation is obviously a territorial matter. Its practical requirements vary with each locality, and it must have been obvious that to undergraduates in Great Britain, may be ob- tained of the Secretary, Universities Bureau of the British Empire, 50, Russell Square, London. The time limit is November ist, 1928; the subject — "How far can International Arbitration be made a complete substitute for War." It is well that we should also be reminded of the substantial prizes for essays on international subjects offered by Mr. David Davies, M.P., at the National Eis- teddfod at Treorchy. WALES AND WHITEHALL by fcSylwedydd. three men from the urban areas of one County could not possibly be endowed with experience of the whole of Wales and its widespread technical problems. It might have been thought that Wales with its eight thousand square miles, compared with England's fifty thousand, and with a representation already territorially de- fective, would have commanded the Minister's first choice in the appointment of the eight mem- bers whose selection was reserved to himself; but not a single name from Wales appears amongst them, and the work of the Committee is to be carried on with the three Glamorgan townsmen attempting an impossible task. The sequel is not surprising. This Central Valuation Committee has appointed a general panel of experts to formulate appropriate suggestions. Every member of this panel hails from an Eng- lish area. Places are found amongst the fourteen members for two gentlemen from Liverpool, two from Birmingham, and two from Devonshire, but not one from Wales. A special panel of nine experts has been appointed to advise as to the assessment of Coal Mines. The name of neither Colonel Watts-Morgan, nor Mr. Miles, nor Mr. Melhuish appears on this panel, though it is only fair to mention that amongst the members are the County Valuer of Monmouth and the Clerk to the Pontypridd Assessment Committee. It is consonant with this perversity regarding Wales on the part of the Ministry of Health to find that satisfactory representation is refused in another sphere, i.e., National Health Insurance. Under the Economy Act an allotted amount has to cover the cost of medical benefit and its administration. A substantial part of this cost relates to the provision of Drugs for insured persons. Negotiations between the Ministry and the Retail Pharmacists Union led to the latter agreeing to accept, on behalf of the Panel Chemists of England and Wales, proposals that the latter should collectively contract to accept an