Welsh Journals

FIVE POINTS OF "WELSH NATIONALIST" POLICY Sir,—The February instalment of Mr. T. P. Ellis's "Constructive Policy for Wales" contains a final paragraph which seems a definite invita- tion to the Welsh Nationalist Party to declare its policy on five points. Now Mr. Ellis is so good a friend and so generous a critic and counsellor of the Nationalist Party that I must ask of your courtesy space to explain our position as a party in the matter of these five points. i. Mr. Ellis urges us "to make it perfectly clear that they are adherents of the monarchical principle of government and have no desire for anything in the nature of republicanism." This is entirely in accord with our policy. 2. "That they recognise the practical, econo- mic, geographical, historic fact that the Island of Britain is in essentials one and indivisible." This is too vague for a final answer, but if it means that we should make no claim for an independent and sovereign Welsh state, but accept the sove- reignty of His Majesty George V. and his succes- sors, then it is entirely the policy of the National- ist Party. 3. "That they recognise that they have a defin- ite duty towards and claim a share in all Imperial concerns." We most heartily do. 4. "That they regard the Imperial Parliament as an existing institution in which they desire to continue to have full and proportionate represent- ation in order to contribute their share to mat- ters of common Imperial concern." Here I must pause. The Nationalist Party do not wish to "continue to have representation" in the English Parliament on the present basis. For it is of the essence of the present basis that the people of Wales have representation in Parlia- ment only as they are Englishmen. We desire to withdraw from Parliament in order to end that basis of representation. If afterwards we are in- vited to have representation in the Imperial Parli- ament on a new basis that admits our separate nationality, such an invitation will have our sym- pathetic consideration. I add that the italicised part of Mr Ellis's sentence indicates again a com- mon ground of agreement. 5. "That for purely domestic matters existing institutions should be implemented by the crea- tion of a Welsh Senate." This gains our consent, of course, but we may doubt the adequacy of the adjective "purely domestic." It will be seen that between the views of our Party and those of Mr. Ellis there is no great separation. — Yours faithfully, SAUNDERS LEWIS (Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Welsh Nationalist Party). A NORTH WALES HOUSING EXPERIMENT Sir,-As a member of the Bangor Housing Group to whom all the building arrangements were en- trusted, I should like to bear witness to the whole- hearted work of the architect (Mr. H. L. North, B.A., F.R.I. B. A., of Llanfairfechan). Without his skilful planning and resource in choice of materials and methods of construction, the present happy result could never have been attained. Due credit must also be given to the enthusiastic co-operation of the contractor (Mr. Richard Owen, of Bangor) and his staff. A further constructional detail is important. The houses are built on concrete rafts," which eliminate foundations, afford complete protection from damp, and provide flooring of the entire ground floor. Yours faithfully, Brynhyfryd, Bangor. Mary F. Rathbone. HISTORY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS Sir,-I should like to make one or two comments upon the admirable article of Prof. J. E. Lloyd, in your January issue, on a History Course for Secondary Schools in Wales." The syllabus is comprehensive and modern in its outlook. As re- gards the first three years it is, I believe, already operative in some of the Intermediate Schools. Given a suitable text-book, and a conscientious teacher, the scheme is workable, and calculated to give pupils a sound basis of historical know- ledge. The text-book difficulty is admittedly a serious one. The syllabus appears to suggest the necessity for more than one each year, but the average pupil in rural Wales cannot afford to buy more than one. The scheme for the fourth year presents the main difficulty. One of the objections frequently raised against giving its due place to the history of Wales in our schools has been the additional burden that would thereby be placed upon pupils preparing for the First School Examination. If the history of Europe were also added, and the period extended, the burden would be unbearable under present conditions. Teachers have long since realised that the extension of a course of study in a given subject does not necessarily imply a less exacting standard on the part of examiners. They have seen the courses of various subjects made to cover more ground but have looked in vain for a corresponding mitigation of the severity of the credit standard. This diffi- culty will remain while the schools are examined solely by an external body that views school examinations mainly from a university point of view. Moreover, in history, there is a minimum of facts necessary to be learnt by pupils at the Senior