The Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder. — 1883-10-20 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

RATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS. CONFERENCE AT SWANSEA.  A conference was held at the Albert Hall, Swansea, on Saturday afternoon in connection with the Glamorgan and Carmarthen district of the National Union of Elementary Teachers. There was a good attendance. Mr. Gomer Jones, 8.A., presided. In the course of his address he said the association had been the means of sweeping away those barriers which till recently separated the various sections of the scholastic profession, and it was to be hoped that those teachers who had hitherto kept aloof would consider it their duty, if not their privilege' to join the assciation, the benefits obtained by which they could not fail to participate in, though they did not contribute towards its support. To attain the high ends aimed at it. the schools, the president went on to may, two things were essential—discipline and method. He went on to give some excellent advice to teachers, and afterwards made reference Ito the new code, in respent to which he said that Mr Mundella aimed at giving greater latitude to the teacher in his arrange' mente, and at enabling him to carry them out with as little friction as possible. And he also intends that the child's progress should be made by natural and easy stages, without undue fore, 1 lug. He has also made a provision whereby I children who were naturally obtuse or lacking in intelligence might be exempted from examination. He considered that this was a great 1 boon to teachers. Though the code at present en•,ailed an additional amount of work on both 1 teachers and inspectors, yet in time the difliculI ties attending its ,peration would gradually adjust themselves so as to work smoothly, provided the machinery for improving the attendance was fully set in motion. Mr. Jones deprecated the practice of detaining children after school hours as being injurious to the health of teachers and scholars.. Speaking of the South Wales University College, he said it would exercise a great influence on the future education of South Wales, and, with the establishment of good intermediate schools, we might hope to see some of our elementary schoolegradually working their way upwards to the highest educational eminence. (Applause.) Mr. W. D. Lewis moved a resolution which was seconded by Mr. Williams and passed, to the effect that the Union executive should take steps to secure a more representativedistribution of members from the country, in order to curry on the increased work more effectually. A motion was also carried expressing confidence in the legal defence fund. Some other busine,s was transacted, and in the evening a farce entitled " Squalls " writen. by Miss T. Bielski, of Swansea was produced, after which dancing was indulged in.  It is expected that the Leeds Ifusical Festival will yield a surplus of £2,000. At Dudley, on Sunday morning, James O'Rourke murdered hi,. brother-by stabbinghim. On Saturday, at Rome, a railway accident occurred in whieh a number of persona were injured, some seriously.  Three boys bad a very narrow e.eape at Bristol on Saturday, from a.khop that was on fire. They had barely been rescued when the roof fell in.  At Ebbw Vale, on Monday morning, an Irish man named.Coagrove fell dead aa he was wheeling the first barrow cf metal for the day. John Jenkins, of Ferndale, walked into the shaft of o 4 pit and felt a distance of nearly 400 yards, being killed instant/y. His body wee shockingly mutilate&  The son of 'General" Booth failed to lay the foundation stone of a new barracks at WUlenhall oa Monday, owing to the violence of the mob,  Bartholomew Binus, the newly-appointed public hangman, visited. Borne:4.'4de on Thursday for the purpose of purchasing the ropes and other apparatus belonging to the late William Marwood. He was very reticent at first, and refused to disclose his name but afterwards acknowledged that he was Marwood's successor.