The Herald of Wales. — 1887-08-20 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

THE GREAT FIND OF  WATER  NEAR SWANSEA.  THE QUALITY UNSATISFACTORY. The immense reservoir of apparently pure spring water, which has been discovered beneath Llansamlet Marshes, doee not turn out tobe as satisfactory in quality as was anticipated. On being tested by the borough analyst, it was found to contain s ulphate of iron in such quantities as to render it unfit for domestic purposes. The number of Abyasinian wells in town has been increased, and as the supply from this source continues good, we may put up with the disappointment ocoasioned by the Llansamlet water I turning out different to what it I was expected to be. The quality lof the water below the marsh appears not to be affected so much by the strata as by the fact the water which Bows from the tin works into the river appears in some way to get into the strata tapped, hence the sulphate of iron in the water pumped trOM the strata.  We also understand that an Abyssinian Welle sunk by Mr. Legg near the house of Mr. Richardeon Francip,tonened eo much oompreseed water that it poured up through the pipe, although this was three feet above ground.  At the Royal Albert Hospital, Devonport, on Tuesday night, Elizabeth Glenn, an inmate, drunk some deadly poison from a bottle that had been placed in the ward in which she slept and she soon afterwards died from the effects of the txdson. At the inquf et the jury returned a vbrdiot that "the deceased committed suicide whilst in a state of temporary insanity" and the coroner commented strongly on the practise of allowing such things to remain within reach of patients.  We hear a great deal about record beating this Newton. Cricket scores are phenominally high, bicyolista are careering along at • flying pace unheard of before, and ere long the sun is expected to undergo the beet observed eclipse on record. Beaidee, we have had the greatest naval manieuvres ever known, the fastest steam passage across the Atlantic, and one of the greatest marine anteaters ever chronicled, and all within the jubilee year. America has been to the fore with the most extraordinary railway accidents of the year, but France has beaten Amerioa. Hitherto our Translantic cousins have only been able Is record the biggest railroad accidents and steamboat catastrophes. America must now hide its head ignominiously, for it has never yet achieved a balloon collision This was done at Paris on Sunday evening. Four balloons started for a race f rum the ground opposite to the Hospital of St. Louie, but they bad not attained any great altitude before two of them collided, with the result that one was so damaged that it fell into the grounds of the hospital. Happily, M. Rat, the aeronaut who was seated in the car of the torn balloon, diminished the shock by throwing out balast, and so probably escaped a violent death. It was very like Frenchmen to contrive to fall within the precincts of a hospital. It reminds one of their duels. So breve! Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools for Wake, Mr. William Williams, has just issued his report for 1886, which on the whole is very eatisfaotory. The attendance, though much lees than it might have been, still chews signs of improvement, and in taking a survey of the whole division, Mr. Williams is glad to be able to report that a large proportion of the total number of schools are in a high state of efficiency, that education is gradually improving and spreading, and that immense progress has been made since;the passing of the Act of 1870 In the analysis and comparison of the work done in the several districts, Swansea stands well out in the front rank. With Cardiff and Merthyr it t has a higher percentage of passes than any die, trict in Wales, and this the Inspector justly attributes to the facts that in each of these three  industrial centres, the children attend ;To; . regularly, end are under the instruction of a : superior clam of teachers. In the Aberystwyth district (where, by the way, the ' chief inspector himself resides) cookery is taught in ten and in Swansea in , ' eight sehuels. Mr Williams says that a difficulty was at first experienced in dispoeing of the dishes eoeked, but this has been found to disappear after a while. Dealing with the question of the utilization of the Welsh language in elementary schools, the chief inspector compares the opinions of two of his isolleaguee—ha. bre and Mr W. Edwards— the latter in favour and the former against the movement, but refrains himself from giving any direct decision. Still, Mr Williams seems to indicate that some system other than the . present ie necessary for the teaching of English, for he says that the bulk of the scholars in the r Welsh speaking districts pass through the , schools without acquiring sufficient koowlelge s of English to unleretand cr take pleasure is wading an English book.