... A LOCAL OFFICER'S OPINION. Replying to a question of a correspondent re th* Volunteer forces Captain J. M. Davev, who commands No. 5 Company of the 1st &.V.A. at Briton Ferry, says :—I consider that the Volunteer forces of this country contain material which, if properly cared for, would make a most useful addition to the military strength of our country. I cannot help seeing that as it is at ...

... NSW YORK PRICES. [Renter's Telegrams.1 Now York, Thursday.—The depression on the Stock Exchange was reflected in sharp declines on the opening of the market here to-day, though losses in International Stocks did not reach Lon- don parity. The market, however, hardened immediately, but soon afterwards became irregu- lar and unsettled. London sold between 15,000 and 20,000 of various ...

... A serious accident WAS averted by the smart- ness of a pointsman at Pontrhydyfen, on Sunday, in turning into a siding a runaway portion of a gMds train. The trocks were overturned and wrecked, but had they been allowed to run down to Port Talbot the damage would have been much more serious. ...

... THE DIN OF THE ftJGELA FIGHT. LADYSMITH 'EXPECTANT. (Press Association War Special.) LADYSMITH, December 14th, via Pietermaritzburg, December 19th. Since the capture of a Boer howitzer battery on the 10th the enemy's artillery has been fairly quiet, an4 no further casualties have occurred. There was great excitement here yesterday when heavy cannonading was heard in the direction of Colenso, ...

... TRANSPORTS. ARRIVED AND EN The Tintagel Castle, with 1,300 troops, includ- ing the 2nd Battalion Worcester Regiment, left Las Palmas on Saturday for Cape Town. The Canada, with the 1st Battalion South Lan- cashire Regiment and drafts, arrived at Durban on Saturday. The Algeria left Cape Town for Durban on; Saturday with the 6rd Battery Field Artillery. The Admiralty reports that the Maplemoore ...

... 1-MThe TauiSTiiii.—If war isnb ont life wOlbef .destroyed. ColerrKvnV Wincarnls preserves life' t It is made with Port Wine, Liebig's Extract of Meat, a and Extract of Malt, and is tbe finest tonic and* rest,orative in the world. 6,000 medical men say to.. Coleman & Co., Ltd., Norwich aud London. Sample bottle sent free on receipfcof fall .postal address Elus t It is made with Port Wine, ...

... A Paris correspondent writes :—A luench gentleman named Auguste Lanfroy, who had just returned from Klondike, WAS on Tuesday the victim of an ingenious robbery. On landing at Bordeaux he picked up acquaint- ance with ? fellow-traveller giving the name of Adrien Costes. The latter persuaded M Lan- froy to accompany him to 'Paris. On Sunday night, after dinner at a restaurant, the new friends ...

... SOUTH WALES COAL rHADB. OWNERS' ASSOCIATION. MESSRS GLASBROOK NOT ADMITTED INTO MEMBERSHIP. THE BUTE AND LEWIS MERTHYR COLLIERIES. A meeting of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coalowners'Association was held yesterday at the offices of the association, Cardiff, Mr H. W. Martin, the chairman, presiding. The busi- ness was principally cf a routine character. A large number of claims for ...

... HOUSING OF THE WORKING CLASSES. BY MABON, M P. Says the Routh Wales Daily Neics :—The proper housing of the poorer sections of the iu. dustrial classes has become a question of serioas unrest. Yes, of all the conditions affecting the life and welfare of the community, there is not one which is of more vital importance than the houses in which the masses of our people live, and especially in ...

... LONDON LETTER. LONDON, Tuesday Night. A STRIKING CHANGE. Boxing Day has scarcely maintained its festive I traditions this year. The streets of London were I almost deserted in the earlier hours of the day, ana they were not much basier at night. Old stagers say that the absence of animation, which is now one of the most marked features of a general holiday in the capital, has been becoming ...

... (From Our Special War Correspondent.) CHIEVELEY CAMP, Dec. 20, 2.30 p.m. Two naval gans were in action again this morn. ing against the enemy's trenches for an hour and a half. It is impossible to tell the result. Our patrols were fired on last night from Amhlangana Hill on our right flank and on the south side of the Tugela. It i3 believed that the Boers are in consider- able strength there, ...

... (Central News Telegram.) SIMONSTOWN, Dec. 21st, 4 p.m. News has just reached the naval Commander- in-Chief that one of the patrolling cruisers has captured another ship laden with various stores for the Transvaal Government. The prise has been taken to Port Elizabeth. ...