educates its constituency and brings its wisdom to bear upon a number
of practical questions, such as cottage gardens and fairs.



CHAPTER XXV--THE WALES OF TO-DAY



The most striking characteristic of the Wales of to-day is its unity-
-self-conscious and self-reliant. The presence of this unity is felt
by all, though it may be explained in different ways. It cannot be
explained by race; for the population of the west midlands and the
north of England, possibly of the whole of it, have been made up of
the same elements. It cannot be explained by language--nearly one
half of the Welsh people speak no Welsh. Some attribute it to the
inexorable laws of geography and climate, others to the fatalism of
history. Others frivolously put it down to modern football. But no
one who knows Wales is ignorant of it.

The modern unity of the Welsh people--seen occasionally in a function
of the University, or at a national Eisteddvod, or in a conference of
the County Councils--has become a fact in spite of many difficulties.

One difficulty has been the absence of a capital. The office of the
University and the National Museum are at Cardiff, in the extreme
south; the National Library is at Aberystwyth, on the western sea.
The thriving industries, the densely populated districts, and the
frequent and active railways, are in the extreme south or in the
extreme north; and they are separated by five or six shires of