Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

all too often, sheer prejudice which led him to write nonsense. He described the Welsh language as 'a provincial patois', while the Act of Union 'was, politically, the greatest blessing that has ever been conferred upon Wales'. Church leaders could hardly have been pleased to learn from a reading of The Church in Wales that: 'As to the prevailing war mentality of Wales, much of the credit is due to the influence exerted by the Church'. Such naive honesty must have been embarrassing. Morgan's favourite bogey was 'narrow, exclusive, insular, and divisive' Welsh nationalism, which he liked to discuss as 'Welsh nationality'. His views on this subject have an interesting contemporary ring. In general politics, Morgan was imperialist and conservative-he talked of the 'despotism' of Socialism and Syndicalism-even his attitude to Disestablishment was equivocal, tending to the unfavourable. Morgan's last book, The Welsh Mind in Evolution, was published shortly after the formation of the committee which later produced the 1927 Board of Education report Welsh in Education and Life, and he seized the opportunity to criticise the committee 'chiefly for the reason that there is no sort of representation of the English element in contemporary Welsh life'. He suggested that the committee was prejudiced in favour of the compulsory teaching of Welsh and Chapter V of the book, 'The Psychology of the Welsh Language', was obviously written with the forthcoming investigation in mind. His view of bilingualism was that 'not only does it weaken the sense of national solidarity, but it produces perversions and corruptions in both languages; it is an educational waste'. Morgan's oft-repeated discussions of the nature of language were confused-he was unable to free himself from Victorian modes of thought on this subject-but he was quite clear in his opinion that 'For Welsh Wales there is no future. But that Wales will be better off, socially, commercially, and intellectually, is unquestionable'. There is no mention of Vyrnwy Morgan's work in the 1927 Report. However, one cannot but wonder at the energy with which Morgan pressed home his attacks on anything which strengthened Welsh individuality. Indeed, one is tempted to say that he himself was individualistic to the point of perversity. His uncomplimentary study of the 1904 Revival was a bold stroke, published as it was a mere five years after the Revival, and it was unusual, to say the least, for a Noncomformist minister to write such a book as The Church in Wales. His contemporary essay on Lloyd George (The War and Wales, Ch. VII) retains considerable interest, as does his biography of Viscount Rhondda, referred to by William George in Cymru Fydd. Unfortunately, Morgan was always looking for an opportunity to denigrate Welsh characteristics and aspirations and his blatant, uncritical partisanship, although a fascinating personal feature, is probably the main reason why he never obtained the literary recognition he sought so assiduously. A collection of letters in the Cardiff Public Library from Vyrnwy Morgan and his second wife, Margaret, to Ifano Jones, shows that Ifano gave Morgan a great deal of help with the writing of most of the books he produced after returning to Wales from America. Morgan paid Ifano to read and revise his work and he often rewrote chapters on Ifano's advice, incorporating many of his suggestions. Ifano also corrected proofs, prepared specifications and estimates for printers, and gave advice on the type of paper, print and binding to be used. It is interesting to note that the Cardiff librarian was paid two pounds for his article on Dan Isaac Davies in Welsh Political Leaders, and that when a certain Miss Davies (Dan Isaac Davies's daughter?) told Vyrnwy Morgan that John Ballinger should have written the article, Morgan wrote to say: 'I told her that Ballinger was a baby compared to you, both in native ability and in knowledge of Welsh matters.' We learn, too, from these letters that Vyrnwy Morgan found it difficult to make ends meet as a writer. He had to travel a good deal to solicit orders for his books and this, together with poor health, added much to the burdens of authorship. On December 10, 1908, he wrote to Ifano asking again for help with his book The Welsh Revival of 1904: 'This is the most critical book of my life, hence my importunity and anxiety on these points. I will send another five shillings. God knows I am as impecunious as an Arab, and my heart is not mean.' His wife told Ifano that she had spent over £ 500 of her capital 'to help Dr. Morgan in his literary works', and that her husband had twice received help from the Royal Literary Fund. Late in 1921, H. Stuart Jones, who wrote the foreword to The War and Wales, suggested that Morgan should make a request for a Civil List Pension. In