oyd George really ought to
apologize. Of course he did not do so.

It was when Lloyd George was twenty-five and was already a highly
popular figure throughout a large part of Wales that he sprang suddenly
into a wider notice and may be said to have had for the first time the
eyes of the whole country centered on him. Wales is a country of
Nonconformists who attend religious services in their own chapels and
do not--at least the great majority of them--belong to the Established
Church of England. The state Church, however, is implanted throughout
the country, and it is only to be expected that local friction should
sometimes arise.

In a village at the foot of Snowdon an old quarryman died, and before
he passed away expressed the wish that he should be laid by the side of
his daughter, who was buried in the graveyard of the Church of England.
The Church clergyman would not consent to the Nonconformist rites being
performed if the old man were buried where he desired to be. The old
man, he said, could not be placed by the side of his daughter, but must
be buried in a remote portion of the graveyard reserved for unknown
people and for suicides. The Nonconformists of the village were
outraged at the suggestion. They went to young Lloyd George and asked
his advice about the matter. Lloyd George plunged deep into legal
enactments, into the local conditions, and all the facts pertaining to
the case. Then he delivered a characteristic judgment. "You have the
right," he said, "to bury this man by the side of his daughter in the
churchyard. If the clergyman refuses you permission proceed with the
body to the graveyard. Take the coffin in by force, if necessary. If
the churchyard gates are locked against you, break them down." The
villagers faithfully followed the suggestion of the young lawyer. They
took the body to the churchyard--I believe Lloyd George accompanied
them--and they broke down the locked churchyard gates, dug a grave for
the old man by the side of his daughter, and buried him there. The
Church authorities were scandalized and an action at law was the
result. It was heard in the local county court before a judge and
jury. Lloyd George defended the villagers, and the jury, influenced by
his speech, returned a verdict in their favor. The judge, however,
said that Lloyd George was wrong on a point of law and decided the case
on the side of the Church. Lloyd George instantly said that the matter
cou