136 



Provincial Occurrences : Scotland and Ireland. Q JULY, 



woodland country eastward of Monmouth, com- 

 prising the Beaulieu Grove, Hadnock Wood, and 

 the crown property, have become a scene of devas- 

 tation by the ravages of blight. Thousands of oaks 

 which a few days since presented pleasing verdure 

 have been entirely stripped of their foliage, and 

 have become winter-like in appearance. The grub 

 has confined itself to the oak stores or trees ; and 

 when the top leaves of one tree are devoured, the 

 insects lower themselves by a fibrous web which 

 they spin, and ascend the next. There are few oaks 

 throughout the whole of these woods but what have 

 been visited by this destroyer of vegetation. The 

 oldest woodwards on this property do not remember 

 such destruction to the oak. 



SCOTLAND. A society has been formed at 

 Glasgow by several professional gentlemen, mer- 

 chants, and manufacturers, resident there and neigh- 

 bourhood, under the title of " The Glasgow Celtic 

 Society for promoting Literary and other Improve- 

 ments connected with the Highlands." Two of the 

 resolutions of the Society are as follbw : 1st, That, 

 for ascertaining the nature and extent of the im- 

 provement of the Gaelic languageVhich will be mosi 

 agreeable to the Highlanders generally, the Society 

 shall cordially invite the opinion or suggestions of 

 all those who take an interest in the matter, and 

 also give Prizes for Essays on the subject ; and shall 

 exert its energies to effect such improvement as, 

 after mature discussion and deliberation, appears 

 most expedient; and, 2d, That the efforts of the So- 

 ciety will likewise be exerted to promote Gaelic litera- 

 ture generally, and diffuse useful information among 

 the Highlanders, as well as to effect such other im- 

 provements connected with the Highlands as may 

 be deemed expedient. 



It is about 5 years since a Scottish Ladies' Society 

 for promoting Female Education in Greece was 

 formed, and from their Report it appears that they 

 had succeeded in putting their benevolent theory to 

 the test of experiment. Last spring they dispatched 

 Miss Robertson to Corfu as their agent, with in- 

 structions to commence operations in that island, 

 who, on consulting Sir Frederick Adam, the gover- 

 nor of the Ionian Archipelago, found that there were 

 two modes by which she might commence her la- 

 bours. One was by starting a school for the children 

 of the higher classes the other by opening a semi- 

 nary on the Lancasterian plan for those of lower 

 parentage. At the date of Miss Robertson's last 

 letter, her own school was in a flourishing state, 

 and her boarders were 40 in number. The Scottish 

 Ladies' Committee, though their funds were ex- 

 hausted, resolved to trust to the liberality of the 

 friends of education, and empowered the Rev. Mr. 

 Lowndes to continue the other school at their ex- 

 pense. Thus encouraged, he not only continued 

 his school at Potamo, but opened a new one in the 

 village of Castrades. The same gentleman has, more- 

 over, made arrangements for forming a foreign cor- 

 responding committee at Corfu, consisting of 3 En- 

 glish clergymen and 3 respectable Greeks. Hopes 

 are held out that the labours of the Society may be 

 equally successful in Cephalonia. 



June was ushered in with a shower of snow ! For 

 some days previous the weather was exceedingly 

 cold and boisterous, and in the Highlands the drift- 

 ing snow compelled the people who were busy casting 

 peats, in some places to leave the moors. The Ca- 

 ledonian coach drove upwards of 20 miles of the 

 road betwixt Blair and Inverness through snow; 

 and some of the higher range of the Grampians ap- 

 peared in the same covering. The unseasonableness 

 of the weather has not, however, affected the ap- 

 pearance of the crops. Potatoe-planting is every 



where finished, and the sowing pf Swedish tur- 

 nips is going actively forward. Perth Courier. 



WALES. The improvements introduced by the 

 march of mechanical intellect in the North of Eng- 

 land are rapidly extending themselves in this part of 

 the country. Last week an improved railway and 

 self-acting inclined plane, of nearly half a mile in. 

 length, were opened in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of Swansea, which appear to merit the inspec- 

 tion of the scientific and curious in these matters. 

 This inclined plane connects the Pentre Colliery, the 

 property of the Landore Colliery Company, with 

 the Swansea Canal, and has been formed at con- 

 siderable expense, the embankment being in some 

 parts above 20 feet high. 10 tons of coal are passed 

 at a time over the space of nearly half a mile in 2 

 minutes, being at the rate of 15 miles per hour. 

 Thus this simple arrangement would enable the 

 proprietors, if their demand required it, allowing 

 an interval of 3 minutes each time for casting off 

 and reconnecting the empty and full waggons, to 

 send down 120 tons of coal in an hour. The Cam- 

 brian. 



IRELAND. At no time was distress more pre- 

 valent in Ireland than at the present moment: , 

 pauperism and starvation are staring her in the 

 face. Potatoes, of the only description now eatable, 

 are tenpence a stone in Dublin market; and so 

 scarce and dear are they in all the country parts of 

 Ireland, that it is to be feared the poor will speedily 

 have to endure all the horrors of famine. The late 

 Meeting at the Dublin Mendicity Institution needs 

 neither note nor comment. It appears that the 

 funds of that Institution are reduced to two shil- 

 lings and sixpence, with nearly 3,000 unfortunate 

 beings totally dependent upon it for support! An 

 alarming rise in the price of oatmeal has like- 

 wise taken place. In Tipperary the peasantry are 

 actually famishing, so that provisions cannot be 

 conveyed from place to place without an armed 

 escort. All the fairs recently held have been mi- 

 serable failures. In Kerry and Clare many thousands 

 are indebted to charitable contributions for the 

 scanty sustenance they receive. In Sligo the di- 

 stress is said to equal that which prevailed in the 

 memorable summer of 1822. An Enniskillen Journal 

 says that nothing equal to the pressure of want and 

 distress felt at present by the poor of that town has 

 been experienced during the last fifteen years! 

 The Warder. 



At a Meeting of the Parishioners of St. Thomas's 

 Parish, Dublin, June 12, It was Resolved That 

 we, in common with our fellow-subjects of every 

 rank and persuasion, have learned with deep dis- 

 appointment and regret the avowed intention of 

 Government to force u pon this already impoverished 

 Country, in direct opposition to the interests, and 

 utterly regardless of the expressed feelings of its 

 People, a new, uncalled-for, and oppressive system 

 of Taxation, under the pretext of Assimilating 

 " The Duties of the United Kingdom," and that 

 too at a time when they have relieved the fostered 

 and therefore wealthy and flourishing portion of the 

 Empire of Taxes to the amount of upwards of 

 Three Millions. The Warder. 



With sincere satisfaction we have been informed 

 that the Protestant Colonization Society has taken 

 a large tract of land, consisting, as we have heard, 

 of about 12,000 acres, from Sir Edward Hayes*, 

 Bart., situated near Stranorlar, county Donegal, 

 at 3s. per acre, and of such a description that bul- 

 locks might graze on most part of it ; and we hear 

 a considerable portion of it is occupied in that way 

 at present The Warder. 



