472 



Provincial Occurrences : Scotland and Ireland. APRIL, 



clouds ; but when a poor man speaketh, 

 they say, ' What fellow is this ?' 

 The humble Petition of the Labouring 

 Poor of the Parish of Gednejs in the 

 County of Lincoln, Sheweth, That al- 

 though the truth of out motto be (gene- 

 rally speaking) true, yet we are en- 

 couraged, from the consideration of 

 having a patriotic King, and a change 

 of Ministers, to look up to your Honour- 

 able House with humble confidence that 

 our grievances (when stated) will be 

 redressed. Owing to the extreme pres- 

 sure of the times, our wages are now 

 insufficient to support us, and our fire- 

 side comforts are all gone. We have 

 frequently brought the subject home to 

 our employers, and they have told us to 

 be patient ; and our minister has also 

 preached patience to us from the pulpit ; 

 but, alas I our patience is exhausted. 

 Our masters tell us that they cannot 

 afford us more wages, as the taxes press 

 heavily upon their shoulders, and the 

 tithes are breaking their backs. We 

 verily believe their statement is true. 

 Had they plenty of money, \ve should 

 all be wanted in the fields ; for, although 

 the land is of excellent quality, yet from 

 want of sufficient culture, and having 

 too many crops in succession, ' thistles 

 grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead 

 of barley !' Some of our elders tell us, 

 that, when they were young, and went 

 to hedge, or ditch, or mow, or thresh, 

 their countenances were healthy, and 

 their hearts light, and that they even 

 whistled as they went to their work ; 

 but now, instead of whistling, or singing, 

 or joking, nothing is heard amongst us 

 save the loud lament ! - Our fathers 

 would often drink the health of their 

 good old King, George the Third, in a 

 pint of home-brewed ale ; whilst some 

 of us, who have large families, are 

 obliged, even when the sweat is falling 

 from the brow, to slake our thirst with 

 a little herb tea, and not unfrequently 

 from the stagnant and filthy ditch. 

 Such being generally the case in this the 

 most luxuriant part of the great county 

 of Lincoln, we implore your Honourable 

 House to take our distressed circum- 

 stances into your immediate considera- 

 tion, and if it be possible, to take off all 

 the taxes upon the necessaries of life, 

 and abolish the tithes; and your poor 

 but honest petitioners will then shout, 

 with heart and voice, ' Huzza ! Old 

 England for ever !' " 



WILTS 17 prisoners were recorded 

 for death at these assizes, and several 

 transported. 



GLOUCESTERSHIRE. By the 



report read at the last annual meeting 

 of the Bristol Savings' Bank, it appears 

 that the sum of 274,725. 9s. 5d., had 



been received from its institution up to 

 Nov. 20, last; contributed by 6,172 

 depositoi-s, including 95 charities and 

 friendly societies. 



OXFORDSHIRE. At the assizes 

 for this county, there were 47 in the 

 calendar for machine-breaking, of whom 

 12 were transported, 18 imprisoned, and 

 17 discharged on bail and acquitted. 

 Death recorded against 7- 



BERKS At these assizes 12 pri- 

 soners were recorded for death, and a 

 few transported- and imprisoned. 



HANTS. At Winchester assizes 11 

 prisoners received sentence of death, 

 and a few were transported and im- 

 prisoned. 



SUSSEX. The sum of 64,308. 9d. 

 was expended last year from June 30 to 

 Dec. 31, by the commissioners for the 

 better regulating, paving, improving, 

 and managing the town of Brighton, 

 and the poor thereof. 



Mr. Baron Graham in addressing the 

 grand jury at Lewes Assizes, said, " in 

 the present calendar there is, I am most 

 happy to say, no case of burning, no case 

 of rioting or tumult, none of machine- 

 breaking, nor even of robbery, except 

 two in November last." 7 prisoners 

 were left for death. 



RUTLANDSHIRE. At these as- 

 sizes, the following address to the grand 

 jury was delivered by Lord Lyndliurst : 

 " Gentlemen, I congratulate you that, 

 in times like the present, the calendar 

 for this county presents but one case for 

 your consideration, and that not a case 

 requiring any assistance from me, I 

 have nothing further to say." 



DORSETSHIRE. At the assizes 

 held at Dorchester, 4 prisoners were re- 

 corded for death, 8 transported, and a 

 few imprisoned. 



WALES. There was not a single 

 cause for trial at Montgomery assizes. 

 The judge in addressing the grand jury 

 said, " he was happy to find by the ca- 

 lendar that the county was more free 

 from recent enormities than any other 

 county ; there were only 10 prisoners 

 for trial, and they were for minor of- 

 fences." There was neither cause nor 

 prisoner at Merionethshire assizes. 



IRELAND. The state of the county 

 Clare was thus spoken of by Judge Jebb 

 in his charging the grand jury at Ennis 

 at the late assizes : " The melancholy 

 and appalling condition of this county- 

 is a subject which should be well pon- 

 dered upon. If I were to analyse the 

 calendar, I am sorry to say I could not 

 give you an adequate picture of the 

 extent and enormity of crime contained 

 in it." 



