368 



Provincial Occurrences : Wales and Scotland. [[MARCH, 



its agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and 

 mines the overwhelming mass of taxation now 

 becoming intolerable, and the regret of the pe- 

 titioners at finding his Majesty's ministers treat- 

 ing with indifference the distress of the country, 

 &c. &c. 



The petition for the repeal of the malt tax, 

 adopted at the meeting held at Cardiff, on the 

 16th ult.,has received upwards of 700 signatures, 

 comprising nearly all the respectable farmers in 

 the vale of this county. 



A meeting for the purpose of petitioning par- 

 liament for a repeal of the Malt and Beer Du- 

 ties, was held in the town hall at Narberth, Pem- 

 brokeshire. After expatiating on the distresses of 

 the country in general, but more especially on 

 those felt by the inhabitants of the county of 

 Pembroke, which the Chairman shewed clearly 

 arose from over-taxation, a resolution was car- 

 ried to petition both Houses of Parliament for a 

 total repeal of the Malt and Beer Duties. 



SCOTLAND. Public meetings are still taking 

 place in various parts of the country, with the 

 vie'V of devising some means for alleviating, if 

 possible, the distresses under which the indus- 

 trious classes, particularly those engaged in ma- 

 nufactures, are at present labouring. An univer- 

 sal, but we sincerely hope only transitory para- 

 lysis, appears to have smitten the whole body of 

 our industry; and from Truro to Kirkwall one 

 cry of distress and suffering has been raised. 

 A meeting was lately called at Renfrew, for the 

 purpose of considering the present distressed 

 state of the landed, manufacturing, and trading 

 interests ; and, after several gentlemen had de- 

 livered their sentiments, a set of resolutions, em- 

 bodying the views of the meeting, both in refer- 

 ence to the extent of the depression under which 



* The Hon. L. Kenyon said : " If people in high 

 places found it convenient to slur over the dis- 

 tresses and sufferings of the people, the people 

 themselves should lay their griefs before their 

 representatives as became freemen and British 

 subjects; the distress was universal: it did not 

 affect the working classes alone, but was extend- 

 ing to all the other classes ; throughout the, em- 

 pire one general cry of distress prevailed, and that 

 too after fourteen years of peace!" Mr. Mather 

 said : " it was impossible the country could go on 

 with the present taxation and the present prices. 

 As a proof that the revenue was rapidly declining, 

 he need only mention the fact that in his last ride 

 in this district, the collector of excise did not re- 

 ceive as many hundreds as he ought to have re- 

 ceived thousands. He was very glad to see that 

 the higher classes were at length alive to the dis- 

 tress among the lower, and now that it was fast 

 approaching their own doors, he hoped they would 

 exercise that weight and influence which they 

 possessed with the legislature in calling aloud for 

 a remedy !" Sir J. Williams, Bart, stated, that 

 in conseauence of the low price of ore, 400 men 

 employed in the works in which he was concerned 

 were discharged, and the mine shut up! ! ! This 

 evil he attributed to " free trade," without re- 

 ciprocity, or rather with the reciprocity all on 

 one side! Sir E. P. Lloyd, M.P. congratulated 

 the county upon the assemblage of the most 

 wealthy and intelligent of its gentry then before 

 him, and upon the alacrity with which they had 

 answered the call of their High Sheriff on this 

 important occasion. The petition would have his 

 most cordial support in parliament, and that of 

 their excellent county member also (Sir Thomas 

 Mostyn), which the hon. Bart, had intimated to 

 him in a letter that day. 



these interests were labouring, and the means 

 necessary to be adopted for affording relief, were 

 unanimously agreed to. In the course of his 

 Speech, Sir William M. Napier, of Napier, in 

 order to show the necessity for the adoption of 

 measures of relief, caused the clerk to read a let- 

 ter, which he had received from Kilbarchan. 

 (dated Feb. 3), from Messrs. Semple, Young, and 

 Crawford, master manufacturers of that place. 

 It stated, "that tor the last four months their 

 men (operative weavers), earned no more than 

 5s. per week, subject to such deductions as 

 mountings, dressing, beaming, oil, candle, fire, 

 &c., which amount to no less than about Is. 9d. 

 per week. Alas, then I what must become of the 

 poor operative weaver, with his wife and chil- 

 dren, having ouly 3s. 3d. nett money to subsist 

 upon for a whole week !!!" Worth Briton. 



His Majesty has been pleased to grant a charter 

 to the Royal Bank of Scotland, on the authoriz- 

 ing an addition of .500,000. to the capital, to be 

 paid up within five years. When the last addi- 

 tion of .500,000 was made to the capital of the 

 Bank, it was divided amongst the proprietors, and 

 the whole sum paid from the undivided profits, 

 without the proprietors being called on for any 

 part of it. North Briton. 



IRELAND. Extracts from a Pastoral Ad- 

 dress just put forth by the Catholic Bishops to the 

 Clergy and Laity of Ireland : " .... Only last 

 year, and this country was agitated from end to 

 end, and from its extremities to its very centre. 

 The dominion of the passions prevailed over the 

 dominion of the law ; and men born to love each 

 other, contended to almost the shedding of each 

 other's blood ; the public interests were neglected 

 or forgotten ; the ties of kindred were broken ; the 

 power of government was weakened, the laws 

 themselves were paralysed, and religion, which 

 used to silence passion, and consolidate the pub- 

 lic peace, was unable freely to discharge her func- 

 tions. It was at this time that He, by whom Kings 

 reign and legislators decree just things, arose, and. 

 as it were, said to the sea, < Be still, and to the 

 north wind, do not blow.' Our gracious and be- 

 loved Sovereign, walking in the footsteps of his 

 Royal Father (whose memory be ever cherished!) 

 commiserated the state of Ireland, and resolved to 

 confer upon her the inestimable blessing of reli- 

 gious peace. This great boon became the more 

 acceptable to this country, because, among the 

 counsellors of his Majesty, there appeared con- 

 spicuous the most distinguished of Ireland's own 

 sons a hero and a legislator a man selected by 

 the Almighty to break the rod which hadsconrg' 

 ed Europe a man raised up by Providence to 

 confirm thrones^ to re-establish altars, to direct 

 the councils of England at a crisis the most 

 difficult, and to staunch the blood and heal th 

 wounds of the country which gave him birth HI 

 . . 4 An enlightened and wise Parliament perfected 

 what the Sovereign and his counsellors com- 

 menced, and already the effects of their wisdom 

 and justice are visible and duly appreciated by 

 all the wise and good! The storm which almost 

 wrecked the country has subsided, whilst social 

 order, with peace and justice in her train, pre- 

 pares to establish her sway in this long-distracted 

 country !!!" 



