541 
WALES (New South). 
Much Kentish wool used to be imported. Many farmers, 
however, employ wool of their own growth, and this pro¬ 
duces by far the best kind of cloth. The standard width of 
this article is seven-eighths of a yard ; the length of a piece, 
or what is emphatically styled a web, is about 200 yards : 
this consists of two ends, each 100 yards, thus divided for 
the conveniency of carriage. The quality is necessarily of 
various degrees. The market for this cloth was Shrews¬ 
bury ; but it is now little more than nominally so. A mar¬ 
ket, however, is regularly held every Thursday, in a great 
room belonging to the Drapers’ company, into which none 
but the members of that corporation are admitted. Small 
cloth is the produce of Denbighshire. It is entirely manu¬ 
factured within the parish of the Glynn, a large tract of 
country, including Llangollen and Corwen. There is no 
established factory for this article. Small cloth is about one- 
eighth of a yard narrower than strong cloth; its length is the 
same. This cloth is chiefly sold in a dyed state. Stock¬ 
ings, wigs, socks, gloves, and other small knit articles, are 
sold chiefly at Bala, being made in the town and neighbour¬ 
hood ; they are generally purchased by Welsh hosiers, who 
travel through the adjoining English counties, and supply 
the shops and warehouses; from the latter they are dispersed 
through the island. Stockings are of all colours, greys of 
various shades, white, blue, red, &c., which sell from six to 
nine shillings per dozen. Very considerable manufactures 
of cottons and cotton twist have been established in the 
counties of Flint and Denbigh, the principal of which are 
at Northop, Greenfield, Sceiviog, Newmarket, and Denbigh. 
Numerous manufactures of copper, iron, lead, tin-plates, &c., 
have been set up both in North and South Wales. The 
commerce of Wales may justly be considered at present in 
its infancy, being chiefly confined to the coasting trade. 
Except Caernarvon and Swansea, which have lately extended 
their views to Spain, Portugal, and the West Indies; few of 
the Welsh ports possess vessels of very considerable tonnage, 
though no part of the island contains a greater proportion 
of harbours and roads, some of which are safe and good, 
and more might soon be made such, by the building of piers 
and other improvements, which are obvious at the respective 
places. For there is no reason to doubt, but were the pub¬ 
lic attention paid to this manifest scheme for enriching the 
principality', that it would be found very practicable to sup¬ 
ply the defects of nature in many instances by art, so as to 
Tender several of the Welsh havens, now barred by choaking 
sands, capable of receiving ships of burden. 
The Welsh have many strange customs and peculiar super¬ 
stitions. They have a firm belief in supernatural spirits, 
such as witches, fairies, and other existences of this nature ; 
and in many houses there is some charm or defence against 
these venomous spirits. These superstitions are the conse¬ 
quence of ignorance, and by some are supposed to be con¬ 
nected with the wild mountain scenery of the country, 
which is calculated to give rise to gloomy and romantic no¬ 
tions. Hence the same notions are said to prevail among the 
inhabitants of all mountainous countries. The Welsh are 
also remarkably fond of poetry and music; and their lan¬ 
guage is said to be peculiarly adapted to poetical effusions. 
The ancient language of Wales is, however, getting fast into 
disuse through the principality, more especially the southern 
part- The gentry of the country are principally educated 
in England, and consequently few of them speak it, and 
many of them wish for its extermination. The example of 
the higher classes is become contagious; and ere long the 
language and manners of Cambria will by approximation 
coalesce with those of the inhabitants to the east of the 
Severn. Family distinction is held in great estimation in 
Wales. Pride of ancestry was reckoned a delicate and essen¬ 
tial point among the ancient Britons. So deeply was this 
principle rooted, that even the lowest classes of the people 
carefully preserved the direct and collateral descents of their 
families, and were in general able from memory, not only to 
recite the names of their proximate progenitors, but to trace 
their various relations back through numerous generations: 
Von. XXIV. No. 1655. 
and this principle is still cherished in modern Wales. 
Wales sends twenty-four members to parliament, viz., one 
for each county, and one for the principal town in each 
county, except that of Merioneth, in the room of which, two 
towns in the county of Pembroke send one member each. 
The principality of Wales was long an independent and 
separate sovereignty from England; and it is strongly marked 
out by nature as a detached district, being an almost con¬ 
tinued range of mountains more or less wild and lofty, and 
intersected by valleys more or less extensive and fertile. The 
language, manners, and customs are also widely different 
from those of England. The ancient internal dimensions of 
Wales have been contracted, by taking from it the whole 
county of Monmouth, and a part of several of the adjacent 
English counties. In point of population and fertility, the 
district of South Wales has by far the superiority over the 
North; and although the whole is very mountainous, its 
produce is fully sufficient for its abstemious inhabitants. 
Wales was originally peopled by the Ordovires and the 
Silures, who were subdued by the Romans. The ancient 
Britons having been driven from their homes by the Saxons, 
it was soon after divided into six regions, each having their 
own king, till the year 843, when Roderic the Great became 
the sole monarch of Wales. At his death it was divided 
among his three sons, and called North Wales, South Wales, 
and Powis Land; but the latter portion was soon swallowed 
up and divided among the other two. Llewellyn ap Gryf- 
fyth was the last prince who exerted himself in the independ¬ 
ence of Wales; he was subdued by Edward I., in 1285, and 
fell in the field of battle. From that time Wales has been 
annexed to the English crown ; but the union was not com¬ 
plete till the reign of Henry VIII., when the government and 
laws were formed agreeably to those of England. It is now 
under the province of York; the bishoprics of St. David’s, 
Bangor, Llandaff, and St. Asaph; and is divided into four 
circuits, viz., the Chester circuit, for the counties of Chester, 
Flint, Denbigh, and Montgomery ; the northern circuit, for 
Anglesey, Caernarvon, and Merioneth; the south-eastern 
circuit, for Radnor, Brecon, and Glamorgan ; and the south¬ 
western circuit, for Pembroke, Cardigan, and Caermarthen. 
WALES, a parish of England, North Riding of York¬ 
shire ; 8 miles south-south-east of Rotherham. 
WALES, a township of the United States, in Lincoln 
county, Maine. Population 471. 
WALES, a township of the United States, in Niagara 
county, New York. 
WALES, New South. In the article New Holland, 
we have given a full account of the history of this colony 
from its first settlement, until the year 1818. We noticed 
there how rapidly it was increasing in numbers, in prosperity, 
and even in morality; and we find the flattering prospects 
then opening to view, have been to a great extent realized. 
We cannot present our readers, perhaps, with a better view 
of the recent progress and present state of New South Wales, 
than by laying before them, 1st. A condensed account of 
the report made by Professor Bigge, in 1821; and, 2d. A 
summary of the conclusions derived from perusing the very 
excellent work of Mr. Cunningham, published this vear 
(1828). 
1st. According to Mr. Bigge’s report:—“The increase of 
inhabitants by births, owing to the great disproportion be¬ 
tween the males and females, has been very small since the 
commencement of the settlement, and must continue to be so 
till the sexes approach nearer to an equality than they do at 
resent. The whole number of convicts exported to New 
outh Wales and to Van Dieman’s Land, from the year 
1787 to 1820, was 22,217 males and 3661 females; and 
the present population of all the settlements in the latter year 
amounted only to 29,407 persons. The inhabitants of New 
South Wales, amounting to 23,939, are classed in the fol¬ 
lowing manner, viz., 1307 are persons who came to the co¬ 
lony as free settlers; 1409 are persons born in the settle¬ 
ment ; 3255 were become free by the expiration of the terms for 
which they had been sentenced; 159 had received absolute 
5 U pardons; 
