BRIE-COMTE'- ROBERT, a town of France, dép. Seine et Marne, cap. cant., near the Yères, 10 m. N.N.W. Melun. Pop. 2,725. It was built by Robert of France, count of Dreux, to whom his brother Louis VII. gave the lordship of Brie. Its old feudal castle has been demolished. The parish church, founded in the 13th century, is remarkable for the height of its tower. The Hotel Dieu is nearly of the same age as the church. (Hugo, art. Seine et Marne.)

BRIEG, a fortified town of the Prussian states, prov. Silesia, cap. circ., on the Oder, about half way between Breslau and Oppeln. Pop. 11,500. It is situated on an elevated bank of the river, over which it has a wooden bridge, and is well built and thriving. Principal public buildings, a gymnasium, formerly a university, to which is attached a good library, a lunatic asylum, with several churches and hospitals. It has extensive manufactures of linens, woollens, cottons, hats, &c., and carries on a considerable trade.

races were established here in 1807, and are kept up with
great spirit. (Hugo, art. Cotes-du-Nord.)
BRIGHTON, formerly BRIGHTĤELM-
STONE, a marit. town and parl. bor. of Eng-
land, co. Sussex, rape Lewes, hund. Wells-bourne,
vulg. Whales-bone, 47 m. S. London. This mo-
dern Baia is situated on the coast of the British
Channel, between Beachy Head and Selsey Bill.
Pop. in 1821, 24,429; in 1841, 48,567: inhab.
houses, in 1841, 8,482. It is of an irregular
shape, and is built along the shore, on the sides of
a gentle valley, the centre of which, the Steine,
forms a long slip of land, lying N. and S.
only buildings in this valley, which divides the
town into the E. and W. portions, are the palace,
and St. Peter's Church, recently built. The whole
of the town E. of the Steine, has been built
within the last 60 or 70 years. Along the cliffs,
which in this part rise high above the sea, has

The

BRIEL or BRIELLE, a fortified sea-port town of the Netherlands, prov. S. Holland, cap. arrond., on the N. shore of the island of Voorn, near the mouth of the Maese, 13 m. W. Rotterdam; lat. 51° 54′ 11" N., long 4° 9′ 51′′ E. Pop. 4,200. It is a handsome well-built town; is strongly fortified, has a good harbour, a tri-been formed the finest marine promenade in the bunal of primary jurisdiction, and sends a deputy to the world. A wall of immense thickness (at the states of the province. foundation 30 ft. wide), and from 60 to 70 ft. The Briel is remarkable in Dutch history for being high, formed of concrete, protects a fine pavethe place where the first foundation of the republic may be said to have been laid. The exiles from the ment, and a road upwards of 100 feet in width. Netherlands, who had taken refuge in England from the From the extreme entrance of the town at the E., persecutions of the Duke of Alva, were ordered by this splendid marine drive and promenade is Queen Elizabeth, in consequence of the urgent repre-occupied to the Steine by large mansions, and sentations of Alva, to leave this kingdom. Being thus driven to despair, they assembled a small fleet at Dover, under the command of William de Lumney, Count de la Marck, and resolved, if possible, to get possession of some place of strength in their native country. Their original intention was to make an attempt on Enchuysen: but the wind being unfavourable, they cast anchor before Briel, of which they took possession on the 1st of April, 1572. Thus was struck the first blow in that apparently most unequal and long-continued struggle between Holland and Spain, that ended in the independence of the former; a struggle which, whether we consider the sacrifices and perseverance of the weaker party, or the beneficial consequences of their success, is, perhaps, the most extraordinary and important of which history has preserved any account. (For an account of the capture of Briel, see Watson's Philip II.. i. p. 427. 8vo. ed.)

Briel was the birth-place of the heroic Admiral Van Tromp, who fell in an engagement with the English, BRIENNE-LE-CHATEAU, a town of France, dép. Aube, cap. cant., on the great road from Paris to Chaumont, 15 m. N.W. Bar-sur-Aube. Pop. 2,002. The town has a fine castle, erected a short while previously to the Revolution, by the minister Lomenie de Brienne. It stands on an artificial plateau, and commands an extensive view. But the place derives almost its entire celebrity from its connection with the imperishable name of Napoleon. The great captain received the first rudiments of his warlike education in a military academy that formerly existed in this town, but which was suppressed in 1790; and here, in 1814, in an engagement with the Russians and Prussians, he was in imminent danger. (Hugo, art. Aube, &c.)

under Blake, off the Texel, on the 8th of Aug., 1653.

lodging-houses of the first description. Along this line is situated Kemp Town, and its squares, a splendid range, forming 3 sides of a quadrangle, and having a row of houses, of similar architectural character, diverging from either extremity: the spacious area in front is laid out in walks, &c., and has an arched passage communicating with the beach, the crescent, and various spacious streets, opening from the line of cliff to the northward. West of the Steine is the old town, consisting principally of old and irregular buildings. Many of these have, however, been pulled down, and on the sites of some of them, a new market was constructed in 1829, and a town hall in 1831; but the hall, though large, and making a good appearance externally, is in bad taste and ill contrived within. In every direction around the old town (excepting of course the sea side), new streets and squares have been erected; particularly along the line of cliff, called the King's Road, to Hove, where, facing the sea, but adjoining Brighton, a fine range, called Brunswick Terrace and Square, has been built. The cliffs, in this part of the town, rise only a few feet above the highest part of the beach: in their front is a fine promenade, and, below this, a level space of green sward reaching down to within a very short distance of the sea. On the Lewes road are, Hanover Crescent, Richmond Terrace, and the Grand Parade on the London road, York and St. George's Places, and many structures in the cottage style. royal palace, called the Pavilion, was begun by George IV. when Prince of Wales, in 1784, and finally completed in 1827; it is in the oriental style, and copied from the Kremlin at Moscow; its stone front extends 200 ft.; it has a circular building in the centre, surmounted by a pillared dome. The Chapel Royal is on the W., and behind is a circular range of stables in the Arabian style, lighted by a glass dome: it is excluded from the view of the sea by the buildings of Castle Square; and little can be said in favour of the taste displayed in its erection. The old church is a spacious structure, partly in the ornamented and partly in the later Gothic style, with a square tower; it crowns a hill 150 ft. above the sea, and serves as a landmark for vessels. St. Peter's church, serving as a chapel learned whether it has since recovered. The coast of case to the last, an elegant Gothic structure, fishery is still carried on to a considerable extent. Horse-built in 1827, at the public expense, has upwards

handsome stone structure of three arches.

There are

BRIEUC(ST), a sea-port town of France, dép. Côtesdu-Nord, of which it is the capital, on the Gouet, near its embouchure in the Bay of St. Brieuc, 38 m. W. S. W. St. Malo; lat. 48° 31′ 2′′ N., long. 2° 43′ 55" E. Pop. 11.382. Its port, at the mouth of the river at the village of Ligoué, has a handsome quay, and a commodious harbour, accessible to vessels of 350 tons. The town is pretty well built. The cathedral, a Gothic edifice, was begun in 1220, and finished in 1234; there are, also, a hôtel de ville, an hospital on a large scale, a workhouse, a theatre, &c. The bridge over the river is a some good squares and fine promenades. St. Brieuc is the seat of a bishopric, and of tribunals of primary jurisdiction and commerce; and it has a departmental college, a diocesan seminary with 160 pupils, a school of arts, and a public library with 24,000 volumes. There are in the town fabrics of linen, serge, flannel, paper, &c., with tanneries and breweries. The inhabitants used to employ a considerable number of ships in the whale and cod fisheries, particularly the latter." In 1928, for example, they had engaged in the cod-fishery 47 ships, of the burden of 8,090 tons, manned by 2,610 seamen, who brought home 4,669,200 kilog. of cod, &c., worth 1,845,405 fr. But it would seem, from the statements of Hugo, that in the interval between 1828 and 1833, this important business had very rapidly declined, and we have not

The

of 1,100 free sittings. Besides these, and the Royal Chapel, there are 7 others connected with the established worship, 3 occupied by Independents, 2 by Particular Baptists; a Catholic chapel, a new and elegant building in Upper St. James' Street, containing a fine specimen of sculpture from the chisel of Mr. Carew; and chapels for the Scotch Seceders, Friends, and Wesleyan and Whitfield Methodists: there is also a Jewish synagogue. There are numerous free schools, supported by subscription or endowments; of which the principal are, the Blue Coat Schools, one for clothing and educating boys, and one for girls; a government school for the children of fishermen; the Union School, supported by the various dissenting sects; with orphan, national, and infant schools. The County Hospital, a large and well supported establishment, is contiguous to the town. There are baths of all kinds, constructed with the utmost regard to comfort and convenience, as well as numerous bathing machines, and a spa, about half a mile W. of the town, where there is a chalybeate spring, in considerable repute; the building is in the cottage style.

The German Spa is delightfully situated in a valley facing the sea, at the foot of the Row Hill. It was established in 1826, for the preparation of artificial mineral waters, in imitation of the natural springs at Carlsbad, Ems, Marienbad, Pyrmont, &c.

Six almshouses for decayed widows were erected in 1795, on the Lewes road, opposite the Royal Gardens, by two sisters, of the name of Percy.

:

returning 2 members to the H. of C. parl. constit., in 1842-43, 2,601. The parochial affairs are managed by directors and guardians, and the affairs of the town, lighting, &c., by commissioners; but the principal conservator of the peace is the High Constable. Magistrates of the county hold sittings at the Town Hall every day, and petty sessions every Monday and Thursday.

Brighton is by some considered to be the spot where Cæsar landed; a notion for which there is no good foundation, and which probably originated in the numerous Roman remains, coins, &c., found in the vicinity. For some centuries it was a mere fishing village, and was frequently attacked and plundered by the French; to prevent which, Hen. VIII. erected some fortifications, which were strengthened and extended by Eliz. In 1665, and again in 1669, irruptions of the sea destroyed a large part of the town, and inundated an extensive tract adjoining; again, in the years 1703-5-6, the fortifications were undermined, and the place threatened with total destruction. In the reign of Geo. II. Brighton first came into some repute as a sea-bathing place, through the writings of Dr. Russell, an eminent physician of that day. In 1760 the chalybeate spring was observed, which tended to increase its growing popularity. No doubt, however, it is principally indebted for its rapid rise, and for the high rank it has long continued to hold among watering and fashionable places, to the zealous and continued patronage of Geo. IV. when Prince of Wales, and when regent and sovereign. It has nearly quadrupled its population in the course of the present century; and the advantages it enjoys in its situation, and in its being the nearest port on the S. coast to London, may, perhaps, insure its prosperity, even though it should cease to be an object of royal favour.

Its

West

Every class of visiters finds suitable accommodations here, in furnished lodgings, inns, and hotels; of all which there is every variety, from those of the most superb and expensive character, to the plainest and most economical. The theatre is small and ill-contrived; but the public assembly rooms, at the Old Ship Hotel, are fitted up in the BRIGNOLLES, a town of France, dép. Var, cap. most splendid style. The Royal Gardens, N. of arrond., on the Carami, 22 m. N.N.E. Toulon. Pop. the town, are devoted to various amusements, and 5,652. It is neat and well built, and is finely situated in a fertile basin, surrounded with high wooded hills. comprise a good cricket-ground. On the Downs principal ornament is its magnificent public fountain, in is a well kept course, where annual races are the square Carami. It has a tribunal of primary jurisheld the first week of August. There are many diction, a primary normal school, a secondary ecclesiasfine promenades; amongst them, a very favourite tical school, a public library, a society of agriculture, &c., with filatures of silk, fabrics of wine, candles, and tanone is the suspension chain pier, constructed neries. A considerable trade is carried on in olive-oil, in 1821, at an expense of 30,000l.: the pier head wine, liqueurs, brandy, and excellent prunes, known by is 60 ft. by 20, and has seats and awnings, as well the name of brignolles. (Hugo, art. Var; Dict. Géog.) BRILLON, a town of the Prussian States, prov. as tiers of galleries and flights of steps, to facili-phalia, reg. Arnsberg, cap. circ., 24 m. S.E. Soest. Pop. tate landing and embarkation at different states 3,301. It has two churches, a college, an hospital, and of the tide; the pier itself is 1,200 ft. in length fabrics of linen and brass. In the environs are mines of by 14 ft. in width; and an esplanade of the same silver, lead, and calamine. length, 40 ft. wide, connects it with the Steine. The principal market-day is Thursday, but there is a daily supply. Fairs held, one on Holy Thursday, and one on the 4th September. The chief trade of the place is fishing, in which nearly 150 boats are employed. The mackerel season begins in April, the herring season in October; besides which, turbot, soles, skate, &c., are caught in considerable quantities, and supply the London markets, as well as those of the place. A portion of the inhabitants are also employed in making nets and tackle for the fishery, of materials supplied from Bridport. Coasting vessels occasionally discharge coals and light goods on the beach; several steamers ply between this place and Dieppe, 21 leagues S. E., being a nearer and pleasanter route to Paris (via Rouen) than that by Calais. The intercourse with the metropolis, formerly effected by fast coaches, is now carried on with the greatest facility by means of a railway. The Reform Act conferred on Brighton the privilege of

of Naples, prov. Terra d'Otranto, cap. distr., at the
BRINDISI (an. Brundusium), a sea-port and city
bottom of a bay between capes Cavallo and Gollo; lat.
40° 37' 50 N., long. 17° 58' 32" E. Pop. 8,500. (Ram-
poldi.) In antiquity this was one of the most important
between Italy and Greece, and the East, was usually car-
cities of Italy, and was the port whence the intercourse
ried on. It owed this distinction as much to the excel-

lence of its harbour as to its situation: but in modern
times it is sadly changed for the worst. It is still of great
extent within the walls; but the inhabited houses do not
and rough, and the houses poor and in disrepair. With
occupy above half the inclosure. The streets are crooked
the exception of the citadel, a large heavy-looking cathe-
dral, and a few remains of antiquity, there is nothing in it
produced by the nearly total loss of the inner harbour.
that deserves attention. This melancholy change has been
This, which encompasses the city on two of its sides, and
is deep and capacious, was united to the outer harbour, or
bay, by a narrow entrance, like that leading to Portsmouth
this entrance having been nearly shut up, the inner
harbour or the Havannah. Unfortunately, however,
harbour was in consequence rendered inaccessible
but the smallest vessels, and in summer became fetid and
unhealthy. Julius Cæsar, who attempted to block up
Pompey's fleet that had rendezvoused in the inner har-
have commenced the ruin of Brindisi, which was com-
bour, by running mounds into its outlets, may be said to

all

pleted in the 15th century by a prince of Taranto, who sunk vessels filled with earth and stones in the passage left open by Cæsar? The destruction that was thus brought on the town and its offsets roused at length the attention of the Neapolitan gov., by whom a vigorous effort was made in 1776 to obviate the cause of the mischief, by cutting a new channel between the two harbours. But owing, as it would seem, to some defect in the plan, the project has only partially succeeded; the new channel soon filled up, and the entrance to the inner harbour became nearly as much encumbered as before. The canal is now, however, kept open by dredging and otherwise to the depth of 10 or 12 palmí, so that vessels of this draught of water may enter the inner port. The outer harbour, or bay, is deep and capacious, and has good anchoring ground. It is partially protected by an island, on which a fort is built; but it is exposed to the easterly gales, which throw in a heavy sea. (Swinburne's Two Sicilies, i, 384., 4to. ed.; Craven's Naples, p. 148.; Rivera, Considera-grammar-school, founded in 1532, which has zioni su i mezzi da Restituire il Regno delle due Sicilie, i. 242., &c.)

BRIOUDE, a town of France, dép. Haute Loire, cap. arrond., in a vast plain near the Allier, 30 m. N.W.1708, for the maintenance, clothing, and educaPuy. Pop. 5,247. It is old, ill-built, and dirty. Its most remarkable edifices are the college, situated on a hill, and commanding a fine view, and the church of St. Julian, a venerable Gothic fabric, founded in the 9th century. Besides the college, it is the seat of a court of primary jurisdiction, and has a small public library, and a society of agriculture. Brioude was the birthplace of the Marquis de Lafayette, who acted so conspicuous a part in the American and French revolutions. At Old Brioude, about 3 m. S.S.E. of Brioude, is a bridge over the Allier, built in 1454, consisting of a single arch 182 ft. in span. (Hugo, art. Haute Loire; Dict. Géographique.)

as a place of meeting, the Interior is occupied Clifton and Leigh, which seem rent asunder as a corn-market, and its back forms part to admit its passage; in Kingroad, its rise at of the spacious quadrangle in which the prin- springs is between 48 and 49 ft.; at neaps above cipal market is held. The Commercial Rooms, 23 ft.; at the gates of the floating harbour its built in 1811, and used as an exchange, have a rise is from 4 to 5 feet less than at the tide guage handsome dome, an Ionic portico, a large hall, in Kingroad. The bridges which connect the reading-room, and various apartments for the opposite sides of the floating harbour and rivers despatch of business. The Bristol Institution, a are, Bristol Bridge, of 3 stone arches, built in handsome edifice, opened in 1823, has a reading- 1768; it connects the central part of the city room, library, theatre, and museum: in the latter with Redcliffe: 2 iron bridges each with a single are good collections both in natural history and span of 100 ft.; one on the Bath and Wells, the fine arts; courses of lectures are given, phi- the other on the Exeter line of road: a swivel losophical papers read, and it has occasional ex- iron bridge (to admit the passage of ships), conhibitions of paintings. The Mechanics' Institute, necting St. Augustine and Clifton with the rest built in 1832, has a lecture and a reading-room. of the city: a small stone bridge, spanning the The Bristol Library was established in 1772, and Frome at the point where it ceases to be navihas an extensive collection (about 30,000 vols.) gable; and a suspension bridge now in progress, in general literature. There are also law and which will connect Clifton with the co. of Somedical libraries; a medical school, established merset: this, when finished, will be the most in 1834, in which complete courses of lectures are picturesque and striking work of its kind in the given the certificates of its professors are re-kingdom, and probably in the world; the roadcognised at Apothecaries' Hall; a proprietary way will be 850 ft. in length, 220 ft. above school, called the Bristol College, established high-water mark, with precipitous rocks on in 1830, for classical and scientific education; both sides. The Avon, above Bristol Bridge, is and an academy for the education of young men navigable for barges to Bath, whence the water for the Baptist ministry, to which an extensive communication is continued by the Avon and library and museum are attached. There is a Kennet canal. The Bristol and Gloucester railhandsome edifice of the Corinthian order in way, intended to connect the 2 cities, now extends Princes Street, now the office of the Bristol to Coalpit Heath (9 m. of line); it has 3 termini General Steam Navigation Co., but concerts, at Bristol, and several thousand tons of coal, balls, &c., are sometimes given in its large room: monthly, are conveyed thither by it. The Great the Victoria public rooms are now (1839), also, in Western railway (118 m. of line), and that of the progress. At Clifton are baths and pump-rooms; Bristol and Exeter (76 m.), will shortly effect and connected with the hot wells, is a handsome a rapid means of communication with the metroedifice of the Tuscan order. polis and intermediate towns E. of the city, and with those of Somerset and Devon on the S. W. The Exchange market, and that of St. James, are open daily for general provisions; the chief supply being on Wednesdays and Saturdays: the corn and leather markets are held Tuesdays and Thursdays; the hay-market, Tuesdays and Fridays; the fellmongers', Wednesdays and Saturdays; the cattlemarket, Thursdays, in a walled area of 4 acres, outside the city, at Temple Meads, at the junction of the Great Western and Exeter railways: this market fluctuates considerably, but the average weekly supply is estimated at 500 head of cattle, 3,000 sheep, 400 pigs, 80 horses. A great market is held there on the Thursday preceding Christmas, when the show is usually very fine. Two annual fairs, commencing 1st March, and 1st Sept., and continuing each about 8 days, and formerly resorted to by clothiers, hosiers, cutlers, &c., from all parts of England, having greatly fallen off, were abolished in 1837; but fairs for cattle, horses, leather, &c., are still held on the above days.

The great rise of tides in the Bristol Channel, and in the river, enables the largest class of ships to come up to the town: but to obviate the risks and damage to which they were formerly exposed by grounding at ebb tide, a floating harbour, equivalent to a dock, was constructed in 1804, by changing the channel of the river. It extends about 3 m. from the dam above Bristol Bridge to the entrance lock at Rownham, occupying the old bed of the Avon and of that branch of the Frome that lies between the quays of St. Augustine and St. Stephen. The present extent of quay frontage is 6,000 ft., but the limits admit of any further extension that an increased trade might require. The act authorising the formation of the harbour (43 Geo. 3. c. 140.) enacts that there should be 21 ft. water in a sufficient number of berths; but the mud being suffered to accumulate so as considerably to reduce this depth, occasioned much complaint. This defect has now, however, been in, a great degree obviated. A new channel was formed for the river, and the harbour finished in 1809, at an expense of about 700,000l. There are 2 basins for the temporary accommodation of vessels entering or leaving; one at Rownham, for large ships, the other below the iron bridge at Bedminster, for coasters. There are also a floating and a dry dock, founded by the Merchant Venturers in 1769: to the former of these timber ships are compelled to resort, if they do not discharge at some private wharf: further down the river are several private docks, where ship building, to some extent, is carried on. Vessels frequently load and discharge cargoes in Kingroad, at the mouth of the river, by means of lighters: the Great Western steam-ship is obliged to do this, the entrance to the floating harbour not being wide enough to admit her; but the harbour dues are payable, whether ships enter it or not. The tide in the Avon sets with great rapidity, especially between the high precipitous rocks of

The

Bristol was, for a lengthened period, second only to London as a commercial emporium; but though its comit continues to be the seat of some important manufac parative importance has, in this respect, greatly declined, tures and of an extensive and increasing trade. principal manufactures are those of soap, glass bottles, crown and flint glass, chain cables, anchors, steam-engines and other machinery, refined sugar, tobacco, earthenware, floor-cloths, brass wire, pins, sheet lead, zinc, saltpetre, tin, copper and brass wares, pipes, hats, drugs, colours, dyes, starch, bricks, British spirits, malt liquors; there are also extensive soda works and recently a large and are increasing both in their number and the extent of cotton-mill. Many of the iron foundries are on a large scale, their exports. In 1838 there were made at the various soap manufactories 8,029,076 lbs. hard soap, and 253,467 lbs. soft do.; in 1838 there were consumed, in 39 censed victuallers, and 767 keepers of beer shops, topublic breweries, 227,315 bushels malt; and by 703 ligether, 358,915 bushels. The establishments for glass, sugar, brass, floor-cloths, and earthenware, are also on an extensive scale. The post-office revenue in 1837 was six other banking establishments. The deposits in the 35,711. There is a savings' bank, established in 1813, and former, on the 20th of Nov. 1838, amounted to 296,3814, of

Merchant Venturers, from theirs; and 9 are proprietors of at least 10 shares, and chosen by the shareholders. The Chamber of Commerce was instituted in 1823, "for the protection and promotion of the commercial and manufacturing interests of Bristol;" it is supported by annual subscriptions, and governed by directors, elected annually, who publish reports of their proceedings: they are not an incorporated body, but have exerted a great and beneficial influence in the commercial arrangements and reforms of the town and port since their establishment. The management of the poor, within the old limits of the city, was vested in a corporate body by an act 7 & 8 W. 3. c. 32., and subsequent acts have been passed regulating their number and powers. The guard-. ians consist of the mayor and 12 members elected ansenior churchwardens of the different parishes, the senior overseer of the castle precincts, and 48 other inhabitants. The amount of poor-rates levied in the united parishes for the year ending Lady-day, 1836, was 27,0957. 18s.: the average of 20 years, ending with 1832, was 23,8501. Clifton forms the centre of a union, under the Poor Law Amendment Act; in the parishes of that union, which are also within the present limits of Bristol, the average amount of poor-rates for three years, ending 1835, was in all 10,7881. they are represented by 15 guardians. Bedminster is the centre of another union; its own average rates for the same period were 4,7347. : it is represented by 6 guardians. The rack rental of Bristol, according to a survey in 1838, amounts to 373,3617.; the number of rated properties being 19,920; of these, 10,420, valued at 212,4047., are within the ancient limits.

which 283,1887. were contributed by 7,433 depositors, and the rest by friendly and charitable societies. Bristol early possessed, and continues to enjoy, a large share of the trade with the West Indies; and among her foreign imports the most important are those of sugar, molasses, rum, coffee, tea, and cocoa; the next most important are those of tobacco, timber, wine, brandy, tallow, fruits, wool, hemp, dye, stuffs, oils, saltpetre, hides, &c. The exports consist principally of the produce of the various manufactures of the city, with salt, coals, and culm, in part the produce of the neighbourhood; and cotton, linen, and woollen goods. In 1837 the declared value of exports amounted to 259,6877. 1s. 5d., and 386 ships, of 76,957 tons burden, entered inwards from foreign parts, and 204 ships, of 49,223 tons, cleared outwards: the customs duties during the same year were 1,153,1097. 13s. 6d. Bristol carries on annually by the town council out of their own body, the extensive and growing trade with Ireland, from which she imports corn, butter, bacon, potatoes, cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, salmon, &c.: she sends in return tea, raw and refined sugar, cheese, wrought iron, tin plates, copper, glass, woollen, and leather. In 1837 there arrived from Ireland 632 vessels, of 95,694 tons, and cleared for it 340 vessels, of 74,578 tons. The imports, coastwise, consist mostly of iron, tin, coal, salt, agricultural produce, and foreign produce, brought from other ports under bond. The exports are chiefly foreign and colonial produce (especially groceries, spirits, and wines), and the various manufactures of the city. There belonged to the port, in 1836, 271 sailing vessels, of 39,650 tons, and 17 steamers, of 1,810 tons. A communication by steam for the conveyance of goods and passengers to Ireland was established in 1826, and has led to a great increase of the trade with that part of the empire. Bristol has also had the honour of being the first port in the empire to establish a regular communication by steam with the United States. The first voyage by the Great Western steam-ship was performed in 1838.

The parl. and municip. limits of Bristol coincide, and had, as already stated, a pop., in 1841, of 123,188; and at present, 1845, probably of 130,000. It is divided into 12 wards, and governed by a mayor, 16 ald., and 48 councillors. Previously to the Municipal Reform Act, the government was vested in a mayor, 12 ald., and 30 common councillors, the recorder being senior alderman they were a self-elected body, and filled up their vacancies from the freemen, of whom there were 3,109 registered. The governing charter was granted in the 8th of Anne; the earliest in the 9th of Hen. II. A court of sessions, or goal delivery, (except for capital cases, now tried at Gloucester,) is held quarterly by the recorder. The tolzey, or sheriff's courts, for all kinds of actions in cases under 40s. A court of conscience, established by act 1 Wm. 3., for debts under 40s., has from 150 to 200 causes weekly. There is also a court of requests for debts not above 157., established by act 45 Geo. 3., consisting of the common council and other commissioners, with an assessor, which has on an average from 20 to 25 cases weekly; and a court of assize for nisi prius cases, held the week after the Somerset assizes, by the senior judge on the western circuit. The number of prisoners tried at the criminal courts in 1837 was 215, of whom 88 were acquitted and I executed. A police force, upwards of 200 strong, on the plan of the metropolitan police, has been established under the Municipal Reform Act.

The county jurisdiction, by water, extends over the Avon, from 4 m. above the city; and sea-ward, to the steep and flat Holmes, and to the high-water-mark, on the English side of the Severn, from Aust's Passage to Clevedon. The charters of Hen. VI. and Edw. IV. granted the corporation an admiralty jurisdiction; but this has been lost through desuetude. They are conservators of the port and harbour; and by an act of 47 Geo. III., have the power of licensing pilots, who have the exclusive privilege of piloting all vessels passing up or down to the E. of Lundy Island, except Irish and coasting traders: the ports of Bristol, Newport, Cardiff, Swansea, Ilfracombe, and Bridgewater are comprised within this jurisdiction. There are 34 licensed or branch pilots, one of whom cruizes from Ilfracombe, the rest from Pill, near the mouth of the Avon. A board of com missioners, elected by the rate-payers, has the exclusive power of paving, lighting, and cleansing the town; they levy an annual assessment on the inhab. for these purposes, varying from 11,000l. to 12,000l. The corporation revenues are derived from town and market dues and rents of houses and lands in the city and neighbourhood; the annual average was estimated, in 1835, at 18,7737.; their debt, at that time, amounted to 86,2047.; but it has been since paid off by the sale of lands, &c. The Merchant Venturers are another incorporated body, whose governing charter dates in 1st of Chas. I.: they hold, under the former, a beneficial lease of the wharfage and other harbour dues, but have long ceased to be a trading company. The Dock Company are also incorporated, by an act of 43 Geo. III.: their affairs are managed by 27 directors, 9 of whom are appointed by the municipal corpor. from their own body; 9 by the

Bristol has sent two m. to the H. of C. since 1243: previously to the Reform Act, the right of election was in the freeholders and freemen only. No. of registered electors in 1842-43, 10,416. Bristol was made the seat of a bishopric in 1541. It is now, in conformity to the act 6 & 7 W. 4. c. 77., united with Gloucester, in a see comprising the city of Bristol, the deaneries of Cricklade and Malmsbury, in Wilts, and the previous diocese of Gloucester Bristol being constituted a deanery, which, alternately with that of Gloucester, is to elect the future bishops.

The Bristol hot well, under the Clifton rocks, is a place of much resort for invalids, its waters being considered efficacious in consumptive cases. The temp. of this saline spring, when fresh from the pump, is 74° Fahr., and it then evolves free carbonic acid: in each pint of the water (according to Dr. Carrick) there are 3:5 grs. carb. of lime, 1-5 sulph. of soda, 15 do. of lime, 5 muriate of soda, 1 do. of magnesia; total, 6 grs. It issues from the cliff, between the high and low-water-mark; the hot-well house is finely situated beside the Avon; a carriage road winds from it, behind the rocks, to Clifton Down; a shorter footpath at the back also leads to that village, which is the fashionable part of Bristol: the scenery, by either line, is singularly interesting. The acclivities are occupied by handsome edifices in squares, terraces. crescents, &c., forming fine promenades; the most magnificent of these ranges is York Crescent. Near the water is a good hotel, whence the Irish steam-packets start regularly; and on the cliff a splendid one, where concerts and assemblies are held during the season. Another spring higher up the cliff, but probably from the same source, has within a recent period had baths and a pumproom attached to it. The geological features of the place may be thus briefly described: If the entire area be divided N and S. into three unequal portions, that on the E. will fall within the limits of a coal formation, which extends N. and S. of the city, but chiefly to the N., about 30 m. its beds are thin, as compared with those of other coal-fields. The central or largest portion is chiefly occupied by the new red sand, in which saurian remains occur; the western part is chiefly mountain lime. Some of the summits in the N. and W. parts of the city are 250 ft. above the bed of the Avon. In the rocks of Clifton, and the opposite ones of St. Vincent, quartz crystals of great purity occur, known as Bristol diamonds. There are remains of three Roman encampments at Clifton, Rownham, and Abbots-Leigh.

The decline in the comparative importance of Bristol, as a trading emporium, has been chiefly manifested by contrasting its progress with that of Liverpool. The aver age customs duties of Bristol for the seven years ending with 1757 amounted to 155,1897.; those of Liverpool, for the same period, to 51,1367. In 1784, the customs of Bristol were 334,9097., a great increase; but those of Liverpool had advanced, in the same year, to 648,6847 One of the chief causes that have been commonly assigned for this relative slowness of progress, is the excess of local taxation; the town and harbour dues having been much heavier than those of any other of the larger ports. The munic, report of 1835 gives the proportion of local taxation charged on 23 principal articles, imported in 1831, in Bristol and three other ports; as- Bristol, 17.; London, 10s. 4d.; Liverpool, 11s. 5d.; Hull, 7s. 3d.; Glouces ter, 6s. 2d. Since 1831, however, the rates have been